Our week FLEW by! I was thinking to myself yesterday while we were contacting, "hmmm tomorrow's P-day.... WHAT?!? TOMORROW'S PDAY!!" haha. We've been working hard to keep our schedule FULL to the brim with appointments and back up plans. Being busy makes life go faster. I like being busy. :)
On Monday night we went over to Edward and Sandra's house. I think I mentioned last week that they were having some relationship problems..? Maybe I didn't. Well they were. We were a little bit nervous that our visit would turn into an argument where we would have to act as mediators. But, we started with a prayer, and it all worked out. They both expressed different reasons for being stressed: Sandra has been suffering from Gastritis for the last couple months, and because of their financial situation she hasn't been able to visit the doctor to get things resolved. Edward lost his job shortly after we started visiting them, so he feels like everything Sandra mentions about money, is an insult directed at him... Satan is really making things hard on this family... Luckily for us, the Holy Ghost is on our side, and with his help we were able to talk things out, and look at the situation from a Gospel perspective. We read from Moroni 7:44-48 about charity, and told them that Satan doesn't want them to be happy. He knows that the gospel will bring them the greatest happiness available to mankind, so he's gonna do EVERYTHING in his power to lead them away from it. And he ALWAYS starts by using pride and contention to break families apart. He knows that we're strongest when we're together, so he does all he can to get us alone! They committed to keep pressing forward, and to not give up. We gave them some tips on how to resolve contention in the house, and invited them to start praying as a couple to strengthen their relationship. :) We are SO blessed to have the gospel in our lives!
On Tuesday we had a district meeting in the morning. District meetings are good things. Ha. It's kinda like a weekly meeting to resolve conflicts in a judge-free zone. We can all talk openly and then make goals to get better as individuals and as a district. It's like family counsel. :) I'd suggest you all implement it in your lives. We spend between an hour and an hour and a half on it, cuz we have to talk about our investigators as well. But you guys could spend like half an hour on Sunday afternoon and have it over with. I promise you'll see a difference in the house. :)
In the evening we had a great lesson with a new kid we've been meeting with named Yojansen (Johansen). He's a 19 year old kid with lots of questions! We originally contacted into his mom at the back door of their house. ha. We were contacting a street and went down an alley way and knocked on her bedroom door thinking it was the front door. haha. Anyway, we came back to visit her (but we entered through the FRONT door) and Yojansen was there too. He's got lots of good questions. Like "If Christ said that we should be hot or cold, and NOT lukewarm (Revelations 3:15-16), then why do the "lukewarm" people get to go to the Terrestrial Kingdom?" Haha. As you can see, he's a thinker! We explained it with the example of taking a test in school: If Yojansen scored 100%, my companion scored 70% and I scored 30% on our Biology final, we wouldn't all deserve the same grade. Yojansen would get an A, Elder Meroño would get a C, and I'd get an F... We told him that we believe in a JUST God, and testified that each one of us will get EXACTLY what we deserve. He accepted our answer with an open heart, and committed to pray about it. If any of you have any thoughts or other ideas to better answer his question, I'm all ears. :)
Wednesday was Interview day! :) We all met up at our chapel (cuz we have air conditioning! :)) in the morning, and before President started interviewing he shared a short message. He talked about Nephi building the boat. He likened it to us in that sometimes we arrive in a new area, and we are commanded to go out and "build a ship." But sometimes we feel like Nephi; lost in the wilderness without tools... How can we possibly be expected to build a boat from the ground up WITHOUT TOOLS?! He went on to say that we all need to be like Nephi, and choose to have a good attitude about our situation. Instead of murmuring and making the problems worse like Laman and Lemuel, we should do like Nephi did; ASK the Lord where to find the ore to make tools. Then, we've gotta strike those rocks together like we've been taught, make some fire, and get to work. If we put our best foot forward, with a prayer in our heart, the Lord will guide us every step of the way. We're on His side! He'll never let us down!
