Gabriel finally came to church

Not much happened Monday or Tuesday. Wednesday started a whole new round of excitement when we got into a car accident on the way to the Newport Beach Stake Center for a missionary surprise birthday. We got t-boned but luckily nobody was hurt, all that stinks is that we no longer have a car so now we have to walk everywhere but maybe because of that something miraculous will happen and we will come across a golden investigator or something like that.

Christmas eve was rough because contrary to the advice of the white handbook, holidays are not the best days to proselyte because people are with their families and don't want to be harassed by a couple of goofy looking kids wearing white shirts and ties. 

Being able to Skype home on Christmas was awesome, it was super good to see my family and talk with them. It made it feel a little bit like Christmas since the weather definitely doesn't feel like Christmas. We got to spend the morning at our Bishop's house and hang out with their kids and talk and play games with them which was a ton of fun. At night we got to have a zone activity and play games as missionaries and we had a white elephant gift exchange made up of the random stuff we all could find in our apartments which was pretty fun because missionaries leave behind quite the assortment of stuff. 

The best part about Sunday was that Gabriel finally came to church and liked it and said he is excited to come back! Our plan is to set a baptismal date with him for mid-January, which should go through and will be awesome.

Hopefully next week will be a lot better and we will be able to visit all of the potential investigators that we have and begin teaching them. I hope all of you had a great Christmas and that you will have a Happy New year. These people are good and I need to be with them.

Love

Elder Cheever

Christmas time as a missionary is totally different

We ended up doing a lot of service this week and visiting a lot of less actives and in between all that we managed to find a couple good potentials and continue working with our investigators who are slowly progressing, in some cases. I was also in my first California earthquake, it was only a 3.1 so it wasn't too exciting but now I can say I've been in one.

We had a really good lesson with a less active man in our ward named Jimmy. He got baptized a few years ago and had an amazing story. Prior to his baptism he was in a wheelchair and was blind so they had to carry him down into the font but after he got baptized he was able to walk out of the font and then the next day was able to see again. For a while he was able to walk again and was able to see and he started working towards getting the Aaronic priesthood but began having issues with the word of wisdom again and then tripped and broke his leg badly and after a series of events it had to be amputated so he was back in a wheelchair and then he went blind again when he stopped going to church. Sister La, one of the ladies in the ward who is coming back into activity set up a lesson for us with him and when we met we just talked with him about what he wants to do. He plans to start coming back to church and he wants us to go through all of the missionary lessons with him again. While we were talking with him a man walked by and then was standing against the wall of the building we were by and I felt like I should give him a copy of the Book of Mormon, at first I kind of brushed it off because I figured it was just me being a missionary and wanting to give everybody one (which isn't a bad thing I guess) and since we were in the middle of a lesson I didn't want to just leave. As I sat there I thought about it more and then remembered that Ross got baptized because somebody listened to a prompting to share the Book of Mormon so while Elder Greenberg and Sister La were talking I got up and went and talked to him. He seemed pretty cool and took the book and I was able to get his phone number so this week we are going to try to meet up with him and start teaching him. 

On Saturday we were contacting in a park and talked to a man named Misha right before we left. He was there with his son and he talked about how he has been following different religious practices to find the best life for his family so when we gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon he said he would gladly read it because he loves reading anything that is about Christ. We got his number too so we are going to try to meet with him this week as well. This one was cool for me because when I saw him I wanted to just leave so I was ready to go but Elder Greenberg stopped me and we went to talk to him. Its always amazing what can happen when you listen to your companion and you push to do a little more than you really want to. On Saturday we also had a really good lesson with our investigator Gabriel who wants to be baptized. We taught him the Plan of Salvation and he loved learning about the Spirit World and the Kingdoms of Glory. His faith is so strong and his commitment to actually read the Book of Mormon and to pray about what we have taught him is amazing, its so cool to think that all of his progress has come about simply because some sister missionaries stopped to show him the Christmas video and it goes to show how powerful of a tool that can be. 

Christmas time as a missionary is totally different because my focus is so much more on the Savior and helping others. It brings a completely different Spirit to the season that I wish everybody could experience. Truly the best way that we can feel the true Spirit of Christmas is by finding ways to help those around us even if it is just by holding a door or smiling and saying hi, I know that  sometimes that may be all that somebody needs to brighten their day.

Love

Elder Cheever

This week flew by and definitely had its ups and downs

This week flew by and definitely had its ups and downs. On Tuesday we went out to go tracting and it ended up being super good. As some background, in one of my blessings I was blessed with is the ability to discern those who are seeking to learn more. My whole mission I have wanted to study that out and begin praying and trying to listen to the Spirit better so that I can use it to help bring people closer to Heavenly Father, so lately I have been thinking about it and reading about gifts in the scriptures and praying for opportunities to bless others through it. When we were driving and going to park to begin knocking doors we drove by this one house and when I looked at this symbol/design above the door it caught my eye for some reason but we kept going because where we planned to start was around the corner, but I couldn't stop thinking about it so I told Elder Dallin to turn the car around so we went back and parked across the street from it and went and knocked on the door. We waited for a little but as often happens, nobody answered the door but we did see an old man walk in front of the door so I left a copy of the Book of Mormon with a note inside and our phone number and one of the "A Savior is Born" cards. At first I was a little discouraged because I felt so good about that house but the thought came to me to just be patient and it might be somebody around him who needs it so we started tracting from there. When we finished the street we were doing and getting ready to get back into the car we talked to a lady named Dimitria who was super nice and super open to meeting with us to learn more so we got her address and then right after she left a guy went running by so Elder Greenberg chased him down and started talking to him and it turns out that he had just moved up here from Mission Viejo and that for a little while he had been playing soccer down there with the Saddleback YSA ward so he said he would like to meet with us and learn more too so we also got his contact information. After we talked to them I looked up and realized that we were standing directly across from the house that I originally felt we should knock on. It was so cool to have the chance to meet those people who we probably wouldn't have met had we parked down the street and I was so grateful to have the opportunity to help the Lord in such a way. Tuesday night was the mission Christmas party and was tons of fun. It was great to see all my friends from the San Clemente zone and hang out with them and catch up and also to sing Christmas songs together as a mission. At the end of it President Orgill read a letter from a convert to the church to a Bishop and told of how a Christmas play he saw in a chapel in Hawaii led to his reading the Book of Mormon and feeling the Spirit and getting baptized. As he spoke I felt the Spirit so strongly and I had the strongest desire to be able to have the chance to see the Christmas initiative from the church and the general spirit of Christmas open somebodies heart to the message of the gospel so that was something I began praying for. 
After Wednesday night everything went downhill. We had dinner at a member of the wards house and while I was eating I started feeling really sick and ended up throwing up and then Elder Dallin and Elder Greenberg both got super sick as well so we had to stay inside on Thursday which was miserable, not only do I have a testimony of the gospel but also of the reality behind cabin fever. As much as it gets tiring and can be hard working and grinding every day I would so much rather do that than be trapped inside even if I am sick because it was so boring and I felt like we were doing absolutely nothing. On Friday we went to ZTM but still felt really sick so we didn't get that much done then either. On saturday we decided we needed to work super hard to make up for doing nothing so we sat down and made a list of all the people whose contact information we had gotten over the past couple weeks and started calling them and planning to visit them. One of them that we called was a referral named Gabriel who seemed super excited to have us come over so we went right to his apartment. He told us that he came in contact with the church while he was doing a roofing job in Riverside and two sister missionaries showed him the Christmas video. He told us that he had felt the Spirit before but that he had never felt it that strongly in his life. As we taught him he sat and listened and absorbed it all in and seemed to really like it as he mentioned that he has always trusted in God when times have been hard for his family and there has been nobody else to turn to so he knew that this was something God wanted him to follow. We ended up even committing him to baptism on January 1st and he was really excited to decide that and have the first day of the new year be the first day of his new life so hopefully it all goes through. We may have taught him a lot about gospel, but during the lesson he taught me a huge lesson about faith. As he prayed to close it out he gave thanks for all the that his family had and was especially grateful that they could all be healthy physically and also financially and then he said he was grateful that they could finally have a good Christmas. When he said this the Spirit was so strong and I could tell the love that Gabriel has for his Heavenly Father and Christ and the love they have in return for him. I know for sure that this is the opportunity that I was hoping for to be able to bring somebody closer to our Heavenly Father through the true message and reason of Christmas so hopefully everything goes well with him. 

