Letter #7

Well family another week has passed by and I only have two weeks left here at the MTC!  That is such a crazy thought becuase when I got here it felt like I would be here for eternity!  Anyways, this week was such a great week because it was a little different to have all of the mission presidents and there wives here.  The building that we have lunch in was all blocked off because there were many apostles walking in and out throughout the day!  I was able to see Elder Scott in one of the hall ways, we were literally about five feet away! He waved and said hi to us,  It was so cool!  I also saw the general releif society presidency!  We were able to talk to them for a few minutes and then give them a hug.  They all said what a great experience a mission is and it was a boost to see them.  On friday we had a special devotional.  There were about 7 apostles in attendance.  I sang in the choir for the meeting so I had a great seat!  President Bednar gave a wonderful talk on how to be a Preach my Gospel missionary.  After that devotional we had a meeting with our new mission president.  Let me tell you that was a cool experience.  I have had a little bit of a worry becuase I really want to feel comfortable around my mission presidents.  My companion and I went into the building that our meeting was in and then were looking for the room.  He saw us looking slightly confused and said ¨Sister Clark¨¨ He knew my name! How great is that.  He was a teacher at BYU Idaho so I guessed he had looked me up and was going to call but I had left by the time he had gotten around to that.  There names are Presdient and sister Castro.  They will have three children living at the mission home with them, they are from ecuador and both speak spanish fluently and they are both converts to the church.  They seem very nice and it will be cool becuase I will start my mission when they start theres.  We are there first group of missionaries coming in when they are mission presidents.  It was interesting being in the meeting with all the missionaries going to venture.  There were quite a few but not many were speaking spanish and my companinion and I were the only sisters.  There are not many sister missionaries in Ventura that speak spansih we learned, but president castro assured us that we will learn it and be able to speak fluently.  The cool thing that I have realized is that the Lord is sending missionaries to speak the language of all the people so that they can learn the gospel in their native tongue.  There are so many scriptures that talk about that.  You might think well ya all the people going to different countries are learning the language of that country but the cool thing is there are TONS of missiounaries going to the US and Canada who are speaking random languages.  I met someone going to Kansas speaking MONGUE! Which I hadn´t ever even heard of that language but I guess there is a huge population of Mongue speakers in Kansas.  Who knew. It is such a testimony builder to me that Heavenly Father loves his children and he wants them to hear the gospel in there own language so that they can fully understand it!  )Just a little side not.  Anyway, We shared our favorite scripture with our President and then said goodbye.  I feel so grateful that I have already created a small bond with them and that they will be my mission presdients for my whole mission.

This week we got to host again and it was very fun again.  I saw one of Christina´s friends from China who I had met over skype.  We chatted for a while and it was fun.  I´m so excited to see Whitney!  I didn´t realize she was coming while I was hear.  Hopefully I get to host next week and I can give her the tour. 

So many things happened this week that I just want to like bundle all of my expereiences up and share them with you but a las, this cannot be done.  I do want to share with you a little thought from this week.  We have been learning about the paln of salvation.  What a great plan it is!  I have never really thought about how some people don´t know that there is a life after this.  The knowledge that there is a plan is so comforting.  I think usually we think about the plan as such a big thing on such a LARGE scale.  God loves all of his children and the atonement was for everyone.  However, I think that we should all take the time and think about how the plan is for ME.  Heavanly Father loves and know ME as an individual.  He suffered for me and has felt everything I have felt.  How comforting of a feeling that is especially as I have come on this mission.  I´m so grateful for this knowledge because it is something that only a few people on this earth really know.  And the great thing is is that I get to bring this good news.

I´m sorry if I am getting a bit preachy in my letters, I really don´t try to be I just want to tell you some of the things that I have been thinking about the last couple of weeks.  This last week I had something really weird happen.  I got a sore on my eye. I  am pretty sure it was a sty.  It kind of hurt, but no worries it is pretty much gone now and I am feeling healthy.  Hopefully that lasts because two of my roommates got sick this past week.  I also had the opportunity to go off campus this week to the health center.  Let me tell you it was a weird feeling because I was like not walking to the feild.  We had to go to the health center because one of my companions has a gian kanker sore on her throat!  I feel so bad for here because it looks very hurty.  this week I also was able to teach my teachers some more, but we didn´t have TRC because of the mission presdient conference.  That was kind of a tender mercy. 

