April 4, 2016
Well friends.
This is my last ever email as a missionary!
I would say it's impossible to describe what it feels like to end a mission. The last few days have been a roller coaster of emotion! I can't believe that 18 months have passed. A scripture that dad shared with me comes to mind:
"Wherefore, I the Lord ask you this question--unto what were ye ordained? To preach my gospel by the Spirit, even the Comforter which was sent forth to teach the truth...nevertheless, I will be merciful unto you; he that is weak among you hereafter shall be made strong."
"...that the fullness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world..."
I testify that the Lord fulfills His promises. When I look at myself, I still see a weak and simple girl who gave her best to the Lord for 18 months. But when I look at my mission, I am overwhelmed with gratitude, because I see his tender mercies and His hand and His strength in everything. He has made me strong. He has tested me, stretched me, challenged me, blessed me, strengthened me, helped me, guided me, loved me. A mission isn't a sacrifice. It's a blessing. The moment I chose to have that perspective it became a constant stream of tender mercies and miracles. I received infinitely more than I gave.
"...my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God. Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak, therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things."
The Savior lives! His gospel has been restored. He is here to hear and answer our prayers. He loves us. He knows us. I know these things are true!
I feel so much love for my mission, the people of St. Louis, the missionaries around me, and especially for the Savior. He means everything to me!
I love you all.
See you soon!
Sister Petrie
Monday, April 4, 2016
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Happy happy happy
March 28, 2016
Hello hello hello!
I hope your Easter was amazing. It was so great to hear about your experience with the Savior of the World play! Sounds like it went awesome. And how neat that so many people got to come!
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| Comp Unity |
Our Easter was super special. We woke up a little stressed, due to a crazy week and being super behind on several things, but I just prayed that I would be able to feel the easter spirit and have peace! Prayers were definitely answered, the day went so smoothly and I felt the spirit so strongly! Both sister Weldert and I spoke in the YSA sacrament meeting, and both talks went well! It gave me a chance to really think about how much I love easter, and I even talked about how "The Savior of the World" performance a couple of years ago blessed my life! Sister Weldert shared a personal experience about gaining a testimony of the gospel in her talk, and it turned out one of the YSA's in the congregation is currently going through the exact same struggle, and her testimony was really able to touch this YSA sister! That was really neat to hear. I'm so grateful that the spirit guides all we say and do as missionaries. We never know the impact we can have!
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| We colored eggs for a Sister's P day! #Hallelujah |
In YSA relief society, we had a super unique lesson on the Savior, where we all took 5 minutes or so to share something about the Savior that meant something to us personally, whether it be a picture, a hymn, song, story, etc. IT WAS SO POWERFUL. The spirit was so strong, and everyone was just so open about their real feelings for the Savior. There was no judgment, no comparison. Just all of us, sharing things that really had changed us. I love YSA's so much! They just love the gospel. It's so real to them! Also, M. was there, and took the opportunity to share her love for the Savior! I love M. so much, she is the greatest and sweetest human alive.
Women's conference. AH. I hope you all watched it! I loved it so much. So much about service! That's exactly what I needed to here. My mission has given me such a strong desire to serve everyone I can, for the rest of my life! I love it. It keeps me going!
We had our last exchange this week, I got to go to Columbia IL. We had so many awesome lessons as well! You will all be happy to know that I am working hard, and I am holding it together :) I only cried once this week :) Sister Weldert is the greatest person ever. She is helping me a ton!
I hope you all are pumped for conference this week. I love conference!
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| Petri street! Guess they'll never get my name quite right... :) |
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Easter is coming!
March 21, 2016
I hope your week was as wonderful as mine. I am so happy to be a missionary.
We had two more wonderful exchanges this week :) They taught me so much. Both exchanges I got to be here in my area with a brand new sister! One was with sister Hubbard, and one with Sister Hansen. They are so full of fire for missionary work, they can't help but be contagious! They reminded me--yet again--how much I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY.
We were also able to start teaching several new investigators this week, which was such a blessing! One especially powerful lesson was with D., the friend of a returning member. D. came to church last week, and felt the spirit so powerfully. When we visited her, she expressed how difficult her life has been in the last couple years. As I listened, I felt the Lord's incredible love for her. It was so easy to testify of Christ and invite her to take the lessons, because I knew that was exactly what she needed to find the healing she is looking for. It was powerful, and the spirit was there.
Both Sister Weldert and I also had an opportunity to receive a priesthood blessing of comfort and counsel this week! It was amazing. Our district leader didn't know either of us very well, but the things he said were so personally meaningful. The power of the priesthood is amazing! After I received the blessing, I was looking back on a "1-year plan" I'd made just a few days earlier, and the goals I'd made for myself matched almost exactly the advice in the blessing I'd received. It was incredible, and reminded me how much the Lord loves me and my dear companion.
Here's my top 10 things I learned this week!
1. Exchanges are amazing but exhausting
2. The power of the priesthood is REAL.
3. Never eat ice cream twice in one day.
4. Never EVER eat McDonalds twice in one day
5. If you get sick at the end of the week, it's probably because you ate McDonalds and ice cream all week.
6. It is not good to spend 24 hours pretending like your not sick when you are running a temperature.
7. You know you're insane when you wait until your companion says you sound and look like a crazy caveman before you slow down and get better.
8. THANK GOODNESS for Dayquil
9. A smile and a hug make everything better
10. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY
Sorry about no pictures this week. I love you all so so much. I feel better now and am ready for another awesome week :)
Sister Petrie
I hope your week was as wonderful as mine. I am so happy to be a missionary.
We had two more wonderful exchanges this week :) They taught me so much. Both exchanges I got to be here in my area with a brand new sister! One was with sister Hubbard, and one with Sister Hansen. They are so full of fire for missionary work, they can't help but be contagious! They reminded me--yet again--how much I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY.
We were also able to start teaching several new investigators this week, which was such a blessing! One especially powerful lesson was with D., the friend of a returning member. D. came to church last week, and felt the spirit so powerfully. When we visited her, she expressed how difficult her life has been in the last couple years. As I listened, I felt the Lord's incredible love for her. It was so easy to testify of Christ and invite her to take the lessons, because I knew that was exactly what she needed to find the healing she is looking for. It was powerful, and the spirit was there.
