Monday, April 27, 2015

23 October 2013

Hello Family!
Last Monday we got to go to City of Rocks, it was so fun to get together with other missionaries to go hike and enjoy the beauty of nature! It was such a pretty day too, super warm but super windy. Mom, you would have a heart attack if you saw how high up we were, I'll have to send you some pictures. It's basically like a mini Moab, lots of little hikes and GIANT rocks! I'll make sure to include some pictures below. We also went to visit some of the young women in one of our wards, the Mortensen family own the old abandoned college in Albion and they turn it every October into a GIANT haunted house. They are working on setting it up, they even hire a full cast to man the haunted house! Their daughter took us through it and even with lights on it's SUPER creepy! The tour goes through 5 different buildings each with their own theme. Everyone in the community gets together to help out and run the buildings. apparently they get people from ALL over the west coast to go through it, it's a really big deal around here. So cool! I'll also include the pictures of some awesome zombies!
Well, unfortunately I don't have very much to report lesson wise. We have had a really slow week, harvest season is picking up fast, it's getting colder so everyone is in a hurry to get crops down and off the fields. This area will be interesting to work with during the harvest season, we already have a hard enough time finding people, I don't know what we are going to do when everyone is at work! That's okay though, we can all ways PUSH--Pray Until Something Happens. I think that's been our motto here this week.
Out of all those prayers we saw a miracle! We got extra miles this month! We only have 1600 miles per month to cover all 6 of our areas, we go through those miles SO fast, even with the help of members but we received 441 extra this month! We were so excited because it allowed us to just take the car and knock on every single door in an area! Out of that we met 3 new people that we made appointments  with for this week--I just pray that the harvest doesn't get in the way.
We are realizing that as we teach with the spirit we are able to show our investigators the importance of the gospel. Often times we meet with people who are simply curious or just being nice (cause hardly anyone out here turns you downs, seriously... it's annoying sometimes cause you really know they aren't interested) and we can turn that curiosity into a desire if we are armed with the Spirit. Like the Juarez family, they KNOW the importance of church, they have a firm faith in Christ and they KNOW that the gospel is true, all this came from lessons that were centered around THEIR needs. It has really helped me see how wonderful the gospel is, how applicable it is in every-day life. I think sometimes when we are busy with work, school, and other activities it's hard to remember that we have a Father in Heaven that Loves us. That sent his only Begotten Son to die for our mistakes, our heartaches and to make up for what we cannot do. As we make Christ and His atonement the center of our everyday lives, our perspectives shift. We no longer see an individual down the hall or in the grocery store as just another person, we see them as what they are- a child of god, and what they can be.
I have really loved learning about the life of Christ. I have taken this week to start reading through the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and boy what a change it has made in my life. There were many that criticized Jesus for being among those who were looked down upon, but he simply replied "they that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick". How true that is! We are all "sick" in one way or another, whether it be spiritually or physically, we NEED the atonement in our lives--EVERY DAY.
I pray that you may learn to recognize this week how much we truly need our Savior. I know that without Him I could not have the opportunity to grow from my mistakes. Just like He healed the woman with an issue of blood, or like he raised Jairus' daughter from death, He too can heal us--if we let Him.
I love you all, I loved hearing from all of you! Have a wonderful week!
Love,
Hermana Calero





30 October 2013

kay so this might be the most scattered email of my whole life, I forgot my planner so I definitely will not be able to recall everything that happened this week. Sorry! I'm basically going off of what pictures I have on my camera, that'll be interesting....
Last P-day we had lunch with Luz, the member that took us out to milk cows! She invited some of the old elders that had taught her and we had enchiladas. Again, I don't know how I will ever get used to all this spicy!! I was dying but the food was so good! Later in the afternoon we got to go fishing at Lake Cleveland! Oh my goodness, it was so beautiful! none of the missionaries caught anything but the family that came out with us caught like 2 or 3! They had a fire going and had hot-dogs and marshmallows for everyone.
We have a new investigator in the Raft River ward! We are so excited! Her name is Misty and she is not much older than I am and already has 3 kids. She is so nice though. She just moved in 2 months ago and was wondering why everyone met at the chapel on Sunday. Her grandfather was a pastor so she grew up pretty religious but was interested to hear what we believe. We have taught her a couple times, she liked what she heard but we are having some issues because her husband isn't all that interested and she wants us to meet with him too. Religion is important to her but not to him. We are praying that we might be able to meet with him soon!
 OH okay, cool story. So we went to visit Misty the other night and she has a giant dog outside that's not very nice--like at all-- but he's usually chained up. When we knocked on the door her little boy answered the door and left it wide open while he went  to go grab Misty... Well, the dog was inside, NOT tied up. I was on splits with one of the Young Women from the ward and her eyes just went wide. That dog came CHARGING. I mean as fast as it could towards us barking his head off. Before we had a chance to move or do anything, he just stopped. Like 2 feet in front of us and backed up... Misty came running down the hall and the moment she stepped outside and slammed the door the dog went crazy again trying to get out.... um... THE CHURCH IS TRUE. Even Misty was shocked that the dog didn't come chasing after us.
Since we had so many extra miles this month we were able to drive around and tract in some areas that we hadn't tracted before. We found a couple people that were somewhat interested that we set appointments with. Unfortunately, we made them all for Friday and it turns out that it was the Homecoming game in Declo. NO ONE, I mean NO one was home. It was bad.
We had a family come up to us back when I was companions with Sister Rex to tell us about a young man that worked for them that thought could be interested. Well we finally got to meet him over dinner! One more investigator! He is really close to this family and we are excited to work with him, he has been exposed to the church quite a bit because of them, he is like a son. That makes our job so much easier, I love when members take their own initiative to help those around them. Another funny thing about this family is that their daughter is on a mission! Not just that, but she is companions to Sister Dixon--Nat's roommate at Snow and the U! This world is TINY!! I have emailed Sister Dixon and she likes her quite a bit, and I hear that Sister Deeters loves Sister Dixon too. So funny!
Saturday was a ton of fun. We got to go to the Ski resort thing in Albion and help cut & stack wood for the winter! there was a whole inch of snow up in the mountains! The member that owns it is really sick and he is unable to run it as well as he was planning. His son is really overwhelmed with all the wood splitting and stacking they had to do so we killed two birds with one stone! Quite a bit of families showed up to help, we got to meet people from the ward as well as some non-members. We had to be there at 8:30 am and did not finish until well past 3. The owner of the place provided lunch for us as well as ski lift rides! We were exhausted by the end of the day, we made it home in time to watch the Relief Society conference!
Yesterday was quite the day full of adventures. We were supposed to have Carmen at church but when we went to go pick her up she said she had a call from Mexico and that she would drive herself to the church... mmhmm.. she didn't. So we were super bummed out. The only thing that made up for it was the fact that it was the primary program! We were so intrigued and loving the little kids that we lost track of time... we had a lesson to teach in YW's in Malta, 15 minutes away and we were already 30 minutes late! Oh boy, it was so embarrassing. By the time we got there everyone was so relieved! We had no idea why, we thought they were going to be mad! They said that they knew the only reason we would be this late would be because something bad had happened. We had half the town on stand by looking for us! Needless to say, we are so incredibly blessed with the people in the area we serve.
You guys know how good my memory is, I'm trying to think of anything else that happened this week...
I did want to share one last thing. Watching the kids in 3 wards do their primary program really touched my heart. The theme was "I know I am a child of God because...". I just want to add my testimony to the ones they shared, I also KNOW that I am a child of God. I know that everone we come in contact with every day is also loved by Heavenly Father. Their sins have been suffered for by our Redeemer and Savior Jesus Christ. Everyone matters. Regardless of financial status or academic grades, each person is precious in Heavenly Father's eyes. I love that I have the opportunity to spend 18 months seeing people how our Father does, that is my motivating factor--to find as many people as I can and bring them to the fold. for them to KNOW like I know that there is more, that there is hope.
I love this gospel! I love that I get to bare my testimony 24/7! I hope that you find opportunities to see others through Heaven's eyes and to share the testimony that is in each of you.
I love you all! Hope you have a wonderful week!
Hermana Calero

