Hello everyone!
This week was absolutely crazy! We had so much to do during the week. First of all it was Christmas and we also had a branch conference to prepare for. When that happens we are doing activities all during the week. So all of that is added on to the work that we normally do. We had no time to do anthing extra. Becase we had so many activities we felt like we had a lot of time wasted. But that is just how Christmas week goes. We had a really good time talking about the things we could do better as a companionship so that we could help others even more. One of the biggest things was just to always look at the bright side. When people see that we are optimistic they will want to go help too. We had a few times during the week that were a bit "down in the dumps". We realized very quickly that when our attitude was down everything else and everyone else around us was pulled down with us. The mission is not easy and it is so easy to fall into this trap, but I know and testify that as we are pushing through with faith we know that God will fill in the rest and put His strength with our efforts, we can and will receive all the blessings from everything that we do.
The other thing I have realized during my whole mission is that love is the strongest and most powerful thing anyone could ever have. The reason that I came out on a mission was to learn to love others as Christ does. Love to your companion, to your friends, family and especially to your Father in Heaven. The way that we show this love is through service to others. The happiness that comes from service is the greatest in the world and each and every one of us has the opportunity to experience it too. Yesterday we were out to go give the Sacrament to two people who were very old and not doing so well in their health. Before we went I was just thinking to myself why we had to do this and why couldn’t someone else in the ward do it. It was far and we had other plans in mind. Then the spirit hit my like a load of bricks and told me to go and do it anyway, but do it with a smile. So we went and visited with them. The whole time I didn´t even think about anything else because I felt so much love for these people. They are children of God and each and every one of us is here to serve and love one another.
This work has changed my life so much and my gratitude goes to my family, friends and my Heavenly Father. Thank you so much for your examples and for the love you have for one another. I hope all goes well this week and that you are able to share this love with someone. Much love from Chile!
Love,
Elder Callister
Monday, December 28, 2015
The Cherry Picking Elders of Traiguen
Once upon a time, two Elders in the city of Triaguén were walking down the street with much hunger and pain. they had been walking for hours and had accumulated many blisters on their feet.
With the heat of the hot summer sun and injuries they were becoming weaker and weaker, until something dropped on Elder Arancibia´s head. He looked down and found that it was a bright, red, juicy cherry. They looked up in excitement to find a giant cherry tree with plenty of cherries to satisfy their hunger.
They began to pick like mad men and gather as many cherries as possible. They had picked all the cherries they could reach, but saw that there was so much more beyond their reach. They had to think of a way to get them....Then Elder Callister threw a roundhouse kick to the gut of the tree and many cherries fell down.
But it wasn´t enough.....they had to use their heads somehow....so Elder Arancibia came out of nowhere with a Rhinoceros Attack to the tree and all the cherries came tumbling down.
They were saved and the hunger was satisfied. they returned to the house after work with their tummies full and full of happiness. But then all of a sudden they quickly began to the see the side effects of the Wild fruit. They had not just picked random cherries from a tree, they were in fact beard growing cherries.....Elder Callister And Elder Arancibia were stuck with eternal dope beards and could do nothing about it. But they were content.....because they are dope.
The End
With the heat of the hot summer sun and injuries they were becoming weaker and weaker, until something dropped on Elder Arancibia´s head. He looked down and found that it was a bright, red, juicy cherry. They looked up in excitement to find a giant cherry tree with plenty of cherries to satisfy their hunger.
They began to pick like mad men and gather as many cherries as possible. They had picked all the cherries they could reach, but saw that there was so much more beyond their reach. They had to think of a way to get them....Then Elder Callister threw a roundhouse kick to the gut of the tree and many cherries fell down.
But it wasn´t enough.....they had to use their heads somehow....so Elder Arancibia came out of nowhere with a Rhinoceros Attack to the tree and all the cherries came tumbling down.
They were saved and the hunger was satisfied. they returned to the house after work with their tummies full and full of happiness. But then all of a sudden they quickly began to the see the side effects of the Wild fruit. They had not just picked random cherries from a tree, they were in fact beard growing cherries.....Elder Callister And Elder Arancibia were stuck with eternal dope beards and could do nothing about it. But they were content.....because they are dope.
The End
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Transfers to a new area!
Hey Yáll!
