Highlights from Uruguay!

Chris in Uruguay, with Montevideo in the background.

Chris (Elder Peck) and Yanila (who didn't want Chris to leave!) Her favorite hymn is "Called to Serve" which they sang every time the missionaries came to visit.

Bizcochos and Chocolate milk (in a bag) for breakfast. Yum!

Here is the Vivanco family that Chris had the privilege to teach and baptize. They were very excited to see Chris before he left.

This is the inside and outside of the home of Freddy & Estela. Freddy is a branch president near Trienta y Tres, and Estela does the laundry for the missionaries. Both of them feed the missionaries often and take good care of them. We were very privileged to be the beneficiaries of a good meal and a wonderful place to stay while we were in Trienta y Tres. They admitted they didn't have much, but we were welcome to all they had.

Travels in Uruguay!

Hi family and Loren!

Here we are at Tres Cruces waiting for a bus to Triente y Tres. Chris showed me the cyber cafe where he has emailed us many times. So here we are because this was one place I really wanted to see.

So here´s the scoop--
(forgive the errors--Chris wasn´t kidding--the keyboards are crazy!)

Chris looks great! He smiles the same, he talks the same (except he speaks crazy fast in Spanish) and his laugh is the same. He loves the people here and it shows. And the people here love him. The hardest thing here to watch is the people hug Chris good-bye and cry. They will miss him very much. They tell me so. My favorite thing so far has been sitting in the taxis and listening to him talk to and teach the drivers. Very cool. I am excited to see the outlying areas in Uruguay--so far we have seen the nice area around the temple and the mission home.

Love ya´ll , we´ll see you soon!
Mom

Hey yall waz up. im here with mom and dad and im really exited to go home and see yall. it sounds like yall are good. but ya better get prepared to get tickled to death.hahahaha. well see yall later. chou (Chris)

Hi Everyone!

Here we are in Buenos Aires, Argentina with 3 hours left before our flight. We figured we would get a letter to Chris and Loren, (wait, not Chris--he is standing right here beside me!) We left Montevideo just about an hour ago and it is only a 30 minute flight to Buenos Aires. We will spend the rest of the night flying and should arrive in Dallas around 7 a.m. Then it will be on to SLC hopefully just after 11 a.m.

Last night we went to a real live professional soccer game. They take their futbol seriously here!!! We had to pay extra to make sure we were out of the section (the barra bravos Chris tells me) where there are lots of knives and guns and things better go their way or we will know about it! It was the security officer that told us that! Anyway, we had a great time watching great soccer and because Elder King and Elder Chris are still missionaries we had to leave the game 15 minutes early to make it home (hotel) in time for curfew. Good thing we left early. We actually found a taxi, and the end of the game there was a last second goal that didn´t count and it was who everyone was cheering for! It was crazy! The whole end of the stadium where the barra bravos were stood and jumped up and down and sang very loud songs with banners flying and fireworks shooting (not the legal Utah kinds either)!!! (and Chris adds-- not the legal drugs either!) Anyway, we´re out of Uruguay safe and sound and on our way home.

Except immigration had a problem with Chris´ exit information (apparently he didn´t "check in" properly two years ago - he didn´t take out his identification cedula (credentials?) and they told him he might have to stay in Uruguay until he straightened it out. But Shaun and I were free to go they said. Needless to say, they still marked Shaun and my luggage as "stand-by" so we hope they end up in Utah sometime soon. Tomorrow would be preferable! Then after a few computer checks and a discussion or two between immigration officials, they stamped his passport and let him through. I´m not sure if he was happy or not. I think he wanted to stay in Uruguay a little longer.

We are having a great time! This morning we went to church in Colon where Chris served as a missionary for 4 and a half months. There we met two families that Chris had taught and baptized. The father, Gerard, was so surprised when he saw Chris! He just kept hugging him and hugging him and saying thank you, thank you (except it was gracias, gracias) then coming to thank us for sending him. Good Grief! I was in tears and we had only been there a few minutes!! Everyone kept telling us how much they loved Chris and what a good missionary he was, and even from the pulpit the counselor in the bishopric cried as he talked about what a great missionary Chris was and how much they would miss him. Then they asked Shaun and I to bear our testimonies and Chris could translate. Talk about getting put on the spot! Fortunately Chris pulled us through!

