Transfers

Mi Querido Familia,
Family!!!!! How's everybody this week? It sounds like it has actually
been a very exciting and eventfilled World Series this year. I was so
excited to hear about Albert Pujols and his three homeruns. That's too
bad they lost their game on Sunday but I'm sure they'll pull through
once they get to St. Louis. I'm glad to hear that the birthday was
really good too. The ONE thing I really still miss about the food in
the states is the Mexican Food. In my mind I usually count the days
until I can eat a really awesome burrito (little donkey) or some
tacos. Mom, you are very welcome for the sweater. I thought long and
hard and spent a great deal of time shopping around for it. It
represents a great sacrifice from all of us so please enjoy and just
know how much we love you.

This past week actually went by pretty fast. It seemed like every
night when I was about to fall asleep like I was just doing that like
an hour before. Its pretty crazy how the time really does just FLY by.
I also can't really believe that I'm creeping up on a year. What's
more incredible is that I've been here in my area for six whole weeks.
Today (this morning at 1:00 am) they called me for the transfers. I'm
staying here and I'll be getting a brand new baby elder to train. I
guess the president still trusts me enough to let me try to train
again this transfer. His name is Elder Parra from Colombia. He'll be
getting here on Wednesday so I still have two more days with my temp
Leonel.

Speaking of my temps. They really have helped me a lot and I've
learned so much by going through this stage in my mission. I think it
prepared me a little bit more on how to train somebody. I'm far from
being a perfect missionary and sometimes I do feel inadequate but when
we trust in the Lord we can do anything he asks us to do. My first
temp Luis leaves for the CCM tomorrow to go to Bolivia. He's a good
friend of mine now and I look foward to writing him and seeing how
he's doing in La Paz for the next two years. My comp Leonel is a
recent convert of 4 months but knows a lot about the gospel. He has
introduced me to almost all of his friends and has helped me to get
some new investigators that way. I really realized how much more
effective it is to just go and teach the members' friends and family
members. Not every single person that we introduce to the missionaries
is going to get baptized super quick but a greater percentage will get
baptized than total strangers to the church. I think that sometimes we
are afraid to introduce our friends to the missionaries becuase we
think they will reject us or the gospel. That may be true at first but
eventually most people feel the need one day to talk to the
missionaries again. We just have to always be willing to help them.
The Lord knows His children and He also knows who needs the Gospel in
their lives. This was very evident with Leonel's friend Efrain. Efrain
wants to be baptized and will do it on the 5th of November. It has
been such a cool experience teahing a truly prepared person that was a
reference from a member. I hope you all can help the missionaries to
use their time for teaching and not knocking doors all day.

The Lord is aware of our circumstances and only wants the best for us.
If our life isn't going the way we want, maybe we need to repent and
come unto him. Thank you for all of your support and prayers I feel
them every day.

I hope to hear good news this coming week.

Love,
Your Brother and Son

Elder Child

Recent Pictures

Richard in Arequipa

At a Stake Dance

At some large cathedral

The city of Moquegua

He's still Richie..eating some scones.

Baptism

Love that goofy face of his.

Happy Birthday Mom!

¿Comò Estaìs Familia?
What is Up my dear fam fam? I'm glad to hear that you are all doing
well, (especially Alex). I don't think you can hear me screaming in my
mind or through the old computadora, but I am. Why? Because the Cards
are awesome!!!!!!!!! I knew that my Heavenly Father loved me enough to
look out for my team, the Big Red Birds (just made that nickname up,
probably won't every use it again its lame). I also know that this HAS
to be a trial for me thought becuase He knows that I can't watch the
games, patience, patience. I'm also glad to hear the the Utes beat the
Panthers over there in Pittsburg. Alls well in the States it seems.
One of the things I don't really miss all that much is the snow, but
the leaves turning colors I actually do miss. Hope you all get to
appreciate the leaves in the fall time.

