Week #80

April 24, 2016

Hello!!

This week in the Philippines I get put back in Waray-Waray, I meet Elder Bowers' (my cousin) trainer from the mission, and I'm gonna kill my companion.

So this week came as a big surprise to me!! I got a call on Monday night from president telling me that I was going to be transferring. I was so sad to see Hilongos go. I loved the area so much and I grew so close to all of the members. Now I am in Borongan, Samar. The Waray Waray here is way different from the Waray that I learned before so I have been struggling a lot especially because I am coming from a Cebuano area! In the middle of talking to somebody I will suddenly realize that I am speaking in Cebuano and they don't understand me. It's been a struggle.

My new companion is Elder Ama. He is Samoan but he lives in Utah. He is so awesome and this is his last cycle in the mission hence the phrase "I'm going to kill my companion". Technically it means that I am ending his mission life. Basta he is so awesome and I have been learning a lot from him. We are both zone leaders here and I just happen to be a district leader at the same time. My life just got really hard...

So just a little info about the area! We are right on the beach here! It is beautiful and the water is clean and just crazy blue! Borongan comes from the root word borong which means fog. So technically Borongan means "place of fog". So that's kind of cool! We are in a branch here that is pretty strong but could use some improvements. We both look forward to serving here!

So just a really cool experience I had this week! We were teaching one of our investigators whose name is Trisha. She is 17 years old and she is super close with everyone in the branch. Basta we went into the lesson just planning to ask a couple questions and see how her faith was so far. Then as we were talking we felt inspired to share a message about trusting in the Lord. We shared Alma 36:3 and asked in what ways have you and can you trust in the Lord. As she was answering she broke down in tears and told us about all these trials that had started coming into her life ever since she had started investigating the church. She has been wondering for so long why they are happening and why they don't stop. So then we shared Ether 12:6. We helped her realize that these trials are arriving in her life because the Lord knows that she can conquer them. He gives us trials to strengthen us and make us into the people he knows we can become! It was an amazing lesson and I learned just as much as Trisha did! The Lord will never allow trials or sins to come into our lives if we are not able to conquer it!

So this week was kinda cool! There is a man named Gilbert Discaya here who is pretty cool! I got to go on splits with him on Saturday and as we were talking I found out that he served in the Philippines Baguio mission! So I asked him if he knew my cousin, Elder Bowers. He responded crazily and told me that he had actually trained Elder Bowers. Super cool experience!

Well that's it for this week! Thanks for all you do and I love you all!

Elder Child 

Pic #1 - at the beach with some members
Pic #2-3 - with his new companion
Pic #4 - at lunch on the beach with the district
Pic #5-6 - They were playing volleyball on P-day and the ball went on the roof.  They sent Brett up to get it.
Pic #7 - the last picture with Elder Brimhall before transfers (?)

Week #79

April 18, 2016

Hello!!!

This week in the Philippines I realized that I stole this starting line from my anak, I eat some of the spiciest food I have had so far in the mission, and we go hard.

So this week was awesome like always. Also something amazing happened this week! It rained for the first time since I have gotten to this area!! And it rained so hard that it flooded. So we celebrated and took a shower in the rain. 

Honestly my mind is blank right now. Yes it is transfer week and I don't know if I am getting transferred or not. I find out tomorrow! I'll type more next week!

Sorry for the short letter! Read the story of the People of Alma and that'll be my spiritual thought. Look for how trials can help us to progress in life!

I love you all!
Elder Child

*Mark and I went back and forth (with permission from his Mission President) quite a bit about Brett's request to arrive home one transfer early to begin the fall semester on time.  That is probably why his "mind is blank" this week.  And we didn't get any more pictures so I stole this one from his companions letter last week.

Week #78

April 11, 2016

Hello!This week in the Philippines we watch general conference, heat goes to higher extremes, and we see blessings.

So I really think the weather is against us! As we strive to work harder and harder the heat just seems to go up. There has got to be some scripture somewhere that says that satan has power over the sun. But of course, and I know I say this always, we continued to press on!

