Edinburg 1/7/19

Hello everyone!!!

I am really bad at writing weekly emails.  I know.  I need to get better.  But this week I have a lot of miracles to share with y'all.  Every day here in the mission is an absolute miracle.  But here are some miracles we have seen in the past few weeks:

 A few Sundays ago, we were blessed to bring 9 investigators to church, almost all of which had baptismal dates!  It was wonderful to see our ward chapel full of strong members and also strong investigators - and to see the wonderful interactions between the two.  Our ward is great at fellowshipping the people who are learning about the church.  I believe this ward is going to need to split soon at the rate it's going - there are too many strong new converts who need callings, and too many strong priesthood holders!  What a problem to have, huh?  We have been blessed to see many investigators come to church since then, but I think 9 at church is a record for me so far.  Looking forward to breaking it!  :)

Tomas y Andrea Falcon got baptized last Saturday!  These two are some of the strongest converts I have seen, and quite honestly the most prepared people I have ever taught on my mission.  From the time we started teaching them and their baptism was 3 weeks.  They are incredible and what makes them prepared is their desire to learn the gospel.  They know they are truly responsible for their own learning.  Often times we go over for lessons and we find them at their table with scriptures and gospel manuals and notebooks strewn all over, and we find them doing things like mapping out the gospel of Jesus Christ together.  It's pretty incredible.  Their baptism was one of the happiest moments of my life.  Tomas is now preparing to receive the priesthood, and they are going to be a strength to the ward.  They are ready right now to serve and help!  What incredible people they are.  I love them with my whole heart!  And Andrea is probably the most stylish I have ever seen anyone look in a baptismal suit, so points for that!  Hahaha.

Jessica is doing well.  She has now been to church 7 times with all her kids.  She is progressing so well.  If it weren't for tough family situations, she would already be baptized.  She to me is an example of faith and perserverance.  She took all her 6 kids by herself to church on Sunday, ages 16 all the way down to 1.  She takes her kids faithfully every Sunday.  She doesn't know everything about the gospel, and doesn't understand every concept, but she knows how she feels when she is there and stands as a witness of it.  She isn't even a member yet, but every time we see her she tells us how she was talking to someone else about the gospel and sharing her testimony with them.  We taught her the Word of Wisdom, and the next day she gave away all of the coffee she had.  She shares the gospel with her friends and family and gives us tons of referrals - one of whom is her aunt, Juana, who is is on date to be baptized!  She is such a strength and a truly elect lady.

We have been blessed to work with so many incredible and wonderful families and individuals who are such incredible examples with following Christ.  Sometimes my heart feels like it will pop with all the happy feelings in there :D  We have another baptism planned for this Saturday, the baptism of Gaby Galvan Martinez, who is another incredible example of following Christ.  

I feel like we can truly see who the elect are by seeing who SEEKS Christ, not just follows Him.  And I feel like Heavenly Father can see it too.  I LOVE this work, and I love this mission, I love these people, and I love this tiny little corner of the world that I've been blessed to work in.  I know with all my heart that Christ lives.

I love you all!

Hermana Clarke

Write to Rachelle at rachelle.clarke@myldsmail.net

An amazing photo of a quinciniera that Hermana Clarke HAD to capture. She just LOVES the Mexican culture.