Fort Collins - Week 16

Hello Everyone,

This week has been really fun. Elder Brandenburg and I have been laughing a lot during studies and were definitely improving our unity and teaching skills. President Ely actually asked Elder Brandenburg to start language studies in the morning to improve his accent. He has great grammar, were just working on pronunciation. I'm doing my best to mold him into a proper American! So far he says things like "aunt" rather than "ant" and I decided that he should say "root" rather than "route". It’s cool because he thinks just because I say it one way that it’s right! ha-ha. But seriously were going to start memorizing scripture mastery for language study.

Did I ever mention that it is still warm here? Well it is and there are some days we don’t even need coats. It’s pretty sweet. People are saying that were in the middle of some heat thing and that as soon as it passes the fall season, were going to have snow. I might buy some gloves. Oh yeah we had interviews this week and president Ely gave me some a hat and earmuffs and when the other elders saw it they laughed because they said it meant that I would be on bike all winter long. They were actually someone just donated them for the missionaries and I laughed too but I feel like I might be on a bike through the winter. We’ll see how that goes.

Well today is starting to turn pretty overcast and windy so I hope things aren’t changing yet. I hope you all have a great week and I’ll write you all next week!

(p.s. that family that came last week ended up coming again to see their son in the primary program! Some members even had a birthday party for his dad too! we talked to them about marriage and we have a bit of work to do but were doing our best!) 

-Elder Peterson

Fort Collins - Week 14

 NEW COMPANION - ELDER BRANDENBURG

Hi Everyone,

This week has been much like the last few with days were Elder Shearer felt a little too sore in the morning to do a whole lot. He wasn't being lazy, the physical therapy and bike riding wore him out. Well that all going to change because I have a new companion!!!! Elder Shearer has been made a district leader and actually moved two wards over; he will be my district leader and have a car. He is a little nervous having more responsibility but I think he will do great.

Well right now I have spent the past three months within the Parkwood Ward which is only like 6 square miles. It is in the Fort Collins Stake so if you go to Fort Collins Colorado and look for the streets College, Prospect, and Horsetooth, that are our ward boundaries. Prospect is the northern border, Horsetooth is the southern and College is the western. We kind of go off into infinity to the west so I don't know where that ends. The members’ house where I am currently living is 512, Cortez CT and we’re real close to the church which is in the corner of Stover and Swallow. Let me know if you find it! Also Elder Shearer go hit at the intersection of Lamay and Stover. Check it out on Google Earth!

Anyway my new companion is Elder Brandenburg. He is from the Netherlands!!! He has a strong accent, is 23 years old like Elder Shearer, mathematics major, is amazing at Chess, and that is just what I’ve learned from the past hour. He has been on his mission for 6 months and this is his first transfer as senior companion. I am also the first American companion he has had. He told me stories of his Mexican companion and him tracking where neither of them understood the person on the door step. This is totally going to be a whole new experience for me. I'll be planning most of everything because this is still my area and I know what is going on. I'm a little nervous but I think we are both going to grow as missionaries from it. Life as a missionary is about to change for me but I still love it. i hope everything is going great back home! Have a great week!

-- Elder Peterson

Fort Collins - Week 13

Hello Everyone!

So this has been a hard week for Elder Shearer. We actually went to a chiropractor who had us go and get x-rays that night to see if it would be safe to do any adjustments. We took care of that; had a slow day Tuesday and on Wednesday we went back in for an adjustment. That all goes well but a few hours later Elder Shearer is in horrible pain and we don't know why. The chiropractor calls that afternoon and says that he took a better look at the x-rays and thinks he saw something. He double checked with a radiologist we confirmed that he has a fracture in his spine. At our Mission President's orders, the chiropractor sets up a CT scan at the hospital within the hour. It was weird actually being a patient rather than a visitor, the receptionist was pulling out the book of patients listed by their religion like she usually did before we said we needed to check in. Thursday, Elder Shearer is still stiff and in pain so I don’t remember doing much that day. Friday is when the chiropractor gives his opinion which has since been proven false. Anyway he said things like Elder Shearer wouldn’t be able to run long distance ever again, that his dreams of running a marathon and an ironman were shot and that surfing back in California would be painful. You can imagine how that went over. Well after all this we visit a real orthopedic doctor who calms all of Elder Shearer's fears. So it has been an interesting week.

