Trials = Blessings -- Monday, November 25, 2013

Hey guys! 

This week we saw miracles, and learned a lot about ourselves and the love that Heavenly Father has for each and every one of us. :)

At the moment we're teaching a lady named Mari. She was a referral from the Primary President in our ward. We met her at a Family Home Evening that Bertolina (Primary Pres.) invited us to. The first time we shook hands she was very polite, but timid and cold... Just not quite as open as your average Dominican. I found it strange, but after Bertolina told us a little more about her situation I understood why...

Mari is an incredible woman. She is of humble circumstances and has been blessed with some special trials... But, regardless of the hardships, does everything she can to push on. Her 9 year old daughter, Juliana, is mentally handicapped. She was born retarded, along with some deformities of her face and mouth. Due to the struggles of their past, mainly financial, Mari and Juliana's biological father are indefinitely separated. He comes around every once in a while to see them, but essentially Mari is on her own. With the help of friends, her own hard work, and government organizations, she's been able to afford a major surgery to fix the main deformities in Juliana's mouth. She does everything she can with her limited resources to protect and provide for the special spirit the Lord has entrusted her with.

  

Bertolina was a god send for Mari, because she also has a special needs daughter with a similar syndrome and she's faced many of the same trials along the way. For the last couple of years Bertolina has acted as a second mother and/or mentor for Mari; offering love, support, and advice on all things special needs. She's always tried to keep her advice giving primarily focused on the situation, but has always leaned heavily on gospel principles for help and further explanation... :) And that's how God prepares people to accept the Gospel. :)

After inviting Mari to attend church and participate in family home evenings and the like, Hermana Bertolina decided she was ready for the missionaries. :) She had us over to meet with her in a Family Home Evening (no pressure situation), and then left it up to us! ha. She told us she was gonna help us make contact and then bow out for a while, because she doesn't want Mari to feel like she needs to take the discussions and do all the things we tell her to just because "that's what Bertolina wants." 

Well... our first couple visits were awkward... ha. We talked to her and she opened up a little bit, but mostly just listened to us ramble. She would just look at us through empty eyes with an expression of complete apathy on her face. We invited her to read and pray, and she said she would, but we didn't see much progression... We thought, "maybe she's too busy to read.. Or when she reads she just doesn't understand much..." So we read with her.

We kept going like that for a couple of weeks and constantly invited her to pray about what we were teaching, and also to come to church and "try it all out for herself." Then... one Sunday she did!! Ha. 

Since then, she's been moving right along in her spiritual progression. She's opened up a lot more in lessons, she accepted a baptismal date and she even shared some of her life story in our investigator class yesterday. She expressed the pain and stress she's always felt from having a special needs child. She's always asked herself "why me?" and "what did I do to deserve this punishment..?" "Were my past mistakes big enough to merit all this..?" It was really cool to watch how quickly the other investigators, the teacher, and the other members present jumped in to explain that her trials are NOT a punishment from God. He LOVES her, and He trusts her enough to take care of Juliana. He also knows that Juliana is EXACTLY what Mari needs in this life to grow and progress to become like Him. 

Man, I love being a missionary. I'm so blessed to see first hand the healing, saving power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It's been amazing to see the changes Mari has experienced through the knowledge and application of Gospel Principles. :) She's changing. And she's accepting Jesus Christ as her Savior and Redeemer. :) His gospel is the Good News. It's peace that comes with knowing that He loves us, and that everything that happens in our life happens for a purpose. There are no such thing as destroyed lives or stupid decisions. We all make mistakes. And He understands. He knows us better than we know ourselves, and He'll ALWAYS be there to support and love us as we make our way through this mortal life. 

I don't believe in perfection... I believe in eternal progression. God knows we make mistakes. We're all human. But if we trust in Him, and keep moving forward He will help us change. Yeah, it's not easy. He never said it would be. But it's worth it. 

