16 December 2013

Okay, this week has been the FASTEST week of my whole mission. complete with 2 Christmas parties, 2 exchanges and a whole lot of blessings. What is up with missionary work? We are literally blessed 24/7!!

Funny things first.... Remember how the Elders in my district got 5 baptisms?!? Well, now they are complaining cause they put 3 more people on baptismal dates and they are tired... Booo.

Sister Rex is HILARIOUS. I seriously love being her companion. The past 2 weeks had been really cold, like REALLY cold. We did a lot of walking and tracting so that didn't help... Last week sister Rex was complaining that one of her feet really hurt... Well, we ended up calling the mission doctor and he checked it out... ready?? SHE HAD FROSTBITE!!! hahahahaha. IT's only funny cause it would happen to her. And cause it wasn't all that bad, her foot was just really red. The doctor gave her some antibiotic and she's completely back to normal. Who gets frostbite in 2013... oh you know, Hermana Rex!

During one of the exchanges, Hna Santillan and I got to participate in a ward activity. Every year the members from one of  the Acequia wards get together and make/buy bread and hand it out to ALL THE NON MEMBERS in their ward boundaries! how amazing is that? Well, we got to go with them. We would sing Carols and deliver the bread. We ended up delivering it to Daisy, one of our investigators. She opened the door and we sang and she began to cry. It was really touching to see her so thankful for us coming over with some members and deliver some bread for her family. It is absolutely humbling to see how the most simple things are what touch the heart. I hate that this season has been turned into a season for luxuries and riches... No, this is a celebration of our Savior's birth, not a celebration of sales... ANYWAY....That was a really cool thing to be a part of.

Our little branch had a Christmas party on Saturday, that was really fun! We had 2 investigator families there and they loved it! We had posole for dinner and we watch a movie about the Savior's birth and sang Christmas hymns, the spirit of Christmas was very strong! apparently last year they had a piñata but they didn't do it this year, how disappointing! hahaha. We also sang as a branch at a stake Christmas devotional, that was way nerve-wracking. We have been practicing every Sunday for like a month. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be... you know me and my love for singing in public....

We have transfers this week... Don't worry, we aren't going anywhere. But it is a little stressful for us because we are in charge of transporting sisters to and from the mission office. our are is changing a TON. The burley zone is splitting into a Rupert and Burley Zone. We have new Zone Leaders and new District Leaders, both of which will be in our district. Everyone is basically leaving Except for E. O'Bryant! Our are is going to change completely! It's going to be a lot of fun though, we are way excited.

This week we also have a Christmas Mission conference! I am so excited! They are doing a talent show and a ton of activities/food so it's going to be really fun. I know they have a special Christmas message planned too. I can't wait to see what kind of talents this mission has! expect a lot of pictures next week! Oh and also details about skyping... that will come next Monday I believe!

So yesterday we had an interesting experience. After sacrament meeting we had a girl come up to us asking if she could come out with us this week.... Turns out that she is home from her mission early because she has to have BACK SURGERY. Super scary. She said she was having a hard time adjusting and wants to spend as much time as possible with us. It hit me so hard... Missions only last 18 months.... I am already at my 6 month mark. I have one year left to do the thing I love the most 24/7.... We never know when things could happen and if we aren't careful this time will fly by. This week was proof of it. We had so much going on that before I knew it it was already Sunday. I'm going to be home before I know it, in this young girl's shoes... not knowing what to do with my life!! How scary. We called her this morning and set some stuff up for her to come with us... you could hear the happiness in her voice. Truly there is nothing that can bring more joy than spreading the gospel. That is the reason why I am the happiest I have ever been before... this isn't about me, it's about bringing others to feel the same happiness I feel EVERY DAY! Woot woot! this job is LEGIT.

With Christmas coming up I encourage each and every one of you to find ways to spread the gospel. What better way to do so than sharing messages about our Savior's birth. I promise that as you find people that the missionaries around you  can teach, you will get to taste a bit of the happiness that we experience every day. I love you all, I am so thankful for your prayers. I wish you all a great week!!

Love,

Hermana Calero

E. O'bryant, E. Twitchell, E. Bartlett, E. Alvarado, E.   , E. Nelson and us!

December 2013

Yay, another P-day to write to you about all the craziness that has been going on. I hope I can remember everything I want to say...

