I found Dory...in the church

     

Baby its cold outside

     Well this week has been long! It went from 85 degrees on Tuesday to 35 Wednesday. I already told y'all about Elder Smith and I getting a new comp, Elder Woodbury. We also got 2 new investigators this week, they are a couple and are so excepting to what we have to say and so willing to learn it's amazing! With prayer comes great things I have learned. 

     We also had our Christmas Conference yesterday (Monday) and that was the coolest thing ever! We had Dan Jones of The 70 come speak to us, we had musical numbers, talks from missionaries, a slideshow, a talent show, AMAZING FOOD, anddddddd we got to watch Finding Dory!!! Holy Cow after many months of only watching church videos it was GREAT to be able to watch a Disney movie! I found Dory and I also found a new love for the simple yet powerful meaning of Christmas. I have a challenge for everyone who reads this email... are you ready? Good cuz the challenge is............ To Ponder. Ponder what Christmas really is and why we celebrate it. Take just a few minuets and read about it in the scripts and enjoy the feeling of peace and comfort the Spirit will bring when you take the time to think about what is really being celebrated and what this time of year means. Well we are going down to the airport today to do some plane watching :D ! 

Have a wonderful Christmas! #LighttheWorld#IluminaelMundo#superfrio

Love, 

Elder Clements 

with the boys from the CCM

Hello, we are The Angels of the apartments

     

Beautiful sunrise

     Not to much happened this week but today is transfer day! My dear brother, Elder Hall, is hitherto departing from the family of who's names consist of Elder Smith and Elder Clements. I, Elder Clements, having seen much good in this world, am saddened by the loss of my brother, Elder Hall. Elder Smith and I will be receiving one today as well, Elder Woodbury, we don't know who he is but it'll be cool. 

     So anyway with the odd title of this email I will explain.  Well one of our investigators calls us her angels lol and she knows a lot of people in this apartment complex she lives in and likes to tell everyone about how the angels come and visit and teach her about God. Soooooo we've become known as The Angels! Really cool cuz people are beginning to get use to us and because of that we added another investigator to the list. He is awesome, it's like he is a setup from The District or something because he is so receptive and willing! I know he's not a setup from The District but from God, this man has been prepared and it is really amazing to see how the spirit works on people who have been prepared! I love this work even though some days are real tough. It's been bitter cold this week and thank you Mother for sending that rain jacket priority mail, it saved my life!  Live with faith and you shall receive a strong trust in God is what I learned this week. 

Love you all!

Elder Clements 

Getting ready for Christmas!

Its beginning to look a lot not like Christmas

 

  
   What a week! Let me first start off by saying that coming from the high mountains of Utah to no elevation in Texas is a massive change as far as weather goes! I keep expecting to wake up to snow or something but every morning I am a little disappointed that it only consists of rain. It has however been cold the past few days so that's been nice.
     Our investigators are FINALLY progressing!!!!!! After a couple of weeks with hardly anything moving forward we are making progress! With one of our investigators we straight up and asked if they even wanted us to come by anymore... and they said of course, I feel good whenever you guys come by.  Another investigator is is reading in The BOM and one even came to church yesterday! Super happy with the spiritual turnout this week! Elder Smith and I did however crash on our bikes Thursday because Elder Smith and Elder Hall were racing and E. Smith tried to pass on the grass but lost control when he tried to get on the sidewalk and I was being stupid as well by following right behind so he went down first then I slammed on my front break(stupid I know) to try and not run over him. So he went flying then I went flying lol. Hurt my shoulder and wrist and Elder Smith may have fractured his collarbone but I think he's ok. Lesson learned and I repent!

      Bike areas are amazing until it starts to rain! Texas rain is different than Utah rain... meaning it actually rains. Hand warmers are a blessing!  I love you all! 
Love, 
Elder Clements 

Let's Bowl!