7 October 2013



I hope you all got to watch General Conference this weekend because it was incredible. We had the blessing to watch it at home with Naomi, we watched all the sessions! I have never enjoyed (or stayed awake the whole time) Conference so much! All the messages were truly inspired, and may I mention how much I loved how missionary work centered they were?!
 
Well, Hna Martinez and I survived transfers! We have 6 more weeks together! Next transfers are the 2nd week of November so we are excited to have this month to work hard together. We got to stay in Malta so we are way stoked about continuing our adventures here. We had Zone meeting on Friday and got to see who our new District Leader is. We are really happy with your District and zone, we have a lot of new missionaries that came on Monday and they are all really hard working--you can just tell. We easily have the best zone in the whole mission!
 
We have been working hard with the Deeter's family and their "son" who is always over at their house. We had a wonderful lesson about the Restoration, this guy has SO MANY QUESTIONS! But that only makes our job so much easier. He is really interested and we feel like he is progressing well. Bro. Deters even took him to the priesthood session on Saturday, this family is AMAZING.
 
Other than that we haven't had much success finding people. October is harvest season and we literally cannot get a hold of ANYONE. It is absolutely ridiculous how empty town is... but we are taking it as an opportunity to study more and better our teaching skills. Unfortunately, all this down time makes me think too much about home and we have way too much fun as companions but we are learning a lot from each other!
 
We lost a couple investigators this week too... that was a HUGE bummer.
 
However, we are working on getting a family sealed in the temple. It has been such a blessing to work with them because it reminds me and emphasizes the importance of temple marriage. Every time we go over my testimony grows of the importance and blessing it is to be sealed as a family forever. I am so thankful that mom and dad were sealed in the temple and that Tina and I can be with them forever! the term "families can be together forever" has truly taken on a whole new meaning.
 
sorry, I wish I had more time to write about more of the blessings I saw this week. Although we weren't too busy, we still saw tiny miracles that strengthen us. I love my companion and all that she teaches me, I am so grateful for this area and for the patience I have been learning. Thank you all for your love and support!
 
Love,
 
Hermana Calero

16 Sept 2013

Seriously, I never ever ever ever want to leave. like EVER. This place has brought us so many blessings, much more than I can count.
 
So first things first, last Monday we went to go milk cows right? Well let me tell you this... it was SOO FUN!! Oh I can't wait to go back! haha Sister Martinez and I had a hoot learning how to get them hooked up to machines and get them ready to milk and stuff, I have like a million videos and some pictures so I'll include the pictures at the end. Needless to say, we were covered in you-know-what by the end of the 2 hours, it was so fun.
 
This week was kind of slow but we did see a lot of blessings. We weren't able to contact Carmen all week which was really REALLY frustrating because we couldn't talk to her about her experience at church and help motivate her to come back. Yesterday we stopped by before church and she had just gotten home, she said she wanted to go but was so tired that she felt bad. We tried to encourage her but she would have like 10 minutes to get her girls up and ready so we settled instead to meet with her on Tuesday. We invited her to the RS activity that is happening that day and she said she would go, so we are really excited for that. the Juarez family didn't go to church either, and we haven't been able to meet with them because with the harvest everybody and their dog are so busy. People are pulling all-nighters all the time getting the hay cut, corn gathered and all sorts of other stuff. Beets and potato season is coming up fast too so we might not have ANY work for the next couple months. We are excited though because we have a ton of activities that might help gather the community together, both less actives and investigators too!
 
So we had a little mishap, our investigator Jose (you know the one that came ready to be baptized??) well, he got into some trouble with the law and got fired. He will be moving back to Montana with his wife this week... so there goes that! We felt bad that things ended up how they did, he was really wanting a life change but it's so important to remember that people have their agency, that's the only thing that keeps missionaries from feeling like failures! haha. But I know that as long as I am doing the best I can, that's all that I can do. I can't make choices for Jose, but we hope to catch him this week and at least talk to him about missionaries in Montana.
 
