Colder than a Klondike campout...

It took me a while, but I finally found a sign for the city of Reconquista!!

So this week was better than last week. Roconquista is muy duro. It is VERY rare when people allow us into their homes. But this week we had success! ...including 1 investigator at church! I know that sounds low, but it's actually high hahah! :D YAY!!

We also met a man named Luis who's in his 50's and lives with his daughter.  Although he's a little slow, he is very sincere about his desire to learn and grow closer to God. He is our only progressing investigator right now, so please pray for him. I feel that he will be our next baptism, and he currently has a date for the 14th!

We also taught a first lesson with two women, a mother and daughter named Graciela y Janina. They give me hope as well. It was only a first lesson, but one of the most exhilarating I have had during my time here in Reconquista. So I would ask that you pray for them as well ...aannnnd that we find more people. ;)

Scripture - Moroni 7:48

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.

Charity is the pure love of Christ. And it is a commandment of God that we try to develop this kind of love. We must do as Moroni invites and pray to God that we are filled with kind of love. Love for ourselves, for others, and for God. 

Preach My Gospel (Spanish, page 124)

And this scripture goes perfectly with PMG 124 about talks about Charity. It says that if "we follow  and continually do good works, our love will grow, especially for those we work for." Simple enough. Since I want to grow my love for others, I pray constantly to God to be filled with this type of love. I suspect true love is found in service.

I'm wearing a sweater 'cause it's getting COLD down here!
Elder Thomas and I received a "best smile in the mission" award

So it is getting kinda' cold here lately. I bought a sweater that I now wear under my jacket. Have I said this already ...it is freezing!!  I bet it's colder than that one Klondike campout when all those scouts went home ...that was nothing ;-) I challenge those scouts to come down here: Argentina winter with like 150% humidity (I promise it's possible) is a killer; it'll show you what real cold is. Super penetrating.  Oh, and uh ...I really miss central heating.

But I do love my mission. I realize intellectually that every missionary obviously has ups and downs, but in reality my mission's been nothing but "up" so far. I've heard that many returned missionaries say their mission was the best two years of their life ...they're not lying because it is.  I love it! :)

True happiness is found in service to others, and even more so in service to God. I'm incredibly happy to be a missionary. I love what I do, and I live what I believe. I know it's true. I know Christ died and now lives for us. And I know that God called the young boy Joseph Smith to restore the original truths lost centuries earlier. The restored gospel blesses the family. I know it.

Loves all!!!

me

In front of Pereva's home.  (Bro Bunnel knows them)

Another view of Pereva's home

The local church building in Reconquista.  Pretty nice.

Up at 1:30 with honey bananna pancakes, dulce de leche, y syrup ...heaven :D

Breakfast this morning @ 1:30am!!   Pancakes with honey banannas, dulce de leche, y syrup ...heaven :D

Hola Todos!!

We had to get up at 1:30am to get to Corrientes !

So I finally got a call to go to Corrientes to do some Visa stuff. I went with Elder Goycochea (another Elder from my zone) this last Thursday.  Unfortunately, we had to get up at 1:30am :P to get to Resistencia by 6 so Elder Goycochea could do some other pre-Visa things.  While there, I just chilled in the office with the Assistants.

I hung with the APs in the Resistencia office waiting for Elder Goycochea

...and then from there we headed to Corrientes!

It was such a fun trip, loved it! Corrientes is a beautiful city! And all we really had to do there was to sign a couple papers and get finger printed ...which took a grand total of like only 10 minutes :D

Wow, I love hamburgers!

After we were done, we all went to this burger shop and bought some hamburgers, super good!!!

Then we went back to the bus terminal to buy a ticket back to Reconquista ...but the earliest one left at 4:45 ...so we had to wait the rest of the day before we could head home. Sweet!

We took the opportunity to just roam around the city, take pictures and such. It was nice. In fact, my favorite "P-day" so far (even though it wasn't considered one, hahaha)

Same cathedral as Bro Bunnel 25 years ago!

