A Great Week

 

Well this was a great week :) I am grateful for a faster moving week than the last ones have been.

Monday we got a text from Bryndi asking if we could do something together so we decided to go hike to Stewart Falls. This is my third attempt at this and I actually made it this time! It was a really easy hike for most of it and the falls was so peaceful and beautiful! It took longer than we expected but if you have time when you come drop off Christa I would definitely recommend it! :) My shoes got so dirty though and it was exhausting but definitely worth it :) And it was good to see Bryndi :) We ate lunch at Ripples where the short film the phone call was filmed :) it was so yummy too :) Monday night we taught a YSA FHE which was good. They made rice krispy treat temples as the activity! It was so funny!

Tuesday we had most of our lessons for the week which was really good. We had President interviews as well. We also made teddy bears with one of the wards we cover. They do it every month for children who have had to deal with abuse.

Wednesday night we ate with a really fun family. We ate dinner and then while they baked some cookies we played apples to apples and then boom boom balloon. haha. It's basically like jenga but the goal is not to pop the balloon. haha. You roll a die and have to put the pins in that many notches. And then the chocolate chip cookies were some of the best I have ever had :) I need to get the recipe!

Thursday was the temple to temple run. We helped out at the end cutting the 6,000 bananas haha. 

It was cooler in the morning though which was good :) (side note: LDS Bookstore sponsored it so if you check out their facebook page there is a picture of us even though our backs are turned)

We then planned during the day. 

Friday we had a bunch of lessons which was awesome! The evening was full and most of the time that is the hardest evening to fill because its date night haha. We also have a new investigator :) He is going to be a lot different to teach. He is doesn't know if God exists and He is super smart. He is 17 And graduating college this next year. His parents( also atheists) sent him to efy twice and then made him transfer to BYU haha. He told us when explaining it "They told me to put anything I wanted in a box and then to follow that box to BYU." 

Saturday was one of the best days I've had in a while. We ate dinner at the stake president's home with his family. They made the most delicious homemade pizza and had a perfectly juicy and flavorful watermelon -better than I have ever had in my life! and then yummy brownies which I have been praying for! Everyone keeps giving us ice cream. We then went to a YSA ward activity in the Canyon. 3 of our investigators were there. Alex was one- and she is actually going home for a month so we are losing another investigator in our teaching pool but she came and thanked us for teaching her and told us she would miss us which was really sweet of her. Then we have Becca who we are working to teach. We taught one lesson with her but then there was some awful roommate drama and now she doesnt feel like she can meet with us. But we keep seeing her everywhere which I think is good for us to have daily contact with her. And then we have Axan who will be a new investigator this week. Remind me next week to tell his story :) It was just so fun talking to people in the canyon and they were throwing a Frisbee, playing volleyball, eating  and playing twister on a HUGE board. 

Sunday we had the less active couple we have been working with at church :) And Axan was at church as well :) The rest of the day was kindof boring and then we spent some time talking with the Harrison family. I love them! Definitely my Provo family! And it ended up being really spiritual sharing some of the experiences we have had recently! 

Well, I hope i got everything but my life is great and I hope yours is too :)

Love,

 Sister Balero

Little Miracles

Hi Family

This has been the longest and hardest weeks of my mission so far. And its mostly just a blur right now. 

Monday we took it real easy because of sister Hinkson's grandma's passing. I was also overwhelmed because I had to take over the area the next day for exchanges and didn't know what to do. We also had one of our investigators drop us

Tuesday we had exchanges which was again overwhelming at times but turned out really well for the most part.

Wednesday we exchanged back after studies. In studies we studied faith in finding again. It was frustrating because I'm sick of being told the reason we don't have work in our area is I don't have enough faith. Then we had just kindof a tedious day and I was worn out and just felt really low. The evening was good though. We experienced a little miracle. My companion felt like we needed to stop by this one family who moved in. We went and the non member son (40's) answered the door and was friendly but didnt seem particularly interested. Then he said you really need to talk to my mom. He brought us in and called to his mom saying "look what God sent you." His mom N came down the stairs and got really excited she invited us in and told us all about how she is inactive and wants to go to church but no one had come by to give her any information. S (her son) asked us if we needed anything and we said we were fine. He scrambled around and told us he smokes and drinks and would remove that stuff from the area and opened a door to let the house air out. Then he came back with a tray with cups and a pitcher of water and ran out. It was so sweet and then we kept talking with N. Then S came back again. With two fabric roses and gave us each one.  And he started to cry. He said "I had a conversation with God this morning and now you are here. Thank you. That's all I wanted to say." and he ran out. And then we talked with N some more and we are going to start teaching her. It was a little miracle moment. Then we did some service with a yw's group.