Wow, just lost my train of thought for a second but I think I'll be
okay. Where was I, oh yay, this week for me. This week for me was
pretty awesome, seriously. I was able to go on splits with the zone
leaders for a day and it gave me a new outlook on how I can work with
my new temp Leonel. We worked hard and we had some good experiences
too. Also this week we found and started teaching a family. We're
teaching the mom, her four children, and one of the son's girlfriend.
The problem is that the son and his girlfriend aren't married so it's
going to be awhile until they can get baptized. They actually came to
church this week though, so that was pretty cool. We also found my
temp's friend Efrain. He saw the change that took place in Leonel's
life and wants to change too, so now he's listening to us. He actually
prays and reads and likes to listen, so I think he'll get baptized the
5th of November, easy.

I learned a lot this week and have felt the blessings of persistence
and hard work. Sometimes in the mission field we don't really see all
the blessings for all of our work. Sometimes we talk to many people
and get rejected. Often times I think that it was something I said or
didn't say and that's why the person didn't accept us, so I feel bad.
But I learned that if we're honestly trying to help the person and we
have the Spirit, it really doesn't matter that much what we say. Last
week we gave a blessing to a little girl of one of our investigators.
The little girl had an eye infection and was getting to the point
where her mom needed to buy medicine, the problem is that she didn't
really have the money to buy the medicine (I didn't know this at that
point). Her friend is a member and later the member friend told us
that the little girl's eyes were all cleared up the next day and she
didn't have to buy medicine with what little money she had. She said
thanks for all that we had done and that she could feel our Father in
Heaven's love for her when we visit her. I was pretty blown away and I
felt very grateful for the love that God has for the little ones, no
matter where we live or who we are. We are all His children and He
wants to help us, we just have to come unto Him.

Next week should be interesting. We are preparing somebody for their
baptism this week, and hopefully we can get four baptisms next week.
The work keeps going on and I'm super grateful to be a part of it.
Thanks for all the support and all the prayers. I really have felt the
blessings this week and I know who they come from.

Elder Child

You all probably thought I forgot about Mommy didn't you? HAPPY
BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR MOMMY,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!!!

I wish you a happy birthday from the bottom of my heart mom, I hope
you have a great day and that you can enjoy yourself. The Big 49,
almost cincuenta!!!!!!! Too bad I'll miss the peaking of the hill next
year but I'm sure it will be cool too. Thank you for your example in
my life and for all of your love. You have always been my rock and the
discipline in my life. If I have any appearance of goodness in me it
is definately becuase of you. You always helped (sometimes forced) me
to be a better person and a true disciple of Christ. THANKS!!!!

P.S. Sooo jealous of Ryan Vaughn. He should really love it there. Tell
him Hi for me, and good luck, he'll do great.

First Baptism in Moquegua

Hey family,
Im soooooooo stoked to hear that Cards advanced to the NL Championship
against the Brewers!!!!!!!! They actually took down the huge pitchers
over there in Philly, Im impressed. (Sorry about no question marks, my
keyboard is not very high tech this week). What disapoints me is the
Utes obviously. Also, I would like to hear these kinds of things from
my number one best friend, my brother. Somebody give him a big hug for
me, I know he feels lonely sometimes. Thats okay (also excuse the
absence of apostrophes), I know that he is busy and also taking care
of Grandpa. I was really impressed when I heard the story of how
President Monson cared for his grandpa so much in his youth and that
is what made his wife like him even more. I would be caring for my
dear grandparents, but unfortunately I cant so I glad that Alex is
doing it while Im gone.

Sorry about the snow to those of you who dont enjoy it. I know that
Karyn will enjoy it so keep that in mind. Im sorry that Mom has to
work so much and is stressed out. Just keep it up Mom, the Lord will
bless you for your sacrifice. You youngens should help Mom out just a
little bit, she does so much for us. I just want to tell you all to
calm down and stop bugging the church with my little companion
problem. I really am doing fine. We are doing good in my area. And, Im
not the only one in this situation. There are twelve more people just
like me in this situation. What happened is that 20 people left the
mission field last transfer and only 7 came from the MTC, so there is
a shortage of missionaries. President didnt want to shut down 13 areas
all at once so he is using temps to ease the stress. Next change, if
there is a shortage of missionaries, he has to shut areas to keep
missionaries with missionaries. I kind of regret telling you about my
situation, but I thought it was only fair to tell you.