Last night it rained for the first time in a while and it rained a lot. The streets don't have drains like they do at home either so huge puddle would form which became a pain to deal with. At one point we had to try to jump over one to get into our car and Elder Dallin ended up ripping his suit pants doing so. I just got tired of trying to keep my shoes dry so I just took them off and rolled up my pants. As much as I love being a missionary and love helping others, its nice to occasionally have some good fun that makes me feel like myself again so it was a good thing for me to have that happen. Elder Dallin is being transferred on Tuesday so I will miss him a ton but I will still have fun working with Elder Greenberg. Hopefully the two of us can keep working hard and can bring to pass much righteousness in the South Coast ward and in Santa Ana because the people here are good and I guess God wants me to be with them for another 7 weeks;)

Love,

Elder Cheever

I know that the Book of Mormon is true with all of my heart

This week kinda stunk. We didn't do very much because Elder Greenberg made me sick and I was miserable and then Elder Dallin was super sick and achy (I dont know if I spelled that right) so we spent a lot of time sleeping between tracting and appointments. On Wednesday we had "Zone 24's" which is where everybody on the zone exchanges for a day and supposedly it helps a lot and miracles happen. Our companionship likes being able to do our own thing and work hard in our area and not have to deal with other missionaries so we were less than enthused about this whole thing. I was put in charge of the area with Elder Putnam, one of our zone leaders, and Elder Payne who has been out for 4 weeks now. In the morning we did some service and Elder Dallin and I both ended up there and we both felt sicj and tried to get permission from Putnam to exchange back but he didn't let us so the day started out rough. It kind of dragged on for a while but when we were tracting at some apartments we weren't having too much happen but then we were walking on the sidewalk and out of nowhere this lady asked if we had a Bible we could give her and we just happened to have one in our car so I ran to grab it while Payne and Putnam gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon then started talking with her. When I gave her the Bible I discovered that she is an atheist who used to be catholic but she is going through some hard times so she had tons of questions for us so we stood there on the sidewalk in the cold (it was probably like 60, so yes you can make fun of me for adjusting to this wimpy California weather) and talked with her for about an hour. The part of this chat with her that struck me most was at one point we mentioned that a mission costs $10,000 so she asked us if doing all this is worth the collective $30,000 between us and instantly I knew that despite the times that stink it is totally worth the money and everything else that I lose or go through just to be able to make one person's life happier so it has been completely worth it since I have helped more than just that hoped for one person, whether it be investigators who have gotten baptized, less actives, or ward members.

The Christmas devotional was kinda cool last night. It was pretty boring here too, as you can tell. We only had one lesson with an investigator which is annoying. She doesn't want to read the Book of Mormon because "its not talked about in the Bible" so I went through and showed her where it is talked about then I showed her in the Book of Mormon where Christ says that people who say they have a Bible and don't need more are basically denying God (it wasn't as harsh as that sounds I promise, she just needed some boldness),then I bore testimony of the Book of Mormon. I don't know how much it did for her but it helped me a ton because as I looked at her and said "I love the Book of Mormon, I know that it is true" I teared up and had to struggle through the rest of what I said. The only other time I have cried bearing testimony during a lesson was at the MTC when I invited our teacher pretending to be Selam to be bapitzed and I told her that the church was true and that it would help her. I love being a missionary, even when it stinks. I know that the Book of Mormon is true with all of my heart and I love to read from it each and every day. It has helped me so much through things that I have gone through and I know it can help anybody who reads it and prays for guidance. I love this gospel so much and I love helping God's children come home to His open arms. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior, our Redeemer, our Mentor, and Mediator with God and that He was born, taught, suffered, died, and was resurrected for each and every person who ever has lived, who now lives, and who ever will live. I know that His love for us is unconditional and that as we rely on His Atonement for us we can be carried through whatever trials we may face. He is the reason we celebrate so heavily at this time and it is important for us to remember Him in all that we do all year long, not just around Christmas. Every body should watch the "A Savior is Born" video at Christmas.Mormon.Org and share it with a friend because the Spirit felt during it is amazing. I love being here helping these good people and I know that I need to be with them.

Love

Elder Cheever

Outside the Ghetto Circle K

A favorite taco truck

Wearing his Samoan lava lava

70 degrees and sunny in December

Giving out 63 copies of the Book of Mormon

This week was pretty awesome. Monday was one of the worst days of my mission so far but on Tuesday we all worked hard. Our main goal for this week was to set the mission record for copies of the Book of Mormon placed, we got our inspiration from the movie, "The Best Two Years" where they set the record for their mission by placing 62 so we decided we wanted to do 63. We did a ton of tracting, which is actually one of my favorite things, and a ton of contacting and hit 63 exactly by Saturday. From all this work we picked up three investigators just from the tracting alone, which is extraordinary and then got referrals for three more people. One of the people we met tracting is a 17 year old boy named Ernie. He is the student body president at Mater Dei Catholic High School, which is this huge nationally ranked school here. When we first knocked on the door we noticed a sign on it that looked a lot like a paraphrased version of Mosiah 18:9 so we wondered if maybe they would be members. He opened the door with this huge smile his face and immediately started talking to us like old friends, which worried us at first because usually when people react like this it means they want to bash with us. It turned out to be an amazing lesson, he was super humble and super open to what we taught him and wants to keep learning more, especially because he has an uncle who is a member. He committed to read the Book of Mormon and to pray about it and was excited to do so since he is on Thanksgiving break. I got to have a meeting with President Orgill Sunday night. He is so loving and it was awesome to be able to sit down with him and just talk. It will be a sad day when he leaves next year. From all that has happened this week it has been a huge lesson to me about how when we trust that God has a plan for us that things will work out. As we worked we didn't see much success at first other than being able to give out huge amounts of the Book of Mormon and being able to talk to a lot of people but then in the last couple days all sorts of people popped up who wanted to learn more. It just helped show that when we do the work that Heavenly Father asks us to do no matter our situation in life He will bless us and give us the extra strength we need because He loves us with a perfect love and wants what's best for us. I love this new area I'm in, I love the ward, my companions and especially the people we are teaching. I know this church is true and that it is Christ's restored gospel on the Earth today. I know the Book of Mormon is true and that through it we can come to know the love of our Savior and our Father in Heaven better than through any other book and I'm happy to share it and bear testimony of it to the people I meet everyday out here, because they are all children of God and they are good people and I need to be with them.