First things first... disobedience is of the devil... SERIOUSLY. I'm not talking like major rule breaking but enough to open the door  for satan to come in and mess us all up! Last Pday we had a sister get hit in the face with a football and black out... Not to mention half-way through the week she wasn't feeling well and finally on Saturday Sister Rex and I get a call from the Zone Leaders in the middle of our planning telling us that we need to go to the ER ASAP.... Long story short, the hit to the head was a little harder than expected and had caused her to seize... So because she was stubborn and STILL wanted to go out (even after spending the day in the hospital....) Sister Rex and I had to babysit her and take her to all her appointments because if we wouldn't have she would have ridden her BIKE. Oh agency... Oh the STRESS...

We also had a couple exchanges this week. Sister Zamudio came to my area and later in the week I went to sister Moore's area. Both times I learned so much, I am truly honored to serve with such amazing sisters.. It makes the stress in this calling totally worth it.

Yesterday sister Rex and I had the wonderful opportunity to teach in YWs. If there is one thing that I totally regret is not paying attention in YWs as much as I should have. It was like an open Q&A forum thing, they had so many questions/concerns about missionary work. IT was amazing to see these 12 yr olds start thinking about missions. We were able to talk to them about how we decided to serve and what missionary work is like but we were also able to tell them to enjoy their time NOW, in YWs. I think we worry too much about what is coming instead of focusing on where we are now. Sister Rex has a quote on her wall that I love... it says "God doesn't care about the time of day in which you get there but at the faith in which you arrive".... We just need to work on our faith, worry about what is coming when it gets here. We encouraged the girls to live in a way that leads to a mission, to prepare and be ready if and when they are called. It was an awesome experience to talk to them. You know, sometimes I walk into a room and they announce that "the missionaries are here" and I start looking around.... haha I totally don't feel worthy of all the praise.... I feel absolutely privileged to be a representative of our Savior.

OH. So we had Zone Meeting this week... and in light of Thanksgiving, we had a little "party".. How do missionaries party? we watch Ephraim's Rescue and everyone squirms awkwardly at the kissing scene... hahahahahahahahahha. I died. Oh man.. Missionary work...

That reminds me... Thanksgiving did NOT feel like thanksgiving. We got up, did our regular studies, did some service (at a local food shelter type thing... Talk about humbling experience to help those who can't have their own Thanksgiving) and then ate at the Coat's (the family we live with). In reality it hadn't hit me that it was really Thanksgiving until we were sitting around the table with the Coat's saying things we were thankful for... I cried of course! And mom, I definitely missed  your cooking! Then we had some time to go visit some members in the ward--cause let's face it.. who wants missionaries at their door on Thanksgiving? NO ONE. Then we had ANOTHER dinner.. yeah, I was "STUFFED" (pun intended... haha). All in all it was a good day, it only felt like thanksgiving for a split second at the Coat's but other than that it was a regular day!

Man, this email is HUGE compared to my emails lately. Boy do I love missionary work. And boy do I need sleep. Sister Rex and I came to the conclusion that as missionaries we are constantly tired.. it never lets up! Much less when you have assignments/callings... it just gets worse. But boy do I have a testimony of this work!

OH. So we met this guy earlier in the week that was totally bashing on the LDS church.. like I mean tearing us apart right there in his living room! It was such a crazy experience, I will have to share it with you guys some time because writing it in an email will just not do it justice. But long story short it was so cool to be able to bear my testimony and even though it did nothing for him, it definitely strengthened mine! I love to feel the power behind testimonies in situations like that. I came to realize there are two times when the spirit will just knock you off your feet (1) when you testify of the BOM and (2) when you testify of Christ. it was AMAZING.

I love this work. and I wish I had pictures to send home... We didn't really have any "Kodak moments" this week. Mom, remind me to send you a picture of our... VAN. yes, we drive a VAn... how terrifying.

Love you all, have a wonderful week! only 23 more days until I get to see you all!

The church is True!

Hna Calero

9 December 2013

Yes, FREEZING. Last night we were tracting in -2 degrees... it was quite the experience. Like, our boots literally froze to the ground every time we got out the car. Good Times...

We saw a lot of blessings this week because we took the time to carefully plan out the week. I have such a testimony of weekly planning it's ridiculous. If we do not consciously make time for something or someone during the week, there is no way that it's ever going to get done! How in the world did I survive college without weekly planning?? MIRACLE. We had a lot of doors open and a really cool experience with Blanca, on of our investigators.

