Saturday, May 30, 2015

Gaining Direction

It’s nice to be back!

You know, after a mission I forgot how comforting it was to sit down and just think about the things that have happened during the week. I think that was a huge reason as to why I put all my letters up on this blog…. It’s easy to forget the miracles when you don’t take the time to STOP and think.

Side story: “stop and think”… I don’t know if anyone ever had this in school but I was there A LOT. My third grade teacher, Mrs. Beckstrom, was patient but by no means was I a saint. I learned the importance of “stop and think”. A little desk in the corner of a room (aka isolation) does the mind well… even if it’s for the 4th time that day.

So here I am, once again stopping and thinking. It’s been an interesting past 6 months, so much has happened and I have barely had time to truly process it all—returning from a mission, work, love, marriage, moving… sheesh!

This post will be a funny contrast between my last few, I went from serving the Lord to fulfilling my role as wife—a completely different calling but just as fun and uplifting.

I’ve given it a lot of thought as to how I want to transition from mission life to the married life; the only thing that comes to mind is explaining how it all came about…

As I’m sure I have mentioned before, I always knew I was supposed to serve a mission; even more so when I was old enough to receive my Patriarchal blessing (a blessing given through the inspiration of the spirit by someone who is called to this position, it gives guidance and direction from Heavenly Father or God), I knew I needed to in order to be prepared to be the wife and mother my family future needed.

Luckily enough, that young man I married was patient enough to wait… not just while I served my mission in Idaho but for many years prior. We had met my first year in college at a dodge ball tournament, ha ha! I didn’t know then that I was breaking up with the love of my life. After a few years of space and a mission, we kept in touch through letters and emails for 18 months and he finished sweeping me off my feet!

So here I am. In a few days it will be one full year since I entered the Missionary Training Center (MTC)… and now I’m married and moved across the country! I couldn’t be happier. 

…it’s funny how an Aimless Motion has all of a sudden gained direction…






Wednesday, May 20, 2015

17 Nov 2014

wow, time.. can't believe it--STILL. 

anywho. Had a really good week this week. 

We had our first snow-fall of the year! so of course my companion and I had to play in it for a while. We were waiting for our dinner to come pick us up and she drove up and we were in the middle of a snowball fight.. it was really embarrassing. I'll send some pictures. 

We had an i n t e r e s t i n g visit with an investigator who had some visitors. We stopped in to see how she was doing and her husband had some buddies over for a few beers. Well half way through our conversation in the kitchen (the guys were in the living room) one of them comes into the kitchen and decides to join our conversation (with beer in hand of course). Long story short, he's talked to missionaries before "but never to such beautiful ones"--HIS WORDS, not mine... so while that continued for a while and we felt incredibly awkward our investigator was finding out from this guy that we don't smoke or drink or have coffee... and that was a wonderful mess to try and clean up. oh the joys of being a sister missionary.  

Something I learned this week was that temptations can hit anyone at any time. Watching investigators struggle and trying to find ways to help them we found out that satan is working just as hard with us. Both of us are so close to being done and the more consecrated we try to be the harder satan hits. It's been amazing to see how what we study and teach isn't just for our investigators, it's for us too. Though the temptations may be different, the distance it takes us from heaven is the same. We all have struggles, we all have weaknesses, but all these can be turned in to strengths if we use heaven's help to overcome. 

I Love you all. I hope you look for ways to over come temptations with the simple but powerful tool of the gospel. 

Have a wonderful week!

Love,
Hermana Calero

10 November 2014

Oh this week... Just a few things:

Remember that lady (Yolanda) who hated us? well she invited us over for lunch this week... that was a BLESSING. We got to eat and talk to her and I think she's starting to like us.... We are hoping to be able to share a message with her this week. Slowly but surely... we're gonna get her to listen! 

We have been working hard this week, we have a couple potentials who will hopefully turn into investigators this week. We spent some time walking and knocking doors, we found a place neither of us had ever been to and it seemed to work--new move ins! woot woot. we're really excited to work with the Vargas family, the gospel seemed to come knocking at the perfect time. 

