Elder Jason Clarke: September 8, 2008 - 5'10" is too tall for Oaxacan Mirrors!

March 16, 2009 - 2 Years

Hello for the last time,
This is my last missionary letter. I can't believe it. We have been working really hard and we have been fasting a lot. This week we baptized a family from the pueblo Jamiltepec and she has been cutting the missionaries hair for the last 3 years, but they have just never really talked to her much about the gospel. Maybe she never really showed interest, I dont know, but my companion and I have been working a lot with them and teaching them the lessons. She and her two kids were baptized on Sunday. It was amazing to see them take this step to follow Christ. The mom is named Isabel and her daughter is Maria Isabel and her son is Jose Luis.

One of the purposes of our fasting was for an Hermano named Antonio or Anthony in English and he is or was an Atheist, so Elder and Sister Santos who are a Married Missionary couple proposed a District fast for Atheist Anthony. And that very day that we started the fast, when we got to his house, he had prayed and this week he told us that he wants to get baptized. But I don't think I will be here for his baptism, but that is alright. He used to have a hill in his front yard that he needed to clear out. This was before the fast, and I had shared with him a parable of two neighbors who lived next to a mountain and the one said that she is going to pray to God so that he will move the mountain so that she can see the sun rising and when she wakes up the next morning to her disappointment the mountain is still there. Her neighbor on the other hand prays for the same thing that God will move the mountain so that he can see the sun rise. As he is praying his neighbor laughs at him and says that he is crazy to believe God can do such a thing for him when he didn't do it for her. She wakes up the next morning and to her surprise she finds her neighbor with a shovel at the foot of the mountain filling up a wheelbarrow and moving the dirt and rocks to somewhere else. The point is that the miracle is in each one of us, but we have to do our part.

Anyways back to Atheist Anthony, he had a hill and we had shared with him this story. After 7 weeks of helping him move dirt and a week after our fast, we finished moving the hill the day of the fast. And this last Wednesday he said that he is going to be baptized. He then remembered me of my story and said that we showed faith in him. So he is no longer Atheist Anthony, but his neighbors consider him Antonio el Mormon, even though he is going to be baptized next week. It has been a great week and a great transfer and an amazing 2 years.

Thanks to all those that helped me to get here.

2 Timothy 4:6-7
6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

elder j clarke

Oh and the video is of my farewell from Sandra, Daniela, and Maria from Cuaji. They bought me a cake and the tradition here is to shove the persons face into it as they take the frist bite.

See ya in 7 days

March 9, 2009

Hello
This week was a pretty terrible and great week at the same time. I think that Oaxaca was trying to give me one last taste of the best and worst that it has to offer. First off, on sunday I got extremely sick again (stomache infection) and was sick until thursday, but good thing was I lost another 7-8 pounds. Tuesday I couldn't even leave the house. Then the Zone leader called us and told us that we had a Zone Conference on Friday in Puerto Escondido. Right after that, the Mission Secretary called and informed me that my flight does not land in Ontario at 6:15 but at 8:50 and so that kinda bummed me out. But as I said the best and worst. This week, as we have been working with a less active sister and her family, she has been going to church for the last couple of weeks and we have been trying to really help them progress and come unto Christ. Her daughter, whose name is Lara, was baptized and she had asked me to do it. It was a special baptismal service and I really felt the spirit as her mom bore her testimony about the church and about how she is never going to go inactive again. It just isn't worth it. Also, I am trying to finish reading the book of mormon one last time before ending this amazing service, and this week I read in Helaman 11:23 where it talks about the preaching of Nephi and Lehi and it explains that they were able to teach the "true points of doctrine" because they received "many revelations DAILY." When I read that part about receiving many revelations daily, I thought about how many times we must be praying everyday to do the things that God would have us do. We can also receive many revelations daily but we need to being praying many times daily seeking for answers from God. I know that He answers our prayers and that if we obey, He will bless us with whatever we need.
Well see ya in 2 weeks!
elder j clarke

March 2, 2009

Hello,
This week we have been working pretty hard with the less active members in the branch to help them to come back to church. We are also teaching the Temple Prep class because there is only one couple that has their endowments and so the missionaries are going to be teaching the class. We want the members to be able to strengthen their testimonies about the restoration of the gospel and the plan of salvation. We have been working with one family in particular and the parents are not members but 3 of their daughters are. So we have been working to bring them back to church. The oldest daughter Osiris has been coming back pretty frequently and she brought her daughter with her and she wants to get baptized this saturday. When the Branch President asked her who she wanted to baptize her, she got red and then said my name. It has been a good experience to work with this family and to be able to see them start progressing again. Also, we have been working a lot with the town of Morelos that is about 1 hour away and it is hard to help them come to church because it is so far. But there are some Hermanas there that are strong in the church. One of them is the 1st counselor in the RS and her sister is the RS teacher. We are working with their family. Also, this week in Fast and Testimony meeting, our convert Santiago, who got baptized last week, got up and bore his testimony about God and his son Jesus Christ and about His church. It was an amazing testimony, and it is awesome to see him progressing in the gospel as the head of his family. Anyways, that's pretty much all for this week.

elder j clarke

February 23, 2009

Wow. 23 months as a missionary. The end is in sight but does it have to come so fast. This week we were able to baptize the father of a part member family, so they aren't part member any more. His name is Santiago Noyola Zarate and he decided that he wants to change his life and follow God. His wife was so happy about his decision and he has two little boys and we mostly focused on teaching him about his role as the father of his family and one of the two biggest influences in his childrens life. He is really excited to have started on this new road and it was awesome to see him convert. Also, lately I have been learning so much about eternal progression. It is a theme that I am fascinated about. We can keep progressing forever, but a lot of it depends on how seriously we take it here in this life. We just need to keep preparing until the time comes to depart. Kinda like the mission, the more you prepare before you leave the better and faster you will progress while you are a missionary. This is the Law of God, PROGRESSION. But he wants us to progress eternally and gain all the knowledge we can. So learn as much as you can about everything and enjoy life. I like the idea of always learning because I want to learn about everything, I dont want to stop. It is what interests me most about the gospel is that we are children of the Most High and we can become like Him. So I hope the Eastvale ward is ready to have 5 Clarkes again because my time is almost up. My parents said that they are kinda getting lonely in the congregation because my brothers are busy with the sacrament and so they sit alone.

elder j clarke

February 16, 2009 - Good week

Well as it turned out there were transfers. For my companion, he was sent to Salina Cruz with Elder Choque. My new and last companion is Elder Romero. He is from Hermosillo Sonora but he was baptized in L.A. and left for his mission from the states. He came on the mission after only being a member for 1 year and he is 28 years old right now so he is the oldest Elder in the mission. He is a great guy and he is really going to help me finish strong. We have been looking for more investigators and this week we had two baptisms. One of them was Pepe (or Jose Antonio, but we call him Pepe) and he is the youngest son of an hermana that went inactive awhile ago, but we are helping them to get reactivated. Pepe got baptized, now we are working on the Dad. Most of the time, the fathers are not members and that is why there are a lot of inactive people. But whenever the whole family is complete, it is a lot easier for them to stay active.Also we baptized Carlos Cortes Gomez and he is a Professional singer, he says he is going to really try to help the members to learn the tunes of the hymns. This week we were really busy with the transfers but I get along really well with Elder Romero and I am glad to have him as a companion. Thanks for everything.
elder j clarke

February 9, 2009

Hi,
I am doing great. I am starting my last transfer. We still haven't received the transfers yet so I dont know if my comp is leaving or staying or if I am leaving, but it doesn't really matter because I am going to work my tail off. I want to finish strong. This week I was reading one of the parables of St. Matthew 20 when Christ talks about the workers who get to the vineyard at different times of the day but in the end they all get the same wage because they all worked till the end. I have taken that as my motto and I will work till the end so that I can also receive my penny for my labors. Because it doesn't matter when, where or how we start, only that we finish well. Also this week I was reading the Book of Mormon and I was able to receive an answer to a question I had about the book. I received it through prayer and it was afterwards that I was reading in the introduction where Joseph Smith says that "a man would grow closer to God by following its precepts than those of any other book." I can confirm this truth because the book teaches us to pray and to do the will of our Heavenly Father, and as we do that we grow closer to God and learn to do His will, He makes himself known to us and we can then taste some of the glory that we "can" have with Him if we continue faithfully.
elder j clarke

February 2, 2009 - Service

Hello everyone,
This week my companion and I have been giving a lot of service to what seems like everyone. We have been gathering fire wood and clearing land for houses and washing dishes and just trying to show the people what real Christian Charity is. And also to try to come closer to God ourselves. I am finding a joy in serving others, especially when I know that they know that I am a member of the Church. There is a scripture in Acts 20:35 that I really really like and it helps me a lot to focus myself on others.35. I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, IT IS MORE BLESSED TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE. I really like that scripture. And I want to try to apply it to my life so that I can always feel this joy.
The pics are as follows: 174 is me on a tractor; 190 is me after a long day of looking for, and cutting, firewood (leña in spanish);189 is of the trailor full of leña that we got with the family that we helped, Lusimar is the one that got baptized a week ago. She is the one with her face down, the guy is her husband; 187 is the niece of Lusimar and she was just plain tired after all day in the sun, she was guarding the papaya.
Anyways take care.
elder j clarke

January 26, 2009

So the mission experience is amazing. This is where we get to come unto Christ and try perfecting ourselves so that we can be good people. I have been working really hard and this week. We had a baptism of an Hermana Lusimar and she is from Morelos. She was going to be baptized last week, but when her mom found out, she suddenly "got sick" and had to go to the hospital for a week. And while at the hospital with Lusimar, she told her that she got baptized that she can just forget that she has a mom. But then when we went back to Morelos to see how she was doing, she told us that no matter what her mom says, she is going to be baptized. She is already married and has a little boy. But she has a faith in the church and in the book of mormon that I rarely see, even among the missionaries. It has been awesome to get to know her and see her conversion process. 3 weeks ago when we were at her house inviting her to be baptized, she told us that she felt really bad and that she didn't want to do anything about any chrurch. That was when I invited her to pray and see what God has to say about it and also I told her that if she asked God for Strength, Faith, and Hope that he would give those things to her immediately, and then we left. We went back two days later and that was when she had told us that she wants to be baptized and that she has no doubt. Because she prayed with faith, God gave her the courage and strength to go forward. My companion baptized her and I confirmed her, and so she now says that we are her Godfathers. It is kinda funny because that is a Catholic tradition, and she jokes around about it.
Anyways see ya next week.
Elder J Clarke

January 19, 2009

Dear Family,
I usually try to write what I felt was the highlight of the week, and sometimes I feel that I have already written a hundred times about somebody reading the Book of Mormon and getting an answer from God that it is true. But it only shows me how true it really is, that for 2 years not 1 person has received an answer from God saying that the book is not true. God answers the prayers of his children and he guides them to his path. Every week is different but strangely all the same. This week was full of problems but even though a lot of things went wrong, we still had success and it still ended feeling great. For example, we had 4 baptisms for saturday and everything just seemed to go wrong, so 3 of them didn't get baptized but 1 of them did. And her baptism was worth all the problems that we had to go through for her to receive this ordinance. Also in our church services something awesome happened. Generally every sunday only about 20-30 people showed up but the last two weeks we have had almost 50 people and the House of Prayer was getting too small. And then this sunday, we had 60 people in the tiny house. Try imagining 60 people in the front room of my house all trying to find somewhere to sit. It was awesome and we are working really hard to try and get the Branch President to give them callings so they can stay active. We have been working hard and seeing Gods hand blessing our work.
Here are two pics, one of them of the baptism, and the other of the lagoon that is right next to the ocean. One side is salt water and the other is fresh.
Elder J Clarke

January 12, 2009 - Week 94

Hola,
Well this week was very good. We have been working our tails off. Our area is pretty different than most other areas because we work in a bunch of little towns and we can't put all of our focus of an entire week in one area so we split it up. On Tuesdays we go to Morelos, on Wednesday we go to Huaxpaltepec, on Thursday we stay in Jamiletepec, on Fridays we go to Huazolotitlan, and on Saturdays we go back to Morelos, on Sundays the services are in Huaxpaltepec so we stay there after the services. But there are investigators in every area and each one needs their time, but the work is slower because we only see them 2-3 times a week. Not like in my other areas where we saw, helped, taught, or just visited the investigators almost every day. That is one thing that helps a lot, stopping by almost every day, to show to the investigators that are progressing that they are doing a good job and that we are dedicating time to them. But this saturday there are 3 hermanas from Morelos that are going to be baptized this Saturday and they are all going to try to spread the gospel to help it spread through their tiny little town. As of right now there are only 7 members in Morelos, about 17 members in Huazolotitlan, about 40-50 members in Jamiltepec, and about 70-80 members in Huaxpaltepec, and our attendance is 50 every single Sunday. All the members from Morelos come every sunday and they are helping us a lot in there town. Two of the Hermanas are going to be Branch Missionaries and help us out the rest of the days of the week that we can't go to Morelos. Our plan is to also get Branch missionaries in each of the towns so that they can each continue to grow. Well, that is what we have been doing this week. The church is true.

elder j clarke

January 5, 2009

Well I am 21 years old now, and I also have 21 months as a missionary. Kinda funny. But this week I have been getting to know my area. We live in Jamiltepec but the branch meets in Huaxpaltepec. And there are another two pueblos that we visit, which are Huazolotitlan and Morelos. If you want to look them up on Google Earth you might be able to see them. Also I have been working a lot with my new companion and he is new in the mission but he likes being here. Also, on Sunday, I was able to confirm a girl named Africa, that is here name because there is a big african presence in Morelos, it is a town of African-Mexicans and her parents named here africa and she is really cool. So this email is short because we didnt have time today to write. We have a Zone conference in Puerto Escondido tomorrow and so we had some traveling to do today. So I`ll see ya next week. (Did he really say that?)
Elder J Clarke

December 29, 2008

Does it seem like they keep changing me as soon as I am really enjoying myself with my area? I have gotten changes again and it sounds pretty much like every other change I have had in the mission.TO THE COAST! again :)Thats right I am going to the Coast. This time to an area that is a tiny little pueblo (town) that has about 2-3 thousand people and there are a bunch of other little towns around that are also part of the area. I already know the area because while I was in Pinotepa I did several baptismal interviews in this area. There are two main pueblos Huaxpaltepec and Jamiltepec and they are both pretty small, but I am excited to be there and to work as hard as I can to finish off my mission with a bang. My companion is going to be Elder Lozano and he is in his second transfer. This week was also a very good week we had 2 people get baptized, Wilson and Luis. Luis is Sofia`s cousin and Wilson is her boyfriend and after her baptism last week she invited them to listen to us and come to church with her and they agreed, and as we taught them this week they told us that they wanted to be baptized. They could really feel the spirit but the key to every conversion, every God-given answer, every change of heart, and every testimony is a prayer. Prayer is one of the most important things that we have to learn and progress in this life and it amazes me how much so many people dont appreciate the power of prayer. I have learned that prayer helps us to follow God`s True word and those of his children who pray will be able to gain a testimony. Anyways that is what Wilson and Luis did, They prayed and got a testimony about the true church of God. That is one of the most important things as missionaries that we can teach, Prayer, because that will lead them to the true path, that is the way to know God`s will. I am so grateful for prayer and its affect it has had on my life.