Church headquarters in Reistencia @ 6am

Reconquista is a really nice place. Yep, statue's still here Bro Bunnell :)

Corrientes from the bridge

Preach My Gospel (Spanish pg 66)

I was reading chapter 3, section 3, about enduring to the end. I read a phrase that was cool which says (poorly translated) "If we continue in the path with patience and faithfulness, we will gain eternal life." The word "patience" jumped out at me. So I continued reading about patience in Chapter 6 which says "patience is to bear delays, problems, opposition, and suffering without becoming angry, frustrated, nor anxious." This just testifies to me that though throughout life there will always be trials, we just have to bear them with patience and faithfulness to have eternal life. 

Scripture Helaman 10: 4-5 

4 Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments.

5 And now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will.

This is what I hope God will one day think of me. That I put forth my full effort into this work ...so much so that He has blesses me with power and the constant companionship of His spirit. 

Bleeding my finger

So funny story about my finger. It got so painful that I called the area doctor.  He told me it hurt so much because of the high blood pressure ...that the blood had to leave my finger. So he told me to heat up a little iron rod/wire ...and burn it through my fingernail and finger. And so that's what I did! :D  ...see those little holes. Didn't hurt too bad, and I got a pretty cool video of it! So thankfully it feels better now, but I suspect it'll fall off pretty soon :(

...taking every opportunity to be a missionary  ;-)

I know the church is true. I've never doubted it, nor shall I ever. I love the church and Christ who is at its head so much. It has brought me much happiness. I don't care how many people reject me, I have a powerful message that is the single most important message that they can hear. I will contintue to proclaim it loudly and boldly.

I love my family, and I know that this message is the greatest blessing for my family. Christ's church is a church of the family. I Love them. :)

Love Elder Clemons

Thumbing our way to Sans Peña at 3:45am...

Me with President and Sister Heyman at a zone conference

Hola! and Happy Mothers day!! Loved Skyping home!! See ya at Christmas! :D

Thumbing our way to Sans Peña

So this week was super crazy...

On Tuesday, we went to Sans Peña, about 6 hours away. We had to get up and leave by 3:45am!!! :P Not fun. :P But after like 1 hour, the bus broke down!! So we were stranded for an hour in the middle of the night in the middle of no where!

I actually passed through my old area Fontana! It was really quite cool ...I miss that place.

But anyway, we had a really cool training opportunity in Sans Peña. Presidente was there, and we got trained on how to recognize the Holy Ghost, how to contact, and how to use members.

I also got to meet a lot of my old friends!! Elder Atwood, my comp from the MTC, Elder Cannon, Elder Hernandez, My Old Zone leader and now assistant Elder Perez, and just Old Missionaries from past zones! Really fun experience, loved it!

Elder Atwood!  My comp from the MTC!!

Elder Ayala

Elder Cannon

Elder Hernandez, my old Zone Leader

Elder Perez, AP

So the work here in Reconquista is pretty tough ...I'm struggling to find new people to teach. But we have found a couple of people to teach, so we will see where that goes. :) And we also have some members working on setting up appointments with their friends.

One of our investigators is Melina. She is super cool, but she just needs to get married, and HE doesn't want to. :P But she is so ready for baptism! But cool news, just yesterday she had her baby! Cute huh! But we need to get her married first! So we will be pushing a little for that. ;)



Preach My Gospel, page 172 (Spanish)

So like I have said, it is super hard to find people here in Recon to teach, so I've been studying a lot in PMG on how to find investigators. I read something that jumped out at me: it said that as I contact people and center my message on the family, I will find more people to teach. That's a promise from PMG ...if I talk about the family, I'll find more people to teach. 

Scripture of the Week

Omni 1:26

And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved.

