Elder Chad Peterson

Sunday, February 12, 2017

One More Change! January 23, 2017

Good Evening everyone, Well it has been a crazy week this week getting ready for everything with changes. Last week I was told that there was a possibility of me staying here in the offices for a 5th change but that he would confirm that with me on Wednesday. Anyways so we got to Presidents house on Wednesday to pick up all of the changes and Elder Caballero and I will for sure be staying one more change here. At first it was a little hard to accept that I would be staying another change but then I realized that the Lord still has people prepared for us in Casa Blanca more than anything. With the very little time that we had to work there last change I feel like he is giving us our time to actually be able to work there now and find the people that he has prepared for us at this time. My testimony has grown because I have been able to see his hand in all of this work. It has been an extremely stressful 6 months but I am so thankful for it, because it has brought me closer to my Heavenly Father, it has taught me to depend on him more, and it has helped me to realize that he is watching over me, my companion, and this mission at all times. More so when we are in the pit of trial is when he is carrying us, and when we rise to the top he is always cheering us on and encouraging us to do more and achieve more with the capacity that he has given us. For that I am so thankful to be here one more change to help me see this relationship I have with him. Anyways so getting to what happened in our week. On Monday of this week we started out really excited because we had all of our investigators come to church on Sunday. So we decided to put all of our focus on them to help them try to progress. When we got to our area on Monday we went and we were looking all afternoon for them and couldn't find one single one. It was hard to have that happen after a week filled with so many miracles of seeing the people begin to come forth and progress. On Tuesday it was the same story. We looked and looked and looked and we couldn't find anyone. We ended up having to try to look for people to teach, contacting and trying to get referrals from the members but nothing seemed to be working. On Wednesday after we recieved the changes we finally found Belen and Jorge, the couple that we are trying to help get married. They were so excited to see us and they had been waiting for us to find them all week. Anyways we talked to them and we were able to make a little headway on getting their paperwork for their wedding. On Thursday Sister Madsen called me saying that we needed to start getting ready for the program that we were going to do here in the city. So on Thursday we did the same drill that we had done the last week, except Sister Madsen listened and corrected and I just played for about 4 hours working with all of the missionaries and their special parts that they were singing. On top of that Sister Madsen also told me about parts that I would be singing in as well. It was so fun to be able to sing with all the missionaries but also to help Sister Madsen prepare everything. On Friday we had a huge practice with all the missionaries. It was long but it was fun to be able to participate in all of that and see all the missionaries here in the city. That night we had a big ward activity to have a BBQ and do Family History. It was so cool because our 5 investigators showed up and we were able to teach them and help them start their own family history. It was a great experience to be able to see them get excited about all of that and it also helped them to realize the great importance of getting baptized themselves. All of the ward members did so good to include them in everything and in the end it was as if everyone was a part of the ward. Something that was a little sad was that the Stake President heard about Madai and how she didnt get permission to get baptized. So he came with us to talk to her Mom to try to help her understand, but when we got there the mom got scared and left before we could talk to her. Madai felt so bad about it and we felt bad too because everyone had made such a huge effort to talk to the mom. We know that there will be another time for her to receive a full testimony. On Saturday we had another huge practice and then right after that we had a BBQ with President at his house to say goodbye to Elder Ardon the finance secretary. It was fun to finally be able to relax a little and see the President relax a little too. We ate hamburgers and hot dogs, had pasta salad, with ice cream, and all in January!! It was pretty fun to have. After wards we went out in the street and played frisbee with everyone and President has a hidden talent for that!! But then the fun ended and we went off to go to the program in one of the stakes here in Oaxaca to do the program. There werent a lot of people that showed up that night and it was hard to really perform really good for them. It was sad to see all of that hard work be to perform for so little people. On Sunday we went to church and it was a hard day there. We had commited everyone to come to church but no one showed up from our investigators. After church we went to the program to prepare to perform in our own stake. 15 minutes before it started everyone started pooring in. By the time we were singing the first song it was filled up all the way to the back stage as if it was stake conference there. Geez that made me so nervous. For the program I had been assigned to play the piano as an accompaniment for Oh Holy Night, and then sing I am a Child of God in a acappela quartet, and then a duet/solo with a Hermana as the final song. It made me so nervous to sing for that many people and I think my voice was shaking so bad but in the end I think it turned out. Anyways it was a busy week, but I dont think I have been happier before. I did things that I had never done before, and I am so thankful to Heavenly Father for helping me to do those things. I still have a strong testimony that he strengthens us and takes us beyond our capacity. It was a hard week in finding our investigators, but I feel as if it was a week in which I could strengthen my own testimony in a way that has always been powerful to me, through the music. I had several confirmations that this work and this church is true through the power of the sacred music that we have. I am so thankful for the opportunity to perform it and have it in my life. I know that if someone ever has a doubt, that through music that doubt will always go away because it is the most powerful way that the Holy Ghost bears witness of the truthfulness of all that Heavenly Father has done for us. I am thankful for these opportunities that we have had here in the mission and I am thankful to be here. Thank you all for always supporting me and for all of your letters each week. I hope you all have a great week! Elder Peterson

