Hello Family! - Monday, April 22, 2013

Hey guys!!! 

This week was another incredible one! haha. I sometimes wonder if you people get sick of hearing that phrase... lol. I'm sorry if you do, but they just keep happening! 

We've spent the last week or so in sort of a funk... Last week we worked SUPER hard, but none of the people we invited to church made it... Everyone had something random and serious happen all on the same day. ha. Satan is cool like that I guess. His goal was to get our hopes down, and to make us loose steam. To an extent he did... We didn't work any less hard, but my heart really wasn't in it... Anyway. We had a good companionship inventory about our investigators, and our lack of Ánimo, and decided that we could change some things up... Mainly pray more as a companionship. We always pray before we go out, and at meals and stuff, and up until like a week and a half ago we were religious with our night time companionship prayer. Anyway, we made it a goal to get back in the habit of saying out nightly prayers together, and man did it help! We could hardly believe it when SIX of our investigators showed up at church yesterday!!! :) God truly does bless us for our obedience! Also, I now understand why President is so adamant about nightly companionship prayers. I've always done it just to be obedient to Pres, but now I understand how much of a difference it truly makes! If you are currently latched to a companion of some sort (especially of the eternal sort), I challenge you to make an effort to be better with your companionship prayers. Also, to pray for your companion. I can't even express how much it helps with unity and love. It's like that marriage triangle diagram thing: The closer we get to God as a companionship, the closer we get together. :) Say your prayers. :) 

Also, this week we've made some grand strides with our ward leaders. :) We set up a meeting with our Bishop on Wednesday night to ask him for Less Active Families in the ward that he wants us to visit and also to discuss our current Ward Mission Leader situation (he's less active himself... ha). We had a good long talk and decided it would be best to help our current mission leader magnify his calling rather than call another. So we set up a meeting this Wednesday night with the Second Counselor in the Bishopric and the ML. We have high hopes. :)

Also, Yesterday, our bishop stood at the pulpit and said "well today we're gonna give the Youth a break (every third Sunday he calls on 4 or 5 random youth from the congregation to give a talk that they've all been told to previously prepare), and we're going to hear from the Missionaries in our ward. hahahahahaha!! We were SO surprised! He's never called on the missionaries before, and he didn't give us the slightest heads up! But as missionaries do, we all whipped something out, and each gave a solid 7 to 15 minute talk. Ha. I talked on Elder Holland's "Broken things can be Mended" (at least that's how I think it translates... ha. It's from last years April conference I believe, and I keep it in my scripture case at all times for just such occasions), and used verses from Alma 7 to express the depth of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. :) It actually went really well. :) And the after effects were even better. :) We had TONS of members come up to us after and tell us how much they enjoyed sacrament meeting. Plus, we had 2 different members come up and set appointments with us to give us references! In our ward, that's a HUGE deal!!! It was SO great to feel that love, support and trust from the members in our ward! We are so excited to get out there and get some work done this week! Our bishop also has expressed a desire to come out with us to meet our progressing investigators. :) We have lots of high hopes for the growth of our ward! :) Now we've just got to get some rockin' activities planned to keep all this missionary work ánimo flowing! 

Anyway. :) Our investigators are still doing really well. :) 

Annie: has been on hold this last week. We wanted to see if she really had a desire, and if she'd come to church all on her own without us passing by, and calling her all the time. :) I doubted her a little, but she pulled through! We're going over to her house to talk to her tonight. I will let you know how it goes. 

