02/29/2016

This week has been great! Elder Villacorta and I are working with all our heart, might, mind, and strength. This week flew by so fast. I've gotten to know a few of the members here in Villaflor. It is a good ward. It's small though. There were about 100 people in church yesterday. We are teaching Fabian right now. He is from Otovalo. He is preparing to be baptized the 12th of March. Yesterday, we also found a great family. We are hoping they will progress and come to church this week as well. 

As far as other things go. I continue jogging every morning with my new companion. Then I do abs and drink a small shake for breakfast. Studies are going good. We are studying a lot because my companion is in his training still, but I am enjoying it. Our shower has been broken so I've been doing a polar plunge every morning haha. It wakes me up good though. My companion is a great missionary. He is so willing to learn and serve. He's only been a member of the church for a little over a year, but he is great! We get along great as well. Elder Mankins is in my zone as well. We were companions in the MTC, so we started together and finish together. It's interesting because I was looking at some pictures I have from the MTC today and we have changed a lot in 2 years, all of us who were there. The mission has changed my life so much. The Lord has worked with me a lot. Thinking about it, there may have been days where he was walking by my side quite literally, who knows. He is the motor behind the mighty change of heart that has and is taking place inside of me. He is my Lord and King. As long as we are obedient he will go before us and will send angels round about us to bear us up (D&C 84:88) and if we have angels on our side who can stand against us-quote from someone i don't remember. 

We had an interesting lesson with a member of the church who has gone in and out of activity in the church. The scripture in Ether 12:27 really touched him. I have come to understand this scripture better in my mission. My mission president taught me that this is one of the most misquoted scriptures in the church. It says that the Lord gives us weakness, not weaknesses. Our weakness obviously is the natural man which we all have. The choice in this life is simple, the decision is the same decision that we made before coming here. Will we follow Christ or Satan? The scriptures teach us that if we follow Christ we will recieve everlasting life and if we follow Satan we will die or suffer the spiritual death. In the end someone has to die. Us or the natural man. 

We may not be able to get rid of the natural man in this life, but we have been given a formula for what we must constantly do to put it off. 

I pray that in all of your travels and busy life you may never forget to read your scriptures and sincerely converse with our Loving Heavenly Father!

I love you all so much!

Elder Peterson

02/06/2016

Mom,

We sure have been doing a lot of traveling. This week we had our leadership council and the verification of the new missionaries. We also did interviews here in Quito. Yesterday and today we were in Santo Domingo doing interviews and we just barely got back. Lots of traveling. Unfortunately, I don't really have pictures. We just went to the chapel basically. Last night I did divisions with Elder Quinn though. We were in the MTC together and he's a good buddy. He is a zone leader in Santo Domingo right now.  

The gospel has certainly changed my life and the person I am. I'm so grateful for the atonement in my life. It has not only offered me forgiveness for sins committed but a change of heart, a change of character, a change of nature, it has changed the way I think, the way I speak, and act. I will never stop living the gospel. It is hard at times. Sometimes you just get tired, but the atonement has also offered me strength to continue fighting. I want to be the kind of person that I would be willing to go into battle with. To fight next to. I am ponderizing Alma 53:20-21. 

Don't forget to fast! Don't watch the super bowl, keep the sabbath day holy!!

Elder Peterson

01/22/2016

So today we are just working on some things in the office. We are doing an annual history of the mission for 2015 which is a big project. Tomorrow we will be training during interviews. This week we have been in interviews most of the time training. Next week will be really similar. We have a lot of things on our plate right now. We also have Elder Jeffery R. Holland coming to the mission on the 13th of February so we have to get ready for that as well. Busy, busy, busy. 

01/16/2016

Mom,

So this week we had changes and Monday night we had to go pick up an elder at the airport at 12am. We didn't get much sleep that night. Tuesday we went to the airport and got the rest of the missionaries. That day we had a few meetings and a dinner with president and a testimony meeting. Wednesday we had meetings almost all day with the new missionaries and their trainers. Thursday and Friday we were able to work in our sector a bit, but we also started working on the annual report for our mission which is due in February for the year of 2015. Its going to be a big project. Today we went and played basketball with the missionaries from Quito north. And that about sums up our week. This week we start interviews again so we will be traveling to the whole mission and training each district during interviews. Should be fun, another busy week. 

A scripture I liked this week was Ephesians 6:12 - "For we wrestle not against flesh [2] and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

We are fighting the most important battle ever fought and the longest one as well. It started before this life. It is not a battle of flesh and blood. It is a battle of light vs. darkness, good vs. evil, life vs. death, happiness vs. misery. I read a quote from Russell M Ballard that says, "Satan is taking eternal prisoners at an alarming rate." He and his servants work diligently, so we must work even harder. "This isn't a work for spiritual weaklings". We must fill ourselves with light. We must be worthy conduits so the Lord may shine through us. We must disperse the darkness. This is the work of the Almighty God, and he needs all of us. Heart, might, mind, and strength.

