Soari and Lady's Baptism!!

Hello Family!!!!!!                                                              Monday, August 8th, 2016

Another week come and gone. Yesterday I completed 19 months!!! WHAT!?!?!?!? Time is just flying by. My companion is going home on Monday! He's pretty excited.

Congrats Jackson and Vanessa on starting High School. That is crazy that they are giving them chrome books. I guess everything is getting tech now. Jenna...you are so grown up now. You're going to college, and you're working. Keep yourself busy until I get home....then we'll party!!!

Dad....congrats on the new calling. I will definitely help you out on the high adventure stuff. I miss camping. You are going to do awesome! Mom...keep up the great work that you are doing. I know it can be stressful working two jobs and being mom....but you can do it. Sorry about the lack of pictures...my camera is not working right now. I think it is from the heat. The pictures come out striped.....it's weird. My companion doesn't have a camera, so I have to wait for members to pass me pictures. I'll try to get some sent this week.

This week was amazing. Once again I was a witness of the miracles that are given to us from our Heavenly Father.

So....this week we were focusing on Soari's baptism. It was planned for Wednesday and we were super excited for it. We were cleaning the baptismal font with our ward mission leader on Wednesday morning when we got a call from Lady (Soari's mom). She was very angry and told us that her daughter was not going anywhere that day. I guess they were fighting, so mom said no. We were shocked...and we tried to visit them, but she told us that she did not want to see us that day. So we canceled the baptism and planned to visit them the next day. On Thursday, when we went to visit them, I started talking to Lady. She shared with me that she felt very guilty because she didn't let her daughter get baptized. she asked me how she could get rid of that guilt. I told her that she should ask forgiveness and she should let her get baptized on Saturday. she said that she would, but in that moment...Soari did not want to get baptized anymore. We went home that night very confused and sad. I prayed so hard that night, that we would be able to find a solution to all of the problems that have been happening with this family, and I asked for His help. On Friday morning, we were in zone class, when we got a phone call from Lady. We ran outside to answer, and she told us that she had very good news. She said ''Cavenee and Mendez, can Soari get baptized tomorrow?'' We were like ''totally'' and then she told us that she also wanted to be baptized. Elder Mendez and I both fell into shock. We stood there looking at each other...smiling and crying, while Lady was waiting on the other end for an answer. we told her or course she could. She told us ''I am tired of being sad all the time. I want a new start''. They were both baptized on Saturday. In their baptism, we asked Yajaira (Lady's other daughter that was baptized a couple weeks ago) to share her testimony. she stood up and said ''Today I am super happy...because now we can be together forever''. Lady and Soari both stood up to hug her and they stayed there crying for like five minutes. Everyone was crying!

Baptism of Lady and Soari

On Sunday afternoon we were sitting in their house talking with them. Asking them how they feel now. Lady started crying...she took Elder Mendez and I by the hand...and thanked us from the bottom of her heart. It touched my heart...and once again we were all crying. Lady left behind basically her entire life for her baptism. She overcame addictions, and quit her job. She has changed so much. And in that moment, I could see that she had hope in her eyes. Hope for a better future with her daughters. She cried to us telling us of the four best days of her life. 1 and 2 when her daughters were born, 3 when we showed up at their door asking if we could teach something, and 4 her baptism day. That is what makes it all worth it. Being a missionary is not easy...but those moments like what happened on Sunday, make it all worth it. I love that family and I am so grateful that the Lord sent me here in these moments so that I could witness the miracle that He worked in their lives. I LOVE being a missionary. I'm crying while writing this. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is real and can change any part of peoples lives. It works miracles every day of our lives.

On Friday we had a great zone class. We talked about how we can make our mission, a mission of miracles. Have those amazing experiences every day. President came as well. It was nice to see him. We also found out that we are now allowed to use sunglasses!!! Wooohooo!!

This week a Hurricane came through the Gulf, so we had rain from Tuesday to Friday. It was great to have some cool weather for a little. But from Friday until now it has been even hotter because all of the water that fell in the rain is evaporating. It is super hot right now.

Anyways...I am doing super well, and am very excited for my last week with elder Mendez. We are looking at maybe two more baptisms this week. We'll see though.