I love this scripture. I found it as I was randomly flipping through pages during sacrament meeting. I love how it says come unto Christ and offer up your whole soul as an offering to Him. To live with Christ, we have to become like Him; and the only way to do that, is to give ourselves to Him and let Him mold us into a Christ-like disciple.

Bishop Juchau

Bishop Juchau is now Stake Presidente!??!  Dang. Wow!  He never really got a break.  But he is perfect for the job. :)

Ouch!

So I kinda had an accident yesterday just before Skyping; I slammed my index finger in a door. It didn't hurt at the time, but it's killing me now, and it's super black  ...way worse than when I took this picture.  I hope my fingernail doesn't fall out. :P

 

There was a really pretty sunset a couple nights ago. So I jumped up on our roof and snagged a few photos. Here out in the mission I have really grown an appreciation for nature and the beauty thereof. I like the sunrises and sunsets here.  Not having any mountains really makes them quite different, but spectacular. :)

Well, my finger really hurts, so I am going to bid you farewell. Just know that I love my mission and the work that I am doing. I wouldn't trade it for the world, but not even that is worth the happiness this work brings. I know the church is true, and I'll live what I cherish.

Love Elder Clemons!!

Chau!!!

...ok, one other funny experience: the zone leaders called the other Elders who live with us last night. And in mid-call, one of the Elders let out a super loud, blood curdling scream. It was hilarious. Everyone laughed -- including the Zone Leaders -- for like 10 minutes. OK now Chau!!

Mother's Day

Note from editor:

Travis called today.  It was wonderful to hear his voice and see his smiling face.

He seems happy and looks like he's doing great!

Since it was Mother's Day, we thought it would be a good idea to also have Grandma and Omi here to hear from him.  I suspect they enjoyed the opportunity to talk to him on this very special day (one of only two a year) where we get to hear his voice.  We also had Kimi and Ryan and Grandaddy here to round things out.  And Lisa popped-in unexpectedly ...and got a chance to say hello as well.

Finally, fluffy Tug and Missy got to say hi as well :-)

Travis learns for the first time that Kimi and Ryan are engaged to be married   :D

Rain, rain, go away...

Hola!

Scripture: John 15:1-2

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

What really caught my attention about this scripture was the word purgeth. God will cut down (prune or thin) the branches that bear fruit, so that they produce more fruit.  God will sometimes cut us down (even when we are good and righteous) just so that he can mold us and make us that much more successful.

PMG: Chapter 3, Section 1

I was reading in Chapter 3, Section 1, about the restoration. How God called Joseph Smith to be a prophet, gave him the authority of the priesthood, and called de nuevo 12 apostles. In our Church, we believe in the same organization that Christ formed.  And we believe God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  The ancient Church was lost, its leaders killed, the priesthood killed off with the early apostles.  And so it was necessary for a restoration, to recreate it in its original form ...and to do so under His direct guidance (modern revelation), with His authority (priesthood), and through His designated mouth-piece: His prophets and apostles.

This week has been raining sooooo much. The roads have literally been rivers ...I have worn my rain boots nearly all week. 

So the investigator situation is a little tough. Of the 3 we had, we had to drop one, one left his wife and moved out, and the other one doesn't want to get married. Sooooo, it is literally step one right now. The area is very different from my last, the people here are a lot more stubborn. Contacting door-to-door doesn't really work. So this week we've focused a lot on working with members.  For now, just visiting them and getting to know them, and from time to time asking them to acompany us to a lesson.

We managed to receive 10 referencias de los miembros. So we will see where these go. I suspect I will learn a lot about patience and working with members in this area ...hahaha.

So one of the Elders in my apartment has this super fun game called Munchkins. We play it in nearly every free moment, which means on p-days and the 15 minutes we have before bed. It's a lot of fun. I am going to buy it when I get home. :D

C'ya Sunday when I Skype home for Mother's Day!  :D

Chau!!

Elder Clemons

I'm not in Fontana any more...

