The weeks roll on

Hey, everyone!

First off, I would like to apologize to the people who are only beginning to receive E-mails from me now. I have been meaning to add you to my mailing list for some time now - it's not that I don't want to keep in touch with you! Anyway, now for the rest of the E-mail.

You know, it does not feel like an entire week has passed by since the last time I have sent an E-mail out to all of you! Though the days sometimes seem long, when looking back on them all, they do not seem to have been very long at all! It seems like just a little bit ago when Summer had just begun, and it always feels that the month had just started when in reality, I am in the middle of the month. Soon enough, I will be packing up my bags for home. But, until then, I still have a work to do out here in the mission field. For now, that work consists of the same stuff as before.

The mission had recently gotten another group of new young elders. When compared to the groups which were coming in when I first arrived on the mission, this group is huge! However, in the context that he had recently been getting groups of 11-13 elders, this group is quite small - six, to be exact. We are also having a group of elders leaving that is the exact same size, so the total number of young elders will be staying the same. But, all of the missionaries who will be leaving are in leadership positions of some sort - four district leaders, one music coordinator, and one assistant to the president. So, there will be some big changes in leadership when all of this takes place. I do believe that there will be much to write about when all of this happens. As for what exactly will happen to me, I am not sure. I may stay in the zone for longer, but currently, we expect that I will move sometime soon - after all, this will be my 15th month of having served in the zone, and I don't think that President Fenn wants to keep young elders serving in one zone for too long of a time. Then again, only the Lord knows what changes will happen to the mission during this transfer. So, it isn't quite my place to put too much worry into the matter. These changes will all happen next Tuesday; I will write the P-Day after this to let you know what does end up happening.

I do feel that there are some big changes coming to the zone though. I say this because President Fenn had called for a meeting with all the young elders serving in the zone this next Thursday. Again, I have served here for 15 months; in all of this time, we have not had quite a meeting. So, I feel that something big will happen here. Some elders talk about the young elders being taken out of the zone; however, I put no stock into such rumors - there isn't much of a basis for such an argument, and they had been steadily putting more and more young missionaries into the zone, so I don't think they would tear down all that has been built up. I have my theories of what may happen in the zone; if I am correct, it will be a major change which will catch everyone's attention! However, I may be wrong as well; we will only know for sure when this happens. Either way, I hope that whatever comes, the zone will be prepared and ready to accept it. I will try and work them towards such a point. If it is a new type of work - if I am right, then it will be - then our missionaries will be more than ready to take it on, as we are able to tear through most of the work which gets thrown our way.

Speaking of things getting thrown our way, I had a unique experience this week which I feel had the Lord's hand in it. Now, the young elders who work with training senior missionaries (Elders Whiffen and Clark) were taking some senior missionaries on a tour of some of the zones of the mission. In their  tour, they of course had decided to include the Data Services zone. Now, I had been sent an E-mail informing me that this was happening, but it came just about an hour before the missionaries arrived, and I had not checked my E-mail before this happened; therefore, I was quite unprepared. But, being the head district leader of the zone, I was still expected to come up with something to share with them in regards to the work which we do in the zone. So, I began speaking about what it is we do in the zone, and I soon found that the words were coming to me quickly and smoothly. I was able to present what exactly it is that we do in the zone, and how it helps in the building of the kingdom of God. Believe me - I am a firm believer that when one does what he can to prepare, even if it is not much, then he or she will have the ability to open his/her mouth, and it shall be filled, because that is exactly what had happened here - I opened my mouth, and I was able to give a nice impromptu presentation on our work.

Finally, because it is this time of the month again, we had a Hail and Farewell dinner to celebrate the incoming and the departing missionaries. Now, for this, I had decided to make a pound cake; the entire thing had been eaten by the time I had come to pick up the plate to take home with me. It makes me feel kind of old to see all the missionaries who I had worked with now going back to their homes. It had been good to work with them all, and I do hope that they come back to visit again, or at least that we may run into each other at some point in the future. But, I was able to enjoy myself here - I had enjoyed good food and conversation with many who I can safely call my friends; what more could a man want? Of course, the companion who I am still training was called up to introduce himself to the other missionaries there. I was also able to meet the missionaries who had just come in that day as well!

So, there is my week. My next E-mail will come to you next Tuesday; after that, it may come at any day in the week, which probably will still be Tuesday, or else it will be before then. Until then, I will keep working hard in my service to the Lord. Have a good one!


--
From,

Elder Bryce Petersen



Challenge: One of the greatest blessings of living where and when we do is the opportunity to hear the word of God from His chosen servants, including the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency of this Church, each of whom we sustain as a prophet, seer, and revelator. Among their other responsibilities as the leaders of this Church, they also speak to us the word of God. Just how important is this blessing? Consider this: if Jesus Christ were to come down to Earth, what would he say to us? Would he congratulate the Church on how good of a job we were doing? Would he offer loving correction to us? Would he deliver a rebuke? I don't think that what exactly he would say to us is as huge of a mystery as it may seem; "What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken ... whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same" (D&C 1:38). The prophets are often described as the Lord's mouthpiece; when the Lord wants to give His Church a message, his preferred method of doing so is through His prophet. So, if our Savior were to come down and give us a message, it would sound a lot like what is spoken over the pulpit in the conference center. Therefore, such messages would require a level of spiritual preparation to get the most out of them. That is my challenge for you this week - prepare spiritually for the next general conference. Next Sunday is Fast Sunday; part of the purpose of your fast could be to understand and accept what is spoken by prophets, seers, and revelators a week from that day. Also study talks from previous conferences, and study their teachings as a part of your scripture study. Such preparation will help you to receive the messages given this day, and help to prepare you for life's coming trials.