I Love you all and hope that you all have the most amazing week!!!!

Love,

Chile Relleno

Elder Cavenee

Baptism of Marcela/ Blessings of Church attendance

Hello Family,                                         (Note from Mary:  this is from 8/2/16)

Sorry for not writing yesterday. We didn't have time because we were traveling. I want to thank you all for all of the letters that were sent to me this week. It was really great to hear from all of you and to receive those words of encouragement. I hope that you all had an amazing week:)

This week was a very slow week. Not a lot happened. We did a lot of walking and contacting, but not very many people wanted to listen to us. It is frustrating sometimes when people reject so fast something so important for their lives. I know that in that moment they don't know really how important it is, but it's hard, and very sad to see how fast they don't accept it. But every now and then, there are those moments that make it all worth it.

On Saturday we were teaching a new investigator named Lucy. She lives by herself because her husband died about a year ago. She is still struggling from the death of her husband. It was an amazing lesson that we had with her. Normally when we teach, we talk about the different principles of the lesson that we are teaching, with questions every now and then to see if they understand what we are teaching. My companion and I were reading in Preach My Gospel about asking inspired questions and how that helps the investigators to teach themselves. We decided that we were going to teach our lessons with as many questions as possible. We then prayed asking Heavenly Father to inspire us to know what questions to ask. During this lesson we just asked question after question....following the Spirit. It was amazing to see her teaching herself by what and how she answered. Obviously we had to explain and teach some things, but the difference was amazing. At the beginning of the lesson she told us that she didn't believe in God. After 30 minutes teaching about the Plan of Salvation and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, she accepted to be baptized. It was amazing to see how the perfect questions allowed her to open up to us and to open her heart to the Spirit. She has a baptismal date set for the 14th (my companions last day!!!). He excited for that!!

So, Sori and Lady's baptism fell through this week. Lady had some problems that came up in her work that stressed her out, so she changed her mind and does not want to get baptized. But Sori is going to get baptized tomorrow!!! On Thursday night, we barbequed steaks with them for dinner. Before we ate, we asked Lady to say the prayer. She never wants to pray....but she accepted. I don't know why, but to hear her pray, and what she was praying for, brought tears to my eyes. I love that family, and I am so proud of the progression that they have made. I know that very soon, Lady is going to be able to join her daughters in their decision to be baptized.

I got to baptize Marcela!!  This is William's mom.

Yesterday I went to Frontera!!!!! President gave me permission. I got to baptize Marcela....William's mom. It was awesome to see so many people from Frontera. Members and converts. It surprised me to see how happy everyone was to see me. It is such an amazing feeling when you see people after a long time without talking to them. Looking into their eyes and feeling the love that they have for you, and when they tell you the difference you made in their life. Some of them I didn't even know that I had helped them, but because of something I had said, or done, they changed something in their lives and were happy. One in particular is Hermana Betty. When I was in Frontera her and her husband had a lot of problems together because he would never come to church. He just didn't want to. They were at the point of divorcing. I saw Betty yesterday, and she told me that her and her husband are now very close and happy, and that they are active in the church. She thanked me and told me that it was because I would always give her husband a hug and invite him to church when I saw him (he always said no and got a little annoyed). While I was there...he never came, but she told me that one Sunday he was ready to go to church. She asked him what happened, and he told her that he wanted to take Elder Cavenee's invitation (although I wasn't there). She said that from that moment he hasn't missed a Sunday, and that has given them the blessings and help that they needed to fix their relationship one with another.

Visiting Frontera ...this is a family that really loves me!

This is one of my converts!

It was such a blessing to be there yesterday.

In the time that I now have in the mission, I have come to understand the importance of going to church. And more importantly....the importance of the sacrament. I used to go to church because It was what we do as members. I would feel the Spirit, share my testimony and it was great....but it wasn't special for me. I now understand and feel something deeper and different being there at church and taking the sacrament. It is how we as children of God can retain the remission of our sins that we recieved when we were baptized. Sometimes we don't understand what that really means. It is the only ordinace that we can repeat every week, and when we don't we are left with everything wrong that we did during the week. It is so important to be there EVERY week, even if we don't feel well. I love going to church!

