Azusa, California: Week 91

This week was awesome because we got to visit the LA temple visitors center with two of the recent converts in the ward! We also went with the Bishop's wife and another couple of members from the ward, and we all had a great time. I always forget just how beautiful the temple is until I go there. We're hoping to help the recent converts get a temple recommend soon so they can do baptisms for the dead when it opens back up. Also, coming up in mid September, there's a mission-wide temple trip!! I'm super excited for that, because the last time I went through the temple was in the MTC like a year and a half ago.

In other news, we did a lot of service on Saturday, helping one lady assemble a planter box, and another lady picking up a new chair from the thrift store and rearranging some furniture. She also said she didn't need her couch anymore, so we figured we could use it. Her house is like a mile from our apartment, so we decided to just carry the couch all the way home haha.

We also did exchanges this week, so I got to spend the day with Elder Eberhard, who's from Tucson and speaks Tagalog! There are currently 3 Tagalog-speaking missionaries in the mission, so they cover all the Filipinos. It was cool getting to meet some. 

Have a good one,

Elder Clayton

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 Azusa, California: Week 90

It was a pretty good week overall. There's not a whole lot to talk about, but we had some good lessons, met some new people, had dinner with some member families. Pretty typical stuff, but yeah, it's going well!

In sacrament meeting my comp and I gave the talks, and we were asked to speak about single adults in the church. At first I had no idea what I was going to say about that, because single adults is kind of an unusual and narrow subject, especially because there's not very many single adults in the ward. But I ended up talking about the church among the Armenian population and how there's a big lack of young people in Armenian group, and how that's a big part of why the church is kind of shrinking. Then I just talked about how singles can play a big part in building up God's kingdom here on the earth, and how everybody has a place in the church. 

Then today for sports, we got with our whole zone and a bunch of youth from one of the wards and played soccer. It was lots of fun, but man am I sunburned.

Have a good one,

Elder Clayton

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Pictures: 

- Our district went out for tacos

- Elder Watson and I got elote, basically corn with chili powder and cheese and mayo.

 Azusa, California: Week 89

This was a pretty great week! I'm really liking this area because it seems like there's always stuff to do, things are always pretty busy. 

My companion started talking to a guy named Alex on Facebook, and it turns out Alex remembers him from a time they talked in the street like half a year ago. My companion doesn't remember talking with him at all, but on Friday we went on a hike with him. He's super cool, and he said he wants to keep meeting with the Spanish missionaries in his area! 

We also met several nice people as we were out walking around and knocking on doors. One of them is named Alex, and one named Kate, who is a foreign exchange student from Japan! Also met a guy named Manny on Facebook and started talking with him on zoom. Basically, there's a lot of potential in this area! 

Here's a scripture I read recently from the Book of Mormon that I really like. It's in 2 Nephi 26: 

        24 He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.

25 Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith: Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price.

I know that that's true, Christ invites everyone to come unto him and enjoy the amazing blessings that his gospel brings. 

Have a good week!

Elder Clayton

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 Azusa, California: Week 88

If I had one word to describe this past week it would be hot! I mean, it's still not as hot as Arizona back home, but with biking around in the afternoon it gets pretty toasty. Other than that, I'm really liking this new area! The ward is small but friendly, and we have some nice people we're teaching. It's also great being companions with Elder Watson, he's an awesome missionary. He's from northern Utah, and his parents are sheep farmers. He's actually the first companion of mine that was born and raised in Utah! 

We gave a tour of the church building to one guy who was interested, and the spiritual highlight from this week was the lesson we had with our friend Chris. He actually lives in our apartment complex, and his wife is being taught by the sister missionaries. We went over and taught him all about the plan of salvation, with an emphasis on temples and how families can be together even after this life. And he really liked it! We also brought up baptism with him, and he said that he would have to talk with his wife about it so they can be on the same page. But I'm excited to keep meeting with him going forward! 

There's also an amazing family in the ward called the Bucks. They took us to In-n-Out my first day here, and had us over for a barbeque on pioneer day. 

I don't have any pictures for this week, but I'll try to have some by next time.

Have a great week!

