'MERICA

Hey family, how was your week? I love it here. We had a great week together, talking to everyone we meet. It's cool how once you literally talk to everyone in your path that you start to realize that God puts people in your path for a reason. And we may not know the reasons but as we do our best to be missionaries we plant the seed.

Cool story time!

So we were knocking doors on Tuesday and we knock on this one door and a lady answers so we start talking with her. She then tells us "Oh you're not going to get very far with me" So naturally we ask her why not and she tells us that she was baptized into the church.. uhmm hello thats crazy! So we ask her to tell us her story and she does but she isn't active and isn't very interested in the church. Her whole family got baptized when she was sixteen but none of them are active now. She has two sons who wer never baptized because she fell away from the church when she was eighteen so she wasn't involved with the church for very long. But the three of us basically became insta besties! She's the coolest lady ever! She's super open and chill which we appreciate it so it makes her really easy to talk to. We invited her to church but it was her birthday so she didn't come :( We went to her house yesterday to sing her happy birthday which she loved and she told us that we can come back whenever!

We also run into R., the ice cream man all the time. Its prety much fate because we'll be walking around a neighborhood and then we hear it.. his ice cream music and he comes around the corner and we wave our arms and he pulls over to talk to us haha. We met a ton of cool people tracting this week and a lot of potentials so we hope good things come from there!

We're still tracting all day errey day and so far we have contacted 247 non-members and counting! Dang, we should have our own reality show haha can you say the District 3? Seriously though this has been sucha great transfer for me. I meet President Rehm, my new mission president on Wednesday and then we have interviews with him next week. He wrote us an email introducing us to him and I really liked what he talked about in it. He said that him and President Anderson didn't talk about us at all so that way we can all have a fresh start and be the missionary who we want to be. He also said that we need to allow each other as missionaries to change because thats what we do for our investigators so we should do it for each other. And that's what the gospel is all about! Its about allowing others to change and not holding them back from reaching their true potential. I loved that and am very excited to meet him!! Did I mention that he's from PA? Too legit!

Happy birthday to Sister Clawson on Thursday! I love you girl. Y

Happy fourth of July!! Go 'Merica!  Are y'all sticking with the traditions of fireworks at that one park? What are everyone else's plans for that day? We're totes going to dress up in our red, white and blue garb and walk around waving american flags.

This church is true and makes me the happiest ever! I love being able to share about all that Jesus Christ has done for us with everyone I meet. Stay safe and happy! I love you! :)

xoxo

Sister Peterson

Even the ice cream man needs the Gospel!

Hey everyone!

 

So it's been an awesome couple of days here in the wonderful city of Lone tree.. .yup, there is just one tree. I am still trying to figure that one out haha. It's so pretty here! So there are two cities that we can see from our area, Denver and Littleton. It is kind of crazy because one side of the street is our mission and then the other side of the street is the Denver South mission... insane right? So we aren't allowed to cross the street, we can only look at it haha. The ward here is so great, its kind of weird being back in a family ward again after working with the YSA for four and a half months but its nice to have only one ward to work with now. I miss Pueblo a lot but I know that this is where the Lord needs me to be so I'm cool with it. My companion, Sister Bjarnason is a beast!! She is so legit and we have been working sooo hard! Since I arrived on Wednesday afternoon, we taught forty lessons, its been so much fun! Since its her last transfer, we are doing a challenge to make contact with 1,000 non-members by the end of this transfer. So we need to talk to like 27/28 a day and so far we have! So we have been knocking doors all day every day. I know that as we try our best to find someone to teach that the Lord will bless us. We even gave out a Book of Mormon to the ice cream guy yesterday. He was pretty upset that we wouldn't buy ice cream (it was the Sabbath ya know...) he still took one. Okay so I just left it in his truck for him and he finally was like "no no, ......okay fine" yup, persistance is a good thing haha. We have just had so much fun with talking to everyone that we have come in contact with. It totally strenghtens my testimony as I share it with all I meet.

 

Its crazy that Sister Bjarnason is going home after this transfer because legit everyone asks her about it and wants to talk about it and then there's me over there like "hiiii" haha its interesting thats for sure! I love that sister, she is so great! I love this area and I love the people. Its so crazy how you come into a new area not knowing anything or anyone and even only after a few days you grow to love everything about it. Its cool how the spirit works within us once we humble ourselves accept God's will.

 

So we went to the temple with Am. and M. on Tuesday and it was basically the best experience ever!! The Spirit was so strong and they both loved being in the house of the Lord. I also was baptized and confirmed for Emma Orman, she is my great great great grandmother. Not sure if you know anything about her mom but I found her on familysearch a few weeks ago and took her name with me. (yeah she found her because I added her haha-Ami)

 

Our new mission President comes on Friday and President and Sister Anderson leave on Saturday :( They have been so wonderful and I am so grateful to have known them for the first ten months of my mission. I will miss them but look forward to reunion parties next year! :)

 

Happy anniversary to mom and dad tomorrow!! Thirty one years of sweet bliss and an amazing fourth child who just lights up their lives and whom they love oh so much :)

 

Happy birthday to daddy on Friday! Expect a father's day and birthday card in the mail soon. I love you and am so grateful for everything that you have done for me. Also, everything that you have taught me! It means so much to me and the lessons that I have learned from you have helped me so much on my mission. So thank you for everything!!!

 

Fam fam, I love and miss you all so much. Enjoy your lives and be happy every day because we all are so truly blessed to be member's of Christ's one true church :)

 

xoxo

Sister Peterson

Next Stop....Castle Rock!

