June 6

Hello!

This week I have learned lots and lots!  I told you that I get to train this transfer and that has been a great experience so far!  I have really loved getting to know my trainee. His name is Elder Ibanez and he is so excited to be a missionary.  It is fun to be with him.  He is from Quezon City (close to manila) and he is 18 years old. He's got lots of good ideas for the area, and thats good.  Its a pleasure to work with him.

I have really learned a lot about myself as I have been training. It really makes you think when you are in charge of really showing a missionary what a mission is all about.  Its hard, but really fun. I have really learned a lot about myself, and have seen myself grow as well. 

One thing that i've really learned is to appreciate the little successes every where.  That not every success is a baptism, but that there are so many things that we do every that are huge for our success.  We need to always be looking out for them because those are little gifts from Heavenly Father.  Since we're opening an area, it is just a lot of finding right now.  There were some missionaries here a while ago, but there wasn't really any records in our area book.  But we have been working hard and have seen a lot of potential here in Gattaran! I think that we will be able to have a lot of success here. (little and big)

But just for you guys to get a little picture of our area, it is 50 ish barangays.  Each barangay is kind of like a little city.  Well maybe more of a village.  There are not a lot of houses in each barangay.  Just a little group in the middle of a LOT of rice fields.  In the center, or the biggest part, there in the Market, a hot dog stand, and some carenderias (kind of a homemade food restaurant) with a couple of other stores.  But its not very big.  There are no super markets or anything like that.   Most of our area is out of the centro so we take a tricycle every morning.  The people are super nice, and are usually willing to come out and talk, which is a big difference from Laoag.  Here if you go to a house, the person will at least come out and talk with you.  That didn't often happen in Laoag.  There are a lot of people that haven't heard of the "mormons" yet. But I love the opportunity to get to talk to them. We have most of Gattaran in our area, but there are a lot of areas that aren't opened yet.  Our farthest area is 4 or 5 hours away, if you're not going too slow.  So we can't really go out there yet.  Its a really big area, but we're focusing on the close parts to the church so that it isn't too hard for investigators to come to church. Its a great area, I really love it! I haven't taken any pictures here yet, but next week I'll take lots!

I love you all!!!

Elder Childs

Me and Elder Ibanez with President and Sister Andrada:

We went to Appari for Pday!  Its pretty pretty there (:  It was really fun to get to see the Ocean!

May 30

Hey Everyone!!!

This week was the end of the transfer, but I've got good news!!  This next transfer I get to train, and I am super excited!!!! I was really hoping to train, but didn't think that I would be able to, because President usually calls Sunday evenings if you have a calling such as trainer, district leader, zone leader etc, and I didn't get a call. But this morning when we were playing basketball he called and asked if I was willing to train!  I'm super excited!  I will get to meet my trainee on Thursday, and I can't wait!  We're going to open an area in Gattaran, and it should be fun!  Its a pretty rural place I hear, but has a lot of pretty places!  Its the rainy season right now and in Cagayan that means that every day we get rained on.  I can't wait!

Other than that it was a pretty boring week.  That was probably the most memorable moment.  I ate some cool food though that was fun.  Its called Abul Abul, and they are tasty.  You guys should all try them!  I won't even explain.  Just look at the picture (:

One thing that has really hit me recently came from this video.  I would highly recommend watching it.  One thing that really hit me though is that what Satan wants for us it to look backwards.  To look at all of our life and say, what could I have changed here.  What could I have done different, or why didn't I do this, or that.  

But that isn't what God wants for us.  He wants us to live our life forward.  To every day, say, what am I going to do today, to become more like the Savior.  We obviously have many things to learn from our life, but no one ever got anything done from moping about yesterday.  It is important to learn from our mistakes, but what we learn means nothing if we don't ever learn to actually apply what we learn.  

I have seen a lot of people who get stuck in the past.  In things that they have done or that have been done to them, and to be honest, they are never happy.  I have also seen a lot of people who always look to what they can do, what they can change NOW, and they are the ones who are happy with their lives. 

