Monday, September 29, 2014

General Conference!

This was a very interesting week very slow but super good because of conference! Which, lets face it, was AMAZING! We had 8 investigators watching! I loved how Elder Uchtdorf and Elder Bednar talked straight to people that aren't members of the church! I invite everyone that isn't a member that is reading this to go watch thoes two talks on lds.org, they explain a lot about the LDS church!
  We were able to teach Cindy and Gary this week, finally, and we invited her to be baptized and she knows she wants to so we also invited her to pray for a date to be baptized. She has been taking the lessons for about 6 years now and we both think and feel that her time to be baptized is soon!
   We also taught Juanita and her kids. On Thursday we went over with Sister Hatcher ( a crazy awesome mother type member in the ward) and had a big Q and A session and man did they have a lot of questions! They ranged from the Law of Chastity to the Word of Wisdom to random stuff the kids have heard about the "Mormons". Juanita's husband is very cynical right now but that night he really opened up to me and we talked and I answered and clarified a lot of questions he was having, which was really good and we found out that he use to go to the LDS church a couple of years back so that's really cool! The next night we taught then the Plan of Salvation and as Juanita finished reading a scripture out of the Book of Mormon, she says that it is true! We asked them all to pray about baptism and a date. They all said that they will and do want to be baptized! Josh, one of the sons who is 18, said that he had never been interested in religion at all but now since he's been talking with us he thinks about it a lot more and really wants to learn more and go to church.
  This ward has exploded with work, the Lord really does put prepared people in our way to help teach and guide them back to him! Luke is another investigator of ours that is in a very interesting situation. He is still a she but identifies as a male and knows the church is true and wants to be baptized as well. He has so much faith it is amazing! He was talking with different missionaries in Nampa whom he thinks are letting their personal feelings get in the way of him being baptized, which is sad. When he was telling us this an experience I had before my mission came back to my mind and now I know why this person was in my life then and has the same feelings as Luke does. It was to open my heart to their feelings and understand where they were coming from so that when I met Luke it wasnt such a hard transition for me. I could be able to give him the same love and respect as I would give any one else, which he totally deserves!
   So speaking of Nampa and that mission..... me and Sister Delahoyde really don't like them right now! hahaha So Jerod, our golden investigator, moved to that mission! That counts 2 that Nampa had taken from us! I know Nampa didnt "take' them but Heavenly Father knows where he needs to be to gain the best experience and who will be able to touch his heart and understanding better. I just dont like that he's gone. hahaha But then again Logan, my recent convert, was being taught in the Nampa Mission before we baptized him hahaha  I guess we are even then lol
   Well I love all of ya'll and I pray that ya'll will feel and understand the truth of what the Prophet and Twelve Apostles and General Authorities said this last weekend! Have a great week!!! And carry on!
 
<3 Sister Ashley Clawson

Lunch with Sister Wilkes! yum yum yum chicken rice soup! I have come to LOVE soup!!!!!

Real Email This Time! :D!


    To start off I'm going to share an experience that most RM's out there will understand. So last Monday we were at Sonic grabbing a drink with a member and I went to throw my cup away and this man says I want to talk with you, so I turn back around and I said I'm sorry I didn't hear you then he said it again so I was like cool could we get your number to set up an appointment to talk. And so he did and we kept playing phone tag for a while till we actually set an appointment. He wanted to meet up back at Sonic.....see where this is going RM's?.....So we did and he sits down and starts into us. Telling us how the Book of Mormon is condemning the Mormons...idk I really didn't listen much after that but I was very nice and I did really well at controlling my red hair, Quamo, I have my companion now calling me Red hahha, and we excused ourselves and left. I love talking about the Gospel but if you are wanting to argue and Bible bash no thank you, contention is of the devil.
    We had a really good week this week taught 16 lessons and 15 of those were to investigators! We have about 10 investigators and one of them is getting baptized on October 11th which is super exciting and we are waiting on a couple more dates to be set hopefully this week! I love how I can see the Gospel change people's lives for the good!
    So every time transfers come there are a bunch of new missionaries fresh from the MTC. Different wards take turns helping with the lunch that first day. No one signed up from our ward because it was really last minute so we signed up and could only do it if we brought an investigator, which we did and it was a blast! So there is this new missionary that I knew his name Brooke Thompson, and he was from Mesa too so I met him and it turns out he went to Franklin East as well but a year under me how cool! Such a small world!
   The Morgans are such a great family! Their daughter, Sister Cluff is crazy awesome! She says her hobby is missionaries! We spent a couple of hours helping them can tomato soup, soooo good and so much fun! We already have it planned that the same time next year I will come up and help them can everything! hahahaha
  We are teaching this Catholic family who really don't go to church all that much and we taught them about the Restoration and both of the kids say they want to be baptized and to go to church! Their oldest sister was baptized about a year or so ago and they see how much happier she is and they want that in their lives so they are really going to study and listen. We set up a time to come back over and teach more and the daughter, Aaliyah wants us to come over more then once a week!!!!! They all have a ton of questions and are really interested! Their dad has lost all of his faith after his dad passed away and now is on dialysis so he is very close minded on everything right now.
    Luke.......SO I might loose you here so pay attention for this one. Amanda was his name before' now its Luke and his boyfriend is 49 and he is 23 and he believes all that the missionaries have taught him thus far. very interesting situation. Now dont get me wrong I have many friends like this and they can do whatever they want I dont typically like it or approve but they are still my friends and I love 'em. So this will be a really fun conversation with him as we teach him more and figure things out together and we continue teaching :) prayers are ALWAYS welcomed! hahahaha 
   I can't tell each one of you enough how much I love this Gospel and my Savior Jesus Christ! 

