Elder Cavaness Kennewick WA Mission '08-'10

2010-01-10T22:05:00.003-07:00

Well this just might be the last update on Elder Cavaness' blog. Davey will be returning home on the 26th of January at 3:52 p.m. He will have his homecoming on the 31st of January at 11 a.m. Davey is absolutely enjoying the last days of his mission, although he doesn't frequently talk of coming home he does talk often about the wonderful people in Washington. He has had the time of his life and wouldn't choose to be anywhere else.

2009-12-13T08:58:00.002-07:00

Just thought I would update... I know shocking! We received an email from Davey yesterday that said he would be transferred one last time before coming home. Davey is returning back to the great streets of Yakima! He has had another amazing time while in Vancouver and will miss them all very much. Thanks for all you have done for Elder Cavaness Vancouver. We love you!
Well Yakima here you go, work him really hard this will be where Davey finishes out his mission. We love you all!!!

2009-11-09T21:32:00.001-07:00

Davey comes home January 26th!!!!

So Excited...

2009-10-17T16:09:00.001-06:00

Davey and Elder Viera with Seminary class they love so much!

Just one of ther reasons this last transfer was difficult!

We Love Zillah!!!

2009-10-17T16:05:00.002-06:00

Well here is Davey and a buddy he went to school with, Jaime Beccera Alta High School Class of 07'. Davey also was just with Lance Lowery from Alta class of 08' Loving the mission life.

2009-09-20T09:10:00.003-06:00

Davey has been transfered back to Vancouver. Vancouver is like going back home for Davey I think? This was his very first area. The Mcallisters are there and he loves it! I know he is going to miss Toppenish and Zillah he has grown so close to the people there. Thank you to all of you that took such great care of him. Abby you truly are the greatest!!!

2009-09-02T10:20:00.004-06:00

I know this is shocking to have two posts on Davey's blog within the same month of eachother!!! I just had to tell you what happened with Davey last Wednesday the 26th of August.
Last week was definitely a good week! I'll tell you it was a complete shock when we went over to the Reeds house and I found out me and Abby(Tew) are basically related, since our families are so close. It was crazy weird how it all came up too. I told her that I went to Alta and she asked if I knew Lyndee Branch. First thing I thought was, I was going to marry her! haha! She said they were like best friends growing up when they lived in Rose Park. I was thinkin to myself, that's way too weird cuz my family was way close with the Branch family when they lived in Rose Park too. Then of course i asked if she knew a crazy guy named Dave Quinn. She said "yeah, he kisses my mom on the cheek all the time." I was like yup that's grandpa! haha! so when she found out Dave Quinn is my grandpa she had to call her mom and tell her! I still didn't know her maiden name at this time. So I'm tryin to put puzzle pieces together in my head while she's calling and while she was talking to her mom i asked her maiden name. When she said Tew, the puzzle put itself together. We talked about family softball teams and then I thought, oh I might have been the little boy that was chasing her around at all the games, cuz I remember chasing the Branch girls around. haha! I also remembered thinkin her little sister is cute when they were all at our house for that party years ago. We had a good time at dinner that day.
I couldn't believe it either, someone that had positively affected my life in ways she will never know, is now also affecting my son. When I (Robin) was 13 years old BarbaraTew was my Young Womens Leader, the BEST there ever was. I babysat her daughter Abby (Tew) Reed when she was probably just 1 year old.
Just thought I would share this I was shocked! Once again Heavenly Father has shown me that he will watch over all those that are doing what they are suppose to be doing, or at least trying..
I asked Davey what he wanted for his 21st Birthday? He said for time to slow down...

2009-08-23T17:59:00.007-06:00

Davey is doing fabulous!! He only has 5 months from today left... I am soooooo
excited to see him. I can really hardly wait. Here are some new pics!

10 Fast Sundays Left!!!

2009-03-24T16:16:00.006-06:00

Well Davey has only 10 fast Sundays left. He is loving every part of his mission. He finally came clean with the mission rules he wasn't quite clear on. He did it, he has fallen in love. He even sent us a picture of the two ladies that have won his heart over. It is very clear to see why he fell in LOVE!

He always wants us to tell everyone hello!

Thank you so much for asking about him whenever you see us.

Sorry for slacking~

2009-01-27T17:48:00.006-07:00

Okay so I know I have been slacking, but as I was going through pictures I found video of Davey. I am going to try and keep this updated, and keep you updated Davey. On November 26th, 2008, Davey became a trainer and was so excited to be able to train Elder Romero. On December 30th, Davey wrote home and told us that they were getting ready to baptize an investigator, and also noted in his e-mail that his mission also set a "mission record" for the most baptisms in a week. 29 baptisms! Yes in a week! He is loving it and can't believe that this mission he has looked forward to for 20 years is almost over. Here is some video of Davey this past year...Enjoy!

