Find somebody you can serve

This week went by really fast so its kind of hard to remember what actually happened. We met with Brianna almost every day this week so that we could finish teaching her the lessons, we only have a few left at this point so the hope is that she can get baptized this weekend so it would be awesome if y'all could keep her in your prayers this week. We met with Robert again as well and had a long lesson with him, he has gotten to the point in his life where he needs to decide what he will do with the faith that he has but because of the challenges he faces with smoking he has a hard time pushing through to get to where he needs to be. We ended up being extremely blunt with him but as I spoke I could feel the Spirit so strongly and since then he has communicated with us a couple of times and it seems like he his going to work even harder to act on the faith he has. We had a lot of Japanese lessons as usual, but since most of them are teaching the people how to speak English I get to help out a good amount since I can speak English and one of them even taught me how to introduce myself and how to greet people in Japanese which is super cool. Maybe I'll learn this language some after all. On Saturday we went to a mainstream Christian church with some less-actives to listen to a motivational speaker named Nick Vujicic. He is a man who was born with out arms or legs and who struggled to be happy as a child but then one day while reading the Bible he read the story in John 9 about the man born blind so that the works of God could be manifested in him and he realized that maybe that's why he had no arms or legs, so that he could be an example and help others come to Christ. He spoke on faith and hope and how when these two things are centered in Jesus Christ we can be happy no matter what happens in our lives. As I listened I could tell that, because of the faith he has and because of the desire to help others come to find happiness through Christ, he has found true happiness in our lives. If you are ever feeling down on yourself or even if you want to see a man without arms or legs make jokes about himself and "walk" around on a table I would definitely look him up on Youtube. One thing he said stuck out to me a lot, he said "sometimes we don't see miracles, but that doesn't mean we can't be a miracle for somebody else." That's my challenge for this week, if you're having a bad day, or a bad week, or even a bad month; find somebody you can serve because you never know if you will be the miracle that they need and I can promise that through helping others you will begin to feel better yourself. I love being out here and can't wait to continue working hard because there are loads of good people out here, and they need the message that I have to share.

Love

Elder Cheever

Another crazy busy week

Okay so here is the week and I will close with yesterday's excitement that delayed my emailing.

We had another crazy busy week loaded with lessons and stuff so I'm only gonna touch on the really important things. We had lots of lessons with Japanese people and started talking with two new exchange students and they even came to church on Sunday. Because of Robert's text last week about being comfortable with the Catholic faith despite knowing the restored gospel to be true, I visited him with Brother Wood, our ward mission leader, to discuss his concerns. We didn't really get anywhere initially but when we were leaving Brother Wood was really blunt with him and it gave me a better idea of how we can help him in the future to realize that because of the testimony he has of the gospel its okay to like the way one of the guys in the Catholic church he goes to teaches as long as he also follows what he knows to be true through the Holy Ghost. We think that as we continue helping him quit smoking it will make a huge difference. We still haven't been able to have a real lesson with Mariah but she came to church on Sunday and loved being there, the sisters in Relief Society were super loving and welcomed her right in and miraculously she knew two of the priest's from high school and one of the women in relief society was one of her teachers so its quite obvious that little by little the Lord has been preparing her. We have been meeting with Brianna like crazy lately in hopes of preparing her for baptism on Saturday. It can be tough some days because we have to constantly review the things we taught so she understands them better and then because of her mental condition she will get way off tangent on stuff that is kinda weird and we have to help her understand better the way the Savior works and things like that. We have had dinners every night, which is also pretty miraculous, and because of that we have been building a great relationship with the ward and they are beginning to make efforts to do missionary work in their own lives which is amazing. I love this ward and this area so much even though it has only been three weeks here, hopefully I can stay for another transfer after this one. 

