Week 69: April Showers Bring May Flowers

May 7, 2018

Hey guys!

So this week was good! We had All-Ireland which was really good on Wednesday. There was a big focus on working with members and how that can help converts feel more welcomed in church.

This week not too much went on. We are still teaching Paul. We taught him the Plan of Salvation and about the Book of Mormon this week. He has started to read the Book of Mormon and says he likes it but has some concerns about where it came from but is still willing to read it. He wasn't able to make it to church yesterday but is going to come this week. We're seeing him again on Wednesday.

The rest of this week has been good. We've done a lot of chapping and GQing. I think Elder Fisk is adjusting to Sligo just fine. He seems to really enjoy it here in Sligo. As far as chapping goes, I usually like to make my approach more of a conversation so I usually will ask a question like, "What helps you to find happiness? Is Sligo a religious town? Do you have a belief in God or a Higher Power?" Usually most people that answer the door know who the guys with white shirts and ties so usually we can just jump straight into a gospel conversation.

I hope you guys have a fantastic week!!!

Love,

Elder Calley

Above is the picture of Sligo from the bay.

Last P-day we went to the Beach at Strandhill and Ross's Point. So here are some pictures!

Week 68: The leaves are on the trees

April 30, 2018

Hey guys! 

This week was good. The weather has been nice and sunny for the past four days which is highly unusual. It's good to hear that the snow is just about gone back home.

So this week we had exchanges with the zone leaders in Dublin and we also taught a guy named Paul last night that believes in God but has some issues with the word of wisdom. We haven't been able to meet with Fiona or Craig yet, we haven't been able to get in contact with them and they didn't come to their appointments.As far as a question that we get asked, I know that we ask a lot of questions when we are talking to people, but I think the most common question is "why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?" another common one is "is there evidence that God is there" or when we say we are mormon people sometimes ask "do mormons believe in Jesus Christ or the bible" or another common question is "what is the difference between mormons and other christians".

Yesterday in church the Stake President came all the way from Dublin to release our Elder's quorum president and called our branch mission leader Brother Tiernan to be the new Elder's quorum president. So I guess he's doing double duty for the minute.

Anyways not too much else happened this week. We have another All-Ireland this Wednesday which will probably also be President Donaldson's last All-Ireland conference he is at.

Here's a picture of Elder Fisk and I.

Love you guys!

Elder Calley

Week 67 : Finally warming up here in Sligo

April 23, 2018

Hey guys! Thanks for all the birthday wishes! They were awesome!

So this week in Sligo has been good. The weather was fantastic! It was sunny and warm, a solid 60 degrees for a whole four days straight which is almost unprecedented here. Because it was so sunny, there were a lot of people out on the streets so we were able to have a few on-the-spot lessons with people. One of them was with a girl named Fiona who goes to the I.T. here and another was with Craig, who is a Chinese guy who is just finishing up school and looking for a summer job. We taught them both the restoration and it went pretty well. Craig had a lot of questions on agency and if our lives are predestined or not, so it was good to be able to answer them. We're supposed to meet with both of them again tomorrow and Wednesday.

So I forgot to explain more about my companion. He's from Springville, Utah which is right by Provo  He's only been four weeks, well, now five in the field, so not including MTC time. I am his training him for the second half. He's awesome though and training him has been fun for the past week! He was in the southside of Dublin for the past 4 weeks and is just ready to go and get the work done. Last p-day we hiked Knocknarea again. It was really rainy and windy up there though.

So this week in my studies I was studying in Alma 60 about Moroni's letter to Pahoran and how Moroni is pretty angry with how the government has dealt with his armies and how he is a staunch defender of liberty and the right to worship freely. I thought it was interesting how in the next chapter, the first thing Pahoran writes to Moroni is how he does not delight in his afflictions and later on he says that he rejoices in the greatness of Moroni's heart. I'm sure it would have been easy for Pahoran to have said to Moroni, hold on you don't no the whole story here, or you have dealt with me unjustly, but instead he rejoices with Moroni and does not take his rebuke personally. It must of taken a lot of charity and humility to write back what he did. It made me wonder if there are times when we have the opportunity to respond with charity and humility and if we are inclined to choose that route. Anyways, I know that was pretty long but that's my spiritual thought that I had this week. I hope the snow continues to melt and I'll try to send some of the warm weather here, your way. Haha.

Love you guys! 

Elder Calley