Pyramids

hey ya'll!

We just got back from climbing some sick pyramids at Xochicalco!! There are like 5 or more all together. It is really pretty and big! Oh and last week we went to a zoo... it had 5 animals!! (goats, monkeys, snakes, crocs, and a dog!) But the landscape was so pretty with huge trees and flowers. It only costs 10 pesos (less than a dollar) This week we were walking down the Street and there was a funeral with a crowd of people filling the Street singing. So what did we decide to do?? We walked up to people giving out families are eternal cards and telling them its okay! you will see them again!!  Not sure if that is illegal, but we got some appointments out of it:) We also had this group of maybe 12 year olds ask if they could take a picture with us! That's right... Im famous here:)

But we were a little lost, like always, and I asked these two men if they knew were a place was. After we contacted them and made an appointment to go back. I wasnt too convinced they were interested, but we went! One, Cloudio, is probably 65 or more. We talked to him and he is the coolest old man! He cant read, but really likes to learn and we committed him to go to church with us. We said we would meet him at 830 to show him were the church is.  He tried fighting us to meet us at 10am instead. We probably said 50 times "what time will we meet you?" We taught him the importance of church and it was a simple lesson. But he seemed humble and I still wasnt sure if he would go. SoSunday morning I called him and he was like, yes im getting ready! Meet you there!! We still didnt know... sadly we obviously dont have much faith in people. But when we got off the bus, he was standing there in his jeans and nice cowboy hat! We were so happy. He stayed for the 3 hours and was just a treat. I dont know how to explain, but he is so funny and cute! But I am realizing that anyone who has desires, can make the sacrifice to get to church. It is imposible and wrong to judge people and decide who is ready and not, so I need to stop. I am learning that it is always in the Lord's hands and Hna. Peterson really knows nothing and is just here to smile and invite! The rest is up to them and God. That is why it is so important to talk to everyone and not take the option away from anyone to listen to the góspel. Anyone could be ready and I dont know who is, so im going to talk to them all:)

I hope everyone can have a great week! Remember to read your scriptures, say your prayers, and always Hermana Peterson loves you! ¡Que tenga una bonita semana llena de gozo!

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Peterson

Feliz día de los reyes!

Hola hola!

In Mexico, they celebrate Christmas and then on the Jan. 6th they celebrate "El Día de los Reyes Magos" (the wisemen). So the tradition goes that there are three wisemen, one from Africa who comes on an elephant, one from Arabic who comes on a camel, and one from Europe that comes on a horse, but they are all spirits. They bring the good children toys, three, one from each wiseman. But the kids have to clean their shoes (to show they are good) and put them under the christmas tree. They keep the tree on as a light to guide the wisemen to their house. They hid the toys throughout the house. They say that the constellation "Orion's belt" looks like the 3 wisemen coming closer to their house. Through the month of December, the 3 stars look like they are getting closer. But they only bring toys for the kids as representing the gift to baby Jesus. I think it is a pretty cool tradition and helps them remember Christ and focus on His birth more. They also have a big bread that they always buy on this day, rasca. It is filled with little babies! haha maybe 6 depending on the size. They have everyone cut their own piece and if you get the baby, you have to make everyone tamales for the Feb 2nd! And guess who gotthe baby... me and my companion! 

But as for good news, I officially am eye infection free!! :) Oh and my eyelashes grew a lot. Yay for no makeup! But my companion on the other hand is loosing crazy amounts of hair and we went to 3 doctors for her this week. One doctor came up to her, SMELT her head and said "yes, yes, I know what it is! Grease. so you must be stressed! How is your love life?" He then went on forever about her boyfriend, that she doesnt have! We didnt take his advice... But they still aren't sure what is happening. 

We have this one investigator, Yeni. She is our favorite though! She just has so many questions and is reading the Book of Mormon. She just love learning and wants to know everything. But she hadnt gone to church with us before, so we told her we were coming to her house and she was going with us if she liked it or not! She agreed:) We called her at 7am to make sure she was getting ready and told her we would come by in 30 minutes to go with her. We ended up being 30 minutes late and had to take a taxi. When we got to her house, her 7 year old son said my mom already left for church. We realized that we forgot our phone and she didnt know how to get there! So we just went on. As we were driving, I thought I saw Yeni, and the Taxi guy was like no, its not her, oh no it is!! (I thought he was joking, but he really did know her) So I rolled down the window and yelled YENI! she ran across the street and got in with us. We then went to the bus stop and off to church! It was a miracle we found her in the street. But I am really glad she was able to come with us. She seemed to enjoy it! 

