2014-9-1 I'm makin Waffles!

Well howdy doody there,

  Just wanted to write you all and let you know I'm alive and well.. Living and breathing.. and.. well.. I could use a little more sleep honestly.. but I guess all in due time!

  I've been testing out some new settings on my camera.. and thought these black and white photos went well with our old fashioned outfits! lately we've just been finding awesome places and enjoying time together as DL's and ZL's, Taking photos and buying ties from pacas.. (I think I've become addicted to ties.. they're so cheap here!!!)

  Every P-Day we go eat waffles as a district.. it's SUPER good and for like $3 you get full.. and a banana smoothie and hot chocolate! it's become a tradition now.

  I've been keeping busy and hope to see some fruits of my labor in time.. but I'm hoping it's not a LONG time.. but all in God's time. 

  Miss you all and hope the best for ya!

Yours fortunately,

   Elder Hyrum Clark

2014-8-25 Update.

Well I had changes! I am now in the area called "La Colonia" which is still here in my same district.. I just left the office but stayed as District Leader.

  my district is awesome! 8 Hermanas and 2 Elders.. We're kicking some booty with these girls and I have good hopes of baptisms coming up soon! (Who knows with my luck but they'll get baptized whether it's with me or the next Elder that gets here!)

  My New Companion's name is Elder Lopez, He's from San Pedro Sula, Honduras (My third catracho!) and like all my Honduras companions before he's super awesome! I have to say i'm liking these Hondureños! 

  Here are a few fotos of the district! Hope you enjoy them!

2014-7-7 Changes!

Well.. Being DL means sacrifices.. I can't write you this week because I'm helping get everybody moved around here in Petèn.. but I Just wanted to let you know my change.

 I'm going back to the office as a pouch Elder!!!!!!

Yeah it sounds so strange and I've NEVER heard of someone getting called as pouch Elder twice.. But I'm going back.. And Cleaning my old area.. and training two NEW pouch elders (Trio!!).. and I'll continue being DL.. While finishing the training of one of my companions!!

Well that's all the time I have! 

Love you lots!

1) The Almost Trio

2) Elder Ashcroft on his last day in the mission! I'll miss him! Most pilas Finance Elder in the world!

3) My Almost companion (Elder Marchado)

4) The Office.. My companion is the one in leprechaun socks. (Elder Connolly)

2014/7/12 Fort Night Fridays!!!​!

Well.. Friday nights in the office are the nights that we have to "wind down" and prepare for our P-Day.. it's actually a night that I spend almost all of talking to the 10 other missionaries in my district and then calling the Zone Leaders and THEN winding down.. and building a fort.

  It wasn't always that way.. Friday nights used to be filled with tom fullery and deep conversations.. sometimes even mouse hunts.. but we've now evolved to the more gentlemanly way of relaxation and recreation.. which we ALL know to be fort building.

  Fort building is an art.. it requires a top notch mind, tip of the toes thinking, advanced imagination and superior sense of fun and good time havingness. Oftentimes you can only work with what you've got.. sometimes you have more than you can work with.. but in the end the important part is that you enjoyed your brotherly bonding and have a somewhat sturdy covering above your head. 

  Yesterday I was talking to Elder Fuller (one of the finance elders) and he mentioned that some Jews and Evangelists are working together to try to breed an all red cow with no white hairs.. supposedly when this cow is born the messiah of the Jews will come.. according to the Evangelists when the red cow is born the messiah of the Jews will come.. but that it will actually be the anti-Christ.. and THEN their messiah will come and destroy the messiah of the Jews..  either way they both want it to happen so their working together to breed the all red cow with no white hairs.

  That same day we met a red cow.. but not all red. It was pretty interested in us and came over to take photos.. One of the photos is my companion kissing the cow and the other is the cow rubbing it's head on my leg.. my face is a face of horror. 

2014-7-12 Week 1, Change 5 in the office

Well.. Here I am in the office again! they called me this last Monday and told me I had to pack up and get to Coban the next morning at 6 am.. I honestly told the Assistant that called me "Haha.. alright what's my REAL change?".. Apparently it wasn't a joke because here I am.

  I'm a secretary again! (Pouch Elder) for those who forgot what I was doing.. basically I do everything that needs to be done in the mission.. except the money stuff. I send baptism registries to Salt Lake, Fix problems with telephones, deal with missionary transport, medical emergencies, visa appointments and trips to the Capital, mail for the missionaries, tech support for Zone  conferences, travel arrangements for President or the assistants, Passport signing/authorizing (no.. I do not sign them.. a lawyer does), Ordering materials for the mission and missionaries.. and basically a million other small unnoticed things like that.. I bet when you thought of a mission you never even realized that all of that fun stuff happens as well!

  I had my first fun P-Day in Cobán! my first 6 months here I never left the city.. but my first week back the Utts (New senior couple that replaced the Kirks) took me to see Samuc Champey! it's SUPER gorgeous!!! If I ever come back I will swim in these gorgeous pools of water! (Pictures attached!)