We are actually doing really well here. We just had our first baptism
here in this area. She is 20 years old, her parents and recent
converts, and she has a real testimony of the Church. Her name is
Maria Alejandra and she got baptized on Saturday afternoon. It was a
good service and I felt the spirit. This week all in all was good even
though I had some struggles about my temporal. Luis left this morning
and I got a new one named Leonel. He is going to be with me until the
end of this month. Dont worry about me Im doing fine. My health is
good and so is the weather. I just have to learn some things in this
difficult situation. Something I realized is that I dont have the
Godly patience with single mothers. I never really understood the
complaints, till now. Like a missionary companionship, a marriage
should have two dedicated individuals. But if the mom or dad is alone,
there is way more responsibility and stress. Ive definately learned
that, I dont really have anyone to rely on or depend on right now,
just my Father In Heaven. It has taught me a lot about how it would be
to be a single parent and I have that much more respect for them now.

I gave a talk in sacrament meeting with a five minute notice
beforehand. I talked about applying what we learn here in church. I
love the scripture in James 1. 27. I encourage you all to read it. I
love the savior, I love this work. Even thought Im not perfect and
maybe I dont always work as hard as I possibly could, I love this
work. Thank you for all your support and prayers. I love you all and
the people here in Peru.

Love,
Elder Child

P.S. Thanks for the You Can Do It card, it really made me laugh.
P.S.S I feel bad that I havent sent you a lot of pictures for like 6
months. Next week I should be sending some. Just be patient with me.

General Conference Part Dos

Hey family,

How's it going everybody? I heard you all had a pretty good week and
that you all had a good general conference. I have to admit that
General Conference was pretty amazing! I learned a lot and definately
felt the spirit testify to me that every single one of those men are
prophets of God. I thoroughly enjoyed your pictures. The bit about the
tire and piece of metal on the freeway makes sense if you think about
it. Alex is still crazy, my comp thinks he is "especial". The UTES
CHIPS was sooo cool, thanks, I needed that. I almost flipped out when
I saw Albert Pujols on the TV!!! I can't believe they made the
playoffs!! How are they doing? How did the Utes do? Grandpa is a real
fighter and a hoot it looks like.

So my week was definately an interesting one. Yes, I am still without
a companion until the end of October. But its actually not that bad. I
have to admit that it took some getting used to. But the Lord does
everything for a reason. I really have learned a lot about leadership
and setting a good example and how to take the lead during lessons and
some other important things. My companion is still Luis. He goes to
Bolivia on his own mission in three weeks and he actually wants to
learn some things and work a bit more than the other young men from
the stake. But its still not the same because he's not quite as
focused on the mission and following all of the rules as I am. I have
gotten to know my area a lot better now. I know where my boundaries
are and we have some more people to teach nowadays. Yes I'm still
living in the same house as when I came. The owners are super nice,
old (like 75), and don't bug us too much. They aren't members but one
of their daughters is. I'm healthy and strong don't worry about me. We
live in one of the safest places in all of Peru. Like I said before,
it reminds me of St. George because of the weather, the people, the
geography and smallness of the town. There's palm trees and when there
is a breeze its pretty nice. Also, unlike Arequipa, they actually have
COLD soda that they put in the fridge. One of the things that I had to
get used to is working with two wards and having to go to church twice
every week. Also I had to get used to working with the young men of
the stake and finding my way around the ward blindly.

This week was really special because of Conference obviously. I'm so
glad that the church actually prints all of the conference talks
becuase there is no way that I could have taken enough notes and
listened closely to remember all of the talks. It really is a blessing
to read conference talks all the year around. If it's important to
you, you'll want to read them every day. My testimony of the Prophet
grew even more this past week. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a true
prophet of God called in these latter days. People here in Peru
believe in prophets fairly easily but they think that any person that
has read the bible is a prophet  so it's important for them to know
what a true prophet is. I was soo surprised to hear about the other
temple in Provo. I'm glad to hear about the other temple in South
America too. That was my second general conference so only two more.

Sorry, times up. I hope that you all read the ensign. I was so glad to
hear about the church in Peru and am so proud to be part of this work
here. Thank you for all of your prayers and support.

Love,

Elder Child

P.S. I completed 11 months in the Mission TODAY!

