Week 66 Still in Sligo

April 16, 2018

Hey guys!

So transfers came and went and I am staying in Sligo. However, Elder Derry left and went to a suburb of Dublin but my new companion is Elder Fisk. He is from Springville, Utah and has only been out four weeks and is a really good missionary. So I am really looking forward to serving with him this next transfer.

On Thursday we did get to hear from President Nelson and Elder Holland. It was awesome! There was a missionary broadcast at two and a general membership broadcast at 7. President Nelson and Elder Holland and their wives talked about a lot of different things. They talked about how Jesus Christ directs His church through a prophet and how President Nelson has been called to be the current prophet. They talked about a few different attributes that President Nelson had, like how he listens more than he speaks, he has great love for his family and the people he serves, and he is also very humble and has a good sense of humour. Sister Nelson talked about how she has been a witness to President Nelson receiving revelation and how he truly has been called to the prophetic calling. President Nelson touched on how each of us can receive revelation and some steps that we can take. He told all of us missionaries that by the end of our missions, we should be tri-lingual. We should know our mission language, our companion's language, and the language of the Spirit. President Nelson also left the U.K. with a blessing promising that the people here would be able to delight in the scriptures as well as a few other things that I wrote down but can't recall.

So as far as the area goes, we weren't able to see Ovis this week but we met with Kaya and taught her and her friends bits and pieces of the Plan of Salvation and restoration. We have a few appointments set up with various people we met so hopefully they hold. As far as the weather goes, it was fourteen degrees celsius yesterday so I think that's 57 degrees Fahrenheit or so. So the weather is lovely over here. I still can't believe that you guys got snow and church was cancelled. The weather is so different over here.

I love you guys! Have a great week!

Love, 

Elder Calley

Week 65: Last week of the Transfer

April 9, 2018

Hey guys!

This week has been great! I'm sorry you guys have had some cold weather, it seems to be a lot warmer here than back home. It's rained almost every day this week which I guess isn't much of a surprise but it was about 60 degrees yesterday and on Saturday.

It was exciting to hear all of the changes from General Conference. A lot of people bore their testimony on things they learned from General Conference in church yesterday and we had a good discussion on the changes in Elders quorum. In the Sligo branch the Elders and High Priests already met as one because of our small numbers.

Speaking of church we were able to get Ovis to come for the first two hours. We taught Ovis about a week or two ago but see him on the street all the time. He came to church before one time and likes coming to church if he is able to but is struggling to understand why we need to repent. So we are hoping to see him later this week on Wednesday or Thursday to share about the commandments.  We haven't been able to visit with Kaya again but we are supposed to meet with her Thursday. We also taught a guy named Von who had a few questions like happens to us after we die and what is heaven like? So we taught him the plan of salvation and are hoping to meet with him on Friday. This week we definitely had prayers answered. Not huge ones but I am very grateful for the opportunity we have to communicate with our Heavenly Father. I know that when we do He will bless our lives and help us in those things that we need in His time.

So later this week we are going to be able to hear from President Nelson and Elder Holland when they address. We have to travel  to Dublin for that on Thursday at 7pm. I am super excited to be able to hear the prophet address us again!

I hope you guys have a warmer and fantastic week!

Love,

Elder Calley

Week 64: Wow! That's a lot of changes

April 2, 2018

Hey guys! General Conference was awesome! Elder Derry and I got to watch every session except for the Sunday Afternoon Session. So I didn't know Home and Visiting Teaching got dissolved until I read your email this morning. Wow there were a lot of changes that happened this conference. There were a lot of good messages as well. I really enjoyed President Nelson's closing remarks Sunday Morning on how we need to make the effort to seek revelation for ourselves. 

Well, the rest of the week was good. We taught a lady named Kaya this week. She has ran into the Mormons before but decided to meet up with us this time. She goes to the Church of Ireland reguraly but is open minded. We're hoping to meet her again tomorrow or Tuesday.

This week was also Easter. Easter here seems to be more like Thanksgiving back home because everyone just gets together for a meal or they do the typical Irish thing to do on the weekend. There were quite a few people who asked us if we do anything special for Easter or Good Friday. We told everyone about how we get to listen to a prophet on Easter and how we can remember the Saviour's sacrifice for all of us and use the gift he has given to us. 

We also had our All-Ireland Conference which was really good. There was a lot of stress on teaching the doctrine of the sabbath day and how covenants that investigators make are between themselves and God.

I am so grateful to be able to serve out here in Ireland. I know that Jesus Christ leads and guides His church through President Nelson. I am grateful for the people I get to meet and help come closer to the Saviour. I hope you guys have a fantastic week!

Love,

Elder Calley

Week 63: Conference/Easter weekend

March 26, 2018

Hey guys!

This week has been nice and warm. The winter weather has broken and it has been nice and sunny for most of the week. We also moved the clocks an hour forward yesterday. A lot of people were late to church.

As far as our investigators go, Mark dropped us but we taught a lady named Success that is from Nigeria. She is Pentecostal but wanted to learn more about the Book of Mormon. We're hoping to meet with her some more this week.

We also have All-Ireland tomorrow and General Conference this weekend. I am so excited to be able to hear our Prophet and Apostles speak. It's interesting that it's on Easter too. I've had a few people that I've GQ'd this week ask me what time the Easter mass for the Mormon church is and I tell them it's at 5pm because we'll be listening to a Prophet and they'll usually wonder who the prophet is and it leads into a nice conversation. It's kind of weird watching the Sunday Morning session at 5pm but it's still fantastic! We'll be watching conference at the church.

Easter is a big event here in Ireland. All of the kids and college students get two weeks off for Easter break, they sell big chocolate eggs here for Easter, and most amazingly the pubs here close on Good Friday. The only other time they do that is on Christmas. I am so grateful that we get to celebrate the Saviour's Atonement and Resurrection. I am grateful for His sacrifice and love for each of us so that we can be able to live with our Heavenly Father again.

I hope you guys have a great Easter!

Love,

Elder Calley