Feb. 24,2015
Hello Family,

Gaby!

This week was really good, full of so many miracles. I will start off with Gaby... Man is this women amazing. And her baptism was incredible :) but let me back up a bit. This past week we were visiting and calling her everyday, making sure that she was okay. She had some of the craziest things happen to her and i know all of them were Satan trying to get her to give up. But one thing about Gaby is that she has faith strong enough to move mountains, and so i knew that nothing was going to get in between her and her baptism. So on Saturday we went to the church to fill of the font for her, and an hour before her baptism she walks in. We were both way surprised to we go walking up to her. i ask her how she is feeling and she burst into tears. You could see it in her teary eyes how hard this past week had been for her, and how relieved she was to finally be able to get baptized. And then she started to cry more, talking about how sad she is going to be when Hermana Perez and i have to leave. She told us that she has never had friends like us, and that she doesn't ever want to loose us. It was incredible to be able to testify to her that because of the choices she is making and will soon make to be baptized, this we wont ever have to say goodbye. That we will all be together in heaven one day. And from there the night just got even more amazing when she was able to get baptized. The spirit was soo strong and i was soo happy. When she got out of the font i ran back and she gave me the biggest best wet hug i have ever received :) i am soo happy for her and know without a doubt that she will be such a strong member of the church.

Also we had 4 investigators at the baptism, and my old branch president said that the investigators that go to a baptism service have a 90% chance of getting baptized. One of them, Lizbeth, already has a date to be baptized in March with her mom :) that is another miracle. Lizbeth is a young women, she is 14 years old and we have been visiting with her for like 2 weeks. She was listening to the missionaries like 4 or 5 months ago, but then stopped. But a member brought her to an activity a while ago and since we have been having lessons in the home of this member with her. She really wants to get baptized but didnt know if her mom and dad would let her. So we kept trying to get in contact with the mom but could never find her. Then yesterday the other sisters here were calling every number in their phone and just happened to call Lizbeths mom. So last night we were able to go over and have a family night with them. We left that family night not only with permission for lizbeth, but also with the same baptism date with her mom :):) so we will be working really hard with them both :)

Here is another miracle.... we went and visited this man this past week named Ronad. He was a reference from a member, and so we went to go visit him. We went in and started to talk, he told us all about his life, all these places he has visited, and the many people he has met and  then he tells us that he has already read
Jesus the Christ twice!!! okay i haven't even read that book!!! its HUGE!!! But i guess this member had given him that book to read because he had cancer and was going through chemo therapy. So at this point i was like, wow this guy is really smart, and obviously has had his fair share of trials with cancer. He has been doing chemo for a year now and just got cleared that the cancer is gone. :) So Then he starts telling us all these things he learned from the book and from his experience with chemo. He told us how before in his life everything was done out of his brain and he always like to know everything perfectly. He has a photogenic memory so is a very smart man. So before God was something he tried to figure out in his brain, and never anything more. But then he told us how when he got cancer, and was struggling, he learned that God is not something that we need to know perfectly in our brain, He is someone that we have the opportunity to know perfectly, in our hearts.  I was amazed by his faith. and basically i felt like i was sitting with an apostle  At the end he told us, "The past year was the hardest but best year of my life." i don't know very many people that would say that about their time in chemo... 

Oh i got my cedula this past week :):) it means that i am now TICA :) hehe not really, but it does mean that i am legal here! 

Also this week i was flipping through my study journal (thank you again mom for that) and i saw my mission call. i looked at the date and then i looked down and saw that it was the exact same date that day. It was such a sweet experience to think back on the processes of deciding to serve a mission and receiving my call. i know without a doubt that this is where i am supposed to be right now and am very grateful for every new day i have to serve my Heavenly Father.

I love you all so much!!! Thank you for everything :)

Love,

Hermana Peters

Lizbeth and her Mom

We helped paint a school on Saturday!

Feb. 17, 2015
Hello family,

How is everyone doing? Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentines Day full of love :) Michael and Sarah looked super tuanis :) (a word here that means really cool, or great) and sounds like everyone else is great, at least i hope :) haha oh Tyler and Michael, a guy here in my new branch fixed my ipod, and put more music on it!! it sooo great to have music playing in our apartment again :)  

Well this week was a bit slow, but still good. I am trying to still learn this new area, and what i need to be doing to help the people here. Its very different here, and right now we don't have very many investigators.. but it has helped me learn how to talk with everyone. Literally everyone we pass in the streets we are talking to and asking if we can come visit them. I know that if we keep working hard we will find people to teach. Like this one family we found...

