Christmas Card from Paso de los Libres

Merry Christmas from Paso de los Libres!

Hope you all had a great Christmas and have a happy new year!

I skyped with the family yesterday and they are all doing well!

Elder Peters

Hey all! so just so ya know I haven’t died since yesterday! but we are doing well and the rain started up today!  A grand total of 18 people showed up to church yesterday and the AC was broken so we were all just sweaty messes... so it wasn’t my favorite Christmas sacrament meeting... but it was fine! Elder Curtis and his family are fine!  I’ll maybe put a little more in the group one! but love you all!

On the Road Again!

Hey everyone!

So, this week was pretty good! Accompanied by more traveling! We had to make a trip back to Resistencia and back to Corrientes Capital and then later in the week we spent the day down in a city called Curuzú Cuatiá with the missionaries that are down there! It’s been exciting but all the traveling and lack of sleep has just wrecked me... But we are doing good getting ready for Christmas this next week! Hope you all are enjoying the snow back at home! The heat is just cranking up a little more every day and the humidity out here is the worst I have probably ever felt in my life...

But have great Christmas week! Miss and love you all!

Elder Pedros

Hey!

FRIST THING FIRST!

I WILL BE SKYPING AT 4 PM OUR TIME... SO LIKE 11 your time I think....

So this week was kind of a long one... We were preparing for a baptism this Saturday but it fell through Saturday morning... so we will be postponing it for a later date...But yes, we have been traveling a lot still... this week will be a little more laid back as we only have to make 2 trips (one to Mercedes for district meeting and then back to Curuzú Cuatiá for divisions).  My companion only has 1 more transfer than I do so he has 6 more weeks than I do... how many months that is I have no idea... I’ll leave you guys to do the math since I know you’re keeping track haha.  Yes we got his paperwork done but still doesn’t have his Argentine ID card making it almost impossible to travel sometimes without a physical ID.  So, they have city buses which are the old, overcrowded ones.... But the buses here for long distance travel are the double decker ones with the seats that lean back:) They run all the time just not at the times we need them to run... but they’re actually really nice! They can be expensive but luckily as Zone Leaders the mission gives us money to travel... because we don’t even have enough of our own money to buy the amount of buses we have to take in a month...But yeah, this transfer I think I have already logged 30 hours or so in bus rides alone... so it can be rough but that’s just my life at this point...  but it sounds like everything is just great back home!! 

Have a great Anniversary as well! 

Talk to you SUNDAY!

Jon

Life is a highway...

Well I don’t really have anything to fill you guys on this week!

I literally spent all of my time on buses this past week traveling to Corrientes, Resistencia, and Mercedes so I really had no time here in Paso de los Libres!

I got to Pasos this Monday and went back to Corrientes Capital on Wednesday, was in Resistencia on Thursday, then we went to Mercedes for another meeting and did divisions with some other Elders over there then got back to Pasos de los Libres Saturday really early in the morning... so my life this past week was just spent on the road!

I get to go back to Resistencia this next week as well to do some more paperwork for my companion because he still does not have his Argentine ID... making it harder for us to do all of this traveling... and as well we will be making our way down to Curuzú Cuatiá to visit the Elders down there... which just means another bus ride... so there are no breaks for us here in Pasos de los Libres... Just livin’ the life! 

But I love you all! have a great week!

Elder Peters!

Representin' in Resistencia

Zona de Paso de los Libres

My new area is good! I haven’t really had a lot of time to work here yet due to a bunch of meetings that we have been having in other parts of the mission! But yes, all the leaders are native’s dad...... We have a meeting with our District President tomorrow! and yes, I’m a Zone Leader and a District Leader still! So, I have the 2 titles to my name right now... And yeah to do divisions nothing has really changed... we still have to travel a lot... it sucks... I hate sitting on the buses.... we travel the most I think of all other Zone Leaders in the mission...

And yeah there’s actually a lot of Latino missionaries in the mission right now so I don’t know why all of mine have been gringos... I guess I was just never meant to learn Spanish am I, right?

