Hasta Pronto Elder Inocente

Hello my wonderful family!!

Ok.... first I must apologize... I have SO MANY PICTURES to send you all. But I totally forgot my camera today. We are heading over to the marketplace and we didn't decide to write until we got here. So next week, I PROMISE!!

Well, yep. I am now without my innocent companion... haha Elder Inocente is now serving in the zone bordering my zone. He is a district leader there and is companions with Elder Olorgtegui, an Elder that was in my room in the CCM and he is AWESOME. They will do great, but I miss Elder Inocente already. But luckily he seemed to forget quite a few things here, so maybe I'll be seeing him soon for that... haha!

And, if Elder Inocente isnt here anymore, it's true, I have a new companion! His name is Elder Tamani! He is from Peru, from a city located eastward of Lima, in the Jungle area! He has 15 months in the mission, is our new district leader, and seems to be a great guy! Elder Inocente and him were actually in the same district in Paita about 8 months back or something.

But what I do know about him, he has 6 siblings, he has served in Piura, Paita, then Talara, and now here. This is his first time as a District Leader. His jokes are funny, he's got me laughing already. He packs around a lot. Like, he bought a KEYBOARD in the mission. So he has like 5 bags and boxes he packed into Sechura. I'm honestly super pumped we have a keyboard though, even though when he first pulled it out I had no idea what to think... but now I can practice and learn hymns, and also we can bring it to church on Sundays so we can actually have a piano for Sacrament Meeting!!!

This will be a fun new adventure! I have to be the senior companion for the week to show him around and get his feet settled in this Desert sand. Normally missionaries have 4 months in an area, or 3 transfers, so I will most likely only have 6 weeks with him then head off to a new area.

We did have a farewell "family home evening" style party in the church for Elder Inocente with ward members. I gave an awesome spiritual thought (about marriage, seeing how Elder Inocente will start focusing on that in 3 months... hahaha! Then I transfered to talking about Aaron's teaching to Lamoni, and Ammon's role in that too, it all went rather awesome, I say) and then we ate chicken sandwiches and then cake!

Yes, the thing about cake in the face. If there is a birthday, or any kind of celebration that includes a cake for a person. The person is supposed to take a bite out of the cake. And, always, people slam their head into the cake to cover their face with frosting. This time, Elder Inocente was being very careful because he did not want to get frosting on his collar, so after failed attempts to get his face in the cake, Hermana Mara just scooped up frosting in her hand and smeared it over Elder Inocente's face!! It was so funny! And then Hermana Mara and Lourdes then did that to every other missionary there.

But during the spirital thought time of the reunion, everyone said a little thing to Elder Inocente. (This was Saturday night) and we also visited bunches of people Sunday for him to say goodbye. And Holy Smokes, I was honestly outstanded by how many people were CRYING to the fact he was leaving. He seriously had the biggest impact on these people. It's awesome.

Sunday night as a farewell deal from us missionaries, we cooked up Fajitas! Guatemalan food on tortillas, it was quite tasty! So that was a fun deal, the district had a good time, and we wont be the same without my Companion Elder Inocente!

Bueno, but there is always a new chapter! The week's plans are to get everyone to get to know Elder Tamani and set off his time here to be great! President Rowley told me that he knows there will be some great new excitement with this change, and I am so excited to make it happen and see what we bring from our efforts!

I know the church is true! I love it! I still have the spirit of Christmas in my heart, Jesus is the Christ and we can return to our Heavenly Father through this Gospel of Jesus Christ. Read your scriptures! I finished Mosiah this week, and Holy Smokes, there is GOLD in that book! They are still golden plates when it comes to quality of the words. Better than gold! But anyways, read them. Because they will bless and change your life.

Take luck! I love you all! It was awesome to see you all through Skype! and HAPPY NEW YEAR this week!! 2014 here we come!

Con Amor y Felicidad,

Elder Russell

(Collin may have forgotten to download photos, but thanks to Lourdes, we still have some!)

Elder Walker, Elder Arce, Hermana Mara, Elder Inocente, Elder Russell

With Elena and Jeanpier Chunga

Feliz Navidad!

Feliz Navidad familia! Y prospero año también!!

Bueno, this week has been a good one! We are still hard at work and it is still getting hotter and hotter! If you guys wanted to send all that snow and ice you scrape off your driveways my way, I would really appreciate it. :)

As for the Holiday Season, Elder Inocente and I are decked out. We got the paper Christmas tree with all the ornament pictures. And under it we got presents and on the side our stockings with presents too. And newly added addition is our windows. We got CHRISTMAS LIGHTS! The people who live under us who we are renting our place from have two little girls. One day we were doing a little cleaning up in the morning and the door was open (since when we sweep the floor, it gets DUSTY) and these two little girls run in and ask if we want Christmas lights? I was like.... ok! (Inside I was SO PUMPED.) And so they brought them up and the next day we set them up! We got them lining the top of one of our windows, and the other window has a star and a candle deal. It's awesome. I'll try to send pictures for next P Day, since I have totally spaced taking that picture so far... SORRY!

