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