I love you all and I know that you are the best family in the World!!!!! Keep up what you are all doing....and enjoy it:)

I Love You!!!

Elder Cavenee

Baptism of Marcela/ Blessings of Church attendance

Hello Family,                                         (Note from Mary:  this is from 8/2/16)

Sorry for not writing yesterday. We didn't have time because we were traveling. I want to thank you all for all of the letters that were sent to me this week. It was really great to hear from all of you and to receive those words of encouragement. I hope that you all had an amazing week:)

This week was a very slow week. Not a lot happened. We did a lot of walking and contacting, but not very many people wanted to listen to us. It is frustrating sometimes when people reject so fast something so important for their lives. I know that in that moment they don't know really how important it is, but it's hard, and very sad to see how fast they don't accept it. But every now and then, there are those moments that make it all worth it.

On Saturday we were teaching a new investigator named Lucy. She lives by herself because her husband died about a year ago. She is still struggling from the death of her husband. It was an amazing lesson that we had with her. Normally when we teach, we talk about the different principles of the lesson that we are teaching, with questions every now and then to see if they understand what we are teaching. My companion and I were reading in Preach My Gospel about asking inspired questions and how that helps the investigators to teach themselves. We decided that we were going to teach our lessons with as many questions as possible. We then prayed asking Heavenly Father to inspire us to know what questions to ask. During this lesson we just asked question after question....following the Spirit. It was amazing to see her teaching herself by what and how she answered. Obviously we had to explain and teach some things, but the difference was amazing. At the beginning of the lesson she told us that she didn't believe in God. After 30 minutes teaching about the Plan of Salvation and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, she accepted to be baptized. It was amazing to see how the perfect questions allowed her to open up to us and to open her heart to the Spirit. She has a baptismal date set for the 14th (my companions last day!!!). He excited for that!!

So, Sori and Lady's baptism fell through this week. Lady had some problems that came up in her work that stressed her out, so she changed her mind and does not want to get baptized. But Sori is going to get baptized tomorrow!!! On Thursday night, we barbequed steaks with them for dinner. Before we ate, we asked Lady to say the prayer. She never wants to pray....but she accepted. I don't know why, but to hear her pray, and what she was praying for, brought tears to my eyes. I love that family, and I am so proud of the progression that they have made. I know that very soon, Lady is going to be able to join her daughters in their decision to be baptized.

Yesterday I went to Frontera!!!!! President gave me permission. I got to baptize Marcela....William's mom. It was awesome to see so many people from Frontera. Members and converts. It surprised me to see how happy everyone was to see me. It is such an amazing feeling when you see people after a long time without talking to them. Looking into their eyes and feeling the love that they have for you, and when they tell you the difference you made in their life. Some of them I didn't even know that I had helped them, but because of something I had said, or done, they changed something in their lives and were happy. One in particular is Hermana Betty. When I was in Frontera her and her husband had a lot of problems together because he would never come to church. He just didn't want to. They were at the point of divorcing. I saw Betty yesterday, and she told me that her and her husband are now very close and happy, and that they are active in the church. She thanked me and told me that it was because I would always give her husband a hug and invite him to church when I saw him (he always said no and got a little annoyed). While I was there...he never came, but she told me that one Sunday he was ready to go to church. She asked him what happened, and he told her that he wanted to take Elder Cavenee's invitation (although I wasn't there). She said that from that moment he hasn't missed a Sunday, and that has given them the blessings and help that they needed to fix their relationship one with another.

Visiting Frontera ...this is a family that really loves me!

This is one of my converts!

It was such a blessing to be there yesterday.

In the time that I now have in the mission, I have come to understand the importance of going to church. And more importantly....the importance of the sacrament. I used to go to church because It was what we do as members. I would feel the Spirit, share my testimony and it was great....but it wasn't special for me. I now understand and feel something deeper and different being there at church and taking the sacrament. It is how we as children of God can retain the remission of our sins that we recieved when we were baptized. Sometimes we don't understand what that really means. It is the only ordinace that we can repeat every week, and when we don't we are left with everything wrong that we did during the week. It is so important to be there EVERY week, even if we don't feel well. I love going to church!

