We finally pulled off a surprise party for Mckinley! 🎉

Elder Raven 

Thanks soooo much for the voice recording last week. It was so good for my heart to hear your voice. You sound incredible!!! 💙

I wanted to send this picture of Timp. I took this morning when I was taking the boys to school… It looked so pretty with the sun hitting it. We’ve had a lot of snow this winter! We probably have 2-3 feet of snow in our yard. 

Also Mckinley‘s 17th birthday was on Saturday, but the boys wanted to throw a surprise party for her. Remember we tried when you were 16 and she was 14 years old but the word got back to her and so she figured it out before it happened. 
This year the boys wanted to do the party NOT on a day close to her birthday so she wouldn’t expect anything. So we had friends come over after young women’s and young men’s Wednesday night and she was totally SURPRISED! It was so fun!

Questions 

When you had the surprise of the ZL’s and then President and Sister M. coming to your district meeting where was that located? I bet that was quite the shock. 

Even though it was stressful... The message you shared about having love and charity for the people is powerful… So you’ve been prepared for this since even though you didn’t know. I bet you did a great job. I know things can be stressful but just remember YOU ARE A SON OF GOD! He loves you and He will support you in all the demands and things that are placed upon you. 

He is watching over you and HE IS WELL PLEASED WITH YOUR EFFORTS! 💙💙💙

That “traditional” grandma’s advice was so funny… About how did attract a spouse when you get home. I bet that really made you laugh 😂😂😂

1. How are you feeling? 

2. We sent you a package and it arrived at your mission home. Did you get it yet? 

3. How is your area? 

4. How are the awesome families you are teaching? 

5. Thanks for your amazing testimony and wonderful emails. So many people tell us how much they love reading your emails. Tara just told me today!  We love you! 

6. Your kind heart is touching a lot of souls. The members in Mexico tell us what a good missionary you are and how much you have helped their Rama. 

7. It was fun to hear a little accent when you sent the voice recording! You sound so cute. 

8. How are the cockroaches?

9. How are those families doing that of been coming to church? How are your investigators?

10. I saw you’re getting a new mission President and July 1, 2019 do people know that in your mission? His name is Elder Jose L Isaguirre 

11. How is Cardenas Cano family 

You can answer some of these questions are all of them in the group email I just want you to know we love you we pray for you I think about you constantly. It’s been so fun for me to go and help with missionary efforts. A little girl my primary class, Jaylen  is taking the missionary discussions and it’s been so fun to go and hear what the missionaries are teaching her. It helps me

Feel close to you! I love you with all the tender feeling in my heart! ❤️❤️❤️ Here is a send you a pic of Jaylen with the missionaries! 

It’s Jaylen Rose. Do you remember her. She turned 9 in January so she is getting baptized in March. 

Happy Valentine’s Day! ❤️💕💝💛

You are in our prayers 

Love,
Mom

Here is a pic of all the snow we have right now! 

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Hey Mom,

Sorry about the scare!  We suddenly got news on Saturday night that we were going to have interviews with Presidente Maucotel on Monday, and so we ended up working all of Monday like a normal proselyting day, and we had our p-day today! I did take out 2,500 pesos (about the 136 dollars mentioned in the photos you sent me!) of money yesterday to pay for some new shoes as well as buy a knee brace for Elder Santiago because he really doesn´t have the money sufficient to cover it! Don´t worry I am going to get the money back because it is a medical expense and so it will come back to me cause its reimbursable! I am going to send some photos of the new shoes attached to this email!  I believe everything came in one piece, and thank you so much for the golf pants, the valentines gifts and all of the very special letters!  I have been reading the Miracle of Forgiveness non-stop and I only have 20 pages remaining in this awesome book!  I was truly shocked to actually finish the book and see how truly beautiful the repentance process is and all the unnecessary burdens that I have been carrying for so many years I am finally beginning to feel relief!  It is truly wonderful to be smiling from my heart as well as my eyes now!  I can´t thank you enough for this priceless gift as well as the beautiful commentary by grandma weber who truly helped me in learning about several of the principles inside the book!  In fact, I am going to use several in the massive group email! That is so awesome that you were able to surprise Mckinley, and I am so glad that you guys enjoyed hearing my voice!  I feel that I don´t have a very thick accent but we´ll see what two years does to me, haha!  

My area is really doing quite well!  We have the baptismal date for the 23rd of this month with the famillia Lopez Santos!  We finally found some baptismal pants for him too, because the brother is a bit chubbier and so we were looking everywhere for size 40 pants for baptisms but finally found it from this elderly member in our branch that is really amazing (Hno Galindo)!  We are also teaching Hermana Juanita y Nicolas and they are attending church and the Hermana is progressing but it is a slow but surely process!  We are really just looking for people to teach all the time, we have received a lot of references but the large majority of times we can´t find them because of their very extensive work schedules, but if we can find them, they will surely progress with their desires and the Spirit that they will feel!   

Elder Santiago and I are getting along much better now!  We battled a lot because I have always been a strict stick to the rules kind of guy, and I still am, but I have changed my perspective to be a little bit less prideful and we are working in harmony much better!

The cockroaches are fine, we really don´t battle much when it is really cold like it has been recently, but we´ll see what happens in the summer, haha!

Thank you for your kind words of encouragement!  I pray that we can be influences for good, and genuinely contribute some great families to the branch!  

Yes, we have heard about the new president and we are all very excited to see his administrative style and everything!  Being an area seventy he is sure to bring some fire Elder Holland style while still being a very kind and loving man, I presume . . . haha!  

The family Cardenas Cano is going great, the Hermana Alma is still attending and we have been teaching the hermano David, we hope they can keep going strong because of the upcoming move!  We visit them frequently to help strengthen them and we have really focused on teaching all the recent converts to make sure they keep being fortified!

