Al Que Cree, Todo le es Posible

Hey everyone!

Sorry for the the cheesy title line in Spanish.  It means: to him that believes, everything is possible.  I really like that and it touched me, so I've decided that is going to be my mantra and try to remember it when I get down.  

I'll be honest, it is tough living in the box that is the MTC and doing the same thing every single day of my life with the same people.  We only get to leave on Pday [Personal Day, once a week] to go to the temple and back which is like 100 yards away.  I love my district though and they are all just solid elders.  I found out there are 20, give or take, missionaries headed to Xela ( the real name of my mission here ) that are all from the same transfer [meaning they all arrived at the same time].  My district has about half of those missionaries, and it's amazing.  I know I was blessed with them for sure because they are all smart, funny and obedient missionaries and they are a great influence and a great group to be around. They all joke asking for each others sisters' emails and marrying them when we come back, it's really funny being around them.  But it really is true that we live in kind of a box.  We get yard time and have everything planned out for us ahead of time.  I mean, don't get me wrong, I am so happy to be here, but after teaching now our third fake investigator I just want to teach some real people.  

I can only speak the Spanish that is in the lessons and a little bit besides that, but I can't wait to get out there.  Spanish is coming along really well.   My companion Elder Stewart and I kill the lessons and our teachers tell us we have a lot of potential and that we really work together well.  The other companionships did not get such compliments apparently haha.  One even had to restart their lessons with the investigator because they accidentally said, "We milk and eat people in the church," hahaha.  The investigators are our teachers and they really play their parts well.  They really make it feel real and stressful especially because with only two weeks of Spanish, we can't say that much and forget a lot so sometimes there are some very long pauses.  

The wife of the MTC President is super nice.  She gives all the pep talks.  Also, we had the health talk on Sunday and we have pretty much accepted death because they showed pictures of some things we could get down here and it looks quite bad.  Good thing dad packed me the pharmacy.  Love ya, dad. [Jeff is known for his preparedness.]

The latino missionaries are some of the funniest and coolest people.  There are two elders here I know from Lima and one is the weirdest person I have ever met.  He keeps asking when they will give us some nice horse to eat because that is his favorite.  The other is just a funny guy and he and his companion were a match made in heaven because they always walk around with their arms around each other and are kinda like the two stooges. (yes, I know there are three but that is what they are like.)  

There is this fruit called rambutan here and its the best fruit I have ever had.

Ummm, other than that, we sit in class all day and learn Spanish.  I am happy, healthy and where I should be.  I love you all and I pray for you every day.

Elder Peacock

Cousins

The night before our oldest son entered the MTC in Provo almost exactly six years ago, we gathered the Peacock family together.  Justin was the first grandchild to leave on a mission.  In all, there are ten Peacock  (including Madsen and McGill) grandsons.  The only one missing that night was our middle son, Tyler, who was at EFY (Especially for Youth, a summer program for teenagers) at BYU. We lined all the boys up, youngest to oldest:

They are a bit rowdy. Here's a more civilized pose:

My favorite part was when we joined in family prayer at the end of the night.  I can only speak for myself, but I was sobbing.

Just missing Tyler (EFY) and Lexie
(Lexie is taking the picture...and incidentally wearing a bathing suit
although there was no water nearby, as was her habit that year)

Anyway.  Since that night, four more cousins (#2-5) have gone and returned from missions in Puerto Rico, Alabama, Peru and Baltimore.  Another cousin (#6), Elder Spencer Madsen, is currently serving in the Dominican Republic and will be returning later this year.  There has always been at least one Peacock grandson out in the mission field since July, 2010.  And then there is this trio (#7, 8 & 9 grandsons):

Zack, Will and Jason each graduated high school in 2015 and decided to go to a year of college. They each received their mission calls within weeks of each other. Jason was the first to leave at the end of May to the Texas McAllen (Spanish speaking) via the MTC in Mexico City.  

Will and Zack left the same day:  July 12th.  Zack is going to Oklahoma City (Spanish speaking) via the MTC in Mexico City.  He missed Jason by hours in Mexico City as Jason left for Texas.  

So now, each of the four Peacock siblings have a missionary out.  It's been a crazy summer, but also awesome because we've gotten together three times in six weeks to love on these boys.  We look forward to getting together again in Idaho to welcome Spencer home in a few months.

And us moms, we're pretty much superheroes.  Sisters are the best, whether you get them through marriage or biology, it matters not.

Missing Susan!