Jisela, Dilka and Daniela: They're the family I told you about that the Montero Family introduced us to (they're neighbors). They are doing really well! Jisela had to work yesterday, but both Dilka and Daniela still got up bright and early to come to church. :) They are all still excited about their baptism date, and have started the first Book of Nephi with the goal to read the Book of Mormon ALL the way through! :) 

Julio: Julio is a guy that we started teaching last Saturday. He saw us in the street one night, and told us he wanted us to come by. We've passed by like 3 times now, and he is just eating this stuff up! He reads everything we leave with him, and the last two times we've passed by, he's pulled out a sheet of paper filled with questions on the things he's read. :) Unlike other investigators we've taught with lots of questions (i.e. Dani), Julio accepts ALL our answers. :) He understands them, or keeps questioning until he does. :) He also woke up at the crack of dawn (big deal for him because he works until 11 pm on Saturday nights, and has to work again on Sunday afternoon) to come to church with us. :) He loved it! He said it was a little long, and he was tired, but he headed home planning to write all his questions down so we can answer them tomorrow morning when we pass by. 

La Familia Montero: They're all doing well. They watched The Testaments movie like 5 times this week. haha. They are all so great. Adriana calls us her hijos, and always brings us piles of food when we stop by their house. :) Also, Yoel is still wearing his "swear word punishment bracelet" and he says it's going well. :) We'll keep loving him, and praying for him until he decides it's time to take the plunge. And with all our prayers (even Adonis, the littlest, prays for him to get baptized in every prayer), I don't think it will take long. Ha. 

Núris and Desereé: A mom and daughter that we contacted into last week. :) The are both long time inactive members, but have recently had some schedule changes, and were just in need of some ánimo to get back to church. :) So we brought it. They came to church with us yesterday. :) We've got another appointment with them this week, so I'll let you know how it goes. So far they're proving to be the easiest reactivation EVER. ha. 

We're still contacting lots, and bugging lots of people to give us references. :) We've made a goal to get to know our ward better, and to increase our references. So if all goes as planned our investigator pool should be growing A LOT in the near future. :) 

Other than all that, we're doing just great. :) It's been raining lots and lots lately, but that's kinda just how this island is. lol. It's funny that I used to think Utah weather was bipolar. ha. Here it can be sunny, one minute, and POURING buckets the next. It's nuts! We've actually sat and listened to the rain come in... ha. The second we hear it in the distance we know it's time to run for the nearest colmado and hunker down. ha. 

Anyway. Life is great. I love being a missionary! I know this Church is true, and I am proud to be a part of this great Work! 

I love you all! Keep the faith! 

Love,

Elder Cade Mooney 

Querido Familia Mía. - Monday, April 15, 2013

Hello everyone!!

 

I hope you all had a fantastic week! Cuz I sure did! I agree with Grandma Mooney, she says "I've decided that busy is a lot better than not having enough to do." Ha. Life is great at the moment, and it's because we're so busy! Lots and Lots of people to teach, and goals to reach! 

This week we had a big ol' Zone Meeting where our ZL's talked to us about the definitions of "Baptismal Date," "Progressing Investigator," and "Projection." Apparently President is raising the bar, and wants all of us to change our mind set on how we view our investigators' potential. Then, the ZL's gave us a fairly fervent testimonial of the Preach My Gospel challenge to invite all investigators to be baptized in the first lesson. They said they've been doing it for the last week and a half, and have already seen a huge difference in their lessons as well as in the devoutness of their investigators. So... Elder Fassett and I decided to put it to the test. Up until now, we've been inviting those that we've felt inclined to invite, but definitely not on the very first visit. Anyway, this last week, we've put a baptismal date with EVERY SINGLE person that let us into their house! And if they don't accept a baptismal date, we leave them with a pamphlet and invite them to church, but don't set a return appointment...

The first couple of days we were walking by faith, but after a week of putting it in practice, I'm a huge fan. The baptismal date makes the investigator realize that we're not just passing by for Bible Study, but we have an important purpose, and we want to help them change their lives. Also, it really does a good job of weeding out the people that are just too nice to tell us to stop passing by, as well as those that just want to talk to us cuz we're white, or cuz they think we have money. haha. 

