LAST EMAIL! - 8/10/11

Hey family!

I cannot even believe how fast this past week has been! It was absolutely wonderful. I saw so many people that I love. I kind of wish it hadn't gone by so fast! But it was great.

It’s crazy to think that my time as a full time missionary is already up. I am beyond grateful for these past 18 months. I’m grateful that Heavenly Father led me to the decision of serving a mission. It has been the best decision I have ever made, as cliche as that sounds! The people here are amazing and I love them! I have learned so much from them. I have learned the importance of hard work. Because of them, one day I will have my own garden.  I have learned what it means to be a true fellowshipper, someone who is an “Amulek”. My testimony of the temple has grown tremendously. We need to make it a priority in our lives. I have loved serving at the Visitors’ Center. I have met people from all around the world. No matter what language we speak or where we come from, the gospel can help and bless each one of us. Families are central to the gospel. As we implement the teachings of our Savior, we can have happiness here and in the life to come. We can be with each other forever. I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet and that Thomas S. Monson is our prophet today. The church has been restored. The priesthood is here today. The power of prayer is real. God really does listen to us and answers us. Many times, it is not in the way or the answer we were hoping for. But, it is always for the best. I know without any doubt that the Book of Mormon is true. That book has changed my life and I have seen it change the lives of others. 

The biggest testimony I have gained while serving my mission has been of my Savior, Jesus Christ. He lives! He is here today. His Atonement is real. As I have applied it, I have been strengthened to do things I never thought I could. He has made my weak things become stronger. I have seen how He has helped the people I have taught. I have seen the miracles that have come from Him and my Heavenly Father. In the Visitors’ Center, I love to stand next to the Christus and testify of Him. I am just tall enough that when I stand next to Him, His hand is on my shoulder. It’s as if He is literally right next to me. He came here to show us the perfect example. He is preparing mansions for us. As we keep His commandments, we will one day return to live with Him and our Father in Heaven again. These past 18 months have been difficult, but I would never change my decision to serve. I am terrible at expressing how deeply grateful I am for this gospel, but I think that Ammon said it best: 

"My brothers and my brethren, behold I say unto you, how great reason have we to rejoice; for could we have supposed when we started from the land of Zarahemla that God would have granted unto us such great blessings? And now, I ask, what great blessings has he bestowed upon us? Can ye tell? Behold, I answer for you; for our brethren, the Lamanites, were in darkness, yea, even in the darkest abyss, but behold, how many of them are brought to behold the marvelous light of God! And this is the blessing upon us, that we have been made instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work. Now have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we, since the world began; yea, and my joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God; for he has all power, all wisdom, and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a merciful Being, even unto salvation, to those who will repent and believe on his name. Now if this is boasting, even so will I boast; for this is my life and my light, my joy and my salvation, and my redemption from everlasting wo. Yea, blessed is the name of my God, who has been mindful of this people, who are a branch of the tree of Israel, and has been lost from its body in a strange land; yea, I say, blessed be the name of my God, who has been mindful of us, wanderers in a strange land. Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen." (Alma 26:1-3, 35-37)

God lives. Christ lives. Missionary work is the greatest. I love y'all and I’ll see y'all tomorrow!

Hermana Clay

Temple Departure Trip

Idaho Pocatello Mission
Attachments3:09 PM (3 hours ago)


Dear Brother and Sister Clay,

Attached is a picture of your missionary from our departing missionary temple trip. We have truly enjoyed serving with her.  Her testimony of the gospel has been evident in every aspect of her service.   We will miss her. 

Thank you for supporting and loving your missionary.  We appreciate her service and dedication in the Idaho Pocatello Mission.

With love and appreciation,

President and Sister Hancock

La conferencia hispana otra vez! - 8/2/15

Hi family!

This week was super busy! It was really fun though! Here's the highlights:

A family from Brazil came into the VC. The daughters spoke very broken English. We were able to speak Spanish to them and they understood pretty well. However, when they spoke Portuguese to us, we had no clue what they were saying! Sister Pulido was finally able to understand what it's like to not know what someone is saying. They were not members and were super interested in the church. They took a Book of Mormon and we were able to help them sign up for a family search account. Super great experience.

All of the departing missionaries were able to go to the Rexburg temple! It was a great experience. So much peace comes from the temple. I'm excited to be able to go more frequently.