     

     Lemme just say time is sped up as a missionary! The week started out good, lots of OYMs and interested people, then my bike got a flat coming home on Tuesday night and from that day on it seems as if no one is home or interested in our message. We might be dropping one of our investigator off our list, its really sad but they are just not moving forward at all. None of our investigators came to church yesterday so that was also disappointing. Nothing much exciting happened this week except we had exchanges with the Zone leaders and I really enjoyed that. I learned a lot more about good planning and how to better my Spanish. Today will be super fun though, we are going bowling! Super ready to have some chill time with my fellow district boys. I got the letters from Mom and Dad, those letters ALWAYS brighten up the whole week so thank you guys for those! I"m learning to more fully have faith and trust in the Lord for everything I do. During lessons I am definitely able to feel El Espiritu Santo muchas peru es muy deficil hablar cuando en una lecion. If any of you have time I would strongly suggest going to Mormon.org and watching the LighttheWorld video and get super pumped for service! Anyway I don't have much else to say so ya'll have a great week and keep Christ in front and the focus of this season! 

Love,

Elder Clements

2 weeks in

   

  Pues, Hola Mi Familia y Mi Amigos! This week has literally flown by. Not much new has happened this week and I don't really have any amazing stories this time LOL. We've been teaching this woman ... She has the worst life I have ever heard of but I will not go into anymore detail regarding her life, just know that it has been horrible. She's 26 right now and has a son, whom she loves very much.
    Lesson of the week I learned is...Don't teach people that are completely stoned out of their minds. Also something sad happened last P-day. We had an elderly sister's husband die Monday from brain cancer, we found out when we went just to visit and found a very distraught wife at home just waiting for a message from the Missionaries. We taught her about the plan de salvacion and ended with a good prayer from Elder Smith. 
     It's cold here now, and like I mean it is COLD. It's probably only 50 degrees but with the humidity it just cuts through you, especially when we have to ride bikes everyday wherever we go. I love the cold compared to the heat but wow its cold. Que mas...que mas? Ah yes we went riding a few days ago to a members house for splits and earlier it was a torrential down pour but we thought it had ended... ohhhhh how we were mistaken lol. We got going and it started to sprinkle, but we saw some blue sky and figured all would be good. We kept going and 10 minuets later that blue sky had scurried away as we felt the clouds tighten up and release all they had, and they had plenty. I didn't have a rain jacket and even then it probably wouldn't have done much good. Long story short, we got completely drenched. 

     Anyway, I've grown tired of typing. I know that God is there, as is His Son, Jesus Christ. I know that we can be made whole again through The Plan of Salvation. I know faith is required for everything we do. I love this work and know it is worth the struggle. 

Love, 

Elder Clements. 

Welcome to Houston...Demons, Cocaine, and The Spirit

 

                                               Goodbye CCM...Hello Houston

                                                              With President and Sister Hall

     Wow what a week! First off let me say I'm soooooooooo happy to be back in the states! I love the whole English and order thing that beautiful America provides. The flight was fun, I left my passport on the plane and had to do some running to get it lol. My mission president is an amazing man! I've been here 1 week and he has already taught me soooooo much. I'm in a trio and its working really well. My trainer is Elder Smith and he's got a lot of experience with new missionaries (I'm his 3rd child) and I'm learning well. My other companion is Elder Hall and he's a great kid. We all get along really well, probably cuz we're all from The Motherland...Utah. Now regarding the heading name of this email...
     We were biking to a member's house to talk about home teaching when I started having problems with my bike, the whole crank was starting to come loose. We made it to the member's house and talked and tried to fix my peddle but the right tools were not in supply. SO we left on our merry way to head home and when we were riding along we saw this car pull out on the road in front of us and stop, hazards going and lights flashing. We went around the car and pulled off onto a road to watch and see if we needed to go help. This lady screamed up to us in her car and yells at us "What are you looking at !?!?" and I was like "are you ok?" and she was like "ARE YOU OK!?!?!?" and then we decided it would be best to just leave cuz obviously we can't do anything. So with her screaming many words at us we rode away laughing at the whole thing latter down the road. 5 minuets later still biking (it's pitch black outside now) we hear this lady screaming "NOOO!NOOO!NOOO! NOT YOU AGAIN!!!" and we haven't even rounded the corner to where she was when she already started screaming. Sure enough it was the SAME LADY... and she starts screaming at us while shes on the ground and we don't say anything we just bike past and roughly 100 ft after we passed her Elder Hall says "I think she's chasing us" and Elder Smith and I were like nooooo she's not... sure enough she hops in her car and floors it after us as we take off for our lives. I've never gone so fast on a peddle bike in my life haha we had only been running for a minute when (remember my bike problems earlier that night?) my bike crank fell off! I yell at my comps. who are just barley ahead of me and I coast for a ways and run into this person's yard and ditch the bike and hide in the bushes with Elder Smith praying for invisibility. We had no idea where Elder Smith went and this lady start patrolling the streets looking for us, so we call El Presidente and tell him what's up. He didn't have much to say other than call 911 if it gets more dangerous lol. So Elder Smith and I start looking for Elder Hall stealthily cuz the lady is still looking for us. We find him...hiding under a truck! Anyway the lady finally leaves and we call a member and get a ride home.

