We had so much success!!!

Hola Familia!!

This week was incredible!!! We had so much success!!! We had 4 people in church, and for the first time ever, were able to teach more lessons with members helping us than just on our own.  We almost achieved every goal established by the zone! So yup, we feel pretty good this week :-)

We have not yet had a chance to meet M____'s husband. We've tried several times, but he keeps avoiding us. But igual, we have received permission from him to continue to teach his family :D Since then, we've had two super powerful lessons with their family (M____ y her kids); they've even been able to come to a baptism this last Saturday! They loved the hymns and the whole atmosphere of the baptism. It was really rewarding to see how happy they were. And best of all, all 3 of them came to church!!! :D And they were all so excited ...they've been waiting for this day for nearly 3 weeks. I'm certain that they loved it. We've already made plans with them for this coming Sunday, and tonight we've got a Family Night planned at a member's home. So things are looking really good for this family. They've scheduled a tentative baptismal date for the 23rd of August, but that might actually be moved up to the 16th depending on how they feel.  Please continue to pray for this family so that they can have the animo (editor: courage) to continue onward and reach their baptisms. 

P-days have gotten super fun these past few weeks as we now get to play frisbee, ping pong and vollyball ...so that's pretty much all we do now on p-days! And it's so much fun since we haven't played sports in over a year!

But sad news ...we didn't receive our monthly money this week for some reason, so I think I'm going to starve this week. :p I only have 10 pesos to my name, which is only about 1 dollar. :p I really have no clue what I am going to do. 

Some of the greatest joy on this earth is being with your family and helping others come into the gospel.  And I have learned so much about both during my mission. There is no greater joy than living the gospel and the certainty of eternal famillies. I love seeing the happiness people recieve as they begin to take those early steps towards baptisms. Seeing them happy makes me happy. I hope it's not too trite, but I do love helping people.

I can never properly express to you how much I love my missoin. I love it thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiisssssssss much! Although on some days it's ridiculously cold, on others it's unbearably hot and sweaty, and you never get enough sleep ...I do love what I do.

Love you all so much! 

And hey, please ask the family write me!!!  I may not be able to reply, but I do love the letters :D

Elder Travis Clemons

...this Elder knows how to play ball :-)

Elder Thomas got transferred to Corrientes

Hola familia!!!

So Transfers were this week!!! Elder Thomas left to Corrientes, and I stayed here in Reconquista with a GREENY!!!

Elder Conway, is from American Fork ...um, yes, he plays basketball :-)

...I'M TRAINING!!!!

I was super shocked when they said that I was going to train. I don't feel ready for it at all. But I do feel privileged, realize it's a significant responsibility, and am committed to do a good job and to learn and grow.

No, he's not Latino, but obviously that doesn't matter. His name is Elder Conway, and he's from American Fork! Wow, super close to us! He went to school at Pleasant Grove and played basketball. Too bad we can't really play sports on our missions :p 

Elder Conway is going to be a great missionary. As a greenie, he doesn't yet speak Spanish particularly fluently, but that doesn't stop him from throwing himself out there and contacting, teaching, praying, and doing everything the Lord asks of a missionary. He's got a powerful testimony.





I do realize I'm a bit unprepared to be a trainer.  But I trust in Presidente Franco's inspiration, and I know that sticking to the "12 Weeks" program and relying heavily on the Holy Ghost will start us out on the right path.

Wish us luck!

Here's an update on our golden family: M___ and her 2 kids. They really are my favorite family that I've had the privilege to teach on my mission. We've had many lessons and Family Home Evenings with them; and they just love the gospel. They always keep their commitments and recognize the blessings they are receiving.

But we do have a little kink -- M___'s husband (I've not met him yet) won't let them go to church just yet. :(  We'd made plans with the family to go to church together, but when we passed by Sunday morning to get them, they weren't there. We passed by again that night to see if they had returned, and the kids came out to talk with us.  They told us they know the church is true, that they've received personal answers to their prayers, and that they'd like to get baptized. We told them their father is an important part of their family, and the entire family should talk together about the good things they are learning from the missionaries, and explain to him that this really is something that they want.

My comp and I are going to fast this Tuesday for them. We'll also try to set up some times when the dad can participate in our conversations (of course, we've attempted this many times before). Once we get that opportunity, we're certain the Spirit will take over the lesson. So I'm asking everyone to keep this family in your prayers, and ask that the Holy Ghost be with us during our lessons, and that the father's heart be softened. 

I really love this family. We will do everything we can to help them. 

