Oi Família!
Well, what a great week it was this week! We have been teaching this 16 year-old kid named David and he was baptized this Sunday. He is a really special kid and all through our visits with him, he accepted all of the commandments with an open heart and tried his best to fulfill our commitments we left for him. One of those commitments was to stop drinking coffee and obey the Word of Wisdom. He said that he has been drinking coffee since he was way little, but he stopped that very day and never went back. He´s been going to our English Class that we teach here in the ward and he has already made a lot of friends with some recent converts and members. At his baptism, I had the opportunity to baptize him, and after I said the prayer and baptized him, he came out of the water and said, "Ahh... Born again!" It was really funny and everyone was laughing in the room. The kid knows how to keep the commandments! We went to his house later that night and I asked him what his plans were for the future, and he said, "To be an Elder." I love this Gospel so much! I love what it does and I love the way that it touches the hearts of the people. I´m telling you, missionary work is addicting! Even with recent converts, they can see how important this work is. I know that Brazil is a very high baptizing area, but if I baptize the least amount of people in the history of this mission, but all of them stay firm and/or serve a mission, I will feel like I have done my part for the Lord. So far, all three of my converts have told me that they want to serve a mission and my first one will be leaving for his mission by the end of my mission! I love this work!!!
Well, to give an update on how I´m doing with the language, I am fairly confident in my knowledge of the language right now. Elder Roblyer and I only speak in Portugese and it is helping me out more than I can recognize. I know that it is only because of the help of the Holy Ghost that I am learning so well, and that is something that I will remember for my entire life, because the minute that I start to think that I am doing this with my own power, the help will stop coming. To give you bit of taste of how much we are speaking in Portuguese, we tried teaching the message of the Restoration this morning for companion study in English... it was a train wreck for me. The way I used to talk in English is being transformed into Portuglish. The phonecall for Christmas will be really interesting haha.
Well, that is all for this week! I am having a blast with my companion! We are doing a lot to try to strengthen this area and we are having a lot of fun at the same time! I love this Church and I love who I represent... My Savior. Right now, I have no other desire other than find more people and teach them. This is absolutely a once in a lifetime opportunity to serve a mission of the Lord. I love you all! Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Clark
Monday, September 27, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Tuesday, Sept 21, 2010
Oi Família!!!
Well this was a great week for me and Elder Roblyer! He and I are speaking in nothing but Portuguese, so I am learning twice as fast as I was in the first transfer. He is really awesome and it is really nice to be able to swap stories about sports and stuff like that with him. My trainer didn´t play sports at all so it was a little bit more different last month haha. But we are working a lot during the day and hopefully we will have three baptisms this weekend. We are teaching a 16 year old kid named David and he told us something really cool yesterday. He has been going to another church as of late and the Church of Jesus Christ as well, but his mom told him to make a choice between the two or else he will drive himself crazy. He told us that he chose the Church of Jesus Christ! I know that the Lord was there to help him make that decision and he is getting David ready to be a great member of the His Church. We are also teaching a mom and her daughter. Maria and her 23 year old daughter Amanda we have been teaching for a while now and they know that the Church is true and everything! But they have so much fear of being baptized. I told them that we really feel the love of the Savior when we fulfill what he has asked of us. Our test of faith really comes when we choose to follow the commandments of God, even when the reason doesn´t necessarily make sense to us or we are a little afraid of what will happen afterwards. The Lord will bless everyone who makes a sacrifice to follow Him.
This week is going to have to be a little short, but I just want to tell everyone back at home that I love them with all of my heart. This mission is the hardest thing I have ever done in my entire life, but it is also the most rewarding thing as well. I am learning so much about my faith and personal level of obedience and I am seeing the Lord not only bless my life but also the lives of the people around me. This ward here in Brazil is making me feel like I´m at home. They are all very interested in my life and the lives of my family as well. I am so grateful that the Lord has chosen for me to serve His children here. Thanks for everything and keeping me updated on all of your lives back at home! Next week will be a longer letter, I promise!
Dad, you can use pretty much any of my letters that I have already sent to tell the ward back home. You can use that paragraph above as well!