I feel really great here and I truly don´t want to leave after this change, but I have felt that the Lord will call me to other directions, but quien sabe? who knows right, haha!

Love you so much,

Hope I resolved some of your concerns!

Elder Raven

Letter from and to BLAKE

Hi Elder Raven,

How are you doing? We are going to St George this weekend to play Icebreaker cup.  Any advice?  How is the soccer in Mexico?

Mom said you got our package...When did you get it? I am glad you sound so happy in your letters and voice recording. that is funny about the grandma and her dating advice to you. Mckinley's suprise party was fun, but mom was sick on her birthday. She is dong better now.l

I love you bro!

Love, Blake

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Blake,

I am great!  That is so awesome!  I love Icebreaker!

Bits of advice,

1 Don´t get a concussion, haah!

2. Leave your heart on the field, but be a good sport about everything!  (even if they paid off the ref, haha)

3.  Be a leader to everyone and just play for the fun of the sport and don´t stress to much about the scoreline but give it everything you can and let your coaches know if you would like more time, or if you feel that a certain position would suit you better but don´t be overbearing about it!

4. Just smile and have fun buddy! You are a great soccer player and you play better than a large majority of kids here in Mexico!

Love you!

Have fun,and keep saying your prayers!

Love you,

Elder Raven

Qui gana dia (I don´t know, jaja)

Monterrey, Nuevo Leon MEXICO! 

Here are photos of the district from the top of the Obispado which is a really awesome lookout point of the entire metropolitan area of Monterrey, NL Mexico! 

Monterrey Mexico

 

Hey Everyone!

This past week has been absolutely difficult to describe and so that´s the whole reason for the title of this week´s letter which comes from Zapoteco (the native dialect of Southern Mexico that my companion, Elder Santiago, speaks fluenty!)

We have been progressing really well with the Lopez Santos family and they are going to be baptized next Saturday! Which is way awesome!  The Hermana Juanita is slowly progressing but she accepted the Word of Wisdom in such a drastic way!  She has always been a huge coffee drinker and it has been her way of functioning but after teaching her on Friday about the blessings and consequences of disobedience to this commandment, she immediately said, that´s it, I am not having coffee ever again, and she´s stuck to it!!  It is one of the coolest miracles of the mission I have seen!  The husband, Nicolas, is still struggling with this a little bit, but we will see what miracles God has in store for him!

Spiritual Thought:

We have been working with a less active family that has been deeply offended by some members of the church who a long time ago unwittingly did some fairly offensive acts that are quite personal but suffice it to say that this family, which has been sealed for time and eternity in God´s temple has permited these harsh feelings to reside in their hearts for several years of inactivity! This is truly saddening and as I was reading the words of Spencer W. Kimball I came across this poem he quoted I would like to reiterateit!

My heart was heavy, for its trust had been

Abused, its kindness answered with foul wrong;

So, turning gloomily from my fellow-men,

One summer Sabbath day I strolled among

The green mounds of the village burial-place;

Where, pondering how all human love and hate

Find one sad level; and how, soon or late,

Wronged and wrongdoer, each with meekened face,

And cold hands folded over a still heart,

Pass the green threshold of our common grave,

Whither all footsteps tend, whence none depart,

Awed for myself, and pitying my race,

Our common sorrow, like a mighty wave,

Swept all my pride away, and trembling I forgave!

Although this is a kind of morbid tone to the poem, I think it is important to recognize how truly short his lifetime is and we have the two options of liberation or captivity, so let us please choose the former because the power of forgiveness is truly existant and can liberate us not only from the great weight of a grudge but also it permits the full powers of the Atonement to have a grander effect in our lives.  Until we can fully forgive others for their actions, we will be placed in a spiritual neutral that is where none of us should desire to be!  Let us forgive our debtors as we plead for the grace of God to eradicate our debts and that we may be more fully dedicated to the causes of love, joy, and peace that come from aligning ourselves with the desires of Christ!  So no matter how long a problem has been going on, please turn the other cheek, and permit God to take over his responsibilities of judgement is the message that I hope that we can apply in order to be truly happy!

Highlights from the past week:

Divisions with the Priests!

Since we have a really strong priest quorum in the branch of Alianza Real, we have really tried to help them become prepared for their missions!  We were thinking and planning, and we came up with the idea to have the priests acompany us for a full day!  So starting last saturday we gave Luis Ramirez and Kevin Ornelas a crash course in the missionary life, where they spent an entire day in divisiones with us so that we could get twice the work done, and to motivate these priests to make the decision to serve and this was approved by President Maucotel, the parents of the youths, and the Branch President so don´t worry, even though afterwards we learned about a very recent change in church policy that made this the first and last time that we will be able to do this activity, oops!  But on the flipside,  we had some wonderful contacting moments and I was with Luis for the day and he taught with such power and testimony that I know he will be a phenomenal missionary in two years!  We had a lot of funny experiences that I would wish to relate but I am kinda low on time but until next week!

Interviews with President

We received the news on Saturday that we had interviews with president yesterday(monday) so that is why pday was today and I am sending this letter late.  It was a great experience to learn more about leadership and resolve some concerns and I feel that God truly does call his servants to bring their experiences and individual gifts to bless the lives of those they preside over!

  

Love you all!

 Elder Raven

Ojala que sigan echando las ganas!

Hi Kyle this is Caleb

Hi Elder Raven,
How are you doing? I miss you 
Love Caleb 

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Caleb,

I'm doing good!  I love you so much buddy! And you look like you´ve grown a ton since I left and you look really skinny!  Keep smiling and be nice to everyone like you always have been! Do you have any questions for me?

Love you,

Elder Raven