So this week was a travel week. We were running all around the mission all week. First we had a zone attack in Los Ángeles, and then we went to the Christmas conference where the whole entire mission was and partied there! Then we went back to Los Angeles, then to Concepción for a medical appt. and finally back to Laja. BUT, I am no longer going to be here in Laja. We just got cambios (transfers) this morning and I found out that I will be leaving to my new sector, Traiguén. I will be with my new comp se llama, Elder Arrancibia. He is from Chile but has spent some time in the U.S. (Utah to be exact). So the dude totally knows English too! I am super excited for this cambio and I know that I will learn a lot from all the changes that are going to happen.
One thing I wanted to share with you guys was something I read today in my personal study. I was reading in Alma 8 and 9 about how Alma was commanded to return to preach to the people of Ammonihah. He explains to the people that they are a wicked people and that they must repent or they would be destroyed. He tells them that if they would not repent it would be more tolerant for the Lamanites sufferings compared to what they would suffer because they have already been given the truth and fullness of the gospel but then rejected it. The message from this story is that we all have a knowledge of the truth. Therefore we must in our duty, strive to continue in the ways of the Lord. We cannot suffer to become lazy and forget the truths of the gospel. Therefore, if we are willing to live the gospel, we must now help all others to receive it as well. I challenge you all to study these chapters this week and see how it can be applied to your life.
I love you all and hope you all have a great time this week getting ready for Christmas!
Love,
Elder Callister
Mini Golf - Chilean Style
Hey Yáll!
It is so awesome to hear from you guys and all the awesome things you are doing back in the states! We just got back from Los Angeles from playing mini golf with the rest of the guys. It was the most ghetto minigolf place I had ever seen. It was just concrete slabs in the middle of a bunch of crab grass. Then I thought to myself, oh wait, We´re in Chile. It was still fun and we bought a ton of ice cream after!!
Many of you had the question of, how in the heck did I make an Oreo pie in Chile. Well may I introduce you to the Store Lider AKA Chilean Walmart!!! It´s the best, but the closest one is in Los Angeles (an hour away by bus). So the past couple weeks we had been there for our P day, hanging out with the other dudes in the zone, so I picked up some Oreo´s (all crushed from being shipped 10,000 km from the US) and some Great Value Peanut butter, though it was not the cheapest in the world. TOTALLY worth it though! It basically gave me diabetes.
This week was pretty good as far as the work goes. We had a ton of plans to be working with the members. This is part of our goals for this next cambio. We are trying to get more member help in the lessons because that is one of the best ways for people to progress. If you ever have the chance to work with the missionaries, DO IT!! It is the best!!!!
I love you all and hope you are doing amazing! Continue being awesome and I will talk to you later!
Ciao!
Love,
Elder Callister
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Thanksgiving in Chile!
Hey Yáll!
This week was so awesome! We had two big things in mind as far as goals go. This first being to really find new investigators. We have been so busy trying to find people and have been praying so much to know where we need to go. We were not able to find as many people as we hoped for but we were able to find some that we will be passing again for this week! The next goal we had in mind was how much food we could be able to fit into our stomachs before we exploded on Thanksgiving. There are 4 gringos in the house...hence...we went ham! *or turkey if you really want to get technical* they don’t celebrate it obviously so there was not any huge turkeys available, so we got huge chickens instead. Each of us ate half a chicken, tons of mashed potatoes, pan, gravy, and of course, PIE! I got to make it all because these goons here have no clue what they are getting themselves into when it comes to cooking. I made a lemon cream pie on thanksgiving and because it was my comps birthday on Saturday, I waited to make the peanut butter Oreo pie then. It was so beautiful. I cried just little....
This time here has been amazing and I really do feel the Lord helping me in all that I put my heart and mind to. If you want to receive help from the Lord, you need to search it out diligently. The angel did not just tell Nephi the significance of everything of what his father saw in chapter 11 of 1 Nephi; he asked if he understood the meaning of these things. If he did not understand, he helped him according to his diligence in searching for the truth. Search diligently. Strive each and every day to live like your Father in Heaven wants you to live. He will bless you. And you will come closer and closer to the Spirit as you do.
I love you all and hope that you have a great week this week. I pray for you all and love you so much! Take care! Ciao!