Elder Clayton

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 Pasadena, California: Week 87

We got transfer calls yesterday, and I was fully expecting to stay in Pasadena since I've only been here 6 weeks. But, turns out I'll be going to Azusa in the Glendora zone! And I'll be companions with Elder Watson, who was my district leader back in Chino. I'm excited to see the new area! Although we are back on bikes so that kind of stinks. :/ 

Another thing that kind of stinks is that we're back to wearing masks indoors. Even for those who are fully vaccinated, we have to wear masks at all times indoors, including church. I'm starting to wonder if things will ever truly return to normal in California.

Another covid-related issue that the ward is dealing with is whether or not to continue broadcasting church meetings over zoom each week. Recently, they've restricted it so that only those who are physically incapable of attending in person have access to the link. But it's kind of causing problems because a lot of people are requesting the link even though they could go in person, or when they go out of town or something. It's a tough situation because on the one hand, we want as many people to be able to participate in church as possible, but it's definitely ideal to have people come in person so the ward gets some interaction with each other. 

Also, for the first time in my entire mission, we did an overnight exchange! It was with the zone leaders, and we got to go and have a sleepover at their apartment, which is considered by most missionaries to be the #1 missionary housing in the whole mission. And I agree, it's amazing, it has 2 stories and a basement! The exchange was fun, and I learned a lot as we went out talking to people and did some lessons. We also contacted someone completely in Spanish, and I managed to say something to the effect of "I don't speak Spanish but we have other missionaries that speak Spanish if you want to talk with them," and she agreed!

I also finally got to speak some Armenian again! We came across this sweet old lady and she said she doesn't speak English, just Armenian! I haven't gotten to do that for like 8 months so that felt really nice.

Have a good week,

Elder Clayton

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 Pasadena, California: Week 86

Wow, ok, this week was really awesome! We had zone conference, and this one was unlike any other. Let me just say, President Hall is a total beast! Shortly after the meeting started, a young guy in shorts and a t-shirt walked into the room and sat down, and President Hall introduced him as his friend Jonathan. He told us he met Jonathan working at a donut shop 2 weeks ago, noticed a sign on the wall that mentioned God, and started talking with Jonathan about it. Then Jonathan introduced himself and told us how he started his donut shop and loved doing good and bringing a smile to people's face, and how happy he was that he met President and Sister Hall.  

Well anyway, us missionaries got to teach Jonathan in real time, right there in zone conference. President asked for volunteers to come up and teach for 2 or 3 minutes about each point of the Plan of Salvation. So after 20 minutes or so, we had taught Jonathan all about the plan God has for him, including scriptures and testimonies, and it was so powerful! The other zones in the mission got to do the same thing, teaching about the Restoration, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And guess what? Jonathan got baptized this weekend! Isn't that incredible? President just found him, got talking with him, had the faith to invite him to zone conference, and now he's been baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ! 

That experience really builds my faith in the work of the Lord. It just proves that there are people out there ready to learn about and accept the teachings of the gospel, they just need to be found. 

I can't believe it's almost the end of the transfer again. This zone has been really awesome! This morning we all got together at the church and made pancakes and eggs, then played some basketball and volleyball. 

Have a good one,

Elder Clayton

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Eggs/Pancakes,

Jonathan with the APs: 

 Pasadena, California: Week 85

The highlight of this week was definitely the mission-wide devotional that we had on Wednesday. It came up very unexpectedly, President Hall just sent out an email the day before saying we would have it. And the guest speaker was John Groberg, the one who the movie "The Other Side of Heaven" is about! It was so fascinating, he talked about his mission in Tonga, then his time as mission president in Tonga with his wife. His grandson is serving in this mission currently. It was a great devotional, and I definitely learned a lot and had my faith strengthened. 

Also, just earlier today we visited Chinatown with the Mandarin Elders. It was super neat, although a lot of the shops were closed so we didn't get to do a whole lot. 

Besides that, we are still meeting regularly with several cool people. In fact, we set up an interview with President Hall for one of our friends to see if she's ready for baptism! So we'll see how that goes. 

As always, have a great week! And happy 4th of July 

Elder Clayton

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Chinatown: