....o sol e a chuva cairá mas eu batizarei....

Olá  meus amors -

Sorry if I havent been writing a whole lot; I have been doing a lot, but it hasnt really resulted in anything.  Just to give you an idea, we taught more than 50 lessons this week and at the end of the week we only have 6 people that we are going to keep teaching.  Its a little bit frustrating at times, but its worse when I look back on the week and realize how much time we wasted.  Sister Taylor is very good with reminding me that as long as we are working we are not wasting time.  Everything has a purpose, and I have seen that.... but I am a little bit impatient and a little hard on myself sometimes.  
One of the people we met this past week when we were wandering around trying to find a house (because I still do not remember where peope live and how to get there) is Rosenburg.  He has an interesting story... He hasnt lived the best way a person should, and so he has been shot three times (one of them was very recent) and he has a scar about 8 inches long going down the middle of his stomache.  He also showed us the bullet that the doctors removed from the last time he was shot.  He seems interested in the gospel and our message, but its a little hard to tell since he is still kinda doped up on the pain killers the doctors have been giving him.
But the highlight of my last two weeks has been Amanda.  She is 12, and she absolutely loves everything we are teaching her.  Its amazing how she likes everything we talk about, and we gave her a Book of Mormon a week ago and she is already in 2 Nephi!  She reads every night before she goes to bed.  Her mother is also wonderful, and she has a little sister who is the same age as Megan which is nice for me.  We went to visit them yesterday and Amanda asked us what time her baptism is going to be this week.  Missionaries love questions like that =]
I love you!  Hope your week was great!

Até mais -

Sister Petersen

almoço with Irma Norma and Bruna

Elders De Campos and Fernandes.  Yes, they are my ZLs =]

O torta de limão that the Elders made for us (because we wrote their mothers)

Neia´s birthday party (she is Amanda´s mom)

A luta dura na Bahia mas batisarei...

As I sit here and start to write, I cant think of anything really to write about because I feel like we didnt do a whole lot this past week.  But!  As you can see from the pictures, we did have a baptism!  Hooray for the elect who, when they are told they are ready by a man of God, believe and are baptized without any difficulty!  We have been working with Bruno for about the past month, and I love him.  He is so wonderful, so smart.  When he actually started to read the Book of Mormon, he didnt quit.  He already finished 1 Nephi, and his favorite story is of Lehis vision of the Tree of Life.  He talked about it so much after he read it and all the things he learned from it, the different analogies... its amazing to see people make these connections and really learn about the things we are teaching them.  After that, its just faith that they need to continue on.  The first time that he actually prayed (not just saying the words, but really praying) I wanted to cry.  Sister Freitas and I would always run into him on the street, and Sister Taylor and I did a few times, too, and I know that was the Lord putting him in our path again and again and again, because he was really difficult to work with at the beginning. But by the end, we would walk into the room to teach him and I could always feel the Spirit so strongly.  I know he is going to do so many great things.  I know it.  I am so excited for the life he has ahead of him now, and I am really hoping I will still be here when he receives the priesthood.
Other than that... Just going to keep working, keep finding, keep baptizing, keep teaching, keep smiling, keep fighting, keep breathing, keep testifying.
I love this work.
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Sister Petersen

A picture that Bruno drew and gave to me

Bruno!

Sister Taylors birthday was the 11and so the Elders made her a cheesecake.  It was really delicious.

...to find our brethren who have gone astray and back to Him we´ll bring!

Olá minha familia!  ...e amigos (=

First off, I think you want to hear about my companion.  Sister Taylor is from SD, and her grandparents are the Witney´s, the former Temple President and his wife.  She also knows Melanie Steeley.  Crazy small world, isnt it?  Shes been on her mission for a little more than a year now, and we have a lot of ideas for how to work in Itabuna, so it will be a good transfer.  Its a little weird, because I am kind of in charge in the area right now because I know the area and the people that we are working with.  At the same time, I really know the area very well.  Its huge, and I have never been very good at remembering directions. I have been praying a lot for guidence.  A lot.  And I am still not exactly sure how this will work, but I know the Lord has a plan for everything.  I know I have a lot to learn from Sister Taylor, and I know that we will both grow from our time together.  I am ready to work.  I am ready to do more than I have been doing, and I am ready to be an instrument in the Lord´s hands.
 