I love you all and I know that you are the best family in the World!!!!! Keep up what you are all doing....and enjoy it:)

I Love You!!!

Elder Cavenee

Baptism of Marcela/ Blessings of Church attendance

Hello Family,                                         (Note from Mary:  this is from 8/2/16)

Sorry for not writing yesterday. We didn't have time because we were traveling. I want to thank you all for all of the letters that were sent to me this week. It was really great to hear from all of you and to receive those words of encouragement. I hope that you all had an amazing week:)

This week was a very slow week. Not a lot happened. We did a lot of walking and contacting, but not very many people wanted to listen to us. It is frustrating sometimes when people reject so fast something so important for their lives. I know that in that moment they don't know really how important it is, but it's hard, and very sad to see how fast they don't accept it. But every now and then, there are those moments that make it all worth it.

On Saturday we were teaching a new investigator named Lucy. She lives by herself because her husband died about a year ago. She is still struggling from the death of her husband. It was an amazing lesson that we had with her. Normally when we teach, we talk about the different principles of the lesson that we are teaching, with questions every now and then to see if they understand what we are teaching. My companion and I were reading in Preach My Gospel about asking inspired questions and how that helps the investigators to teach themselves. We decided that we were going to teach our lessons with as many questions as possible. We then prayed asking Heavenly Father to inspire us to know what questions to ask. During this lesson we just asked question after question....following the Spirit. It was amazing to see her teaching herself by what and how she answered. Obviously we had to explain and teach some things, but the difference was amazing. At the beginning of the lesson she told us that she didn't believe in God. After 30 minutes teaching about the Plan of Salvation and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, she accepted to be baptized. It was amazing to see how the perfect questions allowed her to open up to us and to open her heart to the Spirit. She has a baptismal date set for the 14th (my companions last day!!!). He excited for that!!

So, Sori and Lady's baptism fell through this week. Lady had some problems that came up in her work that stressed her out, so she changed her mind and does not want to get baptized. But Sori is going to get baptized tomorrow!!! On Thursday night, we barbequed steaks with them for dinner. Before we ate, we asked Lady to say the prayer. She never wants to pray....but she accepted. I don't know why, but to hear her pray, and what she was praying for, brought tears to my eyes. I love that family, and I am so proud of the progression that they have made. I know that very soon, Lady is going to be able to join her daughters in their decision to be baptized.

Yesterday I went to Frontera!!!!! President gave me permission. I got to baptize Marcela....William's mom. It was awesome to see so many people from Frontera. Members and converts. It surprised me to see how happy everyone was to see me. It is such an amazing feeling when you see people after a long time without talking to them. Looking into their eyes and feeling the love that they have for you, and when they tell you the difference you made in their life. Some of them I didn't even know that I had helped them, but because of something I had said, or done, they changed something in their lives and were happy. One in particular is Hermana Betty. When I was in Frontera her and her husband had a lot of problems together because he would never come to church. He just didn't want to. They were at the point of divorcing. I saw Betty yesterday, and she told me that her and her husband are now very close and happy, and that they are active in the church. She thanked me and told me that it was because I would always give her husband a hug and invite him to church when I saw him (he always said no and got a little annoyed). While I was there...he never came, but she told me that one Sunday he was ready to go to church. She asked him what happened, and he told her that he wanted to take Elder Cavenee's invitation (although I wasn't there). She said that from that moment he hasn't missed a Sunday, and that has given them the blessings and help that they needed to fix their relationship one with another.

Visiting Frontera Families

It was such a blessing to be there yesterday.

In the time that I now have in the mission, I have come to understand the importance of going to church. And more importantly....the importance of the sacrament. I used to go to church because It was what we do as members. I would feel the Spirit, share my testimony and it was great....but it wasn't special for me. I now understand and feel something deeper and different being there at church and taking the sacrament. It is how we as children of God can retain the remission of our sins that we recieved when we were baptized. Sometimes we don't understand what that really means. It is the only ordinace that we can repeat every week, and when we don't we are left with everything wrong that we did during the week. It is so important to be there EVERY week, even if we don't feel well. I love going to church!

