Email April 29, 2013

Hello Family! This week was hectic and crazy. Elder Castaneda and I both received new missionaries--greenies--so we're both training here in Carolina. And I am opening up the "new" or just untouched area of Carolina: the campo. It's like going back to Corozal, except it's not so high in the mountains. But there is no foundation of work in the campo right now, so my companion and I are starting it up. I have a cool story about that later on. We had a good planning session today where we get everything worked out for this week. My new companion's name is Elder Smith. He's from Stansbury Farm, Utah. He's a really nice kid. When I decided to go work in the campo I had the inspiration to go and talk to one of the ward members who had grown-up there. When we asked him to take us up there he was really excited. He knows basically everyone up there--because a lot of them are his family. Going with him was like having a door be opened to a "seemingly insurmountable wall" as David O. Mckay said. We met his family and friends and they invited us back, so I'm excited about that. Another exciting thing is that Omar and Rosa are officially getting married and baptized the first week of June. That will be really cool :) We played basketball with Omar and some of the members and other investigators last Friday and it was really fun. My body was so sore though: I haven't done anything nearly as rough as that since tearing my abdomen. I was really sore in that area for the next two days. Haha. But basketball was so fun because here are all these Puerto Ricans and then four missionaries from Utah. They thought they were going to run all over us: but we won 3 out of 5 games. We were joking about Preach My Gospel having a secret basketball-playing section. Besides all that, nothing exciting has happened. Just working. And being tired. I had some really good fresh-made guacamole the other day with some tacos. I love Puerto Rico. And I'm almost 20: the oldy years. Anyway, love you all! Elder Cevering

Maria's Baptism - Dinner with Lin & Esteban - Elder Cevering on his balcony with San Juan in the background

Lin's Baptism and $2.00 Pincho Stand

Email April 22, 2013

Hello Family! The world's coming to an end, and I'm on an island. Everywhere I go people ask me, "Did you hear about Boston?" And I say, "No, but did you hear about New York in 1820?" Haha. That's got to be the new catch phrase of the missionaries. We are the "Hasteners" as we (or I) say here in Puerto Rico. It's catchy. "The Hastening 2013". Who wouldn't get excited about that? This past week was the most gratifying week of my misson, for one single reason: the baptism of Lin. In the past I've always called her Lym--I was wrong. Her name is Elienitza, but everyone calls her Lin. Super embarassing for me. But that's not important, her baptism went through. It was the most spiritual experience of my mission. When we were waiting to begin the service, Esteban--her boyfriend--asked me to come sit by him. I sat down and he said to me, "I just want to tell you thank you. Do you know what I said in my testimony last week at church? I bore my testimony of missionary work. I made the announcement that Lin was being baptized, and it was all because some young man come from Utah and finally helped her have the faith to take that step. Thank you so much." I was filled with that Spirit again that God really loves His children. I felt that great happiness that comes from knowing God can use you as an instrument, no matter how imperfect you are, and no matter if you sound like a gringo when you speak Spanish. Then as the service continued my heart and chest swelled, and when I got up to give the talk about the Holy Ghost I felt really emotional. But I didn't cry ;) The Spirit was just so strong. And it was really cool as I stood around the corner at the font and saw Lin walk in to Esteban and they share an excited look, then he performs the ordinance, she comes up smiling, and she gives him a big hug. It was just such an awesome experience: I thought, "When is the next baptism?" And it was without pride: I just wanted to feel the same way I did, and I wanted others to feel the way that Lin did in that moment, and I wanted some member to feel the way Esteban did. It was such a powerful experience. Lin asked me to perform the confirmation, which was cool too. Besides that we just worked, worked worked. Milagros ended up in the hospital (again??) and Atawalpa decided to still not trust the promise of the Book of Mormon and didn't pray about it, so their baptisms didn't go through. I'm taking the bishop to Milagros' house this week to have him interview her to see what he thinks of the situation. The fruits of our labor really showed yesterday in our ward council: we are finally getting a ward mission leader and ward missionaries. YAY! And I can be even more excited about that because transfers have passed and I am still working here in Carolina. Elder Castaneda is staying too, but we are both going to train new missionaries. That means we have to split the area and our investigators, but I'm excited about that. I'm headed up to the campo area of Carolina :) Anyway, love you all! And I miss ya! Elder Cevering