We had been giving her some time because she wasn't really progressing, she was too busy with work to make the time to complete the commitments we asked of her so we gave her some space until work slowed down. During weekly planning (eh, eh, eh) we decided to see her and we came up with something to teach her. Well we saw her, and she happened to mention that she MADE TIME TO GO TO CHURCH... except the WRONG CHURCH. she went to the catholic church a couple weeks ago and said that she never wants to go back again! Her family arrived and felt super uncomfortable. They had nowhere to sit, the kids were crying, they felt hot and sweaty and totally uncomfortable. They knew they shouldn't be there... so her little boy named Said (but pronounced Sigh-eed..yeah....) said: "vamos con las mormonas!" or lets go with the Mormons. but of course by that point they were so exasperated that they didn't want to go to ANY church so they went home. Talk about "by the mouth of babes" right?!?! super cool. so we taught her what we had planned and it turned out awesome. We are hoping to see her at church this week but she works every Sunday.. we will see what we can do.

Also, it snowed so much that we got to help a couple people shovel their side-walks, it was so fun!

OH. miracle/blessing. some elders in our District had 5.... I mean like 5(!!!) baptisms in ONE DAY. yeah it was amazing. Those elders have been working so hard and those people were so prepared. Super cool.

(sorry it's so scattered, I have random notes about what I wanted to write and I don't have much time left....)

so funny story. We ate dinner last night with some members from the Branch and a little bird flew in because it  is absolutely freezing outside... Bro. Nacho (hahahahha) caught it and we were passing him (the bird, not the brother...) around cause he was way cool. I mean come on, who catches a bird?? Well anyways, a little girl had it and accidently let him go and BOOM he flew straight into a window.. Poor guy, it was so funny. So we caught him again and Bro. Nacho opens the door and the girl freaks out cause she wants to be the one to set him free... and she does... but like .5 seconds after the bird starts flying enjoying his freedom WHEN A HAWK COMES OUT OF NOWHERE AND KILLS HIM!! hahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahaha. I was dying. It was the saddest/funniest thing I had ever seen in my life! I really didn't know whether to laugh or cry....

Oh man, I wish I had more time to talk about all the crazy things that happen around here.. I promise I am doing missionary work, even though I never write about my investigators.... I am learning to love new people and trust that this is where I am supposed to be, I promise.

Something really cool that I learned this week starts with a quote: "it requires less character to discover the faults of others than to tolerate them". I haven't ever really had a quote hit me with so much power recently... How easy it is to discover the weaknesses of others, let's be honest, it is easily one of the very first things we do when we meet/see another person. Boy have I learned that's true on my mission. Doors close almost immediately because they read the tag and want nothing to do with it.... WHYYYYYY?!?! and then I remembered.. wait a second... didn't I have "that one thought" about "that one person" that we met "that one time".... How can I expect doors to open when I can't keep myself from thinking ______ about a fellow missionary, a member in the ward, or a complete stranger??? I have very quickly learned that missions are to prepare you for the rest of your life... For example, if I am on a mission and constantly thinking about home or school or anything that's not right here and right now for 18 months... how can I expect to focus on ONE THING such as my marriage for ETERNITY. If I can't dedicate myself to the Lord for this limited time how can He trust me with other aspects of my life? Interesting. So as I humble myself and learn to rely on the Lord to change those things that are completely ridiculous about me I am showing Him a greater desire/commitment to His work. This happens in life all the time. None of us are perfect, we all have something to change. We cannot expect things to change right away, it is something we must work on continually, with the help of our Savior ANYTHING CAN CHANGE. I can become 100% committed to the work. I love this gospel, it truly is a gospel of CHANGE--but only if we let it. All of our weaknesses WILL BE MADE STRENGTHS (Ether 12:27).

I love you all, thank you for your prayers and support. Have a wonderful week!

Yes, its 5 degrees today....

E. Alvarado, Hna. Rex, Me, E. Nelson, E. O'Bryant, E. Twitchell

18 November 2013

This week has been exhausting! Seriously. I honestly don't even know where to begin. I was an emotional wreck after having to leave Malta, it seriously felt like I was leaving home all over again. 6 months in an area is a long time. Not to mention I absolutely fell in love with all the people there. The Robinsons were family, I don't know what I'm going to do without them but the change has been good, It's getting me out of my comfort zone. 