So this week we saw an amazing blessing that came out of nowhere!! It was the end of a long hot day and we were ready to just give up because we had been punted all day. But we both decided that we would go and visit a less active that really is never home! So we went and amazingly he was there! It was an amazing lesson and the spirit was felt. And then as we were about to leave his wife pulls up in a put-pot and introduces us to a guy that she had been riding with who turned out to be a less active also all the way from Mindanao! So we asked if we could visit him real quick and share a message and when we showed up at his apartment he introduced us to his two roommates! So we shared the message of the restoration and the spirit was so strong and we got invited to come back and share again! Then best of all they fed us dinner :) It just really strengthened my testimony that after we have done all that we can, the Lord will make up the rest.

So this week was our district leaders birthday who just happens to be our roommate. So Elder Fakava and I decided, with some members, to throw a surprise party for him! It was awesome and Elder Basay enjoyed it a lot!

I just have a thought that I would like to share from general conference. It comes in the form of a question that Sister Bonnie Oscarson asked us all. Do you believe it? This question really hit me as a missionary in particular. Yes I do know the doctrine. I do know what I need to do. I do know that Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. But do I believe it? It didn't take me very long to really evaluate myself and come to the conclusion that yes I do believe it and that is why I am where I am. I thought it was interesting that the first few talks were centered on the Holy Ghost. Let us all strive to really receive a witness from the Holy Ghost that this is true. So we can really believe it and not just know it. 

Well that's it for this week! We are still going strong and are sad that this will be our last week together as a companionship! Thanks for everything!

Elder Child

Week #77

April 4, 2016

Hello!!

This week in the Philippines we have an awesome FHE, its the hottest week I have experienced in my mission, and we find 2 new investigator families! And I am the most tired I have ever been in my mission...

Well this week was hard. Like really hard. This is Elder Brimhall's third cycle here in Hilongos and he said this was by far the hardest. But despite the heat and the numerous rejections we strove to prevail! As said earlier we found 2 new investigator families! The first one is the family of Mariel, the girl I wrote about a couple weeks ago, and the lesson was awesome! Funny thing is that her father gave us haircuts last Monday and we OYM'd him and then asked if we could visit him and his family! He was super interested on how focused the church is on families and asked for suggestions on how he and his family could be more united. It's so weird to give advice to fathers about how their families can become more united. But they were awesome and we also found out that Mariel had been reading the Book of Mormon that her member friend given her a couple weeks ago! And then we found the Cagadas Family! We were out tracting in the wilderness and we felt we should try going to one of the houses!! So we went and talked to the couple there and we found out that the wife had been an investigator over 30 years ago while she was in high school! So we shared the message of the Restoration and we will be going back to share with them and their whole family tonight!

So this week we got to attend a birthday party for one of our investigators, Nanay Senara. She is a part member and she and her husband are the only ones in their family that haven't been baptized. But we have been really trying to strive and push and she has started to progress really good this past 2 weeks!! We got invited to her birthday party and it was so fun and there were also a lot of other investigators that she invited also!

So this week was the hottest it has ever been in my mission. It has to do with this El Nino thing. But it's just been killing us! We have been so tired at the end of every day. Not just from the work, which is always tiring, but from the blistering heat. I think I am a shade darker from this week!

Well that just about it for this week! I encourage you all to read the story of Abinadi in the Boof of Mosiah! He is a great example for all of us and we can all learn from him!

Well thanks for all you do and I love you all!

Elder Child

Pic 1 - It was our investigators birthday this week!  She cooked fish for us.

Pic 2 - Zone activity this morning

Pic 3 - There was a member in the hospital.  These are the beds that they get to sleep on.

Pic 4 - The lady in the pants and the girl in the dress are our investigators!

Pic 5-6 - The birthday party - there were lots of investigators there!

Pic 7 - We found a toilet full of rocks so naturally we posed for pictures

Pic 8 - Zone conference with President and Sister Maurer

Pic 9 - We were at a dinner appointment and this kid fell asleep.  So they got him and stood him up and he started to pee everywhere.  He is still asleep in this picture after we tried to wake him up.