Thursday was an okay day. We had some good lessons but after one we lost investigator number 2 for the week. I was happy with that parting though. She is here studying for the mcat and the program is ending so she needs the last couple of weeks to study. Her lessons in the past have been frustrating because they were more of a debate between her and the felowshipper but this lesson was different. There was a calm spirit and acceptance as we talked about the gospel of jesus christ. It was neat to see that change and a good way to end.

Friday we basically planned all day long.

Saturday was a day full of contacting and it was hot and long as well. We went to contact a media referral and decided to knock on a neighbors door to find out who it was because there hadnt been an answer all day. We prayed and both felt prompted to ask the same door. The family who answered was an inactive family. No miracle. They werent interested but I know the Lord works in mysterious ways to get us to where we need to be. The referral's apt was vacant but we knocked on the door that mattered. Hopefully they will one day come back.

Sunday we went to a lot of meetings. One was Nikki's ward and we sat next to her as she came to church and partook of the sacrament for the first time in 55 years. That was a sweet experience.  For like 10 minutes I got to sing with a practicing YSA choir which was a blessing. I miss that feeling of singing :) Then we had a lesson with one of our nonmembers who I have really been pouring my heart out in prayer for and we lost investigator number 3 of the week. Someone in the ward pulled a really mean practical joke on her and she just said it is too hard I feel like I need a break. My heart broke in half. Last night I cried myself to sleep. Its just so hard when you care about these people so much and you see them turn away from what you know will give them the greatest peace and happiness. I feel like the Lord in Jacob 5 when he says "What could I have done more for my vineyard?" Its just so hard in these last few months of my mission to really feel like I am trying to give my all to these people and this area and nothing seems to grow. What more could I have done for them?

Well I love you and Hope you have a great week

Sister Balero

It's a new transfer

It has been one of the longest weeks of my whole mission. Holy cow. 

Monday we got transfer calls and then just did little errands throughout the day. 

Tuesday we taught a new Less active family we found. The spirit was so strong as we taught the first vision. I am so happy they are making the steps toward the temple. I guess a few months ago they were a no contact family from the ward. We then had a district lunch at an el salvadorian restauraunt. It was so good :) Later in the afternoon we met with a recent convert who needs the new member lessons. She is so sweet.

Wednesday we met another recent convert. She is incredible! she shared her whole conversion story with us. It is supposed to be in the New era sometime this year. Her name is Devan Bertolino. Keep an eye out.

Thursday night it rained! :) We walked in it and it was amazing :) We also had a district meeting to find out we are not in that district.

Friday we met our new district which consists of our zone leaders and the APs. They are awesome and it was a blast :) 

Saturday we had morning exercise as a district. which was fun but it was early and soccer is not my thing haha. I also ran into one of my college friends again who is doing EFY here so I got to talk to her. We did some service at a sisters house by cooking and it was awful. Probably a story for a letter. It was so hot sat! ugh.

Sunday One of our investigators gave a talk which was awesome. Were still working on her. But it was really good :) Sister Hinkson made us a yummy grilled cheese for lunch :) For dinner we ate at a party house. There were 3 families. haha. One of them was one of the main guys in Kid History!!! It was awesome! It took me forever to figure out where I knew him from though. The church is true :) FACCCT ;)

So basically that was the week. All the rest was scrambling around trying to figure out what to do which is why it was so long.

I love you and hope you have a great week :)

Sister Balero

4th of July

Hey family!

So This has been a crazy week. 

First off HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE BUG! STAY AWAY FROM THE BOYS!

Secondly I am so sick of everyone talking about getting married. Its like a curse. Especially on campus...I need like bug spray!

Thirdly Sister Hinkson and I will be staying together for transfers

Okay so starting with Monday I guess. We had dinner with a new ward mission leader which was good :) Then we taught a couple of FHEs which were awesome :)

Tuesday we taught our 2 new investigators who are now progressing :) They are so prepared! We also made some popcorn with a cute saying for some of our YSA Ward Mission Leaders because I feel like they dont get recognized much for all they do! The deliveries on the other hand were all extremely awkward in their own way. A few weren't home and their roomates were confused and then the WMLs who were home all seemed confused and kept asking how they could help us. haha. 