April 15, 2013 Email

Hello family! What a week! I cannot believe it's already over, nor that it's already the 15th of April. This was a good week: we had the baptism of Maria Teresa. It was really stressful actually because we had to plan it in Toa Baja because that's the closest chapel with warm water in the baptismal font, and Pablo and Maria got lost on the way there. Haha. We were there way early to start filling up the font because in order to have hot water you can't fully release the water from the valves. So we got to Toa Baja at 12:30, the baptism was at 4, and at about 3 o'clock the font wasn't nearly enough full. So we started filling up pots of water to boil, and we were filling big water igloos with water and then throwing them into the font. It was really hectic but really great. Milagros and Edwin didn't get baptized last week because Milagros entered back into the hospital Friday night and didn't leave until yesterday morning. The cancer is really giving her a rough time, but when we talked to her yesterday she still wanted to be baptized. She said: "I don't care if the water is freezing cold, I will be baptized!" Haha. And then she gave us her sister's address and asked us to go and teach her. It was really cool! Lym couldn't get baptized last week either: I'll just say it was her "time" of the month. I can't use other words because I'm a missionary. But she is set for this Friday to be baptized and she's really excited. The only thing is that she wants to keep it a secret because she doesn't want her parents to argue with her and try to keep her from being baptized: she's 24 but lives with them and she has a lot of fear that they will kick her out or do anything else to stop her. But we want her to be open about it, not hide from the truth. It would be worse for her family to know she did it behind their backs than to know it straight up. But she's really afraid. Apparently her sister just recently got her ears pierced and her dad slapped her and got so angry that he left the house and didn't come back for a day. Some pastor?? He was a bit eccentric when we met him at his church. :) But here is something else great: we set a baptismal date with Atawalpa. Do you remember him? He's the one who's been investigating the church since December and has been reading the Book of Mormon ferociously. Well, we've been trying to set a baptismal date with him for a long time, and he always says: "I want to know without a doubt that this is true before I get baptized." But we felt that we needed to invite him to be baptized this Friday with Lym and Milagros and Edwin. It was a crazy inspiration because he hadn't come to church yesterday and we hadn't had a lesson with him for a whole week, and he had been so closed off before. But we went to the lesson and really prayed. We began by talking with him in Alma 32 and how he has been wanting to know the truth but hasn't acted. We also asked him if he has prayed about the Book of Mormon. He said, "I have prayed but I don't believe that's the way my answer will come." I said, "How do you expect to learn the truth of the Book of Mormon if you don't do or trust what it tells you to do?" Using the example of his cell phone I said, "I can't come here and give you the directions of my cell phone to teach you how to use your phone. And if you did, and your cell phone didn't work as my instructions say, would you just throw it away?" He said no. So I continued, "You can't read the Book of Mormon thinking to discover the truth of it in a different way than it tells you. You have to get down on your knees and pray and trust the answer will come." That really struck him. And we had some intense moments: but it all ended with him sitting back, mouth twitching with wanting to find something to say, and then just saying, "You have to read." Then Elder Castaneda hit him with the invitation to be baptized this Friday and he said yes. WHAT!?! We went into that lesson thinking, "How is this going to work...?" And then we left thinking, "HE ACCEPTED THE INVITATION!" It was a really incredible experience. I've never had such an intense lesson before, and I really know that it was a lesson inspired and directed by the Lord. I've really learned that there is no one invested more in this work than the Lord Himself. I've really learned that He cares about His children. Yesterday we were just driving to church from an investigator's house and a white van pulled up next to us and honked. A woman inside asked us how to get to walmart: she was super lost and was on vacation, and didn't speak any Spanish. We told her we would drive her there: so we guided her and she was so thankful. I could see the stress had left her face after we got there. It was a blessing to know just to what extents the Lord goes to put us in the perfect positions to help others. I gave a talk yesterday in Sacrament meeting about Alma 37:34 and Mosiah 18:8-10. It was a really fun experience. I have really come to love this ward. The members are not perfect, but I love them a lot. I talked with them about how hard we've worked and for the fruits we've seen, but I told them that it's not the end but the beginning. I shared with them my gratitude for their work with us, and talked about how we need to continue working and keeping our covenants, even when we are exhausted, and that the Lord will give us rest. I spoke about Alma 7:24, which teaches us that if we have faith, hope, and charity we will always abound in good works. I felt so much love for them, and I felt the Lord's love for them. In the end we shared some hugs, and a lot of members asked me if I was going to be leaving at the end of this transfer, which I don't know but believe will be happening. But this has been a great time in my mission. In 4 months so much has happened, and if I leave I will leave Elder Castaneda with so much work to do and with a lot of success to come in May. We have a joke about baptizing iguanas in this mission. The famous baptized iguana in Carolina is named Charlie. The other day I was driving with Elder Duclos and Elder Mendez and there was a dead iguana in the road. Elder Duclos shouted: "Charlie! NO!" it was really funny. I laughed really hard. I love you all, and I miss you! Remember the Lord is mindful of His children. Elder Cevering