Love you and have a great week!

Elder Peterson

01/09/2016

Hey Mom,

This week was pretty crazy. Monday we did our usual office work and we had to get ready for the leadership council. Tuesday we had the leadership council and we trained on raising our vision as missionaries and how to set and accomplish goals. I thought it went very well. Wednesday we had the verification of the new missionaries. It went well, we trained a little bit there as well. Thursday and Friday we were on divisions for a few different reasons. And that was our week up till now. Tomorrow we have changes so we will be starting another busy week!

Other than that all is well! I hope Bryce heals quickly. Thats really going to distract me this week I feel like. Hopefully I can forget about it. 

Love you have a great week!

Elder Peterson

01/02/2016

Mom,

This week we did a lot of divisions, on Tuesday i went with Elder Rodriguez and Elder Zelaya in Los Chillos. They are both relatively new missionaries and it was a good day. Wednesday, I went with Elder Jimenez and Elder Garces in Quito. We had a good day. Both days we did a lot of contacting. Thursday we were only allowed to leave the house for our zone meeting so we went to the meetings and then to lunch. Then we took a nap and studied the scriptures and cleaned the house a bit. After that, we went up to the roof and did a BBQ which was fun. I'll send some pictures. Friday we woke up really early and went to Ambato to do divisions. I was with Elder Upchurch (my last companion) and Elder Pugh in my old sector. It was a good day. We taught some of the people I used to teach. One of the less active families we were working with is super active now and have received callings in the ward and are planning on going to the temple in a year to get sealed. Today we woke up super early and took a few long bus rides to go to Quilatoa for our pday. Its a giant lake in the crater of a volcano. I'll send pictures. We got back a couple of hours ago. It's been a fun and busy week. Other than that everything is good. This next week we have a few meetings which will be fun and we will probably do divisions as well. 

I hope you have a great week!

Elder Peterson

12/12/2015

HI Mom!

We are in a trio for now because of all the things we have to do this change with the Christmas dinners and stuff but also because Elder Valenzuela will most likely be going back into the field after this change to train or something, so Elder Fredrick is just getting some extra training as an assistant this change. With the new missionaries we usually get to share a personal experience from the mission about finding people or something and our testimony.

This week has been really busy. We had Christmas dinners with the zones: Los Chillos, Ambato, Turubamba, and Riobamba. Those are some of the biggest zones as well so it was kind of hectic. This week we will only have three. Everyone has to get a flu shot at the conference. I have been helping the nurses give shots. I'm pretty good at it now haha! We have been learning a lot about tithing, discipleship, and temple covenants. It has been really helpful. Christmas is coming up. It is funny because last Christmas I was also with Elder Valenzuela so we make the joke now that Christmas just wont be Christmas if we aren't together haha. My spiritual thought for the week comes from Alma: We know that the Nephites grew up their whole lives knowing the Lamanites as a wicked and savage people. Especially the more wicked part of the Nephites. Ammon was at one point one of the more wicked Nephites, but he converted and leaves on a mission where he makes himself a servant of King Lamoni and something I like comes from Alma 17:30. It says that Ammon, while talking about the servants of the king (lamanites) calls them his brothers. The Atonement not only offers us forgiveness of our sins but gives us new eyes and a new heart, he no longer saw them as a savage and wicked and hated people but as his brothers. The Atonement gave Ammon a new perspective, new eyes, he stopped seeing people for their outside appearance but for the beautiful potential they had as sons and daughters of God. The other example that I liked is in Alma 20:23, where the father of King Lamoni who was king over all the Lamanite people and Nephite dissenters, was about to be killed by Ammon and because he feared losing his life he said that he would give Ammon up to half of his kingdom. In chapter 22 Aaron goes and teaches the king about the plan of salvation and the atonement of Jesus Christ (vs. 14). And how that knowledge changed the king! In verse 15 he says that he was willing to give up his kingdom (all of it) to be able to be changed by the atonement and put off the natural man. But when he was about to die he was only willing to give up half of his kingdom. SO interesting. The Atonement changes us, so much. It has changed my life. I was reading in my journal and last year at the end of 2014 I said that I wanted this year to be a year that would forever change my life. It has been and I owe it all to that great and loving sacrifice of Jesus Christ. I love you all so much! Have a great week!

Oh! Jorge and Luz, the ones that just got baptized are in Guayaquil right now...in the temple. It was a huge financial sacrifice for them to be able to go but they did.

Elder Peterson