Hermana Clarke's Missionary Moments

Yo se que Jose Smith es un folleto! Hola Familia y Amigos! So, quick explanation of the title of this email... I have felt like Elder Calhoun this week more than once!  Haha.  We have been teaching nonstop in Spanish, and I am quickly realizing that I am really good at breaking records for how many Spanish mistakes I can make in a lesson!  But I've heard that you make 10,000 mistakes in a language before you become fluent, so I figure I might as well make as many of those 10,000 mistakes in the MTC as I can so I can get fluent faster! Haha.  There was an Elder in our district who tried to tell our first investigator, Bruno, to read the Book of Mormon daily (diariamente), and instead said "diarrhea-mente", and I'm not sure Bruno ever laughed so hard in his life.  As of right now, I am just trying not to accidentally tell anyone that we can be forgiven of our fishes (pecados/pescados), that anyone is pregnant instead of embarassed (embarazada), or that...

Hola Familia y Amigos! One of the elders in my district suggested a very fitting title for this week's email, which is fire hose.  That is the most accurate thing I've heard in a long time, because this week has been like a fire hose outpouring of knowledge, learning, and the spirit.  There is so much amazing knowledge being thrown at me every day here,  I don't even know what to do with all of it!  It is amazing how the MTC has helped me to grow my testimony and faith in Jesus Christ. Like I said last week, the MTC is a crazy experience.  But It's okay because all of us here are just one big group of friends, trying to figure out this crazy mission thing all together!  That creates a really cool kind of unity between all the missionaries in our zone, and in the entire MTC.  Sometimes I feel like some of the people I've met here are just meant to be my very best friends!  The best thing is that we just laugh a lot here, and laughter is the...

Hola familia y amigos! We made it to our first P day here at the MTC!  The MTC is quite the experience.  It's a wonderful place, there is definitely a different spirit here.  It is soooo crazy to be so close to BYU, I can literally see my apartment and all of campus from our classroom window.  I feel like I should be there!  The first day it was pretty trippy, but being in the MTC has begun to feel so comfortable to me.  The new building is absolutely gorgeous, and I love to study here.  What a blessing. It's been a really cool feeling to wear the tag of a missionary, sometimes it doesn't even feel real!  When I got to the MTC, my host was Sister Muhlstein, who did theater with me at Woods Cross! Then I got to meet my companion, Hermana Clifford, who was in my mission prep class at BYU!  It is so crazy how things turned out, those were definitely tender mercies from the Lord.  I love my companion!  Hermana Clifford i...

Mama and Papa and family, Hola!  Hahaha I have arrived safely to the MTC, it is beautiful here, it was so great to see Sister Muhlstein as my host, that was super fun.  I am already wishing that I had studied my spanish more, or had more time to study it... Haha!  But I'm sure all will turn out well. So, it turns out that I have already met my MTC companion!  She is indeed the girl that I met in my mission prep class that had the exact same call as me!  It is so great to see that the Lord is already granting me blessings and tender mercies. I love you all!  I had better run, they're putting me to work quickly here, and I think I have some quick catching up to do!  Much love from the MTC, Hermana Clarke

It was a whirlwind of a morning. We had all slept in mom and dad's room together the night before so that we could be together as a family. Best sleepover ever! When we woke up, it was raining. It always rains on Rachelle's special days. It's almost like Heavenly Father is sending her comfort, for rain is one of the most comforting things in the world to her. It rained on the day she opened her mission call, it rained on the day she went through the temple for the first time, and it rained the morning she left for the MTC. What a beautiful little tender mercy on a morning that was full of both excitement and anxiety. Ben and I had one last opportunity to walk up the hill with her, and this helped ease some of the butterflies. It also gave Rachelle an opportunity to be out in the rain. After that, we came home to get ready for our drop-off time. At about 10:30, we all gathered in the family room, and Ben gave her her last father's blessing. It was such a beautiful bl...