My new area is HUGE. not to mention I'm not doing "spanglish" work anymore, I am serving in a small branch with Sister Rex. All of our work is in Spanish and it's been hard to get used to that. I have met so many people in the past week that my brain hurts. New investigators, new people with baptismal dates, new people I know nothing about yet I'm able to love them so easily.. Missionary work is exhausting! This week alone we taught as many lessons as we taught in one whole week in Malta, but it felt completely different. I don't have that connection with the people here as I did there. The work is just different but I am learning to love it! 

Working with sister Rex again has been a lot of fun. we only spent 3 short weeks together in Malta so it's been fun to catch up. The Sister Training Leader calling is one we both take seriously and know its a huge responsibility. We had a couple sisters that were already having struggles like 2 days into the transfer that we were able to talk to and help out. We will begin our exchanges this week, where we take turns spending time with the companionship over-night and we can help them on an individual basis. It's a hard job because we will be out of our area a lot. One of us will always be here but we will hardly get to meet with our investigators as a companionship. I have full faith that the Lord will not let our area suffer as we are diligent and work hard to keep both the sister's in our area and our investigators in top priority. 

We had a really cool experience this week. Yesterday we had to meet with the Stake presidency at 6:00 AM. Yes, in the morning!!! bah. but we got to talk about

the missionary work in the ward and what we needed to do. We were given a list of those members who speak Spanish and we were told to visit one sister in particular. She had served her mission in Bogota, Colombia a long time ago but she had kind of stopped coming to church. We decided to visit her some time later that day and took advantage that I had a connection with her because she served there. We visited everyone we needed to and decided to go see her. The address we were given took us to a nursing home so we thought she might live there or work there because the paper said she was 56. As we looked for her in the building we realized that there was a house right next to the nursing home where one of the workers directed us there. We knocked on the door and she opened--she was on the phone and was completely caught off guard. She said she was already a member and asked who sent us there, we didn't say anything, just that we were in the neighborhood. She let us in and she immediately started showing us pictures of her mission. It was a tender mercy that I was able to remember so much from Colombia even though the last time I was there was when I was 7. We talked about all the different places she had visited and the wards she served in. I asked if she knew Edith but she didn't think she had served with her. We talked for a while and the spirit was so strong, it kept telling us to ask her what it was that had kept her from coming to church. Eventually Sister Rex found the courage to ask her why, if she had such a strong testimony and had had her mission change her life, why she stopped coming to church. She began to cry and expressed how insecure she was and how Heavenly Father had forgotten her. She has had so many trial in her life... from a horrible marriage, to a daughter with heart problems, to being forgotten by her new fiancee because he suffered a stroke and lost part of his memory so their wedding fell through... She hurt and she didn't know how to over come it. Being prompted by the spirit we told her it was time to come back. She cried and although she did not say she would come back, we knew she felt the spirit. 

This was a testimony to me of the importance of understanding the atonement. We can never be too far from His love, we can never be lost in this eternal plan. He has a plan for us, one that as much as He'd love to have us all back, He can't force us to choose it. We must make the choice to live and let go, trusting that all that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement. 

I love this gospel, I love that every day I understand just how much Heavenly Father loves each of us. It is NEVER too late, for any of us. 

A few random tid-bits. Some of the families that we have met are related to some of the investigators/members in Raft River! It was amazing and it gives me a connection to these members! 

I love you all and I'm sorry I don't have much more to share, it's been such a crazy week that I don't even know how to summarize it all! 

Love,

Hna. Calero 

11 November 2013

Well, lets get down to it... I have been transferred to Rupert! I have completely mixed feelings about it because I am in love with this place. I love the people here and I love the work that has been done. I will miss it here so much but I am excited to see what Rupert has in store. I will be with sister Rex again and we will be the Sister Training Leaders for that area. I am nervous for the calling but I am looking forward to being able to serve the Spanish sisters in the mission.

 

This whole week was a disaster, transfers always makes me so nervous but I love to see where everyone goes. I was just really happy that this week we were really busy so we didn't have much time to worry about it. Well, I didn't.. Hna. Martinez was like freaking out the whole week! We survived though and she is so happy to stay, especially since the Juarez's will be baptized during this next transfer.

