Hey there
everybody!!
Thank you
all for the great emails! It sounds like everyone is doing well! And thank you
again all you Petersons for the Christmas countdown thing, I love it everyday
as I wake up! Today with Jeremy Lucas' scripture, that was GREAT! Thanks man,
truly nothing is impossible with God on our side. :) And LOGAN! I hear you sang
SOLO for a basketball game, Holy COW, that is some serious strong work. Keep it
up bro! And Elder Hales, wowzers is he on a roll or what?! I need to take a
serious look at what he's doing, because he is rocking the whole mission thing
like none other!! Keep up the good work, man!
Well, you
are all lucky with all that snow! And it sounds like it's FREEZING! Over here
it's actually been rather cool, but we always sleep with the fan going. And I
think I'm always sweating during the day. So be grateful for the cold, and know I would trade the world for 5
minutes of it. :)
Christmas
down here hasn't been getting terribly big yet. They have Christmas trees in
some of the restaurants or stores, but I have seen 2 total in all the homes
we've visited. And one was on a transfer with a zone leader in their area. So
Christmas trees aren't too big. :) We watched the Christmas Devotional last
night and that was great to get me pumped up for Christmas! We listen to
Christmas music in our apartment fairly often, but other than that nothing big
is going around for the merry season. haha Oh, but Christmas lights I have seen
a decent amount of, and I enjoy that!! :) Uncle Bryan, you were right, this will
be a very different kind of Christmas, and I do think it will be one of the
most memorable. I do believe it will be one of my most homesick moments, just
not having the presence of family, but we've always got knee mail and Heavenly
Father is a pretty good service provider for feeling your love and prayers for
me. :)
Yes, this
Sunday was the Confirmation of Hermana Mara, and that was great. I know she
will be so great in this church. I've already been seeing her invite others to
come to church with her, and she really has received new strength! It's a
transformation since I first met her, truly! In answer to your question, Mom, Hermano Jacinto, her husband, works in the ocean, like
many men here in Sechura, especially in the growing and collecting of clams,
and the many other types of shelled sea life around here. It's quite
interesting to learn about!
We need
to start really working on new investigators. We honestly haven't ever been on
a big roll with that... So hopefully we can learn how to do that, and actually
get asking people for references! I know we can do it. And that's our goal. :)
The
baptism for Elena and Jeanpier Chunga was amazing! I baptized Elena and Elder Inocente
baptized Jeanpier. And this has been a great experience. And at the baptism I
received such reaffirmation towards all of our work! Azucena, Elena's daughter
who is a member, was so excited for all of this! And it's so true that this
work blesses the FAMILY! Hermana Elena has another son who is a member, and he
is on a mission in Guatemala, so I hope he's having a great P Day today receiving
word about all that! :) The branch has been good at welcoming Elena and that was a big part of
it, but it brings such peace to my soul, that what little part I am in this
work truly is meaningful. I didn't implant that testimony in her or force her
into the baptismal font, But, that gives me a good feeling to know my lessons
and testimony, that are never perfect, help.
I know
that the church is true. I know the truthfulness of this gospel is being spread
to every nation, tongue and people, and I am so blessed to be a part of the
work! The Lord doesn't need me, this could continue without me, but I feel the
blessings as I try to run my hardest for 2 short years, and I feel that the
Lord allows us to help in the work so we can grow in the process. And I am so
thankful for this opportunity!!
May you
all have a GREAT week, I love you all SO much!! I miss you all, I keep you in
my prayers! Choose the right, always remember the true meaning of Christmas and
show your love for your family a little stronger in this season, because the
family is one of the biggest gifts we could ever receive. If not THE biggest.
I love
you all, keep being awesome and I hope to hear from y'all next P Day! :)
Con amor y felicidad,
Con amor y felicidad,
Elder
Russell
Pictures from the baptism of Elena and Jeanpier
(Collin's cute feet :)
(…and this is another picture I love from last week's baptism of Hermana Mara)
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