General Authorities this Sunday!

Hey family!                                  1-25-12

Thanks for the letter!  I hope you get better mom.  It shouldn’t hurt too badly.  It's cool to hear about you reading Preach my Gospel.  On the mission it's required that we read it every day.  I’m learning a ton from it still.  I’m learning a ton about understanding and following the spirit.  If we don't follow Him we'll be lost all day and not have any success.  That family turned a little bit soft and Lima's even getting mad at us a little bit.  But there are these two girls that should be baptized this Sunday, you should pray for Zuldy and Layana because Satan's tempting them a lot.  It's ridiculous.  Anyways, the Apostles will be here this Saturday.  Our mission's getting blessed a ton.  This is the third Apostle here in two years.  And usually they stop by your mission once every three years.  Anyways, last Monday was tough.  There's been a lot of gossiping here on the mission.  Anyways, the assistants have been getting some false information as to the sources and they thought that one of them was me.  Anyways the President called me and burnt me for 11 minutes for talking bad about someone I don't know.  Anyways, I was talking with some other people about it and they all called the president to tell him that I never talk bad about anyone.  Anyways, it sucked being burnt.  But he taught me something in the burning.  That gossiping is something that could impede our temple recommend.  Because we're supposed to support our local and general church leaders, and if we gossip and speak badly about them we're not supporting them and thence, we're not worthy for our recommends.  Cool huh?  Anyways, I’m exhausted.  Last week was a crazy run all around.  We were traveling a ton to interview other people.  Our zone used to be one of the worst zones but this transfer it's the zone that's baptizing the most.  It's super cool.  Anyways, I hope you all are good and that mom gets better.  Love you guys!

Elder Williams

General Authorities Coming to Peter's Area!

Hey mom and family!                                             1-18-2012
Thanks for the email!  I'm glad you guys enjoyed your guys' trip!  Last week was crazy, I'm super tired. I did some interviews on a "miracle" baptism for our sisters.  We found a family monday that's going to be baptized next week.  You guys should pray for them, we're gonna do whatever it takes to get them baptized (Lima, Delores, Vitoria, Pryscilla, Ana Carolina[thats one name[).  Anyway, our ward mission leader's awesome; he does a lot for us.  The only problem is that he's worried for the people that we're gonna baptize because he doesnt know if our ward's going to be able to retain them.  To be honest it might be a little bit difficult, but they'll stay firm and help the ward out a lot.  I can't believe mom got sick.  (Hope you get better.)  So next week two apostles are coming here with a seventy! Elder Ballard and Elder Nielson with Elder J. Jensen.  It should be pretty cool.  We took a survey today so that they can know how to help out the mission.  To tell you guys the truth I'm a bit nervous.  I don't know why; I guess it's cuz i've never talked to a general authority before!  Anyways, love you guys!

Elder Williams

Hey Dad!                                                           1-18-2012

Thanks for the email.  Being a DL is fun but tough.  I'm  liking the opportunity every Tuesday to teach in our district meetings.  I’m jealous of your guys'trip to the coast.  I miss the ocean; I think I’m always going to live near the ocean.  Anyways the mission's great; I’m learning a lot and having a good time while doing it.  Lately though, it has been a rather tough area, but the Lord's blessing us a ton.  We're finding much "wheat amongst the tares" here, and hopefully we'll have some more success.  The problem is that the ward is not ready for the people that we're baptizing, so we'll have to care of them and slowly prepare our ward for their baptism.  

I Hope mom gets better...surgery sucks!  Now that the subruban is gone, I guess you'll just have to buy yourself a new car, too bad... (haha!)

Love you dad!

Elder Williams

Pray for Peter...

Hey family!                                                           Jan 10-2012

This week was great!  We baptized the family!  The baptism was great.  It's pretty funny while you guys were all sick I also got pretty bad also.  For the past 2 weeks I've had a lot of the “runs” and whatnot.  It's been pretty hard to leave far away from home to work.  Anyways things have been good here.  Pray for me here that my testimony can be strengthened.  It's harder here than I thought; we don't have anyone to teach because everyone doesn’t want to hear us.  Also we don't have presidencies like EQP, RP, and YM YW.  Our bishop doesn’t even have counselors.  I’m hoping for a change in the ward soon from the stake.  Anyways, our Ward Mission Leader is way good.  He helps us out a ton plan and whatnot.  But yeah, negativity is something that's not allowed on the mission.  Excitement or as translated "being of good cheer" is as my buddy said the third commandment that the savior has given us.  It's said a lot of times in the scriptures.  We need to always be happy, excited, and of good cheer in the gospel.  Being DL is pretty sweet, I love giving the doctrine lessons every meeting we have, the elders and sisters in my district are great!  The mission's awesome!  Love you guys!

