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This was a week of miracles! It's been such a great week. We had a lot of good gospel related conversations with people and were able to share the new Easter video with a lot of people that I suggest everyone watches at least 300 times because it is so powerful and amazing and really brings the spirit even when you are standing on a street with cars passing by. I think I've memorized it by watching it so much. 

So they teach you a lot at the MTC, but dealing with a cold on the mission is not something they can prepare you for! And once one missionary gets sick we all get sick, so that's what I've been dealing with this week. It's a little difficult to be motivated, but Heavenly Father provides. He has given me that strength that I need every day to go outside and teach. Yes I have a cold, but through him I have strength to get over my complaints and focus on the people who need to hear from us that day. I really love that I've been learning that if we do the things which God asks of us and we put forth that effort and show him we are willing to do anything he will help us accomplish the tasks. We go a part of the way and he carries us too the end. 

But anyways I think I'm getting better and we are going to the Medford temple today! Blessings do come :D this week has been full of blessings and miracles from God. Sister Sowter and I were teaching our lovely 85 year old investigator L and two weeks ago we were teaching the restoration and we were going to ask her to be baptized but we got stuck on the priesthood. She just wasn't getting it. She wasn't understanding, and we did everything that we could to teach it to her and help her see why the priesthood is Important. We prayed all week to God to help her understand. And when we met with her this past week we focused completely on the priesthood and what it is and how it is used. It was a really great lesson and by the end she really understood it a lot better. She has had a priesthood blessing before for her health and she remember that experience. We were able to see how the priesthood has blessed her life when she didn't even know. At the end of the lesson she said "can they do a baptism where I go in the water facing forward because I have a bad back and I can't go backwards" and sister Sowter and I were like this is the perfect opportunity to ask her to be baptized! So sister Sowter turned to me and mouthed "ask her" and I knew what that meant. So I turned to L and asked her to be baptized! And she said "we'll probably but I have to pray about it." And we were like yes you do that. It was so great and hopefully this week we can check in to see if she got her answer. 

Saturday the Miracles were pouring in! I'm not sure what we did to deserve so many but heck we will keep doing whatever we did! We went out tracting and let me tell you that it was so sunny and warm out so it was perfect weather for walking around and talking to people all day. And we were going up this one street knocking on every door and we met a lot of really nice people but no one seemed too interested, but this one girl which was in the last house on the road. She opened the door and was a little reluctant to talk to us at first, but we asked her how she found her faith in Jesus and she come out from behind her door and was open and told us a lot about her past and how she came to have faith and how God has always been there for her and it was amazing to finally here someone's testimony on their doorstep! She was really nice and we left her our number and pray that she will call!

Then we started to go up a different street and walked past two men packing up a car and one of them called to us and asked us how we were enjoying the weather. So he talked to us first remember that. And then he asked us if we were Jehovah witness and we said no! And he started talking to us and we told no, we were missionaries for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and his brother started telling us about his faith in God. And we had such a great discussion with them. And we were able to share the Easter video and when we started to play it a little girl came out of the house we were in front of and she came to watch the video with us. Sister Sowter gave her an articles of faith card which summarizes what we believe in. She read it right there in the street! Then she told us number 12 was her favorite about how we still live the laws of the land while having faith in God. We found out that she lived in that house with her mom and dad and these brothers who called us over were her uncles. She is nine years old and we taught her about the plan of salvation and how we can have eternal families and she loved that. She wanted to come to church on Sunday but wasn't able to but we are meeting with her this week to teach her the restoration! While we were talking to M who was the guy that called us over he told us that he believes in having faith but also having physical evidence, so when he said that I pulled out my Book of Mormon and said this is our physical evidence and when we read it we gain that faith. So he took it and he's going to read it! Yay! It was so nice to have gospel conversations with these people and see them want to learn more. Unfortunately the brothers were packing their car to move, but J, the little girl, became a new investigator and she lives here so we get to teach her!  

Miracle number 3: right before dinner we decided to tract a small street and either no one was home or no one wanted to listen to us. And we got to the last house before we had to leave and there were a bunch of cars in front of this house. So we almost didn't go in because it's so awkward when you knock on someone's door and they open up and have 100 people in their house. We've crashed a lot of parties. But anyways we knocked and this woman came to the door and she was on the phone so we were like great she will tell us to leave, but she told the person on the phone o have to go the missionaries are here and then she told us she was baptized when she was 18, but when she got married she stopped going to church. But she loves the church and remembers everything about it. We shared the amazing Easter video with her and she loved it.she told us that she's been wanting to come back to church and that it was definitely a sign to her that God was telling her to come back to church.  She came to church on Sunday and felt the spirit so strong. She said it felt like home. Like she was walking in to her moms kitchen while she was baking an apple pie which is the best description ever! 

On Thursday we had a meeting with our mission president and he gave a great lesson on forgiveness and gossip. I've learned a lot about forgiveness recently and know that we need to forgive everyone no matter what they have done to wrong us. I know it's hard sometimes, but it pushes such a weight off of your shoulders when you forgive. It helps you and the other person move on better. Also I know if we put forth the effort then God will help us to forgive as well. It's a blessing to know how much Heavenly Father is there for anything and everything. I hope you all can have a fantastic week and happy Easter! Watch that Easter video and feel the spirit. I love you all! 

With love,

Sister Peterson ️