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

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

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

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!  

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

Missionary Work and the Atonement

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