The last Lunes of 2014!

Happy New Year! It was so wonderful talking to you all on Christmas! What an awesome gift that was for me. You all looked great, and I loved seeing the pics afterward!! That's great that almost everyone is still there. I love that you did a Christmas show with the kids! That sounds great. Was little Nash the baby Jesus? :)

I was studying this week about the story of Elisha. I love the faith that he has, and I would love to have faith like him. We cannot fear, and we cannot be discouraged when things seem hard.
 16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

 17 And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

We cannot fear when things seem hard or dim because when we are on the Lord's side, we are not alone. We are surrounded by chariots of fire, and the angels will come and lift us up. Heavenly Father blesses us with discouraging days, but discouragement is a tool of Satan. Satan uses that tool to make us feel down, but Heavenly Father blesses us with these days because He knows we don't need to feel down if we turn to Him. And that's what I've learned throughout my mission. Heavenly Father is always blessing us. It amazes me how much he blesses us. We are given a new year to change. We are given the chance to be someone different! We don't need to be the same person we were this year. And we shouldn't be. The more we learn about the gospel of Jesus Christ, the more we progress and become more like Him. That's what's so amazing about the Plan of Salvation! We're always changing to become more like our Heavenly Father. I know it still feels like Y2K... But it's almost 2015! So make some goals, and go and be awesome! Love you all so much!

Love you,

Harmonica Clark:)

FELIZ NAVIDAD!!!!!!!!

Well, I cannot believe it's already here, but Merry Christmas ya filthy animal! I do hope you watch that movie this year just for me. But more than anything, I hope this Christmas is filled with Christ. I am so grateful that I have the opportunity again to just preach the gospel on Christmas day. I love this gospel, and I love the Lord. I was thinking the other day about what it would have been like if you hadn't been baptized when you were 18, or dad when he was 12. And I was thinking about how grateful I am that you were. Grateful for the missionaries that taught you both, and grateful for the friends that introduced the gospel to you. What an amazing plan our Heavenly Father has for us. It amazes me more and more every time I think about it. The choices you made changed generations and generations. :)

This week I have been studying 3 Nephi, and I read about when Christ came to the Americas, and welp it resulted in crazy dreams about collecting food storage, and the coming of Christ and living in caves. Haha it was really enjoyable. I love studying the Book of Mormon. Also, we ate with members last week on Sunday, and they gave us cow udders and tubes from somewhere inside the cow... Haha also really enjoyable. It's not too bad.. Just a really weird texture. But I'm good not eating it ever again:)

Well, the mission is just full of miracles. And sometimes it's hard, okay a lot of the time, but it's all worth it. This week I have been singing a song that I made up to the Hymn "Abide with me!" Haha it just talks about how with the Lords help, I can do hard things. It's the cheesiest thing ever, but I sing it anyway because no one can understand me. And it helps me to remember that I can do hard things when I am on the Lord's side! Being here on a mission is definitely the hardest thing I have ever done. But I wouldn't change anything about my mission. I wouldn't change the hard days, the beautiful ones. I would leave it all the same because it has forever changed my life. Forever and forever and forever. And I am so grateful for that. I am grateful we have a loving Heavenly Father who sent us to earth to learn, to progress, to become like His Son Jesus Christ. And I am grateful He sent His Son Jesus Christ, and that Christ wanted to atone for us. He wanted to because He loves us. Our eldest Brother loves us more than we can imagine. The God of this world was born in a manger, and lived a perfectly sinless life. He was baptized to complete with all righteousness and to be an example for us. And He bled and suffered and was resurrected as a gift for us. The only holy and perfect gift. And becuase of His gift, we don't need to suffer the way He did. We aren't alone, and we aren't abandoned here on earth. And thanks to him, we can return to live with our Heavenly Father in resurrected and perfect bodies. That is the perfect gift. And this Christmas season, we can share with others our knowledge of this gift and change lives for the eternities. Can't wait to skype in a few days:) I love you all so much!

Love you more and more each day,
Hermana Clark

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.....Happy birthday Jenae!!!!!!

It has been an absolutely beautiful, and life changing week. Miracles right and left, I'm trying to remember them all. Heavenly Father is a God of Miracles. I love the scripture in Mormon 9:19 that says, "And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles." And that's the truth. He is a God of miracles and tender mercies. This week we had the opportunity to have interviews with President Willard. What a wonderful experience that was! We started with a prayer as always, and I offered it. I'm so awkward with praying in english now so I said it in spanish. Haha. And he started out talking about my letter I wrote him last Monday. He said, "I have been thinking a lot all week about one line you said to me in your letter." And I thought... oh no what did I say?? Haha and he said "when you told me you were just 'grateful to be Hermana Clark.' I love that! I am grateful you are Hermana Clark as well. I just want to be Hermana Clark!" haha :) And the whole interview was just really wonderful. Exactly what I needed. Last week in his weekly email, President talked about the story in Mark 8 about the blind man. In the story, Christ leads the blind man out of the city, and then spits in his eyes. Christ spits in the blind man's eyes. Why? And then the blind man isn't fully healed. It says that he sees men as if they were trees. And then after all of that he is healed. Can you imagine how humiliating it would be to have someone spit in your eyes? The blind man had to be humbled in order to receive the miracle. And even after he was humbled, he still didn't quite believe, and when he finally did believe, he was fully healed and could see perfectly. And the fact that Christ lead the blind man out of the city to perform the miracle. This blind man who had already been ridiculed and tormented all of his life. Christ spitting in his eyes was not to show a crowd that it was okay for them to do it too. He did it privately. And that's what Heavenly Father does. He corrects us because He loves us. If He didn't do it, it would be because He doesn't love us. But God does love us, therefore He corrects us. He spits in our eyes to make us humble. We receive trials to be humbled and then while we are humble, we can finally see clearly. And we recognize the miracles that God was giving us all along.

This week Nelson got baptized! A couple of weeks ago he broke our heart and told us he didn't want any of it. So we didn't visit him for about a week. Then on Thursday, we called to teach him one more time. After the lesson about the Sacrament, I asked if he had any questions. And then he asked us if he could be baptized this Saturday! Shocked, we said of course! He told us that in this time when he was not meeting with us he felt so sad. He started reading his Book of Mormon, and praying, and that was when he realized he needed to meet with us again. And then we called him! Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways. He has a plan for us! He loves us! Also, Nelson wore church shoes to church yesterday! Not just his combat boots, and long hair! But now he's wearing church shoes! Little by little Heavenly Father changes our lives. :)

Thank you for your emails, I love you all! Have a wonderfully, amazing, life changing week!

Love a million billion Bolivian Flags,
Hermana Clark:)

Transfers?

Not yet! I still have the wonderful opportunity to be in the ward for at least 6 more weeks! My comp and I stayed the same, but our zone changed a bit. Lots of sisters finished their missions this past transfer, and a few will be finishing in a couple of weeks to make it back in time for school. It feels so weird to think these sisters are going home! The time is going by so fast. But I am loving every minute of it. I love how much I am changing as a person, and I love just having this chance to serve our Lord. I feel like the way I think is different as well. When times are hard I have found myself thinking, okay, what does Heavenly Father want me to learn from this? I know they always say that we should think like that... but just a little secret, I don't think I ever really did before, until now!:) It's hard to think that way when times are hard. But something I've learned is that when times are hard, it will eventually get better. And that's the secret. It gets better. Even when this life is challenging, it gets better. It may not be in this life, but Heavenly Father will reward us for our efforts. He sees the small acts we do, and he takes our small efforts and makes it into something perfect. President Kim B. Clark (President of BYU-I woot woot!) said, “When we act in faith in [Jesus] to do His work, He goes with us to serve others and blesses us to say just what they need to hear.” He also taught that “what we actually say and actually do may feel a little awkward or not very polished. … But the Savior takes our words and our actions and He carries them through His spirit unto the hearts of the people. He takes our sincere but imperfect effort and turns it into something that is just right, indeed, into something that is perfect.” And that's the truth. I know it is because I have seen it first hand as I testify of these things and maybe my Spanish isn't the best, but the gospel truths touch people. Heavenly Father takes our efforts and actions and testifies of it to the hearts of the people. And that's all He asks us to do really. Just give a little effort. Have faith in Him! He will help us! "It's His work, let Him do some of it!" :)

I hope you enjoyed the Christmas Devotional yesterday! We didn't get to go, but I'm sure it was awesome! I can't believe it was your last fast Sunday with the late time! I feel like you were just telling me that you guys were starting church so late. And to think that was at the beginning of the year. Crazy. That's awesome the Boaz twins are home! I can't believe that either! What is going on here. And Nathan and Davin get home soon too! And then I'll be right after them... My date to come home is for April 9. Happy Birthday to me! Haha. But I'm not sure if we'll be traveling that day, or the next. I haven't heard yet, but don't worry mom I'll keep you posted. And with this time passing so fast, it'll be Christmas soon! We have been sharing with everyone the video that the Church put out about Christ. I love it! He is the Gift! We have cards that we've been handing out that say that on it, and it's been amazing to help people realize the true meaning of Christmas, and the real reason why we celebrate it. :) The Christmas customs here are pretty much the same! The banks have Christmas trees, which are really pretty! And lots of people put little trees in their houses. There are some houses with Christmas lights, but not many. Maybe closer to Christmas there will be more.. I'm not sure. But they don't bake cookies or decorate gingerbread houses. But as a zone we're going to go caroling! We did that last year, and it was really special. I was trying to help my ward realize their potential with a ward Christmas party. Haha I was giving them ideas of what we have done in our wards in the past... I think the primary will end up doing a nativity scene! I hope so!

