July 23rd, 2018- CONFUSED AT THE GRACE

Dear Friends and Family,

My, my, how the time flies. After this, I only have one more of these to write. Thank you to everyone who read them all this time, and anyone who read any part of this great story I've lived and tried to chronicle throughout it all.

This week I went on an exchange with an Elder from Korea. In South Korea, all men are required to serve in the military for two years. So he served there first, and is on his mission now. He has been around the mission before, so I know him. He is not easy to miss because I'm pretty sure he is single-handedly the most muscular person I have ever met in person. EVER. He is quite large, and quite strong. Anyway, I found myself on an exchange with him this last week. When we woke up in the morning, he said to me, in his developing English, "This is yours," as he handed me a small plastic bottle of mysterious fluid "it will help you build muscle". Come to find out it was some kind of protein mix, and didn't taste half bad, but that is not the worst of it, nor the climax of this little story. We went on to do a pull-up routine he knew, and it was a pretty good workout. Well, after that he said, "Now is death-by-push-up". I wasn't exactly sure what that was, but I had a pretty good guess and it was not something I wanted to be a part of, but his size and enthusiasm made it clear I had no choice. So, to describe what happened next in brief: we did push-ups until I died. The next day I couldn't lift my arms. LITERALLY. The following day they were so sore and stiff, and I still couldn't lift them. Taking off my shirt or putting it on was the hardest part of my day. Today I still have stiffness and feel a little sore, but boy I won't do anything like that ever again. 

So now that we've all had a laugh at Elder Callor's frail physical weakness, let's move on to the important part of this, the latest installment in my mission adventures.

I mentioned a few emails before, or the last one perhaps, about a member I knew from before who came here with her husband and is a completely different person. Well we have met with them a few times, and a lot of old things have come up. While back in one of my previous areas, she was still alone and bitter, and her Bishop asked her to give a talk on the Atonement. I spent many hours trying to help her understand the Atonement, but part of her was resisting what it really meant, because of what it would mean for her and how that would change her future. Well I left some kind of an impact and was able to help her see, and feel from the Spirit, that she was good. That she was really, truly, worth something. Coming here, a year later, she still is trying to finish that talk. Well after meeting with my companion and I at the church with her husband one night, for more than a few hours of talking and explaining, we covered a lot of ground. She was understanding things more and more, but was missing something, something key to her. She couldn't quite express it, but she was repeatedly trying to say that she had felt a dramatic change in her life several times; moments where she had bad feelings and painful memories taken away in an instant. She knew we were trying to explain that was an example of the Atonement in her life, but couldn't quite get her head around it. She couldn't see what grace was and how it was possible because of the Atonement. In a moment of silence, instantly, welling up from within me, I began to sing quietly

"I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me,

Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me.

I tremble to know..."
 

"What did you just say?" she asked.

"Confused at the grace." I said.

Tears were shared, and love was felt. So many years of pain and confusion and loss poured out from her heart and her eyes. What she could relate to above all was how baffled she feels at what has been done for her. That's when it all clicked for her. She went home that night and finished her talk on the Atonement. She felt another chapter of the Lord's love close in her life, and began a new one, eager to continue in her marriage and the rest of her life with His love empowering her all the way.

We don't always know how He does it. Amazing as it is, we know why He does what He does is because of His love. When pain is lifted, burdens lightened, and sorrows comforted, we can't fully comprehend what has been done. We are all, in our own way, "confused at the grace that so fully he proffers [us]". After seeing these changes in myself, some sudden, and others over two years, and even more over a lifetime, my only possible response is to say in exultation, "Oh it is wonderful."

I pray we can all feel and see that in our lives as well.

Until next week,

Love,

Elder Callor

July 16th, 2018- LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT

This week I have 4 important items of business:

1) Since we are talking about my last will and testament, I thought you'd all be happy to know the definition of the word "bequeath"

Bequeath (verb)

/bə'kwēTH/

leave (a personal estate or one's body) to a person or other beneficiary by a will.

