reasons why he's serving

2nd week in TEXAS!!

hi family
i love you so flechen much. you know its always nice to get letters
and long letters at that (or emails) so thank you very much for all
writing me this week.
yes i got your package. it was great! i loved the Swedish fish and the
cd. dakota sounds like he is freaking out in his letters. its kind of
funny because you get to a certan point in your mission and you relize
that your going home. so you eather give up on the mission because you
dont care because your going home. or you work your hardest and make
the time that you have left count. it sounds like he is making his
time count. and i will do the same as well.
so this week has been good.
monday was my fist pday in texas, its so much diffrent here. there is
actually a town that you can visit and people that you can do stuff
with. so we did normal stuff shoping and laundry and email. but then
we went to this members house. there a family in the ward that loves
the missionarys. they invited us over for dinner and stuff all the
time. we played ping pong, basketball, football, and went swiming.
(just kidding. just seeing if your paying attention) then we cleaned
the bloody house. man the appartment is hard to keep clean with four
men living there and four other missionarys visiting and eating with
us. the appartment just becomes a mess in like five minutes.
on tuesday my comp and elder beams comp woke up late. and so me and
elder beams decided to teach them a lesson about sleeping in. we left
them and went trackting. and got five new investigators. then after
that we biked together and ate at this restaurant called on the
border. it was mexican. really good.  you would have hated it mom
because there is no such thing as a picky mexican there. everything
has like 50 diffrent ingredents and toppings.
on wednsday we were riding our bikes around and got super lost. elder
dalia has only been in this area for six weeks so he doesnt really
know were he is goings. so we just biked and biked and biked. elder
dalias odomider said we went 25 miles out. so we started bike ing back
and there was a lady doing yard work. so we stoped and asked if she
needed any help? she said she was good but we knew that she needed
help. (with the gosple) so we started asking her if she spoke to
missionarys before and what was going on in her life at this time. she
said her mom and her grandma just died and like all kinds of death in
her family. and she was like why does god allow all this to happend to
me. (as soon as someone says that its golden)
so we taught her half the restoration and half the plan of salvation
on her front porch because there wasnt another male home. she was like
supper into it. asking questions reading crying the whole ball of wax.
and she said "if i find out this is true how do i join my self to you
guys?" so we invited her to be babtized. and she said she would. she
was so excited she was like bouncing in her seat.
thursday we helped a couple of familys move in. this ward is growing
so fast its crazy. we had like 10 familys move in, in like 3 weeks.
this one guy that we moved in is really in to nerf wars and stuff. he
had over 200 guns. and all the swords and like ammo out the wazoo. he
has as much nerf stuff as dad does hunting and fishing.
friday was district meeting. good, normal, missionary work, easy. than
we went on exchanges and elder otuofi came with me and elder dalia. he
is from tonga, and he is so lagit. he want to learn how to play the
uke so bad his teeth hurt. i started teaching him songs. and he just
picked it up like a mad man. its in his blood i swear. so i let him
borrow it over the weekend. and he said he would draw tribal stuff on
it for me. but he is a really good missionary really humble and full
of love. he learned how to speak english on the mission so he is still
learning. its funny the way he discribes things. like we were at a
members house and they said that the dog died. and he asked if they
ate it? they looked at him funny and said no. and he whispered in my
ear, "how could they commit such a crime"
then on saterday we did some farm work for this guy that needed help
in the ward. and it was also the "Hotter than Hell" race its a really
big thing. like 14,000 people showed up to race in it. its a 100 mile
bike ride through witchita falls. and it was like 90 degrees out side.
so we helped give water to people on the side of the road. one guy we
talked to said he came from new Zealand to ride.
sunday was good, church and stuff. we had a lesson on the spirit and
the gifts it gives to us, like gift of tounges and prophecy and stuff.
it was really cool all the giftes that god gives us. after church we
saw this investigator and he is a radio dj or somthing. and he told us
that he loves the mormon church and what it stands for. and at his job
they used to air mormon ads on his christan radio station. then people
started yelling at him and told him to take them off. and preachers
were sending him hate mail, and death threats. but he wouldnt back
down and kept playing them. so finnally the owner told him to take
them off. and he said i would rather lose my job then take them off.
so he quit. it was a really powerfull testimony. from a guy that isnt
even a member of the church! that was about ten years ago. and he
hasnt seen or talked to any body about the mormon church since. and
then we knocked at his door. really really spiritual. he will get
babtized.
then we had dinner sunday night. and this family inited over there
friend to dinner. and dinner was great, and this guy started asking
questions about life and death. so we taught the plan of salvation.
and asked him to be babtized. he said yes! and the spirit was like
giving me high fives in the face the whole time. really cool we are
meeting with him on friday so hopfully everything is still going well.
so thats kind of my week. thanks for all you do for me. keep dakota
out of trouble. and tell him that he should jump right into school or
work or somthing that will take up his time. otherwise he will go
crazy and jump through the wall.
well good luck with life and i will talk to you next week.
love your favorite missionary
Elder Clements
Ps tell elder campble to keep his mind on the work instead of my sister.
pps there is no spell check on this computer so sorry?

