Mission Week #62

Hola
December 12, 2011 9:28:36 PM GMT+03:00

Hello again!

Last week was awesome! There is lots of stuff happening and I doubt I will be able to remember to write half of it. As far as the area goes, it is still growing. 2 weeks ago was the best week I had ever had, and last week topped it. We are finding lots of new people. 9 to be exact last week. We found a family just knocking doors...a member family pointed out a hispanic family and we went over and started teaching them...and others. Last night we had a lesson with a lady that is living with one of the families in the ward. She just moved here to get a job and her family will be coming soon.

We were going to go to Julies ward party, but unfortunately we did not have time. Tomorrow we have a meeting with Presidente Pitts and all the Zone Leaders and District Leaders and my comp and I have to give a 45 minute training. They told us on Friday so we had to prepare for it Saturday morning. It is on having District meetings.

Friday we had a district temple trip after which we went to pizza pie cafe. It reminded me of when Dad, Taylor, and I went the spring before I came out on the mission. Time has gone by fast.

Carmen is getting baptized on Saturday. Manuel had to work Sunday so he will probably get baptized next week. He is more than ready. Paula, an argentine lady, accepted baptism last week. The Gonzales are doing well. They just need to take a step of faith. We were knocking doors on Saturday and we met this lady from Mexico named Ajhidis. She talked to missionaries like a year ago but they somehow lost contact. Anyway, she let us come in and we talked for awhile and as we were leaving it was silent for a second then she got kind of emotional. She said that she was having a hard time a year ago when the missionaries stopped by and right now she is having a hard time again, and we happened to stop by. Pretty cool.

Today we are going to play lazer tag again. The nickel arcade is improved these days. Tonight we have 6 lessons set up so we will be going on splits. It should be another good week.

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #61

Another Week
December 5, 2011 9:34:46 PM GMT+03:00


Well Hello.

 Last week went by super fast. It was fun to be in the ZLC. We got there at 8 and Sister Pitts had breakfast for us. Then we had like a 5 hour discussion on everything that is going on in the mission. One of the topics that was brought up was weather or not we could skype for Christmas. President eventually said that we could but only for 30 minutes. So we either get a 1 hour phone call or a 30 minute skype. I think Id rather have the hour call then we can skype on mothers day.

Teaching wise, last week was the best week I have ever had. The total amount of lessons was triple what we had my first week in the area. We started teaching a girl named Carman who has lived in Utah for most of her life but her parents wouldnt let her get baptized. She is now 18 so she can make the decision for herself. We found her through her fiance who attends the branch and we saw her twice last week. She committed to being baptized on the 17th. Manuel also is planning on getting baptized then. His main problem was finding a job and he got one this week! He fasted with us yesterday. Mauricio also accepted a date for the 22nd. The Gonzalez family is doing awesome. Hno. and Hna. both had separate experiences this week when random people they met told them they should keep following the path they are taking. They told us they went to tell each other about what happened and they were surprised when they found out that it happened to each of them on the same day.

We found 6 new people last week. One of them last night at like 8. It was a lady who some other missionaries met while she was in another part of Orem. She let us in right away and she is pretty golden and has 2 kids. It is amazing how much we are being blessed.

Wednesday we had exchanges with the APs. One of them is Chilean and he was with is. I learned from him and we had a good time. We will be going on splits with them again tonight and tomorrow and to do some baptismal interviews. One of the people I am interviewing tonight is from Latvia or something and is studying at BYU.

Since we cover the branch and the ward and they start at the same time, yesterday we started dividing up and we went with members for all 3 hours. I stayed in the branch, my comp went to the ward, and we will switch every other week.

It is getting cold. This morning the car said 20 degrees. However, for some reason we havent had any real snow. Yesterday there was a little, but it didnt stick.

Have an awesome week-

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #60

Hola
November 28, 2011 8:18:38 PM GMT+03:00

Hello!

