The Week of Easter‏

On this week's episode of Sister Cale in Columbus-the Sisters colored
and hid Easter Eggs, Sister Cale wasn't the designated driver
anymore...and then she was...and now it's really up in the air, Sister
Scott got glasses, the Sisters sent out daily e-mails in relation to
what the Savior did during his last week on Earth, there were lots of
sticky notes, the sun was glorious and then the sun was missing, no
one came to church (on EASTER...whaaaa?), and the Pickerington Ward
came through once more and made yet another holiday awesome.

Hello Friends!

I feel like I just e-mailed you all...because I did...on Wednesday. I
think we're back to a bit of a normal schedule again for now, which
will be nice. I'm so grateful that we have technology so I can send
out an e-mail rather than attempting to write individual letters and
what not. Admittedly I love writing letters, but this is significantly
faster.

This week was a good one. We were able to show The Testaments to one
of our investigators and it really helped her to further understand
why we have The Book of Mormon and why we would come out as
missionaries to share it. At one point Sister Scott was laughing about
how old and cheesy it is and I was like, "It's really not that old, I
remember going to see it at the Legacy Theatre." And then I realized
that it actually was a decent amount of time ago that that happened.
In my head the late 90's and early 2000's are just yesterday. Whatever
Wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff.

So, I have to tell you about my new favorite contacting method-sitting
on curbs. Saturday night we were going to a specific apartment complex
to try to see several potential investigators. Well, none of them were
home and we both looked at our watches and were super excited to knock
doors for the next hour and fifteen minutes. Of course we got to work,
because that's what we do as missionaries. Then I had the idea that we
should make some sticky notes for some members who had had us over for
dinner two nights before. So we sat on the curb and started writing.
The next thing we knew we had taught two lessons and needed to run and
get the sticky notes on the door so we could get to Women's Conference
on time. Well we got the sticky notes on the door and then Felicia
came up the stairs. We talked to her and she invited us to come up to
teach her. We knew we would be late, but how do you say no when
someone invites you to come right up and share more of your message?
You don't. So we taught Felicia and her son Benjamin and it was
fantastic. All of these fantastic moments were brought to you by
sticky notes, a curb, and of course God's divine planning. I love that
God trusts us enough to quite literally bring people to us so we can
share the gospel with them. (And we only missed the opening prayer for
Women's Conference because God knew that I really wanted to be there
#blessed).

We were blessed this week to be able to get back into contact with
several former investigators and begin teaching them again as well as
being able to plant many good seeds. Spring is a good time for
planting. Haha.

One of my favorite things about this week was studying for our daily
Easter e-mail. We sent members, investigators, and even potentials
daily e-mails about the journey of the Savior and his ministry during
his last days on Earth. I got to read ahead in Jesus the Christ and
find pictures and videos to illustrate some of the key moments of his
final week. In church yesterday, Brother Rhoton talked about how we
come to further appreciate Christ fulfilling his Earthly mission
(atoning for our sins, dying for us, and then being resurrected) as we
come to understand who he was through his Earthly ministry. This
Easter week was a very sacred one for me as I contemplated the journey
of my Savior and how much he loves each and every one of us. I know
that Jesus Christ lives. He is our Savior and Redeemer. There is no
place that he cannot reach us, no wound that he is not waiting with
open arms to heal. Through His atonement we can become new, and in a
very real way, we can become like him.

I'm super excited for General Conference! So if you all want to hang
out this weekend...at least kind of...watch conference and we can be
doing the same thing at the same time. Haha :)

The Church is True, Life is Good, God's in Charge, and Satan hates you.

