Happy P-Day! - Monday, November 5, 2012

 Hello fantastic family and friends,

It’s getting harder and harder to believe how quickly these weeks are flying by. This last one was great!

Tuesday was a discouraging day… All of our appointments failed us, so we did a TON of contacting, and even that just felt ineffective. Then 7 pm rolled around, and we had already exhausted our plans AND backup plans for the evening… So we decided to visit a member’s house. It came down to the two closest members (La Familia Carazco or La Familia Guzman), and we ended up opting for La Familia Guzman. We walked up the hill to their house, and as always were welcomed as family. Then Hna Guzman sat us down and told us that God had heard her prayers and that He had sent us. I guess she has been having a lot of headaches as of late, and it was worse than usual on Tuesday.

Anyway, she had received a blessing of comfort from her son Agustin, but because there aren’t two priesthood holders in the house, she hadn’t had a blessing for the sick yet. She said that a little while before we showed up she was telling Amelia (her daughter) that she needed help remembering to call the missionaries later to ask us for a blessing. Well, it slipped her mind, but it sure as heck didn’t slip Heavenly Father’s. So we all huddled in their front room, and we gave her a blessing. It was INCREDIBLE! I can’t even explain the Spirit that was felt during that blessing. It was like being able to feel a fraction of the love that Heavenly Father has for Hermana Guzman coursing through my body in waves from head to toe. It was so cool. After the blessing we all sat down and we shared a spiritual thought. My companion shared from Alma 7:11-12, and we had a small testimony meeting about the power of the Atonement, and the love that God has for us. We all cried. And then as we finished up our testimonies, Hna Guzman stopped us, and said “Elders, I don’t feel a thing. The pain in my head is completely gone.”

I am SO grateful to be here as a missionary, as a tool in the Master´s hands. I know that Heavenly Father cares for each and every one of His children more than we can even imagine. He knew that Hna Guzman needed a blessing and the chance to exercise her faith to be healed, and He knew that that experience was exactly what I needed to turn a discouraging day into an incredible one! He is so merciful, and I am so grateful for the constant help and support that I receive from Him. 

Wednesday was Halloween. So naturally we got all dressed up in our missionary costumes and went to knock on some doors. Lol. Sadly, no one really celebrates Halloween, so we didn’t get candy. But as usual, we got miracles. We received a reference on Sunday to go start teaching a lady named Ana, so we got her address, and then on Wednesday night we embarked on the house hunt. As it usually is, I was expecting to get to the street and then just ask around for an hour or so until we found her (addresses do nothing for you in this country…. NO organization) or give up.

So we started in on that, and as we were making our way up the street, Shirley, a lady from our ward, stopped us in the street, and said “are you looking for Ana?” Ha. We were actually looking for Alourcin Charles, and not having any luck… Turns out she goes by Ana, and she happens to be Shirley’s sister-in-law. So she led us through a maze behind some houses to Ana. Ha. It was a HUGE tender mercy of the Lord. We could’ve spent hours looking for her and never would have found her in that back ally!

Then, that same night, we stopped at the Grocery Store and picked up a pumpkin. Lol. We brought it home, cleaned it out, and then carved it into a Missionary. Ha. Then we took a bunch of pictures with it while we ate chocolate and talked on the roof. It was basically an American Halloween! So fun! 

We carved a missionary. 10/31/12





Pumpkin carving fun



We ate chocolate on our roof. With our pumpkin. 10/31/12

Halloween party

 spooky moon



cool night shot of the city 10/31/12

On Friday we were teaching Amelia (one of our new investigators) and got to talking about her family. Turns out, she is Josefa’s (one of our progressing investigators) sister! Ha. It is a small world… We had no idea they were related, but I’m super excited about it! They are both progressing really well, and now they will both have a buddy to investigate the church with! God is good!

On Saturday morning my companion and I looked at our pumpkin, which was beginning to decay, and received some inspiration from the spirit of fun. Haha. We decided to run down to the beach for exercise, and take it with us. We picked a good spot on the Molicon and Elder Maner hucked it out into the sea. He told me it would sink, and I told him if it floated he owed me a peso. Yep, it floats. Ha. Then we yelled “Wilson!!!” a bunch of times in the best Tom Hanks voices we could muster. Definitely an inspired activity.

