Week 68 Transferred to Brisbane North

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I am so mad!! I got transferred!! I got moved to Brisbane North. It is a good area but still NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I was so upset to leave. After all that has happened in the Gold Coast, saying goodbye to everyone was the hardest thing!!

I was in Gold Coast for 6 months so I got really attached to the people. It was amazing to see success there and watch them grow.

Sheila is still going amazing and has not missed a week or had a sip of coffee. She was hard to leave. It was truly amazing to see her feel the spirit and react to it. I will miss her heaps.

Our week was pretty hectic. We had heaps going on this week because it was the end of the transfer. So for one full day we got to clean our flat and the new flat that the sister missionaries are moving into.

The next day we had our Christmas mission party. That took all day and was fun but also tiring. Then we had our ward Christmas part on Saturday for Tallai ward where Elder Lim is serving.

I felt like we did not do any real big mission work. It was pretty quiet.

I wish I had more to say. There was no big thing that happened. It was a good week for fun and Christmas.

I do have a stupid story though. At the ward Christmas part they set up a zip line that was just terrible. If you weighed more than 10 pounds you hit the ground. So they took down the rope and put it up on top of a tree 50 fit up and asked if we would pull kids up and then lower them down. They had two harnesses and let the little kids put it on all by themselves. Geez I did not participate and I tried to stop it. Some kid was going to die. We could pull them up and then accidentally drop the rope or trip and the kid would fall. Plus there were some big kids. No matter how many times I said, “bad idea” the 1st counselor went with it. I took some videos of it happening.

I am so glad I learned safety in scouts. The best thing I did was tighten a few harnesses up before they about fell off. So dumb!!

I am sure that next week is going to be crazy!! Learning a new area is always fun. It should be great!!

I love you all and I will write more next week.

Week 67 The Spirit Really Testifies

Bia and Alessandra got baptized!!! Oh my goodness it was the most stressful thing as all baptisms are. Man has it been so fun and rewarding though.

It started out last Monday at our lesson with them. Bia started to avoid us and not agree with what we taught because her mom was telling her to do it. Well she is a teenager and rebelled against her mom so it scared us a bit.

About halfway through the week she dropped her date and did not want to do it anymore. She did not want to keep the word of wisdom or the law of chastity. We were pretty sad but still excited for Alessandra. She was rock solid and just wanted to do it as soon as possible.

On the night of the interview we got to their house early to teach one last lesson but Alessandra ended up having to work late so it was just Bia. We made sure to sit outside but we took the opportunity to teach her boldly and without Mom breathing down her neck. Bia speaks very good English so we could communicate. With Alessandra we need to get translated.

As we started to have a real talk with Bia both of us told her about our rebellious teen lives and how now we see that our crazy moms really do love us and wanted the best. We also explained how the commandments worked the same way. It is just God trying to protect us. Man it was a cool powerful moment with her.

At the end of it she asked if she could still get baptized!! YES!!!! The spirit is real and it teaches people and causes them to change!! She got interview and passed and so did Alessandra.

The next day at the baptism it was beautiful. By far the best one I have had on my mission. Heaps of members came and one family learned how to sing I Am a Child of God in Portuguese. That was the coolest moment. Both Bia and her mom were in tears and you just knew that the spirit was there and that they were ready.

The coolest lesson I learned from teaching them has changed me forever as a teacher and missionary. From our first lesson with them, they could not even understand us. They had no clue what we were saying but they had a clue on what they were feeling. For the first time I had the biggest realization that the spirit is the teacher. We always say it but in this one it was so relevant. It did not matter what the heck we said, all it took was them to feel the spirit. No words in English could have convinced them this church was true. It was only the spirit. The cool part now is when I have a comp struggling with English I can share this with him. Who cares if he struggles to say the right thing when teaching. It just does not matter.

That was just the coolest part of the week. This really is the Lord’s work and he loves his children. He has a way prepared for all of them. No language barrier can get in the way.

Now time for a fun Elder Cahoon story moment.

We have a member in our ward who cuts hair. We go there all the time now to get our hair cut. Their names are Ephraim and Jess Hannet. They are so fun. So last P-day we went over for our haircut as usual and it was great.  I look so good. The funnest part about these members is they treat us like normal people. All members do but there is always a little weird feel. Anyway not at the Hannet house. We talk and laugh just like family. I think I might have mentioned them before but anyway.

At the end of our haircuts we just go shower and get clean for dinner. The first time I thought it was kinda weird but now I am used to it. This week though I was showering after my haircut and had the thought "whoa, I am naked at a members house. Wait a minute." It was a really funny thought. As I started to think, I have never been naked at any ones house my whole mission. That’s good!! This was just so funny and maybe I was just having a deep ponder in the shower but boy did I get a kick out of it. Haha they are a fun family.