 

Dalia is AMAZING. when we showed up for our appointment this week she had done all her homework" and was sitting at the table with the Book of Mormon out and everything, oh I love her so much. She said that she had been praying every day this week but that she has yet to receive an answer but that she won't give up. It was funny cause her husband teased her about reading and praying and asked her "oh are you going to be a Mormon now?" and all she said  was "I'm going to do my research first and ask God. If he says yes, well then yes!" apparently his faced dropped cause he was not expecting that. haha, she laughed when she was telling us this. Her husband is not a member but he grew up with a ton of friends who were and attended for a few years when he was young. He is nervous about meeting with us (I think it's cause he knows its true!) but he likes that Dalia is learning more about the church. That family is so great, I know Sister Martinez and her new companion will do great!

 

Oh my, funniest story ever. So yesterday we went to church at Raft River and from the moment we walked in it smelled like gas... Everyone one noticed it and the bishopric said they were working on it so we went on with RS like nothing happened... Like 10 minutes later bro. Hernanez comes in saying that we are going to cancel church, just go straight to Sacrament after RS. Well here come Norma, one of our investigators down the hall with Letti who is a member. What a great day to have an investigator at church, when the building reeks like Gas and church is cut short! haha. Oh man it was funny. We got to explain to Norma about the sacrament and although the smell was strong, we were able to feel the spirit twice as strong! It was a little miracle in our lives to have it work out as well as it did.

After church we were invited to eat at Remy's house with everyone and Norma asked us to come with so we did. We had some AMAZING Mexican food to top off the wonderful experience we had at church. Another funny thing, I have always noticed how much Hispanics love taking pictures but the people in this ward take it to a whole new level! I swear, we took like 1000 pictures just to get ONE t hat looked right. It was so funny.

 

Man, I wish I had time to explain everything else that happened this week but I don't. so I'll just add a few pictures and let you know about it later!

 

I love you all, be ready for a really long email next week because things are about to get crazy! The church is true!

 

Hermana Calero

Amparo (Remy's sister), Jenny, Luz, and all their kids!

4 Nov 2013

Wow this week was absolutely insane. It was SO busy. The Lord has really blessed us as we do our part to be diligent and accomplish everything that He requires of us. Patience is definitely not my strong suit but I can see the Lord's hand in helping me change. 

This week we were called to translate at the funeral of Allan Webb. They had the funeral service for him on Saturday and we were asked to translate because many of the people who would attend are spanish workers at his dairy. I was really nervous because I had only been to one other funeral and that was AGES ago and I definitely didn't have to translate. Not to mention I didn't know the person as well as I knew Allan. He had so much love for everyone, he was the kind of guy who you felt like you were friends for years. He treated everyone with kindness and respect, regardless of who they were or what they had done. It was amazing to see such a diverse group of people show up to honor him and pay their respects. Of course I spent half the serving crying but only because the spirit was strong and we could really feel him there. He was everyone's grandpa, he loved missionary work and he loved to share the gospel. It was really a blessing to be able to be a part of the service and learn about his life through his children's eyes. 

We met with a new investigator this week. Her name is Dalia and she is AMAZING. Her and her husband have the cutest girls! they are from Mexico but her husband is from here in idaho. They have had a lot of exposure to the church so it almost makes it easier because they have so many questions. The lesson was definitely guided by the spirit because she asked us some really hard questions. It reminded me of what Elder Cardon of the70 told us in our mission conference last week: "you are here because of what you've felt, not because of what you know". The spirit testified to us what and how it was that we should answer and as we followed the promptings she was able to receive an answer that not only was "good enough" but that really got her thinking. She invited us to return, promising to read from the Book of Mormon and to pray about what we had taught. She is really interested because her sister-in-law is a member and she has a lot of questions, she really loves the way her sister-in-law has raised her family strong in the church and wants the same for her kids. We are really excited to work with her!

In other news, the Juarez family has set a date! yaaaay! They have decided on December 12. They were really good friends with Allan Webb and he made them promise him that they would be baptized before he died.. of course, not knowing it would happen so soon they agreed. His death hit them really hard, they had not only worked for him for over 25 years but had really become good friends. They chose the 12th because that was Allan's birthday. I am so happy for the Juarez family, they are incredible and needed to make that step. I am excited to keep working with them and helping them achieve their goal. We hope to meet with them this week but their schedules are always so busy! Keep praying for them, they are amazing! 