I GOT THE PACKAGE YES MOM CHILL.... THANK YOU

And thanks mom! me and my companion are on the verge of burning all of our socks... so some money to buy more would be awesome!!

Yes, I have gotten very tan... I have the coolest tan lines ever! and only my nose sun burns now...

But I’m doing fine! living the life every day at a time! I’m going to enjoy these next couple transfers I know it!  The only thing I know about skype is that we will for sure be able to skype the 25th of December:)

But have great week!

Love you all!

Steps of the Free

Hey everyone!

So this past week was pretty awesome!  I spent my last week in Capital! We had some pretty dope work going down right as I was leaving so that sucked to leave that all behind but then I  got transferred!

So, I got transferred to a place called Paso de Los Libres!  I’m still in the province of Corrientes but its a little town right on the border of Brazil!  So I might be learning a bit of Portuguese during my time here!  But I’m super excited for a change!  My new companion is named Elder Curtis from a small town in Texas called Alpine! He’s super tranquilo and we will be passing Christmas and New Year’s together! but we are the only 2 in the city so we will see what goes down!  But in this zone me and him basically will just be traveling a lot! We have the assignment to be head of all the other missionaries in this area of Corrientes, and the closest other missionaries live about 2 hours away so we will see how that goes!  But this week we will be having a meeting in Resistencia so we will be on a bus all day tomorrow for the meeting Thursday, then staying the day in Mercedes, Corrientes all day Friday, so I won’t even be getting to know Paso very well my first week here!

It’s awesome and super tranquilo here in the campo! For once I’m not in a big city!  The only thing is that its HUMID!!! Like bad!! We are literally in the middle of the jungle and right on the outskirts in the biggest wetlands in all of Argentina! (one of the few national parks that they have here in the country!)

But I’m doing good still getting adjusted to the new traveling lifestyle a little bit! I haven’t really traveled long distances yet in the mission but now luckily I am in the second highest traveling area in the mission (2nd only to the 2 guys that travel through ALL of Formosa) so it will be fun and tiring all mixed into one!!

But I hope you all have a great week! Love you all!

Love Elder Peters

Brazil from the costanera of Libres

  

Sorry to hear that everyone is getting sick this week!

So question time... when the Elder’s and Sister’s come for dinner do you have a huge combined dinner with all 4 of them?? In this mission we aren’t even really allowed to talk with the sister missionaries let alone do activities and meals together... and no we didn’t watch the Christmas devotional... We actually work in this mission instead of watching Christmas stuff... (calling out the missionaries in the home ward).  They do show it in the chapels here in Argentina sometimes but we as missionaries don’t have permission to go and watch it unless we have an investigator or something like that!

I haven’t really talked to Chadd no.. I haven’t kept up with him at all... we just doing our own thing!  Speaking of Christmas, I haven’t heard anything about skype yet but here in this mission we only have sacrament meeting then we are spending the rest of the day in the pension (besides to skype you guys of course).

But all is well here in Paso de los Libres! Being a zone leader is going to be rough in this zone because we spend a lot of time traveling and stuff like that... the other missionaries in our zone are in Mercedes (home of the saint, Gauchito Gil), and Curuzú Cuatiá (since I know you guys like to Google map this kind of stuff) so we have to go out to those places almost every week to do divisions with them and stuff!

But it’s all good just getting ready for the humidity here in the jungle!

Love you all!

go Ducks

Elder Peters

Puede Ser the Last One in Corrientes

Well we actually had a pretty busy week this week!

This past Tuesday we made a trip out to Resistencia for a multizona with all of the missionaries in the province of Corrientes and Santa Fe! It was DOPE and I got to see all of the other missionaries from my old areas! and the most historic of them all... Elder Sheehan, Elder Cornell, and I were together for the FIRST time since the MTC! 1 year later! (see picture below) It was a very sweet moment that we shared and there might have been a few tears shed along the way! I also saw Elder Sears and some other people from Formosa days but that was about it!