Well I can say I loved watching conference and I think I took more notes than I ever remember taking before. I learned a lot and we even got some investigators to come to some of the sessions. Also we hear about transfers this week and its starting to look like Elder Shearer will need to be moved to a car area so it looks like I might remain in my greeny area for another 6 weeks. Either way I still love the people that live here and it has been so much fun. I can’t wait for us to get back on our feet and get back to work. I love being a missionary and I am so thankful for every blessing I receive. Thank you for all your support!       

--

-Elder Peterson

Fort Collins - week 12

Okay, this has been a pretty intense week. We have been out of commission for most of the weekend because Elder Shearer got hit by a car! He is perfectly okay right now besides the whiplashes in his back so don’t worry. Well last Thursday we were at a crosswalk and we were waiting for the signal to cross. We did exactly what we were supposed to and we even waited for a few seconds before we hopped on our bikes and started to cross. Well this was a bigger street with five lanes and the middle was a turning lane. Anyway the cars in the first lane to our right had stopped and Elder Shearer was proceeding when this little old lady in the second lane was running the red light. She didn’t see the light, didn't see the lane of stopped cars next to her, but luckily saw Elder Shearer at the last second. She hit her brakes which gave Elder Shearer just enough time to get his body out of the way of the car. She did however clip his back wheel and sent him spinning on a full 360 off to the side of her car. I was behind Elder Shearer and the 90 year old lady when right between us. She eventually comes to that a stop in the middle of the intersection.

So you can imagine the first thing that went through my mind as I heard the collision. "Oh crap, my companion is dead" pretty much sums that up. Well luckily that thought only lasts less than a second since he lands on his feet pretty much standing on his fallen bike. I suddenly realize how crowded the intersection is and look toward the trembling old lady who can barely speak after all that happened. I felt pretty bad for her but I’m so happy that the whole thing wasn’t a lot worse.

Later that day we marveled at how blessed we are. If Elder Shearer did move as fast as he did he could have taken the full blow of the car. If I had been a couple feet closer I would have had a similar fate. Elder Shearer's bike just needed a couple pieces replaced and is still in good working order. All that he is dealing with now is the whiplash in his back and the 24 hour flu he had on Saturday. Yeah, I felt really bad for him because he was drugged up, with back pains and throwing up with a fever. I did start teaching myself to play the piano with my days off. I can now read from the simplified Hymnbook without looking at my fingers! I even got to go on some exchanges and teach a lesson to an investigator with a member.

 Okay back to our blessings. Elder Shearer said "I’m so glad we said a prayer this morning" and I felt the same way. We are blessed beyond what i we can actually imagine and I know that. I love being a missionary and being able to be a servant of the lord. I love all the great things I get to do and all the people I am able to serve. I miss you all and I hope you have a great week!   

--

-Elder Peterson

Fort Collins - Week 11

Hi Everyone!

So this week seemed really short but we still did so much stuff that it all seemed so long ago. We actually helped out this guy who is kind of classified, still only as a potential investigator. We met him at the beginning of my mission and have since then have just been going back to visit and he is awesome. He fixed up our bikes for us and we offered help with his projects in the backyard. We felt prompted that when we go back to visit that we shouldn’t try and force anything on him since we didn’t think he would respond, so we haven’t. It wasn’t long before he asked his own questions and even shared some cool experiences he had had in his life. At the end of the work he even told us that his girlfriend was pregnant and that he hadn’t told anyone yet besides us. At first you could tell that this had been dwelling on his mind for a while and was kind of lost as to what to do but after some encouragement from us he now sounds pretty excited to be a father. He is a great guy and he actually took us mountain biking this morning. It was awesome. Well we'll keep giving him that support he needs as he prepares to become a father and he already has a great view on the LDS church thanks to us. Well I got to go but I hope you all have a great week! Thank you for all you do!   

