Vivaceta #7

8.29.11

This is...the big email!

That email title is a tribute to Steve Pratt and ¨The Swimming¨.  Anyways, changes were last night and Im still with my companion.  Not sure what to think about that haha but I´ll try my hardest to help him out.  I was kind of upset to find out I wasnt going to be training a new missionary and there are a lot of younger missionaries training.  I´ll just have to keep going forward and hopefully one day it will happen.

So, President has changed A LOT about the mission.  Before, the mission was like this.  There were two zone leaders that were companions and there were usually 5 district leaders in each zone.  The districts usually only consisted of 4 missionaries and the trainers were usually the district leaders.  Now, there are still two zone leaders but they also train new missionaries so they arent together as companions.  There are only 3 district leaders now and the districts have about 10 missionaries in them.  I am no longer district leader haha but mostly because all the trainers are also leaders so since Im not training Im not up there.  

We had a pretty ahrd week again.  Not a lot of success in terms of numbers but quite a bit of success in terms of learning.  Ive been learning a lot about obedience and really how important it is in our daily lives.  Ive never been the most obedient person in the world but here in the mission, Ive been trying really hard.  Before the mission, I never really understood the rules or commandments.  I always tried to keep the rules and everything but I never liked doing it.  Here in the mission, there are so many rules that are little and dumb and dont make a lot of sense but as you see other missionaries fall from the little mistakes your testimony really grows.  There are days when I think to myself ¨why should I even wake up.  If I sleep in I´ll have more energy and I will be able to work better.¨  But then I know if I get up on time and do all my studies that I need to, I will be ready for the lessons we have that day and I will have the Spirit even stronger with me.  Everyday is a huge battle against Satan here and he is doing everything possible to try and slow us down.  He knows everything we are teaching is true and hes trying so hard to win a battle he will never win.  In the MTC, we had a devational where the speaker told us to think every morning ¨how can I make Satan angry today?¨  Ive been trying to apply that everyday haha because I know hes happy when we give in to temptaion.  I know he gets mad everytime I knock a door or everything I go into a lesson.    

Anyways, thats my email for this week.  I challenge you all to make Satan mad this week.

Love Elder Peck

Vivaceta #6 (plus answered questions & pictures)

8.22.11

Hey everybody just a quick update.  This will probably be another short email since there isnt much going on right now.  Me and my companion are doing a little bit better.  I decided I just needed to sit him down and tell him how it is.  I basically told him that if he cant get over the little things in his companions and just be happy with people then it will be hard for him to have success.  Hes finally realizing that true success comes from happiness as a missionary so hes been working a little bit harder.

Todays a pretty sad day for me because Elder Moore is going home next week.  I lived with him in Los Conquistadores when I first started the misison and we set up a big bbq with him and some converts of ours.  It was great seeing him and all our old friends but hard saying goodbye.  I cant imagine what that day will be like for me.  Im going to finish a year in the mission in just a couple of weeks so Im trying hard not to think about the end and Im trying to focus on today but it can be hard sometimes.  We have been having a lot of success lately in getting references from members but we just need to get these people to church.  We are hoping to have a couple baptisms this next month but the people here are just a little too lazy haha.  I have a personal goal of 16 baptisms before I go home so that I can have 20 as a total.  

Anyways, thats about it for me this week.  Sorry once again for the short email but not much to write about.  The end of this change is coming up this next sunday and a lot of new missionaries are arriving so Im hoping to train a newbie!

Thats crazy how Eli is leaving already for college.  Im pretty excited to see him leave for the mission then come back a grown man haha.  Hes already grown up a lot but as we all know people grow up on the misison....except for elder zander he went backwards.  I definately love this work.  There is nothing better than these two years I am experiencing right now.  There are days when I just wish I could go home or that time would go faster but then there are other days when I wish time would stop here so that I could do this forever.  Im sure every missionary knows how I feel haha.  Im pretty excited that time is going by fast though.  I never thought before the mission how hard it really was to leave everything behind.  Its pretty crazy that Ive been in a foreign country for almost a year.  Speaking a different language is fun too plus all the friends Im making in the mission is awesome.

Love Elder Peck


1.        What was your favorite thing from your last package that we sent?  (I sent you a jump rope because you said it was hard to get in exercising so I hope that helps a little).

 I really liked the glasses haha but yeah the jump rope was nice even though Ive been pretty lazy with my excersise time in the morning

2.        When are transfers?  Do you hope you can stay where you are for awhile?

 Im hoping to stay here for at least 6 months.  Ive never been in a sector that long but they are starting to do that more often so that missionaries can create a good bond with the ward.  transfers are coming up this next sunday and im hoping to train!

