Email November 25, 2014

Heya family! So we had a zone conference this week and each of the zones had to prepare a musical number. So Elder VanLeeuwen, Elder Lofgran, Elder Dunn, and myself (they're all missionaries in the zone, not my district) literally threw together, the night before, an amazing (for a one night trial) arrangement of High on the Mountaintop. It ended up going so well. It was awesome! Honestly, however, I can't really think of a lot that happened this week. We had a few lessons and we're starting to get members to them which is super exciting! Especially with Heather and Megan, they're progressing slowly and the lessons we have with them are VERY distracted, but they are good. They read the scriptures we leave with them and they understand them. It's getting good! We're going to follow up with them on reading Ether 12 this week and then the next chapter will be 2 Nephi 31, the gospel of Jesus Christ chapter. That's when we're going to invite them to be baptized. It's going to be super exciting, keep them in your prayers!!! Brad was super intoxicated when we went over on Saturday. It was interesting. We had a very abbreviated lesson and left. The ward council here is encouraging us to drop him so we're going to have what the missionaries call 'the talk.' Just basically to see if he really is interested in learning about the church or if he is just wanting to teach us about his 'holy books.' So yeah, we probably will be dropping him soon. Along with Gary and Katie. We don't think they're committed so we are also going to have the talk with them. If those two people drop, we'll have basically no investigators besides Heather and Megan. I love those two and they have good potential, but I want more. The fireside we had last night went really well, so hopefully the members will be more able and willing to invite people to meet with us. We had a member recently do that for us and it has been great!!! Even though the investigator, Marian Salcedo, doesn't live in our ward boundaries, she has accepted the invitation to be baptized if she comes to know the Book of Mormon and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. And when the member found out Marian's boyfriend was in the hospital she asked Marian if she wanted a priesthood blessing by the missionaries and she said yes! Not even knowing what it was, she said yes. So we had a quick lesson about the Priesthood and gave her the blessing and it was really great. I'm so sad that we're most likely going to have to pass her on to the Nevada City elders. I'm okay with it because I know that they'll do well with her and she'll most likely end up baptized whether or not she's in our ward, but I'm sad that I might not be able to participate in most of the teaching. But hey, it's missionary work so I'm not too sad. Doesn't matter where in the church, a baptism is a baptism and sins remitted are sins remitted. So yeah, I'm excited for her wherever it is. :) Well, that's about it. Sorry I don't have any crazy stories from this week. But I do have to say this: in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I want to tell you all how grateful I am for you all. Your support is so amazing! I couldn't do it without you guys. The emails, the letters, the packages. I truly am grateful for your support. It means the world to me!!! I also want to let you all know how thankful I am for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the restored church and the Book of Mormon. I legitimately don't even know where I would be without it. It has changed my life, made me so much better than I could ever be without it. It has encouraged me to be the best that I can be, to choose things that will keep me safe and healthy, and to learn and know of the incredible gift that I can receive a remission of my sins and relief of guilt and sorrow, shame and embarrassment. I am so grateful for the knowledge I have. I know this church is true!!! It is the greatest source of happiness in my life because without it I wouldn't have the blessing that I do. I love you guys! Have a great week! Love, Elder Cevering

