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

Ribs, Races, and Rain - 5/18/15

Hey family!

This week was incredible! Here are the miracles:

We made ribs with the McLaughlins! Brian, I think those ribs beat yours. We'll have a competition when I get back. 

We visited Debbie and she is still going strong! Love her so much!

All of our appointments fell through on Friday so we went out to knock doors. It was raining the whole time. It was miserable and cold. But, our Ward Mission Leader and his wife saved the day and took us out for frozen yogurt. Maybe not the best way to warm up, but it brightened our day. 

On Saturday, we helped our favorite Hunt family with a community race. It was freezing outside, but it was so fun to be there! 

The best miracle of all......The Ruhter family! We had a lesson with them on Tuesday night. Holy cow, it was one of the best lessons I've had on my mission. It was so guided by the Spirit and everyone could feel that. Aaron (the husband) said that the temples is what really got him interested in the church. He said that he loves going to church. We asked him if he had thought much about baptism and he said that he has and wants to make steps towards it! We set a date with him for May 30th and he gladly accepted! He is so prepared! We went to the Visitors' Center with the entire family on Thursday. It went so well and I loved being back there! We were also able to set a date with their son, Dylan, for the same day. Miracles are everywhere! Heavenly Father has blessed us so much. He has prepared this family to accept the gospel. They are seriously so wonderful and I'm so grateful that I have the chance to get to know them!

We received transfer calls this week and Sister Wilemon and I will be staying together! I am excited, especially because that means I get to continue working with the Ruhter family! 

I hope you all have an awesome week! Happy birthday to Mindi and Leslie this week! Love you all bunches!

Hermana Clay

Picture 1: Peeling off the membrane. Absolutely disgusting.

Picture 2: Finished!

Picture 3: My favorite Hunt family!

Picture 4: Race!

Temple Trip! - 5/11/15

Hey family!

This week was so great! A lot better than last week! We saw lots many miracles and had many service opportunities! Good things always come after the bad :)

We did a lot of contacting this week. I never received so many referrals before! It was awesome. A few of those referrals have been a success!

On Monday, we met Juan and Daniel while they were outside working in their yard. Daniel ended up being a member. He bore the strongest testimony about how the gospel has blessed him. It was the perfect unexpected member present lesson. We also went to visit Debbie this week. She is the cutest! We love her so much. She has been staying strong and hasn't had a drink in I think she said over 40 days. Hooray!

We had interviews with President Brinkerhoff on Tuesday. We received some counsel from him about how we could have at least one baptism this month. I'll talk more about that later on. 

On Wednesday, we went to an older woman's house to help weed her yard. Holy cow, I don't think it had been weeded for years. It took us 2 hours just to clean up a little part of it. We're going to go back this week to finish up. We also were able to teach Maria. I love her. She is the sweetest! We read 2 Nephi 31 and she really liked it! She is still hesitant about baptism, but she really loves learning. I think the real reason she is hesitant is because of her family. They are all Catholic. We are praying that she will come to understand that the gospel is what will bring her the most happiness!

We were able to go to the Rexburg Temple! It was the best! We went with Sisters Vargas and Cole. My favorite Sister McLaughlin was so kind and took us all. I love going to the temple and I hope I always make it a goal to go frequently. 

On Friday, we went to help Debbie clean her house. She is just the cutest lady! And her hugs are the best. It was good just to spend time with her. We also finally had another lesson with Destiny! Yay! She still really wants to be baptized, but her parents are holding her back. We're praying their hearts will be softened soon. It was about 8:45 when we finished that lesson and we hadn't invited anyone to be baptized yet (daily invitations is one of the mission goals). We literally ran from house to house to find someone to invite. No one was home except for the last house. A man opened and we were able to teach him a short lesson and invite him. We always have to keep working until the very end!

On Saturday, we went to help the Jones family do some yard work. Dad, I mowed the lawn! I thought you might be proud. We also did something called a "blitz" in our area. Three companionships split up with members to do work in our area. We were able to contact a bunch a people and find a few new investigators! We are so grateful to the missionaries who helped us out!

Sunday was Mother's Day! It was so great to talk to almost everyone! Sorry Mindi and Amy that we couldn't reach you! I gave a talk in the Spanish branch about how awesome Mom is. That was fun.