I love you all. I hope you realize that. Thank you for all your love and support. 

Love, 

Elder Cade Mooney

A wicked cool sunset and an activity with Hna Santa and her girls.
Both from my intercambio with Elder Aguare (the Guatemalan in the picture with Hna Santa). 11/20/13

 Me. :) 11/24/2013

Be Obedient; Have the Spirit to be with you... Change Lives. :) -- Monday, November 18, 2013

Hello beautiful family of mine. :) 

Today I spent a ton of time online working on the good ol' college applications. It sufficeth to say; I done work! 

 

Sadly, because I was so set on getting things for my future figured out this afternoon, this week's letter may be a little short. But my companion is still working on his letter home, so I'll see what I can type out in the next couple minutes. :)

As always, I had an incredible week. :) 

One of the cool things that happened was that at the beginning of the week we went and dropped off some Liahona's (the church magazine for the rest of the world outside of Utah. ha) at Paco and Yamilka's house. I think I mentioned last week that Paco was almost done with the Gospel Principles book... So they were getting low on reading material! haha. Plus, Yamilka was dying for a copy of the October General Conference edition. 

 

We couldn't get our hands on the Conference talks, but we found an old Conference Liahona, and a bunch of other ones from past months and years in the Library at the church. So we took them a bunch! 

 

Obviously, being the diligent investigators they are, they started reading articles and talks that very night! Well, get this! We went over there on Friday night and randomly decided to share about Charity: The pure love of Christ. We read some verses from Moroni 7, and some more from 1 Corinthians, and then Yamilka raised her hand. ha. (sometimes she's sheepish like that in lessons. ha. But we love her anyway). She said "the night you brought these magazines over I read an article on service and a quote has been stuck in my head ever since! I've gone back and read it over and over again, and now look! Today we're talking about the same subject!" ha. It was way cool! She read the quote to us, and bore her testimony (ended with In the Name of Jesus Christ and ALL; yup, that's how awesome our investigators are!) about the fact that there are no coincidences. She felt the Spirit and had a reconfirmation that Charity and Service are the only ways to truly understand the love that God feels for us. :) 

Guys, I love helping other people feel the Spirit. :) Being a conduit of the Holy Ghost is the greatest feeling in the world. I can personally testify that if we will be obedient to the commandments, we will have the Spirit of the Lord at our side. And He will guide and prompt us to help His children feel of His redeeming love. 

Part of our zone at the world wide service activity on Nov. 2nd

Me 11/14/2013

Cool view of the area 11/14/2013

Jesus Clouds. ;) 11/16/2013

I love and miss you all. Don't ever forget that our Heavenly Father loves you and wants what's best for you. He's there, and He WILL help you. You just have to ask. :) 

Have a great week! 

love, 

Elder Cade Mooney

P.S. Oh! and my companion gave his first Sacrament meeting talk in Spanish yesterday!!! He did SO well!! The members were all blown away! Woot Woot! Go Elder Medrano! :)

Pray, read, pray, read, pray, read, pray, read, go to church, repeat... :) -- Monday, November 11, 2013

¿¡Holas, comos estan?!

Haha. Sometimes Dominicans add an extra 's' to their words in attempt to sound intelligent. lol. It's hilarious! 

Anyway. I love hearing from all you people every Monday, just in case you were wondering. I'm so glad to hear that you're all doing well and loving your lives. :) lol. Even if you're not loving your lives, I appreciate the fake enthusiasm and charisma. ha. Fake or not, it makes me happy! 

This week my companion and I worked our tails off, and enjoyed every minute of it! Missionary work is SO bizarre... I never thought I could be so tired, and hungry, and sore, and still be happy about everything that happens to me. ha. I'm sorta like one of those weirdos that never stops smiling... I'm sure more than one cranky Dominican has thought "wipe that stupid grin off your face, Mormon boy! No one should be that happy!" haha. I'm sorry Dominican guy... The gospel just makes me smile! It's practically impossible to be mad when you're serving the Lord with all you've got! 

