Romanian Christmas Eve

I was able to eat some amaaaazing Christmas food from Romanian on Christmas Eve, but unfortuantely it made me sick. It was so worth it though. I also got to help make some of it. The meat was soooo delicious! It was this super seasoned meat rolled up in a leaf thing and boiled in a soup. Can't remember what it's called, but it was nothing like I have ever tasted before.

Christmas really isn't a big deal here. It's mostly Christmas Eve that's more celebrated. So I will definitely be looking forward to my next Christmas at home in snowy Utah with my family :) Speaking, of family, it was soooo nice to skype them yesterday!! Ahhhhh!!! Just the best!!!!

Well, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!! Christmas in the mission is so great! I was able to grow even closer to Christ, my Savior :) I've been thinking about his mother, Mary, and how wonderful of a woman she must have been.

I love you all! Merry Christmas!

-Hermana Clark :)

Ps- For the New Year's tradition here, I have to stuff 12 grapes in my mouth. I will let you know how it goes ;)

Bulgarian Sass

I met a Bulgarian man the older day. It was a riot! I don't I have ever seen so much sass in one man before hahaha. He speaks English, but looooves to talk in an English accent, even though he says that he prefers an American accent. He also gave me a Bulgarian sweet, so that was nice. I was just thinking about Victor Krum from Harry Potter, so that shows that I need to brush up on my Bulgarian history haha. He's one of those people that can't help laughing when telling funny stories, and so you just end up laughing even more.

Today we went into Sephora looking for makeup, and I found a bottle of foundation that costs 93€. So of course I had to try out the tester, just so I could feel like a wealthy woman for 5 seconds. And now I know that there is a huge difference between Wal-mart makeup, and ridiculously expensive makeup. But don't worry, Dad, I didn't buy it ;)

We had the lovely experience of watching one of my favorite little girls get baptized yesterday. But even more beautiful was watching her mother give her testimony for the first time. Her mom got baptized at the end of September. It's amazing to watch people grow and change. I will always remember my time here in Spain. Always. I think I will always look back on my experiences here with a tad bit of longing, but I don't want to forget to look to the future, either. The past doesn't serve us anything if we don't use it to build our future.

Well, I love you all soooo much. Really. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas weekend! Enjoy time with your family. Be happy. Don't let little things get to ya!

-Hermanita Clark :)

Ps- If you know who Bing Crosby is, you might be my favorite person ever. We hear his songs allll the time.

You have no idea how much I love Christmas

 I am sitting here in the shopping mall next to our apartment, using their wifi haha, and all of the sudden, bells starting ringing. And then Christmas music starting playing!!!! I am soooooo HAPPY. I cannot express just how much I love Christmas. I remember trying to deny how much I liked Christmas when I was little, because EVERYONE loved Christmas, and I didn't want to be like everyone else haha. But now, I don't care. At all. I just love Christmas! Everything is so much happier! And there is snow! (Well, not here, but whatever I'll be back in Utah someday haha) And lights! And chocolate! And the birth of Christ! And my mom's baptism!

This week, we had our zone conference with all of the missionaries in Valencia. I loooved it! Everything was focused on Christmas and Christ! I really cannot tell you how happy I am. I am super excited to spend Christmas here in Valencia! The hot chocolate here is amazing! It's super thick and dense, but not too sweet. We dip toasted bread in it, and then drink it. It's a beautiful creation that's for sure. Thanks Spain!

Okay, I will talk more about Christmas next week haha. We are teaching a bunch of people here. Around 10ish. I'm not really sure... But, we should be seeing a few getting baptized here in a few weeks! So about a two months ago, a mother and a daughter got baptized. I cried a bunch at their baptism. They are amazing people. Weeeelllll, one of her other daughters is getting baptized on Sunday! One step closer to an eternal family!

I hope you are all enjoying yourselves at home. Hopefully finals are over, and y'all passed. Hopefully you are all enjoying the snow (I assume there is snow... I have no idea...). Do something good to help someone out. Cause everyone wants to be happy! I am a firm believer that one of the best ways to cure sadness is by doing some good old fashioned service. Love you all! Be safe!

-Hermana Clark :)

Ps- We went ice skating today in the center of Valencia! And we went to the port to watch the sunrise with all the missionaries in Valencia!

#paella

I thought that Utah was cold. This is a whole new level of cold, and I'm in Valencia for pete's sake! It's supposed to be hot here. It's not. Humid cold is a whole different type of cold. But I definitely don't mind drinking hot chocolate all the time. That's a bonus! I am also a huuuge blanket lover. I love my morning studies all snuggled up in two blankets! It's the best!

Life as a missionary is so interesting, fun, hilarious, weird, hard and unforgetable all at the same time. I really just love it! I get to experience things and do things that I know I will never have the chance to do ever again. Sometimes I just like to stop and take it all in. I think about where I am at, where I have been, and then I get excited when I look to the future and where I need to go! It's all just so exciting!! Of course, not every moment is so exciting and full of butterflies and sparkles, and that's okay. We all need the hard moments. It's a major way how we learn in this life. But the thing is, we cannot get stuck in those sad and miserable moments. Appreciate the struggle, learn from it, and do everything you can to get out! Move on and progress.

I love you all so much! I also love Christmas! It makes me so happy! I love the spirit of Christmas! But even more, I love the spirit of Christ! I'm so glad that Heavenly Father sent Him here to earth for us. He loves us a lot. :) Be good! Do good things! Be brave!

-Hermanita Clark

Ps- I ate a really good paella yesterday. Man, I just love Spanish food!

No English Here

I was the only American at the Thanksgiving dinner we had. It made me giggle. There I was, eating turkey, stuffing, brocoli and cheese potato soup (thanks Mom for sending the recipe), and mashed potatoes and gravy. And not a single word was said in English. But I loved it. One of the members here always feeds us Thanksgiving dinner, but always makes a recipe from our moms. The soup was literally just like my mom's. I was a happy camper, that's for darn tootin'.

It was a pretty busy, normal week for us here. We received transfer calls on Saturday and we found out that Hermana Bravo and I are staying together for another transfer! So I will be finishing her training, and then most likely leaving Valencia in six weeks. I was really worried that I was going to leave, because I still feel like there is so much that I need to do here.

What did I learn this week? Hmmm. I think I learned not to give up. Not to give up on people. And not to give up on myself either. We're all human. And we are all so very imperfect. That's just part of the deal that comes with being human. But I will give you a hint as to something that has helped me out during the rough moments. It may sound cliché, but depend upon your Savior. I'm sure that that sounds so cliché that people have stopped reading. Because how in the world can one man who was born from a virgin understand how I am feeling? For that reason, there is something called faith. Keep reading. Try praying. If you are going to tell me that praying in pointless, but haven't actually trying praying yourself, you have no claim. People tell me all the time that I don't actually know what I want in the world because I am a silly, brainwashed girl that hasn't "experimented" with other things in the world. Well, then. You can't tell me that praying and believing in Christ is pointless if you yourself have not tried it either. I have learned for myself that Christ really does know how I feel, because I have tried praying. And it worked. No one can convince me that I did not get the answer that I got. I may not be able to explain it in words very well, because for me it's like trying to explain to some who has never tasted salt what salt tastes like. I have had too many experiences in my life that it has now become completely, totally, and irrefutably impossible to deny that Christ is my Savior.

Anyways, remember to be kind to yourself. Be good. Try praying. Let me know how it goes. Love you!

-Hermana Clark

Ps- I've decided to start a recipe book of all the foods I have learned to make here. I hope my future spouse and children are happy haha

I'm a Gryffindor

I love being here in Spain. I really just love it. So much. I never imagined myself being here. Or on a mission for that matter. Growing up, I just always assumed that I would go to school and get married. That's what everyone told me. Which isn't a bad thing, either. It's funny how life actually ends up going, isn't it?

