First Week Counting Down

Hello Family,

How are all of you doing? Second week of the year has past:) How are you all feeling? I hope that you are all still on track with your new years resolutions.

This is the El Viejo (Old Man) tradition that they do on New Year's...they burn it at midnight.

So...this week was crazy. On Tuesday, my companion and I went to Villahermosa for the mission leadership council.  It was an awesome meeting where we talked about all that we need to do in order to improve as a mission. We set some new goals and standards of excellence. Our new mission saying is: In this mission we teach the doctrine of repentance in order to baptize new converts every week. We realized that as a mission we were focusing a lot on baptism, and with that, we found a lot more success. But, if we focus more on teaching and inviting people to repent, their progress accelerates and their conversion is greater. It is really amazing to see how the spirit in our lessons have changed, and how the progress of our investigators have changed. In the first lesson, when we teach them about the Holy Ghost, we teach them that in order to feel the Holy Ghost more in their lives, they need to repent of their faults.  I like using a scripture in Mosiah 4:2-3.  It talks about how the people repented of their sins, and were filled with the Spirit. We then invite them to pray to their Heavenly Father, and ask forgiveness for all of their sins.  We then teach about baptism and how they can receive the Holy Ghost forever.  It is really amazing to see our investigators in the second lesson. They feel different, and they want more. 

We also set a new standard of finding 20 new investigators every week. That is a lot of news a week, but we are giving everything we can to be able reach these goals and set the example for the zone.

I sang for that council and it turned out really well.  I think that when I sang for the ward party turned out the best, but it was good.  Several Sisters (and Elders) were crying.  It was cool.  I wasn't able to record it thought.  My companion was going to, but he didn't press the right button....oh well:)

I don't have my visa right now because the mission is getting it renewed for my second year. It is very risky to travel without your visa, because is the government officials ask for it, nad you don't have it...they take you to jail.  I was on my way back to Agua Dulce that night, and the officials stopped the bus and were checking for visas. They asked me for mine, but I didn't have it.  I explained the situation, but they weren't accepting my excuse. One of them finally said to the other ''Wait a second, those are the Mormons. We can't mess with them!'' The other then asked us if we were Mormons. We told him yes, and they told me not to worry. Then they just left us. That was super cool:)  I almost got arrested, but was saved because I am a missionary. Makes me super proud of my nametag:)

Wednesday we had a difficult day. All of our appointments in the morning fell through, so we spent the morning walking around in the rain trying to find some new investigators. We spent 3 hours walking in the rain. Nobody wanted to listen to us.  My companion was super frustrated.  He wanted to go and visit members to get out of the rain, but I told him that there was someone waiting for us.  I felt it.  About half an hour before lunch, we were walking past a really nice house, and I decided to contact it.  From the gate we yelled ''buenas tardes'' and waited for someone to come...but nobody did at first. We waited ten minutes and just as we were about to leave, someone came out of the house.  She was leaving, but she told us that we could come back in the afternoon. We went back, and ended up putting a baptismal date with her and her daughter. It was really cool.

In the afternoon we several lessons and some really good contacts. At seven, we went to the house of a member to participate in the tradition of the los Reyes Magos. They make a special cake, with little dolls inside. Everyone cuts their own piece, and if you end up with a doll, then you have to bring tamales to the party on February 4th.  Luckily I didn't get a doll, but it was really good.  We ate it with hot chocolate:)  The sister also gave us new ties. The tradition is that on the 6th of January, the three Kings come at night and leave presents for children. So...the kids here get presents on Christmas, and then again two weeks later:)

Thursday we had zone class. It went really well. Several of the Elders in my zone told me afterward that it was one of the best zone classes that they have been in during their mission....and they all had more time than me. That was cool.  As a mission we are all going through the 12 week program again.  New missionaries and old ones. The 12 week program is what new missionaries study in their first 12 weeks.  It's the basics of missionary work.  So...we are all being trained again:)

After zone class, Elder Barrientos went to Villa to work with the Assitants in divisions, and I stayed in 4 Caminos and worked with Elder Najera. One of the secretaries.  He is really cool.  He is from Buckeye, but his parents are from Chiuaua.  Friday night we went into Villa to drop off Elder Najera and pick up my companion.  We stayed the night, and headed back on Saturday morning.

Saturday we had a practice for our devotional, and it went really well. We came up with new ideas that are going to make it so much better.  On Sunday we had another practice with our nararators. It is really cool. I am so excited for Friday when we are having the devotional. It is going to be super awesome!

Elder Cavenee and his Zone practicing for the Devotional

I finally bought shoes on Saturday!

Today is Elder Valazquez'z birthday!!! We ate cake and tortas:) Tonight we are going to go and eat more cake.

