Record Setting Month

Hey everyone,

So I´m on a little late tonight because we had a zone leader conference in DF today and so we just now got back to our area. Thanks for all the emails!

This week was again amazing. We had another 20 baptisms in the zone...finishing the month of January with 79 baptisms in the zone. An ALL TIME MISSION record.  The Previous record was in Culturas zone (where I was before--Chamapa) with 73 in a month, last May. The record for the zone of Metepec was 40, so that was almost doubled. It´s basically all because of 2 companionships though, both working out in a little branch in the middle of nowhere called Tejupilco. One companionship baptized 30 this month and the other baptized 21...adding 51 members to the branch in one month!!! It really is amazing what they are doing out there. The other 8 companionships combined for 28 baptisms...giving us 79 on the month. I can´t even describe out grateful I am to be part of such an amazing month in the zone of Metepec. I am learning a lot as a zone leader, how to lead people and help them understand their purpose a little bit better. It´s not always the most fun. A lot of the time we have a lot of pressure on our shoulders and we won´t be liked by everyone in the zone.  But, when you see miracles in the zone and you see companionships start to have success it just is that much more satisfying.

So, this is the last week of the transfer....so next Monday I may (most likely) be writing you from a different area. It will be exciting to see what happens.

Today we had a conference with the zone leaders and we went over the numbers for the month and talked about things we can do better as a mission. Afterwards we ate at President´s sweet house (baked potato bar). I took some pictures of the area over by the area by the office and President´s house.

Also a picture with Elder Taylor, who will be going home next week. 

And, a picture of the trash pile in our house that we have because we have been too lazy to buy trash bags. [Really? Gross.]  Don´t worry mom, we’ll clean it up eventually.

Anyways, love you all and I hope you have a great week.

And this is my joy,

Elder Peacock

Best Week of the History of the Mission

Hey family and friends,

So I hit the big 18 months this week...

[Good thing I just mailed him some more pants….]

As for the week. It was FANTASTIC. We had a baptism...breaking our slump of 2 straight weeks.  And, in the zone, 8 out of the 10 companionships baptized. One companionship baptized 13!!!! we finished the week with 27 baptisms in the zone...giving us 59 on the month. We are baptizing A TON more than any other zone and we broke the record for the most baptisms in the week. We are seeing a ton of miracles out here in Metepec, and the work is going great.

Today Elder Green and I went down to downtown Toluca to look around and take some pictures...it´s pretty cool...not as cool as downtown Mexico City but still pretty noteworthy.

Well, I´m out of time today...but I hope you enjoy all of the pictures. I love you and miss you all a lot.

And this is my joy.

Elder Peacock

PS Go Giants Boo Patriots

Tender Mercies

[Email dated 1/16/12]

Hello family and friends,

It was a challenging week here in Metepec. Our teaching pool has been pretty small these last couple of weeks. We keep finding a good amount of new investigators, but none of them progress. We have had a few investigators that we teach for the first time...and they totally open up to us...crying and everything, and we have super powerful lessons with them...and then we go to teach them again..and they hide from us or tell us they don`t have time or whatever other excuse they have...it just doesn`t make sense. So we were knocking a lot of doors this week again...and nothing. On Friday night we didn`t have anybody that was looking that would go to church with us. But the Lord heard our prayers and gave us a miracle. A member called us with a referral that we checked on Saturday...Golden. His name is Juan. He`s 50 years old and has been through a lot. His mom died about 5 years ago...his daughter died in an accident 3 years ago and his wife just barely passed away in November. He wanted answers to his questions about the plan of salvation...and he accepted everything we taught him. He went to church in a suit with us on Sunday and he will be baptized on Sunday. He is a great guy.

Things are also going pretty good in the zone. A pretty funny thing happened though. We found out that one of the Elders in the zone had a music device that is not allowed by the mission. It`s like a speaker that you can plug a usb into and it plays music (we can`t have things that you can download music onto.) So Elder Green and I had to go take it away from him. He told us all the music on it was mission appropriate...President told us to double check it because the Elder has had obedience problems in the past. Elder Green and I listened to his music in the night...hahahha...he had hard core rock versions of BOM Stories and Onward Christian Soldiers...he had the soundtracks from the RM and The Best Two Years and then it just got better....Coldplay and some David Bowie....hahaha. We were laughing pretty hard that he had David Bowie on there....weird music. Just a funny story I thought I would share with you...to all the guys that will be leaving on your mission soon....BE OBEDIENT. It`s just never worth it to go against the mission rules...you won`t have a good mission I can promise you that.