We had breakfast with Miriam this week! Remember her? She is the one that got baptized last year. She is still so amazing! Unfortunately, her husband is struggling right now. However, that does not bring Miriam down. She is going to get her patriarchal blessing soon and is planning to prepare to go to the temple. I have never met someone with so much faith as her!

We had MLC this week! It was super great! I learned a bunch. Recognizing and listening to the Spirit has seemed to be a theme for me this transfer. President Hancock talked about that. It reminded me of a talk I read this week. It has become one of my favorites! I encourage you all to read it and see how you can apply it into your life. :)

This weekend was the Hispanic Conference! It was weird to be back there with Sister Pulido again. It was her first weekend in the mission last year! The conference was great. Saturday was games and food. That's always awesome.Sunday was the conference at BYUI. There were a lot more people this year! The talks were so good. Elder Batt and Sexton (from the Seventy) were there. They focused a lot on how we don't always see the seeds we plant and also on the Sabbath Day. Loved it all! I also got to see a lot of people from my old areas, so that was fun!

That's about it for this week! I can't believe that I only have one more week! Happy birthday to Asher this week! Love y'all bunches!

Hermana Clay

Picture 1: Don't be too jealous of how good looking we are.

Picture 2: I will forever be a giant next to Sister Pulido.

Picture 3: My favorite family from Iona South 9th Ward came to visit me! Love them!

Picture 4.  I held another baby this week. He is the cutest. It's my old Ward Mission Leader's baby.

Pulido Family Reunion - 7/27/15

Hey family!

This week has been lots of fun! Here's what happened:

Sister Pulido and I were in charge of VC training this week. It actually went really well! We trained on recognizing and following the Spirit. We first watched Elder Bednar's videos (Patterns of Light) which y'all should definitely go watch. Then, we read Moroni 7 and shared our thoughts on it. It was amazing to hear everyone's opinions and thoughts on that chapter. We didn't even get through it before we had to finish up. I definitely learned a lot from that training!

A whole bunch of Sister Pulido's family came to visit! It was so much fun. We got together at a church and had Panda Express. Her family is so cute! I'm glad that she was able to see them!

We went on exchanges again this week and I went with Sister Jones. It was great to be with her! She is really good at making people feel comfortable, especially in the VC. She is very diligent in missionary work!

Richie came to the VC to visit! It was great to see him. He was down in IF to buy himself a suit for church. He said that everything is going well and he's excited to get the priesthood soon and help with the sacrament. I asked him what has been his favorite part so far and he said that he can forget about his past and be a new person now. He is great!

Our most favorite Elder and Sister Huntsman had us over for dinner on Saturday! We serve with them in the VC. They are so cute! Sister Pulido taught us how to make tinga! Hooray! I finally know how to make my favorite hispanic dish!

We met an amazing man on Saturday night! Sister Pulido and I have been praying to find someone prepared in our area. Most of the people we have been teaching/finding just weren't very interested in the gospel at the time. But we finally found someone! His name is Rafael. He let us come in and told us that he loved what we taught. We began to teach about the Book of Mormon and the power it contains. We invited him to be baptized and he probably gave the most sincere "yes" I have ever heard in a Spanish lesson. He had read the Book of Mormon before, but lost his copy. We gave him another copy and he kissed it when he got it. So cute! I'm so grateful to Heavenly Father that He led us to Rafael! He is great and I can't wait to meet his entire family. I know that the Book of Mormon really can change people. It is amazing!

On Sunday, I realized it was the last Sunday that I would have the opportunity to play my violin in sacrament meeting. In a matter of one hour, we got it all pulled together and I was able to play one last time. I sure do love that branch! The Spirit is always so strong there!

That's about it for this week! Happy birthday to Mom! Love y'all tons!

Hermana Clay


Picture 1: Laser tag last P-day with the zone!

Picture 2: Pulido Family!

Picture 3: Dinner with the Huntsman's!

Almost right is still wrong. - 7/20/15

Hey family!

This week was great minus getting a little sick. But, I'm all better now! It's tradition that I get sick every other transfer, so I'm glad I got it over with!

We were able to meet a few new people in our area this week. We finally found the Yellowstone trailers and holy cow is it a master piece. There are so many trailers there! We met a lady named Jackie and she was awesome. She was excited to read from the Book of Mormon. The girl that we took out with us actually knew her and invited her to come over for dinner one night. Solid. I love having such great members out here!

