May 18, 2015

LES MISERABLES AND SOME TENDER MERCIES

This week has been one of those funny weeks. First of all...Elder Bailey and I are a little bit sad because 1. I can't fit in our shower and I am tired of it and 2. My comp trusted me to cut his hair and I did and it went really bad...haha. Pictures shall be below for those who want to see.

But in all reality we aren't sad. We are actually really grateful because this week was really really full of tender mercies. :)

First off this week...I had an exchange with Elder Hurd in the apartment. He is the DL here. It went really well. We saw a lot of cool stuff. There was this one Canadian guy that we contacted and he was super cool. At first he didn't want to listen to us but then Elder Hurd and I just testified and shared some specific personal experiences with him on how we found God in our lives. It really touched him because after that he completely changed and said, "I think you caught me on a good day. I think for right now I am looking for God." So we were able to set up a rendez-vous with him for later on during the week. During the whole exchange we saw some dang cool stuff though through praying a lot while finding. I learned a lot. :)

During the week we have been still teaching our amis like Jean-Yves, Isidore, this cool guy named John that we found a couple of weeks ago, and this amazing family that we found a couple of weeks ago as well, and Cesaire of course. I will give you some cool stories though sadly not all because I don't have time.

Well lets start off with Jean-Yves.  It was really interesting because the first part of the rendez-vous he tried to drop us hard core because he is going to start an internship next week and he wouldn't have time (it seems like he tries to do that each rendez-vous). During a lesson we brought a member with us who was really Catholic before. After Jean-Yves said that we are losing our time with him, the member just testified about his conversion story and the spirit came in so hard and fast that nobody could not feel it. That was one of the tender mercies, to have that member with us. Jean-Yves has made a lot or progression so far and he has changed so much and we pretty much told him that if things are going in the right direction for him, why stop now? I think he understood by the end of the lesson because he agreed to keep meeting with us even if he was going to be busy. He ended up coming to church! :)

We have been teaching Isidore and that is going well. Nothing to hard there. He still has family problems but he still wants to get baptized. :) Cesaire is being a little bit frustrating because he has been hard to see. We are still trying with him, but sadly we will have to push his date though.

We taught this super super cool family this week. We actually found them last transfer while porting. This week we were able to see them and teach them. The coolest thing is that this family is friends with one of the members here and the members couldn't believe that this family accepted to hear us! The family is super Catholic though but they totally felt the spirit after we explained the Restoration. That just goes to show you that we don't know who is ready to accept the Gospel. 

That is pretty much about it. :) Well...sorry I didn't write too much but I have to go! Love you so much! Have a great week!


Elder Evan Peterson

P.S. Enjoy these lovely pics of us...

May 11, 2015

They finally decided to pick up after their animals...I can't tell you how many stinky dirty shoes would have been saved if they would have only done this earlier. We are really bitter over this kind of stuff...ugh...Anyways...haha

This week was really good! A lot of crazy stuff has gone down but a lot of cool things have gone down too! :)

So we have been teaching Isidore a lot this week and he is doing well. We were actually able to set a baptismal date with him for the 31st of May! :)  He seems super excited for it and is willing to do anything to get baptized. But...we have a problem. He has a lot of family problems, so that might stop him from getting baptized but we are going to try to help him with that.

Let's see...other than that we have been teaching Jean-Yves and he is still freaking tough but we have become good friends with him. He is changing bit by bit. Here a little, there a little. :) He is going to do an internship soon which will take up a lot of his time but hopefully he will receive an answer to his prayers.

Cesaire is still a young teenager. It is hard to get a hold of him but when we saw him he said he is still on track for baptism so we will see how that one goes.

On Friday night our mission President called us and asked us to go to the Priesthood meeting for our Stake Conference this week because he was going to talk about doing coordination meetings to help us and the members work better together. So on Saturday morning we got a ride with some members and then we had a nice road trip. 

On Sunday, we were able to talk to our families!!! It was soo good but it kind of gave me like a mid-life crisis because I can't believe that was the last time I would skype my family. But this is the time to really go hard and strong in the paint. We skyped our families over at our old mission president's home, the Poznanski's.

