DECEMBER 19, 2016- URIE THE TRAINER WHO TRAINS

Good morning brothers and sisters!

So, my new companion whom I am training is named Elder Smith! He is from Hawaii. Particularly the main island Oahu. He loves it there, is proud of his Hawaiian heritage, and has some super sweet Hawaiian ties his Relief Society made him before he went. (I'm definitely going to trade him for some!) A little about him: He's a convert of two years, he is HUGE, he says Spam is a popular thing in Hawaii so we've eaten it a lot with rice, he can PUT. IT. DOWN. when it comes to eating, he could basically throw me from our apartment in Kitchener into the States if he wanted to, he used to work for a moving company, and he is the most lovable guy ever. We've had a lot of fun!

We have many fantastic names for our dynamic duo, only some of which including: George and Lennie (yes from Of Mice and Men), Timon and Pumba, and David and Goliath. We are the dream team!

Also I got my eyeballs tested this week. They had this super weird test where they put numbing drops in my eye and then poked them directly with a stylus that kind of looked like one you would use for your ipad, and it scanned my retina and pupil. I could feel my eye getting pressed inside of my skull, and I could hear the sound of it squishing a little against the stylus and it was FREAKY. Also Canadian clinics are always super busy because everyone has free healthcare. So you have to wait a ton but the nice thing is people get there problems checked early whereas in the States you basically go blind before you get anything checked because you want/need to save your money. Anyway, I digress. The point of all this is I don't have glaucoma, I was just born as a freakish child who has different nerves behind my eyes. BUT! The optometrist did say when I get back from my mission I should get my eyes checked to make sure nothing wacky happens with my weirdo eyeballs. So, yay for no glaucoma, and I hope it stays that way haha.

This week we have worked really hard to coordinate more with the ward and be involved with their young men's program, and that has been a big success. I am pretty sure we are going to find way more people through the youth than knocking on doors. . .

BECAUSE IT'S FREEZING COLD AND SNOWING LIKE CRAZY.

I love it so much though. Honestly I feel like a real Canadian trudging through the tundra spreading the word of God. Poor, poor, poor Elder Smith. So the first time he ever saw snow, I repeat, EVER, was in the MTC a little over a week ago. He came here, and it's been -20 degrees Celsius with wicked wind chill, and probably a good foot to a foot and a half of snow. He basically had no idea what to do with himself haha. He didn't even pack boots or a hat or anything. The ward was so loving and helpful so we finally got him the full winter outfit except for thermals which we'll get today. Being able to train has been so nice because his enthusiasm pervades all parts of the work, from being so wonder-struck at all the snow and the weather, to getting irrepressibly excited about working with the youth and missionary work over all. He is a great addition to this area and we have loads of fun.

I love you all and hope you have a fabulous Christmas. Remember the Savior above all things. He is more than the reason for the season, He is the reason we can return to God and receive ultimate glory with total mercy. Praise be to His name forever.

Love,

Elder Callor

DECEMBER 12, 2016- FROM HIS LIGHTHOUSE, EVERMORE

Good morning my beloved brothers and sisters!

I have so many things to say I don't know if I'll get to say them all!

To start, last Monday night Elder Ng and I ate at a member's home. They are a wonderful couple. I really like them because Bro. Hinch has his own yacht and takes it on the Great Lakes all the time. He also is super good at making model ships and all kinds of great stuff. Anyway, he has a pool table and Elder Ng and I played pool with him. It was a blast.

Next, if you can see the picture, hopefully, Elder Ng and I helped the Bender (a returning member family we are working with) put up their Christmas tree. So I've been here since August, and basically every single Thursday we come see the Benders and we play trains with their two year old son. He is the coolest kid around. We didn't realize it, but while we were setting up their tree and listening to Christmas music, it started snowing. CANADA SNOWING. It was pretty crazy how quickly it came down. They live in a town called Wellesly which is basically the middle of nowhere. It's a half our drive out of town to their place. The town is basically like one street,and a bunch of fields with large farm houses and lots of Mennonite families. So we had to drive home that night going 40kph (which is much slower than mph) and I could barely see the road in front of me because we were on back roads with no street lamps. I sent a video of that as well.

As we were driving home that night, and due in part as well to the Light the World initiative, I started pondering what light means in terms of the gospel, and what it means to me. I love the idea of Jesus Christ being the light of the world. Because, of course all the confusion of being here is entirely like darkness. The most visual and simple image to picture when thinking of goodness is always light. Illumination is inextricably tied to righteousness. As I drove looking at the lower lights in front of my car trying to make it safely home, I thought of the Savior and His everlasting light that guides us. The hymn "Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy" came to mind:

"Brightly beams our Father's mercy

From his lighthouse ever-more,

But to us he gives the keeping

Of the lights along the shore.

