Lord, Save Me!

Hello Hello!

What an AWESOME week! i love Ralston, i love the Trail Center, i love life! (Mr Scrooge, anyone?). I am so grateful to be serving the Lord. It amazes me each day how He makes it seem like I am serving Him, but really, I am receiving all the blessings. it doesn’t make sense. We have a loving Heavenly Father, and His love is so overwhelming! i can’t get enough of it.

This past sunday was a miracle. Since i was transferred into a new zone, i was able to participate in the last summer concert that the missionaries put on! i feel so blessed to have been able to be a part of two of them. I was asked to sing a song written by one of my best friends in the mission, Sister Brough. the song was called "Lord, Save Me". The back story to the song is that she has had this tune in her head for several years now, but has never been able to put words to it. well, when she came on her mission (she came out with me) she had an experience looking at the paintings (the one's at Oakland now!), specifically when she saw the painting of Peter in the water with Christ lifting him up. she related his faith to a pioneer ancestor of hers, who left her food on the table and joined the saints, backed up by the most beautiful tune. i wanted to type out the words for you, because i think they are so powerful:

Peter walked on the water

Every step towards the Savior

Doubting, sinking, he is calling

Reaching out he cries

Lord save me, Lord save me

Chorus:

Help thou my unbelief

Till I believe, I'll walk across the water

till i know my faith hath made me whole
till i know i am my fathers daughter
the miracles that have not ceased

in every step i walk till i believe

1000 Miles they walked

trusting in their God

Left in sleeping, she is pleading,

Leaving now, she cries

Lord save me, Lord save me

-Chorus-

Heaven has not left us
we all can feel him there
to Him we are no different

Crying out to him in prayer

I will send you the video of me singing it so you can hear the tune, but i absolutely feel so privileged that she asked me to sing it. I had an INCREDIBLE experience while doing so:

I was on the stage singing, when i saw a man walk through the back doors of the cultural hall. I thought i recognized him, but obviously i couldn’t really tell because the lights were so bright. Right when i saw him, the spirit literally enveloped me, and i really felt like i was surrounded by my ancestors. i can’t describe it in words, but i will never forget it.

after the concert, i went looking for the man that i saw while singing. I found him, and literally almost cried when i realized who it was. It was Brian. Brian is the man who sister whittaker and i tracted into (the one who, when we knocked on his door said, "Jesus Christ? come on in!). Brian is the one who, when i was singing in the Rockbrook ward, i noticed him in the congregation. Sister Tulley and i started teaching him, and i don’t know what it was, but he and i had such a strong spiritual connection. once i got transferred, i never heard about him so i thought he had been forgotten.

This is what Brian told me when i saw him at the concert. he said "that week that i came to church, i prayed to God asking Him to send me a sign so that i would know i was supposed to be there. When i got there, i saw you standing at the pulpit singing and i took that as my sign. Tonight, i didnt really want to come to this because i dont know anyone, but i knew i needed to come. I asked God to give me another sign, and right when i walked in i heard your voice and knew, once again, i needed to be here."

?!?!?!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 i almost jumped up and down (well, i probably did now thinking about it haha) and started rambling and talking way too fast on how he needed to keep going to church and get baptized and how there are NO coincidences and how i was supposed to sing tonight and how he needed to be there and so on haha. i am sure he thought i was crazy. BUT. let me tell you. there is NO DOUBT in my mind that the Lord is aware of Brian. absolutely no doubt. i also know that there are NO such things as coincidences. The Lord had every single thing planned out so that this miracle could occur. ah. i love being a missionary! and i am SO blessed to be able to literally see how the Lord was answering other peoples prayers through me. it is so humbling. and so amazing.

Ok. woah. that took a long time to write out haha. that was just so incredible i needed to tell every detail. but that wasnt the only miracle that happened this week!

we found an AWESOME new investigator this week named Angela. She just moved in with a member of our ward. She is SO amazing and has such great potential. Sister Barton and i felt inspired to visit Sister Bedell (member), and when we got there she introduced us to Angela. We had a great lesson with Angela, and she expressed her deep faith in God, and how she needs to find a church. She gladly invited us back over to teach her, and she we will be going there this week! she is so prepared, its incredible, and i cant wait to see where this leads! im thinking baptism. ha.

fun facts:

1. we went out to dinner with a family in our ward, and while we were there, a girl in the booth next to us started choking. the member we were with quickly got up, went and did the hiemlich (sp?) three times on her and saved her life. it was awesome. ha. … and definitely ruined my appetite! :)

2. i got over my fear of snakes this week! a less active couple we have been visiting has over 160 snakes IN THEIR HOUSE. they are in cages, BUT STILL. i held three of them, which each of them were over 6 feet long and have the thickness of a fist. it was awesome. check off the bucket list.

i am so happy. i love the gospel of Jesus Christ. i love how it is fall here. I love serving Heavenly father each day. I love that we pray over 50 times a day. i love being a missionary. so much.

All my love,

Sister Peterson