Well mom said that you are all getting ready to head to Warm River.  Kera also wrote me and said that here family went down.  I didn´t think I would miss camping so much!  So have extra fun for me!  So I here are some more things about the MTC that you might find interesting, 1st they actually clean the sidewalks here.  I have wanted tot ell you all this for quite sometime because I think it is so odd. There is this little machine that someone rides around on and it cleans the sidewalks. 2nd I didn´t realize what a weird concept spud harvest is!  I was telling my companions  a story and I said spud harvest.  They both looked at me like what in the world is that.  I tried to explian how you just stand there and pick rotten potatoes all day off of a conveyer belt, but I am sure they still didn´t grasp the concept.  3rd It is so funny to people that I always tell everyone that I am from Ashton even though nobody know where that is.  I always end up saying, oh it is by Rexburg. But I just can´´t bring myslef to say that I am from Rexbrug because that just isn´t correct.  Well there you go, some funny little things about my time here.  It really is great.  My companions and I were talking about how we just need to take tons of picutres of everything because we will never be back here ever again!  That is a weird feeling.  I feel kind of like I have lived here my whole life. 

Have such a wonderful week and remember to take some pictures of your fun family time and send me some!!

I love you!

Hermana Clark

Letter #6

Hello family!  Sorry for that other email the computers are having alot of difficulties today!

Well I have much to tell you this week.  First of all I need to tell you when you send me dear elders put an x befor you put Marianna because there is a Meagan Clark here so our Dear Elders are getting kind of mixed up because they sort them by first name.  That would be great if you could put a 0 or an x and then my normal address.

Second of all I realized that in a couple of weeks is the big clark family reunion! I am getting camping withdrawals here but I do want to say that I really want on eof those cool clark t shirts so if you could send me one I would Just LOVE that!!! 

Ok this week has been so great! It has been very spiriutaly uplifiting because we have had some great lessons and also some great deviotionals. We had Brother Zimmerman as a sub and he gave us some encouragement.  I said that if we were here all by ourselves we would just be so shocked at all that we ahd learned, but since we are surrounded by so many other missionaries all we can really think about is all of the rest of the things that we have to learn! so he just advized us to take a second and just be grateful that we have come so far in such a short time!  That is what I have been trying to do this week.  Take a second each day and just be grateful for all of the things that I have to be grateful for.  The list really is endless.  We had a group lesson with the othere district in our zone and I was like wow I really have come so far as I listened to them speak.  Now I just have to keep pushing myself to get better as I only have three more weeks left here at the MTC!! How crazy is that. I can't even beleive it, the time here has gone by so quickyly.  I think I am more nervous now to leave the MTC and go into the field than I was leaaving home and coming here.

Last Wednesday our distric got the opportunitie to host the new missionaries.  It was so cool!  I remember when I just got here and the sister missionary that helped me was so great.  I was so grateful for here encouragement and for telling me some of the things that I had to look forward here at the MTC.  I got to host two girls.  One was from Rexburg.  They were both very nice.  One was already fluent in Spanish so I was slightly jealou sof here.  The cool thing is we get to do it again this wednesday.  There are 100 new sisters coming in this week! Can you even beleive that!  100!!!! There are alot of elders coming in as well.  The MTC is going to be packed.  I am so glaed I got here at a slow time as I acclamated to the atmosphere here.  I really can tell that the numbers a re increasing.  This wednesday the new mission presidents are coming in for training. I will be able to meet with my new mission president and talk with him with all the other missionaries that are going to Ventura.  We will also get to here from an apostle this Friday!  I had a dream the other night that President Monson was coming so we will see:) I am excited that I get to be here doing the new mission presidents meetings because it is going to be a really cool experience.  I hope I get to see some apostles.  My testimony is ever increasing of the importance of having a prophet and that he really does have his authroity from God.  I have started to read our search for Happiness. What a classic!  We also were able to listen to a talk that elder Holland gave here at the MTC called The Miracle of a Mission.  He talked about how he thinks of his mission every day.  I was wondering what all of your thoughts on your missions were? I know you all think missions are important but do you think of y ours every day?  Just a question that I would love to here the answer from all of you:)  I also learned some great new study skills.  I have been finding that my studies are stlightly scattered.  We had a sub that helped us figure out a system of asking simple questions that investigators might ask about different principles and just searching Preach my Gospel and the scriptures and our mission library.  The scriputures hold So much wisdom! I am astounded at the treasures that I find in the scriputures each day.  They are such a blessing in our lives.

