PROSPERO AÑO NUEVO

Happy New Year!


This week was fantastic.  I had the chance to talk with my family and see their faces, which was the best.

Also, we found several new investigators. We are now teaching a family that wants us to help them overcome alcohol, and several new people who are interested in our message.  We are getting better and improving everyday and were working hard to find even more people to teach.

The other elders in our sector had a baptism this week.  We brought a couple of our investigators and the Spirit was really strong.

I gave a talk this Sunday about living by every word that comes from the mouth of God.  I'm not sure how that phrase works in English, but preparing the talk helped me grow my testimony of the living prophets.  What a blessing it is that we have a living prophet, apostles, and leaders who hold the priesthood! Its amazing.

Anyway, have a great New years!

Feliz Navidad!

Hey!

So after a 7 hour long bus ride from the north limit of the mission, I am now as far south as our mission goes.  My sector is beautiful, a small town surrounded by mountains and pines, with a good German influence and lots of countryside.  The town is really tranquil and the members of the local congregation are really great.  We attend church in a small chapel close to our house and we have lunch with members about half the time during the week.

My companion is Elder M from Idaho.  He is way cool and got quite a bit more time than me in the mission.  I'm way stoked to work with him.

We are currently teaching a woman from Colombia.  She is way cool, understands our message well, and is waiting for an answer.  We are just praying that her work allows her to come to church, or that she changes her schedule to be able to come.  We are also teaching a family of three, two of which are members.  I still haven't had the chance to teach the mother, but she is very receptive and comes to church every Sunday.

Some interesting things this week. I skinned a sheep for the first time!  We just passed by the house of an investigator and he asked us to help him kill and skin this sheep.  We watched him kill it and then he had us skin it haha.

Also, we had a great Christmas activity.  Santa came, we shared testimonies, sang carols, and watched several Church Christmas messages.

We also found a really cool family who let us in to show them the He is the Gift video.  We are excited about them and will see how it goes in the future.

God loves us and knows us personally.  As our actions show gratitude to Him and His Son, He quickly extends mercy to bless us.

Thank all of you so much for your support!  I got some cards and letters for Christmas and they made me so happy. Thanks for thinking of me and for sending them!  Thanks so much for those and for your prayers and emails.  Have a great Christmas!

Transfers

Hey,

So I'm getting transferred!  I'm heading way down south to be with an American companion and I'm way stoked.  I'm looking forward to it a lot, even though I'll miss this sector.

Also, I have 11 months in the mission today, which is cool!

Other than that, nothing much happened this week.  We had a ward family history activity which was cool and were able to talk to tons of people.  We worked hard, and are pleased with what we were able to accomplish.

The only spiritual thing that I can add today is that prayer and diligent scripture study are awesome and provide great strength.  Also, God answers prayers.  Never leave aside your prayers and study. Faith is manifest through actions, and often the action required is simply a diligent continuation. Often we feel like it requires us to do something new or different to manifest our faith. Just keep going.  Just continuing may be our act of faith. It may be simple, but by small and simple things are great things brought to pass.

Alma 37:6

Love y'all and hope all is well.

Elder Peck

Nother Week

Hey,

So this week went well.  Nothing too out of the usual.   We talked with tons of people and found several new investigators.

Sadly one of our investigators, R, had a rough week.  We went to teach him one day and his wife was leaving to take her friend home.  We met the friend as they were leaving.  We taught R the Plan of Salvation, specifically why we are here on earth.  The wife returned home after we left.  However we learned later that her friend had been hit by a train and died on her way home.  We are praying a lot for them and your prayers would also be appreciated.

We also had an investigator who had been progressing really well drop us this week.  It was out of the blue and we weren't sure why. It's sad but we still have hope that one day she'll accept.

Other than that the week went well. We are working better as a companionship and things are going well.

I learned and am still learning about the importance of prayer and study.  If we want to come closer to Christ, a great place to start is with faithful prayer and diligent scripture study.  Those two things, added with weekly Church attendance and Sabbath Day observance,  will help us find direction, peace, and many of the answers we are seeking. If you dont know where to start, start there.  Pray with more faith and improve your scripture study.

