Hey ya'll,

     How ya'll been being? It has been another long week, but a great one! Had so much to do, many people to focus on and booked with things to do. Our whole week was mainly of this baptism weekend that we had with our 2 families and a total of 3 kids being baptized. Making sure they had their lessons done making sure they got their interviews, making sure their whole family had a ride to the church the night of the baptism and so on. It was a bit stressful but it was TOTALLY worth it!

     So this week, the obedience that Elder Page and I have been working on have greatly improved! We have found ourselves following everything correctly and we are starting to slowly become more and more used to it. It gives us more happiness and peace and helps us be more alert throughout the day, both spiritually and mentally. Which helps a lot during our studies and as we look for new people to teach and while we teach those who we have already planned for. Things just seem to fall into place more and more easily! 

With obedience on our plate, it has continually helped Elder Page and I grow our companionship unity. We push each other to do our best in every "rule" we strive to keep and even the little things. We are constantly keeping each other uplifted and smiling trying to have fun non-stop with the work that we do. So that others may see the happiness that this gospel brings. Because as you know people always wonder how Mormons are always so happy. We love our mission and we know that the closer we become as a companionship the more powerful our efforts will be.
     Miracles or tender Mercy's: I just love the members! As i said earlier we were trying to find a ride for a family so they could see their son get baptized (Valle Family). the last ride that we had set up for them, canceled. So we were stuck, others who lived by them did not answer their phones so we had no one else to ask beside those who were already at the baptism. President Hector Garcia lives in the opposite side of this family and they were a good distance away. We asked if anyone could please go and pick them up and bring them, and President Garcia easily volunteered. Even after setting everything up and doing all that we could so that everyone could be there and everything would be fine, something still happened that was trying to stop us. But with the help of members things were able to come to pass. Although we started an hour and 15 minutes late, nothing stopped the baptisms. This was a tender mercy for me because it just shows how we cannot do it all alone. We will need others no matter how much you have left in the tank, at some point in time, we will need others (the Lord,members,companion, etc.) to help us get certain things accomplished.

      So yes this past weekend i had my first baptism. Sister Nereida Valle's son turned 8 in Oct. 6th and Elder Page and I thought him the lessons and prepared him for baptism. Short story bout that. The whole last weekend we were focusing on getting one of his 2 older brothers to baptize him because they had the priesthood and the authority to do it. So we were pushing for his older Brother Nick to baptize him but this option scared Gabriel and he did not like the idea. This being because ALL of his brothers told him that if they were the ones to baptize him, they woould drown him, keep him under water till he turns blue, or leave him under till he starts floating. Gabriel got scared of his brothers comments so he did not want them to do it. And aside from that Sis. V was loudly talking to me asking me why i could not do it (Gabriel had previously chosen me to baptize him). After a good time of discussing. We noted the fact that Gabriel prayed and asked God himself to see who would be the one to baptize him and he said "Elder Caina, you!". So i had the honors to baptize Gabriel and it was a wonderful experience! It was not easy because he is a WILD little boy but we got is done. 

     As well as Gabriel getting baptized there was also 2 other little girls, Iliana and Daisy Urbina. 2 sisters who are very close with each other and absolutely LOVE the gospel! They are part of a very less active family that Elder Page and I visit. And We found out last month that they were in a very strong wanting of getting baptized! And let me tell you, they were surely prepared! They had been attending church with their uncle because their parents didn't attend and they just love going to church. So we immediately took action and asked the sister Missionaries if they could teach the two little girls to prepare them for baptism.  We thought it would be better if they were taught by the sisters instead of us. So they did and they prepared them on time for last Saturday. So we had a total of 3 baptisms last week all from Elder Page and I's area!

     This week has really been a converting week, power of this Gospel is amazing and it can do wonders! The families of those who were baptized were less active families. And although it has just been 1 Sunday since then. Those families showed up to church! one of which was his first time back in over 5 months! My first time seeing him at church since i have been here. And it was a really JOYFUL feeling to see them there! I have a strong feeling that the decision of these kid who got baptized will be an example and the beginning of a change to help their families come back and be active again! 

      There is Hope everywhere, and we can give out that hope! So this past week i was reading in the Book of Moroni and there were so many things that just stuck out to me. As well as the Book of Mormon promise, what also stuck out to me was Moroni Chap. 10:20 Where it talks about wherever there is Faith, there must be Hope, which there must almost be Charity. It stuck out to me because as we have been talking a lot about hope i was wondering a lot of how we must give it but then i wondered, where exactly do WE get it from? I just love how it talks about Charity in order to have hope and faith! How do we gain hope, we gain hope by giving and showing love. By SERVICE! That is how we obtain it. To me, it makes sense because when i help others, and see the smiles and joy that comes to those i am helping, it gives me hope knowing that i can change and help someone's life. That i can make a difference! And once we see that, we obtain it and then from there is how we share it and GIVE HOPE! Sorry i might be scrambling words here a bit but hope that makes sense.

     What Elder Page and I have strive to do to bring hope to others and try to give them a little taste of the beautiful warm and peaceful spirit that there is in the gospel. And we talk and visit, we found out we can not always leave them with some scripture because they are always running out. We do our best to at LEAST leave them with a prayer or a small act of service. I prayer of hope and blessings, letting them know that their is people who care and want to help. Just yesterday as we headed hope from church there was a family neared our home who was trying to push a big truck up a small hill. We past them and i saw that they were struggling. I called Elder Page and told him to turn around because we were helping. These people were a bit elderly and they were trying to do this heavy work. So Elder Page and I helped push the truck for them. And it reality it was only like a 3 yard push. . But they needed the help. And o boy were they Thankful that we helped them! They would not stop saying "thank you". That afternoon, Elder Page and I knew we gave them Hope! 

