Hello family and friends,
I just got back from Teotihuacan (the mayan pyramids) which was super fun. We went with Elder Nadauld and Rodas and I will sure miss those guys at changes. I got a sweet Jaguar sound maker at Teotihuacan which I got for 5 bucks and I´m pretty proud of my bargaining skills. There are always a bunch of tourists at that place so they always try to raise the price way up for the American people, but I made sure he knew that I was from around this part of town haha. Anyways, this week was really great. I bought a Rubix Cube and have already figured it out, my record is in 2:06! We also had our last district meeting together this last tuesday which turned out great. I taught everyone how to play Psychiatrist and that was really funny. It also helped us to ask better questions with our investigators and pay more attention to the answers. I thought it was a great idea and I love playing those kind of games that I used to love so much with my family. Speaking of games, last night we had a family home evening with the Cortes family and the Tobón family and it turned out great!! Yael and Genesis did the lesson on baptism since their grandma will be getting baptized in a few week and they are seriously the BEST converts ever. I love them so much. Afterwards we played the game where everyone writes a sentence and then draws a picture again and it was really funny. We shared a lot of laughs and I will be missing them lots if I have changes this next week. It has also been raining a lot down here and flooding gets SUPER bad in the streets. One day it was like a big maze, we had to take detours through streets, hop over some streams, and figure out how to cross a flooded street just to find one lady. But it really was a great week and another super fast one. Lots of changes are coming up and I am not sure I am ready!
So this week was full of miracles. It really made me realize that the whole work is a miracle guided by our loving Heavenly Father. On Tuesday we had our last interview with President Stutzneggar which was kind of sad. He is such an awesome guy that has inspired, helped, and strengthened me along this 8 months so far (Holy cow I´ve been out 8 months?!) I will miss him lots and I really hope President Mann is a little like him although, no one is like "Keith California". I also had another opportunity to do a baptism interview and I just love seeing how the Gospel changes lives. This lady was smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and now she has changed her life around and getting baptized! Plus, I love to see success within my district. I have also been pretty sick this week, especially today I am not feeling super well. In fact, one day this week I broke my record for number of poops taken in one day (10) and was pretty proud of myself. Throughout the whole week collected I think I am going to break 50! Try doing that back in the good ol´ USA! Only in Mexico baby. As fun as it sounds though, it really isn´t all that much of a party to get sick in Mexico. But one day I got really sick and we came back to the house to get some things before going to one more appointment for the night. I layed down to rest for a little bit and didn´t know if I could make it through the day. My body wanted to rest and give up, but I just had a feeling that this appointment would be very important and that Heavenly Father would bless me for giving it my all. So I got down on my knees and prayed for the strength to continue on. Then I got on my feet and we started working. The appointment was with Alicia, the grandma of Yael and Genesis, and Elida´s mom. We taught a little about the Plan of Salvation and asked how her she is feeling about baptism and all of these things. She has definitely been the hardest to reach out of her whole family, but finally she told us, "Well I have prayed about it and I have made my decision. I am going to get baptized." In that moment a feeling of joy and happiness filled my whole body and I just felt so much love for the family. All of the kids gave their grandma a big hug and I can´t even describe how much I love that family or how much joy it brings me seeing them all coming to Christ and changing their lives. I guess it is moments like this that make being a missionary worth the whole 2 years. We also had a baptism for Abigail this last week!! It was a little stressful preparing and we ran into some problems (like when someone emptied the font 2 hours before the baptism after we took the whole day to fill it), but through the Lord´s help we overcame them all and had an amazing baptism even if the water was a little cold. It was especially special because we got to watch our covert, Ramiro, baptize his daughter. I really love that family too. This week we are excited because we will be finishing the cycle with another baptism!! María will be getting baptized this Saturday and we are so excited for her. With the short time that I have been in this ward, I am so greatful to have been blessed with so much success and to see so many people enter into the waters of baptism. Another miracle that happened this week was when Elder Achá and I fasted to find a new family to teach. The day after we fasted, our relief society president called us and said that she wanted to introduce us to a less active family who recently just had her mother pass away. We went with them the next day, sang some hymns, and comforted them. We found out one of their little girls isn´t a member yet and were able to put a baptism date with her right then, and also the husband isn´t a member. But the coolest part was that we also invited part of a brand new family over to listen to us too! I immediately recognized them as the answer to the prayer and fast, we found a new family of 6 to teach with 4 little kids!! I was so excited and I know Heavenly Father is guiding this work when we put our faith and trust in him. With the family who´s mom just passed away we had a special opporunity. The lady told us that her mom always loved the missionaries and she wanted us to dedicate her grave. I was pretty nervous, but was humbled by the opportunity. When we went to her mom´s burial plot she said "Look mom, I brought the missionaries to see you, just like you wanted." It was a very touching experience. We sang a hymn, and then she asked me to offer the dedicatory prayer. It really was a cool experience and the whole family came to change this last Sunday too!
Well I hope you guys are all doing great and had a wonderful father´s day! Happy Father´s Day to all of my grandparents, uncles, and of course, my flippin´genius Dad. To celebrate Father´s Day, Elder Achá and I returned with Episode 2 of Malt Night in Mexico, and made a chocolate banana malt! Mmmm! I must admit, I am pretty happy and love this area a lot. Even though Elder Achá has driven me crazy a few times in the past couple of weeks I love him and he has been a great kid. A lot of changes are coming up this next week- new mission President, new companion, and maybe a new area too. But if I end up leaving this area that I love, I will be happy. As I was sitting in sacrament meeting yesterday I realized something. I realized how much our ward has changed in just my short 4 months I have been here. Before, the ward wasn´t super excited for the missionary work and there were nights in my first few weeks here where we had nothing to do but just knock doors for a good 3 hours. It was a huge area and I was overwhelmed, but in just a few short 4 months, I feel like everything has changed. Now all of the members are giving us references and we are having so much success. Now the bishop is inviting us to every ward council and wants to know how each presidency can help us out with retaining our new converts. Now each presidency is coming to us, inviting us to their meetings and asking how they can help us too. Everytime I see this excitement and faith in this ward it just builds my testimony and makes me feel so greatful for all of the support and love I have been given from them, my family, and especially from my Heavenly Father. The ward loves us now, and some have even told me they wish we could just stay here for 2 years and finish our missions here. It is really becoming such a strong ward and I am greatful I have been an instrument in the Lord´s hand here in Atlicpac. Nonetheless, I will accept whatever comes my way, support and love my new President, and find those families that are looking for me. "I will go where the Lord wants me to go!" Well, next week I will update all of you guys on the changes and I hope you guys are enjoying your summers! Again, I hope you guys all had a very happy Father´s Day and aren´t getting too hot! Especially in the International Fun Place out in Bullhead City! I must admit, I definitely don´t miss that heat. Have a GREEEEAT week! Love and miss you all!
Your favorite missionary,
Elder T-Clark
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