This is Elder Clawson's mom Emily. It was so great to get to talk to him on Christmas Eve. We were especially happy that his Christmas package arrived just that morning. We got to watch him open it. It was wonderful to share that little bit if Christmas together.
Elder Clawson is doing so well. He just glowed with happiness and seemed in the best of health and spirits. He is working hard and staying warm and his testimony us stronger and stronger every day.
Merry Christmas!
Monday, December 26, 2016
Christmas and Vareniki!
12/26/2016
Merry Christmas! С Рождеством!
Hello everyone. as you might have known. Christmas was
yesterday. Well at least for us Americns.
Well my first Christmas in field was great!. Chrstmas eve we
had a Christmas Eve lunch thing with the Elders in our ward. it was great. Our
wonderful Belarussian Elder made vareniki for us. And the Sister were so kind
and made a cake that was super good!
But what was the best is that we got to call home! It was so
good to talk with my family! We weren't able to do it on Christmas Day because
it just wouldn't work out with our scheduale and the schedule of the other
missionaries. But it was all good because my family couldn't do it on Christmas
Day either. it was also great to see Elder Carr's family.
it was funny. On Christmas morning we wake up at 6:30 as
usual and prayed. I finished my prayer and walked into our srudy room and Elder
Carr had already opened up all of his packages and was wearing his beanie that
he got. I thought it was pretty great. And what was even better was that
Someone had eaten the Super Kontiks and drank the milk we left on the window
sill by the radiator with our socks hanging up. And Someone had filled Elder
Carr's stocking as well.
Sacrament Meeting was awesomeand us Missionaries got to
sing. Remember Katya who wanted to be baptized? and who we haven't been able to
meet with since she called? that's right, she came to church wioth her husband
Sasha!!! We got to talk a little bit and set up our next meeting! And Denis
came too!
last P-day we went to Maidan for a little bit and looked
around and it was really cool.
On Friday when we were doing studies, we looked out the
window and saw all of the trees and how they were covered with ice. It was so
cool!
Also this transfer is over and I have now been asinged to be
District Leader in the now Pecherky District. Everyone is staying except Elder
Tolmen who is leaving.
All in all everything is going just wonderful.
This is a wonderful time to remember our Savior, Jesus
Christ, and all that he has done for us. He is the greatest of all gifts that
anyone could have given us. I honestly wouldn't be here serving or living the
way I am if I didn't have the promise of receiving forgiveness if I will
repent.
I love you all and appriciate your prayers and
support.
Старейшина Класон / Elder Clawson
The Arc angel Michael
A big Christmas Tree
Ice trees
The hat i made for Sister Tanner (She's crazy, she came here with no hat)
Week of Singing Missionaries
12/19/2016
Hello Everyone!
This week has been great (as always).
Russian is still hard (as always).
And Elder Carr is great (most of the time).
On Saturday we had our Christmas Conmcert that us Pechersky
Missionaries kind of got roped into. I'll be honest, my expectations weren't
that high. I was expecting some thrown together church event thing that I would
be embaresed to show my grandma. But to my suprize it was very, very well done.
I wish evryone that I have ever known could have been there! I walked into the
Borschegovsky Chaple and saw in awe all of the set up that was going on.
Everything was very high quality. That backdrop, props, lighting, sound
reenforcement, visual, stage and orchestra. It was really cool. In my opinion,
those putting it on could have charged a good fifteen dollars for admission.
There were a lot of people there as well. Both members and non-members. and
even some high ranking official from the Kyiv Obolosk came and gave a few
comments. The spirit was definitly felt by all. Even though it was all in
Ukrainian and none of us understand. And if not especially when all of the kids
got up to sing.
It has seemed that this was the weekmof singing
missionaries. For one we had that amazing Christmas Concert. But we also had a
number of times where us Pachersky missionaries went out
Caroling/Contacting/BookTableing.
On Sunday we had church as usual and probobly not to the
suprize of many of you. But this sunday we had the Primary Program. The Primary
here isn't as big as say Salt Lake City, but they are still great. And that's
right, you guessed it, we (Missionaries) sang with them. Just contiuing our
streek this week. We sang "I hope theu call me on a mission" with the
little Primary boys. I fuind a couple thins a little amusing about this. One
that the missinaries were twice the hight, number, and volume of the little
primary boys, and that in Utah they would probably have had the girls sing as
well. One thing that Elder Carr told me was that "I wonder if they way we
look at this (the primary program), is the same way Heavenly father see us in
our normal sacrament meeting?" I thought that that was kind of
funny.
