Diggin dirt, the Temple, and good weather

Family and Friends,

I’ve got to tell that this week was one of the best! So many great thing are happening in the area that make all the hard work worth it. We were able to grow in so many different ways this week. Honestly such a great week!!

This week we took an hour and a half hike out to a family of investigators who needed some help moving some dirt from one place to the next, after about an hour or so of working on that project one of their kids discovered that their dog had died.  hahah Yup, time to bury a dog!  Our plan was to put it in the wheel barrow and put it in a hole that we had dug.  Well it didn’t exactly go as planned Jaja  we kind of did the 1,2,3 heave into the wheel burrow with the body (ps this wasn’t a dog that you would want to touch while it was alive let alone dead) then Gabriel, the owner, dumped it into the hole that we had dug, threw some dirt on it and then jumped on it to pack the dirt down but it was just squishy and gross because there was a dead dog under it!  It would be ridiculous if they didn’t get baptized now, I buried their dog!!  They have got to get baptized now!

About an hour and a half later we headed to the Temple. It was so great!  They were short staffed so I had the opportunity to confirm.  I confirmed for about two hours!!  I had one of the temple workers tell me that I wasn’t a real missionary because i was disobedient!! jajaj  he was like 127 years old and he didn’t really know what was going on!! jajaj what a great guy!!

On the way back home in the Collectivo/bus, public mode of transportation one of the people we went with ralphed all over the place.  I swear she was aiming for my shoes, and she sure hit her mark!

jajaj I also found a kitten in the chapel this week!!

To top it all off, we had a BAPTISM!! It went fantastic. Kevin and his little sister Marian got baptized the same day and were confirmed the next!! i had the privilege of baptizing and confirming Marian!!  it was great!!

The weather here has been great, there is progression in my area and general conference is coming up. I can’t complain!!

I love you all soo stinkin much!! Have a good week!!


Conversation with Jeffrey:
How was your week? 

It was great mom!! How was yours??

Really good.  Getting to tour the new temple was completely amazing!  It is awesome.  What did you think about Arik?  I debated telling you but I did anyway. 
(Arik is a kid that went to the same high school.  He was an amazing pitcher, 90 MPH, but unfortunately he didn't control his temper.  For some reason, he really disliked Bailey, Jeff's best buddy. One day he decided to take his anger out on Jeffrey's car and threw an orange at it and dented it.  He died this week in a head on collision with a semi truck)  

Honestly mom I would have never said this before the mission but I hope the best things for Arik. 
He was just a kid that made some dumb decisions. Honestly I haven't thought a bit about him for the past 10 months. I hope his family and his kids have this gospel!! I have completely forgiven Arik.  I'll let Bay know because i know that he has changed just as much as me and he has forgiven him too!!  It truly is sad that he left behind two kids and a family! I hope he changes his heart up where he is now!

You really have matured.  We all have to work out our own salvation.  No one can do it for us.  I'm sure he's learning tons were he is. 

I hope I can meet him again!! One of things I've learned this week is that I'm really quick to judge people!! I always have been!!  When I heard the name Arik Mack I thought of a tool, but he has a set of problems just like you and I do!!  Honestly I feel as though I need him to forgive me for the way I treated him as well!!!

: ). You are in a good place, and I love that.  We all judge too quickly and we all need to work on our forgiveness skills. 
 
hahah the mission is kind of a slap in the face! It makes you realize all the things that you need to change and I've got a long way to go!!  

Just wait til you're a parent!!!!!  Lol!  Troubleshooting your flaws!! 

"We must forgive others if we want forgiveness"

Hey Family and Friends,

  This week was absolutely phenominal!! Learned a lot, felt a lot and saw a lot as well!!

Well, to start it out, i have been teaching my good friend Miriam so that she can make a covenant with God and recieve blessings in turn! I have been teaching her for about 4 months now and we have a lot of ups and downs with Miriam. I've seen her change over these past 4 months which has been great for her as well as me! 

We have been preparing her for her interview this Friday and she had trouble with one of the questions that asks if we feel as though we have truly repented of her sins and she said no!! We dug a little deeper and found that she had trouble forgiving someone who had wronged her. She told us that if i have to forgive before my baptism then i wont get baptized. That was a shot to the heart. 

We tried everything tho help her realize that she needs to forgive to receive forgiveness but she was being pretty stubborn. After doing everything i could think of to help her change she said "Well i guess if i want to receive forgiveness i have to give it"!! ahhhhhh why couldn't you figure that out when i told her the first time!! hahah i realized then and there that it wasn't my words that changed her heart, it was 100% the Spirit! As missionaries, we cant do anything without the Spirit!!

Happy ending, Miriam was baptized this Saturday and we are teaching her daughter and her husband who came as well!! whoo hoo hopefully in the future they will be baptized too!! ; )

Jeffrey, Miriam and Elder Garcia

Dirty shoes...Happy Face!

I love this work and I'm seeing miracles everyday!! i love you guys so much! have a good week!!

**Excerpt from a letter to Dad:

I'm so happy that I'm your son and that i was raised in this family! I'm still puzzled at why people in the pre-mortal life didn't chose this family too!! I see families struggle everyday and I'm very glad to be a part of this beautiful family!! I cant thank you enough for everything that you did for me!! I am super proud to be your son and i hope that i have made you proud!!

I love you soo stinking much!! have a great week Dad!!