Wednesday something must have happened...I have no clue what haha

Thursday we got skirts that Sister Harrison made for us for the 4th! They are adorable!! Then that night everyone camped outside our house prepping for the parade and were cheering and screaming all night so I didn't sleep :(

Friday was awesome! We walked in the parade! I saw Jessica, the Egberts, Brooklyn (Dyck), and Mindy Strong, Grant Gallinger and also Aubrey Hunt. I think that was all. It was so HOT! But the parade was fun! Then we went and did service at the freedom festival which was good :)  Then we had our district activity and watched frozen :) It was so good!! And it was so much fun! Our District Leader is about to go home so when he heard both for the first time in forever and Love is an open door he was like that is my song! haha. It was great :)

Saturday we didnt do much. We tried but everyone was out of town.

Sunday was really good. We fasted and I wasnt even really hungry all day which is amazing. and then we went to lots of church. And in the evening we taught Desciree which was really good! The spirit was strong and she is progressing!! I love her so much and can't wait for her to recognize her answer.

I think that was about it. Sorry it's a shorter less detailed week. But I love you and can't wait to keep rocking BYU Campus :)

Sister Balero

Wishing you Whale

June 30

Wow! Where to even start. Next week is transfer calls so pray for President that he will know where we need to be! I dont know where all my email time went so I'm going to have to speed through all of this week. Its been a long week though so its all kindof a blur anyway. I stink at writing in my journal too. Any tips? I do write down my blessings each day though so I'm doing better than doing nothing.

Okay so Monday I wrote you a letter but I was so excited to get my Whale Cardi :) Love it! And then I bought new shoes which were much needed. And I got a blizzard for the first time in a year! It was incredible!

Tuesday we had 5 lessons! Only One less than we had all of the previous week! I miss teaching. I felt so rusty though because I havent been teaching much here. One of the lessons is a new investigator :) She is prepared. I cant wait to continue teaching her. She is so neat. We also walked campus for a couple of hours during the day and talked to people.

Wednesday I got a package from grandma and 4 letters :) I felt so loved :) We then walked campus again and decided to go inside and get some BYU creamery ice cream. When we walked in there was a table of Football Camp Councilors (big black guys haha) who we talked to and they wanted to buy us Jamba Juice and said they had a free card. We told them we were okay and were just going to get some ice cream anyway and thanked them for offering and then they said well then we will buy your ice cream. We said it was okay but again they insisted and started walking over and said follow us. So we got some ice cream. He told us get a lot of ice cream. The more ice cream the bigger the blessings. haha. We just got a scoop of ice cream but that was plenty! It was so yummy! And total tender mercy We then ran into a recent convert Sister Hinkson taught and talked with her for forever. She is so funny. Then I called and talked with Bryndi for a little bit and she told me some experiences she had had. She is doing so well and that makes me so happy! That night was awful and I was a mess. I dont really want to go into it but I know the Lord had prepped me throughout the day. I learned a lesson though. There were some talks given on Sunday that I had really needed to hear and I decided to put my revelation to work. We had talked a lot about asking Heavenly Father for the What am I meant to get out of each trial versus the why am I going through this. We also talked about being grateful in our circumstances. So I focus more on the Lord's vision and purpose than on myself. Its amazing what a difference that little change can make. It still wasnt easy but I could see the blessings and experience the miracles of the faith afterward. 

Thursday we had a zone meeting. It was good but I was still recoving from the lack of sleep and exhaustion from the night before. It was a bright sunny day and when we went in for lunch I remember telling sister Hinkson Do you think if I pray it will rain? I need rain. We just kindof laughed it off  because there was no way it was ever going to rain. There was no chance of it. When we walked back out an hour later it started to rain. I almost started crying. I didnt pray for it but I knew my Heavenly Father Heard me and knew I needed that blessing that morning. That night our dinner cancelled because one of them had to go to the ER so we went to Panda Express. It was so good :) I havent had it in Forever! 

Friday was just a lot of planning and knocking. Oh and we got another new investigator. I felt bad though because I think she felt overwhelmed.

Saturday I met another Recent convert. She is so sweet! Love her! We also had a super good dinner :)

Sunday we got to go to all three blocks of church. It has been a while. It was so good. I ran into Mindy Strong who was with Grant. And we had a dinner that made me so sick to my stomach and she kept making us eat more :( Then sunday night I went to bed early not feeling well and we forgot to send in our numbers. Long story and we got our door pounded on by the STLs checking to make sure we were safe. Just as I had finally fallen asleep though :(

Well that should about cover it. I love you all so much and miss you! 14 months out tomorrow! INSANE!

