Monday, March 31, 2014

Addicted


I love my mission. Wow....I LOVE my mission. I have grown so close to my Savior. He IS my best friend. He is MY Savior. He loves me. I know it, and I love him. This is the most glorious work and I am so grateful to be a part of it. I have already decided. I am NEVER going to stop being a missionary. Never. I love it too much. I'm addicted. I'm addicted to contacting. I'm addicted to giving out Books of Mormon. I'm addicted to sharing the gospel.

My plaque is over my heart and in my heart. I will always and forever be a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

Love this Jersey Missionary, 
Hermana Childs
 
 

Monday, March 24, 2014

InterCAMBIOS


"CAMBIO" = Change

Change is all around in NJ. The weather is changing, our companionship might be changing (we have transfers next week), and I have seen changes in our area. I have also seen changes in myself! 

This week we had "intercambios", or exchanges, with the Sister Training Leaders. Exchanges are when each companionship swaps one companion for 24 hours. One companion will stay in the same area and "lead", or direct the lessons, and the other will leave and trade places with a Sister Training leader.  

Thursday night our district leader called and told us that Sister Jordan would be leaving the area. Instant panic. I was going to be leading our area. Our Sister Training Leaders are called as English speaking missionaries and don't speak any Spanish. This also meant that I would have to translate. As unprepared as I felt, I knew the Lord wouldn't give me a trial that I couldn't overcome, so I began praying for help. 

Friday, the day of exchanges the Sister Training Leaders arrived at our apartment. I said goodbye to Sister Jordan for 24 hours, and Sister Varble and I went off to our first appointment. During the whole drive, I was praying that I would be able to understand each accent of Spanish that I encountered that day (we teach people from several different countries and the accent varies from country to country), that I would be able to teach clearly, and that I would be able to bring the Spirit into our lessons. 

Our first lesson was with a new investigator: Andres. He is 21 years old, from Costa Rica, and is living with a member family. We had encountered him once before and were able to talk to him for 15 minutes, but this was the first actual lesson. During the lesson we were teaching about the Restoration; we were teaching about prophets and dispensations and the Spirit was so strong. My Spanish seemed to come so easily; I didn't hesitate, the points of the lesson came to my memory, and I taught with conviction. It was amazing! I know Heavenly Father was helping me. There is no way that I could have done that by myself! At the peak of the lesson, we invited him to be baptized. He accepted! His baptism will be on April 27. 

All throughout our exchange I saw miracles! There was a CHANGE that happened that day. A change of companions, a change of Spirit in our area, and a change in me as I gave everything to my Heavenly Father and trusted Him with all my heart. 

Miracles happen when we trust the Lord. We need to not only trust Him, but FULLY trust Him. 

So, trust Him. Let the "cambio" take place. Miracles are awaiting. 

Hermana Childs

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

La Vida es la Universidad por Adversidad



This week was hard. Really hard. Satan has been working incredibly hard on us and our investigators. I have seen it and felt it. The harder we push, the harder he works, but it's alright because he will NEVER win. He can "send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind" but he will NEVER win. (Helaman 5:12)

Hermana Jordan and I have our feet planted in the gospel sod, our roots are firm in Christ, our house is built upon a rock, and how firm is our foundation, even that the temptations of Satan will not shake us. We are representatives of Christ. We wear His name on our hearts and our plaques. "[He] will be on [our] right hand and on [our] left and [His] Spirit will be in our hearts, and [His] angels round about [us] to bear [us] up. (Doctrine and Covenants 84:88)

"I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The dye has been cast! I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made; I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I’m finished and done with low living, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tainted visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals. I no longer need pre-eminence, positions, promotions, plaudits or popularity. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk with patience, am uplifted by prayer, and labor with power. My face is set, my gait is fast, and my goal is Heaven. My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear! I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, divided or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won’t give up, shut up, or let up, until I have stayed up stored up, and paid up of the cause of Christ. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till I know, and work till He stops me." -Unkown Author

I know the Savior is with us, and even though Satan is doing his best to slow us down, we are as the army of Helaman; "we are as the Lord's missionaries to bring the world His truth". 

Sending all my love, 
Hermana Childs

Monday, March 10, 2014

So Much Faith

I love the people of New Jersey. Even with their aggressive driving I still love them. 

The people here have so much faith; and because of their faith, we have seen so many miracles. 

We have a recent convert in our branch who has a burning testimony of the church. He bikes 6 miles to church every Sunday...even when it's too cold for me to walk out to the car; or when the cold sinks through my coat, skirt, and leggings within a matter of minutes; or even through the rain. He is truly amazing. This week we were teaching him about family history work because our branch has a special temple trip next week. He is so excited to do the work for his family. He is not yet endowed, so he can only do baptisms, but he has already requested the full day off of work to travel to the temple (4 hours away), and spend his day off to learn how to do family history work with us. This week we met him at the Princeton Library for our appointment. We signed onto a computer and began helping him set up an account for FamilySearch.org. As we were setting up his account, it requested his name, we wanted him to practice each step, so we asked him to fill in this information. He had only used a computer once or twice before, so it took him 3 minutes to fill in his first name because he was trying to find all of the letters on the keyboard. After his name was successfully entered in, he needed to click the mouse to go to the next step. We had to explain this too because he had no idea how to use a mouse. It was very difficult for him. It took us a full hour just to set up his account. I marveled as I watched him struggle just to move the mouse around and get it to land on the icon just right before he could click. Sometimes when he was about to click, his hand would accidentally bump the mouse again, and he'd have to try again. It was amazing. This work is so important to him that he is willing to struggle through HOURS of work trying to enter in the documentation for his family. I have never seen such faith in my whole life. It is amazing. 