Well, I guess I better leave time for Shaun and Chris to write. We all need lots of time--these keyboards are all mixed up!

yo yo yo whats up in the house or were ever you happen to be. mom is never going to make fun of me any more for writing without caps and all that stuff. so we had a rockin week. we went up to 33 and had a good asada (mom and dad didn´t have the guts to try the guts) but they were super good. and then last night we went to a soccer game, Nacional against River. it was super fun except mom about froze to death. we only picked a few fights and won all of them. and, of course, river won the game. i have mixed emotions about leaving uruguay. it really stinks. don´t get me wrong, i´m excited to see you, but it´s kind of tough coming home. at least mom and dad passed as not being tourists. they fit in pretty good and we didnt get robbed.

Hey Loren: Its dad. We haven´t been robbed YET. We still have to get away from Buenos Aires in one piece. We have had a great time here. Yoúve gotten a lot of the news. I´ll fill you in a little more on the food. Our picky eater Chris is no longer so picky. I guess that´s what hunger will do! This member in 33 served us lamb´s tongue (a much prized delicacy no doubt - but I´ve learned to run when I hear that word "delicacy". It usually means something you don´t find on the usual menu for a very good reason). Chris gobbled it right down with a hearty "yum"! Blood sausage was next. "You´ve go to try it" he says, "It´s great!" I said maybe later. (Not on your life). Cow intestine was the next tasty treat on the menu. At least it was tasty according to Chris. I was suddenly full when that piece came around. But, I found myself thinking that this must be just the kind of thing that Loren likes by now -- if he´s gotten hungry enough to try it;)

It has been a great adventure to come and pick Chris up. The highlight was seeing the gratitude of the new members introduced to the Church by Chris. That made all the sacrifice worthwhile to see the light in their eyes and their joy in finding the gospel. It really warmed our hearts to see the love they had for Chris. Everyone talked about what a hard worker Chris was. This seemed to be one of the traits that really stood out to them. Several members talked about him always having blisters on his hands from helping people. Sure enough, he has some right now. The members were so friendly. I´ve never been kissed so much in my life! Chris seems a little melancholy now flying away from it all. I remember the same feelings myself. Still, what great memories he will always have for his hard work and faithful service here. Loren. We are so excited to think of you having these same kinds of experiences in the Philippines. What a blessing it is to bring the light of the Gospel into a person´s life, and to watch the change. These people Chris baptized a short time ago have already become stalwarts in the ward. One is a secretary to the Bishop and gave the priesthood lesson today, and another conducted sunday school. Well, my time is up here at the internet booth at the airport. We love you and are praying for your happiness and success always. Love Dad

Last Letter from Chris?

(Chris will be released from his mission on Sept. 24 and will be traveling for a few days with his parents before returning home on Sept. 28th. Chris will be speaking in Sacrament Meeting (in the NEW Paradise church) on October 18, 2009 at 11 a.m.)

hey fam.

hey dad i talked to freddy and he said that he had to make some payments on the house and doesn´t have the money for the iphone. so yeah. that's cool, i was thinking the buses would be cooler anyways.

mom i think the only thing you could bring is some peanut butter for people.

oh and there's a guy here, areil espinola. he lived in utah for a while and when he came down didn´t have room for a few things. he would like you to email him and he will call you ( he speaks english) and ask if you could bring it down. . cool well, see yall later. chou.

Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh Scary!