There ya go. You learned something new, or got a nice reminder :)

2) On Tuesday this week, we went out to eat all-you-can-eat sushi with one of our new converts. Then, that night, some members took us to all-you-can-eat sushi. AGAIN. So we had all we can eat. TWICE. I have grown to modestly enjoy sushi on my mission. Due to recent events, I won't have it for a while.

3) Our bishop, whom, as previously mentioned in another email, is a wonderful man. He was traded to another company to be their CEO in the states. Yesterday the new bishop was called and we had a wonderful party. I related to him in a lot of ways as we celebrated the service he has given to the good people of Canada for a few years.

4) I attended my final zone conference. As per the custom, I and all other missionaries going home bore our testimonies to everyone there. My particular group that came out with me makes up a large part of our mission, and we have each had a distinct and meaningful impact here. The mission is receiving a smaller complement of missionaries than those departing, so everyone is a little panicky wondering what they'll do without us haha. They will be fine, just as we were a year ago when a large group of missionaries went home and we had to rise up and take more responsibility.

Anyway, the point I was getting at is that my testimony was a tad unexpected. I won't lie when I say that I'm very comfortable to bear testimony, or speak in church. This testimony had me somewhat overcome with emotion, which is rare. Although I didn't quite cry, I was definitely filled with feelings of appreciation for what my mission means to me.

This is just another hallmark event that reminds me it's all nearly over. I don't need to remind you all how many days are left. I'm sure you are either savoring each day you have without me haunting you, or counting down the days... or some combination of the two. Either way, I'm excited to see you all.

I can't speak enough of how much I know  that because of Jesus Christ we can change.

Can't wait to see you all, it's coming close :)

Love,

Elder Callor

July 9th, 2018- SYNEDOCHE: A SET OF MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE....AND A HUSBAND DOES TOO

Greetings my distant friends and relatives! (distant geographically, but certainly not distant emotionally)

This week I have three major things to report:

Number one... We got a car! I've been in a bus area for the last 9 weeks and expected for it to be so until I went home, but due to a convoluted story involving other missionaries and car accidents, they had an extra van they didn't know what to do with, so they gave it to us for the rest of this transfer! In other words, I'll be driving a van again until I get home :) It's funny what nine weeks will do to your comfort while driving and your driving ability. I can't imagine serving for two years without driving a car and then trying to get the hang of it again! Lucky for me, I don't have to. We used to always be short on time to get from home to the church and to drop by people we were trying to get in contact with because it takes an hour to get just about anywhere her by bus, but we are a lock more effective with our car here, which is really nice. Plus, who really likes public transit anyway?

Number two... Synecdoche is when you use the name of a part for that of the whole, or the whole for the part. When I call a van "a set of wheels" that's synecdoche. I love english :)

Number three...  This week I had the pleasure of reconnecting with someone I had taught before in a previous area. They were a less active member, and were not popular in their ward. They were notorious for being angry and bitter, and always lashing out at others in unpredictable ways. Through meeting with them, and by the perspective of the Spirit, I was able to see good in them that was hidden by a hardened heart - a result of they themselves being hurt so many times in their life. I had a moment with them when I told them I knew that they were good, a truly good person inside. That was poignant enough for them, and I left that area feeling I had done what I was meant to do there. Later on I eventually found out this person had met a member from a nearby unit and had married them happily. That was some of the least expected but certainly most welcome news for me. I was very happy for them, and felt that my time in their life had ended. Well, little did I know that their new spouse would end up in a hospital in our area, and we would be asked to bring them the sacrament on Sunday. I just want to say I know that the atonement of Jesus Christ can change people. This person had become a fist clenched at the world in bitterness, and the person I met in the hospital on Sunday was a happy, loving, person who was free - free from their own bitterness because of the love of their spouse, and the love of Jesus Christ.

So much can happen in 3 weeks. I'll let you all know what does, and then you can hear more about it from me in person :)

Love,

Elder Callor

July 3rd, 2018- HONEST

I honestly don't remember if I've already used this as subject line yet... If I have, oh well. It's worth repeating haha.