Also, have you seen the front page of the Ensign for the General Conference issue? It's my favorite thing ever. I loved that they had native speakers speak in their native tongue at General Conference. And you can see the lady's face, she's so surprised because she can understand the speaker without the translator!!! Love it. Also, we changed houses on Saturday! That was fun carrying everything up four flights of stairs! But it was worth it. It's a beautiful house. We live with other sisters now too, so that's been fun. Yorka is doing really great as well. She's awesome. She is in Santa Cruz right now for the Holidays though, but we're going to call her this week. We also taught Relief Society and the class for the single adults yesterday! That went really well. We talked about how we can all be member missionaries, and the things we can do to help serve the Lord. I love you all so much! Thank you for your love, prayers, and support. Keep being awesome! Keep praying for those missionary opportunities and then go out and search for people! :) Heavenly Father will bless you with miracles.

Love you a million billion candy canes!
Hermana Clark

Happy December!

Hi my wonderful family!

I hope it's been a wonderful week! I cannot believe that November is already over. Where has this year gone? I haven't even felt it at all.. That sounds fun you got to be together in Utah, and eat at Chuck-A-Rama..... haha. No cleanup! That's great! So the baptism went really well on Saturday! Just Yorka was baptized. Nelson got cold feet and chose another date. I'm sure he'll do it sometime.. Just needs a little time. But the baptism was perfect. We went to fill up the font and we had to go outside to find the plug and we accidentally opened up a thing in the ground and let me tell ya. I have never seen so many cockroaches in my entire life. It was like cockroach city. Like in Ratatouille (not sure how that's spelled) when all the rats come out of the poor woman's house, yeah that's how I felt but with cockroaches. But we cleaned the church and filled the font, and everything was perfect! Yorka gave a beautiful testimony at the end, and she just cried and cried she was so happy. I am so grateful that I had the chance to be a part of that experience and that I had the chance to teach her. We also had a lot of new investigators this week, and we have transfers this week. I cannot believe how fast this transfer has gone. Okay suddenly I am out of time for the internet! Ah! Sorry this letter isn't very long or very exciting. But I love you all so much. Thanks for your love and support! We'll see where I am next time we talk! :)

Love you to the moon and back!
Hermana Clark

'

Happy Thanksgiving!

Miracles are coming and coming and coming! Well, Yorka had her interview yesterday for her baptism this Saturday! The elder said that she is very prepared for her baptism, and she is so excited! Nelson has been quite the little bugger this week! Haha. He keeps going back and forth. It's a bit frustrating because the only thing is his hair and he doesn't want to wear a white shirt and tie to church. We explained to him that he didn't need to do any of that to get baptized, but he still feels a little apprehensive. Yesterday we talked to him, and he told us he was going to wait. I was bummed, but thought, well he has his free agency and needs to do what he feels like he needs to do. I wanted to cry yesterday though. And then this morning we got a call from one of Nelson's friends, and he told us that Nelson talked to him last night and said that he wants to get baptized this Saturday with Hermana Yorka! We were surprised, but happy with his decision. :)

That's awesome about Jamie winning first in the competition! I am so proud of her! And how fun you're in Utah! Little Beck is so big now. And Nash too!!! I loved seeing the pics! That's cool Jamie ran in the Turkey Trot! I remember feeling SO sick after running that. I thought I was going to die haha and my face was SO red. Haha but that's awesome she did it! And 6th is a great place to get! That's fun you got to work at Jamie's school this week mom! Maybe one of these days you'll see her and you can give her a big wet kiss! Haha Jk Jamie girl... kinda.... :)

We had a conference this week with just the sisters in Tarija, and with President and Hermana Willard! It was THE BEST. We talked about being grateful, and showing our thankfulness. I am so thankful for this time that I have to be here on the mission in Bolivia. I am thankful for what I am learning, and who I am becoming. I am grateful for the atoning sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and for the love that I have felt on my mission from Him, and the love I have grown for Him. This is His church, and I am grateful to be a member of this beautiful church. I will forever be grateful for my eternal family, and the wonderful chance I have to live with them forever. We have a loving Heavenly Father who didn't just send us to earth to gain a family and then after death to lose them. He gives us the wonderful sealing power because we cannot be saved without our families. I am grateful for temples,
for the work we do in the temple and for the missionary work we do in our wards. Thank you for your love, example, support, and prayers. I love you all more than you can imagine! Keep being amazing. Keep sharing the gospel. Keep recognizing those miracles! I love you!

Love you more and more every day!
Hermana Clark

Feliz Lunes! And Happy Birthday Beckham!!!!!

I am doing great! And I loved hearing about your week. Busy busy! I love that service project you all did! That's AWESOME! Well, the test of faith... Nelson wasn't baptized this past Saturday. He chose a new date for the 29th of November. He and Hermana Yorka will be baptized together. And I haven't cut my hair yet... It will be happening sometime in the next two weeks. It's kinda funny because I'll be cutting it to where it was when I left for the mish! It's grown so fast, hope it grows fast again! And Jamie's hair is SO LONG! I couldn't believe that when I saw it in the pic. And when you said you were looking for shoes for Jamie I thought, oh just use some of mine! But now her shoe size is bigger than mine!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What!!! Haha what is going on here....

Yorka and Henry are doing good. Poor little Henry got beat up at school the other day. He came home with a little black eye. And when his mom took him back to talk to the boy and his father, the dad was just saying sorry sorry sorry. And Henry said to the boy's dad, "Señor, don't worry about it. I forgive you." And then the next day was the little boys birthday, and Henry told his mom he needed to go to the store to buy him something! And Yorka was like... we're not buying that boy anything! And Henry told her that this little boy needed a gift more than anyone. So they went and bought him a present. Hermana Yorka told us that she learned a very important lesson about the pure love of Christ. And I did too! Henry is awesome.

Also, we were walking in the street the other day, and there was a bird sitting under a box, her poor little wing was broken. Someone had put out some food and water for her. Then later that night we were walking to the house, and we saw a dog going crazy. As we got closer, we saw that he was attacking the bird! Without thinking I ran at the dog and he dropped the bird and ran off. Haha and then we were in quite the predicament. My comp donated her cardigan and we wrapped the bird up and carried her home. Good thing we live with nice people.... Haha Hermana Marcy helped us out and we gave her some food, and named her Shell. They thought it was more fun to call her something in English.. :) But she survived the night, and the next day we gave her to a vet. I'm not a bird person, and carrying the bird almost made me faint, haha but she's doing good now!

And something that I was studying in Jesus the Christ talks about "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. One who really prays that this kingdom come will strive to hasten its coming by living according to the law of God. His effort will be to keep himself in harmony with the order of the kingdom, to subject the flesh to the spirit, selfishness to altruism, and to learn to love the things that God loves." I love that. To learn to love the things that God loves. That's the goal. To have these Godly traits engraved in our hearts, and demonstrated in our actions.

That's fun you saw the pic from our mini concert! I don't have that picture! And that's awesome Johnny came down for a visit. I bet that was fun to see him! I can't believe it's Beckham's birthday this week! Ah he's so big! I would love to see some pics from the celebration! I love you all so much. I have to go now, but thank you for your love and prayers! Keep sharing the gospel, and being awesome!

Love you a million billion homemade caramels,
Hermana Clark:)

hermana yorka!

yes, we ate this fish! it was actually really good... haha

Happy Birthday Jeremy, Grandma Betty, and Evan

Hola mi familia!