--
<3 Sister Ashley Clawson
 
Pictures!
 ( My uncle David says I need to send more because he doesn't want to read my letters.... -_-)

When we travel as missionaries we have to be in our church or proselyting clothes so as we went from one service project to the other this is what it looked like! hahahaha
 
Look closely. doesn't she look like that watermelon?! hahaha Her watermelon outfit we call it! Watch out with that knife!
 
 Got my family history all the way to Adam the first man on earth from 2 different lines!
 
 Oh we are just canning! Yumm!!! So if you get a chance ya'll have to try this! Start off like you are making a Grilled cheese but forget the cheese and put peanut butter with brown sugar on it and grill it! Delicious!  Some more "Barney Butter" recipes Debbie!
 
Rescuing the cat with a Book of Mormon! that is how its done!
 
My turn! it worked this time! hahha

Monday, September 22, 2014

What did we do this week?

Why is that always the question I ask myself every Monday! hahahaha Weeks go by so fast and everything seems to blend in together!  So Sister Delahoyde is a bit of  a prankster. So two of her old Zone Leaders were going home and one of her companions and it was her old comps birthday so we invited them all over to a family in her ward's house and sat all three down and pied them in the face! hahaha It was great! I wish I had the pictures but I will get them. Now I know how fun it was for Joey to pie me in the face for my birthday! hahaha
 We met this super awesome lady Tamara. We met her through her neighbor who told us to go see her. We talked for quite awhile and helped her with her animals - goats and a horse. The horse loves me! hehe She is going through a lot of trials right now in her life. We were talking and she said she has been baptized 2 times, once as a baby and about a year ago and she doesn't feel like shes fully baptized like somthing is missing and she's really interested about learning more and reading the Book of Mormon! You do some interesting things on your mission and this is one of them. She feels like there are evil spirits or orbs as she calls them in her yard because of her neighbor that just moved in and her and her friend had blessed one half of the yard but she wanted someone else to walk around and pray to bless the yard so we did. Can I tell you one of the wierdest things is saying a prayer with your eyes open as you walk around trying not to step in horse poo! haha She also wants us to be there when she puts her dog down for support. She is such a sweet lady who really wants to please her Father in Heaven and come closer to Him!
 So Wednessday we had a Sister's Meeting with all the sister missionaries in the mission. It was really good. We talked about the Priesthood and the different roles people play in it and that we all have the power of the Priesthood. We also had this crazy energetic lady who I'm sure is a grandma and is a persaonal trainer come in and teach us about eating healthy, portion control and excersize. So all in all she called us all fat! hahahaha She sure knows how to make me feel great about myself! hahaha
 So we mow a lady's yard every Wed. and I love it! Except for all the mushrooms. I mean really gross!!!!! ha! So I love it when ladies here try to hook me up with their sons.It's quite funny! I can't help but laugh and most of the ladies that do it I absolutely love ha!
Oh, yeah! Transfers came and I'm staying with Sister Delahoyde. It definitely did not feel like 6 weeks!
  So I love you all and I pray that you all have a great week!!!! Stay safe, DRY,

and carry on! 
--
<3 Sister Ashley Clawson
 
picture time!
 
 
 Did you know that in the fall leaves turn RED?!
 
 
The best picture I have of my district! hahaha

Monday, September 15, 2014

So Many Lessons!

This week has been very interesting and full of lessons the Lord has taught me!