In regards to aforementiond subject line, my companion and I notice graffiti tags around Toronto as we bus from place to place, and my personal favorite says simply, "Honest". This particular tag happens to appear a lot around where we regularly commute, and Elder Martin and I started to take pictures of those that we thought were cool. Well eventually it became a little scavenger hunt we do as we go from place to place. Each time see a different tag we get a picture of it. It's an interesting perspective on the little nooks and crannies of Toronto and is a fun thing to do while we do our work. We've found nearly 20 different locations! If you're interested in seeing them, I sent some pictures of a few different things, among them a hike we went on last Pday, a move we helped with (which I'll explain later), a few pictures of me teaching our english class, and of course a few of the Honest tag pictures.

So Happy Canada Day! We celebrated with a ward BBQ. The actual day itself was Sunday, so we didn't really do much. 

Happy fourth of July! This is the last one I have to miss, thank goodness. Fortunately tomorrow Elder Kimball will get to do an exchange with Elder Martin and I, so the three of us will get to celebrate the fourth together.

Remember when I talked about how I might have helped on the last move of my mission? Well of course because I said that we ended up helping someone else out with a move so everything is still up in the air as to what my "last" is of anything haha. 

That brings me to another point... It was intolerably hot and humid this week. INTOLERABLY HOT AND HUMID. The heat and humidity made what would have been a relatively easy move a lot worse, but we still managed to enjoy ourselves. Be prepared to laugh later when you all see me though, I have a lovely tan/burn line in the middle of my neck where my collar is.

Finally, the time really is drawing short, so if any of you plan to mail me anything, you will need to be sending it soon because otherwise it will go to the mission home in Brampton, Ontario, and I will be in Kaysville, Utah, which would be a bit of an issue. So if any of you have anything you want to send me before I'm home, try and do so this week. If not, then we can all just have a good time when I see you each again :)

Love,

Elder Callor

June 25th, 2018- SUBJECT LINE #99

Yes, this is the 99th time I've had to think of a creative subject line for my email, and yes, I ran out of good ideas a long time ago. :) For anyone that might be wondering, I have 104 total emails to create subject lines for... I'll let you do the math on that one.

As I try and remember some of my first emails home, I recall mentioning when I got my first haircut on my mission, and how I thought that was somehow significant because I'm a missionary. No matter how old we are, the version of ourselves two years in the past is always embarrassing.

Juxtapose that with today, when everything in my life appears has lost it's luster because it has become my daily life. This is not to say I am not entertained or fulfilled by what I do, I've just lost the capacity to recall what I've done when trying to recant what's noteworthy in these emails. So forgive me, please.

In spite of all that, (and in report for this week), among many things, we helped someone move, ordered an overnight package for another missionary's birthday, had interviews with our mission president, and went to the baptism of a Filipino member family.

I realized this was likely the last time I helped someone move on my mission... there seem to be more and more of these "last time" things. I would say I wonder why but clearly, I don't haha. Strangely enough, none of them feel any different than when I did them the 3rd or the 28th time.

One of the Elders in the area just West of us that covers the same ward had a birthday this week. I've had the privilege to be his leader throughout different parts of our mission, and he is a good Elder. The kind of guy that sort of goes under the radar but is good in his heart and deserves some recognition. My companion and I conspired together for his birthday and ended up using my companion's Amazon Canada Premium account to order him a gift with overnight shipping. So I haven't ordered anything in a long time, and I forgot how overwhelming the anticipation would be! This story proves the point yet again that we are happier when doing things for others rather than ourselves. Elder Martin and I were both more excited to get this package in the mail and then give it to Elder Sparks than to have gotten something in the mail for ourselves. Service fills our hearts.

Other than talking to President Shields for the second-to-last time in an interview setting and eating a lot of Filipino food we didn't do much else other than spreading the gospel, which tends to be the one constant in our lives. Frankly, I couldn't think of a better constant than that. Luckily, that's a constant we can all have, and there are perhaps infinite ways to do so.

As a public service announcement for all you listeners out there, we won't be broadcasting any emails next monday June the 2nd because that will be a federal holiday day due to Canada day being on Sunday the 1st. Consequently, you can tune in to hear more about Elder Callor's adventures on Tuesday June the 3rd. We'll see you all next time on 77.7 DVE.

