Last Letter as a Full-time Missionary

Dear Family and Friends:

I don't think it is possible to describe all of the things that have happened this past week, but I will do my best, just know that this is a season of miracles and that the greatest miracle of all was that over 2000 years ago our Savior, Jesus Christ, was born.  All other miracles are just an appendage to the greatest miracle of all.

Chalk Finding.  If you have not watched this short video.  Do it, it is wonderful.
You can watch it by clicking on this link:  http://www.mormon.org/christmas

At the Nauvoo Temple with the Jensen's

Tuesday was the departing temple trip and how wonderful it was to be with all of the sisters that came out with me 18 months ago.  It was fun because we met up at the stake center in Des Moines early in the morning and the sisters were all in the big 12 passenger transfer van!  We were joking about how 18 months ago we were driving that same stretch of road (at least to Iowa City) as Greenies who didn't have a clue what was going on, but here we were reunited heading to the temple at the conclusion of our missions.  There are 21 missionaries in our group going home this transfer, and so it was such a neat experience to be able to attend the Nauvoo temple with so many missionaries, and to have our wonderful mission president and his wife there with us!  The temple truly helps us to understand the Plan that our Father in Heaven has for each of us!

We didn't get back to Des Moines until after 10:00 p.m. on Tuesday night and so a set of sisters came and spent the night with us, because it was too late for them to drive home, so once again we had a short night, but it was fun to be with other missionaries!

The family that we live with was having family come to town for Thanksgiving and so we got to meet some of their family members, who are all as great as the family that we live with!  Like the oldest daughter and her husband are so kind that they are taking some of my stuff to my brother so that I can pack everything into my suitcases!  Also, they left us a super cute note on the bathroom mirror that said " Sister Missionaries (n) Mormon lingo- super heroes that wear skirts."  Anyways, I have thoroughly loved everyone that I have met in this area and the members are so good to us! Since the family that we live with had visitors this past week we were able to go and live with another family for a few nights!

The wonderful family that we live with.

"THE MIRROR NOTE"

Wednesday it snowed!  And I love the snow!  I think it is so pretty and it makes me so happy around this time of year!  So the day started off great and continued to end great as well.  For most of the day we were helping a family in the ward who was moving to Massachusetts.  It was so fun because there was so much support from the ward members which I don't know why, but I am constantly amazed at the amount of service rendered to one another!

All bundled up

Sometimes you see random things on the sides of the road and you take a picture of it :}

Wednesday we received a text from Carlie saying that her grandpa had suddenly passed away from a heart attack and that 3 hours later her grandma had a stroke.  Our hearts just went out to her and immediately we asked her if she would like to receive a Priesthood Blessing, and explained the purpose of blessings.  She gladly accepted and so we were able to call their home teachers and go over that evening!  The Power of the Priesthood is REAL!  It truly is the Power of God on the Earth today and is here for the blessing of God's children!  After the blessing we were able to talk with Tommy and Carlie and she mentioned how she has been reading the Book of Mormon during all of her breaks and how the night before she was rereading 1 Nephi 11 because she felt like it was an important chapter and she came across verse 17 which says "I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless,  I do not know the meaning of all things." She was in the middle of highlighting that verse when her phone rang and that was when she found out about her grandparents.  Our Father in Heaven is real!  He is aware of all of His children and He loves us!

Tommy & Carlie's family at church.

Thursday was Thanksgiving and how many reasons we have to be thankful!  I was especially thankful for wonderful members who made the day so special!  We were able to spend time in several different members home, eat wonderful food and meet wonderful people!

The Bishop & his sweet wife.

Friday we had texted Amy, who has been coming to church for 9 years with her husband and has callings in the church, to let her know that we can move forward with baptism and that we didn't have to go through all of the missionary lessons with her, that she could have the baptismal interview and then be baptized soon after.  Right as we were walking into our ward mission leader’s home for coordination she responded and said that that was wonderful news and that she wants to move forward.  Half jokingly we told her that she could have the interview that Sunday (November 30th) and be baptized that night.  She responded saying that she wasn't backing out but that her husband would be on a business trip and it's kind of important to have him there, but that the following week would work!!!!!!!!!!  What a huge miracle!  You should have seen the reactions of the ward members on Sunday!!!  Priceless!

Saturday we were in Grimes and decided that we would swing by Jessica's, who was the Mormon.org media referral that we received like over 2 months ago and haven't been able to make it back in to see her since.  We buzzed to her apartment and she told us to come on in!  It was so neat!  She said that she had been thinking about us earlier that morning!  She also was able to express some of her concerns because she is unfamiliar with the Book of Mormon so she was overwhelmed and didn't know really how to start or what not.  It reminded me of when I was in Des Moines and Cho Ku (who we would teach English to and she was a refugee from Burma area) anyways when she told us the story of her first experience with Pizza and she had no idea what it was our how to eat it so she tore off a little be of the crust and that was all that she ate, but now she loves Pizza.  Anyways, we were able to go over the Book of Mormon a little bit more, and then said that we would love to give her a Book of Mormon Stories which is the illustrated children's book, because that is what we first started on when we were children!  She was so excited for that!

Sister Call, Jenna, Greg, Jarrett, Jaycie, Bro. M.

Sunday, my last Sunday in the field and it was filled with mixed emotions!  But it was a wonderful day over all! It was crazy because we were coordinating with Amy, Greg, and Carlie, as well as covering a primary class for one of the medical student families that we went over to on Thanksgiving!   Because of the death in Carlie's family she was able to come to church with Tommy and their two kids and they stayed for all three hours!  Amy was there, as always, but she was super excited about her baptism and so we were coordinating it and so she will be baptized on the 6th of December.  Sunday evening we were able to have a lesson with Greg and he is all set for his baptism on the 13th of December.  And then Carlie told us that she wants to be baptized on the 20th of December!  So we called President to tell him of the miracles from the day and asked if he could extend me for a little more than 2 weeks.  He said that he could, but that he wouldn't because then he would have to deal with parents that want to see their daughter.

Anyways, This truly is a season for miracles and I am forever grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ.

I love you all!