Both Sister Weldert and I also had an opportunity to receive a priesthood blessing of comfort and counsel this week! It was amazing. Our district leader didn't know either of us very well, but the things he said were so personally meaningful. The power of the priesthood is amazing! After I received the blessing, I was looking back on a "1-year plan" I'd made just a few days earlier, and the goals I'd made for myself matched almost exactly the advice in the blessing I'd received. It was incredible, and reminded me how much the Lord loves me and my dear companion.
Here's my top 10 things I learned this week!
1. Exchanges are amazing but exhausting
2. The power of the priesthood is REAL.
3. Never eat ice cream twice in one day.
4. Never EVER eat McDonalds twice in one day
5. If you get sick at the end of the week, it's probably because you ate McDonalds and ice cream all week.
6. It is not good to spend 24 hours pretending like your not sick when you are running a temperature.
7. You know you're insane when you wait until your companion says you sound and look like a crazy caveman before you slow down and get better.
8. THANK GOODNESS for Dayquil
9. A smile and a hug make everything better
10. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY
Sorry about no pictures this week. I love you all so so much. I feel better now and am ready for another awesome week :)
Sister Petrie
HALLELUJAH
March 14, 2016
The mission life goes on! This week was crazy. Like CRAZY.
Tuesday was great! We got to have a couple of lessons, and that night we were able to watch the YSA Q&A broadcast by Elder Holland! If you didn't get a chance to watch it, it's definitely worth the time. The testimonies borne were so powerful, and I had a lot of questions answered myself. Also, the love of our church leaders is so powerful, and it's real! They really do care about the young people of this church.
Wednesday we had another fantastic Zone Conference! It was one of the best I've been to. Everyone came so prepared to learn and share and become better missionaries. Our training went really well, and I learned so much about repentance and the importance of teaching our investigators HOW to repent. The repentance process is part of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ!
Thursday we got to teach M. :) She is just doing so well. We had a really powerful lesson on chastity, and read "The Family: A Proclamation to the World". The spirit was so strong! I realized what an anchor strong families are, and just how vital of a role they play in helping God's children progress in the gospel. I've seen so many different types of families on my mission, many of which are struggling and broken. There are a lot of resources out there to help struggling youth and kids, but honestly there is NO substitute for a strong family where Christ is the center. I'm so grateful that the church recognizes and teaches us the importance of family.
Friday we had another exchange with our Potosi, MO sisters! I got to go to Potosi with Sister Grover. That girl is hilarious! We had a great time, and got to teach a lot of great people.
IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT YET. Go to followhim.mormon.org and watch the church's new initiative video it's released for Easter, "Hallelujah." Then share it! I love this video so much! Each time I watch it, it reminds me of what the Atonement has done for me! "In Jesus Christ, I have found new life." I truly have found new life in Jesus Christ! He means everything to me.
Love you all!!
Sister Petrie
The mission life goes on! This week was crazy. Like CRAZY.
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| First time eating dippin dots! Worth it :) |
Tuesday was great! We got to have a couple of lessons, and that night we were able to watch the YSA Q&A broadcast by Elder Holland! If you didn't get a chance to watch it, it's definitely worth the time. The testimonies borne were so powerful, and I had a lot of questions answered myself. Also, the love of our church leaders is so powerful, and it's real! They really do care about the young people of this church.
Wednesday we had another fantastic Zone Conference! It was one of the best I've been to. Everyone came so prepared to learn and share and become better missionaries. Our training went really well, and I learned so much about repentance and the importance of teaching our investigators HOW to repent. The repentance process is part of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ!
Thursday we got to teach M. :) She is just doing so well. We had a really powerful lesson on chastity, and read "The Family: A Proclamation to the World". The spirit was so strong! I realized what an anchor strong families are, and just how vital of a role they play in helping God's children progress in the gospel. I've seen so many different types of families on my mission, many of which are struggling and broken. There are a lot of resources out there to help struggling youth and kids, but honestly there is NO substitute for a strong family where Christ is the center. I'm so grateful that the church recognizes and teaches us the importance of family.
Friday we had another exchange with our Potosi, MO sisters! I got to go to Potosi with Sister Grover. That girl is hilarious! We had a great time, and got to teach a lot of great people.
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| Exchanges :) |
IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT YET. Go to followhim.mormon.org and watch the church's new initiative video it's released for Easter, "Hallelujah." Then share it! I love this video so much! Each time I watch it, it reminds me of what the Atonement has done for me! "In Jesus Christ, I have found new life." I truly have found new life in Jesus Christ! He means everything to me.
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| What we look like on Sunday night. #nuffsaid |
Sister Petrie
Thursday, March 10, 2016
Zone Conference!!
March 7, 2016
It has been an great week! :)
We had to spend a lot of time preparing for zone conference this week! It was on Wednesday, and it was great! We gave a training on the importance of repentance. It's been really neat to see our mission focus back on the basics recently. Sometimes we get so caught up in other details of missionary work...but the basics always work the best! We were very prepared for our training, and we invited a lot of people to share their experiences with repentance...which really brought a special spirit to the meeting! I was reminded of the importance of repenting daily, even as a missionary!
We also had exchanges this week :) YAY. I love exchanges, and I love our sisters dearly. We got to exchange with the Jackson sisters, and they are whitewashing the area (they're both new to the area) and also Sister Hulme is training! Needless to say...it's kind of stressful for them! But they are handling it like pros. I loved being with Sister Desmond for the day! She reminded me of that pure faith that new missionaries have. I really needed to feel that faith again, and remember that it really is in the Lord's hand! I'll be honest, it's really hard to be on my last transfer! I have just loved my mission more than I can describe. I needed to remember that I can have just as much faith in the next phase of life as I did when I was just starting out :)
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| Sister Desmond and Me! She's adorable! |
My mission is a constant reminder of how much joy comes from bringing others to Christ :) I feel joy from having the gospel, but that FULL joy and overflowing happiness comes when I see others come to Him as well! I think that's why need to be sealed to our families--so we can bring them to Christ and into the celestial kingdom and feel that fullness of joy. Everyone has someone that they need to bring! For me right now, it's the random strangers on the street. Later in life, it will be my family, and my future children. It's all the same, amazing work, and it brings more joy than anything. I LOVEEE THE GOSPEL.
