Miracles, Episode 23

Hello friends and family,

This week has been wonderful! So many amazing and miraculous things going on. Here are a few of the highlights.

First and foremost... The Primary Program!!! Yesterday we had it and it was absolutely wonderful. I got to play the piano and it was such a privilege. One of the daughters of one of our investigators participated; she gave two articles of faith. Super wonderful. All the little boys had boutonnieres and the girls had flower wreaths, and they got to do solos, since there´s only about 20 kids in the Primary.

Second, a super cool experience with a new investigator. She had been going through a ridiculous number of difficulties with her family and financial situation. One night, she was up at 2 in the morning, on her knees, just begging for an answer, somebody to be put in her life that could help her through what she was going through. A couple days later, we had two extra minutes while we waited for somebody and we were like, let´s go knock that door. And we did. So so cool.

This Church is true! It changes lives. We are so so blessed to live in America, and the Book of Mormon is true. I learned a lot about joy in my personal study this week.

Love you all!

Elder Child

This Week

Hey all!

Few quick highlights:

In an exchange to another area, I had a visit with this member that was 95% blind, 100% deaf, diabetic, and working on reactivating. Super cool. We communicated by writing stuff on a little whiteboard and he would hold it right up to his face and squint, and then respond in something between talking and yelling. He had a testimony and wanted to come back to Sacrament Meeting just to partake of the Sacrament.

We had a sweet activity based on Lehi´s dream. We read the chapter, watched the video, and then went through a maze blindfolded in the dark that Elder Crane and I made in the overflow, of church benches and chairs (the benches move here).

We did a bunch of contacts with the question: What do you want to achieve in life? Strengthened my testimony a lot of the value of the Church in our life. So so cool that we have that much guidance on what the purpose of this life is.

So so grateful for everyone and everything in my life!

Love you all :)

Elder Child

Week the Next

Hey all!

Couple neat stories from the Southern Hemisphere this week.

Our pensionista told us that like a few houses down from his, there had been a death recently, and so we just went for it and knocked some doors like, hey we heard there was a death in the neighborhood, was it this house? And after like four doors we found it, and taught the Plan of Salvation, and it was one of the best lessons me and Elder Crane have taught together. Super powerful, felt the Spirit super strongly.

Immediately after that visit, we walked basically across the street to knock the door of an old investigator, somebody that we'd had one lesson with and never been able to find again. TWO. MONTHS. AGO. We knocked the door this time, and she came out and told us about how she'd read the chapter we'd left her, prayed, and felt super good inside when she did it and wanted to learn more. Miracles happen in missionary work.

Loving my life! Things are super good here. If you want to learn the true meaning of the word stairs, swing by some time. I got you.

Gratefully yours,

Elder Child

Week 16

Hey all!

Sorry about last week...... I promise I´ll do better haha.

Conference was every kind of amazing! I got a ton of questions answered and received a bunch of guidance. If you haven´t been able to watch it, please go do it, it will help with whatever you have going on right now.

My big project of the week: Goals. I recently finished my training (first two transfers), and I figured it was a great time to put some stuff down on paper. I have sets of goals for the mission, and I also have laid out goals for my life, which the goals for the mission are a subset of. I have like a big tree of goals feeding into goals that´re for my whole life. It´s an exercise I´d recommend for all of you. I´m posting my papers in the apartment.

Prayers are felt and appreciated.

Love you all!

Elder Child

Talking to Eli

Hi Family and Friends,

Eli has such limited time on the computer each week, if you haven't guessed. He has 30 minutes to read all his email and respond, then 30 minutes to talk. He and the other missionaries meet at the church and use a member's computer so they are strict on the time. He will stop mid-sentence, both in writing and speaking and say that his time is up. I am grateful he is being obedient.

Last week, he told us about his new favorite fruit, a granadilla. He held one up and showed us.

He then showed me how he hits it on a table and eats the fruit out of the thick skin. He had just gone shopping so he told me what food he purchased for the week: bananas, 2 mangoes, eggs, bleach, "a gigantic head of broccoli", hot dogs, mandarins, a bag of milk (he showed me that one too), 2 soup flavoring packages, green onions, 8-9 tomatoes, and 8-9 apples. He still juggles the oranges and is going to try the soup experiment this week. I asked him is he has enough money. He said that he is doing just fine. So many of the other missionaries waste so much money on junk food, he had left over money at the end of the month. They get their money once a month. He plans for 90-95 soles per week for food and transportation. He said this week he has been doing a pancakes experiment, making them often. He also made scrambled eggs with chopped hot dog in them and topped it with a tomato and an avocado. 

This was all reassuring for me as his mother to hear. The first few weeks out of the MTC were a big learning curve for Eli. He is learning to be an adult, shop for himself and to be a missionary at the same time. He was hungry because he hadn't purchased enough food. Luckily, he gets one good meal per day. They have a pensionista that cooks lunch for them and does their laundry (ok, so I guess he gets broken into adulthood slowly). He is responsible for breakfast and dinner. They can't eat with members because the members would give them their best food and their children might starve. They love the missionaries.

He also told us about talking to his mission president. He asked him how he learned Spanish so well, he has been impressed. Eli told him that his Dad practiced with him before he left. President said, "You have a great dad!" I agree wholeheartedly with that.

Eli and his companion were thrilled with 11 new investigators at church last week, and this week not so many. He just said, "So, we have work to do." He is good friends with his companion and they are goth gringos with red hair!

He loves being in Peru and loves to hear details about what each of his siblings are up to. He hasn't been able to talk to them for almost 2 months because he calls during their school day. I often don't know what time he will call, but need to start checking out one child at a time, so he can see them and they can talk to him.

It is so wonderful to see his face and hear his voice. He is happy and working hard. So many new little cultural differences and experiences are just an adventure to him. We are so proud of him. He loves to get letters, even if he has to speed-read them!

Thanks for all your love and support for our missionary!

Love, Angie

We also finally got pictures from him!

Pictures of Peru!