Love

Elder Cheever

All of the investigators we have right now are amazing people

We had thanksgiving at Mama La's. She is one of the Samoan ladies in the ward who is coming back into activity in the church so she loves having the missionaries over.

This week flew by. We had a ton of good lessons with people. All of the investigators we have right now are amazing people who really want to do what's right and who are seeking truth in their lives. With Ernie we read in 3 Nephi when Christ visits the America's and then we also talked about the Plan of Salvation. We have another investigator named Jack Autry who is super awesome. His wife is a member so that helps him a ton. This week when we met with him it was specifically to give him a blessing because he broke a couple ribs and messed up his shoulder playing football on
Thanksgiving, he is 76 and is probably in better shape than me. Elder Dallin gave a great blessing and during it he told Jack that he would be strengthened to bear his pain and after the blessing Jack looked happier and healthier and he told us that he still felt sore but that he could feel a definite difference. Thanksgiving away from home was different but it was fun to spend it with members of the ward and to feel the love they have for missionaries.

We had a couple lessons with some less active members of the ward and we shared two really good Mormon Messages with them, one is called "Hope you know, we had a hard time" and the other is called "The Will of God". I would encourage everybody to watch them and to think of somebody who might need to hear the message of hope in them. I know that through the Atonement, Christ can strengthen us when our own strength fails and that he will always be there to carry us through the challenges we will face. I have a testimony of such and know that through trusting our Heavenly Father as we endure the trials placed before us we will be able to become stronger and become who He would have us become, our best selves. I love this gospel and this area and all the people that I help, they are good and I need to be with them.

Love,

Elder Cheever

Madsen and his Zone Leader, Elder Christensen, who had to go home for a surgery

 Madsen with a recent convert, Taylor

 Madsen and Taylor's brother Fred

Madsen and his companions wearing their Samoan shirts

 Madsen's Samoan lava lava

I'm excited to be in Santa Ana

This week was a lot of fun. On Monday and Tuesday I spent time getting ready to leave San Clemente. It was sad to say goodbye to my friends after FHE. I love that ward and the people in it especially Cam, Ross, Bobby, and Andrew and the others there that I could help. I am now in the South Coast ward in the Newport zone so I went from the most southern part of the mission to the most northern part. I'm also in a trio now and my companions are Elder Dallin and Elder Greenberg, Greenberg has been out for a little over a year and Dallin was in my district in the MTC. We get a lot done here and have fun too. I have met a ton of great members of the ward who really love the gospel. Tracting is a whole new thing to me too but I like it. It makes me feel like I'm actually out doing something and putting forth an effort even if not much comes from it. On Saturday, a man, named Greg that Elders Dallin and Greenberg had been working with got baptized which is awesome. Baptisms are amazing and you can feel the Spirit so strongly at them. Other than that not too much exciting happened this week. I'm excited to be in Santa Ana and I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for me and I can't wait to be able to help make people's lives better here because they are children of God and good people and I need to be with them for their sake and my own.

Love, 

Elder Cheever

I will be leaving the San Clemente YSA ward

Week 6 of transfer number 3 is officially done and in the books. It felt slow all week but by the time we got to Sunday we realized if flew by. On Tuesday we had a lesson with Kurtis, but we are pretty sure that he was high so that complicates things. Hopefully he accepts the Word of Wisdom and is willing to commit to live it. We also got to have lunch with Cam and his cousin Gio, Sisters Carr and Suchanski, the sisters we ward-share with, and Elders Hook and Fetuani, Hook is one of the ones who started teaching Cam. It was super good to see how happy Cam is now that he has been baptized and confirmed. I also got to go to the Temple with the ward here to help with sealings. It was an amazing opportunity to see what happens and to hear the blessings that are promised besides being able to be together with your family for eternity. The Temple is such an amazing place and I love every chance I get to go.

On Friday and Saturday we got to meet with Andrew a couple of times. He is so awesome and loves learning more and can't wait to get baptized and be able to help the missionaries with other investigators. Friday night Elder Davies also got a trainers call, which means that we wont be companions again next transfer, but more importantly it means that one of us will be leaving the area. On Saturday we went to Irvine for a long meeting and then met with Andrew and then we went to Oceanside with the Camp Pendleton Elders to have dinner with one the Chaplains on base. It was good to have a night to relax a little and enjoy the company of friends. Saturday night is also the night we find out about who is getting transferred and unfortunately I got the call. Tomorrow I will be leaving the San Clemente YSA ward. On Sunday, once everybody in the ward found out, they had me and Sister Carr, who is also leaving, bear our testimonies as a short farewell. I have loved being in this ward and serving the young adults who live in the area. I have loved all that I have learned about life and missionary work while I have been there. I have loved the chance I have had to help people like Bobby, Cam, Ross, Kurtis, and Andrew. I love all the people I have met here and the friends I have made in the ward and the missionaries that I have served with. Despite all this, however, I know that Heavenly Father needs me elsewhere and that I will come to love where I end up. I know that God always has a plan for us even if we may not be able to see it yet and that He will help us especially when we are struggling because He is our Father and He wants the best for us. I know that the best way to be happy is by following the example of Jesus Christ and living his teachings. I love being here and I can't wait to see what my next area has in store for me. I know that the people there are good, and that I need to be with them.

Love,

Elder Cheever

Cam's baptism and confirmation

This week flew by! Not much went down on Monday and Tuesday. We played soccer and football and I got super dehydrated so that made the rest of Monday miserable and part of Tuesday morning.

On Tuesday we met with Cam to finalize the plans for his baptism and then when we told our ward mission leader it turned into a huge argument about the timing because nobody in the ward would be able to go to it on a Thursday morning at 11:00.  I ended up making Elder Davies be in charge of the phone and I just had to pray that Heavenly Father would let everything work out in whatever way He needed it to and I laid down on the ground and tried to relax. Elder Davies ended up mad too so we went on a walk on some trails by the church building which definitely helped a ton.

On Wednesday we got to go to the temple in the morning which was the beginning of the week getting better. We were still at odds with Steve about the baptism scheduling so I went in praying for that to be sorted out and praying about some other questions I have had. During the session one question began to be answered and then within an hour of leaving the temple we had sorted out everything with Cam's baptism and were completely ready to go through with it. It is amazing how much power there is to both prayer and Temple attendance. That night we also got a call from the San Clemente Elders saying they have another investigator for us with a baptismal date.