Email April 8, 2013

Hello Family! How was that conference? I wanted to cheer during Elder Nelson's talk as he talked about the need for members to work. I especially loved as he talked about the important role of ward mission leaders: we don't have one here in Carolina so I'm hoping that talk hit home with the Bishop here. But really, the conference was great. We watched it in the Stake Center, and in between sessions we actually just hung out at the Stake Center. The mission is really emphasizing the need to not use a lot of miles on our cars. I was really surprised they didn't send us out to work though. It was very un-mission-like. It felt really weird to have that two hour break. We moved today from our apartment in Carolina to another just a block away. It's a nice little apartment. It's more up to date: the other one was old. It had been used for 40 years by missionaries. WOW. It was a good thing we left. And the new house is cool, I'll take a picture :) The other one was just an apartment on the side of a bunch of other apartments. That's why I never sent pictures. As far as the actual week goes it went by fast. We are working hard, but we're just really trying to get our investigators ready for baptism. We have four on date for this Saturday: Milagros and Edwin, Maria Teresa, and...LYM. Do you remember her? She is the daughter of a Pentecostal pastor. She came to conference and when we talked after she said, "I was praying this morning asking God what I need to do, then I came here and the apostles talked about the need to have faith and be baptized. So I feel like that's what God wants me to do." I asked her what her hesitations were and she said, "Obviously my dad, and I feel like I'm not progressing in the gospel. I don't know why." I told her, "It's because you've learned everything the Holy Ghost can teach you before you're baptized. You have received your witness of the truth, you have come to church many times, read the Book of Mormon. What more CAN you do?" She completely agreed to that, so I asked her when she wanted to be baptized. She asked, "When do you think?" And of course I said, "This Saturday." And I smiled :) <---Like that. And she said, "Okay, that's what I need to do." I was really excited: that was something I have been fasting and praying for recently because I had seen her lack of progress and our inability to meet with her. It was a really cool moment to talk with her and know that God loves His children. Milagros also got some great news this week: she went back to the hospital and they told her that they aren't going to even put her on Chemotherapy anymore. WHAT? I was stunned. A true miracle has occurred in her life, and she knows it. She's been so happy: here's this woman with Ovarial Cancer and she's been inviting us to eat, going between the hospital visits, etc. She went from being an emergency case pacient to a less-catastrophic patient. They're planning to operate on her sooner so that they can get out the cancer, but it's a miracle how things have changed so drastically from the beginning. All from a Priesthood blessing. We have a big emphasis in the mission right now about "Rescuing" the inactive and less-active members. We are only supposed to go contacting if it's close to a less-active's or inactive's house. Well, we went to a man's house but we couldn't find it (numbers and addresses here in Puerto Rico are crazy. You ask a Puerto Rican for directions and they say: "Go straight for about ten seconds, take your right hand turn and continue until you see the yellow fire hydrant that's on the left side, then turn left, and you'll drive past three houses. At the fourth house ask directions: that's where my cousin lives.")--and anyway, we went looking for this man, and we were contacting houses to ask help (and teach the gospel of course) but all of the people were ignoring us. But we went to one house and found a family of 6 people: 4 young men all Aaronic Priesthood age. We were ecstatic! They invited us back and accepted a pamphlet about Joseph Smith. When we asked if we could come back they nodded their heads excitedly. Oh man, it was a cool moment. We also began teaching another Pentecostal girl this week. She was super interested in the Book of Mormon because she had no idea what it was. She wasn't the kind of investigator that seems super happy by your message, but the Book of Mormon just caused her to have a lot of questions. Her name is Sandybet. We'll see what happens there. There are some girls named Nicol and Minely who had a baptismal date for the 20th. They are really cool. They call me and Elder Castaneda "Harry Potter" and "Jackie Chan." I wish I had more time to send you pictures--just so you know, I WANT to send you pictures. Sometimes I just honestly can't. If I could send you a picture, you'd see just how true it is: Elder Castaneda really looks like Jackie Chan. But anyway, Nicol and Minely have been visited by missionaries since last August. Since they only live with their mom it's been hard for the Elders to teach them. And since the sister missionaries live far away, they haven't been able to meet with them consistently. I felt the need to take them from the sisters and start teaching them, and ever since then they've been really progressing. We've visited them with members, and we set their baptismal dates, but since they didn't come to conference their baptismal date dropped. They have really great desires, but they need to come to church more. Their mom is really accepting of the message too. But the big thing is that they have to change the culture of their life: living the gospel is a true change, and a lot of people really don't realize it. Or they simply don't want to change. That's interesting isn't it? How people can simply not have the desire to change: they know something is good but won't change to be able to have it. Something that's been on my mind lately is that people are often converted to one of two things: the feelings they have when the missionaries are teaching them, or they just really love the church. Sometimes they don't gain their own testimonies of the gospel, but they love the feelings that it gives them. But it really all comes back to desires: we have to have the desire to change, and the desire to live the gospel. If we don't have that desire, the Holy Ghost really won't move us to work. That's what I loved about Jeffrey R. Holland's talk when he spoke about just having that inkling of a desire to believe. I think that an inkling of desire can do so much. The topic line comes from our great discussion between conference yesterday. We were talking about what a White Missionary Manual would have said for missionaries in the Old Testament. It was hilarious. But we're also missionaries, and I'm also a nerd when it comes to the scriptures. We were saying things like, "She doesn't live the law of chastity. President, should we stone her?" and then "No Elder, it says here to offer a bullock behind her house during the new moon..." HA. super great. Anyway, love you all a lot! Happy Birthday Grandpa! I love ya! And your house changes are really cool! Elder Cevering Mom,thank you for sending me the letters: I love reading what my friends are doing. When you sent me the pictures of Micah I almost started crying: I was so happy to see him as a missionary. And he sounds like he's loving his mission.

Email April 1, 2013

Hello Family! I don't have a lot of time right now to write because we're returning right now from our mission conference in Caguas. We went to the supposed temple grounds up in Aguas Buenas (good waters--an original name right?) and spent the night. It was cool. We slept on the hard tile floors with the geckos and lizards :) and I'm pretty sure there were some tarantulas around there somewhere. The conference was dedicated to discussing the resurrection and atonement of Christ and our need as a mission to become more purified through the atonement. It was cool. Both of our baptisms fell through: we were really disappointed. Maria Teresa--who is Pablo's wife--was sick and she couldn't be baptized because the baptismal water here is cold. And Edwin got really sick, so he couldn't come either. But we're already planning for the 13th. We can't do the baptisms this weekend because of conference. We're not supposed to do confirmations outside of sacrament meetings, so we have to wait to next week, which doesn't bother me. We have big plans for this month so I am excited :) We set about 10 baptismal dates between the 14th and the 20th, which is really exciting and has us really busy. I don't have a lot of time to expound on that, but let me tell you about the miracle we saw this past week. Milagros went back to the hospital this week to have five tests done. She was diagnosed two weeks ago with Ovarial Cancer. I read those previous results to her because they were in English. The papers from her previous tests said she had pelvic fluid flowing and the doctors were positive she had cancer there as well. So we gave her a blessing last Monday in preparation for her tests which were Wednesday. When we visited her Tuesday she told us that, immediately after we gave her the blessing, she felt she had angels hands on her head. She told us, "I AM going to be baptized, and when I am baptized I will bring my whole family with me." She even said, "The family of Juanita might be big, but my family is bigger. And I will be sure they follow in my footsteps." HA! Wow. I was blown away. But that's not all! She then went in for her five tests on Wednesday and FOUR of the five tests left negative for cancer. The test they did on her pelvis showed that there was no more flowing liquid (WHAT?) and that her cancer appeared less dangerous than before. She was so happy! They moved her from an emergency case to a less-catostrophic case, and they will begin her on Chemotherapy, but will operate on her in July, which was a proof that they aren't really worried about her. When we visited her Thursday she was talking to her friend about the blessing we gave her and inviting her to visit with us. She was testifying of the Spirit that we bring and of the help we can give her. It was really incredible! I know the power of the priesthood is real. In my Patriarchal Blessing it talks about that power. I have seen some incredible fulfillments of my Patriarchal Blessing since my mission began. I can't expound on them, but I will when I'm home. I would encourage everyone to get their Blessing if they haven't yet received it. I wish I had more time to tell of the things that have been happening. Just know that I am "suffering with joy" as President says. And I am so excited to watch conference this weekend. Missions are tough. But there really is happiness in the fruits of our labors. I love you all so much! Thanks for all your support! I miss you all! And guess what, I'm almost 20 years old. I'm getting old :) Elder Cevering

