I have little time!

 Hello hello, here I am. I am sorry that I didn't get to send you the weekly letter yesterday, but we were given a little bit of time today to give the "weekly update" to the fam. 

Yesterday was good. We spent it in cusco, and I got to see Hna Dennison. That was awesome. My stomach has gotten pretty accustomed to the drive now, and this time I didn't throw up. Wahoo!

This week, we had fast sunday, and oh my goodness, it was such a cool experience because the  night or two before, we were over at T and J's house, and they invited us over for dinner on Saturday night, but then we explained to them that we would be fasting, so we wouldn't be able to eat. They were like, "woah, what's fasting?" and we explained to them how we don't eat for two meals (here on the mish we do dinner on saturday and then breakfast on sunday) and how we start with a prayer and a purpose, and we are blessed with an increased amount of understanding, and we can feel the spirit  more present in our lives. They were totally on board, and immediately T said, "Can we fast with you?" what, CLARO PUES you can fast with us, are you joking? I'll be honest, fasting has never been my favorite thing, but I just did it reluctantly because I knew I was supposed to. Anyways, as we fasted, that sunday in the chapel, I felt the spirit so strong, stronger than I ever have felt it in the capilla. Usually Sunday's can be kind of stressful, and they really work my mind, trying to really learn from all the speakers and the lessons while they are in Spanish. But this week, I felt so much peace, and I even got up to bear my testimony. The spirit was the best, and then we had gospel principles with T and J, and we talked about spiritual gifts. Which brings me to a question that I would love to receive an answer from: what do you think YOUR gifts are? (thanks Dads for always responding to my questions, you the bomb) One gift I have really experienced here is the gift of tongues, and as we talked about the gift tongues, or after we read the paragraph  about it in the book in gospel principles, tony told the elders, "When I read this, I think of hermanita clark". He talked about how what a miracle it is that I ca converse with him the way I do, just like any of his other friends, after only  4 months in Peru. And holy moly, that is so true. I know that it is our Heavenly Father working through me. I love spanish, and it is really really coming, I am by no means perfect, but I just look back and think, just like T, what a miracle. 

I help people with English all the time. All of the kids have an English class in HS, just like we have spanish, so I help them with their HW all the time. It's so darned interesting and they literally can't understand me when I talk in English and I just can't believe it, because it's a language so familiar to me. (mom, can you spell check this letter and all my letters? My spelling has gotten really bad). The most fun is to translate songs that are in english for them. I LOVE to do that. 

One last experience I want to share. This week, we went to go visit M. I've talked about her before, super timid and has basically suffered all her life, it's been a hard one for her. Well, for the first time, she invited us into her house to teach her, because usually we just teach her on the curb  where she sells her bags of matte/juice. We went into her house, and started talking. She cried to us again about how she feels SO alone, and so afraid, and it just broke my heart. As we were teaching, her husband got home from work, and he just gave her a head nod as she came in. I am positive that M doesn't have a friend to go to lunch with, or a family member who loves her to call on the phone, and then I knew that she didn't have a husband who came home from lunch and kissed her and asked her how her day was. My heart just broke so many times for her. But, her husband minded his business, and we continued talking. 

Then, her brother got home from work. He came in, and saw us teaching, and I just didn't get the best vibe from him. As we were teaching, we called her over, and told her in a loud whisper, pretty aggressively, "They are lying. Why are you listening to them? It is a lie, God doesn't love you", and that shocked me, but she just shrugged it off, and came back. 