So cool news, Brother Bunnel is going to like this....I was transferred to Reconquista!!! :D
Super excited!!

Saying Goodbye to Elder Sufia ...what an awesome companion!!

Goodbye Fontana!
Oh, but I really miss my old area. I really got close to many of the members there as well as the area. I know it better than the back of my hand. I didn´t think I would be sad to leave, but now that I am gone, I really miss it.

I also really miss Elder Sufia.  He was super fun.  We got along really well. and he taught me so much. I just seems like those 6 weeks really flew by. He is a great missionary.

Hermanas Loli & Damaris

The Junco Family

My Fontana Zone is cool !!

...and I am cool too ;-)

Hello Reconquista!

5 hour trip to Reconquista!

The difference between Fontana and Reconquista is quite dramatic. I went from clapping my hands to introduce myself at the entrance of mud and brick houses, to talking through intercoms to people living in mansions!

But I already love it here.  And compared to Fontana, it's SUPER NICE!  I mean, they actually have PAVED roads here ...like everywhere.  As far as I'm concerned, I'm back in the States again ...no joke.  It's clear that all the people here are well off.

My desk is way nicer than my last place!

I live essentially in the city center, not exactly, but really close.  My pension is super nice ...WAAAAAYY better than my last.  I live with 3 other Elders which makes it super fun.

My bed - bottom right

But with the good also comes the bad.  I can tell that the work here is going to be very different than in Fontana.  The acceptance rate is way lower than it was in Fontana, so I suppose I'll have to adapt to it.

But I'm not going to let that stop me ...my goal is to improve the work in this area. ;)  Right now we have 3 investigators....and I am about to drop 2 of them.  But we'll see how it goes this next week. ;)

Elder Thomas and I

My new comp is Elder Thomas.  He is cool.  He has one less transfer than I do, and he's been here for 2 transfers already ...and this will be his 3rd.  I'm convinced we'll be good companions.  ...I'm super excited to work with Elder Thomas! :D

I haven't met too many members yet in this area, but the ones I have met are pretty cool ...they feed us 4 out of 7 days, so that's awesome. :)

Scripture & Preach My Gospel

Scripture of the week: Mathew 18:12-13

How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?
And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.

I really it because it shows that God doesn't expect perfection. None of us are what we know we should be. But that is what Christ came for, to help us achieve what we are destined to be. God only expects that we progress with the help of Christ.

PMG, page 63
I was reading a little bit in Chapter 3, lesson 3, about repentance. It caught my attention that we show our love to God not only through obedience, but also through daily repentance. Every day should be a step of repentance and one step closer to perfecting ourselves. That is what repentance is, continual progression.


Mother's Day

Oh ya! Mothers day! I will Skype home on the 11th. I don`t know what time yet, nor exactly how we'll do it.  I'll try to figure something out, but just to be safe, can you get me a calling card with all the information and the directions so I can call you if I can´t find a member with internet access? Thanks so much!

Well, that's all. Love you all very much ...and I love my mission!

Elder Travis Clemons

Scripture of the Week...

Hola Personas!

 

So in honor of what Ballard said about sharing what we have learned from Preach my Gospel, I would like to start a weekly PMG and Scripture thought. :)

Scripture:  Jacob 1:19

And we did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking upon us the responsibility, answering the sins of the people upon our own heads if we did not teach them the word of God with all diligence; wherefore, by laboring with our might their blood might not come upon our garments; otherwise their blood would come upon our garments, and we would not be found spotless at the last day.

I have been set apart to be a missionary, to teach and preach the truth. It has become my responsibility to bring others this knowledge. And if I do not, if I slack off in my service, I would expect at least a portion of their sins to be upon my shoulders :(  I become clean through my diligence to find, teach, and baptize. I suspect "magnifying your calling" is also an obligation and commandment.

