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!

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

 MTC group in front of the temple!

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.

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

What is a weeb?????

Sister Petrie

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

We went up into the arch last Monday! Glad I got to have that experience :)

All the flooding here is crazy! Thankfully everyone we know is safe and dry

Post Christmas Hello

December 28, 2015

Christmas at the P. Family

 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. 

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!

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!

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