Elder Caleb d'Evegnée

  As we're rounding down the days of September, it's been nice to finally feel a bit of "refresco" or weather that isn't scorching to the bone. There's been a bit more wind, a tad less of heat in the evenings, and a hint of cinnamon in the air here in Obregon. Sadly, a lot of the people here praise the month of December for the cold; it's hot here and it stays hot for a long time. In our area there is a river/canal that flows close to the road. So when we need to walk to investigators’ or members' houses, it's been nice to see some moving water even if it reeks of a 40-40 tennis score.    One of the families that we have been teaching is a family of three kids, a grandma, the mother who works, and th e 90-year-old Grandpa. As of now, we're teaching just the kids and the Grandma. The Grandma has a great desire and faith in the power of Christ and has been helping us to get the attention of the kids when they are making their puppy dog stand up o...

I finally became a man this week. I’m no longer in the prepubescent baby phase of my mission. I’m now out of training and in the awkward transition phase of junior companion. I'm still in Obregon but in a suburb part of it where there are a lot more deep green palm and lime trees, fields, drunks, and an odd amount of tiny cats and puppies around our house. My companion is Elder Quiroz from Hidalgo. He’s another great companion with whom I've connected quickly. He finds joy in random English phrases and words like “cockadoodledoo.”  Our area has a lot of people that are interested, including a family of 3 kids and a grandma that are progressing rapidly with their love of church. I've also been learning a lot more about the culture here. The other day we met a man that has a lot of questions and ideas about religion in general. He asked about how the prophets, Jesus Christ, Budda, and Joseph Smith all work together. We somewhat naturally responded about dispensations and pr...

This week went by, yet again, rather quickly. We also had a lot of rain this week which always helps us bear the sweltering sun of Sonora. With the rain, at times it literally fills entire streets with water. We had a day where we trudged happily through the calf-deep water to our next appointment.  We've also had a lot of different experiences with the different types of questions people have and the way they respond. For some of them, they would ask a question and seem at least content with the answer. For a few others they would ask a question more about the Book of Mormon. Our response however was never satisfactory for them. They would chew on the answer for a moment, spit it out, then continue to press on how they think only the Bible is the word of God. At times it felt like I was back in debate analyzing local fallacies and using scriptural cards to back up my doctrinal claim. At times it even felt like a wrestling match. At one point another person in this conversation was...