Well this was a great week for me and Elder Roblyer! He and I are speaking in nothing but Portuguese, so I am learning twice as fast as I was in the first transfer. He is really awesome and it is really nice to be able to swap stories about sports and stuff like that with him. My trainer didn´t play sports at all so it was a little bit more different last month haha. But we are working a lot during the day and hopefully we will have three baptisms this weekend. We are teaching a 16 year old kid named David and he told us something really cool yesterday. He has been going to another church as of late and the Church of Jesus Christ as well, but his mom told him to make a choice between the two or else he will drive himself crazy. He told us that he chose the Church of Jesus Christ! I know that the Lord was there to help him make that decision and he is getting David ready to be a great member of the His Church. We are also teaching a mom and her daughter. Maria and her 23 year old daughter Amanda we have been teaching for a while now and they know that the Church is true and everything! But they have so much fear of being baptized. I told them that we really feel the love of the Savior when we fulfill what he has asked of us. Our test of faith really comes when we choose to follow the commandments of God, even when the reason doesn´t necessarily make sense to us or we are a little afraid of what will happen afterwards. The Lord will bless everyone who makes a sacrifice to follow Him.
This week is going to have to be a little short, but I just want to tell everyone back at home that I love them with all of my heart. This mission is the hardest thing I have ever done in my entire life, but it is also the most rewarding thing as well. I am learning so much about my faith and personal level of obedience and I am seeing the Lord not only bless my life but also the lives of the people around me. This ward here in Brazil is making me feel like I´m at home. They are all very interested in my life and the lives of my family as well. I am so grateful that the Lord has chosen for me to serve His children here. Thanks for everything and keeping me updated on all of your lives back at home! Next week will be a longer letter, I promise!
Dad, you can use pretty much any of my letters that I have already sent to tell the ward back home. You can use that paragraph above as well!
Monday, September 13, 2010
Monday, Sept 13, 2010
Oi Família!
First of all, I want to apologize for not writing a lot in my last letter to you all. I was in such a hurry because that day wasn´t even my preparation day, but we are still required to email on Mondays, so I didn´t have a much time as I wanted. I pretty much spent the majority of the time giving Brady dating advice, but it looks like he doesn´t even need it! haha I´m glad you had fun Brady! I want to hear how school is going for everyone else! Only Brady is writing to me about these things lol Tambi is writing to me too, but she only talks about Kitty and Pumpkins growing in the front yard haha just kidding Tam :) But that fire pit in the backyard is a really good idea. Did you guys pull out that old swing set? I think we should have done the firepit thing a long time ago. Good idea Tambi! Sounds like Payson football is still limping around... I hope they end up doing well in Region-play. I heard that the Cougars had a bit of a hiccup with Air Force this weekend. What happened there? And I was in the house of a member yesterday and they were watching football... Yeah, American Football! I wasn´t watching, but I did happen to glance at the TV and see that the Rams were winning their game, did they pull it out?!
Well, my trainer Elder Stott was transferred this week and I stayed in my area. My new companion is Elder Jordan Roblyer from... go figure, LOGAN!!! How crazy is this? It´s like Utah State will never leave me, no matter where I go in my life. He has been on his mission for nine months now and he graduated the same year as me, so he was friends with all of my friends from USU. It is so weird that we have the same inside jokes between us and we never even knew each other before the mission. He is my exact height, my exact weight, and he played football and basketball in high school. When we walk down the streets here, we look like two big white giants. It´s pretty amazing. He is a really good missionary when it comes to teaching people, but he is a little loose with the rules and it is definitely taking a tole on me right now. He and I get along really well, but there is always something that we could do to make ourselves better. I just know that it is really important to not let the way others act influence your attitude. This will be a fun transfer, I am learning how to teach better and better each day, and I am speaking Portuguese better than I could have ever imagined. That is another good thing about Elder Roblyer; we don´t talk a bit in English. I can´t wait to call you guys on Christmas and show you how far I´ve come!
I have a cool thing I´d like to share that I learned from the Book of Mormon this past week. If you look in 1 Nephi 8 you will read about Lehi´s vision of the Tree of Life. The purpose of the Tree of Life is for everyone to taste of the fruit of the tree because it signifies the Love of God. We have the Iron Rod that is the Word of God that will lead us directly to the tree and we have the large and spacious building with the wicked people who are in it. Lehi sees great multitudes who are on the path to the Tree of Life so they can taste of the Love of God. They are progressing and finally reach the fruit and taste of it. In verse 28, Lehi sees people who have already tasted and known of the Love of God, but the people in the large and spacious building start to make fun of the people who are trying to follow God. Unfortunately, the people who listen to them fall away and start down paths away from God and are lost. Then in verse 33 and 34 we see that the people started making fun of Nephi, but Nephi did something to not let it get to him... he didn´t listen. Unfortunately, people will make fun of you because you believe the way you believe, they will try to persuade you to deny the very Love of God that you have already felt in your life. But we just need to do what Nephi did... don´t listen! We are children of our Father in Heaven and He wants us all to return to live with Him, so don´t let people persuade you to stray from that path. Unfortunately, some of that bad persuasion comes from within the Church itself as well. Stand firm and do what you know is right, and in the end we will have the reward of living together forever as a family.
