Close-knit companions

Hey everyone!

So, my P-Day is still on Friday, so you can still expect E-mails from me then. Also, I am still serving in the Contact Center, so there is no change there either. I also did not have to move apartments - that usually only happens when one has to switch zones. So, not much has changed last Tuesday at transfer conference, except for one minor detail - I am no longer companions with Elder Stacey. The zone has been a bit hard on him, so he was moved to a zone in the Family History Library where it was less stressful - that's my understanding of it anyway. He was a good companion, though, and I look forward to seeing him around. In the meantime, I do have a new companion named Elder McGrew, who is joining the Contact Center again - this is his third time being assigned to this zone. However, he still has to go through the training, just like everyone else, sadly. So, yeah, the only change for me last Tuesday was my companion. I look forward to this companionship though, I think me and Elder McGrew will get along quite well!

Now, back to my week. You may be wondering why I have sent out this E-mail so late if I still have my P-Day on Friday. Well, there were a couple unforeseen circumstances which have come up, which constitute some good news, and some bad news. The good news is, there was a senior sister who was moving apartments, and me and Elder McGrew, along with some other companionships, were assigned to help her with that. So, I was able to serve her in that extent. The bad news, however, is that our apartment is suspected of being subject to a bedbug infestation. So, at the time of my writing this E-mail, there are currently too many chemicals in that apartment for us to spend any time there (I will be able to return once I am done with my E-mails though). Aside from that, everyone in the apartment has had to wash all of their clothing, bedspreads, and every other piece of fabric we may own on the hottest temperature possible. I hope that my clothes have turned out alright - I haven't even had a chance to wear some of the sweaters I brought fro home yet... But, you gotta do what you gotta do...

Work has been interesting to say the least. There have been many changes at our zone - We have two less Elders than we did before, and most of the people were either completely new or returning - only a couple of us were there from before. As a result, Josh (our supervisor, a paid staff who works in a different sphere than our mission leadership) has turned off some types of calls for us so that they are handled by a different department so that the people coming in can get trained or retrained for the job. For me, however, this has made work a bit more boring - in the sense of calls taken anyway. However, our zone is beginning to serve in another degree, that actually has nothing to do with taking calls, or even computers at all! Our zone leader's wife, Sister Crowl, has made an arrangement with the Hunstman Cancer Institute here in Salt Lake City - now, when we have some time to spare, we can spend it knitting hats for some of the patients undergoing chemotherapy there. To me, this is a great idea - if we can make sure to not get carried away with it, it is a nice creative outlet which we can use to de-stress a bit, and it still serves other people. So, I look forward to serving in this capacity as well as my current work of helping patrons over the phone!

So, last Tuesday has kicked off my fourth consecutive month in the contact center. Now, I have been serving here longer than I have served on International. Also, I have currently served longer under President Fenn than I have under President Tate. Both seem a bit odd - the months are truly going by faster than they have been at the beginning of my mission! Heck, tomorrow will be the first day of my second General Conference here on the mission! It doesn't seem so long since my last conference, and it certainly doesn't seem like a full six months has passed! But, passed they have, and now here I am, no longer the new guy, already having trained one new Young Elder. Now, I don't want to pull off the impression that I am prideful of how well I have done, because even if I have done a magnificent job which was beyond my normal capacities, it is only because the Lord has been there to help me all along the way. So, in reminiscing, I think I have had a pretty good start to my service in the mission, and I look forward to the next 18 months!

Finally, as you may have noticed, I have gotten a new digital camera, as well as the stuff required to connect it to the computer. This means that, from here on out, my E-mails will now have pictures attached! I had not sent pictures for a while, as my previous camera has been lost, and I have not been able to find it. This means that I will likely be giving this camera to Mom when I get back home. So, if there is anything specific you would like to see a picture of, let me know, and I will see if I can include it in a future E-mail!

Well, that's my week for you. Thanks for all the support you guys give me, and will see you next week. Have a good one, and enjoy General Conference these next two days!

From,

Elder Bryce Petersen

Challenge: I may have talked about a similar subject in a recent challenge, but I do feel like, now that Conference is finally here, I feel I should talk about how to prepare for this conference, both temporally and spiritually. First off, make these next couple of days a little bit extra special - invite family over so you can all watch conference together, things like this are more special when they are around! Next, pray to have the Spirit with you as you watch Conference - the Spirit will testify of the truth in the messages shared, and it will bring forth understanding on the talks given. You can have snacks ready if you are not experiencing it in person, but more importantly, have a notebook just as readily available as well - before Transfer Conference last Tuesday, I bought myself and Elder Stacey special notebooks for General Conference. However, you do not need specially formatted notebooks like this (they're a bit more expensive than a traditional pad and paper anyway). However, the following basic format is suggested: write down the speaker of each talk, the subject they speak on, and some notes written as they speak. If you were feeling a bit extra ambitious, you could even write a table of contents at the beginning of these notes. For those of you with younger, more easily distracted children, you can come up with activities and/or games to help them pay attention to the messages shared. When the event itself comes, turn off outside distractions if possible so you can fully feel the Spirit and focus on the talks. Remember - General Conference is not about the Lil Smokies which are served as snacks (even though they are very delicious, and nice to have) - work on focusing on the messages shared. Take an effort to learn something new when you listen to these talks. And finally, when Conference is all over, talk amongst your families about what has been shared in these talks - the lessons learned, how you can apply them to your lives, etc. Study the talks afterwards when you get the chance - they are truly worth looking over a couple more times. Suggestions like this will help to make Conference more meaningful and valuable to you and your families, and the messages, if paid attention to, will help to strengthen your testimonies and become closer than ever to Christ.

I almost forgot, I had promised everyone some pictures! Allow me to attach those!

The first pic I am attaching is of the Assembly Hall where we had our Book of Mormon conference a couple weeks back. Truly a beautiful building, if you ask me.

The next couple pics are of the people who were in our apartment before the most recent Transfer Conference - Elder Duran is the one with the phone, because he is our District Leader, and Elders in leadership get cell phones (he is still living with me in the apartment, BTW). Next is Elder Duran's companion at this time, Elder McDonald, who joined the mission only two months ago (he has since been transferred to another zone). Finally, we have my previous companion, Elder Stacey.

The next and final pic is me with my current companion, Elder McGrew. Keep in mind that I just used a timer on the camera, and placed it on one of the washing machines for this pic. Didn't get quite the perfect pic I was hoping for, but oh well.

I will send more pics next week, and hopefully include them in the actual General E-mail, instead of having to create another one...