Monday, January 30, 2012

January 30, 2012

The four of us Elders- the ones all crammed into our one bedroom house! haha

"Give a little more effort!!!"
Hello my dear ones!
I hope that you are all having an awesome Monday!

Letters From:
Libby Baum- Thanks so much for the letter and postcard Libby. I got a kick out of it. I hope that life is awesome. I am sure that it is. Sounds like you have some really fun classes. Have a great week. I will get a letter off to you as soon as I can! Thanks so much Libby, you are awesome.
The Bingham Family- Thank you so much for your Christmas card!! I hope that all is well. Thank you for all you do for me and my family. Thinking of you…
Emails from:
Grandma Crouch- I am so looking forward to reading your email tonight. Thank you so much! I love you and am so grateful for your influence in my life. I am so grateful for you!
Grandma Clegg- I am getting your emails wonderfully. Thank you so much! Have a wonderful week. I appreciate you taking the time to write.  I love you.
Ethan Lopez- I am excited to get your letter Ethan. You are the man. Thanks for taking the time to write. Love you bro. I hope life is going well for you…I think of you often and our good times!
Elder Lott- SO glad to hear you are doing better. You are in my prayer! Thank you for the update. Go teach some families in good old Jtown. I love you bro. Hang in there. God is going to bless you like crazy. Thank you for your example. I am rooting for you big time!
And of course the faithful family! Thank you to each of you!!!
The pictures are of the baptisms last Saturday.


 The first is of Yael , then Guissermo, then his family!   It was a really neat experience. Yael asked me if I could confirm him and it was a very humbling and spirtual time.  The coolest thing about working with Yael has been to see his family come back to church. I hope that they can stay.

