Last Transfer & Testimony

So, transfer news…  Guess what?!  I am being transferred to the Illinois Chicago Mission!  Weird, huh?  [She’s just kidding.  She’ll be finishing her mission tomorrow and coming home!] 

Today, I am still a missionary and I am still thinking about the MB Ward, and my present and past companions.  Sister L, my current companion, is getting trained by another amazing sister in the mission.  Sister L (a different missionary), who was also serving in the MB Ward, is going with Sister T.  And yes, I know the names probably don't mean very much to you all.  The important thing is that the work is going forward and we are getting 7 new sister missionaries this transfer.  It is going to be weird not counting time in "transfers” [6-week increments of time].

So, about my week....  It has been an exciting week, the week before transfer week always is.  Looking forward to General Conference was super exciting.  It was like Christmas.  [General Conference is a semi-annual, world-wide broadcast from Church leaders in Salt Lake City.]  There were so many good talks. I really liked the talk with the tomato plant analogy. [She’s referring to a story about a tomato plant grown from one seed and how it can multiple into hundreds of future tomatoes with proper care.]  I have seen the potential of others especially this last week in those people around me.  And, when the little girl talked about the millions of tomatoes she could get from her one little tomato plant it was a perfect description of how I feel about those people I work with.  Even when we water them and help them they still have to have the desire to grow.

Well, family and friends, I love you sooooo much!  Thank you for all of the support, prayers, and love you have given me during my mission.  I can't say that enough.  I just want you all to know that I know without a shadow of a doubt that this church is true.  I know that Jesus Christ lives and loves each one of us so much that he gave his life to save us.  I know that Joseph Smith was able to restore the Church of Jesus Christ back to the earth again.  I am so grateful for the direction that we have in our lives from latter day prophets.  And I know that the Spirit testifies of the truth of the gospel.  I leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior.  Love, Sister Cluff

Sisters on Bikes

Sister Cluff and Sister L ride bikes. 
Photo taken by some Elders serving in the area. 
Thanks Elders!  It's great to see those smiling Sister missionaries!

Temple Trip

This week was great but it also seemed a little bit short.  I was able to go to the temple with the departing missionaries.  It was amazing to be there.  The Portland temple is beautiful!  And, even prettier than its looks are the feelings that you get when you go inside.  It is a special house of the Lord that I was lucky enough to be able to go to.  It was really great having President Y and Sister Y there along with other missionaries I have served around during my mission.

Another wonderful thing happened this week.  While I was waiting to go to the temple, I was able to serve with two other sister missionaries.  We found a family that they can start teaching.  Something that I have learned while I have been on my mission is that families are the best to teach.  The gospel can bless and strengthen the whole family.  I am so excited for the Sisters to start teaching this family and I am hoping to be able to keep finding people who want to learn more about Christ's gospel.

Keep doing good and working hard!  Love, Sister Cluff

A Great Week!

I had a really good week, this last week.  One of the exciting things that happened was that I got pink pancakes for my birthday breakfast.  They had pink frosting and sprinkles inside and outside.  They were like dessert for breakfast.  My companion was experimenting and they were pretty good.  Thank you for all of the birthday wishes!  They made my day really special.

One of the miracles I saw this week was that we were able to start teaching someone who missionaries taught a little bit in the past.  She seems a lot more ready at this time.  This lady told us of her desire to quit smoking.  (We had randomly stopped by the first time.)  She said she had smoked her last cigarette about an hour before we got there and she was determined to quit.  We taught a bit about the Word of Wisdom.  [A code of health given to early members by revelation from the Lord to the prophet Joseph Smith.  It describes foods that are good to eat as well as substances to avoid.  Promises are made to those who live this law that they will receive health, strength, and wisdom.]  It was great to visit with her.

Another exciting thing this week is that I get to go to the Portland temple with President Y, Sister Y, and all of the departing missionaries.  I am really excited.  I have been looking forward to it my whole mission.  I hear the Portland temple is beautiful.

I love you!  Thank you for all the good that you do!  You are in my prayers.  Love, Sister Cluff

Prayer

This week has been a really good week.  First off, the weather was beautiful.  It was in the 50's-60's and sunny.

We had a few lessons that really stood out this week.  One of them was to a Catholic lady who is always kind and welcoming to the missionaries.  She was taught a couple of lessons almost a year ago and then we decided to go back this week and see how she was doing.  We were able to set up a time to meet with her on Saturday.

When Saturday came we had planned to teach her about the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ.  We weren't exactly sure how this lesson would go.  We were able to go in there and teach her at her level of understanding.  She has such amazing faith.  She knows that God is there and that he has saved her life many times.  It was amazing to hear her testimony and for us to be able to testify that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and that he had the same question that she had, "Why are there so many churches?" We were able to share his experience and talk about why prophets are so important.  We were able to share our testimonies of the truth of the Book of Mormon.  It was a sweet experience.  Heavenly Father loves all of his children so much.