One of the first nights Sister Taylor was here I was feeling especially lost, and so I asked if we could stop and say a prayer.  We did, and I found myself talking to the Lord and begging for His help and asking him to dedicate the street where we were (I am not sure if I can technically dedicate things since I dont have the priesthood, but I figure the Lord understood what I was asking) and I asked Him to direct us to a person who will be baptized this month.  The very first house we knocked on after that we were able to find someone and we gave him a Book of Mormon and a baptismal date and we will baptize him!  His name is Julius Cesar.  Think about that for a moment - I will baptize Julius Cesar.  And we have another person with the name Bruno with a baptismal date who will probably be baptized the same day. ´E tu, Bruno?´ =D

We have been working with Bruno for a little over a month now (he is really busy and therefore it is difficult to find times to teach him) and this last week he finally gave the closing prayer.  Yesterday he said the prayer again, and it was so beautiful.  There is nothing to compare to the feeling.... he never wanted to pray before, but in his prayer last night he was thanking the Lord for the strength he received to go to church and asking for more strength to continue reading the Book of Mormon and to receive an answer.  He has read through 1 Nephi 12, and he absolutely loved Lehi´s dream.  Its so great to see people excited to learn about the gospel and share what they have learned.
And so we will continue to work in this (sort of) dedicated street and find the people the Lord has prepared for us there. This is the work of the Lord, and therefore it will not fall.  So if you could remember Rua São Paulo in your prayers I would greatly appreciate that, as will all the people that we will baptize.

Love you all!  Glad you are all safe and sound!

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Sister Petersen

Sister Freitas and I getting the phoncall of transfers

Our Zone Leaders had a little package of peanut butter in their fridge that I happened to spy... and since they are both from Brazil it wasn't as if they were missing peanut butter.  So they were nice enough to give it to me.

this is a typical day (actually, a rather slow day) in the mission

...his message we will share. We´ll serve obey and sacrifice for Jesus Christ our King....

First off, your pictures of Germany are amazing!  If I werent here in Brazil saving people´s souls, I would be jealous.  Ok, maybe I am still a little bit jealous, but I am still very happy that I am here =]
Oh, and Bekah made a comment forever ago in one of her letter about how in the early days of the church they called people Brother Joseph and used the first name, and I have been wanting to tell her that we do the same thing here! Irmão, Irma, Bispo, all followed by the first name of the person.  I like it.  Dad would be President Erik, and I think thats pretty neat.
Language is going alright.  I still cant say everything I want to - I am not sure if that will ever happen at this moment.

This week I saw so many miracles, and I am trying to focus on that and not how many  things went wrong.  We met with Luane this past Wednesday; she is the cousin of a member who came with us to teach and Luane came, too.  So we taught two lessons with her and then we taught her a lesson and she said how she wanted to come teaching with us some more because she liked it so much.  As we were sitting there, I had the desire to ask her to be baptized this Saturday (as in two days ago) but I thought that was a little crazy and I was also afraid Sister Freitas would think I was crazy, so I didnt say anything.  Turns out I could have.  We came back to visit her on Friday and she said shed only read a little bit of the Book of Mormon.  By a little bit, she´d read all of Moroni 10 and the Intruduction until half way through the Testimony of Joseph Smith.  Yeah.  Only a little bit.  And she´d been asking her cousin questions about the different standards we had and said she wouldnt have a problem with a lot of them, the only thing she was worried about was changing the way she dressed - not because she didnt want to, but because she didnt have very many clothes that were modest.  And she kept talking about the different things she´d been thinking about and how she wanted to change and wanted to be baptized.... and Sister Freitas invited her to be baptized the next day and we gave her all of the baptism questions then and there.  Now it would really make the story wonderful to say that she was baptized this past week, but she wasnt.  But I have faith that she will be.  Thats a lie.  I dont have faith - I know she will be baptized.  She is a little worried about what her family adjusting to the change, but I know I know I know she will be baptized.  She is an elect, no doubt about it.
And you asked about transfers... Well, they´re Wednesday, but Sister Freitas is leaving me tonight to go to Salvador because she is going to train again and she has to go get her trainee.  And I´m not exactly sure when Sister Taylor will show up here.  Probably Wednesday afternoon.  So.... I am not sure where I am going/ what I am doing tomorrow and Wednesday.  I think a member is going to stay and work with me, which I am a little nearvous about.  But it will be great!
Com amor, até mais -