 God loves us and just wants us to come unto Christ. As a good Father, He know what we need and what will make us happy.  Thats why He gaves us His Son.  Go watch the video He is the Gift.  Its awesome.
http://www.mormon.org/christmas

Elder Peck

Another Week in Chile

So this week was good.  They don,t do Thanksgiving here, but we still had a good day.  Several good things happened this week.  We worked with the Assistants to the President and had a good day with them.  We worked hard and learned some new things to apply to our work. We played soccer and had a zone attack in another sector.  I played a guy in chess on the sidewalk and we went to a big birthday meal with an investigator.  All good stuff.

Also, we met with a couple of our investigators again.  We committed one new investigator to baptism and we are excited about that.  Her name is A and she seems like she will be able to progress really well.  Also, our investigator A is progressing well.  She really wants to get baptized and is taking steps towards it.  She just needs to come to church and we will be good to go.

The whole time I have been in this sector I have been learning more and more about faith.  Faith is a belief in something that is true but unseen, which causes us to act.  It comes from hope: hope for a "better world," hope that God will answer prayers or perhaps simply that good things will come.  This hope and faith become our motivation.  It helps people overcome their doubts, putting their confidence in Gods knowledge and wisdom instead of their own.  Things will make sense one day if they don't make sense now.  As our investigators do that, they really do see the results of thier faith, and quickly.  It is really amazing.

I know that this is the true church of God and that He lives.  God hears us and answers our prayers.

Elder Peck

Thanksgiving - Hunger and thirst after righteousness

Hey!

So this week went by fast.  Nothing too special happened, but we had some success and learned a few things.

One of our investigators we've had for a while accepted the invitation to be baptized, which was surprising.  She said she received an answer to her prayer and feels the need to be baptized.  I was so proud of her for praying and doing so sincerely, as I know she did.  Those who read and pray sincerely cannot do so without receiving a witness of the truth.  She has some changes to make, and so we are working with her on those.  We are excited for her though.

Also we made some progress with a few of our others investigators.  One who has been looking for work for a while, is now working for a sister in the church, so she is being fellowshipped really well. We have been having trouble getting her fellowshipped into the ward, as she lives super far away from everyone, so it was a definite answer to prayer that she's working with the sister from the ward.

Other things from this week. Went on exchanges with my district leader.  Played soccer on this trashed court with a couple investigators and missionaries from our district.  Nothing much, but a good week.  I did learn several great things. I learned more about those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, as it talks about in the Beatitudes.  Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness are self motivated and cannot be accused of pride nor self righteousness, because it is a desire that God approves and wants us to have.  Even more, He blesses us for the desire and gives us opportunities to serve, and challenges to test us to see if that is really the desire of our hearts.  In a way, it is a form of keeping our baptismal covenant.

Thanks again for all the support.

Elder Peck

10 months

Hey!

So this week we challenged five people to baptism and they all accepted! We are looking to see how things work out.

We also had interviews with our Mission President and his wife.  They went really well.

We are teaching several people.  One is named R.  He is about 25 and has a 2 year old and is excited about starting his family.  We contacted him in the street and he is really receptive.

Another is a family we found recently.  Y and J are the parents and they have three awesome kids.

We are also teaching a lady named M.  She's not really receptive, but she's way cool and her kids all want to get baptized.

We are still teaching the family O, the investigator that gave me new shoes.  They are so awesome and they are starting to come to church.  We fasted for them yesterday and we are going to work hard with them this week.

I love my Savior and all He has done for me.  I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me.  Thanks to all of you as well. You are in my thoughts and prayers.  Love you all and have a fantastic week and read the Book of Mormon.

Elder Peck

This Week!

Hey!

So this week went pretty well.  I got to know my new companion, Elder C, and he got to know the sector.  Elder C is awesome.  He's got about 5 months in the mission and is from the jungle part of Peru.  Hes a funny guy and has great enthusiasm for the work.

This week we did a couple of fun things.  We played soccer with some investigators, had a picture taking ward activity, and went to the beach today as a zone.  The 20 or so of us missionaries in the stake went to the beach and made anticuchos, or meat shishkabob things on a shopping cart that our zone leader bought or found.  We played volleyball and soccer and had a good time.