What a week! We had Stake Conference this week! Also the Church celebrated 50 years this week in Bolivia! It was on Thursday, and all the missionaries went to the central park here and we sang Abide With Me Tis Even Tide. It was really cool! We also talked with everyone in the park, and we were on TV! Well, the local TV station here in Tarija. :) And then that night they had like an awards ceremony and the Stake President received a plaque and cool things like that. It was really nice! And then Friday we had a conference of just the missionaries with President and Sister Willard. And then Saturday was Stake Conference in the night time, and Sunday in the morning. Lots of meetings, and really spiritually fed! At the conference with the missionaries, Hermana Willard talked about a tree here called the Toberochi tree. And this tree, it's name means refuge, or safety. And we talked about what our refuge is in our lives, and how it is the Savior. We also were looking at the photo of Christ when He was atoning for our sins, and He is leaning up agaist a tree that looks like a Toberochi. The trees for us, take in all the bad and then put out the good so that we can breathe. They give us life. Jesus Christ did the same when He atoned for our sins. He took in all the bad, so that we can experience the good. He gives us life. So in this photo when He is atoning for our sins, and He is leaning upon this tree, it kind of gives it a whole different meaning. Christ is our support, our refuge, our safety.

I was also reading a talk by President Henry B. Eyring called "A Priceless Heritage of Hope." And he talks about how we are making choices not just for ourselves, but choices that will affect generations and generations. We cannot force people to accept our message, but we can teach them and then pray they will choose the right. "Heavenly Father and the Savior are our perfect examples of what we can and must do. They never force righteousness because righteousness must be chosen. They make righteousness discernible to us, and They let us see that its fruits are delicious." He talked about faithful parents who faithfully teach their children the gospel, and for whatever reason they reject it or rebel against it. And how that is all a part of our free agency to choose righteousness. "When they are older, they will remember the hymns they sang with you. Even more than recalling music, they will remember the words of scripture and testimony. The Holy Ghost can bring all things to their remembrance, but the words of scriptures and hymns will last the longest. These memories will exert a pull that may bring them back when they wander for a time, possibly for years, from the pathway home to eternal life." We plant seeds, and then these children of God have the chance to choose. I was also studying about Adam and Eve today and I always have the question why God commanded them not to eat of the tree, but then kind of wanted them to really because He told them to multiply and replenish the earth! Always felt confused by that. But then today I was studying and I read a scripture in 2 Nephi 2:15 where it talks about how there is opposition in all things. God had to put the tree in the Garden because without the tree they didn't have the chance to use their free agency. They would have been stuck. And a lot of times God gives us a chance to choose something good for something better. I was trying to think of examples and I thought about when Nephi was commanded to kill Laban when the commandments clearly say "Thou shalt not kill." But he chose to obey God when He said that he needed to kill Laban. He was choosing something good for something better. He was saving souls. Just like Adam and Eve saved souls when they chose to eat the fruit because now we have our bodies and we now have the chance to use our free agency here on earth. Maybe it was an obvious answer, but it finally made sense in my head today. :)

Our investigators are really good. Nelson's baptism is this Saturday, and the adversary is on the move as always. Nelson is feeling a little apprehensive about his baptism because of his long hair. He knows the church is true, so I just pray that he makes a good choice. There's that free agency again.... We have also been teaching someone named Yorka who is so spiritually prepared to receive the gospel it's ridiculous. She prays about everything we teach her, and she knows that the church is true, that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and that the Word of Wisdom is a commandment from God. She's so awesome. We asked her the other day about how she was with the Word of Wisdom and she was like, "Oh hermanas, I was in the street the other day and someone was trying to sell me coffee and I shared with them all the reasons why they shouldn't be drinking that!" Haha I love her. And her son Henry, who's five, is awesome too. He is the sweetest little guy. Anytime we are at his house he always always always brings us something. Glass of water, or says, "Mom, I need to run to the store to buy the Hermanas something." And he'll run to the store across the street and either buy juice in a bag or suckerrs or gum. Haha he's awesome. And Yorka and Henry came to all the activities that I mentioned we had this week! And Henry when he was watching the choir he thought the lady leading was mute because she was waving her hands around and not singing. Hahaha. And he tells his mom, "I need candy because my blood pressure is low..." Such a cute little guy! Another miracle we had was when we were leaving our appointment with Yorka, we were going to go to a members house to pick up some papers we needed but we felt like we wouldn't have enough time before our Ward Council. So we decided to go to the church, and right as we were walking up a lady walked up and said that she needed to talk to someone. It was perfect because there wouldn't have been anyone else to talk to if we hadn't arrived! So we went in and started talking and she's having a lot of family problems. At the end of the lessons it occurred to me that she probably doesn't live in our area but we would pass along the referral anyway. When we asked, it turns out that she does live in our area! I feel like all week we've just been blessed with miracles like this. All week God has been putting people in our path and it has been amazing. Amazing to be a part of it. Amazing to watch all these miracles right in front of me! I loved this week. It wasn't easy, but it was worth it, and it was beautiful. We are being greatly blessed.

To answer some of your questions... I won't be cutting my hair too short! They are having the drive in the next couple of weeks. It'll just be to where it was when I left for the mission. And hopefully Nelson will donate his hair too. :) We went shopping last week, but I didn't end up buying anything! No good deals, no good deals. But a member here donated a bunch of skirts and dresses to the mission and I had some of the dresses made into skirts, and I got those back today! So that's fun! And I can't believe that Emily is home already! Time is going by so fast. I completed 13 months in the mission yesterday, and I was thinking about my time in the MTC, and I just cannot believe how fast this time is going. I love being a missionary. I love giving these people the opportunity to choose to accept this wonderful, beautiful gospel. Every blessing I have received in my life is because I am a member of this amazing Church. I am so grateful that families can be eternal, and for the work of salvation that we do here on earth, in the mission field and in the temple. Thank you family for being awesome. Keep sharing this wonderful gospel with all that you can! Plant seeds. Love you!

Love you a million billion Reese's Pieces,
Hermana Clark:)

"Make me more worthy of thy love, and more fit for the life above."

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Hope you had a great Halloween! They celebrate something similar here, but they don't really dress up and Trick or Treat. But for the people who have died, they put all their favorite things on a table. They bake and buy a bunch of food, and candles, and their pictures and everything that this person liked and put it on a table. They believe that on this day the spirits of their loved ones come and visit to see if they put out all of their favorite things.. It's an interesting holiday. But they celebrated that yesterday.
So for the past two weeks we haven't had agendas, and can you just imagine how hard that's been! Haha mission problems. No planners to plan my day and I feel lost without it. We just plan on a piece of paper and it just isn't the same. Hopefully our planners come soon. Yesterday I was studying the talk by Tad R. Callister from General Conference, and I just love how he talks about the importance of teaching our children in the home. I feel like my childhood was so blessed because we learned about Christ in the home. Something that he said that I loved is, "Which parent in Book of Mormon times would have let their sons march out to the front of battle without a breast plate and shield  and sword to protect them against the potentially mortal blows of the enemy? But how many of us let our children march out the front door each morning to the most dangerous of all battlefields, to face Satan and his myriad of temptations, without their spiritual breastplate and shield and sword that come from the protective power of prayer? The Lord said,'Pray always, … that you may conquer Satan' (D&C 10:5). As parents, we can help instill within our children the habit and power of morning prayer." We would never send our children to battle without some sort of protection! It is the same in this life. We are in a spiritual battle with the adversary, and we must prepare our children spiritually so that when the winds and rains come, because they will come, they will be spiritually prepared. And so, I am grateful for goodly parents who taught us to value the power of prayer, family and personal scripture study, and church attendance.
Well, our investigators are progressing a lot! One of our investigators, Nelson, is getting baptized on the 15th. He is awesome. We found him while searching for someone else from the area book. He is 25, and has long hair, but the stake is having a "hair drive"? haha I think that's what it would be called. But they are collecting hair to make wigs for children with cancer. So yup, you can bet I'll be cutting my long hair soon! :) Another family that we are teaching is getting baptized on the 29th! Liliana, Melissa, and Valentina. They are awesome, and a referral from a member in the ward. They are progressing a ton, and really loving the gospel! I am so grateful for this work. For the work we do in the mission field, and in the temple. It is a beautiful work, and I am just grateful for this opportunity I have had to share this wonderful gospel. I know that Heavenly Father loves us. He guides us in this work. And He changes us. Love you all so much! Have an awesome, fantastic, super, amazing, wonderfully beautiful week!

Love you a million billion Pinks!
Hermana Clark

Smells like transfers......!

Well, I didn't get transferred! But, my comp did. I was happy not to leave the area though. I love this ward so much. And our bishop is awesome, and his wife is even better. My new comp is named Hermana Carter, and she is from Chile! We had a really good first week together, and we received a lot of miracles. We found so many new people to teach and we had some great lessons this week.

