First baptism!!!

Well, hello! Im excited to tell you all about this week!! Before I start, if you have emailed me and I have not replied, I haven't forgotten you!! I promise! I'll get back to you as soon as I can! 

1.) Peanut butter....Philippines has the best peanut butter. It's fresh, delicious, and just goes good with everything! (haha sounds like a comercial) anyways peanut butter is a highlight but not THE highlight! Anyways I'll just tell the story now. My companion and I were walking and I saw some peanut butter in this little store,,,,, so we both noticed it, and of course we went in to take a look. Well I almost didn't buy it because I already had some peanut butter at home...but then the man selling it convinced me. Well good thing I bought it! Guess why! It started a conversation and he is was baptized but became less active for certain reasons. We only talked to him a little because he was working, but I know Heavenly Father led us to him because he has the desire to come back! and we are so excited to begin helping him! God does work in mysterious ways!!! :) 

2.) Cha Cha! (No not the dance) Cha Cha is the girl who got baptized on Friday!!! Hurray! She met the missionaries 3 years ago and has been being taught off and on. She never really had the desire to be baptized and even hid from the missionaries. Something changed in her! She started reading the Book of Mormon! A whole new glow came about her! Watching her walk into the font was a very special moment. She had the biggest smile on her face, that made me smile...and cry. I just could remember the first day we met her. She was so shy and pracitcally hiding behind the door. Now, she is just beaming with light! I'm so grateful to experience this. To see the change in her life. I know Heavenly Father is loving. He wants us to be happy. I've realized that here more than ever. We have a loving Heavenly Father. He wants us to be happy, and he has given the way for us to be happy, through following the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thats a moment I'll never forget! Watching her walk into the font with the biggest smile!!! 

3.) I had my first exchange this week with the sister training leader! I'll send pics from that! I went with sister Amende from New Zealand. (not to be biased but New Zealanders are probably overall the nicest people I've met.) I've met many here on the mission and they are so genuinely kind! Meeting new people is a great thing! You learn so much! I just love it! I learned to follow the spirit that day of exchanges! Sometimes I don't because I'm scared or I doubt. We made a goal to do that day and the spirit was so strong! So follow the spirit! Pray to recognize the spirit! It'll change alot of things! Make you more happy just like Heavenly Father wants! 

well these are just a few! but i love you and miss you all:) love, sister peavler

     

"And we talk of Christ, We rejoice in Christ, We Preach of Christ..."

I am excited to tell more about the adventures in the Philippines! 

1.) The flood.....yes there was a storm and a flood, but i only lost one arm, so all is well! haha...but it was quite the experience actually! We were having companionship study and we looked outside and water kept rising up. She asked me if my 72 hour kit was ready and I was like....uh.....I'll be right back! We got that together then evacuated to the church with other members and non members whose homes were flooded. Our home never flooded thankfully! But we still went to the church to help out. It was quite an experience! I felt like i was in a movie! 

2.) Food! I'm losing weight i think from all the walking. My companion is always telling me to eat more! She is just like a mom! If I'm not hungry at night she makes me eat something to have 'balance" in my life haha. She's great!  Ive been trying a lot of really tasty foods lately! Yesterday after church, the president gave us this delicious snack! that I will eat for the rest of my life! It was a type of sweet potato. But they boil it then cut it and dip it into coconut mixed with sugar. try it! It will change your life! I really miss milk and cheese. Every time we go to the store to get food, I see milk. and my heart breaks a little inside...haha I'm so dramatic...but really the milk here is just...not milk! I haven't seen cheese in ages...! The bread here is so good. I didn't expect that! today we actually had this dish that I will send a picture of! The elders in my district and us cooked it today. and guess who killed the chicken.....me! it was quite the experience! I really didn't want to do it! But you only kill a chicken in the Philippines once right??? but it as really sad....it made an awful noise when it died...sorry for the description haha...but anyways then i helped de feather it too! So I have had many adventures here with food! 

3.) Baptism! Sister Kristia will be baptized on Friday! We are SO excited!!! and she is even more excited! I can't wait to send pictures of that next week!!

