Oi! Oh my gosh how can I express my love, joy, gratitude, excitement, everything in one e-mail? I wrote a million letters today to everyone explaining about how I was transferred to Eden so I feel like everyone should know already but I realize that practically no one knows! Only the 7 people to whom I wrote letters! So here I am in the Garden of Eden! ! I was finally transferred out of the capital and let me just tell you it has been THE best thing that has ever happened to me! Not gonna lie, I was pretty nervous when I found out (up until I got on bus I was waiting for the Elder to tell me he was joking) because my first experience out here wasn´t exactly....umm the best? BUT I was fortunate enough to be with my beloved companion Sister Steinbeigle the night before she left for the U.S. and we talked until 3 AM (when I began to pack my bags!). She helped me soooo much! More than she will ever know. And I decided right there to stop thinking about my dumb self and GET TO WORK! The Lord called me to Eden so to Eden I will go! The first thing I noticed when I got here was the blazing sun, dang. BUT one of my goals is not to complain! The next thing was that my camera was missing! After 3 days of sorrow I was relieved to discover that I had left it on the bus and it had been found. I now have little sticky notes all over my house that say 'FORGET YOURSELF AND GET TO WORK!" And you know what? It´s working! The funny thing is this place is so incredible I don´t even have time to think about me! I left my last two areas completely mentally exhausted and drained and now I am PUMPED to get to work!
The difference between here and Caxingui/Vertentes is drastic. I will never speak badly about my last area because I loved it there, differently. There were many people who touched my life profoundly and I will forever be deeply grateful for the experiences I had there. But in the words of Sister Steinbeigle Eden is a "breath of fresh air" LITERALLY! It is so darn peaceful here!Sometimes it feels like I´m on an island because it´s in the middle of nowhere. Instead of traffic, people ride horses for goodness sake! Instead of working in the oldest stake in Brasil, I am serving in a teeny-tiny branch that only has existed two years! The people here are the nicest, most humble, willing to work, help, and serve that I have ever met in my life. The recent converts: incredible. Our investigators: even more so! We will be baptizing a young man, Luca, this Saturday who is so elect! He even bore his testimony yesterday in church! I just sat in sacrament meeting and cried yesterday. I felt so strongly that this is where I am supposed to be right now. There is so much to be done here and I am refreshed and ready to do it! I could go on forever because there is so much to say but mainly I just wanted everyone to know that I am happy. Probably happier than I have ever been. Wanna know why? Because I´m not thinking about me! Why has it taken me a year to figure out the key to success? My mind is completely wrapped up in what I can be doing for others and it´s a wonderful feeling. I feel so incredibly blessed. So grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who knows me and knows that I need this. Or better, that HE needs ME here to help HIS children. I haven´t even mentioned my companion who is also just a doll! She is from Bahia (just like my trainer!) We get along great and sing Celine Dion all day long together! Ahhh where am I? Oh yeah! Paradise! It is very possible that I will end my mission here and how great would that be!!! I sure hope it happens. There is no where else I´d rather be! Sending my love and all the positive energy I´ve got cuz I have plenty to go around! :D
The difference between here and Caxingui/Vertentes is drastic. I will never speak badly about my last area because I loved it there, differently. There were many people who touched my life profoundly and I will forever be deeply grateful for the experiences I had there. But in the words of Sister Steinbeigle Eden is a "breath of fresh air" LITERALLY! It is so darn peaceful here!Sometimes it feels like I´m on an island because it´s in the middle of nowhere. Instead of traffic, people ride horses for goodness sake! Instead of working in the oldest stake in Brasil, I am serving in a teeny-tiny branch that only has existed two years! The people here are the nicest, most humble, willing to work, help, and serve that I have ever met in my life. The recent converts: incredible. Our investigators: even more so! We will be baptizing a young man, Luca, this Saturday who is so elect! He even bore his testimony yesterday in church! I just sat in sacrament meeting and cried yesterday. I felt so strongly that this is where I am supposed to be right now. There is so much to be done here and I am refreshed and ready to do it! I could go on forever because there is so much to say but mainly I just wanted everyone to know that I am happy. Probably happier than I have ever been. Wanna know why? Because I´m not thinking about me! Why has it taken me a year to figure out the key to success? My mind is completely wrapped up in what I can be doing for others and it´s a wonderful feeling. I feel so incredibly blessed. So grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who knows me and knows that I need this. Or better, that HE needs ME here to help HIS children. I haven´t even mentioned my companion who is also just a doll! She is from Bahia (just like my trainer!) We get along great and sing Celine Dion all day long together! Ahhh where am I? Oh yeah! Paradise! It is very possible that I will end my mission here and how great would that be!!! I sure hope it happens. There is no where else I´d rather be! Sending my love and all the positive energy I´ve got cuz I have plenty to go around! :D
-Sister Peck
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