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