March 27

Hey Everyone!

We have had another good week here in Lal-lo.  It has been a little rainy which is really nice, and the work has been good.  We have some baptisms coming up this April, which will be great.  Hopefully we can continue to have success here in Lal-lo.  On Saturday we went to visit one of our investigators, and they were busy harvesting rice, so we got to jump in and help them a little bit with that!  It was fun!  We also were finding, and we met the parents of one of the professional basketball players here in the Philippines, so that was kind of cool.  We also were able to teach Brother Ireneo and his kids.  I'm especially glad to be teaching him, because Brother Ireneo's wife is already a member, but working overseas.  When Brother Ireneo and his children are baptized it will complete their family, and when his wife gets back from Saudi Arabia, where she is currently working, they will be able to go to the temple to be sealed as a family.  And on the theme of temples, one of our recent converts will be going to the temple this Wednesday for her first time to do baptisms for the dead.  I'm so very excited for her.

Lately this week I have been missing the temple a lot.  With the Aparri District having a temple trip this week, I have been thinking about the peace that comes from the temple, and all the blessings that come along with it.  When I was still at home, I took the temple for granted a lot.  With the temple being so close, I often let other things get in the way of my temple attendance.  But since I've gotten here in the Philippines, and don't have the opportunity to visit the temple because of the distance, I have realized what a blessing it is.  In the temple we are promised peace and safety,  and if we regularly visit and live up to all of our covenants, we have the promise of success and guidance in every part of our life.  Inside the temple we can come closer to God in a way that is personal and profound.  I can't wait to get back to the temple.

For this coming week, we just need to finish preparing our investigators for their baptismal interview this coming Sunday, and we hope to see some more progression in some of the other investigators we have.  There is a lot of potential, but a lot of times people let the busyness of life get in the way of their reading and church attendance.  Hopefully we will see more progression in our other investigators this week.

Love you All!

Elder Childs

Thrust in Your Sickle With All Your Might!