Guided Safely Home

Hey y'all!! :)

This week was been super busy and exhausting... pretty sure I say this every week but yeah... its the truth! We have been preparing for C and A's baptism on Saturday and almost have the programs done! So we will be running around like crazy this week preparing for that. We are so excited for them to make these covenants with their Heavenly Father. They were so prepared and it just goes to show that timing is everything! 

Welllll the ward caught us and had Sister Bush and I both speak in church yesterday. It went super well! I spoke on President Monson's talk "Guided Safely Home" that he gave in the Priesthood session last October. It talked about how we need to not let our personal rudders get jammed. So I gave some examples on things that jam our rudders and then things that un-jam them. I talked about how pride, sin, discouragement, not going to church, not reading your scriptures and now praying can all jam your rudder. Now the way to un-jam your rudders is to have faith, go to church, read your scriptures, pray daily, follow promptings from the holy ghost, and doing missionary work (my personal fave. whaddup!). There are a ton of things that we can do to un-jam our rudders but its our choice whether or not we will allow those distractions into our lives or not. We can all choose to follow God or not and we have been given the map to get back home. That's what its all about.. going home back to our Heavenly Father. We have the responsibility to share that knowledge with those that don't know. It will change their lives. 

This week will be really busy with appointments, the baptism, specialized training on Wednesday and getting everything ready so bring it on! Serving a mission has helped me to know that I CAN do hard things with the Lord's help. He has blessed me so much in my life and has given me the strength that I need. I have literally felt Him carrying me through some of the toughest days of like ever and has lifted me up to higher grounds. God is our loving Father in Heaven and Jesus is our savior and elder brother. They love us more then we can comprehend and that love is worth all of the hardships that you may go through. That love can carry your through the darkest times and can help you to know that you are sons and daughters of the Almighty. When you have that knowledge you will act accordingly. I also started over on the Book of Mormon again! I love this gospel and I love all of you so much. I believe that I have the best family in the world (because its the truth!) Stay strong and keep going. You can do hard things!! Have a great week and I will talk to you next week! 

XOXO

Sister Peterson 

Pictures:

selfie with sweetpea, A's dog

Totally burned a shirt for my eighteen month mark... good times!

Eighteen Months!

Hey everyone!!

I had a great week. Very very busy which is like basically celestial for missionaries. Also, celestial is a great word. Use it. It will change your life.

C is still planning to get baptized on the twenty first  so we have been seeing her every day and helping her prepare for that. She has cut down a ton on smoking! She told us yesterday that she was fasting (her choice, we didn't tell her to) to help her to quit smoking. Its amazing to see how much faith she has. She's had a really rough life and it just goes to show that the gospel is really for EVERYONE and that the gospel does change lives. Miracle! A said that she wants to get baptized with her mom now! We were like kind of shocked when she told us because lately she has been pulling back from the church but she's really started to realize that the gospel makes you the happiest that you can be. Still waiting on T to see what he decides to do but we think that he will be baptized too! The gospel is all about the family so why not make it a family day?! They really are so great and I am so blessed to have met them.

Saturday is my eighteen month mark and something else is that day too but I can't seem to remember it right now.. oh well! I can't even believe that I am hitting eighteen months!! It almost feels surreal. I have been reflecting on my mission lately and thinking about everything that I have done. I know that I am a better person, disciple of Christ, missionary because of all of the experiences that I've had. Its been an amazing ride and I am glad that I still have time! Its been busyyyy with the member lessons and we got twenty one 45 minute preach my gospel lessons this week! (the goal is twenty other lessons each week and we finally accomplished that goal! plus one!) WINNING. And our zone leaders in zone training on Friday might have asked us how for tips for the other missionaries to learn from. That's what's up! The mission is great. Life is good.

Y'all are great! Keep the faith and help someone out in need this week! Sorry there are no pictures. I have been slacking with taking them lately:(

XOXO,

Sister Peterson

A family that prays together stays together

Hey everyone! My week was super great. I really love it here! The people, the area, my companion.. its pretty perfect!

C is still working on quitting smoking but its been A TON better. Last week, she texted us and asked us to teach her about family home evening so we went over that night and told her what it was and then had fhe with her family. A picked "I love to see the temple" for the opening hymn. So Sister Bush, me, T and A sang it together and the spirit was so strong! It was a really neat experience to have with them. And the rest of fhe was great as well, we talked about the Book of Mormon and how important it is. And they all came to church yesterday!!! WINNING! Its amazing to see how the spirit works in people's lives and to see the change in them in just a few short weeks. We are praying that T and A will get baptized on the same day as C so that they can do it together as a family. I love them so much and want this happiness for them!

Between seeing C basically every day and teaching the member lessons, we have been super busy. So, yes still tired all the time but loving what I'm doing! We have been teaching a less active girl whose our age the lessons and those have been going really well. When we recited the first vision to her she said that she felt the spirit for the first time in years. That's just a testimony to me that these things are true! We went on exchanges with the stls on Saturday and I went to Monte Vista which is a retro sketchy little town. So that was fun! I really love it down here in the Valley. The people are so humble here and treat us like family. I am kind of sad that I know that I will only have one transfer here but I am making the most of it! I totally want to come back and visit in July because they go all out for pioneer days!

