6-30-13

Wow where to start. This week has been really really interesting.

So at the beginning of this week we were traveling with an ex-missionary, who was the office elder when I started the mission and we went up to Constanza the highest area in the mission to find a new house. So that was pretty intense with the really curvy roads and majestic views. We spent most of the day there looking for a new apartment for the missionaries.

Then on Tuesday we had a great meeting with the priesthood leaders of the ward. Lately the ward has been going down hill. We are all trying to work hard to keep things going, but it seems like the harder we try the more things go wrong. So on Tuesday we met and brainstormed Ideas about what we can do to accomplish our goals as a ward. We planned a little and came up with some ideas to bring up in ward conference next week. The main thing that came out of that meeting is that they were excited and had an idea about how we can accomplish and help the ward. Back in February we had an average of about 108 people in sacrament meeting, but lately it has been around 65 people in sacrament meeting. People have been moving away, but others are just going inactive, and we couldn't figure out how to help. So that was a great meeting.

This Sunday which was really good we had a lot of people at church. My companion and I left the house an hour early to go out and find people and try to get them excited about going to church. If we can get them to go they will feel the spirit and then it will be more likely that they will come back on their own. So we went and gave a less active family a ride, and also a Sister from the ward that had surgery, but a couple of her family that are less active also came so it was really great. The excitement had seemed to really get to other people as well because a couple of the other people that the other elders came and some that they just came. So we are starting to see some progress and hopefully after ward council we will have a better idea on how we are going to work together.

This week I also had to go and visit the doctor of the mission. I went to check up on my toe. He didn't operate on it though the way he was twisting my toe nail off and squeezing it sure felt like he was operating on it. He said that it is still just starting, but that it is a lot bigger then normal so if he has to operate he will have to take a lot of the nail. So he told me to try to bend it and ease it so the toe nail grows straight. He also gave me an antibiotic to kill the infection that I have in my toe. So that night I took the first pill. I woke up in the middle of the night and barely made it to the bathroom. It was just straight water. I spent most the morning near the bathroom. I call Hermana Douglas and she call the doctor and he said that that happens and that I needed to eat yogurt to put all the good bacteria back into my body. So I did and with in a couple of hours I was alright. But during those couple of hours I had a couple close calls where it was a miracle that I made it to the bathroom without soiling some of my clothes.  

This week we also had to go down to Santo Domingo again. We went to go and pick up new trucks. I have been working on trying to get the trucks changed since I got in the office. We drove down and ate lunch with a missionary that just finished his mission from our mission. Then we changed the trucks we had 2009 Toyota Hilux, and now we have Isuzu D-Max and they said that it is 2014, but I'm pretty sure that it is 2013 or maybe 2012, but it was new. We took off all the plastic and everything. So that have been really nice so far. It is also Automatic and the ride is a lot smoother.

We also had a ward activity this week and not a lot of people went but it was a really effective activity. The investigators that were there got to know some of the members and we played games and then after we played a little bit of basketball. One of the guys that we played with is a returned missionary that lives in our area. So we talked with him a little bit and he moved into our a little while ago and hasn't been going to church for a while. We asked if we could go by and invited him to church. He came to church and brought his whole family who aren't members and today we are going over there to teach them.

Well I hope that Tyler does great on his Farewell talk! Enjoy your last weeks with him. Have a great week! I love you all tons!

Con Cariño

Elder Cannon

 

6-22-13

So this week was pretty great. So to start off the week I got a call from Santo Domingo with one of my bosses. He we talked for a while about the cars of the mission and he told me that President's car was ready but that there wasn't anyone to bring it up here to Santiago. So I told President and he told me to go and pick it up. He also told me that there was a missionary that is going home this transfer who really wanted to go to the temple so that if we were going to go down there anyways we might as well go to the temple. So Tuesday we went and picked up the car that President was driving and then Wednesday morning we left by 6 to go to Santo Domingo.

It was pretty awesome we were able to go to the temple and Elder Rondon, now Brother Rondon because he finished his mission, he came with us to the temple. So that was really special to be able to finally visit the temple after a really long time. It was really weird while we were on our way to Santo Domingo just the feeling of leaving the mission was really weird. It was like leaving behind a special spirit and there was an empty space inside of me. It was a great trip. We had to wait there for a while because they were still finishing up with President's car on something last minute. We were able to see all my teachers from the MTC here and that was pretty cool. It was nice actually being able to carry on a conversation with them. We then traded the cars and drove back to Santiago. It was a great trip and even more so to be riding in the comforts of President's car, but we did find a problem with the car on the way home. They had replace the windshield but a small part wasn't sealed all the way so when it rained on the way home a tiny bit of water was leaking in, and  you could feel a slight breeze. I was fine with that because that just meant that I had to keep President's car for another day to go and get it fixed.

This week we also had a senior missionary couple come from Santo Domingo. They are moving here so we have been looking for apartments for them. They are from Sandy so maybe you guys would know them. The Wegeners so we spent pretty much all day Tuesday showing them apartments. It was a long day going from apartment to apartment and speaking with them and speaking with the real estate people to try to get them what they want. We finally got something that they really liked on the last apartment that we say. It was a pretty good day because they took us out to lunch at TGI Fridays, which sure beats rice and beans.