We have seen miracles by working with the Ward Council in all of our wards. It has been amazing to see their willingness to work as we help them get excited about missionary work. The key is always to gain their trust. Especially in small areas like mine, everyone knows everyone-LITERALLY. So if we want their help we have to show them that we can be trusted and that we can help THEM become the missionaries. It has been really great to see their willingness to work with us and help bring people back to the church. I have such a huge testimony of working with members, this work could not happen without them! Bro. and Sister Webb have helped come up with a plan that includes all the auxiliaries of the church, from YW to RS to everywhere in between. We have really seen it pick up and the members are learning how to be missionaries. Ultimately my goal as a missionary is to help them to have enough confidence and teach them enough so that they don't need missionaries! They are already so good at fellowshipping and helping each other out as a community that they really just need to learn how share the gospel in a way that encourages the members to return. This is why I love Idaho, I have never met people that love their neighbors as much as here. They are willing to do anything for them, both temporally and spiritually. I hope that my goal can become a reality.
 
 I have quickly developed a new favorite scripture ( I swear this happens every week). I was reading through the Doctrine and Covenants because it's been a while since I've really read it.... boy did I get a slap in the face! haha. It's amazing how scriptures can do that to you. D&C 3 was given when Joseph Smith lost the 116 pages by giving them to Martin Harris but I learned so much about being a missionary. in Verses 6-8 the Lord reminds Joseph that if only he had been obedient and not "feared man more than God" he would have "supported [him] against all the fiery darts of the adversary; and he would have been with you in every time of trouble". boy how humbling that was. You know, as a trainer I hold a lot of responsibility, and it stresses me out! If one day I were to say that we aren't going anywhere or aren't contacting, my companion would wonder why but probably just say okay. The same applies in all other areas, if I am too scared to knock on a door, I have full control to not do it. but that's not the point... the point is that if we are OBEDIENT the Lord will not only protect us but give us success. I have really learned to rely on the spirit, to rely that although I don't know what i'm doing more than half the time, if I obey I will be blessed. "But remember, God is merciful; therefore repent of that which thou hast done which is contrary to the commandment which I gave you, and THOU ART STILL CHOSEN, and art again called to the work". How grateful I am that Heavenly Father is merciful, that although I am not a perfect missionary He has given us His son to atone for us, allowing us to repent and start over!  I love being a missionary, I love being able to say that I am a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ. I only pray that I can do the title justice!
 
I love you all, I hope you have a wonderful week!
 
Love,
Hermana Calero
 
P.S.   Mom, congratulations on your business! it looks like it's growing fast, keep up the hard work, I love you! and kiddo, you just keep being awesome in helping her out. You're the best!

21 day miracle

Happy Labor Day! mom, I hope you got a day off today :) and Tina, enjoy not going to school!! We got lucky the people in our ward love us enough to let us use the computers at the church, everyone else in the mission has to wait to do emails tomorrow!
 
This week has been amazing, in more ways than one....
 
We have a few new investigators that I KNOW have come from the 21 day member-missionary promise. One of those just barely moved into the area and is basically ready for baptism. We are so excited to work with him, I have so much love for him and his member wife already.
 
We have been working hard with all the members in the ward, getting them to the point where they all are missionary minded. since a lot of the work in this area is for Less Actives, they don't need us, they just need to know how to approach and what to do to get these members back to church. The members are so willing to help out and giving them the 21 day challenge has helped them develop a desire to learn how to be missionaries within the ward.
 
We lost an investigator on Wednesday, she called and told us that she didn't/couldn't meet with us anymore, like was getting too crazy and her faith was lacking... That was a heart breaker because we know that she has felt the spirit, we KNOW that she knows what she needs to do in order to strengthen her faith. It was hard but we are keeping her in our prayers.
 
A family in the ward have adopted a foster child and she is the CUTEST thing on this planet. she is turning 8 and wanted us to teach her the lessons so that she can be baptized. When we taught her this week she had so many good questions and she is just so fun to teach, she loves cookies so she made sure that her mom made some for us to take home.
 
Now the miracles:
 
Carmen also set a baptismal date! September 28th, 3 days before the next transfer...
and she didn't show up to church like she was supposed to... but that's okay. We are working on ways to motivate her to get going. Her kids really want to go.  
 
Next, The Juarez family have been coming to church for a month and a half now!! They are SO ready to be baptized... We hope to set a date this them this week as well. Bro. Juarez's mom is going into surgery Wednesday so we taught them about priesthood blessings and asked if they would like to have her receive one before the surgery, they said yes so tomorrow we have a couple members from the ward going over. I know that will help them so much, to see the comfort that it will bring his mom. We have exchanges tomorrow so I will be gone to help train another missionary, Sadly I will miss the blessing but I KNOW that sister Martinez will do just fine. She will be with a new missionary tomorrow, I was so bummed to leave because the day is absolutely FILLED with appointment. But I know that will help Hna. Martinez step it up a little more, she's nervous but I know she can do it.
 
Sunday we saw a beautiful miracle. Kyle has been a member since birth but became inactive when he was 15... the missionaries before us and his family have worked so hard with him to get him reactivated. Yesterday he was able to be ordained an Elder, there was not a dry eye in sacrament meeting when he bore his testimony. It's amazing how much the church can change an individual, I have no doubt that no matter where you have been or what you have done the atonement allows for forgiveness and to get rid of feelings of guilt and shame.
 
I have been working harder and harder each day to access the atonement, to really use it to my advantage, even in the smallest of things. I cannot teach it's importance without first experiencing true repentance myself, because of this I am growing each and every day closer and closer to my Heavenly Father.
 
Saturday was SO fun. I don't know if I mentioned but we are teaching English classes. We had a few members from the ward show up to take the class as well as 3 potential investigators! We had a blast teaching, it really is like teaching little kids but they are so eager to learn. There is something about being able to teach in the church, although we were loud and having fun, we began and ended with a prayer, this automatically brought the spirit and allowed for them to learn. We will be teaching every Saturday night, I know that as the non members see us in a different atmosphere they will be more willing to accept us into their homes and we will take the role of teachers, not just missionaries looking to baptize.
 
I am really excited for what this week has to offer. I hope we are able to make progress with our investigators and strengthen the members.
 
I love you guys, I hope all is going well. Thank you for keeping me in your prayers, I can definitely feel it. D&C 121:7-8
 
Love,
 
Hermana Calero
 
P.s. I made pericos for my companion and I the other day... they were SOOOO good. Not to mention we made rice on Tuesday, with carne asada and a salad. We are trying to eat a little bit healthier... all this desert that members give us is really getting to us... haha.

