New area!

Life is so good! 

The change has been pretty sweet here in Temuco. I love the sector that I am in and I love the ward a ton! We are going to work like machines here!

My new comps name is Elder Castro. He is my Colombiano brother from waaaay back when. When I first arrived to Chile he was my district leader and we have been home boys ever since. Now this is his last transfer before heading home and we are comps! Woo!

My sector is by far the biggest sector I have ever had and it is beautiful! I am in the sector Quirihue which means in mapuche "many hills".......yippee! It is really awesome though and it is perfect for this time of year because it is super-hot over here and because we are at a high elevation that means lots of wind to cool us down.

I would love to tell more about the sector and all but we only have 15 min to write because we have to go to Concepcion right now and we are late! I love you all and I hope you have a great week!!!!

Love,

Elder Callister

 

Thank you for the Birthday Wishes!

Howdy there!!  

I don´t have tons of time today but I just want you all to know how much I love you and thank you all for the birthday wishes!! 

Love,

Elder Callister

 

 

General Conference - October 2016

Hey Yáll! 

I am not sure where to begin as I think about this past weekend. The words and love shared to us from this week's general conference. My heart was and still is full of much gratitude for the Lord, for all of whom I serve here in Chile and for each and every one of you. 

I could not tell you which of all the talks that were given was my favorite...because they all impacted me so much. I have many things I would like to review as I study them over again and am very excited to see and hear what you all have learned as well. 

I just would like to express my love and gratitude for the Restoration of the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As I was listening to the conference, words of hope and love rang through my ears and feelings of peace passed through me in a way that I have never felt before. There is power in the Restoration. I testify of the truthfulness of latter-day prophets and apostles who lead and guide this church. I testify that godly priesthood power has been restored to the earth making it possible for all of us, through ordinances and special promises we make with the Lord, to live with Him once again. All this being made possible through our Savior Jesus Christ and through his infinite sacrifice;

I love each and every one of you and I am so grateful for all the love you show to others every day. I hope you all have a fantastic week and I will talk to you all later!

Love,
Elder Callister

Putting the Batteries In

(From 9/26/16)
Helllllooooo America!!!! (and Chile...Varii ;)) 

I am but so very grateful to be able to write all of you. This week has been such a blessing for my companion and I.

Unfortunately I cannot say that this week started off perfect without any problems. It was a bit rough at first. Sunday, Marcos (the one who was baptized last week) did not show up to be confirmed a member of the church and receive the Holy Ghost.....now that was not good at all because this is an essential part of the baptism. He got sick after he was baptized on Thursday and was not able to get out of his bed Sunday. Not good...

We then began to have a few difficulties as a companionship trying to see what we needed to do in our sector. It can be very difficult after a baptizing. Finding new people to teach is very important and necessary to continue working effectively. Well we didn’t have too much to work with. That was until "nos pusimos las pilas" (put in the batteries) and saw miracles happen in our sector and zone. Mornings were the best. FULL of revelation and understanding of what God wanted us to do right now in our lives. I really cannot explain how awesome it is to receive such revelation but it is incredible. We began to have idea after idea after idea and God blessed us for it as we put it into practice. People began to be put right in our paths, others coming up to us asking for us to teach them about Christ. Blessings from the Lord. 

The biggest realization we made together this week was that God loves us more than we can even imagine. The ONLY thing he asks of us is to be obedient to His commandments and Love others. Sometimes this can be a little hard. To strive to be exactly obedient. Though I know with obedience comes power and more understanding and love from above through the Holy Spirit. It is so beautiful. 

We love working together and we feel that we are learning more and more every day. I know that God loves each and every one of His children. How much, I do not know, but we can begin to know and understand this as we strive to love and serve others around us every single day. Keep the commandments. Love God and everything will be ok. 

I love you all so much and I know that God loves you. Seek Him out in daily prayer and scripture study and I promise you that He will bless you more than you could ever imagine.

Have a great week!!!

Con Amor,

Elder Callister

p.s. Marcos came yesterday and was confirmed!!! I love this man!!!!

Chilean Celebration!!

This week 9/20/16 Chile celebrated their equivalent of the Fourth of July.  This was my feast........t'was so beautiful!!!!

love you all!!! hope you have a great week!!! 

Baptism of Javier!

Letter from 9/12/16

Hola!!!!! 

I hope you all had an amazing week this week! We had an incredible time seeing the Lord's hand work through us as we witnessed the baptism of Javier! This young man is an incredible son of God and is more than prepared! He will be an amazing instrument in the hands of our Father in Heaven. I know this work is the most important work we can do here today and I know that the Lord Jesus Christ is at the head of the Church leading this work. I love you all and I hope you have an outstanding week!!!

