Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Aldo Bonzi
La mision Argentina Buenos Aires Oeste es el mejor mision de todo el mundo!
I'm in Aldo Bonzi and the area just split with the arrival of my group.  I'm with la hermana Henao de Colombia!!  No, she doesn't know Andrea. :)  She is muy chiquita and adorable and 23 and a hard worker and she doesn't speak English. We do pretty well together.  She is also pretty new to the mission so we are learning together and it is a lot of fun.  I'm learning from her example and it has been great to not have the option of speaking English.  Sometimes I still do, because it is a goal for every missionary who doesn't already speak english to learn it on their mission.  The Argentine accent is different and I'm slowly getting used to it and I even find myself saying, ¿Esta ashi?  It surprises me.  The other day, being yesterday, after I shared my testimony in Church, a member told hermana Henoa that I speak better Castellano than she does.  Chistes.  But there are people here from all over South America and I love all the different accents.  The Argentine Castellano is so fun to listen to, with so much expression and animation.  It's great!
The milanesa is delicious- it is eaten a lot here and it it thin, breaded, fried meat.  The food here has been delicious, pastas, meat, potatoes, and more pasta, meat, and potatoes.  And LOTS and LOTS of sugar.  Dulce de leche everywhere.  Delicious pastries, called facturas.  Dad, guess what people drink here?  Roma!  They make it with milk and several spoonfuls of sugar and it is yummy.  Paul, I think of you in Finland as I drink my drinkable yogurt everyday.  And milk out of a bag.  It's good!
Everything is different here and I feel like I'm starting from ground zero again.  The culture, the people, the religious views, the food, the schedule, the mindset- everything is new and so we adjust.  It has been so fun to just watch people, to just look around.  Since the area split and most of the investigators live on the other side we are in a way starting over with finding people to teach as well, so everything is new!!  We had miracles this week and found some wonderful new people and we have high hopes for this area.  The ward members are wonderful.  Everything is wonderful.  President and Hermana Carter and wonderful.  I am so happy to be here and I feel God supporting me and this work every step of the way. I'm all out of time, but I love you all so much and I love to hear your news and I appreciate your support.  You are the best.
All my love and many besitos,
hermana Peterson

Monday, July 22, 2013



aqui estoy!

We made it!!

What a long flight it was! We have been going and going today, getting visas worked out and having some training from the assistants.  We have already gotten to eat some delicious argentine foods and it is just amazing here.  There are eight of us that came on the same plane and we are all so excited to be here, each with our own unique but also very similar experiences with reassignments.  The plane ride was a blast as we all got to talk about what we've learned so far and all the different experiences we had in our different missions. We've briefly met President and Sister Carter and we will spend a lot of time with them tomorrow.  We will all meet our new companions tomorrow and head out to our new areas!

I feel so much excitement and I am ready to go!  The Spanish is different but I already love it and I'm excited to jump in and be immersed in this beautiful land! 

I'M IN ARGENTINA!

It deserves a little dance.  Maybe make it a tango.

The work is progressing here and President has created an excellent vision for the mission.  Each mission and president is different and this is no exception, and I feel so blessed to have so many mission presidents already, from whom I can draw new things and learn to be better.  Obedience is always a common theme.  

This week will bring many new experiences and lessons and new people to meet and teach and love!!!  I am quite feliz.

Know that I arrived safely and I love you so much!

Thanks for the prayers, as always.  I feel them. :)

loves,

hermana Peterson  (the one in Argentina!!)

Monday, July 15, 2013



He's bringing them to us!

And we love it!  So many little miracles this week.  

The English ward held a free car wash this week and we got to help!  We stood out on the corner where the church is with signs, yelling, "Free car wash!" It was so hot.  Lots of people came and then while their car was being washed we gave them a tour of the church.  At first I was thinking, well, this might be weird.  Oh me of little faith!  When people are in the Church where the Spirit dwells, they can feel it and they like it.  There is power in holy places.

We got to give a tour to this man named Marcelus. As soon as we walked into the chapel he said, excitedly, "Now this is nice!"  Which when you think about it, yes, our chapels are nice, but they are not extremely beautiful or elegant- they are simple.  But the Spirit is there, and our spirits recognize that and they love it.  We went around the Church, stopping at each picture and talking about the Gospel.  We showed him the baptismal font, the Relief Society room, talked about the Book of Mormon and the priesthood.  He soaked it all up with a smile on his face.  At the end of the tour we gave him a Book of Mormon and he gave us (well, the English elders) his contact information.  I asked him how he felt and he said, "I just really like this vibe."  Well I really like this vibe, too.

Just about every church tour given that day went in a similar manner.

A woman in our ward had to go into the hospital this week and we got to visit her a few times.  She is so strong and she has beautiful faith. We sang her some hymns and shared a little message and hermana Ramirez gave her a foot massage (and she is a massage therapist, so it was really good).  Before we left she thanked us and told us some of the loveliest compliments any of us had received.  She told hermana Ramirez she had the hands of an angel, me the voice of an angel, and hermana Gonzalez the words of an angel.  We went to help lift her spirits and she actually did that for us!  Service is always one of the greatest ways to lift and be lifted. (She is doing much better and even made it to Church yesterday, just so you can all rest easy!)

