"Knot" a Coincidence

Wow! These weeks are starting to fly by. Just over a week left here in the CCM before I finally get to hit the mission field and head off to Saltillo. I'm beyond excited to get out into the real world and see what I can do to help spread the Lord’s gospel to the people of Mexico! 

Quick update from the surgeon real quick lol. It has been a pretty busy week, I made a bunch of ties skinnier, taught my companero how to do so, and then mastered the art of "knot switching" haha.  So a little bit of background info before I explain what "knot switching" is... My main man from Tijuana Mexico, my Latino companero, Elder Florez, gave me a tie a couple of days ago! So I wanted to return the favor and hook my boy up with a sweet tie... but not just any tie! So I took a my pink floral tie and my blue floral tie, then I cut both of them about three fourths of the way up. Then I sewed the top of the blue tie to the bottom of the pink tie and the top of the pink to the blue. So now Elder Florez has a pink tie with a blue knot, and I've got the other half! Elder Florez was so excited when I showed him the tie, haha I wonder what project the surgeon will take on next, hmmm maybe a custom suit. 

A little bit of gainz talk real quick haha because I've have already been talking about my Latino companero Elder Florez...anyways, Elder Florez loves to levintar pesas (lift weights) so he has been meeting Elder Taylor and I in the gym. We hit an arm workout a couple of days ago and he was so excited when I showed him a bunch of new workouts. When we were about done with our arm workout the other day he explained that he wanted to drink lots of protein and get really big. However, he said that protein is really expensive in Mexico so he never had the opportunity. Don't worry I pulled out my massive stash of protein bars and gave him some! 

My lessons with all of my investigators right now have been going really good, however, none of them are real,  except for Tony, the Construction worker here at the CCM that we gave a Book of Mormon to a couple of weeks ago. The last time that we talked with him last week he said that he had been reading it and that it was very good. When we talked with him this Monday we asked him if he had continued reading the Book of Mormon,  and with a big smile on his face he explained that he had been reading the Book of Mormon and studying about Joseph Smith. We asked him if he had felt anything as he read and prayed about our message and the book of Mormon, and he had indeed felt the spirit! He had to get back to work. So we told him we would come find him again. We were able to talk with him again on Tuesday and since had said that he had been researching about Joseph Smith the last time that we talked, I knew that I need to share a brief message about Joseph Smith and the restoration. I asked Tony what he had read about Joseph Smith and he started to talk about the golden plates, so I started to give a little bit of back ground information about Joseph Smith. Then I felt prompted that I needed to recite the First Vision (good thing I memorized it last week). The Spirit was very powerful as I recited the first vision, and then my companero and I bore testimonies about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. After we left, we decided that we needed to talk to Tony at least one more time and see if he would like to have missionaries come to his house too continue teaching him. He just so happened to be working right in front of our house on Wednesday so we were able to talk with him again. We asked him if he would like to have the missionaries come and teach him and his family and he said yes with a big smile on his face! He gave us his phone number, and we are going to refer him to some missionaries in his area. This morning, Elder Atkin and I were walking back from breakfast, and we ran into Tony again. We started to talk to him, about the Book of Mormon and then I asked him what chapter he was in and to our surprise he stated that he was in Mosiah….which is pretty far considering that it has only been about two weeks since we gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon. The CCM is pretty big and there are different construction workers working all over different parts. I know for a fact, that it isn't a coincidence that we have ran into Tony a number of times over the past couple of weeks. I could truly see the light of Christ in Tony's eyes each and every time we have talked to him. Hopefully, we planted a seed, maybe even a root of a testimony, that other missionaries can nourish as Tony grows through and within the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Last week we had the opportunity to go through the Mexico City temple. The spirit was so strong, and I can’t wait to go again next week! 

General conference is this week! Tuesday night, we watched a replay of a devotional that Elder Bednar gave a couple of years ago in the Provo MTC. Entitled "How To Watch General Conference." Elder Bednar talked about how he analyzes each talk from general conference so he can get the most out of each and every one of them. He explained that he breaks up each talk into three main parts: the doctrine, the invitation, and the promised blessings. I'm so excited for this Saturday and Sunday, I hear there is no better place to watch General Conference then in the MTC. 

