This is not Goodbye, Just I LOVE YOU to take with you

ey everyone :)

I don't know what words can express the beauty of the last 18 months of my life. The past few weeks have been filled with laughs, tears and promises much like the last 18 months :) When i opened my mission call forever ago I didn't expect how huge my heart would grow with pure love for the amazing people of Idaho. It has been an amazing last 18 months my heart is full to m heavenly father for this great plan of happiness he has created for all of us to return back to him. everyday is an opportunity to come unto Christ, to know him, to be healed by him and to use the mercies on his atonement I know with everything in my being that God lives, Jesus in truly the Christ and one day we will stand at his feet and truly understand the depth of his role in our lives. The gospel of Jesus Christ is true and it can bring us happiness. There are so many miracles I have witnessed and blessings that I have seen in the lives of God's children here in this wonderful area. Elder Foster of the Seventy asked us "What would you say as your last pray as a missionary" I have pondered this question and think of this I would prayer for my brothers and sisters in this areas those we lives I have touched and those whose lives have touched mine, I would ask to never forget the goodness of the Savior and the power of his gospel and the atonement he performed on all of our behalf's. God truly is good everyone EVERYDAY!!

LOVE YOU ALL :)

FOR THE LAST TIME,

SISTER CLEVELAND

#PRINCEOFPEACE

Hey everyone :)

My week was fantastic :)

We had a busy busy busy week. To start off we had zone conference this week it was awesome we were able to see the new Easter Initiative that the will release on Friday it is based off the scripture Isaiah 9:6 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." I love the message of the video and hope you all are eager to share it I know that I am! The hashtag this year is #PRINCEOFPEACE

We had our departing temple and our departing interviews this week super bittersweet I can't believe that this time has come at this point in my mission. I have so grateful for the goodness of the people I have served with and served for. We are so grateful for the wonderful wards that have been so good to us these past months serving in Meridian. Our investigator had her baby this week or I guess last week he is one week old today and adorable. We really enjoyed teaching them and they have some great goals that include the gospel in the life of their new family. We also taught our new investigator Maggie, the one whose family showed up to church?! It was a great lesson and we committed her to baptism!! Her mom gave us not a no or a yes but will a little more work and prayer and study hopefully she will open her heart to the gospel. I was able to visit with some folks in Caldwell this week, there is so much joy in going back to an area and seeing a less active family that you helped to reactivate and know that they are still going to church 14 months later what a huge blessing. I'm so grateful for the amazing blessings of the gospel and the blessings that flow as we live it. 

Have a great week everyone :)

Check out the new Easter video March 31st at mormon.org 

All My Love,

Sister Cleveland

18 Months// Sheri Dew

Hello everyone :)

Weird day to be emailing but our P-day got switched since we are heading to the temple today to get blessed! This week has been pretty good. We actually had a miracle a family just showed up at church on Sunday in one of our wards and they aren't members. So, of course, S. Kelly and I race over after sacrament meeting and introduce ourselves.. later on in ward council the told us about her and her family. Her husband is actually a member less active but her daughter has gone to the LDS Church before and she wants to be a part of the young women's program and such. It was pretty cool we were subbing for someone in the ward during Sunday School and taught the class this new investigator was in, it was great! We gave her a Book of Mormon introduces ourselves and told her we'd see her soon.

The next day we went out to lunch with some of our favorite people in our Vienna Woods ward it was great we laughed and chatted they are missionary moms so we had a grand time. We went on exchanges the next day. I went to Emmett with Sister Shurtleff. Emmett is kind of like Payette in a way it was fun. We went to a nursing home to sing with the residents which Sister Shurtleff waited to tell me until we got there and we sang for an hour! I don't know if some of you know or not but I don't have the greatest voice so we sang and sang it was super fun though we use the hymnbook and the only songs we couldn't sing were about the restoration and Joseph Smith because they get up and leave when they do ;)

Coleman had surgery on Wednesday and it went super well :) We are happy for them he still has a long road ahead but is doing okay!Wednesday night we were asked to teach "How to talk to people" at one of our wards missionary months mutual activities it was quite funny to say the least I think the youth thought It would be easier than it actually is. Thursday I hit my 18 MONTHS!! I can't believe it!! We went to lunch with Sister Anderson one of the senior couples who is finishing her mission in the office to celebrate and then headed to listen to Sheri Dew speak in our stake! It was fantastic! She started off by saying I want to tell you what March Madness and Relief Society have in common.. I was sold from that point on! It was great though her message was on point and we all loved it. Plus she gave us a hug at the end of the night :)

Saturday we taught Heather again it went well we taught about law of Chasity and the law of tithing. Later that day we went to teach at the Missionary Boot camp the ward did. It was awesome. We love that ward so much and the youth. They ward wrapped up the missionary month by having us speak in the sacrament which went super well, it's always nerve-wracking to speak in church but we did it. All and all it was a great week :)  Hope you all have a great week!