Today I am emailing from one of the libraries at BYU. It is kind of strange to be here. Last week was one of the busiest weeks ever but it was good. Tuesday was transfers. It was fun to see everyone and wierd to see friends going home. Elder Cordova, the new companion, is awesome. It is fun to be around someone with energy and experience. Also, we can speak spanish all the time which hasnt happened since Elder Ramires. Thanksgiving was fun. We started the day off with a small soccer game in one of the church gyms. For some reason my knee wont funtion like it used to so I just played goalie. After several meal invitations, we accepted 3. At 1 we ate with an American family. At 4 with a Mexican/Salvadorian family. And to finish off the night we ate with a Chilean family at 7. I paced myself and it wasnt too much of a food overload.

One of the reasons last week was busy was because Elder Cordova's old area was whitewashed and sisters replaced them. However, they had an investigator who's wive didnt want sisters visiting him so we had to finish teaching him and prepare everything for his baptism that happened Saturday. There was lots of problems with what ward he was going to be baptized into and other stuff but it the end we got it done. Also, at the beggining of every month we have a ZLC (zone leader council) with Presidente and we have to make a zone plan of action and present it there. Basically, choose things the zone needs to work on and decide what the zone will focus on for the month to improve. ZLC got moved up to tomorrow so we have been rushed to arrange all that.

Yesterday was super busy as well. We had a correlation meeting at 7:30, then one at 8. Then spoke in the branch at 9 and had to run over to the ward to teach the gospel principles class directly after that.
We had a pretty good turnout for church. Manuel came in addition to some new people. We saw the Gonzalez family Saturday night and they said they were coming but werent there.

We started teaching a young couple on Friday. The wife is reactivating and the husband in really interested. They went to church 2 weeks ago and last week and we are seeing them again tonight. Looks like there is good potential there.

Have an excellent week-

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #59

Dia de Gracias
November 21, 2011 9:11:09 PM GMT+03:00

Hola,

Well, Elder Arnett is leaving. I have had a very patterned mission when it comes to transfer calls. I get to an area, my companion leaves, and I am with a new companion for 2 transfers, then I leave. That it how it has been the whole time. My new companion is Elder Cordova from Peru. He was already in my district and I know him so it wont be a big adjustment. He has been out a transfer more than me which will be nice to have someone with experience. 5 out of the last 6 transfers my companions have been in their first or second transfer.

We had a very busy week. Lots of people to see. We had zone conference on Friday. All the missionaries who are leaving always give their final testimonies. At the beginning of the mission it seemed to be people who were out for a long time but now I have served with people who are leaving and it is wierd. Friday was Arline's baptism. It went smoothly. She was super excited. Hopefully her mom will follow her footsteps soon since she has been thinking about getting baptized for years.

Gonzales family is doing great! We had a lesson on faith and Hna. Gonzales said that she needed to show her faith by being baptized.
Did I mention Manuel last week? He is the golden guy we found like a week and a half ago. He is on date now. He said again since the fist time he spoke to us he knew that he needed to become closer to God. He also happens to live right in front of the church.

I think more things happened last week but I cant remember. We have one dinner planned for thanksgiving with the Molina family.

Have a great Thanksgiving! I am thankful for all of you and for the 5 missionary siblings who paved the path. We have been blessed with the Gospel and it needs to be shared.

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #58

Semana Excellente
November 14, 2011 10:11:20 PM GMT+03:00

Hola,

Last week was great! Lots of cool stuff happened and I hope I will be able to remember it all. One of the highlights, of course, was Monday dinner with the family. It appears the beaver has found a good place to stay.

The Gonzalez family is doing well. We had a couple lessons this week and talked about the plan of salvation and baptism. They were pretty open to the idea of being baptized but werent too sure about doing it soon. We set a goal for December and they said they would think and pray about it. They didnt come to church yesterday and when we stopped by after to see what was up they just said they were too tired. It should be easier for people when the schedule changes from 9 to 11.

