Email March 24, 2014

Hey all! (Not y'all, just hey all :)) This week. There wasn't a ton that happened this week. We went over and had another lesson with Rick Richard in which we began to ask him the baptismal interview questions. Funny that I was starting to think, wow this could be his time. He could be ready for baptism now. And right after I thought that, he answered the second baptismal question (do you believe President Monson is the Lord's prophet on the earth today?) with, "No, I'm not sure I can believe that yet. He is a great guy, but I don't think he is a prophet." And basically went on to explain that he thinks President Monson is an awesome person, but that, like a corporation, he just climbed the ladder and made it to the top. He has trouble believing he is a prophet because he hasn't seen or heard of him performing a miracle or seeing God the Father or Jesus Christ. We tried to explain that the church isn't like a corporation, that the people are called of God and although in the Twelve it starts to to by seniority, that whoever is called to be prophet is the one foreordained to that calling. That he truly is called of God, not just a big ladder to climb. He still has trouble with it, but he is still praying about baptism and the truth of the Book of Mormon and the church. When he comes to realize the the church is true, he will by default then know that Thomas S. Monson is the Lord's prophet on he earth today. So hopefully he prays sincerely so that he can receive that witness. He is still our closest person for baptism and he really likes to meet with us and read the Book of Mormon with us. He is awesome. I hope he comes to know of the truthfulness of the gospel. Just goes to show, and all past missionaries will know this, that the adversary strikes the hardest right at the time when the best things are about to come to pass. Like Lehi said, "it must needs be that here is opposition in all things." I was SO excited for him! But now it's going to be a little while. Hopefully he'll watch general conference and come to realize the truth of, well, everything he's been taught about the church. He's such a great guy! I want him to receive so much more happiness! Some of our other investigators are doing well. One, Jim Richards, is a pretty golden investigator. The only problem is that he talks soooo much. He was in the Vietnam War and likes to tell a lot of stories. Last time we talked he thought it was hard to believe that someone died for him, but last time we went over he said he had been thinking about it and feels that maybe someone really did die for him. It was awesome to hear! We plan to go over again this week and keep talking with him about the restoration and invite him to be baptized. We are hoping like crazy that the courage and faith we are told to have in inviting people to be baptized will pay off. He is a really nice guy and has been searching for a church for a little while now. So he's in his prime time for us. Another, Bonnie, we were unable to meet with this week. We had a lesson set up, but no one answered the door. We are going back again this week a few times to hopefully catch her home. She knows baptism is important and wants to do it, but since it's so big she isn't sure about it just yet. Which is fair, it's a big thing. So hopefully we will be able to help her know, through the Spirit, that this is the true church. Kevin and Nicole. This one is interesting. Not married, have kids, smoking. They used to come to church, but haven't come in a while. We are trying to get them to come, but they've both gotten really busy recently. They are both suuuuuper nice, awesome people. They want Jesus Christ in their lives. I hope we are able to work with them and I hope they are willing to do it too. Their kids are awesome too. They're really young, but adorable haha. When we say prayers there, Kevin and Nicole both are on their knees and seem sincere and humble and it's amazing. Whenever we show them a video on the iPad, Kevin gets really close and leans in and seems really interested and Nicole always talks about how good it was. I love all of these people! I want them to come to know the truth so badly! It's the opposition. But here's the thing. Opposition = Growth. The hard times are what make us grow stronger, closer to Heavenly Father. I'm trying to appreciate the hard times. It's really hard. :) But it helps to know that there is a reason behind everything. It's good to know that it doesn't just end. What would life be if it just, after all of the joy, the love, the happiness, etc., we just...weren't? Not that we weren't any of those things, but that we just aren't there anymore. That's the end...what? How can anyone be happy with that? We see people all of the time accept their circumstances, accept who they are, accept what's happening in the world, but how can anyone be okay with just saying that after the good life they've lived, there's no more? I don't understand it. I'm so thankful for this gospel in my life that allows me to know that it's really not all for nothing. That there is a reason. Look at the universe. It's too complex, too massive, too incomprehensible. There's no way it was all by accident. Think about it. If the universe was an accident, does that mean that we are an accident? That we weren't meant to be here? That all of the billions of people who have lived on the earth were never meant to be, but they were just accidentally able to live, feel, enjoy? No. It couldn't be. I'm so thankful for the gospel. It is SO incredible. I love he gospel. I love you guys! :) the mission is teaching me incredible things. Love, Elder Jacob Cevering :)