Tomorrow we have a multi zone reunion for Christmas, and I am so excited for that! And tonight we have a Branch party that will be so fun! Every organization is doing 2 group songs or talents and I think it will be very fun.

OH!!! Remember how Hermana Mara got baptized on the 1st of this month? Well, this Sunday, she was called to be the PRESIDENT OF THE RELIEF SOCIETY!!! Talk about crazy. I was so excited, and I will admit my jaw dropped. And she is already hitting the job strong. She is seriously such a strong new addition to this church and I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be here as a missionary who helped teach her.

Thank you all for the emails! I hope you all have such a wonderful Christmas! Here they have a lot of parties with Hot Chocolate and Paneton, which is like a fruitcake but lighter bread, I really like it!

Yeah, the pictures Mom saw were from a Family Home Evening at Hermana Marion's house. She is in Trujillo for Christmas so she wanted to have a little celebration before she left! We have Christmas exchanges and I drew Presidente Bazalar, the Branch President. I got him a baby toy trumpet which is a long inside joke, that I might have to spend a whole other email on one day or explain in the skype call. haha And Marion drew my name, and HOLY SMOKES, she gave me a framed picture with a collage of pictures from these past 3 months of me here in Sechura, and wowzers, it's amazing. I will seriously keep that forever. I will send a picture of that next time too!! Man, I'm sorry I am kinda not doing so well on the pictures. But I must admit my journal and email writing is off the charts. I am rocking at Journal writing, I say. haha

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Peterson for the letter! And thank you Stake Presidency for the letter too! And Aunt Darcy, thank you for your letter, I sure love you! These parents that are serving in Peru, do you know their last names. It does sound like one of the councilors from the CCM, and he is serving with his wife in Lima Central mission. If so, he is a super man, although I really don't know him too well. But if he is serving here in Peru, he's got to be a STELLAR man, and his wife as well! :)

Well, things are going well down here! It's hot, and my training time is actually almost over! I change companions on the 30th I think, since that's when changes are. But we don't hear what the changes are until the 28th at night. So for next P Day I might be with a new companion... Which is sad. I sure love Elder Inocente. He's been a great Mission Dad to me. I have learned SO MUCH from him. And I know he has a sincere love for the people he serves, and he teaches with power and authority and a strong knowledge of the scriptures. I hope to always keep in touch with him. :) Good ol' Guatemalans, seriously though, every one I know is a seriously good missionary!!

Ok, so I best be off now. I hope all is going well for you all!! I wish you all the best Christmas wishes EVER! I think and pray about you all very much and very often! The mission is the hardest thing I've ever done and I have suffered, but man I KNOW that I am growing and expanding in knowledge, maturity, spiritual sensitivity, and in so many other ways. And if all this has happened in under 4 months, I cannot wait to see what more is to come!

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL Y'ALL! This season brings tidings of great joy, and dont you forget that! Be Happy and know that I love you, and your Heavenly Father loves you!

Con Amor y felicidad,

Elder Collin Russell

(Here are some pictures that Lourdes took of the FHE gift exchange at Hermana Marion's house)

YOU Are Important to the Work!

Hey there my lovely family!!

Sorry that this email is coming in rather late... P Days are always hard when they want to have activities as a zone, because that is about an hour and half trip for us each way. We also needed to buy food, and so, yeah we got back here kinda later than usual, so sorry, It is late and I`ll be a little shorter than usual.

But I am so excited about all the FANTASTIC NEWS!!! The baby boy, the wedding, grandpa`s baptism, holy smokes I think those three bits of information were on the top of best Christmas gifts, even though they were a little early, haha! I wish the best for all of them, tell Landon and Aubrey congrats on receiving what I imagine to be God`s greatest gift to the family! For Tracy and Jason, best wishes on the wedding, especially in the Temple, I imagine you will remember that day for time and all eternity as you live all that time as the ultimate Tag Team! :) And Grandpa Russell, you have no idea how excited that news made me feel! Here in Sechura I have baptized members of families that have missionaries serving. Yeah, I figured they would be happy, but now I KNOW how great it feels. Now it`s time to Persevere to the Endowment and Temple, and live in keeping your covenants and I promise you, as a representative of Jesus Christ, that not a single day will go by where you will not receive blessings and have the best companionship of the Holy Ghost as a recognizable part of your life.

As for me down here in Peru, there is great stuff going down! Christmas trees are popping up and the LIGHTS are lining the trees! The heat here is starting to really come. It`s making me break a mission rule: I`m swimming daily. In my sweat. haha, but I love it here!

