March 20, 2017

Hey this week was awesome, a ton of stuff happened so I'll get started right away.

We were talking to Carolina this week and we were going over stuff for the baptism for Sunday and we found out that she drank coffee on Wednesday something like that so it was really disappointing because I won't be here for the baptism, but she's got the date for the next week so she'll get baptized then! She's great and she's progressing really well. She went to church on Sunday with her husband (he's been inactive for years) and their daughters so it was awesome to seem them there as a family. 

Also this week Maria Josè went to the temple and got baptized for her grandma. She said she loved it. She's doing great, still going to seminary, she's already in Jacob in the Book of Mormon. We ate oncecita in her house last night to celebrate. 

Also to explain the video this week there was a sister in the ward that had a tree next to her house that always had bugged her. It always had leaves on the street and in her house so she asked us to cut some branches off. We went over with the bishop and bueno, we don't do things halfway down here so we offered to cut down the tree. And then with a ton of effort we cut it down. What we didn't know that in Chile the trees that aren't in the yards of people aren't you're run of the mill trees. They are the government's trees. So we got roasted by every single member because the bishop put the video of me pushing the tree over on facebook. So it's a good thing I'm legal. 

Finally we got the calls and....... I'm catching the boot. But the good news is that I'm going to Viña del Mar so I'll be closer to the city and the ocean, but it's getting cold and I can't swim anyways. I'll be sad to the leave the people here, but I'll probably be able to see them again eventually. 

I think you'll start hearing from me on Tuesdays now too, but we'll find out next week. 

I love you guys a lot!!
Elder Cheney

2nd email: 
Also we got the changes and I got called to be the secretary of the
mission, so I'm going to Viña on Wednesday. I'm pretty sure my pdays
are going to be on Tuesday or Saturday depending on the week we have,
but I'll know more about what is happening this next week!!

Email from the mission office:
MISSION EXECUTIVE SECRETARY

Dear  Cheney Family,

Greetings from the Chile  Viña del Mar Mission. It is a pleasure to inform you of the new assignment of your son, Elder Daniel Gray Cheney, to serve as secretary of the mission.  Your son has demonstrated talents as a leader in sharing the Gospel and has shown a sincere desire to serve the Lord.

As Mission Executive Secretary, his primary responsibilities are to obtain visas for missionaries, coordinate mission meetings and organize return flights.  I have total confidence in his abilities to serve in this crucial assignment.

I thank you for having raised a son in such an excellent way and I pray that our Heavenly Father blesses you as you continue supporting your son in his mission and in this new assignment.

An extra email from a friend : )

Dear Sisters,

We came across these cute Elders today at church and I knew we had to take a photo to share with two Missionary Moms at home. ❤

Our son returned from the Viña del Mar Mission in July and we brought him down to visit during Spring Break. I remember how nice it was to receive an extra photo of my missionary (especially when two were out at the same time!) just to know they were alive and doing well.

