Christmas and the Atonement

Last week the LDS church released the Christmas video for this year, and it was the perfect fit because this week I read Alma chapter 7.

Verses 9-11 help shed a little more light on the importance of the need for the Savior to be born when it says "But behold, the Spirit hath said this much unto me, saying: Cry unto this people, saying—Repent ye, and prepare the way of the Lord, and walk in his paths, which are straight; for behold, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and the Son of God cometh upon the face of the earth. And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God. And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities."

We know that the Savior came to this world to save us from sin but something that is under emphasized is that He came here to help us in ALL of our trails.

Some people believe that they dont need the atonement because they have never really commited a big sin, but truly it is because of the atonement that we can recieve comfort in our hard times.

He can help us through the times of depression or anxiety or trial. and that is why we need a Savior.

So let us take this Christmas season to remember that. Even though we may get stressed out in the stores or we feel alone on the holidays, we can remember that He is there and we can talk to Our Father in Heaven to get the comfort we seek.

King Benjamin's Speech

This week I the great opportunity to read about King Benjamin and his people. There is one verse I feel always sticks out in this part, and it is one that we reference frequently. and it is found in the second chapter, the seventieth verse it says:

"And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."

I spent all morning looking for a mormon message to go with this, and honestly I didnt feel like any of them fit with what I was thinking about this week.

So I'm going to share what happened this week.

It was probably still the most normal day, I had just finished my normal study block in the library that I do almost every morning and was about to head to my class. I was walking behind and older gentleman who I assumed was a professor here on campus.

While I was walking behind him to exit the building he stops and see the security lady and says "wow! your hair is beautiful! its like a waterfall cascading down your head!"

For a moment I stared. Her hair was in fact very beautiful. But the fact that he took the time to stop and make eye contact and genuinely compliment her with such enthusiasm is what really stopped me.

Seeing him act that way made me want to do the same,

its like those cheesy commercials where the act of kindness goes around in a circle are more than just cheesy commercials. Its a real thing. I spent the rest of the day trying to make someone smile as big as this man did for this young lady.

I know that when we make another child of God feel that way, just feel awesome, that we are truly serving God. Making Him not only proud of us but also glad that someone helped His child.

Unwavering In Every Moment

This week I have had a lot of interesting conversations about how we need to be unwavering in our faith and that our faith will lead us to make better decisions. I have been reading in the end of 2nd Nephi this week where it has a lot of prophesy about our day. And a few verses really stood out to me in the 28th chapter- where it says,

"Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us. And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God. Yea, and there shall be many which shall teach after this manner, false and vain and foolish doctrines, and shall be puffed up in their hearts, and shall seek deep to hide their counsels from the Lord; and their works shall be in the dark."

Now to break that down a little better, it says that there will be people in this like who will tell us that we can do whatever we want and we wont be punished for that.

But I can tell you, that just as if we break a law of our country, we will be punished,
also if we break a commandment of God we will also receive a punishment.

To further illustrate this point here is a Mormon Message that was shared in the last general conference of the church.

Just as this couple made an incorrect decision and had drifted away from safety is how we are if we commit sin following these teachings of men.

Just as this father thought he was stronger than the current and could make it to the sand bar, are we puffed up in pride when we disobey commandments of God.

Just as the video warns we need to make wise decisions, especially when it comes to following the promptings of the Holy Ghost to help us better understand the reasons why things happen.

"Wo unto them that call evil good, and good evil, that put darkness for light, and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"

This is a verse that describes something very prevalent in our times. Where the commandments of God are tossed aside and we are living in a world were people are calling darkness light and light darkness. 

I see this from just the 10 commandments that every Christian believes in.

The Apostle L. Tom Perry spoke of this in This video:

In the video he says "In my judgment, four of the Ten Commandments are taken as seriously today as ever. As a culture, we disdain and condemn murder, stealing, and lying, and we still believe in the responsibility of children to their parents. 
But as a larger society, we routinely dismiss the other six commandments:
If worldly priorities are any indication, we certainly have "other gods" we put before the true God. We make idols of celebrities, of lifestyle, of wealth, and yes, sometimes even graven images or objects. 
We use the name of God in all kinds of profane ways, including our exclamations and our swearing.
We use the Sabbath day for our biggest games, our most serious recreation, our heaviest shopping, and virtually everything else but worship. 
We treat sexual relations outside marriage as a recreation, an entertainment. And coveting has become a far too common way of life." (Elder L. Tom Perry, "Obedience to Law is Liberty", April 2013, emphasis added)

I don't think anyone can deny the truths spoken of by this Apostle of the Lord, because these are things that we see in our everyday lives. In the media and television we see in almost every moment people who are trying to make evil things look desirable or even like it is something okay, or good.

