Tornado Warnings - 04/13/15 (Charleston, IL)

Dear Friends and Family,

I hope that everyone has had a pretty great week, it sounds like everyone is doing well. The weather is starting to change out here and summer is on its way! Temperatures have been up and the humidity is being felt more and more every day. It has rained quite a bit through out the week, luckily we've had the car. But this week we will be on foot, so hopefully the weather clears up. We were hoping the weather was going to clear up today, if it does we are going to go hiking! Well considering where I am at, it might just be walking... But a member is taking us out to a place called Fox Ridge, which is supposedly pretty awesome! I miss Hiking a lot, so I look forward to being able to go.

This week was a little rough, not sure why.. But it did go by really fast. We missed seeing a few of our investigators but we did manage to talk with a lot of people, and brighten a few days for several people! 

We saw our Investigator Aaron, his Dad Duane met with missionaries forever, but works so much he was never able to be baptized. Aaron just got out of jail about a month ago, he has an Aunt and uncle who are active members of the church in the Tuscola branch. We sat and talked with Aaron for a while and immediately began to tell us about how he is going to be purchasing a Harley Motorcycle soon and really wants to be baptized before he makes the purchase! haha! We set a baptismal date with him for May 16, and will be meeting with him this week to start getting him ready for that date. 

Sharon still has her baptismal date for may 2, which is the last Saturday of the transfer! last week she had texted us and told us that she wouldn't be able to be baptized because her husband didn't want her to be... We all fasted and prayed that his heart would be softened. Two days later Sharon texted us and said "My husband said I could be baptized". We asked her what changed his mind? She said " I don't know. We never discussed it further. He just said he thought about it." That was definitely a blessing! There is true power in Prayer.. 

We went on exchanges this week with the Effingham Elders, Elder Campbell worked in Charleston with Elder Thompson and I went down to Effingham with Elder Blaylock. We had a great time, we tracted a lot and met several potential investigators. We got to do service at a Green House and got fed lunch and dinner by some members! Then at about 7pm it just started pouring rain and then it started to hail. There was thunder and lightning everywhere. We were in the car and got a text message alert that said "TORNADO WARNING! SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY". We drove as fast as we could back to the apartment and watched the storm for most of the night! We saw the sky turn green, which is a sign of a tornado.. but I don't think one ever touched down in Effingham. The Paris sisters called us and told us that there was one that was going to touch down in paris. Luckily we are all just fine and everything is good now! It was probably the most exciting exchange I have had since going to East St Louis! 

I finished reading the Book of Mormon this morning! I didn't quite make it by conference, but I was close and I did finish, so that was amazing! Reading the Book of Mormon over the past few months has really opened my mind up and has greatly deepened my Testimony of the reality of our Heavenly Father and in our Savior Jesus Christ, they truly love each of us more than we can know or understand. Christ's atonement is real and we can use it every day to slowly become better than we were yesterday! The Book of Mormon has strengthened my testimony of Joseph Smith, I know he was a prophet.. To go through everything he went through, to be mocked, rejected, beaten, imprisoned, tar and feathered, he died and sealed his testimony with his blood to bring forth The Book of Mormon and this gospel. He was a prophet of God. "By their fruits shall ye know them" 

I think that is about all I have to report for this week,  this should be a pretty good week for us here, the mission as a whole is doing really well. We had 5 people mission wide get baptized this last week, with 105 people who have accepted baptismal dates! I love and miss you all, until I report again next week... 

Elder Chase Peterson