Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Feliz Navidad y Ano Nuevo



Merry Christmas...I hope everyone was able to have a Merry Christmas...and that everyone has a very Fun New Year even if it is without Alcohol...haha just kidding...


This has been a fast week..We have found a lot more people...through the Initiative of the Chuch...which has been really good...we are now trying to Contact everyone of them...Which has been really fun and interesting to find people who are prepared for the Gospel...So we will be busy with contacting for quite a while hahaa....which is reeeaaaalllllyyy good...haha


We tried to visit all of our members on the 24th and the 25th...to give them a Christmas card that we made on Monday...We got to a lot of them not all of them...but We had a very enjoyable Christmas...Because we had plans for Dinner on the 24th a Sister invited us over on the 23th for Pazoli...a very interesting very traditional soup haha...In an attached picture you will see 2 bowls of Pazoli the one on the left the bigger one is mine...the one on the right is the size of the rest of the Elders bowls...The Hermana said it was special for Elder Nino haha Her words exactly haha...It was a great time...We had a lot of food over the 24th and the 25th ....we even ate Breakfast with a Family of Investigators on Christmas Morning haha...It was kind of Crazy to have a breakfast of Tamales...haha and Frijoles...
On Christmas I was able to Skype my family which was really great...It was kind of a new experience to skype because Ben and Matt have only ever called for the holidays...But skype was great to see and talk to my family...So you will see a picture of me and my cute family haha...I will never forget the example of my Dad who at the beginning of my Call was tending to some kids of another family of the ward...sacrificing a little time with me and my family to magnify his callings...Luckily he was only gone for 10 minutes...haha We had a great discussion...I got to see what everyone got for Christmas...O it was so wonderful...


Well I hope you all have a wonderful New Year...
Be Safe
Love
Elder Child

                                                      My Bowl of Pazole



                                        Doing some Magic tricks on Christmas Eve...




                                                    Skype with My Family!




                                           MultiZona Conference December 12


Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Inactives and Chicken Feet



Hola everyone....
I hope everyone is all ready for Christmas...and everyone is sharing the wonderful message of Jesus Christ with all of your friends...O and Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! love you both


This week went by crazy quick here in Mexico...and we have done a lot...it is crazy to look back and think wow that was just a week...haha We finally recieved a complete list of all the members of the ward...For more than a month and a half we have been working off of a List of Active Relief Society members...and so we have been visiting and contacting a lot of people....One Family of Inactives we found on our list of 25 pages we contacted and taught them this past week...and I will never forget what they said as we walked out their door...."Thanks for not forgetting about us" At that moment I truly felt like a Representative of Christ and searching out those in the dark and hidden places...but with the help of a finally found list we were able to find them....Dont ask me why we havent had this list before haha


As I said before we contacted and taught an amazing amount of people this week and on Sunday...there wasnt an empty seat in the Gospel Principles Class....it was a great sight to see everyone piling in to the Room for the 2nd hour of church haha I should have taken a picture....
That was another great thing about this week....how many people attended church both inactives and investigators....

Our Investigators are also progressing very well and we are finding more families to teach through the He is the Gift Inicitive from the Church... It is such a great thing...


I tried Chicken feet this week from the same Hermana that gave chicken feet to my companion....She has been giving me a hard time ever since for not trying a little and so I caved and accepted....as you can see from the pictures it wasnt that pretty and it tasted how it looked hahaahahaha....but I didnt get sick like my companion did when he tried it...so that was a bonus...Also along with food....everyone in the ward here now ,knowing that I come from Idaho and Idaho is famous for potatoes, are giving us potatoes almost every lunch hahaha...it is so GREAT haha attached is a picture of a baked potatoe filled with carne asada, chorizo, guacamole, salsa and a strange white sauce haha....


All in all a pretty good week cant wait to find more investigators to teach and contact more inactives this upcoming week..
Love you all for your support and encouragement....
Elder Child

                     Chicken Feet served with Black Mole....sorry for the stuff on my chin :)



                                                     Mexican Baked Potato




Found this the other day...haha Representing Dads Mission





Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Busy Busy Busy...



Hola....I hope everyone is doing well and staying warm wherever you are...haha Its so funny to see everyone here have 2 or 3 layers on in the middle of the day while we have our short sleeve shirts on....haha But is getting a little bit cooler...for example we have a big barrel of water on the top of our house and we can tell it has been a cold night by the temperature of our showers in the morning haha lately they have been quite chilly haha...


This past week has been pretty busy for everyone here...We only taught one of our Progressing investigators this week because all of the others were preparing their house for Navidad by painting our decorating or making tamales...haha So that wasnt the best this week but it gave us a chance to search for More Inactives and meet new people....It is great to see our inactives progress and attend church yesterday....(= We had a zone conference the other day and it was very interesting what they said....and reminded me....That there are people that have been prepared by God to recieve this gospel....We are here to Search for those who are prepared and ready for the Gospel...and Teach them in a way that they will be converted to Jesus Christ (so that they will remain active) and Baptize them... With the Iniciative El es la Dadiva or He is the Gift we are finding those who have been prepared and now it is our responsibility to teach with clarity and the spirit for them to make the decision to accept the Gospel....