It is necessary that we must be able to differentiate between the two.

For if we do our life will be sweet, as compared in the scripture.

Don't Shove Your Politics Down My Throat.

We live in a very opinionated world. With many differing opinions, Especially about politics.

As I scroll through my Facebook, or Twitter, or even my Instagram I see endless political agendas, coming from all side of the spectrum. Republicans, Democrats, The Tea Party, The Green Party. All telling me what to think, what to do, what to say or who to vote for.

Right now all I have to say is Don't shove your politics down my throat.

now where does that phrase come from?

Let us take a quick look at the importance of it for me. I am a Christian, more specifically a Mormon. Now did something like that phrase above just pop into your head? Its one I get all the time, people tell me quite frequently to not shove my religion down their throats.

But digging even deeper why do I hear that phrase?

It seems that in our world today the mention of religion is offensive. If I mention my religion or even the name of Jesus Christ in a reverent manner people tell me to stop.

but why?

I am not telling them to do anything, I am not trying to change what they think, or do, or say, or who to believe in. I'm barely even stating something that I believe, most things I mention about Jesus Christ are not just Mormon subliminal images but things that uplift all people who believe in Christ, to feel better, and occasionally helping those who do not share that believe. Thats helping almost 2 billion people in the world at a time (2.2 billion Christians (32 percent of the world’s population).)

Now how is that any worse than politics?

As mentioned I see a LOT of political posts. Probably averaging about 5-15 a day, depending on how much time I spend online.

And I will admit sometimes I linger into these links or posts and read others opinions. Normally written to tear down others believes or change their view on something.

How is that good for anyone?

I know I am not the only one who after reading something political can feel upset, angry, sometimes even just disgusted by what was said. Sometimes even if I agree with the party or candidate.

I am not trying to offend anyone with this, but maybe we should feel just a propelled to keep our political opinions to ourselves as we are our religious ones.

or if you are fine trying to share your political beliefs maybe we should be fine with others sharing something about their religious ones.

I normally do not speak of politics for this reason. Not because I do not care, not because I'm not interested but because I want everyone to be able to feel good about themselves, their opinions and their believes. And I hope everyone can begin to do the same.

We dont want to live in a world of hate and offence do we?

I love you all,
Kirstin Peters

1 Nephi 21: 13-16

"Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; for the feet of those who are in the east shall be established; and break forth into singing, O mountains; for they shall be smitten no more; for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted. But, behold, Zion hath said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me—but he will show that he hath not. For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me."

Now, all of us have had trail in our lives, and this is a great blessing that the Lord gives us so that we might always have Him on our side.

That He will never forget us.

When we speak of this we always speak of the poem of the man who looks back on his life as footsteps in the sand- in short. He sees sometimes there are two sets of foot prints, his and the Lords along side them.

but it the hardest times of his life there was only one set, and he turns to the Lord and asks "Lord why in my greatest times of need you abandoned me?" and the Lord simple responds "I did not abandon you, I carried you"

And isn't that fantastic?

even when we don't think about it, don't recognize Him in our lives, He is still there. But my favorite part of the verse is when He says "I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands".

The Lord suffered and died for us, but it was because of His love for us. His undying charity, or the pure love of Christ. 

Thats something I have been focusing on the last few weeks, is the Charity that the Lord has for each and every one of us. And even though He knows all of our sins, even though men are those who killed Him. He still has this undying love for each and everyone of us. To carry us through our hardest times.

But only if we ask for His help.

This is something I have though about this week also. How many when faced with trails. Tend to turn away from the Lord. Whether because the think that they have offended Him in some way, or because they become angry because of their suffering. But If we turn to the Lord, He will bless us in ways we have never imagined.

Mi Misión No Era Mis Mejores Dos Años

Esta historia es traducida del Blog de Benjamin Carraway, se llama "The Way of Carraway". Puedes encontrar la original en ingles acá
Gracias a Al Fox Carraway por el permiso de traducir esta historia para que todos pueden leerlo.



