The Month of March Was In Like A Lion and Out Like A Lamb

This subject is for you, mom. Mostly because I have absolutely no idea what that means hahaha.

What a week! Lots of interesting things have happened! That's good ole Puebs for ya. 

Last week for family home evening we split into two groups and went to visit some less actives. Its awesome tko see the young single adults get involved because they want a branch just as much as we do! Oh that is going to be a happy day! 

Transfers were Wednesday so I said goodbye to Sister Bush :( It was sad but I pray that we will be companions again! Transfer meeting was awesome though because I was able to see all of my missionary friends that I have made so it was like a mini reunion!

Sister Clawson and I were able to be detectives (some call us the FBI, sh!) this week. We have lists of the ysa in all of the wards so we pick a ward to work on each day and go out to meet as many people as we can. We were able to find out a lot about the people that we stopped by to see. Some had moved, some hated us (we got kicked out of a house.. that was awkward) and some were really happy to see us (love those people) kidding.. we love everyone :) I love being on the ysa rescue team because it is basically the most legit calling ever. Its so important that we go back to find that ONE person every time. 

I loved the Relief Society Broadcast! If you haven't seen it, you should watch it :) and take notes, notes are always a good thing. I loved that the speakers really empathized making those sacred covenants with God.I remember that they talked about that in October as well. Its cool to see how all of their talks tied in that way. I know that its so important that we make the temple our ultimate goal. 

Something that Sister Clawson and I have been talking a lot about this week is found in John 4: 8 & 11. Those verses talk about how "God is love" and that we "ought to love one another". That is something that is rare to find in the world today. The natural selfish man takes over and doesn't want to care about anyone but "number one". Its sad to see the world heading downhill in that direction but on the other hand, its comforting to know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ never leave us and that they are ready and willing to help us with out shortcomings (Ether 12:27). I want to challenge you to think of some ways that you can put off "the natural man" and be more like Christ. I can promise that you will find greater peace and happiness in your life as you do this. 

Life on the mission is good! I am so exhausted but so happy at the same time. Still haven't been able to figure out how that works but the Lord sure is blessing me with extra energy! If you can imagine that family ;)

I love you and miss you! Y'all are the best!! Thank you for your prayers and support. It means everything :)

XOXO
Sister Peterson

The Call That Changed My Life....

...just kidding. But not really. So the assistants to the president called us last Tuesday and started out by saying "do you have room in your apartment?" "....yes?" some whispering went on... "Good cause you're going to be in a trio." So we now have a new companion! And she's awesome! Her name is Sister Clawson, 19 and from Provo, Utah. She just came back out on her mission because she got sick after only being out for a month but now she's back. I am going to finish training her so she's like my "step daughter" I am so honored and excited to have the opportunity to train again and for my mission family line to grow! Sister Clawson and I will stay in Pueblo and Sister Bush is headed to the Springs. I will miss her terribly but am so grateful for the friendship that we have!!

Sad news! A didn't get baptized yesterday :( She said that there are a few things that she is still working on plus she still needs to tell her family. Its super frustrating when you see someone who recognizes that the gospel makes them happy but won't take that leap of faith. I love her so much though and know that she will get there eventually and I won't give up on her. So she might get baptized on April 6th or 13th. Its kind of up in the air right now but I have no doubt that it will happen!! Its all in God's timing anyways, right?

K and C are still awesome! We go over to visit them every now and then. We pray and read scriptures when we are there. Funny story about that actually. So we had asked the ward mission leader's wife to pick them up for church yesterday since we were going to a different ward to be with A. We called him after church to find out if they went and he asked us if K went with C (another lady who lives in the home) and we were like nooo.... Apparently this other girl who lives there named C got confused on what church she was going to and stormed out of sacrament meeting demanding to go home. So that's awkward...

I know that the church is true with all my heart. I know that Heavenly Father looks out for us and puts people in our lives to help us along the path. Its not easy by any means but by living the Gospel of Jesus Christ, our burdens can be made lighter. 

MAAAA! I am so proud of you for inviting that lady to talk to the missionaries. You are so great!! That deserves an ata girl haha! I love and miss you all!! Talk to you next week :)

xoxo
Sister Peterson

7 months!!!

I just gotta say.. Daylight Savings is not a missionary's friend. I'm already really missing that one extra hour.... but in other news ROB GOT BAPTIZED ON SATURDAY! That is so amazing!! (Rob is Kyra's best friends Dad who lives in PA) I am so happy for him and their family (which is my family!) I loved the pictures of everyone and of course the pictures of Nicki on skype! I was there in spirit! Couldn't you tell?! Everyone looked so happy! It was so wonderful to see :) I love seeing the gospel change lives! If I could ask Rob to type up his conversion story and send it to me, I would love that :)

Another busy week in Peubs.... 

A is doing great!! We met with her on Saturday and Sunday and are seeing her again on Tuesday. We are trying to have daily contact with her because we see how hard Satan is working when someone is doing a good thing. He really is giving us a run for our money, dang him! It was hard though because she didn't come to church on Sunday so we might have to push her date back again and then it wouldn't be until April. I know Nicki talked about this in her letter this week. She said that its all within the Lord's timing and we have to humble ourselves and accept it. I know that A is ready and when it happens it will be an amazing experience for all of us. It will happen just in His way and timing. We have no doubt about that!