The pics are of the peach cobbler I made on christmas, the baptism of Wilson and Luis (luis wanted to use my tie so I gave it to him), and of me and Elder Horlacher.

Happy New Year

Elder J Clarke

December 22, 2008

WOW.
Does time seem to fly by faster and faster every single week. The changes seem as though they are getting smaller and smaller. And today, I figured out that I only have to wash my clothes by hand 13 more times for the rest of my mission.As for the work this week, it has gone really really really well. I am seeing Gods hand in this area bring about a great work.Everyone remembers Virginia, the 70 year old lady that we baptized last week. Well her family is also listening to the lessons and 4 of her grandchildren have said that they want to be baptized this week. But something crazy happened and her name is Epifania. We went to Virginia's house to reteach her the 1st lesson when a lady greets us at the door with a hearty "Hola Hermanos." She welcomed us in and then just started to talk. She is Epifania and she is the oldest daughter of Virginia and she lives in Veracruz Mexico (a different state) and the day of her mom's baptism she had a dream that her mom had gotten baptized in the true church. The day after she had the dream of her mom's baptism, her brother called her and told her that their mom had gotten baptized. Now she had been investigating the church in her house and she had been praying to find out the truth. After she had the dream she prayed again and saw herself getting baptized, but not by the Elders that were teaching her, but by the Elders that had Baptized her mom. So then on Friday (3 days ago) she got to her moms house and we showed up and she told us that she wanted to get baptized the very next day. We taught her all the lessons and she had her interview and asked me to baptize her. It was a pretty cool experience.There is an Hermana Romana that we have been teaching and last sunday her daughter Sofia got here for christmas break and went to church with her, and we started teaching her and she prayed and got the answer that God promises to all who ask him in faith. She also got baptized. Now she is trying to help her mom accept the gospel and get baptized as well. I am thankful for all the things that God has given us as his children to help us find Joy in this life.

the 005 is of Epifania and 007 is of Sofia.

Merry Christmas

Elder J Clarke

December 15, 2008

Hello,This week has been really great. Last week I mentioned Virginia. Well on sunday she got baptized and when we asked her when she would like to be baptized, she responded that as soon as possible so that Christ can clean her of her sins. Also, her 4 grandkids are going to be baptized this saturday.Also, we have a traveling choir that we are participating in and we are going from town to town singing in the parks and city centers. It sounds all right but I think the spirit helps a lot because singing is a talent rarely seen here. But we have been practicing a lot so we may pull it off. Maybe if Curtis would come out here we could have at least somebody sing a solo. But anyyways, this week I think that I have worked more than ever in my mission. We taught a ton of lessons and had a baptism and we have some baptism dates so we are doing alright.Can't wait to talk to everyone at Navidad, so I guess I will have to wait until then.

later

Elder J Clarke

December 8, 2008

Hola,This week we have been working really hard and we have seen the Lord's hand as he guides us. As we were going from house to house, we both remembered about a guy who had asked us to come over to visit him some time. He was drunk when he talked to us so we didn't do much more than write down his address. I decided that we could try to visit him and as we got to the house, we saw a couple sitting on the porch talking and we asked them if Manuel Sanchez, the drunk, was home. They told us no and that he was probably out somewhere. So we offered to this young couple our message. They accepted and invited us inside. When we got inside, we started getting to know the couple and they told us that they are getting married in this next summer. When the grandma that was sitting in the hammock asked us if we had come to check up on the family records, I asked her what she was talking about and she told us that last week her son in texas had asked her for a bunch of dates of family members that have passed away. Sound familiar to anyone? After she had given her son a bunch of names of their ancestors, he told her that he was going to send some missionaries to her house. The Grandma, her name is Virginia, then asked us if we were the mormon missionaries. We responded with a yes but that we had received no reference to pass by their house, only a feeling that we should pass by. So then we started explaining about Family History and why it is so important. That was when the phone rang and when they picked up, it was her son in texas and he was calling to check up on some more names. Virginia was really excited and she told her son, Abias, that the missionaries that he had sent had already gotten there. Then her son said we wanted to talk to us, and we talked with him for a while and he told us all about how he had been praying for a long time that his family could accept the gospel, and he then testified to his mom and niece and future nephew about how he knows the chruch is true. To make this short, the lesson was awesome, and afterwards Francisco told us that he wants to continue because he says it is rare that people have real faith in their church and that that is what he is looking for to start a family. Basically it was awesome and then on Sunday, they came to church. So I know that the Spirit guides us to God's choice children.
Have a good week.

Elder J Clarke

December 1, 2008

Well everyone, it is December and it is begining to look a lot like Christmas. Some of the people are putting up their lights and some of the houses even put up reindeer. This week my companion and I have been working a lot and we have been finding a lot of people to teach the gospel too. We have been working on finding less active members and they are coming back to church. Also this Sunday, we brought a family to the stake conference and they really liked it. And we had a member of the 4th Quorum of the Seventy come and he was really funny and he talked about the family and how the families can grow together and rely on each other. Also, we have been planning Christmas with a couple of members and I think we are going to have lasagna and then for dessert peach cobbler. The spirit is so strong and it always helps us to do better and to help us to accomplish the things that God wants from us. I have been studying a lot and I can always feel the spirit teaching me new things, and it always comes as a comfort that God is always there to teach us when we need to learn something. Well this week was basically work, work and more work, so I will talk to ya next week.

Elder J Clarke

November 24, 2008

Time is flying and I hope that I can keep up. This week I have been working a lot. My companion is brand new from the MTC and he is really excited to be working and being a missionary. He reminds me a lot of my companion that I had in January, Elder Ramirez. We have been working a lot with the members in our branch and today they have asked us to plan the branch family night. Also this week we were looking for some less active members and we found Otilio. He is an 85 year old man who really likes the message of the restauracion of the gospel. After a couple of days teaching him we found out that his granddaughter is the Young womens president in our ward and that she has been praying for he grandpa to accept the missionaries. She had been planning to bring us over to their house to introduce us but then we just showed up by accident, Gotta love missionary work. My companion is Elder Vargas and he is from Mexico City, and he is very preppy, very sophisticated, but I think he is just funny. He says that he doesn't like meat or soda but that is what the hermanas give us every day for lunch. He is a health nut and keeps trying to get me to leave behind my grilled cheese sandwhiches and pancakes but to no avail. I am enjoying being his trainer and I hope that we are successful in this transfer. Well see ya next week. We gotta go to FHE.

Elder J Clarke

November 17, 2008

Again with the transfers, I was thinking that maybe for just once I would be with a companion for more than 6 weeks but of course not. We have transfers again and Elder Zite is going to Tehuantepec. It is an area about an hour away. My new companion is Elder Varguez and he is new from the MTC so that means that I am going to be a Trainer again. I am pretty excited to train a new missionary because it will help me to keep working as hard as I can as I am nearing the end. This week was really amazing. Elder Zite and I worked a lot and we had another baptism, photo included, of the Hermana Celia and she has been investigating the church for a while, but she was really scared of the water and so she tried to stall as much as possible but she eventually overcame her fear and took that really important step. Also, this week was the rededication of the Mexico City temple on Sunday. It was really special and the spirit could be felt really strongly. Also on saturday night there was a cultural event that the church put on. They rented the Aztec Stadium and preformed a mexican dance festival, but they were able to incorporate a part of it into the story of the Book of Mormon and the Restoration. It was really cool and they also did a dance from Oaxaca. Oaxaca is known for its multiple regions of different cultures and a lot of them have dances that they preform every year in the Guelagetza it is the biggest dance festival in southern Mexico. The photos are of the baptism and of all the missionaries that came to the baptism as well as the cultural event.

Elder J Clarke

November 10, 2008

It is getting close to Thanksgiving and it is starting to set in. We have been working hard. This last week we agreed to work really hard and to show everyone that two americans can be companions together and have success (some other missionaries here dont think so). And this week we had a baptism of a 15 year old kid and we also had 4 priesthood ordinations and we have 4 baptisms planned for this saturday. We have really felt the spirit this week and we have worked a lot. We have been teaching a lot of lessons and asking for a lot of references. We also had a baptism. It was for Irving and he is a 15 year old kid that is the oldest son of an Hermana in our ward. He was really excited for his baptism and he even signed up for seminary. There is a girl in our area Cinthia and she told us to go with her ex-boyfriend because he started to show some interest in the church. So when we got to his house we found out that he wasn't home, but we figured that we would talk to his mom Romana. As we were talking to her, she was really interested in the lesson and after the lesson we invited her to be baptized and she accepted. Then later the same day we talked with her son Adrian and he also accepted a baptism date, so we have seen that when members give out references, there is somebody that the Lord is preparing to hear the gospel. We still are able to have fun though. Elder Zite wants to experience everything that Mexico has to offer. Like for example today we went to a recent converts house and he taught us how to kill, skin, and gut a mountain rabbit. It was pretty cool and we were able to teach the member how to make flour tortillas (My comp and I have been getting pretty good at it). After we cooked the rabbits we discovered that they pretty much just taste like chicken.
Anyways, cuidense.

elder j clarke

November 3, 2008

Well family, this was a good week. Elder Zite and I have been working on something that the church has given us. We are supposed to actualize all of the records of the people in our branch and when we first saw the package we thought, "no problem." Then we found out that there are 700+ members in our little area, most of the addresses do not have a street number just the street name, and so we have been working on finding all of these people. One experience was kinda funny. We were looking for a guy named Juan Miguel and his address said 137 2 de Noviembre and we had found a house that was 137 2 de Noviembre and we saw an older guy sitting in his hammock and so we asked him if he knew a Juan Miguel and he responded that he didnt know anyone by that name. He asked us what address we had and we told him that it was 137 2 de Noviembre and he still didn't recognize the person so we told him the last name of Juan Miguel Regalado Lopez and when we told him that he said he didn't know him. We then asked him if he could kindly tell us his name and he said "soy juan miguel Regalado Lopez" and we said "hermano, we`ve been looking for you" and he said "oh I was hoping you were looking for a different Juan Miguel." We then proceeded to invite him to church. It was a really funny story.
Well see ya later.

Elder J Clarke

October 27, 2008

Dear Everyone,
We have got the Day of the Dead coming up here in Mexico and it is pretty similar to Halloween in the states, but different because there is a lot of Saint worship. But this week, we have had success and we have been working really hard. We have two baptisms coming up and one of them is Irvine. He has usually gone to church and then on sunday, he signed up for seminary and when they asked him for the day that he was baptized, he told us that he hasn't been baptized but that he would like to as soon as he can. Sometimes it happens that way and sometimes it takes a long time for somebody to make the decision. Also, we are teaching Celia. Her two children are members and we have been working with her to help her make the decision to come unto Christ through baptism. Also to keep with the Mexican tradition of holidays we bought some fireworks and have been blowing up stuff in our patio.
love ya
Elder J Clarke

October 20, 2008 - Almost 19 months

HelloThis week was pretty cool. First off, we had a baptism of Luli. She is a young girl with two kids that has been investigating the church for a while. And this week as my comp and I went to teach her, she accepted a baptism date for satuday. When we got to the church building, the president of the mission was there with Elder Torres of the second quorum of the 70, and they both came to our baptism. Then President Cruz was showing us off to the General Authority and it was pretty funny. Elder Torres also talked with Luli and congratulated her on her baptism. When he introduced himself, she didn't reallÿ understand what a General Authority was, but we explained it to her and she got excited. It was a fun week. We got a lot done and we have some more work for us in this week. Elder Zite and I get a long really well.
Take Care,
Elder J Clarke

October 13, 2008 - Juchitan

Well family,
This week I won`t be sending any pictures because I left my camara in the house (before going to use the internet). But I took some pretty good pictures. This week, Elder Zite and I wanted to go to teach some investigators but we found that the river had risen above the street. So we were about to turn back, but we realized that fish were jumping from the river below onto the street to swim upstream. Naturally, we stopped and took pictures and then caught some of them. Also, we had four investigators come to sacrament meeting this Sunday. Two are twins that come every single week. They can`t get baptized because their parents won't let them, but they come every single Sunday. Also, we had some confirmations on two other kids that Elder Zite baptized the week before. Their mom came to church and now she also wants to listen to us. Also, this week we got a couple other missionaries together and we made some steak burritos american style. There were two mexican missionaries with us and they said that the burritos were very very good. We cooked steak on an open fire, beans, rice, and we made our own flour tortillas. Cant forget the A1 steak sauce. It was really fun. Well gotta go. Bye
Elder J Clarke

October 6, 2008 - Transfer time

Hello everyone,
This transfer I was thinking that maybe I was going to stay in the same area for more than 2 transfers. But I was disappointed. I got transferred to another area outside of Oaxaca City in the area called the Itsmo, in the Pueblo called Juchitan in the ward Libertad. My new companion is Elder Zite. He is from Midway Utah and I have lived with him before and he is really cool. But this time I am not a zone leader. I am finally just a senior companion and so is Elder Zite. I had 10 months as a ZL and Elder Zite was a DL for 7 months so we have some experience. The Itsmo is the part of the mission that I have never been to and now I am going to be there for what I think will be the rest of my mission. But I have heard that they have the best Tlyudas (a taco about a foot long with lettuce, tomato, avacado, beans, salsa, meat, and the best cheese, quesillo) they say in juchitan that they are the best.Well this week we worked a lot and we got Aurelio and his family ready for baptism for this next week.The conference was amazing this October. I couldn't help but wounder why it seemed that this conference passed so much faster than all the rest of the conferences that I can remember. I think it is because I loved it. The conference was definitely the best part of this week. I noticed how the theme seemed to be unity as a family and as a church. It makes me wonder what is coming in the future. We always need to be prepared by what the prophets tell us to do.
Well, Cuidense
Elder J Clarke