Email November 17, 2014

Hello family! Man, it feels like it has been forever since I last emailed home! Not in a bad way because this was a great week, but it just has felt really long. Probably because we had a lot of tedious things to take care of like getting my new companion Elder Dixon all unpacked and set up, getting our groceries and laundry taken care of, and more things that are required when picking up a greenie fresh out from the MTC. But when we got all that taken care of, we had a really good last couple days of the week! We had 3 member present lessons which hasn't happened here for a while and picked up a new investigator! Unfortunately, however, that new investigator actually doesn't live in our boundaries. Go figure. :/ We didn't figure that out until after the first lesson. So we're going to teach her another lesson or two and then hand off to Nevada City Elders to teach and most likely baptize. The lesson we had with her, her name is Marian, was awesome! We taught the Restoration and committed her to read the Book of Mormon, pray about it, and pray about Joseph Smith as well. And then invited her to be baptized if she came to know it's true and she said yes! She talked about wanting to go on a journey to find God and we basically said that meeting with us and reading from the Book of Mormon will be that journey and that she will find God and His church if she goes through it faithfully. She seems so prepared to receive the gospel, I can't wait to see her progress! And I would love it so much if she entered the waters of baptism and endured on to the end!!! She wants her 4 year old daughter to have a belief in God and high morals and likes that we believe in forever families. It's just all kind of falling into place. So cool. We had a lesson with Brad that was very interesting. Let's just say that from these books he has, he believes that he can get a "sacred power" that will allow him to do things like fly, change what he looks like to other people, breathe underwater, etc., and will allow him to control demons and "put them [the demons] to work for the benefit of man." Weeeeeeeell. Not quite right. At all. In any sense of the word. Ever. This was already obvious but then the book adds on top of all of that, that this sacred magic will allow him to make a woman desire to commit fornication or adultery with him. He says that the book only has it in there to make it "complete" so that you know both the good and the bad, but that you should only do the good or else you'll be smitten. Yeah. No bueno. This book = not true. And it is very evident. It's just sad that people get caught up in things like that! I can't speak for other people, but for Brad I worry for him because he doesn't have a 'standard of truth' so to speak. He just compares books to each other and whichever combination of books he finds has more links and truths with each other, those are the books he considers true. So he hasn't really prayed about any of the books he has right now, except for the Book of Mormon that he says he'll pray about when he finishes, despite our asking him to pray whenever he reads. Brad is just...interesting. I feel he is an honest seeker of truth but has gotten stuck in the interpolations of man. We had a lesson with Megan and Heather as well! We got to know them a little better, how they got into contact with the missionaries and started having them come over, what they have thought so far, etc. They started reading the Book of Mormon with missionaries in the past and got all the way through Alma, but since they moved into our ward they haven't read because the books have been all packed away. But we committed them to reading Alma 32 before our next lesson, tomorrow at 5, and we're excited to keep working with them. They came to church a week ago and said they liked it and said that they'd want to come again, but then jump out when relief society starts because they don't like large groups of people, especially large groups of women. Our member present, Brother Woytus, told them he was the same way (except for the large groups of women in particular, he just didn't like large groups of people in general) but that when he read the Book of Mormon and found it was true, he went forward with faith and was able to move past it. They said they'd be willing to give it a shot if they knew it was true as well. So, woot! Super cool. Those were our lessons for this week and we have them all set up again for this coming week which will mean another good week! Sorry, I just said week a lot. Anyway, I'm looking forward to it all. Elder Dixon and I are doing great! He's from Saint Angelo, Texas, he's 19, he's the youngest kid in his family, and he's awesome! He's really funny and really prepared to work hard. He has a really good outlook on missionary work and wants to be a good missionary and be obedient, but knows that joking around and having fun isn't a bad thing. He can take a joke and gives jokes back really well too! It's just great. He's really open to being trained, which is a very nice change haha. He also told me that in the MTC he was praying really hard that he would get a good first companion and then when we were being assigned our companions in the mission office he felt like I would be a "really, really good trainer." And then we got assigned as companions and he tells me that he's super glad he got me and thinks I'm the best trainer in the mission! Hahaha. He even said that in front of the ward when he bore his introductory testimony. I can honestly tell you I didn't train him to say that haha. He's just awesome, I love this kid. One of the things he does that he's slowly got me into doing is when something awesome happens saying, in the voice of Crush from Finding Nemo, "Righteous! Righteous!" Crush says it at the part where they are following the EAC and they hit the roller coaster-like current. It's funny when Elder Dixon does it. He's great, I like him a lot. We're going to see miracles together! Well, that's kind of it! The Spirit is bringing a lot of things to my attention and understanding and I'm getting a lot out of my scripture studies. I love my studies so much! And then when we do the training hour of our studies I see myself improving in those areas as well which is so awesome! The church is just true. There's no other way to describe it. The witnesses I have received out here on my mission and the witnesses that I received when I was home just continue to add onto what I already know and love. This gospel fills my life with hope, joy, comfort, peace. It gives me purpose. It gives me knowledge. It is the best thing to ever happen to my life and the best thing to ever happen in the history of the world. I know it's true, with all of my heart and soul. I love you guys! I hope you have a fantastic week! Pray for, look for, and have missionary opportunities! How great shall be your joy if you should bring one soul unto Heavenly Father! And how great shall be Heavenly Father's joy! And how great shall be your brother or sister's joy when they receive the gospel of Jesus Christ! Love, Elder Jacob Cevering

