Ukeleles, Investigators and a Parrot - January 31 2012

So Dad guess what I found out! We were teaching a lesson this week and a lady asked us if our fathers had served missions and we both answered yes, and she asked where? And we both said Indiana! His father was there too! So what years were you there? Because he thinks his dad (elder gnehm) served in the early 80s sometime. So I thought that that was pretty cool! We've been working really hard this week! And we got a new investigator named chip! He looks like a white Native American and has the long braided hear and he works on the railroads and has a thick New York accent we taught him the restoration in his living room and he really liked what we had to say. And we are heading over there next week! We are also going to start teaching a 12 year old named Jordan who hasn't been baptized yet but we watched the new restoration movie with him and he liked it! We should get him baptized in the next couple of weeks! His dad is awesome and is a member! We are the only companionship in the zone that has gotten new investigators lately.

Yesterday was a long day for us! They asked us to bear our testimonies in Sacrament! Then we did sharing time for both primaries! And then a new family came this week! And asked us for a book of Mormon, and we got talking with them and he is a R.M but has been inactive for 10 years and his wife had never been to church! So were going to be teaching them this coming week too! We also have a teaching appointment with a part member family and were teaching a ladies husband who isn't a member! So we are finally starting to see the fruits of our effort and this week is going to be a busy one!

We are well fed out here too! I am going to get so fat if I stay in Coal Creek long. Every night is a feast and all the other appointments we have, usually include desserts. My companion and I try to work out but I still don't think its helping! So don't be too surprised if I start looking a little bigger in my pictures ha-ha!
So last week I went with some elders who are in Lafayette because my companion had to go to training. And it was the first time it had snowed here! And I was also on Bike for the first time! So I spent all day with them biking around town and trying to stay warm! It was so cold. But one of the elders I was with ripped his pants so we had to go to goodwill to buy him some more! And I found a new suit! That fits me perfectly and it was only $10. I don't think it’s even been worn before its pretty sweet. We met a guy while we were in Lafayette, who has read the book of Mormon and he thinks that it was just a story Joseph Smith wrote so I bore my testimony of how I came to know that it was the Word of God, and how he should pray about what he read! And he seemed pretty receptive.

Last Friday we drove up to Loveland (which is about an 1hr away) and there was a meeting for all the new Missionaries and so I got to see them all again and we all talked about our first week in the mission field and some experiences we had. It was pretty cool to hear about what everyone is going through and how they are adjusting to being out in the field. Everyone loves it! Our mission president also talked to us about our purpose as missionaries and it was some good insight into the doctrine of Christ! I also found out that one of them is from Dansville, CA and he wanted to know what James's girlfriends name was. His name is Elder Makivi or something like that. So we found out that the work is starting to explode down in Aurora (suburb of Denver) last week alone the zone had almost 50 new investigators! I think I want to go down there for my next area.

But ya if you would send me a Ukulele that would be so legit! Everyone has guitars out here! Did I also mention that there is an Elder who is from the Canyon Point stake out here! He went on the trek with me! He was in the Spanish ward. We were visiting a member this week and he has an African Gray bird (parrot) and it was the coolest thing I’d ever seen! It has a vocabulary of 400 words and could carry a conversation it was pretty cool, we also helped a lady move this week and she had a hedgehog which was cool. But I hope that everything is going good out in California! And Tell Ben thanks because his letter which said ''to go knock some doors'' motivated me to do that! And I handed out 2 B.O.M tracting and also a handful of passalong cards. But thank you for everything! Including being the coolest family a missionary could have! Love ya! Pray for me this week that we can see some success with our new investigators!

Elder Pedro
-Img_0212 - That’s elder Gnehm!
-Img _0213 - That’s me just outside the Library in Erie
-Dscn0857 - That’s the Great and spacious building A.K.A flatirons church.

3OH!3

Oh ya if any one is wondering the area code here is 3oh3! Ya no big deal or anything!

Elder Pedro

Elder Pedro - Month 1 Pictures

Elder Pedro sent us new pictures yesterday! See if you recognize anyone. I found two people I know (Elder Kelby Crandall and Elder Kaupert!). Enjoy!

