October 26, 2015

We had Leadership Exchanges this week. It is when we swap with missionaries across the mission instead of just within the District or Zone. We found two new investigators, and by that I mean for the other Elders area that I was in. Micky and Shaylee. They are awesome. Micky wasn't sure if God existed but he prayed at the end of the lesson which is a huge thing. Shaylee believed in a God and has gone to different churches with her friends, including ours, but has never really studied Him.

We also have a baptism coming up in the District. She has been through a lot as she has made the decision to be baptized. She got kicked out and disowned by her parents. Quit collage so she could pick up a full time job so she can live and has had a few other hurdles to get over. She and her boyfriend were having problems. But when she had finally made the decision to be baptized and work with him she said it was a whole lot easier than she thought it would be. 1 Nephi 3:7 at work!! I love it when the scriptures can be applied to our lives.

We also taught Marisa and Ryan about the Word of Wisdom, which I thought would be difficult to share and have them accept the invitation to give up coffee, tea and alcohol. They had made a few comments before we taught this lesson about how they liked the flavor of beer and wine and when we go over they almost always have a bottle of tea in the front room. But all that day I was praying that Heavenly Father would soften their hearts to accept this commandment and to strengthen mine and Elder Farnsworths to say what He wanted us to say. Well when we got to the hard part of inviting them they readily accepted. I was almost stunned. ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE!

We helped re-roof a house which was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. Mostly because we just put the new roofing onto of the old. I really liked it!

Well this next week is going to be awesome! I want to hear one time this week that a scripture applied to a time in your life. YES I WANT YOU TO EMAIL ME. jacob.mccallson@myldsmail.net just click it and write. I made it easy. These times happen all the time you just have to have your eyes open and your heart more open.

Love you all,

Elder McCallson

October 19, 2015

This week was good. We were packed with service. Elder Farnsworth is a big bike guy and there is this second chance exchange place that asked for our help to fix/repair the bikes so they could donate them to Bikes for Boise or something like that. So we now have an ongoing service project. It is fun because I get to learn how to fix my problems on my bike.

We also helped a family split wood. For 6 hours. Funny enough though only my right hand thumb hurts. Where as the other elders that helped said they hurt all over. We all walked away with minimal injury. One got hit in a bad place by a piece of wood that was on the splitter that jumped off. I dropped a hundred or so lb stump on my toe. It is good I think  I don't think it is broken.

Other than that this week kind of just slipped by. I was surprised when Sunday came around.

Love,

Elder McCallson

October 12, 2015

This week was awesome!!

Josh was Baptized!! Pic further down. The ward has been working with and on him for the last three years when his mom was baptized. He finally decided it was time for him to make this covenant.

We also found two new investigators Micah and Heydn (no i did not misspell his name). They are 9 and 12 and their dad was baptized a little over a year ago and have been attending church with him but have never really had an interest in being baptized.

Something I have noticed in just this last month or so is that the youth of the world are searching for God. It has been interesting as most of our investigators are youth. I guess after the strict years of religion pushing then with the generation of step off we are hitting a generation who wants the love that only Heavenly Father can provide.

My testimony is that there is some things that only God can provide and that only parents can come close to, insert a word that is stronger than copy, in the lives of the children of men. We are just like children when it comes to our problems. I have see a few kids that kick and scream when they don't get what they want so they turn to things that make them more unhappy and others that take it patiently until they either get their way or figure ways that work just as well. That is what I think Christ was saying when he told us to be like a child. We just get caught up often in the heat of the moment and through a temper tantrum and blame the only being in the universe that cares more about our happiness than his own.

When times are going rough remember one that some one has it worse than you but two there is always a Father in Heaven to turn to instead of the things of the world that bring only temporary happiness then greater anger, sadness, frustration, etc. 

Josh's Baptism

October 5, 2015

This week was fantastic. With General Conference and the service we got to do it just flew by. This was the last week of the transfer. Elder Farnsworth and I are still together for at least one more. It is crazy because most of the missionaries I know are going home now. My trainer just went home.

I think one of the hardest things is when people ask how long have you been out, or how long do you have left. I don't really want to think about it. It makes me a little sad. I have been out for over a year already and I am still learning so much. I don't want it to end.

This conference was awesome!! I just sat and listened as they spoke. It was amazing to me to have very little distractions and just listen intently on what they were speaking. One of my favorite parts was Elder Holland's talk about mothers. Before you do anything bad think of your mother (Butchered that quote). Really though that has been one of my biggest motivators to do what is right. It has helped get me to where I am now.

I know that our experience here on earth is only a fraction of what our Heavenly Father feels for us but I know that He is even more saddened because we move ourselves from Him.

But through the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ we can come to our Father in Heaven. I really think that that was one of the biggest things talked about in General Conference. 

SO IF YOU DIDN'T WATCH IT GO TO LDS.ORG AND WATCH IT!!

I love you all,

Elder McCallson

September 28, 2015

This week was a little slow. We had this list that we have been working through to see if anyone is interested in us sharing our message at their house. So far no one has really been enthusiastic about us coming back, but we have found a few people that missionaries have stopped by in the past and said we could come back. They just follow that up with "I'm, [insert religion here]."

Anyway, we are excited for General Conference this Saturday and Sunday!! Most of our investigators have said that they would watch it, they also said that we could come and watch it with them so that we can explain things that they don't understand. We has Marisa and Ryan come to church and the first time was when we got a new Bishop on a fast Sunday then they came this last week which was the Primary Program and the next week is General Conference then we will be back at a fast Sunday again. They are just not able to see how a regular Sacrament Meeting is like. Anyways Ryan grew up with no real religious background so we are building up his faith that there is a God. He has always believed that there was a higher power but never really had something to hold on to. So we had a great opportunity, to compare to the scriptures, like Ammon and King Lamoni. He is always thinking and pondering what we say and then asks questions. His wife, Marisa grew up Catholic but left when it seemed to her to be all about the money. She has asked some of the deeper questions like infant baptism and what a high priest is. They are awesome!!

Josh is one of the other really moving investigators. He has a baptismal date for the 10th of October. We could really use your prayers to keep him on track. His mom is a convert of about 2 years and his dad is a less active member. His sister Grace just turned 8 and wants to be baptized and so we are teaching both of them. It has been awesome to see the difference from those who really haven't had a religious background to those that have been going for the last 3 years and just never decided to be baptized.

Other than that not much else has happened.

LOVE,

ELDER McCALLSON

District in September 2015

September 21, 2015

We had a blast this week. It started off pretty tough though. I had this horrible runny nose which is still persisting today. I have gotten up a few times just writing this email to blow my nose. On Monday we had a Zone P-day and played Mario Cart Balloons where we tied three balloons around our ankles and tried to kill eachother... I mean pop the other missionaries balloons. I had a killer headache and so I had this other missionary hand me like 3 ibpros and 2 advils. I think they may have been trying to kill me.

We also were able to hid from all the others that we had made two cheesecakes that morning. Elder Farnsworth made a Peanut Butter Oreo cheesecake and I made a Chocolate Marble Cheesecake with Strawberry filling and Chocolate fudge on the top.

Tuesday we took them to our District meeting where we also had our mission president, President Winder, and his wife there to have interviews with us. Needless to say they really enjoyed it. So did we and our District. Later that night we taught some investigators that a member had been working with for the past 4 months or so and they agreed to be baptized. Now we just have to set a date.

On Wednesday we had a new missionary training meeting for Elder Farnsworth. They gave us some really great ideas on how we can better do street contacting which we have turned into tracting. Well contacting names that missionaries left behind. The reason I say names is because they had two full sheets of names and addresses with no information. So that is a bit annoying. But hey we have had a great time getting the door approach down.

Later in the week we had a non-member give us casserol, a European squash, some apples, and some baked potatoes. It was great. I am not sure how interested they are in hearing the message we have to share but they do love the missionaries. I have found that there are really two kinds of people up here. Those who hate missionaries (not just LDS ones but any), and those who think it is really neat that we are out here serving the Lord. There might be a small minority of people who really don't care what we are doing.

