Januarys Letters

01/03/2011

Hello Family and happy new year!
   How is everybody doing this new year?  I am doing great and working hard.  I got the family package this week and have really enjoyed reading the letters and eating American candy.  It was delicious. 
thanks for it, I really appreciate it.
   Well, the work is really moving on.  I have two baptisms set for this Saturday.  I have others that are able to be baptised but need more work.  I am able to teach every principle of the gospel now and I am always learning more Spanish.   I definitely still worry a little about it, but I am more comfortable now.  Saturday was my month day, I have now been out for four months.  I can say it has gone by pretty fast but I am in the mode of it's hard to remember what life was before.  It's pretty crazy, but I am loving my mission and the experiences I am having.  Here for Christmas and new Years, everybody waits up until midnight.  At midnight every single house lights off fireworks, and I am not talking about the little guys!  I mean 200 feet in the air big booms.  I sat on my roof and watched Lima light up with every color fire work.  I had to cover my ears it was so loud, but it was the coolest site to see at Christmas and New Years.  In the mornings you walk outside and seriously it looked like fog, but really it was smoke.  I felt like I just got out a cigg!  It was horrible.  The roads were filled with drunks so the missionary work was out the window.  I visited all of the members and drank and ate food all day.  I have never been so fat in all my life.  If some of  you think the number 2 whataburger with cheese bacon and a heart attack is big, you have never been to Peru as a missionary where everyone wants to feed you.  OK, most of you haven't but it is more food than one person should want to eat in a year.  Other than that, the holidays were great.  I am singing in church next week.  My bishop loves my voice so he wants me to sing every week.  Well nothing else really went on.  This week should be back to normal, I hope.  The holidays son loco; are crazy in Peru and I am excited to have things back to normal.  Well I love you all and hope 2011 is a better year for all.
With much love, Elder Clousito

01/10/2011

Hello Family!
   It's a new week on the other side of the other and I am doing great.  We have been going through a little trial here in my area.  There isn't any water in all of San Juan Lurichano.  About a million people don't have water to their houses.  The church provides the 5 gallon bottle of water for us so we have water to drink.  But you never realize how much you use water until you don't have it, including water for the baptisms on Saturday!  We emptied the old water out of the font the day before we didn't have water and we said that we would clean it and fill it on Saturday.  Then the no water scare made it so we couldn't.  So I started calling all the elders in the mission seeing who had water for our baptisms.  It took me forty five minutes to find some elders with water.  It stunk really bad and we were stressing out trying to find some water.  But we found a font that had some water in it 30 minutes away.  So we rushed to the people we were baptising and asked them if they could make the trip and fortunately, they said that they could.  So that night we made the trip with them and showed up at the church and the ward .  They were having an activity with volleyball, soccer, and food and they asked us if we wanted to join.  So before the baptisms we ate food , played games, and talked with all the members there.  There were about sixty five people there.  After they were done , every single one of them attended the baptism.  The other elders there had people to baptize too, so we did them together.  In all, there were 2 people and our 2 people were baptised with about a 100 people watching.  I was able to baptise Luisa Milagro Talleodo Tantachuco, and my comp baptized mark Antoni Rafiele Callata.  It was really cool to see and hear everybody there.  The loud singing of the hymns kept the spirit alive and after the service, the elders and our baptisms stood in a line and everyone greeted and congratulated us.  It was Awesome!!! 
    Today is the first day anybody has water.  It has been five days.  I have not showered for that amount of time since camp Geronimo!  I was smelling pretty good though... better than my investigators were....ha ha it's gross I know!  Well as for now we have three more people down for baptism in the coming weeks but we have transfers in 2 weeks.  I kind of have a feeling that I won't be here for another transfer which I don't like, but I don't know for sure.  Elder Molina and Yo are have an awesome time together and are working hard.  This last week I had to work.  Both of them were in other areas for me and my companion worked in my area with our leaders.  Both of the other elders for me were gringos.  I tell you what...there is nothing like working with somebody you can make jokes with in English.  I had so much fun with them!  We still worked hard together, but it was awesome.  I ended up asking 8 people for baptism in the two areas I worked.  So my leaders both have more people to baptise because I was confident and just straight up asked them.  I am counting them as mine, ha ha!  They are actually all the Lords.
    Well, I didn't end up singing in my ward, the bishop wasn't there and didn't tell anybody that I was going to sing so I didn't.  That is pretty much my week...everything is going great.  The work is progressing and Soy Feliz.  I hope everyone is dong great, I love you all and I will talk to you all next week.
Love you All,
 Elder Clouse

