11 months out

Hey family! :)I have been out 11 months tomorrow! Crazy huh?
Monday was tiring. We didn't have time to get anything we needed to done. We did wear forte sweatshirts and our forte bright red lipstick :)And we had a zone activity and we ended up playing mafia which was a blast. For dinner we ate pot roast potatoes and carrots. Again. If I never see another pot roast in my life it'll be too soon. Monday evening we taught a couple of lessons which were good and then crashed.
Tuesday we went to get our car looked at because one of our headlight fuses has been out. On Tuesdays we go to a care center and read a book to some of them for service. There is this one lady who sits in and every time when we walk her back to her room she tells us all about her kids and husband and the same story of how her siblings warned her not to marry him because he was from a family of 13 and she would have to have a lot of kids. Haha. We have a lot of freebies. Tuesday we went to subway. And then for dinner we ate...subway.
Wednesday was crazy! We had both car and house inspections and of course the week where on Monday we didn't have time to clean like we normally do. We then taught Vanessa one of our investigators who is hilarious. She is her own person and just says what she thinks. She just barely had a baby. We then went to park side another care center and visited this old man named Lynn who is super sweet and funny. He calls us his home teachers or preacher girls. Haha. We then went on splits for the evening. Wednesday night I kind of had a break down. Feeling really frustrated and inadequate I was grateful to have sister volmer who really helped me with it all.
Thursday we went to the temple and got to do initiatories. Which was a blessing. I haven't done them since the MTC. Almost a year. I got to do the family names that you had sent me so now I can do the endowments. The only sad part about initiatories is not being able to sit in the celestial room. It was good to review those blessings again though. When we go to the temple we also get to do some shopping since there is nothing in Roosevelt. So we went to DI and I bought this beautiful ugly pink velvety skirt to burn at my year mark. Haha. Thursday night we taught Elvis pres...cott. Haha. Him and his wife lost their son and want to be sealed in the temple. He talked about the peace that he felt at the funeral though. The spirit was strong.
Friday was a long day. I haven't been sleeping well at all. I keep waking up often in the middle of the night.  Thursday night I woke up 4 times. 2 from nightmares :( so I haven't been as obedient as I have wanted to in waking up on time. And it's frustrating but I don't feel well and am so exhausted in the mornings. I need to be better. We had weekly planning which was long as usual. And then we saw April and her goats :) one more was born so now along with fractal, brave, and roar (from the songs we used to serenade them when they were supposed to be born) is now Eugene. Hehe :) Wednesday sister volmer had lost her iPad so we continued to search for it Friday afternoon. It was with Lynn thank goodness. And we ran into Virginia while we were there and she asked us to come visit with her so we did. Virginia is the funniest 97 year old lady I have ever met. She makes me so happy. Most of the time she is onry or so she tells us and lately she has just been in the best mood smiling and singing. Haha. Hopefully I can send a picture of me with her next week. We then had two cancellations in the evening
Saturday we had president interviews which are always really good but they lasted forever. We were supposed to be done by 330 and by 4 neither one of us had been interviewed yet. We finally got done at 5 ish and then had to have a super quick dinner with driving time and to make it to the general women's conference. We felt so bad because they prepared this awesome meal and were so excited and we could only stay for 20 minutes. :( the conference was really good. I kept thinking how you were watching it with me just across the country.

Sunday we had a lot of church meetings and spoke too :( haha. It was good though. And then we had every appointment cancel which was really hard. I have been kindof an emotional wreck this week. it has been a tough week for lessons. But we went and found music to perform in sacrament and practiced. It was good to be able to really sing again. 

I feel like there was more but I cant really think of any of it. I hope you are all doing well.

Just a couple of last minute thoughts. I got a letter from lauren last week and she talked about how sometimes we get revelation we dont understand so we have to put it on our faith shelf and tell yourself you wont let it shake your faith and then every once in a while revisit it and see if you have learned anything new. I thought that was really neat as I have applied that this week.

Also, Sister Volmer and I have had a major call to repentance. Since we were put as companions every topic has been on eternal marriage or journal writing. The eternal marriage part I am still trying to figure our but the journal writing sister volmer and I are struggling with. haha.

Well I think thats it for now but I love you!

Sister Balero

A Warm but Frozen Week

March 24

 

Hey!