9 Sept 2013

I can't say this enough... The church is true. It has to be. There is absolutely NO doubt in my mind that this truly is the Church of Jesus Christ. And there certainly is no such thing as coincidences.. Enserio.
 
Remember how everyone has been really struggling because of the lack of water? well, we certainly got soaked most of the week. The prayers of the members for rain and for the missionary work has resulted in a thirst that's been quenched--for both crops and missionary work.
 
Tuesday we had our dinner with the Olson family and had that new investigator and his member wife come for us to teach them. They had taken the initiative to seek us out so we were so excited to meet them. Jose had 3 previous baptismal dates but because he moves around a lot looking for work he has missed all of them! We wanted to meet with him and gauge where he is at so we could set another date... Well, like most days out on the mission field, nothing really ends up being or working out as you have planned. Turns out he doesn't quite "buy the whole Joseph smith story" and does not see a need for the Book of Mormon if we have a bible. The discussion started out pretty rough, it felt like he was trying to find ways for us to mess up--very contentious. I have never prayed so hard in my life, one of my biggest fears of coming on a mission was not being able to answer the questions correctly or just digging myself into a whole, especially when investigators are SO good at knowing the bible. This is where my testimony of Personal and Companionship study come in. Every morning we focus on finding things in the bible that go along with what we are teaching. We KNOW most of the Hispanic population out here is very, very catholic. Through the study of BOTH Book of Mormon and the bible I have only deepened my testimony of the truthfulness of this church. It is because of that that we were able to work together as a companionship and apply what we had studied earlier in the day or even the week. We were so blessed to have taught Jose in Bro. Olson's home, too. I'm thankful for member who have the spirit in their home and are so willing to share that with us and our investigators. Bro. Olsen served in Ecuador (where my companion's mom is from) and he was able to help us by baring his testimony and helping explain how and why we need a prophet today. By  the end of the lesson we were both exhausted and frustrated but we could not deny the spirit that was felt in that room as we testified of the truthfulness of the gospel.
 
Side note: We were also thankful that Bro. Olson fed us dinner!! You guys will never believe what he made... PATACONES!!!! Apparently they have those in Ecuador too so he surprised us with them because he knew we missed home! You should have seen his kids fighting over them, they love them almost as much as we do!
 
After that appointment we went with Bro. and Sister Hernandez, they took us to visit one of their non-member friends, he was interested! the only problem is... he's not married but he is living with a lady and their daughter.. Marrying people out here is a HUGE issue. A lot of them are illegal, there is no real way to marry them without proper paperwork... I guess we will tackle that hurdle when it comes! Not to mention we are pretty sure he is still legally married to a woman in Mexico... Oh boy...
 
After meeting with him  we went over to the Juarez family. they are the "golden investigators" who attend church out of own motivation, call US to set appointments, and all that good stuff. Bro Juarez's mother was going into surgery Wednesday and we suggested a priesthood blessing to help her calm down.. they accepted! (we were also supposed to be on exchanges, I was going to miss the blessing but everything worked out and I could be  there! another miracle...) When we arrived I Hid towards the back of everyone and popped out! I was absolutely humbled by the fact that Sister Juarez immediately gave me a hug. I knew they had wanted me to be there but I didn't know it had meant that much to them. We have really bonded over the time that I have spent here, I want nothing more than to help this family take that step into baptism! They are SOOOOO ready. They know it's true and they are more dedicated than half the members in the ward!! Ah, talk about frustration. Bro. Hernandez was the one that gave the blessing, and to make matters even MORE miraculous, the moment he walked in the home he realized that he KNEW THEM FROM MEXICO. Bro. Hernandez sold bread to them when he was a boy! I have absolutely no doubt that this blessing changed everything for the Juarez family... Bro. Juarez kept talking about how there was no way that this was all a coincidence, that I had been able to attend, that Bro. Hernandez knew his parents from youth... We all replied "there are no such thing as coincidences...". The spirit was so strong in that home! They attended church on Sunday and we have an appointment with them this week...
 
Wednesday we contacted some referrals that the Elders had given us... turns out they were members.. haha. Talk about awkward! We had dinner at the home of the president of  Relief Society and boy did she spoil us! We went through a whole rack of ribs... We talked with her about what we can do to help the less active members in the area and set up a plan.
 
Thursday was quite special. We had planned on seeing Jill but she wasn't home... We instead went to go visit some of the elderly and widows in one of the wards. I love nothing more than being in the homes of these members, often it is so long between family visits that they are so excited to have someone come see them. We visited with a man named Goldie. He lives with his daughter and her family, he's had a lot of health issues. He had served 4 missions with his wife who just recently passed away. He was so sweet, really quiet but when he shared something, boy did he deliver.
 
We visited with some other widows and set up a service with Sister Sundberg to clear off the field next to her home.. .we had no idea that would take us 4 hours...
 
We had dinner at the home of Luz, one of the members from the Spanish ward in Raft River. She made the most delicious tacos I have ever had! They were good, but boy where they spicy. She blended up WHOLE jalapenos and served the tacos with it. If only you guys could see these people laugh at me... Why don't they ever warn me!!!?!! Apparently I was bright red, but the tacos were so good! so much for SLOWLY building up tolerance to these things...
 
We had an FHE planned with the Hutchison family. We were so excited to teach them because Bro. Hutchison is a re-activation and they went through the temple this past month! they are such a great family and have been working so hard on being obedient. Unfortunately, we know that there is no Testimony until after the trial of faith.... they have had a lot of trials come their way that I think have rocked their faith a little bit. We taught them about the importance of staying strong, having faith and enduring to the end. We also taught about the power that comes behind counting your blessings, from the smallest to the biggest! That sort of re-focuses everything back into perspective and we realize how good we really do have it!
 
