Training and New Companions But Same Excitement For The Work!

Hello Family and Friends!!! 

It's been fun and it's been real but let me tell you..... IT'S BEEN REALLY FUN!!! Why God blesses us so much I have no idea but, he does; how grateful I am for that! I'm also grateful for the awesome people in my life! It's been a great week full of surprises and fun times! I feel much better after feeling a little under the weather but I am back to my old self!

So to start off the week, Elder Ferry, my companion, got transferred. So that was sad but, I got to go to Tampa for a day because I didn't have a companion. I was able to get a temporary companion and we went and talked and taught people on the USF Campus! In other words, I got to talk to all sorts of young people!  And let me tell you - young adults are sweet! And very nice! This is mostly because they don't know how to say "I'm not interested" or "no"  just yet. So even if they don't want to, they talk to us! 😂  Well, that sounds bad but the amazing thing is right after they do talk with us, they are so grateful!  Every Time! I think it is because we, as missionaries, are here to help people and not put them down or tell them they are wrong and young adults love that. Sadly, that's what most people think we do. But after talking with people, they realize that is not the case but sometimes older people don't give us a chance.  It was really fun to be on the UCF Campus and talk to so many people for a day and a half. 

So while I was teaching on the Campus with another Elder,

my current companion was on his way here to Florida! So... I have a brand-new missionary as a

Trainer and "Son"

companion (straight from the Missionary Training Center in Provo, UT) that I am training and he is sweet!!  He is from Salt Lake- of course he is from Utah. lol  He loves Star Wars, loves the Gospel and loves to work hard so I can't ask for any more than that!!  I also have a new Zone Leader companion because my previous Zone Leader companion went home because he had finished his 2 years.  My new ZL companion is Elder Oren (who used to be my District Leader).  He is Filipino.  He moved to Nevada from the Philippines and that is where his family currently lives. He is really nice.  He thinks my Asian accent is funny.  Just a FYI, Elder Jarrett (my old companion) was released as an Assistant to the President (AP) and is serving in Brandon, my first area.  I still talk to a few people that I connected with there and haven't gotten baptized so I am going to send Elder Jarrett to them.  The new AP is Elder Lewis (another previous companion).  He was such a good companion and missionary.  

So we had some great lessons this week!! It is the coolest thing ever to watch people change and have spiritual experiences right in front of you!! We taught a part-member family that is returning to activity in church (the husband is not a member of the church).  They studied from the "Come Follow Me" lessons this week all together!! This is the first time they have studied together.  They shared their experiences with each other and it was so cool! They also all came to church for the first time in years!! It was great to see them there! 

We also taught an older couple named Joe and Joyce! They are amazing. We showed them a small clip from one of the Book of Mormon videos.  After we left, they wanted to watch more.  After viewing one complete video, they watched another and then another and then another until they had watched all of the Book of Mormon videos in one sitting!!   When we went back to teach them again, they told us they were pumped to read the Book of Mormon more.  The videos really helped them want to learn more!  They also came to church and we are so excited for the changes they are making in their life! 

I love being a Disciple of Jesus Christ and serving with all my heart, might, mind and strength! Love helping others! I'm grateful for the knowledge I have about Jesus Christ that comes from the Book of Mormon! 

Love all of you and thanks for the letters and emails! I really appreciate all the prayers and support!! 

Elder Cahoon 

Another Miraculous Week In The Great TFM!

Hello friends and family!

Cahoon and Epstein- Zone Leaders

This week was awesome!!! So many crazy miracles in the area! It's crazy!! Elder Ferry is leaving to go home after his two years so I will be getting a new companion.

I am going to be training a new missionary! I will still keep my calling as a Zone Leader.  Elder Epstein, my Zone Leader Companion, is also leaving to go home after his 2 years!  I'm sad to see both Elder Epstein and Elder Ferry leave! Ferry was fun and we had many good times together! And hey, Rio Cox, you're getting a grandson! 

