Turning 20

 

Elder Clark turns 20!!

Thank heaven for the Elders that made him a cake and sang him "Happy Birthday"

 

And also the sweet vendor lady who gave him "two" acaii drinks instead of one!! So Kind!

 

It may not have been a birthday as usual but despite the incredible amounts of rain and work, work, work, at least he still had a good day and a smile on his face.....

FELIZ ANIVERSARIO!!!!!!!!! ELDER CLARK

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTOPHER~!

  We are proud of the way you are serving your Father in Heaven. We miss you and we love you.

Here at home, we are wishing you a very happy birthday day in Brazil.  ENJOY~!

Love,

Mom, Dad and Justin

NINE MONTHS

 

Elder Clark has officially been serving for nine months!! 

Christopher is currently serving in a place called Rangel, which by the way when he says it, sounds nothing like you are thinking.  He is serving with his 5th companion Elder L. Gomes and doing very good.  

On Mother's Day we were able to talk to Chris and it was awesome!!  It is just good to get to hear his voice and to hear him tell us that he is doing and feeling good.  He also asked us about what they call in Brazil, the "cold of the pig".  It only took us a few minutes to realize he was actually talking about the "swine flu".  He says that everyone there thinks that all Americans have it! He felt much better knowing that not all of us have it. 

On Sunday they were able to baptize Karlos.

We are very happy that Chris is staying positive and finding happiness in his service in Brazil.  We know that he is going to have many more wonderful experiences in the coming months.  We love him, we miss him and we are already looking forward to(do i dare say it)....Christmas so that we can talk to him again!!

Best Week of His Life

This weeks letter from Elder Clark was titled "best week of my life".  It was a week filled with sickness, disappointment, miles and miles of walking and plenty of heat!  Not what most of us would consider the best week of our lives but amongst all of these things it was also filled with SIX baptisms and a GOLDEN contact being made with an abundance of the Spirit! Now that sounds more like what makes up a "best week" scenerio.  As a mom, I am so incredibly grateful that Elder Clark chooses to focus on the best parts of his week rather than dwelling on the many parts that were less than the best...  Here are a few photos:

 

Eduardo, Eduardo, Eduarda, Bruno, Edivan and Edivania.

Elder Paim and Elder Clark

 

 

This is Elder Clark and his companion Elder Paim along with the elders that they live with.  Don't they all look handsome in their matching suits and ties~!

 

A Look Into A Week With Elder Clark

This week Elder Clark and Elder Paim were able to bring three new members into the waters of Baptism, what a joy!!

This is Graca

She had to walk an hour to another church as theirs did not have water for the font

 

This is Rafael

Below is Rafaela

I don't know about you guys but I wonder if Chris' thumb will stay this way permanently!?!

Due to an unfortunate mix-up, the power at the elder's home was turned OFF~! They have been living for the past week with no electricity.  No electricity means everything in the fridge went moldy, they have no access to music, and they have no fans to sleep with(that means it is hot, hot, hot.  This is what Chris had to say about living without the electricity: 

to be honest i am grateful for the chance to be without power, you have no idea how many people here LIVE without power, live without water! its a life completely different! but i will sure be glad when this ... wonderful experience is over and i can get back to my listening to EFY and sleeping with a FAN!!!!
But in true missionary style, they have found things to keep them entertained.....

I also thought I would show you the ward house where Chris is serving:

 

  

Elder Clark is having many wonderful experiences as he serves the Lord.  Thank you all for your support and love.