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| Us taking the ferry across the Mississippi! We may have gotten a little lost.... |
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| Our Nissan Rouge on the ferry :) |
Monday, February 29, 2016
Amazing blessings of a mission
February 29, 2016
I can't believe it's only been a week. It just seems like so much has happened!
Sister Weldert is here! And she is awesome. She is handling the change in area/assignment like a boss!! She's already teaching me a ton. She is a super bold missionary, and reminds me the importance of talking to everyone. She's seriously great, from Idaho, and such a prepared missionary. Love her lots, already :)
I picked her up on Tuesday, and we went straight to work! We had an appointment with the O. family, and it was fantastic! H. had done his reading, and he had so many questions. He's starting to have that thirst for the gospel, which is so awesome to see! We had a couple other awesome lessons that day as well!
We were able to see almost 100 percent of our investigators this week, which was amazing! We had a ton of just really powerful, uplifting lessons. And find a couple new people to teach! One was the G. family, which we are super excited about. The father is a member, and the mom and the youngest son, J., are not. The dad was super excited to have us over, he stopped us at the church a couple weeks ago and asked us to come see his family. He said he's ready to be active and living the gospel, and wants his youngest son to be baptized as well. I'm just amazed at how much the gospel brings happiness. It's so clear sometimes! I love it.
It's been great getting to know our sweet sisters! We have 5 sets this transfer, and 3 of them are training! Which is always so fun. The new sisters seem so happy and full of excitement to be missionaries :) I can't WAIT for exchanges with them!
I had a neat experience this week at district meeting, which I had the opportunity to bear testimony of in MLC the next day. I was asked to lead the district in reciting D&C 4, which I hadn't done for a couple months! I've always been a little intimidated by verse 6, "Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence." Sometimes it's tempting to see that as an overwhelming checklist of virtues we need to strive for and obtain on our missions. But as I read that with all the missionaries, I suddenly had a perspective change--suddenly I saw that as a list of blessings that I've received on my mission! I remembered all the times that God has given me the faith I needed to see a miracle. When He's given me that extra strength I needed at the end of the day to be truly diligent to the end. I thought of all the people he's taught me to truly, deeply love. I thought of that boost of patience I received when an investigator just needed a little more time, or when the work was slow. When he's humbled me with his blessings. Those many, many people in my life that I now think of as brothers and sisters, because I've been blessed to serve them. And I was completely overwhelmed with gratitude! I realized the extent of the enabling power of the Atonement in helping me become a consecrated, Christlike missionary. AHHH. I am just so grateful. It's all come from Him! I love what my mission has taught me.
We had a fantastic Leadership Council on Friday. It was all themed around repentance, both our repentance and our investigators. It reminded me that enduring to the end is repenting to the end. I'm excited to teach that in our upcoming trainings and exchanges this next couple weeks!
I failed at taking pictures this week, but here is one of sister Weldert with a BRAND NEW CAR. 2016 Nissan. yeahhhh we're spoiled :)
Love you all!
Sister Petrie
Sister Weldert is here! And she is awesome. She is handling the change in area/assignment like a boss!! She's already teaching me a ton. She is a super bold missionary, and reminds me the importance of talking to everyone. She's seriously great, from Idaho, and such a prepared missionary. Love her lots, already :)
I picked her up on Tuesday, and we went straight to work! We had an appointment with the O. family, and it was fantastic! H. had done his reading, and he had so many questions. He's starting to have that thirst for the gospel, which is so awesome to see! We had a couple other awesome lessons that day as well!
We were able to see almost 100 percent of our investigators this week, which was amazing! We had a ton of just really powerful, uplifting lessons. And find a couple new people to teach! One was the G. family, which we are super excited about. The father is a member, and the mom and the youngest son, J., are not. The dad was super excited to have us over, he stopped us at the church a couple weeks ago and asked us to come see his family. He said he's ready to be active and living the gospel, and wants his youngest son to be baptized as well. I'm just amazed at how much the gospel brings happiness. It's so clear sometimes! I love it.
It's been great getting to know our sweet sisters! We have 5 sets this transfer, and 3 of them are training! Which is always so fun. The new sisters seem so happy and full of excitement to be missionaries :) I can't WAIT for exchanges with them!
I had a neat experience this week at district meeting, which I had the opportunity to bear testimony of in MLC the next day. I was asked to lead the district in reciting D&C 4, which I hadn't done for a couple months! I've always been a little intimidated by verse 6, "Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence." Sometimes it's tempting to see that as an overwhelming checklist of virtues we need to strive for and obtain on our missions. But as I read that with all the missionaries, I suddenly had a perspective change--suddenly I saw that as a list of blessings that I've received on my mission! I remembered all the times that God has given me the faith I needed to see a miracle. When He's given me that extra strength I needed at the end of the day to be truly diligent to the end. I thought of all the people he's taught me to truly, deeply love. I thought of that boost of patience I received when an investigator just needed a little more time, or when the work was slow. When he's humbled me with his blessings. Those many, many people in my life that I now think of as brothers and sisters, because I've been blessed to serve them. And I was completely overwhelmed with gratitude! I realized the extent of the enabling power of the Atonement in helping me become a consecrated, Christlike missionary. AHHH. I am just so grateful. It's all come from Him! I love what my mission has taught me.
We had a fantastic Leadership Council on Friday. It was all themed around repentance, both our repentance and our investigators. It reminded me that enduring to the end is repenting to the end. I'm excited to teach that in our upcoming trainings and exchanges this next couple weeks!
I failed at taking pictures this week, but here is one of sister Weldert with a BRAND NEW CAR. 2016 Nissan. yeahhhh we're spoiled :)
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| Sister Weldert and our new car!! |
Sister Petrie
Starting Transfer 13!!!!
February 22, 2016
Oh my goodness. This week has been insane! But amazing. Hopefully this email isn't too all over the place.