The thing I learned this week that had the biggest impact on me this week is the importance of action in faith.  Everything that we do to grow our faith requires us to act, to start doing something we weren't doing before.  Whether we have many years as members of the church or few, or if we are not members, we can't grow our faith without acting.  Those who grow their faith are happy and have enthusiasm to go forward and are excited for the future.  Those who settle for the knowledge they have gained and the faith they already have don't have that same enthusiasm.  They don't really feel like getting up and getting going.  Growing your faith requires us to get going, and when we do, we will feel like going even further.  Things get even better.  It's way cool.  In the Book of Mormon there is a scripture that says that we have to awake and start moving and it is found in Alma 32:27.
https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/27?lang=eng
Read it, and then read the rest of the chapter to find how to be happy.  And it works!

Thanks again for your prayers and support.

Elder Peck

Transfers

Hey!

So today I found out my transfer! Im staying in my sector and my companion is a Peruvian.  I'll meet him tomorrow.  I've been here for 5 months, and I have about a month and half left here as far as I know.

So this week we had a few holidays. Evangelical Day and Halloween are on the same day. All the Evangelicals (half of Chile, the other half is Catholic) celbrated with lots of preaching in the streets and parades.  No one really does Halloween.  We saw about four or five kids trick or treating.
Also on the first we had Day of the Dead where everyone went to the cementery with flowers.  We went as well and went around teaching the plan of salvation to people, about how they can live with there loved ones after this life.  A few people received us and it went well.  Of course, it was a little weird, but it went well and we were able to teach some good people.  We didn't exactly know how to approach it without being insensitive, but it ended up going very well.

Anyway, we worked hard this week and we ended the transfer well.  I'm understanding how satisfying it is to end the day exhausted and how disappointing it is when you realize that you didn't work as hard as you could have.  We learned a lot these past few weeks, especially about where to focus our efforts and how to work better, and we had a great few weeks.
Hope is such a simple principle, but a powerful one.  We hope for things which are not seen, but which are true.  This grows our faith.  The two go together.  We can't always tell what good things are ahead, but we simply hope that good will come as we choose the right.  It is a simple and beautiful concept, one that really does make an anchor for our soul.  It provides the motivation to press forward, to have faith, and to do good.  God is merciful and provides us with the evidence of the validity of our hope by blessing us and providing us with daily tender mercies, accompanied by the peace and joy that come with righteousness.

I love God. I love serving Him.

Elder Peck

Spanish tortilla

BKN

So this week was great.  We worked really hard, found lots of new people to teach and are talking with anybody and everybody about the gospel.

News for this week

We did and intercambio and I went and worked in another sector.  We committed three people to be baptized in November!

A while back, this drunk kid tried to hit us with a stick.  Anyway, we met him again, only this time he was sober and pushing this old guy in a wheelchair. Long story short, the kid didn't apologize.  He  chased us, pushing the old guy, across the street haha, and so we hid in an Argentina restaurant until they went away haha!  It was way weird and me and my comp were laughing about it for a while.

We had an awesome English class. About 20 people came, including this really ancient old guy who played this magic flute at the end of the class.

I bought a rhino tie and a Houston Texans shirt at the outdoor market.

Painted a house.

Bought Dunkin donuts in Concepcion.

It was a great week.  Even if we don't know the first step forward, if we just take a step forward and work hard, God will direct us.  He cannot direct us until we start walking.  Our first step may have not been the perfect first step, but it allowed God to point us down the right path.  Going forward with faith is a principle we can apply everyday, at any moment and to face pretty much any problem.  I love this gospel.  It works.

I love my Heavenly Father and thank all of you for your support.  Have a great week!

Elder Peck

Read the Book of Mormon!

So this week was fantastic.

We are working really hard as a companionship to talk with more people and for more people to teach.  It's working really well! We found three great families that can progress and are receptive.  We are always wiped out at the end of the day, but we are being blessed with more people to teach and we are feeling the Spirit more.  I'm so grateful for Gods help and the guidance of the Spirit in our labors this week.

So, we went to this outdoor market to talk to people about our English class (which by the way is increasing in size finally).  There were a ton a people there, selling all kinds of fruits and vegetables and stuff.  This guy, whom I'm assuming was drunk, came a gave me a very kinda snuggly(?) hug and asked me to bless him haha.  So we said a prayer with him right there and then he gave us each a very long hug and left haha! It was so weird. Today we had a zone activity and played soccer and volleyball and ate sopaipillas.