Elder Williams

Happy New Year 2012...by burning ties?

Hey family!                                                                  1-3-2012

This week was great.  The new area's tough, the zone in general is widely known as the "black hole".  There are barely any baptisms.  But then I got here and saw that the missionaries just pass by here with this in their mind and get discouraged and lazy so they don't work.  So I think the president put some good missionaries in to get the zone alive again.  For example the week I got here we found a family that's going to be baptized this Sunday (pray for them by the way, Marcelo, Alessandra, and Gabriella).  It's a good faith tester, to see if the missionary’s faith is good enough to work through these difficulties.  At the end of this second week our zone should have about 10 baptisms in total.  So in two weeks we should have 3 more baptisms than the 6 weeks of work last transfer.  The Lord is blessing us a lot here in the zone.  My new district's cool; its two sisters and two elders and us.  The elder's seem to be a little bit unexcited to work though, but it’s cool.  I’m jealous that I couldn’t have been there with the whole family to pass the New Year.  But it's pretty weak that you guys didn’t even wait til midnight.  We didn't want to but we didn’t have a big choice.  About 5 til midnight everyone let off their fireworks, like their big dog fireworks that are outlawed in the states.  Anyways, the fireworks went on for about 15 minutes straight, it was cool to see all the pretty lights and the stars and moon go away what with all the smoke.  In celebration me and Elder Merrick burnt a 2011 calendar and a tie.  I got some videos to show later when we get home also.  It's cool; we just speak English to each other, so I get to practice my English a little bit.  It's cool, he's just like me, except that he played semi-pro soccer and has a lot of money.             Love,  Elder Peter Williams

  Peter and his companion celebrating New Years by burning their old ties!

Peter's OTHER new Companion???

Peter is New District Leader in "Campo Limpo"!

Hey family,                                                                                          Dec 28, 2011

It was good to Skype Wednesday and Sunday with you all for Christmas!

So I’ve been transferred!  I left my old area and right now I’m in a completely different city in Juníai, in area Campo Limpo.  I also got my first American companion!  Elder Merrick Reynolds.  He's pretty legit, the first companion in the field that gets my jokes and subtle sarcasms.  Also he listened to the same music as me before the mission, metal, rap and all that crap.  So he's cool.  Anyways, this new area is prettier than any other I’ve passed by, with a lot of trees and cool looking stuff.  But the problem is that it's the hilliest area on the mission.  I think the Lord wants me to slim down these next few months.  The hills look like the hills in Switzerland and Austria...  So yeah...lots of walking!  Last Monday I told everyone that I was leaving and they got all sad.  A little girl started crying and got really sad and gave me her favorite picture of Michael Jackson.  I'd send a picture of it, but the internet sucks right now.  Anyways I’m the new District Leader of two sisters and two elders.  Now I have to worry about two more areas.  Anyways, I love you guys!  Keep up the missionary work and remember the prayers!

Elder Periquito Williams

Hey Family

Hey family!                                                                                                            Dec 13-11

So it looks like everything's all certain with Skype, I just need to find a place to Skype.  Anyways, at 1:00 pm next Wednesday the 21st we'll be skyping.  I don't have your guys' name.  So just add me and send me an email telling me what your guys' Skype name is and I’ll add you.  Also if 1:00 rolls around and nothing happens keep updating this email that you guys are using because I’ll be sending an email saying that there's a problem.  I might appear a little bit late because this next Wednesday isn’t a PDay so I’ll be working and all sweaty that day.

Anyways, how’s stuff?  I actually didn’t open the cards yet.  I was waiting on those.  I’m already on my last box of cereal though.  This week the zone leaders have been training me to become district leader and Friday I interviewed three of their investigators for baptism.  It was cool!  One of their baptisms was freaking weak; we spent an hour and half just talking about how he's following the devil for not being baptized.  Anyways, he ended up not being baptized, and he knows that he's not following God's will.  It looks like there's gonna be a lot of changes here on the mission.  We found some kid that wants to be baptized this Sunday also.  You guys should pray for him, Alex Junior.  His situations a little bit complicated.  He lives in a very bad neighborhood, his parents are druggies and his neighbors sell drugs, and drink a ton.  But his grandma is good.  Anyways, Christmas should be good. 

