Week 62: Staying in Sligo

March 19, 2018

Megalithic Burial Cairns

Hey guys!

So transfers came and went and I am staying here in Sligo with Elder Derry for a third. You guys must have heard before I did because this transfer is only four weeks due to President Nelson visiting the UK. 

St. Patrick's Day was great. There were a lot of people out in Sligo that came to watch the parade that was going on. So we had plenty of people to stop. We had to be in by six though because it gets pretty crazy in the evening. In the morning there were a lot of families out but after about two everyone was in a pub or at least off the streets. St. Patrick's Day is more like a Fourth of July for Ireland except there aren't any fireworks. St. Patrick's Day was definitely bigger in Waterford than Sligo since it is a bigger city.

We also taught a guy named Mark this week. He's about 20-21 and is a mechanic and Protestant but he doesn't attend church much. He would want his faith to be stronger but he also wants more evidence that God is there. We were teaching him the restoration and at the end of the lesson we asked him how he felt and he said good, he told us that he didn't need to come into town but he did and he ran into us and he doesn't think it was a coincident. He agreed to read the Book of Mormon and get baptized as he comes to know of its verity. We're planning to meet with him on Wednesday. We have a couple other appointments this week as well.

I have been studying in 3 Nephi when the Savior comes to visit America and I was really impressed by the love that Christ shows to the people there. In 3 Nephi 17:5-6 it talks about how Jesus tells the multitude that He must go but the multitude looked "steadfastly as if He might tarry a little longer." And then Jesus has compassion and heals them and blesses their little children. These verses just made me think of how dear the people held to the things that Christ taught them and wanted more. It made me wonder if we hold the gospel as a precious treasure because I have definitely seen the change that having the gospel in someone's life can make. I am so grateful for the gospel in my life and the blessings that I have received from living it.

Love you guys! Have a great week!

Elder Calley

St. Patrick's Day decoration in Sligo

St. Patrick's Day parade in Sligo

Week 61: Snow is over and St. Patrick's is coming!

March 12, 2018

Hey guys! This week was a lot warmer than last week. There was sun almost everyday. I haven't seen much St. Patrick's gear up in Sligo though.

This week we taught a guy named Declan. He lives in Sligo but he met missionaries in Dublin about 2 weeks ago. We later met him in Sligo and were eventually able to give him a church tour. Afterwards we taught him the Restoration. He had a lot of questions because he comes from a Catholic background and is still quite strong in his faith. He asked a lot about Joseph Smith and how is it possible to know if he was a prophet. We told him that others have wondered the same question and that is why God brought forth another book of scripture, the Book of Mormon through the Prophet Joseph Smith. We had him read the introduction to the Book of Mormon and Moroni 10:3-5 and explained that by reading and asking God if the Book of Mormon is true we can know if Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. He said that he is willing to change if he gets an answer to his prayers. We are planning to see him again on Thursday.  I am very grateful for the Book of Mormon and the truths that it holds. Our mission president has placed an added emphasis on using the Book of Mormon to answer questions and to use it in finding because it is part of our unique message to the world.

Well church was good yesterday. I was the only speaker in sacrament meeting. We had a really great Priesthood lesson on Elder Uchtdorf's talk Yearning for Home from last general conference. We talked about how each of us have a yearning for our heavenly home and how the main motivation for that is love. I am grateful for the love that God has for each of us and the chance we have to return to our heavenly home through our Saviour. 

I hope you guys have a great week!

Love you guys!!!,

Elder Calley

Week 60: Irish Snow Storm

March 5, 2018

Hey guys so this week we had an Irish winter wonderland. We got about an inch or two of snow (pretty wimpy to back home) but the rest of the country got about ten to twelve inches. It's pretty rare for Ireland to get a lot of snow so they shut down all the shops, trains, buses, and schools all across Ireland for a few days. All the missionaries in our zone got told to stay inside for about two days. So we spent a lot of time calling everyone on the phone and memorizing Joseph Smith History because we had been invited to do so by our zone leaders. The snow here in Sligo melted after about a day so we didn't have an opportunities to shovel any walks but everything was still cancelled so we weren't able to meet with any of the people we planned. Elder Derry and I were suprised that such a small amount of snow could bring the town to a halt. Back home it would take a foot or two of snow to cancel anything. Other places like Mullingar and Dublin had enough snow that church was cancelled yesterday. Sligo was the only unit that met yesterday. We only had sacrament meeting though because some members have an hour or so drive to get back home. Testimony meeting was fantastic though we were small in numbers. We did teach a couple of lessons but the people we taught weren't able to meet with us again since they were leaving for Canada this week. The lesson that we teach the most is the restoration. We haven't been able to get a hold of Ovis or Edna yet though we stopped by her house a few days ago but she wasn't in. We got a few appointments set up for this week though.

As far as St. Patrick's day goes there haven't been any decorations up yet. I'm sure there will be in the next week or so.

I love you guys,

I hope you have a great week!

Elder Calley

Week 59: Dublin and Sligo

February 26, 2018

Hey guys!

So we've had a lot of travelling this week. We were in Dublin for about half of it. Dublin is huge compared to Sligo. We were on exchanges with the zone leaders this week. There are a lot of Brazilians in Dublin so a lot of the missionaries there learn a bit of Portuguese to be able to communicate better. 

 We also had zone conference this week in the Dublin stake centre. It was entirely on the Book of Mormon. It was a sweet experience. President and Sister Donaldson, his counselor President Thompson and his wife, and the assistants all gave instruction on the Book of Mormon and how we can use it better in teaching and finding. I'm so grateful for the Book of Mormon. I know The Book of Mormon contains the fulness of the gospel am grateful that it is the tool of the harvest that we have been given in this dispensation. I am grateful for the precious truths it contains. I also learned from conference that President Nelson is coming to the UK in April. There is a broadcast that everyone in the UK and Ireland including all the missionaries will be watching.

