Blue Skies and Sunshine☀️💙☀️💙

Good afternoon everyone!

The sky is blue, the sun is shinning, the little daisies are starting to pop their heads up!

This week we had MLC and Zone Conference. It was great! I love being able to meet together with such diligence and dedicated missionaries, it really energizes you.

President Tateoka shared this scripture at Zone Conference...
"Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever." - Alma 37:36

I used to think directing all your thoughts to the Lord meant simply to always be thinking about the Lord, but that is not something that is really possible. The circumstances of life do not allow for us to be thinking 24/7 continously about the Lord. Other thoughts occupy our minds and other responsibilities demand us take thought. BUT that is not what this scripture is implying. What this scripture says to me now makes so much more sense. As if the Lord was your best friend, or parent, you will want them to know what you are doing, and thinking, and feeling. You will have the desire to include them in on your desision making and receive their imput.

We direct our thoughts to the Lord when we allow Him to council with us and give us strength by telling Him how we feel and what we are thinking, be it big or small, happy or sad, let Him know because He wants to help.

I had an experience with this this week. We were just not having the most excellent day one day and I was feeling a little discouraged. I prayed in my heart and after looked up and realized we were in the middle of the most beautiful sunset. It was a little thing but it meant a lot to me and felt like my Heavenly Father just really knew I needed a little something beautiful. It also reminded me of the picture that was shared in this last conference of Christ with His sheep. (I'll attach both pictures)

I know that God loves us and wants to help us. I am so grateful for Him. I hope you all have a wonderful week and never forget how important you are❤️

Love,
Sister Peterson

February 25, 2019 Press Forward Saints!

Hello everyone!

This week we went on exchanges with the Hermanas. It was super fun to spend time with Hermanas Kilpack! She is such a good sister I love her!

It snowed again today!! It's a winter wonderland!

We were finally able to get in contact with a referral, and she is really cool! Her name is Janessa, she is a teenager and and we are excited to teach her.

RAMON CAME TO CHURCH!! He even came up and sang in the insta-choir with us!! Haha it was great!

There is an activity in Preach My Gospel where you write about the message of the Restoration of the gospel as if you were writing to announce it in the newspaper. It was a great activity that made me think. Here is what I wrote for it...

"Although at times things may seem dark we can have hope because the gospel of Jesus Christ has again been restored to the earth. Just as He has throughout history, God has again reached out to his children in love and called a prophet. He has given us another witness of Jesus Christ as His son through the Book of Mormon, which you can read and gain your own witness of its truth. Our lives have purpose and it doesn't just end here! I have been affected by this knowledge because of the hope and perspective it gives me. The world is becoming increasingly confusing but because of the restoration of the Gospel and the Power of God on the earth I have an anchor and can be confident that I am on the path that leads back to my heavenly home."

Have a fantastic week everyone!!
Sister Peterson :)

March 4, 2019 Keep Chugging🚂

Hello all y'all people!

This week has been pretty good. I got sick in the second half of it, lots of sneezing, but not enough to keep me out of the work!

We went on exchanges with the Amity sisters. I got to be with Sister Men and Sister Johnson. Trios for a day are a party! They are both great sisters and It was so much fun to get to serve with them.

Nothing too exciting happened this week, we just keep chugging along🚂🚃🚃

This scripture stood out to me as I have been thinking about well the future (Dun-dun-DUN!!)

"And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.
 For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.
 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom." -Luke 12:29-32

We don't have to worry about what's coming next. Heavenly Father knows our fears, He knows our dreams. He wants to help us and will give us what we need day by day as we trust in Him.

I hope you all have a wonderful week❤️
Love, Sister Peterson

Motherhood

Hello all!

This week I learned how to be a mother. Well started learning, I have a feeling it is a life long pursuit. Sister Leifson is doing great! It's fun to be able to pass on my knowledge and weirdness to someone.

We had a great lesson about prayer with Ramon this week. We were also able to teach someone new! Yay! His name is Clint and he is a really sincere guy who knows now that he needs to read the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it is true. We also had a really good lesson with a less active member. We read Mosiah 10 with her and helped her to apply it to herself and she said it was exactly what she needed. I love the spirit! This work would be impossible without it. Which reminds me of one of my favorite chapters from the Book of Mormon that I read this morning Alma 26. Check it out!

We set really high goals for our companionship this week and were able to achieve them! We may not have had the greatest outward success but we did what we set out to do. Today in interviews with President Tateoka he said something like "you will face disappointment but if you are diligent you will not be disappointed in yourself." So true!

I love y'all and hope you have a fantastic week! Now I'm going to go call my family😍 bye!

Pics!

-It's Sister Nelson and Sister Everett!! (my past STLs back on vacation!)

-being weird

-Oh this is Sister Child, Sister Andersons companion.

-us again

-Us role-playing with Kevin the waterbottle

February 11, 2019: group email :P

Hello everyone!
It's time for a new adventure! The first half of the week was spent preparing for the other sisters to come and trying to cover both areas at one time. After the new sisters got here we have been full steam ahead! Sister Leifson has been doing really well. She is very willing to jump right in to missionary work. We have been doing our best to talk to everyone this week and we have met some fun people!
Sister Leifson is from Richfield Utah and comes from a family of 4 brothers and 1 sister (The opposite of me! Look at that!) I am excited to be her companion and get to teach along side her.
Carole accepted the date of March 16th to be baptized on, that is my last weekend in the mission so I'm crossing my fingers that it happens so I get to be here for her. She is so ready! We are trying to help her work up the courage and take that leap of faith. I am excited for her!
I have been doing well this week and have felt supported through all the change. A simple thought that just keeps sticking with me is that faith is not trusting and then everything works out, it is trusting even when nothing works out.
I love you all bunches! Have a wonderful week and don't forget that you are a child of God!
Sister Peterson :)
PS. It snowed.