I know that everyone who learns to apply this principle, will find happiness in their lives, and will see the Savior carry their life farther than they could ever imagine.  That they will accomplish wonders.  I hope you have a wonderful week!  Please pray for me that I will know how to help my new trainee (:

Elder Childs

Abul Abul - It's TASTY!

Me with some members.

A returning less active family that we've been working with.

I'm going to miss all of these members!

May 23

Hello Everyone!

I have had a really good week this week!  We had a stake conference this week, and it was super good!  We had Elder Pangan come and visit us, and it was really good!  They talked a lot about service, and our responsibilities as members.  One thing that I really liked was a video that Elder Pangan showed.  It was the bible video of John 21.  The story of John going fishing again.  A message that we can learn there is how important it is to serve others.   It reminded me of something that I heard a week or two ago.  There were a couple of missionaries in a different mission, and it started to rain, and it was coming down pretty hard, so the two missionaries texted their mission president and asked?  "Should we still work today?"  And all that they recieved in reply was, "If you think that the rain is stronger than your faith, don't work."

In life, there are a lot of times that we don't have the ideal situations in our life.  Sometimes, like the first apostles, we face loss and being lost.  Sometimes it isn't sunny.  But the thing that we have to remember is, that we can decide if we are going to keep doing the Lords will, keep finding His lost sheep, or if we are just going to fall back into the same routine that we always had before we came to know our Savior.

Jeffrey R Holland said, "The crowning characteristic of love is always loyalty" and if we love the Lord, we have a work to do.  It does not matter what happens to us, we must continue doing His work.  We must show our love for the Savior.  And I know that if we do, if we continue to serve, we will recieve the Lords help.  We will see miracles in our life, and we will find peace and joy in our life.  I know that that is what God wants for us.  I know that is what God will do, if we will do our part.

I have truly seen that.  That the time when you feel you cannot go any farther, that you cannot do any more, and you try and take one more step, that is when you see the most help.  The time when you see the miracles that God has waiting. I have seen that help time and time again, when I feel like I have hit my wall.  When I feel that my body or my emotions or my intellect cannot take any more.  That when I try and make that one more step, God gives me help that I did not know that I could receive.  I know God will do that for you too.

Elder Childs

Lunch at Rafael's

May 16

Good Morning!!!

Or afternoon or night.  Depends on when you read this.  But my week has been really good!  Our area here in Laoag is really progressing right now, and it is so fun to see.  We have some really good investigators that are really progressing right now, and there will probably be 4 or 5 baptisms next transfer!

I think that I'll tell you about just one right now though.

Her name is Marigi and she is 22 years old.  She is studying to be a doctor in manila, but she's here for her vacation.  She really wants to know for herself if this is the true church, and she is doing everything that she needs to to find out.  She has that faith that God will answer her prayers, and so she makes sure she reads every day and that she is at church every week, and she prays with all her heart to know, and I have seen her testimony growing. It is so fun to teach her because she really likes to learn, and she always has good questions that make us think.  

All the others are doing good as well!  Maybe I'll tell you about some others next week!

Yesterday though, we talked about sacrifice at church, and why it is so essential.  Ever since the world began, sacrifice was a part of God's law for His children.  Before Christ came, it was in the form of an animal sacrifice, but after he came, he fulfilled the Mosaic law, and gave a new law for us.

In 3 Nephi Chapter 9, verse 19-20 we read,

“Ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood, … and your burnt offerings shall be done away. … And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit”

To be honest, a broken heart and a contrite spirit is really hard to give.  It means that we feel true sorrow for all of our sins, and that we are willing to humble ourselves before the Lord, and submit to His will.  And that can be a tough thing many times. But that is where we really see who is truly converted and who is just going through the motions.  When living the Gospel no longer becomes easy, but becomes a real sacrifice, what do you do? Do you choose to continue to do what is right, even in the face of great opposition, or do you give up and give in to the temptations of Satan?    That is where we really learn about ourselves and our conversion. 

