First week in La Paz!

hello all! 

wow what a week! my first whole week in La Paz! 

I'll do the usually "highlights" its the best way to share my experiences :)

1.) my companion! man I'm so blessed to have sister Bongolto! as you can see in the picture, there is just a little bit of a height difference....but always look up to her!!

2.)the children! the kids here are always a highlight of my week! actually the highlight of every day! Heavenly Father shows His love through many ways. but one i am so blessed to have constantly are the little children here! its so funny though. because for some I'm the first American they've probably ever seen so they just stare! actually everyone here stares at me, now i know how famous people feel! It's so awkward!!! It's like paparazzi everywhere!! but it's a good thing for a missionary! I'll share why in a later highlight :) but one time i was walking down the street and there was a huge group of kids and one had his phone video taping me and they were all saying hi and waving....it used to make me feel really uncomfortable,having everyone stare, But now i just laugh and smile.! the funny thing is right now at the computer shop, there is someone standing behind me staring.....hahaha I don't think he can read any of this tho..

3.) Mission tour!! President Ardern from the 70 came to tour our mission! We met him only a couple of weeks ago in the mtc! It was great to hear from him and his wife again! He's such a great teacher! look up some of his talks or something because he is awesome! He always emphasizes our choices for when we get home from our missions. Especially eternal marriage. He said yes we are on missions but this experience needs to be carried with us our whole life. He also taught us how to be better teachers. He taught us by looking how the master teacher taught, our Savior, from 3rd nephi! 

4.) Miracles! specifically yesterday! (Sunday) there are a lot of less actives here! but yesterday 5 came to church! Which is a huge deal!!! we were so happy!!! one of them is brother Salas. he was converted a long time ago, like before I was born. anyways he now has a family, a beautiful family! We meet with them every week, and man I just love them! Well they came to church yesterday and we were just so excited! It was a miracle!

okay so last thing then I gotta get off! Yesterday we were looking for people to teach. So i decided i would talk to this lady on the side of the road. there were alot of people outside, there always is! anyways we talked with her and she let us teach her! well throughout the lesson, more and more people came up and started listening. i counted silently between 25 and 30 filipinos gathered around listening to the first vision. In my little Tagalog I bore my testimony and shared a much as I could! it was noisy outside but I read when Joseph smith saw God and Jesus Christ and it became completely silent. I couldn't stop smiling!!! It all started with a 14 year old and now here i am in the Philippines!!!

well love you and miss you all! thanks for your prayers:)

sister peavler<3

       Me and sister Bongolto! 

                                                                Last day at the MTC!! 

                           

                                                                      Riding in the Jeepney! 

Sisters in this picture are from New Zealand, Papa, New Guinea, and Samoa! 

                     

                                                   Sister Vanisi from Tonga! 

My friends from the mtc that I miss so much!! We are all in the Angeles mission so we get to see eachother every once in a while! 

                                               Just walking and doing missionary work! 

    Our bedroom! I didn't take a picture of our bathroom yet, but just know I bathe with a bucket! :) 

                                                The jeepney.... Our transportation!! 

                                     Found this our first day in our new home! 

hello! 

Wow!! What an eventful week I don't even know where to start! 

highlights are the best way to do this so......

1.) Goodbye mtc.....that was definitly too bittersweet! So exciting but so sad to leave all the amazing people I had become so close to! That is a huge blessing of small mtcs! You gain friendships that will last a life time! 

2.) Hello mission field! Yes I am here in the mission field now! I am alive and breathing! I have been assigned to LaPaz area, wich is in tarlac zone! It is one of the hottest areas! yay! I'm actually being serious because ever since that New york winter I will never see heat the same way!!! Anyways... my companion is sister bongolto! She is a native Filipina! and the best trainer I could ask for! She is very experienced too! she has trained 2 or three other sisters, has been a sistertraining  leader, and has been out in the field a long time! She only has less than 2 transfers less! It's always a sight walking around together! She's about half my height! and native! then when people see me (the "giant"american') they just stareeeeeeee and even laughhhhh and say things....strange things....but I can't understand most of the time what they're saying so thats okay haha. But anyways we opened a new area. This area has been struggling. but we are coming into it with a great attitude and much hope! everyone we've met so far have been wonderful! so kind! so nice! 