This week was so awesome! We had two big things in mind as far as goals go. This first being to really find new investigators. We have been so busy trying to find people and have been praying so much to know where we need to go. We were not able to find as many people as we hoped for but we were able to find some that we will be passing again for this week! The next goal we had in mind was how much food we could be able to fit into our stomachs before we exploded on Thanksgiving. There are 4 gringos in the house...hence...we went ham! *or turkey if you really want to get technical* they don’t celebrate it obviously so there was not any huge turkeys available, so we got huge chickens instead. Each of us ate half a chicken, tons of mashed potatoes, pan, gravy, and of course, PIE! I got to make it all because these goons here have no clue what they are getting themselves into when it comes to cooking. I made a lemon cream pie on thanksgiving and because it was my comps birthday on Saturday, I waited to make the peanut butter Oreo pie then. It was so beautiful. I cried just little....
This time here has been amazing and I really do feel the Lord helping me in all that I put my heart and mind to. If you want to receive help from the Lord, you need to search it out diligently. The angel did not just tell Nephi the significance of everything of what his father saw in chapter 11 of 1 Nephi; he asked if he understood the meaning of these things. If he did not understand, he helped him according to his diligence in searching for the truth. Search diligently. Strive each and every day to live like your Father in Heaven wants you to live. He will bless you. And you will come closer and closer to the Spirit as you do.
I love you all and hope that you have a great week this week. I pray for you all and love you so much! Take care! Ciao!
Thursday, November 12, 2015
All in God's timing
Hey Yáll!
This week was absolutely crazy. We had two baptismal dates ready for Saturday the 14th and were all ready to get interviews done and everything. Then Satan dropped a huge bomb and it blew up into pieces....Edit, is not married, has not been for 30 years, and doesn´t want to be.....that doesn´t work! Then Enrique said that he didn´t want to be baptized because he didn´t feel 100% still. He’s been like that for the past 5 weeks and we were trying to explain to him that sometimes it just takes a step of faith to know it´s true, (that step being the steps down into the baptismal font). He didn´t want to though. We prayed like a ful!! ( a lot) He ended up actually choosing his own fecha (date) to work towards... 19th of Dec. I probably will not be there but we are still hoping and praying for the best!
We challenged basically everyone we talked to to baptism this week. We REALLY REALLY REALLY need to find people that are ready! We were challenged in our district meeting to do so and It´s actually pretty fun. You just start talking to people in the street, get to know them a bit, develop some sort of a relationship AND WABAM!!! Baptism!! Most people were all like, "what the??" while two crazy gringos are staring at you with cheezy grins. And some others were all like,"hmmmm....maybe if God tells me." it didn´t really work as well as we wanted to, but we shall press on!
Life is great as always! I love Chile. The language is still kicking my rear but I am still driving through with a ton of paciencia. I love all of you and if there is one thing I could say to you after this week, it´s, "Have Faith and Be Happy!"
Love,
Elder Callister
Chilean Cinnamon Rolls
Hey Yáll!
This week was so much better! I felt a lot more energized.
The week started off pretty rough. I was walking down from one of our dinner appointments
on Tuesday and all of a sudden I just doubled over in pain in my gut. I knew it was the end of my life......then...I didn´t die...so that’s good :) I was told by the mission doctor to go home for the rest of the day. I somewhat listened....after we found some one really quick and taught them ;) then I got home....and realized that someone had stolen my memory card adaptor....with my memory car in it. Choa no mas with that. That was a real downer but that did not stop me from working my tail off this week. We had a district goal to get 10 invitations to be baptized this week for each companionship and if we got it I would make cinnamon rolls for everyone tomorrow. We got 11 ourselves and I am pretty sure that everyone else did awesome too! We came out with 5 baptismal dates and 3 new investigators! FAITH BABY!!! Just got to have it.
Thanks again for everything and for all the love and letters you send. Much love and prayers from Chile!
Love,
Elder Callister
Food Poisoning :(
So this week I was sick.....the whole week! It was absolutely terrible. It was after our huge lunch on Sunday my gut just did not feel right, and from then on I just died. I traveled up to Concepción about 4 times this last week, once for my comp and 3 times for me. I got thrown into the ER on Monday, they found nothing. Wednesday got thrown into a different doctor, found nothing as well. Then Saturday they went and did an ultra sound on my gut aaaaaannnnnd nothing! It was just so great.
It was hard being told to stay in for so much time during the week. The work is so awesome out here and I hate having to miss out on it. But it was doctors’ orders and I felt like crud. I am still not completely better but I feel better now that I don´t have to stay home.
