FELIZ NAVIDAD

Dear all,

I hope that in these next few days you can all take a little more time to think about others, a little more time to be with your family, and a little more time to learn more about and share with somebody the life of Christ.

In the mission I have come to learn so much more about my Brother and Savior Jesus Christ! His love is unconditional. He knows exactly what we need, and when we need it. He is more patient than we could ever hope for. He served everyone, without regard to status, race, health, or age. He is the noblest of all the nobles, the kindest of all the kind, the greatest of all the greats, and the most humble of all the humbles.

The best Christmas gift that I could ever receive is to be able to give to know to other people the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and the blessings thereof.

I hope that this Christmas, you can all learn a little bit more about the Atonement, make your relationship with Heavenly Father a little stronger, and be a little bit better. Forgive others, forgive yourself, accept the gift of our Savior and His Atonement.

We are still planning Margarita's baptism for December 30th! There is nothing that makes a missionary happier than seeing an investigator start to change their lives and accept Christ as their Savior. There is nothing that makes me happier than knowing that other people are finding true and lasting happiness through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He is the Light, the Life, and the Way.

Merry Christmas!
Hermana Cheever

ps we had a zone conference the other day and our mission president showed us the music video "Glorious" by David Archuleta from Meet the Mormons. It was almost the best Christmas present ever. I also got to play the violin with the sisters in our zone singing "Noche de luz", commonly known in English as "Silent Night". It felt good to play. Develop your talents and share them with other people.

pps we also got a picture with Santa Claus, but lamentably I will not be able to send it this week.

Valle del Sol

Dear all, 

This week quite possibly has been the best week of my mission so far. So yes, my companion and I both were transferred out of our area. We left the house sparkly clean and ready for the next sisters (or elders) that were to come. Our bishop was nice enough to take us to the transfer meeting in Puebla (the city. Puebla City is the capital of Puebla State). There, it was announced that the areas Atexcac and its neighbor, Ixtacíhuatl, would be combined. I was a little sad to hear that, but it’s really for the best because Atexcac is SUPER small.

My new companion is Hermana Villa, from Hermosillo, Sonora (it's right underneath Arizona). I am happy to be with her, we met in my first area, Atlixco, and after that we were in the same zone in Nealtican. And now we are companions in the ward Valle del Sol in the Valsequillo stake in the city of Puebla! My area is just about 100 times the size of Atexcac, and there is SO much work to be done here!

For those of you who hadn't already figured it out, Valle del Sol means Valley of the Sun. And boy, is it bright here! To start off, we had super great results in not even one week of work. I just want to tell you about Adrian and his mom, Margarita. They are golden investigators! They were a reference from the North mission, (that's another thing. Basically across the street from our house begins the Puebla North mission. Sometimes we end up out of mission boundaries when we take the bus...) but have accepted the change very well. They are so easy to teach because they understand everything we tell them. They are both reading the Book of Mormon and this Sunday was their third church attendance! They came to the dedication of our new church building last night and were both really impressed. Adrian tells us that he has found that he is happier than he ever has been, but he can't find out why. Sometimes he just has an urge to read the Book of Mormon, and he feels really great in the church and with all the teachings. His mom feels the same.

Last night after the dedication, we had a little chat and invited Margarita to be baptized. She accepted, without a doubt. She was baptized four years ago with the Christian Church, but she would like to be baptized again with us. Before we could even challenge her to a date, she said that she would like to be baptized on a day very special for her, her birthday. I was a little disappointed because who knows when her birthday is, but then she said "December 30th!" So we have a baptismal date for December 30th. Adrian is a little bit harder. He's stubborn and a little egoistic; he's having a hard time with the commitment. But he told us that he knows that it's imminent, but he doesn't want to put a date. When he's ready he'll let us know. I am hoping it's sometime soon. Observing them while teaching, I know that they know that it's true and that they feel the Spirit.

I am so grateful for these two wonderful people! Another interesting thing is that last night after the lesson, they went with us to drop us off at our house because it was late. We grabbed a bus, and after a few minutes, we realized it was the wrong bus! Margarita talked the bus driver into changing his route, and off we went towards home! The driver was a little angry, but even though it wasn't his normal route, he had a ton of passengers! Now you see? Help the missionaries, the Lord will bless you. One of the passengers was a clown. Yes, a clown. I have a chronic fear of clowns and tried to ignore him, but since I am white he singled me out of the crowd and I had to answer some questions in front of the busload of people. It wasn't too traumatic, but I'll let you all know what the psychologist diagnoses me with.

So that was fun.

There are so many other grand and fantastic things that I want to tell you all about, but I will save some other people's stories for next week.

Share the Gift with everyone this Christmas by helping them know the Restored Gospel! The greatest of all the gifts of God is eternal life, which can only be obtained by sacred priesthood ordinances in the holy temple and by our strict obedience to God and His commandments. It's not easy, but it's worth it.

