Compania #12

3.12.12

This last week was a little harder than the week before....

 

So lets start off with Josselin.  Shes progressing very well in her testimony but this weekend her and Jose got in a little argument about the marriage.  We arent 100% sure what happened but she seemed very sad sunday in church.  We are going to give them a few days to work things out then we will probably try doing something.

 

The twins Katalina and Javier didnt show up to church.  We called their mom saturday night to verify everything and she said that they were going to church for sure and they didnt show up.  We tried calling but they didnt answer so we arent sure what happened there.  We gave them a baptismal date for the 25 of march but the mom was pretty hesitant.  She doesnt have a very strong tesimony since she was pretty pressured to get baptized by her husband a long time ago.  We are worried that they are going to hold the kids back quite a bit.  If it wasnt for them the kids would be very easy baptisms but I guess there is no such thing as an easy baptism haha!  Everybody person has their own doubt or struggle to get to the waters of baptism but its up to us to help them out so thats what we plan on doing. 

 

We talked to Bastian again this last week.  It was good to see him after like a month on vacation.  We talked to his mom this time who used to avoid us before and she told us that she is a member but hasnt gone to church for like 20 years.  She said that she really wants to come back and help her kids get baptized because their dad never let them before since he was very catholic.  They are seperated so it looks like the mom should be a huge help for us which is good. 

 

In these last couple of weeks Ive been reading a lot in Alma.  Ive been reading about the mission of the sons of Mosiah and the Anti Nephi Lehites and how converted they were.  There is one scripture that talks about how the people kneeled down as their enemies killed hundreds of them.  Their enemies finally realized how converted these people really were and dropped their weapons and also repented.  It talked about how the Lord has many ways to help people repent and that was one of them.  In this sector I really have noticed that we have to work different since we are in the middle of a huge city.  We have been trying to work with the members quite a bit and now we are going to start english classes.  We are hoping that the Lord can help us with our different ideas to bring more people to the truth! 

 

Thats it for me this week.  Have a great week!

Love Elder Peck

Questions:
1.        How did interviews go with Pres?

 Good and short,  We talked about me going home august 13th and we got that set up.

2.        Is Joselyn still lined up for baptism before transfers?
 Yes but Jose got mad in a little argument they had and left for a couple days but hes back....She was really sad in church yesterday so we are gonna give them a couple days to work things out. 
3.       How are the twins coming along?  So amazing that they are leading their family – hopefully they’ll all start going to church.
 The twins are really good but the mom is a huuuge anchor for them.  She holds them back a lot.  They didnt go to church yesterday and she didnt answer her phone when we called so we were kinda upset.  The kids would be baptisms easily if the mom would just cooperate.  The dad got home from working outside of santiago for a couple weeks so we are hoping that he is a little more excited.  I most likely wont be here for their baptism though. 
4.       What is one thing that is strongest in your testimony right now?
 I would definitely say the Restoration is the strongest part.  Everytime we talk about Joseph Smith and the first vision or when we watch the video there is a completley different Spirit in the room.  Quentin L. Cook mentioned that the first vision is the most powerful tool we have as missoinaries in our lessons.  I want to read more in The Teachings of Joseph Smith after the mission for sure. 
5.       What is something you learned this last week?
 This last week.....I read a looott in Jesus the Christ and I learned a lot about how he was in complete control of everything going around him all the time.  He could stop a storm, raise the dead, heal the sick, and curse a tree by the power of prayer and faith. 
6.       Have you been able to keep your apartment clean and tidy?  (you said it was a pig sty when you first got there at Christmas time)
 Yeah its decent right now.  When Whitmer left we did a huuuge cleanup and sometimes we get a little lazy but when I get stressed out I usually clean up everything wayy good. 
7.       What was your favorite item from your last package?
 The fish oil stuff!!  I got that package friday and its wayyyy good. 
8.       What is something you’d like in your next package?  (think birthday)
 I was thinking that you should send anymore packages to save money but mabye I could just by myself something. 
9.       What is your favorite time of day and why?
 10:30 PM when we finish planning and we can take off our church clothes and get into our PJ´s and just chill haha. 
10.   How is your relationship with your current Bishop and ward mission leader?
Its great.  This ward hasnt had a lot of success int he last couple years because of disobedient missionaries so the success we are having makes them very happy and they help a lot.  The bishop always has a huge smile on his face when he sees us.

