Last week with Elder Brown, but feels like it's going to be just Fine!

This was a great day.  Because it was Human Rights Day, I was able to be on instant messaging with him and it was awesome.  This is the email he found out he was getting a new sister!  Bridger told him about his engagement.  He is thrilled and excited to know he is waiting for him to get home before they get married.  It's going to be a fantastic and busy summer at our house.  He's doing amazing and knows that one of them will be moving to a new area.  We will anxiously await his email to see where the change will take him.  Wherever it is, he will love it I'm sure as he has always done fine, whatever area he serves. We will pray for you, pal.  So that the transfer will be easy and you'll feel at home soon.  Enjoy, this is a great one with lots of pictures...

Hola Familia! Felicidades a Bridger and Tori!! Wow, that's pretty cool, even though I have never met Tori, I am sure she is cool and will fit right in with us. I am excited for them both! Cant wait to meet her and for the day of the wedding. This week was a good week, we were out of our zone alot doing baptism interviews for our district leaders, but it was fun to get to know their investigators and I like doing the interviews to see the people and how ready they are for baptism. This will be the last week with Elder Brown! He has been a good comp and we have had a lot of fun these past 3 months, Yesterday I spoke in church, I spoke about praying and personal revelation. I love this ward, just like every area I have been in, I have come to love these people. This ward has a lot of cool people in it and they spoil us!!! haha They are good people, and I hope to see many of them another day. Edna, my convert is doing amazing, she came yesterday and is sad that I might leave, we had a cool visit with her this last week. She is a single mother and her mom is kind of crazy and doesn't help her out and she works full time. but we have promised many blessings to her, and she knows they are true. She has been a solid convert and continues to grow every day. I am thankful for the time I had to teach her and see her growth. Omar came to church, but still is smoking, we are working with him, and we will see whats up with him this week that comes. Tonight we will find out the changes!! I am kind of nervous to see what will happen or where I will go, but I know where ever I may go, I will have new friends and new faces. Oh and we are still reading the book of Mormon, I am still in Mosiah! I love it though. I love Mosiah 5. In the funeral of my convert Jose Manuel, I read Mosiah 5:2, so it has a special meaning to me always. love you all!! Congrats Bridger and Tori! love you both! 

--

Elder Clayton

  Edna is doing well

  This day was super cold, Mexican sombrero! 

 Ouicho y su papa el vaquero

 This is the zone that Elder Brown and I reign over.

Elder Chuquin!! About 6 weeks ago he called me, the small elder, coolest elder ever and told me they had found a less active family and found an older man that wanted to be baptized. I told Elder Chuquin that guy was going to be his first baptism, and it was yesterday!!

 A 17 year old we are teaching little sisters play doll named Tommy haha

 A 17 year old we are teaching and her little sisters play doll named Tommy haha

 Santa

 Elder Neves from Paris...Idaho

 This is our place to be on Saturdays en Santa Catarina. the best tacos de carne asada

Most likely his Last Week in Huasteca. Another place he has grown to LOVE!

This week I decided to include my email to him as his reply will make zero sense if not.  But, it is also such a great response that I felt was worth adding to the email.  He is doing so great and as his time is drawing closer to his return, I can see that it will be so hard for him as he has put his whole heart and soul into this mission.  However, I can't wait to hug him and hear him say, Love you Mom!  He would say it at least 3x a day, many times it was more than that.  But, I don't want to wish it away for him, either.  I can wait...(maybe)...

Hey Pal!  How are you?  Hope this finds you well and happy.  So, glad you got your package, but there was two.  Did you get them both?  I so hope so and that all inside was ok and you liked what was in there.  I will be sending your b-day box, is there anything you need one more time.  This might be the last one I send, maybe not.  But, just depends.  Don't worry about sending us anything.  Save your money.  I just know that you love us and as long as you are taken care of then that's all I need.  I have sent you some cards and letters.  Do you ever get them.  I try to send you ones around the holidays, but I never know if you get them or not.  I hope so!  I know it is fun to have something to hold and re-read over and over.  I just love ya pal!