Love,

Elder Callor

June 18th, 2018- CHRISTMAS KARAOKE AND WAKEBOARDING

I will only be brief this week, but my first items of business are as follows:

1) I apologize for the accelerating entropy and decline in the quality of my emails as time passes.

2) happy father's day to all father figures!

3) I have now officially begun my final transfer. 6 weeks and I will be home. My companion and I are staying together. Here in Don Valley.. my mission brother is like Cain - he is now a district leader, and he gets to "kill" me haha. 

Moving on I have a few anecdotes for all who care to read them! :) which is still a large group of people with support, whom I love and am grateful for.

So anecdote #1. Elder Martin and I found a large 3 ft by 3 ft letter "S" right outside our house on the curb. We passed it a million times and always said we would take it just for fun, but we waited too long and it was taken away haha.

As for our second anecdote today, earlier this week we went to a member's house, and they are a lovely Korean family who made us spectacular Korean BBQ. After our dinner they made us sing in their Karaoke machine, but the only "mission approved" songs they had were Christmas songs. The visuals that played while we sang were a bunch of people wakeboarding - needless to say it was a surreal moment. Missions bring some interesting experiences haha.

I love you all. 6 weeks always go quickly, so enjoy your final precious moments without me, they'll be gone before you know it ;)

Love,

Elder Callor

June 11th, 2018- NO MORE HIDING, WOODEN FLOORS AND FREE ENGLISH-

So by this time next week I will no longer be able to hide behind the phrase "I go home next transfer", because the transfer will be over! Soon I'll be starting My Plan, a program you do for your last 6 weeks as a missionary to help you prepare for and adjust to going home.

It's an interesting feeling.

To tell you all a little more about where I am and what I'm doing, my apartment has a really nice shower - the kind that is directly overhead and just rains on you. We live in a basement in a neighborhood which is much better than any of the typical Toronto apartments. Funny thing about Toronto apartments that in EVERY SINGLE ONE, and I'm not joking or exaggerating, they have the exact same wooden flooring. I guess it's just cheap and very available. Even in a ton of apartments across Ontario they have that same flooring. I've been lucky to be in a few houses and apartments in homes on my mission, but I've sure seen a lot of that flooring. In 6 weeks I can stand on carpet :)

There are elders that cover the other half of the ward we are serving in so we are with them a lot and it's good fun. One of them is going home in a week so we'll be going to downtown Toronto to get him some souvenirs today. I'll be talking to him about any advice he has on serving for my last transfer.

I've taught some English classes on my mission in the past, but I've been the only teacher for this class the last 5 weeks and I've become really invested in the students and the class. I quite enjoy it. I've gotten to know each of them and we've started to get more students and it's been very fulfilling to help them each personally and see real progress in contributing to this community.

And with that, I don't have a lot more I can think of to share. As I said before, transfer calls are in a week so I hope I don't have to go anywhere because that means I would have to pack again :P

More than likely my companion will leave. I could train my last transfer. Or my companion could stay here for one more. I'm not sure but at this point, even at the inconvenience of packing on more tome, I'm happy to go and do what is asked of me wherever and with whomever.

I hope you are all are enjoying the summer and having a fun time :)

Love,

Elder Callor

June 4th, 2018- NOTHING TO DRY MY CLOTHES OR MY TEARS

Hello family and friends!

I'm realizing I won't be writing many more of these... So I hope they've been good thus far. Some have definitely been better than others. Thank you for reading them!

So I was thinking about some random info to share that I probably haven't mentioned. So a few months ago my right thumbnail randomly split down the middle, and I didn't even know how it did. It looked super weird. It doesn't hurt, but I have this weird gap in my thumbnail now that won't close, I think it's just gonna grow out of my thumbnail naturally.

Also, last week on the drive home from a zone conference one of the elders in my district threw up a billion times in a trash bag that I fortunately found last minute. It was a weird experience I wasn't anticipating haha.

Speaking of which, earlier this week I went on an exchange and got to sing in a nursing home which was pretty fun. I felt like I was back in school doing some performance or something. It was pretty weird.

