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

Miracles happen at the end of the day ...in the rain ;-)

My new companion, Elder Sufia, is a Samoan living in New Zealand!!

The coolest companion EVER !!

So transfers happened ...and yup, I'm still in Fontana ...buuuut I've got this awesome new companion ....Elder Sufia!! He's from New Zealand, but is of Samoan descent. :D How cool is that?!! ...and how lucky am I! I am companions with the only Polynesian  in the mission! He has been in the mission for a little over a year. He was trained by one of the current Assistants to the President, and has been both a District and a Zone Leader, so he is super experienced and an excellent teacher. I know I am going to learn a TON from him!

And he is so fun too.  It's only been a few days, but I love it! We are always laughing and really enjoying life. And he eats a lot ...oh yeah, this is going to be such a fun companionship, I can't wait to learn!

So nothing super exciting this week. We had an interesting chat with Vilma's son about the Law of Chastity. Um ...let's just say that he is no longing taking the lessons. Ohp!

But we did have success in church attendance this week, 7! I believe that's the most we've ever had! :D And Vilma's brother came with his whole family. :D  I hope the liked it.

Unfortunately, I'm actually a bit scared to bring people to church here in Fontana; it's just not super uplifting.  But nonetheless, we work through it. We set fechas with the whole family so we will see where that goes.

Well I don't know what to write.....soooooo, oh wait, thanks so much for the package! I finally got it! Love the gel insoles! Thanks!

Oh, I do have one more story...

So it's standard practice here for the missionaries to immediately go to a member's house or back to the apartment when the power goes out (which happens often).  Turns out the likelihood of being robbed goes way up when the power's off. So the power went off last Friday, and we started home to our apartment like we're supposed to.  Almost immediately as we got home, a HUGE storm erupted. So we changed our clothes for the night and settled in with no power or light. But the outage lasted only 30 minutes, and by 9:00 the power had come back on ...which meant we could go back out and work for 30 minutes because we're supposed to work until 9:30.

But the storm was still ragging. And in all fairness, we didn't really have the strongest desire to go out and work since there was only 30 minutes left. So we kinda' debated what we should do. But in the end, decided to go out and fulfill our duty :D  So we got our clothes and rain gear back on, and went out into the storm and started walking. We decided to knock on a house that had some lights on, but no one answered ...so we hit the house next door. And God blessed us with a tender mercy.

There we met the Araya familia who let us in :).  They probably felt some compassion for the sorriest-looking, dilapidated, soaked-to-the-bone missionaries. But hey, whatever works...  The Araya's are a young couple with 2 little daughters, one loves to sing us songs. :)  We shared with them the lesson on the restoration ...and they accepted everything, including baptism. :)  Of course, we'll have to spend a bit more time with them to see if they'll progress, but I thank God He lead us to this family, allowed us to share His message, and gave us a chance to get out of the rain and wind. :)

See ...miracles DO happen at the end of the day ...and in the rain. :)

Always look up.  That's all I've got.

Elder Clemons
:p

I've got quite the assortment of things to tell you about this week :-)

I've got quite the assortment of things to tell you about this week  :-)

Pricila

Pricila said the most beautiful prayer

So one of the most adorable things happened this week with Pricila, Rosa's three year old daughter. After we finished the lessons, we asked who would like to say the closing prayer. She jumped up and bounced around saying that she wanted to do it. So she kneels down and offers up the most cutest prayer I think I have ever heard. It was so simple, but so rewarding. All you heard was just this little cute voice saying thank you and bless the missionaries and my family, etc. It was so incredible. Aw man ...I love kids.

Vilma's Asado¡¡¡

Also, Vilma and her family gave us an Asado¡¡¡ It is sooooo good¡ It's just sheer meat. Good for the manly soul that I have. It is so yummy, so juicy, and so awesome (editor's note: and sooo fattening). Vilma´s family really loves us ...a lot! They tell us that they pray everyday that we will stay in Fontana forever. I love going over to their house. They are so open to the gospel and LOVE learning about it. Yesterday, they bore their testimonies in church, and it really made me proud that I played a small role in their conversion. Their testimonies were powerful and penetrating. :D

Asado is AWESOME !!

President's spot-checking our teaching skills :)  Yikes!