Catching our breath while Elder Smith calls for a ride home

     Awesome way to get welcomed to the mission! Evidently there are a lot of issues with satanic possession in the Hispanic community, fun stuff!  My apartment is real nice and my area is the safest in the mission, and I've already had crazy experiences! But I love the people here and the spirit is amazing.  I love you all and thank you for everything!

Love,

Elder Clements

I leave Monday for Houston!

     Just a few more days left in the CCM and I am ready for the mission field! We did have our Christmas party today?! Not sure why we had a Christmas party but we did and it was a ton of fun! 

Navidad Fiesta 

Stacked chairs as our Christmas tree

     Just a short email today unfortunately, I´ve got a lot to do to get ready for Monday. I love you all and thank you for the prayers, God is real and He loves us no matter what we do, keep the faith going and The Church is true.

Love, 

Elder Clements 

One month today!

     

     Well I have officially been in The CCM for one month today!  My Spanish is becoming better and my ability to teach is as well. This week has been a really good week, we taught actual volunteer investigators and had the opportunity to provide the sacrament service for the CCM staff which was a really cool and different experience!

My district at the temple

     I loved my letter and package I got this week ( so did my district ) and my district is amazing. I do realize now how nice alone time is! I love my district but some days there really is nothing better than being alone for a little while, it´s a completely different experience to have someone with you 24/7. My companion ( Elder Standing ) and I still get along really well, and Dad said he wanted to hear more about the people in my district, so here it goes. Elder Frost (Frosty) is from Las Angeles Cali, his companions, Elder Merrill is from Washington State and Elder Murdoch is from New Hampshire. The District leader, Elder Fuhriman is from Ohio and his companion (which is also his cousin) Elder Gedess is from Kansas. The Hermanas, Hermana Shehane is from Georgia and her companion, Hermana Dingess is from Virginia. I don´t know what else to say but they are all really great. We all have dark circles under our eyes and our sanity is out the window after this last week lol.
      I learned grammar in Spanish that I never even new existed in English! We made a promise to speak Spanish 100% of the time for the rest of our CCM stay and we have been doing.....ok? We definitely need to work harder but its been going well and my Spanish is rapidly improving. I´ve been praying for humility this past week and boy did I get humbled! I learned this week that without the Spirit in a lesson you have no chance of speaking or teaching an investigator. The Spirit is essential for missionary work and thank the dear Lord for humbling experiences.

I love you all and thank you for the prayers! 

Love,

Elder Clements

                                                             

Toga party

Hola!!

     

     Hola! Mi nombre es Elder Clements y yo de La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los santos de los ultimos dias. Hola mi familia y mi amigos! Yo hablo soló Español por le tres semanas! Español es muy importante por mi lecions y por mi investigadors. Well I now officialy speak spanglish 100% of the time now at the CCM, I made a promise to my teacher to speak soló español for the rest of my CCM experience, which at the time seemed like a good idea, and it is a good idea it´s just extremely difficult. I no longer speak good English but I still can´t speak good Spanish. 