Hey family!

So I got a call from President on Sunday morning. I am being transferred to Castle Rock and I leave Wednesday morning. My new companion's name is Sister Bjarnason and its her last transfer so I am killing her off... haha mission lingo... Its weird, I know.

Sister Clawson is doing a lot better! She has been recovering at the Williams' house since last Thursday and will probably be there until Thursday. She's staying here in Pueblo but is moving to a family ward so they are flushing the rescue team. I will miss it a lot here in Puebs and being on the YSA rescue team because it means to much to me but I know that my time here is over for now. I know that the Lord needs me in Castle Rock so I am way excited to go there! I have heard nothing but good things about it so far! Plus they have a super target and the best outlet mall that ever existed... can I get a holla!? Speaking of shopping... I need some money haha kidding... not really..

The coolest thing happened on Saturday.. Am.'s little brother, M. was baptized!!! It was so amazing to see the domino effect they had on each other. I just know that they will be sucha great support to each other throughout their lives. So awesome surprise... We get to go to the temple with them tomorrow!!! It was a last minute plan but I am sooo excited to end the transfer with going to the temple!!!

I love this gospel and I am so blessed to be here out serving the Lord. I have grown so much this past transfer and have realized a lot about myself and who I want to be. There is always more that we can be doing so we should all make the commitment to live our lives higher and as President Hinckley once said "Try a little harder to be a little better." I know that in times of trial and tribulation is when we grow the most so I am grateful for the hard times because they make me stronger and mold me into the woman that my Father in Heaven wants me to be. How he sees me is way more important then how others see me. I think its always a good reminder to make your Father in Heaven proud of you. I love you all so much and am so grateful to have each and every one of you in my life. Stay strong and become truly converted each day by the little decisions that you make. Talk to you next week when I am in Castle Rock!!

Loves from the last time in Pueblo,
Sister Peterson

I don't know about you but I'm feelin twenty-twooo000oooo

Hey fambam!

So you already know about this week so I will spare you the details again haha mostly because I don't really want to type them all out again. But yeaaaaahh my companion is in the hospital. So I am on exchanges with Sister Bautista in her area in Pueblo West until things get figured out I guess. Keep the prayers coming... we need them :) I am doing well so no worries there! Sister Clawson will be fine, she is staying again tonight to have more tests done and the mission doctor is coming to see her. Pray for her and her family! This is a very stressful situation but we all have the faith that she will be okay. I love you all and am so grateful for you in my life!! Stay strong because this gospel is what is going to get you through those hard times. I'll leave this scripture with you so you should read it: 3rd Nephi 9:14. Our Savior, Jesus Christ is always there for you no matter what! And his arm of mercy is always extended towards you. We just need to do our part and go to him. I love Him and am eternally grateful for everything he has done for me. I love being able to represent him and have the opportunity to become more like him each and every day. 

We have a huge conference with half our mission tomorrow and then on Friday we have zone training. I am so excited and ready to be spiritually uplifted! They are always a great time. 

I just wanted to thank everyone for the birthday gifts and cards that I have received so far, you're all so awesome!! Can't believe how old I am! haha. 

Stay safe and have a great week! I will talk to you more on Monday! :) 

With Love,

Sister Peterson 

Temple Jubilee and a Baptism

My dearest family and friends,

 

This week has been a lonnnnggg crazy busy one but we still witnessed so many miracles! The temple on Thursday was amazing!!! I sent the temple card with a letter telling about my experience so you can all read that together if you'd like. I just know that gma was there right beside me the whole time and that she was so happy that we were doing her temple work for her. I will never forget the way that I felt that day and it is something that I will treasure in my heart forever. I did initiatories, confirmations, the endowment session and then there was a sister that also took a family name so we were able to witness their sealing too! President and Sister Anderson stood in as her parents and then we were able to all do sealings with our mission president and wife. Cool facts: this is their last temple jubilee (yay we're special!) and they have never done sealings with missionaries before. Talk about the coolest thing in the world! The spirit was so strong in that tiny sealing room. I just imagined how happy the families are now that they are sealed together for time and all eternity. And then of course I thought of mom being sealed to her parents soon and it made me even happier!!! It was so wonderful to be at the temple and feel of the peace there. It totally rejuvenated me to get back out there and work, work, work so that everyone can receive the blessings that the temple has to offer!!

 

A. was baptized on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday!! It was the greatest experience ever! Its amazing to see how much the Lord prepares His children to hear the gospel. She was soo prepared to accept the gospel! It was a privilege to have been able to teach her. After she was baptized, they asked her how she felt and she said one word: "clean" and had the biggest smile on her face. It was truly a beautiful thing to see someone you grew to love so much make such a big step in their life. She also bore her testimony in church yesterday and talked about how much she loves this gospel and how it has helped her strengthen her relationship with Heavenly Father. She's so solid!!! It's so cute to see her and Am. strengthen one another and be there for each other. Totes presh.

 

We are planning on going to the family history center to find a family name for Am. tomorrow. Hopefully it happens this time since she's been really busy with work. Then we can go to the temple with her! And then we can go with A. soon too. We told them to go separately so that way we can go twice hahah strategy! ;)

 

Shout out to Hays getting her patriarchal blessing on Saturday!! You'll remember it forever and it will be a source of guidance and light throughout your life. So read it often. Love you little one!!

 

I love you and miss you!! Thank you for your prayers and support, it means the world to me. Have a great week and remember who you are and act accordingly! :)

 

Love from Pueblo,

Sister Peterson