1 year!! June 18, 2012

Hey dad, (and whoever happens to read this)

      I want to apologize for not recognizing last Monday that the following Sunday was Fathers Day! The days and weeks just seem to fly by so fast I can hardly even believe it. I hope you had a blast! Thanks for sending the photos, you all look great! I'm always thrilled to get shots of the family, and especially those grandchildren of yours! Everyone sure looks to be doing well. And your off the Germany! I get wait to get pictures! I'm sure the wedding will be fantastic! Wow you really are just all over the world aren’t ya. Mom, your looking great, love the colors! As always!
   
      I spoke in Sacrament meeting yesterday for Fathers day, appropriate since my farewell was a year ago on the same day. I talked about having confidence in our Heavenly father, especially for those who didn't have a chance to know their earthly one. I motioned your father and how you didn't have the chance to know him in this life but how much I imagined our Heavenly Father has guided you and your mother.
    
      I cant believe I will have a year in the mission! Its gone by so fast I cant believe it! But I hope you had a fantastic Fathers day and that you could again know of the love that each of your children love you and appreciate you very much. You really are the best a boy could ask for dad, never forget it! Well have to go get some cheap Chinese after the mission haha. But thanks for your letters and all of your support and love I receive. Thank you for the prayers as well. I feel thoroughly blessed to have the family I have and to have the Father, as cooky and as wild as you are sometimes, okay not too wild, but you make us laugh. Thanks for being you and being the loving father, and grandfather that you are and always have been. Haha as Elder Packer says, being parents is not a calling you will ever be released from. And I assume that goes the same for children, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Take care, stay strong, and enjoy your travels. And spend some time in the temple for me!
     
    Mari our investigator, when she prays she specifically prays for the family of Elder Rojas and I. She prays as if she knows each of our families and always ask that they have protection, comfort, faith, and well being. I love prayer and listening to our investigators pray. Its like a damn that has been holding back water and suddenly breaks open with relief and they just feel a peace and calm afterwards. 

I love the work of the Lord, and I love Him terribly as well as all of my family, have a wonderful week,

Elder Peine

Hope you like Iguanas!

Monkey boy

Sunset soccer match

Soccer for Pday!!

Eggs anywone?

June 11, 2012

Wow! Okay I'm just so happy! Thank you everyone for writing me and sending me photos! I absolutely love it! Your all looking great! It sounds like things are going well as well, keep up the good work fam! Your the greatest!

This week we have been talking with a 15 year old named Mary who has been reading the Book of Mormon and learning more about the Church. No one in her family is a member so at first she thought it would be really difficult to continue talking with us. We invited her to be baptised and she accepted but said her father probably wouldn't let her. He lives in another city so we invited her to talk with him by phone about what shes been learning and that she wants to be baptised. We passed by the next day to find out that she had talked with her dad and he said she was free to choose as long as she thought it out well first. What a miracle! It was great news to hear and we were thrilled! Unfortunately she works some Sundays but if she can get that figured out and attends she will be baptised soon.

We also taught an 18 year old boy the law of Chastity, first thing, right off the bat. I never thought my first conversation with someone might be about the law of Chastity but hey that's how it goes sometimes. He really took it into appreciation and studied the whole pamphlet we gave him right there and then and thanked us sincerely for coming by. Since then we have taught him the Restoration and he is really understanding. His name is Roberto and loves soccer. Unfortunately he has school Sundays which is too bad because wed love to see him at church. But little by little great things are brought to be!

So ya I'm pretty much just overwhelmed with love. Mom and dad thank you for your letters, hope your enjoying all the traveling! I can hardly keep up with you! Kim thanks for the letter, favorite sister in law! Thank you for the pics! I'm so happy to see that Mandy stopped by! I'm sure you had a good time! And say hi to Janely for me! Ally thanks for the note, love you too! I could sure use some of that Cali fog any time soon for a nice cool down. Alina, looking good! Jord, keep up the sales! Joe, wish I could have been there for your talk! Em love ya bunches.

Okay I just love you all, hope you have a fantastic week! I wish I had more time to write but yeah I'm already way over time...I cant help it there is so much to say!

Con mucho amor,

Elder Peine

 Chocolate milk, bag, straw = 2 happy missionaries

 Our cute little nieghbor

An amazing interpretation of my companion and I, drawn by an eleven year old girl

My intent at drawing Elder Rojas

 2 thumbs up!

June 4, 2012

Wow what a week!! I hope all is going well for everyone and that your all enjoying yourselves. This morning as my companion was getting a hair cut I sat in the doorway and looked out to the ocean and enjoyed the sea breeze as the palm trees swayed. Sometimes it feels like I am in a dream and I'm just going to wake up in Salt Lake and head off to work at Spoon Me and to cut lawns. As great as those times were, this work is much more rewarding than I could have imagined. Even though its not easy, we haven't exactly been baptizing someone every week, we have doing our best and that is all the Lord asked of us. My companion Elder Rojas is a wonderful Elder and helps the area by his great example. There is one investigator who comes to church every week and hes learning but little by little. So we have been exploring new areas looking for new people to find and its amazing to find out how many people know about the Church or know a member.