Here in the Philippines I have seen the sacrifice of many wonderful members as they try and live the Gospel.  There is a recent convert who instead of selling her goods on sunday, she chose to keep the Sabbath day Holy.  There was  another who canceled his plans to go work in another country to accept a calling of the Lord.  Another closed his store every sunday.  Many others paid the fare to get to church, out of complete faith, trusting that God would provide, and still others have walked for miles to just get to church.  

Not all of our sacrifrices will be the same, and God does not require the same of everyone.  But my question for each one of you, is what sacrifice does God want from you right now.  What do you need to change in your life to live more in line with His teachings, even if it may not be easy.  I know that if you really think about that, the Spirit will tell you what you need to do, and you will be able make that change.  As you strive to make those changes, the Lord has promised that we will be blessed with more blessings than we imagine.  The Lord will honor those who sacrifice for him.

Have a marvelous monday!

Elder Childs

May 2

Hello Everyone!

I have had another good week this week!  It has gone by super quick again.  But it has been really good!  We got to talk to a lot of people, and we met some really cool new ones.  My favorite maybe is sister Ismile.  She is super nice.  She was the one that found us!  We were walking and she stopped us and asked about us and what we taught and how long it would be before she could get baptized.  Then she promised that she would go to church, and yesterday she showed up with her four grandchildren!  She is super nice!  I am excited for her. We've set up a return apointment with her later today, so I'm excited!

I have been learning again, about how important doing service is.  Yesterday one of our RCs got her personal progress book so that she can get started on that, but she asked us a couple of questions about what she should do with it, so we talked about it, and then I was just flipping through it looking at the different value experiences and projects that it has, and I really liked one of them.  This is what it said:

Learn why service is a fundamental principle of the gospel. Read Matthew 5:13–16; 25:34–40; Galatians 6:9–10; James 1:22–27; Mosiah 2:17; 4:26; and 3 Nephi 13:1–4. Others often give service you may not notice, such as preparing meals, reading to or listening to younger children, repairing clothing, or helping a brother or sister. For two weeks record in your journal the quiet acts of service your family members and others perform. Acknowledge their service in some meaningful way.

I thought about that and how important it is.  It is so easy to just take things for granted.  But I realized that just because someone always does something, it does not become less valuable.  It may become more valuable because it is repeated over and over again.  And it is so important for us to say thank you and acknowledge it in a meaningful way.

It is also important for me to be the one giving service as well.  And not just serving to serve, but serving out of love. I sometimes catch myself serving to be noticed, and as such, I would get annoyed if I wasn't thanked.  But I felt God chastising me a little bit whenever those thoughts came to my mind.  I felt Him questioning what my reason was for serving.  If I was serving for recognition, or because I wanted to help those around me.  And I realize, that if we serve for the right reasons, we will not worry about whether or not they say thank you, or seem to appreciate what you have done for them, but you will just be happy that you were able to help them.  Two scriptures came to my mind as I thought about this. Its from Matthew Chapter 5.

44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them thatcurse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray forthem which despitefully use you,

and persecute you;

 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is inheaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on thegood, and sendeth rain on the

just and on the unjust.

 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward haveye? do not even the publicans the

same?

 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye morethan others? do not even the publicans so?



The second was this.  Also from Matthew, but in chapter 6

 16 ¶Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of asad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that theymay appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, Theyhave their reward.

 17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, andwash thy face;

 18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thyFather which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth insecret, shall reward thee openly.

I really like both of those scriptures, and I feel they really embody the way that we should serve.  We should serve even those that don't serve us, especially those we don't like, and if we do it to be seen of men, we won't recieve our reward in Heaven, but if we do it because we love them, they will feel that love, and we will feel so many more blessings because of it.  I know that that is true, even if I'm still not very good at it (:

Have a marvelous week,

Elder Childs

April 24

I don't have a ton of time this week.  I think I'm just going to answer your questions and then thats all.  Sorry! I'll try and write a better email next week.

