9-22-14

Dear Fam,

 

Hello hello! How is everyone doing? I'm so sorry to hear the news about London! That's so awful! I can't imagine that happening. I hope that her family is doing okay.

 

WHAT!??? Danielle is having twins!!??? Haha, oh my goodness that's going to be CRAZY!! But that's super exciting! Tell her congrats for me! And that's so exciting about Andrew and Amy!! Congratulations to them for their baby boy :D That's so much fun!

 

Well, we survived the transfer! Sister Madsen is staying for another six weeks! And the work is actually starting to improve more. (Which is such a nice change!) We've got a couple more people that we're teaching. The elders gave us a referral and she was a rockin first lesson! Her name is Kimberly and she's fourteen years old. When we met her she just told us that she was looking for a church and for a place that would answer her questions. The spirit was just soooooo powerful when we taught her the first lesson! She said that she would pray about it and read the Book of Mormon. It was so awesome! We've got another appointment with her this friday, so hopefully all will go well :)

 

I think I've mentioned this before, but something has really struck me the last couple of weeks in my studies and overall about missionary work and life. It's really about loving people. That's what this life is pretty much all about. Loving the people around you and helping them come closer to Christ. I mean you think about it, Jesus Christ and God are all about relationships. They want us to build a relationship with them and to build a relationship with our families, our spouses, our children, our friends, and just with everyone around us. Nothing else really matters. Wealth, fame, power, worldly pursuits... it really doesn't matter at all. The way that you gain confidence is by having a firm relationship with the Lord and knowing where you stand with Him. And I think that's so fascinating. When you are a righteous person, and you have charity towards all men, then your confidence can wax strong in the Lord. (I can't remember where that scripture is, but I'm pretty sure it's in the Doctrine and Covenants.)

 

I love that quote from Miguel de Cervantes. It's so true. Our greatest foes are ourselves. We make the choice to be happy no matter our circumstances. We choose to smile and have a positive attitude even in the face of discouragement. I love that quote :)

 

I hope that ya'll have a wonderful week! I love and miss you so much! Take care :)

 

Just Believe,

Sister Petersen

9-15-14

Hello hello!!

I hope that everyone has had a great week! Boy! It sounds like things have been getting exciting in Arizona! What with flooding and all! Good grief, I hope that this fills up the lakes a little bit at least! Haha :P

There's not much really to report for this week! We've got a couple of referrals that I'm really excited about! Hopefully it'll be able to pick things up around here. We're going to meet with them this week and see if they're really interested in what we have to say. You know, it's funny. You come into an area with a total mindset of how things are going to go. You expect that maybe you were sent there to help the area. That maybe you can make a difference there with the people and you're there to help your companion and whip them into shape. Hahahaha, that's not been the case for me here. I swear I haven't helped or changed this area, this place has changed me. And I'm so grateful for that.

Today was really fun! We had sisters p-day! We got up super early and went to Walmart to grab supplies with the Spanish sisters. Then we all went down to the church and made ourselves breakfast and had our personal studies and a ginormous comp study together. It was really fun being able to hear all of the sisters insights in their studies. And then after that we played the game Why Not Testify. We were each given a subject and then we testified of it to each other. It was awesome and really powerful. I had the topic The Book of Mormon. (Classic ;) ) And you know, the more that I read it, the more it amazes me how it truly was made for our day. It is the word of God, made specifically for us. And I love that!

Transfer calls are today! I don't know what's going to happen, but Sister Madsen could possibly be leaving! I hope not, but whatever does happen, it will be according to the Lord's will. But honestly, I'm excited :) I'm nervous for the future, but I'm also excited for what may come! I hope that everyone has a great week! Ya'll are so great! I'm glad to hear that the trip was so fun! (Except that you had your clutzy moments :( I'm sorry about that... you're turning into me :D ) I hope that you have a wonderful week!

Just Believe

Sister Petersen :)

9-8-14

Hey family!