Thursday was obviously amazing because Cam was finally baptized after four months of waiting and scheduling and rescheduling. He was so happy after Elder Hook baptized him, we could hear him yelling and laughing back in the little changing room. At night the day just got better when we went to the lesson with Elders Butler and Brown to begin teaching Andrew. He is a super cool guy and has loved learning more about the gospel. He asks a lot of questions which is awesome because generally people I have taught don't and it makes it hard to know if they are understanding what we have said because I know that often I can be garrulous and confusing, so its good to know that the Spirit is there to teach them what I can't.

On Friday we helped with a move and did some weekly planning, I hate planning; it is so tedious and nothing ever goes according to plan anyways but the days do feel way more productive when we plan. We also got to have a lesson with Kurtis and we taught him the Law of Chastity. He lives with his girlfriend but he really wants to do what is right so we made sure to explain to him the reasoning behind the commandment and promise him the blessings that will come from living it and then assured him that Heavenly Father would help him out as much as he might  need help.

On Saturday we helped move the same family some more and then ended up helping out the SOI elders and picked up some groceries we needed and got ingredients for a dessert for our zone Halloween activity. Before we went to that we had another lesson with Andrew that went really well. We got to spend the last couple hours of the night with the zone because our mission president didn't want us outside. It was pretty fun we played some games and talked and enjoyed the night. Halloween definitely isn't the same as a missionary, but I guess most everything is different now.

Sunday was stressful, awesome, and interesting all rolled into the three hours of church. Cam asked me to confirm him so I got to deal with being nervous about that all morning and then we were stressing about if our investigators Andrew and Kurtis would make it to church. In all this stress I totally forgot at what words to say for the confirmation so when I got up and started to do it I said "Camil..." and then looked at Elder Davies across from me in the circle and whispered "I don't know what I'm doing" and he guided me through it. After that I was so nervous I gave a short blessing and then we all sat back down. Cam was so happy that I don't think he even noticed or cared that I flubbed it a little bit. It was fast and testimony meeting so as usual that was interesting, especially when a basher that the sisters invited to church decided to get up and bear his testimony about Christ never giving up, which went well until he started clapping, stomping his feet and singing "His love never fails, it never runs out, it never gives up on me" and encouraging us to do the same. After Bishop Walton quieted him down he proceed to bear more testimony and close by saying we need to make sure we believe in the right Jesus or we will be dead (this is one of the favorite arguments of the Compass Bible church in the area, that we believe in a different Jesus.) After he sat down the next two people who spoke bore super powerful testimonies of the truth of the restored gospel which quickly brought the Spirit back into the room.

This week I definitely learned the importance of trusting Heavenly Father. He has a plan for each and every one of his children and although Gary went about it a little crazily he was right that God's love never gives up on us. I am amazed every time I am able to help somebody come closer to Heavenly Father whether it be in having lessons with them or by having a baptism like Cam's. There is no better work in the world and I love doing it. California is awesome and has some crazy people, but despite their oddities, I love them and need to be with them!

Love

Elder Cheever

 

 

No better reason to be tired

This was a really long week. It went by slowly and not too much happened. We did a lot of service with the Zone Leaders helping them move out a less-active man in their ward who was being evicted. It was a lot of work but we were happy to help somebody who was in need. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday definitely felt the longest. Our ward was at a YSA summit in San Diego (basically they went camping for the weekend and did fun stuff) so we couldn't meet with any of them and then church was there on Sunday but we weren't allowed to go since the campgrounds are an hour and a half outside the mission. On Sunday we went to a regular OLD family ward for the farewell of a guy in our ward. The reason for the emphasis on old is because of the Sunday school class we went to. It was gospel essentials and it was the longest 45 minutes of mine and Elder Davies lives, us and the other missionaries in there were probably a solid 50 to 60 years younger than the rest of the people in the class. After this we went to the Saddleback YSA ward and I felt much more at home. Whenever it ends up being that I get transferred out of this area it is going to be a rough adjustment back to a family ward.

The highlight of the week by far was talking to a guy named Tyler on the pier. The last time we went he gave us free clam chowder because he recognized us as missionaries and then this time we sat and talked with him for a while about what he does and he told us that he has always been kind of interested in Mormons so we were able to give him a copy of The Book of Mormon and he was excited to finally have a chance to read it. The next day we added him as a friend on Facebook and we saw that he had posted a picture of The Book of Mormon and seemed excited to have one. After he accepted our request he posted a picture with a bunch of Mormon stereotypes on our page and joked about it but then said he was glad to meet us. He has a pretty crazy life style but he seems genuinely open to learning more so we have the faith and hope that he will accept it and change.

I'm tired all the time, and can definitely relate to that scene in the district when it shows Elder Moreno saying he is tired all the time but there is no better reason to be tired than from being in the service of our Heavenly Father. This morning in my studies I read a bunch of talks from Elder Holland and one part of one stuck out to me. It is from his talk in the October 2010 session of conference entitled "Because of Your Faith". In it he says, "To you, Mom and Dad, and to all the moms and dads and families and faithful people everywhere, I thank you for sacrificing for your children (and for other people’s children!), for wanting so much to give them advantages you never had, for wanting so much to give them the happiest life you could provide. My thanks to all you wonderful members of the Church—and legions of good people not of our faith—for proving every day of your life that the pure love of Christ “never faileth.”  No one of you is insignificant, in part because you make the gospel of Jesus Christ what it is—a living reminder of His grace and mercy, a private but powerful manifestation in small villages and large cities of the good He did and the life He gave bringing peace and salvation to other people. We are honored beyond expression to be counted one with you in such a sacred cause."

Even though he is speaking for the apostles when he says we I want to echo the same thanks that he has for all of you. I'm grateful for all those who have helped me get to where I am and for those of you who will help others reach this point. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that his love for us is unmatched, also talked about by Elder Holland this year in conference, and that we are all children of God who loves us very much.  I love being here so much, These people are good and I need to be with them.

Love,

Elder Cheever

The best part of the week was Ross' baptism

This last week felt really long but was definitely worth the wait for the weekend, even though weekends don't feel like a break anymore. I was able to see a lot of miracles occur in the last few days of the week. On Friday we got to meet with our investigator Kurtis who is super solid. As we have taught him about the Restoration of the gospel, The Book of Mormon, and the Plan of Salvation he has absorbed it all and really wants to follow the gospel and follow our Savior. Currently he lives with his girlfriend and he has asked us about things we can't do so we mentioned the word of wisdom and the law of chastity so he understands that abstinence until marriage is a part of our belief but now quite why yet. He wants to be able to do what is right so he wants to know what he should do before he goes whole heartedly into the church while still doing what’s wrong so the next time we meet with him (Thursday) we will talk about the law of chastity and help him know the why of it and help him understand the blessings that come from it and allow him to pray to know what he should do.