I love you all and I know that you are the best family in the World!!!!! Keep up what you are all doing....and enjoy it:)

I Love You!!!

Elder Cavenee

Baptism of Marcela/ Blessings of Church attendance

Hello Family,                                         (Note from Mary:  this is from 8/2/16)

Sorry for not writing yesterday. We didn't have time because we were traveling. I want to thank you all for all of the letters that were sent to me this week. It was really great to hear from all of you and to recieve those words of encouragment. I hope that you all had an amazing week:)

This week was a very slow week. Not a lot happened. We did a lot of walking and contacting, but not very many people wanted to listen to us. It is frustrating sometimes when people reject so fast something so important for their lives. I know that in that moment they don't know really how important it is, but it's hard, and very sad to see how fast they don't accept it. But every now and then, there are those moments that make it all worth it.

On Saturday we were teaching a new investigator named Lucy. She lives by herself because her husband died about a year ago. She is still struggling from the death of her husband. It was an amazing lesson that we had with her. Normally when we teach, we talk about the different principles of the lesson that we are teaching, with questions every now and then to see if they understand what we are teaching. My companion and I were reading in Preach My Gospel about asking inspired questions and how that helps the investigators to teach themselves. We decided that we were going to teach our lessons with as many questions as possible. We then prayed asking Heavenly Father to inspire us to know what questions to ask. During this lesson we just asked question after question....following the Spirit. It was amazing to see her teaching herself by what and how she answered. Obviously we had to explain and teach some things, but the difference was amazing. At the beginning of the lesson she told us that she didn't believe in God. After 30 minutes teaching about the Plan of Salvation and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, she accepted to be baptized. It was amazing to see how the perfect questions allowed her to open up to us and to open her heart to the Spirit. She has a baptismal date set for the 14th (my companions last day!!!). He excited for that!!

So, Sori and Lady's baptism fell through this week. Lady had some problems that came up in her work that stressed her out, so she changed her mind and does not want to get baptized. But Sori is going to get baptized tomorrow!!! On Thursday night, we barbequed steaks with them for dinner. Before we ate, we asked Lady to say the prayer. She never wants to pray....but she accepted. I don't know why, but to hear her pray, and what she was praying for, brought tears to my eyes. I love that family, and I am so proud of the progression that they have made. I know that very soon, Lady is going to be able to join her daughters in their decision to be baptized.

Yesterday I went to Frontera!!!!! President gave me permission. I got to baptize Marcela....William's mom. It was awesome to see so many people from Frontera. Members and converts. It surprised me to see how happy everyone was to see me. It is such an amazing feeling when you see people after a long time without talking to them. Looking into their eyes and feeling the love that they have for you, and when they tell you the difference you made in their life. Some of them I didn't even know that I had helped them, but because of something I had said, or done, they changed something in their lives and were happy. One in particular is Hermana Betty. When I was in Frontera her and her husband had a lot of problems together because he would never come to church. He just didn't want to. They were at the point of divorcing. I saw Betty yesterday, and she told me that her and her husband are now very close and happy, and that they are active in the church. She thanked me and told me that it was because I would always give her husband a hug and invite him to church when I saw him (he always said no and got a little annoyed). While I was there...he never came, but she told me that one Sunday he was ready to go to church. She asked him what happened, and he told her that he wanted to take Elder Cavenee's invitation (although I wasn't there). She said that from that moment he hasn't missed a Sunday, and that has given them the blessings and help that they needed to fix their relationship one with another.

It was such a blessing to be there yesterday.

In the time that I now have in the mission, I have come to understand the importance of going to church. And more importantly....the importance of the sacrament. I used to go to church because It was what we do as members. I would feel the Spirit, share my testimony and it was great....but it wasn't special for me. I now understand and feel something deeper and different being there at church and taking the sacrament. It is how we as children of God can retain the remission of our sins that we recieved when we were baptized. Sometimes we don't understand what that really means. It is the only ordinace that we can repeat every week, and when we don't we are left with everything wrong that we did during the week. It is so important to be there EVERY week, even if we don't feel well. I love going to church!