Friday was a CRAZY day. We have been blessed with Ward Mission Leaders in ALBION! We have not been able to go out there much because it is pretty far. We have needed some major help to go out there and no one had been called to do so. We had previously tracted out in the area but everyone was pretty cold. Our WMLs took us out on Friday morning and showed us where everyone lived and pointed out the houses that were in need of us! it ended up being a list of about 30 potential investigators, and in one town that's about 70%! We will be going back this week to start working in that area, we are so excited! In Raft River we had almost all of our appointments cancel so we took the time to visit some of the less active members of the ward. We visited with the Lavander family. Sister Lavander is AMAZING, she takes care of her handicapped older sister. She had 3 other sisters home with her making Christmas gifts! they totally reminded me of Tina and I, it was so funny.
 
Saturday we had our 4 hour service project, and wayyy too much time on our hands after that. We had our English Daily Dose classes all ready to go... and no one showed up. It was quite the frustrating day for us... Saturday night we got the most glorious text we have ever received... it was CARMEN asking if we could take her to church on Sunday!!! We had appointments Tuesday and Friday with her and she didn't show up to either and here she was asking to come to church... Talk about a roller-coaster of emotions! Of course we said yes and got everything worked out for Sunday morning. We were to speak in that ward anyway so it was perfect!!
 
Sunday was absolutely hectic but such a good day! We met up with Carmen in the morning and she followed us out to the church. I was beyond nervous, I thought something was going to happen and she would back out or SOMETHING. My poor companion heard of about 100 different scenarios that I kept coming up with as to why she would not go to church, but she did :). She mentioned she had worked late the night before so she was only planning on attending one hour (these cursed wards start backwards!! with RS first and Sacrament last....) we told her that was fine but we were praying that she would want to stay until sacrament meeting. I don't think we have prayed so hard for the teachers and members of that ward... we wanted everything to work out well! As much as I love the Spanish members of the ward I KNOW what kind of crazy things they share during lessons... I was praying nothing like that would come up! and it didn't. The RS lesson could not have gone any better, it went so well that Carmen wanted to stay for the next hour! Since they don't have gospel principles classes we hoped that Sunday School wouldn't be too much but Carmen did so well, she even participated!....and stayed for sacrament meeting!! She was so tired and hungry but she said she could do one last hour. My companion and I had to speak so we took turns sitting next to her. Sister Martinez was so nervous to sit next to Carmen, she was worried she might have questions that she couldn't answer, not to mention it was her first talk on the mission field! But she did really well, even her talk was really well prepared! I know without a doubt that Carmen felt the spirit, things could not have gone any better! We were truly blessed with that miracle. She enjoyed it and let us set an appointment for her for this week, we are hoping her new job doesn't keep her from seeing us.
 
We had dinner at the Bake's home. They went all out for us! they even had a little musical number put together that I DEFINITELY caught on camera, so be looking forward to that! The Bake kids are adorable, they just love missionaries and missionary work!
 
Sunday night we had the Daily Dose classes because some of the Spanish members requested to have them since they didn't go on Saturday. We were worried no one was going to show up but we were blessed with yet another tender mercy... We had 11 people there! 3 new ones that had been invited by one of the non-members that comes to the lessons! They are all so eager to learn and I know that as we start and end with prayers, as we help them accomplish something they need, their hearts will be softened and they will be more willing to hear our message... in Spanish :) haha.
 
Sorry that was SO long! this week truly has been incredible and I am so happy today is p-day because I am EXHAUSTED. Today should be pretty fun though, we are going on a hike and we were invited by Luz to go milk some cows!! haha it's going to be so interesting... I can't wait to show you those pictures next week.
 
My thought for this week is: there are NO such things as coincidences. We are sons and daughters of a Heavenly Father who loves us, adores us! We may not be able to see what is ahead but He CAN. If we do our part, if we live worthy of receiving blessings and exercise our faith in those times of trial, we WILL be blessed. I know that without a doubt. I encourage you to find the miracles that this week will bring, those miracles that Heavenly Father has been waiting to give you.
 
I love you all! The church is true!!
 
Hna. Calero

26 Aug 2013

Since I wrote on Thrusday I'm not quite sure what to tell you guys, haha! It has been really fun getting to know my new companion, and boy what a change! I think I had a hard time last transfer in preparation to know how blessed I am with sister Martinez! I don't know if I mentioned this but she was born in New York but her parents are COLOMBIAN! You have no idea how jealous I am of her Spanish accent, it's sooooo cool! Her English is perfect too so I'm not quite sure how that works :) Nos pasamos hablando de novelas y comida colombiana! El otro dia estabamos hablando acerca de buNuelos y arepas, Y compramos carne para hacer con arroz! It's crazy how much we miss food from home!
 
Friday we taught a new investigator family, the Vega's. I had not taught them before so I made sure that this was our first appointment, that way we could both be on the same page. We planned well and walked in prepared to teach Lesson 1, I think preparation before teaching is SO important. It allows for us to be worthy of having the HG so that lessons can be guided by it. sister Martinez did amazing for it being her first lesson out on the field, she knows all the content--she just speeds by it SOOOO fast! haha. there were moments that I had to go back and explain some stuff in further detail but other than that she did great! We gave them a BOM and committed them to read and pray about it. The spirit was felt really strong as Bro. Vega offered the last prayer!
We had dinner with the RS president that night and had a chance to share a message. We were truly guided by the spirit as we talked about the importance of not running faster than we need to. Sister Matthews lead the discussion it was awesome to see Bro. Matthews interact as well. We didn't find out until yesterday but Bro. Matthews is Less Active. He hasn't been to church in quite a few years.. It was nothing short of a miracle to have him so involved in our message... the fact that he was even in the room was incredible!
 
Saturday we spend the morning doing service. Sister Sundberg needed some help with her lawn.... aka her FIELD! haha. We weeded and raked until lunch and she took us to the one and only Cattle Country for lunch! After, we decided to visit Jill......
 
We came in with the plan to talk about the importance of church and partaking of the sacrament. She broke down and said that not a week goes by that either someone in the ward or her kids asks her why she doesn't partake of the Sacrament. It was such a relief to see that she truly realized the importance of it... the spirit touched my heart and we again talked about her setting a baptismal date. She wants to be baptized, SO BAD, she sees the need for it and she hates that her parents are so important to her that she NEEDS to have them there.... There truly is no way to get them out here any sooner than next summer, but she mentioned she will be going to visit them in December... We have Set a baptismal date for December!! This baptism will be done in Florida, one way or another, but it will be done! We are in the process of figuring out how. We have talked to President and he will be contacting a ward near her parent's house.. It's so exciting and we are praying that nothing happens between now and then but I know for a fact that she is ready! and she will be able to be baptized surrounded by the people she loves most, her family.
 
