What a week!

We had a great week with lessons and seeing people change and grow! Monday was a great night! We had a lesson with a less active family, the Borens, who have a daughter that just turned 8 but she has not been baptized yet. She wants to but the problem is that she has only been to church a handful of times so her parents asked us to teach her so she can be ready for baptism and understand things. The kids are so cute and ready to participate in everything concerning church but the parents are just fine without going....So thats kinda hard but the kids always have fantastic questions about the lessons. when we were teaching the Plan of Salvation. The boy asked what happens if you die without getting baptized and so we were able to teach about baptisms for the dead and he really liked it and wanted to do it! He will be 12 next year and I hope the parents will let him go to church and to do baptisms... We will see tho! Sister Pavalak is another Less active member that we are working with. She has been reading a bit here and there and is getting even closer and closer to coming back to church! She has decided that she just needs to set aside time just to read the Book of Mormon! Otherwise she won't ever get to it! Priorities as SOOOOO very important! 

   We had a service auction for Relief Society and Sister Glover bought an hour of service (with fake money of coarse) and we had a BLAST! We cleaned out two of her daughter's rooms, who are now married and have been for a couple of years, closets and updated her grandkid's wall. We laughed soo hard and just had a blast doing it! While I was on the floor of the first closet it hit me that I was in some strange ladies basement that I have only known for 4 1/2 months....It's crazy what happens on a mission and how many people that you grow relationships with real fast! We went on splits with the ward missionaries that night and I went with Sister Powell and we saw quite a few people. We went to this one house that the lady pretended not to be home, although we heard her, and Sister Powell told me about when she was in Japan on her mission they had video cameras that would turn on a light to see who was outside and who the rang there door bell then just ignore them... Ha! People! 

  Wednesday we had SUCH  a great lesson with Neiva! We talked about faith and what it means to her and how it is everything in our life! I like to say if we don't have faith we have nothing! She has a lot of friends of different religions and she loves to learn about them and experience them by going to church. She told us that every time she talks with her friends about their religious beliefs she always comes back to what we have taught her! There is a PULL!! My friends, that is the Holy Ghost testifying to her spirit that what we are teaching is true! She just hasn't connected the two quite yet, but its coming! We are so excited to see her and her family progressing! Sister Smith, the sick sister I was in the MTC with, is now in the district!!! We had lunch the other day at Costa Vita! yumm!!! I love being able to just have lunch with good friends! We volunteer at an assisted living care center and call out Bingo! It is really fun to go and have them remember your name! We also went to make paper flowers and there were some real flowers there that they get for the residence to have fun arranging them, like last week. We worked on the paper ones while some other ladies fused about not having knives to cut the flowers with....man these workers have sooo much patience....it's a good thing that I'm working on Charity this transfer :D! hahaha 

  On Thursday we are suppose to do weekly planning where we plan for the week and for the lessons we will be teaching but,like always. we never get it done on Thursday. And this time we never even started! Right after we finished saying a prayer to start we got a call form Elder Sorensen. He is the  housing coordinator for the mission, and he told us we had to move out and move into a basement apartment that some other sisters are living in. So we started packing and then went to a lesson with an investigator who said the most wonderful prayer and thanked her Heavenly Father for everything Jesus Christ has done for her! She really wants to be baptized but her parents don't make an effort to get her to church or themselves. Then back to packing and cleaning...I've learned I have turned into my mom, which isn't bad, but I couldn't leave that apartment to the Elders without cleaning it really good! So we spent most of our day doing that and moving into our tiny bedroom and bunk beds. I keep hitting my head on the Ceiling when I wake up in the mornings...plus the lady is trying to sell her house as well so we most likely will be moving again....Oh the life of a missionary! hahah LOVE IT!!!! 

    So this week I got my travel itinerary, which I'll send a picture of next week! It really hasn't sunk in that I'll be leaving soon and I don't think it will till I get on that plane. During Zone meeting tho Elder Scott went around the room and "Released" us from our missions to prove a point that we only have this short time to serve and we need to understand our role and how important this time is. I had another Zone Leader do that about a year ago and this time it hit even harder and then I "released" him and we both just sat their with tears rolling down our faces. I will never forget this time of my life, that I have put so much of my heart out on the line for others and have really understood my purpose in life and what REALLY matters! Anyone and I mean ANYONE who is thinking even contemplating the idea of serving, whether young or old, just DO IT! You will NEVER regret it!!! And it will help you through the rest of your life, I promise! I love all of you and wish I could just pour out everything I feel in my heart but there aren't enough words or time to do so! I pray that my example will be able to help those I serve around and my family and extended family back at home! Like Elder Holland has said lean upon my testimony if yours is waving till you can find your feet planted firmly upon our Savior Jesus Christ! I love you all so much and can't wait to be reunited as a family and friends! Till then Stay strong and carry on!

--

<3 Sister Ashley Clawson