Other than that we really didn't have much else happen this week.

Love,

Elder McCallson

Rainbow

Another Beautiful Sky

September 14, 2015

This week was awesome! I am not sure what to write about though. We had an opportunity to go to the Temple this week. That always makes things better. We also set a baptismal date with a 14 year old boy that has just been hesitating to get baptized for the last 3 years. 

We also have been working on getting our investigators to church. That has been one of the greatest problems I have run into on my mission. JUST COME TO CHURCH!

One of the greatest miracles I have had on my mission is to come to truly understand my relationship with my Father in Heaven. All the doctrine and speculation aside, I have found that Heavenly Father is constantly reaching out to us to bring us back into His light. As I have tried to go closer a wider and wider chasm seems to appear. The more I try to change to become like Christ the farther I feel at times. As missionaries we teach about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Faith in Christ, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End. Well, I have already been baptized and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. But what of Faith and Repentance and Enduring? I always though the I had good faith, knowing that it could always be stronger, but until I had to put it to the test to defend the Church and Christ from others; my faith has increased so much. Now repentance. First repentance isn't a bad thing, nor is it always because you sin. If you take the work repentance it means to change from who you are to who God wants you to be. That has been a great struggle for me. I would have never said that I was a very prideful person, but as I have been trying to give my whole heart and soul to God; I have really come to see how much work I have to do. I guess that is also what it means to Endure. My thing is that I don't want to just Endure I want to Endure Well. To go from I am doing this or that because I have to, to I am a disciple of Jesus Christ because I want to be. I have found that that is the best change that anyone here on earth can make. I can honestly say that since I have been out I have changed on many things. I know that Heavenly Father loves each one of us as His children. We are of Noble Birth. Nothing is impossible with the Lord.

I love you all!

Elder McCallson

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake, YUM!

Elder Farnsworth and Me

Elder Farnsworth and PB Cup Cheesecake

August 31,2015

This week was awesome! I have a new, new companion, Elder Farnsworth. He just stepped off the plane Tuesday. He is awesome. I know that this next transfer is going to be fantastic. Mostly because he gets my obscure movie quotes and reminds me of Elder Jared Morris. I will try to send a picture next week of the two of us but we will have to see if I can remember.

I have noticed many things on my mission, but one of the biggest things is...I forget easily. If I don't write it in my planner then I completely space whatever it was that we were suppose to do. I am so glad that we are in companionships because at least one of us remembers to write something down so we don't forget everything.

I am not really sure what else to write. It gets harder and harder, while you are on a mission, to think of things to write home about. We have slowly been cleaning up all the potential people that may or may not be interested in hearing our message. It is hard because they never seem to be home when we stop by. I sometimes wonder if missionaries just talk to the person outside then write their name down as a potential investigator and forget to go back, so that when another missionary, me, gets to the area they think,"Sweet look at all the work we have to do!" Then as you proceed down the list just about everyone says they are not interested in listening to us. It is heart breaking at times because I want them to know the Joy and Blessings that the message of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ can bring them.

I can also tell that the adversary is working on them too. We come across some very rude people that don't use very nice words when telling us to leave. Also as we ride down the streets sometimes you can hear people yell things.

My personal thoughts on this is why do they yell at us? Do the Jehovah's Witnesses get yelled at when they are walking down the road proselyting? If so, why? "Can't we all just get along?" I was always taught if you don't have something nice to say, yell at the person to make them want to yell at me back to get our points across... oh wait, it may have been DON'T SAY ANYTHING AT ALL! But, everyone has their agency some just are not as smart when it comes to using theirs... I am not sure if that is a nice thing for missionaries to say but, i'm only human; and I am trying to be like Jesus. So I don't yell back or anything and I try to think that maybe they just had a bad day or experience with a member and when they really come to know about the Church they will change their mind. It is just getting the opportunity to go back and teach that is the hard thing, because they have already decided that they are not interested in anything we have to say.

But, all in all, most of the people we come into contact with are really nice at turning us away. They say how appreciative they are that we are out here sharing our message about Christ but they already found Him and are good. So we just have to smile and try a little more to see if they might want us to come back, but then some start to get agitated and tell us a little more forcefully that they are not interested. We have to just smile and wave goodbye. Then we write their name down for the next set of missionaries to stop by... :P

Summer is on the downhill slide. I thought that when summer started that work would go up due to people being home. But here it is the complete opposite. Everyone wants to get out of the heat and go to the lake. So things will start to get back to normal as people will be in town.

Side note: will someone find me a definition for what a Christian is? Or if there are multiple definitions or classifications would you send those to me.

Elder McCallson

Elder Farnsworth, the new arrival

August 24, 2015

This week was awesome! We are still working on finding new investigators and teaching but, all is well.

Elder Davis got transferred to Boise Central Stake where I use to be. Not the same ward but the same district I was in. I am still a District Leader and a trainer. I will get to meet the fresh meat... I mean, new missionaries on Tuesday, as that is the day they step off the plane to get to Boise. My District has grown from 3 companionship including my own to 4. We added another set of Elders. Elder Lowe and a new missionary who will also be stepping off the plane Tuesday.

The Meadowlark ward, the ward we covered the last three weeks, was sad to see us go. I didn't realize how much the loved us until the Bishop took us aside, when he learned that we were getting transferred out, and told us that he had talked with President Winder to keep us serving in his ward. I think that was the first time a Bishop has wanted me to stay in his ward. Or at least told me that he wanted us to stay.

We also had to leave behind our new convert, Cheri, but I will still get to see her as the ward is still in my District and I will get to go on exchanges there at times.

I left my camera behind so I will send pictures next week.

I know that my Redeemer lives, I know that He is ever watchful and knows when we are strongest and when we are weakest. I know that He allows us to be tempted but that if we turn to Him in all we do He will give us strength beyond anything that we could imagine. I know that as we grow our relationships with our families through faith in Jesus Christ that we will come closer not only to each other but to our Heavenly Father and the Savior. If you truly search for Heavenly Father in your life He will show Himself. But only to those who are willing the change their hearts, views, and ideas about what they have been taught to the Truth that He has to share. He is waiting to bless you, will you delay?

Peace be unto you,

Elder McCallson

August 17, 2015

This week was awesome! We had a baptism in our ward Cheri. She was totally prepared to learn and grow in the Gospel. The Elders met her about 12 weeks ago, then they got transferred out and Sister missionaries came in and started to teach her. Then they got moved out prematurely and we finished the teaching and the baptism. She gave up coffee and smoking from the time that the missionaries taught her about the Word of Wisdom. She is a walking miracle.

We also met a Pentecostal minister who started to teach us about the Bible. It was fun that as his translator was explaining things and names that we readily agreed with the people he was talking about and the stories he was sharing. He was quite surprised about all the stories and understanding we had. Oh by the way, he is from Tanzania (in Africa). We are going to go back and ask some questions that we ran out of time to ask last time. But, before that, there were all these people sitting on this front porch so Elder Davis said we should go talk to them. So we went back and the first real teaching after they asked their basic questions of Do you believe in the bible and Jesus Christ, they then went straight into Baptisms for the Dead. It was crazy as when one person would walk inside another person would come outside so we would have to reexplain what we had already said to the others and then they would start to bring up different ideas and doctrine into the conversation. It was great as there was a husband and wife that were there that as we spoke and shared our testimonies and understandings that they started to soften. But then there was this one guy that couldn't help but yell as he was trying to show that he was right and we caught him in a few traps of his own words. Then the pastor came and I ended up talking to him through a translator as Elder Davis was able to talk with the husband of the previously mentioned couple. While the wife translated for me to the Pastor.

We also on top of all that had a Zone Conference which was fantastic! IT was a real boost to my spirit as we talked about how we can better teach and listen to our investigators and other. We really worked on finding root problems and concerns instead of trying to throw on Band-Aid (Copyright)[I don't know how to make the symbol ;) ] on every problem or what we may think the problem is. I then also realized that I know a lot of people. As we were there and had some time to mingle I was able to talk to a lot of missionaries that I had not seen in a long time.