I was given permiso to go and work on Friday. In about 4 hours we found someone (Juan Carlos) taught him and put a baptismal date....it was so crazy! Then we taught Enrique and put the date with him too for the 7th!!! We are so excited!
The best part about the week was yesterday when we found out the first dude we taught, Juan, is actually a member......his is a bit mentally disabled and he totally forgot he was baptized 20 years ago.....I had not laughed so hard in a LONG time!
Thank you all again for your letters and love! I love you all and hope all goes well this week!!
Love,
Elder Callister
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Llamas and Spiderman
Hola everyone!
This week has been Craziness!
First I bought some Llama Socks and that pretty much made my week right off the bat. Then we took a trip to Concepción because my comp got sick. We then ate Cuchurin (cow intestine) and played with a little bunny rabbit. We ate A TON of meat, got ridiculously fat, Then Spider man came out of nowhere and captured me....he was holding me hostage for a few days but then.....I escaped to Neverland!!!
THE END
(See pictures below)
So that was pretty much how this week went....and it was awesome!!! We have been doing really great out here in Laja. Our lessons are so amazing and I have been able to feel the Spirit more and more. We have an investigator named Enrique who we are trying to get baptized the 31st this month! We are planning on having his friend Sofie give the baptismal challenge! She is so excited and really wants him to progress! We had a lot of citas fall this week but we have been running on a lot of faith! The spirit guided me through so much this week especially out contacting in the street. Everything was going super great and then all of a sudden I got sucker punched in the gut with this sickness. It got super bad yesterday and I had to stay home... :´( but I have faith! and I also received a blessing so that will help a lot as well!
Thank you all for your letters and love! I love you all and hope you have a fantastic and safe week!
With much love,
Elder Callister
Oh and I thought of other things you could send for Christmas:
Starbursts
Swedish fish
TUMS!!!!
Aaaaand a little toy Suzuki dirt bike :)
Monday, October 12, 2015
Letter from 10/12/15
So my Birthday was so fun! The day before these two Hermanas from the ward (young women) left after the last Saturday session of conference and then came back without us knowing. Then all of a sudden they tell us to pause the Priesthood Session (we were in the church) so that we could come in to another room. I walk in and there was this huge Torta De Manjar with bebidas y Galletas! (see picture) It was so Awesome! They sing a different happy birthday by the way but other than that it is the same. I had a blast! Then the next day E. Yson made me a Frac Frita Cake (fried fracs). It was the best!
So this week was pretty crazy! We had Cambios (exchanges) and we got a new Elder here in Laja se llama Elder Chidester from Henderson Nevada. This dude is so crazy! We have had so much fun this week getting to know each other and talking about his experience out on the mission (he´s got 20 months out here).
This week we had a lot of citas (appointments) fall but we are still trucking along. I had a few times along the way that were pretty difficult. I got sick one day, then got a bunch of viruses on my memory card the next day, and then totally failed in a couple lessons with investigators. It was bad, but I was able to come out strong from it. I received a blessing from my comp and almost immediately felt the comfort from my Savior. You really do learn to come close to Christ in a completely different way out here. I love it so much and would not ask for anything else.
Other than that the week was pretty chill. This week we have a ton of awesome plans and we are so excited to get going on them! I will let you all know how it goes! Hope you all have a great week!!!
Happy Birthday Elder Callister!
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Letter from 9/28/15
Yay!!! Baptism!!!
We had the baptism of Hermana Ana Maria this last Saturday and it was so amazing!!!!! We got everything all prepped up for the other Elders (because it was their baptism) and were so excited to help her get to this point in her life. Then Elder Yson asked last week if I could baptize her. I guess she had said she didn´t care who did it and that Elder Yson should pick. It was the coolest experience ever!! She was so happy there standing in the water and we couldn´t stop smiling afterward! I love white!!!
We had a super busy week this week. We received a new investigator named Enriquez and he loves the church! He came to church this last week and he loved the classes and especially Sacrament Meeting. We have plans this week to teach Rosa, Catalina, Enriquez, and Edit! Yay!
Funny moment this week:
Elder Haynes was in the bathroom for like 15 minutes after eating something that didn´t settle well with his stomach. So we went and grabbed his bungie cord and tied it around the door handle to the kitchen sink. We took a video of him trying to get out and then when he tried jumping out the window the other way we ran outside and pushed him back in before he could climb out! hahaha it was hilarious.
I love you all and pray for you every day! Hope things are going well and I will talk to you next week!
