September Letters

09/04/10
Hello Family!
  This is my first e-mail home.  The time has gone by really fast, my comp is Elder
Edwards.  His is a goober, but I love him to death.  He is from Ventura-California and is a good guy.  How are things going at home?  I got informed that mom was in remission and it is a true blessing that came directly from Heavenly Father.  That night when I found out I bore my testimony and I have never been more powerful in my life.  It was almost like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ were speaking for me.  The meeting was with my branch presidency, and everyone started to cry as I bore testimony of Jesus Christ and the tender mercies Heavenly Father has given our family.  It was awesome and I realized just how much power a missionary's testimony could have.
     Anyway, my espanol is going like a cup of dirt; give me an F and I will go to bed.  Ha Ha Ha! Just Kidding!  I can pray and bear a simple testimony and tell people what church we represent, but it will come I hope.  I know it will.  I got moms dear elder.com letter and I would recommend that everyone uses that.  It saves money and I get it the same day you write it. (tell Sheryl that ha, ha!) I will let you know if that won't work anymore but for now it works like a charm.  Well, thats pretty much it.  I eat, work, eat, work, work, work, eat, work and go to bed, and surprisingly, I love it that way.  I know the church is true and I am doing the Lords work, may the Lord bless me and all of you as we continue at our Heavenly and temporal work.  Write me soon.  Love, Elder Clouse

09/10/10
Hello Family and Friends!
      It is now my second week in the MTC and time is flying by.  Today is my p-day and I am so excited to go to the temple.  I have missed being able to go so much, but it is not that bad because when the MTC was rededicated by President Hinckley, he dedicated it as if it were a temple calling it " holy grounds".  So I can't complain much.  My espanol is getting better and I can form a few sentences now.  I can say "who is your daddy" in spanish so I figure that is all I need ha ha!
     I have to tell of you of an experience I had on Wednesday.  I have had three different sets of teachers so far and it wasn't untill Wednesday that I got my permanent teachers, so things have been kind of up in the air.  All of the other missionaries could understand about 75%  of what was being said  up to the point and I couldn't understand a thing.  So far all of the teachers were all Americans and it was hard for me to understand them.  On Tuesday I got a little frustrated with myself and I started praying that I could understand just a little bit more.  I think I prayed for an hour straight.  On Wednesday I got two new teachers.  I said "OK Heavenly Father, let me understand just a little bit".   I met the first teacher and I started listening and what happened?  Nothing, I couldn't understand.  I was feeling discouraged and I kept on trying to get it, but it wasn't coming.  Then that night I met the second teacher.  In my blessing when I was set apart, I was blessed that I would understand and speak like a native.  My second teacher was from Columbia, particularly from a town that is pretty close to my mission.  When he spoke, I understood him completely.  It brings me to tears just thinking about how that blessing really does work if I put faith in the Lord.  It is amazing how much I hgave learned and how fast I am leaving to Peru.  I have a week and a half left.  I love all my district and me and my companion are doing great. I am doing the Lords work and will be blessed for this service.  Well, that is pretty much how my week has gone.  Everything is good so no one worry.... unless you want to send cookies or something.  I love the MTC and all that I learn in it.  I hope everything is great at home, from the letters I have been getting it sounds great.  I would love to hear from everyone.  I am glad that mom is doing better.  I pray for her and everyone at home every day.  Well, have fun, write me letters, come close to Christ and feliz navidad. Ha ha!  Love you all hoipe to hear from you soon, with all my heart of love, Elder Clouse