We had this young girl have to get rebaptized because they lost her records. A lot of the members were talking about how they would love to have another baptism and be clean again. I then looked at them and said you get a mini baptism every week!! I think sometimes we forget how important the Sacrament really is. If we prepare to take the sacrament every week, we can fully feel the atonement working in ours lives. It is a gift from God to be cleaned every week and remember that we can improve ourselves and become better with the help of Christ. I love John 6:54 where it says "Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day." We will have eternal life, through participating in the scrament and renewing our covenants with God each and every week. We need to CTR! C: keep the Commandments T: Testify of Christ R: Remember Him always. When we apply the sacrament into our lives, we are changed:) 

I love you all very much and hope that you have a very wonderful week! 

pic... Rasca bread, lucky baby prize, and children of investigatores with their new skates from the wisemen! 

Happy New Year!

Hola familia y amigos! 

This week was a week full of crazy, weird things. First, I got sick and lost my voice. That was super fun talking to people all day, everyday when my voice was cracking and I sounded like a man. If people didnt understand me before, now they look at me like a crazy women! But as we were walking to an appointment, this man started walking towards us. He was wearing all black, shaggy clothes, hair in a mess, piercing, and a backpack. He yelled where are you guys from? We explained the United States and he looked so confused and asked if we spoke english. We said yes, and he then screamed speak to me in english. My companion looked scared to death and started speaking in english. He then asked what she said and got mad and threw his hands up and just left. Weird moment. We went to our appointment and entered the house and as we were talking to the 11 year old daughter, we heard the man scream "I want to learn about the Bible too!" The daughter lliterally ran... as did I! I wasnt going to be near the door if he came back. But my comp like froze and didnt move. The father came out and I still dont know what exactly happened but the man left. So we then went on to teach our lesson. The next day we were walking close to the same area and he said again I want to learn of the Bible! We were now in the middle of the street, very public, so I felt a lot more comfortable and gave him a pass a long card and invited him to church (didnt come). I think we are now best friends :) just kidding, I just hope we dont run into him again, he is very sketchy. 

We were in a class at church, talking about gifts from the Spirit and one of the converts started sharing her testimony. She said that she never finished school and didnt learn how to read. When the missionaries came by, they gave her the Book of Mormon and she didnt tell them she didnt know how to read. She started to study it with her husband and she just started reading! She said it was such a miracle and blessing. She had never shared that with anyone and I never realized it because she always reads with us and she is good. This family has almost nothing, but it is so amazing watching them grow. They need to walk far and then take a bus to get to church. They cant afford it, but they always come. They wont let other people take them because they say that they can sacrifice for Christ and always see the blessing. I really have learned that it doesnt matter if someone has nothing, but if they have a desire to follow Christ, God will help them and they can make it an hour to church. When we sacrifice, we are blessed so much! When we put God first, everything else will fall into place. 

I hope everyone has a great week and enjoys the snow:) Love you all!

Hermana Peterson

pics.. just taking the youth through the jungle:)

our favorite.. churros! 

our fraccionamiento (dont know how to say that in english) but our house.

He is the gift

HOLA HOLA! FELIZ NAVIDAD:)  

4 missionaries + 4 adults + 5 kids + 1 ford 5 passenger car = Mexico! Since our church is so far away, we cram in cars a lot and I honestly didnt know it was possible to fit so many people in a car! We also take a lot of buses everywhere because our area is pretty big and this week we got on one and like 10 minutes later my comp was like, "yeah, I dont know where we are! I think we have left our area and our zone.. woops." so we hopped right off and took a taxi back. Gosh, we get pretty lost!

Yesterday I had to give a talk at church. Every 4 weeks, the missionaries talk and it wasnt suppose to be our turn, but Bishop asked us to anyways. I woke up feeling horrible and ended up throwing up. FUN! Since there are 6 missionaries, one of them said they would give it for me. I felt too bad and said no, I can do it! As we got to church, I got a blessing right away. As we waited for people to come, I realized I didnt want to get up and throw up on all the audience! So Hna Ayala said she would do it for me. As I was sitting down, I just felt like I needed to do it. The Relief Society President passed by knowing my situation and whispered, "I know you have something to say that we need to hear" and

 walked away. So at that point, I told Hna Ayala I would do it. The bishop already announced that she was and I changed my mind as my comp was speaking, so when I got up everyone was alittle confused. But it was the first time in my life I didnt read my talk off the paper. I just started talking. I spoke about "He is the Gift" (the new video the church made). There were so many different ideas I just started saying that I didnt plan. I tried to help the members understand that WE first need to discover Christ in ourt lives and then accept him, and after we do that we will want to share Him with everyone. I  want to testify that I know that God loves every single one of us and that is why He sent His son. There truly is no greater gift than that! Through Christ we can clean and improve oursleves everyday and have the opportunity to live with our Father in Heaven again. I am so thankful for the Christmas season that we can remember Christ and share with all the love God has for us. I would like to comment that I felt great the whole time and I know that I was only able to be an instrument in the Lord's hands. 