3.) the little kids! okay so I'm in love with these little kids here!!! they are too cute! one little girl came up to me and said where is sister jones and we told her she got transferred! She said oh well im an investigator! and shes like 8 years old! so we will be teaching her now! I'm super excited! These children are some of God's sweetest. and I think why am i so blessed to be here with them? I don't know! but im just glad i am:)

4.) Teaching we have taught many lessons! Just like all missionaries do! but one of my favorite was to a less active. who is actually our neighbor,brother din din. The lesson was a very special experience. As we invited him to come back to church, he shared some tender things from his heart. I only understood a little of what he was saying but I felt impressed to share my testomony with him about the atonement. Afterward, he shared with us his understanding of the love of Christ and it was a very special experience. 

this is just a tiny bit of what has happened! like usual i am out of email time! but i love you and miss you! and thank you for the emails and supoort! i will write back to you all asap! love you!!!!

First week proselyting!!!

Hello all! its been a great week as always! I will be heading out of the mtc this coming Wednesday into the land of milk and honey! actually its the land of rice fields and mountains I hear! I'm so excited!!

so I have quite a few highlights from this week!

1.) The manila temple closed down for cleaning or something so we got to go last Friday and Saturday! two days in a row!

2.) Sunday! It was fast and testimony meeting Sunday and my goal at the beginning of my mtc stay was to be able to go up there my last fast Sunday and share my testimony in Tagalog! and guess what ! i did! it felt great! i love Tagalog! Even tho its really hard! Then we watched a devotional that night by Elder Bednar and his wife! everyday in the mission feels like sunday! but sunday always feels like super sunday! It's always so spiritually uplifting!

3.) Tuesday we had a devotional from a member of the quorum of the seventy! Elder Bowen, originally from Idaho. One thing he talked about was to talk to everyone! Don't be afraid to open your mouth! If you don't know what to say then ask are you a Mormon or do you know who we are?(the missionaries) people see our "leaves" and expect to get our fruit.(reference to a story in the bible) so we need to give them that fruit! he also talked about when we go home which i wasn't expecting because we just got here! haha! He said if you don't go home with the goal of finding an eternal companion then you don't know what you've been doing for the past two years.. he said this because family is center to God's plan. He turned to his wife while speaking and said "Sister Bowen is the perfect example of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That was really sweet. and all of us sisters were like "awwwww" haha.

4.) Wednesday was the best!! We got to go proselyting with in field missionaries in the Quezon city north mission! Me and my companion got paired with a sister who has been out for 17 months and then also a member who has her mission call! Boy that day was so awesome! We mostly tracted. Just knocked on peoples doors and talked to people on the streets! Sometimes they wont even open the door, you just have to talk to them through the door! one house we said who we were and they just said "hindi po" which means no haha. so we just kept on walkin! we came to one house where this girl came out probably in her early 20s. she was willing to listen to what we said. i don't remember what  i said but i shared a short message with her thru her gate. in Tagalog! now my Tagalog isn't that great, but it was the best feeling! and when you serve others you feel the love of Christ and Heavenly Father and the love they have for them. and i truly felt that for this girl. we got her name and number and the missionaries are going to go back:) when the people here see white people they just stare! then when you say hi how are you in Tagalog they just are in shock! some of them start laughing! maybe because of my accent or hopefully because I'm just  making  them happy! haha probably the first tho! We were talking to this elderly lady on the street when a man came up and asked us if he could have a pamphlet too! and we said maybe next time! haha Just kidding we were like of course! So we started talking to him too and got their name and contact info! thennnn a crazy man came up! He said he met me before and kept blurting random things out about the church. It was really interesting! He ended by telling me he was single and then we just walked away. He had a good spirit tho! just a little crazy.....

that night was so great! brother mills who is in charge of the 15 mtcs in the world came and spoke! wow! He was an amazing speaker! Had all the missionaries crying,laughing,and answered many of our prayers. The major thing he told us is to focus outward. "If you focus on the edged the middle will take care of itself" he said focus outwards, if you want to be happy stop thinking about how you can be happy and make others happy! then you will be happy! That is what I learned a lot about while in new York! What I'm learning here! He showed a few slides of pictures of missionaries. he showed there before and after picture. and in each one there was a significant difference. he said Christ changed men from the inside out. and it is even recognizable in their appearance.  oh! he said as of now there are 87,206 missionaries! 5,000 at mtcs across the world! so awesome!!

well i probably have more to say but i don't have time!

love you all and thank you for your love and support!!

Jona, From the Philippines she just received her mission call  to serve in the Philippines Cagayan de Oro Mission. 