Love, Sister Call

Gratitude List

Dear Family & Friends:

What I am thankful for from this past week!

- The chance to be a missionary.

- To have the gospel in my life.

- To be serving with Sister Chirinos.

- Delicious meals with members.

- Warm clothes.

- To live with members.

- Service at the memory clinic.

- Coming home and finding a plate of brownies in our room from Emily!

- Tracting in the cold, because more people allow you into their home to get out of the cold!

- Following spiritual promptings!

- Dropping by a part member's house.  The wife who isn't a member has been coming to church for 9 years and has had a calling in primary with her husband for about that long as well.  She has such a strong testimony of the gospel, and decided that she wants to just go forward and be baptized.

- Having a mission president who holds Priesthood keys that allow him to receive revelation for the missionary work in this mission.

- A lesson with Greg, and how he has already planned out his baptismal program and both of his parents are planning on coming to his baptism!!  Which is huge!

- Being able to take sisters from the ward out with us!  There is such a spirit that members have that adds to the missionary spirit!  Like we were able to take our Relief Society President to a lesson with a part-member family, where the kids are members, but the parents are not.  It was on Wednesday night before mutual and activities days.  The member has daughters the same age and so she knew all of the details for the activities and we were able to get rides for both of the daughters to go to the activities that evening!  In addition to having a wonderful lesson as we read and discussed the story of Nephi breaking his bow and how we can learn from his example!

- We had interviews with President Jensen and what a wonderful experience it always is to receive counsel from him!  He truly is called of God to preside over this mission at this time!

- Right before my interview as we were in the hall President Jensen put a name tag on his suit jacket and said "Sister Call, how do you like my new name tag that I found?  Doesn't it look great?"  He was wearing one of my name tags.  So when I was serving in the Des Moines Ward last spring I had lost a name tag and figured that I had lost it when we had been out tracting or something, but apparently it had fallen off when we were at the mission home for Sister Jensen's birthday, and they found my name tag in the couch last week.

- Being able to feel the love that the Jensen's have for me and for all they serve

- Temperatures in the 40's and 50's Saturday and Sunday!

- Not having to wear tights or boots on Sunday!

- Have my eyes opened to the perspective of Mission President's and their wives as missionaries return home.  Sister Jensen had me promise that I would come back and see her, because she said that it is so hard for her to see missionaries return home, because she never knows if she will ever see them again, whereas, when parents send their child on a mission they know that in 18 months or 2 years they will see their child again.

- Carlie used her last vacation day of the year to come to church yesterday with Tommy!  It was stake conference, and so she was able to meet President and Sister Jensen as well as many members from the ward!

- After Stake Conference we were able to go to Tommy and Carlie's with their home teachers for the first time, and it was such a testimony builder of how inspired the home teaching and visiting teaching programs are.  As well as the home teachers for Tommy and Carlie are such a great fit, because they both grew up in Iowa and both are converts to the church.  One of the home teachers conversion story is very similar to Carlie's!

- I am so thankful for my family and friends that I can look up to and learn from their examples!

- I am so thankful for a Father in Heaven who loves us enough to have sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to perform the Atonement and to provide a way that we can return home to our Father in Heaven!

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Love, Sister Call

So Many Things to be Thankful For

So many things from this past week to be grateful for!

Last Monday, Iowa decided that it was time for winter and so all of our winter layers have been coming out and are being used!  But it is great!  There is a thrill that comes as you share the gospel in the frigid cold.  It's wonderful, because some people look at you like, you are crazy, which we may or may not be, and then others are really nice and allow you to step inside to warm up for a little bit, or they even make you hot chocolate and send you on your way!  Also, when it is cold and it snows we come home to a sweet message/note written on the driveway from the wonderful family that we live with!

Tuesday we decided that we were going to look for a place to volunteer at regularly, so that morning we looked all over and were at a loss, because the majority of our area is residential. So while we were home for lunch we asked Sister R. if she knew of any place we could volunteer at, and she thought of a nursing home that she had taken the young women to last year and they had been really welcoming to them.  So we decided to give it a try and it was so neat.  The activities director was so excited for us to offer to volunteer.  She mentioned how she has been there for over a year and has tried and tried to get someone to volunteer and how we were God sent.  We are going to be volunteering in the memory unit, and helping with activities there!  The entire staff was very welcoming and appreciative of us.  It was so nice, because not once did we get the look of "what are the Mormons doing here." The next day we were able to volunteer for the first time, and one of the CNA's came and sat at our table where we were painting the patients nails and she started asking questions about our church and how she has been looking for a church!

Tuesday night, Jenna, one of the Young women, came out with us and so since it was freezing we decided to go finding in an apartment building.  Before entering the building we determined that we wanted to start on the 3rd floor.  So we met a few people and then at the last door that we knocked on, on the 3rd floor, a woman answered the door and then kind of surprised she says, "You aren't my in-laws. I was expecting my in-laws." Anyways we continued to talk with her and shared briefly about the Restoration of the Gospel and how it will bless her family!  She then said that her oldest son, Noah who is 14 asks a lot of questions and how she knows that we were sent to her to help answer some of her son's questions!

Jenna is Greg's girlfriend and so we asked her if she knew when Greg wanted to be baptized, because we figured if Greg had told anyone, he would have told her, but she didn't know.  Now, a little background on Greg:  He started coming to church last year around this time, and has had the discussions, attends mutual, and seminary, has his entire baptismal program planned,  he could teach us the missionary lessons as well as we can, and all his friends at school are members.  So we (us and the entire ward) have been waiting for when Greg will let us know when he wants to be baptized. Anyways, we encouraged Jenna to help encourage Greg to share his baptismal date that he had selected.

After we dropped off Jenna, we decided to go back to the apartments that we had been knocking on earlier and to try the building behind it.  So we go in and the first person that answered wasn't interested and we started walking down the hallway, and one of the tenants was walking towards his apartment.  We stopped him and asked if we could give him a mormon.org card. Turns out, he loves the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and has all of their albums!

