July 28th Petersen/Bills

First off, E Petersen was not affected by the tornadoes going through Tennessee this week. He told us that he was at a missionary fireside at the church, so therefore he was safe :)

It's kind of funny that some weeks I feel like there isn't much too share, but this week there is a lot....

It is so amazing to watch the growth of a missionary. I often wonder if it is as visible to them as it is to us as their family, friends, and neighbors. I feel like my son has gained so much from serving the Lord already that I can only imagine what another 20 months will do. I miss him soo much that some days I just want to fly off to Tennessee and be a fly on the wall, just to watch him. Okay, honestly there is no way I could just watch him and not give him a huge hug =)  I am so proud of all that he is doing and who he is becoming. His spirit has always been huge. When he was little he would prepare his own talks for primary (age 5-9) and would amaze everyone with his simple testimony and words. He typically chose to talk about David and Goliath, that was his favorite. He still does an amazing job at speaking and has no fear of doing it, that definitely didn't come from me. Here is what I assume is a talk he gave recently. (I will correct if I am wrong). I love that is in his own handwriting, sorry if it is hard to read.

(If any of this was too hard for you to read... Please feel free to ask and I would be glad to interpret.)

Here is an excerpt from his letter this week:

"I'd say the way I've grown spiritually the most is just through helping people learn about the gospel and sharing my testimony that it's true. It's helped me to look at why I believe in the church and how it's blessed me in my life. 

I had a guy just the other day say to me "At 18 what can you really say that God has done for you in your life to people that will make them want to hear what you have to say?" And I told him that He's helped me by sending me to a family who already knew and believed in the gospel and that I haven't had to look far to find the truth, like a lot of people have. I also told him that He's given me a lot of opportunities to help people who need it, and He's given me the ability to help them. When I answered him I didn't even have to think through what I was going to say, it was kinda just coming out of my mouth as it came into my head."

I just LOVE my missionary!!

Have a GREAT day!

Picture Info and update

I finally remembered to ask E Petersen about his pictures. Who they are and what is special about them.

This special sister really likes Jared. Something about him got her to go back to church. I asked him about her.

" I just made friends with her and made sure that she knew I wanted her to go to church because it was good for her and not because I just wanted to add numbers. I also helped her realize that there's a lot of people there who really wanted to see her there and be able to help her."
"When I left and I was telling her goodbye she said "you're probably worried I'll stop going to church after you leave, aren't you?" so I was like "Well I'm hoping you'll keep coming." so she told me she was going to keep going and the Elders there have told me she still goes every week."

Jared just loves this brother and his dedication to the Lord. This brother had an amazing conversion story.

"Helm's conversion story is one of my favorites. He was really sick when he was like 19 , basically on his death bed, so his neighbor who was a member of the church told him that he needed to come to church with them. So he went that next sunday and he says as soon as he got there he could feel that it was true and he needed to join, so he got baptized after church that day and it wasn't until a few weeks later he actually found out what the name of the church was. And he's been to church every week he could since then."


"He's a really funny guy, and he's just about as southern as they get. He's also super dedicated to helping less active members and he was more than willing to do anything for us. E Houghton mentioned one time that a 7/11 slushie would be really good, but the closest one was in Atlanta Georgia and Helm over heard him and was like "Y'all need to go to Atlanta? Let's go!" and so we were like "no Helm, it's alright we just wanted a 7/11 slushie from there." and he was like "Well let's go get a 7/11 slushie!" so we had to tell him that Atlanta Georgia was outside of mission boundaries so we'd get in a lot of trouble if we went, but he really wanted to take us. He also went to visit less actives for his date nights and spent about $600 a month on gas just to drive to all of the less actives."

This couple was Jared's Mission President and wife. 

He got a new one July 1st.

Jared is doing amazing! He is happy and loving the work. He loves the people and is tolerating the weather quite well. Here is his response to my question about what is his least favorite, 

" Once apon a time there was a road called Alice Bell road. Two elders on bikes were trying to get to an appointment and had to bike up this big hill on Alice Bell Road. It was super hard. That's probably about the worst. "    (such a funny kid) =)