We had this less active member come up to us after church and just started crying thanking us for helping her come back. We only went to her house once, but I guess sometimes all it takes is a little love and reminder. I have loved working with less-active members and helping them come bcak to Christ. It is beautiful seeing someone remember and changing their life again. I really encourage you to visit and pass along "He is the Gift." It is a short but impacting video. I wish you all a very merry Christmas and always remember that Christ was our first and best gift.

http://www.mormon.org/christmas

Love always,

Hermana Peterson

Pics.. We had our Mission christmas party and every district had to come up with a skit. My comp was Santa and I was an elf. (President and Sis Kusch) 

At the ward party, they had 5 Pinata and I went first. I literally was so far away from it and was hearing so many people screaming and only understood until my comp started telling me where to go in English. I hit it right on the top and shattered it:) Luckily there were 4 more!

Knocking Doors

Hola Hola! 

My companion and I were showing people pictures before the mission and they all say NOO!! That's not you! What did the mission do to you?? So I guess not wearing make up for 3 months isnt a good idea.. haha. But fun news, my eye infection came back! WOO! So I wont be wearing make up for a much longer time! But It's all good. Nothing I cant handle right? 

We were walking in the street and when we dont have anything to do we knock doors. Technically it's not apart of our mission, but it works when we have nothing to do! So we walked past this house that had pretty christmas decorations and their curtains were lace and gorgeous! I told my comp, lets knock here, it's pretty! She said fine, you talk then. So I started contacting a man and he was like "We are mormons too!! Come in!" They were new to the area and hadnt been able to find the church (because it's so far!) and have had desires to go back after a year and a half of not going. They are a young couple and we explained were the church was and set up another appointment. On Sunday they texted us and said they got in a little car accident on the way to church and wouldnt make it. We passed by after church and they were all good and we sat down to learn about them. She said that she started praying and reading her scriptures to know what to do and the next day we came! So she knew it was a sign she needed to go back to church. (I learned God speaks to me through pretty things, because I cant say I really had revelation to go there) But she then asked us a very weird questions, "can my husband and I get divorced and sealed in the temple?" We were super confused! WHAT?? She then went on to explain that they own a company and cant have two stores in different areas under the same name, so have to get divorced to do it, but they dont have any marriage problems and actually want to get sealed. Weird right? I then said, I am going to be frank with you, the family is the most important and you need to put it first. You cant have your son forever if you put your job first and get divorced, that's just not how God works. They are unsure what to do, but said they would work towards the temple and just put their trust in God. It was an interesting experience, but I know we will be able to help them a lot and I am so thankful that they had pretty lace curtains that attracted me:) 

We have this other family that is golden! They havent been able to go to church because they couldnt offord the gas nor the bus. So they had been praying and trying really hard to find a job. He finally did and is now selling internet from house to house. He said he is with 9 men and he was praying a lot and he was the first one to have a sell. He gained a strong testimony of prayer. His wife went on to say that she has felt a complete change in her home since we have come. She said I now feel that I have Christ in my life and it's beautiful. A member passed by their house and gave her testimony to them and brought them food. She said she never has people over, but this member helped so much! She didnt have any food to give her children and she felt so blessed to have God answer her prayers as well. Her girls then started eating an apple during our lesson and the dad said offer it to the missionaries and he took one and cut it in half and said sorry, this is all we have. I wanted to cry. He was giving us everything he had and was just so grateful for us. They have both been trying to stop smoking and the little girls always pray for their dad to stop. They are doing so well! I absolutely love seeing this family being change through Christ. They say they have a lot of problems and challenges, but feel so peaceful and happy all the time and they know it's because of the gospel:) 

I know this gospel changes lives. We cant just pass through the gospel, but let the gospel pass through us. When we are fully converted we can help others come unto Christ and partake of His goodness! Thanks for all the support and love! Have a great week and enjoy the holidays:) 

Love always,

Hermana Peterson 

pics.. just in our little jungle! and the last pic is the girls we live with. In our ward we have 6 missionaries from 5 countries! Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Hondorus, Columbia, and the USA!

Same Church as Christ

Hola Hola!