I loved hearing all about your indexing!!! That's awesome how many names you got to index! And congratulations Jamie for taking first in the music part of the Reflections competition!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's AWESOME! And sounds like the Trunk or Treat was a blast! So glad all the games went well! I loved the pics, everything was so cute! And Jamie's costume is really cute! Can't believe you made that! Haha and Jamie is just on fire. The Reflections program, scoring goals... Pucha, Jamie girl! You rock! That's great that Sister Roberts is the new Relief Society President. I know she'll do a great job! She's awesome, love her and her family. Loved hearing the updates about the Los Alamos Ward! We are blessed with a really awesome ward. :)

Today for P-day, we're getting together with the sisters in my zone, and making pizza! That'll be fun! Today I was studying a talk I have by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland that's called, "For Times of Trouble." It's one of my favorite talks, and it just talks about how trouble is a germ of its own. That problems or hard times and trouble don't always come together. He told a story about when Albert Einstein was about 60 years old and his factory started on fire one night, and everything was burned. His son came running, searching for him, thinking that his father would be falling apart and devastated, and Albert spoke first and said, "Find your mother, and tell her to get her friends! They'll never see a fire like this for as long as they live!" Then Albert gathered together his workers and said, "We're rebuilding. We need a crane, and supplies." And almost as an after thought said, "Oh, and does someone know where we can get some money?" It's true, that feeling down for things doesn't come with the problems. We choose the way we will react to situations. We just need to do the best we can, and be sure that we really are doing our very best. "The point is the same with school as with money or marriage or profession or (a mission or) any hope and dream. Prepare. Plan. Work. Sacrifice. Rework. Spend cheerfully on matters of worth. Carry the calm, and wear the assurance of having done the best you could with what you had." Just know you're doing the best you can with what you are given. That's all Heavenly Father expects from us. He knows us, He believes in us. And He is aware of us. He knows what trials we need in order to change to become more like Him. We just need to be sure to take these trials, and use them to help us grow because we can only grow two ways, towards God or towards the adversary. So, who's on the Lord's side, who? ME!:)

I love you all so much. I hope you continue indexing! And have the best week of your life! Thank you for your prayers, love, and support. You are an amazing family, and I love hearing about your experiences, and the way the Lord has blessed your lives during your week. Keep sharing the gospel, and being an example for everyone! Pray that Heavenly Father will put people in your path that you can share the gospel with. Watch how many people He will give you! I love you!

Love you a million billion sour skittles,
Hermana Clark

¡Mi querida familia!

Alright, first off, I loved the song that Jamie wrote for the piano! It's one of the prettiest songs I've ever heard, and she wrote it! I cannot believe it, but I am so proud of her! And good job Jamie for scoring a goal!!!!

But to answer your question, I think we stayed in for election day because no one works, not even the police! So it was just safer I guess to stay inside. We got to leave the house at 6 though and work like normal so that was good! But this week has been an awesome one! Full of miracles! My comp and I were blessed with completing all our goals we had for this week! And all our investigators with baptism dates came to church yesterday! One is a family who lives in our area called Miraflores. It's our area that is a little bit farther away. The members who live out there say that we are the first missionaries that really work in that area. The other ones didn't really visit the area much. But I love love love Miraflores because it reminds me of Bermejo. So we're always out there. Anyway, this family is a referral from the members that live out there. There are only about two active families that live in that area! But this new family is awesome. They are so prepared to hear the gospel, and are progressing so much. The ward is doing good. We are progressing a lot, and we have a goal to have 180 members going to church by the end of the year. we are about 40 people away! I know we can do it! We are working with some less active families, and the members are really starting to help now. It's like the talk from General Conference about the man with palsy! I was reading about that story in Jesus the Christ today, and thinking about our ward here. We are now all working together. Just like in the story, the men had to lower the man together. If someone lowered too fast, the man would fall. And the faith that these men had was just incredible. I love that story and analogy so much.

Our plans for P-day aren't too exciting... I think we'll print some pictures, clean the house. I want to finish updating the Area Book, and write in my journal. My journal is very behind! I'm still writing things from July! Ahhh. haha. And our cook lady is going to make tacos for lunch today, so I'm pretty stoked!! She made pizza a few weeks ago and it was so good! Haha. I hope I don't get transferred! We've been very blessed to have her! And I love this ward, our Bishop, his wife (the woman that cooks for us), and my area!! But I have been studying a lot about accepting the Lord's will, and I am ready for whatever He gives to me this transfer! I hope! :)

You guys are indexing machines! You have already reached in one week what you ended with in two weeks! That's awesome!!!!! Way to go, and keep it up! Stake Conference sounds like it was great! It's true! Now is the time to hasten the work!! Both in our wards, and in the temple. The work is the same!

Well my wonderful family, I love you so much! You are each a huge example to me, and I am so lucky and blessed to call you my family. Keep being amazing, and keep searching for those tender mercies in our lives. We become more grateful, and feel more love for our Heavenly Father and Lord when we do. Have a great week! Love you!

Love you a million billion empanadas!
Hermana Clark

¡Muy Buenos Días mi familia!

Another great week here in the service of the Lord! Mom, thanks for the package! They just seem to get better and better!

Yesterday was election day here in Bolivia! All we have heard the past couple of weeks are songs about the people running for president. Haha they're pretty cheesy these songs.. so I'm glad the elections are finally over! And the same guy won again! Third time in a row... Not allowed... but hey anything goes these days. But election day meant that we couldn't leave the house until 6 last night, so we did a lot of studying! About 10 hours of straight studying! And when it finished my comp and I laughed because we wanted more time... But! We went out and worked, and had some really awesome lessons! Heavenly Father has put some really awesome people in our path, and He is greatly blessing us.

Some of the things I learned yesterday from my day of studying is that we choose to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. He has offered it to us, and now we choose to do it. And to be His disciple, we cannot be still! We must continually move forward and progress because if we are still, we move backwards and therefore become more like the adversary. We are responsible for the people that we become. We can either sit passively by and let life make us who it wants to make us, or we can progressively become more like Christ and consciously choose to act like Him. If we just let life make us who it wants to make us, we will come to the end of our lives and realize that we only reached a small part of our full potential. Therefore, we must believe in ourselves! We must have faith in ourselves because God, the greatest of all, the most powerful being who has created worlds without number believes in US! HE has faith in US! What a beautiful thought that is. What a comforting thought that is! Take comfort in it! I do! We don't have to do this alone. In fact, without Him we cannot do this at all. "Just give it up. Surrender your will to Him. Unconditionally. Withhold nothing. Turn it all over to Him; all of your desires, wishes, dreams, and hopes. Be true and faithful in your head and in your heart, not just in your behavior. Trust in Him. Trust Him who knows all things. Trust Him who has all power. Trust Him whose love for you is perfect. Trust Him, who alone suffered, paid, and atoned for your sins, and for your weaknesses as well. Trust Him that He will make of you immeasurably more than what you will ever, ever, in all eternity make yourself. He will create of you a masterpiece. You will create of you only a smudge. You will create an ordinary man, He will create a God." But we must give ourselves over to Him. Our minds and hearts are all we can give to Him really because time, that's His. Talents we have, those are His as well because He gave them to us. Strength, something He allows us to have. But our hearts and minds, that's what we can give to Him. And if we give it all over to Him, He will transform us into who He has always meant for us to be. And what I love is that it isn't impossible! Nothing is impossible for our Heavenly Father. We just need to consciously choose Him. Choose it in your mind, and your heart will follow.

I am so proud of you and the major indexing you guys have done!! You will definitely get first this time!! And the Meet the Mormons movie sounds great! I have heard lots about it, and I hope lots go and see it! Well, transfers are coming up in a week and a half, and I really do not want to leave this ward! But, whatever happens happens, and I will love where ever I am! I love you fam! Keep up the good work!

Con mucho amor,
Hermana Clark

Happy One Year to Me!

Let's hear it for the boy!

Welcome to the world Nash Allen Clark! :) And congratulations Jeremy and Kelsey! Loved seeing some of the pics, he's such a cutie! And can't wait to meet him in person!

