January 12

This week we worked hard. Last night I think I threw my planner on the table and slid down off my chair to say a pray to end planning. Hahaha Exhausted. We taught more lessons than I've ever taught in a week and 2/3 of them were with members (WAHOO!).

We started teaching a family that has just been waiting to learn about the gospel; thirsting .... starving. Their names are Reginaldo and Alondra and they have a 1 1/2 year old son and are expecting another one in July (I think? I don't know my months in spanish yet....). Last night we have an FHE and invited another family over to their house.  Reginaldo asked questions the whole time and wanted to know more and more. Only Reginaldo was able to attend church this week but Alondra is very excited to go this next week. They are just feasting! It was great to get another family (who Reginaldo met in Church Sunday) and tell them what the gospel has done in their lives. A bit crazy with all of their (I think) 4 kids under the age of 9, but esta bien! This week we're planning on extending the committment to be baptized in February. We are supppppper excited for them!

Bad and good news. Erin ... is in jail :( Something happened a few months ago and she'll be there for a few months.  Good news is now Reynaldo wants to be baptized. We extended the commitment and he didn't have to even think about it - of course! I want this! My life is different now. He and Seferino are getting baptized the same day and both excited for it to be coming up. Wahoo for helping people make covenants.

Bad news is the less-active family didn't come to church. It's not as easy as switching on and off a light bulb though. There is always more to understand and learn - in our heads and in our hearts.

We had a really cool lesson with a woman we've been trying to contact for a while. The Stake President in the area saw her and her friend unloading groceries so he offered to help. They got talking and found out one woman was a less-active and the other didn't know anything about the church.  They all ended with a word of prayer and our now investigator became interested.  We taught her about the Restoration and while reading she read a verse in the Book of Mormon and told us she felt something different.  We asked if she'd ever felt this before. She said she did when President Wright said that prayer with them that day.  Wow that was cool. She is moving this week though and always hard to keep in contact with so we're praying for a miracle she can continue to learn how she can have this wonderful feeling always and every day. Her 10 year old son, Angel, is awesome and he will be instrumental in helping his mom grasp this truth.

Que mas? We know even more spanish than we did last week! Wow it's cool to see it coming so much faster and quicker. Some things I have a hard time saying in english and it becomes really funny.

Hna Nielsen. Oh how we have fun together! We were looking for a referral on a Hill Ave the other day and had a bad address but were trying to figure out if we had the wrong number or something. In our excitement, Hna Nielsen asked "is it thursday?" I responded with, "Yes, so ... maybe it'll exist on Friday?" We laughed and then she said, "let's try to look for her on another hill."  That probably isn't that funny to anyone else, but we just laughed, I was probably crying. In my head I pictured Dr. Suess and his versions of hills and imagined us going to another "hill".  Anyway, my attempt at being funny definitely did not succeed.  Wait I'll try once more. This week I made the comment "here in Mexico ..." I stopped realizing we are NOT in Mexico. Hna Nielsen and I laugh. We have fun together! :)

I don't even know what to say from this week. We taught a lot and they were really great lessons. It was about 75 this week and just beautiful. Slight breeze. Oh my gosh I love the weather ... in the winter. Give it a few months and I won't be such a happy camper, but all is well.

We got a referral for a family that just lost a sobrina en Mexico. We ended up attending a vigil, I guess, last night.  We're going to stop by after they have a vigil every day (9 days after she died) and share our testimonies again of God's plan and see if we can come by and share it with them. We talked to them two nights again and you could feel how much sorrow they felt from this death. What hope we have! I love teaching the plan of Salvation!

We eat at members home pretty much every night here and are treated like royalty. I don't know if the families realize though what examples they are to us. Most of them have a few kids. One families house we ate at this week had kids running around, sometimes with no clothes. It was pretty crazy ... but it's a kids house. We just walked out of there though admiring the parents for their exemplar attitudes and love for their children. When the children got upset or something happened, they were patient and helped them work through it. Wow, every family we are with though. It is so neat to be in so many members homes and get a taste of so many amazing examples!

Anyway, times almost up. Love love. This is God's wok! D & C 130:20-21. Obedience to God's commandments brings blessings.

Love, Hermana Clark