Still in Wales - over colds and back to Routine

Dear mom papa, family and friends,

David. While you were in Egypt did you know Daniel Davies and his wife? They are from Wales, and I think they would have been in your ward there. Anyway, if so, his family is in my ward, and his dad is the patriarch here, and his mom is hilarious! So I hope you do know them. That would be great!

Mom, ha-ha, about the pictures. I am glad you like most of them. Mostly, we just let her do anything to our makeup. Lots of it is for her portfolio, and it was just fun. But those last pictures...whew, those were scary! I mostly like the first ones. They are so fun. Ha-ha. But the experience was fun fun fun!

So we are feeling much better now. Over those darn colds! Just trying to get back into the routine. But it's been good!

We had a cool finding experience this week. We were walking around in Merthyr in the town square, and we stopped this man who happened to be deaf. But we still talked with him. He was pretty good at lip reading and what he couldn't understand, we would show him with pictures from the Book of Mormon, or I would write down for him in my planner. It was really fun to teach in that different type of way. He was so kind, and it was good to meet him. It was interesting because just the week earlier, we were talking about what we would do if we "GQ'd" (golden question) into a deaf person. I wish I knew a bit of sign language. But they have a completely different sign language here.

During that finding time, we also met a young man named Alex who seemed very interested in our message. It was raining, and despite the rain, he stopped for about 10 minutes to talk to us and he ended up taking a Book of Mormon. I really love finding, because we get to talk to so many people, and when people really stop to talk to us, we have such cool experiences. Very exciting!

I got papa's journals this week. And wow, a lot is going on about Brandon Davies and BYU right now! Wow. It’s actually interesting, because all of the press is good. It’s maybe a good thing for BYU in the long run! Apparently it's on the main page of BBC as well here, so it's all around the world. But too bad about the team! Not doing so well without him.

Your sister’s conference sounds like it was really good! Very fun. I am sure glad it isn't snowing here though. But your pictures are SO cute! Are those your boots? When did you get those? You are too cute! Very fun sister’s pictures! I love them. And the napkins were such a good idea! And the quilt! It looks amazing! Way to go! You are getting so good at quilting! Look at you.

So this week, we have had a good week. Not getting nearly as much done as I wish, but we are working hard to getting everything done. There was a ward party this week, and it was fabulous! Some less active members came that we had never been able to meet and it was wonderful! And we just got to know the ward really well. It was great! The ward here is fabulous!

Last Sunday, they asked me to give a talk on temples, so Saturday morning, I studied up on it, and yesterday morning I wrote my talk, then gave it. Talks are easier to give on a mission I think. But it's interesting, because I have only given two talks on my mission so far. One in Banbury, and one here. And both I have given have been on the temple. But both were completely different. Nowhere near the same thing. But it was good for me! But it did make me want to go to the temple! I wish we could go on our missions! That would be so great! But alas. It tis not so. But it would be nice. But I am sending you a copy of my talk. Just so you can see. And ignore the mistakes and cross outs, it's annoying to write a talk and not type it!

And can you tell me how I am actually related to Grandfather Cowley? Is he grandma's grandpa? I’d love some talks or stories from him. I don't know much about him, and I’d love to find more out.

So this week, we had the chance to teach the stop smoking program. A girl in the ward, a convert of about 4 years, has tried and failed many times to quit smoking. So she asked us for help. And we gladly accepted. The stop smoking program is amazing! I love it! It takes only one week, and you just have to follow exactly 15 steps every day, and you will no longer have the urge to smoke. That’s pretty incredible. And of the people who follow the 15 steps exactly for 7 full days, one hundred percent of them successfully quit. So it's so much fun to be able to teach it, and to have so much confidence in it! We are sending her letters every day to support her and to encourage her. But we are so excited for her. It’s a brave thing to decide to stop.

This week, we also had the chance to be able to help a woman in the ward learn to read. A lot of people here in Wales are just a bit simpler, and so they never learn how to read. It’s just a simpler place. And so this woman in the ward is in her 60's and isn't able to read. But we are excited to help her.