Preach My Gospel:  Page 4 

It says here that I need to live worthy of my calling. That really touched me ...about the sacredness of my calling and purpose. That means that in each and every moment, I need to be striving to be a worthy witness of Christ. As a result, I try to focus during my studies, contact everyone I possibly can, and testify to everyone I meet.

Ok some news ...the church just told us that WE CAN NO LONGER RECEIVE PACKAGES OR LARGE ENVELOPES ANY MORE. Don't know why, but oh well. You can still send me normal cards, letters, and small envelopes.

 

Nothing super crazy happened this week.  OK, like, nothing happened this week. But transfers are coming up, and so I assume I will leave Fontanna some time soon.

 

Love the Mission!

Chau!!!

Elder Clemons

Planking with Elder Sufia

Hey!

So first off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!! LOVE YOU TONS!!

Second, sorry that I forgot to inform you, but w had 3 baptisms this last week! :) 

They are the nieces y nephew of Vilma. Micaela 17, Priscila 13, and Miguel 11. They are all super cool, especially Miguel. He loves us. He wants to be an Elder and go serve a mission. He seems to know just about everything about the gospel, and remebers everything. It is so cool. Their baptisimal service was awesome and smooth and perfect. :)

Well, kinda'.  Turns out their parents missed it!  Ouch!  They showed up late! :P ...right after the actually ordinances were performed. I was really bummed, but at least they made it to the confirmations the next day. :)

Check out our sweet garbage-bag ponchos!

I Love Being a Missionary!

That makes 11 souls that God has used me as an instrument to change their lives. :) It is a very rewarding experience to go from the initial contact at the door to a baptism 3 or 4 weeks later. :) ...very humbling indeed. And very uplifting.

I've grown so much on the mission ...hmmm, at least I think so. My understanding of basic doctrines has increased. I read a quote from Elder Ballard today that said, "beliefs turn into knowledge." ...that really hit me. These basics beliefs, that I have treasured my whole life, are now becoming facts of knowledge to me, and I live what I've been taught. The Atonement, Joseph Smith, The Book of Mormon. I KNOW these things to be true. For me, it is a fact, one that shall never be denied. 

Love,

Elder Travis Clemons

 Elder Sufia and I are planking ;-)

"His Grace is Sufficient"

Hola todos!

This week has been similar to others, hot and lots of walking. But always fun and rewarding. :)

We had a pretty fun noche de hogar with the Palota family. (a new family that we are currently teaching). We played this really fun flour came where essentially if you knock over the flour tower and the coin that is on top of it, you have to fish out a coin using only your face. It was hilarious. Loved It. :)

I have also had a pretty spiritual week this week. During my personally studies, I read a lot about grace. I read an excellent talk by Brad Wilcox called "His Grace is Sufficient." I realize I have only little time to write, but it's an important enough topic that I think I'd like to write about.

In my seminary years, I learned that grace was a strong "enabling" power. But after considerable time thinking about it on my mission, I have realized that it is much more than that. Obviously grace is salvation. Through the grace of God we have been saved through the Atonement. But it also is a motivating force that inspires a change of heart and soul.

My Angel Moroni from last week's activity

While justice requires payment -- and is often filled with suffering -- through the Love of Christ, He has already suffered that payment, and offers us simply His grace ...with a much simpler set of requirements ...that inspires change. Either we pay through justice, through suffering, or we follow Jesus and change. "The repenting sinner must suffer for his sins, but this suffering has a different purpose than punishment or payment, it's purpose is change." When a soul has been touched by grace, his life begins to appear a bit more as that of the Savior's. Brad Wilcox then asked a very penetrating question. "We all have been saved by grace, but have we been changed by it? Have you been changed by grace?"

The gospel, the church, the commandments, and Christ require everything from us. But why?