 

This week, we've had 15 people accept baptismal dates in the first lesson, and we've got plans for even more tonight and tomorrow. :) It's really been cool to step it up in our work. We've already seen the blessings of it, and we both have TONS more ánimo to contact and to visit people for the first time. :) Hard work is good work. :)

Also, this week, we had a bomb town district meeting. I've been thinking a lot lately about how best to help my lil district as far as work ethic, and desire goes. I decided to have a discussion on the reasons we came on missions. It was incredible to revisit that preparation stage with each of our district members, and to kindle those same flames that got us out here in the first place. It was also cool to take a moment and look back at how far we've come. This mission truly is the greatest thing I've done with my life thus far. I know this is where God wants me to be, and I am so grateful for the patience and love He's shown me thought this process of growth and learning. I've learned SO much in this last year, and am looking forward to the things He has in store for me to learn in the next 12 months. I love being a missionary!

As far as investigators go... They're doing well. 

Anni is currently in the dog house cuz as of late she's been choosing the things of the world over the things of God. She knows what's right, and we're constantly trying to buoy her up, but she's not really doing much for herself. We'll just keep praying for her, and hoping that she comes around. 

The Montero family is doing well. Still loving church, and all our lessons. We took The Testaments movie over with us on Saturday and watched it as a family. :) There were tears shed, and they asked if they could borrow it and watch it again. :) I invite all of you to rewatch the Testaments as a family, and then write down what the Book of Mormon means to you. 

Darlina is surviving... Satan knows just as well as we do that she's a golden investigator... Oh how I hate that guy. 

She loved the gospel pamphlet we left with her, and was all pumped for the Restoration... Then out of the blue, her husband Charlie (the one I told you was an answer to her prayers) up and broke her heart. For her sake, I'll spare you all the details, but right now, they've mutually decided that it would be best to live separate. She says it'll most likely be permanent, and that it's for the best... I really am just blown away at how quickly Satan tears people down the minute they find the Truth. He knows where God's truth is found, and he does EVERYTHING in his power to divert people from that one, true course. 

The rest of them are movin' right along. We've got lots of high hopes for all these new baptismal dates. We know God wants the best of each of his children, and we're blessed to be on His side! With Jesus as our Quarterback, we'll win the game for sure!! :) 

I love you all. I hope this lil letter finds you all happy and healthy. Especially Uncle Zac. 

This Church is true. In case you were wondering. 

Love, 

Elder Cade Mooney

 

Has it really been a year??? - Monday, April 8, 2013

Hello Family!!!

Wow! It has been such a great week! I love being a missionary!!

Tuesday, we were out and about proselyting like we do, and we met a woman named Darlina. She is about as golden as they come. We sat down with her and had a good talk to get to know her, and to identify some of the spiritual experiences she's had in order to help us decide whether or not she is some one that God has been preparing. Whelp... She is one of those people. The lady has attended every church that she could think of, in search of the truth. She told us that she really likes some of the churches, especially the 7th day Adventist's (mostly for their "word of wisdom"), but for some reason or another, all the churches she's attended have just felt wrong. Finally, she told God that she was gonna do her best to follow His commandments on her own, and wait until He sent her the truth. :) So... God sent us. :) She really is just a fantastic lady. She is the mother of 2, her husband is a super good guy (that was, in fact, an answer to one of her prayers :)) and never drinks or smokes or does anything dumb. She loves her family with all her heart, and wants SO badly to be with them forever. She wants to do what's right, and we are gonna help her learn how. :) 

 

Also, that same afternoon, we met with a kid named Marcos that we've been visiting for the past couple weeks. He's a 21 year old college student, and he's a genius. We sat down with him and had one of the best lessons on Faith and Repentance that I've had thus far. To find a base of his Gospel understanding, we asked him what Faith was. He responded with a thought out metaphor that compared faith in God, to confidence in your cell phone company; if you are obedient, and "pay your bills on time" you can always trust that God will "support your phone calls" just like He told you He would when you "signed the contract." ha. I just bert stared him.... I spend all day everyday teaching people about this stuff, and I don't even understand it as well as Marcos. haha. SO cool! I have extremely high hopes for both Marcos and Darlina! God is trusting us with many of His prepared sons and daughters as of late. :) It's exhilarating! This truly is HIS work!!!  

