E-mail: April 20, 2015 "Transfers"

In our mission there are 6 or 7 different cities where the missionaries serve. Some of them, such as Hyderabad and Bangalore, are larger and far more crowded than than most cities in the US. Others are much smaller, quieter, and closer the the natural beauty that India has to offer, and I've been praying for 6 months that I would get sent to one of those. Utah is considered "the mission factory" in this mission because that's where most of the US Elders come from, and there's a city in eastern India called Rajahmundry which is the mission factory for Indian Elders. My trainer came from that city, and I've had the chance to meet many of those members when they came to Hyderabad for a conference, and I've been hoping beyond all hope that I would get to go and serve the people in that region. My last companion, Elder D'vaz, got called to serve there shortly after I left to Bangalore, and although I brushed it off as a mere coincident that time when the assistants called Elder Thompson last week and told Him he'd be transferred to the Rajahmundry 1st branch I almost went into a raging fit. The Lord has a cruel sense of humor I testify of that.

Aside from my pain and disappointment over watching my last three companions go to the area I've been yearning for and my sadness over losing Elder Thompson, I'm excited for my new companion. His name is Elder Dias; a fun loving, fast talking, great cooking Elder who always has a joke or funny story to tell. The only downside? When I met him the first time 6 months ago I learned that he's thoroughly convinced that all home schoolers are weird and socially deprived. I guess it'll be my job to prove him wrong. *cracks knuckles* 

Anyways other than that the work is still continuing to move forward, things are beginning to go faster and we're slowly but surely locating the seemingly endless list of less actives that live in the most absurd corners of this labyrinth of a city. The Lord is in this work, and I'm able to see his hand more and more as I strive to be obedient and recognize His guidance in all things. :)

Until next time- when you feel like you're drowning in life remember that your life guard walks on water. :)

-Elder Clouds

E-mail: April 13, 2015 "Gotcha ;)"

All right all right everyone, I'm not going to the Philippines. Missionary work here in the Bangalore mission is still strong as ever and we have no indications that it's going to change. I'm sorry if any of you were genuinely worried, but I'd be a fool to pass up an April fools. ;) The first of April brought many surprises to our apartment as well, among which were shaving cream in my shoes, turmeric powder (which stains your skin yellow) in the shower head, switching the lock on our door before the other Elders came back, and my personal favorite, replacing the juice in an apple juice bottle with cooking oil. Luckily I was only on the receiving end of one of these pranks, but unfortunately I think I'm still waiting for forgiveness from people on both continents. When I think of all the trouble may have caused I have to ask myself, "Was it really worth it?" to which I respond with a "resounding and unequivocal yes!"

On that note conference came a week late for us and we were able to enjoy the inspired messages with our branch members these last two days. Some of my favorite quotes from these sessions are:

"Sorry president, I slipped into my native German accent."
"The vote has been noted."
"The church is a giant hospital, and we're all a little sick."
"I'll never do that again, unless when I'm a father my son wants me to do it with him."
And my personal favorite-
"We live in a generation of professional pickle-suckers."

I learned so much from this conference, most of which came as a slap in the face on where I need to improve, and then an occasional message which served as an ice pack to ease the sting and comfort my soul. The most exciting part of this conference however was easily the announcement of the new temples. One of the hardest things to teach about over here is temples. We teach how temples are beautiful places where we can draw closer to the Lord, how we can do necessary work there for our ancestors, how our families can be united eternally through the ordinances there, and how the covenants we make there are an essential part of our salvation. It's heartbreaking to see people get so excited as they learn and when they ask us where the nearest one is we tell them that it's in Hong Kong, several thousand miles and rupees away. Many members go without and save for years on end just to be able to afford to take their families there once. The unequivocal faith and devotion of these members adds strength to my testimony and resolve to serve the Lord, but when my companion and I heard the announcement of the Bangkok Thailand temple and realized that it's almost twice as close to India as Hong Kong, we couldn't help but shout for joy. That Temple is going to be an almost indispensable blessing to the faithful members here who have been saving to make the journey to the Lord's house, and It's just another testimony to me that this work is going forward unhindered for the blessing of all of god's children. :)

And last but not least, photos!
These are from our sight-seeing P-day a few weeks ago.

Until next time everyone, stay awesome and rock on. :)

-Elder Clouds

The library which just happened to be closed on Mondays. Oh well...

From left to right: Elder Anderson, Elder Peter, a white statue of Elder Cloward with a turban and a mustache, Elder Cloward, and Elder Thompson.

