My Christmas Week

Hey everyone,

  This week was really pretty special.  It was the first time I was on the missionary side of using skype but I really did enjoy it quite a bit.  

  I wanted to share an experience that we had this week.  Last Monday, we were walking down the street and a man came up to us named Luis Alberto.  He said "Hello brothers, you guys are Mormons right?"  We said "Of course we are, it's nice to meet you"  He asked us, "Do you guys believe too that Jesus Christ is coming soon?"  We said, "We know that Jesus Christ is coming and that the scriptures say He is coming soon.  We are messengers of Him to teach people what they need to do to prepare."  He told us to visit him the next day and he now has a baptismal date for the 21st of January.  He came to church with us this week and got to see how the church is.  

  I'm so grateful for opportunities like this that we have and that there are people that have been prepared for us and that are seeking to find the truth.  We just have to be worthy for the Lord to trust us.  There's a song that we listen to at our house a lot that says, 

"I feel somethin' inside me, like I've finally found my way

I know my Savior loves me, and I wanna show him I feel the same

So I'll go wherever he may lead, be the person that I wanna be

And try to never let him down again

I wanna be someone, someone He can count on

I wanna stand up, be what I was made for

I wanna make it so it's easy to see, that he can count on someone like me."

This week, as the New Year is approaching, I hope we can all do our best to become someone the our Savior can trust.  If we don't feel like he could trust us, today is the day to change.  You guys are so awesome, and I'm so thankful for all that you do.  Have a wonderful week everyone!  I love you all!!!

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-Elder Cheshire

FELIZ NAVIDAD

Hello everyone!  I hope you're all getting ready for the craziest time of the year.  There's definitely nothing quite like the Christmas Spirit like Utah.  With snow on the ground, lights everywhere and Christmas trees everywhere you look.  

  Here in Bolivia it's a little different. It's about 85 degrees everyday with a lot of humidity.  You see Christmas trees every once in a while but the snow is definitely not here.

  However, we all celebrate the same thing, where ever you're at in the world, not important where you are, we all remember the event that is one of the most important events in history.  This event is found in Isaiah 7:14: 

-- 14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

I hope that we can all remember the true meaning of this time of year.  I'm so grateful for my Savior and that I can be here, a different climate, different part of the world, different language, teaching the same thing that we have known our whole lives.  I love you all and I wish you a very Merry Christmas.  Always remember that "Él Vive"  ("He Lives")

-Elder Cheshire

ANOTHER WEEk IN PARADISE

Sorry about the title of this email, first of all.  I thought that the title was perfect, except for the fact that I can't type a capital k.  

  But I want to start off by saying that the weather this week was AMAZING.  We've been suffering with the heat for the past few week and we finally had a day full of rain on Friday so it was a lot cooler.  And we finally got to wear our rain boots.  It's my favorite because I can walk through the street without having to watch where I step.  There was one part on the road that I was standing that went 2/3 the way up my shin.  I had a picture but unfortunately my camera broke this week.  I'll be doing everything possible to buy a camera for next week.

  We got to sing in a Christmas program at the Stake Center on Saturday which was a fun experience to be able to sing in Spanish with about 20-22 other Elders.  The Christmas Spirit is definitely different here, but I'd be lying if I said that you can't feel it here.  This time of year is the best because we focus on what really matters in our lives, our Savior.  It's always the best because people focus on doing good things for others.  With that being said, I want to share a scripture in D&C 64: 33-34 that says:

33 Wherefore, be not weary in well doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.

 34 Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days.

As we are focused on doing small things for the good of other people, great things will come.  Not only for them but for us as well.  I love you all and I hope that this week you can look for opportunities to serve.  Talk to you soon!

--

-Elder Cheshire

MI VIDA EN LA MISIÓN

Well, this week was good until Friday.  My companion, Elder Stewart and I got really sick and we had to stay at the house the whole day because we couldn't keep any food or drink down.  We couldn't really think about anything that we ate the day before, but we finally came down to the fact that we think it was some drink that we had that apparently wasn't made of clean, purified water.  It was made of some good ol' Bolivian water.  So we're thinking that was the reason for the torture.

But this week was awesome!  We had the baptism of our investigator, Blanca Corrales.  I did my first confirmation on Sunday too which was also pretty scary, but very rewarding.  I'm so thankful that I can have these types of blessings in my life and that I can wake up every day to share the same blessings with the people in this area, Cupesi.  The only worry that Blanca had before and after her baptism is that her mother was a convert and she (her mother) had some problems and trials in her life after her baptism and the result of it was that she left the church.  So she is worried about the trials that she will receive.  But really, it's just trials that we receive to have hope and to increase our faith in our Father in Heaven.  I was reading in Preach My Gospel about hope and I found two things that I really love.  It says:

1.)  The unfailing source of our hope is that we are sons and daughters of God and that His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, saved us from death.)  (that we have an opportunity to live with them after this life)

2.) Hope helps you conquer discouragement

 I love you all so much and I'm so thankful for all of your support.  I love what I'm doing and I know that I have been called of God to be in this mission.  Always remember to have hope and faith in our God and ask for help through prayer.  He is always waiting to help you.

  

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-Elder Cheshire