Email dated July 18, 2011
Hello family and friends,
Sorry for the short letter last week, but this week I have a lot more to talk about so I´ll make up for it. First off, thanks for all the pictures and emails....Oh my...Zack Larson looks SOOO much older...and Bryce looks like he`s following my footsteps (not so much with the machete haha...dork) Left tackle is where its at!!! I´m excited to see pictures and hear about how Yellowstone goes. Hope you guys have a good trip and stay safe.
Anyways, I guess the big news of the past week would be the arrival of my second kid. On Tuesday we went down to the mission office and had a little orientation and met our new companions. Elder Juker and Elder Duffin from the MTC are also training and also are District Leaders which I thought was pretty cool. My new companions name is Elder Mora...which would be “berry” in English. He`s from Monterey, Mexico and doesn`t speak English. He is about as new in the mission as you can get. He entered the 22 of June and came right from the MTC. He is very timid, doesn´t really like to try new things....guess we won`t be eating any kran with him haha. But what missionary isn´t a little timid when they arrive, right? Training this time around will be a little different. They have a new program in the church for training missionaries. Number one, we will be together for at least 2 changes...so I better start getting used to those hills, cuz I´m here for another 11 weeks at least. Second, we have TWO hours of companionship study every morning instead of 1. But it`s not that bad because #3 We all get little DVD players (which have been rigged so we can`t watch stuff like Harry Potter 7) to watch Preach My Gospel videos. I`m actually really enjoying the whole 2 hour study thing. We go over things in Preach my Gospel and the Scriptures and then watch a video that highlights the things we went over and then we practice it with each other as if we were teaching. Its pretty cool. So yeah that`s where Elder Mora and I are at at this point...getting better everyday.
This week, I had a very spiritual experience that I would like to share. We got to an appointment a little early this week...so we decided to knock some doors around the house of the appointment for 10 or 15 minutes and then go to the appointment. We talked to a few people and we set a few appointments....usually with contacts like that about 30% of them are there when you return for your "appointment"...so nothing really seemed that amazing or out of the ordinary. On Sunday we went to one of the appointments we had set up while we were knocking doors. Her name was Sara...we knocked, she answered and said she was a little busy....but we convinced her to give us some time. We taught her in the house of some members...As we started talking to her, it was brought up that she had talked to MANY missionaries before, but really she´s not looking for religion. But she shared that last week she prayed to God, asking his forgiveness and for direction in her life, and shortly after, we knocked on her door. She took that to be an answer to her prayer, and for that reason she agreed to listen to us. One of the things I have been working on lately is realllly listening to people and trying to listen to the Spirit to know what I should say. We had planned to talk about baptism and then move into the Restoration through Joseph Smith...but as we asked inspired questions and really listened to her...it became clear to me to teach about Faith, Repentance, Baptism and the Holy Ghost...or the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The lesson seemed to address her needs perfectly and I found myself teaching those principles in a way I had never explained before...We invited her to baptism. She accepted. When I left from that lesson I felt a joy inside of my heart. I had done it. The Spirit guided us and we listened. If I wouldn`t have listened...she might not have even accepted another appointment. But we listened and I felt the Spirit of the Lord working through us. It was truly amazing and I am very grateful for that experience.
I know that this Gospel is true, and I know that the Lord is preparing people, like Sara, to receive the Gospel each and everyday. I am so grateful for the time I have been blessed with to help the Lord with the people He is preparing. I love being a missionary. I love you and miss you all. Have a great week!!!!
And this is my Joy (Alma 29:9)
Elder Peacock
PS HAPPY ONE YEAR!!! its almost shirt burning time!!!!
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