Pigeon's Post

April already

2010-04-13T06:40:00.000-07:00

April 10

My week started out really good. I got a lot done and was able o help a lot of people. By Wednesday it all went crazy. My building caught on fire at 7:00am on that Wednesday and we were told that we all had to leave. My comp and I got out of the house and called my mission president and told him what happened. The fire department was called and they came with 2 fire trucks and 2 police trucks and 1 ambulance to help put out this fire. The fire started in the lady next door to us in her house and the fire men took out her wall and her heating and cooling unit. What happened was that even though she had her heater off, it kicked on and was just getting hot but not blowing out (because she had it turned off.) Well it got to hot and caused a fire. It is the apartment's fault because they had a faulty unit placed in. It took 45 minute to put the fire out and all is well. Another past her wall and I think a table was burnt.

My investigator is getting baptized in 5 days and she is so excited about that. We are running all over the place getting things set up for her.

One of my investigators had her children taken away for child abuse and she wants us to help her get them back. We told her that if she needs help she needs to turn to God because he is that olny one that can help at this point. She needs to come to church and read the scriptures and pray. Than God will give her strength and inspiration.

I love you all and i am so glad that all is well. I love you so much and I can't wait to here from you all soon.

Mom and Dad:

That is cool about the camps for the kids they will love it. I bet Becca just screamed when she found out that she could go to a camp and learn to take care of a horses and that she could learn to ride one. I hope that all is well. Hang in there with school and work. Just remember " work hard now so that one day you wont have to." "No great dreams where ever accomplished by small acts, and little work to achieve them." I love you and I am so proud of you and that work that you are doing in making our family a better one. You are an example to the kids and you are an example to all those that meet you because of your work that you are doing now.

Mid February

2010-03-01T09:24:00.000-08:00

The work is going good. We did a lot of tracting and we found some people. I was able to go on exchanges and so I was out of town for a little while. That was fun, I found some people there to. We were out knocking and it was late, 8:30, and we were going to knock two more doors cause that’s all we had left in the row of houses in this apartment stairwell. I was told to go to a different one. So I started to walk towards a house, and my companion said where are you going we aren't done yet. I looked at her and said I need to knock this house, so she followed me and right before I knocked on the house she pointed at a girl that was sitting on the steps out side her house. So I knocked and did my thing and the guy that answered said no and shut the door. So we went to go talk to her and she started to talk with us and she told us all about her life and why she doesn't like Christians because when she was Christian and her family was not doing well they would talk about how we are to help each other and no one would help her family. So I was able to bare my testimony to her and give her a BOM. It was really cool. They have a lesson with her I think on Saturday, I will see how things went.

We found a woman here in my area named Wilma and she is soo cool too. We came to her door and her husband answered and we started to talk and she came out and she said that she was told that she needed to come and see who was at the door also, so then we started to talk and she invited us in and she told us all about how she loves Christ and that she reads from the Bible every day and that she is trying to help her husband get his life in order and help him find the light of Christ. It was so cool. So we are going to go see her and start teaching her.

Lots to do…I am glad that the kids are doing well, and that everything is going good but crazy for you.

I saw this in a house the other day and I just loved it... "Life is our novel...let God write it."

Heather's Christmas

2009-12-27T20:57:00.000-08:00

Heather had a great Christmas. We were able to talk to her on the phone for quite a while. She has been homesick lately, but after a talk with the mission president, she is feeling better about being there. She loves the people she is working with, and loves being a missionary. She just misses her family, which I expected.

The woman that they live with has requested that mail go to the mission office, so once again we have an address change. Mail letters to:

Sister Heather Pidge
Texas Houston South Mission
4627 Austin Parkway
Sugarland, TX 77479-2146

or, email her at pigeonspost@yahoo.com and I will print the letters (without reading them) and mail them to her. I know she looks forward to getting mail, and would love to hear from anyone willing to write to her.

Address correction

2009-12-03T14:30:00.000-08:00

It appears after trying to mail a box to Heather the address was wrong. I have corrected the house number below where her address is located. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Week 2

2009-11-25T22:42:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone

I hope all is well. I am loving it down here. We have the coolest people here. I love serving the Lord and meeting all the new people. We have one family that was baptized right before I came that we are still working with and they are just so cool. I have a lady that we are teaching that has been blind for 4 years. She had a tumor removed and now she can see a little bit. We gave her a Book of Mormon in Braille and she was so excited. She has started to read it and there have been so many wonderful things happen. I know it is because of the Lord.