At church we still have heaps of investigators come. I met someone though who was visiting from a ward up the road in Gold Coast and we got chatting and he asked where I was from. Utah. What part? Highland, Oh I served with someone from Highland on my mission. Who? Trevor Garrity. oh cool I think I know him. Wait I lived next to him and he is in my ward.

It took me a sec to remember and put the name together but how cool is that. He was comps with Trevor. We had a fun chat and I thought the whole thing was really cool!!

Boy it is just great right now!! The area is great and things are going well. I love you all. Have a good week.

Elder Cahoon

Week 66 Just When We Thought the Drama Was Over

Every week seems like it gets crazier and crazier. Just when we thought the drama was over it hit hard this week.

Something Elder Winter and I determined was we have not had the opportunity to be companions in a true manner this transfer. At the beginning we had Elder Watson, which was really scary, but when he left we got his comp Elder Lim. Elder Lim is a great guy but he has been hard to work with. The lack of English knowledge has been really hard. We can’t blame him for it either. It would be so hard to learn a new language and get thrown into it.

This week it got bad though. He woke up one morning with no desire to live. We had him call the mission doctor and that ended in yelling and screaming. Then he would not talk to us and we had to hid all the rope and knives and watch him closely because of the balcony we live on. The doctor ended up coming to our flat and nothing helped. It was scary. Elder Watson never got this bad. We did not know what to do. So we just did nothing because he would not do anything.

Eventually the Mission Doctor took us out to lunch. When we were out with him he told us about half our zone is suffering from this. Crazy!! He said once one gets it the others see that and start to go down that path. He wanted us to make sure no one else got this bad.

So like I said before Elder Winter and I have not had a normal companionship this transfer. It has been fun.

So for the rest of the day we went around to all of our areas and took the elders out for ice cream and a break from the work. We just had fun with them, talked and cheered them up. As we did that Elder Lim had to come with us and it cheered him up. By the end of the day he was totally normal like nothing had happened. It was so weird.

Hear is the good stuff now. Bia and Alexandra are well on their way for Saturday. We finished up the last of the lessons on Sunday. We taught the law of tithing and right then and there she asked if she could pay it right now!! We said it would be best if she did if after her baptism. Her cousin is the clerk and he helped her through it. It has been so amazing to teach them.

During the week we got to teach about the Word of Wisdom. Alexandra shared a very personal experience about alcohol and her family and the trouble it caused and how happy she was to join a group of amazing people who believe the same thing. I know that they have been prepared by the Lord. It is not often that you get someone who is so ready!! She is just amazing!!

The second best part of the week was not giving up on Steve. We have just been feeling like it can’t just end with him saying he does not believe and doesn't want to learn more. So we texted him and asked if we could stop by. Gladly he said, "Yes." So we went back to Steve after he dropped us and we began to see where he was at.

The last lesson we had before he dropped us was the Word of Wisdom. It was not that lesson per say that made him want to stop lessons. It was a mix of things. The good news is that he has been striving to live the WofW for health purposes.

After a very powerful lesson on real intent and the prophet he was touched by the spirit and set himself a new years goal to be baptized on the 30 of December. I could not believe it. There is a power that can cause things to happen that need to happen!!

I mentioned a big party thing we were doing with all of the recent converts we have in my ward. That was a fun night. It was at Bishop’s house. He is a great man who is doing a great job!!

We were able to get Sheila there, and Alex but last minute Celia had to cancel. Even though she could not make it we still had a great time. It was a family home evening type thing. During it we got to share and watch this Christmas video about Light the World. It was a cool powerful spirit. Bishop was able to share about patriarchal blessings and what we need to do to get them ready for theirs. It was so fun to watch Sheila get so into the gospel and want to get her patriarchal blessing. She is such a strong convert!!

After one of our visits with a member out in the bush we were driving home and I thought I saw a snake, so I yelled it out and we turned around to find a massive snake. I think it was a python but did not touch it or get close enough to have something bad happen. I was safe. As we were watching this snake the lady that lived in the house came out to see what was going on. She got freaked out and wanted us to get rid of it. Elder Winter thought it was a good idea to get on top of the mail box so he asked the lady if he could. When he went to jump off it, he fell through and broke it and scared the snake into her rock wall. The lady was so pissed and started to freak out at us. Boy did I hate that. I did not break it or do anything wrong but I still felt bad. In the end Elder Winter gave her some money and she calmed down. So fun!!

Right now we have 4 APs because two of them are going home in the same transfer. Anyway we got to have the two that travel come to our zone for a bit. It was really fun to have them and to get their help and insight. I love how the mission is set up and how powerful it is. After they visited we got to go to a leadership meeting where we learned about how well our mission is doing. We are right on track to reach our goal of 500 baptisms for 2017. Right now we are at 427 and counting.

It was so fun to come up with new goals and work and council together. This really is the Lord’s work. He is leading it and preparing people just for us.

Man time goes quick, I have to go. Until next week, Love Elder Cahoon