Wednesday I directed my very first District Meeting... Ha. We spent the morning in search of the church keys so we could go have our meeting in the Relief Society room, and we even went to a member's house to borrow some, but they weren't home. Turns out, the other missionaries accidentally took our set home with them last P-Day. So... We had a meeting in our front room around the little, white, plastic, patio furniture style table in our kitchen. haha. Despite the fact that I was an arms length from my bed, the meeting went of without a hitch! :) We each picked a random Attribute of Christ and gave a short talk about it, then we had a good discussion on how to better help each of our progressing investigators. 

 

In the afternoon we had some rockin lessons. We talked to Anni, and she expressed some feelings of emptiness. We asked her why she thought she was feeling that way, and explained to her that God gives us as much as we give to Him; if we give Him our WHOLE heart, He will fill it ALL THE WAY up. Then we discussed ways that she could show the Lord that she really does have the desire to serve Him. We decided that prayer was a good place to start, and then helped her find ways to make her prayers more personal and spiritual. :) 

Later on we taught Victor (that guy I told you about that has two boys named Coby and Bryant), and had one heck of a discussion on repentance. He was EATING IT UP! Everything we talk to him about he just soaks up like a sponge! It's so cool to see things click for him. He's constantly saying "I started going to that church when they built it, why in the world did I stop??" :) Our Church is SO true. And it just makes sense to people. :) We have THE answers to EVERYTHING! :) Yay for modern revelation! 

Thursday was April 4th, 2013. The day of Elder Fassett and my anniversary. ha. Better said, OUR YEAR MARK! We are officially half way there! It's all down hill from there! :)
It was the perfect day. :) We started it off with a nice session of X-Stretch (cuz we just finished "rest week" on our journey through the jungle of P90X... Where even "rest week" is extreme. ha), a solid study block, and then we went out for lunch with Elder Wadman and Elder Nelson at Shock Pizza (a real life Italian man owns it, and he cooks in a brick oven. Ha. He moved to the DR cuz he fell in love with a Dominican lady. ha. And thank heavens he did, cuz his pizza made my day). 

Our day of proselyting also rocked. We had a second lesson with Darlina, and talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and right there and then she accepted a baptismal date. :) She's SO great! 

 

Then, that evening we met with Jisela, Dilka and Daniela. I can't remember if I told you about them or not... They are a family (mom and 2 daughters)  that we've been meeting with for a couple weeks now. They live two doors down from the Montero Family (the ones we just baptized), they witnessed the effect of the gospel on that whole family and asked us to pass by. So we did, and it turns out, they've been waiting for the truth just like Darlina. Anyway, on Thursday night there was no power (which is semi normal, and actually often ends up working in our favor), so we taught and testified of the First Vision and the Restoration of Christ's one and only True Church by candle light. It was INCREDIBLE. I cant even tell you how strong the spirit was in that room. At the end, Elder Fassett and I felt impressed to invite the family to be baptized, and they accepted without skipping a beat. :) God works miracles in the hearts of men. I testify of that. :) 

 

Then to finish off the perfect day, we came home and burned our Year Mark shirts. :) We used some sketchy lighter fluid we found at the super market for the equivalent of one American Dollar. haha. It worked really well. :) Lots of fire, and it left almost nothing behind. :) Then, to seal the deal, we read our journal entries from that fist night in the Provo MTC out loud, and just laughed at how far we've come spiritually, emotionally, and everything else-ally. haha. Missions are cool. To all those currently considering missionary service, I highly recommend it.

