Wow Family! Y'all are all wrong; I am not in Chapel Hill I am in Wake Forest. I am finally in the Raleigh Zone. There were two Elders in the Wake Forest 1st and Wake Forest 2nd ward. Elder Furhiman and Elder Wilding were there and Elder Furihman was Elder Clingers companion in the MTC.
Oh Jessica got baptized this Saturday and Confirmed on Sunday. I heard it was beautiful. I wish I could have been there. Back to Wake Forest, So President opened up Wake Forest 1st to full-time Elders. It has been a struggling area. Member trust has been up and down and it got so bad that they had to bring......yes they had to bring SISTERS in! Elder Chambers transferred in to be Elder Furihman companion. He is a stud; he has been out four and half months. He served in Jacksonville and is from Denver Colorado. He went to BYU-I before his mission. Elder Furihman is his companion and like I said came out with Elder Clinger so he has been out 3 months. He is from Chandler Arizona and is a great new missionary! Elder McRae is from Kaysville and is my companion! I love this guy so much! He took Davis High to the Ship his senior year and then went and played soccer in Iowa before his mission. We live in our own apartment but we live in the same complex. He seriously has the potential to be one of my favorite companions.
I interviewed with President this week, he said something that rocked my world. He just looked at me and said Elder Taylor Blaine Petersen, you aren't the same Elder Taylor Blaine Petersen I met in the mission home almost two years ago. I am proud of whom you have become and there is no doubt in my mind that you will continue to live a righteous life after your mission and then to one day soon get married in the temple. You will be successful at whatever career you choose." It was really awesome and real comforting! I had a lot of anxiety about coming home but now it is all gone! I am excited to be who I have become! We have an amazing Ward! It is huge and it sounds like they have gone through the refiner’s fire with trials and tribulations. With unemployment and with lifes challenges! They have done what the Lord wants them to do, Believe and Follow and Rely on him! The faith of the ward here is so incredible! Testimony meeting is awesome. Our Bishop, Bishop McEwen is a stud. Bro Larson is a stud and is our Ward Mission Leader! He is young and on fire. Our first day here we were biking to the Chamber of Commerce, then we were doing service for Bro Jackson and he had an angry rooster that needed to be killed so I chased it down and I wacked it with a broom stick. I didn't kill it but it ran into the woods to hide, it was funny. When we got here our first night the Elders had an appointment set up with us for a guy named Steve Fritz. Steve is a great guy and has such a strong desire to do well, but he has no belief in God. We are trying and we as missionaries and a member fasted in behalf that he will connect, that his desire to do well is because of the great feeling God showers upon those who are willing to serve His Children. We are moving into our new apartment and we didn't have a shower curtain or some other odd things it was funny trying to survive without it all! I just love the mission it is so great! There is another woman who we are teaching, her name is Susan and she had two kids Eli and Sidrah. She is divorced. She reminds me a lot of Julie Murphy. I want to help her out so much and I hope she is willing to act on the spirit, she feels and loves the Gospel message. Her Children know a lot of ward members.
I love you guys so much and I am so grateful for your prayers letters and support! I love you all so much.

Love, Elder Taylor Petersen