Week 71: SUCCESS!!!!!

This week was so good!!!!!!!!!!! We worked so hard and we saw a lot of success!!!!!!! MONDAY WE HAD A SUPER FUN DAY!!! We went to a members' office. He's a denturist, but makes rings as a hobby and we started the process of making our own rings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They have a Canada Vancouver Mission seal on it!!!! We had to melt wax and put it into this little

mold and then we had to make the band out of wax and IT TOOK FOREVER BUT IT'S GOING TO LOOK LEGIT!!! I CAN'T WAIT!!! It's quite the process!!! I'll send you some pictures!!!!  Tuesday we stopped by the house of this potential named Heidi! She let us right in and the first thing she said was, "I don't really have a religious background." We took that into account and we just started chatting and the Spirit was so strong! Our conversation just turned right into a gospel conversation!! She was asking so many good questions!!!!!!! EVERYTHING JUST FLOWED AS WE TAUGHT THE RESTORATION IT WAS SO COOL!!! When we told her about the First Vision she said, "That's amazing!!! How do we know that actually happened???" PERFECT QUESTION!!!!!!!! We told her about the Book of Mormon and how she can come to know through reading and praying!! It got me thinking WHY WOULDN'T SOMEONE WANT TO KNOW IF SOMETHING LIKE THIS IS TRUE!!! IF GOD CALLED ANOTHER PROPHET...WOULDN'T YOU WANT TO KNOW AND FOLLOW HIM????? IF GOD RESTORED THE SAME POWER AND AUTHORITY CHRIST HAD WOULDN'T YOU WANT TO ACCESS THAT????? It made me so thankful for the knowledge I have of this gospel!! She wants to bring her family to church! She has two step daughters and two little girls of her own!! WE FOUND A FAMILY!!!! SO EXCITING!!! Later that day we taught another lady, Erin, and he

lesson was different. She wasn't super interested and it was harder to teach. She was just not having it....so it was a great teaching moment for Sister Limb!! Now she knows when lessons are Spirit-filled and when the people are prepared and when people aren't prepared to hear the message we have! There is a clear difference!! Wednesday was a crazy day!! We didn't do much proselyting! We had District Meeting and then right after all the Elders came and helped us move!!! Sister Brimhall and Sister Eyanson moved into our apartment and then Sister Limb and I moved into a brand new apartment closer to our area!!! It was crazy!!!! After we got everything moved in I went with Sister Brimahll and Sister Eyanson back to my old apartment ( now their new apartment) to organize some things. The other sisters came about 45 min later...they said we organized the furniture and we started the dish washer for you!! **RED FLAG WENT OFF IN MY HEAD....WE DON'T HAVE ANY DISHWASHER SOAP YET..... I asked did you use dish soap...like dawn???? "YES!!!" I ALMOST DIED AND FELL ON THE FLOOR......I SAID YOU CAN'T USE DISH SOAP IN A DISH WASHER.........I SAID GO BACK NOW!!!!! In my mind I was imagining our new apartment flooded with bubbles...water  seeping through the floor...NIGHTMARE!!!!! I was praying so hard it would be okay!! They got back to the apartment and our kitchen floor was only half covered with bubbles!!!! Whew!!!! They said I was like their mom....but I was so worried!!!!! hahahhahahahh Now we have little dishwashing packs for the dishwasher and all is well. Later that night we were invited over to a Scrabble Party with one of our members. She gave us a heads up that one of her friends that comes asks very deep doctrine questions and that's why she wanted us there. So we went and she gave us dinner while they played scrabble...then the questions started to come....about all sorts of stuff!!!! Temples, our eternal

progression.....All we could think to do was STICK TO THE BASICS!! We basically just taught her the Plan of Salvation!! She said I want to keep playing scrabble but lets meet next week Tuesday at my house! SWEET!!!!!!  Thursday we met with a less active that we ran into while tracting! She is so sweet!! She has THE STRONGEST TESTIMONY!!! She said, "You're probably wondering why I don't come to church?" hahah Then told us all about it. She's had a rough life!! When she bore her testimony to us it was amazing!! We're going to keep working with her to bring her back to the fold!!! Friday we taught a few lessons!! We met with Jenny! When we first started teaching her she didn't have a belief in God...kind of considered her an Atheist. But in our lesson she said she has found a respect for God. She understands why he's there. And she believes God is real!!!!!!! It was really cool!!! She has come a long way!! She even said a prayer at the end of the lesson and it was perfect!!!!!!!! Saturday was a great walking day!!! We live closer to our area now, so we can walk all over!! Sister Limb had her first KinderEgg today!!!!! Yum!!! We got Frozen toys in ours hahaha We had to pick up our member for a lesson, but she got out of class early so we took her tracting hahah She loved it!! We found a potential for the Elders too!!! Then we went to our lesson with Tim!! IT WAS SO GOOD!!!! We taught him the Plan of Salvation and he was really close with

