4/25/16

heyo

another one already. im not sure what to say this week actually haha because im still trying to get my pace. We had a lot of reflection to do my companion and I as we are working with this one family. We felt impressed to put their baptismal date back another week so that we dont feel too rushed, and neither will they. I know thats what God would rather us do because I know he wants people truly repented and converted.

We are seeing much fruits in the way we see how beneficial is a positive attitude and motivation. Every day we go outside so pumped to go out to quote on quote Zion and work. We started a tradition with this less active family to have Noches de Hogares, or in other words FHE in their house every monday to get them reactivated and to bring some of our investigators to see how special it is to get the family together everyweek to talk about God. 

In our manual as missionaries, Preach My Gospel it says to be more a servant of God and to appear as one, we should always share our own experiences. And well, one of my fondest memories with the fam bam way back when was when I could hardly even read, but we as a family and would get together at nights and read the Book of Mormon together. I still remember the spirit I would feel then even as a child. I tell the people we teach this and I hope they can cultivate the same desires to do so with their family. And then in my teenage years even just with my mom, us two, in our house we would try to read every now and then and those were days where the spirit felt cannot be denied. God loves us, and he often shows that love reading verses of scriptures or in our profound prayers. 

John was officially reactivated yesterday we could say, as he had an interview with one of the branch counselors and came to Church with his kids. He is such a great guy with great desires. I love being part of this work, though we honestly dont do much as missionaries. We just go out there and try to emulate the Savior. Im thankful for this time. 

im drinking lots of water. thankfully the heat is cooling down here.

love you all.

Elder Caldwell

10-3-15

hello family. merry christmas

the boys and us from the office couldn{t sleep last night we were so giddy about conference. its honestly like christmas for us. I look back on 2 years back and think of myself asleep on the couch while conference was going. what was I doing!

new apostles! I love this church.

This has been the weirdest week of my mission. We are constantly busy here in the office, always trying to figure out how to run the mission and do everything as fast as possible so that we can leave and go proselyting. I love time out in the field, it is so refreshing and I feel newly reinvigorated every time I go out. I try to do everything as simply as I can and I love it so much, simple is the best. DIeter F. Uchtdorf emphasized that in his talk as well which I loved.

time is a gift. we went out one night and we visited a man named Joel. We had no plans for the night so we honestly had no idea what we were going to do as we entered the field after leaving the office. We got out there and walked the street not 3 minutes when an active member from out ward approached us. He gave us a reference right then and there and we went and the man was there. We taught him and his son and it was one of the most spiritual lessons of my life. It was super ordinary, but everything felt so right. It was just pure gospel. We shared a scripture from first nephi 2 verses 2 though 4 about having faith and doing the un ordinary like reading, praying everyday and going to church every sunday. the man used to be a less active before and he responded so positivley. the Lord provides. 

We're just doing our best out here. Before we started watching Christmas today we had district meeting and I got our district together, which is comprised of also the assistants to the president (super powerful guys) and we got into a circle, and no one in specific was teaching, we just shot out our spiritual thoughts and impressions based about one theme, about the Holy Ghost. I love teaching like that and in the Lords way. it is so beautiful. 

Im so thankful for every minute, and thankful for the chamba. I hope you are all doing great. keep paying your tithing. I see the benefits of it how here in the office now. we are so blessed and so organized. so great. 

paz a todos ustedes. 

Elder Caldwell

4-18-16

we are on a roll.

can`t believe how fast this week went, ay ay ay. too fast. Another week of great experiences and really just giving our all. Elder Henao and I have big plans. We are planning so that the next temple of Peru will be here in our area. haha, but really though we are putting our all into the work, ive never felt so consecrated and so excited about getting outside everyday at 2.30 pm and proselyting my brains out. 

Our plan is that this one street in our area, called Chanquin, will be Zion one day. This one little dirt street is actually super long and so many less active members live there. But we are seeing miracles instead of discouragement when it comes to these less actives. We have a man named John. John has been a member for more than 20 years and active for about 4. My companion found him before I got here, but he is so pumped now to come back to church, and he has introduced us to his wife and 2 boys. Soon they will enter the waters, but with John. John is really excited to baptize his familie and we are working so that he can be completely ready to take that step, and his family. But he is just one family on this street. There and are so, so many people that we are teaching here it seems that we spend our whole day on this street. Tonight we are going to have a huge family night and we invited all the less actives and we are planning on helping them get the desires to go back and become Zion!

