Priesthood Power is Real...Oscar Castro Ordained to Aaronic Priesthood

Wow! I feel bad that I am so low on time every week, but I promise that next week will be better!  So we were able to confirm the Castro family yesterday, and as well Hermano Oscar received the Aaronic Priesthood which was absolutely wonderful experience seeing how this brother who at first was incredibly resistant to us teaching him had the Spirit soften his heart and now he is a worthy bearer of the priesthood of God.  I felt so strongly in all these ordinances that truly God has given men the capacity to use His power if we are living our lives according to the principles of the priesthood. 

In being able to take part in this proccess I felt the words in Doctrine and Covenants 121:41-46 come to my mind which states:

D&C 121

 41 Ningún poder o influencia se puede ni se debe mantener en virtud del sacerdocio, sino por ^apersuasión, por ^blonganimidad, benignidad, mansedumbre y por amor sincero;

42 por bondad y por conocimiento puro, lo cual engrandecerá en gran manera el alma sin ^ahipocresía y sin ^bmalicia;

43 ^areprendiendo en el momento oportuno con ^bseveridad, cuando lo induzca el Espíritu Santo; y entonces demostrando mayor ^camor hacia el que has reprendido, no sea que te considere su enemigo;

44 para que sepa que tu fidelidad es más fuerte que los lazos de la muerte.

45 Deja también que tus entrañas se llenen de caridad para con todos los hombres, y para con los de la familia de la fe, y deja que la ^avirtud engalane tus ^bpensamientos incesantemente; entonces tu confianza se fortalecerá en la presencia de Dios; y la doctrina del sacerdocio destilará sobre tu alma como ^crocíodel cielo.

46 El ^aEspíritu Santo será tu compañero constante, y tu cetro, un cetro inmutable de justicia y de verdad; y tu ^bdominio será un dominio eterno, y sin ser compelido fluirá hacia ti para siempre jamás.

(Mom inserted)

Doctrine and Covenants

41 No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;

42 By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—

43 Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterward an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;

44 That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death.

45 Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.

46 The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.

I truly felt a strong desire this past week to be able to change the way in which I treat and teach others about our access to this sacred power.  We were able to see several people this past week change their lives forever because of the influence of this priesthood power in their lives and specifically I can state that we found a man named Jose Guadalupe that contacted us in the street, who after having been around several ex missionaries in Utah, decided that he wished to be part of The Church, and when he came back to Mexico on his last week in our area, we passed by him and he yelled out to us saying Elders, vengan para aca (come here) and began to share his life story with us and long story short he is a very chosen man who loves the Lord and wants to live in the right church!  He told us he would like to become a member of the church and bring his family with him!  The Lord truly prepares people and due to the righteous exercise of the priesthood in the life of Jose Guadalupe he is growing to have an incredibly firm testimony of these principles! With this miracle and so many others I believe that I can testify that God really wishes to bless us through our righteous conduct and I felt a call to personally be the best I can be in order that others can receive the blessings that sanctified priesthood holders bring, and I know that God loves His Children Infinitely, that priesthood blessings truly can give us the capacity to be healed physically and spiritually, and that every act of worthy priesthood service is rejoiced over in Heaven.  This was my little thought this week and I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Love,

Elder Raven

Oscar, Alejandra, Mavi Castro Family Baptism 6.30.19

Daniel Castro's Dad, Mom, and Sister were Baptized

 (Sunday 6.30.19)

On Sunday, June 30th Oscar-dad, Alejandra-mom and Mavi-sister of Daniel were baptized. Every once in a while we truly can´t control everything on our plate, but that´s alright because God's grace is sufficient for every one of our shortcomings!

Really, today has been absolutely hectic and I only have time for photos but I hope you enjoy the baptism photos of Daniel's family from yesterday!  It was truly an amazing experience to see this beautiful family get baptized a few weeks after their son Daniel was baptized. 

Today we went on a hike to Chipinque for our District Activity!

I will explain better next week!

Keep praying and smiling!

Love you all!

Elder Raven

Just Be Held

Last Zone Conference with President and Sister Maucotel

Hello Everyone that is just so incredible!