I don't like tracting. It scares me. My trainer is way cool about helping me and showing me the things I need to do better. We live with a family so I have kids by me all the time and it has helped me not get homesick. The sky is so big and clear. The temperature is perfect in the 80s. Ahhhh it is awesome. My comp and I love each other and she is teaching me a lot.

Right before I left the MTC I was told there was an explosion in the church all around the church in the 60s and that it is going to happen again and that I am going to be one of those that helps make that happen. In Alma 13:24 it says "and now, my bretheren, I wish from the inmost part of my heart, yea, with great anxiety even unto pain that ye would hearken unto my words and cast off your sin and not procastinate the day of your repentance." That is how I feel, great anxiety even unto pain. I want everyone to know the truth that I have and how it can and has helped their lives. I love it here and I know that the Lord has called me here for a reason and I can't wait to see why.

God Bless and lots of love,

Sister Pidge

Heather's address (in case you missed it before)

2009-11-25T22:32:00.002-08:00

Sister Heather Pidge
6702 Keithwood Circle South
Pearland, TX 77584

From the mission president

2009-11-25T22:32:00.000-08:00

TEXAS HOUSTON SOUTH MISSION

4627 AUSTIN PARKWAY

SUGARLAND, TX 77479-2146

281-565-7117

gsaylin@ldschurch.org

Dear Brother and Sister Pidge

Sister Heather Nicole Pidge arrived in the Texas Houston South Mission on November 3, 2009. She is in good health and spirits and we look forward to serving with her. She is a fine young missionary and will be an asset to the mission. We will care for her as we would for one of our own as she labors in the mission field. We understand the concerns, hopes and prayers of parents for their children. We want each of the missionaries in the Texas Houston South Mission to have a rich, growing and successful experience. Be assured that should a time of special concern arise, I will notify you immediately.

Enclosed is a photograph of your daughter with Sister Saylin and me that was taken the evening she arrived. She has a good attitude and a desire to serve the Lord. We feel confident there will be early success in her labors. We are grateful she has been sent to this mission and pray the Lord will bless and strengthen your family through her service.

Her companion is Sister Alexis L. Metcalf and their address is: 6207 Keithwood Circle South, Pearland, Texas 77584. Feel free to contact me or Sister Saylin if you have any concerns or if there is anything we can do for your daughter.

Sincerely,

Gregory M. Saylin

President

First day

2009-11-25T22:21:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!

Today was my first day in the field. I loved it. I met some of the coolest people and I love Texas. It is so big and there is wide open space everywhere. I am in a small town called Pearland. There are a lot of trailers. The people here are really cool. My companion and I stay with a family. I haven't met all of them yet. My companion's name is Sister Metcalf. She is way funny. She is also new to the area so last night we were getting lost. It was so fun. It was funny to watch ourselves trying to find where we were and where we were going. I'm holding the map and saying "go left, go left", then 45 seconds later I said, "I think we should have gone right." Now we have a map we blew up so we can see it better and it is almost as tall as I am. We taped it to the floor and we are highlighting it so we get to know it better. Hopefully we don't get lost again.

We have a lady who is blind and this afternoon we gave her a Book of Mormon in Braille. We have met with her and her son twice and they both have baptism dates set. We are praying like crazy for them.

We will be in Pearland for Thanksgiving... so if anyone is in the area, you can take us out for dinner... lol

Lots of love,
Sister Pidge

10/26/2009 part 2

2009-10-26T21:04:00.000-07:00

Another letter mailed.

Dear Mom,

I got your letter today. I was so excited I almost broke the rules and opened it in the lunch room... ha ha ha. It is going good. I'm going to take losts of pictures of me and my companion. She is so cool. I just love her. We are good friends, which makes the whole thing so much better. I get to work out for 45 minutes a day and sad to say, it is my favorite time of the day... ha ha ha. I like it here, and I know that once I am out in Houston I'm going to get the HS (home sickness), but I will be strong. You have so much support here. and everyone is so nice, even the elders. There's a sister in our room that wants to go home. She's been out 2 weeks, but her family is not that strong, and I think that helps.

I forgot so much stuff! I forgot a hair brush, an alarm clock, hair mousse... stuff like that. I guess I'm on my first "hill" but they have a ton of stuff that you can buy. I still haven't bought any of those things but I think I will wait till I get to Houston, or right before I leave.

As for the spirit here, to be honest I have felt so... I don't know.. like I'm being pulled everywhere. I can't sleep so good, and I'm having a hard time staying focused.

My companion and I gave the first discussion today and it went kind of good. Its like I know what I'm trying to say or what I want to have happen, but I can't get my mouth and my head and the Spirit to work at the same time.