his dad who passed away , so he loved the idea of the Spirit World and that his dad is learning this stuff right now too!! At one part we were explaining that without the gospel we wouldn't really know our purpose in life and wouldn't have that example to follow...he said "thank goodness for the restoration then!!" MY FACE WAS BEAMING!!! LIKE A PROUD PARENT!!!!! I WAS SO PROUD OF HIM AND I WAS JUST SO HAPPY!!! HE FINALLY GOT IT!!!!!! THE RESTORATION IS SO IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!! I'M FULFILLING MY PURPOSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!! Our Sunday was pretty good aside from the fact that our Sunday School lesson was all sorts of awkward and I got sick later in the day :( I get super bad headaches when I go without food and so yesterday I was down for the count!! I tried everything though!! Just like previous times though...Heavenly Father always relieves the pain while I need to work or teach and then when I am sitting down or in the car it comes full blast again!! Blessings!! So I decided to get a Priesthood blessing from The Johns one of the senior couples. I haven't had a blessing in quite a while...I have always been focused on my companions and helping them get better and back to work that I never thought to get one...but I decided it was time!! So I asked for one!! I really needed it! I was assured that God knew of my righteous desires. That he is so proud of the hard work I'm doing!! I needed to hear that! :) Later Sunday night we got a call from the Sisters that they were stranded....they were cleaning the snow off their car and they locked the keys in the car....while it was running!!!! hahahahha They called roadside assistance, but we went and gave them our gloves and they were covered with snow....they had been outside their car for an hour hahahahahahahahahha Everything is going good so far!!! Training is a work in progress but we are working it out!! We are enjoying each day and I am just loving Kelowna!!!!!!  Most of all I just love being a missionary right now :) The Work is going so good! We are seeing progress!!!  I know the Lord is blessing us in so many ways!!! I know this is where I'm supposed to be!!!

Love you,

Sister Peterson :)

Random Facts:

**I haven't drank coke/pepsi in over 2 months now!!!

**Did you know squirrels scream??? We can hear them outside...it sounds like a baby...that's the only logical thing we can think of.....there is nothing else outside our window!!!

the end

Week 70: First Week of Training!!!!!

Where in the world do I begin....MY WEEK WAS CRAZY!!!!!

So because of the Holidays transfers were really messed up!! Sister Gartside didn't end up going to Abbotsford. She got switched to Surrey 3rd, which was my last area!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE SURREY 3RD!!!!!!! So she didn't fly out til Wednesday and then I spent a whole day working with Sister Hoffman and Sister Nelson in their area! Then I

flew out to Vancouver early Thursday morning!! It was just me and another Elder flying from Kelowna and we literally flew on the smallest plan I'VE EVER BEEN ON!!!!!! IT DIDN'T HAVE JETS....IT HAD PROPELLERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So small!!!! hahah We got there okay though! 

When we got to the mission office it was kind of dead because we were the first ones there! President Burt saw me and pulled me into his office!!! I HAVEN'T BEEN IN HIS OFFICE SINCE I CAME OUT...OH MY GOODNESS 15 OR SO MONTHS AGO!!!! He sat me down and gave me all this advice about training a new missionary! Some of it scared me, but most of it just made me super excited!!!! He also told us that we are going to be....MOVING APARTMENTS!!!! I've been in the same area for 6 months, but I've moved about 5 times now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe this is preparing me to move a lot in the future!!!! WHO KNOWS!!! So yes we are moving tomorrow into another apartment and the new Kelowna 1st sisters are moving into our basement suite!!! So mom I will have yet another address for you!!! :) Anyway, as I was leaving his office I looked at the board with all the pictures of the new missionaries and I kind of had a feeling I would be training a certain sister...it was weird...like I knew...but I really had no idea. Anyway, so we had a training meeting on Thursday for just the trainers and we were prepped on how things might go!!! It was SO GOOD!!! It helped me feel a little more comfortable about training!! Then we met all together in a big room and had lunch with the new missionaries!! At this point we still didn't know who our companions were!!! Also President and Sister Burt's kids and grandkids were

there!!!!!!!! They are so adorable!!! I was able to see Sister Steele and Sister Tripp and all my favorite sisters!!!! Ahhh!! It was so exciting!!!! They all took bets on who I would train. Then came the transfer meeting....the moment where we learn who we are going to be training!!! President Burt said....Sister Peterson will you stand.......Sister Peterson serves in the beautiful Okanagan Valley in Kelowna 2nd ward!!! She will be training a sister from Good ole Copperton, Utah......SISTER LIMB!!!!!!!  THAT'S WHO I THOUGHT I WOULD TRAIN AND WHO EVERYONE GUESSED!!!!!!!! We had a LONG meeting about missionary things and then we were shipped off to the airport again! Luckily we rode on a bigger plane this time!!!! The lady we were sitting next too started talking to us and we were able to teach her the Restoration!!!! She is super interested in coming and checking out a church!!! IT WAS A MIRACLE!!!! Her name is Teagan! Ever since we've gotten back we've just been trying to work so hard!! I've been having to slow down and make sure I explain EVERYTHING!!!! I've been reading my journal of when Sister Ricks trained me and trying to remember how I felt as a "greenie". Sister Limb is SO GOOD THOUGH!!! She is so ready to just work hard, and she has such a strong desire to serve!!!  Friday we had a lesson set up for a member to come with us and everything...and

our investigator Tim didn't show!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That was Sister Limb's first experience with a cancellation...unfortunately they happen a lot...but we didn't give up!! We set up another appointment and we were able to meet with him on Saturday and we brought a different member and it turns out SHE WAS THE PERFECT MEMBER FOR HIM!! She had been through similar experiences and could relate to him. We taught him the Restoration! We had asked him about baptism on his doorstep last week, but Saturday we invited him to be baptized once he came to know this was true he said, "Yes!!! Absolutely!!" That's what I love to hear!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He even set his own date!! He said...How about April 2nd?! If I did it on the April 1st God might think it's a joke!!! HAHAHHAHAHAHHAH WE DIED LAUGHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's still pretty far away, but he set that date on his own so we're going with it!! We are really excited!!!! Then that night...NEW YEARS EVE!!!! We had a dinner with one of our members and she brought her friend Nora, so we could teach