--

-Elder Peterson

Fort Collins - Week 10

Hey Everyone!

So yesterday Elder Shearer and I got a whole family to come to church! It was the couple who are not married, Maria and Gabriel and their two sons, Arron and Adrean.  It was a new experience because first of all we lost Gabriel. We had another family walk with them to church but the dad had to go to primary to teach and Gabriel got a little lost. We show up just a little bit after they arrive and couldn't’t find him anywhere. The rest of the family made it to their classes but he didn’t make it to Priesthood (we have a reversed order for Sunday than at the Lowell Ward). We eventually give up thinking he went home because he was lost and when Maria got out of Relief Society of course she wanted to know where he was. Luckily someone smart thinks to check nursery where Adrean was and there he was! Both Maria and Gabriel sat in on Gospel Principles class where our ward mission leader gave a great lesson. After that we made it to Sacrament and I got to sit next to them. I went through so much paper trying to keep their three year old occupied. He would scribble for ten seconds then want a new piece and he always wanted to rip it himself. It was actually a great Sacrament meeting where several converts shared their conversion stories and the ward mission leader gave another great talk. It was a great thing for investigators to hear and I hope they got a lot out of it.

This last week was a really great week. Our numbers this week were very close to The Standard of Excellence but of course Elder Sheaer and I always set goals a little higher than that so there is still room for improvement. Anyway we do have an excuse because we spent all day at zone conference on Friday. Zone conference was great. I got to see a bunch more of missionaries in the surrounding Stakes and we had a bunch of good lessons. My favorite part was when the APs (Assistants to the President) shared a thought near the end of the day. They are missionaries just like me and Elder Shearer but they are great example for the whole mission. They talked about how during their personal study they felt prompted to speak on a topic that would help the entire mission. They talked about walls and spiritual barriers that affect the missionaries each day. Basically it was a spirit driven motivational talks that said stop dwelling on your own weaknesses and your own doubts. We don’t have time to waste on our selves like that. This is the Lords’ work and we need to trust in him and turn to him to make our weaknesses stronger. 

That morning after seeing all the other missionaries with their own strengths and then unintentionally dwelling on my own weaknesses was not helping me or anyone else. Now as far as I am concerned this battle is the Lords’ and my weakness does not exist as long as I have faith that He is always there to help. I feel great and I already feel like a better missionary. I love the people I serve, this awesome ward and the great investigators.

I hope everything is great back home! I miss you all!     

-- Elder Peterson

Pictures!!

Yesterday, we received a letter from Elder Peterson with a memory card inside it full of pictures! Here are a few that were included. Hope you enjoy them as much as we do :)

Elder Peterson and Elder Shearer with a woman on her baptism day

Moving day. They moved from one home to a different one. Looks a little cramped...

On his P-days, Taylor and his companions like to bike ride. I like this picture haha

Taylor had mentioned helping some ducklings cross the road (you can find that story here) Cute!

Taylor and his companion, Elder Shearer

Colorado is so pretty!

Spring Canyon in Fort Collins, CO

We have so many pictures of them goofing off at the top of the mountain. Way funny!

Crazy view. Awesome!

My brother's cute :)

See what I mean? They like to mess around haha but it looks like they have fun!

The blog wont let me upload more pictures, so I'll upload some more next time. Most of the other ones are from the MTC. Stay tuned... :)

Fort Collins - Week 7

Elder Peterson's Name Tag

Hello everyone!