I love this Church, I love this work, I love the scriptures, I love my family, and I love my Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. I know that They have given us a plan to follow so we can make back to him. I am so grateful that I was taught this plan and that I have the opportunity to teach it to the people here. I hope everyone has a great week! Oh and Dad, I didn´t get an email from you this week again, I hope everything´s all right! Love you guys!
Love,
Elder Clark
First of all, I want to apologize for not writing a lot in my last letter to you all. I was in such a hurry because that day wasn´t even my preparation day, but we are still required to email on Mondays, so I didn´t have a much time as I wanted. I pretty much spent the majority of the time giving Brady dating advice, but it looks like he doesn´t even need it! haha I´m glad you had fun Brady! I want to hear how school is going for everyone else! Only Brady is writing to me about these things lol Tambi is writing to me too, but she only talks about Kitty and Pumpkins growing in the front yard haha just kidding Tam :) But that fire pit in the backyard is a really good idea. Did you guys pull out that old swing set? I think we should have done the firepit thing a long time ago. Good idea Tambi! Sounds like Payson football is still limping around... I hope they end up doing well in Region-play. I heard that the Cougars had a bit of a hiccup with Air Force this weekend. What happened there? And I was in the house of a member yesterday and they were watching football... Yeah, American Football! I wasn´t watching, but I did happen to glance at the TV and see that the Rams were winning their game, did they pull it out?!
Well, my trainer Elder Stott was transferred this week and I stayed in my area. My new companion is Elder Jordan Roblyer from... go figure, LOGAN!!! How crazy is this? It´s like Utah State will never leave me, no matter where I go in my life. He has been on his mission for nine months now and he graduated the same year as me, so he was friends with all of my friends from USU. It is so weird that we have the same inside jokes between us and we never even knew each other before the mission. He is my exact height, my exact weight, and he played football and basketball in high school. When we walk down the streets here, we look like two big white giants. It´s pretty amazing. He is a really good missionary when it comes to teaching people, but he is a little loose with the rules and it is definitely taking a tole on me right now. He and I get along really well, but there is always something that we could do to make ourselves better. I just know that it is really important to not let the way others act influence your attitude. This will be a fun transfer, I am learning how to teach better and better each day, and I am speaking Portuguese better than I could have ever imagined. That is another good thing about Elder Roblyer; we don´t talk a bit in English. I can´t wait to call you guys on Christmas and show you how far I´ve come!
I have a cool thing I´d like to share that I learned from the Book of Mormon this past week. If you look in 1 Nephi 8 you will read about Lehi´s vision of the Tree of Life. The purpose of the Tree of Life is for everyone to taste of the fruit of the tree because it signifies the Love of God. We have the Iron Rod that is the Word of God that will lead us directly to the tree and we have the large and spacious building with the wicked people who are in it. Lehi sees great multitudes who are on the path to the Tree of Life so they can taste of the Love of God. They are progressing and finally reach the fruit and taste of it. In verse 28, Lehi sees people who have already tasted and known of the Love of God, but the people in the large and spacious building start to make fun of the people who are trying to follow God. Unfortunately, the people who listen to them fall away and start down paths away from God and are lost. Then in verse 33 and 34 we see that the people started making fun of Nephi, but Nephi did something to not let it get to him... he didn´t listen. Unfortunately, people will make fun of you because you believe the way you believe, they will try to persuade you to deny the very Love of God that you have already felt in your life. But we just need to do what Nephi did... don´t listen! We are children of our Father in Heaven and He wants us all to return to live with Him, so don´t let people persuade you to stray from that path. Unfortunately, some of that bad persuasion comes from within the Church itself as well. Stand firm and do what you know is right, and in the end we will have the reward of living together forever as a family.