Salí para mi misión el 23 de febrero de 2011 y fui a servir en Filadelfia, Pensilvania, EEUU. Nunca voy a olvidar mis primeros días de mi misión y en especial un consejo de mi Presidente de Misión dio a los nuevos misioneros. Mientras que estábamos sentados en una aula en la capilla, él nos miró en los ojos y dijo “No me gusta la frase ‘los mejores dos años’”. Cuando él nos dijo esto estaba confundido porque era la frase escuchamos cuando crecemos miembros de la iglesia. Cuando son niños, las personas les dicen esto siempre, “Y cuando siervas en una misión, vas a pasar los mejores dos años de tu vida!” Aún hay una película SUD se llama “Los Mejores Dos Años” que creo muchos, si no todos, de ustedes han visto antes.
Pero, lo que él me dijo entro a mi corazón, y lo medite en ello desde el primer día de mi misión, y pensé en ello cada día! Regrese a mi casa hace casi dos años. Y mucho ya paso en mi vida después de mi mision. Y ahora puedo decir que mi Presidente tenía razón. Mi misión no era los mejores dos años de mi vida, y así debe ser. Mi misión siempre va a ser algo especial en mi vida y cuando paso más tiempo en mi casa, mas pienso en mi misión y todo lo que aprendí, sentí y experimente. Extraño las personas de Cabo Jay, Nueva Jersey, Valle Forge, Pensilvania, New Castle, Delaware, Honesdale, Pensilvania, y Allentown, Pensilvania. Todas estas personas me bendijeron y me ayudaron a cambiar me en el hombre quien es soy hoy día.



Ruego, Todos quienes sirvieron en una misión, no deja que sea los mejores dos años de tu vida, pero que sea el fundamento de lo que puede pasar en nuestros vidas.

Mi Presidente dijo mas. Él dijo “Una misión no es, y no debe ser los mejores dos años de tu vida. Pero, son los mejores dos años que puede hacer por tu vida.” Me encanta esto! Mas él dijo “Cuando vayas a tu casa, vas a casarte y tener más experiencias sagradas que tu misión puede dar.” El explico cuanto él amaba su misión, pero estar casado a su esposa y sus llamamientos pasados eran parte de los mejores años de su vida.

Mi misión es algo especial en mi vida, y me ayudo a cambiar me hasta la persona quien es soy hoy, como persona, como esposo, y como padre. Pero, en todas las cosas que me pasaron, mi misión era un fundamento para construir cosas mejores que podía imaginar!

En mi tiempo después de la misión tuve muchas experiencias sagradas, por esto yo sé que lo dijo mi Presidente era verdadero. Conocí mi esposa mi primera semana en casa. Ella estaba viajando y hablando casi cada día cuando estábamos saliendo antes de nuestro casamiento. Fui con ella por todos lados, y vi mi esposa ayudar las vidas de miles de personas por todo el país. Y conocimos autoridades generales, líderes y apóstoles, y todo esto tiene un impacto en mi vida.
En agosto de 2013, case y sello en La Casa del Señor, y en junio de 2014 nació nuestra primera hija, Gracie Lena. Cada día, en el tiempo después de mi misión yo he experimentado y he visto más de las bendiciones de Dios. Vida después de la misión es mejor y los experiencias sagradas son más profundas.

No deja que tu misión sea la experiencia mayor de tu vida espiritual! Hay más para venir si te permites. Cada día es nuevo, y no le espera para nadie. No deja que pasa las oportunidades para hacerlo mejor y ser mejor y recibir y experimentar más. Una misión no debe ser los mejores dos años de tu vida, para nada! Debe ser los mejores dos años por tu vida. Con Dios, cosas maravillosas nos espera. Sigue Adelante, Sigue creciendo, Sigue aprendiendo, Sigue fortaleciendo, y Sirviendo. Porque en verdad, los últimos dos años desde regrese eran más sagrados e inspiradores, llena de bendiciones y oportunidades que nunca podía recibir sin Dios ni mi proprio esfuerzo.

1 Nephi 4 : 6-7

“And I was lead by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do. Nevertheless I went forth..”

Over the past year this has become one of my favorite scriptures. Why? Mostly because of one talk given in the church magazine the Liahona.

It was written by Richard G. Scott(1928–2015) of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles. And he focused it on prayer, explaining that we can receive three types of responses to our prayers.