So it has been a pretty busy week, but on Monday we went to go and visit the less active family that we have been visiting. We were going there because the wife had asked my companion to talk about alcohol with the husband he has been falling really fast and we have really been trying to help them. So we went there and the husband just blew us off and pretended to be asleep, but that might also have been because he was a bit drunk. We were talking to the wife and she just needed someone to listen to her because it has been really hard for her. She really does have a testimony but this trial is so much for her. She is being so patient and is really trying to keep everything together. She has just started sewing to try to earn some more money especially now that her husband is drinking where as before he wasn't. She wants to get out of the situation because he husband is now trying to get with other ladies, but she doesn't have the financial ability to do that and if she does her husband will just try to find her again. Basically he had decided not to be happy he wants to make it impossible for the rest of the family to be happy. So we just listened her out, which made her feel better. The only thing that we could do was give her a blessing of comfort then we tried to encourage her to keep on reading and praying and then we left.

This week we were also able to do some new contacts. It was raining slightly and we were walking around contacting. It felt great. The majority of the people rejected us but we were able to find a guy that is really interested. We taught him and his son, and we hope that next time we can teach the rest of the family. We also found an older man that seems pretty interested. He can read and he seems to be understanding. It is hard because sometimes you find old people and they either don't know how to read or they really don't understand so it is really hard for them to progress, but he seems pretty interested.

Well I hope that you guys had a blast this last week being Strawberry Days and everything. that is really great about Joshua winning the relay race. I love you guys So much and hope that you have a great week!

Con Cariño

Elder Cannon

6-15-13

Hola Familia,

This week has been pretty good. At the beginning of this week we were traveling quite a bit. We had a Haitian family in our ward that had their visas come so they could go to Canada. Which is really good for them they are super humble and always willing to serve. So we asked for permission if we could help them out and take them to the airport in Puerto Plata. So we had to leave here at 5:30am so that we could get up there and back by 9 because we had a meeting with President. After the meeting we had to go to the other side of the mission to Cotui and finish a contract with an owner. She was pretty upset and trying to say that we hadn't paid her so that she wasn't going to give us the deposit back. So we had to show her some records and then she calmed down.

We have had some more time this week to teach and to try to help out some of the people. This week we went and visited a less active Dante that just moved into our ward, and really wants to change and has come to church two Sundays in a row, but late. So we went and passed by his house and he is really interested. He has had a lot of personal problems, his dad passed away about 2 months ago, and he wants to change his life around. the lesson was great with him he was very open. We had a lesson about the spirit and how we can have the spirit more in our lives so that we can be guided and receive guidance from God. After we shared is when he explained that he really needs to have the spirit more in his life and is really looking for guidance. He told us a little about his life and he has been playing the guitar since he was a kid. He had two star guitars and a double necked guitar that he made with an amp that he also made. He used to play in a rock band for a couple years and now he is trying to change the type of music that he is playing. He played a little bit for us and he is really amazing. He is a super humble guy and is pretty quiet.

He came to the ward missionary activity and so we were able to introduce him to a couple of people and he also plays basketball and so after the activity the young men were playing basketball so we were able to help him and let him play. He has also enrolled in two classes of institute and is really filling his life with really good things. It is really cool to see how excited he is about everything.

We also have an investigator that we contacted a long time ago. In the office we don't have a ton of time to contact and try to find the people that are prepared to accept the gospel so we really have to try to follow the spirit and to try in the small time that we have to find the people that are ready to accept the gospel so we can try to help them progress. We contacted a couple of really good contacts and were working with them for a while but they became really busy and we weren't able to find them in their houses, but one of the contacts we did we weren't able to find but I always thought we needed to pass by, but she was always working. So now we were finally able to find her and to start teaching her. She is really animated to with the things that we are teaching her she is really accepting about everything and is keeping all of her commitments. It has been a bit hard to get her to come to church because she works and hasn't been able to come because of that, but we are hoping that this week or maybe next week she will be able to go to church.

Well I hope that you guys had a great experience with Trek and that you will remember those experiences forever, it is really something special. I love you guys tons and hope you have a great week!

Con Cariño

Eder Cannon

6-9-13

Hola Familia,

This week has been very interesting. This week we had transfers so we were very busy trying to get everything ready. We had some late nights driving home after we finished a move.

We were able to get everything done before the transfers.

It was pretty sad because Elder Rondon, one of my old companions finished his mission. It was nice that I am still in the office so I could be there in the mission home during the testimony meeting that we had the night before he went home. He was a great companion and really funny and it was sad to see him go.