One other thing ...yesterday we watched the Christmas Devotional...which was great...and at the stake building here they actually had a room with the English Version playing so me and 15 other missionaries got to hear the Christmas Devotional in our native language...which was kind of fun haha


Dont have a lot of time today but I hope everyone is getting excited for Christmas and you are all sharing the Video He is the Gift...with friends and family....
Thanks for everything...
Elder Child

                                                  Thinking about Pearl Harbor
                                                      Sunrise of December 7


Tuesday, December 2, 2014

My Family Here and There....



Hola Everyone...
I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving....My Thanksgiving was pretty good...We didnt have turkey or anything but we did have Hamburgers =) Haha Thanksgiving day was kind of hard...just because it was Thanksgiving and I am here and not there...it was kind of funny through the day when we would check the time....we would think of what our families would be doing at that moment ....haha like at 9:00 I knew my family might have been watching the Macys Parade while eating Scrapple....then Thanksgiving Lunch at 1 or 2 and then Football, Shooting skeet, and Turkey sandwiches in the Evening...Needless to say I was a little home sick haha....But going along with Thanksgiving I am grateful for so many things...I am so grateful for my Eternal family and all of the support they give me....I am also grateful for my wonderful calling that I have and the opportunity I have to share this wonderful Gospel and to share how we can be with our Wonderful Families forever...


This week we had a couple of baptisms....I love this family...The parents were inactive when my companion and I met them...then as we started to teach them, their children started listening as well...It is a great a experience to see their progress...Now the Parents are Reactivated and their 2 sons are baptized and so hopefully if everything goes well they can be Sealed in the Temple in the Future...It was a great experience...I baptized the oldest (David) haha I know weird same name...and my companion baptized the younger (Rafael).... But I learned more at this last baptism, how wonderful the power of the Priesthood can be and the cleansing power of the Atonement...And how real it is for us to Act in the Name of Jesus Christ....


Ok One more thing...haha so we didnt have a very big Thanksgiving dinner...but on Saturday (the day of our Baptism) we had a huge lunch of Carne Asada...and no joke I probably had 20 or 25 tacos but they were a little smaller haha and then after David y Rafas baptism they had a fiesta at their house and we had more Carne asada...only ate 6 this time and then on Sunday we had Carne Asada Again for lunch....Lets just say we got our Thanksgiving feast this week...haha It is super weird to get Carne Asada here let alone 3 times in the same week...


I hope everyone is doing well with everything...I pray for you all everyday...
I am thankful for all of you...
Love
Elder Child


P.S. Share this great video He is the Gift...to everyone....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzjFEMmM0Xs



#sharethegift


Thanksgiving Dinner...I wore my festive tie hahaha


Picture of Family Parra....David y Rafaels Baptism




Carne Asada!! That pot in the middle was full of meat...We could hardly walk after that lunch haha


Thursday, November 27, 2014

Time Flies when you are having Fun...



Hola,
I hope everyone is well and preparing their stomachs for the Grand Feast this week...:)
We have plans to eat Turkey with a member Thanksgiving Night...which should be good especially accompanied by some Rice and Beans haha


This week went by super quick....We had Stake Conference on Saturday and Sunday...and its kind of weird they have two General sessions that include everyone...one on Saturday night and the other Sunday Morning... Great time ...especially since I could understand what they were saying...Finally! haha


We continue to work really hard...with everyone...this past week we were trying to acheive a really high goal in lessons taught and new investigators....And I have been kind of getting discouraged lately because our Stats arent where I would like...but yesterday I was reading Preach My Gospel in My Purpose...Under the section A successful Missionary....and I dont know why I havent read that before but it says that a successful missionary is soley based on his or her dedication to finding, teaching and converting....nothing about stats or anything like that so needless to say I feel really good right now....haha


Also the Church is starting a new campaign...that I knew about in the MTC but I couldnt say anything until now...but it is called HE IS THE GIFT....It comes out the day after Thanksgiving...so visit Youtube and watch the amazing video....and then share with your friends....


Sorry my letter is short this week...
Love you all and eat well this week hahaha But first be Grateful for everything....
Love
Elder Child


Hermana Lillia made us Handkercheifs with our names on them :)
Such a nice down to earth Hermana :)


Hermosillo is Famous for their DOGOS...which is comprised of probably 10 toppings and the hot dog and the bun...it is super easy to lose the hot dog in this Pile of yummy goodness...


After eating the Dogo....Probably used about 30 napkins...but I didnt spill on my shirt or my tie...booyahh


Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Mariscos and Smiles All Around....



Hola Everybody...
This week has been a little hard...in more ways than one...but everything is going really well...


First of all I am a Legal Temporary Resident of Sonora, Mexico...haha kind of a weird feeling haha we had to go in to the immigration office on Wednesday and take care of all the paperwork and stuff to stay here for the two years...:)


This week we have had alot of seafood...Tuesday we had fish tacos which were really good but nothing out of the ordinary...Wednesday we had this soup with Manta Ray in it...Kind of a funny story I had no idea that it was Manta Ray or else I would have taken a picture...haha kind of weird looking in a bowl haha....then on Sunday we had a cold type of soup...looked like a salsa with fresh tomatoes and cilantro with white chunks in it...it was a stronger meat but once again no one told me what it was....and apparently it was Squid haha...kind of interesting flavor...but quite good in a salsa like soup...haha...




