El Campo

This Hermana is no longer in the city, if you can believe it!  After 14 months I am now far from the center and I ride a bicycle!!!  

We received the call on Tuesday night that I would be packing my bags.  I was surprised but felt peace.  I called flia Guiñazu and they were so sweet. El hermano me dijo que había cumplido con mi misión en Morón y que el Señor me necesitaba por otros lados.  ¡Que tierno!  I  called and said goodbye to those people I love so much.  We headed to Ramos in the morning, with butterflies in our little stomachs!

It was also the despedida of Hermana and President Carter, and it was beautiful, inspiring, and made us all cry demasiado.  We will miss them terribly.  They are so dedicated and righteous.  And I am now in Bragado!!!  And I love it!  Riding a bike is the best.  Bragado isnt actually super "campo" because it is a little town, but there are no buses or taxis and only honking horns when Argentina wins a partido, like it keeps doing. :)  And when they win there is LOTS of honking.  For an hour or so after the match finishes.  We watch happily from our apartment window as the cars fly by with happy Arginitines waving flags and sporting Messi shirts.

My companion is Hna. Millet, from the United States!  So many surprises this week, I know.  She is an angel and is from good ol` Utah.  She is 23 and was teaching kindergarden before the mission.  She just completed a year as a missionary this week.  And she is super awesome and we work in unity.  I am so excited for this transfer.  We have already seen so many miracles here in Bragado.

David y Cecilia are a young couple with a daughter of 4 years, and they will be married and baptized in julio!! They are so prepared and excited and are always reading and praying and asking questions.  They are already making plans to be sealed in the temple in a years time. :)

And Aldo y Patricia.  They have been attending church faithfully for three years, and this week they will finally be able to be married and baptized, after waiting so long for their papers to go through.  Oh what a happy day it will be.

We had District Conference this weekend and Presidente Carter came for his last Sunday as mission presidente.  He loves Bragado.  I didn't get to know the Branch very yet because there were several branches there and I didn't know who was who, but there is a special spirit here and I am loving it.

I am happy and learning.  I've been studying about prayer and I am learning how to pray sincerely every time.  President Eyring said in this last conference that as we begin to pray like we should we will understand better that we are truly sons and daughters of God.  We will forgive others.  We will serve selflessly.  Our lives will change for the better.

I love Argentina and I love being in the service of the Lord.  We will be receiving our new mission president this week and it will be exciting.  The change happens on Saturday.

I love you all with all my heart.  Puedo sentir de sus oraciones cada día y me llenan de esperanza y fuerza para seguir.  ¡Les amo un montón!

Hermana Peterson

They are just so beautiful!

Translados!! woowoo!

hermanita salinas, mi corazon

el momento del cambio...me encanta la drama

Hna. Millet. Awww:)

capilla abierta

Where to begin.  Nancy and her family stopped going to church a few weeks ago, but said they were still going to follow through with their plans to get married... and they did!  So we went to their marriage and it was quite different from all the weddings I've been to in the past.  So they are being obedient to one commandment more now and God will bless them for that.  Hopefully soon they will decide to continue learning about Jesus Christ and find more peace in their lives.

We had a capilla abierta this weekend and it was great!  The whole district came to our chapel and we all worked together with the ward to present the chapel to the public.  People always say they are curious about our church but have never entered, so opportunities like this are excellent. Afterwards Marianela, a woman the Elders have been teaching, was baptized.  It was a lovely day.

Familia Guiñazu is the best family ever (not counting all of you, of course).  They are learning and loving it.  We love teaching them and they love soaking it all in.  They continue praying every day as a family.  It makes me think, "If they can do it, so can every family in the Church!"  The blessings that come are incredible.  Natalia, the daughter that is 22, has started listening in more and we asked her if she thought all we taught was true.  She told us she´s been praying to know and when she sees the change in her family, she can't help but believe that it really is true.  The changes are undeniable.  There is unity and peace and love and excitement.  

We have transfers this week! Eeeee!  Vamos a ver que pasa.  I´ll keep ya updated. :)  Next Monday, of course.

I love you all and pray you are well!!  Keep living life to the fullest and sharin the joy with all you encounter!

LOVES

Hna Peterson

Marianela se bautizo

escrituras gigantes

hnas Anderson y Olson

la provencia

Nancy and juan got married!

The marriage ceremony

wedding day

Melany y Tiago:))

la capilla abierto

family history!

las mujeres jovenes

The marriage ceremony

sandwiches de miga

Roots

We have a calendar of Junio that we mark every day and write the miracle of the day.  We Hermanas like to draw doodles and make it all pretty, too.  This week almost every day, the miralce has to do with familia Guiñazu.  They are too incredible!  They receive the gospel with so much love and faith.  Thiago is an angel and when we ask questions his answers are so sweet and tender.  The Hermana has another daughter from her first marriage, Natalia.  She is twenty-two and studying dietetics.  She is reading the Book of Mormon but hasn't gone to church yet.  She is taking her time to feel things out, but it's also because they have a kiosko and she is the one that attends to the customers while the rest of the family is in church.  So this week we will focus on Natalia and try to help her gain this same testimony that the rest of the family is gaining.  

The ward is super excited for this family as well.  The ward is eager to help and the bishop focuses heavily on retention.  All the organizations are working to help the new members feel involved and befriended.  Morón es la tierra prometida, en serio.