Randomly, Presidente Heyman came to our District Meeting last week and made us all teach a random lesson about a commandment that we drew from a hat ...each of us had less than ten minutes in front of him. Scared me to death!! But me and Elder Pickle did quite well, I think we might have impressed him. :D 

Transfers

So transfers are likely coming up this Wednesday, and I strongly suspect something HAS to happen to at least one of us. I'm really hoping I'll get a new companion, and that he's latino.  And much as I've absolutely loved Fontana, the people, the members, and all the work I've been able to do here, I think I'm ready to get a new area. 

Vilma

But the best news is  .....VILMA WAS BAPTIZED¡¡¡¡¡

Yeah!!

...buuuut along with JENNY¡¡¡¡ Jenny's mom took a complete 180 and allowed her to also get baptized. The two of them were baptized last Saturday, March 8th¡¡¡ :D

A lot of their family came, and the branch really supported them well (we had about 20'ish come). :D Awesome. It was so spiritually filling. :D They came out brighter, happier, and speechless. That's always one of the best moments as a missionary ...to see the face of your convert as they come out of the water. Just pure joy. I love this work. Bringing other people to the joy of the gospel just fills everyone involved with great joy. 

Vilma and Jenny BOTH got baptized :-)

Rosa

Also, Rosa gave a talk in church¡¡¡ That was another totally rewarding experience!! I gotta tell ya, I think I might have been smiling from ear to ear. :D  I was just sitting in the congregation listening to her give a talk and bear powerful testimony. And she did such a wonderful job¡ Way better than most new converts to the church¡ I'm sure it'll come as no surprise that it made me quite proud to have had the privilege of playing a part in her conversion. The room just filled with the spirit when she began to speak. Very uplifting. 



Gringo's vs. Mexicans :-)

Oh -- hahhahaha -- so one of my zone leaders is Mexican, Elder Hernandez. I just love Mexicans. Elder Hernandes and I often get into fun little arguments about which country is better, Mexico or America. So as he came to our area to interview Vilma y Jenny, he asked Vilma "which is better: a Gringo, or a Mexicano?" And she said "Gringo" :D  So he figured he'd try another question and asked, "which is better, a Gringo or an Argentine," and she again said "Gringo¡¡¡" :D  Oh the look of defeat on Hernandez´s face was priceless. :D ha!  Of course, she only said that because two Gringo's were the one's that taught her.  But it was awesome to stick it to Hernandez. 

Singing

Oh ya, turns out almost no one in the Fontana area can sing. I mean, they try so hard, but in vain, to sing correctly. They just have absolutely no understanding of beat or pitch. And they all sing like 5 notes too low. :p  But regardless of their examples, I sing super loud (and on key) in hopes they will catch on. 

Rocio 

So Rocio (the one who was baptized just two weeks ago) has a BF.  And as it turns out, he's been getting pretty mad (or perhaps jealous) that Rocio joined the church. It got to the point where he finally gave her a choice: him or the church. Ha, she dropped him there on the spot and chose the church. Woot¡¡ Score one for the God.

Welp, that's all I've got for this week. I love my mission¡¡¡

Elder Clemons

This is my wash machine ...but I am the motor ;-)

This is my pet dog, named Jerry.
He lives outside our apartment, he is very loyal and loving.

 

 President Heyman said we need to know the commandments better, so I made these little sticky notes for each one.

Sometimes, life's a little crazy down here...

Hola!

First off.....VILMA VA A SER BAUTIZADA!!!!! She told us last friday that she wants to. :) We don't know what changed her mind, but her baptismal date is Saturday, the 8th, in just one week. I believe it was because of 2 things: Rocio's baptism and the positive influence that has on everyone, and continually having to defend the church. Turns out many of Vilma's friends and family have been telling her lie after lie after lie about the church, but she simply defends it each time. I suspect after time she began to strengthen her own testimony. So ...looks like she's ready. :)

I am buff!   (Editor's note:  really?!!?)

Here are a few one-liners I thought were really funny:

By Silvia:

- Elder Clemons, why do you like Selena Gomez?

- Elder Pickle, are you a dad? I saw your daughter in the States.

By Rocio y Vilma:
- Amando is just so nice. He gets a little drugged up sometimes, but he always remembers who I am. Such a nice boy.

Note: we met Amando a few days ago ...Vilma and Rocio told us about him. He apparently has something called a "Carta Blanca" which means the police just leave him alone. He just roams around and does what he wants and the police just let him do it. Sounds like a pretty scary guy.

By Vilma's family:
- It doesn't say the name of Joseph Smith in the Bible.

