Mission Week #39

Sent: Mon, Jun 27, 2011 1:42 pm

Hello,

It is very sad to hear of the passing of Grandpa Clark. I had just finished reading the email from mom when President Pitts called and talked to me. I'm glad the email was titled "Open First." It is weird being so out of the loop for something like this. I am grateful that we were able to go and see him and spend some time with him before I went into the MTC.

We had a pretty busy week here. We drove down to Provo Monday night and stayed at the mission home. We had a little devotional with President. He always seems to have some sort of amazing scriptures or deep doctrine. The next morning we had zone conference. There was a theme scripture (DC 109:22) and everyone is supposed to prepare a talk then President just picks 4 people to speak. I was number 3. I was kind of thinking I would get called because I hadn't yet. I just talked on taking the name of Christ upon us.

We did service with some old people on Wednesday. While we were working we heard a weird noise that turned out to be a woodchuck hiding under a trailer, trying not to be eaten by two dogs. In the end, he was unsuccessful because my companion aided the dogs and poked the woodchuck with a stick. It was quite the event.

Sindi (Cindy) got baptized Saturday. Elder Santos served here when he started his mission and evidently had taught her dad so he got permission to come to the baptism. The Branch President, President Spencer, did the baptism. It was a great experience after not having one for awhile.

The Fam. Urive and Fam. Vasquez  are progressing well but also had a death in the family last week. On Friday we were teaching the Urives and Hno. Urive told us how is mom wasnt doing to well and the next day she passed away. That is Hna. Vasquez's mom. They were sad at church but the branch members were good to them.

Wednesday we went to the Temple and Cafe Rio after. Two of my favorite places. The Vernal temple is really small but awesome nonetheless.

I love you all, keep me posted,

Elder Clark

Mission Week #38

Sent: Mon, Jun 20, 2011 1:38 pm
Subject: Otra Semana

Hello again!

We had a great week here. Yesterday went very well. We started out going to Bridgeland and translating. I translated for two ladies who must not have been aware that we were translating because they spoke incredibly fast. One in particular shared like 3 poems which had old English and obscure vocab. Oh well. I just gave a general summary of what was going on. There is usually never investigators there but one guy randomly showed up which is always a nice surprise. Right after that we headed to the branch.

 l don't remember what people I mentioned last week so here is basically the people we are teaching...

Cindy- she is like 20 and from Guatemala. She has her baptismal interview tonight and her baptism is planned for Saturday!

Familia Urive- Mom and Dad and 3 kids. Erika and Gabe are 11 and 13 and then they have a 10 year old named Erik who has Downs Syndrome. They are all awesome. The mom and dad aren't quite sure if they want to get married but the kids have a date for early next month. They have been coming to church for almost 2 months now.

Familia Vasquez- We are teaching the mom, and her three kids Adrian (16), Alex (14), and Areli (9). They are family to the Urives and have been coming to church for 3 weeks now.

Fernando- He is like 30 and is living with and has a little kid with an inactive. Every time we leave a reading assignment he goes through and underlines everything then when we ask if he read he responds by telling us about the entire chapter.

Those are the progressing people but theres also some new people who have potential.

So at the branch we had 10 people come and it went well. Adrian, Erik, Elder Meakin, and I sat together during sacrament on a smaller row next to the rest of their families and Erik was being really funny. At one point he got up and gave Elder Meakin a huge hug, wrapping his hands around his neck. Elder Meakin got pretty red and the Branch President was laughing from the stand. Every 3rd Sunday they have a pot luck dinner thing and it was very good. The Hispanics love to bring food.

After Cindy's interview tonight we are heading to Provo then sleeping at the Mission Home. I think the AP's are driving a van up here.

Sounds like things are going well at home. Should be pretty busy the next couple of months. The time seems to go faster everyday- See ya!

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #37

Sent: Mon, Jun 13, 2011 1:11 pm
Subject: ROOSEVELT

Hello from Eastern Utah. This is quite the place over here.