Another little miracle, we are starting classes to teach English with the Daily Dose program. It's so funny because at home I always heard of the program and I thought it was TOTALLY cheesy but I can see how much people need it out here, not to mention it is the PERFECT way to get investigators and LA to come to the church without pressure. The spirit that is felt in the building alone will help individuals learn and be more willing to accept us into their home. They will get to know us as "teachers" instead of "baptizers". We are starting this Saturday so wish us luck! 
 
Sunday was a special day--it always is. We had hoped to have the Juarez family baptized Saturday and have them Confirmed yesterday but things didn't quite work out. Bro. Webb (our Ward Misison Leader for Raft River) has a son that served in the Oaxaca, Mexico and his homecoming yesterday! It made me think about going home in 16 almost 15 months and I freaked out, haha! His English was HORRIBLE! haha he spoke it with a Mexican accent, it was so funny! But he shared some wonderful experiences about his mission, you can truly see a change in him. Oh! FUNNIEST THING EVER: you know you're in Malta when... someone kills a fly with a fly swatter in the middle of someone's talk!! Oh good heavens, I was dying laughing! It was so comico! Katie (the one that came out to teach with us) was speaking as well, it was her farewell! Man, she is going to be a wonderful missionary, she looked so comfortable on that podium, and boy is she funny! Her talk was on things that she had learned at home--it definitely made me tear up. She is going to kill it in California!!
 
After church we had dinner with some of the Spanish members from the ward (aka: Gabachos. haha). THAT was officially the best dinner I have ever had. Mom, I am sorry but I am learning to love tortillas! they make their own tortillas, I have never tasted anything so good in my life! We had carne asada con tortillas, arroz, frijoles y ensalada. They made this DELICIOUS green salsa but I totally almost died. No one warned me it was THAT hot! This always happens to me, I swear. They were all laughing at me. oh and we also had Nopales, which is grilled cactus... Yeah that stuff is NOT my favorite, its so slimy... But they top them with queso fresco and it's not too bad but I think I would rather eat just the cheese. Three families got together for the dinner, which is absolutely normal out here, and we had so much fun. I love being with the Hispanics out here because they are just like the ones at home! they make good food and they know how to talk very loud! We played a scripture chase game with them and that got violent! haha. But it was a lot of fun! I always show pictures at dinner, because I love bragging about my family :) but I printed the one out that Tia sent me with her and mom eating Bunuelos, yeah now they are begging me to make Colombian food for them! So I'm sorry mom but you are going to have to send me some Arinapan para hacer arepas y dile al abelo que TIENE que mandar o la receta o una probadita de bunuelos! I Told them I would make arepas y one of these days I would have to make empanadas, so mom I need the meat recipe for that too!! We are planning on having a party with all the Hispanics in the area, each to bring their own native food so we can meet more potential investigators! if you can find a box of pan de bono please sent that too :)
 
Okay, enough of the craziness... this week I had some pretty intense personal scripture study time.. Like I felt like I was taking a drink from a firehydrant. We have always heard the council to read the scriptures with a question in mind and that we would receive answers... well I never really believed that, until now. I decided to give this council a try, I set out a piece of paper and wrote a question on top. Then, simply continuing where I had read the night before I read with that question in mind, the pages seem to explode with answers--it was quite the spiritual experience. I was reading in Jacob 7 with the question: "how does Heavenly Father help us in times of Trials?". A few verses really stood out, in v5 we learn that its our faith that holds us through. Jacob recalls ALL that he's seen and hear. it acts as a fuffer to the enticings of those that try to tear him down. In verses 8-11 we learn that as we study the scriptures we learn of Christ, His ministry, His miracles... All these add to our testimony of Him which help us stay strong. V19 teaches that often times the moments we deny Christ is when we are in the midst of trials, we get to the point where we really have done wrong and want to change, but it could be too late by then...
 
those are just a few small things that I picked out to share with you. I can testify that the scriptures can and WILL answer our questions, no matter how silly they may be. Last week I asked the question of how can I build companionship unity... I can promise you that I received my answers! Scriptures are a blessing, they are here to guide us through every part of life. I love the scriptures and I encourage you to pull out a piece of paper, ask a question and watch the scriptures come alive to answer those concerns. Always start and end studies with a prayer.
 
I hope everyone is doing well, I pray for you every night!!
 
Con mucho amor,
 
Hermana Calero

22 Aug 2013

Transfers tend to be the longest 3 days of my life and I don't know why... Okay, yes I do. I'm not in my area so we can't go out to try and teach, not to mention we have the same training every time when you train... But i did manage to learn new things so it wasn't too bad. 

I was SO nervous about training again, I didn't want it to be like last transfer. I prayed every day for the strength to be able to work well with my companion, whether we got along or not. Monday when we arrived we got to do an hour of emails and then headed home to the mission home. We had dinner with Pres. and Sister Curtis and had a training meeting that night. Tuesday we met up with the new missionaries at the mission office, we were placed in temporary companionships and were set loose on the town to knock doors. It was so fun to see how awesome the new sisters are, they are young but they are so dedicated and so ready. I was with sister Santillan, from Mexico, she was so quiet but the moment a door opened she let loose and we got like 5 referrals as well as taught 2 restoration lessons! she was on fire! So cute. After that the missionaries needed to be trained in other things so we were set free for the evening. Sister Rex, Sis. Maese, Sister Eppel (the one from South africa who is HILARIOUS) and Sister Zamudio and I went to Jerome to tract. It was a lot of fun because it was Sister Rex's area and it was SO much different than Malta. I'm talking it's like a little LA, there are SO many hispanics! We went on splits and Sister Maese and I got to teach a Peruvian lady, we walked like 4 or 5 miles... that's the most walking i've done since  i've been out here. I was beat!! 

