It's the most wonderful time of the year

Soooooo.... we moved. Again. Haha I feel like I'm getting really good at this whole moving thing. Now we live with the Dalton's aka the best family ever!! We live with the mom, dad and their twelve year old daughter, Grace. They have a son on a mission in Peru who just left in October. They are so sweet and I really love living here! 

So here's my new address:

12144 Pine Valley Circle

Peyton, CO 80831

We're teaching a returning less active named C. We meet in a member's home and she tells us what she wants to learn that day. So we read the chapter on that subject from the Gospel Principles book with her. Its really cool because she's the one that sought out the missionaries because she wanted to be active again. Her husband's not a member but he lives in Missouri right now so she's moving there in January.

The relief society had a Christmas gala/gift exchange on Thursday which was a lot of fun. J and K were both there! Cool fact: K's husband came to sacrament meeting yesterday because their daughters were singing. That was a miracle because he has never been to church before and that made K super happy! He also went to the stake Christmas devotional last night which is a huge deal for him to even step foot inside a church building! So we are hoping that her husband's heart is being softened and that we will see miracles from this.

I have seen a ton of tender mercies from my Father in Heaven this week with Him just letting me know that He's there and that He loves me. Its really through those simple, small ways that we can feel God's love. I have been privileged to feel even a little bit of how Heavenly Father feels about His children. I know that as we serve others, we are serving God. I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ want us to give back because we have been given much from them. So, go out and serve someone this week and help them to feel of that love. 

I finished Alma a few days ago and am now on Helaman! I love reading from the Book of Mormon and feeling the peace that it brings into my life. How's your Book of Mormon reading going? Also, I hit sixteen months yesterday which is completely crazy. I can't believe that Christmas is next week! I am so excited to skype y'all!!! You all mean the world to me. Love you!! Have a happy safe week! 

Love,

 Sister Peterson 

SHOUT-OUTS!

Happy birthday to my main girl, Nicki! Okay I just have to say... I dunno bout you but I'm feelin twenty twwoooooooo! When did we get so old?! I am so grateful that I have you in my life and I hope that you had a wonderful day! I love you!! 

Happy birthday to mama fresh on Friday! You are one of the coolest moms ever! Thanks for always being there for me :)

#Bethlehem

Hey everyone! How was your week? Getting in the holiday spirit?! 

Mine week was pretty great! Let's see...

Transfers were Tuesday. My trainer, Sister Mangisi went home. That was hard to say bye because she has become a really close friend and I love her a lot! But I'm excited for this new chapter in her life! 

We had zone training on Friday where we received "He is the Gift" pass along cards which y'all should have in your December issue of the Ensign so look out for those! And pass them out too, that would be great! People need to be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas and that Christ was the first gift that our loving Father in Heaven gave to the world. 

The ward Christmas party was on Saturday. The theme was A Night in Bethlehem so they had all of these food booths set up that we had to pay for with our gold coins and we sat on the floor so it felt like we were outside and they put on a program about Christ's birth.

This brother in our ward invited his boss and her family who invited other families so there were about fifteen or so non-members there which was awesome!! Sister Stock and I tied Joy to the World DVDs to BofMs to give out as gifts and two of the people took them. One of the guys that we talked to for awhile told us that he's divorced and his two sons from his first marriage just got baptized into our church. That was pretty cool! He said that he would read the BofM and go from there. It was neat because he said that it would give him something to talk to his sons about. K also came with her two daughters! YAYY! 

The First Presidency Christmas Devotional was amazing! I really enjoyed all of the talks especially Elder D. Todd Christofferson's about how all of our experiences will be for our good because I wrote about that in my email last week. Its like I knew! I just love this time of year because people seem to be a little bit kinder and are more willing to listen to us testify of Jesus Christ.

I am incredibly grateful that my brother, Jesus Christ came to earth for me personally. I know that He knows exactly what I am going through and because I know that, I know that He walks side by side with me at all times. I love Him! 

I also got a letter from my mission president saying that I am one of the most senior missionaries in the mission now and I got that "finishers wanted" talk by President Monson. Soooo that was weird. Trying to ignore that... haha. 

Love y'all! Talk to you next week :)

 Sister Peterson 

For Our Good

I'm so happy to hear that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I did too! We went to like five different member's houses to visit and eat (confessions of a foodaholic). And we watched Frozen which was a cute movie!

So we taught S twice last week and that went very well! He is so excited for his baptism in January! He left for Utah this morning so we had to say goodbye to him last night and that was not fun!! He has become such a good friend and I am grateful that I had the privilege of teaching him. He wanted our emails so that he could send us pictures of his baptism. Literally can't wait to get those!!

We volunteered at the soup kitchen again. We drove down with Jackie and her mom and that was super fun! I love being able to serve others who are less fortunate then us.

This is a cool story! So a little background information first. So Sister Stock has been super sick since Friday morning so we have been in since then #cabinfever so I have been going slightly crazy (well we both have but I won't tell you about that haha its pretty embarrassing) But anyways, so we get a call from our bishop and he tells us that a mom and daughter just randomly walked into church and he gave us their number, we called them and have an appointment set up for Wednesday and the mom sounded really excited! The cool part about this is that a family who lived in the ward nine months ago invited the daughter to last year's trunk or treat but she didn't go and now nine months later they just walk into church! That is just a testimony to me that its so important that we invite people to activities even if they don't come because you never know the impact that it can have on them. Pray that our appointment goes well!!