I love you all and I know that you are the best family in the World!!!!! Keep up what you are all doing....and enjoy it:)

I Love You!!!

Elder Cavenee

President Haws!

Hello Family,                                         (Note from Mary:  this is from 7/25/16)

How are you all doing? I hope that everything is amazing and that you all had a wonderful week!! I miss and love you all. Sounds like your Sunday was really busy, but super cool as well. It's amazing everything that you can get done in one day....right. You'll have to send a hug from my part for Kelton.

So...this week was pretty sweet. On Tuesday Laura and Roldolfo got married!!! We helped setup and decorate for their reception. I was put in charge of the sound system and DJing. It was a lot of fun. It reminded me a lot of Jessica's wedding (it wasn't anything like it) just the wedding part made me think about her. My companion was put in charge of serving food. It was a great reception...Mexican's know how to party. Their dances are so cool and look so fun. It was hard not to jump up and dance with them. It was great.

On Wednesday we had interviews with President Haws. That was such an amazing experience for me. He is so inspired and he listens to every prompting that he recieves from God for everyone of us. I went in with him and felt the Spirit instantly. He told me ''Elder Cavenee, when I was set apart by an apostle, he promised me that I would recieve specific revelation for every missionary. Elder Cavenee, this is the first time that I have met you formally, but I have been thinking about you for several weeks now. The Lord is aware of you and your needs, and he gave me a message for you.'' He then shared a scripture with me. It was the answer that I have been praying for. We had a very wonderful interview. I felt all of his love and the Spirit that he has with him. He is amazing. (Mom, I'll send you some more details that are a little more personal).

After the interviews I went on divisions with Elder Roque. He is a new missionary, but full of fire. We had an awesome day together. He has so much energy, and it was nice to get a recharge from him. While we were out, it started to rain super hard out of nowhere! We didn't have anything for the rain, so we got soaked. It was great though because it has been so hot!!!

While I was on divisions my companion went and visited Lady and her family and they told them the great news. They are ready to be BAPTIZED!!!!! After three months of teaching them, they decided that it is the time!!! We are planning on having their baptism on Saturday. Pray that everything goes acoording to plan and that they can make this convenant.

On Thursday we found a new family. They are super cool. It's a mom and her three kids. The father wasn't home, but we taught them lesson one, and they loved it and felt the Spirit. They accepted baptism, but they couldn't come to church on Sunday because they went to visit her mom that lives in Cardenas. We will see if we can get them to come this week.

On Friday I woke up super sick, with a spider bite on my foot. So....we stayed at home all day while I was dying:( A sister in the ward brought me some medicine and brought us food. I slept pretty much the whole day. I had a fever and my whole body ached. It wasn't fun:(

On Saturday I was fine again. And we worked like crazy. Elder Mendez is leaving in three weeks, so we are trying to get in every moment of teaching that we can. We taught a total of 58 lessons last week. Not wasting a single second, because the time is ending fast!!!! It's hard not to think about home, because my companion is thinking and talking about being home every second of everyday now. I miss and love you all!!

On Sunday my companion got to video call his family because his brother left for the mission today. They are not going to see each other for four years!!! Seeing him talking to his family made me miss you all even more!!! But no worries. Before we know it, I'll be heading home to the best family in the world.

Today I recieved good news. One of my investigators from Frontera is going to get baptized and she wants me to go and baptize her. It's William's mom....my good friend from Frontera. I am going to see if I can get permission from president to be there. I hope so.

I am doing super right now. It is really hot. It's so hot that I think a part of my camera melted. The pictures now come out really wierd. I'll send you an example.

I Love you all so much!!!! Have a wonderful week!!!

Love,

Elder Cavenee

Crazy Week!

Hey Family,                          (Note from Mary:   this is from July 18th, 2016)

So....July is already half way over!!!! WHAT?!?!?! Time is just flying by. It's great to hear all of the wonderful things that you guys are up to. I know that sometimes it can be stressful to be busy, but just look for the best moments in everything. Congratulations mom on your new job!!! I hope that you enjoy it. Just a question.....school starts in the middle of July? That is horrible. What happened to summer? Jackson and Vanessa are going to start high school. That is is insane. You guys are growing up. Jackson looks super tall in the picture at the Temple. Is he growing? Keep working hard you two. Study hard and do your homework;) Vanessa will be a great lifeguard. I want to work as a lifeguard as well coming home...maybe I'll do that with Vanessa!!!

