Week #67

January 25, 2017

Hello!!

This week was awesome! We had so much fun with the work and had lots of opportunities to bond with the members. Also good news! Neither of us are transferring so we both have another transfer to serve here in Albuera!

Well to start off with I am gaining weight again! I need to. Last week when I got sick I lost about 20 pounds and I looked like a scarecrow walking around! But now I look better! The members responded really well and fed me lots of fattening foods! Maybe a little to fattening... But it's good and we are going to start going to the gym so both me and my companion can lose weight! He really has a gut but he is so proud of it!

The work was awesome and we had a lot of success this week! As I've said before this area is really difficult for finding but we found a new investigator on Friday! He is some old tatay that just lives by himself and is so devoted to Catholic it's crazy. But we will baptize him. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is true!!!!!

Our less actives had a great response this past week in coming to church but sadly the active members decided it was to hard to attend! Gotta keep going!

So this week we saw another improvement in Marvin and Charlybeth!! They have prayed to know and know that Joseph Smith is a true prophet! This week they actually requested longer lessons so they can learn more! Also yesterday they came to church and they enjoyed it a lot. They already have lots of friends and they said they liked it a lot.

What is the atonement? I have done quite a lot of studying on it this past week and realized I need to do more. The atonement is essential in Heavenly Father's plan for us. If there was no atonement the Plan of Salvation is useless. We are promised that as we learn more of the atonement we will grow closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and our desire to share the gospel will increase. I encourage you all to study about it!

Well that's it for this week! Thanks for all your love and support!
Elder Child

Picture descriptions from Brett:
Pic 1 - "I taught a cow"
Pic 2 - "we are just gwapo"
Pic 3 - "a giant hermit crab"
Pic 4 - "This morning we visited a member in the hospital. They currently don't know what's wrong with her. She has been there for 3 days..."Pic 5 - "I am Moroni"

Week #66

January 17, 2016

Hello!!

This week I ate mini squids, had some amazing realizations, and got really really sick! (no relation to the squids)

So this week also was very very hot. I think that even the weather has turned against us! My companion told me that every one of his journal entries begins with "today it was hot". Anyways despite the heat we still happened to pull through!

I'll start off with a bad experience. There is a less active member in this area who has become a member of Seventh Day Adventist. This week we went to teach him the Book of Mormon and it turned into a full on bible bash. There was no spirit and he wouldn't listen to any of our answers. We just stood up and walked out. Not good. Lesson learned. Bible bashing is not good and the spirit will not be present.

Anyways let's get to the good stuff!! This week we had 3 investigators at church! Sadly 2 of them showed up with only 30 minutes left of church but at least they came!! We have seen so much progression in the 2 it's crazy! Their names are Marvin and Charlybeth. They are live in partners who can't get married at the present time because Marvin is only 17 years old. But they are so awesome! They keep commitments and have prayed to know and have received an answer through the Holy Ghost. Here in the mission my testimony has really increased about prayer and the Holy Ghost. Prayer is everything in conversion even for those of us that are already members of the church. Through prayer we converse with our Heavenly Father. Think about how great a gift that is. Our father in heaven loves us so much that he has provided a way for us to communicate with him whenever we need to. It truly is a blessing. 2 Nephi 32:8-9

So starting Saturday I got really sick up until now. 80% of my time starting Saturday morning has been spent in the bathroom. The other 20% has been spent on my bed. I have had diarrhea, insane stomach cramps, and I've been throwing up. This morning it kind of let up so I am now emailing! Anyways that's my life.

This week I was reading in the book of Genesis chapter 3. As I was reading the curse the God placed on Satan I decided to look up the meaning of this curse. In verse 15 it talks of the seed of Eden having power to crush the head of satan but satan having the power to bruise the heel. Satan had the power to bruise the heel of Jesus Christ when he influenced others to crucify him. But through the atonement Christ now has the power to crush Satan and his kingdom.

Anyways that's it for this week! Thank you for all your love and support!

Elder Child 

in his current area of Albuera

"so there is a story behind this. We got a referral to a barrangay where the local drug lord lives. Albert (ward missionary) came to work with us and he was scared to death because there have been people that have been killed there. Anyways this is on the way out and he was happy to be alive"

his new favorite treat

Posers

having a little snack with some youth

eating some baby squid - even his companion thinks he's crazy!

Week #65

January 10, 2016

Hello!!!!