We had an investigator at the Elder's baptism! she brought her daughter and she loved it. A brother that spoke Spanish came to talk with her and asked her if she was a member and she said "not yet".... we almost peed our skirts with excitement! haha. 

I learned something really cool this week... I learned that no one can really tell you how your mission is going to end. Everyone has such different perspectives of what they expect the end to be like/what their experience was that you never know what to think! I have been really frustrated the past couple weeks because I was so sick--here I was trying to be the best and work the hardest in the time I have left aaaaand I become best friends with the toilet... my prayers turned into pleadings for a relief, not even the priesthood power healed me as "immediately" as I was hoping it would. In a way it was like HF was telling me to deal with it... so I did. So the second lesson I learned this week was: the quicker you learn the lesson, the less the trial lasts. The week ended on a high note and I'm back to about 99.9% health and things are great!

Oh patience.. I don't think it'll ever be a virtue that I master... 

Well, my time is up! have a wonderful week--I love you all!

3 November 2014

what a week!

There's a few things that I want to share really quick.. 

first... here are some quotes from Zone Meeting that I plastered all over my planner:

"Ask HOW, not WHY"

"The Lord strengthens you as you decide to be diligent"

"Virtue=Power, Master yourself, master the enemy"

"The Lord rewards Courage"

"Live up to your Calling"

Oh I'm going to miss these meetings.. It's amazing to see how taking the "easy" route in life is just that--EASY. Heavenly Father doesn't reward when we do what's convenient, He rewards when we do our best. 

Yesterday we taught the Gospel Principles class about covenants and it touched that topic as well. HF sets the conditions but He also sets the BLESSING. We want a particular blessing? obey the commandment that is tied to that blessing--easy enough! Its' so incredible how the more we learn the more our testimony is deepened. no wonder reading scriptures daily and saying prayers is a commandment!

Yesterday Bishop Perkins was released from the Murtaugh ward, I'm pretty sure I spent 90% of the meeting crying...what a good family. He was young and really good with helping us out with the work out there. 

we also had a fireside there, celebrating past missionaries. everyone that had served set up a booth with all the things from their mission and brought food to represent their country/state--it turned out AWESOME. hoping that might light a little more of a missionary fire in that ward. 

For halloween we carved pumpkins with the Perkins and watched a movie with our district--it was pretty fun! 

Time feels like it's slipping through my fingers.. it's been a hard week but it's been good. all the struggles really helps me remember to rely on Heavenly Father and not myself. I love this work. I love being a missionary. 

Love you all, have a wonderful week! 

Hna. Calero

20 October 2014

Another week come and gone! 
I walked into the mission office this week and saw my skinny face on the Return with honor board... Shameful.

We have a couple new elders in our district, kicking things up a little bit. Change is always good! 

Just a few things for this week

first.. we got attacked by dogs. they were GIANT AND OUT TO KILL US. okay that's a lie.. one was a puppy but he bit me. We've been trying to contact a referral out in the middle of no where for like a month and the only things we found home that day were the dogs.. sigh. wish something cool could have come out of this story.. 

Second.. we met a lady named Yolanda.. She was anything BUT NICE. We had talked to her outside her home before and we went back this week hoping she would have a change of heart.. and she did--she let us in. She kept talking about how as LDS we just do what we're told and how we are wasting out time on a mission and all that fun stuff... so what good came out of this? I realized that I had no desire to argue back! odd, I know. As we testified and talked to her about the blessings of the gospel she started to soften up and clean up her language a bit... so here we are, thanking her for her time and she says "well, when are you going to come back?", we were shocked! so here we were feeling great because we thought we got through to her when... i spill her kid's gatorade on her carpet... how embarrassing. So AFTER  I clean it up she says.. "you can come back but i'm not giving you anything to drink--you;ll stain my carpet!".. why do these things happen to me? 