her!!!! We taught her the restoration and made her a new investigator!!!!!! After that we had to rush home because all missionaries had to be in by 6pm!!! We can't be out all night partying and talking with the crazy people!!! So we had a quiet evening and weekly planned!!! I tried to make it fun though! We bought sparkling cider and a cheese ball....just like home hahahhahahaha That's something both me and Sister Limb's family like to eat on New Years!!! Church was AWESOME!!!! The talks were so good I felt like I was in general conference!!!!!! We worked really hard after church on Sunday...Sister Limb CRASHED when we went to bed! hahhahah She is such a trooper though!! I am so proud of her for running hard with me!! I have never felt such a urgency to do this work before!! I
LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY SO MUCH!!!!!!! I LOVE BEING A REPRESENTATIVE OF JESUS CHRIST AND SEEING PEOPLE'S LIVES CHANGE!!! I AM SO HAPPY I WAS ABLE TO SPEND EVERY DAY OF 2016
SERVING THE LORD!!! THAT'S SO COOL TO THINK ABOUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 365 DAYS....EACH

MOMENT...EACH DAY....IN THE SERVICE OF THE LORD!!!!! Happy New Year everyone!!!! 2017 is going to be great!! I'm excited for the miracles that Heavenly Father has in store for us this transfer!! :) If you guys could!!! Please pray for Sandra our investigator!! that we will be able to meet with her and strengthen her testimony of the Plan of Salvation!! Pray that we'll be able to find some solid new investigators!!! Pray that Levi will come to know the Book of Mormon is true! AND PRAY THAT WE WILL HAVE A BAPTISM SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am trying so hard to do everything the way that Heavenly Father needs me too! Especially now that I'm training!! She copies everything I do which is so funny, but also scary!!! I'm trying to make this transfer so good so that Sister Limb starts out her mission right!! So I could use all the prayers you can muster up!!!

Love you all :)

Sister Peterson

*Pictures from transfer meeting and the new year

**I'll tell you about the Hawaii temple cards....so Sister Steele is from Hawaii so I
would always give her these cards...then it turned into hiding the cards in her journal, jacket, everywhere and it annoyed her so much!!! hahahahahhahaha NOw that sister steele is gone SIster Hoffman has been hiding temple cards and annoying me!!!! hahahah Karma!!!!!!!! Anyway I'm pretty sure I've found about 20 of them so far!!! 

Week 69: MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!

THIS WEEK WAS THE MOST AMAZING WEEK OF MY MISSION!!!!

We have been seeing miracles after miracles as this transfer has come to a close and Christmas has been approaching!!! Last week we got 4 new investigators!! THIS WEEK WE GOT 3 MORE EVEN THOUGH IT WAS

That's one way to take your tree home!

CHRISTMAS AND PEOPLE ARE BUSY!!! God is so good!!!! This week started out super eventful!!! Sister Gartside got SO SICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We were leaving an appointment and oh my goodness...not good!!!! Poor thing!!! So we drove home super fast (I tried not to make her sick I promise!!) and she was up all night sick :( I tried to help her but there's not much you can do :( So we didn't sleep very much. The next day the Sister Training Leader's came and Sister Steele and I went to District Meeting and went to work!!!! Throughout the day we switched in and out that way we could all work! Sister Steele and I literally had 30 min to go out and work. We prayed and then she said "lets go find a new investigator". Literally 5 min later we we knocked on a door of a street that's been tracted out a bagillion times and he wanted to learn more. As we talked to him we found out that he has had a rough life, but he had turned his life around. As

he was talking I got the prompting to ask him If he's been baptized!!!! I was like man...that's a bold question...but I did it! I asked him and he said yes, but he should probably be baptized again and recommit! HOW PERFECT!!! We told him we prepare people for baptism. We taught him the Restoration and he was so excited to come to church and get baptized!!! IT WAS SUCH A MIRACLE!!! Even though Sister Gartside was sick we still were finding people to teach!!!! Later that night though....I started to feel sick....then THE SICKNESS HIT ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I DESPISE BEING SICK IT'S SO GROSS!!!!!!!!!!!! So I called the nurse, but she told me to still go out so I did....it was really hard but we made it through!!!! We were able to have an awesome lesson with our investigator Levi!!! I prayed the whole time that I would be able to make it through...that I wouldn't get nauseous!!! We talked about the Book of Mormon and gave him more of the background!! He is excited to read and pray! I made it

through the lesson fine!!! but right after...back to being sick!!! Heavenly Father definitely blesses you for doing his work!!! Friday CHRISTMAS EVE EVE!!!!!! We set up a lesson with our investigator Leslie! Her and her kids came to the Ward Christmas party last week!!!! We were expecting just to meet with her at the mall in between her Christmas shopping but her and her husband showed up!!! So we taught him and he is interested so we got ANOTHER NEW INVESTIGATOR!!! SURPRISE!!!!!! We asked them in the lesson if they would be baptized and they looked at each other and said YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE ARE SO EXCITED FOR THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Their whole family is going to be changed because of this gospel!!! They are going to be so much happier and closer with Jesus Christ!!!!!!!!!!!! SO AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM SO HAPPY FOR THEM!!!!! After we had to rush to the store and grab a rotisserie chicken....because we forgot...and we were having a nice Christmas dinner with the YSA sisters!!! It was