First is the response of yes. Richard G Scott said "When He answers yes, it is to give us confidence"                                                                                                                                        The second response is no, "When He answers no, it is to prevent error."                                                                                                                                                                            Then he goes on to explain the third answer that we can receive is actually no answer at all. He goes into greater detail when he explains "When He withholds an answer, it is to have us grow through faith in Him, obedience to His commandments, and a willingness to act on truth... Nephi’s efforts to obtain the plates of brass show how the principles work. After two unsuccessful attempts, Nephi remained confident. He crept into the city toward the house of Laban without all the answers. He observed, “I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do,” significantly adding, “nevertheless I went forth” Nephi was willing to try time and again, using his best efforts. He expressed faith that he would be helped. He refused to be discouraged. But because he acted, had confidence in the Lord, was obedient, and properly used his agency, he received guidance. He was inspired step after step to success.” 

When we act we will truly be lead.

I mostly love how Nephi shows his faith, and how it shows to me how the Holy Ghost truly does guide us. Not only in a spiritual way but also can physically guide us when needed.

I love these ideas mostly because I know they are true. There has been times in my life were I had no idea what I was going to do with my life, my day, my next moment. I had to lay my whole life down before God, so that he might be able to hold me up and guide me to do the right thing, so that I may become better.

So that is my challenge to you!

When you dont know, keep going with faith!

If you have an expirience that you would like to share make a comment:)

and then there was one.

Week Seventy-Seven!

I don’t know if I will write next week or how it will be but here is a basic outline of what will be happening.  I will work like a missionary until Friday night at 6pm.  At 6pm we will unite all of my friends here in Ambo we will celebrate my leaving and that of Elder Recalde, and also my birthday because I say so.

Friday at 9pm we will return to our room and I will pack all of my junk and get ready for Saturday.  Saturday at like 10am I will start the 8 hour ride to Presidents house.  When I get to presidents house I will have my last interview Saturday night.  Sunday in the morning I will assist whatever ward in Huancayo I pick (I’m thinking Chilca but I’m not sure yet).  Then Sunday afternoon we will have the first half of our training about how to study, get a job and get married.  Then Monday morning we will finish the other half of the training and get out and go shopping in Huancayo like p day status.  Tuesday we do nothing waiting for the bus to leave at like 1pm then my flight leaves at 1:10am and I’m in my house at 3pm on Wednesday.

This week was good.  We saw the baptism of a young man named Yuliñho.  He has lots of desires to stay firm in the church and not just be baptized, and that is the most amazing thing, so yeah that’s a thing.  See you next week.

The first photo is of Jordan’s baptism by the elders, the second is Yuliñho and his parents.

Why Peruvians don’t smile in photos I still don’t know.

Second to last email.

Week Seventy-Six!

Well today I would like to talk about something that I learned in my mission.  While I have been going through ups and downs these last 18 months there is something very interesting I learned.

I went and visited a therapist and after many meetings and tests, I learned that I have something called Perfectionism.  That’s right I’m a medically diagnosed perfectionist.  (I’m guessing that it stems from my mom’s OCD)  But if you are wondering what that means here’s a little medical snip it.

Perfectionism is a medical condition characterized by severe self-criticism and self-doubt, often accompanied by anxiety, depression, or obsessive-compulsive behavior. It can lead to appetite and sleep disturbances, confusion, problems in relationships, inability to concentrate, procrastination of important tasks, and, if left untreated, major depression, and anxiety disorders.

Now why have I waited to mention this?  I don’t know, but I realized that I haven’t and told my companion and she yelled at me for not telling anyone.

So here I am.  My main treatment has become looking at the positive side of things and it usually helps a lot.  So.  That’s what has happened.  I no longer need a therapist.  But it is a lifelong thing.  So that’s it on that.

Ambo is good.  They are planning my farewell / birthday party.  So I’m assuming that will be fun, and we also have a baptism planned for this Saturday.  I’ll let you know how that goes.

Love you all

Hermana Peters

The Week of the 4th

Week Seventy-Five!

This week was good.  The highlight was definitely the 4th of July.  The Elders had a baptism of an investigator of like 2 years but he finally made it and it was great.

Also the same day we have less actives who make fireworks and this night they just happened to be testing some of their fireworks out and so we had fireworks and it was fun.