Email March 25. 2013

Hello Family! To answer Colby's question, NO. We don't have any "milestones" in this mission. Burning a tie is considered apostasy in Puerto Rico. Besides, I like my ties :) This was a pretty good week: we were able to set a lot of baptismal dates for April, and we secured two for this Saturday. I'm really excited about it. Maria Teresa finally made her decision to be baptized. Here's the story: the last time we invited her to be baptized was not last Wednesday, but the Wednesday before. It was me and Elder Castaneda and the Collazos. She told Elder Castaneda that she wasn't ready. Then Elder Collazo talked about how the day of salvation is today. Well, that very night the sister of Pablo entered the hospital. Apparently she drank a lot and then took morphine (spelling?), and some other medications. She was rushed to the hospital and was living off a respiration machine. So, Pablo invited us to give her a blessing. As we drove there I was thinking about whether or not I had the faith to heal this woman. It was tough because I had seen others be healed by the priesthood--I'd myself given blessings that resulted in overnight recoveries--and I was debating in my mind whether the Lord would really permit me and Elder Castaneda to perform this miracle. So with all of that in my mind we went into the hospital and into the basement where Pablo's sister was laying. Pablo went right to her head and gave her a kiss, then he invited us up to see her. Then Elder Castaneda did the annointing. Then I stepped up and put my hands on her head to give her the blessing and I didn't feel like I could bless her to be healed. I began the blessing but felt the inclination to bless her to follow the example of Pablo and be baptized. But I knew as I was blessing her that I coudn't heal her. So I ended the blessing and we left. And two days later she died. When we went back to visit Maria Teresa she said, "I've been thinking about what Elder Collazo said. Pablo's sister didn't know she was going to die. So I have to make my decision today to be baptized. So I will be baptized." We were all so excited when she said that! Haha. It was a really great moment. But that's not all. She went on to tell us about how she told Pablo's other sister that she was going to be baptized. Pablo's sister said, "But Maria, you were already baptized." And Maria said, "No, the priest just put a little bit of water on my head. That's not baptism." And that simple testimony caused Pablo's sister to invite us to teach her. She said, "I want to learn about this church." We also had a really great lesson with Omar and Rosa this week. Rosa has been saying that she won't get baptized until next year, the same time she wanted to get married. She wanted to save up her money to have a big wedding, get drunk, and then get baptized. Well, that obviously can't be the goal. So we talked with them about the Restoration. We watched the short Joseph Smith video of him reading in the Bible and then praying and receiving the First Vision. At the end we talked about the priesthood authority, and how Christ gave "keys" to Peter. It's my favorite example. I asked them, "What do you do with keys?" They explained, "You open things, you can drive cars, etc." And I asked, "And will you just give your house keys to anyone?" Obviously they said no. So we expounded on how the "keys to the heavens" that Christ gave to Peter had the same function of a house key. The keys to the heavens were the priesthood authority to open the heaven. They understood that really, really well. And it also helped them understand how the loss of priesthood keys during the apostasy closed the heavens. So then we invited them to be baptized, and Omar and the sons said yes, but Rosa looked at me like "I already said, I want to save my money to get married and have a big party next year..." But she thought about it and said, "Yes." I thought Elder Castaneda wasn't going to sleep for three days. Just imagine being this young missionary and coming into the mission field where you have all these investigators accepting baptismal dates. His greenie fire is raging. :) Elder Castaneda and I are working well together and seeing a lot of good things happen. The only downside is really that our ward is full of people who don't want to help us. It's funny to me how many members who don't have cars are willing to leave with us, they are simply "too busy". Well, I love you all! And I miss you. Elder Cevering

