Understanding Blessings of the Temple & Another Called to Serve

This week we anxiously await Stetson's call for his mission.  And as excited as we are here at home, Bridger seems equally as excited to hear the news.  He is hoping to get permission to call when he opens it and with faith it will happen.  He wrote me a very tender bday greeting that I will include her as well.  Even though the letter is to me, I want him to remember how awesome this is.  Not sure this would have happened if he had not experienced all he has as he has served faithfully and learned what truly is important in life.  I love him so much and so proud of who he has become.  We are so excited to have him come home, but yet I know a big piece of his heart will remain in this place he has called home for the last two years.  Enjoy...

What Up

Well first Happy Birthday Mom haaha i cant believe its already your birthday that's crazy are you guys doing anything fun going to dinner,  or movie let me know.SO this week was pretty average teaching wise we are teaching some way tight people This one lady named Jenzie hahah she is so tight i love the black people here the garifunas as they are known they are so freaking funny they are soooo chill and always laughing which makes it fun to teach them. this week we had divisions this week and it was funny because the elder that i was with was having the time of his life we got done for the night and he says man you guys teach cool people haha i think that's what its all about the mission is to find and help all of our Heavenly Fathers Kids which we all are so they are pretty much my family right. So i have to have fun with them. bUT i think thats why i want so badly to help and baptize these people so i can see them again and hang out with them en El Reino Celestial right. Man i love being a missionary its really the best thing in the world nothing compares to your own adventure...wherever you go I am so excited for Stetson to open his call. He will have the time of his life and everyone is going to love him out there because hes a way cool  kid as you all know. So any guesses of where you think hes gonna go i want to know where Grandma and Grandpa think and Mom or Dad do you guys have a guess i don't know i have been thinking about a million places from Jamaica to Hawaii to San Diego Cali or Chicago a ver verdad where he freaking goes but not gonna lie im stoked this week went by kinda slow i think bcause im just waiting to know haha funny how we always wait for big moments in our life right. Im trying to be better about that like Prres Uchtdorf taught to Find Joy in the Journey haha which we all have to do right find joy in all things. So yeah pretty much thats it i think the excitement is more at home this week then here in Honduras the ony thing is is that on Wed it hit 100 degrees haha and its hot again believe it or not but the best heat is about to come in the next month so cant wait for that. What else has been going on oh so this week here's the big news of the week Trujillo got to go to the Open House of the Tegucigalpa Temple it was super exciting here everyone getting ready also some of our investigators went 13 hour bus ride there and 13 hours back they were all in a bus for a total of 26 hours hahah but everyone said it was worth it so that was the cool part we saw pictures It is a beautiful temple i love it. I have definitely taken for granite the temple in my life to see it almost everyday of my life on the hill these people are lucky if they go 2 times a year!!!!  its amazing to see the members its like the pioneers i feel because to go to Teguc. was a real sacrifice there was money to be raised and it was hard but in the end like everything else it was worth it. I love that that everything that is hard is all worth it in the end.  The Church is true i will never deny it and i can tell anyone that with no fear i love the Book of Mormon and know its true I'm almost done ending 3rd Nephi this will be the 4th time in my mission and it just keep getting better. I love the scrip this week 2nefi 33:10 Believe

And as always Come What may and Love It

Love Elder Bridger Clayton

And my birthday letter from him...


Mom

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! I can't believe its already the 18th of February that seems so crazy to me but I wanted to take a minute and write you a letter and tell you how thankful and grateful I am to have you for a mom in my life. You have aways been there for me i was thinking back to the South Davis Jr. High basketball tryouts...(what bull crap right) anyways i just remember i felt like the whole world had fallen down because that was my dream that is what i wanted more than anything i think the best word to describe me that day is...devastated. All i remember after is calling you and you coming fast to pick me up and help me man things so small have changed my life forever. I think about the time my car was stolen and you went  with me at 3 in the morning to the Beverly Hills of salt lake to get it with me. I was ticked honestly i know you know after dropping it in rusco i was mad and you told me everything would be ok. How did you know that i have no idea you definitely saw farther than me that night. And i have thought about these almost two years and how you have been behind me and been my strength when i have needed it most. To go to Internet every Monday and read your emails fills me with a spirit indescribable I love you mom  I really do and i will ALWAYS be there for you too.I have carried a sticker of Winnie the Pooh and the saying with me my whole mission so that you could be here with me as well. I hope we make  it back to Honduras one day that you can meet these wonderful people they are amazing. There are some places we definitely cant go for safety reasons haha but it is all good. I have never really been worried about me in my mission but more than anything you guys at home that you have all the needs and that everything is good. Anyways i love you so much i hope to catch you for a second today and wish you a Happy Birthday i love you and well cant wait to see you and give you a hug. Even though i don't really have the desire to leave Honduras everything will be good i know like they say come what may and love it.