Much love, 

Elder Ceb

Karsten.cebollero@myldsmail.net

 My Latino Comp Elder Florez after the "knot switching" was complete!

Temple with Elder Brant!

Early Morning Gym Crew 

District 13E after we played some volleyball with our Latino district. 

The Latinos that report to Saltillo on the same day as us! 

Elders Ceb, Florez, Taylor

 

My apprentice

                         

Ceb and Atkin at Mexico City temple 

The Earth Quakes and the Testimony Strengthens

Hola Hola! Esta Iluminado! (It's Lit)... Pretty chill week here in the CCM! This last Tuesday we had a scheduled earthquake drill at 11 and then an actual earthquake around 12, so we were definitely prepared, luckily no one in the CCM was hurt. 

Quick update from the surgeon lol, I’m pretty backed up right know, I’ve got like four or five ties that I need to slim for some Elders, and a pair of pants, and a sweater, and I actually might fix a dress for a Hermana lol. I fixed one tie last night and I’ll probably do a couple more tonight after I read my scriptures of course! 

On a little bit more of a spiritual note, the CCM has been full of great testimony builders. My favorite part of the CCM is that the Spirit is always so strong, there is no place I’d rather be except for maybe out in the field. I can truly testify in the power of prayer, the gift of tongues, and the priesthood. Last Thursday, all of the Elders in our district had the opportunity to help give a priesthood blessing to one of the Elders in our district that was struggling. We all talked to him for about an hour and just talked about everything that was bugging him.. and then we all stood in and gave him a blessing. The Spirit was really strong. Our district has come together really strong over the past couple of weeks, we've definitely formed a brotherhood that will last a life time! 

Last week I mentioned a little bit about how my comp Elder Atkin and I placed our first Book of Mormon! We ran into Tony, the guy that was working construction here at the CCM, and we followed up on our first conversation. He said that he had started reading the Book of Mormon and that it was "Muy Bien" he also said that he shared it with his hermanos and amigos! We probably won’t see him again because most of the construction around the CCM was finished early this week. Hopefully, we planted some kind of seed within his heart and he will be able to know and understand that the short message we shared with him was true, and the Book of Mormon that he was holding in his hands is the Word of God. 

This week we got our Latino companions! We go on splits with them a couple times a week! Elder Florez, Elder Taylor, and I our part of a trio, and we taught Elder Florez’s teacher the other night for the first time! We gave a quick lesson on the Plan of Salvation and then after we bore our testimonies, we set a baptismal date! It was just a role play, haha but it’s always great to set up a baptismal date! We are teaching with Elder Florez again tonight. He doesn't speak much English but he has a really strong testimony and I love teaching with him! 

Quick Shout-out to the homie Elder Brant haha… it’s been great having my old gym buddy here in the CCM, hitting arms with me at 5:30 before class! Ohh and btw I can bench a lot more than him these days :) haha!

Thx for all the emails, I love hearing from all of you! We are about to head off to the Mexico City temple this afternoon! So I am way excited! Hopefully my Spanish is good enough haha!

Much love, 

Elder Ceb

karsten.cebollero@myldsmail.net

With the MTC chef celebrating Mexican Independence Day

Elder Brant and I repping Layton High

Companions

The surgeon at work 

Post Devotional Rain Storm

Elder Orona seeing the surgeon about his tie 

Mi amigo Arnold!

                                         

The MTC Surgeon Sews Away!

The surgeon has been pretty busy this week setting some new trends around the CCM haha! My companion had a tie that was given to him, and it was kind of fat... so I decided to pull out my sewing kit haha and make it into a skinny tie lol! I cut up the back of the tie and then pulled out the thicker fabric that holds the shape in the middle of the tie and then shaved off like an inch on each side and then folded over the excess fabric and stitched it up! It actually turned out way good, we were talking about it with our zone leaders and a bunch of other elders and now everyone is making their ties skinner,  I’m sure all of our moms will be proud! I think I’m going to hold a little tie sewing "merit badge" for some Elders in my district tonight haha! 