Email March 17, 2014

Hello! Green! St Patrick's Day! Woot. Well this email is going to be shorter, sorry! But there will be some good stuff. Quick title story so I can get to the better stuff: So I told, briefly, about the less active member who isn't quite all there who loves Elvis. Well, he has costumes and jumpsuits that look like some of Elvis's and whenever new missionaries (his "BUDDIES!!!!" Haha he yells that at us all of the time, and he yells about Elvis all of the time, and he yells about giving Jesus a thug all of the time. Literally yells. He's a funny/interesting guy haha) come over, he puts on a "show" for them. He dresses up in his Elvis costumes and sings some of Elvis's songs for him/them. I was able to be graced by one of his shows the first time I went to his apartment, and the next time we went over we went with missionaries from the other ward where he can go because his work doesn't interfere. So this second time, these two missionaries are laughing so hard and trying to hold it in and it is not working and it is hilarious!!! Haha I don't think the guy (his real name is David) noticed, but it was awesome and hilarious. I'll have pictures to show soon. Not by a computer today. Anyway, so we met with an investigator, Rick Richards, his week and he has been meeting with investigators for a while. A few years, I think. We got on the topic of baptism and we asked why he hasn't been baptized yet. He said, basically, because he wants to know a little more about the church before he joins. So we said he could ask any question, he asked a couple, and we ended up leaving him with the commitment to pray about being baptized and he said he would. He basically believes everything he has been taught about the church so hopefully he decides to be baptized. We gave him the promise that if he prayed with real intent, he would receive an answer. We fasted for him yesterday and so when we go over this week, we are going to follow up with him. It was an amazing lesson, I hope like crazy that he feels that he should be baptized. Final information/story. This week was a really tough week for me. Not for missionary work because we saw a lot of good work happen this week. But emotional, mental, and spiritual struggles. I had questions come to mind that I didn't know answers to and couldn't find answers to and was kind of missing home and whatnot. So Thursday through Saturday it progressively built and built and built until Saturday night I cried to The Lord for help. I prayed that He would help me to find answers or to have peace or some help because I hadn't felt any help the previous times I had prayed for help. So each time those things weren't helped, I got more angry and frustrated because "The Lord always helps other people right after they ask," I thought. And we know the stories about how people received comfort so quickly, "why isn't it working for me??" I thought more and more. I actually said that in my prayer Saturday night. I felt a little chastened as the thought, "why aren't you this earnest in giving thanks for the blessings in the moment you receive those?" came to my head. But I prayed on, asking for help. I've listened to S. Michael Wilcox's talk on prayer, "The Fourth Watch" which talks a little bit about how prayers are answered, etc. and figured I'd find my answers in the future, but this didn't satisfy me this time. I also opened my fast yesterday for our investigator, Rick, and also added in the fast asking for help for these struggles. I finished the prayer and crawled in bed to sleep. Woke up the next morning and went to church that day. Each talk, lesson, thought shared was an answer to a prayer. It was a help for me, something that helped me feel The Lord's love for me and feel comfort and peace. It put my soul's worries to rest and told me that everything was going to be okay. And I was okay with that. And it was amazing. Friends, family. I know The Lord loves us. He lets struggles happen to help us understand His perfect love for us. He lets us feel the hard times so that we can come out stronger than before. It's like the process of purifying gold and making steel harder: put it under intense heat and pressure and it will do those things. The same is with us: as we undergo trials and struggles in our lives, we are becoming more like Heavenly Father. We are learning what He wants us to learn. We are becoming more heavenly. This church is true, I know it is. I love you guys!!! All of you! Have a fantastic week! Remember, be grateful for the hard times for they are a way The Lord shows his trust in us and truly shows His love for us. After all, it makes us better, and that's what we want and also what He wants. He wants to live with us again. Yes, we want to live with Him again, but think about His love and what He feels if a child doesn't/can't return? These experiences help us along the way. He loves you! Love, Elder Cevering :) P.S. Five months out...WHAAAT?! That was quick... P.P.S. It is so hot! It was only in he high 70's and I was sweating like a pig! Yeah, disgusting I know, but I thought I'd let you all in on that little fun fact. :) Sent from my iPad