1st week in Texas

hi everybody
this week has been a trip! im down in texas thats freeking crazy
beans. its like the biggest area i have been in. there are three sets
of missionaries in one ward and there are also one more set five min
away. our district has eight people in it. and we have a big van to
drive around. we call it the plig rig. the area im in is call witchita
central. its the most geto of the four areas. and i didnt know this
but its spanish speaking!!! so my comp is really a english speaking
missionary but he spoke spanish before the miss so president sent him
down here. its kind of crazy teaching lessons and only hearing about
half of what there saying. i can bear my testimony in spanish now and
say Joseph Smiths first vision. its crazy i pray for the gift of
tongues.
so elder dalia is form Virginia. he is a big kid and man he will tell
you all about it as well. he plays football and he says he has a
scholarship for byu. hes a good guy and an ok missionary. he has only
been out for about nine months so he still has a lot of growing room.
he is obsessed with my uke he want me to teach him everything i know.
and he want to learn it now. but he is not really willing to slow down
and practice. so i have taught him like six songs and guess how many
he can remember to play? any ways he is black just in case you couldn't
tell. but he says he is white because he was adopted. he has 18
brothers and sisters. but his parents are loaded. he tells me all about
his cars and his house. he is really cocky. but i still like him.
the other elder in our apartment are elder swell, and elder beams.
they are both green elder beams has been out four months and swell
only one month. there both good guys. beams wants to fight elder
dalia like everyday. and swell is kind of laid back and nerdy. we all
ride bikes so its cool. sometimes we ride with each other.
the area is good i guess. they havent had a baptism in six months so
well change that.  the ward is huge! there are over 1000 less actives
and about 400-500 members in one ward. i guess thats why there are six
missionarys in one area.
were teaching this guy named brother diaz and he is less active but he
is coming back to church. and he has a non member girl friend that
were trying to teach. so we went in to teach him on friday and his
girl friend usually just sits back and doesnt listen. but we invited
her to join us. and she sat down at the table and started listening.
we taught her about prophets and about the book of Mormon. and we were
teaching in the bible and then we turned our quads over to the book of
Mormon. and she like looked at her bible as if there was something
missing. it was legit she was tearing up a little bit when we
testified the truthful ness of the book of Mormon. so hopeful we can
get her in the water this transfer.
the members here are really cool to the missionary's and i guess they
get  a ton of  baptisms here at least in the past. we get fed about 5
times a week so its a whole lot better than my last area. the family
that we ate at last night was the carpenders. they have a son on a
mission in new Mexico or something. so their like we always like it
when members send us pictures of our son. there a really cool family
and the boy just bought a uke like a month ago. so he want me to teach
him how to play it. the 17 year olds name is kile and is such a cool
kid. he goes out with the missionary's all the time. and he takes us on
splits and gives us rides. He's really funny and he is all about sharing
the gospel with his friends. i guess he baptized like six people in
his school already. so he went out with us last night and we saw this
less active family. it was a really good lesson and invited the
daughters to the stake dance so it was like the perfect member to go
out with us. (lauren he is cute and super ripped he pole volts ill try
to get a pic)
but yea life is great. i hope elder platt is doing good in chickasaw.
i kind of feel bad because i wrote in his journal like three
paragraphs and drew him a picture, but he wrote like six pages and
told me that i was his favorite companion. hes a good kid, he just
needs to step it up a little.
well i love you all so much just keep up the good work! your the cats
pajamas and the bees knees. keep the ward in line while im away. and
you should be getting a letter soon.
love you tons
your favorite missionary ELder Clements

pictures

 Elder Platt getting checked out by the little old lady in their ward :)

 Don't worry this came off.

