Jacob with his Mission president and with his companion

Email May 25, 2015

Hello from the land of 916! It's nice and sunny here in Roseville, CA! And it has been a great week as well! Well, we had a really great week! I honestly don't remember much of it...but we did have a lot of lessons work out which was super awesome! But the greatest news this week was that one of our investigators attended church! Woo! We are planning on meeting with him this week because they cancelled on us last week...but it should be good. He said he was going to talk to his family about his baptism and think about June 20th for his baptismal date, but we have no information as of yet. :/ I really want to meet with him soon! Keep him in your prayers! On Wednesday we stopped by an investigator's home, but we weren't greeted as well...by one of them, anyway. One of them has some hold ups about the Book of Mormon because she knows in the Bible it says not to add any more words to the book, but doesn't know that it means just those books (the Book of Revelation and Deuteronomy). We told her she isn't the first one to have that concern and that we would love to talk about it and thanks to the member I had with me (we were on splits) she agreed to talk about it again the next Wednesday. We ended up having a much better ending to the visit than it was looking at the start so it was great it ended well! We talked to the daughter as well and she was super bummed she missed church last week. So we set up a ride and a time to meet her Sunday morning to introduce her to the family who would be giving her a ride to church and it worked out perfectly! The Summers, the family who let me use their home for the call home on Momma's Day, came and picked her up and she had an awesome time at church!!! And she really wants to go to Youth Conference AND girls' camp! She is going to love it! I'm super excited for her! She seemed kind of confused and inundated with info at church but she said she felt really good there and so that's super awesome. Keep her and her family in your prayers! That she will continue wanting to learn and that her mom and her family will be teachable. So finally we were able to get some investigators to come to church!!! Again this week we weren't able to see one of our investigators who has been hard to catch. She has fallen off the face of the earth! It has been so crazy and so sad! She wants to be baptized and she doesn't have any bad feelings towards the church, she really likes church! She just has kept having these insane things come up that keep her from coming to church. It's so not cool. We are really worried about her...please pray for her that we will be able to get in contact with her! After trying to contact her one morning we walked across the street to see if another family was home and while we were leaving them a note, she pulled up in her car and we had a good conversation with her. One of the biggest things she told us is that when they missed church on Sunday her daughter was so sad and angry! She was so disappointed that she made her mom drive her over to at least see our church building. So that was AWESOME news! But they didn't come to church this week either...so we're going to stop by again. Please pray for them that they will continue to be open to learning and that they will come to church! Lastly, we had dinner at the Summers' with another investigator and it went really well. She asked for a priesthood blessing which never happens! We had to move her baptismal date back another week because she drinks coffee, but she is really progressing and that is super exciting! We are planning on visiting her multiple times a week to help her reach her goal. We really hope she can be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost so that she can receive His help in dealing with everything better. We have high hopes for her and she will be so awesome! Along with all of that, we had a really good week! We saw the most less actives I have ever seen in one week in my whole mission so that was super cool!!! Something I have seen a lot recently is how much Heavenly Father has a hand in my life. And not only mine, but everyone's! Sometimes it is hard to see in the moment, but it is in reflection that we see how far we have come and how things have worked out in our lives. God has a plan for us. For all of us. Look back in your life and see how the Lord has been guiding you, strengthening, preparing you! We have a great potential, everyone. God has promised us "All that He hath." And we can achieve it! I love you guys! Have a fantastic week! Love, Elder Cevering

The "Cook" of Mormon....Haha!

Email May 21, 2015

Hello! I hope this email finds you doing well. :) But if you're not doing well, hopefully this email can brighten your day because I have some amazing miracles to talk about!!! I know that it truly strengthened my testimony of a loving Heavenly Father who is perfectly aware of every one of His children's cries for help, and who wants to help guide His children in the right direction. And there are some funny things that happened this week too, so those could help as well! I guess to go in chronological order, Tuesday we had a zone conference! It was awesome, super good. Very uplifting, inspiring, and edifying. I love zone conferences. Elder Jones gave his departing testimony because he leaves in 3 weeks, crazy! And that made me think about the zone conference at which I'll be giving my departing testimony. If I have my dates correct, I give my departing testimony NEXT zone conference. Holy cow. Given that that conference is 3 months away. But it's still crazy to think that that will be my last zone conference in the mission! Wow. Time flies! I'm going to start it all off by saying I absolutely love President Marston! Man, President Marston is an awesome man! In our zone conference, towards the end, we were going over some announcements and as part of his presentation he pulls out a fake traffic light, turns it on, and sets it at the side of the pulpit so the lights are flashing from top to bottom. Then bends down again and grabs a school bus the size of a loaf of bread, turns that one on as well, and all these lights start pumping from the inside. Then he sets it down on the side of the pulpit next to the traffic light and it starts spinning in circles and after it almost knocked the traffic light off he grabs it and turns it off again. One of the missionaries in the congregation asks him where he finds all of these crazy things and he said, "If I tell you my secrets they won't be secrets." *Three second pause* "Amazon.com" Everyone lost it again. Man it was so hilarious!!! But don't go thinking President Marston is all fun and games with no work. He absolutely loves missionary work. His testimony of the gospel is incredible. His testimony of the Atonement is powerful. He is an absolutely incredible man and I am so grateful to serve under his leadership. That zone conference was absolutely awesome, it was such a revelatory experience and I learned so much. And recently my personal studies have been really fantastic as well! I am so grateful for the Spirit as well. God loves His children, that is for sure! Well onto the miracles quickly because I gotta go soon! Wednesday was our miracle day. Probably the best day I had on the mission, number-wise. Just to share those numbers, we had 2 member present lessons, 2 lessons without members present, 2 lessons with less actives or recent converts, and 4 new investigators. It was incredible. Miracle day, that's for sure. That morning we had a lesson with an investigator which went pretty well until she had to end early because one of her kids was having troubles at school and she needed to go pick her kid up. So we walked over to a neighbor who was outside watering her lawn the last time we were at Jeanette's and as we were about to knock on the door, she opens it and starts walking out without realizing we were there. She quickly saw us and flipped out because we scared her, but literally opened the door right up, came out, and asked us to sit down and talk with her for a little bit. She called out her 18 year old daughter and we talked about what we believe and it was just so amazing! Miracle find! They have been struggling a lot recently with family things and loss of pets. Then on top of that, they have tried all kinds of different churches in Roseville, but haven't found any they feel are right for them. However, they haven't tried the LDS church yet and they said they really wanted to! So we kept talking with them for a while and had a really good discussion, invited them to church, they said they would come, and we gave them our number and we got theirs and we parted ways. It was amazing! Then we had a pretty good day until we went on splits with the family ward missionaries. Myself and Brother Perry went to contact a media referral we got not too long ago. We knock on the door, they answer, confused faces. They ask us what we're doing and we told them someone referred us to go see them, so there we were. They had no idea who, but soon said that they think it could have been one of their LDS friends. They invited us in and we got talking and they asked us what makes our church different from the other ones. So into the Book of Mormon explanation we went! However, we started with the Joseph Smith story and First Vision and they said that it is an incredible story. We talked about the Book of Mormon a little bit and the wife asked us what our belief is on the Trinity. We told her we believe they are the Godhead, three separate, distinct Beings with one single purpose. She asked us who we pray to, we said God. She asked who through and we said Jesus Christ. Immediately she said, 'Thank you. If you had said anything else I would have been kind and polite, but that would have been the end of our discussion. I believe you always have to go through Jesus Christ to get to God." To which we readily agreed! They asked if we had any youth groups, so we talked about the young men and young women's organizations and she shared how her 17 year old daughter has been struggling for a while with deep depression and so they wanted to help her as much as possible. They have been trying a lot of different churches but haven't felt like any of them were right either. They also said they haven't tried the LDS church yet, but really want to! Then her daughter came out and listened to the conversation for a little. During a brief pause in conversation, the daughter spoke up and said, "Mom, isn't this ironic? Wasn't it just earlier today that we got down on our knees and prayed to God that He would send something to the door to help us?" Heavenly Father loves His children. We had an awesome visit with them, gave them our number, got theirs, gave them the info for church, set up a return appointment, and headed out for the night. I know God hears His children. I haven't had an experience like that before on my mission, but I had heard so many missionaries who did have them. I wanted one so bad and I have been asking Heavenly Father if I'm going to have one. And somehow He found in His infinite love and infinite mercy to give me a miracle like that. I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for watching over me. For hearing my prayers. I know He watches over all of us and He cares about us. He not only wants to hear from us but wants to answer our prayers. And not only does He want to, but He does! I love you guys! Have a great week! Know that there is Someone watching out for you! He loves you! Go brighten someone else's day! Spread the love! Love, Elder Cevering