I also got to see Aide again. I haven't seen her in a year! She is still the same cute lady and she still doesn't really want to progress. Sad. But, it was great to see her!

We also saw Raquel for just a short minute. She seems to be progressing very slowly. She is starting to see how she has changed for the better the past year with having the missionaries come to her home. We are going to continue working hard to help her feel ready for baptism!

I went on exchanges with Sister Alaiasa this week! She is awesome! She is very bold and loves to work. It was great to be with her and to learn from her example.

Sister Pulido and I were able to go out to lunch with Elder and Sister Gee this week! It was SO great to see them! They have been such an influence on me. While they were serving at the VC, I would always ask them what their "words of wisdom" were and write them down in my Book of Mormon. I truly treasure those and the many wonderful times I've had with the Gee's! Love them!

Sister Pulido and I were also able to go to Jerrica's baptism. She was the one that came into the VC that we were able to help get in contact with the missionaries. She was so excited to be baptized and it was awesome to be there! We are excited to continue keeping in contact with her and see her progress in the gospel.

I love serving in the Visitors' Center! It is super cool to meet so many different people. There is a man named Matt who comes in pretty frequently. Last year, he met with the missionaries and was baptized. He's now been through the temple and goes once or twice a week. He is awesome! He lovessss President Monson and always comes into the VC to listen to Monson's testimony. He came on Sunday and told me all about how he loves the gospel. I told him that some how I would get him a ticket to General Conference so he could see President Monson. Dad, you should start working on that ;)

I read a talk this week by Richard G. Scott that I thought was awesome. He gives us ideas on how we can share the gospel with others. Make sure to take some time to read it!

Love you all bunches! Can't believe how fast time is going by! Have a great week! Happy birthday to Christian!

Hermana Clay

This is how much my companion loves me.

Surprises - 7/13/15

Hey family!

This week was amazing! So many great things happened!

Our one night in our area went awesome! We were able to see quite a few people. Lots of crazy things happened during that time. We first met April. She is a less active and has gone through SO many things in her life. It was insane. I think Heavenly Father sent us to her door that day to help her know that there is still hope. 

We also found a gold mine that we had never been to before! We met a woman named Araceli. She was the sweetest and wants us to come back. Hooray! 

We met a kid named Saul. We asked if his parents were home and he said they were sleeping. However, we could clearly hear them inside. Typical. There was a name, Beto, scratched into the front door. I asked Saul if he had any siblings. He said no. Sister Pulido asked, "Who is Beto?" "Oh, that's my brother." Nice.

We then knocked on the door of Jonathon. Holy cow, he was so drunk! It was hilarious. I tried not to laugh. I asked him if he had ever been to a LDS church. He said, "No. I don't think there are any of those churches around here." Haha actually there's one on like every corner.

We were also able to visit Raquel. We read Alma 7 and talked more about baptism. She is still really hesitant about it. The next night she was able to come to the VC. We showed her the art exhibit and then listened to the Christus. The Spirit was so strong! Raquel started crying. Hopefully going to the VC was able to resolve some of her concerns.

Ready for the greatest part of the week? RICHIE WAS BAPTIZED AND CONFIRMED!!! And I was able to go to the baptism! Richie had called me a few weeks ago to tell me that he was going to be baptized on the 11th. I asked permission to go, but our zone leaders said no because it was more than 45 minutes away. That's the mission rule. I was bummed about it, but there was nothing I could really do. I told the Crockett's, who also know Richie, and they weren't very happy about that. Elder Crockett emailed President Hancock about it and President said that I could go! Miracle! I was so surprised that I got permission. Anyway, the baptism was beautiful. Richie didn't know that I was coming, so that was a surprise for him. I always knew that he would one day get baptized. I am SO grateful that I was able to be there. He was beaming. The Spirit was incredibly strong, especially as he was getting baptized. I remember our first lesson with Richie...he wasn't sure if he believed in God. And now he's a member! Crazy how the Spirit can work on people. He wouldn't be where he is today if it wasn't for the members. Sister Seton was the first one to give him a Book of Mormon, the Green's were the first ones to introduce him to the missionaries, and the ward just surrounded him with love. I am so grateful for all of them! I know that Heavenly Father sent me to Victor to meet Richie. He has strengthened my testimony so much. I've never met someone so prepared before. On Sunday, he came to the fireside at the VC. I was able to talk to him a little bit afterward about how he felt the past 2 days. He said it had been a pretty emotional couple of days but that he felt great. He felt like a new person. He is amazing and I can't wait to see him go to the temple a year from now! 