Last night we taught a family. The fathers name is Santana. We taught them about the Plan of Salvation or the Plan of Happiness and the pathway Christ has lead for us to follow. Santana listened and commented rather profoundly about the topics we discussed and I could really see he had a desire to do what is best for his family. At the end of the lesson we asked him if he would offer a prayer for his family. We kneeled down together and he prayed and thanked our Heavenly Father for his blessing and prayed for the well being of his children, his wife, and his sick grandmother. It was honest and sincere and I was grateful to be there. I know that prayer is powerful and that our Heavenly Father listens to our prayers. Sometime we don't think he answers but that's because we have stopped listening. Sometimes the answers are very discreet and don't come in big blatant letters in the sky. But they come through our obedience to his commandments and by doing the simple things that we should be doing. If we are reading the scriptures daily, praying, and attending church, He will answer us because He loves us and we are his children. I have a strong testimony of the power of prayer and know that I am never alone. I feel so happy.

I love you all and hope you have a fantastic week!

Mom- I love the painting!
Dad- I hope you loved fishing!
Em- hope the kids are well thanks for the awesome pics!
Jord- your baby girl is priceless
Joe- good luck in the job hunt, thanks for the sweet pics of London and art!
Lina- hope your loving the island life! Soak it up
Kim- your amazing and your baby will be to
Ally- keep calm and carry on (I think that's what your poster said in your house)

Ice cream makes me happy

Dessert

My companion and I at a Chinese Buffet

My favorite taxi

My future house

Me

Love,

Elder Peine

What a week!! May 21, 2012

 

Hey family!

How are you all doing! I hope everything is going well in Hawaii, Utah, Colorado, and everywhere else you might be! Hope life is treating you well as it has me. Things are going really well down here in Mexico, for one it just rained and it feels great! Love that rain smell! But Id like to know how you are doing, whats new for you any of you, if your liking work etc. And of course Im always open for any sweet stories and I love getting photos!

Sadly but truly my companion Elder MattarpRobison and Elder Poulsen. I don’t know how long it will be until a receive a new companion but until then I’m making the best of it!

The other day I had a surprising experience when I asked a woman who we had taught once if she read the chapter from the Book of Mormon which we asked her to read.  She replied yes and that she had read about 20 chapters more as well and indeed she had. We didn’t have much time to talk but she accepted to come to church the following week.

One of the days my companion couldn’t work so I went out with some of the young men instead. One of the young men is a large, slightly unshaven, happy fellow who is just so full of excitement and faith you just feel like a child when your around him. But we started out, him and I, and he noticed that his pants zipper was broken. He asked me if I had any string so that he could fix the problem and I told him I didn’t. He told me, okay, the lord will provide! (with a grand jolly smile on his face and a gait in his step). We continued talking and walked about a block and half, turned a corner and about 10 steps down the street, happened to be a large pile of string, somehow just waiting for my string needing companion to come walking along! He eagerly picked it up and said Look didn’t I tell you! The Lord always provides!

I love the mission and love all of you!

Take care!

Elder Peine

HOLA!!- May 28, 2012

Hey family!

Its good to hear from you! Thank you for taking the time to write me and I'm sorry I have so little time to write back. But this week was interesting because I had a number of different companions. I lived and another area with the zone leaders but would meet up with one of the youth from the ward, cross the river and work in the area I'm assigned. It was a bit exhausting with all the traveling back and forth but now everything is getting back to normal. My new companion is Elder Rojas from Peru! He has about 2 months in the mission since he spent a few weeks working in Peru while he was waiting for his visa. Hes 25 and is a wonderful missionary, really knows well how to explain the Book of Mormon.

We stopped by a members house last night for a quick visit and simply shared a scripture john 3 16 and there was just a calm and a peace that I felt. The spirit was strong and I cherished the moment. The member finished with a touching prayer and we left to hit the bed. But I felt good. I know the scriptures are true and I love them very much, because they teach me about the Savior and his infinite love that he has for me. I love being here in Mexico as a missionary sharing the gospel. For as much work as it is, it is as equally rewarding and fun all at at the same time. I hope you all have a fantastic week!

love,

Elder Peine

my new companion Elder Rojas!

mexican hamburgers...with jalepenos, so delicious

Tortilla factory of a member (I dont know what face I was trying to make)

mario an investigator and I

name tag

Good ol Mexico!- May 14, 2012

Hey everyone!

It was absolutely wonderful to hear from you for mothers day! What a thrill it was to hear your voices!
First of all my new companion is Elder Mattarp from Guadalajara who has a remarkable conversion story.  Long story short his left his house at 13, lived in the streets for 4 years washing windows and working at burger king, some members took him and basically adopted him, was baptized, and is now serving as a missionary. Wild right! Hes a great missionary and I'm excited to get to know him more and about his experiences. But life is going well, the work is progressing. Unfortunately he cant walk very well because he had an accident in his last area but we are making the best of it.

We are working with a man named Vincent who works with one of the members here. For a start, he is learning how to pray. I mean what a privilege it is to know that we can communicate with our father in heaven at any moment! What a blessing it is to see a change in people’s hearts as they draw closer unto the lord through prayer and study. 

This past week we visited an inactive sister of one of our bishops the other week who was sick and asked for a blessing. Her husband also asked for a blessing that he could find work to provide for his family. We offered the blessings and continued on our way.  For the first time in all my time here, she was at church on Sunday, happy. She came up to me just thrilled as ever which really just made my day. But her husband wasn’t there, so I asked where he was and she replied with excitement that he had been called out for work! Oh what joy I felt in this moment. How happy am I to know that the Lord supports those in need! I know that we are never given more than we can handle.  As president Monson says, who the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies!

I thank all of you for your support and love, take care this week and enjoy each day! (And those in Hawaii, I know its really difficult but please try your best.)

Much love, as always

Elder Peine

Our district

Now thats a boat for ya

Some cute kids at a ward activity

Our giant zone (which was just barely split into 2)

 Elder Larson heading off for his new area

Bishop in a hammock

Just Pictures