Week 69

This week has been good but also difficult.  I got transferred to a new area.  I'm sad to miss the wedding and baptisms of my wonderful friends.  My new companion is Elder Oliveira from Brazil.  We are zone leaders together.  We're basically opening the area again.  We were able to locate most of the investigators and various converts.  This branch is stronger than all the other areas I've been in.  The leaders are more supportive here.  We have been looking for many new investigators to contact, but the results have been minimal.  We are making reference sheets so that members can help us to get to know their family members and friends and also (ideally) help us visit and teach them.  We also have an obra misional activity planned with the branch presidency for the branch on the 31st of this month.  

The M. family

Week 68

This week has been very nice.  We were able to locate many new investigators and share second lessons with them.  We were also able to find families and people genuinely interested in our message.  We are looking forward to a baptism for the end of the month.  

After months of hard work, the M. family is finally going to be married on November 6th!  We are very proud of them and their hard work.  They both have shown their faith in following the commandments of God, and their success is evidence that our Heavenly Father will "prepare the way".  They have also helped us in the mission work by supporting their friend N. through difficulties.  We had initially attempted to visit N., but without success.  The M. family continued to encourage her and even brought her children to church a few Sundays.  With continued efforts, N. opened up and shared with us many of the trials she has passed through in the recent years, including the death of her spouse, the lack of support from her family, and the financial problems typically experienced by single mothers with children.  This last week we felt impressed to call her to visit her.  However, she told us that she was busy and had to fix up a yard lot by herself because she had to move there within the next few weeks, and there was no one to help her.  We offered our help and cut lots of grass and bushes with machetes and even cut down a tree with an axe to fix things up.  We were very happy to see her as the first person to greet us as we entered church this Sunday.

I've learned that we need not only to tell people what they must do to be happy, but we must also be willing to love them through our service.  Then, they will be able to comprehend that we share our message with them because we love them, and that they are children of a loving Heavenly Father.  

Elder Peterson

Week 67

Hey everyone!

Everything has been going well here.  The  conference was excellent. I found many answers and much advice and encouragement.  I hope to put to practice what I've learned from the example and the teachings of those who spoke.  The investigators we are teaching are doing very well.  An investigator will be baptized on the 17th.  Two families will be married as soon as their papers are approved.  More to come soon!

Elder Peterson