I love missionary work! All the tough moments in the mission are so worth. Seeing Richie be baptized was incredible. I feel so blessed to have been a tiny part of his journey towards Christ and His true church. I know that this church is true and I know that this is where we can find true happiness! 

Hope that y'all are doing well! Happy late birthday to Ryan Bucky and happy birthday to Tracy this week! Love y'all tons!

Hermana Clay

Guess Who is Next? - 7/12/15

Dear Sister Clay (a.k.a. Joy Joy),

I did not send you this picture.  I did not want to detract from your work, but Mom and I are looking forward to your speedy return.  You are now at the top of the missionary plaques in the Raleigh Stake Center.

Love, Dad

------------------------------------------------------------------

From the mission president:

FW: Final - CLAY/MARISSA JOY 11AUG2015 PIH SLC

Idaho Pocatello Mission

to vclay222, me, phneubert, matt.harding.e.
Dear Parents and Leaders,

Your daughter, is scheduled to return home on August 11, 2015.  It has been our privilege to serve with her in the Idaho Pocatello Mission.  As she maintains the patterns of righteousness she has achieved on her mission, it will bless her the rest of her life.

Sister Clay came to Idaho to teach the truths of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, and she has succeeded.  She has touched many hearts and has made many friends.  The attached document lists the areas she has served in, her companions, and the assignments she has fulfilled.

We love her and will always remember the experiences we have shared.  Sister Clay and I will be praying for her future success.

We deeply appreciate the sacrifices you have made to allow Sister Clay to serve the Lord.  May Heavenly Father’s choicest blessings be with you and your family.

President and Sister Hancock
Idaho Pocatello Mission

-------------------------------------------

Happy 4th of July!

Hey family!

What a great week it has been! Hope you all had an amazing 4th of July!

Last Monday, the Lusks took a last minute road trip with us up to the Palisades. It was SO beautiful! I think the best part was the square ice cream from Swan Valley.

Tuesday: We were finally able to work in our area! It went pretty well. We were able to visit with Raquel! I love that grandma! She is so sweet and cute. She was telling us her concerns about baptism. She has many problems going on in her family. It was so sad. But she said that she has felt different since the missionaries started coming and that we have made an impact on her. We're praying that we can know how to help her overcome her concerns and fears. She is amazing!

On Friday we had MLC with our new mission president, President Hancock! He and his wife are wonderful! I already love them. They are a lot different than President and Sister Brinkerhoff. This MLC was different than the other ones I have been too. There were a lot of things that stuck out to me. Here's a few of them:

- "If Heavenly Father is giving you a blessing you better take it." Sister Hancock

- More faith = more success

- Obedience and faith will protect you more than what the adversary can tempt you.

- This is what President Hancock said that would keep us active in the church: Always have a temple recommend, always be worthy of the sacrament, and always accept church callings.

I can already tell that our mission will be extremely blessed by President and Sister Hancock! I'm grateful that I have the chance to get to know them just a little bit!

Saturday was the 4th of July! And guess who I saw?! Julianne, Ryan, Sam, Annie, Joe, Brian, Brittany, and Kelsey (my old companion...so weird to call her that.)!!! It was the greatest. Sister Pulido's family also came up so we were able to visit with them as well! Watching the fireworks was SO cool! We had the best spot. It was right next to the river where the fireworks went off. Apparently, Idaho Falls fireworks is second in the nation. 

Yesterday was a great day at the Spanish branch! The second and third hour were combined. We talked a ton about keeping the Sabbath day holy. Our branch president said that one day every day will be like the Sabbath so we better learn to love it! He also said that the husbands should be the ones to take the children to the foyer because the mothers need to hear the talks. They are the ones who (usually) spend the most time with the children and teach them about the gospel. We also talked about the supreme court ruling about marriage. One thing that we need to remember is that the law of man never overrules the law of God.