It was Thursday around 5 in the night, we had only had one lesson that day, and hadn't found any new investigators yet to teach in the week. i was starting to feel down, and then just thought to myself... well go find someone to teach. So i told myself the next person i saw, we were going to teach, no matter what. As we were walking a lady opened her front door right as we passed so i stopped and started to talk to her. I could tell she was stressed, probably really busy but kept talking to her, then asked if we could share more. She looked hesitant so i said Just 10 minutes, we only need ten minutes. so she let us in. We talked for a second more and then we sang for her and her kids, i am a child of God. The spirit was so strong and when we finished singing, i looked over and she was crying. Her daughter turned to her and asked her what was wrong and she said Nothing, I feel so much peace right now. it was amazing to me what a difference we made only by singing a hymn. We only talked a little bit longer, but after i felt so good because i knew that we were directed by the Lord to find this family, even if it was just to sing a hymn to help a stressed mom.

This weekend we have the baptism of Gaby. She is probably the most prepared person i have ever seen and i am so excited for her. But i have seen with her, that the fight is real, even when someone is prepared. She has been having some crazy things happening to her and every time we go visit her she tells us another crazy story. Sometimes i just want to tell Satan to stop. But i know that by these trials she will become so much stronger. Keep her in your prayers this week. 

Other than that nothing big happened this week. I am grateful for the time i have here and pray that i can live with no regrets. that i can work my hardest everyday, i am so grateful for a supportive family. I love being able to pull out our family picture and show it to people :) Everyone thinks Sarah is one of the oldest, that Annalee is me, and that mom looks way to young to have so many kids :) hahaha but they always say that i have a very beautiful family and its true :)

I hope everyone has a wonderful week, and that they live every day with no regrets. I read the talk by President Uchtdorf this morning called Of Regrets and Resolutions and it helped me a ton to realize what is important. go read it :)

Well LOVE YOU SOOOO MUCH :)

Love,

Hermana Peters

A great view of the city!

Check out this ride!

Hermana Perez and Peters :)

These are the girls I live with!

Anna!!!!!!!!!!

Feb. 10, 2015

Hello family,

Hope everyone is healthy and happy :) 

i don't have a lot of pictures, but here are the girls i live with :) they are the best!!! we went on a little hike yesterday... :)

I'm trying hard to not get sick from the cold and so far, so good. :) but i guess i should knock on wood right... ? haha

This past week has been great and i am learning so much here in Santo Domingo  One thing that i have noticed about this past week is the power of the gift of tongues.  My Spanish has been improving slowly the last 7 months, but i feel like it just took a huge jump. Multiple times this week people have commented about how amazed they are with the Spanish i know and can understand.  The other day i was talking to these two ladies on the street and hadn't mentioned anything about the time i had here. One of them turned to the other and said Wow this girl has really good Spanish. Then they turned to me and asked me how long i had been here in costa rica, learning Spanish. I told them 5 months here, and 7 months learning Spanish. Their jaws dropped, and they didn't believe me. haha also a man today on the bus told me that if it wasn't for my hair, he would have thought i had been speaking Spanish my whole life. All i can say is that i know this whole Spanish processes has been something i have worked soooo hard for and i know that i haven't been doing it alone. The gift of tongues is real everyone :)

Also today i had such a cool experience. i was in the bus on my way to a multi zone meeting and a man came and sat by me.  (the same guy complimented my Spanish.) We started to talk, he told me all about his life, his hardships, and trials. lets just say he has a crazy life story that i don't have time to tell. But at the end of it he told me that from the second i looked at him and said Hola, he could see something different in me, something different in my eyes. He told me that i need to talk to as many people as i can, because just by the way i am, i can change lives. WOW: I have thought so much about this, and the power i have not only as a missionary, but also as a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the power and light that we all carry with us that is just waiting to shine. Shine your light :) 

At our conference today i learned so much. It was given by President Cordon because President Wilkinson is in Utah healing from a hip replacement. But i learned so much from Cordon and also Hermana Wilkinson. Hermana Wilkinson talked about how its not just enough to be a missionary, walking around with a plack. (i think thats how you spell that) now is the time for us to step it up as missionaries, to do all we can do. I am here on the Lords errand and this is His time. Also President Cordon talked a lot about faith. He said that lots of times missionaries get discouraged, and down hearted and are looking for answers on how to get motivated and have energy for the work and well the key is faith. 

Lets see what else can i tell you.? Ohh the branch here has English classes every tuesday night... guess who is the new teacher?... haha yep don't know how much i will help, but i will try.Everyone here tells me that i am Hermana Fowlers twin, with red hair :) haha i love being able to talk with people here about Hermana Fowler. And i hope to be able to be at least half the missionary that she was here.

 Mom here are answers to your questions :)

Do you have a washing machine for your clothes now? YES finally :) i can have clean clothes again :) 

Do you have a cook or do you make your own food? We make our own food.

Do you have a fridge or do you have to buy nonperishable for the week still? we have a fridge :) its little but it is a fridge haha

How is your new companion? she is so great. i am learning so much from her and i want to become more like her. she is so funny and full of the missionary spirit. i love her :) 

You are a greenie breaker, so we are told by the missionaries here – that’s what they call your second companion, someone who helps you move on and into missionary work.  So how is that going? haha i am working really hard to help her feel loved, and like she can do this.  I hope to continue to help her.

