Kyra In the Rockies: Week 4

My wonderful family!

Another P-day is here and it has been a great week! Time seems to be picking up. Like everyone said, the days seem long but the weeks seem short and it's so true! So this past week was very busy. Sister Mangisi and I are going around to the homes of the ward members to get to know them (because there are about 400 some members in our ward and we want to know all of them) and asking if they need any help with anything. Last week we helped two families with their family mission plan. It's so great to see how willing they are to share the gospel with their friends and family. It's been so neat to see families coming together and uniting in a common goal. Please make family mission plans and help the missionaries in your ward. We can't do it alone. We need the help of the members. It is so vital that investigators have a friend in the ward like President Hinckley has stated before.

So, last Wednesday we taught S. about the fourth lesson which is The Commandments and he really seems to get it! He is very smart and he knows what we are telling him to be true. We went over the history of the Book Of Mormon and showed him the pictures inside the Book Of Mormon. We then asked him the Baptimal interview questions even though he hasn't agreed to a date yet. We wanted to see where he is at and to see what we need to cover. He is still struggling with tithing because he had a bad experience at his old church. But he is making his way and I am just so proud of him! He came to church on Sunday and the gospel principles lesson was on baptism. And then the Gleneagle sisters (which is the area next to us) had an investigator named R. get baptized last night and we asked S. to come to that and he did! The Spirit was so strong and S. was so happy, grinning ear to ear. Sister Mangisi and I know that he is ready to be baptized and we are going to ask him again on Wednesday when we see him. I am so excited for him!

The Spirit was so strong at R.'s baptism and while he was getting dried off and changed, Sister Mangisi and I did a missionary moment where we taught the first lesson which is The Restoration and it was beautiful! It was so powerful. I memorized the First Vision and was able to recount it and I was so thankful to my Heavenly Father for helping me to speak with clarity and with the Spirit because without it I would have not been the same. That experience just helped strengthen my testimony of Joseph Smith. I know that he is a true Prophet of God and I am so grateful to him for sacrificing his life to bring us the restored Gospel in these last days. What an amazing man he is! I am so thankful that he was willing to share his experience of his first prayer with us and with the world. The church is true and the book is blue!

On Thursday we went and taught a less active named T. He is fifteen years old and so smart! He has Asperger's so he doesn't like to socialize much. The fact that he went to church for the first time in a few years the week before I got here is a miracle! We taught him about the 12 tribes of Israel and it was so neat to talk about their history and lineage. It made me think of the Prince Of Egypt which is a great movie with an awesome soundtrack!

Later that night we had dinner at the Powers home and they had their friend R. (40's) over (different R.) and he is so ready to be baptized! He knows who the Prophet is and he knows what General Conference is and he told us that he is going to watch it. He is a great guy! He watches the Mormon Channel all the time. He's been to church a few times but the only thing is that he works every Sunday so we are going to meet with him again this week and just try to build his faith about going to church and see what we can do there.

Every Saturday we do service so my district went to Black Forest where all those fires were a few months ago. They have this area called the "slash pit" and it is where people come and bring their branches on the back of their trucks and we unload them. It's a way for the community to come together and clean up the mess that the fires made. It is so sad to see all of the burned branches but it is also so nice to offer our service to them! We set a goal in our district to hand out mormon.org cards and we accomplished that goal! It is a little scary at first talking with people but the more you do it the more you realize just how easy it is. I just think of that quote "I'm a Mormon. I know it! I live it! I love it!" I LIVE IT. We need to be constantly living our standards because others around us notice it. I love this gospel so much and am so excited to be here serving the people and my Father in Heaven. Colorado Springs is awesome and so beautiful!

I love you and miss you all!!!

My home!

those tigers I mentioned in my letter last week haha. They look so real right?!

Shout outs!

Hays- How in 9th grade?! I can't believe you are in the high school years now. Makes me feel old! And I heard that you started Seminary today. Now that's just crazy to me. Be sure to really pay attention even though it can be really hard not to (just ask Sister Anderson. I said some strange things) but the things you learn in Seminary are important and useful. Remember the Scripture Masteries and try not to forget them. Go get em, tiger.

Souderton Young Women and Leaders- Thank you SO much for all of your letters! They made my day! You are all so sweet and thoughtful.

Jenna- Excited for school?! You are going to have so much fun at BYU-I! And study a lot too of course... haha. It is going to be a blast!!

I pray for you all daily.

xoxo

Sister Peterson