Mission Week #9

Sent: Mon, Dec 6, 2010 4:21 pm
Subject: buenas tardes

Hello again,

It has been another exciting week here in Orem!

I'll start with Wednesday... Wednesday night we had dinner at Hermana Manrique's. She is Peruvian and loves to feed the missionaries. She is definitely the prototypical latin lady in that she gives us tons of food and watches us eat. We arrived at her house hoping for a small dinner because an investigator family who we have been teaching was also feeding us later that night. However, after we sat down she put in front of both of us the biggest mounds of some chicken/peppers/noodles thing I had ever seen in my life. It was very painful to finish. After that we had a couple other lessons then went to the Borgo's. They are from Zenora, Mexico and their two sons were baptized in April but they weren't. Maria, the mom, had made us some spicey soup stuff and Jaun, the dad, made us tacos. I was still very full from hermana Manrique's so it was pretty rough trying to put down everything. After we ate we had an awesome lesson on the Restoration.

Thursday we were walking to an appointment and I looked up to see Tyler Anderson driving by. I tried a quick wave but he was already passed. I was pretty sure it was him at first glance but the Longhorn stickers on the back of his truck closed the deal. Anyway, the appointment we were walking to was to see Enrique and Julianna. They are the young couple from Guatemala. We had a really good lesson with them and they accepted a baptismal date of the 18 of this month.

The highlight of the day Friday was our lesson with Juan and Maria. We watched the Restoration DVD with them and talked about prayer. When we asked Maria if she had prayed yet she said she had and felt no doubts about the church and believed it all was true. Good answer right? So, we committed them to be baptized. We are still working on a date for them... It may be a possibility to have it on Christmas which would be pretty sweet. After they accepted Juan told us that they were actually talking about it that morning and had basically decided already. They are awesome.

Saturday we had Mission conference. The whole mission was there along with Elder Worthlin of the area 70, Elder Jensen of the Presidency of the 70, Bishop Buton, the Presiding Bishop, and Elder Nelson of the 12. It was a straight 3 hour meeting and all the talks were amazing. It was definitely a great experience to meet and here from amazing leaders as they all are.

Sunday was not so great. We were planning on having quite a few people at church but only Uriel, the nine year old made it. Juan is a mechanic for a snow clearing company so he has to work any time it snows. Sunday was a warm, clear, day but his whole family was sick. Also, Enrique and Julianna were sick. The Morales family, who I havent really talked about but have 14 kids were supposed to come but after calling them early and going to there house we had no success. And, Silvia, who has been progressing well was finally going to come to church but didnt answer the door when someone went to pick her up. However, we did sit it on a ward council meeting after while the ward spent almost two hours planning the ward Christmas party, 30 minutes of which were deciding on the type of drinks that would be there. That was some comic relief.

Overall it was a good week. We spent some time knocking doors and found some good potentials. Also, it was warmer. It is like 60 today! It sounds like everything is going well at home.. Much love,

Elder Clark

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