This week in one of the new houses that we set up we didn't have time to take everything out of the boxes and set it all up because we didn't even get home until 10 and if we had set everything up it would have been really late. so we told the Elders that are also in that area to go and set it up for the sisters. Well when the sisters got there on the stove they were missing a clamp on one side of the hose, and they started to cook lunch and gas was leaking out into the room while they were cooking. Then the gas hit the flame and their stove basically exploded. The sister weren't hurt and luckily they had neighbors that helped them quickly get the fire out. So that was a bit of a shock and the sisters were pretty shaken up. One of them had the gym shorts that she was wearing melt right off her, but they were hurt which was a huge blessing.

We are going through a bit of a rough patch here in the office and it all started with the stove that exploded. There are just a lot of houses with things going wrong. There are a couple of houses without water, and a some that didn't have electricity because something happened to the check that we paid with and they couldn't process it, and other houses that have broken doors and they are just telling us now that they don't have security. So we were really busy with all the work in the office and trying to figure how we are going to have time for everything that we have to do and we have to do it all really soon because they are all top priorities. There are also a lot of missionaries losing their cell phones.

We have been trying to help a less active family and this last week he told us that he is tired of fighting and that he is just going to stop for a while and then maybe later he will start again. We tired to talk to him and teach him, but he's mind is just shut and it really doesn't matter what we say because he just says the same thing to every question or comment. so that is a bit tough but we are tying to find a way to help him.

We are also teaching a women who is reading a lot and now her schedule changed and we are able to share with her more. She understands very quickly what we are teaching and reads everything. This week she wasn't able to go to church but we are really going to work to get her to church this next sunday.

Well I hope that you guys had a great first week out from school and that this next week will be even better. I love you all tons!

Con Cariño

Elder Cannon

6-2-13

This week has been pretty crazy with everything that is going on in the office. We are trying to get ready with transfers before this next week. So the beginning of this week we were stuck without supplies to do the moves, they were still in Santo Dominigo. So we started doing moves by taking the stuff out of our house and taking it to another house that is really far away from Santiago.

So we started with Bonao, and that move wasn't very fun because it was raining and we had to take the stuff out of a house in Bonao that is on a third floor and take it to the other house which is on a second floor so, and the tile was all wet and slippery. That took all day Wednesday.

On Thursday it was a holiday here so we really couldn't do anything with the moves and stuff because everything was closed here. So we spent our time doing the office work that we hadn't done during the rest of the week. I also am in charge of the English tests for the latins. So a missionary came in on Thursday to take the test, and as the Proctor I had to sit there and watch him during the whole test. It was so funny! he is a really great, kind guy. but during the English test they were asking him about a whole lot of different things in English and he said that he like video games and they asked him to explain why. " I like to be quiet, and to be silent to hear my mind. But sometimes I want to kill somebody, and shoot them in the head!" It was really funny and then he was trying to be angry at someone and he said, " If you no come by in 20 min I will call you and I will offend you." I was desperately trying not to laugh because it sounds like he is a bit mental or that he has problems, but that is just how his English comes out, in Spanish is really isn't like that.

We were able to do an exchange with the zone leaders from montecristi because they came in for an early morning meeting on Friday, so they went with us to go out and teach. We were able to teach a lot of people between the 4 of us. We have been working with a less active Luis and we have been working with him for a couple of weeks. He has come to church a couple of times but now he is having a couple of challenges, so we have been trying to help him out. He hasn't been coming to church for a couple of weeks, we think it is because he is in discipline so that really makes it tough for him.

The family that has been really struggling we had an activity on Wednesday, which was really sad because we were stuck in Bonao but we heard that it was really good activity and the other missionaries in our ward were able to go. When I went by on Thursday the wife seemed really happy which it has been a long time since I have seen her like that. This Sunday her and her mother both came to church, but the other family that was having a lot of doubts about the book of Mormon because we are always focusing on the book of Mormon and not so much on the bible still haven't come to church, and we are trying to really help them with their testimonies, his wife is really closed about the topic and we really can help them if they aren't willing.

Yesterday we had to do 2 moves that we both really far away so we were really busy yesterday, and it was just exhausting. This week we haven't been sleeping a ton because we get to bed late that then we get up early to get going on everything, and this next week is only going to be more busy because of transfers. I am going to once again stay in the office for another transfer as of now, unless president received more revelation.

Well I love you all and am Happy for you all now that you are out of school and home all the time. I hope that you have a great week in Camp Helaman and everything else that you guys have to do! I love you all and hope you have a great week.

Con Cariño

Elder Cannon

5-26-13

So this week has been a little bit easier but that just means that this next week is going to be harder. We have to prepare the houses for this next transfer, but we don't have materials and so we have talked to President about it and we still don't have the stoves and fridges and desks and stuff so that is just going to make next week really busy moving stuff into the new houses.

So this week we were able to go out and work some more and go to more of the meetings and stuff. So I felt really good really talking and planning with the ward leaders so we are on the same page.

Today I had to give a talk in church. So during the week I planned and prepared my talk and then when we went to church today I left my talk in the house. So I was trying to remember the scriptures and the stuff that I had prepared, but I also had to play the piano and so I did horrible on the piano and then my talk was just alright, it was a little short because I could remember all the stuff that I had, but it wasn't short my much so that was good. I spoke about Talking of Christ.

