Hunters and Fishers

I have like no energy to write this week. Next weeks gonna be awful! haha. 

This Monday we had a zone activity which was fun! we totally won. it was a photo scavenger hunt type thing. And we acted out a ton of bible and book of mormon stories. haha. Everyone expected to get rides so we just laughed after when they realized that you don't get rides here in Provo. (they all have cars)

Tuesday we went to a relief society activity in the evening and did a little bit of zumba with them. it was fun! I miss zumba

Wednesday we met with M! I love her. we also went to mutual with the laurels of a ward. They were writing letters to missionaries and then we got to answer their questions and concerns about serving a mission. It was cool.

Friday was Halloween. We got to watch chronicles of narnia and play kickball as a district. it was fun! :) I also got to talk to sister H... and found out she was an elementary ed major and switched it to what I'm doing now. that gave me some peace and confidence in my decision. 

Saturday we ate dinner with Christa's visiting teaching companion and her grandparents. it was super fun! we couldn't stop laughing. 

Yesterday we had a few lessons that were really good. That's about all though! 

I'll write a letter today with any more detail I think of. Love you lots!

Sister Balero

P.S.

I forgot to tell you why my email was labeled that.

We were talking to a ward mission leader and he told us.

"right now you are hunters and fishers of men and pretty soon you're gonna be hunters and fishers of a man." hahaha

so funny!

Weekly

Not much happened this week. We went on exchanges which was really good on thursday. I love sister Lasson! I just love the ways she has fun but still gets things done. It was nice to talk to someone in my shoes as well. Since we were in the mtc together we are both preparing to go home together. We got to talk about my plan and be open about our feeling and enjoy doing missionary work. We were just kind of all over the place this week. I started packing. Crazy! But after exchanges I am excited and ready to come home :) Lots to look forward to. Wish I had more to write! Love you lots and I hope you have a wonderful week! :)

Sister Balero

Weekly

Another week where I have no idea what has happened! haha

This week we just had a lot of walking and talking and little lessons here and there. Tuesday I got Christa's package :) It made me so happy :) We got to go to institute which was really good and answered a bunch of the concerns I have had with going home. We went to the farmers market on Thursday like normal. :) We had president interviews on Friday which was really good :) Saturday we got chocolate milk for dinner. Good day ;) And Sunday we talked to one of our recent converts P... and he got the priesthood and when he found out he could get a limited use temple recommend he just lit up! It was so sweet! He was so excited and went immediately to go hunt down the bishop and was trying to figure out the soonest he could go :) We also met with A... and she made some brownies especially for us. It was so sweet! Well that's a really short week but it was good! I'm looking forward to what this week will bring :)

Sister Balero

Weekend of Harvesting

Hi Family!

Not much to report this week. The weeks are just slipping away. 

Most of this week was spent prepping for our 2 baptisms. 

Tuesday we got to watch Meet the Mormons. It was super good! I'm glad we got a chance to view it :) My favorite story is the one of the candy bomber! I told sis Howard after that THATS ME! haha

The elders also dropped off Krispy Kreme and chocolate milk! :) Its been a running joke for a while and something we have said we needed anytime they asked if there was anything they could do for us. We didn't expect them to actually do it but it came when I was having a hard morning and really needed it. 

Thursday we met with one of our investigators who is on date for baptism. Her name is A and she is the cutest thing. She is so ready for this and excited and I always leave just feeling so uplifted! 

Friday night we realized we still didnt have a pianist for the muscal number we were asked to do at J's baptism. Stressful right? Luckily an hour before curfew one of our ward mission leaders (Captain America haha)  told us He played piano and would be willing to practice and learn the song. What a tender mercy that he could and would do that so last minute and on a friday night!

Saturday we had our 2 baptisms :) P.. and J. Both meetings were so full of the spirit. And one of our investigators was able to go to J's baptism and feel the spirit there. After we got to go over to the temple with her and have a lesson about baptism and the temple. She wants it but is scared about her family and what they will think. She is from Bangladesh so its a hard transition. 

