Here's a now-outdated email sent by Elder Clement while in the England Missionary Training Center on Mother's Day:
"Hey! So since it's mother's day they're allowing us to email home for 30 minutes.
Zoe! I am so excited for you!!! I started screaming and told pretty much half the MTC and everyone started clapping. I wish I could be there in July. The MTC is great!
There are some pretty hard days. Probably the hardest thing is automatically being cut off from contact with anyone you care about, an then having to learn to spend all day, every day, with new people that you don't get to choose. I think people think that because I've only been here for 11 days I'm fine for now and they can write later, but it's hard!
I don't really have anyone to turn to but Heavenly Father. That has really helped me strengthen my relationship with Him, made me recognize the love I have for Christ, and helped me recognize the Spirit.
One of my MTC teachers, Bro Field, served with Jordan Layton as ZL's on their mission! It was so nice to talk to someone about SOMETHING we had in common. Attached is a picture of Bro Field's journal and his pics of Jordan.
Lessons are going well. My companion and I are learning to teach together and I'm starting to feel the Spirit really strongly when we teach.
I love you, Mom. I hope you know how greatly you've affected my life. I want you and the rest of the family, together, to study the beginning of the Book of Helaman and look at Nephi, the son of Helaman. Study and think about how great of a man and a missionary he was. Think about his strength's with the gift of discernment and recognizing the Spirit. He was willing to submit to Heavenly Father in all things, and he ended up bringing about conversion in nations of Lamanite people. He was always on a mission -- he didn't have time for anything else.
Later in the scriptures we read of his ELDEST (meaning he had multiple) son, who went one to be the only disciple of Christ spoken to by name in His visit to the Nephites. The scriptures speak of his son, Nephi, and his faith in the Lord and righteousness.
Who do you think raised Nephi, son of Nephi?
If his father was never home, but constantly serving others and calling people to repentance through faithful missionary work, one can only assume that a righteous and loving mother and caregiver raised their children to become 'Elect of God'.
I've seen a very similar story play out in my life in the past 19 years. I'm nowhere even close to being a great missionary who has baptized nations.. I couldn't even dream of it.
But because of my loving, caring exemplar of a mother, who has raised me to know of the things I must do for us to live as a family with the Father of all of us again, I am doing everything I can to spread that joy and knowledge to others.
I love you, Mom.
I hope you can recognize the care I have for you even while I'm so far away. I hope today has been great.
I love you all! Don't be afraid to write.
please.
I'll have another chance to get on here on tuesday, before I head to Edinburgh on wednesday. There I will find out the time that my mission president determines we will be allowed to call home.
Thank you for your prayers for me and my companion!
Stay sweet.
With love (L-O-V-E),
Elder Clement"
Elder Clement"
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