We are continuing to work hard with the members in the Missionary work....and it is a lot easier now that we have gained most of their trust and i think they enjoy having us come over and visit and share a quick thought....We finally got a Ward Mission Leader...our last one is Inactive...but we feel really good about this one and we are super excited to have weekly coordination meetings like we are supposed too....One experience I had this past week was that I had the opportunity to baptize an investigator that the Sister missionaries had...It was a super cool experience...as you can see from the picture Cristian (the name of the New Member) is super serious and he is super serious all the time....and when asked if he was excited about his baptism he would say with the straightest face you can imagine ,"Ya I am excited" (of course in spanish) but every time I saw him he never cracked a smile...But after I baptized him and after he could feel that amazing feeling of being clean...He Looked at me...Smiled a huge smile and said Elder Child....Yo Siento Bien (I Feel Good) and then gave me a huge hug....Great experience...


Sorry for the short letter...Thanks for everything again
Elder Child

                                                       Baptism of Cristian


                                                Visiting the HMO Sign today :)

Thursday, November 13, 2014

More Dengue, Chicken Feet, and Progressing Investigators...



Hello everyone,
Hope everyone is doing wonderfully this Monday afternoon....
This week has been really busy....There are lots of people in our ward and in our area that have dengue and missionaries have been getting it also in our area....With dengue you just sleep pretty much all day and you are at home for a good week recooperating....But it seems like everyone has it...and we are always giving blessings...But my companion and I have been very lucky and hopefully we will not get it (knock on wood)


We visited one Sister in our ward that has dengue and while we were there she was preparing Chicken Feet to go in a soup...because she had heard that the chicken feet help fight dengue...Kind of a weird plan but o well...so We began to help her peel the chicken feet...Kind of a weird feeling haha but First We blanched the feet in boiling water for 5 seconds then we peeled the skin off...We did about 50...She told us that if we came over on the next day in the night time we could have some...And so we did...We got to her house and she had a huge pot of beans on the stove and the pot with the left over chicken feet soup on the counter it kind of looked like it had sat out all day haha....So she gave us a choice and because they were chicken feet and because it looked like they had been sitting out all day I chose the beans and tortillas (also because I love the tortillas) haha my companion ate 2 chicken feet and the soup...he said after that it was a little warm and lets just say he didnt like it very much haha and I am glad I didnt eat it because my comp was sick that night and the next day haha...Very interesting...I think that that sister is the only person that we have met that has liked chicken feet haha


We are continuing to build confidence with the members in our ward....which is very good....Tonight we are meeting with 2 families in our ward both with non member families...which is really good...And we are excited that the people in our ward want a part in this great work....We have a really awesome ward...We had the Primary Program on Sunday and the theme was Familias son Eternas (Families are eternal)...Such a great time...Because we have a relationship with the primary kids in our area....They did an excellant job...We are slowly but surely gaining progressing investigators...We have been working really hard with balance....because we need to gain trust with members in order to get names for more investigators...then we have our Inactivos...then our Investigators...there is just not enough time in the day...haha But good news one of our Inactivos named Rosa finally came back to church after 5 years of inactivity....really great...we have been visiting her every other day for about 30 minutes just to check up on her and give her a little thought....But it was soo good to see her at church...We have a good number of progressing investigators especially for being a new area....


One more thing we went to Centro Hermosillo for a couple hours today...and We went into this clothing store that had nice church pants for $45.00 pesos which is about $3.50 us dollars haha...So I picked up a couple of extra pairs of pants because they were 3 dollars haha!!!...


Ok Have a very wonderful week...thanks for all the prayers and support...
Love
Elder Child

                                                      Chicken Feet...haha





               Us at a Lunch appointment with a Member who is a Photographer...So his wife 
                                     was having fun with some different lenses...haha



Monday, November 3, 2014

2 Months in the Mission...

Happy Halloween!



Hola todos....haha
Today is my my 2 month mark in the mission...haha I know doesnt sound very impressive but a lot has happened :)


This week has been very great...Last week I told you that we have been giving Books of Mormon to families to give to one of their friends or family members....We have been having success with that ...So finally we are getting names haha :)
The work continues...we are talking to a lot of people and really trying to do our best...on Sunday in Testimony meeting ...pretty much all of the members testified of missionary work and the importance of it....it was the best feeling ever...Especially when we had one of the members of the families that we had given the Book of mormon challenge too get up and share their experience of missionary work and how they enjoyed our Challenge....it was perfect.... Sometimes all 6 missionaries in our ward go to a single house for lunch...and on thursday all 6 of us went to a comida together...and ate and then shared a message...it was a great time...but nothing out of the ordinary...but during Testimony meeting, the Brother that hosted Thursdays lunch shared that experience and how much he could feel the spirit blessing him and his family...he likened unto having 6 Disciples of Christ eating lunch with him...Such a great Sunday...
Our investigators our all improving well...and it is fun and intersting to see their progression...and to see their countenance change as they continue to learn....


Alot of people here are getting Dengue....like the african dengue that is spread by mosquitoes so that has been kind of interesting...luckily it isnt spread by anything else except mosquitoes so we can still visit people who have it....I still think it is kind of weird that there is dengue in America o well...