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Letter from 9/21/15
Thank you so much for the love and support! you are so amazing and I thank you so much for your prayers! I have gotten a lot of support this week and i feel that this week will be a lot better.
This last week was Chile´s Independence day and it was insane!!! I had meat coming out my ears! I love the culture here and all the people! they just want to enjoy life and have fun with their families. We went to a huge parade in the morning and watched all the bands and schools perform. Then we went to Hermana Pobletes home where we became obese. Then we headed back home to die, and after went to a huge fair by the bomberos where we played a bunch of games, had some mote con huesillo, saw a bunch of drunk people, and bought some sweet gifts. That night when we still had time, elder Yson had a brilliant idea. there are these beautiful cookies here called FRACS and they are just so fantastic. Though Elder Yson thought it would be better to deep fry them, because come on everything is better deep fried, cierto? So we bought 40 fracs and deep fried them. Now dont judge us quite yet and say that we are so fat to eat 40 fracs by ourselves. We took them around to our neighbors houses and had them try a bunch. We ended up getting more mote con huesillo, more empanadas, and 14 contactos in about 20 min. Behold, the power of FRACS!!!! T´was so beautiful. So yeah that´s how the 18th went. And I have already decided that we are going to celebrate it back at home every year from now on.
The rest of the week was great. We had an ataque de zona and had some sweet lessons in L.A. We had a great activity with the members on saturday with games, sports, and tons of food. We prefromed some hymns to the ward on elder Ysons ukulele and watched the ward dance the cueca. I just love this country so much!!
So Catalina is not doing so good right now and I think we are going to back off for a little bit. She doesn´t want to talk to anyone right now and she is not doing great with her family. We don´t have anyone progressing right now but we have a ton of faith and are working super hard to get more lessons with people. Also the baptism is going to happen this week instead. So please pray for Ana Maria this week to prepare for her baptism.
This last week was Chile´s Independence day and it was insane!!! I had meat coming out my ears! I love the culture here and all the people! they just want to enjoy life and have fun with their families. We went to a huge parade in the morning and watched all the bands and schools perform. Then we went to Hermana Pobletes home where we became obese. Then we headed back home to die, and after went to a huge fair by the bomberos where we played a bunch of games, had some mote con huesillo, saw a bunch of drunk people, and bought some sweet gifts. That night when we still had time, elder Yson had a brilliant idea. there are these beautiful cookies here called FRACS and they are just so fantastic. Though Elder Yson thought it would be better to deep fry them, because come on everything is better deep fried, cierto? So we bought 40 fracs and deep fried them. Now dont judge us quite yet and say that we are so fat to eat 40 fracs by ourselves. We took them around to our neighbors houses and had them try a bunch. We ended up getting more mote con huesillo, more empanadas, and 14 contactos in about 20 min. Behold, the power of FRACS!!!! T´was so beautiful. So yeah that´s how the 18th went. And I have already decided that we are going to celebrate it back at home every year from now on.
The rest of the week was great. We had an ataque de zona and had some sweet lessons in L.A. We had a great activity with the members on saturday with games, sports, and tons of food. We prefromed some hymns to the ward on elder Ysons ukulele and watched the ward dance the cueca. I just love this country so much!!
So Catalina is not doing so good right now and I think we are going to back off for a little bit. She doesn´t want to talk to anyone right now and she is not doing great with her family. We don´t have anyone progressing right now but we have a ton of faith and are working super hard to get more lessons with people. Also the baptism is going to happen this week instead. So please pray for Ana Maria this week to prepare for her baptism.
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Letter from 9/15/15
We have an investigator named Catalina and she is an interesting case. She has a very hard time believing that there is a God and that you can feel the spirit if you pray. We have been teaching her for a while and she has not felt anything. Well this last week Elder Boyer went with Elder Haynes and had a great lesson with her. She was totally overcome by the spirit!!! woo! It was pretty amazing and we are going to talk to her more today about it!
We have a baptism for Hermana Ana Maria this Saturday and we are so stoked! It´s not our baptism, it´s the other Elders in the house baptism but it´s still going to be super amazing!!!
We have been pretty slow with everything else and it has been a pretty rough week as far as contacting, and meeting all of our goals. This week we made a goal to be more persistent and to really hit it hard on all of our metas! I am excited to get going and just tear it up!