February 4, 2019: Welp it's transfer time again🙃

Hello everyone!

Where to even begin? Well this week has been really good! We had MLC and it was very inspiring. There was a part where we talked about using music as we teach, which has been something I have done on and off throughout my mission. Music is so powerful and really does bring the spirit into teaching and high stress situations.

This week we saw some good progress in the people we are teaching. We finished the first 3 lessons with Martin and he told his fellowshiper that he is excited to start learning about the commandments! Martin and Ramon were both able to attend a baptism with us this Saturday and they had a wonderful experience and Ramon said it felt really good. We are breaking ground with Carole! She has been taught the same things over and over but now we are finally moving on to something new! We taught her the Word of Wisdom this week and she completly accepted it without question. She knows it's going to be a little hard but she knows she can and needs to do it!

Now for transfer news! I thought my fate was to just pass away quietly in my sleep but nope I guess the Lord had some different plans. Sister Anderson and I are both staying Sister Training Leaders but we are also both trainning!! Just last week Sister Anderson and I had said that we were fine being the "cool aunts" of the mission but looks like we are about to be moms!

Sister Anderson is going to pink wash Forest Grove 2nd ward and I am staying in Council Creek. We will all be sharing the apartment and the car. It's going to be a wild ride! I feel a wee bit nervous about the changes but more so I feel filled with energy and excitement!

Spiritual Thought:

"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." -Ether 12:27

I have so many weaknesses. And the more I learn about Jesus Christ, who was our perfect example, the more evident they are in comparison. But coming unto Christ is not meant to make us feel down on ourselves, instead He can lift us up as we humble our hearts and desire to change and become more like Him.

This is an excerpt from this last week's Come Follow Me lesson. I had never thought about this scripture in this light before but it really stood out to Sister Anderson and is another great example of the power Christ has to make our weak things become strong.

"Jesus Christ and His gospel can change you. Luke quoted an ancient prophecy of Isaiah that described John the Baptist’s mission and the effect that the Savior’s coming would have: “Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth” (Luke 3:5; see also Isaiah 40:4). This is a message for all of us, including those who think they cannot change or do not need to change. If something as permanent as a mountain can be flattened, then surely the Lord can help us straighten our own crooked paths (see Luke 3:4–5). As we accept John the Baptist’s invitation to repent and change, we prepare our minds and hearts to receive Jesus Christ so that we too can “see the salvation of God” (Luke 3:6)."

I love you all and hope you have a fantastic week!

Sister Peterson :)

January 28, 2019: I love to see the temple😍

Hello everyone :)

This week was a wild ride! We started off with an awesome zone conference focused on finding people to teach. It was a great to have a reminder of the basics. It says somewhere in Preach My Gospel, "Nothing happens in missionary work until you find someone to teach!" That is truer than true! Our purpose as missionaries is to help others come unto Christ, it's a one by one thing, but first you have to find that one who is ready! One of the best ways to find is through members. We all have friends and family who need the message of the restored gospel. I encourage you all that if the missionaries come around asking for help, don't be afraid to introduce them to your friends! Sharing the gospel is something that we have all promised to do!

Right after Zone Conference we went on exchanges with some awesome Hermanas! Hermana Kilpack and Hermana Plowman. I got to be with Hermana Kilpack speaking Spanish for a day. It was great!

The Highlight of the week would have to be our temple trip with our recent convert Christina. We got to be with her for her first time doing baptisms for the dead. It was an amazing experience. The temple was so peaceful and the spirit was very strong. I am so happy for her and her father who have both made amazing progress to come in and to come back to the fold of God. They both shine with the light of Christ and I am so happy that I have been able to see them progress!

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!
Sister Peterson :)

The Best Medicine🤧

Hello everyone😃 

It's been another week! I hope you all have had a great one! I know I sure did! Let's see what happened this week...

We went on exchanges with the Cornelius Hermanas and it was super fun! I got to be with Sister Teters for the day and we had a blast, she is such a great missionary!

We got to go on a hauntingly beautiful country drive searching for a new member of the ward, it was great.

We finally got around to decorating our ninja bread cookies that we made at Christmas! And I must say they look pretty snazy!

Besides that we were just hard at work looking for new people to teach and trying to stay in contact with those who we are teaching. It's been a little rough this week because everyone has been getting the flu! But despite having been sick all week Martin still came to church again!! He is doing great!

We had a first lesson with a man named Luigi this week. He is a sweet older man who has had a lot of exposure to the church. He is excited to read the Book of Mormon and knows that what we share will increase his happiness, just as he has seen in those he has known who have been members. He kept commenting throughout the lesson that what we share is "the best medicine that anyone could take!"

Spiritual Thought:

"Wherefore, the prophets, and the priests, and the teachers, did labor diligently, exhorting with all long-suffering the people to diligence; teaching the law of Moses, and the intent for which it was given; persuading them to look forward unto the Messiah, and believe in him to come as though he already was. And after this manner did they teach them." -Jarom 1:11

This scripture really stuck out to me as I was studying about believing this week in my personal study.

Think about all the things that stress and bring you anxiety... Think about the things you fear... Think about your priorities and the things that daily call for your attention... Think about the trials you have faced and the things you have lost... Now imagine that the second coming of Jesus Christ happens tomorrow. How many of those things still matter?

Jarom teaches the people to believe in Christ as if he had already come. We need to believe in Christ as if he has already come again. How would your priorities shift, how would even your thoughts change if you believed in Christ as if He was already here?

I love you all! I love this gospel! I love my Savior!
Have a wonderful week everyone!

Sister Peterson ❤️