Third, We've hit kind of a slump and it's been hard. We've had a lot of success finding new investigators and teaching but it seems like this past week no one wanted us. it was really hard and a HUGE test for us to stay diligent. We were able to fill some time with some service but it didn't feel too good to help some investigators pack up and move to California.. it seems like we are losing investigators left and right but as my trainer taught me "there are bumps in the road but nothing frustrates the work". ha.

sooooo We endured to the end of the week and saw the blessings. on Sunday Reyes helped bless the sacrament and Lalo helped pass it.. our two RC being able to exercise the priesthood. it was powerful and truly a blessing to be able to witness something so good after such a hard week. Over and over I'm grateful for the Sacrament, it truly gives me the fuel that I need to make it another week. 

that's all I really have for this week.. 

Can't believe we only have one more full week of October!!

I love you all--have a wonderful week! 

Hermana Calero

13 October 2014

woooohoooo Transfer calls came... and we're BOTH STAYING!! wooohoooooooo! Seriously, we celebrated last night with kettle corn--mmmm--

Oh man, another week come and gone. I guess the high light of this week was being able to go to the Zone Conference with Elder Golden from the 70 and his wife. It was super good! He gave me the energy/desire/motivation that I needed for the last little bit. He was such a powerful speaker, and I have no doubt that he was called of God. His testimony of missionary work is stronger than I've ever felt before. He reminded us just how important missionary work is--any time that we waste we are letting people perish in unbelief. It's really up to us, and if we truly understood the importance of this work we wouldn't take it so lightly--especially as members, not just missionaries. 

We had some really good lessons this week, over and over I'm reminded of the worth of each soul... there is potential behind EVERY door. 

These past few weeks have been powerful, I wish I had the words to truly describe the miracles that occur out here each and every day.. and most of those miracles I'm seeing in myself. We have a lot of plans to implement in this area--hopefully with our obedience and diligence we can see even more miracles!

I don't have much more to say.. time is going by so fast! I love you all--have a wonderful week!

Love,

hermana Calero


6 October 2014

oh man, we're in OCTOBER... I still remember last years Halloween! oh time... 

this week was PACKEDDDDD, Zone Meeting, Temple trip, and General Conference! all three were absolutely powerful. I don't have much time so I'm just going to get to the good stuff. 

Monday we had a super powerful lesson with an investigator family... We asked two brothers from the branch to come and bless their home and the individual members... they've had lots of "sketchy" things happening in their house.. lets just say I am soooo thankful for the power of the Priesthood! 

Something funny for this week. Some investigators that I talked about last week (the ones that were taught in Utah) well, we stopped by to see them this week... yeah... lets just say that the previous missionaries had pushed them too much into baptism.. From the moment we walked in the house the spirit of contention filled the room. The bro. kept telling us that he was already baptized by god and he couldn't be baptized in another church because he was not going to replace God with God... um... okay... we hadn't even said A WORD about baptism. it was interesting. Then he proceed to tell us that Christ was a sinner because He was born on earth and we are all born in sin.. WHAT??? It was interesting. OH and he kept saying "JOE Smith", I was offended..  So we bore our testimony and talked about our purpose and blah blah blah... no progress. so we decided to go. on our way out my companion is backing up after shaking his hand when BOOOOOM! SHE KNOCKS OVER A GIANT VIRGIN MARY STATUE WITH HER BAG.... hahahahahahhahahahahahahhahahahahhahahaha. Oh man, PRICELESS. the look on their faces. my companion picks it up and was like " I didn't do it on purpose, I swear!" ahahahahhahahahaha oh man. I was dying. so we booked it out. Will we go back? sure, but maybe after a couple weeks...  DYING. 

Being able to go to the temple is always such a blessing, I receive so much revelation that I wish I had the memory to write it all down... amazing. 

