30th week

dang thats so cool Brennen your the man! its like getting in touch with your roots or something? wow cool beans!

so hi family

this transfer has gone by so fast its not even funny! its all ready been six weeks! and i turns out I'm staying and elder olinger is going to Texas. my new comps name is Elder Shupe and he is related to Doc shupe in our ward. garrets his cousin. which is cool that i get a chance to serve with him. elder olinger is super pissed off though. because this area is going so good now. and he wished he could have saw it through. but these kind of miracles could have happened the transfer before if he they would have worked harder. oh well. we have 4 baptisms set up for next month. 2 on march 10th 1 on the 24th and another on the 7th of April. all of them are super cool. and lots of uplifting awesomeness!

we had lots of lessons this week. and we had dinner every night! just a good week over all. i had to give the training in district meeting. and i gave it on inviting people to come unto Christ. because that's were missionary works begins is the invitation. because people aren't going to change unless invited to do so. it went ok. every one said i did good but i still think it could have gone better.

we had this lesson with this guy that wants to turn his life around. he was catholic but his brother had an "incident with one of the preachers" and so he said he is never going back. but he is such a cool  guy hes been around the block like six times. he sky dives and travels the world. he speak six languages and was married to a Brazilian. (i kind of think he is CIA but he says hes into flooring or something) but he wants to be baptized and were working our way to that.

i haven't spoken to the guy from Iraq in a while because he says he wants a Persian book of Mormon first so he can find out what it says before he continues on with the lessons. but that's OK we want him to be a solid investigator and not some flake no show. so we have a copy on order and it should be here in about a day.

no i haven't gotten the package yet but i haven't checked the mail today so it could be there. I'm super excited for it i can hardly spit. 

how is your Book of Mormon reading coming? i have read it 3 times on the mission so far and every time is the bomb! like one of my favorite books. just so many insights. i know for a fact that its not just some made up story. its real and it can help you in every aspect of your life!

lauren he is a couple ideas about the dance. 1. don't stress about it, it just makes it worse. 2. ask some one that you will have fun with and that you all ready know.(it makes it awkward when you don't have anything to say) 3. don't spend all your money. make it kind of informal.  you can ask them out alot of ways. Google it? (or take a bunch of guts, and say i finally had the guts to ask you out, lol)

i miss you guys so much and i love you all. don't have to much fun in Mexico without me.(is Lauren coming?)  and yea that will be great after the mish we will party like were purple!

love you

Elder Clements

A.K.A your favorite missionary.

29th week Time is going by so fast :0

Subject: hi

so the library was closed yesterday because of the president. so its OK that you guys wrote me yesterday because i haven't checked instill now.

so this week has been great!  all kind of goings on. Good goings on? well i don't know if we need to label them good or bad. (name that movie) the mission is really trying to push for member present lessons. and we have been getting them. now i know why the missionary's were wanting me to come out with them all the time. because it helps alot. the investigator is more likely to come to Church because they have a friend. and then there more likely to read and pray because they have some one there watching them. and there more likely to get baptized. so if you have an opportunity to help the missionary's out DO IT! people are helping us out all the time and i love it.

So the craziest thing i ate this week was beef stew. but it had yogurt in it. and it tasted like beef flavored yogurt. (crazy) the family that fed it to us is on this big health kick. they make all there foods them selves. (like grind there own flower and stuff)

The Scariest thing that happened this week was we were going to this dinner appointment and the lady in front of us decided not to go though the light and slam on her breaks instead. and so we slammed on our breaks but not soon enough. we barely bummed her. we got out and looked at the cars. and they looked fine. so we pulled over and the girl said that she didn't care. and she just jumped in her car and drove off. (we think she didn't have insurance)

the dumbest thing that happened this week. was elder olingers mom decided that she didn't want to talk to him anymore. so he hasn't herd from her in about a month. no emails no letter nothing. so hes been down in the dumps about that. i wrought him a letter and put it on his bed and told him that i care about him.  so a family in the ward decided to call his mom for him and it ended up she had surgery on her hands and so she isn't able to use the key board and she cant use a pencil. so thats good that we found that out.