01/21/11

Well, Family, Uncle Kev is Uncle Kev Again!
  Ha!  I was pleased to hear that Keegan was born, congratulations again to Brent and Kellen.  Well, family and friends, hello.  This week has been crazy for me.  On  Monday, I had interviews with my president.  It was great to finally talk to him for more than two minutes.  He told me that he is pleased with my work, and that I am progressing really well in my Spanish.  I guess he has had some problems with the other elders in my group so he was finally relieved to have a nice conversation.  (I think my spelling is getting worse!)..  Also we had house inspections where the wife of the president and the assistants to the president comes to my house and looks around to make sure it is clean and nothing is broken.  Before she came I did a little cleaning.  I bought some flowers to put on our desks.  I bought some juice and cookies and some little cakes from the bakery.  I bought some napkins and a plate to organize it all in a lovely way, and made a sign that said, "Welcome Sister Blunck."  Then she came and looked at everything and said my house was the cleanest and the nicest she had seen on her mission.  We sat down and ate a few treats, shared a few laughs and told me that I buttered her up pretty good.  Ha ha it was funny!  She said that I made my mother proud and keep up the good work.  She also said that she can't wait to see what I do next.  Then in a British accent said, " I think a little tea would be nice for our next visit".  I think she was happy that I would want to do that for her.  The assistants said..."Wow, Elder Clouse...good job, its good to have the presidents wife on your side.. Ha ha, it was hilarious, but I had a good time doing it.  That was Monday.. the three days after that I had training with all of the elders in Lima in my mission.  Sister Blunck said to all the elders how much fun she had and how clean My house was and gave me a box of candy for having the best inspection.  It was funny.  This training is for the eight simplified lessons of what and how the elders should teach.  It was a great training and I learned a lot and had a wonderful spiritual  experience.  It was really long but these lessons will help out all the elders in the church to teach.
     On Sunday I had a cool experience.  We have been teaching a lady by the name Yasmin, we have been working with her for six weeks now and she has been having doubts about some of the gospel principles.  Well, we didn't know what to do with her.  We went over to her house on Saturday and started talking more about the Book of Mormon.  She said she needed to read it, then we left and felt like she was going to be the "eternal Investigator".  On Sunday she came to church and walked up to us and said, "Which one of you are going to get to baptise me?"   She told us that the Book of Mormon was true and that she needed to get baptised today! Ha ha.  We said, "we will talk later about the baptism and pick out a date", so next Saturday the 29th she will get baptised.  It was cool! 
Well, nothing else is going on.  I will get to email on Monday so I will talk to you all soon.
Love you and Thanks for Everything, Elder Clousito

