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