Shout out to my amazing companion, Sister Sommer, who is boarding her flight home RIGHT NOW. It was another really hard goodbye this morning...that girl changed my life! But it brings me so much joy to see her move on to the next phase of her life...returning with honor! Seriously she was an incredible example to me of a sister that worked hard to the VERY end. She gave her all to the mission, and the blessings that came from it are amazing! She blessed so many lives, and I look to her as an incredible example of how to end a mission right :)
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| Me and Sis. Sommer - Aren't we not cute. I love her! |
Right now I'm in Glen Carbon with Sister Williams (Centralia sister) and Sister Furniss (my MTC buddy)! We are all waiting to pick up our new companions tomorrow morning :) Sister Williams has been with sister Sommer and I since Thursday, which has turned out to be an amazing blessing! She is the sweetest sister ever, has only been out for 5 months, and her mission has been eventful! She was training last transfer, and her trainee decided to return home on Thursday :( So she has been hanging out with us, and we have been working Glen Carbon and Centralia! What an adventure. She seriously kept us positive and sane this last week, with all the craziness of Sister Sommer leaving. I'm so grateful for her! She will be training again in Centralia, and I am so excited for her.
So on Saturday, all 3 of us spent the entire day in Centralia! It was paradise. Best throwback ever! I love and miss that place with all my heart, just like all of the rest of my areas! The best surprise was being able to visit the P'S, who are as amazing as ever! Both J. and R. are doing so well. They are Sunday School teachers and J. is in Young Women. They told me they are progressing towards being sealed in the temple, and invited me to come when they are sealed later this year in the Salt Lake temple! So much joy. I can't even. AH! I love them so much, they taught me what Christ's love really is. I'm starting to realize how long-term the joy of missionary work is. These people--companions, converts, members--will FOREVER mean everything to me, and we will all continue to progress together! That's real joy. I'm so grateful!
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| The P Family! |
We were also able to see the M.'s (my missionary grandparents!!) and eat at Cracker Barrel again, just like old times. Man. I love these dear Centralia people.
We had some amazing lessons this week, I would need another 10 pages to tell about them all. It's just been a miracle to see all of our amazing investigators progress so well in the gospel. I love this area! It's just teaching me to deeply love people, all over again.
Highlights: 1. D. coming up to us at church, and saying "Oh by the way, I prayed about March 20th as a baptism date, and my answer was YES." Oh my heavens I love her. 2. Everyone crying in C.'s lesson as we testified of the Savior and His love, and Sister Sommer giving her her favorite picture of Christ as a parting gift. SO TENDER. 3. Picking up a part-member family this week! 3. Dumpster diving for the keys....YIKES. That may be a story for later. 4. Wearing fake mustaches and taking selfies and laughing until we cried....good times with Sister Williams!
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| Mustache photo! |
I am so ready for this next transfer, and so excited. So many miracles, just waiting to happen! :) :) :) I totally forgot, my next companion will be Sister Weldert, who is one of OUR rockstar sisters in Sikeston! She's amazing, and she is a fantastic missionary. I'm so excited to have her as my companion! I have a feeling...it's going to be a good transfer!!
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| Our District! |
Last week of Sommer and Petrie
February 16, 2016
It is so hard to believe that this is the last week of the transfer. Part of me wanted this transfer to last forever! It has been a BLAST being with Sister Sommer, and Glen Carbon is just the best. Sister Sommer goes home next week, and I'll miss her a lot!
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| ....just a glimpse into our companionship :) |
This week was another fantastic one! We were able to see almost all of our investigators and have a lot of great lessons. There are so many progressing towards baptism. I am just SO grateful!! The longer I'm out the more I realize how much the work is in Heavenly Father's hands. ALL flesh is in his hands (D&C 101:16) and he knows what each individual needs, and when they need it. I'm so grateful to be a part of filling those needs!
My favorite lesson this week was with our investigator C., who's girlfriend is a member. We were able to bring the PERFECT members to help us teach and fellowship him! They got along so well, it was magical. I love when that happens! We taught him the gospel of Jesus Christ, and he basically taught himself! We asked him, "C., what is repentance?" And then he went on for about 10 minutes about what repentance means to him and how it's more than confessing sins, it's deep and lasting change. It was perfect! His desires of learning the gospel have recently changed I think, from learning out of curiosity to deeply seeking to be spiritually filled! C. is amazing, I love teaching him.
We were also able to pick up a solid new investigator this week, M.! He referred himself online :) He is so great! We taught him the restoration, and he just soaked it up and expressed a strong desire to read the Book of Mormon! When we asked him if he had any questions, he said he wished that everyone could know about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith, so we could be unified. Way to go, M.! Already a missionary after the first lesson. So golden!
I think my favorite moment this week was meeting J. We went up to Highland to find a lady that had showed up on our ward roster. She didn't live at the address, but J. did! We talked to J. for a little bit about the church, and then she burst out like she couldn't hold it in any longer, "You ladies are just BEAUTIFUL. Both of you!! And it comes from your eyes! You don't even have to say a word, I feel the love that is in your eyes." We were both a little surprised! But what a great opportunity we had to testify of the Savior, that it is HIS love we have in our lives because of the restored gospel and the Book of Mormon. She didn't want to learn more about the church, but I was so grateful for the opportunity to share the love of Christ! I wish with all my heart that I could help everyone understand that the happiness and peace in my life comes from living the restored gospel and from daily feeling the love of Jesus Christ in my life. HE is the light of the world. He is the light that shines in our eyes! I am so blessed to be a missionary and have that extra measure of Christ's love in my life. AH. THE CHURCH IS TRUE! Ok, sorry for the rant. It's just so real and so important!
I love the gospel! I'm way excited for a great last week of the transfer :) Let's do this!
Sister Petrie
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| We went to the City Museum yesterday! SO fun! |
Long Post Today!
February 8, 2015
We had a couple of exchanges this week :) Both were awesome adventures! Tuesday I got to stay in our area and be with Sister Neilson--who happens to be the coolest human ever! She's just about 4 feet 8 inches tall, and is so full of fire and love for the gospel! She taught me so much about loving the people I work with. The exchange we had was literally perfect for both of us!
