July 15, 2013

Family,

My heart is very full as I write this last e-mail. So many thoughts have just been going through my mind this last week. I feel like this time that i have now to e-mail is the only time I have had to relax for the last 2 weeks. The temple trip was just heavenly. It felt so good to be back in the temple. It was neat because it was President and Sister Jensens first time doing an endowment session in that temple. I hope to be able to return to that temple with my family again some day. I've been doing my best to work hard up until the very end. We set 3 baptismal dates in the last 4 days and they have all come to church already as well so they are solid. We had a church open house friday night. A member brought his hot dog cart and gave out free hot dogs and we had different booths set up throughout the church with all of the different auxiliaries. That is how we found Sherrie and picked her up as a new investigator. She pulled in because it looked like some place she could get a drink because she was thirsty. Now she came to church yesterday and we taught her today and she has a baptismal date for August 31. We are teaching her again tomorrow. She was after living waters. Sunday was good. My talk and musical number went well. Yes i played the piano for it. The stake president surprised us by coming to our ward that day and presiding. That is too bad that President McGinn will be out of town. I'm sure we'll hook up later and reminisce. I really don't know what to say so I threw together a chain of scriptures. Here ya go.

I love you so much! See you soon.

Love, Elder Peterson

I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee: But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face.1
Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out2; Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob3, unto the bounds of the everlasting hills4. Let [my] days be few; and let another take [my] office5 and it was said unto [me], that [I] should rest yet for a little season6.

But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter7 and journey from the land of [Des Moines] before I, the Lord, send again the snows upon the earth.8
Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?9 Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.10
Then shalt thou... meet them there, and we will receive them into our bosom, and they shall see us; and we will fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other.11 Our God, our Father's God;... thou hast led us here in safety where the mountain bulwark stands.12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad.13

Seek ye diligently and teach one another words or wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.14 Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.15

If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report of praiseworthy, we seek after these things.16 Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord.17 A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband.18

[And] Jesus... saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. And he departed.19

Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full20 and on the morrow come I into the world.21

1. 3 John 1:13-14
2. Matt. 12:44
3. Isaiah 2:3
4. Gen 49:26
5. Psalms 109:8
6. Revelation 6:11
7. Matt 24:20
8. D&C 117:1
9. Isaiah 60:8
10. Isaiah 5:26
11. Moses 7:63
12. Hymns 35
13. Matt 5:12
14. D&C 88:118
15. Proverbs 23:12
16. AoF 13
17. Prov 18:22
18. Prov 12:4
19. Mark 5:19-20
20. 2 John 1:12
21. 3 Nephi 1:13

July 8, 2013

Greeting from Iowa!

This has been a good week for us. Our fourth was swell. We went over to a barbeque with a couple three families from the ward. Then we were able to see the firework show from our apartment bedroom window so that was nice. Originally Fort Dodge wasn't going to have fireworks, but then a wealthy business owner stepped in and payed for it all i guess so we had a pretty good show on Wednesday night. Nothing compared to the Stadium of Fire firework show though i'm sure. This next week is going to fly by super fast! Tonight we are leaving for Des Moines and then tomorrow it's off to Nauvoo for my departing temple trip with President Jensen and then we are coming back Wednesday morning. Then we have back to back exchanges and district meeting and then it's the weekend again already! We met President and Sister Jensen this last Tuesday. We had a great zone conference. They are wonderful people. They were welcomed into the mission by two elders in a really bad car accident. One of them had to be life flighted to Des Moines hospital. We all fasted for him yesterday and he is on the mend. His family is with him and we just heard that he has been taken out of intensive care and is in his own room now which is awesome! His companion is fine, just a little bruised up and sore. Right away we are able to see the compasion of the Jensens and open our hearts to them. He had each of us bear our testimonies so that he could get to know us at zone conference. Then all of us going home missionaries bore our testimonies again. Then I bore my testimony yesterday thinking that would be my last time in the ward, but bishop called me to speak next week and i also got roped into playing a musical number so i'm not quite done yet in that regard. i guess it will just be practice for my homecoming talk.