Really quick...some other elders have been teaching in our area without us knowing about it until wednesday when my companion(district leader) got a phone call asking for a baptism interview haha....anyways we had the baptism on saturday and the elders left the water to the font on for way to long so you should see a picture of us cleaning that up...Ayyy o well now the church floor is all clean haha


Ok i dont have time to talk about food sorry
Thanks for all your support
Until next week
Elder Child


Cleaning up water in the Church....I think I carried 10 5-gallon buckets out...not sure how many the rest of the elders hauled out....




                                                                 My Desk!



                                      
                                         Halloween Masks at Investigators house.....





                   Our Jack O Lantern made out of a Pepper haha Little Baby missionary man!













Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Week 2 of Progression...



Hola everybody,
Hope everyone is doing alright....First sorry Matt I forgot your birthday...I will eat 22 tacos for your 22 years of life haha....Happy Birthday haha


This week I have progressed a lot i feel like...I am able to understand what is being said around me even with all the super strong accents...and I am working hard on improving my accent so I don{t sound like I am from Idaho so much...haha Speaking of Idaho...a man stopped us on the street on Wednesday and asked us where we were from my companion said Utah and I said Idaho...and he said Really, Idaho? I go to Idaho every year for work...so I asked him where and he said Rupert....I was so excited haha so I told him that I was born in Rupert and my whole story...haha It was super cool...I dont know why he is down here when the harvest is going on.-..o well on with my letter...


We have had so much wonderful food this week...One of my favorite meals was Carne Frita which is fried steak....which was cooked to perfection might I add...then on the side we had fresh salad with tomatoes and with Mil Isles (thousand island dressing) and Potatoe salad...ahhh it was good...We have so many grand meals....and the first plate is usually a quite a bit of food....and after we are finished with our plate the Hermana will ask would you like some more...and usually I say un poquito por favor (a little bit please) and so she will take my plate and put double the amount she put on my plate the first time....this happens everyday when will I learn haha :) But I cannot tell you enough how amazing the flour tortillas are...mmm marvelous!


Ok, now on the Spritual side...we are still trying to get members to give us name....they feed us, give us water, let us into their houses always, but will not give us any names....So we have been trying something different as of recently...we have been reading the scripture that goes like This is my Work and My Glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of Men...in Moses Ch 1
and then giving them a Book of Mormon with our number in it...and then we tell them that it is everyones work to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of men and then challenging them to go and place the Book of Mormon throughout the week and that we would check up on them on Sunday to see who they have given it too then following up with a Visit....So far we are seeing promising results haha... We are progressing well with our investigators and we hope to have a baptism on the 15th of November...so we hope that goes according to plan....
I love this work so much...it makes my day when we pass someone on the street who you can tell isnt having a good day and saying Buenas Dias and giving them a smile...and just by that one act the whole look of this person changes...they tip their head up, smile, and lift their shoulders...This past week my companion and I have been sick with a Cold so it has been kind of a hard week just trying to conquer this cold...but we work on....


This is my invitation to all...to cheer someone up this week that you can tell is having a bad day...I promise it will make your day better as well...


Thanks for all your love and support
Love
Elder Child

      One of our Staples....Notice in the ingredients Especias (Species) Who knows what we are eating haha :)





At one of our Lunch appointments...This dog is soo tiny...I almost stepped on it as I walked in the door...But its still alive haha

                                           



Girls in the Street that we met after one of our appointments...They wanted to learn english haha




























Tuesday, October 21, 2014

First Days in Mexico...



wow i don´t even know where to begin haha
well how about Hola
these past couple of days have been super crazy...i have learned so much its not even funny o and sorry about the no caps and punctuation marks i am typing on a spanish keyboard and it is kind of a pain to do all the puntuation...haha so friday when i arrived we went to the mission office did a intro to the mission and went over rules and shtuff like that... after my comp and i rode in a taxi to our new apartment haha since we are in a new area my companion has been looking for a new apartment for us to stay at for the past 4 days or so and let me tell you he did a great job haha our apartment has all the modern conveniences including a hot plate (stove top looking thing with 2 burners) fridge, washer and dryer, shower, and even an air conditioner in our bedroom haha all the rest of the elders are suuuuppper jealous haha....
so ya our casa is pretty amazing :) so friday night we just relaxed and ate a subway sandwich that the Presidents wife bought for us...we couldnt go out because we were supposed to have a cell phone that the ZLs had and so we were waiting for them...they finally showed up about 9:00 or so...Saturday morning we did some personal study and then went to a ward service project where we cleaned up Juan de Dios lawn, it had a lot of wood and metal and just random objects everywhere, after we were done it looked like the cleanest plot of dirt there ever was haha...
after that we went to lunch at a members house (i will send a picture) and boy that was amazing haha...the tacos we had had potatoes and just a little meat in them...mmm and then we had some type of hot soup...haha my companion was eating his soup and came across some white chunk and still today we have no idea what that was haha but he ate it :) all in all it was a really great first meal...
after we visited quite a few members...trying to gain the trust of the members and to acquire names of family members and friends that might be interested in the church...In my mission we cannot knock on doors every....i believe for safety reasons...so our main source of names of people to talk to come from the members...So even tonight we are going out to visit more members to share a lesson and hopefully get some names :)
Sunday was a hard day...just because everyones accent is super hard to understand and to tell you the truth i understood the sacrament prayer and that was about it of the meeting haha, however i introduced myself to the ward haha it is super funny to hear the members try and say elder child...they have a hard time pronunciating child...haha also on sunday while i was trying to talk to people we found a Sister who is a member..and is really strong in the church she had her son with her, who isnt a member, and the son told us that he wanted to be baptized...completely out of the blue, so we are going tomorrow to see what we can do to help him be baptized...it truly suprised my comp and i haha...it was great.
ok well i need to go but before, let me tell you this really quick my zone was moved up to main campus on thursday morning, while i was at the mexican consolate in boise...and so when i returned on thursday night i was completely lost on the new campus..but i finally found my way to where i would be staying the night...the room i was staying in was right next to a room that housed japanese speaking missionaries...and a tall, skinny, dark hair elder who wore big glasses walked out of the room....it looked exactly like Dad...he looked so similar i almost teared up a little...thinking of what my dad would have looked like while in the mtc haha it was quite the experience...
ok i will be sending pictures some pictures in a few
love you all,
Elder Child