I wish I had pictures to send of the baptism but my Blender Bottle(copyright) broke and water-logged my bag so I had to let the camera dry before I tried to turn it on. Yes mom it still works.

I look forward to this next week.

Love,

Your friendly neighborhood missionary.

ps: that is Elder McCallson by the way.

August 10, 2015

Blog:

This was the first full week of having a second ward here. I can honestly say that I have never been more busy in my whole mission than I am right now.

I has been amazing to see the strength that God gives as He lends greater responsibility to His children. One of the things I have learned this week is that we truly are weak in all things compared to Christ. The thing that taught me that is I often wonder why people do dumb things, myself included. Why do we argue, point blame, backbite, degrade, etc.? Then I think how much I need to work on those things. It is really a great self check as you see things that bug you that other people do, cause often I have found that those are the things that I need to work on.

This upcoming week we have two baptisms scheduled. So it is going to be a busy Saturday for us.

We had a great training on Friday that really puts how simple the teachings of Christ are into simple ideas and words. I have often wondered why people say there are things that Christ has said that we just cannot understand. I think we often forget the simple nature of what he has said, "ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be open unto you." That has been one of the biggest focuses in teaching. We are here to invite those we come into contact with, to ask so they can receive.

The summer is winding down this week as more people are getting ready to go back to school. It is so much easier to contact people during the summer because they are outside,  whereas during the winter it has been a lot harder to get into people's homes. Really getting their door open is what is hard.

I look forward to these next few weeks as the change of the seasons brings nicer weather.

Party on,

Elder McCallson

A green smoothie?

Homemade Cheesecake

August 3, 2015

Blog:

This week was awesome! We had Leadership Exchanges (three zones get together at the mission office where we switch companions for a day, the senior companions have a little training meeting too) my companion was Elder Hull. I had met him one time before when I was in my first area. We got a lot of work done. It was great.

We also were called up by our Mission President to cover another ward. So, with that ward added on we now have very little time for anything. This is the second time that I have had the opportunity to balance two wards. By that I mean being the first set of missionaries to cover both those wards. It is fun and exhausting and exciting all at the same time. The only problem is we don't know if we are going to continue to serve there or if it is just for the rest of the transfer. So we shall see.

This month we were invited by the Summerwind ward to read the Book of Mormon in the month (August Rush). So, I naturally accepted. I have done this before and had it as a goal for the new year to do it every month, the only problem is that some days you just don't have enough time to read all that you need to and study for your lessons and prepare this and go here or there. So it kind of dropped off.

I am excited to start the month of August off with a firm resolution to trust firmly in the Lord and search His word. I love you all.

Elder McCallson

Bullseye!  I didn't make it, my companion, Elder Davis did!

July 20, 2015

Blog:

I really don't have much to report this week as all our time was spent catching me up on the people we are working with, meeting with the Auxillary Leaders (Relief Society and Primary mostly), and the Ward Mission Leader. I had my first district meeting which was on planning, and had to kick a dead horse, in a sense, because I have no new ideas on how to plan better. We will see how my next one goes.

We did however find a new investigator. So that was awesome!

I love you all,

Elder McCallson

July 13, 2015

Well this is an interesting week. I knew that I was going to be transferred so I started making my rounds to say goodbye to all the awesome people. It was a bitter sweet moment for me. I really feel like I am understanding what other missionaries were talking about.

I always thought that 6 months really isn't enough time for you to become close with lots of people, but I was proved wrong. I know that I will miss them but no where is really far in this mission. So I will see them around.

I didn't expect what happened with this call. I am now a District Leader and follow up training a missionary, Elder Davis. It will be really interesting to see how it will all turn out. Please and thank you for the prayers.

The Last Zone P-day we had was okay. We had an elder bring this game called Munchkin and I ended up getting roped into a 2 1/2 hour game. Other than that this week was full of contacting with no real "success" as people would classify it. On Saturday Eagle had this thing called "Eagle Fun Days".  They had this great parade that marched down State Street, but at the end, the fire department gots out their hoses and the people of the community brought water guns and there was a huge water fight. Needless to say...we got wet!

I am glad that I had the great opportunity to meet the people of Eagle and serve them.

I really ran out of things to write. 

Just be good,

Elder McCallson

July 6, 2015

This week was the 4h of July. I could literally see 20 different shows from our loft. We had to be in by 8 and I guess that was good because I really wanted to light off fireworks and because I am a missionary I can't, so that was a load taken off my shoulders.

The family we live with left for a vacation so they asked us to take care of their dogs, fish, and turtle. We later learned that they had been in a car wreck with a horse in Wyoming. That was interesting. They are all good but the car I guess was totaled.

The heat has been horrible...being over 100 all week long. Until Sunday, that is, when it rained and dropped to 72.

We helped some non-members move to a new house...which is still in the mission so I may have the opportunity to serve in their ward.

Other than that I am looking forward to this next week. We will see on Saturday if I get transferred or if I have the opportunity to stay here.

I hope all is well back home.

God be with you till I write again,

Elder McCallson

June 29, 2015

Monday was great. We had a zone p-day of basket ball and volleyball. It was nice to have time to really play and relax as that last week was crazy. Got haircuts.

Tuesday we had to finish the service that we started. We have some awesome pics but I need to get them from the other missionaries. A full day of contacting and almost no doors opened.

Wednesday was good. We had lunch with a single sister and her home teacher. They had panda express and I had Subway only because I am not that big of a fan of panda... they made fun of me. But it was all good. Elder Castillo was able to get to the physical therapist again so that is making it easier on our work load. Or we can work more because he is in less pain.

Thursday was district meeting and interviews with president. It was weird because my interview was way shorter than anyone else's. Tried some more contacting...by the way this was the first day it was really over 100 for a majority of the day and we didn't have enough miles for the rest of the month so we had to ride our bikes. The only real problem was that Elder Castillo wrecked his back tire so we borrowed Elder Garcia's tire while we took his into the shop. (Later we learned that the gear was rusted on there so bad that they couldn't get it off to do the necessary repairs so he has to buy a new one).

Friday service. We helped this non-member family with some work around their house. We have helped them in the past cutting and moving wood and junk so that they could really get started on cleaning up the yard. Well we went over with a weed whacker and they had a lawn mower. I started whacking and brother Young (the non-member) started mowing when about 30 mins in it caught on fire literally so we had to stop. We helped clean up some of their yard and load up their truck to take stuff to the dump. That night we had my first birthday party with the Hall's in the ward. They are moving and wanted to throw me a party before either they left or I did. We watched Meet the Mormons.

SATURDAY BIRTHDAY!!! It started with service at a less actives house. We were helping clean up his barn and we were doing some sweet parkour around. Well I did at least. We then drove home got ready and went to lunch with some members in our ward as they wanted to treat me to lunch at a local Mongolian restaurant. It was awesome! We then tried to visit some other people who of course didn't open their doors. It was turning out to be a pretty bummer birthday. Until we went to the Thorn's for dinner. We went to Chipotle it was so good. We hung out for a little while there as we let our stomachs settle for the cake she had made for me. Double Chocolate  We then went to the Stadler's who wanted to take me out for ice cream. I was completely full by this time and both Elder Castillo and I thought we were going to die. It was a great day all in all.

Sunday we were in meetings all day, which was good with me. From Thursday to Sunday the temp was over 100 everyday. So I was fine being in a nice ac'd building. Had a quick dinner and that was pretty much it.

I am really looking forward to this next week as we are getting more organized with who we can visit and when is the best time. I am really grateful for all the help and strength that you are all to me.

Elder McCallson

Why I Love My Weight

Birthday at the Stadlers

 

June 22, 2015

Not much time today sorry.
This week was great so I will go over the highlight reel.