Also, our dryer has been broken for 3 weeks now, it will spin but it just doesn't heat up. We dry our clothes by running the dryer 5 or 6 times and the room temperature air dries it haha. Our land lord is trying to replace it but it's an old unit and he had a really unreliable company at first so it should be fixed this week haha.

Other than that we've just been riding the bus and having all kinds of fun :)

Congratulations to all who've graduated! It's such a great time of life, and I hope that as you're on the verge of so much more you will remember the values that you've been taught and stick to them; you'll need them as you go into the world. 

I'll be seeing you all soon enough and I hope you enjoy the start of a great summer vacation, one I hope to catch the tail end of ;)

Love,

Elder Callor

May 28th, 2018- WHERE DOES IT GO?

Where does the time go, everybody? If anybody knows, please clue me in because really I haven't the foggiest idea where it goes. I've been here in Don Valley for 3 weeks. As I sat down to write this email I started to look back on the week and I realized I was thinking about all 3 weeks together as if they were one week, that's how fast it feels. I don't know much to tell you all about this week.

Just for some facts about where I'm at, I have a really nice shower, one with an overhanging showerhead, which is nice. The only downside is that we love about an hour from the church (when taking the bus). So a lot of our days are just travel to and from the church. We talk yo people, and we manage our time, so everything works out.

It's starting to get pretty warm here. Summer weather came late, but it's definitely here.

I hope the weather isn't too hot there, and that as the school year comes to a close everyone is excited for the summer. Enjoy it!

Love,

Elder Callor

May 22nd, 2018- GENEROUS INVESTIGATOR, SPICY GIFTS

To start, sorry everybody! I forgot to mention yesterday was a Canadian holiday so our p day got moved to today.

Last p day after the p day ended, I was walking with another Elder just outside our house (his companion stayed with my companion at home because our dryer broke and so he didn't have dry clothes to wear to proselyte in). We met a really nice guy and started talking to him like we would anyone else, but he was particularly interested. He just wanted to keep listening to our message. We walked to a nearby park and talked about the restoration. He had us repeat the first vision so he could listen and feel the spirit again. After that we didn't have a Book of Mormon on us so he walked back with us to our house so we could run in and get one for him. On the way we discussed the commandments of tithing and word of wisdom, which he agreed to. In the moment he said "I'll never smoke weed again". So after giving him the Book of Mormon, he said he was being deported and sent back to Pakistan the next day, but he was so grateful to us for sharing this message, and he won't stop studying God's word and hope he can come back or find a place in the world to join God's church.

Also, yesterday we taught an Indian investigator we have who was a doctor in India and is working on getting certified in Canada. He was very kind and giving and while we taught him his wife made 8,000 little tortilla looking things and then he insisted on giving them to us to eat. We had to eat soooo many.  They had this spicy sauce you smear on it and it was not pleasant haha. Luckily, we made it out alive.

So those are my stories for the week.

I hope all of you are enjoying busy May :)

Have a good week!

Love,

Elder Callor

May 14th, 2018- CLEAN HOUSE, FREE CHICKEN, DISASTER AVOIDED

Hello everyone!

I'm typing on my phone today so please forgive my typing errors! It takes forever to bus to the church so we just did some grocery shopping by our house, got me a haircut, now we're making food with the other elders.

So, yet again, I cleaned the apartment quite well! It looks nice. I'm pretty proud haha. I doubt all the apartments I've cleaned on my mission are still clean, except for the mansion. Such is life haha.

Earlier this week we went to Popeyes to eat some lunch so we wouldn't have to bus home, and once we started ordering a guy paid for us! We found out his name is Frank and he is from Fruit Heights! I vaguely knew his daughter from high school. So that was a fun experience! I've been through similar things but nothing quite like that haha.

The other day we saw a drunk guy on the street, he got up and was going to cross the street into traffic! So we yelled at him to stop and he didn't stop until right before the lane! It was so scary. Luckily he listened and didn't die right before our very eyes!

I hope all of you are enjoying the spring as it turns to summer :) have a wonderful week!

Love,

Elder Callor