January 15, 2018
Well, this week has been good. We got a lot done. This week Elder Derry and I were chapping in some student housing by the I.T. here in Sligo and we knocked into this one house which had about 7 college students in it. Most of them were Christian but only two of them seemed to be really interested. We were able to give them a Book of Mormon and they were willing to read it but we're going back tonight to follow up and teach them more. We haven't gotten to meet with Francis yet since he came to church. We've called him though and he said that he'll probably be able to meet sometime this week.
So this week we had All-Ireland. It was very good. We stayed the night at Mullingar and then drove early morning to Dublin. President and Sister Donaldson spoke, the Assistants, Sister Training Leader Trainers and the Dublin Zone Leaders. The Dublin Zone Leaders gave an instruction on the Atonement and missionary work. One of the unique things they taught was that one of the Hebrew meanings of the Atonement is to cover. They compared the Atonement to the analogy of a Band-Aid. Just like how when we get a cut, we put a band-aid on it and it is able to heal and is protected from infection. It's kind of similar with the Atonement. When we are going through tough trials and challenges as we turn to Jesus Christ and use His Atonement we are able to heal in an environment that will give us the strength to press forward. The healing can be hard and sometimes a dramatic change might need to take place but the Atonement can give us the strength to be whole.
The members in Sligo were sad for the passing of President Monson. There were quite a few testimonies about prophets last Sunday. We didn't get to watch the funeral proceedings but we get to watch the broadcast from President Nelson this Tuesday.
Dad you also weren't the only one who had to speak this Sunday on New Beginnings. I got asked to speak for 10-15 minutes as the first speaker on Wednesday but when we got there on Sunday I guess no one else had been assigned to give a talk except me. So I had to stretch for about 30 minutes and a member of the Branch Presidency gave a ten minute testimony afterwards. It was good though. I don't think I bored anyone too much.
Well I'm sorry I didn't get to take any pictures this week. I'm happy and healthy here in Sligo though. I love you guys! Have a great week!
Love, Elder Calley