I am glad to here that Father's day was good.  I love that Jed and Amanda got dad an itunes card.  I would just suggest the song that dad looked up right after I got my call.  something about a road to Ventura.  I sure you all would just love listening to that often and thinking of me!!  Mom also said that you have foregone the annual half marathon for the temple to temple relay. I am sad I can't be there for this because last year it was so much fun.  I can just imagine you all driving by who ever is running at the time and just cheering for them.  I also love that you will be running with a bunch of college students!! Is it from the idaho falls to the Rexburg this year.  Last year we ran to idaho falls.  If the finsih line is the Rexburg temple I wish the person running the last leg much luck because that heal is a MONSTER!!!  Once again you must take pictures and send them to me!  I got some pictures from Tania this week of the blessing.  Klara is so precious and I was showing everyone I could how beautful she is.  My companions were amazed that mom made such a beautiful dress for her.  I loved the simple style of it!  I have heard that you all have horseback riding on the mind and also that you got kittens!  How fun!  I also wanted to tell you that soon we will be receiving our flight plans.  I am pretty sure it will be on July 11 that we will fly out.  I will be able to call you so don't plan anything way exciting so that I can talk to everyone!  Tania said that they will fly into Salt lake that day but usually we fly out early.  I will email again and I will tell when I will have time to call.  I am excited about that day when I get to call!!!!  I learned some cool things about our mission the other day.  there are about 50 sisters and about 10 that are going to speak spanish.  there are many branches but the places that have spanish wards are bakersfeild and I think Santa Barbara.  One of my comps has a friend that went there that gave us some info.  Well I just want to leave you with one last thought.

As you all start to go campling and spend more time outside.  The other night we were in our classroom having a lesson.  We had just taught and were so tired.  We noticed that the sunset outside was beautiful.  So we literally ran downstairs and up to the front of the MTC to see the sunset.  the sky was orange and purple set next the mount timp.  It was so beautiful.  My teacher asked us to pionder on the beauty of the earth and realize who created the earth.  No one could ever have fcreated some so beautfil and wonderful than Jesus Christ.  So I would ask you as you go outside and spend time out doors, take a second and just look around you.  Look at the beautiful world that we have been blessed with.  The beauty and magnificance of the world testifies of Jesus Christ!  He is our savior and He lives, and He loves each of us individually.  I have felt His individual love for me this week has he has lifted me through some times where I have really struggled.  I know that he will do the same for everyone.  I love you all so much and wish that I could just bundle up all the great experiences I am having and send them to you, but I am afraid that won't be possible.  Just know that I think of you each and everyday and pray that you are all well.  Know that the Lord is helping me and is answering my questions through the people that associate with here!! The church is true.

 

Te AMO!!

Hermana Clark

Letter #5

Hello Family!

What a great week it has been!! It feels like just yesterday I was emailing you all and telling you about the week I had. this last week just flew by. We had our last TRC in english and this week we will be making the big switch to spanish in the TRC.  I'm really not way stressed about it because we have been teaching our teachers in Spanish for the last couple of weeks.  Speaking of my teachers being investigators I have got some updates for you all on Guillermo and Raul.  It was the coolest experience this week with Guillermo.  We talked him about faith, repentance, and baptism, and asked if he would pray to know if God wanted him to get baptised.  We met with him a few days later and asked him how is prayers were going.  He said that he had decided he wants to get baptised.  I am sure my teacher was just laughing hysterically at us all because we got SO excited and our faces just lit up.  Even though Guillermo is not even a real person I just felt joy that he was getting baptized and had made that decision.  Now we are teaching him about all of the commandments such as the word of wisdom and tithing.  I'm not so excited about the chastity lesson but I'm sure it will go great.  Raul our other investigator wasn't really working out so our teacher changed the strategy.  Now our teacher will act as my companion and we will be teaching my other two companions.  It's kind of confusing to explain but he is basically trying to help us know how it will be to be in a lesson with someone who is more fluent.  I'm excited to see how it works out.  The fun thing is is that I have to make up my own investigator and decide how the think about God and why they let the missionaries into thier home.  I think it will change my perspective of missionary work and I am pretty excited for that.  this last week we had a semi funnyt experience with Guillermo.  Before we began the lesson we started with a prayer and as my companion taught him about baptism she asked if he would pray right there to know if that is something the Lord wanted him to do.  In his prayer he was like we are praying again.  It might not really sound funny but I thought it was pretty funny.  Especially because Guillermo is my teacher.  Another funny thing I learned is a joke and it is just a knee slapper.  here it is.  Que hace el pez?  (what does a fish do)  Answer...Nada!!!! hahahahaha (translation a fish swims, nadar means to swim, but nada means nothing in a different context)  It took my whole district probably about five minutes to actually understand and realize how funny the joke was.  It is now my favorite joke of all time.

