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

Weekly

June 16

This week is a blur. We went up to 9 lessons this week. haha 

Monday we shopped and then played a board game with an 80yr old recent convert.

Tuesday we got dropped by one of our only investigators :( And we got our ipads updated which means we can’t get wifi on campus anymore :( But we do get to check our email daily :) We just can't reply until Monday. And we get the Facebook app which is nice :)

Wednesday we had to take our car in to be checked and ate popcorn and tried not to watch the TV right next to us with previews for Maleficent. That night we had bishop meetings to try and find work and the building we were in had insitiute classes going on for Jessicas stake and I peeked my head into the classroom and there she was :) Then afterwards I got to go and talk to her because we needed to talk to her boyfriend who is the Ward mission leader about a nonmember we had just talked to their bishop about. haha. It’s probably the only time I will see her though because now she is moving out of my area.  

Thursday we had a really delicious dinner for the first time in forever! YUMMY! And then we had lessons with Francis and then J.

Francis is good :)

J flat out told us she wouldn’t read the Book of Mormon and will not change religious beliefs but she does like meeting with us and wants to learn more. It broke my heart :( Maybe one day things will change though. Then we had a stake coordination meeting and only 2 WMLs showed up. It was really frustrating.

Friday we planned and heart attacked all day. We were dying because we have nothing to do and are out of ideas! We have no names to even stop by :( I dont know what else to do. It’s hard. We keep getting referrals too and all ones that aren't ours so we keep handing off more work to other missionaries :( That night I got a blessing from a bishop but I feel like It wasn't really for me that I felt prompted. When it was over my comp and his wife both had tears in their eyes. Their daughter is serving in alaska right now and they said she is going through the same kind of thing I am so I felt almost like I was being their daughter they could bless in that moment and my companion was sobbing saying that’s what she needed to hear. Sometimes the Lord works in mysterious ways.

Saturday I was really frustrated and dont even want to talk about it. But we did contact a referral that we found out wasnt ours but she is really cool and seems really prepared. She is from Bangladesh and told us that if she joins our church she wants to serve a mission! haha

Sunday Was a good and busy day! We had bishop meetings and a really awesome sacrament meeting! There was this really incredible talk given by the called that day Ward Mission Leader who we were then told didn’t find out he was speaking until he saw his name on the program 10 minutes before it started. We were all shocked! haha. It was so good and everything touched me so much with what I needed to hear. Then Francis had his baptismal interview so we are good to go for next weekend :) And then taught a couple of lessons :) 

 

So thats the brief version of my long week. I love you and miss you and hope I have more to report on next week!

 

Sister Balero

Little Tender Mercies

Jun 9

Hi family! This week was long but not as long as the past few. Lots happened.
Monday we went to café Zupas. It was delicious! We will have to go there after my mission or maybe when you're here to drop off Christa :) it's soups salads and sandwiches :) a sweet lady who has a missionary paid for us. I also found coconut almonds at our walmart :) who knew what a blessing it would be to have a walmart near my area again. Haha.

Tuesday we did service for Sandra. She is an Argentine lady who needs a lot of help. She is not allowed to lift more than 2 lbs and her sister living with her just had foot surgery and her husband is in Afghanistan. When we did service for her last Saturday I was going to ask her about Argentina and see if there was any connections to Daddy's mission but didn't have the Chance. This time I did though and I told her my dad served in Argentina on his mission. She asked what part and I told her Salta. Then she looked at my tag again and started getting really emotional and was asking me all these questions I didn't have the answer to but we figured out that it had to have been him who was the elder who did her interview for baptism. It's amazing that she still remembers him even though he wasn't even the elder who taught her. She then told her sister who said Elder Balero is your dad? He is my friend. Small world and tender mercy. Their English is not the best though so I typed out the message to send to you and she got your message but said she hasn't had the time to sit down and reply. I might just have to give her your number to call. I hope your Spanish is still good or that you can decipher her Spanglish. Haha.

Wednesday we did a lot of walking around campus and then bought a delicious snow cone :) then we had a lesson with Tharinee. She was my first lesson in the area last week. She is Thai I believe but she served a mission and is fluent in English and doesn't respond to Thai. It has been interesting. We think from what we've heard that she might have a brain tumor which is really sad. We were talking about the Book of Mormon and finished the lesson up and then we asked if there was any questions she had and she said she wanted to learn about the law of chastity. We were kind of taken aback because we don't get that request often so we said we would talk about it next time and she said no now. And so we taught about the law of chastity. I think it went well but I think we were all just kind of in shock. Haha.