Rewind: The Temple

[May 10, 2016]

One of the most important steps a missionary takes in his preparation for his mission is to attend the temple for the first time.  A temple is different than a chapel for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  A chapel is where we attend church on a weekly basis--to worship, partake of the sacrament and receive instruction.  All are welcome to visit our chapels.  

A temple is quite literally the house of the Lord.  We go there to receive instructions, make covenants and complete sacred ordinances for ourselves and on behalf of those that have died without receiving saving ordinances.

And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Matthew 16:19)

Due to the sacred nature, we must qualify for the privilege to attend by faithfully living the commandments and receiving a recommendation from our local leaders.  Attending the temple is not something we do lightly as increased responsibility and accountability comes from taking this next step in our progression.

 For more on temples, see HERE.

We attended the St. George Temple in May with Will.  The clouds provided a lovely backdrop, right?

It is a pioneer temple, dedicated in 1877.  There are currently 150 operating temples, including two in Guatemala:  Guatemala City and Quetzaltenango.   I love the beauty of the St. George Temple--gleaming white in the midst of red rock--but every temple is beautiful, with its own character and history.  I love that it's only 15 minutes from our house and that I can see it almost every day as I do daily errands.  But mostly, I love that I can feel the Spirit more strongly there than anywhere else.  It brings the peace to my soul as described by President Thomas S. Monson:

As we attend the temple, there can come to us a dimension of spirituality and a feeling of peace which will transcend any other feeling which could come into the human heart. We will grasp the true meaning of the words of the Savior when He said: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. … Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)

No Sweat!

[His message is actually entitled, "I dont sweat the entire time here!..." but I really have no idea what that means, so I improvised.]

Hola from Guatemala!

I have to apologize in advance because these computers aren't good enough to send pictures, so you will have to wait a little while and then there will be tons of pictures.  

I guess I will start from the beginning because my last email wasn't very long.  On the plane to Guatemala, there were probably around 50 elders and sisters on the plane.  Also, I learned very quickly that planes are very hot and suits are not ideal clothing unless you want to loose 20 pounds.  That plane ride was terrible and they gave us a tiny sandwich on the plane to feed us that was little more than bite size.  So dad, the food was much appreciated [his dad's parting gift].  Across the aisle from me was a tiny, old Guatemalan lady that probably weighed like 80 pounds soaking wet.  She couldn't stand up on her own so I lifted her in and out of her seat probably ten times on that flight at 3 in the morning.  

We got to the airport and luckily both my bags showed up, but not after quite some time, some stress and some quick prayers that it would all show up.  They loaded us all into some big buses and our things into a moving van because there was so much of it.  The city was just as you would suspect, little bikes going all over the place and tons of beat up cars everywhere and pedestrians walking through the middle of the street like no tomorrow.  After the 20 minute ride to the MTC, we got out of the buses and got our things to our rooms.  The area around the MTC is so beautiful it's unbelievable.  We finally got to get out this morning and went to the temple.  It is definitely the most beautiful temple I have ever seen.  It is small but it is breathtaking. 

My companion is Elder Stewart and he is from Bountiful, Utah I think? I don't know. somewhere in Utah because it's all the same really. [Says the California boy at heart.  
Apologies to our Utah friends, relatives and readers... Turns out Elder Stewart is the son of a friend of a friend so I actually know he comes from Perry, Utah] He is awesome and so is the rest of my district.  We are the district everyone wants to be in because we move so fast and seem to be further along in Spanish [!?! didn't see that coming] than everyone else but are also always having a good time.  We have two sisters in our district that are going to El Salvador and then 8 of us elders going to Quetzaltenango.  There are a couple more that are going to our mission but they are in other districts for some reason.  I love it here and I would not want to be in any other district.  

[Missionaries are organized into companionships, companions are organized into districts, districts are organized into zones, zones are organized into missions.  There are leaders at each level--senior companion, district leaders, zone leaders, mission presidents]

As far as food goes there are very good days and some questionable days for sure.  I heard some elders wished they had kept tortilla counts on their mission so I decided I would and I am on 9.  Our zone leader is part of my district and his name is Elder Miller and he is an awesome guy.  He was super well dressed at the airport and none of us knew if he was actually a missionary because he looked too well dressed.  He talks a lot and at first I wasn't a fan but as time went by he probably is now one of my favorite people here and I couldn't have picked someone better for zone leader.  His story is amazing and he is so spiritual and always has a smile on his face even when we are getting chastised in Spanish.  