Only two more weeks in the MTC

Hello! I had an awesome week!!! I know your all thinking ...how can I not right?? :)

I'll tell you the highlights like usual:)

1.) Sunday was really great! We had church of course, then the usual ice cream at lunch that everyone looks forward to. but that night we had a really great devotional! It was on the talk by Howard W. Hunter (master the tempest is raging). Look it up! Now! The gist of it is that we don't need to fear when our lives have tempests and huge waves! Just like how He was on the ship with the apostles, Christ is always with us! We don't need to fear! Yet, sometimes when the waves are tossing, we ask the Lord, aren't you gonna stop this??? Even if it doesn't stop, He will say "peace be still" to your heart just like he did to that storm.  I said the closing prayer in Tagalog which shouldn't be that surprising now but it just makes me so excited I have to write it! I always get called on for prayers at meetings! Either they like my prayers or they think Sister Peavler needs practice haha ;)

2.) Tuesday night devotional. The mtc president and his wife spoke to us a little about what we can expect when we go out into the field. we read the whole chapter of Alma 26! At the beginning I thought...I hope I can stay awake because it was like 7;30 which seems early but its not in the mtc! well then we read that and its impossible to fall asleep while reading that chapter! Verse 22 is probably my favorite. If we repent exercise faith, do good works, and pray continually...we will know the mysteries of God! That's pretty awesome to me!!!

3.) PROSELYTING IN MANILA- best part of the week!!! I got to go to manila and go proselyting! my companion was from Utah, Sister Larsen! I was so happy I got paired up with her! we went to about 4 different homes and taught. I bore my testimony and prayed at all the houses. I didn't speak any English during that time except with her outside of the lessons. that was a goal I wanted! so hurray! It was kind of a shock to me, the way the people live. You think you know when you see on TV. but then you come here and see, its a whole new experience. I've only been outside mtc like twice so I haven't seen much, but meeting those people got me so excited when I leave the mtc in just under 2 weeks! Walking down the street when you are white, is kind of awkward at first, to be honest! Everyone stares and even one man looked at me and said "hi French!" I guess he thought I was French...haha. but the kids are the cutest!! I love seeing them play on the streets! also, Sister Larsen would start talking to people on the streets and invite them to read a pamphlet then she would turn to have me bare my testimony. Which was kind of scary! I wasn't practicing in the mtc anymore! but that has been my favorite day so far! I told my teacher here I wanna do that every day! He said, "Good! Because that's gonna be the rest of your mission! haha!"

4.) So we teach fake investigators here in the mtc every day! My companion and I have 2 different ones. One is "Michael" although, he isn't really Michael, it is a great experience. because the person playing Michael taught Michael on his mission! Anyways we have been teaching him and really struggling on knowing what to teach. We weren't feeling the spirit like we were in our other lessons, and it just wasn't right! Well, my companion had a prompting that we should ask him a certain question then I had a prompting to share a certain scripture that led into him accepting to get baptized and he cried! that's always a bonus! haha jk...but the spirit was really there even though it was someone playing Michael. It was so neat! So that was a miracle of the week!

5.) I got someones information at the grocery store today! She kinda giggled when I tried speaking Tagalog! But she knew English so that was good...anyways I asked her if she knew why the missionaries always come to this store on Fridays. and she said no. I asked her if she knew who we were and she said no! After all this time of missionaries going to that grocery store every Friday, she didn't even know who we were! I told her we were missionaries for the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints, and how we teach about Jesus Christ. She said she was catholic and then I said"oh that's cool! can I have your name and number! ?" haha so I wrote it down then I said "masaya po ako nakilala po kayo!" which means it was nice to meet you! so that was my first experience getting someones contact info outside the mtc! :)

Well those are my top 5 of the week! hope you enjoy reading them!! paalam! (bye!)

 Mission President and his wife!

Hello! :) I'm so happy I get to email today and tell you all about last week! The highlights of the week are....!!

1.) I got asked to say the closing prayer in sacrament meeting on Sunday! I said it all in Tagalog!!! I was so happy after! Because that's the best prayer I've ever said in Tagalog (just ask my companion...I was doing a happy dance!)

2.) Tuesday night President Arden from the first presidency of the quorum of the 70 came and we had a devotional! Guess what!!!! 5 sisters from 5 different countries were asked to sing the first verse of the mtc musical number...and I was the American who got chosen! so I got to sing up front to President Arden and his wife and my mtc president and his wife! It was so great! It was just so neat to sing a hymn with people from all over the world!! His devotional was so great! he did a power point and lots of missionaries participated., he would call on anyone! He would just look at you and say "what do you think that means" or give me an example of this! so all the missionaries were on their toes the whole meeting! President Arden will soon be the area president for the Philippines. He is from New Zealand. I got to shake his hand! 