September 29, 2008 - Hola

Family,
This week, Mom asked me how the city is like and I guess that means that I haven't really described it very well until now. But right now, I am in Yagul and it is pure hill. Oaxaca City is in a Valley and so most of the areas are on the slopes of the hills. The funny thing is that here, the people who don't have as much money are the ones that live in the hills. Back home it is the opposite. But here, the people with the money live as close to the center of the city as possible. Where it is flat is where the people with more money live, because that is where the pavement is and where they can drive their cars. But in the hills, their streets are more like one way dirt roads that curve every which way. But I like working in the hills more because the people are more friendly. Also, the City of Oaxaca is pretty small for being the biggest city in the state. It has about 300,000 people but they are spread out over a big distance. The city has 4 stakes and it is still growing. During the summer, it is green because that is when the rain comes. But during the winter, it is brown and dead looking. But it looks amazing during the summer. Also this week we were teaching a less active member about the Priesthood and they had a doubt if miracles still happen in our days. I then remember sharing the experience about what happened about 5 days after I had recieved the Melchezidek Priesthood when we were driving to Utah and when we got to St. George to sleep. I remember how Grandpa Larson got really sick and was vomiting blood and that when we gave him a blessing, he asked me to do it because he had faith in the Priesthood that I had just received. After the blessing, the doctors said that he would be just fine, that the hole in his stomach or whatever it was had closed up without surgery. I remember feeling so blessed to have a Grandpa with such faith to show me the power of the priesthood. As I was sharing this with the family, I was feeling the spirit a lot about how I was really strengthened by this experience. I know that faith has the power to do miracles and I know that if we continue strong, that God will never abandon us.
Elder J Clarke

September 22, 2008

Hello,
This week was a lot like the other 79 weeks that I have had during the mission. It gets pretty hard to keep writing about interesting things that happen because it seems like I have already written about it before. But this week we have been helping Aurelio and his wife, Clara, get ready to get married so that they can get baptized. Also, Clara`s daughter, Monica, has also been listening to the lessons and she also wants to get baptized. The thing is that we haven't been able to talk to her husband Alberto because every time that we go to talk to them he disappears into the other room. So on Tuesday, when we went over and he left, we asked him to stay so that we could also talk to him. We taught the first lesson again because we thought that we needed to teach it. When we finished, we asked Monica to share what happened when she prayed. We wanted her to share her experiences so that Alberto could also be encouraged to pray. Monica said that after she had prayed that she had a dream where an angel appeared to her and showed her two different pathways to choose from. One was windy and broken down with fog and thorns and the other path was straight with roses on both sides and the sun shown down the path. She understood that the path with the roses was to choose to get baptized while the other was to stay in darkness. Then afterwards, I had the strongest impression that I should ask Alberto if he had also prayed. He answered me Yes! And he said that he had felt a joy beyond description as he was praying. He then told us that he had been listening from the other room every time that we came over. He was just embarrassed because he had heard that he needed to get married in order to be baptized, so he was embarrassed because he wasn't married. We told him that we are going to help him as well as his wife to get every thing together so that they can get married and baptized.
Well that was how my week was. Photos are of me inside of the plane that we found a while ago.

Elder J Clarke

September 15, 2008 - Eighteen Months! (well, next week)

Hello Everyone,
This week has been really cool. We are finally seeing fruits of all our hard work. We had a baptism this week, a guy that is absolutely amazing. His name is Victor, he is 19 and he is from Puerto Escondido. Apparently while I was there, I met him but he wasn't interested in listening to us there. Then about two Sundays ago, he showed up at church with one of the members from Puerto. They are both studying here in Oaxaca, and they just happened to rent apartments here in my ward. So we started talking to him and he told us that he has always believed that the Book of Mormon is true, he just never had learned from where or whom it came from. We gladly answered his questions. He got baptized on friday and he has already asked us what he needs to do to serve a mission. His friend is named Ariana and she is also cool.
This week we also had another ZL consejo, but this time only with the ZL`s of the city and it was with Elder Mickelson of the 1st quorum of the seventy. He is President of the Area Mexico. He is brilliant, he was part of the team that translated the Bible and Bible Dictionary into Spanish. He basically has the Bible memorized in Spanish and English. He came and talked with us about being better Zone Leaders and capacitating better. It was a very spiritual meeting and he answered a lot of questions about the gospel and he even shared a couple of personal experiences. This week was really cool. I have been able to see many blessing from my Heavenly Father.

Elder J Clarke

September 8, 2008 - Vatos Locos

This week was cool.
We had a lot of stuff that we did. First my companion and I realized that the mirror in the men's bathroom at the church is definitely meant for Oaxacaños (pic 090808-4). We also realized that the water tank on top of the roof was really, really dirty on the inside so we had to spend the whole morning cleaning it. It is on the roof and there is no ladder, so we had to go on the wall and then stand on Elder Romeros shoulders to get up on the roof (pics 090808-1 and 090808-9). And then the four of us, Elder Lozano, Elder Cruz, Elder Cazarez, and I getting ready for the 15th of September, the Mexican 4th of July (pic 090808-13).

As for missionary work, today we saw a woman carrying her water tank (a water tank is about 5 feet tall, and can hold about 250 gallons of water) up the street and we asked her where she was carrying it to. She said up to the top of the hill, about 1 mile away. We helped her until we got to the bishops house and then he helped us with his truck the rest of the way. She was just rolling it on its side. It would have taken us (two missionaries) about 3 hours to get it up, a lot longer a woman by herself. But we helped her and it was awesome. We are going to visit her tomorrow and teach the first lesson to her and her family.

Elder J Clarke

September 1, 2008

Hola everyone,
This week was awesome. It was my first week with my new companion, Elder Cazarez, but we worked a lot. We have been preparing a family for baptism. They came to church with their neighbors and they are pilas. When we taught them the first lesson they were so excited to hear about what Jesus Christ has done for us. It has been an amazing experience to teach them and have the spirit helping me as I am teaching. I am learning while I am teaching. I think that is the best part about being a missionary. Also, this week we were talking with a Jehovahs Witness and he had a lot of questions. At first he said that there cannot be prophets in our day. We started talking with him about all the prophecies of the Second Coming and how God would restore his church in the last days. We then started sharing with him the story of Joseph Smith. After we had finished the first vision, he said, "Thank you God." He then started to tell US about how Joseph Smith was called of God and how the only way that it could have happened was the way that it happened with Joseph Smith. He then said that he knew Joseph WAS a prophet. After he had said that, he came to the realization of what he had just said. He then asked us if we could continue to pass by his house to teach him more about the Prophet and the restoration of the True Church. It was a fun week.

Hasta luego

Elder J Clarke

August 25, 2008 - Transfer time.

Well, this Transfer I thought that I was going to go untouched, that I was maybe going to have a companion for more than one transfer. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Elder Bingham is leaving for Salina Cruz, and my new companion is Elder Casarez. He is from Tijuana so he lives pretty close. He and I got to the mission at the same time and he is a Zone Leader with me. We are still in Yagul and just as Elder Bingham is leaving, we are starting to see lots of results from our work. The ward mission leader, Juan, brought two families to church and they are wanting to learn about Christ. And what better way than His Church. Also, we have finally been able to talk to the husband of Dolores and he is starting to listen to us. We have several families in teaching and we are excited for their progression.
I am going to miss Elder Bingham. We had a lot of fun and we helped this ward to grow.

Photos.
001 is with me and Elder Lamber with Elder Tenorio of the 1st quorum of the Seventy.
005 is of me on a plane that is right next to our house.
006 is of our creation when the primary presidency asked Elder Bingham and I to draw a deer. I doubt they will ever ask us again.
010 is of me and Elder Bingham in a members house.

Elder Jason Clarke

August 18, 2008 - 17 Months!

Hello,
As a 17 month old missionary, I don't feel any different. But now everybody talks about how close I am to finishing, even my investigators talk about how I will be gone real soon. I am trying not to think about it, and it really isn't that hard. All I have to do is think about my investigators or what I studied about in the morning. The missionary schedule is divine. If the missionaries follow it, their mission will be a success. They will be able to convert a person worth converting, themselves.
This week we found some new investigators, just like every week, that were almost by accident. We got lost in the hills/mountains and we figured the best way to go is down. As we were hiking, we found a guy who is building his house. He showed us the way back and we then invited him to the church and shared a little about the church with him. We asked if we could come back some time and he said yes and he seemed really excited. His name is Vitaliano. That is awesome about Lauren and her new husband, Felicidades!

Elder J Clarke

August 11, 2008

Family,
This week we have been working a lot with the members and it is showing results. We have several families that are listening to the message of the restored gospel and that we are trying to bring to church. Also, this week I had to get some new shoes because the shoes that I have been using since I started are pretty much spent and they look like they belong to a bum, so I bought some new ones. Also, tomorrow we are getting to meet Elder Tenorio of the First Quorum of the Seventy. He is coming to capacitate all the Zone Leaders and teach us how to be better messengers of God. My companion, Elder Bingham, bought a ridiculous looking tie to wear tomorrow. It has most of the colors of the rainbow and it is poca dot, but it looks really good. That is a pastime of some Elders, looking for funny rare ties. But anyways, this week was a lot of work and a couple of spiritual experiences. On Wednesday, I explained The First Vision in a new way that I hadn't ever thought of before. The Hermana had doubts about the vision of Joseph because nobody can see God in the Flesh. That was when I felt that we should look at the account again, and the spirit taught me how when the light "descended" upon Joseph and "rested" on him, it was only then that he could be in the presence of the Great Jehovah. He was filled with the Spirit as it "descended" and "rested" upon him. The Holy Spirit was also there and doing his role as part of the Godhead. Just another manifestation from the Holy Spirit about his own work among the children of men. I am so grateful that God fulfills his promises made to us and that I can be a part of his work.

Elder J Clarke

August 4, 2008

Hello,
August has started and it is still raining almost daily, but that doesn't stop us. Sometimes it even helps us get into houses. These past couple of weeks, we have been working a lot with references and we are getting a lot of investigators. They are starting to progress and we are starting to see some fruit and faith of a few of them. Our tracting is good, too. We are continuing to find new people that want to learn about the gospel. For example, today as we were coming to internet, I stopped by a panaderia (bread shop) to buy some bread. I started talking to the lady in the store and she said that she has seen us pass by her store lots of times. Her 4 year old son always says, "here come the gringos" and she has wondered where we were always coming from and where we were going. We talked to her a little about the church and she invited us to come back and talk with her and her son. Even though she had her Saint of Buisness hanging in the corner, she still wants to learn more. Then there is this one woman named Dolores who has a lot of faith and really wants to be baptized, but she is not married and she is scared to talk to her husband about that. I know that sounds weird, but that is how it is here. Also, her son really wants to get baptized because he loves the Book of Mormon and has prayed and knows it is true. He tells us every time that he wants to be a missionary. Also, two days ago, we saw a drunk guy try to stop a diesel truck with his hands. He was successfully stopping the rest of traffic, but diesel trucks don't stop as fast as other cars. He jumped out of the way just in time to not be hit by the truck, but jumped into the path of another car (going about 7 mph). He drastically fell on the ground and was waving his arms, lying on the ground being drunk for the next 30 minutes. It was kinda sad.
The work will go on.

later

Elder J Clarke

July 28, 2008 - Hola!

Hola,
I am really enjoying this transfer so far. Elder Bingham and I are really working and relying on the members to help us with references and we are bringing people to church. Since we opened the area, there wasn't anybody that was progressing. But we have a couple of people that are really excited about the gospel and they are coming to church. There is Felecitas, who is really cool and her cousins are members. Also, there is an Hermana Dolores who has two kids and all three of them want to be baptized. They love the Book of Mormon and coming to church. But the parents aren't married and the dad keeps hiding from us when ever we go over. But this week, we are going to find him and just try to have a little chat. The sons of Dolores are named Christopher and Jorden, and Chris thinks it is bien padre that we have the same name. Chris wants to know all about the Book of Mormon and why the Nephites and the Lamanites don't get along. Jorden is a little "wild" as some people would say. But I say that he would fit right in the Clarke family. His mom says sometimes that she no longer knows what to do with him. I usually ask her what she would do if there were 6 children like Jorden running around her.
Also, this week we found a less active family that is very very nice but they have stopped following a couple of commandments, mainly the word of wisdom. We are working a lot with them because they have several family members that are not baptized yet, but have some interest. On friday, the Mom offered us a Coke and that was when the dad said "Gudalia, they can't drink Cola." He then looked at us and said, "Elders how about a beer?" It looks like we will have to teach that commandment again.
This week I will finish 500 days on a mission and I still love being a missionary.

Elder J Clarke

July 21, 2008 - 16 Months!

Hola,
This week has been amazing. I am with my 5th American companion, Elder Bingham. He is from Arizona but he lived in Hollywood. He finished his degree in film production. So of course, he was working in Hollywood. We have been working really hard and we are finding a lot of people to teach. Although the majority of them in this area are girls. There are a lot that are listening to the gospel. One of them is Victoria and she is amazing. She has a testimony about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith, but her family is extremely Catholic. She is scared that she will get disowned if she joins the church. As we were talking with her, my companion Elder Bingham shared with her a scripture in 2 Timothy 1:7-8
"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord." And after she had read it, she choked up in tears and said, "it is so hard, but I will do it." One of the most powerful, testimony building experiences that I have had so far. She has such faith and it will help her in her whole life. I love being a missionary and I hope that all of my brothers and cousins can experience it as well.

Later,
Elder J Clarke

July 14, 2008 - Monte Alban

Hola,
Guess what? I am in the zone of Monte Alban again and it is going to be cool. We are opening the area. The president split the Monte Alban Zone and we are the first ZL´s of Monte Alban 2. My new companion is Elder Bingham. He is from Nevada, but he lived in LA for the last 2 years before his mission. He has 20 months on the mission and he is an amazing Elder. The AP´s told us that we went to this area, Yagul, because we have shown that we can baptize in what ever area we are sent to. So it is going to be a fun transfer. We may be together for more than just 1 transfer. The president is keeping missionaries together in the same area for a couple months now, so we may be together for a while. Dad asked me what is the key factor for me in my success as a missionary. I think the biggest factor that has helped me out is listening to the spirit and working efficiently. Those two are key to converts. Without either of them, you can't have success. Well I hope everyone is doing alright. See you next week. (What?)

