Week #3

Hello!

Well this past week has been way better than the first week. I am starting to grow closer to my companion and everything is starting to go smoothly. Yes i have met Elder Shulkins. We live in the same room! i will enclose pictures as well of him, my companion, my district, and just random things. Also yesterday we had another missionary arrive and he was added to my companionship so we are now a three some. He is great! its so crazy to think that i have only been here two weeks and the language is coming so smoothly. I can now have minor conversations (with a dictionary of course) and put together sentences. I can also bare my testimony, pray, teach small 20 minute lessons about the restoration, extend commitments, follow up on commitments, and do planning sessions all in Cebuano!! its all so crazy! The one challenge that i have really been having is tiredness. The schedule here is non stop and just plain crazy. 9 hours in a classroom every day is to much. So tell the kids they cant complain about school :p I'm still disappointed i didn't get to see they dog but oh well. Lets just hope it dosent attack me when i get back! The food is still giving me crazy tons of gas so nobody is pleased about that. Also i will be needing more lactose pills because im about to run out. Its weird to think i only left two week ago but it seems like an eternity. but not really because time has passed so fast. I can really see the lords hand in my life and how much he is helping me adjust to this new life style. Happy halloween!! im sad i am going to be missiong evans birthday and i hope you got his card in the mail!! Tell kehli those cookies were amazing and i really appreciate all her letters. Tell erin good luck at her swim meet and i wish i could be there! Tell adam happy birthday! tell adam to take care of the puppy so i can play with her too when i get back. Tell kendall that i miss her always being my little buddy. and tell evan he is so cool and i miss sword fighting with him! i love you all and i appreciate all the letters i am getting so keep them coming!

Love,

Elder Child

Week #2

Dear Family and Friends,

First i just want to say that its lame you got a dog the WEEK after i leave for two years. i mean no hard feelings or anything. But i think Koda sounds good for a name! But anyways the MTC has been good to me. i am really coming along in the language well! Its all so weird to me being able to speak cebuano even if its just a little bit! So there are so many restrictions on these computers i cant figure out how to send pictures :/ But being with a companion all the time has been a change. He is driving me insane!!!! I miss everyone so much! but i made it so sunday and i have been way better sinse then! The spirit has really been helping me a lot with my spiritual growth and with the language. I think that i need to pray more for patience and charity than anything else though. I know thatll help. But anyways, teaching our investigator has been great!! The only real barrier is the language. If we didnt have to teach in cebuano it would be so much easier. But ive now realized how much better it is to make use of our study time. Every part of me wants to talk to my district and mess around. But without that study time the rest of the day is slow and hard. We now spend 9 hours in the class room every day except for fridays and Sundays. And you know my mind goes crazy when i sit to long. During gym time i get totally killed in basketball because thats the "lords sport" as ive heard it said. But i have discovered that im good at volleyball. oh and i was playing basketball on monday and i was guarding this huge Polynesian guy and he went up for a layup and he kneed me right where it doesnt feel to good. so yeah ive been pretty sore for the past few days. Im so happy to hear everyone is doing so well at home and i wish i could be there to see it all! Tell everyone thank you for the letters and stuff. I love getting letters in dear elder so tell everyone to send me something through that! Well computer time is almost over so i gotta go. Love you all and Kita Kits!

Love, 

Elder Child 

Week #1

Hello everybody!!

Kamusta ka? Or how are you? It still feels so weird thinking that i wont be seeing everyone for the next two years. And yes mom i have been writing in my journal so you wont have to worry about that. I guess thats not saying much though because its only been two days ;)  I still feel as if this is all a dream. I guess it really helps though that the food here is really good! I estimate that i will gain about 5 pounds before i leave the MTC in 6 weeks. Oh and by the way I fly out on November 27! Which i think is Thanksgiving. But anyways the MTC has been a great experience for me so far. It helps that i have such an amazing companion that is so strong in the gospel. I was a bit overwhelmed on my first day here when i walked into class because i couldn't understand anything my teacher was saying. But do you want to know something interesting? I can already vaguely understand sometimes. The language is very hard to learn but I know that through the Lord I can accomplish all things. Also i am freaking out because i teach my first "investigator" on Saturday IN CEBUANO!! This "investigator" is actually a convert. We are using his conversion story and already preparing his first lesson. It is all so crazy! Also i learned that there is a website that you can use called DearElder.com. You can send me letters through this website and the bookstore here will print them out and put them in our mailbox! so as opposed to just reading letters on pday, i can get your letters out of my mailbox and read them everyday! See the bottom of the letter for my mailing address. Sad thing is that i cant respond to pday though. Anyways i can feel the spirit testifying to me everyday that the things i am learning are true and i can really feel the gift of tongues at work in my life. My new companions name is Elder Woolston and he is such a great example. He uses every opportunity to use the language  so it helps me a lot too. I am also rooming with an Elder from Fiji and an Elder from Kirbati. I had my first temple session this morning and it was such an amazing experience to go through it a second time. The one thing that has disappointed me so far was logging on to my email and seeing how many emails i DIDNT have! So please everyone write to me and tell me how you are doing and ask if you have any questions and i will reply through the emails i send to my mom. Well i love you all and i will be sure to send some pictures next week because i forgot my camera in my dorm today :/

Love,

Elder Child

Mailing address:

Elder Brett Richard Child
NOV28  PHI-TAC
2009 N 900 E Unit 144
Provo UT 84602