Letter #80

Hey everyone!

It's been another really great week! Brother Frayer is doing well. We had an amazing lesson with him earlier this week. We were there for a good hour teaching him and answering his questions. When it came time to invite him to be baptized, he knew the question was coming and kind of chuckled. He said that part of him knew he should have been baptized yesterday. He wasn't sure exactly when, but he knows he wants it soon. He is progressing so well! We had a very interesting visit with Betty. She will be baptized I think, but it may be a long road for her. Which is fine. I want her ready for it, whether or not I'm here.

We had interesting news with Bobby. His baptism will most likely be postponed. I can't go into details, mostly because I don't know the details. It makes me a little sad because I was hoping to be able to be here for it, and now I'm not sure if I will. He's such an awesome kid, but he really wants to be ready for baptism. Which I suppose is good; he recognizes the level of commitment and the seriousness of the covenant he is preparing to make. It's setting him up well to serve a mission in a few years.

Well, this is where things really start getting interesting. I'm not sure if anyone can really say they know the meaning of bittersweet until they serve a mission and then get to the end of that mission. It's so surreal, and quite frankly incomprehensible. This has just been the best thing ever I've done in my life and for my life. I've just been so blessed with everything that I've experienced and the support I've had. It's just...yeah :)

Love you all, have a great week! 

Elder Petersen

Letter #79

Hey everyone!

Wow it's been an amazing week! Bobby went to EFY this week, which got
him even more pumped for his baptism next month. He's such an awesome
kid! Really, really glad I get to teach him.

So, you remember reading all those amazing articles in the Ensign
about people meeting the missionaries and getting baptized two weeks
later? And then thinking to yourself, "Wow, wouldn't it be amazing to
be a part of something like that?" Well, I might get the chance.
Sister Frayer and been coming to church and has been very active for
nearly 10 years now. Brother Frayer is not a member and wouldn't do
more than come to an occasional ward holiday dinner activity. Well, he
has, of his own volition, come to church the past two weeks and stayed
all three hours. He has enjoyed the Gospel Principles class so much
that he has already read the whole book and has been studying the
other scriptures. Yesterday, he asked Brother Veasey how he could get
someone over to his house during the week to teach him. Unbeknownst to
him, Brother Veasey is the ward mission leader, so he knew how to
answer that question :) We have an appointment with him tomorrow
morning. When setting up the appointment with him, he mentioned that
he wants someone to come have a discussion with him to make sure he
understands all the basic doctrine of the Church. Well, that just so
happens to be what we do. We haven't had a chance to talk with him yet
about baptism, but I feel confident that it is not at all very far
down the road. I have been so excited about this opportunity that it
makes me so giddy I can't sleep at night :D I feel the distinct
impression that Brother Frayer was someone the Lord was preparing for
me specifically to meet, teach the gospel to, and bring into His
Church.

And so it carries on! Love you all, have a great week!

Elder Petersen

Letter #78

Hello everyone!

Sorry I didn't write last week. We went to the Ringling Art Museum
down in Sarasota and didn't end up having much of any time to write.
But we had a great time! It's an awesome museum and a fun, relaxing
time.

Well, it's been a really good past couple of weeks. We've been working
hard and seeing miracles all over the place. I'm really having a hard
time today deciding on what to say. My mind is just so cluttered
with...everything. This is just a difficult situation to be in. We
have so much work going on so it's impossible to not be focused. Until
someone brings it up. And then I get excited and sad all at the same
time.

We received a referral from HQ. Betty requested a copy of the Bible,
and when we went to deliver it, we found out that she met with
missionaries about 10 years ago. She never went to church with them
but remembered what she felt with them. She felt it again with us and
accepted a return appointment. When we went back she accepted the
invitation to be baptized and wants to pray about when. I've never had
someone pray so sincerely and listen so earnestly for an answer in a
lesson. She's a wonderful woman. I hope to be able to see her baptized
before I go home.

Love you all! Have a great week

Elder Petersen

Letter #77

Hey everyone!

It's been such a great week! Probably the best week that Elder Coleman
and I have had together. We're developing a lot better relationships
with the members here and it's really paying off. We got so many
referrals this week, it's crazy! We haven't even had time to contact
them all on top of the teaching we've been doing.

Speaking of who we are teaching, well, it's been good. It can be
frustrating when people don't show up to church. It's really the most
important step in their conversion. They can learn with us. They can
read the Book of Mormon. They can pray to know the truth. But until
they come to church they will never really understand what makes this
Church different. And they can never have access to sacrament, which
is the most important ordinance in enduring to the end. And you can
tell them this, but until they experience it, they won't really ever
get it.

I don't know if I told you this last week, but we went to a state park
last week called Myakka River. It was a great pday get-away. And so
pretty! Fun hiking, awesome rivers and lakes, lots of alligators, and
a really tall tower that gets you way above the tree line and you can
see for MILES! Florida is such a beautiful place. Is it weird that I
want to live in central Florida some day? But I don't think I would
love it as much if it weren't for the people. At the most recent
transfer meeting, I was talking to a new missionary who had just
gotten here from Fiji. He said that Florida has the best people of all
the states! I kind of chuckled, thinking of all the not so great
people I've met here. But the more I thought about it, the more I
realized that I agree with him. And the closer I get to leaving them,
the more I love them and wish I could stay forever. I love President
Uchtdorf's talk from conference about being grateful in any
circumstance. Especially this part:
"In light of what we know about our eternal destiny, is it any wonder
that whenever we face the bitter endings of life, they seem
unacceptable to us? There seems to be something inside of us that
resists endings.
Why is this? Because we are made of the stuff of eternity. We are
eternal beings, children of the Almighty God, whose name is Endless
and who promises eternal blessings without number. Endings are not our
destiny.
The more we learn about the gospel of Jesus Christ, the more we
realize that endings here in mortality are not endings at all. They
are merely interruptions--temporary pauses that one day will seem
small compared to the eternal joy awaiting the faithful.
How grateful I am to my Heavenly Father that in His plan there are no
true endings, only everlasting beginnings."