Thursday, we had lunch with one of the Sisters who just moved into the ward two weeks ago! Afterwards we were able to go to the mission office and set up the Christmas Decorations!!  We then stopped by Charlie's who Sister Chirinos and Sister Whipple met on exchanges.  She was home and allowed us to come in!  It was such an amazing lesson because it felt like we were able to tailor the lesson to her and the Spirit was way strong. She kept mentioning how she felt God's presence and how she couldn't wait to share the pamphlet with her daughter!

Thursday evening we were able to have a lesson with Carlie, at a young medical student family's house!  Haha, the family has 3 sons and Carlie brought Maverick (5 months) and so there were a lot of distractions, but it was wonderful to have Carlie meet some of the members, and make friends in the ward!  I think one of my favorite parts was when the members asked Carlie what her story was and how she started meeting with the missionaries!  It was so fun to hear her story and when we saw her on Friday, we told her that she will be telling that story for the rest of her life!   She said that that was something that she could live with!

Friday we had our mission tour Zone Conference with Elder Craig A. Cardon of the 70!  It was wonderful!  We were able to hear from President and Sister Jensen, as well as Elder and Sister Cardon!  Sister Jensen spoke on Gratitude and seeing the Lord's hand in our lives!  How grateful I am for all of you who have helped support me throughout my life and especially throughout my mission! There is such a strength that comes from the support and prayers of others!  I remember very vividly the very first night at the MTC and kneeling down to say a prayer before bed, and physically feeling the support of the prayers of faithful saints across the world who pray daily for the missionaries!
President Jensen spoke on the Book of Mormon and making sure that we always have a burning, beaming testimony of the Book of Mormon!

Sister Cardon spoke on working in companionships and having unity within companionships.

Elder Cardon spoke on the organization of the 70, and the church in general.  As well as learning from the patterns in the scriptures!  He also spoke on the revelation and process of an apostle of the Lord assigning mission calls, as well as the revelation that comes to a mission president in determining the companionships and areas in which you serve.
 
Elder Cardon then role played for us, getting the head of the household to have a kneeling prayer at the end of the first lesson.  He said that as we apply the principles that he demonstrated that almost without fail the head of the household will pray. . . . Sunday afternoon we had the opportunity to put it to the test.  We had had a fairly rough lesson.  It had started out great, and the middle was really rough, but then we applied almost exactly what Elder Cardon had told us for the prayer, and sure enough Charlie prayed at the end of the lesson!

At church on Sunday, Tommy came with the two sons!  And he loved it!  It was so fun to see them at church and I am so excited for Stake Conference next weekend, that way Carlie can attend the Saturday evening session with Tommy!  Not only did Tommy come to church, but after Sacrament meeting, Jenna's dad told us that we needed to talk with Greg. . . We headed over to Greg and he said that he wants to be baptized on December 13th!!!!!!!!!  The entire ward was so excited!  And Greg had asked the young men's president to baptize him!  We had dinner with the young men's president after church and so it was exciting!  The only problem is that it is about 10 days too late, but the members said that they'll skype me or that we'll work out some way that I can watch the baptism!

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

Love, Sister Call

Following Jesus Christ

Dear Family & Friends:

This past week started off with exchanges with Sister Barker and Sister Whipple!  I was spoiled as they allowed me to come to the Des Moines area one last time and to spend the day with Sister Barker!  Sister Barker and I came out in the same group together and so it was a lot of fun to serve together for a day!  We had a wonderful day!  We were able to have a lesson with Patience, who is from Liberia and had been studying with the missionaries in Indiana, but moved to Des Moines a couple of weeks ago and requested the missionaries to come visit her! She lives by one of the universities and so anytime she would see students dressed up she would ask them if they were missionaries, as she waited for the Des Moines missionaries to contact her.  It was really neat, so during the lesson we were talking about the Book of Mormon and Patience said "I love the Book of Mormon because it teaches you how to follow Jesus Christ."  Which is so true!  The Book of Mormon truly is another Testament of Jesus Christ and helps each person who reads it to know how they can follow their Savior!

Since it was my last time in the Des Moines area we stopped by a few of the members that I knew! Which was fun!  We did try by Gary's but no one was home   :(

Exchanges:  Sisters Call, Chirinos, Barker, Whipple

We were able to have another lesson with Greg!  We were talking about the Atonement and how the Atonement is a supreme expression of love from our Savior.  And how Charity is the pure love of Christ, so we read Moroni 7:45-48 inserting the words "The Atonement" for the word "Charity" and I loved the line that says "[the Atonement] never faileth."  The Atonement is real and will never fail us!  We can become better and more like our Savior each day as we access the Atonement daily!

I love Carlie!!  We were able to meet with her on Friday and Natasha came with us!  Natasha joined the church like 2 years ago or so, and so it was wonderful as she shared her testimony!  Carlie has been reading the Book of Mormon and she has cut down her coffee from 4 cups a day to just 1 cup a day!!!!  It is so much fun to see the gospel working in her family's life!  Natasha shared her experience of living the Word of Wisdom and how she still has cravings for different things, but her desire to be true to the gospel is what gives her the strength to live the word of wisdom!

With Laramie, Moe & Kinalee

A song for the Sisters from the Rundall's.  Oh how I love them!!!

Laramie and Moe are moving to Spokane, and so this past week we were able to help them load their truck and clean their apartment.  They are such an amazing family and they absolutely love Mormons! Laramie has been in Spokane for the last couple of weeks and said that they live in the most densely LDS populated area in Spokane and how he has already spotted them out and asked if they could be friends! . . . They will be baptized some day!

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

Love, Sister Call

Mission Life in Iowa

Another wonderful week in Iowa!

Monday evening we had our monthly coordination meeting at Bishop's house and his wife was so cute and made a witch's hat for dinner!  It was her first time making it so she was giggling as she put it together!

Tuesday we ended up packing our apartment and preparing for the move, but we were also able to take Emily out with us and we saw Moe and Kinalee again!

Ohh, the things you'll find when you move from a missionary apartment...needless to say, we got rid of a lot of stuff!

Our new home

Wednesday we moved into the basement of a family in our ward!  Aww it is so wonderful and I absolutely love living with them!  It's like having family and they take care of you!  Also, it is so nice to actually live within the boundaries of our area and so when we walk outside it is our proselyting area, and there are quite a few members that live close by to their home!

