The End.

We didn't get the chance to email yesterday due to the libraries being closed so we are doing it today. It is pretty crazy to realize that this is my last weekly email to you. There were some pretty cool things that happened this week that helped me to realize the good that I have done on my mission and to know that I have accomplished what I needed to while I was out here. Seeing as I'm going home soon I've been getting in touch with people who I taught that got baptized. On Wednesday we had lunch with a man named Ross Carlson, his story is one that has touched my life greatly and that has impacted a lot of people in the past two years. He was taught when I was in the San Clemente YSA ward after a member from the Newport Coast YSA ward referred him to us. When we started teaching him he only had two chapters left to read in the Book of Mormon, after being given it two weeks prior, and before we even said the opening prayer for our first lesson he told us he wanted to be baptized and to serve a mission someday.  Even more amazing than his initial faith though is what the gospel has done for his life. When we first met him he was living on the streets of San Clemente but just prior to his baptism he was able to move in with somebody in the Saddleback YSA ward, and then shortly after his baptism he was able to find a job, then a few months after his baptism he was married to another member of one of the singles wards. Him and his wife Sierra are now sealed in the temple and have a two month old daughter, Ross is in school and progressing to the career he has always wanted, and he is constantly sharing the gospel with those around him and his testimony and his member missionary efforts have even led to the baptisms of people he has met. All of this just proves to me without a doubt that our Heavenly Father knows each of us and He has provided this gospel for us and He is just waiting to pour blessings upon us, all we have to do is accept it and follow Him and Christ faithfully and He will supply our needs.

On Thursday I had the chance to visit Ryland, a 12 year old girl that Elder Summers and I taught as companions in the Lake Forest ward. Her mother is less active and her father isn't a member but she faithfully attended activity days and one day decided she wanted to go to church and then a couple of weeks after that she wanted us to teach her so that she could be baptized. Ryland is still very active in the church and plans on serving a mission when she is old enough. Her family is moving to Utah in June for her fathers work which will provide her the opportunity to have the church present in her life even more and will give Elder Summers and I the chance to visit them while we are at BYU.

On Friday we had our usual soccer night with investigators and less active members and youth. Brock Gieszl, another person who Elder Summers and I taught, was there. He is another great example of somebody who has fully accepted the gospel in his life. Shortly after his baptism, Brock and his friend Jack (who originally invited Brock to church) invited another friend of theirs who was also baptized, and now in a couple of weeks they have another friend who will be baptized, and in August Brock leaves to serve in the Michigan Lansing Mission, under President Brennan, who was just released as the stake president here in the Santa Margarita stake.

On Saturday we were able to have dinner with the other two people that I taught who were baptized while I was in the San Clemente YSA ward, Bobby Baniasad and Cam Saliba. These two are one of the greatest teams of member missionaries that I have ever met. Anytime the missionaries have investigators or less actives they are working with Bobby and Cam make them feel right at home and help them become integrated in the ward.Bobby went received his endowment at the temple just a couple of months ago, and on Sunday he had the chance to ordain Cam to the office of an Elder in the Melchizedek priesthood. Cam plans to go to BYU-Idaho in the fall and is now thinking about serving a mission. There at the dinner with us was Cam's cousin Gio who has been interested in the church and who has been taught a few times, another guy named Brandon who Bobby and Cam helped teach and who Bobby baptized, a guy named Alex who is becoming active in the church again, and Alex's roommate who is going to start meeting with the missionaries. 

I'm so grateful for the chance I have had to get to know all of these amazing people and to be able to consider them as my friends. I truly understand the feelings of Ammon in Alma chapter 26 as he glories in the chance he had to be an instrument in the Lord's hand. I'm so glad that almost two years ago I acted on the testimony that I had to serve a mission and to come out here. I'm grateful for the trials I have gone through and for all that I have learned. I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father saw fit to reach out to Joseph Smith so that the Church of Jesus Christ could be restored on the earth today. I know that this is Christ's church, that Joseph Smith was a prophet called to begin the establishment of the kingdom of God here on the earth in this great and last dispensation. I know that he really did translate the Book of Mormon, and that that book truly is from our Father in Heaven, that it bares testimony of Jesus Christ as our Savior and Redeemer, even the promised Messiah of the Old and New Testaments and that as Joseph Smith once said "A man would get  nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book." And I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He came to live to be our perfect example, that He died to atone for the sins of all mankind, and that He lives today, exalted high at the right hand of His Father. He knows me personally and its through Him that I can do all things and that I can be worthy to stand clean and pure before my Heavenly Father again some day. I love Him and will follow Him for the rest of my life. I am deeply and humbly grateful for the miracle that my mission has been for my life, I know that I will never be the same in the very best of ways, and I say this in the name of Him whose name I have borne for these two years, even Jesus Christ, amen.

