Loving Where He is Serving and Finding Similiar Things in the City

His emails are never very long, but he sounds so great and very happy.  Wayne is usually able to be on with him for a a few back and forth chats and makes sure things are good.  But, to be honest, his pictures are worth way more than anything.  I have told friends that he could be having a miserable time, but his pictures would never show it.  They his smile is worth every dime we paid for it.  Enjoy...

hola familia! We are in Centro Monterrey today. We took the bus here and took the metro which is super fun. It is just like the subways in New York. So many people here and everyone stares at us haha. this week was a good week. we had a noche de barrio where we watched Monte del Senor. A story about the Salt Lake temple. I had never seen it! It was awesome though. There was a lot of things I learned that I had no idea about. We had divisions with the zone leaders and that was way cool. I was in San Nicolas for the day and loved it. The Spanish is coming along, and I am loving it here. Where I am at, Sabinas is super small but everyone has a Browning sticker on their car!! like the same Browning as Morgan Utah. it is pretty funny. I don't have much time but we also spoke in church and that was good and we came to the city today. oh!! and we talked to this guy in the city and he saw my name and he showed me a friend on Facebook he had with the same name! So there is a white family here in Monterrey somewhere with the last name of Clayton! Familia! haha So that ws funny. Love you all! 

--

Elder Clayton

A Short Letter, but Great Pics...

This week I decided to include my email to him, his reply to me was a good one and it only makes sense if my email is included.  I love him and I miss talking him.  He is a good boy and I always liked when he would talk with me.  I am certain he is having good conversations with people in Mexico and helping people make good choices.  

Well, I just was typing you an email, and I lost it. Seriously! Dang, I'm sorry. I hope I remember what I wanted to say. This week wasn't the most exciting one, but it was busy. I worked Monday and Tuesday and then Joe went to Rock Springs and so we were able to kind of play catch up at the office. Those are good days, kind of easy to get things done, then Friday and Saturday it was my 30 year reunion. Friday it was alumni at the North Canyon Park and it was really fun. It was crazy to talk to some of my old friends and see the direction they had gone. So many of them had made such poor choices, several divorces and oh boy, I was so glad I had made the good choices I had, and was the person I was. Saturday night was really fun. I have a good friend who was murdered in Las Vegas and had 4 kids one that was 1 month old and her daughter took the kids and is raising them. We took all the proceeds and gave them to her family. It was a good cause and it was awesome. I can't wait to see how much we collected. It was great.

I told dad as we drove away, i wouldn't trade who I am for anything, I am glad for what I have. I love my life. Today, we had a few people from Quest talk. Dad was one of them. It was a good meeting. I always love these meetings. It is always good to hear how it affects those who were there. And it was great. We sang I Know that my Redeemer Lives. My all time favorite Hymn. It was a good day at church. Tonight the girls are going to Lake Powell. There are 44 people going. 16 LEADERS. I wish I was going,Maybe one day.

Well, as you can see not a great week for much to write, this is my last week of being the Stake Primary President. I will be released on Sunday. It has been a good thing I have learned so much and it will be interesting to see what's next for me. But, onward and upward, right.

I started reading the Book of Mormon again, it takes on a whole new meaning after you come back from Quest, now you see the kids in the roles and it's so awesome. We had our reunion party with our tribe as one of our girls goes home to VA next week. It was so much fun. I will send a couple of pictures to you. one is of the girl going home. She didn't think I could lift here, I told her I workout every day, so seriously, it was not a problem. We had it at Berven's pool.

I love you pal. I am so proud of you. I love the pictures you send home, always with a smile on your face. Remember we are praying for you at home, everyday.

Love and miss you... MOM

Elder Clayton's reply to me:  That sounds like so much fun mom! Choices are what we become. So much truth to that. It will be interesting to see where peope I went to high school with will be. Quest talks sound super good to. your tribe looked pretty fun. you did a great job with primary and I still have pictures of Thomas S Monson, I give them to other missionaries and they love it. I love our family. thanks for doing what is right. The Book of Mormon is amazing too. go look up 2 Nephi 12 :2 and see the first word of moutains? look at the u and then find the T below it and it spells utah! Pretty crazy. Its so hot here somedays and washing clothes by hand takes forever but it is fun. me and my comp workout at night to music so we are staying in shape.

--

Elder Clayton

His email this week wasn't that long, but his pictures made up for it.  I jokingly said to a friend this week, he could be miserable, but his awesome smile would hide it.  Love him so much and miss him, but he looks so happy.  Enjoy...