Mahatma Gandhi, in the flesh! (kinda...)

The "SomelongHindinamethatIcan'tpronounce Government office"

Another picture of the government building! Yay!

The front of the government building! Woohoo!

Whooooa, a red one...

Sad faces because they don't let white tourists past this gate. (we walked in with the throng of Indians going through the front gate and they still kicked us out)

"Elder Cloward, stop saying 'Cubbon' Park, it's pronounced 'Koobon' Park" "Brother, what's the name of this park?" "This is 'Cubbon' Park sir." One point for Elder Cloward! Regardless though it was a beautiful park.

E-mail: April 6, 2015 "Goodbye India :( "

Wow, just when you think you've finally settled in and everything is going normal the Lord throws a curveball at you. Ever since India has opened up for missionary work the missionaries who serve here have had to be smart and pay special attention to a few rules and regulations because of the diversity of the religious spectrum that dominates the country. This week we received word that due to several new laws which were just passed here openly spreading christianity is now prohibited and, until further notice, all missionary work has come to a halt. The church will be transferring most of the current India missionaries (including myself) to the Philippines where we will likely be finishing our missions. Our mission president has been vigorously trying to get things sorted out and has done everything he can to let missionary work continue here but unfortunately this is the situation for now. We will be heading to the Philippines within 2 weeks (if everything gets figured out and they're ready for us by then) and hopefully we'll be able to get back into missionary work soon.
They informed us of these changes last week on April 1st.

We had an excellent zone training last Saturday with President Berrett where we felt the Spirit testify to us of the things we need to do better and the changes we need to make to allow the Lord to work with us more abundantly. Among many challenges he gave us was to read a new copy of the book of mormon in 62 days (in time for the next zone conference) and mark with different colors every reference to the Gospel of Christ, which are faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the holy ghost, and enduring to the end. As we finished the meeting I made a small wager with my companion: last one to finish the Book of Mormon treats his companion to a Krispe Kreme doughnut. Elder Thompson told me that he wasn't much of a reader before his mission so I thought this would be an easy way to win a free treat from him. Imagine my chagrin when I looked over his shoulder today to see that he's already 75 pages and I'm barely through the first couple chapters of 1 Nephi. I guess that's what I get for making a bet on a scripture challenge, however the challenge itself is an excellent idea and I encourage anyone who wants to join. If you start now and read 9 pages a day you can have the book of mormon completed by June 8th, and if you want a little extra challenge and feel like pitting yourself against Elder Clouds he might send a postcard to anyone who can beat him. ;) If you're up for the challenge then start reading from the beginning (including the introduction and testimonies) today and email me each week with where you are and I'll reply with where I am. You don't have to mark it up like we are, just read it. Oh, and since I started today that'll give you two extra days after I finish to still win.
Are you up for it? Do you want an awesome spiritual experience and a postcard from India? Do it, I dare you. ;)

This last week we had an awesome time being able to share the message of Easter with those we visited. There's something special about the story of Christ's Death and Resurrection that brings a special spirit to the homes and the hearts it penetrates. An interesting insight was made in Gospel Principles on Sunday when the Elder teaching the class asked us to think of someone we loved and if we would be willing to lay down our life for them. Throughout the class there was a unanimous yes as the participants thought about their friends and families, but then the missionary asked us all to think of someone that we disliked and whether or not we would be willing to die for them. As we all envisioned the one or two people that we either knew personally or knew of that we didn't particularly love no one was able to honestly say that they could give up their life for him/her. The Elder went on to explain that that's exactly what Jesus did. The Savior not only died for those who loved him but also for those who despised him. He died for all the people who mocked Him during HIs ministry; He died for Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him; He died for Pilot, who let an innocent man be condemned to death because he feared the people; He died for the man who pushed the crown of thorns onto his head, the man who tore his flesh at the scourging post, and the man who nailed his hands and feet to a cross. "Greater love hath no man than this, than he who would lay down his life for his friends." Yet in order to truly become like the Savior we must be willing to not only do good to our enemies but love them enough to sacrifice for them. Do something this week for someone whom you have a hard time loving and watch as your bitterness or resentment towards that person melts away into Christlike love. I testify that it works. I testify of the Savior's infinite love for us. I testify that it was because of that love that he chose to suffer more than is possible for any of us to even comprehend so that we could be forgiven and cleansed if we will only choose to follow Him. But most of all I testify that He lives, and because of His life and His sacrifice we will all have the chance to live forever in exaltation.