The church buildings here are fairly similar.  A lot of time they are two story.  They always have a basketball court out front.  They are sometimes air conditioned.  All the windows have bars.  But its still a church.  Its not that different.

The church in the Philippines is still really young, and so a lot of times wards are still getting on their feet, still trying to figure out what to do, so I can't say that there are a ton of similarities in the way programs are run in Utah.  But it is still the church, and it still blesses lives (:

The farthest members are maybe five kilometers away. But we live maybe two blocks away from the church.  So thats nice.  But in other areas its a lot farther.  Thats only here in Laoag.

The ocean is really close, but I still haven't seen it.  Its not that close to our area.  But maybe 20 minutes and your at the ocean.  But we haven't found time to visit.  I'm not actually sure if its allowed.  

Filipinos eat all of the normal meals, and then they usually have a merienda or two.  One at 10ish and one at 3ish.  But that depends on how much money they have.  If you're poor, you only eat once or twice a day.  

My favorite treat is called Halo Halo.  Its just shaved ice that they put a bunch of stuff in.  It depends on where you buy it, but its got stuff like sugar, sweetened and condensed milk, beans, flan, ube, melon, corn, etc.  Its really good!

I love you guys!  Have a wonderful week!  sorry about my lame email!

Elder Childs

Me and my companion on his birthday. 

April 18

Hello world!

It has been another good week here in the Philippines.  We have been working hard, and we had two baptisms in the district this week!  I got to spend some time with them just talking, and they are super cool and super ready to be baptized.  They both have really strong testimonies and a desire to follow Christ.  Thats about all you need right?  The one finished the book of Mormon in about a month, so thats pretty cool.  I love the two of them.  Its always good to see people enter in to the church.

You asked about people's acceptance of the Book of Mormon. We don't usually get a ton of questions about the Book of Mormon.  Usually they will hesitate for just a second, but usually they will accept the Book of Mormon, and commit to read it to know for themselves.  There are some who when they see it, and hear our testimonies, just believe.  Thats one thing I love about the Filipinos, they are super good at super simple faith.  

We had to say goodbye to our district this week.  Well only two sisters really.  But the district will be different next transfer.  We will be getting six new sisters, so our district is big now!  Its got 12 people!  It will be fun to see again/meet them.  Sisters are always the best, so it will be fun to have new ones.

This week I have been thinking a lot about love and patience, and how essential that is to every part of life.  I'm sorry to any of you who are sick of hearing me talk about love and patience.   I know I do it a lot, but its something I'm really trying to get better at.  But to spice it up a little bit this time I have  a story!  

Its not actually from my experience.  It is about a lady in the area of our zone leaders.  She is an active member, with less active husband.  She has been let down by him repeatedly, and has over and over again felt that she just wants to quit.  To leave and just be done with it, and almost everyone else is telling her to do the same, but what she told to our zone leaders is that every time she gets her heart broken, every time her husband does mean or stupid of thoughtless things, she just decides to give him one more chance.  One more chance for him to change, because maybe he will change this time. 

If that isn't Christlike love, I don't know what is.  God loves us enough to pick us up however many times we fall.  However many times we reject His help, he is always standing there, just waiting to let us repent, if we just want it.  Over and over again.  Every day, every night, year after year, He is there.  He will not let us down, if we just turn to Him, we will be able to experience His joy, but we must go to Him, He will not force Himself upon us. 

I also believe that if you want that kind of forgiveness, we have to give it, and forgive those around us.  Forgiving does not mean condoning, but it means loving in spite of the weaknesses and flaws of others.  And it comes from God.  

As we have patience with others, forgive them again and again, until "seventy times seven" we will receive peace and joy in our life, and we will see those around us change.  This is my testimony to you, and I know that it is true.  

Have a wonderful, forgiveness full, week,

Elder Childs

The District

Me in front of a fountain.