Hey everyone! I feel like it has been forever, but it has only been a week!! Lots of things happened this week!
On Pday a member took us to Costco!! I guess I have never done my own grocery shopping there and paid for it.. because I was not prepared for the money we spent there. It was very worth it though!! Our member told us we have "Costco Fever"! We did indeed have "Costco Fever". Also, Japanese people do NOT do Costco like we do in America. Our member only left with 1 bunch of BANANAS. That was it. Im like where are your muffins and your huge party size bag of chips. Oh well. At least they had samples there.
The Takayama elders were stuck here in Toyama because the trains were not working for them to get home! We really enjoyed double covering again and got lots of ekis done to put toward our mission goal! Our mission is currently at 693/1,000!!!! Got lots done this week! Yay!
Had an amazing (as always) zone conference in Kanazawa! We talked all about Joseph Smith and the first vision. The spirit was really strong as we studied about personal revelation and even as we practiced teaching the Joseph Smith lesson in Japanese. 
The best day ever, YAY Paul and JJ got baptized yesterday! This was one of the best days of my mission! Everything went so smooth and the mix of an English and Japanese program was really special! You couldn't catch anyone without a smile on their face the whole day. It was so cool listening to their testimonies about the things they have learned. To reflect on where they were at, what they knew, and who they were when we first started teaching them. I am so thankful that Heavenly Father put these 2 in my life and made everything work out so they could be baptized. This IS a gospel of joy!
️We were at a train station doing finding yesterday, then all of a sudden, BAM. I immediately put my hand up to my head where I hit it then MacDonald ε§ε¦Ή let's out a huge gasp. I looked at my hand and BLOOD! Haha apparently head cuts bleed a whole lot. I was okay and just laughing the whole time because MacDonald ε§ε¦Ή was absolutely freaking out. Turns out the cut was just so tiny but decided to bleed a lot. Don't worry, I will not insert a picture. I don't want anyone to feel like MacDonald ε§ε¦Ή who said to her head bleeding comp "my legs are weak" Ha.
In a BYU devotional called Change: It's Always a Possibility, the woman tells a story of a caterpillar changing into a butterfly. She says..."So, what are you willing to give up being so that you can fly? Your spirit wants to fly! Your spirit remembers your premortal assignments and aspirations. What are you willing to give up believing so that you can be all you really are—all that you committed, even covenanted, that you would be?"
I love this so much because we are always taught to "give up the natural man". Our spirits know what we want and need, we just have to train out bodies to be more adaptive to that. I have been trying to think a lot about how I can change into who I am supposed to be and how to have the discipline to do that! (Something I kind of lack). What are you willing to give up so your spirit can fly?
God loves you and He will help you as long as you are trying your best!
I love you all!
Happy late Valentines Day!!
<3 Peterson ε§ε¦Ή
02/17/2025
thats my comp
this 13 year old tried to get my number... and he is blocking MacDonald shimai in the picture. This was a scary time.
ZONE CONF
besties
moments before my comp's legs went weak
COSTCO
We have been grinding out lots of ekis (train stations), I think we were able to do at least one each day this week. Nothing too crazy has happened, but we have been able to see little miracles! 
On monday we went to Takaoka and saw lots of Buddhas. Yay Japan! We also went to this restaurant that gave huge portions for cheap. The pictures do not do justice the big bowls of ramen they served. It was a wild experience.
It snowed a lottttt this week! A lot of plans changed because the trains were down for a hot sec. A few missionaries were stuck here in Toyama with us, but we had a grand old time. 
JJ and Paul are doing so good! Thank you for the prayers! I had some of my most spirit filled moments teaching these 2 this week. Me and MacDonald ε§ε¦Ή were worried about some lessons we had to teach them, but the spirit carried! There were some moments where I did not really know what to say, but I opened my mouth, trusted, and the spirit filled it. I can't explain it well, but I am so thankful for the spirit they are able to bring and my companion is able to bring! There are just a few final things we need to do, then they will be baptized! Sooner than I think you will expect!! If you could see the dance parties me and MacDonald ε§ε¦Ή have you would understand how trully excited we are! 