Sister Petersen

This is cacau - yes, what they make chocolate out of.  It is also a fruit you can eat.

The little girls who call me ´tia´ =] I love them

Grasielly was baptized this past week and came to church all by herself the next morning so that she could be confirmed.

...we´ll give our strength to God above...

Oi minha familia e amigos!

Estou feliz.  Estou muito cansada, mas, isso é minha trabalha, e eu sei que O Senhor me abençou esta semana muito.
This week was excellent!  I am amazed more and more each week with the things the Lord blesses me with.  I have also learned to be really, really specific in my prayers, because the Lord answers them.  For example, this past week we prayed to find a family with 7 people who were of baptismal age, and we found a family of 8, but all of the kids dont live at home.  We also prayed for one of our investigators that she would quit drinking coffee so that she could be baptised.  And she quit.  But she didnt want to be baptised this week (we are still trying to figure out why...)  I know the Lord answers the prayers of His servants - I just need to learn to be a little more specific. We had so many lessons and made so many contacts and have so many new people that we are working with.  This week really was a miracle, and I continue to learn that when I work, the Lord blesses my efforts 10 fold.  Which means if I work harder.... =] I am excited for this week to come.

As you can tell from the pictures, we also had a baptism this week!  Efraim is so great, our future apostle from Brazil, and I know he will be such a good missionary once he learns to wake up on time and walk a little faster =]  We had a few problems finding him Sunday morning so that he could be confirmed (sound familiar?) but all is well for those who work extremely hard.

I am also excited because we should have the baptisms of 3 little girls this week, Grazielly, Fabiana and Caliane.  We are also teaching Cailane, but she is only 7.  They are soooo cute, and they call Sister Freitas and I ´tia´.  They also live in the same neighborhood as us, so every once in a while we will hear ´Oi, tia!´ and it will be them, calling for us.  I kind of feel a little bit like a mother hen during sacrament meeting, though.  Normally, I keep an eye on them and Sister Freitas talks to our other investagators, so they sit by me during sacrament and I try to entertain them a little bit with my puzzle of the Plan of Salvation and after sacrament I try not to lose them.  It is so much fun, and I love them so much.  They are doing such a good job with reading the Book of Mormon, too.

I just got the newsletter where you talked about all your mosquito problems, and let me tell you - I know how you feel!  The other day I counted and I had 8 mosquito bites on one hand.  Yes, just my hand, from the wrist down.  Its sad, really.  One of the Elders asked the other day if I had already had chicken pox, because it really does look like I have them sometimes. Its sad.

I also have a few requests, if you love me.  I would really really really really really really really like music.  Like, really really.  I would also like a couple of Green Bay Packers shirts so I can trade with some of the Brazilian Elders for different soccer shirts.  And I want peanutbutter and gummyworms.  Like I said, you only have to send things if you love me =]

I hope you are having fun in Germany!  Love you all!