Things with Dianna are going good. We did more service for her moving furniture around. We also brought Brother Bair with us and taught her a lesson all about the priesthood. She just needs to keep her commitments and then we will be good :) We are having an open house at the church on Fridayand hopefully she comes to that. We are hoping to have a really good turn out and pick up some new investigators from the event. Plus we are doing a barbeque so if that doesn't attract people, i don't know what will. Tabby is still doing well, but going slow. She kind of blew up on her mom when the bishop's wife and daughter were there to teach Anne one of the new member lessons.

I'm sorry to hear about all of the storms out there. It has just been sunny and hot here for the last week. I guess that's what i've been asking for though. I do like it better than raining all of the time though. We met a fellow by the name of Andy at the hospital yesterday. He had a baptismal date once upon a time and really loves the church, but his wife won't let him go. He also has an 8 year old son who wants to come to church as well. It is super frustrating when you find those people who really do want to come to church and get baptized, but then they don't. It would be really rough though to have to struggle through that. How greatful I am to have a family who is strong in the church! I am greatful that we all support each other. I know that families are eternal.

Love, Elder Peterson

July 1, 2013

Dear Family,

This has been a super good stellar week. Time is definitely flying by on the wings of lightning right now. I can't believe it is July already... just like everybody seems to be telling me at the moment. That is super sweet that you got to go to St George this week. It sounds like it is hotter in Utah than it is here in Iowa, even with the heat index here. It's suprisingly been not too bad here with the heat yet. After all of the rain we got I was expecting really bad humidity. Elder Blackburn still thought it was super humid so maybe i've just grown accustomed to it by now or something.

We had really good lessons with our investigators this week, but sadly none came to church yesterday :(. We had a church tour with Dianna. I always love doing church tours because it is just a really neat way to teach the restoration. I know that she felt the spirit. Dianna also gave us a couple of beds to give to Deanna, another one of our investigators. We dropped those off to her and taught her the plan of salvation. I don't know why she didn't come to church. Our next challenge with her is to help her stop smoking. We are having Anne, our recent convert, fellowship her since she had to recently quit smoking herself. And we had a great lesson with Anne's daughter Tabby. We had a lesson in the Bairs home and it was super sweet! We talked about faith and read from Alma 32. We had Tabby help herself realize that she is not sufficiently nourishing her faith tree. I thought for sure that would bring her to church, but we are going to have to be more patient with her. It's hard to be patient with people progressing when you know you are going to be gone soon though!

That's neat that you are going to the stadium of fire this year. Fort Dodge isn't doing any fireworks this year, not enough money to do them. We are going to a members house to have a barbeque with them on the fourth and am looking forward to that. Elder Blackburn and I are doing well and getting along. We went over to the Bairs and played some Settlers of Catan again this morning. I think that might be becoming a regular thing each week for us now. We just have to make sure to still be on our best behavior because we are playing with the Relief Society President and family haha. Building trust with her is of the upmost importance. She actually has given us a couple of people to go see this week so now we can report to her next week if we play. I haven't met President Jensen yet, but we have a zone conference tomorrow in Ames where we will go to meet him. I'm wondering if/what might be different in this zone conference compared to others. We have a new senior couple in our district who i met this week. They are from near Las Vegas and are really sweet. The Hayworths.

Any update on housing yet? I got your package last week. Thanks for all of the goodies! Snacks are actually very much appreciated! One of the members in our ward had his appendix burst on him this week. We paid him a visit in the hospital after church and he was doing just fine. We also heard that a companionship here in the IDMM was in a bad car accident late Friday night and one of them had to be life flighted to Des Moines. I don't have any updates on that story yet but hopefully by tomorrow we will hear some good news. Needless to say my list of people to pray for has gotten REALLY long and keeps getting longer over the years. I've really come to appreciate the power of prayer and how it really is just talking with a loving Heavenly Father.

I love all of you! Love,

Elder Peterson