19 Investigators in church, 1 baptism

July 16, 2012

Hey, Dad,

I really enjoyed your thoughts here.  Especially your comments about the youth not being accepting to people that smoke or that sort of thing.  I just laughed a bit.  I think their perceptions about smoking and that sort of thing are a little bit sheltered.  On the other hand, I grew up in that high school and in my experience those people that were smoking and involved with those sorts of things were the last people you wanted to hang out with because it would just lead to trouble for you.  I think that I found a good way to work with that problem  I interacted with everyone at school and was fairly open to talk to and work with others but when it came to some situations I didn’t like to stay there.  Unfortunately in the high school if you smoke chances are you swear a lot and are involved in other things and it’s not pleasant to be around those sorts of people.

So this week was good too. We had 19 investigators in church and they are doing great.  I don’t really have a hard time remembering their names, which I think is amazing.  Before the mish I had a really hard time with names but here I have been blessed with an ability to remember names more easily.  In fact, about 6 months ago I was struggling to remember names (it was especially hard with Portuguese names that were strange and new), and I started to pray and ask for help to remember and at the same time I tried to focus more on learning their names. (I drew pictures and made notes) and from then on it has been a ton easier to remember.  Fortunately our ward is really good with the investigators and most of them have friends that are members.  We only walked with one investigator to church and she was already walking to church when we met her.  Unfortunately most of them need to get married, but if everything works out we will have 2 baptisms this Saturday.

Everything is pretty good here.  Today it was over 100 degrees behind our house in the sun (it was only 10:15 in the morning).  I was a bit surprised because I wasn’t feeling too hot.  I think it will be interesting to come home and feel the cold again.

Oh, and the package hasn’t arrived yet but should soon.  Oh, and in the package you will send you can leave out the photo album I asked for but it would be way cool if you could send more pictures of home.

I think I have been struggling a bit with my comp, getting everything done in the morning and evening, and we have been having trouble teaching together.  Fortunately it’s getting better and we talked about some of this stuff and it’s getting better. 

I love you guys.  Keep up the good work.  Eliza, congrats for getting your Patriarchal blessing. Pay attention to it because they really do help in the tough times.

 Love,

Elder Clark

July 23, 2012

Hey, so this week has been pretty good.  We didn’t break our record of 19 investigators in church but we had some other really good things that happened this week.  We have been teaching a couple, Rosa (the mother of Marilene) and Antonio.  They have been progressing rapidly.  Rosa smokes a lot, but the day after we taught the Word of Wisdom she burned the rest of her cigarettes.  But she has some other health problems like diabetes and chronic daiahria  -- yeah, I don’t know how to spell.  So when she stopped smoking she got really weak and was feeling horrible.  But we passed by and gave her a priesthood blessing.  Elder Vale anointed and I sealed the anointing.  The blessing was simple but the Spirit was strong in the room.  The following day Rosa went to the doctor and they tested for diabetes and the test said that she didn’t have diabetes anymore.  Ever since, she has been a lot more healthy.  I think it’s amazing to see people’s faith work in them.  A lot of times their problems don’t go away completely or right away, but according to their faith they receive renewed strength.

Elder Vale will be transferred and I don’t know who will stay with me here in our area.  President Scisci had another temporary missionary to fill Elder Vale’s spot but it’s still up in the air.  I think this whole situation here is strange because this will be my second transfer with a temporary missionary. 

Oh, I haven’t received the package, and I wanted to ask Liza if she could check my Face Book and accept the people that have sent friend requests.

Yeah, so that’s what has been going on.  Oh, we had a baptism this week (Dayana).  I can’t remember if I already told you all about her.  She likes to make sweets and wants to open a café but fancy.  She is 25 and has a 2 year old son named Rafá who looks like the son of an American -- blond, blue eyes.   The baptism was really cool and we had a lot of people there.   The room was over flowing and we had a bunch of investigators there as well.  Things are going well here and it looks like I will stay here for awhile so that I can baptize these families. 

