So Many Exchanges!

Hello everyone!

We had a super busy week! Elder Alonso and I went on five exchanges this week! Four of them were with zone leaders, and one was with a new missionary. Super cool, we get to visit all 8 zones in the mission.

Us and the sisters did a paper airplane themed Booth on the campus of San Diego State University. The idea was you make and throw a plane, get a piece of candy, then we talk to you about how it takes faith to fly the paper airplane. You need to have faith that your design will be good, and you need to do the work to actually make the plane. We had some good conversations with that, but we probably won't do that again haha.

We had a baptism for Giana Pizzo! I dropped the ball and didn't get a picture with her, but it was probably the most spirit-filled baptismal service I've ever been to. Elder Alonso and I both gave talks, and President Giménez spoke as well. His testimony is so powerful. It was awesome because Giana had a lot of non-member family members there!

We drove to El Cajón Sunday night to give some of Elder Alonso's homemade banana bread to Tom. Tom is an older guy who joined the church about 7 years ago. Almost as soon as he joined, he started housing missionaries. Then he became a service missionary himself! He is super cool, and Elder Alonso used to live in his house for a few transfers. It was Tom's birthday, so we had to drop by.

We have zone conference tomorrow and Thursday! We will be giving a training on Finding New People to Teach, which will be fun!

Tons of pictures this week! Including the bowling pics from last P-day. I am trying to get a picture with the other missionary on every exchange, i missed one of them though. 

I hope everyone has a good week!!

Elder Pettit

"It's Time To Hang Up Mr. Jordan's T-Shirt!"

Hello everyone!

This last week has been crazy! Super busy and lots going on. Since last P-day was also transfer day, Elder Alonso and I, as well as the Senior Sister Training Leaders (like AP equivalent for the sisters in my mission) went with President and Sister Giménez to the airport. We were there for a few hours waiting for and picking up new missionaries. When we were standing at the bottom of the same escalator that I came down in July, waiting for the new arrivals, my heart started beating fast like I was the new missionary again!! 

It's been to pretty cool to spend more time with the mission president and his wife and get to see how they plan things, how they are when it's just us and them. Wen we arrived at the airport to wait for for new missionaries, President Giménez told me that I will likely be the assistant through the transition of the new mission president in July. He also said that the incoming president will likely want me to stick around for 2 or 3 more transfers after! So I could be here a while haha!

For the last several transfers, our mission has had a goal of hitting 23 baptisms in one month. We came close last month, but it looks like we will hit it this month. We are at 20 already, with 6 more scheduled for next week (one of them is in my new area!) 

President Giménez also refers to the goal of 23 as "retiring Michael Jordan's jersey". But yesterday, for some reason, he worded it differently on morning devo. He said, "We are very close to 23 baptisms! It's time to hang up Mr. Jordan's T-Shirt!" Super funny quote haha.

On Sunday morning, I, along with my companion and two other elders, got to go to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot to do sacrament meeting with them. There was quite a large group there actually, with about 1/3 of them being non members. We had a baptism for a recruit that wanted to join the church, and I got asked to conduct the baptism. There isn't an actual chapel on the base, so by extension, there is no font. We borrowed a portable baptismal font from the Pentecostals! It was basically a box on wheels, about the size of a large office desk. So, we had that out in the courtyard with all the marines standing around watching. To start off the service, I said "Good morning, everyone!" and all the marines replied with "Good morning, sir!" In unison. Pretty cool experience haha.

Afrer sacrament meeting is the time where we basically pair off with the marines and either teach them, or give them blessings. I gave 2 priesthood blessings to 2 marines. Another Elder found a marine who was interested in our message. He taught him all 5 of the lessons in about 30 minutes and that Marine will now be baptized in 2 Sundays. A lot of the marines are super prepared for the gospel. They have been made humble and receptive because of the high-stress environment they are in. So when they come to church and feel the Spirit, the difference for them is night and day. I'll keep going to the base every Sunday until I leave this area! Super grateful to be able to do so.

I got to go back to my last area, El Cajón, to attend the baptism of Alejandro! He's one of the kids Elder Stuart and I put on date to be baptized. His brother will be baptized in a few weeks as well.

YSA is a lot different than Spanish work! We have been walking around San Diego State University campus a lot to talk to people. We have a girl named Giana on date to be baptized on Saturday as well! I got to meet her and a lot of other cool people + recent converts this week.

We went bowling today with President and Sister Giménez and the SSTL's. First time I've seen President not in a suit haha!

Hope everyone has a good week!

Elder Pettit 

¡Adios A El Rey!

Well, another transfer is done!

I got a call from President Giménez on Sunday night, telling me I'd be the next Assistant to the President. So that was exciting! It means I'll be transferred again, another 6 week shaft! These last 6 weeks here in El Cajon have been awesome, my favorite area so far. I'm sad to leave this area and all the awesome members and people we are teaching, but as the hymn says, "I'll go where you want me to go"!