Hey everyone. This week was pretty relaxed. I am speaking in church next week! So that will be fun to see how that goes haha. After hearing about the campout I wish I could have gone and the next day we ate bbq. and the ribs were like the ribs we always eat at the campout funny huh? on Wednesday we had divisions, I went to another area close to Monterrey. I was on a bus for 3 hours there and 3 hours the next day. So didn't get much done there. The next day we hit up El Pollo Loco and that was super good. It is better in Mexico than in the states. Also, we have been fasting for two people. They are spouses to actives. and if they get baptized it would be another complete family coming to church. So we are looking forward to see how we can work with them. I am loving it though. I don't have much time but Love you all!
 ---Elder Clayton

 President & Sister Swap with Elder Clayton

Looks like things are not too bad!

Gagging Down Sardines & Biking to Church

I wish every week we were able to get two emails so quickly.  But, we won't be able to, however we will enjoy and cherish this one.  He sounds so good and looks even better.  Doing the wash in a bucket with a smile on his face tells us that he is loving every minute of what he is doing. He was so worried about what he was going to eat wherever he was sent, but it's funny to see that even though they are not his favorite he is being blessed and able to get whatever it is down, and laugh about it after words.

 Enjoy...

Hello Family! Looks like the neighborhood campout was pretty fun. It is always a good time up there. Any funny stories that happened? Quest looked pretty fun too! So we went to the temple Wednesday so out pday was changed just for that week. I haven't had a normal pday in a while! So it has been going well here in Sabinas and I wanted to tell you all about what we usually eat here. So on Saturday we eat with a really cool member and she always feeds us amazing food. She took us to this restaurant and we had Carne Asada!! It was so good. and there was a ton of it! It is pretty much steak. but we eat it with salsa, tortillas and of course a coke! You can drink the water in Monterrey, but cant really up here. but people still give it to us to drink. Bottoms up. right? So that was Saturday, then yesterday, so we biked 2 miles  in the morning to try and invite a family to church that we had talked to on Thursday and they said they would go. So we get up bike, and they aren't home! Probably sleeping but whatever, so we bike to church and we are a couple minutes late and it starts. It was a good week with about 20 people there. Then after, we broke our fast with some Chokis. Super good cookies just like Chips ahoy and biked to lunch. We only have one meal a day. its at 2:00 with members. So we bike over there to eat with this family who hasn't been to church in like 7 weeks. They forgot that we were eating with them. So the lady was like Oh Yeah! I can make something really quick. So shes in the kitchen and she asks if we are allergic to fish...haha ah freak. So she brings it out and its Sardines! then the rice and beans have been cooked in sardine oil. ah man. it was hard to eat. I gagged like the whole time. hahah It was all good though. And now it is Pday, we are washing our clothes and going shopping after this. We have district meeting tomorrow so we take a bus into the city, which is always a good time because we can watch a movie!! Well, that's about it. I will try and get pictures next week. Love and miss you all!!

 Elder Clayton and his district at the Monterrey Temple

Doing his laundry, and still with his awesome smile.  Oh, how I miss him...still!

Settling in, getting a Coke, and just where he should be...in Monterrey!

Last week we heard only a couple of sentences letting us know that he had gotten to his mission, but nothing really of who or where he was going to actually serve.  So, were anxiously awaiting his email on Monday, which did not come.  Faith always comes into play on these things and we knew that as always "no news, is good news."  Wednesday as I was preparing to leave work and get ready for our annual neighborhood campout, an email popped in with this:  "I am Alive"  I was so excited to see this.  He said he was hoping to send photos soon and had so much to tell us.  I immediately replied, and said I was hoping that was not all as we were leaving for the weekend and would not have internet service and then it would be another few days to hear from him.  Then the letter popped in and pictures to follow.  Wayne was on the train and was able to email back and forth with him and he said how he was doing well, it was a hectic day getting there, but all was well and he is so happy and just where he should be.  But, I will let you read for yourselves.  As you will see our Father in Heaven is very aware of this young man in every aspect of his journey and he is going and doing exactly what is best for him.  Prayers are heard and answered, I am so sure of this.  And with every email I am assured that this is once again happening in this Elder Clayton's adventure, too.  Enjoy, it's a good one...

Hola de MTY Famila!!