This past week was truly humbling as we began to teach a less active family with the youngest son, Arnold, not being a member because he was two years old the last time he went to church and his older brothers and mother were baptized but he never came to know about the church.  They are really talented youth that are able to play guitar, accordion, and a few other instruments and as well they are all very dedicated to various styles of martial arts, which is really awesome!  But it was a very interesting experience because as we began teaching these youth about our purpose to invite everyone to come unto Christ, the oldest son began telling us that he couldn´t believe in God because of all of the horrible occurrences that are happening and have happened in the world.  He told us about how could there be terrorism, large scale, starvation, and so much economic inequality if there really was an all-loving God?  How could there be so many youth in the streets that are involved in drug warfare and all other sorts of things , and after we listened patiently and lovingly to his concerns, I paused for a solid 10 seconds and then I felt the scripture from Alma 30:44 come into my mind and with that idea I opened my mouth with one question of ¨Do you truly believe that everything of this earth, from the smallest of microbes to the grand cosmos of the planets and stars exists by sheer circumstance?¨ And then he said, honestly, I hope that there would be a divine creator behind it all, but it is just so hard to see from my perspective.  Then I shared one comment with Kevin that truly changed the atmosphere of the room, and I felt the Spirit testify to Him as I said ¨The Lord can take that hope and make it a sure belief, if you can truly humble yourself before Him and just ask to feel His Love for you.¨ He began to become teary-eyed and with a very subdued tone of voice accepted our invitation.   We then invited him to take a moment to pray to God if He really existed, and I could feel God´s love for Kevin as he began to offer up in his halting way, his desires to see if God truly knew who he was.   This experience left me feeling the Spirit testify that truly God is our loving Heavenly Father, that he knows us personally, and even though Satan can deceive us into thinking falsely about our divine origins and potential, the Spirit sends the adversaries forces fleeing every time!   I know that God created a plan so that the families can be eternal, and that it does not matter where we have been in this life, but only where we are right now, and where we are willing to go with the assistance of God to return to His presence!  I can firmly testify that because HE Lives, He sent His Son to the earth to redeem us from every flaw and misstep that we make, and that if we can have these personal one-on-one conversations with the Father of our Spirits, He will never leave us without the guidance we seek!

I truly love this opportunity to serve in the Lord´s Army! I truly love seeing the Grace of God working in people´s lives as they sincerely repent, and most importantly seeing how God truly communicates with His Children in every age, and in every place where we may find ourselves!

Sometimes, it is just wonderful to let go of our concerns and let God hold us and let us know that we are His!  It is like the words to one of my favorite songs which is written from the perspective of God speaking to every one of us!

"So when you´re on your knees and answers seem so far away

You´re not alone, stop holding on, and just be held

Your world is not falling apart it´s falling into place

I´m on the throne, stop holding on, and just be held"

I hope you know that God loves you and is ever aware of the mountains that you have been called to climb!

Love,

Elder Raven

Anda bien Chisquiado (He´s really crazy!)

Hey Everyone!

This past week was wild because with Father´s Day yesterday, everyone had the day off, and with it being the quinceña (pay-day) here in Mexico, almost everyone was having a wild party this weekend!  This made the work here a little difficult because a lot of appointments fell through and it was difficult to contact people because of the many things they had to do, but there is a notable experience that I just wanted to share!

Yesterday around 4 o'clock, we were walking down a very public avenue in our area when a man that was staggering towards us yelled out ¨Hey Brothers, stop right there!¨ and with this experience I looked at Elder Chavez and told him to stop for a second and see how we could help this man.   He then started talking to me and said, Hey, you´re not from here right? and then asked me If I played in a Mariachi Band, and all sorts of strange questions to which I politely responded and then he asked me if we could start teaching him, and so I gave him a folleto of the restoration and from there left the man in peace, but it was a really cool experience because even though this brother was really high, a nearby neighbor saw our interaction and began asking us why we didn´t condemn the man for his rudeness or craziness, by which we responded that we are here to serve the people and not condemn them, which led her to wish to learn more, and from that we have been teaching the Hermana Seda who is a really receptive investigator and has decided to really search and find out if our church is true! And all of these strange experiences brought to my mind a scripture from the Book of Mormon from 

Alma 37 that states 

6 Now ye may suppose that this is ^afoolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by ^bsmall and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.