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Sister Petersen

In regular clothes!  We had a service project this last Saturday, Mãos que Ajudam

Clara and Jaiane, the sisters of Efraim

Efraim!  He will be an apostle someday

Everyone in white =]

Zone Itabuna - and I took it today =]
in front we have Elders Tarbet?, Brandão, Fernandes, De Campos, eu, Ricker, Freitas, De Oliveira.  In the back, Zollwig, Vitelli, Pontes, Andrade (with the ball in his face)

As missionaries of the Lord with faithfulness and prayer...

Olá mues queridos -

We had a Zone Conference that wasnt really a Zone Conference this past Tuesday, and it would have been perfect if I hadnt been so tired and wanted to sleep during half of it.  But it really was so good.  A lot of the Elders who were transfered from our Zone were there, so we got to see them again.  We also received training from President Vecchi, and let me just reiterate: I love that man.  It was back to basics, things were already know, things we learned in the MTC, fundimental things that have just been lacking a little bit in the mission, and I was able to remember and think about how to apply these things in our area here.

Also, I got to spend two days in Iléus with Sister Forester, and it was wonderful!  I loved getting the chance to work with her again and re-remember some of the things I learned in the MTC.  Things I should be doing.  And it was so much fun.  Sister Forester and I only had about 2 weeks together in the MTC, but we clicked from the very start, and it was great working with her and it was great to know that we still click =]  Learning to work with a different person, being exposed to a different teaching style was great, and not only that, but I love Iléus.  I dont really want to leave Itabuna, but if that is in the cards in the near future, I vote I go to Iléus.  Although I know my vote doesnt really do anything when it comes to the will of the Lord.  But I do love the area and I love the people.  Its kind of amazing how fast that love can grow when I am doing what I am supposed to be doing.

And then, when I came back to Itabuna, Sister Freitas had told a lot of people that I had been transfered to Iléus as a joke, and then told them afterwards that I was just there for 2 days.  But a lot of the members didnt hear the second part, that I would be coming back on Friday.  Ergo, on Sunday, there were a lot of members of the ward who were excited/confused that I was here.  Including the bishop.

This coming week we have baptisms, and we are doing everything in our power to make sure these do not fall through.  We are meeting with these people every day, and they seem really excited about coming to church each week and about their baptism, too.  The two that I feel sure about are a mother and son, Regina and Efraim.  Efraim is 13, but he looks more like he is 8, so I have to remind myself at times not to talk to him like he is a kid.  But they are both so great.  They have been reading the Book of Mormon every day and praying and things are looking really really good.

This past week we also had a lot more investigators in sacrament meeting, and I know the Lords hand was in that.  We are working with the other ones.  So many of them I feel so good about, and we were able to meet with a lot of them yesterday and they all said that they will come next week, which is GREAT!  Now we have just got to find more people this excited about coming to church, because I know they are here. But anyway, we were able to get 8 investigators in sacrament meeting and 6 of them have baptismal dates!

Funny story for you.  We went by one house to talk to one of our investigators and we asked if Bruno was home.  So out comes a young man who doesnt really look like our investigator, and Sister Freitas asks, ´Um, Bruno?´ and he says he is, so we start talking to him, and he doesnt know what we are talking about, and after about a minute Sister Freitas just asks if another Bruno lives in the house.  And indeed, another Bruno lives in the house.  So right now, we are teaching the brothers Bruno =]  I dont really understand why people give their kids the same name, or even names that seem the same.  We have investigators who are sisters and their names are Caliane and Kaylane.  Talk about confusing.

We also spent the morning this morning waiting in line for about 4 hours in a governmentish building, trying to help some of our investigators get married so they can be baptised.  It was a little annoying, because my vocabulary does not extend to legal, marriage vocabulary, so I was really lost most of the time.  And then, after waiting for 4 hours, we found out that they couldnt get done what they needed to get done (dont ask me why, I have no idea).  But we were able to get lunch out of it, so that is always nice.