Email March 10, 2014

Hello! I hope everyone's week has been great! Mine was pretty good. I'll proceed to tell you why: As you all know, I got transferred! From Hillcrest ward in Yuba City to Redding 2nd ward in Redding. It was a two hour drive up. That's how far north Redding is, haha. The California Roseville Mission covers from Citrus Heights and North Highlands all the way up to Mt Shasta and Weed. It's about a five hour drive from top to bottom. Pretty big. Sweet stuff. Redding 2nd is the third area from the top. I'm pretty far north haha. Redding is pretty nice. I have some pictures so hopefully I'll be able to send some home today. It is pretty: pretty hot and, so far, pretty wet haha. But this week is supposed to be 70's and hit 80 on the weekend. It yes it is pretty! I like it. There are MOUNTAINS. Woo. I can see Mt Shasta, Mt Lassen, and other mountains as well. It's nice to see something even kind of familiar haha. Redding is also very hilly. That makes biking fun. I pretty much have ripped legs. It's awesome. My companion, Elder Solomon, is from Pocatello, Idaho. We get along well. He is a little quieter so sometimes I don't know if I am getting on his nerves or making him mad or anything. But he says I haven't so that's good. He is quiet, but we have a pretty similar sense of humor so that's helpful too. We live with members in a converted garage space. I have pictures and hope to send some home. It's nice, and the members are really nice too. Well, in the six days I've been here I've met three interesting people. First one was a lady who says she has seen Jesus and hat He told her to tell everyone about the "Blood Oath Covenant." She talked to is for like 15 minutes about this covenant thing. It was...weird. She kept saying the same thing over and over again that the blood oath covenant is all that we should preach. Weird. The second was a guy we met at Black Bear Diner after lunch, he claims to have been a multimillionaire who lost all of his money because of the greed of men. Could be true, I don't know. But he kept saying that young men like us missionaries should be out getting experience and money and that men in suits don't get anything done. Well, personal opinion, Donald Trump get things done...Presidents of the United States get things done...President Monson, the First Presidency, and the Quorum of the Twelve get things done. To give just a few examples. But yeah, he was talking about how we should be out in the world getting experience and not trying to spread the word because God isn't real and man is the closest thing to a god, and he wouldn't really leave us alone. The last thing he said, when he had finally backed himself into a corner with his words, was that he was kidding and then he walked off. Third person we met while fixing bike brakes out on the streets. He was a really nice guy, but he kept talking about how he has done a lot of temporal research about the Bible to make sure that it's true but never has prayed about the Bible or Book of Mormon. We told him that that is the way God has told us we will come to know of the truth. He said that that wasn't enough. Basically, he wanted to see the gold plates because the Book of Mormon (translated directly from the good plates) isn't enough proof. We asked him to pray about it and he said that it's not enough proof. He brought up a lot of good points, but they contradicted themselves on multiple fronts. So yeah, those were three interesting people in 6 days, and I haven't even met a Bethel yet. Bethel's are people who go to the Bethel church. People say that Bethel people are crazy and that I'll have some great stories to tell when I leave Redding. I can't wait to meet some. OH. And there's a less active member who is obsessed with Elvis Presley. He's not all there, but he is a really nice guy. I'll send pictures soon! So I was in ward council yesterday and when I met the Elder's Quorum President, he said his last name is Ogden. I was like, "oh geez...why does that sound so familiar...?" I was digging through the deepest pits in my mind. Then. From one of the deepest and darkest crags, I remembered that that's my hometown! Haha okay, not really. But I thought it would be funny to say it that way. So last night there was an earthquake pretty far from Redding, but in California nonetheless. And I felt it! It was so cool! It was just a little rumbling and wiggling, nothing super extreme, but it was sick! Kinda scary because put into a bigger shake and rumble that would have been really destructive and there's nothing I could have done about it. I don't like not being able to control things like that. :) Well, it looks like I'm coming to a close. On a final, spiritual note Elder Solomon and I watched The Testaments with a less active member yesterday. Lately I've been trying really hard to help myself have more faith in Christ and what He did. The Testaments does a fantastic job of showing the Lord's works and life. It is great at showing His love and His miracles. I love how real it makes the ministry and appearance of Christ in both Israel and the ancient Americas. Multiple times during the movie the Spirit testified of the reality of our Savior. It was amazing. I know this church is true. I wouldn't be out here preaching the gospel if I didn't love it, if I didn't know it was true, or if I didn't want my brothers and sisters to know of it's incredible message. It is true. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us. Turn to them in any time of need. They are always there. I love you guys! Things are going swimmingly. :) Love, Elder Jacob Cevering

Email March 3, 2014

Greetings Brethren and Sisteren! Transfer calls are in... *drum roll* I'm being transferred to Redding 2nd ward! Woo! I'm super sad that I'm leaving Hillcrest though... :( as you all know, I've been in Hillcrest for 3 transfers, 4 1/2 months (wow, already basically 5 months down!?), and I haven't been able to see a lot of people progress. Only Seth and he had to cancel his baptism because his mom doesn't want him to be baptized. I have been blessed to be a part of sowing a lot of seeds. I just hope like crazy that those seeds grow enough to be reaped by missionaries later on. Redding 2nd is actually Elder Perkins' most recent area. He just came down to Hillcrest from Redding and now I'm going back up to take his last companion's place. My new companion will be Elder Solomon. He is the District Leader for the district I'll be going to. I'm excited because people say Redding is awesome and that I should see a lot of success. I sure hope so haha. Also, Redding is home to two "mega churches," Bayside and Bethel. Everyone says I'll have lots of good stories to come because of these two huge churches. Can't wait!!! In the summer it is not uncommon for the temperature to reach 120...considering I have about 3 transfers until June, I might be able to escape that fate but it's going to be hecka hot leading up to then anyway. Should be...interesting. :) It's been raining a lot this week. The longest we've had sunshine is probably 3 hours and the rest of the day is overcast or raining. I need a new fender for my bike because I get a lot of mud and plant remains all over my back because of the back tire flipping it up. It's only on my big black coat though, not my white shirts haha. :) It's been alright, this week wasn't very good for the work. The normal cancels I'm okay with. But when it's cold and wet and rainy, it's not very fun. Just gotta keep your head up and stay positive and faithful for good things to come. So! Investigator news from this week: Barbara: We weren't able to meet with her this week because she didn't want us to be biking in the rain while Perkins was sick. :( She can only meet Tuesdays and Wednesdays and both days were really rainy and somewhat busy for her so those worked against us a lot. Seth: We were able to have a good lesson with him. We talked about prayer - what it is, how, why, etc. Spirit was strong and as far as we know he still wants to be baptized because he will tell us another time he wants to meet if he can't meet at the first time we set up. He's a cool kid and I hope he is able to join the church like he wants. Shannon and Michael: This family is a referral from the Spanish elders (it's about time we get a referral in return!). They moved down from Alaska last summer, Shannon is an inactive member and her son, Michael, is 10 years old and was taking the lessons before they moved to California. She wants to wait until he is 13 so he can make his own educated decision so I wouldn't be able to see fruition there anyway, but they are an amazing mother and son. Background on Michael, something happened to his head when he was younger and he had to be life-flighted to the hospital. They thought he was going to have bleeding in the brain which would be terminal. By some miracle, he didn't have a brain bleed and survived! A while ago, Shannon was in a car wreck that tore her car in half. They took her body to the hospital where they figured she had died on contact. But she somehow survived that as well. This family is a miracle and I love them so much! I've only met them twice and I might not ever see them again but my life is blessed because I met them. Augustine: He needed some help moving some stuff in and out of his house, but at first we weren't able to help him. He got really mad because he is always there for other people when they need help, but he feels like no one is there when he needs help. We tried to tell him that it was just bad timing and we are so sorry that we can't help ourselves, but that we were going to try to get some of the other men in the ward and some other missionaries to help him as well. However, no one else was able to go to help, but he ended up not needing any help until later that night anyway. That night Elder Perkins and I were able to go over and help them with that