This week in Albuera we had a baptism, I realized that I have a crazy tan line on my neck, and I started exercising again!

So this week was hard. It was seriously one of the hottest weeks I have had on my mission and we didn't look very dignified as sweaty, wet messes! But we persevered and we were met with blessings! 

One of these blessing came yesterday at church! Actually there was a lot of blessings we saw at church. The first is that a new member was added to the church yesterday as he was confirmed. Also we were blessed as we saw not one, not two, but three less active families show up at church yesterday! They were so happy to be there and I know that it was a good experience for them! 

Recently the General Authorities of the church have been placing a greater emphasis on keeping the Sabbath day holy. Mark 2:27 tells us that "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath." Imagine giving your friend 7 delicious cookies and then asking for one in return and he refuses you. The sabbath is a sacred day given to us by the Lord to rest from our labors of six days. As a missionary I have seen an abundance of blessings from keeping this commandment and I can promise you that as we strive to keep this commandment the Lord will bless us. Just a funny experience that we had teaching about the Sabbath day. We were teaching a less active and we asked him, "How many hours is the Sabbath day?" He then answered us confidently saying "3 hours"!

Basta back to the work!! We struggled a lot in the work this week but we still conquered satan's thwarting! This week we saw an amazing change in some of our investigators Marvin, Beth, Evely, Danica, and Bambi. When we started teaching them they could not concentrate at all! But this past week we saw a sudden change. They became very active in the lessons and were very receptive! 

One spiritual experience I had this week was yesterday when we were teaching a less active. We were teaching obedience and the importance of following the commandments and enduring. During the lesson we were inspired to ask a simple question, "Why does God give us commandments?". It took them a while to answer but when they finally did their answer really opened my eyes. They said "to remember him". When I thought about it before answering I realized that his answer was right. When we follow the commandments we remember the Lord and his goodness. We remember the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. And we draw closer to Him. The spirit was so strong and I definitely grew in my testimony of the Gospel and of God's love for us.

Well that's it for this week! I love you all and thank you for all your love and support!
Elder Child

Baptism:

 Teaching caribou:

A gecko that interrupted one of their lessons:

Posers:

At a resort with the district for P-Day:

A Fish Spa (where the fish eat all of the dead skin off of your feet)

Lizards running around everywhere:

The Nanay (grandma):

Saw a trampoline, had to jump!

Week #64 - Happy New Year 2016

January 3, 2016


Hello!!

Well sorry for emailing so late!! My companion and I decided  to try something new this week! So we worked in the morning so we could email and also play basketball at night when it wasn't so hot! So here I am!!

This week was awesome! Due to our recent efforts with less actives here we had two less active FAMILIES come to church yesterday!!!!! It made us so happy to see them there and enjoying their time at church. Something we have seen that really helps is the conversion of investigators and reactivation of less actives is fellowshipping! People want to feel loved! It has really helped in our work and I am excited to see how it will continually help.

This week we have a baptism! Marvin Arquino. Marvin is awesome and he is excited to be baptized!

This area is really turning around for us now! Due to diligence and hard work we are starting to see success in our work and blessings from the Lord. We have started getting more referrals and members are helping a lot more now that they have seen that we are serious about our work! I am so grateful for this time I have to serve in Albuera, not only to learn Cebuano, but to meet all these amazing people.

One lesson I would like to talk about this week was to a less active young man who's name is Juan Tutor. Juan was offended so naturally we taught him about Faith and how it hinges on the Book of Mormon. It was an amazing lesson and the spirit was so strong. By the end of the lesson he was crying a little and he asked us a simple question, "Why do missionaries love to help people?" It truly helped me to remember my purpose out here in the field and what I need to be doing at all times. Brothers and sisters, I truly know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. Like Lehi in his vision of the Tree of Life I "partook of the fruit" and "it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy" so I am "desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit". The fruit of the Gospel has brought true happiness into my life and I know that it can bring happiness to all men!

Well that's it for this week! We are seeing so many blessings and we can truly see the Lord's hand in our work! Thank you for all your love and support!

Elder Child

*Brett couldn't send pictures this week because he forgot to take his SD card to the internet cafe.

*Elder Fransisco sent a thank you picture.  When Brett was his district leader he clued us into a specific need that Elder Fransisco had and we were honored to fill that need at Christmas.  We have received a few emails expressing gratitude also that have been heartwarming