The rest of Friday and Saturday were filled with a lot of service to the stake for the San Clemente Readiness Festival. After we helped set up on Friday, Elder Davies and I were worn out and feeling pretty down not only because we were tired and a little mad that the stake only sent a couple members to help us out and expected the whole zone to be the work force for their event. So after we set up and were tired we decided we needed food so we stopped at a Jersey Mike's subs because I felt like we needed something healthy to eat and that that was the best option. When we arrived there was a lady from the Newport Stake named Sister Jackson who generously offered to pay for our dinner and when we told her she didn't have to she pressed the issue even more. It was such a blessing to see a member who appreciated and loved us and definitely helped boost mine and Elder Davies' spirits.

Following dinner we had a window of Heaven planned and almost immediately a man from Compass Bible Church, one of the churches in the area that always bashes with missionaries, began trying to bash with us and argue about doctrine. It was really tiring and draining because the Spirit was absolutely not there and any time we tried to bear testimony he would cut us off and ruin the Spirit we tried to bring in. I hate when people try to bash, it just ruins whatever we are doing and tends to make me mad but one good thing that comes of it every time is that my testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel comes out stronger no matter what because I know that I must be doing something right in the work I'm doing for Satan to put people in my path to try to sway me off my path. This lasted for the first half hour of the window and we felt like nothing else could go right until a young man walking with some friends gave me a chick fil a sandwhich that he didn't want to eat. When he handed it to me I felt prompted to wait to eat it until we had finished the window and were back at our car. On the way back to our car we walked past a guy playing his guitar trying to get a little bit of money and I knew he was the one who needed the sandwhich. When I gave it to him the joy in his eyes was amazing. He was so pleased to be offered a shred of human kindness that he opened up to us and told us of his past experiences of learning about the gospel with some past missionaries in the area so we encouraged him to try to read and pray about the Book of Mormon again and to seek to know its truth.

The best part of the week was Sunday night when we had the opportunity to witness our investigator Ross' baptism. It was so amazing. The hours leading up to it were stressful as we filled the font, waited for Ross to arrive, and got everything ready to begin but as soon as we sang the opening song, "Joseph Smith's First Prayer", all the worry disappeared and I felt the Spirit enter the room. It was an amazing service and it was so cool to see Ross and how happy he was after being baptized and confirmed as he bore his testimony. An issue that I have been struggling with lately is feeling like I am doing enough for the Lord because there are many days in the YSA area where we try our best to get out and find people to teach whether they be less-actives or to find new investigators where nothing happens and I just feel useless; during the baptism as people spoke on the ordinance of baptism and on the Gift of the Holy Ghost, the Spirit touched my heart and mind in almost a small voice that said to me "Mads, you have done what I want you to". It witnessed to me that as I have helped Ross come closer to our Heavenly Father I have been doing the work that He wants me to do and that he is proud of me and that he is thankful for the help that I have been in bringing His children to Him. I began to feel a little more how he feels as each person gets baptized and confirmed when I had the opportunity to meet the mother of a less-active member of our ward. When she came up to us she thanked us for the help we have been and with tears in her eyes said that she never thought that he would come back to church.

I see now that this is how Heavenly Father feels about each person we help, He knows them as His children who He loves dearly and He will do guide them as much as He can without taking their agency so when they choose to return to the fold and accept the gospel I think that He, with tears in His eyes accepts them lovingly into His home and I can't wait to continue serving him and bringing people home.

I love this place and the people here and can't wait to find more people to bring home to my Father in Heaven. I love the gospel and I love the opportunity to be here serving God. I love these people, they are good and I need to be with them.

Love

Elder Cheever

[Madsen also mentioned that Cam will most likely be baptized on either the 29th of October or the 5th of November.]

Family Home Evening carving pumpkins with the San Clemente YSA ward.
 







On the pier at San Clemente

"Can I get one of those?"

[Here is Madsen’s letter from this week]

Alright here goes the real fun of the week😉

This week was pretty jam packed with stuff. It gets really tough to remember everything that happens in a week even when I write about it in my journal. Tuesday we got to go to dinner and have a lesson with Bobby, it's so amazing to see how much happier he is now that he has the gift of the Holy Ghost. On Wednesday we went to the Saddleback College campus with a bunch of missionaries and walked around to invite people to come to a free lunch and a class about Christ at the institute building. While we were walking around a kid came up to us and said "can I get one of those?" pointing to The Book of Mormon in my hand so we gave it to him and then he wanted to know more so we taught him the Restoration lesson and taught him a lot more about The Book of Mormon. It was cool to see somebody ask for it and teach them instead of finding people and trying to talk to them. On Thursday we met with Ross again, we can't wait for his baptism so we can see how much happier he becomes and then in years time if he goes on a mission like he wants to. On Friday we spent the day in San Clemente which is by far my favorite part of my area. We walked out on the pier and it was so cool to look back at the beach. We talked to a ton of members on vacation who were hanging out there and then got free clam chowder from a random guy in a store there who knew we were missionaries. As we were leaving the missionaries covering the San Clemente area called us and told us they had two investigators for us who had baptismal dates! We met with them on Saturday and they are super solid and excited to learn more. On Saturday the best thing happened! President Lutz, one of the members of the mission presidency, met with Cam and approved his baptism!!!!!! He was so happy afterwards so that should be happening this month and we can't wait. Yesterday I had an email from the church with a referral and we also contacted one of the investigators from San Clemente and scheduled times to meet with him which was cool.

One of the lessons that got reinforced for me was the power of fasting and prayer especially when people are united in it. On Saturday as a district we fasted for all of our investigators and that day everything with Cam got worked out and then a potential investigator responded to us. Then I fasted again on Sunday and was especially fasting that we could find somebody new to teach and that's when we got in contact with Paul and got the new referral. I know that our Heavenly Father and loves us and wants to help us with things we need but we first have to ask him and then when we sacrifice even more and fast he sees how much we want it. I love being a missionary and helping so many people and learning all the time. Even right now at institute we have a less active member of our ward who has been slowly coming back and meeting with us who now has a ton of friends here and it's so amazing to see the happiness back in his life and his willingness to meet with us from where he started out not wanting to talk to the past missionaries. I know this church is true and that we are led by a modern day Prophet. I love this work, and these people are good and I need to be with them!

Love

Elder Cheever

The coolest thing was when...

[I’m a little slow getting this out, but here is Madsen’s email from last week (October 5)]

This week went by really slowly but I learned a lot from it.

On Tuesday we met with Cam and talked about his baptism for a little bit then the rest of the day Elder Nielsen packed and I sent out texts to the guys in our ward asking them to extend the invitation to watch conference to their friends. Then we got to go to transfer meeting. It was a fun time but I definitely liked it much more when I didn't have to worry about getting a new companion. I'm still in the San Clemente YSA ward but now I am with Elder Davies. He is from Cedar City, Utah and did a year at SUU before he came on his mission, he has only been out here for one transfer more than I have (6 weeks) making our area one of the youngest in the missions since all four of us have been out less than 6 months.

We had a ton of meetings this week because it is the first week of the transfer but we were able to get some good lessons in with Cam and Ross. We were able to set a baptism date with Ross which was awesome. He is so faithful and wants so much to serve God and even plans to serve a mission when he is allowed to.