I recently listened to a podcast the church news put out with Laurel Day. She talks a lot about agency. That there are so many times in life where we don't know what decision is best. We ask God, "what decision am I supposed to make?"
This transfer our mission has set a goal to do missionary work at 1,000 ekis. To reach our goal every area should accomplish about 16 ekis. We also have to do 6 total man hours at each one for it to count, so that would be 3 hours of finding for me and MacDonald ε§ε¦Ή. I was super excited about this goal because missionary work has been pretty slow for us over here in Toyama, so this gives us something to do! That is until we got done with about 2 ekis, and 100% "no"s. Mix that in with the attrocious weather and actual blizzards we were walking through. Its hard, and I wish I could say I am being dramatic, but I know that every effort counts. Even if I dont get to see my efforts counting! God always pulls through!! We will keep trudging through this challenge and look for the mini miracles God gives us!
Yesterday was my birthday! Yay! It was lots of fun! We went to stake conference in Kanazawa and we got to see all the missionaries in our zone there! It is always a good time seeing other missionaries, especially because it is only MacDonald ε§ε¦Ή and I out here in Toyama. 
We were also able to visit some people with one of our favorite members, Suzuki ε§ε¦Ή! We went to Hamaiγγ's house and had a great time. She is not a member and is not interested in the church, but is good friends with some of our members. We always give her a spiritual thought at the end of our visits (because we are missionaries, its what we do) but the messages never seem to really touch her. Except this one. Amazing Japanese fluent MacDonald ε§ε¦Ή shared D&C 84:88 and testified of angels and God's love in our lives. I then asked Hamaiγγ if she has ever felt angels in her life. She told us about her grandparents, then started talking about us and her member friends. She got really happy and said that whenever she is around us she feels super happy. Suzuki ε§ε¦Ή explained to her that it was the spirit that she feels. Even though this was not some revolutionary baptism moment, I think it got God's love thinking in her brain. Birthday miracle!!!
D&C 84:88
Even though we get denies upon denies, housing adventures are always fun. The main religion in Japan is Buddhist or Shinto, so when we knock on doors and say the name γ€γ¨γΉ·γγͺγΉγ, Jesus Christ, we get rejected. Don't worry though, we are so used to rejection, it does not even phase us. Maybe about 1 in 50 doors will let us talk past our introduction. That's a sad stat, but I am being so for real... we are used to rejection. 
We had a good opportunity to talk to this man for about 20 minutes about what our church is all about and who His loving Heavenly Father is. We were able to clear up a lot of rumors he has heard about our church. He has no interest to learn more, but I think we planted a pretty big seed in his heart.
Another miracle happened with a lady who also has no interest haha. I have recently got super into cross stitching like an actual grandma and taught MacDonald ε§ε¦Ή so we can be buddies and just stitch away. The afternoon of the day I started teaching her we knocked on this woman's door, when she opened it we saw the most beautiful cross stitch on her wall! We mentioned it and she invited us in to show us the billions of cross stitches she had. It's not like we baptized anyone, but we made a friend with a little old lady who is very lonely and that is what my mission is about!
The weather is still pretty cold, but the sun has been shining a lot. I am just thankful it isn't pouring rain on us. It's our favorite thing to explore Toyama a bit and take pictures with the beautiful things we find! Especially horses... hehe. 
Teaching JJ and Paul has given me lots of ideas and realizations about this gospel. One thing that I realized is it is impossible to know 100% of the gospel. That is because the spiritual knowledge we can recieve is not measurable. There is no finish line. Not one human being knows and understands 100% of the gospel, and that's the point. We were sent to earth to be tested about what we would do without the full knowledge. Luckily, Heavenly Father gave us all the tools we need to succeed. We must depend on those tools, our faith, and the spirit. 