It is not to fulfill the demands of Justice; rather to inspire a change in us. But why change? "The miracle of grace from the Atonement is not just that we can go home to our Heavenly Father, but miraculously, we can FEEL home there." Christ is preparing us for Heaven. Christ has His rules to inspire us to change so that we can feel comfortable once we get there. In a sense, "Heaven will not be 'heaven' for those who do not try to be heavenly." If we aren't trying to improve ourselves and change, we won't feel worthy to be in the presence of God. 

A pretty good temple, I'd say :-)

Now this part really touched me. I suspect when we get there, it won't be Christ rejecting us from His kingdom ...but us refusing to go in because we feel a lack of worthiness.  Christ paid the price in full -- not to deny us exaltation -- but to reward us with it. He hasn't (nor ever will) turned his back on us. I'm sure He'll be there fighting for us on judgment day, begging for us to enter into His Father's Kingdom. But it will be us, the sinners, who feel unworthy to enter his presence. 

Christ gave us His grace to prepare us for this day, so that we change and feel worthy to enter His kingdom. Grace is about learning and preparing for Heaven so that we will be comfortable there. 

Christ's grace envelopes us with power, strength, and help to overcome the trials of life and to initiate a change from within. A life touched by grace is a life that reflects Christ's image.

I know that God loves each of us. And because of this love, He gave us His Son, Jesús Cristo. Whenever we are down, sad, tormented, burdened, weak ...when we are at the point that we cannot continue, this is when we are truly at our strongest.

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. 

-- 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

When we can't do it, Christ will. When we are weak, then we are strong in Christ. And with Christ we can do anything. I know this is true. Grace is all we need.

Love you all,

Elder Clemons

It's really green here, but also super dusty !!

Some of you asked what Argentina-style meant :D

Doin' "the Haka" in Argentina...

Wow, there are a lot of dogs around here !!

The locals are grumpy when they can't play soccer :(

Hola!

Primero, sorry for not writing yesterday. Argentina has these random lazy holidays where no one works and everything shuts down. I don't think they're celebrating anything in particular ...it's just another day to not work.  This one's called "feriado."

It has been super rainy here lately.  And it's always a sad day when the neighborhood soccer field floods. The locals just get kinda' grumpy.



And there are a TON of dogs here, like ...super tons. It's crazy. But the puppies are sure cute.

So a lot has happened recently.

A few weeks back, I created a list of "Keys to receiving guidance from the Holy Ghost" for my personal studies. Each "key" had a ton of scriptural references as well as references out of Preach my Gospel. President Heyman is always encouraging us to receive inspiration in our callings as missionaries, so I thought I'd really study the topic.  I sent it to him to look over and give me some advice. He ended up loving it so much that he sent it out to the entire mission. :)

Also, wow, the assistants called me and Elder Sufia this last week to personally congratulate us on our numbers ...seems like we had a pretty good week. :)

And my comp knows how to do the Haka!!  ...I'm trying to get Elder Sufia to show me so I can film it and learn, but he is stubborn.  I'm sure with time, I'll wear him down ;-)

Making "temples" with toothpicks and puff balls ...we had a blast!

We had a super awesome Noche de Hogar con la familia Junco. We talked about temples, how they are sacred to us, the ordinances we perform in them, and the impact they have on our lives. We then each made our own temples out of toothpicks and these "chip puff" things ('cause marshmallows don´t exist here :p) It was super successful! Everyone loved it :)

So looks like we might have a few baptisms coming up. We are currently teaching V's brother's family. They still need to get married, but I suspect we'll baptize the kids not too long from now, and the parents in a couple weeks ...so let's hope and pray. :)

So, I'm sure it will come as no surprise when I tell you that we walk a lot here in Argentina ...I mean, a lot a lot. Turns out about a month ago I developed an ingrown toenail. Ouch! Long story short, it never got better, and finally yesterday I got it taken care of ...Argentine style. That was such a delightful experience. ;)

But all is better now.

Love,
Elder Travis Clemons

I'm always amazed to see these tiny homes ...with a sweet dish!! :D