letter 02-25-09

So this morning I got a phone call from President Pride and it really made me nervous because he sounded the same way he did when he wanted to tell me about other bad news from back home.. So he told me about dad losing his job and how sorry he was and that he will once again be keeping our family in their prayers. I love President Pride he is such an amazing man and such a great support. So on that note I’m so so sorry to hear about your job dad. If there is anything I can do please let me know and you know that I would do anything to help out and you can be sure that I will be fasting this Sunday so I hope that helps and I will keep praying. It was kind of weird but when I heard President tell me about dad it was kind of like I already knew it had happened and the crazy thing is the day you lost your job is a day that I was sick. My stomach was just tied up in knots and I just didn't feel right but now I think I know why but I just felt really calm for the most part when I found out and I kept thinking back to some other trying times our family has gone through and how much stronger we are for it and how it was a real test on our faith. I kind of knew in the back of my head that it was going to be alright and something some how some way would work out for the best and that is the way that I feel right now. I just know that there is something that our Heavenly Father wants us to learn or to be appreciative of and I know that Heavenly Father can see the whole big picture while we just see a very small portion of it. That is great news about Jordan getting a job. Ok so I have a really big testimony builder last night. Yesterday we went tracting and we only gave out one Book of Mormon and it was to a Y.S.A. girl so we called and gave the referral to our zone leaders. At 12:01 this morning we got a phone call from the girl’s brother that we gave the book to. He told me that when we gave the book to his sister he started reading it because it looked really interesting and he made it to Words of Mormon and everything was just going right over his head so he thought he would call and ask some questions. He is 19 yrs old and he had some awesome questions and he started asking about missions. After I told him how amazing they were and what we do, he said what do I have to do to go on a mission like that? I was totally blown away and told him he would need to be a member of our church and he said ok great how do I do that? One of the most amazing things that he said was as he was reading the Book of Mormon a feeling came over him and he just wanted to totally change his life he didn't want to drink or hang out with the friends he has now. So I told him about all the amazing things about the Y.S.A. wards and new friends he could make and activities they have during the week and he got pretty excited and just started asking more and more questions. Then at like 12:45 I said I couldn't teach him everything tonight but other missionaries would be by to see him so we ended the conversation and I was on a total spiritual high. It felt amazing! I have never had anything like that happen to me before. It will be a night that I will remember for a long time. After I hung up I started thinking about earlier that day and how it happened. The night before my comp and I were planning and at the same time we both said we would tract in Inglewood (a part of our area). so that’s where we went and as we were driving there I realized we hadn't picked a street to tract so for like 20 min we just drove around and after a little while I drove to the last street we tracted in that area and realized we hadn't finished all of it so I said how about this one? On the second door we knocked on is when we handed out the book. I know that Heavenly Father wanted us to be in that exact place at that time so that we could change someone’s life and it also made me realize how very important and powerful the Book of Mormon is. That was probably one of the biggest spiritual highs/knock over the head I think I have ever had and it was amazing and now I want everyone to be able to feel that way. I think that because of the amazing night I had is part of the reason why I was kind of able to deal with the not so good news this morning and I just want to let you know that no matter how bad or discouraged we may feel if we invite the spirit into our lives it will drive all of those dark feeling out of our lives and it is such a big difference and a great feeling. One of the best things I’ve found is how helpful the family is when we are going through hard times. Because as much as we may love our friends they pass and change with time but family never does and can be relied on at anytime. I’ve come to realize that since we stress so much about families when we teach people about the church and what it can do for not only them but for their entire family. Wow ok I'm off my soap box now ha-ha. So does anything that I said sound anything like the Josh you knew over a year ago? Because I think I just really shocked myself at what I just said. Its crazy sometimes things like this happen and then I go back to the regular me. Ok so how are things at home? How has the weather been? It’s been kind of nice but these last few days its gotten down to -20 again so it looks like the snow will be around for a little while longer. I can't wait for summer or even spring would be nice I just want to be able to wear just my suit jacket again and when that happens I will only have to put my cold weather clothes on for just a little bit before the end of my mission. Isn’t that crazy? I think it is anyways. Well I had better get going.
Love
Elder Joshua B. Pehrson
P.S. working hard with no regrets