That's it for this week! I'm so grateful that I was able to see a little part of my family! Thanks for taking time to see me! Love y'all tons! Hope you have an amazing week!

Hermana Clay

Willes! Can't wait to be roommates.

Palisades trip!

Blurry! Sorry, it's the only picture I have with the Weaver family. Just missing Sammy!

Matching VC sisters!

Little boy and Brittany!

Me cayo el veinte - 6/29/15

Hey family!

I can actually email y'all this week! I have a bunch to fill you in on so this might be a longer one plus lots of pictures. Sorry!

Two weeks ago was crazy! So many things happened that week. Sister Wilemon and I were able to go out to lunch with Brother and Sister Weaver! That was so much fun! It was great to see them. They are such wonderful people. I had no idea that they lived in the stake I was serving in! 

The Spanish missionaries put on a fiesta for all 3 branches in Idaho Falls. It was called "El Dia de Las Naciones". Unfortunately, there was not much time to plan it, so it didn't turn out quite how we had hoped it would. But, it was still lots of fun! I was able to see Raquel there! She is the woman we were teaching over a year ago. She is the cutest grandma. 

The missionaries in Idaho Falls put on a musical fireside the next night. It was all about the Restoration of the Gospel. Wow, it was incredible! So many great singers. There was a little girl who sang a song called "Gethsemane". Here are the lyrics: 

Jesus climbed the hill
To the garden still
His steps were heavy and slow
Love and a prayer
Took Him there
To the place only He could go

He felt all that was sad, wicked or bad
All the pain we would ever know
While His friends were asleep
He fought to keep
His promise made long ago

The hardest thing That ever was done
The greatest pain that ever was known
The biggest battle that ever was won
This was done by Jesus.
The fight was won by Jesus.

Gethsemane
Jesus loves me
So he gave His gift to me
In Gethsemane

It was such a powerful song! The little girl got emotional as she was singing it. She had everyone in tears. The Spirit was so strong! I was able to accompany a man who sang "Savior, Redeemer of My Soul" and Sister Weaver came to play with us as well! I am grateful to have my violin here so I can share my testimony through music.

The greatest part about the fireside was that Richie came! And guess who he sat next to? President and Sister Brinkerhoff! As we were singing the closing song (Come Unto Christ) I could literally picture Richie in the waters of baptism. He said that he is getting close and is planning on the 11th of July. I am so happy and excited for him! 

Last Monday, we went to Yellowstone! It was so much fun! We were able to go to Mesa Falls. Holy cow, it was beautiful! I'm grateful that the Lusk's were able to take us!

Tuesday was a lot of packing and saying goodbyes. I sure did love my time in Ammon! Lots of miracles happened there!

Wednesday was transfers! It is so weird to be back in the same area I started in. Being with Sister Pulido again has been so much fun! She is the greatest. I absolutely LOVE being in the Visitors' Center. I have already experienced miracles there! Peter, a Chinese man, came in. He has been a member for about 5 years. It was so cool to hear his conversion process and how the Gospel has blessed his life. Jerrica also came in. She asked if I could find the number for the missionaries in her area. I asked her if she was going to take the lessons and she said yes and that she was ready to get baptized! Crazy! I guess she had taken lessons a year ago but stopped. She said she had done a lot of thinking and praying and now knows that she needs to be baptized! The VC is full of miracles! Because the number of missionaries in this mission is going down, we only have three companionships in the VC. This means that we serve there every day. We usually only have one to two nights in our area per week. It makes it hard to find investigators, but I know God will put miracles in our path as we serve faithfully. 

I think that covers the big things from the past two weeks. Sorry it's so long! I love y'all tons and hope you have the best 4th of July! 

Hermana Clay

Richie!

Yellowstone trip!

My favorite Ruhter family!

Debbie Sweetheart!

Other Pictures

Ternder Mercies 2 - 6/22/15

Hey family!

We are here at Yellowstone today, so I won't be able to email this week. It was a wonderful week though and I'm excited to tell you about it next Monday! 

Just so y'all know, I'm getting transferred on Wednesday back to my first area in the Visitors Center! And Sister Pulido will be my companion again! I am so excited!!

Happy birthday to Dad and Brian! And happy anniversary Mom and Dad! Love y'all tons!!

Hermana Clay

Tender Mercies - 6/15/15

Hey family!

Not a whole lot to report on this week, but it was still a great week!

