I really don't know how to start this one. Not for lack of stories, more so because I'm tired.
We had a Zone Conference last week and it was super fun. We learned a lot about involving members in missionary work. Also a lot about earning the trust of your ward members. We also had some companion unity training. We were given a topic and told not to show each other. Then one of us taught our topic to another companionship for 30 seconds.Then the other one taught their topic and tried to tie it into the other's. Then to finish it off the first companion had to extend an invitation that is based on both topics. Elder Webb had Jesus Christ's Divine Mission and I had The Gospel of Jesus Christ. So ours was very easy.
Later in the conference we got burgers and homemade mac and cheese for lunch. It was super good. Elder Jenks (one of the mission presidency counselors) is a very good cook.
On Saturday we went over to Sister Aranza's to help her move some boxes. I think she has polio, or something like that where she can't move her legs. She gets around on an electric wheelchair thing. She wanted us to re-organize her storage so that she could get around in it. The last missionaries to help her made it worse, so she wanted us to fix it. It went by very quickly and it was a lot of fun. Whenever we got a box to fit where she wanted it she would go "Hot diggity!! You guys are so nifty!" At the end she told us it was time to go grocery shopping. I was very confused as she led us to her kitchen. Then she proceeded to throw cans of food and things of frozen meat into these grocery bags. She also gave us a ton of random boxed goods and some cereal. It was super sweet of her and when we were leaving she kept thanking us for our help. We quickly thanked her back for all the food she was giving us and she would just laugh and say "When missionaries help me out, I take 'em grocery shopping in my house." I'll put a picture of our "loot" (as Elder Webb calls it) below. This lady is amazing though (not just for giving us food). She calls her disability a blessing because she gets to help other people see that nothing can stop us if we try hard enough. She is an actual motivational speaker and she teaches people with disabilities to not give up. She also likes to go fishing and crabbing. Pretty cool.
Yesterday was probably my favorite day of this past week. Church was awesome, as usual. But since everyone is gone for Thanksgiving, there was an even smaller congregation than usual. Elder Webb and I got to help with the sacrament, which took about 2 minutes. Monica came to church again and she brought the huge print Book of Mormon we had given her. She said she's been reading it, but not as much as she feels like she should. I told her that I'm sure everyone in the church can relate to that guilt, but also that we are super happy she's trying to read it. We went to her house later last night and read Alma 32 with her. We explained what Alma was talking about, comparing "the word" to a seed. She really liked it and she began to understand that as we put effort into studying the scriptures and as we follow Christ, our faith grows and we begin to feel the spirit stronger in our lives. I told her to not be so hard on herself for not reading a lot. I challenged her to read at least one verse every day (emphasizing at least) and I promised her that as she does this, as she gives place for the seed in her heart, her faith will grow and she will see so many blessings. She's still struggling to quit smoking, so I told her it would also give her strength and motivation to stop smoking. We talked about a ton of other stuff too, but I liked all that the most.
One thing I've been trying to teach myself is that I cannot force people to keep their commitments. We've asked so many people to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it, and I think Monica might be the only one that actually does. It makes me sad, because if people would just take a little time to do this, everything else would be so much easier. I've caught myself thinking things like "Alright, how can I make sure they actually do it this time?"
Everyone has their agency and no matter how hard I try, I cannot force anyone to keep their commitments. I've come to realize that as long as I do my part as a missionary, I can feel successful. It is up to every individual person to make the choice to turn to the Savior. When they do so, it is beyond exciting and it makes me want to give them a big high-five. But when they don't, all I can do is extend the invitation again, promise blessings, and share my testimony. (and help them understand why I'm extending it, if they don't know why)
I'm gonna call everyone out now to wrap this up.
Monica has been reading the scriptures ever since we gave her the bigger copy. She tries to read it everyday and still feels that she could be doing more. This alone is awesome, but she also has several family members in hospitals and is constantly visiting them and friends to serve them. We should all take this as an example. We could all do better at reading the scriptures, myself obviously included.
I challenge everyone that reads this to read their scriptures EVERYDAY. Even if it's just one verse, make time for the word of God. And for those who already read them everyday, ask yourself if you're giving enough room for the seed. Are you nourishing it well? Go and read Alma 32:40-43 and ask yourself if you've been diligent enough. (don't worry, I will do the same. I'm not gonna be a hypocrite here)
Anyway, I hope y'all have a good Thanksgiving!!!
-Elder Peterson
1) I made some potatoes and sausage for Sunday dinner and Elder Webb made some lemonade
2) We found a Fiesta shopping cart and decided to take it back to the store
3) This kid behind us in sacrament meeting kept kicking me. Funny kid.
4) Our "Loot" from Sister Aranza, bless her soul
5) this dog literally climbed the fence to try and bite us. It was actually pretty impressive
6) Brush your teeth kids...