Boy that quote definitely fits for me this week. I have some wonderful news!! Both Beverly and Taylor from my last area got baptized in August!! I was able to go to the temple on Thursday and I got to see Both Sister DeBry and Sister Hooker and lots of the people who were in my previous area! It was truly so wonderful and such a great blessing! I really needed it, but I think because we got such a great blessing, there has been such a load of opposition this week! Haha, it's been rough but I've been learning so much about myself and about the people around me. It truly has been a great blessing and miracle.

There were a lot of things that I learned this week. A lot of hard things. It's been very trying, but the Atonement is real. And I'm so grateful for it. Sister Madsen has pretty much been sick for a lot of the week. I got sick as well which was not fun (If you must know it was diarea and bleh stomach stuff) But while she's been sick, I've just been learning how to take care of the area and getting things done. She still has cold systems (We're not really sure where she got it, she kind of just woke up with it) And Yes I did get the book on oils! It's been so fun! I haven't taken a lot of time to read it, but skimming through there was a lot of cool stuff, so I will definitely read it!! And yes I did get to sing in the choir which was super fun. We're also singing in the ward choir (I feel so bad for the director, not a lot of people come) which has been really fun too :)

I think one of the greatest things I learned (And I'm still learning this one :P ) Is how important it is to love the people around me. And to love myself. That I truly can be okay with the person that I am. That I don't have to try to be this ideal perfect image of something that I can't see but imagine what God expects me to be. But that God loves me for me. I don't have to be anyone else. He still loves me even when I fall. He loves me in my imperfection. I'm never going to be happy as I'm trying to be things that I'm not. I'm never going to be happy if I keep trying to be a robot. But when I open up about who I am, when I reveal my true self, I no longer have to be afraid of what people think. It won't matter. I can be me and it's okay. I still haven't figured out how, but God's helping me :) And it's okay.

I hope that everyone is doing well! Life is wonderful and I'm learning so much! God is real and He is good. I am so grateful for Him. And I am so grateful for the people that He has placed in my path to teach me and for the people that He has allowed me to reach out to. What a great blessing (Haha and hardship) it is to be alive. I wouldn't trade it for the world. I wouldn't trade this mission for the world.

Also I still want Ryan's address for when he leaves! Haha, I love that you chased the frogs! I would've totally been there with you! (Oh my goodness there are so many frogs in our apartment complex! It's crazy! And they're HUGE!! They only come out at night or when it rains, but they're so cute haha! We have to be careful where we step because they look like giant leaves!

Anyways, how's everyone doing? Anything new or crazy happening? How's gardening going? How are the gardenias? Have a fantastic week! I love you!

Just Believe,

Sister Petersen

9-1-14

Hello Family! :D

I hope that all is going well for you guys! This week was awesome! We had exchanges with the STL's and I got to go over to the Paper Mill area. We have really awesome Sister Training Leaders and it was just fun to learn some new things from them. (Not to mention I got to take a break from biking and ride in a car again ;) ) Anyways, I'm trying to think if there were any crazy miracles that happened this week or anything really awesome.... Oh, the Spanish elders were really dumb and zip tied the spokes of our bike tires to the metal bar so I couldn't move the back tire of my bike. Those silly heads :P Luckily it just broke right off, but we're almost tempted to pull a prank on them now. I think the biggest thing that I'm learning from this transfer is learning that trying hard is good enough. That even though I'm not perfect at everything, the fact that I'm trying my best is good enough to the Lord. I still haven't learned that yet, but I'm getting there :P

At the moment we honestly don't really have anyone to teach. We're really working at trying to get to know the ward better and get more hours tracted. We're still seeing some Less Actives, but I think the biggest thing that we could do is try to get this ward more gung ho about missionary work. In a way, it's hard, but at the same time, I have an awesome companion, and I'm trying to do my best every day, so I honestly don't have much to complain about :P It sounds like you guys have some fun things coming up! I'm excited to hear how the Primary Program goes and hear about St Johns and the Brown Reunion :D