We got to teach our investigator D.--she is doing so well. Also, D.'s sister K., who we haven't been able to teach for a couple weeks, randomly came walking down the street as we were having our lesson outside! God's timing is perfect. I was able to talk to K., and she still wants to learn and come to church! While I was talking to K., Sister Neilson talked to D. about why she wants to be baptized and basically committed her to pray about a baptism date! YESSSS.
That night, our wonderful sisters in Centralia got in a car accident. They called us, slightly panicked and very shook up, and we got to drive down that night to Centralia to be with them! It was a neat experience for Sister Neilson I think, we got to comfort them and do some hardcore stress-relief coloring in my coloring book I got from A. :) :) It was just some great quality time with the sisters, and I really grew to love them even more! I'm so grateful I get these opportunities to serve and "comfort those that stand in need of comfort."
The next morning we got to rush back to Glen Carbon to teach our YSA investigator M.. It was so perfect! We had a couple minutes of small talk, opened with a prayer, and then M. stopped us. "Before you start your lesson, I should probably let you know that I got my answer that the church is true and I need to be baptized." AHH. She just casually dropped that bomb! Needless to say we were pretty excited!! So we set a baptism date with her for May! M. is pretty awesome, her dad is a Methodist preacher and her mom is anti-Mormon. She expects a pretty harsh reaction to her decision to join the church, so she has to wait until May to be baptized, because that's when she's moving out of her parents house. Prayers for her and her family would be much appreciated! All that aside, I LOVE MAGGIE. She's so cool! I thought it was so neat how she described getting her answer that she needed to be baptized. She said she basically had a moment of realization that she had been gradually gaining a testimony this whole time! It wasn't a lightbulb moment of testimony, more like a gradually unfolding testimony that she suddenly realized was there. It was cool to reflect on how God answers our prayers. Sometimes it's so gradual, we hardly recognize it until it's right in front of our face! I think we can always trust that we know more than we think we do.
Thursday we got to teach L., our 9-year-old investigator. She is so sweet. We love her! We got to talk with her mom, and officially set her baptism date for February 21st! I love when we get to work with families and help them come to the gospel all together :) Speaking of, I just heard from R. H. in O'Fallon, and apparently their family has come to church every Sunday since I got transferred! YES!!!!
Friday and Saturday I got to go to Sikeston, MO with Sister Mainord! She is the cutest human ever. She is so happy and bubbly, and super musical! We got along great, and she did a great job leading out the area. Sikeston got me all nostalgic, because it reminded me so much of Danville!! Sometimes I miss that amazing place and the things I learned there :) I just love each on of my areas/companions/sisters. I have such a testimony that we are where we are for a reason!
Saturday I got to meet our investigator C., who has been out of town. It was pretty much a life-changing experience, because C. is one of the coolest ladies I have ever met! Her son and daughter are both members of the church, and her son recently got back from his mission. She basically knows the gospel is true, and talked about baptism like she knew she was eventually getting baptized! She just needs to do it in her own time. So we are helping her read and gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon :). How she was found by the missionaries was an undeniable miracle, we know it and she knows it. Sister Dunn, a missionary that served here not long before I did, randomly met a friend of C. in a hospital in Utah, right before she left on her mission. This friend gave Sister Dunn C.'s address in Glen Carbon, saying that she should go see her sometime if she ever served in that area. So Sister Dunn gets out on her mission, and completely forgets about C. Then, believe it or not, she gets transferred to Glen Carbon for only 6 weeks, for her very last transfer before she goes home! She remembers that random referral, shows up to C's house, and the sisters have been teaching her ever since! SO COOL. How things work out literally blows my mind.
Sunday was amazing, because D., L., and C. all showed up to church! Testimony meeting was amazing, both Sister Sommer and I bore our testimonies and it was a neat experience :) Also, a recent convert we have been working with, S., came to the YSA branch for the first time, loved it, and is going to start coming there! YES. Next time, I will tell you about S., cuz she is awesome and one of our best friends!
I am so excited for this next week! We plan to blow it out of the water for Sister Sommer's last couple of weeks :) I love being a missionary! It makes me happier than anything!
It was another amazing amazing week. Yesterday in church Sister Sommer and I wanted to pass out with happiness and gratitude--everything is going right and we are seeing so many blessings in our area! I love these people more every day.
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| Our excited faces! We love good weeks! |
We had a couple of exchanges this week :) Both were awesome adventures! Tuesday I got to stay in our area and be with Sister Neilson--who happens to be the coolest human ever! She's just about 4 feet 8 inches tall, and is so full of fire and love for the gospel! She taught me so much about loving the people I work with. The exchange we had was literally perfect for both of us!
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| Sister Neilson |
We got to teach our investigator D.--she is doing so well. Also, D.'s sister K., who we haven't been able to teach for a couple weeks, randomly came walking down the street as we were having our lesson outside! God's timing is perfect. I was able to talk to K., and she still wants to learn and come to church! While I was talking to K., Sister Neilson talked to D. about why she wants to be baptized and basically committed her to pray about a baptism date! YESSSS.
That night, our wonderful sisters in Centralia got in a car accident. They called us, slightly panicked and very shook up, and we got to drive down that night to Centralia to be with them! It was a neat experience for Sister Neilson I think, we got to comfort them and do some hardcore stress-relief coloring in my coloring book I got from A. :) :) It was just some great quality time with the sisters, and I really grew to love them even more! I'm so grateful I get these opportunities to serve and "comfort those that stand in need of comfort."
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| Columbia, IL sisters! |
The next morning we got to rush back to Glen Carbon to teach our YSA investigator M.. It was so perfect! We had a couple minutes of small talk, opened with a prayer, and then M. stopped us. "Before you start your lesson, I should probably let you know that I got my answer that the church is true and I need to be baptized." AHH. She just casually dropped that bomb! Needless to say we were pretty excited!! So we set a baptism date with her for May! M. is pretty awesome, her dad is a Methodist preacher and her mom is anti-Mormon. She expects a pretty harsh reaction to her decision to join the church, so she has to wait until May to be baptized, because that's when she's moving out of her parents house. Prayers for her and her family would be much appreciated! All that aside, I LOVE MAGGIE. She's so cool! I thought it was so neat how she described getting her answer that she needed to be baptized. She said she basically had a moment of realization that she had been gradually gaining a testimony this whole time! It wasn't a lightbulb moment of testimony, more like a gradually unfolding testimony that she suddenly realized was there. It was cool to reflect on how God answers our prayers. Sometimes it's so gradual, we hardly recognize it until it's right in front of our face! I think we can always trust that we know more than we think we do.
