Ok, so with the card for the Scheonbecks, you're gonna send it to me and have me give it to them?

and I think we got paid today so I can actually buy things. I refrained from buying much last week. but I used my gift cards. I bought a cool wool sweater from old navy for $10. on sale from $40. it was like 75% off. It's black and grey striped and has buttons down the front with a low neck line. I can wear it with my suit too. I haven't bought much other clothes. mostly because they are not pros clothes and I don't wear normal clothes that often to buy some.

Today is just a real relaxing day. A bunch of people went to Montauk in the morning, but it was like freezing and you have to wake up around 3 to go. So we didn't go. So we slept in and we aren't really gonna do much today. But later for New Year's the district is gonna stay in the church and party and make home made root beer!!!!!!!!!!!! and I think Sister Santisteban is making ice cream. so that should be fun.

I didn't send my Christmas picture card until like two days ago. I need to get some stuff together and send a slightly bigger package with things in it. I have a mannequin arm I kinda want to keep. Or I could just take a pic of it and send that home. And I have other things that I should just catalog and take pics.

Ahah well I'll come back later for my PIN. I gotta go cuz everyone is waiting on me. and Smedley is pushin me haha

ok see ya. love ya

As far as I know, we're set for Christmas. People are inviting us over, and I'm sure we'll be with the Scheonbecks most of the time.. we were there last night, and we'll go again tonight. such an awesome family.

We are done with cleaning up, but sometimes we'll get called to go somewhere, like on sat, we helped out a lady take out her stove and boiler. that thing was super heavy! we just totally destroyed it so we could take it out. People still need help, but that's for the members to do. we're supposed to get back to missionary work, and the members can still go out. my third wheel comp leaves tomorrow morning at 7. so today is his last official day in the mission. well, he would go home at the end of the transfer, but he's leaving early for school.

Idk what else to say, I already told mum what I want for Christmas, and not much has happened so far.. But I guess I'll tell you that I saw the most newest most awesome Lamborghini the other day. It's called the Aventador, it's amazing, it was chrome (ish) and orange, I think, it was too fast to really see, but it was so cool! the back looks really sharp. The car was coming up on the other side of the road and I pointed it out as a lambo, then as it passed us, I freaked out. becasue that's another car I never thought I'd see in my life. Also I've seen the 458 italia ferrari, as well as the FF - ferrari four. a few bentleys, rolls royces, nissan gtr, I think I saw a tvr too, looks kinda like a viper. I've seen a few vipers too.

It's like at home I don't see that many cool cars, besides the mercielago, skyline, and whatever else. but out here they're everywhere.

For Christmas calls, I think they'll let us call for a few minutes on Monday and tell you when or what we'll do. then on Tuesday we can talk for about 50 minutes. I'd think we can skype. I don't see why not. even though last mission pres said no. Idk about pres. calderwood..

This is us, and my tree I bought the other day, it's like 2 feet tall and has one ornament. and yes, we are wearing gym shorts with our suit jackets, haha Elder Gibbs is in the chair and Elder Crabtree is next to me. I think we'll put this pic on a christmas card.. but crabtree is obsessed with getting a card together. because he did one last year, and wants to do it again. but we don't have many pics as a tripanionship. oh well...

I've had another friend add me on FB. she's cool, Tracy Coleman. she's about the same height as me! like 6' 3''! and her mom is too! they live in Bay Shore, but go to church in South Shore, which is like 20 minutes east. they have a little business called One Bite At A Time. and they make cakes and cookies and stuff, pretty much whatever you can think of. so I think I'm gonna ask for a cheese cake. maybe like Dana's eggnog pie, cuz I love that and I'll miss it this year.. :(

I wouldn't think many people would post things on my wall, unless it's not directed at me, but you or anyone who looks there. like when I had Jesika post that video. cuz all my friends who added me out here can just talk to me in person. which of course is better.

anyways... see ya- Elder Peck ny

I got two companions, Crabtree and Gibbs. Gibbs goes home next week. and Crabtree is my second trainer. They're both cool. Crabtree's mom is asking what we want for Christmas, I can't think. I haven't been around normal things for a while, idk I'll have to get a pic of us before Gibbs leaves.

That package sounds great. The Scheonbecks were wondering about my stocking. I need one for their tree. and oh, we went last week to help set it up. that was fun. Allan, the younger one, is so stinkin funny! He said the cutest funniest thing ever! It was this: "I know why pigs are fat. cuz they have bacon in them!" hahahahhahahhahahahah and yesterday at church he was dressed up nicer than me! he had a light brown suit with a brown tie and black shirt. it was awesome. I love that family. They love me (us) too. Like when I walked in the foyer I saw him, then I had to turn around to hold the door, and he was already hugging my legs. I can't remember how old he is. but it's not that much.

We have DA's every night this week but Friday now. And so far we have one set DA on Christmas Day, I hope we get more. Oh and on the 24 there is a mission conference where I'm sure they'll feed us. Sweet. Anyway, not much else has happened other than new companions.

Oh man. Jim Scheonbeck has the Hobbit. in hard drive form. for the projectors. so he showed me, haha I saw it before you! but it was just a metal box.. :( anyway, it's gonna be sweet. he said it's in a higher frame format, so it doesn't look normal. it's more smooth and flowing. I can't wait... but i'm gonna have to..

It hasn't snowed here yet. but it's freakin cold sometimes. We're going to a mall today, so I can get myself a normal hoodie, cuz the jacket I have is just way too big for what I want now. Which is like not too cold, or whatever.. It actually did snow one day but it was gone the next. Cuz when it snows, it rains first, and we all know what happens then. Like in Utah where there's summer then fall then winter, here it's just summer then cold. I came in where fall should be, but it was still kinda summer-y. so now it's just getting colder.