Love,
Elder Callister

Teaching and Good Bread!

Letter from 8/29/16

Hey Yáll!!!! 

Sorry for the delay of writing for a while! After 13 months I finally feel that I have gotten the whole timing on my writing down....took me long enough!

This week was a really good week! Elder Willey and I worked a ton on the zone and how we could help them to be able to be more effective missionaries in the circumstances that we are in here in Chile. Doing the work here in Chile is a lot different than other countries. There are a lot of people who are members in really small towns but not all of them go to church. So we spend a ton of time looking for less active members helping them to know that they are loved, by us and the Lord, and that we have missed them in church. They really love the visits and I love getting to know more and more people every single day. 

This last week was my comps birthday and we had a sweet party with a ton of completos. We ate much and played a lot of soccer and ping pong! He just turned 19 and is coming up on his year mark. Now I gotta figure out what to do for his year mark celebration.

I would love to share my testimony to your all, that I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father. He loves each and every one of you and cares about everything that you do. You are very special to Him and He always desires to be in contact with you through sincere prayer and scripture reading. He loves you more than you can imagine and all He asks of us is to Show our love through keeping and living His commandments that He has given to all of His children. I know this to be true and as we strive to do what He asks us to do and come closer to Him through His Only Begotten Son, we will receive the greatest gift of all. Eternal life with our families in His presence. I testify of the truthfulness of these words and I hope that you all will continue being the best you can be. I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Love,
Elder Callister

P.S. That is a picture of a 2 ft. long loaf of bread.....do not judge me if I return fat.... ;)

 

August 22, 2016

So I am sitting in the cyber café (sweating) enjoying the beautiful start of the spring breeze through the side door....I thought you'd all like to hear that going into winter..... ;) love you all!  

Jajaja! Sorry that was mean...

Thank you so much for the letters! I really do appreciate the comfort and love you guys send. I have been struggling this week with my mind going crazy and it's definitely true...I just need to stop, take a step back, breathe and go at it again. Life has been a roller coaster for me and it is super hard here in the mission. Thinking about how life is back in the states and then comparing it to here it's sooooo different. Not saying it’s bad, just different. I have really been able to come to a better understanding of the plan of salvation and the importance it has for each and every one of God's children. This work is so important. Incredibly important. I still don't understand it all not even close...but I feel the importance of it. Satan is working so hard on the children of God. He is so sly and wants us all to be like he is, miserable. DONT GIVE IN…ever, ever, ever, ever, ever! He is the biggest liar in the world. If I could say anything right now to you all it would be that there is always a way out. There is always hope. The atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ is the only way we can have peace in this life and life eternal after. Live the gospel. Read the Book of Mormon. In it you will find this peace and understanding. Enjoy every single moment you have to live on this earth. 

One last thing. I have been studying a lot in Moroni 7 lately. Faith hope and Charity. As I have studied I realized that there is something linked in all of these attributes.

Faith-past              Charity-Present            Hope-future

We have faith from what has happened in the past that we can and will be able to live again with our Father in Heaven. We hope from our faith that really it is true. But the only thing that will make either one of those true is what we choose to do right now. In the present. Charity-the pure love of Christ. Love this life. Love everything that God has given you. Love the people around you. Love everything. It will bring peace to your hearts and prepare us to live with our Father again. With love there is no fear.

I love you all and I will keep fighting till the end. I know this Gospel is true. I know God loves each and every one of us. I know it. I know it. I know it. I love you all. Have a great week!!!

Love,
Elder Callister

Opposition

Hey guys!!!

I love your letters! They give me such a huge boost in the week! It is so cool to see how you all are progressing in life and that you are doing it with the help of your Savior and your Father in Heaven.

This week has been a big rollercoaster week! Lots of ups and downs, loopty loops, and whatsoever corkscrew. A mix of craziness and a ton of fun at the same time! First off I love the mission so much! It is the greatest place to grow in your relationship with your Heavenly Father. 

This week consisted of much prayer, fasting and a ton of work in the street. Through all of this I have been able to see miracles in my life. These blessings have been granted upon me all because of one reason...opposition. 

This week my studies have been super focused on the reality of temptation, sin and opposition. I talk to so many people during the day, nice people though unfortunately they are completely blinded by the sly works of temptation. 

In my studies I looked up the definition of temptation;

Test, try, or prove.
Seduce or lead towards evil.
Provoke to anger.