Friday we had interviews with President Rodriguez. :) Subject to form, Hermana Rodriguez talked to us while we all awaited our turn in the hot seat. She talked about obedience, and likened life to a suspension bridge and the commandments and mission rules to the fence/barrier on either side of the road. The rules aren't there to restrict us, they're there to protect us. We need to keep our fence well mended by being obedient, because Satan is constantly trying to poke holes and drag us through them. If we do as we are instructed by leaders, and if we follow the example of "good fence menders" in our lives, we will be safe, and we'll make it all the way to the other side. :) Then she talked about trials and hard times. She likened the mission, and/or life, to a race and every time we come to a hurdle, we need to exert more force to leap over it instead of giving up and waiting for the hurdle to move. Every hurdle we leap will get us one step closer to the finish line and it will give us more strength and self confidence to clear the next one. I'm grateful for inspired leaders. God really does send them to help us and to guide us. :) 

My interview with President was good. It was short and to the point, but that's all I really needed. :) Plus, I was the VERY last one, and he was a little tired. haha. During the interview he told me he barely recognized me, and asked how much weight I've lost on the mission. haha. P90X must be doing something for me. ;) 

Saturday and Sunday were like Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. :) Conference was EXACTLY what I needed! I've been mulling over some life plans as of late, and I received some much desired counsel from our latter day Prophet and his Apostles. :) My favorite talks (yes... there's more than one... I figure since you all talked it out last night, and I have all your attention, I'll just tell you about 'em) were:

 

First, Elder Richard G. Scott's talk on Saturday afternoon, because A. He is a boss, and personally translates his conference addresses into Spanish. :) He sounds the same in Spanish, and it made me really happy to hear his voice instead of a translators. And B. He compared the gospel to asphalt that fills in all the pot holes of the roads of our lives. THAT IS SO TRUE!!! My life, AND the lives of my investigators are SO much smoother when we are living the Gospel. :) 

 

Second, Elder Bednar's talk from the same session. I took TONS of notes, because it was SO clear! Sometimes (even with a year in the mission), the Law of Chastity is a little tough to explain. I am so excited to print that talk out and share it with a specific few of my investigators. :)

 

Third, Elder Uchdorf's talk on Sunday morning. He has a gift. I love that he uses real life examples, and relates them to each of us personally. Christ truly does invite all those that are walking in the darkness, to come and enjoy the warmth and protection of His light. He is the light and the life of the World. If we give ourselves to Him, we will never need to fear, no matter how dark and dreary the way. 

 

Fourth, and finally, Elder Holland's talk on Sunday afternoon. "Do not fear; only believe." If we have faith in the Savior Jesus Christ, and believe on His word, we will never need to fear. We have all been taught the things that are right (if you ever need a refresher course, read the Book of Mormon), and if we do what we KNOW we're supposed to, we'll be taken care of. :) 

 

Basically every word spoken during the conference was music to my ears. JUST what I needed to hear. :) God is SO good to us! We are SO blessed to have a living Prophet today, and to be able to listen to his words through modern day technology, NO MATTER WHERE WE ARE! We are blessed! 

 

My heart goes out to Riley... Only 2 weeks in the field, and already had to sit through conference in Korean... I know the spirit speaks all languages, so I hope you give lots of heed to the parts that you understood! :) You're my hero bro. ha. Thank heavens I got called Spanish speaking! 

Anyway. I love all of you people. And so does our Heavenly Father. This church is true. And I'm not saying that cuz the constant repetition of that phrase has brainwashed me into believing it; I say it cuz I've witnessed it's power, and truthfulness. I love being a missionary. I challenge you all to get a hold of the May Ensign ASAP and re-study all those talks! They're FULL of good stuff! 

Who's on the Lord's side, Who? I am. At least trying to be. 

Anyway. I gotta go. I still have to get a letter off to Pres, and then we're headed to Taco Night at Anni's house for Family Home Evening. :)

All my love and prayers,

Elder Cade Mooney

Hullo Fam Bam Damn Fam - Monday, April 1, 2013

For all of the world to know: This email will be short, and cranky cuz a certain some of you are currently in the Dog House, and should be thinking about what you've done instead of reading my email. You know who you are.