Alright now here is the crazy story from yesterday. In the morning we got up early to go mountain biking with Elder Brown and Elder Jones, Brown is Elder Summers' Co-District leader and Jones is one of our Zone Leaders (and my companion from the MTC.) Biking was super fun but eventually we had to stop and hike a little up a trail to get to where we planned on stopping to study, the trail ended a little farther up and it became walking up the lower parts of the mountain which was super fun and had some amazing scenery that I did not expect to find in California. When we got up to the top we messed around for a little while before planning on studying. Elder Jones and I ended up climbing up this outcropping that led to a cliff we could sit on but when we started going up we changed our minds but at that point we discovered that we weren't really sure how to get down. After sitting for a while we decided jumping down to a flat spot where we climbed up was the best option, remember even though we are missionaries we are also still dumb 19 year old boys. While Elder Jones got up the courage to make the leap I prayed that we would be okay and felt that it would be alright so Summers counted down from afar and Jones jumped. When he landed however his leg gave out and he toppled over and slid for a couple feet and then started moaning and didn't get up and at first we thought he was kidding until we realized he was actually hurt. It then became a crisis situation in which Elder Summers and I had to figure out how to get to the spot where Elder Brown was to then make our way down the mountain, to the trail, and then to our bikes. Elder Jones couldn't put any weight on his left leg so after we slid down the canyon we had to carry him so finally after 7 years all the stuff I learned in getting my Eagle came in use, however they don't tell you how exhausting it is carrying a 160 pound person down a mountain. Eventually we had two other elders come find us on the trail and then we put Elder Jones on one of the bikes and we helped push him along. The path that took about an hour to get up ended up taking three hours to get down with an injured person. When Elder Jones finally got his foot x-rayed he got told that he had suffered a spiral fracture of the fibia and a major sprain of the ankle, luckily he doesn't need surgery and will be able to stay out here. The whole day I kind of wondered why when I prayed I had the impression that if we jumped we would be okay and as I thought more on it I came to this conclusion; life can be a lot like a hike in the mountains and the decisions we make have a huge impact, when we make the wrong decisions it can take a very short amount of time for us to end up in a dangerous situation before we come to realize where we are and that we need the Lord's help. He has promised us that He will always be there no matter what mistakes we make and no matter what "cliffs" we trap ourselves on but He as also warned us that because of decisions we make there will be consequences that can sometimes lead to ourselves or others being hurt as we make the steps to return to the safety of His outstretched arms. From that point it can sometimes be a grueling "three hour trek" down from the mountain tops we trap ourselves on in which we have to rely on the help of those around us and on the help of principles of the gospel that we have been taught. As we do what's right we can eventually return safely to where we need to be in our lives and because of the "injuries" we have suffered we will learn (hopefully) and be better equipped to handle the challenges that will come in our way. While on my mission I have come to realize more fully that the Lord truly is there for each and every one of us and that because of Christ's Atoning sacrifice we can all receive the help and guidance we need. 3 Nephi 9:14 reads "Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me." I know this is true, I know our Father in Heaven and our Savior Jesus Christ love us and are always there for us with outstretched arms, we just have to turn to them and they will always catch us. I love this ward, the people I am teaching and helping, my companion, and all the friends I have made, the people out here are good and I need to be with them.

Love

Elder Cheever

We continued to see miracles and progression with our investigators

I don't think that I have had a week as busy as this one in a long time. We have a bunch of investigators (both in English and Japanese), less actives, missionary meetings, Japanese class, and of course member dinners that we have to do in a day that makes everyday jam packed with stuff. On Tuesday we go to an English class in the morning and help teach a bunch of Japanese moms with a member lady and then after that we teach a few of them even more on their own. Its super funny to listen to them try to pronounce and understand some of the words and the occasional slang that we use but then its not as funny when they all start talking in Japanese and I just sit there having no idea whats happening and hope that Elder Summers will translate for me. After we went to this we went to a park to teach a sort of less active lady in the ward and during the lesson she got up to take her dog to the bathroom and this grandma who was at the park with her granddaughter and great-granddaughter looked at us and asked us why we weren't in school so we told her about what we do and we ended up talking with her for a little bit and told her about the church and why it is that we are willing to give up two years of our life to share the gospel and she got super excited and told her granddaughter, Mariah, that she needed to come talk to us because we have an important message that she needed to hear. Mariah was really interested and wanted to learn more and then her grandma, Beth, asked where our church building was and we told her that it was just down the road,so she wanted to go see it so we all drove over to the building and ended up taking them on a tour of it which was super awesome. We tried all week to get Mariah to come to the institute classes and activities and she never responded so we started getting kind of bummed but then Saturday night when we invited her to the Stake Conference broadcast she finally responded and said that she would love to go, which was so good. 