As I started to read her Alma 7:11-12, "And He shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions...of every kind...", her brother came up to me, as I was sitting with M on the concrete ground, and told me, "I want you to leave my house right now. You all lie. Your religion is a lie". We got up with out hesitation, and he shouted some choice words as we left, and my heart just ached for M, as we walked back out into the streets. I wanted to cry, and had no words, but my heart brought me to those solo words that I shared with M from the verse. I have felt more than ever, the atonement of Jesus Christ. Elder Holland said that in the mission, you may have to bear just a little bit of that cross that the Savior carried up to Calvary. I have felt that. And I have felt more than ever a gratitude for Jesus Christ, who experienced all the hard experiences we have day to day, all the heart ache, and all the disappointment, and he did it because he loves us. When my heart aches for the situations I just can't control, I can't even imagine the heart ache our Savior must feel for us.  He loves us. 

Thank you for all the letters and the prayers! Which reminds me, I got my package. Oh, you all are the best, everything was so practical, I LOVED IT. Thank you. Which reminds me, hey did you get MY package? What did you think of the chifles? (plantain chips) Did the flower make it fine?

I truly do love you all to the moon and back (Oh wait no, heck of a lot more than that.) ;) you are in my thoughts and prayers always. And seriously again, thank you for the package. LOVE YOU.  

Me and my pal E

 b bbnngnghbbghghfgggnngnnvnvhnjhmbmjmnmmbmfgbghhfjnjnjjnjnjjnnhfnnvnbnbnvbnhgnngbhn

Me and my Pal Estefano

With American Cuisine.....Happy 4th!

Hermanas with T, J and C 

 

Selfie with Hermana Celan and J

J and C birthday party!

Red Plantanos

T and C at C's Birthday Party

Had a nasty cold this week!

I'm a literal "loca" -crazy

I have just become the most spontaneous person here in Peru. I think I was pretty spontaneous before the mish too, but this week, one night I just thought, I'm gonna cut my hair, because my ends are super bad, and I had heard about Hermanas doing that before, so I got out my kid scissors that I paid 2 soles for, which is less than a dollar, and just started snipping. Well, after the first strand, I knew I made a mistake, because I cut off like 4 inches with the first strand. So then I just thought, well that's okay, I'll just do a lil layering action, different lengths all around! And that was an even bigger mistake. My companion sat in the bathroom and just watched me cut it, didn’t say a word the whole time, and at the end, you should've have seen the look on her face. My hair was a disaster, and I wanted to cry. We both decided that I should go and get my hair cut by someone who KNOWS HOW to cut hair on Pday, and I went to church on Sunday with my disaster hair, and then today I went to this place called Sofia Spa, haha. I told the lady just cut it all the same, like right here, and I showed her how short to cut it. After she cut the first strand, she was like, “like, right here? This short?” and it was SO short. I literally shrugged it off so fast, and said, “yeah, that’s perfect!”. And now, here is my hair. 

And it’s so different, I know. And my aunt Nataley is gonna kill me, but hey. If this would’ve happened 4 months ago, I probably would cried and cried, or lost my patience, but hey, I have done of the following thus far. I really like my hair, my pension told me I look, “mas niña”, hehe. And hey, it’s fun. Never in my life again am I going to cut my hair, now I know!  The mish is so awesome like that.

I also finished the Book of Mormon this week for the first time in the mission, and that was such a good feeling. The minute I finished, I started over again. I love that book so so much, and I know with all my heart that it is true. It was written a long long time ago FOR us specifically. I learn about Nephi, and how he is such a stud of a brother in his family, or about the 2000 of Helaman’s stripling warriors, who went to battle to defend their families and their freedoms and their religion, or about Abinadi, who was burned at the stake for what he believed, and I really honestly learn so much about MY life. How can I be a better member of MY family like Nephi? How can I trust in my Heavenly Father more, and leave everything behind to defend what it is right, like the 2000? How can I be more like Abinadi, one of the most chevere missionaries in the history of ever? The BOM is the BOM(b), that’s why it’s called the BOM.