The little things in our life can be the biggest joy for others! 

     That is my stories and experiences of the week! Now i get to start the Book of Mormon again! So excited!

     I hope you are all learning as much as i am!!! Remember we can all have these types of experiences. Not only missionaries!

Have a Blessed Week!!!

Love Always,

~Elder Caiña

We must open our Spiritual Eyes!

Hello Everyone! 

    Feel like it has been awhile since i wrote to everyone! Well I do not know if ya'll know but we had transfers and now i am a trainer and my new companion is Elder Page from Utah! He has been out 7 weeks and he is still working on gaining his Spanish. At first when i heard of my new calling i was really nervous because i had just barely finished my own training. Although I was a Zone leader for awhile it still hit me a bit. But now i see that i was stressing out for nothing. I LOVE MY new calling and my new companion! He is great, he is a go with the flow type of guy and he is very quiet (we are changing that). Over the past week and a half we have already found a lot of success. This is Elder Page's first biking area and he was really nervous about that since he has asthma. I felt bad because i did not know about this the first few days and i was just flying with my bike and i look back often and he was far behind. And then we also had a 8 miles bike ride to Saint Rose and he was really scared about that. Thank goodness by then i knew i about his asthma and i didn't go as fast. He is a tough Elder though. He is always looking at the positives and has not fainted or dropped on me yet.  

       So about this past week, after settling down and being more calm about things we were 2 away from reaching our stake goal of 25 lessons. Last week we had 23! Now, numbers do not count and they are not something we should strive. But when i personally see this it shows me the amount of families we have been able to help and touch this week! With our investigator Noel we were able to teach him the Restoration and after watching the video with him, he told us how he loved how Joseph Smith had that desire to know and ask questions and how he was worthy to has such a marvelous experience to see God the Father and Jesus Christ. After wards he told us that he could really believe that the things that happened to Joseph Smith actually happened. It was a beautiful things to hear! And on top of that he had read more from the Book of Mormon! We have seen a good amount of progress with Noel and now his next step is to attend church! We are so happy to see him moving forward. It is going slowly, but SURELY!

       Last Saturday we went to visit our investigator Juan around 8 at night. On our way there my front tire popped and immediately went out of air. We were faced with either going back home or go to the app. and be late back home. Without hesitation, i decided to keep going and we went walking to our appointment. On our way there we got a hold of the Zone Leaders and they were free that night so the said they could pick us up after. We got to Juan's home and a few minutes later the Zone Leaders showed up so we had 4 missionaries at his home. Once we begun the lesson, in which we had talked about just sharing a spiritual message with him, i was inspired to ask him about baptism and what was holding him back from that step because the Elder and I knew that he was prepared. He told us nothing was holding him back. So we were wondering what it was. As we talked and asked questions he finally told us that he has never prayed asking that specific question before, and no one has really told him that he NEEDED to do that. So right there, We answered the question on how we can help him progress to get him closer to that step. And throughout that entire lesson the spirit was present without a doubt and Elder Griffin and I could see that he had water in his eyes, about to cry. He never did, but we knew that he felt the same spirit and Love that filled the room. This is one of my biggest Miracle/tender mercies i have had. Showing me the power of asking questions and teaching people not lessons. It was a powerful, powerful 'lesson'.

     Lastly, we found new potential investigators for my first time here in the mission! This family lives right enext to a wonderful very loud and crazy but loving family, the Valle's or V's home. We met Sarah Moreno and her husband along with their kids. Last Sunday we talked to 2 of their sons about teaching them and wondering if their family would be interested. They said probably. So we show up last Saturday and meet their Mom) Sarah. And she only knew about he polygamist Mormons. So right away we explained how that was not us. As we talked to her she became more open. And so we asked them if we could teach them. The gladly accepted and we taught them a lesson right away. Nathan and Nicholas were super curious and their whole family had so many questions! It was amazing to see them participated and with that desire to know. We thought them about the love of God. Sarah talked about how there is so much that she is doing that she knows it is not right and didn't know if she could be part of the Gospel. After she said that i told her about hope. And how God loves everyone and that he made us ALL capable of changing. How he can give us that strength to overcome what ever it is that is holding us back. And i could see in here eyes the light of hope that was coming back. It was and extremely neat experience and wonderful lesson! We will be going back to teach them in like 2 days! 

     But this just teaches me how many people have their own personaly struggles and how sometimes they ma feel so low that they can not feel like they can get back up. And how each one of us have to open our spiritual eyes to go to those that need help! We have a gospel and the power of God that can overcome anything. And we are capable of sharing that with everyone! So we must not hold back! My mission President told me that i am capable of bringing hope to those in need and to many people hear. How will i do that? I know that it will all come as i let God lead me. As i open my heart, mind and eyes spiritually.

     This is my message to you all and i hope you can all overcome what ever it is that is keeping you down. remember with the Lord anything is possible. We must lose our focus of the negative things going on in our lives and find what bring that happiness and positiveness to keep us going foward! 

      I am thankful for the Gospel and how it is the most joyful thing on earth! We must seek after it! Thank you all for the prayers and love! I hope you are all doing well and this helps some of you see things differently as it has helped me. Have a wonderful week! 

Love Always,

~Elder Caiña