I love being a missionary...love you all and miss you a lot.

And this is my joy,

Elder Peacock

Dia de los Reyes

Hey everyone,

Good to hear from everyone, sounds like everything is going great in the SCV.

This past week went well. The holidays are finally over...I love them when I`m not a missionary...but they are not the most fruitful times on the mission for sure. The 6th of January it was what is called the Dia de los Reyes..which would be translated as the Day of the Wisemen. Kids here pretty much get 2 Christmas. They get presents on the 25th of December, and then on the 6th of January when the wisemen come in the night and give them presents as well.

There is also the tradition to eat this bread (see picture). That is really good. Its kind of like cake but it still classifies as bread I think...the funny part of it is that there is a little plastic doll hidden in the bread...and if you get the piece with the doll in it you have to but tamales for everyone there. Elder Green and I soon found out that they put like 5 dolls in there...so pretty much everyone ends up buying tamales haha.

As far as the work goes, we did a lot of knocking doors this week. These last 2 weeks we have been finding a lot of news (12 and 14), but we are just going through them like crazy. They are just not progressing. They don`t want anything or they just hide in their houses when we come back from our return appointment. Just tell us you don`t want anything, don`t just hide in your house and waste our time. Most of the time we KNOW that they’re home but they just hide until we finally give up and go away.

As we were knocking doors on Saturday, I got the best picture ever. Here in Mexico, there are people that go around with handcarts and shout ¨basuuuuuuura¨ (trash) really loud so that people bring their trash out and pay the guy with the handcart to take it. We saw a guy doing that with his handcart and we noticed that there was a baby in his handcart....haha. It was either his baby that he brought with him to work or someone threw their baby away...hahha...either way that baby is in for a fun life. Elder Green and I had a good laugh about it.

However, despite the endless knocking of doors, we did find someone that went to church with us (in a suit!!), and he looks to be progressing nicely...so I guess it wasn`t a total waste.

I love you guys and I miss you.

Hope you have a great week....I know that this is God`s work.

And this is my joy,

Elder Peacock

Happy New Year!

[Email dated 1/2/12]

Hey everyone,

It was a fun week here in Metepec. My new companion and I get along really well. We like a lot of the same things and we think that the same type of things are funny. So it will be a fun week.

So it was new years this past week and people here just get drunk and set off fireworks all night. And when I say all night I mean all night. On the 31st we went and ate dinner with a family from the ward before heading in early for the night. It was really good food and the family is really nice. Elder Green and I had a fun time. All night we heard fireworks going off outside and we woke up to more fireworks going off. The streets were covered in the morning with used fireworks. We went by at about 10 in the morning to pick up investigators to go to church and there were people STILL outside drinking...needless to say they had no clue what was going on....it was pretty funny to see hahha.

At church on New Years we had a baptism which is always special. Her name was Anny. She has been in teaching for a while but finally went to church on Christmas Day. During the week she told us she was really nervous for her baptism and wasn´t sure if she felt ready. We assured her that she was, and left her every day with a part of the Book of Mormon to read. As she read every night she gained more and more strength...and on Saturday she told us that she felt completely ready and wasn’t nervous anymore...it was pretty amazing to see that change in her during the week that she received through the Book of Mormon. I know that the Book of Mormon strengthens us always and gives us that strength to follow Christ, I have seen it over and over again in my life and in my mission and I saw it again with Anny. really cool experience.

Today was a fun day....if you remember last new years when I was first in Mexico we got to watch some movies that the President approved. It was the same this year! We watched Megamind and Kung Fu Panda 2. Elder Green and I borrowed a projector and surround sound speakers from some members and we had a little movie theater set up in the church. It was pretty fun and the whole zone seemed to enjoy it too. Loved both the movies.

Well, I love you all and miss you. The time is going fast and it´s weird to think that I am going home this year. I know this is the work of God.

And this is my Joy

Elder Peacock