Hello!

 

It was good to see yall fer Christmas. And the pups.

This week was ok. We didn't teach as many lessons, because of Christmas and such...

and this coming week probably won't be much better. Everyone likes to make the excuse "come back after the holidays"

um...ok. :( Out of about 10 people we've been inviting to church, 1 less active lady came! It was super rewarding. Just like seeing someone get baptized. Which also happened. not in the Deaf Branch, but in La Sierra Heights. Her name is Vanessa. Elder Kava and I found her tracting. It was a really good baptism. I played the piano and gave a talk. My talk was about the Restoration. I basically went over the bullet points of the lesson and then shared my testimony of it all. It was good. Elder Kava goes home in a couple weeks. I know my time will come, too. It's coming fast. January February March then 8 days into April...of course people are starting to ask "What are you going to do when you get home?" I always tell them "Watch Harry Potter, go Longboarding, play the piano, and probably get a job and go to school."

I'm leaning towards UVU...it's close, I hear the music program is good, there are also Deaf studies there, um...it's open enrollment...yeah.

 

Today, we hiked Mt. Rubidoux. I took a lot of pictures. Some are very good. I'm actually proud of them! so...watch out world, here comes Elder Peck who thinks he can take a picture! No really, they're amazing. haha jk lol...You'll see.

 

Um...I guess that's all I have to say today. Thanks for everything.

 

Elder Peck

Yay!!! Moogs did it! That makes Christmas so much better! Thanks for the pics. Send more and take good ones. I guess they won't be too big by the time I come home, right? how many boys and how many girls? Are we getting rid of all of them? please don't. I want at least one. A boy. and name him Bearkiller. Pronounced Bar-killer...you know, from that movie. :) how exciting! Yay! Mommy Moogs!! How is Rowdy with all this going on? What's his reaction? He's probably jealous hahaha. Now we are related to the perkins!! Ridge is my brother through Dog marriage! Yipee!...well, they broke the law of chastity, so it's not as good. . .

 

This week was alright. We didn't do anything spectacular. Alison our investigator came to church! She's still unsure about baptism...we'll just see about that. Um...I got a package in the mail from home. I opened the package. There's a CD-like object wrapped inside. Hmmm...I'll wait until Christmas to open it. Thanks though! Music is my thing. ;) ♫

 

Um...Elder Jackson is the District Leader, so he usually assigns people to give trainings during our meetings. He asked me to train on teaching skills and companionship unity. I found a few good scriptures and wrote a couple notes, and just followed my impressions. It went well, although it felt more like I was giving a talk. I don't really like that feeling. I liked being a Zone Leader, and directing those meetings. You get to be involved and make sure people understand what you are teaching and help them a lot. Our district has a total of 4 people. Me, Elder Jackson, Elder Sorensen, and Elder Felix. I will be accompanying Elder Felix tomorrow at the Christmas thing. He's going to play trombone. :) Neat.

 

We will be skyping from the Ruesch's home on Wednesday...not sure what time. I will call you with their house phone when we get there to try to set up a time. Sorry I can't say more right now, but we didn't really plan anything. ugh.

Their names are James and Michelle Ruesch. They used to live in Cedar City, but moved to Rancho Coocoocachoo, then to Riverside. So...I'll let you know hopefully. If everything goes to crap, eh...I'll be home soon enough. hhahaha.

 

K bye!

 

Elder Peck

Wow, Maggie's gonna be a mommy huh? Do you have any idea who the dad might be? Which breed is he?

Just send pictures of the pups. I'll see them on Christmas too, right? presh.

 

So, this week was ok. I don't remember much. I remember being on exchanges in the Woodcrest ward! It was good being in that area again. Elder Sorensen and I had fun. We had a lesson at Cherry on top - (it's totes the best fro-yo) with a couple recent converts. Kristina Medina and her boyfriend DJ Deckard. It was so rewarding to see that they are still strong members after almost 6 months. DJ was preparing to bless the sacrament for the first time. It's easy to forget that new members don't know everything. We talked to him about what to do with the cloth and the trays and the microphone and the card reading and kneeling and everything. He was nervous about it. Then we had dinner with some other recent converts. It was good.

 

Elder Jackson and I do not get fed by the Deaf Branch as well as we could be, so one day that we didn't have a meal, we decided to go to Ruby's diner. Yum. I had a turkey burger with cranberry sauce on it. And I had a strawberry cheesecake shake. We only eat out like that maybe once a week. The other days we eat at home. I have tortillas and peanut butter and jelly. I have mac'n'cheese. I have orange juice. And chips and salsa. Yeah. Good dinner. Last night for dinner I had cookies and milk. :) Last night we went to the church for an annual Christmas musical concert thingy. It's called the Messiah Sing In. It was better than last year. There were cookies, but I didn't eat any since I had my fair share for dinner already...I was the only missionary there who was there last year. I've been in this zone longer than anyone. I've been on my mission longer than any other missionary in the zone. That's a weird feeling.