On Monday we had a great meeting with the primary president who use to be the relief society president so now she know everyone. She gave us quite a few people to stop by and with great hopes we started the week.

Tuesday we started on some of the names she gave us and what a success. We met with sister Su, who's first question was "who sent you?" It was interesting to watch her turn from sort of a clam all tight and close to really opening up and showing us a great pearl of a daughter of God. We met another member who was moving and accepted our help but we had to wait til the following day. We met with a gentleman who is not a member but comes to church pretty regularly. We are going to work on him to see if he has any interest in increasing his knowledge and faith in the Savior or in other words invite him to take the lessons.

Wednesday we helped that family move out as their land lord sold the house out from under them.... that is happening quite a bit here in Eagle right now... Met with our new eternal investigator. He is going through quite a bit right now but said he is grateful for our visits and that he may want to be baptized but not right now. So we are going to let the Spirit work on him for a little bit.

Thursday we had the worst and best service ever. We layered rocks around a new man made pond in a subdivision. I will try to get pics for it. We couldn't finish it all in one day so we went back Saturday. Met the Hranacs in the ward, they have a turtle.

Friday was district meeting. We then finished cleaning up sister Blodgett's, bamboo lady, yard.

Saturday some service as previously mentioned above as we also helped a less active member who wasn't even there. Random call from a member for service they too are moving but not because their land lord sold their house but because they let him know that they were building a house and moving out in a few months so he was going to raise their rent $1000. So they were happy to leave.

Sunday... Father's day. Two missionary farewells and a missionary home coming. It was awesome!

Love,

Elder McCallson

Turtle and Me

Awesome Sign!

 

 

 

 

June 15,2015

Monday was great! It was a zone p-day we played rugby almost the whole time. It was 98 degrees and the sun was out in full strength. So, being the type of person I am, I got a headache that night because I didn't drink enough water. But, we had an awesome dinner. Crapes! They were so good.

Tuesday went fast. We had district meeting that morning. It was really weird because it was so silent. Mostly because we kicked the sisters out of the district. We then tried some contacting but really no one was out as it was just about as hot as it was Monday. We had dinner drop off of pasta casserole. It was good but no meat. I was a little disappointed. But we looked out our window and saw a member across the street who needed some help moving dirt. So we rushed out to help him as all our other plans had cancelled on us that night. We worked with him for about 2 hours. Also, the young men's president and a few priests left to go harvest a pig for a party the 4th ward youth were going to have Wednesday night. So they came back, this happened while we were working on moving the dirt. We saw them come back and wanted to see it. We ended up helping them dig a hole, start a fire, put the pig on it, and cover it for the party. Needless to say that took us to the end of the night. I felt very accomplished.

Wednesday was slow to start. By the time lunch rolled around not much had happened. We visited Curtis. He has had a very hard life. Most people we have talked to about Curtis say that he is completely changed from the way he was before he became a member of the church. He laughs and talks now where as before, they say, he was a very quite and almost bitter man. And with all the things he has told us I can see why. We then left to visit some more people in the 3rd ward. We met this brother and boy was he one weird dude. We got in there and started to talk with him and he started to talk about menopause.... I think that is how you spell it... anyways he said that he was this tough farmer now he sometimes catches himself tearing up a commercials. Anyways... it was great to get to know him and his wife. We then road from there to dinner. Sweet and sour chicken and rice. It was really good. We then went from there to help with the pig. We unburied it, and moved it to the grass where it just started to fall apart as we unwrapped it. It was great! The only problem was that we didn't dig the pit big enough or deep enough and only half of the pig cooked. So we got to take some home and try and cook it.

Thursday we had this thing called Just Serve that started. It is where we as missionaries serve without proselyting. It was really weird as we cleaned some class rooms at a school. It was gross to think how dirty the desks and chairs and room was after a year of school. I am glad that I don't have to go to school anymore.... well until I get back that is. I think that almost all of our investigators are tired of seeing us as no one would open their doors. I guess this is the curse of Summer. Dinner finally rolled around and we got to have some fun on stilts before as we waited for the husband to get home. We then road to church for our 4th ward correlation meeting and were able to make some good visits.

Friday was a special day as we got a car. A Jeep Compass. My only real problem with it is my sister bought one and the sister missionaries in Star had it so it has been forever in my mind that it is a girl car. My companion keeps trying to reassure me that it's not but I probably won't change my mind. As missionaries we have an allotted amount of miles that we get to dive each month. Well the sisters that had the car before us when they dropped their car off 10 days into the month drove 400 miles. To put that into perspective in my last area for the first 3 months of my mission I had a car and we got about 450 miles for the month. Now this area is a bit bigger so we would get more than that but I am not sure how much more. So we are have to watch how much we drive until we are told how many we get. We gave it a wash and vacuumed it out... it was a mess.... filled up the tires that were low and then had to pick up some Elders for service. We almost have all the bamboo gone from the sisters yard. It has only taken us 2-3 months. We then visited another sister from the 3rd ward that really likes it when we stop by. Had dinner, then met with our eternal investigator of the 4th ward. By that we mean that he is slowly making progress but keeps refusing to be baptized. He wanted to watch a movie about Joseph Smith that he found and we were kind of worried that it was an anti-mormon movie but to our surprise it was Joseph Smith Prophet of the Restoration on Netflix. He also prayed when we asked him to. So we are not really sure what else to do with him...

Saturday we helped do some service for a brother in the 4th ward that lives in the 5th ward with his girlfriend who is sort of taking the lessons. So as missionaries we teach only those in our area. But, there are sometimes boundary exceptions like this brother lives in another ward but his records are in our ward because he is building a house in our ward. Anyways we did quite a bit of clean up as he is wanting to start landscaping. Went home weekly planned had some studies. Went to dinner. Tied to contact some more but no luck. But, we again looked out our window and this same brother was now spreading mulch. So we ran over and helped with that. We then had smores and I was so happy. I have wanted those for so long.

Sunday was crazy. Now that we have two wards we also have double the meetings to go to. We had ward council for both wards at 9 then 3rd ward correlation at 10 and sacrament for 3rd ward at 11 we then are a little lunch at 12:30 then went to sacrament for the 4th ward. We drove home in time for us to leave for dinner. Again our plans cancelled on us so we really didn't have much to do the rest of the night. Made a few stops at members we hadn't seen in a while. One of them is moving as they closed a deal on their house on Saturday the full price they asked for. The couple that bought it is from California and thought it was a great deal. This is one of the big homes on one of the wealthiest streets in all of eagle. So this was not cheep. But hey, I guess moving from where houses are insane to where only the big houses are crazy is good.

This week was a little slow in all. But, I know that this next week will be awesome! I am really excited to be able to get around faster now that we have a car. I really hope I have more fun stories to tell you about next week. I love you all.

Elder McCallson

 

Buried Pig 

 

Walking on Stilts



June 8, 2015

Monday was interesting. First day of having two wards. We called people to make appointments to meet the ward mission leader but no luck but we were able to call him and set up an appointment. We had dinner with pretty much no luck.

Tuesday started off with us going to a physical therapist for my comp. He gave him some exercises to do. We then started looking through our new area book for the 3rd ward. It was crazy. There were people they wanted us to visit so.... we did but, still no luck. Got back to get ready to go to meet our ward mission leader. He is going to do one of the pageants in Nauvoo so he has a huge beard. He gave us some more people to visit. We then had a double booked dinner so we went on splits. I went with a family in the 3rd ward. The Wilcox's. Elder Castillo went with Bro McDonald. It was awesome. I had burritos that were really good. A little blackened just because their daughter forgot to keep checking on them. We then stopped by the Zollingers to set up our dinner for the next day and see how their friend is doing.

Wednesday we stopped by a family that is getting ready to move. So they need some yard work done. We cleared out quite a bit of grass and shrubs. We then started in on our list of people to visit. We stopped by a sister, Sister Conrad. We then proceeded to take two hours to talk to her. She is awesome. But no one else really opened their door. We went to dinner. Fajitas, so good.

