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| Hermana Giron before she got on the transfer train up north! Crazy!! |
Hey everyone!
First off, I hope Matt and CJ had fantastic birthdays!!!
Happy Birthday!!
And, I hope all of you enjoyed General Conference this
weekend because it was amazing!
So, this weekend was General Conference! And can I just say,
I'm pretty sure it's getting shorter and shorter. It started and then one
minute and it was over! It was absolutely phenomenal. I hope all of you went to
conference searching for an answer to one of your questions, because I
definitely did! I received so many answers and it was absolutely amazing. We
were sitting at the church watching conference with all of the other
missionaries in English while our ward sat in and watched it in the chapel in
Spanish. I know...I should be listening in Spanish, but my companion just got
here this week and I would have felt really bad if she couldn't understand
anything. Plus, I'm pretty sure I still understand much more in English as it
is!
I was thinking a lot about how to gain more strength by
depending more on the Lord. I have still been fighting for my physical strength
recently but I know that if I strengthen myself more spiritually that God
will help me to understand my trials better as I face them. As I was sitting in
conference, I was searching for ways to be spiritually strengthened right now
in my life. It was incredible! I realized that in order to really strengthen
ourselves spiritually is a process of faith and endurance. If we want to run
the race of life and succeed to our goal of eternal life, we must be able to
endure the trials and overcome the obstacles placed in our paths. Right now, I
have so much to be grateful for! I have an amazing opportunity to serve a
mission for the Lord and to be out on His errand. I have an incredible
companion who helps me to learn more and to enjoy every moment of life! And I
have family and friends who support me on my mission. And here, I can see
miracles happen everyday! I decided that if I wanted to be strengthened, I need
to put in the effort and the self-discipline necessary. I need to grow closer
to my Savior and my God and strive everyday to be a better me! My studies are
one of my most cherished moments of the day, and I want to be better at using
them fully. Our days are planned to the hour, sometimes to the minute, and
because of that, I really can make sure to use each minute to the
fullest.
Sunday night, we went to see a family that we are teaching
and this is the first time they have all been together. We were teaching about
the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how prophets help and guide us today in our
lives. I asked the question, "what can we do now to become closer to
Christ?" We got a lot of different responses from the parents and from
each one of the kids. It was amazing! First, they answered by going to church,
praying, reading the scriptures, following the prophet today and being a better
family. One of the younger sons then said, "Oh, I know! We have to be
baptized too!" It was super cute because he isn't old enough yet to be
baptized into the church, but it got the parents excited about learning more so
that they can be baptized soon with the older children too! It is amazing the
difference it is to teach a family and to know that they can seek out the
blessings available in this life for eternal families! I can't wait for them to
get baptized and to be sealed together as a family in the temple one day.
They would be the best members ever! :)
So, this first week with my new daughter has been awesome!
She is amazing, and definitely didn't speak any Spanish before her mission.
But, that's alright! She has been awesome at adding in her testimony and she
really does understand a lot. We just need to work really hard at speaking
Spanish all the time so that she can learn it quickly and be ready to speak and
to help out in the lessons more. She has so much knowledge of the gospel that
it's amazing! I love the time we have each day to share what we are learning
about the scriptures. And then we get to go out and teach. She loves the chance
to talk to the kids too because they actually speak Spanish, but there is power
to her simple testimony when it is said in Spanish. There is something about
it. People really appreciate the effort people put into speaking and communicating
in their native language , even if we may not speak very well. I have
taken for granted at times the gift I do have for speaking Spanish. I
understand almost everything, and speak to everyone. I don't even think about
it anymore, but I know that I came a really long way. Working with Hermana
Jones really helps me to see how far I have come. I remember being terrified to
share an experience in Spanish because I didn't know any of the words. I would
have to practice just the same way we are now. And now it comes
without even having to think about the fact that I am speaking in
a different language. God really does help us when we are
striving our best to learn and to succeed in all we do. He really
knows us individually and knows how to help us!
This week I have realized more and more the effect the
spirit has on my life. There are so many things that are going on around me,
and if we don't follow the spirit, we won't be in the right place. I think
that the opportunity to train has helped me so much to have the spirit
stronger in my life. I can know what these people need to hear. We
are lead to people each and every day that we wouldn't have met
if we didn't walk a certain direction. I want to continue to seek the guidance
everyday of the spirit so that I can depend more on God to lead and
direct me.
I hope that you all have an amazing week! If you
haven't had the chance to listen/watch conference, I would definitely
suggest it! It is amazing, and it is life-changing. Make sure that you
find ways to apply it's teachings more to your lives right now! There
is always something that we can do.
Be a better you today than you were yesterday, be a better
you tomorrow than you were today! I hope that we can all seek to be a little
better each and every day as we strive to be more like Christ.
I love you all!
Hermana Jessica Peterson
19792 E 49th Ave
Denver, CO 80249
Mission Home Address:
Colorado Denver North Mission
Hermana Jessica Peterson
1250 Main St.
Broomfield, CO 80020
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