Be Like a Little Child

This week was really great. We´ve been putting a lot more emphasis on Menos Activos and retention as a mission so it´s definitely been a little different with some new rules and goals and stuff, but I love it. 

Our branch wants to be a ward so badly. They are the most amazing members ever and are working so hard. (Something Sarah said last week) I LOVED how she talked about her Mission president saying that it wasn´t HIS prayers and faith but the prayers and faith of his stake that helped him get better. I totally felt that way this week. We have been having a lot of success with menos activos but I know it´s because of the effort of everyone here in the branch. Because of all their prayers and visits and fasts and meetings and studying. We´ve got a couple returned missionaries that are coming home now that are gonna help out a ton in the branch! 

After we get baptized we have to perseverar hasta el fin! You can´t just stop right there and think everything is done. If you aren´t going to church, get back to church! Repent! You can´t be fully repented or clean until you participate of the sacrament. Nothing unclean can be in the presence of God.   

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY. I love being a representative of Jesus Christ. One of my favorite things in the world is teaching or talking to little kids. We were walking away from a lesson with these adorable children and they waved and yelled goodbye to us until we couldn´t see them anymore. They were jumping up and down and wanted us to wave at them for so long. I can´t help but think about His teachings to be like the little children. And when I see Him again, I´m probably gonna be jumping up and down like that too. :)

I love you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Have an awesome week!!!

Remember who you are!

Hermana Peterson

Waste and Wear Out Your Life

HAPPY DAUGHTERS DAY!!!

Cool! Yesterday was Daughters Day for our family & "Dia del Nino" [Children's Day] in Argentina. We didn´t even plan that! haha! But, they also have a holiday for just about everything here. My companion and I made heart shaped cookies to celebrate. Keeping the Peterson tradition alive... Argentina style.

We always invite the investigator to say the closing prayer in lessons. Fabricio has had a TON of lessons so he totally knows the drill. This week we had our first lesson with him as a member. When we asked if he or his wife wanted to say the closing prayer he put his hands up and was like, "Ya me bautice" or "I´m baptized now!" hahaha! They have some friends and family they are going to bring to the next lesson so maybe we will have someone to say the prayer then. :)

This week we went to visit a family menos activo [less active] and, I´m not gonna lie, I walked away from their house super sad. They told us that they just didn´t want the responsibilities that come with church attendance or to DO anything: Scripture study, FHE, church, nothing. The mom felt like the church requires too much. Just that morning I was reading the talk from Pres. Uchtdorf, Come Join with Us. 

He says, "We do not require anything, but the Lord asks that we consecrate all." And it reminds me of a quote from Joseph Smith that says, "A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things, never has the power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation."

I wish I could quote that whole talk for you because it is SO GOOD. So maybe you can read it this week!!! Ya? 

And also, we are focusing on family history a ton these days. I know that everyone feels like there isn´t missionary work to do in Utah... but there is! Also, don´t forget that family history is the same work= Missionary work for the other side!

D&C 123:13, "Therefore, that we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all hidden things of darkness, wherein we know them." Waste and wear out your life sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ! We are so blessed to have it!!!! 

Love you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

I miss you tons

I'm so grateful for you guys

Mucho amor,

Hermana Megan Peterson

Foto:

Selfie with Daughter's Day cookies  

"So ganster you can find us bakin' cookies at night..."

[technical difficulties- sadly, I can't load this year's Daughter's Day selfie] Sooo-

 

Last Year's Daughter's Day Selfie :)

& ...a bonus pic...

Daughter's Day 2006  :)

Very Good!

Fabricio got baptized this week!! He has demasiado verguenza so he didn´t want anyone there at his baptism to see. So it was a VIP baptism. Just the people that were necessary to hacerlo were there. And guess who he wanted to baptize him. The abuelo in the branch that is SO OLD. Hilarious. He didn´t want anyone else to do it. Only the abuelo. Haha! Apparently they are BFFs. We asked him how he felt after the baptism and he said, "Very good." In English. hahaha! That kid.

Our Sunday School class was SO HOT this week. At the end of the class one of the guys finally turned on the fans. An investigator that came to church for the first time this week was asked to say the closing prayer and said, "Thank you so much for the air." We were cracking up. He definitely understands the concept that we say the things of our heart.

At the baptism on Saturday, there were HUNDREDS of little children. And while we were waiting for the people to change the rama was singing some hymns. Justo, the first hymn we start singing is Love At Home. There were children screaming, running up on the stand, car alarms going off right outside, moms yelling at their children and this super loud toy going off the entire song. I was dying. That song. Classic.

Sunset- You can´t tell very well in the pic. Argentine sunsets are my new obsession. Right after the Book of Mormon, of course. ;)

Isidora, her daughter and her nietos at the Relief Society Activity.

Permiso

Hey!!!!

 

I seriously love being a missionary.

 

This week at church, Isidora came all by herself and she brought her daughter and her 3 nietos. After church the members were SO GREAT. They were all talking to them, inviting them to the Relief Society activity, and the Young Women were all holding the baby... haha, YW are the same in the United States and Argentina. I was so proud.

 

Vicenta said the closing prayer this week in one of our lessons! She always has a ton of verguenza to do it and she has a hard time remembering how to do it.We explained to her a bunch of times and helped her remember and when she finally agreed to say it and did it perfectly I was seriously SO HAPPY. The things we get excited about.

