¡Tenga Fe!

This week was amazing!! We made a goal to find 16 new investigators. Last week we only found 6, and the mission goal is 15 evey week. I dont think I have ever found more than 10 though. But my companion and I were determined, had a lot of faith, and went to work! Our first day, some random lady in the street refered us to this family she knew. So we went. The family was first back offish and then we talked about the unity a family can have through the gospel and the mom's entire attitude changed. She slowly went to find her kids and brought them all to listen to us. By the end of teh first day, we found 5 news! We were so excited and knew that we could do this easily with God on our side. Every day we slowly, but surely found more and more people that were prepared by God and ready to accept the gospel of Christ into their lives. I learned how much God truly helps his servants. We would contact someone that was referred to us and a lot of the time they were not there or weren't interested, but someone like a neighbor, mom, or sister was ready! When we did our part, God put people into our hands. It was so amazing to watch the miracle of finding more and more people everyday! We had a man just walk up to us and ask if we could help him quit drinking and he knew we were of God and could do it! We also had this member from another ward say he had a friend that wanted to get baptized in our area. By the end of our week, we ended up finding 17 new investigators! We exceeded our goal! :) I know that God was with us every step of the way. We had faith and worked hard, and he filled in the rest! 

We have now been showering with a bucket for 2 weeks! I took a 2 minute shower today! We dont have warm water, so we boil it and then bucket bath. It has been an interesting experience, but I think I appreciate warm showers so much more now! I also stubbed my toe yesterday and thought ouch that hurt! Then I looked down and my toe had a ton of blood! I realized that the tip of my toe was barely hanging on, so we super glued it back together! Im not sure if that was a good idea or not, but I at least have practically a whole toe. It does hurt in my shoe walking the hills here, but I'm tough! so it's whatever.. haha Lastly, I have learned that I am slowly becoming Mexican! Here they dont really eat chocolate candy or anything normal for candy. They all LOVE their chile covered gooey stuff... I dont know exactly what it is. ha But the first time I hated it and gave it to my companion, but now I actually enjoy it! I know I have been here too long, when Chile candy tastes good!

I hope you all have a buenísimo semana and enjoy the sun! Oh by the way, the weather here is perfect right now! It is not hot enough that we are even sweating! That is a blessing in itself. It is the rainy time, but it usually starts raining at night, every night! Our clothes have had a rough time drying, but oh well. 

Con amor,

Hermana Peterson   

The Work of the Lord

Buenas Tardes!

First I have to say I love my companion! She is from Las Vegas and is so much fun. I can't say we speak spanish all day though.. But it is a very different experience with an American. We can totally understand each other, so that might help. What I love is that you learn different lessons from each person you meet and especially  wihen you are with someone 24/7! She is very bold. We have an investigator who has been coming to church for two years, but herboyfriend wont marry her, so she cant get baptized. The thing is though, he is working in another statefor months! So in our lesson with her we asked her if she wanted to get baptized and she experienced her deep desire and we asked what God wanted for her to do. She said umm.. get married. Hna Marx said what else can you do? She looked really confused and said I dont know. I then felt to be very bold and upfront. I said you have two options here... on, get married or two, seperate. She looked at my with astonishment and said I never thought of that before, as her eyes started to wáter. At that point I felt pretty bad. But she went on to say she knows she needs to get baptized and wants to, so she would give her boyfriend two options. She is thinking it might scare him enough to just marry her or she is hoping at least. But I am glad that I have a good enough relationship with her to understand that we are only her because we love her and want the best for her. It's crazy how much I learn to love people and so quickly!

We went to contact a reference we had recieved and she wasnt home, so we talked to her neighbor. He seemed receptive and Hna Marx decided to give him a Book of Mormon. When we handed it to him, he then freaked out and said I have goosebumps!! Wow that feels great, I know this is from God. We thought wow that doesnt happen everyday.. We came back another day for a lesson and after we testified of Joseph Smith, he stopped us. He said I believe it, I believe it all and not because of your words but because of how I feel. He continued to say that he had had many people and missionaries come to his door and we were the first that he let in and he knew it was not a coincidence. We were very excited and I know that God always helps his servants with finding people He has prepared. We just need to be obedient and diligent!