This week is the greatest week of all weeks in Chile......DIESIOCHO!!!!!!! Chile Independence day....so basically we are gonna get super fat....which will be great!! We are going to have a bunch of asados and fiestas with the members and then we will have leftovers for probably the whole rest of the week following...wooo!!!
The rest of the week has been pretty quiet and yet crazy. I still can´t speak the language, still don't understand anyone...it´s great but I love it all no matter what.
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
New Address!! Please write... :)
Elder Callister
Mision Chile Concepción Sur
Castellon 1063, Casilla 3560
Concepción, Biobio Chile
Mision Chile Concepción Sur
Castellon 1063, Casilla 3560
Concepción, Biobio Chile
Letter from 9/7/15
Hey yáll!
This week has been super-fast and has been a ton of work! We are working super hard, speaking a lot of Spanish! I don´t have a lot of time to do anything else except on p day.
Sorry for the short message on Tuesday. My comp, Elder Haynes is great! The work is progressing and we are contacting a lot of people. He is from Florida and has been out for about 14 months. He has served in quite a few areas around here and has been here in Laja for about 2 months.
The area is so sick! It is so stinkin ghetto! The people are super awesome too! All the terrain is like Seattle, super steep and really small. It looks a lot like Idaho in some ways. Not sure if I told you but we went to the top of Laja at the top of the cellphone towers. It was so beautiful! Just green hills and beautiful scenery for miles! It was awesome! Today we went to Antuco, this super huge volcano! Though we kind of ran into a blizzard instead of nice sunshine....I’ll send pics!
The ward is so cool! I got to present myself in testimony meeting yesterday and I got to know a lot more people through church and through almuerzo (lunch) too! Oh yeah, we don’t have dinners here only a small breakfast, almuerzo and then they take dinner at the end of the day at like 9. It’s weird and I am always hungry...but I am still alive.
THE FOOD IS INCREDIBLE!!!!!!! I feel so fat after almuerzo but then of course am starving like an hour later....but it´s all well! We have tons of chicken, meat, empanadas, rice, papas, vegies, and tons and TONS of PAN!!! By far (sorry mom) the best I have ever had in my life!
I love you all! And hope you are doing amazing! Please also could you keep Hermana Marta in your prayers? She is a recent convert and is going through some tough times. Her daughter is dying from a hemorrhage in her brain and she lost her husband about 4 months ago too...it´s not good. Please keep her in your prayers... i love you and take care!!!
Elder Callister
Sorry for the short message on Tuesday. My comp, Elder Haynes is great! The work is progressing and we are contacting a lot of people. He is from Florida and has been out for about 14 months. He has served in quite a few areas around here and has been here in Laja for about 2 months.
The area is so sick! It is so stinkin ghetto! The people are super awesome too! All the terrain is like Seattle, super steep and really small. It looks a lot like Idaho in some ways. Not sure if I told you but we went to the top of Laja at the top of the cellphone towers. It was so beautiful! Just green hills and beautiful scenery for miles! It was awesome! Today we went to Antuco, this super huge volcano! Though we kind of ran into a blizzard instead of nice sunshine....I’ll send pics!
The ward is so cool! I got to present myself in testimony meeting yesterday and I got to know a lot more people through church and through almuerzo (lunch) too! Oh yeah, we don’t have dinners here only a small breakfast, almuerzo and then they take dinner at the end of the day at like 9. It’s weird and I am always hungry...but I am still alive.
THE FOOD IS INCREDIBLE!!!!!!! I feel so fat after almuerzo but then of course am starving like an hour later....but it´s all well! We have tons of chicken, meat, empanadas, rice, papas, vegies, and tons and TONS of PAN!!! By far (sorry mom) the best I have ever had in my life!
I love you all! And hope you are doing amazing! Please also could you keep Hermana Marta in your prayers? She is a recent convert and is going through some tough times. Her daughter is dying from a hemorrhage in her brain and she lost her husband about 4 months ago too...it´s not good. Please keep her in your prayers... i love you and take care!!!
Elder Callister
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Letter from 8/18/15
Seriously I am so excited to get to Chile! It is coming so fast! All but three in our District are going to Chile. The Hermanas are going to Portland and Elder Welburn is going to Texas
School school school....I remember those days. Sounds like it´s pretty crazy over there! I hope the girls get some great teachers! Have them let me know who they have as teachers when school starts.
