Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Week 13

Hey ya'll (everyone seems to say that around here and it is sort of sticking... sorry bout it) 

Last week and this week have been a whirlwind. A lot has been going on between meetings and appointments. The work is going forth here in the Springs! 

For the past few weeks, Sister Mangisi and I have really caught the Spirit of Elijah! Tomorrow, we are going with S. to the Family History Center to try and find some of his Chinese ancestors. We talked about the Temple and baptisms for the dead and he seemed pretty interested in doing that. So hopefully that will be a great benefit to him and will help him move along!

So we received some referrals from a family in the ward last week so on Saturday Sister Mangisi and I went tracting in that neighborhood and weren't having much luck. There were some older men that were landscaping outside of a member's home so I had this impression that we should go up and talk to them. It was the perfect opportunity! So we walked up to them and struck up a conversation and one of the first things that he said was "you aren't Jehovah's Witnesses are you?" We had a good laugh about that.. haha. And then we started talking about what we do on missions and we exchanged our business cards (ours was a mormon.org card with our number on the back. It's how we roll.) And he was so enthusiastic for us to call him back. Oh, by the way his name is B.. Pretty sweet, right? So we called him back yesterday and went over to the member's home where he was working again. We showed him our missionary handbook because he was curious about that and then we gave him a Restoration pamphlet and explained what was in it. He promised he would read it if he got to quiz us about something next time he sees us. Also, he calls us his girlfriends which is actually hilarious and slightly a bit awkward. Gotta love old people! I just feel like he is so prepared to hear this Gospel and I am so excited to see where this goes. It was just a great testimony builder to me to talk to EVERYONE. Because you literally never know who Heavenly Father is preparing. 

I also got to go to a "Train the Trainers meeting last Wednesday which was really neat. President Anderson talked about how that we are going to be trainers this next transfer because only we have the abilities and personalities to train these new missionaries. I am so excited to meet my greenie! 

I just wanted to share a few thoughts about the zone conference we had on Friday. It was all centered around love and that if we truly learn to love everyone then sharing the gospel will become so much more natural to us. It was a great reminder that I think we can all benefit from. If we truly love others and understand the Atonement then we will want to share that with everyone we come in contact with. 

This week is pretty busy!! We have a broadcast on Thursday night, our mission tour on friday where Elder Shayne B. Bowen of the Seventy is coming to speak to us. The sisters in my zone are going to be singing "I Stand All Amazed" there with a bunch of other zones in attendance. Wish us luck! And then there is a funeral for a senior couple who served a mission here a few years ago on Saturday. I was so sad to get that e-mail and even though I didn't know her, I still feel for her family because Colorado Springs was our mission together and that brings us close.

So, now you're all caught up on last week and this week. Busy, busy! And will most likely become even busier with the holidays coming up. I love you and miss everyone dearly!!! Just know that I am doing fabulous and I'm loving my mission. There is no place that I would rather be! The Atonement is real and through it, people CAN change. I have witnessed that first-hand. Stay warm, everyone! 

xoxo
Sister Peterson 



Monday, November 4, 2013

Week 12

Goodness it has been a fast week! There is so much to tell you all!
 
I don't have a lot of time and I am so sorry that this will be short but I am doing well! The Lord's work is moving forward here in the Springs. I just love it here! The mountains, the people, everything is just so perfect. Every day that I wake up, I am so grateful to be on a mission and there is no place that I would rather be.
 
This week flew by. We helped some of the elders move a non-member family and were able to tell them about the church. They were so sweet and grateful for us helping them and they want to have us over for dinner when they get more settled in. We are helping them put stuff away in their new house tomorrow so we are excited to see them and share more about the Gospel with them. 

So there is a family in our ward who owns their own car business and they called us to have Sister Mangisi come over to their car shop to talk with someone. So it was pretty legit that we had a lesson in a car shop. So we were sitting there while cars were being worked on and talked to him about family history because his daughter is adopted so they were having questions about her family. We were able to ask him about what he knows about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and he blew us away with all he knew! He is going through a really tough time at home right now and is such a humble guy. So we are excited to do family history with him this week at the family history center. 

We also worked with a less-active grandma and her daughter and with the help of the family history elders we were able to find names for her grandson to take to the temple in a few weeks. It was so cool because we found some names for C. and we are planning a youth temple trip! We definitely caught the Spirit of Elijah this week!

We are going to be starting a sister missionary class with our ward and another ward on Saturday. Missionary work is BOOMING and it is just so neat to see everyone catching the wave. I love this gospel and I love being a missionary! What a wonderful calling I have!
 
So I have some news to share....guess what?! I am going to be TRAINING a new missionary next transfer which is in a few weeks. I am so excited and humbled to be able to train my very own baby!
 
 
Shout outs!
 
Happy birthday, Crystal on Saturday! Thanks for the Halloween card, it was super funny. Love you, girl!
 
Sarah- I can't believe that your mission papers are in. I am sooo excited for you!! You are going to love it! Missions are the best thing ever :) You are going to do great!
 
I love and miss everyone! Don't forget to share the Gospel with someone this week!
 
xoxo
Sister Peterson