I am so grateful that I agreed to follow God's plan for me and come to Spain. And I know that there are people out there who say that I was the one who decided to come to Spain, not God. I am sorry to tell you that you are wrong. I know that believing that there is a God may seem completely and totally impossible, and that praying seems weird and pointless. I can't tell you or force you to believe, it's something you have to try for yourself. People tell me that because I was raised in the Church, that I don't really know. But let me tell you that I do know. I can't prove anything to you, because I am not you. The things of God are things that you need to discover for yourself. Or maybe rediscover.

Not to change the subject, but we have been permitted to have facebook, smartphones, and other technological stuff this last week. And so to go over some business stuff first: I will only be using facebook as a tool to share the gospel. Therefore, I will not be responding to comments, messages, etc. After the mission I will be more than happy to tell you all how cute your wedding pictures are! (Which I did not realize just how many people have gotten married in nine months hahaha) Anyways, I am sooo happy that we have facebook and such now. We can be so creative when it comes to sharing and teaching.

Random stuff from the week: I tried Guatemalan horchata (super yummy), had Thanksgiving dinner with a bunch of missionaries, there was a marathon near our apartment, I taught a bunch of teenagers how to play uno, and we are almost finished putting together a giant Disney puzzle we found in our apartment. All in all it was a happy week :) I hope you all enjoy Thanksgiving! I know I say it a lot, but I really am so very grateful for your support and love. I really couldn't do it without y'all. Eat turkey and take a nap!

-Hermanita Clark :)

Ps- We visited a medieval church today. I just happened to be wearing my Gryffindor sweater. I totally felt like I was in Harry Potter hahaha

A stranger tickled me

I stepped in dog poop for the first time on my mission. I was doing pretty well avoiding it in the streets for nine months. But this time, I was looking at the phone and not watching where I was walking. It was a fresh one, and so I slipped. But, fortunately, thanks to my cat-like reflexes, I didn't fall fown. Almost, though. It was a close one! Haha

Also this week, we were out in the street at a light waiting to cross. Unbeknownst to me, a lady who belongs to the Jehovah's Witnesses came up behind me. She mistook me for one of her friends, and so she sneaks up behind me, pokes me in my sides and says, "Boop!" Let me explain that I am not used to people sneaking up on me here in Spain. I was so scared for a minute there! I turned around, and she's giggling to her heart's content, until she realizes that I am not the person she thought I was. It was so awkward. But so hilarious. When we turned the corner I just busted up laughing.

We have celebrated a lot of birthdays this week. I have eaten so much cake. I love cake. I also love making cake, and decorating cakes. My companion turned 21! Woooo! We celebrated by going to my recent convert's house and having some cake and empanadas. Then we went straight to a baptism at the church. Six people were baptized, all from 3 different areas here in Valencia. It was such a beautiful sight to see. I love being a missionary!

The lady we are teaching from Peru is learning and progressing soooo much! I just love her so much! I don't think I have ever been so excited to teach someone before. For the first time in her life, she is starting to recognize and feel the spirit. Oh, in other news, we got facebook, smartphones, and some other technology things this week! It's really exciting! I will update you all on how that stuff works next week. Let's just say that I feel so blessed to be able to have what we have in this mission!

Well, I'm going to wrap this up for this week! I love you all! I've been thinking a lot this week about what exactly is my purpose here. I've think I've figured it out better. Anyways, be good! Use your head, but don't forget to listen to your heart. Ciao!

-Hermana Clark :)

Ps- I had to translate part of a meeting yesterday. I think my brain exploded haha

Dad Humor

Have you ever seen the movie Miss Congeniality? You know that one part where all the women have to present their talents? And there is that one woman who sings opera? Well, I heard that opera somg that she sings on the metro this week. Just a little fun fact. Also, on the bus this week, there was a little family playing eye spy. The dad thought he was super funny and said, "Eye spy a car without wheels." The little boy was a wee-bit confused, my companion and I just laughed haha. Dad humor. Also, I learned this week that in Spanish birds don't say tweet tweet, they say pio pio. (Pronounced: pew pew) That just made me think of Star Wars. My mom has always said that I have random thoughts, but I thought y'all might have wanted to hear a few of them from this last week. So there ya go!

This week still wasn't necesarily easy, but it was such an amazing week. We were able to find some really good people to teach. One woman is from Peru! Actually, she's from a city called Cajamarca, which is where I lived while I was in Peru! I definitely don't think that it is a coincidence. She's gonna make us some Papa a la Huancaina! Woooo!

I learned how to chill out this week. Sometimes, we just need to make it through the day, go to sleep, and know that tomorrow is another day. I have never been so tired, but it's a good tired. :) Well, I hope you are all enjoying autumn back home!  I miss the changing colors of the leaves. And just the feel of autumn in Utah. There's an energy about it. Stay safe and keep warm! Love you!

-Hermana Clark :)

Ps- I hit my halfway mark in the mission...

Let's not DIY

The mission is no picnic or a nice stroll through the park. (Even though we live next to a park and walk through it quite often.) There are a lot of disapointments and rejections on an hourly basis. But the reward is so very worth. But, (there's always a "but" isn't there?) we only receive "the reward" if we work for it, and at the same time are changed through the process. I'm not gonna lie, this week was really hard. As life and the mission often are. I am learning just how resilient I actually am, and where and how I can improve. I have also learned these last few weeks that asking for help is important. I think I've always been a little more than independent, and I apologize, Mom, for all of the times when I just wanted to "do it myself". It's too bad that I had to come on a mission to learn that principle, but I am now grateful for that I have learned it, regardless.

I hope that by the time I come home, I am a better person. I am so grateful for all of the people that I have met here on the mission, taught, and served. But I know that Heavenly Father knew that I needed to come on a mission. I think back to how I was before the mission, and a lot of things I feel sorry for and embarrassed. I never want to forget what I have learned here in Spain up to this point. It is so very important to be kind to EVERYONE. Even the lady who yelled at me because I didn't realize that I wasn't in the bike lane today, and so I accidently was riding in the walking people lane. She didn't know that I didn't realize I was in the wrong lane, just that I was in the wrong, and putting possible people in danger. Maybe she didn't have to get mad, but I can't control that, she just reacted. I just have to make sure that I control my actions, because not is it my responsibility, I WANT to be in control of what I do and say. There is a scripture that I like a lot that says, "He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hast of spirit exalteth folly. A soft answer turneth away wrath: but griveous words stir up anger." (Proverbs 14:29; 15:1)

Anyways, keep plugging along in life. Be good. Be kind. I promise it's worth it :) The Church is true, the book is blue, and I love you!

-Hermanita Clark :)

Ps- Halloween isn't really thing here. I was kinda sad haha. But Happy Halloween!

Paraguay!

Holy cow! Santo baca! What a week! First off, my new companion is named Hermana Bravo! (Yay!) And she is from Paraguay! I could listen to her accent allll day long! Well, I guess I do listen to her accent all day long, haha. We live together! Haha I'm so clever! ;) Anyways, picking her up in Barcelona was so much fun! We got there the night before, and stayed with some of the other sister missionaries. Then in the morning, we had a training on how to be trainers, then we ate lunch with all of the new missionaries. That part was soooo hard! Because we are all sitting together talking, but we don't know who is companions with who! After lunch, we  take some group pictures, and then we have another group training, and then we finally get to know who our companion is!! Seriously though, Hermana Bravo is the best! She is sooo ready to work like crazy! I looove how she teaches! I have learned sooo much from her! Also, she straightened my hair last night, and I had no idea that my hair could be so soft and silky. So of course we took a video with me flipping my hair haha.

Well, I hope you have all had a wonderful week! I love you all so much! Take time to stop and smell the roses! Be good! Don't do dumb things, cause you're stuck with the consequences!

-Hermana Clark :)

Ps- I learned how selfish I am this week, and it scared me. So I've been working on that.

I cried a lot this week

My Dominican companion left for Girona today. We have transfers this week. And so I am staying herr in Valencia, but I won't know who my companion is until tomorrow. I leave for Barcelona today to go and pick her up tomorrow, because she is a brand-new missionary that I will be training. When President Dayton called me on Saturday to ask me if I would train, it made me feel old. I almost have 9 months in the mission now. Half way. I swear I just got here haha.