I'll be in a YSA (Young Single Adult) English ward, my first time in English work! My companion, Elder Alonso, will be going into his 4th transfer as AP, I'm excited to learn from him.

I got a picture with the Covarrubias family, the one with the two kids that will be baptized, Alejandro and Alex. Little kids speaking fluent Spanish is the cutest thing ever! I'll miss them for sure. We had to stop teaching a few people this week because they just wouldn't "experiment on the words" that we told them. One lady, Claudia, said she didnt want to read El Libro de Mormon because her pastor told her bad things about us. Elder Stuart and I went over there and tried so hard to help her see the truth and importance of the Book of Mormon, but at the end of the day, she didn't want to seriously consider the changes she'd need to make if it were true. Definitely one of the most depressing moments I've had on the mission. All the kids and teenagers we are teaching though are awesome. 

The Hermanas baptized someone into our ward on Saturday. Elder Stuart and I taught a full Plan of Salvation Lesson in front of the small congregation during the intermission. All of us missionaries in the El Rey ward sang a special rendition of Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing in Spanish at church on Sunday as well. One member told me I sang very well, but my companion was very bad, and he lacked voice. We thought that was pretty funny haha!

The mission has been such an awesome growth experience so far. I've learned and grown so much. There's so many things that happen every day that show me that God is real. That Christ lives. He's real! This is His work! Here's a good scripture I read the other day:

Phillipians 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

   

   11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

In a coming day, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ. That's our job as missionaries - to prepare the world for that day!:)

I hope everyone is doing well! I heard Tom Brady unretired? That's wild! My new companion, Elder Alonso, and I are going to go pick up some new missionaries at the airport in a bit! So crazy, it simultaneously feels like forever ago and yesterday that I flew into San Diego. I love the mission!

Con amor,

Elder Pettit

7 Days To Live

Hey everyone,

7 days left in the transfer! There are 4 missionaries going home after this one, so this is their last week. With that in mind, Elder Stuart and I encouraged every missionary in our zone to set a goal as if they only had "7 days to live" as a missionary. If you had 7 days left, for the rest of your life (doing anything, doesn't have to be missionary work), what would you do with it? So that's gotten everyone fired up to not limp through the finish line here.

We put 2 of the niños we are teaching on baptismal date! Alejandro and Alex are set to be baptized on March 19th, which is also my birthday! And the week after that, we are baptizing another niña named Hailey. This area, El Rey, is awesome. We have so many cool people we are teaching- so many that are actually progressing. Life is good!

Gas is expensive, especially here. If you're wondering what the chair picture is about, that was at our last district council. Each chair that we are sitting on represents how many transfers we have left. The people on the floor are going home next week haha.

Hope things are going well with all yall!

Elder Pettit 

9 Months

Another good week of missionary work! We tried setting up a family home evening, or "Noche de Hogar", to try to get some of our friends to meet the members. We ate some pretty good soup, and next to the soup was a bowl of salsa. Without checking to see how spicy it was, I threw 4 large scoops into my soup. It was so spicy. I drank 4 whole water bottles to get through a single bowl of soup! The members told me I didn't need to eat it, but I was trying to prove a point!

We had a 45 minute conversation with two Bhuddists in a park! That was interesting. They were super curious in our beliefs, so we basically taught them the Restoration and Plan of Salvation in one go.

Two of the lessons we had this week were probably my favorite ever. In both of them, we taught the Restoration. I love teaching the Restoration because of much weight is put on the Book of Mormon. If the Book of Mormon is true, it means everything! If it's not, then nothing about our religion is true. And the coolest thing is, is that anyone can receive a spiritual witness of its truthfulness for themselves. Teaching that to people and seeing their minds open is amazing. Missionary work is awesome.

My sweet Grandma, Arlene Weber Pettit, passed away this week surrounded by family. She was always a great example to me and everyone else of love and faithfulness. Very tough, but we all know she truly is, as they say, in a better place, awaiting an even better reward and rest. Here's a memory I recalled the other day:

I remember one time when my family and I were at Grandma and Grandpa's house, and I was probably ten years old. I was jumping around on the couches,  being the energetic "bam bam" kid that I was, who just couldn't sit still. I jumped on the couch, or did something, that made the couch hit the table behind it. Some porcelain cup or bowl shattered and broke into a million pieces all over the place. I felt bad because everyone had told me not to jump around, and I didn't listen. So I went and hid and cried. Grandma found me and gave me a big hug and a kiss and told me, "Oh honey, you know I love you. You are so much more important than that cup. Don't worry about it." She always was so loving! What a great example for everyone.

I hope everyone has a great week. Enjoy the time you have with friends and family! The saying, "This too shall pass" applies to both good times and bad!

Con mucho amor,

Elder Pettit