This week has been a crazy one, and finished with a bang! General Conference was my favorite part of the week for sure. I just can't even stop thinking about it. We got to watch it in English too, and that was really fun! I loved every single talk. They were all inspired, and exactly what I needed! All of the English speakers were in a different room to watch conference in English. And I can't believe there are over 88,000 missionaries! I also loved that some people spoke in their native language! What an awesome thing that was because this is a universal church! We are in all the world, and we have members all over the world. What a great way to show that by having people speak in their native tongue. When the people spoke in Spanish we turned off the English translator and just watched it like that. Haha I was laughing because everyone was so excited to watch it in Spanish without the translator, and I thought, if you're so excited to watch in Spanish we can just go into the other room! Haha but I was excited too and I think it was the thought that if I was at the conference center at that moment, I would understand him. One of my favorite talks was by Chi Hong (Sam) Wong. I loved how he talked about the man with palsy, and how great the faith was of the men that wanted to lower him down through the roof. I loved that he said that those men had to work together to lower him, and how it is the same in our wards. We must work together. It's like what Elder Uchtdorf said in a talk one time, that there were men standing around a grand piano, and one said, "How are we going to lift this?" And the reply was, "Everyone lift where you are." That is what we must do. We must lift where we are! We need to help the people that are around us. Neighbors, friends, family. Lift the hands and hearts that hang down that are around us. I also loved what Jeffery R. Holland said about how WE ARE ALL BEGGARS. We all beg for forgiveness from our loving Heavenly Father. And that the spoil of the needy is in our houses. We must do what we can, and help where we can, and give a generous fast offering because what we do is only one drop in the ocean. But if we did not do what we do, the ocean would be one drop less. I know I'm not quoting it word for word but I can't look up how it really goes. But I loved those talks! I also thought what Tad R. Callister said about prayer was so beautiful. We need to teach our children about the power of prayer, not the routine of prayer. That's awesome! Prayer is so powerful, and I think members of the church need to understand that more. Prayer is everything. Heavenly Father hears us, He knows us, and He answers us because He loves us.

I also thought it was awesome that many spoke about how we need to better appreciate the Sacrament. Isn't that true! I loved having my testimony strengthened this past weekend. This is God's true church. He leads us through His prophet, Thomas S. Monson, and gives to him the revelation he needs to guide this church. He holds all the priesthood keys that have ever been given on the earth in these last days. Heavenly Father loves us, and we will feel that love if we seek Him.

This week there were some lightning storms, and hail! That was pretty fun. :) We also had the wonderful opportunity to eat cow stomach... NEVER AGAIN PLEASE. It was in a soup, and it was like sponges. Not a fan, not a fan... So now I've eaten cow cheek, stomach, foot, bladder.... what next? whaaat more can they do with the coooow?! Haha. Anyway, I just feel very grateful to be a missionary in this time, and in this place. I love giving all my time to serve our Lord. I love Him. I know that He lives, and He loves us. He knows our name, He is aware of us. The privilege I have had to serve a mission has forever changed me and who I am. I only want to be the person that our Heavenly Father wants me to be. That is my lifetime goal, and I know He will help me achieve it. Thank you my beautiful family for all that you are doing to move this work along. Keep indexing and taking names to the temple. Keep praying, and studying your scriptures. Study them until you feel more faith in Christ. I love you all so much! Have a wonderful week!

Love a million billion candy corn,
Hermana Clark

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WESLEY!!!

¡Felíz Primer Día del resto de sus vidas!

First off, how excited I am for General Conference! I can't even handle it. When it ended in April I started looking forward to October. And I can't believe we're almost in October! THAT IS INSANE. Seeing the Broadcast for the Relief Society was just like a little tease. But I loved it! I loved what President Uchtdorf said about how the commandments aren't just a list of nice ideas, but are the word of God, and our instructions of how to make it back to His presence. Also, I thought that Jer and Kels had their baby, but that's okay, I'll patiently wait one more week... I hope they name him Nacho or Chancho or something cool. Aaanyway, so something funny about the plane ride last week that I forgot to tell you is that when we landed in Yacuiva, and I had to go alone to Tarija, I didn´t have a ticket or anything. So I went to get on the plane and they asked for my ticket, and I explained that I didn´t have one, and the man was just like "....okay, come on in...." Haha.

This week we had a conference with President and Sister Willard, and with their daughter Monica who is leaving on the mission in a week to Ecuador! It was such a great conference, and we talked about Family History, so I was just in love! That is something I really miss doing. I am so proud of you guys for doing your indexing! Sounds like you're doing a ton, and I hope you win the contest!! I know you guys can do it! I wish I was indexing too! I would love to help! And I hope Jamie does well on her tryouts tomorrow!! Love that little girl. She'll be awesome, I know it!

And to answer your question, I am so glad I didn't have to travel to Santa Cruz this week. It was fun and all... but I love my area, and we saw so many miracles this week I'm glad I didn't miss out. We found a lady this past week that lives with her 4 children. She is so great, and accepted to be baptized. She has a lot in faith in Heavenly Father and she's just so sweet. She is so excited to hear more about the gospel and see General Conference this week. We also had an awesome lesson last night. The spirit was so strong, and our investigator was so surprised to learn that we have a living prophet on the earth today. He is also so excited for conference. I can't express how much I love this gospel. It is perfect. This is the church of Jesus Christ. He guides this church through living prophets, and we have the privilege to listen to our prophet and his apostles this weekend! What a beautiful blessing. Our Heavenly Father loves us. We can see that through the guidance He gives us through His faithful servants. I hope you enjoy conference this weekend! Watch with a question in mind, and I know it will be answered. I love you all so much! Keep being the amazing family I know you are!

Con mucho amor,
Hermana Clark

Hola from Bolivia!

Well, it has just been quite the week here! On Wednesday, my zone leaders told me at lunch that I was leaving on a plane to Santa Cruz at 4 in the afternoon! It was time to do my papers for my documents and everything! So I got my stuff together and went to the airport, and flew to Santa Cruz! There were some other missionaries who went to do their papers too. And you know how I love to fly, so that was a special treat! When we got to Santa Cruz the first thing I thought was wow it's hot. Haha a lot hotter than Tarija! Tarija has beautiful weather. It's kind of like California. But Santa Cruz, whew, super humid. So we got there at night time Wednesday, and I stayed with some sisters there, and another sister that was traveling with me. In the morning we had to be at the government office to do our documents at 6:30, and we waited in a line for a while... It was like the DMV... so I liked it:) And then the lawyers came! So the mission has lawyers that help the missionaries  with all their documents. I was glad they were there or I think people would try to pull stuff on us. Okay, and then I was waiting in line with the lawyers, and some other missionaries, and one of the missionaries from my group went up to the counter and all his paperwork was expired, meaning mine was too... haha so we left there really fast, and went to a clinic to draw some blood. And the lady was telling us it would be ready on Monday! And I thought, aaah I'm stuck here all weekend. But the lawyers are awesome and somehow got the paperwork done for the next day! But inbetween all of that we went with the other missionaries to do their paperwork. There were some missionaries from Argentina and from Peru so we had to go to the offices of Peru and Argentina. And it's interesting because the Bolivian police can't do anything in the gates of these offices because it's Argentina territory so pretty much I went to Argentina and Peru this week. That counts right? I think so! Theeeen, we didn't have any more we could do in the offices, so we were split up and went with different missionaries to work in their areas. And I loved working in Santa Cruz! I really enjoyed the area, and the people. It's like LA. Just a big city, and I just love big cities. Then I stayed the night with those sisters, and in the morning we had to be at the offices early again! And we got there and something happened and we had to come back later, but the lawyers didn't want us to leave in case the office called us and told us we could come in. So we went to the mission office to kill some time, but they were closed! So we just studied outside the door for a while. Then we went and got some Burger King. That was fun! A whopper and fries! And it started raining really hard too! So it's like pouring rain, and we have to get back to the offices to finish our documents, and we were a little lost, but in the end we got there, finished the document, and now I am legally here! Yay! So then we went back to the mission office because they were open, and the elders there told me they booked our flights, but that we had missed our flights for the afternoon, so we were leaving Saturday morning. Then they told me that there wasn't room on the plane, so they booked a flight for me to fly with President and Sister Willard and their daughter Monica to a city called Yacuiva! And then I would take a flight to Tarija! The thing about this flight is that it's pretty famous here in the mission... It's known for just being really bumpy and ify.. haha so I was stoked for the adventure! The planes are really small, and it was raining really hard so we couldn't take off. They ended up delaying the flight until later, and I went with President, Sister Willard, and Monica back to their house! And we made breakfast! Haha we cooked some eggs and made breakfast burritos. Haha so that was fun hanging out with the Willards:) Then after brunch we cleaned up, and they said that they had been up until 2 and then got up really early and they were going to go nap, and asked if I wanted to nap! Haha I wasn't tired though so I stayed up and studied instead. I know it's hard to believe I didn't take up their offer to nap..... Their house is really pretty though so I enjoyed studying there. And it just continued to rain and rain and the streets were flooded! You could probably water-ski or something if you really wanted to! I did.

In President's house I was studying about Jacob 5. And I really liked in verse 64 that it says, "then shall ye prepare the way for them, that they may grow." And I was thinking about that.. That the Lord prepares a way for us, and sometimes the way is hard. But it's to make us grow. He makes the way to make us into the persons that He wants us to be. And if He prepared the way, He will provide a way! We just have to trust in Him. Trust in the plan that He has for us because nothing is impossible for the Lord.