Photos with Elder Jones, Elder Rosenbaum, Sister Trease, and at MLC

Email May 11, 2015

TalofaHowdy! Isn't that an awesome greeting? The Sister Training Leaders in our zone are from Samoa (well she and her family are Samoan, but they're from Utah) and Oklahoma (she really is from Oklahoma), and they have an awesome bishop who likes to make up silly songs and stuff. So their first day here he came up with a greeting for them that they would "understand" haha! "Talofa" is hello in Samoan and "Howdy" is hello in Oklahoma - the sisters loved it! So "TalofaHowdy" was born! It's funny because now everyone in the zone is starting to use it between the missionaries too, so it's pretty sweet. HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY!!! I'm giving a huge shoutout to all the mothers out there who are just awesome for being moms! The most overlooked, underpaid, and under appreciated job in the world, but one of the absolutely most important jobs in the world as well! All you moms out there are amazing! Thank you for everything you have done for your family! You never know how much good you do. And more specifically, to my own mom, thank you so much for everything you have done for me! I know I said all moms out there are amazing, and they are, but I say you are my favorite! You're the best, Mom!!! :) I love you so much!!! :) It was so good to see you yesterday and as the title says, four out of four calls home have been made! Next time I see you it will be in person!!! Now to update you on what happened this week: One investigator accepted a baptismal date! Currently she is on date to be baptized on May 30th! Please keep her in your prayers so that she can make that baptismal date! Although she has made great progress in the last few weeks, she has only come to church once out of he last three Sundays and that is concerning. She was coming consistently before now, but for some reason she hasn't come to church as much. We are definitely following up on that! Also with another investigator we've been having the same problem. She has a baptismal date for June 6th and she wants to make it, but she hasn't come to church the last two, possibly three weeks. We are going to be following up with her this week, but please continue to keep her in your prayers too! She needs all of the help that she can get, especially now that she is on date to be baptized! Satan goes crazy trying to stop being from receiving the ordinance of baptism and it is extremely annoying. Alright, MIRACLE TIME. About 15 months ago when I was serving in Yuba City, I probably wrote home about a couple named Chuck and Theresa. They are an older couple that Elder Perkins and I found while we were out tracting in the farther reaches of the city area. They invited us in and we had a good talk once or twice about things we believe and I know we talked about some other things as well, but I don't remember any specifics. Well, as zone leaders, Elder Jones and I attend a meeting on the first Thursday of every month called MLC where we meet with all of the other zone leaders (from now on ZLs) in the mission, as well as the Sister Training Leaders (from now on STLs) from each zone, the APs, and the Mission Presidency, and we receive training that we are supposed to take back to our zones. As part of this meeting, we have an accountability section where the ZLs and STLs in each zone stand and tell the goal for baptisms of the last month, the actual number of baptisms, and then the goal for the coming month with the names of those scheduled. Each zone does it until it's Yuba City zone's turn and they are talking about those who are on date to be baptized and I hear the missionary say "Chuck and Terry" and I kind of freaked out! The missionaries on the tables around me all heard and laughed and stuff but once they heard the background they were all talking about how cool that was. HOW COOL IS THAT. YOU GUYS. I have felt for a really long time that I did no good in Yuba City. I didn't see any baptisms and we hardly had any investigators the whole time I was there - no one wanted to listen. We knocked so many doors and tried to talk to so many former and potential investigators but no one wanted it. But now, 15 MONTHS LATER, I hear that there ARE people I met and picked up in Yuba City who are getting baptized!!! Miracles are real. You never know the good that you do. Please pray for Chuck and Theresa Filby! Pray that they will be able to make their baptismal date! They are an awesome couple who would benefit from the gospel so much! Keep them in your prayers! My testimony this week is that you never know what can happen. You never know what can come of your work. You never know the plan that Heavenly Father has for you. But it is a good plan. A plan that has in mind the goal for each of His children's immortality and eternal life. Miracles do happen! You may not know it now, you may not know it soon, you may not know it later. But you will see the fruits of your labor if you work diligently!!! I love this gospel, I know it is true. I know Christ is the Messiah, the Savior, the Redeemer. I know He loves me. I know He loves you. I know He loves all of us. I know it! I love you guys too! Have a great week and know that the fruits of your labor may not come now, but they will come! Love, Elder Cevering P.S. Again, Happy Mother's Day!!!

