Latter-day Saint Life

A Miraculous, Life-Changing Phone Call: LDS Missionary Converses with Older Sister for the First Time

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What a beautiful story and wonderful Christmas miracle for this family.

For tens of thousands of missionaries, Christmas Day meant phone calls home to excited moms, dads, brothers, and sisters.

But for Elder Joseph Peterson, his phone call from Ukraine to his family in Portland, Oregon, went far beyond swapping holiday wishes and sharing a few missionary stories.

This year’s family Christmas phone call was “life-changing.”

For the first time, Elder Peterson had a conversation with his older sister, Emily. The 25-year-old woman has Rett Syndrome, a rare genetic neurological disorder that began in early childhood. The disease has diminished Emily’s motor skills and stolen her ability to speak.

“The last words Emily ever said, when she was 8-years-old, were ‘thank you’,” said her mother, Julie Peterson.

Lead image from Deseret News
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