To celebrate Thanksgiving, we went back to Parrilon! because who doesn’t want an all you can eat BBQ on Thanksgiving day? The same day we did divisions with the Zone Leaders... this time I went back to Laguna Seca with Elder Lloyd and we had to make another trip back to Resistencia to help some other Elders who had lost their cell phone in Corrientes.

Yesterday we had an AWESOME activity to get people animated for the new Christmas video called (Ilumina El Mundo) (can be found on Mormon.org, watch it... its dope...) and it was easily the best activity we have ever had in our mission! It was sure fun to just cheese with some members and get ourselves stoked to literally "illuminate the world" this December (more to come on that... hopefully... transfers are next week...

To celebrate our last P-day we made Churripan and chilled no mas! It was really tranquilo to just chill with these 4 guys (Elders, Sheehan, Lloyd, and Steele, for the last time since transfers are already coming around again!

So I will write you all next week! maybe from a new part of the country! quien sabe? but I hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Elder Peters

Elders Peters, Cornell and Sheehan

With my friend Alfredo Gonzalez

Aguantá los patos

Hey everyone!!

So, this week was kind of really fast! My companion had to do some paperwork for his immigration stuff so we spent most of all of Wednesday in Resistencia then all of Thursday in the immigration office here in Corrientes so I just got to chill while he did all of his stuff! So, I had a few days off I guess to catch up on sleep and things like that! Then we did more divisions with the asistentes this week and this time I left with Elder Webster from Canada! We had so much fun! We got a little bit trunky talking about hockey and lacrosse and stuff and just basic Northwesterner stuff!  But that was about it for the week!  We are still out here chugging along! Hope you all enjoy a great thanksgiving week back at home!

With love

Elder Peters

Plaza in our area.. Barrio Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe

  

The heat hasn’t been to terrible to be honest!  My comp is dying though so it’s kind of funny.  I don’t remember what couple I was talking about... we don’t really have any solid investigators right now.... The tree thing yes was an activity that we did as a district... I haven’t had the chance to do any other service at all in the mission... just in a sense that now I understand the necessity of the gospel in our lives!  Yes, they have that program (Teaching the Saviors Way) here in Argentina… I don’t really know much else other then they have it!

And correction mom... it wasn’t a peanut butter that I liked but I just found peanut butter in general... perks of being here in Corrientes Capital! so now I enjoy all the luxuries of U.S. living! except carpet...I have maybe gained like 2 or 3 pounds here in Corrientes... but that’s not a lot compared to the 40 I have lost so far...

But all is well... we spent all week in the immigration office doing stuff for Elder Steele and tomorrow we have a Multi zona all day long... so we will see how that goes!  But I’m doing good! hope all is well back home and you guys enjoy your LAST Thanksgiving without me! (just had to put you guys trunky!)

Love

Your son:)

Ilumina el Mundo Not the Pension!!

Hey everyone!!

So, this week was a good one!

First off we have been working hard to push the new up and coming Christmas intuitive of the church called "ilumina el munda" that drops the 26th of this month! so we have planned right now to make a whole bunch of Chinese lanterns and light them off right in the middle of Capital Corrientes to literally illuminate the world! 

Well us and the other Elders in Laguna Seca (Elder Sheehan and Elder Lloyd... obviously) have been experimenting a lot with these lanterns trying to figure out how to actually do them... well that obviously comes with some trial and error... We found out that 1) paper is really flammable... especially mixed with alcohol and 2) it’s best NOT to make these things inside your apartment... it’s an outside activity... because about 2 or 3 times now we have almost caught the apartment on fire.... so we finally decided we aren’t going to kill ourselves and all the member and their friends so the mission office is going to send us a bunch of kits from Buenos Aires to make them... in a lot safer and a more fun manner!

Also, right now the mission is pushing hard for Corrientes to become a stake (for all the Mormons that know what that is:) right now so they have been pushing us to go out hard every single day. I’m assuming it is on Presidente Francos “To Do” list before he bounces out in June of next year! But the assistants to the President are coming out to Corrientes every day they can to come work with us so this last Tuesday was Maipú´s for them to come put in work! And it was alright! it wasn’t anything magical or anything... just the same old same old! but it was nice to get to know them a a little better and spend the day with them!