 

For Christmas, the mission will gather at the Moreno Valley Stake Center on Christmas Eve to have a talent show, and lunch and distribute gifts. So, any packages sent here without "do not hold till Christmas" written on the outside, will be held until that "get together". Last year I actually got stuff from a few friends. I feel badly that I can't really afford anything to give. We get about 4 dollars a day to use for food, and everything else. So, Christmas shopping doesn't really happen. I know I'm supposed to get something for cousin Kayla...and Mom's birthday...haha I was going to call but I'm obedient. Mostly. haha

 

About Ridge...I'm trying to think of a story that you (dad) could share during your talk. Um...I can't really think of anything. Sorry. Oh wait....I got one. So.........it was Escalante. We were camping in the sand. The gnats were horrendous. Their bites were worse than mosquitoes. They would fly in your ears and your eyes and your nose and all over. Ugh. Anyway, One day, we had a couple hours of free time before the group would drive to a hiking place. Ridge and I looked around and spotted a tall rock formation in the distance. (Now it was the tradition of all young men, that as soon as they see a rock formation, they would climb to the top) So Ridge and I set off on our way. We hiked and hiked. We walked and walked. We were careful to watch for snakes and scorpions. We finally reached the face of this rock wall and tried climbing up. It wasn't happening. Much too steep. We walked around the rock formation and found an easier way up. It was still steep, but looked do-able. With his basketball shoes, Ridge's feet often slipped on the flat rock, causing small rocks to tumble down. We finally reached a point that both of us knew that if we fell, we would die. But we weren't to the top yet. So we kept going! We scaled some very tricky spots with the help of each other. I was shaking. I hate knowing that if I slip, I will die. My throat was dry and I wanted to turn back and give up, but Ridge kept going. I couldn't leave him. The buddy system was drilled into me as I went through the scouting program. I followed his lead. We finally reached the top. It was beautiful. It was also really windy. That did not bring a calming feeling whatsoever. We looked over the edge straight down probably a couple hundred feet. We saw our campsite in the distance. We saw the other young men. We stayed up there a while, feeling accomplished and strong. Now, for those of you who are familiar with hiking, you know very well that it is easier on the way up, than it is on the way down. So as we carefully made our way down the steep slippery rock, I prayed in my head that we wouldn't die, but that we would make it back to camp safely. I slipped a few times, but not enough to lose my step. Ridge, on the other hand was jumping down the rock like a jackrabbit. He wasn't afraid to fall. I slid down on my bottom until I reached level ground. We made it. We quickly made our way back to camp and pointed out the tall rock formation that we had just defeated. We were proud and soon, others were jealous and wanted to climb it, too. But it was too late. The group was getting ready to leave. So Ridge and I were the only ones to do it. If I were to go back to that campsite, I would never attempt such a climb. I would fall for sure. Back only a few years ago, I was able to do things like that. I sound like an old man, but it's true.

 

Anyway, that's a story about Ridge and myself.

 

Elder Peck

Hey, so this week was pretty much average.

I went to the chiropractor again. Nothing new. Same old unsolvable problems.

 

I did have one spiritual experience that I've never had before. One of the gifts of the spirit, is the gift of discernment. I was talking to a man in a parking lot. He told me that he had been possessed by a devil. He kept saying "You probably think I'm crazy" but I continued listening to his strange experiences. After a while, of us going back and forth about faith and demons and Christ and entities, a thought popped into my head. It told me "This man is seeking after the gifts of the Devil. He is looking up information about evil spirits, thus causing Satan to take hold of him." I asked him "Are you researching this...stuff?" He said "yeah, man." I said "You need to stop. Studying this will only make it worse. You need to repent and live the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's the only way you will find peace and be free from these spirits." He said "I don't know if I can believe in Jesus Christ." I said "I can't prove to you that He's real. But I know He is there because I have read the scriptures and prayed sincerely to know if He is there. You can have that same witness, and these bad experiences will stop. You need to have faith." He said "It's really true?" I said "Yes."

 

Now, he wasn't interested in having us come over to teach or leave a blessing or anything, but it was a good experience for me. My testimony was fortified after having testified to him concerning our Savior. As I spoke those words, I felt warmth and peace within me. Kinda like I was being guided. It was cool. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is designed to ease the burdens of any problem. God has commanded that we live it, and when we do, He blesses us. Give God a reason to bless you today. Show Him that you love Him. Decide how you are going to do it, then do it. Anyway, thanks for everything. I haven't been able to get to the post office to send anything yet, so be patient. :) k bye

 

Elder Peck

Hello!

 

So this week was alright. A different investigator came to church. Her name is Monique. Her best friend comes to the Branch every week. They live in West Covina...it's not really close to the church, but it's far enough that Monique cannot come every week. Alison didn't come this week. Her ride was sick. Elder Jackson and I were asked last minute to take 5 minutes each for the combined reilief society/priesthood meeting. I sat there not thinking about what to say, because that's what D&C 84:85 says. So I just winged it. I talked (signed) about missionary work. And how important it is to share the gospel. It was good. I felt good about it anyway. I felt like I was guided by the spirit. Afterwards, a member offered to go on splits with us whenever we needed him. Another member gave us a referral. Haha it was like the members finally trusted us a little bit - after the fact that we shared a thought during our Sunday meeting.

 

An Elder serving here in the Chinese unit is going home tomorrow. He's from Mapleton. He's in the William's ward. I told him to tell them I said "Hi". Elder Snyder is his name. I don't know his first name...anyway.

 

So far, I have no idea what we are doing for Christmas. I will probably call and let you know Christmas Eve. I can't even think of a family we could possibly hang out with this year. We aren't really close to anyone. I feel closest to some old couple.

 

 Well, everything is good here. I don't really have much more to say. Thanks for everything.

 

Elder Peck