Making New Friends in Lewis Center

Hey everyone,

To answer some questions, yes, we are back on the bikes this week. We share the ward with the elders, and there's some slight jealousy there because their area has more "normal" houses and apartments, while we have all the nice big new ones. We live in our apartment, and what's funny is that it's exactly like the Westerville apartment I was just in, so it feels like home!

We're realizing that the most effective finding we do may be in serving others. We've also been getting service opportunities from ward members so we can fill our unproductive hours. We've found a couple potential investigators while tracting, but sometimes tracting is kind of a joke here. It's really forced me to be bolder and more authoritative with my door approach, because since everyone's more established here, I have to look like I know what I'm talking about and be somewhat impressive. I've never been fearful on doorsteps, but it's still cool to see how much more experienced I feel after my time in Westerville. How nice.

My district here is awesome and I've been reunited with my MTC companion, Sister Mathis!! It's been fun. Sister McCarty and I are still having a blast together, it's nice to be companions with someone who is on the same page as you are. The ward members here are awesome and I absolutely love everyone I've been meeting. There's a couple non-member families that love the missionaries as well who are incredible; one of them includes a 21 year old YSA who goes to the institute at OSU sometimes, and her dad is from Ireland so he has a cool accent (we are not teaching them but they know a lot of members and we feel that their conversion process will be on their own terms). The other family is a lady with an adopted high-school daughter, but she's convinced that she'll die a Catholic (we'll see).

We had a neat experience with one of the members on Thursday. We were tracting on a warm afternoon and it just wasn't working. We were feeling not-so-great and planned to swing by Sister Prisbery's house for a restroom/water stop. As we headed back to the car, Sister Prisbery pulled up next to us and asked if we would like to come over and have some fruit and water. She didn't even know that we were about to head over. At her home, she told us that when she saw us, she saw us as the Lord's servants doing His work. Then she had this strong impression to invite us over right then, and turned back around to talk to us. It's cool to see how real the Spirit is.

Women's Conference was pretty good (but still wayyyy too much singing!!!) and I loved what President Uchtdorf said about discipleship, and that it's something that should lift us up and bring us joy, and not burden us. I loved that. If we're truly trying to follow Christ, we should feel good and enjoy our day-to-day lives.

Last night we went to a mission home open house and brought a couple recent converts with us. It was great because I saw a lot of mission friends, and also saw Sister Malloy. Her and her new companion Sister Corbett brought Tony and Kali, and it was so awesome to see Tony!! He was so excited that I was there and he told me that he received the Aaronic priesthood yesterday! It was so good to see that he's been doing really well.

Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Petersen

(picture attached- Sister McCarty and I. Sorry I haven't taken any other pictures yet!!!)

Now Serving in Lewis Center

Hey everyone!

I was transferred to Lewis Center, which is funny because it's only 2 wards over from where I served in Westerville (but now I'm in the Columbus North Stake instead of the East)! Here's my address:

8855 Lake Ridge Dr.

Lewis Center, OH 43035

My companion is now Sister McCarty, who's been out for almost a year. She's crazy, and we have a blast together. She's from South Jordan, Utah and went to Utah State. It's funny how many companions I've been going through, but maybe that's a good thing, haha.

Also, what's funny is that I ended up in one of the car-sharing areas, so we started on bikes and then got the car yesterday at church. There's more of those roads with no bike lane/sidewalk/shoulder, and when it snows, we may just walk. Or die. However, it's been enjoyable so far, and it's great that I was on a bike for 2 months in Westerville, because biking here is a piece of cake- it's flatter here. And summer is over (hallejujah!!).

Lewis Center is in the wealthier center of the mission, and we're next to Powell, which is where people live in mansions. We go to church in Powell as well. Our entire area is newer upscale housing developments, and everyone's home looks like it's straight out of Pottery Barn. Needless to say, we are not currently teaching anyone, but that will change. It looks like I have my work cut out for me, but I'm feeling pretty determined that it will move forward.

It was a little hard to leave Westerville behind as I really loved the people there. But the ward here was very welcoming and I like everyone already. The ward is mainly comprised of younger families, and is pretty big. Talk about a noisy Sacrament Meeting, haha. Several moms at our dinner appointments have been like, don't ever have kids!!!! Don't need to tell me twice, haha. What's weird though, was seeing the Daines (mission president) at church, since the mission home is in the Powell ward.

On Friday night we were asked to come and help out at a church open house for the 15th anniversary of the Columbus Temple. There were way more missionaries there than needed, but we had fun. I got to talk to an elder that served in my spot in Zanesville after I left, and guess what??? Remember Cayenne, a member's home-nurse, and the first person I talked to about the gospel in Zanesville and asked if she wanted to learn more? She got BAPTIZED!! That was SO cool for me to hear, and she is the person I met during my first day in Zanesville, which was my first full day in the mission field. How awesome.

