Hurricane Nate: Forecast for disappointment.

I'll cut to chase, I'm still alive. Nate hit over in Mississippi. It's always a sad day when they tell you you're gonna get a hurricane and then it never happens..(Irma, Jose, Nate) Quit playin with my heart Al Roker.

Tuesday- Embarked on a man hunt for people to teach. We biked. We walked. We danced. We sang. We knocked. We worked our little butts off. And as it turns out, the Lord is very mindful of His servants. We were led straight to Missy and Sophie's front porch! Missy was raised all hell fire damnation, and demonic crap, which has caused her to become somewhat agnostic. We testified of the Plan of Happiness and just seeing the light and love that filled their home. Wow. Sophie is 10 and she is the cutest girl in my life. Pretty much a miracle if I ever did see one.

Wednesday- 9 MONTH MARK BABY! We had to spend the day at Transfer Spot in Pensacola.. it was hot, hot, hot. BUT, I got to see our Elders from the MTC so that was super fun! Oh man at Chick-fil-A I couldn't decide what to order so I let ONE person go in front of me and he turned out to be the 100th customer of the day so he got free food and cookies!!! UGH I WAS SO SO SO ANGRY AGHHHHH. Still mad just thinking about it. Lesson learned.

SHOUT OUT~ Tiff birthed my new baby niece!!!!! <3 

family is forever, that's what's up.

Thursday- In the car for 6 hours to be at Mission Leadership Council, but don't worry I told the whole story of Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat to Sister Evensen with music included. MLC was hilarious but turns out I'm the only person in the mission who understands quality humor, so yes I was the only one laughing basically the whole time. HAHAH!

Friday- Zone Conference in our building. It was craziness. Basically, Thursday night we drove straight to the church, set up tables, drove home, slept, came back to the church. So my little tush was sitting for almost two days! It was a good conference but the energy level was low. We did everything we could to pump it up, BUT THEN we got word of the hurricane coming in!!! Dang that was super exciting! 

Ok best part of the whole day, Sister Evensen was a champ and got her flu shot!! We supported her the whole way, she never would have got there without us. (; but fo reals she was a flippin baller getting the needle plunged into her arm!

Saturday- We wake up to texts and phone calls from the Zone Leaders that they are evacuating us! HAHAHAH We were SO EXCITED. Throughout the day we got assigned and reassigned to other missionaries/members homes. We finally ended up staying at our Stake President's home with his family. Then a miracle happened inside my soul...

The Jurgens made their kids get our stuff from the car, now that's quality service.

This whole week I was having somewhat of a pity party being a little pooper. I was really missing home. I was sick and tired of my leadership role. I felt like we didn't get to work much. My head and body have been throbbing (because of the drastic changes in air pressure), I was basically done. Friday night I prayed to God and I told Him I just can't do it. I cannot be the missionary He expects of me. I received a spiritual confirmation "hold on til tomorrow". Saturday we spent literally from about 3:30 until 10:30 playing games and eating and laughing and telling stories with the Jurgens family through the storm. They had a bedroom set up for us. We mentioned caramel popcorn and they made it. I had homemade waffles with Mrs. Buttersworth Syrup! CHECKMATE ATHEISTS!!! They treated us like royalty! We had permission to watch Aladdin. For the first time in my mission I felt like a normal person. This was probably one of the funnest nights I've had this year. 

Sister Evensen's first time watching Aladdin, obviously converted her.

As I was writing in my journal that night I realized that my true favorite part of the whole day was teaching Ben the Word of Wisdom. I found so much joy teaching him about the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. And that's when I understood true happiness. Don't misunderstand me, Saturday was beyond fun on so many levels, but nothing will ever compare to the pure joy I feel when I find, teach, and baptize God's children. Nothing compares to the pain this burden is. Nothing compares to the happiness that enters my soul to look into someone's eyes and proclaim to them a God who created them and loves them. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father sent Hurricane Nate, which ps never even touched our area just some intense thunderstorms, to let my see first hand the contrast of my normal life and what I'm doing now. Commandments, mission rules, standards, promises, covenants, they are not restrictive, I promise they create the perfect and only path for true undying joy. I know that God wants me here. I know that we are making a difference in His kingdom.

I know that God answers prayers.

-SISTER  p e t e r s e n 

Permanently moving to Alabama just for the sunsets.

Hide yo wife, hide yo kids, IRMA is here

My lovelies. How are you beautiful souls doing around the world?

IRMA- I'll cut to the chase and tell you what you really want to know, Hurricane Irma is not going to hit Fairhope, sadly.....but the East half of the mission is on total lock down! It's been so exciting here! Wow. Last Monday Elder Southway went on and on about how the hurricane was coming this way and we needed to be prepared, me and Sister Evensen were like "yeah yeah". Well the next day President Smith orders a mission wide conference call and he very strictly instructs us to get water cases, top our gas, and have a go bag ready if we needed to leave within a half hour. WHAT.