Tomorrow morning we are going to milk cows!!!! I will send pictures of that next week. It is going to be super fun!!!

I love you all and hope that you all have an amazing week.

Love,

Elder Cavenee

Pictures: Reyes Cake

Devotional Practice

Hello 2016!!

Hello Family and Friends,

How are all of you? So....this week marks one year since I left home! That is crazy. So much has happened and I have had more change in this year than I have had in my entire life. It was an amazing year that I spent in the best way ever. I feel so grateful to have been able to spend all of 2015 in the mission, serving the people here in Mexico. I am also looking forward to spending all of 2016 in that same service. I can't believe all of the things I have accomplished. But with everything that I've done....comes a desire to do better and accomplish more this next year. I've set some goals that I know are going to be hard to complete, but I have a whole year to do it. Biggest goal....make this year better than the last!!

Tell Shaliah congratulations!!! She is going to have the time of her life. Nauvoo is amazing and will always have a part of my heart. (From Mary:  Shaliah Speakman is Elder Cavenee's first cousin.  She just made Nauvoo performing missionaries for this summer.  Brett was able to do that the summer before he left to Mexico.)

It sounds like you guys had a great New Years! I was missing the waffles. Here we did something that I've never done before. In Mexico for New Years, everyone makes a año viejo. It's a stuffed old man...and at midnight, they burn it to represent the old year leaving and the new one coming. Burning away the things of last year and starting over again. We made one that looks like a missionary. To celebrate also my one year birthday and my companions 6 month birthday. Every six months in your mission you have to burn something. Elder Barrientos contributed a tie, and I contributed the shirt. We found a pair of old pants in the house, and stuffed him with newspaper. He turned out pretty good. We then gave it to our neighbors and they burned it because we couldn't leave to burn it. We played Skip-bo and Uno all night, and at midnight we drank Martinellis and ate grapes. It was a nice and simple New Years. Outside it sounded like we were in a war zone though. The fireworks here are literally explosives. All night long we heard things exploding all around us. It was crazy.

Here in the mission we are all focusing on New Year. All of the messages that we get from President are all about starting new and fresh, and all that we can accomplish this next year. It's great.

So....Sam sounds like a cool guy. I like him:) You guys sound like you are having a great time back at home. Keep enjoying every moment of your lives.

This week was the worst week that we've had as a Zone. I was super disappointed by the work of every area, even mine. We met hardly any goals, and I got destroyed by the Assistants and I'm pretty sure I will be by President tomorrow. But that just comes with the job. My companion and I are coming up with plans so that a week like this never happens again. I'm spending a lot more time in prayer, seeking revelation as to how we can better the zone.

I finished writing the devotional. I'll send a copy. It's in Spanish though. We are practicing it the next two weeks, and are performing it on the 15th. It should be really good. The goal is to have a lot of people there in order to find new investigators. I am really excited for it. It should be really good. I wanted to do something on the cello....but no one has a cello here.

This is the invitation for the Devotional Elder Cavenee wrote and is putting on next week.

Yesterday we went to a funeral for the Dad of one of our investigators. Yara...her dad died last week. There was a preacher at the funeral that yelled at everyone about how they need to have faith in Jesus, or they would burn. That faith was all they needed. It was pretty funny because he was yelling at everyone. We are going to visit her on Wednesday to talk to her about the plan of salvation. She is a really good investigator, that wants to get baptized, just not yet. We are hoping that we can help her feel the spirit and help her with whatever she fears.

We are teaching family of five right now. La Familia Esparza. We haven't gotten them to come to church yet, but we are working on that. We also met a really cool family this week, that we have an appointment with on Wednesday. They seem like a really cool family of four. We'll see how that goes.

Last week we went with a recent convert to visit a reference. His name is Juan. We taught him lesson 1 and he accepted baptism. Now we just have to prepare him and teach him the rest of the lessons. He came to church and loved it. He told us that he felt different than he has felt in any other place he has ever been in. We are so happy for him, and I enjoy seeing his progress.

Romario...my last baptism....bore his testimony in Church yesterday. That made me so happy. He only has one week as a member, and he got up all on his own and shared his testimony. Those are the best moments here. Seeing these peoples lives changed and their testimony beaming from their bodies. It's the best.

It is raining again. Wet everyday...and it is cold. The wind blows really hard here. But, we make the best of it.

The other night we were in Las Chuapas doing an interview, and we missed the last bus to return to Agua Dulce. So...we took a taxi to the entrance to Agua Dulce (the taxi wouldn't take us all the way). So....we walked along the highway through the jungle for about an hour before arriving in Agua Dulce. It was really cool. The moon was really bright and we walked in the middle of the two-lane highway with jungle on either side. Mexican Adventures. My companion was freaking out....it was kind of funny. We arrived safely and just in time to get invited to dinner. So that was awesome.