So I will go day by day and tell you everything there is to tell. So last Monday was pretty hard. Getting here and traveling alone was stressful, but talking to all of you made my day. When Flew into Monterrey, it was incredible. I had googled that city so much, but to see it in real life was crazy. I haven't stopped sweating since I got here because it is so hot. even at night. So I met my Mission President, his wife and the other new missionaries and got our trainers! My companion is Elder Erwin from Provo and he is going home this transfer! He is a great missionary and we work well together. To get to our area, we take a bus ride for an hour and a half and get to watch a movie haha. But It is in the middle of nowhere. The city is pretty exciting and we go once a week for district meeting and the temple. The first night we got here we met the president went to the chapel and came home to our house and all the lights were on and the door was open........I for sure thought my first day in Mexico our house has been broken into haha. but nope. It was the owner of the house and she had come to inspect it!! It was soo messy from the past missionaries. So my first and second night we got home at 9 and cleaned until 1 am....we weren't happy at all and I was super tired. but she left to Monterrey and we pray that we will never see her again haha. on Tuesday we had district meeting in the city and that was fun, and then came back and started to explore the area. We have the whole city to ourselves and it is huge! Oh and by the way, I was supposed to be in the Saltillo mission but my visa never came so now I am in Monterrey West, funny how things turn out. right? So everyone here plays their music as loud as possible and all you hear is Spanish music, but the other day this car comes down the street playing the song shake it up, by the cars. It was so funny, my companion and I laughed pretty hard. on Sunday, we had church and 10 people showed up. So we have a lot of work to do. It is a whole other world down here and there is a lot of crazy stuff to see. but I am loving it. really am. It is hard and has been a hard week, but I have loved it and am going to love it. The Spanish is coming along and it was cool because I can talk with the Latins already and they love it haha. I can understand about 90% of it, but am sometimes restricted to what I want to say. but that will change. Today we went to the temple, we took the bus last night into the city and slept at elders house and woke up at 4 am to the temple. It was pretty cool! Then we went to DAIRY QUEEN!!! So crazy how many American things are down here. Everyone has a coke in hand too. pretty funny. Love MEXICO! Anyways, Love all of you!!

--

Elder Clayton

 He will be just fine!

 Finally...in Monterrey!

Elder Clayton & Elder Erwin

He's in the Mexico Monterrey West Mission...Finally

Well, he's there!  Monday morning we got the call.  He was in the Las Vegas airport.  President Neider took him there.  He was traveling alone which he thought would only be to Dallas Fort Worth Airport where he would meet up with the other missionaries from Provo and then travel with them to Monterrey.  Only to find out that was not the case.  He traveled all the way there alone.  He was a little anxious as he has not really ever been by himself.  He knows he was never really alone, but it made me quite sad as I spoke with him.  He said he was fine, but I could tell he was a little nervous.  He told his dad he got a drink at McDonald's and some fries but wasn't able to eat them.  Not surprised he comes by that quite honestly.  He sounded so good, and he was so ready to go.  Hard to believe we have to remember the sound of his voice until Christmas.  As we watched the clock tick all to quickly the minutes passed and he said goodbye and was on his way.  Later that evening I happened to check my email and was so surprised to see that he had sent a short message to let us know of his safe arrival.  A true tender mercy.  So grateful to a loving mission president who understands that we just want to know that he was indeed there safely, especially as he was traveling alone.  Here it is.  Can't wait to hear from him this week as he gets settled in.  I'm sure it's so different from what he's been used to.  Enjoy, and look forward to pictures and new adventures to come...

Hola Familia! Estoy en Monterrey Nuevo Leon y estoy muy feliz. I had kind of a hectic and crazy day but it is all good now. I am happy to be here and it is going to be awesome, it is really different than Las Vegas, but it is better. Driving to the office was crazy! Such a different country. Just wanted to tell you all I was safe and sound. Thank you for your prayers. Pictures will be coming soon!
--
Elder Clayton

Last Week in Vegas...

When we got his email we did not know that this would be his last email from Vegas.  However Carl, his uncle was in Vegas on business and happened to see two elders on Flamingo Street and stopped to talk to them and ask if they knew Elder Clayton.  Which they replied they, did.  And, loved him!  They told Carl that they thought he had gotten word that his Visa had gotten there and he would be leaving the following week.  This was caused a little concern to us as we will be leaving for Quest, our youth conference and will not be able to have phone access from Tues-Fri.  I called the mission office and talked to a sister there who let me know that she would get word to Stetson of our situation and he could contact us as to when he would be leaving.  On Thursday evening we got a text that said he would be calling in an hour.  About 10:00 p.m. he phoned and we were able to talk to him for about 15 minutes to let us know that, yes.  Monday morning he would be leaving Las Vegas and head to his called area:  Mexico Monterrey West.  He is nervous and excited.  He has loved Vegas.  My good friend Trina Fonua took Elder Clayton and his companion to out for pizza and chocolate cake.  She said they will miss him.  They have loved him as he has loved them, too.  They spoiled him.  Her family has certainly been an answer to my prayers.  Here's his last letter from Vegas.  I can only pray that there is a Trina in Monterrey...

