February 8, 2012

Hey Family Mom,

How are you? How is work? Is it still crazy? Haha.

I am doing well. I'm not discouraged or anything but, the homesickness finally hit about a week ago. Just gotta persevere though. I'll get through it. So, don't worry! I'm having fun with Elder Carroll and we are getting things done here. Like I said in my e-mail, we have 6 baptisms coming up this weekend and the next. It's awesome. Unfortunately, that means we don't get to teach them anymore so, we will have to go find new people to teach!

There was a talk given by Matthew O. Richardson titles, "Teach after the manner of the spirit." The talk was awesome. It really helped me because what has been getting me down is my inexperience. We will go into a lesson or something and a situation will pop up and I won't know quite how to deal with it. Or a scripture will pop into my head and I will look for it but I can't remember what it was! It is killing me! Haha, I know it will always take time to figure these things out but, you know me. Well, in the talk he speaks of an experience. He his daughter, and his son were hiking up a mountain. They started to near the top and the rocks became tiny volcanic pebbles. So they would take a step, sink in and slide back a few inches. They were still making forward progression though. Well, his son saw it as a good challenge and took off running for the top. He and his daughter still took it slow and the hike became exhausting. The son had reached the top. Elder Richardson sat down with his discouraged daughter and assessed the situation. They came up with a new plan. The daughter put her hands in his back pockets and she stepped in her father's footprints, walking "after the manner" of her father. They got to the top and he saw the feeling of triumph and satisfaction. He goes son to talk about how we need to follow in the foot steps the Holy Ghost provides for us. Towards the end of his talk he recounts the experience. He says that, "every time we stopped to catch our breath, rather than focusing exclusively on how much farther we needed to go, we would immediately turn around and look down the mountain. We would take in the scenery and say to each other, 'Look how far we've come.'"

I have always been the one to continue to look up and think, "Look how far we still need to go." At least when it come to my own progress. But, after I read this talk, I turned around. While I may still have a ways to go, I have come a much, much greater distance. I look back and see all of my trials and see those that helped me overcome them. I have come a long ways since I first began my preparation to become a missionary when I was 12.

Thank you for helping me get over some of those steep obstacles. I love you mom.

~ Elder Daniel Peterson
YMS

P.S.
Really random, but how old is Grandpa Jerry?