Showing Maria how to do her Family History work

I cut Elder Ardon's hair but I messed it up too...

Elder Sosa, Me and Elder Jimenez

Our First Normal Week in a Long Time! January 14, 2017

Hello Everyone! Well yes this was our first "normal" week in a really long time. At the start of the week it was really hard not to be stressing about how we were going to get the work in our area progressing again. Elder Caballero my companion struggled with it the most and it was hard to see him go through that. But something that I have learned here in my mission, especially in my first area that stress is a lack of faith. This week was a chance for us to increase our faith more than anything in going back to work and trying to find people to get progressing again. That first day in the area was really hard. We walked all over trying to find new investigators to teach and the ones that we had been teaching while we were gone werent home. That night we went over to our ward mission leaders house, and we found him so excited for us. He asked us why we hadnt been at church that Sunday and we told him that we had been in Huatulco with President Madsen. He told us "Elders you wont believe who all came to church, Belen and her husband came on their own and they were so excited to be there, and then Jose and Lulu were there too" It was a tender mercy because we hadnt been in our area for so long, and the Sundays that we had been there we hadnt had investigators come to church. And now we had complete families coming?? It was a testimony that this is the Lords work, he does the work and we are simply his instruments. It was also a testimony that he is aware what we are doing, what our circumstances are, and what our capabilities are. He realized that we couldnt do anything about the work this past week, so he did it for us. When we are there he allows us to do our part and he does the rest. It is just a huge testimony of his love for us. So after we got this great news from our Mission Leader we put plans the next day to go see these families. With Belen and her husband Angel, we found them yesterday at their store in the market. When we got there we just found her husband and we started talking to him and found that he had a huge need and desire to repent of everything. He had a lot of guilt for things that he had done in the past and told us that he was willing to do anything that was possible to be able to get rid of the guilt that he has. So we told him about the blessings and covenants of baptism, the promises that were involved in baptism and he asked us "what do I have to do to prepare myself for this it is exactly what I need" so we told him that he had to work to be able to live the commandments of God and learn the basics of the gospel. We also had to explain to him that in order for him and his wife to be baptized they needed to get married. He told us that he had wanted for a long time to get married but there were always things that got in their way. We told them that God would provide the way for them to not only get married but have a happy relationship that would last eternally. He told us that these were two things that he needed, to be married and to be rid of all the guilt that he has. He told us to keep a secret from his wife because it was something that she wanted too but he wanted to make it a surprise for her. Hermano Gil (Our Ward Mission leader) is going to help us in this process to get them married and they have a goal to be baptized on the 11th of February. Speaking of weddings and marriages and stuff, Jose and Lulu finally figured out what is going on with their process. The judge that is passing all of the paperwork lost the paperwork but was too afraid to tell them. This past week they found the paperwork again and when Jose went to the office to see what is going on she told him and Jose said that she has 10 days to pass the papers or he will file complaints against all the office there. So we are holding out hope and praying that the judge will remember to do all the paperwork and get Jose passed so that we can get them married in the next few weeks. Jose is super excited because we know it is so close, Lulu is feeling a little down because of all the time that was wasted thinking that it was close. But we know that it will all work out. We know that the Lord is working in our area. It is a test of patience and faith. Everyone is so close, they each have one little thing that is keeping them from making these sacred promises with the Lord. But we made it through the trial of our faith, and we are beginning to see the fruit develop in the work in our area. This week we have been preparing to do the Missionary program here in the city. There are 4 different stakes where we are going to be doing it and 4 different sets of missionaries that will be putting the program on. But after these last transfers I became the only one here in the city that could play the music on the piano and so it has been a busy week helping Sister Madsen prepare all of the musical numbers. Many missionaries here have never seen music before and have never learned to listen to music and learn by it. So it has been a process of not only teaching them a song, but how to learn to sing the song. In the church where we have been practicing there are 2 pianos. Sister Madsen works with the big group of missionaries, the choir, and then I work with the separate groups helping them to learn their parts. It is something that I have never done before but I watched my mom do it for years. It is not easy but it has also been fun to be able to teach them. I will be playing the piano for 3 of these programs and it has really stretched me because it is music that I have never been able to play before and with the assignment there is no time to practice. So the practice comes when everyone is singing to it. I feel like I am learning during this time what my capacities are and how to depend on the Lord to take me past what my capacities really can be. I am so thankful to him for helping us as missionaries to be more than what we expect of ourselves and what others expect of us. It is the beauty of this work, people and missionaries become more and they become what God sees of them. I am so thankful to be a part of this work here in Oaxaca. I hope that each of you have a great week this week! Elder Peterson