So I set a new goal to take a picture a day so you've got a lot of pictures a coming :)

Monday was St Patricks day which was fun. We were running around and never really got a break like we had hoped for. A lady gave us some of her used clothes :) New wardrobe :)

Tuesday. Frozen came out. And I wanted to cry. haha. In honor of the day we blasted Let it GO all day! hehe. It was super warm and sunny and then all of a sudden this freak snow storm happened! Hence the video and picures! And then it was warm again and cleared up. We knew it was because of the release of the movie though. On wednesday we were supposed to help birth some goats but the text never went through so we missed it. But we got to hold the babies :)

Thursday we went on exchanges which was really good so I was in Vernal for the day.

Saturday was Robert and Remos baptism. It was really neat. We sang 'Come unto Christ' and the spirit was really strong. Then all of our appointments cancelled and no one was home. It was so hard. I was trying so hard to follow the spirit and felt like I got no where. I just feel like at this point I should know better and be closer to the spirit than I am. It was hard to go home with zero lessons taught.

Sunday was good. We taught some really good lessons :)

I thought there was a whole bunch more to say but I guess not. haha

I love you and hope you're doing great :)

Sister Balero

Adventures in Roosevelt

March 17

hola!

This week has been insane. I am so worn out right now! We have been crazy busy and with sister volmer and I we have been having WAY too much fun! haha. The people we are teaching are awesome! And the spirit has been so strong in some of them! There are truly people prepared. I have been so tired emotionally and physically and spiritually though. I am glad to have Sister Volmer though. She is an amazing companion and it has been nice to just talk and feel like someone cares. I haven't had an appetite at all though. I feel like I'm starving and two bites into my food, I feel like I have eaten a horse and am super sick. I dont know why my body is so off. I haven't been sleeping well either. Hopefully it's just adjusting to a new area. 

We had some funny experiences but they are going to take way too long to type out. Sister Volmer took the time though! So you can look at her blog. haha

We went to the temple which was really good. I will write a letter if I think of anything else. I love you and 8 more weeks and I get to talk to you!! :)

 

Love, 

Sister Balero

We're off to Eastern Utah

Too much to say.

Eagle mountain goodbyes were the worst but I didn't cry :)

I'm going to miss that area so much.

On transfers I was super nervous but Sister Volmer's name was called and then President said " Your new companion will be Sister Balero" We both jumped up and ran into a hug and just smiled and laughed and laughed in disbelief. He then said "I should probably be worried. They look a little too excited to be companions" haha. We then came out to Roosevelt and it has been craziness ever since. We had a 17 hr day yesterday. We had a meeting at 7 and with daylight savings we got up at what felt like 4:45 to go to a 6 meeting.

I am super excited to have Sister Volmer as my comp and am looking forward to this transfer :)

I know this is short but my brain is so dead! I have had a cold all week on top of no sleep and I'm feeling it.