Oh duh! I forgot to talk about halloween! It was a lot of fun! We had 2 trunk-or-treat to go to with 2 wards so we got fed 2 dinners... not to mention Naomi suprised us with making Sloppy Joes (my favorite :)) and pumpkins to carve! She is so sweet. So basically we had 3 dinners and carved pumpkins! haha. We had to be home by 6 so we had all evening to kill! We played some games with Naomi and had a really good time. We are so spoiled by the Robinson family! 

Well, I think that's really all the exciting stuff that happened this week. We had a lot of appointments and saw a lot of people. We love it out here and are terrified because transfer calls will be next Sunday. Hopefully Monday we will be able to write and let you guys know what happened! Pray that I stay here, just one more transfer! (okay I really want 2 more but that won't happen...)

Oh and for you who asked about Elder Silver, here is his update from President Curtis from last week: 

"Elders and Sisters,

First, an update on Elder Silver: The speed and extent of Elder Silver’s recovery to date have been miraculous. Every day has brought significant progress towards recovery. By mid-week, Elder Silver was eating solid foods (including the tootsie rolls sent from his zone), walking with some assistance, and listening to and discussing the powerful book, Jesus the Christ.

By Thursday, he had been moved from the ICU to a regular hospital room and then to the Rehab unit on the top floor. He continues to do well with the evaluations of his memory and other capabilities and has enjoyed visits from family members. He is walking and climbing stairs with less support. Elder Silver still has a long way to go including about three months before reattaching the portion of his skull and likely some months of therapy after that, but his progress so far is exceptional.

We are grateful for God’s healing powers."

He has now been released from the hospital and is spending some time with his family in Utah so that he can continue with rehabilitation! truly a miracle. Thank you all for your prayers towards him. 

I love you all, thank you for all the emails! 

16 October 2013

Family and friends,

I was so spoiled today to get so many messages! Thank you all for all your love and support, I love hearing from you. Although I don't write to all of you,  I do print and read all my messages (as my family knows because already I sent home a HUGE binder). Thank you for your prayers, I can feel them every day!

Well, good news is I'm feeling a TON better. I think I had that 48 hour flu because I feel like nothing even happened. Boy was I glad too because we had a really busy week! Every day I realize more and more how merciful the Lord is, this is truly His work and nothing that we do could ever mess it up. He blessed us every day with at least one person to meet with, not to mention all the Less Actives that we visited with. It really was an incredible week.

The weeks out here FLY by, so much happens in one week I keep thinking half of it happened a month ago! Please bear with me as I try to get it all organized.

Tuesday was quite the day. We had District Meeting in the morning and a wonderful service opportunity after. We met the Rogers family. Bro. Rogers had worked as a BYU professor for 25 years and had just retired when he suffered a stroke. As a result, he has lost mobility out of the right side of his upper body as well as lost sight in his right eye. Every winter they move down to St. George where the weather is a little bit more mild. This year they had some trouble packing up because of Bro. Rogers' health. They asked if we would be willing to help them organize and clean out the shed and we were more than happy to. I never thought that I would learn so much in the few hours we were there. Bro. Rogers taught geology or something at BYU so he has a lot of rocks.... I mean a LOT OF ROCKS. Everywhere! But they are all so organized.. As we helped him and his wife clear the giant shed I pointed to a huge rock and asked him what it was... well, bad Idea. Haha. We spent the next hour walking around his yard as he talked to us about each type of rock. He picked up a rock and told me to lick it... I was so confused as to why ANYONE would ever lick a rock, but he said to trust him... So I did. He goes on to explain that the only way to really be able to look at the details is to moisten the rock.. Then he smiles and says, "well, in this case, to look at the details of the fossilized dinosaur poop...." and cracks up laughing! hahaha, oh man. He got me, he got me good. I have always been intrigued by all the wisdom that is accumulated in years and years of study. I admire Bro. Rogers for his absolute and undying love for nature. He shared with us the beauty that is found in each rock, the complex patterns and miracles that occur on the surface of each...He bore humble testimony of the greatness of God. That nothing so simple yet so complex as a stone could have ever been formed without our Father's hands. I learned more of our Father's love through an old and wise professor than I have from anyone else. I love people! Oh and he also asked me to repent for attending UVU, that BYU is the only way to gain entrance into the kingdom of God... hahaha. ( of course I disagreed...)