I was extremely stressed for much of the week because of Cam and his baptism. Because he is from Lebanon, President Orgill wants to make sure that his family will be safe if he gets baptized. In discussing this with Cam we learned that his mother lives in Syria so President Orgill wants to meet with Cam before the baptism happens. I spent much of the week in prayer and fasting regarding this situation hoping it would all work out and that Cam would get baptized on Saturday. Unfortunately President is a very busy man and didn't have time. When I got the call that we would have to move the baptism I had to hold back tears because of how disappointed I was. I felt like my fast was a waste of time and I was sad that we would have to wait to baptize Cam even though he is so ready. I was sad for Cam because I know how much he wants to get baptized and confirmed and make that covenant with Heavenly Father. As I thought about it all I realized how important this General Conference was and that if his baptism had gone on as scheduled I would not have been able to watch the Saturday morning session because I would have been filling the font and that because of that I would have missed some answers to questions I had. Our hope is that President will meet with Cam this week and that he will get baptized this coming Saturday and then the next Sunday is when we have Ross' date set so there is a lot of good stuff happening here.

Last night was amazing too. Down at Camp Pendleton I had the opportunity to give a blessing to a marine who wasn't a member, unbeknownst to me, but who wanted some help. In the blessing I felt prompted to mention that he should remember the promises that he has made with God, again I thought he was a member so I was thinking stuff like baptismal covenants, and then that he should also remember the things he has been taught and that as he did so he would be guided and protected through his training. After the blessing he talked about how he promised God he would serve him and that he was a lot closer to God as a child and was just starting to try to build that relationship again. The coolest thing was when we were talking about it he said that as I gave the blessing he was almost positive that he could hear somebody telling me what I should say to him! The faith that these boys, because they are boys just the same age as me, have as they serve our country is amazing and I'm so glad that I am worthy to hold the priesthood and bless the lives of others through it.

General Conference was amazing. All those who spoke are called of God and teach His truths. Thomas S. Monson is the Prophet today called by God to lead and guide us in these days and I love him and all them members of the first presidency and the Quorum of the 12 so much. I know with all my being that we are children of a loving Heavenly Father and that His Son and our brother Jesus Christ truly did suffer for our mistakes and our shortcomings and that he paid the price so that we can return to live with our Heavenly Father again someday. He is our greatest example and should be our best friend because no matter what we are going through he will always be there to support and strengthen us. I know that this gospel is Christ's true church established on the Earth today and that we are guided by prophets, seers, and revelators who commune with our Father and Christ. I love serving them and bringing the lost sheep back into the fold. These People are good and I need to be with them.

Love

Elder Cheever

Bobby got baptized this week!!!

In the exciting world of the California Irvine Mission, this week was the last week of the transfer so Friday and Saturday were pretty anxious days waiting for trainers calls and transfer calls. Unfortunately Elder Nielsen got both so tomorrow our companionship is being split up and he gets to train somebody else somewhere else. I'm so glad I got to be taught by him and that we could become good friends but I know that he is needed elsewhere now. It will interesting to have to lead out my area and adjust to a new companion but I know that it will help me grow.

Bobby got baptized this week!!! It was such a spiritual experience to be there. His sister spoke on baptism and read her journal entry from 15 years ago when she got baptized, it was so cool to see how happy she was and happy their whole family was. It was also super cool that her husband, Thomas, baptized both her and Bobby. Being able to see Bobby finally get baptized was so amazing and helped me realize how important this work is because as happy as his family here was I am sure that Heavenly Father was way happier and that's what's most important. I can't wait until we can help Cam make this important step next week as well and then hopefully the week after that with Ross. Mostly I feel blessed to be able to help these people and help my Heavenly Father and to be able to see the success I have seen so early in my mission. I am sure that their will be tough times ahead but life is always tough so no matter what we need to keep having faith and doing what is right and our Father in Heaven will take care of us because he loves us so much and always wants us to be happy. This church is so true, Jesus is the Christ and the son of God, Joseph Smith was a prophet and these people are good and I need to be with them!

Love,

Elder Cheever

The Book of Mormon is Amazing

The Book of Mormon is amazing. I love sharing it with people and I love reading it.

This week was pretty awesome. This week we were able to get both Bobby and Cam interviewed for baptism and they both passed! They are both so excited for their upcoming baptisms and we can't wait to watch them make this important step. Its so awesome to see the change the gospel brings to people's lives whether it be over a span of 15 years or 6 months. This week we also picked up a new investigator who is the exact definition of a "Golden Investigator." We got a call from a girl in the Newport Coast YSA ward saying she had a friend who lives in San Clemente who she gave a copy of The Book of Mormon to and that in 2 weeks he was halfway through it and that he had been going to institute. We met up with him on Thursday and he told us he was in Mormon chapter 7 and told us he planned to finish it that night. Before we even began teaching him the Restoration he told us that he had some questions concerning baptism and about serving a mission eventually but that he figured he should finish The Book of Mormon before we got there. We told him a little about the process and then got right into the lesson which went really well. We met with him the next day and he told us he had saved reading Moroni 9 and 10 so that he could read it with us, which was super cool and after we finished that he prayed to know if it was true and after sitting quietly for a second got up and wrote "yes" on the chalkboard, after this we taught him the Plan of Salvation which he liked as well. He was at church on Sunday and said he liked the sense of community in the ward and how kind people were because a huge amount of ward members introduced themselves to him. Its amazing to see such an impressive miracle occur in such a short span of time and it shows how powerful praying for miracles with faith can be.
Besides Ross being at church I also had the crazy experience of Ben and Trace, two of my roommates from BYU, showing up at our ward. It was super good to see them, they were in California for the BYU - UCLA game and they decided to look up my ward and say hi. However seeing as visits from friends and families are against the rules Elder Nielsen and I were a little peeved. The most important thing, however, in seeing them was the fact that it reconfirmed for me the fact that this is where I need to be. I miss being at school and spending time with my friends but I know that this is so much more important and that the Lord needs me to be here working to bring his children back to his presence and I would rather be here than anywhere else.

On Friday we spent the majority of the day in Irvine for Zone Conference. Elder Craig A. Cardon of the First Quorum of the Seventy came and spoke with us about the importance of the Gift of the Holy Ghost. It was amazing to feel the Spirit with which he spoke and that he had about him. I had many questions answered from him, his wife, and President and Sister Orgill.

I love being in this mission so much and I feel so blessed to be seeing the success that I am so early in my mission. The average number of baptisms here is one per year per missionary and to be able to have the possibility of three in my first three transfers is so amazing and I'm so glad that I have this chance to serve the Lord in bringing his children to him because even though the numbers are important what is more important is the people we bring closer to our Heavenly Father. I have come to realize how important missionary work is in the gospel and our roles as members of this church in sharing the happiness that we have with everybody. I love being a member of this church and I know that it is God's restored church on the earth today. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that he did restore the church and translate The Book of Mormon. I know that we are led by prophets and apostles today and I can't wait to have the opportunity to hear from them at conference. I know that when we pray and have faith in our Heavenly Father he will bless us with all that we need. And finally I know that these people are good and I need to be with them.