Thursday we got to teach L., our 9-year-old investigator. She is so sweet. We love her! We got to talk with her mom, and officially set her baptism date for February 21st! I love when we get to work with families and help them come to the gospel all together :) Speaking of, I just heard from R. H. in O'Fallon, and apparently their family has come to church every Sunday since I got transferred! YES!!!!
Friday and Saturday I got to go to Sikeston, MO with Sister Mainord! She is the cutest human ever. She is so happy and bubbly, and super musical! We got along great, and she did a great job leading out the area. Sikeston got me all nostalgic, because it reminded me so much of Danville!! Sometimes I miss that amazing place and the things I learned there :) I just love each on of my areas/companions/sisters. I have such a testimony that we are where we are for a reason!
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| Sister Mainord |
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| Sikeston Exchanges |
Saturday I got to meet our investigator C., who has been out of town. It was pretty much a life-changing experience, because C. is one of the coolest ladies I have ever met! Her son and daughter are both members of the church, and her son recently got back from his mission. She basically knows the gospel is true, and talked about baptism like she knew she was eventually getting baptized! She just needs to do it in her own time. So we are helping her read and gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon :). How she was found by the missionaries was an undeniable miracle, we know it and she knows it. Sister Dunn, a missionary that served here not long before I did, randomly met a friend of C. in a hospital in Utah, right before she left on her mission. This friend gave Sister Dunn C.'s address in Glen Carbon, saying that she should go see her sometime if she ever served in that area. So Sister Dunn gets out on her mission, and completely forgets about C. Then, believe it or not, she gets transferred to Glen Carbon for only 6 weeks, for her very last transfer before she goes home! She remembers that random referral, shows up to C's house, and the sisters have been teaching her ever since! SO COOL. How things work out literally blows my mind.
Sunday was amazing, because D., L., and C. all showed up to church! Testimony meeting was amazing, both Sister Sommer and I bore our testimonies and it was a neat experience :) Also, a recent convert we have been working with, S., came to the YSA branch for the first time, loved it, and is going to start coming there! YES. Next time, I will tell you about S., cuz she is awesome and one of our best friends!
I am so excited for this next week! We plan to blow it out of the water for Sister Sommer's last couple of weeks :) I love being a missionary! It makes me happier than anything!
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| We built a fort to weekly plan in! |
Monday, February 1, 2016
Getting to know Glen Carbon!
February 1, 2016
It has been a fantastic week, full of many miracles!!
I'm a little short on time, so I may try and send a lot of pictures instead!
The highlight of this week was being able to go on exchanges to CENTRALIA, which was my 2nd area!! It was amazing, I loved being back and seeing some of the amazing people I adore. I love that place, and I testify that people are in our life for a reason!!
We also got to exchange with Potosi, MO sisters this week. They are AMAZING. I got to be with Sister Hill, and we are the same person! She taught me so much about enjoying the moment in missionary work. I love her!
I love all of the people we are teaching right now. We have the most adorable 9-year-old girl who is preparing to be baptized later this month. We gave her the children's version of the Book of Mormon a couple weeks ago (the one with pictures) and it took her about a week to finish the ENTIRE THING. Talk about soaking up the gospel!
We started teaching our recent convert's (M.) mom! She was so excited this week and was full of the spirit, she basically taught us the gospel!
Life is great here in Glen Carbon! The longer I'm here, the more I love it :) I'm so grateful to be a missionary!!
Sister Petrie
It has been a fantastic week, full of many miracles!!
I'm a little short on time, so I may try and send a lot of pictures instead!
The highlight of this week was being able to go on exchanges to CENTRALIA, which was my 2nd area!! It was amazing, I loved being back and seeing some of the amazing people I adore. I love that place, and I testify that people are in our life for a reason!!
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| Sister Petrie and Sister Williams |
We also got to exchange with Potosi, MO sisters this week. They are AMAZING. I got to be with Sister Hill, and we are the same person! She taught me so much about enjoying the moment in missionary work. I love her!
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| Exchanges |
I love all of the people we are teaching right now. We have the most adorable 9-year-old girl who is preparing to be baptized later this month. We gave her the children's version of the Book of Mormon a couple weeks ago (the one with pictures) and it took her about a week to finish the ENTIRE THING. Talk about soaking up the gospel!
We started teaching our recent convert's (M.) mom! She was so excited this week and was full of the spirit, she basically taught us the gospel!
Life is great here in Glen Carbon! The longer I'm here, the more I love it :) I'm so grateful to be a missionary!!
Sister Petrie
Worldwide Broadcast!
January 25, 2016
This week has gone by SO fast! I'm so filled with gratitude for the gospel, for this area, for my companion, for the people we meet and interact with every day. I love my mission!
We started out this week with interviews with President Morgan. I LOVE THAT MAN. He is inspired, and every time I talk with him I come away uplifted and motivated to do my best. It was so neat to be reassured in our interview that he does trust me and also expects great things of me. I asked him what I could do to help him, and he told me to work diligently in my area, and make it a great area full of miracles! I'm so glad he told me to do that, because ever since then the Lord has been blessing us and providing us a way to do it! We've been able to start teaching some solid, great FAMILIES this week, get our investigators to church, help them progress, and invite several of them to baptism. YES! I am so excited about this area and the people here, there are so many prepared for the gospel.
One of the families we started teaching this week was a couple, C. and M., that one of the members of the ward introduced us to. They recently have been through a lot, including the death of their teenage son. It's amazing to see how open and prepared they are for the gospel, searching for answers to their questions and a purpose to their lives. We had an incredible Plan of Salvation lesson with the two of them, and it was like watching a lightbulb turn on! They loved what we taught, and they felt the spirit so strongly. They just thirsted for more of the spirit, and were so excited to have us come back! It was such a powerful lesson, and I am so grateful.