Our lesson with Paula was on Thursday. I was on exchanges so I wasnt there but Elder Arnett said it went great. They watched the Restoration DVD and talked about the Book of Mormon and she was in tears again. I went on exchanges with Elder Allen from Scotland and we had an interesting night. We were tracting and ran into a less active guy. He eventually let it out that his grandpa was Dallin H. Oaks. He used the general excuse of inactives that he felt like his parents forced him into it and when he left the house he went rebellious. He did say he will probably come back some day.  The second interesting thing of the night was our lesson with some born again Christians. It was supposed to be with a lady and her daughter but another guy was there who was a preacher from their church. We start off the lesson talking about the Book of Mormon and about 5 minutes in he sits up in his chair and starts to go off on us. We have a nice little talk on some doctrine from the Bible and as we respond to his objections his level of contention was steadily rising. After a little bit it seamed as if he couldnt hold himself in and he said " You guys are full of lies and are going to Hell." Elder Allen replied by asking him what gave him authority to say that.  He said "The Bible!" I cited him Hebrews 5:4, "And no man taketh this honor unto himself but he that is called of God as was Aaron," spoke to him by name, and told him in the name of Jesus Chirst he had no authority and was not called of God as was Aaron. He said, "that was bold.." and slouched back into his chair. Basically the whole lesson we were sharing our testimonies and it was interesting to watch them try and respond with contention and we would give calm and simple testimonies of truth.

We picked up 4 new investigators this week. A young couple that has listened before. An older guy from Puerto Rico who recently moved in with the family of his son who is active. Also, last week at church someone gave us the number of a guy who said he wanted to meet with us. We called and set up and appointment and we were surprised when we got to the address because we had actually met him before. He lives with the family of his son in law who we had talked to before but wasn't interested. He said he had listened to what we had told his son in law and wanted to hear more. He is humbled due to his circumstances and seems pretty golden.

Have I talked about Arlene? She is 8 and her family is part member. And, is getting baptized this Friday. This week is going to go by fast. We have 6 appointments and district meeting on Wednesday.  Zone Conference Friday. Transfer calls on Saturday. I think I will stay here.

Have a great week!

Love, Elder Clark

Visit To Julie's House

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Good Morning!  Pictures of Tanner having dinner at Julie's on Monday night.  His companion is from Alabama.   He plays football and wrestles.  I talked to Dad and Mamo last night and of course they had great things to say about how pleasant and engaging he was.  His companion said he would NEVER GO TO BYU, so he didn't score huge points....but they had Pimalottas and a great time being together.  He arrived at 5:00 and at 5:59 he was at the door.  He has a cold Julie left airborne on the front porch for him to pick up yesterday.  She had shirleys cinnamon rolls for him to take home.  Fun to have a connection!!

Mission Week #57

Hola
November 7, 2011 9:10:40 PM GMT+03:00

Hello,

It is getting cold. Halloween was pretty fun. One of our ward mission leaders is a make up guy for movies. He gave Elder Arnett and I mustaches. They looked pretty legit. Starting on Tuesday I got a pretty bad cold. It has stuck around until today but seems to be going away. It was funny how everywhere we went someone had a different type of remedy for me to try. Two of the most notable ones were lime juice, and a mixture of cayenne pepper, apple cider vinegar, and honey.

Thursday we had the baptism of Jose Herrera. His wife has been active for a long time and he finally was ready to get baptized. He has a friend that was a religion teacher at BYU who has been visiting him and teaching him for like two years; Brother Skinner, who is probably between 75 and 80 years old. Jose chose him to baptize him and I was interested to see how that was going to go since Hno Skinner is not the most agile guy for his age. We filled the water up high so that it would be easier. The first attempt Jose wasnt quite submerged but thankfully the second time the ordinance was completed.

Saturday night we got a call from Humberto, a guy who was probably going to be baptized in a couple weeks, saying he had to leave the following day for Mexico. Dang. That is the second time that has happened.

Yesterday was a good day. Hno Gonzalez and his son came to church. Also, Paula walked in as Gospel principles was starting.

Have a great week,

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #56

Feliz Halloween
October 31, 2011 8:05:08 PM GMT+03:00

Hello again. Last week went pretty well. Two weeks ago we found a lady from Argentina. She is very busy but we were able to have a lesson with her this week,  finally. She was very focused as we explained the Restoration and was in tears by the end. She expressed that she did not want to be pushed into anything but it was pretty clear that she was impacted and felt the Spirit.

Lots of wards invited us to their Halloween activities. We stopped by two or three and my favorite question was "are you real missionaries?" I guess poeple enjoy being missionaries for Halloween or something..... One of the activities we went to was a breakfast with the ward in which Eric Rivas lives. He is the 19 year old who got baptized my first week here. His family seems to be opening up because they came to that and the mom, who was very closed, invited us over for dinner this week.