I see these effects in my life every single day. Whether it be in my own life or others. It has such a huge effect on us and it changes us. It is terrible at times and feels so over bearing, but why so much temptation?

In the Spanish scriptures it says that temptation is the test of the capacity of a person to choose good from evil. Unfortunately, we all fall....and it´s not fun. Some might ask why does God let us fall so much in our lives.

Well.. "Adam fell that men might be and men are that they might have joy."

We must experience pain to feel the joy of our loving Father in Heaven. In the book of Hebrews it explains how Christ overcame this temptation throughout His whole life and on through the atonement. "This that the word might be fulfilled" and that He might “succor" His people. 

I want to testify that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. He has suffered all that we have, are, and ever will suffer and this so that we might have eternal happiness. The word Succor literally means "to run to" and as I read this I know and testify to you all that as we are trying to follow our Savior, He is running out to us help in each and every way. I love you all and hope that you will apply the atonement in your lives this week. I know you will feel the love of God. Have a great week!!!

Love, 

Elder Callister

The Doctrine of Christ

 

 

Hey Yáll!

This week was pretty rough. It definitely was not the best one of all my weeks here but at the same time not the worst, so I am counting my blessings! :) My companion is finishing his mission pretty soon and it has been a bit difficult lately with the last little bit. There are so many things that you still want to do here on the mission and you meet so many people that you respect and love. Leaving it all is like giving a kid a lolly pop and then ripping it out of his mouth when he's only half way done. Not cool man...but it has to come. The end of everything always will come. I was thinking about that the other day and now that I am here at the year mark of my mission it is starting to creep up on me as well. Though the thought of leaving the mission after 2 years is pretty rough, the greater thought is the reason why we are doing the work. Creating the paths for eternal families is the greatest work that I have ever been able to take part in. It has completely changed my life. The mission is probably the best place to learn and understand the greatness of these blessings and how it really is the greatest blessing God can ever give us. I think of you all on a regular basis and it makes me so happy to know that you are doing the same work, the work of our Lord and our God.

My focus in the mission has been a lot on how we can apply the doctrine of Christ to our lives each and every day. This is what we teach over and over and over again everyday every hour every minute. Faith, Repentance, Baptism, The Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the end; I have thought much about these steps and how we can apply them daily in our lives. What does this mean as far as what we must do as children and servants of our Savior, Jesus Christ? I was studying in Doctrine and Covenants 4 in verse 3 where it says that if we have desires to serve God we are called to the work. When we take up the name of Christ and follow his example in any way we are showing to God that we are willing to serve Him and share what we know with others. Everyone is a missionary. Does not matter if you have a missionary badge or not. We are all called to preach the gospel. I know that as we live the gospel according to the doctrine given to us by our brother Jesus Christ, we will receive the blessings promised by our Heavenly Father. I invite each and every one of you to think of someone who does not have the blessings of the Restored gospel and invite them to come and see and partake of these blessings promised by our Father in Heaven. I know and testify that as you do you will come to a better understanding of the Gospel and of our Father and His son Jesus Christ. I love you all so much and am so grateful for all of your examples to me here on the mission. I hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Elder Callister

Burgerfest!!

Happy 4th of July!

Hey Yáll!!

IT.IS.SO. COLD!!!! I am used to having cold weather but this is a different kind of cold. It’s cold and super wet. I don't think it should be normal to go to bed and wake up completely soaked from all the humidity. This morning was especially fun because we did max plyo insanity, about died and then walked into the bathroom to see that the water heater was not working. There was ice on the inside of the windows!! So we had to man up and take an ice cold shower. I will have to apologize to the neighbors later on for the high pitch yelling that came from our house this morning. I could not feel my body after....but it was fun anyways! Great memory!

This week was awesome! We had so much fun putting our minds together to find different ways to tract and find people. One of the things we did was take cookies and chocolate milk powder and when we knocked on a door, we asked if we could share some cookies and chocolate milk with them....it was so funny to see their faces as they began to reject us and then suddenly change their minds as they saw the delicious treats we brought with us. We found an amazing family from it that we will visit today and we enjoyed cookies and milk at the same time!

Today our new mission president will be flying in to Chile. His name is president May and he is from Alabama! He served his mission in Mexico and his wife in Spain. We have a conference with him on Friday and we are all excited to meet him!

