Keep on...Keepin’ on

Hey Everyone!

Just finishing up week two out here in Antofagasta and I am just loving it so much and can`t imagine being anywhere else in the world. The people are absolutely wonderful and so understanding and pacient with my Spanish. I just love teaching and testifying of Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father`s plan for us. 

Second best thing here is the food! I eat so much bread and the meat here is so good. Most people here eat rice so it reminds me of home. An incredibly common condiment we use here is mayo and I have definitely had to get used to it. We eat lots of beets and potatoes too. I have to watch myself with all the sweet stuff though because it is just so good. The members of the ward do really well at feeding us a lot too. 

Funny stories of the week were getting peed on by a dog, having a dog puke on my bag while we were at a member`s house for lunch, and having dogs try and follow us onto the city bus and I actually had to drag both of the dogs off. We also have two stray dogs that live at our apartment building that follow us everywhere because the hermanas that used to live there would feed them and they cause so much trouble and bark at every dog they see but when a dog wants to fight back, the dogs hide behind us and want us to protect them. 

All in all I am absolutely in love with Chile and I know that I have been called here for so many reasons and I am doing the best I can to find out why and I how can become the best missionary I can be!

Love,

Hermana Pettijohn

1. Hermana Logan and I at my first Zone Conference

2. Went on a hike last Pday (it was super super hot!!)

3. LA PORTADA (my zone)

4. Berlin is literal heaven in the form of food (sweet bread with manjar)

El Mejor Misión del Mundo!!

IT HAS BEEN ONE OF THE ABSOLUTE CRAZIEST WEEKS OF MY LIFE! When I got to Chile it has been nonstop working and I am absolutely loving it even though it is so hard. The mission is one of the best things I have ever done and I can´t wait to continue sharing this Gospel and message of happiness!! My companion Hermana Logan and I talk to so many people every day and it is so cool to meet so many people from different walks of life. So many great things are happening up here in Chile and I just absolutely love being here!! 

I also had the opportunity to meet two apostles this past week, Elder Cook at the CCM and Elder Renlund my first few days in the mission field. I love the prophets and apostles of the church and I am so grateful fo them and how they direct Jesus Christ´s church. I am so grateful to be here and I am so grateful for Jesus Christ and the love he has for me and you!

Love, 

Hermana Pettijohn

***from Amanda***Sorry no pictures from her this week, but I have a cute screen shot from our first video chat since the church announced the changes in communication with family.

T minus 4 days

HOLA EVERYONE!!

I am finally finishing my last week here at the CCM. I am so incredibly excited to be leaving Mexico and starting my new adventure on the real mission in Chile. I am also very nervous because my Spanish is not very good and people in Chile speak a different dialect so I will almost basically be starting from scratch when I get out there, but I know that as I continue studying the language, relying on the Lord, and just loving the people in Chile that I will be able to learn the language because I have already learned so much!!

I had the opportunity to go to the temple again today and it was just as amazing and beautiful as last week. I love the temple so much and I have received so many blessings from being able to go to the temple. It has brought so much peace, joy, and knowledge into my life and I am so incredibly grateful for the temple. 

My favorite scripture this week is Mosiah 28:3. I am on a mission to invite others to come unto Jesus Christ and because we are all God´s children, each and every one of us is so important to Him. I am here to do Heavenly Father´s work to save souls so they can return to live with Him again. I love this Gospel so much and I love my Savior Jesus Christ. I am so excited to be in Chile in less than 4 days and just share this message of happiness!!
--

Hermana Pettijohn 

1. Another temple trip!

2. The beautiful Mexico City Temple

3. My new scripture case!

4. Last district picture!!

5. CHILE ANTOFAGASTA BOYS

Semana 5

HOLA EVERYBODY!!

I have had an amazing, spiritual week and I just love being out on a mission so much!!

On Tuesday we had the awesome opportunity to hear from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland in a devotional broadcasted from the Provo MTC and I absolutely loved it. He talked about being exactly obedient and the importance of the Holy Ghost and the Book of Mormon when teaching. I have always loved listening to the counsel and guidance of the apostles and prophets, but since I am on a mission I feel like it is so important to listen to what we are told. 

Today our zone got to go to the Mexico City Temple and it was such a beautiful and amazing experience! I haven´t been to the temple in a little less than 2 months, so it was so nice to go and feel the Spirit. Also we hadn´t left the CCM in the 5 weeks we have been here, so it was nice to see more of Mexico City. People in Mexico drive so crazy and lanes are not a thing here so we almost got in like 8 accidents but we survived. 

My favorite scripture this week is Mosiah 7:33. As we remember to rely on the Lord and trust in Him, our burdens will be made lighter and we will be able to serve Him and others with more diligence and desire.

I love you all very much and would love to hear from you all!

-- 

Love,

Hermana Pettijohn 

1. Mexico City Temple!

2. The Cristus

3. El Distrito

4. Las Hermanas

One year older and still trying to get wiser

HOLA YALL

Week four up in the CCM is almost finished and it has been a wild ride!!

On Monday I had the awesome privilege of turning 20!! I literally have the sweetest district in the entire world because they threw me the cutest little surprise party and even made me a cake out Pingüinos (Mexican Ding Dongs) and vanilla and chocolate wafers. My companion is the absolute sweetest and drew me a beautiful picture of Jesus Christ´s hands and I just love her and her artistic abilities. It was so cool to experience a birthday out here on my mission!