We went to the Shelley Spanish sisters area on Tuesday and did a blitz in their area. I went with Sister Vargas. She is such an incredible missionary! She is really good at making people feel comfortable. She loves everyone! We were able to do some service for a less active. I pretty much was drenched in sweat by the end. Gross, but it was fun.

We were asked to train at another zone's Zone Training on Wednesday. The whole meeting was wonderful! We went to lunch with the sisters afterwards and set some goals to help us become more full-purpose missionaries. We also trained at our Zone Training about Leadership Loyalty. This principle is one of the greatest examples I have seen from President Brinkerhoff. He always sustains his leaders and follows their counsel. Read Doctrine and Covenants 105:35-37. Each of us have been called to help others come to know their Savior, Jesus Christ. Now is the day of choosing. We will be chosen as we are living worthily. Those that follow the counsel of their leaders will be given power to bring about many great things.

We have started meeting with the Miller family. Sister Miller has been less active for a little over a year. She has gone through so many trials in her life and decided that the gospel was too much work. It was so sad hearing what she's had to go through and how she feels God does not listen to her. However, I am so grateful that Heavenly Father has brought her into our lives so that we can show her that He does love her. I know He does!

Aaron was able to bless the sacrament on Sunday! He said he was super nervous being in front of everyone, but that it was a great experience. I love seeing he and and his family progressing in the gospel!

Ready for the greatest tender mercy of all? I saw Richie at the Visitors Center!! We had to stop by to talk to some sisters and he ended up being there! It was SO great to see him again! He is doing amazing. He said that he's down to 2 cups of coffee and is in Alma 30. He also has been to chuch 5 times already. I asked him when his baptismal date is and he said, "I don't have one yet, but I feel it's coming close." Hooray! I told him it had to be before I went home so I could come see it! I sure do love him!

That's about it for this week! Transfer calls are on Thursday and we'll find out if I'm staying or leaving for my last transfer. Time is flying way too fast! Happy birthday to Chris this week! Love y'all tons!

Hermana Clay

PS I may not email next week. We might be going to Yellowstone.

I believe I can fly - 6/8/15

Hi family!

This week was full of meetings. Not a whole lot happened this week other than those.

Tuesday I went on exchanges with Sisters Parker and Kremer. They are amazing! I had a lot of fun with them. They have been struggling getting one of their wards excited to do missionary work. We discussed some ideas on what they could do and then put it into action. We went to go visit some of the auxiliary leaders and ended up getting a referral out of it! Solid. I'm excited to hear how it goes.

Debbie! Love her. We taught the Word of Wisdom. We were a little nervous to teach it because we know she has a smoking problem, but she loved it! She has set a goal to go down 2 cigarettes this week. We know she can do it!

The Ruhters! They are doing so well! Aaron was ordained as a priest and received the Aaronic priesthood. Immediately after, he went to take the sacrament to an elderly couple in the ward. He told us that it was a really neat experience for him. He is awesome!

Thursday was Zone Conference. It was the best! It was all centered on becoming a full-purpose missionary. The Atonement is central to this! They talked a lot about learning to recognize the Spirit. They described four ways that can help us receive revelation:

-write down promptings that we receive

-teach others how the Holy Ghost feels 

-make sure morning studies are effective ("this morning's studies will be this afternoon's answers")

-resolve our own problems

My goal is to start writing down promptings more. I notice that if I don't write it down, I won't act on it. I'll just forget about it. Y'all should do the same! As we do this, more and more promptings will come to us!

Friday was Mission Leadership Council. It was President and Sister Brinkerhoff's last one. They spent a lot of time talking about how we need to be loyal to our new mission president, President Hancock. I am sad to see the Brinkerhoff's leave. They have been amazing! I have learned so much from them. When Elder Craig C. Christensen was here, he said that most of us were sent to Idaho to learn from the Brinkerhoff's. That is definitely true! I will be forever grateful for their love and example to me!

That's about it! Hope you all are doing well! I love you tons! Happy birthday to Caleb!

Hermana Clay

All of our sisters!

A bird flew into our house. We spent an hour trying to catch it. Good times. Also, that painting stares at us every morning as we do our studies. 

Luau 

This is Natalia. she is an exchange student from Colombia. She is awesome!

The Ruhter's Baptism! - 06/01/15

Hey family!