Thursday we had some non-member lessons. One was Francis. Now Francis is a former investigator. He was doing everything has had the lessons before but just wasn't ready to commit to baptism and got really busy with tennis. We got a text from him Tuesday that said "if I wanted to be baptized on June 21 what would I need to do." Haha. All in the Lords timing I guess. So I met him Thursday for the first time and the lesson went good with seeing where he was at. He has a hold up about somethings saying that no one can know for certain if those things are true but they can hope and believe 99.9%. Which is mostly true but that's where faith comes in. So I've been praying for him like crazy. We also had a lesson with Julianna. All of these I have talked about are in our YSA stakes. So Julianna we had our first lesson with last week as well and honestly it was a disaster. I don't know what happened but it was a mess so we went through the restoration again and this time was a lot better but still frustrating at times. She is catholic and just has a lot of questions  and is more curious than wanting to know if it's true. I want her to have this gospel so bad. She has a hard time understanding the godhead and apostasy and things like that. At some points I think the fellowshipper got carried away in answering her questions and bible bashing than of just testifying and keeping it simple so she can feel the spirit. I just really hope her heart is softened and she will come to know of the truth of our message. Friday the tender mercy was a light dinner of taco salad.

 We also met someone on campus and as we were talking we saw all the efy kids being escorted around campus headed to the dance which was so loud. Haha. I miss it so much. I can't wait to be a councilor next summer which is totally my plan! :) Saturday morning we did service for Sandra again. She had a bday party. In the canyon. A water party. But no water there. So that why missionaries where told to fill up buckets to put in a uhaul to take there and then carry all the heavy food and water to the furthest area. So we died in the sun hauling things. It took forever! Finally we had to go absolutely exhausted. Then we came back at 2 because guess who was invited to the party?? Alfredo! So I got to meet him. We didn't get to stay very long though so I didn't get to talk with him as much as I would have liked to but it still was a neat experience. As I said goodbye it was a tender moment as he told me how grateful he was to you daddy. That you changed his life. He was almost in tears as he told me how grateful he is that he now has the gospel because you chose to serve at that time. I hope I can have the same Impact on someone here. We then had a delicious dinner of fajitas and then yummy brownies and ice cream and get this...cotton candy grapes... Mind blown. They are grapes that taste like cotton candy. Yum! To prove I am not lying the website it said to go to on the bag is divineflavors.com
Sunday was a long day with lots of meetings. It wasn't bad though. In the evening we taught desciree. This is the first time I've met her. Her hold up is not feeling like she has had an answer to her prayers of whether Joseph smith is a prophet or the Book of Mormon is true. She is so close. I felt the spirit so strong in her lesson and I just want her to recognize it. I know that she will understand it in time though. She is so sweet. So there have been a lot of heartfelt prayers this week.
So basically that is all. I will keep you updated! Love you lots and looking forward to email Christa today because SHES GRADUATED!! CONGRATS! Love ya bunches

sister balero

News From BYU

It has been a long hard week. I found out I was leaving Roosevelt which was really sad but I was super excited to go to a new area and be more involved with the work. So Monday and Tuesday were goodbyes. Tuesday night we spent with the Felkins and cracked open the piñata :) So transfers were Wednesday morning sister volmer isn't allows to lift anything heavy so I packed the car all on my own. It only took me 20 minutes :) and then we had the long drive to the transfer chapel. My new area is BYU central with sister Hinkson. She has been out 7 months. We cover 5 stakes on campus (certain complexes like the riviera, glenwood, Helaman halls, and heritage halls) and one family stake. Because not as many people are here for spring semester the work is extremely slow. We have about 10 people in our teaching pool and we are not actively teaching all of them. It's been a really hard adjustment from my last 2 areas. I guess I got too comfortable because I am now way out of my comfort zone with trying to find. And we have had some interesting dinners all in the family wards...There have been a couple of nice families. There is a bishop's family-the Harrison's-who are awesome :) we helped them make muddy buddies :)