Questions and Pictures

1.        Do you usually or ever have to help bless or pass the sacrament?

yes we usually help pass it because there is one active young man in our ward.  ive never blessed the sacrament in spanish though so maybe ill try doing that soon.

 2.        Are there branches in your mission where the missionaries end up being in the branch presidency?

No not here.  There are branches but the missionaries arent the presidents.  Thats more of in Argentina because there are tons of branches.  The older couple on easter island is in charge of that little branch. 

3.       How’s your new companion?  How long has he been out?

Hes awesome!  We have a lot of fun together and its nice because he knows how to work well and hard.  He has like 5 months in the mission but if I didnt know that I would have though at least 9 or 10 months. 

 4.       Is Elder Larsen in your zone?  I think his mom sent pictures of you  in an email.

No he is in a different zone but I got to see him friday and saturday for that 50 years of the mission.

 5.       Is Marcelo going to get baptized?  When I was preparing for my update yesterday I realized you said he wasn’t baptized. 

If he could get baptized right now he would be his wife doesnt want to agree to marriage or leaving.  We might just ask for permission from Pres. because Im pretty sure they are just together for the kids.  His daughter Camila is going to get baptized next sunday and her mom will most likely go to that. 

6.       What would you like for Christmas this

Ummm....wow I have no idea haha.  I was thinking that you guys could just send me a little package with a couple thigns and save the rest of the money that you would have spent for when I get home or for coming down here to pick me up.  I´ll be thinking of some presents you guys can send me though.

These are pictures we got from Ty's MTC comp.'s mom of the 50th celebration:

The Tripan Elders Peck, Clark, Larsen

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....

Renca 1 #16

6.27.11

So I just remembered that I forgot to write this blog email haha.  I only have about ten minutes so hopefully I can get everything. 

This last week was very very hard for us.  A lot of walking and  not a lot of lessons.  Nobody went to church again so we dropped all our investigators and we are starting from scratch.  We have a few promising investigators already but we will see if they go to church.  We had a conference with Pres. May because he leaves tomorrow.  We get our new president tomorrow also and we meet him saturday.  Pres May talking a lot about his personal life and how growing up he had a terrible family situatin.  He used basketball as his escape and ended up going to BYU where he met his wife.  He then servd his mission because she told him that she wouldnt marry anybody unless they are an RM.  He then served the mission but for the wrong reasonsut he learned quickly in the field why he was a missionary and why he was there.  Ive seen that in my mission also.  To be honest, up until the day before I entered the MTC I had no idea how I was going to survive this.  But as soon as I entered the MTC I had Clark and Larsen as my comps and they really helped me out.  I realized quickly here in the field that I am here for a reason and I need to stop thinking about myself and how much I miss home and just get to work.  I love the work and time is flying.  Have a great week evreybody!

Love Elder peck


Questions

1.       How does the milk taste there?
 The milk is great.  Tastes a little different but not much
2.        Do you want me to send peanut butter, or can you get good stuff there?
 Yeah send some JIF crunchy haha
3.       Do you need gloves?  Hat (for around the apartment)?
 I got gloves and my american eagle beanie that Amanda bought me a long time ago
4.       What has been your favorite thing you’ve gotten in a package?
 My favorite thing....probably tapes from the band haha but probably pictures and snacks.
5.       Do you get letters from anyone other than family?  How about packages?
 I only get emails and I get enough to keep me occupied for an hour and a half
6.        What is the most frustrating thing about your mission right now?
 Most frustrating thing is that NONE of our investigators go to church because its too cold as they say
7.       What is the most gratifying thing about your mission right now?
 Just preaching the Gospel with people in the street.  Its really satisfying knowing that people are getting something out of a 30 second conversation
8.       Have you met your new mission president yet?
 He comes in tomorrow but we meet him saturday
10.   What have you read in your scriptures lately that had a big impact on you?
 I read them everyday haha and right now Im in second Nephi.  Nothing too big lately other than things in my Patriarchal Blessing
11.   Are you still writing in your journal?

