WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!

Hello!

I am going to the Ventura Spanish Zone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am SO excited! A few transfers ago they created two completely Spanish zones and I've always wanted to serve there. They even have district and zone meetings in Spanish! I am so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have loved my time here in Simi. It's been amazing. I feel at peace and that I've fulfilled my purpose here. The only down side is I won't get to be here for our investigator, Mayra's, baptism this Saturday. She was pretty sad about that :( But she is so amazing and will be such an incredible member of the church!!!! I am so excited for her :) :)

President Castro is going home now :( :( :( I will miss him so much!!! He is a huge reason why I was called to this mission. He has changed my life. He has been such a huge influence on who I am now. I have changed so much for the better, and I owe a lot of that to him. I used to be sad that I wouldn't get to end my mission with him, but now I am so grateful that I got to see his example of how to finish a mission the transfer right before I would. He gave us 100% of everything he had right til the finish. He is an Endure to the End, Doctrine of Christ missionary, and I plan to follow his example. I am going to serve with everything I have every day until I am released, and I will continue to do so afterwards! It's never over.

Hna. Romero and I taught this amazing boy, Brandon, and he got baptized last Saturday!!! He is 10 years old, and will be such a great missionary one day. His sister was the first member of their family, and now him. And their dad just started taking the lessons!!!!! Hna. Romero came and visited and got to be there for his baptism!!!!! It was amazing to see her. I got to meet her family too! She is such an incredible example to me.

So here's a miracle! After nightly planning on Friday we were looking through our former investigators section and found someone named Martin that we'd never noticed before. The address was scribbled out and the TR said he was dropped because they couldn't find him. There was only a phone number so we decided to go ahead and call it right then. He answered, we introduced ourselves, then had a 15 min. conversation. He told us that at 7:00 pm (just two hours before) he took a nap. He was simultaneously dreaming and praying that God would guide Him. It was a really spiritual experience for him and when he woke up he felt he wanted to turn his life around. He started calling family members to reconnect with them and rebuild past relationships. He decided to go to an AA meeting at 9:00 pm for additional guidance. At 9:30 pm he stepped out to get some air and received a call from us right then. He said he believes God heard his prayer and sent us to him to guide him in the way he was praying for. He works on Sunday but he asked if we had any classes during the week, which is perfect because we just barely started a BOM study class last Thursday! He's really looking forward to that. God is a god of miracles and uses us to answer each other's prayers. It was such an amazing miracle!

I love you!!!! Have a great week! Go refer your friends to the missionaries! ;)

Hna. Cannon

Brandon's Baptism

Our cute district!!!! Simi Valley!!!

President and Sister Castro. We will miss them so much!!!!!!

Here's mini President Castro. Samuel is so awesome!

And here's mini Sis. Castro! (far left)

 

2 Nephi 2:6-8

Hello!

How are you? I hope you've had a great week.

We had some great exchanges this week! It was nice to be back in our area afterwards. It is always such a blessing to see that when we really dedicate ourselves to serving the sisters, the Lord takes care of our area. And then as soon as we're back, He blesses us with SO many miracles and so many choice people to teach! It's amazing.

This week I've been studying about humility and the Atonement. I have been reading the chapters on the Atonement in Jesus the Christ during lunch and before bed and it has been a huge blessing. It's made it so that He is always on my mind. I can't stop thinking about Him! I feel so edified and enlightened after studying about Him. As I study I also write in my study journal and answer three questions. 1) What did He do? 2) Why did He do it? 3) How can I follow Him? Studying Him this way has made me come to know and understand Him more on such a personal level, yet at the same time He seems even more incomprehensible to me. This past week any time I have had a negative thought, I just think about Him and it goes away. He was the perfect example of humility and love.  I love to study Him in this way. It has had a huge impact on me. I love the Savior!

The more I think about Him, I just can't help but be overwhelmed with gratitude. I can't even comprehend everything He's done and continues to do for us. I am so immensely blessed with the opportunity to share this message every day. I will forever be indebted to Him. I love this work.

I love you!

Hna. Cannon

Exchanges

Exchanges

 

Exchanges

 

Look who came to visit me yesterday! The Ruiz family from Camarillo! I was so surprised!!!!

This is me and Hna. Faletau!

Full Circle

Hello there!

So we've had a very busy week. We had MLC as well as training/president's interviews for all the sisters. So we went around the mission to give the training for the sisters. It was awesome! Definitely a packed week though. We did not have a single day this week without meetings. Plus we had an exchange this week, so Thursday and Saturday were the only days we had to work in our area. It really does test our faith to not get to be with our investigators, but we trust in the Lord that if we take care of His sheep He will take care of ours.

