Letter #69

Hey everyone!

Well, I almost didn't write this week because it didn't feel like a week worth writing about. It was definitely a good week! But nothing really that special or exciting happened. It's just life as a missionary :) Which I feel like is boring to people who aren't missionaries haha

So we started teaching Caitlyn a couple weeks ago. She is dating a kid in the ward, Joseph. It's been a neat experience. Joseph wasn't really sure about a mission before, but since we started teaching he is wanting to go really bad, and Caitlyn is even encouraging him to go as well.

We taught a lady yesterday, who, well, isn't interested. Like at all. It's always hard when you teach people about the Restoration and then invite them to pray about if it's true. And they respond with something to the effect of "I have enough, I don't need anymore, I don't even want anymore, and so there is no way I'm going to ask God if there is more out there for me."

But we keep going, knowing that there is SOMEONE out there who knows there has to be more out there for them and that they want it. We aren't looking to convert everyone, as wonderful as that would be. We are just looking for those who are honestly seeking after truth. And if we are attentive to the Spirit, God will put them in our paths. And what a wonderful blessing that is!

Elder Petersen

Letter #68

Hey everyone,

Sometimes, it's really hard being a missionary. I have yet to have
mashed potatoes thrown at me, but it is a hard thing to be called upon
to experience the painful part of discipleship: watching the world
ignore and reject the very things that would bring peace and solace
their lives. I watched again this week Elder Richard J. Maynes's talk
from April 2011, "Establishing a Christ-Centered Home." What a
wonderful address! In there he quotes a poem that talks about the lost
sheep, and how we call for them to come back because they often lead
the lambs astray. As I finished the Book of Mormon the past few days,
I can't help but reflect on what Mormon and Moroni must have felt as
they watched the destruction of their people and how hard they tried
to get them to repent and return to the Lord. But, as we were reminded
by Elder Andersen, the world will not glide calmly to the Second
Coming. But as we center our lives on Christ and make Him our sure
foundation we will have no reason to fear. The scriptures are a
tremendous source of strength.

Hope you all have a great week! Love ya!
Elder Petersen

P.S. Please share the story of Easter!

http://easter.mormon.org

Letter #67

Dear family and friends,

To start, if you did not have time or take the time to watch General
Conference this weekend, please do so in the coming week. I don't care
if you are a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
or not. And if you are a member, I don't care about your level of
activity. These men that spoke this weekend are true prophets of God,
and the women that spoke are likewise called of God. And when they
speak, they speak the words of God, just as when Moses spoke to the
children of Israel. Their words should be heard and heeded. Only by
following the living prophets and apostles of Jesus Christ can we
learn of His gospel and how to navigate the challenges of life. Only
by following the living prophets can we find lasting inner peace. They
testify and prophecy of Christ and they lead us to Him. If there is
something in our lives that may seem unfair, study their words, and I
promise you that you will find your answer.

The work of the Lord continues to move forward in the Bradenton area.
Rhonda continues to progress in her study of the scriptures. She wants
so bad for it to be true, and she is finding her answers as she
studies and prays. She is working towards baptism the next couple of
weeks. We also started last week teaching Sam. He is the neighbor of a
member family. We were leaving an appointment with this family,
getting on our bikes, and Sam was checking his mail. He asked if we
were from a school and we told him we were missionaries. We talked
briefly with him about how we can know what truth really is. He has
just found his faith again and is looking for it. He is a very
intelligent kid and loves what we teach. The Lord blessed us so much
in finding this honest seeker of truth.

I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve a mission. Especially
in the last few months, I have been learning so much. About myself,
about the gospel, about the atonement, and about families. If you find
yourself facing opposition, the best thing to do is to be thankful for
the opportunity to learn. Then seek the Spirit and let is teach. And
don't forget, we seek the Spirit through prayer, studying the writings
of the prophets, and through righteous living.

Hope you all have a great week! Love you all
Elder Petersen

Letter #66

Hey everyone!