When we were driving home from Cusco this week, I saw these panay women, like basically the stereotypical woman that all of you in the US would think of when you think of Peru; the really colorful fabric, and like 3 skirts, the hat, and the huge load on their back. ( just google image “Traditional Peruvian Woman”, I’m sure it’s there, haha). Anyways, I saw them in the middle of the mountains, in the middle of nowhere, with their packs of cabras (goats) or alpacas, and I was just thinking, what if I were a panay and this was all that I knew? My goats, my tiny rickity house in the LITERAL middle of nowhere, hours away from ANY other civilization? There are just so many people in the world that we aren’t even aware of, and it blows.my.mind. I am so darned grateful to be in Peri. As we were in Cusco, there were LOADS of tourists, I mean, TONS, and there’s always tons, and I just kind of smiled to myself as I saw them all hustlin’ and bustlin’, because I LIVE here, and I’ve lived here for 4 months. What in the world, it’s crazy.

I LOVE MY MISSION. I love the gospel. And it is true, as true as anything could ever be.

Thank you for all the love and the prayers. I need and feel them always, even thousands of miles away.

LOVE YOU ALL.

Wendy is the FUNNIEST I have ever met in my life. I always laugh until my cheeks AND my stomach hurt with her. She's such a tomboy, and I love her SO much! 

Makeover by J!

                                                                                         Hemana Wattles and me in 

                                                  Cusco. She finished her mission                              this week!

This Week

Mi querido mama y papa, (y todas en mi dulce familia)

How are you? How was the week? It is officially summer in good ole Valleyford, huh? Now you all get to experience the life of a Quillabambean cada dia with the warm warm weather. 

I traveled to Lima this week, and to be honest, I didn't really enjoy it, haha. It was so weird to leave the mission boundaries. This week, I received a letter from one of my missionary páls from the CCM, and she returned home. It absolutely broke my heart, and so as we traveled to Lima, I tried to pretend that I was going home, and how it would feel. Would I be satisfied with all that I have accomplished in my mission? To be honest, it was kind of a traumatizing experience for me. THat whole day, I just felt sad. 

Gosh, I can't even tell you of the relief as our plane landed in Cusco once more. I felt like myself again, so full of relief, and my heart just felt happy. I KNOW that this is where I am meant to be. Sin duda. 

T and J are my heart right now. I love them, and this week we had our Stake Conference with President Harbertson, and they came to both sessions,saturday night, AND Sunday, and you know what? They show up in suit and tie, and T and J bought cesar a suit. WHAT. Ahh, I really think that Heavenly Father send some of his angels to me in Quilla. 

 T, J & C

I shared a lot in my audio, so I'll just let you listen to that. Really nowadays, I want to use my hour internet time to download mormon messages for my investigators or to look for conference talks that we could use to help the members here. I am well aware that my letters are getting less and less interesting. It takes a real focused brain, and lots of time to write the kind of letters I wrote in the CCM, but hey! I'm doing my best. 

Know that I am thinking of you all this week! I had the realization yesterday on Father's day, how grateful I am for fathers. But, as I was thinking about "fathers" in general, I forgot about my Heavenly Father, and so yesterday, even through my dad wasn't here with me to celebrate, I remembered my Heavenly Father, who is very very present in my life here in Quillabamba. Grateful to know that our God, the creator of all things good, is our loving Heavenly FATHER. Grateful for all the Fathers ib my life. My Papa, Gramps, Grandpa Stu, all of my uncles, my bishop at home, and my good ole Dad. :) Grateful for them, and the love they have shown me. 

LOVE YOU ALL!

This is Y that I teach piano to..

PARASITAS

This week was rockin in Peru. :) It has been so good here, and things are always looking up. 