Speaking of amazing, Conference was incredible!! I couldn't believe that we got to hear talks in different languages!! Such a historic moment, so cool. I was super excited to hear from E. Gavarret cause he came and spoke in Stake Conference not long ago. His talk was POWERFUL. I wish I could pick a favorite one... I can't wait until the Liahona comes out. 

Lets see, what else. Oh we had some opportunities to do service. I love that conference talked about our personal ministy and how it should reflect the life of Christ. We had a chance to minister to those that are poor in spirit and the sick and afflicted. it was amazing. It's so cool to see how strong the spirit can be with us when we are worthy--and we need to be because we never know when we might walk into a home and the message we bring can be their saving grace. 

Overall, a really awesome week. I'm so grateful for these experiences. My journal is absolutely PACKED with entries for this week.. I've really seen Heavenly Father's hand in my life this week.

I love you all, have a wonderful week! 

Hermana Calero

us, E. Housewright, E. Eborall, E. Westfall, E.  


29 September 2014

Oh heavens, September is almost overrrrr!! nooooooooo 

it's been raining here for the past couple days. Oddly, it reminds me of my good ol Rupert days. Really makes me nostalgic. But it's been a good week!

A little bit of bad news... Our branch president's son passed away this week (on Monday) in a work accident. Really sad. He was young, his little son turned 1 on Saturday. They had the funeral in Rupert so we couldn't go, but our prayers have been with the family all week. Apparently his son's patriarchal blessing told him that he wasn't going to live long because he was needed elsewhere... wow. Never heard that before. Heavenly Father knows EEEVRRYYTHING. I know that was comfort for his wife and son, having a knowledge of HF's plan for us really makes everything so much easier, nothing brings comfort like the gospel. Please keep President Hansen and his family in your prayers, despite the comfort of the gospel it must be hard to lose a loved one... 

In other news. I had an exchange in Burley this week! I got to go back and see Araceli and her family (I'll include some pictures). They are doing so well! Juan is working with the Elders as a missionary and Araceli is in the Young Womens now. Apparently they made some changes in the branch as well, bro. Pierce was released as WML ( couldn't believe it!!) but he's in the bishopric of the ward now. Siiiick! so exciting to watch things change.

We watched the screening of "Meet the Mormons"... It was so fun! It's more like a documentary rather than a movie, movie, but it's still pretty good! we watched it as a Zone at the mission office--with popcorn and everything! They are encouraging us to get the word out about the film, so watch it, share it, post it... whatever it takes to do missionary work. People need to see it, it's great! 

Yesterday in the Murtaugh ward we had the primary program.. my testimony always grows seeing those little guys sing. I just love them. It's so cool to see how much parents affect the growth in testimony, you could tell which ones really loved primary... and which ones didn't. Bishop Perkins did something a little different, after the program he got up and bore testimony and left some blessing with us. He blessed us to understand our priorities and to teach our families. He taught that Teaching families is what is going to determine our salvation. It was really powerful, never seen anything like that before. 

I love this gospel, I love being a missionary. It's the best job in the world. 

I love you all, have a wonderful week. 

Hermana Calero




22 September 2014

wooohooo! happy birthday dad! I hope you had a wonderful birthday weekend! 

Sorry, I don't really have much to say about this week. 

We had zone conference... it was really good. learned more about planning and better door approaches (who doesn't need that?)

Found some new investigators.. turns out they had lived in Utah like 3 months ago and were taught by an elder that was in my companion's MTC district. They are super solid, we're excited to start teaching them. They came to church too, so that was great! 

We had an awesome weekend! Lalo was baptized and confirmed, Reyes received the priesthood and got his temple recommend. Temple trip coming up! oh man. BLESSINGS. It's so cool to see these people make changes, I feel so much love for them it's impossible to describe. 

Elder Golden is going to visit our mission next week and we are excited to hear what he has for us. We were asked to fast this weekend in preparation for it so it's gotta be good! 

I love you all, I hope you have a wonderful week! 

Hermana Calero


8 September 2014

I have like absolutely no desire to write.. haha. I've been watching mormon messages for like an hour...  