Travels with President and Sister Madsen - January 9, 2017

Well this week was a really fun week that we got to be out and travel with President and Sister Madsen all over the mission to do training meetings with them and finish off with the music program in the coast. It was such a great experience to be with President and to be able to get to know him and Sister Madsen better. Everytime we are with them my love and respect for them grows, they are such amazing people that are willing to make huge sacrifices to make sure that we are loved and supported. On Monday we started out by driving down to Salina Cruz to get ready for the new missionary training in the Itsmo. It is about a 5 hour drive down with all curves and luckily none of us got car sick this time. Anyways we got down there and stayed the night with the zone leaders in Salina Cruz and on Tuesday morning we got up and went to the training meeting. We keep trying to emphasize the importance of the legacy that the trainers and the missionaries will leave behind on the missionaries, members, and investigators here in Oaxaca. The theme has seemed to be the promise that Elder Miron from the 70 has promised us that "Our legacy will stretch across generations and one day we will look back and be able to see the influence that one simple baptism has had on the outcome of thousands of people" And it is so true. At the end of the week when we were in Huatulco we were able to go to church there. Since the time that I was there the Branch has doubled in size, with nearly 130 people there every week. What was even more amazing to me was to see the influence that the investigators that we found while I was there almost a year ago are starting to have. One investigator that we found in my last week there was recently baptized. She stood up yesterday in church to give her testimony and she said "I am so thankful for Elder Peterson and Elder Mora who made the effort to find me, and to Elder Allman and Elder Saldaña who never gave up" It was such a sweet experience to see her bear her testimony and her desire to share that with her family now. That experience really made me realize that my influence on the people wont only be just through baptisms, but simply the effort that I give will be an effort that can change a community. And it can be the same with everyone, the effort that we give in the gospel and to follow the commandments will be enough to change a world that needs changing. Our effort will be a legacy for generations to come. After this meeting we were able to go eat with an awesome member in Salina Cruz. He went on his mission to Monterrey and wanted to show us the best food in Salina Cruz, so he took us down to a little grass hut down on the beach to have us try a lot of different sea food. They brought out a dip at first with a bunch of chips. Mario (The Member) asked us what we thought it was and we didnt know. He told us it was a crocodile dip!! It was so good too. After that they brought out another big plate with more chips and a dip, this time he asked us what we thought it was and we still didnt know. He told us that this was a Tiger Shark dip, and that one was really good too. Then they brought us out a plate for each of us, and on those plates were whole lobsters that had just been caught, filled with a cheese and chipotle dip and those lobsters were better than the ones that I had had before. Then we didnt think we could eat anymore and we saw them bringing out this huge tray, and on it they had a huge fish that is a Northern Red Snapper. It was a sweet fish and I loved it too. It was quite the exotic food run on the beach, I am attaching pictures of each plate so that you can all see better what they are. On Wednesday we were able to do the Mission Leadership Council meeting. Once again like we did in the city here we shared the same insights with the Zone Leaders