I’m still working and Ambo is still about the same so there is work to work.

Happy Week

Week Seventy-Four!

This week we had a special Multizone with Elder. W. Christopher Waddell from the 70 (those first ones if you have to ask) and it was really good.  He focused on when the call to hasten the work was made there was an "upgrade" of missionaries.  Before they were the missionary 1.0 where their only goal was to baptize.  Now we are missionary 2.0, because we don’t only work to baptize (even though it is our main focus) but also retain the new members and activate the less active members.

Something that really hit me is that he said our Heavenly Father saved us for this time because in the war in heaven he saw us fighting for his plan working to help our brothers and sister to choose what is right.

I really liked that because I feel the love I had for them (our brothers and sisters in heaven).  I feel like the mission is more like that time than ever because people still have to choose and we are just here fighting for them to do what it right and that was the most amazing to me.

That’s all.

Bye

The Trujillo temple dedication

Week Seventy-Three!

First off, the short news stories.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILL AND SYDNEY.

I thought there was more but I actually think that was it.

This week was really a blessing I got to see via satellite the temple dedication of the Trujillo Peru Temple.  It was the greatest blessing just knowing that Dieter F Uchtdorf and David A Bednar were in Peru even if they are 18 hours away.  We had the pleasure of listening to talks given by the Temple President and his wife Elder Uceda (remember him?) and Elder Uchtdorf.

All of the talks were really good.  The things that stood out to me were the talk by the Temple President, he said that if we are not full of the pure love of Christ (or charity) than really we need to work to be more worthy of the temple.

Elder Uceda shared 5 things we can do to prepare for the temple.

1. Always have a current temple recommend.

2. Buy your temple clothing now, and have it to remind you to go to the temple.

3. Fill out the book My Family and start looking for your ancestors.

4. Always have a picture of the temple in your house so that you and your children can remember how important it is for you.

5. ???

However, the talk that really stood out to me was by President Uchtdorf.  He spoke about how we can know that we are walking before God with all of our Heart Might Mind and Strength. And we can know that we are doing well if we are worthy of the temple.

It was amazing.  You could really feel the spirit testifying that the temple is something really, really important not only for us but also for the Lord.  Another miracle this week.  Our pensionista forgot she needed to give us lunch on a Sunday (and we couldn’t buy food) but the Lord blessed us so much for going out and working even though we were hungry at almost every appointment we were given fruits and cookies and I could only think of the scripture in 3 Nephi 13 that says " Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For your Heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." I was amazed at the miracles we get for working here in the work of the Lord.

Love you All

bye

[no subject]

Week Seventy-two!

This week was really good.  We are working hard with some really good people to try and help them more, I don't know what else to say.

We made lots of puppy friends this week and that was awesome.  We are anxiously waiting the dedication of the Trujillo temple this next week so we are really excited about that and i am sure that we will have lots more stories about that next week.

I don’t know if you’re counting

Week Seventy-One!

I’m pretty sure you know that I will only be writing like 5 more emails after this.  How weird is that.

This week I had a very interesting talk with my mission President.  He called and asked me when I wanted to go home.  It kind of hit me hard, and was never a question I had really thought about being a real option.

It led me to think of an email my dad sent when I had only 9 months in the mission.  When I climbed Huatapallaga and he explained that it is like the mission.  You climb to the top and you get there and you feel so good but you realize that you’re only half way done.  It’s just as hard and long going down because you’re sore and tired but when you’re all the way finished its so much better.

That is where I’m at.  I remember getting to the flat path were I could see the bus parked waiting for me and just wanting to be there so bad.  I wanted it to come and pick me up and take me from there, almost to the end, but not quite.  But now looking back thinking that was the part I was the most proud of, that I could finish even though it was the hardest part.  Harder than the lack of oxygen, harder than peeling an orange at an altitude that I never want to experience again, was the flat easiest walk to the bus.

It was the most rewarding because it would have been easy to give up there.  It took a lot of encouragement from others but I did it.  That is where I am now.  I don’t know how much I wanted to tell President I wanted to go home early, but I knew the Lord needed me here until the end, and He needs me to put my all into it and continue strong in the work.  So thank you everyone for your encouragement.

I love you all

Hermana Peters

This week was good

Week Seventy!

We are working our bums off and starting to see the fruits of our labors.  Maybe I will be able to explain that more next week but right now we don’t have a lot of time, so I hope all is well and that everything is going good.

