No Real blog... just a letter to mom

Mom,

Thank you, yeah the first thing on my list was how to make brownies! ( I SENT HIM A RECIPE) haha, so I'm glad you included that! Yes I got the package, THANK YOU!! It is awesome!! Ok so I'm sending some pictures. The first is of some AWESOME potato soap I made (I was really craving some, I don't know why). I got the recipe from one of the senior couples here and it was really good. The second picture is of my companion and me in our winter garb. We were dying of heat in our apartment but I wanted you guys to see what I would look like in a little while! The last picture is me kissing/smelling the brownies, and my companion being really confused because he doesn't know what 'brownies' are. 

Hey I have been thinking of a suggestion though. I was reading one of the liahonas, and it talked about how this family did FHE via skype cause their dad was always abroad. We didn't do FHE very often because we always put up a fight (and so did the family I was reading about) but they talked about the blessings they have felt after doing it for a while. They said at first it was full of fighting and complaining but that after a while everyone started to enjoy it.  I've actually been thinking about that for a couple of weeks now. 

I'm glad your going to the temple. I plan on going to every temple in the world when I get back. Maybe a different one every month or something. I heard they made a new temple video, let me know how that is. 

That's really cool about Grandma. (I felt my mom's presence in a recent sealing I went to for my nephew) I totally believe, even more after my mission, that spirits can pass beyond the veil. Just like the priesthood can only be exercised in righteous ways, I believe that if a spirit has a righteous reason for wanting to cross the veil then they are able to do so. 

Things are going good here, Ive been learning a lot the last few weeks. I havn't put all the weight back on, but I'm exercising  and stuff, so Ive slimmed I think. My students are good, I have two. One boy and one girl. They have started school now so I havn't been teaching them. We are going to wait until school slows down more. 

No new 'progressing' investigators. We have a few investigators but they aren't moving forward at all. We are really trying to focus on the members now. We had 2 investigators come to church, and 4 less actives again this week!  

No I wont be able to watch conference til a week after its over. They have to translate it into Mongolian first, then our companions can watch it in Mongolian and we can watch it in English. 

Love you!!!

-Elder Clement

Continued Blessings

Family and Friends,

So a few weeks ago I told you guys about a cool experience I had with prayer were my companion and I were looking for a house and couldnt find it and finally decided to pray, and my companion felt inspired for us to knock on the door of a house next to us, and the man was interested in meeting with us. Well we were going through some old records and come to find out that this man had been a referral from FOREVER ago, like 2004. But the missionaries werent able to meet with him. I talked to a missionary that served just a little a year before in my area and again the missionaries were able to meet with this man, so his number and address had been lost. Then my companion and I just happened to find him on our own and he wanted to meet. It shows that Gods time isnt always ours, and never to give up on some one. It took this man years to get the desire to meet with missionaries, but now he is very excited about it. Never give up on people!

Alright next thing I learned this week. Never to take things for granted . Theres this LDS video everyone has seen. Its about Christ coming to the Americas. I cant remember the name but anyways, we decided to show it as a church activity on Friday and as the people were watching it I was surprised to see tears coming from many of the people. Then I realized that these people had never seen an actual physical re-enactment about Christ. They had only ever seen pictures and read the Book of Mormon, and to see these things played out in real life brought the Spirit very strongly to these people. Like the church video I had taken for granite, I didnt realize the Spiritual significance of that video anymore. I realized its important to make sure to forget the importance of the things we are often blessed with as members of this church.

Speaking of blessings, I wanted to share this scripture I found recently. It talks about the blessing we will receive through obedience. Its Mosiah 4:12-16.

12 And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.

13 And ye will not have a mind to injure one another, but to live peaceably, and to render to every man according to that which is his due.

14 And ye will not suffer your children that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye suffer that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and quarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin, or who is the devil spirit which hath been spoken of by our fathers, he being an enemy to all righteousness.

15 But ye will teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another.

16 And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish.

Alright random fact for the day. So I guess I look like a Russian/German. I have been told over and over again lately that I look like a Russian, and then sometimes I get German. Haha, maybe its my big coat!

-Elder Clement

Super Short - Super Snore

Family and Friends,

Alright first off I'd like to share I scripture I found during my personal study. Its 2 Nephi 24:16-17. This verse is talking about satan, and how we will look at him after we have been received into Heaven, it reads:

16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and shall consider thee, and shall say: Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms?  17 And made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof, and opened not the house of his prisoners?

I really liked these verses because it shows how much greater God is, than the devil. If we were able to see satan as he is, than the temptations we are faced with would seem ridiculous to us. Sometimes it hard to remember to have the Eternal Perspective and not an Earthly one.