Email November 10, 2014

Hello! So I speak of fundamentals due to the transfer doctrine we received last night: Elder Cevering: Staying in Grass Valley to train a SECOND missionary!!! Elder Raab: Going to Shasta Lake Ward up right above Redding 2nd Ward. I'm going to be training! Again! Back to back! I NEVER expected that. None of us did. Usually the greenie takes over the area and the trainer leaves, but I guess not this time around. I say usually because this does happen every once in a while. I just never expected it to be happening to me haha. In mission terms, missionaries a person trains are their "sons." So Elder Raab is my firstborn in the wilderness and now whoever my next new missionary is, is my second born. My posterity grows! Hahaha! I'm really excited though. I didn't feel like it was time to leave and I really didn't want to because I love this ward and the people we have been working with recently. I also expected to leave because I was at my regular 4 1/2 month allotment per area, but now, in theory, I'll be here for 7 1/2 months. I should be here for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Eve. Crazy. Even crazier is that there is a family in the ward here who has a grandson coming to this mission this transfer, so potentially he could be coming to the ward he lived in for a little while a few years ago. I don't know if that'll happen though, considering they try to keep missionaries away from family...but who knows! We'll see what happens. So for the rest of the week: We went to our lesson with Brad on Saturday and there was a lady there with him named Melody. When we started talking about the Book of Mormon, about what he had read that week, she was a little interested. So taught her what the Book of Mormon is and how she could know it was true for herself. When we shared the First Vision with her she started crying and said it was incredible. She asked if the gospel could help her overcome her drinking problem and we said that it could and she is excited to start trying it. Although right now she has a mindset that one prayer or scripture will free her forever. We explained to her that it probably won't happen that way, but it'll take diligent and persistent work but that if she does her part, the Lord will do His part. We taught her about the Atonement and she seemed to love it. And one of the greatest parts was that while Brad was talking about some of his other sacred book/ancient text stuff she was shaking her head in disagreement and stuff. Booya! Haha, that was kind of good. She wants to make a big change in her life and we promised her the gospel, if she strives to live it, will help her to make that change. I can't wait to keep working with her. For most of the early week we did some service like helping people clear their yards, make burn piles, and burn it with them and another family we helped on their ranch by driving in T-Poles, repacking their trailer, mowing their front lawn, clearing the horse stalls - ranch chores haha. That was a lot of fun. The father of that family is a leather worker so he makes amazing scripture cases for the missionaries who ask him to and I really want one from him so hopefully I can get something figured out! We continued working with some investigators from the zone blitz but they're actually in the Nevada City Ward boundaries so we're going to hand them off sometime this week. :( But that's okay! Our ward has been so much more excited to do missionary work since the blitz and we have a few people who have referrals for us, one of which has lots of questions! So we're having a dinner with them soon. Hopefully something will come from it! We have a bunch of less actives that we're trying to have lessons with, but most of them are single women so we can't go over there alone and that's tough. :/ We're trying to get men from the ward to go with us but it isn't working out too well so far. But that'll hopefully change. We had a couple of investigators finally show up to church!!! Their names are Heather and Megan and they were Nevada City's investigators until they moved into our area. *Happy Dance* They're cool and have basic beliefs that, as far as I have seen, go right along with what we believe. Megan totally believes in a Heavenly Father and that He has a gospel. Whether or not she believes it's OURS we have yet to find out, but we will continue going over and inviting them to read and pray about it. That's where the answers truly come, when we ask the origin of all truth Himself. I've had some amazing epiphanies these last few weeks and I'm so grateful that the Spirit is speaking these things to my heart. I've always tried to notice and accept sudden bursts of understanding as the Spirit, but sometimes I was too prideful to not accept it. But I am so glad that I have been blessed to recognize it so much more recently. Truly things that bring us peace and understanding are given to us by the Holy Ghost. One epiphany I had was the scripture telling us that if we ask, seek, and knock, we will receive, find, and have it opened to us. We are all trying to get back to Heavenly Father. But in order to find out how to do that, we need to seek for and find the way. We need to ask how to get there and we will receive the answer. We need to knock on heaven's door and the things we seek will be opened up to us. I know that this is true. Prayer is real. Heaven isn't so far away, really. It's just a prayer away. And when we ask, we will truly receive!!! I love this gospel, I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to spread it. Goodness is it going by fast! 11 months left! I love you guys, I hope you have an incredible week. :) Til next Monday, Elder Cevering