This week we attended the baptism of a man that lives on Orchard Drive.  He is a dad of a little girl named Gracie and she was actually baptized about two months ago.  He really said he had no interest, and yet he would sit and listen as the missionaries would teach his daughter.  He felt the spirit and knew it was true and then decided he wanted to be baptized, too.  It was probably one of the most awesome baptisms I have been to.   I have been to several baptisms and they are all special and wonderful. But, I have never witnessed an adult male going into the water and the spirit bore witness to me that all of his wrongs were gone.  It was amazing.  I know the power of the atonement. And it was awesome to feel that spirit and realize we get that same promise as we take the sacrament each week.  I loved it!  I also thought of how you and Bridger spent your time doing this exact thing several times and how touching it was as you have witnessed and saw for yourself the change that occurs.  This man is now in such a wonderful and supporting ward.  He seriously is so blessed to live in such an amazing place.

How's Omar.  I have prayed for him everyday and will continue to do so.  It's crazy to think how some struggle with something that comes so natural and un thinking for you and I.  I hope that our prayers have been answered and that he is progressing towards the one thing that will bring such happiness in his life. 

I love that you are doing the BOM challenge with us.  45 days.  You'll read it twice to our one time.  I love the BOM.  Seems like 1st and 2nd Nephi get read the most as some don't ever get past that.  I'm so far on track.  Not bad, 2nd week into the year and challenge. 

Well, pal.  I just want you to know how much I love ya and how proud I am of you as you are accomplishing so much.  These things will benefit you for the rest of your life.  Guaranteed!!!

Love and miss you.

MOM

And his reply:

 Hello mom! I just got the one package, but I am sure the other one will get here soon! thanks though, everything in it was good and well recieved. in one month its my birthday, its crazy! I really liked the butter finger, but whatever is fine with me. I will be home soon, I am grateful for anything honestly. Thats cool that you went to the baptism, help him out, be his friend and help him with anything you can do. Too many converts slip away, and it is very sad because its super hard to get them back. thank you for going to that mans baptism. Tell him Congrats and send my love to him and that I am anxious to meet him. I didnt appreciate the Missionary work before, I know I went with the missionaries and all that, but its different coming out and experiencing it. Tell Caleb to read Preach my Gospel and even start speaking spanish! He will be going to South America I think. Bridger went to Central America I came to Mexico and Caleb is going to Bolivia haha. Oh and the book of mormon is amazing. I just got to Jacob, I am ahead of scedhule, but I love it. The Isiah part is a little hard, but I got throuh it! Love youmom, you are amazing thanks for all you do!

Hola Familia! This is the last week of this change and we will be having changes this next week! I am pretty sure I am leaving Huasteca. I dont know where I will be headed but its bittersweet. I feel like I might go train or be a zone leader in another zone. Still not sure, but its all good. Omar is still doing well, he is smoking about 2 ciggaretts a day, but he wants to be baptized! So that is good. The Zone is doing well, it was a hard week for everyone with it being really cold and with rain, but everyone finished strong. We are now looking for more people to teach, all the people we had been teaching just dont come to church, so we have to find new people. I am excited for this last week, and to finish strong and start a new change. I will be sad to leave Elder Brown though, he has been a good comp for these 3 months. We should be on the same plane though coming back to Utah which will be pretty fun :) Love you all! Thanks for the support always.

--

Elder Clayton

This is the sunset--

 El Hermano Jose Luis Mora! He is a good guy and we ate carne asada with him on Christmas. 

This is another picture of jose luis mora and Felipe.

 

 Felipe is a joven in the ward but we all call him La Jaiba, 

which means crab because he is from Tabasco

 Here is a picture of the 6 missionaries from Huasteca. 

This was New Years and behind us is a picture of Pancho Villa. 

--

Elder Clayton

2015 in Monterrey Mexico! And Christmas Packages finally Arrive!

It was so great to hear from him this week.  He didn't have his camera so no pictures...again.  Funny, how you get so used to things.  I have missed seeing his smiling face each week as it's been almost three since a new picture.  He promises to have some this week. Oh how I hope it will happen.  I understand how busy they get and little somewhat possibly unimportant things like the camera on Pday email time gets pushed aside.  He is still the happiest, and states extremely busy as the time is flying by even faster.  But, this is the year that in 4 1/2 months he will return.

It's short, but says everything it needs to.  Enjoy...

