Family!
My P day got switched to Friday this week, so i hope you were not worrying about me since i didnt write! I am doing SO well. Seriously, i love this. It is probably the hardest thing i have done, but in the best way possible! Thank you Thank you Thank you for all of the love and support! I can seriously feel your prayers, so keep them up! i need them :) Thank you to everyone who sent me packages this week (Mom, Penny/Renee, Grandma!). They made my day. You are all so good to me, I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends and family! Thank you for the letters as well. It is so wonderful to hear from everyone, and i am glad that all is well at home!
Please tell Katie Hagen/Karen/Travis and Bailey congrats on their weddings/engagements! That makes me smile. Especially Katie. I love that girl and am so happy for her.
Grandpa Rex - thank you for your sweet e-mail. I loved reading your wise counsel, and words. You are so wonderful and i love you so much.
Anne- So proud of you for trying out for chambers. You are amazing. I love you so much.
Dad, way to be an amazing missionary! I have learned since being here that being BOLD is the way to go, so i was so happy to see your response to that talk station! You are such a great example to me.
Mom- Your package made my day. Seriously, you are too cute. Sis. Pettyjohn LOVED her little gift as well. It made me cry because she was so happy haha. i love you and miss you every day.
Matt,Min,Spen,Mcken,Clark and Ellee - I love you all so much. Thank you for your prayers - i can feel them. I showed my district pics of all the sibs this week and they kept saying how good looking our family is. Yep. We are. Love you all and am so grateful for each of you.
So Where do i begin??! This week has seemed to FLY by, but so much has happened as well! This week I learned so much. We focus so much time on the Doctrine of Christ, which sometimes seems repetitive but i have learned that i have so much to learn still! As missionaries we focus on our purpose, which is to Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, Baptism, receiving the holy ghost and enduring to the end. Everything that we do revolves around this. It is amazing.
This past week, and why my schedule was changed was because i started my visitor center training! On wednesday, we went up to salt lake and got to be visitors at the visitor center and just walk around. It was so fun to get out of the Mtc haha and also go to a place that i love! The spirit is so strong there and it really got me pumped up to be a visitor center sister. One thing that i have learned is that being a visitor center sister is NOT easy! haha the stereotype of pointing to pictures and looking cute is just the beginning! hahaha. But in all seriousness, we have such an amazing privilege and responsibility as sisters in visitor centers. We are the FACE of the church - the church set up visitor centers so that people all around the world would be able to get a good image of the church. We are also the VOICE of the church - visitor centers were established so that the doctrine would be the same through out the world. What an amazing responsibility! We learned in our training this week that visitor center sisters are picked by the general authorities "because of the burning conviction and testimony of this gospel seen in their eyes". MAN! I feel so lucky to be here, and to be able to represent the church in such a unique way. I feel so inadequate to do so, but at the same time know the Lord called me and so i CAN DO IT!
Something so cool that we got to learn the past few days was about mormon.org chat. Ok, this is awesome. So if someone goes onto mormon.org they have the opportunity to talk to a missionary online through chat. And guess who those missionaries are?! visitor center sisters! the past two days i have been online chatting with real people who have real problems, and turn to the church/online to find help! it is AMAZING. Yesterday i was online teaching a lady named Anne (anne, i obviously thought of you the whole time) who lives in Brazil. She talked about how she is having a really difficult time right now and doesnt know if God loves her. I was able to teach her that we are each children of God, and that He DOES love her! I committed her to read the book of mormon online, and we will be sending the missionaries to her house! We will be following up with her tomorrow. Man. THE CHURCH IS TRUE! what other church is able to do missionary work over the internet, face to face, and through visitor centers??? seriously. i love this.
One day this week sister Pettyjohn had a rough night and broke down saying she wanted to go home and yatta yatta. It's happened before so i kind of knew how to comfort her, but still it was difficult. I, through the Lord's help and grace, was able to help me comfort her and get her excited again to be here. After our conversation, i went into the bathroom to pray for strength, patience, and love. Literally right as i said amen, INSTANTLY the song lyrics "fear not i am with thee, oh be not afraid. for I am thy GOD and will still give thee aid. Ill strengthen thee, help thee and cause thee to stand" came into my mind and heart. Never have i felt and literally heard the voice of God so instantly and clearly in my mind. The Lord is so good to me, and I feel His comfort every second of the day. The church is true. And if anything, PRAYER IS REAL.