Thursday was good. We did our weekly planning which took forever. We read through every note and person that the Sisters made. We then stopped by Sister Blodgett to set up service for the next day. Tried a few more people with really no luck in finding what we wanted. We had dinner with the Bartels. They are a blended family that is working on getting sealed in the Temple with their kids. It is awesome to see the progress that they are making. They have some of the greatest kids. In fact it almost makes me feel like I am home. They are constantly sarcastic and jump on every chance they can to point out how right they are. But, in the end they all are close and really help each other. It really reminds me of home. ;) Tried to have ward correlation in the 4th ward but no one showed...

Friday was our Zone Meeting. President and Sister Winder came, it was one of the best Zone meetings I have ever been at. We then went to IPC for lunch where I realized how much it sounds like a great idea to have all you can eat pizza but when you get to the point where you have eaten all you can you really hate it. Luckily though we had service right after at Sis Blodgett's. We are making progress, slowly, but it is looking better. We then had dinner at the Thorne's. The picture is what we had. Yes, I made it on my own, Mom. :P We then got a ride to a non members, the Stadlers ,who I helped move in and it looks as though I will help them move out.

Saturday was crazy. More contacting with no success. It was a little demotivating to have so many people but no doors open on a Saturday. Oh well. We had a referral that we contacted but they said they weren't interested. Finally met with the Elder's Quorum President of the 3rd ward. He is awesome! Had Bro Schrader pick us up for dinner. It was date night for him and his wife but he cancelled to feed us... she wasn't super thrilled about that. But, I hope that she is over it. :/

Sunday flew by. We had our regular morning studies then had a ward mission correlation meeting in the 3rd ward at 10. With 3rd ward Sacrament at 11. It was a fast and testimony Sunday so we were asked to introduce ourselves as this was the first time we had nearly full ward exposure. It was a great meeting. Really no time was spent in silence. There was always someone sharing the blessings from the Lord they had received. We then went to the next class, Gospel Principles. There was a Brother in there that said that the Sisters the week before had said they would teach the class the next week. Well here we were, no time to plan to teach and we rocked it. It was on missionary work so we really didn't need time to prepare but it would have been helpful for at least a 10 min notice. We then went from there to the 4th ward Sacrament. During the Sacrament a kid was whistling Jingle Bells. It was fun to watch everyone try to figure out where it was coming from. We were in the back as we got out of the other class a little late and the only available seats were in the back. It turned out to be a really good meeting though. I really wanted some one to figure out a way to use jingle bells in their testimony, but no one did. We had to then run from there to a lesson that was set up by our ward mission leader for a man he is helping find a job. It was a great first meeting and he took a Book of Mormon and asked us to come back!! MIRACLES! We then got dropped off for the last hour of 4th ward. Elders Quorum. The lesson was on Families can be together forever but ended up being a talk about speculation and opinions on what is going to happen after this life. But, it really helped me thing about how this life is just a blip in the grand scheme of our eternal existence. We then went to the Jamison's for dinner. Meatball Subs. They were really good. As I was sharing my spiritual thought some kids knocked on the door. They answered and one of them asked " Do you want to buy pine needles to cure cancer?" The other kid held up a few of the pine needles. The family politely said "No." We then proceeded to laugh. Also my companion felt something under him and pulled out a Pokemon thing, two drum sticks, and a pencil. Funny things you find in your couch. Finally we ended our night at the Stadler's again as they invited us over to play games. I won crazy 8's, go fish, and a snowball fight. Then again the snowball fight was unbalanced as it was 5 of us on their daughter that is 7... They asked us for help on a house that they are looking at buying and have already started plans to demo and rebuild parts of it.

This week was awesome! It was hard because of all the riding that we had to do and not knowing where we were going. We are starting to learn the layout of the other ward and will hopefully get a car this next week. But, who knows really.

I really want you to take a moment today and the rest of this week to ponder the miracle of you. By that I mean, look at what the Lord has done to get you where you are right now. OR how you got yourself where you are now and how the Lord can help bring you back to where you will be best and happy.

Love,

Elder McCallson

Escallop and Bread, YUM!

 

June 1, 2015

Monday was not a P-Day. So we tried to get out and do a little proselyting. But, Elder Castillo wasn't feeling too well. We eventually had dinner with a doctor that night (coincidence?) and they diagnosed him with Bronchitis so they took him in and gave him an inhaler, which he had lost in his first area, and a breathing treatment. He started to feel better right away.

Tuesday was better. We were able to get out and actually proselyte. But, of course the day that we can get out, no one answers the door. So we pretty much walked around trying to contact anyone that would open the door for us.

Wednesday was P-Day. TEMPLE P-DAY! It was great to get to go that far out of the area and the Temple was the perfect topper to change the bummer last week to make this week the best. It was suppose to be a Zone P-Day but the rest of our Zone had their P-Day on Monday except for all us in Eagle. So of course we didn't do anything.

Thursday was a good day. We spent most of the time packing as we had to move out of the Thorne's because their daughter is coming home from her mission and they wanted to repaint and fix a leak they had before she came home. SO, we kicked the sister missionaries out of one of the apartments in our area so that we could live there. It felt like sweet revenge for loosing my car to some sisters earlier in my mission.. but, I'm not bitter about that at all. ;P Later that night we had our Book of Mormon Basics class... I took charge as no one knew who was suppose to. It was the best. Not because I took charge but because the people that came participated and helped it be one of the most spiritual classes we have ever held.

Friday was District Meeting It was great! Probably the best one I have ever been to. We went to Mongolian for lunch. I still couldn't eat all that I had taken. But am getting better at seasoning it and making it taste delicious as it melts your face off because of how hot I make it. We then returned home to get our stuff into a truck to move it to the new place. I always wanted to live there. But, we didn't unpack because we had no idea what was going on with transfers and we wouldn't get the call until Saturday. So we went out and visited a few people in attempts to get some work done.

Saturday was agonizingly long. But, we kept a good face about it. We helped clean the church building, went to the Throne's for Saturday morning waffles, helped move the last of the mission's stuff out of the basement and into a truck. Headed back as we were going to lunch with a member who wanted to thank us for helping clean the building. Went back and changed. Still no call. Went to lunch a Dicky's BBQ (that is some good food right there). It is just so expensive. Got back and like magic we got the voice-mail. We kicked the sisters our of Eagle and now we cover both Eagle 4th ward and Eagle 3rd ward. So we had to go and let people know that we were staying. Stopped by our ward mission leaders house to show him a map of our new area. Biked as fast a possible to get back for dinner. We had it with the Nielsen's and Curtis Puckett. Now Brother Nielsen is a vegan but isn't for PETA. He is doing it for his mom. But he helped make a pork roast that Curtis had bought for us to eat. It was good and I was surprised that he made it... then he told us his wife had made it. So that took away from it. :P

Sunday was good. We had a sister from the third ward speak in our ward as when she left she was in the fourth ward but it split while she was out. It was one of the best home coming talks I have ever heard. We then talked with some more people trying to get some more info on the new ward that we are covering. Got to second hour for a bit, it was good. We then had to wait for the Sisters to get us their area book so that we can see what they have been up to and who they are teaching and who they think we should go see. So we missed third hour but it was okay because I already knew what it was about. One of the nice perks about being a missionary is that often you may get information even before Bishops do. Strengthen Faith in the Home through Sabbath Day observance (Or at least how I think it should be worded.) Went home with our ward mission leader to have dinner, TACOS!! Then we had the person that had cancelled dinner call us and ask if we are coming over. So we ended up having two dinners. But it was one of the best I had ever had. They made pork chops that didn't taste like pork and some kabobs. It was really good.

I am looking forward to the challenge of serving in two wards. I ask for your prayers for strength and for success. I have really come to understand the power of combined faith. Prayer is an essential way for us to not only communicate with our Father in Heaven but also to bring about the miracles associated with the combined faith of those participating.