Anyway, we had a really good week this week! found 3 new investigators and Lalo Meneces is going to be baptized on the 20th! He went up to Pres. Hansen and asked him if he would baptize him, all on his own! we were so proud of him. So cool. I love seeing the change in people, how they grow and learn to apply the gospel. 

We had a really interesting lesson in Sunday School in Murtaugh. We learned about work. The brother made a connection between Moses 5:1 and what HF expects from us:  And it came to pass that after I, the Lord God, had driven them out, that Adam began to till the earth, and to have dominion over all the beasts of the field, and to eat his bread by the sweat of his brow, as I the Lord had commanded him. And Eve, also, his wife, did labor with him.
 Basically, what it comes down to is that they were Commanded to work. it wasn't a suggestion, it wasn't just something that would keep them busy, it was a commandment. The Bro. said that it's interesting how we spend all of our lives looking forward to the day when we simply do not have to work anymore--retirement. Well, if "God sells us things at the price of labor" then how do we expect to progress without putting in the effort? "To sweat is as much of a commandment as it is to pray" and I know that if we truly put in the effort to grow (whether in church callings, positions at work, or in the community) we will find true happiness. it's through work that we stay alive, it gives us a reason to move forward and strive for exaltation. Amazing.

We had a really awesome lesson this week with a new family we are teaching: Juan and Selene and their 4 kids. We had stopped by a few times in the past and nothing was really working out, but this time, as we went in with a sincere desire to find out what they needed--we found it. We talked about prayer and the importance of attending church. How these two simple, yet powerful actions will change our life and the life or of our families. I'm so SO thankful for the testimony I've gained on my mission about prayer, thankful to those that helped me get it as strong as it is. I don't remember much about the lesson (good thing I wrote in my journal that night) but I do remember the spirit that testified to me (and them) about the importance of prayer. At the end of the lesson the whole family knelt down and for the first time EVER Juan said a prayer. The spirit was soooo strong. There is truly no better job than being a missionary. 

We had some cool experiences while out with a young woman. She is the daughter of a bishop in one of the wards, we gave her the "full missionary experience"--she came out all day with us. It was super cool. Never had a more exhausting day on my mission, i feel like I"m still trying to recover. Its so cool to be able to help youth decide whether missions are for them, I know she really felt the spirit.. and no doubt she was exhausted when we were done. 

We had a really awesome lesson with Brandy last night. We took the RS president with us and what a powerful testimony that woman has. We taught L3 and talked about the importance of baptism and repentance--truly powerful. 

We have an appointment tonight with a peruvian family!! I can't even express how excited I am cause I haven't met people from anywhere else besides mexico in like--AGES. 

this week should be pretty good. I'm really excited for stake conference at the end of the week. 

have a wonderful week! I love you all. 

Hermana Calero

Pictures:

I LOVE these things on people's doors.. seriously, cracks me up everytime!

and a little girl was riding around the neighborhood we were walking with a dead bat in her bike basket... how odd.. and GROSS.. 



1 September 2014

WOOOOHOOO Staying in Kimberly!! We got transfer calls last night, we are both staying! 

what a week. I'm going to try and be quick.. I don't have much time left. 

REYEST WAS BAPTIZED!! wooohoooo! I'll include a picture. oh man, how exciting. He was so ready for the gospel, I couldn't believe it. Sammy Huerta (son of the 2nd counselor of the branch) was also baptized, it was so cool to see two completely different perspectives. It was a really emotional baptism for me, the spirit was so strong. 

we have another possible baptism on the 20th, we are really excited! Things are just working out. 