Something kinda cool. Maybe it has to do with the political thing in Russia but the Russian President was in Mongolia. They stopped ALL traffic and ALL people in the entire city. They had just a ridiculously big police force and wouldn't let anyone drive or walk for about 45 minutes then the next thing we know 30 black cars with SWAT teams and sirens came barreling down the road. It was awesome!

Alright some funny things that happened to me.

A DEAF PERSON HEARD ME SNORE!! I slept next to one of the deaf elders last night and he heard me snoring... and hes deaf!!! He can hear REALLY loud things sometimes and I guess my snoring was loud enough for him to hear. Am I proud? Yeah more than a little I guess! :D

Ok here's a good example of Mongolian stores. I was in a store the other day trying to buy a bottle of water. I'm looking around and I cant find one. They have a whole wall of beer, a little fridge of soda, but not a single bottle of water!!!

Anyways that's me this week, love you all.

-Elder Clement

DOG'S GOT NOTHING ON ME

Family and Friends,


A couple cool stories about the intense power of prayer. My companion and I were looking for this ALA. At first we didn't even know the area where he lived but after asking people we found out he lived kinda close to our apt. We finally find our way over to this area but we cant find his building. We look and look but nothing. We finally start knocking on doors asking if people know this guy or maybe the house but no one knows either. We are about to head back when I ask my companion if we can pray for a moment. He was a bit hesitant (we were in the middle of a building complex where many people could possibly see us, but he soon agreed. We then prayed that Heavenly Father would direct our actions as to what we should do at this time. After the prayer I asked my companion what he was feeling. He said he felt we should return to one of the houses we knocked on, and see if they are interested in hearing our message. My feelings confirmed his and we knocked on the door. The father answered the door, and my companion and I began introducing ourselves and asked if he would like to know more about our message. He indicated that he had previously went to Hawaii and had met with someone at BYU-Hawaii. He knew who we were and told us he would be interested in meeting with us. He then turned to me, and in perfect English (rare here), said he was currently entertaining guests, but would like to meet next week. We spoke a little longer, got his name and number and left, but the two blessings here are that, although we were looking for someone else the Lord knew what we should do and directed us somewhere unexpected. The other blessing is that this man speaks perfect English so the things I cant express in Mongolian I can say in English with him completely understanding. 

The other blessing dealing with prayer was when we were again looking for addresses. We were in another spot we had visited a week earlier. We had searched for the better part of an hour in this small area and could not find the place we were looking for. This area was a VERY rich part of the city and there was no one that was outside or that would open the door for two strangers. So this week we looked and looked again but could find this place. My companion was angry over some personal VISA issues he was having and he realized we didn't have the Spirit with us. So he recommended we pray, then continue to search. I agreed and offered the prayer. When we finished we both felt re-energized by the Spirit and we both felt finding this man was a possibility. We turned a corner and to my complete surprise I see the number '6' house, the exact house we were looking for!! It was right by the main entrance, we had walked by it several times the week before and today!! Upon seeing the house I screamed (I didn't mean to but I was really excited) "look, 6, its house 6!!". We both couldnt believe it. I believe the Lord provided this experience to show us how important having the Spirit is, and the sometimes forgotten power of prayer.

Alright little update on other things. Not the greeny anymore. The new missionaries have come in and its really great having them be here. I was kinda getting discouraged with where I was with the language but seeing them here and the little language they know shows me how far I have progressed. They are also all really nice and cool. Funny story about them. In the MTC as a joke I made some funny raps. One was about Preparation Day and the other two about our 2 MTC teachers' girlfriends. They were just short funny little things I made but our teachers thought they were really funny, especially the P-Day one. A few months ago I got an email from one of my teachers telling me that the new group had added lines to my rap and that I was now an MTC legend! I thought it was funny but when the new missionaries got here they started singing my songs, and I immediately loved all of them! There are 4 Elders and 2 Sisters.

Funny story.
So I've always had this theory that if a dog would run at me, instead of running away, I would run at toward it. My theory was that they probably wouldn't expect it and would probably get scared. This week I had a chance to test this theory, kinda.
My companion and I were walking in this area of Khan Uul, and we realized we walked into an alley. We kept walking though thinking maybe there was a small side street we could take. As we get closer we both hear barking from the other side of the fence and immediately two dogs come sprinting out of the gate right for us. My companion saw the dogs coming and started booking it in the other direction. When the dogs saw my companion run away they got excited and started running even faster. I didn't move though. I raised my bag, and held it over my head waiting for the dogs to get close enough to bop them one on the head. As the dogs got closer I was starting doubt the brilliance of my plan when, about 10ft away, the dogs just stopped. They kept barking but they were too scared to get any closer. My companion seeing the dogs stopped, grabbed some rocks and started throwing them at the dogs. This combined with the face that I wasn't moving was enough for the dogs to run back into the gate with their tails in between their legs. Moral of the story, dogs got nothing on me!