Email March 18, 2013

Hello Family! I never really know how to begin these letters. It always sounds the same doesn't it? I spent the last week in meetings with Elder Castaneda--my new companion. He's fresh from Utah: he was born in Utah but his parents are from Chile, so he is fluent in Spanish. It was cool to receive a fluent Spanish speaking companion from Utah--because I understand the Puerto Ricans more and it makes me feel cool :) The new missionaries arrived Monday night and here is the big announcement from Puerto Rico: the 18 year old elders and the 19 year old sisters finally arrived. All of them and all of us trainers were in a small meeting with President. He looked at all of us and made the announcement that history was being made that night in Puerto Rico because of the arrival of the "new generation" of missionaries. Then he made us a promise. He said: "You trainers have been chosen to change this mission. Your responsibility is to train these missionaries in 6 weeks. And then they will train new missionaries immediately after that for the next 6 weeks. So it looks like you will have a lot of work to do." The training program we use is called "The 12 Week Program." It's a small booklet full of fundamentals and principles taken from Preach My Gospel. It narrows down the way we should be teaching and gives us some indications to our success as missionaries. I don't know how best to describe it. But, as it's named, it's intended to help us train missionaries in 12 weeks. The President wants us to take the 12 week program and teach it in 6. And on top of that, Elder Peacock was put in charge of all the new missionaries and their training, so he'll be coming to stay with us every once in awhile to help us in the training. I'm excited about that: he talked to me and said he was excited to come work with me in Carolina. "Now you'll be the senior companion" he told me. Haha. It's all a little bit crazy, but the Lord really is helping us to train in 6 weeks. We have been able to apply the fundamentals in each of our lessons--as it should be--and it has really yielded a lot of great results. We received a reference from a woman in Hawaii this week to visit her niece. We went to her niece's house and taught her about the Restoration. This girl knew nothing about what a prophet was or how a church should be run. She's 20 and has been living alone without really any direction in her life. When we taught her about prophets and the direction they give us in life I saw her body SHAKE as she considered the doctrine. She felt it too: I don't really know to describe it. But we testified of prophets and her body just like trembled. And she said, "Whoa". Then I asked her how she felt, and she said, "I've never felt this way before. It's a really really deep peace. It's a good feeling: weird, but really good." I was shocked by the manifestation of the Spirit. I asked her if she wanted guidance from a modern day prophet and she, very seriously, shook her head and said "Yes!" That whole experience got Elder Castaneda so excited. Haha. It made ME so excited. I've never seen someone be touched by the Spirit like that before. She literally SHOOK by the power of the Holy Ghost falling upon her to testify of Joseph Smith. Wow. Yesterday at church the whole family of Juanita came again, not just a few of them. I gave a lesson about prophets in the gospel principles class and it was amazing to see the responses of all the investigators. As I felt the Spirit stirring among us all I asked Juanita, "How do you feel?" She said, "I feel really warm and peaceful. It's a feeling I always want to have. I believe Joseph Smith was a prophet, and I want to keep coming to church and be baptized." Why can't she just be divorced already??? Haha. She has to pay a lot of money to get divorced, and there's a lawyer in the ward who is helping her with that. But I don't really know the details of the whole case right now. Besides Juanita, the wife of Pablo--Maria Teresa--was also in that Gospel Principles class. She was crying as we talked about Joseph Smith, which was an answer to our prayers. This past week we were teaching her and Pablo and in the end Elder Castaneda invited her to be baptized and she said no. She said she knew she needed to, but that something was missing. I felt impressed to ask her the baptismal interview questions and we immediately found out that she still doesn't believe Joseph Smith was a prophet. So after that we and the Collazos began a fast for her. Then yesterday in that class the Holy Ghost testified to her that Joseph Smith was a prophet. And I don't say that because she was crying--tears aren't necessarily a sign of testimony--, but I say that because I know the tears came from the feelings she had in that moment. It was a really incredible experience. I also had a very humbling experience this past Friday. On Thursday we had a ward rescue activity when all the missionaries in the zone came here to Carolina to work with ward members. The Elders Quorom President had been really lazy lately, so I decided I would pressure him into having the activity soon, and it worked :). So all the missionaries came--12 of them--and left with members of the ward to find the less active and invactives. It was a great success: a lot of people said they wanted to come back, and they had family living with them who aren't members who want to learn about the gospel. It was really great because we have more people to teach and visit now, but it also really excited the ward members who participated in the activity and saw the fruits of it. But that's not the humbling part: as I said, it was last Friday that I had the experience. We were at the house of the Pichardos and sister Pichardo wanted to cook us food. But we have a new rule that we can't eat in members' houses unless we are teaching an investigator. She's known that for awhile, but she doesn't really care about it. And her son Rodney--who has been inactive for 10 years--said to me, "Then teach me so that you can eat. I'm inactive, that should be sufficient!" I asked him, "If I teach you, will you listen?" He shrugged his shoulders and then began to tell me about how dumb he thinks the rule is. He said to me, "It's great that you missionaries work hard to find people to teach and that you focus so much on finding people. But why does the church focus so hard on finding new people when there are so many who simply go inactive? Like me: no one has visited me since I went inactive 10 years ago, and I was baptized." That made me stop. I explained to him what our focus was on going "to the rescue" and he accepted it. But for the first time--to anybody but his parents--he opened up and told why he's continued inactive. He said, "No one has come to visit me since I stopped going to church. And it makes one feel that the ward doesn't lack anything without them." It was a real eye-opener for me. I had never considered talking to Rodney before because Elder Delgado, and even Rodney's mom, told me that Rodney didn't really want to talk to us. But there it was: Rodney has wanted someone to show that he's wanted. I testified to him concerning the work of missionaries. He didn't disagree to that. And when he and his mom continued saying that the missionaries need to visit more with members or else they "inactivate", I said "The missionaries have a responsibility to help strengthen everyone. But the members' first source of strength is their personal effort. Their second source of strength is the ward. In Utah we have a home teaching organization." Sister Pichardo said, "And so do we!" Then I said, "And does anyone do their visits?" That shifted the gears of the conversation. I continued, "If members don't do their part to become converted, and if no one does their home teaching, then it doesn't matter if the missionaries visit or not." Sister Pichardo gave me her thanks for talking with her about that, and she said she wanted to be better, and then gave me her thanks for talking to her about her Rodney. She asked me to share my experience with Rodney with everyone in the ward when I got the chance. I decided then and there that I need to be better when I come home, and better now, at seeking out those who simply want to feel wanted. It was really humbling to me. It's funny how the mission just seems to do that to you. But I want you to know that no matter how much I enjoy the mission, and how much I love the people I am teaching, I still love you all back home. I miss you and look forward to the day when we all get to talk again face to face. The first three things I want to do when I get home are #1-sleep on carpet, because everything is tile here, #2-eat a really good pasta dish, because we only eat rice and beans and chicken, and #3-sleep for three days. So after we have our parties, that's what I'm going to do. I love you all a lot! Elder Cevering