Tuesday night we first had dinner at Bro. and Sister Webb's (there are a million Webb's in the Raft River area). Their daughter, Rachel, has been really good at helping us out with missionary work. She wants to serve a mission after she graduates so she has been really awesome at practicing now! We had a little FHE lesson with them and encouraged them to be missionaries in their own way. We taught them how to use Preach My Gospel to teach the first lesson. We committed Rachel to share the message of the Restoration this week! She is going to be a wonderful missionary, I can just feel it. After dinner we met with the young family that we are getting prepared for temple marriage. Boy do I love that family. Although they are not much older than me I can see how the gospel has began to take a hold of their lives. They are keeping their commitments and we can see their relationship growing ever since we encouraged them to pray as a couple each night. We talked to the bishop on Sunday and he agreed that they have been growing. Ramiro will be interviewed this week to set up a time to get him ordained! We are so excited for him, he is going to be a wonderful, worthy priesthood holder that will bless many lives.

Wednesday was even more crazy busy than Tuesday. We were invited to attend a seminary class and talk to the kids about the importance of seminary if they are wanting to serve missions. Boy did it bring back memories. I forgot how much I had loved seminary. After we went with the RS president to visit some less active sisters in the ward. That night we had an appointment with the Juarez family! yaaaay! I am sure I have talked to you about this family, I absolutely love them. We have not been able to meet with them often because of work but they have STILL been attending church regularly! They are reading and praying every night as a family. Basically they are the most perfect investigators ever. Well, we had an appointment and we had planned really getting them to commit to baptism. Last time we had talked to them about it they had been really weary and did not want to set a date. They were kind of upset at us for pushing a date so the next couple times we met with them we didn't bring it up, we simply taught what they needed. Well we walk up to the door and they had completely forgotten. We waited while their kids got out of the shower and Juan finished eating dinner. Before we knew it they were all sitting in front of us with their scriptures, pamphlets we had given them and the Gospel Principles book from last SUnday. They inform us that they are almost done with both the Book of Mormon AND the gospel principles book... WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?! Amazing, I know. We pray and begin talking about following the Savior and doing what he asks of us out of Love... When out of nowhere bro. Juarez is like "well, yeah... It's so important to follow our Savior, that's why we have decided to be baptized. We've prayed about it and really want to do it.". It took all I had to keep from having my jaw drop. Hna Martinez and I just look at each other in disbelief! Never in the history of EVER have we been able to bring up baptism without them saying that it's too soon or that they don't want to do something that important that fast... and here they were asking us "well, what's next? what do we have to do to be baptized?". TENDER MERCIES.... that's all I have to say about that. I have grown to love this family so much, I am SO happy that they see the absolute need for the gospel. They see how it changes lives and they want it. Bad. We are now working on getting sister Juarez to quit drinking coffee, but that should be cake, especially after having them understand and be wiling to pay tithing and live the law of chastity. OUt here tithing is what throws it all out the window, they work so hard for such little pay but this family will do ANYTHING the Lord requires of them. So now I ask for your help... Please, Please keep sister Juarez in your prayers. Pray that she will be able to find the strength and faith to quit drinking coffee. We wanted to set some goals with her because she's been drinking it since she was really young, but she wanted to try cold-turkey. Her faith is amazing. Please, Pray for her!

the rest of the week we taught 3 new investigators, we will see how things go. The combination of harvest and hunting season (which started like Monday of last week... grrrrr) is putting a dent in our work, but boy how blessed we have been. Ultimately this isn't our work, it's not about us keeping busy... Frustration comes from having this wonderful gospel and a desire to share it and no one being home! We have really seen improvement in the families we have visited, we simply want to share this happiness with everyone else... Well, hopefully winter comes fast so that no one will want to leave the house and we can catch everyone!

I wish I had more time, I have so much more that I'd like to share! I Just want you all to know that I love my Savior. We can do it all through Him. He is there when no one else is. He blesses us in ways we often fail to recognize. He blesses us through other people. I love Him and I know that He loves each and every one of you. Please don't forget that.

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Love,

Hermana Calero