God works in mysterious ways...

Hey Everyone! 

 

So I forgot to bring my paper that has a list of what to write about, so hopefully I'll remember.  :p

 

OK, so this week has been incredible ...me and my companions have placed 7 Books of Mormon this week.  I know that's nothing compared to other missionaries, but to me it's a blessing each time. :) We are essentially giving someone the key to knowledge. Through this book and prayer, we are able to gain a testimony of God and his TRUE church.  It just makes me overjoyed when someone is willing to take one and read it. Now, we probably won't teach them most of the time, but I believe we are starting them on a journey that some other member or missionary is going to finish. :)  We are just the first domino in a path of hundreds. :)

 

So this Saturday we had an appointment at 8, but it fell through; and our backup plan didn't work out either :p  But everyone has a choice and everything has a reason to it, so yes I was bummed, but I was hopeful to find what we needed to do next. So we decided to walk back to our apartment -- which was like 4'ish miles away -- and contact people on the way. When randomly around 8:30, Jorge drives up at a light we were waiting to cross. Jorge is in his 40's, and used to be a race car driver. He is really depressed in life and wants to feel God's love for him, but he can't very often because he is a heavy drinker! Anyways, he yells, "Pasense" meaning "jump in." And we were like, "Well duh, we ain't going to walk home," so we jump in.

 

Big mistake.

 

He was SOOOOO drunk. And as a race car driver, he already drove a little crazy anyway.  But now drunk, phew....never been so scared in a car in my life. 

 

But luckily, we just went to his house which was just a 5-minute drive away.  During this time of terror, I couldn't help but wonder why Heavily Father would send us a drunk investigator ...obviously there was something we needed to do.  Anyways, as we entered his home his wife was there! She is a firm Catholic, and never listens to our lessons.  Actually, I had never seen her before this point. So Jorge sits down and drunkenly forces his wife to sit with us. Awkward. Jorge was acting completely disrespectful, and we really didn't know what to do. 

 

We could see she was really distraught. I have never seen so much emotional pain in a woman before. She was so hurt by her husband's addiction to drinking :( and constant drunkenness :(  This was really hard for me to see :(  I hate seeing a woman cry.  I really have been raised to cherish, treasure, and respect God's daughters. And to see that this man was the cause of so much sorrow in his wife really made me sad ...to the point of tears :(

 

So our lesson for "Jorge" turned out to be a lesson for Daniela (his wife). We testified to her how God is always with us and knows our pains. We shared Alma 32:21 which talks about how if all you have is but a little desire to know, or in her case hope for change, it will grow with time and faith. We then shared Helaman 5:47 about how God whispers peace to our souls as we show faith in Him. We testified that as we exercise our faith, it will bring us peace. :) We also shared D&C 122 about Joseph Smith's pleading prayer in Carthage jail. And God's response about how his afflictions would be but a small moment, and that God will always be there for us.

 

The lesson was so powerful. The spirit was so strong ...even though Jorge was a drunken, shirtless, disrespectful mess. I honestly believe when we show a desire for guidance, the spirit will be there to guide us. And the spirit was there testifying to her through us. She needed to hear the message of peace from young men who were ordained of God to teach. I suspect that's why God sent us a drunken investigator ...to bring us to this woman deep in sorrow so that we could help.

 

I know that God works in mysterious ways.  So even though we may not understand how He works, as long as I'm being a good boy, doing good things, I suppose I don't have to question if it's the spirit guiding me.  I just need to do it.  Through a drunk man, we brought hope and peace to a woman who desperately needed it.

 

Well, during our lesson we invited both of them to church for last Sunday. Surprisingly, she was really adamant about wanting to go ....he was drunk as a skunk. Anyways, Sunday morning came and he split.  Which left her alone, and she didn't want to come alone. So we were all so bummed about it. But again surprisingly later that day, after our plans had fallen through, Jorge pulled up to us (only kinda' drunk) and again took us to his house. We then had the idea to give them a church tour! :) Right as we entered the chapel Dairia said "Siento mucho Paz aqui" or "I feel so much peace here." BAM!!! We then sang "Soy uno Hijo de Dios" ("I am a child of God.") She loved it! :D She said the feeling just felt right, and she loved the words. :) We then asked her to say a prayer right in the chapel. And she said the most heart-felt prayer, thanking the Lord for His guidance, and for this "sentimiento de paz" :)  The spirit was really strong :)  I've been a member of the church my whole life, and have been in a chapel hundreds of times, but I've never felt the spirit so strongly before. It was just indescribable.

