Elderes K-Pos

Brother Agonil baptised Mirian, Miceala, y Leonardo last Saturday, August 23!

Hola Familia!

This week was super awesome! ...and went by super fast!

First off, Mirian, Miceala, y Leonardo got baptized on Saturday!!! :D It was probably the happiest baptismal service I have ever attended. They were all truly happy, and the Spirit was really strong.

I have really grown to care a lot for this family. I have worked with them from day one, and I am so grateful to God that he permitted me to stay here long enough to see them take their first steps toward God. And it's wonderful to see the obvious new blessings in people's lives as they draw nearer to God. ...God be thanked for all the miracles He worked through us.

And I'm happy to report that the baptisms went quite smoothly :-)  And the dad even went to the service!! He is HUGE!!! He can like eat me. But he came to support his family. Annnnnnd he loved it!!

"Elderes K-Pos" means cool elders :-)

He said he especially loved the “Elderes Capos” cake we made! He come up to me and said in English, “I like....cake” YA!

And we were able to set up a Family Night with his family and the Agonil family. Brother Agonil is also the one who performed the baptisms. Hopefully we'll have more opportunities to work with the Dad and help him see the real blessings of the gospel!

Corrientes

So a lot went down this week. We literally had like no time to work because we were constantly traveling. On Wed we had to get up at 1:30 am again to ride up to Corrientes to do some paper work for Elder Conway. We got there at like 8 and finished at 9; so we had almost 4 hours of free time to go site-seeing because our bus didn’t leave until 1:30 pm. We first went to the river (not really a beach, just some piers) and took some pictures and relaxed.

Clearly,  "Elder Clemons" was here :D

...kinda' like the Vegas strip!

And then afterwards we went to this one long street that had a bunch of stores and mini shops and stuff. It reminded me a lot of the Vegas strip ...without all the bad stuff. So that was super fun. We took a lot of photos, tried several random foods, etc.

Then we took our bus home which got us back at around 6, and we went to work until 9:30.

Zone Conference

The very next day we went to Saen Peña. We once again had to get up at 2 am in order to be there by 10. Oh, I was so dead tired. But it was really uplifting. We had a multi-zone meeting where president gave us a lot of good training and such. I learned a lot about how to work with members and recent converts.

...and we had pizza for lunch!! Woot! I love pizza!

Then we set off for good old Reconquista. ...and got back at 12:30 am :P  I'm sure you can image how dead tired I was ...2 days straight without proper sleep. Eh.

So FYI, we have transfers this coming week.  But I think I'm going to stay here with Elder Conway to finish his training, but who knows ...I’m rarely right. ;)

Welp, that is all I have for you this week. I just want to let you know that I love my mission. Sure there are always trials, trials that sometimes shake your soul.  But I know what I am doing is good and true.

I love serving here in Argentina and love testifying to the people about the Lord's restored gospel. I try hard to be an instrument in the Lord's hands. And when I succeed, it's one of the greatest feelings knowing that the Lord can use you.

I know that the restored gospel is true, that Joseph Smith was indeed a prophet of God, and that the Book of Mormon is true.

Love you all so much!

Love you lots!!!

Happy Anniversary, mom and dad!  Here's a nice pink tree to celebrate it :D   -- Love you lots!!!

Found 2 of these in our apartment this week :p

Hey family!!

This week was probably the most successful week of my misión! Although I got sick on Monday, I feel better now; and we had huge success with menos activos, finding new people to teach, and with the M_____ family! We also had 5 families in church yesterday!!! :D Gah! That's unheard of in this area…

The M______s went to church again last Sunday ...which means they continue to be on track for their baptisms this Saturday! :D We're all super pumped! So please pray that they will make it.

We also found a super awesome couple named A____ y R___. We found them while visiting with a menos activa sister who gave us their reference. Holy Cats! ...they've already read the Book of Mormon, prayed about it, and know that it's true. And they came to church yesterday! How's that for a golden family.  But they do have a problem ...they aren’t married yet, and A____ still has to get divorced. :P -- he's been separated for over 9 years. So we are starting all that paperwork this week. So please pray that they will continue their excitement and continue to progress in the Gospel.

Riding in the mission car.  Woot!, haven't done that in a while!!

