4/29 Esta Bien! Soy lovin' it!

Hola Familia Y Amigos,
Life is GOOD! I've grown so much! I was getting SUPER down on
myself last week and every day I'd just feel like I couldn't do
anything.. not a happy attitude! but this week something happened..
well not something but LOTS of things! I've learned so much about
relying on the Lord and not myself. I've learned to completely trust
in God and let his miracles work and I feel like I can understand WAY
more Spanish! (Still lacking in the hablar category) I feel the spirit
so strongly and honestly don't think about home anymore. I am excited
for each new day and the learning I get to do! I feel so great!!!! :D
Tomorrow is P-day and we get to go on a field trip to Central Park
and Wal-mart.. maybe to Wendy’s if we luck out.. But I'm also super
excited to go to the temple in the evening! I found out the temple
isn't in my mission so I probably won't ever go after the CCM unless
something Big happens like an investigator goes through. I'm just
really excited! (I heard they have Taco Bell here in Guatemala City!)
I've heard so many awesome conversion stories and I have magically

learned the art of scripture study! I couldn't study effectively at all

before my mission.. I just read. Now I magically know how to mark

scriptures, receive freaking answers to ANY question I've had and

learn like I've never learned in my life!! I KNOW that the Lord had a
part in that because I have NEVER gotten as much out of the scriptures
in my whole life as I have in this past week alone! I really REALLY
love my mission already!
I've been trying to look for anyone I might be able to help while

I'm here at the CCM.. anyone who might be discouraged and maybe

considering giving up.. I pray to find them almost every day! I don't

know If I've been a big influence in anyone's life yet but I have tried

to just be a little extra nice to a few people.. get them to say
things in Spanish, positive uplifting things, so as to both get them
speaking and give them a happy thought in their head. It's awesome! I

feel like even though I've been trying to help others, President
Crockett's blessing was more for me.. The first two days I got here I

felt so out of place.. so alone (especially with the whole

companion/district switching all the time). I felt like no one wanted

me.. it was hard and I'll admit I thought of how easy It'd be to give
up.. but then I thought of how I was meant to be here to help someone..
or many people be able to push through their hard spots and I knew
then that I couldn't give up.. not for me but for them! since I felt
that I have never once had even the remote desire to come home. I can
make it through any trial now.. I have that testimony that God's got
my back!

I'm trying to think of all the things I should say.. not that
there's anything I don't want to say I just can't think of the things
I WANTED to say.. there’s so much! I've only heard 2 more gunshots
since last week so it's still safe to assume I'm safe.

The temple here is a beauty but its still safe to say Oakland still
has my heart and forever will! it was cool finally going into a
different temple! It's my second temple I've been in for endowments.
its cool cause it's a long temple so like everything goes down this
long hallway. It's beautiful!

Like I said earlier.. I'm doing awesome and I'm still on a
constant spiritual high! I'm so proud of myself and my ability to
study and learn that the Lord gave me! I've never been more excited to
learn more, about anything, in my life!
Oh wait!!! I forgot! I found a food that I absolutely HATED here!!!
Guess what it is? It's something I didn't like before and so far its
the ONLY thing I still can't handle.
...
...
...
It's Hamburgers.
Seriously! I liked my fish and lasagna dinner more than my
hamburger and French fry lunch. I NEVER thought I would admit to
liking fish and lasagna to hamburger and French fries but honestly I
can't stand hamburgers anymore! It's worse than before. ...The French
fries were AMAZING though!
I've had potatoes in one form or another I think almost every day

since I've been here.. sometimes boiled potatoes.. sometimes
hash browns.. sometimes a baked potato. It's awesome and I hope the rest of Guatemala likes potatoes.
It's still not rainy season.. I want it to rain SO bad! Every cloud
that passes by gets my hopes up! But the rainy season is May-Oct so
Maybe in a few weeks.. then I'll probably be tired of it.
I can buy stamps here in the CCM for the same price as in the
states so I might write a bit.. I was able to pull out 3 letters last
week so MAYBE I'll write you back. It costs about $1 to send one
through the national mail though.. so that’s only reserved for
missionaries in other countries.. everything else you have to wait
till I have access to the pouch.
What happened with the whole BSA Gay policy? I heard it was
announced but I’m not sure the details. let me know.
I need to practice typing so I can write faster! :P
Hope you all are doing fine! The only things I wish I had was
something to store my photos in and more photos from home.. I'm going
to check Wal-mart to see if they have a photo album when I go
tomorrow.
Keep up the faith and learn something from my letters.. don't be
afraid to let me know what you learned either! Love you all!
--
Yours fortunately,