To answer Dad's questions: We're just in one ward here. The Roswell ward. There are three sets of missionaries in our ward. The Elders and the Zone Leaders actually work in our area. The Roswell elders are on bikes and the Zone Leaders drive a car. In our district we also have a Spanish set of sister missionaries and a Spanish set of elders. They're in the Cumorah Branch. We all go to the same building, but the Cumorah branch meets at 11:00 and Roswell meets at 2:00. Sister Madsen and I are both feeling better so that's definitely a good thing!!

I hope that all things are going well! I love you all so much! I love the mission and I am so grateful that I got to serve! Have a fantastic week!

Just Believe,

Sister Petersen

8-25-14

Dear Family,

Oh my goodness! It sounds like there were a lot of things that happened this past week! Welcome to the family Emma Maree!!! That's super exciting :D

Goodness gracious! Okay, so not cool! I want to hear more of what that woman said about the near death experience! That's super awesome! And that was really cool that the White Mountains are a sacred place. Definitely true! And that's interesting that they said the Snowflake area is as well.

Well, not all that much happened to us this week. Sister Madsen and I got the plague so we were pretty much stuck in our apartment for most of the week. Then on Sunday right after we had dinner, we were walking back from the church. Sister Madsen had awful blisters from her shoes and then I happened to twist my ankle :/ how typical. I would love to say it was such an amazing story where I fell down and hurt myself in the process of saving some child from a mad driver in the middle of the street..... Yeah, no... I'm just a klutz and totally biffed it while walking on the sidewalk :/ Needless to say, it's not too badly hurt and feels better today. It didn't swell up too bad. My pride's only hurt a little :P And Bring it Cameron! We are totally having a race when I get home :D

All in all, there's not much to report this week. Just pray that Sister Madsen and I will have good health :) (It's crazy I haven't been ill or hurt at all until this transfer.) I'm glad that ya'll got to go up to the cabin and were able to get things fixed. I'm definitely missing it! Mom, I don't know why you can't send pictures. Did you click on the little paper clip image at the bottom of the emails that you send? That should allow you to attach files to the email. Anyways, sorry that this email is so short, but I love you all! Have a wonderful week :)

Just Believe,

Sister Petersen

8-11-14

Hello hello!!!

 

Great news! I've been moved to a new area :D AND I LOVE IT!!!! I have the best companion in the whole world! And it is so awesome! And I'm an all biking missionary XD Hahaha, so that's definitely been a change! We rode our bikes sixteen miles on Saturday, and let me tell you, I was super sore on Sunday! I think there are only about three to five companionships who are biking sisters, so... yeah, it's crazy hard, but I love it.

 

And news for mailing! So, the mission office can no longer forward mail to us, so here's my personal address :) 116 Hemingway Lane Roswell GA 30075. So yeah, all packages and mail and stuff need to go to my apartment. Sooo.... I'm kind of excited :D

 

The area here is super awesome. The people I've met so far are so great and super sassy! Haha, I love it so much! We went over to a woman's house who's less active and she taught us how to cook food and we taught her the gospel. I loved it, because she pretty much looks at a recipe and then makes it the Natalia way (her way ;) ) There are so many people here who are just blunt and sarcastic and super laid back and it's just so great! Definitely some getting used to, but it's awesome!

 

Biking all day is definitely a challenge, but we take plenty of breaks and I bought this awesome water bottle that keeps the water cold all day so I'm keeping hydrated! My companion is so awesome! Her name is Sister Madsen and she is such a sweetheart! She's super open and care free and just Loves people! She's so great at building relationships with people and we're getting a long so great. This transfer is going to be so awesome and I'm Super excited!

 

I hope that all is well! I hope that your song went great Mom and that you're able to get those stories written! You can do it! I believe in you :) Have fun at the cabin and don't get too stressed out :) I love you!