Yes I try to everyday

12.   Do you work a lot with some of the couple missionaries (like Jeanie and Joe)?  Are any of them fun?
 No we dont work with them haha they are out on Easter Island or in the office
13.   What are some things we’ve sent in packages that you wouldn’t want us to send again?
 Those weird dried apple things...They are like styrofoam
14.   Would you like me to send more medicine of any kind?
 For right now no
15.   What is your favorite thing about your mission so far?
 Favorite thing...I think just enjoying time with the people we meet.  I love just sitting down and talking about something over a nice hot cup of coffee! (its not real coffee but still good)
16.   Would you like us to send hand written letters once in awhile? 
 If you want...I dont really care because I hear the same thing in my emails
17.   Is there anything we, as your family, can do more to support you? 
 Just keep sending the occasional package haha

Photos from Chile!

Here are a lot of photos from Chile. Ty just got his Christmas package last week and in it was a cord to download his photos to the computer (finally). He didn't give captions with them except for a few though.

Elder's Peck and Kanahele. Ty's first day in Chile

Santiago, Chile Temple



Ty and his companion Elder Kanahele in front of the Temple
(notice he's wearing the tie I got him...=)



Elders Peck and Clark (old Comp. from MTC)

Add caption

Hermana Stevens and Elder Peck

I'm not sure what's up with all the thumbs up in these photos and the big hats, he says those hats are very popular down there... these pictures and one short email are all he's sent us today but he hopes he can get back on a little later they just didn't have time this morning. Here are some questions he answered

1.        Do you have a carbon monoxide detector?  If not, can you get one from the mission home?
 I have no idea why I would need one....
2.        Are fleas a problem in your apartment?
 Fleas arent a problem here at all
3.       How many investigators are you currently teaching?
 We have one investigator who has been on vacation and we are going there sometime this week to talk with him but we just had a baptism yesterday!!!
4.       Do you go to a ward council every week?
 No
5.       What is your favorite thing about Chile so far?
 Favorite thing is living with the coolest missionaries here and having a lot of fun while working hard with them
6.       What is your least favorite thing about Chile so far?
 The heat stinks

Los Conquistadores #6

12.20.10

Its almost Christmas already!  Its crazy that I will get to talk to people at home and what not.  I was hoping maybe Eli Luke and Braden could be there too because I really want to talk to them a little bit. 

So this last week wasnt anything special haha sorry it´s hard to get super interesting stories every week.  I do have one though.  So we were doing contacts and yelling at people´s doors (we yell at doors because there are fences around every building here) and we found a super old lady.  She is 78 and we had to sit right next to her and yell the whole lesson haha.  It was funny when my comp yelled the prayer into her ear.  So we taught her a couple lessons and then we showed up saturday.  She got super mad for some reason and we didnt know why.  She told us she got up at 4 AM and was waiting for us to pick her up for church.  We had told her it was sunday morning but she didnt believe us and told us to leave haha.  She was a little crazy so I dont think it would have gone anywhere anyways but she couldnt say our names and she called me Roberto and my comp Carlos. 

We are going into the city today to find a place to print out pics so we can frame them and give them to the families we took pictures with.  We were walking home the other night and some random non memeber family started talking to us and we asked if we could take pictures with them.  They let us in and we took pics around their tree and then made an appointment to go back.  It was super cool. 

Thats about it this week.  2 Nephi 29 is your guy´s assignment for FHE this week.  I was also reading in DyC the other day in section 3 and there is a scripture to Jose Smith about being called again to the work and I thought it was really cool.  Anyways,can´t wait for Christmas!

Love Elder Peck

Oh and I forgot to say Elder Hendricksen is living with us now.  Roth got transfered today and now the elder that mom blog stalked before the mission is living with me.  I havent met him yet because Roth was still packing but I´ll see him later tonight.

(He also went to the Santiago temple)

I forgot to mention the temple was crazy!  I understodd what was going on it was just weird haha thats it

Questions:

1. Grandpa wants to know what your apartment is like, especially the bathroom? Is it nice, or hard to get used to? Any Cockroaches?

Our apartment is ok the bathroom is good but its kinda ghetto at the same time.  its one of the worst in the mission i heard so its not too bad

2. Mom wants to know if you are wearing sunblock?

i havent been haha

3. How close are you to Santiago itself?

like 40 minutes by taxi

4. What do you drink mostly? Pop? Water?

we get pop at like every  house we go in to

5. Do you take a bus to the internet cafes, or is it close by?

we take taxis to internet there are some close by but super ghetto

6. What do you do, other than writing and laundry etc. on Pday? Any sight seeing?

mostly grocery shopping and shopping for you guys lately our laundry gets done by members we went bowling last week which was sweet

7. Can you see the Ande's mountains?

i think so haha im not sure but there are mountains so probly

8. Grandpa wants to know what kind of laundry facility you use?

members do laundry

9. Hows the language coming along? Do you feel like you're getting pretty good yet?

language is coming along good, i was talking to somebody from my mtc district the other day and they said that ive probly made the most progress but thats probly cause i live with a latino who speaks super fast haha .

