Mexican Independence Day!!!!

Hello Family,             (Note from Mary: this is from Monday Sept. 19th, 2016)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love you and will give you a big hug and kiss when I get home.

I hope that all of you enjoyed your week this week. Happy Mexican Independance Day!!!! I know you guys probably didn't even know that that was last week. But it was :)

So....this last week was a great week. Filled with a couple of great surprises..... those that make it interesting and happy.

Teapa is going great. We had twenty-five people at church on Sunday!!!! We are slowly but steadly growing. The members are on fire....they are visiting our investigators on the days that we are not there, and they call us at night to give us a report on what they did or taught. Who they found and invited. It is amazing how easy the work is when the members are right by your side hands deep in the work. the Lord is growing his vineyard out there. There is a scripture in Alma that talks about missionary work and the blessings that come with working together members and missionaries. Its in Alma 16:14-17. Read it....it promises that when members and missionaries work together, the Lord will prepare the hearts of the people through the Spirit. And with that, the church will be established and grow in all of the land round about. It's great to be able to see these blessings in action!!!

I gave a talk in church on Sunday again, this week it was on the reactivation of members. I used Alma's example again. In Alma 8....Alma meets and reactivates Amulek. They then head out as companions and convert hundreds of people, and establish the church in the land where they are. I was able to excite the members to head out and look for their friends that had slipped away and bring them back. Not level Dad...but I think it went okay. Dad....I miss your talks. You'll have to give me some lessons when I get home. That was in Teapa.

On Sunday, President came and visited us in Mercedes and spoke to our ward. It is always so good to hear him speak, He is absolutely inspired by God!!! He shared with the ward about how he recieved revelation for my companion and I to be where we are in this moment. It was really cool to hear the story again. It helped the members understand really why we are here. He also mentioned that we were the second best companionship in the entire mission!!!! We're not first.....and it's not a competition....but we'll get there. I didn't know that....he just came out and said it in front of the entire ward. This is how it went. ''These Elders have been called by God to be here, and it's obvious why. They are successful missionaries. These two Elders that you have here in your ward, are the best companionship I have in the mission. Wait....no...sorry...Elder Carnero is beating them by a little....but you have the second best companionship in the mission. Brothers and Sisters....take advantage of that!!!! Trust them, love them, and help them. Please.'' He then went on to explain our baptism numbers to them. It put my companion and I a little uncomfortable...but it was cool to know. Now we are set on becoming the best:)

On Wednesday we had our Noche Mexicana. Hence the wierd tie. It's traditional here in Mexico. We couldn't get the full out suits, they were very expensive, but we found some super cheap t-shirts that we bought that had the suit printed on it. We used those to serve the food. It was a great night. I sang a super Mexican song called Cien Años. My companion picked it and the ward loved it. Not really my style, but, I sang it for them.... not for my attention, and they enjoyed it...so that's good. We served a Mexican version of Chile and taquitos and empenadas. It was super fun. Everyone had a great time, and we had like 12 investigators there. So they got a chance to meet members and see that Mormons know how to party. When we left at 9:00 the party was still going strong!

Oh...Dad....to answer your question....we live about 45 min from the mission offices and yes President has visited us several times. We are planning on having him come out to Teapa with us in a couple weeks once we get a good baptismal service planned. It's been a little harder than we thought it would be. Teapa is about and hour and fifteen minutes from our house in a bus. The bus makes stops all along the way to pick up and drop off people so that is why it takes so long. But it is so beautiful. We are in Teapa all day on Wednesday and Thursday...and then for services on Sunday. I would like to stay on Sundays to get another day out there, but we have to bring back the tithing to the building in Mercedes.

Alejandro did not get baptized this week. He had a couple problems that came up. We talked it over with President and decided to wait another week. He is still really excited and right now we have his baptism planned for Friday or Saturday. Please pray that it will go through. He is so ready and excited...I would hate for something to happen and have him get discouraged. I know that everything will go well.

Jorge Luis also has a date for this Saturday. He went to Carmen to work, but it looks like he'll be back this weekend for his baptism. He is also very excited. His family are all members and he is going to surprise them with his baptism. It is going to be great. Right now, none of them know!!! We are super excited.

Elder Gonzalez and I are getting along great. He is quickly becoming my best companion. He is from the north...they are known for their pride....but we are doing pretty well together. We haven't had a single problem!!! It's great to be best friends with your companion. He invited me to breakfast today. Took me to a restaurant named VIPS. It's like iHop, only with Mexican breakfast food as well. It was super good!! It was very nice of him. Now I got to think of a way to one-up him in kind acts of friendship. If you've got ideas, let me know.

So, I got some really good news this week. A couple weeks ago I had my blood tested because I wasn't feeling very well. Results came back and it tuns out that I had anemia. If you don't know what that is, it's when there are not enough red blood cells in your body. Because of that, your body does not get the oxygen that it needs. They told me that if it got worse, it leads to cancer!! So....the doctor put me on a diet high in iron so bring up my red bloodcell count. This week I got checked again, and I am back to normal!!!! That was a wonderful surprise. Sorry I didn't tell you before, it's just I didn't want you worrying...but now I'm all good....so no worries. I just keep my diet high in iron and I great:)

It's raining like crazy right now. Cooling down a bit, but tomorrow if it stops raining, it is going to be super hot again.

I am doing great. Super happy. I love being a missionary!!! It is so amazing!

I am excited for another amazing week.

I Love you all!!!!

Elder Cavenee