Email May 5, 2015

Good Afternoon from a sunny Roseville, California! I sure hope y'all are doing great! Things over here have been pretty amazing this last week. We saw a lot of miracles and blessings take place in the Lord's work in the city of Roseville these last seven days! It has been super awesome! Unfortunately, I don't have nearly enough time to cover it all. :( But I'll try to make things quick with each person! We had a great lesson with a couple! Two weeks ago they were barely starting to read the Book of Mormon daily again and then this week they had finished the Book of Mosiah! They covered a good 14 chapters in two weeks! For less active members and investigators, that's absolutely fantastic! We were able to set a baptismal date for one of our investigators who, since I got here, has been wanting to be baptized, but her crazy schedule has been getting in the way of church and other things. We were able to finally have a lesson with another investigator we've been working with. We met with him and his member girlfriend and had a lesson on "Come Unto Christ." We left it a little open-ended, meaning we didn't have an official commitment for them going in, but that by the end we committed them to doing something that would help them to "Come Unto Christ." But it went so well! The next morning we got a text from his girlfriend saying that he really enjoyed the lesson and has really liked everything else we have taught him so far too! It helped him have a better outlook on his college homework which is due soon and he said he can see himself joining the church in the future! That's so awesome! All we need is to set a date so that "the future" soon becomes "the present." Keep him in your prayers as well! We also met with another investigator and have been so blessed to see her continue to progress! Still slow, but we are thinking about a baptismal date for her to shoot for soon and that should be great! Pray for her too! We were also able to have a lesson with another investigator and he said he started to pray! And not only that, but he also shared that he has started feeling the same way we explain how we feel when we pray! He said he feels at peace, safe. It was so cool! We helped him to know that at those times he is feeling the Spirit and he liked it. He thought it was cool. So that's awesome! He said he's going to read and keep praying and he committed to praying to know if the Book of Mormon is true. Keep him in your prayers too! Man, so many miracles! We had a lot more too, but I don't have a lot of time...just know that amazing things happened this week over here in NorCal! And not only in our area, but in the whole zone we had an incredible week!!! Thank you so much for all of your prayers in our behalf! They truly are working! ONLY ONE MORE WEEK UNTIL I CALL HOME!!!!! :D Holy wow I'm super excited! And then that's it! That's the last one and we don't have to figure out any more because the next time I see my family will be when I get home! I know the gospel is real. That it was restored through Joseph Smith. That the priesthood is real. That there is good out here in the world. And that that good comes from God. I know it, I know all of that! If you don't yet, go find it for yourself. I promise you that it will make all of the difference in the world! And then once you find it, or if you have already found it, I challenge you to share it with someone this week! I love you guys! Love, Elder Cevering