Hump Day!

2009-01-23T20:42:00.005-07:00

Hey Everyone
Today is Davey's hump day! That's right 365 days left! We Celebrated at Cafe Rio, the only thing that Davey seems to miss while he is with the WONDERFUL people in Washington! As excited we are to have him back home with us in a year. I am so grateful for the opportunity that he is having and that we are having as a family. The blessing are to many to name, the greatest blessing though is knowing and being able to hear and feel the great testimony that Davey has gained while being gone. Just thought I would up date you with what is going on. He says to tell everyone HELLO. He is currently serving in Yakima and loving every minute
of it.

2008-10-20T15:38:00.002-06:00

Hey Everyone I heard from Davey today and he sent some great pictures. He is so HAPPY! Davey is being transffered on Wednesday to Yakima! He can hardly wait... He loves being sent to new places and he can hardly wait to speak more Spanish.

2008-09-14T09:52:00.003-06:00

Hey Everyone

Elder Cavaness has now been transferred to Longview, WA. He is really excited about the transfer and a little nervous I am sure. He absolutely loved being in Vancouver and the people their. Thank you so much for making the first area in his mission so much fun. He has enjoyed it more than I could ever tell you. Davey always says to tell you all he loves you.

Happy 20th Birthday Davey!

2008-09-09T16:41:00.005-06:00

Hey I just heard from Elder Cavaness today. I was fortunate enough to talk to him over the internet just for a few short minutes. He will be transferred on Friday to Longview, WA. We already love that area because one of his past companions was there and has told us how wonderful the area and the people are. We are so excited for this week! It is Davey's 20th Birthday and we have had a ball getting silly things ready to send to him. Davey was able to go back to The McAllister's home and celebrate his birthday, the McAllister's son bought Sonic (one of Daveys favorite places) dinner.

HAPPY 20th Birthday Elder Cavaness We love you more than Chocolate!!!

2008-09-05T16:45:00.003-06:00

Okay on I just recieved these picture from Davey this week. It makes it really hard to miss him. He looks like he is on vacation and having a blast. I know that he is also working as hard as he plays. I wanted to share the pictures that he sent. Any of you that might view this site and are wondering if you should go on a mission, you do not have to wait any longer. It has changed his life and made him so HAPPY!

2008-09-01T12:50:00.003-06:00

Hey just a little update on Elder Cavaness and how things are going in Vancouver, WA. Davey is loving his mission, he has been out a little over 7 months. We have enjoyed every minute of his mission. It is really hard not having him here and hearing his voice. I know the people in Washington are taking very good care of him. He talks all the time about how much he loves the families there that he has been able to get to know. Elder Cavaness's first family that he was fortunate enough to live with has been extremely generous. When we hear from Davey he never forgets to tell us how grateful he is to this family that he lives with.
Thank you to all of those families that are housing missionaries from all over the world. It sure makes it easier for the families that they are leaving knowing they have great families to take them in as their own.
Davey has loved his mission, he always talks about friends and family and the influence that everyone has had on him. Davey has a cousin getting ready to enter the mission filed and is s excited for him. He will be serving in Peru, Lima mission.
Thanks for all your support Davey and any other missionary loved mail.

Sorry, it's been a while...

2008-05-21T17:27:00.004-06:00

It has been a while since I have "blogged" on here about Davey, and I apologize for not staying on top of this. Where do I start?!? How about I just do a recap of the last two months really quickly... Davey is doing really really well, and sounds great!

Okay, okay I wont just leave it at that, Davey is loving his mission, and loving the people he is teaching up in Vancouver. He told us in one of his letters (e-mails) that he and his companion have only had to make dinner twice since being up in Washington. He is really loving it up there and the food, he has made a request for some running shoes (ha,ha). He says he has "missionary muscles" (ha,ha -I love it!!).

He also is in one of his cousin's (Alyssa) roommate's family's ward/branch. Did I confuse you enough? I sure confused myself for a second! Here's a quick story: Robin, Mallory and Paige were on their way to meet their Grandma Sharon for the General Young Womens Conference, when Alyssa (Davey's cousin, and attends Utah State) called Robin and told Robin that she kinda spoke to Davey (but not really) through her roommate's sister. Her roommate's sister called Alyssa, and told her to guess who she was standing next to... yep you guessed it, Elder Davey Cavaness! What a small world! She took a picture of Davey and sent it to Alyssa, and then Alyssa forwarded it to Robin. He sure looks healthy and great!

