Sister Amanda Peterson: February 13, 2017

The Miracle of Prayers

Hey Everyone! This week was AMAZING for the Fairhope, Alabama Sisters.

First, we went on exchanges on Tuesday. We were both in the Atmore area. I got to be with my pal Sister Housel! We are such good friends. I will steal a term a member used; she is my best spiritual friend :) We also saw the first miracle of the week. That morning, Sister Housel felt that we should give our morning appointments to the other sisters, so we just went to go try some people. When we got to these apartments, the person we were looking for had just left. We saw a man outside and felt like we should talk to him. As we talked to Russ, we found out that he didn't know if there was a God, that his fiancee of 13 years just left him, he has three boys, and they have been attending a church just to have structure for them. Lots of the concerns he shared were similar to what mine were growing up. I was able to testify of how we can know God through the feelings of the Holy Ghost. It is a tangible feeling that we can have! He was pretty interested, so we set a return appointment! Then, we found out that he didn't even live in that neighborhood. He was on break doing work!!!

That night we had the craziest Book of Mormon class. We had three of our investigators come, and they had lots of questions. They know a lot about the Bible and are pretty challenging. The class turned into a testimony meeting from our members that were there... we got through 15 verses... The class was three hours instead of 1... They had me lead it and I kept trying to get people back on track, and it just wouldn't happen. We have since discussed a plan for the next week. I will have to update yall next week on the class's progression.

Thursday was also amazing. We did service like all day. My favorite part was taking Debby out of the nursing home and pushing her in her wheelchair to the market for snacks she wanted. What a sight that must have been!!! After more service we gave, we met with the Coll family after trying to contact them the entire time I have been here! They have lots of great questions and are super open. We set a return appointment and everything! Then we even caught Tracy home! She still wants to meet with us, they have just been crazy busy. We set an appointment with her and invited her to whatever she could attend of church or our Book of Mormon class. She shared experiences of prayer and how she wants to not work on Sundays for church.

Friday was great. We ate at my fellow Northwesterners' home.

Saturday was another day of miracles though. We had our normal coordination meeting and then we went out to Silverhill to try Chad, the elders' investigator that ended up living in our area. He wasn't home, but we saw a family outside with an adorable dog, so we went to talk to them. After a little bit, we found out that they didn't have a church. I taught them about the Book of Mormon and Robert, the man, asked if I had a spare one! We set a return appointment and they said if they didn't have something come up they would come to church with us! It was so great. The best part is that we both prayed specifically for a new investigator that day. Sister Richins even asked for a family that would set a return appointment and was willing/able to come to church! Heavenly Father hit it on the nose. We have been just so much more productive with this new focus from the church. I love it. I don't feel compelled to teach lessons all day. I feel compelled to be a missionary and do what missionaries do.

I know the Lord is so aware of us. I love Him so much. He placed me in this wonderful ward with wonderful people to teach and find. I got to bear my testimony yesterday when a youth speaker couldn't make it. I talked about my conversion and how I made it here. I am just so grateful that someone invited me. Our goal right now is to help our youth do the same. They are the best missionaries we have.

I love you all! Have a great week!

-Sister Peterson