August 27, 2012

Mom,
That sounds terrible about all those fires in Idaho! It has started to cool down a bit here and actually today my companion almost went back to the apartment to get his coat! It is a really cloudy windy rainy day though so it isn't normally like this. Its usually high 80s low 90s here every day I would say.
     My new companion is Elder Ferwerda. he is super funny! He is from Utah and he is the older of 8 kids! I think that would be so much fun to be the oldest of a big family! He says he always had something to do!
     We also had a really cool experience! One day we were out just walking around talking to anyone who would stop, and we were randomly walking around. After about an hour we came to this little circle with some benches in it and a little old lady said hello to us. in English. So we went over and talked with her and her friend for about 45 minutes and it turned out they had just been talking about the Mormons and how the Mormons had seemed to dissapear about 15 years ago. Then me and my companion showed up right as they said that!  They were so happy to see us because they said that all the missionaries are such nice boys. Not like the boys from Bulgaria. We invited them to come to church and left. They didn't show up yesterday but we are going to visit them this next week and teach them more! The lady Nadya kept saying how much she loves Jesus! It was so awesome!
     Pretty much I don't have any other cool stories. But I might have some cool pictures... I forgot my battery yesterday or I would have many7 more cool pictures!
Well choa choa for now!   Love, Elder Petersen

1. Lion bridge.

2. Some building.

2 Months in Bulgaria

Hi mom,
We got transfer calls again this last week! I will be headed to Sofia for this next few months probably! I'm not really excited to serve in Sofia because it feels like a really big city. I guess it has more people than all of Idaho... Plovdiv is perfect for me because it is a big city but it feels like Poctaello! I can walk from one end to the other in about an hour. I wish I could just stay here for two years! My companion will be Elder Ferwerda. Should be cool!
     This last week I said goodbye to my English class and we took pictures. They are pretty upset that Me and Elder Parkinson are leaving because now they will have other greenies teaching them. Oh well. Also there will now be sisters in Plovdiv. I had to buy a new apartament for the city and I was hoping I would get to live in it, but the sisters are taking it and I am getting kicked out of the city! :)
      Ah the rowing competition was pretty cool. We only went there a couple of time because it is on the edge of the city so it is a long walk. We talked to alot of foreigners on the mainstreet though and they were all very nice. We got to talk to a TON of Americans and that was super awesome. Mostly becaus I got to show off my Bulgarian :) Which I still cannot speak\understand. I'm pretty sure I have actually gotten worse since I departed from the MTC! :)
      Also this week me and my companion looked on our map and saw a HUGE park and decided we wanted to go contacting there! It was going to be perfect! It was called Grobishte Park. We walked for about 35 minutes and we could see where the park was over a big wall so we asked a Bulgarian couple how we could get into it.
They said it was around the corner and down the street, so we walked for about another half hour and we finally found the entrance... But the only people in the park were six feet under. We came to find out that grobishte means cemetery in Bulgarian. OOPS.
          Today marks 2 months in Buglaria! and 4 months out on my mission! super crazy huh? Wel I'll send some pictures now!
Love Elder Petersen

August 13, 2012

Well, first of all about the Olympics. I have only really seen one Bulgarka get excited about the Olympics. she loves watching the volleyball. I think that bulgaria only has 1 or maybe a couple more medals so they don't really watch I don't think. BUT this week is the World Championships for rowing... and it is here in Plovdiv! I went out to the rowing canal and talked to some American rowers and some other people. there will be 54 countries here in Plovdiv for the competition! The only bad part is that a lot of tourists will be coming soooo it is hard to contact because everyone is from another country!
    Also this week my companion was made fun of by a clown. It was hilarious. He was trying to talk to a lady when all of a sudden he heard a whistle go off and this clown was holding up a red card toward him like in soccer. It was pretty funny.
          I get to go to Sofia this Tuesday for passport work! Which means that I will get to see all of my MTC group! It will be so awesome! Other than those things... life is the same as usual here!
    We are teaching a new family in a city called Pazardjeek. the mom and daughter were already baptized but the husband wants to be now as well! So, every week we travel for 45 minutes there to teach them! It is a lot of fun! They have 2 little little kids that pretty much love me.
    This weeks letter is pretty short I know, but maybe next week will be better! I do have pictures for you though!    LOVE, Elder Petersen


ACTUALLY it looks like this computer won't let me put any pictures on.... sooo sorry about that!