We found a Grandma of Gold this week. Her name is Marta and she is 65. We found her name in some old records and went to visit her. She is very kind and went to the baptisms and wants to be baptized. If all goes well and we do our part she should be baptized in two Saturdays. Lisbet will be baptized this Saturday! She is also very prepared to change and better her life. I can’t remember if I told you but her family has a resort here. It has been really cool to relate our life with her Family.  It is really pretty. They have a polo field surrounded by sunflower fields it is gorgeous. It is fun to walk out there to teach her.
Heavenly Father is blessing Miramar right now. This family from Mar del Plata, called the Beloqui family is something else. I mentioned about them in last weeks letter. They come down every Wednesday and just go out with us. They are working miracles here. I love them so much. Sister Beloqui brings us food every Wednesday and they really are just 5 star people. I am so glad to be able to learn from them. They are awesome!!
So some funny stories of the week:
The first: Elder Yarger and I were walking down a street that we always walk down. We went to turn a corner and a big black German Sheppard was lying down. I teasingly said, ¨I fear no German Sheppard¨ and started to walk on ¨his little patch of lawn”. Usually the German Sheppard’s here are pretty nice. Elder Yarger apparently has more dog sense then me and he started to walk in the middle of the street. I was looking at the dog as I turned the corner and it started to look like it was going to cough or something, then I realized that is was more of a lion like growl in its throat. I started to maybe fear this German Sheppard a little - but I was too late. They dog stood up and started charging me. I literally yelled and stuck out my black scripture bag like a bull fighter straight out in front of me. It bit my scripture bag and I ran to the other street. Elder Yarger was nearly dead he was laughing so hard.  I have a lot more respect for German Sheppard’s now, but it was good to use my quick reflex muscles for a minute. That is just a funny little story made us laugh and helped better the attitude of the day.
Also this week I was praying after my morning run upstairs by our window and I felt something on my back. I thought it was just an Elder teasing me and I didn’t do anything. Two seconds later Elder Holmquist who is Elder Cohesions comp came up the stairs and said ¨Elder Clegg, there is a bird on your back! ¨I jumped a little and the bird flew off outside again.
So I guess thinking back I had some experiences with “nature” this week. Good memories.
I can´t tell you how much I loved the story of Alex and Elder Lott. That is really touching... I really appreciate it.
This is what I wrote to Austin in my weekly letter and this is the story of Alex/Elder Lott:       
Here is the scoop on Elder Lott: So he came home from London, England on Thursday to SLC. They came home to Jerome on Friday night after Dr. appts.  Long story short...he has an anyurism (probably born with it) which is like a bubble in a garden hose in your vein. In that bubble...a blood clot has formed. They will test him again in few months for a blood disease. (clotting)  He has had to give himself shots in his stomach. (he hates needles) In a couple of days he will switch to blood thinner pills. After a few weeks if all goes well he will most likely be re-assigned to a stateside mission and to be close to a hospital for tests and treatment. He has not been released as a missionary and Andy/Annette are his companions. We saw him today at church. He looks so great...but we all know he doesn't want to be here... he wants to be on that mission!!! It’s heart breaking actually. We are all doing the same old stuff ~ he has bigger fish to fry ~ and he knows It ~ we know it ~ but I suppose you can’t do that if your health is not there. We are praying for him like crazy. Today (Sunday) was the sweetest... Alex passed the sacrament and afterwards was trying to come and sit by the family... we were in the middle of the row and hard to get to. Alex chose to sit on the Lotts row in front of us. He sat about 4 seats away space from Payson. Alex looked back at Mikesell after he sat down. Mikesell and I were motioning him to go scoot down and sit by Elder Lott (Payson). Alex was being shy and the look on his face was no...”I’m too shy”.  However upon realizing that Alex was there...Elder Lott motioned for Alex to "Come sit by me!!". As then Alex slid down next to Payson. Payson reached his arm around Alex and pulled him into his side. They visited quietly for a few moments. Even more touching was Payson left his arm around Alex for a long time. Like probably 20 minutes. It was so sweet. It meant the world to Alex. Payson has got that "missionary glow" and he has “love” radiating from him like crazy. Alex said to us in the car on the way home… “Payson is the coolest ever” – which translates to “I love Payson....and that meant the world to me that he showed so much kindness to me”. We pray for his quick healing that he can return to what his heart desires!!
I read a quote from Elder Eyring this week that says ¨I  can´t be a perfect servant every hour, but I can try to give more effort that I thought that I could¨.¨
That is my mission statement for my mission. I know I can not be a perfect missionary, but I can always do just that one more effort every day.
It sounds like you are all doing really well. I am so glad. I can’t tell you how much I love to come check email on Monday and hear from all of you. I feel so blessed to hear you are all doing well!!
Dad- I am glad that you were able to go get the “plan in place”.  Enjoy your time away with Mom!! Hailey sounds like a great place to get away to. Lots of planning to do for Redfish I am sure. Thank you for the update on the kids and on the politics also. Sounds pretty dirty... what a surprise!? I hope that you have a great week Dad. I sure miss you. I love you so much and am so grateful for you example in my life. I love you Dad!!
Mom- Thank you for your letter last week Mom. I have re-read it many times. You talked about leadership. One thing I learned at BYU is that it is lonely at the top. To be a leader you do have to stand for what is right, not what is popular. They more the kids do that- the more success they will have. You are so sweet to me in your letters. Your words are very humbling. I loved your note card idea! You have a lot of insight and the more you share that insight with others…the better! I love you so much Mom. You are truly an Angel. I hope that you have a very productive week. Thank you for your service for everyone. Enjoy your time in Hailey with Dad! You coming home Tuesday? You bless the lives of everyone who knows your name.
Mikesell: I love your stories and I am excited to read them all tonight. I can’t tell you how often I think about what a blessing you are in my life. I really miss you Mikesell. Thank you for your prayers. I hope that you can make a decision based on whatever is best for you for college. Both schools are really great. You will do awesome. I sure love you Sis. Go conquer the world and know that you also influence so many. - And be nice to those missionaries’ cars!! Ha-ha that is really funny. (Mikesell backed into a car while at lunch with her friends…left a note…got a phone call from the owner of the car…it was the missionaries! They said it was nothing…not to worry about it!)
Brennen- Sounds like you had a killer game man!! Good work. Are you enjoying ball? I hope that all is well with everything. I love you man so much and you are such a great example to me. I hope that you have a great week. Keep smiling and attacking people on the court. You are a winner! Glad you got a chance to go skiing! What a nice thing of the Holyoaks!
Alex- Whats up bro? Thanks for your email. Sounds like things are good. I miss you buddy. Keep making good decisions and being a leader “on and off” the court. Your potential like everyone in the family, is huge. Go after it and get the vision of your life!
Harrison- Hey man, sounds like you a defensive stopper! That is great. I hope that school is going well for you. I love you so much Harrison!  You are such stud. Keep doing good things and remember the Harry way. Who has treats for FHE tonight? Mom says you will be getting some braces soon for the old teeth huh?
McCall- Hey baby! Sounds like you are working the Mom taxi system! You are something else. Are you ready for you birthday? Tomorrow I send your letter. You should get it in time. I sure love you Cally. You are so special to me.
Well my family - We move forward through life trying to do our best and giving thanks for what we have. This week I really missed you all at different times. But I am really happy and living the dream. I want this mission to change my natural man forever. I know I can give more.
May you all have an awesome week!! I love you all so much.
Love,   
Elder Clegg





   


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