Called to Serve

Monday, September 9, 2013

Riding with the President Petersen



HEEEEY FAMILY!!
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MOM AND DAD!! Wow 25 years huh? That's crazy!!! Well it sounds like everything is going good in AZ!! I can't believe Kylie has already been assigned. She is going to South/Central America! Anyways this week has been one heck of a week. First off, one of the Sister Missionaries in Searcy got sent home for mono a couple of days ago. And the other sister is getting tested for it. Sister Wilcox is one of the sisters who served in Searcy before I got here that got sent home for mono. And now she is back out and back in Searcy! So we are pretty much known as the mono area now. So this last Tuesday I was able to go on my first ZL exchange and it was with Elder Merrill from Show Low! He came over to Searcy with me and it was a lot of fun. He actually goes home after next transfer. he ahs been out for like 21 months. Me and him had a lot of fun together though. I got to drive too for the first time in months! And guess what.....yes....I got pulled over! Not for speeding or anything like that I just forgot to turn my lights on when we were driving that night.ha ha Elder Merrill had a good laugh about it. Anyways on Thursday we had a Mission Council meeting in North little Rock for all the ZL's, Sister Training Leaders, and AP's. During part of the meeting the AP's asked me to do a demonstration for them. So we all went into the cultural hall of the church and they gave me a basketball and they said i had to dribble up and down the court 5 times making a basket each time, and they were going to time me. So I had to do that in front of everyone in my church clothes! And after that they put 3 tables in the middle of the court and they said this time I had to dribble around one table, under another, and over the last one while going up and down 5 times and I had to try to beat my last time. So I had to do that. I didn;t beat my last time though. My pants almost ripped down by the knee from sliding under one of the table but Sister Petersen fixed it. ha ha it was funny/embarrassing. Also during Mission Council President Petersen said that he was going to devote all his time to us this month to go out and teach with us whenever we wanted him too. Then he looked at my comp., Elder Boyer, and said will you use me this month?.....And Elder boyer said no!! President Petersen was kind of taken off guard and so he said why not? and Elder Boyer said "You scare me." ha ha I was so embarrassed. Afterwards we talked about it and decided we better use him. So the next day which was friday we called him and asked if he could go to one of our baptismal date investigators appointments and he said he would. So he drove out to Searcy and we went to the appointment and Lashinda wasn't there! She didn't show when we took President! So we decided to go drop in on some of our other investigators and we went and saw Daryl and had a really good lesson with him about the Book of Mormon. Him and President really got a long too and talked about hunting for ever after the lesson. This week has been pretty hectic. One thing I really struggle with out here is not being hard on myself. When things don't go right or when we get rejected I have the tendency to do what no one should ever do, and thats blame it on myself. It creates a lot of unnecessary stress. That is one thing I have been working on! So a couple of days ago we went out with Brother Busbea who is over missionary work in our stake. We decided to go over to the Beaumans home. they are a part-member family. The wife is a member that is less active, but the husband is not a member and they have 2 little kids. We talked with them a little bit and they invited Elder Boyer and I to lunch on saturday. So we went back Saturday and ate and then talked with them a little bit about the Book of Mormon. They both had concerns about the Book, especially the wife, and she is the member! As it turns out she had received a bunch of anti-mormon literature from a friend. So she was really skeptical. The husband was really receptive to what we taught and he has been wanting to go to church but the wife has not been helpful. And she is the member! She told us she is not going to push him to join the church because she has had a mom and 2 sisters who have married converts and then got a divorce. We then taught them about the Book of Mormon and how it can bless families and bring them closer to each other and to their Savior. They ended up coming to church yesterday!! It was awesome to see them there! And all the sacrament meeting talks were on the temple and eternal families!! It was perfect. I have really come to realize this last week the power in the Book of Mormon. I have been studying PMG chap. 5 and it talks about this power in detail. We have had investigators drop us and we have dropped investigators because they won't progress. All these investigators have on thing in commom though.....THEY HAVE NOT READ AND PRAYED ABOUT THE BOOK OF MORMON! This Book is so powerful. The Bible gives the account of Jesus's life and the atonement, the Book of Mormon explains how it works and how we can access it. I know that just as Joseph Smith said that we will get closer to God from reading this book and abiding by its precepts than by any other book. I have really come to love the Book of Mormon because through it I have come to know my Savior. Anyways.......a few days ago we were looking for Lashinda and could not find her anywhere. We drove around and found her sitting on the curb of the street with her face in her hands. We parked and went over to her and I saw that she was crying. We talked to her a little bit and she explained how she was going through a rough time and her and her fiance were going to seperate. I decided to read her Mosiah 24: 13-14 and promised her that as she is baptized that the Lord will lift her burdens and give her strength, we also testified to her of the love Heavenly Father has for her. I don't know how it effected her but i was really taught by the spirit that day. I know that Heavenly Father has a personal relationship with each one of us. When we come to earth we forget that but we are reminded as we strive to follow Christs example and make and keep covenants with God. WHAT A BLESSING!! I love you all. O and by the way tomorrow is our fist zone conference! I am freaking out! Elder Boyer and I got some cool stuff planned though! Anyways....thanks for everything that you all do for me. I love families. Especially mine! I am so grateful for all of you and how you help me. I am so so grateful I get to be with you all for eternity! Alright i'm pretty sure i'm getting carpel tunnel so i'm out! Deuces!