On Friday we went to the temple and I made a couple of connections there. First, I saw David Wilcox. Brad's son. We were in the same session and I talked to him after. He leaves for Japan next week. Also, as we were driving home I saw Juan Romero walking on the ride of the street. (The Romeros that got baptized a year ago). I heard they had moved and I wanted to find out where they had moved to so it was pretty sweet that I found him on the street. We pulled over and I talked to him for a little. He said they are doing well and have started the temple classes.

Tonight we have a district Halloween party. President is letting us watch 2 movies. There was a list of about 10 movies he approved so we voted as a district and the winners were Rio and Tangled. We have sisters in the district. Thus, Tangled.

Thursday Jose Herrera is getting baptized. He has been ready for a long time. Probably years. The timing just worked out for right now. Enjoy Halloween! I have officially begun my 16th month. Crazy.

Love, Elder Clark

 dead pants

freshly skinned dear on main street

foto i just took of the man himself, elder arnett, my comp

Halloween!

Mission Week #55

happy p day
October 24, 2011 8:35:39 PM GMT+03:00

Hola,

It was a pretty good week here. Tuesday we had a leadership meeting and it was probably 2 minutes from Grandpa's house. I was tempted to go run over and knock on the door. It was a 6 hour meeting and the main topic was the Restoration. It was probably the deepest I have ever gotten into the Restoration so it was pretty sweet. We talked about the keys of the priesthood all the way from the beginning, how they have been passed with each successive dispensation, the organization of the primitive church, the apostasy, and all the intricate parts of the Restoration. It is amazing that it wasnt for 16 years after the Joseph's 1st vision that all the keys were brought back through Elias, Elijah, and Moses. And why more people dont question  the reason of Moses and Elias coming to the mount of transfiguration in the Bible. Everything has its order. So many things had to happen for a complete Restoration of all things.

Last week I didnt mention this but we had a cool experience with people who need the Gospel being put in our path. I dont remember what night it was but we had gone into the church to get a drink and as we walked out a guy was walking right in front of us on his way home from work. We talked to him for like 10 minutes and set a return appointment. We have visited him and his wife 3 or 4 times now and they are progressing well.

We contacted a bunch of formers and found a lady who has been visited a ton but just never wants to commit. However, her daughter is coming to church  with a friend and has support from the ward so we have been teaching her and she has a date for next month.

Last monday we couldnt think of anything to do so we went into this archery place and they let us shoot bows. Elder Arnett is quite the marksman but my last shot of the day was a bulls-eye. In other news, we got new phones this week. They have a full keyboard. A nice upgrade if I say so myself. This week we have Interviews with Presidente Pitts. I was sure you would know before today that Julie's neighbor is one of the ward mission leaders.

Well, have an excellent week!

Love, Elder CLark

Mission Week #54

Back to Orem
October 17, 2011 8:02:24 PM GMT+03:00

Hello!

It was a good first week here in the new area. It is weird to be back so close to everything. The place where I am doing emails from is close to the shopping center with Ross and TJ Maxx. The other option for emails is the chapel right next to Julies house but apparently the computers arent as fast. I have yet to make a Julie and Cliff sighting although I have driven by the house a couple times. We wont ever be attending their ward but we do have a weekly missionary meeting held in that building. We cover a pretty large area for Orem. 1 ward and 1 branch. The members all seem great. Our mission leader for the branch is amazing. He is a convert of 16 years from Argentina and is filled with the fire of missionary work. He has moved around a lot and has been mission leader 9 different times. He said if we want he will come and teach/knock with us every night and so far I think he has been with us every night but once. Lots of energy for being 60 and a great example of a consecrated life. My companion is from Louisiana. He was in the area for 6 weeks before I came. It is cool to see him starting his mission because it makes me remember how hard it was starting for me trying to communicate with the people and contribute in Spanish. The Hispanics dont say anything but most people from here make comments about both of us being from the South. We get along great. I guess I get lucky because I have never had a companion I havent gotten along with.

