Hola Familia,
Hey everybody how's it all going with you? I heard that you all had a good week. I had a good week too. I'm not going to lie though, it wasn't as action-pácked as some other weeks. But sometimes that's just the way that it is in the mission I guess. I was excited to hear about the Jazz picks but to be honest I really don't have any idea what their deal is so I can't tell if they were good picks or not. I'm kind of sad that I missed that opportunity at Brad's farewell to see everybody and talk to my family but I know that what I'm doing right now is what the Lord wants of me. I forgot to write this last week but the 16th of june marked my one year mark of opening my mission call letter, I can't believe it's already been a year.
This past Monday we went to the doctor for my companion for his headaches. The doctor pretty much said there's not anything physically wrong with him he just has to try to stay out of the sun (which is really difficult in Arequipa) but he'll be fine. After that we played soccer again with a lot of other zones. It was fun to be there with a lot of other missionaries but I got tired really quick playing with them.
Probably the most interesting thing that happened this week happened on Thursday. Thursday we have weekly planning, but we always meet as a zone. The mission president came over and talked to us for a while. He said that shortly there will be a new stake here in arequipa and that they are creating a new zone for that. We aren't supposed to tell any members about it yet but since you guys live about 8,000 miles away I figured it's okay to tell you guys. He also told us that our monthly goal for july should be 5 baptisms. Hopefully we should be able to do it. We have 3 pretty certaing baptisms planned and hopefully two others can make that decision too.
This week our ward did a trip to the temple in Lima. From here to Lima it is a 16 hour bus ride (they don't take planes becuase it is so expensive) and there was an accident on the free way that held them up for 3 more hours. That's a pretty long drive. From what the bishop has told us it was a good two days working in the temple but he was the only priesthood holder that went. So, they had 58 family names to do endowments for but they had to only pick 3 names to do becuase they only had one priesthood holder there. That was pretty sad to here because they have to wait until the end of the year to go again. After he told the whole priesthood that story we had a lesson about that. The teacher sad that many people think "if there was a temple here in arequipa, i would go more often" but he said that that isn't true. We have to show our willingness to sacrifice first, our obedience. That made me think of all the members that take for granted the 13 temples we have in all of Utah, less than 6 hours from our house; what's our excuse for not going to the temple? I hope we can all do a little better and try to show our love for our Father in Heaven and keep his commandments.
I hope you all have a good week with a lot of energy to do the things you want to know. I'll let you know when I get your letters and Levi Savage's journal. I'm looking forward to getting it. If you get Brad's email please let me know so I can write a few words of advice and encouragement.
Love,
Elder Child
P.S. I can't remember if i told you all but supposedly an apostle is going to come to our mission in the next few months, that should be really awesome. I also taught a forty minute lesson in sunday school about repentance, off the cuff. I can't believe how much my spanish has grown. The lord really does lift us up to do his work. Joseph Smith said that the lord calls us in our weaknesses then builds us and refines us to become the servant he needs.
Scripture of the Week: D&C 84:106
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Father's Day and Transfers
Hey Family,
How's everybody this week? It sounds like you all had a good week with lots of stuff to do. That's mostly what I miss about this time of year at home, there was always things going on. This week was pretty busy for me too. But, it's supposedly winter here. Arequipa is one of the strangest cities weather wise. It's not really that hot here, like 55-60 degrees, but the sun is so incredibley hot it burns me in like 5 minutes. Anyways, I guess I missed out on some really spiritual music this week, that kind of makes me sad but I can live. Feel free to sing whatever you would like for my homecoming I don't have a preference (just don't tell me, I would like it to be a secret).
Last Monday was really fun, we played soccer with another zone from across the valley. I met up with some of my MTC buddies and they are all doing good. We played on a big field for like two hours straight. I'm not that good at soccer, but it's good exercise and a good break from the ordinary. I was super tired that night and was sore for like 3 days after that but it was super fun.