3.        How’s teaching going?  How many investigators do you have right now?
 We have quite a few investigators but they dont progress!!  they never do haha so we are contantly finding more.  Marcelo (his daughter got baptized last week) is awesome.  Hes pretty much a member already but his wife just needs to leave so he can get baptized
4.       Have you ever used that building block (or cups) idea I sent to teach about the restoration?  If so, would you like more ideas like that or not?
 No I havent beause I havent had a lot of time to put it all together and stuff but maybe if you guys have any cool plan of salvation stuff you coul send?
5.       Tell us one cool thing that happened this week.
 This week.... We walked in to ask this kid to come out and do some appointments with us and hes the only member in his family.  The family is really nice and stuff its just that they are too lazy to go to church or they would already be members.  we walked in and his little sister whos 7 wanted a blessing.  she also told us that she turns 8 soon and wants to get baptized!!  so we will be teaching her sometime today or tomorrow.
6.       Do you ever bless the sacrament there?
 We passed it this last week because there are NO youth in this ward.  Ive never blessed the sacrament but Im guessing I will have to pretty soon cause this ward is getting smaller every week haha. 
7.       When does Spring/Summer start there?
spring is starting right now.  its usually still cold at night but its getting pretty warm during the day.  it sucks cause we go out without jackets and it gets really cold at night and we have to go back and pick them up.

Also some pictures:

Ty with his first Chile Comp.

looks like he must not walk much....

Picture Update!!

I've created a new 'page' where we will post photos from his mission. They won't be in any sort of order but if you want to see pictures, that would be the best place to go. I'll still do occasional picture posts but there will always be pictures on that other page.

Ty and his first companion from the MTC Elder Larsen

His bed area

His study desk

the view from their apt. window

Their apt. kitchen

4th of July BBQ

Vivaceta #5

8.15.11

WE HAD A BAPTISM!!!! WOOHOOOHOHOWHWOHWO!!!!  This week was very hard for us though.  Marcelo was going to be baptized also but he couldnt because his ¨wife¨ refuses to marry him beause she hates our church.  She is going to leave at the end of the year so he can finally get baptized but hes been really down lately.  His daughter Victoria got baptized though and he was very happy to see that.  Hes one of the greatest investigators I have ever heard of in my life.  He is about halfway through the BOM and goes to church and gets there on time.

Anywyas short email sorry but I dont have a lot of time today since Ive been pretty sick.  Have a great week!

Love Elder Peck

Vivaceta #4

(Sorry I got behind...)

8.8.11

Ok!  This week was a good normal week haha.  Not much to report other than we are still working hard and having a great time.  My companion had a rough weekend though.  He was saying how he didnt imagine the mission to be this hard and he was thinking it was because he wasnt ready.  I tried telling him that I had worse weeks before but he was still pretty down.  I told him basically that a successful missionary is always happy no matter what happens and if he´s happen that success will come to him.  He got really excited after that haha so he´s doing better.  He kind of has 2 personalities so its pretty hard sometimes haha.  He likes having Jedi battles with himself in his sleep and makes the sound effects while he is sleeping.  I like hearing the lasers and lightsabers and the screams haha. 
We didnt end up having our baptism yesterday but we will for sure this saturday.  Marcelo is getting married wednesday and then baptized saturday with his daughters.  Well, hopefully both of his daughters haha one of them is really lazy sometimes and doesnt go to church so I will have to make sure shes ready.  We have had to drop a lot of investigators beacuse of lot of people dont progress but thats just kind of how the mission is here.  Someday they will be with the missionaries again though and hopefully they will come to their senses then.  Ive been learning a lot this week about how to focus on peoples needs and not on my wants.  Ive been trying a lot to change the lessons according to what they need so that they can progress.  Ive been seeing a lot more people progress that way.
Well, sorry for the short update again but not much going on.  Have a great week!
Love Elder Peck

Vivaceta #3

8.1.11

 

We had a very good week.  We worked hard and we saw success from it.  Not much interesting to report haha so sorry if this one is short.  This ward is a lot better than the other wards I´ve been in so Im a little bit more happy.  We are going to have 2 maybe 3 baptisms this coming week!!!  Its my frist baptism since feb. so Im pretty excited.  Its my companions first baptism in the mission so hes pretty excited too.  Me and him are doing really good.  Its just weird talking spanish 24/7 haha.  Hes a little bit shy in the street sometimes and doesnt really know what to say when we visit the members or at meals with the members so I usually talk the whole time which can be hard since its a second language haha.  Ive been learning a lot about diligence this last week.  As we continue working hard we continue seeing success.  Sometimes that Kanahele told me was ¨When you do what you´ve done, what get what you´ve always got.¨  It kinda means to me that when we work hard, we continue seeing the success that we had before.  If we ever let up just a little bit, the success will slow down.  Ive been trying to set a good example for my companion since he is very new in the mission and sometimes he can lack a little bit of motivation haha. 

Thats about it for me this week, sorry about the short email.  Have a great week everybody!

Love Elder Peck