Yesterday we had a great service project in the Rehabilitation center here in Santiago so we went and cleaned it all up. We had about 80 missionaries there so it was a huge help for them. After that we were able to enjoy a little of out p-day and after we cleaned the trucks we played basketball in the rain. which was a lot of fun.

We were out trying to teach and everything was just falling through all our appointments and we tried calling people and nothing seemed to be happening. So we were just driving around and a thought came to mind to go and visit a family that we had contacted a long time ago and their house was shut and we thought that they might have moved. We went over there and it was open and so we went in and shared a short message with them. We really hadn't planned anything for them because we hadn't even put them in our plans so we just sat and talked for a little and then we started the lesson. At the end of the lesson we invited them to go to church and she said no because it was mother's day, but her 15 year old son Moses said that he wanted to go to church with us. So this morning he came to church with us. They are very Catholic and talked a lot about the catholic church but we think that he had a good experience. It was a bit of a surprise. His mom said no I can commit to do that and he just blurts out I want to go to church with you guys. 

Right after that we were really happy and we called the Lady that we had an appointment with and her Husband answered. We still haven't been able to share with her husband and he told us that she was busy getting her hair done but that we could go by on Monday and share with them both. So that really made us happy.

Well Congratulations on everything with school and piano, and baseball volleyball and dance. I hope you guys have a great week with graduations and temple visits and ordinations! I hope that you have a very special week. I love you all so much!

Con Cariño

Elder Cannon 

5-19-13

So this past two weeks have been pretty crazy. I don't think that I told you when I called you so I'll just tell you now.

So last week we got notified on Tuesday that we had to have all the houses found and set by Friday because the system that we have to ask for the money for the houses was going to be going under a modification period. There were still 4 houses that we had to find and they were on opposite ends of the mission. Tuesday we were stuck the whole day doing a special transfer, so we had just 2 1/2 days to find 4 houses. So my companion and I split up with the assistants to find the houses. I found two houses that day during the exchange, but my companion didn't have any luck he could even get one. So the next day he and I went up there again and all the houses that they had seen and wanted to go back to look at we weren't able to look  at so we basically had to start from scratch up there and look for houses. We found a couple that were even better then the others that they had seen the day before. We were able to find the other two houses and get the money submitted by Friday. Nobody thought that we were going to be able to do it, they were trying to find any other way that we could get it done. My companion and I sat down and we felt calm and sure that we were going to be able to find the houses. We prayed lots and we were really directed in where we should go especially considering the circumstances that we were in and the weather and conditions we were in trying to find the houses. In the rain and flooded streets and in the dark. It was a miracle.

The next Monday we found out that we could still order the money until Wednesday, which was pretty much just a joke by then that we had been going crazy to find the houses by Friday.

On Friday I was a bit sick for the day but it went away pretty fast. I woke up fine and did exercise and then I just ended up using all the toilet paper that we had in the whole house in less then an hour and my companion had to go and buy more. So that wasn't that fun but by the evening I was fine again.

We have had more time to go out and teach this week. We went out on Monday to that family that we have been trying to help read the book of Mormon. When we got there we were just planning to find out why they had stopped reading and try to get them going again. We started the lesson and it felt like a pretty normal lesson to start out with. They were just a little un excited about reading anymore and the more we talked the deeper it got. We started to take the lesson more towards Faith and that direction. Then the mom started to go off. The entire setting of the room changed. Everyone was silent and the situation that they were in finally can into view. It was really bleak. They had lost complete faith that they can change. The mom who was motivating them before has just gotten to her last straw and given in and the whole family seems to be sinking. The spirit in the room seemed like a hundred pound weight on my soul. I was speechless completely lost for words my companion just had his head down. It was silent for a few minutes I finally was able to speak a couple of frail words, but they were definitely inspired, "Can we speak to the parents alone." At that moment the hundred pound weight seemed to turn into a thousand pound weight. My companion just started to cry and to be honest I was pretty close to crying too. A family that we have been trying to help for so long and they we love so much just lost all faith in themselves. I was fervently praying with all my heart to know what I should say, because my companion wasn't going to say anything. We started off with questions, and analyzed trying to see what their needs were, which seemed endless. Then we tried to discern what we could tell them without over whelming them, but enough that it gave them some hope and some light. We started with the communication because there is a huge lack of that especially as a couple. We explained how they should talk every night to express gratitude and then something that they could do better. then we practiced right there. It brought some light back into the lesson, and we saw some hope we are just hoping that they can keep doing that. We finished the lesson with little bit of hope and light. But today they didn't come to church their kids did but they didn't so we are going to try to visit them today and keep trying to help them.

Well I hope that you all have a great week the end of school is right around the corner. congratulations on finishing the AP tests and for Graduation in seminary and in High School!

I love you all!

Con Cariño

Elder Cannon  

5-5-13

Hola Familia,

This week the rain finally came for the rainy season. We have had a couple good thunderstorms. One knocked down a bunch of trees and torn some people's roofs off, and knocked out power lines and block streets. So it was a pretty big mess. It even hailed hail that was pretty good size even though it didn't hail a lot it did hail.