Elder J Clarke

July 7, 2008 - Transfers

Hello,
Okay the transfers of the mission are next week. But I got a transfer a week early so that I could learn the area before my companion gets there in a week. I am going back to the city of Oaxaca, again. I don't think that I´ll ever see the Istmo. It is the region in Oaxaca that most missionaries spend most of their time. But I have never been there and it is looking like I might not get the chance to see it since I´ve only got 6 transfers left. My new area is in the Monte Alban stake in the Yagul ward. Anyways, about this week, it was busy. First I had the ZL council and we got to meet the new president. He is all fired up about missionary work and is asking for double the numbers (contacting, lessons, references, and especially baptisms). So time to put my shoulder to the wheel and pray. But don't get me wrong, this new president is amazing. He has a great way of inspiring people. He should. That is what he did for a living. His old job was to teach and inspire teachers how to teach better and more effectively. Now he is doing it with missionaries. Also, me and Elder Mendoza had another baptism this week. It was the son of a less active member and he has been going to church for a while with his aunt. He asked us if he could be baptized. During his baptism we asked his dad to say the prayer and he did it beautifully for 20 minutes... The dad´s name is Enrique, as well as his son who got baptized. Elder Mendoza and his new companion are going to keep working with the mom to try and bring a complete family to church. Also, in my last month as Zone Leader of Puerto Escondido, we had 11 baptisms as a Zone and there are 12 missionaries. So we almost got the goal, but there was one area that didn't baptize so that was where we were short. I did an interview with an invesitgator that is going to get baptized this week so everything is alright. In this new area, I am going to be with Elder Sandoval until he goes home. He finishes his mission in a week, and after that I don't know who my companion is going to be. Hopefully, they give me a companion this time. Anyways, this was a good week.
Have fun.
Elder J Clarke

June 30, 2008 - Hello

Familia,
This week was amazing. We worked really hard with a couple of investigators that we had. They could feel the spirit and they got baptized this week. We had three baptisms, and they were; Adela, her mom Victoria, and also Neyda. They have a lot of faith and have been praying for a while. It was so special to be able to help them to learn more about their Saviour and how they can show faith in him by making a covenant to follow his commandments. Also, this week arrived our new Mission President and he sounds much more strict than President Ortiz. President Ortiz could be described as a very funny, witty, patient president but we will see how President de la Cruz is. I am grateful for my chance to be a missionary and to share my testimony. Also, this week we found a young guy named Fernando that has been looking for the true church but hasn't been able to find it in any of the Christian churches. He says he is willing to listen to us. During the first lesson, he had a lot of questions and he invited us back. I can't wait to see him progress.

The pictures are of the baptisms of Adela, Victoria, and Neyda.

Elder J Clarke

June 23, 2008 - 15 months on a mission!

Hello,
Today I thought about telling about my week with pictures. I took a lot more than usual and it was a really fun week. I also finally got a companion. His name is Elder Mendoza and he is really tranquilo and really likes to bear his testimony. He is amazing. But on with the explanation of the photos. 349 is of the branch activity that we had on Saturday. It is a church organization called "helping hands" and we are helping all this summer to beautify Puerto Escondido, and to help people get to know about the church. We, as missionaries, are going to try to go every week so that people will connect the missionaries with the helping hands. 354 is a little snack. I couldn't help it, I was really hungry. We were teaching a lesson with Sandra and then we offered to help her with her chores because we took up a little bit of her time. So we spent the next 15 minutes pulling all the tiny little teeth things out of the (can't remember how to spell it) suction pads of this squid. There were hundreds. 356 is a photo of one of the octopuses that we helped to defraw. They clean these things so that they can sell them in their cocktail restaurant. 359 is a chili that may look really really, really small, but it is one of the hottest chilis. It is called chili picking and to eat it you take small nibbles and it still burns the heck out of my mouth. I have tried Habañeros, but these little guys burn a lot for how small they are. 367 is a pic of Playa Carizalillo. It is a beginners surfing bay and it is an amazing view. If you notice, there is nobody in the water. The beaches here are all empty. It is amazing. 386 are 3 of the 4 Zone leaders of the coast and then ex-assistent ElderMackelprang. It is Elder Macky`s last transfer, so we got permission to get together today and have some fun. We went to one of the most expensive restaurants in Puerto Escondido right on the beach and got some steak dinners. They only cost 12 dollars. Elder Clarke, Elder Moore, Elder Vranes, and ElderMackey. 391 is of Me, Moore and Vranes at the top of a hotel that looks over Zicatela,beach the 3rd best surfing beach in the world. 392 is of Me, Moore, and Macky.

Well this week has been really fun and we also put two baptism dates for this Saturday. They are investigators that we have been working with for a while.They both have strong testimonies and want to follow Jesus Christ.
I am Happy!

Elder Jason Clarke

June 16, 2008

Almost 15 months...

Hola,
This week has been ok. I still don't have a companion, but we had a succesful week. I went to the ZL consejo (Zone Conference) and it was the last one of President Ortiz. I am going to miss him. He has been an amazing leader and example for me. I hope that some time later I will be able to see him again and be able to thank him for all of his advice and most especially his jokes. Probably the funniest Mission President ever. But we have also been trying to prepare for the new Mission President and getting ready to make the transfer. I know that this is the true church of God and that it is directed by his son Jesus Christ and by his prophets and apostles. Although I may get tired of starting my emails with Hola and hello over and over again, I will never get tired of sharing my testimony that this is His work. I got to read the Ensign and I want to share, along with the majority of the people who spoke, that Thomas S. Monson has been prepared to be the Prophet of God. I feel as though I will never be able to thank God enough for the many blessings he has given me and for helping me get to this point of my mission. Also, we are having success and Pres. Ortiz says I'll have a companion soon.
Hasta Luego a todos,
Elder Jason Clarke

June 9, 2008

Family,
This week has been pretty crazy. First off, I found out that I am actually not going to have a companion for a while because there are 150 missionaries in the mission and one of them had surgery. So one missionary out of all the rest is left without and has to follow other two missionaries around. That elder is me. I don't have companion right now and so I go with Elder Mackelprang and his companion. When they don't have an appointment, we work in my area. Not very effective, but we still have people wanting to be baptized. So it is a little okay. But I have been working with Elder Mackelprang and we had a baptism this week. It was a young guy named Eber, and he is really cool. What made it even cooler is that in the area of Elder Mackelprang, there has only been 1 baptism in the last year and a half and they already had 5 since Elder Macky got there. This week, I am also going to go to the ZL conference again. This will be my 7th one, and it is the last one of President Ortiz. It has been raining a lot and there is even a hurricane alert for this rainy season. In the afternoons, all of the streets turn into rivers. I kinda like it though because it makes everything even more green. This week we also had a district meeting and we decided to put our goals for baptisms for the month and we had an insane goal of 2. But we are working as hard as we can and we are praying a lot to have God do the rest to make it happen. We already have 5 and there are 3 weeks left in the month, so it'll require more work.

the pics are as follows...
027 is friend who wanted out of the rain
024 are me, rubi, and weeks
021 is Silvia at her baptism last week
030 was our district meeting (Elder Macky is the Blonde, funniest guy alive)
032 is "the man with no clue," he doesnt know if he wants to be a missionary, singer, or weatherman.

peace out.
Elder J Clarke

June 2, 2008

Hello,
This week was amazing, there were so many things that happened. First off, we had transfers and my companion of 6 weeks Elder Rubí is leaving. He is going to the City of Oaxaca to an area where he already was before. And my new
companion is Elder Treilhard. He is new in the mission and he is going to get here tommorow. Also if everyone remembers about Silvia that I told you about, well on Saturday she got baptized and it was a nice service. She has a testimony about the gospel and she already wants a calling in the ward. Also about the Hermana Neyda, in church on Sunday she had told everyone that she is ready to get baptized. It was so awesome because we have been working with her for a long time and she has always asked for more time and more time, and God
knows when the time is right and she said that she could feel that it was time. So this Saturday is going to be her baptism. Also, we had a Zone Conference in Huatulco and it was sweet. Elder Grow from the quorum of the seventy came and spoke to us and he was 100% completely amazing. He explained several doctrines that were amazing. He also had a feeling about him that was amazing. I hope that we will have more oportunities to meet more General Authorities because they bring a spirit with them that shows that they are called of God to preach his word. Also, Elder Vergara got his transfer and he is already moving up to senior companion in his third transfer and that is just amazing. I hope that He does well. I can't send pictures this week because I forgot my USB cable. So next week, I'll be sure to send "un buen" a lot.
Elder Jason Clarke

May 26, 2008, Subject: Hola

Hello,
This week my companion and I worked really hard, and we were able to bring a lot of people to church. We have really been able to see alot of people change as they accept the gospel into their lives. There is one family that "was" very catholic but they have been coming to church. They told us that they are thinking about baptism and that it is what God wants them to do. Also, there is an Hermana named Silvia and she went to church the last sunday. When we went to her house to teach her the first lesson, she had A LOT of questions and all of them were focused on the 4 lessons that we teach. We taught her all four in one day. Then she asked us if she could be baptized and we put a date for this following Saturday. It was so amazing. She had all of the questions that the gospel answers. She has definitely been prepared to accept the gospel message. There is also an hermana Neyda and we have been teaching her for a while. But this week, we read Alma 32 with her and after we had finished I asked her what are three things that a seed needs to become a tree? She answered with roots for a good foundation, sun, and water. I then asked her what is the first thing a seed needs before it can sprout it's first roots and she looked up and said Water. She then looked at us and said, Elders I will pray and tell you next week. She is an amazing person and I have been very happy to be able to teach the gospel to her. If anyone remembers the family in San Gabriel, every time we go there a new family member comes and likes the gospel. We still don't know how we can get them to church, but we are talking with the district president about opening a family group in this pueblo so that they can assist and be baptized.
pictures. 001 is of San Gabriel
002 is of the ocean waves on a very blustery day
004 is of a baby iguana that we caught
010 is of a giant iguana that we didnt want to get near to.

Cuidense todos.

Elder Jason Clarke

May 19, 2008, Subject: 14 Months!

Hello everyone,
Is is just me or is getting harder to try and put new things into every single email. Well I am coming up on 14 months and this is the time when everybody says it goes by wayyyyyyyyyyyy faster because you can now count your months on your fingers. Anyway, me and Elder Rubi have been working really hard. We are finding a lot of people to teach and this sunday we brought 8 investigators to church. We have been really looking hard for people and we are working a lot on getting references from the members. This past week we have been visiting a lot to help to build up the ward and also to receive those references, but in church the assistance (attendance) got up to 100. That may not seem like a lot but here that means ward division time. But there are a lot of people that we are getting to know. There is this one family that lives in between two tiny pueblos and so there isn;t anybody else around except for family. They don't live next to anybody, and the señor has a lot of land. We taught the first lesson and afterwards we wanted to see his view of the mountains (pic jason 001). When we saw how much land he has, he looked at my companion and me and said, "if you´d like you two can choose any spot of land to build your house and then we can be neighboors." He is a great guy and it seems like he can really progress. It will just be hard to get him to church cause they don't have a car and it costs quite a bit to get them to and from church, look for a member. Also, with this hermano, his grandchildren came up and it looked like they had chicken pox. So I didnt worry about it. But then I asked and realized that they had small pox. But I haven't had a reaction so I think I´ll be alright. Anyways, I love being a missionary and meeting new amazing people.
jason 002 is of the tiny airport here in Puerto Escondido
jason 003 is how I was thinking of leaving the house, in order to blend in with the natives (see if you can find what does not belong)
Elder J Clarke

May 12, 2008, Subject - Hello Family

Happy Mothers day to all mothers, they deserve it.
This week was amazing, mostly cause I got to talk to my amazing family. But there was one person missing, Elder D Clarke. Maybe on Christmas we can do a three way call between the USA, Mexico, and Chile. Everybody sounded good, although my mom said that I sounded like a Mexican and at first she didn't recognize me. But I am sure Joe understands because I kept calling him Curtis. Anyways, this week we have been finding a lot of people to teach and we are ready to start putting baptism dates with a couple of them. I guess I shouldn't say that we are ready, they are ready to accept a Baptism date. We met a lady in a caseta telefonica and she asked us about our religion and when we started talking about the first lesson she started crying because she said she felt the spirit so strongly. She started to tell us that she had been praying for men of God to visit her because she has been feeling all alone, especially near mothers day, because her husband passed away recently. She then pulled out a jehovahs witness pamphlet and told us that two of their missionaries had passed by the day before but that she hadn't felt anything. She said that she hadn't felt anything with them but that she believed everything that we had said. It was a good feeling. I know that this gospel is true and I must tell everybody.
Elder J Clarke

May 5, 2008 - Another week in Mexico

Family,
This week has been really cool. I got back from the ZL conference and we got right back to work. We have been finding a couple people to teach. One of them is the mother of a recent convert and she is really interested in the church because she has seen a change in her son since he got baptized. Also we had a talk with a french guy who is married to a lady in the ward. He isnt a member and he is really against the whole religion thing, but we are going to just have a chat with him to get to know him better. He speaks spanish with a huge french accent and his english is a little bit better than his spanish. Also this week we went to a pueblo called San Gabriel and a man asked us if we could give a blessing to his sick wife. We did (in a members house) and then later she started feeling better. But as we were walking to the members house I looked over at a house and saw a young woman hanging her cloths to dry and she looked up and saw me looking at her and she smiled. But it felt so weird because it was a different kind of smile. Usually the only kind of smile i get is the kind where they smile and then giggle because I have white skin, brown hair and blue eyes. But it just felt different. Anyways after we had finished or day in San Gabriel we were rushing over to the taxi when we decided to contact the house where the girl was. When we shouted "Buenas Tardes" she came out and kinda blushed. But I presented ourselves and asked if she had ever heard of us before. She said yes and then quickly she said that she had even almost got baptized with her grandpa but that the missionaries had stopped coming and they closed the family group that used to meet in this pueblo. Then my companion said, "well we have come to invite you again." She looked a little surprised and my companion said, "to listen and come to church again." We had a small conversation and we found out that her grandpa had been baptized but had died a year later and that she hasnt seen missionaries since then. Basically this week has been good,
Hasta Luego

Elder Jason Clarke

April 28, 2008, Subject:

Hola,
My little bro has left for a mission, I know that he will enjoy it. I know that I am going to enjoy this transfer. I am with Elder Rubí. He is an elder that started the mission at the same time as me. He is really really funny and so far we have been getting along really well. This new area is progressing a lot. There haven't been a lot of baptisms in this area for a while but we have a couple of investigators that are progressing and we are helping them to prepare for a baptism in the next couple of weeks. Puerto Escondido is a little different than all the rest of my areas. The people are very open and willing to listen but they are also really relaxed. It is a tourist area and it relies completely on the money that the tourists bring. I really like it and I hope I will have time to stay here. Well today I am in Oaxaca for another ZL conference. I am expecting to get moved down because usually a zl only lasts about 3 transfers and this is my fourth. But I want to keep working and meeting new people. There are also some more photos of my new area with me and my companion.
Elder Jason Clarke

ps. We need to distinguish which Elder Clarke now!