This week we had some really crazy, weird lessons. We went to this investigator named Jorge, who my comp had taught before. But he doesnt understand the apostasy and just has a lot of questions. He likes to talk though and so we thought the best thing to do would be to watch the Restoration video with him. We put it in and in the first 3 seconds when the leaves in the video fall he paused it to comment! He continued the video and then paused it about every 5 seconds! (not exaggerating) to tell us how it related to the life of Fransisco (who is fransissco!?!) or what he thought or some question. At first I was like how cool, I can literally hear his thoughts and I now know every single one of his doubts. But after 30 minutes of it, I was a Little annoyed with it. When it got to the first visión part, Hna Hellstern and I were just praying that he would make it through the whole visión. Which he almost did! Be he stopped it right before God says "Hear Him." We were like nooooo! But he asked a question like which church did Jospeh Smith attend? He went on to say how Jospeh didnt need to restore any church  and I said, your catholic right? Well do you think your church is the exact same as Christ set up His church? He thought for a second and said yes. I was like shaking and looked him in the eye and just said No. Where are your prophets, apostles, ordinances... I know with all my heart that the Church of Jesús Christ of Latter-day Saints is the exact same church that Christ set up. But you cant know this for yourself if you dont ask God. You need to ask with faith and that is why we are here! We dont want to fight with you and I cant feel the Spirit with this contention in the room, so our only invitation is for you to ask God sincerely. His attitude changed and I was on the urge of crying because I felt so sad he was just lost. He said he would pray, but he is so stuck in his ways and doesnt want to listen, I just hope that God can touch his heart and help him understand. Just so you know I have never flat out told someone they are wrong, but I felt it was needed and my companion looked so terrified when I said it. I still cant believe I did it.. But when you know the truth you just want to share it right?

But on a lighter note, we were eating at a member's house and she gave us hard taquitos and I wasnt sure how to eat it and used my spoon to cut it, as I did the taco went flying across the table! She looked at me and was like.. we eat with our hands here... My comp and I just laughed and I said Im sorry, this is why I need a Mexican comp so I can just follow her lead! I also had a person ask what my name means and I said Hijo de Pedro. She was like wow, that is amazing! What a beautiful name. You know that Christ told Peter that he was who the church would be founded on right? and look at you serving Christ! I was like thanks... Oh and my whistling comes in Handy here. I whistle down all the taxis and buses and people literally say I am a man. How sweet no? :) But we are still having a great adventure here in Mexico standing out as the White girls!

Que tengan una bonita semana!

Hermana Peterson

pic.. Merry Christmas from the Apuyeca sisters:)

I made tortillas

We had a FHE with investigatores to watch the christmas devotional and we told them we would bring the treats. We made root beer floats. They were really iffy about them, but loved it! Just sharing a Little culture:)

This talk I read this week and pretty much changed my life, highly suggest to read and study it! It came in Handy with Jorge.

https://www.lds.org/broadcasts/article/ces-devotionals/2014/01/what-is-the-blueprint-of-christs-church

Ignorance has no fear

To start off I just want to say that I love my companion!! We have so much fun together and have the craziest stories only after one week. I would just like you to imagine what our lessons are like, they are so funny! A lot of people in the street call my comp Emma because they cant understand her accent when she says hermana and they think that's her name! At times we will be in lessons and people will ask things and I am just praying that Hna Hellstern understood them and I look at her and she looks just as lost. So yes, it's fun! But we were in a lesson and this family had a million questions. So we started teaching the restoration to help explain a lot of them. But as my comp started explaining Joseph Smith she said... Jose Smith resucito instead of restauro. Which means she told people that Joseph smith resurrected instead of restored the church. I was like NOOO! That lesson was super interesting. Those investigators think we are hilarious. We also have people all the time ask if we are lost. Oh and I unconsciously ate chile de arbol, which is like suicide! I just started screaming WOOOOO! WOW! I had no idea what to do! But everyone else found it pretty hilarious, my lips burned for a pretty long time. But I can actually eat a lot more spicy food now. :)

As for our thanksgiving, I would say it was such a different experience than I am use to. Just from that day I have a whole list of things I am grateful for, because we dont have them! I am grateful for light, toilet paper, warm water, our spanish, and bug spray. We havent had light for a week, warm water for 6 months, toilet paper for a few days (its not my turn to buy it), and my legs are covered with bug bites! But our thanksgiving meal was eggs and beans! Yummmm.

We found this Taxi driver, who is the nicest man. We went to visit him and his family and his house is legit! He has traveled everywhere and has things from Thailand, India, China, Africa... in his house. It's like the first house that I have seen that is so cool. But he use to work for Bimbo (bread company) and now is driving a taxi to get to know people. haha We just sat down with him and had a lesson about Faith. He was very receptive and actually came to church the next day! I dont know if I mentioned this but our church is an hour and a half away from our area! So it is a real sacfrice for people to come to church. But they sure do get a lot of blessings for that. My area is huge!!! It is one of the biggest in the mission, and it has everything! We have a lot of nice apartments to some of the poorest houses I have seen. But I already love it!

Well I hope you all have a great week!

Con mucho amor, 

Hermana Peterson

pics.. for thanksgiving we ate corn flakes without milk bc we didnt have electricy. 

there is a Colorado street and our area has like a jungle that we pass through.