This week was fun being senior companion but to be honest it isn’t easy trying to perfect your less than perfect missionary skills and handle the additional responsibilities. Still it amazes me to look back and see how far I’ve come since my first week. We actually went back to a guy we met one of my first days street contacting and all I remembered is that I couldn’t think of anything to talk about with the guy and had to let Elder Shearer do most of the talking. We went back this week and I expected the same situation, but to my surprise there seemed to be no barrier. It was Awesome! The experience really gave me hope for the opportunity to keep growing and improving. This guy who hasn't started investigating yet said that he would actually like to have us over for dinner some time. I really hope he takes interest in the Book of Mormon we gave him and that we can teach him. I really love this area I serve in right now and we actually have transfers this week. It’s sort of a nervous excitement as we wonder who will stay who will go and if we'll all still be companions.

Keep a close eye on my friends and those youngsters at church. Make sure they're all making  smart choices and be that great example that everyone needs. 

Anyway, everyone here started school last week and I actually got really excited when I realized that I didn't have to worry about homework, quizzes, papers, or tests at all for the next two years. I love being a missionary. Jordyn, you're going to love your senior year, I know you will. The feeling is like nothing you have felt at all the past school years. Also one thing to remember, people may say that you will miss high school but trust me you wont... those people didn't go to Utah State. haha :)

Well I still love being a missionary and I can’t wait to see what the future holds. Love you all!! 

-Elder Peterson

Elder Neilson and Elder Peterson at the MTC   

Elder Peterson and Elder Nielson at the MTC (again)

 

Fort Collins - Week 5

Hey family!

Life if still going awesome! I really like being a missionary and all the fun stuff we get to do. Guess what! We had another baptism this week. Her name is Martha and she has been investigating for a long time and just got up and decided she wanted to become a member on Saturday. She gave us 48 hours notice but we made it work. If you're keeping track, that's two weeks, two baptisms. 

This week we had to move to a new members home across town. It's not as roomy as our old home, but Elder Shearer and I made it work. We also had Zone conference up in Wyoming on Saturday and I got to better know my district and my zone. President Ely presides at zone conference and we just teach each other all day. The first teaching things are random and are chosen by the president. President Ely chose Elder Shearer and I for a presentation and besides going for too long, I think we did pretty good.

Well I wish I did more than move this week because nothing super cool really happened. We did alot of tracting and actually got a couple people that said we could come back. One guy who was like 20 let us teach him the whole first lesson on the doorstep and actually seemed really interested. Sadly, we have to yield any young single adults to other missionaries under their jurisdiction, but it was still a cool experience.

Oh yeah, Steve went to prison because he didn't like authority or something like that but GUESS WHAT, he ran... we called the halfway house and they said he wasn't there anymore. We didn't know what that meant so we went to check it out and we were interrogated by federal marshals. The rules are that as missionaries we have to report him if we see him. It's sad because he really wanted to be baptised and was serious about the church. He just had a really bad week and it ended with him not coming back. We were disappointed.

oh yeah, I'm now using my awesome outer space bedsheets! They don't supply them for us in this new house so now the room glows with spaceships and planets! They make Elder Shearer laugh every night. My bike is also pretty sweet! It is a diamondback response. I got it off nashbar (dad, you can see it all in the email you got) it might be the nicest bike I have ever ridden.

I wish I could think of more to write about, thank you all for your letters! Hope the summer is still going awesome! I love you all!

-Elder Peterson

**We got this and immediately responded and had a chat through e-mail**

Jordyn - you there?!!?

Elder Peterson - yes but I have to go soon

Jordyn -  I'm in your room cleaning up. Grandma comes tomorrow. but I love you and sounds like you're having a great time! I love you so much! The guys are all doing great. Nevin shared his testimony yesterday and I think everyone, even Austin, had fun at efy. They both did the musical program at efy and Josh is still hanging out with them. Love you!