 

After this, we showed them the baptismal font! :D :D :D   She loved it.  Jorge was acting like a 12 year old, but he did have some interest. :) She absolutely loved the white clothing that you wear. :) She asked me why we wear white, and I testified to her that it is symbolic of a new life, a new clean start, and how all things of God are pure ...just as she can be. :)  The spirit was so strong during all of this.

 

In the font room was a picture of Christ's baptism. We sat there talking about it for quite some time. At one point, I was prompted to quote 2 Nephi 31:5

And now, if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfill all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water!

I then testified to her and Jorge that our purpose in life was to learn of Christ and His example, and that through Him, we can become cleansed, and receive eternal life. :)  I was rather happy I had memorized this verse! :D We waited for a long moment to let it sink in, and every moment the spirit just kept growing in power. :) As time went on, Elder Jensen asked the question, "Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the authority of God?" 

 

They said yes!!!! DOS FECHAS!!!! :D :D  In less than a 24-hour period, we went from one person who wanted nothing to do with the church, and another who was slowly progressing, to both wanting to be baptized! :D  Daniela is super intent on being baptized, while Jorge is only so-so, but if she decides to get baptized, then he probably will too. She on the other hand will only do it if he does. :) But we all have a comforting feeling that they'll both decide to follow Christ. :) There is no possible way to deny the spirit that was there. We've tentatively scheduled their baptismal date for September 28 :) That should give us plenty of time to go through all the lessons and help Jorge tackle his drinking problem.  I am confident God will be there to help us out. :)

 

I'm so happy to be a missionary. I feel the Spirit daily, and I have witnessed it change lives. :)  I know

On a P-Day Hike above the Carlsbad hills

the Spirit was given to us in this case to guide us to help these souls. We have the spirit to testify of truth. And through the Spirit, all of God's children can know the truth of all things. That's what's beautiful about our Church ...we don't ask people to join and force baptism on them, we simply ask them to find out for themselves.  And when then do it, EVERY TIME they can know that it is true through the spirit. :)

 

I KNOW I am a representative of the Lord's true Church. It is a testimony that I will never deny. The Book of Mormon is true; Joseph Smith was a true prophet called of God! I know it, for the Lord has revealed it to me through His spirit. :) I'm happy :)

 

Love,

Elder Clemons

 

 

 

Some pictures of our apartment :

Our Kitchen

I sit at the near end of the desk (no desk space) because I'm a visa-waiter :-(

First week in Carlsbad!!

OK, so real quick ...I want to sum up my last week at the MTC!

On my last P-day, I got SOOO much done! I washed and ironed all my shirts, shined my shoes, wrote all my letters, packed, and sewed my very first shirt! I was so productive that day!

So if you're wondering if the Seychelle water bottle filter works ....it does. Bahahahaha, one of my district comps tried it. Elder Hammer was dumb enough to pee into his ...and then drink it!!! Bahahahaha! And guess what!!! It filtered it!!!! :D  He said it was super salty, but we all watched as he drink -- and gurgled -- his own pee!  Bahahaha. So, I'm pretty sure I'll be fine!

So I have actually grown quite close to Grandpa Paul over the last few weeks. One of my teachers said that we have angels helping us through life and the work we need to do. I can't help but think of Grandpa Paul as mine. He was always there before, and regardless of his death, he is helping me now. I've felt him, and I know he's encouraging me and guiding me. I can feel his love for me.

Brady Garvin came to say good-bye

So Brady Garvin was kind enough to find my room the night before I left. So nice, but also quite sad. :(  ...I'm going to miss seeing Brady around campus. But we got to say our goodbyes, so that was good.

So I like to relate the MTC to a father teaching his son how to ride a bike. The MTC is the training wheels, but with time you don't need them. I'm now out of training, and I'm actually out in the field. But what does a father normally do? He's always is there, holding the back of the seat, making sure his kid doesn't fall. This is the exact same thing with Christ. Even thought I'm out on my own, Christ is here, helping and guiding me, never letting me go. Just as a father is to his Son, Christ is to everyone.