My comp with the pumpkin. 11/3/12

the pumpkin in the ocean.

Last night we had an AMAZING family home evening with Josefa and Kimberly. We invited Hna Guzman to come with us, and I’m SO glad we did! We also invited Amelia (Josefa’s sister/our investigator), and some young women from the ward. So while we were waiting for the other people to show up, Hna Guzman and Josefa got to talking, and somehow Hna Guzman’s conversion story came up; so she recounted it. It was PERFECT!! She talked about her challenge with giving up Coffee. It was a weird coincidence… We didn’t know that that had been a challenge for her, but it was exactly what Josefa needed to hear! That is the one and only thing in her life that she needs to change before she can be baptized! I was SO grateful for Hna Guzman and the guidance of the Spirit! I know it strengthened Josefa’s testimony of the Word of Wisdom, cuz it strengthened mine FOR SURE!
Well, the young women never showed up, and Amelia called and bailed, so we had a little Noche de Hogar just the four of us. We watched the Joseph Smith movie, and then ate Chaca (Pronounced Cha-ká). Ha. It was awesome.

Eating Chaca (pronounced Cha-ká) It's a pudding like substance that they make out of corn. They take corn (that has been dried and smashed up) boil it for a couple hours, then put in milk, raisins, cinnamon, and lots of sugar. I think it's what Nana valiantly attempted to make for my missionary dinner. But they serve it hot, and they make it out of that special corn that is probably only sold here in the DR. 11/4/12

This morning was a little crazy. We cleaned our house, and then headed for the Zone activity. We called a taxi to take us, but about half way there the car broke down. Ha. It’s actually not all that abnormal… We got out and pushed it to see if we could get it push started, but it didn’t work… But there happened to be two other taxi’s sitting on the side of the road. So we just hopped in another one. But as we were pulling away Elder Alba realized that his wallet was missing… So we all got out and searched the road for it… but no luck. Well, while we were pushing the first taxi he had it in his hand so it had to be close by, but then we realized that the third taxi wasn’t there anymore and neither was the wallet… So we went on a wild goose chase to see if we could find the taxi driver that took it… All we had to go on was the name of his taxi company. Lol. It was hopeless. But it was an adventure. I just feel bad for Elder Alba… His WHOLE identity was in his wallet, and a bunch of money as well. And he only has 2 weeks left in the mission… I guess it’s just the final trial… Anyway. Pray for him.

Elder Domine, My comp and I at the Apolo Taxi office... Elder Alba got his wallet stolen by a taxi driver, so we went to see if we could identify him and get it back. No luck. 11/5/12 

My comp at the place where Elder Ballard dedicated this contry for the preaching of the gospel. 11/5/12 

I love and miss you all! I hope you’re all doing well, reading your scriptures and praying always! Keep the faith!

Love, Elder Cade Mooney



I Used to Think of a Bleach-Blonde, Babe from Grease When I Heard the Name Sandy.... - Monday, October 29, 2012

Hey family! 

We are well and whole! A little wet, but still happy and healthy!

Hurricane Sandy hit us pretty hard on Tuesday evening. Then the rain and the wind continued til Friday... Ha. But apparently Hurricane Issac was more serious, cuz we were never told to stay in the house, so we just ran from house to house through the rain. It was probably the most rain I have ever seen in my entire life. We would be walking in a slight drizzle, and then within a split second it would be POURING BUCKETS. So we would have to run and hide under awnings to keep from being drenched to the bone. Ha.

Apart from the rain, and/or because of the rain, this week has been one of miracles for sure! We were invited into peoples houses that probably never would've accepted us if we hadn't have looked so cold and wet. Ha. So maybe our miserable state of being was a blessing after all. And we had some really cool lessons and found some really great people this week! Elder Maner is still my hero. Ha. He and I are working super hard, and having a blast! I'm so grateful for him as a companion!

