Hey family and friends!
Serving in White House is pretty much a full-time adventure, and I love it! There are the good times and the bad, but it's always a learning experience for sure.
Monday-After we put in a few loads of laundry in at the local laundromat, I asked if we could go to the library to email, but she said that she had a feeling that we should stay. I'm not gonna lie, I was feeling pretty stubborn, so I told her that it would be fine and that southern people could be trusted. She thought otherwise... So we stayed. While we were sitting and waiting, I saw an older lady struggle with getting a load out, so I offered my help and took it to her car. She saw a glimpse at my tag and said, "what church to you serve at?" After I replied, her eyes lit up and she said, "I'm a Mormon too!" She had just moved from Las Vegas and she had been really thinking of coming back (she left the church when she was 18), but she couldn't find one. So, we gave her our number, our church address, and the time that it started and she left with a huge smile on her face. It was way cool, and right after saying goodbye I knew that we were meant to stay here because we had to meet her. It was a very humbling experience, and I felt sad knowing that Satan was definitely there trying to tell me that we wouldn't have to stay there, but because Sister Talbert listened to the promptings of the spirit, we were able to meet this wonderful lady who has been searching for our church. So great!
Tuesday- A few weeks ago we got a referral for someone named Eric Washington... After receiving his name we had tried multiple times to go see him with no luck, but finally we met him! We taught him the first lesson and answered some of his questions concerning the Book of Mormon and he just lit up the whole time. We're meeting with him again next week, and we're going to ask him to be baptized! (Pray for us on that one...) Later we went out and taught some less actives with a lady in our ward. We were able to teach 5 less actives, and all of them were so appreciative of us and not one of them turned us away. One of the less actives that we taught lives in a house that looks like a boat... And she has a giant wooden rocking chair in her front yard. So obviously, I had to take a picture with it. That night we had such an amazing miracle! Our mission president has asked us to go tracting for 1 hour everyday... For me this is a newish thing seeing that in Tompkinsville we had TONS of investigators. I was a bit nervous for our first time around, but we had some great success! We ran into a lady who is a strong baptist, but she really wanted to learn more about what we believed and she was so kind to us (which is not usual with the baptists here). We plan to go visit her late this week. :) Later we started talking with an older couple about what we believed, and they told us that they had been searching for something like this. They said that they weren't too fond of the "talking in tongues" ordeal that happens in other churches. The guy then proceeded to tell us that he was the steel guitar player in Trace Atkins' band and asked if we were fans. We might have freaked out a little and asked if he could get us some autographed items, in which he agreed and told us that we would have to come back with a smile. :)
Wednesday- We went out with with the same lady that we did on Tuesday, and we did some visiting teaching with her! One of the ladies that we saw had a 3 year old son that reminded me a lot of Lola, and it freaked me out a bit. Later we taught the Blum family. They're recent converts, and because of Brother Blum's recent stroke they can hardly make it to church. They both have such sweet spirits. We just need him to get feeling better so they can make their way to church! :)
Thursday- Sister Talbert got super sick so I spent the majority of the day inside doing some person studies, which were incredible and well needed. Later that day though, we were able to do splits with some sisters in the ward. I went out with Sister Barnes, who is a return missionary, while Sister Talbert went with Sister Williams to get some rest. Sister Barnes and I went to Greenbrier to meet the members that lived there, and we were also able to get some tracting in. It was a very neat experience, and she was able to teach me a lot about what to expect and how to become a better "door-knocking missionary". It was so cool... usually when someone answers their door I say the usual, "Hi! We're missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints...", and it just seemed too rehearsed, and when someone wouldn't seem to interested I would usually just say "Have a blessed day!" But Sister Barnes would ask them before they shut the door if they would mind saying a prayer with us. It made the people more interested, and the spirit was there every time. :)
Friday- Friday was a pretty boring day, not going to lie. We did do some "inspired tracting". We sectioned off our area and individually prayed as to where Heavenly Father needed us to go knocking. It was our first time, so we had some pretty big expectations, but we weren't that lucky. We did have an interesting encounter however... We were driving by this house and both me and Sister Talbert looked at each other and said, "we need to go to that house!" Nervously we knocked on their door, not knowing what to expect, but no one answered. Confused, we said a prayer, and soon after some guy came up behind us and asked what we needed. "Sister Talbert bravely told him that we had been prompted to stop at his house and asked if he needed anything. The guy's face was priceless. He looked mostly scared. After what seemed like an eternity, he said, "Uh... I think we're... Okay...?" It was pretty funny... now we're both just anxious to see if anything will come out of it.
Saturday- Pam McKean asked us to go on a walk with her, and we ended up having a very spiritually uplifting conversation. Usually when we teach the McKean's, we teach both of them, but this time was so great because we were able to spend this time focused on Pam's needs. We talked a lot about receiving personal revelation, and she proceeded to tell us that she had received a lot of personal revelation, but because her church doesn't believe in it, she wasn't able to talk to anyone about it. So she was pretty happy to find out that Heavenly Father means for us to continue having personal revelation, even today.
Sunday!- First off, Sunday was probably the most beautiful day that I've ever experienced on my mission. Secondly, the McKean's came to church! They had come in a little late, but we're just so happy that they came. Both Sister Talbert and I prayed that the spirit would be there and that the speakers would know what to say to help get the spirit there, and boy were our prayers answered. All three of the speakers did such a fantastic job, and the spirit was most definitely there. :) That night we tried do to some more inspired finding, and after some personal praying we both came back with the same street! It was truly incredible... We were lead to a street with a lot of very big, intimidating houses so we were a wee bit nervous. It was our 6th and final house, and this man comes to the door. He had a big smile on his face, and after we introduced ourselves, he lit up and told us that he had gone to Hawaii with his wife and that they had seen the temple and that they were curious as to what we believed. Instead of us asking him, he asked us if we could, "come back some time for dinner and a chit-chat." It was so stinking cool. He told us that with all the kids getting out of school that his schedule would be a bit full this next week, but he invited us over for a barbecue in two weeks, and that he would invite his Mormon friend too so that we wouldn't feel uncomfortable... Seriously, it was golden.
Well, sorry for the stinking long email! I love you all, and I hope that your weeks were just as good (if not better) as mine was! :) Thanks for all you do, and remember to keep keepin' on.
XOXO- Sister Peterson
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