Later on in the week a member wanted to take us out to lunch. We finished our food at the restaurant and were on our way out when we passed by the waitress. My companion and I handed her a pass-a-long card and explained who we were and a little bit about what we believe. To our surprise her response was, "This is exactly what I have been looking for! Thank you so much for sharing this with me. Can I get the address for your church so that I can attend?" We gave it to her, met with her yesterday, and she is well on her way to being baptized. 

Also, our mission has a goal to contact 10 people everyday. This is a bit difficult for Hermana Jordan and I. Our area is very large and we do a lot of driving, so our numbers are usually around 7-8 contacts every day. One of the first days that this goal was given we were walking to one of our appointments and passed by a young man sitting next to the library. We walked by him because we were going to be late for our appointment, but a few steps after we had passed him, Hermana Jordan and I felt that we needed to go talk to him. We turned around, introduced ourselves, gave him a Book of Mormon, invited him to read the Introduction, and set up an appointment with him. We went to visit him a few days later and while we met with him, we followed up on his reading. Not only had he read the Introduction, but he was curious about his book and so he kept reading. He believes it to be true. He has been prepared. We plan extend a baptism invite at our appointment later tonight.

The area we are in has been prepared. The seeds have been planted long ago and now we are harvesting these children into God's Kingdom. I am so thrilled for this goal of contacting 10 people every day. Being a missionary is such a blessing. It's a joy. 

I love my mission, my companion, these people, all of it. 

Sending my love back to Utah,

Hermana Childs 

 
This is me trying my first platano :)

Volunteering at the Food Pantry

Monday, March 3, 2014

Miracles in New Jersey

My Trainer and companion Hermana Jordan from Bolivia
 
I love my mission. 

Miracles have happened in New Jersey. Miracles. 

Yesterday was Fast Sunday. I love Fast Sunday. Fasting brings miracles. After church ended, my companion and I returned to our apartment, broke our fast, and then headed off to our appointments.

Our first appointment was in a city called Trenton. Trenton is ranked 2nd or 3rd for the most dangerous cities in the United States. We pulled up to the investigators house, parked, said a prayer, and were getting out of the car when I stopped. Hermana Jordan looked at me and said, "Esta bien?" ("Are you alright")? I got back in the car and closed the door. I said, "I have this really anxious feeling. It feels like something isn't right". She had that same feeling. We sat in the car, locked our doors, and offered another prayer. Afterwards we parked our car in a different area and the feeling went away. We have no idea why we felt that way, but Heavenly Father was watching out for us. That is the first miracle. Second was during that same appointment. Hermana Jordan had told me that for the next week she was going to talk less and leave it up to me to lead the discussions. I was so nervous! There we were trying to teach a lesson on faith and it was my turn to lead. My Spanish wasn't perfect, but the Spirit was there. Heavenly Father helped me during that lesson. 

That same night we had an appointment with a family from the Dominican Republic, the Martinez family. The Martinez family has 3 daughters all older than 24 and then their mother. One of the daughters is a recent convert and has a testimony stronger than steel. She has a strong desire to have the rest of her family join the church. The other members of her family have been investigating the church for a month or so and are really skeptical about it. There is a lot of tension when, as a family, they talk about the church. Last night, before we drove over to our appointment with them, we called to confirm. One of the sisters texted us and told us that no one was home and that we'd have to reschedule. After we received her message, the other sister, who is a member, called us and told us that everyone was at home and for us still to come over. We drove over, went to the apartment complex door, rang for their apartment number, but one one answered. We called the sister who is a member and she said that her sisters and mother didn't want to receive us and listen to our message but that she was going to come and let us in anyways. Once we were let in, Hermana Martinez (the member) explained that one of her sisters was so set on not listening to our message that she locked herself in the bathroom and would not come out. We arrived at the door, greeted each of the remaining family members, and invited all to listen to the lesson that we had prepared. Only the mother and the husband of the member came to listen. One sister was still locked in the bathroom and the other stayed in the kitchen and stated that she couldn't come to listen because she was cooking and couldn't let the food burn. Their kids ran wild as we began the lesson and things weren't looking promising. I prayed for Heavenly Fathers help that this lesson would go well. If it didn't, things would have gone worse, and I don't think they would have anything to do with us. At that moment, our lesson plans changed. The Spirit entered the room, the noise of cooking in the kitchen stopped, all the children (except one) fell asleep, and we taught with such conviction that it startled even me. We had the full attention of everyone present. I don't think I have ever felt the Spirit so strong. It was amazing. We closed our lesson with a prayer and set up another appointment for the next week. Hermana Martinez, the member, walked us out to our car and pleaded with us to stay longer. She said, "I wish that you could be here forever. You have the Spirit with you, and they can't contend with you because you guys bring the Spirit so strong." We told her that we could teach her how to have the same power if she would like. She agreed and thanked us again. 

Miracles. Miracles happen. They happen when we are obedient. They happen when our will is in line with God's will. They happen because we have faith. I have faith in miracles. 

I have a testimony of this work and that God's hand is in it. 

I am so grateful for this opportunity to represent my Savior. 

Thank you all so much for your prayers and thoughts. They help bring forth miracles like this. 

Sending much love, 
Hermana Childs