So yesterday we had a really cool experience.  President Monsons daughter came and spoke in the Releif Society.  She testified of a living prophet and really prophets in general.  she told us some details about president Monson and showed some pictures of their family.  It was such a cool experience.  One thing she said that I really would like to implement into my own life is that even from a young age he was quick to observe.  I think that we can see that in the many stories that he tells of his child hood.  Quick to observe!  That means quick to listen to the spirit and as you do listen to the spirit and act on it, the spirit will prompt you more.  We are the tools that the Lord uses to answer others prayers.  I hope that in some way I can be an answer to atleast one persons prayer.  We also learned that he loves to fish and that he like to watch Perry Mason.  when she said that I just thought of Grandma Zollinger.  I remember one time I called mom and she was with grandma watching Perry Mason.  Isn't it a crazy thought to think of the prophet sitting down and watching TV.  Also she said he enjoys the antique road show!  I just laughed at that because I just remember dad turning on antique roadshow and watching it.  I think that is cool to think that the prophet is the mouthpeice of our Heavanly Father, yet is still is a realy person.  This past week I have really gained a testimony of the importance of a living prophet.  I think that that is something that I didn't really get the importance of before I came on my mission.  A living prophet is what sets our religion apart from all others.  We have the authority to perform the saving ordinances on the earth such as baptism! Oh what a great church this is. 

This week the oldest district in our zone left so my district is now the oldest in our zone! CRAZY THOUGHT!! I still have not had to speak in sacrament meeting but I feel that my time is coming!  My spanish is getting better and I am learning new words everyday.  I still get slightly overwhelmed when I speak and realize I need to be speaking in subjunctive, or conjugating a verb for some other subject.  It is crazy, but I am counting my blessings as I realize how much help I have been receiving so many blessings.  Also that I don't have to learn a new alphabet!

That is so cool that you were able to hear an apostle at stake conference!  It also sounds like there are so many wonderful summer activites going on.  It is hard for me to beleive that there are actually lives being lived outside the compound of the MTC:)  I am now officialy half way done here and that is both exciting yet totally scary!  I just have this feeling that when I get out into the feild I'm going to go to a lesson and I am going to be thinking to myself, this is not the language I learned in the MTC!

I have been slightly sick this week with a cold and a sore throat but I am on the mend.  We aren't aloud to shake hands or hug here at the MTC right now because the NORA virus?? not really sure what it is, is spreading around BYU campus so they don't want anyone at the MTC to get it.  I guess it is super conatgious.  All the teachers here attend school at BYU so there are bringing it to the MTC.  Hopefully the bug doesn't catch here and we will all stay healthy.

Well family I'm sorry this letter is a big jumble of thoughts.  Just know that I love you and think of you each day.  The church is true!!:)

I love you all,

Hermana Clark

Letter #4

Well family it has been an INTERESTING WEEK!!

Everyone that wrote me last week all said something about the little breakdown I had last week.  It really wasn't that big of a deal and it is to be expected as it is kind of spiritually and mentally drainging here at times.  thankfully I have some great companions and I received some great words of encouragement from everyone!  This week really went by so quickly,