(Note from Kerry: Sarah was asked to the Homecoming Dance this past week. Her first date! She turns 16 on Wed.) scary scary. man i think the family is going down hill. sarah tell eli that hes crazy. hahaha. no im joking. hey happy bday this week. hey that is so cool about byu. wow. i love it. starting off good. hey dad about the bus or car, i don´t have any money. thats all i have to say about it. and i will tell you uruguayian drivers are crazy. but we would get around faster. and would get more sleep. and i don´t think we would wnt to take it to colon but that would be saturday and we could get a bus easy. and then use the car to go to 33 and trinidad. but like i said i am broke. estoy pelado. and mom of course im showing em all how to work. im not even close to being trunky. when are you coming down wed or thur. we have three bapizms planed for the next two weeks and they are all going to rock. we are working really hard. and seeing a lot of success. i love melo. but hey love yall and well talk later. chou

Congrats Nathan!

hahaha. very funny. its really funny how everyone all of the sudden wants to write to the poor lost elder, just when mom's trying to write about Nate's mission call. BUT IT IS REALLY AWESOME. that's so cool nate! Funny that we 4 (cousins: me, dan, loren, and nate) almost have the four corners of the earth. hey, i think there's a scripture on some angels that would be at the four corners. i don´t know if you could classify, Nate, as an angel, but i'm pretty much there. haahaha. well, party animals, i think that sarah's comments (that they usually work rather than play) 29 out of 30 days was just a cover up. ya'll just had to wait to get the boys out of the house (to party all the time). Well, Landon, you're the man of the house. you'll have to put them in line. I expect to hear that they are marching and getting some stuff done up there.

oh hey, congrats on the baby. thats cool. are we going to have to haul you around in a wheel chair while you're down here? hahaaha. i hope ya'll like bus rides. it's going to be a blast. but everything is rockin down here. melo is awesome. we have 3 baptisms planned right now and a few other invest. that just need to be married. we're on top of it. it rocks down here. it's starting to get hot, but they say a storm is coming in and it's going to get cool again. but hey love yall and talk to yall later. chou

Looking Good!

Shaun enjoying the rainstorm from the swing on the back porch.


wow thats quite the sick porch swing. man it looks like dad's kept the yard up. like loren said, what blessings. man we have been doing awesome here. i don´t think that there's really anything new. today we played some good futbol (soccer) and that was fun. we are really rocking it up in melo. dad, did you find us on google earth? its not too big of a town. it is bigger than sarandi grande, but yeah. almost every city is bigger than there.

hey dad i think that the 100 dollar one would be fine. the big thing is that they can put two chips in it. and then if you call people with the same company its free. and with two that's just more people you can call free. thanks for that.

we had a really cool and scary experience last night. we had a member with us after church and we went to lots of people and no one let us in. and then when we were headed to the last lesson we saw her in the street so we couldn´t watch the movie with her. and we had a little time left so we started to go to a menos activo (less actives), and almost went to another casa (house). but we got there and we started to talk to the mom and the spirit told us that she was thinking about suicide. she has gone through a lot of stuff. her son has some problems and probably won't live more than a year. and she doesn´t live with her husband so she's going through it alone. and we sang and she asked for a blessing and her daughter left and she told us everything. and luckily we were able to talk to her last night because she was going to do it that night. but she's doing better and we're going to keep going by to visit her. i tell you i was praying so hard to know what to say. but i'm so glad for the spirit. but hey, have a good week and talk to ya'll the next. chou

Here Comes Summer!

hey fam, wazup. hey you have to be grateful for the letters from me. i have thought about not writing for the last 6 weeks. and this piece of junk keyboard is making me think about it again. jajaja. hey, i love ya'll. it is so great up here. yeah mom, the border of the mission is the rio negro (black river). melo or cerro largo (long hill) is the most north. it is so beautiful. i'm in cuchilla (knife). and it is in the southern part of the city. we live on manuel oribe and close to trenta y tres. we live right in between two high schools. but i tell you it was a long, long bus ride. it was fun though. there was a little kid that was hyper. he was deaf and mute. but we started (all of the missionaries) and played with him about the whole bus ride. we also got to talk to a guy that was sitting next to us. he's from melo. and we played with the kid too (fransisco).

mom, i can't tell you if susana got baptized because we found out before i left that she had an abortion and she had to have an interview with pres. i haven´t heard anything yet. here we have a baptism for the 29th. marta is her name and she is awesome. she loves coffee and the last lesson we talked about that and she said that she was going to leave it. but that's the news. nate that is so cool! (He's finished up his mission papers). i'm so happy for ya. but ya'll have a good week and see yall later. chou