By ProtoplasmaKid - Own work

Our group probably tripled the size of the MTC and we are the biggest group of gringos they have ever had by far.  There are 6 of us that sleep in the same room but it could fit 8. Most rooms are full but ours aren't for some reason.  We have community bathrooms that have filtered water and some shower stalls.  It's actually pretty nice.  We also have a volleyball court, a basketball court and a gym with some bikes and machines and stuff.  Sometimes the MTC is really depressing because the land around us looks so beautiful but we can't go outside much because we pretty much sit in class all day.  They also are very strict here about pretty much anything and everything and it is really testing me to be exactly obedient but I am doing my best to follow that advice.  It actually is beautiful weather wise here but with so many of us the building gets scorching hot.  

On Sunday I gave the sacrament prayer and had to repeat it because it was in Spanish, and that was in front of the President of the MTC. oops.... Sacrament meeting [our main Sunday meeting where the sacrament is administered] was in Spanish but luckily the rest of the day was English.  Sunday was actually a day of rest and I understand that a little more because they aren't just shoving Spanish down our throats all day. 

I love seeing all the letters from people and wish I had more than an hour to write some responses because there is so much to tell and I can't wait to send pictures. Sorry if I can't respond to everyone because I'm not a fast typer but also these computers are ancient and all in Spanish.  I can't wait to be in the field and my testimony has probably tripled in size since I got here.  I love what I am doing and I am so happy to be here.  It's where I am supposed to be.  I love you all and will respond when I can.

FYI Pday for me is Tuesday.

con amor,
Elder Peacock

Rewind: The Call

[April 4, 2016]

Young people of a certain age in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are very familiar with these white envelopes...

When a young person feels they are ready to serve a mission for the Church, they meet and counsel with their bishop, fill out some basic information online, get medical and dental clearances, meet with the stake president and then push "SUBMIT".

In a period of about 2-3 weeks, an envelope will arrive with their "call".  It is a leap of faith.  The first of many.  With few exception, young adult missionaries do not choose their areas of labor or language.  Church leaders consider the needs of each missionary and mission and make assignments based on spiritual revelation.  

For a great explanation of the process, see HERE.

Will received his call on April 4th, 2016.  The packet came to our home in Washington so we arranged to meet him that evening at school in Cedar City. His brother Tyler and sister in law Meghan also drove down from Provo to be with us.  Numerous other friends and family members joined us in person and through phone and FaceTime.  It was pretty much a 10 minute party. 

This is what the letter said:

March 29, 2016

Dear Elder Peacock:

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Guatemala Quetzaltenango Mission.  It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 24 months.

You should report to the Guatemala Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, July 13, 2016.  You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish language.  Your assignment may be modified according to the needs of the mission president.

You have been recommended as one worthy to represent the Lord as a minister of the restored gospel. You will be an official representative of the Church.  As such, you will be expected to maintain the highest standards of  conduct and appearance by keeping the commandments, living mission rules, and following the counsel of your mission president.  As you devote your time and attention to serving the Lord, leaving behind all other personal affairs, the Lord will bless you with increased knowledge and testimony of the Restoration and the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Your purpose will be to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end.  As you serve with all your heart, might, and strength, the Lord will lead you to those who are prepared to be baptized. 

The Lord will reward you for the goodness of your life.  Greater blessings and more happiness than you have yet experienced await you as you humbly and prayerfully serve the Lord in this labor of love among His children.  We place our confidence in you and pray that the Lord will help you become an effective missionary.

You will be set apart as a missionary by your stake president...

Sincerely,
Thomas S. Monson
President  

As a mom, it is also a leap of faith.   I am so grateful for the confirmation of the Spirit which whispers, "Yes.  This is exactly where he needs to go.  All will be well."  We can do hard things.

I'm Here!!!

Guatemala City Temple

Hola from Guatemala!

They aren´t giving us tons of time to type and the computer is in Spanish so this will not be the most quality letter I write!  Well, we weren´t right on our guess of how many elders I would meet up with.  I did not meet up with one or two or even three elders.  Instead, I met up with close to 50 elders and sisters all headed to the Guatemala MTC and different missions.  I only have five minutes to email so what I'll say is, there are tons of people here. They misspelled my name as Peacook, so I need my tags replaced.  Most people here speak Spanish and no English or the other way around.  I am rooming with 5 other elders and we are right next to the temple and around the corner from the airport.  The temple is probably the most beautiful one I have ever seen.  I love you guys!!

Elder Peacock