But all is well!

One to the next one!

Elder Peters

 

Trial 1... plastic melts and burns your skin a lot....

I haven’t heard anything about the elections here... all the people say is "what do you think about your new president?" and we just say "well....... who is our new president??" yes the election was big down here! They care about it more than they do their own election!

That’s cool that in the States they can actually do things like no knock November... because here that would leave every missionary with nothing to do.... Just think about how frustrating it can be when the missionaries ask if you have anyone to teach and you guys say no... that’s my life everyday....

We spend a lot of time with Elder Sheehan an Elder Lloyd especially with this up and coming activity... you haven’t seen the Christmas video yet because it doesn’t come out until the 26th of this month... I haven’t even seen it yet... I will probably see it the 22nd when we have a multizona in Resistencia! but we will see!

But I hope that you guys are staying safe up there! Sounds pretty crazy! Sounds like things are just as they always are!!  It’s just been getting hotter and hotter every day!

But have a great week!

with love

Jon

Short Update

Hey everyone!

It’s all fine here in Corrientes Capital!   The weather has been heating up a lot making the thought of the upcoming summer unbearable!  Today we found the only peanut butter that is sold in the mission so I am a very content man right now... 100 pesos later...

But it was a very tanquilo week nothing new went down! We just keep on trucking down here!

Hope you all had a good week and a Happy Halloween!

Love

Elder Peters

I still love my ducks

Hey fam

So, we are all good here still in Corrientes! not a lot has changed this past week! we have found about 2 or 3 really prepared people that truly have interest in our message so we will see how they progress! But other than that, it has been tranquilo! It’s starting to get hotter here every day... it hit me today that we were in November already and just how fast the year has flown by!  We didn’t have district meeting this week we had zone meeting! We talked about the upcoming Christmas initiative of the church;) so we got a little sneak peek before you guys did;) 

Sounds like you had a good time with Grandma this past week!

But all is well! I found Peanut Butter today! So I’m so PUMPED! I love Corrientes now!!

But I love you all have a great week!

Elder Peters

Does San La Muerte Celebrate Halloween?

Hey Everyone!

Happy Halloween!

Hope you are all having a great time and are going to enjoy your holiday! Because here they don’t have Halloween... Just to fill you guys in on a little cultural fact of Corrientes that I had yet to tell you guys about… here in Corrientes (not really anywhere else in Argentina I think) there’s some people that believe in a saint that calls itself "San La Muerte" which just means The Death Saint. You see a lot of it down here (along with Gauchito Gil... obviously) in Corrientes... so all around our area you just see statues of the Grim Reaper that the people worship! So I think this will be the closest I get to Halloween in my time here in Argentina!!

But we had a good week! We had another round of entrevistsas with Presidente Franco!  All is well and we’re just chugging along down here! Other than that, it was a pretty tranquilo week to be honest! Just like every other week... luckily we didn’t see any tormentos this past week! Just straight sun and hot weather!

But we are good! All is well! It’s hard to believe that October is over already!!

Have a great week!

Elder Peters

dear family...