So this week I have been working with insurance companies and with the police reporting accidents and a bunch of crap. A motorcycle hit presidents car last Saturday night. So I have been looking for the guy who hit him and doing police reports and insurance reports and church reports. It has been pretty annoying and then on Wednesday this week someone hit Elder Stratford while he was driving so I had to go and check that out, but it hardly did anything but I still have to do the police report anyways so in the future when they try to find out how that happened we have the reports here. So it has been a bit of a long week having to deal with all that and they guys was angry about it al, because he thought that we were just going to hand him over the money to fix his motorcycle, and now he has to do this huge process and so it was pretty annoyed about that and I had to sit there and deal with him and explain over and over.

This week I was also doing my monthly reports on the trucks and we did the math and last month the month of April. We drove 2118 miles, and when I mean we I mean that my companion sat read or slept, and I drove 2118 miles. We were in the truck a lot this last month. I just thought that was pretty cool to know how many miles we drove.

We were also able to meet with Alejandra again. It has been a while because she was traveling and had a bunch of school but she is still progressing little by little. She really understands really well the things that we give her to read. The hardest part is trying to get her to come to church, and we still haven't been able to find a way for her to be able to come to church. So we are working on that.

Today some less actives that we are working with came to church. We have been working with this family of a returned missionary. We have been teaching them a couple of times now and the mom has started to come to church and one of her sons also has started to come to church. The others are a bit more difficult but we are trying. It is also helping to have the returned missionary to be there reminding them about church and prayers and reading. The other is a middle age guy that we have taught only once and the other times we have passed by and just talked before he had to go to school or before he had to go to work. We have passes by with a couple of members that live near him too and they have also helped him, and today he came to church and participated and everything. It was really cool to see him be there without having to remind him the morning or the night before that he just came.

Last Sunday I had a pretty embarrassing experience. We were at the house of the returned missionary's home and we were there with his mom and his girlfriend who is an active member. Before we started the lesson they gave us mangos to eat. So we sat there eating mangos for a couple of minutes. They were a little bit green so in the middle they were pretty hard. Most Dominicans eat everything until there is only the seed. I didn't really want to try to chew on it until there was just the seed. So I said, "¿ Quien quiere chupar la semilla?" Which literally means who wants to suck the seed. I was referring to the mango and who wanted to eat the rest. They stopped and asked me again what I had said so I said it again."¿ Quien quiere chupar la semilla?", and everybody burst out laughing, and my companion was saying while he was laughing,  no compa no compa you can't say that here. So they explained that here in the northern part of the DR the seed also refers to the reproductive part of a women, and the phrase that I had said was extremely bad and suggestive. Luckily they all understood me because they were members even is one was less active and explained it to me, but anyways it was really embarrassing, but really funny.

Well I hope that everything is going great with you guys. We'll have to figure out how we are going to talk on Mother's day, and how all that is going to work out. Well I love you guys a ton! Talk to you soon.

Con mucho Cariño

Elder Cannon

4-28-13

Well this week was pretty intense trying to get everything ready for Transfers. 21 new missionaries arrived so we had to rent a 15 passanger van to get them and move everyone for transfers, and I was the one that had to trunk around in the van for 3 days. So that was pretty interesting. For transfers I was assigned the Navarrete route because there was supposed to be a national riot and so it was supposed to be pretty dangerous, but because I am the best driver they figured that it would be best to send me. During transfers my route took the longest by far, everyone else had finished a couple hours before I had finished. There wasn't even a riot, but there had been a big one the night before because there was a lot of trash and burnt tires and tree limbs in the road which made it a little more difficult to drive but there wasn't any riot. After was had finished transfers and taken the van back to the air port it was after 7pm. We had dinner at the mission home with all the missionaries that were finishing there missions, which were only 2. So we had a testimony meeting where we were all able to share our testimonies. Then the american misisonary told us that he had lost his luggage during transfers and had no idea where it was. So we called missionaries to find out where is bags were, and we finally found then in Jarabacoa which is about an hour and a half from Santiago, and he was leaving at like 5am the next day. So it was about 10pm and Elder Wilkinson and I were chosen to go get the bag. I drove and Elder Wilkinson was there to keep me company and to drive if I got tired, which was pretty funny because during transfers the office Elders and the assistants don't sleep a whole lot. We were able to get up and back safely, and it turned out that the stuff in the suitcase was just a bunch of stuff that he shouldn't have had on the mission anyway like video games and crap like that so that was a bit frustrating.

the otherday we also ate fish in the mission home with President and sister Douglas when my companion and I ate there with them alone. It was imported Samon that president had grilled that was really super good.

Well I have no more time, but I want to tell you all that I love you tons and that I Hope that you have a great week. Tell the Warburtons that I hope that they get better really fast.