so cute!! Sister Steele used a white sheet (clean I'm assuming) as our tablecloth and laid out little place settings for all of us!! We had chicken, stuffing, potatoes, yams, veggies, cider....quite the meal!!!  After we were walking around downtown talking to people, and we had been invited to a party at a member's house...we didn't want to go because...we probably wouldn't be very effective...but we prayed about it and we felt really good about going...weird...but okay lets do it!! So we went and MaryAnne our investigator was there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE HADN'T SEEN HER IN ABOUT A MONTH!!! That was a miracle!! Then we talked with these two non-members for about 45 min about missionary work, the light the world video, the church

and all that jazz!!! Really a miracle!!!! So good!!! Saturday.....CHRISTMAS EVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We went on a random Blitz with the sisters, they felt prompted to go so we went!!! I went with Sister Steele and we were walking and talking and I said Hey there's a potential there....lets go knock it!! So we did and the lady opened the door and we got to talking!! She said she was weary of the Book of Mormon and she said, "Well if the Book of Mormon is true then I'll stand before God and say whoops missed that one!!!" We told her she could find out if it's true on her own!! No pressure we would just come teach her and she could read and pray and ask God. We taught her the Restoration and just like that .....WE GOT AN OTHER NEW INVESTIGATOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 3 for the week!!!!!!! MIRACLES!!!!!!!! Turns out she works at an old folks home too, so I asked if we could come caroling and she said they would love that!!! Yay!!!! Sister Steele and I also found a potential named Utah...we had a great laugh about that one!!! For

My Christmas Card from Gram!

Christmas Eve dinner we went to the Vaski's house!!! They do seafood appetizers for Christmas eve....IT WAS SO GOOD!!!!! I FINALLY TRIED SCALLOPS!!!!!!!!!!! Yum!!!! They are such a sweet family!!! They took really good care of us :) After eating there we went and spent Christmas Eve with Sister Stevenson!!! She got baptized on Christmas Eve 20 something years ago so we celebrated with her!!!! Christmas day was so good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We woke up and FINISHED THE BOOK OF MORMON!!!!!!! We've been reading it for 4-5 months now and we finished it Christmas day!!! I just flipped through the pages at all the red markings where Jesus is mentioned and the doctrine I had highlighted and just knew it was true!!! :) After that we opened our gifts!!! My family is so sweet!! They sent me all my favorite things!!!! It was like I was just at home!!! :) I love them so much!!!  Our church service was amazing because we had a General Authority come!!!! Elder DeFeo! His brother is in our Stake Presidency!! It was a sacrament meeting with
tons of musical numbers and then the General Authority spoke to us! I got to sing in a choir for one song!! So good!!! After we walked around the streets and talked to people! We went and caroled at Lisa's old folks home!!

THEN WE GOT TO SKYPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My family is so wonderful!!! Even though my sSkype shut off 2 times they still stayed on to talk to me hahahahahhh Then in the middle of it....MY  NEIGHBOR....MY BEST FRIEND SINCE THE WOMB....KAILEY CAME OVER TO SEE IF WE HAD A EGG SHE COULD BORROW....IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SKYPE CALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WAS SO EXCITED TO SEE HER!!!!!!!!!!!!PERFECT TIMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!hahah It was such a good surprise!!!! LOVE YOU MAJEWSKI'S!!!!! After we had to rush to our dinner!!!! We had dinner with a lady in our ward that doesn't have much family!! She did so much for us and got us presents!!! Very humbling....I love her a lot!! She gave us so many leftovers though...oh my goodness too much!!! On the way home, I saw all of the homeless people outside and I felt like I should give our leftovers to them...so as I was driving I was on the look out!! I saw one man huddled down and I knew I needed to talk to him. So I pulled over...my companion was a little scared of why I was going to talk to a homeless man in a dark

area and scary area in town haha I said "Hey! Have you had supper yet???" He said "no I haven't." I said well here we have some for you!!! I gave him the whole thing!!!! We even happened to have an extra wrapped fork in the car from take out a few weeks ago....it was perfect!!! His name is Clinton!! We talked to him about the Gospel and what we do as missionaries!! He was just so happy to have some food :) I WAS SO HAPPY TOO!!! I've never really done anything like that before.....I'm not telling you this to seem like "look what I did" but I'm telling you because in that moment I TRULY FELT THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS....I literally felt so good!!!! So spiritual, so charitable, so christ-like, so filled with joy!!! Clinton was so happy and I know that he appreciated it!! I will never forget that :) His bright smile as we simply shared with him what we had to share and the message of Jesus Christ. This has been such a memorable Christmas :) One of the best yet! I hope you all had a great Christmas!!

Please enjoy our Mission Christmas Poem:

With clouds over head, a storm in the night. we beg and we plead for the moon to shine bright. 

To lighten our path, to show us the way, all we can think is to love serve, and obey.

Through mountains of snow, and showers of rain,

we sometime must climb for our personal gain.

if we pray and we ask we are promised his love.

His heavenly guidance, from a world up above.

Fully seeking the truth, we know he'll respond. no moon has appeared,

I guess we'll pray on. we try and we try but nothing appears,

frustration and doubt often lead us to tears.

we come in at night on our knees, in our room, when a new star appears,

 "but god, where's the moon? you promise you'd give 

what we asked in his name, am I the one lacking, or

 is my faith to blame"?

"my child, you know not what you asketh of me.

for with the light of the moon for a time you would see.

If you follow my star, this new light will shine,

forever and ever, no matter the time.

sometime when you ask your desire is pure but wait for my answer, i knoweth the cure.