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OK, Carlsbad Mission

I'm going to start by answering some of my parents' questions. 

Tell us about your companion.  His name; where he's from; what he's like.

Me with Elder Jensen (trainer) and Elder Gonzalez

I'm in a 3-some right now since I'm waiting for my visa. Elder Jensen has been out for 1 year; he's my trainer. He's 19 years old and is from New Hampshire. He's sooo awesome! I love him so much! He's fun and personable. He has kinda' had a rough past of rebellion, but he's come back and is SOOO strong in the faith. He has had experiences that he cannot deny. His faith is incredible. I love him. Elder Gonzalez has been out for 6 months. He is actually 26!!! Crazy huh! He's from Wahaka, Mexico (or however you spell it). He has been a convert for only a year. He had some very spiritual experiences that caused him to join. :) He's so funny! He's constantly playing pranks or jokes. It's very rare that he is serious, of course mainly during lessons. But he is so fun to be around. I love him! Gah! I love my companions so much! We are working hard, and we get along great! The days go by so fast when its just us! I love my companions and am thrilled to be with them! It was meant to be ;) 

Tell us about your first door approach.
I've actually only had one real one. We usually have appointments (which fall through), but I was prompted by what I thought was the spirit to knock on a particular door. No one answered. Bahahaha ...but I acted on my impressions, and that's what's good. 

Your first lesson
My first lesson was the day I arrived (last Tuesday) with the Ocampo family. they're members. They have 2 adorable little girls who are so full of energy. They are 4 and 2 years old. :) So cute! It was fun. We taught about the restoration, with emphasize on building our faith on the Book of Mormon. It went really well. I even got to teach and shared some scriptures. 

Had any successes yet?

We are essentially whitewashing. The Elders before us were horribly unorganized and never updated the area book. So we just had a bunch of names, but no contact information to go with the names. So we've unfortunately had to start new, and have already found 5 investigators. Barbara (gold), Joel (Silver), Jorge (silver), Dimetrio (Silver), and Alma (eh...)

How's your mission president?

I've only meet him twice: my first day and at my first baptism ;)  (Whaaaat?!  ...more below)

He's only been in 3 months.

President and Sister Hal C Kendrick

Learn anything yet about your visa?

Nope. But I did meet a Hermana Jones who is also going to the Argentina Resistencia mission ....she's been here for 27 weeks!!   BUT, her visa just came two days ago. She leaves the 23rd.

How was traveling with your suitcases?  Like your "side" bag now?

Traveling was fine! I barely made it with each suitcase weighing 49lbs! The side bag was really helpful. But...haha, I actually don't use it here in the mission field. We only carry scriptures by hand. But I think I'll use it more often as time goes on.

I still want to know if you've listened to your new "speaker" mp3 player?  And if you like it.

I love it, I just need to figure out how to delete some songs....especially the fan sound...that's horrible sounding ...bahahaha.

Anything we can get for you?

Just if at all possible send the other missionaries' letters in the mail....I have very little time on the computer to read them, and I have like 8 emails I haven't even bothered to open yet. 

How's the food? (I inserted this)
It's really good! All I eat is Mexican food! It usually consists of tortillas, beans, and some form of meat. You eat only with your hands. You tear a part of the tortilla and use that to grab some of the beans and meat. It's very good. :D  I actually just ate my first Jalapeño pepper. Man did that burn. And I ate it straight. Phew, that burned everything in me. I can still feel it boiling in my tummy.

So some random things about the Carlsbad Mission:

- It includes the highest tithe paying stake in the church (pretty nice area)

- We are only allowed to run for exercise. We have to get up at 6 and run 'til 6:30.

- There is no rule on music here, it's just "what you feel is OK".