3.) I ate a fish eyeball!!!! Here at the mtc there isn't too much "sketchy" food. It's all pretty good! When they give you a fish though, they give you the whole thing! Well I was dared to eat the eyeball, and so I did because I'm going to eat every crazy thing while I'm here! (Just in case you are wondering..it tastes like a popcorn kernel) It was weird though! Then I got dared to eat a REALLY hot red pepper. I did that too....and....lets just say..it didn't go too well!!! My tongue was numb for 10 minutes and it felt like it was on fire...literally. Meal times are always an adventure here!

4.) Learning to teach by the spirit is something we really focus on here! We are told to plan a lesson but when we go in, to teach the investigator not the lesson. We had a great experience with this. Even though the investigator was fake, my companion and I applied this to one of our lessons. The spirit was so strong once we really focused on the person and her  needs, we were all in tears by the end and she accepted baptism! It was a wonderful experience!! Sometimes i get frustrated because I think, "How am I supposed to teach someone according to their needs...in Tagalog! I just memorize key words in Tagalog that go with my lesson." But i have an amazing teacher sister marila. She bore her testimony one day like she always does and told us "You might be thinking, how can i teach the person and not the lesson? I don't even know Tagalog!!" That's exactly what I was thinking....but she said "If that's what you think then you don't trust our Savior. You are not having faith. That really hit me! so my attitude has changed! When I go into a lesson I don't think "oh no i don't know what to say!" Instead I put a big smile on my face and say everything I want to and throw in as many Tagalog words as I can. When I do this the spirit  is so much more there! It's so great! I'm so grateful for inspired teachers and the spirit! :)

5.) Reading the scriptures....the scriptures are AWESOME!!! if you haven't opened them in a while open them now!! It's amazing the stuff you can find and the answers you will receive because Heavenly Father knows you oh so well!! I've experienced this more than once here in the mtc!

Well I love it here! this next week I will be going proselyting in Quezon city! I'll get to ride on a jeepney! ill let you know how that goes! :) hugs!!!

love,

Sister Peavler

Hello all! I have about 15 minutes to tell you about all my last week adventures! hope i can do it!!

so highlights of the week...

1.)TYPHOON!!! don't worry I'm alive....I'm missing an arm but President Beck says I can get one donated to me! Joke lang joke lang! ( that means just kidding) haha...our power was out and we got to clean up after...yay! haha! it was actually fun though! It was like a movie! We were learning how to teach while the power was out and outside trees were blowing over and pouring rain! So cool! I wasn't even scared and I don't know why! Well i do know why! Because I'm a missionary! :)

2.) SUNDAY NIGHT DEVOTIONAL.....so awesome!! We listened to a talk by Elder Holland! Then 4 missionaires bore their testimonies. I said the closing prayer in Tagalog! (with a little English mixed in there!)  :) Elder Holland said to give our heart to Christ to give OUR ALL! In sacrament meeting our speaker said  "No sacrifice is too great for the one who sacrificed all to provide the way!" so the whole day was great and based on giving our all!!

3.) BIRTHDAY NIGHT!... Every other tuesday night we get a nice dinner! Homemade pizza and spaghetti with chocolate cake and ice ream! They do it for birthdays! It was so fun!!

4.) TEMPLE today we went to the temple which is right across the street. It was a beautiful experience! After, we went to the distribution center...I tried saying a few simple greetings to natives! it was fun! and kinda scary too though! haha. But mostly fun!!

5.) BROTHER GARCIA AND SISTER MARILA they are my two teachers! Sister Marila is a super sweet native Filipina, whose testimony strengthens mine every single day! Two nights ago, Brother Garcia had us go outside and sit down facing the temple and read the Book of Mormon. He said to go with a specific concern or question in mind, to pray, then read. I did that, and it was an experience I'll never forget. Moroni 7:26-27 caught my eye! and i love the Temple! every morning we walk down this hill to breakfast and right in front of us is the temple with the sun rising! its beautiful!!!