Elder Petersen

All she needed was an invitaion to return...

Hey there Family and Friends,

  This week was absolutely great to be completely honest! My companion is great, the mission is great, my area is great everything is going great!!

  These past few weeks have been rough because we have been dealing more with the problems that we come across in the Rama (Branch) more than actually teaching and inviting other to come unto Christ! But my prayers have been answered and we were able to focus more on the work this week. So for that, I'm Happy.

   A couple weeks back we were able to find a menos activo family that hasn't been to church in 18 years, it turns out that all she needed was an invitation to come back and that's exactly what we gave her!  She has brought her whole family to church the past 4 Sundays!  We found that her children are not baptized but they want to be, so they both have a baptismal date for the 28th of this month! Also, we have another investigator who has been hard the get a hold of but has come to church for the past couple of months.  We set a baptismal date for the 21st of this month for her!! I'm really exited for each one of them!!

  As well this week, we had a District conference and President McMullin came with his wife and they spoke about marriage! it was great!! it just reassured the decision to marry in the temple!!

  Today we were in a collectivo (bus) and this lady contacted (talked) me and asked me to sit by her! At first I thought she just wanted a piece of an American boy (and that's not a bad assumption knowing the girls here) but it turned out to be a really needed contact! as we talked for a while she asked me to come to her house and preform an exorcism on her daughter!! hahah yeah it was a little bit of a weird question but I took down her number so that other missionaries in her area can go and teach her!! along with that, Elder Garcia and I taught a full on lesson today in a supermarket!! haha

  there isn't much more that that but I'll keep you updated for next week!!

  have a great week!!

Elder Jeff

Heat like Africa and a Miracle

Hey there,                                                                             March 9, 2015

First things first, I'm sitting next to this old German lady and she is getting sooooo mad at the computer! She is pounding on the keyboard and yelling in German!... it might be a good thing that  I don't understand her!! ; )

This week seemed to be one of the slowest weeks of my life! Due to stress and being hotter than the wilds of Africa. Each day just never seemed to end, but like always, the Man upstairs followed through and gave me the strength i needed to make it through!

We had a little miracle happen this week. We were walking to our next appointment and this guys moto died right in front of us, so we decided to take advantage and invite him into the Celestial Kingdom, haha!  We talked to him for a little bit and gave him a pamphlet then we said goodbye and his moto started up like nothing had happened. Now that may not sound like a miracle to most but after having everyone of your lessons fall through and walking around in 100 degree weather, it sure was a miracle to me!!

Along with that, our hard work payed off this week as our attendance increased by 20 people!! wooo hooo

I also grabbed a couple fotos of some eels that were caught in the Rio Paragauyo!! they are coming your way!!

I love you all. have a great week!!

Questions:

What has been the scariest/sketchiest time down there?  What has been the best experience?  Who has meant the most to you?

About the questions! One of them I'm not going to answer and the other: Honestly Pres. McMullin has taught me so much and as well Elder Calderon (assistant to the Pres) as well as Elder Fielding (my trainer)!! There are honestly too many experiences to count that have just been amazing!!

Buddy...you can't scare me!  You really don't need to protect me from the truth, but I appreciate you wanting to.  I know that you are protected and you're still alive so...tell me.
I want to know the best stuff too.

hahah I'll tell you when im home!!  But some of the best things have been seeing the change in myself, and in others!

Fair enough.  But can you tell me how you reacted in those tense situations?  What were your thoughts?  Also, tell me why pres and elder Calderon have done specifically to impact your life.

All three have helped me a ton!! more than anything, they have helped me grow up! Elder Fielding and I grew up together! ; )

Book of Mormon and a Tarantula

Well Family and Friends,                                       March 2, 3014

This week was just another week with good things and bad things, just like every other week! 

This week i finished the Book of Mormon which was great! This was the first time that i actually studied and read the Book of Mormon all the way through! It was amazing!! I learned so much that I'm going to have to reread it to remember it all! If you haven't read the Book of Mormon and prayed about it, than we are just hoping that this church is true and we don't really KNOW!! That might sound a little harsh but how can we know that this church is the true church without reading the KEYSTONE of Christs church??

We had the opportunity to do service and cut some more grass and trees with our machetes. As I was cutting I saw something scurry into the pile of bushes and luckily I found out what it was a snapped a couple of pics!! It was a tarantula! and of course i picked it up!! ; )

 

 

Elder Garcia from Uruguay

 

 

Probably the best thing that happened to me this week was that i had the special opportunity the bless a baby!! it was honestly so special! its great to be so close to something so perfect!! 

This church is true. 

I love you guys!! have a good week!!

love Jeff

 

 

Conversation while emailing:  

I asked if he had gotten the box we sent:

 

Yes, thank you soo much!! it actually might have saved my life! honestly mom i have to roll up my garments to have them fit! if you could send some garments a size smaller around the waist that would be great!!

 

Haha!  You getting skinny...Escalito?  What size do you have now?  

 

34 right now but I'm getting skinny!! it would be nice to have a size smaller if you could! and the shave stuff works great. if you want to send more that would be helpful! 

 

I'll send garments and shave stuff.  Are you hungry?  Are you eating okay?  

 

I'm always hungry!! ; )  the biggest thing that has helped me to lose some weight it that I'm eating healthier!!

 

Okay, cuz this momma doesn't have hungry kids!!!  : ).