Gratitude in All Things

Hey Everyone :)

Hope you all had a great week I know I did! So many things that have been keeping us busy which is awesome! This week I feel like the theme was gratitude, it made me think of President  Utchdorf talk about being grateful in all circumstances of our lives. I was so impressed by the faith of the members and people that we come in contact with each day. and grateful for the evidence of the lords love for his missionaries as I had my own tender experiences this week! I'll share a few:

One came in a text message from our Relief Society president who thanked us for visiting a sister in the ward who hadn't been in a while and no one was quite sure who this sister was and why she had gone unnoticed. We were able to visit with her and she expressed her desire to come back and have home and visiting teachers come and see her.

Second, was an experience with a potential investigator who told us she has no interest in being Mormon. She can't give up her coffee and wants to keep getting her tattoos.  One night we asked if she wanted to come to our sports night (where the missionaries bring investigators and play soccer, basketball,and volleyball) she cancelled on us and said she couldn't come. We decided to stop by on our way anyway and she decided that she needed to come because she was feeling super down. We went to sports night had a great time and she left with a smile and a desire to come back.

Thirdly, was the conversation I had with a convert who comes to our YSA ward. His name is Philippe, he is from Mexico and speaks broken English. In the best English he could muster he confided in me "Being away from home I feel alone, but I know I need to learn English and be here right now. when I got to church or come here (sports night) see you and some of the other missionaries I feel happy" We talked for a while and my heart was full of gratitude for that conversation. How grateful i am to invite others to come into Christ. I'm grateful that Philippe felt the love the lord had for home through the gospel and the missionaries as we do our best to faithfully represent the Savior. 

Lastly, I'm grateful this week to have followed a prompting to visit a LA sister who has not been to church in soo long. She opened the door in her capris, red shoes bright and cheerful. Later she would say she got the call that morning that her Brother had passed away of cancer. she said "you know its coming, but your never prepared for it. But I'm grateful for the gospel and that I know where he is and the plan Heavenly Father has for his children." 

It was in the lives of these people this week that the calling of a missionary touched my heart as we prayed to be put in the paths of those who may have felt, lost, alone or abandoned. The lord answers our prayers and hears our cries and he will never forsake us. He will always send someone to our aid. Each day I'm grateful a loving heavenly father trusts me and my companion to answer the call and tend to this part of his vineyard.  

Have an awesome week everyone!  Love you all!

All My Love,

Sister Cleveland

Spring in Caldwell

Hi Everyone :)

This week has been beautiful in Caldwell. The weather has been in the high 50's and we can't believe its still February! The area is booming and we have been responding to tons of referrals from the Spanish elders who tract our area and also other people! We have some many potentials and are excited to teach them. We have been taking out friend Audrey with us to teach and she is so awesome when we teach lessons! This week we went to visit our friend Julie in the nursing home soo much wisdom she has! We helped her make decorations for all of her nursing home friends they were super cute if I do say so myself! Julie has surgery coming up and she kept telling us if it's her time to go she's ready. We sure do love visiting her and sharing messages since she can't get to church anymore. We had a ward "Come&See" at the church building and Sister Messer and I were tour guides talking about each room and the things that go on during church services. We had a good time showing people around many people loved all the pictures of Christ and it was a neat experience. 

This week I finished the book of Mormon and I loved studying it the past couple months.  There is so much richness and you can truly come to know the Savior through its teachings. We talked to some many people this week contacting and on the streets of Caldwell about who our heavenly father is and the love he has for his children. We can come to know him and the Savior through the scriptures both the Bible and the Book of Mormon. I know this book to be true I profess it everyday and know that the means by which it was translated was by the power of god. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God that he was the instrument in the hands of the lord. I know that we can come to know our identify as sons and daughter of god through this book and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because his love and reals and evident in everyday of our lives if we just look for it. I would love to share with you another testimony by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland  Testimony of the Book of Mormon

Have a great week everyone :)

All My Love,

Sister Cleveland

We've been BUSSAAYYY

Hey everyone:)

Super Fun week and super busy too!

We had a great week, full of amazing blessings! We had baptisms this week! Stacy got baptized this week and asked me to speak at the baptism. It was such an awesome experience and she was so ready to get baptized. Her family and son came to support her which is awesome. We just started teaching a new investigator this week named Merle Jr. He is 9 and wants to get baptized and we set his date for next month! He's a super bright kid and he loves the church! Our investigator Tom is doing so well we had a great lesson with him and his testimony is soo strong! He's a tremendous example to me! 

