Strangest Week of My... How Long Have I been here?
This was the strangest week for a missionary. I mean, it could be stranger, but this ranks high. One thing I know is that we have been immensly blessed here in Pensacola. I don't understand why, but it has pushed me to become a better missionary so that we can take advantage of those additional blessings. The Lord has truly taken care of my spirit this week though. I couldn't ask for a better place or situation at this time.
Monday: "Puppies!" Nothing too exciting other than we went to this pet store and played with puppies with an investigator. It was awesome. I have pictures, but I forgot my camera cord this week. Muhahaha, you all have to wait to see the adorable puppy :)
Tuesday: "Progress". What a day. We were all over the place. A super solid investigator dropped us, but we had a great lesson with Ermilisa that day. She is doing so much better. I was super worried about her for a while there, but when her meds are all right, she will be doing a lot better. We also had a fun lesson at Taylor and Travis's. They are really progressing. I can see the spirit talking to her and he is really trying to become a better member of the church by kicking his bad habits.
Wednesday: "Knowledge is Power... And Interesting". So, we had district meeting and the giant worldwide training broadcast for missionaries this day. My whole morning and early afternoon were filled with the spirit and awesome training. I felt so edified and I learned a lot. I have a greater resolve to work harder and refine some of my skills. This will help us take care of the extra work in Pensacola. That afternoon, my STL came by and we drove for three hours to the other side of the mission for an appointment we had. That was fun! I love her. While we were staying with some other missionaries that night, I met one who knows the missionary who taught me! Her companion also had a couple classes with me at BYU! How crazy is that?
Thursday: "Longest, Most Spiritual Day of 5 Months". I don't know where to begin. I had a very helpful appointment in Bristol, and then we drove back for another three hours. First we had super good, authentic fried chicken. Man I love that stuff. I picked up my companion again and we got to our lesson with Ermilisa. That night we ended up feeling like we needed to go to the bishop's house. I needed a bathroom anyways and we were in that neighborhood. While we were there, I felt impressed to ask his wife if she was reading her scriptures. She wasn't, so I helped her out a bit. Then, he felt impressed to ask if either of us wanted a blessing. I knew I had to say yes. That blessing really helped me with exactly what I needed. God truly is aware of all of us and knows our struggles. That family has truly become like my own family.
Friday: Lemons Make SWEET Lemonade". We were super busy this day. Just incredibly. I had my interview with the mission president. He gave me some great counsel and guidance. He really gets it! We tried visiting a lot of people from our new area that day. We had a ton of success! We are now teaching this woman from Peru (shout out to Mila!). I am so excited to work with them. I really want to speak Spanish now.
Saturday: "Long Day". This was a long and busy day. Days with the car are quite valuable. We had lessons all day. So many that we had no choice but to go through the Little Caesars drive through for a late dinner on our way to our last appointment. It was a rough, but gratifying day.
Sunday: "The Strangest Sabbath". Just an odd day. We saw Jonathan again! Church was super full with the new ward! Relief society was packed! Taylor and Travis invited us for dinner. The craziest thing happened. She left the pan of chicken on the hot stove. Being glass, it exploded all over the kitchen. While cleaning it up, the chicken caught on fire! Things were crazy! I helped her clean up the kitchen and we basically just laughed about it all night. That was not our most productive teaching appointment.
With that, I will bid you all farewell for this week. It makes me sad every time, because I love you all so much. I know that Christ truly is our Savior and that He knows you and your struggles better than you do. He is there to make up the difference every time you fall short. He has done it for me more times than I care to share. He loves you. Have a great week, all of ya!
-Sister Peterson