- All Mormons are rich.


Short, sweet, and funny...

Love Elder Clemons

Rocio was baptized Saturday, February 22!

Vilma, Jenny (a cousin), and Rocio

 

Super slow week again, but it doesn't matter ...because we had a baptism!!!

Rocio was baptized Saturday, February 22! :D It was a very spiritual experience as always. :) And the Lord chose to give us a tender mercy as well. There was a terrible storm both in the morning and midday on Saturday. Just raging weather. Everyone was asking us if we were still going to have it. And obviously (with some serious prayers) we said that we were. And the Lord blessed us ...just about an hour before the baptism everything finally calmed down. And we had a beautiful baptism without any problems. :) Tender Mercy!

We don't have a font in the chapel where we attend, so we have to take a taxi to a neighboring ward. We went to Rocio´s house and from there called up a taxi; but it took over 50 minutes to arrive ...which made us start the baptismal service at least 30 minutes later than planned. :p (I hate being late!)

I had the privilege of being a witness for Rocio´s baptism. She has always been extremely quiet and shy during our several discussions, and she was really nervous to be baptized in front of everyone. But I got the impression she felt a sense of peace and tranquility as she descended into the water. And she came up out of the water just thrilled. She had a beautiful smile, and her face was just radiating. Truly a wonderful, cleansing, bright experience.

After the ordinance we had a little luncheon. Lots of pop, empenandas, y torta. Everyone was happy and talking. Rocio was taking pictures and videos of everyone. It was nice to see her enjoying it so much. It always warms your heart to know that your labors might have brought joy to someone else. :)

So a few random things:

I know why I am fat. Everything they make here is covered in oil. I have never eaten so little in my entire life, but everything I eat is completely covered in oil. Even the salad they make is drowning in oil! :p ewww! So my guess is that's why.

Also (for those of you who know the reference) we've once again resorted to "using plastic bags." Can I just say that I really don't like our apartment!!  But there are literally no other apartments in Fontana, and we've been trying for quite some time to find one.

On a positive note, I have gotten pretty good at making pizza though.

 

And from the vantage point of a glass half full, I'd have to say I love my mission a lot. Every day there are setbacks, we have ups and downs.  At times we're rejected; other times, accepted. Sometimes people show us considerable kindness; sometimes considerable disrespect. But it is nevertheless a tremendous blessing to be permitted to serve the Lord as a missionary in Resistencia, Argentina.

 

I know the church is true. Talking with thousands of people has only strengthened my own faith. I testify that this is the true church of Christ. That we are very literally God's children. That we are loved beyond comprehension. And that God is walking by our side waiting for us to seek His help. Christ suffered, trembled, and bled for us out of pure love. Joseph Smith was His prophet in this dispensation and sealed his testimony with his blood. I know it all to be true.

Elder Clemons

 

 

Confession, I have been robbed a few times...

Confession, I have been robbed a few times during my mission.
(Nothing bad happened, so don´t worry).
Elder Pickle and I received this little award for being robbed the most. ;) hahaha

Hola!

So once again this has been a super hard week. The people just aren't accepting us right now; we  found only 6 new investigators this week. But that doesn't really matter, we'll just need to work harder.  Oh, and we are going to have a baptism this week!! :D We will be baptizing Rocio and hopefully her mom as well.

I really don't have all that much to tell you, so I will just give you a rundown of my typical day:

My daily shower ;)

7:00	We get up, do exercises, and eat breakfast.
8:30	We start personal study.
9:30	We go out and start proselyting.
12:00	We break for lunch for 1 hour, and have 30 minutes for travel time.
1:30	We start companionship study. During this time, we also make plans for the tarde, and learn more about and practice our lessons.
3:00	We start language study. Here's what I like to do: I have the BoM in Spanish on DVD. So while listening to the DVD, I repeat it back talking with a pencil in my mouth. Obviously very annoying, but it really helps me keep my mouth open. So my accent is slowing coming along.
4:00	Everyone's siesta is now probably over, so we go back to work.
9:30	We return to our home and plan for the next day.
10:30	We get ready for bed.

So that's my normal day basically. It's really weird to have companion study in the middle of the day, but absolutely no one is outside (they're all having their siesta) and it is blistering hot. So at least we get to go inside and sit and sweat instead of walk and sweat outside. ;)

Everyone here drives moto's ...basically, little motorcycles, como vespas. They are so annoying and super loud (and obviously not very environmentally friendly). And the people always like to drive as close as they possibly can to you. And yes, sometimes they like to hit you as they drive by. :p That always hurts ...so I don't like moto's very much.