We are also teaching a family with two adorable children, age 8 and 3, with a less-active mom and a non-member dad. They all sit in on the lessons, and we basically spend the whole time all trading off answering the 8 year old's questions hahaha. She is ADORABLE, and wants to be baptized. We want her dad to baptize her... :) After he gets baptized, of course.
We also started teaching D., a YW aged sister of our investigator K.. We taught her twice, and she came to church Sunday and loved it. She felt the spirit so strongly, and told us she feels like we were meant to teach her. We feel the same way :)
The highlight of the week was Zone Leader Training this week, we got to give a short training and get everyone excited about our new baptism goal for the year of 380. YES. I am so excited. That goal is straight-up revelation, and we are going to make it happen this year. After that we had a worldwide missionary broadcast from Salt Lake, from apostles and members of the 70. We got to hear from Elder Bednar, Elder Anderson, Elder Oaks and lots of other amazing people. They really focused on our true purpose as missionaries, and it motivated me to focus on the basics and keep strengthening my foundation--my belief in Jesus Christ.
I love you all! Have an amazing week, sorry about the lack of pictures :)
SIster Petrie
This week has gone by SO fast! I'm so filled with gratitude for the gospel, for this area, for my companion, for the people we meet and interact with every day. I love my mission!
We started out this week with interviews with President Morgan. I LOVE THAT MAN. He is inspired, and every time I talk with him I come away uplifted and motivated to do my best. It was so neat to be reassured in our interview that he does trust me and also expects great things of me. I asked him what I could do to help him, and he told me to work diligently in my area, and make it a great area full of miracles! I'm so glad he told me to do that, because ever since then the Lord has been blessing us and providing us a way to do it! We've been able to start teaching some solid, great FAMILIES this week, get our investigators to church, help them progress, and invite several of them to baptism. YES! I am so excited about this area and the people here, there are so many prepared for the gospel.
One of the families we started teaching this week was a couple, C. and M., that one of the members of the ward introduced us to. They recently have been through a lot, including the death of their teenage son. It's amazing to see how open and prepared they are for the gospel, searching for answers to their questions and a purpose to their lives. We had an incredible Plan of Salvation lesson with the two of them, and it was like watching a lightbulb turn on! They loved what we taught, and they felt the spirit so strongly. They just thirsted for more of the spirit, and were so excited to have us come back! It was such a powerful lesson, and I am so grateful.
We are also teaching a family with two adorable children, age 8 and 3, with a less-active mom and a non-member dad. They all sit in on the lessons, and we basically spend the whole time all trading off answering the 8 year old's questions hahaha. She is ADORABLE, and wants to be baptized. We want her dad to baptize her... :) After he gets baptized, of course.
We also started teaching D., a YW aged sister of our investigator K.. We taught her twice, and she came to church Sunday and loved it. She felt the spirit so strongly, and told us she feels like we were meant to teach her. We feel the same way :)
The highlight of the week was Zone Leader Training this week, we got to give a short training and get everyone excited about our new baptism goal for the year of 380. YES. I am so excited. That goal is straight-up revelation, and we are going to make it happen this year. After that we had a worldwide missionary broadcast from Salt Lake, from apostles and members of the 70. We got to hear from Elder Bednar, Elder Anderson, Elder Oaks and lots of other amazing people. They really focused on our true purpose as missionaries, and it motivated me to focus on the basics and keep strengthening my foundation--my belief in Jesus Christ.
I love you all! Have an amazing week, sorry about the lack of pictures :)
SIster Petrie
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
I LOVE GLEN CARBON
January 19, 2016
This week. Has been amazing!!
I love my new area. I LOVE being back in Illinois! There are so many wonderful prepared people in this area, and I have loved working with them all so far. We get to cover a YSA as well as the Glen Carbon ward. I love serving in a YSA! It takes me back to good old Heritage Park days. Anyway, if there's anything I've learned this week, it's that young single adults NEED the gospel. And so often they are way open to it! This week we started teaching our investigator M., who is the girlfriend of a member of the YSA. She knows the Bible like a boss, she is intelligent, successful, and put together, but she was still so open to the gospel! It was so neat to teach the simple truths of the Restoration and feel the spirit testify so powerfully of its truth. When we invited her to be baptized, she gave a definite yes! I am so grateful for the spirit. I've recently found myself in lessons praying, almost pleading for the spirit to be there. The spirit turns our imperfect teaching into a powerful message. Without it, we can't do anything.
I love my companion!!! Sister Sommer is perfectly exactly what I needed at this time. She is going home at the end of this transfer, but she still is obsessed with doing missionary work and loves to work HARD! She is also hilarious. Seriously, all we do is laugh and do missionary work. All day, every day. It seems like we've been companions our whole lives. I'm so grateful for her!
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| Sister Sommer and Me! |
We had mission leadership conference on Friday, and it was amazing! It was all focused on the basics, on declaring repentance and baptizing converts. Then for the second half of MLC, we got to go to the temple into a room in the distribution center! It was perfect, talking about missionary work and bearing testimony on the temple grounds :) Our mission is trying to increase our focus on the temple as well. There's no point in baptizing someone unless their next goal is the temple!
It was cool, because just a couple of days before that, we'd had an amazing lesson about the temple with our investigator K., who is planning on being baptized in February. The spirit was so powerful, and she had such a strong desire to be sealed to her family! It was cool, because that's the kind of vision we want our investigators to have!
I LOVE MY MISSION. I love the gospel! It brings sooooo much joy. I've felt that so powerfully this week. AHHHHH. I love it!
Sister Petrie
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| MTC group in front of the temple! |
Monday, January 18, 2016
Transfer time again!
January 11, 2016
So much has happened this week!
We had an exchange with the Parkway sisters! It was amazing, I love those sisters so much! I was with Sister Hudson, and she is the sweetest soul ever, and such a powerful missionary! She's pretty new in the mission, so it was awesome to see her take over her area with confidence and teach with the spirit. I love her.
