Letter #52

Dear family and friends,

Well, staying in Lake Hamilton but getting a new companion! So we go to Tampa tomorrow to drop Elder Bennion off and get the new guy.

Overall, it's been a good week. Weren't able to get a lot done, but that's okay. Things are looking up for this week; we have a lot of work to get done in the next 6 weeks and maybe just enough time to do it.

The Acostas are doing really great still. They came to church again and really liked it. They're starting to learn a lot. Still not sure where they will be moving to, but it's looking possible that they might be able to stay in the area.

So, that's all I have to report this week. I'm just loving this work and so glad that I'm a missionary! The Lord blesses us so much when we follow His paths! Have a great week.

Elder Petersen

Letter #51

Dear family and friends,

First off, just a reminder that this is the last week of the transfer, so if you're going to mail something to me, do it today. Otherwise hold on to it until we find out what's happening with transfers. I have a feeling I'm leaving. The zone leaders have been hinting a lot this past week of big changes happening in our area that involve us and the Spanish missionaries we work with. So we'll see.

This week has actually been really great! We got a referral from some missionaries in Tampa telling us that a lady they had been teaching moved to our area. So we went and met her, and she is so awesome! She's already read a lot of the Book of Mormon and knows she needs to get baptized. And she's already been taught all the lessons. So we just need her to come to church. Which she wants to do, but it's been hard finding her a ride. But we talked to some people yesterday about it and we should be able to get that taken care of.

The Acostas are doing really well. But they're moving. Out of our area. Possibly to Tennessee. So we're kind of bummed out about that. But when they get to where they're going, I'm sure they'll pick back up with the missionaries wherever they are. The mom and daughter are really excited to come to church next week. They talk about it all the time. They're reading the Book of Mormon a lot now, which is a miracle in and of itself. That book really has the power to change lives. It's still changing mine every day as I study from it. I just recently started reading it again, this time looking specifically for everything it teaches me about Christ and His Atonement. Every page so far is almost entirely highlighted. I'm learning so much and I'm finding so much more joy and happiness in this life than I ever thought I could ever have.

I hope you all have a wonderful week! Love you all

Elder Petersen

Letter #50

Dear family and friends,

The work continues to move on here in Lake Hamilton, albeit very slowly. The Acosta family is doing really well. They came to church yesterday for the first time since I've been here! And the teenage daughter is begging her parents to come back next week because she liked young womens so much. It's so awesome! We love that family so much.

I'm really excited for this coming week. We have a lot of good stuff lined up. The members here are so fired up from everything we learned at General Conference and the encouragement to be a part of the hastening of the work. It's great to see the members getting involved in missionary work.

Even though this has been a slow, difficult time for me on my mission, it's been a great blessing as I've been given the opportunity to study every day and strive for the companionship of the Holy Ghost, which then allows me to be aware of and see the little things that the Lord does for me each day that reminds me that He's in control and He's aware of me. I have also taken the advice of President Monson: "It's better to look up." It's just so much easier and way less stressful if you're always noticing the positive side of things. This mortal life is already filled with so much pain and suffering. But when we become positive and notice the small and simple things that bless our lives, the Light of Christ within us grows, and that light spreads to others around us.

I hope you all have a wonderful week. Love ya!

Elder Petersen

Letter #49

Dear family and friends,

What a week it's been! The past couple of weeks I've learned and grown so much. My appreciation for the scriptures expands every day. I just finished studying the New Testament again this morning. I love the first epistles of Peter and John. I learned so much from them about how to be a missionary and how to seek out the light of God and His love, and then how to share that with others.

Zone conference with Elder Teh was incredible! I don't know how to explain everything I learned from that meeting. I guess the best way to wrap it all up is that my testimony of this work is impenetrable! He talked a lot about how we were trained in the MTC to perform at a high standard of excellence and how we need to rise back up that level of performance to hasten the work.

The Acosta family, one of the families we are teaching, are doing so great! We had a couple of really good lessons with them this week. Really, they are our only progressing investigators, and so it's so great to go over there because they are so anxious to learn. We're still only on the 1st lesson with them, but they love the Book of Mormon and reading from it every day. One of the times we went over, we had a really good talk about focusing on how we feel when we read rather than understanding the story line. The mom of the family especially identified with this, as she recognizes that this book is leading her down a different, much better path. They face a lot of struggles as a family and love the peace and comfort we bring with us into their home. I love bringing the gospel to people and seeing the change it brings into their lives. The atonement brings so much hope into our lives, and it's the only way our lives can improve, so why wouldn't we share it with others and find joy as we watch it change their lives?