I love this Church, I love this work, I love the scriptures, I love my family, and I love my Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. I know that They have given us a plan to follow so we can make back to him. I am so grateful that I was taught this plan and that I have the opportunity to teach it to the people here. I hope everyone has a great week! Oh and Dad, I didn´t get an email from you this week again, I hope everything´s all right! Love you guys!
Love,
Elder Clark
Monday, August 30, 2010
Monday, Aug 30 2010
Oi Família!
So school started already? I cannot believe it! I want to hear about everyone´s first day! I already heard about Jessica´s fiasco with the schedule haha don´t worry, I did almost the same thing so it happens to the best of us! I was thinking about you guys all week long hoping that you´re first days of school were fantastic!
So this week was definitely a learning experience. So we did a last minute division with my District Leader this Thursday. His name is Elder Chad and he is one awesome missionary. He and I have been pretty good friends here on the mission because he lives in the same house as us and we talk about basketball all the time. I have been waiting to do splits with him for a while because I knew that I would learn a lot from him. Well, to start off the day, I completely lost ourselves on the streets trying to find a few inactive members so it was a good start to the day. Then we almost couldn´t find where the house where our lunch was, and then we had to stop by the chapel really quick for something... and I broke the key inside of the door, so we couldn´t get in. Then all of our other appointments fell through and then I got really down on myself. Elder Chad could tell that I wasn´t having a good day, so we stopped for a while and we talked about somethings that were just bothering me. We talked about what was really eating at me and I found out that it was really because I am afraid that my Heavenly Father is disappointed in me when things aren´t going so well. I know that I am supposed to be here working my hardest, and when things fall through, I feel like He is not happy with my work. That has been my theme for almost my whole life. I love to make my parents proud; whenever I did something that made you guys smile, I got the biggest joy out of it. It´s the same thing with my Father in Heaven; I want so badly that he is proud of the work I´m doing out here. After that day, I really felt like I had let Him down and it really got to me. Elder Chad told to me really pray for help that night and he gave me some advice on how to not get so down on myself. I was reading the very next morning in the book of Ether in the Book of Mormon in chapter 12. I read two verses in particular that helped me. The first was where is says the Lord gives and shows us our weaknesses so that we rely on Him for everything and thus we are made stronger through Him. So I prayed for His complete guidance and help that day. The next verse talked about how blessings only come after the trial of faith. I was so depressed after that one day and felt like I had let God down, but the very next day I felt like He had put a big arm around me and told me that everything was okay. We taught 11 lessons the next day and found more people to teach this week! Through the power of the Holy Ghost, I realized that if am doing my very best and keeping all of the mission rules, my Heavenly Father is proud of me. Just how you have only asked that I do my best and you´d be happy with me, my Heavenly Father is saying the same thing. I want everyone here to have this feeling of love and comfort from God, so I will be working twice as hard this week!
I love you all and I hope you all had a great time at school this week! I hope that this week is twice as good! Oh and Mom and Dad, I don´t know if there was a problem with my email or something, but I didn´t get a message from either of you two this week. I love you both with all my heart and I am so greatful for the things that you taught me! I love being a missionary! I am learning so much. Have a great week! Love you!
Elder Clark
So school started already? I cannot believe it! I want to hear about everyone´s first day! I already heard about Jessica´s fiasco with the schedule haha don´t worry, I did almost the same thing so it happens to the best of us! I was thinking about you guys all week long hoping that you´re first days of school were fantastic!