Wednesday night we had the ward Halloween party and Tommy and Carlie were going to come, but their kids had high fevers, but Kinalee came with a family in our ward!

At the Ward Halloween Party 

So the Des Moines area of Iowa does this crazy thing called Beggars night where depending on what city/town you live in determines whether or not you go trick or treating on the night of Halloween or on Beggars night which is the 30th.  So in most of the towns it was on the 30th, but either way as missionaries we had to be in our apartment by 6:00 or at a member's home.  Our Ward Mission Leader's family really loves Halloween!  So we were able to help out in their "haunted garage" they did on Beggars night!

The haunted garage on Beggars' Night

But Thursday during the day we were able to volunteer at the community center in Grimes and the seniors had dressed up for Halloween so Sister Chirinos and I were able to take photos of each of them for Rene!  We then had zone training meeting that took the rest of the day before we headed to the Ward Mission Leader's home!

Sister Chirinos, Rene, Sister Call

Photo Booth at the Community Center

Friday was Halloween and didn't feel like Halloween, but we had a wonderful lesson with Carlie! Tommy was at work, so he wasn't there, but Carlie is so excited about the gospel and she loves how it is going to strengthen their family even more!  She mentioned how she can tell the impact that the gospel has had on our lives/childhood and she wants that in her family!  She talked about how she has been praying and sometimes she forgets and then when she remembers she stops whatever she is doing and says a prayer!  Then at the end of the lesson we suggested that maybe Tommy starts coming to church and then when she can come then that would be wonderful.  Carlie just smiled and said that she and Tommy had just talked about that very thing the other day and Tommy had said that he should talk with his mom and start coming to church!  So on Sunday in walked Tommy's mom with her grandson Jackson, and Tommy was planning on coming, but had gotten sick.

Saturday was freezing cold, but the ward was helping with a fall clean up in Urbandale where people who physically can't rake the leaves in their yard sign up and then volunteers are assigned to a house and rake the leaves!  We went with the Russell Family and had so much fun!  The yard we were assigned to had so many leaves!  We filled 40 bags and it took us almost 4 hours! (Pictures of this activity were posted on the blog Nov. 1. http://hannah-call.blogspot.com/2014/11/happily-serving.html)

That evening we went finding and were able to meet Jill whose sister in law is a member in Missouri so it was fun visiting with Jill and being able to talk about the church a little more with her.  She told us that her sister in law would be so excited if she knew that she had allowed the missionaries in.  We agreed that yes she would be ecstatic about it!

I love Sundays and the opportunity to attend church and partake of the Sacrament!  It was so crazy that it was my last fast Sunday, but it really allowed me to reflect on the daily experiences that I have had over the past 17 months that have allowed me to know my Savior!  To feel of His love and to help others to enjoy the blessings that the Gospel brings!

Sunday evening we had dinner and lesson with a family and Greg, who is a friend of the kids.  Greg is such a great kid!  He has been coming to church for this past year, and attends seminary in the mornings, and even went on the youth temple trip Saturday and stayed in the visitor's center with the young men's president.  Anyways, yesterday we taught about the Priesthood and it was neat because each of us can always be preparing for a Priesthood ordinance.  Whether we are preparing for baptism, an office in the Priesthood (men), covenants in the temple, or the sacrament ordinance.  We always should be reflecting on what more we can do to prepare ourselves for this sacred ordinance!

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

Love, Sister Call

Happily Serving

Editors Note:  Hannah's mom got a text today with this message and these pictures.  I wanted to share it with others.

Walnut Hills Ward service project. We joined UCAN & helped rake leaves for elderly residents. Your girls worked so hard. I was so thankful for their help! In 3.5 hours We filled 40 big yard waste bags!!!! What impressed me the most was how happily they worked with full & bright smiles. You both have terrific daughters!

Exciting Week!

Hello from Iowa!

We had a wonderful week again!  Yes, Satan is still working hard on each of the people that we get to work with, but it is like the analogies used in the April 2014 General Conference with trees and wind, and how wind not only makes the trees cellular composition stronger, but it causes the roots to grow deeper.  So we have to remember, that through opposition we grow!

Exciting events from this past week!

- On Monday we got a call from Elder Shelley telling us that he had a new car for us that we could come pick up the next day!

- Tuesday we pulled up to the mission office and saw three new mission cars and had our eyes on a certain color that we liked better than the others, and it happened that Elder Shelley had randomly assigned that car to our area before we had arrived! Tender Mercy!

- We were able to help out in the mission office which it has been a little while since we have been there so that was fun!

-We continue to count down the days until we get to move in with members!  (We move on Wednesday!)

- The weather has been beautiful and so more people have been outside which makes street contacting so much more fun!

- I am so grateful for the power of the Priesthood and the influence that it can have on each of our lives!  It is the way that we are able to make covenants with our Father in Heaven.  It is the way that we are able to partake of the Sacrament each week.  It is the way that we can be united with our families for eternity! It is the way that our Father in Heaven has provided for His power to be exercised on Earth.

- For an entire week I hadn't been able to sleep through the night.  I had no idea how stressed I was until, last Wednesday we had gone to the library for Mormon.org time and I had been selecting pictures for a departing slide show.  Afterwards we went back to the apartment for lunch and during lunch we got a phone call from the Library asking if I had a Canon Camera and if it was in a colorful case.  It was then that I realized that I didn't have my camera.  The wonderful worker had looked through my pictures and saw the name badge, and with the last name was able to identify my library card and phone number.  Tender Mercy! Needless to say I realized just how stressed I was and so the next day I was able to get a Priesthood blessing and I have been able to sleep through the nights, and I haven't been forgetting things!  Tender Mercy!

- On Thursday the wife of a former investigator called us and invited us for dinner the following night!  Her husband just started a job in Spokane and so they will be moving there in the next few weeks, but she mentioned how her husband said that he was thinking about attending a "Mormon" church that Sunday!  Dinner was wonderful! She is from Laos, so she made us some sticky rice that we would roll up and then eat with a piece of chicken, and she made some pho soup which was delicious!