      Super weird to think that in 2 years this is going to be the airport I will be arriving in. haha




                                                       Boise Idaho Mission




Ready to Leave




First meal in Hermosillo




Also first meal in Hermosillo



Saturday, October 18, 2014

Hola from Hermosillo



Hola everybody,
Hope all is well...just writing to let everyone know that I got to Hermosillo safely haha...I expected the culture shock in Hermosillo however I did not even think about the Culture shock that happened in the Los Angeles Airport...haha WOW! It was super hard traveling alone haha...Mucho confusio....Elder Dipko, my new companion is from Saratoga Springs, Utah and Has 10 months in the Mission...We are opening up a new area in Hermosillo...We have a little information to work with but we are super excited to start fresh...This transfer there is 6 Elders in my ward boundaries...My P'Day is on Monday so I will write again then...and send some pictures
Ok Gracias por todos
Elder Child

A Letter from Dave's mission president...Wahoo!



Dear Child Family,


We are very happy to have recieved Elder Child on this day. We are very content to have him in our Mission, in this special dispensation full of great changes and incredible blessings. Your son is already found in his new area with his trainer, Elder Dipko.
We invite you to continue encouraging your son through weekly letters, and be sure that the Lord will bless Elder Child according to his faith and diligence.


We have attached some pictures that were taken when Elder Child arrived here this afternoon.


The address to the offices is:


García Conde #301 y Cabral, Colonia Pitic, Hermosillo Sonora.C.P. 83150 (For packages or letters that you wish to send to your missionary)


If you have any question, feel free to communicate your concerns with us.


Have a great week! We ask that you would respond to this message once recieved.




Presidente y Hermana Hernández





Friday, October 17, 2014

I heard Dave's voice...

As many of you know, David was flying to Mexico today after getting his visa in Boise on Thursday.  There were 11 missionaries that had to travel from Provo to Boise via airplane to go to the Mexican Consulate.  He called last night while he was waiting for his flight out of Boise.  It was so good to hear his voice, although when he called and said "Mom,"  I was a bit in shock trying to figure out who it was...his voice seemed deeper, strong and even more confident.  I was thrilled to talk to him and put him on speaker phone.  Crazy thing was just a few minutes earlier, Steve had come home.  He never gets home at 5:30.  He said everything was good and he was ready to fly out early this morning.  He stayed with some missionaries in Boise Wed. night then got up early Thurs. morning and went to the consulate.  After doing what he needed to there, they were able to go to the Boise Temple which he said was "Super Sweet!"  He saw the Neddo's from our Weiser Ward and heard there were other couples serving but he didn't see them.  Had I known, he would've seen some family members there too...haha.  We have actually been following the rules and Matt hasn't tried to "bump" into him in Provo the whole 6 weeks he has been there.  He also said that he had seen the Sanderson's in the SLC airport when he was flying to Boise, he was in a big group of missionaries so he doesn't think they saw him...(I will have to check)    He called today while he had a layover in Los Angelos.  He didn't have a lot of time because it had taken him a while to get to his gate because of all the construction in the terminals, he was flying by himself today and was sounding a bit more overwhelmed, as you could imagine.  He is anxious to get to Mexico and start teaching and learning.  He is also excited to meet his companion and hopes he's a good one.  Well, just wanted to share a little update.  Sure do love you all and thanks for joining us on this journey!  

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

I FOUND HIM...



The following event took place in a ward in Salt Lake City in 1974. It occurred during a sacrament meeting and was told to me by a Regional Representative of the Twelve who was in the meeting. A young man, just before leaving on his mission stood in sacrament meeting and bore in essence the following testimony:

Brothers and Sisters, as you know, the past two weeks I've been waiting for my mission call. During the time I was waiting I had a dream. I knew it was not an ordinary dream. I dreamed I was in the pre-existence and awaiting my call to come to earth. I was filled with the same anticipation and excitement that I had before I received my mission call. In my dream I was talking to a friend, and I felt a special closeness to him, even though I've never met him in this life. As we talked a messenger came and gave me a letter. I knew it was my call to go to earth. In great excitement my friend and I opened the letter. I gave it to him and asked him to read it aloud. It said: "You've been called to earth in a special time and to a special land. You will be born to the true church and you will have the priesthood of God in your home. You will born into a land of plenty, in a land of freedom. You will go to earth in the United States of America."