Con Carino

elder Cannon

4-21-13

This week has been really crazy. It is the last week before transfers so me and my companion were running around like crazy trying to get all the houses and apartments ready for the new areas that we are trying to open. During this week we went and had to do two moves to Puerto Plata, which is about an hour and a half away. So round trip it is three hours. We had to go up there three time this week and we were working so hard that my companion ended up sleeping on some of the trips, but I had to drive, and that was with the assistants helping us if they didn't help us then we would have had to make about five trips. It has also been pretty rainy this week so trying do moves and driving in the rain makes things go a lot slower.

This transfer we have had to open 10 new areas, 5 of them had new houses and then we had to move normal missionaries for a situation that happened. So we have been doing contracts and moves all transfers we have been so busy that we barely have time for anything else. So yesterday when we were finishing up everything that we have had to do all we have left is one desk that we have to take to an area. We stopped by the mission home yesterday and talked to Hermana Douglas and she told us that there are 5 sisters who are having visa troubles or who had to change dates so now they aren't coming this transfer, but we had no idea nobody told us so now there is going to be at least one house without anyone living in it for at least a month.

This week we went and visited a family of members that are slowly progressing. We have been working with them for a while now and the dad has been coming to church now. So we went there and where planning a goal for the family to read the Book of Mormon as a family and we were trying to make it really exciting so that they will actually do it. Half way during the lesson the mom just says this isn't going to work. It was pretty awkward because everyone went silent. Before she was the one who was always working and reading the scriptures and trying to get the family to pull thing together. Now she just seemed to have lost her faith that they could actually do it. There was a really weird feeling in the room and I had no idea what do say. We sat there for a minute quiet. They were all waiting for me to give her an answer. Silently I was just praying to know what I should say. I started to talk to try to find out more about the problem, and then it just started to flow and how we could help them, and what they could do to help each other. They came up with the solution that if we came everyday and read with them then they would actually read, but that wasn't a very good solution. So we told them that we would call to remind them ever day at 8. They seems alright but the mom still looked like she wasn't very sure that it was going to work. It was a very interesting lesson. Afterward we felt good about the lesson and that the spirit had guided us to show them how they can find the problem and work it out as a family.

Well I hope that you guys had have a great week preparing for all your tests and finishing up with everything. Wow the time flies to think that you are getting close to finishing school this year. Well I love you tons!

Con Cariño

Elder Cannon 

4-14-13

Hola Familia,
This week has been really busy trying even harder to get everything ready for the transfers that are coming on the 23rd of April. So we have had to up our game in finding and getting contracts done for all of the houses. We still have about 4 that aren't ready yet some just need the move of all the stuff and then there are others where we still don't have a house yet. So this coming week is the last week before transfers so we are really going to have to work hard.
So we have been traveling a lot and doing a bunch of moves. Today my companion and I are really sore because of Basketball that we played yesterday and because of all the moves that we have done. Yesterday the assistants helped us do a move to a third floor apartment and the stairs where really narrow and the roof was really low so that you had to duck down to go up them. So that was really hard and awkward to do that move, but this morning all four of us woke up pretty sore, and tired.
Yesterday we also had another activity with the office elders. We went and played basketball for a while which was really nice because we haven't had the time to go out and play in a lot time.Then we came home and we made breakfast, pancakes and some fruit.
We were able to teach a young man this week. His name is Miguel angel and he lives in a pretty getto area where there are lots of drugs and stuff, well that is pretty much our entire area. While we were sitting on his balcony teaching him some guys walked by and were making fun of him because we were over there teaching him. Then he did something that I really admired him for doing. First of all the guys that were walking by were two or three street gansters who were smoking some drug and they knew that kid who we were teaching. But he turned and said," They are my brothers" and then turned back to us to listen. The other guys were a bit shocked and just kept walking. It was pretty neat to see his courage. I really hope that we can help him progress in the gospel. He is such a good kid.
Well I hope that you all have a great week this coming week! I love you all tons and tons!
Con Cariño
Elder Cannon

4-7-13

This week we have had a lot of work here in the office as usual.

We had an internal audit this week in our office. So that day the four office elders were stuck in the office. It was mainly the financial secretary and my companion and I that had to stay there. They were asking for receipts and records so we had to show them that when we paid someone they actually received the money and that we have all the proper documentations, so that was a big pain in the butt. Especially because the Lady was just trying to chew us out all the time in the little things that we didn't know we should be doing but that we should be doing. She is also making it a little harder to process the money that we need for the down payments and contract money to get the new apartments that we need to get for all the new missionaries. So we have been waiting for the process for the money to do contracts and then move all the things in the house.

On Friday the assistants had to go to Montecristi to stay the night with the zone leaders for an exchange, but they happened to take the house keys with them so we had no way of getting in the house Friday night. So we tried to figure out where we could stay the night and the only option was in the mission home. So that felt really weird to have President waiting for us to get to the mission home. It felt like having your parents waiting for you to get home. We got there and stayed the night in the mission home which was really weird. I was really hot and ended up sweating most of the night anyways. We left in the morning and went to the office. We got a phone call from the assistants that they had gotten in an accident on their way home. They were in our truck, and we were in theirs so that was really sad for us. I had to go and help them out with all the forms and reports and also getting them home because the truck doesn't run anymore. It was a really tough situation for all of us, especially for the assistants, but everyone is ok and things are being worked out. It just means a lot more work for me to do now especially with all the new areas that we have to open now with one truck less. We missed the first session of conference but we are going to watch that tonight in the office. It was a miracle with all the blessing of the Lord and how he protects his servants.