This week i learned a lot about teaching the way the Savior would. We contacted a family this week and there was absolutely NO interest. I mean, that's common on the mission but these people could really care less. As I bore my testimony and felt the spirit come in the room, the mother of the family made a comment that totally broke it all down. I wasn't mad, I wasn't frustrated, I wasn't even sad. The worst part was, I felt like I had done what I was called to do. I testified, I brought in the spirit, and it was up to them whether they chose to accept it or not... As I studied the next day I found myself really thinking about what happened. I read in 3 ne 17 and broke it apart. I wanted to know how and why the Savior was so successful in teaching in the Americas. I quickly found out that I was very wrong with how I felt.. Compassion, patience, and faith were the center of his teachings--I really need to step it up. 

Sorry this is so short...I have like no time... but here are some pictures. been a crazy week! 

Love,

hermana Calero



25 August 2014

Oh this week.

Some news:

Got my travel form to fill out.. that was an exciting day... My companion looked at me like she was waiting for me to die or something... so I put it back in the envelope and we continued our day... BEST FEELING EVER. it didn't start to sink in until I found the letter again on Sunday but you know, it was bound to happen. enjoy the pic.

anywho. What to tell you... Well, last Monday we went on a SICK hike as a district. it was a really fun Pday
We found a couple new investigators this week with a lot of potential. Did service for one of them.. We painted the inside of her trailer with her little 6 year old daughter named Andrea. CUTEST thing in the world--talked at a million miles an hour, It was funny. There was another lady there that was catholic and got all offended because we wouldn't tell her our first names. Haven't had that happen in a while. At the end we shared a scripture before we left, some people are just so close-minded. it really never ceases to amaze me. But we were able to help this sister out a ton, it felt really good. We invited her to church and she said she would come.. but she didn't. We are hoping to catch her again this week. 

The power of the priesthood is amazing. We had a couple experiences this week that really left a mark so that on Sunday we were able to testify. We taught Brandy and her family and we talked about why it's so important to have the priesthood. It has been amazing to watch that family progress. From the moment we walked in, she had the pamphlet in her hands, she sits down and says "OKAY, I have questions!". it was so cool to watch her understanding grow. We watched the Restoration video (the first time I've watched it in English... WEIRD) and half way through she goes "Hey, this is the APOSTASY" she was so excited that she knew what was going on. Brandy was baptized but fell away when she was young ( I dont know if i mentioned that before) so we are teaching her, her 2 boys, and her non-member husband. I'm SO grateful for the priesthood, to quite literally feel God's power on earth. 

I feel like I fulfill a life-long dream every time I teach at the church with a member. I feel like I"m legitely(?) on the "District". Anywho. We taught Reyes at the church and had an awesome lesson, he's getting baptized on Saturday! woot woot. We are so stoked! So many people prepared out here, its amazing. 

I also had a sneak-peak into "real life:single's ward edition" when a newly married couple spoke in sacrament meeting on Sunday.. I don't know if I would use the word "booyah" to describe my engagement... oh heaven help us. My companion and I just about died. But the topic they spoke on was really good. It really made me excited for conference. 

Anyway, It's been a really good week. Lots of miracles. Trying to make it through the Book of Mormon before I go home... I was studying Jacob 5 this week and really learned about the importance of working WITH the Lord. He has every desire to be in every aspect of our lives we need to let him. He is the one who "knows the end from the beginning", we need to trust that whatever He asks us to do is for a good reason. Good fruit comes forth with time, we need to be patient and work diligently. Every day I learn more and more about the importance of prayer, of church attendance, and scripture study. These basics are what we need to get rid of the Natural Man and become more like Him. I love this gospel. I LOVE missionary work. I love my Savior. 

Have a wonderful week! 

Love, 

Hermana Calero


18 August 2014

another week come and gone! 

okay, just a few things this week.... 

number 1: KODEY GOT BAPTIZED!!! wooo hooooooo. Seriously. most unbelievable thing ever, and probably the closest to perfection--honestly! we started at noon... ON THE DOT. not noon o' one, or noon fifteen... NOON. SSSSIIIICCCCKKK. Oh, and President Curtis was there.. Lots of people there to support Kodey, so cool. I'm betting 80% of the murtaugh ward was there, seriously. 

number 2: STAKE CONFERENCE. With Elder Eduardo Gavarret of the 70. The most amazing stake conference I've ever been in. He held a New convert devotional before the Sunday session and invited all the missionaries and their recent converts to attend. President and Sister Curtis were also at the meeting! so cool. 