09/17/10

Hello Family!
    How is everything going?  Everything is going tood here.  Next week I go to the Lima MTC.  I have to be to the travel desk at three in the morning.  It's Crazy!   Spanish is OK, it is just trying to memorize everything and every vocab word.  It is tough, but I am learning more everyday all  of the grammer that is involved with espanol.  To answer your questions, dad, yesterday, I had to get my last twin rex a and b shots.  It cost 97 dollars.  I paid for it on the card becuase I had looked at my mission closer on LDS.org and where I am going to be at for practically all my mission, I won't be able to use my card at all.  So I am keeping what cash I have for emergency purposes.  I feel that will be better.  I don't know why but I think I will know soon.  I don't have any opportunities to sing but in Lima, the MTC is smaller and I will have more chances to use my voice.  They are getting an MTC choir for general conference and I miss it by two flippin weeks!!!  That is horrible I know I am already crying over it. ahhhhh! Oh well, this trial will pass.  My everyday life is pretty simple.  I wake up eat, study for three hours, have class for two hours, eat,  and go to sleep, wake up and  it pretty much the same way except I have devotionals and sacrament meeting on Sunday.  I understand why everyone calls it prison and next week I get sent to Florence, or Lima? Ha Ha!  It is not that bad, I really enjoy the time I have and it is really interesting the way my patriarchal blessing and how I understand the gospel topics so much differently as a  missionary.  It keeps me busy, I want to learn more and more.  I have never been like this before, my cup of dirt is about to sprout into a flower.  Then I can give it to mom, haha! 
  How is everything else going at home?  I am glad to hear that everything is going good as of two days ago, but I am always interested.  I want to say thanks to everyone who has sent me letters and things.  It makes my day when I get a letter from home.  I think about how things are going as I can't sleep because of my companions snoring.  Ha ha ha.  It is worse than Marcus!!  By the way, Marcus, send me something I want to hear from you... no I sleep great.  I pray that everything will continue to go well at home.  I know the Lord has taken care of us all so well.  We just have to have faith, and work hard.  My testimony in working has grown a lot.  It is the only way I will be able to speak. 
   That pretty much wraps it up for whats going on.  The next time I e-mail you I will be in Lima, so pray for me, everything is in Spanish there.  I will walk around like a gringo for a while, ha ha.  Well I love you all, hope this next week goes great.  Talk to you all next week.  With much Love,  Elder Gringo
P.S. Tell Sis. Henniger thank you for the letter and everyone else of course.

09/23/10

Hello Family!
   I am at the MTC in Lima.  I have a new comp.  His name is Elder Saldon.  He is from a small town in
the lower part of Preu.  He doesn't speak English andf calls me Elder Santa.  Ha ha, he is funny.  I feel like I am learning sign language better than spanish.  We have had fun so far and he is going to Mexico on his mission.  The airlines lost my bags and I didn't get them until about thirty minutes ago.  I stayed at the airport for over thyree hours trying to figure out what happened.  I didn't get to the MTC until two this morning.  Then they didn't have a room for me to sleep in so I waited another hour.  Then my comp shook me at 6:30 and said it's time to get up Elder Santa.  I said no bueno nacho libre!  He laughed his head off.  Everything is in spanisd.  I can't understand much but I hope that I will be able to soon.  I met my mission president yesterday.  His daughter is serving a mission in Cusco and she was flying with us.  We got off the plane and he was there.  He is a very nice pleasant man who gave me a hug and siad, "Elder Clouse, I love you", he already knew my name.  It was very very cool.  Well today is an easy day.  I traded some money in soles, filled out like twenty papers applying for residency.  I also goty a hair cut, they shaved every elders head.  I have never had my hair this short, it is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyytoo short.  Oh well, it will grow.  Here is the address to the MTC....(he gives it)  I am using a spanish computer so it is not working right now how I would like it to.  Well, I will write youn all next week.  Wednesday is our p-day so I will write then.  Write me a lot I missi you all and love you so much, Love, Elder Clouse

09/29/10

Hello Family!
   Life is going really well.  I love my latino comp and I am glad you wrote me through e-mail.  The dear elder takes four days to get here and I have not heard anything from anyone yet.  It's been a little lonely this week so far.  Oh well, hopefully I will get something in the mail.  If you want to know what the food is like here, go to Contigo Peru restaurant in Gilbert.  It tastes the same.  A lot of rice, a lot of potatoes and meat.  It is really good.  I have more time to e mail so if you all want to send a little email so I can know every wednesday whats up that would be fine.  Still do dear elder.com so I can have something to read during the week.  I am glad things are going really good at home.  Today is p day and I went to interpool to get myself finger printed for my Peru ID.  I went to the store and got a ton of stuff for 10 bucks or 30 soles in Peru.  I really like how cheap everything is.  I also got scripture cases and a hymn case.  Evertything is going really well.  Nothing is wrong.  My spanish is improving and I talk like a five year old instead of a four year old.  My comp, Elder Rold'an is great.  The second night here I was doing crunches and  he walked in front of me and started yelling "para su novia, Para su novia"   I was like, "What are you saying?"  He said , in America you have a girlfriend?  I said yes, and then he was like you do work out  para su novia (for your girlfirend) and then I was like para me novia and started doing them faster.  Ha ha ha!  That is just one example of how funny he is.  I love him to death.  We are having so much fun.  Today he got his endowments taken out and afterwards he came up to me and hugged me and said, "I love you papa noel,( aka Santa Clause) ha ha ha! I laughed so hard.  Everything else is going really well.  I have lost some wight and am working really hard.  I will write you a letter today.  Interpool took forever today so I don't have a lot of time.  I love youall, write me.  I miss you all.  Love, Elder Clouse