The main highlight for this week was that we had a mission conference on Thursday. Half of the mission met in Arequipa on Thursday to hear from a very special guest to the mission, Elder Curtis B. Nash of the Seventy. He's the president of the South America Northwest Area. He's a super powerful speaker and is absolutely filled with the spirit. He mainly talked to us about remembering our purspose as missionaries in our day to day activities. He asked us why we are here in the mission and taught us a lot about the Atonement and the saving ordinances of the gospel. My mission president also spoke and talked about doing things in the manner of the Lord. He related our missions to the story of Nephi and the boat. Nephi didn't build the boat the way all the rest of the people in that time period built boats, he built the boat the way the Lord wanted becuase the Lord always knows the best way to do things. I really like that analogy becuase sometimes we aren't going to be popular with the world in our actions and sometimes we want to live our lifes the way we think is the best but do we ask the Lord for his will and his desires for us? I hope that I can live my life and work in the way that Jesus Christ would do it and the way he wants me to do it.
Our zone had the assignment of singing the special musical number for Elder Nash. We sang a song called Never a Better Hero. It's about Christ and his life and sacrifices for us. It sounded really good (even if the Latinos can't sing on key) and we could feel the spirit.
Also this week we had a baptism. I baptized Johan on Saturday. We had his baptism with two other sets of missionaries in our zone. There were some really great testimonies in the service and I could feel the spirit. Yesterday was Father's day and we had a good day at church and visiting some members. I really didn't even miss my family until the counselor in the stake presidency talked about his son and how his son said his dad was his hero becuase he was there for him in all the important moments in his life. That made me a little emotional. Anyway, last night was the day of transfers. My companion and I are still in the same area. Nothing new there, but we are finding some really cool people everyday. Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts, I can really feel your love and concern. Hope you all have a good week and I hope the Jazz can do a good job with their picks on Thursday.
Love, Elder Child
Oh ya, say hi to Brad for me and give me his email if you can.
How's everybody this week? It sounds like you all had a good week with lots of stuff to do. That's mostly what I miss about this time of year at home, there was always things going on. This week was pretty busy for me too. But, it's supposedly winter here. Arequipa is one of the strangest cities weather wise. It's not really that hot here, like 55-60 degrees, but the sun is so incredibley hot it burns me in like 5 minutes. Anyways, I guess I missed out on some really spiritual music this week, that kind of makes me sad but I can live. Feel free to sing whatever you would like for my homecoming I don't have a preference (just don't tell me, I would like it to be a secret).
Last Monday was really fun, we played soccer with another zone from across the valley. I met up with some of my MTC buddies and they are all doing good. We played on a big field for like two hours straight. I'm not that good at soccer, but it's good exercise and a good break from the ordinary. I was super tired that night and was sore for like 3 days after that but it was super fun.
The main highlight for this week was that we had a mission conference on Thursday. Half of the mission met in Arequipa on Thursday to hear from a very special guest to the mission, Elder Curtis B. Nash of the Seventy. He's the president of the South America Northwest Area. He's a super powerful speaker and is absolutely filled with the spirit. He mainly talked to us about remembering our purspose as missionaries in our day to day activities. He asked us why we are here in the mission and taught us a lot about the Atonement and the saving ordinances of the gospel. My mission president also spoke and talked about doing things in the manner of the Lord. He related our missions to the story of Nephi and the boat. Nephi didn't build the boat the way all the rest of the people in that time period built boats, he built the boat the way the Lord wanted becuase the Lord always knows the best way to do things. I really like that analogy becuase sometimes we aren't going to be popular with the world in our actions and sometimes we want to live our lifes the way we think is the best but do we ask the Lord for his will and his desires for us? I hope that I can live my life and work in the way that Jesus Christ would do it and the way he wants me to do it.
Our zone had the assignment of singing the special musical number for Elder Nash. We sang a song called Never a Better Hero. It's about Christ and his life and sacrifices for us. It sounded really good (even if the Latinos can't sing on key) and we could feel the spirit.
Also this week we had a baptism. I baptized Johan on Saturday. We had his baptism with two other sets of missionaries in our zone. There were some really great testimonies in the service and I could feel the spirit. Yesterday was Father's day and we had a good day at church and visiting some members. I really didn't even miss my family until the counselor in the stake presidency talked about his son and how his son said his dad was his hero becuase he was there for him in all the important moments in his life. That made me a little emotional. Anyway, last night was the day of transfers. My companion and I are still in the same area. Nothing new there, but we are finding some really cool people everyday. Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts, I can really feel your love and concern. Hope you all have a good week and I hope the Jazz can do a good job with their picks on Thursday.
Love, Elder Child
Oh ya, say hi to Brad for me and give me his email if you can.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Kitchen Remodel
Hey Family, How are you all doing?