Anyway, read Ether 12 in the Book of Mormon.
https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/ether/12?lang=eng
The Book of Mormon is true.  Once we know that, and once those we teach know that, there is little that can keep us back from the happiness that comes from knowing that the gospel is true.  As it says in Ether, faith gives us hope for a better world, and allows us to progress, even when we can't see ahead.
He offers an invitation at the end, to seek after this Jesus of whom the prophets have spoken.  Just try it.  Doubt not because ye see not.  We are not going to know until after the trial of our faith.  Of that I know.  God lives and He answers prayers.  He answers prayers. Just trust Him enough to follow Him, and you'll see that all that is said of Him is true.

Elder Peck

WEEEEK

Hey!

So this week was interesting.  The zone leaders did a surprise intercambio with my comp and I, so I worked for two days with Elder E, and my comp worked for two days with Elder G, just as I did at the end of my training.  Same zone leader too, even tho I was in a different zone.
Anyway, the first morning, I got really sick all of a sudden.  It was weird.  So, as is tradition in Chile, I immediatley began recieving all kinds of weird Chilean remedies.  After rubbing healing oils on my throat and drinking Jarabe juice made from the leaves of this plant I dont know,  I was finally able to get a hold of some legitimate medicine haha!  I worked all the first day, but the mission nurse told me to rest the next day.  We worked a little anyway but I rested most of the day.  Anyway, its been a weird week, trying to get over it.  Im getting a lot better and Ive been able to work fine this week. My comp gave me a blessing, after which I got quite a bit better.
But, something really cool also happened.  We had some training meetings witht the Mission President which was really good.  Afterwards, one of the assistants, Elder R came and worked with us in our sector.  He is from San Antonio Texas, so it was cool working with another Texan.  He actually started his mission in our sector, so he took us to some people that he taught that were progressing but never got baptized.  We found one family.  The husband is looking for work and they expressed that our return visit after one year was very timely.  The husband accepted a baptismal date and we are going to be working with that family a lot the coming month.
Exciting stuff.  My comp and I are working hard to talk with everyone we can and to help our investigators progress.  It's awesome.  The Lord answers prayers and hears us.  I love my Father in Heaven.

Elder Peck

So, this week was awesome

Nothing really crazy went on.  I went on splits with our district leader.  He went with my comp and I went with Elder S from Florida and we worked in his sector for the day.  First time that I had left the sector to work since being here.

We contacted this guy on the street and he started talking about how our religion believes that God is unkind and mean. I was blown away, as our beliefs help us know that God is just, but merciful and loving.  He was using all kinds of religious knowledge and information and I was trying to testify and tell our simple clear beliefs, trying not to contend, but also just trying to speak as he would not let us for much of the time.  And then out of the blue, this lady came up and asked the man if he had met the mormons before.  She said that she was a member of a different nearby ward, and immediately began to testify of the truth of the Book of Mormon and our message.  Shes was a little older and probably the kindest person I've met, but she was kind of telling this guy what's up.  She then said goodbye and headed off.  The guy wouldn't let us go, so after we left him, we looked for her but couldn't find her to thank her.  It was really cool anyway.

We were able to challenge two investigators to baptism and they both accepted, for which the both of us were really glad.  We have lots of work to do with them and we are praying that all goes well.

But, the highlight of the week was general conference.  The general conference of our church is a conference that is held twice a year, during the which the Apostles and the Prophet, the presidency of our Church, speak.  I know that the man we call a prophet really is a prophet.  This knowledge and belief were confirmed by the Spirit during the conference.  Just listen to him! He is a man called by God to speak to us.

I learned a lot from conference.  Afterwards, I felt spiritually filled.  It was like the feeling of satisfaction that comes after a big delicious Chilean lunch during a long work week haha.

They spoke about several topics, but a few that stood out to be was the importance of truth and finding out for ourselves.  We should seek answers to our questions, trusting in God rather than in the doctrines of the world.  We do it an an unbiased way by maintaining an open heart and having the sincere desire to know, as well as the real intent to act upon whatever asnwer we receive.  We were encouraged to trust and follow the Prophet, but to also seek confirming revelation for what our leaders say.  Our leaders are called by God and are not elected or choose to be in that position based on their own knowledge or experience.  