Saturday we had a baptism. It is a 19 year old named Eric who went to seminary for 2 years and has been coming to church off and on for awhile. They had been teaching him for a couple weeks and he felt like he was ready to do it. I just happened to get transfered in. It was an awesome baptismal service. Although I had never met the ward mission leader and I didnt know anyone for some reason he asked me to conduct. There was about 80 people there and his parents and younger sister who arent members were there in the front row with him. He got up and bore his testimony at the end and said that in 365 days he would be leaving for his mission and that soon he would be baptizing his family.  His parents were really emotional and came to church yesterday so hopefully they will be open to us. Eric is a great example of following his beliefs.

We spent lots and lots of time looking for people to teach this week. We found some good potential families and set lots of appointments. Hopefully they go through and I will have lots of poeple to talk about next week. We have 2 people getting ready to be baptized in the next 3 weeks. Joel and Humberto. I have only met them both once but they seem great.

Well, I hope everyone is doing great. Have an excellent week!

Love, Elder Clark

Week #53

Hola,

Well, transfers have come again and I am heading back to civilization after 9 months of Santaquin and Roosevelt. I have mixed feelings about leaving the small towns but it should be a good change. I am pretty pleased with the transfer call overall.  I am going to the Orem Lakeridge area. It is pretty funny because the area is only 4 blocks away from my first area where I was all last winter. Also, the area border is 400 south which we all know to be the street on which Julie lives. So yes, I am now covering Julie's stake, and three other stakes in the surrounding area.  My companion will be Elder Arnett. He just started his mission 6 weeks ago so it will be fun to have another new comp. I was also very pleased to find out it is a car area. 

It was a cold week in Roosevelt. It was in the 30s every morning this week and there was even a little snow/slush. We went to go contact a referral we had recieved in a place called Lapoint that is closer to the mountains and there was snow all over the ground. Many people have told me that by leaving now I am escaping the real winter. Someone said the Roosevelt was the coldest city in the USA for a two weeks last year.

We ate dinner last night with the Uribes and are eating with the Vazquezs tonight. Hna. Uribe asked if I could come back to baptize her when they are ready. That would be cool if that could work out. Victor is doing well. He wasnt quite ready for this week but he should be ready in 2 or 3 weeks. This week we were going through the area book and contacting former investigators. We found a record of a family and felt like visiting them. When we showed up it was almost funny how excited they were to see us. They had been taught for awhile but it has been several months since they were visited. They told us that 2 days before we stopped by they were talking to each other about how they wished we would come back.

It was nice to get some more wedding pictures this week. And some of Zoe. She seems like quite the happy little girl.

Until next week,

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #52

Mon, Oct 3, 2011 1:25 pm
Here is a little excerpt from mom's letter:

Hello!

Conference was sweet! It was awesome to be there in Salt Lake. We had awesome seats, 5th row to the right a little. There is a missionary section. Missionaries from Salt Lake and Salt Lake south were also there. I saw 3 people I knew.  Lauren Barratero (not too sure on the spelling) from Kissimme ward. She is a missionary at Temple Square. I saw Corey Mackay's husband, Larry. When we got there and were walking to our seats I somehow remembered his face from the 1 time I had met him. He was in his military attire and I remembered that. I am sure he was surprised when I said hi to him. He remembered I was from Florida.  Also, one of Taylor's mission buddies I met when we went to Denver 2 years ago. I am still surprised I recognized those last 2 after only meeting them once.
Thanks for putting $ in the account. I am getting the test tomorrow so I will let you know exactly how much it is. The Danleys gave us both stamps and cookies in the bags. The weather is good. We now have to use suit coats for the next 6 months. Love you, TC
Tanner's Weekly Letter
Hello again,

It was a great week with Conference. It was an awesome experience to be able to go. We had great seats right up front in the missionary section. I especially enjoyed Elder Holland's talk in the priesthood session.

It was fun to see Danleys and talk about good old saint cloud. They say the new Mexican restaurant in pretty good.

I am out of time! Hope you all have great weeks!

Love, Elder Clark

Lunch with Richard and Patsy Danley

 9/29/11

Yesterday Richard and  Patsy took Tanner and his companion to lunch.  They sent a few pictures!  They said he works out, looks filled out, but not chunky and has gained 25 lbs.  They liked his companion.  Pretty fun!!