Tomorrow we are travelling to Villahermosa at 4:00 in the morning for our mission leadership council. I'm singing again. It'll be in front of about 60 missionaries, all of the leaders in the mission:) I'm excited.

I hope that you are all doing super well. I Love you all, and hope that you all have an amazing 2016. I'll see ya'll in 2017:)

Much Love,

Elder Cavenee

I'll send pictures tomorrow because I forgot my adapter:\

(From Mary:  For those of you who read Spanish:  here is the outline and script for the devotional Elder Cavenee is putting on next week:)

La Restauración

Devocional Misional 15 de Enero 2016

Barrios Cuatro Caminos y Agua Dulce

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

Primer Himno: 10 ''Te Damos Señor Nuestras Gracias''

Primer Oración: Por Invitación

Bienvenida: Presidente Morales

Programa:

1. Dios es Nuestro Padre: 196 ''Soy un Hijo de Dios'' Elder Barrientos

2. El Evangelio Bendice las Familias: 195 ''Las Familias Pueden ser Eternas'' Elder

Córdova

3. Dios a Llamado Profetas: 176 ''Palabras de Amor'' Elderes

4. La Ministerio Terrenal de Jesucristo: ''Salvador Redentor de mi Alma Es’’ Elder Cavenee

5: La Gran Apostasía: 98 ''Conmigo Quédate Señor'' Elderes Solo Elder Velázquez

6: Restauración: 14 ''Oración del Profeta'' Elder Cavenee

7: El Libro De Mormón: 9 ''Un Ángel del Señor'' Elderes

8: Orar para Saber: 77 ''Deja que el Espíritu te Enseñe'' Elderes

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

Ultimo Comentarios: Hermana Morales

Ultimo Himno: 161 ''Llamados a Servir''

Ultimo Oración: Por Invitación

La Restauración

196 Soy un Hijo de Dios: Solo por Elder Barrientos

Primer Narrador: Así es…..somos hijos de Dios. Él es nuestro Padre Celestial y nos ama tanto. Él conoce cada uno de nosotros personalmente. Él quiere que seamos feliz y por eso nos ha dado esta experiencia en la tierra. Dios nos ha proporcionado una manera de tener éxito en esta vida y de regresar a vivir en Su presencia. Por medio de nuestra obediencia al evangelio de Jesucristo, y a los mandamientos de Dios, podemos lograr la felicidad en esta vida y en la vida por venir.

Segundo Narrador: El evangelio de Jesucristo nos ayuda a cambiar nuestras vidas y llegar a ser nuevos personas. Las bendiciones que vienen de su evangelio son muchas y son grandes, especialmente en el hogar. Las familias son muy importante a nuestro Padre Celestial. Dios ha establecido familias para dar felicidad a sus hijos, para permitirles aprender principios correctos en un ambiente lleno de amor, y para prepararlos para la vida eterna. Si….es posible. Estar con nuestras familias para siempre. Si obedezcamos los mandamientos de Dios y vivimos su evangelio en esta vida, podemos recibir la bendición de una familia eterna para siempre.

195 Las Familias Pueden ser Eternas: Solo por Elder Córdova

Primer Narrador: Las familias son muy importante para Dios. Entonces, como padres, ¿Cómo sabemos que hacer para asegurar este fin para nuestras familias? En Hebreos 1:1 dice ‘’Dios,  habiendo hablado muchas veces y de muchas maneras en otro tiempo a los padres por medio de profetas’’ eso es la clave. Dios ha llamado profetas como Moisés y Noé. Ellos reciban revelación por cada uno de nosotros y nos dicen que tenemos que hacer. Nos ayudan, nos guíen, y siempre nos hablan con palabras de amor.

176 Palabras de Amor: Los Elderes

Segundo Narrador: Esos profetas son esencial para nosotros. Todos predicaron de un evento muy especial. El nacimiento de nuestro Salvador, Jesucristo. Él vino para salvarnos.

Elder Cavenee: El Salvador es la luz y la vida del mundo. Una luz que es infinita, que nunca se puede extinguir;  y una vida que es infinita, para que no hayas más muerte. Él, herido fue por nuestras transgresiones, molido por nuestras iniquidades, y por sus heridas fuimos nosotros sanados. Cuando realmente pensamos en estas enseñanzas de las escrituras, y sus significancias, ¿Cómo no podemos alegrarnos y cantar la canción de amor redentor…y orar con más fervor que podemos caminar en el camino que Él nos mostró?