The light of the world, he's the one who can heal, so keep pressing forward, his atonement is real.

Remember this star , it shone bright in the sky.  when the savior was born for all of mankind.

He is there as your guide, the light for your path, follow him home, and you'll receive all that I have" 

by Elder Lieber

Love you and Happy New Year!!!!

2017 is going to be a great one :)

Love,

Sister Peterson :)

Week 68: 4 NEW INVESTIGATORS!!!

Well this week was pretty fantastic!!!!! Monday was rough! We had to wait in line at the post office.......TWICE!!!!!!!!!!!!! It took about an hour total and it was horrific!!!!!! Hopefully my family likes their presents though:) Tuesday we had such a big miracle!!! We were at a member visit and we were talking to her about how she shares the gospel and she said she just tries to be a good example. Then she said she had some cookies for us from a market she goes too and the baker there is just so sweet and always comes out and gives her a hug!! He's one of the people that notices her great example!! She said his name and we were like....THAT'S OUR NEW INVESTIGATOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So cool!!!!!! Wednesday we had Zone meeting!! It was really good!! We were trained on how we can "boil" like Jeffrey R. Holland wants us to so we have this little activity now and we set a goal for just about anything and then write specific steps to help us meet that goal. Then we take one step and break that down into another 206-212 chart...it's super inspired and we've been using it with our transfer goals and it's working. We are way more dedicated to them and we have a clear plan on how to achieve it.

GOAL

212*

211*

210*

209*

208*

207*

206* WE ARE HERE

We had a great lesson with Sandra on Thursday!! We invited her to be baptized! She didn't say no, but she didn't say yes either!! She's still in the process of researching and finding things out and she had a very spiritual experience with her baptism before so I can understand why it would be hard for her. We're going to keep working on it! She is so good though! She said she met

President and Sister Burt and Elder Nattress at the airport last week when she was working and they recognized her!!!!! It was so cool!!! I just love them!!! She said they are amazing people :) I agree!!! Thursday we had lesson after lesson after lesson!! We had a lesson scheduled with a potential Levi that we met last week, but we couldn't find a member to come with us (we can't meet with males alone...we have to have another female with us) We called through everyone on our list!!!! No one could come...we were like okay maybe he will cancel??? We know God has a greater plan!! hahah So we went to our dinner appointment with the Lemoines! Brenda is a recent convert and we told her about our dilemma...she said we can't let someone not hear about the gospel, so she made us eat fast and then we were out the door to the lesson!!! It was so cool to see her and her husband bear their testimonies to Levi!!! He is very involved in the Catholic church but has a strong desire to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it. We set up an appointment for next week at the Lemoines house!!! We're so excited!!!!! Then in Ward Council on Sunday we were asking who has a background in the Catholic church and a member of the Stake Presidency said he did and he would love to come. Then he said and my brother is coming for Christmas he's a General Authority, a member of the 70, we can see if he would want to come to the lesson too. WHAT????????? THAT WOULD BE SO COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He's probably super busy, but it's a cool

idea!!!! Basically Levi's lesson is going to be great no matter what!!! Friday we had lots of lessons too and we taught a bunch of little kids about the Plan of Salvation! One of the little kids isn't a member and she asked us "Who are God's parents???" "Do we have a Heavenly Mother or does God have a wife??" THIS CHILD IS SUCH A DEEP THINKER!!!!!!!!!!!!! hahaha She's only 9!!!!!! Saturday was lots of fun!!! It's been around -10 to -20 the last week so we've been freezing, especially me!!! My limbs go numb within a couple minutes hahahaha but that doesn't stop me!!! We walked and talked all day and got a few good potentials that said we could come back!! Saturday night was our Ward Christmas Party and Leslie and her kids came!! Their the family I met on the bus back in November!!!! MIRACLE CONTACT!!!!!!!! We gave them a church tour before the party and taught them the Restoration!! They loved it!! They also loved the party!!! Everyone was so friendly and we had a lot of fun!!! The kids liked it and Leslie said they really like the atmosphere and are so excited to come to church and stuff!!! YAY!!!!! So with that family we got 4 NEW INVESTIGATORS THIS WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sunday was good!! We had a great Sacrament meeting and we had lots of meetings to attend!! I didn't feel too great all day. Felt really dizzy and light headed!! We had to teach Relief Society...I barely remember it hahahahha I took a 10 min nap when we got home and then just pushed through the night. Heavenly Father definitely helped me! I didn't feel sick while we were out, but as soon as we got back in I started to feel woozy and get my headache again! Tender Mercy!!! We taught an awesome family Sunday night!!! We read with them the Christmas

Story in Luke 2! One of the kids said "an angel is someone with a light bulb in them...wearing a white dress" hahahhahahhahhaha I died!!! Then I let them borrow my scriptures! I said I got these when I was baptized they're really old so be careful with them. Then the same little kid that made the angel comment gave them back to me after we were done reading and said "here's your scriptures that you got when you were baptized that are old and can turn into dust any second." THIS KID CRACKS ME UP!!!! He's only like 7 hahahahahaha Overall it was a great week!!! We are seeing miracles as we exercise our faith!!! I am super excited to Skype my family on Sunday!!!!!!! Yay!!!! This is my last Skype call on my mission!!! Crazy!!!! We also get transfer calls on Christmas Eve so stay tuned for that!! I could stay...I could go!!! Who knows!!!!

Love you all

Love,

Sister Peterson

Week 67: Zone Conference, Creche, & Snow!

This week was GREAT!!!

