Elder Caleb d'Evegnée

  A 6'5 giant, a güero, and a baptismal font; oh my.  This week we had two baptisms for our friends that we were teaching. They are both boyfriends to the daughters of a member family in our ward. The one that I got to baptize is a sincere, kind, Goliath that they nickname "Little John." When it came time for me to baptize him, we began the ordinance and i attempted to submerse him in the water and raise him back up. Simple. But with my black adidas sandals slipping beneath me I wasn't able to do it completely. This process repeated 2 other times, forcing him in the water and straining to get him back up on his feet. It came to the point where we changed the positions a little bit and " got him fully submersed and almost fell myself trying to get him back up. He was very good and worked with me to finally get his baptism completed.    One of the blessings we got to see later that day, was when he proposed to his girlfriend. It has been somewhat astonishing to see...

  "And by the weak things of the earth the Lord shall thresh the nations by the power of his Spirit". The scripture was stated with a tone of clarity and confidence as the teacher of our Gospel Doctrine class pointed to me slouched over next to him as an example of such weak things. My awkward laugh and evasive eyes set the example in stone. I was given an extra boost of confidence earĺier as a homeless guy in the street, that had powers to dance so he could freeze time, told me I had a great spirit. All in all these two weeks or so have been a hope to bring the Holy Ghost and a message of Jesus Christ to those that will accept it.   We've done a lot of different lessons, contacts, and other ways to find people including entertaining a group of children with english phrases, mime tricks, and a heel click that helped us teach their grandma later.  I 've been learning a lot more about doing the Lord's work and doing it in a more fun and natural way. We've been k...

  As a relative newbie here I experienced my first Day of the Dead. I naturally expected it to be something like the movie Coco and imagined we'd all sing to some señorita by the end of the day. We went as a district to a cemetery to contact people, share messages about the Plan that God has for beyond just this life, and napkin-wrapped sandwiches with a cup of water for passersby.   When I originally heard of our contacting pl an the night before, it seemed rather uncomfortable to talk to people that were grieving. But when we walked through the entrance of the walled cemetery, it felt much different than cemeteries in the States. I looked around a bit and within a few seconds, I felt a strong spirit of the dedication these people had to their ancestors and passed loved ones. Some would sit next to the stone cross of a tomb listening to some song. I could easily imagine, again, a Coco-like spirit of someone sitting next to them enjoying their company. A lot of people would al...

Beating the path is such sweet sorrow, yet Mexican roads call my name and I must go. I left Provedencia in Obregon for Nuevo Hermosillo, the area south of where I started my mission. The heat declines slightly as we say adios.   In our final lesson with the family of the 3 kids we baptized, I repeated to myself an optimistic yet improbable hope that I would be able to see them again during my mission. Their faith left me at awe at times, especially the faith of the grandmother. One Sunday in particular they showed me a sweet yet fierce devotion to come to church. They were ready to walk for 45-60 mins to get to the cricket-filled building. For me, having lived across the street from the church for almost my whole life, this expression touched me. It became harder to look into their innocent eyes as we said goodbye. I gratefully got to share my testimony of the power of knowing that we are children of Heavenly Parents who love them. My hope is that they can remember that eternal tru...