In the end, we ended up getting on a plane! And it wasn't raining so it was just pluses all around! And we flew with an Elder that was ending his mission in Mexico. We got off the plane and his family just ran to him and they were all crying and haha if that doesn't make you trunky I don't know what does. Then the mom and sisters were crying and hugging me and they were just all so happy. Haha it was really sweet. Then President walked me over to the boarding gate and I got back on the plane, and flew alone to Tarija. It was really weird being without a companion and I really didn't like it. Good thing it was a short flight. But that was my week! Pretty crazy huh! And then yesterday we had an awesome appointment with a new investigator, and the night before we met with a family who are progressing really well!

All in all it was a great week! Can't wait to hear next week if Jer and Kels had their baby!! Love you all so much. Thank you for your love and support. And thank you for your prayers! Keep praying for those missionary opportunities! They will come! Love you!

Con mucho amor,
Hermana Clark

Fam bam!

Hey, Jenae and Mike! Congrats!!! I can't believe I'm going to come home to two new babies in the family! I thought for sure Kelsey and Jeremy had their baby! This next week! I can't wait!!!

Who's on the Lord's side who? Me! I remembered that phrase this week, and it's true. I'm on His side. I hope all is well with you! And I'm glad to hear you made it home safely from Utah! That's crazy about the flash floods! Well I didn't get transfered! And thank goodness! I didn't want to leave this ward yet. My comp and I are the only ones in the zone that didn't get changed! We still have more work to do together! And we are learning a lot from each other. My bishop is super awesome and wrote President Willard the day before transfers letting him know that he didn't want us changed. He said "están dando lo mejor de ellos, de su carisma, de su amor y de su fe, estamos aprendiendo de ellos y los queremos mucho, y no quisiéramos que nunca se vayan del barrio ya que los vemos como parte de nosotros. Gracias, muchísimas gracias." I was so grateful to find out that our bishop was saying that about our missionaries in the ward. And I'm even more grateful I haven't been transfered yet!

Something cool I've been studying about are the missing books in the Bible. There are SO MANY! The Bible talks about books of wars, and missing epistles, and letters. And so many, and I loved reading about all the missing books because I am so excited to one day read those missing books!

Also, I had my first grey hair the other day.... I pulled it out! Ah! Now two more will grow back.... But I couldn't help it. And we also ate cow bladder the other day! That was actually really nasty. It smelled like cow stuff. It smelled like I was sitting next to a cow while eating. They say it's really good for you though, so that's good! Today we have a FHE with a less active family! And an appointment with a recent convert, and with a new investigator! It'll be an eventful evening! I love working in this work, and I love this time that I have to serve the Lord. He will move His work forward with or without our help. But we have the beautiful opportunity to be a part of this great work. I love you all so much! Keep being awesome and serving our Heavenly Father!

Con mucho amor,
Hermana Clark

Hola fam bam!

That's so fun you went up to Utah for Ivy's baptism! Ivy! I'm so proud of you for getting baptized!

This week has been a great week. All of our investigatores are progressing! And the recent converts and less actives we've been working with are progressing as well! One of the recent converts we've been visiting wasn't going to church when we started visiting her. Well that was a few weeks ago, and yesterday she bore her testimony, and now has a calling in Young Womens! To answer some of your questions... The biggest stumbling block with the investigatores I think is that they just need someone to be their friend! It´s important that the members too are working with these investigatores because when we can´t get them to church, a friend can. It´s also because these people are lazy! Haha and they know it. They know that they´re lazy, and they like to sleep so our 9 o'clock church is sometimes just too early for them! But everyone has been progressing well! Yesterday there was some sort of something where no one could drive their taxis or buses, but it was cool because a lot of people still came to church even though they live about 2 hours away walking! It was great to see the faith of these members! And we have transfers this week! So we´ll see what happens! I have to go now because my computer keeps closing out of the internet so I want to send this before it does it again! Sorry this is so short! I love you so much family! Keep being amazing, and always remember that the Lord hasn´t stopped giving us miracles! Love you!

Con mucho amor,
Hermana Clark

"Blessed be the name of my God, who has been mindful of us, wanderers in a strange land." -Alma 26:36

¡Feliz cumpleaños Jamie!

¡Hola familia!

I hope you are all doing fantastic! I am doing great! And I cannot believe that Jamie is now 11! That just blows my mind. I hope you have a super awesome birthday Jamie girl! And have fun at Disneyland!! Buy a pickle and some cotton candy for me! Maybe even an ice cream if you´re really feeling up to it! :) Well just so you know mom, I am healthy and happy! Healthy as a horse! I blame the water in Bermejo for any time I was a little sick before. Haha love Bermejo, not the water. Our cook is really conscious also of the way she cooks, so that's great! The finding is going really great. We have a lot of really promising investigators, that are progressing a little slowly.... but! This week they are going to progress a ton! It'll be a week of miracles. Our Pday last monday was fun! We made some brownies that were so so so sosossosodfsjeasjdfhe good! They weren't quite like homemade brownies, but I think because I haven't had them in so long my mouth accepted them with mucho gusto. :)

And holy cow, the birthday party looks like it was a blast! I'll definitely be celebrating Jamie's birthday here all day long! The balloon arch looks awesome. Never seen something like that before!! I also loved hearing about what you guys do for dinner in between practices! A little park picnic sounds fun! Yesterday at church was really great too! How interesting because in our third hour we were combined with the priesthood and we talked about the cleaning of the church and how it's for everyone! The justserve sounds really awesome! I love hearing about how the church is progressing.

This week has been really great though. We had some really awesome lessons this week, and we have a new family that we are teaching! And yesterday the family we ate with wanted to feed us some raw fish... good thing it's against mission rules! Whew dodged that bullet. Aaanyway! Everything here is great, and we are working hard in the vineyard of the Lord! Love you all so much!

Love a million billion pinks,
Hermana Clark

Buenos días familia!

I hope all is well with you! It's been a busy busy week! We came home every night just absolutely exhausted. And the weather has been weird too! It was so hot yesterday, and today it's windy and cold. I had to pull my tights back out! How confusing! This week we got to teach a family that we have been trying to contact for a while. We stopped for a bit but then my comp and I both felt like we should try again, so we did and they were home! Turns out they're a really awesome family, and we have an appointment with them tomorrow! They were so excited and surprised to learn that we have a living prophet today! And we also were searching for a referral when we found another promising investigator. Turns out that her mom is a less active member and her family didn't know she had been baptized! It's amazing to see that Heavenly Father really is guiding us in this great work. 

Thanks again for the package! My comp and I have been really enjoying everything this week! Also, it came to me that the song the Macarena is in Spanish so I had my comp sing it to me, and now I understand what they say! Haha it was really weird. Also, I was watching the Youth theme video for 2010, and it was in english, and then people started talking in French and they had subtitles, and then in German with subtitles, and of course I didn't understand, and then in Spanish and it was just so cool to understand exactly what they were saying! Haha it's hard to explain, but it was just like "don't understand... don't understand.... ah I understand!" It was a cool moment, and I am just honestly so grateful for Heavenly Father that He is allowing me to learn this language. I know it is only through Him that I am learning it. 

Sounds like you guys had such a busy week! But really fun! I am glad to hear everything worked out well with the enrichment night! Sounds like a really awesome activity! Maybe we need to do that down here! And the Galaxy soccer game sounds fun! And going to Long Beach with Jason and Zara! The pic of the beach is beautiful!! And I can't believe Jer and Kels are going to have their baby soon! Name it something Latino! Juan Miguel. No no Fernando. Alijandro? Carlos. Rolando. Manuel? That's all I got. Good luck! Love you all! Have a wonderful week full of missionary work! 

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Clark

Hola familia!

Thanks mom for the package!!! It’s always great to get snail mail! And thank you Ali for sending me a letter! You’re the best!

I hope to find that all is well with you! Another week gone, just like that! I forgot to tell you, but last week we had a conference with all the missionaries in Tarija and Bermejo came! I got to see Hermana Crandall and Hermana Zapata. And I heard some great news too! Remember one investigator I told you about when we skyped for Christmas? Mirella? The one who wanted us to come with her to pray… well she got baptized! I am so excited for her.  Like in her dream, she will be a great leader in the church. The entire conference with President and Hermana Willard we talked about Jesus Christ, so it was a very powerful, very beautiful conference.

