Letter #45

Hello Mum and Family

I guess I will start my letter by saying that both you and dad have made the wrong bet. We got the calls last night and I will be going to Tamworth England which is super close to the mission home.  It is kind of weird because Llanelli is the second farthest area from the mission home and now I am going pretty close to the mission home.  So sorry to disappoint you both but you both were wrong.  My companion will be Elder Jarvus and from what I have heard he has just got done being trained so I will be following up training him I think.  I am not 100% positive about that, but that is what I have heard so that is what I am going for right now. It should be a great experience and I will be there tomorrow afternoon so that is really exciting.  I will travel by train to Swansea and then I will catch a coach with a group of missionaries The train will be about 15 minutes and the coach is about 4 hours.  I will really miss this area and the people that are here because I have made some really great friends, but there is a reason that I need to be in Tamworth and I am excited to serve there.

It sounds like you all had a great Sunday experience this past Sunday.  It doesn't really surprise me that you guys are doing family history and I am sure that everyone enjoyed themselves all day long. I too have been doing a little family history in my family booklet.  I did receive the photos that you sent and they are all in the booklet.  I have also filled out most of the book. It is coming a long quite well and I am sure that mum is super proud of me.  Oh wait I already know that she is proud of me because I am here favorite child.

It sounds like you all had some really good plans for memorial day.  I am sure that you are all excited for the plans that you have made and I hope that you all enjoyed yourselves.  I can't believe that school is that close to being out.  I am pretty positive that there is so much excitement around the house.  I can't believe how fast time has flown.  It seems like yesterday I was leaving for my mission and everyone was just starting school up.  Now I have almost hit my year mark and everyone has finished another year of school. I hope that you all enjoyed the school year and that you learned a lot of great things.  I hope that you all have a great summer break.  I am sure that you all have made some great camping trips and it looks like those might all be spent in the pouring rain. haha   I think that it is really funny that it is raining so much. I think I will continue to pray so that you guys can receive some more moisture because I don't think that you are getting enough. haha

I guess I have to answer your questions now.

1) What English Sentences have you learned or use? (example “Bless his Cotton Socks”)  I can't really think of anything at the moment.  It is kind of hard for me to pick things out and figure out what they use here and what you guys would say back home.  I guess I have spent too much time here if I can't remember how you guys speak.  If I think of any I will let you know.
2) Did you do the family history booth last week?  No we didn't do the booth again because we had to fill out paperwork and it had to go through the council and they would accept it or not.  We did do the paperwork about 2 weeks ago but they still haven't gotten back to us yet so it doesn't look I will be doing it because I am leaving.

3) My tender mercy is we have received our iPads this past week.  It is kind of frustrating because they are all set up and ready to use, but we haven't been able to use them yet.  So I have had it for almost a week and they have just been sitting there on my desk collecting dust.  I think that we will be able to use them starting this next transfer, but I am not sure.

Well I guess it is time for the spiritual thought of the letter.

The thought that I want to share with you comes from Matt 16:26.  I am typing this from memory so don't get mad if I don't quote it directly.
“For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul, or what does a man give in exchange for his soul?"
I have really been thinking about this scripture ever since I watched the Mormon message called "Lift".  It is a new one and I think that you should all watch it because it is great.  
When I think of the scripture I think of thinks that we might all do that we might give in exchange for our souls.  Some of those things could be when we put things before Christ like maybe going to bed without reading our scriptures that day, not going to church because we are too busy, or maybe when we are at church and during the sacrament we are thinking about what we are going to be doing after church. That is just a few things that maybe we give in exchange for our souls and there are more serious things that we might give in exchange for out soul. 
 I think that when we come to realize the worth of our own soul in the sight of God then we will want to do better as His children. I hope that we can all recognize something that we might be giving in exchange for our soul and we try to change that thing.
I hope that you have a great week and I hope that you all enjoy your last week of school.
Love,
Elder Peterson