Keep in mind that you are loved by a GOD. Three actually (The Father, The Son, and the Holy Ghost). All you have to do is ask and He will give you an answer. There is real power in reading the words of God. Remember to read as a family and to build the faith of your children and your faith as you live the gospel not just profess it.

Love,

Elder McCallson

May 27, 2015

Monday was good. Another boring District P-Day. But we made it up because we had a lot of fun cooking. Other than that.... BORING! Until dinner. We had dinner with the Stockings. They are a funny family that we have met a few times, Bro Stocking works for HP as does most people that live here in Eagle. He is a very quiet person but gets to fly all over the world. He just got back from a "vacation" in Belgium and Germany. He brought back some chocolates. They were really good.

Tuesday we walked around pretty much the whole day. Most of last week was rainy so there weren't that many people outside for us to talk to. Although the Thorne's, the family we live with, son, Harrison, is a kind of child prodigy. He composed this great piece called Forest of Silver. It was fantastic. It was great to be there and support him in his triumph of a successful performance.

Wednesday was good. Again rain. We stopped by Curtis and talked for some time as our other plans fell through. During the semi part in the rain we were able to stop by a few people who all were not interested right now. Went to dinner at the Wingets... TACOs!!

Thursday was good. We had district meeting. It was good. but after that we stayed home pretty much the rest of the night. Elder Castillo wasn't feeling too well.

Friday we got out and did some service for sister Blodgett. We cleaned out her gutters and power washed her back porch. Then we stayed at home....

Saturday we stayed at home... seeing a pattern here. I watched movies pretty much all day. I even had to change the language on some of the movies so that it would keep me entertained.

Sunday we were able to go to church so that was nice. But then we spent the whole day at home.

This week was a little slow but luckily he is feeling better and we are out working again. I look forward to having more to report this next week.

Elder McCallson

 

Breakfast, the most important meal of the day

 My District

 My NEW favorite Picture



May 18, 2015

Monday was great other than the fact that I hurt my knee that morning and couldn't really play anything that Zone P-day. We had a great dinner with a family in our ward that is housing another set of missionaries. So they joined us... So rude. :P We then road from there to the edge of our area to visit another family who had us come over for Family Home Evening. It was awesome to finally get to really sit down and get to know them. It was interesting to me that I "know" a lot of the members at least by name, but you can't really get to know them until you sit down with them for a FHE. I love being a missionary!

Tuesday was fun. Elder Castillo and I went over and helped a sister weed her garden. She then proceeded to make us a full dinner for lunch. Chicken and potatoes. It was awesome. I am seeing many different ways to cook potatoes. Maybe I will actually learn a recipe and make it myself. We then were able to stop by a sister who we hadn't seen in a while. She is a member, her husband is not and has quite a few illnesses. So she has been his full-time nurse helping him keep going. When we stopped by she said that he was now in a nursing home and would not be returning home. She was devastated. She let us pray for her and her husband as they were going through this hard time. It was great to see the way the Lord prepares people who are ready to come to him. We then had a great dinner from our Elder's Quorum President. Fried Chicken and potatoes. Hmmm felt familiar. :) The first time was just baked this time it was fried with a light breaded coating. IT WAS AWESOME! Then we met with some new move ins from Germany (not originally from there). He was called into active duty to help with training. Now they are back and happy to be here. We also, while we were talking, had a really good storm start to move in with thunder and lightning. That just made my day.

Wednesday we a little slow. We had a member take us out to lunch at this China Palace place here in Eagle. It is good. I am still not a huge fan of Chinese food. It makes my stomach yell at me. We were able to contact a few more people but, it ran pretty slow the rest of the night.

Thursday was FANTASTIC! ZONE CONFERENCE! I am not a huge fan of meetings, or at least I wasn't when I came out on my mission, but now there are almost this huge build up for me. It was a sad day in the mission as TIWI boxes were installed in all the vehicles. TIWI are little black boxes that track just about everything you do. How fast you are going, how hard you break or step on the gas, hit a bump, if your seat belt is buckled, etc... but, interestingly enough not if you run a red light. Well I really don't have to worry about that as I don't have a car. The rest of the meeting was great. We were able to ask questions on just about anything. So it was fun to hear the answers that were given to just about every question. "I don't know." Most of the questions were odd questions about doctrine that is not yet understood or at least that our Mission President didn't have the answer to off the top of his head. That ran us till dinner at the Blaine's. They raise pheasants. Mostly ornamental ones that are small and not really worth eating.

Friday was wet. It rained all night and into the afternoon. But, we pressed on!. We pulled more bamboo and poisoned it with as much weed killer as we had. We will see if that will get it. The truth is you can't get rid of it. There will always be a sprout showing up here or there and most poisons just won't kill the roots. Walked around for a bit and got to talk to a man with no arms or legs. His name is Kory. He is a member that has just decided that it isn't for him. But that is okay, he still wants to talk to us. We ended the day with some nonmembers who are not really interested/"we're not the church going type." But they love talking to us and getting to know what is going on and if there is anything they can do to help.

Saturday was good and bad. We started by doing some service for a family in the ward that is trying to keep their house nice so they can sell it. So we had a lot of huge weeds with all the rain we have gotten lately. The kids are awesome too. We played museum (one person is moving around looking at everyone and seeing if anyone moves, you move when they are not looking at you or can see you), we raced on our bikes (it was a little unbalanced), soccer, and then shared a lesson about Christ and the love that he has for each of us. We then proceeded to wait 3 hours for our ward mission leader to pick us up. He was at a flea market.  He said "I just kept seeing twenty dollar signs and it was hard to walk away." He sells antique clothing so that is where he goes to find new things to sell at his store, mostly because people don't know how much their stuff is worth and just want to get rid of it. He made up for it by taking us to a Mongolian grill place. We then had exchanges. So I need to back up to yesterday. We asked everyone in the district to help with pulling bamboo, and only the Sisters showed up. One of the other Elders called us and said "We will be there right after we go to the hospital." So we think, oh they are going to give a blessing and will be here soon. Well they didn't show. We then get a call Friday night from our district leader asking what we are doing Saturday. He then proceeded to tell us that his companion, Elder Folau was in the ICU at the hospital because he was having trouble breathing Thursday night. WHAT!!! Well, jumping forward (he is all good now) we had the weirdest exchanges ever. So I went with Elder Kennington and Peterson in their ward and Elder Castillo went with Elder Lee. Well we, Elder Kennington, Peterson, and I, tired to visit two people in their area and spent the rest of the time in our ward. As we had a dinner (chicken and steak kabobs) and a lesson set up for that night.

Sunday was depressing. We had two of our investigators drop us. Church was great. We just had a missionary return from the San Diego Mission Farsi speaking. It was so weird to hear it. It is not as guttural as Arabic and very flowy. Had a good dinner with the other Jamison's in the ward. No relation as far as I know. Burgers. Tried a few people, no answers until about 8 that night when we were able to get into contact with a sister who I guess is a snow bird. Also she said she is almost never home on a Sunday night. So, can you say tender mercy from the Lord. Her husband worked on the Cobra helicopters in Vietnam. He is not a member but maybe he will be interested?. We will see.

There are so many blessing just awaiting us. I just think every time that Heavenly Father answers our prayers. It may not always be a yes but he never says no. He always knows the big picture. It was hard for us to lose two of our investigators. I pray that they will continue to cultivate their relationship with their Heavenly Father and want to grow closer to him. I know that even though they may have lost their interest that Heavenly Father is calling his children and presenting ways and paths for them to return to him. I know that we can all grow closer to God if we read the scriptures and pray to know that they are true and look for way that we can use them in our lives.

 Love,

Elder McCallson

May 11, 2015

Monday was awesome! We had a family that helped us out big time that day. The wife works at a salon and offered to cut our hair for free. Those are usually the best kind. They then took us out for lunch. I honestly have never tried real sushi. The closest stuff I have come to is store bought or all you can eat restaurant stuff. I won't eat it everyday but I didn't throw up like I thought I would. Spent most of our day driving around as it was just a regular P-Day. Had a great dinner with the Young Men's President. Ended the day on a good note.