Email March 11, 2013

Hello Family! Well, this past week was a crazy one, and I actually didn't think I was going to get the chance to write you today, but here I am. I've been with the zone leaders the past few days because Elder Arteaga was transferred to the islands--St. Croix: the poor guy was scared cold. He speaks a little bit of English, but nowhere near enough to sit and have a conversation with an islander. They don't speak normal English. And he didn't have any classes before heading out. He was really afraid, and the transfer came out of nowhere. He was in an interview with President and during their prayer President felt that Elder Arteaga needed to go to St. Croix. So he left, and now that he left I was made the district leader of the Carolina and Pontezuela areas, which are going to be receiving two more companionships next month. And until I get a new companion I'm just with the zone leaders working in Carolina. The past week was pretty exciting. Last Monday as we were driving to Carolina we received a call from the Collazos. Elder Arteaga talked to them, but I could hear them because of how full of energy they were. They had just been in the house of Juanita and had left running because one of her sons--who had never listened to us before--went to her house and tried to kill her with a group of his friends. Omar started fighting with them, and later on the police came. When we heard that we were pretty afraid and we thought about them all night because we obviously couldn't go to the house. But the next day we passed by and everything was really peaceful and it appeared as if nothing had happened. Pretty crazy. As far as things are going with them, they took a step backward this week: Juanita convinced Rosa to wait until next year to get married--Omar doesn't agree--and Abigair doesn't want to get baptized without Juanita. But Juanita acts like she's our best friend. She invited us to her house and she had made this big dinner for us: I felt horrible because I knew that she had spent a lot of money on the food, which I knew was a really big sacrifice for her family. She loves us a lot, and that's great, but she needs to change her attitude and not be so worried about what everyone else in the family does. We're going to visit her this week with President, and I think that will do great things. While doing some contacting we found a family of 9--all of baptismal age--who live in an area named Campeche. They are really open to hearing about the gospel. The oldest son already knew who we were and a little bit about what we teach, and he was really open to talking to us. They live in three different houses with other parts of their family--grandpa, aunts, cousins, etc. I think that might be an example of the field being "white and ready to harvest." But before I make that claim I have to go back and teach them. I'm going to go with the Collazos on Wednesday to teach them. There are a couple young girls who were found by the missionaries in Carolina last August, who have only been taught a little bit. I had an impression a few weeks ago to call the sister missionaries to find out how the girls were doing, and the sister missionaries said that they were having a hard time contacting them because they lived so far away. I told them that we would try to visit them because we live closer and have a car. So we started visiting them, and we were finally able to set up an appointment with them for last Thursday. They were so prepared to hear the gospel! One of them, who didn't know much about the Book of Mormon, said that she had always felt something really special and important about the Book of Mormon but didn't really know what to do with it because she didn't understand the story. But that's not all: their mom, who had never wanted to talk to the missionaries before, arrived in the middle of the lesson and went straight to the kitchen, not saying much. But after awhile of listening while she was cooking, she came and sat down and listened attentively. At the end she said, "Wow, I'm sorry I never listened before. You teach beautiful things: please tell Nicole and Minelis when you are coming back, I want to be here to hear more." I was so happy. Haha. We also began teaching the daughter of Milagros--the woman who was in the hospital for stomach cancer. It was a really random lesson because we had only gone to Milagros' house to set up an appointment. But when we sat down and began to talk with her, the daughter started asking us all sorts of questions: "Why are there so many religions if there is only one God?" "Why do some people worship idols?" "How can I know which church is true?" I felt like I was being tested. We immediately began teaching her about the apostasy and the authority of prophets. When we finished we gave her a Book of Mormon and she began reading it even before we left. It was really cool. This past week we were reading the Book of Mormon with one of the recent converts--Jonathan--and it was really funny. He really understands what it means to apply the scriptures. He was reading about when Laman and Lemuel tied up Nephi in the wilderness, and he was mentally in pain by the idea! Haha. He said it out loud: "And Laman and Lemuel bound Nephi." And he stopped and said really loud, "Oh man!" And then he kept reading. haha. It was so funny. Well, I wish I could send you pictures: I know that you probably like getting pictures more than my letters. But this week I really wish I could send you pictures because I got a haircut: the man sheared me like a sheep. I call it the "caribean cut" because if I had dark skin I would be a Dominican! I got my hair cut last Monday and, well, usually people don't know what to do with my hair. And I always take off my glasses when they are cutting: bad idea. Haha. I left there with less hair than I've ever had in my life! I can't wait to send you pictures. I love you all and miss you! Elder Cevering

Email March 4, 2013

Hello Family! This week was a bit of a tough week for me. I've just felt really tired. We're just working, working, working. We had some good contacts that ended up falling through when we went back for lessons, and the ward members didn't help us much this week. Only one member left with us last week, which was a change from the three members who left with us the week before. I was really disappointed. Yesterday in the second hour of church--sunday school--I was waiting in the class to give an announcement to the members of the ward. There were SIX members seated, and all the rest (about 30) were outside talking about who knows what. I felt like Christ when He saw all the people selling animals in the temple. Let me plead with you all just one thing: If you have a testimony of missionary work ask yourselves this question: Do I have a testimony that it's important that the full-time missionaries do missionary work, or do I have a testimony that I myself am a missionary, with the responsibility to do missionary work? Let me tell you an experience from this past week: we asked one of the counselors do the stake president if he would be able to work with us ONE night that week. He told us, "Elders, I am really busy. It will have to be the next week." Then he said, "But talk to my wife about a time you can come to dinner at our house this week." Do you see the irony of that situation? We set up an appointment, and then rather than cooking for us they took us to Sizzlers and we were there for two hours. Two hours of missionary work lost. I was so disappointed. In all that time we could have been working with the counselor to the stake president, he took us to Sizzlers. I have gained a greater testimony of the word "Covenant" as described by Alma in Mosiah 18:8-10. Anyway, the good things of the week :) We had some great success with part of the the family of Juanita. There are two investigators--Omar and Rosa--who we taught a lot this week. Omar is the son of Juanita, and Rosa is his girlfriend. They told us this week that they will be married on the 23rd and then baptized, with their two children Gordo and Luis. It was a true answer to our prayers because before they hadn't wanted to be married. Omar didn't really explain to us what happened, but they almost got married and then he backed out. But he really loves the gospel: he told us that in his life he's done a lot of bad things. He told us that the only bad thing he hasn't done is murder. But he also told us that he doesn't want that life for his children and that he wants to receive forgiveness for his sins. He said, "You're going to have to baptize me four times." Haha. He and Rosa are so great. Rosa likes to text during church, so yesterday Elder Arteaga and I were acting like we were calling and texting her from outside the classroom. She was laughing. Haha. Okay, maybe I wasn't reverent in that moment and I was distracting her from the relief society lesson, but she really loves us a lot and loves the gospel. The biggest trial that they have is Juanita: Juanita is beginning to have panic attacks because she doesn't want to be the last one to be baptized. We found out that she asked Abigair to wait to be baptized with her, and not be baptized with her sons Felix and Jonathan who were baptized two weeks ago. Well, yesterday we found out Juanita has been trying to convince Rosa to wait until next May to be married and baptized at the same time as her. Why next May? Because Juanita needs to pay $200 in order to get divorced and won't have that money--prospectively--until next year. So she doesn't want everyone else to get baptized before her. We're going to have a good talk with her about that :) Other than that, we really are just working hard with other investigators. We visited with Maria Teresa last night: she was sick last week but we went and gave her a blessing and she felt great the next day. She has some sort of infection--I don't remember the word for it in English--and has to go to the hospital. But since she had the blessing she told us the majority of the pain has gone away. She will be in the hospital until Wednesday night and then we'll go visit her. We're trying to set a baptismal date with her for next Saturday (the 16th) but she is hesitant because she's not sure she can give up coffee. She's really prepared though from all her experiences, so I'm not worried about her. She has changed a lot. Well, I love you all and miss you. This was a tough week honestly, but the tough eventually turns into something good. We have some good plans this week so I think we'll be alright here in Carolina. Elder Cevering

