Mission Week #8

Sent: Mon, Nov 29, 2010 5:35 pm
Subject: Hola

Hello Again!

It has been a good Thanksgiving week here in Utah.

Wednesday morning we recieved a call from the Huntsmans, the grandparents of Kassandra, saying that her baptism would not be in Idaho as they were planning but would be here because there is too much snow to enter their cabin up there. So, that was exciting news. After our district meeting Wednesday morning we had exchanges with the zone leaders and I got to experience a full day in a car which I have to admit was pretty nice. In the afternoon we played in a ward turkey bowl, in the SNOW, and I was able to make it about halfway through before the knee sidelined me. We had some appointments later on and it was very interesting teaching in english in quiet homes. I am very glad to be teaching in spanish though. Our last appointment was right around the corner from Julies so we stopped for a quick hello after. That night the car thermometer was reading 5 degrees which I must say is very cold.

Thanksgiving was a fun day. The district met at the church at 10 for some volleyball/basketball and we played some phase ten. After that we got to just go home and hand around at the house. For dinner we ate with four families from Chile. Elder Barrera and I were sitting at the end of the table with all the adults and after dinner we sat there for about an hour while they were all talking and laughing. It's amazing how one can understand pretty much everything in church or a missionary lesson and get lost in conversation filled with cultural humor. The food was good though and it was fun to be at a big Thanksgiving dinner.

We have been teaching a young couple named Enrique and Julianna from Guatemala and Friday we had an awesome lesson with Enrique. We had taught him parts of the Restoration before but they live in a small apartment with another family with little kids so its hard to have the spirit. However, Friday we taught in his room and his little son was asleep so we were finally able to have a good environment. We watched the restoration DVD with him and after we asked him how he felt about Joseph Smith. (Earlier he had said he didnt think the story was possible.) He responded very humbly "I think he was chosen by God..." He opened up after that and told us all about his past and how he wants to change.

Saturday we had Kassandra's baptism in the afternoon. She has 5 uncles and they were all there with their familes to support her. One of her uncles did the baptism and her Grandpa did the confirmation. Two of her other uncles gave talks and were both crying throughout. We were talking to her after and found out that her dad is the oldest of the 6 brothers and isnt active. Kassandra hasn't seen him since she was 7 and I guess he has been working in Taiwan the whole time but has been back to the states and just hasn't taken the time to visit her. Pretty crazy situation but she is going to Taiwan today to stay with him for a month.

Sunday we woke up to some serious snow. Everything was white! We went and picked up Enrique and Julianna for church with a member and they stayed all three hours. Their little son is pretty lively but he made it through. A guy in the ward gave his farewell talk and it was interesting to hear one as a missionary. It made me think of Nolan!

Everything else is going great,

Love, Elder Clark

Christmas Pictures

Mission Week #7

Hello again!

It's been a pretty crazy week..

I'll start of with the story of Jago (said jay-go). Last week in the letter I mentioned a youth in one of the wards that has been going to church for over a year but his mom has never given him permission until last week. On Tuesday night we got a hold of him and planned a baptismal interview with him for Wednesday. Wednesday night we met him at the church and he was by far the happiest I had ever seen him. I had played soccer with him a couple times before and he had always looked kind of annoyed at the world. So we had the interview and he was really excited to be baptized this Saturday. Thursday evening we went over with Brother Huerta the ward mission leader to have the mom sign the baptism record. We met Jago outside and he invited us in. He took the record into his mom's room for her to have her sign it and I could hear them start to talk. After a little they both started to raise their voices and It didn't sound too good. He started begging for her to sign and and I could hear him starting to cry. His mom then came back out from the room and said she was not going to sign it and that she did not agree with the church and did not agree that her son wants to go on a mission for two years and not continue his education. One of the best feelings Ive ever had was baptizing someone and so of course the feeling leaving his house was directly the opposite and one of the worst feelings ever. However, there was still the hope of him talking her into signing the record. And, on Saturday morning he called and said he had got her to sign it! We were pretty pumped as you can imagine. We did want to make sure it was legit though so we told him we needed to talk to his mom about it to make sure. After some discussion with Jago he said the baptism probably wouldn't happen that day... We have concluded that he tried to forge the record because he wanted to get baptized so much. So, he did not get baptized but we'll see what we can do as well as the ward to work with his oh so wonderful mother.

Kassandra, the 19 year old from Mexico, who is living with her grandparents yet again had her baptism date changed. The family is now doing it this weekend in Idaho so we will not be able to see it but I hope it finally gets done. The 9 year old, Uriel, is doing well and he has a date for 18th of December.