They are such good people. :) It is weird that they are in my ward now. And the best part of it is is that we ate hamburgers and I drank a Dr. Pepper...:)

Well that is pretty much about it. Have a great week guys! I love you so much! 

Elder Peterson

I'm on a bridge :

May 4, 2015

I'VE DREAMED A DREAM....

Well....this week has been so so so busy. First of all...I dreamed a dream about getting ipads but it didn't happen. We went to Paris for our big ipad training thing with the whole mission but apparently something went wrong while ordering the ipads. So that was a bummer but it is probably good. I was getting way to excited for them...haha. It was okay though. :)

Then on the next day we went to BOURGES for Pday, which is why I didn't write last week. I had to go down there to get my "titre de sejour" which is like a green card but in France. It seemed like I dreamed a dream again because when I went there they didn't have it...haha. They are still in the process of getting it and it has been almost 8 months since I applied for it. So I am still illegal in the country!!! Hopefully I won't get deported...haha.

Then on Friday we went down to Paris for Mission Council. It was really good. President is a funny guy and a very spiritual guy too. Elder Bailey and I made some Zone goals for the Angers Zone and we are excited to see what happens this transfer. 

The three days took up a lot of our week but it was still a dang good week! :) Four amis came to church this week!

Cesaire is doing so well. We finished the Plan of Salvation with him and he is really excited for his baptismal date. Sadly he didn't come to church though. He said he was sick this week so that might by why. Jean-Yves is doing well too. He came to church as well! He is a tough cookie but we are seeing him change little by little which is soo good. So pretty much all of them are doing really well. We just need them to accept a baptismal date. next week we are going to work on that a lot.

We are teaching this guy named Isidore. He is from Central Africa and he is a cool guy. He hasn't been baptized yet and he totally believes that the church is true. He said he wouldn't accept a date yet until he as assisted Church and he came! (Evan's getting his French and English words mixed....haha - Assiste means attended in English). During the church he said he will come every single week!! :) So this week we will see him and totally give him a date. :)

Logis came to church too! He is a crazy smiling guy..haha. It was so cool to see all of them there because we could tell that they all felt something during church! Things are moving up for the Angers ward. We are seeing a lot cool stuff. :)

It seems like when I go throughout the weeks of each transfer I just get more tired but I feel so much better after a hard days work! Being tired makes me forget a lot of the things I was going to tell you guys but I can't remember so I will try next week to write more....and with pics. 

Have a good week guys! Love ya!!! 

Elder Evan Peterson

April 20, 2015

YE ELDERS OF ISRAEL, COME JOIN NOW WITH ME

Well...this week was super super good!!!  Probably another one of those weeks that have been just the best! Let me tell you what went down...

This week we taught a total of 39 lessons. Pretty crazy, but super cool! Pretty much everyone wanted to speak to us and we taught them and then they didn't have time during the week to meet with us again so they just gave us their phone numbers. The only bad thing that happened this week was that people couldn't set up another rendez-vous with us and we got so many phone numbers that we can't count them all. This week kind of just blew me away. We are just really blessed and I am really grateful for it. Sometimes I feel like I don't deserve it but I can't complain. Anyways...

First off, on Monday were on exchanges and I was with an Elder Allen who lives in our apartment. We taught this guy named Logis. He is from Madagascar and let me just tell you that he is an interesting dude...haha. During the rendez-vous we tried to teach him about the Restoration which we did, but the problem is that he just didn't listen to us. He just explained the whole time that when he prayed he would see a full moon with the face of Jesus on it and how he would speak with Jesus. So pretty weird. And by the way...did I tell you he is a masseuse? By the end of the lesson we prayed and then after the prayer he looked at Elder Allen and said, "You are stressed" then he pointed his finger at him, got up and then started to give him a massage...haha. We were all so shocked and I barely could hold myself from laughing. The best part of it is that I took pictures with our phone! Hopefully next time he will pay attention.