 Fun with a black light

 That's why were called OKC Thunder

 A cool piece of art work on a pillar, in one of our investigators house.

 Thou shalt not worship idols, nor food, nor anything unto it.  you  get creative as a missionary with food.

 The Gordo Burrito 2lbs

 Olympic special go for the Gold!

 120 F Holy Fish guts!  It was the hottest I've ever been!

 If you have a John Deer BMX bike you might be a Red neck

 You can stand oh a tin can and see all the way to the Texas Border

 Nowhere OK looks like we found it

 District Lunch Elder Dewey, Wells Robinson, Robb, and Platt

Suit Case shelves in one of our investigators home, Really Clever Idea
We did get a new short email from Elder Clements later that day, that said he hadn't been to the Dr.'s yet but he's been marked a hazard from driving because of his fainting spells, so he doesn't know when that will be lifted.  :(   Now his words:  So Lauren all ready getting asked out to home coming!  Your so popular!  Just remember to be modest.  because modest is the hottest.  Modesty is out the window here. I haven't seen a modest pair of shorts all summer, everyone wears them short, even old ladies because its so hot.  I'm glad your feeding the missionaries,  if they need some place to teach somebody, remember that people are letting me teach in their house here.  I know your being open to the missionaries, and I'm sure they appreciate that.  Well i love you so much and I will talk to you next week when I'm in Texas.  Love Elder Clements

Transfered to Texas

wow this week has been crazy cool beans. its mostly been nuts

so first off. we got transfer calls last night and im going to Texas!!! crazy right? im going to a place called Wichita falls. its on the border of our mission. and im going to be with elder dalia, he is the only black guy in the mission. im going there on Wednesday. it going to be crazy.

and yea i know sister sagastasado. she is up in the blachard branch. she used to feed us every other sunday. so thats so crazy that we know them. its a small world.

so on monday we played snooker again. the pool like game, and the guy that lets us play at his house was trying to hook me up with his grand daughter in Utah. she was cute, but i need to stay focused. i mean i like letters and i would be willing to write any one that writes me. and did you get my letter with the pictures yet? any ways keep your eyes open. o speaking of that. so when i went to CVS pharmacy, there was this chick that was like all over me, she was trying to get me to ask her out or something. but just laughing at everything i said and telling me  i look great in white. (i was thinking of saying you would two want to get baptized) idk. you know what they say girls go crazy for a sharp dressed man.

 

so on Tuesday it was just a normal day nothing really going on. tracking and stuff. and then we got a call from the branch president, he told us a guy in our ward went missing and he needed our help to go find him. so we skipped dinner and drove up to this completely out of the way town to go look for this guy that has mental problems and he is suicidal. it took us about 30 min to get there and alot of people showed up to help look for him. the wife was crying and couldn't talk, the police showed up and told us what to do. this family lives out in the middle of no where. and there was thick trees and underbrush, that we had to look for this guy in. i guess he took a bunch of pills and just started walking away. we looked for about two hours and we finally found him. he was just sitting in this group of trees with his shirt off. the police found him first but me and elder platt were right behind them.so we ran back to the house to get a truck so that he wouldn't have to walk back down the hill to his house with the hand cuffs on. the ambulance came and picked him up, and we had to fill out a police report. this was a really scary experence but it showed the unity of the branch and the members. because with in an hour we had over 50 people come and help look for him. the police were really impressed.

zone conference was all so this week and it was really crazy, president Taylor just gave the beat down on the whole mission. i guess he just sent a couple of missionary's home. and he is sick of dealing with all the missionary's out here. its crazy. i think its because he only has about 6 months left until a new president comes in so he wants to clean up the mission. but other than that the zone confrence was great really spiritual. lot of old principals put back in place. i guess were teaching with the pamphlets again and trying to make the lessons only like 45 min instead of the usual hour.