April 21, 2008 - Subject: Transfer Times

Hola,
This week we had transfers, but before I get to that I need to talk about this awesome week.Of course the week starts on monday our P-day. The elders from Huaxpaltepec came over and we had the district meeting, the other elders have a baptism on saturday. This week was filled with divisions to do Baptismal Interviews and to help animate the other elders in Pinotepa 2, in divisions with Elder Cruz we had put 2 baptism dates in his area. Also the Hermano Francisco that was baptized last week came over and thanked me again for teaching him. He wants me to come to his temple sealing in one year, so if mom and dad want to make a trip down to Oaxaca next April, I am definitely there. Also, a mother and daughter in Cuajinicuilapa that we have been working with for a while we went out there to talk with them about baptism one more time. The week before we had asked the daughter, Daniela, to pray to see if she should be baptized and we went back on wednseday to see what her answer was. Before we had gotten to the house, Daniela was saying a prayer asking God if she should be baptized and she said that she would do as God directs. She asked for him to show her the way when her sister shouted down the hall, "Daniela the missionaries are here!" She came out and said that she wanted to be baptized this Friday along with her mom. I was so happy and after her baptism when she told us about her experience she said that she knows that the church is true. Also, this week we have transfers and I had thought that I was going to stay in Pinotepa for another transfer but I have been moved to the other side of the zone to Puerto Escondido! It is the area that is the most tropical and has the longest coast line. This time however my area is different. It is completely coastal. Hotels, restaurants, and one of the best surfing beaches in the world. I am with an Elder from my generation (came to the mission the same time as me) his name is Elder Rubi and we are ready to work and to make a difference here.I left my son (Elder Vergara) in Pinotepa and his new companion is Elder Davila (my 3rd companion). Elder Davila and I are going to be Zone leaders together. Also this week we have a zone conference in Juatulco and then the next week is when we go to Oaxaca for another ZL consejo. Well there are a couple of photos so that makes up for the lack of words, I hope.007 is of Me and Hermana Sandra, 008 is my companion with Daniela, 009 is all of us together, 010 is my new area of Puerto Escondido, and 003 is of me working on my tortilla making skills.
Until next week
Elder Jason Clarke

April 14, 2008 - Subject: Hola

Hello,
This week has been awesome. First off, Francisco. He is the husband of Hermana Viki and we had been teaching him and he wanted to be baptized but he had done something in the past that prohibited him from being baptized and he had to write a letter to the first presidency to get permission to get baptized. This happened three weeks ago and I was pretty bummed because he is really cool and really wants to be baptized. And the letters to the first presidency usually take at the least 1 year, but then on tuesday of this week, President Ortiz calls me and tells me that a miracle has happened and that his letter has already returned. President Ortiz interviewed him and when he talked to me he just said two words, "Baptize him." The Hermano started to cry and his wife who had always talked about an Elder Fernando and how he was the best Elder came over to me and said with tears, "Elder, I have a new favorite Elder." It was so awesome. It was definitely a miracle, cause the letters never ever get back that fast. As we were inviting people to the baptism the ex-Branch President, Hno Nacho, asked us if he could be the one to baptize him. The thing was that they used to be old drinking buddies and would get drunk a lot, but then Hno Nacho was baptized and then became the branch president and now Francisco was baptized.Also my companion and I have been working really hard and finding a bunch of new people to teach. I really feel the spirit as we are teaching and know that he is guiding our steps.Well here are a couple of photos too. 684 is of the baptism with my companion and I and then the Hermana Viki then the grandkids and Francisco and then Hermano Nacho.656 is of me with a tree groing out of my hand.
love ya all
Elder Jason Clarke

April 7, 2008, Subject: Semana # 55

Hola,

This week has been pretty busy. I got back from the ZL Consejo on Wednseday and we have been looking for more and more people to work with in Pinotepa because nobody is progressing. But in Cuaji, Daniela is ready for a baptism but she wants to do it with her mom. So we asked her mom if she would also like to be baptized and she said yes/no because she loves The Book of Mormon and she loves talking to us. But she still hasn't gone to church with us so she doesn't know how it is. We responded by telling her that she should go to church then, and she agreed. And at church she had brought her whole family, including the brother and sister of Daniela and they all really liked the meetings. So we are going to work a lot with them. Also there were two new people in Cuaji and I met them and asked them why they had joined us at church. They said that they had taken the lesson and gone to church in LA but had never gotten the chance to be baptized because they were deported and had to come back. They hadn't been able to find the church until then so we are going to their house on tuesday and see how every thing is doing. They are brothers and their names are Reiner and Miguel. Also, another hermano was walking in the street in Cuaji and saw me and said "Elder, where is the Church." We showed him where and started talking with him as we left. He stated that he had been a member for 12 years and he and his family are sealed, but that his job took him to a pueblo next to Cuaji and he hadn't been able to find a church for 4-6 years. But he wants us to come and visit him this week to talk about the church. This week was a good week.

Elder Jason Clarke

April 1, 2008, Subject: Late Letter

Hola Family,
You are all probably wondering why this letter is a day late. Well, we had the ZL council in Oaxaca on Monday, and they gave us time for internet but my companion suddenly got sick and had to use the bathroom for almost the entire time so I got permission to use the mail today. This week was really cool. I was able to do two Interviews for the other Elders in my district. Also, we had a baptism in Cuajinicuilapa on Friday. Juan the youth was really excited to go and we went to the river in Cuaji and we were able to do it in the canal. Also we were able to challenge a couple of other people to be baptized and so we are planning their baptism for next week. Also this week it was kinda wierd because it is the end of the two week vacations and so everybody is returning back from the coastal towns to the city. I had told my ZL companion Elder Paredes to buy the bus tickets early so that we could get to the Council on time and not waste any time, but he didn't. So he had to buy tickets a day early, so I wasn't able to go to church. I know how important it is to go, it really helps me to feel better throughout the whole week. Also I have been really trying to find ways to really bond with my Zone/district so that we can can tons of success and really work to make a difference in the areas that we are assigned.
Also more photos. 001 is me on the way back from the baptism. 002 is my convert Juan. 003 is when we descended into the canal. 004 is a photo of some of the people that went, hermanos Jesus and Margarita. 005 is one of the best breakfasts ever (i havent had bacon in a long time). 006 is me and President Ortiz.
Cuidense,
Elder Jason Clarke

March 24, 2008, Subject: After 1 year as a missionary

Family,
I am now a year old. People have always told me that the second year goes way faster than the first and so if it is that way with me "nos vemos mañana."This week my companion and I have been looking for new investigators in Pinotepa as we prepare Juan and Daniela and their families for baptism in Cuaji. Daniela is such a cool girl, she is 15 but says she is going to be 18 real soon. But she has been reading the Book of Mormon and says that she loves it and she wants to read it all. She has been going to church and praying to know if it is true and she has recieved the answer "YES." It is so awesome to see the Holy Ghost teaching people the truth about the gospel. Then there is another teenager Juan who has also been going to church and reading. They are both going to be baptized this Friday and we are going to do it in the river or in the canal next to the river. The families of these two are also amazing, but they haven't gone to church yet. Daniela´s mom makes mamelas/sopes (a tortilla with beans and sauce and cheese, really good) and she loves to listen to us. She always asks us about the gospel and lots of questions about the Plan of Salvation. And on Friday she asked, "Why do you talk with so much hope?" I responded "because the Gospel of Jesus Christ is all about hope." I can see this Hermana getting baptized really soon. It is awesome to watch people accept the gospel.
Elder Clarke

March 17, 2008, Subject: Dear Family

Hello,
As I am approaching this monumental moment in a missionary´s life where he stops counting up and starts counting down, I have paused to wonder, How have I done? I have loved serving the people here in Oaxaca and I really enjoy getting to know new people and share my testimony with them and watching the spirit touch their hearts. I have loved being one of the Lords Ambassadors and being blessed by lots of spiritual gifts that he gives to such that are in his service. Anyways, that was the serious mature Jason that has developed in the past year. But I am still me and I want to explain about my new companion, Elder Vergara. Last week the assistants spelled it to me wrong. He is from Tijuana and so he is the closest companion that I have had yet. This week he was also able to do his first baptismal challenge and the boy accepted, his cousins are members. But it has been really cool this week. We have been having a lot of success. Also President Ortiz told me that they are going to be opening Cuajinicuilapa and putting missionaries to live there. I would love to go there because hardly anybody has even heard of the Restored Gospel before, because Mormon Missionaries have never lived and tracked there before. I want to ask president to let me be the first especially since I kinda know the area and because we have 3 baptism dates for the following weekend. I love teaching this gospel to everyone. I know that it is true and I want to share it with everyone.
Elder Jason Clarke

March 10, 2008, Subject: New Transfers and Something different

Hola Family,
This week are transfers again and even though I only got to spend 2 weekswith Elder Upchurch, it was a good two weeks and I am going to miss that guy.He gets to get out of the Coast and go to the cooler climate of Oaxaca City,while I stay here in Pinotepa. But there is something different about mytransfer, I am still a Zone Leader but I am also a Trainer for thistransfer. I am getting an Elder straight from the MTC (Mexico) and his nameis Elder Uvergara. I am going to have trouble with his name. So now that Ialso have a newbee companion fresh out of the MTC the other Elders in mydistrict were joking that there are only two missionary positions that Ihavent had yet and they are Senior Companion (because I have always beenJunior or DL or ZL never just a Senior) or Assistant to the President andthat in the transfers at the end of April I am going to be moved up or moveddown. Of course they are all just joking and I actually dont know what willhappen, but I know that I will try to serve my best. And because picturestell a thousand words, I will add 4000 more words easily to this email. 110is of my crazy cool half of the Zone that covers Pinotep 1, Pinotepa 2,Jamiltepec, Huaxpaltepec, and Cuajinicuilapa. 113 is of me and my cool provocompanion Elder Upchurch. 120 is of the coolest Texan I know Elder Lindbergwho is suffering in the heat and 121 as he has his bags packed to go off tohis new area.Take care. and Happy Birthday to DonnieElder
Jason Clarke

March 3, 2008, Subject: Donnie's Mission Call

Hola,
That sounds like the 2nd coolest mission call that I have ever heard of. Chili Concepcion. I am sure Donnie will love speaking spanish I also love speaking spanish.This week I got a new companion Elder Upchurch from Provo. He is really really cool and we enjoy working together. We are going to be companions for the last two weeks of the transfer, and then maybe more but who knows. The other day we were talking with a woman that wanted to be baptized but she dosent want to leave her witchcraft or her santos or virgincitas. She was trying to use the smoke of an oil fire to find out how her son is doing in the United States. I looked at her and told her that we had a message for her about a true power that WORKS. Ss soon as I said the word "works" her little fire went out immediately. That was when we started talking about prayer and how we use it to communicate with God and he uses it to talk to us. Anyways she looked kinda shocked and kept trying to relite her fire and then she said that she will get baptized but that she wont stop worshipping the saints or the dozens of different Virgin Marys.Other than that we have been looking for more and more people to teach and to bring to baptism. We have found 3 families that went to church and they are reading the Book of Mormon. So we should have some baptisms pretty soon here.reporting from MexicoElder Jason ClarkeP.S. we are going to have to start distinguishing which clarke is writing from now on.

February 25, 2008, Subject: 11 Meses

Family and Friends...
What a week, My companion and I have been working and working a lot to help a few of our Investigators progress in the gospel of Jesus Christ and the way that we can return with our Father in Heaven. I know without a Doubt that Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the World and that Joseph Smith was His Prophet in these last days, and I know as if I was there that the Book of Mormon is the Word of God cause he has made it known to me that it is his word. It is my mission to bring this knowledge to the people in Pinotepa, and to help them in the best of my abilities to know for themselves that God speaks to Man in all times. This week was really cool. I went on divisions with Elder Herrejón in his area to help his investigators, and after he had explained to me about one of the families that they had in teaching we got to their first appointment. I thought it was the family that he had just finished telling me about. A man and his mom and what I thought was the mans wife. So we started talking about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how it is through him that we can live with God. Well after about 30 minutes of talking, I invited the man to be baptized one week from saturday. He accepted on One Condition, that his mom could also be baptized on this same day. We told him of course. As I looked at the woman and asked her if she would also be baptized, she told me that she was already baptized. I was a little confused until Elder Herrejón explained that this was a family that they had never taught before. I was so surprised because they were so prepared to accept a Baptism.Reporting from Mexico....I´mElder Jason Clarke

February 18, 2008, Subject: Hola

Dear Family,
Sorry about the subject, I just couldn/t think of another thing that I could put. But that doesn/t mean that this week wasn/t a great one. My companion and I are working really hard and finding more people to teach and people that seem like they will put their faith in Christ and walk His road. This week we taught 40 lessons, and we have also been asked to work with a couple of less active members and the awesome thing is that they showed up to church and they are going to go with us to some of our investigators. But we have been working a lot although I got sick on Thursday and couldn't work at all on Friday but we got right back to work on Saturday and Sunday. This week there have been a couple of earthquakes, the first one was pretty big and at first we only thought it shook so much because we live on the 4th/top floor of our apartment building, but then Dad told me it was a 6.3 earthquake. After that one there were three other little ones but I was sleeping through two of them. Also, I can't wait until my little bro Donnie gets his mission call, that is going to be sooo cool. I cant wait until I see some of his pictures of his mission. So this week we basically worked a lot and listened to the spirit. Have I mentioned how much I love the Book of Mormon before. It and prayer are the reasons for my testimony of Jesus Christ.
Elder Jason Clarke

Date: Feb 11, 2008, Subject: crazy week

Todos,
This week was pretty crazy. We have been working pretty hard in helping the people learn about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the nessesary saving ordinances that we all need in order to return to his presence. There is a family that I got to know the other week, Eduardo, Araceli, and their son Axel. They had been listening to the missionaries for a while but they never got baptized. Last week we put a Baptism date with them for this last saturday and they accepted. Then on Friday I was planning to go with Elder Dominguez to do the Interview when thursday night President Ortiz called us and told us that we were going to have a Zone Conference at 2pm on Friday in Huatulco, which is 6 hours away from Pinotepa. So me and my companion left and talked with a couple of members to see if they could help us to prepare for the Baptism because we now were not going to be there on Friday to find the cloths, fill the font and answer any last doubts that they might have. Well, there were a couple of Hermanas that helped us out with everything, it was so awesome. Also, when we got to Huatulco, I was told that I was going to be the ZL that gives the Conference Lesson on Baptism Dates. I felt like I was prepared even though I was told 30 minutes before had because during the 6 days that I had been in Pinotepa, my companion and I put 6 dates with investigators. It was a good lesson and I thought the spirit was really strong. I love being a missionary for Jesus Christ, I love learning more and more about his Gospel to teach it to his children here on this earth. Thank you all for all of your support.
Elder Jason Clarke

February 4, 2008, Subject: Pinotepa

Dear Family,
This week was kind of wierd. I didnt get to my new area until Friday because of the ZL Consejo. At the Consejo, we got to go to the Temple and it was awesome. I love going to the temple. I always feel like it is such an uplifting experience. Also the Branch of Pinotepa also consists of an area called Cuajiniculapa. It is a pueblo in the state of Guerrero and we went there on Friday and I got to meet a bunch of people. We also challenged a lady to be baptized this saturday and she accepted. The thing is that in Cuaji, we get to baptize in a river because there is no chapel there. The other thing is that during the summer there are crocodiles and sometimes during the Winter. But you dont need to worry cause we are going to bring some fireworks to scare any that (in extremely rare cases) are even there before we preform the Ordinance of Baptism. Also the weather here is a little wierd. It always "feels" really hot, but this morning I realized just how much the humidity affects the weather. The first part is that as we were walking to the Church at 7 in the morning to play soccer, I realized that I could see my breath (as in cold weather) but I was sweating at the same time. Also after a couple of hours of playing soccer, I was soaked with sweat and you could see steam coming off of my body. It was a wierd experience. But I have been loving being a missionary, and I am so grateful for Our Prophet Gordon B. Hinckely that has lead us faithfully for several years, and I am excited for the new First Presidency of Thomas S. Monson as President, Henry B. Eyering as 1st councelor, and Dieter F. Uchtdorf as 2nd councelor. I hope that everyone has a wonderful week.
Elder Jason Clarke
photos are 001. me and my companion Elder Cruz at the River in Cuajiniculapa. 002 is me and Elder Ramirez as I left that night. 003 is Me and Hector, most amazing convert. and 004 is of a family that got baptized on Saturday, the day after I left for Pinotepa.