For the past few weeks we have been working with a
Less-Active member. (He's probably reading this, so. Hi Denis!) he served a
mission here in Ukraine and is an awesome guy! but for what ever reason he
started becomeing less-active. The reasons don't really matter. what matters is
that he is doing way more awesome than when I first met him. basically the only
thing we have done is helped him started reading the Book of Mormon everyday.
We have been promised that if we can get people to do that, that mosg
everything will work its self out. And that is very true. He came to church,
does home teching and has great insights into the Scriptures. Thisis truly a
testimony that The Book of Mormom is the word of God and the statement in the
Introduction to the Book of Mormon that says "' . . . the Book of Mormon
[is] the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion,
and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than any other
book."'
I want you to all know that I love you very much and that I
love being here in Ukraine in the service of my God.
Старейшина Класон / Elder Clawson
Kyiv, Ukraine Temple.
Хор Кола (Stake Choir)
12/12/2016
Hello everyone!
This week was great as usual. Last week it snowd litterally
every day but then this week iot all melted and rained a few days. But it looks
like that is changing again.
Russian is still pretty darn hard. But "line upon line.
precept upon precept."
One Sunday we had two of our Investigators come to Church
including Sacrament meeting. in our ward we have four sets of missionaries and
I think that each companionship had at least two investigators at church. It
was incredible. I've never seen so many investigators at church! And then we
had Gospel Principles class and man was it full! There was almost no moreroom
for any more chairs. The Sisters had a deaf investigator come to church and I
got destracted at times watching Sister Natalya translating for her. It was
particularly impressive when Brother Maxim in Gospel Principles had everyone
intruduce themselves to watch Sister Natalya signing everyone's names.
Unfortunatly Katya has been sick and is staying with her
relitives in Chernigov. So we haven't been able to meet with her and discuss
the important steps that she has decided and desired to take. But we hear that
she is coming back soon.
This week we had an amazing Zone Conference with Elder
Katcher. We compared the missionaries Corianton, Shiblon and Ammon to each
other and to our selves. Shiblon was a great missionary but Ammon really
understood what it meant to be an instrument in the Lord's hands. We talked a
lot about how to change our mindset and break down the lmits we put on ourslves
that prevent thw Lord from working in our lives.
Tlast weekwe (the missionaries) kind of got roped into
performing with the Stake on the 17th of Dec for a special Christmas concert.
It's been fun have multiple hour long practices and have our kind choir
director yell at us and tell us that we sing awefully. But all in all
everything is great. I am excited for this concert that the Stake is putting
on.
Since the weather is getting less and less forgiving here in
Kyiv, we have stopped doing the Book table that we usually do durring the week.
Instead we are planning to have a special ward activity where we will have ward
member some and we will have a program center around the Savior and Chrsitmas
and then afterwards decorate cookies and write nots and things like that. And
then on later days we will have a small group of of people to go Christmas
Charoling/tracting. I'm excited to see how this will turn out.
Anyway. I Love you all and I appriciate your support in this
glorious work.
Старейшина Класон / Elder Clawson
What? Snow in Ukraine?
12/05/2016
So yeah. It's snowed pretty much every single day this week.
But the good things is that at around the middle of the day, almost all of it
melts of the side walks. But it has been sticking more and more so looks like
winter is here. I guess this is a pretty normal for Eastern Europe.
One Crazy aweosme thing that happened this week was we got a
call fromn our Investigator in Marschun, Katya, called and said "listen I
want to be baptized. And I want my huband to be baptized." Elder Carr and
I were a little dumbfounded. She is great and it will be even beter to get here
less-active huband coming back and baptize her.
Yesterday was fast Sunday. I don't have any problems with
Fast Sunday. In fact I enjoy it very much. I love the spiritual reguvination I
receive. But this particular Sunday both Elder Carr and I were particularly
hungry. when the glorious time came for us to eat in the evening, we realized
that we didn't have as much food as we thought. So we made a half batch of
German Pancakes and ate roman while we waited for it to bake. When we took them
out, it was like one of the miracles in the movie 17 Miracles where they put
the two stale bisckuts in the pot and cook them into a huge mound of bread. Our
german Pancakes expanded into soemthing amazing. It was a Christmas Miracle!
The work is going forward and it can't be stopped!
I love serve a mission for My Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
I am trying my hardest to develop attributes that will bring me closer to Jesus
Christ.
Старейшина Класон / Elder Clawson
Some photos
11/28/2016
The weird ones are of us at a restaurant called "The
Burger" that Elder Carr wanted to show me.
The other one is after we had our Thanksgiving/Christmas
Zone conference at the ward building on the Temple site.
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