I guess I will start with the departure from Santaquin. I had my last dinner with the Pereiras. They were late getting back from Provo so instead of making something they brought us Cafe Rio burritos. Usually I would be disappointed not to have the food of Hna Pereira but we all know how good Cafe Rio is.  The church is building a video set to make a bunch a projects in Elberta and we stopped by there Tuesday to check it out. It is pretty amazing.

Wednesday was transfers. I feel like I pretty much know the majority of the missionaries now so it is always fun to see everyone. Something needed to be fixed on the truck so now we have a Corolla instead. We stopped through Heber on the way out East for some lunch and continued the journey. I think it took somewhere between 2.5 and 3 hours. My companion is pretty cool. He's from Maryland and been out 6 weeks less than me. His physical stature reminds me of Mr. Incredible off the movie. He did not get along with his last companion so he said he is pleased to be with me.

There are 3 incidents that I would say describe the nature of the area.

1. We were walking out of our dinner Thursday and when we got to the car this extremely drunk lady appeared out of nowhere and was wobbling all over the place and fell down in the front yard of a house across the street. She was the most drunk. She communicated that it was her dad's house she was trying to get to so we helped her in.

2. There are lots of people riding their horses all over. One was multi-tasking. Drinking beer and riding his horse.

3. When we were getting the directions for our dinner Saturday the directions were something like the following: "Turn left at the butcher shop. Go three miles and turn left when you see a large group of horses. Turn right when you see the field with the hay being harvested. Our house is on top of the hill." We ended up not being able to find it right away so the guy came and and met us on the main road with his 4-wheeler. It ended up being a good dinner after all.

The area we cover is gigantic. We cover one branch and a group. The group meets with an English ward and we are thinking about disbanding it because there is only one couple that goes and they would be fine being in the ward. The couple that goes puts on headphones and gets the translation from the not so professional translators who happen to be me and my companion. Some time you should try listening to a fast-speaking speaker in church give a talk and try repeating what they say. It is hard enough without changing the language. It was a pretty fun experience to do it for the first time though.

The branch is pretty small too. It was a great first week though because 11 investigators were there. It was amazing. There are a lot of good things going on in the area.

Today I think we are going golfing. It is free and we also have a free gym we can go to in the mornings. Pretty sweet.

Well, have an excellent week!

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #36

Sent: Mon, Jun 6, 2011 1:11 pm
Subject: TRANSFERS

Hola,

We got the calls Saturday night and I am going to.............................Roosevelt!  Hello Eastern Utah. I am not sure if there are Spanish missionaries in Vernal so I think I going to the farthest place possible from where I am now. My companion's name is Elder Meakin. I think he has been out about the same time as me...not really sure. Also, I think the area has a truck so that's a plus. Evidently there are lots of Native Americans who do not like it when there are mistaken for hispanics and are easily offended by that. That is about all I have heard about the area.

As I think I have mentioned we have been doing weekly service out in Mosida with a Senior missionary couple for a while. We go out every Tuesday and have lunch then do service. We have gotten pretty close to them the last little while. They are leaving this week so last week they had a good bye lunch and we did service after. Thursday we helped a family in Goshen move. They happen to be moving to Riverton Wyoming. If I am not mistaken that is where Dad was born. I think Goshen and Riverton must be similar towns.

I don't know if I talked about one of our new investigators, Manuela, last email. We found here like two weeks ago in some more hidden apartments in Genola. There was a "ESTE HOGAR ES CATOLICO" sign which almost stopped us from knocking due to prior experience with knocking on doors with the same sign. She was nice though and we had a good lesson. We always give people pamphlets and at the end of the pamphlets there are questions with blanks to fill them in. I kind of forgot there were questions at the back though because no one has ever done them before but as were were talking with Manuela the next lesson she showed how she had answered all the questions and asked us about all the parts she didnt quite get. Seems to be some potential there.

Last night I said good bye to some familes. Pedro's mom was the best. When we shook hands as we were walking out she held it for like 2 minutes and started crying and stuff. Good lady.

Well, it should be an exciting next week. Sounds like things are pretty busy at home!