01/24/11

Hello Family and who ever else reads these letters! 
    This week we have transfers. I am staying in my area with my companion.  I will have 4 1/2 months In my first area in the field by the time next transfers roll around.  I have been really grateful to be in the Las Galeras my first area.  The people are really nice and we have a pretty Strong ward.  the people are always willing to help me in my Spanish which I will be eternally grateful for because I can't speak too well.  I am really happy to be with my comp, elder Molina.  He is a cool guy and can understand a little English so he can help me more.  I am getting to the point now where I can understand everything they say, but have a difficult  time trying to express myself.  It is a little annoying but that is why I needed to learn a language, to help me learn more patience I guess????
   It has only been three days since I have written and there hyas not been much going on.  With transfers all of the elders are happy or burned out.  We are getting four new elders in our zone a that have been out in the junhgle.  Everyone loves tghe jungle, so when they come back to Lima, it's hard to get the fire going.  But I will be there to give the back hand of love to the face.  Ha ha not really I would go home....but sometimes its almost a neccessity.  I hope everyone is loving the weather.  Remember this poor elder is in Lima with 95 degree heat with high humidity.  If what I think happens, happens, I will be going to the jungle after this next transfer.  It is always humid and hot there, all year round.  I will be going there for what I think until November.  By the time I get back to Lima, it will be summer again, so I will hit four summers in a row  Oh boy!  Makes me want to repent it is so hot! Ha ha!  But i will go where the Lord wants and deal with the heat.  All it makes me do is get skinnier so I can't complain.
   Well, this next six weeks we have permission to go to all of the museums and pre Inca sites of Peru.  Every p day we can do activities and we have deci8ded to go see a little Peru.  It should be great and I will have an opportunity to take a lot of pics of Peru.  Lima has a lot of tourist attractions and the jungle is supposed to be the number 1 jungle tour country of South America, so that is a little blessing of being half way around the world.  By my house they sell monkeys for 5 dollars.  I want to buy one so bad but I can't have pets.  The family I live with told me they would" buy one and take care of it so I could money around a little bit with it", end quote Brother Ancasi.  He is the one that said that joke and I laughed pretty hard, but they already have a Guinea pig, AND yes they are planning to cook  it up when it gets a little larger.  I don't know if I feel right about eating Juan Carlos the fifteenth, but I am sure the little sucker will make a good soup.  The family I am living with are part members.  We are renting two rooms and a bathroom out from them.  It is upstairs in their house.  We are working with them with the lessons but they are not married.  We have a massive marriage on valentines day but I don't know if they will want to do that or not.  They are a really good family and attend church every week.  All of the kids are embers and are faithful members.  One of them want to go on a mission so you never know what will happen.  Well, I have talked a lot.  Not much of the work is going on.  Just the normal fight for what is right.  Thanks for all the things all of you have done for me.  I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week.  Love you all, Elder Clouse

01/31/11

Hello Family!
   It's another week in Peru and it's kind of been sad.  We had a member of the our ward die this last week from a brain tumor.  He was 47, his wife died 5 months ago from breast cancer.  When I was in my ward the first month, I had lunch with him eight times and we always talked about his wife.  He was really sad about it but a month ago he figured out he had the tumor and now he is gone.  He has five children and all of them are out of the house except a 14 year old boy.  He is one of the nicest kids you would ever meet.  He took care of his mom and dad and was there when they both died.  It is so sad and all of my ward is all sad.  Yesterday in church they were crying so hard.  Today is the funeral.   Please keep this family in your prayers.  Family Vera.
   Well, all of my investigators are doing great.  I have five baptismal dates for February but will see which ones  go through.  the work is normal and we are all doing good in Peru.  On Saturday was my companions birthday.  He is 21 and we had a bash.  everywhere we went we had eggs flying at us, soda to drink, food to eat, and now I feel sick.  I need to rest from food for 2 weeks.  It was really fun.  My new zone is awesome.  We are planning to go to a lot of museums this change.  We are planning to go bowling and playing soccer against other zones.  It doesn't sound like a mission but we have people who wash our clothes, cook for us and I have a lady who cleans my house so we can do this stuff.  It is a lo of opportunities for pictures and for you guys to see Peru, so it should be fun.
   I have had fun with Elder Molina and we have a chance to be together for another change.  I really feel like there are people here for us and now we have to find them.  The Lord has really blessed us this last change and we have really helped the ward.  Our stake just came out with the missionary goals for this year and they have put the goal to baptize 600 more members for their stake. 120 people for every ward, Ten every month, SOOOO I need a lot of prayers to reach this goal.  Everything is going great.  I love you all and hope things are going good still.  I will write soon.  Love you all, Elder Clouse