All My Love,

Sister Cleveland

Hello World

Hey everyone :)

Things week flew by,, it was crazy and pretty great!

We had so much going on our week consisted of lessons, exchanges with our sisters, interviews with president, writing talks and preparing lessons.

Monday- We had a great lesson with our new investigator Pat our Bishop and Elders Quorum President went over and invited him to take the missionary lessons. His girlfriend is a member who is currently less active but they are expecting a baby and we were able to teach the plan of salvation it was a good lesson. The funniest part was that our mission president has invited us to sing at the beginning of our lessons. so we handed out the sheet of music and the couple didn't want to sing so they asked us to.. and let's just say it wasn't super pretty but it invited the spirit and we gave our best effort. It was still a good lesson and they invited us back so it couldn't have been that bad :)

Tuesday- we had exchanges with some sisters. I went to the west side of Meridian with Sister Latu who is a gem and I've been on exchanges with before it was super fun :) she is awesome such a hard worker!

Wednesday- I came back to my area with Sis Kelly and we went for our weekly visit with Gary we shared the talk "Joy and Spiritual Survival" which is a great talk so if you're looking for a quick read pop over to lds.org and check out last conference talks.

We had lots of visits to make that night and helped the youth in one of our wards with their missionary month. It was pretty fun going around with them seeing their excitement for serving a mission one day.

Thursday-  We went to go visit our friend Alana she is less active but lets us come by and visit. Her daughter wanted to meet us and their cat had passed away the night before so she was home from school mourning.. so we chatted with them. It's cool to see people's hearts soften without them really noticing.

Friday- We had exchanges I was with Sister Jensen she's a gem and it was fun! We had interviews with President which always go well, I love that guy. We had an 8:00 lesson with our investigator Heather we taught her about following the prophet and invited her to watch general conference in the coming weeks. We had more visits that day too. 

Saturday-  We helped out at the family history day and served lunch there it was fun! Sister Kelly and I had some lessons to prepare for and a talk to write so we did that afterward. We went to a baptism that night and then headed over to visit some members in our ward who are going through a hard time right now. It was a super positive visit :)

Sunday- Sundays consist of church and meetings. It was a good day though. Our talks went great we spoke with our WML in Edinburgh who we love. So it was super fun. He always gives us life advice we love it and his family!

Well have a great week everyone. that's the update :)

P.S- Here is a picture of us and Coleman a couple weeks ago I've written about him before, he has surgery on Wednesday, to remove his cancer! So say a little extra prayer for him. He's AMAZING!

All My Love,

Sister Cleveland

Ask God

Hey everyone!

It's been a busy week for us! Things in the area are picking up and we are looking forward to the blessings that will come to this area. We spent the beginning of the week in Caldwell and Nampa, going to meetings. We were running around like crazy but its been a terrific week. We were able to meet with Heather again and we have found a common theme as we have been teaching and ministering in this area, the importance of following the example of Joseph Smith and asking of God. 

My testimony of this is overflowing, it has been something we have encouraged everyone we meet to reflect on. Joseph Smith shares his account at the beginning of the Book of Mormon. We learn the process of taking our questions and receiving answers. First Joseph pondered his question,, and Second, he worked; he searched the scriptures which led him to James 1:5

 5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

He says he "Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did; for how to act I did not know, and unless I could get more wisdom than I then had, I would never know;" I love Joseph's response it wasn't enough just to read he reflected on it again and again, when we study it out in our mind as taught in Doctrine and Covenants Section 9 verse 5: 

" But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right."

Joseph knew that if would not ask, [he] would never know""so he prayed.. he acted and that is always what we must do next. We must act and trust that god will give us knowledge and direction. When we take our questions and concerns to our father in heaven we show our trust and love for him. I don't know why we would want to turn to the easy answers of search engines rather than turn to a trusted father who created a plan of happiness. There is power is asking the father who gave us life, may we should not forget account Joseph gave of the adversary :

"After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction."

This well happen the adversary will come and he will try to make you feel there are no answers to your questions, or make you feel because you have questions it must mean that you have doubts, that the process of turning to god is not worth the work. But we look at the example of millions of members around the world who have done this, look to the example of Joseph Smith, but don't think that the process is just one and done. We must continue to work and ask of god we can take our questions to our loving father in heaven. 

As we have taught Heather this week we felt  like we taught the lesson and it was good and we had the spirit but we leave and it just feels good. And as we were sitting and pondering over what mistakes we may have made or whether we felt we answered he questions we have been taught one final step.. the person asking the question, or seeking answers must let the spirit in we must let the answers that come from god and our prayers into our heart the spirit can testify but if we don't let it in. We may never receive the answers that we seek. God wants to answer our prayers and if we open our hearts we will receive his love and his guidance. 