Salvador, Redentor de mi Alma Es: Solo por Elder Cavenee

Segundo Narrador: Regresar a vivir con Él. Es lo que espera y quiera por cada uno de nosotros. Jesucristo nos mostró el camino. Durante su vida, nos dio el ejemplo y las ordenanzas que necesitamos para lograr eso. Pero…no duro mucho.

Primero Narrador: Él dio su vida para nosotros. Cuando Él y sus apóstoles murieron, todo lo que Él estableció se fue por un tiempo. El mundo entro la gran apostasía. Por casi do mil años, el mundo estaba sin la verdad, sin el evangelio de Jesucristo.

98 Conmigo Quédate Señor: Los Elderes con solo por Elder Velázquez

Segundo Narrador: Después este tiempo del mundo sin el evangelio de Jesucristo, Él lo restauro por medio de un profeta. En el año 1820 hubo un joven de 14 años se llama José Smith. Él estaba buscando la verdad como muchos otros pero la diferencia es Él hizo una pregunta. Después de que leo en Santiago Él se fue para preguntar a Dios a una arboleda.

14 La Oración del Profeta: Solo Elder Cavenee

Primer Narrador: Él vio el Padre y Él Hijo…Dios y Jesucristo. Por medio de José Smith, Jesucristo restauro su iglesia y su evangelio otra vez en la tierra. Se restauró todas las enseñanzas y ordenanzas que existieron durante la vida de Jesucristo. José Smith fue llamado como profeta de Dios.

Segunda Narrador: Con la restauración de muchas verdades, también muchas cosas nuevas fueron reveladas a este profeta. Uno de ellos es El Libro de Mormón…Otra Testamento de Jesucristo. Este libro es otro libro de escritura sagrada semejante a la Biblia, escrito por profetas para nosotros. La única diferencia es que fue escrito por profetas aquí en las Américas. Este historio fue conservado por más de dos mil años. Un ángel lo dio a José Smith y él lo tradujo por el poder de Dios. Es otro testamento de Jesucristo, y por medio del Libro de Mormón, podemos encontrar respuestas a nuestras vidas.

9 Un Ángel del Señor: Los Elderes

Primer Narrador: Eso es como el Evangelio de Jesucristo fue restaurado. Hoy en día tenemos un profeta llamado por Dios que nos guía y nos ayuda a saber qué hacer. Ahora saben de esta verdad….pero no saben por sí mismo sí es verdad. Un profeta nos enseñó que para saber la verdad de todas cosas, tenemos que preguntar a nuestro Padre Celestial en oración.

77 Deja que El Espíritu te Enseñe: Los Elderes

Segunda Narrador: Esta noche eso es nuestra invitación por cada uno de ustedes. Que hoy antes que duermen, pueden meditar en lo que sintieron aquí. En lo aprendieron. Luego les invitamos a arrodearse y ofrecer una oración preguntando su Padre si estas cosas son verdaderos. Y les prometemos que van a recibir una respuesta por medio del Espíritu Santo. Porque el Espíritu Santo nos testifica la verdad de todas las cosas.

Christmas Week

Family,

It was so great to see all of you last week and talk to you all. It was awesome to see how all of you are doing. You all have changed so much!!

Anyways...this week was pretty awesome with Christmas and everything. Last Tuesday we Baptized Romario. He asked me to baptize him, and that was really cool. On Sunday he received the Holy Ghost, and next Sunday he'll get the priesthood. He is so awesome and is so excited to be a member of the church.

On Thursday and Friday we ate so much food. We were invited to 5 breakfasts, 4 lunches and 10 dinners over the course of two days. It was really great, but really hard at the same time. We ate everything that the sisters prepared for us because it is very rude to not accept food when it is offered. We ate mole, turkey, spagetti, ham, potatoes, hamburgers, tacos, tortas, pozole....and a whole lot more. It was amazing. I think I've put on a few pounds though:) Our fridge is also full of a ton of food that members brought us.

On Christmas Eve, we had our last dinner with a family in the ward. They prepared a piñata for us...that was awesome. When we got home we set off floating lanterns. There is a sister in the ward that sells fireworks, so she gave us floating lanterns for free. We all wrote wishes on them and sent them off flying. That was really cool. Then we sat on the roof watching fireworks and drinking Martinelli's. (We found them here.) I missed watching ''It's a Wonderful Life''....first Christmas without that movie.....but oh well.

Christmas Even breaking a pinata.

Christmas Eve setting off floating lanterns!

On Christmas, we got up and opened all of our presents, and ate pie for breakfast! Thank you all for the presents. It was really fun. Then I got to talk to you all! That was the greatest present of all.