So we were playing volleyball on Thursday in the gym and all was going well. We were destroying....and the other team was crying. You know, same old same old. Then an Elder comes up to hit the ball. We try to hit it back. We got 3 hits and don´t quite make it over.....though Elder Andrews decided to try and dive for it anyway. Well....he kinda missed and tripped over E. Haymore. He fell, hit his head and everyone cringed as he hit the floor. What everyone did not notice however was that he didn´t just hit his head and get back up. Next thing you know you hear one of the Hermanas scream and run. My companion started having a grand mal seizure. I immediately pushed the Elders out of the way and ran over to my comp. At this point in my life I am thanking God many times for the knowledge and training I have received over the last few years in the medical field. I went and turned him to where his head wouldn´t hit the floor and let it play out until the seizure was over. It finally stopped after about 30 seconds and I was able to start talking to him and check vitals; He started responding after a little while and was able to start coming to about 20 min after it had happened. We took him on a stretcher to the Doctors office and had him rest for the remainder of the day. We later were able to give him a blessing and he is now doing a lot better.
I am really grateful that God is looking out for us. I am grateful for all the trials I go through too. I know that God is always there for us when we need anything and I know that he loves each and every one of us.
School school school....I remember those days. Sounds like it´s pretty crazy over there! I hope the girls get some great teachers! Have them let me know who they have as teachers when school starts.
So we were playing volleyball on Thursday in the gym and all was going well. We were destroying....and the other team was crying. You know, same old same old. Then an Elder comes up to hit the ball. We try to hit it back. We got 3 hits and don´t quite make it over.....though Elder Andrews decided to try and dive for it anyway. Well....he kinda missed and tripped over E. Haymore. He fell, hit his head and everyone cringed as he hit the floor. What everyone did not notice however was that he didn´t just hit his head and get back up. Next thing you know you hear one of the Hermanas scream and run. My companion started having a grand mal seizure. I immediately pushed the Elders out of the way and ran over to my comp. At this point in my life I am thanking God many times for the knowledge and training I have received over the last few years in the medical field. I went and turned him to where his head wouldn´t hit the floor and let it play out until the seizure was over. It finally stopped after about 30 seconds and I was able to start talking to him and check vitals; He started responding after a little while and was able to start coming to about 20 min after it had happened. We took him on a stretcher to the Doctors office and had him rest for the remainder of the day. We later were able to give him a blessing and he is now doing a lot better.
I am really grateful that God is looking out for us. I am grateful for all the trials I go through too. I know that God is always there for us when we need anything and I know that he loves each and every one of us.
Sunday, August 16, 2015
Letter from 8/11/15
This week
went by really fast! It's crazy to think that I only have 2 more weeks here! I
have been praying and fasting a lot about the language and it is coming along
really well!
We have
firesides every Tuesday night and 2 on Sundays. They are so much fun! We also
watch a movie every Sunday night too. I am glad to hear that you are going to
be doing this challenge. I know it will bring many blessings!
I can’t even believe
that Elder Burnett and Elder Thornton are home already! That went by too fast!
That is not good for me at all! That just means I can't waste any time here.
Got to work work work! That's all I do around here. Work for about 13 hours a
day. Study work eat study work and eat. But I love it!
This last
Sunday I gave my first sacrament talk in Español. It was so much fun! I felt
the spirit so much and I was really confident in myself. It was great (: I have
4 investigators now and I love teaching them. They are all really different
from each other! My teaching is better, my Spanish is better, and life is just
great!
Letter from 8/4/15
I am doing
well! Thank you! This week was pretty much the same as all the other weeks busy
busy busy! My district is so awesome! Most of them are from Utah. One is from
Wyoming, another from Mississippi, and two from Arizona. Then we got little old
Kuna, ID over here ;)
So in answer
to your question about your lesson, I would add: the importance of realizing
that a calling was made for a reason from God. We are all God's children and
must all be treated as such. Yes some can be quite annoying or different, but
it is important to develop Christ like attributes and love everyone.