We also got to take a little trip up to Resistencia last Wednesday to do some paperwork for Elder Conway. We got up at 1:30am to be up there by 7. Ya, it was fun to be up in the middle of the night. I also enjoyed the traveling because it's something different. Also, I got to hang out with the office elders and APs for a while ...and got a ride in the mission car!! Wow, haven't done that in a while :) 

And just like 5 seconds ago I got a call saying that we now have to go to Corrientes this coming Wednesday to do some more paperwork. Hahaha, so looks like we're takin' another road trip :)

Yesterday, we got invited to a birthday party for the kids of a member that we recently reactivated. It was super fun; and the cake was amazing. The sister let us share a message with all of her friends after the party was over ...so now we have a few more investigators to work with :P

Fakundo loves Dinosars

Now that's a cake!!

As you can see, this week was full of blessings.

I love my mission, and I love the people I have the opportunity to teach. Thanks for all your support and love!

Love Elder Clemons

Service turns to opportunity :D

The zone hit all the goals we set, so pres bought us ice cream

This week was full of miracles!

First off, the familia M______ is progressing really well! We went over there on Monday to give M_____ a blessing because of her appendicitis, and it was such a powerful experience. The member (Hno A_____) couldn't make it, so I was privileged to give the blessing. It was one of the most powerful experience I have felt on my mission. You could literally feel the power of the priesthood flowing in our hands, as well as the Spirit filling the room. Everyone was silent after the blessing. Everyone knew that the power of the priesthood was real, and that we held it. After the blessing, we bore testimony of the restoration and that God has restored His Priesthood authority to the earth. It was super powerful.

Also, last Saturday, we had a family night with them where we talked about temples and eternal families. They loved it! Then after, we all built temples with tooth pics and those little puff ball things. But the best part was ...after we left, the M______ family stayed to hang out with the A______s!!! :D L___ went off to play with some of the other boys, and M______ and M______ stayed to chat with the girls!! Woot!!! And they all came to church!! Keep praying for their baptisms for the 23rd!!

We also had a random service activity! We walked by right when these people needed help moving. It was perfect! We helped move everything: beds, fridge, couches, all! We ended up moving a giant and super heavy armario from outside up to the second level. That was scary! Elder Conway nearly died. It was super fun though ...and now we're teaching them! Woot!!

Whoops, gotta go! Love my mission!

Me, Elder Conway, and Elder Ware (an Elder we live with) all buzzed our heads because it's hot now! Super hilarious!

The Power of Member-Missionaries

Elder Conway and I bought some sick soccer jerseys!!

Hola Familia!!

This week was full of trials and tender mercies, just as every week in the mission. 

The familia M_______ is making great progress. We still haven't been able to meet with the father ...he just won't talk to us. But he is super ok with his family going to church and getting baptized :-) His childhood friend is the 1st counselor in our branch, so we have brought him multiple times to their house to talk with him and such, but he just hasn't made it out to talk to us. :P Apparently, he had a rough childhood, and his dad was strictly Catholic. But we're obviously not giving up! I am going to talk to the dad before I leave!!

We had a super successful family night at the home of the 1st counselor. We watched the Restoration video and after bore our testimonies. The testimonies of the 1st counselor and his wife were key. The Spirit must have really guided them in their words because they said exactly what the M______'s needed to hear. After todo, the M_____'s then bore their testimonies!! It was so cool! The son, L__, told us how reading the BoM has brought him closer to God, their daughter, M____, told us how she used to be afraid of the dark, but after kneeling and prayer, God strengthened her, and mom M_____ testified that her home is more peaceful. Powerful witnesses of conversion!  Made me so happy. :) 

I'm the Elder that takes care of all the apartment expenses,
so I always receive a ton of money every month!

Sadly, they were not able to come to church. :( M_____ got appendicitis Saturday night, and got operated on Sunday morning. :( I called the family, and we talked a little bit and set up a time where we could go over there and give M_____ a blessing. We are going over tonight with Hno A____ (the 1st counselor) so that he can give the blessing. That should be a powerful experience. I hope that their dad is there so that he can see his friend helping his family.

Although we had no investigators at church, we still had success ...a lot of it!

Besides our work with the M______s, we also had 2 inactive families at church ...families that haven't visited the church in months. We also had 2 baby blessings on Fast Sunday from these families! :) So, all in all, I think Sunday was a good day!

The kingdom of God is growing surely and steadily. :) 

Hey so there isn't much time. Just know that I appreciate your prayers on behalf on me, my comp, and those whom we teach. I ask that you continue to pray for us and the work we are doing.

I love my mission ...with both words and actions. I love it and wouldn't give it up for the world. I am putting everything I have into this work. I know it is true, and I know that happiness is found in service to our fellowmen.

Love you and thanks so much for your letters! 

Elder Clemons

Editor's note: regarding Travis's comments last week about starving, he now reports that he and his companion have received their money, and they're eating just fine :-)