We haven't gotten a chance to meet up with Ovis or Edna yet. I think we are planning to meet Ovis this next week. By the way, yesterday was Stake conference in Dublin. So it was a three hour drive there and back. Stake Conference was good though. President and Sister Donaldson were there along with Elder Johnson from the Europe Area Presidency. He was there to reorganise the stake presidency, I imagined it went a lot like the last stake conference back home. There were many testimonies shared and Elder Johnson spoke on the need to sustain our leaders which he explained is more than raising our hand at conference time.

I love you guys! Thank you for all your emails!

Elder Calley

Week 58: I think Spring might be coming!

February  19,2018

Hey guys! 

This week has been good. Elder Derry and I weren't able to teach Kyle this week. We haven't been able to get a hold of him yet. However, we were able to teach a new guy named Ovis this week. Elder Derry was just texting some of the potential investigators on Saturday and Ovis responded and said he could meet up with us later at the church. So, we taught him part of the restoration and invited him to church. So he came for sacrament meeting and gospel principles! He was asking questions and participating in gospel principles. We taught about repentance and there was a really good discussion with Ovis and everyone else. He said he really enjoyed church but had to leave early. We're hoping to meet with him this Friday or Saturday because we'll be in Dublin for a few days this week on exchanges and for an All-Ireland conference.

 We also taught Edna who is a Brazilian lady that has been investigating off and on for the past year. We invited her to be baptised in three weeks and she said yes as long as she gets an answer from God. She said she would come to church tomorrow but she texted us ten minutes before church started that she couldn't come. She says she works a lot so her schedule can get busy at times. She says she loves coming to church though and learning about God though so we'll see what happens.

The rest of this week was good. We did a lot of finding. The weather here has been great for the past few days. It's felt like 50 degrees some of the time.

The river that runs through Sligo

Another picture of Sligo

Well that about sums my week up. I hope you guys are having warmer weather too!

Love,

Elder Calley

By the way I got my package on Friday. Thank you guys so much for the candy and letters. They are amazing! 

Week 57: I don't have appendicitis thankfully

February 12, 2018

Hey guys!

My week here was good. Last Monday we were chapping in the student housing and taught a guy named Kyle. What are the odds. We taught him a short restoration lesson. He used to be Catholic but still has some belief in a Higher Power. You tend to find that a lot with the younger generation here. But we gave him a Book of Mormon and are trying to set up a return appointment.

Then on Saturday we had a zone leadership conference in Dublin and on Sunday we had Branch Conference so the stake presidency was there. We had a talk from the Branch president, President Cunane on the Atonement and another talk on Prophets by a member of the stake presidency. After Church we helped a recent convert, Wisdom,  move his things since he lives in the hostel here in Sligo. Wisdom is from Biafra a part of Nigeria by the way.

It has been hailing a lot this week. We also have a nice thin layer of snow here. No one has mentioned the Winter Olympics though. I don't think it is very big here in Ireland. Most people just stick to soccer. They do celebrate Valentine's Day though.

Mom, it's funny that you are teaching Alma 32. I've used that chapter quite a bit when teaching. One of my favorite scriptures to share with members is verse 28 because it talks about how a seed will swell, enlarge our soul, enlighten our understanding, and then it begins to be delicious to us. I don't know if Alma intended to make an acronym for seed by he did. I just find it to be neat way to share how our faith can impact us as we do things to make it grow.

Here's a few pictures of Sligo. I finally remembered to take some.

Here's the street right outside our flat

It even snows in Sligo

One of the streets that leads to the town centre. Maybe that's where the pot of gold is. Haha

Hey I love you guys. Thank you so much for your prayers!

Love,

Elder Calley

By the way there are quite a few fishing/outdoor shops here in Sligo. People usually don't go swimming this time of year but some people surf over at Strandhill when it is warmer.

Week 56: Staying in Sligo!

February 5, 2018

So I'm staying in Sligo for another six weeks which is good. Elder Derry is still my companion and I can no longer drive but Elder Derry can. This transfer actually runs until St. Patrick's day so I'm sure I'll get to see all of the Irish flags and festivities going up. Sligo is a pretty small town. Only 20,000 live here so we do see a lot of the same people on the street. It's good though, I love it here in Sligo. We're always able to talk to new people. Sligo has an I.T. so we talk to a lot of the students who go there. They seem to be a little bit more open than the older generation here in Ireland. The older generation tends to be the ones that still go to mass and are devoted catholics. The younger the generation is the more likely it is that they don't have faith in God or go to church.

That's cool that you guys got to go to the Sparta Branch. It sounds a lot like the branch here in Sligo. The branch here is smaller but there is a lot of love. Everyone watches out for and makes sure everyone is doing okay even though a lot of the members live about 20-30 minutes from the church. There are quite a few members who are from Nigeria and a couple from the Philippines so it's pretty diverse. We had a lot of good testimonies yesterday at church.

We taught a guy named Liem on Tuesday. We found him chapping in some of the student housing by the I.T. He's catholic but doesn't really know if there is a God. We taught him the restoration and invited him to pray about the Book of Mormon. He's willing to get baptised when he gets an answer to his prayers. We're hoping to meet with him again on Tuesday.

Well I haven't had any cabbage and corned beef yet but everyone says it's a very traditional Irish food. Almost every dish here has potatoes in it or with it as well. Speaking of Irish things. I learned a new Irish word, "fáilte" which means welcome.

I love you guys. I am grateful to be serving the Lord here in Sligo.

Love,

Elder Calley