Later on this week I went on an exchange with a guy from my group. Hid name is Elder Lloyd. It was fun and we saw a lot of cool miracles. Everyone was on an exchange that day.

Elder Bailey and I did two Family Home Evenings with our amis. One with Lin and another one with Alexis. They went super well. They both seemed to love the idea of FHE.

Cesaire is doing well. He was finally able to come to church and he really liked it. His basketball season is ending soon so we are going to be seeing him a lot more to help him get ready for his baptism. :)

Other than that, we're just teaching, finding, and having a good time. Well we're off right now to do a FHE with a member and Cesaire.  And....we're going to be playing some bball. OH YEAH!!!

Have a great time! Love you all!!! :)

Elder Evan Peterson

April 13, 2015

LET THE 6 MONTHS TO SEXY BEGIN!!!


Well...today is the day that marks my 6 months to sexy mark which means no more Kebabs and no more pastries. I probably won't be able to give those up so I will just have to work out harder. :)

Here's my week...

It has been a crazy week. Fist off, we had exchanges with the Assistants on Tuesday in Paris. It was a really short but cool exchange. We both had fun and I learned a lot. Then the next morning we had to wake up at 4:30 in the morning so we could catch our train to go to Rennes for our multi-zone conference.

Zone conference was really good. Elder Bailey and I did a training about how we can change our motivation on doing missionary work to the love we have for Christ. It went really well and it seemed to touch the missionaries' hearts. We made sure to include Bible Videos because those are literally the best things ever. 

After that we were able to teach Cesaire and Jean-Yves this week. Cesaire is doing well. He just needs to stop playing bball on Sundays but his basketball season is ending in the next couple of weeks so we refixed his baptismal date for the 24th of May. He will definitely get baptized then. Jean-Yves has been kind of a tough guy though. During our rendez-vous he said he didn't want to continue because he just prefers his Roman Catholic traditions. We then asked him if he sincerely read the Book of Mormon and asked God if it was true. He said he didn't and then after that we really just testified about how that is the only way he is going to find out. By the end of it, it was cool to see his point of view because he told us that he needs to look at how he prays differently. Sadly he isn't free this week but we will see him next week.

Other than that we were able to teach Lin (The guy that we found a couple of weeks ago.) He is a super cool guy. He doesn't really know God but he really wants to get to know him so it should be fun! He even came to church this week. :) The only problem  we have is the language barrier because he is from China and he doesn't always understand French, but we manage to get by.

Speaking about language barriers...we have another ami who is from Iraq. His name is Arad and he hardly speaks French or English...haha, but the coolest thing happened to him this week. Apparently he was found by some missionaries awhile back and they gave him a Book of Mormon. Elder Bailey and I have been having a hard time trying to reach him because he has a lot of appointments for his papers and health stuff (He had a really hard life in Iraq). We were finally able to teach him. During the rendez-vous he told us that he and his wife have been reading the Book of Mormon and that it has brought them a lot of peace and that they want to join the church! Just imagine all of this going on while both of us are speaking in "caveman"language to each other....haha. The most spiritual yet funny lesson that I have had on my mission. :)

And yet while everything is going really well, Satan has to attack me and make me sick. The past couple of days I have been really sick but I am getting better. Elder Bailey and I are going to go hard this week that's for sure. #TEAMJESUS

Have a great week guys! Love ya!!! :)

Elder Evan Peterson

April 6, 2015

MY GOD'S NOT DEAD. (ROARING LIKE A LION)

General Conference was soooo dang good! It literally feels like a second Christmas. 

This week was so good for us and Angers! We have still been teaching Cesaire and Jean-Yves. Cesaire is still hard to teach now because of basketball and they are in the playoffs right now, but as soon as he finishes we are totally baptizing him. We will have to push the baptismal date though because we just haven't had anytime to see him. He told us he even knows it is true. He just has a lot of things going on with him.