My friends, the other missionaries we live with here in the area had a few baptisms and I was able to do the baptismal interview for one lady named Feliciana. It was one experience. It was my first baptismal interview and it was intense, it was filled with a great spirit and just determining if she was ready for the important step in her life, and she was. She is 60 years old and she was born in my first area of Otuzco, we talked about the good old times in Otuzco for a good 10 minutes before I started the interview, haha, it was so fun to get to know her and see her desires. And to talk about how tasty fried guinea pig is.  

Im excited for many more experiences coming up this week and just putting our heads down and working on others but more than anything, working on being better people ourselves. I love you guys. Here are some pictures.

Elder Caldwell

one of the pics is us walking on the one day famous street of Chanquin.

4-11-16

we workin hard. hello!

family, es un gusto de poder saludarles hoy y ver como están. This week has been a miracle! 

I say that more than anything because of walking a lot, we are in houses teaching the gospel.

I have a deeper testimony about setting high goals and reaching them. Looking back on this

one all I can think is how we were very blessed to be guided by the hand of the Lord. On 

multiple ocasiones Elder Henao and I felt the same impression to do something, and we 

acted on it and saw a miracle happen. 

One story is that all our appointments fell, and so we were walking down the highway, kind of 

aimlessly, but I looked to the right and it just stuck out to me, a  house. I dismissed it at first,

 but kept feeling the pull to go knock on it. I told my companion and he said, I felt the same thing.

We went and knocked, and right when we were aboput to turn back, a shirtless man answered

and said, "Elderes! Come on in." We looked at each other and were like WHAT?! Carlos told

us a little of his story and how his wife was less active and that he remembered the lessons

the missionaries had taught him long ago, and how he still reads the Book of Mormon and 

believes its true. We were so blessed to meet with Carlos and find him and now we are

teaching him. Spiritual impressions we can sometimes dismiss as just our thoughts, but as it 

says in the scriptures, even a good thought en sí es criado por el Espiritu. 

We had another experience when we walked by this whole family we found in house twice, and 

twice we neglected to go an talk to them. Their door was wide open to us on the dirt street.

After at last, walking a little farther away I said to Elder Henao, we gotta go back and talk to them.

We approached their adobe house and they let us in very graciously. Another Carlos (haha) and his

wife Kelly, and their 3 kids. They are wonderful and are now doing family prayers together. 

I love the work here! We are working so hard, and my whole district! all very new missionaries but 

very humble and obedient, im so blessed to be with them, they are reaching their goals as well and

most importantly helping people come closer to Christ. I hope you all have had a lovely week as 

well. Ether 12:27 is what keeps me going most days. I am a very weak dude and dont have much

going for me, but if I rely on Christ to make me strong I know itll all be alright. 

Peace.

Elder Caldwell

we went to a restaurant today

and sorry didnt take many photos. half district photo from last week

4-4-16

What is good?

I am back! I am back in the field. I love my area. It is a really big area, and we are panamerican highway rats. We walk along the Panamerican everyday, finding people to invite to Christ. We already have a faithful band of people we teach, and we are busy all day walking in the dirt, getting their by highway taxis and sweating like crazy. It is so hot here!! 

My companion works for Zion. He is one of my best companions yet, I am so excited to work with him. Like I mentioned before, he is from L.A. and he is quite the gangster kid but we get along great and we work hard. He has so much desire to just put it all in for the Lord. I´m feeling very thankful for that right now. His name is Elder Henao. This week as we were watching general conference, after listening to Jeffrey R. Holland top it all off, in his classic L.A. mormon slang, said, "Dayung that Elder Holland just flamed all of us clowns." Hahaha. 

I was also grateful for General Conference this week, holy cow. It was the best conference I have ever listened to, to be 100 percent honest. So many talks focused on the choices we make, to honor was we have, to using the atonement to be free from sin. It was exactly what we needed out here, and I felt more than once that they were speaking directly to my needs. I wish I brought my notebook of notes to share atleast one quote that got me good in the heart, but I forgot. But one thing that stuck with me was something Elder Holland said (go figure). He said something along the lines of that when we leave our spiritual peaks, sometimes we can find really discouraging circumstances or be disappointed with ourselves. To be honest, in missionary work it happens all too often. After Conference, or after studies for example, when we feel the spirit and we are ready to do everything and we are happy, we go out in to the world and see a people so confused and so shut to us and the ideas we want to show them. It is something that Moses faced, and more than anyone, something that Jesus faced. We as missionaries and as members go out to battle everyday it seems like against temptation, sin, and others peoples bad choices. But im learning to look at it all positively. thats the only thing that can get us through sometimes.

Ill let you guys know a little more about the people we teach out here next week. But they are great, with doubts, as always, but children of God. I am so excited to be out here working every day for the time I got left. Time to put it all in.

Love you guys!

pics:

The district of Chao and Chanquin.

My companion.

Arco iris.