I know the church is true; I've never doubted it, and never will. I can't properly express to you how much I love my mission. But, well, I love it. I wouldn't give it up for the world. I love the work and the people. 

...and I love you all so much!

Elder Clemons!

A nice roof-top dinner while Argentina loses to Germany :(

Our first district activity in Argentina.  Ping-pong was fun; but let's just say I'm not so good ;-)

Hola Famillia!! 

I got to have my first activity in Argentina! The very first time that we were allowed to get together as a district to do something on p-day!! Woot! We played some ping pong! I was super bad, but it was fun!

Otherwise, this week was pretty hard since we kept having to go in because of the World Cup games. Our numbers suffered a lot as a result :(

But we did find 2 families which gives me a little bit of hope. :) Gabriela and her 2 kids, Allen and Gloria, and Mirian and her 2 kids, Leonardo and Mikaela. They are all interested and want to learn more. :) We haven't had a chance to meet their husbands (if they even are married ...no one here gets married; they just live together); so that might be a problem.  Unsurprisingly, it's often the men that stop their families from progressing. But I have a lot of faith and hope in these people, so please pray for them that they can receive answers to their sincere prayers :)

But Mirian and her kids are progressing! They read everything as a family and are super pumped for the church. Mirian has even testified that she knows that they are receiving blessings by listening to us.  She's noticed more peace and happiness among her family. :) Sadly, they couldn't go to church yesterday, but we have meaningful plans for this next week. So please pray for them so that then can continue progressing, receive answers to their prayers, and eventually get baptized. :) 

And pray for us to find more people that will accept God's message.

Argentina has been crazy with the World Cup. Everyone and their dogs wear the Argentine soccer jerseys ...and yes, that's not just an expression ... their dogs really are dressed up in little Argentine jerseys. It's quite hilarious.

Missionaries have to be in their apartments any time Argentina plays. But believe me, we hear everything that happens. Every time a goal goes off, the city explodes ...literally. Cannons go off, fireworks launch, car horns toot and blow horns go wild. People run through the streets screaming.  Ha ha hah, it's seriously funny ...and makes studying hard. And then when the game ends with an Argentine win, then things really go loco. Everything I just described happens x 10 ...for like 2 hours. It's really quite crazy to me. But it's also quite fun to be in a country that loves soccer this much.

Sadly the States lost to Belgica, but that was probably for the best; I suspect it would've made the work super hard.  But we'll come back in 4 years! :D  As for now, I'm rooting for Argentina, my second home! We gotta win!

 

 

We were on top of our apartment for the Argentina v Holland game.  The city literally went crazy. Fireworks everywhere.  We couldn't hear a thing because everyone was screaming and yelling and cars were honking. So fun!

 

We had a super nice dinner on top of the roof. We had to stay in the whole day Sunday. So we made a super nice dinner. We made hamburgers by hand, with eggs, lettuce, tomato and all. We also made our french fries by hand. Topped off with some nice drinks ...it was a really nice, relaxing day. 

 

And and Elder Thomas made us some super good flan!!! Flan is like the main dessert dish here in Argentina! It made for some really good comfort food after the big loss.

It was the best meal I've had here in Reconquista. We enjoyed the weather, watched the city, and played some board/card games. :)  A very fun night!

 

 

 

But it was a serious bummer when Argentine lost against Germany.  Here's a video from on top of our apartment after the World Cup finals. Super sad. I have never seen so much sadness in any city ever before. You could just see it in their posture the next morning. Everyone was dragging their feet, barely able to smile, walking real slow. And no one had their Argentina shirts on ...not even their dogs.  I couldn't find an Argentina flag anywhere. The Argentines took quite the hit yesterday ...and so did I. I wanted to win sooo bad! But oh well, next time. ;)

 

 

So we have been working with the menos activos in our area lately.  We're trying to reactive them by encouraging them to help us do the work. We recently had a family home evening where we made tacos, and they invited some of their friends! It was soooo good, and quite successful! ..and spicy!! (I actually burned myself!) Their friend was super interested, and we have a second cita already set up for this Wednesday with her!

Hey, so transfers are this week.  Elder Thomas is definitely gone this week; so I'm assuming I will finally get my long-awaited Latino companion!!! :D  Woot!!!

So that's about it.  Not much happened this week. But Just know that I am working hard and loving what I am doing! Love the work, and love the people! :D

Love Elder Clemons

 

 

Putting Moroni's promise to the test ...again

Familia!!

Les amo muchisimo!