I HAVE been pretty sick for a good while, but this week we found out the problem! We went and did a lab test, and if you think peeing in a cup is uncomfortable, you should try pooping in a cup, wowazowa that has to be my new LEAST favorite thing in the world. Sorry to be visual, but the point is, we found out that I have PARASITAS, or parasites in my stomach, and an intestinal infection. This isn't to make you all worry, because really ALL is well! I feel so silly for talking about how I want to get sick on the mish (BEFORE the mission), and here I was this week, throwing up more than I ever have in my life, and wow, it was miserable. I think the moment when I had no pride left was one night when I threw up in the streets, and these two ladies that were sitting outside on the curb saw it, and immediately went inside. Oh la verguenza, pero está bien. ;) haha

All is well now, I had an injection, and am taking another antibiotic. Really came to appreciate medicine and the hospitals in the United States, because the hospital here was quite sketchy. SO many funny experiences I can't wait to tell you after the mish. 

Also, this week, I invited two of our investigators to be baptized, one said yes, and one was unsure. That happens, I've found, and even though I want everyone to jump for joy, and say "YES! Give me all the happiness possible!" lots of people don't. But, that's okay, we all have the gift of choosing what we want in this life. Some people choose paths that make them so sad, or where they are constantly questioning "what is my purpose, and what am I doing with my life?" I just want to remind all of my family, the people that I LOVE most, that the gospel gives us purpose, that the gospel makes us happier than things; happier than sports, happier than work, happier than money. Right? Alma 5:16 says, if you have felt to sing the song of Christ's redeeming love, I would ask: can ye feel so now? If I'm not feeling good about me, or about my life, or about others, what do I need to change in my life to feel the JOY of the gospel again? This is my question. I am so grateful for my family, most importantly, my family of my mom and dad, and siblings, but I also have so much love in my heart for every member of my family, my aunts and uncles, my grandparents, and my cousins. I hope that you all feel that love. I think of you as I serve EVERY DAY. 

The gospel is true. I invited T and J to a baptism this week, and THEY SAID YES! Oh man, I love those two so much. I feel like they have filled a piece of my heart that has always been waiting for them. They are my family here and the date we set for them in the 6th of August. 

Love you all lots, you are always in my prayers and I hope you know that. 

Quillabamba sends its love!

carta ( yo tengo 3 meses en la misión!)

Moms and Pops, 

Wow mom, thank you so much for the audio. I LOVE HEARING YOUR VOICE. 

I don't think it's necessarily "easier" to do audios, because I'll listen to the whole of it when I get back to our room on the dvd player, but it is so nice, and would be so nice to receive one audio a week. If one of you can send one each week, that would be the coolest. My internet hour is slowly getting less stressful, because I never have time to write people, and so slowly people aren't writing me too, which honestly makes it easier. (as long as I know everything is well at home, all are healthy and happy.) 

This week was another great one. My life is so routine now here, it's like I've been living in Quilla all my life. I know my way around, all the members know my name, and call on me when they need help, I can give people directions here in our sector, and I know our phone number by heart. (hehe, that's a little thing I've been working on)

Juice in a bag!

My Arch Nemisus! 

I love talking to people about America here. Their perceptions of America are so funny, that everything in America is NYC and we are all robots. haha, I love it. The youth always ask me to sing popular american songs, songs by Justin Bieber or One Direction, because I'm from America and can speak English. I love it.

Speaking of music, I've been teaching piano lessons! That's a new exciting thing! I felt inadequate, but have in depth prepared and right now am teaching 3 girls, one is 13, one is 6 and one is 10. They had their first lesson saturday, and will have a 30 min lesson every week. Play the piano in a  branch in Quillabamba for sacrament meeting, and they will have music for as long as I am here, but teach a girl HERE to play, and they will have music for a lifetime!

This week, I also hemmed our investigator Nori's pants! 

What in the world GRAMS, who would've thought when you were teaching me to hem the week before I left on my mission that I'd be hemming someone's pants so soon! (well, I guess YOU did, that's probably why you taught me. SO grateful for my Grammy)

T and J only continue to progress. Their little boy C  is 2 and he LOVES Bubble Guppies. Everytime we visit him, I think of Lincoln Jay. (who is 4 now, what in the world, stop growing please Mr. Link) 

T and J are the realist investigators I have had. They keep their commitments, pray, and attend church with us. They ask questions like, "what is the little cup of water and the bread when we go to church?" and "what is the correct way to be baptized?" They are unreal, and my heart is full of love for them. They are a part of my extended family, I'm pretty sure. Love them 

But, that doesn't mean their lives are perfect. I have come to know that we are ALWAYS going to find problems in families as we teach on our missions. Because we all have problems in our lives, right? 

