That's probably the best subject I've had yet.
Last Monday I started an exchange with Elder Jensen. It started out super normal and super fun. We had a great lesson with a guy in their area. We talked about the Book of Mormon and why we have it. The guy was listenening very intently and he had good questions too. At one point he asked me a very interesting question. "Have you ever considered the alternate?" He was asking if I have ever explored things against the church and other religions. I told him that I don't waste my time with it. I testified that I know this church is true and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and I told him something that came straight from the spirit. I explained that it would be a sign that I lack faith if I were to explore "anti." I said "Once you have the truth you should grab it and never losen your grip. Why would you? If it's the truth you want, why would you ever let go of it once you've found it? Once you have the truth, what else matters?" Something like that. He thought about it for a bit and then agreed with me. It was cool, cause I really was just speaking by the Spirit and didn't have much idea where I was going with my words.
The next day is when the exchange got crazy. Around 2pm we started getting tornado warnings. By 3 there were tornados across the mission (at least two or three). We took shelter for several hours and just ended up studying the whole time. It was actually really fun. We read Isaiah 2 and compared it to 2 Nephi 12 and learned a lot from the parts that had been lost from the Bible and restored in the Book of Mormon.
On Wednesday we had TLC (I didn't have to sneak in!) and it was a blast. I don't have the energy to explain the whole trip, but it was super fun. Elder Heronema and Woodhouse did awesome. Better than they think.
On Thursday I had another exchange. Elder John came with Elder Woodhouse and I in our area. It was super fun, Elder John is a super good missionary and just a straight up great guy. It was a very fun exchange and we all learned a lot. We ended that exchange the next day during district council.
On Saturday we went to the Leadership and Adult sessions of Stake Conference with Brother Gardner. We were the only missionaries at the leadership session so President Harris had us sit on the stand with him. It was kind of strange to sit up there, but the topic was missionary work. So I guess it made sense. The other missionaries in the zone showed up for the adult session and we all sang a special musical number. The next day we rode with the O'Dell family (I love that family) and they even made us breakfast before we left. Stake Conference was great. A lot of it was about Temples and it helped me realize that I need to live close to a temple when I'm settling down with a family. These people out here are 2 hours from the nearest temple. I feel bad for them because back home I'm about 5 minutes away from one... Oh well, Idaho is just the promised land.
It's been a great week and now we're in the last week of the Transfer. I'm really curious to see what is going to happen next week.
God is good, and this work is good. I love being a missionary, I'm learning so much!!! READ THE SCRIPTURES!! It does wonders (and they're commandments...)
-Elder Peterson
Boiled potatoes for dinner