We just watched conference in the office with the assistants, with the Latins in Spanish and Elder Wilkinson and I watching it in English. It was so great, I have been spiritually recharged and I have lots of thing that I have to do now. I really loved the analogy of President Uchtdorf about how we are all toddlers learning. It really shows the love of God, and with the Mormon message that I really like about Earthly Fathers and Heavenly Fathers. The way that we can keep doing better and how we really can learn to become like God. I also really enjoyed the talk for Elder Holland about Faith and how we need to hold our the ground we have and to be true to the faith that we have. All of it was great!

The Lord has really blessed me and the people that I serve. It is so hard to describe the little thing everyday that the Lord does, without you knowing the situations. He watches over his children and blesses them everyday, we just have to be watchful and learn to recognize his hand. I know he lives, and I love him with all my heart.

I love you all so much and I wish the best for you all. Thank you all so much for your wonderful examples that you give me.

Con Cariño

Elder Cannon

3-31-13

Happy Semana Santa! How is everything going on that side of the world?

Over here everything is as busy as ever. This week has been the traveling and looking for houses week. This week we went to Nagua, San Fransico, Jarabacoa twice, Puerto Plata three times, and La Vega. During all of this traveling it has been a very rainy week so the travel has been a little bit slower on these bad roads expecially to Jarabacoa and Puerto Plata on wet roads. We also had all the other things that we normally do to do on top of this. We did the mail and I did get your envelope of chocolate, and had to get that sent out the same day because it is La Semana Santa so everything was closed for part of the week.

We had to do another emergency move in Puerto Plata so we had to do all the contracts and stuff and move the missionaries in the rain which is never that fun because you can't let the mattresses get wet or the wooden desks and they always get mad if you get their bags wet.

So that has basically been our week we have been living in the truck if it only had a bathroom in there that would be our apartment.

During all the busy rush we had to take a mini missionary to his house so we picked him up from Puerto Plata and took him to Cien Fuegos to his house so I really wanted to stop by the Cabrera's house so we were able to stop by and say hello really quick they were all really happy to see me and now Jesus's little girl Merili talks but was too shy to say anything. As we were on our way out I felt like we needed to stop by and say hello to Hermana Blanca. She was so surprised that we went to her house. She just about started to cry. She has been inactive ever since I have left Cien Fuegos the missionaries who are there really don't know much about her, and I doubt they even know where she lives. She was so happy and had asked why we didn't call here to tell her that we were coming so that she could have made something for us, but we didn't have time anyways so it was just good to see her and invite her to church again. She said that she wanted to write me so I told her that was fine, so we'll see if she sends me a letter, but it was a great feeling afterwards.

When we finally were able to teach some lessons we got out of a lesson and we were going to see if a contact that we did was in the house a crazy lady came up behind us and said "OH the Mormons so cute, tell me something beautiful" But when she came up she like gave me a hug from behind, but she was pretty short so she was like hugging my stomach, so I had to take her arms off me and turn around. The lady at the house was apologizing and telling us that she is crazy. The crazy lady left and we talked for a minute with the lady that we contacted but her brother just left so we could share with them. The crazy lady came back and offered us some chips but we kindly said no and she walked away a bit angry, but it was funny with her rounded face with really curly hair sticking straight up.

Well I hope that you guys have a great Easter. Thank you for the Chocolate. By the way did you guys make homemade chocolate yet? Well I hope that you all have a great week and get ready for General Conference this weekend. I love you all so much!

Con mucho amor

Elder Cannon

3-10-13

Hola familia,

This week was another really busy week here in the office. We had a meeting with president to finalize the plans that we have for this transfer and to plan for the next transfer. So we found out that we need to find another house in San Francisco that we weren't planning on finding. So yesterday we went with the assistants and looked for a house in San Francisco. We finally found one and then had to go and buy all the stuff for it at La Sirena so we went and bought most of the stuff and then we have to try to move the stuff down there before Wednesday. We did all that yesterday, Saturday, or our p-day. So we have been really busy with all the preparations that have been going into preparing the houses for the new areas and new missionaries.