The bishop here is fine now, he's recuperating fast.  Also tell John that he can marry someday, but that he better not leave the area because I want to play “Smash” after the mission.  Tell Cassan that she's in trouble for not being able to Skype,  But that she can write me a Biiiiiig email instead.

Love you!

Elder Williams

Ah-Ha...Annie's been hiding peter's letters....

Hey family,                                                                                                         Nov 30, 2011

Annie didn’t send you guys the letter from last week so I copied it and pasted it.  Then I'll write the letter for this week.

 Thanks for the emails!  We baptized Rosalina!  It's cool; I learned that we actually saved a life to save a soul.  The day we found her she was thinking of committing suicide because of the depression that she has.  That day we found her she accepted baptism, and that Sunday she went to church.  I could tell a new light came into her eyes and she was happy again.  It's always cool to stop by and interrupt her reading the Book of Mormon.  Anyways, we have another baptism coming up this Sunday.  This one was a cool thing also, she was already going to church with her boyfriend in another ward, and we wouldn’t have ever found her if our zone leader didn’t do a contact on the bus. 

Skype should be sweet; I think it'll be me and Elder Lucas Rodrigues again.  He was the Argentinean that you guys saw last time we Skyped.  I doubt that Keenan's gonna Skype though, he's in the states right now right? 

It's cool to read that thought about reverence.  This ward that I’m in has a ton of it, which is going to be good for the people we're bringing to church.  Last Sunday I got the book that we're gonna study next year in Sunday school about the teachings of the prophets.  It's about George Albert Smith.  It's sweet.  It gets me thinking about personal development.  How we all need to get to the point of one of the apostles and prophets in our faith and progress before we can get to the point of Christ.  This is in part as to we have these books of the prophets.  Anyways, our bishop got in a bad accident driving some quad and almost died.  But he should be alright.  You should put his name in the temple because the temple's closed here.  Bishop Álvaro.  Which reminds me, the other day we went to the temple with our baptism to show her around and everything but it was all closed for maintenance and whatnot.  It sucked, but she liked it anyways.

Anyways, love you guys!

Elder Williams

Ok, here’s the other letter:

Hey Family!                                                                                                                        Dec 7, 2011

This week we baptized Tatiane, and we've got Francieli for this Sunday.  I was looking today at all the baptisms I’ve had on the mission and it looks like I’ve baptized almost all women.  Not like that’s a bad thing, everyone needs to get baptized, but it's showing the kind of people that I’m attracting.  Yesterday I was able to visit my old area because I went on a division with the zone leaders to help out the missionaries that are there now.  They've been having problems finding people to teach, so we went there and found some for them.  I'm learning a ton here on the mission, it's awesome, and I’m loving this area!

Anyways, for this Christmas we will be able to use Skype the Wednesday before.  So it'll be the 21st of this month, let me know when will be the better time, and we've got to find a place here that has Skype.   You guys are 5 hours behind, so probably 6-ish my time, 1-ish your time.  It's going to be sweet.  Also I learned that I don’t have any self-control. I got your Christmas package two weeks ago, and I’ve already opened everything.  Thanks by the way, now have a lot of cool stuff to go with my suit!  Also I got the bottle right when my old one broke.  The only problem is that Brazilians have a culture that if you eat something in front of them you have to offer some to them.  So I've got to eat all my stuff when they’re not paying attention, because it's us 4 there.  These pics are of me switching soccer teams to Corinthians, of the baptism of Rosalina, Tatiane, and kid that I’m helping get baptized for my zone leaders.  When I got that shirt, I entered the house of an investigator and within 5 minutes of knowing him, he gave me a new shirt so I switched teams.  They don't sell this shirt anymore and it was given on the 40th anniversary of the forming of the team, so it's pretty cool.  Anyways, hope you guys like the pics!  Love you!

Elder Williams

   

Rosalina's Baptism

Tatiana's baptism

  Peter got this soccer shirt from one of his investigators