Little Miracles

Hey you all!

I was transfered today to alpuyeca in Cuernavaca! I didnt really see it coming, but with luck again I am with an American, Hermana Hellstern from Utah! She has a little less time then I have in the mission, so it will be fun! I actually havent seen my area yet. haha But I am excited to make new memories and adventures. 

Last monday, as I said we returned to speak to Neli. When we went her husband came home early to be able to talk to us too. We had only been talking for 10 minutes and her husband was in the middle of reading and the lights just went out! He left to go fix it and we awkwardly waited for like 15 minutes. He returned and we had light again... for 5 minutes! Then it went out again! By this time it was really late and we needed to go. He returned and said I think Satan is really work on us, because he knows we are trying to do something good! I totally agree. Satan knows this family will do great things and doesnt want them to have the chance to listen to the gospel. 

We were walking and this man came up to us and was like Im sorry but are you the missionaries? Can you come and visit me? He explained that he had met with the missionaries before and had been to church and has read up to Mosiah in the Book of Mormon. We were like SI!!! He had a lot of questions and is very excited to learn. He testified how he knew the BOM was a compliment of the Bible and helps us to undertsand more of the truth. It was really cool to meet someone who had this testimony of the BOM and he also said that he loves reading it and going to church because it clears his mind and makes him just feel relaxed and calm. so that was a little miracle for the day! 

We had the primary program yesterday and it is legit in Mexico! All the girls wore white with red bows and the boys with suits and red napkin things in their pockets and the teachers the same! They all match all cute. But the kids do everything! They teach them to play the piano, conduct the music, and even direct the program. The adults didnt do anything! It was really cool to see the older kids helping the younger ones. But it was about eternal families and it was so pretty! To see how these young kids understood the importance of the gospel was amazing. They were sharing so many truths that other people dont even know. What a blessing it is to be able to have kids in the gospel to give that solid foundation of Christ in their lives! 

Well I hope that you all have a great Thanksgiving! I doubt I will really get to eat turkey, so eat double for me:) I am grateful for you all and to be here serving the Lord! Love you:)

Hermana Peterson 

pic.. my last district I just left.

Half Way!

Yes, I am officially half way through my mission! I cannot even believe it. 9 months! It has gone by super fast. I feel like I have only been here for a few months. But I have learned so much and can't wait to keep learning and growing. I am not sure if I have actually changed at all, but I hope at least a little. I know that my faith has grown and I can say without any doubt that This is the true church of Jesus Christ and I know that I am suppose to be here serving these people. It has been absolutely beautiful to be in Mexico experiencing a new culture and making friendships. I love Mexico, but the people are really that make the difference. I feel blessed to be able to meet the people I know and be able to help them come closer to their Heavenly Father. And thank you for all your support and love through my little journey. 

We had another lesson with that lady that I mentioned last week. She studied a lot and we tried helping eachother understand the need for the restoration. We started talking about the baptism of Christ and she said how she wasnt baptized like that at all, but it doesnt matter. I tried to explain how He is the perfect example and we need to do all things as Christ did. She then took it too far and said wll then why arent we all baptized in a river. I then had President Monson's words come to my mine, "we need to walk as Christ walked, not where Christ walked." (glad I payed attention) She said that made sense, but was still full of doubts. In the end, she said that she needed to talk to her priest because she doesnt know her religion at all. We dont have another chance to talk to her and help her, but we encouraged her to pray and read the Book of Mormon. I hope we at least planted a seed. It can be hard to think someone will progress, and for them to stop their own progression. But I cant force anyone to do anything, and sometimes all we can do is plant seeds and hope that one day something or someone can touch their heart. 

Love you all! Enjoy your week:) 

Hermana Peterson 

fotos: We now have 4 sisters in our house! So my companion is Hna Hernandez now. well hope you enjoy the pictures... ;) Oh and I got an eye infection and cant wear makeup for 2 weeks! yay...

Smile Smile!

Hola hola! 

Well I am not sure what you have seen or heard on the news , but my mission has officially closed down the state of Guerrero for some bad situations. Which leaves us in Morelos. That is half the mission closed. So every ward now has 4-8 missionaries in Morelos. That is a whole lot of loving for one ward:) But we are all safe and fine. When you're doing the Lord's work and being obedient, there shouldnt be a problem. We are truly blessed. But it does mean that my area was split into two parts, which is a little sad. We had an investigator who was 10 yrs old, Michelle, and she was our favorite! Her parents are less active, but she is so smart and truly loves church. It has been so fun to teach her, she asks lots of questions and just is so excited to learn. We all need to be like kids! She will be getting baptized in 2 weeks, but I sadly had to give her up to the other sisters! But I will for sure be at that baptism:) 

