Hello!

Email sent Tuesday 22 February 2011

Hi everyone.

I know that I don't have enough time to describe everything that happened this week and so that is sad, but I will try to get as much in as possible.

On Tuesday the four of us sisters had the amazing opportunity to serve a less active family in the branch. Sister Salan and I have been working with them and they've been coming back to church, but the wife, (who is my age) is pregnant and is due in like 2 weeks and is not supposed to do any work really. They have 2 18 month old twins, and the husband works and goes to school. They have been struggling getting the apartment ready for the baby and everything. So we had told the relief society president about hte situation and she got a sister who set up this service project. They set aside one day wehre the family would leave the house, and 8 or 9 of us would come in and deep clean everything and reorganize all of their stuff. So the four of us said we would love to help. We showed up Tuesday morning and only the Sister who organized it was there. She was on the verge of tears, and had already been cleaning by herself for an hour. She immediately thanked us for being there and went to her knees so that we could pray for help and give thanks for the opportunity we ahd to serve even though there were so few of us to take on the huge task. Two other members showed up later, but the 7 of us cleaned and transformed their entire apartment. us sisters worked in the kitchen, we cleaned and reorganized everything, dishes, food, everhting. It was fun. I love organizing.

I learned more about the relief society and how it is truely inspired of God in those four hours we spent cleaning than I have learned the whole 5 years I have been a member of it. This sister showed genuine love for her fellow sister and was willing to do whatever the Lord led her to do to help her even if others would not support her.

Another amazing thing that happened this week was during sacrament meeting on Sunday. President Castillo (the branch president) had asked R... (my recent convert - 17 years old) to bear his testimony, but R... didn't show up, and so president asked another 17 year old, F..., who was baptized with his brother J... a year ago, to bear his testimony instead. F... is quite a character, he is kind of a terror to the teachers who have to teach him in sunday school and priesthood because he doesn't show respect and is always irreverent. But he is a good kid. Sometimes when we teach him we don't know if it does any good or if he is really even listening, but we do it anyway becasue we love him. So He got up to the pulpit and did not know what to say at all. the Young Men's president came up from the congregation and put his arm around him and said, "F... has never been up here before, so I am going to just ask him questions and this can be like an interview" He proceeded to ask him things like, how did you find out about the church, what have you learned, why do you like coming, why is it important to you. F... began to open up. He began to bear testimony about what had touched him. The president sat down on the stand as F... began to tear up and give thanks to the members & President Hartley, in particular, who had welcomed him and made him feel needed, loved, wanted, and cared for. In the church, he expressed, he had found friends, a father figure in President Hartley, and while by the way he acts normally you wouldn't know he is grateful for it, he expressed in tears and broken sentences that this is where he knows he is supposed to be. It was the most powerful testimony I have heard in a long time. Even if sometimes the work we do seems to not help, we never really know the extent of the service we are offering.

On Saturday, I started to get the worst headache. I knew it was going to be a bad one. It kept getting worse and worse. Then we were in a lesson and all I could think about was how I needed to get out of there because I was going to throw up. Gross I know, but true. Finally around 9 we got out. and I had to drive us home. I knew it was coming. My head was pounding so hard and it was bad. We made it home and a few minutes later I did. But that didn't help it feel better. It just got worse. It was the worst one I have ever had. Sensitive to light and smell and sound and everything. It was super bad. Sister Salan said we had to call the elders so they could come give me a blessing. They got permission from president and at 10:15 four of them came over to our apartment to give me a blessing. It was a blessing I will never forget. During the blessing the pounding in my head went away, my sensitivity to light lessened, and the spirit of the Lord filled the room. The comfort that I needed was present and I know that the power of God is on the earth. I know that worthy men in the Chrch of Jesus Christ hold that power and authority to act for God. What a great blessing it is that we have.

The next day at church I asked Bro Gibson to adjust me. My neck and my back, everything was super out of place. I don't know why I keep getting these headaches, but I want them to go away.

Anyways, so that was this week, among other things. I love you all but I have to go! I will go pick up your package today. :) thanks!

Love,

Sister Petersen

ps I played basketball yesterday for the first time in 14 weeks and I am sore in every part of my body today. I love it.