Love,

Jessica

The Week I Finished The Book of Mormon‏

 On this week's episode of Sister Cale in Columbus-Sister Cale
> sacrificed naps, going to bed early, and every spare moment she could
> find to read The Book of Mormon in order to stay on top of her goal,
> the Sisters spoke at Mattie's baptism, there were cupcakes and free
> green smoothies, the land of Ohio was really warm and then wintery
> cold, the Sisters sang a prelude number on Sunday, and Sister Cale did
> not get transferred.
> 
> Hello Loves!
> 
> It's funny how I start to remember all sorts of crazy things that
> happened during the course of a week as I start to send out e-mails.
> We did so many different wonderful things this week and I'm so excited
> to see what happens this next transfer. I kind of can't believe that I
> get to stay here for another transfer. God answers prayers. I had a
> lot of good practice this week talking to Heavenly Father about how
> much I would really really love to stay in Pickerington another
> transfer, but how much I was also willing to do his will. Back when
> Elder Cardon came to the mission I promised the Lord and myself that I
> would be submissive and trust in his plans regarding transfers for the
> rest of my mission. I know that I always end up where I'm supposed to
> be, so it's funny that the idea of transfers causes me such stress.
> 
> One of my favorite lessons this last week was when we taught David. We
> met David at Kara's Open House prior to her leaving for her mission.
> In a moment of complete missionary-y-ness, when Kara left David with
> us so she could go and have her picture taken with someone we asked
> him questions and then testified of the gospel. By the time that he
> left he had a copy of The Book of Mormon and a return appointment. The
> lesson that we had with him this week was so spiritually driven. The
> spirit that surrounded us as we taught in the Chapel was quite
> literally tangible. I'm so excited to see how his faith increases as
> he reads from The Book of Mormon and prays about it.
> 
> Another fun thing that we did this week was starting a group e-mail to
> document the Savior's experiences during his final days on Earth.
> Preparing these e-mails for members in our area and our investigators
> has brought an entirely different perspective to this week for me. I
> have been very mindful of my Savior and with that has come an
> additional measure of the spirit. To say that Jesus Christ has changed
> my life is to make the most ridiculous understatement possible. I
> don't know that I can begin to express the depth of my appreciation
> for him or the desperation of my daily need for help made available to
> me through his great atoning sacrifice. I truly feel so lucky to be
> his representative during this and all seasons and hope I can continue
> to reflect his light in my countenance.
> 
> My biggest success this week was finishing The Book of Mormon
> according to my goal-March 21 (Ethan's 18th Birthday-#shoutout). Like
> I said earlier, I skipped naps and stayed up right until it was time
> for lights out in order to accomplish this. I had been learning so
> much that I had been slowed down significantly from what I had
> previously been able to accomplish. I wouldn't give up a single
> insight though. I learned so much about how the repentance process is
> not only for a remission of our sins but to sanctify us and make us
> holy. I was taught time and time again of the necessity of Jesus
> Christ and his great redeeming power and how our covenants connect us
> to heaven. I love The Book of Mormon so much. It is my sanity as a
> missionary.
> 
> Sister Scott and I sang "Consider the Lilies" for prelude on Sunday. I
> love to sing and it also simultaneously makes me really scared. It's a
> fun phenomenon. I was grateful for the Angels that helped us to sound
> good, because we happened to be fasting and we hadn't had anything to
> drink and a high G isn't exactly fun when you haven't had anything to
> drink in over fifteen hours.
> 
> The Church is true, life is good, God's in charge, and Satan hates you.
> 
> Love,
> 
> Jessica
> 
> 
> 
> 

The Week Where God Had Different Plans‏

On this week's episode of Sister Cale in Columbus-Sister Cale dreamt
up an entire season of Doctor Who (but she doesn't remember, so that
BBC Writing Dream will have to wait), the Sisters walked around a lot
#lovethesun, Sister Cale discovered that she has powers to control the
rain, Sister Scott spoke in church, Sister Cale played the violin, the
sisters taught many lessons (though few that they had thought they
were going to teach), the sisters spent Wednesday teaching to correct
people's misconceptions about the gospel, Sister Cale started reading
Doctrine and Covenants, and the Sisters got sick.

Hello Loves!

This last week was so weird! SO SO SO weird! We had all of these
awesome return appointments set and they all fell through. These
fantastic people that we had found were completely missing in action
and we instead had many opportunities to go finding and talk to
everyone. Here's the miracle though-every single time something fell
through, God provided someone else for us to reach out to and talk to.
It was amazing.

