Feliz Dia de la Madre!!

First off, happy mother's day to all that are mother's and that are reading this.  You rock!

   This week wasn't too interesting to be honest,  We did help a family of the other missionaries get married, so that was a pretty cool experience to see them get married and right after get baptized.  It's awesome to see the desires that this family had to get married in order to be baptized.  It truly was a miracle and something very spiritual.

   I also got to see my family this week and to see them was a huge blessing.  To see that my Heavenly Father is blessing each and every one of them is things spiritually as much as in temporal things.  To be able to see my brother getting married in the temple next month, my sister and the love she has for the gospel, my mother and how happy she seems and the support she has for each and every one of her kids, and my dad and that he has a job to be able to support our family.  The Lord answers prayers and watches out for the families of missionaries as it says in D&C. I am a true witness of that.

   I love my family, I love this gospel, I love my calling as a missionary.

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-Elder Cheshire

Birthday Week!!!

Well, this week was definitely a blast!  Last week, the "Family Group" that we were attending turned into a branch!  And it's huge, there's over 90 or 100 people attending which is almost enough to be a ward.  It shouldn't be too long until they change that.

   They don't have teachers to teach Gospel Principles, so it's our job as Elders to teach it.  But it's actually pretty fun teaching.  But this week was my birthday and everything went pretty well.  The family that we eat lunch with bought me a cake and sang happy birthday in Spanish and English.  Which is really weird because everyone here in Bolivia knows how to sing "Happy Birthday"  in English but if I say "Hello, how are you?"  in English they look at me all weird.  It's pretty funny.  This week was Fast Sunday and I definitely was able to see my prayers answered.  I asked that we would be able to visit a family that is really awesome and have a lot of potential, Saturday night, and God helped us with that.  I asked if he would help our recent converts be able to come to church and they came.  WITH a friend investigating the church now.  The Lord knows our needs.  And at times they aren't things we NEED but he knows that if we receive these blessings, that it'll strengthen our faith.  My Heavenly Father strengthened my faith this week and I can't wait to have another week to share this love with others.  I hope you all have a great week and look for the blessings that you receive this week from your prayers.

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-Elder Cheshire

ANOTHER WEEK :')

Sorry that I don't have a lot of time to write, but I would like to share a small experience that happened this week.
   I had the opportunity to call one of my converts from my other area and I called to see how she was and to make sure she was still going to church and everything.  I asked her how she was and she was doing good. She then told me that she was actually returning home from a trip that she went on with the ward to Cochabamba to the temple.  I was so happy to hear that she had the opportunity to go to the temple and to experience that with the ward.  It's so awesome to be able to see the fruits of the work that we are doing.  I was soo happy and so thankful that she has been able to continue going to church and keeping the commandments.  There's no greater feeling than to know that someone that the Lord put in your path, is progressing so well.
   This work is the work of the Lord and has the power to change whatever person who is willing to do his or her part.

Pics:  We made t-shirts as a zone and they are so awesome!
         A couple pictures with my district
         A picture with Elder Lyell (Las Vegas, NV) when we had a companion exchange.
         And of course a picture with the grapes because they're very proud of their wine here in Tarija hahaha

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-Elder Cheshire

Baptism:):):):):):)

 This week had to have been the most stressful yet the most rewarding week of my life.  But I loved it.  First off, THE HERRERA FAMILY GOT BAPTIZED.  There was also another investigator that lives in our area but was getting taught by the sister missionaries that asked me to baptize her.  So that's who is in the other picture.  Her baptism was later so I had to use my same baptismal clothes that were still damp and it was freezing outside.  But the feeling of that night is something that you can't really explain.  It's that spiritual.

   Normally we pick up our investigators that are about to be baptized to go to the baptism together.  But they had to pick up their kids 30 minutes before it had to start so they told us that they would go on their own but that they would be there at 5 o'clock.  I wasn´t sure that would happen exactly like that becuase if you know anything about Bolivians, you'd find out that the word "punctual" does not exist in their vocabulary, hahah.  But at 5 o'clock, they weren't there.  The whole time I was thinking, "I knew it, I knew it".  We called them and they were still getting ready and hadn't even picked up their kids yet.  "I knew it"  A member offered to drive us to their house to pick them up and we got to the church at about 6 o'clock and we still had to change.  I was a little frustrated, but I saw that Gloria (the mom) was limping a little bit.  She didn't say anything and we continued with the baptism and after that, I felt more calm because it all had worked out.  After the baptism, Gloria and Alberto (the parents) shared their testimony.  Gloria said that during the day, something happened to her leg unexpectedly.  She had some sort of pain that she couldn't even walk.  She was sitting in her bed crying because she knew she wouldn't be able to go to her own baptism.  Her husband was about to call us to tell us that they weren't going to be able to make it.  In this moment, she said, she got a feeling that she had to go.  At this moment, part of the pain went away, she stood up and started to get ready.  They went to the baptism and she said that after she was baptized, she hardly had any sort of pain in her leg at all.

   At this moment, I felt a little bit guilty because I had put the blame on God with my thoughts of "I knew it" because after all, I didn't know it.  I know now that from one side at times it feels like nothing is going right, but on the other side, he is preparing and helping people to do the right.  I'm so thankful for this family and for the help of our Heavenly Father and this gospel in their conversion.  I'm so thankful for the opportunity to do what I'm doing.  

   I hope you all have a wonderful week.  Thanks so much for all of the support!

--

-Elder Cheshire

Family and Friends

Wow.  It's crazy how fast a week goes by in the mission.  When I wanted it to go by fast when I was in school, it never seemed to happen.  And now that I'm here in the mission and I DON'T want it to go by fast, it doesn't seem to slow down.

   This week we've been preparing the Herrera family for their baptism this Saturday.  I'm hoping that everything goes well with them and their desires to make this covenant with our Heavenly Father.  This family is so special to me and my companion and it really feels like I'm here where I'm supposed to be because they feel like our family.  The love that we have for them and the love that they have for us is somehting so special.  It's so amazing to be able to prepare a family for baptism and following the baptism, sooo much more.  I can't help but picture in my mind, this family making it to the temple to make even more covenants with God.  

   It's helped so much explaining eternal families with the experience that I had when I was 8 years old, getting sealed to my family in the Bountiful, UT temple.  If someone asked me what happened, what I remember, how it all went, I wouldn't be able to tell them, because I was just 8 years old.  But something that I DO remember and that I'll never forget is how I felt when I was there.  The goal of ours as missionaries, is to help others feel the same.  I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

--

-Elder Cheshire

Another great week!

4/10/2017  Another great week!!

This week wasn't full of anything too exciting, except for the fact that the Herrera family is still progressing very well.  They came to church with us for the 3 hours and after we went to visit them at their house to see how everything went.  They said that they felt really good and that they enjoyed it.  They also said that their youngest girl, who is 3 years old, didn't want to leave her class and when her mom went to pick her up, she said she didn't want to go and walked back into her class hahaha.  They are the best and I see a huge change in them every time we visit them.  Marcos, their oldest son said, "Ever since you guys have came to visit us, my dad has smiled and laughed more than he ever has before."  The dad then said, "I know, right?!" hahah.  They really are so special and are preparing for the 22 of April.  They will be the first family that I've baptized since I've been here and the feeling of baptizing a family is a feeling that I cannot describe.  The thought of them going through the temple in just over a year is one of the happiest feelings that I've ever had.

  I know that this email isn't too long, but I do love what I'm doing here.  I know that there are people waiting for the missionaries and also other members to help out.  This work is extraordinary and the blessings we receive when we invite others to this happiness is beyond explanation.  

P.S.  I won't be able to email until next Wednesday.  That's when we will have our P-Day.

--

-Elder Cheshire

4/3/2017  Conference week

Hello family and friends, so this week was pretty stinkin' awesome.  I'm hoping you all had a great week as well.

I can't remember if I talked about the Herrera family last week, but it is a very special family of 6 and they have been progressing but this week was something very very special.  The first time we tried to commit them to baptism, the mother said yes, that she wanted to be baptized but he said that he would like to get to know the church before making such a big commitment.  But we've been praying really hard for them and trying to help him with any doubts that he might have.  But this Friday, we went to visit them and we shared with them the chapter 11 of 3 Nephi that talks about Jesus when he came to the Americas, but it also talks a lot about baptism.  When we got to the part that talked about baptism, I told Alberto to imagine as if he was there and that Jesus was talking to HIM.  We read the rest of the chapter and we asked them again if they would follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized.  His wife, Gloria, said "You already know my answer, YES!"  We asked Alberto again, and after about 30 seconds of silence, he said, "I need to be baptized.  Yes."  They are now preparing for their baptism along with two of their kids for the 22 of April.  Another elder had given me a white shirt but it was too big for me.  I gave the shirt to Alberto along with 2 ties that I had.  My companion and I taught him how to tie it and yesterday, him and his wife went to General Conference with us.

The Lord has blessed us with a miracle with this family.  And I want to ask for your prayers to help this family progress and make this special covenant with our Heavenly Father.  I'm so happy here in Bolivia.  I love you all so much.  Thank you for everything.

--

-Elder Cheshire

Una Semana Loca

This week was super crazy and hectic.  My companion got transferred to another area and now I have a new companion.  Once again, from....Lima, Perú hahah.  He's my third one but now I know so much about Perú and I've gotten to try some of their delicious food!

   This past week we went to visit one of our investigators that told us that she would be in her house.  We knocked about 5 different times and nobody answered.  I don't know why, but I had the feeling to pray that she would come to the door.  We offered a prayer and right after, her dog came to the door and started barking.  We knocked again and right after she came to the door.  We then had an awesome lesson with her, and now she has a baptismal date.  It was an experience kind of weird, and wasn't anything huge, but it really strengthened my testimony that God answers all of our prayers.  At times he does it in mysterious ways, but he does it.  As it says in Mosiah 2:41, as we keep the commandments, the Lord will bless us in temporal things as well as spirtual things.  

   I'm so happy to be here and to experience little things like I saw this past week.  I love you all, and I'm so grateful for each and every one of you.  Time is flying by way too quick and I feel like I already don't have enough time left in the mission.  Thanks for everything!  Enjoy some pics hahah

-Elder Cheshire