Thank you for the Letters

Thank you so much family for the beautiful letters! I was getting hungry for them. How RAD was that to meet Elder Eyring??? Even though we don´t have to shake their hands to know that they are real apostles called of God........ I will never forget the feelings I experienced when I met Elder Holland.... yet I felt the same power even over here listening to the broadcast. (oh, and Joel, I had the same impression and inspiration when they sang ¨High on a Mountain Top¨ too.... how close did we feel to the family at that moment?)


Thank you for telling about all the sweet miracles and blessings going on over there!! Happy happy life, huh? Not easy.... but so so happy.


Um.... I just LOVE LOVE LOVE working with families... it´s an addiction I never intend to kick... but I itch to feed it more. We´re looking and looking for more... and though they´re not always just on their porch waiting for us... we are so grateful for those families that we are working with that I feel so sure will make it to the temple. We are seeing so many changes in Jorge and Rosa and their family... and I feel SO SO honored to a witness to it all. Jorge is reading the scriptures with his magnifying glass every night out loud for Rosa who can´t read, and they are reporting the most astounding changes in their family! They live up in this little room at the top of this little car wash... all 5 of them in a little bedroom with a stove at the top of the stairs for a kitchen that they share with 4 other adults in the two other rooms up there. Jorge still hasn´t found a job since he quit his job... but they haven´t give hope, but rather have more than they ever have. Of course, there are complications and obstacles with the divorcement... but they are more and more excited to get it all done and GET BAPTIZED! They reported that they had their OWN family home evening... and Jorge read ALL of the pamplets and the Book of Mormon out loud... for THREE HOURS... and that it was marvelous. We gave them a picture of the temple and the proclamation to the family... and when we came back... they had rearranged a whole wall, changed the clothes line and everything.... and had mounted them over old cardboard and nailed them to the wall......... and it was so beautiful. They are say they are the happiest they have ever been, and can´t believe how much better their life in that little room is every day with more love, patience, and joy. They are teaching me so much about the kind of family I want to have.


Sandra and her ¨spouse¨ are getting married and baptized this week!!! They have been overcoming so many addictions, legal things, habbits.... and are truly experiencing a mighty change of heart, and the healing power of the Atonement. We are SO happy for them... and again... totally blessed to be able to see it all happen.


Sometimes I get a little impatient.... just... wanting to see more tangible and quick progress... to see more people make covenants with our Heavenly Father... but I know that there is a purpose and plan in everything. I heard this week that one of the investigators that I had led to and had been teaching in Candelaria, Jorge, is getting baptized this week! I remember that night in Candelaria... wandering around... trying to follow the Spirit... I heard the words of Mormon when he said, ¨I do this for a wise purpose, for thus it whispereth me, according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me¨... and feeling that we should contact on a street that I had already contacted before, and had walked a million times over... when I heard, ¨Hey girl!¨ and I usually don´t reply to such calls in english because they don´t usually mean anything good.... but the Spirit penetrated me... and I turned and started walking towards the voice in the dark.... and found Jorge. He had just gotten here from 4 years in prison in the states.... It is such a beautiful miracle... and I know that he has had to work so hard and learn so much to overcome the problems that he had to be ready to progress like this........ and it really just goes to show that with God, NOTHING is impossible. I´m so grateful that we have such ready access to the Atonement... that we can truly leave the past behind... and start over in Christ... to truly be born again.
I´m learning not to expect to see all the exact and clear fruits of the labor this week, this month, or maybe even this change or life...... but I know that the Lord knows the purpose... and I don´t have to know it all or exactly why... but to follow with exactness.


Speaking of following with exactness... I´m also learning that there are many missionaries that don´t want to follow our advice as nurses with exactness.... and it´s a whole ´nother test of PATIENCE. I have such a love and fondness for this silly sweet Elders that I could never have fully imagined having before... and it helps me answer the phone... but also makes it harder to hear them struggle and suffer physically and emotionally... and not be able to be their mom and just hug them. Even though I don´t even have all the burden and responsibility of the nurse because Hermana Woods is still here.... the Lord has already blessed me with impressions and abilities (especially in spanish) beyond my natural capabilities. I am so humbled to experience such a powerful presence and intervention when I have been speaking to spanish speaking missionaries about deligate emotional issues and crises.... and to realize that I have understood and said words about things that I have never talked about in Spanish before... and the only way that is possible... is the pure gift of tongues.
There are a lot of medical things going on... that are interesting... but mostly just frustrating. For example... an elder called complaining of some severe abdominal pain... but wouldn´t say how severe, exactly where it was, or that he had vomitted twice that morning- because he didn´t want it to be anything serious or get in the way of the work. SO... when we tried to evaluate him for appendicitis... it didn´t seem probable since he didn´t have a fever or pain in the right location. Yet... when his lab results showed an infection... after drilling him some more... he confessed to vomitting... and we sent him to the hospital... to find that he was really about to burst of apendicitis... and was rushed into surgery. We learn to let go the frustration of the misinformation... and be grateful he´s alive.
We are seeing an alarming rate of Elders with amoebas. In this last month, we´ve had a number of random cases that they took the supposed medications we told them to get... but 2 weeks later they are totally wilting- still having diahrrea, and won´t eat, and are totally dehydrated- but didn´t want to tell us? Something happens with this sketchy little farmacias that they get and sale FAKE drugs... and so of course they don´t get better!
OR... they get the right drug... and don´t like the taste of them... and we can´t get them to take them... so they continue to wilt with malnutrition and dehydration! Sometimes I just wanna grab them like the cats in dad´s office and use the big pill poppers to get them to take the pills that will SAVE THEIR LIVES!
OR... they can´t find the meds up it the mountains that they´re at... and we get super creative with getting them the stuff they need so that they don´t end up in the hospital for an absurd amount of diahrrea.


President had asked me if I could use my education in my mission and if I´d be WILLING to be the nurse... and I smiled, reflected on what I already knew I´d be facing... and thought of the wise words of my parents when they gave me orders, ¨I didn´t ask if you WANTED to... I said to do it!!¨ and said, ¨good thing you didn´t ask me if I WANTED to. :) ¨
Welp... love you all!! So happy and proud of my family and friends that are dilligently working hard and being true to the faith!!!
Hermana Clark