Also, the work of salvation was strongly reinforced.  they spoke of preaching the gospel, supporting one another (as brothers of the church or brothers outside the church) and about the sacred work of the temple.

Much mention was made to respecting our fellowman, giving to the poor and loving everyone.

We may disagree, but not be disagreeable.

A man without a purpose is like a boat without a rudder.

Our daily actions are based on our goals.  Let us have good goals.

Absolute truth exists.

We share the gospel not out of obligation, but out of the sincere desire we have to share the joy and happiness we have encountered therein.

These aren't word for word quotes, but some of the things that I got out of the messages.

I love this gospel. That is why I decided to preach it.  It helped me and it can help you.  Just use it every day.  I love Christ and I am so grateful for the gospel He gave us.

Elder Peck

Fiestas!

New friend S

Empanadas

Half way point in Chile

Hey!

So this week was crazy.  We had the 18th of September, which is Chiles Independence day, and they go pretty hardcore with their parties all week.  We had a PDay (preparation day) on the 18th and went to the beach with the zone and played soccer and football and stuff, we had a huge barbecue with an investigator, and we ate another big barbecue thing the next day.  We ate tons of empanadas and all kinds of stuff. 
As this week was so crazy and all of our investigators were out of town, we worked a lot with less- active members and tried to get them back to church.  We are having success with a few of them.  I'm looking forward to this week and the work we will have. 
God lives. 
Elder Peck

Hey!

Hey!

So this week went well.  Not much to report, but things went well.  we saw a "cueca" competition, which is the traditional dance of Chile. One of our investigators competed, and it was very Chilean and very cool.  We also had our day of service on Saturday.  We went and took down a house and started renovating it.

The best news is that a woman and her daughter from my last sector just got baptized! My companion Elder N and I contacted them several weeks before I left.  We taught them a few times, and he continued with them after I left.  They were baptized on Saturday and confirmed Sunday.  It was so great to hear that news and that my comp Elder N and his new comp were able to baptize them.

Also, I have been thinking a lot about families this week.  Through my own personal family experiences, I have gained much of my belief  and knowledge of the truth of the góspel. The góspel blesses families. We CAN have a happy and strong family here on earth despite the fact that the world in general is going farther and farther away from the family.  As my mom once said, the world is heading in the wrong direction, not us.  We are not swimming against the current when we support the family.  We are supporting a divinely established institution through which we are uplifted, blessed, and carried to eternal life if we respect it.  I love my family and know that families are eternal.

Elder Peck

Hey! I love the mission!

Life is good.  We are working hard here and we are improving as servants of the Lord.  My comp is awesome and we've had some great experiences.

Interesting stuff from this week: someone stole our backpacks and Elder I's camera on Sunday in the church. Didn't see who it was, but we now have to buy new backpacks, which is lame.  Whoever took them left our scriptures though, which was nice.

Also, we had Return and Report, a conference for new missionaries and their trainers.  It was really great and spiritually uplifting.

One really neat experience I had happened last week and I forgot to mention it.  I went over to the Ortegas house, a family who has a son on a mission but are not members themselves.  They had noticed that my shoes were getting a little worn out.  During the time we were there, Brother Ortega pulled me over to the side and asked me if I needed new shoes.  I told him that mine were fine and that I had another pair.  Still, he took me into another room, and had me try on some new shoes.  They fit perfect and they were nicer than mine.  He took my old broken shoes away from me and put them in a bag and didn't let me say anything and just told me not to mention it.  I was touched by his kindness and nothing I could say would make him keep the shoes he gave me.  He wouldn't even let me thank him properly.  He just said that that is what Christ would do so he had the responsibility to do it.  I love that guy and I want to be willing to provide such selfless service.  I learned that we should just act when we see a need instead of waiting for permission.  Its a form of charity, an attribute of Christ.

Thats about it for this week.  Just keep your head up, look for opportunities to serve, and focus outward. You'll be happy.
Elder Peck

This Week

Hey,

So this week went by quickly but it was really good.  Sadly we didn't have much time to work this week, as we had interviews with our mission president and a district conference (kind of like stake conference) Saturday and Sunday.

