Work While the Sun Shines (or not)

It has been a mix of weather lately, some days it is nice and sunny, although a bit cold.  Other days it is warmer (sometimes) and rainy.  I wish the weather would just make up its mind.  I have to decide whether or not to wear my rain coat or my wool coat (which is warmer, but not so very water proof).  It is kind of a challenge without a weather forecast.

Sister W and I have been having fun.  I am still the driver.  I miss Sister R though.  It is not the same without her.  I am glad that I get to see her every once in a while.  Nothing much has changed by adding a fourth sister but we now get to juggle the bathroom a little more and there are two different schedules.  Since I’m not companions with Sister R anymore, I can't really lean on her to fix the problems or plan for the day.  Sister W and I have to take care of it ourselves.  It is a good growing experience.

There is another baptism coming up.  Kathy is engaged to a member and we got a call one night that said, “Hey, my fiancé wants to take the lessons and get baptized.  When can we schedule a lesson?”  It was every missionary's dream.  She had already gotten a Book of Mormon from missionaries years ago and took their challenge to read it and pray to know if it is true.  She did and felt the truth.  But nothing really happened after that until she started dating her fiancé.  Kathy and her fiancé have known each other since they were kids (about 30 years).  It is interesting how seeds are planted that you don't even realize were there.  I am so grateful those missionaries gave Kathy a Book of Mormon and that she acted.

I love you all!  Thank you for all of your support and prayers.  I couldn't do it without you ALL.  Love ya! Sister Cluff.

Not a Gangster

I only have one companion now, it is Sister W.  We got an interesting phone call on Tuesday or Wednesday.  The APs (Elders who are assistants to the president) asked us if there was enough work going on in the wards to split them.  Transfers weren't for another month so we were a little alarmed.  We said yes, there was.  After a bit of digging we learned that there might be a sister missionary coming who was waiting for her Visa to another country.  We didn't really think anything of it, or make any decisions.

On Saturday, President Y called and asked if we could be ready to move another sister into the apartment in 2 hours.  It was pretty exciting.  Long story short, Sister R is training Sister F who is a Visa-waiter going to Russia.  They are working in the M Ward.  Sister W and I are covering the R Ward.  We are all living in the same 2 bedroom apartment.  It is a party!  Sister F and I are pretty sure we are related.  I whipped out my handy-dandy pedigree chart—(thanks, mom!) and we both have relatives who lived in the Chihuahua, Mexico area.

It has been a bit wet here, for about 2-3 days it was raining solid.  It was gross, but better than the snow.  My boots and jacket kept the rain out; hopefully they will keep doing that.  I might get a cheapy pair of rain boots in case my shoes start leaking.  Who would have guessed it rained in Oregon?!  Just kidding!  Luckily it only really snowed last Sunday.  It reminded me of the time right after we moved to the Chicago area when Dad made me call Kara and ask if church was cancelled because of 2-3 inches of snow.  Haha.

I have a funny story from last night at dinner.  We ate with a family who had 5 boys and when they learned I was from Chicago they were joking with me about being a gangster.  I was wearing my pretty sparkly scarf and totally looked nothing like a gangster.  It was fun joking with them.  We were teasing about "packing heat" and stuff.  It reminded me of hanging out with the cousins.  Another member, Brother S, he is probably in his 60-70s, asked if I had a gun in my purse when he learned I was from Chicago.  He was kidding and it was fun.  Everyone asks why I don't have a Chicagoan accent.  Then I usually say “Chicago” in the Chicago accent way a couple of times.  (Or they say it with an accent like that-- that's my favorite.)  I then explain the whole story that every time Dad becomes ward employment specialist, we move.  It usually gets a laugh.  I miss you guys.  I hope you had fun reading this letter.  Love, Sister Cluff.

Church is Cancelled?

So, exciting news... It snowed!  It isn't supposed to snow here.  It is not what I agreed to.  But, it is fun for a little while. 

So, no one knows how to drive in snow in Oregon.  It is kind of ridiculous.  There are also no snow plows or salt trucks.  I guess that makes a difference.

It started snowing during Sacrament meeting and so they cancelled the last two hours of church.  There was less than an inch but some people had 1/2 hour or more to drive home - out in the middle of nowhere.  (By the way, that's where the pictures were taken.)  The funny part was is that it stopped snowing right after they cancelled church.  Then, the snow all started melting. 

We got to go tracting in the snow for an hour.  It was great fun.  Not really, that was sarcasm in case you couldn't tell.  Still, it was fun to see snow.  I am over it now.  I guess it is supposed to snow the rest of the week.  I am still driver, which is not as fun as it used to be.  I don't really like “backers” [backing up].  My companions sometimes tease me about my driving/parking skills. 

Well, since my computer was super slow today, I don't have much time to write.  I’ve got to get going.  I love you all!  Thank you so much for your love, prayers, and letters!  Love, Sister Cluff.

P.S. Sorry the pictures don't have me in them.  Sister W took them while I was driving.  I was concentrating.

New Year's Resolution

Tim's Baptism

Tim investigated the church for a long time before finally deciding to join.


Bobbie's Baptism




Bobbie decided to be baptized after her son, Chase, returned home from his mission.

I feel like I haven't talked to you in sooooo long.  I keep remembering Christmas and smiling.  It really made my day.  I keep remembering how good it was to see you and talk with you.  I didn't ever want to stop.  I am so glad we are a forever family.

            So, having a third companion is a party.  It is a sleep-over every night.  Now it feels weird when there are just two of us.  Sister W got to go out on splits with a member Saturday night. [“Splits” is where a missionary will leave her own companion and work with another member or missionary for a few hours or a day.]  Sister R and I were feeling sick.  We caught the stomach flu -- Sis R's was slightly worse than mine.  Mine was just nausea and feeling super tired (so don't phreak out Mom).  Sister R and I missed Sister W a ton.  It was lonely without her there.  It is interesting how quickly people adapt.  It’s also interesting how you can just feel when something is not right on your mission (or in life).  Heavenly Father helps out his missionaries – a lot. 