It is amazing the weather change.  What do you experience now with weather? honestly the weather here is perfect. i love it. it is cold in the night, but i love it. and in the day it is usually cool, its like fall here. you just need a light jacket, but can cuddle up in your blankets at night :)

Did you get the dear elders and letters from the mission home when you were transferred last week? i got 2 dear elders. 

 Do you get those things easier and more often now? not really.. haha

What cool new thing did you see or experience this week? Well i already shared a few... but lets see.. something cool that i am seeing is that i really can already feel so welcome into this new branch, and have why i am here. i know that my mission call was inspired from God, and also every single one of my areas and companions.

So we are working right now, preparing a women named Gaby, to be baptized in two weeks. I have never seen someone so prepared and ready to change. She is going to all the activities, doing all of the thing that we leave with her, and last night hosted the family night that the branch has for everyone in her house :) She is amazing and i feel so blessed to be a part of her conversion. 

Well i love you all soo much :) happy valentines day! haha 

Love,

Hermana Peters

Feb. 3, 2015
Hello wonderful family,

Well i will just get straight to the big news. I got transfered. I am now in Santo Domingo, which was the area of Hermana Fowler. Crazy right?? haha so i got to see her which was probably the happiest day of my life :) haha my new companion is Hermana Perez and she just finished her training a few weeks ago. She is amazing and i know that i will learn so much from her. 

Santo Domingo is a whole new world for me. Here we are only 30 minutes from San Jose, and it is freezing!!! Okay not freezing like utah, just like cool, but for me right now, i am freezing. haha here they have real stores, like pricemart which is basically like walmart. Also they have McDonald´s, Burger King, Subway, EVERYTHING. haha annnnddddd.... HOT WATER. haha yes this morning i took a hot shower for the first time in 5 months. i was like a little girl on Christmas :) we live in apartment that is alot smaller than my other one, which was kinda surprising but i guess its hard to find houses here too. Haha last night i slept with a blanket... actually 2.. haha and i was so happy. it felt good to be able to cuddle up in my blankets and sleep, i never have liked sleeping in the hot, so that is a tender mercy of this area. It is a big city, so no more dirt roads, with dust in my face. Also the people here have money. Not like a ton,but just normal. I have only met one member that we ate with last night, but i am excited to keep meeting more. Here is a branch too, with a lot of recent converts, just like Santa Cruz :) so hopefully i can help this little branch grow too :) that's about all i know about Santo Domingo, but i will tell you all more next week. 

 So yes, I am very excited to start working here in Santo Domingo and to see what the Lord has planned for me here. But i was really hard saying goodbye to my branch and investigators in Santa Cruz. I got the phone call Sunday at 5 so i had a lot of time to go and say goodbye to people, but didn't have enough. I went and saw Yulieth and Tamara, miracle that there mom wasn't home. They both just cried and cried. Then i went to like 3 of the member families that were close by and said goodbye to them. Ahh they are just the greatest people, they all just started looking for things to give me. They kept saying, please don't ever forget us. :( it was so hard. and then before i knew it, it was 930 and i had to go back to my apartment. Lots of people didn't believe me that i was really leaving... It was not fun. But i know that they are all in good hands with Hermana Loza. 

So then that night i spent packing getting ready to leave. Only took me two hours which is crazy right? i packed up my whole life in 2 hours.. haha lots changes on the mission ;) Then we left in the morning for San Jose, had a long bus ride, without seats because we couldn't buy our tickets early, so we had to stand the whole time. fun right? but that's okay. Usually i just want to sleep on the bus, but this time i had a lot on my mind and it was a nice time to just sit and think. Leaving this area really made me think about the kind of missionary i am, and if i was really able to help these people here. if i was able to leave them better than i found them. I thought about it for a long time, 4 hours to be exact.. :) haha it was great for me to really see that i am helping people here, although i have a lot i need to work on. The Lord is helping me because he knows my weaknesses, and also knows my potential.  

Anyways my last week in Santa Cruz was tough because we lost 2 days of work.  Hermana Loza had another meeting in San Jose, and she had to prepare everything for it the day before, so that wasn't fun. And then on Saturday we had a big branch activity that we planned. I was so excited for it and we spent almost all day Saturday getting ready, and then we had like 20 people show up which was very disappointing... but it still was really fun and successful with those who did come :) So i wish i could have spent a bit more time the past week visiting with the people, but that's okay. Everything happens for a reason right?

Random Fact.. there is a zoo here. Cool right? but guess what... they don't allow gringos. Like seriously, gringos aren't allowed in the zoo. 

Well i love you all so much. :) and i hope you all have a wonderful week :)

Love,

Hermana Peters

Hermana Perez and Peters

A small view of Santo Domingo