We also got to talk to Davey on Mother's Day, and not just once, three times! He called us Sunday morning just before we were leaving for church to let us know that he would be calling two more times. He sounds great, and he is loving it. He actually got to talk to the a bunch of family (brother, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents--42 of us), it was great to hear his voice! He says that the couple they are staying with really spoil them. The couple also keeps them updated with events happening here in Utah.

He and his companion have a couple investigators that have committed to be baptized, so now they are just waiting for the date to come. An interesting thing Davey told us, when there is a baptism the missionary doesn't get to baptize the investigator. A member from the branch will baptize so there is a relationship between the new member and the ward members.

Davey has been in Vancouver 6+ weeks and transfers came... he has a new companion that is from Beaver, Utah. He is excited to see what this new companion will bring. Davey did send a media card last week, and as soon as we can we will get pictures posted of this handsome young man! Davey says "All is going great, and he loves everyone back home!"

I am going to try my hardest to keep this updated better than I have! Until next time...

He's there safe!

2008-03-26T16:41:00.002-06:00

Last night, we got a call from Davey's mission president letting us know that Davey arrived to Washington safe, and that they are excited to have him up there. Davey will be serving in Vancouver right now (today he was on his way there), and his companion is Spanish native (YES)! What a great way to learn more Spanish!

He's off to Kennewick, Washington!!

2008-03-25T15:19:00.002-06:00

Well this morning was one of the greatest mornings we have had in just over two months! We got to finally hear Davey's voice! He called us from the airport and we all (all that were at home) got to talk to Davey for about an hour. He sounds great, and his Spanish is awesome! He is a little nervous to be out in the real world again, but he is really excited (you could tell by the excitement in his voice) to be on his way. He said he loved the MTC, but just can't wait to get his feet on Washington ground. Before hanging up he told us to tell everyone that he loved them. He is eager to get to work, just before he said "goodbye" he told us he was going to try and make "contacts" with people waiting out at the airport.

A request that he has made the last couple times we have heard from him, and then again today was "please send me pictures," and of course he loves to get letters!

Davey's Departure...

2008-03-21T12:13:00.002-06:00

It has been almost a month now since the last post on Davey (I promise I will get better at this!). I thought I would give a quick update on what went on the past month...

On February 29th Davey was made District Leader. He now is the one in charge of getting the mail for the Elders in his district. He has loved being the "DL." He also sent one of his memory cards to us (so his pictures could be saved to the computer) with pictures and two short videos of the MTC and his friends down there. I will post them when I get a chance. After seeing those pictures and videos, you know that Davey is having a grand time down at the MTC!

In Davey's last e-mail (3/14), he told us that he had the chance to give a sister a blessing down there, he said "It was an amazing experience to be able to do that for my first time. I actually kinda struggled saying a prayer in English because that was the first time I've prayed in English since the first week here!" He says that he has learned all the Spanish that they learn in the MTC, so now it's just a lot of reviewing and teaching lessons. Davey and his companion, Elder Campbell have actually "hooked up" with a companionship of Elders from Mexico that are learning English, and so Davey and his comp. are helping them with the English and they are helping Davey and his companion with their Spanish.

Davey is getting really excited to finally get out into the mission field. His departure date has changed from the 24th to the 25th. He has loved being in the MTC, but can't wait to get out and start sharing the gospel.

He is doing really well, and can't wait to get his feet on Washington ground! He says to tell everyone "Hi," and that he loves them.

E-mails from Davey!

2008-02-25T15:16:00.002-07:00

We actually received two e-mails from Davey one from last Friday (2/22) and one from the Friday before (2/15). Now we don't just look towards fridays as the "end of the work week", but now we look forward to an e-mail from Davey!

In his e-mail from 2/15 he says that in the last week and a half they have got two new districts. In one of the new districts there is a kid that was a pitcher for Skyline H.S., Davey says "it's fun to look back at baseball and just joke about the things". He says it's a really small world down there (at the MTC), and it's fun to try to figure out if people know the same people Davey knows. While Davey was on his way to the temple he says that he could actually smell baseball, it got him really excited for spring, until it snowed. Davey loves to hear about the Cougars (since one of his roomies is a Ute fan), the Jazz, and the Boston Red Sox.