One more cool experience i had this week. So, i have been worrying about teaching through the spirit. I think i have gotten so used to feeling the spirit since being here because it is always around! But i really have been praying to feel the spirit and know that it is the spirit when teaching. In answer to my prayers, we listened to a talk given by elder Bednar that basically called me to repentance AGAIN by saying that if you are wondering about whether or not you are teaching by the spirit, QUIT WORRYING ABOUT IT. if you are living a life that God would be happy with, then it will be the spirit that is prompting you to do good things. Man. he knows how to just say it! that was such a comfort. Right after this, i was able to teach my old home teacher Cade, who is also an MTC teacher. That in itself was an amazing tender mercy. Never before had i gotten emotional while teaching a lesson, but the Lord really blessed me with His spirit and i was able to completely teach Cade by the spirit. It was an amazing experience.
Ok i am almost out of time, i wish i could tell you everything! I am so incredibly grateful for this gospel. it makes me so happy. I want to shout at the top of my lungs that this work is the LORD'S work. there is no doubt in my mind. I see miracles EVERY day. I cannot wait to be in nebraska this week!! I found out through my new MTC teacher (side comment: That is awesome you found that connection with brother Yeck! he is the man. It was the hardest goodbye to my teachers this week. they, especially sister knowlton, have been my angels in the MTC) that at Winter Quarters i will get to be in the Visitors Center EVERY DAY OF MY MISSION! I am sure there will be more details to come, but basically she said that 9-3 is VC and 3-9 is proselyting or vice versa! Also, while at the VC i get to chat online on mormon.org! AHHH i am SO EXCITED.
The church is TRUE... haha how many times have i said that in this e-mail?! But i will say it again. This is the true church on the earth. We are SO blessed to be a part of it. Keep being missionaries and good examples back home, i am so proud of you.
love you all.
Let's Do this!
Sister Peterson
PS. I GET TO CALL HOME ON WEDNESDAY!!!!!!! Be waiting by the phone all morning because i am not sure what time i will get to call! I am sorry i wish i had more details, but i will get to call at the airport on my way to nebraska! i get to nebraska at around 2 i think, so expect a call anytime before then. Sorry this is so vague. but seriously i cant wait to hear your voices! anne, you should probably be sick that day...k? haha love you!
My P day got switched to Friday this week, so i hope you were not worrying about me since i didnt write! I am doing SO well. Seriously, i love this. It is probably the hardest thing i have done, but in the best way possible! Thank you Thank you Thank you for all of the love and support! I can seriously feel your prayers, so keep them up! i need them :) Thank you to everyone who sent me packages this week (Mom, Penny/Renee, Grandma!). They made my day. You are all so good to me, I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends and family! Thank you for the letters as well. It is so wonderful to hear from everyone, and i am glad that all is well at home!
Please tell Katie Hagen/Karen/Travis and Bailey congrats on their weddings/engagements! That makes me smile. Especially Katie. I love that girl and am so happy for her.
Grandpa Rex - thank you for your sweet e-mail. I loved reading your wise counsel, and words. You are so wonderful and i love you so much.
Anne- So proud of you for trying out for chambers. You are amazing. I love you so much.
Dad, way to be an amazing missionary! I have learned since being here that being BOLD is the way to go, so i was so happy to see your response to that talk station! You are such a great example to me.
Mom- Your package made my day. Seriously, you are too cute. Sis. Pettyjohn LOVED her little gift as well. It made me cry because she was so happy haha. i love you and miss you every day.
Matt,Min,Spen,Mcken,Clark and Ellee - I love you all so much. Thank you for your prayers - i can feel them. I showed my district pics of all the sibs this week and they kept saying how good looking our family is. Yep. We are. Love you all and am so grateful for each of you.
So Where do i begin??! This week has seemed to FLY by, but so much has happened as well! This week I learned so much. We focus so much time on the Doctrine of Christ, which sometimes seems repetitive but i have learned that i have so much to learn still! As missionaries we focus on our purpose, which is to Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, Baptism, receiving the holy ghost and enduring to the end. Everything that we do revolves around this. It is amazing.