My friend and I rejoiced as we read my call, and while we were rejoicing the messenger returned. This time he had a letter for my friend. We knew it was his call to earth. My friend gave me the letter to read aloud. His letter said: "You've been called to go to the earth in circumstances of poverty and strife. You will not be raised in the true church. Many hardships will attend your life. Your land will be fraught with political and social difficulties - which will hinder the work of the Lord. You will be born in Costa Rica."

We wept, my friend and I, as we read his call. And my friend looked at me with tears in his eyes, and said, "When we are down on earth, you in your choice land and me in Costa Rica, my friend, please come and find me."

The this young missionary, with tears in his eyes, said, "Brothers and Sisters, I have received my mission call. I am going to Costa Rica."

There is a sequel to the story. About a year after the sacrament meeting, the bishop received a letter from the missionary in Costa Rica. The letter had one sheet of paper in it and on that sheet written in capital letters were four words:

I FOUND MY FRIEND

Last Week in CCM



Hola Everyone,
I hope everyone is doing well...First Congrats to Andrew on His Baptism and Making that first major step to our Heavenly Father...Also Congrats to Vanessa on Her Baby Shower Day...Still don't know why they call it a baby shower...you will be a Great Mother!


I believe I will be going up to Boise on Wednesday of this week, staying the night in Boise and going to the Mexican Consolate on Thursday and then head back to Provo to catch my Flight to Mexico on Friday...I haven't received solid flight plans yet but I have been told that was happening....
So great news, I am only a few days behind my District....


This past week has been quite a week haha it has been very busy....
General Conference was simply amazing, what a wonderful thing it is to have modern day Apostles and Prophets...They are truly the mouth pieces of God...


This whole week in our language classes we have been trying and struggling a learn Subjunctive Tenses..which are quite hard to explain....Today will be the Last day with our teachers they are super great....This past week there hasn't been a lot of spanish missionaries so there are extra teachers everywhere, so pretty much everyday I receive one on one instruction about teaching or language or anything mission related, it has been quite helpful. Last night a teacher who served in Mission came and gave us a run down of the culture and safety things,mainly for areas around the border, that we need to be aware of.


One thing I have enjoyed about the MTC is the TRC Program (Teaching Resource Center)
Where we share a little thought with a member....This past week we did a TRC meeting using Skype which was very interesting most of the Elders skyped with people in Chile, Mexico or Spain, but My companion and I talked to a Chilean woman in Orem haha...It was an amazing experience...


Well I will hopefully be calling from the Airport whenever I can, I will email to let you know exactly what my travel plans include...


Ok love you all
Elder Child


Hermano Purnell and I




Our whiteboard with our lesson plans:)




My District and Hermano Purnell




Our district and Hermana Daly

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Teaching People...Not Lessons




This past week has been great!

Really quick I have heard about my Visa and Travel Plans...My Visa is almost done and I don't understand it all but on Oct. 15 or 16 I will fly to Boise then go to the Mexican Consulate there and recieve my Visa and then I will be on my way to MEXICO!!! The rest of my district is leaving on Monday so I will only be a few days behind them :) so I will only write you one more time while in the States :) So I won't have to stay in the states for a transfer...so that is good.

This past week we have emphasized our efforts on learning how to Teach people, not lessons. It is such a crazy feeling when you just focus on what the investigator is telling you and what the Spirit is telling you... Yesterday we went in to teach our real investigator (yes Dad he is real) and we really focused on Javier (thats his name) and what he needed in his life...he then started to talk to us about his problems with modern day prophets which really set us up nicely to challenge him to watch General Conference this weekend...and to pray to know if we have living Prophets on the Earth today... It was perfect. We have been teaching Javier for the past 2 weeks and it has been a great experience...but yesterday we had say goodbye...so bummer but hopefully we were able to help him feel the Spirit throughout our lessons :)

So General Conference has been great...The Members of the 70 speaking their native language is super cool and has testified to me that this Church is truly a worldwide church...O and I was able to figure out what the Spanish speaking 70 was saying :)

I was also called to be District Leader a while ago and it has been interesting to learn how Christ lead and all of the things each Missionary in my district struggle with...this past week has been quite the week, just helping my missionaries with certain struggles in their lives....It has been a great learning experience...

Ok not a very long letter and no pictures this week because I am up at Main Campus and don't have much time so sorry,

Thanks for your love and support



Elder Child

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Elder Hijo....letter posted after pictures...

                                           


Celebratory Sangria (non alcoholic) after our first lesson with our first real inverstigator


Pretty big rainstorm in Provo on 9/27/14


What Elder Miller and I put on our door so we can have peace and quiet...


Look towards the temple in times of darkness (picture taken this morning walking to the temple)



OK, so we have weekly room checks to make sure our rooms stay clean...we may OR may not have bribed the room checkers with Swedish Fish...(Notice Bottom Left)


Hello Y'all,
Hope this letter finds you well...I am hoping and praying for Grandpa Child's quick recovery...