So this week nothing really happened. It was a pretty hard week, but as missionaries we don't look back at the bad, we just look at the white field ahead of us and plan on how to harvest it. :)

Good times predicting the World Cup!!

Mundial has made Argentina crazy. Tomorrow we have to stay in again because of the game. Argentina plays Nigeria and the USA plays Belgica. And if both the States and Argentina win, they face off in the next round. So that is going to make the work here fun. :P They are so serious about their soccer, but it does rub off ...I am super excited about it too. Everyone in the mission has these little brackets that we fill out will the counties, it is super fun. And my room Elders and I have this guesing game going on. It is a lot of numbers, but something fun to do at the end of the night.

So I had a pretty spiritual experience this week. A couple of days ago I finished reading the  BoM in Spanish. I usually never have time to just sit and read because in one way or another, we're always studying something for our investigators. But I decided to once again put Moroni's promise to the test ...just as I have done before. I found a secluded room and knelt down and offered up a prayer asking God if the Book of Mormon was true. As I ended my prayer, I sat up and waited pondering. I waited for nearly 10 minutes, and nothing was happening. I sat there wondering "why would God not answer my prayers?" I wasn't doubting the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon; I just wanted a confirmation. But still nothing. So I decided to reread Moroni's promise. And the words, "having faith" really penetrated me. I suppose I had faith, but was it sufficient? Then I thought, "everyday I go out and promise people that if they will just read 3 verses of the Book of Mormon and pray and ask God, their literal father, that He will answer them." And they do receive answers. Now if they can do it after 3 verses, surely I can do it after having read the entire book. And it was at that moment -- that moment when I fully expected an answer -- that I received it. I was overcome by a sensation of peace and calmness which started from my heart and spread throughout my body.

My mind was guided to the scripture in Galatians 5:21-22 where it lists the fruits of the Spirit. Explaining the spirit is a tough thing to do, but I felt exactly what was described in this scripture: peace, joy, love. At that moment, when God manifested the truth of the BoM to me, is when I felt an immense amount of love towards my family. True love is found in God and in His work. I have never felt so much love towards others before than at that moment.

I want to declare to the world that I know the Book of Mormon is true. And I will not deny the importance of the work we do. I also know the church is true, that it is Christ's church, and that it was restored through Joseph Smith, a real prophet of the Lord, and that love is found in God. We must love others as He loves us. I love what I do. :)

Love you all!

Elder Clemons

P.S.  I have a new mission president.  His name is President Rodolfo C Franco.  Haven't met him yet, but he's from South Jordan, born in Buenos Aires. He used to be an Area Seventy.

A really short video just to see if it works.  Meet my companions...

Changing of the guard...

So this week was awesome! :D So sorry I didn't write yesterday, there just wasn't any time.

Hermana Heyman y yo !!

This last week is essentially Presidente y Hermana Heyman's last week in the mission. :( So we had a mission-wide conference in Resistencia ...giving them a chance to say good-bye. It was super fun to catch up with all my old companions and friends and just relax. Presidente got Subway sandwiches for everyone and Pringles! Super yum! He also got every missionary a leather agenda case!  Super nice of him.

But although it was really fun, it was also really sad. I have really grown to love Presidente y Hermana Heyman. And to know that I won't see them again in the mission is a little saddening. They really love us, and they have really served diligently. They were great examples to me.

President took time to say good-bye to ever single missionary

At the very end of the conference they made us stand in a huge line and one by one shook everyone's hands and said a personal good-bye. It took nearly 3-4 hours. And the things they said to each of us were really nice. They are great people. :) I'm going to miss them.

But I do understand that their time has now come to an end, and that the keys of the mission will now transfer to Presidente Franco. So I am super excited to get to know him. :)




My average day...

Ok, so you want to know what my average day looks like? Bueno...  So I get up at 6:30 and exercise for 30 minutes every day. From 7 to 8 I eat and get ready for the day. From 8-11 we have personal study, companion study, and language study. From 11-12, we work for 1 hour near the apartment, but that hour isn't often very productive because everyone is preparing their lunch.  Like everyone else, around 12 we have lunch, but we usually get to spend it with members, a veces (editor: at times) we just eat in the apartment. After lunch, we work until 9 or 9:30.

It's a bit more difficult here in Reconquista than it was in Fontana ...especially durante la siesta. Bottom line, no one wants to listen to you during the siesta. To explain a little bit, for siesta in Argentina everyone goes to bed at 1 and literally takes a 4 hour nap until 5.  I know ...it blows my mind. But they get quite ticked when you wake them up during their siesta. Pero igual (editor: all the same), we do it anyway ...because we know the blessings they can recieve from our message. If we're lucky, we have 1 to 2 planned lessons a day; I always look forward to those. But we usually range about 2-3 lessons total a day because somebody unplanned usually lets us in.