Number 3: Had my first exchange with my STLs, hna Maese came to Kimberly this week! super weird but learned SO much from her. I seriously love her so much... she also informed me of a few updates in Burley.... I dont know if you guys remember Alejandro. He was the 18 year old (talked about him on Mother's Day) that had a baptismal date but ended up not wanting to meet with us. Well, before I left Burley he went off the deep end, got into drinking and just hanging out with the wrong crowds... well, I guess he started to soften up after I left and was starting to want to come back to taking the lessons, and that weekend that he talked to hna Maese...he died. Went to a party and on his way home he crashed into a pole off HWy 30.... yeah, super sad. Couldn't believe it. They were going to ship his body to mexico so he could be buried there. But the COOL thing was, Araceli and her family (Alejandro was like their cousin) decided that in a year they will be going to the temple to do his work, how cool is that? Solid family, I love them so much. 

During the baptism, Bishop Perkins was talking about how HF is an "Organizer", he commanded the elements and organized the world. His whole purpose is to have us return to His presence...so He sent other "organizers" to help Him with the work--Missionaries. We are here to organize the lives of those without the gospel, we are here to help people find their way back.. just thought it was such a cool thought. Day after day I learn more about the importance of missionary work. This is a work that isn't just for everyone, but it CAN be. If we are willing to be God's hand on earth, we too can help with the work of Organizing. I know without a doubt that Heavenly Father loved us enough to provide a plan for us. As we taught gospel principles this week we learned about Adam and Eve and how they were "Valiant Spirits"--and how true that is... They had no idea there was a plan in place for them. If they knew, they coudln't have exercised their agency. No wonder the joy and relief is so apparent as they learn about how a Savior would be provided (moses 5:11). WE know the plan, we just need to put it into action in our lives. 

Man, the days just fly around here... So much happens in one week, I wish I could describe every moment. 

Love you all, have a wonderful week!

Hermana Calero


11 August 2014

Pday comes around way too quick! Also... there are like a million people in this library right now, they are talking SO LOUD.. I can't think... 

It rained A TON this week.. a member suggested we start building an Ark and I laughed for like an hour. It was hilarious!

so the Muños family... MIRACLE. Last week we had a really hard time getting into the lesson so we decided to do something a lot simpler. We brought crayons and scratch sheet of papers and told the kids that they had to listen to a story and draw what they heard... EVERYONE was there to participate, mom AND DAD and all the kids. We ended up reading 1 Nefi 8 about Lehi's dream and all of them understood it so well. The dad was participated as well and it was beautiful to see that he has a testimony, he just hasn't used it in a while. He cried as he told us that he needs to come closer to Heavenly Father... unfortunately he's the only worker for a small farm and has to work 12 hr days EVERY DAY. It was a miracle that we were able to catch him, the rain was a tender mercy. 

We are also working with a Part member family, they have really opened their hearts and their home to us, the lesson we had this week with them went SUPER well, they read 3 Ne 11 and we talked about Christ coming to the Americas, it's so cool to see when people realize how much we needed Him to come and establish His gospel here. 

Oh Kodey.... I don't remember if i've talked about him at all... but he's a great kid! and he's getting baptized on Saturday!!!! woooot wooot. Everyone is really excited for him, he has so much support from the ward out in Murtaugh. It's so cool to see how much of a difference that love has made.. "it takes a ward to raise a child" really took on a whole new meaning for me. 