It has been a great week of learning and progressing...everyone including my teachers and sometimes even my Branch President calls me Elder Hijo which is kinda funny...However, when our teacher's lesson is about putting childish things behind us and become men (this lesson was mainly for those still very immature Elders in my district that like to waste time) But it was still all good haah:)

Last Sunday we were able to attend the Ogden Temple Rededication...it is quite the experience when yuo are among 2,600 other missionaries doing the Hosanna Shout and singing the Spirit of God, for the closing hymn.  The Spirit was soooo strong, it was amazing...So the MTC is providing a Priesthood Choir for General Conference..and last Sunday they kind of had try outs.  It was a survey asking your experience singing and if you were in H. S. choir and which part you sang and so on.  So I marked that I had done Ward Choir and I was a Bass...and apparently they had ALOT of people singing bass and even though I had extensive experience singing in choirs, they did not choose me, which is alright because the elders that are in the choir are practicing like 3 hours everyday next wee during personal study time so God wants me to focus more on studying:)

We also gained a new real investigator on Monday...his name is Javier and he is a very nice guy:)  We have been moving quite smoothly through the lessons both with Spanish and with Doctrine;)  One quick experience we had on Wednesday as we were finishing up the Restoration, it went to the Apostacy, then to Temple Work and how everyone has a chance to accept the gospel either in this life or the next...and the Spanish was there and I was able to explain everything...I felt bad afterward because I talked so much that my companion didn't say a lot...that is my goal for this week, to let him talk more haha:)

Ok, I know quick letter I will write more next week
Love,
Elder Child

Monday, September 22, 2014

Prayer & Personal Revelation...

What a wonderful long week...haha.  Congratulations to Bronson Dille for getting the Aaronic Priesthood and Jake for being ordained a Priest...We are truly blessed to have the Power of God here on the Earth.  Before I get into the Spiritual Stuff, let me talk about a few things...
1.  Food...mmmmmmmm...The food here is great--even though a lot of missionaries don't like it...I seriously don't know why they are saying that...Last Saturday for dinner we had Blackened Chicken and Alfredo for dinner it was so yummy:)  We have had Cordon Bleu once and yesterday for lunch we had Steak!  Really?  Fancy lunch haha:) But it tasted soooo good...We get BYU Creamery Ice Cream every Wednesday and Saturday.  Every other day we can have ice cream bars...I usually don't get one because I am usually stuffed...Whenever we can get away we head up to the  Main Campus for lunch...they just have a HUGE selection of food to choose from...we have 2 choices here and I usually pick, ummm both!  Haha, yes I know two main courses every meal...I am also trying to drink a full glass of grape juice a day (Heaven on Earth)...So for the beverages I usually have chocolate milk or juice...You can tell which missionaries have been here by what they drink.  The newbies still drink soda every meal and the missionaries that are about to leave usually have a couple of glasses of water.
2.  Thank you so much for the wonderful packages from The Dille Family, it came at a much needed time:)...And thanks Mom and Dad for the packages also...All the Elders in my district are wanting you to send them a package so that they will feel "loved" haha
3.  Thank you Mom and Dad for getting me high quality white shirts that don't wrinkle easily...haha one of the Elders in my apartment has a lower quality white shirt that wrinkles so easily and STAYS wrinkly, like seriously!  We cannot get them to straighten so he is borrowing some of mine until he gets some more from his parents...

Ok tomorrow we are able to attend the Ogden Temple Dedication, which is exciting :) even though, because of scheduling, we have to have Sacrament Meeting at 7:45 haha:)
We received 2 more investigators this week and taught them every day...they aren't as easy as our first but we are progressing well with both...

So this whole week has been about Prayer and Revelation.  On Tuesday night, at our devotional, Elder Richard G. Scott came and talked about prayer and how essential it is in our lives...One thing I really liked about that talk is that he said that we always have expectations for Him whether it is blessing our food or needing help with our problems...But what we never think about is what are His expectations for us, when we pray..what does he want to find out about us and what does he want to know from our lives...Even though He knows everything in our lives we need to tell him what we are feeling and he summed it up in one phrase, talk to Him like you talk to your Earthly Father...It was a really good talk:)

Last night we had a class with our main teacher, he partnered us up with different missionaries other than our companions and asked us to pray and ponder and search the scriptures for about 15-20 minutes.  We were supposed to be searching for what the other Elder needed in his life without asking him, and then after we were to discuss with that Elder what our impressions were...so he started splitting  us up and because there is a trio in our district, I was the odd elder out...So, he told me that I was to be partnered up with him...my teacher...What?!!  I thought to myself, how in the heck is this going to work...I could help any elder (I thought at the time with a motivational missionary scripture) but our teacher?????  How was I supposed to do that...I knew nothing about his life and what he struggled with...So I started out with prayer...lots and lots of prayer..and I wasn't getting anything until I thought, "Oh, he's a teacher and he's in school, maybe I will look for the Section in the D&C that talks about the School of the Prophets and I will thank him for helping my whole district out with Spanish and Gospel Doctrine...So I turned there and I felt that that wasn't the thing I should tell him...So what now?   5 minutes left in our allotted time and I had nothing..So I was flipping through D&C trying to find something last minute...and I stopped at Section 88 and I am not sure what verses they were but they discussed having patience and Trust in God...I felt like I needed to share those verses so we sat down and I started discussing with him what scriptures were on my mind and how he needed to trust in the Lord and have patience whether it be with school or whatever...Then in that same section in verse 40 (I read this one a lot) it discusses what we need to be looking for in Future Spouses haha and it just hit me that's the one I need to share...So I shared all that I had, including verse 40 and he looked me in the eye and said, "Elder Child, that is exactly what I needed to hear."  He told me about how he has been home for about 4 years, had 6 girlfriends and liked a girl last semester but she went home for the summer but she came back and lives across the street...and my teacher is actually rooming with her brother...he told me that verse 40 was good for him because that is what ne needs to be seeking for and the verses about patience is very applicable because he has changed his major 4 times and has been getting frustrated that none of his plans with lady friends or with school are working out...