Elder Cheever

We rescued a dog in an apartment complex, some amazing members brought me a little taste of home, and pictures from the temple this morning. Elder Nattress is the short one and Elder Blue is the one who looks like Buzz Lightyear.

Castillo's excited for baptism

Pedro Castillo is fully recovered from his heart attack last weekend and the whole family is very excited for their baptism coming up. Pedro told us that he sees the heart attack as a message from God and as a chance for a new life physically prior to beginning a new life spiritually after baptism. We talked with him and Nelly this week about tithing and the word of wisdom and all the concerns that they had previously are gone which is a great miracle.

We were able to have a lesson with the Outhwaites again this week as well. They are still doing super good and asked good questions.

Monday was transfer day so we picked up Elders Blue and Nattress and since Elders Mann and Tree were going home on Tuesday we all had to stay together in a crew that we titled the "5-panionship" It was a party at dinner and at the Castillos that night. I'll include pictures of it.

The reality of going home soon is beginning to hit me a lot harder than I thought it would. This week felt like it went by really slowly and the two weeks left are looming in front of me like an unconquerable mountain. Fortunately I really enjoy the ward I'm serving in and we have a lot of work to do that can help keep me more focused. 

There is a good chance that this will be my second to last real email. Monday the 5th is my last Monday and instead of pday we will be having a zone conference with Elder Valeri Cordon of the 70. It will be cool to hear from general authority and to say goodbye to lots of my friends the day before I go home but it probably means that I wont get to email that day. But as Joseph Smith says in Doctrine and Covenants 128:22 "Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel, who hath ordained, before the world was, that which would enable us to redeem them out of their prison; for the prisoners shall go free."

The people here are good, and I love them so much, and I need to be with them; even if its only for 2 more weeks.

Love

Elder Cheever

Last new companions

We had a good week. We were able to meet with the Castillo's and with the Outhwaites. The Castillos are still on for baptism on June 10th which is very exciting. We are going to begin meeting with the Outhwaites regularly again so thats good too. We picked up a new investigator named Dean from the Spanish elders. On Saturday we had a super awesome meeting with Elder W. Craig Zwick of the 70. The Spirit was so strong during the meeting and I was able to gain a lot of understanding and inspiration. On Saturday Pedro Castillo had a small heart attack. He had surgery and is recovering but prayers for that family would be greatly appreciated. On Saturday we also found out what is happening for the next transfer. I will now be companions with Elder Blue and Elder Nattress. Elder Blue is from Gilbert, Arizona and Elder Nattress is from Fruitland, Idaho. They have both been out for quite a while and are both really good missionaries so I'm excited. There were a lot of changes in the zone and some of my really good friends got moved. Its a good thing we have a small mission so we see each other a lot.

We have a lot going on in the area right now and I think Elder Blue and Elder Nattress will help the work move along nicely. I'm excited for these next three weeks and all the work that I have to do. My hope is to finish strong and not shrink. During our meeting on Saturday we watched a video that showed the growth of the church from the beginning as just a few people in a small home to all that it is now. As the video played the Spirit was so strong and I truly felt that this work is God's and that He has a plan for all of how it will continue to progress. I'm so grateful to be a missionary and to be able to share this amazing gospel message with the people here in Rancho Santa Margarita. This is Christ's church on the earth today, He is our Savior and Friend. The Book of Mormon testifies of Him and His atoning sacrifice and through it we can really come to know Him personally. The church today is led by a prophet called by God and give authority from God to guide and direct us. I love this place and this work.

Love,

Elder Cheever

Never forget the miracles you see in the Lord's work

This week was super good! We ended up seeing some super cool miracles and having some great experiences.

Monday and Tuesday were pretty regular days. Tuesday was filled with a couple of big service projects so we spent most of the day on that.