Hope everyone has a great week :) and I'd invite you to Ask of God 

All My Love,

Sister Cleveland

Good Week

Hey everyone :)

Hope you had an awesome week. I know I did. WE love out wards they are so awesome, MIRACLES MIRACLES everywhere  I love it! So this week we had a fantastic lesson with our investigator Heather we laid the spirit of the lord on her! We invited her to read and pray about the Book of Mormon and to decide in her heart what she would do if she found out that this message it true.. man the lesson was so intense and spirit it went super well :) we have another lesson with her again this week. One day Sister Kelly went out contacting and we met this family that just moved into our ward she has a sister missionary clothing business.. we left that visit with a bag of clothes for free #blessed We love our wards they have been working hard to help us find people to teach. and we have some awesome potentials we just need to get them committed and start taking the lessons! Things are going super well in our area and we are enjoying serving here! Here is one of my favorite quotes from the week from a brother in our gospel principles class  he was talking about joining the church and leaving his strong Catholic faith and leaving his family and his country to come here he said "The trials came.. but the angels came too." I loved that. If we follow god's plan for us he will come to our aid :)

Have a great week everyone!

All My Love,

Sister Cleveland

"Pretty Sure you Sisters are going to Heaven"

Hey everyone :)

Can I just say how much I love the wards were serving in they are pretty fantastic!

Well we got transfer calls this weekend and  my last transfer has begun and Sister Kelly and I will be staying in Meridian for the next six weeks. We love this area and the people and are so excited to be staying and continue working with the members and our investigators here. And the last days of walking are in sight because we are getting a CAR...

In other news..

This week we got a new investigator!! She is 10 her mom is a member but  is coming out of in activity and he daughter just never got baptized and her mom doesn't really want to push her to be baptize to really wants to make it her choice so we are teaching her the lessons and trying to make in fun and interactive for her so she feels that desire to be baptized and its been awesome because her mom was participating in the lesson and was super helpful. We also had dinner with a family this week who told us they have a investigator for us!! Some of our favorite words.. we are going to start teaching her tomorrow. So exciting. We are still working with our investigator Heather it was actually quite an interesting lesson.. We taught the plan of salvation even sung families can be together forever taught about temples and families.. good lessons closed it and left. But after it just felt like something was missing.. I asked my companion what she thought she thought the lesson went good.. but I just felt like something was missing. Our investigators' fellow shipper called us the next day and talked to us about how instead of teaching Heather just for knowledge to teach her as a real investigator.. previous to this she had said Heather doesn't want to be converted just wants to learn more  about the religion since she is dating a member.. but it was hard to build our lessons because we were just teaching about things letting the spirit testify but we were inviting her to do anything.. As I was thinking about this situation. It was just so evident to me that it is in the doing that investigators are taught and testified to..  I've seen it my whole mission when we invite people to act then they can change. Without giving them commitments  they truly can not build a testimony or repent. The member who had us over for the lessons told us this story about how she came to understand that she shouldn't be afraid to invite Heather to act but that she should be bold and that she realized that importance of inviting people to accept the true gospel in their lives. So she told us we have free rein so we can teach her how we would a real investigator. I have a quote on my planner that I saw everyday this transfer it says "If we truly understood the Atonement and the eternal value of each soul, we would seek out the wayward boy and girl and every other wayward child of God. We would help them to know of the love Christ has for them. We would do all that we can to help prepare them to receive the saving ordinances of the gospel."I love that quote and thought about it often.. I know the love Christ has for me, I have felt the redeeming and enabling power of the atonement in my life so when we were walking down the street to appts, or if we were out contacting it has been so easy to just express that to people. 

This week we were able to go to a baptism in Nampa for Brayden!! I taught him about 12 weeks ago.. Its so hard to believe. He was so happy I loved it. And he gave me a hug when he saw me ;) shhh don't tell he's nine! I love going to baptisms I love seeing the people that I teach enter the waters of baptism because they know how much the gospel can bring them happiness and if they truly live it and believe in it they will never have to walk alone because the Savior of the World loves them and know how to succor them as it says in Alma 7:11-12. As Brayden got baptized I just sent and felt the spirit soo strongly. The lord loves all his children and he has blessed us with a plan of happiness and we can enter his fold by being baptized. When we repent, change, and make covenants with him, it means everything to him because it is part of his plan of happiness which we shouted for joy for in the pre-earth life. 

It was a good week :) Also the title is something the second counselor in one of our bishoprics told us.. again we love our wards :)

All My Love,

Sister Cleveland