If there is anything I hate the most it would be the COLD showers I have to take every morning. I do love it here and I am so glad I came. I love you and miss you and the family.

Sister Pidge

10/26/2009

2009-10-26T20:43:00.000-07:00

10/15/2009 (I actually didn't get this in the mail until the 26th, after the last letter, which was emailed)

Hi Mom and Dad,

Don't tell Aunt Nancy and Uncle Ed, but you are the first person I am writing... ha ha ha... Everything is going good. I love my companion. She is so sweet. Her name is Sister St. Clair. There are 5 sisters in my district and two of them leave for London MTC tomorrow the 16th at 8am. Sister Jones and Sister Starks are the ones leaving. I know that we just met, but we are going to miss them so much. My companion is going to the Tulsa Oklahoma mission. She has a 6 year old sister, too. I showed her a picture of Becca I brought. She thinks she is cute. I open an email account Monday, so you should be getting an email soon. (Ya, before this one, lol) The Elders are supposed to stand whenever a Sister comes to the table or leaves the table. It is so crazy... cool, but crazy. The other two sisters in my district are Sister Benon and Sister Stobbs. They are really cool. Well, it is lights out and I still need to write in my journal.

Love you,
Sister Pidge

Heather's email

2009-10-25T20:45:00.000-07:00

If you want to email Heather, send it to pigeonspost@yahoo.com. I will forward all email to her. I will not read the email, just forward it to her. Her mission email was specified as immediate family only, so I'm not going to post it here. Know that Heather wants to keep in contact with everyone, so please write to her!!

the Fifth Day

2009-10-20T10:59:00.000-07:00

Hi!
This is the 5th day I have been in the MTC, and I don't know about you but it seems to have all blurred together for me. I get 30 minutes a week to write and I can only do it on Mondays. (That’s my p-day)

Our Sundays are so good here we have so much cool things to do. I am nervous to go out and teach others. I have the fist vision down so that will help. My companion is cool but sometimes I think that she is frustrated by some of the things I do, like I am more relaxed than she is about everything. She thinks that we need to be running everywhere and that we need to work, work, work, even on our free time, and that we are never going to get everything done. I think that there is enough stress on our shoulders and that we should take things a little bit slower and not wear ourselves out. We got to go to the temple today and that was fun.

I would like a list of emails and addresses so that I can send more out. If you can!

How are the girls doing, and you and dad? I don't want to here anything that will make being gone harder if that’s okay. I mean don't lie to me but I already am asking the Lord to help me through each day and I don't want to have to ask him again. You know.... it’s already hard, and I don't want it to get any harder... that’s what I mean.

I hope that the Lord is blessing you and that you are keeping your grades up. I love you and I hope that everyone is doing well. I will take lots of pics and then just send you my card and you can take the card to Kinko’s and get it put on a disk and then put it on the computer. I brought two so I will all ways have one and then you can send me one back and then I can send you the other one and that way you all ways have pics of me coming in. I have to go soon..... but tell the girls that I love then and that I will keep them in my prayers. I look forward to getting an email from you soon. Send some of this to grandma she will want to know. Tell brad that I love him and that I miss him.

Lots of love. your daughter of God ~ Sister Pidge

Heather's mission call

2009-10-14T22:24:00.000-07:00

Heather Pidge

Heather went into the MTC (the Mission Training Center) today. She will be leaving for Houston, Texas (South Mission) on November 3rd. Her Grandma Pidge was able to come up from Arizona to see her off. We had a wonderful visit with her. We went to lunch at one of Heather's favorite mexican food restaurants, Los Hermanos, before dropping her off. It wasn't as emotional as I thought it would be. I guess that is because I am confident that Heather is well prepared and will be an excellent missionary. When we got home, Caitlin was upset that we didn't go to the MTC. Since we only dropped her off at the curb (it is the rules) Caiti felt like she missed out. No amount of explaining would convince her that we did indeed go to the MTC.

Pigeon's Post is for Heather. Heather wears a sterling silver pigeon charm around her neck. She says it reminds her of who she is. Her last name is Pidge, and Pigeon is a play on that. I hope everyone will check Pigeon's Post for letters from the Pigeon. I will post her messages each week, and give updates and pictures as I have them. If you want to write to Heather, her address while at the MTC is:

Heather Nicole Pidge

MTC Mailbox # 183

TX-HOUS 1103

2005 N 900 E

Provo, UT 84604-1793

Sincerely,

Mamma Pigeon