Love

Elder Cheever

This Week Re-Enforced My Testimony of the Book of Mormon

We are so excited for Cam and Bobby. Bobby's baptism is on the 27th and Cam's is on the 3rd of October!

I love every time that I get to teach somebody and help them learn about the gospel.

Its weird being in a singles ward here where its mostly older singles who have careers and stuff, like last night at dinner we were at a member of the bishopric's house with a bunch of people in the ward and they were talking with Nielsen and the sisters and I and they all felt really old when we said we were born in 95 and 96 since they ranged from 30 to 34 years old. They asked if they seem old to me and honestly 30 doesn't seem old it just is a whole different stage of life and maturity since 10 years is a lot but I still love this ward.

This week was super good but also super long feeling cause so much happened. A huge focus of our week has been on "Flooding the Earth with the Book of Mormon" On Tuesday I was on exchanges with Elder Larsen, one of my Zone Leaders. It was so much better than my last exchange. We had a super good day and even found a potential investigator. We got to have a lesson with Cam and we finished all the lessons! So now all we have left is to interview him and pray until he is baptized. Later that night we went to institute with Cam and he brought another cousin of his, also named Giorgio, and he told us he liked what he heard about the Book of Mormon and that he wants to learn more so we are hopefully gonna meet with him this week and teach him more about it.

On Thursday we had Zone Training Meeting and President Ellis, a member of the mission presidency, talked to us about how important it is to share the Book of Mormon and talked about President Benson's talk about flooding the Earth with the Book of Mormon which went perfectly with our zone's goal of placing 249 copies of the Book of Mormon this transfer. After ZTM Nielsen and I had to get the brakes replaced on our car so we walked around and were able to place one, and then we met a nonmember at the stake center setting up for Boy Scouts Round Table and we were able to give him one too, then we gave one to the member we had dinner with and committed him to share it with somebody, and then right before we had to go home we gave another one to a boy in a park. This week we have given five to nonmembers and three to members who will hopefully keep the commitment we gave them and give them to somebody they know.

On Saturday we got to go on an adventure to Oceanside, which is in the Carlsbad mission, to help SOI cut down a tree in one of the Chaplains' yard. It took all day long but it was a lot of fun doing it and it was so awesome to see how grateful the Chaplain and his wife were for the service we provided. It did make us glad we got called to the Irvine mission though where its not humid and there aren't bugs. We had some bad news during the day; our investigator Giorgio, the first cousin Cam brought to church, decided he wasn't interested in learning more about the church which was really sad to hear, but then we had a little miracle on Sunday.  A girl in the Newport Coast YSA ward called us and told us she has a friend who has been reading the Book of Mormon and is now half way through it. He lives in San Clemente so we are going to try to get in contact with him and hopefully be able to pick him up as an investigator and help build his faith.

I love being able to share the gospel here and I know that the Book of Mormon is one of our biggest tools in doing so. I know that it is true and that it testifies of Christ. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that he translated the plates into the amazing book we have now. I know that if anybody reads it and prays to know of its truth with real intent, they will receive a witness of it from the Holy Ghost. Since I am a missionary and inviting people to make commitments is what we do I want to challenge all of you to either read it again if you have not for a while and to then pray to know somebody that you can share a copy of the Book of Mormon with. I know that if you make the effort to bless somebody's life with this book, Heavenly Father will provide you with the opportunity. I love being here and being a servant of our Heavenly Father, this church is true, and Jesus Christ is our Savior, and these people are good and I need to be with them.

Love

Elder Cheever

This week has re-enforced my testimony of the Book of Mormon so much

It Was a Learning Experience This Week

This week was pretty good. So that was Bobby in the picture [posted last week]. His sister is the one that sent it. She got baptized because of a guy so that's why Bobby has been around the church for such a long time but just hasn't gotten baptized. But it's finally happening so we're excited. 

 

 Our dinner with Bobby and his sisters family was amazing. We talked about the plans for his baptism and how they want to do all of it. When Bobby asked his brother in law to be the one to baptize him the Spirit was so strong and they all started crying and it made Nielsen and I so happy to see him finally ready to make this big step especially since this will be the first baptism for both of us, not that numbers matter. I love seeing how happy the gospel makes people and I want to share it with everybody which sucks since not everybody wants to hear it. That was definitely my favorite experience so far. I also had my least favorite too.  On Friday I went on exchanges with this guy in our district and the day was awful. The first thing he said when he got in my car was "I'm so glad I don't have to do anything tomorrow" and he stuck too that. We had a window of heaven and he didn't say a word to anybody and walked a good 15 feet behind me. It ended up feeling like just a waste of a day and I hated myself for it. The only good thing from the day was getting to teach Cam and that he is now for sure getting baptized on the 3rd of October. We also were able to meet with a less active member of our ward, who, when we were talking with him, told us he was starting to think about coming to church again because he read some articles that talked about cities sunken in giant lakes in Belize and he figured that supported the Book of Mormon a lot so hopefully we can keep helping him and get him back to church. But it was a learning experience this week because I got to see both sides of missionary work, obedient and diligent and successful in our time with Bobby and disobedient and lazy on my exchange and it taught me a lot about the kind of missionary I want to strive to be, and not only the kind of missionary but also the kind of person. As we strive to be obedient we will be happier in our lives and I have had countless examples of that. We also bring ourselves closer to our Heavenly Father and he will be more willing to bless us abundantly. In Abraham 3 it talks about a lot of confusing stuff but the most important thing in it is that Abraham was taught the importance of closeness to God and that's what we always need to do in our lives is draw closer to God through following the perfect example of our Savior and living up to the potential we have as children of God. 

I love this work. I know our Heavenly Father loves all of us and wants happiness for us and he will give that to us as we come closer too him. I know the atonement is real and that Jesus is the Christ and that through him we can improve ourselves daily. I'm grateful for the power of prayer and I feel the prayers directed to me and to other missionaries and I love being able to talk to my Heavenly Father whenever I need strength beyond my own. I love being here, these people are good, and I need to be with them.

Love,

Elder Cheever

We Are All Children of God and He Loves All of Us So Much

Monday night we got to meet with Cam because he was down from San Francisco for the weekend. It was super awesome. We taught him the Law of Chastity, which is a lot less awkward when they already live it, and about eternal marriage, temple, and family history. Cam loves the church so much. We set a baptismal date for September 19th!!! He is so excited but also nervous because he hasn't seen a baptismal service yet so we are going to try and find one in the mission that we can go to with him. Its so cool to see the bond we have made with him and the faith he has. Last night he even reminded Nielsen and I to say our prayers before we went to sleep which was pretty funny to have an investigator remind the missionaries.

On Tuesday we met with his cousin Giorgio again. He told us he had been reading the Book of Mormon which was perfect since our lesson was all about the Book of Mormon. After we taught him and answered questions we did a mini church tour and showed him pictures of the Quorum of the Twelve and the First Presidency and talked about them and then we showed him pictures of different Book of Mormon stories to help him understand more.