I have just been studying away this week and I love speaking Spanish and learning this language. I know that without the Lord, I would not be able to speak as well as I do even though I still don´t even speak it that well. We have pretty much been speaking Spanglish the past two weeks, but during weeks five and six we can only speak Spanish so we will see how that goes. 

My favorite scripture this week is Mosiah 24:13-15. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us so much and because of the Atonement, we can have our burdens lifted and become strengthened to endure any trial we go through.

I also have a very humbling and beautiful talk compilation of Jefferey R. Holland and Henry B. Eyring called La Expiación y La Obra Misional that you could just look up on YouTube. It gives a great aspect on Jesus Christ´s Atonement and I just love it.  

I love this Gospel so much and I can´t imagine being anywhere else than on a mission, sharing what I love. 

If you have any questions or just want to talk, please just shoot me an email and I would love to hear from you!   

-- 

Hermana Pettijohn 

1. My super cute district!!

2. The Hermanas

3. My companion drew this absolutely breathtaking picture of Jesus Christ´s hands after he was crucified and resurrected. She is so amazing!!

4. My favorite picture here at the CCM of Jesus Christ and His Apostles

5. We literally have a photo shoot every PDay but whatever...

6. I also got a present from my family!!

Another amazing week here at the CCM (Semana 3)

HOLA EVERYBODY!

I`m back after another spiritual and study filled week!! I`m almost halfway through my stay here at the CCM and then I`ll be off to the real mission. The Lord blessed us with a lightning and thunderstorm this week and it was so nice to see rain because it reminded me of home. It is just crazy dry here that it was much needed! Yesterday we had a service project and even though all we did was laundry, it was one of the most fun things I have done since I have been here at the CCM! You kinda had to have been there, but it was crazy! 

I have the super duper cool opportunity to have two CCM presidents. They don`t change that often, so for it to change while I`m only here for 6 weeks is pretty great. I`m very much going to miss Presidente Bennett and Hermana Bennett, but I`m excited to meet the new presidency!

My favorite scripture this week is Enos 1:8! I know that if we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we will be blessed with knowledge and understanding. We will also have a greater desire to become more like Him and love others as he does. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the true church of our Heavenly Father and I love this Gospel so much. I have developed such an intense love for it over the past few weeks and I just want to share it with everyone I know!

If you have any questions or just want to talk, please just shoot me an email and I would love to hear from you!  

--

MUCH LOVE,

Hermana Pettijohn 

1. Hermana Smith and I!!

2. The best cranberry juice I ever did have!

3. All the cute little houses we get to see everyday.

4. One of the best creations to ever be upon the Earth because they are so good and they remind me of MY MOM! I get one every week!! (Sometimes more)

First time pay phone user!!

Hola Everybody! 

Boy has it been a long two weeks here in Mexico at the CCM. I was actually a whole day late getting here because of crazy flight delays, including getting stuck on Oahu over night. The Lord definitely blesses with many tender mercies though. After using a payphone to call my parents mostly crying for the whole minute I paid for, I then felt prompted to ask a couple if I could borrow their phone. After I had called home with no time limit, I found out the couple had gone to school in Utah and had several friends who had served missions. I then got to talk to them about the purpose of serving a mission and my reasons for going and it was such a tender experience. My aunt and uncle were able to come rescue me from the Honolulu airport so I wouldn´t need to stay in a hotel all night by myself, which was such a blessing! Also as we were landing into the Honolulu airport, I got to see all the fireworks for the New Year, which was amazing to see from the air. For my flight from San Francisco to Mexico City, the Lord definitely blessed me because I got bumped up to First Class!!

I am loving Mexico so much! It is so so so cold though, but I just love the environment and the Spirit is so strong here. My Spanish coming along, but I´m not so good at speaking that I´m dreaming in Spanish yet, but I know I´ll get there one day. I actually understand Spanish really well, I just can´t reply back quickly when people are talking to me. I know that the Spirit is with me learning this language because I have learned more in the past two weeks than I did taking two years in high school. The food is pretty good and I´m not starving, but I miss my  mom´s cooking and being able to make my own food. 

I HAVE THE BEST DISTRICT IN THE ENTIRE WORLD! I love them so much and everyone has such strong testimonies and a love for our Savior Jesus Christ! My companion is Hermana Smith and she is such a sweet soul! We look like we could be sisters since, for some reason, they put the only two redhead hermanas together as companions! She is from San Angelo, Texas, but is going to Argentina. There is one other companionship of sisters in my district, Hermana Nordtstrom and Hermana Ormonde and the are both going to Chile Antofagasta! There are also two elders in my district going to Antofagasta. 

Over the past two weeks I have learned a lot about myself and my testimony has grown immensely. I love this Gospel so much and I know that Heavenly Father loves me and each and everyone of you. I am so excited to be preaching this message of happiness soon and I know that I will be blessed and I will be able to bless others and bring them unto Christ. 

If you have any questions or just want to talk, please just shoot me an email and I would love to hear from you!

My favorite scriptures this week are Mosiah 2:41 and Moroni 10:32 and I encourage you to ponder those scriptures to continue to gain a love for The Book of Mormon because it is the best book in the whole world!!

--

Much love,

Hermana Pettijohn 

1. Las hermanas y yo!
2. Not as big as the Provo MTC, but Hermana Nordstrom and I pointing to our mission!!
3. My cute companion and I putting in work!!
4. THE DISTRICT
5. My district after our first service project in the cafeteria, scrubbing the whole place down!
6. My cute companion and I again!!