Cute story of the week. We were doing service for a young family in the ward, and they have a little 2 year old girl named Isabella. She is adorable! Anyway, she loves us. and the morning of the next day she came into her parents room at about 7 in the morning, and asked "where are the missionaries?" like we were really meant to be in her home at that time of the day. So cute! The kids in this ward are SO cute. And they just say the cutest things. Yesterday, we were asked to come and help in primary, because their piano player had had to leave. And seeing that both of us play the piano well, we could help. So we went in, and the kids were so funny. They just know so much! They really do pick up so much in church. The lesson was on prophets, and the teacher asked how we can sustain the prophets, and the kids said some great things. Like by being reverent. And by being friends with each other. And by being nice. And being loving. And being good. And it just went on and on. They are so bright! They know so much more than I ever thing they do.

Anyway, this has been a scattered letter. Sorry. Today we are about to take the train (!!!) to Cardiff, and play sports and spend the day with our district. It should be fun! We have a hilarious district. They are really funny. So it should be fun!

Love you all! I am so grateful for this gospel. I know that this church is the true and living church, and I know that God loves us all. I am so grateful to have the knowledge that we will be able to live with our families forever, and that the gospel is true! I am grateful for the Book of Mormon, and for the blessing it is in my life. I am grateful to be able to have the spirit with me, and to always be guided by it. I love receiving impressions from the Holy Ghost. And I am grateful for the mercy and grace of the Lord.

I love you all! And don't forget to read and pray every day! I am positive that if everyone would study their scriptures and pray daily, nobody would fall away!

All my love, heaped up pressed down and running over,

Sister Annie Clark

Trying to get over a perpetual Cold

Dear mom, papa, family and friends, AND HOLLAND!!!

Holland, it's awesome to hear from you! I hope you are doing well. I hope Brian/Louise (my harp) is doing well, and I hope that everyone associated with harp is doing well! Send me the news, I feel neglected on news a bit...as my mum said. I just want to know about weddings, babies, engagements, recitals, etc! So fill me in! I love you!

OK, so on the Wales front. This has been quite an interesting week. Last Monday when I wrote, I was recovering and almost recovered from a cold. And later that day (right after emailing) the dear bishops wife, Ellen, had us come over to her home. Now, Ellen is only 27, so she is pretty "lush" or cools in our language, and she wanted to take pictures of us. It was fabulous! We had so much fun.

The week actually went downhill from that. The next day Sister Lauritzen got sick, and then later on that day, I got another cold on top of the one I had had before. So we were both way ill. And we just couldn't get better. It was rough. Actually, I am still not over it. I am using a lot of boxes of tissues, and can't smell or taste anything. And I have now been sick for more than a week and a half. They told me that once you get sick here in the damp and cold valleys, it's hard to get better. Boy were they right. But while we were quarantined at home, we got a lot of area book, and map kind of work done, and we have some great plans for this week. So please pray that we will both recover 100 percent. It’s rough because even if we feel like going out and working, then we will infect others. That’s not a very nice thing to do. So we have been trying to take it easy.

But while we have been at home for the last week, we have had some really cool experiences. We have really grown as a companionship. Probably from taking care of and serving each other. But I really feel like my testimony has really grown from this week. It’s amazing!

So first off, prayers are becoming even better! I never have taken advantage of prayer like I should, but now, I am. We have been listening to Elder Jean R Cooks lessons on prayer, and it has been amazing. I have really recognized how influential prayer can be. And so we have been really focusing on it as a companionship and personally. One thing that has made all the difference for me was praying aloud in my personal prayers. Sister Lauritzen and I go into separate rooms in our flat and pray aloud, and I have been so touched. I can really feel Father listening, and I can recognize my answers better. I also have found that praying aloud means that I get much less distracted in my prayers. I love it! And I am really excited about it!

Something else we have been focusing a lot on together is charity. We have been studying President Monson's talk from the November Ensign, "Charity never faileth" and focusing on all those things that charity really means. And it makes me really excited! We have been working a lot on that, and how to be better. We have been looking for service opportunities at every place we go, and I really have felt a difference. I feel so much more love for people when I look for ways to serve them. And I love that! When you love the people you are working with and serving, teaching the gospel to them is just so much more natural! And then they feel that you are really a representative of the Lord, because we love them too. It’s really cool to be able to do that. And I also feel when we are always looking for ways to be charitable and to serve, we are more positive. And I think that the spirit wants to be around positive people more than negative people. I want to be around positive people rather than negative, and I think that goes for all of us. So why would he be any different. And when we are positive, I think that we are grateful for the things that we have. And we have a trust in the Lord. And when we show that trust and faith in the Lord, I really believe he will bless us. He will bless us with opportunities to love, serve and grow. Opportunities to feel the promptings of the spirit. Opportunities to grow in the talents that we do have, and grow in new talents.