We are reading all the General Conference talks as a mission and I love it.  Today we read the one that talks about how trees that grow in places with lots of wind grow their roots deeper and the tree becomes stronger.  God made us, His children, with the ability to withstand the winds of mortal life.  As we seek nourishment in the face of trial we grow stronger.  

Something else I'm learning is the importance of defending the truth.  Christ always defended the truth.  What He said was not popular, but it was right.  As messengers of the truth we must always declare what is right, and do it with love and power and faith.  Then the miracles come and hearts are softened and people make covenants with God.  I love covenants with God.

We are happy and hopeful.  I love you all and pray for you every day.

la zona de castelar!  Vamos Argentina!

my companion, cut in half for some reason

The zone again

we're cute

we love Argentina

an action shot...jaja...I have no idea why it copied this way, but there you go!

I believe in Miracles!!!

I am so full of gratitude that I don´t have words to express it.  I am so happy to be in this place at this time with these people.  I wouldn´t have it any other way.

Our district is so pumped.  Our zone is so pumped.  We are united and excited and we are working as a team to reach our goals.  And the miracles are raining down upon us.  Our district leader shared these verses with us last night and we all feel the same: Alma 29:9-10, 13-17.  Nicely put. :)

So yesterday morning we went to wake everybody up for church.  We had a lot of people who committed to go, recent converts, less-active members, investigators.  They all live close so we decided to pass by for all of them.  We were highly disappointed.  Nobody opened the door.  We then went for the last family- familia Guiñazu.  We knocked and said silent prayers.  This is an incredible family.  This week we had lessons with them where the Spirit was so strong.  We finish each lesson with a kneeling prayer at the door and there are hugs and kisses all around.  They hadnt been able to go to the church the past two weeks but this Sunday they were super committed.

We knocked he door and the dad opened it and invited us in- they were all running around, finishing getting ready!  Hermana Salinas helped braid hair and we were off!  I didnt stop smiling the whole ride in the colectivo.  The kids happily went to Primary and enjoyed it thoroughly.  We went with the parents to Gospel Principles and it was the best Gospel Principles class ever.  Hno Lema taught and it was on the gift of the Holy Ghost.  The Spirit was present during the whole lesson and all our investigators, of us and the Elders, were commenting on how they feel the Spirit in our lessons and never want that feeling to go away.  It was happy.

We also painted Stella´s house this week and it fun.  The house is full of light now.  We were happy they let us help.

God is a God of miralces.  He always has been and always will be.

I love you all very much.  Your pictures and emails lift me up and make me smile and cry and laugh.  May this week be bright. :)

LOVES,

Hermana Peterson 

Stella cooks well:)

familia Guinazu!!!!!!!!! en la capilla

almuerzo con Ludmi, Melany y Diego

la verdad

Painting

more painting

that's Julio

Love

25 de Mayo

The day of the revolution!  And it was also the ward conference.  It was a big deal in Morón 1 and I loved it!  In church everyone stood and sang the national anthem and it was so lovely!  Salud, Argentina!!!!  Everyone gave their very best this Sunday in the classes and talks and it was uplifting for all.  

Adriana, the miracle that went to church last week, is amazing.  She is very intelligent and loves to read and loves dance and music.  She is progressing well and went to church again yesterday.  Es un amor.  She has a daughter, 17, that is sweet.  Adriana showed up to church yesterday in a skirt and sat in front and participated in the classes and I don't think people realized it was only her second time going to church.  She´s a natural. :)

Daniel brought his family to church again this week.  They are so wonderful.  Monica loves us and we love her and we saw their family almost every day this week. Every time she sees us she says, "Oh, no, hermanas, oh no!"  And gives us a big hug and we all say we love each other.  Hermana Salinas and Monica are always teasing and bickering and then we have super awesome lessons and Monica has stopped smoking and is leading her family in this new path.  She is the mother of ten children, and now she has two more. :)

Nancy and her family are needing some more time to build up their testimonies and understand the baptismal commitment, so Ludmila and Azul weren't baptized this weekend.  But a few more weeks and hopefully they can all be baptized together.

We didn't have transfers, as you can see, so we continue working together in Morón for four more weeks! Wohoo!! Super happy.  I love being a missionary.

This week I started reading the New Testament from the beginning and I am learning so much.  Christ was so firm.  It is like Elder Holland said in his talk this past conference-  Jesus Christ was loving, but that doesn't mean he wasn't firm in proclaiming the truth and the importance of DOING the will of the Father.  There is no sugar-coating.  And so it should be.  We must defend the truth with boldness and love.  It is what we all need to hear and our spirits, if they are humble, can recognize the truth when it is stated clearly.  I love that Christ´s example is perfect.  We can trust in Him with all our souls and not worry that we will be led astray.  If we pray, study, and keep our promises with our Heavenly Father, we will have eternal life.  And it is all thanks to out Savior, Jesus Christ.

I love it.

I love you! Thanks for all your support!

Hermana Peterson

*salud, Argentina!

Ward Conference...it's a big deal.

25 de Mayo

Foto Zona Castelar

las hermanas de castelar

Adriana. Yep, that's me in a turtleneck.

familia Guinazu

familia Piombo

Monica y Priscila