The rest of the week we continued to see miracles and progression with our investigators who are all rather close to baptism which was amazing. Brianna calmed down a little bit and started making more sense, she has schizophrenia and some other issues so she tells us a lot of crazy stuff, and she even started reading the Book of Mormon and loves it and she came to the Stake Conference as well and really felt the Spirit and was uplifted by it. Greg D. committed to praying on his own for his wife's heart to be softened to allow him to be baptized and he committed to trying to get her to join him in prayer. Robert C. has caused us a ton of stress, however, at the beginning of the week he texted us and told us that he was ready to finally quit smoking and be baptized because he understands the importance of the Word of Wisdom and wants to obey his God and join the true church but then on Sunday afternoon he texted us again and told us that he was considering going back to his Catholic background which was a real bummer so now our plan is to talk to him and get him to understand the testimony that he has of the church and then bear testimony to him of the truthfulness of the gospel as well and hope that the Spirit can get to him. 

This area is a ton of fun and a ton of work, this week we were going nonstop from lesson to lesson which even though is a good thing because thats our job it was super exhausting and this coming week appears to be about the same but we know that as we wear out our lives, or at least our young minds, in the service of God and others we will be blessed. On Sunday we had a Stake Conference that was broadcast from Salt Lake to the western US and some of Canada that was amazing. Elder C. Scott Grow, Sister Bonnie Oscarson, Elder James J. Hamula, and Elder Dale G. Renlund all spoke and gave amazing talks. Elder Renlund talked about the importance of the Plan of Salvation and how when we come to realize that everything in life points to that Plan we will know more fully what we need to do in our lives to be better disciples. Hopefully his talk will be put on LDS.org so those of you not living on the west coast can read it and find strength in it. I love this work, I love this gospel, I love this area and the friends who I am serving with, and I love the people I am having the opportunity to help; they are good and I need to be with them.

Love

Elder Cheever

Good thing I got called to California not Japan

This week was awesome, we taught all sorts of lessons both in English and Japanese. I have learned that I don't know squat about the Japanese language and that I don't like traditional Japanese food so its a good thing I got called to California not Japan. We have a ton of work going on here right now and some pretty cool investigators, one is this 65 year old guy named Robert who has been investigating for about 36 years, he knows the standard works better than almost anybody I have ever met so it was super fun to discuss gospel topics with him, the only thing keeping him from getting baptized is smoking, which is a bummer. On Thursday, Elder James J. Hamula visited us for a zone conference and talked with us about the why, what, and how of missionary work. It was pretty amazing and was a huge help to me. This week there will be a multi-stake conference for all of the western U.S. that he will speak in as well as Elder Renlund. Apparently Elder Renlund's talk will be on LDS.org on Monday the 15th and apparently it will be amazing so look forward to that. I'm excited to be in Lake Forest and to see what will happen here. The ward members are super nice, the investigators are good and I know that for some reason that God has planned, I need to be here.

Love,

Elder Cheever

I get to start learning a little Japanese

There isn't much to share this week. We have been working really closely with Sister La to try and help her quit smoking and unfortunately she has been struggling with it but she isn't giving up yet so hopefully through faith and determination she will be able to quit. We did a lot with Elder Dallin this week too. Since he left Southcoast he has been struggling with depression and anxiety so he wanted to come up and see some members in the ward and say bye in case he went home early. Its sad to see somebody I have grown so close to struggle with something and not really have any way to help them. On Tuesday we did meet a guy while tracting who invited us to come back another day so we went over there again on Friday and we were able to share the Restoration with him and his wife, their names are Sergio and Evelyn, it was a pretty good lesson so hopefully they will continue progressing.

