August 6, 2012 Baptisms & the Olympics

Dear Familia,

So this week was good. We had the baptism go well, and we ended up spending a whole morning cleaning the pool where we baptised the brother Jesus. He's a great person and even though he can't read, we're working on all the things that we can to help him. We've adapted our large vocabulary to fit the simple and plainness that is sounding us in this house. His wife is a great support for him, and she wants a change in her family. We're planning on having the father baptise his 2 kids at the end of the month, but his children don't know that yet ;) haha ya we do work!

Elder Yanez, & Elder Pinegar with Jesus and his family Aug 4, 2012

Elder Yanez & Elder Pinegar Pday Aug 6, 2012

You guys are right, this week went very fast, but that's OK cause that's how it should be! Yeah, it's been kinda tough to not see the Olympics, but I'm not gonna lie I saw a little glimpse here and there ;)  This time I'm grateful for the fact that every person has a TV, even if they don't have a house! -haha Sounds like Nick had a great week*, tell him to keep up the good work! ;) Just tell him to not die. Yeah, so I sent you guys letters too. I sent them off today, hopefully you get them by the end of Agosto.

Sight Seeing on Pday "Peruvian Air Force firing range Danger of death Forbidden to Enter"

That's cool with Bek.  She's got a big heart, and a lot of guy friends. haha She doesn't need a boyfriend right now, and I hope Rylee (Hill) had a good 18th birthday. Send her a shout out for me will ya?! and as for Spencer, he'll end up with a scholarship and fine women if he sticks to football. He's gonna be a beast! Tell him that lacrosse is for people that are not him haha! But he has to like what he does, cause if he doesn't like it, then he's not enjoying life and that's not why we're here on earth. As for the reading that I've been doing, I have read in Spanish since the first day of my mission. I'm currently reading Jesus El Cristo and the BoM in Spanish. I'm about halfway through with Jesus the Christ.

Yeah, that's about all that I have to say this week. Just know that I love you all, and that I always pray for you!

Elder Pinegar

*Nick started the week getting stitches near his eye and ended it getting stung by a bee (he's very allergic to them)

July 30, 2012 Congratulations to Nick & Arriving at the Right Time

Dear Familia,
Well I just gotta say that that's great what Nick has done. I couldn't help but to tear up just a little bit ;) But ya´ll know that I'm tough haha.  CONGRATS NICK!!!  You did it!!  Ohhh and about the Rosetta Stone.....no hay nada que pasa con aquella basura jaja. You'll learn the Spanish in the field, study the grammatica in the MTC. Don't worry about the words, only solid grammar, If you can do that, you ll be fine. Don't give up and quit. We're not those kinda people ya know that!

Yeah so a little bit of what happened this week. It was good, and we had 3 people go to the church, of those three were a family. The father is going to be baptised this Saturday. I talked about that with my comp, and we came to the conclusion that we arrived in the point of time, when the less active mother wanted to go back to the church and when the father wanted to make certain changes in his life. It's interesting. So other than that, not a lot happened. We cleaned the outside of the church cause it was full of weeds and what not haha.

So to answer your questions, the branch has 100 members, of those 100 there are 25 active, and of the active members there are about 5 that help haha. Every week we have an attendance of about 20. The pensión here is the best one that I have had to date haha, but I'm getting kinda sick of the Perúvian food. This week I didn't take any pics, but just know that I'm doing good. I'm happy and I really like the pic of nick, then of my friends. Thanks a lot!!!

your son, friend, man,

Elder Pinegar

July 23, 2012 - Success in Teaching Families

Elder Pinegar & Elder Yanez - Looks like Pizza!! July 2012 Negrieros Peru

Elder Pinegar, Carlos (YM Pres) & Elder Yanez July 2012 Negrieros 

Hi Familia,

K--first thing that I gotta say is that these photos don't look the best, but it was the flash I swear! haha Anyways, so this week was good, and we had our little activity and what not. It was a success with 30 people and of those 30, five were investigators and they have potential. We have one family that we're teaching, and we got the dad to come to church, Tonight we have a ¨lesson¨ (were going there to eat some conchas negras y langostinos,....but I'm counting it as a leccción)) haha I am pretty sure that we are going to baptise the whole family. He's great and the mom is a menus activo hace 17 years, and she wants to go to the church this Sunday!  I was a little surprised in the beginning but God does work. haha then me.... ;)

Yeah so that was the highlight of the past week, We're doing good and the specks on my comp are the following:
age (edad): 23--that's Jordan's number--
height (talla): 180 cm or less (about 5'11")
likeability (amabilidad): on a scale of 1 to 10 hes the upper part of a 9. We get along really well and have come to some great conclusions.

He's from Salta and I gotta say where he lives is pretty chill. I saw some pics and vids. 
Yeah so this week were gonna do work and what not. by that i mean enjoy the mission.


