Elder Caleb d'Evegnée

Being called to serve Him, the heavenly king of glory, is simply glorious. It's a glory in His work and how its power and love are manifested to his children. It's the same conclusion that I always come back to: no matter what happens in the area/city or in my companionship or whatever it may be, His work continues and we can continue.     I got to bear my testimony of that to the little branch I left in Caborca. I loved my time in that pueblucho and the way I began to see more fully the workings of the Spirit with God’s children. It was harder to say goodbye as I had spent more time in that area than any other I've ever been in so far. I loved being able to visit with members or friends in lessons and for things to feel more natural. Other times it has felt like a bit more of the black white dynamic of “I'm a missionary and they are members/investigators.” But I had times when it just felt like that while that dynamic was still in play, we were able to be friends and e...

  Perhaps it's the experience that I'm gaining or a bit more of the veil being lifted from my eyes, but I am seeing more of the pureness of the spirit. The way that it guides and fills me with love is a fruit sweeter than all else. It's a blessing to recognize that. To see my fellow missionaries and feel joy for the works. To see a member take the sacrament and think what that might mean for them and for God that they're there. And to see our friends in teaching make changes and listen to the spirit. All are fruits of the spirit that I cherish.    In a zone conference a little while back, we watched a short video of the baptisms we had in the month. My old trainer came by to sit next to me while we watched it and put his arm around me in his extension of brotherly love. It was nice to see those people in the video dressed in white getting ready to make their first covenants with God.   Following that experience when I got here to Caborca, I got to know my old compani...

  I blinked. Now I'm in another desert city. It's like the city of Hermosillo and my Navojoa ranch had a little baby- un pueblito. We're quite literally in the desert with horses, cows, and other live stock out in the streets. It's another great combination to pass though this summer with other missionaries that also went through the last one or are just now experiencing what real heat is like. The heat targets us like the many street dogs, barking with mean faces, reminding us who's territory this is. The town consists of a lot of potato and grape farm workers. It's funny to hear people talk about the potatoes and how big they are in Caborca. Sometimes I try to compete with my own spud town knowledge and talk about Idaho papás.   I passed through six weeks with my Chilango companion and with another blink of my eyes, he left. He is a convert to the church and we spent a lot of time talking about the different beliefs and traditions that he had before he was bap...

  The Sonoran sun in its Aztecan semblance stinks. Something I'll never forget here is the sun. In part, because the sun won't let me forget it. But I will always remember how the sun comes up, stays in the air for the day mocking my gringo white skin, and sets behind the desert mountains. We're almost back to the days that seem like a dream for me. No one but the missionaries are out during the day. Even the street dogs don’t follow our steps. They stay under the shade of a parked car, in attempts to sleep, and give us passing glances of "Que tontos".  I thank my great grandma and her time that she lived in Mexico so I would be able to accustom myself faster.    But apart from the sun, we've been doing what we can these past few weeks. We've met a lot of different people and I've gotten to explain the differences between Hermosillo and Obregon and their corresponding baseball teams. Its been a fun way to talk with members and friends in teaching about...

  I left my colder town of Agua Prieta back to the oven of Hermosillo. It was difficult to leave the people I had met there even if it was only a little over a month. In my last week there, we got to see a lot of blessings: we had a freind really like General Conference and that helped her be more interested in the restored gospel, we talked to one of our friends that is going to our church and another and about her desire to be baptized, had a baby blessing, and we got to see our little baptized friend Luis testify in front of everyone in the sacrament meeting where we finally got to see a lot of the people we had been hoping to see there for weeks. It was hard to say goodbye to a lot of my friends there. They are really good people that love the Lord and want to do what is right. The best part is we get get laugh a lot while we talk to them as well. A lot of them asked us if we're going to come back someday and we joyfully responded, "Claro que si!"     When I came to H...

  Our week was full of activities, conferences, and invitations to everyone we knew or didn't know. We spent a lot of time trying to help some of our friends feel more included in the branch. With one of them in particular, a youth, we brought her to also make new friends. She has a baptismal date that we're really hope will go through but there is another church she's been going to for longer. She has a great desire to serve a mission and preach the gospel. It was great to see her at the youth activities and slowly start conversing with the other youth. It was a good start to help her feel more included. In another activity we saw a few families of members we invited too. That made me happy to see them and to see them doing what they've wanted for awhile. I was also very happy to see my little spanglish friend again. She became more and more excited to see us each time as she eventually hugged us shouting "ELDERS!!!" We're amigos.   We've been teachin...