Monday, September 8, 2014

This week was pretty slow for the most part. One of the hardest parts of the day -to-day stuff is trying to fill up your schedule.. We have a service project now that we do every week on Wednesday so that's nice. We mow this lady's yard  that isn't a member whose husband passed away this year so she needs the help. She's a hoarder too so we are going to try to help her with the house! So we met Sister Palmer this week who is a FANTASTIC lady! She has breast cancer that is in remission right now and they had to remove her right side so she only has one breast now and she embraces it. It is who she is now and if people don't like it then they don't have to talk to her! She has horses too and asked if I wanted to go riding but we can't..... hahaha it kills so much but I know it's for safety reasons but she will let me pet them and feed them so that's good! hahah She is such a sweet lady. I told her that I missed my boots and she went to go get her extras to see if they fit me. They didn't but it was the thought of her wanting me to feel at home! We are going to go pick her fruit trees this week and she's making us breakfast in return! I want to be as sweet and caring as her one day! My new goal in life! hahaha
  So we have lunch with Ursula, an investigator, every Tues at the temple just on the grass! It's great! Not very many missionaries get the chance to see let alone be on the temple grounds every week. It's a great experience. Her daughter Mercedes recently got baptized and shes just on fire! THE smartest 9 year old I have ever met! We teach both of them together. I have seen a difference in her mom, Ursula, since I've been here and she's been coming to sacrament and I know it's all on the Lords timing but I think that its almost her time! I pray! 
   This ward is full of people that have very interesting stories and lives. The Whitings are one of them. Long story short they have 8 kids oldest 18 to 5 years old....and the parents are divorced. The mom just got out of jail so the dad has been doing 'Mister Mom' for several years now and because of all the drama that the kids have been through in their life at such young an age they are struggling. But Brother Whitting, let me tell you, I have not met a sweeter more patient man EVER! He teaches his kids good principles, reads from the Book of Mormon with them every night and just loves them so much! With everything they have been going through he has been there for them and put himself aside! 
    Jerod and Melissa invited us over again to teach the first lesson.  We taught the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and showed them the Joseph Smith Restoration movie and the spirit was soooo strong! They had some really good questions. Jerod had read the first 2 pages of First Nephi and was really excited to read more. Melissa didn't read tho but she was super sorry she didn't. She apologized like 6 times but she said she is going to start reading it this week! It's funny, she doesn't want to admit yet that she is interested but you can tell it on her face when we are teaching and through the questions she asks! haha I love it!
 We see Barbra this week, finally, and she said that she could tell a difference when she prayed in the name of Jesus Christ! She said she could sleep better and she had energy for her day. I love how the Gospel can change peoples lives! 
   Lacy is probably one of my favorites to visit! So I had been craving jello for the longest time recently! So I made some jello and we went over there and ate it and taught the plan of Salvation and she had a lot of good questions. She's just not sure where she wants to go with the Gospel yet but she's still good with us teaching her kids, which we will do this week! 
   Super exciting news! We were able to teach Hunter the Plan of Salvation this week and set a baptismal date for the 9 of October! whoot whoot!!!!! Hopefully that will help his family  come back to church again!  The Zetlers live right next to them and we went over there and that family! Can I just say have overcome so much and have found their way to the church and their lives did a complete 180! They are preparing to go to the temple and be sealed as a family forever in January and he just got a job that he will start next Monday which is such a blessing!!!  If you EVER think anyone's too far from joining the church and changing their lives around think again! 
   For all of you that know me really well then you know I'm afraid of fish...yes I know, strange. But you would be so proud of me! A member took us to Joes Crab Shack and guess what I ate? Yes, crab! hahaha It's very interesting. Not my favorite but it wasn't bad! hahaha So Ma i took pictures for you, you would be soo proud of me! hehehe
  One more cool experience. We got home last night and Sister Wilkes had gone over to her daughter's house, the Andrews in my last ward, and the son told her that they had stake conference and that President Zarcosse, the stake president, told a story about me! He told them about when I was teaching a part of mission prep and someone asked me a question about the priesthood and I knew exactly what to tell them and how to answer a question like that when they get it. He said that it was very impressive and that he had never met a Sister Missionary who was so prepared before! It made me tear up because I didn't realize and won't realize the impact I have as a missionary  made on other peoples lives.
   Ya'll I know the church is true and that we have the fullness of the Gospel back on the earth today and I know as we study and read and ponder that the Lord will help us through whatever comes our way! I have learned the best way  to share the Gospel is through example so always pay attention to your actions and live the way Jesus Christ showed us how to when he was on the Earth! I love you all so much I would love to hear any missionary opportunities that ya'll have had! Till next week be safe and CARRY ON!!!!!
<3 Sister Ashley Clawson

Picture Time!

 Joe's Crab Shack! 
 Both of us! Me and Sister Delahoyde. Don't we look like twins!
 
 
I found a Diet Coke that has my name on it!!!! I HAD to get it! 
 