the rest of the week went good.

well i love you all so much and i will send out that list to you guys as soon as possible.

thanks for all you do for me

love elder Clements

Aug 6th 2012

hello my fellow servants of god. (you know we all serve in different ways)

so this week has been good. i havent fainted since but i didnt go to the doctor yet, i guess there hasnt been an opening for an appointment yet, idk it all ways takes for ever to get medical stuff done. unless its an emergency. but sister taylor is still in contact with me, and she calls and makes sure im ok. she is a good mission mom. we all love her. elder platt is not driving any more. (thank goodness) wink. no he isnt bad i guess i dont trust him behind the wheel yet. its hard to get used to someone else driving when you have driven for like six months.

so on Monday we had nothing to do besides go to this town in our area called no where Oklahoma. and the name gives it away its basically nothing at all. just a gas station and a sign and a little water tower and a house. but we took pictures and talked to the gas station attendant. it was fun and there is this lake like five miles away and i guess they catch record breaking fish there all the time. like wipers and striped bass and other fish that i cant remember the name off.  they had a picture in there of a 30 lb wiper. it was freaking huge! the gas station reminded me of the green river lodge. that you used to work at. it was a good bonding time for us and our district. the car ride was about two hours, and we played all kinds of car games and told jokes. like this one there is a princess that you want to marry but you have to find out what she likes. (its kind of a riddle and kind of a joke) she likes baseball but she hates the olympics. she likes books but she hates reading, she likes harry potter, but she hates twilight. see if you can figure it out.

we have been giving the "heavenly gift" out alot. but its kind of creating a problem. because were getting a new form of investigators, there people that want to have the spirit that we bring into the home but they dont want to learn anything. its crazy. usually we get people that either dont want anything to do with us, or there interested in what we teach. but now were gettin people that are interested in us and what we bring but they dont want to learn anything. its kind of crazy because we have to explain to people why were there alot and saying that we cant visit them if they dont want to learn. well we can visit but it would be any use.  so were trying to work with that. o well the Lord wants us to do this for a reason we just need to find that reason.

so i started to write down a list of every reason im out here on a mission. im up to 80 and i have been writing down 20 a day. its crazy if you think about why you want to serve the Lord, and how it can help you and how it can help other people. i should sent a copy of the list home, and you could share it with the young men or something. but i thought it would be a good idea to write down a list. not that i dont know the reasons and not that i dont want to be here, but its just a reminder of all the blessings im receiving and your receiving and the people of Oklahoma are receiving.  tristan wrote me and told me to write a list down, so i did i thought it was a great idea.

on friday after district meeting we ate at this Mexican restaurant and there was this thing on the menu called the gordo burrito. (fat burrito) so we all decided to get one it was seven bucks and when they brought them out it was one at a time and they were like 2 lbs a piece. they had meat,pinto beans,black beans, five cheeses, guacamole, tomato, sour cream, onion, lettuces, chips, salsa, and smoothed in a Green Chile sauce. holy cow it was a big burrito. i took a picture of it it was so big. like man vs food, kind of big. but we pounded them. and we didnt have dinner that night because we were still so full.

you know i dont really have alot to say in this letter for some reason. you guys are doing great i love you all so much.

o i forgot could you send me another copy of my patriarchal blessing please? i lost mine and i looked every were. i think i lost it in my last area.

so have you heard form Dakota yet? is he excited to come home or is scared? is his family going to pick him up? you should record his home coming talk if you can. but if not what ever. im sure it will be great. o speaking of returned missionarys how is Brenden doing? and have you heard form zack? man i feel really bad for those kids. i hope there doing ok. if you see them tell them that i love them.

well i guess thats all for this week i love you all so much and i think you guys are doing awesome. keep up the faith. keep on the strait and narrow. and you will  be just fine. lauren be good those boys can be nothing but trouble. so keep your eyes open and keep the pepper spray close. wink i know your a good girl.

so i have had the swan princess stuck in my head for like three days. that show is so awesome. the songs are really funny now that im singing them. and remember the part were hes like your beautiful! and she was like is that all the matters to you? and he is like what else is there? and his Butler guy is like err wrong.

well a de ade ade ade thats all fokes

love elder clements