First Week in Colorado - So Many Rabbits

So it has officially been a week since I landed in Denver! And it’s pretty legit. So we found out that the area we are serving in has been closed for quite a while because there hasn't been much success in the area as far as convert baptisms go, but they opened it up last transfer. But the Elders that were here before us weren't exactly the most obedient missionaries, so we have been trying to regain the ward trust, and also the trust of the Family we are living with. They are an amazing family and very friendly, they let us use their gym each morning and they even let me practice hymns on their organ. So I've got Erie pretty figured out, it reminds me of Park city as far as the hills and style of the houses. So there are 4 main parts of the city; there is old town Erie which consists of older houses, and then there are 3 huge subdivisions on each of the corners of our area. They consist of very nice and big houses and mostly families live in them. In the middle of our area is like a city center type place with a brand new library and rec center. Most of our area is just open space and I have never seen so many rabbits.

We have knocked quite a few doors and we've only been able to give one Book of Mormon away, but we have passed out quite a few pass along cards. Most people belong to a church called Flatirons, I had never heard of it but I guess it’s a Colorado based religion and it has really started growing in the last little while. They have their worship services in a HUGE building which used to be a Wal-Mart and they supposedly get 10-15 thousand people there a week. There logo is orange and has a sharp edged mountain range in the middle its actually pretty cool looking, But almost every car in Erie has one of the Stickers on it. They play a lot of rock music for church and then have a preacher for a while, some of the elders in our district were invited to go to one of the services and said the speaker is really good. So we are hoping that we get invited by someone ha-ha

The ward is really awesome here! The church building is about 20 minutes away and it’s a huge chapel. They get about 300 people there a week of which 150 are children! The primary is so huge and all the families have at least 5 children ha-ha! So it’s a pretty young ward there are only 2 priests but in the last year they have tripled the deacons quorum and have quite a few who are about to turn 12. We also get fed pretty well! And I think we have dinner appointments lined up for the next 2 months. All the members give us food to take home so I don't even know if I will have to buy food while I am in this area. Most of the ward lives in one of the subdivisions and most of them on one street so we can just park our car and walk from member to member. The bishop has asked us to meet with all the members and talk to them about missionary work and challenge them to talk to their friends about the gospel. In church he asked the Members to do a special fast next month for Missionary work, and he said that he knows there are many people within the boundaries of the ward who are ready to receive the gospel; I have never seen a ward which is so willing to do Missionary work. We can't understand why Erie isn't known for success.

But we did find 1 new investigator this week, his name is James and we taught him in his backyard because his children were sleeping. We taught him about the Book of Mormon and how we can pray to know that it is true. I guess the missionaries were teaching him a year ago but then they closed down our area. He seemed really excited when we challenged him to read it, and wanted to get on to mormon.org. We also invited him to come play basketball at the church Tuesday nights (we got permission from our mission president to play basketball and stay out a little later because a lot of non-members go play). So hopefully it pans out and he comes! There is also a member whose son is 12 years old and hasn't been baptized and he talked to us about maybe letting us teach him the discussions which would be pretty cool.

We aren't that far from the mission office either so we are down there quite a bit so I see the mission President almost every other day which is pretty cool. We also do service at a rec center every Friday morning and they let us use their gym and study there before we start is way sweet. But I hope everything is going good for y’all! Don't worry about me I love it out here!

New Address

Elder Samuel Pedros new address to send him letters, cookies, and other goodies is:
Colorado Denver North
1250 Main St
Broomfield, Colorado 80020

