6-29-15

"O God, Aaaron hath told me that there is a God, and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day. And now when the king had said these words, he was struck as if he were dead." - alma 22:18. kind of the theme of my week. Prayers have power, and I have tried to really just improve my personal prayers, and my connection with our Heavenly Father. Even the simplest of prayers, like this one, can change so much. Even it converted this king and the whole lamanite nation in the end. 

This week was a good one to us. We worked hard, didn't see to much results number wise but I felt so much of the spirit, and that's what truly counts. I was so grateful to have this abundance of the spirit, and we can owe it to our prayers, the temple, and just doing to simple things like living the commandments. 

I felt the spirit in one home. The door to this family and home is usually closed to us, but the spirit had worked on the mother of the home, and she let us in. We were casually trying to see if a convert was in this giant apartment building he lives in, and he wasn't. but they're neighbors were, the whole family. The sister, Harumy, looked at us for a second and told us to come in. We sat down with the entire family and taught a short lesson about prayer and our purpose as missionaries. Usually these people have never had interest in us before, and it was a shock to be able to enter into their home so freely. Since then we have visited the one more time, and we continued to feel the spirit guiding us as we testified of the Restoration. These are precious moments!

We said goodbye to my first mission president and his wife, Pres. and Hna. Marler. They have helped so much this last year, and I feel so close to them. They will be presiding over the Trujillo North Mission, and I will be in the Trujillo South Mission under the guidance of Pres. Rios. He will be great to have though, and I'm excited to have a new president and recieve so many more experiences. I'll be having to speak a lot more spanish!

I remember when I used to go on splits with the Elder's back home. The spirit with them was so strong, and everytime I went home after only have been one hour with them really touched me. Sometimes I feel like as a missionary this is just kind of my job. But these past few weeks, I have really felt more of the love for the work, and the desires to just keep progressing and moving the work forward. This is a huge answer to prayers for me! To have such great role models, like those elders, my friends on their missions, my parents, and of course our Savior, is helping me and I feel all of their examples as I apply what I've learned from them. I know we can all feel this, and feel the love for others and feel the love for God as we strive to do the little things everyday.

Thanks for everything, the best of weeks this week!

Love, Elder Caldwell

6-22-15

"Normal life is temple life." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf at the temple dedication.

Yesterday, we had the time of our lives. some elders waited for this their whole mission, I waited almost a year. but wow, how great it was. We were able to participate in the temple dedication and watch as President Uchtdorf came down to Trujillo along with David A. Bednar and other authorities here. The spirit poured out on us in our stake building with other faithful members, along some of our converts and people recently reactivated. Now the real work starts, getting people to go to the temple itself and do the work for their dead. Woo!

For that reason, the week went super quickity quick. We also got the privilege to have with us 2 elder's who are going to end their missiontomorrow, stay with us the whole week and proselyte with us. They used to be our zone leaders, Elder Zacarias and Elder Winterton, and boy it was a learning experience to be with them. It was also really funny too. Our house is a mess now. 

One experience I'd like to share from this week occurred in the middle of the week as I was our proselyting with Elder Winterton. We were out in the morning, the sun beating down on us and we were trying to find just someone to teach! like always. Everything fell through and we were without a plan basically. Right as we got rejected at a door, I looked down the empty street to see a member of the ward on his bike pedal to us. He is a super quiet guy, we never have talked to him much, but he stopped by us to see how it was going. We told him what was going on, and he mentioned a reference he had for us, in fact in his house. This angelic man took us to his house and we met the caretaker of his 2 old parents, Rosemeri. She's from a small village in the mountains, close to where I last served in Otuzco, and has had little education. We are now having a marvellous time teaching this small, honest woman principle by principle the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have to explain everything as if it were to a child, but there is a sort of beauty teaching like that, and learning like that. That was a great tender mercy we witnessed in a difficult week.

We keep chugging along here, doing what we can do. I pray for you all, and hope this week is especially good. We are super blessed as a church and as a people to have such wonderful leaders and prophets who guide us in a hard world. They have what we need to survive. 

loveee,

Elder Caldwell.

(sorry no pictures my computer is a little lame today)

6-15-15

Welllp, looks like I'm sticking to the south here for the winter. Mission Peru Trujillo South! Transfers came and went, and nothing really happened. I'm still with my companion Elder Lloyd, and by the end of this transfer we'll have been companions for 6 months! And then he'll end his mission there. How crazy time flies.