 
 We had a progressive dinner for the ward and Bro Morgan used this train to trek people from house to house like a hay ride!
 
 This is one of the yards we ate in. So pretty grape vines everywhere!
 
 the Boise temple at night!
 
   Me and Sister Delahoyde at the temple!
 
When the Boise temple was erected! Sister Delahoyde's lovely heart
 
I thought this was a great picture! You can see the Holiness to the Lord and the American flag!
 
LOVE IT! Sister Delahoyde took this one of me!
 
    I have a parot! it wouldnt go to any one else! hehehe

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

As a Missionary Holidays are not my Favorite...

So Sunday me and Sister Delahoyde were super excited about emailing on Monday, I really was to email Britt since her B-day was that day then our Bishop reminds us that it is a holiday......So to say the least I am VERY excited to email today Tuesday........
   This week was pretty awesome! We were guided to 5 new investigators to teach! They are all very promising! The Lord's timing is everything let me tell you!!!!  Every time we go to do a service project half way through it I realize that I should have taken a before and after picture to show ya'll..hahaha so there is this huge ugly willow tree across the street from us at one of our investigators houses. Her husband really liked how over grown it was but she didn't. So now that he's gone and out of the picture I got to attack it! hahaha It has bugged me since I got to this area! hahaha So we had Elder Taylor and Elder Ysla our District leaders come and help us. Elder Taylor was all up in the tree cutting of dead branches and aiming them towards me! hahahaha Oh Elders! We really enjoyed ourselves but the job isn't finished. We are having a member in the ward look up what a taken care of willow tree should look like so we can finish the job and I can stop being OCD about it! hahaha 
 We finally got to meet Lacy's kids, all but the oldest. There is Taylor and he's 10 and Brooklynn who reminds me sooo much a of Kenzie who is 7. Josh the older\st one was at a youth activity at another church. We taught them the Restoration and Taylor got everything! He is such a smart kid! We met Josh a couple nights later and cute miss Brooklyn came sat next to me on the couch and put her blanket over the both of us and asked when we were going to learn about church!?! The sweetest thing ANY missionary could hear!!!!! So we shared Alma 7 about how Jesus knows our pains and can help us whenever we need him all we have to do is ask! Ursula one of our investigators came with us and she knows quite a bit about the church and started help teach the kids! It was such a neat experience! They all came to walk us out to our car and each of the kids wanted a Book of Mormon and a Restoration pamphlet that they could have and read! SO stinken cute!!!! Now Lacy and Ursula are going to go running together and be each others social life! hahah They are in about the same situation with the husband out of the picture and kids to take care of so they will be great for each other! 
   The Stewarts are very interesting, they have been investigating the church since '07. They want to be taught the lessons again and are married now which is SUCH a relief! We both feel that this is their time to come back to church! So we are hoping and praying that we can help them realize what they have come to know over the years what is true! 
   Jerod is another one of our investigators who lives with his cousin Melissa who is also an investigator! They are both very sweet! We taught them both about the Book of Mormon and they each wanted a copy to read. Something really cool about the Book of Mormon in the front there are pictures and those pictures help explain what the Book of Mormon is all about! It comes in handy when we are teaching about the Book of Mormon and it gets them into the pages and looking at it! 
    So now for Stake Conference notes from last week!
READY?!?
  Just as a note before I start Elder Bednar didn't have ANY notes with him at all!
   
  He started off talking about how the Lord hastens his work, not us and are we as members going to stay up to his speed. Repentance has a whole new meaning to me now! Repentance means to turn, to turn away from the world and to our Savior! Sin is selfish and self centered but as we repent we turn to the Lord and we need to quit looking back and have the faith that the Lord will forgive us as long as we forgive ourselves. Repentance requires the Redeemer and that he doesn't punish us for the sins we make. We punish ourselves because we push the spirit away because the Holly Ghost cannot dwell in unclean things! He talked about this game that some people seem to be a part of and think about with repentance that they can sin and then repent of it later and be clean to go to the temple or on missions. Which is totally wrong, how can you repent with real intent when your real intent was to sin in the first place! Repentance is a renewal, like if you had a stain on a dry clean only dress and you take it to the dry cleaners and they clean it for you but you can't wear it till its done right? SO why loose time while you are in the "dry cleaners" to do good? Don't loose time - repent now and prepare and prevent for those temptations that can turn into sins rather then repairing and loosing time in the "dry cleaners" 
   So since we only have an hour to write today I'll write the rest next week! I love you all so much and really want you to take all that Elder Bednar said to heart and think of ways you can prevent those temptations from becoming sins. Have a great week!!!!!
<3 Sister Ashley Clawson!!!!!