Last Transfer!

hey fam, can you do this? ççççççç thats the cool thing about spanish keyboards. its right next to the backspace and luckily its a cool looking letter. anyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyywaysss. sounds like everything is rockin in the valley of cache. hey dad i talked to freddy and he says that thats cool for the iphone, i dont know if you can do that. well, if you didn´t guess today is the cambios. i have left the bosque and am going to be on a bus to melo in about 15 minutos. it will be about a 6 hour ride sooooooo this is going to be quick. ooooooooooooooorrrrrrrr this is it. the elders just came to get me. chou

July has come and gone! la verdad que si

hey fam i'm doing awesome. today we went up to the beach in parque de plata and there was a house that was really old and really cool. we saw that and then on the beach we played ultimate frisbee. it was really fun. it definitely wasn´t like playing with everyone at home, but i can still whip ya'll! hahaha. hey guess what? someone stole my orange sweat pants. nooooooooooooo! the other night i had them hung out on the line to dry and then we changed comps for a day. that night, while i was gone, they heard something outside and went out, but didn´t see anything. and then the next night i also got stuck in the other area and that night a man came up to the door and was yelling, "Pablo", to see if anyone was home, and went to go open the door. but my comp yelled, "there isn´t a Pablo here", and he left. but then i got back and realized that it was my pants that they had robbed. but mom, don´t worry. it doesn't usually happen here. i'm pretty safe. hey dad, yeah- i know the friend was wondering because it's a lot more expensive here. and you would have to bring it down with you when you come. but i will talk to him and see what he thinks.

not this week end but the next we have a baptism. we are way excited and man, are we seeing miracles. i love this work. it is the best thing ever. we are really excited to see some more baptisms. but hey, like usual the time's up. love ya'll and have a good week. chou

Rock On

hey fam, waz up? sounds like ya'll are rocking it up. what news! thats crazy. i didn´t know that they had a ward garden. since when? hey tell the majors that i'll be praying for erin too.

hey loren, guess what? we have a baptizm the 15th also. cool huh! susana yesterday went to the church and fits in just like she is a member. she came to church by herself and when she came in we said hi and then a member said, "hey, lets go to relief society." it was so cool! we didn´t have to do anything. we are so exited. we've seen some great blessings this week. yesterday especially. we found two old investigators. they are both really excited to listen to the missionaries again. hey i cant find my cord for the camera or i would have sent you pictures by now.

oh yeah. this week we had interveiws in our houses. ahahah, but no-- it went good. pres da silva is an amazing person. i love him. the hermana is so great too. they are always just happy and loving. but the hermana said to some of the other elders that we had cleaned the house good and that we were good, but that she just didn't like the house. it isn´t the best house. but it is a roof. but hey, love yall and hope you all have a great week. ya'll are great. thanks for the email. chou

Keep On Keeping On!

dont worry dad, im not even close to being trunky. ive got a lot of battery left. even though every one of the missionarys here don´t mind telling you how much time you have left......every time they see you. man, loren, its a tough one. i remember a little while back listening to a talk by E´Holland. he talked about the atonement and said that many people had asked him, "if the church is true why don't people come running to the church?" why is it always a fight? he then said that we had to feel a little bit of what the savior felt. and my favorite part-- BECAUSE SALVATION IS NOT A CHEAP THING. esta demas. it is just like mom and dad said. and just to tell ya'll, mom and dad, your words helped me too. here in this area we haven´t yet had a baptism and have gone through about a dozen golden investigators. i don't know why. i know that i can always do better. but it is like dad says. there are times when you just have to hold in there. just. this last week we had some of the lowest numbers we have had here. my mind turned to swimming. and this is why i hate the saying that only perfect practice makes perfect. i remember days when i couldn´t swim with the best technique because i was so tired. but that was when i grew and learned endurance. i feel it is the same. thanks for every thing and we will talk to ya'll later. chou

