Lo Ovalle 2 #1

11.28.11

This last week was a pretty good week for us.  I still don't know everybody in this sector and I'm just following my companion around everywhere but we are having a great time.  This sector is a pretty rich sector so everybody here has nice houses and stuff.  We are going to have some baptisms here pretty soon and we are excited for that.  Everybody here calls me elder besito which means elder kiss haha because I explained to them that Peck is like a little kiss.  Ive already got in pretty good with the ward and so we should be having a good time here.  Not much to report this week because I still don't know whats really going on here haha.

In my studies Ive been reading in the New Testament a lot.  I have been reading especially about the Pharisees and the letter of the law and the spirit of the law.  We need to always be sure that we can discern the right moments to follow the spirit of the law rather than the letter of the law. 

That's about it for me this week.  Sorry for the short email again.  Have a great week!

Love Elder Kiss

Vivaceta #19

11.21.11

Well... I got changed.  I honestly was destroyed when I got the news.  I really did not want to leave Vivaceta.  It was wayyyy hard saying goodbye to Marcelo and his family.  I honestly dont think Ive cried that hard in long time haha.  Im mostly just really worried because Marcelo got really upset and said he doesnt want to continue going to church now because the changes have affected his family too much and the kids are only getting more and more sad because of it.  I tried helping them but Im not sure whats going to happen.

Anyways, this last week was a good week in the sector.  We literally found a family that was the most prepared I had ever seen in my mission.  We went in and had the most spiritual lesson ever and when they went to church, they were crying all sacrament meeting.  The Spirit wa s very powerful in church and they are getting baptized for sure in the next few weeks.  

Now Im in the sector Lo Ovalle 2.  My companion is Elder Hanson from Idaho.  He has one more change than me so it should be pretty good here.  Im not sure how many investigators we have or what the members are like but hopefully its all good here.

Sorry I didnt have much to write this week.  Please pray for Marcelo and his family they really need it right now.
Love Elder Peck

Vivaceta #18

11.14.11

Mas vale perder un segundo de la vida que la vida en un segundo

For those of you who dont speak spanish, the title says ¨Its more worth it to lose a second of life than lose the life in a second¨.  Its a chilaen saying and its been making me think a lot.

ANYWAYS, we had the most powerful lesson of my whole mission yesterday.  Let me explain....

So, last week I mentioned that we were going to do that big object lesson with Marcelo and his family.  The mom ended up avoiding us all week and it was very frustrating.  We would show up at their house and she would be ¨sick¨ or have some kind of excuse.  I finally told Marcelo how I felt and that I was getting tired of how she was acting.  Saturday night, Marcelo called and said that she wanted us over sunday night for an FHE.  We both looked at each other and thought here is our chance to finally tell her whats up.  So we showed up sunday evening at like 6.  We played a little bit of soccer with the kids and Marcelo outside and then we kinda just hung out with the family for a little bit inside.  The mom was in the back room AGAIN and didnt look like she was going to come out.  She finally came out a little while and later and started making us some dinner.  She came out with the dinner and we all sat around the table and chatted a little bit.  Then, Marcelo looked at me and told me to tell her what I had been thinking and feeling the week before.  So, I took a huge breath and the Spirit took over.  I started saying how we had been coming by a lot and never able to get much done with the family because there was always something wrong and it was hard to feel the Spirit in the house.  I told her that we were very frustrated and worried for weeks because we didnt know what was going on and she didnt even want to talk to us.  She went on to apologize and say that she felt bad because she was just really sad when my last companion had left.  She said she didnt think that the changes were fair and that she felt like her progress and the progress of the family was held back because of the big change.  

This is where it gets good haha.  So, I really wanted to do that chalk lesson like I said last week but it was already dark outside and one of their daughters was sick.  Then, I remembered that my companion had a little white board in his backpack with some markers. I went and grabbed it and then I drew a big box.  I told them that it represented eternal life and that they had to write what the expect it to be for them or how they want it to be.  They all wrote something about being with the family.  Then we went on to explain the 5 steps of the Gospel and how they can receive all their blessings if they are obedient.  The mom went on to kind of make some excuses (like most people) saying that one has to be ready for these things or that people cant be obligated.  A scripture from the book of James came to my mind at that point and I told her ¨Faith without works is death in itself.  You believe in God?  Thats great, so do the devils, and they tremble.¨  After that point she got quiet and I went on to explain that if they dont act now as a family, they will never receive the blessings that are waiting for them in the life after.  She started crying after that she said that she had been realizing that last week that she was the one destroying the family and holding them all back.  Marcelo had been talking with her a lot about how she hadnt been raising her kids with God in their lives and that now is their only chance and shes rejecting it.  She had been seeing a great change in her kids and her ¨husband ¨ (they still arent married) and how she kinda felt left out since shes not home much.  I felt the strongest impression ever to invite her to be baptized on the 25 of December.  I then told her that we want them to be baptized as a family on Christmas day so that they can all enjoy the blessings that God has waiting for them after this life.  I asked them all if they would prepare themselves for that date.  I think it was the longest 3 seconds of silence I had ever experienced in my life.  She finally looked at me and said that she knows she needs to but she is going to think about it and talk with Marcelo.  We invited her to pray about it and we left them with Alma 7 to read.  