Sister Balero

Stake Conference Talk

Stake conference

Good evening brothers and sisters
I am Sister Balero and am serving as one of your full time missionaries in this stake. What a joy and a blessing it has been to be a missionary. I have witnessed so many blessings and miracles in just the 10 months I have been out. So far it has been anything but easy but it is so very worth it. I feel so privileged that The Lord has placed me here to serve in Eagle Mountain. Your stake is incredible! We talk about hastening the work and it's easy to see that it is hastening in South America or over in New York and we fail to recognize that the mission field is right here. In the past 6 weeks we have been averaging 30-40 lessons a week in your stake and watched 4 incredible youth including this one, who bore her sweet testimony to you earlier, enter the waters of baptism. Although this is wonderful there is still so much more work to be done. There are so many more of God’s children who need this message as well. How neat is it to see all these people you love so dearly to make those steps toward coming unto Christ. And how amazing will it be to see even more of those you love do the same. This is a sacred and special work to be a part of and you don't have to wait until you are 18,19 or until retirement to be a missionary. A favorite song of primary children proves this. The lyrics go like this
1.      I want to be a missionary now.
I don’t want to wait until I’m grown.
I want to share the gospel while I’m young,
For I have a testimony of my own.
2.      I want to tell my friends about our church
And the happiness it brings to me.
I’ll tell them how the gospel was restored,
Tell them how the Book of Mormon came to be.
3.      Then I can be a missionary now.
I don’t have to wait until I’m grown.
I’ll live each day the best that I know how,
And they’ll see I have a testimony of my own,
A testimony of my very own.
When preparing this talk an experience I had a few months ago stood out in my mind. My companion and I had just finished a dinner with a ward mission leader and his family. After dinner we shared a thought as we normally do. I felt prompted to share a video of a family who prays for missionary opportunities and then they each seek them out throughout their day. I have very few times felt the spirit as strong as I did at that time. Not a word was said and the normally active children sat motionless with eyes fixed on our small screen.  You could feel the importance and power of that message of  member missionary work and I know that everyone in that room felt it and understood it as well. What a great privilege we all have to be missionaries now.
I came across a quote I love recently by president Monson and was given as a formula for guidance and joy but I realized that it is a perfect formula for successful missionary work as well. It is "Gaze heavenward. Look inward. Reach outward. Press forward" the first part is gaze heavenward. This is the Lord’s work and we cannot do it without Him. Our first step should be to turn towards him in prayer. As we do this we align our will with his and he is able to guide us in every aspect of our lives. Next we need to look inward. We can't testify to what we don't know ourselves. We must look inside and recognize the testimony we have so we can share it with those around us. We must also look at the things within ourselves that are holding us back from sharing the gospel whether they be fear or pride or anything else and work to overcome them and humble ourselves. We can also look at the trials we have faced and ask ourselves how can I help someone around me because of these experiences. Who can I relate to now and uplift? Who has The Lord prepared me for? The next step is to reach outward. We need to go out and do. As we involve ourselves in service and building relationships with those around us we will see all the opportunities around us. We will find that The Lord puts people in our path daily if only we will take a moment and open our eyes. And the relationships you will forge will last a lifetime. As we look for ways to serve we will recognize the love our father in heaven has for us and also for the person we are serving. My companion and I had an experience the day she was transferred into the area. We were doing some quick shopping at Walmart and decided to quickly grab some lunch. As we were in line a sweet man paid for our lunch and then he and his wife introduced themselves to us. We left with gratitude and then didn't give it another thought. A couple days later we were at a ward Christmas party and ran into this couple again. We learned their names and they offered to help us with anything we might need. We found out this couple was a less active family and began to meet with them. It has been incredible seeing the progress of this family. Every time we see them they remind us that The Lord is so aware of us. It was no accident that we ran into each other at the store that day and he has continued to provide opportunities for us that were not coincidental. Lastly we press forward. Even when we try our best Rejection may come but that doesn't mean we have been unsuccessful. We have done our part by inviting. All we are asked to do is share and testify and the rest is up to them.
I want to close with the word of another children's song.


2.      There are children sharing all around the world,
Leading other children to the gospel fold.
With the strength of youth, we do the Father’s work.
With our hearts and our hands we will serve.
We are cov’nant children with a gift to give.
We will teach the gospel by the way we live.
With each word and action, we will testify:
We believe, and we serve Jesus Christ
We are children holding hands around the world,
Like an army with the gospel flag unfurled.
We are led by His light,
And we love truth and right.
We are building the kingdom of God.

Bear testimony

Leaving My Home in the Wilderness

I don’t know if I have really much to say this week. I had a HARD week. I don’t know exactly why. I just felt almost hollow. I had no motivation felt really down and just wanted to quit. It was kind of scary. I got a blessing while we were on exchanges, which was good. And stake conference was super powerful and I really enjoyed it besides the fact that I had to speak. I’m sending my talk. We had 43 lessons this week. 31 True fellowshipping again. It was good! And 17 of those both were just yesterday! Woot!

A couple of things I liked from stake conference.

One girl said to the group

"Dear Brothers and sisters,

You are called to serve as a missionary for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You have been assigned to labor at all time and in all things and in all places. It is anticipated that you will serve for the rest of your life so start now"

I thought that was neat.

There was a little boy who spoke who has a disease where he is basically allergic to his hair. He made me cry!! Holy cow. He said that he likes to swing at recess but sometimes when he does his hood falls off and he gets embarrassed because of his bald head. And then he said I know though that I just have to be strong like Christ and I know that when I was in heaven I told Heavenly Father that I would go down and take this upon myself. It was so sad.

Lastly when we were in a lesson this week. We were talking about the plan of salvation and the person we were teaching said how she liked how there wasn’t really a hell and what the fellowshipper said really hit me. She said "hell to me would be knowing what I could’ve had and not making it"

Well I hope that you have a fabulous week! I love you!

Sister Balero