I got to go on an exchange with Hna. Prestgard this week! We were companions for 2 transfers in Solvang. Did I tell you she got transferred to Simi Vally? We serve in the same branch and she covers our old area. It was so amazing to see the power of the Atonement on that exchange. She has changed completely and looked so happy. It was amazing to see that. She told me about an awesome miracle from Solvang!!!!!!!!

Okay so do you remember the story I told you last Thanksgiving how we ate with some members and they had us sit next to their son Judson who was less active and his wife who was a non member? Well they live in Louisiana and we got to talk to them for that whole dinner and it went so well. During the message we shared with the family the spirit was so strong. That's one of a handful of times where I've felt so much like a representative of Jesus Christ. You could tell they were all really feeling the spirit, and the way they looked at us was how I imagine the Nephites looking at the Savior, as if they would bid him to tarry with them a little longer. But we left on time because we wanted to be obedient. I remember that whole day we were really exercising our faith with everyone we talked to, even more than most days. We had a great day but I didn't really see the fruit from it until Hna. Prestgard shared with me yesterday that Judson and his wife had been taking the lessons from the missionaries in Louisiana, and his wife was baptized. I cannot even describe how overjoyed I felt to hear that. I can only imagine what other fruits have come from the seeds we've planted that we just never see. I remember how obedient and faithful we were that day, and the Lord did not forget that. Miracles happen.

Well, that's all for this week. I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week :)

Study Preach My Gospel and read your scriptures!!!

Hna. Cannon

Mosiah 2:17

Oh dear family! Hello!

How are you? I hope you are having a fantastic week!

As always, so much to say, so little time.

All I have to say is I am so grateful the Lord allows me to serve Him. It's so funny how at the beginning you think you're doing it to give something back to Him, as if He is the benefactor. But as I have continued in my mission I have seen that I am nothing without serving God. When I don't serve I am not happy and life feels meaningless. Really, He has us serve to bless US, even though the reason we do it is for other people. Food for thought.

We had an amazing miracle with Zoyla this week! She's been progressing really well, has come to know the BOM is true and received her answer that she needs to be baptized. The only thing holding her back is her husband who's not interested at all and she doesn't feel good about going to a different church without him. We met with her yesterday and for the first time she told us she hadn't been reading in the BOM. We thought that was odd so we just read with her where she was, which happened to be 2 Nephi 32, a perfect chapter to discuss with her. Afterwards she told us that the night before she'd had a dream that she was at church and the priests were sacrificing people - cutting off their ears and drinking the people's blood. She said they were going to do that to her and someone told her to run. She saw a light coming through a door so she ran outside of it to escape. Then she saw my companion and I seated at a round table reading the Book of Mormon. She came and sat with us to read, and she felt happy and at peace. She was obviously so frightened by that dream, but she knows that no one else could have given her that dream but God. She said she feels strongly that she needs to come to church with us and see for herself. This dream was such an answer to both our prayers and hers. She's been really praying for guidance, and I've been praying specifically this week that God would put something in her path to help her see the need to come to church and have a desire to do so. It was an amazing miracle! We also talked about how baptism is the door and she agrees. God is a God of miracles! He hears and answers prayers. He works according to our faith.

Also last week we started teaching Mayra, a referral from a member who is dating her. She is the most prepared person I've EVER taught! She has no concerns, already lives the Word of Wisdom, goes to church, reads the BOM. We set her with a baptismal date this week for June 28 and she was so overjoyed that she started crying. She thought she had to wait a year to be baptized, and she was so happy that it could be so soon. The Lord is preparing people!

This is an amazing work.

I love you!

Hna. Cannon

Mosiah 4:27

Hello!

How has your week been? Wonderful I hope! We've had a great one. The biggest lesson I learned this week is to pace myself. I LOVE my new companion Hna. Faletau (even though I miss Hna. Romero a ton). And I just love being a missionary and I just feel like time is so short! So I definitely overdid it at the beginning of the week. On Wednesday, our first full day together, we taught 11 lessons and found 7 new investigators of 2 new families to teach! It was my kind of day. We just kept going and going and towards the end of the week my body was like, hold on Hna. Cannon, this is too much for me. So I'll probably sleep most of P-day today to recover from illness and rejuvenate for the coming week. Lesson learned for sure. I just love being a missionary so so much and want to make the most out of every moment. But if I really want to endure to the end well, and can't give it all and then crash. I will be more wise this week.