Talents are something else we have been thinking about a lot lately. I have been looking through my patriarchal blessing, and I recognize some things that the Lord has blessed me with as talents. But just the same as any other talent we would be blessed with, we have to practice it. For instance, would I know about my talent as a musician if I never practiced the harp or the piano? Probably not. With that talent, I have to practice every day to be able to get better, and to take full advantage of the talents I have been given. That same thing goes for the talent of faith or love. You have to practice! The same way that you would have to practice an instrument. You have to practice every day, and focus on it, and pray about it, and work on it. It’s hard to develop talents, it takes work. But without that work, the talent goes unnoticed, and it's as if we weren’t' given the talent in the first place. And I think when we aren't grateful and positive about those things that we do have, then the Lord doesn't want to bless us with other gifts that we won't use. So I think to be able to receive more talents and gifts, is to work and magnify what we already have.

Wow. That was just my train of thought. Sorry if it doesn’t make sense. But that was exciting for me. This morning during personal study I was reading 2 Nephi 28 and it says "for unto him that receiveth I will give more." and that hit me. To receive is an action. To receive we have to be grateful and to do something with what we were given. And then we will be given more. and then Sister Lauritzen shared with me what she was studying in Ether 12:35, and it was along the same lines "Wherefore, I know by this thing which thou hast said, that if the gentiles have not charity, because of our weakness, that thou wilt prove them, and take away their talent, yea, even that which they have received, and give unto them who shall have more abundantly." so we first have to have and be seeking charity to receive talents and gifts. You can't have one without the other. And when we have charity we develop new gifts and talents while also developing those we already have.

Anyway, needless to say, I feel like I have gained so much from this week.

Also, sometimes in the craziness of the mission, I have been lacking at writing in my journal, but for the past few weeks, we have made it a goal to write in our journal every night, and we have done it, and it's been amazing. I love writing in my journal, and I feel so good after I do. I am grateful for the wise counsel to write in our journals every day. It’s cleansing, and I can receive promptings while doing so. That’s exciting to me!

Anyway. The other great thing that happened this week is that the elders here in Merthyr, Elders Smith and Siegel were able to give Sister Lauritzen and me blessings on Thursday after district meeting. And then the next day we talked to them and they got the cold too. So, we had the opportunity to go to the store for them to get fruit and vegetables and medicine, and we made them a fruit smoothie. And I think that was the happiest I have been this whole week. And I realized that although women don't have the priesthood, we are able to serve in different ways, and that we really are equal. We figured, men have the priesthood because they would never even think about going to the store to get healthy food and medicine and tissues. And we don’t' have the priesthood because we are naturally born with that motherly love.

Anyway. This has been kind of a different letter. Basically, we have been poorly, but we are doing well, and life is good. The people here are taking very good care of us, and I love it here!

I love this gospel. I love learning new nuggets of goodness and truth every day, it makes me so happy! I love it! I love being prompted by the spirit, and I love having the calling to share this happiness with others! I love this gospel!

Love,
Sister Annie Clark

Myrthr Tydfil - Wales - Lots of Sheep

Dear momma and papa and family and friends,

I shall answer your questions! Thanks!

Companion:
Sister L L. She is 22. Brown hair. From Ridgecrest, California (Southern California...in Death Valley...near it. Ha-ha! papa has probably been near it?) She came to the MTC at the same time as I came, and was companions with Sister P there. But then she hurt herself two days before flying to England, and had to get surgery then go home and then finally came back out in October. She is fabulous, and a hard worker and we have a lot of fun together. I love her! So that's great! Before the mission she went to a community college near her home. And she is the second to the youngest of 6 kids.

Wales. Transfer day was good. A little bit sad. Tuesday was sadder. I miss the B’s a ton. All those kids! G better get baptized soon so I can see them all again soon! So we left Evesham, drove and picked up the elders in Cheltenham, then drove to Birmingham. We had a meeting, then switched companions and emailed (why my last email was a bit scattered, it's hard to email when a group of missionaries are talking around you). Sister L and I then drove back to Wales together that same day. It only took a little over two hours to drive.