We had an interesting morning

Week Sixty-nine!

Ambo is a great place.  Our biggest problem right now is that they are paving the highway between Ambo and Huanuco.  Most days we just sit in the car for an hour or two until they open the pass.  But the cars are getting tired of driving.  So today we walked to Huanuco.  I’m sure Google maps can tell you exactly how long that is, but we left at 8:30 and got there around 10.  So I’m guessing it was a few miles.  Here’s a photo that the Elder took of us walking to Huanuco with the buses traveling from a place called Cero de Pasco stuck in the wait.

The work in Ambo is moving.  I know that there are some of you praying for our success here and we are really seeing those blessings, so thank you so much!

Well

Week Sixty-eight!

I don’t really know what to write.  I had the plan to just send all of my photos from the last like 3 months, home but I happened to get the one broken computer.  So that isn’t happening this week we have been in Huanuco for the multi zona and lots of other things and training's and stuff so for that we haven’t seen a lot of the people that we teach but it was a good spiritual lift and it was awesome I don’t know what else to say.  But I love you all.

Happiness in Tribulation

Week Sixty-seven!

Not because I’m having a hard time, but there are a lot of people around me that are.  But something I have seen throughout my mission is that the Gospel really does bring a Never-ending Happiness (See, Mosiah 2:41) and that sadness is really but for a moment.

That true happiness comes from knowing that God knows better than us.  That at the end of something bad the good stuff will always come next.  Whether someone is gravely ill, or someone you love is rejecting you, just know that through the gospels truth and light you can know everything will be okay and maybe for that moment we are on the same level as Job or Paul or Joseph Smith or any other of the great prophets to walk this earth.  Like them we are here to learn the patience that comes so that we can live in that eternal happiness knowing that through Christ we will become strong enough to support those things.

The start of an ending

Week Sixty-six!

Well that was a really awesome mission call.  Now I will have someone to speak Spanish with.  Really Jon won’t speak that weird language the world is so moved forward that they will almost all know Spanish.  It’s like here I don’t speak Quechua.  I know some things but not very much.  Just the mean things.

This week I had the great blessing of staying the weekend and a few days this week in Tarapaca and I can really see the fruits of my labor.  I get to be here because as it has been said before my companion is going to her house, and right now she is with president.

I got to see all of the people who love me the most, haha, but really though it is really amazing.  Even though I only had one convert in the area and it was really hard to find people to teach it is seriously one of my favorite areas and I love the people here and the ward members are truly people who are dedicated to helping the cause.

I don’t have very many other updates because I have not been in my area but we will know who my new companion is tomorrow.

I love you all.

bye

This week was good

Week Sixty-five!

We found lots of new people and one was actually a miracle.

We knocked on a door and were talking to a husband and we mentioned that we were missionaries and that we had a message for them, and his wife popped up from behind him like a message for us, please come in.

We were just in shock.  Because despite with what Mormon movies say, that doesn't happen very often.  She’s a born again Christian and he’s Catholic but they have lots of beliefs that are similar to the church and they are really amazing people and we have been waiting on our toes to go see them again.

The people here are so great and I love them lots.  That’s all that I really have this week.  Hermana Weixler is getting ready to go home so we are finding a good balance of still working hard and getting her ready, it’s all good.

A Missionary of Success

Week Sixty-four!

This week I have restarted to read Preach My Gospel. And with the grand blessing I have been able to rediscover my favorite section. "A Successful Missionary"

I love this section.  Mostly because serving in Peru isn’t as everyone has always described it, like a family baptism every week.  But also the mission itself - like being a senior companion after completing half your mission.

The thing is I came into the mission field at a very special time for the work of salvation.  A time were we are here to work as a team not only as a companionship but also as a work.  Working with other missionaries in our ward and the ward leaders to find the people that the Lord has prepared for us, and not just those who want to be baptized without knowing the significance of the gospel.  A time were the wave, of new missionaries, was ending and now almost all of the missionaries have more than a year in the mission and are more experienced and ready to work.  I’m in a wonderful spot and we are working hard to do good in the little town of Ambo.