- Email time is 90 minutes

So my Spanish is coming along absolutely great! Especially since I'm paired with a native from Mexico ;-) I was the only verde (greenie) paired with a native. Bahaha! This reminds me, Elder Gonzales is trying to learn English, and he was trying to pronounce "should", but he couldn't do it, and it was hilarious!! He swore! Bahahahaha ...oh goodness, I wonder if I've sworn in Spanish yet!??! I can usually understand about 80% of what Elder Jensen says, 60% of what Elder Gonzalez says, and it varies between 40-50% of what others say (meaning members and investigators, etc). I can always get my point across and don't struggle too much with talking.  It's only understanding that is partially hard right now. But the Spanish isn't really a problem right now. :)

So when I arrived in Carlsbad, the mission president was there to pick us up. There were about 30 missionaries arriving, and 8 of us were Spanish speaking. We went to the mission home where they fed us these California burritos from Los Cabos! They were so good!! They had french fries in them! Anyways, after the random "here's what the mission is like," we had interviews with the president ...no joke, mine was about 45 seconds. Bahahaha.

I'm currently in Escondido

We then went to a meeting where we were assigned companions and areas. My area is Escondido. Right when they announced my area, everyone was like "GASP!!" "WOW" "Tierra de Milagros" (land of miracles). So my area is pretty sweet. I'm totally pumped to serve here. It's all Mexicans really, so I'm constantly speaking in Spanish. :) It's actually quite hot, about 95 degrees, and very, very poor. Its nickname is "The dirty Dito" because of the filth. But I love it. :)

Mine is the top bunk :-)

So I arrived at my apartment around 8pm, which also holds a pair of white elders (that's what we call the Ingles-speaking elders, even if we're white ourselves). And we then went to the Ocampo family ...who have quickly become my fav family here. They are awesome and Hermano Ocampo is a jefe (note from Travis' father:  manager).

So I have really acclimated to the mission life. I'm not afraid to talk to people. The mission president likes us to keep track of our contacts for the day. So we set a number-of-contacts goal and try to get it. I talk with everyone I can. It's so easy, I just walk up and start talking.  The people are usually polite enough to listen. :) Except if they're white....they're mean. But I'm working hard. I participate in every lesson, regardless if I can't understand everything, but I usually understand enough to get the idea of it. :) We've found a lot of potential investigators now. And it's fun. :)

So I think the ward likes me, but it's hard to tell after just one week. I know Hermana Ocampo likes me! Bahahaha! She said that since I'm so skinny and handsome, that I should just stay here and not go to Argentina. ;)  I'm making an effort to shake hands with everyone and remember names....but it's a lot harder in Spanish.

So we actually had a baptism my first week. 2 actually. :) The previous missionaries were teaching 2 little boys, Junior 9 and Jacob 8. They had set a baptismal date....but forgot to tells us about it. So we found out the day before the baptism and literally scrambled to organize something and meet the boys. The baptism was unfortunately very unorganized, and the boys' mom didn't help matters and decided to change everything last minute :p grrrr. AND! then the president had to show up!!! Of all the baptisms ...he chooses to show up to ours...the unknown and unplanned one. :p I was sooo embarrassed. But I'm still a verde with only 4 days under my belt. I can only imagine what Elders Jenson and Gonzalez felt. But it wasn't our fault, we just weren't told.

So I was actually asked to confirm Jacob a member. Huh, my first week and I had to confirm a new member. :)  Cool, huh! I definitely had to rely on the Spirit to guide me, since I only had met the kid 3 times before his baptism. It was cool.

I got a lot of firsts in my first week. :)

Oh, and on my 2nd day here, I got to bless a house, that was fun and interesting!

Oh, also the 2nd day I was here, we were shopping at WalMart to buy some supplies for me. There was this guy that was just screaming and hollering at us! It was sad, but quite amusing. He was saying that us Mormons were a cult, and that we were trying to take over the government. He said that people should just kill us now. Bahahah. He even pulled out his passport and was like "I'm an American, and you ain't gonna' take over my country." It was quite amusing ...and sad. Everyone came up to us and was apologizing for him. So that was comforting.