O and i found out that the crazy letter i got was from Elder Carl.  he decided to play this joke on me and crap he got the AP's involved and sent me another letter. but he messed up and i found out it was him. (im going to kill him) he will regret the day he ever messed with PAYTON CARTER CLEMENTS! jk be Christ like.

the most spiritual thing that happened was that one Muslim guy that i told you about last week. we taught him again this week. and he said he would be baptized. we found out that he won the lottery in IRAN and so he had enough money to come to the united states. and he new that god wanted to come here and learn about Christianity. such a cool story i really hope this goes though. just a super amazing story and i hope it has an amazing ending.

Ive been trying to learn alot of songs on the uke. by ear. i learned come thou fount, if you could hie to kolob, praise to the man, and One Day by Matisyah. (you know, some times in my tears i drown but i never let i get me down) its hard to learn something on your own. i wish i had a teacher. and I'm scared that if i play the uke to long I'm going to forget how to play the guitar. what ever the uke is a cool instrument.

so last week sounded crazy. Jake's wedding sounded cool i wish i could have been there. you should send me some pics of it. and there wedding announcement. im excited to get the package. i feel so loved. just saying.  Lauren your funny. just make sure you date people with your own standards. idk i encourage you to think about going on a mission. there the bomb!

well i guess I'm going to end with my testimony. I know that this church is true and that the same Gospel that Jesus Christ set up and taught is back on the earth today in its fullness. that Joseph smith did translate the book of Mormon and that it truly is another testament of Jesus Christ. and you can become closer to god by reading it. that i can answer any question that you have. it is written for our time and we need to use it as such. i love this work and all that this Gospel does for people.

well i love you all so much thanks for caring

LOVE Elder Payton Clements.

Most of you know Elder Dakota Iverson so I thought I would also add his letter for the week :) 

 Maybe you will get a kick out of my week and i hope it will
> help you feel better.
> I left from parnaiba on tuesday after i was there for 7 months and a
> half. I am now in a place called São Luis, which means Saint Louis.
> This city is way different then Parnaiba. It is crazy! Here the rain
> season hás started and it is raining like mad, which is the way that i
> prefer it. I arrived here and presidente gave me a few extra
> responsibilities to do. When i was coming here on the bus i was
> sleeping and i woke up to a really weird sound. A lady started to have
> a seizure our a stroke or something like that. It was really sad and i
> felt like crying. I saw her 10 year old daughter crying for her mother
> and i felt so much pain inside my heart. There was nothing i could do
> to help. I wanted to cry. It sounds like Travis had na experience too,
> wow.
> When i arrived here i was welcomed by my old companion Elder
> Helamã and then i went to my house with my new companion named Elder
> Rudolphi who is from colorado and has about a year and two months on
> the mission. He lives military stuff and his dad in is a cournal in
> the army. The other missionary that left from my area was kind of
> making me sad because he left the house so filthy. I have never seen a
> bathroom that was more discusting in my life, seriously! And the sad
> thing is that i had to clean it becuase there went like 6 months with
> out cleaning it. Right now is carnaval, se we have alot of time to
> just stay in the house and clean it and stuff, which is what i am
> doing because it has got to be done.
> Ya do you guys remember carnaval last year when the missionary
> snuck out? Ya it is that same thing that is happening this year and
> where i am living is pretty crazy but there are other parts of the
> city that are way worst. We live by a house and something that days
> Macumba, which is that devil warshipping religion that used big drums
> and calls in spirits to possess them.
> On my first day here we were walking up some stair and a really
> skinny guy approached us and told us that he was robbing us. He was
> grabbing something in his pants that looked like a knife and he
> demanded that we gave money to him. but me and my companion just
> looked at him and acted like we did not under stand. I said to him
> with alot of american accent that i do not speak portguese. So he
> tried to make signs with his hands that let me know that he wanted
> money. I had gone to the bank about 2 hours before he robbed us, so i
> had about 150 bucks with me from the mission reserve, but i was not
> going to let him know that! He eventually just stopped talking about
> the money and demanded us to give us the cell phone. Honestly as he
> was doing this i was looking for big rocks to hit him with and i
> thought about pushing him down the stairs, but something told me to
> just not do it and just give him what he is asking for. So we gave him
> the cellphone and then we just looked at him as he walked away, and i
> asked my companion if it would be bad if i hit him.... he said yes
> elder you are not allowed too,,,,,and he is totally right. I talked to
> the president and he said that any time anyone robs us just give them
> what they want and do not worry about it, so i am glad that is what
> they did. I do not know if he really had a knife, but i did not want
> to find out. Plus he had a friend behind him that was helping him.
>
> Alright but this week i really tried my hardest to find alot of
> people to teach! We found several news and we taught them the restored
> gospel! I love teaching the gospel and i know as a missionary i will
> be successful if i know how to teach, if i have the spirit with me and
> if i learn how to become a master comunicator like the missionarys in
> there book of mormon.
> One of the people that we found on the street yesterday has 27
> people that live in the house with him. He offered me his grandaughter
> for marriage and i said no thank you, but we are missionaries. I felt
> like i was teaching king lamoni from the book of mromon and i was
> amon. The funny thing about that story is that amon denied the
> marriage of the kings daughter and then ended up baptisiing his whole
> kingdom. So if god wants to work a miracle in our hands i know that we
> can do something with the huge family. But as payton says, i will not
> boast in my self, but in my god because i know that all thinngs are
> possible with his might hand.
>
> I only have one minute until my computer will turn off, i wanted to
> say more.. Tell jake and selena that i love them so much! Tell him to
> write me and send photos]
Love Elder Iverson
>
> 
>