Mission Week #51

La Semana de la Boda Mexicana
September 26, 2011 8:27:50 PM GMT+03:00

Hello,

As you may discern from the subject, the highlight of the week was getting Victor married. For not having too much time to plan it out, it was a pretty awesome wedding. It was fun to see all of the mexican wedding traditions. My favorite part was the "bull run." First, Victor stood on a chair in the middle of the room with 3 or 4 of his friends around him. Then, all the females made a congo line sort of thing and ran at Victor and tried to knock him off the chair while his friends tried to support him. Eventually, he fell. Pretty intense. We are seeing him tomorrow so hopefully he is still good to be baptized.

It seems like most of our investigators are suddenly loosing thier faith or something. We had a solid group progressing very well but for different reasons a lot have just gone cold. Beatrice, the Peruvian lady, said she probably wants to wait two years until her 6 year old turns 8 to get baptized together. We saw the Riveras last night and they said they would call us when they wanted us to come back. They were kind of expected more from the church but werent willing to do little things like read of pray. However, after we left their house we went across the street and started talking to an argentine lady who we had never met before. She had just moved here from Provo and is going through a lot of hard times in her life. She kind of had the "go away" attitude at first but we just got to know her a little and testifed that what we had could change her life. It is cool to see people's faces change as they feel our words are true. We have an appointment with her tomorrow.

Friday we will be driving to Provo and staying in the mission home, then going up to conference Saturday morning from there. I guess we will just be listening to the afternoon session on the radio or something.

Have a good week - enjoy conferencia.

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #50

September 19, 2011 8:28:10 PM GMT+03:00

Hello!

Teddy Phillips looks like a champ. I look foward to meeting him one day.

I think that was the fastest week ever. It seemed like all week we were running around. Tuesday we did some awesome service. There is a less active guy with a lot of land who makes his own haunted houses every year. It is called the "Haunted Woods."  It is quite legit. We helped him set some stuff up and helped him run electricity into one of his buildings. Good thing I was electrically trained by Mr. Barclay himself. He had lots of dummys and costumes and we took the pleasure of trying some of the stuff out.  Tuesday night we made the adventure to Provo, and had Zone Conference in Payson Wednesday. Presidente said I for sure get to go to General Conference. Most likely the Saturday Morning session.

Yesterday Rafael got confirmed. His cousin and her boyfriend Victor should be getting married this Saturday and then Victor should be baptized the 8th.

We had a pretty dissapointing lesson with the Riveras. They are struggling pretty bad financially and they wont do the little things like read a couple versus from the scriptures or pray in order to recieve blessings. Its hard to see people struggle and know that all they need to do is turn it over to the Lord when they wont do it. We tried to see Sebastian a couple times this week but he was never home. He is at a fork in the road and kind of needs to decide which path he is going to take. It always seems that when people are close the family jumps in and tries to remind them of their traditions and that is happening a little to him.

I hope everyone has a great week-

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #49

Otra Semana
September 12, 2011 8:45:19 PM GMT+03:00

Hola,

The highlight of last week was Rafeal's baptism on Thursday. Elder Cebreros got to perform his first baptism and I gave a talk. He is the first one in his immediate family to get baptized so it is awesome how he is setting the example. We had stake conference yesterday so he will get confirmed next week. Speaking of stake conference, there were 5 general authorities in the area this weekend. There was a special leadership meeting for bishops and stake presidents here in Roosevelt on Saturday. Elder Cook was there, Elder Gonzalaz of the Presidency of the 70, and Elder Hallock of the 70. They all split up and went to different stakes for Sunday conferences and Elder Hallock was with our stake. He is from American Samoa and Elder Iopu from our district is from Samoa so they got to meet. We were in a different building translating it into Spanish but got to meet him after.

Tomorrow night we are going down to Provo and staying the night for a Wednesday zone conference. The mission gets tickets to General Conference and they are supposed to be letting us know Wednesday who gets to go this time. Hopefully I make the cut. It would be sweet to go as a missionary.

Wednesday we got an unexpected call from the family I mentioned last week saying they wanted to wait some time before starting to meet with us again. She said her husband is giving her pressure. She is a big reader though and already started the Book of Mormon from the beginning so I think she will be fine even if we cant meet.

