"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!!! 

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!