Dear Loved Family and Friends,
We have heard it said that the first 4-5 months of a mission seem to go a little slowly, but then after that it really speeds up. We guess we are at that point now--not only because the calendar says so, but because it seems like letter day comes around much faster and we have to wonder what we should be sharing. We are always grateful for the letters we receive from home, and had a good week of sweet updates, which really blesses our mission.
Last week when we wrote our letter, we thought we had finished all the deliveries for the big mission transfer days this round, ---just one more early morning quick delivery to the airport and a return trip in the evening. It wasn't quite that easy, but a little funny. We made the early morning delivery fine--though it WAS early because one Sister and one Elder had to fly to Edinburgh to be trained as District Leaders and return that same night. Poor them! When they arrived in Edinburgh they were not picked up for about 1 1/2 hours. Somehow neither of them were sent with phones, so the problem was hard to remedy. But they were trained and sent back to Dublin--- and we told them we would get there ASAP after our class. With a car full of Elders to pick up the Elder and the Sister companion with us, we arrived at the airport, but no missionaries to be found! While Grandpa and one Elder stayed with the cars, the rest of us got out to search. The good news is, the Dublin airport will never be a worry of getting lost again. We know every area: up down, in, out, tunnels, --you name it. We spent fully 1 1/2 hours walking, asking, paging, praying, and looking all over again--but not finding the two missionaries! Meantime, they were "dying" because they had the same last name, Peterson, and were such an odd set of missionaries. They had tried to make it convenient for the pick up, so they had gone way ahead of the regular pick-up area--out in the landing in the middle of the roads. Thanks to an 'eagle eye" Sister, she spotted them from a covered walkway to the car rental area. It still took us five minutes to get to them, but my they were happy to see us---(and a little mad that we had not found them sooner.) Such luck, on both ends of their day--- stranded without phones! Both times they asked to borrow phones, but both times they didn't have the right contact numbers! Well, too long a story, but funny and maybe a good reference for our future grandkid's missions. Final scene: We are just ready to leave and the Zone Leader jumps out of his car, runs back to us and says, "Oh Elder and Sister Pettit, we almost forgot! tomorrow morning we wonder if you could pick up an Elder coming in at the bus station at 5:00 a.m." He was great with the bluff!
With all the changes in Elders and Sisters, our chances to teach investigators has been much less, and we worry about some who have testimonies but can't seem to get over their problems so they can join the church. We realize how hard it is to change so much in their lives and continually try to support them and especially pray for them. There are some great ones that are progressing though--a few are in our classes, and one is getting baptized on Saturday. It is so amazing to see how many investigators come to church, no matter where we are.
Our weeks are getting quite routine, With no other nights open we are starting an English class that has been a big request for awhile, on Monday evenings--mostly for nonmembers and single members, Tuesday is YSA and some stake committee meetings, Wednesday Job Search class (12 weeks) , Thursday, Finance class (12 weeks), Friday/ Saturday YSA activity, Saturday night (for a few weeks ahead) filling in for a class in Limerick (2 hours away) Sunday, speak and teach ---all around Ireland, Sunday night Foundations class in Clondalkin (1/2 hour away) (12 weeks) With most of our events we are doing some kind of treat and finding which things work out --and which don't. Scones just can't seem to rise, and the waffles irons we searched to find, don't seem to get hot enough to make great waffles, but we did have margin success at chocolate chip cookies--using chopped up candy bars.
We are happy to be busy now, but we think it will not continue when the summer vacation (holiday) time comes---so think about July and August as good times to come visit us. The days will be even longer--but no promise of much sunshine.
In our travels we have been thinking of some Irish word and name guessing games for the Grandkids:
Which are real Irish towns?
Dunfanaghy Blessington, Carrickfergus, Leprechaunsey, Holywood, Castleknock, Smithfield
(only one is NOT)
What are the meanings of these words: Slan: park bench , so long, bridge
Amach: exit, greetings, school
Ramps: bridge, sidewalk, speed bumps
Aiereforte: fortress wall, tower, airport
Ta: Hi, Yes, Bye,
Nil: No, gone, don't worry
Another thing we want to share when we don't have a lot of news are some of the heroes we have met: There are saints and then there are SAINTS! We know a man who is a taxi driver and works long hours every day. When he is not driving, his wife also has a license and she drives the taxi. Sometimes he comes in for meetings, then when others are going home, he goes back out "to make a few more bob". The remarkable thing we learned about him is that he dedicates Thursdays to visiting people who are less active that he has known through his years of leadership, or people who are shut in, or people who don't seem to have friends. A month ago he woke up to find his taxi had been stolen! Someone had broken into his house and taken the keys and then the car. It was devastating, but they had faith, prayed and did all the searching they could. Quite astonishingly they found the car in just a few days in a parking lot. It had a lot of special equipment for taxi driving and nothing had been taken. It was such a testimony that he was such a righteous man that his car--his livelihood was protected.
We are blessed with good health and safety. The blessing of safety is significant because Grandma started driving! She figured that if little 19-year-old Sisters could drive, she should try. It wasn't that bad, and best news of all Grandpa didn't have a heart attack! She only got honked at once when she was on the wrong side of the road--but the road was just a dead end thing--so it was a little nervey to honk! We are glad to hear that Emmy is now driving so much. Great news!
Last of all, we are feeling more and more the inspiration behind the Self Reliance programs. When you get time you could go on the Church website and look at some of the material, but until you really get into the lessons with real people and see how it affects their lives, it will possibly not be as powerful as we feel it is. Unfortunately, it isn't being adopted as easily as it should be. Not all people are anxious for the changes it would bring--because it does take a lot of commitment, but we are feeling our testimony of the prophecy behind it and hope for things to grow as we try to be patient.
We surely love you all--and of course, busy or not we miss you. We hope things are well for each of you and that you will continue to do the things that will bless your lives, our family, and the growth of the Kingdom. You are always in our prayers and thank you for keeping us in yours.
Love and Hugs!
Mom and Dad, Grandma ad Grandpa, Lynne and Lanette
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