Mom,
Well in these last few weeks lots has happened. During my last few days in Ambato, we rescued a less-active family and baptized the youngest daughter who was not a member. We also had a lot of families that could progress and hopefully they will be able to get baptized in the future. Our zone was doing really good. It was a really good zone with really good missionaries. My new responsibilities are basically to verify the mission and how it is doing, update the information of the mission., do divisions with the zone leaders and anyone else we feel needs it. Meet with President about the mission and plans for the future. Train the whole mission during zone conferences and interviews, and train the zone leaders in the leadership meetings. Also to Train the new missionaries, and a whole lot of other things. We are always pretty busy.
This week we received five new missionaries and we also sent off the missionaries who were finishing their missions. So I was in a lot of testimony meetings. There is something that it says in the mission manual that I love, "the missionary leaders should remember that they can learn a lot from the missionaries they serve", I have come to understand that statement better this week. The new missionaries that came were really good missionaries that had a real purpose in being here. I don't remember if I told you but we had to send a lot of disobedient missionaries home recently which was very sad. Three of them were in my last zone. But anyway, listening to the testimonies of these new missionaries reminded me of when I started the mission. You come to the mission with your trust placed 100% in God. I have seen that after the missionary learns how to speak the language and how to teach and everything, he stops putting his confidence in the Lord and just falls into the routine of doing whatever. I talked to my last zone about that and I saw it again in these new missionaries. We were waiting outside of the house of the secretary (where the new missionaries were going to spend the night) and my companion and I showed up and they were contacting somebody there and asked us for a Book of Mormon so we ran up to our house to get a Book of Mormon. Then the new missionary (an American) was going to present it. He looked at me because he wanted me to do it. But I would never rob him of that learning experience so I just looked at him until he realized I wanted him to present it. He took a deep breath and with the little Spanish he knew just bore testimony of the Book of Mormon and how it would bless and change the life of that person and of his family. I thought that when he looked at me that if I presented it I was going to rob him of a learning experience but it seems I would have been robbing myself of one. Our testimony is the most powerful instrument we have as missionaries as long as it is accompanied by the spirit and shared with love. I have learned a lot these last few weeks. The mission has changed my life. The Atonement has changed my heart. The church is true. God loves His children. Jesus Christ lives and through Him we may be perfected.
I love you so much! Have a great week!
Elder Peterson
P.S. Don't tell everybody about my new assignment. I would prefer that everyone doesn't know.
also could I take out a little bit of money I am going to need to buy some new white long sleeve shirts because I will have to use my suits a lot more.
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