September 7, 2015 - Wow it is good to see English again!

Hello Everyone! Well the first week has been completed in the field and it is amazing here!! The people here are the most amazing part of it all, they are the most selfless, charitable people that I have ever met, no matter what circumstances they are in. Ill get to telling some stories about them later. Anyways this week has been probably the hardest week of my life. I haven´t spoken, read, or heard a word of English all week. Spanish was a language that I thought I could understand when I left the MTC but I was wrong, it has been hard to have my comp have to restate a lot of the words but nonetheless, the Spirit speaks to all different kinds of people and languages, and we have found that if I can bear my testimony from the heart that that is the best way to convert people to the gospel, no matter how good or bad my Spanish is. Anyways here is a quick run down of my week this week! Tuesday-We went out after we got settled in to the new area for both of us and started trying to find the members of the ward. We went down to the church building here (There are more LDS chapels here than any other church in the area) and met with the ward leaders. They gave us some names of people to go meet and we planned for the next day. It is so hot here that you can`t sleep with blankets on your bed or else you are at risk of heat stroke, so we each have our own personal fan that hangs over where we sleep. The cool thing is that 95 percent of people here sleep in hammocks. I am waiting for the day where we have time to go buy one for myself. Each day has been above 90 degrees and 50 percent humidity. You don´t stop sweating unless you are in the shower which is cold and comfortable. Wednesday-We went out and contacted the Members of the ward. Each one we went to lives in a one room house that consists of places to hang their hammocks. The kitchen is a stone basin on the outside in a patio and they have outhouses for bathrooms. We quickly found out that we are in the poorest part of Juchitan. But the members have more charity than anyone I have ever met. Each house we went to they got their best chairs out and offered us drinks. They are amazing and all enthusiastic to help everyone find the gospel. Thursday-We went out and contacted the referrrals that we got from the Members. Everyone, and I mean everyone accepted us into their houses because they wanted to hear a message of Jesus Christ and Eternal Families. Jesus Christ is a necessity to everyone down here, without Christ in their lives they have their families and nothing else. The gospel is perfect for everyone and I wish that everyone of you could see how important the gospel is to these people and how much they need it, they are true examples. We got swamped with second lessons for later in the week this day and were really excited for the potential this area had. Friday- We continued to go out and meet with referrals and this day. Everyone once again wanted to hear the message of Jesus Christ. We ran into our first Bible Bashers who wanted to argue with us about the way we understand the Bible. We won the fights because we have second lessons with these people next week! We also went and met with a girl named Nidia, and extended a Baptismal date to her and she accepted! The goal for all our baptisms is October 10 so pray that everyone will come to church so we can baptize them as well! Saturday-Juchitan flooded...literally. It rained for 2 hours and we were walking through 4 inches of water. It was actually kind of fun and a huge relief from the heat. The rain seemed to scare away everyone from their second lessons though. We had to go knock on doors for the first time. We met a young mother, Angelica who is really interested in the gospel as well. I felt prompted to extend a baptismal invite to her and she accepted! We walked past her house yesterday and we saw her reading the Book of Mormon with her husband! It was awesome! Sunday- We went to church in the new ward and I was quickly called as the ward pianist. Everyone was super excited to hear prelude music and have something to sing to! It was awesome to be able to play in church. We are in a ward of about 90 active members and are in a huge reactivation effort right now. Everyone in the ward is just the nicest though. They take turns twice a month to feed us lunch and it is sooooo good!! They sacrifice so much for us and put the best food on the table that they have. It is better than any Mexican food back in the states. Oaxaca cheese is really really good as well. I thought I was used to the spice until Friday when we had Mole Beef. It was extremely spicy, so spicy that the member couldn´t even eat it, but we finished ours off by some small miracle. Now I can say that I am used to the spice. I am so excited to be here. This is where I am supposed to be and this is the blessing that I have recieved. There is no place I would rather be than here! I love you all and love hearing from everyone!! Quidice!! Elder Peterson

Mountains of Oaxaca

Our mode of transportation

Streets of Juchitan