So this week was definitely a learning experience. So we did a last minute division with my District Leader this Thursday. His name is Elder Chad and he is one awesome missionary. He and I have been pretty good friends here on the mission because he lives in the same house as us and we talk about basketball all the time. I have been waiting to do splits with him for a while because I knew that I would learn a lot from him. Well, to start off the day, I completely lost ourselves on the streets trying to find a few inactive members so it was a good start to the day. Then we almost couldn´t find where the house where our lunch was, and then we had to stop by the chapel really quick for something... and I broke the key inside of the door, so we couldn´t get in. Then all of our other appointments fell through and then I got really down on myself. Elder Chad could tell that I wasn´t having a good day, so we stopped for a while and we talked about somethings that were just bothering me. We talked about what was really eating at me and I found out that it was really because I am afraid that my Heavenly Father is disappointed in me when things aren´t going so well. I know that I am supposed to be here working my hardest, and when things fall through, I feel like He is not happy with my work. That has been my theme for almost my whole life. I love to make my parents proud; whenever I did something that made you guys smile, I got the biggest joy out of it. It´s the same thing with my Father in Heaven; I want so badly that he is proud of the work I´m doing out here. After that day, I really felt like I had let Him down and it really got to me. Elder Chad told to me really pray for help that night and he gave me some advice on how to not get so down on myself. I was reading the very next morning in the book of Ether in the Book of Mormon in chapter 12. I read two verses in particular that helped me. The first was where is says the Lord gives and shows us our weaknesses so that we rely on Him for everything and thus we are made stronger through Him. So I prayed for His complete guidance and help that day. The next verse talked about how blessings only come after the trial of faith. I was so depressed after that one day and felt like I had let God down, but the very next day I felt like He had put a big arm around me and told me that everything was okay. We taught 11 lessons the next day and found more people to teach this week! Through the power of the Holy Ghost, I realized that if am doing my very best and keeping all of the mission rules, my Heavenly Father is proud of me. Just how you have only asked that I do my best and you´d be happy with me, my Heavenly Father is saying the same thing. I want everyone here to have this feeling of love and comfort from God, so I will be working twice as hard this week!
I love you all and I hope you all had a great time at school this week! I hope that this week is twice as good! Oh and Mom and Dad, I don´t know if there was a problem with my email or something, but I didn´t get a message from either of you two this week. I love you both with all my heart and I am so greatful for the things that you taught me! I love being a missionary! I am learning so much. Have a great week! Love you!
Elder Clark
Monday, August 23, 2010
Monday August 23rd 2010
Oi!
Just another day in paradise here in good ol´ Limoeiro! I am not sick anymore and I feel as good as new! I finally passed through all of my sickness and I am ready for another week of work. So, to recap this weekend... We had Gabriel and Eliane marked for baptism this last Sunday, and Gabriel was baptized and he is on his way to becoming another strong member of the Church, but Eliane ran into some snags. She had her baptismal interview this Saturday, but she told us that she had a few worries. She is going through a nasty divorce with her husband Silvio and the problem is that he will not move out of the house. Eliane knows 100% that this is the true Church of Jesus Christ, but I think she wants to put off her baptism until all of this messy stuff with the divorce is cleared up. I know that she will be baptized and the sooner would be better, but I know that the Lord is preparing her and protecting their family everyday. Gabriel told me yesterday after his baptism that he felt clean and also asked me how he can prepare to be a missionary. I love this Gospel and I love what it does for us. I told him that he just has to keep being the kid that he already is.
We also had a pretty good visit with one of our eternal investigators. His name is Valter and he is an attorney. His entire family are members and he has been coming to Church for the past few years with them. He has a testimony of the Church, the Book of Mormon, and Joseph Smith, but for some reason he is still avoiding baptism. I think he is afraid of water, but that´s just my opinion. You´d be surprised at how many people aren´t baptized because they don´t like the water lol. We did a family home evening with him and watched the movie The Testaments with him (fantastic idea for family home evening), and he and his family loved it! The Spirit was there and we invited him to be baptized... and he danced around the question a bit... his 16 year old daughter gave him the puppy dog eyes... and he still shook his head and said not yet. That just goes to show that unless your heart is opened completely for an answer from the Lord, you won´t have the will to do what he asks. Valter is a great guy and I am almost 100% positive that he will be baptized before I leave this area, but he will need a little bit more time.
So one cool thing about my name here in Brazil... Everyone knows who Superman is, so when I introduce myself everyone says, oh yeah! Clark! Like Clark Kent! So now my name has changed almost permanently from Elder Clark, to Elder Superman lol. And now my entire zone is calling me that, so I think I want to get another nametag with that on it and send it home for you guys haha.
I´m having a great time out here and picking up on Portuguese little by little. It´s frustrating to say the least, but I have learned so much and so fast, and I know it´s only because of the Lord. I am loving the scriptures so much! I love my study time out here too! I wake up and go immediately to my desk to read my scriptures because that one hour is not enough. Good luck to everyone starting school out there! You guys are in my prayers! Love you all!