January 28, 2008, Subject: Return to the Coast

Hola,
This week has been awesome. We found a family the other week that came to church with us and then yesterday they came with us again and they accepted a baptismal date for this Saturday. They are Arlen, Karen, and Irvin. It has been so awesome to teach them and to see them pray and find their own answers. Then when we went to their house last night to talk with them about their baptism, they came up to us and asked me if I was really going to the Coast, and when I said yes, they got really sad and asked if I could stay a couple of days so that I could baptize them. I had already talked to President Ortiz and he said no. And when we told them that, they looked at me and said, "Well then we have a present for you," and that was when they brought out one of their little puppies that they had and said that they named it Superman and wanted me to have it. I was sooooo sad that I couldn't accept it, cause 1. it would be almost impossible to have a dog during a mission, and 2. it is against the rules. When we told them this the looked at me and said, "Okay, well while you are on your mission we will watch your dog and when you finish you can come back and then take him home." So I hope Mom wont mind an extra dog when her son gets back home from his mission. Also one of my converts Hector, he was ordained a Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood yesterday and a phrase came to my mind that said, "Un Hijo de Dios ha recibido su herencia." (A son of God has received his inheritence.) It almost made me cry, after he stood up and came over and gave me a good hard, but loving, handshake and said, "Gracias por encontrarme, mi hermano." He has been one of the best people that I have met since I got here. He was sad and said that it isn't fair that I already have transfers again. Oh yeah, I am going back to the Coast, in Pinotepa. It is the farthest area away from the mission offices, a 14 hour bus ride, and it even includes a pueblo from the state of Guerrero. So I am pretty excited to get there, but I won't get there until Friday because there is a Zone Leaders meeting on Thursday and President said he would save me 30 hours of traveling. But this transfer has been amazing, spiritual, and just plain awesome.
from
Elder Jason Clarke

January 21, 2008, Subject: 10 Months

Family, Friends, and whoever else wants to read my letters,
The mission is awesome, I have been a missionary for 10 months and it has been amazing. This week a girl in the ward went with us for two days just contacting and she knows just about everybody in her neighboorhood and a lot more people said yes to hearing the message of our saviour while she was with us and also a family went to church with us and they are already thinking about being baptized. We have been trying to work really hard with the members because more people say yes to hearing our message and more go to church when they know somebody that is already a member. I have been learning more and more about how to be a missionary with success. Also we went to the mission offices today and we saw a copy of the transfers page, according to the page, I am going back to the coast but to a different area this time. The transfers are next week and I have loved being with Elder Ramirez, he is an amazing missionary. That is one thing that is funny about this mission is that I have heard about other missions where the missionary spends 6 months in one area and sometimes longer but the longest I have ever spent in one area was in Pochutla for 3 months. Anyways, it is fun being a missionary, : )
Elder Jason Clarke

January 14, 2008, Subject: January 14, 2008 (Really)

Dear Todos,
I love being a missionary. It is probably the coolest thing in the entire world, I have been able to teach and learn about the Gospel of the Saviour of the World, he is a Perfect Man and he wants his gospel spread to the ends of the earth. I am grateful that I have this opportunity to help in this work. This week was really cool, we were able to bring two more people into the fold of God by the right way, it is a mother and daughter, Maria and Blanca, and at first they had trouble wanting to be baptized, they would say yes and then later say no but we had a baptismal date and we had some members go to their house to pick them up to bring them to church for the meetings and for after when they were going to be baptized. well My companion and I were waiting at the Chapel and the Hermanas that said they were going to go and pick them up showed up with out Maria and Blanca. We asked them what had happened and they said that they forgot, so we were worried that Maria was going to get nervous and not come but then as we were about to walk into sacrament meeting Maria and Blanca showed up. It was awesome, usually Maria is extremely shy and timid, she has had a hard life and is usually a little embarassed. but when she showed up to church she had a really big smile and said that she was ready to turn her life over to the Lord, she was baptized and she looked so happy and she felt it too. There is a promise that we have from our Lord that when we come unto him all will be well also another favorite.Matthew 11:28-30 28 ¶ Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Elder Jason Clarke

P.S. pictures are as follows 033 is of me and my companion, 028 is of the baptism, 029 is of a cool graffiti painting near our house.

January 7, 2008, Subject: 20 year old me!

Family and Friends,
I remember when I had just turned 13 years old and Grandma Clarke asked me if I was going to be a typical terrible teenager and I answered with a loud resounding "yes." But now I guess I am in a different age group where we need to be active, fun-filled, but responsible adults. This week has been amazing, however, a family in Bosque invited me to come and have lunch with them, little did I know that they had bought me a cake and celebrated my birthday. Also, we celebrated "3 Kings day" or the 3 wise men day, and it was also fun. As I have already said, I have been in Amapolas before and I knew where a couple of people lived. Last Thursday we went to one Hermana and her son was there. He told us that he had been waiting for us on a thursday because that was always when the other missionaries used to come to his moms house and that 3 days ealier he had a dream about two missionaries handing him a plate of fruit and meat. Later during this week he was having doubts about being baptized and he prayed and asked Heavenly Father for help when his friend came over to visit him and handed him a plate of fruit and meat and he said that was when he knew that he had received a sign from God and needed to follow it. Long story short, he was baptized on saturday and is already making lots of friends in the ward. He is one of the most converted people that I have ever met. He even asked me to baptize him. I love this gospel and my oportunity to serve my God.

Elder Jason Clarke

p.s. Pictures are as follows: 001 is me with Hector. 002 is Me, my companion, and Hectors mom and son, and Hector. 003 is me with my birthday cake.

December 31, 2007, Subject: 9 months on a mission

hello,
I want to start by saying how much I love being a missionary and being able to study/preach the word of God all day every day. This week I got to call my family and it was awesome, although my companion decided to go way over on his time talking with his family so it made me miss the first time that they called and then I waited until we went out to make a collect call to make sure they had the right number and while we were gone for only 4 minutes they called two more times and then they called and I was able to talk to them and it was awesome. This week has been pretty cool, we have been talking with this guy named Hector, and he has the strongest testimonies that I have heard from an investigator, when we asked him what he thought about the church he basically taught us about the Apostasy and about the Restoration, it was awesome then when we asked him if he would be baptized he said okay and so this saturday we have a baptism with him, and we are also hoping with two other people, a Mom and her son, to be baptized on this saturday. They both have strong testimonies about the gospel, most of the people that we are teaching are old investigators and they are really interested and are progressing which is the most important part. also last night I was reading in Alma 26 and it has become one of my favorite chapters in The Book of Mormon, and the versus 22 and 27 were the two that were my favorite 22 Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasingâ€”unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance.27 Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success.
Elder Jason Clarke

P.s. 001 is of a rich Elder Clarke, he has the rent money. 002 is when Elder Jenkins and Marshall left, my first district. 003 is of a couple of the Elders in my zone at our Christmas party

August 27, 2007

Querido Familia,
Well this is the third time that I have tried to send this email. I think that there is someone that doesn't want me to send it. The first time Myldsmail quit on me so I had to start over. The second time, the computer froze. So now anyways, as I have said three times, we have a Baptismal Date for the 16th of September. The investigator is Veronica and she is about 27 and apparantly attracted to guerros because she has not stopped telling me how pretty blue eyes are. She also tells us that she has dreams. At first I thought "well doesn´t everybody?" And she told us one in particular... in her dream she is standing in line surrounded by fire and brimstone and all the people are screaming. She tells us that she is at the begining of this line, also that there is another line that is much shorter but the people look so much more happy. Needless to say, we gave her some homework and asked her to read 1Nephi 8. It is the chapter about Lehi´s vision of the Tree of Life. We have a visit with her tommorow so we will see if she read. Also at the begining of this transfer, I started reading the Bible, and I am trying to finish by the end of this transfer. I am in 2 Kings. As I have been reading this blessed book I have come to see more and more the need of a restoration of the gospel, because it happens all the time in the Bible. Also I can understand much easier the parable/prophecy of Zenos that was recorded on the Brass Plates of Laban. It is found in Jacob 5. It talks of how the lord preserved a branch of the chosen people of the lord. And the whole time I have been reading, it is just silly how much worse and worse the children of Israel are getting. True, they do repent and come back. But every time they fall they fall even farther. So it makes perfect sense for the lord to lead away a family. I just wonder if there are others. I know there are but I wonder what happens to them. Also, as I read the Bible I can see more and more similarities between it and the Book of Mormon. There are more things to understand. I know the Book of Mormon is true because: 1. I have prayed and received an answer, and 2. There is no way that a 19th century Farmer could have written that book without Heavenly Inspiration, and if there is somebody who is receiving Heavenly Inspiration, I am going to follow his council. I will, just as I follow the councils given from Adam, Noah, Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Etc... well until next week, quidanse.
con Amor
Elder Jason Clarke

August 20, 2007

Dear Mom
You don't have to worry. I am not anywhere near the hurricane. We have had some rain the past couple of days though. Also, I dont know if I like hearing that there will be more changes before I get back, but oh well, there will probably be tons of more changes since I still have 1 year and 7 months and 4 days until I will be home. And about my P day, it will always be on Monday unless I get moved to the offices and then it will be on Saturdays. And no sorry I can't tell you what iguana is like, the government has made it illegal to 'hunt' them, but I dont think that that will stop me from members 'cooking' it.
Bueno Chiao Con Amor
Tu Hijo
Elder Jason

Dear Family,
Boy how the time flies. It still seems like last week I was still in High school, but that was over a year ago. Anyways, all is well in Pochutla. It is Exrtemely hot, even when it is raining. I got here at 6:30 in the morning where I met my new companion, Elder Davila. He is about 6´6" so even taller than Elder Olazaran. The thing is that he dosen't look like a Mexican, but he is tall and extremely dark. So let me tell you about how Pochutla is... when I first got here, I thought that the Bus had crossed the Ocean and gone to Hawaii. But then the next thought came to my head, "there is no way this is Hawaii, it is too green." There are trees everywhere, and it is so perfect. Just picture Hawaii, then add some more green, some more animals, lots more heat, and less people, and you've got it. Now Mom, I know this is the last thing you wanted to hear from your son but he may not come home from paradise. If you can remember when I was in the MTC and the girl from Oaxaca was talking about how you can pick fruit from trees as you're walking down the street, well she wasn't lying. There are 3 different types of coconuts trees, 4 different types of bananas trees, (I didn´t know this before) but 7 different types of Mangos trees, and Papayas, etc...On with the email. My companion is a really cool guy he reminds me ALOT of Christian Hunt. He is the only member of his family, and he is really cool except for one thing, this morning he spent 4 hours washing his clothes. I guess he likes them really clean. On Friday, my companion told me that I won´t be eating iguanna so i cant tell you what iguana is like. He said it is because the government has made it illegal to ´´hunt´´ them. This week on Friday, I was handed a plate of what looked exactly like a bunch of dented ping pong balls. I asked how am I supposed to eat them when the dad of the family grabbed one from his plate bit a tiny hole in the top and sucked all of the stuff out. I then tried it and discovered that it tasted amazing. I had one, then two, after my third one I asked him what they were. He replied with Eggs. I asked him what kind of eggs were shaped like ping pong balls. He told me turtle eggs, SEA TURTLE EGGS. I was shocked, I asked him, Isn't that illegal? He just laughed and said, it is only illegal to hunt them, not to eat them. so. I then asked about Iguanas and he said "Oh would you like to try iguana, Okay then, next week we´re having iguana," my companion told him that eating iguanas was illegal so the member replied with "All right then, Sea Turtle it is." We will see what he gives the missionaries this friday. Also on friday because it was so dang hot, and because my companions alarm clock was broken, I made a fan out of the alarm clock motor, a box of cereal, and a playing card, I filmed a funny video but I lost the cord to connect my camera to the Computer, so I will try to find that cord as soon as possible. This is all from Mexico,
Until Next Week. Les Amo
Elder Jason Clarke

August 13, 2007

That is so cool about Lisa´s baptism I do wish that I could´ve been there. Anyways, yesterday I found out where I´m going for my next area and it is San Pedro Pochutla. It is a city about 10 hours away from Oaxaca city and it is right on the coast. I´m pretty excited. It will be fun. The baptism pictures look really cool, but I´m going to send them to my oaxacajay account because I am already running out of room in my inbox. Well I love you and hope you are doing well, and also that you recieve my letter while at girls camp.