In other news, our investigators got baptized on Sunday! My favorite part was watching the mother watch her 10-year-old daughter be baptized right after she had been baptized. I cried a lot. I also cried when her daughter shared her testimony afterwards. She later told me that she wanted to share her testimony so that everyone could know what to do so they can be as happy as she is. I love this girl. So much. Such a steady, good girl. She knows. She also told me that she is preparing to be a missionary some day. I love that.

We've started teaching two boys from Mexico that are my age. I was so excited when they said that they are from Mexico, because I had literally just made homemade tacos that day. Thank you Mom, for being Mexican and teaching me how to make Mexican food, because of you, we had something in common and were able to start teaching them.

Hermana Chas told me the other day that I was laughing in my sleep the other night. Aparently I have some pretty hilarious dreams. But I do feel bad that I creeped her out haha.

Well, that's it for this week. We're pretty busy with transfers going on and everything. I love y'all! Have courage and be kind!

-Hermana Clark :)

Ps- The bakeries in Valencia are amazing. I have never seen such pretty pastries before.

Lucky Charms

Lucky Charms. I had the glorious opportunity of eating Lucky Charms for breakfast this morning. There is this little restaurant near our apartment called Cereal House. Think of an American cereal, and they have it. I mostly just enjoyed the Lucky Charms, because it was a cereal that my mom wouldn't let us have growing up haha. I guess you could say that I am "adulting" now haha.

Speaking of adulting and growing up, I realized this weekend thay humility isn't an achievement. There isn't a point that we can get to and say, "I'm humble now." Is a continued growth of an attribute. And that everything I do is contingent upon my level of humility. Hermana Dayton, the wife of my mission president, told me that "forgiveness is the power for true success." Something that I think goes along with humility is remembering to also forgive ourselves. We need to be humble enough to realize our weaknesses, forgive ourselves for our mistakes and weaknesses, and then move past them and try and do better. This is a continued process. Day by day.

I love you all! Sorry that this is a little short this week. Not much to report. Be good! Don't be too hard on yourself!

-Hermana Clark :)

Ps-In case you're wondering, I couldn't eat colorful cereals as a kid because the food coloring made me sick. If I remember right, and I could be wrong, once we were camping and my sister gave me some Blue's Clues fruit snacks. That night I threw up on my brother Paul in the tent. I think it was blue...

Enough.

A girl from Romania did my makeup last week. She told me that it was going to be really simple and "sencillo". Yeah, I looked like I was about to go club hopping or something haha. So much lipstick. So much eyeshadow. Lots of eyeliner. My eyebrows were definitely on fleek. They had never been "fleekier". (Is that a word? Probably not haha) Anyways, she's a super nice girl and I love meeting with her. She's 20 years old and is living in an apartment that doesn't have electricity, lighting, running water, etc. She fed us some amazingly delicious Romanian soup awhile ago. Super, super nice girl.

Today I got my hair cut at a Dominican salon. Best haircut of my life! Also just super fun! Dominicans know how to cut hair. My companion (who's Dominican) was explaining to me the importance of salons in her country. Only the men cut other men's hair. And only women cut other women's hair. And men are the best at doing eyebrows. Definitely another cultural experience for the books! I really loved it! They also just all thought that I was the cutest little gringa (white girl) ever haha.

There is sooo much going on in the world today. It's been making me think a lot. Also having seen so many different kinds of poverty over the last year and a half have been making me think, too. And I've decided that I've had enough. Enough. Enough of being idle. Enough of being lazy. Enough of being critical. Enough of being selfish. I'm tired. Tired of sitting on my butt and watching. Now I can see the importance of every person adding their contribution to the world. I see more clearly my purpose here as a missionary in Spain. I see the importance of becoming a dignified lady and woman of God. The world is what we make it. If I'm not doing my part, then I have no room to complain. So I will do my best to be nice, be humble, work hard, and represent Christ in all things.

I love you all! Please, please, please stay safe! Be good! Thank you for all your support and love. It means the world to me :)

-Hermana Clark :)

Ps-The little kids here in the ward are learning how to dance the Haka. My companion and I are trying to see if we can join in on the fun hahaha

Flamanco on the Farm

So the metros here play opera music. It's super fancy and waaay different than what I am used to in Hospitalet. I saw a drunk man vomit on the metro in Hospitalet once. No one ever talks in the metro in Valencia. I'm not even sure if people are breathing sometimes haha. The metros in Hospitalet are a party. Literally. I was used to people rapping for money, but now I listen to classical opera. It's definitely a change.

There is a little grandpa here that is just the best! We will call him Manolo. He is a Spanish man from Andulasia, and so his accent is so hard for me to understand. Everytime there is an "s" sound, he makes a "th" sound. Technically in the Spanish from Spain, you are only supposed to make a "th" sound for a certain number of "s" sounds, not every single one. But Manolo is just the best. He got baptized in April, I think. We visit him in his "campito", his little mini farm thing. It is probably the most Spanish experience I have had haha. This week when we went to visit him, he had made us bocadillos (sandwiches) with tortilla de patata (a typical Spanish dish) inside. The thing about bocadillos is that they are big. The bread here isn't like the bread in America. They are in bars, not loaves. Bars about two feet long. You can go to a panadería (bakery) and buy this bread freshly baked. It's amazing. Anyway, we ate bocadillos while Manolo put on Flamanco music and he also sang and danced Flamanco. All while in his Spanish campito. It was sooooo fun!

Anyway, this week was a good week! Lots of fun memories. It's actually my companion's birthday todag, and so we went to this amazing park! They have a giant Gulliver Man playset. Remember the story about the giant man who gets stranded on an island and these little people try to tie him down or something? Yeah, I don't remember it much either, but anyway, it's a giant man where they have made slides, rope courses, and stuff out of him. Super fun! Unfortunately, we forgot to take pictures... Well, I think this wraps it up for this week. Love you all! Stay safe! Remember that God loves you! And no matter what is happening in your life, He will never leave you. :)

-Hermana Clark :)

Ps- It got cold here for a couple days, and it was hilarious to watch everyone so confused. Some people were still wearing tank tops, some had puffy coats, etc. I saw one girl with short shorts and a puffy coat haha.

I ran into a wall

I love Valencia!! Soooo pretty! Also hotter than my last area haha. We do have an area here that is probably more ghetto than my other area. Not sure why I am getting all of the "ghetto" areas haha. But anyway, it's a different type of ghetto. I know I say this a lot, but I love how much diversity I keep seeing on the mission. Here we have a lot of Romanians. I love getting to know all different kinds of people and cultures. It makes me think that maybe I want to study some sort of international studies or something after the mission. Which, fun fact, I come home in less than a year now. So that's weird.

This morning we went to this place called Oceanogràfic, and it was soooo fun! We went to the dolphin show! I also think I might have gotten sunburned a bit haha. Oh, on Thursday I counted how many mosquito bites I have on just my legs, and I had 34. Yes. 34. I've gotten more since then, but I gave up counting haha.My companion told me that I should ask my brother how many bites he had when he was serving in Puerto Rico haha.

Speaking of my companion, I love living and working with her! So much fun! She's teaching me to speak like a Dominican haha. But I keep telling her that I want to speak like a Spaniard. It's so weird not speaking English much anymore. Frustrating too. There are times when I haven't been able to express myself emotionally and it can be really frustrating. It's really hard not to get down on myself and be really critical.

Anyway, I love you all so much! Be happy! Remember that there is a girl here in Valencia, Spain that is cheering and praying for you! You can do it!

-Hermana Clark :)

Ps- I ran into a wall the other day. Walked straight into it. Companion died laughing haha

I'm a real missionary now!