So I am in the Heads of the Valleys ward. But we work in Merthyr Tydfil. That’s where we live. There are three wards that meet there in that building. Our area is HUGE. It’s a far way out. But it is BEAUTIFUL! SO SO PRETTY! It’s hilly. GREEN. Wet. Rainy. Mossy. Old. Windy. Grey. And sooo pretty. Like Sense and Sensibility. Everything looks old. It’s really beautiful.
The flat: it's a two story little house. There are two bedrooms, so one has all our wardrobes in it, and one has a set of bunk beds and a single. There was a threesome here at one point. Sisters have been here in the area for about a year. And Sister S (the one I taught harp to at BYU) was the last one here. But her time was done, and she headed home. She was here for a really long time.

The Crandalls do our flat checks, but they aren't in our district. But I wish they were. But they go home in a few months, and then the Henrys will ask if they can come do our checks. I miss them! We both drive. Switch off. There are a LOT of sheep outside of Merthyr Tydfil.

I don't know the cross streets, I will try to find it out for next week. We live in a newer complex, and I don’t' know if it is on Google maps yet. But it's in a little part of Merthyr called Georgetown.

We don’t' have very many appointments. I feel like we are really whitewashing. Sister L has only been here for one transfer, and before her, the sisters that we here were here together for over 9 months. That’s a LONG time. And so I feel like work was hard, and so we don't have much here at all. Only one investigator. And he is great. My first day here, we had a lesson with him, (R) and set him up with a baptismal date for the 19th of March. So that's exciting!

I have the hardest time understanding the people here. They have the craziest accents! And they talk really fast. I barely understand anything that goes on. But I try to catch along, and I am doing better.

The church building is "the big white church at the bottom of Swansea road" this is something we say all the time. You can Google map that! Apparently David O McKay came to do the groundbreaking for it! So that's cool! I don't know much history, so if you find anything out, let me know!

We have a lot of towns that we work in. Merthyr Tydfil. Ebbw Vale (pronounced Ebba Vale), Blaina, Tredegar, Abergavenny, Rhymney (pron. remney). And there are more! Crazy. And the furthest is Abergavenny, and it's about 40 minutes away apparently. It’s a huge area. And it's hard, because transportation is hard from that far away to get to church on Sundays.

That’s cool that Ruth Clawson’s dad is from here! What part? How cool!
I didn't get to see the Stubbs because I was so far out. But they dropped off my package, and they got to call me from the mission home! It was so cool to talk to them! so sweet of them! It was funny to talk to someone from home! They are so sweet! And they love you, dear parents!
I’m not broken hearted about the clean flat award. It’s ok. I’m APW now. Ha-ha.

T is doing well. I was able to call him today to see how it was to get the priesthood, and it sounds like it was a very spiritual experience. He is so good. He types up every one of his cool experiences and then gives them to us. And he said that he'll send them to me every two weeks, and that he's already written me a letter. So I am glad he is doing ok.

Fun to hear about Abbie and James! Please ask her to email me! She is allowed to email me, and I’d love to email her! Also. How is Laura? Has she had her baby yet?

So things here are going well. I love it here. I am adjusting. It’s hard work. I knew that I was leaving because I was getting too comfortable in Evesham. It was too easy there. So now I have a major challenge. I had the chance to bear my testimony in sacrament meeting yesterday and almost got to meet everyone. We are on our way!

Favorite part of the week! We went to the little old 80 year old ladies house for dinner. Her name is Gl, and she is a recent convert of last November (a bit over a year ago.) and she just went to the temple, and was sealed to her husband that passed away. Anyways, she is amazing. And has amazing stories. One of which she was talking about how much she and her husband loved children, and how sad they were that they didn’t' have any. And then she said "maybe we were doing it wrong I reckon. Didn’t have anybody to show me." I about died laughing. Gosh, what a funny place! It’s great here, and I love it! Pray for us, and the area, and the ward. We need it!

I know I am here for a reason. (One of which I hope is that I may be able to find a harp!) And I love being here. I love you all, and I know this work is true!

Love,
Sister Annie Clark