"Mission Impossible" Moment & the Gift of Tongues

Dumela!

Hello everyone and welcome to another week of reading the Elder Peterson email! I have a lot this week so I am just going to get to it! (I would like to apologize for not writing everyone last week. The internet was so slow and kept shutting off)

So last Monday after emailing all of you we took the day to just relax and have a nice day. We drove to Bethlehem to grab some mail and I received a letter from the ward. Dad I hope it wasn't you that made the mistake with Stacey R. When we came home I decided I wanted to make some delicious food. I made some fried chicken that I swear could beat KFC in every way! It was the most fantastic thing in the world! But really it was so great.

Tuesday was pretty cool. I got a call that I needed to learn to drive manual remember? So we went to drive in the morning. I started out good and killed it at the first stop. But I fired it back up and took off. I was doing so good so we even ventured out onto the road (real dangerous) but everything was fine and I only killed it one more time so whatever. I am a pro! We went into the area and meet with Sis T. She is the one from Zimbabwe that just moved here a while back. We were talking about the Book of Mormon and she was having a thousand questions. But each time she asked something, we knew exactly how to answer it, referring to the restoration of the gospel. It was a very powerful lesson and by the end of it, she said she felt that the book was true. We went to a family in the evening for FHE and I was volunteered to give the lesson. So you know that I read Matthew 7, Helaman 5 and made everyone sing "The wise man built his house upon the rock" It was awesome watching these missionaries try to sing and do the hand signs hahaha! But the little kids there really enjoyed it so it was nice.

Wednesday we were meeting with our 3 investigators who are preparing for baptism. Sis P, Bro Sb, and Mama S. We were going to Mama Susan's house first and we had made a plan to meet with Bro C there so he could translate. So we showed up and waited for him but he never showed. We called and he got stuck in Setsing so he couldn't come. So we started our lesson and let me tell you, there is such thing as the gift of tongues! She hasnt been able to speak english and we can't understand Sutu but somehow we were able to have a complete lesson, answer her questions, and talk about everything that we needed to without a translator. We were talking about the Plan of Salvation and she was crying when we told her about the after life and she would be able to see her mother again. It was a very powerful lesson and the spirit was so strong.

Thursday we went on exchanges. I was with Elder K which was great! This kid really is my favorite missionary and probably my best friend here! We went into the area and went to go meet with Mama E. She was there with Mama S. We were just talking some small things and got talking about how they were making traditional clothing out of recycled goods. They have been taking big bags and shredding them into strips and then taking the strips and weaving them together to form a kind of skirt. Sort of like a Hula Dancer skirt but Sutu style. So we had a nice time trying them on and dancing around like crazy people. Don't worry I will be sending pics home soon! We had a good time and our Mamas had a good time watching us dance.

Friday was too hectic. We had planned for like 6 appointments and even had 3 back ups. We got bunked by every single one of them. Every one. It was awful. We spent the whole day walking back and forth across town to their houses but never found anyone so it was rough. We started to walk home and made it to the boarding late at night. It was dark and these other elders had our keys so we called and told them to bring them. As we were waiting (this is where the story of the week begins) I really had to pee so bad. Like soooo bad! It was dark and there was no one coming so obviously I decided to pee in the street by the fence. Well right as I was just umm 'letting go' of course these guys come cruising the corner. I didn't care too much cause I had to go but when they pulled up and I finished and walked up to the car, thats when I saw the member with them... Awkward. But whatever, he was a younger guy, could have been worse.

Saturday was the 1 of March. Bad day to be in the area. At month end everyone gets paid and everyone gets drunk like crazy! Well we started the day and we had 3 fantastic lessons! 2 with younger potential priesthood holders and 1 with a girl who has been visiting and loving the church. We had great lessons and really it was a good day. Well it started getting towards evening and the drunks came out to play! We were walking down the road and one guy approached us and started talking to us so we gave him a pass along card to try and escape. He told us he tried to come to church and someone pulled him out by the belt so this drunk guy grabs my belt like right at the buckle and starts to demonstrate how they dragged him out! I was about to punch the guy square in the face but luckily my companion stopped me. I ripped his arm off and we just left. Could have beat that guy. We were walking down the main road and there is a big parking lot infront of the town hall. Well this is party central. As we walked by all you can hear is bottles clanking. The air is like hot and heavy with the smell of alcohol. But when you look at the ground, the green and clear bottles make a beautiful flowing sea of color as they roll! Such a majestic place. As we continued our journey, it got very very windy and the sand got kicked up. Do you remember on the newest Mission Impossible when he is in Dubai and the sandstorm hits? It was like that! And so we were cruising around in our shirts and the wind is blowing everywhere. I felt like Tom Cruise!

Well yesterday was Sunday again. Church was ok but not good. Sacrament meeting had some interesting moments. Everyone was getting up and it was ok but then Pres. T got up. He was talking (preaching) and all of a sudden he says and I quote, "God don't know." then he said something else and repeated, "God don't know." Seriously everyone was so confused! i am hoping it was a slip of tongue because that was very very bad. After church we went to the area and we meet with a girl who is the most prepared person to receive the gospel I have ever seen. Her name is Sis N N. She is about 22 and studying at the University here. She is searching for a relationship with God and wants to know about his gospel. She lost her mom in 2009 and she never knew her dad so she is really looking for someone for support. Luckily she has chosen God and not some other things. She came up to us on the street one day and asked us about church. We invited her and she came! So when we went yesterday we were just going to follow up and do some basic talking stuff. Well she totally opened up to us and told us basically her life story. It was very powerful and very emotional. She cried a lot and it was hard not to cry with her. But we talked about our Heavenly Father and how he loves us and how he has provided us with the restored gospel as a way to have that relationship with him and be able to return to him. She asked what she needed to do to be baptized. The way that her life has been and from what she has told us, she needs the gospel in her life and I know that it was God's plan to have her meet us on the street that day. We really hope to work with her and try to help her more.

This past week has been one of up and downs, but it has been one that has been full of very spiritual moments. I have felt the spirit more and more in my life and it really is such a blessing! There is nothing better than having that constant companionship and feeling that peace and joy everyday. Obviously every day isn't perfect but I feel each day is better than the one before. I hope everyone has a great week and I look forward to hearing from you all again next week! I love you!

Sahlagahoto!

Elder Peterson