This week was actually kind of exhausting but worth it. I'm so glad to hear that you are all doing well. I'm also amazed that there is still snow in the mountains and that the rivers are flooding. That's pretty crazy that some kids have drown in there too. It's pretty much the opposite here in Arequipa, although it did rain a lot in February, there hasn't been a drop since. Every single day is the same, super clear skies with the hot sun. It would be awesome if I could swim, but I can't so it's kind of torturous.
This week was a bit interesting becuase the family that we live with is remodeling their kitchen. They started last week and they have a week left. It's going to be really nice when they finish. It wouldn't be that big of news except that one of the walls of our room is shared with the kitchen and they had to knock down that wall to redo it. So there's just a plastic sheet right now seperating our room from the reconstruction of the kitchen.
Also, this week was pretty cool becuase we finally got a baptism yesterday right before church (seriously, like 5 minutes before sacrament meeting). It was of a boy who turned 9 yesterday and whose mom is a member. It counts for us becuase he turned 9 yesterday. It was good. His dad isn't a member but came to the service and thanked us a lot after the baptism. He lives in a different city so we can't teach him but hopefully he opens his heart to the missionaries one day. It's definately in our line of work as members and more especially missionaries to strengthen the families around us. This gospel is for families and I felt good in providing that family a way to live together after this life.
It seems that we're finding a lot of part member families lately. We have been teaching a 15 year old boy Johan whose Dad is an inactive member but wants his son to get baptized. We're planning on his baptism this Saturday. His Mom isn't a member (yet) but it's good to see that he is choosing to follow the steps of the savior and what he taught. We also just found a girl whose aunt is a member and has been going to church with her. The girl's mom and dad aren't too interested in the church but we're hoping to change that this week.
I had a pretty cool experience this week. We were pretty much running back to the run becuase we were kind of late. We ran into a young couple walking together and decided to just quickly give them a pamphlet with our number on it. We gave it to them, and they said "Thanks Elders", so we asked if they were members and they said yes. So we just kept on walking, but a few seconds later the girl called us back. She told us her boyfriend is a member but she wants to hear the missionary lessons and get baptized. She has been going to another ward with her boyfriend for awhile but she lives in our area. That was pretty cool. An almost identical experience happened last night too. This time they weren't members, but they told us the same thing. They asked us if we visit people in their homes and we said of course we can visit you in your house. That was a big surprise too. You just never know who the Lord is preparing for you to teach in any given moment. But I shouldn't be too surprised becuase we pray to find prepared people everyday as a companionship. I can testify that the Lord hears ours prayers and will definately bless us with missionary opportunities everyday if we ask for them.
Once again I was happy to hear about Levi Savage and that movie. I can't wait to be able to see it. I also can't wait to read his journal if you can find it. This week is Father's Day so I'm going to wish Dad a happy Father's Day now. I wish I could call again but just know that I love you and I know that you are serving well in the Lord's kingdom. I was also excited to hear about the Mavs beating the Heat.
Well that's time for this week so I'll write more next week, the week of transfers.
Love,
Elder Child
This week was actually kind of exhausting but worth it. I'm so glad to hear that you are all doing well. I'm also amazed that there is still snow in the mountains and that the rivers are flooding. That's pretty crazy that some kids have drown in there too. It's pretty much the opposite here in Arequipa, although it did rain a lot in February, there hasn't been a drop since. Every single day is the same, super clear skies with the hot sun. It would be awesome if I could swim, but I can't so it's kind of torturous.
This week was a bit interesting becuase the family that we live with is remodeling their kitchen. They started last week and they have a week left. It's going to be really nice when they finish. It wouldn't be that big of news except that one of the walls of our room is shared with the kitchen and they had to knock down that wall to redo it. So there's just a plastic sheet right now seperating our room from the reconstruction of the kitchen.
Also, this week was pretty cool becuase we finally got a baptism yesterday right before church (seriously, like 5 minutes before sacrament meeting). It was of a boy who turned 9 yesterday and whose mom is a member. It counts for us becuase he turned 9 yesterday. It was good. His dad isn't a member but came to the service and thanked us a lot after the baptism. He lives in a different city so we can't teach him but hopefully he opens his heart to the missionaries one day. It's definately in our line of work as members and more especially missionaries to strengthen the families around us. This gospel is for families and I felt good in providing that family a way to live together after this life.