Our goal for the Zone this week is for every dupla to have a baptism, and we will perform all the baptisms the same time in the Stake building in California.  It should be really exciting, especially considering that the ZLs here are teaching a family of 10 people who have a date for this day.  We should have more than 20 baptisms this day.  Remember us, and give us your prayers.

Love you!  Miss you!  Read your scriptures!  Say your prayers!

Até mais -

Sister Petersen

...de batizar os seus eleitos e ousado serei! (... to baptize their elected and I will be bold!)

Estou feliz!! 
We had not one, but two baptisms and confirmations this past week, and I highly doubt that there is a happier missionary in all of Brazil right now.  The morning of the baptism we had so many problems, so much went on and there was so much confusion about when and how and where Hiago would be baptized.  He is 9, and his mom and his moms family are members, so we had to coordinate with them and it was such a mess.  We also had to go to another church in a different bairro for his baptism, and Sister Freitas and I had never been there, so we were a little nervous about that.  Then we showed up and he wasnt there.  But he showed up, thankfully =] 
Our other baptism has been called a miracle, and that is a very humbling thing to hear.  Edla has been going to church for the past 2 years without fail and almost all of her children are members, but she went through many pairs of missionaries and still refused to be baptised.  She gives lunch to the missionaries every week, and they always share a spiritual thought afterwards, and my first Wednesday here I gave the thought and I invited her to be baptised - this was my very first baptismal invite on the mission.  She didnt accept or not accept, kind of more of a, We will see, sort of an answer, and we have worked with her ever since.  But about two weeks about she set a date for herself because her daughter was going to be here.  My goodness, when we started to tell people in the ward that Irma Edla was going to be baptised.... I wish you could see my face right now =D  Everyone was incredulous, and more than one person said what a miracle it was.  And I believe it.  It is an answer to so many prayers, and I will never forget it.  I have no words to describe how I felt at that baptism.
The next day - Sunday - was kind of a mess, too.  We were trying to get our investigators to church, and by the time church started we only had one.  So Sister Freitas and I set out to find more people.  We invited everyone we saw.  An hour later, we returned to church with 1 more investigator to find out that Hiago wasnt at church, and the member we had asked to pick him up said that no one was home.  This was really bad, because he needed to be confirmed in Sacrament Meeting (which we have last here).  So Sister Freitas and I set out again to the opposit side of the bairro.  We showed up at his house and his aunt, sister and brother were there, but not Hiago.  So we sent his brother off to find him and we offered one of the most ferverent prayers I have ever given.  10 minutes or so later he came walking down the road with his brother.  I have never been so releaved in my life.  Turns out he had woken up at 6 that morning to get ready and waiting and waiting until 10am when he finally decided no one was coming and so he went to play.  We got to Sacrament right as they were finishing the confirmation of Irma Edla, just in time to have Hiago confirmed.  I am a very, very, very, very blessed missionary, and I am trying so hard to show my gratitude to my Father in Heaven by working even harder.
This next week should be interesting - we have a conference of sorts in Iléus tomorrow, and then I will stay there until Friday moring on an exchange with Sister Forester!  I am excited to be able to work with her again, although I still want to be here to help Sister Freitas accomplish the goals we have set.  This week, the goal the ZLs gave for us is to have a Zona de Exelência.  Presidente Vecchi set a few goals for the mission, and when a companionship meets those goals they have followed the Pattern of Excellence.  So the goal for the zone is to have every companionship meet these goals of the President.  We are praying and working really hard to make this happen.  Again, one of the hardest things is getting people to church, but we will make it happen with the companionship of 3 - Sister Freitas, me, and the Lord =]

I hope all is well with vocês!  I miss you and love hearing from you!

Até mais -

Sister Petersen

Pictures sent this week.

Itabuna at night

Our apartment

Our desks and our tiny area map

Sister Freitas and eu

Elders Adrezzo and Fernandes, my first ZLs

Elders Fernandes & de Campos, my new ZLs

Baptism of Hiago

Edla's baptism, she was baptized by Irmao Castro