BUT. I KNOW with all my heart that there is no problem that the gospel of Jesus Christ can't fix. We have the opportunity to repent every day, and we have the hope, that through Christ, we can live with our loving Heavenly Father again, in happiness that will last forever. 

I invited one of our investigators, R, to be baptized this week. R has SO many problems, and maybe isn't making the best choices in her life. She has lots of problems with her children, and they don't get along. (She's probably 50-60ish)

I felt prompted to tell her this week, "if you are preparing for baptism, and are truly repenting, and are trying with all YOUR efforts to be like our Savior and follow His example, I can PROMISE you R that you will feel peace in your relationships with your children and you will start to feel all your burdens lifted". 

I would say the same to all of you. Do not "doubt the Lord and all his goodness", because I KNOW that you have "proved Him in days that are past". You have learned for yourself the goodness of the gospel, and the happiness you can have through it. If everyone would strive to be a little more like Christ, not only would the world be a better place, but we'd feel better about ourselves and feel HAPPY about our lives. 

I really like 4 NE 1:15. The people loved each other because they loved God. 

And I love my Heavenly Father SO stinkin much. And he loves us too. 

Love you all forever! Grateful for your prayers. I feel and need them here as a missionary. 

Love, Hermana Clark

May 30, 2016 MIRACLE

Hello hello to the people I love most!

How are you? Dad, guess what. I received THREE (yes, 3) of your packages this week. Wow wow wow, they made me jump for joy. I loved every single part of them. The medical masks cracked me up, oh my word. hahaha, Dad you are the best.  

 My package! 

 The masks from you Dad, haha

Necklace from Dad, what a treasure! 

And the pics of Christ. MEET THE MORMONS! Band aids! Candy! My favorite thing of all is the necklace. I am going to wear it every single day of my mission. No really. It has given me so many opportunities to bear my testimony, because people ask, "what does your necklace say?" and then I tell them, "Usted puede hacer cosas dificiles" and then I tell them why. It's so awesome!

Anyways, I have a testimony of miracles. And now, boy do I ever. 

 Ku-Ku-Ku-Quilla. (that's my nickname for this wondeful place)

This week, we taught T and J for the first time.  We found them last week at the capilla (yes, at the capilla) that wanted to know more about the church. As we have started to teach them, they told us that last Sunday, they got into a mototaxi and told the driver, "take us to a church!" They literally live across the street from the largest Catholic church in all of Quillabamba, and the driver took them to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Wait what.  It's a miracle, it really is. They are so good, SO good. They seem like they are members, and I can't wait until they are. We will see how things go, but they have such good desires, and hearts full of faith. T and J, and their little one, C. I love them so much already. 

 We brought R, a soon to be missionary with us to our first lesson, and the spirit in their home as we taught was so strong. We taught them again this week, and then they asked us if they could feed us dinner? What in the world, am I dreaming? I think I am. In our second lesson, T told us, "Hermanas, you have such a special spirit, and I already know you both are going to be a special part of our lives" I am crying as I type, because gosh, how great a privilege I have.  I know the gospel is true, and I know that I am here for a specific reason. I don't know for sure whether they will be baptized, but the Lord does, and he's allowing me, me Hermana Clark, to teach this sweetest family.

: Keep your eye out for Elder U! He is going to serve in POCATELLO IDAHO!: 

 I want so bad for them to have every blessing possible. This church is true. I know it. I know God hears our prayers. There is no coincidence, only the great goodness of our sweet Heavenly Father. I love Him so much, and am grateful for his hand of help in all I do. Love you all, and continue to pray & I'll do the same! 