This week were are going to be doing a lot of divisions. One of the areas in the zone is not doing so well, so we are going out there this week to see what's up. We are trying to find out how to help them out.

I am in the process of writing/creating a devotional/fireside for Agua Dulce about the Restoration. It is coming together really well. I am writing several talks about the different principles and am planning musical numbers. We are going to do it on the 15th of January. Yesterday I invited President, and he said that he would come. I am super excited! I'm just hoping that I can get all the details in my head to work out! The goal is find a ton of new investigators from the people that members bring. We are trying to make it a big thing. There is still a lot to do....but I'll let you know how it goes.

Sorry if my letter this week seems a little scattered. I have a lot of things on my mind and things to do, and my companion is sick so I don't have a lot of help. No worries though...everything will work out:)

I Love you all and wish you all a wonderful New Years!!!!!

Love,

Elder Cavenee

Pictures:

Piñata

Floating Lantern

O Holy Night

Hello Family,

Sorry I am writing so late. The missionary mail service wasn't working until a few minutes ago.

So...first off....don't worry. That recording of me singing was at a ward activity. That was not during sacrament meeting. Here, the cultural hall and the chapels are the same room. It was an awesome Christmas party with piñatas, food, and a lot of dancing. (Of course we didn't dance....but it was so much fun!!!).

As for facetiming...we have permission to facetime on the 24th, 25th, 31st or the 1st. So....whenever you guys want to and can do it. I will get on tomorrow to finalize the details with you guys:) I'm going to need the factime account that I have to call!! I am so excited to see you all too!!!!

So...this week has been crazy awesome. We have been so busy. This past week, as zone leaders we were put in charge of finding a service project to do as a zone. We found an investigator that was going to paint his house, so we offered to help and made plans to do it. We worked out all the details of travel and tools, and had everything ready Thursday night to start early Friday morning. Friday morning, we woke up to pouring rain, and a text from our investigator canceling our activity. We went crazy calling people trying to put together a back-up service activity because all of the Elders in the zone were planning on arriving in our area at 8:00 in the morning. We were not finding anything so we decided to pray. We asked our Heavenly Father to help us find someone to serve. Someone who needed something big enough for 8 missionaries. As soon as we said amen, a brother called us and asked us if we could come and help him cut a bunch of grass. We told him of course and that actually we were going to come with 8 elders to help him. He was so happy and so grateful. I am so glad that we did that as a zone and not just me and my companion because I felt like we were chopping through the jungle. It wasn't just grass....it was weeds, trees, bushes, vines...everything. It was super cool.

Zone Service Project

After the activity we showered, changed and rushed into Coatza for our Christmas dinner with President. That was a lot of fun. They catered food from a restaurant. It was super good. It was an all you can eat buffet with shrimp, steak, crab...and best of all....potato wedges. By far the best meal I have had here in Mexico. I was asked by the assistant Elder Johnson to prepare a special musical number for the dinner. That is where I first sang the Oh Holy Night. It was really cool. I got to perform for like 40 missionaries, and President and his family. Then later the stake president in Coatza came, and presidente asked me to sing it again. President and Sister Morales were blown away, and they told me that I should never ever again travel without singing on the bus. So now whenever I travel, I carry my speaker, and sing....then we contact. It's awesome. Sister Morales is planning with the restaurant that fed us that night, to have me come and perform this week before Christmas and to contact everyone there. They were a little mad that they didn't know I could sing for almost an entire year, but they now want to use my voice. They also asked me to prepare a solo for the mission leadership council in January. We are now also planning a Night of Hymns...it'll be like a devotional put on by us missionaries here in Agua Dulce. It should be really good.

On Saturday we had our Ward Christmas party, and I sang again in that for the ward. It was a lot of fun. We also had a baptism on Saturday!!!! We baptized Hermana Mari. She shared her testimony after her baptism, and it was so sweet. It was really cool to get to hear such a strong testimony from a recent convert. We also have another baptism tomorrow of Romario. I am very excited for him too.

Christmas baptism of Hermana Mari

We are so proud of our Zone right now. In the first two weeks of the transfer, we are only two baptisms short of what the zone had in the entire last transfer. We are the smallest zone in the mission, and we are only one baptism short of being the highest baptizing zone in the mission. (The highest baptizing zone is twice our size and only has one more than us!!!). Our Elders are working very hard and we are very proud of what they are doing. It is making my job as a zone leader a lot easier. The assistants still get mad at me for numbers, but they are very happy with the changes we are making in this zone. (Elder Johnson, the assistant that I always report to, told me that our zone was the worst zone in the mission and has been for a long time. We are working really hard to get it up and going, and Elder Barrientos and I have the goal to be the best zone in the mission by the end of the transfer.). All of the Elders in our zone are awesome and we are helping all of them keep up their desires to work hard!