Sunday was a great day. We had both confirmations. The first was P... and the testimony meeting after was incredible. It was one of our recent convert's 2 year mark from baptism and she was the first to testify as she talked about the opportunity it was to renew her baptismal covenants with God on the anniversary of her baptism. It just set the whole mode. It was so focused on conference and missionary work and miracles. An elder who served in this mission 2 years ago got up and testified. He sat right behind P... and was overwhelmed with emotion as he realized part way into the meeting that his sister was a girl he taught when he had served here and to see the influence she has had on her family. There was an amazing spirit there. The bishop said that in all the the testimony meetings he has been to in his life he has never felt the spirit so strong. We then went to J's confirmation and B.. (Returning member) came even though her husband couldn't make it. C.. was at first the driving force but its so cool to start hearing B...'s experiences and her now leading the way to temple covenants. I'm so glad she was able to set that example and come on her own with an 8 month old baby. And then we went to go talk to her in the hall and caught her paying tithing. i was so happy and overwhelmed with joy at the progress she has made. I LOVE their family! Then long story short last night we got a call from J... saying he met up with one of his old friends after his confirmation because he had a layover in salt lake and he started giving him a presentation how he was making a bad decision and giving him all this anti-mormon literature. It was so worry some but it was a trial of his faith. I cant imagine being faced with that so soon after joining the church. He said his faith wasn't shaken though and although he doesnt know everything he told his friend what it comes down to is whether or not joseph smith is a prophet of god and if he is then that's all that matters. I'm so grateful for his faith!

I think that is all for the week! I love you lots! Have a great week!

Sister Balero

General Conference

Well. It has been a LONG week. I dont know why but it seems like decades ago that I last sat at a computer to email. 

Monday I thought we were going to have lots of time and had little to none instead. We went out with sister B like we normally do and then went up to the canyon. Just past Vivian Park. ( All of the stories President Monson talks about being in Provo canyon are there.) And in the canyon we finally got show and tell. The thing about show and tell though is that we cant talk about show and tell. So I have been waiting months to see and I can tell you that it was one of the most spiritual experiences of my life! I wish I could say more. I am just so grateful for all that I have and for the temple that seals us together as families. That evening we met with M to get her baptism record signed and we found out that she didnt know anything about her FHE group. She missed the first one and now she has been totally out of the loop. It made me so sad. So we had our own personal little FHE with her and bought her ice cream after. She is seriously the sweetest thing! I love her!

Tuesday through friday was just full of teaching and finding and meeting.

Saturday we watched the morning session with sister B which was good. Then we went to the H's for the afternoon session. 

Sunday was long. We watched the first session in the morning with some YSA girls and S. One of the girls made cinnamon rolls! Total tender mercy. Then we went to sister B's again. We had some other places we wanted to go but none of them worked out. She fed us in between and the conference report stuff was on the TV in the background. There was a snipit that showed some sister missionaries coming home and hugging their families and crying and it became real and i just started bawling and couldnt stop to save my life. I'm not ready to come home. The thought is just overwhelming. I know there will be good things about it but it was so hard to see it become reality. We then had 2 baptismal interviews which both went well even thought hey took forever haha. It will be a good next week. 5 weeks left. That is insane. I love you all and wish i had more to report. 

Sister Balero

Less than 50 days

Its been a really long week. We just got transfer calls and there is not going to be a change in our companionship! We had lots of lessons this week with some really great people. I love them! M was being taught in orem until she moved to BYU and we taught her her last couple of lessons. She is the sweetest thing and it was so neat to see her at her baptism this week! I really want her to meet Christa because they would totally be best friends! Things are picking up and I forgot how stressful it is to be busy but I definitely prefer it to slow! Heavenly Father has a plan and I am excited to see it unfold. I love you lots and although I miss you I can already tell you its going to be a hard adjustment going back home. Time is flying and i will see you soon! :)


Sister Balero

Captain America is one of our Ward Mission Leaders!

So lots happened this week. Lets see if I can remember all of the important things

Monday. Was supposed to be relaxing but I spent all my relaxing time writing letters. haha. I wrote for 4 hours straight. I got more mail that week than I had for the whole month before. haha. Now I think I am going to have a mail drought for a little. Monday night we had an FHE with a recent convert which was good.

Wednesday we got to teach a couople of seminary classes which was cool. It was neat to testify and share some experiences. It gave me time to refelct and really feel the spirit as I recognized how much I have grown and been led by the spirit on my mission. I really wanted those kids to understand the joy that comes from serving the Lord and how blessed I feel to be a missionary even through all the hard times.