Sister Balero

Baptism

June 23
Hello all!
So this week there was a bunch of ups and downs so let's see if I can get through them all. First things first I forgot something from last week. We went to the temple! Yay! But I forgot to bring my family name :(
Okay so Monday we had a district activity. If you can even call it that. Haha. We were going to hike to a waterfall in the canyon that you can stand under and we were so excited! The elders said they knew where they were going but they really didn't so we spent most of our day and a bajillion miles following them in our car by ourselves. And so we decided to walk around this little creek we found instead. As we headed put we found the waterfall and kind of slapped our faces. Haha. On the way back home there is this other waterfall called bridal veil which is a super easy hike so we decided to do it as a companionship. It wasn't bad. Then we went to a couple houses for a lesson. The whole day was kind of a disappointment to something we had been looking forward to. By the end of the day we were just ready to go straight to bed. When we came home we found our door heart attacked :) it was so sweet. We were trying to figure out who did it and we saw a gift bag and inside was some muddy buddies :) so we knew it was the Harrison family but they'll never admit it because we didn't admit heart attacking them a couple of weeks ago. But definitely a tender mercy.
Tuesday we had exchanges. I was with Sister Nielson which was neat. I got to teach some lessons which was nice. I feel so rusty though because I haven't been teaching much lately. We also had a good dinner of breakfast :) yum. Also their landlords are relatives of the klines so I got to see McKinley who is in town. She is expecting her mission call soon :)
Wednesday we exchanged back. We met with people. Dinner was great. We had a delicious lasagna and a yummy salad with Catalina dressing. I was skeptical of it but it was way yummy! The person we ate with was a girl who was just married and she invited her friend over because her husband wouldn't make it back on time. They were high school friends and then I asked them when they graduated and they said 2013 and I kind of freaked out that they were both younger than us. I can't even imagine myself married. 20 even feels too young! They were a lot of fun though so the dinner conversation was nice.
Thursday we had a full day with no down time. Down side we knocked a bunch of doors on the hot sun and no one was home. We were inviting members around a complex to the ward activity. We had another good dinner too :)
Friday we planned and then we filled our dead afternoon hours walking around campus and talking with people. People make themselves hard to talk to. Either avoiding you or walking fast or talking on the phone. There were so many people though between new student orientation for summer and efy. The efy counselors were screaming and cheering for us. It was so embarrassing. Haha. By the end we were dying from all the walking in he heat and were headed to dinner. I was telling sister hinkson how badly I wanted a drink of cold water and how I really hoped that they already had the water on the table and dinner ready so we didn't have to wait a half hour longer to get something to drink like most nights. I also was tellin her that I really hoped we had something cold to eat like a salad. A salad sounded so good. So we go to the house and I see ice water on the table. Check☑️ And then she looked at me and said you told me you like pork right? I had totally forgotten but she had asked us weeks ago what we didn't get often that we would like to be fed and I said pork. Because we get so much chicken and lasagna and noodles and stuff. So she said well I figure the best pork comes from costa vida check☑️ True. What I hadn't told her that is is that that was exactly what I was thinking. Haha. So then she said so I hope you like costa vida salads check ☑️ I was dying! Answer to prayers! So heavenly! And then after she gave us chocolate chip cookies!! And they were totally toll house check☑️My favorite! And she was so sweet too! She was talking about her two girls. Her first has a major disability and wasnt supposed to live. she was there and the way she talked about her was so touching. she was saying that she cant communicate but that she feels like God allows her to communicate the way we did in Heaven. And that she has the ability to show love so deeply even so. She also cant see but she says that shell look around at times and she knows that she someone is there with them. 

Saturday we had Francis's baptism which was a neat experience. And then we had a bunch of appts throughout the day with Ward Mission Leaders and service and one teaching. 

Sunday I wasnt feeling well all day but our schedule was packed. We had Francis's confirmation and spoke in sacrament and then Went to other church meetings. They were all really good and exactly things I needed to hear. In one of the Wards a girl came up to talk to us and I was like I know you! She didnt recognize me but it was Marissa Avila! It was neat to see her. I realized it has been almost 8 years since they moved! crazy! 

Well Thats about all! I hope you are doing well! I love you!

Sister Balero