Hola Familia! I cant believe it is 2015! Elder Brown and I were talking about how crazy it is and that we will be home this year. New Years was good here, a family invited the six mission over and we ate dinner with them, then we went home and tried to sleep! but there was so many fireworks!! all night! They have huge fireworks here, full of black powder and explode and are cheap,so they do a lot of them. Oh and my package came!!! I was so grateful for it, as well as a package from Bishop Bob and the Orchard 5th ward came, gracias!! Remember Omar? The guy we are teaching, he is doing super well., and its crazy how far he has come along. when we first started teaching him he was smoking about 20 cigs a day, we visited him on Saturday in the afternoon, and he hadnt smoked that day. also, when we first started teaching him he was depressed and had a lot of problems, but now, his face is more lighter, its crazy, because you can see the difference in his being. He has been to the church now 4 times in a row. and we are working on baptism. He wants to be baptized just the word of wisdom details we are working on and he can be baptized. He is a good man, and I would love for you all to pray for him. Thanks, I know your prayers are heard and really do help me. Love you all. I will send pictures next week! I forgot my camera another time, because we went to go play soccer! I have photos to send as well. love you! have an excellent weeeek!

Short but Sweet Email after Christmas

As we had just heard from him and his memory card isn't working!  He didn't have much in his email this week, but I was able to chat back and forth with him.  I so love that  here's what was "said".

Elder Clayton:  Hello Familia! Love you all, thanks for talking on sunday! I loved talking to all of you
 Hello mom! I loved to see you all of you, and that's great that you could all be together as a the family for Christmas, the next Christmas we will all be together. dad was kind of mad that I had taken a lot of money out, I will cut back, but I thought mexico was cheap, but its really not, everything here is not that much cheaper than the US, but I feel bad, I won't take any more money out. So will Bridger and Caleb start to go to the gym this new years? I cant wait to work out with them, that will be fun. I have lost a lot of my strength though here in the mission!

I have pictures from Christmas, but they don't show up, I am sorry, I will send them next week ad the phone call,

MOM:  No worries, I'm just happy to get them when I do.  Did the packages get there...please say YES!

Elder Clayton:   I don't know yet, we go to the offices again Friday, we go every week for something! and I think it will be there, so its all good. I always get packages, so don't worry.  okay, how is Bridger and Caleb? I forgot to see Zoie on Skype! is she still alive?

MOM:  Funny you say that, I was going to show you her.  She is getting old.  When she is free, she wets on the carpet in the bathroom, ticks me off, big time.  She most likely will be living, she is going to live forever I swear.

Bridger and Caleb are good.  Bridger is head over heels with Tori.  She is most likely the one.  You will like her, we all do.  Lots of fun.  

Caleb is awesome, he gets bored on days when he has to stay home, but he'll survive.  He shoveled today for Cochrans' and ours.  We got about a foot last night.  UGH!!!

Elder Clayton:  love you mom! have a good week! 

And then he was gone...

This a picture from a couple of weeks ago.  As he didn't send any this week, 

I'll just add one that I especially love!

Feliz Navidad & the Phone Call

This week was more of just conversation back and forth, and arranging our phone call.  So excited to talk with him.

Mom:  Your packages??? I'm so hoping you had gifts at the party. Spoke with Elder Brown's mom yesterday and that guy is not going to Mexico for a little bit. Says the borders are closed. So his Christmas is still here with them. I told her I sent enough for the both of you...that is if you got it!!!ok thanks!

Elder Clayton:  It still isnt here, we are going to the offices friday, I bet they will be there then! its all good thouhg! thats cool you talked with his mom

Mom:  So nothing??? I sent two and the ward sent one, too. On my heart is so sad!!! I'm so sorry pal. I sent them in plenty of time and I tracked them. Cleared customs December 15 was the 2nd one. Bummer!

Elder Clayton:  Its all good! So I have three coming! that is crazy! I am sure they will get here, it is always slowed down right now at this time of year. how is Caleb and Bridger? what are they getting for Christmas??

Mom:  A year membership to planet fitness. Don't tell them. Ha ha. The usual after that a new hoodie underarmour one so you can have yours back. I am going to tell you there are thermal garments in both boxes. Some for you and two pair for Elder Gomez. Just so you know. Is it still cold? So you can use them.

Elder Clayton:   It isnt cold right now, but it will get cold in january, its not cold to you guys, but to me it is! it gets pretty cold here though, when it rains as well.

 Having a carne asada behind the house with our ghetto grill! 

This is our investigator Omar and --

We went to a birthday party and this guy was here, I guess he is famous here in Mexico! every mexican we have asked, knows him! haha he sang with a group at a birthday party of a member

 These are the 6 elders in huasteca, we all ate together this day and the hermana,
who is a convert gave us stockings!

Oh and Elder Biggs goes home in 6 days!

This was truly my favorite gift of Christmas.  This totally captures his laugh and smile and what I miss the most.  He sounded so great and it was awesome to hear him and Bridger talk in Spanish for quite awhile.  He was so happy and although his packages did not get to him he said it was all good.  He was thinking they would all be there on Friday.  I guess he can have Happy New Year gifts!