If I don't get a chance to tell you next week, ¡Feliz Navidad!

Hermana Cheever

This is a girl in Atexcac that we were teaching.
She sells apples covered in a candy tamarindo.
She taught us how to make them.
She's wonderful,
I will miss teaching her and I hope that she progresses
with the other sister missionaries who will be working there.
Her name is Esperanza.

This is la familia Lozano.
They are all less active and
we worked really hard with them in Atexcac.
One Sunday they all came to church and
my companion told me it was the first time
in over a year that they had attended.
Some people just need love. Do your part.
The blurry girl behind me is Maleny,
our investigator with a baptismal date. 

DECEMBER!

Dear all,

Happy December! Time has been flying by so incredibly fast, there's hardly time for anything! Last week I passed the 8 month mark on my mission, which means in just one more month I will have hit the halfway point. That is so crazy. I don't ever want this mission to end!

There have been a lot of hard things, a lot of challenges and trials in the mission, but the few really good things that happen balance it all out. Take this story for example:

Yesterday we had the first lesson with a new investigator. Her name is Maleny. Her boyfriend is a member and she is living with him and his family (note: do not try this at home, live the law of chastity). She has come to church the past two Sundays, and we started the lesson by asking her if there are any doubts or questions that she has. She asked us a few things about what happens after this life (author's note: yes we really can become like Heavenly Father and enjoy the glory that He enjoys if we obey in this life). We helped her clear up a few doubts and then taught about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. The Spirit was so strong and I could just feel that this girl (she's only 16 years old) really needs more of God and the Gospel in her life! It was a great lesson. so great that she even accepted a baptismal date! If all goes well, she will be baptized January 7th, Yes that is a Wednesday, but it's the date that came to my mind and I would like to think that it's inspired. This was somewhat of a miracle for my companion and me, seeing as how in the area in which we are serving it is really hard to find investigators, almost impossible that they come to church, and just amazing that she has agreed on a date to be baptized.

The downer is that tomorrow are transfers, Both my companion and I will be leaving the area to be serving somewhere else, so we won't be able to see Maleny progress and be baptized. To some it is given to sow, others to reap.

I hope that all of you are busy sowing seeds of the gospel in all aspects of your life. The best way to do that is by your example. We as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are a covenant people. We are different. We have the light, we have the truth, LIVE LIKE IT! Reach your potential. Live worthy of the blessings of the temple. Show others what it means to be a part of the Restored Gospel and when your non-member friends want to know why you're different than others, invite them to meet the missionaries.

Plant your seeds and then read Alma 32:41. With patience, faith, diligence, and hope that seed will grow into a tree that will bring forth fruit for Eternal Life, the greatest of all the gifts of God.

Hermana Cheever

This is one of the first members in Atexcac. Look, he's still going strong, studying Doctrine and Covenants!

Fotos and more fotos - just in case you were worried Rachael has changed

The Lord's Work

Dear all,

I don't have much to say this week. Just that this truly is the Lord's work, and I am so privileged to be a part of it. I want to testify to you all that He loves us so much, He wants us to be happy. He wants us to be able to return to live with Him.

Remember that this life is a test. God is watching us and He's just a prayer away to help us. Sometimes we suffer, but it's all for our good. In Doctrine and Covenants somewhere it says that "all things work together for them that love God". Or maybe it's in Romans. Well, it's in the scriptures. And it's true.

Love God, serve Him, bear your afflictions with patience, as did the sons of Mosiah, and everything will turn out great.

CELESTIAL GLORY OR BUST.

It's worth the effort; remember to keep an eternal perspective.
Hermana Cheever

NOVEMBER

Dear all,

Well it's well into Fall here in Atexcac, and I don't know if I have told you before, but IT'S COLD. We are close to the mountains and so it gets cold around this time of year. But nothing compared to good old Utah.

The most exciting things that have been happening are with an investigator named Belém. She was pregnant, but she had her baby. ON MY BIRTHDAY. They asked me for a list of American names, so I gave them some that I could remember, and they chose Meredith. Awww. I was hoping they'd name her Rachael. But, win some lose some. Belém has been progressing a lot. This Sunday she came to church! We weren't expecting her for some time, about a month, because of the baby, but she came! She's really close to baptism, there's just a slight problem with her family and letting her get married. But we are hoping and praying that God will soften their hearts so that Belém can be baptized and start on the path that will lead her family to exaltation!

I don't remember when the last email I sent was, but we spent part of my birthday with some members, and that weekend we ended up eating three cakes! There's also a tradition here to take a bite of the cake and everyone smashes your face in it, so that also happened three times. I've learned the Mexican birthday song "las mañanitas" pretty well by now.

We are working hard to help people progress toward baptism, but it's difficult in this small town. Almost all of the members are somehow related and people outside the family don't see why they should change their religion. But we've just got to trust in the Lord and His timing and keep working hard and being obedient and faithful.