Yesterday we had two DA's and we even ate pancakes for breakfast that morning, so we had eaten A TON of food. At the end of the day it hurt to move and laugh. Laugh because the dad was telling jokes and they were funny.

I love my comps better. I think though because it's a trio, once Gibbs leaves, I wonder if Crabtree might be slightly different....? idk. Not much has gone on ... well we went to the city to get Elder Crabtree's stuff from his old pad. in Bushwick I think... but it was over by the Rckaways. The office is in Rego, and that's an hour from Bay Shore, then we went another hour past that to the water, pretty much. It was a crazy day. The traffic in the city is just plain nuts! cars everywhere, barely any room to move, and it's tight everywhere you go. Even though you've been here, idk if you drove here. Being driven is pretty scary, maybe the taxis aren't so crazy as missionaries.. haha...

Our ward Christmas party is on the 22. Yesterday we stayed for choir, my first time.. and we are singing Silent Night in English and Spanish. Then another song that is English, so none of us had heard it before, but our conductor, who is from South Africa, and is a music major, also married to the organist, they are a cool couple. Only been married for about 2 years, and they are amazing at the musical stuff for church. Like he plays like Bro Cook. He's heard of him, too. Their names are Bradley and Jo-Marie Burgess. She's been a member her whole life, and he has been for 2 years. so she pretty much converted him then married him.

Dang, this froze and didn't save my last few sentences, but I can't remember them.

so see ya later -Elder Peck ny

When our power was on and off the first day, we were in our room setting up a game, and I was like, here's my flashlight, and right when I turned it on, the power came back on. but no one noticed it... as always.

I got sick. my nose is running and my head is congested. but it's just the cold going around. on Saturday for a mission conference, Elder Hollstrom came and spoke to us. he's cool and smart and inspired. and he meets with the 12 every Tuesday! so that's cool. did you get that awesome video? I had sister Scheonbeck post it on my wall. Elder Hollstrom saw that like an hour after that guy made it, then showed the 12, then it went viral. I guess. And the 12 loved it! he said that in that meeting, time is super important, and a 7 minute video would be too long. so he was told to edit it. but when he went in the room, someone played the whole thing. and Pres Packer was the first to say something, he said, to the 12: does anyone have a comment, if you can speak? It was cool to know the presidency has seen that and loves it.

We also got 75 dollars from some people outside of New York, like in Virginia and other places, everyone got three $25 gift cards. just for helping clean up. We should have one more day of planned service. next week. but this new transfer is gonna be back to (somewhat) normal.

So here's what we know. King is out. he was made District Leader and is going to some other zone, maybe in the city. I'm staying and I'm going to continue being trained. because this last transfer, we had no time to train. so I get a new trainer. and because of some missionaries being done with their missions in less than 2 weeks, they're putting them in trios for that time. And I'm lucky enough to be one of those people. so I get two new companions. for a few weeks. cool beans. it's gonna be fun I bet.

I actually don't have any good new pics. just of Thanksgiving, and I didn't have the camera then, so they're not really my pics.

Ya, summer makes more sense. plus remember the crazy time we had last time? the snow and the cold and the snow. lots of snow. It hasn't snowed for real here yet. today is actually really nice out, it's like 60 degrees! but when it's cold, it's COLD! everyone says it chills you to the bones. oh, yesterday there was a fog that didn't go away. and now I know what it's like to work in the humidity. I wasn't really doing much. but because of the wetness, I was really sweating. It's so weird but looks cool. like it's so thick I couldn't see down the road all the way. like maybe 50 feet.

I was thinking today that on the drive to our road, we pass by street names that are like cities or states, like Tenessee, Ohio, Denver, Chicago, then there's Bacon. and we live on Saxon. I don't know if Saxon is a place or not. but I love how bacon is just put in there. like it should be. bacon goes with everything. even streets haha.

I bought an awesome really nice warm coat. It's black with a grey hood that can come out. for 80. half off. Shopping here is way different than home. Everything is quite expensive, cuz it's name brand. and I have no idea where Walmart is. They're just not here. oh well.

Yesterday our Stake pres was talking with us (Sister Smedley and me) and he asked me how much time I have, then her. and she's got one transfer left. then he shared something with us that she really needed to hear. It was about not losing the awesome spirit after the mission. Like he felt that the mantle was lifted. but if you live worthily and keep the commandments, and have the right state of mind, you can still receive revelation. and help people with their questions. like what he just did. for Smedley. It was cool. She's my favorite sister. She came to Bay Shore when I did. so it's like, I'm serving my first transfers with her during her last. In the mission lingo, she's my mom. because she's the oldest sister in the district when I came in.

We had our area Seventy, Elder Olsen, and then one of the 7 presidents of the Seventy, Pres Hollstrom, come to talk to us on Saturday. That's one thing I love about the mission. So many awesome men from way high up in the church come to talk to us. Like Elder Bowen last transfer. I have no doubt in my mind that this church is even the least bit false. because of so many men of God testifying of Him. and we can just feel how powerful these guys are. especially when they say that they are special witnesses of Jesus, that means they've seen Him!! that's so cool!!!! I love this church and the people in it. I love my ward and these people. They are just so real. I know people in Utah are too, but here it seems more so. like no one is hiding anything. it's great.

Thanks a ton for everything you do. Love ya tons - Elder Peck ny