Week #84

May 23, 2016

Hello!!
This week in the Philippines there is a funeral, there is also a birthday party (same day), and I eat some caribou.

So yeah the last one was just a fill in. I have eaten caribou plenty of times! It tastes kinda like beef and it's delicious! Do we have caribou in America?

Well this is my first week in Borongan where we were here every day of the week and we didn't have to travel! Thank goodness... We saw the effects of it and our work was so successful! Our investigators are still progressing a ton and they are doing so awesome! Trisha will be getting baptized this coming Saturday and we are all excited for it! She is excited for it and is always asking us questions. We taught her this past week again about the covenant that we make by getting baptized and the life long commitment that comes with it. 

We have laid a big emphasis on covenants recently here in the mission. We have been reminded that it is only through covenants that we can return to our Father in Heaven. We have been advised that we need to help investigators better realize not only the importance of making covenants through baptism, but also through the temple. I testify that god loves us and that he wants to bless us. Through covenants we can receive the knowledge and blessings that we need to return to his presence.

So this week I attended a funeral for the first time here in the Philippines. It was for an 18 year old girl named Sheilah who died of Leukemia stage 5. It was so sad to see someone so young dead. Funerals here are kinda weird though because people treat death as a joke. But anyways we celebrated my birthday party later that day along with the birthday party of 2 members! It was super fun and a good bonding experience for the branch.

Well that's pretty much it for this week! Sorry it's short! Transfer week is next week! I love you all!
Elder Child

Pic 1 - birthday party dinner
Pic 2 - Sheilah's funeral
Pic 3 - walking home from the funeral
Pic 4 - members
Pic 5 - birthday partyers
Pic 6 - "Saw this tricycle and had to get a pic.  Not sure who they are referring to there."

Week #83 - Elder Child turns 20!

Hello!

This week in the Philippines we do some service, a new president is elected, and I turn 20!!!!

So this past week was so tiring and we traveled a ton! Borongan is about a 3 hour drive from Tacloban but when the driver decides he wants to take his time it takes about 5 hours! So this week we had the opportunity to go on exchanges with the assistants who just both happen to be my past companions, Elder Dela Cruz and Elder Thompson. We had exchanges on my birthday! Funny thing is that a year ago I was companions with Elder Dela Cruz on my last birthday so it was cool to be able to get together with him and it brought back memories. Of course working with him was awesome too! (I worked with Elder Dela Cruz) It was cool because we worked so well together! We were both comfortable working and it made us both miss when we were companions! Sadly he will be going home at the end of this cycle...

My Birthday was awesome! We went to this delicious Texan Restaurant in Tacloban. It was the first american food I have had in forever!!! I got a delicious burger that had a real beef patty on it with real cheddar cheese! And to top it off real onion rings. It was heaven in my mouth. And the owner is from Texas so yeah.

Work was at a minimum this week due to elections, exchanges, and me getting sick. All adding up to about three days of actual work. But we made it count! Trisha is progressing incredibly. The fellowshipping we have seen from the branch is awesome! Her testimony grows all the time and it is really her pushing us to get her baptized! We also have an investigator named Nikki Rivera. He is an old guy about 45 years old. He has a lot of family that are members but has waited until now to decide to get interested in the church. We gave him a baptismal date this past week and then he came to church yesterday!!!

Sad story though. Yesterday I woke up throwing up out of both ends so I didn't get to attend church. I was supposed to give a talk also. But I'm fine now!

Borongan is progressing a lot! I love it here and I love working with the people. When it's time to go the thing I will definitely miss most is the people.

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

Pic 1 - exchanges with the AP's
Pic 2-3 - they were out working and came across this bamboo furniture on the side of the highway, so they sat down
Pic 4-6 - birthday lunch & package contents
Pic 7-9 - service work

Pic 10 - it was really hot in the van station

Week #82

Hello!!!

This week in the Philippines bullets are flying, rules are discussed, and I get a haircut.

So I don't really have that much to say this week. It was pretty boring with going to lots of meetings and traveling a lot. But I learned a lot and we tried to make fun out of everything!

So this week we committed Trisha to be baptized on May 28th and she accepted!!! We are so excited and we have loved seeing the change that she has made in her life. Despite the persecutions that have arrived in her life she has pressed forward and has an amazing testimony in the church!

Elections are this week! People take it serious here! Anyways that's it for this week!

I love you all!

Love,

Elder Child

Week #81

May 2, 2016

Hello!!!
This week in the Philippines I take a really long ride on top of a jeepney, we travel a ton, and we solve problems.

So this week in we didn't have very much time to work in our area! With someone in our zone having baptisms every week we have to perform baptismal interviews and their area is very far away. It doesn't help that there are no rides coming back to Borongan after 3pm. We are both hating traveling so much and this week won't be fun at all since we have to be traveling for meetings in Tacloban. But we are enduring and despite the little time in our area we have been going hard!

So we have really learned the importance of planning ahead. We have found this past week that without planning everything becomes a mess! Thank goodness for daily planning!

That was weird! So anyways we had some super fun experiences this past week! So we had to go to do some baptismal interviews this past week and we ended up having to do some exchanges due to problems. So as we were all trying to get a ride back a jeepney pulled up filled to the brim. So naturally, because it's the Philippines and it was the last trip going back to Borongan, we climbed on top and rode there! It was so fun and we got some cool videos and pictures with the sick selfie stick that I got! Good memories!

Also another fun experience! On Tuesday we were told that we had to give two trainings to the two districts in our zone! So we gave the training to our district in the morning and gave the second training to the other district in the afternoon which ended at about 5pm. The second one just happened to be one of the furthest areas away from our area. Anyways we decided that we really missed our area and set out to do the impossible. Catch a ride back to Borongan after 3pm. So we hitched all the way until the closest area to our area but that was as far as we got! Guess what we got rides in! Some guys weird multicab thing and a cement truck!! It was an awesome adventure! Don't worry because hitching is ok here in the Philippines! Everyone gives everybody rides!!
So we have an Investigator! Her name is Trisha and she is awesome!

So just another fun fact I think I forgot to put in my letter last week! My companions name is Elder Ama. "Ama" in Tagalog means father. So we have a fun companionship as father and child. Everyone points it out like we haven't already heard it a million times! 

Also my companion shared something really cool with me this past week! "Ama" in Samoan is the boom that people have attached to their boats to make it balanced. He shared that we need to have our lives balanced at all times! Spiritual and Temporal! 

Anyways that's it for this week! Sorry no pictures because the computer had something done to it that won't let me look at my pictures. Sorry!! I love you all!

Elder Child

I found these pictures on facebook - one from his Mission President's wife, and the others from his former companion, Elder Brimhall