Anyway, Wednesday we got our assignments and came home. My new companion's name is Sister Martinez! She is from Greenville, South Carolina! She is so cute and so excited to be out here, she is as amazed as I was with how much land we cover and how little people there are. She thought I was kidding when I told her there were 197 people in the town we live in... NOPE I wasn't! haha. 

I'm including pictures of my new companion, sister rex, maese, zamudio... and my broken watch..... Someone let dad know gently!! A truck came by while we were walking and launched a rock and it hit my watch and cracked the screen.... oooopss... I'll write more on monday!! Love you guys!!!

Hermana Calero



18 Aug 2013

Well, we found out what is going to happen... are you guys ready???? I'M STAYING IN MALTA!!! I could not be happier, seriously. Mostly because I got cowgirl boots and I have to wear them at least once before I leave the area. Haha but thats a story for later! 

This week we had the Burley Cassia County fair, Oh my goodness that was SO fun! I will admit it made me miss home, you know going to the rodeos and summerfest but boy was it fun. We volunteered some time at the fair for Wednesday and Friday mornings. The funny thing is, we had like NOTHING the rest of the week because everyone was at the fair! The fair ran Monday-Saturday so it was a very very slow week. We really enjoyed our time there though, we worked at the Stake booth and made maple bars! I am a professional now so watch out, I will be making them when I get home! Of course, we didn't get to watch the rodeo but it was an awesome way to get to know more members and show them that we truly are part of their ward. 

This week we also got to go to the temple!!! Ah, I was going crazy for not being able to go... Not to mention more so after the news of the new video. Well, I absolutely loved it! Mom was so right, it explains things much better.We took one last district picture and headed back to our areas. That night I was talking to the Holtman's about how bad I wanted boots because the service out here means we wade through weeds and mud all the time! Long story cut very short, they had boots for me! Brand new ones!! Haha talk about a life dream come true, right!? Oh man, good times.

This week we visited a few hispanic families in Raft River. It has been so hard to get a hold of anyone because of the fair but we did set a couple appointments with some potential investigators. We had dinner at a member's house, at Iliana's! She was the one that taught us how to make the Enchiladas Suisas that one time. She moved here recently with her family from Oxnard, California and is still trying to get in touch with her new "country" life.  She came out here with her cute little dog that looks just like Lady, except she is white... the dog... haha. Well, bad news for the little dog, seems like a coyote got a hold of her! the whole family was SO sad. Especially Pita, the little 4 year old. I definitely cried, haha. We had  dinner and took off to find a part member family we had heard about. When we got there it turned out that they weren't all that interested...BUT they had 3 new puppies that they were trying to get rid of! Another long story cut short, we took one of the puppies to Iliana's! I definitely got a recording of their expressions, they fell in love with that puppy! They even named her Missy for "missioneras"! Ah man, I'll make sure to attach a picture. Now I know what Santa feels like every Christmas!! 

Transfers are always a little crazy, we had to be in Burley this morning at 6:15 to get everyone set up with the new schedule for the next couple days. We go into Twin today and stay at the mission home, the new missionaries come in on Tuesday and Wednesday we get our new companions and head to our areas. I will write on Wednesday and send a picture of my new companion! The areas are changing, there have been some added and some combined so everything is kind of up in the air right now. I am SO sad to lose my district leader and his companion, Elder Stoddard and Elder Mellor, they were like my best friends out here! Elder Stoddard is going to be a district Leader in Rupert and Elder Mellor is going to Bule.. where ever that is... 

I hope you all have had a good week, mom and Tina I hear that you guys are embarking on a wonderful adventure! Be safe and have lots of fun! I expect presents in the mail :) 

Love you ALL!!

Hermana Calero 

Oh and I forgot to mention that we spoke in Sacrament Meeting yesterday... I have never cried so much in one talk. I had prayed for the talk to be one that would touch the hearts of the members, so that I could encourage them to "Magnify their callings" and to help out with missionary work. Sister Zamudio and I also had a musical number... I was definitely not up for that, I HATE singing in front of people, especially like that but I did it anyway. We sang "I am a child of God", she sang the first verse in English I sang the 2nd in spanish and then sang together for the rest. I was so worried that I would mess up, I was a nervous mess. But the moment that I could see a few sisters in the audience crying and was able to feel how strong the spirit was in that room all my fears left me. I was able to give my talk right after that, that talk was definitely designed for me. I realized how important my calling is as a missionary, how hard I need to work to Magnify Christ and His teachings. 

The Church is true!!




12 Aug 2013

Okay best surprise in the world! I got an email from Carla Sierra!! My heart just about exploded, I miss my Agu and David and Sofi, I am so happy I got pictures! 

Well this week has been very long! Sister Zamudio was sick this week so we had to go on splits one day and the next we couldn't find anyone to go around with me so I had to stay home all day... Talk about LONGEST day of my life! Seriously. Remind me not to ever get sick, It's the worst. Y'all already know how horrible I am with patience... I might explode if I get sick and have to stay home. 

So remember how we had to give talks and teach 2 lessons last week? well, Either they love us or they are running low on teachers because we had to give a talk Yesterday, not to mention we are speaking in 2 wards this coming Sunday! Please make sure to thank bishop Turley for me, he got me comfortable up at the podium so I'm doing pretty well at not being nervous anymore! Next Sunday we have to speak in the Malta 1st ward where we have taught R.S. last week and we also speak in the Albion ward during their ward conference with Stake president Harper! that'll be exciting/nerve-wracking... It'll be good though! We have been working a TON with our members in all 6 wards, this is the result of it. We are seeing them be a lot more open to having us in our homes, I cannot stress the importance of gaining member trust. As they realize that I really do care about them, each and every single one, they trust us with their less active friends. We have a couple FHE lessons coming up to teach less active families, the work is slow but it is growing! 