As for the update: 

We're still working on Spanish. Elder Medrano is doing really well at using all the vocab words we pick out each day. Even the most uncouth like "to peel." haha. Yeah, try using that word while teaching someone about the Atonement. lol. 

We actually had a cool gift of tongues experience this week that I suppose I should tell you about. :) It was an answer to many pleas for courage to open our mouths and be blessed with the gift of tongues. But it came in a rather unexpected way. :) 

The other night we ventured into the far corner of our area in search of a less active family that another member told us about. We had a vague idea of where they lived... Like the name of the apartment complex and an "I think it's on the 3rd floor of one of the last apartments on the right..." haha. So we went a lookin! The first apartment door we knocked on opened to reveal a fairly average, middle-aged Dominican woman. She told us she didn't know any of the names we were looking for, and then paused and said, "Wait! Where are you guys from?" We told her we were from Utah and she said, "Stay here! I'll be right back." haha. So we waited while she went to get her daughter. She explained that she had just returned from an English program at Utah State, and invited us in. :) Her English was SO good!

Obviously we couldn't visit with her without sharing a message, so we started off with a prayer and then started talking about God and religion. After I made a fool of myself with a couple of phrases like "a marvelous work and a wonder," (ha. I was searching for ANY and ALL English words that had to do with the Gospel... SO bad! lol. It just flows so much smoother in Spanish!) my companion took over, and taught one of the most powerful first lessons I've ever heard. :) His English was clear, and each word he said was exactly what she needed to hear. :) 

As we left the house, I looked at him and just said, "Wow." ha. It was awesome! He's been afraid to open his mouth in lessons because he's afraid of saying something wrong... But it was SO cool to see him light up and share the gospel without hesitation or fear. :) Afterwards he said, "Now I've just gotta do that in Spanish!" lol. I told him not to worry, he opened his mouth, and the Lord filled it, and He can do it in Spanish too. :) 

The last few days he's been way more open in lessons, and hasn't been afraid to jump in with something he wants to share. The people still comment that "he's still learning," but it doesn't phase him. :) He's a boss!

Anyway. :) We're happy campers. I still can't even express how much I love the people here in Manoguyabo. The members are all awesome! And everyone is SO accepting!

We're still working a lot with less actives. Especially less active families. :) We've found some really cool people that have lost their way, and oh man... I love them! When they talk about their doubts and struggles I just want to hug them and shout, "It's OK, you're not the only one!" Satan uses the same tactics on all of us, and then he tries to convince us that we're all alone so we'll submit to his will... But guess what, WE'RE NEVER ALONE!! That's why the gospel is SO great! When we fall in his trap, he makes it seem like there's no way out... But Christ has promised to take us each by the hand and lead us up and out of whatever hole we dig ourselves into, no matter the width or depth. No sin is to big, and no doubt is too great for Him to overcome. We just have to trust him. :) And I get to go proclaim that happy message to all the world! I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!!!!!!!!!

Our investigators are still chuggin along as well. We're workin with a super cool lady named Elilda right now. She's SUPER sure that this is where God wants her to be, and she's so sure because she reads like 4 chapters of the Book of Mormon every day! She's truly gained her own testimony! We don't do anything! haha. 

AND, last night we finally had a lesson with her husband. He's been a little hard to peg down because he's always working, and as Elilda tells us, he's ashamed cuz he's a heavy drinker, and he doesn't know how to read. But last night we got to talk to him and show him that we're not here to judge him, and we're not here to make him do anything he doesn't want to do. We're simply here to help. :) I have high hopes for the family. :) Right now we're working through the paperwork process so they can get married, and then Elilda will get baptized the next day. So... I'll keep you posted. 