Bueno Hasta Lunes.
Elder Jason Clarke

Dear Family,
Well it is transfer time and I have recieved a summons to change my area. Missionaries ususally don't stay in one area for more than two transfers here. But anyways, the new area that I am going to is San Pedro Pochutla. It is a city that is about 10 hours away from Oaxaca City and also... it is right on the COAST!!! I am really excited, it is the southern most area in our mission. Everyone has told me that I will come back looking like a Mexican because it is insanely hot and insanely humid there. Also Elder Juan was in this same area and he told me that the Hermanas will give us a certain type of meal for almost all of the comidas (Lunches, we eat lunch with the members instead of dinner)... ready, IGUANAS. Elder Juan told me that they are more common than people there and that you eat them about 4 times a week, so get ready for pictures and a discription of what it tastes like. As for this week it was really good. We set a baptismal date for Victor, Marcos, and Alejandro. All of them are for next week so I won't be there but that isn't what is important. Well I leave for the Coast in about 6 hours and I am pretty excited. Sorry this letter is so short I have run out of time but next week should be good about my new area.
Hasta Luego. Les Amo.
Elder Jason Clarke

August 6, 2007

Dear Family,
This week was awesome. We actually did a lot of stuff. On Monday, I talked with my companion about studying in the morning and about actually working all day. After I talked with him he told me that he agreed with me and that he is going to do everything that missionaries do. On Tuesday, we started the new schedule and we started out and we went to Victor's house and talked with him about his baptism. We set a date for his baptism at the 16th of August. We finally gotten a baptismal date with him, he has been very hard because he always has an excuse for everyday, until we asked him why he was delaying. He told us that there was no reason and we then told him that if he showed his faith and got baptized that he would be blessed. On Wednesday, we went to talk with Hermana Susie (the family that I baptized my first week) and we found out that her husband has left, that he is trying to go to the United States to find work. SO until he sends money the have no income. So we gave her a blessing and on Friday she found a job that she can bring her children to.On Friday, we were going to go on divisions with Elder Mackelprang and Elder Juan so that they could interview Heily for her baptism on Sunday, but they never showed up. So Elder Olazaran did the interview and when they were done Heily ran out of the room and said Elder Clarke, guess what, I'm going to meet superman on Sunday and he is going to baptize me. She chose me to baptize her. After that we went to the Stake Roadshow, they did Jose el SoÃ±ador (or Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat) It was amazing I didn't think it would be that good but it was great.On Saturday, I went on divisions with Elder Juan at 6 pm and we went to a part member families house and they had a friend over for dinner. Well, the friend and I started talking, and she told me that she wanted to know more about the church. That was when Elder Juan went into the other room. I followed him into the other room of course and a little boy ran up to me and said Hola Gringo. He shook my hand and then started to play around and then he left. Well the friend of the family saw me play with the little kid and asked me if I had any kids. I told her no, she then asked if I was single or not, I said I was and then I was quite surprised but she asked me to marry her (I think it was a joke because everybody started laughing). When I told her that missionaries can't have girlfriends or wives she then said "well you can leave your mission can't you?" I told her no and she asked me "am I not pretty enough?" This was when the family started to really laugh. We left not long after that.On Sunday, we had a BAPTISM. It was so awesome. Heily chose me to baptize her, and her whole family showed up; they are all inactive. One of the awesome things was when she bore her testimony she said that she believes that her dad and brother and sister will start coming back to church, that was when they started to cry and I think that they may start coming back to church. It is amazing how a nine year old can reactivate her whole family.
Bueno este es todo.
Elder Jason Clarke

Pictures are as follows #26 is Me and Heily. #36 is Me, The Family, and My Companion. #31 is me after the baptism making a funny face (look how skinny, 165lbs). #3 is the Oaxaca Temple. #21 is My Compa, Elder Olazaran.

July 30, 2007

Family,
Buenas Tardes. How's it going? Life in Mexico is good and it seems to just be flying by. This week has been really different. For one thing, I have gone on splits twice because of two baptisms that Elder Mackelprang and Elder Juan had, and because Elder Olazaran is the District Leader, he needs to do the interviews. Let me tell you that it was a breath of fresh air to go on splits with Elder Juan on Tuesday and with Elder Mackelprang on Friday. I have been able to have some help with contacting people, because Elder Olazaran has said that contacting is a joke! And that a mission is not a "Best Two Years" experience that you have to basically convince them that the gospel is true. I then proceeded to basically planch (to prove wrong) my companion that A Mission is the time for you to put your best effort forward in helping God with his work and glory. That if we try our hardest to work that it will eventually start to get easier, and then we will look back and realize that we have changed and that we are a better person. Also this time of year it rains every single day from about 6 at night until the next morning, and for my companion that means Gameboy Time. I have told him that if he does not stop being an Idiot and start being a missionary that I'm going to ask the AP´s for help. We will see how that goes, I don't want to kill my companions mission but he isn't exactly leaving me a choice. Elder Mackelprang told me that is probably why none of my investigators has gotten baptized yet, I agree. So anyways, I'm going to start to work 3 times as hard so that I can try to overbalance his stupidity, I think I may need some prayers. Anyways The Mission is awesome and I love it, But I have been told that I may not stay in this area for another transfer so I will most likely be going to a new area. President Ortiz, during our interview, asked me if I liked my area. I told him of course. He then asked if I would like to see more of Oaxaca. I responded with the same, he then replied, Well, Elder Clarke, you have luck because you're going to see more of Oaxaca. So I may be in a different area in a couple of weeks. I'm going to tell you about the some of the food now. For every meal we have either rice or spaghetti or some sort of vegetable soup for the first plate, then after that is usually a chicken covered in mole(a type of sauce que pica mucho), with beans and more rice and avocados. And don't forget the tortillas, they are at every single meal and I'm not joking. And last is dessert, usually jello or some sort of fruit my favorite fruit would have to be papaya (especially with lemon juice and sugar dripped over the top). Also this week for two of the lunches I have been able to eat Clyudas(Tyludas, There is controversy over how to spell it). It is basically a big Taco, with Beans, Tomatoes, Lettuce, Meat, Salsa, Avocadoes, all in a giant tortilla, that is about 1 foot in diameter. And those are the small ones, the big ones are about 2 ½ feet in diameter. They are enormous.
Anyways,
Hasta Luego
Elder Jason Clarke

July 30, 2007

Dear Mom,
Well you may not have to worry too much about me and Dad speaking spanish to each other because with the way that our family is all of your sons may go on spanish speaking missions. Anyways the Mission is awesome and I love it. But I have been told that I may not stay in this area for another transfer so I will most likely be going to a new area. I´m going to tell you about the some of the food now. For every meal we have either rice or spaghetti or some sort of vegetable soup for the first plate, then after that is usually a chicken covered in mole(a type of sauce que pica mucho), with beans and more rice and avocados. and don´t forget the tortillas, they are at every single meal and I´m not joking. And last is dessert, usually jello or some sort of fruit my favorite fruit would have to be papaya(especially with lemon juice and sugar dripped over the top)

your son
Elder Jason Clarke

July 23, 2007 - After 2 months in Mexico!

Dear Family,
This week has been pretty cool. On Monday of course we played soccer again. That is what the missionaries do on Mondays after everything is done. On Tuesday I went with Elder Juan, yes his last name is a first name. We went on splits because my companion is a District Leader and he needed to do a Baptismal interview, so I went with Elder Juan. He is really cool, except he thinks I don’t understand a word of Spanish so he tries to speak to me in English which is about 1000 times harder to understand than his Spanish, the reason being that he can’t speak English. On Wednesday the Monte Alban stake had an activity called, a day as a missionary. So every elder in Oaxaca City got pared up with a youth for the day. It was really fun, he got to contact several people, and we taught 3 lessons, he told me that all he wanted to do was bear his testimony, and I was fine with that since that is basically all I did for my first week. On Thursday we visited Haily and she told us that she wants to be baptized on the first of August so that is the day we are planning for, this Sunday. On Friday we were looking for new investigators, we will see later how the appointments that we made for this week will go. On Saturday, we had a Baptism. Elder Olazaran had interviewed this person on Tuesday for his baptism and when he asked him which of the Elders(Elder Mackelprang or Elder Juan) he wanted to baptize him, he just pointed at Elder Olazaran and said Tú. On Sunday we went on splits with some of the future missionaries in the Ixcotel ward. We went to Griselda’s house to invite her back to church. When I walked in I had the strongest feeling that I needed to talk about temples, but I had no idea how to get there, because she is inactive and she and her spouse are not married, but they already have a kid. So I said a quick prayer to help me get to temples without offending them. I started with a scripture about how Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and The Holy Spirit are three different persons but with the same purpose, after that I cannot really remember how I got there but I was then talking about how one way we can help our Heavenly Father and his Work and Glory (Moses 1:39) is by doing baptisms for the dead in the temple. I also told her that there is much more that we can do in the temple. She was crying and then asked me if we could come back on Tuesday and talk more about temples. I looked down at my watch and realized that we had been talking for about 45 minutes, just me and her, IN SPANISH. I then asked her if she had understood all that I had said, and she told me yes. So it was pretty sweet. I know that we can be guided by the spirit if we just have faith enough to follow where he goes. Until next week.
Hasta luego

Elder Jason Clarke

July 16, 2007

Hello family...
Well this week was... well it was worth while. We talked with a lot of our soon to be members of the church, 1, to confirm the date of their baptism, 2, to answer any questions they have, and 3, to see if they have any friends or family they want to hear the gospel. We have 5 people that are ready to be baptized.1. is Paula, she is a 15 year old girl who grew up in a little pueblo(town) that doesn´t speak spanish. Right now, she is working for and living with the Bishops family so that she can get an education, learn spanish. And as a bonus to her, learn about the gospel. She doesn´t speak spanish very well but she wants to be baptized really bad. Her parents have told us that they want to think about it, but the bishop thinks that we should just kidnap her and baptize her. The bishop is a funny man.2. Is Marco Antonio. He is a 20 year old guy who was working on some electrical wires (he is an electrician) right next to the temple, and he wanted to learn more about the temple. So he filled out a reference card and we met him about a month and a half ago. He has all the lessons and he has been attending church every Sunday. He wants to be baptized. He told us that he may want 1 more week.3. Is Victor. He is a 45 year old, very rich buisness man who is dating a woman in the Ixcotel Ward. The missionaries have been teaching him the lessons for about 4 months. He wants to get baptized this week but he wants it to be on a weekday with only him, his girlfriend, the Bishop and the Missionaries.4. Is 15 year old Alejandro. He is the brother of one of the recent converts, his older sister Gabby. We were teaching their mom the lessons, who is a Jehovahs Witness, when we realized that Alejandro has been attending chruch for the past month and a half while his mom has not. The same night that his mom told us that she didn't want us to return for her, because she said that she has no desire to change, we invited her son to be baptized and he accepted. We just need to put a date with him.5. Is Haily. She is 9 years old and her parents are inactive members. They are so TONTO, that it is not even funny. We have been trying to get them to church for the past 2 months. The mom and Haily have gone twice but the dad said that he didn´t want to go and that he doesn´t want his daughter baptized in the church. HIS REASONING, was, in his own words, "Well if she is baptized now, what will happen in a couple of years when she wants to drink and smoke, she will come under more condemnation, because she has been baptized." We then started talking about the Plan of Salvation and how nobody can be saved in the Celestial kingdom where God lives if they have not been baptized. This is when Haily started to cry. Her dad looked at her and asked, "Why are you crying?" She then responded, "Because you don´t want me to go to heaven." Afterwards, he told us that he would talk with Haily about baptism to see if she really wants to be baptized. All the while she is saying, "I want to be Baptized, I want to be Baptized." We talked with the Mom the next day and she said that they want to make sure she wants to be baptized. TONTO.6. Also from all of my previous letters, you must be thinking, Where is Carlos? Well, Carlos ran to the Iztmo which is another section of Oaxaca, and guess what? His name isn´t Carlos, it is Vincint. It turns out that he really does believe that the church is true but he has done some things in his past that required him to change his name and lay low for a while. SO... we are going to try as hard as we can to send some missionaries to his house in the Iztmo to see what the situation is and how can they help.Well, those are some of the people that we are teaching, the closest ones to baptism anyway. But within the next couple of weeks they will be members of the restored Church of Jesus Christ that has His power and His authority to perform miracles on the earth.
Peace Out!

Elder Jason Clarke

July 9, 2007 - First Week of Second Transfer

Hello Everyone,
First I have to explain what happened last Monday night after I had gone to bed. We got a call from the APs around ten thirty saying that they had gotten in a car accident, and that they needed us to come to them and get the luggage that they were taking to the Bus Station. So we left. We then had to wait at the bus station for an elder who missed his bus to the Coast. His next available bus was at 2 in the morning, so we waited with him. Then the next morning we had to get up at 5 to go and pick up some other Elders from the bus station, so we didn't get much sleep.On Tuesday, my companion didn't arrive until 8 at night so I wasn't able to do anything. But as I was waiting, I was talking with one of the APs and he told me that President Ortiz has put me with a Gaddy companion, (Gaddy is short for Gaddianton, an Elder that doesn't like to follow the rules). Anyways my companion is all right, he just likes to play his gameboy, but he still works and with him we have gotten 2 more baptismal dates this week.Wednesday was the 4th of July and I almost forgot. Basically, all of our appointments fell this day and so we contacted a bunch of people and went to some inactive members houses, to invite them to church.Thursday, about the 18 year old Carlos that I have been talking about, he left. He moved back to the Itzmo where his family lives, it is about 6 hours away; we are trying to get his number to send the missionaries over.On Friday, we went to teach Marcos, and we challenged him to be baptized, his response was, I've been waiting for you to ask me that. It was so awesome. He then came to church and he is planning on being baptized this up coming Sunday the 15th.On Saturday, we went to an inactive member's house. Her daughter who is about 3 and has never said a word before started talking and talking and talking. Her mom said it was because the other elder scared her. The daughter then looked at me and told me that she wanted me to be her Godfather, it was kinda funny.On Sunday, I had to give a talk in Sacrament meeting. The bishop had called me earlier in the week to ask me. I thought it went okay. Later we went to a families house to give the daughter a blessings. As we were walking back to the bus stop, it started raining really hard, and then it started hailing. I didn't think it could hail in Mexico, but it can. We went to a members house to wait out the rain, when all of a sudden (what a cliche), part of their roof was blown off, and it was raining inside. Lots of the roofs here are made from aluminum siding. We then started to move everything that would get ruined by the rain and then we used some umbrellas to patch up the holes. Today, Monday, we played soccer again, and there was a really stuck up guy. After my companion and I had beat him and his friend 10 to 0, he started getting really mad that a gringo and a basket ball player beat them.

The pictures are as follows, the first is in Monte Alban.
The second is of an ancient resident of Monte Alban.
The third is me in one of the sleeping rooms at Mitla.
The fourth, fifth, and sixth are of a little friend I found while washing my cloths.