---Elder Hyrum Clark

4/24 I arrived at the CCM- Texas Flag... or Chili

 I arrived at the CCM (MTC) last Wednesday and a LOT has happend
this week.. I'm already on my 4th companion and second district. I
guess no one can handle being my companion ;) I've switched rooms 3
times now and moving is getting redundant. I'm already digging the
whole no rest thing and am constantly battling sleep but don't worry I
win at least 4/5 of the time.
   I'm learning a lot from the language but I'm having trouble
retaining it.. I've decided to memorize some scriptures and get the
old brain working on remembering stuff again.
   You probably want to hear about my companions (well probable not
but I'm going to tell you). They have all been great! well.. the first
one I never met.. he just never showed up. They put me in a trio after
that with Elder Brown and Elder Hoagland who were both really awesome
and helped me grow a LOT. Elder Brown became the district leader and
even though we're not companions we still are close. My companion now
is Elder Hoy who is awesome too. He started out as a bit of a slacker
but is changing fast and we are getting stuff done together! He's
great and has some of the coolest RANDOM talents.
   I love the language and have already memorized Mi Proposito (My
Purpose) and los articulos de fe 1y2 working on the third today! I
catch myself thinking and accidentally mixing spanish words into my
english study so I know thats a good sign! I can't wait to be fluent
and just talk como un hefe.
   I'll admit it hasn't been all sunshine here and its been super
hard.. I often feel that I'm not learning or I can't focus on things
so I get down on myself.. but I'm trying to remember that I've only
been here 1 week and I cant get down about not knowing EVERYTHING
untill at least 3 weeks.
   I have progressively been praying more and more as the days go on
and I am dearly learning that I NEED God's help cause I'm new to this
whole mission thing. I've been helping everyone I can here and have
learned to love everyone I see! I can't think of a single person here
at the CCM that I have even the smallest dislike for.. It kinda makes
me sad when I see other missionaries talk bad about each other behind
their backs and I notice its ALWAYS cause they really don't know
them.. They haven't taken the time to get to know them before they
make a decision and often that person is one of my favorite people
BECAUSE I got to know them.
   Thanks Mom for the spanish before the mission it has helped me a
lot! Thanks Logan for the tips you gave me right before I left! I'm
trying my best to be what you guys expect me to be but I'm trying
hardest to be ready to be WHATEVER God decides he wants me to be. I've
already changed tons of decided stuff solely because it's just not
what God has planned for me and I'm loving the whole experience of
just seeing God's hand in moving stuff around on a daily basis!
   Everybody stay cool and know that I haven't been thinking about you
much.. Thats a good thing by the way. I found out that I can send
stuff with normal american stamps if I send them through the mail
pouch at the mission office so if you don't get a letter back from me
for a few weeks don't worry just chillax and it'll come (Just kidding
I probably forgot to write you back.. just send me another letter and
make me feel bad). The mail here in Guatemala is safe and so you don't
have to worry about sending stuff. If you ever do send a package the
Hermano in charge of mail here says as soon as the customs people read
"Elder" or "Hermana" they just put it aside and never even check it..
so just make sure it says "Elder Hyrum Clark" and no nicknames or
funny names and it'll pass through better than anyone elses packages!
:) don't put anything in the letters but letters and pictures though.
 "Its pretty safe here in Guatemala.. We have two
security gaurds outside the gate and they always have one at every
corner on the way to the temple.. I've only heard 3 gunshots so yeah..Its Super chill here" 
   I love all and had tons of things I was going to say but I lost
myself in the work and those things got shoved aside so I appologize
for that.. not many funny stories this time.
   WAIT!! I remembered one! Okay so in my Trio I had Elder Brown y
Elder Hoagland who are both from texas.. Elder Brown brought a Texas
flag with him and would hang it above his closet every night when we
got back to the room.. This went of for a few days before a latino
from Chilé walks in and tells us (in spanish which I could barely make
out) that he loves our Chilén flag... it took 4 days for two Texans to
figure out they had been shouting "Viva la Texas" to a Chilén flag! It
made me laugh so much! (The only difference between the two is  that
the Texas flag has the blue go all the way to the bottom while the
Chilén flag only has the blue square in the top left corner).
   Well I'm going to go now.. enjoy the states! I'm enjoying the food
so far and love it WAY more than I imagin the Provo MTC to be like (We
get enchiladas and steaks and potates and delicious salads.. and
fish.. bleck..) I've eaten everything theyve given me though! its fun
to get a drumstick with the knee cap still on it.. its flexible and
posable! (anyways thats gross).
   Talk to you all later! Hope things go well!

4/24 Foto... Elders at the CCM

Foto de Grupo. Mi arrival!

Here is a photo of the elders in the CCM (MTC) I'm in the back in the
middle and right next to me on the right (your right) is Elder
Hoagland.. he was in my trio.

Yours fortunately,

---Elder Hyrum Clark

4/17 Arrival at the CCM

April 17th 
Hola,

I am alive and well... sorta. :P

I flew all night and arrived this morning at 7:30am. I got about two hours of sleep and have been going forever!

I don't have much time they're just giving us 5 minutes to write home so its gunna be brief!

I basically can't think much.. I'm super tired and have fallen asleep in every class. I'm planning on eating everything they give me to eat and so far it hasn't been bad at all.. I hear we're having fish sometime this week though :(

I hope you all know I love you and that Ill keep you more updated in the future.

My writing day will change a lot so I have no set day to contact you while I'm in the MTC.. Write me Sundays or Monday early morning so I can check it any time of the week (in the future I'll have 1hr to write)

Hasta luego mi familia!!

Yours fortunately,

---Elder Hyrum Clark

Preparing to leave

Here I am.. Its the day before I leave and things are MOSTLY packed up. 

I was set apart yesterday by President Crockett and was given a beautiful blessing. I think I am just as excited now for the MTC and what I can accomplish there as I am for the mission! I know God has a plan and I know that sometimes our missions can become something we never imagined they would. I hope that I can serve God in whatever way he sees best!

Keep Up the faith and do not doubt that the Lord is God!