We've been working with a ton of people who haven't been coming to church and we love visiting the elderly women in the ward. They are super spunky and give lots of advice....mostly on marriage the best thing we heard was "Girls Listen to me, I've been married 3 Times" these women are hilarious! We also went hiking this morning with our zone it was long.. haha but the view was awesome. We celebrated valentine's day with balloons! We also didn't have a dinner this week one of the days which was actually nice, so we made pancakes and played games with our jumbo frozen playing cards. It's been a busy week that's honestly the only way to describe it but the most amazing experience was watching our investigator enter the waters of baptism and knowing how much it meant to our Heavenly Father and that it exactly why we are out here to help people to come to Christ through the gospel that has been restored. It's a huge blessing to be apart of the lives of the people we meet in Caldwell. Everyday there is a MIRACLE! I hope everyone has a great week :)

In true rivalry week fashion GO DUKE BEAT UNC :) 

Much Love :)

Sister Cleveland

New Companion, New Adventures!!

Hi Everyone :)

This week we had transfers and  I got a new companion! Her name is Sister Messer and she is from Alabama! I am super excited for this transfer we set some awesome goals and excited to see the new adventures that the transfer brings! This week we're preparing for baptisms and we have been working with tons of the members in our 2nd ward who we haven't seen in a while. We went on splits this week with Audrey who is 18 and in our YSA ward she's preparing to go on a mission so its fun to take her out with us!  Hope everyone has a good week :)

All My Love,

Sister Cleveland 

Surprise

Hey Everyone :)

I honestly don't know where to begin with this week, it was super busy and went by somewhat fast its hard to keep up at times. We actually had a rough couple days with our investigators they were all going through some tough times. We had a baptism lined up for the week and we ended up having to push it back for two weeks :( I was so sad, and struggled to know what to say. I prayed 10x the amount I usually do this week, but it was super evident how much the lord loves his children and how he desire for them to be truly happy. As we make changes in our lives we experience some road bumps but we will always have a path to follow. We have been teaching a lot about repentance and trusting in heavenly father. We also have set some baptism dates for this month and are excited for all of our investigators.

Our Purpose as missionaries has been on my mind all week, we eat sleep and breathe our purpose. Which "is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement, repentance, baptism, and receiving the gift of the holy ghost and enduring to the end" It is such a blessing to be a part of the many lives of the people we are teaching that we have been blessed to grow with them as they make those changes in their lives to reach the fullness of happiness our heavenly father wants for us! I have had so many moments this week where I thought about all the prayers that are offer on our behalf. We are so grateful for the love and support we receive as we strive to fulfill our purpose in the lords work. This week I finished the book of Alma (which I was sad about) and started Helaman! The war chapters in Alma are awesome and one of my favorite places to read! I was reading in Helaman chapter 3 verse 35. What a tremendous example of what we can all me! Because of the desire in their hearts to know, trust and be obedient to God they were sanctified and purified! Faith in Christ is about action and power. As we act by praying, fasting, being obedient to heavenly fathers commandments, we tap into that power that gives us strength to face challenges that may come our way!

A big surprise came this week when our mission President Called us on Friday and asked to speak to me. He extended the call to be a TRAINER this next transfer so I will be training a new missionary for 13 weeks. Which means I will be staying in Caldwell until May! Hard to believe and I was quite surprise but I'm grateful for this opportunity to grow and to learn :) And im definitely excited to stay in my area!

Also funny story.. this week I had a dream that someone asked me to pray and I was so tired and just wanted to lay down while i prayed  but i knew I need to sit up so I sat up and prayed out loud. I said the pray looked at the clock It was 4:49 in the morning and went back to bed. That's when you know your a missionary. The next morning  my comp asked  if I had prayed in the middle of the night I didn't think anyone heard me haha That's when you know your a missionary :)

Hope everyone is doing well :) Much Love :)

All My Love,

Sister Cleveland

Pictures:

1. Nina Rose and I at her house one night

2. Kalua'u and I with Nina

3. Our District

4. Our investigator Tom who I love teaching :)

5. The Elders and I left standing in Caldwell!

6. Last District Picture :)

7. My trio companionship!