Lotsa love forever all the way from Quillabamba!

 My favorite meal here, and I don't know how to pronounce the name!

Hna maria and yuli, my bffs here, haha. 

Happy Birthday Jackson!

May 23, 2016 PRAYERS ANSWERED

Guess what guess what guess what. 

First of all, I want to say, THANK YOU for the prayers. To every single person who has ever offered a prayer for me, thank you. 

This week was a miracle. 

~Love that the same moon I see in Quillabamaba is the moon you see at home~

We have had very very little success in the ways of numbers. If someone only looked at my stats as a missionary, they would think, wow she's pretty lousy. But, I work so hard and give it all I got, and guess what? When we give all we have, the Lord? He recognizes that. 

Anyways, this week one of my friends from the CCM wrote me and told me that she is having her second baptism this week. My mission is in NO WAY like that. We pray that we can have investigators TO TEACH. That we can teach lessons every day, because goshdangit, we've got quite a few flakes here in Quillabamba. haha, I say flakes out of love, don't worry. 

Well last week, we fasted. We have been praying and praying hard. We fasted that we could have new investigators, because we had had 1 in 5 weeks. ONE in five weeks. That's pretty rough. And actually, all this week was rough, we still hadn't found investigators, and I was kind of frustrated to be honest. I thought, "How long does my Heavenly Father want me to be patient?" I sing, "Mas paciencia dar me" cada dia, and let's be real, I've never been very patient. But wow, Heavenly Father blesses me. 

My package arrived! 

This Sunday, we arrived to the capilla as usual, I played the hymns as usual, and THEN, after church, we spot JL, this menos activo and his wife, and his wife isn't a member, with their two little kids. We had tried to visit them SO many times, and they always weren't home or busy, but here they are the in capilla?! What in the world. They then stayed for all 3 hours of church, and V is planning on coming next week! Okay, that's awesome, but then get this. Presidente Chavez calls us into his office during sunday school, and there's this cute family, J,T and their little boy C sitting there. President then tells us that they aren't members, but attended sacrament meeting this morning and they want to know more. They (This family) INVITED US OVER TO TEACH THEM. We didn't ask them when we could, they invited us. I wanted to cry, no really, I didn't know what to say. We have two new families to teach. It is a miracle. 

On Saturday, we made empanadas with some sisters from the relief society, and as we were riding home in a mototaxi, I felt this strong impression to give my empanada to the driver, which I really didn't want to hear, because I wanted that empanada so bad, and it  was going to be so tasty, and it was hard work to make too. But, I kept on feeling that I should, and so I remember thinking, "Alright Heavenly Father, I'm going to give this empanada to this man, because I love you, and to SHOW you that I will be obedient and that I am ready to be an instrument in your hands." And as we arrived at our house, I gave the man my empanada and a picture of Christ, and he was grateful, and I went on my way. 

 The mattresses we helped move

Where we live! 

I'm not saying that because I gave food to a stranger that Heavenly Father provided me with people to teach. 

I'm saying that Heavenly Father blesses us when we are obedient. He sees our efforts, he knows when we cry because we are doing our best, and seeing no results. And guess what? He acknowledges them. (Sometimes in big ways, like a new family in the capilla, what what. :) 

As we do our best, Heavenly Father does the rest. (I really like that phrase, and not only because it rhymes, and I am a poet, hehe)

I also know that God answers prayers. He hears every word that we say, and he knows how we feel. Right now, I am SO pumped about my mission, and he knows how that feeling feels too, not just my sad ones.

I love this gospel, and I want all the world to have and to hear it!

Lotsa love all the way from Quillabamba!

 Mami I and Hermano L, our pension. They rock, they are so cool! 

 Me and JP, our pension brother. He danced in the festivities, so crazy.