10. What are your plans for Christmas morning?
in the morning study and stuff as usual then we are going to the house to call you guys and stuff

(and some Spanish)

Voy a tratar de escribir un email en español.  ¿Comó estai locos?  Chile is terrible bacan!  Tanto calor tambien.  Los miembros en nuestro barrio son los mejores y un miembro compró un regalo por mi.    anyways its way too hot to concentrate on spanish right now haha thats all i got for today

We get to talk to him Saturday!

Los Conquistadores #3

11.29.10

This week was awesome and super fast!  I HAD MY FIRST BAPTISM YESTERDAY!!!  His full name is Victor Hugo Garay Sachez and he is from Peru.  He is an awesome little guy.  I have some pics from my comps camera ill send in a little bit.  So since we are opening a new sector we havent had anybody to teach.  It has been really hard because we have no plans and we just get rejected by everybody everyday.  Saturday I was with elder Diaz for the day and we found an old guy and a family that let us in and wants to get baptized!  The family is super cool too they have a Shelley haha and they have a 2 yr old named Amanda.  It made me miss Shelley a lot haha.  We found another lady yesterday too and we are finally teaching a lot of lessons. 

We have been having a lot of fun here.  Time is going by way fast already and I hear it only gets faster.  The members here are awesome too and they love Elder Kanahele and me.  They are always giving us tons of food and drinks.  Our lunches are always huge too from the members.  We eat a lot everyday but work it all off walking around in the hot sun.  The food here is really good too.  Its hard not having American candy though and I havent gotten the package yet but mostly likely tomorrow. 

I dont really have anything else to say other than we have been blessed a ton already!  Im learning a ton and I love Chile!  The people here are crazy and I love all of them! 

Love Elder Peck

Questions we asked:
1.        Do you have to email your mission president every week?
Yes we email him every week

2.        Do you get to email friends and other fellow missionaries?
ya we can email pretty much anybody

3.       Are elders Larsen and Clark in your district/zone? 
larsen and clark are in different zones and i have only seen them a couple times

4.       If so, how often do you get together as a district/zone and do you get to talk to them?

5.       Is there a chance you will get transferred before Christmas?
 i could get transferred before Christmas but not likely since I will still be getting trained

6.       Do you eat more than 1 meal a day?  (Elder Larsen’s mom told me her son only eats 1 large meal a day and it’s been hard for him to adjust to that)
We eat a lot everyday

7.       What did you do for Thanksgiving?
 for thanksgiving I made fried rice and we bought some chicken and had a huge feast

8.       What do you want us to write to you about?
just write about whatever

9.       How often do you write in your journal?  Do you need another one sent to you within the next couple of months?
 i write in my journal every night so I might need a new one in a few months

10.   Are you able to get pictures developed there so you can write on the back people’s full names and the places you were?
We can get pics here but we can send them via email to

11.   Did you get your Thanksgiving package?
I haven't got my package yet but I will tomorrow

12.   How many items have been thrown at you so far?
 I haven't had anything else thrown at me yet

13.   Are you going to send Sam some souvenirs for Christmas?
 I'm buying everyone stuff here for Christmas

14.   How many cats have you eaten?
 probably 1000 by now

15.   How much money do you  get a month for food, etc? 
 we don't get much money but it's enough for food and we all share it usually and we haven't eaten out yet but there is a member and her husband isn't a member but he is a chef here in some really fancy restaurant and he loves us so he is going to make us a meal and stuff soon and we are going to call home from their house for Christmas. I guess how it works is you guys call their house so it doesn't cost anything for them but we still have to plan it all out so i'll let you know. (side note from amanda: longest run on sentence ever ;)
16.   Do you share what food you buy with the other guys?

17.   Have you gone out to a restaurant for a meal yet?

18.   Amanda wants to know what the hypotenuse of the pi of the root of 6 is? 
HOW RUDE he didn't answer my question!!