- Carlie had cancelled our appointment on Thursday and then we hadn't heard back from her in a couple of days, so we were running through everything that could have happened and expecting the worst, but on Saturday we decided to just drop by and we weren't sure what to expect. . . . It was wonderful!  She had had a crazy week, and opposition continues to come her way, but she is so strong and keeps her commitments!  I love Tommy and Carlie so much, because I feel like I am able to be myself around them and my personality comes out more!  Like Carlie had mentioned how she meant to text us back, and Tommy had even commented on her not responding yet, and so we were laughing because we told her that as missionaries since this is our life we look at the phone and go "It has been 3 hours, they haven't responded.  Oh no, do they hate us?  Did someone anti them? etc.," ha-ha anyways it was really neat, Carlie mentioned some of her conversations with coworkers as she has told them that she wants to be baptized! And so different questions would come with the coworkers and she would tell them that "the Sisters came by once and they visited and she liked them and that is how it all started."

- Greg was the only one we work with that came to church yesterday!  He is such a great kid!  He had dated one of the young women in the ward and that is how he was introduced to the church, but since he is under 18 he doesn't have parental permission yet, but he is so solid!  Tons of opposition has come, but he continues to come to church, and he even goes to seminary every morning at 6:00 a.m.!  It is such a neat experience for the youth to have Greg attend seminary and each of the activities, because Emily (one of the young women in our ward) mentioned how they had been studying D&C 33 in seminary about missionary work and opening your mouth.  When Greg made a comment in class that went along the lines of "as members you have such an amazing thing that many people don't know about.  Open your mouths and there is power that comes forth.  Some don't have the opportunity to have it in their lives all the time!  Share it!"

-Yesterday was beautiful and we were able to spend several hours outside which was delightful, because people are a lot happier when the weather is nice, so we met a lot of wonderful people!

-We caught a frog yesterday as we were walking back home!

Anyways, I am so grateful for the Gospel!  This morning we were studying the process of sanctification which is so neat, because D&C 88 has a lot on sanctification and the process of becoming pure and like our Father in Heaven, but the last 6 verses in D&C 130 sum up the process of sanctification, that is as we grow in intelligence/knowledge, we are obedient, which allows the Holy Ghost to be our companion, and the Holy Ghost purifies us a little more, which as we are more pure we grow in knowledge/intelligence, and the cycle is repeated!

I love you all so much and hope you have a wonderful week!

Love, Sister Call

Jesus Christ Lives!!!

Dear Family & Friends:

This week was transfer week and I get to stay here in Walnut Hills with Sister Chirinos!  I love it here and we had another good week!

Well Satan was in full force this week with our investigators!
-Thursday we were going to have dinner and a lesson with Tommy and Carlie, at one of the Bishopric member's homes, but an hour or two before hand, Carlie texted us saying that she was so sorry, but tonight wasn't going to work, because Tommy was told that he had to work late, and Carlie's little sister had been taken to the hospital.

- Friday we were supposed to meet with Jessica, and we had confirmed with her the day before and she was super excited because she has been reading the Book of Mormon!  We went to her place, and no one was there, so we waited and tried again, still nothing.  We called/texted her, still nothing.  The next day she responded saying that she was so sorry but that she had had to take her son to the dentist for an emergency.

-Friday evening we were able to go to Tommy and Carlie's and have a lesson, which went well, but Tommy's mom had told them this week that they needed to stop drinking coffee which had caught them off guard, so we explained the Word of Wisdom, and so between that and not being able to get her work schedule changed, Carlie wants to hold off on her baptism at this point.

- On Saturday, in the middle of the night we got a text from David, saying that they wouldn't be able to make it to church.

But we still had a wonderful week!

-One of the seniors at the community center had asked us if we could come help her, so on Tuesday we were able to clean her lower cupboards and fridge since it is hard for her!

- On Saturday we were able to help out at the stake family history day!  Sister Chirinos and I were able to be with the youth and the room was packed, with young men and young women who were spending their Saturday doing family history!

-The facilitator in the room we were in, Sister K., was amazing!  She has had many wonderful experiences in the 8 years that she has been a member.  She mentioned how she had a friend that invited her to activities for at least 2 years, before she came to church, and then started meeting the missionaries.  And how her son when they attended an LDS church for the first time said "Mom, this is right.  This is where we need to be."  She and her son faced major opposition from family because of their decision to join the church.  And then just four months ago, her son was killed in Afghanistan, so she truly felt alone in the church, but then the night before (so Friday night) her sister who lives in California called her and said that she has decided that she wants to be baptized and was wondering how soon Sister K and her husband could fly out there!
The Gospel is real!  It changes, and blesses lives beyond our own comprehension!  The adversary understands the strength that comes from making and keeping covenants and that is why he works so hard to prevent them from happening!

Another highlight from my week has been studying "Jesus the Christ".  Which I had tried earlier in my mission, and was stuck at the beginning, so I hadn't touched it for several months, but the past week or two I have been reading from it every day and I am amazed at how much it helps me to know my Savior even more!

Jesus Christ lives!  He is our Savior!  He truly performed many miracles, and continues to perform miracles in each of our lives each day!

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

Love, Sister Call

Lot of Miracles This Week

Dear Family & Friends:

Transfers are this week, but I'm pretty sure that Sister Chirinos and I are safe!
Anyways, we had lots of miracles this week!

- We were able to meet with Pam, who has had contact with the church since the mid 80's, and still has each of the pamphlets that missionaries have given her.

- Tuesday was just one of those long days, so the miracle of the day was that we made it through the day!

- The Grimes Public Library is moving back into the remodeled library, so on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we were able to help place the books back on the shelves.  We were able to meet many wonderful people and talk about the church with them!

- One of the greatest text messages a missionary can receive is a referral from church headquarters (visitor centers, websites, etc).  And on Wednesday we received a referral which it has been months since I have received one! Anyways, we called the referral and she mentioned how she felt that there was a void in her life or something missing and she can't identify what it is, but that she has a friend that lives in Ames, IA that suggested that she give the church a try!