When we met with Uribes things really are not too bad. They want to get married when their daughter and parents can be there so they will probably go to California near the end of the month and come back here to get baptized.

Well, time to go enjoy P-day. We are going golfing today.

Have a great week!

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #48

 Correo Electronico
September 7, 2011 10:29:09 PM GMT+03:00

Hola,

Sorry this is a little late. No emails on Monday due to Labor day. Yesterday was a crazy day and I did not have time. Yersterday morning at 7 another Elder from Vernal and I had to leave for Provo for a meeting. We got there, had the 5 hour meeting and had to leave straight back for Roosevelt.  We had lessons at 6, 7, and 8 to finish up the day. The entire day we were rushed on timing. Anyway, things are going well. Rafeal did not get baptized last week but that should be happening tomorrow. Some sad news is that the Uribes called Monday night and said they had to cancel their marriage/baptism. We have not been able to see them in person yet but we should get to see them tonight. I think it is more of the husband that is holding them back. They are both so close but cannot seem to make the final step.
 
I don't remember if I have mentioned anything about las Hnas Linares. They are sisters and live next to each other. We have been teaching one of the sisters for about 2 or 3 weeks and she is progressing very well. They are both mothers of young families and want to do their best to raise their kids. They have noticed how a lot of the families here are happy and seem to have something special about them. Well, that is where we come in right? What we teach helps families to be happier and have that little "extra" thing. They came to church Sunday. Both of their husbands are kind of close minded at the moment but I think as they see thier wives change they will notice the difference. 

I don't have too much time so until next week..... Love you!

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #47

Hola,

Saturday night we got transfer calls. As expected I am staying here with Elder Cebreros. Roosevelt is doing great right now so I am definitely not ready to leave. We also moved houses this week. The place where we had been staying had been the missionaries house for 2 years so it was time for a move. They didn't find a new house so we just moved into an apartment with the English missionaries. It is different not living with members and having 4 missionaries but so far so good.

Yesterday was a great day at church. Adrian (baptized last week) got the priesthood and since he was 16 got to be a part of his cousin's ordination to the office of a teacher. It would be awesome if he could baptize his brother before I leave too.

Rafael should be getting baptized this week. He is an awesome kid. 14 years old and has learned the basic gospel principles very fast. We also should be starting to teach his mom soon. I dont remember if I explained the situation but Rafael's aunt is a member of the church and his family has been staying with them and looking for a house to rent here, which they were able to find this week.

The Uribes are still looking good for a marriage/baptism in a couple weeks. Also, Rafeal's cousin's boyfriend (it seems like everyone is related doesnt it) now has a date for his own marriage/baptism. Hopefully it all goes through!

Sounds like the wedding went well except for the sicknesses. Send lots of pictures!

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #46

August 22, 2011


Hola,

Last week felt like everything was in fast motion. The Birthday went well. Wilbur took us to Pizza hut. The Fam. Vasquez had their baptismal interviews and brought me a very delicious tres leches cake. We did have a pretty disappointing lesson with Fernando. He was getting so close but basically told us he isn't ready to change. I guess the path is called the "straight and narrow path" for a reason. Not everyone is willing to live that type of lifestyle. I told him that he is living a very good life right now, but the only thing left he has to give to God is his heart. He thought about that for a second then concluded that he wasnt ready to do that yet. We will keep working on that.

The Vernal temple is shut down for cleaning and Wednesday morning we went with the Vernal district and did service cleaning it for a couple hours. It was cool to get a tour of the entire temple and to see it from another perspective.

Thursday night part of the Fam. Vasquez got baptized. The mom, one son, and the daughter. They were all very happy and it was a great night. Hna. Vasquez really is converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She was pretty emotional during most of the service. I baptized Arely, the 9 year old girl. She was the most excited anyone has ever been to be baptized.

Sebastian, an older guy from Peru that we have been teaching, is doing awesome. When we went last week he was kind of unsure about things so we talked about prayer for a long time. It is pretty amazing that all we want people to do is pray and ask sincerely if what we teach them is true. It seemed liked it clicked for him that he really didn't have to take our word for it but that he could pray and get his own answer. Wednesday we went back and saw him and he told us that he had been praying daily and that Tuesday night when he prayed he felt that he received his confirming answer. He said he was willing to follow the answer he received. Saturday we went back and taught him about baptism and he accepted. He said he wanted to come to church yesterday and did. He even got there an hour early and stayed for an hour after for the 3rd Sunday potluck dinner.