Puerto Ricco Mission - Meeting with Elder Rasband & Elder Anderson

Tostones (Completed Product) These are fried, mashed, bananas.

At Juanita's House

Making Tostones & Photos of a Baptism

Email February 25, 2013

Hello Family, I am really tired! Haha. Elder Arteaga are hoping to take a nap today. We've been working really hard this past week: we've arrived to the house late and had to take Elder Delgado to Bayamon twice, and more. But a lot of great things are happening, so in the midst of the fatigue we're happy. We're also anxiously awaiting our move to the new house. First of all, Elder Delgado left. I am grateful for the lessons that I gained by being his companion. I love working with Elder Arteaga. He came from an area where he'd been for 7 months and he was ready to work hard. He and I had over 30 lessons this past week--23 of them were taught to investigators with members present. Colby can probably explain to you more about "member present" lessons. Elder Arteaga also really likes to joke around, so we don't just sweat and groan. We laugh a lot. He has some great stories from his old areas. We had two baptisms this past Saturday: Felix and Jonathan Rivera. They are two of Juanita's nephews. It was a really great baptism, and because of these baptisms we have had the ward is getting excited about missionary work. But about the baptism: when Felix was baptized he came up out of the water saying, "You drowned me!" to the bishop. Haha. And then Jonathan was really afraid to be baptized. He wouldn't go under water the first time: he grabbed on to the side of the font and wouldn't go under. But eventually the bishop was able to calm him down and gradually get him to go under the water. It was actually a really neat experience. I believe I told you about Milagros being in the hospital. Well, the doctors found a giant mass in her intestines or something and were sure it was cancer. But we gave her a blessing last Sunday, and then we went back and visited her on Tuesday. The doctors had still not operated on her. However, I had a strong impression that because of the blessing we gave her she would be fine. When they finally did the test on her--Thursday--they found out that the mass was not cancerous. It was truly a miracle performed by the power of the priesthood. She was so happy! When we went to visit Milagros on Tuesday we ran into a woman on the elevator who told us her grandson was really sick. We shared with her our calling as missionaries and priesthood holders and offered her our help. She accepted and told us to come back the next day with her to give a blessing. She gave us the floor and room number and then we left. The next day we went back to the hospital and to the floor and room the woman gave us: there was no little boy, but there was a family of 6, with a little girl who had dengue--an illness that comes from mosquitos. It's really dangerous and painful. We started talking to the family and found out that the little boy had been moved the day before and that this little girl had moved in right after. One of the sons recognized us as Mormons, and the mom had interest about what we were doing. We were able to share a message with them and they invited us to their house. It was really cool. While we were talking to that family in the hospital, the mom said: "Well, I want you to know that I'm not too religious. I drink a lot, and I smoke marijuana." But when she said it in Spanish she said it really fast like this: "Yo fumarijuana", and normally it would be "Yo fumo marijuana" but she joined the words. I thought she said "Yo fumo iguana." HAHA. We all laughed really hard, which helped us to break the ice even more. It was a really funny experience. Besides all of that, we are teaching a great family who I really love a lot: the family of Omar and Rosa. They are part of the family of Juanita, but they have lived in an apartment in a different city until last week. They moved into a house right next to Juanita. They all came to church yesterday: Omar and Rosa and their kids Luis, Gordo, and Jordan. Omar is really humble and has a lot of desire to be baptized, Rosa loves us and has seen how the gospel has affected her life, and the kids really love us too. They started climbing into our car yesterday when we went with members to pick them up for church. We had to tell them they couldn't drive with us, and they were disappointed. I love them a lot. Well, I love you all a lot too! The only thing that makes it possible for me to be away from you all is how much I love doing this work. I find myself hoping I can come back to the caribbean in the future and keep doing this work. Maybe it doesn't have to be in the caribbean, but I would love to come back here. My wife better be prepared! Haha. I better be prepared. Love ya! Elder Cevering