Enjoy!
Lisa Groneman

March 15, 2017

Buena! Looks like it went well with Elder Cook. (Elder Cook came to a regional conference in North Carolina)
Remember how last week I didn't have a lot of time because we had to
do a bunch of legal stuff for my companion? This week I don't have a
lot of time because we had to do a bunch of legal stuff for me. But
I'll write more this week. (Note to all present and future missionaries:  Telling your mom that you had "legal" stuff to take care of and making her wait another week for the details = very very bad idea.)
This might be my last week here in Huanhualí so I'm kind of sad, it's
like my family. It'll be hard to leave the people.
We have seen a ton of miracles with Carolina these past couple of
weeks. She was thinking of getting baptized in a year or 6 more
months. And one of the lessons out of no where she said "I want to get
baptized this week" So we're preparing the service for Sunday in the
morning and then in the Sacrament meeting she'll get the Holy Ghost
the same day. She's gotten a ton of answers and has a really strong
testimony. Yesterday we were teaching and we finished with a prayer on
our knees and she said it. She started thanking God for the Gospel and
started crying. She's an amazing woman and we are super happy to be
able to teach her.
We're also teaching a teenager, Emilio. He's awesome too. He talked
with the missionaries like 9 months ago, but started going to church
again. He had a date for this Saturday, but now he is having some
doubts if he wants to get baptized now or later. So we're going to
keep working with him. We're praying that he can get baptized this
Saturday. He already keeps all of the commandments and he is reading
the Book of Mormon and praying. He's really ready, he just has to let
his faith overcome his fear.
Also yesterday we were able to give 3 blessings of health and it was
awesome. We gave one to Emilio because he rolled his ankle and was
going to leave church early but after we gave him the blessing he
stayed for the rest of church. And the other two to Benjamin and
Matias, the sons of Marlen. They are pretty sick so we were able to
give them blessings and when we finished the blessing on Matias, a
baby, he was smiling. So that was really cool.
This week has a lot of potential. I love this ward a lot, the members
are great.
I love you guys a lot!!!
Elder Cheney

March 6, 2017

Tell hermano Jimenez hi! I'm in Villa Alemana right now, but I'm
probably going to get changed in a couple weeks. We'll see what
happens.
We had to go to Viña today for some legal errands for my companion,
that's why the email is getting there so late and also why I don't
have a ton of time. But I'll give you some highlights.
I GOT MY BOX. But I still haven't opened it up.
I sent pictures of the baptism with Marlen! She's doing well, she's still adjusting to Mormon life, but likes to go to church and is keeping the commandments so all is
good. We're going to try and bring some of our converts to the temples
in these next weeks so they can do baptisms for their ancestors.
I'm in the ward Huanhualí (the h's are silent) in Villa Alemana, it's
near Quilpué. Yea we heard about the party (Festival in Vina) but it wasn't too violent
or rambunccous. (Let's see if you can figure out what I wanted to say) (I'm guessing rambunctious :)
Yea, you guys need to send me some more pictures, you can send
pictures straight from your iphone to my email, get Dustin to show you
how!! (Because apparently I'm to old to figure out my iphone)
Because I don't have a lot of time I'll share a scripture I read in
personal study this week: Deutoronomy 31.6
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for
the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail
thee, nor forsake thee.

I love you guys a whole lot, thanks for all the support!!!
Elder Cheney

Pics at www.elderdanielcheney.blogspot.com

Daniel has been out for 14 months now, and it is interesting to see how his sentence structure in English is changing.  He must be thinking and dreaming in Spanish by now!

February 27, 2017

That's crazy everybody is going on missions! But it's awesome!
I'm missing chic fil a right now. There's just nothing like it down here.
I'm going to be honest my track record with Family Night (falling asleep) is poor at
best. I'm doing a lot better in the mission, I haven't fallen asleep
in one, but before.... it was rough.
This week we had a couple miracles, the first was with Marlen.
Everything went super well and she got baptized! It was awesome
because she bore her testimony after and it was really powerful. She
has a very strong desire to start over again and that's what she got.
After her confirmation we passed by the house later that day and she
asked us if we could leave something for her to read. Before her
baptism it was really hard for her to read and she didn't like it.
It's great to see the change in people when they accept the Gospel and
live it.
The second miracle needs a little bit of explaining. In the mission we
have flashdrives with a bunch of videos on it that we use to teach.
They are awesome and we are always using them. But I lost mine and I
had no idea where it was. I lost it like Monday and finally Friday my
companion asked me if I said a prayer to find it and I had completely
forgotten, so I said a prayer to ask help to be able to find it. Then
a couple hours later we passed by the place where we write on Monday
to see if they had it. And the guy handed it to me right when I got
there. It was awesome because sometimes they sell them or people steal
them. Pure blessings this week.
We're really happy with Marlen, she's doing great. We had a great
month in the zone and everybody is happy.
Love you guys,
Elder Cheney