At the beginning of the week we helped set up for Creche which is a huge Nativity display this ward does every year!! They have hundreds of Nativities! We set up a table and let me tell you IT'S HARD!!!! Rearranging the table cloth, the stands, and

the nativity pieces! Gee wiz!!! It turned out really pretty though! We had a great lesson with Sandra! One of our favorite members Sister Purnell came with us! She did a really good job at explaining the deep doctrine of the Plan of Salvation really simply and guess what....SANDRA NOW BELIEVES THE PLAN OF SALVATION UP TILL KINGDOMS OF GLORY!!!! We're still working on that :) She is progressing really well!! She asked me after I bore my testimony about God's plan for us, "So you know this 100%?" I said "Yes!" There was no doubts in my mind.The Spirit was so strong in that moment and confirmed to me again that I DID know this was true and that it really is God's plan for us!  Sister Burt called and asked if a few missionaries would sing at our Zone Conference with Elder K. Brett Nattress a member of the seventy. Of course I said YES!!!! We had 1 practice on Tuesday...just 1...crazy...what were we thinking singing for a general authority and we only get 1 practice!!! hahah It turned out really good! We Sang The First Noel :)  Wednesday was Zone Conference! IT WAS SO GOOD!!!!! ONE OF THE BEST ZONE CONFERENCES I'VE BEEN

TOO!!!!!! I received so much personal revelation. One of my questions was, how can I make the last 3 months of my mission GOLD!?!? How can they just be filled with blessings and hard work and dedication! It was definitely answered! Elder Nattress is such a great man!!! He is just so relaxed and funny and has such a great spirit with him! When it was my turn to go up and shake his hand he asked about me and you could tell he has a strong love for all missionaries! His training was all about the Savior. He asked three great questions: 1) What think ye of Christ? 2) When did you know? {that christ was your savior} 3) When did you know that you know? I LOVED his training so much!!! That was another one of my questions. How can I strengthen my relationship with Jesus Christ and understand the atonement more!  I could go on for days about this zone conference...IT WAS SO GOOD!!! Thursday we helped a member and her roommate who's one of our investigators move! It was quite fun :) They were just moving down the hall, so we would just load up a shopping cart wheel it down the hall and unload hahah We looked silly but it was fun!! Later we went and

hung out at the Creche the nativity display at the church! It's a community event, so there are lots of non-members that come. We just went up to everyone and introduced ourselves. Sister Gartside was able to have a great conversation with one lady who is searching for a church. It was really successful! Friday IT SNOWED LIKE CRAZY AND IT'S BEEN SNOWING EVER SINCE!!!! The city did a bad job with the roads and so it was so bad!!! Sister Gartside doesn't drive, so I'm the designated driver...SO HERE I AM....A LAS VEGAS GIRL...DRIVING A BRAND NEW 2016 ROGUE....IN 1 FOOT OF SNOW....NOT A GOOD IDEA!!!!!!!!!!!! hahah But I've been doing good! I'm learning all the tips and tricks. I'm also learning not to walk to people's driveways because it compacts the snow and makes it hard to scrap off...so we've been shovelling our way down to our car each morning and up the driveway each night :) I really don't understand why anyone would subject themselves to this....and this isn't even bad!!! The people on the other side of Canada are getting it worse!!! Saturday was walking day...so we dressed up like Eskimos and started stomping snow!!! One of the houses we knocked the mom opened the door and came out to talk to us. Her 4 yr. old son opened it and said

"guys stop talking..." shuts the door "guys seriously stop talking" hahahhaha it was so funny!!!!!!!!!!! We went on a blitz with the sisters. Sister Hoffman and I found a really solid potential named Ash! He and his family just moved here and they're looking for a church!!! We can't wait to teach them!!! After the blitz, we found out Sister Gartside and Sister Steele got kicked out of the mall for proselyting, so now we can't go in there except to shop :( so sad!!!!!!!!! They have been stalking us on the cameras for weeks now.....oh man!!! Sister Gartside and I drove to our next area and we realized...Sister Hoffman still had our phone...and we had no way to contact them... hahahah WHY DO WE RELY ON OUR PHONES FOR EVERYTHING!!! So we knocked on a members door...no luck...not home...so we walked through the snow down the street to another members home and she invited us in allowed us to use the phone and made us some hot cocoa! We've been trying to meet with this particular member SINCE I GOT HERE, so it was a miracle!!! We eventually got our phone back hahha crazy. Later we were walking downtown and we met person after person that was interested in the gospel and meeting up! It was so cool!! We handed out so many pamphlets and we met  really cool

guy named Levi (leh-vi) not (lee-vi) he was really interested in the fact that we believe in a modern day prophet!!! Really cool! Sunday was good! We had great talks at church from the high council (makes me excited to come home and hear my dad's talks now :) hahah) All our appointments cancelled after church....I was so shocked and disappointed and I immediately went in the room and started praying. President Burt challenged us at Zone Conference to have mighty prayers and boy did I have a mighty prayer!!! I pleaded with God to bless us with people to teach and that while we were out at night walking around in the snow that someone would be outside that we could talk to....well just like always he blesses us. It seems hard in that moment. We think "I can't do that I'll freeze or I'm not capable" but all we have to do is put our snow boots on or our big boy pants and JUST DO IT {quoting Mosiah 4:10...not Nike} It turned out to be a great night! We met a lady that has met missionaries before and she is so appreciative of what we do. She offered to show us around her business and meet with us tomorrow. It was a tender mercy :) Overall things are going good...just praying for those miracles to happen each day! We have to work for them!!! It's so hard to just get over the natural

man and do it, but when you're focus is on Christ and helping others to come to know him you just do it because you know it will help them so much!! This mission is so great!!!! One thing Elder Nattress said is that our missions are preparing us for our future families. I know that's true!! I'm going through all these trials so I can know how to help my family in the future. It's hard but I know there will be tons of blessings to come from doing the will of the Lord and letting him shape me into who I need to be.