The weekend is when things got pretty nuts. On Thursday I texted Ross, for those who don't remember I taught and baptized him in San Clemente YSA, to invite him to a big meal thing some members were having for the missionaries and when he responded he told me he was getting married and said I was welcome to come down for it so that's what we did for most of the day Friday. It was awesome to be back down in my old area and visit some of my favorite places like the outlooks in Dana Point and then go to his wedding right by the pier. It was so amazing to see him again and to see him make this huge step and its so cool to see the change the gospel has made in his life. After the wedding we talked for a little bit and he told me that he would be getting the Melchizedek priesthood on Sunday, unfortunately I couldn't make it down there for that, and then we talked about how October he will be able to go through the temple for his Endowment and then in January him and his wife, Sierra, plan on being sealed in the San Diego Temple and there is a chance I will be able to get permission to go to that which would be so cool because the goal and purpose of missionary work is to find people, teach them the gospel of Jesus Christ, baptize them so they can enter the pathway to salvation, and then to have them be sealed together with their families for eternity.

The day wasn't all good though, while eating lunch in Dana Point I got a call from Elder Dallin saying he would be going home the next morning (Saturday) so that was some pretty sad news to get. Saturday morning we went to the airport with him and Elders Gunn, Payne, Hale, and Crump and also President Ellis. It was sad to say goodbye but I know it is what is best for him and I know that even though he is leaving the mission field he is leaving his areas better than he found them and he helped a ton of people, and he lives in Utah so I'll see him again when I go back to school. The rest of the day was pretty bluh after that until the night when we got transfer calls.

There are no more transfer meetings so we found out where we were going and who with then and there. Elder Greenberg is going to the Laguna Niguel ward with my good friend Elder Forthman, and I was originally going to stay in Southcoast and be joined by Elder Gibb but after some crazy stuff there were some last second changes and I no longer had a companion and I was told I would find out soon. On Sunday my zone leader called and told me that I will be put in a trio with Elders Garret and Johnson and we will double cover the Southcoast and Newport Beach 2nd wards. However, this didn't make sense since that area is on the other side of the zone, their church time interferes with the Southcoast time, and it leaves my district with an even number of elders and sisters (which is not allowed). Elder Lovgren, my district leader who isn't going home, decided he would talk to the Assistants to try and get it changed so that I was in a trio with him which would have been awesome because we get along really well and his new companion is going to be Elder Davies who was my last companion in San Clemente YSA, if this happened we would have double covered Newport Coast YSA and Southcoast wards which worked because they meet in the same building at the same time, it keeps me in the same district, and it is a lot easier to double cover when one of the wards encompasses the whole zone. So today while we were shopping I got a phone call from the Assistants again with new a new transfer assignment, I got really excited hoping our plan would work out but then, in a huge turn of events, they told me that I will be transferring to the Lake Forest ward in the Rancho Santa Margarita Stake, that my companion is Elder Summers (who is one of my friends from the MTC) and as the craziest of all, I will be joining him in doing Japanese work! That's right, now I get to start learning a little Japanese and sit and pretend to know whats happening in lessons. Its gonna be a huge change but I know its what I need to do and I know it will be an amazing experience.

I know that the Lord presents us with new challenges and opportunities to help us grow and progress. I know that even though times might get hard that through daily reliance on the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can be strengthened to withstand out toughest trials. I know that our Heavenly Father loves us and that he wants the best for us. I know that our Savior Jesus Christ sacrificed His mortal life so that we can all live again. I  know that the Book of Mormon is true and that through continued study of it we can draw closer to our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and feel the presence of the Holy Ghost in our lives. I love being a missionary, I have loved the Southcoast ward and I'm sure I will love it in Lake Forest, these people have been good to me and I know I needed to be with them and I know that there are good people in my next area who in some way shape or form need my help and that now I need to be with them.
Tofa! (that means goodbye in Samoan)