Pistol Whipped

Pistol Whipped

 

 

I finally got a hold of this little Evangelica biblia.
And look, as of today I have accepted my savior
and I am now saved. :)

Oh, we are teaching Pero, a Jehovah's Witness. Very interesting doctrine. And like most Jehovah's Witnesses, he knows his version of the Bible very well. He gave us a book entitled "What does the Bible really teach." Very interesting. It's rather fun teaching him. But it's also very hard to teach someone who has to have every point proved to them using the Bible. Of course, besides the instruction, we try testifying of the truth, and I do think with time, it'll work. But we might have to use some force. :p

Well, as I may have said a time or two in the past, I do love it out here. I just love my mission! :D And living and serving in Resistencia is incredible! I love the people and the culture.

...but I do want a Café Rio burrito. I miss that. Oh well.

Love Elder Clemons

Vilma y Rocio

Howdy!

The work here in Fontana is really dying, we have been in a 4 week dip. Our acceptance rate is close to none. We walk a lot ;) But every area has its ups and downs, and I'm sure with more time and some genuine effort we'll be teaching again. ;)

My district from last transfer

So I told you a little bit about Vilma y Rocio la ultimo semaña. Since then we have had 3 charlas. Haha. But I'll tell you about the first one. We started by tackling all of their doubts, such as family, "a second baptism," and Joseph Smith. We then watched the Restoration video with them, and it was super powerful. I remember watching the video before my mission, but it's so much more powerful when you're a missionary. After-all, it explains the beginnings, the basis, of our religion. After the movie there was a huge pause, none of us said anything. Then we just flowed into a testimony meeting. We bore testimony -- including the members we had with us -- it was one of the most powerful moments I've had in my mission. Every single person in that room bore a penetrating testimony that was undeniable. I was so overwhelmed, but happy. It was undeniable that Rocio y Vilma felt the truthfulness of the church.

After the testimonies we asked Rocio how she felt about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. She just looked up and said that she knows it's true. We then asked Vilma, she said the same ...but then added that she doesn't know about baptism yet. So we testified about prayer and the Holy Ghost, and then invited Vilma and Rocio to have a kneeling prayer with us and to ask God about baptism. The Spirit was strong and powerful, but she still said no :-( which totally destroyed the Spirit ...and made Rocio want to push back her baptism as well. Vilma seems to always say she needs more time; she believes in Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, but just needs more time is all. But we committed them to go to church.

A couple days later, we passed by their home again and focused solely on Rocio. We talked to her about her questions, testified of the truthfulness of our teachings, read some scritpures out of the BoM, and then asked her how she feels when she reads them. She paused and said "Segura" or sure. :D We then asked if she is so sure, why wait. And with that, we now have her baptism scheduled for the 22nd. :) I think she'll make it. :) And I believe Vilma will follow algunas semañas luego. :)

So baptisms are coming up!  ...but we still have literally only 2 investigators right now :-(

I do love the mission! And I'm working hard and won't give up!  I'm out here because I have a strong testimony of the truthfullness of the church. I'm out here because Christ suffered for me. I'm out here because Joseph Smith was martyred praising our God. I'm not out here for any selfish reasons. I'm not out here for personal gain, nor to please anyone. I'm only here to honor my God.

Love you all!! :D

Elder Clemons

Nope

Hello Everyone!

 

So with transfers last week, I was pretty sure either Elder Pickle or I would be shipped out.  Nope, nothing changed, I am still here in Fontana with Elder Pickle. (Which is super strange because usually the trainer and the greenie always separate.) I believe it is because we were having a lot of success for Chaco. ;)  We did get rejected a ton though. NO ONE wanted to talk with us this week. But I did probably walk about 15 miles each day. So I'm dead tired ...I'll probably take a siesta after this email. :D

 

So there is this program for new missionaries called "12 Semanas" ("12 Weeks") -- pretty self-explanatory -- and I don't like it at all. And I've done it twice now because I've been in 2 missions. But I'm proud to say that after 7 months, ...I've finally finished the 12 weeks. ;)

 

I know I've said this before, but Resistencia is really hot. Really, really, really hot.  So of all the Lord's tender mercies, wouldn't you know it, but while randomly contacting ...we found a pool! Like a really big pool! Oh boy was that tempting. Since we were already soaked head to toe in sweat, really what difference would it make? But alas, we walked on. :(

 

As nothing really happened this week, I guess I will tell you about a family we are teaching. Although the family is huge, we are really only teaching 2 of them: the mom (Vilma) and the daughter (Rocio). Vilma tiene 45 años y Rocio 17 (editor's note: give it a try, I'm sure you can figure it out). They are Evangelica, and Vilma knows quite a lot about the doctrines of the gospel. They are awesome and come to church every week on their own and love the classes ...and they love their two gringo missionaries :-) They were both super happy that we stayed and weren't transferred.