 

My companion and I hiding from the rain 10/24/12


One of the cool lessons we taught was to Josefa, one of our progressing investigators, and because of the rain there was no power, so we taught the whole lesson in the dark... Ha. Then she invited us to stay for dinner, and started cooking by candle light. lol. I was kinda looking forward to telling the story of that one time I ate a candle lit dinner with an investigator, but right as she set the plates on the table, the power came back. Ha.

People we found:

Jonas. He is a 22 year old kid that we met playing basketball last Monday. Then Monday night we ran into him in the street (with our tracting clothes on again) and he was like "oh! You're Mormons!" ha. Then he asked us when we could pass by. So on Wednesday we started teaching him, and it turns out that he grew up with and is still close friends with several of the members of our ward. He is already reading and praying about everything we leave with him, and he's always hungry for more. Ha. He asked us when he could have a Book of Mormon in the second lesson! I am excited to watch him learn and grow!

Angel and Diana. They are the son and daughter-in-law of a member in our ward. Diana has had all the lessons from the missionaries, but up until a heart attack he suffered a few weeks ago, Angel didn't want anything to do with the church. Ha. It is so cool to me how God works! The doctors say it's a miracle that Angel is even alive today. But I know that God has a plan for him, and that he just needed a little nudge to get him back on track. Ha. Now Angel is SO open and willing to listen and learn from the missionaries. He knows he needs God in his life, and he knows that this is what's best for his family! Yet again, I feel so blessed to be one of the missionaries that teaches him, and to be able to watch him progress and change!

Also, yesterday we had a great lesson in Elders Quorum about the Sacrament, and the Atonement. Edgar (the teacher) talked about how we should be bettering ourselves everyday, and making an effort to utilize the power of the Atonement and the Sacrament in our daily/weekly lives. He said we should always have a motto of "Today I am better than Yesterday, and I am Worse than Tomorrow." I thought it was a cool way to look at it. We should always be able to look back and see how far we've come, but we should also be continually looking forward and focus on the things we can change to be more like our Savior Jesus Christ.

I am eternally grateful for the power and effects of the Atonement in my life. I have seen so many changes and so much progression. I am grateful that I always have the Sacrament to start every week off with a clean slate, and to always be able to say "today I am better than I was yesterday, and worse than I will be tomorrow."

I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know without a doubt that He suffered and died for our sins, and that through that same Atonement, we can all be clean. We can stand up and shake off the pain and the guilt, and through Him we can become whole.

I love you all! I hope and pray that you all have a fantastic week!

Love,

Elder Cade Mooney



Cool Car 10/25/12



Cool Views 10/27/12



This Week Has Been Another Good One! - Monday, October 22, 2012

Hey guys!

This week has been another good one!

First exciting tid bit of news…. Our kitchen sink has been fixed!!! We talked to the owner of our apartment a couple weeks ago, and he finally came through! He sent a plumber on Tuesday, and that poor plumber had to take the lid off the cement box out back (the Dominican version of a grease trap), and he removed two HUGE garbage bags full of the most disgusting smelling kitchen sink residue that has ever existed. But now, OUR SINK WORKS!!! I have never been so happy in my whole life! Ha. We can now do dishes in our sink, and not have to worry about nasty water coming back up through the pipes!
 

The aftermath of the plummer... 10/16/12


 

Also on Tuesday, my companion (our district leader) had a leadership meeting with the Zone Leaders and in said meeting they told everyone about a new goal that our president has set for our mission… He wants every companionship to baptize an investigator every week, and to baptize a whole family once a month. Ha… I don’t know about other missions in the world, but here in the DR that is a pretty high mark. But our response, “ Challenge Accepted!” We know it is gonna take time, and it’s not going to be easy, but it is definitely possible! So at the moment we are still working hard on contacting to get our investigator pool to a point in which we can accomplish the goal of a weekly baptism. I am definitely a fan of goals. Ha. I realize that this goal might not be achieved in my time here in Independencia, but that’s not important. The goal has raised the bar, and has given me a new determination to find and baptize EVERY prepared person in our area boundaries!