Christmas presents with President and Sister Morales

I am learning to be very organized. As a zone leader I have to know everything about almost every investigator in the zone. Their doubts and their goals. It is a lot of information that we have to keep very organized because the assistants want information fast and accurate. I am learning a lot. Life is crazy, but I am loving every moment of it:)

I am going to go shopping tomorrow for the shoes. Thanks for the help with that.

I can't wait to see you all this week and talk to ya'll. I Love you a ton and want to wish you all a Merry Christmas.

Love,

Elder Cavenee

Pictures:

Service Activity and Christmas Presents with President

Agua Dulce/Tijuana Temple Dedication

Hello Friends and Family,

How is everyone doing?  It is  so great to hear that your're all up to so much and that you're all finding time to enjoy the holidays:)  Really, I miss you guys and all the traditions, concerts, and commitments that we have always had for Christmas. But being here in the mission, it has helped me see this whole Holiday Season in a new way.

Here I have been able to focus completely on the Birth of the Savior Jesus Christ. It is really amazing. Contacting people, we ask them what it means to them that a Savior was born....or how their life is blessed because he was born. These people that don't even have the Gospel, recognize the blessings of a Savior in this world. It is amazing to hear some of the responses that these people give us. We are then able to testify to them, that really all that we have is thanks to Him and that He came to this world.

I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the World. That He came here to save us. Because of Him, it is possible to make it through this life and be happy. Because of him, we can make it through hard situations. We can deal with a little pain. We can become clean of our faults. And we can return to live with our Father in Heaven.  Remember what that means in your life, and what blessings you have because ''Ha nacido aun Salvador''....''A Savior is Born''.

The people here in Agua Dulce are super awesome. When we contact here, almost everyone accepts us. I am super happy to be here. It reminds me so much of my first área. So...we are more in the jungle than in my past two areas, and I think that is why it rained a lot. That was crazy.  Everything was wet. And it was really cold. We used sweaters for a couple days. Showers were the worst. Imagine taking an ice bath inside a freezer...then getting out and having to stay in a refrigerator soaking wet. That was us for several days. It rained so hard that water leaked into the house and got all of our stuff wet. In the mornings we had to iron everything to try and get them dry enough to wear. Our shoes.... we were putting them in front of a fan, but they would take a couple days to dry, so we started putting them in the microwave!!!!  Can you believe that.?  It Works:)  But...the sun came back, and it is super hot again so now we don't have to worry about that. It's crazy to think that back at home, you'll all be using sweaters soon, and here I am still wanting to walk around in shorts and a t-shirt. But I love it:) There are also a ton of hills here. I mean a ton. Walking is up and down....up and down. It's crazy, but I get a leg workout everyday.

There are two zones based in Coatzacoalcos. One is all in Coatza, and our zone is all of the surrounding pueblitos. We really have to travel a lot, but that's okay. I'm getting to know a lot of places. We are really excited as Zone Leaders right now because every area in our Zone is looking to baptize this next week. (We almost did it this last weekend but our baptism fell through. She got really sick and had to travel to see a doctor in Villahermosa). The assistants told me that our zone has not done that in a very long time.

It is a whole new level being a zone leader. The other night the assistants lit into me really hard. Our Zone was doing really bad in the key indicators. We were not where we were supposed to be in the middle of the week. They told me that President sent me here with my companion because he believes that we have the ability and the desire to change the Zone. (It was one of the worst zones in the mission).  He told me that it was our responsibility to make sure all of the Elders were doing what they were supposed to be doing.  My companion and I are making a bunch of changes and planes to help our zone really grow. I am focusing on winning the confidence of each Elder in our zone so that when I ask them to do something, they'll do it. It is starting to work. I love being able to get to know so many Elders on a personal level. I am learning the names of the members of their families, and what is going on with each one of them. I feel like we have the best missionaries here in my zone. (Here in this mission, the Elders don't have contact with the Sisters. Things happened in the past). Our Sisters are doing really well too. They baptized last week.

Dedication of the Tijuana Temple

I am doing really good now health-wise. My fever was gone by the middle of Tuesday, and by Wednesday I was out working again. We lost a lot of time with me being sick, so now we are trying to recuperate all of that lost time.