 

Just Believe,

Sister Petersen

8-4-14

Hello Family!!

 

Well, the news has arrived! I am heading out to Roswell on Wednesday! It's the Roswell ward in Roswell city! My new companion is going to be Sister Madsen and I am SO stoked! (She trained my MTC companion and I think they got along great! Also one of the sisters here trained Sister Madsen so I've been getting the lowdown on what she's like.)

 

Oh my goodness this last week has been so incredible! Tuesday was a super hard day. Probably one of the hardest that I had ever experienced out here. We just didn't know what to do, but Saturday was one of the most incredible days that we experienced that everything just turned out alright. Beverly is still on date and slowly progressing towards baptism! We taught her the Word of Wisdom on Saturday and it turned out fine. Actually, I have to tell you the story. Right after we said the prayer, she immediately started with, "I don't think I can get baptized in your church." My heart sank as well as everyone else's and then Sister Hooker responded, "How come?"

Her answer, "Well, I just don't think I am willing to give up my two cups of coffee and two cups of tea to join the Mormon church!"

 

Haha, luckily we had prepared earlier that morning to teach her about the Word of Wisdom so it was actually perfect timing! So we gave her plenty of explanations and testified and read scriptures. And essentially it came down to whether or not this revelation was from God and whether or not Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God. Because if the Book of Mormon is true, then Joseph Smith is a prophet. And if Joseph Smith is a prophet, then he received revelation from the Lord for our day. After the end of the lesson, she had softened up quite a bit and I ended up telling her that I was going to be leaving. She was sad about it, but as we were leaving she said, "Well, do you think you'll be able to be here for my baptism?" And that made me smile inside. I don't think I'll be able to, but I was glad to hear that she was still preparing herself for baptism.

 

Another miracle, We have another person on date!!!! This girl is the sister of one of the members we've been working with ever since I've been here. The member, Sister Gruber, never really had that strong of a testimony so we would often go to her house and try to help her see how the scriptures applied to her life and help her to understand better. Her husband is Super awesome! Way gung ho about missionary work and the Book of Mormon. He goes out with the Elders all the time. But Sister Gruber's sister was here and is staying at their house for the school year and she's not a member. We knew that she liked the church and was curious about it, but that was about it. Well, on saturday sister Hooker got the feeling that we needed to go and visit them that evening. So we text Sister Gruber to set up an appointment. Everything else fell through for the evening, but they said that we could come over. So when we get there, we were just planning on visiting with Sister Gruber, but everyone was there. We have a casual conversation and Sister Hooker gets impressed to ask Tayler if she was a member. We knew that she wasn't, but she felt impressed to ask. Tayler responded that she wasn't, but she wanted to get baptized and was wondering if we could teach her. Hahah, we were like... YEAH!!! So we start off with a prayer and immediately jump into the first lesson. We ask her to get baptized and she said yes and it was SO AWESOME!!! Her date is going to be August 23rd and we are so excited!

 

But the best part for me this week was Fast Sunday. Sister Gruber actually went up to bear her testimony. And that's saying something. She was a convert to the church when she was nine. She had never really known why she had joined the church, and she felt like she had never had a testimony. She'd never read the Book of Mormon all the way through, and had never bore her testimony before. But seeing her up there and bearing her testimony just filled me with so much joy. I felt so much joy and gratitude to be a part of this work. So many good things have happened here in Webb bridge that I had an opportunity to be a part of. I felt truly so blessed yesterday, and I knew that it was time for me to leave. Sunday just felt right. I was able to say goodbye to a bunch of the members and I was able to see Garnica there and she had brought her family to church. So many miracles happened, but the best was seeing Sister Gruber go up there and bear her testimony.

 

I am so excited for the future. I don't know what God has in store, but I can't wait to see. I hope that ya'll have a great week this week! I love you all so much! Take care!

 

Just Believe,

Sister Petersen