This week was just chalked full of some happy times we had here in our area. The temple still proves to be doing miracles for us. We discovered a really inactive lady, named Yolanda who was baptized about 10 years ago and decided to go to the temple a few weeks back. We found her in house, and her entire family! We talked to her about her desires, and she firmly declared to us that, "I feel it is time to come back to the church." Me and my companion left her house jumping for joy, so pumped for her righteous decision. And she kept her promise, she came to church yesterday with her entire family. Her daughters are talking to her about baptism now, so we are going to have some full chamba to do this last transfer here with Elder Lloyd. We are stoked. To see that miracle unwrap, when we really needed it the most, built my testimony that the Lord truly is preparing people for us, always, even in the smallest areas. 

Rafael is always progressing, and we are focused on the 4th of July to be his baptism. True American. Freedom!!!! Spiritual freedom that is. He told us a little about his life of crime that he lived before he went to prison, which was quite the shocker to us. I'm not gonna say much about that, just to not scare my mom, but his gang name used to be, "the horse." He is so sick and so prepared! 

Things are off the charts down here, so many elders are going home after their 2 years, the mission is splitting, new mission president. I'm going to miss all these friends I've made but I'm also really excited to keep going on. Just trying to take it all in before my time is done too! pucha. 

I love you all, thanks for all your encouragement and letters. they are the best. 

love,

Elder Caldwell

pics: me with my zone leader who's leaving the mish, elder winterton.

we held a cute little baptism for an 8 year this week too, she was super excited to have my comp baptize her. Her name is Genesis.

6-8-15

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes." - Marcel Proust.

This week we held Ruth's Baptism! It was beautiful. We worked hard to have her prepared and it was gratifying to watch as her adopted father, Segundo baptize her. haha, she had to be baptized 5 times over, the water was a little low, but she didn't seem to care as she was just beaming and crying as everyone rushed over to hug and congratulate her after she changed her clothes. She has amazing support in the home and the ward. It was amazing to see the response of the ward, as some of the members spoke at her baptism, about how much baptism has changed their lives. That is exactly what she needed to hear, because that was one of the first things she told us when she was first meeting with us, "I just want to change how I live, and forget the past." 

This past week I had the privelige to see many spiritual giants as well. I went on a work change with Elder Going here in my district (found out he is related to Sid Going, a rugby legend), as we were walking and teaching around in his area, we decided to go visit a member to ask for a reference. We climbed up to a second story and entered kind of a poor scence, with the floors dirty and many animals in the room. But as I looked on I saw something that lit up the room. A middle aged woman was sitting at a desk, reading and marking the book of mormon. We talked with her, and she told us of how she had just sent one of her sons on a mission a month ago. She cried to us as she recounted to us the many blessings she has recieved from his service, and how grateful she was for the gospel. Just listening to her strengthened our testimonies.

We also worked with the man we are focusing a lot on, Rafael. He is the best, and also a spiritual giant in my eyes. We walked back on a dirt roady to his sort of shabby hut, to see another scene that made me happy. Him reading the book of mormon while he lied on his bed. Sometimes people in the poorer circumstances, spiritually and or physically are so much closer to God.

I love you all, gotta head now but hope the week is a good one. 

LOVE YOU GUYS!!

6/1/15

que tal mis amigos. 

I miss you guys, hope all is well in the big blue sky state of AZ, and other parts of the world. this week we finished up the open house of the beautiful temple here, and the miracles keep flowing. we are recieving stacks of references to go contact from it, and the people we took and the people who went on their own are just ahead of the game. they all know what the feeling of the spirit is now, a huge advantage. love the spirit.

a blessing my companion got, was this week he was kissed on the cheek by an 80 year old woman named beatrice who we contacted on a busy street. hahaha sorry elder lloyd. 

we were able to have an investigator we've been helping out, Ruth, have her baptismal interview. She passed! and will be baptized this saturday, fingers crossed. We have a good long week to help her prepare. she's 13 and apart of a recently reactivated family, shes adopted. she's had a hard life, and still continues to have hard times adjusting to everything new that's going on in her life. being more determined to follow Christ through baptism is going to help her out big time, especially as she has some good strong parents and grows in the gospel. the gospel straightens out all the kinks.

our ward here is pretty great. We all headed to the temple as a ward, and some brought their friends who aren't members. the temple was pacccckkked, over all 80 thousand people came, which is a bunch! didnt dream of that number. thats 80 thousand people exposed to the spirit of the Lord. woof.

Well, we are winding down here with the transfer. big changes are going to happen I feel, so we'll see what happens. for now we're just going to bear down and do out best and finish strong. the dedication and the mission split is coming up! 

Also I'm sad about Elder Perry. but I bet he's pretty happy in heaven. so its all good

keep the week good, and keep God in your life!

love, 

Elder Caldwell