August 6, 2012

Mom,

Yes, it is quite hot still here in Bulgaria. And no the nights don't really cool off at all! We have to leave our A/C on all night just so we can sleep! No, the English guy who came left the next day. He is just kind of wandering through Europe site seeing.
          As for food... we pretty much eat the same thing over and over again! I can make pizza from scratch now and i can make some yummy yummy pasta! Pretty much we just eat those things and banitsa.
          Anything different from the US?... most of the time zi don't think this place could be further from the US! I have never seen so many stray animals in my life! So many cats! And garbage is literally just piled up in these dumpsters, and if people throw away food they set it on the side so the poor people can come by and pick it out easier. They do the same with clothes as well. I have not gone a day without seeing a person looking through a garbage can. Also most of the roads and sidewalks are super uneven and cobblestone so you have to watch your feet a lot or you will trip!
          Elder Seymour and I have done about 1/4 of the work in this one week that I had done in the previous 5 or 6. When I'm training I will make sure my greenie knows the importance of doing work!
We have had a lot of new rule changes this week and we will see how people respond! I think they are good rules, but people won't take to them very soon.

Love, Elder Petersen

A movie of a party that we passed on a bus.

The elevators in Bulgaria don't have doors, just a moving wall!

July 30, 2012

Mom,
           Today is my companions last day in Bulgaria and so we are going to do a little souvenir shopping and go see the people he wants to say good bye to in Plovdiv. Also, I did get my transfer call! I am staying here in Plovdiv with my other companion, Elder Seymore. Although after 3 weeks the greenies will come in and I will get a mini transfer! So, that should be more exciting because I will at least move apartments! I might be put with Elder Parkinson who is from my group so we would have two kind of new Elders together! I guess if that happens they think we are pretty good or something? I don't know if even our combined Bulgarian language skills would be enough to answer the questions an investigator would have though! It would definitely be an adventure though!
          Yesterday it was 115 degrees at 5 pm and so it was probably like 120 at 2:30 or so! It was so hot! And heat scares Bulgarians away pretty easily so I only got one potential investigator. That makes a total of three for my mission so far... I know that seems pretty lame for a month and a half, but most missionaries (Bulgarian missionaries) don't get any their first transfer! So I have been told that I am doing pretty well so far. A few days ago we met a guy from England who was just out traveling around Europe. He was 19 and he just had saved a bunch of money and so he wanted to escape the Olympics so he is just randomly going around Europe. But on Thursday we had a youth activity and we went bowling and he came but he had actually sold one of our investigators some weed. >.< he kind of just randomly told me while we were walking there. I guess it is good that we found out about it before she gets baptized but that is not the ideal way. This week was pretty uneventful otherwise. So I will have more next week hopefully! Today is all day p-day for transfers so maybe I’ll get some good pictures or an adventure!    LOVE старейшина питърсън

The protector of my desk.

My investigator Tony

July 23, 2012

On top of the fortress above the church.

Okay mom I will answer some questions I guess! So it is very hot and they close down work for businesses if it gets to like 40. But of course we go out! Not even heat can stop the Lord’s work! We try to schedule lessons inside though because not a lot of people come out so contacting is hard when there are no people! No I don't have a bike and I never will. It would be stolen to easily! We get around by foot, and there is a really good bus system in the city and it only costs 1 lev for a ticket as far as you want to go on that bus. So that is one way but we usually just walk everywhere, and no we don't have a car! Only the Assistant to the President and the Zone Leaders in Varna have cars. Oh and the elders who are working in the mission office. So, unless I become one of those I will not get a car.
          That fish is crazy big! (fish Tyler's Dad caught in Alaska)    We were going to go fishing today for p-day but we found out we are not allowed to fish in the rowing canal. Kind of a bummer because I guess they have some pretty nice fish in it! This week was kind of crazy. We had zone conference and the Mission President came and gave a speech about how he wants to run the mission and keep the trend of success going up like it has been in recent times. We met with Tony again and asked her to be baptized and she said she will when she knows that all of the things we have told her are true. She also needs to stop drinking!
          My companion will be going home at this time next week. He will be in Sofia getting packed to jump on a plane! This Friday I will get my phone call to find out where I am going next transfer and who will be my companion. It is kind of exciting. I don't have much else to say because I guess I am kind of boring! So I’ll give you some pictures of the fortress we hiked to and other stuff! I love you mom and you need to get the family to write me more! Scott is very good about it because he knows what it is like to be out! But I haven't gotten anything from anyone else!   LOVE Elder Petersen

The three zone leaders and me, my trainer is on the far left, Elder Walker. My other companion is to the right of me, Elder Seymore and the third ZL Elder Loughran who is not my companion but wanted to jump in anyway.\

The ruins of the fortress and a church on the hill.

Here is web link to information on the Fortress.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asen's_Fortress