Answers to questions

1. No they don’t celebrate here... maybe like 2 or 3 kids I have seen with costumes... I explained San La Muerte in the other email but have yet to see any weird parties for him since today is P-day.
2. Yes my comp is doing fine and he is learning the language well.  We are very different people so sometimes we have our days.
3. My Spanish is fine; all Latin’s tell me the only thing I need to improve is having a Latin companion.
4. DL does not come with much responsibility.  I call 1 set of Elders and ask how their day went then call the ZLs... then give a capcitation here and there.
5. Yes the members feed us! Yesterday we had that fish that I also sent a picture with in the other email.  They’re the best.
6. I have been eating a lot more dinner type food... I would usually only ever eat breakfast and lunch and that was enough to keep me satisfied.  Now we are starting to eat a little bit more at the night time even though I don’t really like eating at 9:30 at night.
7. We go to restaurants every P-day.  The restaurant we went to today had Teriyaki Salmon for 200 pesos... Thank goodness our money came this morning.
8. Yes we are eating a lot more then noodles and BBQ sauce.  The perks of having members feeding you also means you have more money.
9. Yes I have gotten the cards.  Its nice to see a little bit of Portland every once and a while
10. Just packages… we can still get mail
11. Yes I survived the winter without the electric blanket.
12. I haven’t been studying a lot of the Book of Mormon much lately... I’m studying the Old Testament right now actually making it hard to believe that people actually believe in saints down here when the theme of the books of Moses are "don’t believe in saints or you will die". But I have already read through the Book of Mormon twice, same with the new testament... read through all the books in the mission library, and preach my gospel who knows how many times... Pearl of Great Price and Doctrine and Covenants as well... So, my goal is to read the bible cover to cover by the end of the mission.

But it sounds like things are going well with you guys... Sounds like Will is inching himself away from you guys little bits at a time and that Rachel is still a nerd and Sydney is her same old same old. It’s hard to believe that Sam is already home... and I didn’t even know Tanner Hall was leaving on a mission... who all do we have out on missions now in the ward and where are they’re at? Everything is fine here with us! Every day is the same! we are just out here working every day!

Love

Elder Pedros

How we eat on Pday... Teriyaki Salmon...

Some of the best fish that Corrientes and the Rio Paraná has to offer

Bad weather means getting peoples cars unstuck from the road in our bare feet....

Saw Elder Sears again during Transfers!

Part of Elder Sheehans area

The Month of Storms

So, another transfer is in the books! and I’m staying in Maipú with Elder Steele!  So, we have another 6 weeks juntos in this crazy place!  But we have been doing good down here!  It’s still the same old same old here in Corrientes Capital!   But this past month has been especially great with all the storms that we have been having! October in Argentina is the month of rain... little did they forget to mention strong winds and crazy lighting storms! So, all this past week we have just been pounded with these crazy storms! Last night we helped a man get his car unstuck from the mud... but the only thing was that his entire front wheels were stuck in the mud... so it took another car and 6 men in the dumping rain to get this car unstuck from the road! We didn’t have our boots either so the 4 of us missionaries had to go bare foot in the mud to be able to help this poor guy out! But events like that are just the summary of how this past months has gone for us here! 

Hope you all have a great week and love you all!

Elder Pedros

P.S.  I did have some dope photos for this week but ran out of time to include them! But next week si o si!

Hola fam!

So, this week was pretty good!

I’m alive and doing well!

Well transfers hit and I’m staying with Elder Steele another one! So, we will see how this one goes if we can get the work started a little bit around here! Elder Sheehan and Elder Lloyd are staying as well so the partying continues as well! Only changes are that I’m district leader again...

But we have just been pounded by hard rain and lighting... we have some videos but it would impossible to send them home! But the weather has been all over the place! Yesterday we helped a guy get his car out from the mud! But when I say out of the mud I mean his entire front bumper was under the mud... but it’s been crazy to say the least! Just out here every day working hard! enjoying the weather!

Have a great week!

Elder Peters

21

Hey everyone!!

Sorry for not writing last week... I just forgot to write!

But these past 2 weeks have been going pretty well!  It’s been pretty average so there hasn’t been really anything to fill you guys in!

The weather is starting to heat up a lot... my companion is from Arizona and thought he wouldn’t have a problem with the heat… he found out he was oh so very wrong... We were also welcomed in by a huge storm this past week, with high winds, dumping rain, and a huge lightning storms... we had no choice but to look for refuge from the storm all afternoon.

But not much else! my first full week having 21 years and I sure do feel it... it’s been a blast but I definitely feel old at this point in my life... I can’t tell if it’s from the age or walking 10 miles every day for a living...

but have a great week you all! love you and enjoy!

Elder Pedros!

hey fam...