This last Sunday we had a devotional. We watched a devo
that Elder Bednar gave to the Provo MTC a while ago. First off, I have never heard
a devotional as inspiring as this one, it was SO amazing! In the devo it talked
about how we as latter Day Saints need to learn to ''Turn Out" when others
''Turn In''. In other words, we need to learn to be Christ like when others are
selfish. I don't know if you could watch it on LDS.org but if you can try to do
so for next FHE! There is a challenge in this talk that I want to give to you
all. The challenge is to find ways to be more like Christ and to learn how to
Turn Out in those difficult times. The best way we can learn how to do so is in
the scriptures. So, What I have started to do and what I would like you all to
do is go get the family cheap copies of the Book of Mormon. Then from front to
back, read the whole book with a question in mind. In this case, "How can
I learn to Turn Out when other Turn In?" As you read, mark only scriptures
that help to answer this question. I have felt a change in myself by doing so. I
have felt the spirit constantly with me to help me become a representative of
Christ. I know this will bring many blessing to our family by doing so and it
will help us to come closer to Christ and our Father in Heaven.
Letter from 7/28/15
I am doing
great this week! It went by so stinkin’ fast! I've been super busy this week
and have had so much fun teaching and learning the language.
My Spanish is
coming along great and I love the people here. Los Latinos son incredible y me encanta
hablar con ellos. They have such
a sweet spirit and love talking to all the gringos ;)
I'm feeling
really good now. The day after i wrote yáll last week I woke up with tonsillitis
and rhinitis. It sucked...but I feel a lot better now. A nasty stomach bug is
going around here and tons of missionaries are down with it. I've been making
sure to wash my hands a bunch and use lots and lots of hand sanitizer. Está
bien.
This week I
learned a lot about patience. Elder Andrew's is a great guy and wants to do
good, but he doesn't always want to work or study or doing any of the above. It
was hard because I was in such a go go go attitude and it felt like it was
dragging the whole time. Our lessons with the investigators went well but I
feel it could have gone better. He's a good guy and I love him, I just want him
to want to do better. I know he can.
So the
funniest thing that happened this week was when Elder Haymore and Elder Coulotta
went to teach our investigator and they were teaching about the prophet. He
tells him: Alejandro, it is very important in our day to follow the prophet. So
all of a sudden he takes out his phone while they are still talking to him and
then he says: look! He had pulled up Pres. Monson's twitter page and said he
would "follow'' the prophet. jajaja It was ridiculous.
Elder
Coulotta has made a big impact on me this week. He has shown me what a great
example of a missionary was and how to be the best you can be. I asked him to
give me a blessing when I got sick and he was kind of taken back because he had
never given a blessing before. He and his companion both helped with it and all
the others stood around and helped. It was a really cool experience.
I love this work! I love you so much and I am so glad to
be able to get your letters! I hope you have a great week this week and I will
talk to you next Tuesday!!
First letter from the MTC! 7/21/15
Mi compañero
is great! His name is Élder Andrews. At first he was a little strange and then
I got to know him a
little more over the past week. He is from Draper, UT and he also is fresh meat
from high school. He has a great spirit and loves to learn. He struggles a lot
with the language so I have been trying to help as much as possible. He's got
the drive and will power to learn I just sometimes gotta kick it out of him.
So the food
is pretty much the most authentic food ever, and I love it! Though sometimes
the food does not like me back...it's pretty much as they say, beans, rice, and
corn tortillas! But today is pizza night and ALLL the white kids here all very
excited ;)
Mexico is
freakin ghetto! Seriously thought I was going to die on the way to the CCM.
People just walk out in the middle of the road like they own the place and cars
are constantly slamming into each other. It´s kinda cool though. I love the
culture here and los Latinos are pretty dang awesome as well. The CCM is the
biggest in property size but Provo is still the biggest one out of all of them.
We have about 90 acres of land with so much to do around it. We have 20 ft
barbed wire fences lining the whole place with guards at the entrance and exit
points. I feel really safe here and the spirit is so amazing. We went to the
temple today to go through the visitor’s center. It was so beautiful! The
Mexico City temple is the biggest temple outside the US. We felt the spirit so
much going through the tour. I got some great stuff al la Tienda (store) and we
got to see some great stuff on our way back al CCM. We also sang hymns en
Español the whole way there....my voice is shot!
I have come
so close to my Heavenly Father here. I have especially come close to my Savior,
Jesus Christ. I know that he lives and loves each and every one of us. He wants
all to come unto Him. And yes, that is the MOST important news we can tell
people today, and I am doing just that right now.
Welcome to Elder Damon Callister's Mission Blog! I'll try to post here every week with Elder Callister's letters and photos. He's having a wonderful experience so far and will be leaving the Mexico City MTC next week. I'll post changes in his address and please send letters! Emails are great but these Elders love getting snail mail too. :)
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