"In the Field" - January 17 2012

So I got to Denver yesterday morning! We had to wake up at 4 in the morning to finish packing and make it over to the bus. In total there were 12 that flew out to Denver I sat by a sister in my district. The Denver airport is so big, and we had to take a train over to the terminal and that’s where we met our Mission President. 3 other missionaries drove out to Denver from the MTC and were already there when we arrived. We loaded up a trailer and a van and we drove over to the mission home which is in Broomfield, Co. It's in the middle of a neighborhood and some neighbors were watching as 15 missionaries unloaded their luggage it was pretty funny. All the elders stayed in the basement there were 7 bunk beds all lined up together. And for the first few hours we all just kind of chilled! There was a guitar at the house and a Children’s hymn book with chords so I played it while we all sang songs and then I played some hymns on the piano too! My mission president is quite the Piano player too. He is a really neat guy and he is very relaxed and funny. We had a way nice lunch too! I guess his wife is quite the cook! So every meal I’ve had has been pretty good. We had an orientation meeting where we learned some rules and all the info that we would need. After we had interviews with the mission president and we found out where we are going! And I’m in a town called Erie, Colorado! It’s in the boulder stake! And imp in the coal creek ward! I hear it’s a pretty wealthy ward. My companion is Elder Gnehm from Kaysville, Utah! He has been serving as zone leader for the past 10 months! (3 different zones) and was released so he could be my trainer. Our residence is pretty nice too! We live in the basement of a member and they have a way nice house! And we have quite the set up! We are in the middle of nowhere though! It feels like Benjamin, Utah! But boulder is only a couple of miles away I guess. We also have a car too! Another cool things is that Denver is doing a media initiative, and the church is showing tons of ''I'm a Mormon'' commercials on TV and on the radio, and so we are supposed to ask everyone we see if they have seen the ads and what they think (it's an easy way to start a conversation with street contacting).

My last week in the MTC was pretty sweet! It was weird saying goodbye to my district though! I loved them all. Elder Nelson from the quorum of the 12 came and spoke to us last Tuesday! He spoke for an hour and pretty much just read us scriptures about the gathering of Israel and how we are the ones doing the gathering. Stephen B. Allen also came and talked to us on Sunday he is the managing director of missionary work for the Church! And he showed us all the commercials that they have it was pretty cool. I also so Elder Kaupert at a meeting he sat directly behind me! He is doing well! And I got a picture with him I’ll send it to you if I can find time. Last Wednesday I got to be a ''new missionary host'' at the MTC and spent a couple of hours greeting the new missionaries and showing them to their rooms and around the campus.

I can't believe that I’m actually out being a missionary now! It so crazy! But I have to run to a dinner appointment! So I’ll write you next week! I’m glad to hear that the family is doing well! Love you! And thanks for everything. Make sure if you write me it’s addressed to the mission office! And just put my name on it! And they will forward it to me.

-Elder Pedro

Week 2 - January 10 2012

Time has been flying at the MTC now! The only way I can explain it is that the days are long but the weeks go by fast. Last Friday I even got to leave the MTC for half a day it was pretty weird being out again in the World, one of my companions back was really hurting so we went to the clinic here in the MTC and after a while they decided he needed an X-ray so Elder Jolley and I had to walk down the street to the BYU student clinic it was such a weird feeling walking down the road and everybody was saying hi to us! We had to go back twice that day! They think he might have an infection in his back so they gave him some pills that will hopefully clear it up.

I got my travel information last week too! I leave for Denver next Monday morning, so I have less than a week left here at the MTC. There are 14 missionaries who are going to be on the plane heading to Denver. My companion Elder Jolley is leaving for the Marshall islands next Tuesday, he's flying to Honolulu first and then has to spend the night there (probably in the terminal ha-ha) and then he's taking a plane to fly out to the Islands of Marshall. On his travel information it says he's leaving January 17th in the morning and getting to the Marshall Islands January 19th at night.

The hallway where my residence is has been pretty quiet the last couple of nights because all the Elders have left and we don't get new ones until Wednesday! It’s going to be so weird when I leave next week! But they chose my district to be hosts tomorrow! So I get to welcome the new missionaries and to show them where everything is at. And isn't Michael Kaupert coming in tomorrow? There is a good chance that he could be in my zone or that I could be his host that would be crazy!

The food is getting better too! the first week the food was pretty bad and I was getting sick of it, but lately is been better, The only good thing though is that I get to eat at the Temple today so I’m pretty excited for that, I also heard that my Mission President's wife is Pro at cooking.

Thanks for sending me the candy too! Don’t be too mad but I traded some of it a way for a new tie! I've become quite the Tie merchant since I’ve been here! I'm +3 with ties but I’ve been trading around and have inquired some pretty nice ones, Mom you would be proud if you saw your son in action. An elder who left yesterday to Singapore entered the MTC with 20 ties and left with almost 40! He's my hero so I'm going to be spending the next week trying to accomplish something like that! Tell Kezia that I really like the tie she gave me! I have gotten quite a few compliments about it.

