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