Monday, March 31, 2014

So Happy!

 Lidia was baptized and it was all so happy!  Her nephew baptized her and they have a special relationship.  He went to live with her while he was studying and they would read the Book of Mormon together and became very close.  The mother of Lidia, the famous Hermana Gajón, was pioneer in the church here and the members of our ward share stories of when she was their Primary President, and how she helped them learn through her Christ-like example and incredible faith.  So there were angels rejoicing as the Tía Lidia walked into the water to make this sacred covenant with Heavenly Father that she will follow Jesus Christ para siempre.  Familia Herrera bought her the dress as a gift because she is already preparing to enter the temple to be sealed to her husband.  Lidia is a warrior.  Her spirit is so strong.  And her prayers are honest and make me so happy!  It was a beautiful moment.

This week was difficult because we were looking for lots of new families to teach without any luck.  Then on Saturday, miracles arrived.  We found Gisela, a young mother, who received us warmly.  Her husband is in jail right on now and she is raising two little boys, one tiene 5años y el otro un año y medio.  We invited her to to go to church and she said she would love to but wouldn't be able to.  As we tried to find a solution to help her go, it seemed impossible.  She really needed to leave that night to be able to run important errands that couldn't be postponed.  And then a million things ran through my head all at once. Somos misioneros que luchan por milagros. ! Nefi 3:7. Estamos orando cada día de esta semana para encontrar familias que puedan ir a la iglesia ESTE domingo.  Dios sabe la solución.  And then there it was- the solution!  The minute the idea came out of my mouth Gisela agreed and said she would be in the church the next day.  It was such a small moment but it was a testimony to me that God always fulfills His promises and knows each one of His children.

Gisela is special and I think she wants what the Jesus Christ has to offer her.  And we also had a woman named Delia in church yesterday.  She reminds me of Gillian Jones and that makes me happy.  She made friends right away with a woman in the ward and enjoyed very much the sacrament meeting.

We had lots and lots and lots of miracles in this month of March.  My testimony is growing and I can see every day how God is trying with all His might to reach out to His children.  We are just so stubborn sometimes.  The power of God cannot be denied.  I feel it as I hear the wind rustling the leaves of the trees. Isn't that one of the best sounds on earth?  I love it.  

President wrote us this week about consistency and I was very happy because it is what we need right now.  He is an awesome president.

AND GENERAL CONFERENCE!!!  We have big plans for that.  Come and listen to a profet`s voice!!  Oh how embarrassing.  Prophet.  I meant prophet.  There are probably lots of words that I spell wrong now, huh?  Ah well.  At least I can still speak my native tongue.  Hermana Passos struggles with that, so I count my many blessings.  :)

I love you all so very much. Thanks for all the birthday wishes. :)  Hermana Passos is going to buy us a kilo of Nicolo ice cream, which is the BEST and we walk past it every day and have never bought it.  So don't worry, I am well taken care of. jaja.

Love and hugs,

Hermana Peterson
One year in the mission!

