Letter Date 5/11/2015

 

Dear Everyone,

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mothers Day and I am so glad that I got to talk to my family yesterday and say hello to them :) Miss them tons but I know I am right where I am supposed to be. 

I can't believe how fast the time is flying by!!!! This Wednesday I hit my halfway mark and I don't even know what to think! Its weird how the time just slips away from you when you aren't even paying attention to it.

Well its a new transfer so that means that there was some changes. I am still in the Elk Grove Zone they just moved me to two new wards here. So I said my goodbyes to Vineyard (even though I do have to drive through Vineyard to get to one of my areas) and said hello to my next door neighbor Gerber and also said hello to Wilton! :) I am super excited to be serving in these wards and am looking forward to getting to know all of the members in these wards. :) New adventures are waiting out there!!!! :)

I also got a new companion Sister Boata and she is from a place that is in the Pacific Ocean. I think its part of the Gilbert Islands. But she is super cool and still working on her English so I am glad to be helping her with that :) Been out 13 months so she is just right ahead of me :) She's a super good missionary and I love her and am really excited to get to know her more these coming weeks.

Not too much is happening in my areas at the moment. Its hard when you first shotgun them because its like starting from scratch. But that's the most exciting part! :) You get to go and visit everyone in the area book because you and your companion don't know anyone! :)

Since I am getting ready to hit my halfway mark, I have been thinking a lot about my mission so far. I have been thinking about the kind of person I was in the beginning when I first started and the kind of person I am now. I have changed a lot and its all for the better. Before I left I was unsure of who I was, what I wanted in life and where I was suppose to be heading. But now I KNOW my purpose, I KNOW who I am and I KNOW  that my Father in Heaven has a plan for me. He has something that he wants me to do and he has someone that he wants me to become. I am so grateful to be serving a mission right now at this time and I am grateful to be here in Sacramento. I know that this is where I was suppose to be. The people that have touched me and the friends that I have made, I am grateful for each and everyone of them. If I was to go back and start all over, I wouldn't change a thing because every choice I have made so far as made me the person that I am today. 

I want to leave  you all with my testimony. I know that this church is the true church, that this is Christ gospel here on the earth in its fullness. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet called of God to do a mighty work and a miracle! He was chose for who he was and for his faith and trust in Heaven Father. I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for each and everyone of his children. He wants the best for us and he wants us to return home to him. And some times he gives us trials so we can grow and become the best person that we can be. Without the hard times we wouldn't know how to be grateful for the good times. I love this gospel with all my heart and I know its where I find the most pure happiness. I love you all and am grateful for everything that  you have done for me. I love my family and the support that they have given me. I wouldn't be able to do it without them! I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Alma 26:12!  Matthew 19:26

Love,

Sister Calton 

Sister Wheelwright and Sister Calton at the Sacramento Temple :)

Letter Date 04/27/2015

Dear Everyone,

So this week was a good week. Went out and visited lots of people and did lots of missionary work :) Keeping ourselves busy trying to find those that are prepared to hear the word of the Lord. We did end up adding two new investigators and one of them her name is Audrey and she is a baptized Catholic, but hasn't been to church in three years. She has a young daughter around 10 years old who has never been baptized. She just recently had a death in the family and so she said that she would listen to the message that we have to share!!!! It was awesome because as we were leaving she said that she would see us next week!!! :) We are guessing that means that she will actually be there when we get there! :) So please pray for Audrey. 

Not too much else has happened in the Ward. We keep running into all the other language Elders and so that's been fun. Guess our ward has a lot of different nationalities in it :) Got to love good old California! :) 

 

 

So this is my district. We call it Relief Society because the only Elders are our District Leader and his companion. This was our last district meeting because we have Zone Training this Friday right before transfers. Elder Greenwood is my District Leader and he is super amazing. He came out with me so its cool to see how the mission has changed him and helped him become someone that is super spiritual and yet can at the same time have fun :) But I love my district and its been a good transfer with them.

Well I hope you are all out sharing the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with everyone. Keep up all of your good work and don't be scared to talk to people about the gospel. Its where we find the most peace and happiness and where we can recieve all the blessings that our Father in Heaven wants for each and everyone of us. So go out and bring others the happiness they are searching for!!!! 