 

There´s this word in Spanish. "Permiso." It means permission. Basically if you say permiso before you do something you can do whatever you want. I wish I could explain this concept to you a little better because it´s hilarious. It´s like inviting yourself to do something. For example, if you are standing at a fence and talking to someone and you want to open the door, you just say permiso and walk in without asking.

 

We have this adorable lady in our ward that reminds me of Grandma Peterson and whenever we eat at her house she always serves us up a ton of food. Then when we are almost done with our plate she will say, "Do you want more?" And before we can say anything she says, "Permiso" and puts a ton more food on our plate.

 

Love you guys so much!!!!

Hermana Peterson

 

Love You All!!!

Family!!!! I love you guys. Hope ya know that.

I´m scared to say this, because I don't wanna get jinxed now, but my companion and I are experts at baby distracting now. We had a ton of lessons where there were crying/crazy babies this week. One of us starts talking and the other immediately starts baby distracting until it´s time to switch. 

I feel like every missionary understands this, but so many times as soon as we start talking about Joseph Smith or the first vision SOMETHING happens. Someone drives by playing loud music, dogs start going crazy, someone knocks on the door, the phone rings... and the list goes on. But this week was the week of crying babies.   

We are teaching this lady, Vicenta. She´s so chill. The first time we met her and invited her to church she agreed to come and she actually did!! 

I´m so grateful to know how to read. She can´t read anything and I never even realized that there are a lot of basic things that you can´t do if you can´t read. For example, she couldn´t tell what bus to get on to go home. Or which sign was the bus stop and which was the street sign. I´m so excited for her and for Isidora because the church and the Relief Society will help them both out a lot. 

I love this scripture in D&C 123:13. It´s a new favorite! Look it up!

Don´t forget to pray for missionary experiences!!

Love you bunches.

Besos!

Hermana Peterson    

 

Plans

Family!!!

Izidora got baptized and confirmada this weekend! It was absolutely beautiful. When she got el don del espiritu santo she came back to sit down and was crying and was just like, "I feel so relieved." 

Of course, we were running around like crazy to get things worked out for the baptism like normal. I think it´s a pretty standard rule that you shouldn´t leave things cooking in the oven while you´re gone. It´s also pretty standard to not leave the font going while you're out working. Haha... we didn´t have a ton of time this week because of Mundial! So we had both the brownies for the baptism and the font going at the same time in two different places with the eternal investigator in the middle of the two that talks a TON. Luckily, the font didn´t overflow. BUT, we didn´t have brownies at the baptism...:)

Argentina is a little depressed. This week we were encarceladas and couldn´t leave the apartment for forever. But, we had on our Argentina Jerseys and our neighbor Sergio was keeping us updated. Por sus gritos. 

I don´t have a ton of time so I´m just gonna copy this thought from my study journal this week. Hopefully it makes sense cuz I won´t have time to go back and help you understand what I was talking about Haha. 

Alma 47:13. Lehonti. Kills me. It´s so important to stay firm. To be steadfast and immovable. (Mosiah 5:15). Lehonti had good intentions when he fled to the mountains but when Amalickiah got there he couldn´t resist the temptation. I feel like as the reader we are like, "Lehonti! What the heck?! What are you doing man?!" And it´s like that in life too. People are watching us and can see danger we can´t.  How nice it would have been if Lehonti had talked to some people about his decision before, but instead, in that same night, in a split second, he made the worst decision of his life. He made a plan without taking it to the Lord or talking to anyone else about it. Pres. Heyman was ALL about plans. And, obviously, the most important part about making plans is having the Lord´s help to make them and then to have his approval. 

No one make any crazy life changing plans without talking ém to the Lord first. Don´t be dumb like Lehonti. 

Also, I just feel like I should put this in here too. Everything in the church goes back to the Book of Mormon and the Prophet Smith. If you have doubts or a problem with a commandment, PRAY to know if the Book of Mormon is true and then look in the scriptures for an answer. (PMG chapter 5) 

Love you all!!!!!

Besos!

Hermana Peterson

When There's Love at Home

Fabricio and Marcela got married this week!!! It´s super weird. All you do is go into this old building, sign some papers, say I do and you're married. How hard is that?!? It kind of surprises me that more people don´t just get married here. They were super cute. We are way excited for Fabricio´s baptism this Saturday!

Izidora is adorable. She told us this week that she´s excited to be baptized because she wants to be clean from all her sins and wants to start over. It´s so cool when people really understand about baptism. Who doesn´t want to be completely clean?? 

She can´t read, but she always looks at the pictures in the folletos and at the beginning of the Book of Mormon and prays. She´s a champ. She´s getting baptized this Saturday too with Fabricio!

It´s cool that when we walk into people´s homes, we really can tell if the spirit is there or if someone is a member or not. We have lunch with this member family and every time we go, the spirit is so strong in their home. It´s a really humble house, but we feel more comfortable there than most of the homes we teach in. 

Our homes are the only other places on earth that can compare to the temples. And when we are living the Gospel of Jesus Cristo it´s obvious. That´s one thing that is so easy to see as a missionary. We are in hundreds of different homes, but the ones that always really feel like "home" are the homes of members where the spirit is present. I´m so grateful for family and that my home really is a refuge from the world.

I love you all!!!!

Hermana Peterson

BYU Pride