We're also working with another couple named Paco and Yamilka. They're the son and daughter-in-law of a lady in our ward. They've met with missionaries off and on for over two years, but have recently received their answer, and are putting in there part in order to be baptized. :) Paco got the Principles of the Gospel book like a month ago, and he's already finishing up with the last few chapters! They both have strong testimonies, and I can truly say that it's not because of anything we've told them, it's because they put in the time to study on their own! 

From Paco, Yamilka and Elilda's example it's pretty easy to see why the Prophets are constantly telling us to read the scriptures daily! Personal scripture study along with prayers and church attendance are what bring about a true and lasting conversion. Don't forget it! 

Anyway. I should wrap this novel up. haha. I hope you all know that I know this church is true. I know that Christ lives, and He loves us more than we can fathom. 

I love you all. Keep the faith. :)

Love, 

Elder Cade Mooney

Me and a tiny banana (its a species found here in the DR
and it literally only gets that big. haha) 11/5/2013

Me and the Jungle 11/10/2013

Me and a cool bridge over a pond in our area. 11/10/2013

We may or may not have turned a missionary exercise band into a catapult last night... haha.
We launched glass bottles and an old electric razor we found in the house,
and then watched them fly! lol. Just keepin life interesting. :) 11/10/2013

Hola Querida Familia! - Monday, November 4, 2013

Hey guys. 

Over the last 19 months I've noticed a bit of a pattern... Every time I get on to write you all a perky little email, I start it off by talking about how fast time is flying by or how much I love being a missionary... hahaha. I'm so sorry if you're sick of hearing it, but that's literally all I can think about each time I log in. :) And this week holds true to form... My mind is officially blow by how quickly I'm running out of time, and I still can't get over how much I love being a missionary! 

Elder Medrano and I are still doing great! This week we've been working hard on Spanish, and teaching techniques... Oh man... It's been fun! Let me tell ya! hahaha! But really, I am SO glad I never have to go through the training process again... That was just a tough 12 weeks. lol. It's like trudging through 12 weeks of humble pie... and in this area, it's all UP HILL! Really though. Our area is SUPER hilly. ha. But Elder Medrano is taking it like a champ! And I'm actually really enjoying being on the other side of the trainer/trainee fence. :) It's helped me understand why my trainer did the things he did. Anyway. Like I said, we've been working on Spanish, and lesson grammar, so we've been picking a list of 3-5 Spanish verbs for my companion to use in lessons each day, and I have to pay close attention and remember what word he used in which lesson. haha. It's made the Spanish side of that humble pie I mentioned just a little bit sweeter. ;)

Just to give you an idea of just how awesome my companion is, I'll tell you a little story... On Wednesday we went over to Santa (a member) and Franklin's (her non member husband) house to get to know Franklin a little bit better, and get a feel for what we can do to complete the missing link in their eternal family chain. :) Well, we found out that Frankin earns his money (with which he provides for his family) by selling lottery tickets. He's aware that it's not within the bounds the Lord has set, so he wants to wait until he can find another line of work. 

With that in mind I shared some thoughts about my last 19 months here on a mission. I talked about how the mission is like a mini life, and how we leave our families for a short time to work hard and GROW though the trials we face. Although we're far away from our families for 2 years, they never stop rooting us on, just like our ancestors/descendants root us on from above. I told them how much I love my family, and how much I miss them. But the knowledge that they are all back at home waiting for me to finish my duties here gives me the strength to keep my mind focused on the work at hand, and helps me avoid the OH SO MANY worldly distractions all around me. I shared how I could, if I so desired, leave my area and go to a near by beach for a day off. Or I could pick up a cheap BlackBerry off the street and text my girlfriend back home. I have my free agency. We all do. But knowing that there is a life waiting for me back home that can be made or destroyed by my obedience here, helps me keep my head on straight. It helps me to keep an eternal perspective. And that's what the Gospel is all about. 

Then, after I stepped down off my little, spiritual soap box, my companion came in and finished off the lesson with a simple, solid testimony. It was short, but powerful. 

