We're definitely going to help them with that!

Hey!

So yeah there was Memorial Day and we didn't email, and today they're giving us an hour to email, so um I guess I apologize in advance to anyone who doesn't receive an email from me, kind of pressed for time. 

I'm glad you guys had a good week, I'm extremely jealous of the Ashland trip, but I think I'll probably get over it.

The only thing that was slightly different about Memorial Day was that we got together with some people from a service project in my companion's previous area and played softball, which was really fun--I'd forgotten how long it'd been since I played any form of baseball, but it was great. 

There weren't any Memorial Day-themed things in church. 

We get to go to the temple once a month (every third Wednesday). 

And I don't really have any special birthday requests. Probably the only request would be that I get not too much candy/stuff like that :). I can't really think of anything that I'm like needing that would be approved :). Probably just music, I guess. And yes, it does freak me out that I'm turning nineteen. I'm hopeful that this will make it so people have less of a reaction when I tell them how old I am.

So this was a really pretty good week for us! We've been working a lot with the investigator that I've been telling you about, and he actually was able to make it to church again this Sunday, for Sacrament Meeting as well! It was because his work was off this weekend for Memorial Day, but we're hoping we can help him continue to come. 

With another part-member family we're working with (who are actually relatives of his), one of them, the 10-year-old kid, came to church as well. When we visited that family that same day, we actually were able to find out what was stopping the rest of them from coming to church, which was really good. Apparently the few times that they have gone to church, they've found it really boring, because they didn't really understand what was going on. So that was really good to find out, and we're definitely going to help them with that! 

Another cool thing was that we got to go on exchanges on Thursday, which is always really nice--I went to the other elders' area, and it was pretty great--it's kind of a cool thing to "shake things up" to like see how other missionaries do things.

I'm sorry I don't really have much time to share like tons of other stuff, but it's been a really good week, and it's going to be a good week this week!

I love you a lot, I hope you have a great week, and that things go well with everything.

Love,

Peter

We have an incredible message

Hey!

It sounds like it was a pretty good week for you guys. And the news about all the people going on missions and coming back from missions is pretty crazy.

To answer questions:

I know President Toombs doesn't have time to attend every baptism, but I think he does try to attend some of them--at the baptism down in Denver that I got to go to a few weeks back, he was there.

And okay, I'll include some pictures. FINE!

So for us this was a pretty great week! We had some really cool things happen, and things are going well here. So on Wednesday, we had zone conference, which was really cool, as always. One of the most interesting things that president talked about was families. He talked about how a lot of times, we sort of just breeze over the importance of families when we're talking to people. But for a lot of people, probably most people, families are the most important thing in their lives. And we have an incredible message, that families are divine, that we can strengthen our families immensely through the gospel of Jesus Christ, and that we can be with our families literally forever. We also talked a lot about how we need to really listen to people when we're teaching them--not just be thinking about the next thing that we're going to say, but be listening to what people tell us, and also what the spirit tells us. I think that probably applies for every human interaction we have in this life, not just in teaching people as missionaries.

The other really cool thing that's been happening is that one of our investigators has been doing really well in terms of progressing, and actually came to church this Sunday! He's really awesome--he really has a desire to learn more about the gospel, and to act. He has a lot of family members who are active in the church, and they all live really close to him (like, the same trailer park close), so there's a lot of support there, too. His brother is also a less-active member, and he came to church as well. It's been a really great experience teaching them. I've definitely seen them change, even just in these past few weeks that we've been teaching them. The only problem is that the guy who isn't a member yet does work on Sundays--he can come to the first two hours of church, but has to leave before sacrament meeting starts, which is a little frustrating. But it'll work out!

Things are going really well here, and it sounds like you guys are doing great too. I love you a lot! And here are some pictures!

1. May 12

2. A member gave us some flowers, I don't remember exactly why. "Everything I touch is ruined!"

I love you guys a lot!

Peter

And it's still snowing.

Hello again! Long time no see, huh?

In all seriousness, it was great to see you guys yesterday--it's really cool that they give us the chance to do that, even if it is only twice a year. It's kind of a weird tradition if you think about it, but it's still pretty cool.

To answer the questions that did not get asked yesterday: 

Usually people do do things for their birthday, for example on my companion's birthday last month, a family had a little surprise birthday party for him, which was nice. It's pretty hard to keep birthdays under wraps, because everyones' birthdays are published in the newsletter that goes out every once in a while.