Yesterday at church, we talked about Family Home Evenings and how they are important. We also talked about how it is important to teach your children to pray no matter how little they are, and once again I just felt so much gratitude for you and dad. I am so grateful for the way we were raised, in a home of love and the teaching of Jesus Christ. I am grateful we faithfully had FHE every Monday night, and for family prayers. That is the foundation for the rest of our lives. We have to build our children while they are young, and I am grateful for all the time and work that you and dad put in and still put in to help us be faithful servants of Christ. So, thank you mom and dad!

So this week our goal is to kind of start over with our investigators. We are searching for new ones because our others just aren’t progressing. It’s sad, but it’s going to be a week of miracles. I know we’re about to find a lot of families that are ready to hear and accept the gospel. So watch out!

Today as a zone we’re taking a picture, and last week we tried to go to the dinosaur museum but it was closed! So we went for ice cream instead. And today, I’m not sure what we’ll do! Something awesome. That sounds fun that Jason is in town! Have fun walking the dogs and swimming!!! I have to go now, but I love you family! Thanks for everything! Have a wonderful week, and give references to the missionaries of people they can teach! Love you!

"And this is the blessing which hath been bestowed upon us, that we have been made instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work." Alma 26:3

Te quiero mucho!

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Clark

¡Hola mi familia tan bonita! ¡Feliz día de BOLIVIA!

It was Bolivia day here on Wednesday!

Everything here in Tarija is great! I love my area more and more every week. We have been greatly blessed this week, and have seen so many miracles. First off, I love the ward I'm in here, and I love the Bishop. He has such a vision of the potential of this ward. Yesterday at church we had a really beautiful experience happen too! So on Saturday we talked to our investigators, confirmed that they were coming to church, and then Sunday morning we went to collect a few. We ended up not finding anyone! So we went to church and we were sitting in sacrament meeting, just starting and I was just sitting there praying and thinking how we had done all we could this week to get these people to come to church, and now I was leaving it up to the Lord. I think of Sister Willard often because of the faith she has and had on her mission. She told us about how she would do all she could all week long to get people to come to church, and then she would go to church with so much faith and they would find that a family of 5 showed up to church just curious! I was praying that Heavenly Father would help me to have more faith as well. As we were sitting there, I looked over at the door as one of our investigators, Carlos, was walking in! I was so surprised because he was the last I thought would show up. But he's just been full of surprises this week because a few lessons ago he told us that he received his answer and needed to be baptized in December! But then this last lesson we were teaching, and I asked him if he really thinks that Heavenly Father wants him to wait and live longer in his sins. He sat there and thought for a minute and didn't say anything, and then my comp invited him to baptism again and he said yes and we invited him for the 30th of August and he accepted! He's the hardest investigator, but when he's baptized he'll be the best member. He has some crazy questions, so we're growing a lot from teaching him as well!

So yesterday we ate lunch at the house of one of my favorite families in the ward, the familia Montaño! As we were waiting to eat, the Hermano told me that his father-in-law's coffin is inside the house and sleeps above the wardrobe in his sons room! Haha I was a little shocked and didn't know whether to believe him or not so he went and pulled the box out.... haha and he opened the lid and there he was! It was just his head, the rest of his body had been cremated. However that's spelled. They've had him in the house for the past 10 years! But he died 23 years ago. Aaaanyway, the food was really good and the family is just the best. I wish you could meet them! You would love them!

Also tonight we have a Family Home Evening with that family and our investigator Carlos is going to go! I'm super stoked about it. Everything here is going great! I love you all so much! Thanks for your love and support! Have a wonderful week!

Love,
Hermana Clark

This is a traditional outfit from Potosi! Tt was Bolivia Day here and they did a big stake activity.
Our ward did a dance and food from Potosi!

Hola mi familia!

Well, I didn't get transferred! I was pretty happy about that! And neither did my comp! I was hoping that we wouldn't because I was really feeling that we both had more to learn from each other, and more people we needed to teach together. Apparently President Willard was feeling that way as well! The baptism for next week is being pushed back. Our investigator has a lot of fears about her baptism so we're going to keep visiting her. But two other investigators accepted baptism for the 30th of August! One is named Lisa. She's the greatest! I love her so much! I wish you could all know her. You would love her too. We had invited her to baptism a few lessons ago and she turned us down, but then the other week while we were teaching her she just said, "I want to be baptized. How can I be baptized?" Haha we were just so shocked.. and so happy for her!

The FHE we had last week with the less active family was great! They have a new baby and want to bless him in church next Sunday... they just can't figure out a name yet! We were also visiting another less active yesterday, and she's just awesome. It was her second Sunday back at church, and she wanted to pay her tithing for the past few months that she wasn't going to church. When we visited her in her house yesterday she was asking me about Family History, and her family and I was helping her write out dates and stuff. We were looking through old documents and I just miss family history so much! I can't wait to get back into it again.

Sounds fun to have the kids in town! And I cannot believe Jamie is going into 6th grade... and what Brody is old enough to be baptized?! Haha I forgot he was the same age as Ivy.... I can't wait to see some pics of Ivy's baptism!! I'm so excited for her! I did have some of the teachers Jamie has! I had Mr. Tikasingh, however that's spelled. and I had Mr. Plantier for PE. I remember liking having him for a teacher. If I remember correctly he had a black goatee and he was one of the "cool" teachers. haha so that'll be fun! I think I had Mrs. Stanford.... but now I can't remember. Choir will be fun for Jamie!

That's so fun you got to go to Relief Society and Sunday School!! Sounds like really great lessons were given!

These past few weeks I have been memorizing The Living Christ in Spanish while we walk around. I'm only about half way done! But I'm getting there! Next I'm going to memorize it in English! I also have been carrying a Book of Mormon around in my hands. I like doing that because it helps to share it more. We use our hands so much for things so it's a helpful reminder. We also have a really awesome bishop here! He and his wife are amazing and I love them so much! They don't have any children yet like I had thought. Also, when we have people who aren't coming to church we need to visit them that day! Tell them they are missed! Help the missionaries!

Love you all! Have a wonderful week!

Love,
Hermana Clark

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HOLLAND FIDLEFALLEND!

Well, Bolivia is just what I needed! I love that you said that mom! You're absolutely right! Every missionary that is called, is called to a certain place for a reason. We have a purpose here and we have people that are searching for this message. I've been feeling really good. Just full of health! But we didn't have the baptism on the 26th, the investigator picked a new date for the 9th of August. Our investigators are good, but we need some new ones. The best part of my week was that we had ward conference this past weekend and I loved the meeting Saturday night.

Sounds like you had a lot of fun in Utah!! That's awesome you guys got to go. I loved all the pics too! It's great to see everyone! And I'm so proud of you about the plane ride!! I'm sure Jamie loved the free snacks and TV all the way! haha That's the life! They celebrated Pioneer day here too! The youth learned a pioneer dance, and all the wards performed! We didn't end up going, but I saw some of the practices, and they looked great! Tonight we also have an FHE lesson with a less active family, and an appointment with a new investigator, and I'm super stoked for them both!

I can't believe it's been a year since we celebrated Holland's birthday at the beach..... That doesn't seem that long ago! Aw sounds like the celebration was fun too! And gluten free cupcakes sound yummy!!

It's hard to believe that this transfer is over already. It's been the fastest yet I think. Probably because I was learning a whole new area, but it's been a transfer of learning and lots of blessings. We have been blessed to teach some really great people this transfer, and I know we will be blessed with even more miracles this next transfer. Thank you for your love, support, and prayers! I love you!

Love,
Hermana Clark

Hi fam bam

 

First off, my exclamation mark button is broken, so sorry... But HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAISY.

 

It's been quite the week. We had interviews with the Mission President this week. That was my favorite thing ever. He is so awesome I just want to be his best friend. He told me some pretty awesome things, and we got to chat for a bit. When I came in I shook his hand, and then he asked me to offer the opening prayer. Then the rest of the time we just chatted. He then told me, "Hermana Clark, I'm going to tell you a little secret about these interviews. The actual interview is when you walk in the door, shake my hand, and say the prayer. The rest of the time is just time to chat. I knew how you were doing when I shook your hand, and you said the prayer." And he talked about how he could feel the spirit so strongly when I prayed, and he knew that I was doing really great. We talked about goals that I have and concerns that I may be having. He told me a cool story about how with his kids, or his students when he was a seminary teacher, how they could read any two verses anywhere in the Book of Mormon and he had 60 seconds to find where they were, and he got it almost every time. Haha isn't that awesome?? That's my goal. To know the scriptures so well, just like that. And then we ended with a prayer and he prayed, and it was such a beautiful prayer. He blessed me, and said that he unlocks all of the blessings and talents that I received from the pre existence. It was just all so wonderful. And then after that I left and my companion went in and I went and talked with Sister Willard. She is so awesome too. She was just wanting to see how my health is, and then she told me, "Hermana Clark, we are so glad you are here. I remember the day we first met you and afterwards President and I talked and we just knew you were this quiet leader." And then the next day we had a conference with President Willard and Hermana Willard. It was a great two days. Super awesome.

