Visitors from Home and with a Package!

Hey Fam! well first things first I just got the package! jaja like maybe 2 hours ago i got it from peter, dads bud, hes a good guy i met him in my farewell jaja I remembered him, really funny he knows a little of Quechua jaja so he still speaks it somehow which is awesome! but I got all the Reese's and cookies!! and they smell just like home, gotta love that! Thanks Fam! and thanks Wirthlin Fam!

Well this week was cool on Tuesday we did some service with some Elders in Bellavista it was way rad we had to take out a wall I put some pics in my drive with us all and we had to take out some cement pillar that were maybe 4 feet into the ground it took like 6 people to get them out I love service ja ja just changes things up, and after we mate'd (drink they make) ja ja I also love mate. But it was some hard work taking that wall out we just had a few hammers and a pickax, that's it and we got it out somehow. 

Also had a split with our ZLs they are really cool guys one is from Ecuador and the other Argentina.  He has a thick Argentine accent but he also speaks perfect English.  We had a good time and taught four lessons that day.  He was really impressed that just opening the area a week ago we had actual lessons jajaja. but it was a good time with him and we had some good laughs, I also played him in chess and whooped him 3-0. I'm teaching my kid to play chess to, let's just say there is room for improvement, but he's still cool. 

On Saturday there was a conference with Profecta Nelson where he talked to all the missionaries in  Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia it was way cool he said his favorite book is 3 Nefi and chapter 27 favorite chapter, it was so cool to hear him also Elder Anderson was there and got to  here them speak to us it was in English and than translated to Spanish pretty cool, and than Sunday was when he was in La Paz Bolivia, where he gave a talk to all the Bolivians here too and he spoke in Spanish!!! That man is 94 years old but speaks better Spanish de me, that was really cool and I think a lot of people were surprised he could speak Spanish, it was really cool.  it was like a 7 and 8 general conference that was chala.

Also we are teaching a really cool family!! yes family! its with a mom dad and a little daughter they have, fabian y lizet they are really cool and a reference from our mision leader they are really cool and really love the gospel we have been teaching them for 2 weeks now and are really interested Fabian is a member but super inactive for maybe 40 years, baptized when he was like 9 and never came back to church and his wife is not, so were are helping activate him and teaching his wife too! hope all is good!  Pray for them! 

OH yeah last week I was playing basketball and going up for the rebound I slammed into my bud E. Daltons shoulder and he gave me a black eye!! so I've had that all week too but I'm all good, I got the rebound if you were wondering jaja. 

But all is good here. Love you guys, hope you have a good week and know that God loves you and que somos hijos e hijas de dios y el ama cada uno de nosotros, todo esta bien! tambien fuimos a cristo hoy,  Translation:  That we are sons and daughters of God and he loves each one of us, everything is fine! We also went to the Christus today,

-- 

- Elder Clayton

Bolivia Cochabamba 

Here's what I wrote for my journaling and Chatbooks with what happened with the package:  I have always known that my Heavenly Father is well aware of His children, but I tell you what, I know without a doubt that He knows me, and our son in Cochabamba Bolivia! We have friends that left on Saturday to go there for a missionary reunion. I sent them with a package of things (very trivial things)for him like a new p-day shirt and cookies I made Friday morning. I prayed so hard that they might be able to find him today, and guess what? Somehow, they did! Those cookies are still fresh! I couldn't be more happy than I am right now and I am so grateful for prayer and for a loving Father who loves me and my boy in Bolivia. When I left the package I said, I just want something in there to smell like home. In his email today, his exact words were, “it smells like home!” This is truly a blessing today. There are no coincidences as we all know, these are tender mercies of the best kind. They reported he is so happy and from these pictures you can sure see it!!! I’m excited to be able to stay with their kids for a few days this weekend. It’s the least I can do for the gift they gave me today. Today was one of the best #missionarymondays❤️ to date for sure. Oh, the black eye in the last picture is from a good game of basketball 🏀. He says, no worries...I got the rebound. Ha ha.

Vinto, Hijo, no Mas - New Area Vinto - New Comp, and Ice Cream will make it Better

Hey gang pretty wild week so we were supposed to get our comps on Wednesday but there were road blocks again and we could leave the house but not with our name tags ja ja but in shirt and tie.  That was cool, pretty funny but we had to wait another day to get them, I was chill I had two days with my good bud Elder Dalton. But on Thursday was the big day and my new comp is Elder Peñaloza from La Paz, he's way cool super gnarly so we went to the MTC in August 1 of 2017... Before I did!! He was in Mexico and had a call in Mexico, but he had some problems in his family and had to go back home for a year, when he got the call again to come to Cochabamba!  He left Monday and started the mission again.. super nuts he didn't go back to the MTC just straight here. Super nuts but all is good. The area is kinda tough not gonna lie there is a Adventist University here and if you go to the church you get a scholarship mas o menos so everyone is students here and Adventists. But we will find those that are ready to here the resorted gospel!

Funny story and kinda sad so we were contacting and we contacted this like 40 year old dude we say hi tell him we are missionaries and he says, oh hi  you are from the Church of Jesus Christ.
I know all about your false doctrine, and just 2 minutes of waska. He told us to repent or we are going to hell.. I was just smiling and laughing in my head, after that ended I told him
God loves us and he loves you have a good day, and shook his hand jajajajaja! as we were walking off not thinking at all at what just happened just a weird dude I was not even thinking of my comp who has like 3 days in the mission!! I felt way bad and told him that has never happened to me in my whole mission and I bought him an ice cream.