So yesterday I was feeling kinda' useless. The previous Elders left us with nothing to work with, so we literally have been taking referrals and tracting the entire time. We've only taught 5 lessons this whole week! and 3 of those to members! But we've slowly, through hard work, developed a solid bunch of investigators to work with. :) Yesterday, we really hit the jackpot! We contacted everyone we met! And many people actually gave us their numbers and addresses. I believe we have a least 3 more investigators that will come from this. We also performed 2 acts of service. We would see people that needed help and would literally ran to help them. Ha, it must've been a sight to see. But we did get 1 potential investigator out of it :)  and we placed a Book of Mormon!! This guy seemed super interested and took one :) But sadly, he lives outside of our area, so we won't be the ones teaching him :(  But yesterday was a day full of success. :)

So I'm learning a lot, and I'm super excited to be here! I love it here, and I can feel the Spirit guiding us and encouraging us. I can definitely testify of prayer and fasting. Me and my companions really wanted to find people to teach. So we set goals, prayed God would help us achieve them, fasted, and went out and worked. Throughout the week we slowly made progress, and yesterday it exploded. :) I know the Lord was involved in our efforts. He put people in our way for us to teach. :)

I know this is the Lord's work and He has provided a way for us to spread it. :) The church is true. :) I know it. I'll never deny it. It brings nothing but felicidad.

I love you all so much! :D

-Elder Clemons

First Letter Home ...from Carlsbad :-)

 

...when he says, "it's on the front"

he meant the return address on the envelope!!

Hahahahahahaha!!!

I've been reassigned!! ...to Carlsbad, California

Hey!! Sorry it's so late in the day! I had a training meeting from 8 until just now!  Welp! I got my reassignment! ............it's Carlsbad Cali!!!

I'm leaving the MTC this coming Tuesday morning at 3:45 AM :p My flight is at 8:42 and it goes directly to San Diego; expected arrival time is 9:34 am. So I'll be calling you somewhere in between there ...most likely around 5:AM'ish.....bahaha So if you wanna hear my voice, you better sleep with the phone next to you

I'm really happy with my call. It seems super awesome! Still, I wish I was going to Argentina ...but clearly, it's not where I serve, but how I serve that matters.

So I'm absolutely ecstatic about my reassignment. :)  But I'm not going to lie, my heart has been in Argentina for months now, so having to wait a couple more months is kinda' saddening.

I really would just like to go to Resistencia ...and die of the heat, and get bloody blisters on my feet from walking 60 miles, and eat different foods, and love the people. I love Resistencia without having ever gone there. I want to go. But, I know that God needs me in Carlsbad for a little bit. I'll do His work and I'll find those souls. My work ethic will not change no matter what mission I am in. My work is for the Lord, and it doesn't matter which mission that work is in, for the work is always the same. I'll serve with everything I have in Carlsbad, just as I would in Resistencia. :)

P.S. I don't know what language I'll be speaking, I'll speak what they need me to. I hope it's Spanish, but I'll do what is asked. :)

P.P.S. My Spanish is coming along really well. I no longer have to listen and then translate. I'm able to listen and understand solely in Spanish now. I just have to translate my answers from English to Spanish, but often I say it before I'm done translating in my head. It just comes out, it's very cool. :D

Love you all,

Elder Clemons

Some Pictures...

I bought some scripture cases in the MTC.  They're made in Guatemala!

My first sewing job! Bahahha.  It's massive, but I needed to fix it! :p
I'm super proud of my work though. This will NOT rip!

I'm just a happy, bubbly missionary...

Hi everyone! Travis here! Lots of stuff happened again this week!

Fun stuff

So one of the Hermana's in our district is super duper gullible. Like really!  bahaha. We convinced her that the 2nd word in every verse in D&C 88 would write out the preamble to Declaration 1 ...and then she went and tried it! Bahahahahaha, soooo funny! It took her like 10 verses to realize it had nothing to do with it! Bahaha! And then the next day we convinced her that if you read D&C 26 backwards, it was the Proclamation on the Family :) Oh goodness. Haha, she's a funny one.

Every Sunday and Tuesday nights we have a devotional at the Marriott Center. It's super fun. Everyone lines up like 15 minutes early at the MTC gates.  As soon as they open, it's a fast walk race. It's hilarious; everyone is booking it ...but the rule is you have to have both feet on the ground at once. Es muy comico. The sad thing is we've NEVER yet had a General Authority come to talk to us; it's just been random people.  I only have one devotional left this Sunday night. I just want one general authority!! :p  But nonetheless, the talks have been amazing!

Thanks for the photos ...as a result, Kimi is really popular in my district. So I tried hooking Kimi up with my teachers. They are both incredible guys, but sadly, they already have girlfriends. But they did admit she was quite attractive ...we'll see how this goes.