service moving things back into his house. Other than this simple service we were able to give, we didn't have any lessons with Augustine. Chris: We had a time set up to meet, but he was unable to. We tried again a couple days later but his friend Zach answered the door and told us that Chris was on a business call and couldn't meet. We asked if it would be okay for us to come back later that night and he said it would be okay but we were still unable to make contact. :( Jill: We didn't have a set time to meet but we still tried to go by anyway. Both times we tried either someone wasn't home or she was unable to meet at the time. We hope to be able to meet with her soon because she seemed really drawn by the Plan of Salvation and our next plan was to teach the Restoration. Jay: We were not able to make any contact with Jay this week. We tried a couple of times but no success. We hope to be with him soon. When we first ran into him he said he is a Christian and we told him that we try to help others build faith in Christ and he was interested. We hope we can meet with him soon to talk about the Restoration. Title story! Elise: There we were, riding through the rain hoping to make contact with one of our potential investigators, Elise. We had been unable to meet with her any of the previous times we had set up and so this time we were stopping by to set up another time to meet with her. We knocked, her mother answered the door, we asked for Elise. When she came to the door we told her we were sorry for missing her last time and we wanted to set up another appointment this week so that we could talk with her about Jesus Christ. She still expressed that she wanted to learn about Christ, but also told us that we didn't need to come by anymore because a lady was coming by every Sunday to read the Bible with her. We were curious and you lease told us that she had the Bible the lady was reading with her. She brought the Bible out and as it was it was a New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. Right then, we knew that it was Jehovah's Witnesses. We were so sad and we desired to share our message with her, but since she was already meeting with Jehovah's Witnesses and learning about Christ from them, she didn't feel that she needed to have more missionaries come over and teach about Christ. So we asked her to pray about the Book of Mormon which we had given her before and to read it as well. We told her that we wouldn't be back for a while but wished her good luck on her journey to come closer with Christ as we are all trying to do. Elder Perkins and I walked our bikes around the street, sad and depressed that we had just lost a potential investigator but more importantly a daughter of God to share our incredible message with. After trying to visit a less active member who lives right around the corner, we got a feeling that we should go back and try to talk to Elise one more time. So we prayed about it. We felt again that we wanted to go back, but weren't sure if we should. So we put together an attack plan and decided to pray about it again. After having prayed, both of us have experienced the same thought and feeling "bold like a lion." So we went back. 10-15 minutes later and Freaking out of our minds, we locked our bikes up in front of the apartments, approached the door, and knocked. Elise answered and looked confused. We started off by saying that we know we said we wouldn't stop by anytime soon, but we wanted to testify the truthfulness of the message that we have to share. We gave her a pamphlet about the Restoration and boldly testified of the things that we knew to be true. We asked her if we could have one more chance to serve a message that we love and desire all the people that we know to year and she said that we could come by the next day, Saturday, at 2. We were so excited, the plan had worked! We came by the next day at the time set up. We prayed that we would be able to share our message and that the Spirit would testify strongly of the Restoration. We knocked...no answer. We knocked again...no answer....we knocked again!...no answer. We walked around the apartments trying to think of what we could do, letting time pass while we waited for her and her family to arrive. 15-20 minutes later, we knocked again...only to have that door stare us in the face again. We left a pass along card saying we had tried to visit and that we would try back again. We were so sad. But! That is the story of the time we were told not to come back, but we went back 10 minutes later and got a return appointment! It fell through, but they'll be trying to meet with her again as time goes on. That was the time Elder Perkins and I were Bold Like a Lion. Awesome. Well, this week hasn't been too great. Tons of cancelled appointments, disappointments, and sad weather that didn't help lift our spirits. The Lord has been helping me stay positive though. I love that He is constantly there, helping us in those times when we don't feel we can do any good. He loves us and i know that for a fact! I wish the best for you all this week, do your very best to have the best week ever. :) I love you guys! Love, Elder Jacob Cevering :)