 

Their baptisms are scheduled for this week, but we'll see if that goes through. Although there's a chance, we do have a little bit of doubt for Vilma since she's a bit scared to get "rebaptized." Also, she feels like she hasn't received a strong answer yet about Joseph Smith or the LDM (BoM). So the last time we visited them, we had an awesome charla (lesson) about the Holy Ghost and how it will feel to receive an answer. I've been studying that topic for like a month now, so I was able to use a ton of scriptures to help her. I think it helped them realize what the Holy Ghost's whispering might feel like.

 

I realize my next letter won't be for a week (so I won't be able to give you any progress 'till then), but we have a make-it-or-break-it lesson scheduled with them tomorrow, and we want them to get baptized this Saturday. So by next week's letter, they will hopefully already be baptized :D

 

Our plan is to watch the Restoration movie with them. We hope this will help identify her "true" doubts about the church (if she has any).  We're going to ask her to go into the movie with a specific question, and then look for her answer during the movie.  Of course, we'll bear strong testimonies, and invite her to be ready for baptism this Saturday. :) Wish us luck! :D

 

I am super excited to testify my soul out! :D

 

I love it here and I am super happy.  Love you all!

 

Elder Clemons

 

 

4 Baptisms!! :D

Hermano Veron, Me, Sergio, ?, Caren, Rosa, ?, Julie, Elder Pickle

 

Rosa, Caren, and Julie

It was just incredible to see the joy on their faces as they came up out of the water. Sergio was finally at peace.  Rosa was super happy; her face was just shining. Caren is really quiet and rarely smiles, but when she came up out of the water, she did ...just for a moment :) and that just warmed my heart. :)  Julie is just this bubbly little girl; and she was so excited after she was baptized. :)

 

This was the happiest day I have had on my mission so far. Bringing people to greater truth and light, and seeing the happiness it brings them, is truly an indescribable experience. And obviously, their joy and happiness also rubs off on me. It is a sublime feeling I just can't fully express. It's just something you feel from them right after their baptism. In a way, their conversion strengthens mine.

Sergio

While I was born into the church, and have had the rare and special opportunity of being around this greater truth all my life, these new converts made the decision to change their whole lives and join the Church. I am daily amazed at the faith of these good brothers and sisters. Their faith far exceeds mine. It is truly something heavenly to be a part of someone's conversion, to see the light grow and emanate from their being. :) It is truly incredible. :)

 

I know this is the Lord's true Church. I know it, I live it. I am happy and honored to be a missionary right now. It is a privilege to serve the Lord throughout all of our daily struggles. I am a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

...and to bring just a few souls unto Him is priceless happiness.

 

 

Love you all! :D

 

Elder Clemons

 

 

Sergio was baptized by Hermano Veron

I baptized Rosa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caren smiled just before this was taken :D

Julie's a cutie!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Me and my best new little friend Julie :)

 

 

SO THIS WEEK WAS AWESOME!!!

Hola!

SO THIS WEEK WAS AWESOME!!!

First off, we had 6 investigators at church yesterday!! 6!!! That is the standard of excellence, and it's super rare to hit it! It was incredible! Sergio came by himself, Rosa and her 2 daughters came (Karin que tiene 13 años y Julie con 8), Veilma (a new investigator) and Rosa brought along her sister!!! They all loved it!

