Elder Cade Mooney: ¡¡Que tal familia mía!! -- Monday, September 30, 2013

Hey guys. :)

It was another incredible week out here in the mission field. :) I can't even express how blessed I feel to be here serving the Lord. I have the best Zone, the best companion, the best investigators, and the best area in the BEST mission in the whole world! I'm happy. :) ALL the time! haha.

This week was a busy one! We had not one, not two, but THREE intercambios! That's unheard of! My companion spent two nights, and three days in other areas! Besides that we had other assignments and commitments all week long, so we were only in our house to eat and sleep. I like being busy. :)

Elder Alvarado and I ran up in the mountains for our run on Tuesday morning. :) Preppin for a marathon! 9/24/2013

Barahona :) 9/24/2013

Me and Vida (Karen and Carlos' baby) 9/24/2013

On Wednesday we had district meeting with Batay, and then I took Elder Montes with me back to our area. He is from Nicaragua (just like my comp!), he has 5 months in the mission, and has SO much ánimo! Every time I would tell him about something in the mission, or my area, he would say "WOW!" with great big eyes. ha. I kinda felt like a super hero. haha. His love for the work and the people are inspiring. :) I want to be more like Elder Montes.

On Thursday we went with the Clawsons (the elderly couple in charge of house inspections) to Enriquillo. The Elders out there haven't made many changes as far as hygiene and cleanliness go, so the Clawsons asked us to tag along and share our thoughts with our Elders. :) It went really well. They committed to clean up their house! Plus, we got to take some AWESOME photos of the views along the way. :)

Our drive to Enriquillo with the Clawsons 9/26/2013

The pool thing is called Playa Los Patos. It's where a fresh water river meets the sea, so you can swim in the ocean, and then go rinse off in the clean river water. SO legit! I about jumped in! haha.

José David and Carlos Alberto. :) They remind me of Cole and Chaz. 9/26/2013

Me with the Clawsons! 9/27/2013

On Friday we had District meeting with Tamayo, and then Elder Roca and I came back to our area to talk and teach. Elder Roca is from Peru, he's been in the mission for almost a year, and from him I learned how to better teach people, not lessons. He is very open with the people he teaches, and shares personal experiences based on the needs of the investigator. :) Apart from teaching, we did a lot of talking. He's having a tough time with his current companion, so we talked about applying gospel principles to bring the Spirit, and strengthen their companionship. ha. Maybe I should be a marriage counselor. HA. Totally kidding. I'll stick to helping missionaries for now. :)

My companion and I with the district of Tamayo, and the Sister leaders
(they happened to plan their intercambio on the same day as ours) 9/27/2013

On Saturday morning the Clawsons called us and told us they weren't able to see the inside of the house they're looking to rent for the Elders in Cabral (an area we're trying to open near Barahona. They have one active member, and more 8 baptisms this weekend!). They asked us if we'd be able to go out there with Elder Polanco and Elder Cardenas to take some pictures of and give them our impressions on the house. We had already planned a day full of visits that we couldn't miss, so I sent my companion with Elder Polanco to see the house and work in Cabral for the day, and Elder Cardenas and I came back to cover our visits here in the pueblo. :) Elder Cardenas just hit 2 months in the mission. :) He's about as green as they get! Like Elder Montes, he has lots of ánimo, and is ridiculously excited about the work. Also, it seems to me that he's been studying like a mad man for the last 2 months, cuz his teaching methods were SPOT ON! I felt like he was the old missionary, and I was the greeny! ha.

Side note: While Elder Cardenas and I were walking by the beach between appointments, we found a guy selling giant conch shells. My companion has been trying to find one for as long as I've been here with him, so I jumped on the chance and bought him one, along with some other little shells, and then surprised him with them when he got home. :) I think I've mentioned it before, but my companion is a really serious sort of guy, that gets excited about very few things... But oh man, let me tell you, the smile on his face when he opened the bag and saw the shells was... PRICELESS! ha. All he said was "thanks." and gave me a fist bump, but I could tell he was so happy he could die. haha. My comp is SO great! I definitely missed him while he was away for three days this week.

To end the week off with a bang, we got together with the Districts of Tamayo and Batay this morning to play soccer and then went to PalaPizza for lunch. :) I've said it before, and I'll say it again; The missionaries in our zone are the greatest in the world! :)