On Wednesday I had my departing interviews with President and Sister Clark. It was kind of funny to talk about dating and marriage knowing that I still have a month left to do missionary work but I did get some good advice from President Clark. Later in the day we visited with a less active man named David who we have been working with recently. He has some medical issues that keep him from getting out much so we are some of his only friends. He has expressed a desire to be able to go to the temple this year and he has shared some of the concerns that he needs to overcome before he can reach that point so we have been trying to help him with that. It was Elder Tree's birthday so we had an awesome dinner with one of our favorite families in the ward.

We were able to have dinner with May Outhwaite on Thursday with some members of the ward and she told us that she has just been super busy lately and that's why she has been MIA but she said she is almost done with Alma now which is so cool! After dinner we went to watch Peter's soccer game which was a ton of fun. Then we went to visit Sherman and Iria, a couple we have been trying to work with. Sherman is a less active member from San Diego and Iria is his nonmember girlfriend. Sherman's brother got back from his mission not too long ago so they went to see his homecoming talk which led Iria to be a lot more curious about the church and she said she would be willing to listen to the lessons and learn more about it and Sherman was super supportive of that. Iria and her son Diego were there on Thursday night so we were able to teach them the restoration lesson. They really loved it and were both super excited to read the Book of Mormon and to pray about it. Our goal for this week is to set a baptism date with them and to get them to church so hopefully it works out.

On Friday we had a good Plan of Salvation lesson with a less active man we are working with named Don. He recently was ordained to be a priest after being a deacon for 50 years of inactivity so now we are working on getting him to be ready for the Melchizedek priesthood as well.

Saturday was a super awesome day. In the morning I got to go for a baptism in the South Coast ward for a man named Jazz Montgomery. Over a year ago when I was in the ward for the first time I included this in my email home "we tried to stop by one of the people who said we could come by and before we left to do that I had prayed that we would have the opportunity to meet with our intended person or that, if we didn't get that chance, we would be able to find somebody we could teach and begin helping in their life. Unfortunately the lady we were trying to visit wasn't home but as we were leaving the neighborhood we were able to stop and talk to a man named Jazz and share the Restoration lesson with him. When we invited him to church he said he would definitely check it out because he has been praying to find a church in the area that speaks English and that has the whole truth so he doesn't get led away. It was so cool to see that in this one contact Heavenly Father answered both of our prayers and was able to start helping Jazz find the truth that he is looking for." We never were able to work with him more but that doesn't mean that Heavenly Father wasn't working with him. About a month ago the elders in the ward contacted him again and began teaching him. The man who gave the talk on baptism spoke of his mission 40 years ago in Taiwan and how you work as hard as you can as a missionary and then the Lord throws you a bone. He told a story of a man they we referred to who gave up everything to be able to be baptized and how he would never forget that miracle that happened there. Without knowing my part of Jazz's story he talked about sometimes you plant a seed and it takes time to take root but that none of us would ever forget the miracle that was taking place that day in Santa Ana as Jazz got baptized. In my patriarchal blessing it mentions that as I share my testimony it will reach the hearts of people, some of whom will wait until a later time and will then accept the gospel and be led into the waters of baptism and onto the path back to our Heavenly Father. It was so amazing to see a promise given me by Father fulfilled in such a marvelous and literal way and it was amazing to see Jazz enter into that covenant path. That night we had an awesome ward adult conference in which we heard from Brad Wilcox, a well known Mormon author and teacher at BYU. He gave an amazing speech on grace and what it is and what it does for us. After he spoke we were helping to take down and Pedro Castillo spoke to Bishop Baker and told him that they had decided on a date. Bishop told us afterward so that was all the talk in our ward correlation and ward council meetings on Sunday and then a member of the bishopric announced it during Sacrament meeting. The family has decided to be baptized on June 10th. We are all so excited for them to make that step in coming closer to Christ. I'm a little bummed that I wont be there in person to see it happen but yesterday during testimony meeting Peter and Pedro both got up and bore their testimonies and as they did so I felt a lot of peace about all of it. Its amazing to see a whole family accept this gospel and to see the change it has made for them and for them to recognize that change as well. I love it here and I can't wait for the other miracles that are in store as I work hard in the next month!