Love,
Elder Clark
Just another day in paradise here in good ol´ Limoeiro! I am not sick anymore and I feel as good as new! I finally passed through all of my sickness and I am ready for another week of work. So, to recap this weekend... We had Gabriel and Eliane marked for baptism this last Sunday, and Gabriel was baptized and he is on his way to becoming another strong member of the Church, but Eliane ran into some snags. She had her baptismal interview this Saturday, but she told us that she had a few worries. She is going through a nasty divorce with her husband Silvio and the problem is that he will not move out of the house. Eliane knows 100% that this is the true Church of Jesus Christ, but I think she wants to put off her baptism until all of this messy stuff with the divorce is cleared up. I know that she will be baptized and the sooner would be better, but I know that the Lord is preparing her and protecting their family everyday. Gabriel told me yesterday after his baptism that he felt clean and also asked me how he can prepare to be a missionary. I love this Gospel and I love what it does for us. I told him that he just has to keep being the kid that he already is.
We also had a pretty good visit with one of our eternal investigators. His name is Valter and he is an attorney. His entire family are members and he has been coming to Church for the past few years with them. He has a testimony of the Church, the Book of Mormon, and Joseph Smith, but for some reason he is still avoiding baptism. I think he is afraid of water, but that´s just my opinion. You´d be surprised at how many people aren´t baptized because they don´t like the water lol. We did a family home evening with him and watched the movie The Testaments with him (fantastic idea for family home evening), and he and his family loved it! The Spirit was there and we invited him to be baptized... and he danced around the question a bit... his 16 year old daughter gave him the puppy dog eyes... and he still shook his head and said not yet. That just goes to show that unless your heart is opened completely for an answer from the Lord, you won´t have the will to do what he asks. Valter is a great guy and I am almost 100% positive that he will be baptized before I leave this area, but he will need a little bit more time.
So one cool thing about my name here in Brazil... Everyone knows who Superman is, so when I introduce myself everyone says, oh yeah! Clark! Like Clark Kent! So now my name has changed almost permanently from Elder Clark, to Elder Superman lol. And now my entire zone is calling me that, so I think I want to get another nametag with that on it and send it home for you guys haha.
I´m having a great time out here and picking up on Portuguese little by little. It´s frustrating to say the least, but I have learned so much and so fast, and I know it´s only because of the Lord. I am loving the scriptures so much! I love my study time out here too! I wake up and go immediately to my desk to read my scriptures because that one hour is not enough. Good luck to everyone starting school out there! You guys are in my prayers! Love you all!
Love,
Elder Clark
Monday, August 16, 2010
Monday, Aug 16th
Oi Família!
Well, like you all have said, another week has come and gone again! I really can´t believe how fast this is going. I had quite an uneventful week unfortunately. I got sick on Monday last week with a fever, migraine, and sore throat and I didn´t recover until this morning. I was in bed for two days straight because I was unable to work. Luckily, I was able to get a blessing from Elder Stott and the second counselor in the Bishopric earlier in the week. I never realized how much pollution was in the state of São Paulo, but it was so hard for me to breath this week! I love this place and all, but the thing that´s been an obstacle to get over is the pollution in the air. When I really take a look on everything, I am really blessed that the pollution is my problem right now, especially because it could be much worse.
For everyone who is wondering back home, I am not getting fat. I don´t know if anyone was wondering or hoping that I´d get fat, but I have actually been losing a lot of weight, which is weird and shouldn´t be because all I eat is macarroni and chocolate! I am about at 82 kilos (you´re going to have to do the conversion on that lol).
One thing about Brasil that is really interesting and hard for me at the same time is that all of the music that we have in the United States, they love down here! So I am sitting here typing this letter with Kesha on the radio. It´s hard because we try so hard to keep the Spirit with us, but this music comes on and we all start thinking about home again lol But it is so weird to hear music from the U.S. here.
Mardeson was confirmed this week and we received three more investigators and two more marked for baptism this next Sunday in spite of me being sick. Blessings still come even when you aren´t at your best; this is how we really know that the Lord loves us. The two who we marked for baptism have quite the story. So, their names are Eliane and Gabriel, a mother and son, and they were investigators of the missionaries before me. Eliane is a surgical assistant, one of very few in the state of São Paulo, so she is always on call and very difficult to mark any visit with her. Gabriel is a 13 year old boy who absolutely loves American music like Kesha and Pink, so everytime we go over there, he puts on one of their CDs. I would tell him to turn it off while we are there, but here is his story. His parents are still together, but his father is very abusive to him. His dad does not want anything to do with the Gospel. The hard thing for Gabriel is that he has a little sister who his dad absolutely adores and wouldn´t harm, but to Gabriel he is very different. Gabriel doesn´t many friends and doesn´t get to talk to many people during the day, so when we get there to share a message with him, we are his only friends that he has, so he wants to talk about other things than just the Gospel. It´s very sad to me, but I am hoping and praying that Eliane will be able to get work off this next Sunday so they can be baptized. I know that the Lord has great plans for his family, and he will have a better life within the Church. They know so much already and have great testimonies of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon.
