Hi Family,

This week has been filled with tender mercies from Heavenly Father. It was a challenging week, but when Sister Caballero and I looked back on it, we were amazed at how many little miracles we received. I thought I'd tell about some of those in this letter.

Miriam has started reading the Book of Mormon from the beginning. She LOVES it. She said that it has brought so much peace into her life. She doesn't yell as much and work is going better for her. The Book of Mormon is best! It truly is something that will change your life.

We received a referral of a woman who is interested in the church. She wants to know the answers to questions like, "why am I here?" and "what's my purpose?" Basically the best questions to have. We called her and she met us an hour after that at the Visitors Center.

Cecilio is preparing to go to the temple and is super excited about it.

Carlos, the man from the fight scene at the Cinco de Mayo party, showed up to the Visitors Center with his friend. Turns out he's a less active. We had an amazing discussion that I think both he and his friend needed. He said he would go back to church.

We had a sister temple trip. All 96 (or 97?) sisters came to do a session at the temple. Such a great experience.

Eric, the son of Graciela (we visited her a couple weeks ago), randomly showed up at the Visitors Center yesterday while we were there. We went to talk to him and he said, "Where have you guys been? I haven't seen you at my house recently." Yeah, we're going there this week. He was with his friend who also isn't a member. Eric is such a nice boy and there is something different about him. We were able to show them a video that really applied to them. Eric also took home a Book of Mormon.

Steve, the less active that we flipped the car around to go talk to, came to the Visitors Center. We had stopped by his house earlier this week and invited him to come. Sister Caballero and I totally forgot that we had invited him. We were about to leave to go get lunch and then Steve walked through the door! We had an awesome discussion with him about why the temple needs to be his goal. Before he left, we took a tour around the temple grounds. We decided to take him inside the lobby of the temple. Wow. The Spirit was SO strong! It was overwhelming. I know Steve felt something. He said he didn't know how to describe it. It was such a cool experience. I am so grateful to serve at the Visitors Center and to be so close to a temple.

Although this week was challenging in some aspects, the Lord has blessed us so much. I know that it is so important that we focus on the positive rather than the negative. As we look for the little blessing that the Lord gives us, we will be amazed at how much the Lord's hand is in our lives. He knows what we need and He is willing to give us everything. All we need to do is choose to follow Him.

Hope you all have an amazing week! Look for the little miracles that Heavenly Father gives you. Love you all! Oh, and happy birthday Mindi and Leslie!

Love,
Hermana Clay


Temple grounds are the prettiest.

Visitors Center. Elder Gee looks like a goof.

Elder Lusk is the coolest man ever

Trying to eat healthy

Companions and Friends

Hi Family,

It was SO great to talk to you yesterday! I loved seeing you all. Wish I could have seen everyone!

This week was lovely. Not much happened. We only had 2 nights in our area, so we didn't get to visit many people. Transfers were this week, so Sister Gonzalez is gone. I love her, but it's nice to be back to just Sister Caballero and I. Our house is a lot cleaner, too.

We were able to visit with Aide twice. We did some service for her in her yard. The lessons were great and she's doing great. She is reading the Book of Mormon and really likes it. We asked her if she has prayed about it and she said she has but hasn't gotten an answer. Later, we found out she's been praying to virgin Guadalupe. Yeah. So we taught her how to pray.

We also got to visit Cecilio. He is the coolest. He talks like no other, though. He gave us lots of fruit. He's such a cool Mexican cowboy.

I played in church on Sunday. I played in an English ward and then our Spanish branch. It was awesome and I love having my violin here now! Thank you so much, Sister Mitchell! (David and Abby, you still need to take a trip to the Visitors Center)

That's about all I have for this week. I love you all! Thanks for all the support and prayers. I love the work and I know God called me to Idaho for a reason. Have a super great week!

Love,
Hermana Clay

PS Happy birthday Ryan Weaver, Julianne, Grandpa Clay, and Dallin this week! Love you!

Mohanas with flowers

The coolest wall in Idaho Falls

I love working near a temple!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

This week has been fun. We were in a trio with Sister Gonzalez who is from Paraguay. She's great. We had to cover both areas so that was interesting.

We were able to go to the temple on Tuesday! It was so wonderful. The Idaho Falls Temple is BEAUTIFUL! I love it. The art work inside is amazing.

Lessons with Aide continue to go well. She is keeping her commitments! She really likes the Book of Mormon. Who wouldn't?

Saturday was a crazy day. We started off in the VC. Uncle Dan, Aunt Kathy, Justin, Candice, and Kade all showed up! I loved seeing them! It was fun to take them on a little tour of the VC. All the sisters that were working there said that I look just like Dan. I don't see it, but I guess everyone else does.

After VC, we went to a community Cinco de Mayo party at the zoo. The missionaries had a little booth there. We passed out Books of Mormon, movies, VC cards, and all sorts of stuff. So much fun! Here's a funny story from there: We had a sign that said that families can be together forever. One man came up and said that there's no way that was possible. As my companion and I were talking to him about how it is possible and how are families can make us happy, a fight between two women broke out right next to our table. Perfect timing, right? One of them drew blood. What made it even better is that one of the women was pounding the other woman's head with a Restoration movie. Nice.

After Cinco de Mayo and an awesome picnic dinner, we went to contact a referral we received. We ended up talking to his neighbor. When we asked him to read the Book of Mormon he said no. After a while it turned to maybe and then before we left he said yes. It was awesome.