Now, I'm not your average Joe who goes into panic mode, but I'll tell you how foolish we felt not having any water and having to run to Walmart and all the water was completely SOLD OUT! WE HAD TO BUY RICH PEOPLE WATER (dasani). Lesson of the 10 Virgins I'm tellin ya. #calledtorepentance

-Sis E preppin for IRMA

Basically this week has been like the funnest week of my whole mission. Nobody is keeping their return apts because of hurricane prep but literally ANYBODY will talk to us if you use the word Irma in your approach. Blessings in disguise! We debated whether or not to make cardboard signs that say "REPENT NOW- IRMA IS HERE" and stand on the street corners preachin. 😉

Alright alright. Thursday we went back to my homeland of Fort Walton, what a celestial area, and we had Mission Leadership Council with President and Sister Smith. Whoa talk about some spiritual giants. I couldn't even soak in all their inspiration. Basically it's just this meeting where we talk about moving the work forward across the mission. It was AWESOME. But this is SO EMBARRASSING, I'm in this room with crazy good missionaries and we had to take a vote on what we thought needed improvement, and for the first option I WAS THE ONLY PERSON THAT RAISED MY HAND. HAHAHAHAHA Me and Sister Evensen could not stop laughing!!!

.

Straight from there I went and stayed the night in Mobile with Sister Polanco on an exchange. Dang straight Mobile was intense. HAHA. We went and proselyted all day in a town called Pritchard. (If you've ever seen that meme "hide yo kids, hide yo wife" that was made there) Met some AMAZING people! It was so awesome! Then we went back to Fairhope for Zone conference the next day.

-My Zone Sistas

At 8:30 at night me and Sister Evensen find out that because of the storm situation our neighboring zone would be combined with us.... what. So we had to train a whole bunch of missionaries, like 60 something. You can feel the power of other missionaries. I made a fool of myself multiple times but all is well. Moral of the story is, me and Sister Evensen are basically best buds with President because we laugh at all his jokes! HAHAHA, We're like his personal audience.

-President and his lackeys

Sunday rolls around and we go to this appointment, they don't answer. But while we're standing on his porch 3 police cars slowly round the corner to a house. 🚓 We both kind of agree that it's a little sketch, but we wear tags, we're fine. Next we walk over to their neighbor and this really creepy car with completely tinted windows rolls right next to us and stops.. Then this really drunk guy standing outside tells us that someone down the street just got shot! THE SPIRIT BASICALLY YELLED AT US TO GET OUTTA DODGE. We thank him and quickly make our way back to our car. I will neither confirm nor deny that Sister Evensen held my hand because she was so scared. Isn't that so cool that Heavenly Father kept us safe. (:

Tracy is in a tough situation so please please pray for her! And this coming week we're focusing on 5's. 5 BCDs, 5 Friends at Sacrament Mtg, 5 New Friends. (: Pray for 5's.

Well friends, I want you to know that God loves His children. Straight up. No if's, and's, or but's. Reach out and spread the love. Don't wait until a hurricane is on it's way to be your best self. We experienced a lot of miracles this week and if I wrote them all you'd have to get a life long subscription. Just know that God is working miracles here. We are messengers of truth. And like I've been saying since one year ago September, the Florida Tallahassee Mission has a big storm coming. 

I have just begun to fight.

SISTER  p e t e r s e n 

I say, that what you say, is what I SAY

Put it on the books, you heard it here first, miracles are straight going down in Bama. WARNING: Please properly secure your surroundings before continuing the following email, in the words of Mitchell Mosher, it's gonna get "lit."

Dumping tea like she's a Yankee

Tracy- What a wonderful human being. On Monday night we committed her to live the Word of Wisdom. I promised her I would run a mile every single day until she gets baptized. We went back on Wednesday and she confessed that she had been drinking the rest of her jug of sweet tea trying to finish it off. We were devastated. So one thing led to another and the spirit did it's thing, and we were standing in her kitchen cheering her on as she poured every last drop of the sweet tea down the drain!!!! SHE IS SUCH A MIRACLE!

I've ran 26.2 in the pouring rain, what's 1.3 more?

.....then I got super super sick on wednesday and thursday because there's actually a hurricane outside and we wanted to keep our promise about running so we still ran in the pouring rain...... don't try this one at home kids.

Later in the week we had exchanges with some sisters and it was SO FUN! I was like "okie doke Sister Whatcott, I have no idea what I'm doing so let's just go for it." And then MIRACLES! We happened to go to the library and while we were there, this guy walks straight past us, turns around, and then introduces himself! As we talk with him, we find out that he has been friends with all the missionaries that have come through this area for the past couple years or so. Turns out he's been kind of out of contact with them but he was so nice! And get this, his last name is "Moormen" LIKE WHAT. That's not even a joke. He ended up coming to our volleyball shin dig that night. Well it was good at first, but then we quickly got into a soft bible bash, LIKE WHAT. The Elders, just like walked away, HAHA. So me and Sister Evensen held our ground, invited, testified, showed charity, welcomed him to stay and play volleyball. It was crazy. But I felt like the spirit was actually able to be in that convo because we were standing in the church! MIRACLE.

(SAUCES)

So basically me and Sis E have the most unified companionship with the spirit and we were able to testify and back each other and it was beautiful. The next day at church our lesson was on witnesses and double edged swords. The gospel will pierce souls when the testimonies of two or three (spirit) witnesses bear it. Whenever I have no idea what to do, I look at my companion, we look up, and we say that what He says, is what we say. Because we're the ultimate Newsies, spreading the GOOD NEWS OF THE EVERLASTING GOSPEL.

SEIZE THE DAY, SEIZE THE MOMENT. And for all you humans in the world not living in Alabama.... Ezekiel 20:29, my heart goes out to ya.

It's a birthday present.... from ME

Welp. Nothing new for the new kids on the block. Oh except one small thing.... HAPPY 8 MONTHS TO ME AND SIS E         

 SISTER  p e t e r s e n