Until next week-

Elder Cloward

E-mail March 30, 2015 "Baptism? Hey man, I can't swim!"

We've been working with an awesome young man named for a little more than a month and he's turned out to be a 14-karot golden investigator. One day as we were walking to an appointment we got a call from a number we didn't recognize and after greeting this guy that we didn't know he said that a friend had told him about our church and he wanted us to teach him. After picking up our jaws off of the ground we set an appointment with him and the rest has become history. He's been learning really well and he's probably the first investigator I've had that keeps all of his commitments. We love working with him. The best part? His name is Krishna, the Hindu cow god. This week we taught him about baptism and extended the invitation to be baptized, to which he responded that he doesn't swim. After clarifying that he would only be under water for a few seconds he accepted and is doing an exceptional job at preparing himself for it. When we pray and have faith the Lord will put people into our path whom He wants us to help, which for us as missionaries usually comes in the form of an investigator. This experience also taught me about the importance of opening our mouths about the Gospel. Because of one simple sentence, probably less than 10 words, someone opened up the gate that is leading Krishna to salvation. Make a goal to be the kind of person today who has enough courage and faith to lead others to salvation and then see how the Lord will pour out His blessings on you. I dare you. ;)

On the topic of baptism there was another young man this week who we taught about the Gospel of Jesus Christ which includes the first principles and ordinances that lead to salvation. First is faith in Jesus Christ, second is repentance, third is baptism, fourth is the gift of the Holy Ghost, and last is Enduring to the end. As we teach this lesson we like to go back and ask our investigators to repeat the steps back to us to make sure they understand, and that's what we did with this young man. He remembered faith and repentance but couldn't remember what came next. We decided to help him out and told him it started with the letter B and started making splashing noises. Immediately his face lit up and he said "Oh I know, bathtub!".

Because the people here have limited English we use very simple words to help them understand the concepts we teach them, but apparently telling them that our church buildings have a giant bathtub where we perform baptisms only confuses things later on. Lesson learned.

Before I close I just want to send a quick note to any young men who are preparing to go on missions or who aren't quite sure yet if they want to go. The most simple yet best advice I can give to any young man about a mission is to listen to the people who sell your favorite shoes and Just Do It.
If you can't decide whether a mission is for you or not I can testify with all the certainty of my soul that it is, now just do it. It is impossible to comprehend or even imagine how a mission will change your life, take it from someone who couldn't see two inches past his nose when he left. A mission will change you in ways that aren't possible in any other setting. it is more important than college, your job, or any girlfriend in the world (sorry ladies). There are two main reasons I can see why the Lord has issued a commandment, not a suggestion, for young men to serve missions. Reason number 1- People need to hear the gospel, and they need you to help them change their lives! Reason number 2, which is just as important, if not more so- is that you need the Lord to change your life in the ways that are only available while you're serving a full time mission. So to all those young men who are preparing right now, keep yourselves worthy at all costs and continue to prepare yourselves. And to all of you who are thinking that a mission isn't for you, please believe my words, man up, and Just Do It. If you do you'll never regret it, and you can take that as a personal promise from Elder Cloward and the Lord. :)

Until next time everyone, rock on. :)

-Elder Clouds

E-mail March 23, 2014

Well my stitches are out and I'm back in the full swing of missionary work. This was the best week we've had for teaching in a long time, and although it left us tired out of our minds it's so rewarding when you know that you worked hard and helped someone to come a little closer to Christ. I had a discussion with my companion this week about the law of the harvest; how we sow what we reap and get back exactly as much as we put into something. This principle has become an equation that we can live by as a missionary. When we choose to give our all to the work, even if our appointments bunk or a lesson doesn't go as well as we planned and we feel like our time was wasted, it always comes back to us. For example there was a home we tried to find right after I came to this area but despite our best efforts we couldn't figure out which house it was. None of the members knew this man and none of the neighbors in the area spoke English, and so after trying three different times we decided he didn't live there anymore. A few weeks later we were in the same area again and we felt like we should try one more time. To make a long story short, we finally found the man and his family and they've become one of our best families to visit. The faith and spirit we feel every time we visit him easily makes up for the all the time we spent wandering around looking for a door number that didn't exist. Whatever we give of ourselves to serve the Lord always comes back to us, I testify of that. I also testify of the importance of following the spirit, because if we hadn't this family would still be lost to us.