Now, for the climax of the story... Yesterday in fast and testimony meeting Hermana Santa got up to share her testimony. She started off by telling the congregation that the missionaries had stopped by during the week, and that one of the missionaries had caught her attention. She couldn't explain the way she felt when he spoke, just that the Spirit was present. She went on to explain that during their time at her house, the missionary only said a few words. They were jumbled, and she could tell it took a lot of courage for him to say them, but as he testified of the truthfulness of this Church, and the importance of his calling as a missionary, she KNEW it was true. 

Oh man you guys. While she spoke so highly of my companion in front of everyone, it was all I could do to keep the tears on the INSIDE of my eye balls! ha. It was such a powerful testimony builder for me, because at that very moment we were fasting and praying for the gift of tongues, and for those we teach to be able to understand and accept our message. :) Guys. I know this church is true. God is up there. I have no doubt. He cares more for Elder Mooney and Elder Medrano in this little pueblo of Manoguayabo then I can even imagine. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!!!!!! 

Another little blurb to strengthen your testimony on the power of fasting:

In reality we did two fasts this week... Ha. At the beginning of the week we fasted for help finding new people to teach, and guess what? We now have more people to visit than we know what to do with! I think I told you last week, but if not I'll tell you again. Last Sunday our Elders Quorum President gave us a list of 5 less active families to focus on this month. And guess what guys?! At least one member of 4 of our 5 families came to church yesterday!!! And on top of that, we had 7 investigators in church. :) The Lord hears our prayers! 

Oh man. And get this! Yesterday in fast and testimony meeting, the second to last guy that got up to share his testimony was wearing jeans and a polo shirt... I didn't think much of it, because that's really not that uncommon here. ha. But then he started to speak. He said that he'd always wanted to get up and talk in a microphone at a pulpit, so seeing that it was "open mic" day at church, he couldn't pass up the opportunity. haha. He went on to say that it was his first time visiting our church, but that he knew there was something different about us. He could FEEL it. He said his initial interest in our weird little congregation was when he saw a pair of missionaries running, in the pouring rain, down the street toward the chapel with big, fat smiles on their faces. (ha. that just so happened to be Elder Medrano and I on our way to Ward Counsel Meeting). He said he thought "those two Mormons must be crazy!" And then thought some more about it, and decided he wanted to know why they were so happy. :) And he found his answer. :) It doesn't matter how humble the chapel, or how crazy the missionaries are in the area... The church is the same everywhere you go. :) And that SAME spirit that is felt in every congregation around the world is what makes us DIFFERENT. :) 

Guys. I really do know that this is the True Church. I thank God every single night for the chance I have to be here experiencing the things that I'm experiencing, and learning the lessons I'm learning. It never ceases to amaze me at how patient He is with me, even when I'm prideful and dumb, and don't want to listen to Him. But because He knows me so perfectly, He knows exactly who I need to meet, and where I need to be RIGHT when I need to. And with that perfect planning, He's slowly but surely molding and shaping me into the man that He wants me to be. 

I love and miss you all. I hope and pray the best for each and every one of you. Trust in the Lord, and never look back. 

Love, 

Elder Cade Mooney

Sunset - My beautiful DR 10/30/2013

Baby Bunnies -- one of our investigators breeds and sells them. :) 11/3/13

Not so No Bake Cookies. ha. Last night we had no gas, but we had planned to make No Bake Cookies for P-Day Eve... So my comp told me I should make them in the microwave! hahaha!!!!!!! My mommy would be SO proud of me! lol. I mixed the butter, milk and sugar in a microwave safe bowl and then nuked it for several minutes while taking it out to stir at random intervals. haha. I sorta felt like a mad scientist. lol. Then I mixed in the rest of the ingredients, formed the cookies, and set 'em aside to harden. And... As you can see, they turned out great! lol. Just so you know, when you run out of natural gas, you can use the microwave. :) 11/3/2013