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

Fear not little flock

This week was good. I got to leave the mission on Monday to go to Oceanside to help Elders Toland and Losee serve one of the Chaplains from on base. He was so thankful to have our help and he was a really great guy. We helped them move out another lady the other day and she said we were true men of God. I love serving people and seeing how happy it makes them and how thankful they are for it. On Saturday we got to go to dinner with Cam, his sister, a family friend of theirs and her daughter. They were all super thankful for the work we are doing even though they are Catholic but we had the chance to give Cam's family friend a copy of the Book of Mormon and she said she would read it and that she wishes she had sons who could do this and that we are angels so it felt really good to know that even nonmembers are so thankful for the work we are doing. The main focus of this week for me I think is overcoming fear. As you know I usually hate talking to people I don't know so I made a goal with Elder Christensen this week to get better at contacting and it has helped so much. I have talked to just about everybody I see on the streets. In three days I got like 70 contacts which was super awesome. And then today, while reading the Book of Mormon in Moroni 8:16, Mormon tells Moroni, "Behold, I speak with boldness, having authority from God; and I fear not what man can do" This was super cool to see because we need to not fear what man can do to us because we need to share the gospel with everybody and if we do so with Heavenly Father on our side he will protect us. So to go a long with that share the gospel, tell your friends, post on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram, share conference talks or Mormon Messages. Its not hard and Heavenly Father will strengthen you against whatever the adversary has to throw at you, as my Mom's favorite scripture says "Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail." So fear not little flock

This work is so great and so much fun. I love working with all the missionaries here and finding people who are ready to hear the truth. I know this is God's restored church on the Earth today and that the Book of Mormon is true and that by reading it and praying for that confirmation anybody can come to know that truth too. These people are good and I need to be with them.

Love,

Elder Cheever