It was a great week here in Vegas!! So thanks for the package. It was so awesome! I had bought peanut butter that day haha. so it is funny. I eat peanut butter toast a lot because that Cuban guy gave us a toaster and I love it. it is the simple things I guess! We met this stellar family the other night, my comp started talking to this lady and asked if we could come in and we did, and they had 3 boys! It really reminded me of our family. The kids were the politest kids in the world and spoke crazy proper Spanish. which is hard to find here in Vegas when it comes to ninos. The kids were aged 13 11 and 5, so it was so similar to our family. We are eating with them Friday and have a lesson. I am looking forward to it. Other than that, we had exchanges and all of my food freaking disappeared when I came back home from the elder who took my place. Kind of dumb but good thing it is pday to day ! I am loving it here in Vegas. oh and ask Bridger about the Honduras experience! Have him re tell it to you all. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. They are mutual. love you all! Have a great week !
-
Elder Clayton

Trina took Elder Clayton and his family out for pizza, chocolate cake and ice cream for his going away party.  Her girls asked, who orders pizza without cheese?  Elder Clayton does, that's who!  LOL  He has loved it there.  A big piece of his heart will stay there.  Thank you Trina and family for taking care of him while he has served there, he loves you.  And so do I for being his 2nd mom and angel!

Laughing in the Rain & Baptisms in Vegas

Having Elder Clayton in Vegas is awesome.  There are people that see him and report back quite often. I know that he wants to head to his "real" area, but, I haven't minded having him there either.  Here is one such time.  Love these.  It's times like these that I know my Father in Heaven is ever so mindful of him, but of me and of my heart.  And that these tender mercies are evidence that He is watching over him each and every day and every thing is just as it should be.

 Mom, I don't have much more time, but I wanted to say thanks for the packages, they just came in! and about the video consenting to searches. that is funny. also, the high school friend! she lives in Michigan and is moving to Vegas, her husband fixes all of the bikes in the mission and we went to visit him and started talking then I told him I was from bountiful, and he said his wife graduated 1983 and worked at Winegars! I told him my mom worked at Winegars! Then he called her and he asked if she knew a Tammy Burningham, and over the phone she was like "yeah I do, her son is in Vegas" then her husband was like "her son is in our living room" haha so funny. It really does all come back and it pays to be nice to everyone. thanks for that example. love you mom

--

Elder Clayton

Here's something fun. Check out these pictures and the rest is in the written words:  

I put this in his pack with this note:

Sent this to Sue. I was almost going to crumple it in your package and then stopped when I saw it was the missionary broad cast. Amazing!!!  Love you pal.

Hello mom!! Actually old news! haha I saw that picture last week on lds.org!!! but it was on the youth page where it was! I totally forgot to tell you about it. Good eye though. Even though his hair is a dead give away!

And here's this week's letter looks like he's having great success in Vegas and was able to go to lunch with my friend Trina and her husband Lonny at Cafe Rio which he loves.  Keith and Eileen which he mentions is my friend from work that hit a moose on the way to thier cabin in Flaming Gorge and we went and took a car to them that is who he is referencing in in the first of his email.  Enjoy, always short, but great...

Hola Familia!! 

This week sounded like a wild one for all of you! I hope Eileen and Keith are alright with their truck and everything. They will be in my prayers. Anyways, this was a great week. A lot went on and I will try to tell you all about it. First off, we had the baptism of Alondra! She had heard all of the lessons before us and she had moved and was on date to get baptized, so we got in contact about 2 weeks ago and set the date and it was a success. She is from Veracruz and doesn't speak very much English, she has friends in the ward so she will fit right in. On Friday and yesterday it rained!! You wouldn't believe how hard it rained! and for like 5 minutes. It almost felt like steam because of how hot the pavement was when the rain fell. but that was fun to see. Also the roads turn into rivers when it rains! We have a recent convert we work with named Carlos, he is so tight. He is from Havana, Cuba! I really think he was in the mafia or something in los ochentas. pero no se. He actually gave me a pocket knife the other day as a gift! He really is so nice and he is fun to talk with. On Saturday Trina took us to Cafe Rio! It was funny to be back at cafe rio, reminded me of home! It was so nice of her and Lonny to take us there. Oh and the 4th of July! We hung out with two families, they were both lots of fun. I guess the thing to do here in Vegas is to "Go to the Rez and get the good stuff" so we had a good time with crazy fireworks from outside of town. People here in Vegas know how to have fun haha. I am glad Caleb and Dad had a good birthday. I am having a good time and miss all of you! Love you! 

Elder Clayton

Baptism of Kim

Kim & Aljondro

Oh how I miss his smile and I can almost hear his laugh...almost!  But he looks so happy!  Can't ask for more than that!!!