Transfers are tomorrow and I'm staying in Meridian with Sister Stock for six more weeks. I am really excited because she is awesome and this is a great area!

I am so grateful for this opportunity that I have been given to serve my Father in Heaven and the people of Colorado. It has been a huge blessing to me. I know that this Gospel is true and that through it people can change and become better. I know that I have changed and become better because of it. I know that Jesus Christ knows exactly what I am going through because He went through it first. I know that we are given trials for our benefit, learning and growth and that they will be for our good. (D&C 122:7). I know that God loves me and that He loves every one of you. Let Him in and let him change you! Also, check out christmas.mormon.org!!

Love you all! Have a great week!

Sister Peterson

Have an Attitude of Gratitude-President Monson

Hi everyone! How was your week? My week was pretty great! Here are some updates:

We are still teaching S! He is getting baptized in January in Utah where his parents live. The other day he told us that he wants to serve a mission!!! We basically freaked out, we were so happy! He will be 26 when we leaves but that doesn't stop him from doing what God wants him to do. He's way cool and we have been over to teach him almost every day.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING on Thursday! I am so excited to eat. I think I remember saying something about stretchy pants last year? Yeah, that happened... but seriously though I will be wearing a stretchy skirt because we've been invited to four different houses. Kind of excited about it, haha. So we can watch one PG or G rated movie so we're going to watch Frozen because Sister Stock is obsessed with it and I've never seen it. So I might just become cool now that I've seen Frozen even though its sooooo last year. I am so eternally grateful for all the people that are in my life. You have all impacted my life in different ways and you mean so much to me. I feel so blessed. I have had a wonderful life and its because you are in my life. I'm grateful for my loving parents who raised me to be a true disciple of Christ. You have given me everything that I could ever want in life and have sacrificed so much for me. I love all five of my sisters so much. I am so happy that we are all so close (even though some of you are better at writing me then others! Just sayin..) I wouldn't trade our memories together for anything! Words can't really express how thankful I am for all of you. But you know that I love you! I have the best family in the world. Its fine to be jealous :)

What are you grateful for? I have been writing in a gratitude journal and that has helped me to remember the things that I am blessed with. Heavenly Father has literally gave me everything that I have. We need to be showing our gratitude daily. 

Happy birthday on Friday, Leah!! Can't believe you're two...like seriously. That's crazy. Whatta big girl. Auntie misses you sooo much!! Give her squishes for me! 

Remember all of the many blessings that you receive daily!  I love you! Talk to you next week! Have a happy thanksgiving!!

xoxo

Sister Peterson 

By the way, I was literally in heaven holding those kittens. Does anyone want one? This family is giving them away for free! There's like a million of them running around. So presh.

The Mini Mission

The mission tour with Elder Baxter was great! He talked about how we need to start with the end in mind. He said that when we need to make sure that we are secure in the gospel before we can help someone else out. It was very inspiring and made me want to be better. 

We helped volunteer at a soup kitchen on Wednesday which was a ton of fun! I was on slop duty and trays of nasty food were flying everywhere. You can imagine that now haha. It was worth it! I was able to share the gospel with the girl that was doing the job with me so that was neat! So funny story...this old guy that was helping out turned to me and said

 "Are you a nurse?"

"no"

"well you have a face to be a nurse (what does that mean?!). Do you ever just look at yourself in the mirror and think I am beautiful?"

"No, not really"

....yeah, so that was more on the strange side of things as far as every day conversations go but that's just the mish life for ya haha. We are going back the day before Thanksgiving to help out. Which I am excited for because I have really learned how important it is to always be serving others. 

Elizabeth's baptism was so powerful! I was so grateful that I was able to be there. Her mom, S, told me that she is going to get baptized in December so its official!! I'm hoping to get back there for her baptism too! I'm grateful that Sister Brewerton aka Mama Brewerton was willing to drive us to the baptism. She's the best! #cheesecakefactory

We had lessons with J on Friday and Sunday night. On Friday we talked to her about the importance of reading our scriptures. And on Sunday night, we taught her the message of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Although she was baptized four years ago she has forgotten a ton of doctrine so we are reteaching her the lessons. Praying that she will come to church this Sunday! We have another appointment with her on Friday to teach the Plan of Salvation. 

This weekend, Jackie came on a mini mission with us! So, she was with us Friday-Sunday #trio. It was seriously so much fun! We grew really close over the past few days and we were able to help answer questions that she has about the gospel and hopefully helped her out with things. She is a great girl and I just love her so much! 

K came to church again with her daughters! She joined the ward choir and they performed in sacrament meeting yesterday. She told me that she doesn't know when she will get baptized but that she is thinking about it. She's worried about her family because they don't support her at all. 

We are starting to teach a guy named S who is getting re-baptized. He's moving in two weeks though so we will teach him the lessons here and then he will be baptized in his new ward. Its pretty exciting!! 