A ton of missionaries are finishing their missions this week and it’s pretty interesting how time has been flying by.   By the looks of it, I will only have 4 areas during my mission because I have been staying in my areas for quite a while.

I hope everything is going great there.  Thanks so much for your letters and support!   Keep living up the summer!!

Love, Elder Clark

Two Weeks of Letters from Belem During Rainy Season

Monday, July 2, 2012

Oi,

Hey, everything here is going OK.  We had a ward party here Saturday and it turned out to be really cool.  The youth of the ward had some dancing presentations, and I filmed a bit with my camera.  

Good news: we have set a date to go to the Cartolio to get Magno and Marilene hitched!  They are doing well and we have a bunch of other families that are close to getting married here as well.  

I have finally settled everything with the members in our ward (their problems with me) and they are starting to bring new families to church!  Some members just don’t understand that their food is good but that I won’t overeat, they get really self-conscious if you only eat one full plate of food, and I feel like I’m eating Thanksgiving dinner every day.  

It’s pretty rainy here these days, well, it is really hot then we have thunder showers in the afternoons.  Thankfully I have two pairs of shoes and I switch them each day so I don’t have to wear them wet.  

We got our new mission president and we will meet him in person this week.  

My skin irritation left but I am left with a minor skin infection that blisters around my waist line and in my groin.  Yeah, that’s pleasant.  But it doesn’t hurt, it just itches after the blisters pop (the blisters are under just the top layer of skin).  But I have a cream to put on them every night.  

I am doing well. I hope you all are doing well too.  Today we spent a few hours with an RM and made lemon bars with maracuja [passionfruit, picture downloaded from Google] instead of lemons.  Out of time.

 

I will write a letter later today!!!

Love you all!!

Ben

Monday, July 9, 2012

Man this past week was bit crazy.  It had the regular ups and downs.  We have a lot of people almost baptized we just need to finish teaching then and give them a baptismal date.  We are going to marry some people in the next few weeks as well.  

My comp is interesting.  He is pretty good.  We will have transfers in two weeks and after that I don’t know what will happen.  I really want to stay here because I have prepared a lot of people to be baptized but it will take a while for some of them to get married. My comp (after a few weeks) told more of the story about how he messed up his knee.  Apparently that was only part of the story.  Well, there were a ton of things going on in his mission, and he didn’t like the cold, so he said that he wouldn’t go back to his mission and he is resubmitting his papers.  From the stories I have heard from him, his mission there was really disobedient and a ton of missionaries where sent home dishonorably.  That sort of stuff is always sad to hear.  No one is perfect on the mission but to get sent home from the mission dishonorably for breaking commandments is pretty close to denying the Holy Ghost.

Well cool things that happened this past week.  I met the mission president.  He was really nice.  And I took a shower in a rain storm last night on our back patio (it is surrounded by a wall so no one could see).  We got 12 investigators to church and I tried the classic açai and peixe food combo at one of the biggest open markets in South America [fried white fish with purple açai pudding/sauce on the side, pictures downloaded from Google] .  That was pretty cool.

I love you all a lot I hope that the summer is great up there.   

Eliza, Happy B-day!!!! Man,18 is pretty old.  Remember, seize the day!

I am out of time, but say hi to everyone for me and tell the grandparents I love them and that I got the letter about the Manaus Temple!!

Eliza look up the Coldplay song “Paradise!”

Love,

Ben

President Campos' last goodbye, June 25, 2012

June 25, 2012

Hey, Dad, thanks for the emails.  Today was a bit interesting because we went to Belém for President Campos´ last goodbye/hurrah.  We got back just a little bit ago. 

I have been having an interesting week. My companion is a bit fubeca and that has been a little bit trying. 