We finished the week off super awesome with the baptism of Cristofer Colipàn. He is a young man that was going to get baptized with his family about 2 weeks ago but he had doubts at the last minute and didn’t get baptized. We ended up having an amazing lesson with him a week ago where he could feel the influence of the Holy Ghost and he knew that it was true. He actually didn't even know why he should be baptized when he was going to be baptized the first time. So we started from square one again and he was able to receive his answer. I love this kid so much and he will be an example to so many people here in Pitrufquèn!

Oh and HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY TO ALL!!!!!!!!! I love you all and I know that this church is true. I hope you all have a great week and a great 4th!! BE SAFE!!!!!

Love,

Elder Callister

New Sector!

Hey Yáll!!!!

So happy to hear from you all! It sounds like a blast soaking up the sun, enjoying the summer! Please enjoy all of it for me....I'm trying to type as fast as possible to warm up my fingers! It´s so dang cold here! My new sector is a lot more down south. I love it though! My comp Elder Stevenson is so awesome and I love being a zone leader with him. A lot more responsibility but I love learning more and more.

I apologize for not being able to write to everyone personally. With more responsibilities there is more to do during this short hour of writing. I figure one big email to everyone fixes the problem.

This week was so fun! First off....CHILE WON!!!!!! The American cup was on Sunday and it was so crazy here. We obviously couldn’t watch it but we got to take advantage of it in the work of salvation! We had the idea to go to the plaza during the pregame where everyone gathered to watch the game on the big screen. We pulled in a big white board with words that said, "Tell Us Who Wins!!" We did a huge game to see who would win the Cup. They had to come and put their names, number, who would win, final points, and who would make the goals....people loved it!!! There were about 60 names on this sheet at the end of the nights and now we have about 60 people to pass by for. 2 people won the game and now we have to go and cook them a huge BBQ from the states! It’s going to be so awesome! 

This week in my studies I really focused on the way we can better understand our purpose here on earth. We are teaching a lot of people here who really don't understand why they are here or where they are going. It is sad to see but drives us even more to share this message with everyone. We had a super awesome lesson with one of our investigators a couple days ago. Her name is Julia and she had a daughter named Paloma who is listening as well. She had so many questions about why we are here and what she needs to do in life. She has grown up Catholic and she doesn’t really study the bible a lot. So we used a lot of scriptures and visuals to help her understand. We came to a point where she had a question about the spirit. She said that she was not doing too well in her life, in her job, life at home, and other aspects of life. But right when the missionaries came over she started to change a few things. She said she started to feel a weird change in her mind and in her heart and she didn't know what it was, only that it was changing everything for the good in her life and the lives of her family. We testified like CRAZY about the influence of the spirit and that this was the path she needed to follow! We went to pray at the end and she was so happy after praying to her Father in Heaven!! It made my whole week!

I testify that these things are true. These experiences are real and they are without doubt from a loving Heavenly Father. I love you all and hope all goes well this week!!

Love,

Elder Callister

New Location....New Assignment

Hey y'all!! 

I sure hope that you all had an amazing week!!

This week was pretty awesome for us here in Victoria! It was the last week of Cambios (Transfers) and we found some miracle families! My companion Elder Rodrigues finished his training with me and he is a machine! 

This morning we got our Cambios (transfers). They are closing our sector here in Victoria and my companion and I are both leaving to other zones. My comp is going to Mulchen in Los Angeles South and I will be going to Pitrufquen in Nueva Tolten as a zone leader. It's going to be so crazy and the best part is that my comp is going to be my last zone leader here in Victoria! His name is Elder Stevenson and he is such a boss! I know that this cambio will be a huge learning opportunity for me and I am so excited to continue growing in my knowledge and love for my Savior here in the mission.

This week I had been trying to finish the Book of Mormon in Spanish. I am almost done and I will definitely finish it today. I started at the beginning of the mission and I was doing pretty good, then at about 7 months they told us to start off as a mission....that was fun. But I loved starting over again. I definitely understood more and I could appreciate more of what I was reading. I just want to testify to you all that I know that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ. Together with the Bible, it is the word of God and creates the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I have received so many blessings from reading this book and it has blessed my life in ways that I cannot describe. I invite all to read the Book of Mormon. If you have not read it, read it with faith and ask God if it is true. If you have read it, read it again. It is the word of God and it is here to lead and guide us in our paths.

I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Love Elder Callister

Pics from the Mission

New Area

 

 

 

 

 

Hey Y'all!!!

Please forgive me for not writing in forever! A lot of craziness has happened lately! 

