Mas o Menos este Semana

Querido Familia,
Hey family what's up? Another week gone by here in Arequipa and it was
even faster than the last week. I trying to think of what to say this
week to make it seem like it was a picture perfect missionary
experience, but I really can't. Sometimes, we just have bad weeks.
Sometimes life isn't pretty and perfect like we would like it to be.
This week was pretty hard. It was definately a challenge for me and my
companions. First of all, Monday night our power got turned off
becuase we haven't paid the bill for three months. It wasn't our fault
though becuase the Office said that they were going to do it and they
didn't. So we didn't have power until Wednesday morning. That was
interesting and fun at the same time. I also learned that last Monday,
my companion's girlfriend broke up with him through an email. That was
really tough for him and he was sad for like three days, but he got
over it. I'm proud of him for that. He and I grew closer in that
experience but our numbers for this week suffered becuase of that.
Also, a little bit more of bad news, was that I was sick again this
week. I had my appettite and wasn't suffering much, but I was sick
enough to stay home for two days. It's nothing serious and I don't
want to worry all of you but it's the truth. I found out that I still
have a parasite and I just need to take some more pills for it. I feel
really good today, so maybe my body is fighting it off too.

I don't want to be a total downer, so I let you know of some good news
missionary work wise. We finally were able to get a serious baptismal
date for our investigator that fell through three weeks ago, Sixto. He
said he really does want to get baptized this week on Saturday, so we
are hoping it will all go through. He will be our first Priesthood
bapism here in Characato, so that's exciting. We also got news that
this stake wants to make Characato a branch. They are going to split
another ward and combine it with Characato to make a branch. They just
need some signatures from the Church Headquarters. We also learned
that Arequipa is super close to getting a temple. I should preface
this by saying that the goal of this mission is to get a temple built
here. Our President is crazy for trying to get a temple built here. We
need seven stakes (we have six) and we need enough tithing from the
members. So the rumor is that eventually, they want to make a
Characato Stake, if we get enough baptisms. The hard thing about
getting a stake is that we need enough Priesthood holders in order to
make one. I just thought I'd let you all know about that. So please,
pray for Arequipa to get enough people for a temple, they are super
close. There is only one temple in Peru, in Lima. It's like eight
hours away for most people, so my eyes were definately opened as to
how much sacrafice these people go through just to go to the temple.
We can go to something like 18 temples in the same amount of time it
takes these people just to go to one. That's a humbling thought.

Well, the other good news was that we found a family of 5 that is
really cool. They accepted everything we told them about the
Restoration and baptism. We have five more people lined up for the 2nd
of April now. The only thing is that transfers are on the 28th of
March, so I might not be here to see them get baptized. That's a
little sad to think about, but then I realize that it's not about
numbers, it's about people. That's all that matters.

Well, my time's up for this week. Thanks for all the prayers and
support. I've felt down and up this week and I know that through your
prayers I've felt more ups than downs. Sometimes Heavenly Father puts
us through hard things just for us to learn. Love you all!

Sincerely,
Elder Child

P.S. Just a shout out to my aunt JoAnn. I saw and read the article
that she wrote for the Liahona March issue to the primary kids. It was
a good article about prophets and how we can learn a lot from them.
Conference is next month and we all get a chance to hear a living
prophet give us guidance. I'm grateful for that every day of my life.
We live in the light and not the darkness of the world.

P.S.S Happy Birthday Alex. I wrote you an email so I hope you checked
it. Have an awesome year. You'll be able to turn in your mission
papers right after I get home next year in November.

P.S.S.S. Yes, I did hear about all the earthquake stuff in Japan. My
heart goes out to all the people that are suffering. I'm glad to know
that this life is not the end and we can see our families again
forever. We were not affected at all, so that should calm your hearts.