And even though I don’t have a million baptisms, or the title of senior companion.  I know that we are really a tool in the hands of the Lord and we are striving to be better, because "You can know you have been a successful missionary when you:

• Feel the Spirit testify to people through you.
• Love people and desire their salvation.
• Obey with exactness.
• Live so that you can receive and know how to follow the Spirit, who, will show you where to go, what to do, and what to say.
• Develop Christlike attributes.
• Work effectively every day, do your very best to bring souls to Christ, and seek earnestly to learn and improve.
• Help build up the Church (the ward) wherever you are assigned to work.
• Warn people of the consequences of sin. Invite them to make and keep commitments.
• Teach and serve other missionaries.
• Go about doing good and serving people at every opportunity, whether or not they accept your message." (PMG Cap 1) 

These are the things we are striving to do in our areas and in ourselves.  Maybe I’m still not perfect yet but I know that with the Lords help I will get there one day.

Jesusa is progressing well, she still hasn’t had the opportunity to attend church but this week she promised us that she would go with us and I know that she will feel the Spirit of the Lord while she is there.

I know this gospel is true, and maybe we won’t always have the success that we desire but we will have the success that the Lord desires.

I love you All

Hermana Peters

I dont really know what to write this week

Week Sixty-three!

My companion is going home in like not very much time.  So we are passing some time helping her get ready while still being very focused in the work.  We are staying focused a lot more with fasting.  I have never really had a huge fasting experience but I know that with our faith it will bring us miracles in these next couple weeks.

We are working hard to find the people here that God has prepared for us, and I know we can find them.  There have been people working in the center of Ambo for about a year, so I know that there are just so many people here waiting to hear the gospel.

I’m doing really well and I am so happy to be here we found this wonderful lady named Jesusa and she has a son and daughter who are 10 and 8 and she is a single mom who doesn’t know how to read and doesn’t have a religious background at all.  It is so great to go back and really be able to teach the stories of Jesus and of the Bible that we always think that we all know and see her faith just grow.

She has such a desire to learn and her 10 year old son helps us so much. He is so smart. He reads to his mom and knows the scriptures so well.

Their faith amazes me and I know that she is one of the people that God has prepared for us.

I love you all

Hermana Peters

The Power of Ambo

Week Sixty-two!

I don’t know what it is about this place, but there is just something you need to love about Ambo.  When I came here in divisions one day I really was not a fan I will admit it but really it is more than just working in a little pueblo on the side of a mountain climbing up and down every moment.

I don’t know if it is just being outside of a city but there is just such a good atmosphere here everyone knows who we are and even though they are still slow to accept this wonderful message they still accept and love us for trying.

As my last few areas have been, Ambo is kind of slow in the work we don’t have any baptisms planned and we are finding it slow to find new people to teach but I can’t let that put me down.  Our Ward Mission Leader is working hard to help us in the work.

I am so grateful for the General Conference we were able to see this week and I would just like to testify that I know that those men The Prophet, His Councilors, and the 12 Apostles are men that are called of God.  That despite the flaws of men that they have the power and ability to receive the revelation that they need to direct the church of God today.  I know that everyone that went to the Conference looking for answers received what they were looking for.

If you were wondering what my favorite talk was it was a tie between David A Bednar and Dieter F Uchtdorf.

I know that, despite the view of the world, Satan is attacking the family more than ever before.  That is the reason that men ordained of God focused so much on that topic.  If we can strengthen a few families and our families personally it is the best thing we can do.  As Elder Tom Perry shared, if every religion which believes in a higher being, believes in the same law how could we say it wasn’t ordained of God.

I don’t have much else to say but this testimony I have.  If you just pray and ask God if Thomas S Monson is a prophet, with REAL and TRUE intent to know, God will answer you and there is no need to fear.

Maybe there were quite a few things that threw off this conference, like problems with translators, the group not sustaining the prophet, but we can still feel the peace in the words of these great men.

I love this gospel.

I love our Prophet.

And I love my Father in Heaven and my older brother Jesus Christ.

Love

Hermana Peters

PS. the president of my university is now in the first quorum of the 70 so we will see what happens with that.

AMBO

Week Sixty-one!

Well I was moved, I’m now in a little town called Ambo it’s just outside of Huanuco and to get a bus or car here we actually have to go to my old area.  The parents of my pension in Tarapaca live here so it’s pretty fun.  But it is so good here, it has the same weather as Huanuco so you can expect me to be very tan.  My companion is Hermana Wiexler, which is cool she’s a cool kid but it is weird at the same time because she is an Hermana Leader and usually they have a companion that is an Hermana Leader, but I’m still just a normal missionary, so something might happen with that during this change or at the end of it.