 We ate at the relief society president's house and after her dog followed us. He usually does but turns around after 15 minutes or so. We were walking across a bridge and the dog was just going crazy all over the road. We kept walking and then I saw in the corner of my eye, the dog jump off the bridge and sqeal! He had jumped 25 feet into an empty river! We freaked out!! The dog limped away and we had no idea what to do. We went to our next lesson and by the time it was over it started pouring rain! The streets were filled with rivers and we ran around in trashbags. When we got home, we remembered the dog and thought he could of died in the rain or something! The president then called us and asked if we had her dog. We didnt have the guts to say it jumped off a bridge.. we felt so bad! But luckily on Sunday, she said the dog returned really late at night. Man we were relieved!  God even protects stupid dogs.

Que tenga linda semana! Les amo muchísima!

Hermana Peterson  

Transfers!!

I am officially a big girl! My mother (trainer) has left me and I now have a new companion! I am still in Tepoz but my companion is an American. I was a little upset when I was told that, because I really need a lot of work with my spanish. But today I met her, Sister Marx, and she is amazing! She is so bubbly and fun and I can't wait for the work that we have ahead of us! 

Saturday we had a baptism! Raymundo, my little grandpa, is officially a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints! The baptism was so simple. We only had 4 members come. He didnt have any friends or family want to come, but we told him that his granddaughters were coming for sure:) (us) But the only part of the baptism that is important is the ordinance and I know that we have the power of God that is needed for this! I have really learned how much I love Raymundo, because I am not wanting to baptize just to have another number, but because I have the chance to bring him closer to Heavenly Father and to his kingdom. What a priviledge I have! Oh and I have learned that Ray actually trusts me now! We had his interview with the Elders and when they were talking (both American) he would look at me for the translation of them. Which is funny because one of them just finished his mission today and his spanish is great! So I am glad that Raymundo trusts me now:) 

I have learned a new saying that I love! "Cabeza de Charlito" It pretty much means ditzy... I heard it and thought it was so funny! My spanish teacher called me Charlito and now I feel offended! just kidding, it's somewhat true! But this week has been crazy with rain! One day we left an appointment to go home and it was just raining a little and then it started pouring! Outside our house with about a foot or two of rain! We were so soaked! I had fun in the rain, but my scriptures got a little wet:( they survived though! All is well. 

I love you all and hope you have a great week! Keep being amazing and share the joy you have with all!

Mucho Amor,

Hermana Peterson

Buenos Tardes!

How are we all doing? I hope that you can all enjoy the summer, as it is coming very close! Soak up the sun, but dont get too burnt or you will look like me! just kidding, I am still white. always will be. I am reminded this by tons of people everyday in the street! People love to just yell "wera" at me. Which just means white girl. But I dont undertsand why they have to say that when I walk by. It's not like we yell "mexican" or something, everytime they walk by. But oh well! It is true, I'm white! 

This week we were able to learn how amazing lessons can be when members acompany us! We asked our Branch President to come to a lesson with us for Joaquin. He has been coming to church for probabaly years, off and on, with lots of missionaries. He was the man who I said when you come to church, we will come and teach you. Which he did. My favorite part is that he brings 4 little kids as well. It is cute to see a man with children just so happy following him to church. He told us in one lesson that he knew the church was true and that the Book of Mormon was a good book to read. But we were not sure, what was holding him back. When we started the lesson, the first thing President Pineda asked was "listo por su bautismo?" (are you ready for your baptism?) Joaquin said yes. Which was nice to hear for us! Later in the lesson, we learned the only doubt he has is modern prophets. President testified of the truth of them and I think was able to help him. President has such a strong testimony and knows so much, that it made the lesson very powerful! I know we all felt it and I am so glad to know that the Spirit is with us in lessons. I know that members can help so much with lessons and help investigators understand that we are normal people and this gospel has changed our lives! I would really suggest this week to ask your missionaries if you can come with them to a lesson. They will be delighted and you will be able to participate in the work of the Lord and change lives! 