The interviews took all day because our new President is trying to get to know everyone.  The interview I had with him went really well and it was awesome getting to know him better.  Also, we had interviews with his wife, and it was great to talk with her as well.  They are definitely called of God for this mission.

Also, we had district conference, to which our mission president and his wife came.  It was awesome and I learned lots of stuff.

Interesting stuff that happened this week, a drunk 12 year old hit us and tried to attack us because we wouldn't given him money.  It was sad and kind of funny at the same time.  He whacked us a couple times and spilled some beer on us, and then picked up a board and tried to hit us.  It wasn't a big deal because he was so out of it that his reflexes were pretty off and he couldn't do much.  We found out later that the guys watching from their houses later came out and whacked him around a bit and took the kids shoes off and threw them down the hill.  Interesting experience.

Anyway, I know that God always watches over us.  He controls this work, not us nor anyone else.  I've seen that more this week as I passed through a bit of sickness and a bit of difficulties caused by ignorant people. God controls this work.  His Son directs this Church.  We have a prophet who leads and guides the Church, not with his own ideas, but by actual revelation and inspiration from our Heavenly Father.

Elder Peck

Hey Everybody (exclamation point)

Hey Everybody.

The exclamation point doesn't work on this computer so sorry for the boringness haha.  Im really excited about this week and it went really well.  My companion is doing really well and I'm learning a lot from him.

This week we worked.  We focused on finding new people to teach and finding people who had been taught a long time ago but somehow lost contact.  We have had success with that.  We have found several new people and rediscovered some of those who had been lost.  One of them is named E and he was so excited that we came by that he gave us a giant key that doubles as a pen for a present haha.  Funny guy.   The other is M, and we have to climb through his window to get into the house. Hes way cool tho.  Hes like 17, break dances and really wants to shape up his life.  Hes a cool guy.

We also had a conference with a general authority of the Church, Elder Zaballos and his wife.  It was really good.  He talked about the importance of languages and also about enthusiasm for the work.  It was inspiring and gave us all that extra drive to go and work our hardest.  It was awesome.

Today has been kind of lame.  I got really sick and I'm still pretty sick.  Fortunately, this is the first time during my mission when this has happened, so I'm really blessed that it has taken 7ish months before I got sick.  It was funny, all this morning we were looking for medicine and we couldn't find any in the house and I couldn't really get out of bed.  So the other elders that live in our house left and went to a members house across the street to get medicine.  They came back with this cup of grass.  So, I sat and sipped some hot tasty herb water for a while haha.  It actually kind of worked for a little bit.  I ended up calling the senior missionaries that work in the office and handle the medical stuff and the told me what to buy.  My comp and another elder went and bought them, but brought the meds back in a mug with the state of Texas on it that they bought in the random Chinese store in town haha.  But I'm doing better now.

Thanks again for the emails and support. I love getting your emails and letters and just know that I know that we are involved in a good cause.  I know it.  Anything that persuades us or directs us to do good or come unto Christ is of God.  This is has been the greatest opportunity that I have had thus far to invite others to partake of the joy the gospel brings, the peace in knowing that Jesus lives and that He is the rock upon which men should build. Build your foundation upon Jesus Christ.  Trust in Him and you will find truth, surety, and happiness.

Elder Peck

Whoa

Elder Peck and new comp Elder I

Hey!

So huge change in the work here in Chile.  I'm training a new elder, Elder I. He's way cool and already an amazing missionary.  He is from Kayesville Utah and has great enthusiasm for the work and some great ideas we are putting into practice.  I am so excited to work with him and we have had some fun this week. 

So Monday I found out I was training and that my comp was leaving.  So that whole day we just went around and he said goodbye to everyone.  Then on Tuesday, we dropped him off in Concepcion to take the bus to his new sector.  I still didn't have a comp, so I was in a trio for the day.  On Wednesday I went back to Concepcion to pick up my "son".  We had a conference with the mission president and then all the dads met their sons and we went back to our sectors.  We talked about Chile and stuff on the way home and we went around and met some members and investigators.  The next day, we were contacting and he saw a man dragging a box up a hill. Elder I said, Lets go help that guy.  So we did.  He helped him carry the box up the hill, he let us in his house, we shared a lesson with him, and he said that we could come back and share more with him and his daughter! It was way cool.
Also a weird guy waved us over while we were by the coast and had us help him de-barnacle clam shells.  We washed our hands on the beach after. 
We built a fence with a lady with whom we ate lunch.  We also had an activity called Trip to China, where we made Chinese food and taught about the Plan of Salvation. 