Love you all! Have a great week

Elder Petersen

Letter #76

Hey everyone!

What a week! Missionary life can definitely be stressful at times, but
we are seeing some great things happen. We are still working with
Mike, and wow he is so solid! He just loves everything we have been
teaching him. He wasn't able to come to church yesterday because of
work, and he was really upset about it. He has let them know that he's
not working Sundays anymore so he can go. He wants so bad to change
his life and receive the blessings that come from living the gospel.
Family is super important to him, and he can see so plainly how it
will help him with his little young family. He is still planning on
getting baptized next month.

We started teaching None (pronounced no-nay (it's Tongan)) this week
as well. He is Mike and Nami's older brother, and he's a lot more
interested and serious about it than we originally thought. We also
started teaching Jasmine, a friend of their family. She's a nice girl
who comes from a really good family. She's pretty interested as well,
especially when we invited her to be baptized, something that she has
been thinking about doing but wasn't sure which church to do it with.
We hope to help her learn the truth for herself as she studies, prays,
and comes to church.

I cannot believe all the things I am still learning. I just...well
it's awesome. All I can say is that the most valuable thing I've
learned over my mission is how to follow the promptings from the Holy
Spirit. If you can learn to do that one thing, you will always do the
right thing. And you'll always be happy, even when the world around
you is crumbling.

Love you all! Have a great week

Elder Petersen

Letter #75

Hey everybody!

Wow, it's been a good week! So, training a new missionary is stressful, and so is being a district leader. And apparently the Lord and my leaders think enough of me to entrust both responsibilities simultaneously. Being a district leader means that I am over several companionships in my area. I actually have the biggest district in the zone. But it helps that we have just as many sisters as we do elders, and I have a few less responsibilities with sisters than I do elders. I also have the privilege of interviewing candidates for baptism. I was able to do that for the first time this week, and it is a wonderful experience.

Elder Coleman is my new companion. He is from St George and comes from a large family, oldest of 12. And he is a great missionary! We have been working and teaching and finding like no one's business. Training a new missionary has helped me to stay motivated and energized. Saturday we had kind of a rough day, everything seemed to be falling through. After dinner we went to go contact a potential investigator. As we were walking down the street through the neighborhood, a man parked his truck and started yelling at us and saying all sorts of terrible and derogatory things. But we ignored him and kept walking. Silently I prayed to be lead to anyone who would be willing to listen to us. Well, when we got to where we were going, the family wasn't interested at the moment, but his mom was there. We started talking to her and showed her a short video. Without us asking, she gave us her phone number and indicated that she wanted us to call her and teach her more. So we taught her the first lesson briefly right there. She does not live in our area, so we helped her find the church building where she does live. And then a little bit after that, this family was willing to listen and we are going back tonight. God hears and answers prayers.

Oh! So Bobby came up to us after sacrament meeting yesterday and asked if we could move his baptism up. Um. Yes! He originally wanted to wait until August, but he's just too excited and loves it too much to wait that long. Besides, he's progressing so well that he could get baptized next week. So we are going to meet with him soon and figure out what day he wants to do it. So that was really exciting!

Love you guys, have a great week!

Elder Petersen

Letter #74

Hey everyone!

What a great week it has been! It was Elder Vanderpool's last week and
we made sure he went out with a bang. Caitlin got baptized on
Saturday! And then I was able to confirm her on Sunday. It was so
awesome to see the love and support from the ward. She's just
finishing high school and her parents aren't super supportive. But she
has a lot from the ward; they really love her! She is going to youth
conference and maybe girls camp this summer.

We've also been working with Bobby and Chezz. Turns out that Chezz's
mom is a member in Tallahassee and he was blessed as a baby. But he
didn't know this until this weekend. And Bobby's ex stepdad is a
member. Which he just found out when his mom brought him to the
baptism on Saturday. Both of those things got them really excited!
They will be getting baptized in August when Chezz gets home from his
summer vacation and right before I leave the mission. They're awesome
guys! Our lessons are always really good and so fun at the same time.

So in the course of 5 months, this ward will have 4 teenagers
baptized. And all 4 come from broken families. And they all were drawn
to the Church because they spent time in members' homes, felt
something different about their families and said, I don't know what
that is, but I want it.

And here is the news of all news. Elder Petersen will be training a
new missionary for the last 12 weeks of his mission! I have mixed
feelings. Really excited. Super anxious. I haven't slept anywhere near
solid the past two nights since we got the call. I pick him up in
Tampa tomorrow and then back to the grind here in Bradenton. It will
be good though. Even as anxious as I am, I still get a big smile on my
face when I think about training a new missionary. It's really a
special assignment to receive, and with all that I have learned, I'm
excited to teach him. And I'm excited what he has to teach me.  There
is never a day to not learn as a missionary.

Love you all! Have a great week
Elder Petersen