In our apartment we have 4 elders and 4 beds, but there are 5 mattresses. Out of the four of us my companion was the only Elder previously living in the apartment so when we first arrived he told us that the extra mattress was already "taken". I feel bad admitting it, but watching my companion sleep on peacefully and comfortably on a bed that's twice as cushy as mine made me just a little bit jealous.

So I hatched a plan.

One day after coming home I said I was tired and wanted to go to bed early. After making sure that Elder Thompson wasn't coming to bed for a while I carefully slipped his extra mattress onto my bed, tucked both of our sheets back in perfectly so he wouldn't notice, and immediately went to sleep. I knew that if I was already asleep when he came in he would be nice enough to let me sleep instead of trying to get it back, and so when he came to bed much earlier than I anticipated I closed my eyes and stayed perfectly still. I peeked just enough to see him walk over to the beds, look at his, look at mine, then sigh in frustration as he flopped down onto a slightly less soft surface then he's used to. As the lights went out I smiled in smug satisfaction and then drifted off to sleep. The next day I was surprised, however, when he didn't make any reference to my stunt, and at the end of the day I was beginning to wonder if maybe he hadn't noticed. As I walked into the room ready for bed I noticed that Elder Thompson had already fallen asleep, but I didn't think anything of it. I walked over to my bed and let my fatigued body drop onto the mattress, only to sit back up in pain as my back felt the full force of the wooden 2x4s in my bed frame. My companion immediately started snickering uncontrollably and as I stood up to see what had happened I realized that he had completely overturned my bed frame and placed the mattress back on top of the ribbed bottom to make it look normal. I learned that day that I'm living with a force to be reckoned with, but the wheels of revenge are turning and I'm already plotting my retaliation.

Elder Thompson, you have been warned.

And more pictures!

Until next time everyone, stay strong and Morm-on. ;)

-Elder Cloward

I'm pretty sure that D&C 89 says that oats are meant for horses...

it's a little hard to see but this highway is actually going right down the middle of a jungle preserve. Pretty cool ah?

Welcome to the Vijay Kiran apartments. The only downside is that those trees fill up with bats the size of small dogs every night. *Shudder*

Maybe this restaurant can't afford real plates, or maybe these are considered fancier than fancy dining ware. Either way I'm happy with it. :)

That's rice and curry, and that's a banana leaf. Put them together and we call it lunch. 

This is how missionaries work out their abs in the morning. (Ignore the look of extreme pain on my face.)

I can't get enough of these sunsets.

Public restrooms are extremely rare in India, so we were so excited when we saw this sign- until we realized that it's actually just pointing at that tree. I guess it's back to basics over here. 

E-mail: March 16, 2015 "No brother, I said business cut... not rock star cut!"

My companion and I started to get a little shaggy this week so we decided it was time for haircuts again. It's really easy to get haircuts over here. All you have to do is walk down the street until you find a small shop with a picture of Zac Efron or Keith Urban on the front, go inside, tell the barber what kind of style you want, pay him about $2, and bam, you've got a great haircut. The one drawback though is that you have to check that you're barber speaks English so he can understand what kind of haircut you want or he'll give you the style he likes best. I forgot that one important step this week. After getting settled in my chair and explaining the cut I wanted he pulled out his buzzer and before I could even tell what was going on he buzzed all the hair off the sides of my head and styled the top to his taste.

In short, I looked like a skinny Macklemore.

After admiring my stylish new do and considering it for a little longer than I should have a brushed off the temptation and asked him to make it all short. Because of how much he took off the sides he almost had to give me a buzz cut to make it uniform again. But despite looking like I just came from basic training I'm grateful that I won't have to get it cut again for a while.

Two saturdays ago I woke up with an intense pain in my stomach that lasted all day and into the night. We went to the nearest clinic to figure out what was wrong and after a few tests and being fed an entire bottle of who knows what through a tube in my arm they couldn't figure it out and sent me to the hospital for further investigation. In the E.R. I went through more tests and again drank my fill through my arm. I was told that I had food poisoning and it was nothing to worry about. By this time the pain had subsided (due to all the mysterious fluids in my bloodstream) and we traveled back to our apartment at about 1:00 am. The next day however, despite the medications the doctor had sent me home with the pain intensified and once again we made the long journey back to the E.R. After about an hour of waiting on the same bed as the previous night and being pumped full of the same clear fluids I'd become so familiar with the doctor informed me that the pain was coming from my appendix and that they'd have to remove it the next day.