I love this mission that the Lord has chosen me to serve for Him. He is molding me everyday and helping me with the language day by day. I know that this Church is true, and I know that our Savior is leading and guiding it even today.
So school is starting up already??? I do not believe it! Don´t let Brady scare you Jessica haha you and Kailey are going to have a blast! Oh and Kailey, I had a half locker in D hall too!!! Brady is going to be a big bad sophomore already! I still remember walking into Payson High my first time... My advice is to notice how the seniors act. Not just the regular seniors, but the really awesome seniors, the ones that have plans to serve missions and be the type of man they need to be. I hope Brady finds a Derek or Dustin Rowley, or a McKay Massey. Good luck everyone! I love you all! Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Clark
Well, like you all have said, another week has come and gone again! I really can´t believe how fast this is going. I had quite an uneventful week unfortunately. I got sick on Monday last week with a fever, migraine, and sore throat and I didn´t recover until this morning. I was in bed for two days straight because I was unable to work. Luckily, I was able to get a blessing from Elder Stott and the second counselor in the Bishopric earlier in the week. I never realized how much pollution was in the state of São Paulo, but it was so hard for me to breath this week! I love this place and all, but the thing that´s been an obstacle to get over is the pollution in the air. When I really take a look on everything, I am really blessed that the pollution is my problem right now, especially because it could be much worse.
For everyone who is wondering back home, I am not getting fat. I don´t know if anyone was wondering or hoping that I´d get fat, but I have actually been losing a lot of weight, which is weird and shouldn´t be because all I eat is macarroni and chocolate! I am about at 82 kilos (you´re going to have to do the conversion on that lol).
One thing about Brasil that is really interesting and hard for me at the same time is that all of the music that we have in the United States, they love down here! So I am sitting here typing this letter with Kesha on the radio. It´s hard because we try so hard to keep the Spirit with us, but this music comes on and we all start thinking about home again lol But it is so weird to hear music from the U.S. here.
Mardeson was confirmed this week and we received three more investigators and two more marked for baptism this next Sunday in spite of me being sick. Blessings still come even when you aren´t at your best; this is how we really know that the Lord loves us. The two who we marked for baptism have quite the story. So, their names are Eliane and Gabriel, a mother and son, and they were investigators of the missionaries before me. Eliane is a surgical assistant, one of very few in the state of São Paulo, so she is always on call and very difficult to mark any visit with her. Gabriel is a 13 year old boy who absolutely loves American music like Kesha and Pink, so everytime we go over there, he puts on one of their CDs. I would tell him to turn it off while we are there, but here is his story. His parents are still together, but his father is very abusive to him. His dad does not want anything to do with the Gospel. The hard thing for Gabriel is that he has a little sister who his dad absolutely adores and wouldn´t harm, but to Gabriel he is very different. Gabriel doesn´t many friends and doesn´t get to talk to many people during the day, so when we get there to share a message with him, we are his only friends that he has, so he wants to talk about other things than just the Gospel. It´s very sad to me, but I am hoping and praying that Eliane will be able to get work off this next Sunday so they can be baptized. I know that the Lord has great plans for his family, and he will have a better life within the Church. They know so much already and have great testimonies of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon.
I love this mission that the Lord has chosen me to serve for Him. He is molding me everyday and helping me with the language day by day. I know that this Church is true, and I know that our Savior is leading and guiding it even today.
So school is starting up already??? I do not believe it! Don´t let Brady scare you Jessica haha you and Kailey are going to have a blast! Oh and Kailey, I had a half locker in D hall too!!! Brady is going to be a big bad sophomore already! I still remember walking into Payson High my first time... My advice is to notice how the seniors act. Not just the regular seniors, but the really awesome seniors, the ones that have plans to serve missions and be the type of man they need to be. I hope Brady finds a Derek or Dustin Rowley, or a McKay Massey. Good luck everyone! I love you all! Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Clark
Monday, August 9, 2010
Monday, Aug 9, 2010
Hello my Family!