First of all, I have been changed to the city Victoria. I am still in the same zone and with the same companion, Elder Rodrigues, but just in a different sector. The first few weeks were pretty difficult. We had to reopen the sector because it had been closed for 6 weeks. We both had no idea what to expect, had no clue who anyone was and we had to start everything from scratch. We both got super sick during these few weeks and had trial after trial after trial. It was CRAZY! But if I can say anything it is that with trials come miracles. We finished the first few weeks with, a baptism and a revival of the sector. It was so amazing and we have grown in ways that we cannot even describe! It was possible and could only ever be possible through Our Savior Jesus Christ. We have grown closer to Him through this work and we are continuing to grow closer and closer every day. Life is so good especially when you put the will of the Lord in first place before everything else. I know and have a strong testimony that God will not ever leave your side as long as we are living the commandments and doing everything we can to show him that we love Him.

I love you all so very much and I pray for all of you to continue strong in you paths. Thank you all for you love and support and for always showing your examples to those around you. I love this work; I know it's the work of the Lord and that it will bless all those who trust in the Lord. Have a great week!!!

Love,

Elder Callister

 

Elder Callister is beautiful?? :)

Hola amigos!

This week has been probably the craziest of the mission!

To start off,

I was called as a district leader and started right off the bat with the new curriculum and training. I will be giving a capacitation this week with Elder Haynes, (my father in the mission) who is now living with me. We are just one big happy family in Traiguen!
I received a brand new companion (my kid). His name is Elder Rodrigues. He is from Brazil. He barely speaks English....so I am learning Portuguese. This will be fun :)

We had general conference this weekend and it was incredible to listen to the prophets and apostles with such a different mindset. I had many questions in my mind and all of them were answered through the talks. 

We had so many great experiences this week with following the spirit in the streets. I would like to testify that through obedience and loving heart, the spirit will speak to you through thoughts and feelings and will guide you through all that you do in life. 

We had just finished conference and we went running to a house of a member to a Family Home Evening and visit with their family members who are not members. They ended up not being there so we went running to another house that we had for a backup plan. We were walking down the sidewalk talking about what we had learned in conference. Right as we were talking about President Monson and his simple, yet beautiful testimony, we passed a little old lady who looked at us with the most beautiful smile. We took about 2 steps past her and immediately we stopped, looked at each other, and returned. The spirit began to work with in us as we talked to her. I could feel inspired questions and thoughts in my mind and began to ask them to her. She just looked at us and kept expressing that she could see a light in the both of us, that we were angels sent to here, and that we looked so beautiful. Now, I look at myself in the mirror every day and I can tell you that beautiful would not be an adjective in my vocabulary to express my looks...but I know and I can tell you that she did feel the presence of the spirit and she recognized that we were servants and representatives of Jesus Christ. I just wanted to give her the biggest hug in the world. We ended up setting a time to come back and visit where we will be able to talk and teach. The Spirit is real; it has saved my life and it is the only way that we can understand and know real truth. I am so grateful for the spirit in my life and I hope that you all will take what was said in this last weekend and use it to bring the spirit in your life as well.

I love you all and hope that your week is amazing and full of the spirit!

Love,

Elder Callister

 

Gratitude

Hey y'all! 

So I have a lot of changes to tell you all from what happened this week! We just got a call from the office and everything is changing here in the zone, I am training again, my trainer is coming to my sector to finish the training of my "hijo" in the mission and everyone who trained last cambio is basically changing companions. I don´t know why this is happening but I feel that our mission president has something amazing in store for the mission! 

This last week was crazy busy and full of opposition but so amazing! We had so many investigators that kept falling in our plans and we could not get in contact with anyone. Despite this roadblock, we worked our tails off; it was hard, I am super beat, but we finished out with the baptism of Emilio! This kid is the bomb! I love him so much. His attitude is always positive and he is always searching for more opportunities to apply what he is learning. I just want to testify that through our faith and diligence anything can be overcome and we can help others to come closer to our Father in Heaven.

I would like to make a quick invite too; the new video on lds.org is so beautiful about following the example of Christ. I invite you all to look it up and remember your Savior in this beautiful time of the year!

I love you all and know that you are all faithful servants of the Lord. Keep up the great work and I hope you all have an amazing week!

Love Elder Callister

Happy Easter!

Hey y'all!

Thank you all for the awesome letters! I am so glad to hear that you all are doing great! I will keep praying for you all to keep going strong in this work!