New Companion and Area

Family and Friends,

My new companion is awesome! He is Mongolian, and his name is Batkholboo (pronounced Batxolthba). He is an incredible example of obedience and dedication. His previous companion warned me he likes to work, and I was thinking 'sweet so do I', but man this guy is working me to the bone!!!! I'm loving it! We are in a new area now and its a lot smaller than my first one. We are now able to visit a lot more people in one day, which I'm loving. My old area was so big and so far away we couldn't meet with a lot of people before we had to go home. It was really disappointing. Now in this new area its right by our house so we are teaching lots of people! Its awesome!

He has been teaching me a bunch and told me flat out that one of his top priories is to help my language. We have been speaking a lot of Mongolian and I feel like I'm learning a ton!! I already love my new companion and cant wait to teach more with him.

My new area is a place called Khanuul. Its half apartments and half gers (small tent-like houses). There were only 2 Elders there, but now there are 4, so we've had to split places. My companion and I have the apartments. Little side note, most of the buildings here are Russian, almost all of them have basements that were used for storage and small jail cells. There are now many people living in these places. These are the people I teach. Very poor and very humble, and I love them all.

Investigators. Right now my companion and I are learning names, areas, and personal information so we can better teach these people to their needs. Right now we have three investigators we've gotten to know pretty well and taught a couple of times. Like I said they are very humble and very poor. They are very willing to hear our message, the problem lies in them understanding.

Weather. Summer months are good, not too hot and not to cold its really great. Only problem is that it rains at least once a week. Its always super wet! haha I haven't had a winter yet but from what Ive heard it got to -56 last year. I'm pretty pumped!

Alright here's some stuff I learned this week. There is an awesome Liahona story called Transparent Adversity. Its about how sin is transparent to God. Sometimes our vision is blocked by the potential 'fun', or 'self-rationalization', but God sees through that and knows the dangers that lie behind it. Just like a bee cant see the glass that blocks him from going outside, sometimes we cant see the adversity that blocks us from freedom.

On the bus to work one morning, I took a window seat. Before long I became aware of a little bee trying to get itself out of a fix. It was trapped between the two glass panels of the window, and no matter how hard it tried, it couldn’t find its way out. Encased in a transparent prison, it could see freedom but couldn’t find an escape route. Perhaps frightened, it beat its wings furiously and desperately threw itself against the glass.

I’ve always been a person who didn’t like to see anyone or anything hurt. So after observing the bee for some time, I began to try to get it out of its difficulty. But lacking trust and understanding of my desire to help, it didn’t take advantage of the assistance I offered. In fact, all it did was continue to throw itself against the window. Finally I began to get a bit irritated.

But then I started to think about how sometimes people find themselves in similar situations. We get into predicaments—some not of our own making. We also make mistakes, even serious ones. Like the bee, we may feel imprisoned by these adversities. Unfortunately, even though the Lord knows what we need in order to escape our trials, we often don’t turn to Him—or to those He has called to lead us—for help in our times of need. We give no heed to the whisperings of the Spirit and try to face our challenges on our own, rather than relying on those who have greater vision.

As Latter-day Saints, we actually do know how to overcome adversity: we have the scriptures, prayer, and the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Our leaders have been called by the Lord and are ready and willing to help.

Before I got to my stop and after the poor little bee had suffered much, it managed to get out of its predicament. From it I learned that we also can overcome trials—suffering less if we turn to and trust in Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, to whom all adversity is transparent.
http://www.lds.org/liahona/2010/06/transparent-adversity?lang=eng&query=transparent

Ok a really cool blessing happened to my companion and I a couple days ago. We were far from home and at a baptism for someone in my companions old area. We needed to get home, but we didn't know what bus to take. My companion felt inspired to take this particular bus. We got on and realized it didn't go anywhere near where we needed it to go. We were desperate. We talked to the driver and he said he would go to our area. We sat in the back both praying silently he would be good to his word, because his current route would take us far from home and if he decided he didn't want to take us anymore we would be stuck there for the night. The bus makes all its stops and finally pulls into the last stop. This is it, if he turns around we're ok, if not we're in big trouble. He turned around!! He went to the opposite side of the city and dropped us off. My companion, over and over again, said how much of a blessing this is because he has never seen any driver do this before. It was truly a blessing and an answer to our prayers.

I love you guys, keep strong in the faith and trust in God

-Elder Clement