We also saw miracles this last week as we walked around more. The
weather has been so nice. On Tuesday night in particular we were able
to talk to several people that we would not have met otherwise had we
had our car. My favorite interaction from Tuesday night was with a
girl named Kaley. We had just taught two lessons and we needed to
update our records, because that can otherwise take WAAAAYYY too much
time while we're planning. Since we didn't have our car, we decided to
sit down on the curb. While we were sitting there Kaley came up and
asked us if we were okay. As we talked we found out that she had
served as a missionary in London for her church and that she spent
last Easter in Israel. We were able to talk about the similarities in
the things we've learned from our missions and ended up showing her
last year's Easter video Because He Lives. We set up and return
appointment to come show her this year's video #Hallelujah (if you
haven't seen it yet, go and do followhim.mormon.org) and bring her a
copy of the Book of Mormon. We taught her the Restoration on that same
curb last night. It was so cool to see the Lord arranging things so
neatly for us to have met. I know that when we plan and seek Heavenly
help that it is provided and we always end up where we need to be.

We got to go to the temple today and I was so happy to be back. I
haven't been since September, which is just too long. As a missionary
I finally understand all of those talks about how some members of the
church as so lucky to have a temple close by that they could visit
whenever. I'm one of the lucky missionaries who has a temple within
their mission, but we only go three times a year per mission rules. I
am so grateful that I was able to visit the temple so frequently prior
to leaving on my mission and look forward to the time that I can go
more frequently again. We live in such a blessed time in the history
of the world. How did we get so lucky as to be blessed to live when
the gospel was restored and available? I'm filled with gratitude
beyond words when I think about it.

The Church is true, life is good, God's in charge, and Satan hates you.

Love,

Jessica

The Week Where I Woke Up‏

On this week's episode of Sister Cale in Columbus-Sister Cale got to
have legitimately awesome e-mail conversations with all of her family,
the Sisters attended a Bible Study on Naomi and Ruth, Sister Cale got
to play the violin for the first time in...years and wasn't as bad as
she thought she would be, there was Dr. Pepper, the Sisters got a
little bit better about getting ready for bed instead of painting,
Sister Cale almost finished the Book of Alma (it will be done
tomorrow), Sister Cale hit her fourteen month mark (today! Holla!),
there was knocking doors in the rain, running back in the door of the
apartment to grab hand warmers, and leaving coats behind because Aslan
had returned and Spring had arrived (at least temporarily #ohioprobs)

Hello Humans!

This week was such a blessed one. The funny thing is that Sister Scott
spent the whole week saying, "I'm over this day" and because she was
saying it I think I had moments where I felt similarly, but overall in
retrospect it is amazing to see the Lord's hand in everything that we
were able to accomplish this week.

Earlier on in my mission, I think about five months in, I had this
funny realization that sounded something like this, "Oh my gosh. I've
been being a missionary for five months. I have been teaching lessons
about Jesus Christ and talking to complete strangers for five months.
I've been eating dinner at a different house every night and asking
members for suggestions of people that they know that we could talk to
and..." You get the general idea. That initial realization wasn't
particularly against being a missionary, but it was much less
enthusiastic than the many moments of realization this week that
sounded something like, "Did that really just happen? Did Heavenly
Father really just let me be part of that lesson? I can't believe that
he lets me be a missionary. Oh my gosh. I am a missionary. I'm a
missionary! This is the coolest thing ever. I can't believe that I get
to spend my life like this right now!" It's funny how nine months can
change your perspective on something. I've always thought I was happy
doing this work, but my joy has been increased even more with each day
that I let go of what I think I want to do and do what he would have
me do. It's the strangest most beautiful thing. I woke up this week
and the color of this life is out of this world.

