February 1, 2016

1/25 - 2/1

This last p-day was great! We went hike again but this time it was super foggy and like misty!  It was once again a great time to kinda reboot and get ready to keep working! And then after that since we are the ZL'S drivers for right now kinda (their car is in the shop) so we hung out with them and (mom I was able to just talk with someone and express some of my feelings. I don't feel like I can do that with elder Blake and even the ZL'S get that vibe too. So I was able to vent for a while to them, of course when it was just me and one of them.) so we chilled with them and then later they went and played some ball and after a while I couldn't take it! I wanted to play so bad! (President Russell told me that I shouldn't play basketball to protect my wrists,so I have not been playing at all, but I had my braces and i told myself that just like with my head, that I would play but if I started to hurt I needed to stop and so I played) it was really fun and I enjoyed even more time to just run around! And then we went to dinner with the other ZL'S and we had dinner at the farm! It was awesome! It was so cool to have like a country dinner! And the wife there really wanted us to just act we were at home! It was so nice to just be a little more chill and relax for a little!

One thing I have seen while I have been on my mission is that when I smile and look at the investigators or the members they will look at me a lot and talk to me like I know what they are saying and they just look happy and stuff. Like I don't know how to explain it besides when I do that then seem to trust and like me more. So that is great!! We talked with hermana Gonzales and when I would laugh with her and smile and just look at her when she talked she seemed so happy and willing to talk more. (Even though she would talk any how! Haha she likes to talk! Latinos like to talk in general! :)) 

Today was a good day for me. I have felt good about myself and like I can do things. We did service today (manual labor) and when I got there with elder Blake, like everyone was just standing around and watching like 5 or so people work. (There was like 10 of us) so for the service we tore out bushes, like the ugly ones that dad is allergic to, and so it started off a little slow and people were just kinda pushing around dirt and watching like 2 elders work, so I jumped in and started working (i know mom that is not very smart to do this kinda work with my wrists but it is my instinct. I know how to do this kinda work and I am pretty good at it.) so I jumped in and started working and soon enough it was just me and elder palomeque working (two Mexicans hard at work while the rest are watching) any who so me and elder palomeque got 3 of the 4 bushes out by ourselves and also the root of a tree. Haha I was kinda annoyed at all of the other elders there. (One of them even had the nerve to walk over to me and tell me that I wasn't working hard enough and then make fun of me.....) thanks for teaching me how to work! One because I know what to do and two just like Annalee and everyone else has said, that when a guy knows how to work, girls notice.

Ask a Hispanic about their truck= new friend! Haha we were out tracking and the house that we stopped by the guy was outside working on his truck and we tried to talk straight gospel with him but he didn't really want to open up. But since I have a truck background I asked him if he was bleeding the brakes but he told me no and then he showed me how the chassy had broke and the suspension broke and a rod or something and then he seemed a lot more open to what we had to say and I got to learn some of those words in Spanish! So it was a win win for both of us!

In the letter mom sent me she explained how the Holy Ghost is like someone who does the background work and doesn't really recieve much credit or notice. And that got me thinking and how this is so true and that we really need to take the time to remember all the work he is doing and to thank him! Haha! 

Becoming true millennials = incredible,talk that helped me so much 

Package was incredible and filled with love! Thanks mom! My food supply is very good right now and i thank you so much for that!

Noticed that I am able to see people in need and how to help them. Like I am able to see where work needs to be done or where I can help others! Like my comp was struggling making mash potatoes (real ones) and he could mash them and was struggling and without a thought before hand I got up from eating and tried to help him. I didn't even think about my wrist or anything. I just saw that he was struggling and I knew that I could help him. Now I don't want that to sound prideful at all but it really does. I just realized that I did that today and I felt good about it and wanted you guys to know that I am growing and learning to see others needs!

Heart full of gratitude and love and joy today! I am not sure why but today I felt great! (Like for a while I was probably a yellow or a orange at some points but today I felt so green! I felt I could do what was asked of me! I felt happy and joy and I just kept smiling! It was awesome! So stay green everyone! It is better that way!)

We were I a lesson and the Guy started talking about some Mexican saints and he was looking right at me and was leaning towards me so Moved to the end of the couch like he did and looked at him so it looked like I was paying attention but in my head I was saying "I have absolutely no idea what you are saying!" I would catch word here and there but for the most part I just was so lost! He was talking about like crossing the boarder and how people are mean and the water of life and weird things! I would say he is crazy or on drugs but I know he isn't. Just a guy with a REALLY WEIRD story!

Tyler we were driving around and we stopped at this house and guess what was on one of the cars!? A Ingress sticker!! Hahaha! It made me so happy and i thought about you and our little adventures to hack portals! It was so awesome!

Exchanges are always a great time learning. I am able to learn so much and have that reboot kinda. Like things I want to improve and things I like and stuff like that. Like at night elder palomeque asked me where in the Book of Mormon it talks about the kingdoms of glory. My first thought was that there wasn't any scripture that talked about that in the Book of Mormon but I kinda doubted or maybe I just wanted to be sure so I looked for a while and I couldn't find anything. I thought that maybe I had not read a part of the Book of Mormon or something because I couldn't find anything but then after a while I found a scripture that talked a tiny but about it. After he told me that there wasn't a scripture in the Book of Mormon that talked about that and I felt so much better and that my first thought was right and that I have a understanding of the Book of Mormon. Haha so that is just a little of what happened! He asked me a lot of questions to spark my thoughts and stuff which was interesting and helpful for me. I was able to learn which a bit and hopefully I can remember all of it! I also had the opportunity to give a blessing and it was great but you know what is weird? I almost blacked out! That is the third time that has happened while giving a blessing. It is so weird! But I guess that that was all that needed to be said so I needed to stop! I also got the opportunity to do a little electrical work! It was so nice to put those skills back to work! I felt so cool and so awesome when I did that!

We had stake conference this week and it may just be that we were just in a church and not the beehive but there were so many people there!!! We filled up the chapel, the gym, the relief society room, primary room, and I think one other room! There were so many people there! It was great! One of presidents Russell's counselor's came down and talked in our stake conference and he talked about missionary work of course! He talked about doing missionary work everywhere and even to Use the home as a place of missionary work, or a place to plant a seed of what the LDS culture is like. It was interesting! 

This last week and the week before I have been impressed with something. It is that the Book of Mormon brings so much peace and joy into our life's. I have been busy studying so many things that I forget to study they Book of Mormon and I have seen the result of my bad choice! I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that it really does bring peace and joy into our lives! If we really will take those few moments to just put EVERYTHING aside and let the lord communicate with us, we will feel so spiritually uplifted and ready for what is in store for us in the coming day and the coming events from our life! I love the Book of Mormon and I am so thankful for it! I know that God is mindful of me and wants to help me as much as he can! Some times we are the thing that holds back God from blessing us or maybe sometimes we just have to remember to make those correct chooses and then He will bless us! I love you all so much and I am so grateful for all of you!!!

I hope everyone is doing great and enjoying life and coming closer to our loving Heavenly Father!!! 

Love 

Elder Peters!!!  

Look at this cool piano we saw this week!

We had a huge hail storm!  It was crazy!