We had a reference from a member to visit her neighbor. Neli, has been to like 5 activities and really likes the church, but whenever she plans to go to church something crazy happens and stops her. We finally got to meet her and went to her house this last week. As we were talking to get to know her, she mentioned a lot about her childhod and how her dad was horrible. I felt very impressed to share the atonement with her and we read together in Alma 7:11-13. I love this scripture because it teaches us that the atonement is not just for our sins, but literally all of our afflictions and hardships as well. I shared how Christ suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross for her, because He loves each and everyone of us so much. As I was sharing this, I felt the Spirit so strong. It was Him affirming to me that He really does love us all and knows each of our situations. My companion after said it was very strong as well. Neli committed to baptism and said she has a big desire to change and come to know God. I have another appointment with her tonight and am so excited to go!  

Well I am excited for another great week and hope you all enjoy yours just as much! 

Les amo,

Hermana Peterson 

ps People say my spanish is better:)

Dia de Muerte

I hope everyone had a fun halloween and Mom had a great birthday! Here Halloween is the same, but very different. It is called Dia de Muerte (day of the dead) and it starts the 31 of Oct but goes to the 2nd of Nov. They put up tables for people that have passed away and put that persons favorite food, candy, pictures, and candles. They say the spirits will come back to eat the food. They then put a trail of yellow flower petals outside there house leading to the table. They go trick-or-treating for all 3 days. But the only houses that they go to are the houses that have the trail of flowers outside. (catholics) The kids go up to the doors and sing a like FIVE minute long song and then they get either candy (very rare) oranges, bread, bananas, rice, tamales, or money! They tradionally give the kids the food off the table. They dress up in costumes, but older people are mad that people have changed it to like Halloween. Before the kids only wore tradional dead people costumes, but now it can be anything. We actually sang at a few houses and got a whole bunch of oranges and bread! haha We even got fries from this pizza place:) It was nothing compared to the herd of kids in Walking Stick, but it was a good experience. 

This week I had this lesson with someone for the first time. We shared the restoration with her and she was very knowledgable about the Bible! We usually dont find people that can actually quote scriptures and know all the stories. But as we shared, she really enjoyed it and after we shared the first vision of Joseph Smith, she said that she believed it! That is very rare for people to say. But she is very catholic and couldnt understand the need to restore the priesthood. She kept saying how she likes her church, but she knows there are a ton of things that are wrong and bad. Which doesnt make sense to me while she would still go, if she knows it is not all true. So I decided to share my testimony with her. I said how I know that our church is perfect, it doesnt have a single blemish because it is not a church of man, but of Christ. Yes as men, we are imperfect, but the church never will be. After I shared that she had a different look to her. She didnt really say anything, but I really hope that she can think more about it and we can continue to help her grow in her faith. 

Que tengan una buena semana! Con mucho amor,

Hermana Peterson 

pics.. the table, the petal line, and some kids members on halloween

I will finally learn Spanish!

This week has been one of the weirdest weeks ever! First we had transfers! My new companion is Hermana Hernandez! yes, I am finally with another Latino after 5 months of Americans! She is from Mexico and only has 3 months on the mission. Which makes me the Senor companion... too much responsibility! But the crazy part is Hna Cortez, my old comp, left for 3 days and then returned. So we will be in a trio for about 2 or 3 weeks. I cannot say that I am a big fan of trios. But we are trying to make the best out of it! oh and I gave up my bed and am sleepig on an air mattress! SO FUN! We had a rough week of finding people to teach. All of our appointments fell through and we just walked our whole area a million times. My feet hurt. 

We did have a Family Home Evening with our ward mission leader (Hno Juan) and our recent converts. We talked about testimonies; what they are, how to get one, and how to share one. Hno Juan is a convert as well and just an amazing teacher! It was so spiritual. One of the converts shared his testimony about fasting and it helping him find a job. One shared how he came to have an eternal family through the church and another how he came to know the Book of Mormon was true. It was amazing! I just found it so interesting to find these people all down completely different paths, learning different lessons, and doing different things, but they all ended up at the same place. They all now know how much the gospel can benefit their lives and that God loves them. It is the best feeling to see a convert grow and share what they have learned. For me, I really learned from them as well. I can be timid or scared on what to say to complete strangers, but I came to realize that I really dont know very much, but what I do know I need to share. A testimony of eternal truths will take me a lot further, than knowledge. I know I just need to share what I feel and the Spirit will do the rest. 

Make this week fun! Enjoy yourselves and smile:) 

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Peterson 

Pic.. This is how we all feel. Hna Cortez is ready to go to her new area, I am just stressed with finding people, and Hna Hernandez is just happy to be here. haha So welcome to Cocoyoc!

Flower Power

Hola hola amigos! Como están??

