August 22

Hoy Kaibigan ko!

This week has been a good, but sad week.  I had a lot of my really good friends leave the MTC this week, and the two very coolest elders that I've met while I've been here are now gone, so that's sad, but I'm so excited for them, and now I'm only two weeks(ish) out!  Half of my District got their travel plans this week, but for some reason the other half (me included) were put down as leaving on the 9th, even though we should leave on the 3rd.  So that was disappointing, but I talked to our branch president (who is awesome by the way) and he said that he would work it out and we would all leave on the third like we should.  So that'll be good.

The language is coming really well!  The thing that helps the most is just SYLing.  Which stands for speak your language, and that practice is what really helps.  Well that and the gift of tongues (:

To answer one of your questions, me and my roommates are good about keeping our room clean. We've gotten commendable on every inspection, so you should probably be proud (:  and for me , the real motivating factor is that I'm a missionary and the white bible says to keep it clean.  I know that the more obedient I am the more the Lord is able to bless me, so I try to keep it clean.

One super cool experience that I had this week has to do with prayer.  Me and Elder Porter were teaching a progressing investigator, and things had not really been going too well.  He had stopped keeping our commitments, and all in all could no longer really be considered a progressing investigator.  But during one of our lessons I got the prompting to just pray to know what to say in the middle of the lesson, so I said a quick prayer in my head, and then after that I felt like Heavenly Father was pouring in the revelation!  Our investigator is now moving forward nicely, and things are going smoothly again!  I know that Heavenly Father answers our prayers, and that we can all be given personal revelation in our lives.   It's so cool to see all the blessings that Heavenly Father has waiting for us, if we just reach out and ask for them.  A scripture that relates to this is 2 Nephi 33:1. Look it up.  Maybe do some studying.

I love this Gospel so much, I know its true, I love you all and have a great week!

Elder Childs

August 15

Hey everyone!

Here are the answers to some of your questions Mom:

Where are all the people in your district from?  Everyone in my district are from Idaho, Vegas, Utah, or Arkansas.

If you had to pick one or two favorites, who would they be and why?  There is a sister in the district that really reminds me of Morgan, so obviously I like her, and Elder Porter is super awesome!  He is always so patient and willing to work with me and things that I need to do.

What is your favorite time of day in the MTC?  I love mornings.  I don't know why, but the mornings are the best (:

Have you seen a lot of people you know while in the MTC?  Yeah I see some people that I know, but we don't have a lot of time to hang out and talk.  My district is my new family (:

Is the training in the MTC about Preach My Gospel similar to Mission Prep here in our stake?  In what ways is it similar or different?  The MTC training is a lot better, because we do a lot more role plays. Teaching is the best way to learn. It's pretty nice (:

We are getting ready for a new school year and trying to figure out schedules, etc.  What would you recommend for family scripture study topics?  Based on your three weeks of study in the MTC so far...I've really enjoyed studying about the atonement and the spirit.  Those two things are always the best. They can give so much comfort to our lives.

This week a lot has been the same, and so I will make this a short blog post.  Mostly the moral of the story is that I'm coming up on two weeks till I'm in the Philippines!  I can't wait to get out there and serve those awesome people!  The language is coming along and I love my district!  They're all such cool people and I am so glad that the Lord allowed me to be put with them.  I just want to finish out with a testimony on the power of the Holy Ghost.  I know  that the Holy Ghost is there giving us guidance and direction on what we should do and how we can become better.  I have felt the Holy Ghost in a couple of ways this week.  First I know that he gives us guidance to help us with our problems.  I was praying for some answers this week and he told me what I needed to do, not in a visit from the Angel Moroni, but in simple thoughts and feelings.  The second is the comfort that you can feel.  When you're feeling down and that you've gone as far as you can go, the Holy Ghost will be there to life you up and carry you farther that you would ever be able to go on your own.  I love it. I love you guys, and have a wonderful week

Elder Childs

Me and Porter and Sherman and Olson--some of my room mates.

Me with my first zone leaders, they're pretty awesome guys! 

August 8 2015

Howdy Everybody!!

I am loving being a missionary.  We pretty much do the same stuff every day here at the MTC, but the spirit is so strong here and I am learning so much so fast.  The gift of tongues is so real, let me tell ya.  We were reading in Job this past Sunday, and there was a scripture that I came across that I liked so much that I wrote it on the back of my notebook, and it has become my motto. Before I tell you what it is, first let me tell you a little about Job.  He was super successful in life.  Like the millionaire of the Old Testament.  He had everything you could ever wish for, sheep, cows, fruit trees, you know, the finer things of life (:  And Heavenly Father decided to test Job's conversion to him, and so he allowed Satan to take stuff away from him.  First his cows, then the rest of his animals, and all his children, and then he got boils all over his body.  Some really nasty stuff.  And this is where my scripture comes in.  This is in Job chapter 23.  After all of this bad stuff that has happened to him,  he says, "When the Lord has tried me, I shall come forth as gold."  How cool is that??  After I read that it became my goal.  Every trial I get, for the rest of my life, I want to have enough faith in My Lord, that I can have the attitude of Job.

President Nelson came on Sunday and it was super cool to hear him speak.  He is such an inspired man, and I know he's who the Lord wants here.  And on a side note, Me and my companion Elder Porter went and bore our testimonies to random people during our language study during one of the days this week.  (I don't know which one, time is not normal here in the MTC :)  and after we finished bearing our testimonies I felt so good!  Even though it was to a bunch of missionaries who obviously have a strong testimony, and it was in a language that they couldn't understand, the Spirit was there and it was awesome.  There is such a strong spirit that comes with sharing the Gospel with anyone.

I love you all and hope that you have a great week,

Elder Childs

August 1

Hey Everyone!

Its crazy that I'm already writing my second blog post.  I am always busy and it seems like ages since I've gotten here, but it also seems like no time at all. As I've been here I've learned a lot about a lot more than just Tagalog.  The most important thing that I've learned is that the Spirit is the most important thing in missionary work.  If I can speak Tagalog like a native, but don't have the Spirit, I will never be an effective missionary.  So this week I've focused a lot on the Spirit and finding new ways to bring it into my teaching and my life.  I love being given this opportunity to serve the Lord, because there is no way to better have the Spirit in your life. One really cool experience that testifies of that.

It was my second lesson with an investigator named Marlon, and I was teaching and didn't really know the language, so I had some things written out that I wanted to say, but when we got there, I started and the spirit told me to speak on a different topic, and so I started talking about that.  As I did, it felt as if I was being given all the words that I needed, even if it was still broken Tagalog, and I was able to understand what he meant when he responded, even though I would only catch one or two words.  I know that the spirit was helping me out and that was awesome.  I have really come to love the Holy Ghost as I've been here at the MTC.

When we strive to serve the Lord and to serve others, that is when we really grow.  Service is amazing, and we cannot reach our full potential without it.  I love you all and have a wonderful week!

Elder Childs