Elder Jason Clarke, from Mexico

July 2, 2007 - After 100 days on a mission

Hello Everyone.This week was quite fun. I found out that I was called for Jury Duty, and also that I have been an illegal alien inside Mexico for the past month. But we got that taken care of.On Tuesday we taught Marcos, he is a 20 year old youth that we have been trying to contact for a long time. We finally got a hold of him and invited him to church.On Wednesday we went to talk with Saul, he is an older man who knows the bible very well. He has been studying for a long time, and he isn´t part of any church but his views about what the bible says are very very close to ours. He just can´t let go, and read the Book of Mormon for even one minute.On Thursday we went to teach a man named Raymundo, he is part of the Catholic Church but he is only a member because of the heavy tradition that is here. On Friday we went and did some service for the relief society president, because her house was red flagged for Sancudos, which are enormous mosquitos, I am not lieing there was one in a mosquito trap that was about an inch to an inch and half long. The way we helped was we took some machetes and started hacking away at the Bamboo that is behind her house. We did this because that is why there were so many mosquitos or sancudos. I felt a lot like Indiana Jones. it was fun. Also later that day we went and talked with Carlos and he told us why he does not want to get baptized, it is because the Member of the Church that he works for has cheated him REALLY BAD. He needs the job, because they are so hard to find here, but he is going to leave the place as soon as the semester is over. So he does not want to get baptized because he thinks that he will be obligated to work there if he does. Also he does not know if there is a church around where he is moving.Saturday, was Elder Clemens P day because he is getting on a plane and flying home on Monday. so he is probably already home. Other than helping him pack and choosing which of his ties to keep we didn´t do much.Sunday, We dropped off Elder Clemens at President Ortiz´s house and so I am hanging out with two other Elders while my new companion gets here. I found out who it is, I can´t remember his name, But I have been told that he is about 6 foot 6 and is from northern Mexico. Today at church though it was awesome, we had 6 of our investigators come to church and we have two baptismal dates for this Sunday, I hope it all works out.and today, we played soccer with a couple of the priests in the stake and I had three goals.
the pictures are as follows.
1 Mitla ancient burial site on the other side of Oaxaca,
2. as far as I can tell an ancient toilet,
3. a chamber that held the sarcouphagus (not spelled correctly) of one of Mitlas kings.
4 one of the servents sleeping rooms.
5 A family that we go to eat with a lot, the mother is Hermana Sollo, and her daughter Marianna. the Missionaries from left to right Elder Mackelprang (nobody can pronounce his name so he is Elder Mackie), Elder Clemens who is finished with his mission, Me, and Elder Tejeda who before he went on his mission a soccer team in Guadalajara offered him some money to play for them.

June 25, 2007

Family,
This week we have done lots of stuff. On Tuesday night, a drunk tried to convince us that a car had stolen his identity. We talked with Carlos again on Wednesday and we brought a member with us that got Carlos to talk about why he does not want to be baptized. Carlos likes to call me Elder Clarke Kent form Smallville. On Thursday, we went to an inactive family's house. When I was teaching daily scripture reading, I felt that I needed to go to a certain scripture. I went to it not knowing how to connect it to the lesson, but after I was done, I explained how that scripture meant something completely different to me at two different times and that we need to read our scriptures daily in order to find things that our Heavenly Father is telling us. On Saturday, we went to Hermana Cabrerras house for her Birthday. Hermana Cabrerra is a member of the Bosque ward that and is a better missionary than I am. She gives us about a reference a week. So on Saturday, me, Elder Clemens, and Marianna (Hermana Cabrerras younger sister) sang "I know that my Redeemer Lives." Ater we were done,she was crying and she told us that that is her favorite song ever. Today, Monday,we went to El Tule which is, as I have heard the oldest tree in the entire world. It dates back to before the time of Christ. This tree is not very tall, but it is about 60 ft. in diameter & about 330 feet in circumference. So this is what I have been doing this week. Oh and the pictures are as follows: the 1st one is of me walking to Hermana Cabrerras house. The Second is of the way we wash our cloths and our dishes. The third is my companion and I at Monte Alban. The Last is one of the Tomb rooms at Mitla.

Love,

Elder Clarke

June 18, 2007 - Numero 4

Hola Everyone,

This week has been pretty amazing. We always have things to do, but it seems that our schedule is getting full. The first thing I have to mention is that it sounds like the teachers in Oaxaca are starting to act up again (they are the ones that started the war last summer, they wanted more money and they started protesting and it got way out of hand, they started buring busses and just going insane). But it sounds like they are acting up again because they want even more stuff. But this time they don´t have the people on their side because the people don’t want to have another 8 month strike and having the busses shut down. The government isn’t going to let it get out of hand, or so they say. But anyway on Tuesday, we got a bunch of contacts that we had to find so we spent Tuesday doing that. On Wednesday, we found a lady that works in the Canterras, which is a great place for contacting, and we started to talk with her about The Book of Mormon. When we told her that it is ancient scripture from the Americas she said, "Well does it talk about Ketziquatle?" I didn´t know what Ketziquatle was, but I figured out by listening that Ketziquatle is an ancient legend passed down through the Myans and the Aztecs and most of the Indian tribes, about a White God that came to the Americas a couple of thousand years ago teaching that he was the Saviour of the world and that he would come again to be the king over all the earth. Well, my companion opened up to 3 Nephi 11 and started to read about when Jesus Christ comes to the Americas and teaches the Nephites. The lady then started saying that she wanted to hear more, so we set up an appointment with her. On Thursday, we went and talked with the lady that works in the park and she said that she is really interested, we taught her the first lession and set up another appointment for Tuesday of the next week. Today, we also talked with Carlos again and he is opening up. I think that it is only because we might have scared him with baptism too early. On Friday, we taught a lady named Ana Karen and her husband and she seems really interested. We have set up a return appointment with her and she says she is going to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it. On Saturday we were walking along, and sweating, in really hot and sunny weather when I heard some thunder. I just figured that it was from around the mountains or a firework, but then it started to rain really hard while it was still sunny. Then the clouds came about five minutes later and it started raining harder. I have learned that it is the rainy season now and that it will probably rain every day till about September. Well, that was my week. I´ll talk to ya´ll later.

Elder Jason

June 11, 2007 - Week 3

Holathis week has been pretty exciting. on tuesday we ran out of water as i was finishing my shower so i was the last one to get to shower from the really clean water until we get some more. also i talked to a guy outside the church today and he thought that i was from mexcio and he wouldn´t believe me that i was from the US. but then again other times people don´t understand a word i´m saying.on wednesday we taught a little girl from an inactive family that wants to get baptized her name is hayley and she only has one arm. but that doesn´t stop her from having fun. we also found another family that wants to hear the gospel, it´s marco, rosio, edgar and their parents.thursday. today we were going to visit marco, rosio, and edgar but they wern´t home, so we started heading back and we ran into ordillo the drunk guy that we met the week before we went to his house and taught him and his mom about the word of wisdom. we told him that we would come back on saturday if he was sober and had shaved. little di i know that my companion has no intention of doing so because he says he doesn´t like teaching drunks. that made me a little mad and i told our zl´s so we´ll see what happens. we also taught carlos again and basically he has told us that he doesn´t want to make any commitments. i think it has something to do with that we taught him the word of wisdom and he likes to drink and smoke and he got really angry at my companion. we also decided to go back to marco´s house to see if they were home but only rosio was home so we started to help her with her math homewrok. my companion thinks he is really good at math. when all of a sudden a green day song came on, (the neighboors were listening to music really loud) rosio asked me to translate the song and i think that i did an okay job, i could only translate the chorus however. the song was wake me up when september ends.friday. we went back to marco, rosio, and edgars house but they wern´t there. on our way back though, someone tapped me on the shoulder and said hola elder. it was edgar, he is such a nice kid he reminds me a lot of a 14 year old henry.saturday we were sitting on the porch of a less active member waiting for her to get back from buying tortillas when i remembered a devotional by elder bednar. in the talk he said that if for some reason you find yourself early at an appointment, track the neighboor hood. after i thought this i thought (now i´m going to have to do it or it will be my fault if we could´´ve found someone) so i said a quick prayer and asked which house when i looked up i saw a blue gate and i felt a strong feeling that that was the house. i told my companion and we went over there and rang the door bell. no answer. we rang again. no answer. my companion was about to leave when i noticed that there was a dog next to the house and i realized that if the dog had heard the bell that it would´ve come running over, so i knocked on the gate and sure enough the dog started barking and the owner came out. i gave our message and she asked us if she could learn more. i was so shocked. it was amazing. the spirit really does guide us.
sunday. church.
monday we went to Monte alban and it was so awesome i´ll try to include some of the pictures.
the pictures are as follows...
first i´m a sacrifice to the gods.
second is the people we baptized on my first week, i´m behind eduardo and his mom is in the middle, the lady on the far left is a member friend of the mom. the third is Monte alban. and the fourth is an old fashioned soccer field.

May 28, 2007 - From Oaxaca!

Dear Family,

Yes i get email. and there are very few places that i won´t get email. I have so much to say about my first week in Oaxaca, it is so DIFFERENT. i have come up with a phrase that lots of the elders down here have found to be very funny, "In Amercia some people consider driving a right, some consider it a privelige. In Mexico some people consider it a way of life, and some (like me) consider it the quickest way to death." the driving down here is so CRAZY, there are traffic laws but nobody follows them, not even President Ortiz, so when you are riding a bus (which is the way we travel) even the bus is swerving in and out of traffic and cutting people off. So anyways the first night i went to the presidents house to eat dinner, and first they brought out a salad that had some weird looking brown things in it. The best i can describe it is bacon bits with heads. i asked him what the brown things were and he said something in spanish and the AP translated and said "they´re called CRICKETS." the president apparently thought that i wanted some more so he sprinkled even more on my plate. the best way i can describe them is interesting. then his wife and son brought out the main dish which had some cut up pieces of steak and hot dog meat in it, we put some on some tortillas with som habanero pico sauce. after i was done i was pretty full, the president came over and asked me if i wanted some more and i figured that i could eat probably one or two more tacos so i said "un pequeno" the president smiles and repeats what i said and goes in the house to get some more food, one of the APs looks at me and ask if i just asked the president for more food. i said yes and he just smiled. that was when the president came out with a plate that had at least 3 to 4 times more food on it than the plate that almost filled me up. he then just looked at me and smiled, the AP leaned over and said "he expects you to eat all of it." i want to let you know that i tried my best i ate about two thirds of it before i felt like exploding. we were then taken to the mission offices where we would sleep for the night. i was told that my new companion, my trainer, had been building a well for a less active family and had hit his foot with a pic axe and had to have stitches and rest in bed for a couple of days. the area we are in is ixcotel and bosque, here in oaxaca city. they are both really cool areas, i was also told that they are basically the coldest areas in oaxaca but i haven´t stopped sweating yet.
my first day in the field was tuesday and we couldn´t do much because elder clemmens still can´t walk according to the doctor. but we went out and me some people anyways.
wednesday. the night before i hardly slept because i had diarreah all night long. it is not fun, but apparently every american missionary gets it. so anyways we went to our appointments throughout the day but i pretty much had to go to the bathroom at every single one. and then as we were walking towards the bus because elder clemmens had done his walking for the day, i needed to go to the bathroom again so we went to the nearest members house, she is really weird, she owns a pizza shop and is about 53 years old but that is not the weird thing, the weird thing is that she is married to a 25 year old guy. they´ve been married for about 7 years. anyways we asked to use her bathroom and while i was in the bathroom elder clemmens decided to talk to her about why she hasn´t been to church in awhile. i get out of the bathroom and we invite her employee to come and join us. we end up teaching him the first discussion and inviting him to read 3rd nephi 11 and come to church on sunday. his name is carlos and he is 18 and has a piercing in his eyebrow.
thursday and friday were kind of routine. we did missionary work for as long as elder clemmens could and then went home.
saturday. today we had a second appointment with carlos but we were not able to stay and teach him because we were out of time so we jsut asked him if he had read 3 nephi 11. he said yes and he also said that it was so interesting that he had decided to read the testimony of joseph smith in the front of the book as well. i was in shock, i now know what the term golden investigator is, because carlos hits the mark as near as i can tell and i´ve only been in the field for 4 days.
sunday. i actually feel better, and my diarreah is gone. we went to church today and the bishop stands and one of the first things he says is that he would like to hear elder clarke´s testimony. so i went up and shared my testimony. oh yeah and carlos is in the audience because he came to church like he said. one of the other cool things about this day is that

I GOT MY FIRST BAPTISM...

his name is eduardo perez garcia and he is one of the sons of susanna. she was an investigator that my companion baptized today, in the interviews that this mother and son had before they got baptized they asked them who they would like to baptize them and susanna said elder clemmens, obviously
because he was the one that had given her all of the discussions. when they asked eduardo he pointed at me and said, yo quiero bautizarme por SUPERMAN (i want to be baptized by superman). i had played soccer with him while my companion was talking with his mom on friday and i guess he liked me. so i have my first baptism already and it is a 9 year old boy named eduardo. oh and that´s the other thing, whenever i introduce myself to anybody the always say "clarke? oh like clark kent, ok elder superman." so i´m known as superman down here because i share his name. the feeling that i felt after i baptized eduardo was a feeling of joy that i can´t explain it is so awesome. well i´m almost done after i finish writing this i´m going to go play soccer with carlos and a bunch of the priests from the ixcotel ward so hasta luego.

June 4, 2007 - Week 2

Dear Family,
This week was a lot of fun as well. I'm getting better at contacting people and now my companion has me doing half of the contacts all by myself. Sometimes he needs to jump in because the people are using hard words and I don't understand them some of the times. On tuesday, my companion and I went to get a Mcflurry and it wasn´t as good as I was hoping. On wednesday, I got a letter from Mitchell and it was really good to get my first letter. On thursday, we tried to set a date with Carlos, but he said that he does not feel ready to be baptised yet, even though he says that he knows that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that Joseph Smith was the Prophet of the Restoration. After meeting Carlos, I know that the Lord prepares people before we even meet them and it could be anyone. Carlos, for example, has a piercing in his eyebrow, was wearing a hardcore rock band shirt and has an insane hairdo. But within one week of hearing the message of the restored gospel, he has accepted it. He just feels that he needs to convince his extremely catholic parents that he has found the truth. On Friday, I realized that I have been on a mission for 72 days and I also realized that if Donnie turns in his mission papers in time, that he can tell me himself where he is going when I get to call on christmas day. Also, today we were trying to find one of our refferals when two drunks started calling us over to them, asking us to teach them about Christ. We decided why not and went to tell them of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. After we were done talking with them, we set up a date to go and teach their families, on one condition, that they were not durnk. They said okay and we started to leave when one of them reached out and grabbed my hand and tried to pull me down to sit next to him. I yanked my arm away and he looked at me blew me a kiss and said, "ojos azul muy bonita" (blue eyes very pretty). As we started to walk away they started to call after us saying that we could have any girl in oaxaca with our eyes. On friday we also taught a young couple the first lesson and they seemed very receptive, but they are both from different families and don´t know what to do. On Saturday, we had family home evening with a family in our ward called the Cabreras. They are one of the nicest families I have met in Mexico. The Grandma owns a restaurant and told us to come by whenever we wanted and that she would feed us. Well, that is my week and it was pretty exciting.
Hasta luego
Elder Clarke (Kent, Superman)

Elder Jason Clarke

Monday, September 8, 2008

September 8, 2008 - 5'10" is too tall for Oaxacan Mirrors!

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May 28, 2007 - From Oaxaca!