CALLED TO SERVE - PERU LIMA CENTRAL MISSION - JULY 2014 ~ JULY 2016

Monday, February 16, 2015

PICTURES!!!

 Me above my sector

 The ocean of Peru

 Can I get a Booyah?

I found my bfffff of all time from St. George Tyler Kraupp at the temple!!!! 
He is in the Lima South Mission.

With our investigators at the temple - Maribel, her son Alex, her nephew Bryce,
and our other investigator, Walter.

Elder Pedrera, Bishop, Maribel, her son Alex, Elder Cluff 

 With Maribel and her family :)

Hermana Desiree bought us dinner after the baptism. 

 I finally made the cookies you gave me years ago.

M m m m m....

Parque de las Aguas again with my sick BYU shirt that I'm obsessed over -- thank you!

My incredible Christmas package :) Loooooved it!


February 16, 2015 Letter...

He came to my church hahaha... too wild.. and ya I gave him a hug.. super sweet:) I was so surprised and he was like.. hey, I don't know you and you don't know me but I'm your cousin... haha super smooth. Such a cool experience :) His parents live in our mission, a zone called Condivilla! Super close to where I am.

And yeah, BYU games sadly are more fun than Jazz games.. that's the darn truth. Especially when you have friends playing :)

Yes, christmas presents.. love them. Still super stoked. 

And you finally met Mom #2 ... that's what I'm talking about.. it's about time!!! Tell her I said happy late b-day and that I hope she had a super duper b-day. F'real I'm glad you guys finally met. And yeah, the pic on Dropbox.. me gusta.

The Valentine's gift was great too.. THANK YOU. The blender bottle, candy (Hugs and Rips, exactly what I wanted) and everything else!!! And a special thank you for the little advent calender thing. I really do love it :) Thanks for putting time into it and doing something like that. Carrie is the freakin' greatest too for sending the scriptures.. you guys rock! Love ya mama!

This week was sloooowwwww because, yeah, it's always slow after a baptism, but we pushed through and we're hoping things get better this week. We had interviews this week and they were great. President is a stud and Hermana Borg is too darn sweet. I can't stand it. Transfers are next week and I'm about 100% sure I'm leaving.. it's super rare to be in a sector for more than 4 transfers and that's exactly what I have. I don't know where I'll be going and who I'll be with, but I'm excited to leave to be honest, I really want to experimentar something different, meet different people, and work in a different area. It's always good to change things up. Change is good :) and I adjust pretty well to change. So yeah, I'm excited for that. The work here in the ward Leoncio Prado (look it up on Facebook I think it has pics of me) Barrio Leoncio Prado it's called I think, is going good. I love the Bishop of the ward and I've learned so much from him and his family. I'm gonna miss so many of the members and investigators I've worked with here, but it's time to go. I've been thinking a lot about conversion lately... a little bit of Alma, the sons of Mosiah, and Paul (Saul)... how they were all working in iniquity to destroy the church of God, but angels of the Lord (the Lord is Saul's case) appeared to them to convince them of their evil-doings. They were all converted after these experiences, and became some of the most powerful missionaries/prophet/apostle that the world has ever seen. I have been thinking though a lot lately... how their conversions were a little bit different from how ours might be. We might not see angels, we might not see visions, but our conversions will come. The gift most precious in this life, perhaps more valuable than seeing an angel, is the gift of the holy ghost. If we are diligently seeking a testimony, if we are doing our part to find that, showing the Lord we really want to know, we will acquire a testimony; we will acquire what we seek. The Lord has promised he that diligently seeks a testimony will find it. If we don't have testimony's now, we need to diligently seek one. The holy ghost will work in our minds and in our hearts. Especially for my little brothers, who are about to go on missions; acquire a testimony. Read the BOM, ask God specifically if it's true. Don't give up until you receive confirmations. Like Alma said in the book of Alma 5:46 - 

   46 "Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me."

Answers will come. But we've got to put in our part to receive them, Like Alma, we need to fast, we need to pray, and the Lord will respond through his holy spirit. We have potentials greater than we know, we need to first acquire a knowledge and testimony of this work, then fulfill our potential as sons and daughters of God, as his workers in his work of salvation.

Love you guys,

Elder Cluff

Monday, February 9, 2015

February 9, 2014 Letter...

"The winter that wasn't".. lol.. Alpine.. Holy frijoles! I got the package from Christmas FINALLY! I had to go pick it up.. lol.. in the center of Lima, but it's cool because I have it. And oh my heavens.. greatest Christmas ever! The Missionary Reference Book?! How did you know I wanted that? Did I tell you? I'm so pumped.. thank you! And how did you know I wanted a BYU shirt like that, hahaha? I'm not saying these things to make you feel good, I'm serious, but these things are exactly what I wanted! And best of all, was the picture of mountains of Alpine... are you kidding me? That was sooo dope. Thank you mama! I love you. All of it was perfect. I'm serious, you are the greatest. Tell Grandma Jensen thanks for the tie, too, because it's beautiful and I haven't had time to read the letters, but I will soon. 