Do the Lord's will....JUST DO IT!!! 

(Mosiah 4:10)

Love you all,

Sister Peterson

Week 66: Tender Mercies!!!!!!

Well...this week was full of Tender Mercies from Heavenly Father!!!!

Monday after we emailed we went to Walmart per usual to shop! All the check out lines were super long and there were only a

Sister Steele

few open (typical walmart) so I found one that was super short and I booked it!!!! The lady behind the till started smiling at me!! It took me a split second, but I realized it was Leslie from the bus last week!!! The One who knew a girl from Quesnel...you can look up the rest of the story...anyway she was like YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!! She said this is no coincidence!!!!!!! TENDER MERCY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So cool!! So we got to chat with her and invite her to all the Christmas activities happening at the church!!! She said she was looking for a church for her daughter and is really excited to check out ours!!! Tuesday our plans didn't work out very well, so we did a lot of spirit finding and just trying to figure out where Heavenly Father needed us! We rode the bus for a little bit because it's free till the end of November!! WE SAW SO MANY MIRACLES!!! We got on and this lady was just chatting it up and everyone on the bus could hear us talking about the gospel!!! hahah then the bus stopped to switch drivers and it was us and one other lady left on the bus...we started talking to her and she said "I'm less active. I was baptized in 2005 in

Sister Gartside

Hong Kong!!!!!!!!" WHAT?!? So cool!!! That definitely isn't chance people!! TENDER MERCY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We were able to testify of what church can do for her and invite her to the Christmas Devotional this weekend!! So cool!!! Then the bus started going again and it stopped and ANOTHER LESS ACTIVE got on the bus!! I recognized her and luckily I had a seat open next to me! We started talking and she said she really wants to get involved with Church again! Her 4 yr old loves Primary and she wants to come to activities!!! PERFECT!!! So we got her number and wahbam!!!! TENDER MERCY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was so fun!!!

Wednesday we had a super good District Meeting. I love my district! Everyone just has such a strong desire to do this work that the spirit in our meetings is electric!!! After District Meeting we went on exchanges!! I got to go with Sister Steele and we covered Kelowna 2nd area!! I miss that girl!!! Oh man...last transfer was GOLDEN!!! So much fun and so many miracles!!! I miss Sister Steele and Sister Hoffman!!! It was great to work with Sister Steele again! We had a great day and we went on the buses again..it's free why not...right? So we got on and had some super good conversations and then {just like the day before} the bus stopped for a driver change and it was just us and one lady...we started talking and she said "yeah about 2 years ago I was all ready to be baptized with my daughter, but then we got scared and it didn't go through." WHAT?!?!? We asked her what she was scared of and she
said she didn't know. I asked her if she still knew it was all true...the Restoration...the Book of Mormon...she said Absolutely! TENDER MERCY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hopefully we'll meet up with her in the New Year!! She was too busy right now! While I was talking to this lady......Judy......Shona and Rimpy got on the bus!! That's the YSA Sisters' investigators from India!!!!!!!!!!!! We were so happy........we were so loud hahaahhaha But it started a group conversation

and even the bus driver was asking us where we were from and all that!! Once they got off we still had a ways to go and another girl got on named Tristan! I started talking to her, and she said that she needed to make more friends...good friends. I invited her out to YSA branch and she said she would love to come before I knew it....we were AT OUR STOP....oh no....I frantically said "We have to get off here!!!" She said "Oh no!!" I asked for her number and she gave it to me so fast like as I was running off the bus!!!!!" We called it afterwards and it went 'beep.beep.beep' like it was the wrong number :( I WAS LIK.....NOOOO......THIS CAN'T BE....I DON'T BELIEVE IT!!! So I texted her and she texted us back 20 min later!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! TENDER MERCY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thursday was fun. We had an appointment down South with a potential and he wasn't home, so we decided to go visit one of our members that lives down there in the middle of no where. We start driving through all the orchards and vineyards...it's pitch black...MY GPS

LOSES THE SIGNAL....we were like oh no....So we got a little lost hahahahhahah, but good thing I know how to read a regular map!!!! hahahh We were a little late, but got there okay and didn't hit any deer  :) success!!!! TENDER MERCY HAHAHAH Friday...GUESS WHAT....IT SNOWED!!!!!!!!!!!!! The first Snow Fall :) IT WAS SO COLD!!! All the people from Eastern Canada are laughing at me, but I don't care!!! It's way to cold!!! It's only low 30's hahahaha, but tomorrow it's going to be -12*c which is about 5*F. burr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm going to buy me some Long Johns today!!!! Let's be honest maybe 4 pairs!!!! Saturday we met with Robinette SHE'S BACK!!!! Yay!!! I've missed her! She's one of the best recent converts ever!!! We did a lot of walking and actually forgot about lunch and realized about 4:30 that we should probably eat something!!! Luckily, the Nicsners our Landlords were having a dinner party and invited us to come!! Everyone there was from different countries, so we had some African food, Hungarian, Filipino, Australian...all sorts!! It was so good!!! After our plans fell through, but we felt super prompted to go downtown, so we did and we saw one of our Investigators walk out of a restaurant. At first we didn't recognize her, and we complemented her friends boots...then I said Wait hold on! You're blah blah blah!! She said yeah!! I thought you were familiar!!!! IT WAS SO COOL!! We haven't been able to meet with her again since October and it was SUCH A GOOD LESSON, so this really was a.......wait for it.......TENDER MERCY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Also I learned about a Newfoundland Christmas tradition called Mummers......it's kind of weird...look it up...it's like caroling ghosts...hahah 