When I wrote y'all last week, I was in McDonald's eating some fries so I could use their free wifi. And it dawned on me that I didn't recognize the music that was being played. I said something about that out loud to the other missionaries that were there, and they all congratulated me. Because apparently it means that "I have arrived" in the missionary world, and that I am a "real missionary" now. As missionaries, we can only listen to Church music or uplifting music. It helps us to stay focused on our work here as missionaries. And I totally agree. It is so hard now to just start latin dancing in public. Shakira was right when she said that my hips don't lie.

Anyway, we were able to have our zone conference last week, and as usual it was amazing! They are always so refreshing and rejuvenating. It always just makes us want to go out and work our hardest. I also just love learning from our mission president and his wife. They are amazing! They always help us to realize our true potential, not only as misionaries, but as people.

We had the opportunity to go to La Rambla today where the attack had happened. I'm sure you have all seen pictures of all of the flowers, candles, etc. But there is something different about seeing it in person. Especially with all of the armed police that were everywhere. Life is fragile. But we also can't live in fear. It's an interesting balance that we need to learn. While we were there, I saw a girl that was wearing a shirt that says, "Hate Love, Love Hate". I just thought that that was kinda of ironic considering where we were at.

Well, my time is wrapping up here in Hospitalet. Next week I will be writing from a new area! I can't believe that I have been here for six months. It'll be weird to leave my first area, since I have been here for so long, and I don't know anything else. I have so many friends here, and I know all the streets here better than the streets back home. Well, I love you all! Also, shout out to Gabe and Emm on getting hitched this week! Wooo! Until next week!

-Hermana Clark :)

Ps- We were sitting outside of our apartment the other day, and this drunk man comes walking by listening to his music and rapping to himself. When he saw us, he obviously knew that we were missionaries, cause he starting rapping about the bible and stuff. It was hilarious! He didn't stop or anything, just kept walking down the street, but was singing about the bible haha. He mostly just kept saying "mantener la biblia" hahaha

Pickled Pigs Feet and Pinterest

I learned how to eat oysters this week. I have never really had seafood before the mission, but I have discovered that I like it a lot! I'm also a fan of sushi too haha. Oh, I can't remember if I already said this, but a member fed us pickled pigs feet. Aparently it is a food from Bolivia. It was very chewy and a little hairy hahaha.

Story time. My companion and I had had a bit of a rough day, and we were walking to the metro to go home. As we were about to walk down the steps into the entrance for the metro, we got spit on. That day had already been hard enough. I've been thinking about how much that little action hurt. How much every little action had hurt that day. And it made me think about Christ. "And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men." (1 Nephi 19:9) Christ went through what He did, because He loves us. People have told me that I am naive, young, stupid girl because I believe that Christ died to save me. But no one can convince me that Christ did not die for me, or that Christ does not exist. Because it is something I have discovered and learned for myself. I will die believing in Christ, hoping in Christ, and putting my faith in Christ. It is a feeling that I cannot deny. That I frankly don't even want to deny. Christ is real. You can find His love for you. There is nothing you have done that will make Him stop loving you. Same with our Heavenly Father. He loves you, simply because you are His. You don't have to do anything special. He just loves you.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer! I sure am enjoying mine! Be good! Love y'all! ¡Os quiero!

-Hermana Clark :)

Ps- I just really love Barcelona. I love wandering down the windy streets and finding little random shops of all types. It's like Etsy or Pinterest in real life!

Pickled Pigs Feet and Pinterest

I learned how to eat oysters this week. I have never really had seafood before the mission, but I have discovered that I like it a lot! I'm also a fan of sushi too haha. Oh, I can't remember if I already said this, but a member fed us pickled pigs feet. Aparently it is a food from Bolivia. It was very chewy and a little hairy hahaha.

Story time. My companion and I had had a bit of a rough day, and we were walking to the metro to go home. As we were about to walk down the steps into the entrance for the metro, we got spit on. That day had already been hard enough. I've been thinking about how much that little action hurt. How much every little action had hurt that day. And it made me think about Christ. "And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men." (1 Nephi 19:9) Christ went through what He did, because He loves us. People have told me that I am naive, young, stupid girl because I believe that Christ died to save me. But no one can convince me that Christ did not die for me, or that Christ does not exist. Because it is something I have discovered and learned for myself. I will die believing in Christ, hoping in Christ, and putting my faith in Christ. It is a feeling that I cannot deny. That I frankly don't even want to deny. Christ is real. You can find His love for you. There is nothing you have done that will make Him stop loving you. Same with our Heavenly Father. He loves you, simply because you are His. You don't have to do anything special. He just loves you.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer! I sure am enjoying mine! Be good! Love y'all! ¡Os quiero!

-Hermana Clark :)

Ps- I just really love Barcelona. I love wandering down the windy streets and finding little random shops of all types. It's like Etsy or Pinterest in real life!

Shakira, Shakira

I recently discovered that I only live like an hour away from Shakira. You bet your bottom dollar that if she lived if my area, Señorita Shakira would be converted to the Church. It's a good thing that I was already sitting on the floor when Elder Cantos told me how close she lives, cause I would have dropped dead like a feather in a zero-gravity tube.

In other news, today is my six month mark! Wooo! To celebrate, we went to the Sagrada Familia with my district. (A district is a group of missionaries that all serve in a city or small area.) It was so neat to be able to enter. So beautiful. It was interesting to learn about Gaudi and stuff. It's fun to be living in Barcelona!

Yesterday, the youth in the ward all talked about a religious camp they went to last week. I was so proud of them and their growing testimonies. I turned into a ball of tears when one boy talked about how grateful he was for the example of his older sister in serving a mission. It just reminded me when my brother, Cade, was on his mission. I still have a letter from him that he wrote me while he was on his mission in Puerto Rico. I read it on the hard days. I am so grateful for all the examples of my older siblings. I have been blessed with amazing siblings. So a quick shout out to Carrie, Paul, Chad, and Cade! I love you all! And I miss you. I miss talking and laughing. I look up to you all so, so much. Love you!

One other quick thought. Go out and fulfill your dreams. I'm serious. Do it. I'm living mine. Figure out what you want to do, and then do it. Actually do it. If you work hard and put in the effort, you can and will do what you want to do. As my wonderful mission president told me a while ago, "We do the things in life that we really want to do." It's true. No excuses. You have a brain in your head, you can figure it out. Use your brain, but be patient. Success and dreams aren't an overnight process. If you work hard enough, you will eventually get there. I have found that if I am not working very hard, it's because I don't want it badly enough. If I want it, I will do it.

And yep, I think that will wrap it up for this week! As always, I love you all! Be safe!

-Hermana Clark :)

Ps- The elders have figured out that I can make guacamole Mexicano... #thanksmom

Why can't we be friends?

Sometimes I wonder why people can be just so darn mean. As missionaries, we get made fun of a lot. Normally it doesn't bother me a whole lot, because, unfortunately, I'm used to it. But this week I had just kind of had it. Especially when people go out of their way to be rude to us. Sometimes I just wish they knew just how much we go through to do what we are doing. I am not an idiot. I did not idiotically "sign up" to mindlessly wander through the streets of Spain and try to communicate to people in a language that is not my native tongue. I did not wish to wear down my body by being on my feet walking around for over 55 hours per week in humid 90° weather. I did not wish to be cat-called 158 times in 27 days. But, I did wish to help people come closer to their Savior, Jesus Christ. I did "sign up" for this. For the mission. And even though people can be rude, I don't have to be. It's not the end of the world when someone is mean or unkind. We just keep on going.

I've been thinking about a lesson I learned from my mom a lot, lately. I remember her telling me once, that when we were little kids, and we saw someone being mean on TV she would have us wag our little pointer finger at the TV and say, "No, no! That's not nice!" I'm very grateful for that little lesson I've learned on being nice. Just be nice.

As missionaries, people are always noticing us. We stand out a lot. And that's okay. It just reminds me that I really need to be sure to be the best representative of Christ that I can be. Or maybe even just the best representative of a human that I can be. I hope that makes sense...