Whoa, did that actually happen...I just received revelation for my teacher, someone I have never known and barely even met 3 weeks ago...
(I hope that came through clearly I am writing really quick)

Well, now it was his turn to teach me what I needed to be taught he turned to the story of Ammon (when he cuts off the arms of the people who stole his sheep) and told me to read through it...the verses before he cuts off the arms and after the bad guys steal his sheep of all the guys that were with him were super scared because of the bad guys they didn't want to die...and Ammon tells them that they shouldn't worry..kind of a Nephite attitude..great story...It relates to me because I have been kind of scared to go to Northern Mexico because of the drug cartels and such and it just reminded me that God is in charge and everything will be alright and we are going to gather sheep to return them to the Shepherd...

Just a really cool experience about revelation...Ok I will be sending pics shortly. Sorry if the wording is kind of choppy...that is two things...my Spanish is kicking in and I am typing really quick to get this all in...
Love you all,
Elder Child

P.S. Sad news the MTC West Campus will be closing 2 weeks after I leave...sad day haha. Everyone else will be consolidated on the main campus, just FYI


Dille's package :) Thanks Again!

Trying to see the BYU footbal game from our apartment...

The river...a place we can come and study...it's so nice :)

So I got a haircut yesterday and BOY is it short...Good thing I got cookies to cheer me up!



Sunday, September 14, 2014

...Say Freeze...

Hello Everybody!  I am doing very well.  We taught our last lesson to our first investigator on Thursday.  Which went very well.  My companion had to go to the Consulate to get his Visa...so I was on splits with some different Elders...I felt bad because I didn't give them any warning about my comps trip so going into this lesson I didn't want to step on their toes because this lesson we were supposed to invite her to be baptized....So we get in there and sit down and I give the opening prayer and the one of the Elders from the other companionship was struggling quite a bit...and I don't think the other Elder knew what he was trying to say. So we sat and waited for the one Elder to find whatever the heck he was searching for in his Scriptures for about 1:30 but it seemed like forever haha So I took a step and started explaining to her about Christ's Baptism and how I was baptized like Christ was...she told me about being baptized as an infant in the Catholic church and I explained about the priesthood and I believe about the apostasy (I really am not sure what I say half the time it just comes what a blessing) and how we needed to be baptized by the proper authority of God....To say the least the Elder never found that scripture and we continued without it or Preach My Gospel and we all bore our testimonies once more on various topics and I closed the lesson with my Testimony and I told her that we had not taught her everything she needed to learn before baptism but in the upcoming months I promised she would be ready to be baptied by the proper authority of God...and she ACCEPTED!! Muy Bien.....The investigator said the closing prayer and we walked out of the room little did I know we took up about 40 minutes teaching :)  Later on I was talking to one of the Elders I taught the lesson with and he expressed to me the problems his companionship has been having and how he was not wanting to help the one Elder (who was searching for the scripture) because of the Elder (who was searching for the scripture for half an eternity) has been pretty cocky with him and all of the missionaries in our district.  And he said that by me sharing my testimony made him forget the things his companion had done and focused on Inviting our Investigator to Christ and that he really appreciated me butting in to their lesson.    Haha so crazy lesson but my real companion and I's lesson on Wednesday was super fun haha He is an amazing companion haha but in this lesson he was supposed to talk about the atonement and I was focusing on how the atonement makes it so our families can be together forever.  So my companion said the prayer and had me read a scripture haha and after the scripture I looked at him and He just FROZE he couldn't say anything he had the funniest look on his face hahaha it was certainly a Kodak moment I looked at the investigator and she was about to laugh as well so after having some fun I went on with my lesson....he still never said anything through the whole lesson haha It was still a pretty good lesson.    So many things to write sooooo little time I am attaching some pictures about the MTC West Campus.... The big white "bubbles" are our athletic bubbles one has basketball and the other two have volleyball courts and free weights and such....I am getting pretty dang good at volleyball haha FYI one of those bubbles has 6 full sized volleyball courts in it...the other pictures have the cafeteria and BYU Bookstore/Mailroom in them....West campus is made up dorm rooms...lots of dorm rooms haha our classroom is in the living room of a dorm and are desks are a vaccuum head apart haha very tight :) I am also attaching my mission plaque picture so if you could send that to Weiser....Also I saw Sister Larsen I have to try and send it to Wendall Walker haha  Great to see someone I knew :)  Thanks for all of your support  I love you all Elder Child