Welcome Home Jake!

We really can't believe it is time for Jake to be home but we are so grateful he was watched over and protected.  Heavenly Father certainly took care of our boy.  Here are a few pictures at the Twin Falls airport.  We saw the plane coming in for a landing. The last picture is Jake putting on his coat and he couldn't zip it up.  He was too busy hanging onto the hood and freezing.  Sure love you Jake!

See the airplane?

Waiting....

Ryker telling Jake about the posters he made. He drew a picture of he and Jake playing a game. 
Ryker said, "Remember we did that when I was little?" Super sweet!

Grateful to be together!

Meeting Bentley for the first time!

Can't zip up his coat! 

Weekly Letter

Olá Família,

   Sorry I wasn't able to get a letter off last week. We had our Christmas Conference on tuesday so we traveled to the Zone Leader ́s area on monday and had lunch with some members there. The conference was really good. It was good to see everyone again and get in some goodbyes.  President and Sister Loureiro gave talks and we watched the new christmas video that the church published. Then we all went to a busy part of town to sing christmas hymns and hand out Liahonas to the people. It was pretty fun to see the look on everyone's face when we started singing. There was a pretty good sized crowd and there were some people that were videoing! There was even an older lady that did a facebook live thing. haha. President Loureiro and a handful of other missionaries were handing out liahonas and talking to the stopped people. While we walked we also kept handing out the magazines and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. We gave out around 6-8 boxes of liahonas so that was good. We had a little face to face too, with Pres. and Sister Loureiro. Each zone sung a musical number throughout the day too. It was a conference really different then what we were accustomed to, but it was really good. We ended the conference by hearing the testimony of all the missionaries that are going home in this transfer. It was really spiritual. It was a pretty good reality check, that made it even more real that I was finishing my mission. So I had some mixed emotions about that. But really these last two years have been the craziest/funniest/hardest/stressful/rewarding of my life. Surely it was just a trailer for my life after I get back. I am so happy to be here, and to have finished my mission. I am looking forward to seeing everyone next week!!!! Love you guys!

- Elder Child

Weekly Letter

Olá Família,

    This last week we visited a man and his mom, who we had found last week and decided to pass by again yesterday. We got there and decided to read the first part of 3 Nephi 11 and explain it as we read. While we were reading another woman showed up and started to invite the mom to go to her church and even offered a ride. However the mom asked her to sit and wait a little and then they would leave. We started reading and the woman asked if we were reading the normal bible or our bible, so I explained again how it isn ́t one or the other, and that we use the Book of Mormon together with the Bible to learn more about Christ. She didn't really seem to be satisfied with the answer and left to wait outside. We continued reading and finally invited them to finish reading the chapter and to pray to receive an answer for themselves. The woman entered again exactly when we were inviting them to do so. She looked uncomfortable again and left quickly. haha. Hopefully we will be able to find her again when we visit the family and maybe she will open her heart a little more. It must have been the first time she had tried to invite someone to her church with some missionaries there watching. haha. The family really like the reading and were excited to continue learning more. The week has gone by really quickly because of the rain, but we are still able to achieve our goals and find new people to teach. Thank you everyone for your support and love! Love you guys!

- Elder Child

weekly letter

Olá Família,

    This last week has gone by very quickly. Here in my new area it is really hot then rains a lot, so we have been trying to work overtime to still find some new people here to teach. The branch is pretty small with around 30 active members but they are really nice. The city is pretty small with almost 87,000 people, and we live with two other Elders in our house. The people are a little bit different here and we have to work a little more to get them to give us their address. We found an older man this last week and when we taught him he accepted the invitation to be baptised. So we were super excited and we returned on Sunday to walk to church with him. he was already dressed with a button up shirt and everything, he was sitting on the side of the road with his dog. He said that he wouldn't be able to go to church with us and didn't really say why. So we got a little disappointed but hopefully he will come next week. The same thigh happened with the other elders too, so we will have some brainstorming to do on how we can get these people to come to church. My new companion is Elder Castilho and he is from São Paulo. He has 8 months in the mission. The other two elders in our house are Elder Leonard (my old companion) and Elder Alvarado who is from Guatemala. Thank you guys so much for your prayers and support! Love you guys!

- Elder Child

PS- i sent a pic of a statue of christ here in Muriaé

weekly letter

Olá Família,

   This last week went by really fast. It has rained a ton these last few days and we got drenched quite a few times. haha. We did get transfers yesterday and I will go to another city called Muriaé with Elder Leonard, but we won't be companions any more. I am hoping that it isn't too hot there, because it's hot here and summer hasn't even started yet. haha. I have already told the members here that I will pass my last Sunday meetings with them so that will be fun. I love you guys tons! Sorry for the short letter! Thanks for your support!

- Elder Child

weekly letter-Nov. 4, 2019

Olá Família,

    This last week was good. It has been raining a lot so we have been trying to work double time when it is clear out. This Sunday a man named Marcio came to church with his wife. She is a non active member and is starting to come back to church. Marcio is really excited to learn and is really comfortable during the meetings. We are really excited to teach him. Also his wife still has a lot of friends here in the ward, so they will be integrated really well. We also had another split this week with the Zone Leaders. We learned a lot about the importance of teaching the lessons quickly and in a way easy to understand. Because sometimes we go into a lot of details about some things, and the investigators end up having more questions after the lesson then before. We also did a little service project and  helped the primary president write the talks for the Sunday program. Hopefully they will skip the part I wrote and sing a few more songs instead. haha. This next week will be really busy and we will travel quite a bit for some other baptismal interviews. So it will be really great. Love you all and thank you for your support!

- Elder Child

PS. The Mission Presidents wife is asking for pictures and/or videos of us opening our calls. I dont know if we have any but, please send some ( if we have some) LOVE YOU!

Weekly Letter-Oct. 28, 2019

Olá Família,

     This last week was really good. We have been visiting quite a few people but have had quite a bit of difficulty finding them in their homes. So we have been knocking a lot of the doors of people that are home, and have been able to find quite a few people to teach. This Sunday we had Stake Conference and an area 70 came to speak. He focussed a lot on the importance of showing your love and appreciation for your family and friends. He shared several experiences and said that we need to show our love now, and not wait, because sometimes it's too late. He also taught the importance of not getting down so much, when you have trials. Basically when you get sad or disappointed, you aren't following the Savior ́s commandment when he said to ``be of good cheer.`´ Even though we do have trials and difficulties in our lives, we must have the faith and hope through the Savior Jesus Christ. I am really glad to have this opportunity to share my testimony and help others come unto Christ. Thank you all for your support and love!

   - Elder Child