This week was pretty crazy and full of revelation. Over these past few weeks I have been focused on a careful study of the topic gratitude. Now first off I would like to say that the ability to show and apply this attribute of gratitude is a lot easier said and studied than done. We all have a natural man with in ourselves. This natural man likes to complain and show ingratitude in a very subtle way. Every day I find moments when I need to react positively to something and show my gratitude but my natural self would not do it right off the bat. That is when the devil likes to take control. He likes to show that you can’t do it. That you are not good enough, just because you are an imperfect person. Now through numerous occasions here on the mission I have found how an awareness of this imperfect state we live in can either build or bind. As we see our faults and weaknesses we begin to count and take note of all the blessings and talents we lack. We begin comparing ourselves to others, focusing on the negative, and before you know it we have unconsciously dug ourselves a deep hole of self-doubt and self-pity. We are bound with destructive cords and for a moment we may feel hopeless, and full of doubts that create simple convictions of inadequacy to the joys and blessing of life. Well I testify that these thoughts are full of deceptive lies. And awareness of this state we are in should not defeat ones state of mind, rather encourage, uplift, and drive one’s self to become better every day. 

Our imperfection signifies that we cannot progress in this mortal life unless given the means whereby that we may overcome our faults. I testify that through a gracious, loving Heavenly Father, we have been provided a way through His Son, Jesus Christ. Through the humble sacrifice of our loving Savior the heavy pains of guilt and sin can be lifted off of our hearts and minds. Through this sacrifice, the mortal death has been overcome and through our choices we make here on earth, we can overcome the spiritual death as well. The Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ has literally created a spiritual bridge from us to our Heavenly Father. As many of us on this bridge have already found out, the path to our Heavenly Father is not an easy task. There will be trials. There will be hardship. There will be many challenges and roadblocks that will try to knock us down. And if we do fall, which we will, we must confide in the Lord Jesus Christ, that though sincere repentance and a true and everlasting change of heart, we will get back up and endure till the end.

I testify that there is no greater blessing than the ability to humble yourself unto the Lord in sincere repentance, and receive an indescribable joy, happiness, and assurance of his love for you and the rest of His children. 

In the Book of Mormon, we see many examples of the effects True Repentance produces. I love the account of the Sons of Mosiah. After spending much time in rebellious acts to destroy the church of God, these prideful young men were humbled by the visitation of an angel of the Lord. Over the following days and after much prayer and fasting, sincere repentance was applied and the pure love of Christ filled their souls, enough to the point to where they could not even bear the thought of anyone not receiving the blessings of this eternal joy and happiness. (Mosiah 27&28). Later as we read more of the ministry of these men among the Lamanites, we see that this exceeding joy did not only carry them into the mission field, but continued to grow as they shared a divine testimony of the love and grace of God. This Joy must be sought out on a daily basis. Our souls must be continuously nourished and replenished that there might be room in our hearts for this Joy to grow within us, even to the point where we literally cannot express in thought, nor word the immense happiness that is working within us. 

17 "Now the joy of Ammon was so great that he was full; yea, he was swallowed up in the joy of his God, even to the exhausting of his strength; and he fell again to the earth.

18 "And now was not this exceeding joy? Behold, this is the joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness.

REPENTANCE PRODUCES HAPPINESS.

There is no other way to feel the divine love of God. He has provided the means, His doctrine, that through Faith in Jesus Christ, Repentance, Baptism under His authority, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and an endurance to the end we might be guided along this spiritual bridge to our Father in Heaven.

 The conductor of this path is none other than the Son of God Himself. He Suffered, He died, and now He lives once again so that we might have a second chance and live again.  I relate to my opening topic of gratitude, I express my gratitude for my Savior. I express my gratitude for His sacrifice for me so that I might have a second chance. I express my love and gratitude for my family and for their love for me. For my Father in Heaven who has given them to me and for the blessing I receive from having them in my life. 

Of all the things I could be grateful for, the greatest of all would be the ability to apply the Atonement in my life on a daily basis. To partake of the Sacrament every week and direct my focus and attention on my Savior. Everything I ha is because of Him. Everything I enjoy is because of Him. Everything I am is because of Him. As we continuously clean ourselves of sin then we are aware of the things around us. All the blessings we enjoy, all the happiness and Love we feel from others around us. And at that point we will be able to see and show our gratitude in an incredible way to our Father in Heaven.

I testify that as we continue to live our lives in Gratitude, with our Eyes, Hearts, and Arms open to the people around us, especially to our Heavenly Father, we will diligently and more effectively find this happiness. 

And after we have reached that point, what greater joy will it be to invite and help others obtain this blessing as well.

I love each and every one of you all and I would like to express my gratitude to you all once again. Because of your examples to me I am out here serving the Lord, and I would not want to be anywhere else. I love you all and hope you have a great week. 