This past week, and why my schedule was changed was because i started my visitor center training! On wednesday, we went up to salt lake and got to be visitors at the visitor center and just walk around. It was so fun to get out of the Mtc haha and also go to a place that i love! The spirit is so strong there and it really got me pumped up to be a visitor center sister. One thing that i have learned is that being a visitor center sister is NOT easy! haha the stereotype of pointing to pictures and looking cute is just the beginning! hahaha. But in all seriousness, we have such an amazing privilege and responsibility as sisters in visitor centers. We are the FACE of the church - the church set up visitor centers so that people all around the world would be able to get a good image of the church. We are also the VOICE of the church - visitor centers were established so that the doctrine would be the same through out the world. What an amazing responsibility! We learned in our training this week that visitor center sisters are picked by the general authorities "because of the burning conviction and testimony of this gospel seen in their eyes". MAN! I feel so lucky to be here, and to be able to represent the church in such a unique way. I feel so inadequate to do so, but at the same time know the Lord called me and so i CAN DO IT!
Something so cool that we got to learn the past few days was about mormon.org chat. Ok, this is awesome. So if someone goes onto mormon.org they have the opportunity to talk to a missionary online through chat. And guess who those missionaries are?! visitor center sisters! the past two days i have been online chatting with real people who have real problems, and turn to the church/online to find help! it is AMAZING. Yesterday i was online teaching a lady named Anne (anne, i obviously thought of you the whole time) who lives in Brazil. She talked about how she is having a really difficult time right now and doesnt know if God loves her. I was able to teach her that we are each children of God, and that He DOES love her! I committed her to read the book of mormon online, and we will be sending the missionaries to her house! We will be following up with her tomorrow. Man. THE CHURCH IS TRUE! what other church is able to do missionary work over the internet, face to face, and through visitor centers??? seriously. i love this.
One day this week sister Pettyjohn had a rough night and broke down saying she wanted to go home and yatta yatta. It's happened before so i kind of knew how to comfort her, but still it was difficult. I, through the Lord's help and grace, was able to help me comfort her and get her excited again to be here. After our conversation, i went into the bathroom to pray for strength, patience, and love. Literally right as i said amen, INSTANTLY the song lyrics "fear not i am with thee, oh be not afraid. for I am thy GOD and will still give thee aid. Ill strengthen thee, help thee and cause thee to stand" came into my mind and heart. Never have i felt and literally heard the voice of God so instantly and clearly in my mind. The Lord is so good to me, and I feel His comfort every second of the day. The church is true. And if anything, PRAYER IS REAL.
One more cool experience i had this week. So, i have been worrying about teaching through the spirit. I think i have gotten so used to feeling the spirit since being here because it is always around! But i really have been praying to feel the spirit and know that it is the spirit when teaching. In answer to my prayers, we listened to a talk given by elder Bednar that basically called me to repentance AGAIN by saying that if you are wondering about whether or not you are teaching by the spirit, QUIT WORRYING ABOUT IT. if you are living a life that God would be happy with, then it will be the spirit that is prompting you to do good things. Man. he knows how to just say it! that was such a comfort. Right after this, i was able to teach my old home teacher Cade, who is also an MTC teacher. That in itself was an amazing tender mercy. Never before had i gotten emotional while teaching a lesson, but the Lord really blessed me with His spirit and i was able to completely teach Cade by the spirit. It was an amazing experience.
Ok i am almost out of time, i wish i could tell you everything! I am so incredibly grateful for this gospel. it makes me so happy. I want to shout at the top of my lungs that this work is the LORD'S work. there is no doubt in my mind. I see miracles EVERY day. I cannot wait to be in nebraska this week!! I found out through my new MTC teacher (side comment: That is awesome you found that connection with brother Yeck! he is the man. It was the hardest goodbye to my teachers this week. they, especially sister knowlton, have been my angels in the MTC) that at Winter Quarters i will get to be in the Visitors Center EVERY DAY OF MY MISSION! I am sure there will be more details to come, but basically she said that 9-3 is VC and 3-9 is proselyting or vice versa! Also, while at the VC i get to chat online on mormon.org! AHHH i am SO EXCITED.
The church is TRUE... haha how many times have i said that in this e-mail?! But i will say it again. This is the true church on the earth. We are SO blessed to be a part of it. Keep being missionaries and good examples back home, i am so proud of you.
love you all.
Let's Do this!
Sister Peterson
PS. I GET TO CALL HOME ON WEDNESDAY!!!!!!! Be waiting by the phone all morning because i am not sure what time i will get to call! I am sorry i wish i had more details, but i will get to call at the airport on my way to nebraska! i get to nebraska at around 2 i think, so expect a call anytime before then. Sorry this is so vague. but seriously i cant wait to hear your voices! anne, you should probably be sick that day...k? haha love you!
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