Letter # 71

Dear Mum and Family,

What’s going on Peterson family?  This past week was probably the coldest week ever. Temperatures have dropped so much and it is freezing.  It got to -1 degrees Celsius. on one of the days and it really hasn't gotten much warmer at all. Yesterday I think that the warmest it got was 3 degrees Celsius. So it definitely feels like winter that's for sure. To make it worth the freezing cold they have put all of the Christmas lights up in city centre and yesterday was when they turned them all on. It was brilliant to walk down city centre and see all the great lights. They have a huge Christmas tree in the middle of town that I was actually planning on taking a picture by and sending it to you for the Christmas card, but when I pulled my camera out the battery had died so I wasn't able to get it. It was so frustrating because I had been waiting all week for that moment and when I happened it was all ruined. I guess I will have to get it for you this week. Sorry it's taking so long. 

This past week has been a good week other than a few struggles that we are having at the moment. We literally have no one to teach at the moment because the people we were teaching have dropped us and don't want the discussions anymore. That all happened this past week, which is really sad. So this week is going to be a lot of finding   A lot more that what we are usually use to doing just because we have nothing else to do because we have no one to teach. I am pretty excited to see what happens though just because I know we will see miracles if we work hard and follow the Spirit. It should be a great week hopefully. 

I was able to get all of the letters this last Thursday which was a great treat. It was great to hear from so many wonderful families and from the ward. You will have to tel them thank you for me. I am going to hopefully get some letters sent sooner or later to say thanks, but with our busy schedule it might not be super soon. I will try my best though. It was funny because we had a zone meeting when I got the letters and everyone was so jealous because they got just a couple of letters and I got stacks of them. I thought it was quite funny and it definitely made my day. 

I can't believe that thanksgiving is already here. What is going on with the time. It seems like it keeps getting faster and faster. We don't have any plans for thanksgiving since they don't celebrate it over here. I guess we will see what happens when it gets closer to that day. Everyone over here is getting ready for Christmas though. To be honest I really hope that I am able to stay in this ward for Christmas. I think it would be an amazing ward to serve in during the Christmas time. One of us has to be moving though just because we both moved in at the same time and to be honest it is highly unlikely that we both stay together for 3 transfers. That just doesn't happen. Either way I am excited for what happens this next transfer. I don't know if you are aware but this is a 5 week transfer so this transfer ends on the 16 of December. It will be here soon enough I am sure of it. The way that time flies I won't be surprised when it gets here. 

Thought of the week

I really enjoy listening to talks and so I usually listen to a talk after planning right before I go to bed and also in the mornings when I am getting ready for the day. There was a talk that really stuck out to me this past week, which was about becoming like a little child. There were a lot of great points that he shared, but one of them stuck out to me in particular which was the zest that children have for life. 

Children are so excited for new experiences in life. Little children love to get up each morning and most of the time when they do get up in the mornings it pretty early. They are just so excited for what the day has in store for them and they are always so excited for the small and simple things in life. When it comes to night they don't want to go to bed, they want to continue living life to its fullest. How many of us complain because we have to get up in the mornings and work when really we should be excited for the things we will learn and experience that day. God wants us to find joy in life. He wants us to do things that we love. Just as parents love to see their children enjoying themselves I am sure that our Heavenly Father loves seeing us enjoying life.  

Our life is not meant to be appreciated only in retrospect.  We need to live each day to its fullest. There are always those challenges in life that sometimes make us struggle in life and we just want to give up. We all have those type of days and before we came to this earth we were not promised that it would always be easy. We knew we would face challenges because it was apart of the plan to help us learn and progress. We might not be able to choose what challenges we go through, but we can choose the attitude we have towards those different challenges. 

There is a scripture in the New Testament that I have just grown to love for many reasons. The first reason is because it is really short so it is not hard to memories. The second reason I love the scripture is because it really can teach us so much even though it is so short. The scripture is in Luke 17:32 and it says:

 " Remember Lot’s wife."

So what can we learn from this short scripture?  Well first we need to understand more about what happened to Lot's wife and we find that in Genesis 19. 

In that chapter it speaks of Sodom and Gomorrah when it was a very wicked place and the Lord commanded Lot and his family to flee because the cities were about to be destroyed. As we know it was destroyed as it says in vs. 24-25. The theme that I wanted to focus on comes when the Lord commands " look not behind thee" and as we know Lot's wife looked back and was turned to a pillar of salt. 

There are many other topics that we can focus and learn for this scripture and I don't want to focus on many of those. There is one part that goes along with enjoying life no matter what happens. The fact that Lot's wife turned to salt was not just because she was looking back, it was because in her heart she wanted to go back. To quote from Jeffery R. Holland, " In short her attachment to the past outweighed her confidence in the future."  She didn't trust that the Lord was going to bless her with many more great days and memories. 

So what does this scripture have to do with becoming as a little child and loving life. We always have great memories that we wish we could just live over again. That is where we can learn from little children.  The fact that they look forward and love every single day that they are given. No matter how good the days were in the past. Of course we can look at the days behind us and remember the great memories that are made, it's just when we long to go back to those days that's not good. We need to love the days that God gives us and live them to their fullest because to be honest we never know when will be our last day. 

I know that God has a plan for each one of us. I know that He knows the challenges that we will face and the joys we will have. I hope that I can be more grateful for the days and the experiences that lay ahead, whether they be good or bad. I know that when we do look forward with an eye of faith that the Lord is going to bless us and help us, and that we will have a great future no matter what we are leaving behind.

It seems like my weekly thoughts just keep getting longer and longer. I guess I just have so much to share. Thanks again for all of your lovely letters. I hope that you all have a great week and try not to miss me too much. Haha yeah right!!

Love,

Elder Peterson