With much gratitude and love,

Elder Callister

 

Baptism!

So I am still here in Traiguen. I am in a trio with Elders Barco and Garcia. That means, no more English! I have been able to learn a lot from these guys and they have been such amazing examples to me. 

Saturday we had the baptism of our investigator Angelica! It was amazing because not only did she enter the waters of baptism, but Diego, the first person I baptized in the mission, baptized her! It was so beautiful and so spiritual. For these last few months I have been able to show forth so much love to her in her path to baptism. I know that through this simple application of Christ like love we can change the lives of people forever. I know this church is true. I know that this is God`s plan for each and every one of us. I love you all and send my best wishes to all of you!

Love,

Elder Callister

Trials and Blessings

Hey Yáll!

So sorry for not writing the last week. I didn´t have any time really to write. I would just first like to thank you all for your support and love. I have been going through some pretty crazy times here on the mission. My last comp left to his house about 2 weeks ago. Now my current comp is on a plane back home to the states right now. He came and immediately began to rethink his decision. It was very hard these last 2 weeks. To add on to everything, he has severe depression and it was just getting worse and worse. The only thing that I can say right now is that I have a testimony that God is ALWAYS in our lives. For a little bit of the time I was with my comp, it seemed for him that this trial was basically for no reason at all. He had come all this way just to go back. But I can testify to you all that The Lord has a plan for him He has a plan for me too. Both of us were in that same plan during the time that we were together. I know that he came here for a reason and I am so glad to be able to know him. I love the guy so much and I am so blessed to be able to have this time to learn how to develop more attributes of my Savior Jesus Christ. I know that God has a plan for each and every one of you and if we are to have Faith all things will be made possible and we will see the Lord’s hand in our lives daily. Thank you all for everything and I love you all. Have a good week and I will talk to Yáll next week!

Love,

Elder Callister

A new Chapter in the Mission

Editor's (Mom's) Note:
In his mission, when a missionary is brand new to the mission they call it being 'born', so all new missionaries are referred to as 'babies'. :)

Well my comp Elder Arancibia left to go home to his house in Santiago....and I have no clue who my next comp will be, because he will be "born" on Wednesday! I will be heading up to Concepción tomorrow to go start my training. It´s going to be super fun! We have 4 people in the zone that are training so we have a zone of pure "babies" in the mission!

This week was crazy/interesting. My comp was getting ready to leave the mission and go see his family. It was hard to stay on topic at times but we got through and finished. He is a great missionary and will do great things after the mission!

One thing that I learned this week was that humility is hard. Naturally we are not very humble. Whether it be big or small, we are human and need to continually learn to try and be humble in all things. One thing that has stood out to me was that a great way to learn to be humble is to simply put yourself in others shoes. Many times we go through life assuming others feel one way or act another way only coming to find out that we were completely wrong. Listening to and teaching our investigators has been a really good example. They don´t understand everything that we are teaching them and that is why we are there. Sometimes we think that they understand or that they SHOULD understand because, to you, it is so clear. But in reality we sometimes need to sit back, think about the situation and see how your actions can help to change the circumstance. I have seen how when humility and patience is applied, miracles happen. People open up and you can really see the hand of the Lord work in your life. I love the Saviors example in humility and I want to continue following His example every day. 

I love you all and hope that you all can make it a goal in your lives to continue in the path of the Lord. I know it will bless your life. It has always blessed mine. I hope all goes well this week and may the Spirit be with you.

Love,

Elder Callister

Quidditch in Chile...with a pig!?!

Sorry for not writing last week! We had no time because we had to return from Temuco and work! BUT......we played Quidditch.....and it was amazing.....and the best part....the Snitch....was a pig.....and we won!!!! Woooo!!!! Haha it was so awesome and our zone had such a fun time. We ate all you can eat Chinese buffet after and that totally topped it off!

 

 

 

 

Baptism!

This week was the best! Diego went all the way under and all the way out. He is now baptized and is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He is so happy and is loving every second of being in the church and living the gospel. I want to bear testimony and explain the truthfulness of this gospel and the power and authority given from God to do this work. I know that this church is true and that this incredible child of God was able to be baptized through the Holy power and authority of the Priesthood of God: the right to act in the name of God. I testify that this authority has been restored to the earth again through his holy prophet and servant Joseph Smith through heavenly servants of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the restored Gospel. I cannot deny it. I know that through this power and authority, we will live with our Families, our Savior and our Father in Heaven again. His hands are stretched out to us; all we have to do is reach out to Him and accept it.