We had a day this week where you wouldn't believe the crazy things that happened and we only made it to one appointment.  But the Lord is mindful of us and He knew we were doing our very best. So we showed up to our one appointment for the day and guess what?  The member we were visiting had her friend over and we taught her about the Book of Mormon and we'll have a lesson with her and her family this week!  There were just so many little moments like that this week where the Lord was telling us so clearly, "I love you.  I'm helping you do this.  Just trust me and keep looking forward."  So we do. :)

I felt so strongly this week just how much the Lord is doing for us.  He gives us the strength, the ability, the charity, the desire to obey and to give our all to Him.  He truly is sending us His angels to bear us up.

Thanks for all the emails and love and prayers. Jonah, I got your letter and I love it!  Thanks.  You're all beautiful.  The Church is true.  Jesus Christ is our Redeemer.  I love you!

Hermana Peterson


Thursday, July 11, 2013

New Address


The new mission address is:
Hermana Jamie Peterson
Illinois Chicago Mission
800 Waukegan Rd
Glenview, IL
60025

Acknowledge Your Faith

FAMILY!


We are teaching this adorable woman.  She looked into the Church about nine years ago but nothing became of it, and then she saw us (but before I was here, so actually just hermanas Gonzalez and Ramirez) on the street and yelled out. "Hey! Do you remember me?!"  And she came to Church yesterday and took notes and loved it.  She still had the same Libro de Mormon she was given nine years ago and she reads and marks it all up, writing notes on the verses she likes.  She told us in the first lesson that she knows it is true.  She brought her her little daughter to Church as well and she is so cute!  The kids in this ward are so cute. They are all so excited to learn about the Gospel.  And I love listening to little kids speak Spanish. Ah! So great.  Anyways, we are excited to teach this woman and her family.  She is an excellent mother, we could tell just from being in her home for an hour.  She treats her kids with such love and care.  So many examples of Christ-like people.

We are learning a lot about charity and the Spirit.  We met our new mission president!  President and Sister Woodbury- We love them!  They are called of God.  He talked to us about having our faith overcome our fears and how important it is to have charity.  It was perfect timing for our companionship and we are working hard to feed our faith and pray for charity.  It is helping us have the Spirit more.  We've been studying the talk by Elder Holland, "Lord, I Believe" and it i having a powerful effect.  When we change our attitudes and only let ourselves first acknowledge the faith we do have, and then ask the Lord to help us with what we lack, it makes such a difference.  You can feel the difference between, "I just don't have enough faith for this.  I feel like my faith is so small and weak and inadequate," and "Okay, I know I have faith in Jesus Christ.  This is hard but I know I believe.  Will you please help me?"  It's all in the attitude.  We cannot afford to let ourselves despair.  It is so simple and yet it makes such a huge difference (like most principles of the Gospel). With Christ, all things are possible, so why not this?  He has already suffered it all, and our personal experiences are no exception.  He is there, just waiting to give us the hug we need, right when we need it.  I love Jesus Christ so much. I am learning more about what His Atonement means for me and the people we teach.  His power is real.

We are so lucky to have a living prophet and 12 apostles.  We are lucky.

I love you and I miss you and I'm happy to have you as my eternal family.  You are all so beautiful. :)  I've been told I'm cheesy here. It's not true, right? jajaja.

con amor,

Hermana Peterson


Monday, July 1, 2013

Some more pictures






The one on the left talks like Maya and the one on the right talks like Mika.
I like it,


Effectual

Where do I begin?  This area is very different from the last.  We have a car, so that right there already changes everything!  We no longer spend the day on bus and train and foot, and we can get from appointment to appointment so speedy-fast!  I love my companions.  They are special people and I feel blessed to have this chance to serve with them.  I am learning many gems of wisdom from them and it has only been a week!  Change is always hard for me because I sure love to be comfy, but Heavenly Father always knows what we need much better than we do ourselves.  I'm being stretched.  The first few days I felt like I was fresh from the MTC all over again, never knowing what to say or what to do, but poco a poco, it comes.

Being in a trio is fun.  We laugh a lot.  Both of my companions are Mexican-American so I am learning more Spanish and cultural details from them.  We are a good team and we're learning to be better.

This email is all about me and not really about the work, but the fact is, we are in a bit of a lull and we're trying to find more investigators, and I'm still trying to put faces with names, because I feel like I met 200 people in the past six days.  There are so many humble people here.  It's not quite as scary to talk to people as it was before.  We get fed SO MUCH every day, and I'm in heaven.  I love Mexican food.  The Spanish-speaking population here is almost entirely Mexican, which is also different.  They love to feed the missionaries as a way to serve the Lord, and their hearts are full of love, and so, so are our stomachs.

elyssa, do you remember that scripture you sent to me last Spring?  Probably not, but it was Mosiah 7:18-19.  I love those two verses so much.  We shared them with a woman here and we've been studying them more since.  There is so much goodness and doctrine in those two, simple verses.  God wants us to lifts up our heads and be comforted and rejoice right in the midst of our struggles.  He wants us to accept His comfort, accept His joy.  He wants us to trust that He will deliver us, but that there is still a struggle to be made.  But not just any struggle- an effectual struggle.  It has a purpose, it has an end.  If we can just trust in Him and in His timing, He will deliver us.  Then in verse 33 it tells us that we are to serve with all diligence of mind.  President Fenn (may he rest in peace..in the Chicago West Mission as of today) was always stressing the importance of working through mental exertion and not physical force.  I think that in order for us to be delivered by our Almighty God we first have to trust in Him, be patient, and serve with all diligence of mind.

We meet our new mission president on Wednesday- President Woodbury!  How exciting.  

Have a blessed week.  I love you, family.  How lucky we are.

Hermana Peterson