Not much else... It has snowed the last couple of days and we're not supposed to bike if there is settled snow on the ground so we have been walking and trying to find as many rides as possible. For Thanksgiving we have one dinner planned as of now with the Huerta family. Brother Huerta is the ward mission leader so we go to his house every Thursday for Correlation and we also usually go there Mondays for Family home evening. They are awesome and definitely the favorite family here. They are originally from Chile but lived in Miami for about 10 years. Sister Huerta always talks about Florida and gives me "Florida's Natural" brand orange juice whenever we eat. Their oldest son is on a mission and doesn't get home until August but sister Huerta is already excited for him to come home.  After 12 on Thanksgiving day we are pretty much free to just visit people or stay at our house so we'll see what happens. Have a great Thanksgiving and take lots of pictures for me!

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week 6

Hola mi querido Familia!

Week one of transfer two has come to a close. Wednesday morning everyone met for transfers at the chapel across the street from the MTC. A member drove us there and I met the new companion, Elder Barrera. Originally he is from El Salvador but his family actually lives in Layton Utah and he lived there for 3 years before starting his mission. And I thought I was surprised to see Utah on my mission call... He is really cool though. He has been out for 15 months and is a hard worker but a lot different than Elder Santos. He's not much of a fan of biking which is quite the contrast of Santos who would have been thrilled to get up early and bike for exercise. Anyway, after picking up Elder Barrera the member took us to Cafe Rio then we were off.

Kassandra, the 19 year old we have been teaching is doing well. We just about have everything ready for her to be baptized this weekend. The family still is deciding timing and such but things are looking good. We recieved a referral this week of a family who attends an english ward and has been less active but recently they have started to come to church and have a 9 year old son who wants to be baptized. It turns out the dad is the only one who doesnt speak english but they still want the lessons in spanish. Thus, we started teaching Uriel, the 9 year old Friday. It was a little different teaching a kid but was fun. In English work most of the baptisms are kids between 9-12 who are just in less active families and so I got a taste of that. Also, Sunday at church we found out about a young man in the ward who has been going to church for a while but who's parents would never let him get baptized and last week, got permission. So we need to meet him but that was pretty cool news.

Everything else is going great. Last night we had a nice amount of snow which I still look at with Floridian eyes of enjoyment. Hope everything is going well at home,

Love, Elder Clark

Side note: Last transfer the Utah Provo Mission was the highest baptising in the world. Pretty sweet.

Mission Week 5

Hello again!

It has been another great week here in the Utah Provo Mission. Thursday we were supposed to have the Baptismal service of the Romero family. Earlier in the week they had had their interviews, we had gotten all of their clothes ready, and we had called and invited most of the ward. However, the question was still lingering through the week if Alejandra would make it without having her baby. Wednesday evening we received a call from her husband Jaun saying that she was having contractions and that they were going to the hospital! It was exciting that she was having the baby but a little disappointing that the baptism would have to be cancelled. At about 10 later that night we received another call from Juan saying that they were on the way back from the hospital and that she had stopped having contractions and that the baby had not yet arrived. Baptism back on!

 The Baptism was great. The family arrived there plenty early and they was lots of support from the ward members. I baptized Kevin, the 13 year old, and it was definitely a feeling unlike anything else. The whole family was excited and after we had a little fiesta at the church with a bunch of food brought by the members.

Saturday night we had to be inside from 5-9 because Utah was trick-or-treating (although I doubt there were many trick-or-treaters in the cold rain.) We were together as a district and ate pizza, watched Invictus, and played phase ten. Not too bad.

Sunday morning was supposed to be the confirmation of the Romero family however, unlike the baptism, things did not go quite so smoothly. We had been calling them several times that morning to make sure they were going but nobody was answering the phone. Finally at about 8:50 we got a hold of Kevin and he said that he and Mario were at home feeling very sick and that Jaun and Alejandra were at the hospital because the baby had been born Saturday. We convinced them that they felt good enough to go just to Sacrament and so we went with the ward mission leader to pick them up. We arrived just as they were opening the doors after the sacrament and Mario and Kevin were able to be confirmed. It's still up in the air what's happening with Jaun and Alejandra. Hopefully they will be confirmed at church next week.

Last night we went on triple splits and I went out with an MTC teacher named Bryce who we have been working with the last couple of weeks. We taught some good lessons and we have a couple of guys from Guatemala who have gone to church the last couple of weeks and are making some good progress.

The weather has actually been pretty nice this week. No snow and the only time it rained we were inside for the district activity. It's hard to believe transfers are already next week, the time really does go by fast.

Until next week...