Lidia on her baptism day

Hermana Passos, Hermana Peterson, Lidia y Clori

one happy day

matching pj's from home

We are twinners every night

Monday, March 24, 2014

Familia Villar

We had an incredible experience at the temple this week.  There is a family that we have been working a lot with.  If you remember the baptism of the little girl a few months back? Yeah, that is the family.  So the mom was baptized at eight years old, but wasn’t very active in the church.  Her dad lives in a province and is super active.  One by one, her children have decided to be baptized.  Belen, the oldest, is fourteen and goes every week to church.  The mom has been smoking for some years now and when we first arrived here didn’t have any desires to go to church.  The dad supports his children in their decisions to be baptized and has no problem with the church.  He even reads the Book of Mormon and the Bible every day, and prays every night with Augustina.  A very good man.  But he lacks faith.  He told us from the beginning that he agrees with everything, but he wont be baptized because it would only be to please others.  He doesn’t feel anything.  
We had a lesson on faith this week, Alma 32.  Kids are so smart.  As we started talking about the analogy of the seed we were asking questions and they all answered so smartly.  Josè said he feels like he lacks water to make the seed grow.  I asked what that water could be that he was lacking.  Josè, hijo, quickly replied, "going to church."  Qué capo.  And then we planned the visit to the temple.  They were all excited.
We walked around the temple, enjoying the Spirit and the flowers.  You’ll notice that fall arrived, right on its due date, just like Jethro and Glory. The 21st of March.  The air is chilly but its still quite lovely.  We sat down and talked about our potential as children of God.  Every child of God should be able to enter the house of God, and that is our divine destiny.  Familia Villar looked at the temple and the Sprit did the talking.  The hermana shared that she wanted to go to church every Sunday with her whole family.  She wants to quit smoking, for real this time.  José accepted the challenge of praying to know if he should be baptized the 19th of abril.  THAT IS A MIRACLE.  It was one of the nicest experiences I’ve had.








But we were saddened on Sunday when he sat in his car and didn’t enter the chapel.  We were happier when the hermana entered with her three children.  Opposition in all things.  This family needs to be eternal.  We will keep working.

Lidia will be baptized this Saturday!!!!  She said a prayer on Sunday in Gospel Principles that would melt your heart.  "I am so excited for this baptism and I feel so happy."  She and Clori are so firm.  They have gone to church every Sunday for two months.  And the day is finally arriving. :))  The whole family is planning on coming down to attend.
We are working and teaching and learning and smiling.  Life is good.  And that would be an understatement.  Passos y Píterson sigan trabajando juntas.  The members are incredible.  We are excited for General Conference.  Invite everyone :)
I love you all so very much.  You are strong people because you find strength in God.
Until the next time,
Hermana Peterson



Monday, March 17, 2014

Miguel Angel

We had an incredible zone conference this week.  We learned more about how to teach with power and authority to the needs of each person, using lots of inspired questions.  I have to improve my teaching skills.  It is one of the worst feelings when we leave a house of someone who said they didn't want to keep learning and we wish we could have taught them better.  Learning to follow the Spirit is one of the best quests of life and we will always keep learning.  

Heidi, your mission call!!!! EEEE!  I am so excited.  This is the best mission in the world, so I sure hope you come here. :)  The coolest part is that all the missions are the best.  I am so excited for you!!!

The baptism of Miguel was great.  The ward is super excited to have a new member and Miguel seems happy to have a new family.  When we went to the temple he was was eager to get going in family history work so we`ll be in that this week.  I love that God works through covenants.  We make the first covenant of baptism and as we keep that promise we receive eternal life.  It brings us out of the world and a little closer to heaven.  We feel His love and know He isn't as far as we thought.

The weather has been PERFECT.  It is a pleasure to walk the streets of Buenos Aires all the day long.  We are reading the stories of the sons of Mosiah and Alma and all the hardships they faced.  I love the chapters afterwards, in Alma 27-29, where it is all about the JOY.  Why do we give all we have to the Lord and His work??  The reasons are endless, but just look at the joy they felt!!!  Es impresionante.  And Heidi, when we finally hug I'm pretty sure we will pass out for joy, like they did.  I'm imagining it right now, and I'm pretty sure that is how it will go down.  And our joy will be so huge and uncontainable for all the miracles that God has let us see.

God is a god of miracles.  Y acà en la misiòn, somos misioneros que luchan por milagros!! ¡Vamas Aldo! ¡Vamos Bonzi!

I love you all so much.  Your light shines all the way to Argentina.

Hermana Peterson
Miguel:)

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Happiness

First an order of business, sent from the offices:

Packages From Home
We are sorry to say that with new restrictions and fees that are being imposed by the
government of Argentina, we are no longer able to accept packages for the
missionaries. We have made this decision in conjunction with President Robertson, who
will preside over the mission beginning in July and in conjunction with other missions in
Argentina.
Do not use other methods such as FedEx, DHL or UPS as we will not attempt to retrieve
those packages.
We recommend sending your missionary a bank card that you can refill from home if they
need to purchase items here in Argentina. Before sending the card, please ensure that the
card can be activated without the involvement of the missionary in the field.
We will do our best to obtain those packages that are still in transit, but there is no
guarantee that we will be able to retrieve them. Thank you for your understanding
and cooperation with this issue.