"Well gee doc, you know I'm kinda frustrated with my appendix right now but isn't that a little extreme?"

Unfortunately though when your guts decide to throw a tantrum some of them don't get a second chance. The next day after wheeling me into the operating room they set me on a tiny green table and hooked me up to a funny looking mask and I was out cold. The next thing I remember I was slowly blinking back into consciousness and taking in my surroundings. The first thing I noticed was a small, clear tube still protruding from my abdomen draining what was left of my infection into a plastic bag. I find it ironic how for the previous three days they kept me hooked up to countless IV tubes pumping fluids into me, and now I was lying in a hospital bed with a tube pumping liquids out of me. Sheesh. However, more painful than discovering a tube stitched to my stomach was realizing that I was the awkward third wheel in between a young nurse and a doctor's assistant who wouldn't stop flirting as they wheeled me back to my room. I was a rare occasion when the hospital attendants ended up increasing my nausea instead of reducing it.

I know there were a lot of prayers sent my way this week, and I want to thank each and every one for that. I can't express my gratitude for the love and faith which I felt this week. I know I joke about my experience at the hospital but overall everything was great. the surgery went flawlessly, I was taken very good care of, and I'm making a very speedy recovery. Thanks again for all your prayers everyone, they made all the difference. :)

Anyways until next time everyone remember to hold on to you innards, because you never know when you might loose one. ;)

-Elder Clouds

E-mail March 2, 2015: "Push start a bus? Isn't that a little extreme?!"

But one thing that I'm learning is that in India- nothing is too extreme.

I've push started cars before, even a truck or two, but I never thought I'd find myself behind a 2 ton passenger bus that's stalled in the middle of a busy street. 

We were walking back from lunch on Saturday with the other elders from our apartment when we saw a bus sitting on the side of the road. Normally a bus on the side of the road wouldn't attract our attention, in fact that's normally where the drivers park them when they get out to have lunch, but when we noticed that the bus was inching along because of one lone Indian pushing from behind we knew we had to do something. We rushed over to him and as the five of us started to push it started moving a little faster, but unfortunately we realized that it would require a lot more elbow grease than we had on hand to get it going fast enough to start up. To my surprise though all of the sudden the bus started to roll faster and faster until it felt like it was almost moving on it's own, and as a glanced around to see what the cause was I saw a huge crowd of Indians who had rushed to our aid. I was mildly disappointed when I realized that it wasn't the push-ups I've been doing every morning that got the bus going that fast, but at the same time I was filled with love and gratitude for those people who dropped what they were doing to come and help us. Almost everyone here in India is like that. They all believe that even if you don't know someone you're still his brother and it's your responsibility to help him when he needs it. I see it time and time again when we're searching for someone's home and we can't decipher the code of an address that we're given and anyone we ask will drop what they're doing to show us, and often come with us, to navigate the Bangalore spiderweb until we find the right house. I love these people, and I feel honored to be able to serve them. 

To finish the story though we were able to get the bus rolling again and as we continued on our way we were a little more sore than when we started, but we were happy nonetheless. This experience also taught me a powerful lesson about teamwork and unity. On our own we could barely get the bus moving, but after everyone stared pushing it took less than 30 seconds to get it revving again. It's the same principle in work, in a sports team, in a family, and in the church. One reason the church gives so many callings is so that we can all get behind this work and together move it forward with speed and power. That's called Synergy, when the combined efforts of many is greater than the sum of the individual efforts. That's a principle by which God works, and it's a power that if we can learn to harness in our own lives with those around us we can truly do great things. 

Oh, and I heard that the Layton East Stake is going on trek this year. To all of those youth who don't want to go because they're lazy and don't think that pulling a handcart will help them later in life let me tell you that I sure was grateful when I was behind that bus for the handcart-pulling muscles I developed on my trek. Rarely do we know how these simple activities will bless our lives until after the fact. I testify of that. ;)

Aaaaaaaaaand pictures!

No it's not a dress. It's called a Lungie, and they're all the rage over here.

Sujatha's baptism

 

Fun with some members. From left to right: Forgot his name, yours truly, Madhu, and Prabhu. (The hat was my idea)

Gulab Jamun- Elder Cloward Style.

No I'm not disobedient, it only says you can't move while you're on it.

Revathi's Baptism. (No, look at MY camera)

Cake Fight! And once again Elder Cloward is the winner!

​And last but not least, this pretty much illustrates what I feel like every day here. Lovin' it. :)