-The following day we were able to meet with Jessica and it was such a neat experience because she loved the idea of Christ's church being restored!

-Thursday evening we had our lesson with Tommy and Karlie's family and it is so exciting!  Because they are growing as a family, and they are able to ask each other questions and then teach one another in a way, but then if they still have questions then they can ask us.  We talked about prayer and fasting and how they can be used to help receive divine guidance and help, and how we can use it to ask Heavenly Father for help in allowing Karlie's work schedule to change so she can have Sunday's off.  We extended the baptismal date of November 29th and so if all continues to go well Karlie will be baptized on that date!

- Friday we were able to help Rene out at the community center in Grimes because they were having an ice cream social in honor of their 2 year anniversary of being open.  It was neat, because several of the seniors came up to us and asked if we could help them, like the Elders had in years past.  So we are going to go help a couple of them in the next few weeks!

Walnut Hills District.  Back row L-R:  Elders Keller, Topham, Porter, & Swainston, Sisters Call & Chirinos
Front row: Elder Payne & Grow

- Sunday had many miracles!

- In ward council one of the Bishopric member's offered for us to come this week with Tommy and Karlie to his home for dinner and a lesson!  Haha!  Everyone else in ward council looked at him like he was a very brave person, without first asking his wife.  But his wife is wonderful so she was totally fine with the offer!

- Sure enough David, Ming, and Oliver showed up for Sacrament meeting!  They are the greatest!  This time we were able to talk with them briefly after Sacrament meeting and teach a little and answer a few questions!  The ward members are great and are helping out in so many ways to help with each of the people we are working with!

- We had a crazy but really good Sacrament meeting, because between 2 confirmations, 2 baby blessings, stake and ward business, and having an unusually large number of people in attendance, it was 9:45 before the speakers even started.

- The lease at our apartment is up at the end of this month and so we have been trying to find members that might want to house the missionaries. Sister Chirinos and I have been thinking that the Rundall's would be so wonderful to live with, and that their home would qualify for missionary housing, and so on Sunday Bishop asked the Rundall's and they said YES!!!  We are so excited and will be able to move in near the end of the month!  I think it is wonderful because Heavenly Father answers each of our prayers even the small ones.  Like when I was about to be transferred from the Des Moines Ward I prayed that someone would do our laundry, and we were blessed with the Buttorff's in Mount Vernon!  And then I've thought it would be wonderful to live with members, and now I will be able to have that opportunity as well!

Anyways, I love you all and I hope you have a wonderful week!  The Gospel is real and does change lives!

Love, Sister Call

A nasty wig that was in our apartment.  I don't think I will bring the mullet back.  We are finding all kinds of treasures pink-washing and de-junking the apartment.

I still love ice cream!

Love General Conference Week

Dear Family & Friends:

Can I just say how much I love General Conference?  I love it so much, and especially more as a missionary!  How great of an opportunity we have to not only know that there are living Prophets on the Earth today that lead and guide Christ's church, but that we have such convenient access to their words and counsel!

This week was another wonderful, exciting, crazy week on a mission!

Corn Field Picture

- Monday night after our dinner appointment we went to the street we had planned on tracting.  Now the 8:00 pm hour is one of my least favorite hours of the day as a missionary, because it is getting late, people are getting ready for bed and it is dark outside.  It didn't help either that the street we had picked the night before, had gigantic houses on it.  But Sister Chirinos and I parked the car, and decided that we would still venture the street since we had told Heavenly Father that that is where we would be at that time!  We went and knocked on the first house and ,Chad, answered the door, and allowed us to step inside!  We then had a good 20 minute conversation with him and taught him the Restoration.  It was neat because near the end he said "I didn't know that.  See you can learn things everyday!"

- Tuesday was crazy!  So during studies Sister Jensen called and said that she would be in town for the evening and was wondering if she could come out with us.  We said that we would try to set up a firm appointment so that she could come!  So we scrambled trying to find someone to meet with us that night.  And it wasn't until like 5:30 that evening when Rene said that we could come over around 7.  I absolutley love Sister Jensen and learn so much from her.  The lesson with Rene was interesting, because in Sister Jensen's words she said it was as if Rene is almost trying to convert us, but how we need to help Rene to read the Book of Mormon and feel the Spirit that it contains!

-Wednesday we were able to help out in the mission office again, but good news is that the Shelley's are back to the mission now!  So the office shouldn't be as crazy now, but they may have us still come in each week to help them :)

Another cornfield picture.  (If you look close, Sister Chirinos is in
 the bottom of the picture. She may have or may have not fallen down
 right before the camera took the picture )

-Wednesday evening we had a lesson with Olivia and one of the young women who has really fellowshipped Olivia, came for the lesson before they headed to mutual!  We watched the Restoration DVD and taught about the Book of Mormon!  Rachael (the young woman) bore a powerful sweet testimony of what the Book of Mormon means to her!  She mentioned about how the Book of Mormon gives her what she needs.  Like if she needs peace then she reads the Book of Mormon.  If she needs to focus, she reads the Book of Mormon.  If she needs to fall asleep, she reads the Book of Mormon!

- After Olivia's lesson we stayed in Grimes and went to try contacting the Coffin's or some formers.  We decided last minute to walk, but the Coffin's weren't home, and when we went to try Pam's, no one answered, but as we were getting ready to leave, this woman was walking through the hallway and said "were you knocking on my door?"  Sure enough it was Pam and we were able to set up an appointment for this evening!  Then as we were heading back we were almost to the stop light, when this lady yells from her car "Do you need a ride?"  And then she says "wait stop right there, don't move."  We were so confused, because we didn't recognize her, but then she pulled over, and it ended up being a member from Sister Chirinos' first area!  So that was exciting!  Another exciting thing from that night was that the Coffin's texted and asked if we could come by Thursday or Friday!

-Thursday was crazy because we called our Sister Training leaders saying that Friday may not be the best day for exchanges, so we decided that we would start exchanges that afternoon!  I was able to be with Sister Whipple in Des Moines!  And it was so much fun!  I love her so much and it was fun to see some of the people in Des Moines.  We stopped by Gary's twice, but no one was home either time :(  But we still had a good day!  Sister Whipple said that going back to your old area is like being a grandparent.  You come, you play with the kids aka (visit some of the people you know), and then you leave, and the parents (or missionaries serving there) still have the headaches that come from an area.