Rachael, I hope I get the one that is in route!!! I´ll keep you updated. :)

What a miraculous week!! Tomas was baptized and Miguel went to the temple and felt an incredible peace.  We found another new family and are full of hope!  The Lord is blessing us and it brings us joy.  We are learning more diligence.  Diligence is the key.

It is strange but I can't think of anything to say....jaja. Give me a minute.

Well I just read all my emails and it made me even happier.  You are all so marvelous.

Let me tell you about Miguel.  Miguel lives with his brother, just the two of them.  He never got married and doesnt have any kids.  We were knocking doors one evening when his brother, Facundo, opened the door and said, not very convincingly, that we could pass by another day.  A few weeks later, we knocked the door again, and out stepped Miguel.  We asked if we could talk to him for a few minutes because we had something important to give him.  He said yes and we sat there outside in the sun, and shared the gospel.  We invited him to church and he said he had work.  The next lesson we talked about dìa de reposo.  We had barely explained the commandment when he said, "So I have to ask work off or find another job."  Well okay!  All throughout teaching him the lessons went along that same line.  "I need to stop drinking cafè then."  Well okay!  He received a new schedule at work and had gone to church the past three Sundays.  

When we went to the temple we talked about the Plan of Salvation.  His parents and several siblings have passed away.  As we talked about how he will be able to come to the temple and be sealed to his family he could hardly believe it.  He said he never thought such a blessing was possible.  He felt so much peace there, in the gardens of the temple.  We have a goal to take someone to the temple once a week.  So far, so good. :)  The Spirit is so strong.

Tomas was so excited to be baptized and his whole family was delighted.  They have been going to church every week and are receiving many blessings amidst the trials.

President called one day this week and invited me to share my experience with the Hermanas Lìderes Entrenadores.  It was a blessing for me.  I was struggling to be consistently diligent and we werent accomplishing what the Lord expected of us.  But we were humbled and we are changing and the Lord is pouring out His blessings upon us.  He is teaching me that I can do and become more than what I thought.  He knows our potential, and the potential of each child is infinite.  You can see it as you look in the eyes of baby Glory!!  That potential must be reached, no?  :)

I love you all to the moon and back.  Jesus Christ brings us this happiness.  It just doesn't exist in any other way.

Hermana Peterson

p.s. I recieved a TON of letters this week and I want to thank everyone who sent them!!!! Seminary class-  so awesome!!!  Thanks to each of you. :)
                                                                       Templo with Miguel
baptism of Tomas

las mujeres jovenes del barrio

el lider mission al con su familia

more members

Monday, March 3, 2014

Grace and Glory

editors note: this post is out of order...it happened before "and walked and walked"
We have a merciful God.  We have been struggling here in Cuidad Evita, in being fully diligent and meeting our goals and finding people to baptize.  We love it here and we are learning so much each week, but it has been hard because we were falling below the Lord´s expectations.  But this week we were humbled, we had divisions with the Hermanas Líderes Entrenadores, we were committed to our goals each day, and the Lord poured out His grace upon us.  We found families, we had investigators in church, Lidia said "Who´s going to baptize me? I have two nephews to choose from and who is going to do it??"  When we called our investigators on Sunday morning they all said they were ready and waiting for us to pass by!!  It was a week of miracles and grace.  We have transfers this week and it looks to me like we will be staying another transfer but we will see.