Speaking of, I had to give a talk in sacrament meeting in the Branch. It was so fun! I haven't had the opportunity of speaking in a while. I spoke on "the Blessings of Service"--it was a lot of fun. Talk about a reality check... I think I was the one that learned the most as I studied. I was really reminded of all those people (both family and members in the ward) that have supported me through faithful church service. When we serve at our best because we recognize its a calling from Heaven, we will be more diligent and devoted. WE are the ones that learn the most from different callings but as we give our all we can touch so many lives. I've seen in in Kodey, he's living with a family in the ward and they have really taken him in as one of their own. Who takes in a 18 year old kid??? their love and patience have really helped him out. Amazing how we can change lives by simply living the gospel. 

I cut a potential investigator's lawn in a skirt--in record time! I am CONVINCED there is absolutely nothing that you can't do in a skirt. 

Anwywho. This week is going to be really good, it's really busy already! Time is just flying, it's absolutely surreal. I love you all, thank you so much for your love and support--and your prayers.

Love, 

hermana Calero

4 August 2014

Hello family!! 

Oh heavens, what a week. It feels like it was 2 days ago that I wrote last-sheesh. Oh time... 

It's August... IT'S AUGUST! So stoked, good times to come. I woke up this morning to rain, I felt like I was in heaven. The summer just flew by, apparently it's going to start cooling down soon so that'll be WEIRD seeing as summer just started. 

This week we ate at Hna Flora's house--my Venezuelan grandma! Oh my goodness, I just love her. she made arepas and black beans for us. HEAVENLY. That lady loves me, haha she's so cute. She just (?) got called to be the Soc Soc's 2nd counselor and she is LOVING it. 

This week we taught the Muños Family. The mom was baptized ages ago but has absolutely forgotten all the basics of the gospel. We are working with them to try and help the kids be ready for baptism, they love the church but they don't get support from their parents. I honestly don't remember the last time I cried out of frustration in a lesson... All I could do was bare my testimony.. the kids wanted to go to church so bad, the oldest was willing to get up extra early to do chores in order to have a couple hours off but  mom said no because she had to help babysit the kids while she worked... It absolutely broke my heart. Turns out that they are going to activities with another religion.. we don't know how long we will be able to hold on to them so we are trying to work over-time with them. So sad.

This week our faith was really tried. We've seen a lot of success lately so it was bound to happen that we would have a day go entirely wrong. We had like 6 SOLID appointments, we were so stoked, and they ALL canceled. We were low on miles and low on patience. It was a make it or break it sort of day. We prayed a lot that day and by the end we saw miracles. We recieved a referral after dinner and when nothing else worked we realized why. We contacted this family, the mom came out and pulled out chairs for us on her porch. We ended up sitting there for like 30 minutes talking to her about the atonement and what it means. It was absolutely beautiful to see her understanding grow as we testified of the love Heavenly Father has for us. We asked her if she would ever give up one of her sons to die for the sins of others and it was like it clicked. She was full of emotion and we could tell for the first time she understood the atonement a little better. Funny thing is, these people profess  to be so strong catholic (or any other religion for that matter) but none of these religions take the time to explain the atonement. I think I have met one or two people my whole mission that actually knew why we needed the atonement. So thankful for the time I've had to study and learn about what my Savior did for me, it has shaped everything I do. 

Fast Sundays are always my favorite. I love hearing how members got their testimony, how some of them fell away for years and come back and are now in the branch presidency and stronger than ever. It is amazing! One of the sisters shared that life is a roller-coaster, we have ups and downs and even loops! but one thing is for sure, when we believe in the power of the atonement, and believe that Heavenly Father can help us those lows aren't so low. The roller-coaster should get steeper and steeper the stronger we work on our testimony. Yesterday's lows won't be so low if we do what we have to TODAY to strengthen our faith. 

you know, I'm not quite sure what would become of me had I not come on a mission. I am SO thankful for the time that I have to grow, to make my foundation stronger so that when the world pushes I can push back with unshakable faith. I love this gospel, I love my mission. 

Have a wonderful week! 

Love, 
Hna Calero

PICTURES:

My companion awkwardly found a coke with my name on it.... hahaha
My companion steals kid's toys while they're not home... shame on her.