This week was full of adventures and walking.. my feet kill! But it's all good. I did have some kids throw a rock at my chest.. that was a first! We were walking past a corn field and I just got nailed. I literally thought it was a "snipe" from girl's camp. They told us snipes spit rocks, but no it was some kids. haha Also I told someone I was Hermana Peterson and they said oh like Peter Pan?? umm... close, but no. 

It was the birthday of one of our convert's wives and we wanted to buy her flowers. We were going around looking for where we could get some. We found this little store that sells food, but had a vase of flowers on the table. We asked where we could buy some like that, the lady said, take them! I dont need them. We said no! and she insisted. So we took her practically dead roses for free! We asked if we could do anything for her and she said come back and talk with me later. We can do that! As we were laughing with our dead, used roses, we decided to pull some flowers and spice them up a bit. It honestly looked ghetto, but she them accepted it happily. The blessing missionaries get! (free flowers) 

But as for the lady who gave us her flowers (Juana) we went back the next day. She was washing her clothes, but stopped to talk to us. She told us her life story and she has gone through some really hard things lately and right now is fighting cancer. That morning, I studied when Jospeh Smith was in Jail and was asking God why he had to face all these trials and in D&C 124:7-8 says "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment. and then if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes." I shared this with Juana and then we sang to her "Count your many blessings." It was a really unusual, but a spiritual experience. She really enjoyed our lesson and said we could come back. I felt I needed to invite her to baptism, which I hate doing, it's scary! But I did and failed. I got so nervous that I didnt say anything right and I was even confused, I stopped, took a deep breath and did it again. Which is horrible to do it 2 times and everyone is just looking at me, but she said yes! I am sure that she is a very special soul and was prepared to listen to us. I can't wait to see her progress! 

Well I hope everyone has a very spooky and fun Halloween! Eat lots of candy and party smarty!

Love always,

Hermana Peterson 

pics.. 

our beautiful flowers! 

You know just knocking on doors.. mirrors

yeah we read the BOM on the street

Why do you pray?

My buddies! what is up??

This week was a pretty good week! We worked hard and slept well:) One thing that was really cool is that Saturday night we were walking past a members house and she was talking to her neighbor. She introduced us and we just invited him to church and told him the member would pick him up if he wanted ;) They both agreed and he actually came the next day! That rarely happens. But it was great to have him come and stay for all three hours, he said he liked it. 

But I guess you could say I either had a break down or a break through. I have been frustrated that a lof of people dont complete with their reading or coming to church or whatever. I always pray for my investigators, but it kind of hit me; they have free agency, and neither I nor God can force them to come to church or anything..But I think that can be the hardest part. As a mother, you want your kid to be the best but you cant force him to choose the right. I just was annoyed that I couldnt force people to do what they needed, and i started doubting prayer. I started questioning why do we need to pray if God cant force these people. But I came to realize, I can pray more effectively. I can pray to have them remember to come or to have God touch their hearts... but I cant force God to change people. But the biggest part that I was missing out on was WHY DO I PRAY? As I thought of this, I was missing the big picture. I should pray to communicate with my Heavenly Father. There is no other way to talk with Him except through prayer. I was using prayer as a way to list everything I wanted to change or demands. But that is not how it works. I pray because I am His daughter. I pray because I love Him and He loves me. I pray because I want to talk to Him and He wants to listen! I started thinking about my own dad. When Dad comes home from work, I would literally follow him around the house and tell him all about my day and talk his ear off. I know he always said I talked too much, but still he listened and I knew he cared. That is how I need to talk to God. Just tell Him about my day and INCLUDE Him in my life. I really hope that you never feel unworthy to pray or forget the purpose of prayer, because your Heavenly Father is always there for you and me:)

I love you all very much! Have a great week! :) 

pics.. In our zone all of us americans were camisas típicas (typical shirts for Mexico).

Conferencia General

Hey I hope your week was great! 

To start off, I officially feel old. We were talking to this 11 year old and he asked us when we were young were there such things as cell phones! WHAT?! How old do we look?? 

But I had an amazing experience with an investigator, Marendy. She has come to church 4 times and really likes it and comes to the activities and knows all the members now. So we went to talk to her about getting baptized, because she already missed her date we set. She said she just doesnt feel ready and needs to know more. My companion is a convert and testified how much it will help her be a better mom and just improve her life all together. For some reason I have never shared my baptism with anyone. I just dont remember it that well, but I felt to talk about it. I started by saying how I was baptized at 8 and I obviously didnt know everything or much, but I remember knowing that my Heavenly Father loves me and I loved him, so I wanted to do what He wanted for me. I testified how we NEED that guidance of the Holy Ghost. I have never felt the Spirit so strong. I felt like I was being just hugged and smiled down at. I know that sometimes we dont understand everything, but if we know God wants the best for us, we must do His will. We told her that we wanted her to set her date and pray about it. She decided for December and said she would pray. I think she could be ready sooner, but it's not on my time, so we will see. 