It`s crazy, our focus had been Hermana Mara and Elena and Jeanpier, but now they are members! We still visit them and teach them often, but I was really wondering where our new investigators were going to be. But BOOM! They just pop right up! We have new work to do, all just barely coming out of the woodwork. We have a daughter of a less active, that has been recieving great friendship from another young woman in the branch. Also, the cousin of Diana, our first baptism together, has come to church! We hadn`t even invited him, but if that isn't a sign to teach him, I dont know what is! haha! And also, his girlfriend is related to Elena and Jeanpier, and also next door neighbors. So we have her and her mother we are also starting to teach, who were references from Elena! And another reference from Branch members! So that is 5 investigators, all from the work of MEMBERS!!!! Do you see how important YOU can be to the work?! You are the most important step to getting our foot in the door! Don`t ever forget that the members have a very important role in this work.

Tell Primary 6 from the Stoddard Ward a big Gracias from me for the pictures. The notes were so amazing, I love the support I always feel from everyone back home!

Well, time to head out! I love you all so so much! Always remember your Heavenly Father loves you and always look to the example of your brother Jesus Christ. He lived his life for YOU! So this Christmas season do a little something in return for him. And the best way is a little like Mosiah 2:17 says, by serving others!! Always look outward to help others. I've learned it is so much easier to be selfless when everyone else is too, and it is hard to just keep going when it`s just you. But do it and I PROMISE you will be blessed.

Alright, I love you all!! Take Luck and Care, and I'll talk to you next week!

Atte.

Elder Russell

The Family is One of the Biggest Gifts

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, 

Elder Russell

Pictures from the baptism of Elena and Jeanpier

 Elena, Jeanpiere and Azucena

(Collin's cute feet :)

(…and this is another picture I love from last week's baptism of Hermana Mara)

Choosing the Right

 The Peru Piura Missionaries

(Can you find Elder Russell? He really stands out in a crowd, if you ask me :)

Hello family!!                                                    

Well, this week has been a crazy one!!

Hermana Mara was married and baptized!! That was such a miracle, there were so many hurdles to overcome and SHE DID IT! This was all such a happy occasion for us as missionaries and her family as well. Next Sunday will be the confirmation, and I am so excited to see her progress as she continues to grow more and more in the church. She will be a very strong member of the branch and I have learned so much from her and she has strengthened MY testimony!

Hermano Jacinto and Hermana Mara have several children, they are also grandparents. Peralta Kemper, or we know her as Marion, is a family friend, and a recent convert. She is a great help in the missionary work and goes on visits with us often.

About the typical day, the missionary work is greatly changing. Where 2 years ago, it was all about street contacts and knocking on doors. Now, we do none of that. It is all about references, which we try to ask for in every lesson from every person we teach, and also to retain the members we already have. We learned that this past year in the area Suramerica Noeoste (northwest, covering about 5 countries, including my mission) there were 35,500 baptisms, but church attendance only increased 10,000. Where are the other 25,000?! Well, that's what the ward/branch/full time missionary work is being focused on, recent converts and less actives. And when we baptize, we baptize CONVERTS. So a lot less knocking on doors and focus on baptisms. And more focus on all of these people being baptized AND receiving their temple ordinances and enduring to the end. It's a great work to be a part of!

Bueno, Thanksgiving isn't a thing here, but me and Elder Inocente were going to buy a couple pizzas to celebrate. But we are deciding to wait until Tuesday because that is when they have the 2 for 1 deals. haha! (always a bargain hunter :) BUT, Hermana Marion and Lourdes bought me and Elder Inocente hamburgers that night and that was a golden Thanksgiving dinner, something to remind me of my USA home! :)

All is going well, I always love hearing from you all and knowing what you are all up to! I always think and pray about you guys, I get lost in the work a lot, but I still always think about and miss you! Keep going, the missionary work is beginning to have another focus on enduring to the end, and I hope you are all focusing on that for yourselves too! I imagine that eternal life is a pretty good reward if we just stick with it and choose the right. And I know that this church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church and living it's teachings is choosing the right. I know this to be true because the Holy Ghost has born testimony of it to me. And you can all receive this testimony as well if you test it out. And for me, I want a stronger testimony of it so I hope and pray I can continue to persevere and know with a surety that is a little stronger every day. And that should be a goal for all of us! I know that if we continue to work, our testimony will continue to grow.

I love you all!! I have started my Christmas countdown, and I love reading all of your notes!! Uncle Bryan, yours today about self motivation was superb and I hope to apply that to myself as I continue in my missionary service. I wish you the very best in the beginning of this Christmas season, and I am so grateful for you all!!

Ok, well, I am off! Love you all! I hope I answered a couple more questions, I don't think I will ever answer them all! haha but we´ll keep working on it!

Con amor y felicidad,

Elder Russell

Congratulations to Hermana Mara and Hermano Jacinto!

(with Elder Inocente, Elder Arce and Elder Walker who are also serving in Sechura)

Hermana Mara's baptism day!