Two HUGE miracles! Jessica, who was raised athiest for all the 21 years of her life received her answer this week that God exists! It was such a spiritual lesson and she was just crying and said she felt so happy and at peace. She's doing so well, reading the BOM, coming to church, meeting with us twice a week. Awesome. And Zoyla who we've been teaching for a month has been so diligent as well with really seeking answers. We taught the Gospel (faith, repentance, baptism,etc) this week. And in her personal reading she'd happened to read Mormon 8! She learned all on her own from that chapter that little children have no need for baptism. So before we even got there the Lord already prepared her to receive her answer. The spirit was there and she got her answer that the BOM is true and she wants to be baptized! She needs to get married first though. But she's definitely becoming converted!

I don't know if there are sufficient words to describe how much I love being a part of the Lord's work. I don't know why God has been so merciful in my life and given me so much and chosen me to be one of His missionaries, but I am so grateful. I've been given so much, and I just want to share it with everyone! The power of the Atonement has never been more real to me. The Gospel (faith, repentance, making and keeping covenants, receiving and following the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end) is always the way. There is no other way. If any of you are going through something hard, or if you want to be better, or if you need answers, whatever it is, do these things. The Gospel works. It is true. Christ is our Savior. Isn't that amazing? Now, go tell somebody about it!

I love you!

Hna. Cannon

A God of MIRACLES!

WE HAD THE BEST WEEK EVER!!!!

Oh my goodness. I WISH I had time to tell you everything. So pretty much the theme of this week is God is a God of miracles, and He works according to our faith. I have witnessed for myself that that is true.

Pres. Castro has set us with a new goal to raise our faith. To teach 40 lessons a week! That's almost double of what the previous standard was. I LOVE this goal. It raised our vision so much. Yes, you can just teach people all day long! We didn't waste a single moment of this week. The Lord lead us to SO MANY elect of His children!

I wish I could tell you about all of them, but for the sake of time I'll just tell you about Manny. He is dating a less active member who is ready to come back to church and he wants to investigate, so they're taking the lessons together. We taught the Restoration on Thursday and it was one of the best lessons my companion and I have ever taught together. The spirit was so strong. Manny was so into it and loved what he was learning. Jocelinn was in tears. At the end Manny said, "Out of everything else I've learned and heard, I feel that you are teaching me the truth." We visited him two days later and he was sitting on the grass outside with his Book of Mormon. He looked so happy and excited! He told us he'd been reading for 2 hours and just couldn't put it down. He knows it's God's word because He could already feel the change in himself that day. He came to a baptism with us that day and he loved it. We're so excited for him! We feel so honored that the Lord has entrusted us with so many elect children this week.

I have learned so much from Hna. Romero. We needed each other so much this transfer. We both feel so rebuilt. I was a mess at the beginning of this transfer, but she reminded me who I am. She inspired me so much by her example. Now I feel ready to go and to just completely focus on building up the hermanas and everyone in our stewardship. Hna. Romero and I were talking last night and I just got so pumped! We were just talking about everything we've learned and the future of the mission and everything. Apparently I kept dreaming about it because she said I was sleep talking and said, "Let's do it, hermana! We can totally do it! Let's push Satan!" Hahaha. She makes me so excited. I LOVE THIS WORK!

Oh by the way, transfers. I'm staying! And I'm training a new sister training leader. Don't know if I'm ready for that since I'm still so brand new, but I trust in the Lord. I know He wouldn't ask me to do something that I couldn't. This is going to be an awesome transfer. My companion's name is Hna. Faletau, she's from Samoa. And they're sending another set of hermanas to the branch! So they'll be covering the first area I had here, and we'll just be covering the new area we got last transfer. Hna. Prestgard is one of the new hermanas! It will be fun to serve around her again. So we won't get to teach Maria or the Figueroa anymore. But we'll still see them at church.

Speaking of which, Maria got baptized on Friday, and confirmed on Sunday! It was beautiful. She was so prepared. My companion and I sang "Divina Luz" which is "Lead Kindly Light" while and elder played it softly on a guitar for the accompaniment. Maria is amazing!!!!!!!! She's going to do so well.

I love you all so much! Have a great week!

Hna. Cannon

Maria's baptism!

With cute little girl in pink: Hola!

With Zoyla and little Giselle

Pictures!

Amanda says she didn't have time for writing a nice letter this week (she had to respond to a bunch of my questions about registering for BYU, etc.), so she sent several pictures instead :) Enjoy!

Hey look! Mom, remember when we were extras in the Esther movie? I found me!

In a lighter moment

I hope I get to tell you this story one day ... pretty cool.

Ronald Reagan Library

Look at the USUPER tall elder!!!!! He is 7'3"!!!!!!!!!!