Love

Elder Cheever

My last transfers worth of time in the mission

This week was pretty regular. We weren't able to meet with the Castillo's because they had a very busy schedule but they were all at church and then Peter and Pedro went to the Priesthood preview that the ward had. Peter is excited to be able to get the Aaronic Priesthood when he turns 12 and I think that that will be a motivating factor for Pedro in deciding when his family gets baptized. They Outhwaites were unresponsive again this week, its sad to see such an awesome family drop off the face of the earth but we continue to pray for them and reach out to them. I got to go on exchanges in the Lake Forest ward with Elder Center. It was good to spend some time with a good friend and to visit people I knew while I was there. We visited a less active that Elder Summers and I worked with and had a good time with him.

We had a really awesome 5th Sunday discussion from the bishopric here in the ward and I realized how much the Spirit was there and then I realized how often the bishopric at home probably did the same thing but that I just didn't pay any attention so I missed out on learning from people who really cared about me. Hopefully the youth of the ward can learn to listen to the Bishop and to pay attention because when he talks he is sharing all the love he has and it can change lives if they learn from the things he says. I'm grateful for the amazing Bishop's I had growing up and I'm so grateful that I had Bishop Suppes as I went through high school. He really cared about me and my decisions and did his best to make sure that my friends and I turned out okay.

I'm into my last transfers worth of time in the mission but I have found that I am no more trunky with 5 weeks left than I have been at other times in my mission. I just made the decision that I want to focus on my mission and the task at hand and go out as strong as I possibly can. I love this place and the chance to serve as a representative of Jesus Christ. I recently memorized "The Living Christ" and yesterday I finished reading The Book of Mormon focusing on finding the names and titles of Christ and on marking His words. In doing this my testimony of Him has grown tremendously and I have come to realize how much more He has been and needs to be in my life. I encourage each of you to study "The Living Christ" and to find ways to focus on Him more and rely on Him and His Atoning sacrifice in all that you do. As you do problems will be solvable, fears will fade away, and peace will prevail in your life.

Love

Elder Cheever

Positive experience for the Castillo family

This was a good week. We met with the Castillo's on Thursday and read the Book of Mormon with them more. This weekend there was a baptism of a 15 year old girl and her mother in one of the wards in the stake. The girl's father and step-mother were baptized in September which led to the baptism this weekend, its a really cool story. The Castillo family came to see it and it was a very positive experience for all of them. They definitely felt the Spirit, and Peter, the son, said he is more excited to get baptized now. After the baptism President Clark put his nametag on Peter's shirt and we all took pictures with our "new" president. The whole family really enjoyed it and have begun to consider even more seriously when they will get baptized.

 We tried to meet with the Outhwaites but they were busy. Ever since they returned from their vacation their schedule has changed and it has been harder to meet with them and they haven't been to church. Hopefully we can meet with them this week and figure out what the concern is. 

On Friday we had the cool opportunity to attend the temple with all of the missionaries going home this transfer as well as President and Sister Clark. It was great to see some old friends as well as to be in the temple with our wonderful mission leaders.

Last night the ward had a youth fireside where all the kids shared which talk they liked and why and bore testimony of it. It was great to see all of these kids putting principles from conference into their lives, especially since a few of them will be graduating this year and going off to college, BYU but even there you have to decide for yourself if the whole church thing is really as important as you are always told it is. Its so wonderful that we have modern day Prophets and Apostles who can lead us and inspire us through the pitfalls of life. 

Well that's about it for this week.

Love

Elder Cheever

Glad I still have a couple months left

We had a pretty good week here. The most exciting things were our lessons with the Castillo's and the Outhwaite's. When we visited the Outhwaite's we taught the restoration directed towards Brendan. He hasn't been taught that yet and we started noticing that not knowing some things was slowing his progress down. He asked really good questions about prophets and he told us that Joseph and the first vision all makes sense to him. We hope that we can keep having good lessons like that with May and Brendan together so that they can progress as a family. We had dinner with the Castillo's and then we read the 1 Nephi 1 with them. Pedro really enjoyed being able to get the beginning of the story and he told us that now that he knows how it starts he is going to get into more so he can see what happens with Nephi and his family. During church yesterday the primary kids did a musical number and before they sang Peter quoted John 3:16 from memory. Its so amazing to see how much the ward has welcomed them in and to see how the friends they have has led them to accept the gospel and build a greater testimony of Christ. We had a zone conference on Tuesday. It was crazy to hear the departing testimonies of a lot of my good friends and to realize that next transfer I'm going to be one of the people bearing a departing testimony. Its crazy how fast this has gone but I'm glad I still have a couple months left to work hard and invite others to come unto Christ.

Love

Elder Cheever