My day-to-day life really just consists of looking for people to find, and asking for referencias de miembros.  I suspect we actually teach the Gospel for only about 2 hours a day :(

This week

But this week we did find a pretty cool mother and son: Delia y Diego. They are super nice and willing to complete all of the compromisos we give them. Delia can't read, but Diego reads out loud to her, so it works. They are Catholic, but attend the universal church (which believes that all the churches are true). It seems like they're pretty pumped to go to church, but something in the family happened this last week, and they had to leave until Thursday. We'll figure out what happened when they get back :) Please pray for them that they can receive answers to their prayers and have the animo to continue. :)

I got a package today!!!

Good news, YOUR PACKAGE CAME!!! I don't know how, but I got it. Blessings huh? :) I love all
my new tie clips. :) And I will slowly be eating the peanut butter. :) It is very yummy.

...love all the tie clips!!  Go BYU!!

I asked President during my personal interview with him how I could immerse myself more in the culture. I'm going to dedicate myself more to the work and love even more those I teach. I'm also going to ask Presidente Franco to put me with Latinos; we'll see. ;)

Well, I love you all a lot! and thanks for the package! :D

Elder Clemons

Mundial

I got to play in the bounce house on my birthday!

Hola familia!!


So my birthday was good! My roommate Elders made this sweet banner for me ...all decorated and such, very cool!!


And just before the baptism -- more below -- there was a birthday party for the 1st counselor's 2-year old daughter. So they gave me a cupcake to celebrate my 20th and let me play in the bounce house. ;)
Thanks to all of you who sent birthday wishes last week.  Sure was nice to feel all the love :D






Luis was very happy to get baptized!



Luis's Baptism

So this week was pretty rewarding, obviously because Luis got baptized! :D Everything was perfect and went smoothly. He looked pretty cool all in white with a cane! He loved it. He cant wait to start spreading the good news of the Gospel to his family. And isn't that what conversion is all about? Spreading it to others? I love Luis!

...it was a good week. :) 

P.S. Javier fell through because his mom literally shipped him off to Buenos Aires and changed his phone number ...and yet he's 24.



Editor's Note:  I couldn't help it...

Mundial

So Mundial started this week ...and let me tell you, Argentines are crazy about soccer. Like, Crazy. There are flags everywhere, and that is all anyone talks about. Um, religion isn't exactly on their minds right now.  It is actually kinda' dangerous for us to be out during the games, so whenever Argentina plays we have to go back to our apartment.


Our zone has created a "march madness" bracket so we can track it all and make guesses. It's a good bit of fun; I'll take a picture next week. If your prediction's wrong, you lose and have to buy the winner(s) alfajores. I've never really liked soccer too much (but did enjoy playing as a kid), but now that I'm winning the bracket, it is kinda fun ;) Actually pretty good for a gringo who knows nothing about world wide soccer. ;)


So all in all. I love what I do. I love being a missionary and I love the Argentine people. I couldn't be happier. Pray that we find some more people. :D


Love alls!


Elder Clemons!


P.S. Hey, so it was Father's Day here yesterday. Don't know if it's the same over there, but just in case it is, Dad, I want to let you know how much I love you and that I thought a lot about you yesterday! :) Happy Argentine fathers day! :D  Love your favorite son, Travis!


P.P.S. We asked Travis, "Please tell us a little bit more about your day-to-day life."

His answer:  "I contact all day."

Looks like I'm going to have a good birthday...

Hola Familia!

So nothing happened with traslados, I'm still here with Elder Thomas in Reconquista! But we did get a Latino roommate named Elder Dias. So I speak more Spanish than I did before. Yay! :) 

God has really blessed us this week. While our numbers weren't the greatest, we were nevertheless the recipients of two milagros that happened to us.