I have been thinking a lot lately about how I am the way that I am you know with the whole social disorder thing.  And I kind of just want to share what I like to call My Bullying Story.  Somethings some people know and have heard but I think I kept a lot of things guarded close to me.  But in the mission I have done a lot of growing socially and have realized that I went through a lot more than some people did without even experiencing it.  I have accepted that and would like a lot of people to read this.  Just so they can see things can get better and that its okay to let people help and to ask for help.

I don’t know if these have an effect on things but I only have two memories from Kindergarten.  The time I wet my pants which I have shared often and if you don’t know the story you can ask my mom.  The other I haven’t shared very often but I just remember being in the playroom playing with the Barbie’s by myself.  I don’t remember if anyone joined me after the part I remember but I just remember seeing all the other kids playing together.

I’m sure a lot of things happened between then and my next memory but I’m not sure what.  I just remember there were people who were nice to me but I never really had good friends, (except Sophie she was always there) but my next memory is in the fourth grade.  When someone who I thought was a really good friend came up and told me very bluntly that I was fat.  More than anything I was just sad that a friend would say that because I had heard it from the girls who weren’t really my friends in ways that weren’t so blunt, but it still hurt.  I feel like I have forgiven this person but I know it made me a little bit more introverted to the point I had a really hard time confiding in my friends.

Before I move into the next part I feel like more importantly people realize that I didn’t understand that I was being bullied and that more than anything is the reason that I never really said anything.  Because you always think of bullying as like name calling and punching and stuff, but more than anything people just ignored me and didn’t want me around them.

That’s what happened more than anything in 5th Grade and that’s the reason my 5th grade teacher said it was the year she almost quit teaching.  I did have a few friends I thought and I’m pretty sure that is kind of when my parents realized that I didn’t have very many friends.  I’m sure that I refused help because I didn’t know it was something so bad for people to do.  It was the end of fifth grade that I really realized that people didn’t want to be my friend.  When the cool girls made the rules of popularity for middle school and one was to not be friends with me.  I received notes from the people that were nice to me that I thought were my friends saying that they couldn’t be my friend anymore.  That day I cried harder than I have the whole rest of my life.

Then I started middle school and I kind of brought the rest on myself.  I went emo and started being weird because I thought it was cooler that way anyway.  With that new found persona people started the rumors that I was lesbian, which isn’t anything against lesbians but it makes it really hard to get a boyfriend.  That I cut myself and that I hated all people.

None of which were true but I lived with it anyway.  I did have a good friend in this time.  A girl with the same personality and the same persona and we were friends for quite a few years.

Which leads us into high school.  My sophomore year I was still friends with her but I really started to evaluate my life.  I looked at where I was headed and really analyzed what is it that I wanted for my life, especially when I found out that this girl who was my really good friend got into things like sex and drugs at a young age.

The summer between my sophomore and junior year the bishop challenged the youth to read the whole book of Mormon and that we would have the answers we needed if we did it.  So I read the book of Mormon that summer- the whole thing and I don’t remember a huge all at once change but I can see now that slowly I became more of the person I actually wanted to be and at the start of Junior year and dropped my friends who were doing things against my new found beliefs and went solo.

Then that year the luckiest thing in the world happened.  Two new girls moved to the school from Nevada.  Girls of the church who had personalities like mine who became my first real friends.  That year in seminary there was a young man who was a little weird and we were kind of mean to him at first (sorry Blake) but he was actually really cool.  And Sophie came back more fully into my life and I love her for always being there.  The Lord blessed me so much that year and that’s how I knew the gospel was true because those blessings came after I started doing things right and with my own desires.

It may not sound like the worst story out there, but it really did affect me and I didn’t realize how much until I got to a strange country with people that I didn’t know that I had to force myself to talk to and it was really hard.  I socially did not know how to talk to them I could not carry a normal conversation with someone and that more than anything was the reason the mission was so hard.  It’s still hard sometimes but I now can talk to people and that is the biggest blessing ever.

Trust me it gets better.

I’m so happy to be here and I love the gospel and know that through the atonement of Jesus Christ anything is possible.

Don’t worry about me.

I’m so happy here.

I love you all.

Hermana Peters