As for my fun food experiences this week:
On Wednesday afternoon Elder Domine cooked up some fish meatballs that he and Elder Alba received as a gift from their investigator Prenda. Ha. Sounds weird, but they were actually really tasty. Then on Wednesday night my companion and I went to the Guzman’s house and taught Amelia and her mom how to make No Bake Cookies! So fun! And then they sent us home with your standard meal of rice and beans topped with scrambled eggs for dinner. They are the greatest!

On Thursday for lunch the four of us crammed in our tiny kitchen and made Fritos (Fried plantains, kinda taste like french fries), and then Elder Domine whipped out some of the most delicious Dominican “espagueti blanca” that I have ever had. Definitely one of the better missionary made meals I’ve eaten so far. Also, that same afternoon while we were hunting for the plantains we were gonna fry, we came across a truck selling bunches of green banana’s for 20 pesos each! So we bought about 20 bananas for the equivalent of one U.S. dollar. Now we just have to wait a few days for them to mature, and shortly thereafter we will be in a sweet, yellow version of heaven!
Then yesterday, Wilfredo’s (one of our investigators) mom gave us the biggest avocado I have ever seen. But it is also still unripe… So I guess you’ll have to wait until next week to find out how fantastic it tastes. Ha.
I think, just based off the climate and the food here, I live in Paradise. And that’s not even including the Dominican people! This island, especially this area is gonna be a tough one to leave!

Spiritual thought for the week:
On Thursday morning I had an incredible scripture study. Thanks to a suggestion from Elder Domine, which he received from Elder Bednar last time he was in the Caribbean, I have started my own set of “small plates.” Elder Bednar explained it with the story of Nephi, and how he kept the large plates as a record/history of his people, but he also kept a set of small plates to record his spiritual experiences and the inspiration he received from his personal scripture study, and his personal prayers.

Anyway, in this particular entry in my small plates, I learned a lot about the importance of scripture study. I read in Jacob 7:23 and saw how peace and happiness was directly related to the study of the scriptures. Then two verses later in 25 it talks about how the people of Nephi prepared themselves for war by fortifying themselves to be conquerors of their enemies, and I applied it to myself in that every time a study from the scriptures I am building up my spiritual armor to be a conqueror of the devil and his angels.

Then the miracle:
Our afternoon on Thursday was HARD… We had a ridiculous amount of first lessons planned, and they ALL failed us. So we contacted, but we were not well received. We contacted for 3 hours, and only got a few solid appointments planned for the following day. Tos ay the least, I was discouraged. But then 6 o’clock came around and we went to our appointment with Amelia. Amelia is an inactive member that went inactive a few years back of her own accord, but now she is accepting, and wants to come back to church, but she is on house arrest due to a recent surgery her had to remove a tumor in her jaw bone. They ended up having to take out the whole left side of her jaw, and most of the surrounding tissue as well. So now she just has a piece of metal in there, and she cant use that side of her face. Anyway, we took her a Book of Mormon, and we talked with her about scripture study. My discovery from earlier that morning fit perfectly with our lesson and she loved it! We talked about the importance of scripture study, and how much it will bless her life. She committed to read from the Book of Mormon EVERYDAY starting that night, and she was SUPER happy about it! She just hugged the book! Ha. With this whole house arrest thing she has A LOT of down time, and she told us how grateful for us she was, and how much of a difference we have made for her! It was exactly what I needed to hear after the long afternoon of rejection.
 
Then that same night, we visited the Gils, a part family (the dad is a member, but the mom and the girls are not, and neither his mother who lives with them) in our ward. It was an unplanned lesson (we had planned to just stop by and put an appointment with them for another day, but they invited us in to share a message right there on the spot), so we didn’t have anything in particular that we wanted to teach. Well, as missionaries usually do in such situations, I defaulted to my personal study from that morning. It was AMAZING! The spirit took over and we ended up discussing how important not only fortifying ourselves with scripture study is, but also how important it is to be united and fortified as a FAMILY: Brother Gil was SO excited about it! The whole family accepted our challenge to study from the scriptures, even just a few verses, every single day. I felt the spirit confirm my words as I promised them of the blessings they would receive if they would keep their commitment and READ!