Sunday was kinda weird we just walked in and everyone was like wow new Elders! But nope three more ja ja, E. Dalton is training too! So it was fun! All the members want to get to know us. It's really cool the ward is like 140 people! I haven't had a ward that big since my first area! Super cool lots of work here and people are willing to work too!

Yeah life is chill also there was an emergency transfer and now E. Fisher (Cameron is from WX and from our home stake) is in my district I  have not seen him in like 8 months! and now he's in my district that will be fun! Love you guys nothing really big in this email but all is good, love you guys have a good week, all is well here!

 New Companion Elder Peñaloza from LaPaz Bolivia

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- Elder Clayton
Bolivia Cochabamba

New Area, Training, and Ready to Work!

Whats up my fam! Well the transfers are in and its pretty dope I gotta explain it a little so maybe 3 weeks in my interview with Presidente and I asked him if I could open an area that has been closed for a few months and the mission is still paying for the house, so I asked if I could open it last night got the transfers and I will be!!

Opening area Vinto, training and still District Leader. It's kinda a ton.  Really nervous.  Actually I thought I would open it with somebody else but it's all good and best part I will be sharing the ward with one of my best buds Elder Dalton! my amigo from the MTC my old companion and he is training too! It's gonna be way awesome! I'm super excited for these next two cambios (transfers)!

Yeah that's like the biggest news that has happened this week ja ja, nothing really that big.  Conferencia was way cool!!  We were late to almost every session cause we wanted to get investigadors or had proplems with the taxi but it was good I got to watch it in English again so that was nice. Super funny story we were watching it in the stake center when the power box blew a fuse and all the power went out for like the whole block; right in the Sunday morning session. So all the members jumped in taxis and cars to head to another church.  What we  (the missionaries) did was a member passed by in his truck with the open back and we went in that! Super dope my comp I and our ZLs ja ja way funny had to drive like 10 minutes in the back. 

We had a really cool family night with a family that is a little inactive, their dad is almost always gone and y toma mucho(and it takes a lot)  but the family is way cool and love the Elders! So we made some food with them and shared the movie of the Resturacion with them and we took some pics with a machete. ja ja they then had some trees they wanted to cut down but were always too lazy to get a ladder out so I cut them down while standing ja ja! I love Bolivia! 

Yeah that is all that is new Sipe Sipe has been good to me and I've learned a ton here with the comps and with the members. and now going to Vinto I will still be able to visit which will be nice! Love you guys and all is well here I'll tell you what is up with mi hijo (my son) next week! 

Ride in the truck 

how to look like a punk with a machete 1o1 ja ja 

-- 

- Elder Clayton 

Bolivia Cochabamba 

Long Week - ja ja

Well it was kinda a long week this week, Tuesday started out with my last class with the district it was really chill the assistants came too ja ja they just show up sometimes to the classes - not a big fan of that ja ja, but they were cool.   Did not help me out at all I called on them to comment and they would only say like 3 words, but all good. District Leader this cambio (change) was cool but I'm not a big fan of it, But this week was really cool.

On Tuesday we had a service project our Bishop called us to help him with some work at his house.. so we showed up at like 9´30 guess what we were doing.. making cement! This has now been my 4th time making cement in Sipe Sipe,  But this time we didn't have the mixer so we did it by hand! Just throw like a mountain of rocks, dirt and water together with a little bag of cement and it makes some cement.. not really sure how but yeah that's what we did all day from 9:30 to 7! Not even kidding it was so long ja ja.  Best part the bishop.. was not even there! We worked the whole time with just his kids.  He showed up when we were done.. and eating! I'm really ready for a new bishop here, and they really need one but the ward is small and there are not enough people to choose a new guy so that's really hard.

On Friday I went on a split with a E. Balta from Peru he is a way cool dude, we had a really good time contacting.  They had like 5 citas (lessons) planned and they all fell threw so we contacted a ton and it was really fun.   Most of the time when we knock doors people just say they are Catholic and shut the door but we started where when they open the door we hurry and say a point of the gospel, like ¨hi did you know that God loves us!¨or hi we are missionary's of the Church of Jesus Christ and we are here to share a message about Him and how He will come back one day¨and it worked really well we got a ton of return citas so I hope that helped them out.

For my first time in maybe my whole time here in Sipe we got some references, that was way dope we got one of a really cool gal named Maribel shes maybe 18 and way interested in the gospel and she has a friend in the church who is helping us teach her! Which is awesome and also another guy or LIder misional gave us a reference of his cousin who is also way cool and they both came to church! (also if I didn't not mention I have a mission leader now, after maybe four months of asking for one ja ja)

Yeah it was a good week though so two references game to church which is awesome! The work is tough here in Sipe Sipe but I think in maybe 30 years it will be awesome cause its got a ton of young people here! Love ya guys all is well here, next week cambios,(change) I'll keep you updatedª!! (I can tell he is ready for this)

Me and a really weird Christ statue it's out of wood

PF flyers are still holding up good after a year ja ja

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- Elder Clayton
Bolivia Cochabamba