 

And this week... I have a story. A story of horror. So if you're not ready for it, don't read. But one night, I was sleeping away, just dreaming of something awesome like gumdrops. And suddenly, I woke up. Something was tickling my finger. My hand shot to finger, fastest reflexes I have ever seen while I am sleeping or awake. And half asleep I grab the thing on my finger and throw it on the ground. This all happened so fast it was like a ninja, I'm not even kidding. Anyway, so I throw whatever it was out, and half asleep I think it was a hair. And then I start to wake up a little more and realize I grabbed something bigger than a ball of hair. So I shine the alarm light on the ground, and I find a BUG. It's a bug. And in the light of the alarm the bug looked white and just gross. It was about the size of like a penny or something. And I have this passing thought, blah a bug, at least it wasn't a cockroach. And then I smashed it with my shoe. Then in the morning, I get up and pray, and afterwards I remember the incident from the night before and I flip on the light to find that it was not a little white bug at all, but a nasty dirty cockroach. Just crawling around while I'm dreaming of gumdrops. The nerve of some bugs. Since then I have put plugs in all the doors, and we keep a thing on the drain so that none can come out of there. And then I just pray every night that I won't see another. And it's worked thus far. Haha I'm happy to say that the experience doesn't seem so bad to me now. For a few days after it happened, it was all I could think about. But I'm good now.

 

But it's been a good week. Lots of hard work, and some new families to teach. We are being greatly blessed. I love you all so much. Have a beautiful week. Talk to you next Lunes.

 

Love you a million billion twizlers,

Hermana Clark

sitting at my desk doing some important paperwork. haha

Our beautiful one room house!

It's great to be 8! Happy birthday Ivy girl!!!!

This week has been the fastest! I'm not sure what's happening but I've never seen weeks pass so fast before in my life! Tarija is super sweet! It's really beautiful here!! And my new comp is good. We are working really hard here. The two ladies with the baptism date are good. One came to church yesterday, and the other went on vacation so her date fell through. Last Monday after emailing, we took some money out and I bought this super sweet Bolivia bag! Then we went food shopping, and did laundry and napped. I'm pretty sure we'll do the same things all over again. In that order. Minus buying the Bolivian bag again. There are about 20 missionaries here in our zone, and three companionships in my ward! The people that are here from the states are Jehovah's Witnesses, and they're all really nice. I saw some girls yesterday speaking English, I think they were just traveling.

So we have a washer here but not a dryer. You can't have it all! :) The clothes actually dry super fast so it's not a problem. And feel free to send Twizlers if you feel so inclined! Haha.

Mom your new calling sounds like it will be great! You'll be perfect for it!! I'm so excited to see what sort of things you do! And that will be fun to be in Relief Society again. That's too bad you're not teaching Jamie's class anymore, but I think you'll love your new calling too! That sounds so fun about flying to Utah! Don't be scared mom! Everything will be great and you'll be able to see the kids!! I can't wait to hear about your adventures!

Yesterday we met with this super awesome family, but they only can meet on Sundays. Bummer. But we're going back next Sunday! And we'll probably try to stop by sometime this week. Our area is really awesome, and has so much potential to grow! I love being a missionary, and being here in Bolivia. This is such an honor and blessing to be here. I love you all so much! Have a beautiful week!!

Love you a million billion 100 grands,
Hermana Clark

Happy Birthday Johnny!

TARIJA!

Hola from my new area! It's great here! I'm loving my new area, and I have found that really amazing people just live all over Bolivia. :)

Sorry in advance, this is going to be a short email, but a little bit about my new area... I am living at the Bishop's place, but it's this separate apartment so not in their house. We eat lunch with them everyday though so that's really fun. I hear that they have 5 or 6 kids, but I've yet to see any of them!!! Haha. Also, best part.... they have a washing machine! It's been really awesome! I think my clothes are cleaner than they have ever been! There are also a lot of people from the states here, but are here for other religions, but it's still fun to chat with them. It's been really exciting here too with the World Cup going on! We don't even have to watch it to know the score or who wins! You can tell by the fireworks! There is this less active member from Argentina and when they won the other day he was running up and down the streets with his flag tied around him and banging pots and pans. Haha it was so funny. Also, I found a cockroach in the bathroom the other day, so I've been having cockroaches in my dreams! Haha it's the worst. I was showering and he came out of the drain and I just had to brave up and kill it. Hard work. But I haven't seen any since... so that means there aren't any more........ haha... And they have jellybeans, snickers, and nutella here! It's all really expensive though. I do miss necco wafers and pinks though. :)

We have had a lot of success here in my new area. My comp is new here too. She only has one week more than I do here so it's like we're opening an area. The sisters before were just visiting the same people over and over so we're trying to start over. We found this amazing lady the other day! We were buying something to drink and started chatting with her, and she asked if we could sit and chat a while. We were like, heck yes! So we talked with her, she's about 30 and is planning her wedding, and has two kids, 12 and 15. She accepted baptism for the 26th of July, and came to church yesterday! It was a lot of miracles! She also asked us if we could come back and teach her everyday. So of course we're going to do that! We also had another woman accept baptism for the 26th last night! We taught her about the Plan of Salvation, and she really loved it. I am doing really great here in my new area, and I can tell I'm going to grow a lot from this next transfer! I love you all so much. Thank you for your prayers, love, and support. It means the world to me.

Have a beautiful week full of miracles! Keep praying for those missionary experiences!

Love,
Hermana Clark

Happy almost 4th of July!

Thank you so much mom for the AMAZING package! I don't ever think the packages can get any cooler and then they do! They always do. We ate all the candy within about 2 days of having it so it was a great 2 days. And I loved having Cheerios and Lucky Charms for breakfast! That was so fun!! That was such a fun and smart idea! How do you think of these things? You know my style so well! Down to the stamped camels and the print that they had was just perfect! And the banner! Mom it's so cute! Also, the scarf and new shirt and gloves are perfect! It's been cold here so it was all so handy and cute!

So here is the big news of the day...... I have been transferred! We got a call last night and we were told that there was an emergency transfer and that I was being transferred to Tarija. We're still not sure why but anyway, I now live in Tarija! I have a new companion and ward! My comp is super sweet, and I can see we're going to really have some miracles here in this area. I unfortunately forgot my entire wallet in Bermejo so they'll have to send that to me. I don't even know how I did that... I was pretty bummed that Crandark has been seperated for a time. We had the most amazing week last week! We found new families to teach, and two people accepted baptism and we had the highest numbers again in the zone! We were absolutely on fire. But now I'm taking part of the fire to Tarija! :) So my new house, we live at the Bishop's house, and his wife is our cook for lunch so that's fun! We eat with two other sister in the zone.

I didn't know there was an earthquake! We didn't feel anything. And the weather is cold, but not that bad either. I haven't my visa stuff yet, but I talked to the office and they haven't forgotten about me! So that's good. They have to order the paperwork and then when it comes in they'll have me go into Santa Cruz.

That's so fun you and Jamie girl got your nails done! What a fun little outing! And the Christmas movie sounds fun! You know how I love Christmas! I listen to Christmas music all year round. Hopefully my new comp will like that...

How fun you went and saw all the different houses! I know how much you and Jamie like that so you guys must have had a blast! I love that Jamie was pretending to show you the houses! She's such a funny girl. Sounds like your summer vacation is starting out super fun! How has the indexing been? I miss indexing! Do some names for me too!

That's awesome you had the missionaries over for dinner last night! It is interesting how different their missions must be, but how we are all doing the same work. We're just bringing people closer to Christ. That is our entire purpose. To bring people unto Christ. I remember when I was in the MTC in Provo it was so awesome to see all the missionaries learning their different languages, and thinking that all these young people just want to serve our Heavenly Father. This time we are given is so short. So short, and we have been preparing our entire lives for this, even before in the pre existence. They are just asking us to give two years or 18 months. Just that long. If you're tired, you can rest after because we won't have a chance like this again. This past week, one of our less active members in Bermejo passed away. She had just had her baby two weeks before and her brother gets home from the mission in a month. It was so painful to see the family and the branch go through that, but as we taught more about the Plan of Salvation to others it was so beautiful to feel the peace and surity that we will live with our families forever. We can see the love our Heavenly Father has for us through His Plan of Happiness. He gives us every chance possible to make it back to Him. We just need to choose now to do it! So choose now to be a little better, to work a little harder, to study and share the gospel a little more. I know that'll be my goal. Love you with all of my heart to the moon and back!

Con mucho amor,
Hermana Clark