Well, I'm going to sign off here. We had a busy, packed week. Full of sweat and happiness. I love you all! Thank you so much for your emails and support! Be good! And as Cinderella would say, "Have courage and be kind."

-Hermana Clark :)

Ps- I can't remember how Americans greet each other besides just a handshake. Do women give handshakes, too? It will be weird not giving people a kiss on both cheeks when I get back to America one day... 

Turn Down For What?!

We were walking past a park the other day, and I noticed three little Spanish kids playing. Maybe around the age 7 or 8. And I just thought to myself, "Oh how cute! Some little mini Spaniards!" I love listening to little kids speak Spanish, it's adorable, even when I can't understand them haha. So anyway, I was just listening, and then all of the sudden one of them blurts out, "Turn down for what?!" And I just lost it! Hahaha I died laughing. And then they continued in Spanish. It was the best hahaha.

Well my companion finished her mission today. I had to say goodbye to her yesterday, and boy, that was hard. There were tears shed. She is literally just the best. My sassy little English companion. My new companion is named Hermana Richey and she is from Layton, Utah! I'm excited to spend this transfer with her!

So the way that things work in this mission, is that your first night of the mission, you spend it with an Hermana or Elder, and then you go back to the mission home the next day to recieve you actual companion. And guess what! I'm taking out a brand new missionary tonight! I'm pretty excited! It feels like just yesterday I was spending my first night in the mission with Hermana Pratt (who went home today). And in about a week I will have been in my mission for six months.

Well, I need to head out! I love you all so much! Be good! Eat strawberries! (They are out of season here... it's sad...)

-Hermana Clark

Ps- It's finally starting to cool down here. It's wooooonderful

Fruit Pastels

The people in Spain really like to go to the beach. As missionaries here in Barcelona, we are not allowed to even go in sight of the beach. I'm not close enough in Hospitalet, but if we go into downtown Barcelona for preparation days, we steer clear of the beach. There are quite a few tourists here. It's fun to listen to all of the different languages and see all of the different cultures. And it's fun to help lost Americans haha. Well, we help everyone, but I enjoy speaking English every once in a while.

Anyway, nothing crazy is going on here. My companion finishes her mission next week. So that means I will be here for at least one more transfer (six weeks) in Hospitalet. I wouldn't mind going up North to Bilbao or San Sebastian for my next area. Somewhere not as hot haha. But then again, all of the Latinos live here in Hospitalet, and I love their food so.... It's a toss up haha.

We had another zone conference this week, and as usual it was amazing!! I also learn so much. I love learning from the other missionaries. It's great! Fun fact about the missionaries in my district. Between the 8 of us, we represent 4 different countries. America, England, The Dominican Republic, and Russia. So that's always fun!

It's fun to hear what is all going on back home. I love you all so much! I miss a lot of things back home, but I really do love it here in Spain. So much. I have come to love so many different people and cultures. It's just the best. Serving a mission was never something I had planned on doing, but I am so grateful that I did. Best decision I have ever made. I'm really going to miss it. It's weird to think that in a couple weeks, I will hit my 6 months mark. I will be a third of the way through my mission. Well, I need to head out. I love you all so much!

-Hermanita Clark

Ps- My companion gave me English sweets (candy) this week. Fruit Pastels. They are amazing. I'm a fan of English candy so far.

Foooood

Oh boy! Oh boy! This week was sooo much fun, hard, but fun! But first thing first, Happy Fourth of July!!! Wooooo! Our preparation day was today, and so we celebrated by having a barbeque! It was literally the best! Ribs, chips, hotdogs, watermelon, fruit, soda, and chicken. Just your typical American stuff. But it was soooo much fun! I really am grateful for American, though. Without the religious freedom, the Church wouldn't have been restored in the way that it has. So I am very grateful for that. I won't go into too much detail, but it's interesting being an American here in Spain. I've learned a lot about so many different cultures, religions, countries, and people. It's definitely given me a perspective on things. In the end, we are all brothers and sisters.

Speaking of cultures and stuff, it's time that I give you all a food update. Most of the people who live in my area are immigrants from other countries. We get to experience food from so many places. I love it! (And yes, for those who are wondering, I have gained weight haha. Woopee!) So far I have eaten food from Spain (obviously haha), Ecuador, Perú, Bolivia, Honduras, Colombia, Venuzuela, Nigeria, Uruguay, England, Pakistan, Argentina, Paraguay, and the Dominican Republic. I have a complete photo album of just pictures of food haha.

The work here is a bit harder in the summer because all the people who live here are always working because there are a million tourists. Where I live and work is technically in Barcelona, and so most of the people who live here are working to support the influx of tourism during the summer. But we're still here working, because we know our purpose. So we're alright :) Because of this, we are spending a lot of time outside contacting. I am getting sooo tan haha. I'm actually the same color as some of the Spaniards.

I love you all soooo much! Have a wonderful week! Remember that you are never alone. And remember that family is the most important thing. Love your family. Serve your family. I have seen so many broken families here. It breaks my heart. If something is going on, just say sorry. Work on it. The pain and stress isn't worth it. I see it here so much. So much. Love your family. Serve your family. Tell your family that you love them. There is a family here, and the father is dying of cancer. They have tried everything. He is probably going to pass away while I am here. Love your family! They are everything! We may fight and bicker, but we need to overcome these things. Think of yourself less. I'm sounding like a broken record, but I'm serious. Love your family. The anger, stress, and worry is not worth it. It's never worth it.

-Hermana Clark

Ps- I'm starting to learn Catalán now. It feels like I'm talking with a mouthful of water

When it rains, it pours, and it's still hot, but that's okay!

It finally rained!!! We were seriously soooo excited it's ridiculous haha. But then it turns out that when it rains here, that doesn't really mean that it cools down. It's still hot, and the air is heavier than it was before. But it does feel nice while it's raining.

In other news, my little 12-year-old investigator got baptized on Saturday! He is just the sweetest little boy ever! His Mom got baptized in April, and so it was a very special day for her too. I honestly think that her smile was bigger watching her son be baptized, than it was for her baptism. He's a very timid boy, but you could tell that he was really excited. Every time I asked him if he's excited, he would get this timid little half smile and nod his head a bunch. He was so perfect to teach. He remembers everything, and he just knows that it's true. (It's true, all of it. #namethatmovie)

I have some other exciting news...... snow cones exist in Spain!!!!! They are called granizados. My goodness gracious they are just the most beautiful icy creations to ever be eaten. In order to survive the sweltering heat of Barcelona (shout out to the Málaga missionaries who have it worse than we do) we buy granizados at least a few times each week. My favorite flavors are maracuyá (passion fruit), fresa (strawberry), and mango (mango). We have become really good friends with the shop owners of a few different places. They love us haha.

The work is still progressing here. One important thing I have been thinking about lately, is that we need to always have an eternal perspective. People are real people. They have thoughts and feelings just like me. I truly do love the people of Spain. I want them to have happy families that can live together for eternity like mine. I may not see the end results of some of the people I have taught, and that is perfectly okay. I did my part and that's all I can do. But I need to make sure that I do my part, because I don't want to leave my mission with regrets. Work hard, but enjoy the work. Take a break and have a strawberry snow cone. Then get back up and work again. I have always loved some advice that I heard years ago. "You need to be comfortable with being uncomfortable." It's so true.

Well, that's all for this week, folks! Love ya all! Os quiero! (Hehe I had to throw in some vosotros for all you Spanish speakers out there hehehe)

-Hermanita Clark

Ps-The sour skittles from America are better

Balcony, Bubbles, and Beer

Top of the mornin to ya! (That is how you say hello in Cockney, which is a British dialect.) I am learning so many different British phrases from my companion. It is sooooo fun! My goal is it be British by the end of this transfer haha.

