TWO THOUSAND AND NINE!!

Elder Callor is doing well and staying dry. He said that it hadn't snowed since before Christmas, that it is just really windy. At least it has been around the 30s and not in the negative degrees.

They continue to work hard and stay busy. He said "I thought that with all three companions together, we'd have less activity, since we could split up; WRONG!!! Even when we do split up, we have more things to handle than we're comfortable with!" They had so many appointments that they had to scheduled some on preparation day so they got permission to email today. He had high hopes of getting a hair cut, going shopping and emailing on Monday but they didn't have time to do anything but run to appointments.

The New Year has brought many opportunities for missionary work and some fun. Elder Callor was excited to be able to have the opportunity to do missionary work while playing some games on his own level. He was able to play a game similar to one of his favorites, Zarahemla. They played Settlers of Catan with an active member family where they were able to strengthen friendships and in turn missionary opportunities. He has even been able to polish up on his math! He was even praised in an email newsletter sent throughout the mission from President Cannon on his enthusiasm, commitment, revelation, spirit and love for the gospel and people.

Below is a copy of Elder Callor’s email today.

Wow, time is flying by so quickly! Can you believe that it is already TWO THOUSAND AND NINE! We had a great kick-off to the year, so hopefully it will continue in that strength!

On New Year's Eve, we visited an active family, the Kennards. They had learned on Christmas Eve (at a dinner appointment) that some of us knew how to play the game Settlers of Catan, and they pleaded with us to play the game with them some time, as it is their favorite, and it takes 3-6 players. Well, we decided that it would be a good chance to develop a good relationship with the family, and possibly meet some of their friends. Unfortunately, their friends were unable to make it, but it was an excellent time to talk with the family about missionary work. They are now working with us in order to fellowship, get to church, and baptize a fellow by the name of Jonny Cage. They asked us if we could invite him to dinner with them, and when that didn't work out, asked if they could go with us to his home, so that THEY could do the inviting! They are so fired up about helping Jonny all because we spent an evening playing a silly game with them!
Then, on New Year's Day, we received a referral from the Mission Office; a man named William Brunson called in requesting a triple combination and a copy of Gospel Principles! He was baptized about 20 years ago, but because the missionaries did not make sure he was ready, he was ex-communicated shortly after. Now, though, he wants to come back!!! He stills has a testimony of the things that the missionaries taught him so long ago, and knows that God wants him back in His true church! He is excited at everything we teach him, and sets appointments for almost every day he is in Rapid City!!!

It didn't slow down there, though! In Preach My Gospel, non-English speaking missionaries are encouraged to start an English as a second language class in their community in order to find people to teach about the gospel. I have been thinking, pondering, and praying about how to adjust that to meet English-speaking situations, and received the answer to start up a math tutoring class. Well, as soon as I mentioned the idea, it blossomed! We had two families inform us that that was exactly what they needed at this time: one mother is working on her GED and desperately needs help with math, and three daughters in another family are struggling with high school math! They each agreed to invite non-members as well, so that this could be a missionary experience. Well, I then received an offer from Sister Hinton to assist with English literacy, and her husband offered to attend the class so that my two companions could continue to see appointments at that time! Sister Cannon learned about the class, and somehow word got to Sister Lyman, who volunteered to help with the other half of English!!!

Well, on the first night (New Year's Day), I didn't have quite all this help yet, so I talked to President Cannon about coming with me, so that an adult male with the Priesthood could be there, so that my companions could go out and see other appointments! He agreed and we met up at the church.

Now, I thought that the night didn't go very well, because no one showed up to the class, and none of the people we tried to visit were home! We ended up driving around for nearly 2 hours, discussing ways to make the class a success and how to meet the needs of our investigators. At the mission office, I took a moment to share a spiritual thought with President Cannon, so that the night would not be a complete waste. I told the story of Enoch raising peninsulas, moving mountains, and rivers, and calling forth beasts of the wilderness to defeat the enemies of God, and explained that part of the reason he was able to do that was because he kept good records (you need to read the whole chapter in order to see that particular connection) and challenged him to keep a better journal! I tell you, I was scared out of my wits doing that! I had no idea how he'd react, but in an email to the mission this week, he had this to say:

"This past week I spent the evening with a young missionary. I observed this great young man assuming the pressure of being a productive missionary. Our first stop was at the church where we had an appointment to help a mother fulfill a goal of receiving her G. E. D. Also scheduled to come to the church were some youth to receive tutoring toward preparing for upcoming A. C. T. I was impressed with the wonderful missionary service this young missionary was offering. I was extremely pleased that he was praying for and receiving personal revelation. In this regard he was a Preach My Gospel missionary. Later that same evening, in a pocket of time, he taught a member companion a lesson from the heart. He bore testimony and thanked me for coming out with him. He helped me come to the Savior that evening."

I was so excited to learn that what I thought had been a pretty lame night, was quite a bit more successful than I could have hoped for!

Well, after several exciting, but not easy to describe, appointments, we found ourselves looking for more people to teach on Saturday night. Enter the Jessen family: Jesse Jessen (the husband) was baptized a few months ago, but the missionaries said something wrong, and he stopped coming to church; however, he and his wife have always had a goal to be married in the temple on their tenth anniversary, which comes around in 13 months!!! So, when we stopped in, he got really excited, because their life is in just the right position for them to re-receive the light of the gospel! He asked us to come over the next two nights in a row in order to talk to him about church (he was not going to be able to come at such short notice) and then to start teaching him what we thought he needed to relearn!!!!

Sunday was a total blur of activity, but the highlights I remember are that the Jones family brought their non-member sister and nephew to church, and the sister sat through Gospel Principles, which we taught, and learned about the Plan of Salvation!!! This is the second time she has been to church, and she seems to have enjoyed them both! She even volunteered to read a scripture during the class!!!!

Monday was the peak of activity so far, though! The Thiele family (TJ is a 9-10 year old being baptized on the 17th, father isn't a member) invited us over to help skin deer at their friend's house. We had a great conversation with the friends and they invited us BACK to lunch on Wednesday!!! They seem like they would accept the gospel readily, and hopefully that will kick Brother Thiele into gear!!!

Then, we ran around talking to some recent converts that called us asking for help, and at dinner, the Thiele family came with us to the Hintons, where they had a great conversation, and where we also received ANOTHER referral from the Hintons to teach a woman in their apartment complex, Helen Zapp (she met us Christmas Eve and agreed to receive the lessons!!!) AND FROM SISTER THIELE to teach a part-member family whom she visit teaches!!!

And that rounds out the end of my week!!!!

Hopefully I wrote understandably, but as you can tell, we've been very busy bees!

I Love You All,
Elder Callor