Let the lower lights be burning;

Send a gleam across the wave.

Some poor fainting, struggling sea-man

You may rescue, you may save."

The responsibility to Light the World lies within us, because we too have been given light, even the Light of Christ, so may we share it with everyone wherever we go this Christmas season. There are many who are lost at sea and need your light, even if you can't see them sailing in the darkness.

Speaking of light, and goodness. . . We got to go to the temple! Elder Ng and I helped Tim to get his parents and grandpa's name ready, and on Saturday we were able to go with him to help him at the Mission returning member proxy baptism session. They needed help there so I actually got to do proxy confirmations which was awesome. Eventually President Sheilds came and did some with us as well so I got to see him for most of the day which was also very nice.

Which brings me to my final point. So hopefully you all know by now that I looooove Kitchener. It is such a great place, even in spite of how ordinary it may seem haha. Anyway, transfer calls came yesterday and,

I will be staying in Kitchener and training a new Elder! So because of that, I actually won't even know who he is until tomorrow, so next week I'll be sure to email you and let you know all about the adventures we've had! The poor fool is probably flying on his way to Canada right now. Everybody pray for the new missionary who got stuck with me ;)

Okay, I love you all and hope you enjoy my long winded email and have an extremely merry Christmas!

Love,

Elder Callor

December 5, 2016- DISSA BRAN'-NEW CAR, MON!

       Friends, Romans, etc. etc.

I give you my sweetest blessings, glad tidings of great joy, and everything thing in between.

So. This week has been good.

First off, it snowed last night! AH I am sooo happy. It finally feels like Christmas. I loved the Christmas Devotional and I highly encourage everyone to go and watch it. 

Secondly, today is day 5 on the Light the World calendar. The invitation for today is, "Jesus healed the sick, and so can you." If you haven't committed to do this yet, do it. If you have any reason you could possibly think of why you should not do it, do it anyway. Because basically if you don't commit to doing that then you're saying you'd rather do other things than try to be like Jesus. Really though, I understand circumstances arise but I think this program is so good for everyone to be a part of. It is my firm belief everyone should give a great concerted, and even straining effort to make it a part of their Christmas season this year, because in doing so they invite great blessings into their lives.

Also, Tim, a previously mentioned returning member, got the Melchizedek Priesthood yesterday, and also he told me of a dream he had. It was a little odd at first, but as he unfolded the story of the dream and what it meant to him, Both Elder Ng and myself (and Tim of course) felt the power of the Spirit. He explained first that he doesn't have dreams. He hasn't had a dream in years, but the other night (earlier this week) he had a dream that included me and his deceased mother. We were studying the New Testament together, getting ready to go to church. He knew church was starting soon so he explained to me we had to go to church. His mother got up and left, and I was sad that she had to go and couldn't come with us. He explained that it was okay because she had studied scripture and did what she could, and she could come to church later if we make it possible for her. It ended as both Tim and I went to church. What is cool about all this is that Tim has finally prepared the temple work for both his parents and is preparing to go to the temple and be baptized for his father and to see his mother's baptism done. Anyway, it was a special experience for me and I hope it helped someone feel the Spirit and see God's hand in His work here on earth.

Secondly, and on a lighter note, I went to get our car assessed for the damage I did to it. A rather jovial Jamaican man who was nearly half my height and weight came out of the auto shop in a white jumpsuit to perform the assessment. He walked around the car, stood in the cold for a moment, looking at it, then sat down in the dirt and peered a bit closer, stood up, looked at Elder Ng and I, then shouted in his most pleasantly shrill and distinct Jamaican accent, "Dissa bran'-new car mon!"

It took every ounce of self control I had to not just erupt in laughter right then and there. Anyway the car will be taken care of this week so all is well.

That's all I have for today folks. Thank you all for your love and support. I appreciate all the extended love and communication many of you have given me. I know it is a lot of time from your lives to make arrangements to write and email me and I want you all to know I really appreciate the effort you put in to talk to me. At the end of the day, you are all my beloved friends and family, and your correspondence is oftentimes the only thing that gets me through. I value every one of you and all that we share together.

Similarly, your Heavenly Father has feelings quite a bit like what I just described. (One major difference being he doesn't really need to "get through" anything haha) But he does value each of you more than I ever could in the midst of my human follies, and his eternal desire to hear from you is greater than any petty hope I can have to hear from you. If you don't find the power of ability to correspond with me, then do at least this one saving and simple thing: Pray to your Father in Heaven. Never forget him. If you can send an email to me, then you can say a prayer to Him. In fact, I would rather hear from none of you knowing that all of you strengthen your relationship with God in prayer every night. (Luckily, we live in a world where both things are possible, so no need to only do one of those things! haha).

I love you all, and I wish you the merriest of Christmases.

Love,

Elder Callor