Love Elder Bridger Clayton

Wow, I am one lucky mom to have such a wonderful son.  And, actually have three of them.

A Wonderful Birthday and the Work Continues

I was so excited to hear about his birthday and that once again my prayers were answered and he was very much taken care of.  I so hope he has a picture of the 21 candles in the cupcake.  That would be a great site.  I am so hoping he is going to be able to finish his mission in this area that he has grown to love so much.  And, yet I have watched that wherever he is called, he rises to the occasion and he does just fine.  This week will be the last transfer of his mission.  Hard to believe, 27 days as of this writing that he will return.  Stetson's call for his mission will be coming this week, too.  Bridger is hoping to get permission to call and hear where he will serve.  I hope he can.  Love this boy, who is now a fine young man.  He has certainly made us proud.

Well freak I'm old man 21 what the heck am i going to do now with my life i have no idea but whatever its all good this week was so tight hahaha seriously so fun so Monday we went to the Fort it was built in the 1500s by the Spaniards and still stands its pretty cool still has the cannons and all so that was fun to do then on the 6th there's this kid named Juan here that is about to go on his mission hes just waiting for his calling and it should be here soon so he told his mom not to do anything for his birthday so that at the opening of his calling he could have a cake and all for all those who will help support him on his mission so i thought that's so lame to have a birthday and not have a cake so we talked to this tight lady of the Branch and she helped us make a cake that we baked in the church.....SICKKKY it turned out so good seriously he loved it and his mom was super grateful . Also this same day Honduras Played USA in soccer and the US lost freak not gonna lie people tick me off when it comes to soccer sometimes everyone tells me ...Hey you know we beat the states in soccer right who cares but everyone tells me i just laugh it off and say we were practicing and we played the bench but hahah whatever good for Honduras that they can actually Win right so that brings us to Feb 7th si hombre so tight we got up in the morning and went to Tocoa and there i got my bday package which i was stoked about and then to celebrate we went to Wendy's and got a FROSTY so good i love a frosty after we got home i opened my package soooo sweet literally so much candy haha thank you it was fun to open my comp was just like Holy Confite haha its been good i put 21 candles in a hostess cupcake don't know how but i did it then made a wish so it was tight.  Then we went and well it was way fun cause 3 different families made me a cake hahah so i am super done with cake right now thats all i can say but it was fun  I had a good day but really what made it was the package and your guys letters thanks so much for all of that. So then on Friday we got up to get all ready for the wedding of the Familia Lino these guys are so cool we have been working with them my whole time here and have been on and off in the church for a good 6 months and now Friday was the big day. So it was supposed to be at 1 but.......of course we didn't start until 2 but everything worked out perfectly so it was good. So after the big wedding we went over to crash the wedding party haha it was tight we ate some arroz chino i like that so that was fun and yeah man i love Trujillo  really just want to stay here because i love it, The Branch is so cool i love the black people they're so fun they jam to the reggae music off Bob Marley Sean Kingston and everything and are just a really happy people its way fun here on the coast. So ya that was our week it was way fun. Oh also get this story remember Kevin who got baptized like weeks ago in the ocean so we are working with his Mom because she is so cool but just says she needs more faith...anyways we go to teach here and we get there when she tells us that Kevin has had an accident ok these guys live in a 3 story apartment so first thing i think is oh freak he fell....and she explains that he was outside and wouldn't open the door for her and she got all ticked and he had a piece of wire in his hand so she tried to take it from him so that she could whip him with it....nice right anyways she yanks and Kevin holds on tight when she gives it another pull and she found out that it was a piece of barbed wire and when she pulled it completely sliced his hand open...BLOOD EVERYWHERE holy crap so it only happened minutes before we got there,. She calls Kevin and he comes out with  his hand wrapped in a white T shirt soaked in blood and didn't want to go to the hospital and so we convinced him in going and sat in the hospital for a good hour while they put 20 stitches in his hand then we went and got some ice cream so freaking nuts the day it was crazy.
So then on Saturday we had the baptism of Juana Lino and two kids it was so tight a  really great time the whole branch practically came to the baptism and it was awesome Juana Lino is an enfermera and super tight almost everyone knows her here she is so freaking cool she has a little 7 month old girl named Genisis so awesome i love going and hanging out with her so anyways as you can see it was a way bomb week I love you guys you're the bomb I'm gonna talk to pres Veirs about calling to watch Stetson open his call so ill let you know