Alofa (This is love in Samoan),

Elder Cheever

Happiness is about wanting what you get

Even though walking everywhere is quiet tiring and can be a bit of a pain it has also been a great tool for finding. We are able to stop and talk to so many people and help them out in little ways and its been amazing to see just how many people out there have a little desire to learn more. In all of our walking and contacting and tracting this week we were able to give out 43 copies of the Book of Mormon and have 115 contacts. From all this we have picked up 7 new potentials who we have been able to share a lesson with and invite them to learn more or who we have been able to set up a time to come by and share a lesson with them. It is truly amazing to see how when we devote ourselves to finding those seeking truth, that our Heavenly Father will give us the opportunities we are looking for. We met one man named Salvador and at first we just said hi and kept walking but I felt like I should turn around and talk to him and when we did we ended up having a really good conversation with him. He told us that he sees missionaries around all the time and that he would like to learn more but that when ever he sees them they just walk right on past like we almost did so he was really glad that we stopped to talk to him, unfortunately he lives outside the mission and so far the Elders in his area still haven't gotten back to us so we haven't been able to get him in contact with them. Saturday morning we had a breakfast at President Silva's (the Newport Beach Stake President) house and had a good testimony meeting/devotional thing, which got us super motivated to go out and do something good so right after that 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. Last night we met these two high school boys named Max and Joel and we were able to teach them the Restoration as well and they both said that if they were able to find out the truth of our message they would be baptized, which was super awesome.

We had a really good lesson with Gabriel this week as well. We taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ through reading 3 Nephi 27 and explaining each part of it with him as well as teaching him about keeping the Sabbath day holy. We were able to commit him to baptism on January 30th but unfortunately he wasn't able to make it to church yesterday because he had to babysit his siblings while his mom went to her church so now we are going to have to set a new date with him. He has a hard life and it has greatly increased his faith but he still worries and after he prayed he started tearing up and talked about how it is hard to try to provide for his family now that his mom lost her job and to try to pay for his schooling, while he said this I had the biggest prompting to give him a blessing so we offered that to him and I could really see after wards that it helped him and that he felt better.

There is this guy in the ward named Dave Waldram who is hilarious, he is 63 so his level of political correctness is about the same as mine so we get along pretty well and he is also super knowledgeable when it comes to the gospel. On Sunday he got roped into teaching Gospel Principles and Sunday School on the fly but he did an amazing job. In one lesson he said "Happiness isn't about getting what you want, its about wanting what you get", which I think is so true. Sometimes what we want isn't always what's best for us and Heavenly Father knows that so He gives us what we really need and at first it might suck and not be any fun but the trick is to be thankful for not only our blessings but also our trials and as we do that we will be able to find the good that comes from the hard times and end up being glad that it happened. 

As of late, President Orgill has been sending us a lot of reminders about obedience and how important it is to be strictly obedient. This morning in my studies I read Helaman (yes the whole thing) and obedience is a huge underlying message of that book. Throughout it the people go up and down and up and down with their levels of obedience and they have drastic results, when they are obedient they are blessed hugely and are able to protect themselves against the Lamanites and then they are able to prosper and become wealthy which then leads them to slowly be less obedient and more prideful which opens cracks for Satan to sneak through and bring about wickedness like the Gadiantion Robbers (who ultimately prove to be the downfall of the entire Nephite people) which makes Helaman, and Nephi and Lehi have to go out and fight but also makes them have to teach the people. And then because of the people's wickedness Nephi laments for them and because of his personal obedience and worthiness he is promised great blessings and then is also able to teach the people and ultimately brings many of them to a remembrance of the Savior and what they need to do to be happy and then they make the changes they need to in their lives and they become prosperous again (after going through war and famine) but then they fall back into disobedience and evil and Samuel has to come yell at them and tell them to stop being stupid or they will be destroyed and they don't like that and then the Gadianton Robbers become even stronger and lots more people die and ultimately they all begin to forget how many times they have been helped by God. It just goes to show that when we are obedient and stick with whats good and right in our lives Heavenly Father wants to and will bless us with what we want and what we stand in need of and when we aren't He will punish us with a righteous judgement until we are humble again and get back to the straight and narrow. I know that this is true and I know that its just as important for us today, we might not have to worry about secret combinations and kings being killed but we do each have our own personal challenges and God will be with us as we listen to what He asks us to do. I love being out here helping people, I know that Jesus lives and that He is is our Savior and that as such He can strengthen us to be able to overcome what we are going through, I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that it was translated by the prophet Joseph Smith and that it shows the love God has for all of His children and shows that Christ's church has been restored to the earth. I love being a missionary and I know that the people here are good and that I need to be with them.