Horacio and Liliana.  They are a couple that has been married 35 years.  I don't remember if I told you the story of last week, but it was when we talked with each member of the family in the street and then finally had a lesson with them.  Liliana is reading the Libro de Mormón like a fiend and they both went to church and had a great experience.  Then there is their neighbor, Miguel, who is mas o menos 55 and lives with his brother.  He is also reading the Book of Mormon and was praying to be able to go to church when his boss changed his work schedule and now he works in the afternoons and can go to church!  Ramona is still going to church every Sunday and likes to be there and learn about Jesus.  After church last week Hermana Passos had shared her testimony of the atonement and when she was teaching about His suffering she became emotional and was crying while talking.  Ramona told her she should really be a nun because she had never seen someone cry at the suffering of Jesus. She said she really carries Jesus in her heart.  So true.   It made an impact in her.  We also were blessed with finding three more families this week and we hope to see them progress and accept the gospel of Christ.

And all this comes down to the glory of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  He is so glorious.  Through His grace we are healed, and as we glorify Him in prayer and service, the miracles are endless.

I feel so happy.

We had a fun District activity today making tacos.  I´ll send some pictures.  Glory is the cutest little girl I have ever seen and I am so happy to see her beautiful self.  Please give her lots of kisses (as if I had to ask!).  I love you all sooooooooo much. Besitos.  I love greeting people with kisses.

Hermana Peterson
Sometimes we have power outages and we plan by candlelight

Our lovely zone.  Work hard, Pray hard.

Tacos.  Mmmmmmm!

                                I put those watercolors to work and made some envelopes.
Hna Zamora - what a lovely missionary!

Taco Time!

And walked and walked aaaaand walked!

editor's note: this post is later than the grace and glory post--it's out of order!

So much to tell!!  On Wednesday we had transfers and the Hermana Passos y yo nos quedamos juntas un traslado mas!! WooWoo!!  And that´s not all-  our area was doubled because the Elders were moved to other wards.  We now have a baptism on Saturday!  Poor Elders, we robbed them.  And another couple is preparing to be married.  It´s like Christmas.  And that´s not all.  We found a beautiful family!  And they went to chruch yesterday!  And Miguel, and Lidia, and Thomas also went to church!  It was a glorious week.  And my legs are so tired because I have never walked so much in my life.

And that´s not all!  We went to the temple on Thursday with Lidia, her sister, Clori, and Hermana Herrera (niece to Lidia).  Lidia and Clori felt so peaceful and happy there.  We talked about the temple sealing and how they can be sealed all together and to their spouses who have passed away. Lidia had offically decided to be baptized on the 29th. I love being so close to the temple. I love Ciudad Evita.  AND THEN.... just as we were about to leave the temple grounds I looked as saw the most beautiful sight my eyes had ever beheld- Justa entering the temple to do the work for her mother!  It was the best hug you´ve ever seen.  She asked me when I was going to visit her in her house.  We laughed and hugged and took a picture.  I love the tender mercies of the Lord.  It still makes me smile just to think of it.

The lovely little family consists of Nadia, 31, with beautiful dark, curly hair and a quiet disposition, Omar, 33, her husband, with a trimmed beard, and Oriana, who turns two on Thursday.  Maybe she and Jethro can get married someday and celebrate their birthdays together.  We found them last Sunday in the evening.  They are special.  They are looking for truth and security in this dark world.  We pray they will continue seeking.  Nadia prayed a heart-felt prayer and I just love her so much.

Thomas, 10, will be baptized on Saturday.  All of his family is already baptized but hadnt been going to church.  They are going now and Thomas is super excited to be baptized.  The children here grow so fast and everyone looks and acts older than they really are.  He is super sharp and receptive to the truth.

Yep, it was an incredible week.  We are excited to have another six weeks here.  Okay, I am going to read your emails now.  I love you all so much and pray for you every day.  Invite more families into our home because there is a spirit there that is powerful- super powerful.  Everyone can feel it.  Stepping out of the world and into a little piece of heaven. :)  LOVES.

Hermana Peterson


This is the morning view outside our apartment.  We go for a jog in the morning and then we stretch.

Doesn't it just melt your heart?  So adorable.  Justa and I send notes back and forth, and it is fun.

Justita y yo.

Perfect weather for a walk around the temple.

Beautiful temple walk.