Anyway, it has been a great week. I love the work.  Excitement and love for the work is what pushes it forward.  Not excitement from ignorance, but of a realization of how great the Lord and His work are.  Going forward with faith that God really will prevail, that His work is going to move on no matter what.  I love that truth, that Gods work moves on.  An investigator told us in a lesson the other day, after asking him who God was to him, that He is a being that lives.  And that's it.  I loved his response. A being that lives.  He really does live.  Even though we can't seem Him, we know He lives by our faith and what we have seen.  Sometimes I wonder if we really need faith, when He has given us so much evidence of His existence! If we look, we can see His hand daily.   I love the Lord and His perfect knowledge of us.

Elder Peck

This week

 

Hey!

 

This week has been a long but good week.  We found a lady contacting who said that she had been praying for a chance to come unto Christ and we showed up the next day.  She already has a date for her baptism! It was excting to find her.  Also our investigator Carmen is progressing really well.  She said that without a doubt she will be baptized in our church, but she doesn't know when.  We are helping her with that. 

 

Something I learned this week is that the gospel of Jesus Christ is amazing.  It really is.  When we put the gospel, along with the will of God, as the first priority in our lives, life is full of happiness and contentment.  It is strong, firm, a base in which we can and should build our foundation.  All we have to do is do it.  Thats why we preach this gospel, to provide an anchor and a guide for each person to achieve the maximum amount of blessings in this life and eternal life afterwards.  I love this gospel and pray that those we teach will accept it. 

 

Elder Peck

Hola! 2 Weeks

Hey,

Ok, so I got a little bit of time to write this week!

So, things I liked about this week and last week:

Like I mentioned last week, we went to this old fisherman's house.  He was just like the stereotypical crazy old fisherman, with a long white beard and a cool hat.  He can't hear so we were all shouting the whole time.  He told us this scary fish stories about a 20 meter long fish that almost swallowed him whole and a 15 meter long eel that he almost caught with his fishing companions haha.  

We had a 16 year old guy from the congregation join us for a mini mission this week.  His name is Paul, he recently joined the Church and he has a strong testimony of this gospel.  It was cool to have him live with us for a few days. 

Then we had a sweet service project with the Os.  Brother Gregorio O isn't a member but his son is serving a mission for our church, so he always has us over for lunch.  We went over to help him out but he wouldn't let us help haha.  But it was sweet, he was building a fishing boat by hand.  We kinda helped, but he didn't let us do much.  He talked to us about the Bible while he was pulling heated planks out of a homemade oven pipe thing and bending them to the curve of his boat.  It was cool to watch him make it.  His house is right on the beach, so we went out back to the beach for a little bit.  

Then the door of our house broke, so we were told to have two elders stay in the house at all times because there was no way to lock the door.  The work slowed a lot and we did lots of exchanges and splits between companionships and with members to work.  It drove us all crazy.  

It has been a crazy week and Ive been pretty stressed out.  But we went to Concepcion, the biggest city in the mission to buy a new lock for the door with the financial administrator of the mission.  I don't know why, but just riding around in a real car, instead of a bus or something, for a couple hours brought me a lot of peace.  It was really memorable.  There are a lot of little moments like this that I've seen, tender mercies that the Lord has given me.  I love the Lord and He knows me so well that He knows exactly what will help me, no matter how small they maybe. 

Also this week the assistants to the president of the mission came to our sector to work with us.  I worked with one of them, Elder Anderson, and I learned a lot.  He is a really great missionary and we had a great time.  

Saturday we played soccer in the mud and rain.  We all got pretty beat up and knocked around. Chileans take soccer really seriously haha.  But it was way fun.

All I can say for this week is: Love God and love your neighbor.  Also, do what you know is right. Sometimes we are not sure of the path that we should take, but there are several things in life that we know without a doubt are right.  Do what you know, and strive to always do what is right.  Even if you mess up, God will see your efforts.  We are judged by our desires and the actions that those desires bring to pass.  Practice what you preach and actions speak much louder than words.  