6.) BORE MY TESTIMONY IN TAGALOG so the language is hard. but each time i can say something new without looking at my paper is a great stepping stone! we pretend to teach sometimes and we were doing that one night. i said my testimony in Tagalog and was just so happy. so happy I'm here, so happy i have the opportunity to do this. the language requires a lot of practicing over and over, and my accent isn't the best yet. but now after14 days i can say a simple prayer and testimony! so that's exciting!

"Alam ko po na perpecto JesuCristo. alam ko po na mapagmahal si Dyios. nanniniwala po ako tottoo ang aklat ni mormon. sa pangalin ni jesu cristo amen." (my simple Tagalog testimony):)

miss you all!!

love,

sister peavler

These are the missionaries who flew with me from Utah to Oregon to Japan to Manila! We are all going to the Angeles Mission!

"This is a Jeepney"

My Companion Sister Koford and I on our way to immigration to get fingerprinted and other fun stuff!!

The Manila temple! This was taken outside the MTC window!

This is Sister Tonga from New Zealand!! Ironic... EH?! haha She just left to her mission I will miss her!

This is at Birthday night! I am holding up my district's sign! 

"They now make coke for Sister missionaries!! ;)"

"My dearest sister Ram, she is from Fiji! We are basically soul sistas!"

First letter!!!!

Hi!!!! finally!!!! I get to email!!!! What a week!!!! Holy guacamole!!!! (i wish they had guacamole here!!!)

I'm so excited to email if you haven't noticed by all my !!!!!!:)

So ill start from the beginning ! It's gonna be long!

I flew from Phoenix to Salt Lake. at salt lake i met up with 11 other missionaries!! we all flew to Oregon. then to Tokyo!! longest flight of my life!!! ahhhh. but then we flew to Philippines and finally got to manila!! that night we had time to email our parents and just say we were alive. we stayed at the airport hotel. and walked to an Internet cafe in the POURING rain!! I've never seen rain like that!!! it was so cool!!! then us four sisters stayed in one room. the next morning we woke up early and headed to the mtc!! driving there was crazy!!!! I'm glad I'm alive! haha jokes... I don't want to scare you! but really......so we made it to the mtc and got our name tag and did a bunch of house stuff like found our room got needed shots, had orientation, and all that fun stuff! then we went straight into learning Tagalog! it was one crazy long day!!! At the end of our devotional i turned around and all the elders were laying on each other asleep, it was really funny!

Okay so I'm  just going tell you now i love it here! seriously! I'm in the mtc and I've only been here for a week but this is the best decision of my life!!! What's better than studying and preaching the gospel 24/7?!?!? nothing!!!

My companion is sister Koford. she is from Utah(shocker)! haha. Most of the people here are pacific islanders or Filipinos!!! They are soooo awesome! I love their culture!! Another companionship is staying with us in our room and they are from Fiji!!! I've made good friends already from Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, Tonga,Samoa, and Philippines! pacific islanders are awesome! they are so loud and crazy but in a great way of course! when we have gym time you can play volleyball. well after the first day i learned not to play volleyball with them because they are so hard core! I got hit by the ball so hard! but they are so entertaining to watch!! Everyone here is just super nice. I'm so grateful for that!!

My daily schedule goes something  like this:

wake up at 5 (I'm always the first awake)

breakfast and roll call at 6:10.

then we have personal study and class study until lunch. then more studying then gym then dinner then more studying!!! my day is pretty much all studying and a few times eating!!! i get really tired but just have to get over it cuz there aint no time to sleep!!

Gym time is really great. it's the one hour where we just get to really have fun and not stress! plus my basketball skills are getting pretty great...haha not really...everyone had a good laugh the other day when i played with them....but i had fun so that's all that matters right?? :) haha.

so lets talk food. rice, rice and more rice! every meal! Egg...with rice. pork....with rice........beef ....with rice....fish...with rice! the food is actually good! i was worried about it being crazy but here in the mtc we are spoiled! but not nearly as spoiled as the Provo mtc!!!

I love the mtc here tho because there aren't very many o f us ! so we pretty much all know each other and have become really close! its just been such an uplifting experience so far!

One night we had a devotional broadcasted from the mtc in Provo.elder Neil Anderson spoke. he spoke on the spirit! it was really great!

So we practice teaching investigators....its great! its a bit frustrating when you want to tell them your feelings and bear your testimony but you cant. the language barrier is a bit frustrating but i know it will get better soon! its only been a week!! :)

Everyday here at the mtc I feel the spirit and i am reassured this is where i am supposed to be ! so cool! Thanks for all your love and support and sorry no pictures this week! :( (left my camera in my room)