The Riveras are doing well. They are coming to church and we have pretty much taught them everything. They don't feel all the way ready yet so they will probably get baptized in 3 or 4 weeks.

I can't beleive my Hermano is getting married this week! I hope it all goes well and you enjoy the time together. Once again I am glad I am at least in Roosevelt, not 5 minutes away from everyone. When we went down to Provo for zone conference we drove by Julies rode on state street. It has almost been 13 months and it is still very interesting to consider the fact that I am indeed serving my mission in Utah.......Utah. Have a great week!

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #45

August 15, 2011 (Tanner's 20th Birthday)


Hola,

Another mission birthday! It has been a great year. Lots of unforgettable experiences and lots of growth. I think I have learned more in the past year than in the other years combined. At least when it comes to the things of real worth. Today should be a pretty good day. Wilbur wanted to take me out to dinner so we are going to go to Pizza Hut tonight. The Vasquez's are having their baptismal interviews tonight and they said they are going to make me a cake. Hna. Vasquez is awesome. First because of how strong of a testimony she has but also because she gives us food all the time. After the lesson Wednesday she made enchiladas. Saturday for we went over and helped them in the yard and she made us something which I don't remember what is called, but was good. She was at the Uribe's last night and her and Hna. Uribe made Quesadillas Mexicanos. Then she made the comment that it looked like I was gaining weight. I wonder why.

We had a good Sunday yesterday. We stopped by the Riveras before church to make sure they were coming and at first Aldo, their 15 year old son, said he didn't feel like going but we talked him into it. Some people need a little coaxing. The meetings are reversed in the branch so we have Sunday school, Priesthood, then Sacrament. We walked into Sunday school and Presidente asked us to give the class since the teacher didn't show up. I always wondered how people were able to just give hour lessons without preparation. I guess being a missionary just prepares you because it was surprisingly easy.

We used our 2 allotted temple trips last week. We went Wednesday with the district and Saturday to the Spanish session with the Branch. Presidente drove us up and took us to Cafe Rio after for a wonderful dinner.

Thursday is probably going to be the baptism of the Fam. Vasquez. Still not too sure on timing. The Riveras are looking good and have a date for the 27th. Last week we taught the Word of Wisdom and Chastity and thankfully there are no problems there. Hno. Uribe has cut down on drinking but is still having a little problem with that. I was pretty direct with him last night so hopefully he will be able to give it up and they can get married soon. We are planning on September 3rd for their marriage because they will have some family in.


I got Taylor's wedding announcement this week. It made it seem more real. Enjoy the family time-

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #44

Sent: Tue, Aug 9, 2011 1:48 pm
Subject: Hola

Hello,

It was a fast week. Wednesday we had exchanges with the APs. Elder Robles from Mexico was with us. Thursday was Wilbur's baptism. He had awesome support from everyone at his work. The entire room was full. His boss' son Tony baptized him. Sunday I confirmed him. The last couple weeks he has shared more of his life us. Among the interesting facts is that he got married and had his first kid at age 16. His wife was 21.

Sunday night we met up and took the van into Provo. It was great to have Elder Malm with us for Monday's zone conference. He and President Pitts spoke for around 3 hours on the importance of the Spirit in missionary work. The only not so great part about that was that my topic was on teaching by the Spirit and they had covered mostly everything. It turned out all right though.

All the investigators are doing well. Roberto from Peru that we started teaching a couple weeks ago accepted a date. The Fam. Rivera and Fam. Vasquez are already like members. They both signed up on the dinner calender to feed us. Hna. Riveras made us some amazing enchiladas this week. Fernando finally came to church which was a relief. He had been doing well with everything we had left for him but hadn't made the step of going to church until Sunday. The only person we have not been able to see is Hector. He is working until around 9 and going to Colorado every weekend thus leaving us no opportunity to see him.

Sounds like things are pretty busy at home. Lots of weddings! Have an excellent week.

Love, Elder Clark