On the other hand, I personally thought the church service itself was kinda' horrible. No one could sing, it was very unorganized, I had to give an impromptu talk on faith that I wasn´t told about, and the clases weren´t that grand.  And yet ALL the investigators felt the spirit strongly. It's nice to know the Lord will testify about the truthfullness of His church regardless of how the members participate ;-) The investigatores were in the true church of Christ, and therefore felt His spirit, and it was pretty cool to hear them talk about their experience after Church. :) So looks like this week we will baptize Sergio, Rosa y sus Hijas!! 4!!!! :D

So I finally broke the "be in on time rule." Sergio doesn´t have a working phone right now, so we have to set up citas and just hope he'll come. Well one day last week he didn´t. So we went to his house to find him, but instead found a drunk friend of his and were forced to stay and chat :p. Sergio eventually showed up!! :D But then he started making a pizza!!! -- and we only had 10 minutes to get home! But we couldn't easily leave, so we waited it out and got back 30 minutes late. :p  But the pizza was good. ;)

So I have been out a little over 6 months, and Elder Pickle's been out for a year now ...so we decided to celebrate!!!  He bought 1 kilo of ice cream, and I bought a 1/2 kilo. It was so yummy. :)

We've also found a super nice new apartment; it's a 6-room house! Soooo nice!!! :D But it won´t be ready until about a month from now :p  So we will just wait it out. :p  And I'll probably miss out on it altogether :-(

Sweet wrist-watch tan!!

OK, so, it is really super hot down here. I hate huminity. I refuse to live in a place that has huminity. It just makes everything so much worse. But I'm lov'n the rain! I LOVE IT! I love being soaked, because then the heat is bearable. And it is quite fun traversing through rivers and such. I feel like a boss.

Well, my time is up. I love it here, and I am super pumped about the baptisms. The work in our area is finally picking up. I´m happy. And that is all that matters. :)

I know the Church is true. :)

Love Elder Clemons

23 Days Without Water !!!!!!!!!!

My rain getup :-)

-------------------------------------
Hello Family!

So a ton of stuff has happened this week ...like a ton.

First off, we had 5 people in church this week!!! :D and all came on their own!!! Sergio, Rosa and sus hijas, and Silvia's cousin Alle. They all only came for the first hour, which was sacrament meeting. But it was still incredible. I have never felt a more spiritual fast and testimony meeting before. It was edifying. The spirit was strong during that meeting and the members' testimonies were heart-felt and comforting. I also bore my testimony and read my favorite scripture (Helaman 5:8-9):

 8 And now my sons, behold I have somewhat more to desire of you, which desire is, that ye may not do these things that ye may boast, but that ye may do these things to lay up for yourselves a ^atreasure in heaven, yea, which is eternal, and which fadeth not away; yea, that ye may have that ^bprecious gift of eternal life, which we have reason to suppose hath been given to our fathers.

 9 O remember, remember, my sons, the ^awords which king Benjamin spake unto his people; yea, remember that there is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the ^batoning blood of Jesus Christ, who shall come; yea, remember that he cometh to ^credeem the ^dworld.

I told them that the things I treasured most in life were my family and the church. I then testified that Christ, who suffered and trembled for us because He loves us, is the only way we can achieve our eternal treasures. It was a short testimony, but powerful. And I'm glad I was able to participate. 

So most likely we will be having 5 baptisms this 18th. :D  Pray for all of them! :D 

A lot has happened in Fontana lately.
First off, our water came back on! POR FIN!! 23 days without water! It seems like our landlord is ignoring us, so we're going to her house in the next few days to ....errr... have a nice conversation about how we can't have this problem again. So my actual number of legitimate showers has now gone up:  since I've been in Argentina, I've had 7 real showers. ;)

Second, it seems like we might have had some disobediant missionaries, as we just had an emergency transfer which affected the other Fontana Elders. Elder Guajardo (one of the other Fontana Elders who I am good friends with) got a new companion that was disobediant and wanted to go home. So long story short, both Elder Guajardo and this other Elder were taken out of Fontana and their area was shut down. So our area just got HUGE!! Guajardo is now in Formosa, and this other Elder is staying in the mission office until he decides what he wants to do (as of now he wants to stay). I hope he does, and I wouldn't mind being his companion, we got a long great for the short time we knew each other.

I had a interview with President this week. That was cool. He asked me to bear my testimony about the BoM. My mind went to a quote from Elder Holland which essentially says "that in our own individual ways, God takes us to the grove or the mountain or the temple and there shows us the wonder of what His plan is for us." I testified that although I hadn't physically been in the Garden, and haven't seen God, that He's brought me mentally to my own "sacred garden" and there revealed Himself to me and showed me His love. I don't have to see God to believe in Him. I feel Him through the scriptures and through prayer and through the good works of others. While I haven't had an angel manifest to me that the Church is true, I know it already because I've had my own experiences in my personal "garden."