This week we want to focus on finding new investigators, specifically those who are prepared to receive the gospel. So far we've been doing a ton of service (weeding, painting, etc. that took up a whole Saturday). But being in a new area, I'm feeling that we can see the beginnings of some success this transfer.

Love you! I promise I'll send pictures next week!

Sister Petersen

PS: Polaris, which is this big mega-complex area including a mall, is in our area. Our ward boundaries has EVERYTHING. Everyone in Westerville would talk about it. Since there's no longer a rule in the mission about not being able to go to malls, Sister McCarty and I walked through it today and were just in awe. I didn't spend any money though, don't worry. haha.

I'm Getting Transferred!!!!

Hey everyone,

So after 5 months of being in wonderful Westerville, I am being transferred. It's a little bittersweet, I have had quite the experiences here. But I knew that I needed to go, I was packed up before transfer calls even came. I'll miss the people though for sure, I've gotten close to quite a few of the members here. 

My time ended perfectly here, with Tony being baptized on Saturday. It's kind of crazy how the baptism all came together. Beforehand, the elders were getting buckets of water and dumping it in the font so it will get filled in time. We were worried about ward member support/attendance, but to our amazement, the Relief Society room was PACKED- some people had to stand. Tony's excitement had built up all week, and when he arrived, we just jumped up and down. He's also been so grateful for the changes that have happened in his life, and it was just so cool to see that. He was baptized by his friend Ryan from high school football, who's in our ward. So tender!! His family came and were very supportive, and his dad talked to Ryan's dad, asking him a lot of doctrinal questions. Tony says that only time will tell if his parents will convert, but we're feeling that his dad will make it there someday. 

I thought the baptism was going to be some super-awesome-spiritual experience, but as the missionary, it was SO STRESSFUL. Interesting things happen when recent converts speak at baptisms and such, and the service ran kind of long. But others said it was beautiful, and another sister missionary that was there said that it was a very spiritual experience, which made Sis. Malloy and I feel relieved, since half the ward was there. Afterwards, we had massive headaches and wanted to take a nap. Personally, I feel like missionaries should have the rest of the day off after a baptism, but that's just me, haha. But don't worry, we still went out and worked for a while, then finally treated ourselves with dinner at Panera and ice cream. 

In other news this past week, I went to Mt. Vernon again for exchanges with Sis. Reed. Also, met an orange cat named Binx there that was like an Ohio version of our cat Mr. Jinx, haha (less hygienic, possibly missing some teeth... just kidding! But not really... haha). Also got bear-hugged by an investigator's husband there, against my will since we're not really supposed to hug others of the opposite gender. He smelled like marijuana... SO. GROSS. Back in Westerville, I made fried chicken for Terry while she was busy with some paperwork, haha. 

A couple miracles happened this week. On Monday, we found 4 new investigators in half an hour. Can't believe I haven't tracted those apartments before, that place is a goldmine. We got Steven to come back to church and I think he felt more comfortable there this time. We also started teaching Michael, who is a grandson of a less-active member. He's 18 and recently has felt the need to accept Christ in his life. We also started teaching this awesome older lady named Estalita. She's a riot. 

Overall, I'm thrilled that I'm leaving Westerville better than I found it. It took a long time to get there, but lately things have been happening. I'm excited to see where I go next. 

Love, 

Sister Petersen

Traveling Adventures (They got the car back!)

Hi everyone!

Exactly 2 months after I crashed the car, we got it back. Best 7-month-missionary-anniversary gift ever, haha. But in reality, we were supposed to get it two days sooner. We went to zone meeting on Wednesday expecting the Mt. Vernon elders to have brought it down, but one of them told us that they tried driving it that morning and it overheated. Then they put coolant into it, and it went straight through the car. So it went back to the shop. So ridiculous. So I was surprised when two days later we got to ride back to Mt. Vernon with our vehicle coordinator to pick it up. It's pretty sweet being able to go where we want, when we want now, and on our own schedule. I baked a ton, and we've been delivering no-bakes and homemade Twix bars to members to show our immense appreciation for what they've done for us. 

 Something that is going to be tried in our mission is car-sharing. Zone meeting was about getting bikes and how the cars were going to be divided up. Every other week, depending on the area you are in, you may switch from car to bike. Unfortunately, this goes through winter which is supposed to be rough again- so unless I'm in a huge rural area or called to be a Sister Training Leader, there's a 95% chance I'll freeze to death on the side of the road this winter, with a bike laying on the ground next to me. It was nice knowing all of you!!