Love elder Bridger Clayton

21 & Invincible

This email was so short and of course always wish they were longer.  However, when I got home from work, there was a handwritten letter for me addressed MOM, and one for Stetson.  It was truly a blessing.  Hope for a longer one next week, but it's all good.  His 21st birthday is this Thursday.  Hard to believe that this young boy we sent to Honduras almost two years ago is now a man.  He has truly found out who he is and what he believes.  Enjoy...

Anyways i feel that way right but i know I'm not haha freak i cant even believe i am gonna have 21 years is that not just insane to think about Trujilllo has been pretty chill this week and it was a good week the Jovenes all went to San Pedro to practice dancing for the open house of the temple which is so tight i dont think i have ever been so excited for a temple everyone is so stoked for it its only 12 hours away instead of the usual 25 from here in trujillo hahah its gonna be so sweet im excited the open house begins the 11 of February and goes till the 2nd of march the mission of SPS is not invited... typical right but whatever. it will be good. I cant wait for them to complete the temple it will be an awesome thing here in this country. Also have you heard anything abiout my homecoming or anything like that just let me know what day it will be on the 17th I'm down with cause i want to go to Petersons anyways. Yeah pretty chill week i don't know what else to write.

Love You so Much

Love Elder Clayton

I got an extra bonus email, too.


Thanks so much for being my Mom i love you so much i don't know what i would do with out you i was talking to my comp the other night all of his family are members too and i told him i don't know if i could really do a mission without the support of my parents thank you guys so much you're the best of and the package the elders in Olanchito have it and are bringing it to me on Thursday so i can open it for my birthday so its all good but thank you so much for everything

Prayers are Heard for an Ocean Baptism

You will remember that Bridger gave his freshly new missionary companion the ocean baptism last time and asked that we pray for another one so he would have the opportunity to do the same.  Well, his prayers were answered and as you will see from the awesome picture so were ours.  He is so happy and as of yesterday he will return in less than six weeks.  Some tell me it goes by quickly now, I do not wish it away for him for anything, but I'm not going to lie, I can't wait to hug this boy who is now a man.  Enjoy, it's short, but a great one.

Sounds like a ton of snow is falling this year that's insane i
cant deal with the cold right now here in Honduras right now i have a
cold ¨sickness¨ cold and its only been in the 80s ah I'm gonna die i
think but oh well we will see. Man mom i am so sorry about the fall
down big time BUMMER but thanks for being a good sport about it and
just brushing it off i guess from every event in life we have to learn
something right... So this week was good it was honestly a normal week
the first one in a long time so we were going to have a wedding on
Friday but the registro is on strike so that's super bad I do
have to say so we will have to wait and hope for this week. Also we
had 2 other baptisms scheduled a lady and her teenager son so sweet
they are so cool but at the last second the mom said no so we just
baptized the son he's way tight named Kevin love the kid comes to
church in a white shirt and tie hes reading the book of Mormon and is
in Mosiah heck that's better that half the members here so i cant
complain.

Also he decided that he too wanted to be baptized in the ocean so
super tight i had my first baptism in the ocean!!! it was cool i will
try to send you a pic but... OK a little bit of bad news i my camera
just fried in the computer. I freaking hate the computers here in
Honduras they're slow and always have viruses so i will have to see
what i can do to get it fixed. haha but yeah i will ask me comp if he
can send me a few anyways... come what may and love it right. ah
puchika vos oh well but honestly the pics are pretty cool i just hope
they didnt get fried as well.

Also we have some great people we are teaching jeee trujillo is so
sick i love it here the members and everyone well i love you guys

Love Elder Bridger Clayton

Changing in the bushes

Leading him into the waters of baptism!  Love this one so much!