Pictures February 1-28

 

Week 77: Williamson 1 ward, Orange stake, Companion Elder Nestripke

 Last Thursday we had Zone Conference and it was awesome. The main themes were daily planning, finding, and picking up the pace overall. We led two breakout rooms about these topics and they went pretty good. We had an object lesson for the planning and it didn't go exactly as planned (ironic). We had two people playing connect 4 and one of them was blindfolded. The idea was that doing missionary work without planning is like playing connect 4 with a blindfold on. The problem was that Elder Payne, the one blindfolded, won! It was hilarious, because the other Elder got beat by someone who couldn't even see. We still got our point across by saying that there are miracles sometimes, but they don't come as often when you don't plan.

It was so funny 

The rest of the conference went smoothly, I also got to see some good friends (as usual). It was a fun day and I think we were able to get the point across. 

PLAN EVERY DAY

EFFECTIVELY FIND, EVERY DAY

PICK UP THE PACE, EVERY DAY

Kind of bugs me sometimes that these things have to be repeated so often to experienced missionaries. Oh well though, no one is perfect. I'm definitely not.

     We haven't had our car for most of this week, so we've been carpooling and catching rides for a bit. The other day we decided to just blitz with some other Elders and it was an experience I won't forget...

     Elder Jackson and I met a guy our age and taught him about the Restoration. We talked to him on his front yard and had a great discussion. He also knows several members in the ward over here so there's already some great connections! We taught the apostasy in a way neither of us ever had before and it was awesome! Gabriel (that's the kid) understood and was pretty interested. It was a tender mercy for me, because I haven't taught a good lesson in several days.

      Later that night all 4 of us were in their car and we stopped by someone in their area to see how they were. Elder Nestripke and I stayed in the car with the assumption that it would only be a couple of minutes. The car was left running, so we had AC. But the doors were locked and they still had the key, so we couldn't get out without the alarm going off. After about 10 minutes (we were just making calls while we waited) the car automatically shut off. We weren't too worried because we assumed they would be back any minute. Turns out that the contact turned into a full on lesson. Which is awesome! For them. We sat in that car for about an hour and by the end of it we were sweating profusely and half dead . It got so hot in that car, but we didn't want to disrupt the lesson with a car alarm, so we just sucked it up and kept making calls. The other Elders got back and were super confused until we explained what happened. 

Then they laughed. 

I didn't laugh.

     Besides almost having a heat stroke, this week was awesome! We had great things happen and we expect even more great things this next week. I'll hit 18 months in a couple days!

-Elder Peterson

Elder Frogley and I retook the salad picture. The more vibrant one is from our first zone conference. The one without the stage is last week.

 We also went to the temple last Tuesday with President Ross and some sisters from the Beaumont zone.

Week 76: Williamson 1 ward, Orange stake, Companion Elder Nestripke

 (Pday is today because President's Day was yesterday and we were out working)

   This past week was pretty good, interesting for sure. Last Tuesday we went to do service at a place called Christian Care. It's another place that distributes food to those in need. It was really fun helping out there, we were mainly restocking items in the back. We also got to hand people their food, which I enjoyed a lot.

     We also had a family in the ward invite us to go to their son's soccer game the other day. It was super fun. They're the Pirates, which I thought was pretty cool. They didn't win, unfortunately, but it was still a fun game to watch. Plenty of soccer drama 

     

     I think I've described what President Ross's place is like. He's got a huge garden and it's really well decorated and organized. On Saturday he had some of us missionaries help him do some work in it. I wasn't having the greatest day, so that manual labor greatly improved my mood. Crazy how that works...

     Sunday night Elder Nestripke and I were walking down a road we already walked not too long ago (so we were a tad bit skeptical, but faithful) and we had a great contact. We knocked on a woman named Keeli's door and shared with her what we do. She seemed pretty curious and agreed to have us come by the next day (yesterday)! We showed up yesterday and had to sit on her porch since her husband wasn't home. We started talking and realized that she had absolutely zero religious background. WHAT!? I have never met someone down here that is actually a blank slate. Neither has Elder Nestripke. So we started with the basics, talking about God and the Gospel. We stumbled a couple times because this was so new for both of us, but it went great. She was asking fantastic questions and was willing to try praying until we come back. It was an awesome experience, even with her cat swatting at my arm while I was trying to share my testimony . We are excited to meet again, we'll be praying that her curiosity remains and that she will actually pray and feel some peace about what we've shared.

     That experience with Keeli was really cool because I feel like it was the first time that I was teaching someone where the biggest concern of theirs was not Book of Mormon. We were able to talk about basic stuff, like our relationship with God. The biggest thing I kept emphasizing to her was that this Gospel is meant to bless families and that the entire purpose of existence is centered on families. She has a couple little kids and I promised her that she can be with her family forever, a truth that means everything to me. I'm so grateful for this Gospel. It brings me so much joy to be able to share with others the fact that families are meant to be forever.

     Interesting note: we did the ice baths again yesterday and I actually did enjoy it this time. I sat in that water for 15 minutes (5 times longer than last time). I felt really good after it.

     Well, I hope ya'll have a great week!

-Elder Peterson

• Brother Brasher's Porsche 911 Carrera (the member who took us to the soccer game)

The crusty cat that lives on the Ross

• Compound (he didn't like the hat I gave him)

• Ice bath round 2

Week 75: Williamson 1 ward, Orange stake, Companion Elder Nestripke

 So this area is awesome. This area is almost exactly what I expected from a texan mission. The only thing missing is the deserts. I love the people here, they're usually pretty respectful when rejecting us . We don't have a ton going on, but I am really enjoying it here. We live on what's called the "Ross Compound." President Ross (a counselor in the mission precidency) lives on an acre or so of land and has built a couple little dorm looking buildings to house missionaries. There are six elders (including myself) living there and it is awesome. One of the best parts is that he lets us take food from his fridge .

     On Friday we did an exchange with Elder Jensen and Elder Burton and I was in their area with Elder Burton. It was a fun exchange, it was cool seeing how much Elder Burton has learned since our last exchange (when I was his district leader). We also got to go to dinner with a family I didn't get to say goodbye to. So now I have said goodbye! I also got to play Elder Lawless's accordion (picture below), which was really fun. 

     After the exchange we got back to Vidor and then went to a member's house to take ice baths. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. They are crazy. But they made it seem super interesting, so I gave in and gave it a try. You can see how much I enjoyed it from the picture below. 

     That night we went and did some finding and had a really cool experience. We knocked on a door and a super nice guy came out and invited us right in before we even introduced ourselves. He was playing some games with his two sons and just let us join. We talked and got to know them for a while and then we shared a little spiritual message. He is familiar with the Book of Mormon and doesn't think he believes it, BUT, he said he's open to talk about it and tell us his questions and concerns. It was a fantastic way to finish a freezing cold day.

     This week has been great, I'm excited for this next week. Hopefully that family (the wards (I've met a lot of awesome Wards on my mission )) will let us come over again sometime to talk about his questions.

Have a great week!

-Elder Peterson