Feast Upon the Scriptures!

Hello from freezing Omaha!

haha doesn't it seem like i was just saying that it was cold outside?? it's that time of year again! i whipped out my Nebraska coat yesterday, and am loving it. It is beautiful in Nebraska right now. But what did i expect, serving in Zion. ha.

Where to begin. it was a week of miracles, and so many uplifting experiences. Sometimes i think i can't take in any more spirituality or i might explode! ha it reminds me of (apostate, sorry) Alladin when the parrot is stuffing all of the crackers into the Sultan's mouth...? haha. maybe i'm the only one who will get that. oh well.

anyway! :)

Fun Facts of the week:

1. i ate venison lasagna at a members home this week. that was a first. haha. it was surprisingly really good!

2. there is a part member couple in our ward who we spend a lot of time with named the Witty's. We had dinner and FHE over at their house last night, and we taught Jason (non-member) about the "armor of God". See attached photos. he loved it.

3. A less active we re activated named Karla called us last week pretty late at night. initially i was nervous as to why she would be calling, but to our delight and surprise she called to tell us she had just had an interview with the Bishop, and she now holds a temple recommend (baptisms) and is getting her patriarchal blessing!! she invited us to attend her blessing, which is so sweet. ah. it was a happy moment. the gospel of Jesus Christ changes lives.

We went on exchanges on wednesday of this week, so sister Hamilton came to Ralston with me! it was INCREDIBLE. i love exchanges. we saw countless amount of miracles... for example:

-  Part A: we had an appointment with a part member family, but when we got there they were not there. super bummed. but sister Hamilton and i knew that we had planned with the spirit, and so the Lord needed us there for some reason. we decided to walk up the street, and we met this man named Michael. he actually stopped US (which is a miracle!) and said "hey, who are you girls?" we quickly told him who we were and he says "oh, i totally could tell. i grew up mormon, my parents are still mormon, i was sealed to my parents, i even had a mission call!" sister Hamilton and i were blown away. he was SO awesome. he has not been active for many years, and was really hesitant about letting us come back... but right as we were praying with him, his wife pulls up! she is the cutest thing, not a member, and invited us right in to her home. We had an amazing lesson with them and they invited us back for saturday. the Lord truly places in our path those who are prepared. As we were leaving, Michael kept saying "you know, i dont think it was a coincidence that we met today"... haha! none whatsoever.

Part B: Michael and his wife cancelled on us at the last minute before saturday, and then we received a text from them last night saying "they arent ready for us to come over, but they will call in the future when it is the right time". it broke my heart. but you know, the greatest gift we have is agency, and i know that even just running into Michael has reminded him of his past and has "renewed" his desire to come back to church.

- We had the opportunity while on exchanges to teach the activity day girls in our ward! it was SO fun... i love teaching young kids. it was amazing too, because one of the little girls was not a member. so, the activity day leader, Sister Hulon (who is AMAZING) totally changed her plans for the day and turned it into a first discussion! ha so we got to teach the restoration to these young girls. i was blown away by their testimonies and faith, and hearing them bear their testimonies to this non-member girl was priceless. I now understand a little bit better why the Lord tells us to "become as little children".

i love being a missionary. ah.

yesterday we visited a less active family, the Mcbride's. they are so awesome, and i love them so much. we see them weekly, and they have such strong testimonies.. but one thing or another keeps them from coming to church. when we visited them yesterday, the daughter Laura said, "you are so lucky that all you get to do all day is make people happy!" it was so sweet to hear that from her, and i truly am so grateful that sharing the gospel is all i get to do all day! i have the best job. ever.

Later in the day (yesterday) Sister Barton and i prayed and felt like we needed to visit a less active family in our ward who we had not met. the timing was perfect (as always... and it always amazes me!) because right as we got there the mother pulled up. She let us in, called her three kids into the living room, and had them listen to us while she left haha. but it was one of the sweetest experiences of my mission. The kids are 16, 14, and 12, and they really know nothing about the gospel. Sister Barton and i were able to teach them about the Restoration (which, once again, is my favorite to teach with younger kids!). The spirit was SO strong as they sat there and listened so intently. After telling them about the first vision, i asked them what they thought, and how that would make them feel if they had that experience. They all responded that it would be "crazy" or that they would be "freaked out" haha. but then i was able to bear testimony to them that THEY (because they have all been baptized) belonged to Christ's church! how out of everyone in the world, THEY were a part of the true church of Christ! as i said that, they all looked at each other and they got SO excited. they kept saying things like "wait...REALLY? oh my gosh!!! that is SO cool!" it was PRICELESS to see the joy of the gospel brought into their hearts. i have never seen anyone get so excited about being a member of the church.... and it made me have an even greater desire to show how HAPPY and BLESSED we are!!! this is CHRIST'S CHURCH!

We had stake conference this weekend, and something really stuck out to me:

Who are we to judge who is ready to hear the gospel?

i hope that as we all try and share the good news with our loved ones and friends, that we have FAITH not fear to open our mouths!

Trust in the Lord. Doubt not, fear not.

Our stake president said:

" Let's keep the missionaries busy, so they aren't busy finding OUR friends!"

i loved that.

i love you all! the church is true. i could cry i love the gospel so much. i have fallen in love with the word of God. Moroni - my hero right now. hungry? go feast on the scriptures. i promise it will fill you right up.

love you!

Sister Peterson