Tuesday we helped our Relief Society President do some yard work in the morning. We fertilized her yard and cleaned off her back deck. She gave us some money to go get lunch. We stopped by the church building to make some reduced sized copies of the directory that we had, for convenience. Got picked up for dinner by Brother Small and had some white chicken chili. He had also invited his Catholic mother over and we watched Meet the Mormons. She loved it. She wasn't interested in taking the lessons but she will get there eventually. Went over to one of our investigators and watched Meet the Mormons with him too and inspired him to go back to Nepal and work through the Church for humanitarian aid. We pointed him to the Bishop as I have no clue who to contact for things like that.

Wednesday was good. It was a little slow to start the morning as most people are heading out the door to get to school, work, or appointments. We were able to, however, contact a sister that we haven't seen in three months. Had a quick lunch and road our bike the three miles up Eagle Rd, which is one big hill, to help Brother McDonald on his farm. We cut branches off his trees that he is trying to save. They look awesome! But, then again I did help with is so... Had dinner with a nice family that is always in a rush especially as it is youth night. Made a quick stop by a family across the street.

Thursday was soaking wet. It rained from when we got up to about dinner time. We were able to get our weekly planning done and make some visits with our newest ward missionary. But other than that not much happened.

Friday turned it all around though. We had a great Zone Meeting that really built my spirits. It is interesting that meetings, which I am not a big fan of, are usually the source of the most uplifting experiences I have had on my mission. We then nearly finished the job we had started at Brother McDonald's. Had a drop off dinner of Carl's Jr. The El Diablo Burger is good but I have tasted better.

Saturday was the best day. We helped serve a sister in the ward by pulling up more bamboo. We are almost done... I think. Had a great lunch and visited a potential investigator. Who turned into an investigator! She said "I have about five minutes to talk." So in mission language that means come sit for an hour. Not really, but we did end up spending that much time talking about the Church and about the Book of Mormon. The tender mercies of the Lord are always there at the best times.

Sunday was fantastic. Most would think that this should be the best day of the week especially as it was Mother's day and I got to Skype home. And it was. I was still debating on which day I enjoyed more. Went to church, made dinner for the family we live with, Chicken Fried Steaks. Ended the night talking with them and another set of Elders that came to Skype home too.

This was an awesome week. It is the weeks that I serve for. I love being a missinoary. I love the Lord. I love my Heavenly Father. I know that they are watching us and want us to be happy.

Love,

Elder McCallson

 

First Time Eating  REALSushi!

 

May 4, 2015

Monday was great. We had our zone p-day at a park that is only 10 miles from where we live. In this mission 10 miles is far. We played rugby the whole time and needless to say my team won. It was only two hand touch but if you weren't watching where you were going or who was around you, you may bump into someone hard. :) I made bread for the first time. It is amazing!!

Tuesday was okay. We had a lesson with an investigator who doesn't seem to understand that we are agreeing on most of what he is saying. But, maybe one day he will.

Wednesday was slow as molasses...every door we knocked on didn't open. It was sort of a frustrating day. My biggest thing is if you don't want us to stop by just let us know. Don't hide and hope we go away, tell us you're not interested.

Thursday picked up. We had a great district meeting. And on top of that it was Elder Castillo's Birthday. Although after lunch it slowed a bit, all was well in the end...we had a great dinner and went to our Book of Mormon Basics class.

Friday was great. More service and more service. I am really excited though for it. I never really realized how much I loved being outside, getting my hands dirty until I have the opportunity to serve others.

Saturday went by in a flash. We asked our ward mission leader if he needed help so we pretty much helped him weed his garden the whole day getting it ready to actually plant real plants. There was a dying rose bush that had roots so deep we ended up just cutting it as low as possible and re-burying it. I almost hate rose bushes as much as bamboo.

Sunday was a nice day of rest. We had a great fast and testimony meeting where there was very little time spent in silence. We also were asked to help teach the 13-14 year old class about the Resurrection. It went a little sideways but we ended up having a really good conversation out of it. We visited a family that is going to help us establish contact with a potential investigator SO THAT IS AWESOME! We then had a great dinner and I won again at DARTS. Yes, real blowguns and darts. I am going to buy some when I get home.

Sorry it is short. I forgot my last planner and had to try and remember what we did last week. But, these are the most important things we had happen. There are blessings if we just look for them.

Love,

Elder McCallson
                           AWE YEAH! It is the best bread ever! I made it, I should know.

April 27, 2015

Blog:
Monday TRANSFERS!! Elder Castillo. No he does not speak Spanish. So that was kind of a bummer. But, he is awesome. It was kind of a P-day to relax as our District does nothing for fun. But, we did get quite a few things out of the way. Also we had an awesome opportunity to give a blessing to a sister that is in the hospital. We also learned that this same sister is the mother of a member in our ward that has asked for less than frequent contact from us as missionaries. We are hoping this is a door opener.

Tuesday was awesome! We met a member whom missionaries have been trying to contact for about six months. He is pretty cool, but I don't know if he is really interested in coming back to church. We then tried to contact a few members while I showed my Companion the area that we cover. Let's just say he is not too excited for some of the hills we have to climb to get to members.

Wednesday was fun. We did some service for a sister as we are going to poison the weeds that are over growing in her yard. The hardest part was she didn't answer the door so no poison... We then visited another member who helped us break Elder Castillo's tire. He had what you call a split valve on his tube and I guess most air compresses don't work with it. So we ended up breaking it. Luckily another Elder had an extra tube we could use. We then, after fixing his tire, rode up another hill :) to get to service for a less-active member. That was fun. We then had to ride our hearts out to get to Eagle City as we were in the foothills so we could go to dinner at Pizza Hut. I really like the food but not the price. We then were asked to help a family that was moving. But by the time we got there it was almost done. So we tried a few other people whom of course didn't open their doors.

Thursday District Meeting. I really don't like most meetings but sometimes they are more fun than usual. This was one. When we returned home we had plans to contact people but then an idea came to mind. Earlier that week we stopped by a family and asked for service; they offered for us to mow their lawn, if we have time. Well we had time. So we mowed it and then they got home and bought us Milkshakes. She said the whole way home from work she was dreading mowing the yard and when she pulled up to her house she said her jaw dropped and her feet stopped hurting so much. It was nice that we were able to help. We then had an awesome Omelet dinner at our ward mission leaders house. And a few visits afterwards.

Friday we went back to cut some more bamboo and this time poisoned it. I am hoping it will work. We then went to lunch as a district. My treat to Idaho Pizza Company. I am just that nice. We then planned our next week and wrote up so progress records to let our ward mission know what we are doing. Lucky for us word is getting out about teaching members, and we had a member ask us to help teach his son who is going to be baptized here in a few months.

Saturday we had more service. We went and cut and stacked wood in the back yard of some non-members. They fed us an awesome spaghetti lunch and held a warhead competition. I won with nine at once and some sour spray. The reward was a milkshake at Doug's Burger Den. We then had dinner with a vegan member who bought us pizza because they were late that day. So one more down. :P

Sunday was awesome! We had ward council that morning so we tried to take a shortcut as we were short on time. While we crested a hill Elder Castillo slipped on the wet grass and bent his back wheels and messed up his brakes and smashed his knee on the pavement. So we get it fixed enough that the wheel will spin and start walking the rest of the way. While we were on the main road to get to the church building a brother stopped by and picked us up and helped us be only a few minutes late to the meeting instead of missing half of it. Right after the meeting the 2nd councilor in the Bishopric pulled us aside and asked if we could speak in Sacrament meeting. So with only an hour or so of prep we gave some talks on faith. Most people said they really liked them and thanked us for what we shared. I have no clue what I said so..." Let the Holy Spirit Guide". We then had our Stake Correlation meeting which went really well. We had a great dinner with a family that loves missionaries. We played some Uno. We then got a ride to another family that we were planning on stopping by as we have no other transportation at the time. Spent some time there talking about missions and how to tell if you should share a Book of Mormon or other church things with your neighbors. Ended the day with a long walk back to our house; when a member picked us up and dropped us off at our house. My companion was very thankful.