Thursday was a good day. We met with the Mc's and N. I love them both. N was so sweet. Everytime we meet with her she just tells us how much she loves what we teach her and she wishes she had understood it earlier. During the lesson she caught herself taking the Lords name in vain and she asked are we not supposed to say that? And we explained that we use God's name reverently and respectfully. She then corrected herself throughout the lesson. At the end she prayed and crying apologized for taking his name in vain and that she didnt mean it disrespectfully and asked for forgiveness. It was something so simple but so powerful to see how much it meant to her. 

Later we went to the farmers market. There is always people to talk to. One of the venders gave us some fun milk. I got peach milk! haha. It was pretty good but definitely different. We then went to a ward party and ate dinner and talked to some people. We then went to a lesson with J. Last lesson he started to have some doubts and concerns but this lesson he seemed so confident. He kept saying WHEN I get baptized. He is so ready! And I am so happy for him. We then had a coordination meeting with one of our YSA stakes. When getting the names and numbers of the ward mission leaders one of them said his name Steve Rogers.... Immediately I thought...You are captain america and I just got your number! hahaha. He probably gets that a lot. I'm glad I didn't say anything out loud. 

Friday I woke up with a stomach pain. We had a meeting in the morning and a lot of walking in the heat. We had an interview with one of our investigators being baptized. she is so sweet! I love her!  Then we had lots of weekly planning. I didnt feel very great all day. We then realized we had no sister to come with us to our lesson with a new investigator. Since he is male then we can't even teach him unless a female is with us. We were desperate because we have been trying for weeks to meet with him to lots of complications and we finally were. Everyone was busy or on dates so I facebooked Kenedy and said. Please tell me you are free and can come right now to a lesson and she could :) Such a tender mercy. So our area is experiencing a little bit of a drought right now. We feel like we are doing everything we can but we can't find any work and any work we do have, the investigators don't seem to really have a desire or are really slipping away. And it has been super hard. We have been praying and praying for prepared people to teach. We went into S's lesson and he was so prepared. He told us about the temple and how he could feel such a peace on the grounds and how he felt like there was a reason he was in Utah and that he never wants to leave because he loves it. And he told us a lady saw him in a restaurant and asked him if he had ever read the Book of Mormon and when he said no she asked if he wanted to and he said yes so she gave him her personal copy and he knew it must be important. We put him on date for baptism next month and he was so accepting. It was a miracle. The only problem is he is native Spanish speaking even though he is fluent in English and insists on being taught in English he will have to be taught by the Spanish Elders. It was the hardest thing to do. I cried as I prayed for the strength to be obedient and keep the order of his vineyard. I thought I would feel at peace as I texted the elders that they could teach him but I just got the sickest feeling and couldn't sleep all night. I have felt unsettled since. I guess we just have to wait and see now. 

Saturday was really hard. I still wasn't feeling great and we had no lessons planned because our few cancelled. Our numbers were really low this week :( We spent a lot of time trying to contact leadership and recent converts and studying. It was an off day.

Sunday was really good. We got to watch one of the broadcasts of one of the sessions of the Ogden Temple rededication. It was super neat. One thing that really stood out is that it's not just a temple rededication but a time to rededicate ourselves to the Lord. The prophet said we need to Love the temple. Appreciate the temple. And Attend the temple. I hadn't been feeling great all week but yesterday was the worst. I have had this stabbing stomach pain right under where my ribs are. Its beginning to worry me a little. We met a new investigator but he was immediately dropped when he wasn't even willing to pray to know the truth of the things we taught. That was hard. We stopped by a recent convert though and that was super good. She has been having a really rough time and last week got really bad but she shared with us the answers to prayer she finally received and how good things are and how her testimony has been strengthened. I am so happy because I have been so worried for her. She is back on the right track. Tender mercy. We also didnt have dinner so we stopped by the h's and they fed us. WE had yams :) YUMMY :)

Then the biggest tender mercy We got to go to the temple this morning! I have missed it so much. The peace is so strong and I needed that. It was perfect timing right after the dedication and also when not being able to take the sacrament for multiple weeks has started to take its toll.

Well I think that is about all. lots of ups and downs but what is a mission for. I love you all!

Sister Balero