Email February 4, 2013

Hello Family! Today I went to get my Puerto Rican drivers license: and I couldn't get it because I don't have my social security card. There are some places here in Puerto Rico where you don't have to take your S.S. to get your license--Puerto Rico is crazy--but we don't have time to drive all over. So we don't get to use the car next week. Hooray for bikes! We'll see how that goes. I'm a bit excited to bike again because I need to get toned again. Driving in a car doesn't do any good for your body. It was a pretty exciting week too! This week we had 10 investigators in church: we dropped three of them--Milagros and Edwin--because they went to the Bishop to ask for money, and we just think they've been searching for the benefits of the church. And then the others had to work. People work a lot in Puerto Rico. But let me tell you about three of those investigators. You'll remember Pablo--the investigator with a baptismal date. He came to church yesterday and it was incredible what happened. After the time had passed and it was time to end sacrament meeting, he went up to bare his testimony. He stood up and said: "I hope that God can help me to say the things that I feel." He then went on to say that he had always wanted the opportunity to stand in front of a pulpit and share his feelings. He said: "I know the two young men that teach me are the true ministers of Christ, and that this is His church. I haven't been baptized yet, but I am going to follow in this way and become one of you. I hope to give each member of my family the opportunity to stand in front of this pulpit and feel like I do." We were all STUNNED. After the meeting I turned around to him--he was sitting behind me with the Collazos. He said: "When can I be baptized?" It was one of those moments where I felt like I never want to stop being a missionary. We are going to talk to him tonight about a baptismal date because he needed to look more at his schedule. But we're hoping to set the baptismal date for this week. Another of the investigators we have is named Lym. She is the daughter of a Pentecostal Minister. And, in order to talk to her, we had to attend her father's church this week. We showed up Friday night and everyone just stared at us. HAHA. It was really cool. The pastor gave a lesson about prayer and it was very doctrinal. It had some weird parts to it. They asked the question: "Why is it okay to use the name Jesus multiple times if you are in an emergency?" I thought about it and decided I didn't know the answer. Maybe I never will either. But it was a fun experience: Lym's dad introduced us right before we left, and as we were walking out the door he began singing "Which is the correct church?" A hymn I'm sure he made up on the spot because it had no real rhythm. Lym's mom even sent a text to her during the meeting saying: "Make sure they listen so they are converted." Haha. If they'd only known we were there to talk to her about her baptism. Lym has already taken all of the lessons, and she's 24 so she can be baptized without parental permission. The problem is she feels a lot of family pressure because she sings in her dad's choir and has always been raised in his house. Even now she lives with him. We're helping her develop the faith to take the step of baptism. I definitely feel for her though! As I was thinking about her scenario the other day I almost started crying: haha the mission brings you to love people way too deeply. I want her to make the right decision, but I feel her pain and the stress of the situation. In church yesterday she told us that she will be baptized before Elder Delgado leaves--the 26th of February. So we'll see! And lastly, let me tell you all about the family of 15: we aren't sure what we are going to do with them right now. We just found out that Juanity--the mom--is married to a man who lives in the Dominican Republic, but she's been living with another man--Samuel--for 11 years. She never got divorced, and it's a lot of money, and a lot of hardship if he lives in the DR. Plus, Samuel decided he doesn't want to listen to us anymore. We're going to meet with them this week with the Collazos. The sister of Juanita is really prepared though. We have to find out her situation with her boyfriend though before we jump to conclusions. She has two great sons who both really love coming to church--one is 18 and the other 14. The church really needs Priesthood holders, so we are excited to see them progress. Other than that, we are just waiting on Atawelpa to get baptized. He tells us he's not ready, but he always calls himself a Mormon. He talks about the things that "we teach" and "we do" in "our church." He gave a prayer in church thanking his Father in Heaven for the opportunity to "have the truth." We don't really know what to do with him. He believes Jesus Christ was an ordinary man who had sins of his own. He told us that yesterday when he asked us why Jesus was baptized. We thought he asked that question and was going to say he felt ready to be baptized, but that's not how the conversation went. Haha. Now, to end, let me tell you all about this great title. First, let me tell you that a lot of members in our ward call me Harry Potter. Don't ask me why--I think it's because of my glasses, and because they forget the name Cevering. But anyway, yesterday we were driving to a member's house and we started talking about movies. Elder Delgado said: "Elder Cevering, you're Harry Potter." Then he stopped and said, "You're a lizard, Harry!" trying to act like Hagrid from the first movie. HAHA. Lizard? It's so funny to see him make mistakes in English. Anyway, I love you all and miss you! And before I forget, Elder Neil L. Anderson is coming to our mission this week. I don't know how I forgot to tell you that before. It's going to be really cool! Elder Cevering