Love,

Elder Callister

Good news!!

Hey Yáll!

This week was so awesome! We passed the inspection.....after cleaning the whole entire day!! We didn´t get to go work because it had to be done that night and the house had been growing very nasty things in cracks and crevices for quite some time now. So we got to clean it up...yay!! 

We were on fire with trying to get Diego going with the rest of the lessons. We had one lesson with him on Saturday and taught him about the commandments. He wants to follow the commandments, but as well the example of Jesus Christ and be BAPTIZED THIS SATURDAY!!!! Yaaaaaaaay!!! We are all so excited for him and can´t wait for him to have this beautiful experience! He is the best in the world and I love the guy like crazy! The work is going great and we are working like crazy. I love you all and know that through the Spirit we can really feel God´s love for us. Diego has felt it and I know he will continue to feel it for the rest of his life. I love you all! Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Callister

Apartment Inspections and Futbol

Hey Yáll!

I don´t have a ton of time to write today. We have a short time to write because we have to get ready for a house inspection. Yay!!! But anyway, we just got back from Victoria and we had such a fun time with the zone! We played Fútbol and did a bunch of other games the Sister Missionaries prepared for us, and then it ended with a huge lunch the Sisters also prepared for us! Fue Buenísimo!!! I just love the spiritual, loving, and fun atmosphere here and I am so glad that I get to share it with amazing people in Chile!!!

I love you all so much and I pray for you every day! Thank you for your continuous love and letters and everything! I hope all is well this week and that the Spirit may be with you wherever you go!

Love,

Elder Callister

p.s. The tape all over my shoes are from my shoes completely ripped down the side after trying to steal the ball from another elder.....it completely exploded....

The Secret of Happiness

Hey guys! 

This week was a blast! We had such a fun time during New Year’s. We were able to go and cook in the Church after 8 and then head home to celebrate the rest of the night. I cooked orange chicken and chocolate chip cookies for the Elders in the house and we ate like kings! We also had the best nap in the world the next day which made me very happy :)

We have an investigator named Diego and he is the best in the WORLD!!!! He has a date to be baptized on the 23rd and he is loving the lessons so much! He came to church the last couple weeks and he is finding more and more about how the gospel is blessing his life! Yay for the Gospel!!!!

It´s so good to hear that you guys are having so much fun and have these amazing New Year’s goals. I love hearing that my family is trying each and every day to become better in some way. I think it is so cool the way that you are starting your fasts now. It really gets you in the spirit to fast and think about the things that you will be fasting for. Our fasting is a bit different. Because we don´t have dinner here, we start right after lunch on Saturday. It is really hard especially during summer. It is hot, humid, and we have to work in it all day Saturday without food or water. But that has been a real testimony builder to me during the mission. I have felt strength from the Lord while I am out working to get through and not have to worry about eating or drinking. I really truly testify that without fail you can and will always be able to fast however long you need to as long as you are doing it with the right attitude. That includes, being happy about it and thinking about the things you are fasting for, spending time in the scriptures, praying and nearing yourself to God in any way possible. He will put His efforts with yours. I was fasting this week for you guys actually and for the spirit to guide you all in your paths. I don´t know exactly what it going on with everyone but I know that there are good times and hard times still at home.

I have had some really neat experiences with the guidance of the spirit this week. There is no way I would be able to grow and learn without it. With this New Year we are all making goals to better ourselves as a family and I know that with this guidance of the spirit we can do anything we put our mind to. 

One of my goals for this New Year starts with a smile. Yes that is right: BEING HAPPY! Seriously, that is the key to getting though anything. Choosing happiness. Here on the mission, you can go from having 3 baptismal dates, 4 new investigators, and appointments every hour ...to 0 dates, fallen investigators, and all appts. canceled in about a day....the question is, how you are going to react to that. There are 2 options, option A: be mad, and complain, or Option B: look at everything that can go good from it and how you can fix the problem. There is always a choice. I have learned very fast the outcomes of both decisions and I can tell you right now that option B is the way to go. There is a talk that I read this last week that I love so much. I found it in the Liahona. It was talking all about how you can achieve this state of happiness and help others around you to feel it too. It is by Henry B. Eyring and it is called Happiness For the Ones You Love. I would definitely read it if you guys have time. 

I would just like to say that I love you so much and I am so glad and grateful for you prayers and fasting. I have felt your strength and have felt your love. Don´t ever forget that I am always praying for you. Thank you for everything and I hope you all have an amazing week! Ciao!

Love,

Elder Callister