Blessing and miracles happen mostly when you don't plan on them. Keep your eyes open and "Count Your Many Blessings".

Good luck and remember D&C 82:10 "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no Promise".

Elder McCallson

        Beautiful skies 

Mowing the lawn

Elder Castillo's turn

 

 

April 20. 2015

Blog:

Monday, ZONE P-DAY was a joke. No one showed up except for my companion and I, another set of elders from our district, our zone leaders, two companionship from the Star stake and a set of sisters. It seems like a lot but two elders didn't even bring p-day clothes and played board games the whole time and we really didn't get an official game of anything going. So it sort of flopped. Although we did have a good dinner. The members forgot they signed up for dinner so they went out and bought Bodacious Pig (A BBQ restaurant) so that was good. The only problem was I wasn't really hungry for pork so I didn't really eat it.

Tuesday it snowed. Well sort of in the picture I tired to use the trampoline to offset the white at it was sunny and raining with high winds all at the same time. It was definitely divers weather. We also tried to stop by some members who just had a baby that Saturday. Two pounds 11 ounces. It was really early. She got sick and it forced her into an early labor. The most amazing thing about it was that the baby had a fully functioning heart and lungs so it was breathing on its own. What a miracle that is. We then taught this awesome family in the ward whom I had never really had the opportunity to meet. It was a blast. There are some really funny people in this ward. We then had dinner with our Elder's Quorum President ,Brother Jamison, and they made this Goulash. I never really liked the idea of goulash but it is really tasty. We ended our night at a members house, who I never realized it until we got there, is a vegan. Well sort of. He eats like a vegan but doesn't have the PETA stance and is doing it to support his mom who had to change her life around.

Wednesday was slow. We had service with the Despains. I never knew how much a horse could poop until I started to help them. We re-cleaned the place we did last time but this time we had to actually search it out through the weeds and grass that has grown up, We also were able to help finish cleaning up a members yard who is trying to get their house done so that they can sell it. They bought pizza and hot wings (for Elder Garcia), as we were pretty sure he was getting transferred out. We then had a lesson that cancelled on us :(.

Thursday was interesting. We had a great zone meeting in natural light. Meaning our district leader, Elder Lee, my previous companion, wanted to have the windows open in the relief society room instead of turning on the lights. So his companion, Elder Folau, keeps calling him a hippy. It was funny. We, Elder Garcia and I, then went down to subway for lunch and had two members pay for us. How does that happen? One person offers some money to help pay without telling us then as we get ready to pay another member pipes up and offers to pay the whole thing. We then had a few members walk in and sit down with us as we all ate. It was the best! We then went to do service with the Sisters in our district. We picked up dog poop, mowed, edged with a weed whacker, fertilized, and watered in the fertilizer. We also took turns so that one person was not stuck with the same job the whole time. Not only that the neighbor of the Sister we were helping do service for asked if we could mow her front yard as she was having family come into town later that day. So being the AWESOME missionary I am (and humble) we, Sister Birge did it. I just wanted to say thank you mom and dad for all the times you made me work in the yard and all the knowledge you have helped me gain on how to work a lawn mower and edge with a weed whacker. I had to help all of them learn how to start the mower and it is a newer one and has a more electrical start and an engine that makes it move on its own. I was surprised as they just kept pulling the cord and didn't realize the lever that says stop or choke on it and have it on stop but keep pulling the chord. Also that I had to teach my companion how to edge and fix the chord in the weed whacker so that it would come out when he hit it on the ground. To top it off I fell under peer pressure for two Ice Cream cones from the sisters for eating a worm. 2 Ice Cream Cones > Worm. To finish off the day we had dinner with the Hulberts an awesome family that makes some odd foods. This time though they just stuck with some original Mexican, Fajitas. They also just bought a tandem bike and said anytime we want to use it all we have to do is ask. So our next arrival at District meeting is going to be in style!

Friday was more bamboo. The sister we are helping did buy some poison so not only did we pull up some of it. We poisoned a lot of it as it had grown under her fence into her neighbors and the housing complex's land. I am thought going to try and make some bamboo swords to see if I can do it. They are going to be awesome! We had a rushed dinner with a member as they were rushing off to an after school party. Home made Pizza is the best!

Saturday was fantastic. It started with morning waffles with the family we live with. They make them almost every Saturday morning. I was full after three of them. We then did some service for some non-members who we helped move in a few months earlier find some clothes as they are now expecting a baby girl. So we had to dig through the well stacked boxes, we put in, to find the clothes at the very back for the storage unit as they didn't know she was pregnant when they moved up here. The husband then took us out to eat a MickeyRays BBQ where I had the Clucker burger (Beef patty, beacon, and an egg) and a side of mac and cheese. Keep in mind that I am still full from breakfast and have now just shoved a 1/3 lb burger on top. We then met up at the Stake center for the Transfer call. Which didn't come but we did find some cards and played spoons I almost won. We then left as the call hadn't come when planned and did some service for some members shoveling gravel into a front loader to spread it out around a new, back concrete patio they just made. There was a bird that laid it's eggs in the gravel that was already spread so every time we got near it, it would squawk at us and try to lead us away from it's eggs. We then left there and went back to our house and got the call. Elder Garcia is getting transferred Spanish speaking and I am staying here. The funniest part is he is still in the Zone so I will get to see him every other P-Day and at zone meetings. We then left to go to dinner with a member that took us out to Los Mariachi Loco. Some really good Mexican food. I am also trying to bring in the Caso Blanco dip. As most places around here have no idea what it is until I explain it. Then they go to great lengths to melt real cheese into the dip. I also got a burrito and ate it all. By the end of the night I felt as though my insides wanted to be on my outsides and I didn't even want to look at, think about, or smell food. Needless to say that night I kept getting up to the bathroom because I thought I might throw up. I didn't; and I can't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Sunday was full of goodbyes. I spend most of that morning laying down as I was still in pain from the gorging the day before. We then got out to church where just about everyone some how heard that Elder Garcia was getting transferred and wanted to say goodbye. After church we went with some members to a farewell for a sister who is leaving to Alabama or Arkansas, I still don't know who she is but she is going to be awesome. I then realized how grateful I was that I didn't invite the missionaries from my home ward and they wouldn't have known anyone there. But, I guess at the same time they may have been able to get some good contacts out of it... if there were any non-members that came. I am not sure how many were there. But who knows, they may have known more people and gotten out there as most of the people who showed up were members of the Indian Creek ward. We then stopped by some other members who wanted to make sure they said bye. Finally it ended at our ward mission leaders house who wanted to make sure he was the last members he said bye to, other than the members we live with that is.

This was an awesome week. The work is really picking up, Even if most of what we have been able to do is service I know that we are leaving impressions that really are helping change the lives of members and non-members. Just remember that when people know you are a member of the church they generally use you as the standard to set when they meet other members. So set the bar high. Not a self righteous standard but one that shows that we are set apart as children of God committed to serving Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

I know that all of you who will try to serve with a willing heart will find the help or strength you are longing for from your Heavenly Father. I promise that you will feel His love and know that you are ever watched by a caring Parent who hears your prayers and will ALWAYS answer them. In sacrament meeting one of the youth brought up a good point. "Heavenly Father will always answer your prayers. Sometimes it is a yes, or a not right now, or even an I have a better plan in mind." Remember that Heavenly Father knows you and has a bigger picture than you do.

I love you all,

Elder McCallson

ps. I really hadn't heard anyone say "picher" instead of "picture" until Sunday. It was kind of funny to me as Saturday the family we had dinner with was talking about words that they say that the other person or people think they say funny.

 

 Snow in late April

Two Midgets: Elder Garcia and a famous Sainted Woman born blind and as a midget