Letter # 15

Dear Mum and Family,

I can't believe I have already been out for three months.  Before I left everyone said that the first six months would be slow, but that is definitely not the case for me.  If it is going this fast now I wonder how fast it is going to go when I have been out six months.  It is really crazy to think how time has flown so fast.

Thank you for all the letters that you guys have sent.  Like every missionary out here I look forward to Mondays so that I can read all the wonderful letters from you guys.  They definitely make the week go by a lot better. 

It sounds like it was a really great Halloween for you all back home.  Just so you know Halloween isn't really big at all over here. To give you a little taste of how big it is they were actually selling more Christmas stuff at the beginning of October than Halloween stuff.  I don't know about you but first of all that's a little early to be selling Christmas stuff and second of all that does show how big Halloween is in England.  Don't get me wrong they do celebrate Halloween over here it's just not big.  There were a few little kids that go out trick or treating, but not very many.  It sounds like you guys had a great Halloween though and I am glad to hear that you guys had some chili and I am sure it tasted great.

We were able to teach I***** this last week which went really great.  I have definitely seen the change in him and seen the great improvement that he has made in his life.  We taught him about the temples and family history work and I can tell that he really wants to go back to the temple.  He went when he was in young men’s, but that was about 8 years ago.  He said that he really loves the temple and his goal is to make it there really soon because he loves it.  I can tell you that as a missionary that really makes your day to hear that from someone you are teaching.
  
Other than that we have really done nothing because my companion has been sick. Apparently there is a virus that is going around in the mission and he got it.  Sister Rasmussen said he just needed rest so we have been in the flat for the past few days.  We were able to go out and do some service for a member on one of the days which was nice to get out a bit. We were able to go to church yesterday which was also great because it was a great testimony meeting.  The ward is so strong here and I love the spirit that they have.  Sheldon is great!
  
Speaking of my companion tonight we find out who is leaving and just so you know it is very  likely that I will be getting a new companion this next week.  We find out tonight at about 10 so that should be really interesting. 

You asked me to compare Sheldon to Utah….Well I think that  Sheldon to Utah would probably be a really big Logan.  There are some really big buildings here and there are lots of big stores, but there are also lots of parks and places like that.  It is definitely bigger than Logan, but it's not as crowded as Salt Lake. I really do like it here though. I will admit I do miss the mountains though.

I received the letter from Alex and it was really good to hear from him.  He is such a great friend and I am really excited that he got his mission call.  I was actually thinking of him the other day and was wondering if he had received it and it definitely made my day to hear from him.  I hope that we can stay in touch because I enjoy talking with him.

Cade it sounds like you are enjoying riding around while Chelsey is driving. I bet it is still scarier to be in the car when Lyndsey is driving though because she is a really scary driver.  I bet Chelsey is doing a lot better than Lyndsey is. 

Chelsey it sounds like you had an amazing week this last week because you got your driving permit.  I have been told that you are really enjoying driving around and that you are always laughing when you drive.  That doesn't surprise me because you are always laughing all the time.  I haven't seen you drive, but I bet you are a better driver than Lyndsey.  

Lyndsey I don't know if we will be able to see Meet the Mormons or not.  It takes a while for the movies to come in theaters over here so right now no one over here has even seen it yet.  I haven't even seen any advertisement of it coming yet.  I have heard it is good though and that would be cool if we get to see it.  I guess we will have to see.
I would have to say one of my favorite daily routines would probably be studying for two hours in the morning, eating, and doing lots of push-ups. I am sure those are both really surprising to you. You asked if we interact with the youth in the ward….We actually do interact with the youth in the ward quite a bit.  There really aren't a lot of youth in the ward. There are about 4 young men and about 3-4 young women. We will be going to mutual this Tuesday so that should be fun.  I really like the youth in the ward they are really strong in the gospel. Lyndsey I would have to say that I miss you about the size of an almond now.

Dad thanks for the great letter I really enjoyed hearing what's going on sports wise and what's going on in the ward.  It sounds like the sports are going really well for all the teams.  It's good to hear that SV made it past the first round of playoffs and I hope that they can keep it up.  That's too bad that Max is out he is such a great player and I am sure that's going to weaken the D-line a bit.  Hopefully they can keep working hard and beat Timpview this week. They really deserve that win.
It sounds like USU is still doing really good even though they are on their last string quarterback.  Hopefully they can keep the season going strong and continue to get some great wins.  I will definitely be giving Lyndsey a bad time about her cougars.
That's too bad to hear that the pheasant hunt isn't going too well this year. Hopefully it will be up and going by the time that I get back because I really miss going out with you and Caden.  You guys did have a successful deer hunt though so that was good.
It's good to hear that Chelsey is having a great time with her driving permit.  It doesn't surprise me that she is laughing while she is driving. That is definitely Chelsey. I am sure she is doing a great job and I bet she is really enjoying being able to drive.  I bet it scares mom though because that just means she is getting older.


Mum thanks for the great song that you sent me I really like it.  We can listen to music as long as it is church music and that sounds like it is really good.  You don't have to send it, but that would be cool to listen to.

The thought that I want to share with you all this week is actually about a butterfly. 
 “The struggle to break out of a cocoon develops the butterfly so it can fly. Without that adversity, the butterfly would never have the strength to achieve its destiny. It would never develop the strength to become something extraordinary."
Just like the butterfly we to go through adversity and just like the butterfly we too become extraordinary and more strong as we go through those trials.  We become stronger as members of this wonderful church.  I don't know about you, but that makes me more thankful for the hard times that I go through.  It also makes it worth going through adversity knowing that I will gain not only strength in the church, but also some great learning experiences.
I hope that you guys have a great week this week and thanks again for the wonderful letters that you sent. I enjoyed them all.

Love,
Elder Peterson