Exchanges  L-R  Sisters Chirinos, Call, Whipple, Barker

-Anyways Sister Chirinos and Sister Barker were able to go to the Coffins and had an amazing lesson!  Tommy had read all the way to 1 Nephi 8 and Karlie asked for her own copy of the Book of Mormon.  She gladly accepted the baptismal invite!  The only hold up is her work schedule right now.  She doesn't have any vacation left for the year, and so we and they have been praying that God will prepare a way for them to attend church as a family!  She was so sincere and said that come January she can save all of her vacation time and use it for a Sunday a month!  Anyways, please pray that a way will be opened up for them to attend church, and for Karlie to be baptized!

-Friday was fun!  So this week the mission presidents were sent a copy of the movie "Meet the Mormons” that is coming to theaters on October 10th!  So we had a "mission meeting" Friday morning where we were able to watch the movie!  It is so well done and so inspiring!  Please if you are at all possible, go and watch it in the theatres this weekend!

-General Conference was amazing!  I loved Conference and it was the first and only time on my mission that I have watched it in a members home!  Saturday morning we were at the Rundall's home, where the Laurels came and we had a big breakfast before watching the session!  Saturday afternoon we went to the Wadsworth's to watch conference!  It was really neat because when we arrived at the Wadsworth's home on Saturday Brother Wadsworth wasn't feeling well so he was upstairs, but halfway through the session he came down and he stops when he came to the living room and said "Whoah, Thank you sisters for watching it in our home. You can feel your spirit in our home."  It was neat, because it was a win, win situation because we were privileged to feel the spirit in their home, and apparently they were able to noticeably feel a spirit that we had about us!  Sunday morning we were at the Wadsworth's again; and David, Ming, and Oliver came and watched conference at the Wadsworth's!  Which is so neat, because we have not been able to teach them at all, because their schedules are crazy, but they keep coming to church, and they don't have much a religious background!  It is neat because even though they may not fully understand what is going on, or why they keep coming, they must be feeling some sort of pull (the Spirit) that allows them to keep wanting to come to church!

My first time using a type writer!

I loved each of the messages from General Conference and each of us can re evaluate our priorities and heed the counsel of our leaders to make sure that we have a strong foundation!  Much of what was said at conference reminded me of something that one of my MTC teachers said which was "keep your conversion current, by having powerful spiritual experiences daily."

I love you all!

Love, Sister Call

Wonderful Walnut Hills Ward

Dear Family & Friends:

We had another wonderful week in the Walnut Hills Ward!

Monday was Sister Chirinos' Birthday and that evening we were able to have dinner and our monthly missionary coordination meeting with Bishop!  

Rene called us and said that she had ordered lunches for us so when we came to call Bingo that we could come a little bit earlier and have lunch, and visited with the seniors!  

We were able to meet with the Relief Society President and go over the ward list with her and see who she would like us to focus on and help!

Sister Call & Sister Chirino

Brooklyn, who is one of the young women in our ward, came out with us for a few hours, and she said that while she did the mini mission earlier this summer that her favorite part was tracting!  So we'll make sure to allow some time for tracting each time she comes out with us!

We finally were able to meet with Greg and his wife Amy.  The Elders had met with them a few times in the past few months and they are Evangelical Christians, but love talking about God and learning more!  The lesson was such a neat experience.  At first they were talking about grace and how they feel that we think of grace and works differently than they do, but then Sister Chirinos said "I don't think it is grace that differentiates us.  The one thing that does differentiate us is the Priesthood."  It was so neat, because the Spirit was really strong and you could see the wheels turning as pieces were starting to come together for them.  They then asked what they could read that would help them understand the Priesthood better!  And really if they can just understand this important piece, that indeed Christ's church has been restored through a modern day prophet, then the rest will fall into place for them!

Olivia went to mutual again this week and fits in so well with the young women!  After mutual we were able to have a short lesson with her and her grandma!  They mentioned how Oliva and her dad want a stronger relationship, which will come through the gospel, because the gospel is about relationships!  Relationships with our Father in Heaven, relationships with our Savior, relationships with our family, and relationships with others.  And if we are willing to apply the principles and teachings of the gospel we can have stronger relationships!

Thursday we were out tracting and at one of the homes that we stopped by, it was a Chinese family and their sons answered the door.  We introduced ourselves, gave them a mormon.org card with the address to church and invited them to church.  Which they said that they would be there and they asked if we would be there.  So yesterday we were at church and David and Ming did not show up for Sacrament meeting.  So Sister Chirinos and I were in the Gospel Principles class when one of the missionaries from the ward that meets at 11:00, came and got us from class saying "your investigators are here"  Sure enough, David, Ming and their cousin Oliver were sitting in a pew with another missionary.  The pew in front of them was open so, we went in and said hello and then attended the Sacrament meeting of the Raccoon River ward with them!  They don't have much/if any religious background and so we pulled out a pamphlet that talks about the Sacrament that we gave them during the Sacrament so they knew what was going on.  haha anyways, despite it being their first time, and having only introduced ourselves briefly at the doorstep a few days earlier, they seemed to have a good time, and want to keep coming to church!

Saturday was wonderful as well!  Since the Shelley's are still in Utah, we were able to go and help the Stringham's in the mission office again!  Saturday afternoon we were working in Grimes and had tried a part member family, and were walking towards the next place, when Rene drives by and waves, and then the next thing we know, she has turned around and pulled over.  She asked if we had been to the ice cream shop yet, and that she would like to treat us to ice cream!  We had a wonderful visit with her and invited her to church, so hopefully in the next while she will come to church with us!

I LOVED the women's broadcast!  And am so excited for General Conference!  I think it is amazing how when we are prepared with questions or things that we want to know, that the Spirit touches our hearts and lets us know the answers!  One of my favorite parts was when they showed the video of women all around the world testifying of the blessings of the temple.  And it was in all different languages, but the Spirit was SO strong!  And it goes to show that it doesn't matter what language we speak, or how well we speak it, but that it is the Spirit that touches hearts!