So recently we have been trying to work with William. He was recently baptized about 5 or 6 weeks ago, but after he was baptized all of his neighbors started to "study the bible with him" well as things went on he started coming up with excuses for not going to church the first one was actually true but then the second was very legitimate reason for not going to church, and by the third sunday that he didn't go to church he told us that he has been "studying" with his neighbors, and now he is filled with all these doubts. So we started to meet with him more often, but he wasn't reading what we were leaving with him, and he had stopped reading the book of Mormon. His girlfriend who was also baptized the same day invited us and the sister missionaries to come for a family home evening and it was her birthday so the sisters made a cake and everything. When we got there She had prepared a message and everything was going great. William had brought one of his neighbors to the party. After the message he started going off about how the Gospel that we preach isn't true so we basically just bore our testimonies and the sisters bore theirs and then we had to go because it was late. A couple days later William calls us and asks us if we would go to his house to help him understand some of the doctrines that he was confused about and had some doubts. So we went there and he had all of his neighbors waiting for us. We got there and there were three of them there with their bibles and William. So we started with a pray and then we gave them some pamphlets and asked them if they would read them, they said they would and then they went right into trying to read scriptures and try to explain stuff. So after a couple of minutes my companion asked them what is your purpose or what do you want to accomplish in this lesson. The guy said, "It is to have you guys stop believing in the Book of Mormon." The lesson was pretty much over at that point we didn't get anywhere. They started to read scripture and scripture and try to explain what they want to say with each scripture. We really didn't talk much mainly because they never let us. It was a bit frustrating because they would ask us how we interpret a certain scripture and then they would read it and they wouldn't even wait to have us answer. We just shared our testimonies again which was a bit difficult to find a break in their stream of words. By the end of the lesson we were sitting on the bed and the three of them were standing up right in front of us all trying to talk at the same time and it was just a mess. As we were walking out they kept following us and trying to reiterate what they had already said. We testified again with them saying that what we were saying isn't true and that we were confused, that they weren't blaming us for following other people who are confused but that now that their truth was right in front of us we should accept it. So to at least let Elder Rondon talk for a second with William I just turned around and just stood there and they stopped to try to talk to me and William went with Elder Rondon a couple feet away, but he was so closed up that he wouldn't do anything. It was really sad to she that how he is just closing himself up and not listening. We both felt pretty weighed down and sad that William isn't accepting the gospel anymore, but we had joy in our hearts because the spirit had testified through us that what we had said was true. Even if the other people there didn't feel it, our hearts were filled with the fire of the spirit and when we testified and defended the true he was there bearing witness.

This week we also finished our meetings with claro and we got the new phones which I get to test out. It is pretty cool it has a camera and has snake 3 on it but the thing that I have been looking through is that is has internet access but only if you have a data plan. So I have to figure out if they can some how access internet from these phones with the plane that we have, that way it won't be as much of a temptation for the missionaries.

This next coming week is going to be very crazy with all the new missionaries coming and with transfers and trying to pick up the truck and finishing the areas that we are going to open. This transfer went by really really fast but it was pretty awesome. We have a lot of stories and experiences.

I hope that you guys have a great week and that everyone is doing great with school and all the other activities. I love you guys tons!

Con Cariño

Elder Cannon 

3-2-13

Hola Familia,

This week was pretty interesting. My companion has been training Elder Astacio who is going to become the new office elder or in other words my new companion. So we have been doing pretty basic stuff. I have had some time to read and relax and catch up on all of the office work that I have needed to do, but it has been a bit hard because of conferences and service projects different office elders have had to do different things in those and when we need something done from one of the other office elders and they fall behind then we also fall a little behind so we have been pretty busy.

This week we went up to Puerto Plata to look for an apartment to move some new missionaries. We took Elder Astacio to teach him what a house needs and how to do business with the owners. He is a Dominican that is about my height and is pretty skinny. He is really funny he is in some of the pictures that we took up there. After we had looked at a bunch of houses we went to the beach and took a couple of pictures.

We have been contacted trying to get more investigators all of our investigators have been disappearing so we contacted a little while ago and some things are actually coming through We found a family on Sunday that is really cool they were very open and when we got there they called their kids and had the whole family to listen to what we had to say. They live at the very end of an alleyway and we were contacting with a member and it turned out that the member knows them and they were very receptive and so we are going back this coming Sunday.

We also contacted this lady from Venezuela that is living here. We have taught her twice since and seems really interested. She read the whole pamphlet, and each lesson we had different members there to help her. She told us that she has her beliefs and that she has felt good in her church and felt like God has answered her prayers. We taught about the Book of Mormon and then we invited her to pray. She has met with the missionaries before, but that was a really long time ago in Venezuela. She said that she likes how the youth of the church are and wants her daughter to have that support and live those principles. Her daughter is 8 years old.

This week President and I had a couple meetings with Orange the phone company to see what they could offer us and to see if it would be better to switch to Orange instead of Claro. They gave us a booklet and some offers, that I ended up having to study and then report back. So that has been pretty interesting. I had to use some math to solve some of the little details that they have in the small print and I figured it out and it was very satisfying to be honest to have a real life application and know how to figure it out and have an answer that basically determined if we were going to change phone companies.

The truck still isn't done and they say that it won't be done until next week but they way that it has been going it isn't going to be done for awhile.

We also went to Salto de Jimenoa again with the assisants today so that was pretty fun and we took a bunch of pictures and had a great time.

Well I hope that you are all having a great time and that you have a great week!

Con Amor

Elder Cannon