News from Chris

hey, so how's it going up in swan valley? i'm having fun down here. the new president (Pres. Da Silva) is so tranquilo (calm). he is so great. he really knows what he's doing. we had a meeting with him this last week, and it went really good.

today we had a zone activity and got to play around a little bit. it was bunches of fun. sarah, im so sad to hear the news (that she will be turning 16 soon). i surely hope that i can get an extension on my mission. hahaha-

luckily this week has been mas o menos (more or less) nice. in the middle of the week it got kind of cold but then it warmed up again. at the principio de la semana we found a fam and they are great. and then we went back and there were about 7 more people there. we are going to baptize the whole barrio (district). sorry, sometimes i cant think what it is in ingles (English), but i figure that you got a dictionary. no? i love this work. i love being here in uruguay. i love my savior. and i know that he lives. that he loves us. i know that he has a plan for us. i know the truth. and i want todos (all) to have it. sarah, i just want to tell you even though you already know it. there is no half. i thought there was before. i can't give half. i can't do half. i have to give it all and that's what its all about. it's definitely worth the wait. some times we don't see the blessings for a long time but it is definitely worth giving your all in every moment. love yall and we'll talk next week.

Waz Up Ya'll?

WAZ UP YALL. what a great letter. thanks ya'll for that. hey CHARLIE, HAPPY BDAY. it sounded like it was a good one. and that stinks about the candy at the parade. but what are you going to do?

yeah talk about wet. it was wet last monday with a little on martes (Tuesday) and then last night it started with a big storm again. and it is still going strong. im sure its nothing like what you're going through, Loren, but its still wet and really humid. i about drowned in my own flem last night. i woke up several times and was coughing.  pero es lo que hay (but it is what it is).  last friday we had a mission conference and got to know Pres. Da Silva. he is an amazing man. it is going to be great. his wife is awesome too. but that's all the news from here.

hey dad, its going to be great down here when yall come. ive talked with some great friends and their parents are coming too. and we're going to do some stuff together. but una pregunta (a question). could you bring down an iphone when you come? i have a great friend that asked if you could bring one down. but hey be prepared. when are yall coming and going. love ya'll mucho. have a great week. chou. nos vemos. hasta luego

New Pres!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH ONLY TWO AND A HALF MONTHS (until Sarah turns 16). thats scary. ok, im now recovering from the heart attack. if sarah is going to be driving please come down here for mine and your safety. hahaha. well see if you have any dates after the first one comes to pick you up. hahaha. that is an evil laugh. dad, you did get a few new guns didn´t you.

hey im telling yall. please come down (to Uruguay). it is fine. today i was talking to another missionary that came with me and his parents are coming too and we were talking about going to some of the areas together. sound cool. you guys are so cool.

DID YOU REALLY SEND A NOTE TO THE MISSION OFFICES? oh well, with the new pres they are running around like their heads are cut off. they probably didn´t even think about it. well, im definitely glad that ya'll care for me so much. everything is rocking down here. my comp is a stud. and we are rocking it up. he teaches so good.  we are going to have a great change.  Apparently he has (been a member) two years in the church and lives 10 min from the temple in Lima, (Peru). A few weeks after he was baptized, he heard that a missionary that was working in the (Lima,Peru) MTC died. (Chris' comment about his companions experience relates to Chris because it was Chris' grandfather who died in Lima, Peru 2 years ago while serving a full-time PEF mission and occasionally teaching in the MTC).

hey mom i would have sent some pics but it is raining like crazy here. next week. but i started to get the pics that you wanted. and dad, this friday we have a mission conference. we are going to be meeting the new pres. yeah the whole mission is in suspense. its going to be cool. but hey yall love yall and well talk next week. chou
Elder Chris Peck

He's Alive!

hey im really sorry (about not writing for so long).  yeah, it is just so crazy with getting this new (mission) president. our pdays these last two weeks were on fridays.  last week we had zone conference on that day and we got back with just enough time to write. but the first one (internet cafe) was packed full of people and the other one didn´t have internet until 7:30 and we had to work. sorry. 

today is changes. i'm now with elder boyer from lima peru. it is going to be a rocking change. wow. i haven´t even had time to read your emails. but from the pictures it looks like it (the trek) was awesome. wow. but there is so much that has happened, but i have no time. im so sorry. i will write more on monday. love yall and hope yall have a great week end.