Conference was great right?? I got to watch all 4 sessions in English! When there was a spanish speaker though, we watched it in Spanish though. But those men are so inspiring and truly guided by God. I would love to just share one thought that I learned from each of them, which I know is a lot, but oh well:) 

1.Boyd K Packer: Without the atonement, it would be impossible to repent, be purified, and move on, so never forget to use it everyday.

2. Lynn G. Robbins: I want self improvement not self contentment so dont lower the Lord's standards to men's. 

3. Sheryl Esplin: Do I prepare myslef to have a spiritual experience every Sunday?

4. Chi Hong (sam) Wong: At times we can't wait for people to come back, so we must go and get them.

5. D. Todd Christofferson:  Freedom doesnt come from resisting, but applying it. 

6. Dieter F. Uchtdorf: The church is not for perfect people, but for people to come unto Christ and be perfected. 

7. Dallin H. Oaks: Love is not contention

8. Neil L Anderson: Opposition sends seekers of truth to their knees.

9. Tad R. Callister: Our prayers are our protection for the day, dont forget to put your armor on.

10. Jorge Klebimgat: You cannt love God if you dont keep His commandments. 

11. Elder Gavarret: Venir a mi. Following Christ is an invitation of action.

12. Jefferey R Holland: I cant judge someone's need, just help. we all are beggers. 

13. L. Tom Perry: The only way to find lasting peace is to look to Him and live. 

14. Henry B Erying: God hears and answers me. 

15. Russell M Nelson: I will stand behind the prophet, pray for him, and carry out his instructions. 

16. Carol F McConkie: We may choose to rebel against the prophet, but that is rebeling against God. 

17. Robert D Hales: We love God and Jesus because they loved us first. 

18. James J Hamula: The question is not wether I will live again, but if I will live with God again; it's my choice. 

19. Thomas S. Monson: Walk as Jesus walked. Do as Jesus did. Be as Jesus was.

20. M. Russell Ballard: Advoid becoming distracted by what doesn't matter

21. Richard G Scott: Our purpose is to be tested, tried, and stretched! 

22. If you continue to live as you are living, will you gain the promises from your patriarchal blessing? 

23. Allen Packer: We dont set the requirements, but we must meet them. Which is a lifetime effort. 

24. Hugo Martinez: He who serves for something is good for something, he who serves for nothing is good for nothing. 

25. Larry S Kacher: There are currants in our lives that can take us down or move us forward, choose wisely which you take. 

26. David A Bednar: why do we share the gospel? Because we want to share the truths that are greatest worth to us. 

If you missed conference, I would say go back and read them. Each talk has at least one point that you can apply to your life and improve yourself. 

Love always,

Hermana Peterson

I am blessed!

Hola guapos:)

To start off I want to share what a 6 year old boy told us. We are teaching his mom and sister and he was sitting there and asked if we work, which we said we are missionaries. He said what is that? My companion said, we go around and teach people. He said oh like policemen! haha I am not sure what our relationship to policemen is, but close right? 

We have this young lady who we teach. She has one kid and lives with her boyfriend, but has been wanting to move out. She called us and asked if we could help her move, which we did. We threw all of her stuff into bags, and I couldnt believe how much she had! It kind of looked like a garage sale. But she was really in a rush and needed to leave before her boyfriend got back, so she was calling everyone she knew to help her and to see if she could get a ride and leave her stuff somewhere. We were the only ones that came and she ended up paying a friend to drive all of her stuff 3 minutes to our house. It was really sad to see that she didnt have any support. I feel so blessed to know that I have so many loved ones around me always. But she decided to move back to her parents house a few hours away. I think the church would really help her and her baby. But I am glad that she is going somewhere where she can feel loved and supported again. I hope she will continue to talk to missionaries there. 

I feel like the theme for this week was loneliness. How sad no? But we are teaching this older lady and she livesd all alone and told us how her husband died. She said that all her kids live close, but not a single one comes and visits. She just isn't important in there lives. It is so hard for me to see these people who deserve to be loved and cherished by there family, but have to struggle through life alone. We were glad to share that the church is like a big family too. I know sometimes we arent lucky enough to have a support system, but we all have the responsibiliy to reach out to our hermanas y hermanos in the gospel! Please remember the people less fortunate and be that friend that they may need. As it says in Mosiah 2:17, "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."

Well I hope you all have a great week and get the beautiful chance to listen to conference this weekend! 

fotos: I ate a grosshopper! it is something that people eat like chips... and I decided I was going to try it. It tasted like roasted pumpkin seeds at first, then fish! So yeah... weird.