First off, during planning on Friday, Julio sent us a message. Julio was an antiguo investigator from a couple months ago. The message simple said "how are you?" So as planning ended, we called him up; he wanted us to come over the next day. We were kinda' worried to go over because his mom dislikes us very (VERY) much. But he is 25, so he can make his own choices. He sat us down and explained to us that he knows the Book of Mormon is true ...and he wants to get baptized right away! Like, he actually wanted to get baptized that day. While we secretly wanted to accommodate his wish, we felt it would be wiser to wait just a bit. He has already attended church the required number of times, and has now passed the baptismal interview ...so this coming Saturday, the 14th (yes, my b-day) he will get baptized! :D How cool of a story is that! Such a sweet God-given tender mercy. We really had no part in his conversion, it was all just him and God. :)

Room mates

Part of our Reconquista zone

Another tender mercy was Luis. He has a really bad leg so he can't walk for long distances, and the church is quite far from his house. What we usually do to get him to church is pick him up in a taxi ...but that's clearly not a long-term solution when missionaries come and go.  So, to set him on the right path ("give a man a fish" vs "teach a man to fish") this week we told him that in order to get baptized, he's going to have to find a way to get to church on his own (wow, that was super hard to tell him).  So he made arrangements for his daughter to take him. We visited him Sunday morning just to see if everything was ok -- and it was -- so we said that we would see him in church. But church started, and he wasn't there. And although I had a talk to give that day, I was freaking out for him ...rather than my talk. You see, an investigator can't be baptized until they show a pattern of coming to church. I started my talk, and he still wasn't there.  I finished my talk, still no Luis. Finally, near the end of sacrament meeting, the phone buzzed and it was Luis saying that he was nearly there and that his daughter was bringing him. Elder Thomas and I were quite pleased. We went outside and, goodness, you would not believe the joy I felt to see this man come walking, actually struggling with his cane, to church. I don't think I've ever experienced so much love and joy before. I spent the whole meeting worried, but it was all overcome when I saw him finally arrive. His baptism is currently scheduled for the 14th, so pray for him :)

I just want you to know that I love my mission and I love what I do. I love the people of Argentina. I have never experienced so much joy before. Seeing souls come to Christ makes all the door slams worth it. I'm happy to be serving the Lord as a missionary. Pray for Julio and Luis so everything goes well for them. Love you all! 

Elder Clemons

My fingernail finally fell off.  Looks rather cool!

P.S.  Oh, and family ...write me! And thanks to those of you who do.  Just so you know, I do read every letter you write ...I just don't have time to respond. Sorry.  They give us 1 hour to write our weekly reports and to write all of our letters home.  It's really tough.

P.P.S. Today my finger nail finally came off! :P  I just brushed it gently against my pants, and it ripped halfway off, so with the help of mom's excellent tweezers, I pulled the other half off.  Really cool actually.

I got a Gaucho sombrero, Argentine soccer jacket, and Argentine belt -- of course, I don't wear these things when I'm working ;-)

25 lessons in 1 week ...we've become a legend in Reconquista!

Hola Flia!

This week has been the most successful week we've had together in Reconquista! We had 7 lessons with members, 16 without, and another 2 in church! I know it doesn't sound that high, but for this area, it's like legendary! We worked so hard ...WOOT!

So transfers are coming up this week. My guess is that Elder Thomas goes (since he's had 3 transfers here), and I stay. I hope I get a Latino! I want one so bad! There are the coolest! I love Latinos! :D

So I will tell you about some of our investigators. There are all old people ...hahaha. 

Luis is in his 60s. He has bad knees, so he can't really walk. He is also a little slow, but has a sincere desire to learn. He says we give him hope. He is really cool. He always loves talking about God, and reads what we give him. He has attended church 2 times now and went to watch a baptism last Saturday ...and he has a date for the 14th, my b-day!  How awesome is that!!

Sunilda was a pretty cool find. She is 76. She was an antiguo (editor: old investigator) from like 6 months ago. Our district leader actually received revelation for this one. Around 7:00 one night, he randomly called us and said that someone was outside waiting for us to find them. So we stopped contacting people in their homes and just randomly started talking with people outside. After about 30 minutes, we found her walking outside. We walked over, introduced ourselves, and she got super excited. :D Said that she was super happy to see us and wanted us to come over the next day. We went, talked, started teaching her lessons, and now she is also getting baptised on the 14th. She has already attended church 3 times, and has nearly read the entire Book of Mormon!

Miguel is also an antiguo. He is like 60'ish. Super funny. It is nearly impossible for him to focus on religious stuff, ha.  For instance yesterday he pulled out his PS3 and showed us all the games he has. Hahaha. But he does understand that he needs to balance his life out with religion. In reality, he doesn't really have a good understanding of God or how much He loves him. He's had a hard life: two divorces and the death of his oldest son just last year. So we focus a lot on eternal families.

Please know that we're working hard. And please pray for our investigators so that they can overcome their obstacles and get baptized. I love my mission!! 

Chau!!!

Elder Clemons

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