28th week and its snowed!

Subject: wonderfull!!!! 57

hi

first name this movie. "you cant all be Albert Einstein!" I'm am!, he is, we are. ME To!

Sorry i didn't write yesterday. some craziness went down and its mostly to do with the weather.

so it snows like once a year here in Oklahoma. so people don't know what to do when it happens. they freak out and cant drive. everyone goes to the grocery store and buys up all the food because they want to be prepared. (who are they boy scouts?!) anyway so we weren't allowed to go out side until it quit snowing. which is a bummer because we were supposed to go to the zoo.

so anyways this week has been good. the mission is really pushing for numbers this transfer. so that's lame. because you always hear that its not about the numbers its about the people. but what ever. and the worst part about it is that you have to stand up in front of you district and tell what you did that week and what your numbers were. it makes you feel stupid even if you do good on numbers which we are were doing the best in the zone right now) (but i will not boast of my self but of my God) but i still think is just a way to make sure people are working and not slacking off. IDK

So this week is good. there is a family called the whistlers. and they want to be as involved with our lives as anybody. they feed us like twice/three times a week. and they call us all the time. and bro whistler comes outwith us as much as possible. their a sweet old couple. bro whistler survived lung cancer and so he speaks in a high squeaky voice.(he sounds like Yoda, and looks like him to) and there both so funny. they spend all there free time at the temple. and they do like 5 sessions a day. and there really into genealogy. (you would have to be to do all those names) the last person they found lived in Greece around 84 A.D.!!!!! that's cool beans. they have been all around the world like five times. going to different temples and trying to find documents on there ancestors.

this week we had exchanges. i was with elder neild in my area and elder olinger was with prewitt. it was kind of scary because Ive only been in this area like 3 weeks. so i don't know were everything is. and now i had to plan for the day by myself. and there was a little bit of a mix up so we ended up spending two days together instead of just the one. but thats ok ilove that kid. but i hope i dont serve with him. because then we would end up not being friends. you start living with someone for  6 to 12 weeks and you start to get sick of each other.

we ended up tracking like the whole second day. and nothing was coming of it. just rejection after rejection. plus we had a little stray dog following us all thought the neighborhood. (he was a little yorky) and we told him to sit and he would sit and wait for us when we knocked on the door. then he would follow us to the next house. o and just a side note it was about 18 out side and the humidity was killing us!  so were freezing our buts off and we decided to pray and ask heavenly father if there was anybody on this street that needed the Gospel today? we finished and we both got the impression to try one more house. this guy answers the door. and we tell him were the missionary's. and he invites us in. he told us he is from the middle east. and he moved to the U.S. about 3 years ago. and he wants to learn more about all other religions because its not allowed were he is from.  so we started to teach him and he asked us why we knocked on his door. and we just told him that we knock on alot of peoples door and that were just looking for people that want to hear this Gospel. he then told us that before we got there he was praying for God to direct his life. and what path he should take. then like 10 min later we knocked on his door.  we gave him a book of mormon. taught him the first lesson. asked him to be baptized and he and his family said yes! but his family cant read English so we have to order a Persian book of Mormon for them. such an awesome experience.i love the way the Lord works! i know he is always looking out for us.