Love

Elder Cheever

Either cars don't like Elder Greenberg or God needs us to walk

Not very much happened this week until the last couple days and then it got a lot better.

It rained a little bit on Monday, a little more on Tuesday, and then on Wednesday it poured all day long (apparently it was some of the most rain that Southern California has gotten in the last like 20 years). Luckily on Wednesday, when the rain was the worst, we spent most of the morning in the mission office then in our district leader's car so we stayed a little bit dry. With all the rain and then the fourth earthquake in the last four weeks (this one was the biggest yet at a whopping 4.8) us missionaries are preparing for some crazy disaster of some sort which hopefully will bring a humbling and some miracles to the California Irvine Mission.

Thursday we were able to meet a guy named Ned, while we were out tracting, who told us that he really loves Mormon people because they helped him out a lot when he lived in San Diego, so we were able to get his phone number, so we could get in contact with him, so that if he needs anything we can help out. Then, when we contacted him, we told him that if he wants we can also meet up with him to teach him more about why it is us Mormons are such nice people and he responded super enthusiastically saying that he would love to learn more so hopefully as we keep in touch with him something amazing will happen.

Friday was by far the highlight of the week. We got to got to the temple again which was amazing as always. Being able to go the temple while on my mission has been a huge blessing and I'm so grateful that we have one so close by. While I was in the Celestial room I was able to read some scriptures that were the exact answers to my prayers and that have helped me push through the tougher times and I was also able to talk to one of my friends from the San Clemente YSA ward while she was working in there and she was able give me some good advice so that was super helpful too. After the temple we attempted to meet with a less active man in our ward who wants to start coming back to church but he didn't show up; as we were about to leave a car pulled up in front of us and one of the kids that got out was somebody we gave a copy of the Book of Mormon to a couple of weeks ago who wanted to learn more but he said he got a new phone so he took our number down again and said he wants to meet up with us so since we ran into him again we have high hopes that something will work out. When we started biking home from that we stopped at a park to contact and met a man and his son and we were able to have a good chat with the father and we found out that he wants his son to find a religion in his life so we gave his son a copy of the Book of Mormon and he told he would read it and his dad said that if Brandon, the son, wanted to learn more he would let us know. After that we hopped back on the bikes and continued home but we didn't make it far before Elder Greenberg cut in front somebody trying to leave a parking lot and he got hit, luckily he was again protected and the only damage was to the bike so we are back to just on our feet, which, let me tell you, isn't the most fun thing in the world, but maybe we are supposed to be walking everywhere for some greater purpose, or cars just really don't like Elder Greenberg, so far I'm not sure which one it is.

We didn't end up getting to meet with Gabriel this week because all the rain led to a lot of leaks on the projects he was doing at work so he was kept super busy roofing but he continues to read the Book of Mormon and hopefully we will be able to meet with him this week and set a baptismal date for him.

Despite the hard times and crazy weather we keep working hard and having faith and patience that everything will work out in the end and that things will pick up in our area and we will begin to see the results of our efforts as promised in Alma 32:42-43 "42. And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white,yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not,neither shall ye thirst. 

43. Then, my brethren, ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and long-suffering,waiting for the tree to bring forth fruit unto you."

I know that there are people out there being prepared by the Holy Ghost and I know that our Heavenly Father wants them to find the help each of them needs in their lives. I know that each one of them is good and I know that if its in God's plan for them and me I will be able to be with them and help them.

Love

Elder Cheever

At the temple

Eating the original bananas on Balboa Island (like in Arrested Development).

The mission car after the accident

South Coast Ward missionaries

Elders Neilsen, Toland, Losee and Cheever

Opening Christmas presents