Oh Canada....you can learn about Mummers/Mummering here --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlEduy-2Mlc

Sunday was great!! Really good testimonies were shared from our ward!!!  I LOVE KELOWNA SO MUCH!!!!!!!!! After church we had a Linger Longer, and then we watched the Christmas Devotional! Our investigator Joan was there!! It was a good broadcast! I just love our church :) Things are going really good :)  We are praying so hard to find some new investigators, so we can keep teaching and keep this process rolling along!! We could really use your prayers :)

Love you all & Have a great week!!!

Love,

Sister Peterson

Week 65: HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

I don't have much time so here are the highlights from this week :) We had an awesome lesson with Sandra and she said she FOR SURE HAD A SPIRITUAL WITNESS THAT THE BOOK OF MORMON IS THE WORD OF GOD!!!!!

YAYAYAYAYAYYA!!!!! She is now working on the Plan of Salvation and trying to study that out :) We had an amazing District Meeting on Wednesday!! Everyone in our district is just fired up and we're so ready to baptize Kelowna!!! We made some great goals for our transfer and as a zone we are NOT TOUCHING OUR CAR ON SATURDAY... we are walking all day!!!! So we started planning that way we can get members to drive us around! It's a little harder for us because we live 4 miles out of our area and everyone else lives in their area...so it was tricky! Thanksgiving on Thursday was....well...not like home hahahahha We found a place called WrapZone that makes a thanksgiving dinner wrap....so we got those and then we went and bought a pumpkin pie and apple cider and we were parked far away so we walked back through town and ate it in the car hahahahhaha Well when we got home we wanted some cold apple cider so I put it in the freezer till after planning...well planning went a little long...we got a little tired...and we FORGOT ABOUT THE CIDER!!! I remember waking up and hearing weird sounds from the fridge but didn't think anything of

it....then in the morning during my prayer...I remembered it....I KNEW WHAT HAPPENED....I slowly opened the freezer and BAM....THERE WAS MY PERFECTLY GOOD APPLE CIDER BLOWN TO PIECES AND FROZEN TO ALL THE WALLS OF THE FREEZER!!!!!!!!! My heart ached!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE APPLE CIDER AND IT'S SOOOOOO EXPENSIVE HERE!!!!! Oh my goodness. We had apartment inspections that day too, so we had to clean it all up and it was such a sticky mess!!!! Happy Thanksgiving :) Saturday was our WALKING DAY!!! We had to pack everything with us!!! My bag weighed so much!!!! It was also rainy and cold, so we had to take the umbrella...rain jacket... all of that!!! WE WERE SUPER PREPARED!! The Johns the senior couple picked us up in the morning because all the members were at a craft activity at the church (super saturday) So we got dropped off and we walked...and walked...and walked....and walked {you sang that didn't you? ;) } it was A REALLY GOOD DAY!!! We

talked to so many people!!! We had 2 miracles this day :) 1) We were eating at a little cafe place and the lady next to me was eating sushi, so I asked her if it was good. We got to talking about Kelowna, and she said she met missionaries in West Bank and they gave her a Book of Mormon and she even went to church!!!!!! I was able to teach her The Restoration and she said she would want to meet up with missionaries again!!!! She said "I'm really glad you are outgoing and asked me about my sushi!!" hahah ME TOO!!!! Really cool!!! 2) So there was a bus strike for 2 1/2 weeks so the buses are up and running and free for the rest of the month!!! So we decided it would be good to try out some bus contacting for a change. I get on the bus and I sit down and THERE IS NO ONE AROUND ME...I WAS LIKE SISTER PETERSON WHY IN THE WORLD DID YOU CHOOSE THIS SEAT....WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!!!! hahahh 5 min into the ride...this mom and her two kids come up from the back of the bus and sit in front of me....TENDER MERCY!!!!!!!! So I started talking to them and she said she was from Alberta...that led into Mormons....and then she said, "Yeah my friend just got baptized up in Quesnel her name is so and so." That triggered something....a story that Sister Hoffman had told me a while ago about her companion who's brother married a recent convert in Quesnel. I asked do you know her last name now? I said the name and she said THAT'S HER!!!!!!!!!!!!! No way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE HOLY GHOST TOTALLY HELPED ME WITH THAT ONE!!!! I have never met this Sister Missionary that served here and I heard that story for like 5 min....it was so cool!!!! Anyway I asked her...Do you want to meet up and see why she chose to get

baptized??? She said YES I DO AND HER KIDS SAID YES TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I got their number and names just before they got off the bus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WAS IN AWE AND SHOCKED AFTER!!! THAT'S CRAZY!!!! The world is so small!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyway :) Those are my miracles this week :) Oh wait one more!! A member family invited us for dinner yesterday and it was AMERICAN THANKSGIVING WITH THEIR WHOLE FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tender mercy :)  I love my family so much and I miss them tons!!! I'm so grateful for the family I was brought up in and for the things I was taught so that I can be here in BC teaching people the gospel!!! It's amazing and I'm so grateful :) Hope you all had a great week :)

Love

Sister Peterson