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week 4

Hola!

Another exciting week here not in the Sunshine State.

The Romero family, Alejandra, Juan, Mario, Kevin and Kevin are getting baptized this Thursday! We had some fun experiences this last week preparing them with the final lessons. After we taught them about baptism they accepted immediately and the 13 year old Kevin leaned over to me and said "I thought you'd never ask." It was great! By the middle of last week we had taught them the first 3 lessons so what we had left to teach were all the laws like chastity, tithing, and the word of wisdom. Wednesday we were at the weekly soccer night and Mario was there with us and for an intro to the Law of Chastity we were asking him little questions to try and find out if Juan and Alejandra were married. And of course, he said they were not married so that left us with a small problem. Thursday we went to their house to teach about chastity and it was definitely a little wierd teaching that subject to people who have been living together for 15 years. We finally popped the question to see if they were actually married and they just kind of looked at each other for a little like they didn't really know. We said it was alright if they weren't but just that it was a requirement for baptism. We had a young member couple with us who had brought wedding liscence papers so they could get the process started and Alejandra looked at the papers and realized that they had gotten legally married through the court, but they weren't sure if that was legal or not. Thankfully it is, so no marriages this week....

Saturday we went to teach tithing and the word of wisdom. When we got there we looked through the window and the grandparents were on the couch drinking (perfect for the word of wisdom lesson.) When we walked in they left with the beer and we started just talking about commandments in general. We were about to start talking about tithing when Mario said that he used to smoke and that he feels God doesn't want him to smoke so he wont anymore. Thus, the lesson plan changed a little and we hit the word of wisdom and they were extremely acceptive. They also were extremely acceptive of tithing. Even though they dont have much at all, they said it was all from God and would be willing to give ten percent. I can't see any family being more golden in the next 2 years. From the first time we walked into their house they have listened intently and agreed with everything we have said... It's really been a blessing to get to know them.

Snow has begun to fall on the mountains and I assume that means my first winter is here. On Saturday morning we were riding our bikes across the area to an appointment in the rain and the cold and I had a small realization what is coming. Everyone made sure to honk at us so that was nice.

On this Saturday, the 30th Utah is having Halloween so we have to stay inside from 5-9. I think we are going to watching "Invictus" as a district. This week Elder Hudson has had some everlasting flu-like sickness so later today we are going to the hospital and he's getting blood work done. I think that's about it! Have a swell Halloween with the Harts-

 Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week 3

Hello!

Emailing isn't quite as good as talking face to face but that was fun to see you! Since then, we have been pretty busy. Friday night there was a stake activity called "La noche de Hispanidad." It was in the gym and most of the Hispanic countries were represented with food and some of the members performed dances from their various countries. It was awesome to enjoy parts of all the different cultures and to meet more people. Alejandra's whole family came and I spent a lot of the time talking to their oldest son Kevin who is 11. It seemed like they all had a great time. I think we went to something similar a couple years ago with the Harts and that was where Blake owned the stage with his guitar.

Saturday I attended my first baptismal service as a missionary. It was for Hugo, the 16 year old we have been teaching and Manuel, who is about 25 has been investigating the church for over 7 years. I never taught Manuel but it's pretty sweet how we ended up baptizing him. Last week during our weekly planning session we were setting goals and for our baptismal goal we were only going to put 1 but decided to put 2 in hopes of something out of the blue. From what E. Santos has said I guess it happens somewhat often that people just call the missionaries and say they want to get baptized and that happened to us Wednesday. Manuel called us and said he wanted to get baptized. Since he's had all the lessons he just had to have the interview so he had that then he was baptized Saturday...pretty sweet!

Sunday's seem like the busiest day of the week. We have to wake up early so that we can be at the Sharon Park ward council at 7. The bishop of that ward is awesome and he's one of the people who comes and plays soccer some mornings with us at 6. Elder Santos and I then go to the Timpanogas ward that starts at 9 so we usually have some time to try and arrange last minute rides and give last minute church invitations. This week two members picked up Alejandra's family and they all got there a couple minutes after it started except the grandma who works Sunday mornings. They were worried about not having church clothes or the money to buy them but we told them everyone would be accepting and the ward was really friendly to them all. Alejandra has 4 kids (11, 6, 4, and 2) and the 6 and 4 year old girls love primary. The primary president asked us to go in for like 5 minutes and talk about what missionaries do so that was fun. Later last night we went out teaching with Hugo. He was pretty nervous but I think it was great for him. We taught some good lessons and one in particular was with three teenagers from Guatemala who we found last week.

Not much other news....everything is great here in Orem!

Love, Elder Clark