On Wednesday we met with Bobby and encouraged him to stick with his date of September 26th. We watched President Eyring's talk "This Day" and talked more about how we feel he is ready to be baptized. He has been around the church for such a long time and his testimony of the gospel is so strong.

On Sunday we got to teach the same marine we taught last week. He started reading the Book of Mormon too! He is Jewish but told us he likes a lot of what we believe and likes the Book of Mormon. After reading it though he was concerned about what would happen to him if he gets deployed and kills people since the gospel is about peace. We told him about President Hinckley's talk "War and Peace" Its so great that we have modern day prophets who speak the words that people in our time need to hear.

I love this place so much even with the crazy driving and traffic and strange people we see walking around. We are all children of God and he loves all of us so much. Sometimes I feel like Alma and Amulek and the Sons of Mosiah where I can't stand to think of people suffering because they aren't able to return to live with Heavenly Father. I love helping people and having this chance to serve the Lord with my whole heart everyday. I love these people and they are good and I need to be with them.

Love

Elder Cheever

Elders Cheever and Nielsen with Bobby

This week was interesting and fun and amazing

This week was interesting and fun and amazing. Interesting started on Monday when we were going to the stake center and got mooned by a homeless man,  which is a pretty scary experience. But Tuesday made up for it with transfer meeting. I said goodbye to some friends who went home and then was surprised when Elder Nielsen didn't get transferred but I'm super happy he didn't. The best things that happened this week however came from prayer. We have been praying to find those prepared to hear the gospel as we always do and a couple weeks ago Cam's cousin Giorgio came to FHE and then church on Sunday without Cam even being there, he moved to San Francisco. We met with him on Wednesday, I think - the days all blur together now, and taught him the restoration. He liked it a lot and wants to keep learning more. Cam then told us on Saturday he was coming down for the weekend and would probably bring more family members to Sacrament meeting so "they can feel the Holy Ghost", his words exactly - this guy is a stud, during my personal study out of nowhere I had a prompting to pray that Cam and someone from his family would make it to church and then before companion study Elder Nielsen  prayed for the exact same thing. At church Giorgio ended up coming and so did Cam which was amazing because previously both of them said they might not make it.

As a new Zone we made a goal to pass out 249 copies of the Book of Mormon to people who would sincerely read it. That number is special because it is also the missions goal for baptisms this year. The math to that number breaks down to about 4 copies per companionship per week for the next six weeks. Elder Nielsen and I managed to give out one to Giorgio after our lesson with him so that was one. Then we were going contacting at some outlooks in a city called Dana Point and we said a prayer that we would be able to pass one out to contribute to the goal. As we were walking we saw a  girl who even was YSA age walking her dogs so we asked her if she has ever talked to missionaries and she said yes, the day before,  even to other missionaries in our district. She said she wanted to know more so we were able to give her a Book of Mormon which was an awesome answer to our prayer. On Saturday we had a window in the same place and we walked past a guy who said he wasn't interested but then when we walked past him again after he finished a beer he was totally willing to talk to us and told us about how he was the black sheep in his family and had done some crazy things but that he was trying to follow Jesus. The whole time he talked I wanted to give him a Book of Mormon and tell him about Alma and the Sons of Mosiah and how they were referred to as the vilest of sinners but through the Atonement became some of the greatest men ever, but we left without doing it and I felt awful. As we were praying to close our window I opened my eyes and saw him walking by our car so as soon as Nielsen said amen I ran out of the car and grabbed a Book of Mormon and ran over to him and started telling him about Alma and he told me to write what I was saying in a note to him so I wrote my testimony of the Atonement and the Book of Mormon on the front page and gave it to him.

So never doubt the power of prayer or the Atonement because Heavenly Father will always answer prayers said in faith and he will always give us a second chance when we mess up. I have seen that so much in peoples live here and have felt it in my own. I love being here acting as an instrument in the Lord's hand and helping bring his children to them and thinking about leaving even if it is two years away makes me sad. I love these people, they are SO good, and I need to be with them.

Love

Elder Cheever

Also, I finally ate sushi. Its not as gross as I always thought but given the choice I will take my food cooked

Some pictures

This guy is awesome. You can't read his name tag but it says Elder Madsen. It was funny to hear it at first but now Madsen doesn't even seem like my name

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This is my district, pre-transfer, when we were at the temple

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This one is slightly more normal of us. The short guy next to me is Elder Christensen and he's one of my favorite people here. My comp is the blonde guy next to the short Elder on the right

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This Week was Good

I don't have much time and I'm on my iPad so it's gonna be brief.

This week was good. Cam moved to San Fransisco but is still gonna get baptized here. He is so excited to get baptized and even got his cousin to start investigating, which is awesome, so we may start teaching him and maybe two more in the next week, which is great. I love doing this with all my heart. I love my Savior and my Father in Heaven. These people are good and I need to be with them.

Love Elder Cheever

Small and simple things

This week was kind of a lame week. It went by quick but not too much happened, it feels like, which I'm sure will happen plenty of times. We were able to set a baptismal date with Bobby, September 26th, so for right now we are trying to keep him focused on that even though we would like him to be baptized sooner because he is super ready and has a really strong testimony. When we meet with Cam tomorrow we are going to try to get him to commit to a date too and I think he will and then as long as he continues keeping the Word of Wisdom he will be able to be baptized! When we asked Omar if he would want to be baptized he even said, "yes", which was super awesome since the first time we asked him he said he didn't see the point. We have struggled with being able to meet with Jose Martinez because he has been super busy and has been a little upset about the last elders leaving but, get this, just right now as I was typing about Omar we saw him in the library where we are, which was super awesome and he told us he would try to meet with us this week! It's super cool to see how Heavenly Father works in little ways like that. On Saturday while we were doing some service with a bunch of other missionaries, Elder Gee (an elder in my district) and I had the chance to talk to a guy named Carlos. He had a thick Spanish accent and it was really hard to understand what he was saying, especially with the mariachi music in the background, but it sounded like he was looking for something else in his life and luckily enough he lives in the same apartment complex as some of the Spanish elders so I got his name and his apartment number and then told the Spanish elders about him so hopefully they are able to teach him. I love finding people even if I have to pass them on to other missionaries because we are all on the same team and we all love getting referrals. I had to give a talk this week and I still hate it just as much. I didn't know what to speak on and I was praying about it but during our zone training meeting we were looking up a scripture and I got distracted (as usual) and read Doctrine and Covenants 68:6 that says "Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come." Right then I realized that's what I should talk about. Supposedly it was good since lots of people in the ward said they liked it, even the ones who we don't usually talk to. So I guess this week is about , whether it be my investigators progressing, or getting to help out some other missionaries, or getting little bits of inspiration that help out. I know that all of us can do the same thing so don't ignore the little things that happen in your week, look back and see what little things have happened and how you have been blessed or how you have helped others through these little things.

I love this work, I love my Father in Heaven, I love my Savior Jesus Christ who, I can testify, is the Son of God and I know these people are good and I need to be with them.

Love,

Elder Cheever