We also had a zone conference this week with President Y.  One of the things that stood out to me in this meeting was when he talked about all of the different ways we can use prayers.  We can teach investigators about prayer and invite them to pray right then.  We can invite members to pray for missionary opportunities as well as pray for a specific street the missionaries can tract on.  And the one that stood out to me was to pray with people while we go tracting or visiting.  We have made a special effort to pray with those people whose doors we knock on or visit with.  It brings the spirit in a special way.  I have seen many of the people we have prayed with who are touched by the prayers.  I am excited to see the results of these prayers.

Well, I love you all so much!  Thank you for all of the good you do in the world.  Love you!  Love, Sister Cluff

Sister Missionaries on Bikes

This week was really good.  I think the most exciting part was that I got to ride a bike, and I will keep getting to ride a bike.  Right now we are sharing a car with the other two sisters serving in the MB Ward, so we switch off with the car every other day.  It was an adventure at first riding a bike in a skirt, but it is not as bad as I thought it would be.  (Don't worry, Mom, we have bike lights and helmets!)  My companion is a bike expert.  She did a couple of triathlons and she will be a biking missionary when she goes to Denmark.  This will give her good practice and it will be an adventure.  Now I can say I have ridden a bike as a sister missionary, in a skirt.

I want to tell you about a couple of miracles we saw this week.  One of them was that we arrived at our dinner appointment early and decided to go tracting in the area.  We were able to knock on the door of a Hispanic lady with four little kids.  She accepted a Gospel of Jesus Christ pamphlet and we are planning on stopping by soon to give her a Book of Mormon in Spanish.  Sister L and I are both very grateful that we were able to meet her.

Another miracle was that we had a lesson with Bev.  She has had questions about prophets and how you know if they are truly prophets of God.  We were able to watch a movie called On the Lord's Errand, which is a biography about Thomas S. Monson.  It really spoke to Bev's needs and concerns because it helped her to see what kind of a person President Monson is.  There is a good spirit felt in that video.

I love you, family and friends. Thank you for all of the good you do in the world. Thank you for being the answers to prayers.
Love you!  Love, Sister Cluff

My Busy Week

It has been great being back in one of my former mission locations.  I really missed it. I am enjoying the sun, that's for sure. Okay, so I decided that I needed to do a day by day of last week:

Monday:  I got to write emails, and then I went to another area several hours away.  While there, I was a companion with a sister who serves in a YSA [Young Single Adult] Ward.  It was pretty fun.  We got to pick up and drop off a lot of other sister missionaries who were being transferred.  I got to go to the YSA talent show that night.  Another temporary companion and I got to say the opening and closing prayers for the talent show.  There are some very talented people in the world.

 

Tuesday:  I got to go to 2 lessons with a couple of other sister missionaries.  They were both waiting for the new group of sister missionaries to arrive as well.  It was fun to see the work going on in a different area and get to work with two amazing sisters that I haven't worked with before.  It was wonderful that we were able to teach together so well.  We also got to go to Trainer's training session that started at 2:30pm.  It was great to see all of the trainers.  I was surprised at how many I knew.  It was fun to see everyone and hear their testimonies of this great work.

 

Wednesday:  All of the sister missionaries got to sleep over at President and Sister Y's house.  We got to go on a run/walk with President Y on a beautiful little pathway.  We then got ready for the day and had more training until the new missionaries came in.  They came in at around 2pm.  President Y spent the next few hours interviewing all 35 new missionaries (11 were sisters).  My new companion is Sister L.  She is waiting for her visa for Denmark.  She is from New Hampshire and she is amazing!  Sister L and I slept over at President and Sister Y's house again because there wasn't enough time to make it to our area that night.

Thursday:  We drove for several hours to get to home.  Yay, we are finally here!  We got to teach two lessons that day to investigators who I had taught before.  It was great.   We are in the process of trying to figure out how to work most effectively with two sets of missionaries in the same ward.

 

Friday:  A major highlight of Friday was that we were able to see 2 of my recent converts and have a lesson with them.  They didn't know I was coming back to this area.  It was really good to see them.

 

Saturday:  We moved to a slightly bigger apartment so we could have separate study areas.  We are now in a 2 bedroom apartment.  It is nice to be settled.  We got to go to the adult session of stake conference.  It was really fun to introduce my companion to everyone.

 

Sunday:  We had stake conference. [A Stake is a group of approximately 8-10 wards/congregations.  Stake conference is held twice a year.]  It was really good.  Some things that they emphasized were missionary work, and temple and family history work.  The work of the Lord is going forth and we all get to help in that.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is good and true.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord's church restored back to the earth.  I know it is true because I have prayed and felt that confirming witness.  I love you, family.  Thank you for your support and your love. Keep up the great work!  Love, Sister Cluff