Beware of the Armed Missionaries

Last Monday we saw our friends who always walk around the church. They
are two cute old ladies. A mom and her daughter, and their dog. We've
been talking to them for a couple of months, and they told us they
weren't interested in learning about the gospel, and so we usually see
them and say hi, see how they are doing. Just the normal thing. We
said goodbye to them, and went to go contact this man who missionaries
have taught before, we found out that he wasn't home, so we knocked on
the doors around where he lives. We knocked on one door, and L
opened up! We had no clue that she lived there! She invited us in, and
her mom, G, came out to talk to us. We sat down with then and they
asked us what we were up to that night. We explained that we were
sharing a video with people called #hallelujah. Then we got to show it
to them! They really enjoyed it and we got in to a conversation about
life after this world. We explained that we will get to see all those
who have passed on and we can be with them for eternity through the
gospel of Jesus Christ! They were really interested, and told us to
come back so they can learn more! It was amazing to be able to
establish that relationship and then we were able to teach our
friends.

Tuesday we went on exchanges, and I was in Medford with sister Rhoton.
She's basically me, so you know we had a good time! She's been out on
her mission for 3 months so she's almost done with training. We went
to contact people at night and we knocked on this door and the woman
opened up and she had on a Justin Bieber shirt on so we all freaked
out over his music. Then she asked us if we were allowed to love
him... We were both like yes! She was a pretty cool woman. Then we met
this boy that asked us if he was allowed to date a Mormon girl if he
isn't Mormon. We had a great time.

Saturday we had our weekly lessons with the D & T. And it was
fantastic! T told us that she read the first 5 chapters in the Book
of Mormon, and some talks that we left with her. She seemed to really
enjoy them and she is learning so much! We taught them about
repentance, and the steps to make sure you fully repent. I love being
able to teach about repentance, and the amazing feeling that you get
when you do repent. At the end of the lesson sister Alldredge invited
them to be baptized, and they didn't get a set date, but Tina said
that she would be she just wants to make sure this is what she wants.
Which is fine by me! D is ready he just wants to wait for his
"honey." He's been trying to get her to Come to church and say the
prayers in lessons. So at the end of our lesson when it was time to
say the closing prayer guess who said it. It was T! She said the
closing prayer and thanked God for sending us to her and opening her
eyes. It was a beautiful sincere prayer. I cannot wait for that day
when they are both dresses in all white.

We took the B family on a tour of the church on Thursday. We showed
them all of the classrooms and talked about what they would learn in
each class. When we got to the young women's room to show JC we told
her that young women's is a program to help the young women learn
their true value in the world and to hold on to those values. I
remembered when I was in young woman's which is a program in our
church from ages 12-18 and I learned so much about how to stay true to
the fact that I am a daughter of God. It was a good trip down memory
lane. At the end of the lesson we took them in to the chapel. Before
we walked in we told them to watch for how they felt. Right when the
door opened I felt the spirit pour over me. We talked to them about
the sacrament and read the prayers with them. We take the sacrament to
remember our savior and all that he has done for us, we also take it
to help us reject on becoming the people that God intended us to be.
We asked them all if they felt the spirit, and jc said yes, but J
said no. It was a little heart breaking. He told us that he has never
been able to feel the spirit. So we focused on him and asked him if he
wanted to feel the goofy ghost. He said yes and we asked him how he
would be able to. He knows how it's just the matter of actually doing
what he needs to to feel the spirit.

We had a zone conference on Friday with three other zones in the south
part of our mission. It was so good! We talked a lot about the Holy
Ghost and we all had to write talks before the meeting. They picked 4
people to give their talks and I was picked. I spoke on recognizing
the promptings of the Holy Ghost. The spirit really is a still small
voice and you have to block out the world around you to be able to
recognize his voice. You can know something is from God when it makes
you feel good. I've had to learn how to trust and follow even the
simplest of promptings on my mission. It was hard at first to
recognize him, but now I always strive to follow his guidance. I've
learned not to ignore any good thought because that could be him! It
was a good experience for me to share my testimony. Now I will share
it with you. I am very grateful to have the gift of the Holy Ghost as
my constant companion. I know that as I follow his promptings I will
be able to change others lives as well as my own. I know God loves me
enough to never lead me astray, and by study and testimony I will grow
stronger. I love being able to know that I am always being guided by
his hand. I leave that with you in the name of Jesus Christ amen.
I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Love,
Sister Peterson