4.) Random....I saw a pig the size of a small horse the other day... I couldn't believe my eyes!!! I  just stopped and stared as my companion kept walking! Speaking of seeing crazy things....the other day i saw an American in the grocery store in the city. It was so weird.  I mean I see American missionaries. but never non missionaries that are American. My companion was laughing because I just couldn't believe my eyes haha. its weird seeing an American even tho its only been like 3 months!! 

5.)Prayer. My companion always says the gospel changes lives, which is so true! and part of the gospel is that we can pray to our Heavenly Father anytime anywhere about anything. That changes lives!! pretty amazing when you think about it! My prayers have really changed since being here! when you really pray to Heavenly Father like He is beside you and when you realize you are nothing without Him, your prayers change. and so dos your life. Mahal ko panalangin! (i love prayer!) 

6.) Charity. Being a missionary, the attribute of charity is needed more than ever! As I have been praying for that attribute, I have been feeling the love of Christ for others. I've spoken about brother den den before ,our neighbor. When ever we teach him, I feel the Savior's love for him so strongly. I try to express through my little Tagalog that Heavenly Father hears and knows him. I am just grateful to have the experience of feeling my Savior's love for others. It's also a good reminder of His love for me. Which is so important to remember. In the mission, there are a lot of different feelings you experience. It's a blessing to know that my Savior has so much love for me, that's just one thing that keeps me moving!  Pray for charity! its great! :)

I would just like to end with my testimony. I know my Savior lives. He knows us individually. He wants to hear from us. I know Joseph Smith restored the gospel of Jesus Christ through the power of the priesthood. We are one of the only churches to claim that the church we belong to is the only church on the face of the earth with the fullness of the gospel. If some people reading this aren't sure what the fullness of the gospel means, I will try to explain so you can understand the significance of this statement. "Gospel" literally means "good news" and what is this good news it is found in 2 nephi 25:26 which says, "And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in christ, we preach of christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins." Christ lives!  The good news is that He lives! and this good news is the only way we can return to live with Heavenly Father someday, The Book of Mormon in the introduction says it contains the fullness of the Gospel. everything that will enable us to return to heavenly father is contained in this book. Through this book, any answer in your life can be given. You just have to ask and believe. I know the book of Mormon is the word of our Heavenly Father, and you can know too. anyone can! i love this gospel. That is why I am here. I have many weaknesses that i am learning to overcome, but i can say with all the strength I have that This is Christ's church. 

Thank you for your prayers and support! 

love, sister peavler

"A Mission is Not A Sacrifice"

Hurray! I have an hour and a half today so I'll get to share lots :))))

welcome to the week of Sister Peavler.....

1.) Fruit!! yes, Philippines has the best fruit. Look up pictures on google! They are so crazy looking!!! and so superbly delicious! and they grow on trees right in front of you! haha the little things that amuse you as a missionary!

2.) Sister FEVER! haha no one here can say peavler, its quite amusing. In my branch I'm know as Sister Fever. and every time we meet someone new they stare at my name tag then I sound it out with them haha. 

3.) Zone meeting! I love my zone! We get together about once a week for a meeting or something else. The best part is that sister Mcgoon (my roomie from mtc) is in my zone! (shes one of the sisters from figi).  anyways the meeting this week was great. We learned a lot! One thing I want to share about is the BOOK OF MORMON. It's in all caps because there is an epidemic going around....its called neglecting of the book of Mormon! and yes, i was guilty of it before I came here! but now, i know my testimony is nothing without it! If we want to have a true,converted testimony, we have to consistently search ponder and pray about it! It's not something you  cant do it half hearted! In the mission you realize how much you need the Lord, and the best way besides prayer ,to communicate with Him is through the book of Mormon!! I really know this to be true. I'm not just saying it because I'm a missionary now:) our most powerful tools as a missionary are the spirit and the Book of Mormon. So I ask you to think and remember what you have. Read the introduction! It's not just a book! It contains the fullness of the everlasting gospel! Everything we need to know (how to have happiness now and forever, how to return to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and more!) are all in the book of Mormon! I didn't realize what we have, but now i do! 