Elder Peterson - haha that's awesome. Did you get my letter with your blessing? (I, Jordyn, had sent him a letter with a copy of my patriarchal blessing because he never had a chance to read it. He copied it small  so that I could put it in my scriptures)

Jordyn - Yes I did! thank you so much! All of the girls are here now! We all love you! and we are all in our pajamas still and just hanging out.

Elder Peterson - hah nice I have like three more mins. Why are you in pajamas?

Jordyn - We have just been cleaning and stuff. Have you gotten a lot of letters and packages? 

Elder Peterson - A couple from like Linsey, Tiffy, and Krissy. That's it since the MTC. I love you guys!

Jordyn - love you too! have a great week! We'll all write you soon! LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVEEEEE!!! (This had a super embarrassing picture of his 3 sisters that we took attached to it - no make up, pajamas, and grossness)

Elder Peterson - haha you guys are awesome!!

Jordyn - Don't show anyone that picture.... wait until next week for some better ones :) We'll send you some copies too haha

Elder Peterson - Um too late, they saw. I love you guys! Bye!!

 

Fort Collins - week 4

Thank you Family for the emails!

My pday is on Mondays now and will be for the rest of my mission I think. Well, I made it to Colorado and I have been here a week! I'M SERVING IN THE FORT COLLINS AREA! Everyone says it's their favorite area to serve in. My boundaries includes the stake center and it's exactly like our stake center back home so it's kinda weird walking around it. My trainer is Elder Shearer. I think I sent a picture to a few of your emails, but sorry if I missed someone, I'm short on time since I don't have a library card and have to use a 20 min computer. Elder Shearer is pretty cool, we're working hard and have had a great week.

The first night I was able to participate in a baptism for a young man who turned 18 that day and was eager to be baptised against his parents wishes. I said a prayer and shared my testimony but the program just read Elder Green would be speaking (because I was a greeny that day haha).

This ward is awesome. The ward missionaries really know their calling and there are so many cool families. It kinda reminds me of our ward. This mission is very unique in the world. President Ely is a great man and Salt Lake has given him the opportunity to test run some new programs for the mission field. For one, this is the only mission that is completely housed by members. Every companionship has a members house to stay at. I stay at an elderly couples home but we are moving soon. We also have the most cars to missionaries of any mission (but we're still on bikes but that's okay).

I have had the chance to teach a lot of lessons and to knock alot of doors. I have had some interesting experiences. My favorite one was teaching a guy named Steve. He just got out of prison but he is really cool. He is so ready to be baptised but he can't because he is on probation and cant fully repent until he pays his debt to society. Well, we went to the halfway house planning to teach some commandment but had to forget the lesson when he started expressing concerns for why he couldn't be baptised and what the scriptures actually said about the situation. He talked about alot of things but I shared my favorite scripture DC 121:7. It applied a lot... READ IT!

Doctrine and Covenants 121: 7 - "  My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment" 

Elder Peterson and Elder Shearer

Well I have a couple more minutes so I'll just tell you about my day. I woke up and did all of our studies and laundry then we went shopping with the Timberline elders (we're the Parkwood elders). After that, we tried to bike to the Horsetooth Mountain on mountain bikes. After 2 hours, we were only half way there and since we spent most of the morning trying to fix the bike I borrowed (cause mine hasn't come yet) it was already 3. It was up hill the entire way and there was no way that I was used to biking in this climate yet. The timberline elders went on at the expense of the rest of their P-days and Elder Shearer and I turned back. It was an awesome ride back down and we got to help the same biker that gave a directions up the mountain with his flat tire and then we saved 4 ducklings that were stuck in the street behind the curb. Elder Shearer was laughing because all he heard me say was " elder, elder! Ducklings!!"... I got way too excited haha. We just picked them up out of the street and dropped them by the pond where their mother found them.

well I smell disgusting right now and my pday ends at 6 so Elder Shearer and I should go back and shower. Talk to you next week and send me letters and I will respond. ttyl!

-Elder Peterson