  So I ALMOST finished training Elder Marchado.. But in the end they sent him with the Zone Leaders. .I guess they knew as an office Elderes we don't have much time to study and even less to train a new Elder in all the Good habits he should know to be a good missionary. I'll miss you my Almost companion! (Photo in other email).

  I'm kinda weirded out coming back to the office.. I love it here but It feels so different.. I feel kinda lost.. not in what to do.. but I feel like I don't know where I'm supposed to be.. what the Lord wants me to be doing.. Am I really doing his will or am I stuck in some sort of limbo nothing. just a REALLY weird feeling but I'm SUPER excited to be back! I'm stoked to teach Elder Connolly everything I know and it sounds like next change I'll be heading back out of here again!

  I miss you all! Thank you Vicky Chezik for writing me! (And Logan!) those are the only two letters I've received in months!!!

  Keep up the good work everyone! You never know when you're going to be called as the District leader of 8 Hermanas! (La Distrita is back!) I love working with Hermanas, sometimes the Lord just gives you wonderful blessings to soften the blow of a big drop of bricks! 

Love you lots!!! Keep on Keepin on! I'll be back before you know it and I'll be full of energy to help out the missionaries in our ward! (GIVE REFERENCES TO THE MISSIONARIES!!! REFERENCES GET BAPTIZED!!!)

1) My Almost companion (Elder Marchado)

2) The Almost Trio

3) Elder Ashcroft on his last day in the mission! I'll miss him! Most pilas Finance Elder in the world!

4) The Office.. My companion is the one in leprechaun socks. (Elder Connolly)

--

Yours fortunately,

   Elder Hyrum Clark

2014-6-30 "El Fin Se Acerca" (Y hay poco tiempo)

  I can't think of anything crazy this last week.. I'm doing a lot better! I'm getting used to the area.. Finally after 4 1/2 months!

  This last week we had a lesson with a sabatico family (7th Day).. it was.. interesting! haha the daughter who's 21 started driving into us trying to explain why Saturday is the Sabbath.. she had a force to be reckoned with but nevertheless we had a testimony from God which we all know beats all! She focused so much on the Sabbath and that because they're so "Perfect" in that, that when we asked her if they had prophets and apostles she fell silent.. she realized that even if they were "Perfect" on Sabbath day observance.. they could NOT be the true church of Christ without having his divine authority and without the same organization that is explained in the New Testament. A lesson that started so cold and attacking ended in laughter and cheer. I KNOW the spirit can change things from bad to good and can fix any mistakes that happen in teaching.. I'm not a perfect teacher but If I let the spirit do the teaching it doesn't matter as much what i say but what they feel when I say it!

  My district is passing through some rough spots.. it's so hard to see missionaries struggle with personal problems and as a District leader I'm the one that get's to deal with most of them. I truly LOVE my missionaries and am so proud of how hard they try to push forward despite personal weaknesses!

  I don't really have much more to write.. this week wasn't so eventful and I didn't even take many picts.

  It continues to amaze me how much the people here remind me of people back at home! I've met my dad, Bishop Dunford, Bro. Keeper, Ali, Cassidy and so many more Look-Alikes!

I love you all so dearly and can't wait till next week to write you again!! Send me pictures! I Miss you ALL!!

1) The children of our Eternal Investigators that pay tithing.. 

2014-6-23 "...yea they smite him, and he suffereth it..." (1 Nephi 19:9)

Well.. You may ask me what that title is supposed to mean.. I have officially experienced my first time getting rocks thrown at me.. and I'll say that crazy old men have pretty good arms!

 This week we were eating lunch with the Hermanas and while sitting there the same crazy old man that I talked about last week came up to us and asked us for money... okay.. this is the 4th time he's asked us for money and we're literally struggling with our last few quetzales.. he doesn't want food so it rises suspicions as to WHAT he wants the money for but all in all the most important thing is that it's against the rules to give money out to people.. members, investigators, or crazy old men. We politely tell him no and like the first time he starts to insult us.. then starts saying really bad words and we ask him a little more sternly to please leave us alone! He turns around and starts to go around the corner.. when all of the sudden he bends over.. picks up a rock the size of a baseball and throws it at Hermana Schneider's back. The Lord definitely protected her because miraculously the rock that was sailing for her back dropped dramatically and went under the table! Hna. Schneider was saved by angels.. but sadly my foot wasn't covered by the mantel of the angel's robe because it got it hard! (the rock bounced off my foot and also hit my companion pretty hard in the leg.. he's got a bruise.)

 Sometimes being a missionary isn't easy.. sometimes people see the white shirt and think "Pisto!!!"(MONEY!) and here in Peten everyone feels they have the right to demand that you give them money.. and if you don't you deserve to be hit by rocks.

 I don't have much more time.. but I'd like to send you a picture of the rock (Yes.. I kept it).

 Remember that I love you and that being a disciple

of the Lord is worth even taking a few rocks! The work is not ours and he'll always be ready to help us in our time of need!

You guys rock! (not quite so literally...)

1) The Rock! 

2) Ice Cream Cones.. Five scoopers!

3) Oh.. P.S. Our house flooded.. that was fun!

4) Me and my companion.. working hard to clean after the flood..