Another Week in Uruguay!

Hey family, Could you translate the letter last week? fun fun no?  Doing great here.  Yes, it is getting cold, but doing really great. I'm sorry I don´t have much time today, but doing really great.  The area is going great and getting better every day. I love ya'll and have a great week. Sorry. Thanks for the email.

I Hope Someone Can Translate!

Zone Leaders
vamos a ver si realamente saben tranducir. We are going to see if you can really translate. ha sido una semana muy buena. It has been a really great week. tuvemos algunas reuniones muy duras. We had some hard meetings. tuvemos el miercoles el concilio de lideres de zona y la primera cosa que dijo el presidente era. voy a hacer una profecia, la mision montevideo jemas va a duplicar bautizmos. y comencó a bajar la caña (drop can) en la mision. y despues de decirle, dijo la mision nunca va a duplicar los bautizmos si sigua así. y luego (el dia siguiente) nosotros tuvemos que trnsmitirlo a nuestras zonas. duro pero salimos listos para cambiar. y estamos en eso. On Wednesday we had zone leader conference and the first thing that the Mission President said was; I am going to prophesy that the Montevideo Mission will not duplicate the baptisms that we have had.  He then started to come down on the zone leader, and said again the mission is not going to duplicate the baptisms if they continue as they have and then on the next day we had to let the zones know what the president had to say.  Hard but we left ready to change and we have started to do it.

ustedes son los mejores les amo mucho y quiero decirles que se sin duda que esta es la iglesia de Dios. que nosotros tenemos esa responsabilidad de trear isreal de nuevo a la verdad. se que esta obra es guiado por Jesucristo mismo. genio, los quiero mucho, y que disfruten su semana. hasta luego mis amigos. Chou  You are the best and I love you much and want to tell you that without a doubt that this is the church of God.  That we have a responsibility to bring Israel newly to the truth.  I know the work is guided by Jesus Christ himself.  I love you very much and may you enjoy your week.  Until later my friends. Goodbye.

Another day at the Beach!

hey i got yall a few more pictures. cool huh. yeah we went down to the beach again. it was fun. sounds like yall are just full of adventures. or am i just reading sarahs letter.hahaha. this week has been great. not much has been going on in the last few days but we are working hard and having fun.  this last week we had 9 new invest. it was great. we've really been blessed. our whole house is covered in mold. i'm going to try to get a package sent off today with the things that aren´t going to last the mold and i don't need. i mean we left one morning and when we got back that night the whole sink in the bathroom was green. cool huh. but other than that its been a normal week. i love yall and i hope yall have a good week. chou.

ps i talked to elder larsen and he told me that in 33 that adriana and freddy both got baptized. yeahhhhhhhhh.

Another Transfer Week

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

hey fam, ya'll sound great. hey sorry again, i don´t have much time to write. it is changes already again. but the good news is that nothing changed for me and my comp. it's going so great over here. we have been so blessed and the members are just about killing us with contacts. i love it. it is really what we have to do here. i mean we've just been running around like our heads are cut off. its crazy. yesterday we finally found an inactive family the bishop had sent us a few times, but had given us the wrong directions. and none of their neighbors even knew them. and from what we have got from the members was that it was the dad that was hard.  we went in and we saw that. but we had a great lesson and he opened up to us and was joking around by the time we left. crazy cool! but hey, love you all.

p.s.  hey, if you're  wondering about letters or anything, i lost all my stamps. sorry. chou

May 14, 2009 Email

hey ya'll, wasup? nuthing much has happened since we talked on sunday. we just went to the temple today--awesome. and a few days ago we found two amazing investigators. they both were old investigators and either were sent to the hospital or moved and lost contact with the missionaries.  but hey, got to get home. see ya'll later. chau