We had interviews with President Rehm on Wednesday and of course he talked to me about going home and finishing strong. I really am committed to giving it my all these next few weeks. I know that Heavenly Father is pleased with my efforts and I am grateful for the time that I have had to serve him. Also, you should check out the new Mormon Message just cause they rock. I shared my testimony yesterday in fast and testimony meeting since its my last one on the mission and I talked about how much this gospel means to me and how it has changed me. I'm blessed to have the opportunity to serve a mission and to see how much Heavenly Father and my Savior love me. Its changed my life.

Well family, I gotta run now but I love and miss y'all! Try to stay warm and not get snowed on! (I guess for Ami this means try not to get burnt hmmm)

xoxo

Sister Peterson  (meooo000oowwwwww)

Miracles Never Cease

HI!!!

Its been a busy, awesome week!! I am so tired so hopefully this makes sense. Just sayin...

First things first.. C, our investigator has a BAPTISMAL DATE!! Its for February 21st! We had a lesson with her on Tuesday and were talking about baptism and seeing where she's at with that and she was like "yeah, I'm ready" so we were like okay let's set a date because we know that you can do quit smoking by then and Heavenly Father always blesses us when we act and put forth some effort. So she looked at her calendar and said February 21st looks good to me and we all felt like that was right. We have seen her practically every day since then and talk to her about her baptism and she is still good for that. And yesterday her, A, T and N (T's friend) all came to church!! Its crazy because it always seems like bad things happen whenever your investigators are trying to get to church because she said that she woke up with a migraine, had a flat tire and fought with her son that morning but they all still came to church. She said that she would walk to church if she had to. SOLID right? She is so great and just such a good person. Sister Bush and I are lucky to know her! So we are REALLY excited for her baptism in a few weeks. So please pray that she will have the strength to quit smoking and work out some other things in her life. We gave her the 12 step program so she has been reading that and then on Sunday she is getting some medicine that can help her quit so she wanted to give that a few weeks to kick in I guess. Its amazing to be able to witness the change in people when they know that this is what true and what God wants for them in their lives.

I, who I mentioned last week that we are trying to work with bailed on us last week so we were waiting for him for like forty minutes trapped in this old ladies house, that was interesting. I find myself having so many stories where I say "only on the mission..." haha too true. So we are going to see him this week to see what's up. We do have a new investigator named B! He's a Hispanic guy that's like in his sixties or seventies. Who apparently thinks that we're dating and calls me dimples? Yeahhh.. its weird but once again only on the mission! He lives by himself in a tiny little trailer in a field. He is progressing though! So far we have given him a restoration and plan of salvation pamphlet and he has read both! We also gave him a Book of Mormon and in like three or four days he was at the part where Nephi slayed Laban and went back to his family with the gold plates. So that's pretty impressive. We go and see him a few times a week and we all have a feeling that he will be converted without even knowing it and will join the church.

We have been so incredibly busy this week so that means that we are so incredibly tired but in the happiest way possible! We've had back to back appointments all day every day with our investigators, service and teaching the active family missionary lessons. Its a blessing to serve others and be apart of their conversion process whether they are members or not. We all need to continually be converting ourselves over and over gain to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God and Jesus Christ live and they love us! And that should give us the motivation to keep going even when its hard because we are all made of the divine, strong stuff.

I love and miss you all so much!! I hope that you have a great week! Make good choices!!

Sister Peterson 

So the first picture is of the cute yellow house that we live in and the second picture is in a town near us called Antonito and apparently this guy made his house completely out of trash. Pretty sweet!

Welcome to Manassa

Hey y'all!!

Well I finally made it to the Valley safely on Wednesday afternoon. We had transfer meeting on Tuesday but then we stayed the night in the Springs with some sisters because it was storming and the roads were terrible. The La Vida pass that you have to take to get to the valley was iced over and some elders flipped their car because they tried to head back on Tuesday night but we were like oh heck no! They are fine though!

So we headed for Manassa on Wednesday and we had to drive through Pueblo so we decided to make a pit stop to see Amber and the Williams which was so fun! I love them so much!! It was so weird being back in Pueblo with Sister Bush since its been almost a year since we served there together. It was funny because we pulled up to the Chick Fil A drive thru and one of our YSA was working, he got a pretty good kick out of that. Everyone is surprised that we are companions again because its pretty rare that that happens (we found out that one of the AP's hooked us up. #winning!) But of course we both know that the Lord needs us here to work together to bring souls closer to Christ.

This area is BOOMING. We have a ton of potentials and we have a few investigators. We are teaching a woman named C who has been taught by missionaries before and has had baptismal dates but couldn't quit smoking. She has three children so we are also teaching her daughter A (12) and her son T (10) when they are around and they are all pretty solid! We had a lesson with C on Saturday night where we read 1st Nephi four with her because she was stuck on the part where Nephi kills Laban (a lot of people get hung up on that fact) and so we read it with her and explained it so now its not an issue for her. Its always cool to see how the spirit works though people and softens their hearts. We invited her to be baptized and she said YES!! But that she knows that she needs to quit smoking first. So we are having a lesson with her on Tuesday night and we are giving her the 12 step program to help her quit. And if she gets baptized then her two children will most likely get baptized as well!!!

