Hello
Family,
I
hope that you are all doing well. Sounds like you guys are still keeping busy
back at home. Can you guys believe that Halloween is this Saturday!!! Time is
just flying by. Let Jessica know that I am praying for her. I hope that she is
alright.
As
for Christmas treats...I would love to make the stuff that sister Ayers always
gives us. Can you send me the recipe? I can find almost all of the ingredients
here. Sending food in the mail, takes a lot more time because it is hard to get
through customs. But I would like some Butterfinger bars. They don't exist
here:( Also, if you guys could put a ton of Christmas music on a micro SD
card....and recordings of you guys...and send that to me for Christmas
too....that would be amazing!!!
That's
crazy that Randa, and Shannon are married!!!! Let them know that I am so happy
for them, and wish them all the best.
Here
in Frontera we are having a blast!!! I know I say that every week....but it's
true. The mission is such an amazing experience. We had some pretty big storms
this week and a lot of flooding. I know that a Hurricane hit Mexico City
I
took out another ingrown toenail this week. It was pretty big, and hurt a ton,
but after 20 min, I was able to get it out. Elder Reyes took a video of it. It
looks pretty cool. Right now I have a whole in my toe!! No worries, it will be
okay.
This
week we were preparing a ton for our baptisms this weekend. We had to get
several lessons in before our investigators would be ready to pass their
interviews. We taught a lot of lesson four this week. Lesson four is all of the
commandments. They are so fun to teach. One thing that I have noticed is that
all commandments are given to us, to help us be close to the Spirit. When we
teach the commandments we focus a lot on that. We keep the Word of Wisdom so
that our minds will be clear, and that our bodies can be in a state to listen
to the voice of the Spirit. We pay tithing in order to receive all the
blessings that God has for ourselves. Really, living the commandments isn't a
restriction on our lives....it is a way that God has prepared so that we can receive
more blessings from Him.
So...remember
William? He is leaving on his mission TOMORROW!!! I have no idea what we are
going to do without him. He knows almost everyone here in Frontera, and he is
always taking us to visit his friends. He is going to be an amazing missionary.
He has been the only member of his family for a whole year now. His family has
always supported him, but to see the testimony that he has is amazing. For an
entire year he has done everything Gospel related all by himself. When he got
his mission call, we started teaching his family. They are amazing, and though
they are progressing slowly, they are going to take the step of baptism soon.
William has been praying for it for a long time now. On Saturday, he got to baptize
his cousin Maria. That was such an amazing experience for me and for him. He
was sooo happy that finally he has another family member with him. To watch him
perform his first Baptism was priceless. And the huge abrazo between them both
afterwards was even better. He is so excited to get out into the field.
On
Friday night the young single adults organized a ward family home evening. They
put us in charge of the message about missionary work. We had an amazing time.
We taught members how to contact and invite their friends. Then we showed the
last part of Meet the Mormons (about the missionary and his mom). Afterwards,
William shared his testimony with everyone. Everyone was crying with the
Spirit....including his Mom!!! It was a great night.
After
the activity, we went over to his house with the rest of his family to eat
dinner. Then I shared some magic tricks with them. It was a super fun night.
We
also baptized Norma on Saturday. She was so excited to be baptized, and after
she came out of the water....she was crying. That of course made me start
crying. It is so amazing to see these people change their lives, and experience
the Spirit. Her mom was there and felt the Spirit really strong. We are going
to teach the rest of her family tomorrow.
 |
| Baptism of Norma and Maria. William, who baptized his cousin Maria, is leaving for his mission tomorrow. |
This
weekend was the last week of the transfer so we were all waiting like a little
kid for Christmas. Really, waiting for transfer calls are like that. We got the
call Sunday night at 10:00. Elder Reyes and I are staying together here in
Frontera!!! We are so happy and so excited for another transfer together. We
will see what this next transfer has in store for us. BTW this transfer ends in
December! I am so close to one year!!!!
President
called us into Villahermosa
I
love this area, and this week I got to see how much they all love me. All the
members and our investigators kept saying things from ''What will we do without
you'' to ''If you leave, I am going to cry!''. When we called some members to
let them know we were staying, they started to cry. It is amazing how in such a
short time you can fall in love with a place. In my case, this ward! I Love
serving here.
On
Friday night I had a sister in the ward ask me if I would bless her baby on Sunday.
I made sure that is was okay with Bishop and President Morales, and accepted. I
didn't really know why she asked me.
On
Sunday morning, when I took that baby in my arms, I was filled with such a
calm, loving, peaceful feeling. It was amazing. I gave him his name...Iker
Alonso Chable Solano...and then started giving him a blessing following the
promptings of the Spirit. As the words started leaving my mouth, I began to
cry. This amazing little baby had a spirit so strong. And the Love that God has
for him, was overwhelming. I blessed him with things really specific following
the Spirit. It was a miracle for me.
Afterwards,
the miracle continued. This Sunday was fast-Sunday because next week is Stake Conference
so we all bore our testimonies. This little baby's Grandmother got up to bear
her testimony and shared this story. The little boy was born early and dead.
After about five minutes, he started to cry, and was alive. They then started a
bunch of tests on him to help get him healthy. After all that was done, he fell
asleep as all newborns and everything was normal. A little later, the
Grandmother had a distinct impression to check his diaper. I guess that is
something you do with a newborn, and she thought that it wasn't needed. She
then had the same impression again, so she checked. When she checked, she found
out that the umbilical chord (I don't think I spelled that right) was not
wrapped correctly, and the baby was bleeding out. She immediately called for a
nurse and they saved him.
After
these two miracles the little baby was fine. His mom started thinking about the
blessing and started talking with the Grandmother. They talked about several priesthood
holders in the ward (the baby's father is not a member) but none of them felt
like the right choice. The then thought about me...and the Spirit testified to
them that I was the one who would give the blessing. I started crying for the
millionth time this weekend. I was so humbled. God gave me the opportunity to
experience such an amazing thing. After hearing the story, the blessings that
were given to this baby made sense.
 |
| Elder Cavenee had the privilege of performing the baby blessing of Iker Alonso Chable Solano. |
I
know that God gives us moments like this. They are moments to remind us of how
much He loves us. Sometimes they are big, but mostly they are small...almost
invisible. That it why it is important to look for these blessings in every
moment. They exist, and they help us change our hearts and become better
people. I am eternally grateful for every single one of these moments that I
have. They are small witnesses to me that everything I believe and teach is
real. There is no doubt in my mind. He Lives and He Loves Us. We are his
children, and he wants us to be happy. Everything is possible because and
through Him. He is our Savior, and Redeemer. He is our brother. He is the Son
of God...Jesus Christ.
I
Love you all so much and I hope that you enjoy this next week. Look for the
blessings in every moment and always give thanks for these blessings.
Love
Always,
Elder
Cavenee
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