Diligence is the Key

Dear Friends & Family,

Have you ever had a day where you have so much to do, and you are running around from place to place, yet get nothing done?  

My goodness, that was like our entire week! 

Be Happy

For some reason, we always had so much to do, so many people to call, places to be, yet our key indicators were some of the lowest I have ever had. Those are the weeks that I wish that service projects and smiling at strangers could count as key indicators. But it was really cool to see how the Lord blesses us because of our diligence, and not by the number of items we crossed off of our 'to do' lists.  

Sister Erdenetsogt and I were on our knees more than ever this week to know where to go, who to talk to, and what to do; and we were constantly talking to people, but nothing seemed to go through.  Sunday rolled around, and of all of our invites, not one person was planning on coming to church! 

We were a little discouraged, thinking 'Not ANOTHER week of no investigators at church!' 

I remember praying so hard, knowing that if I want the members to get excited about missionary work and helping us, then we have to first set an example and bring people to church to get them excited-  and I just plead that somebody would be there.  

We came to church, and saw one of our investigators, an 8 year old boy whose sisters got baptized a few years ago. He had decided to come to church for the first time in a very longggg time.  

He gave me a huge hug and made me promise to sit next to him in sacrament meeting- it seriously made my day!  

And then, later on in the day, I was running down the halls before Sunday School to find sister Erdenetsogt.  

I had run past a man a few times, and he had given me a funny smile each time I passed by. After the 4th time I passed him, he finally stopped me and asked to shake my hand. I probably squealed so loud as I finally made the connection as to who the man was- -he and his wife are less actives that sister Erdenetsogt and I have been visiting. They haven't been to church in 20 years, and there they were, right in front of my eyes! He was laughing pretty hard as I was having my little heart attack of excitement! 

She got a care package with TONS of sweets

It was cool to see how even though nothing that Sister Erdenetsogt and I had worked for had ended up working out, but we still saw miracles and blessings because of our diligence. It made me realize how important it is to never give up! We just never really know when the fruit of our labors will be ready to harvest- but if we give up, there is no way our harvest will ripen. 

Transfer day was this week, and it was nice to sit this one out with NO changes! It was really weird to pass by Hauptbahnhof (the Munich train station, which is always chock full of missionaries on transfer day!!) on a tram and realize that so many missionaries that I know and love were only a flight of stairs above me, getting new companions and going to new areas, and I was just on my way to get ice cream :) 

 

Our stake president has encouraged all of the missionaries in the Munich Zone to call a member a day, even if just to ask how they are doing (which is pretty weird in the German culture; if you are calling someone it usually means you have a question or need help.)  

Sister Erdenetsogt and I were trying to figure out how to make our phone calls less awkward, when she came up with an idea that probably only made it MORE awkward, but so much more fun!  

We have determined to sing a fun, upbeat hymn to the members that we call each night. It is funny to hear their reactions when they pick up the phone and hear the sisters singing on the other side; some laugh, some get super confused, and some just awkwardly say thanks and hang up. They are going to remember us for sure!

Eating lunch on our outside couch

After Thursday (transfer day) Sister Erdenetsogt and I were officially the Sister Training Leaders. It was kinda weird- we had a meeting on Saturday with the Zone Leaders and District Leaders in the Zone, and we were asked to talk about appropriate Elder-Sister relationships, and how the District Leader's can still support the sisters in their district without being awkward.  

We started out by asking for some examples of their concerns- I didn't realize that the Elders had so many!  

We got questions like 'How do I talk to a Sister so that I don't seem like I'm flirting?' and 'Am I allowed to give the Sisters compliments?'  

Man, I didn't realize that we were so scary!  We tried to answer the questions the best we could, but I think I just ended up scolding the Elders and telling them that Sisters and normal people too...

I came into the mission back when there was hardly 2 sisters per zone and when Elders still thought talking to sisters was socially destructive, so I think I am very passionate on this subject. 

In all honestly enough, as excited as I always was to be a Sister Training Leader, I wasn't too excited right after President called us, but I am feeling more confident and excited now.  

I don't know why, but I actually got kind of scared as I started thinking about all the other sisters in this zone who are better leaders, better teachers, and who have been STL before. Why me?  What do these sisters have to learn from me?''  

...and then I was flipping through my old missionary journal, and realized that those were my exact same thoughts in Freiburg when I found out that I would be training Sister Henry.  It was my 3rd transfer, I was still new, and there were so many other sisters who could have trained. Why me?  What did I have to teach, what example did I have to give? And yet, whenever I ask Sister Henry how she felt about how I trained her, she says she is super grateful that we just worked things out together.  

Yes, sometimes we were the silly blonde sisters who had NO IDEA what we were doing, but we saw so many miracles together, and we had fun!  

I have to say, even after 4 times of training, my very first time was probably my favorite because I felt like I was giving my best. I was so concerned about what I didn't know that I didn't take my responsibilities lightly at all. 

Utah Chamber Choir singing in St. Lukas Church

So, quatsch with not knowing everything! Quatsch with not feeling adequate! I am going to take this new calling the same way that I took training Sister Henry, I don't know anything, and I make a lot of mistakes, but I want to laugh and learn when i make mistakes, and not be embarrassed and ashamed because I cant be perfect. So onward and upward in Munich.

Cool Building

Love to you all,

Sister Peterson