Birthday and Baptism

 

Dancing in the rain, anyone?



  

Happy Birthday to Me!  Thank you to everyone who wrote a special birthday note! 

I loved them all!!!! 

Thank you for all of the kind words.  Thanks for the packages too. 

And thanks to the other sister missionaries for helping me celebrate my birthday.



Happy Birthday Sister Cluff.

Lynzi's Baptism:   Lynzi's baptism was awesome!  I even got the chance to bear my testimony about the Savior and how he gave us a perfect example of baptism and how to live our lives.  It is through Him that change is possible.  I have seen such an amazing change in Lynzi.  She was pretty quiet and still is but she is not afraid to come out of her bubble.  She was so happy with each step she took.  She was excited after she "passed" the baptismal interview on Thursday night.  Really happy and felt amazing after her baptism on Saturday and she was super happy after she got the gift of the Holy Ghost.  Something she said that was really interesting to me was that she felt amazing after she was baptized, a kind of happy she had never felt before, and she felt a different kind of happy after she received the gift of the Holy Ghost.  Lynzi is a very special person.



A special day for Lynzi.



 My Spider Story:  We have had a resident spider living in Sister B's and my get ready/study room and at first I thought it was dead.  It was curled up in a ball but one of its legs was hanging out.  It was creepy.  It had really long spindly legs and couldn't even tuck them in.  It was probably the size of a dime including its legs if it was spread out.  Anyway, it lived in the corner by my dresser and I thought it was dead so I tried to fan it with a paper to see if it would phreak out.  I wasn't sure if it was alive.  It didn't move.  The next day it was in another corner of the room and but I never saw it move. I had been watching it for about a week - maybe more. Anyway, so one day I was getting ready and I hadn't put in my contacts yet.  I walked across the room and when I turned to walk back I saw something black hanging and coming down.  I quickly grabbed my glasses.  The spider was moving!  It was probably a little below eye level and it was crawling horizontal on a web thing.  I felt like it was going to attack.  I don't know how it was doing it but it was super creepy and I was really scared because I almost walked into it twice.  I didn't want it moving around anymore so I got up the courage and clapped it between my shoes.  It was super gross and when I tried to get it off my shoe it wouldn't come.  I did a “spider dance” [phrase coined by Dad when Mom gets excited over spiders and other creepy crawly things- includes jumping, shivering, and other signs of repulsion].  It was really gross. Luckily I didn't scream.  The other missionaries never even realized there was a crisis.  I didn't wear those shoes for a couple of days.  Ha ha.

Some Thoughts:  When I was in Sacrament meeting, they were talking about charity and the idea came to me that doing your best is always good enough because the Savior makes up the difference.  He can always make up the difference if you are doing your best.  The Savior makes up the difference through his Atonement.  The Atonement overcomes so many things and it is so amazing.  Our part in using the Atonement includes faith (which is both in word and in deed -- keeping the commandments is one way) and repentance (which includes changing who you are).  So, your best is always good enough.  What a comfort this is to me.

I love you all.  Keep spreading the word of the joy of the gospel, there are people looking.  Love, Sister Cluff.

P.S.  Oh, my scheduled departure date from my mission is April 18, 2013



Feelin' the Birthday Love.