Email June 23, 2014

Hello from Vega Baja! I am doing really well! I love this area and I love the missionaries I live with! I feel super blessed that the Lord sent me here to finish my mission. Don't misinterpret this, but I feel like I was sent to a vacation area haha. Our area is right by the beach and our house is sweet! We live in an actual house which has air conditioning and WARM WATER. It's the best. I've been loving waking up in a cold room and then taking a nice warm shower. And on top of that we live right next to some government apartments with a basketball court so we go there almost every day to play basketball with the kids. It's really great. It probably feels like a vacation area because of the luxuries. The ward here is really interesting. It's similar to Carolina but it's also very different. It shouldn't be a ward: there are only 60 people in attendance--that's among the higher attendance for the "wards" of Puerto Rico. I wouldn't say there are truly any wards in Puerto Rico but hey, the leaders are the ones who decide that. There are some really loving people here: we get a LOT of food. I am going to miss Puerto Rican food so much. We went to this house the other day so I could meet some members and--like every Puerto Rican family--they gave us food. We ate huge plates of rice, beans, and chicken, then lasagna. You'd think it's a random combination, but it's super great as a missionary: load up on rice and beans, then eat a big piece of lasagna. It's a carb boost. We don't have many investigators here, but the elders here have had some good success over the past year. I think they've had almost 10 baptisms over the last year and a half which is really high for Puerto Rico. Next week we're going fishing at the beach with a member: I'm really excited about that. The elders have been showing me pictures of some places here that are beautiful. I'm happy to be finishing my mission here. I've been in communication with the elders in Bayamon: they're really excited to work there and are happy with all we left in place for them. So I'm at peace with everything. I am super excited that Randee and Kyle are going to have a baby and that they're moving back to North Ogden! Tell them congratulations. And working at the temple open house will be awesome! Especially with the special needs. I will love that. One thing I am really excited about, and something I want to be sure to attend when I get home, is Education Week. I am STOKED for that. I love you all so much! Elder Cevering