Everyone is leaving on missions!!! That´s amazing. Where is Dane going? And who is Samantha marrying? And Beth? Mom and Dad, I think you guys will love teaching that Eternal Families Course. I love teaching and talking about eternal families. It is amazing to see the eyes of those that we are teaching light up when we talk about eternal families. I love sharing our story of how it is possible for our family to be together forever. It is an amazing blessing.

On Wednesday we had our ward activity that my companion and I planned. We did a ward talent show. It turned out amazing. A ton of members participated, and was a huge success. We had 9 investigators that showed up, and got 5 references. It was a great activity. One of our investigators is a really good singer. She was on ''The Voice Mexico'' and in ''The Academy Mexico''. Those are like American Idol. She came and sang several songs. The ward loved her, and she really enjoyed the activity. The young men and young women did a cultural dance from Monterrey. That was really cool. The Bishop´s son did origami....others sang....played the flute....and danced. It was I awesome. I sang ''You Raise me Up'' in Spanish and in English. It was fun.

Singing at the ward talent show

The youth in our ward have youth conference this week. Then dance that they did in the talent show, they are going to perform in their conference...so the two sisters have been working like crazy to make the cultural costumes for them. On Thursday and Friday, my companion and I went and helped them out for a while. I jumped on a sewing machine (thanks mom for teaching me) and made five skirts! It was a ton of fun. I'm sending pictures, but when the whole costume is finished I'll send the full picture. That was fun to be able to help them out. Turns out that they were way behind, and have been working until super late every night. And one of the sisters is getting married this week!!!! So, they were very grateful that we helped them out:)

Costumes we helped sew!!!

The Bishop's son also had his birthday party on Saturday. There was a ton of people there...but it was awesome. We received a ton of references there as well. The bishop introduced us to everyone that weren't members there. It was awesome. My companion and I did magic tricks for the little kids, and they loved it (We've been learning some magic on P-days).

We also helped in the preparation for Yajaira's graduation party. It's a big thing when they graduate from elementary school here....so we helped them with the party preparation. I made about a hundred jellos, and we made fifty candied apples (With tamarindo (it's a fruit) and Chamoy (chile)). There party was on Sunday night. We showed up at the end to congratulate her, and help clean up afterwards.

On Tuesday we had a wonderful district class. Again we focused on the points of Obedience, Work and Love brings the Spirit. It was really awesome, and I found some new scriptures that go along with each topic. You guys should look them up. Obedience Alma 3:236-27. Work D&C 75:2-5. The Spirit 3Nephi 32:5, 33:1. They are all wonderful scriptures. We talked about everything that we are doing for our investigators, and what we are not doing. One Elder said something that struck me ''We are fighting for the Salvation of their souls, so fight for their Salvation''. We should be doing everything possible to help them reach that salvation. That is where Love enters in. We really have to love them to be able to fight through with them. It doesn't matter what they say, or what excuses they give us....if they don't tell us straight up NO, we keep fighting.

On Sunday, while I was studying I came across a scripture that I really like now. It's D&C 138:56. ''Even before they were born, they, with many others, recieved their first lessons in the world of spirits and were prepared to come forth in the due time of the Lord to labor in His vineyard for the salvation of the souls of men.'' We were prepared to come forth in this due time of the Lord to preach the gospel, and to WORK for the salvation of souls. I was prepared in the life before this...to be here now doing what I am doing. It gave me strength to know that I already learned what I need to do, I just need to study and ask for revelation in order to remember it all. And this applies to all of us. We can recieve this revelation if we just ask. The Lord has told us ''ask, and ye shall recieve, knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Amen''. It's true!!!

This week we got hit with some really sad and bad news. Lady....our investigator has cancer. She doesn't want anyone to know. She hasn't even told her daughters. My companion and I are the only people that know. It came as a complete shocker. We are praying super hard for this family. We have hit a wall....and right now we don't know what else to teach or share. It's really hard, but we are not going to give up. We are just going to keep praying, fasting and studying for the help we need.