My companionship is doing so well too! We really were unified in our teaching this week and had some amazing lessons. We taught an older man in T.R.C yesterday and the spirit was so strong when we left the room we just looked at each other and couldn't believe what had just happened. We also teach are teachers they play the role of a progressing investigator and we meet them every other day and try to prepare them for baptism. The last few times we have taught them our teachers have been blown away with our ability to recognize the spirit and how unified we are when we teach! I hope I can keep it like that out in the Field.

I started a study journal when I first got here. Which I feel with notes and whatever I learn during my personal study time! I have about 5 pages until its full! That is so much writing its 80 pages front and back! I don't think I’ve ever taken so many notes or have been so in depth with my Personal Study. I went and bought me a nice leather one for when I fill this one up! I also have my notes pretty organized with tabs so I know exactly where everything is at. One of the coolest things I found last week was a something that David O. McKay said about how everyone will have a personal priesthood interview with the Savior himself! And he even went to list the exact questions that Christ is going to ask and the order in which he will ask them! I’ll send you the quote next week!

But I’m glad to hear that you are all doing well! Dad better get a baptism before I do ;) and good luck with your reading! I love it! It’s one of my favorite things to do every day is to just open up the scriptures and to receive personal revelation. But the next email that you will receive from me will be from Denver!

-Elder Pedro

First Week! - January 3 2012

Dear People!

I am almost done with my first week here at the MTC. It has been such a great experience. The first few days were tough though, getting used to the schedule took a while. Every single day is completely scheduled out from when I wake up at 6:30 till I retire at 10:30. Tuesdays are P-days so that’s when I can email! I also get to go to the Temple on Tuesdays so I'm looking forward to that We will be heading up there in a couple of hours. I am in a unique situation because I have two companions. Elder Jolley who is from west point, Utah and Elder Serrano is Filipino and is from Henderson, Nevada, Elder Serrano just got baptized 2 years ago which I think is way awesome. My district is pretty awesome as well. And I am the district leader; there are 4 sisters and 5 elders in it. Sister O’Donovan who is from San Diego she's 26 and Sister Henekey from Albany, Oregon. Sister Lewis from Taylorsville, Sister Tominey from South Jordan, Elder Anderson from Victoria, B.C. Canada, and Elder Metcalfe who is from Yorkshire, England. I love them all. Elder Metcalf is a goof and and acts exactly like Ben Scott. He keeps us pretty entertained. My district is very obedient as well, there have been quite a few times when other missionaries have walked in to our classroom and were surprised that we are actually studying during our studying time. I love my teachers too! Brother Asay and Sister Draper! They make the huge blocks of class very interesting.

The bookstore has been closed for the last 4 days which never happens! So all the stuff that I forgot to bring and need I haven't been able to get them. Luckily I will be able to go get them today. We also haven't been able to receive mail or packages for 4 days. I had to spend $109 the second day because I needed to get Immunizations the Tetanus shot wasn't that fun, Elder Metcalfe had to get that one as well and we both felt sick that night and my Arm was dead for a couple of days.

I think Sunday was the most spiritually day of my life. I had the opportunity to fast. And we had a missionary conference which we were able to hear messages from the MTC presidency and others and it was great then we spent 4 hours or so in Personal study which was great! We also got to do a temple walk, and then later that night we had a fireside and you'll never guess who put it on! The Kelly Mill's family from Somerset Ward! They were pretty entertaining! They sang a couple of songs, and then Sister Mills gave a talk about having gratitude and she was pretty funny! She kept the missionaries laughing. Brother Mills had a cool presentation on all the other International MTC's there are 15 MTC's and showed some great pictures! After the Fireside I went up and talked with the Family! Sister Mills told me to tell you (mom) that she still thinks of you all the time! I believe Brother Mill's also sent you a picture of me? I ran into him one of the first days I was here. After the fireside we got to choose a film we wanted to go see and they had various ones showing, my district went and watched a talk given by Elder Bednar it was great!

Elder Pedro's Open Houses - December 25 and 27 2011