So Sad To See Elder Epstein Leave

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So to start off, this week we committed Harry to be baptized and set a date but he needs to get married first so pray for him! He and is family are beginning to get back in the habit of coming to church and reading their scriptures and praying.

We got back into contact and Mama Teresa and the kids after they left to who knows where.  We will baptize them in the coming weeks.  We also had a church tour this week.  I lve church tours- showing people various artwork, explaining about Relief Society, Primary, and Elders Quorum.  Showing them the chapel and explaining the

Sacrament is my favorite.  We also show them a shot video.  The Spirit is always so strong.  It is de beest (said in Nacho Libre's voice).

We met this man named Johnathan at church while we were greeting people at the door. I left the door and went over to talk to someone while Elder Ferry stayed by the door (don't worry still in sight and sound). He met Johnathan who told Elder Ferry he had been here for a year. E. Ferry had never seen him before and so he told me to go sit next to him during church. Way to go with the Spirit of Discernment Elder Ferry!  Then I find out that he isn't baptized and so we invite him to our recent converts/friends class we are teaching.  As the lesson progresses, a class member basically commits him to join the church when he finds out the Book of Mormon is true.  Bam!  Our recent convert, Steven, was there is doing fabulous!  So we get his info and tell him we want to come over later that night. When we go over to his house that night, we committed him to be baptized and answered his questions. However he needs to quit chewing nicotine gum and so we gave him a blessing and we will go over that next time.  He has quit smoking because he had been taught that principle but he didn't realize that nicotine gum was an issue.  He is committed to quitting but he can use prayers!

We had another crazy miracle happen this week! As we were preparing and planning on teaching a part-member family, the Spirit prompted us to bring Brother and Sister Kneckdal. So we invited them and they excitedly came!  Sister Kneckdal asks the guy if he remembers helping a 10 year old boy. He then says, "Yes I never found out what happened to him."  Sister Kneckdal tells him that was their son, tells him the story and then they both start bawling. Apparently, the Kneckdals' 10 year old son was found at 3 AM on his bike by this guy we are teaching (named Charles).  Charles was heading out to work when the Kneckdals' son biked all the way over by his house and henwas acting really weird. So Charles felt the Spirit prompt him to help the boy.  Apparently, the Kneckdals' son sleep walks and that night the son and gotten out of the house and put on his bike helmet and biked on the highway all the way over there unconsciously! The Kneckdals were just thanking him and crying and the Spirit was so strong!! Charles initially wasn't interested in coming to church but, after the experience that was shared, he was so excited to come to church!  We will see him this Sunday! 

Today (Monday) we got some couches from some Utah snowbirds and holy cow those things were so stinkin' heavy! It was so appreciated though!  We got them for our apartment.  The couches both had pull-out beds and so it made them stupid heavy! 

Doing Service!

We had to carry them up and down multiple flights of stairs and around some corners.  We finally got them in!  Then after that, we helped some members cut down a tree! It was fun!  It was hard to lug those huge tree limbs away after carrying the couches to the apartment.  Boy did I get a nice workout carrying those couches and doing the serice.

I know that God loves his children and knows their needs and their concerns! I have seen God use people to help resolve others' concerns in life. The know the Book of Mormon is the word of God and it has helped me to overcome a lot in my life! This is one big reason I love this book! 

I love all of you and thank you all for reading my letters and supporting me and encouraging me!  Have a great week!! 

Elder Cahoon 

Singing, Teaching and Preparing People!

Hello family and friends!

This Monday we ate out at a place called Andies. We went there after district council and we went to celebrate Elder Oren's (my District Leader) birthday. We had the whole place bumpin "The Birthday Song" for Elder Oren and he was embarrassed- it was hilarious!  Last week we went to the Lake (we are not allowed to go in the water) and it was a blast!  I made sand castles.