The other day when we were stopping by to try to meet a less active ysa, there were two older people outside smoking on their porch so we walked over and started talking to them. We found out that the older guy, C was a member! He said that he wanted to go to church and that he had a Book of Mormon that he reads (he didn't know where it was so we gave him a new one). The ladies name was K and she said that she would be baptized! We've met with K and C twice already but the sad thing is that they live in a group home so we aren't sure if she was just having a "good day" because when we went over on Saturday she was saying random things and laughing at them so who knows what will happen. They are so awesome though! They call me Miss Colorado and Sister Bush is President because of President Bush, hahah. They crack us up! I've already been called that and Covergirl and I'm like "Man, I just LOVE Pueblo!"

Sister Bush and I taught a ton of lessons, invited everyone we saw to be baptized and shared our testimonies every second of every day. Working hard and seeing success! 

This week we thought a lot about our relationship with our Father in Heaven and how we can help those around us better theirs. How can that be done? How can we make it stronger? What can sometimes hold us back from having a better relationship with Him? We considered all these questions throughout the week. Something we thought of was prayer. We need to remember to pray to our Heavenly Father every chance we get and to always have a prayer in our hearts as we go about our day. I know that the power of prayer is real and that if we communicate with our Father, that He will bless us beyond imagination. You can't really have a solid relationship with someone if you don't talk to them or care to talk to them. And its the same with Heavenly Father. If we aren't communicating with Him through the blessing we have of prayer, then we aren't trying to better our relationship with Him. He wants to hear from us! We are His children and He loves us! More than we will ever know. I have seen the reality of the power of prayer work in my life and especially since being on a mission. If we humble ourselves and talk with Him, we can see those miracles in our lives. 

10 ysa at fhe and institute last week (I've started writing it down so we know who comes and who we need to visit more)

Oh! You have to watch the new Mormon message! It is soo good! Its a must see! 

I just love being a sister missionary! It is the greatest calling in the world! I love and miss you all! Talk to you next week :)

xoxo
Sister Peterson

It's Always A Good Time

FAMILY,

How was your week? Is baby Leah walking or talking yet? It must be hard for her missing her favorite auntie and all :) This week flew by and I always wonder where does the time go and how in the world is it already March!?! Still going on mini road trips around the stake trying to meet or touch base with as many ysa as we can. We are so close to getting a mini branch started here, we can feel it!

 

Remember A I told you about last week? Well, she has a baptism date!!! It was for March 15th but since she was sick yesterday and couldn't come to church it will have to be on the 16th now. She's already been to church once so she has to come two more times. Sister Bush and I are so excited!! A is so great and is so ready to hear and receive the gospel. After we taught her the Plan of Salvation she says to us "I want to be in the celestial kingdom with you all sitting around a table as friends" and we were just like "YES! We want that too!" Its been so neat to see how everything makes sense to her. She wants to go to General Conference and meet President Monson. She kept wanting to talk about prophets and what they do, she thought it was the coolest thing! She read Joseph Smith's testimony and really liked it. Why is she so great! I know that Heavenly Father does prepare His children to hear the gospel and that things will start to sound familiar to them just like what you said mom when you heard the missionaries talk. You were a solid investigator, if only more people were like you! haha. No one is as great though :)

 

 Miracles!

 

We have a new ysa investigator named P! We tr-acted into him and are going back for our appointment on Thursday!

There were 15 young single adults at institute on Thursday (not including us!). Its a miracle because 7 months ago there were only 3 ysa coming and they almost shut it down.

Two less actives that we have been working with came to church on Sunday! There names are B and T and they are two of the regular ysa that we have lessons with once a week. Its awesome to witness faith and desired grow in people and how you really can make a difference in someone's life! Like it says in Preach My Gospel, as missionaries we have a front row seat to witness the greatest miracles of all: to see the Atonement of Jesus Christ take full effect in others lives. I got the best seat in the house hahah. And you can too! We all can witness those every day miracles as we strive to live our life's in a way that our Father in Heaven has asked us too. Sharing your testimony doesn't always mean that we get up and say "I want to bear my testimony" but it can mean that we share our testimony by talking about the simple truths of the Gospel like "I went to church on Sunday" when someone asks you how your weekend was. I know that its talked a lot about in the book "The power every day missionary work" which I've mentioned before because I have heard nothing but great things about it. And I know that to be true, that we can bear our testimonies in the most simple yet powerful ways and it is by our example that its usually noticed. 

Well, time to run! Thank you for all the support and love that you all give me. I love y'all so much. Miss you tons!!! The pictures are from this scenic outlook called "Liberty Pointe".

 

Quote of the week:

"When my dad became first counselor, I knew that I am going to grow up to be a counselor too."

-little boy bearing his testimony in Sacrament meeting yesterday

 

Have a fabulous week! Remember to share the Gospel with someone!

 

 xoxo

Sister Peterson