Joseph Smith was correct when he said that "the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book." I know this statement is true for it has happened to me.

I know God loves us. I know Christ suffered for us. I know that through Holy Scriptures as the Bible and Book of Mormon we can be guided to our individual gardens and have the truths of eternity manifested to us. We simply have to seek for Him.

I know the Church is true. And that is my testimony.

I Love you all!

Elder Clemons

My version of cookie dough ice cream. It is frozen yogurt with a ton of dulce de leche and crushed up cookies. Yum!

Christmas

This post includes several small letters we've received from Travis over the last 10 days.  It's mostly pictures ...enjoy :-)

=========================================
12/23/13 - Day before Christmas Eve

We haven't had water in our apartment now for 7 days, so that's been fun. Not!

The riots have essentially stopped now, but we still have to come home early each night.

Yet again, no investigators in church. :(

And I am still in Fontana with Elder Pickle.

 

Today we had a mission-wide party; all the missionaries came! It was so fun! I got to see all my friends and take pictures with them -- which I'll send whenever I find a nice computer to send pictures.

One of my Hijos - I had him for a couple days

So we've had a couple of "day" companions.  New missionaries are arriving daily now, and since we live so close to the mission home, we are always paired with them. I have had so much fun with them. I have learned so much from them, and I'm pumped to use these new skills in my teaching.

So falto tiempo, pero yo quiro dejarles con mi pensamientos de el nacimiento de Jesucristo (editor: "not much time left, so I'll leave you with my thoughts about the birth of Christ"). What a wonderful time it is right now. Although it's blistering hot and humid, you can still feel the Christmas spirit :)  People have little trees everyone and lights decorating their homes. It just brings a smile to my face. But let's not forget the reason why we celebrate Christmas. It is not about presents, snow, trees, or even missionary work. It is only about Christ. His birth, His sacrifice, and His love for us. His is a work of love. I am not the messenger of a modern-day prophet, or of Joseph Smith, or indeed of any man. I an authorized servant of Jesus Christ Himself. I have been called by Him to preach His love. Christmas is about Christ. Let us all remember that Great Sacrifice He endured for us. He loves us; I love Him, and I love this work.

Love Elder Clemons

==================================

12/25/2013 - Christmas

Travis called on Christmas day at 3:00 Utah time.  We had a very difficult time maintaining a Skype connection.  Travis addressed the problem by simply saying "Well, this is Argentina" ;)

We were able to call phone to phone, but even that wasn't great -- connection I mean --  talking to Travis was great :)

The family around the computer. It was nice to see Travis for a few seconds !!!

Travis blushed when we told him he was gaining weight

=================================
12/30/2013
Hello family.

Ok, so it is hot here; I sweat constantly. During studies, showering, even sleeping! I wake up to see my body's sweat imprint in my bed. It's ridiculous how hot it is. I've never experienced so much heat and humidity!!!!!!

Oh, also, we've now gone 14 days without water in our bathroom, and the last 3 days without water for anything. So unfortunately, we've had to go back to using, um, plastic bags :(  Right now, we're living on the emergency reserves of water president asked us to set up about 3 weeks ago prior to the riots. :p It seems to be a city wide problem, but nonetheless, we are moving. We can't live in these conditions any longer.

So we had 4 investigators in church Sunday!! :D  Sergio, and Rosa with her daughters. Sergio is about 60, and actually lived in the states for 10 years, so he speaks English. He is incredibly prepared to hear the Gospel and loves us.  Rosa is a single mom with 3 daughters that really wants to feel peace and create unity in her family. She knows these qualities are found within the church. :) They both loved it! :) I was tan feliz!

Christmas was nice ...and VERY hot. We worked all day except for the time where I got to call home. :)

Oh, and thanks for the Christmas package! I loved everything in it, and especially the peanut butter! Also really love the stickers!  And as always, Kimi's gift was thoughtful......

So if there is any way that I can get some beef jerky that would be incredible.  I might even be able to get a baptism out of it ;)  Also, I guess I have used my BoM too much because the leather binding has now fallen off. If you could, please send some REALLY powerful glue. :) Thanks.

I love you all.  The present I have for you is that I'll work really hard to bring souls to Christ! :)

Love you!

Elder Clemons 


Some more pics:

I finally bought a machete.  I'm so cool!

My District Leader just went home :(

Everyone has their Dish!