A Purchased Book of Mormon brings Happiness & Organization is Key

Was going to fix the spelling errors and then decided to not do it. He is our best speller and I can see that his Spanish has taken over. But this is a really good one..

He's in the middle. If you enlarge it you'll see him. He didn't have his camera today. This is all we got. 

Feliz Navidad Familia Clayton! Well this week was kind of hard, I dont know why but some times that happens! but its all good. We just had one investigator come to church yesterday out of our teaching pool, but esta bien. Omar came yesterday and it was the coolest story how we met him. So two weeks ago after writing, we wanted to go to Carls Junior to eat, so we walked to the avenue to get a taxi, got a taxi and started talking to the taxista, we presented ourselves and he was like ¨you know what, I am actually reading a book by your church, the Book of Mormon, I bought it in a market, like a flea market for 10 pesos and I am about half way through¨ and we were astonished! That doesnt happen everyday, so it was kind of funny how this guy had just found a book of mormon and BOUGHT IT! haha its free! and started reading it, we cant pay some of these people 10 pesos to even read it, but he lived out of our area, but he told us that he grew up in the area that we work, so we asked for the address in our area where he had grown up and we went two days later and we met Omar! Omar is 42, an engineer and super smart, he is really difernet but he loves to learn, oh and he has already read the Book of Mormon, and he really liked it. we are helping him to quit smoking and he is super happy about the church. Its honestly amazing how we find some of the people that we teach. Its just super clear that we are sent. We were meant to be in that taxi and to met that man, who was the brother of omar. Oh!! and we are teaching a familiy who are part of a different church called Luz del Mundo. They beleive that they have one apostle and that he takes the place of Jesus Christ, which is apostasy. but you arent going to believe it, we were going to this house to teach them and Elder Brown and I were talking about this church, and if this guy passes away, what happens to the church?? and I am not kidding, it was a wednesday and we talked to the family and they were all sad and we asked what was up and their leader had passed away monday!! so crazy, so..they are lost right now. They dont know the process when one passes away, they thought he was inmortal. In all honesty, its sad because they are lost and we felt bad.So it was kind of crazy, I am thankful for the organiation of our church, we knows what happens if our Profet passes away, we are a church of order and I am thankful for that. I love you all!! Feliz Navidad! I dont have my camera, but will send pics next week!! Adios!!

Elder Clayton

See if you can find me in here, I am right in the middle but in the back, behind the Elder next to the sister

-

Elder Clayton

Staying "Home" for the Holidays, and their Zone is #1

Looks like he's staying "home" for Christmas. Didn't get any pictures this week, however last week got 14.  So, I can't complain.  He loves his area, district, zone and most importantly the people. So he is so excited to be here for the holidays. Just 9 days and we get to talk to him. To say I'm excited is definitely an understatement. Enjoy...

Hola Familia Clayton! Well the change has ended here in the mission! Presidente has changed how the transfers work, in the past we found out Monday night and changes are Tuesday morning, but now we found out Sunday and changes are today! So we found out that Elder Brown and I are staying and we are super happy to spend Christmas time here in Huasteca. I would honestly say its one of the best places to be for Christmas! So we are happy, also Huasteca, our zone came out to be number one in the mission! We were very happy and proud of the zone and the work they did this last change. We have 8 new Elders coming into the zone, who have some time in the mission so we are excited to have experience in the zone. Yesterday we went to the Devotional de Navidad, I liked it a lot, and this next week there will be a program at the temple, we are all excited for. We had two new investigators that came to church yesterday, and they loved it. They are named Berenice and Karla, its funny how we found them. We went to a house and weren't there, and right next door, there was someone screaming at what we thought were kids, but just screaming and yelling, and I told my comp, we gotta contact this person! haha I like talking to everyone and getting to know them, and my comp jokingly said, I am scared to contact this person because they were yelling so loud, so we contacted the house and the nicest lady came out! Turns out she was yelling at her dog! We are quick to judge, and turns out she has a friend that was a missionary in of all places Honduras, but in Tegucigalpa. She is super nice, and recognizes the spirit and loved the church yesterday. Our first lesson we asked her what she was looking for in life and she said peace, and she told us that she has found a lot of peace from our visits and by praying and reading, for sure an escogida. I love the work, and finding the people that are ready. This week that comes up is semana 1!! We will be working hard and sharing with everyone la Dadiva. love you all!! Feliz Navidad.