    

        It’s crazy how fast time is already flying by I’ve been here for just about seventeen days but it feels like I’ve only been here for like two.  Thanks so much for all of the prayers!!! They are definitely helping a lot! My Spanish still has a ways to go but it has gotten so much better over the last week! I’ve been praying a lot for the gift of tongues, and also the gift of discernment, which has definitely helped me a lot with my comprehension, so now I can actually understand a little bit when people talk to me. I was able to memorize the first vision and it’s been great to be able to recite it with some of our investigators.  It never fails to bring the Spirit, even when it’s just a simple role play! There has been a lot of construction going on within the CCM, so our teacher decided it would be a good opportunity for us to go place some Book of Mormons.  So me and Elder Atkin went and found a guy that was working on one of the lampposts and then we started talking to him... After we explained that our Spanish was "muy horrible"  haha. We started talking to him about the Book of Mormon, in some broken Spanish.  I explained that there was an important promise within the book of Mormon and then I shared Moroni 10: 4-5 and I bore my testimony about the Book of Mormon and then we gave him a Book of Mormon and asked him if he would read it and then pray to know if it was true! He was flipping through it as we were walking off, so hopefully everything works out! We are going to try and find him within the next couple of days if he’s still working here so we can follow up! 

Elder Brant made it to Mexico!!! He’s in my zone so I should see him around the CCM quite a bit! haha We hit shoulders and back this morning lol!  It was great to get a pump with my old gym buddy from back in high school haha!   

Much love, 

Elder Ceb

karsten.cebollero@myldsmail.net

Sweater Gang!

Comp Unity 

District 13 E

The Surgeon at Work 

Elder Moose (Elder Brant) 

Esta Iluminado!

Esta illuminado!! (It’s lit!!) Wow the past week and a half has been crazy! So much has happened in the last week and a half so idk where to start. Last night there was a huge earthquake! I heard it was like an 8.5, but everyone in our room slept through it. The earthquake alarm went off and I heard the MTC President was running around in a robe with tons of security guards. Everyone in the CCM is safe though!  My comp Elder Atkin is the man, he is from Saratoga Springs, Utah and we are already way tight, basically brothers, ha ha. He’s way hot sooooo you ladies should definitely email him conner.atkin@myldsmail.net. They keep us pretty busy here in the CCM.  We have classes all day and my Spanish is horrible; hopefully I can figure that out soon. We have been teaching some fake investigators in Spanish and I can truly testify that the gift of tongues is legit. I’m definitely not fluent or anything like that, but my Spanish definitely gets a lot better whenever we roleplay! Every once in a while, I say something in a lesson, and then when I get out I have no idea what I said!! It’s crazy how much better my Spanish gets when we teach with the Spirit. The other elders in my room are way chill. I think my boy Elder Taylor might actually like “gainz” as much as me…haha. There are six rooms in our casa and everyone refers to our room as Golds because we always have some kind of circuit going on every night, after we read our scriptures of course! I know it might be surprising but I actually have mad sewing skills haha.  One pair of my pants ripped a little bit down the side, but I pulled out my sewing kit and went to work. Now everyone calls me the surgeon lol!!  Seeing familiar faces around the CCM has definitely been a huge blessing.  It’s always good to see some of the boys back from high school, especially my boy Elder Murray. It was way sad seeing him leave the CCM this week and head off to teach the people of McAllen, Texas, but he’s going to do great things out there. 

Sorry for the bad grammar lol…still trying to figure out this Spanish keyboard.

Much love,

Elder Ceb

Floral ties for the win!

With the MTC chef

Using my mad sewing skills

My man Elder Murray from home

My Companion Elder Atkin and I

CCM group

closet

CCM Gold's Gym

Elder Sabey's mom sent a cake for his birthday

Loving the letters and package sent from my family

Thanks for reading... now go read your scriptures! 

Viva La Mexico

Elder Cebollero has made it to mexico! My P-Day is next thursday so i will be able to email you then! CTR the church is true mexico is Lit! Esta illuminado!