Con Amor, Elder Clark

Mission Week #35

Sent: Tue, May 31, 2011 12:52 pm
Subject: Tuesday Email

Hola,

As I am sure you are aware of, I didn't send an email yesterday due to Memorial day. The Family History Center was closed. However, this did give us some extra time yesterday morning so we went to the annual Santaquin Firefighter's breakfast. Evidently it has been a tradition for quite some time and it was pretty good. They wouldn't let us pay which wasn't a surprise. One of the English Elders who went with us is from Lehi and is doing a "trial mission" thing. He has been here for almost 2 months and should be getting his real call in the next couple weeks. No matter where he goes, he won't be loved like the missionaries here are loved. It's still funny to be walking through Wal Mart and having almost every single want to say hi to us and all the mom's with young kids point and whisper in their kids ears... "Look, the Missionaries!" It is certainly a unique mission.

Sunday was a successful day solely based upon the fact that Danis and his novia came to church. It was 5th Sunday so "La Obra Misional" was in charge of the program. The branch mission leader assigned the talks about 3 weeks ago and they were assigned to the language missionaries. Its a stake calling and they are all returned missionaries of many years whose Spanish isn't quite the best but they are great. Danis said he liked it so that's all that matters. They spake and we all sang "Al Mundo ve a Predicar." I have now completed 10 months without giving a talk in Spanish in Sacrament meeting. It has got to be some sort of record.

We had interviews with the Presidente last week. He mentioned that I had been in the area for a long time and asked if Elder Ramires was ready to take it over. Who knows if that was some kind of hint. I know he takes a long time to pray about transfers so we shall see what the call says Saturday night. It is always good to talk to him, he's the man.

Miran Munoz hasn't been back to church since we gave her a baptismal date like a month ago. The parents seemed to have changed their mind. Most people seem to accept that it doesn't seem right that they don't remember their baptism as a baby and that they didn't choose to do it but then they always go off on traditions... Oh well.

Sounds like everyone is doing well. Do work,

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #34

Sent: Mon, May 23, 2011 1:21 pm
Subject: Hola

Hello,

Today continues the not-so-great weather streak here in Santaquin. This morning there was ice on the window and its raining. It has been 40s/50s and raining like the last week. They say warm weather will come soon. The ongoing precipitation hasn't affected the work too much. For the most part we had a good week.

I think how mentioned how Danis and his woman are not married. On Wednesday we went over for the Law of Chastity/Marriage lesson. We went over The Proclamation and talked about the blessings of eternal families and temple sealings. He opened more than he had before about his past life and how he was trying hard to change. He said he left home at 12 and started working/living in the streets and he never, ever had considered marriage or having a "home." He seemed to receive everything pretty well and said how he wants to be baptized, but still isn't completely sure about marriage. Hopefully when we teach the Word of Wisdom this week it isn't too much of a problem.

The Munoz family is also slowed down by the lack of desire to marry. 9 years and 3 kids later they are still not ready for the commitment. They have always said they would let their oldest daughter Mirian get baptized if she wanted but it is kind of up in the air right now. The aunt that has been taking her to church has stopped by the last 2 weeks unsuccessfully. They haven't been there because of trips to the store that they started taking at the hour when the aunt comes ever since Mirian accepted a baptismal date. Vamos a ver...

We were going to return to the bottomless pit last week but had to move it to this week due to rain. It looks like we will be rescheduling again. I talked to Sister Pitts today because I have had a cold like the past month and it has gotten worse the past week. She is the official mission nurse. After she got done with her medicinal advice she told me how they seem to talk to someone from my family at a stake conference every week. Especially when they are in Lehi. I hope that doesnt mean I wont be getting transferred there :)

Have an excellent week,

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #33

Sent: Mon, May 16, 2011 1:25 pm
Subject: Hola

Hello!

We had a great week here. It was the best numbers wise that I have had the whole mission.