Anyway, this week was an interesting one, but before we get into that. I have a super fun story for y'all from last week that I forgot about! So it was the end of the day, and we had gotten to piso and were just hanging around with the other hermanas that we live with. And Hermana Anderson had just recently recieved a package from her family, and in it were two big tubes of bubbles (which smell like jelly beans, by the way). Not sure how we got the idea, but we decided to stand on our balcony and blow bubbles down into the street while Hermana Spencer serenaded us on her accordian. Super normal missionary adventures, right? Haha People would just be walking down the street and see these random bubbles. And then they would look up to the night sky and see us blowing them and Hermana Spencer playing her accordian. Haha it was the best! Some people told us that we made their day. And we also got a few invites to go and have a couple of beers, but obviously we're not going to do that hahahaha. By the end, people were out on their roofs listening to us and saying hi. It was seriously just soooo much fun!

But yeah, this week was a burning hot one.  My goodness gracious! Everyday is hotter than the one before. We were told the other day that it was 104° F. We are always sweaty and damp. I can't imagine serving somewhere like Málaga or Puerto Rico or something... I have sooo much respect for those missionaries. So much respect. This week we met with a lot of members so that my companion could get to know them. I am seriously so excited to be working with my companion. She is the best! We are getting so much done and this area is going to be so much better for future missionaries. My companion just knows soooo much. She's amazing!

Well, I need to head out. I love you all so much! I think I learned this week that personal growth often comes in phases. In pieces. We often have moments where we stretch and grow a lot in a short amount of time. And then we plateau or level out for a bit. I want to make sure that I am never declining in my personal growth. Growing is hard, but it is more than worth it. My brother Paul gave me the advice to just remember that I am having a growing and stretching day when it has been a particularily hard day.  I am sooo thankful to be serving in the Spain Barcelona Mission. I have learned so much here. Thank you all so much for your support! Y'all are the best!

-Hermana Clark :)

Ps-It has gotten hot enough here that I have taken scissors to one of my dresses and now it has short sleeves! Yay!

Guess what country my new companion is from!

I have a new companion! And I am officially out of my training! Wooo!! But my new companion is just the sweetest! I already love her so much! Her name is Hermana Allen. And she is from England! I could just listen to her talk all day! Haha and she loves musicals! Yay! Haha I have a feeling that we are going to get along really well :)

Well, not a whole lot to tell this week. We're just here melting in the heat haha. It is seriously getting soooo hot. I have never sweated so much in my entire life. It's gross haha. Plus, our piso doesn't have air conditioning, so sleeping is just the best thing ever! Haha We sleep with a fan blowing on us, but still sweat anyways. And it's only going to get hotter!

I don't have much time, so I will have to end this here. I love you all soooo much! Remember that the Church and the Gospel is always true, even if the people are not. We are all humans. We make mistakes. This is how we learn. This is how we grow. So we need to remember to forgive others, but also to forgive ourselves. Christ knows everything. Rely on Him. He is always, always, always there for us. Trust Him.

-Hermana Clark :)

Ps- I have become addicted to freezing watermelon. It's the best summer treat there is!

My companion cut my hair!

First thing first, my companion cut my hair last week! We were in an elevator one day, and I was just looking at myself in the mirror, and I just decided that I wanted to do something different with my hair that I have never done before. I decided that I wanted straight across bangs. So I turned to my companion and said, "Hey, do you want to cut my hair tonight?" She said, "Sure!" So after we got back to our piso at the end of the day, I sat on a bad and she cut my hair! And it's super cute! I really like it! She did a really good job. Especially since she's only cut bangs into hair one other time before. She cut Hermana Spencer's hair a few weeks ago. But anyways, that was an exciting mission moment for me. I was feeling pretty adventerous.

So we have been teaching the sons of the my recent convert, and they are getting baptized on the 24th of June! I'm really excited! The older boy is a little more hesitant and has some doubts, but that's okay. :) Because it's something that we have to know for ourselves. But holy cow! The younger brother, he is amazing! I can't wait to see him be baptized! He knows it! He just knows it! And I love it! So I will keep you all updated on that!

Today for preparation day we went to a science museum and it was honestly soooo much fun! There was a whole section on the brain, which we spent probably around over an hour in. I just loved it! I actually miss learning science stuff haha. There was also a whole section with a tropical enviroment, and Hermana Chas who is from the Dominican Republic just died! She was in heaven! Haha It made me think of my brother Cade and just that he served his mission in Puerto Rico. And when he came home, we went to the Aquarium, and they have a tropical enviroment section, and Cade loved it too, cause it's like Puerto Rico. It's humid here, but not like an island humid. But anyways, we went to the museum, and then we jusy wandered around the shops in Barcelona. Everything was fine until my companion realized that she had set her bag down, and forgot to pick it back up. So we ran and found her bag where she had left it, but her ipad had been stolen. So we found the security guard in the store, but there aren't any cameras right where she had left it or anything. So there's nothing we can really do. We called the mission office, and they are going to get back to us tonight on what to do. So yep. It's a stinky situation.

Well, transfers are next week and I will officially be finished with my training! And I will be getting a new companion with me in Hospitalet. It's a weird feeling, but I'm excited!

Well, that's it for today! I love you all! You're all the best! Be good! God loves you!

-Hermana Clark :)

Ps- I forgot to mention last week, but I was asked to sing in the zone conference with 4 other missionaries. We sang El Cristo Es, which I think is This is the Christ in English... Not sure... But it went pretty well! I enjoyed it :)

I climbed a waterfall!

We had our preparation day today, because yesterday we had our zone conference. It was amazing! But more about that later. This morning we went a huge garden, forresty area. It was my favorite preparation day! It was soooo nice to just get out of the city and be in nature and smell the trees and fresh air. We spent hours exploring this forrest area that has a little castle, a maze made out of those tall hedges like in Harry Potter, tons of old architecture, and tons of gardens with little winding rivers and waterfalls. It was seriously so much fun.

Yesterday we had our zone conference with Presidente and Hermana Dayton. And let me tell you, they make an amazing couple and team. They get things done! I learned soooo much! A lot of things that are going to help me after my mission as well. Hermana Dayton taught us how to create our own personal mission statement for our life. I started on it last night. I am soooo thankful that I am here in the Spain Barcelona Mission. We have the most amazing and wonderful President and his wife. President Dayton said, "We do the things in life that we really want to do." I always learn so much from them. It makes me excited for life after the mission. I just want to grab life by the reins and take off running! It also makes me want to be a better missionary. More driven and focused. I'm not here to waste my time and the Lord's time. I did not come here to fail. Barcelona isn't a vacation for me. But, if we aren't having fun, we're doing something wrong. We're here on this earth to have joy! And so we need to have fun in the mission life as well. Same goes for all of you! Don't forget to pause for a few minutes and take a breather or just have some fun! Take care of yourself too! I've learned on the mission that we need to be focused, but we need to enjoy ourselves too. Take a moment and buy that icecream. Or stop and sit in the quiet for 10 minutes and just think. I've found that I need to do that here because being in the city all the time and talking with people literally allllll the time stresses me out. Sometimes I just need to be quiet and take a moment. That's perfectly okay.

This week was a good week! We have some baptisms coming up in June! I can't wait! Thank you all soooo much for your love and support! Also, shout out to the Berrett family! Your parents have been great missionaries here, and I will miss seeing them and talking with them, but holy cow they are going to be an amazing couple as the Mission President in Mexico! I have learned so much from them! Well, until next time! Have courage and be kind! (Name that movie!)

-Hermana Clark :)

Ps- Spaniards and Latinos know how to party. Has anyone seen the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding? If you have seen that movie, that it what even church parties are like here. Food, people, food, more people, loud music, and oh did I mention food?, and dancing. Seriously though, so much fun! 