down there. That we as leaders here in the mission have the huge responsiblity to teach and invite the missionaries that are in our zones and districts. That we need to find out what their struggles are and teach them in the gospel, and invite them to make changes in their lives. The Zone Leaders in the itsmo are awesome. They are having so much success and they are so humble and ready to learn to be able to do anything that is asked of them. We had a powerful meeting and the work continues to spread forth across that part of Oaxaca. On Thursday morning, we took a bus to Huatulco to start practicing for the program there. We were there for about 4 hours practicing for all of the songs that we were going to do with about half of the zone. Sister Madsen had me playing a few songs including "Oh Holy Night" on the piano to accompany the choir and soloists. But for Oh Holy Night the notes were too high for the Elder so Sister Madsen asked me to transpose the song. I was up late that night transposing on an electric keyboard. On Friday we got to go out and teach some lessons with the Zone Leaders. When we tried to stop by Omar and Andres house (My converts there) they werent home. But a guy in his late 20s was there and told us to come in. He said that he was Andres son and that he had questions for "us mormons" This was a guy that had a beard, tatoos, and a backward baseball cap on that talked pretty rough. But as we started talking to him he told us that he lived in Oaxaca in San Martin. I couldnt believe it!!! It was our area that my companion and I are assigned to!! We started teaching him and he said that he was a Christan that had been going to church for a long time and had been baptized there, and that he was trying to become a preacher. He asked us what we believed in and we talked about that through Christ, we need to follow his example, and repent and be baptized. We read a scripture with him that is Acts 2:38 which says 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. We asked him if before his baptism he had repented of his sins to be baptized, and he didnt answer us. He responded "I have never seen this scripture before but it is clearly written in the Bible, I feel as if I need to be baptized again but that I also need to repent of all my sins before" He told us that he needed to keep hearing the discussions. He gave us his number and his address and we are going to go find him this week to keep teaching him. It was a huge blessing to see that the Lord put him in our path to be able to teach him. He was only there in Huatulco that weekend and it was the only we were going to find someone that was so prepared. I know that if we prepare the Lord will always put the path before us so that we can follow his commandments and recieve his eternal blessings. On Saturday we had the program, and going back to Oh Holy Night we were practicing and practicing. I felt like a voice coach trying to get this song down. Eventually Sister Madsen said "Alright Elder Peterson you are going to sing this with Elder Fierros and Elder Matheson will play" For any of you that know me it scares me so bad to sing in front of people if I am not singing with at least 20 other people. But I told her I would do it. So we had 2 times to practice and then we had to perform it. But in the end it turned out really good, there were so many people that came up to us and told us how good it was!! I just think it is a miracle that my voice didnt crack in it but it was so fun to sing that and it was so powerful as well. The program turned out awesome, and I am so excited to participate in the city this next week. We are hoping that this week we can work like normal in our area once again, we know that we have been obedient and that the Lord has prepared people for us while we have been gone. He loves us and is always blessing us, and I am so grateful for him.