Well, Mardeson´s baptism fell through... in the water! It was such a great experience this last Sunday. I was getting so nervous throughout the week as we were building up to his baptism, but when I arrived at the chapel on Sunday, I felt fine. We had nearly half the ward there at the service. It is so amazing to me to see the support that the ward members have here in this ward. All of them love to support the missionary program because almost all of them are converts themselves, so they were brought to the knowledge of the Restored Gospel by a missionary once before. Well, they don´t necessarily have water heaters here in Brazil, so our baptismal font was about as cold as Payson lakes in the spring. I only had to put him under one time, but I had to repeat the baptismal prayer a couple times because I couldn´t get his name right. Mardeson Lucio Almeida e Silva plus the rest of the prayer in Portuguese! Foi bom! haha We got out and were getting redressed in the bathroom and I asked Mardeson how he felt. He looked at me and said, "Puro, puro demais" which translates, clean, clean as ever... This kid is one of the elects that Heavenly Father has prepared to help build His kingdom here on the earth. I can almost bet money that Mardeson will serve a mission before I even get home from my mission.
Let´s see, what else has been going on here... So us four missionaries have been having a great time in our house after each day. As of late, we´re stuck on one joke in particular. It´s one that the comedian Frank Caliendo says when he is impersonating John Madden. He says, "the field is half grass and half turf... but Brett Favre is ALL man!" So now we add that into our work. We´ll be walking down the street after we had just been turned down by some guy, and we´ll say, that man was half catholic and half evangelico... but Brett Favre is ALL man! It definitely helps get through the day. We also made french toast last night! I´m having a great time out here!
I´m learning a lot everyday whether it be Portuguese or the Gospel, but I truly cherish everything that has come from my mission. The people here are extremely kind and it makes me grateful that I am in a great area or the world.
I cannot believe that Brady is already 16 years old! This is absolutely crazy... Happy Birthday Brady!!! Take care of the Jeep for me, even though you already have girl troubles haha That is so cool to hear about the things you all are doing right now. Keep me updated on these things. Thanks for all the messages Aunt Roxy and Uncle Bi Ri!
Love you all!!! Have a great week!!!!
Love,
Elder Clark
Well, Mardeson´s baptism fell through... in the water! It was such a great experience this last Sunday. I was getting so nervous throughout the week as we were building up to his baptism, but when I arrived at the chapel on Sunday, I felt fine. We had nearly half the ward there at the service. It is so amazing to me to see the support that the ward members have here in this ward. All of them love to support the missionary program because almost all of them are converts themselves, so they were brought to the knowledge of the Restored Gospel by a missionary once before. Well, they don´t necessarily have water heaters here in Brazil, so our baptismal font was about as cold as Payson lakes in the spring. I only had to put him under one time, but I had to repeat the baptismal prayer a couple times because I couldn´t get his name right. Mardeson Lucio Almeida e Silva plus the rest of the prayer in Portuguese! Foi bom! haha We got out and were getting redressed in the bathroom and I asked Mardeson how he felt. He looked at me and said, "Puro, puro demais" which translates, clean, clean as ever... This kid is one of the elects that Heavenly Father has prepared to help build His kingdom here on the earth. I can almost bet money that Mardeson will serve a mission before I even get home from my mission.
Let´s see, what else has been going on here... So us four missionaries have been having a great time in our house after each day. As of late, we´re stuck on one joke in particular. It´s one that the comedian Frank Caliendo says when he is impersonating John Madden. He says, "the field is half grass and half turf... but Brett Favre is ALL man!" So now we add that into our work. We´ll be walking down the street after we had just been turned down by some guy, and we´ll say, that man was half catholic and half evangelico... but Brett Favre is ALL man! It definitely helps get through the day. We also made french toast last night! I´m having a great time out here!
I´m learning a lot everyday whether it be Portuguese or the Gospel, but I truly cherish everything that has come from my mission. The people here are extremely kind and it makes me grateful that I am in a great area or the world.
I cannot believe that Brady is already 16 years old! This is absolutely crazy... Happy Birthday Brady!!! Take care of the Jeep for me, even though you already have girl troubles haha That is so cool to hear about the things you all are doing right now. Keep me updated on these things. Thanks for all the messages Aunt Roxy and Uncle Bi Ri!
Love you all!!! Have a great week!!!!
Love,
Elder Clark
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