Right now it is super hot!!! and hasn't rained....but that's okay. We'll live!!

Anyways, I Love you all. Hope that you have an amazing week!!!!

Love,

Elder Cavenee

Singing in the talent show

Baptism!!!!!

Hello Family,                                      (This is from Monday, July 11th, 2016)

So.....I am three fourths done now!!!! On Thursday I completed 18 months!!!! Time has just flown by. The crazy thing is my companion is going home in five weeks!!! Time is flying by so fast. Before we know it, I'm going to have to leave this wonderful place, but I'll be coming home to you guys. I love you all!!! In order to give my all these last couple months, I have set some really high goals that I know with the help of the Lord, I will be able to accomplish. All with the final goal of coming home a different person. More consecrated and dedicated.

Anyways...this week was another amazing week. We had a baptism!!!!! It was unexpected and really a miracle. So, remember Leidi and her family...well, on Wednesday we went to visit them, and had a nice lesson with them. Afterwards, as we were leaving, Yajaira came running out and told us that she finally felt ready to be baptized, but her mom had told her that she needed to wait until she was older (she's 12). She asked us if we could come by the next day and talk to her mom about it. Of course we said yes. I prayed so hard that night. Leidi is a great mom, but she is very strict and sticks to a decision when she makes it. On Thursday, we were very nervous for the lesson with her. We taught a very cool lesson about baptism and how it cleans aways our sins. We used food coloring and bleach to as a visual aid. It was really cool. When we finished, Laidi looked at us, and all she said was ''No. I talked to Yajaira and I told her she needs to wait.'' Then she just looked at us. I didn't know what to say, so I just started praying in my head. Then she smiled, and told us that she was kidding. She told us that the night before, she was thinking about her daughter, and about the choice that she had made. She decided to pray (first time in a while) and ask if it was okay. ''I felt so sure that it was something very important for my daughter to do. So, I say yes.''!!!!! We were all so excited!!! Yajaira was crying, which made her mom cry, so I started crying. It felt so amazing. When we finally calmed down, Laidi looked at us very seriously and said ''how much money do you need for her baptism?''. We started laughing and told her that she didn't have to pay anything....she just had to come to the baptism. She agreed, and Yajaira was baptized on Saturday!!! She was so happy!!! After her baptism, Suari (her sister) told us that she wants to be baptized too, just not sure when. We are going to work with her this week, to see if she'll get baptized this weekend. Pray for them...please.

On Friday the zone leaders did divisions with us. I got to be with Elder Engaman!!! I was his zone leader in Cuatza a couple months ago. It was nice to see him again before he leaves (he goes home in August). We had an awesome day. We went to visit Roque because he hasn't come to church in a couple weeks. While we were there, one of his friends came over...so he invited him in. Guadalupe sat and listened to us. We taught him lesson 1 and he accepted baptism. He also told us that he wants us to visit his family as well. We have an appointment with them this week.

On Wednesday we had zone class, and it was all on learning to love our investigators. There are a lot of Elders that look at the people they are teaching as numbers, or just people that they need to teach. Really though, we need to love them, and show that we care about them. As we do that, they will be able to feel the Spirit when we are there. It really does work!!!! I love the people here. We also talked about working with obedience and diligence Jacob 5:72-74. As we do this, we bring forth good fruit in the vineyard of the Lord.

So, because I completed 18 months on Thursday, we did the traditional burn pants!!! I don't have the pictures today, but I'll send them next week. (6 months is a tie, one year is a shirt, and 18 months is a pair of pants).

That's about all the time that I have this week. We are really busy putting together the last details of our ward talent show on Wednesday. My companion and I are in charge of the activity, and we are going crazy trying to get everything ready, but it's going to be great. I'm going to sing, but I don't know what yet. We'll see what I can get ready.

Anyways, I Love you all soooo much. I hope you have an amazing week, and look for an opportunity out of the ordinary to serve someone. It will make their day!!!

Love you all,

Elder Cavenee