Leonel, Carlos, Max, and Luis

Hey Familia,

How's it going with you all out there in the good ole USA? I can't
believe how much Roxy looks like Lucy. I'm so glad that I finally got
to see some pictures from Nicole's fancy new camera. I was pretty
shocked to hear about Alex actually going on a date and having a good
time there. That's pretty hilarious about Don and the free stuff at
Chili's. Also, that is pretty awesome to hear that my best bud Darrin
actually remembered me and where I'm at right now. Is that true about
Lindsay Hunter getting her call to Des Moines, Iowa Spanish speaking
mission? Becuase if it is, I'm happy for her, I know she will do a
good job. If that was a joke on Alex's part, it was a pretty funny
one, almost like Boise, Idaho. That's too bad that BYU actually won
their game, the zoobies mostly get on my nerves here in the mish. All
in all it looks like you all had a pretty good week with lots of
excitement.

This week was definately a new and different experience for me. So
what happened was that after we played some soccer and ate with my
companion he called the mission president and was told to go back to
Arequipa. The mission office then informed me that I will NOT be
recieving a new companion this change. I had to look for young men
preparing for the mission in order to come with me and work in my
area. I was a little bummed about that becuase I will pretty much be
alone this change. First Leonel came with me, then Carlos for two
days, then Max, and now Luis. Luis is going to the Bolivia La Paz
mission at the end of the month and should be able to come with me for
much of the month. It is definately different working with young men.
Ive learned a lot and am going to be a better missionary for it. I
really look forward to general conference and hope you all pay
attention, this is revelation from the prophets!!! I seriously can't
believe it's been 6 months.

Bye,
Elder Child

Sorry, short on time this week.

Mi Hijo

Hola Familia!!!!!!!!!

First of all I just want to tell you how pumped up I was to hear about
the Utes and BYU game on Saturday. I was a little worried just becuase
they lost to USC the other week. Josh was telling me that it was
actually a pretty close game and that they could have tied it with a
last second field goal but it got blocked, that's sad. But it sounds
like they are doing pretty good.I was also happy to hear about the
successful date outing that my lil bro had this past week. Girls are
actually sometimes pretty interesting to be around, some wisdom I've
acquired here in the old mission. I also feel a little sorry for Dad
and the whole sacrament job. Sometimes the best talks we give though
are the ones we have to rely more on the spirit. I feel for you Dad
becuase I've had to give a few on the spot talks in sacrament meeting
so I know what it feels like. It's a little bit harder to do it in
spanish though, especially when you first start.

My week was pretty crazy, I'm not going to lie. First of all, I had to
sleep with somebody so I wasn't alone on Monday night. I hung out with
a teenager from a different ward. His name is Carlos and he got
baptized a year and a half ago by an elder that went home the day I
got here. That is pretty crazy to think about. The next day (Tuesday)
I had to be with a different priest named Wilfredo. He's pretty cool.
He just got his call to go to the Lima North mission. I can't remember
if I told you that this area used to be a sisters area, but a lot of
the members were sooo happy to see Elders again in these wards. I'm in
charge of two wards: Central and Portillo. I was pretty lost for a
while because there wasn't anybody that could show me my area, but I
figured it out eventually. The old people that we live with aren't
members but they have a daughter that is, so that's why they let us
live there.

My companion finally got here Wednesday night. His name is Elder
Punguil, and he's from Guayaquil Equador. He's the only member in his
family. He got baptized three years ago, and he's 21 right now. He
said he was pretty sad and that he talked to the MTC president about
going home but the president convinced him to stay. I told him that it
was okay that he was sad for a little bit, but that we are going to
work with some amazing people and then he will feel better after that.
Turns out he really doesn't want to be here. I honestly tried for
three days to work, to contact people, to teach and to help him all
that I could, but it wasn't really enough. I was really sorry to hear
that he told me he doesn't have a testimony and he doesn't really know
why he got baptized. I really tried to help him but he's going to talk
to the president today. I was sad for awhile but I'm okay now.

This sunday we had a special conference for all of Peru. It was good
to hear from Elder Christofferson and the Prophet.

Well, that's about all the time I have this week, please pray for me.

Elder Child

P.S. I would like to know what the new dog looks like please. Pictures
(Nicole)=)