Thanksgiving Day 11-24-11

Happy thanksgiving everyone!

      I'm sure you guys are all gathering at Ken and Monica's today. I will be thinking of you all! Have a great time and go Cowboys. Today we missionaries are assembling injury kits for a huge service project and having devotionals all day. Score :)

      The last few days have been harder than the first few. I've sort of hit a wall with the language for a few days, and I'm not gonna lie - I've been having some country music withdrawals. But I'm sure I'll bounce back next week - The Spirit won't let me stay down for long! Meanwhile, I've been learning so much about how to teach and how to relate to the investigator and base the lesson around them. I've been spending a lot of my free time reading the BOM too. It's so good.

      So guess who came and spoke to us on Tues.? Elder D. Todd Christoferson. Apostle of The Lord. I am SO lucky!!! It was so good. I'm amazed at how, if you're listening, The Spirit will always tell you what you need to hear, no matter how the message is relayed. It can speak to you through Preach my Gospel, the scriptures, OR an apostle. The Spirit whispered the same messages to me through all three this week. The Spirit will let you know what you need to know. I feel like I'm making strides all the time understanding The Spirit and how it works. It works in mysterious ways, and my favorite part is figuring out the mystery :)

      I'm glad scotty's team is doin good. I'm so glad he's playing guard. It's the best position. And that coach better be workin them into shape! He's gotta make up for all the conditioning he didn't get during football. haha. I've been playin ball too - mtc bball is the best. There's an Elder here who is ranked #3 in Canada!!!!! He is soooo sick. So sick. He was a 3 sport athlete in high school though, and he chose to come play football at BYU on a full ride scholarship instead. He's gonna be a slot receiver in two years, so keep an eye out for him. His name is Elder Ralph.

      I'm happy to hear Dave is loving his new room haha :) I knew he would. That bed is the best.

      Keep me updated on everything you guys are up to! Mail is like Christmas every day. Love you all.

 

Purify your hearts and be safe!

 

-Elder Clarke

 

Steve's 1st email! 11-19-11

Hola familia!
My first few days in the MTC have been nuts - in a good way. I was called to be the district leader on Thursday night and I LOOOVE my entire district. Me amo mucho. Guess who mi companero es?!?!?! None other than Elder Jordan Paskett. YA! What are the chances right? We are so sweet together. Elder Cam Laycock is on my floor too so we pretty much rep the dear old af high. My room is SO tight! Elder Paskett and I have two other Elders going to Panama with us in our room - Elder Hawks and Elder Peterson. Elder Hawks is from our old home - Sandy, and was a soccer player at Alta. He is soooo chill. Elder Peterson is from Cali. My coolest roomie though is Elder Fahina!! He is from Mesa, Arizona and he's going to Africa on his mission! We do push-ups together in the morning. He is ripped. He's a district leader too for a different district. He is my inspiration. He's so funny too. And my last roomie is Elder Irwin - he's from PG! Great guy.

         So the food here is amazing. The lunch wraps?!?! Daaaaang. I am eating healthy mom - you'd be proud. The wraps are unreal. I get one every day at lunch. It's like subway all over again! Except now, they make it for you :) And choco milk all the time. Comida es muy bueno.

         Language class is so fun! It's my favorite part of the day. Our teacher is Hermano Warburton - he's a student at BYU and is the coolest guy. I also saw Hermano Toone but I haven't run into Andy Cottrell or Derek Paulson yet. Mi miestro mostly only speaks spanish to us. I already know how to pray in spanish! The gift of tongues is so apparent here. I understand so much already after four days. It is all The Lord helping me. There's no way I could know this much by myself.

         Mom, glad to hear you and Dad enjoyed your letters. Dave too. There should be another on the way asking you to look up a few dates for me on my immunization records. Also Mom, I can't wait for you to be a counseler - I loved reality town in 9th grade haha. Thank you Sis. Paulson and Sis. Kendall for being so nice to my mom! She deserves it :) Glad to see you and Sis. Kendall are finding some common ground. Go Texas :)

         I love you all so much and I hope you are doing well. How did Scotty's first bball game go? Tell Adam he's a babe for me. And Katie, keep being the great girl that you are :) I've got to go grab my laundry now so I'll talk to y'all later! The Church is definately true.

 

-Elder Clarke

Signing out!

I'm goin to the MTC tomorrow!!! I'm so pumped :)

 

This is my last post - my mom is takin' over! I'm gonna teach her how to use this blogger thing today.
She will be putting all of my weekly letters on the blog and pictures too!
My MTC mailing address is:

Elder Steven Phillip Clarke
MTC Mailbox # 342
PAN-PC 0124
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793

I can't wait! Gonna be there for Thanksgiving and Christmas :)

Well, I think that's it for now.
I'm getting set apart as a missionary in like 7 hours!! Ahh! I'm SO excited.
May The Lord be with you during the next two years and pour out his greatest blessings upon you. I know this church is the true one.
Until later!

-Elder Clarke