I would like to extend that same challenge to all of you. If you aren’t already, make the effort to crack open the scriptures, even for just a few minutes, EVERYDAY. Not only personally, but also as a family. I know that scriptures contain power. I don’t know how to explain it, but I have witnessed it in my life and in the lives of the people I teach. I know without a doubt that if each of you search the scriptures daily, personally and as families, you will be blessed. You will be guided by the spirit in all that you do, you will have a better attitude, and a happier outlook on life, and you family will be closer and more united. The blessings of “The Little Things” are the greatest by far!

I love an miss you all!

Keep on keepin’ on! This Church is true!

Love,

Elder Cade Mooney

Making Piña batidas 10/15/12

What a Week!!! - Monday, October 15, 2012

Hello Familia!!

This week has been SO busy, but somehow it still feels like I just blinked and it was over!


My new companion Elder Maner and I 10/9/12



Tuesday morning we got up and headed to the transfer chapel to pick up our new companions. Elder Alba’s phonics was spot on… My new companion's name is indeed Elder Maner (pronounced May-ner), Jacob Tyler Maner to be more specific. He is 6’3”, 180 lbs, from Heber, Arizona, SUPER chill, and speaks Spanish like a Dominican. Ha. He has 14 months in the mission, and he’s ON FIRE! We have seen SO MANY MIRACLES in this first week together, and we’ve had SO MUCH FUN! And I highly doubt things can go anywhere but up from here!

On Tuesday afternoon when we got home, Elder Maner didn’t even take the time to unpack. He found his scriptures in his suitcase, and then was ready to go! Talk about hitting the ground running! We started the day off with a ridiculous amount of contacts, cuz we ended up on the east side of the area, and we only have a couple progressing investigators over here (cuz we were focusing more on the Barrio of Café).



The car our deaf friend painted



Anyway, while we were contacting we walked up to this guy that was prepping a car to be painted (i.e. he was taping the lights and mirrors, and covering the windows in newspaper), and said “Buenas” ha… He must have seen our feet out of the corner of his eye, cuz he stood up and said in AMERICAN sign language “I’m deaf.” Ha. It was SO unexpected. So we talked a little bit with what sign language I could remember (side note; he finger spells in Spanish. Ha. So the things I was saying I had to translate from Spanish to sign instead of from English to sign… It was SO cool!). We found out that he lives in the apartment complex we were contacting, and that he is a Jehovah’s Witness, because they have a deaf church in our area. We couldn’t really make an appointment with him, because teaching would just be ineffective, but now every time we see him in the street he smiles really big and waves, and usually gives us candy! Lol. Also, he is a legitimate car painter. He finished the car he was prepping that same day, and we got to see the whole process as we walked passed various times throughout the day. Ha. 

On Wednesday we had a day full of first appointments and contacts, and then in the evening we met up with Victor at the church for his baptismal interview. When we walked into the church he greeted us, and he told us that he wanted to move his baptismal date… to JANUARY! I don’t know if you guys remember Victor from back in July, but he had his first baptismal interview with Elder Brezack, but he failed it and had to wait three months for his baptism… We have been teaching him twice a week for the last three months, full speed ahead to have him ready for the 13th of October. So when he said he wanted to postpone it THREE more months, you can only imagine how I felt. Anyway, the bishop was still in an interview, and our district leader hadn’t shown up yet, so we called an audible, grabbed the nearest return missionary, and headed into the nursery room for an emergency, resolve some doubts lesson. Turns out, he was worried about not being able to be at church EVERY Sunday, cuz of his work schedule, and he wanted to wait until work slowed down so he could be 100% devoted. So we shared with him 1 Nephi 3:7 and talked about how if he will pray with real intent, and if it truly is his desire to be at church every Sunday, God will prepare him the way to be there EVERY Sunday. Then we wrapped it up real quick cuz the Bishop was ready to interview him. We still didn’t know how he felt about actually going through with his baptism, but I said a quick prayer that the bishop would know how to help him, and he did just that! Victor came out of his interview and said that he knew he needed to have faith and that he just needed to take that step and be baptized! So Elder Ramos did a quick interview, which he passed with flying colors, and then we planned a baptism!