So it sounds like you guys had a good week in the "storm”... meanwhile we actually did have a storm.... we got caught out in streets when it started dumping rain, gushing winds, and super strong lightning and thunder... so we had fun in that until we got the call to look for refuge... luckily we were near our recent converts house and they let us in then ran home to the pension a little early... it was not fun...

but things have been slowing down a lot here... we haven’t really seen too much success this past week so it was pretty average...

news on the package… they Zone leaders got back from Resisntencia packageless... all the packages are still in the post office waiting to be taken out, but due to a new law here in Argentina we are not able to take them out without a specific Argentine bank account... so we don’t know if we will ever see them... from rumors I have heard, Presidente Franco is trying to get all the packages in there out right now since there is a quantity of packages just sitting there... but apparently no luck so far...

But all is well! Transfers are next week! so we will see what happens!!  So I won’t be on until next Tuesday!  But love you all!  Have a great week!

Re: feliz cumpleaños

fam,

So this week was good!

Still nothing really big to fill you guys in on!!

This past week we found a family of 15 and 2 of them had already read all of the book of Mormon... but have never been to church so that could be the big problem!

My companion got bit by a dog for the first time as well!

But nothing really new!!

Elder Sheehan and Lloyd and Steele threw a mini party for me this morning with a cake and some ice cream but I didn’t tell anyone else it was my birthday so I didn’t get a load of tortas this past week!

But I won’t find out about the packages until Wednesday when we have our zone meeting.

Corrientes is a lot... harder... then Formosa

It’s a lot richer and nicer, still mainly dirt roads and things like that but the economy is definitely a lot better here. and the people are a lot more catholic! so it makes the whole day interesting to say the least! They all believe in the Virgin Maria and in Gauchito Gil... so it’s been a bit difficult to share a message about Jesus around here, hahah.

But I’m doing fine! I’ll let you know next week about the packages!!

Love

Jon

Walked Through the River This Past Week!

Sorry for the emails getting shorter every week!   I have run out of things to email home about!

But this past week was the same old same old!

It all led up to General Conference this past weekend and it was dope! It could have been better but the down poor of rain led to some problems with the lights and satellite connection so there was a lot of running around trying to fix all the problems!!

But we just keep walking everyday making the most out of every moment! The training is going good! Elder Steele is doing just fine and adjusting well to the Argentina culture!

But miss you all and have a good week!

love

Elder Peters

My last week’s email was short because I ran out of thing to talk about....... Remember mom said this would happen!!  The training is going well! Yeah he’s fresh out the MTC so he doesn’t know a lot of what’s going on right now.... It’s not really hard it’s just a lot of work!!  I have only gotten a phone call about the package I have not gotten it yet so I have no idea.  Yes, McDonalds has the same food as they do in the states and it’s the same thing....

Conference was good but we had a lot of connection problems the first day so it was making it really hard to focus on it.  We watched in the gringo room but in the main room the satellite went out on their feed like 3 times so most of the members didn’t get to witness all of it. Our converts came on Sunday to hear the talks and it was a blessing to know that that’s what they needed to hear in that moment! I just hope they were listening haha. 

Tell everyone back home I say hi!

But all is well! still just out here chugging along!!

Love

jon

The Week

Hello all!!

So nothing to fill y’all up on this week!

I’m still alive and chugging along!

We worked a lot then did some service and planted trees this past Saturday.  Yesterday was a holiday so we went out to work, so that why you get to hear from me today! :-)

But I’m fine! hope you all have a great week!

Elder Peters

Hey fam!!

So nothing really new this week... we went contacting a lot... found some pretty cool people but spent all week getting rejected as well...

Elder White had his surgery this past week... apparently everything looks the same down there but at least the pain is gone... doctors said it would be awhile before everything is back to normal... so I don’t know when he is expected to come back to the mission.  Things with my trainee are going well! We still struggle to find something in common between us... but we still get along just fine!!  So nothing new... Just been out working and enjoying everyday!!

Love,

Elder Peters