It's really been a great week. Sorry if I don't provide as much detail
as you might like. To be honest, by the time I get to my Mondays, the
past week is nothing but a blur. All I can really say is that we are
seeing so many miracles; the Lord is blessing us and the people here
so much. We continue to go through a lot of changes as we integrate
our technology and some new ways of doing things. When you live so
that miracles can happen, they happen. All the time. We see the Lord's
hand in everything we do. I love being a missionary! And I love that
I'm learning so much that will help me in my life after the mission. I
learn things every day that not only help me in my work, but that will
help me in school, in my future family, in my future career, and in
callings in the Church. And what is better in this life than learning?
Not much. Because it's what this life is all about. It's good, I'm
great, and life is a blast!

Love you all and hope you have a good week!

Elder Petersen

Letter #65

Hey everyone!

What a great week! We almost taught nonstop. I am so tired but feeling
so good. I think the best thing that happened this week was when we
were teaching Rhonda. She's been meeting with the missionaries for
about a month and been coming to church. She loves to study things out
and compare. This week we were able to talk to her about how she feels
at church and as she reads the Book of Mormon. We invited her to be
baptized next month and were expecting a no. But instead, her response
was "Well, I better get reading!" It was so cool! And then when she
came to church this week she was beaming the whole time. We've also
been working a lot with Bruce. He's a lot more quiet and reserved, but
always enjoys us coming over. He's always prepared and anxious for his
lessons. We work with so many people every day and a lot of them are
doing super good. It's really good to be in Bradenton. The ward is
really getting more and more excited about missionary work. The church
meetings are very uplifting, which helps so much when we have
visitors. There is just so many miracles happening and so much that
I'm learning; it's almost impossible to quantify it sometimes.
Love you all, have a great week!
Elder Petersen

PS Check out what we saw this week! It made me so happy :)

Letter #64

Hey everyone!

So transfers were good. I'm serving in the Bradenton area with Elder
VanderPool. It's way awesome here! The work is just going like crazy.
We were so busy this week! And most of the people we're teaching are
progressing really well. We have a lot of Tongans in the ward, so
singing in church is a blast. They also love to feed the missionaries,
so it's a good thing that we only have a car part-time. The rest we
are on bikes. Which, being summer, makes me happy that I'm on the
coast again. Absolutely no hills and a nice breeze off the Gulf to
keep it from being too hot :P Here is my new mailing address:
4910 26th St east #203
Bradenton Fl 34203

So, nothing really too special about this week, other than a new area
and new companion. He's a pretty cool guy, we seem to get along well.
He only has 3 months left on his mission so I will most likely be his
last companion. Which means we're going to have to work really hard to
stay focused :) I already love this area so much and know I'm going to
love it here.

Love you all, hope you have a great week!
Elder Petersen

Letter #63

Hey everyone!

What a great week it's been! First off, I'll be transferring tomorrow. Sad day :( It's always hard when you leave an area that you've been in so long, when you get to know and love the people so much. But it is also exciting to be able to move to a new area and get to meet the people there and build similar relationships.

Donavan was baptized and confirmed this weekend, along with his younger brother, Devon. Their parents came to church for the confirmation, although they are not members. It was Testimony Meeting, and at the end, Donavan's dad got up to express his thanks for what the Church has done for his sons. Even though he doesn't believe the same as us, he loves the emphasis on missionary work, and can tell that Christ is the center of our religion, which he very much appreciates. Donavan and Devon have some awesome opportunities there to help their parents accept the gospel. They are both very excited for the priesthood and being able to do baptisms in the temple.

Overall, everything is doing just great! I have been learning so much, about the gospel, and about just life in general. Everything that they say about the mission preparing you for life and marriage is so true. Even though I'm not quite there yet, I can tell how my experiences here will help me in my future, be it professional, church, or family related.

Love you all, have a great week! I'll let you know my new address next week.

Elder Petersen