Love you all like my own children,

Love,
Elder Pinegar

Got to love Alex and his mathematical mind (referring to statistics when I asked to hear more about his comp). We had great news in the Pinegar home-- Nick, Alex's older brother, just received his mission call. He's going to the Washington Spokane mission--Spanish speaking and leaves for the MTC Sept 26. He can't wait to tell Alex. Two missionaries and both Spanish speaking!

July 16, 2012 Negreiros, Peru-- Out in the middle of nowhere

Dear Familia,

These pics are from the internet--but give a good view of the terrain

Yeah, so just to clarificar some things, the place that I'm at is indeed called Negreiros (it's a small village and there is not anything here haha. We have a little bit of water every other day) Negritos is about 5 times bigger than the city that I'm in. Negreiros is basically a city that was abandoned when the oil company changed a few rules of regulation. To ¨paint the picture¨ think of journeys that we do every year to Lake Powell, passing the tribes of Indians, the hot sun scorching the skin, and the rays reflecting the clouds of dust that the never-ending wind kicks up. Now put yourself in the middle of that....that's negrieros haha ;)

Another internet pic-Looking South toward Negritos

There is absolutely nothing here. The only reason the people live here is because of the pertroleo. As for the algarrobo, it's a common commodity that in raw form has no function, but after boiling and grinding the useless algarrobo because a sweet extract, kind of like maple syrup. To answer the questions about the other comps are, you know more than me haha. I see them every three months or so for an hour and a half, but yes, there is an elder that is taller than me Elder Scolfield or something like that!

Elder Pinegar in Negreiros--July 2012  We think this is where he lives--not sure

About the area, I'm not sure of the reason that it was closed, but I believe it was because there was no progression, and that's not hard to believe, the evaghelicos are killin us, and the population is about 60% evanghelic. They hate us. (but i gotta admit, i like some of there songs haa they are pretty chill!)

So about this week, basically the same not much that has happened, We´ve be trying a tactic to give away little gift card dealios about the church, It's kinda working and at least the people have to put out their hand to snatch it from us and tell us that they believe in other things haha. It's all good. I've learned to accept the fact that religion is a really touchy subject, not just for one person but it really is at the root of the supposed salvation. The good thing is that God understands all that will happen, and one day every person will kneel and head bow. I've had some good study sessions about Jesus and I've been trying to apply his tactical teaching to my teaching, He real was the buen maestro.Every word that he said had significance, although some people thought that he was overly rough with the people and what not, he ruled with the truth and nothing short. Wow!

anyways, do work at home!!!! love you guys and hope for the best!!!!

Elder Pinegar

Elder Pinegar at Negritos July 2012

Elder Pinegar at the Punta Parinas Lighthouse in Negritos, Peru 7/12.This is the most western point in mainland South America.

PS. things that I would like / need

1. a really good toothbrush, my gums are getting a work out with the crappy one here.

2. a couple of mouth gaurds, or something similar to stop me from grinding my teeth, i think it's due to stress.

3. the memory card with photos of you guys in jpeg format that are no more than 4-5 megs, the camera cant read anything bigger.

thanks for all ya do. I love you guys tons, but ya already knew that!!!!

peace!!!!

pps: the light post and the sea pics are in NEGRITOS the place that you thought I was at haah ! ;)

July 9, 2012 - New Missionaries on the Block--Fueling the Gospel

Elder Yanez & Elder Pinegar in Talara/Negritos July 2012

Familia,
So that's pretty crazy about the fire* and what not, but it doesn't really surprise me after reading apocolipis (Revelations). It's pretty crazy to see what Paul foretold about the signs of the second coming. we truly are in the final dispensation and possibly very near to the opening of the 7th seal -see Revelations- it kinda give me chills, but man does it make me want to be clean and worthy haha ;)

yeah so the downlow on Negriedos, it's desert, desert, and more desert! But that's all good! The people here are different, and its gotta be one of the harder areas that I have been in, knocking doors does not work, and there is no one outside, literally no one. This is when the creativity comes into play and what not, and ya´ll know me, I'm a little bit creative. We found out here the secret is references (así es en todo la misión) but between that and a little bit of faith and prayer it looks like we'll have success.....I say that cheerfully but Negreidos was an area that was closed for 15 years...and reopened this January!

So me and my companion are getting along great, and we're putting in work here. He is the 3rd comp from Argentina and is great! We had a little joke going when we went to visit a member that works in petroleo (all the people here work in that). He put on the work gear and I made a joke that I had to work with him like that because he was hazard (you guys probably wont laugh, but I did, so did the members.)

So as for investigators, we are looking for new ones and working with older investigators. the area is 4 pueblitos and is a 1 1/2 of desert between every one (so we go in motto) haha ;) Ya know me, I can't walk that kind of distance in the sun!!

