The MTC is Empty...

Sister Reber: The MTC is empty and the laughter in the halls is gone. 

 I miss the Elders already.

Last night we had a closing Fireside and testimony meeting. 

 It was very tender and tearful.

The Elders were honest with their feelings and told openly how they 

came to be on a mission

I cried along with them.  They all agreed that they were in the right place and that it was no 

accident that they were in the MTC with this group.  They expressed love for each other and said

that they had become brothers in the short time they were here.

Thank you to those who have written kind notes to me.  I really appreciate it.

 

May God bless you and your missionaries as they serve.

Ye Elders of Israel...

Sister Reber: Yesterday the MTC Choir sang in three wards.  They sang "Ye Elders of Israel" and gave a great performance.
Elder Peterson was the conductor and I accompanied on the piano.

 I wish you could have heard them...they were fabulous!

Just watching 16 handsome Elders walk into the chapel was impressive.  They are like brothers and united in their efforts.

Visitors at the MTC

Sis. Reber: The MTC was blessed to have Elder Hamilton of the Area Presidency come to visit the MTC.  It was his first time to ever come to the South Africa MTC.  He brought with him President and Sister Zackrison from the Durban Mission....where 9 of our Elders will be serving.

We had a wonderful meeting with them and it was a special treat as this is a rare occurance at the MTC.
Your Elder was blessed to be here.

"My mother won't believe this!"

Sister Reber: I did a room check of the Elder's bedrooms.  They all passed inspection and were rewarded with a South African candy bar....which are outstanding.
I told the Elders I would send photos of them getting their candy bars 
and one Elder said "My mother won't believe this!"

I can easily imagine that those words were spoken by my missionary son-- particularly as he left a hamper-full of dirty laundry, an unmade bed, and clothing all over his bedroom floor! 

The Elders Get to Work

Sister Reber: While the Elders are at the MTC, they have opportunity to give 30 minutes of service.
The (one) photo shows Elders moving a trailer full of old carpet (the chapel next door got new carpet).
They loaded it into the back of our van and I was able to take it to one of our staff's home.  They don't have carpet and were so happy to get it.

Then the Elders washed the van, swept the walks, and measured washing powder for the next group of missionaries who come on Thursday.

They continue to excell!
 

I Want to Know if he ate the Green Beans??

Sister Reber: "At dinner, we were served "pap".  It is a little like grits....Elder W claims.  It is the staple food here in South Africa and also in Uganda....so your missionary will be eating lots of it.  The African Elders showed the Americans how to eat it with their fingers.  It was a fun cultural exchange.

From the photos you can see that some of the Elders were more adventuresome than others.  Many of the African Elders said it reminded them of home."

I asked Sister Reber if Camden ate his green beans, and she replied:We have a rule in the MTC (same rule we raised our 8 children with)....you must take "3 happy bites" of everything on your plate.  Elder Peterson ate "3 happy green beans"....but he said to tell you he still doesn't like them.  But there are two years left for him to change his mind!    I received this email the following day: I sat next to Elder Peterson at lunch today.  He ate his mixed vegetables and I commended him.  He asked me if I was going to tell you and I promptly answered "yes".  He just grinned his famous grin that lights up his whole face.

The Africans just can't get over his blue eyes.  He tells us that girls can't get over them either!
 

Emails from Elder Peterson

Such a blessing to wake to emails from this terrific young man! It's very clear that he is loving the MTC experience.   "Suit up & Serve!"


Dear Madre

I told you I told you I told you!! He is fantastic! It really is the star of the show and he does it so nicely! I really am bummed I missed it but I know he did great!!   (We were awed and amazed at Ky's performance as Elvis/Pharoah in the school musical; Cam got to see him in an earlier rehearsal.)

 Make sure Brenner gets my email! I love that kid to death and I've been thinking about him more than anything! He needs to come here and learn soccer! They are sooooo crazy good here! 

I really slept so hard on the airplanes and everything that the time zones and flying did absolutely nothing to me. I actually havent snored once since I got here... I wake up just fine at 5:40 every morning and go running with my companion Elder N.  (Cam's a crazy snorer normally--we sent him with earplugs for his companions!)

We are so tight and such good teachers together. I told dad that we are the first companionship to get a baptism in the MTC! BOOOOOM!! 

We had the hardest rain yesterday so me and some of the other elders stayed outside and ran around and went swimming in the flooded fields and courts! Dont tell anyone!! Muahaha! 

My PDay out in the field will be on Monday so it'll be a while before you hear from me again! I sent a letter today too so expect that at Christmas! Please continue writing and I will reply as much as I can! I love you mom. Tell everyone else the same. I will talk to you all again soon!