I have become more and more acquainted with Macumba -- some sort of devil-worshiping African religion.   And a bunch of our investigators are starting to reveal problems that are really beyond my capacity to deal with.  I am trying to better my studies and prayers because I feel like everything is falling through and I can’t do it all alone. 

But today has been great.   The dispedido da president [president’s farewell] was pretty good.  He is a very inspired man and I will definitely apply what he has taught me throughout my life.  When I got into the field in California I was confronted with all this “deep doctrine” -- you know, when people talk about where the three Nephites are or if Cain is Bigfoot.  I really didn’t like that, and thankfully Pres. Campos has been able to help me direct my studies of the gospel,  find more purpose and meaning to the basic principles of the gospel.  I always liked the simple parts of the gospel more than the other stuff.  Today Sister Campos said something really cool today about the Book of Mormon.  You all should read the Intro to the Book of Mormon as a family.  There is a paragraph that I like a lot.  Joseph Smith bore his testimony about the Book of Mormon and said that it was more correct than any other book on the face of the earth and that by following its precepts we will come closer to God than following teaching from any other book.  It made me remember something that a visiting branch president said in the MTC.  He told us to focus on the Book of Mormon because it is the most effective tool in conversion.  He told us that we should send our Bibles home because during the mission the Book of Mormon is the converting tool.  So we should give more attention to the Book of Mormon.  Here we read 2 chapters a day in the Book of Mormon.  It’s something I really like.  It has been strengthening my testimony. 

I hope everything is going well there in Moscow and that your summer will be nice and relaxing.  Iwill read your letters later today and try to respond with a written letter.  I love you guys and hope all your wildest dreams come true!

I really am starting to like my area.  It’s very pretty  and the members are becoming more helpful and friendly.

Love you Dad!

P.S. If you see Liz again before she leaves, tell her I said hi and wish that her Russian spy endeavors turn out well for her!

Love, Ben

Golden Investigators and Skin Allergies, June 18, 2012

June 18, 2012

Hey mom,

This transfer has been really interesting.  I was supposed to be with an American (Elder Harris), but an Argentine elder in the MTC gave up and so there was some confusion during the transfer.  I’m with Elder Vale who is from Belém.  He is serving here for about a month because he had to return from Chile to have surgery on his knee.  He will be returning to the mission soon.  We are working a lot with less active members and trying to help the ward make some really big changes.  The bishop works on Sunday, and only comes every once and a while when he isn’t working, his first councilor in from the sticks has a super thick accent and combined with poor reading skills doesn’t really work to direct the meeting.  And the second councilor’s mom is sick and he stays with her in the hospital almost every Sunday.  So without the leaders setting a good example, the ward’s attendance is low and people are starting to let the kids go wild and almost everyone is getting up in the middle of the meeting to leave or talk to others...  Yeah, so we are changing that.  

Good news. We have a ton of golden investigators!!! I’ll send another email latter today because I am going to see a dermatologist today about a possible staph infection!!

Love you!!!

A little later that day….

Thanks, Dad, for the email.  I just got back from Belém.  I saw a dermatologist about this weird rash that I have had for almost two months now.  It’s red and itches.  I thought it was a bacteria but the dermatologist said that it was some sort of allergy and that my clothes (specifically garments)  were not helping because the climate is really hot.  So I’m going to trade soaps and see what happens.  She also prescribed a whole bunch of anti allergy and healing skin creams that turned out to be really expensive.  So I’m not sure if I will buy them or not.  She also said that where I work there are quite a few cases of leprosy!  She recommended that I stay healthy and maybe get a vaccination.  It was interesting. 

We had tons of miracles this week at church.  We had four families that are super excited about church.  They all want to get baptized and stay, and they all want to get married.  We had 9 investigators that are of baptismal age at church!   The only problem is that it will take at least a month to marry each one in the Cartolio (civil).  That stinks.  We are going to have to learn how to work with the Cartolios. 

I’m working hard and love you all!!!