In Tepoztlan, all the streets are made our of big stones. Which is pretty, but I probably trip 5 times everyday! I honestly dont know how I have not broken my ankle yet. But yesterday, I fell down some steps at President's house and my ankle hurts a little. But I know that I can walk only because God is watching over me everyday! My fall was rough and it should of been a lot worse, but God is truly in my life, protecting my every movement:) Oh how I am grateful for Him! 

Que tenga linda tarde! Les amo:)  

Hermana Peterson 

fotos.. a member made us hamburgers and fries! what a nice change:) (she made me eat 2 and I couldnt do it! I dont like them that much...)

2nd foto, president Pineda, his 2 sons and Marco (our convert) for a FHE in their house with us.

 

Como Esta?

Hola! 

It is great to see God's hand in my everyday. I know for a fact that we wouldnt be able to do anything without Him and need to rely on Him for everything! We had a lesson with a wife of a convert and in the beginning she was very back offish and I thought well we wont be asking for a baptismal date today! We had small talk for about 20 minutes getting to know her first. Once we started to teach, the spirit of the lesson completely changed. We were able to testify of the devinity of Christ and his desire for all of us to return to Him someday and how importeant it is to come to know him now. As we got to the end of the lesson, we both felt that it was the time to ask about baptism and she accepted! This just proved to me how much this is not Chari's work, but God's. He knows his children perfectly and we must ask for his help to help them. 

On Wednesday we had a Zone Conference with President and Hermana Kusch. and for some crazy reason President choose my companion and I to teach everyone! Other then us the zone leaders and stake president taught, as well as President Kusch. We were really nervous! We taught how the Book of Mormon is the keystone to our religion. We cut out pictures and wrote out quotes. But I really learned so much about the importance of the Book or Mormon in my studies for this. The lesson went great and Sister Kusch came up to me after and said that my spanish is really good, and that I just need to be confident. A lot of the times I say entiende? (do you understand) and look probably way awkward. But I do know what to say, so I am working on saying it with confidence! People think I know more when I act like I do! So I might as well fake them out:) 

I do have a big awkward moment for the week though. We contacted this man, enrique, in the street and he told us where he lived and we set up an appointment. A few days later we went to teach him. We knocked on the door and a man answered. My companion didnt say anything so I said Hola! podemos pasar? (can we come in) he said no. I was way confused and asked why, he replied because no one is home. I then asked is we could return tomorrow then and he said no. At this point I didnt understand what the problem was, so I asked when would work for you. He looked at me like why are you talking to me? My companion then said, does enrique live here? He said no. hahah No wonder he wouldnt let us in! I would be freaked out too! But a lot of Mexicans look the same! ha We explained who we were and left. My companion laughed forever and said it was her best day! 

I wish I had enough time to tell you all the funny stories like this! My life is seriously a joke sometimes! But I love it:) I get a great balance of faith building experiences and comical experiences. I hope you all have a great week though! Smile and enjoy the sun:)

Love always,

Hermana Peterson

the picture is from our lesson, we thought we could have more unity if we matched:) 

Viva Mexico!

Hola mi familia y mis amigos! 

This week Hermana Obregon and I organized a family home evening at the church for all the members. We wanted them to bring their friends for us to meet and all be strengthened in our testimonies. We decided to watch the Jospeh Smith Movie. We wanted to use a projector and set it all up in the church, but had big troubles getting it to work! We tried two lap tops, a DVD player, and the internet with the projector but NADA! So we spent probably an hour or more with this and finally gave up and just watched it on a little TV. Lame right? We tried! On the other hand, it was successful! We had a member make food for after that everyoine loved and people brought their friends and we were all up lifted by the great word of God! I love this movie and my testimony of Joseph Smith was strengthened so much! He went through so many trials and hardships, but never gave up his faith. He can be such a great example for all of us. God is always with us, through the hard and difficult times, as well as the good! Rely on him. He will help us with any problem or situation we are facing. 