This week will be a very hard week for me.  I already have 3 changes in this sector and its very possible that Im going.  Ive been 3 changes in all my other areas and Im just not sure whats going to happen next sunday.  Ive been praying very hard that I wont be changed yet because I feel like my work isnt done with this family.  Marcelo last week actually had a really hard time because he knew that changes were coming up.  One day he sat us down and he said that he will stop going to church if I leave because he doesnt feel like the changes are fair.  We finally calmed him down and now he knows why he needs to keep going to church but I its going to be really hard for all of us.  Ive been thinking a lot lately about coming back down to Chile after the mission.  These people that Im meeting here are sooo far away from home and its expensive to come down here but I want to do everything I can to come down here and see these people.  

Anyways, that was our sunday night haha.  Have a great week everybody!

Love Elder Peck

Vivaceta #17

11.7.11

26 NUEVOS!!!!

This last week we found.....26 NEW INVESTIGATORS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I really dont know how we found so many, but everyday we got into houses like crazy.  We were able to find some very good investigators and invite them to be baptized.  Of course, they all have their doubts but through the teachings and their commitments, they will get baptized.

 

Other than those new investigators we had a great week.  Michel and Tomas are doing really well.  They werent able to go to church because Tomas is struggling in school and might have to repeat a year so they were doing homework all day.  Marcelo and his family arent doing too good.  We went over friday afternoon and he told us that his wife told Camila that if she gets baptized then she will get really upset with her.  SO Camila was pretty upset and down about that. Ive been doing a lot of studies especially for this lesson.  We decided that we are going to play a game.  We are going to draw 5 stepping stones on the ground with chalk.  At the end is the Celestial Kingdom and all of them are going to write things in there that they want for after this life.  Of course they will all write family because it is the most important thing to them.  We will then go on to explain that Jesus Christ taught us that there are 5 steps to reach eternal life with our families.  We will start with Victoria, who is already baptized, and we will say that the first step is faith.  Faith requires action which is going to church, praying, and reading.  We will ask if she has shown her faith by doing these things.  She will take the first step.  After, we are going to describe repentance and that whole process.  We will then ask if Victoria has repented of her sins and she will say yes then take the next step.  THEN comes baptism and shes been baptized and then she will move on to the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end and then arrive to the end.  NEXT we will ask Marcelo, Camila and the mom the same questions.  Of course Marcelo and Camila will take the first step and the mom wont because they are going to church, reading and praying.  Then they will move on to the repentance step but then be stuck because the mom is holding them back from baptism and eventually being with Victoria.  Basically we want the mom to realize how much she is holding her own family back from following Jesus Christ. We are hoping the mom finally realizes whats going on with the family and that she will let them get baptized.  THe bishop is also going to help us in other appointment with them wednesday night and he will probably just talk to her about doctrine haha.  Hes pretty hard on people but he knows how to get it done.  He has help us a lot with investigators and helping them get married.

 

In my studies recently, I have been reading in chapter 10 of Preach My Gospel.  Its basically a chapter about how we can teach better so that the people understand and progres better.  Our lessons have been getting really really good lately and its all thanks to Preach My Gospel. 

 

Elder Quentin L. Cook came and spoke to our mission and the east mission saturday morning.  It was awesome to see an Apostle walk into the room.  He greeted all of us with a handshake and then we heard him speak.  He talked a lot about how we can teach better and be better missioaries.  He said the first thing we should always do is love the people.  He spoke of Dan Jones and how when he was a missionary wayyy back in the day, he would teach people sitting on the ground because he didnt want them to give up their seats for him.  He had so much success because of the love he really showed the people he taught.  He also told us that we should go out of our personality or our personal bubble to really reach out to the people we teach and the members in our ward. 

 

Im having an awesome time with Elder Donohoo right now.  THe ward loves us sooo much and it is soo much fun seeing the members and messing around with them.  We have a great relationship with the bishop.  The bishop has really loved working with us and sees the results of our work with him.  President Essig actually called us the other night to see how things were going with the ward.  The stake president had expressed some concerns because the missionaries before us didnt have a great relationship with the ward or the bishop.  I explained to President that we have been working really well wth the bishop and that he is one of the best bishops I have seen in Chile so far.  Missionaries usually just dont understand how to work well with the leaders and especially how to work well with the bishops.  I have seen many blessings from working really close with him and his counselers.  I love this ward and I hope I never get changed out of it but I know it will probably happen soon. 

 

Have a great week everybody!

Love Elder Peck