  
    There is not much new to report, the days are typically all the same, which includes classes, classes, some more classes, lunch, classes, gym, classes, classes, and finally teaching an investigator. My companion, Elder Standing, and I get along really well, we are able to teach very effective and with vigor. It´s amazing when you diligently seek and work hard The Lord will provide for you. Before we go into a lesson we always say a prayer in Spanish asking for the ability to understand and be understood, and boy does The Lord provide! We are able to speak in the language so fluently it´s really very amazing and humbling. Oh and another thing about Mexico... the air is retchid(retched?), every morning a wake up with burning lungs and a horrible cough all through the day. I reallllyyyyyy miss the clean, crispy, cut your lungs its so sharp, Utah air. 

 I wish you all the best and thank you for the prayers and words of encouragement. I love you all and hope you have a good week!

Love, 

Elder Clements

2 weeks in and loving life

   

 
    Well it´s officially been two weeks since I´ve been a full time missionary and it´s going really well! The CCM life is super crazy and busy (16 hours days) with sooooooo much to do, there just isn't enough time in the day. I miss home a little, I mostly just miss the cold and clean air but here in Mexico there is none of that. I´ve been a little sick this week but I'm getting better. Elder Standing and I have been teaching two "investigators" this week and it´s going really well, its amazing how when you pray for help with a language how well you can speak it when you´re doing The Lord´s work! I learned this week that faith and a true desire is essential for success and to have a hard drive to get things done. My district works very well together and it´s like we are siblings (which I guess we are lol) and we get a lot done. 

    Today we got to go too the Temple today and it was truly amazing to go as a servant of The Lord, The Spirit was super strong I about cried. OH and that´s another thing I learned this week, which is crying really is ok and I do it a lot lol not out of sadness but out of joy and how strong the spirit can be! 
     Everything in Mexico is sooooooo cheap, I bought this sick rasta back pack for like 10$!!! I´m considering sending one home for the little ones. Mexico City is a crazy place like I mentioned in my last email, there are demonstrations going on all the time and gunshots and fireworks and constant sirens going off (lol) I truly love it here. Anyway, I love you all and thanks for the blessings (Padre) and for the prayers, I can feel them.  

Love, 

Elder Clements. 

Life in the CCM

Sitting on Elder Standing (my companion)

     Hola everyone! Life is Muy Bueno here in the wonderful world of The Mexico MTC. The first day was just horrible, I mean it was the worst and hardest thing I have ever had to overcome. I now understand why it was so difficult for me to get my pilots licence. I wanted to come home so badly but through lots of prayers and faith I am now doing very well! My roommates and companion are really nice and we all get along extremely well. Im learning so much about The Gospel and my faith is growing daily. 
     I miss everyone and its still kinda hard to think that Im gonna be gone for 2 WHOLE YEARS, lol isn't that crazy. Im a wreck right now as a write this email, a happy and grateful wreck but a wreck non the less. Mexico is beautiful, we are at 7700ft and it is soooooooo humid. I have pictures to send an will try to send them but I might not be able to. We will probably go to the Temple next week, but Mexico is crazy, theres always big booms going off and sirens and gunshots right outside the walls so it makes falling asleep at night intersting lol so we don´t get to go outside the walls. We are teaching an "investigator" in complete spanish now. We had to do that the first day we were here so that was nervwraking. 

     Also I appologize for the bad spelling, everything is in spanish including the keyboards so it´s still taking some time to get used too. Watching General Conference at The CCM is a very different experience but a very good one at the same time. I took LOADS of notes which I´ve never done before. Everything is so cheap here, we can go to the little store they have here on campus on load up on supplys for realllyyyyy cheap, so it makes buying note supplys and anyhting else real easy. Tell everyone I miss them. I know the Church is true and by Faith anything is possible. God loves us no matter what! 

Love,

 Elder Clements 

Elder Clements

Carretera Tenayuca-Chalmita #828

Colonia Zona Escolar, Gustavo A. Madero

07230 Mexico, Distrito Federal 

Mexico