We set a soft baptismal date with Harry this week. His family are members but inactive and they want to start coming to church again. Elder Ferry and I talked about baptism with him. And he said, "Ya I have been thinking about baptism and I think I need to be baptized by the proper authority." it was sweet!  You see, the previous Elders had taught him about Priesthood Authority  At the time, Harry wasn't ready to accept the truth about the Priesthood and Priesthood Authority.  We have talked with him a couple of times so far.  Well, this past time we were teaching him, he told us that he had been thinking about Priesthood Authority and felt that he needed to be baptized with the proper authority! We were so happy when he said that!  We asked if he knew the Book of Mormon were true.  He said no.  We asked him if he would read it with a desire to know if it was true or not.  He said he would.  We read with him a couple of different chapters and invited him to read with his family.  He said they would definitely read together.  We invited them to church an will be coming next week because they have both gotten Sunday off of work.  We had a kneeling prayer at the end of our lesson.  We prayed about the Book of Mormon and to know of its truthfulness.  Afterwards, we knelt in silence and allowed Harry to feel the Spirit.  He said the Spirit spoke to him and it was incredible!

Steve, the one that was baptized last week, is doing awesome!  We are getting Steve to the temple with his family this week and he was so hype! We got him signed up on Family Search and showed him how to do family history.  When we showed him, he was like a little kid on Christmas morning! He was screen-shotting his family tree and sending it to everyone! What a stud! 

It's been great here and I have been loving the Ward members! We have been seeing great, tender mercies from God and it's been amazing! 

I love all of you and hope you're all doing great! Have a great week! 

Elder Cahoon

Faith Precedes The Miracles! Steve's Baptism!

District Missionaries!

Hello family and friends! 

I'm so sorry this one isn't going to be as detailed as I would like because we had some amazing miracles this week and some amazing things happen! I just don't have time this week.  We had a District activity this morning and I have other things to do later. I'm sorry I won't be able to go over all of the wonderful experiences but I will, however, mention a few. 

My District

On Sunday, Elder Ferry and I forgot to bring the BCR (baptism confirmation record) with us to church for the Bishop to sign so we ended up having to come back long after church was over to get it signed.  As we pull into the church parking lot, we see a car driving away. Then the car turns around and follows us into the lot. So we park and the other car parks.  A woman gets out and asks if we have a copy of the Book of Mormon.  She says she was trying to get one. We tell her she ran into the right guys!  She asks us if we knew about some verse called D and C and asked what that meant. So we ask her if she knew what what verse or thought she was looking for. So she's like "ya it says, 'Thine afflictions shall be a small moment.'" Apparently some BEAST member shared that scripture with her on her plane ride to Florida. She had just gotten here and came straight to the church! So we showed her the verse in Doctrine and Covenants (Section 121) and she was HYPE!, She's even going to go get highlighters for her new book!  Long story short... we're teaching her family Thursday!!  We are so excited! 

Scrubbing the font

Saturday was another great day!  Steve got baptized! He was so excited for this step and we are excited for him and is family!  As missionaries, we prepare the baptismal font by filling it up with water.  The font was filthy!  At first glance it was fine but when we looked closer, we saw that there were dead bugs everywhere! I had the awesome idea to put gloves on my feet and scrub away! It took a little bit of time and effort but I cleaned the font and the water was nice and clean!!

The baptism was incredible. Right when Steve entered the font I could feel the Spirit testify and bring me peace. Its incredible to see how many miracles come into your life when your focus is where it needs to be! Faith precedes the miracle.  The more you magnify your faith, the more miracles you are able to see in your life!  

We have also set  date with him to attend the temple to do baptisms there!  He is looking forward to that because he wants to be sealed to his family and knows this is just the first step!  

I love you all!  Gotta go but know I am working hard, loving everything about my mission and magnifying my faith so I can see and be a part of the miracles that are a part of my life as a missionary!  

Elder Cahoon