Dad, I don't know if you would have any ideas to find new investigators, or anyone else that has an idea, lemme know what you guys come up with this week k?! Oh, and the reason that it is so hard to find new people to teach is cause there are about 20 (not kidding) churches evangelicas, and that really cuts down on the number when there are only 4,000 people in the 4 cities combined.  But we did have two people come to the church this past Sunday, a catholic man, and his wife, who is evangelista, they both stayed the 3 hours and really seemed to enjoy the whole dealio. Oh, and the church is a house church, we teach on the first and second floor, it's interesting to see how the church starts in the beginning!

yeah so as for this week that's about all, I'm doing good, and just know that i pray for every single one of you that are receiving this. I'm glad that you' re all safe and what not, and I'm grateful that you guys thought of me as you enjoyed Lake Powell,,,,,,,hope to go there in year that comes!!! ;)

Love, Elder Pinegar

PS: no keys, push to start (automático yo so finático jaja ;)
*Alpine had a horrible fire the week of July 3. It started pretty quickly and raced up the mountainside. Luckily we were only evacuated a few nights. No homes were burnt--The fire got closer to our mountain--but did not reach us. We are are home and safe. We have a new respect and gratitude for firefighters--especially those who went right into the flames to keep us safe.

July 2, 2012 - Cambios to Talara-Negrieros

** Our family was out of town this week and didn't get a letter off to Alex--this is a letter he wrote to his good friend-Amanda Jex.

Sup!!!!
So my family didn't write me this week--haha. Oh well, that's alright, I'm over it!!! haha
So that's good that you have been going mas o menus alright, That's terrible that you had to go to the dentist and what not, but that's life as we know it ya know?!  Everything has its ups and downs, positive and negative reactions. I'm starting to realize that more and more the longer that I've been out. haha I've been reading certain books that have really helped me fortify my teaching. My Spanish is growing and my vocabulary is.....decent. I can't say good, but decent! haha

So the buenas nuevas.....the old president went home on Saturday, the same day the new president arrived, it was a pretty hectic cambio and the whole mission was full of anxiety! But that's how life is when there are drastic changes.

My new compañon-Elder Yañez: He is awesome and the third comp that I have had from Argentina, so I'm used to the ll that sounds like sh. If there's a question about that just ask anyone that speaks Spanish, and they can help you out. He's from Salta.  He basically told me that it is a city that is encircled by mountains, and it is very toristico and the best  place in Argentina....figures.  I always say that I love my city town and people too...but I think that I believe him, given the description that he gave me! haha

My new area- I'm in Talara, It's one of the richer places that I have seen, It's because there is petroleo here, and the people actually have work! I'm in a place called Negreiros. It's about 15 minutes east of Talara and its nothing but dirt. I've seen 3-4 arbols (trees) the whole time! haha but that's chill. The people here are also much tougher to teach and find, but my companion has no problem telling them that they are confused! haha We are going to teach a little bit more harder and firmer... 


Basically I'm doing good here and hope that you're doing good.
Yours Truly,

Elder Pinegar

Sister Chipman & Pres. Chipman (outgoing Mission President) with Elder Pinegar & Elder Yañez June 2012

June 25, 2012 - Loving the People

Dear Familia,

So this week was really good, kinda stressful, and full of many activities! So I'll start with the baptisms. We had 1 baptism, the one of Asbey. He is really happy and so was his mom.  She's a sweatheart. It's gonna be hard to leave them.  Unfortunately, the others didn't get baptised quite yet, but we put another date for the 20th of the July. The mom wanted Ashley to be baptised with her brother, but she wanted to have more time..... The mother Ashley wants to talk to us, so before I leave from Zarumilla we're going to visit her. It's tough to go. We're finally starting to have success. At least Elder Lescano will be here to solucionar todas the things. He told me yesterday that I helped him change as a person and missionary. I responded with, "Well that's my job" hahah ;) Our relationship has grown, but it will be nice to have a change.

The Aponte Family and Asbey's baptism June 2012 - Elder Pinegar & Elder Lescano Zarumilla

I sure hope that everything goes good here. I finally learned to love the persons that I'm teaching. There are 4 baptisms planned for this cambio and much more that will happen. We worked hard and are finally seeing out fruit!!!! But now I'm going to another place that probably doesn't have success, but I'm gonna give it success!!!!!! haha

Yeah, so that's basically the down low on what's passin in the mission and what not!!!! Take a ton of pics at Powell and make sure to put them on the memoría so that I can enjoy your experiences!!! Love you all, and just know that I'm doing well. I've been sick for 10 days**, but I'm doing well!!!!


Love,
Elder Pinegar
 **(note from home) Remember that pizza Alex sent a few weeks ago saying he hadn't eaten cheese in 10 months--Jared saw that and said the only time he really got extremely sick on his mission to Peru was after he ate cheese--wondering if the cheese made him sick?

P-day with the Elders Zarumilla June 2012

Elder Vera, Elder Lescano, Elder Pinegar, & Elder Scanciani

Elder Vera=Ecuador, speaks English perfectly, but I don't-- so we talk in Spanish. He's great!!

Elder Lescano=Argentina-- He's great as you all know.

Elder Pinegar=The best of them all!!!!! hahaha

Elder Scanciani=Uruguay,  I always give him a hard time saying that Uruguay is provincia of Argentina. hahha He is awesome, my personality but in Spanish!!!