As always, have a great week and get involved in the work of salvation!

Hermana Cheever

 

A Birthday Cake

I found the Spider on Halloween. Happy Halloween!

Livin la vida loca...

Dear all,

So the most exciting thing this week was that two of the investigators we committed to come to church this week CAME!!! I almost cried when I saw one investigator walk in. I just know that their weeks will be so blessed for the righteous decision they have made.

Since conference, my companion and I have felt that we should start teaching people about the sacrament; the importance of this sacred opportunity and the meaning of it. I want to share a little bit of what I have learned with all of you. The sacrament is a time and a means to remember Jesus Christ and the sacrifice that He made. It is a time to reflect. It is a time of renovation, dedication, and forgiveness. We have the promise that each time we partake of the sacrament we can be clean from our sins. We can start the week with a clean slate. We can have the companionship of the Holy Ghost.

That brings me to another point. So our area is a little pueblo, a very small town. But it also covers a colonia (which just means it's an even smaller town). We try to go over there about once a week, because it's a little far away. We had an appointment there yesterday, and we decided on Saturday night that we would not leave la colonia without teaching somebody, so our efforts would not have been in vain. Our appointment was not at home, so we set out to look for a few other people that we know that live there. We headed up the street, and two dogs started barking. I have never been scared of dogs in my life, but life as a missionary is different. My companion insisted that we go back to Atexcac, but I was determined to teach. I was not going to let our time in la colonia be wasted. Fortunately right then some people that lived a little further up the street were passing by, so we went with them and the dogs left us alone. Then Juana wasn't home, Dolores neither. We had made various street contacts, but no one was interested. There are very few people who live in la colonia, and I didn't know who we could find to have a lesson. Just then, a man walked by and we greeted him and started talking. Turns out the missionaries had taught him once before, and he wasn't busy right then. So we went to his house.

When we arrived he invited us to come into the dining room. We told him we couldn't enter unless there was also a female. He told us nobody else wanted to listen to us because they are Evangelical Christians. I realize this sounds a bit sketchy, but don't worry, the rest of his family was next door in the kitchen. We ended up teaching him inside his dining room from outside. We stood outside on the sidewalk and he was standing in his doorway. He told us that he wants to change. He has started smoking, drinking, and going to the dances (that's not okay to do if you're an Evangelical Christian). He told us that he's been having dreams with God and the Devil and he knows he needs help soon. We taught him about, well, Jesus Christ, the Atonement, and baptism. Included in baptism is the Holy Ghost. He was really worried that after repenting, he would just fall into his vices another time. We explained that through baptism, he would receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, which would help him to make decisions and avoid temptation. But we can only have the Holy Ghost when we are doing what God wants us to do. That made me realize the importance of the Holy Ghost.

It's something that we need. And to have it, we need to be clean. To be clean, we have to be baptized, and then keep the commandments and be able to partake of the sacrament regularly so that we can stay clean.

I hope you have all realized or remembered the importance of weekly church attendance. Yes it is important. Yes you have other things to do. But what matters most to you and what do you want to have achieved at the end of your life? I want to be able to enter into the presence of my Heavenly Father and thank my Savior Jesus Christ for what He has done for me. I want to appear spotless before God at the last day. And believe you me that going to church every week will help me to do that.

Do good things, be good people, live like you believe!

Hermana Cheever :)

Corn, corn, corn, nothing but corn.

Dear all. Welcome to Atexcac

This is called a milpa. I have no idea what it would be in English becuase hey, I pretty much grew up in the city. But there is a ton of corn. And right now, if you didn't know, is pea-harvesting time.

I love it here, it is so pretty, I am astounded every day by the creations of our God!

The people here are pretty great, as well. There is one sister that we visited this week whose name is Gabina. She has had a hard life. She married young and had a lot of kids. Her husband left her a widow, also at a young age and she remarried. For many years her husband didn't allow her to go to church because he was Catholic. Three years ago he died and she was free to go to church again. She is having a really hard time financially, she still has young girls at home to take care of. But her faith in God is amazing. We were asking her about Joseph Smith, and she said, "actually, I don't even know very well who Joseph Smith is" (well, in Spanish). She knew that the Church was true and had a testimony of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith and the Restoration without even understanding everything. She doesn't know how to read, either.

That just goes to show that when we open our hearts and trust in God, He will give us to know the truth of all things through the Holy Spirit. Gabina is an example to me because she is so trusting, and she believes everything that God tells her, or makes her feel. It would do us good to let go of our pride and our doubts and just believe.

It's amazing all the things that God is teaching me here on the mission. This truly is the greatest blessing of my life. I am so happy and so filled with the Spirit. Even in the face of rejection and opposition, we can find much to be grateful for.

I hope you all have a great week and take some time to notice the great things around you. Don't let your big head get in the way of the little miracles God sends you every day.

Love,
Hermana Cheever