This week we had a super great service project on Thursday as a zone. :) We went to a family's house in the Zone Leader's area and helped them dig trenches by hand so that they can lay the foundation of a house. haha. It was hard core. We spent 4 hours picking at hard clay, and then excavating the dirt clods with shovels, hands, and anything else we could find. Ha. I learned lots of gratitude for things like backhoes, and trench diggers. :) 

Also, this week was Holy Week! Which means EVERYONE goes out of town except the cool people, and they all just stay home and make Habichuelas con Dulce with the missionaries. :) We had lots of failed appointments, but we also ate lots and lots of sweet beans. If you're all really nice to me for the next year, and avoid planning additional vacations to my island, I might consider cooking some for you all. Cuz it is delicious! But let me just say... Beans, Beans the magical fruit, the more you eat the more you toot, the more you toot the better you feel, so let's have Beans for every meal! haha. That's about how we feel at the moment. 

Another fun tid bit of news. On Tuesday afternoon, the Zone Leaders called me up, and told me that President has called me to be the District Leader over our happy little house full of missionaries. :) Essentially my life is the same, I just talk to the Zone Leaders a lot more often. But they are good young men that don't criticize or demand locura. So I feel blessed. 

Life at the moment is really swell. Our investigators are still our investigators, and we are still seeing lots of miracles. Missionary work is cool. :) God loves us.

Elder Fassett and I are kinda just bubbling over with excitement because we are going to turn one year old together this Thursday and we are going to have a party, and burn things. :) Haha. Lots and Lots of anticipation. I will fill you all in next week. :) 

Anyway. I wish I could've been more cranky... But being a missionary makes that really hard, even if the people dearest to your heart decide to take a hand full of Trunkiness and punch you in the mouth with it. 

Life is good! Happy Holy Week everyone! Remember that Christ lives, and because He does, so will we! That is the Good News! 

Love you all. 

Love, 

Elder Cade Mooney

¡Hola Mis Queridos! - Monday, March 25, 2013

Family!

This week was UNREAL!!!!

I am way too excited to tell you all the great things that have
transpired; therefore, I will skip the chronological play by play of
my week, and get right to the good stuff!

DIONI AND ADRIANA ARE MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER
DAY SAINTS!!! After all the blood, the sweat and the tears, they are
officially new people, free from sin! I honestly don't think I could
be happier!

The preparation and cleansing process went as follows:
On Friday, we spent the morning baking... Ha. We made chocolate fudge,
peanut butter brownies (courtesy of my birthday package), chocolate
chip cookies, and banana bread! It took ALL day! Ha. Elder Fassett and
I both came away from the experience with a new found gratitude for
electric mixers, electronic ovens, cookie sheets, and other such
kitchen utensils. Elder Fassett started out mixing the cookie dough
with a fork, and after about 5 minutes of that, he gave up and just
used his hands. haha.

After all our goodies were out of the oven and cooling on the counter,
we changed our clothes, and headed over to the Judicial office
building to meet up with the happy couple. We waited like half an hour
for our appointment (we were scared of Satan's meddling, so we decided
to be super early just in case), and then went in to the Judges
Chambers and had a little ceremony. The judge lady was super serious.
ha. Hard core. She had us sign papers, and then said her little piece,
told them to kiss, and then sent us on our way. No bulto, no wiri
wiri.

Then we went over to the church for their baptismal interviews, which
they passed with all the colors of the wind, and then we made our way
back down to their house for the reception/after party. :) We had a
little vow/ring ceremony with all the kids present, and then we pigged
out of sweet things and rice and beans. Best. Wedding Reception. Ever.
Then on Saturday afternoon we had the greatest baptism one could wish
for. We spent the morning and afternoon trying to get the pump to work
(obviously Satan couldn't make it that easy...), and with a little
help from a church maintenance man, we got the font filled ALL the way
up with plenty of time to spare! :) I baptized Adriana, and
immediately following, Elder Fassett baptized Dioni. :) Everyone was
all smiles, and change in the countenance of both Adriana and Dioni
was vivid. :)

Yesterday morning they were confirmed members of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints, and were promised the blessing of the
constant company of the Holy Ghost in accordance with their obedience.
:)

To say the least. I am one happy, little missionary.