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| Exchange with Parkway sisters! |
Saturday we had another mission conference! Elder Rasband from the Quorum of the 12 apostles was here, along with Elder Martino. It was amazing! I wish I had time to share all of my thoughts and goals that came from it. I just have such a powerful knowledge that I am right here in this mission, in this area, at this time, by the will of my Father in Heaven. :) He remembers each one of us and places us in the exact place we need to be. He has a purpose for each phase of our mission/lives. His love for us all as individuals is amazing. I felt a little more of that this week!
I've felt so strengthened lately to be my best self! I don't think I've ever worked as hard on my mission as I have this past week. There's just something about the feeling the spirit every day that is driving me to be better and do more. The Atonement really does carry us and stretch us and change us.
Saturday night we had transfer calls! I will be leaving O'Fallon and going to Glen Carbon, IL with Sister Sommer! It's so bittersweet! I love this area. Each one of the people here is close to my heart, leaving will be so hard! But I couldn't ask for a better next area and companion! Glen Carbon covers a YSA, which I'm SO excited to work in! It also is in the same zone as my second area, so I will be able to go on exchanges to Centralia! And let's be honest, I just love Illinois :) I'm so happy to be going back there! Sister Sommer and I were in the same district way back in Danville, and she has become one of my closest mission friends...and we get to serve together for her last transfer! I couldn't be more excited.
Sunday was a great day! THE H. FAMILY came to church!!! I want to explode just thinking about it. I can't remember if I've mentioned the H.'s very much. They have both been less-active for a while. Like, their whole lives. But we've had the blessing of working with them for the past few months, teaching the missionary lessons and inviting them to live the gospel. They started reading their scriptures again, they started living commandments, teaching their kids, and them coming to church on Sunday was just the icing on the cake. R. introduced herself in Relief Society as a returning less-active. AHHHH. THE JOY IS JUST TOO MUCH!! hahaha I just love that family more than I can express, and it has been amazing to see them come so far.
Also on Sunday, B. L. passed the sacrament, A. got a calling, T. got called as the priest quorum second assistant. Could I ask for a better last Sunday in the ward? Goodbye's were so hard, I don't think I've cried that much in a while. Each family in this ward is just so special, I will miss them a lot. Ah.
But enough about that. I am so pumped to tackle this next transfer! I am so grateful...so grateful!
Pray that I am able to finish everything I need to! It's been crazy.
I love you all!
Here's my new address:
41 B Cougar Dr.
Glen Carbon IL 62034
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| What is a weeb????? |
Happy 2016 :)
January 4, 2016
Let's just start with how much I love you all!
This week has been amazing. I've felt so supported and led by the spirit this week! And just everything has worked together for our good and for the good of those we are serving.
I'm so happy and so excited for the new year! I've been reflecting goals for this year, and I've been overwhelmed with how blessed I've been in 2015. It's been an incredible year, and I love to think about how many wonderful people have been a part of my life in the past year! AHHH. This gospel is just true, and it changes lives, heals, and brings people together. I'm amazed at how much it has blessed my life!
This week has been so spirit-filled, and I've felt a motivation and a drive to share the gospel stronger than I ever have! I am so thankful I have this chance to serve with all my might.
I'm so grateful for the power of temple covenants! All of our work is to direct people to make those covenants, and it's been amazing to see several families we are working with progress towards that goal. It gives me so much happiness! It also makes me so happy that this week, A. was able to get married in the temple. Of course I wish I could have been there, but I'm grateful that we have eternity to be together and catch up on everything I may have missed :) :) YAY!
I love you family! Thanks for putting up with my preachy emails :) I just really do love this gospel, more than I can express!!!
Love,
Sister Petrie
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| We went up into the arch last Monday! Glad I got to have that experience :) |
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| All the flooding here is crazy! Thankfully everyone we know is safe and dry |
Post Christmas Hello
December 28, 2015
December 28, 2016
It was so great to talk to you on Christmas :) You are all beautiful and wonderful, it's great to see my family doing so well. I really love you guys!!
Also...I got the second half of your Christmas package yesterday!! hahaha :) THANK YOU so much for thinking of me. And thanks for the scarf A., it's beautiful. I love it all, you all made my Christmas so so great.
I loved this week, we were able to slow down and enjoy the Christmas season, and spend it with awesome families that love the gospel. Christmas Eve we went to the mission home, and it was so so good to be around missionaries and President and Sister Morgan and just have fun.
We went on a great exchange early this week with the Frontenac and YSA sisters, and I was able to have Sister Holland in my area. She is great, and we were blessed with exactly the exchange that we needed. The spirit was so powerful, and we both learned a lot!
The Carrillos came to church this week and brought Piper and Jasmine! Small miracle was that Jasmine (6) actually went to primary and LOVED it. She's now officially obsessed with church, and will be one more motivation for the whole family to make it there every Sunday! I'm so grateful for them, and I love them a whole lot!
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| Christmas at the P. Family |
It was so great to talk to you on Christmas :) You are all beautiful and wonderful, it's great to see my family doing so well. I really love you guys!!
Also...I got the second half of your Christmas package yesterday!! hahaha :) THANK YOU so much for thinking of me. And thanks for the scarf A., it's beautiful. I love it all, you all made my Christmas so so great.
I loved this week, we were able to slow down and enjoy the Christmas season, and spend it with awesome families that love the gospel. Christmas Eve we went to the mission home, and it was so so good to be around missionaries and President and Sister Morgan and just have fun.
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| Exchanges |
We went on a great exchange early this week with the Frontenac and YSA sisters, and I was able to have Sister Holland in my area. She is great, and we were blessed with exactly the exchange that we needed. The spirit was so powerful, and we both learned a lot!
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| Sister Holland and Me |
The Carrillos came to church this week and brought Piper and Jasmine! Small miracle was that Jasmine (6) actually went to primary and LOVED it. She's now officially obsessed with church, and will be one more motivation for the whole family to make it there every Sunday! I'm so grateful for them, and I love them a whole lot!
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| Missionary tree Only the top third of the lights work hahaha... we pulled it out of the closet. |
I love you all so much!!!
Love, Sister Petrie
Love, Sister Petrie
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