I do need to tell you all of funny story.  My companions and I were teaching Guillermo and we had a great lesson.  we taught about faith baptism and repentance.  It went so well and we even committed him to get baptized, we'll see if it really holds up!  :) Well we were closing and I asked if we could end with a prayer by me.  Well in Spanish there are the words por and para, in my  mind they are basically the same and so I was trying to say by me and said por me which means for me, instead of para me.  My teacher quickly corrected me and told me what I had acutally said and what it meant,  It was pretty funny and I am sure it is only one of MANY embarassing mistakes I will make in mixing up my words.  Still on the Spanish subject this sunday was fast sunday.  Fast sundays are different here because instead of having priesthood and releif society we have a mission conference wich is basically a stake conference.  then we have fast sunday where we have the opportunity to bear our testimonies.  I went into it thinking there is no way that I am standing up in front of my zone and bearing my testimony in Spanish.  THEN...my Branch president whips out his list of everyone who is in the branch and starts marking off the names of who got up and did it.  SO I was freaking out and hurried and formulated some sentences that slightly made sense.  So I went to get up and just my luck one of the elders in front of me stood up and didn't see me, so I went and sat back down.  Then when he was done everyone knew that I was going to get up so I had to now! I got up and was shaking so bad I'm surprised I even got any words out.  I was able to say that I know that the Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith restored the gospel, and that families are eternal through the atonement of Jesus Christ.  It's hard to believe I can say all those things in Spanish isn't it!!  I was actually pretty proud of myself.  so yes the Spanish is coming along and as a district we are trying to speak more and more spanish as the days progress outside of class.  One of our teachers told us the other day that by October 1  (of this year!) we will not have to translate to English in our brains when speaking and listening, we didn't beleive him so we asked our other teacher.  He told us that that was totally doable.  We all just started busting up laughing because it seems SO crazy.  I think we really can't believe it because we just started to learn subjunctive.  It is the crazy tense that in english we don't have to conjugate verbs for but in english we do.  We also learned about passive voice.  This is probably the most confusing thing ever.  We had a sub the day we learned it and he tried to explain it by using the sentence, The door is shut, and the door is shut.  Isn't it obvious that those EXACTLY THE SAME sentences mean COMPLETLEY different things??? I know not obvious at all and our class is still utterly confused about the whole passive voice things.  It's interesting how my grammar in english is getting better through learning Spanish because you have to know what tense you are speaking in and all the order of everything.  It's crazy but I can feel my self progressing and so that gives me hope.  The funniest thing is that we go into lessons and our teachers are like you have to listen to the investigator.  That is the most important thing because we want to be able to tailor our lesson to the investigator's needs and not just do some memorized thing.  My thought is, how can I really listen if I don't really understand what they are saying??!! I understand about 70% of everything they say but the other times I am like turning to my companion and saying what did he just say?? Our teachers are way nice about it thought and they are just awesome teachers!!! 

Well our devo this week was really great.  We learned about the difference between doing and becoming.  It was interesting to me to think that there are so many things I have to DO before I can actually BECOME a missionary!  I can't just make this giant leap to being the missionary i hope to be.  It is going to take small steps.

We also learned about the imporatance of the scriptures in our lives!  Are you all reading the Book of Mormon?? You should be! It is such a great book.  I have started to read it and as I read I think of how that verse could help someone and the questions that it could ask.  It has helped me and I have found some real pearls!  We also learned about 3 Nephi and what an important book it is in the scriptures! How long has it been since you have read it?? Well read it again!!  It is the book where we learn about Christ's visit to the Americas and the many ways he blessed the people at that time!  We can never stop learning from the Book of Mormon, it is that great! 

I sang in the choir this week for the devotional.  It seems like last Tuesday was years ago!  It was a wonderful experience and I plan on doing it every week.  I feel like I talk about the singing missionaries every week but I had the coolest experience yesterday.  We sang Called to Serve as the opening hymn but we did it differently.  The first verse we sang softly and the verse after that a little bit louder until we were standing and just singing our hearts out!  Just imagine it, thousand of missionaries standing and singing Called to Serve as loud as we coul!  It was so cool:)  We also learned yesterday from our Branch President that the amount of Spanish speaking missioaries is going to double by the beginning of July.  Right now there are like 450 now and there will be about a thousand in the beginning of July! That is so crazy to me.  The Lord really is focusing his work on the Spanish people.  What a blessing it is going to be in my life to have served a mission in this time when missionary work is just booming!  A speaker this week said that this is the best time to be serving a mission.  We watched the Joseph Smith Movie again last night.  The first missionaries went to England and baptized thousands.  What a change there is now.  The Hispanic people are being prepared by the Lord to receive this wonderful message!!!

Well, family, I am doing great and loving the MTC.  It is much different than I ever thought it would be but an experience that is changing me for the better!  I love this gospel with all of my heart and I am SO excited to be able to share it with the people of California.  I feel I already have a place for them in my heart.  I know that with the help of the Lord I can learn the gospel principles and be able to teach them simply to people who are ready to receive this wonderful message.  I know that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ,  I know that he transplated the Book of Mormon and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God.  We can learn so much from it's teachings!  I know that the Lord is aware of us and that He listens to every single prayer and that he answers them.  I love you all so much and the next time you make a smore cook up an extra one for me (I have just been craving a good campfire and a gooey smore lately:)

Love you all and have a wonderful week!!

Hermana Clark