This week Marco was able to bless the sacrament for the first time! That was really exciting to watch. My favorite part about being here is the opportunity to see people grow. Marco has come so far and just loves learning more and growing and it is fun to watch his progress. He wants to have a party in the church for us to celebrate his baptism and meet his family. Honestly, Mexicans love parties and will take any excuse for one! They have so many holidays that they celebrate with lots of food! All of those little days on our calender (teachers day, doctors day, grandpas day..) they actually celebrate! Meeting with family and friends and lots of food is always a good idea :) 

I dont think I have mentioned this but my legs are getting so ugly! The bugs here just love my blood. I probably get 6 bites every day! and only me. My companion just watches and laughs at my pain. Rough life ;) But I guess my blood is pretty sweet! 

Enjoy your week and have a little party! It is Hannah's and Bryndee's birthdays this week so why not everyone celebrate?? I love you lots! 

Hermana Peterson

pics.. this little house is our church! casa de oracion (house of prayer) 

and this is a members fourwheeler.. I miss mine so I asked for a picture, it is not the same though.. haha 

Baptism!

Hola!! 

This week has been one fantastic week! First we had the baptism for Marco. It was with two other children in the ward. Sister Obregon and I sang Lord I would Follow Thee. We sang 2 verses in spanish and 2 in english. I think it was pretty good! But the baptism was just beautiful. It was great to see the excitement on Marco's face. I am so excited to see his progress in the future. He just loves learning and wants to be better everyday! 

As for other people we are teaching, it has been a blessing to only focus on one city. We have found a lot more people to teach and they are really interested as well. We met this old man, Raymundo, on the street, who asked for a pamplet from us. (weird right) I talked about the church with him, while my companion was on the phone and he said he would love to have us come by his house. This was Saturday and he actually came to church the next day too! That is not normal. Getting people to church is so hard, we usually have 2 investigadors at church. But yesterday we had 9!! :) We talked to Raymundo about treating his body as a temple and not to drink or smoke and he said sure, that is a good idea. I will stop now. He is seriously a boss! The next sunday, yesterday, he brought his daughter with him. The day before we ran into his daughter on the street. I was walking by and said Buenas Tardes! She kind of jumped and looked really surprised and then said you are her! We had never met her and she said that her dad said he was learning from some girls about Christ and one of them is white and really pretty, but cant speak spanish. so she assumed that was me! Correct!! She said she wanted to know what her dad was learning, so came to church too! I am honestly so excited to see the progress of Raymundo and all of our other wonderful investigadors!

As for my spanish... At a member's house I was sharing a spiritual thought and was trying to tell them the importance of knowing Christ for themselves. I said "Es necesario cocinar Jesus." Which means it is necessary to cook Jesus. I meant to say conocer, which is know! But my companion said cook??? And the members just went with it. haha I can only imagine all the other things people just let me say that is crazy! So in conclusion, please dont cook Christ, but come to know him personally! 

One more thing, my companion says that I talk in my sleep... and in spanish!! She says my spanish is better in my sleep as well. haha One night she said I laughed out loud and she was so freaked out. I guess I am just always a happy person, awake and asleep! She always says my life is so funny and should be a TV show. I am just always laughing and smiling, and people find me crazy! I love it:) 

Well I hope you all have a fantastic week! Know I love you and pray for you always! Buenas Suerte:) 

Amor siempre,

Hermana Peterson 

pic.. Baptism! Marco, 2 ninos, and the people who baptized (hermano Reyes and Patrick) 

and this awesome tree! 

When can I get baptized?!

Happy Mother's day!! 

I hope you all enjoyed your time with your families! It is truly a blessing to have those wonderful people in your life and never forget that! I know I absolutly loved talking to my family! 