Well, I think that's about it for this week. Love you all!

Elder Petersen

PS Just to make sure you all get it, I forgot to include my mailing address last week

921 E Main St

Haines City, FL 33844 

Letter #48

Dear family and friends,

Well, I'm back in Polk County!  I got transferred from Venice to the Lake Hamilton area. I'm literally on the eastern border of the mission. It's weird to be back in this part of the state. But good. We had stake conference this weekend, so I got to see a ton of people that I know from the Highlands Ward, which was really good.

I'm excited for the coming weeks. We have a lot of work to be done here in the Lake Hamilton ward. There's not a lot happening here with the work, so there's a lot of potential work just waiting for us to find it and do it!

We have zone conference this week. Elder Teh from the First Quorum of the Seventy will be here to train us. I'm really excited to hear what he has to say and everything I will learn to help me in my work.

My top learning experience this week was with a member as we were going to stake conference. We talked about the atonement the whole time. He made a really good point that has stuck with me and affected how I listened to the talks in conference and what I look for as I study each morning. He mentioned something that President Packer said once, that as we teach a principle of the gospel, unless we tie it back into the Atonement of Christ, then it's pointless to talk about and there's no real power in it. Because the atonement is central to the entire gospel. Without the atonement there is no gospel, there is no plan of salvation, there are no eternal families. And none of us can make improvement or change in our lives without the enabling power of the atonement.  It's what brings us hope in this life and joy in the life to come.

Love you all, hope you have a great week.

Elder Petersen

P.S.

Well, I forgot to include my mailing address

921 E Main St

Haines City, FL 33844 

Letter #47

Dear family and friends,

 

Well, transfer calls came Saturday morning. After 5 months, I will be leaving Venice. It's bitter-sweet for sure. Getting transferred is always hard, especially when you love the people so much. I have learned so much in this area about Christ-like charity and love, how we can love people unconditionally, but still be upset and disappointed when they make wrong choices. The disappointment comes because the wrong choice hurts that person, and since we love them so much, it hurts us to see them hurt. But the other side of the coin is how much we rejoice with that person when they make the right choices and are happy. Venice and the people here will always have a place in my heart.

 

I don't know where I'm being transferred, so I don't have an address for ya'll yet. I will find out tomorrow when we go to Tampa for the transfer meeting. There I will receive my new assignment and find out who my new companion is. I'll let you know next week when I email again. As much as I love Venice, I'm excited to transfer, especially with all the new changes happening in the mission with where we're putting our focus on. I need a new group of members and less-actives to work with haha. I'm really looking forward to all the wonderful people I will meet and all the experiences the Lord has prepared for me in my new area with a new companion. As President Summerhays would say, "It's a beautiful thing."

 

I could not have asked for a better last week in Venice! It was a week of true miracles and tender mercies. Our teaching pool increased exponentially in the last week and a half. And most of the new people we're teaching are solid new investigators. The most rewarding thing on this earth is to teach someone the gospel and then watch in awe as the Spirit speaks to them and the light comes on in their eyes. The events of this week have caused me to deeply reflect on the hand of the Lord in my life. There is no doubt in my mind or my heart that my Heavenly Father loves me. And while blessings are dependent on our obedience, they first and forever come to us simply because He loves us. And because He loves us, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ. The Savior's Atonement is real. It cleanses us from sin. It heals the wounded soul and binds the broken heart. And one day, we will all rise from the grave with perfect, immortal bodies. "O how great the plan of our God!"

 

I love you all. Have a wonderful week!

Elder Petersen

 

P.S. As promised, I've attached some pictures from Pauline's baptism. Finally! :)

Letter #46

Dear family and friends,

 

This is the last week of the transfer, so please hold mail until further notice.

 

This week has been incredibly busy! We went on two exchanges, which always throws the schedule off. But they were very good, productive exchanges. I love being the district leader and being in a position to help my missionaries reach their potential as servants of the Lord.

 

We've had some miracles with less-active members. We had one family that just started coming back to church if we would come over every week and have family home evening with them to help them get back into all their good habits as we teach the lesson. Um, yeah! We can do that! We were also just made aware of a new rescue effort coming straight from the First Presidency to help the individual units keep updated member records. That is going to be our only focus for the next 3 months. We're all very excited about that, since it will for sure keep us busy and help us find a lot more people to teach.

 

Well, my time on the computer is almost up so I need to get going. Love you all!

Elder Petersen