It seems that we're finding a lot of part member families lately. We have been teaching a 15 year old boy Johan whose Dad is an inactive member but wants his son to get baptized. We're planning on his baptism this Saturday. His Mom isn't a member (yet) but it's good to see that he is choosing to follow the steps of the savior and what he taught. We also just found a girl whose aunt is a member and has been going to church with her. The girl's mom and dad aren't too interested in the church but we're hoping to change that this week.
I had a pretty cool experience this week. We were pretty much running back to the run becuase we were kind of late. We ran into a young couple walking together and decided to just quickly give them a pamphlet with our number on it. We gave it to them, and they said "Thanks Elders", so we asked if they were members and they said yes. So we just kept on walking, but a few seconds later the girl called us back. She told us her boyfriend is a member but she wants to hear the missionary lessons and get baptized. She has been going to another ward with her boyfriend for awhile but she lives in our area. That was pretty cool. An almost identical experience happened last night too. This time they weren't members, but they told us the same thing. They asked us if we visit people in their homes and we said of course we can visit you in your house. That was a big surprise too. You just never know who the Lord is preparing for you to teach in any given moment. But I shouldn't be too surprised becuase we pray to find prepared people everyday as a companionship. I can testify that the Lord hears ours prayers and will definately bless us with missionary opportunities everyday if we ask for them.
Once again I was happy to hear about Levi Savage and that movie. I can't wait to be able to see it. I also can't wait to read his journal if you can find it. This week is Father's Day so I'm going to wish Dad a happy Father's Day now. I wish I could call again but just know that I love you and I know that you are serving well in the Lord's kingdom. I was also excited to hear about the Mavs beating the Heat.
Well that's time for this week so I'll write more next week, the week of transfers.
Love,
Elder Child
Monday, June 6, 2011
Presidential Elections in Peru
Hey Familia,
How's it going everybody? I was so happy to read your emails this week and I almost jumped out of my seat when I heard some of the things that happened, I'll tell you later why. Anyways, this week was actually pretty eventful but boring at the same time. First things first though, this last week I completed 7 months in the mission and I actually almost forgot about it until the last minute when I was going to bed. Its interesting how much you think about how much time you've completed in the mission when you first start but then it gets less and less important month after month becuase you're so focused on the work.
Anyways, last monday was pretty fun becuase we finally were able to play some volleyball and soccer as a zone. I really enjoy volleyball but soccer not so much just becuase I'm really not that good at it. Also that day I was able to buy a four disc DVD set about the Doctrine and Covenants. It has a lot of really cool videos and quotes and things that are used in a class setting. But the really cool thing is that there is a disc with 5 movies from the church: The Mountain of the Lord (the story about the Salt Lake Temple), Treasures in Heaven (story of John Tanner), Only a Stonecutter, Legacy, and Joseph Smith the Prophet of the Restoration. Everybody in the mission is absolutely thrilled about the Joseph Smith Movie becuase it's about his whole life and it's the first time that we can actually buy it. I know I'm totally a church media nerd but I HIGHLY recommend that you buy this at the Distribution Center, it's only like $5. It's a great way to have Family Home Evening and feel the spirit. We shared it with some of our investigators last night and they absolutely loved it.
This week was a little difficult becuase Elder Ventura has been having some pretty serious headaches and even though he takes pills for it, it doesn't help. So for the first little while of the week we didn't do much. Then we tried to make up the work this week so we worked pretty hard at finding new people to teach. A ton of people fell through on their appointments so we did a lot of tracting. It's definately not the most fun thing in the world to be doing. I used to like to do it just becuase I really couldn't teach that well, but now that I can teach fairly well, I would rather be in a person's home teaching them. But the good news is that we found some really good people that hopefully can get baptized this month. We are teaching a nine year old boy whose mom is a member so he's going to get baptized this week. And then the next week we have a teenager whose Dad is a member and wants his son to get baptized. He's most likely going to get baptized the next week too.