4.) My neighborhood! I love my neighborhood. The people are so friendly! and hard working! they're up cleaning at like 5:30every morning! (I know that because today I woke up at 5:30!) Anyways there is this little boy and he always says good morning! no matter what time of day it is! When we arrive home around 8 at night he says good morning! haha! Our neighbor is a less active. We've actually been teaching him! His name is brother den den! Every night his dog guards our house! and he makes us Filipino food a lot! Anyways he was a strong member. still is, but he doesn't go to church. There are several less actives in my area, who are great members but they will not go to church, so they do not progress. Anyways, last night we taught brother den den. I truly felt my Savior's love for him. I know how Heavenly Father feels when we do not live up to our potential. That's how i feel with brother den den! I see  him as a future leader in the church!! but sometimes we get in the way of ourselves progressing. It's sad, but hopefully will improve! I want to see him in a white shirt at church before I leave this area!!!

5.) Brother Dongsky! I love saying his name! Anyways that's not the highlight..haha. So he was getting ready for a baptism....but not for the right reasons..anyways when my companion and I got here, we told him he needed to do it for himself. Well he didn't come to church, and didn't have interest in teaching him anymore. BUT THEN yesterday he showed up to church! and he brought two of our other investigators with him! It was a huge surprise! he picked up our other 2 investigators to go to church , Jeffery and Bobbie who are brothers. 14 and 9ish.... anyways he has changed, we don't know how yet cuz we haven't met with him yet. but his whole demeanor has changed! and we are so excited! 

6.) Filipinos...yes all of you have heard of the kindness of Filipinos....well i can tell you its sure true! They are so humble! So kind! People rarely ever turn us away! Yes, people still stare at me wherever I go because I'm white and "tall" haha. Me and my companion laugh because they say "wash your name?" instead of "what's your name" because the accent. I just think "I can't wash my name! They also say "hi mom!" but they mean "hi ma'm!" and i just think I'm not your mom! It's funny though! 

7.) Miracles! So many miracles are happening! People who haven't been to church in a very long time are coming! People( mostly less actives) who used to turn the missionaries away are letting us in and with open arms! Investigators are coming to Church! not all but some and we have a baptism the end of September that we did not think we would have! I'm so excited! It's is for a girl named sister cha cha! She's 15 years old and a sweetie. She never came to church because she didn't have a skirt, so I gave her mine and yesterday she was there! She is so thrilled to get baptized! We are so excited for her! Right now she lives with her brother and sister alone. Her father left their family, and their mother left somewhere recently too. They don't know when she'll be back. We are so happy she has the gospel to fill the empty holes! 

8.) A mission is not a sacrifice. I hear that sometimes. That a mission is a sacrifice, and its really not. Yes, I have stretch marks on my head and toes because you get so stretched here. I mean in every way possible. Every day there are struggles, but its still not a sacrifice. It's a blessing to go on a mission. There are hard things like i said but the hardest thing for me is not being able to share all that I want to with others. I don't really care that i dump a bucket of cold water on my head every morning for a shower, or that I don't have air conditioning, or that i eat rice every single day, or that i walk in really hot weather for 6 hours a day. Those things don't matter to me. the only thing that matters is to share the message. Its not very easy when you are called to do it in another language. The language is alright for me. It's a struggle. When I want to help people and I think of things i want to say that they may need to hear and then I can't say it in Tagalog, really breaks my heart! but i know it will improve. line upon line. precept upon precept. 

well hope you enjoyed these! thank you for all your support and prayers. until next time!

Sister Savanna Peavler

Short and Sweet

So I have about 8 minutes left to write about my week! ahh! 

highlights...

1.)Salas Family...this family is truly special. The father was baptized a longtime ago but became less active. We visited them and now their family is coming to church. They have 4 beautful children! We had a very special lesson with them this week. It was by candle light because they don't have electricity. They were just so consumed in the lesson listening to every single word, even the little kids. Words can't describe my love for them! We are trying so hard to help them get to the temple!

2.) I tried their food...this time it was not out of volunteering though!!! this lady offered me it and I felt bad! So I ate it and asked my companion what it was.....pig intestines (inner body stuff) and blood. i thought the blood was a type of meat sauce...but no....it was blood....i wanted to throw up! but i just kept saying masarup! That means delicious! We went back that night for some reason, i cant remember! anyways the rest of it was sitting on the table still! and then she started eating it after it had been out all day! (dad I can picture you gagging haha) anyways it was an adventure!

I wish I had more time!!!! ahhh. but i have to go! We only get 2 hours! but we have so much reporting to do! then we get like no email time! but! thats missionary life ! love you and misss you!!!