Hello
from Omaha!
What
a wonderful, humbling, beautiful week.
It
was transfers this week, and thankfully i am still serving in Ralston La Vista!
i absolutely love this ward, and i have found friends here that i know i will
have forever. it is wonderful.
I
do, however, have a new companion. It was definitely unexpected, and i was
super sad to have sister Barton leave, but i am so incredibly grateful to now
be serving with Sister Hamilton. She has been out a transfer longer than i
have, she is from Layton Utah, and is one of the most amazing missionaries in
the mission. i feel so honored to serve with her, i dont know how i got so
lucky!
We
are both now serving as the sister training leaders for the fully proselyting
sisters, which is a huge, humbling, overwhelming responsibility. I am so
grateful that the Lord trusts me, even when i feel so weak. I cannot wait to
learn from the sisters i will be serving, and i know i will learn a LOT this
transfer! sharp rocks at the bottom? bring it on :)
Thank
you grandma Bonnie for the package! i hung grandpa's bicycle ornament on our
tree at the trail center, so i get to look at every day :) it is a little piece
of home that only i know about... ha it is wonderful! thank you again. and i
put the fuzzy socks on right as i opened the package! they are perfect!! love
you!
This
was a great week, and i loved Thanksgiving!
We
had lunch with that referral, Laura, that i told you about last week. She is a
hoot. We laughed and talked and ate for a few hours, and i loved hearing her
crazy stories. She is a friend of the Saufley's, and it is amazing to see what
a huge influence there example has played on her life. Just through their
membership in the church, Laura has totally dived in to learning all that she
can about the church... and it is all because she respects the Saufley's so
much, and "wonders" why they are so happy! We, as members of the
church, are always being watched by others, and i am so grateful for those
faithful members that leave such a great impact on others lives!
We
had dinner with Latoya (non-member), her mother Elaine (member), and Latoya's
three boys. They are from Georgia, and man. did we eat good! haha i have never
seen so much food in my life. it was so much fun.. and it was a miracle. It has
been so amazing to see how open Latoya has gotten, and how comfortable she now
is with us and the church. She still isnt ready to completely jump in, but she
is definitely a lot closer than she was a few months ago! i love seeing little
baby steps of progress. i know she will eventually join, and it is fun to help
her start out her journey to do so. her son, Lamont, who by the way has been
attending seminary every day!, came to church on sunday! MIRACLE. i almost
cried. great things are happening in their family.
So
this week i have been thinking a lot about the pioneers. i think about them all
the time, haha but ESPECIALLY this week. we had an incredible training on
Saturday, where we were taken "on tour" around the gallery at the
Trail Center by some of the sisters/senior couples. Something stuck out to me
so strongly, and i wanted to share with you what i learned:
We
were standing by the handcart, and Elder and Sister Williams were giving this
part of the tour. They talked about the pioneers walking through the snow,
barefoot, during the Christmas season. and it hit me SO hard that these
pioneers didnt have anything. They didnt have shoes, coats, hats, gloves,
sweatshirts, their families!.. ANYTHING. All that they had were their
testimonies of the Savior, Jesus Christ. what were they thinking about that
Christmas? were they thinking about the newest and greatest gadget they wanted?
were they thinking about how many gifts they would receive? no. Their thoughts
were solely on the Savior. They knew the real meaning of Christmas. they knew
it so well that they were willing to DIE for the greatest gift we have ever
received.. the Savior's gift of the atonement. I want to be like the pioneer's
this Christmas. I hope you all can join with me, as we celebrate the true
reason for the season.
there
is my soap box for you. ha.
The
past few weeks have been so wonderful at the Trail Center! there have been so
many non members that have come in to see the gingerbread, and then have come
upstairs to take a tour! i have seen countless miracles.. it is so
exciting!
i
took a tour just a few days ago with a couple, who were members, and they had
brought another couple, who were not members (yet... the woman is getting
baptized this saturday). It was amazing to see that 1. this member couple were
being such great missionaries! and 2. that the non member couple were so
touched by the pioneers story, that they left crying. i absolutely love to see
that the influence of the pioneers can bless so many lives, and that one life
can change the lives of hundreds! Just sharing the sacrifices of say Amy
Porter, a pioneer mother who died at Winter Quarters, can bring the spirit
strong enough to inspire someone to be baptized. ah. i love the pioneers. and i
feel so blessed to serve at the Trail Center.
I
love you all! I know that Christ lives, and i know that this is His church..
His ONLY church that has His authority and priesthood.
see
a wonderful week this week!
Sister
Peterson
Here
are some fun pics :) Happy 9 months pregnant pictures! haha
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