On top of the Baptism of the Century, we received some more great news
last night in the form of transfer calls! ELDER FASSETT IS STAYING
HERE WITH ME FOR ANOTHER WHOLE TRANSFER!! Seeing that he has already
been in this area for 6 months, our hopes of him staying weren't very
high, but it seems that God heard more than just our prayers
concerning the Montero Family, because we get 6 more glorious weeks to
work our tails off and to have all kinds of (missionary appropriate)
fun! :) We couldn't be more pleased. :) Nor could our beloved
investigators. :) I don't think any of us were quite ready to say
goodbye. And thanks to many prayers of faith, we don't have to just
quite yet. :) We are blessed.

As for our beloved investigators:
Yoel (son of Dioni and Adriana) has accepted a baptismal date for the
end of April. We had a good talk with him, and he explained to us that
he doesn't quite feel ready to be baptized, because he struggles with
Profanity; an understandable and oh so pardonable struggle. But he is
set on bettering himself in that sense before his baptism. So we've
been brainstorming some ideas to help him stop swearing. Ha. For some
reason, the thought of helping someone quit smoking sounds so much
simpler than helping someone quit swearing. Our best idea so far is to
give him a rubber wrist band to wear, and then every time he swears,
have him snap himself with it. ha. I'll keep you updated.

Anni is still doing well. She is happy, and still loves our visits.
We've basically been adopted into their family, and always enjoy our
time over there. We've talked about the Word of Wisdom, and the Law of
Chasity in depth with Anni and her boyfriend Rafael. We bore lots and
lots of testimony, and they both committed to live according to said
commandments, so now we will continue in fervent prayer and
encouragement as they attempt to make these big changes in their
lives.

This last week we found a solid new investigator. His name is Victor
and he is a boss. He's a stay at home dad (due to being laid off) with
two little boys, the 6 year old is named Coby and the 3 year old is
named Bryant. haha. Brilliant. He is a Christian man, that is not
currently attending a religious sect, but he has a firm desire to get
to know God a little bit better, and his eyes lit up like sparklers on
the Fourth of July as we explained the promised blessings of living
the Gospel. We have another appointment to meet with him on Wednesday
afternoon. So I will let you know how that goes.

Also, we started teaching a rough looking, young man called Randol. We
met him like 3 weeks ago while we were sitting on some steps in front
of a Colmado drinking some Coco Rico (a delectable carbonated coconut
beverage). He walked up to us and just started talking to us. So we
had a nice conversation just to pass the time, and then he walked
away. Since then, every time we see him in the streets we go over and
say hi, and see how things are going. Anyway, at the beginning of this
week he asked us what we do as missionaries, and after a brief
explanation he asked us when we could stop by. So we set up an
appointment, and stopped by a couple days later. Randol is in his
early twenties, he's covered from head to toe in tattoos and body
piercings, and he works as a motor cycle taxi driver. He lost his
parents as a toddler, and was raised by his aunt and grandmother. He
seems to be a God fearing man, and he seems really interested in what
we have to share with him. So, at this point, we are going full speed
ahead. Wish us luck! :)

Wascar is still meeting with us twice a week, and is always a pleasure
to talk to. He's good at studying, and loves to read, but he didn't
come to church with us this week, and it really doesn't seem like he's
in this 100%, so we will see where things go from here.

Anyway. I hope you are all doing as well as I am. :) I know this
church is true, and I feel so blessed to be a part of God's army. I am
a personal witness to the changes that the Gospel brings about in
peoples lives. :) It is so real! And so great!

I love you all!

Love,

Elder Cade Mooney