Our service day is on Thursdays at 6:15. So last Thursday, they let us set up the flags around the MTC!!  Woot! We got to set up a total of 32 of them. Everyone in my district went running for Argentina, but I went for Germany and France for dad:) I also grabbed Spain for Brent and some other random flags that had cool designs on them. It was very cool and fun to set them up all over campus ...not even fair to call this service! Bahahaha! Tomorrow is our last service day; it'll be fun to see what they'll have us do.

Oh, so I guess I may have spoken too soon ...remember how I said I didn't get sick, well I did. I got it last Thursday, and I'm just barely getting better today. It didn't stop me from studying or anything, just had a sore throat and the absolutely worst stuffy nose ever. I didn't get very much sleep this week :(  But tonight I hope to sleep ok since I'm starting to feel better.

In last Sunday's devotional, a recent convert from Korea bore her testimony....in her native tongue. Boy....I'm glad I'm learning Spanish. Those sounds all sound the same. It's freaking ridiculous. Thumbs up I get to learn the 2nd most useful language in the world!  Go Spanish!

Spiritual stuff

Usually when I used to do my scripture studying, I just read the Book of Mormon chronologically, front to back. I've very much enjoyed this, and it's helped me to know where most of the stories are. But now, I've changed my studying to read by themes based on the needs of my investigators. It's so amazing to prepare this way. Soooo many times during lessons the investigator asks a particular question for which I've prepared, and BAM, I remember a scripture that's perfect for the need! It's kinda' cool and has happened at least once in every lesson. Obviously, they have us memorize lots of scripture references.  But often these aren't the ones that we've memorized, just the one's I recalled reading during my studies. Scriptures like

D&C 93:1

Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am;

 

 or Ether 12:4
Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.

 

really, just kinda' random ones that the Spirit brings to my memory to help my investigators. :)  It's really cool to see the power preparation brings to your lessons. :)

At the devotional yesterday, Brother Jay Jensen (the speaker) said, "The power to convert is directly linked to the scriptures." It's so true. Both the Bible and Book of Mormon testify of Christ and truth, and that power is what converts people.

2 Nephi 31

He added, "There is a height, depth, and breadth to every scripture that we have not yet discovered." Every scripture contains more truth, and each is more important than we take it granted for. I suppose it's fair to say, "Each scripture means something to someone." The scriptures contain so much truth, combined with the Spirit, they can convert people. And to study them thoroughly probably takes more than a lifetime because we have to dig for it. :)

Brother Jensen also taught that we, the missionaries, are "living wells". He only said it once and continued with his talk; but it really got me pondering. Christ, in His own words, said that He was the Living Water,

John 4:14
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

 

...and where is water found? In a well! Humbly... I'm the well in which others can partake of the goodness and blessings of Christ. It is through me that many people will "drink" of Christ. :)  Of course, that is why I'm out here, to bring others to Christ, and I'm the well in which they get the water. :)  Cool, huh!

So in my personal studies, I was reading my favorite chapter -- Helaman 5 -- and totally caught something I hadn't ever before. Referring to earlier: "There is a height, depth, and breadth to every scripture that we have not yet discovered."  Verse 5, where Helaman is talking about why he named his sons Nephi and Lehi.

Helaman 5:6

...Behold, I have given unto you the names of our first parents who came out of the land of Jerusalem; and this I have done that when you remember your names ye may remember them; and when ye remember them ye may remember their works; and when ye remember their works ye may know how that it is said, and also written, that they were good.

 

Similarly, we also bare Christ's name. At baptism and every week at the sacrament table, we take upon ourselves Christ's name, and are asked to remember Christ's works, all of which are good, and are counseled to strive to be like Him, for we are His people and bare His name. :)

Out in the real world ...kinda :)

And finally ...I'm happy. :) Regardless of what goes on here, and the difficulties and challenges I deal with, I'm happy. I loved this week, even if currently I'm trapped in the CCM. I'm just happy and know I'm being blessed because of the work I'm doing. Studying makes me happy, learning makes me happy, anything that deals with God makes me happy. :)

I know this work is true, and true happiness is found in the service of others. I'm just a happy, bubbly little missionary happy to be doing the work. I can't wait to share my feelings with others. God is happiness, therefore, I'm happy as I come closer to God.

The Church is true, and my testimony will never falter. :)
 

Elder Clemons