Monday, February 17, 2014

It's a great day to have a good day!

Hello! 

Thank you SO much for the gifts, notes, and love i felt so strongly on my birthday! ah. i just feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. I am so grateful.

I have been so excited to write this e-mail, haha because of the events of the week. it has been quite the week! 

Here we go:

1. On wednesday night an investigator named Andrew, who we met while serving at a health clinic on thursday nights, invited us for dinner. He is a gourmet chef, and so for valentine's day he wanted to cook for the sisters that serve at the clinic. He served us a 7 course meal (since we didnt have time for the 11 courses he had planned!), and i dont think i have ever eaten that good of food in my whole life. it was delicious. i was definitely "miserable" by the end of the night.

2. Thursday, were the "try-outs" for the Olympics. haha. it was so fun. Everyone was so into it. i was still SO full from the night before, haha but it ended up working out ok. the event i won was the sit ups. I did 110 in 3 minutes. also, i totally thought i had the push ups too: i did 85 in 3 minutes. the girl who won i think got like 90... but you'd be proud, because mine were "real" push-ups :) so fun.

3. it is transfer week, and my beloved trainer, Sister Whittaker goes home tomorrow. It is crazy to think how fast the time has gone.. i feel like i was just emailing home telling you about how much i love being companions with her! that was almost a year ago. I am so grateful for the friendships i have made while being here.. i know that they will last much longer than just the mission.

Friday:

My birthday.. haha one i will never forget! So, Sister Hamilton and i woke up, went running in the snow, and then followed the daily schedule. I was able to study, and then get ready/open presents! it was a great morning. Well, during companionship study at 9 o'clock, we started reading from the white handbook, and all the sudden i knew that something was not right. i felt super dizzy, hot, and nauscious. yep. You can guess what happened...haha Thankfully i made it to the bathroom before getting sick! ha so, i spent the day in bed, throwing up. haha can you believe it?! thinking about it now, it is honestly hilarious. i know that the Lord was keeping me humble - the one day a year (or on your mission) you can think about yourself, and i end up sick as a dog... which is the only time i have ever been sick on my mission! haha. But, looking at the bright side:

- we never get to rest on our missions.. maybe it was a birthday present from heavenly father to let me stay in bed all day? :)
- i lost 5 pounds?
- i avoided eating a bunch of junk food!
- because it was my birthday, i was able to read love notes from my wonderful family, open presents, and still feel super loved even though i was stuck in bed. if i wouldve been sick any other day, it would have been a lot harder to not feel bogged down.
- it made my birthday last longer, because i was able to ACTUALLY celebrate it the next day!

ha. definitely a journal entry moment! i am so thankful for Heavenly Father and always allowing me to improve, and to never get prideful.

Other than that, the week was great! Bill was able to receive the Aaronic Priesthood on Sunday, which was so wonderful. He is doing great. it was so neat to be able to be in Ward Coordination this week, and have a game plan to help him feel fully accepted into the ward. I am so grateful for those members of the ward that have been reaching out to him, sitting with him at church, inviting him and Joanie over for dinner, and really helping him feel like he is "a member". it is wonderful to see.

I know that God is extremely, and perfectly aware of us. Today we needed to get our oil changed, and so we went over to Jensen Tire and took the car in. We had planned to have lunch with some of the sisters serving near us, and they were going to pick us up from the tire place. Well, we waited there and they were running behind. While we sat in the waiting room though, we noticed a boy sitting in the chairs across the room, and sister Hamilton and i both felt the need to go talk to him. We started chatting with him, and he quickly opened up to us about how he feels so overwhelmed with the decision of where to go to school, what to major in, and who he wants to become. It was an amazing opportunity to bear our testimonies to him about the peace that comes through Christ, and through His restored church. While we were talking to him he kept saying that he knew it was by no chance that we met. We were able to set up a time to teach him this week. Total miracle. It is so amazing to me how there are SO many people around us who are struggling, and who need direction in their lives... it is just up to us to open our mouths. It was awesome. It definitely strengthened my testimony as well of doing missionary work after my mission. I didnt need a name tag to bear my testimony to him and give him a book of mormon. The spirit can prompt all of us to open our mouths and share what we know.

I love my Savior. I love the gospel, and i am so grateful for the peace it brings.

love you all so much!

Sister Peterson











No comments:

Post a Comment