As we were leaving, I decided to turn the car around and go talk to a man we saw outside. He ended up being a less active member. Our conversation was awesome and there's no doubt in my mind that we were supposed to turn around and talk to him.

Those are a few highlights from this week. We had transfer calls and Sister Caballero and I will stay together!

Have an awesome week and I can't wait to talk to you on SUNDAY!!! Love you all lots.

Hermana Clay


Dancers at the Cinco de Mayo celebration. They were so cool.

Uncle Dan and Aunt Kathy

The best trio.

Marissa Clay
April 28, 2014


Hi family,

This will be a short letter. Not much happened this week.

Cecilio was ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood this Sunday! He is doing amazing. The other sisters in our branch had a baptism right after church. It was great and definitely a miracle. They asked Cecilio to bear his testimony. He talked about how he feels so much more peace in his life now that he is a member of the church. Goodness, he is the best.

We were also able to teach Aide. We taught about the Restoration for one of them. It was awesome. She actually kept her commitment as well! Hallelujah. She has gone through A LOT this past year. I'm excited to see how things progress.

One day during VC, a big group of people from China came in. Only 2 of them spoke a tinyyyy bit of English. I was standing there waiting for them to be done looking at the sketches and all the sudden they lined up to take pictures of me. I guess they were really excited to see a "blonde" American, even though I'm not blonde. Fun times at the VC.

I will be in a trio until transfers. I'm excited because now I'll have 2 fluent Spanish speakers in our house.

That's about it for this week. God definitely answers prayers. I have seen that pretty frequently this week. We are so blessed!

Love you all lots. Thanks for your prayers and support. Have a wonderful week!

Hermana Clay

"It is one thing to know that Jesus Christ came to earth to die for us. That is fundamental and foundation to the doctrine of Christ. But we also need to appreciate that the Lord desires, through His Atonement and by the power of the Holy Ghost, to live in us - not only to direct us but also to empower us." - Elder Bednar

From: Marissa Clay
Date: Mon, Apr 21, 2014 at 12:57 PM
Subject: Love you!
To: "Tracy Stimpson"

Hi Tracy,

I was hoping to get this email sent to you last week, but I ran out of time. I thought I would share pictures with you of my day. My companion and I made brownies to share with others to celebrate Karleigh's life.

I am so grateful for the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. It is the most perfect plan. I am grateful that I could be out on a mission sharing this beautiful message with others. I know that one day we can see Karleigh again. She is still such an example to me. I think about her all the time and learn so much from her example. I love to tell people about who she is and how Christ-like she is.

Thank you so much for your example. You are so incredibly strong and I look up to you a lot. I miss you like crazy and can't wait to talk to you again. I hope you are doing well and that your new business is going great! Love you so much!

Hi family!

This week was wonderful. CECILIO WAS BAPTIZED AND CONFIRMED THIS WEEK!! Oh my goodness, it was amazing. He is amazing! The Spirit was so strong during the baptismal service, even though it didn't go quite as planned. Hno. Perez started before we could take a picture, but luckily we were able to snap one really quick. I was able to play the violin. I did a medley of "Yo trato de ser como Cristo" y "Hazme andar en luz". We put the words in the program since most of the people there wouldn't know those songs. When I started playing, they all started singing along. I was a little confused at first, but it ended up being great. It brought the Spirit even more. I am so grateful that I was able to play.

I have to tell a story about Cecilio. His baptism was moved to this week so that his family could be there for it. None of his family ended up coming. When we visited him later after his baptism, he was telling us that that morning he was really disappointed that his family wasn't going to be there. He felt very alone. But, he said that he knew that was Satan trying to bring him down. He went into his room, shut the door, and prayed. He said he felt peace and calmness. HOW AWESOME IS HE?!

So, there's that super great highlight of the week. I ate a few more fun things this week. We went to the Taco Bus and I had a cabeza taco. It was a little slimy, but good. Then, yesterday, we ate SO much food. The Huerta's had us over for pozole. Holy yummy. I had pigs feet. They were really good.

We were able to meet with Ana twice this week. Every time we visit with her the Spirit fills the room. It's awesome. She is awesome! But, she won't get baptized. Yesterday, we had dinner with her and were able to understand a little bit more about why she won't be baptized. She has had the missionaries come for YEARS. Her husband is the problem. He won't listen to us. He goes in his room and shuts the door every time we come. He doesn't support her and she wants his support. Understandable. But, still a bummer. We have a plan though, so hopefully something will work out.

We also were able to make contact with Nayeli's mom. Finally! We're helping her move this weekend. We're praying this will open her up a little more to us.

Life is wonderful. The work is hard, but it's the greatest. Seeing the happiness that the gospel brings into other people's lives is the best. We can always be happy as long as we choose to be.

Have a wonderful week! Share the gospel with others!

Hermana Clay

CECILIO!!! He's just missing his cowboy hat. 

Taco Bus. It is so dang windy here.

This is why I have gained so much weight. The VC is basically a death trap. There were 5 bags of chips on the table next to that counter and then chocolates at the front. Hijole.

Here are some more pictures for you from my companion's camera

From a couple weeks ago

With the violin! so glad i could borrow a sister's

My gorgeous comp

Elder Lusk. when we took that picture he said, "i look like a corpse." i love him.

Marjorie. she came out teaching with us. she's going back to Ecuador for a little. she's great