This week was also the Presidential Elections in Peru. Sunday (yesterday) was the Elections. That means we didn't have church and we couldn't go out and proselyte until 4. So, we watched some of those church movies. I really felt the spirit while we were watching them. We shared them at a new convert's house and they really liked them too. We were talking about how we all need to make sacrifices in this life in order to follow Christ and build up His kingdom on the earth. It makes us think "what would I give up for the Gospel of Jesus Christ?" Would I sell all of my posessions and give the money to the church so they can build a temple? Would I walk 2,000 miles in the weather in order to follow a commandment? Maybe we aren't asked to do those things today, but the prophet has asked us to some other things like go to the temple frequently, attend all of our church meetings, fulfill your callings, be a member missionary, feed the missionaries, clean the church, go to mutual, be humble, give up your pride, repent, read the scriptures every day, or have family home evening. What are we willing to do to be called a disciple of Christ? To bear his name? I learned a lot from this discussion and I want to be a better missionary every day. I know that I'm not perfect but at least I'm trying every day.
Anyways, the reason why I was super surprised this week by your letter was becuase of that movie about Levi Savage. I was thinking the other day a lot about him and that somebody should make a movie about him. Well, time is up, I look forward to your emails next week. Have a good week.
Love,
Elder Child
How's it going everybody? I was so happy to read your emails this week and I almost jumped out of my seat when I heard some of the things that happened, I'll tell you later why. Anyways, this week was actually pretty eventful but boring at the same time. First things first though, this last week I completed 7 months in the mission and I actually almost forgot about it until the last minute when I was going to bed. Its interesting how much you think about how much time you've completed in the mission when you first start but then it gets less and less important month after month becuase you're so focused on the work.
Anyways, last monday was pretty fun becuase we finally were able to play some volleyball and soccer as a zone. I really enjoy volleyball but soccer not so much just becuase I'm really not that good at it. Also that day I was able to buy a four disc DVD set about the Doctrine and Covenants. It has a lot of really cool videos and quotes and things that are used in a class setting. But the really cool thing is that there is a disc with 5 movies from the church: The Mountain of the Lord (the story about the Salt Lake Temple), Treasures in Heaven (story of John Tanner), Only a Stonecutter, Legacy, and Joseph Smith the Prophet of the Restoration. Everybody in the mission is absolutely thrilled about the Joseph Smith Movie becuase it's about his whole life and it's the first time that we can actually buy it. I know I'm totally a church media nerd but I HIGHLY recommend that you buy this at the Distribution Center, it's only like $5. It's a great way to have Family Home Evening and feel the spirit. We shared it with some of our investigators last night and they absolutely loved it.
This week was a little difficult becuase Elder Ventura has been having some pretty serious headaches and even though he takes pills for it, it doesn't help. So for the first little while of the week we didn't do much. Then we tried to make up the work this week so we worked pretty hard at finding new people to teach. A ton of people fell through on their appointments so we did a lot of tracting. It's definately not the most fun thing in the world to be doing. I used to like to do it just becuase I really couldn't teach that well, but now that I can teach fairly well, I would rather be in a person's home teaching them. But the good news is that we found some really good people that hopefully can get baptized this month. We are teaching a nine year old boy whose mom is a member so he's going to get baptized this week. And then the next week we have a teenager whose Dad is a member and wants his son to get baptized. He's most likely going to get baptized the next week too.
This week was also the Presidential Elections in Peru. Sunday (yesterday) was the Elections. That means we didn't have church and we couldn't go out and proselyte until 4. So, we watched some of those church movies. I really felt the spirit while we were watching them. We shared them at a new convert's house and they really liked them too. We were talking about how we all need to make sacrifices in this life in order to follow Christ and build up His kingdom on the earth. It makes us think "what would I give up for the Gospel of Jesus Christ?" Would I sell all of my posessions and give the money to the church so they can build a temple? Would I walk 2,000 miles in the weather in order to follow a commandment? Maybe we aren't asked to do those things today, but the prophet has asked us to some other things like go to the temple frequently, attend all of our church meetings, fulfill your callings, be a member missionary, feed the missionaries, clean the church, go to mutual, be humble, give up your pride, repent, read the scriptures every day, or have family home evening. What are we willing to do to be called a disciple of Christ? To bear his name? I learned a lot from this discussion and I want to be a better missionary every day. I know that I'm not perfect but at least I'm trying every day.
Anyways, the reason why I was super surprised this week by your letter was becuase of that movie about Levi Savage. I was thinking the other day a lot about him and that somebody should make a movie about him. Well, time is up, I look forward to your emails next week. Have a good week.
Love,
Elder Child
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