Soaring Numbers and Mexican Sushi...

Hola Everyone...
I hope everyone is doing well and had a great week...This week has been crazy for us....First of all we had a crazy number of people come to church this week...haha for the 2 branches here we counted almost 700 people in both sacrament meetings...Most were visiting from the United States for Memorial Day...It was kind of weird to see that many white people in the same place and at the same time...haha...But I got to Practice switching back and forth from speaking Spanish to english and it wasnt too hard haha Along with all of the visitors we had a great turn out of Investigators which was super dooper great...


All in all we are doing great...I dont have a lot of time today to write because we have to go to Hermosillo to have companion exchanges with the Assistants...But I will attach a few cool photos from this week!


Thanks so much for your support
Love You All
Elder Child

Mexican Deep Fried Sushi! We have been teaching this couple for 2 weeks and are really great people...We were able to go eat with them...My companion isnt a sushi kind of guy and so he got a burrito haha...Pretty good sushi just never had it with Jalepeno peppers haha

                                            Luckily we found this dog inside the fence haha

                                                                           perro

Just keep Pedalling...

Hello Everyone...
I have had an interesting week adapting to many many many things haha...First of all my companion is super great... a super hard worker and has a lot of experience in the mission....
My Zone is a wonderful zone...everyone is really great.. we played a little bit of volleyball after our meetings today...everyone participated really well and played...I have 16 missionaries in the Zone here in Puerto Penasco...and the work is progressing rapidly here....On Sunday we counted 170 people in church which was really great for a Branch...haha after Sacrament meeting we were running around like banchies trying to find the investigators that were visiting for the first time...because here we have a few visitors from the U.S....this week not very many but it is kind of interesting trying to find our investigators in the middle of visitors, inactives, and members...But it was fun to get to know lots more people and try to speak english with those visiting from the U.S.
Another thing that has been hard to adapt too is riding the bike...ya we rode bikes some in Agua Prieta but here its a whole other story...in most of the streets in our area is only sand...almost every street here is just like riding your bike on the beach...man does it burn your thighs ....haha
Elder Celaya and I have been working hard this week finding lots of people....its kind of cool how many salty fisherman want to hear more about our message...hhah no we have actually found a few families that came to church yesterday...It is sooooo nice here because we dont have to battle with the 8 o clock church here we go at 1 in the afternoon...which is super nice for everyone to be able to come ....haha


This is just a little about my week...I hope your week went well...Thanks for all the love and support...
love
Elder Child

                                 The Gorgeous Beach...Water was a little rough though haha

A part member family that we found through the Sister that is standing in the middle...The older couple are members but havent gone in about 4 years...but just a little pushing and they came yesterday!!

Hard Goodbyes and Long Bus Rides...

Hello Everyone...
Hope all the Mothers had a great day on Sunday...We sure appreciate you all....Got to talk to the Family and am glad to hear everything is going well....I was a little more emotional talking to my family this time then I was when we talked on Christmas...One of the main reasons why is because I was already a little emotional on Sunday because Saturday we found out transfers...and I had to say goodbye to everyone in Agua Prieta...The many hugs and firm handshakes from almost every member was accompanied by the whole congregation singing God Be with You till we meet again as the last hymn of Sacrament Meeting...Maria started crying when we told her that I would be going...It was super hard to say goodbye....With finding, teaching, helping, and serving another person as we have done with Maria I have experimented a Christ like Love for Maria...She will always be in my prayers as well as every person in Agua Prieta....


So I will be going (drum roll please haha) to Puerto Penasco...I will be going as Zone Leader my companion is Elder Celaya from Oaxaca...When I first heard this assignment I felt insufficient to be Zone Leader so early in my mission but over the past couple days I have felt more and more confident taking this Position....Also we will be opening an area once again...haha It was quite funny because I have opened my past 2 areas and thought that for the first time in my mission I will have a companion that knows the people and the streets in the area but I thought wrong haha So I am excited to start over again haha...Puerto Penasco is right on the East coast of the Gulf of California...it is wonderful weather with 80 degrees F and almost 55% humidity....Puerto Penasco reminds me of Cabo San Lucas...right on the coast but still pretty deserty ....Almost all of the streets are covered in Beach sand which makes walking and riding bikes a little harder...especially with sand in your shoes...We have been meeting quite a few new people on our first day here...Also a little about the journey here...I started out at 8 am in Agua Prieta taking the bus to Hermosillo there I caught another bus to go to Puerto Penasco at 2 pm and finally arrived at about 10 pm last night haha so almost 12 hours on a bus...quite nice to get a few hours of sleep in haha


I am grateful for the new area and the new assignment I have been given...I just hope I can fulfill my purpose...
Mom I hope you had a wonderful Mothers Day ....Thank you for everything...


Love you all
Elder Child


Also Wanted to congradulate everyone that will be graduating this weekend....GO BIG RED!!

Building Testimonies....

Hola Everyone....
This week has been wonderful...just wonderful...haha and short...


We had a great Conference on Thursday....we woke up at 2 in the morning to catch the bus and arrived at 10 pm...haha It wasnt even a pleasent ride haha the trip reminds me of the road we usually take to get to Hells Canyon...man I was wishing that I would have taken Motion Sickness pills before haha...But the Conference was great Elder Casteneda of the Seventy came and spoke...and it was quite wonderful We discussed a lot about how we can help reactivate the Inactives in our areas...