Email November 3, 2014

Hello Family! First things first, Happy Halloween! And with Halloween begun the "lasts" in the mission. Last Thanksgiving, last Christmas, last New Year, last Birthday, last Easter, etc., etc. Man...that's sad. :/ I mean, I'm super excited to come home don't get me wrong! But it has gone by so incredibly fast. I was saying to Elder Raab the other day how fast it has gone and the words of a scripture actually came to mind: Jacob 7:26, "our lives passed away like as it were unto us a dream." But yeah, my mission "life" has most definitely passed away like a dream - it has gone by so fast. I love it out here. My mission has been the best. I'm excited for this last year. It's going to go by so much faster than this last one and I'm going to do everything I can to make it count. :) In other/outdated news, a couple weeks ago I forgot to mention that our zone, and probably most of the southern part of the mission, was put on lockdown. There was a shooting that happened in Northern Sacramento and ended up trailing into the city of Auburn where they caught the two suspects. So we didn't have anything to worry about up here in Grass Valley because we are a 30 minute drive from Auburn, it was just a safety precaution for us just in case they came up here. But yeah, that was fun. We hung out in our apartment and planned for the zone blitz. Fun stuff. Speaking of the zone blitz, that happened this last Thursday! It was pretty great! We were able to hit probably 90% of the less active members in the ward, which is great because now we know just about everyone who has moved, who is not interested, and who is interested so that we can not waste our time and just go visit those who want to be visited. And then we found a bunch of potential investigators as well! One of whom we visited yesterday and had a great lesson with! Their names are Shane and Destarta Brown and she is looking around for a church she wants. She likes a lot of things we believe and we had to clear up some stuff she had questions on but she wants us to come back! And we committed them to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. I can't wait to start working with some of the less actives and potentials that were found. But seeing as we get transfer calls next week AND that I've been here for 4 1/2 months AND that I'm finishing up training Elder Raab this transfer, I most likely get the boot. Which makes me sad because I really want to see these brand new people we are starting to work with progress more and more. But it's whatever the Lord wants. And what He wants done, I'll strive to do! Halloween night we spent indoors from 6pm to bedtime. I didn't get to carve a pumpkin this year. :( Haha but that's okay, we had a fun night anyway. That's one thing I'm looking forward to when I get home, being able to celebrate holidays the way I'm used to doing it haha. I do enjoy holidays out here, don't get me wrong, but I can't wait to go back to having 'normal' holidays. Well I think that's about all for this week. Most of the beginning of the week was preparing and planning for the zone blitz, then Thursday was the zone blitz, then the rest of the week was getting the information all put together and starting to visit new people. Oh and stake conference was yesterday and Saturday. Elder Zachary Smith of the Seventy and his wife spoke. It was really great. Sister Smith is a huge ball of energy! Hahaha! I wish I could remember off the top of my head some of the things she said. But yeah. The mission is the best! Since next week is transfers and because I live with my trainer, Elder Hazleton, and because his mission ends next week, I'm going to see him go home! That's weird to think about. A year ago I was just barely starting and he was barely over a year out and now a year later he's going home and I'm barely over a year out and I'm training someone who is just barely starting. The Lord works in mysterious ways. :) I love you guys! I hope you have the best week ever! Love, Elder Cevering