This week we were able to meet again with Raymundo, the adorable 80 year old! We came to his house to teach him about the Plan of Salvation. But as we reviewed lesson one, we realized that we needed to focus on Joseph Smith more and help him gain a testimony of him. We reviewed teh whole lesson and then decided to watch teh Restoration video for 20 minutes. It took us about 30 minutes to figure out how to get that to work, but in the end thank you for smart grandchildren! As we watched the video, Raymundo was very focused. I know I felt the Spirit strongly and I know he did as well. After the movie, we asked him what he thought and he said he liked it a lot and then paused and said.. so when can I get baptized?? Hermana Obregon and I just looked at each other amazed! We gave him a date for June 7th and said what time? It was odd for him to want to know that specific I thought, but he then explained that he didnt want to miss his own baptism for a doctor's appointment. How cute! We then stressed the importance of him quiting smoking. He said he was working on it and he can do it! We then testified of how the gospel will bring so many blesses into your life. He said I know it will, because he helped me meet you two. :) I really just want him as my grandpa! 

This week we had an interesting experience with people from seventh day... I dont remember what the religion is called in english! We met this one women on the street and asked if we could come by her house and talk with her. When we acme there were two other men with her. She said she didnt know very much about her church, but these men did. great... I was a little nervous for this now! They believe that sabbath day is on Saturday so we had about an hour and a half lesson from them about why they believe that. It was just reading scripture after scripture and facts, that were mot supported well, in my opinion. When they finally let us talk, we mentioned why we believed it was on Sunday and they really didnt care about our response. So we just gave them a Book of Mormon and said this is the key to our religion. We know that this is a book of God and if it is true, then our whole church is true and we dont have to worry about what part of our church is true or not. Christ is the head of our church and he will not lead us astray. There was such a different spirit that I felt listening to my companion testify and them preach. So I know that the Holy Ghost testified to me that I am doing the right thing and am in the right place! 

I love you all so much and I hope that you have a great week! Remember to include God in your life and thank him for all the little things you have that bring joy! 

Mucho Amor,

Hermana Peterson 

pics.. we helped this girl paint her house and I like this picture because you can see the beautiful view through her door and the other picture is just to prove we always have fun together :) 

Survived my first transfer!

Hola!

Today marks my second transfer here. I will not be leaving Tepoztlán, but before we had Tepo and a small town outside called San Andres. We spent 2 days there and rotated every sunday. But this transfer they are having 2 more sisters just for San Andres! I am really excited to be able to focus on just Tepo. The scary part is the sisters have to live with us too. I thought it was hard to live with one Mexican and try to talk to her, but now I have 2 more Latinos! They are on their way now, so I havent met them yet. It will be quit an experience though. I have been praying for patience, worst idea ever! This will for sure teach me patience. I am hoping with 3 fluent speakers my spanish will sky rocket! But who knows..

As for my spanish right now, I can understand a lot more. I fully understand lessons. The hard part is when they talk about things outside the góspel, that's where I get lost. But It is getting better. I think I speak a Little better, but people still ask my companion for a translation after I talk! haha Its rough. My companion understands me usually, so I think people just dont try to undertsand me. They think oh another White, no way can she speak and give up on listening. because my companion usually repeats the same thing I say! Oh well! with time:)

This week we ran into a man that lives right next to the church and has been taught in the past but we stopped teaching him because he stopped going to church. Many people here like to have us over to talk and learn but they dont want to go to church though. So he asked us when we were going to come back to his house and visit. I felt to be very blunt and said, when you come to church, we will come to your house. He kind of backed off and looked really surprised. After my companion said that was a Little rude... BUT on sunday guess who came to church!! So I guess he needed to hear it in a more forward way. So we will be teaching him and his family again. yay!

Everyone knows I love kids! Here I seem to hang out with kids more than anyone else. I am always playing volleyball or soccer in the yard while my companion is speaking about things I dont understand. haha But I love the kids here! I teach them english and they teach my spanish and we are all just best friends:)

Well wish me luck with the sisters and language! I hope you have a great week and smile for me, always!!

Mucho Amor,

Hermana Peterson

pics..I learned to make tortillas!

this is the picture from last week with the conquistador

and hail