I read a scripture and I don't have time to look up where it was.  Mosiah something.  But it is a scripture that says that everything that invites to do good and persuades us to come unto Christ is of God.  Anything that entices us away from that is not of God.  That's how we know.  

I love God.  I know He lives because He is an active part of my daily life.  He is a daily part of your life.  Happiness comes when we recognize Gods hand in our life. 

Love Elder Peck 

Six Months!

Burning my tie

Family O

World Cup Soccer celebration in the street

Hey!

6 months!  I have officially been on my mission for half a year.  To celebrate, as is tradition in the mission, I burned my tie.  It was a really special ceremony and I had fun thinking back on the last 6 months and looking at my pictures, as well as looking to the future year and a half ahead of me.  I have learned a lot and changed a lot, but I still have a really long way to go and lots to learn.  But I would not be anywhere else other than in the place I am in now.  God has blessed me with this amazing opportunity and adventure to bless and change my life and help a few others.

I read a talk at the beginning of this week by Dieter F. Uchtdorf, an apostle in the Church.  He mentioned the phrase that the best time to plant a tree is 20 years back, but the second best time is now.  I think every moment we have is a chance to start again.  We shouldn't wait for opportunities to change.  We often procrastinate, waiting for the opportune moment.  But then we miss it, or at least we have wasted a lot of time waiting for the moment to arrive.  The Lord has said that we are to be anxiously engaged in a good cause, not waiting for a moment to arrive in which we can begin to do good things.  Do all you can right now to make the changes you desire in life now.  What a blessing it is that God always forgives, always loves us and always desires the best for us.  We can repent, we can start over, and we can begin again in the moment in which we have the desire. 

I love this gospel and my Savior Jesus Christ.  Through His eternal sacrifice we can make these changes.  We do not need to be perfect. We do not need to wait until we are perfect.  We simply need to change our desires and allow the good desires we have control our actions, rather than the desires of the natural man, such as laziness or procrastination. 

This week I tried to apply what I talked about previously, about loving all people and letting this labor become a labor of love.  It works.  It pulls me out of confusion, out of the midst of doubt, out of pride, and out of physical weariness and weakness.  It allows us to teach and act a little more like the Savior and adds clarity to our thoughts.  I have also tried to be myself, and the good desires of my Spirit take hold.  It works too.  I love God. 

Thanks for the support.  Y'all are awesome (Im teaching Texan English here in Chile.  My Latino comp now knows how to say y'all and ´Merica. )

Elder Peck

Good job Germany!

New friends. Family in Los Sauces

Hey everyone

This week went well.  We found a great new family. They are amazing.  There are four in their family, a 7 moth old and an 8 year old and the wife is a member of the Church.  It was great meeting them and finding out how prepared they are to hear the gospel message.
Other than that not much happened.  Got a haircut. Super busy week, but really good. 
But I have learned a lot spiritually this week.  Lots of personal answers to questions I have had as well as more spiritual and practical understanding.  From all that I have learned this week, the most important is love.  When we love the work and the Lord, we can do anything in this work.  Love is a qualifying feature of the work.  It is necessary.  The more we improve how we love those we serve, we indirectly improve every other aspect of our service.

I love all of you and hope all is going well.

Elder Peck

Chilean hamburger before the avocado

Chilean hamburger with avocado

Fish - before

Fish - after

More food

lame Big Mac meal

Coronel

 

 Hey!

This week we had a conference with the new Mission President.  He is from Arizona and is really really good.  We talked about Joseph Smith and his experience, and how we can compare our experiences to his.  Then we celebrated the Fourth of July by flicking matches off a matchbox for fireworks and folding the Texas flag we found military style.  Then a lady in the ward made us American hamburgers.  Chileans do not know how to make American hamburgers.  They were good anyway.  Then we played soccer and ate a ton of fish.

All I can say this week is that the Spirit works through our actions.  The phrase go forward with faith means that if we want the Spirit to guide us, often we have to decide what to do first and then let the Spirit confirm our decision.

Gracias por todo and thanks for everything

Elder Peck

Botes

Puerto

Morning study

Room in Coronel