Let me tell you about Jean-Yves though..haha. So last week on Sunday he received the "Principles of the Gospel" book and then he called us during the week and said that he read the whole book and that he had a lot of questions for us! haha So we go and meet him at the church and then he just starts off giving us his opinions about us and our beliefs. We then went on to explain to him that all of what we believe is in the Bible and that it comes through modern revelation. Then we just testified hard core about the only way he is going to find out if it is true is through reading the Book of Mormon and praying about it. It feels so good to testify of the things that are so simple but they make a great difference in all or our live. We only have to have a desire to know if the Church is true and then ask God and he will give us a response. And it is good to know that the formula always works! JeanYves is a super cool guy and he definitely keeps his engagements and I can tell that he really wants to know if the Church of Jesus Christ has been restored again on this earth.  So he is going to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it. :)

We have been doing a lot of service this week and we helped our old mission president's son move to his new house. That was fun and then afterwards we ate at our old mission president's house! It was cool to see Sister Poznanski! President Poznanski wasn't there because he is in Utah but I already saw him during my time here. It is pretty weird to see them as normal people now....haha

We saw a lot of cool miracles this week. I don't really have a specific one to tell but this week we have been focusing on praying more often and we saw some cool stuff with that. It was so amazing to see that after each prayer we said, we would find someone. Prayer really does work. It really puts us in the right mood and makes us prepared to be instruments in God's hands.

And guess what else happened this week!? We saw some lions! That is why I put in the weird title and it is a cool song too. 

Well that's about it. Zone Conference is this Wednesday so Elder Bailey and I are going to prepare for that. Love you all! Have a great week!!! Hakuna Mutata!

Elder Peterson

March 30, 2015

This week was so good, full of miracles but weird at the same time. 

We taught Cesaire one time this week. He has a baptismal date but has been really busy with bball which is a bummer. Pretty much this whole week we didn't see any of our other amis but we were able to find other people and teach them.

We did exchanges this week and I stayed in Angers with a new baby bleu. I was his first exchange. His name is Elder Young. We had a cool time and we taught this guy that Elder Bailey and I found our first week together. His name is Jean-Yves and he is cool. He is a middle-aged man and catholic. He was such a serious guy but super believing. I asked him what his last name was and he just said, "It's not important."...haha He didn't really talk and isn't too open but he really liked to learn about the Restoration. The lesson went really well and the spirit was there. The bleu was on fire too! He recited the whole first vision to Jean-Yves and the kid has only been out for 2 weeks. So that was a cool miracle. At the end of the rendez-vous I asked him if he can come to church and he said no. I asked him why and he said, "It's not important" again...haha. But after a little bit he asked me what time it started and then I asked him again if he was going to come and he said yes...haha :) And....guess what?? He came!!! He really liked it this Sunday! We are going to see him again later on this week! :D

Oh, the coolest thing happened this week too! So during the week, Elder Bailey and I got a call from this Tahitian member in Rennes and he told us that he has a friend (Temanue) in Angers that is interested to talk to us. The member in Rennes fixed a rendez-vous with him and he came to pick us up. We got to Temanue's house and when we went in they had BARBEQUE going for us!!! :D  IT WAS SOOOO GOOD. We talked to him about the priesthood and he told us that when he visited the Church with his friend in Rennes, he felt the spirit after he left the church. He is super believing and such an 
islander, just so happy and nice. But anyways, we talked about how the church was restored and then we gave him a blessing because he is having a hard time with his schooling. After the blessing he said his heart felt weird and good...haha. So cool!!! 

Another cool miracle this week was on Sunday. We went porting and we decided to go to a member's and pray with them and then go porting in their neighborhood. When we did the member's told us to go down after and visit their friends who lived down the street.  So we went down and then right when we get to their door we contacted this Asian guy. He said that he wanted to know more about Jesus Christ and why he is so important. We testified about Jesus Christ and fixed another rendez-vous with him. Sadly the member's friends weren't too interested but it was super cool to know that God puts his elect in our paths. :D

Anyways...That is pretty much about it. I love you and I hope you have a great week!!!

Au revoir!!
Elder Evan Peterson