I love you all and hope that you have an amazing week!!!!

Love,

Sister Calton 

Letter Date 4/20/15

Dear Everyone,

Sorry it has been so long since I have written a weekly email. Life has just been so crazy here in the Vineyard Ward! Full time bike has been keeping us busy! But Sister Wheelwright and I love to spend so much time in the sun. Full time bike is better than car because we actually get to talk to everyone we see! (Not that everyone of them wants to talk to us but its worth a shot :)) 

On Tuesday we had a Zone Conference because our mission got the little black boxes in our cars....its called the Driver Accountability Program which means that it gets reported to our president if we drive too fast, stop too fast or really do anything that isn't safe. So another reason to be grateful to be on full time bike :) But other than that Zone Conference was good. Loved seeing some other missionaries and getting to see some of them before they go home this next transfer.

The week has been kind of slow, just biking and making the best of everything! I love missionary work and its fun here in the Vineyard Ward. The members are the best and they always take care of us so that is a plus :) We just need to find those that are searching for the gospel!

We had one investigator drop us this week. Her name is Shannon, we haven't been able to meet with her in over a month so we figure that it would happen. When we went by she told us that we helped her faith in the bible and helped her really want to stay with her church....ya....not what we wanted but its ok. We know that one day she will understand the importance of the restored gospel! Oh but we started talking to her about temples and church history and she was super interested in the temples so we are taking her on a temple tour next week!!!! :) Super excited for that!!!! :) Some times you have to teach people in different ways :)

 

I hope all of you are doing ok and keep up all of your good missionary work up at home! Share the gospel with all those that you know and if you don't know how then go and ask a missionary to teach you how! They would love you too :) Go and help them do the work of the Lord!

I love you all and I love this work! The Gospel of Jesus Christ is simple and it is true!!! Never forget that! Have an amazing week!!!!!

Love,

Sister Amy Calton 

 

Sister Wheelwright and I :)

 

Letter date 03/02/2015

Dear Everyone,

So this week has been an amazing week in the Vineyard Ward. Sister Wheelwright and I have added 3 new promising investigators!!!! :)

The first one  was a former that we found in the area book that the Elders have taught her in the past. We went over there on Thursday and we taught her the Restoration and she said that she would pray and come to find out for herself if Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and if the Book of Mormon is true!!! Also she said that if she comes to know this gospel is true than she will be baptized in April!!! :) It is super exciting and we can't wait!

The second one we found while out riding our bikes one day. Sister Wheelwright wanted to stop and talk to her so we did. The first thing that She told us is that she has already been saved. We started asking her about her religion and what she believes and how she was already saved and it turns out that she is very active in her first Baptist church. She is super nice and so we continued to talk to her. We talked about Joseph Smith and we asked her if she wanted to know for herself it all of what we were saying is true and she said yes!!!! So we gave her a book of Mormon and a Plan of Salvation Pamphlet and she said that she would read them and to come back next Friday! So we are excited to be meeting with her this week!

The last one is also a former from the Elders and it turns out that he was going to get baptized last year but he didn't because his wife wouldn't leave her church. He knows the church is true and he knows that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. His wife now is looking for a church now and he said that she would love talking to Sisters because the Elders made her uncomfortable. Ya!!!!!! :) This is why they put Sisters in this area :) 

So that is the exciting news for this week and I hope you all have a great week. I know that is gospel is true and that the Lord has a timing and a purpose for everything in our lives. We are where we are for reasons that may only be known to him. So trust his guidance and just let him lead you to where he wants you to go! I love you all and please keep all our new investigators in your prayers!!!!

Love,

Sister Calton 

Letter Date 02/23/2014

 

Dear Everyone,

So I don't have too much time to write a long email, but I wanted you to all know that I had an amazing week!!!! :) Siste Wheelwright and I have had tons of good contacts, but still haven't been able to add any new investigators!!! Oh well the time will come when we are able to do that! I can feel those times coming :) We have a few appointments this week that hopefully they will pan out and that we may be able to add some new promising investigators! :)

I went on exchanges this week and I was able to go back to my very first area, Mather and Anatolia!!!! :) It was a blast to see everyone and to be able to talk to so many of the people that I love and miss.

