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