Our trio companionship will last for 6 weeks.  This week has been interesting; it is a whole new dynamic with three of us.  We are like an army. 

            One of the New Year’s resolutions I have been thinking about is to volunteer.  Normally, I sit back and let someone else do something.  For example, when someone asks who wants to say the prayer everyone's hand should shoot into the air.  I can at least do that.  It is kind of sad how much we limit ourselves.    I want to be the one to volunteer, even if I am scared to death.  When we do things like that we are just getting blessings.  By the way, I am giving talks in both of my wards.  We volunteered to help the missionary work in the wards progress and to help the members get excited about missionary work.  Fun, huh?  I am not exactly sure about the wording of my goal, but I want it to be somewhere along these lines.  I am trying to work at setting better goals, ones that I can accomplish.

            I guess I am going to run.  I love you guys, thank you so much for all of the letters!

Knocking on Doors

We have had a few days that have been nice enough to not wear a jacket for a little while.  Hopefully the winter will be done soon.  At least it hasn't snowed or iced.  I am glad I am not anywhere colder because it would be a lot harder to go outside then.

            This week we have done a lot of tracting (going out and knocking on doors).  We tracted for 13 hours.  Some of those hours were in the rain.  It was rough but we saw many miracles.  We have a bunch of new people we are going to start teaching and we found one person who is a member and might be interested in coming back to church.  We are going to keep working hard with these people that we have been blessed to find. 

            I don't really have too much to write about this week.  It feels like all we did was tract.  A funny story is that we came across a Jehovah's Witness and she thought we were Witnesses.  We talked with her for about 15 or so minutes and she said that the Jehovah's Witnesses were the most persecuted church in the world.  We corrected her and she relented a little and said that we had it pretty bad but that it was just because of polygamy.  [Note:  There was a brief period of time when some members of the church did practice polygamy in the mid to late 1800s, but the practice was officially ended in 1890.] We let her know that we were persecuted before and after that. It was kind of a debate about who was persecuted more, because the Bible says that the true church is going to be persecuted and that it grows fast.  She said that Jehovah's Witness, Mormons, and the Community of Christ were the 3 fastest growing churches in the world.  It was kind of a funny conversation.  Neither of us was changing position on being the true church but we were trying to be diplomatic about the whole conversation. 

Oh, so sister missionary transfers are happening tomorrow.  Anyway, Sister W, my companion from the MTC, is going to be companions with Sister R and me.  We are staying in the same area.  Yes, a trio. We are trying to find a bunk bed so we can fit three beds into the bedroom.  It is going to be a party.  Sister R is scared because she has to train us both.  But it is only for 1 more week.  It is going to be super exciting this transfer and a huge adjustment to have a third companion.  But it is going to be fun.  I already love them both. 

Highlights

Thank you so much for yesterday.  [She’s referring to the Skype call.]  It made me feel so happy and loved and almost normal.  It was like I was back home for an hour.  That was definitely one of the highlights of my week.



So, last Monday we went to Wildlife Safari.  It was pretty sweet.  We have a couple of ward members, the M family, who volunteer there and were able to give us a free tour.  The first part was a little walk around zoo thing and then we went on a safari.  When we were on the safari, Brother M fed a banana to the giraffe out of the car window.  It was kind of against the rules, but he "turned himself in" afterwards.  It was sweet.  The giraffe's head was in the tour van.  It was definitely the coolest part about the safari.



Another highlight was that we had two baptisms.  Bobbie was baptized!  She is a mom; she works with doctors somehow.  She is really sweet and loves her family more than anything.  Her son was baptized about 6 years ago and just got back from his mission about a month ago.  She took the lessons while her son did and has been taught off and on.  She was just waiting for her son to get back.  Now her son, Chase, is not the only member!  This gospel really blesses families.  We hope to be teaching Bobbie's daughter and husband in the near future so they can be eventually be sealed in the temple.   Tim was baptized at the same baptism as Bobbie.  His wife and step-daughter are members and he has been investigating for a little over a year.  He and his wife both work at schools.  They are really awesome people and I am super excited that they now have the church in their lives.



Christmas Stockings



Christmas Tree with gifts waiting below.





Christmas was an awesome day.  We opened presents at 6:30AM, much earlier than we would have at home.  It was hard not to open them sooner than that.  There are no parents here to guard the tree!



Sister Cluff follows the Cluff family tradition.
Each year we take a Christmas photo amidst the pile of wrapping paper.



 This letter is going to be short.  P-day is on Saturday, Dec. 31, this next week.  [It was switched to accommodate New Year’s Eve activities.]  So, it would be nice if I could get some new emails in my inbox that day.  I love you all so much.  Thank you for all of the letters you have written!!!

Alexa's Skype Call on Christmas

Hi.  It's Sister Cluff's Mom here.  We had a busy holiday.  It included airline flights, a cross-country driving trip, Adam's & Kendra's wedding, a reception luncheon, and an open house.  I won't bore you with all the details.  I just mention these things to put the call in context.  We were in Arizona when we got to Skype with Sister Cluff.

She looked good.  Her hair was shorter, so it took a moment to get used to the new look.  I don't recall many of the subjects we talked about.  What I remember most is the laughter.  We talked and laughed and talked some more.  The time went so quickly.  It was hard to say goodbye at the end.  I just wanted to hug her.  We will get to talk (Skype) again on Mothers' Day.  It seems so far away right now.  Until then, we'll just anticipate those weekly letters.