As you can probably gather from the email subject, things are starting to get going a bit!
This past week Elder Mangan and I were at the Butler's home for dinner. Their a young couple with a hilarious 8 month-old son. We had a good meal and we talked about missionary work for a while. After the meal we were walking down their sidewalk and we saw a nice looking couple sitting on their driveway talking. We walked up and asked them if we could share a Bible verse with them. The woman, Norma, said we could. I wanted to share James 2:17, but I gave a little context first. I told them it's one of my favorite scriptures concerning faith and we started talking about what faith means. I then shared the scripture:
"Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."
They loved it and we kept talking about faith for a while, it was awesome. We then explained who we are and what we as missionaries do. We asked them if we could come another time to talk a little more, and they agreed. I gave them a pamphlet that had our number on it, got there number, and said goodbye.
It was such an awesome conversation and they were so nice, they even gave us some soda before we left
As we continued down the street we came across 8 (give or take) kids playing some basketball. They approached us and asked if we had guns. Then they asked if we were police. We told them who we are and they just kinda went "oh! Cool..." Then we started playing basketball with them 
It was pretty fun, they had their hoop lowered a bit, so I was able to dunk (barely) and they were loving it. They had some pretty good shots themselves though. After about 15 minutes of playing with them we told them we should go. They were a little disappointed, but we all had fun.
It was pretty fun, they had their hoop lowered a bit, so I was able to dunk (barely) and they were loving it. They had some pretty good shots themselves though. After about 15 minutes of playing with them we told them we should go. They were a little disappointed, but we all had fun.Elder Mangan and I decided to do a little walking around on the beach a couple days ago, and it was pretty cool. The beach is only about 15 minutes from our apartment, so it wasn't a hard decision. There wasn't a lot of people, so we weren't able to talk to anyone, but we got a couple good pictures (down below). The beach is kinda funny, you've got 30 feet of sand until water, the waves are very small, and in the distance you can see oil drills (or some kind of oil machines). Fun! Unfortunately I didn't get the oil drills in the pictures, so you'll just have to believe me.
We found a guy who missionaries in the past couldn't get a hold of and had a great talk. We caught him outside trimming his bushes with scissors (
) and asked him about his experiences with missionaries in the past. He didn't answer that question, instead he told us that he has a ton of weird questions (
) and asked if we would listen. We told him we'd hear one and they come back another time for some others. He basically asked if we existed before the world was created. I said yes and he went "Really? Cause I haven't seen that anywhere in the Bible." I refrained from rolling my eyes and then read Proverbs 8:22-26 with him. He read it over about 5 times before finally admitting that it does confirm. It was a good conversation though, he didn't try to bash us or anything, so that was good. We scheduled another time to meet and then wished him a blessed day.
) and asked him about his experiences with missionaries in the past. He didn't answer that question, instead he told us that he has a ton of weird questions () and asked if we would listen. We told him we'd hear one and they come back another time for some others. He basically asked if we existed before the world was created. I said yes and he went "Really? Cause I haven't seen that anywhere in the Bible." I refrained from rolling my eyes and then read Proverbs 8:22-26 with him. He read it over about 5 times before finally admitting that it does confirm. It was a good conversation though, he didn't try to bash us or anything, so that was good. We scheduled another time to meet and then wished him a blessed day.This week has been great, we've been finding more people and setting up more lessons. You really get out what you put in. We've been out everyday as much as we can trying to get lessons, and it's starting to pay off. One struggle I've been having is finding peace. If you know me you've come to understand that I like my personal quiet time and I get frustrated with people pretty quickly (something I'm really working on). Because of this I really enjoy little breaks throughout the day where I can read some scriptures, pray, and do some pondering. These are 3 things that have been extremely refreshing for me. I've come to understand that studying the scriptures prayerfully and with lots of pondering brings a lot of peace. Jesus Christ truly is the Prince of Peace and as we study his life and his words, we can become a happier, more peaceful people. I strive to emulate that calm peacefulness that Christ had when he taught people. A scripture I heard recently shows that the Lord is not heard in loudness, but in the quiet stillness.
"11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:
12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice" (1 kings 19:11-12).
I know that as we seek moments in our lives where we can quietly ponder the words of Christ, we will receive much peace and many revelations.
I hope you all have a great week!
-Elder Peterson
The only one I have to comment on is the one with words. I found that scripture in my personal study and found it very applicable to missionary work. The picture may be a bit cheesy, but I like it.