Love, Elder P

Dear Brenner!

Brenner! My little buddy! I miss you so much and love you so much! I am glad you loved the play. Elvis is such a cool character to play and you are goofy enough to do it! 

You are the luckiest kid in the world! you got a t-shirt and you got to see emerson????? Thats not even fair! Remember that time when we were running around the table and i was a bull and you were the rider? Such a good day! 

You better do super good in your program and sing loud for mom to hear.

 I used to love swinging at recess. Nothing was better than being able to swing the highest at recess! That car game sounds so great buddy! Im pretty sure whatever car looks the most like mine would be the fastest! 

So ive been asking all of my companions what soccer jerseys to get for you. It sounds like the South Africa team is the best of the world right now! In rugby (which is kind of like football mixed with soccer) the sharks of Durban are super good! I will be looking for some for you! I also asked about Zulu weapons and they said they use spears more than anything else so i will keep my eyes open for something cool! 

Its so good to here from you Brenner! Keep being a good boy and don't beat up Kyler too much. I love you little man! Keep writing me! Love, Elder Peterson

Dear Padre!

I've been waiting for this email!   I wish i was out in the field so i had more time to write you!   

My testimony has serious quadrupled and my knowledge of the scriptures seriously amazing myself!   

My companion Elder N is from Swaziland. He is way awesome!   We get along great and we teach together probably the best of everyone here.   We have 3 serious investigators right now and we are the only companionship to commit 1 to baptism and the other 2 are so close we are doing them tonight.   

The days are long and hard here but its so so worth it. I just cant wait to get out and teach people! thank you so much for being the example to me i needed. So many elders here dont know their fathers and it breaks my heart. I love you dad. I cant wait to hear back from you!   Love, Elder P

Attending the Johannesburg Temple

From Sister Reber:  "Tuesday President Reber and I broke away from the Mission President's Seminar to meet our Elders at the Temple.  We had a wonderful time together in God's holy house.  Elders: S, L and M recieved their endowment that day.  When I took the photos, the three Elders were already inside the Temple so I am sorry they are not in the photos.  Today we will take them back to the Temple and get a picture of them as they have the second chance in their life to attend the Temple."
 

Elder Peterson and his companion

First Sacrament Meeting at the MTC

"Two of the Mission Presidents arrived early (from Zimbabwe and Madagascar) and came to the MTC today to join us for our Church meetings.
 
This photo was taken right after Sacrament Meeting.  We had a wonderful meeting with talks by Elders: Ndlovu, Peterson, Mothajana, Farmer, Lombola, Sieverts, Setshedi, and Keizer.  The Elders did a great job and were impressive to our visitors.  (We already knew how great they are)."   **Written by the Mission President's lovely wife who has been kind enough to send us pics from the MTC. 

 

Elder P still looks happy and fired up! :) 

First, delightful, pics from the MTC

Elder P is at the Johannesburg MTC

Woke to this email this morning from Elder P.  So grateful for the magic of email!

Dear Family!

I made it to South Africa! It is seriously a billion degrees here! I dont really know the real temperature because it is in C... But I am loving this MTC! It is quite small but the elders here rock! We met up with a more here so there (are) like 10 of us total and more on their way. My companion here is from Swaziland. His name is Elder N*****. I am working on the pronunciation but its rough! He was way cool and way humble. He will be an awesome missionary and a great companion. There are like 9 of us going to Durban and 6 going to Uganda i think. Sadly he is going to Uganda.

I was wondering why the phone call got cut off but at least I had told you I made it. You'll have to tell me how Kyler's play goes! I am bummed I cant see it but I'm sure he will do great! Tell everyone I miss them and love them!  Really though everyone thinks it is hilarious that I lost the letter from Jacey... They are all reading their letters and I'm like well awkward...

I actually am doing ok with the home sickness thing. I dont know if its totally hit me or not that I am here. Its pretty awesome though because I get an hour to email everyone! I was actually pretty surprised at how not scary it is here in Johannesburg. Its quite similar to the US but the roads are like mexico. They are scary. We have been doing administration all day and got more shots done.

I'm really excited to finally be here! It was a long flight but its awesome to finally be here. Everyone is so friendly and I can really feel that I need to be here. I can't explain it and I've only been here a day but there's something or someone here for me. I've been writing in my journal and reading all my mission books in my free time. I'm really excited to learn more ecspecially from these other elders. Some of them have really strong testimonies I can tell.

Well, keep sending me emails and letting me know what is going on! My 'mission mom' is going to email you some photos tonight so get ready! I love you! Tell everyone I miss them and love them too!

Love Elder Peterson