I got to be out of Westerville a few times this week. Went to Mt. Vernon twice, once for an exchange with Sister Reed, then to go pick up the car. After having lunch at a member's house in Danville, a town in the Mt. Vernon ward, Sister Reed and I got stuck behind on Amish buggy on the road. We also saw where the Amish converts live. So cool. Then on Saturday, Sister Malloy and I went to a baptism for someone in a family she taught in Xenia/Beavercreek, which is east of Dayton. It was a pretty far distance to go, and we couldn't get a ride, but our mission president was going so we ended up hitching a ride with the Daines! It was pretty fun, and we got to know them more. 

Teaching Tony is still going great, and the baptism is still happening on Saturday. He invited us over for dinner again last night, and we had a delicious cook-out dinner with his family. He is seriously so awesome!! He and Kali are on fire with missionary work too, and Tony keeps telling us how everything has changed for the better for him. 

Funny story of the week. The sisters in New Albany were going through their phone contacts and asking people they didn't know if they wanted to meet with missionaries again. One guy, Derek, answered back yes, and they were so excited. But he lived in our area, so we took over the appointment to go meet him. His wife wasn't home, so he grabbed some chairs for us to sit on his porch. He was like, no worries I know how that is, I've served a mission. We asked where and how long, and he was in Sacramento for two years. I was thinking, wait is this guy a less-active member?? Sister Malloy was like, "Oh what church did you serve for?" and he was like, "Umm.... ours??" Then I asked what his last name was, and he is A WARD MISSIONARY. IN OUR WARD. In my defense, he and his wife are new to the ward this summer and he hasn't come to teaching appointments with us yet. However, he's definitely talked to us at church... I guess I just couldn't tell who he was in street clothes.... how embarrassing. When he got the text from the New Albany sisters, he was like, sweet! the sisters are coming by to visit! We all had a good laugh about that one!!

Have a great week everyone! Sorry, no pictures this week. 

Love,

Sister Petersen

The Sloopy Challenge

Hey everyone!

This past week caused us to really examine our plans and figure out what to do with spare time. Several big appointments fell through and we've done a lot of tracting. However, we've met a couple people that are interested to learn more. We've recently been discussing with our bishop and ward mission leader how to better work with the ward, because most of our finding has all come from our own efforts and that usually doesn't get anywhere. 

We're trying to work with an inactive member named Rose, who's afraid of people, driving, etc. Her son Gabe has been baptized, but her other 9 year old son, Draven, has not. We got them a ride to church, and after Sacrament Meeting, Draven came up to us and asked us when he could get baptized. It's going to be tricky to get past his father, but we'll do what we can. Draven's a good kid. After talking to Rose and her kids on Friday, I had so much love and charity for people, until we were riding our bikes on the sidewalk and some lady snapped at us, "You girls should REALLY be riding those on the road!" when we were on a busy road with no bike lane. Charity instantly flew out the window right then, haha. Sometimes you just have to grin and bear it, and not throw your bike at people!

Saturday was awesome. We went to a baptism for someone who Sis. Malloy taught when she was at OSU. He's 22 and homeless, and has been hopping trains for the past few years by choice. He gave up drugs and all kinds of stuff to be baptized, and members are helping him save up for a mission now. He is SO cool!! After his testimony at the baptism, he was like, "Can I just like, crowd-surf through all of you??" Converts are so cool, haha. 

After the baptism, we were already out of our area, so for lunch we joined the other OSU sisters and a couple converts for "the Sloopy challenge." At this diner on campus, Sloopy's, they serve 3 chocolate chip pancakes the size of dinner plates, covered in peanut butter and chocolate. The challenge is to be able to finish all of them. I seriously doubted I would finish, but I was so hungry that I actually ate it in less than 12 minutes, and now I rank second place for the sisters in the mission. It was probably one of the most disgusting things I have ever done, and I'm not even that big of a pancake person!

Saturday evening was spent at Tony's house with him, Kali, and his parents, who he wanted us to meet. His parents are so awesome, and his dad made us an Italian pizza from scratch that was possibly the best pizza I've ever had. Tony is still set to be baptized on the 13th, and all of us are so excited. He's the best!!!! 

We have a new investigator named Michael who we had a great lesson with. After we first met him, it was three weeks before we saw him next, because there was always some hold-up, whether it was on our end or his. But he is awesome! He's from Sierra Leone, and committed to read the Book of Mormon and come to church this week. 

Oh, and our car is fixed, the place is just waiting for the insurance check to arrive before we can pick it up. Also, I am SO excited that August is over, I am SO pumped for fall. 

Love, 

Sister Petersen

Pictures: Tony and us at his house, Kali and I with lobsters (oh yeah, I also tried lobster for the first time, not bad!), Sis Malloy and I at the end of a long day, and the Sloopy's challenge.

More pics, including one of our zone yesterday for our fun day (and after the fun day, I got to play an hour of volleyball with some of the missionaries and members!! It was so awesome!)

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