7 And the Lord God doth work by ^ameans to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very ^bsmall means the Lord doth ^cconfound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.

I can truly testify that there are divine elements even to the strange and seemingly insignificant daily events!  Often times I have felt that maybe I place too much trust in my capabilities as a missionary instead of relying more fully upon the Lord´s power in bringing about his grand designs!  I can truly testify that the key to be able to make these small and simple things become great is through the guiding influence of the Holy Ghost!  I have sincerely begun a search for all the little things I do that might be hindering the Spirit from teaching me in the daily events and searching for ways to really become more Spiritually in tune!  In doing this exercise frequently I have come to better understand the ways in which God wishes to communicate with me, and also how others can be edified and purified through the Spirit´s gentle whisperings!  I know that spiritual gifts exist and that as we purify our lives, we will come to know the mysteries that God wishes to reveal to us in our personal struggles and battles here in mortality!  (DC 76:114, 116) I know that God lives and loves us and has given us a Comforter and a Purifier to help us overcome our natural man or woman, and become purified even as our loving Heavenly Father is pure!  And if right now you don´t feel worthy of that love, I testify that he is there for you offering you a second chance, and a way up and out, and that He has a plan to make a masterpiece out of the ashes of our mistakes!

An Elder Burning his pants for his year mark! :)

Hope you all have a phenomenal week!

Love Elder Raven 

PS Aunt Barbara called Grandma Sue and told her that she was so touched by this email, that she made copies of it and took it to the inmates at the Prison, who are doing the 12 step addiction program.  I thought I would just add that you are serving the people in Mexico but your emails are helping so many people here in the USA.  A lot of our neighbors come and tell me how much they love to read your emails.  Many people tell me that they are so amazing that the things you write are exactly what they needed to read that day!  You are a talented writer and full of the spirit.  We are so proud of you Elder Raven!  We love you and we pray for you!  Love, Mom 

Daniel Castro Baptism 6.8.19 One Change More in Felipe with Elder Chavez

Hey Everyone!

We received the news last night that I am going to spend another change with Elder Chavez in Felipe Carrillo!  This is going to be our 3 change together and I am really excited for what this change will hold! 

Thanks to these changes we have really been reflecting on how we can improve our efforts and see greater results in our area, and I have a feeling that with our goals we are going to be truly able to plant the seeds to create a branch out of our area!  

Daniel Castro Baptism 6.8.19

This past week was wild as we had the baptism of Daniel Castro, who is a young man that after being invited by his friend to church, requested to begin talking with us, and after 3 weeks of learning was baptized!  It was a truly beautiful experience as well because now his family is learning about the gospel and they have all committed to be baptized as well at the end of this month!  It is so wonderful how a small act of kindness (the invitation) made a world of difference in the lives of this amazing family!  We have several wonderful investigators progressing and the wonderful thing is that we are finally going to be able to get Paola y Alonso married which will be wonderful because after some time helping them understand the importance of the Law of Chastity, they finally committed! 

We have had our zone incredibly activated and in this month we are hoping to see many miracles in helping God´s children draw closer to the church!

Yet with all of these wonderful things, I will be honest in saying that it has not been all sunshine and roses! And from these difficulties, it has come to my mind a poem that I memorized in the 8th grade due to a very kind keyboarding teacher and I felt to share with all of you!

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,
when the funds are low and the debts are high
and you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

when care is pressing you down a bit,
rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is strange with its twists and turns
as every one of us sometimes learns
and many a failure comes about,
when he might have won had he stuck it out,
don't give up though the pace seems slow
you may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out
the silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
and you never can tell just how close you are,
it may be near when it seems so far.

so stick to the fight when you're hardest hit

It's when things seem worst that you must not quit. 