Anyways, I hope you all have a wonderful week and enjoy conference!  What a wonderful opportunity we have to listen to our Prophets, Seers and Revelators!

Love, Sister Call

A Week Full of Miracles!

Dear Family & Friend:

We survived our first full week in the Walnut Hills West area!  And a huge accomplishment is that we are not getting lost near as often, despite the fact that most of the subdivisions are new enough they aren't on my GPS.  But this week was full of miracles!

- Had a wonderful dinner with the Rundall family where Sister Rundall invited us to come to mutual on Wednesday with the Laurels.

- Dropped by and met Ken, a person that the Elders had been working with!  He is from Kenya and has done very well professionally and despite being busy he allowed us to come and share a message with him!  He had started the Book of Mormon, but hasn't read for a little bit, so we invited him to begin reading again.  He has a wonderful faith in Jesus Christ and understands that the greatest thing we can do in our lives is to follow Him!

- We were able to do service and help mow an older gentleman's lawn, which the elders had been doing this summer.  

- We have continued to meet many members and others that the Elders before us have met!

- We went side walk chalk finding for Sister Chirinos' first time!  

- We met the most amazing couple ever!  The Stout's!  Sister Stout is battling brain cancer and isn't expected to live much longer, but her testimony and the experiences she shared with us were so inspiring and their home emulated the Spirit that is in the temples.  Sister Chirinos said it best when we were there she said "Sister Stout, if you were the only person that we met on our missions, then our mission would be worth it!"

- We had dinner with the Wadsworth's.  She is the Relief Society President and was good friends/roommates with one of the Heather Thompson's sisters!

- We went to mutual and were with the Laurels!  We decorated notebooks in preparation for General Conference!  There were two non members there including, Olivia who lives right across the hall from the Elders!  She fit in so well and it is fun, because we are working together on helping Olivia.  Like the Elders are focusing more on Olivia's dad, because they can relate better with him, and Sister Chirinos and I get to work with Olivia!  We are so excited!

- We had an appointment with Margarita, who she and her husband are not members, but almost all of their kids are!  We were the first set of sister missionaries they have ever had in the many years of missionaries going over there, and Margarita asked while we were there if we could come back each week and help her read/teach the Book of Mormon to her daughters!

- Friday we had a shortened zone conference here in Des Moines!  I cannot adequately describe how much I love President and Sister Jensen and how grateful I am for the opportunity to be serving in the Iowa Des Moines Mission under them!  They truly are inspired in their work and in their trainings!  President Jensen trained on our mission vision and it was really neat he taught about the importance of always looking to the scriptures and to the prophets and apostles for direction!   Sister Jensen trained on the revelation that takes place during transfers and how President Jensen receives a spiritual confirmation for every companionship.

- Friday night we went to contact a former that lived in a town home.  They were a family of 6 kids.  We knocked on the door and a man answers and says "Sisters!  Come on in!  Have you had dinner yet?"  We asked if there was a female present before we went in and then the kids introduced themselves.  And Sister Chirinos and I weren't sure what was taking place finally I asked "Are you members?"  And they started laughing. . . . Umm ya, the Pokuk family, who are in our ward, now live where a former once lived! Haha, anyways it was a pleasant surprise that allowed us to get to know the family and have dinner with them!  

- That evening we continued to contact potentials and we went to meet Rene, who it said loved missionaries and wanted them to call Bingo at the Community Center.  It was after 8:00 pm when we knocked on her door, so it was already getting dark out.  She answered the door and asked who we were and what we wanted.  We introduced ourselves and said how the Elders had met her, and that we would be happy to help out with BINGO.  She proceeds, in a very professional way, that here were her business hours and we could stop by there and she would tell us more about helping with BINGO.  We gave her our card and then we talked just briefly.  She then says we should go get coffee sometime.  We mentioned that we didn't drink coffee, but would love to go get hot chocolate or something of that sort.  Then we continued on with our evening.

- When we got back to our apartment that night we noticed that we had a voicemail from Rene saying that she was free for lunch tomorrow!!!!  

-Saturday morning we went and helped the Stringham's in the mission office, since the Shelley's are in Utah right now.  And then we headed to lunch with Rene!  She was so excited that we were girls and we had a wonderful visit over lunch.  She introduced us to the owners of the little bistro where we ate, and the owners when they found out that we were Mormon's they got really excited and said "we would love for you to come and visit with us!"    Rene then proceeded to show us a few different places here in Grimes and introduced us to several more people!  

- Sunday was a beautiful day as well and we had a wonderful time at church!  Our ward mission leader passes around a calendar for the Young Women/Relief Society to come out with us and we have 5 different laurels that are coming out with us in the next two weeks!  And one laurel who is really excited to serve a mission said "Sisters I only have two nights that I can even come with you, Wednesday and Saturday."  We thought that she would have signed up for like one of the days. . . nope, she signed up to come out with us for the next two Wednesdays and Saturdays!

- We had both a lunch appointment and a dinner appointment!  One was with an active family and the other was with a less active couple that we met last Sunday and they invited us for dinner!  

- Sunday evening we had been in Dallas Center and then felt like we should come and try a former and a less active in Grimes.  The former wasn't home, so we tried the less active.  He answered the door and we talked briefly with him, then his almost 3 year old son said "Are you going to come in?"  Haha, oh how we love little kids!  So his parents let us in!  Kylie (the wife)  is not a member, and Tommy hasn't been to church in quite a while, but they are such an adorable family and we very welcoming to us sharing a message, leaving a Book of Mormon and offering to bring a children's Book of Mormon the next time we come!  Also, it was really cute because as we were trying to keep their son focused and were showing him the pictures at the front of the Book of Mormon, Kylie said in regards to who Jesus Christ is "He is the greatest Super hero ever!"  and little Jackson got way excited!  But it was neat how parents truly are the best teachers and know how to relate to their children so that they will understand!

I love you all and love the opportunity I have to be serving a mission here in Iowa!  To help others to strengthen their relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ!

Love, Sister Call