Then on Thursday night, the Zone Leaders called us and told us that we needed to be at the temple at 8:30 Friday morning for our Zone Temple trip. Yeah, we were pretty stoked! A little surprised, but SO excited! So Friday morning we got up, got ready, and took a public car to the WAS, then walked up through campus to the temple! It was INCREDIBLE! I had NO idea how much I was missing the temple! I can't even explain the amount of energy and the sense of renovation and rejuvenation I felt from that session! I LOVE THE TEMPLE! I hope each and every one of you are grateful for and taking advantage of the ease of your temple access! Keep going every week! It is literally the most holy place on the entire earth! It is the House of our Heavenly Father, and you have the chance to visit anytime you want! GO!



Our zone at the temple! 10/12/12



Our beautiful temple!

 

Elder Chlarson, a missionary that I can never remember his name, and I



Elder Zorn, My Companion, Elder Reidhead, and I 10/12/12



My comp and I  10/12/12



Elder Chlarson chillin on a bench 10/12/12



The crew at McDonald's afterwards 10/12/12



After the temple trip, a group of us from La Zona Independencia went to McDonald's. Ha. It was SO good! It’s strange, but American fast food here is a delicacy. Ha. And I swear they do something different to the food here, because it was SO good!



Elder Zorn and I at Micky-D's





















After we came home from our temple trip we went back out to work. The first place we stopped at was Joel’s house. We had had an appointment with him in the morning, but because of the surprise temple trip, we had to fail him. I was worried about it in the morning cuz he said that he wouldn’t be there in the afternoon… But thanks to the tender mercies of the Lord, he was at home when we passed by. We went in, sat down, and proceeded to have the best lesson that either I or Elder Maner have ever had. Joel opened up to us and expressed his situation. He is a recently divorced, single father, raising 3 kids. He is working as a police officer, but doesn’t make nearly enough money to provide for his family. He is an alcoholic and he is addicted to cigarettes. He went on to express to us that he invited us back because he knows he needs God in his life right now. He NEVER thought about God when he and his wife were together, because everything was good. But now that he’s hit rock bottom, he has turned to the Lord and is completely ready to turn his life around. He is SO humble and teachable, and is willing to do anything and everything we ask him to, cuz he knows it will bless his life. I can't even tell you how I felt after that lesson! It was INCREDIBLE! The Spirit was SO strong! And I don’t think I have ever heard the kind of sincerity that he expressed when he said the final kneeling prayer to finish our lesson. I know that the Lord has been preparing Joel to receive the Gospel, and I know that the Gospel will truly be the thing that helps him rise above all that he is experiencing right now! I feel so blessed, and am SO excited to watch him progress! Missionary work is the greatest!!!


Victor's baptism 10/13/12



Then on Saturday we had Victor’s baptism! It was awesome! We had some great talks from a couple members, and a special musical number by the missionaries (we sang Joseph Smith’s First Prayer to the tune of Come Thou Fount. It was SO cool!), and then Raul Sandoval did the baptizing! And to top it all off Victor got up in testimony meeting yesterday and bore an amazing testimony! He will definitely be an incredible leader and testimony builder for all the saints wherever he is!



Anyway. I feel like I could tell you all a GAZILLION things more, but I have again ran out of time… I apologize. I hope this email finds you all well and happy! I know without a doubt that this is the one and only true Church of Jesus Christ, and that if we live according to the will of our Father in Heaven, we will be happy, and will be able to live with our families for time and all eternity!

I love you all! Keep the faith!

Love,

Elder Mooney 

Our "P-Day's Eve" party  10/14/12

 

My comp. Chillin' like a villian.

Dominican Sunrise 10/13/12

Me and a hobo house 10/13/12



Fishermen 10/13/12

Fisher of Men 10/13/12

More pretty pictures 10/13/12

Cool 10/13/12

 A funny bumper sticker. lol. 10/10/12



P.S. My companion and I have started a "P-Day's Eve" (as in the night before P-Day) tradition. We eat dinner and drink banana batidas on the roof of our house! Ha! SO tight! I can't wait to see what this transfer has to bring!