I honestly do not remember the author of this poem, but I have felt that many times in life we are given challenges in order to demonstrate the Christlike Attribute of our Diligence to the principles of the gospel!  Truly this is the Church of Divine Miracles, and we are always entitled to God´s help if we do our part, and I also have come to realize that many of our personal challenges truly can be the refining influence that we need and for that reason, God in His infinite love and wisdom permits us to take on these challenges so that our spiritual muscles grow.  I believe that many times we can spend our time thinking about the What If´s or the Why me´s, but if we truly can have faith in the promises of this gospel I testify that there is not any trial of our lives that is not giving to help us become more like Heavenly Father, that even though the road can be dimmed around us, his love will never abandon us.  I felt this so strongly this past week while I was studying some of my favorite verses from Romans 8:38-39

38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Of these things I testify and as well that God loves you personally, knows you by name, and wishes that you will turn to him in prayer in whatever challenge or difficulty you are facing! Of these things I give my personal testimony and experience, and until next week!

Do Good! Be Great!

Elder Raven

PS Mike Dagley came over and told me how much he appreciated this email.  He really needed to read this email.  It gave him a lot of comfort.  Great job Elder Raven! :) 

The Miracles in the Small Things

Hey Everyone!

This past week I have felt so incredibly grateful for some small things that really have made a huge difference in the quality of work we have been able to do here in El Pedregal in the Felipe Carrillo Ward. 

1. We were able to change houses which is wonderful and now we are not stressed about where we are going to live, jaja!

2. Daniel and His Family were able to receive answers to their prayers about the veracity of the Church, and they have all committed to be baptized on the same day with the Ramos Family! 

3. Our New Bishop, Bishop Ortiz is helping activate the members by leading through his example of accompanying us to lessons and personally making visits to less actives!

4. We are planning to have a super baptismal service this Saturday where all the Zone will get together and it will be a truly powerful experience to unite our stake and also motivate members to take a greater initiative in the work!

5.  We had a lot of small changes in the leadership in our zone so that means Elder Norman, who is an awesome and energetic Elder is going to help build up the animo of the zone!

I have so many wonderful things that I wish to thank Heavenly Father for, and I would like to share with all of you a conference talk that really hit home this past week as we have been helping several investigators with some great challenges and how we can express love to others in their difficulties with these words of President Monson I feel will be able to touch your hearts as it touched mine this past week!

Love you!

Elder Raven

Sorry for no photos, my camera has been broken for some time but I am going to buy a new one soon!

Interviews with President Maucotel

Hey Everyone!

This past week has been wild!  Right now I am on my way out the door to head to our district activity en el planetario alfa, which is going to be way awesome!  We had interviews with President Maucotel yesterday which was truly inspiring!  I can truly testify that the Lord has called these men to stand representatives and receive revelation for all beneath their care!

This past Sabado Isael and David called us an hour before their baptismal service where we had filled the baptismal font, invited all the members, printed out programs and everything, and they told us that they weren't going to be baptized!  It was truly disheartening after having been committed and taught, and after they had expressed their testimonies to us of the reality of this church as the Church of our Savior, but due to a lot of familial intervention they were basically going to disown them for their acts, and several clever ways in which Satan attacked them, and with the death of their uncle, they lost their desire, and we are going to continue animating them in the hopes that they will join the church! 

On the flipside we found several wonderful families and I would love to share their stories, but all 4 of them have been committed to church, one brother, Antonio, I would like to mention specifically because he was in front of his house in the shade, studying the bible when we passed by and I asked him if we could help him learn about a book written by prophets that also teaches of Jesus Christ.  

He was really curious and asked, how can I get this book and extra knowledge, and I responded by taking out a Book of Mormon, testifying of the reality of the Apostasy and the Restauration (in a simplified version) and he told me that he would begin reading and try to finish it before the end of June!  He is a powerful brother that has battled through a lot of health issues with his kidneys, but I have a feeling that God truly blessed us to be in the right moment to help this brother learn.  Later last week, we taught him all the restoration and he accepted our invitations to pray to God about our message and to attend church with us!  I am so excited for him and I feel that he truly has been prepared for the gospel message!

Anyway, I love you all! Keep praying and hoping for your dreams and for the missionary work wherever you may be, and then take an active part in bringing souls unto Christ!  It will be the best thing you could ever do!

Love,

Elder Raven