Some of my favorite moments this week involved the times that Sister
Scott and I were able to sing for different investigators and members
in order to invite the spirit and help to lift them up. I'm grateful
that Sister Scott is confident enough in her abilities to sing that
she will volunteer us to do things because I don't think I would on my
own. I tend to feel more confident speaking. We also had a cool
opportunity to participate in a Bible Study at Sister Crissinger's
apartment complex this week. A local church women's group comes and
meets with the women in the building once a month and we were able to
join them this week. I think the coolest thing about us being there
was that we were able to help many different people form positive
opinions of Sister Missionaries, or at least begin that process. When
we left we both felt pretty confident that if missionaries ever
knocked on the doors of any of the women that we were there that they
would at least offer them a water. On Tuesday we taught an entire
lesson and invited a girl to be baptized on her doorstep in the rain.
It was spectacular. I cannot say yet that I have no fear the way that
Mormon did, but I can say that my love for these Ohio people has
increased to the point where I am no longer concerned about their
reception of our invitation, I'm just happy to get to invite them to
have more.

Last night we were able to lead the BYD discussion with the youth and
help them begin the process of creating family mission plans in their
families. We had several of the youth participate in giving mini-talks
and asked Karen, a recent convert, to share her experience with
members while she was being taught. It was fun to get to see the youth
start out kind of bored and then get excited about having
opportunities to help the people they associate with have the same
blessings as they have. They had fantastic ideas and it was fun to
hear them realize ways that they could invite that we as the
missionaries probably couldn't or at the very least shouldn't such as,
"Hey! You should come to this youth activity with me. There will be
cute boys there."

The church is true, life is good, God's in charge, and Satan hates you.

Love you all!

Jessica

The Week Where God Interceded‏

On this week's episode of Sister Cale in Columbus-Sister Cale said
goodbye to Sister Clark and welcomed Sister Scott into the area, the
Sisters (both companionships) worked hard and taught 23 lessons,
Sister Cale was given her driving privileges back, there was ice
cream, there were water colors, and there was God given help every
step of the way.

Hey Friendlies!

This week was seriously so crazy. After some serious contemplation and
seeking counsel from all appropriate sources my darling Sister Clark
friend determined that it was God's will to conclude her mission and
go home to take care of herself. In the midst of all of that we also
had our inspired (but stretching) goals to fulfill before we reported
back to Zone Conference on Friday. This week would not have been a
possibility without the enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus
Christ and the mercy of a loving Heavenly Father who arranged for
miracles as we showed forth faith to fulfill the goals that we had
set.

So much more significant than the numbers of our goals this week
though, were the people that we had the opportunity to share the
gospel with in a variety of ways. On one particular afternoon I was
retaught the power of a compliment. We were in Baltimore seeing Sister
McCann and decided to knock a bit around her retirement community
before moving on to our next finding activity. There is no soliciting
allowed in this community, but conveniently as missionaries we aren't
solicitors, though often times people don't necessarily agree with
that. We knocked on Elfie's door and at first she was rather irritated
that we had even knocked. We tried to explain that as representatives
of Jesus Christ that we aren't solicitors and she was not having any
of it. Out of the blue I told her that I really liked her glasses.
They had pink rims and were super cute on her. Her entire demeanor
changed and she gave me a hug and told me how much she liked me
glasses, she said that I "make them look good". Though she wasn't any
more willing to learn about the gospel, she gave us both hugs and told
us to be safe as we walked away into the pouring rain. I cannot yet
say that I am fearless like Mormon when it comes to preaching the
Gospel of Jesus Christ, but I can say that I no longer worry if those
we speak to are going to say no to receiving the gospel. God's
children are amazing. I love them all. And I love that I get to share
with them something that brings me incomparable happiness, even if
they don't want it.

So-meet my new companion Sister Scott. Sister Scott is from Rancho
Cucamonga and was homeschooled. She has a twin sister who is attending
BYU-I and has three other older siblings. She has been on her mission
for about four months now and this is her second area. She loves to
sing and is excited to try all of my crafty things. She still has tons
of greenie Fire and is just ready to go and try about anything to
share the gospel. I'm excited to see what we will accomplish together.

The church is true, life is good, God's in charge, and Satan hates you.

Love you all!

Jessica