Mom and Dad

Hey there parents,                                                                                              Aug. 18, 2014

I can’t tell you guys how much I miss you.  I have so many questions I want to ask you but you’re not here to answer them.  Every time I’m faced with a problem I ask myself, “What would you guys have said to me”.  We were faced with somewhat of an issue.  We went to visit an 18 year old who wants to serve a mission so we set an appointment up with the branch president for him.  We went to his house after church to see how it went and the news wasn’t good.  He said that he wasn’t worthy to go because he had sex with his girlfriend 8 or so days ago.  This was kind of a shot to the heart.  We tried to help him with everything we could but he hasn’t told our branch president about it yet.  So we explained to him that he needs to talk to him and get rid of any temptations.  We stuck a picture of Jesus above his bed in hopes that he would see it and think twice about what he is doing.   

We asked if he had anything else that would lead him to do it again and he told us that he has condoms but is not willing to give them up because he will need them for next time.  So at this point we realized that he is not ready to change yet and that’s when I remembered what Theron (our stake President in Mesquite and great friend) said to Chance about his problem, "I can’t help you until you have hit rock bottom".  We know that we can’t do anything until he truly wants to change his life but then we found out that he has a kid already but he still has hopes to go on a mission.  I don’t know what to do about this.  Do I tell him that he can’t go on a mission if he has a child or should I let the branch president do it??  It really breaks my heart to know that one decision could potentially change his life forever.

On a happy note, I had my first baptism and it was really quite amazing!  I was so nervous leading up to it but when I entered the water I received this overwhelming feeling of peace and comfort.  I was nervous that I would forget the words but I said them to exactness and it felt great.  It was a little bit harder to say it in Spanish but I've got the hang of it now.

 

Cleaning the font, getting it ready for his 1st baptism!

His comp, Elder Fielding, supervising the new kids cleaning skills : )

We also had the opportunity to give a blessing to a sick child in our branch after the baptism.  It was hard to hear each other speak because the baby was crying but as soon as elder fielding started the prayer, he stopped crying.

It’s really amazing to see the miracles that happen every day out here but it’s hard to be away from everything I know and love.  Don’t get me wrong, I love it out here but I miss you guys so much and I can’t wait to see you again.  I can’t wait to run errands with you dad and mom, I realized this week when all we had was butter, noodles, and some flour that i will never again say "there’s nothing to eat in this house" again!!  I just love being around you guys and I look up to you more than you know.

I got word that the packages got here and are in the mission home but I live 9 hours away and it’s hard to get them up here so I don’t have them yet.  It takes about 6 to 8 weeks to get packages out here.  I’m so excited to see what is in them though.  Something from America.  Yippy!!  It’s like Christmas!!

Oh, and there is 4 months and a week until we can Skype. : )

Love Elder Petersen