Wowzers, this week was insane! So many things happened! I'll talk about the most exciting part of the week at the end of this email, so if you don't have time you can skip to that. :)

We went on exchanges this week! I went to Shelley with Sisters Vargas and Cole! They are amazing and so much fun to be around! They are really excited about missionary work and have such strong testimonies.

On Wednesday morning, a man, Jaime, that was baptized in December (who we have never met because he's been out of town for months) called and said he and his fiance needed to get married THAT night. Sister Wilemon and I somehow pulled together a beautiful wedding in less than 12 hours. It was insane. We couldn't have done it without the help of so many people, especially Sister McLaughlin! She saved us! She is amazing and made the wedding look so beautiful!

We had a lesson with Debbie! She is the best and so funny. It was a super interesting lesson. There were more members there than usual. They pretty much took over the lesson. Not good. But! We were able to figure out more of her concerns on why she doesn't want to commit to baptism! They were pretty silly concerns and we feel like we can help her resolve them. We sure do love her!

Sister Wilemon got really sick on Thursday/Friday. She was throwing up all night long. We ended up taking her to the doctor's to get an IV and some nausea medicine. We stayed in the house the whole day. Let me tell you, it is SO boring when your companion is sick! You can only read your scriptures for so long. Luckily it only lasted a day though!

We had the Luau on Saturday! It was a huge success! So many people came. It was crazy. I completely forgot the dances and looked like a fool on the stage, but it was fun! A lot of non members came and were able to tour the church building. We are hoping that we see a lot of new investigators come from this!

Ok...the best part! The Ruhter family! Aaron and Dylan were baptized and confirmed this weekend!! MIRACLES!! It was such a beautiful baptism. The Spirit was so strong! Carter (the younger son) gave the sweetest opening prayer. He said, "Please bless that we can have another Family Home Evening soon." Haha so cute. Sister Ruhter gave an amazing talk about baptism and compared 2 Nephi 31:20 to Dylan and verse 21 to Aaron. Everything just went perfectly. Sister Ruhter told us that Dylan kept saying afterwards, "I just feel so warm inside! I feel warm in my heart!" Precious! We were able to go to their house on Sunday and I asked Aaron about how he felt. He said that everything was amazing and he felt so great. I asked how he felt coming out of the water and he said, "I felt so clean. It was like an instant cleansing." He also told us that when he received the Holy Ghost he felt "protected". I can't even begin to describe the happiness that was felt during this weekend. What will be even better is when Sister Wilemon and I see them be sealed in the temple one year from now. I can't wait for that day!

I love being a missionary. I am so grateful for the people here. They have made such a difference in my life! I love the Gospel and I know this church is true. Families can be eternal as we follow our Savior and Brother, Jesus Christ. He lives!

I hope you all have a wonderful week! Look for the miracles in your life!

Hermana Clay

The Squatty Potty - 5/25/15

Hey family!

It's been another wonderful week!

The Ruhter family is amazing! Aaron and Dylan are still planning to be baptized and confirmed this weekend. MIRACLE! I still can't believe this is happening. Heavenly Father is the best! We spent a lot of time with their family this week to prepare them for baptism. They are so prepared! Aaron had asked us a question about the Book of Mormon. After replying, we invited him to pray to know if it is true. He said that he already had done that and he knew it was true. He said there is something powerful about the Book of Mormon that he can't deny. How awesome! I absolutely love the Book of Mormon. There is a peace that can come to us as we read it. I know it is true and I know it contains the answers that we need. 

We were able to teach Debbie again this week about the first half of the Plan of Salvation. It was a great lesson! Bishop brought up baptism and it was super powerful. She is nervous about it all, but Sister Wilemon and I both feel that she will accept it soon.

We had the chance to go out teaching with our branch mission leader and his wife. We decided to try one of our referrals. We were definitely guided by the Spirit. A couple answered the door and it looked like they were a little shaken up, especially the girl. They said that we came at the perfect time. After we left, Sister Wilemon said she thought that the girl had a bloody nose. We're not positive, but we think that they were in a fight right before we came. Maybe we came at the right time before things got too serious, who knows. I do know that Heavenly Father will guide us to the right people and the right time if we listen to the quiet promptings.

Hope y'all have an awesome week! Love ya tons!

Hermana Clay