It was a great week. There are a lot of things going on! Its a good area. This week should be really busy as well which is always super nice. I hope y'all are happy and are making good choices. Remember who you are! Have a fabulous week :)

Talk to you next week! 

Sister Peterson 

#Embark

Hola! 

Its been a crazyyyy uhm I mean busy week! haha its always an adventure on the mish! 

We've been continuing doing role-plays with the ward and that's been going really well. Its nice to have the opportunity to teach the lessons more frequently to improve our teaching skills. 

At Preach my Gospel class on Thursday, one of the youth came up and introduced her friend to us. Her friends name is J and has member boyfriend who is at BYU right now, he leaves on his mission soon. She doesn't want to do the whole party school thing for college so she wants to go to BYU. I told her that's what my mom wanted too so it was cool to have that story to relate to her. She told her friend to convert her so she seems really solid. We are hoping to start teaching her this week!

K came to church again yesterday with her two daughters. We're just waiting for her to take the next step at this point. 

We had zone training on Friday and it was all about loving the people that we teach. They talked about how we really need to be truly loving those whom we teach and serve because they can tell if your love for them is sincere or not. It made me think of ways that I could improve in that aspect and it motivated me to try harder to love those that I teach. Its so crucial that we have charity and love in our hearts for the people that we come in contact with each day. I've been praying for that and have noticed a change in me.

This week is going to be busy! We have the mission tour, an RS activity, role plays, volunteering at a soup kitchen and one of the young women is going on a mini mission with us this weekend! This girl is really struggling so we wanted her to come out with us feel the happiness that sharing the gospel brings. 

Tomorrow we have our mission tour with Elder Baxter from the Seventy. I'm excited to see what he will have to teach us! 

Guess what?! On Saturday, I am going back to my old area, Lone Tree for a baptism! Remember Sarah who got baptized back in August? Well her twelve year old sister has decided to be baptized as well. And then their mom is getting baptized when Sarah is on break from school. I am so stoked to be there for her special day!!!

Love and miss y'all! Have a happy week and remember to share the gospel with someone! 

xoxo

Sister Peterson 

He Hears Me

Hi everyone!

Let's see....

Halloween is just one of the best holidays! We had district meeting where one of the elders dressed up as a ninja. There's always that one...haha. It was a fun day! That morning, we went to the church building to help out with the seminary. carnival. I can't believe that I used to wake up that hideously early for seminary. Props to all you early morning seminary kids! 

So, me and three other sisters were in a fashion shoot this week! Not a big deal or anything haha but really. There's this lady in my ward whose husband is less active and she wanted us to model the clothes for her facebook page. The brand is called LuLaRoe and they are the cutest clothes ever! Basically, I was in heaven! Look up her page! Lularoe by Alecia. I haven't seen all of the pictures yet so I'm scared but there ya go! Also, mom if you want to just give me some money for Christmas I would love to buy her clothes. She gives missionaries a huge discount. Just throwin that idea out there...

So, not sure if I have mentioned this or not but President Rhem changed our key indicators to where we need to be teaching the full 45 minute lesson to count as an "other lesson". So he wants us to role-play the lessons to every family in our wards. It has been going really well so far! We have been able to teach a ton of the families and its great practice for us to practice the lessons. That's been keeping us super busy! 

So about every four months in my mission we have a Work of Salvation Fireside where investigators, recent converts and less actives speak. We asked our recent convert, C to speak and he did such a great job! I loved being there because I love hearing others conversion stories and how the gospel has blessed their lives. Every single one of us has our own story that needs to be shared. The Spirit was very strong. 

As you know yesterday was fast Sunday and I was fasting for a few different things. One was that we would see miracles this transfer mainly involving our investigator, K. So, we're walking into gospel principles and she is sitting there!!! Right then and there, I KNEW that Heavenly Father had answered mt prayers and fast. She stayed all three hours and she actually opened up to me a lot about her involvement with the church and concerns that she has. She loves reading the scriptures and has her own quad! How legit is that? Her daughters come with her and love going to primary. Her husband is the main thing that is holding her back. So, we are praying for his heart to be softened. That experience was just a testimony to me that Heavenly Father listens to me and will always answer me, maybe not in the way that I want but I KNOW that He is there. 

Shout-outs! 

Happy 22nd birthday, Ally b! I hope that b.k. made it a really special day for you ;) I miss knockin doors with you all day errey day ya chump! 

Happy 23rd birthday, Meggy! Girl you know that I would give you a shout out. I love you!!!

Crystal, happy birthday on Sunday! I won't reveal your age....haha. I hope that you have a fabulous day, miss you, sister! 

Matt and Casey, Ahhh I am so happy that you are getting sealed in the temple on Friday. I wish I could be there but I don't think that Pres. Rhem would approve but just know that I will be there in spirit! I'll be thinking of you two! Y'all are so precious and I am so happy for your little family. I know that your Father in Heaven is so proud of the decisions that you've made in your life that has led you both to this point. He loves you and wants you to be a forever family. I love your family!! 

That's about it for me. Talk to y'all next week!!! Choose the right, yo! 

xoxo

Sister Peterson