Then while President called us in one by one for interviews, Hermana Rodriguez taught us how to cook lentils with pork chops and white rice. She rocks! She told us that we should be using fresh vegetables as spices, and avoiding things like sopita and vegetable oil. I wanted to look at my companion and say something snobby, but I didn't because that would be prideful. haha. He's always complaining about my use of vegetables in the food I cook. (So did Elder Fassett. haha. So I would blend them up and mix them in as a liquid so he didn't have to see them. lol.) But now I have the word of Hermana Rodriguez to back me up! :) Now he has to eat all the grown up food I cook for him!
After her presentation she took our weight and blood pressure. I'm still healthy. :) No worries mom. :)
At like 5:30 p.m. it was finally my turn to be interviewed. The pro to having interviews held in your chapel is that you don't have to travel very far to get there. But the con is that President always interviews you last cuz he knows you don't have to go very far to get home. haha. Anyway. We had a good talk. I told him that I wouldn't mind staying here in my area with Elder Meroño for another transfer... ha. Seeing that I've been here for 4 transfers already it's not likely... But I can dream right?!
Thursday!!! The 4th of July!!!!!! Also, my 15 month mark!!! Obviously we celebrated! We went to Carre Four (an American style super market with a food court) and ate Pizza Hut. :) Nothing more American than that, right? Man it was good! Sometimes I forget how tasty American food is. haha.
In the evening we visited with Yojansen again. We talked about the pre earth life, and then he wrapped it all up with a General Authority style prayer. It was AMAZING! He definitely knows who he's talking to when he prays, and the way he talks is as if he's SURE the things that he's praying for will come to pass. SO legit.
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My 15 month mark / 4th of July celebration. :) 7/4/13
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On Friday evening we had an INCREDIBLE lesson with Edward and Sandra. We read The Family: A Proclamation to the World with them, and discussed it paragraph by paragraph. The spirit was SO strong! We talked about the sanctity of marriage, and we talked some more about how hard Satan works to destroy families. When we talked about eternal marriage Sandra got really excited! They both have expressed that they want a family that will last longer than a few years. They want to make things work, and now that they know that through the power of the Priesthood they can be sealed together for eternity, THAT'S their goal! :) The Church is TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Saturday, after some Tangy Chicken and sweet potato fries, we started our fast. Usually Saturday afternoons are tough when we're fasting, but we made an effort to stay busy, and despite the rain, and the temptations of people offering us food, the day was pretty easy. ha. We made sure we were in someone's house the WHOLE day! It was great! :) Lots of new people accepted our visit, and I actually have some high hopes for a couple of them. :) I'll keep you all updated.
Yesterday was GREEAAATTT! I taught a lesson on Charity in Sunday school, and EVERYONE participated! It was so cool to hear the opinions and experiences of these humble people. They live with basically nothing, but by nature are SO giving! Anything they have they share! If they bring home a bottle of juice, they pass it around and EVERYONE in the house gets a swig. If someone has a plate of food, and more people show up, they divide it up so that everyone can have some. I felt like such a looser giving a Charity lesson to the most humble, and charitable people on the planet. Ha. That's definitely a Christ-like Attribute that I can work on. :)
In the evening, after knocking like 182736464782028 doors, we went down to the Montero Family's house. They are all doing well. :) Everyone but Esperanza came to church in the morning, and they all had something to report about! They are SO great! It's been so awesome to watch the gospel take root in their lives. They have made HUGE progress since I met them 5 months ago. :) They are definitely on the fast track to the temple, and no matter what's going on in my life at the time, I'm gonna be there with them!
This morning we woke up, cleaned our nasty little apartment, and then went to a combined zone activity. It was good to see some familiar faces. :)Elder Maner (my companion from back in Independencia) was there. He goes home in 3 weeks! How nuts! Also, my trainer, Elder Pemberton, was there! I haven't seen him since he trained me a year ago! It was good to see them again. :) Plus, we're all still brothers in the Lord, so I couldn't be happier. Being a missionary is the best!
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Soccer
activity 7/8/13
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| Elder Suaste (The Mexican kid I took out on exchanges from the CCM in my third transfer) and I |
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Elder Maner and me
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Anyway. There's the report for the week. I hope you guys all realize how much you mean to me. Thank you for your love and support. I'm blessed. :) I know the Church is true. I'm more and more sure of it every day. Just do what is right, and it will all work out!
Love,
Elder Cade Mooney
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