Yesterday we got to see the dedication of the Tijuana Temple. That temple is super beautiful. The dedication was so wonderful. Elder Uchtdorf and Elder Oaks were there. Elder Uchtdorf gave a wonderful talk and one of my favorite parts was when he taught that the greatest commandment is love God with all of your heart, and the second is, love your neighbor as yourself.  As disciples of Jesus Christ we should always ask ourselves two questions... "Do I Love God and my Neighbor?"...and "How have I shown that love in my life?"  Really we should think about these questions every moment of every day. What am I doing to show God and others that I Love them?  What more can I do?  In this time of year especially...think about what each of you can do more to show your love. Show and share your love with everyone. There are a lot of people that need it:)

We have two baptisms this weekend. One is for sure and the other is almost for sure. The first is Mari. She is so awesome. We found her my first day here, and she told us that she used to be Mormon when she was a kid, but stopped going at a young age and forgot about the church. We taught her the Restoration and invited her to baptism. She was soooo excited to have the chance to be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost. It was amazing. We then had to search for any records of her baptism (she didn't remember if she had been baptized) and she hasn't been baptized before:)  She is super excited for Saturday...as are we!!!!!

The other baptism is Yara. Yara is a reference that we received from a member, and she has been progressing really fast. She comes to all of the Ward activites, and really wants to be baptized. She is just not sure if now is the time. We are working with her to help her feel ready to make the covenant with God.

We are also teaching a young man named Romario. He also has a baptismal date for the 23rd of December. He is just waiting for his girlfriend to come back from México to be at his baptism.

Really...the field is ripe already to harvest.

Bus ride to Agua Dulce

My companion is 25 years old. He has a really cool conversion story. He secretly got baptized;) I am learning a lot from him. He is also learning a lot. He is a lot like Elder Lopez from my last area. I am teaching him and helping him to work with others and not to get angry really fast. (There is a bit of tension between the members and missionaries because of him that I am trying to work out). Really though, he is an awesome companion and is really helping me to keep working on gaining and using Christlike attributes.

This weekend we are going to have our Christmas Dinner with President Morales. I am super excited. All day Friday we are going to be doing a Zone Service Project that we planned, then we are going to Coatza at 4:00 for a devotional and dinner with President and his wife. For our service project, we are going to paint the house of a family of investigators that we have. The Esparza Family. There are five of them, and we are hoping that they some to church this week.

We cleaned the house super well today and now it feels super amazing. (I always have to motivate the Elders to clean the house when I get to a new area).

I Love you all and I hope that you all keep enjoying the Holidays:)

Love,

Elder Cavenee

Pictures: Dedication of the Tijuana Temple

Bus Ride to Agua Dulce

Zone Leader Adventures

Hey Family,

Today I hit 11 months!!!!!! Almost got that first year done, and I feel like there is so much to do before I finish my first year.

Sorry, this is going to be short this week, I can barely sit up to write. Today I woke up really sick with a fever and vomiting. Getting out of bed, I passed out. The mission doctor came and checked me out this afternoon, and I am now taking a bunch of medicine. (With all of the travel and the medicine, I had to take out some money. Sorry!) If I still have a fever tomorrow, I have to go get my blood tested every three days..:(. Please pray for me because right now I don't have time to be sick. I think it is from all of the traveling that I did this week, mixed with the stress of a new assignment, and not to mention it has been raining non-stop since we got here. The river flooded the other day and we were walking knee deep in water.

Elder Cavenee and Elder Barrientos "The Rain came and Floods Came UP!"

So...I am Zone Leader in Cuotza. My companion is Elder Barrientos and we are in charge of 10 elders and sisters. It is crazy being a Zone Leader. Apart from worrying about you own area, we are responsible for making sure all of the others areas are completing  their goals. Our zone is a bunch of areas spread out with about an hour commute in between each area. We are constantly on the phone with the assistants or with our district leaders to see what's going on in every area and to give reports. It is very stressful.

Normally when it is an Elder's first time being a zone leader, they are put as junior companion, so that they can learn from their companion how to be a zone leader. Elder Barrientos only has 6 months in the mission, I only have 11and it is the first time being zone leader for the both of us. They called me as Zone Leader 1, that's senior companion, so we have no-one teaching us how to be zone leaders. It is very exciting. As zone leaders we are going to be traveling a lot to do baptismal interviews for our district leaders and divisions with the rest of the Elders.

Elder Cavenee and Elder Barrientos Zone Leaders of this Zone

Elder Barrientos and I are like twins. We have the same ideas, like the same things, and work in the same way. He is an awesome companion, and I feel that we are going to have a lot of success together. He really wants to work, fast and hard...which I love:)

My new area is 4 Caminos in Agua Dulce Veracruz. It is an awesome area. I don't know if it is better than Frontera yet, but it might be. The difference is that here it is always raining and there are so many hills. The people here are so nice. They almost always accept to listen to us. It is amazing. We were going to have a baptism this last Saturday, but the nerves got to her, so we have to work with her a lot this week to get her to feel the Spirit and help her be confident. We also have several other investigators working towards baptism too. Right now though, we are praying and working to find a family, or several families to teach. We set a goal to baptize 15 this transfer, and I think that we can do that. Pray for us and for all the people that we meet…that they might be willing to listen to us, and that the Spirit will be able to touch their hearts.