Email February 18, 2013

Hello Family! Wow, two weeks since writing: that's horrible. A missionary should always be able to write home haha. But last week we had too many things to do and too little time. We had transfers and at 11:00 Sunday night we found out we had to pick up Elder Arteaga--our new companion--in Caguas the next morning. That ruined our plans, and we had to go to Bayamon to get my license instead of Carolina. I was able to get it without having to take any tests, but we were there for 5 hours! So our p-day went out the window. I'm sorry, but I had to get other things done that day. It was a crazy two weeks here: we had a baptism with Pablo, which was really neat! He was so excited. We had a lesson with he and his wife a couple nights before, and the experience was very incredible. His wife--Maria--has never really listened to us. But she had her revelatory experience with us as we talked about the gift of the Holy Ghost. She told us that she had a dream one night where she saw two people dressed in funny white clothing. She didn't know who they were, but they smiled at her and then held hands and walked away into light. Well, she woke up from the dream and explained the people to Pablo: he told her that the people she described were his grandparents who had died many years ago. The clothes she described were the temple clothes! We were all shocked as she explained the way that Pablo's grandparents were dressed. We immediately began teaching about the sacred nature of the temples and the performing of temple ordinances for the dead. Pablo and Maria both began to cry, and the Spirit filled the room. Wow. It was pretty incredible. Then we had the baptism, and Elder Delgado performed the ordinance. But since Pablo has a bad knee I got to get in and help perform the ordinance as well. I was really excited to be a part of it. Then yesterday we confirmed the Holy Ghost in sacrament meeting and he will receive the priesthood in a couple of weeks in order to baptize Maria. The ward is really excited about it, and so are we. Our new companion is Elder Arteaga: he's from Bolivia. He has been here 9 months, and for 7 months he was in the same area on the south side of the Island. He was really excited to leave. Haha. We're only in a trio for now until Elder Delgado leaves next week, then it will be he and I. We're also moving into a new house in the neighboring city Pontezuela. The house is apparently really nice: the sister missionaries were telling us about it. The family of Juanita is really progressing but they have a big problem: Juanita and Samuel are not married, neither are the parents of anyone else in that family. Juanita's sister--Abigair--is not married to her boyfriend, and Juanita's son is not married to his wife. And all of the children and youth come from them! So we can't baptize them until they're married--that's what Preach my Gospel encourages us to do. But they all really love the gospel and have come to church consistently. The ward has really helped out in arranging rides for them every Sunday, which was been miraculous to us as missionaries. It was really cool yesterday to see a big old hummer--of one of the members--pull into the church yesterday, full of kids from Juanita's family squished in the back seat. Haha. So great. Well, lastly, one of our investigators Milagros is in the hospital. The doctors believe she has cancer: but in Puerto Rico, a paper cut can be considered cancer. We went and visited her in her hospital room: it was a really tender moment. She's really bloated: I can't think of a better word to describe her than that. She's only been there for three days too. But we went to give her a blessing, and as I was there I felt the love of the Savior for her. One of the most incredible feelings as a missionary is to have those moments to be with someone who is struggling so deeply, but to feel that the Lord is with them. I was so happy to be able to be with the other Elders and give her a blessing. What an opportunity to feel the love of the Lord. I love you all so much and miss you! Elder Cevering

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

Email January 28, 2013

Hello Family! Well, what a week! Haha I'm so excited to take a SHORT nap today. I've been super tired all week long: missions are a lot of work. It's spiritually and physically trying because you don't just labor with your body: as you exercise your faith in prayer, teaching, and fasting you find that you get worn out in spirit. Let me tell you a story! Yesterday we had 19 new faces in church. :)--smiling just like that. Haha. We had 8 of the family of 15 with us, 5 other investigators, and an inactive family that recently moved from Bayamon. The chapel was pretty full, which made the members so excited. After everyone had gone we had a meeting with the bishop, and the second counselor of the stake presidency came in and told us: "Tremendous work elders!" He told the bishop: "You have a FORCE with these elders to do whatever you need." And he said, "I wanted to take a picture of the chapel!" It was really great: they all really enjoyed it too. But back to what I was saying about being tired, when the final speaker in sacrament meeting said "amen" I had this random exhaustion come over me. It was a huge relief to have gotten all of these great new people through church--after a week of praying and teaching and organizing--and my spirit was at rest...for a little bit. Haha. When we got back to our apartment I sat down and sighed in relief, then realized: "Wait a minute, now we just have to work harder to get ALL of them their next week." HAHA. Oh man. In my life, I've definitely had trials and times when I labored hard to open the doors of heaven, but I've never so consistently been tried like this. But I've never had more joy in hardship than I have now. The week started with zone conference where President Alvarado announced that the mission is no longer a "knocking on doors" mission. He showed us the numbers of inactive and less-active members and said: "Get to work." Elder Delgado were already working with lists of the less-active and inactive, but the focus was intensified after President Alvarado made the announcement. Now all of our proselyting work is done through members and through the neighbors of less-active and inactive members. It's really effective. And let me tell you: the Lord prepared Carolina for this. When the members saw how many people we had in church this Sunday, they were moved upon! We got some references and invitations to dinner, which we weren't getting before. One of our investigators, Pablo--he lives out in the campo--didn't come to church yesterday, which was really disappointing. He has a baptismal date for this Saturday, which fell through because of his lack of attendance. We're meeting with him tonight--I believe--to talk to him. He's a really humble, intelligent guy and I hope he hasn't given up on the gospel. He has cancer though so he is pretty busy, which is understandable. He goes to the doctor a lot during the week and needs his rest. We bought him some hot chocolate mix to help him quit drinking coffee, so we'll see how that goes. We also contacted an old investigator last Saturday and he told us he is ready to accept the gospel now. He said he's just been kind of waiting for a reason to come to church: and then we showed up. It's really cool how that works out: when I very first got here to Carolina I went through the records of old investigators and picked out 6 to contact. Of those 6 we found this guy last Saturday--his name is Ismael--, another guy named Edwin--the guy who led us to his mom's house and told us that he wasn't actually Edwin--and a woman who invited us to her house this Tuesday. I don't remember her name. But it's been cool to see how they have all progressed: Edwin and his mom and son came to church on Sunday, Ismael invited us back to teach him this week and prepare him for church, and this other woman. The Lord is really guiding us. I told Elder Delgado that he and I were foreordained to break down the boulders that had caused so much damming here in Carolina. He said: "YEAH!" He and I aren't really great friends: I don't want to say a lot, but I'll just say that these past 4 weeks have been a great lesson of patience. We are becoming friends though. We have disagreements and a lot of differences, but we can always laugh, which is really good. I do miss having Elder Peacock as a companion though. Haha. I imagine that's how I'll feel a lot in the mission. Well, I love you all and miss you! Six months down: where did the time go? And: HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA! I love ya! Elder Cevering

Elder Cevering enjoying a yummy dinner!