In his e-mail from 2/22 he tells us about being in the referral center. The referral center is where people call in when they get a pass along card. He tells about a man from Colorado had called in, he didn't speak very good English, and as Davey tried to work his way through this mans English. Davey had to get the spelling of this man's name, and this man couldn't understand what Davey was asking him. So Davey said "I said a quick prayer and was prompted by the Holy Ghost to start speaking in Spanish. It was amazing! I didn't necessarily have the words come to my mouth that I didn't know before, but words came back to memory and I knew what to say to ask how to spell his name." Davey said the man got really excited when Davey started speaking in Spanish. The cool thing was is this happened on the day when the only English Davey could speak was after dinner in the referral center.

He loves what he is learning and he can't wait to get out there and start teaching. He misses everyone, but tries not to think about it too much because he knows he has a "big job to do!"

P.S. Davey is learning to solve a Rubix Cube!

Let's start the week off

2008-02-04T17:21:00.000-07:00

Over the past couple days we have recieved a letter and an e-mail from Davey! In his e-mail he they had been in a meeting when they heard about President Hinckley. He said right after the meeteing the elders walked out into the hallway and sang "We Thank The O God for a Prophet" in Spanish. He said it was a shock to hear that, but then he remembered that President Hinckley was 97 and he was with his sweetheart again.

Before I write what he wrote in the letter we received today. I need to give a little background on a saying we always hear from Grandpa Quinn, "You can lead a horse to water, but a pencil must be 'lead' ". This has become a well known saying around the Quinn house. Well today in the letter we received he wanted to make sure that Grandpa heard the NEW saying "You can lead an investigator to water, but a pencil must be lead" We all had to laugh about that because it's such a well known saying here.

Davey says that he is working really hard, and is really busy. He is loving learning how to teach the gospel to others and his espanol is coming along. He says he loves receiving letters down there "it's like a little competition--ha,ha". He loves the gospel and he loves the work.

2008-01-31T08:06:00.000-07:00

We just heard from Elder Cavaness again. He said he loves every part of the MTC experience. Yes! Even the food. Wanted me to tell
evryone Hi and that he loves you all.

First Letter!!

2008-01-26T14:21:00.000-07:00

We received our first letter from Davey today! He says that he loves the food. His companion is Elder Campbell and he will be serving in the Houston, Texas mission, and his other two companions (roommates) will be going to Kennewick with Davey!! He says to tell everyone that he loves it!

2008-01-24T16:49:00.001-07:00

What a guy!

2008-01-23T23:42:00.000-07:00

So the more I have talked to Davey's family, and the more I think about it, Davey was ready to go! Robin was telling us that the MTC wasn't that bad (I don't believe that for a second-ha, ha). She said that it was kind of fun to see all of these new missionaries so excited to get there and get to work. She told me that at the MTC they gave a couple of facts about the MTC like how much cereal they go through in a month-- 2.5 tons of cereal! 425 pounds of potatoes a week! Holy Cow! So I guess we know what Davey will be eating each day (ha,ha).

I also thought I should share this... you can send Davey a letter through e-mail at http://www.dearelder.com/ for free! I just sent one to him and he will get my letter by noon tomorrow(1/24)! So if you are just sitting at your computer and want to drop a line or too, it's that simple! Just make sure you have his box number (#315) and his departure date (0324).

He would love to hear from you!

Off to the MTC!

2008-01-23T12:46:00.000-07:00

What a morning, or should I just say what a exciting week! (Bitter-sweet!). Last night Davey was set apart as a full time missionary, and let me just say what an awesome experience that was. It was awesome to be able to sit in the family room and have the spirit right there. We know that Davey is going to be watched over very closely and that he will return home just as healthy as he was when he left. Last night was a very teary night for all of us, we sat there and watched this young boy instantly turn in to a young man, I sat there thinking about all the sacrifices he will give up so he can serve the Lord for two years. What an example to all of us! There aren't many 19 year olds that are willing to give up 2 years to serve the Lord.

Of course last night poor Davey didn't get a chance to sleep alone, his little "brother" Tanner had to sleep right next to him, and make sure Davey didn't get one ounce of shut eye. I know that the young ones don't understand that Davey will be gone for two WHOLE years, but for the little ones the time will fly, and as for us it will be the slowest two years ever.

This morning at 8:30 Elder Cavaness, Dave, Robin, Mallory, Mark and Paige departed for the MTC (the one place I do NOT like). Davey was to be at the MTC at 11:30 for a short orientation, and then off on his own. He will also be entering the MTC with a friend of his Jeff Jacobsen, but at seperate times. I just got a text from Robin saying "He's off, It went great, Thanks for your support!"

We know that Davey is going to be a great missionary, and that the people up in Washington will love him, but not as much as we do!

We will MISS you Elder Cavaness, and can't wait to see you in two years!