But real fast I want to share a spiritual experience that I had. We were walking out in Anatolia when this lady came up to us and told us that she is a missionary for the pentecostal church. She wants everyone to know that the Holy Ghost is amazing and that we can speak in tongues too. We wanted to talk to her, but she was busy in that moment so we went back to her house in an hour to talk to her. All she wanted to do was just say how much the Holy Ghost loves us (she thinks the holy ghost, the father, and the son are all the same being) and that we are missing something in our lives. She tried to tell us that we haven't ever felt the holy ghost, and that kind of hurt me. So I shared with her my personal experience when I have felt the holy ghost strongly in my life. When I testified so strongly, the spirit filled the room. It was so cool! But still she didn't understand it. It was way sad....I wish I had time tell the whole amazing story and to explain everything that happened but I am running out of time. just know that I do have a testimoy of the gospel and I know that it is true without a doubt! I am not missing anything, I have the fullness of the gospel and that is the best thing that I could have! 

I hope you all have an amazing week and that you all can go out and share the gospel with one person around you! Be the best person that you can be and stay strong in the faith!!!! Love you all!!!! :)

Love,

Sister Amy Calton 

Letter Date 02/16/2015

Dear Everyone,

I told  you all last week about being transferred to Vineyard Ward in the Elk Grove Stake.  Well its been an interesting ride out here! :) Fun but very interesting.... This ward here has never had Sister Missionaries so they are still trying to adjust to us. Its pretty funny at some times cause they don't always think that we do what the Elders do, they even asked us if we go tracting! We had to explain to them that we do everything that the Elders do, the only difference is that we can't hug guys and we can hug women. So its fun and Sister Wheelwright and I love being here! :)  

It was sad to say goodbye in Carmichael and I will miss everyone there. It was fun to serve around the Senior missionaries and the office Elders, I sure will miss all of them! I still have a year so I could get sent back at some point, you never know! :) But right now its about this ward and this area and making it the best that it can be! We moved into an old Elder's apartment, but surprisingly enough it was actually super clean! We were really surprised about that, but it was nice. 

I am full time bike and we don't even have a car for P-days so the other sisters are nice enough to pick us up for shopping and everything else, so it all works out.

I hope you all had a great Valentines Day and I hope everything is going great for all of you. Remember to always be bareing your testimony to everyone around you and never lose a chance to talk to someone about the Book of Mormon! Its the foundation of our church and it has the fullness of the gospel! Everyone go and give someone the Book of Mormon!!!!! It will greatly bless their lives!!!! :)

Have an amazing week!!!!! :)

Love,

Sister Amy Calton 

Letter Date 02/02/2015

Dear Everyone,

This past week was a good week. Sister Weaver and I were kept busy seeing tons of less actives and biking around looking for new people to teach. The only problems that we are running into is that people don't seem to want to talk to us, or when we do set up an appointment they decide that they don't want to be home at that time! So our less actives keep us pretty busy and its good :).  

We do have one person we are teaching, she is a 10 year old girl and her mom is completely inactive so the only way she comes to church is with her grandpa. She hasn't been baptized yet because her mom wouldn't let her, but now she has changed her mind, so we are teaching her the dicussions. She has a baptism date of February 28th! Hopefully we will be able to get her ready by then! :) So everyone please pray for her and her family!

So here is just a fun picture of me and my new friend! :) I was just so glad to see a horse!!! :) Too bad that missionaries can't ride them!

Anyways we had zone Conference this week so I got to see some of the missionaries that I came out with. Its always nice to see them and see how they are doing. We had a good Zone Conference on the importance of letting the scriptures teach and not us. They made us do role plays and we realized that we really do have to study and know them to be able to allow the scriptures to teach. They are the word of God and He knows how it should be said to people so that is why we should use the scriptures! Everyone go and study your scriptures and know them by heart so you can teach others! I know it will help you cause it has helped me and the spirit is always stronger when you use scriptures! Plus always memorize your favorite scriptures!!!!!! :)

Love  you all and I hope that you all have a wonderful week!!!!!

Love,

Sister Amy Calton