In my district we baptized 2 more people...when I was doing the interview one of them asked me to baptize them so below is a photo of the baptism on Saturday of Yadira and Perla...two great young people...
No mom I havent been putting sun block on and yes in the photo I look a little burnt....and maybe a little darker than one of the girls haha...



Maria had a great week...She is feeling super great...and her testimony continues to build...Saturday we recieved a text message from her telling us that she was fasting and that she having an excellant day... Sunday we went to church and the first thing she asked me was Where are the small papers and envelopes to pay my fast offering? .......She is doing really well progressing in the church she is finding more and more friends and we even have appointments planned this week for her to go and visit some other investigators and inactives with us...haha She keeps on telling us that she wants to be a missionary..haha She is amazing!


Happy Mothers Day to all of the Mothers out there...and Especially to My Amazing MOTHER!!!!! Love you


Thanks for all of your support and love
Elder Child

                            Multi Zone Conference in Nogales with Elder and Sister Casteneda

                                                         Baptism of Yadira and Perla

First Convert in more than a Year!

Hola Everyone...
This week was an excellent week! We got a lot of stuff done and found a lot more people to teach...We also had the baptism of Maria our Investigator! This baptism is the first one that this area has seen in more than a year....It has been crazy to see the whole conversion process of Maria...I am so truly grateful to have been able to find, teach, and baptize this wonderful lady...I will never forget the moment she came out of the water, she started crying then immediately gave thanks to our Heavenly Father for the cleansing power of Baptism....


In the attached picture you will see Elder Aguilar and I with Maria and another investigator of an other area in Agua Prieta...Our Convert is called Maria del Carmen and the other Maricarmen haha a little funny with the almost the same names haha... These are two wonderful ladies....that are the newest memebers of the Church...WOOT! WOOT!


We are 2 weeks away from transfers and I am feeling like we will be changing...but I am super grateful for all of the wonderful experiences I have had here in Agua Prieta....


Also this week will be an exciting one with a member of the Quorum of the 70 coming to our mission to do Zone Conferences...All of the Missionaries in Agua Prieta will be going to Nogales for this Conference so that will be sweet...


Thanks for all of your love and support...
Love you all
Elder Child

                                            Putting patches on our Bike tires...FUN! FUN!

                                                         Service with the Hermana Maria...

                                            Baptism of Maria del Carmen and Maricarmen

Life on the Border

Hello everyone...


This weeks has been crazy...haha We have had lots of wind here that picks up the dust and gets everything dirty haha we come home and the dirt is just thick on the collars of our white shirts haha....life of the mission....


Maria is doing GREAT! On Wednesday we went to teach her a little more of the Gospel of Jesus Christ...and she told us about how Tuesday she dropped everything that was against the Word of Wisdom....After 40 plus years of smoking and drinking coffee she dropped it...It was quite the emotional experience when she told us that she feels 100 % ready for baptism and as she expressed her desire to be baptised right then...she cannot wait for this next Saturday (which is the day scheduled for her baptism) We are so excited to watch her make this step in her life and to really change...


On a different note...I have been quite spoiled here on the border of the U.S. to recieve packages in less than 1 week it has been wonderful..It has also been great to be able to buy the wonderful high quality Milk of the U.S. it is quite something to taste milk from the Happy American Cows...I dont know what is in the milk from Mexico but it tastes like it came from Sad Cows that dont eat nothing but onions...haha.... Another aspect that is interesting is that some people speak nothing but english and so for the past little while I have been trying to learn how to Speak Spanish in one moment then the next change everything to english it is quite interesting haha The funny thing is now I have to battle to speak in english...haha but I am thankful I can speak both languages well more or less....I feel a little sad for E. Aguilar that understands absolutely nothing when we have a lesson in English haha...


Attached you will find a couple of pictures of when we did companion exchanges this week with an Elder Barrientos from Guatemala....


Thanks for all your support and love
Love
Elder Child
                         Elder Barrientos and I pointing at the "D" painted on the side of the Hill behind us                                                               Representing Douglas, Arizona

                        I finally found IDAHO POTATOES haha and at a good price haha....

Another Great Week....

Hello Everyone...
Everything has been going really good here....We have been finding lots of people thanks to the Iniciative of the Church...Because He Lives...We about 30 new investigators this week which is something really awesome....


This week has been super busy for me....I did 2 companion exchanges with 2 companionships in my District...so I havent been in my area for 2 consecutive days this week haha But I have been super glad for the opportunity to work with some of the Elders in my District...I am really grateful that my Trainee has been able to keep things control in my Area....I am quite proud of how Elder Aguilar has taken the iniciative this past week finding and teaching more people...


Maria keeps progressing...this week we had quite a few lessons about the Word of Wisdom with members that have had addictions like Maria has...she has been battling hard the addictions of tobacco and coffee...She is progressing quickly dropping these addictions....I am super grateful for her progression...


Quite a small letter this week, sorry but thanks for all of your support....
Love you all
Elder Child

Visited a family during Exchanges that has a restaurant of a Type of food like Corn Dogs but this has Chorizo, Cheese, Sausage, Hotdogs, and Chicken Nuggets put on a stick like a Shishkobob then deep fried

For BEN, took this picture in Hermosillo quite a while ago...thought I would send it to show how the lineman in Hermosillo do things haha Congrats on Graduating!