We decorated the house with the lights that you sent, and my companion bought a little Christmas tree. It is so fun getting ready for Christmas. We are helping the ward plan several activities. My companion and I are also planning a Christmas dinner for the bishopric and their wives in our ward. This month is going to be super fun.

Matching Ties....Brett's request for Christmas.  These are Christmas ties.

Right now we are using the new Christmas video that the Church put out called ''Ha Nacido un Salvador'' or ''A Savior is Born''. It is a really awesome video and my favorite kid is the little black one. He talks with a ton of emotion and excitement.

During this season, remember the true reason that we celebrate Christmas. Yeah...it's fun to get and give presents, or decorate every inch of the house, but the true meaning is that Christ was born. Think about what our lives would be like without Him. Remember Him.

I Love you all and hope you have an amazing week. Any of you can use any of the things that I sent home:) Enjoy them.

Love,

Elder Cavenee

P.S.

Zone Coatza

The rains came down and the floods came up

Matching Ties

Transfers!!!!

On Dec 1, 2015, at 4:21 PM, Brett Cavenee  wrote:

 Hello Family,

 I Hope that all is well with you, and I was pleased to hear that Thanksgiving was super exciting for all of you. I miss all of that food and family time together. This week Thursday came and went and I totally forgot about Thanksgiving. It is not celebrated here, and I didn't realize until Saturday, that it had passed.

Sorry for not writing yesterday. I got transferred!!! They called me Sunday night and I went into Villahermosa on Monday morning. We were in training meetings all morning, then I worked the rest of the day as a secretary in the offices, helping them with all the stuff they have to do for the end of the year. I got called as a Zone Leader:) My new area is far away...in Coatza Veracruz, and there is a meeting on Wednesday that I have to be at in Villahermosa, so...President just had me stay here in the offices until then. I still don't know what zone or who is my companion. I will find out tomorrow.

 I got the packages:) Could you send me the music files in emails? Just put them as an attachment from iTunes:) The package that I sent home has several things in it for you guys. You can open it:)

So this week has been super awesome. On Tuesday we had divisions with the Zone Leaders. I had the opportunity to go and work in Las Rosas, the area of the Zone Leaders, with Elder Thaller for a day. That was super awesome, and we worked really hard. I don't know why, but during divisions, almost always all the plans fall through, so we prayed that when that happened we would be able to find someone that was ready to receive the Gospel. At the end of the day, after lots of walking, and very few lessons, we were on our way to visit an old investigator. On the way, we passed by a less active youth in the ward that was with one of his friends and we stopped to offer them a lesson. They accepted and we had a really awesome lesson with the Spirit. This young man was ready to accept the gospel. He accepted baptism and felt the Spirit really strong. I hope that he keeps progressing with the zone leaders and that he will be able to be baptized.

 Elder Lopez and I have been working really hard trying to find more people to teach. One thing that we are really focusing on right now are references from members, and having members in lessons with us. This has really helped find new investigators and get investigators progressing. When an investigator has a friend in the church, their progression speeds up two or three times as fast. We went with our Young Women's President to visit a reference that she had. When we got there, this lady....Mayra....was so surprised. It turns out that she was baptized when she was 12 years old, and after 2 years, she went inactive. Now....20 years later she has her family and had completely forgot about the church. We taught them lesson 1, The Restoration, and it was really cool to see her reaction as she remembered this wonderful message. She was really interested to learn more about Eternal Families and Temples. Her husband is getting home from work this week and were had plans to go back and visit them. They should be a really cool family, and I hope they keep progressing with the Elders that are still in Frontera.

On Friday we had a really awesome Zone Conference. President had us bring members, Less-actives and investigators, and we practiced teaching all of the lessons for like three hours. It was really cool to practice with people other than missionaries. I learned a lot and I will be applying it to my teaching.

Afterwards Sister Morales had us decorate the offices for Christmas. That was super fun, and It reminded me a little bit of Christmas at home.

So, like I mentioned earlier, transfers came. I was really sad at first because I had a baptism planned this Saturday, and I didn't want to leave that area. By far it has been my favorite area in the mission. On Monday, saying by to several members and investigators before I left was super hard. The majority of them were crying. It's crazy in how short of a time you can come to love people. I'm going to miss them.

Anyways....sorry it's not that long this week, I gotta go, but I'll fill ya'll in more next week.

 I Love You All So Much!!!

Love,
Elder Cavenee
  P.S. Goodbyes Christmas Decorations