Like I mentioned, sister Z was sick so this week was really slow. One of the best moments this week was meeting with the Juarez family on Tuesday. Katie (idk if I told you about her. She's been coming out with us lately, she is leaving the 25 for a mission in California!) came with us and we had an amazing lesson. This family is SO ready for baptism. We have been nervous to talk to them about it because the last Elders kind of pushed it too far and they had said no. Bro. Juarez is reading the BOM every single day and still praying. He encourages the family to pray and read together too! He is so amazing. During the lesson we decided to deviate and talk about how the BOM can answer any question they might have about life, we had them write down some concerns they they have had lately and we used the BOM to answer a few of them! It was amazing to see how every little problem in life can be resolved with prayer, faith, and a little reading! Going with that theme... we extended a baptismal date! I don't know where it came from (well, i do-- the spirit was so strong and It finally yelled at me to spit it out!) but we did. I think they were really surprised that we asked them to commit to a date, but we promised them that as they keep reading and praying they will receive an answer. Bro Juarez said he had to talk about it with his family but that they would pray to know if that was the date for them. I have faith that they will receive an answer, whether its yes or no on that date I know they will take that step and be baptized. I know for a fact the two boys really want to be, I think we are waiting on Sister Juarez to feel ready.... Scary, but so exciting! 

This week we also did some service at the Goodrich home. They are the older couple who have been attending church for 13 years without being baptized! I think they are really sick of missionaries coming by just to harrass them about not being baptized, so I decided to take a softer approach, SERVICE! Since sister Goodrich is having a really hard time with her health she let us work in her yard. MORE WEEDING! haha. But it was good, she fed us lunch and we talked for a while longer, we ended up being there for a few hours... her yard is kinda HUGE.Bro. Goodrich is a hoot, he is a race car driver! haha he loves it. He spent like 45 minutes just talking about cars--which of course means I understood about none of that. It was really fun though, he's a really good guy. 

We have been blessed with so many wonderful people in this area, the members have been nothing but wonderful! 

Next Monday is transfers so I am not sure what will happen to me, whether I stay or go, but I will let you guys know! Sorry I don't have much to say about this week, we spent a lot of time studying and trying to find people to teach. 

I hope you all are doing well, I love hearing from you guys! 

Here are some pictures  from this week: 


Bro. Goodrich and his race car. 

Bro. and Sister Holtman. 

29 Aug 2013

This week has been quite the week. I feel like I haven't had enough sleep but I have been going to bed at the same time! haha. We have kind of had a really slow week lesson wise. We haven't had a lot of success finding people home and It's about to get worse... August-October are really crucial for the people out here, it is when they are working the hardest with their crops. Corn, potatoes, sugar beets, wheat, barley, and hay are all super important to have out here.. We will be lucky if we can catch anyone! 

Wednesday we had a New Missionary Training meeting in Twin Falls. It was so funny to have skipped right over that because I'm a trainer. I got to go into another meeting to see how we can build our skills as trainers and prepare these new missionaries to be ready to train themselves. Everyone was teasing me for barely being able to know how to be a missionary and now I'm training! It was kinda funny. It was good to see what the new missionaries thought of all the trainer though, apparently my trainee isn't wanting to go home quite yet so I assume I'm doing okay, haha. We also had exchanges this week and the Sister Training Leader from our zone got to come spend a day with me while my companion got to go to her area--on bikes! Sister Lee is from Korea, she is a hoot! We had a lot of appointments in spanish on Wednesday so she asked me to write her up a few things for her to say. I have got to admit, a Korean speaking spanish is PRICELESS. We laughed for hours about her trying to speak and bare her testimony, but when all was said and done, THAT was what brought the spirit the most into our lessons. 

Sister Lee accompanied me to the Gomez's and boy did I need her. Sister Lee is an inspirational missionary, she has just under 2 weeks left on her mission. I needed her knowledge and strength to kind of confront the Gomez family as to what was holding them back from baptism. We found out that the kids agree that the teachings are true but that they do not yet have a testimony for themselves. They have enjoyed hearing from the missionaries and have seen that a lot of our teachings match up with their beliefs, they just don't see why they need to change if they are such a good family already. Mama Gomez is still having issues, she believes that it is wrong for her to try to investigate another church--she is so devoted to her catholic background she feels like she is betraying her church. It was really hard to hear that they are not wanting to make that change and be baptized. We realized that all we could do was bare our testimonies. I have so much love for this family that I, of course, cried like a child as I told them how much more I wanted them to have--that this gospel allows for families to be together forever. Sister Lee, in her broken spanish, also bore her testimony, the spirit in that room was overwhelming. We left without knowing what to think or what to feel. It was hard to just walk away with not knowing what could come of it.. We hope that we can continue to teach this wonderful family and that one day I will see them dressed in white. 

This week we have spent a lot of time with the widows in the wards as well as less active members. We are meeting regularly with the Harper family and we see them improving and coming to church more steadily. It's always good to see the fruits of our labors, especially when sometimes the days seem endless! We are grateful for the spirit that has come from being EXACTLY obedient. We know that the blessing we have received are because of our willingness to obey even the smallest rules. 

Because of this obedience we have seen a few more investigators emerge. Bro. Olson from the Raft River ward called us to tell us he had set up a dinner for us to teach one of his workers. We had heard about Norma before but we have never been able to catch her, we were so excited to hear that we would have the opportunity to meet her. As we ate dinner Sister Zamudio and I felt impressed to teach the Restoration. As I quoted the first vision Norma's eyes filled with tears and I had to hold back my own. The spirit testified to her that what we were saying was true. I could see it. She urged us to meet with her again, and soon. We extended a commitment to be baptized and she accepted! We are looking forward to teaching her and her son this week, she is ready for her life to change and she knows it is through our teachings that she can achieve it! 

In other news, we got to speak in Almo yesterday! that was quite the adventure! I was really proud of how well sister Zamudio did and everyone seemed to lover her. I'm glad that we had that opportunity, we hadn't been out there yet so no one really knew us but through speaking we were able to show our personalities and our testimonies. We ate dinner with the Ward family and they took us around to meet a couple other ward members. They even showed us around their farm! One of their horses just gave birth and that little colt was ADORABLE! Oh the things you see in Idaho... 

Anyway, I'm running out of time. The scripture that touched me the most this week was Alma 22:15-18. I have a firm testimony that as we decide to give it ALL up to the Lord, we will be blessed. We need to make this drastic change just like King Lamoni did, we must become humble. As we do so I promise blessings will rain down from heaven. 

I love you guys and hope all is well with you this week. I love reading your emails and letters! Keep them coming! 

Hermana Calero