Sister Amanda Peterson: September 26, 2016

Fairhope, Alabama

Man this week has been crazy, yall!
I am now in the Daphne Ward in Alabama, serving in the Fairhope area. It's great. Alabama has a different feel to it, and I love it! My new companion is Sister Fletcher. She just got done being trained, but you can't even tell! She is so on top of everything. It is quite humbling to be her companion. We share the ward here with a set of elders, who also happen to be our zone leaders. They are so fun! I missed serving around other missionaries. There's something to the comradery in the work that I love.

Our area though, is awesome! We are both super dedicated to finding new and prepared people this transfer. Sister Fletcher is a street contacting warrior too, so I am learning a lot from her on that one.

Our investigators are really cool though! We picked up a 16 and 11 year old this week and the 16 year old came to church! She loved it. We see so much potential in her. I just love this area so much already. That has been a great comfort amidst all the change we have experienced.

On Saturday, we went to Mobile to the women's conference broadcast. It was so good. I loved President Uchtdorf's talk. I had already been studying a lot about faith and hope, so it really helped to hear his talk. I often make the mistake of measuring my faith on the agency of others. As a missionary, we often think if we do everything right and have enough faith, people will change. That isn't so, though. Everyone has their agency, and even if we do all we can, at the end of the day, they get to choose. Our key indicators ultimately reflect just the agency of those we teach. A successful missionary is one who invites. That is our purpose anyways.

I love you all and am so grateful for your thoughts and prayers. I feel them and they make a huge difference in my day to day efforts.

-Sister Peterson

Morning Beach walk in Fort Walton