Like a month ago we found a guy that was renting a room from an American family named Augustin. We only talked to him once but he seemed pretty nice and humble. We went to go back and talk to him but the family said he left and didnt know where he was. About a week ago we were driving down a road we usually do not drive on and saw some Hispanos so we noted the address. Wednesday night we stopped by and a guy from Guatemala named Carlos invited us in and we started to teach him. After like 15 minutes of talking to him another guy walked into the room and it just happened to be Augustin. We were talking about the Restoration so upon hearing the subject he went into his room and brought back out the Restoration pamphlet we had left when we met him the first time and began to explain everything he had learned. Pretty cool. They seemed to understand everything and we are going back again tonight.

Saturday there was a mothers day branch activity. Danis and his wife were in attendance and had a good time. All the mothers were seated at a separate table and all the guys served them first. Danis was even involved with the service and got right in an helped. He wasnt going to have Sunday off but worked a double shift on Thursday in order to be able to go. His wife's friend had her baby blessed in Provo so they went to that ward instead of the branch but Danis said he enjoyed it.

Fernando has continued with his 6 am to 11 pm work schedule so we were only able to see him Saturday when he got home at like 8:30. I was questioning his work schedule but he actually works for one of the Stake Presidents here who has a company and the stake president confirmed the hours. He is just basically too tired to do anything. Hopefully work slows down a little soon. Remember how Kevin Orton served in this mission? A guy renting a house with Fernando  was taught by Kevin here 3 years ago. It was cool to make that connection.

Thats about it....no plans for P-day today. We are thinking of returning to the bottomless pit again next week. Hope you are all doing great!

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #32

Sent: Mon, May 9, 2011 1:10 pm
Subject: Hola

Hi,

We just talked yesterday so I think I pretty much said everything that is going on but......

It was a great week. Fernando finally accepted a baptismal date. He didnt want to at first but we were direct with him. After telling him it had been 3 months since we started teaching him and that up to this point in his life he had followed his traditions and he needed to make a change, he agreed. 

Last night we visited the workers in Genola. We watched the Restoration DVD and as usual they agreed with everything. However, they still are of the position that "todo lo que viene de Dios es bueno." Sometimes I think trying to help these people understand there is one church with authority would be comparable to trying to convincing people in 1492  that the world was round.

Remember Juan and Maria from Orem? There is also a Juan and Maria couple here. We found them Monday thanks to a large Mexican flag outside of their house. We went back Sunday night and although Juan was working, we had a good talk with Maria. She had read what we had left to read and had some very good questions.

Thats about it... Hope you are doing excellent!

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #31

Mon, May 2, 2011 1:12 pm
Subject: Phone Call in 6 days

Hello,

We had a pretty good week here...

Last night we went to Provo and Elder Ramires got his Patriarchal blessing. He was going to get it before in Mexico but somehow it didn't work out. The Patriarch was from Chile and it was awesome experience to hear someone else receive their blessing.

We visited Angelica during the week and the boys were working on a pine wood derby car. The cub scout program is good here and a lot of non members kids go, including Angelica's son. I gave him some excellent tips on how to make his car faster and a flood of memories came back of when dad spent like 40 hours on the champion derby car. I am confident it would still win.

Tuesday night Hno. Valencia came teaching with us. He is a convert of about 2 years and the rest of his family, including his wife and kids, are still catholic. He has an awesome conversion story and I have been wanting him to be able to share it with Fernando and finally they were able to meet. Hno. Valencia talked a lot of the time but I think it went well. He was pretty direct about all the traditions like praying to saints and mary and Fernando's problem is that he is just has grown up following people and not the scrpitures so I think he is starting to realize the difference.

Friday night we had our branch activity that has been in the works for about 3 months. The branch mission leader is kind of an emotinal guy and we knew if no investigators came he would be heartbroken.  We spent a lot of time inviting everyone and luckily people came. Remember Danis? He was from like 2 months ago and we thought he would get baptized really fast but his work has not allowed him to do much more than eat, work, and sleep. However, he has a new schedule now and came to the party with his wife. The next day we visted him and set a baptismal date for next month.

Thats about it... Can't wait to call home!

Love, Elder Clark