And yesssss... for the address... I'll be sure to get that for you. If I can't, just send it to the office.. it's always safe with the zone leaders and comes every Wednesday without fail. You can always trust in that. But I'll see if I can get the bishop's address.. the funny thing is I love right by the bishop... lol. Might as well just come to my house... (apostasy). But sweet ya... I'm super excited.. another package :) and ya I'll keep him in mind so we can do more packages and so I can send some too! And get  things I need :)

And happy almost b-day mama and happy late b-day Zack! Love you guys :) Dad's at Julie's.. stud.. hope he's killin it. Is he still with UHP, haha?

And I knew they would be sealed. I'm so happy for them :) that's really good news. Love them; tell them that for me. 

Yes, I got the garment bottoms, thank you mama :) and Skyler is a stud.. super glad to hear he's killing it. Super, super happpy. That guy is my hero :) I love him. Ah, I miss him, but I'm so glad he's doing well.

Transfers are this 24th.. there is some talk from my zone leaders of what will happen with me, but I'm not gonna say anything because I don't know if it will happen.. but it's interesting, haha, lets just say that. 

So hey, I'll be sending pics soon, but yes! We had two baptisms on Saturday and they were awesome... this week my mentality absolutely changed.. I've been thinking a lot about a talk we studied a month or two back in a zone meeting called Dureza Mental by M. Russel Ballard.. that talks about our mentality as missionaries, what we want to accomplish, and where we want to see our investigators. Oh, so amazing this talk. The reality of it is, if you're not baptizing, there are no excuses. The work is hard, but when you put your faith in the Lord, you will baptize. You will find people to baptize. You will change the lives of the people. You will help them receive the restored gospel of Jesus Christ so they can return to His presence once again and live with their families for forever. When people say their sectors our hard, and have no one to teach or baptize, that is a lame excuse. Especially here. There are people. But it's our job to find them! I'm not perfect by any means, I have a lot to learn, but really, just remembering that I have a purpose out here to accomplish is everything. I love this work; I love this gospel; I'm so blessed to be able to work here and teach here. These investigators, Alex and Maribel, are proof that the Lord prepares people and puts them in our path. The way we found them was hilarious... literally we were walking and we met Alex in the middle of the road, in the most random way possible. The Lord really does watch out for us.. I'm feeling myself slowly turning into a machine and I love it. Now that I can speak and understand the language, the fun is just beginning! Anyways, love you guys!

(Link to the talk. Copy and paste and Google Translate if you can't understand the Spanish, lol)


Elder Cluff

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

February 2, 2015 Letter...

Familia.... hi!

Guess what? I think I might need braces again.. no probably not, but I know I will need to take the permanent retainer on top off to fix one tooth a bit with the removable retainer. We´ll see. Anyways, Zack´s a stud and be sure to tell him I love him. Clothes and mass gainer for his b-day... hahaha, legend..... buy him Pro Mass Gainer (Optimum Nutrition), the big bag, from All Star Health, in chocolate flavor. Also tell him he needs to POUND the food. I'm not kidding.. he´ll never grow if he doesn´t eat. And he gets his license soon? Stud. Tell him to hot rod with chicks every day. (Am I allowed to say that)?

And hahaha, keep up the talking and the greatest friendship up with Carrie... she is too smooth. Their whole family are pure legends. You gotta meet them in person, haha. Believe it or not, carrie is greater in person.

And Brock Smith ... he is already home!?!?! What the heck. That went by supppppeeerrr fast. What a stud. Glad to hear he´s home :) and don´t worry, we´ll be coming back to Peru one day, I can promise you that.

AND MY PACKAGE GOT THERE?!?!!? Are you kidding? I'm pumped. I´ve been praying it would come, and look.. it came. The power of prayer.

And I saw the pics of the house on Drop Box and wow, it looks super, super good. I like how the couch is moved from the window, and it opens up that space and looks good. I'm serious, the house looks great. Next, you need to put the counter top on. Too bad I'm not there to get it done or it would be done by now haha.

Anyways, I love you so much, this week we are having baptissssmmmssss Saturday :) we are excited! I´ll be sure to send pics.. the hermana named Maribel.. who is so amazing, who has such a strong and powerful testimony, despite the challenges in her life, she knows that true happiness and peace comes from the gospel. All the help we need in this life comes from the Savior. Her testimony of that, is so beautiful... so amazing. We have visited her every day for the past week and we will continue until she is baptized this week... I have learned so much from her. A single mom of 4 (11 year old Alex, 6 year old Valeska, 4 year old Jacob, and 1.5 year old Soy), but so happy, so powerful, all due to the time that she encountered the Book of Mormon and the read about the restored gospel. We are seeing a lot of prayers being answered, and I feel the power of everyone's prayers. Always keep them coming. I love you guys and I´ll keep you updated on how this Saturday goes. 

Elder Cluff