 Ben

Finishing a transfer, June 11, 2012

June 11, 2012

Hey dad,

So, I wrote a little this morning and attached the photo of the letter [transcribed below].  As you will read, I will stay here this transfer and Elder S. will leave.  (He is sitting next to me looking at pictures of anime characters right now because no one sent him an email).  So, I’m ready to deal with a different problem.  I’m ready for a transfer.  I won’t have much time the rest of the day because Elder S. wants to visit some members here.  

I did remember that it was your B-day.  I hope it turned out great. Did you get any cool presents? The B-day “cake” sounded really good -- I miss pies.

Today we made lunch for Magno, Marilene, Kezia and Cristian.  I attached a picture of them.  I made oatmeal pancakes and made maple syrup.   They were really good, but surprisingly Kezia and Cristian didn’t like the pancakes (too sweet!).  But, that was fun.  Unfortunately, the Mapleine that I had left after Elder A. stole some spilled because the lid was not screwed on tight, so I only had enough to make the syrup for the pancakes today.   

Oh, I will be paired with an American that is finishing up his mission.  I hope he is hard working because I feel like I need some help learning more about how to be an effective missionary.    

This week we had a pretty cool experience.  We have had a referral for more than a month from this guy who teaches karate at the Stake Center here.  The street that he lives on doesn’t show up on the map and so we have been looking for his villa in the wrong spot off and on for a month now.  Yesterday I said to Elder Souza that we should look for his house again because an appointment fell through.  Somehow we found his house about a mile away from where we thought he lived and in a place that I didn’t know existed.  We ended up teaching him about the Book of Mormon (the introduction) and he stopped at the end of the second paragraph and asked, “but what do I have to gain from this book.  What does it teach?”  I said, “Let’s find out.”  And we read the third paragraph with him.  At the end he said, “Wow, that’s exactly what I need in my life: peace.”  He is a really cool investigator and I hope that he will continue to learn and grow.  I think it’s interesting how the Spirit works to guide us.  I was ready to give up looking for him, but in the right moment it all worked out.  

I love you, Dad, and happy belated B-day!

Oh, and about the rock rings, I will do without or I was thinking that I could pay an investigator of ours that has his own wood shop to make me some out of wood.  But that’s about it.

I love you all and thanks so much for your letters and e-mails!!!  Eliza, Emma, and Dan, thanks for your e-mails!!!

Mom, you’re awesome!

Ben’s handwritten letter, 6/11/12 

Dear Family,

This past week has been interesting.  I am really glad the transfer got here.  Elder S. has been hard to work with.  He has been waking up in the mornings grumpy and hard to be around, and apparently he has some eye problem that gives him headaches when he reads (this started to develop when we started to not get along real well).  So this week he has been sleeping during comp study.  That’s been frustrating but easier because I can just continue my studies and not have to do everything in the comp study.  I am going to stay here this transfer and Elder S. will go to the next zone over.  I will get my new comp tomorrow his name is Elder Harris, he is finishing his mission here in the next few months.  I really hope that this transfer works out better.  But it will be strange having an American comp.  I really hope he isn’t trunky and lazy, that drives me nuts.  I’m going to work hard to be a good comp for him.  I also feel like I’ve hit a wall here, its been super tough working with Elder S.  But I think I have learned a lot too. 

Happy B-day Dad!!!  Sorry -- it was yesterday.  Did it snow there in Moscow?  I hope you’re planning some crazy adventures for us when I get back.  Did you do anything special yesterday or where you swamped with church stuff? 

You know I’ve been wondering, do the missionaries in our ward have lots of lessons with members?  Maybe you guys could plan a family night invite a family and the missionaries.  That is something we do frequently here and it is pretty nice something low key, an activity, short message about families with the missionaries.  Then at the end, the missionaries can explain what they do and mark another day to visit them again (with the help of the family).  Just a thought.  It’s really frustrating here when families don’t help much in the work because without the members, missionary work is almost impossible.