so yes i got your package. and i love you so much! and i got gramas letter as well. THANK YOU!!! i feel like the most loved missionary in this mission.

lauren. here is a little insight into a boys mind. when you talk to a boy. in any kind of friendly manner. he will probably think that you like him. and he will probably like you back. but he wont ask you out if you in a group of friends. because its alot more scary talking to six girls instead of just one. just be nice to every one and you will be fine. AVOID the drama, lamma. (he spits)

that's so cool that jake is getting married. what did he think about the temple?  i really thought this day wouldn't come this soon. time is just flying by. i miss that kid.

dad i love your letters. it just like how you talk in real life. how you explain your hunting story's. some times it makes me want to go hunting. as weird as it sound i miss freezing my butt off in some blind waiting for a couple of birds to be stupid enough to be fooled by plastic. 

Well i love you guys so much you guys are the best!

LOve your Favorite MIssioNary Elder PaytoN (catfish) Clements A.K.A MR. Awesome

 

27th week

hi hows it going.

this has been a good week. you know some weeks are good others not. but this week was good. mom i don't think there is anything that im really craving. but i like sugar. of any kind. so surprise me.

dad thats so cool that you gave that blessing. every time i give a blessing i get super nerves and then the spirit takes over and it all works out ok. the spirit is the best. it helps you out so much as missionary's. with out it we couldn't convert people. but yea my first time giving a blessing was in the mtc. it was to my comp elder brevard. because he was throwing up for like 2 days. so he asked for a blessing. and our whole district came in and helped. it was really spiritual. the next time i gave one was about a week later. when a sister from the district i was teaching, asked for a blessing of comfort.  and i have given about ten from then till now. one just the other day. one of our recent converts dads, had a heart attack and was in a coma. and so me and elder olinger gave him a blessing in the hospital. it was almost a sad blessing. because the spirit said that he would just be comforted at this time. and that his heavenly father loved him so much.

but yea this week has been great. like one of the best number week of my mission. (but numbers don't mean a thing) on pday we played monopoly for like 4 hours. the pdays here are so lame comped to Moore. every one just writes letters or plays games. so its kind of silly. anyway's. but we got home from pday and there was this lady siting on our front porch. and she asked us if we were ready? elder olinger had forgotten that this lady was taking us out to dinner. so we kind of looked like apostate missionaries. because we were in our pday clothes. but we explained everything so its fine.

elder olinger and i decided to be the very best we could and give what the lord deserves. we have been working our rear ends off. and because were doing that the ward is seeing that were working hard. and they get excited and start asking if we need them to come out with us. which is great! when a member comes out with us the investigator is more likely to be baptized and come to church. so thats what we want. we got five member present lessons last week! that's like a mission record. we have gone through a case of book of Mormons so far. and have given away like 5000 pass along cards. and because the ward sees us working they like to reward hard working missionary's. we get fed almost every meal here. (except breakfast) but people are constantly buying us food. or giving us gift cards. its the best. but i will not boast of my self. but i boast in my God for in his strength i can do all things.

because we dont have a gym here its hard to work out in the morning because there is not alot of motivation. because you just work out in the house. so ive gained like 5 pounds. plus people take us out to eat like everyday. so its hard to stay skinny when you eat all kinds of fat. but what ever i can handel it. (maybe i will go bulimic?) jk

nana & papa sent me some uke books so i have been practicing that at night. im getting better. (thank you  nana & papa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) im trying to teach olinger how to play but he is not interested. he doesn't like to sing ether so its a challenge to get him to. (did you get the video?) but we sang for this cool family last night. and they loved it. they gave us this sick picture of putting on the armor of God. and in the mirror he is a missionary. (but they had the super bowl on >.< temptaion is the devil)

sunday we committed two people to baptism! there getting baptized on march 10th! there two kids that are grandchildren of this guy in our ward. (this guys has been to 76 different temples) its super cool there such cool kids. one is 10 and the other is 14 there mother wants them to be baptized so thats super cool.

anyways that really it. im sending you a tape and a letter. just so you know. well i love you so much and i want to party with you! you know its not so much that i want to go home but i want you to bee here. you know?

well i love you all so very much your the best

Love elder Clements