Sometimes the metor doesn't work

I have a crazy story for y'all this week. I'm not sure why, but there have been metro strikes for most of the time that I have been here. It causes some problems because on some days the metros stop early or don't come every few minutes. On Monday, we were coming home from a noche de hogar (family home evening) at the Mission Home, and we were just switching metro lines, just normal stuff. We got to the next platform, and there were tons of people there. We thought it was a little weird that there were so many people, but didn't think much of it, until we looked at the time clock. The next metro wasn't coming for over 40 minutes! Normally they come every 2-5 minutes. We were shocked. And then we remembered hearing about the metro strikes. We had been affected by them before, but not this badly. So when the metro finally came, it was already crammed with people. So, like a bunch of sardines, we just crammed ourselves in there with everyone else. My companion and I held hands the whole time just so we wouldn't lose each other. It was intense! Also, the smell was absolutely awful. Apparently there isn't a Spanish word for B.O. But anyways, we made it to our stop and squeezed our way out. Trying to get off was actually harder than getting on. Cause everyone else is trying to get on while you're trying to get off. It's like a whirpool or vortex that just sucks you in. I pictured some dramatic movie moment where someone is hanging over a cliff, and there friend is holding onto their hand, but their fingers slip and they fall to their death. Like in the movie Prince of Persia. Anyone seen that movie? I like that show. Anyway, it was like that trying to get off the metro, except I didn't die. After that, since it was past curfew, we had to run home. Normally it takes us about 10-15 minutes to walk home from the metro, so it's a bit of a distance, but not too bad. After that we finally made it back to our piso at around 10:50ish in the night. We were exhausted. So we did numbers real quick and decided to hang out with the other hermanas on the roof of our building. We brought snacks and Hermana Spencer played her accordian. Then we went to bed. It was an exciting day, that's for sure.

Well, not much else to tell about this week. A lot of our investigators came to church yesterday, so that was super exciting! But it really was more of a slow week. But I love you all! The life is hard, but we can all do it! Have faith!

-Hermana Clark

Ps- We ate a member's house this week, and she fed us beef stomach and intestines. But it was actually pretty good! It was some traditional dish from Ecuador. Shout out to all my friends who served in Ecuador!

Happy Mother's Day!

First off, shout out to my mom! Happy Mother's Day, Mom! Love you lots! It was sooo nice to be able to talk to you yesterday. Definitely the highlight of my day yesterday.

Well, this week was super busy, but good. We have two investigators who are progressing, and we invited them to be baptized, and they said yes! But then when we set a day with them, it scared them a little bit, and so we haven't set a day yet. But we will keep teaching them :) We have also started teaching a family from Honduras. They are all Evangelicals and are super nice. They have a lot of questions, but really like to learn. Yesterday when we were knocking doors, we knocked the door of a man and his wife who are both from Nepal. His wife is due to have their first baby in two months. They practice Hinduism. They are seriously sooo nice. They invited us in and we talked about our religions for about 15 minutes or so. I don't think that they are interested at all, but it was still just nice to have someone be nice to us. The other day we also knocked the door of a family from Romania. They invited us back, but when we showed up they weren't home. That happens a lot. So I'm used to it. But I would love to be friends with Romanians. They're super nice.

Our ward had a party for Mother's Day on Saturday, and let me tell you, it was a party! So much food and dancing! Soooo much fun! Of course, as missionaries we didn't dance, but it was such a good time! 6 of our investigators came, so that was super good! Such a good way to show that we are normal people and have fun and stuff.

Well, that's it for today! I love you all! Be good! Ciao!

-Hermana Clark

Ps- The hotter it gets here, the less clothing people wear... Not my favorite thing... So many awkward moments...

Gizzards and the Gospel

So one thing that I forgot to mention last week, was that for my birthday, the other Hermanas came in mine and Hermana Anderson's bedroom at 12am playing the accordian and signing Happy Birthday. It was just the best! So funny! And then in the morning, they blind-folded me, put a birthday haton me, brought me into the kitchen, sang happy birthday while throwing confetti and balloons. They had decorated the whole kitchen and then fed me cake for breakfast. It was seriously so much fun!

This week was a really good week! We had some slow days when literally nobody would listen to us, but that's okay! We still work hard because we know our purpose :) We also had a baptism on Saturday. We will call her Alice :) She is just the sweetest. She is a daughter of a member, so it's not a "real" baptism for us, but her dad asked to teach her all of the lessons. So we did. She gave me a sticker one day and so I stuck it on the back of my chapa (name-tag).

We are teaching an lady from Nigeria right now. And last week she fed us a food called fu fu. Weirdest food of my life. It is this giant ball of raw dough, and you pinch off a piece with your fingers and dip it in this spicy fish sauce. Then to eat it, you aren't supposed to chew it, you just swallow it whole. It's really weird, but I did it! I was so proud haha But then this week she fed us spicy chicken and gizzards. Hermana Anderson wouldn't eat the gizzards, it grossed her out too much haha. So  guess who got to eat them all? Me! Haha I think I ate at least 8 gizzards. They're pretty chewy. But pretty good. I wouldn't choose to make them for myself, but I could eat them again if I needed to haha.

That is one thing that I love about my area. There is soooo much diveristy. So many people from so many different countries. It's really neat to hear so many different languages everyday. I've also learned a lot about many different religions. Life is so different here, and I really love it, but I do miss the calmness of West Haven back home. I miss the space of the country and being able to see the stars at night. I also miss the fresh air and the smell of cows, actually haha. But I really do love it here and all of the people we meet everyday. I just love missionary work! It is stressful and hard, but there are so many blessings. It's definitely worth doing! Well, I love you all! I'm going to sign off because for our preparation day today, we are going to go and do an escape room! I'm super excited! I will tell you all about it next week! Nos vemos

-Hermana Clark :)

Ps-  people here blow their noses differently. It's kinda funny. Instead of one long, hard blow, they do a bunch of short little blows one after another. It's almost a bit of an ab workout

Birthday Week!

This week was such a packed week, holy cow! Where to start?? Well, I guess I will start out by telling you all that I got sick again this week. I didn't sleep at all Tuesday night because I was up all night throwing up. That wasn't very fun... According to our nurse, I had the flu, so I wasn't supposed to eat any food for 24 hours. Not fun. Especially since a lot of members had planned on making us food for my birthday. So most of them got canceled. We had to stay in our piso all day. I mostly slept.

But I am super happy that I was better on my actual birthday! Some members had a family home evening/birthday party for me. It was so much fun! And of course, like tradition, they shoved my face into the cake. It really was so much fun! 21 has never felt so good!

We were able to teach a lot of lessons this week. We had one lesson with a family, and the father was giving the prayer and he started to cry. I just love missionary work! It's the best! Sometimes we have good days, and sometimes we have bad days. But the good days definitely out-weigh the bad days. There are a lot of very rude people, but it's okay. It doesn't bother me a whole lot, you get used to it.

Well, I know that this Church is true. There are miracles all around us everyday. Don't let Satan get you down! Because everything is going to be alright. Jesus Christ has felt every emotion, heartache, sin, and pain for every single one of us. I know that that can be a hard concept to grasp, that one person has felt everything for everyone. But it's true. How do I know? I have prayed and asked God myself. And I have felt Christ's love for me. He loves you so much. Because of Him, everything is going to be okay.

I love you all so much! Have a wonderful week and don't be sad! Be happy! Well, until next week! Ciao!

-Hermanita Clark

Ps- My companion is blonde, so she stands out a lot. And this week on the metro a man asked if she wanted to have a family with him. Interesting things happen when you're a missionary!

Don't worry, my hair is just falling out

I got to stay in another city for a day this week! I was in Martorell with Hermana Spencer for an intercambio. I loved Martorell! It was so nice to be in the mountains. I didn't realize how much I missed the mountains back home.

So we had another holiday yesterday here in Catalunya. It's called Sant Jordi. So what happens is the men give women roses, and the women give men books. The reason for this is because there is a legend about a men fighting a dragon to save a damsel. And when he kills the dragon, I think it turns into a rose and he gives it to her, or he just gave her a rose or something. Not sure. Also, not sure where the book part of it came from either... but hey! We made use of it as missionaries! We gave out copies of the Book of Mormon! It was actually super fun. For about an hour or so, we went on splits, and so it was just me and our relief society president. That was fun, but really imitidating because I'm still learning Spanish. But if I don't try I'm not going to get anywhere. So we went contacting and gave out some books! The relief society president said that it was nice to get a taste of what us missionaries do everyday. She said that the members need to help more. Hearing that was music to my ears! Missionary work is sooooo much more effective when the members help. Members are vital to missionary work.