We are going to start teaching an investigator named I. this week at a member's home and he seems really solid! So I will keep you posted on that.

This ward is awesome at giving us referrals even though like 90% of the town of like 1,000 people are members of the church because Mormons founded Manassa. But there are still quite a few non-members and less active members that we are working with/trying to work with. We are also teaching a ton of the missionary lessons to members. I feel so blessed to be finishing my mission in this area. Its such a cute little town that is so different from any other areas on my mission but I just already love it here. I will try to send pictures of it next week so that you know what I'm talking about.

I love you all and am so grateful for all that you do! Keep sharing your testimony with others because as you do, it will be strengthened and it will become more natural to talk about the gospel with others. Have a great happy week and I will talk to you later! :)

Sister Peterson

Down to the Valley!

I have news!! So I am getting transferred! I am going to Manassa which is in the San Luis Valley which is like waaaay down south like hours away from the rest of the mission. Also, I was told to bring my wool socks.. uhhhmmm why does that make me want to cry? But on the bright side, I am going to be companions with Sister Bush...AGAIN!! Remember her?? She was my companion in Pueblo almost a year ago! Crazy right?! I legit jumped up and down and screamed so much when I found out who my companion was. She is so great and I am so excited for her to kill me off (ew.. still weird haha). I am really sad to be leaving Meridian but I know that the Lord needs me in Manassa. Saturday night when we got the call that we would both be leaving we were so bummed but it was only until today when I found out where I was going and who I was going to be companions with did it make sense. Sister Stock and I were both wondering why we were getting flushed and where we would go. I didn't understand especially since its my last transfer, I was so confused why I would leave. But obviously just like other times in my life, the Lord knows best and He never lets me down. Even when I can't see the full picutre, He does and I have faith that He will always do whats best for me. I am really excited for this transfer and what it has in store for me. I can't believe that its my last transfer but that just motivates me to soak up the time that I have as a missionary and to finish strong! 

Yesterday in church I gave a talk on faith (just preppin', dad!) . I read the story in Mark where a father takes his son to Jesus to heal him. Here's the story:

17 And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;

 18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.

 19 He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.

 20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.

 21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.

 22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.

 23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things arepossible to him that believeth.

 24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

I LOVE the last verse where the man cries out for the Lord to his unbelief. I know that I said that to the Lord before my mission but especially while on my mission. There our times where I need the Lord to help my unbelief and I know that every time I ask him to, he does help me. We need to be willing to humble ourselves enough to ask for his help. We don't need to have perfect faith but we do need to be willing to exercise and grow our faith every day. 

I have faith that Manassa is where I need to be right now and that the Lord has people that are prepared for me. I hope that you have a great week and stay warm (I'll try to do the same!) I love you!!

xoxo

Sister Peterson 

my new address:

P.O. box 601 

Manassa, CO 81141

pictures: 

Saying bye to Cheryl and her daughter Chloe

FREEZING COLORADO 

#Embark

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 2015 is going to be a great year!! I hope that you all made goals and plans for this year to come closer to Christ. 

My week was pretty good, we have been doing a ton of preach my gospel role plays with the families in the ward. It has been going really well and has kept us really busy! We also have quite a few potential investigators and a few less actives that we are trying to work with. I swear that the mission is like being in the FBI sometimes with tracking people down. People like to hide from us but we always find them. Missionaries are also professional stalkers in case you didn't know. 

This is really sad but kind of funny? Sister Stock managed to fall down the stairs while spilling hot chocolate all over herself. She's really graceful...poor girl. Soooo that happened. I told her that I was mentioning this in my email and she's fine with it. She will probably kill me later. 

The Dalton's took us to Tucanos for dinner on Friday night and it was my first time going! If you are a meat lover, you need to go there because that's all they serve. I got a death by chocolate dessert. Super delish. I also ate a chicken heart. Not delish. More like chewy and gross. It was like I was having a foreign mission experience for a minute. God bless America! I love the family that we live with. They are so celestial! Especially the daughter, Gracie, she is so cute and has become another little sister to me :) (I told her that I would give her a shout out!)

I was on lds.org the other day and stumbled across this video. Actually, it was on the home page but whatever. Its the 2015 youth theme and its all about service! The scripture this year is D&C 4:2. I just really love this video because its about serving others which is a huge thing skill that I have learned on the mission and its a blessing being able to serve others. I might have cried while watching this.. I was just really feeling the spirit ya know?! 

https://www.lds.org/church/news/new-2015-mutual-theme-songs-videos-encourage-youth-to-serve?cid=HPMO122914592&lang=eng

Transfers are next week. Sooooooooo weird. We will find out if we are leaving on Saturday night when they make phone calls. I will keep you posted about that next week! 

Happy birthday to Jared last week!! Hope it was great! :)

Love youuuuu! Have a wonderful week and share the gospel!!

xoxo

Sister Peterson