Alright, here's the biggest miracle of the week. Like I said earlier, President Brinkerhoff gave us advice on how we can have a baptism this month. He told us to call the Ward Council and ask who has been coming to church recently that is a non-member. Sister Wilemon was awesome and got right on it. She called the 8th ward and actually got a name! The Elders Quorum president, Brother Miner, told us about the Rhuders. The father is a non member and one of their kids is an over-aged youth. We were supposed to meet them at church, but we weren't able to. Brother Miner told us he would talk to them after church about meeting with us. After skyping and eating dinner, we called Brother Miner. He told us that the Rhuder's came up to him after church and asked how they could start taking the discussions. What?! That never happens! We stopped by their house last night and we have a return appointment for this Tuesday. Miracle!! I know that President Brinkerhoff and the other church leaders are inspired. This experience was proof of that! 

Sorry for the super long email! This week was just too great! Happy birthday to Ryan Weaver, Julianne, Grandpa Clay, and Dallin this week! Love and miss you all tons!

Hermana Clay

Picture 1: At the temple!

Picture 2: Julia got baptized on Sunday! Another miracle! Wish I could have been there!

Picture 3.  Mission conference

"Nada de que a Chuchita se la bolsearon" - 5/4/15

Hey family!

This week's email will be a short one. Sister Wilemon and I only had about 6 hours in our area this week, so there's not much to report on.

We spent a lot of time with the sisters this week. We have a few that are struggling pretty bad. I really wish I knew the solution to everything! This has taught me to rely on my Heavenly Father more and trust in His timing. 

Sister Wilemon and I gave a training at Zone Training about Sabbath Day observance. It went well and I learned a ton from preparing it. One thing we are trying to do is to be a little early to church so we can better prepare for the sacrament. We were able to do that yesterday and it made such a difference! I was better able to focus and could feel the Spirit more. It's definitely something I want to continue doing!

I was able to go on exchanges with Sister Fermoso. She is awesome! She is such a good missionary. She is able to get right to the point when talking to people. She is such a great example to me! She also taught me a couple of Spanish phrases, so that was fun. 

That's about it for this week! We have lots of plans for this upcoming week, so hopefully the next email will be more interesting! Love you lots! Have a wonderful week!

Hermana Clay

Squirrels in the attic - 4/27/15

Hey family!

This week was busy. We had 2 exchanges which were a lot of fun! I was with Sister Bradshaw and then Sister Rawlins. They are both amazing! Sister Bradshaw can testify with incredible power and Sister Rawlins works so well with the members. Those are two areas that I need to improve on, so it was great to learn from them!

We were finally able to set a baptismal date! It is with Jessica. She is the sweetest! She is 13 years old and really wants to be baptized. The only thing holding her back is her parents. Please keep her and her parents in your prayers! I know Heavenly Father can work a miracle and soften the hearts of her parents.

The missionaries in the stake that I am serving in have decided to put on a Luau. It is a lot of work! I can't dance to save my life, so it should be a pretty funny show for everyone. 

We had an incredible lesson with a new investigator, Debbie. She has been sober from alcohol for a little over 2 months and is still working on smoking. She has listened to the missionaries for years, but something seems to be different this time around. She expressed to us in the last lesson that she really wants the Holy Ghost as her constant companion. The Spirit was incredibly strong throughout the lesson. It has been so cool for me to see how the Atonement is helping someone overcome challenges in their life. 

On Friday, we had MLC. It was great and I learned a bunch! One thing that was focused on was keeping the Sabbath day holy. That is something that the Church is going to start putting a big emphasis on. In Preach My Gospel it says, "When a community or nation grows careless in its Sabbath activities, its religious life decays and all aspects of life are negatively affected." I believe this is why Heavenly Father wants us to focus on keeping this day holy. In Isaiah 58:13-14, we are told to make the Sabbath a delight. We need to put aside the things that we want to do. We can do those things a different day. We need to enter "into a spirit of worship, thanksgiving, service, and family-centered activities appropriate to the Sabbath." (PMG) As we keep this commandment, we will have a deeper understanding of the Atonement and we will come to love God more. I definitely am not perfect in this. I struggle with it. But, it is my goal to become better. Everyone should go review Elder Nelson'stalk on the Sabbath. He explains it a whole lot better. I would love for your feedback on his talk and keeping the Sabbath day holy! We are going to put a bigger emphasis on teaching this commandment, so I need all the help I can get!

That's about it for this week! Love you all lots! Happy birthday to Brittany, Zach, and Owen this week!

Hermana Clay