I had my first zone conference in the mission. It was amazing! I learned so much. Our conference ended up being 10 hours long. Yes, 10 whole hours haha. I don't know what's normal for most missions, but I loved it! 

To make mission life more exciting, sometimes we try to get onto the roof of buildings. This week we did. But to get onto this one roof, the door was lock, but part of it was missing. So naturally, we decided to just climb through the hole. It sounded like a good idea. But this day I was also in a pencil skirt. I got stuck. But! I also made it through the hole and onto the roof! And instead of helping me, my lovely companion just recorded me struggling. It was actually really funny. We were laughing pretty hard.

Well, I don't have a lot of time to write today. But I'm excited for this coming week! The members know that it's my birthday on Friday, and so they are all planning on feeding me haha. So much food is coming. Today we had our first of seven eating appointments. But it's fine cause South American and Spanish food is amazing! I will let you all know how it goes! Until next time, the Church is true, the book is blue, and I love you!

-Hermana Clark

Ps- the hermanas that I live with have figured out that I don't like my feet being touched. They go to great lengths to touch my feet, including hiding under my bed for 20 or so minutes.

Pss-the water here is bad. We can't drink it, or wash your hair in it very often or it will fall out. My hair is still falling out regardless...

Easter is a big deal in Spain

It's been another week! I can't believe it! The work here has been wonderful! We were able to have another baptism! The area of Hospitalet is on fire! So many wonderful people that are ready to hear the gospel. This week our investigator Lana (this is not her real name, just for privacy sake for my blog) was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! Such a wonderful experience! She's from Ecuador.

The thing about the area I live in, is that most of the people are immigrants. I have yet to teach an actual Spaniard. They are pretty set in their ways. There is something called "the Spanish finger" here. I've gotten it a lot when try to contact Spaniards. They basically just wave their finger at you, which means no. There have been times when I have walked up to someone and right when I open my mouth, they automatically give me "the Spanish finger" before I have a chance to even say anything. It can be pretty frustrating. A lot of people say that European missions are hard. And it's true. But, I know that there are many people in Spain who are ready to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. And I feel very blessed that I have been able to have these baptisms right off the bat. But really, they're not "my" baptisms, they're the Lord's. We've been so blessed with so much help. The mission is a very humbling experience.

In other news, I lost my voice this week, and I had the opportunity to meet and talk to our area authority, . Oh, and Pascua (Easter) is a really big deal here. It's a whole week long event. It's called Santa Semana (Holy Week). There are a lot of street processions. One early in the week with a bunch of people dressed up in white and red with palms branches and other people dressed up as Romans. That one symbolizes Christ coming into Jerusalem. The next one is on Friday night. That one has a bunch of people dressed in black robes with pointy hats completely covering their faces (except for two slits for their eyes), with chains around their ankles, and carrying big wooden crosses over their shoulder. There is also a float-thing of Christ hanging from the cross that goes through the streets. Everyone else in the procession carries candles, and there are drums being played as well. That procession kinda creeped me out, to be honest. But it's a big deal here. All of the businesses close early and EVERYONE goes out in the streets to watch. The roads are blocked off and everything. This whole procession symbolizes Christ's death. The next procession is on Sunday. This time there are people dressed up in the same robes with the pointy hats, but they are white and red. And this time they are carrying a fancy, ornate, gold cross in front of them. And everyone else is dressed up as Roman soliders. And again there are drums. I'm pretty sure that this procession symbolizes Christ's resurrection. Not completely sure though. So yep. Easter is a really big deal here. Basically all businesses have been closed all weekend. Except for the little tiendas (stores) run by the Pakistan people. I'm sorry if I spelled that wrong, it's really hard to write in English now...

But anyways, it was a really good week! I hope you are all doing well back home! And I hope you enjoyed Easter! Make sure you watch the new Easter video, Prince of Peace. It's amazing! We love to show it to people. I am so grateful for Christ and all that He has done for us. Because of Him we can not only live again, but we can live with our families forever. We are never alone, because Christ has felt all of our pains, trials, afflictions, sins, and sorrows. I love this gospel and it's message of hope that it brings. I love you all! Have a wonderful week!

-Hermana Clark

PS- My favorite drink here is called zumo de maracuyá. It's passion fruit juice. It is simply amazing.

I kinda live in the ghetto

Hello all!

Things are going great here in Hospitalet! I'm not sure if I already said so, but before I got assigned to this area, I felt that I was going to be assigned to Barcelona, but only the office missionaries get assigned to Barcelona. But, Hospitalet is the area right next to it, so in a way I guessed right :)

I had my very first baptism in the mission! It was such an amazing experience! We will call her Yasseña just for privacy reasons for my blog :) But anyways, Yasseña is 17 years old. She was about halfway through all the lessons when I arrived, so I got to help teach her quite a bit. We saw her everyday last week. But her baptism on Saturday was so beautiful! She is the first person in her family to join the church. They are from Ecuador, by the way. But her whole family was crying, and after her baptism her mom came up to us and told us that she wants to be baptized too! We were so shocked! So we're working on that now! :) Missionary work is so wonderful!

So Hospitalet is the second most "ghetto" area in the mission. There are some areas that we aren't allowed to go to at night for our safety. Some really interesting things happen though in this area... haha Like the other day we went to a lesson, and when our investigator open the door he was completely and utterly naked. We were just like, "Uhhhhh... Is there another woman here?" And he said that he was just at home with his son. So we quickly made an appointment for another day and left. Later he texted us and told us that his wife doesn't want to investigate the church, but maybe in the future. We were just laughing about the whole thing all day haha. Europeans are different from Americans when summer comes haha.

Fun fact: I live in an area of Spain called Catalunya, and so there is another language here. It's called Catalan. All metro stops and most signs (street signs, resturant signs, store signs, etc) are in Catalan, not Spanish. There are some ways that it's kind of similar to Spanish, but not really... And you hear people speak Catalan a lot. So that's fun! I know a couple basic phrases in Catalan, but that's it. But it does make some things confusing, cause I have a really hard time pronouncing the metro stops haha.

The other day we were running to catch the metro after preparation day (we had played volleyball and stuff with our district) and I tripped and fell down so bad haha. My knees are really purple and my scab still bleeds sometimes, but it's okay! We laughed a lot when I fell haha

We were able to watch most of General Conference this weekend. General Conference is when we have the opportunity to listen to our prophets and apostles speak. Because of the time difference, we watched the Saturday Morning Session on Saturday night, and then the Sat Afternoon Session on Sunday morning, and the Sunday Morning Session on Sunday night. We have to read the Sunday Afternoon Session on our own time another day. We were also able to set up a TV upstairs in the church so all of us American missionaries could watch in English. So that was super nice! I just loved being able to watch conference though! It's true when people say it is so much better in the mission! 

Also, I would like to take a moment and thank my brother Cade for helping me so much with my Spanish before I left. Thank you for helping me translate my testimony into Spanish, because that's what I have to hold onto when I have no idea what is going on and my brain is having a hard time thinking of what to say. But really, just thank you for all of your mini Spanish lessons, it's all starting to make sense now what you said. There are so many times that I have been thankful for that. So thank you, Cade :)

Well, I just love it here! Missionary work is amazing and wonderful! It's hard and you get rejected a lot, but it's alright! I love how I have been able to meet so mang different people from so many different places and countries. I have learned so much here. There are good people everywhere. Well, I think that's it for today! I love you all! And Heavenly Father loves you too! Nos vemos!

-Hermana Clark

Ps-I counted the other day when we were visiting a lady in her piso (apartment) and we had to climb up 12 flights of stairs. Yes. 12. My legs are super buff now haha