And yeah, actually I have been trying to keep a mission journal fairly regularly. I did a good job at the MTC, but then I was slacking pretty hardcore in the english wards. When I got here, I kind of recommitted to journal writing, and I've been writing in it (almost) every day since then. I mostly just write the mundane things that happen every day--what we did, who we taught, that sort of thing. I should include spiritual experiences too, but sometimes I honestly kind of forget.

It sounds like you guys had a pretty great week. Our week was pretty alright too, especially Sunday, for obvious reasons :). Aside from the call home, There were some other good things about this week. It was a little slower (actually a lot slower) with investigator lessons--it was really hard to contact some people, one family actually had their house flood, so they didn't want us to be in the mess, even though we would have been fine with it, so it was generally a little slower. 

But we did have the opportunity to teach a lot more less-active members than lately, so it's definitely true that every cloud has a silver lining, as the cliche has it. 

Also, our one lesson with an investigator was pretty great. You remember the guy who gave us jarritos last week? So we taught him again this week, and he's super cool. He says that he really wants to keep learning--he says he just really gets a good feeling about what we're teaching. The only problem is that he works during sacrament meeting on Sunday, so hopefully he'll be able to change his schedule to be able to keep that commandment. His less-active brother is doing really well too. He has a lot of questions and some doubts, but he said that this gospel is helping him feel closer to God. He's been reading, and really sincerely praying, which is so wonderful. All that's left is for him to come to church!

It's pretty crazy how fast time passes here. I definitely agree that time passes much slower when you're less busy. When we're working hard and have the spirit, it seems like time just flies by. And it's definitely true that things go faster the more you're used to the situation you're in.

It's interesting, because I actually do pray in English relatively often--usually whenever we pray as a companionship we pray in english. But my personal prayers are usually in spanish, as are any prayers as a group, or with people we're teaching. But yeah, it's kind of weird. Me and my companion speak mostly Spanglish--probably 75% english, with some spanish phrases thrown in.

In general, things are going really well. We're teaching, we're finding more people to teach, and I feel like I'm learning more every day about the gospel and how I can improve myself as a missionary. I'm glad you guys are doing well. I love you guys a lot. I can't wait to see you guys again in 7 months :).

And it's still snowing.

Love,

Peter

We have absolutely zero plans for celebrating Cinco de Mayo

Hey!

I'm glad to hear you guys had a good week, I did too. It sounds like things are going well, if a little bit busy!

I watched the I am a Child of God video, that was cool. I am a Child of God video

We have absolutely zero plans for celebrating Cinco de Mayo. I don't think I've heard a single member of the ward or anyone talk about it at all. So yeah, it's just an American thing :).

But so this week was really good! A lot of really great things are happening, so we're excited for the rest of this transfer. I won't go into any boring details, if that's okay, I'll just tell you about three exciting things that happened :).

1. Okay so there's this one family that we were teaching back in like February. We taught them like twice, and then they kind of fell of the face of the earth, they were really busy, and so we weren't able to meet with them at all. But then last week, she called us up, and set up an appointment with us! We taught her on Wednesday, and she seems like she's really still interested, and committed to read the Book of Mormon! So that was super cool.

2. We went to visit this one less-active, and when we showed up, his non-member brother was there. The brother had been taught some back in like January, but had been "dropped", because he was really busy with work and stuff. But when we taught him, he said that he really wanted to go to church, that he was quitting one of his jobs, I think partially to make time for church and family, and that he wanted to be baptized! So now he's set on baptismal date! And he gave us a bunch of jarritos, which are awesome.

3. So there's this part-member family that we've been teaching, and we had family home evening with them this Sunday, and they said that they'd come to church this next Sunday, which is super awesome, because they're the onea who currently go to a different church!

So anyways there were some other cool things, but those were the best. 

Things are going pretty well here in Colorado, and people are starting to progress, which is really cool. I know as we continue to work hard, we'll be able to see success, immediate or not. 

I'm really looking forward to the whole skype thing on Sunday. And those chocolate chip pancakes sound delicious! I haven't had pancakes in a long time, so you're making me miss them :). I hope you all have a great week! I love you tons!

Love,

Peter