Elder Clement is getting settled in Galway with his wonderful trainer, Elder Leonard! We got this email from him early this morn'.
I love being a missionary!
This week has been so great here in Galway, Ireland.
It's so beautiful here! Galway is a huge tourist area because the city is awesome and there are a bunch of tourist attractions within an hour in any direction from here. For P-day today we're going to see the Cliffs of Moher! They're those sweet historic cliffs that were in the 6th Harry Potter movie and others. Y'all should look them up. So I'll have pictures of that next week when I email!
But because it's a big tourist spot and because there's a university here, we find and teach a lot of people who either don't live here or are about to go home for months because university is letting out.
That just means we go to work! I love it so much. Talking to people about the joy I have in my life as a direct result of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is unlike anything else! It's so great. Because we're whitewashing we spent so much time finding (tracting and street contacting) this week. How can it get any better than teaching people from all over the world about God's plan for them along an Irish beach with green mountains behind? And the beauty of the landscape is nothing compared to the Spirit that is felt when people accept invitations to learn and choose to allow God to help them in their lives.
There really are people from all over that live here. Elder Leonard and I try to teach as many Africans as possible, because they're so nice and don't have any prejudices against guys in suits and ties walking around with backpacks (rucksacks as they call them here). It's not hard to find Africans, either. There are soooo many! Most are from Nigeria or Zimbabwe.
The Irish people are nice, too, but so many of them are stuck in the traditions of their ancestors. The work is really hard a lot of the time, but what I've found is that when people are rude you should just crack a joke with your companion! It really allows the work to be joyful even on a hard day. Most of the sadness comes just because people are rejecting a message so much bigger than any missionary can reflect! My feelings are that the only justified sadness any missionary should feel should be because people turn away from something that could bring them so much happiness in this life and the life to come.
Having said that, you'd be surprised at how many people are willing to listen! Elder Leonard and I taught a lot of lessons this week. Numbers don't matter, so I'll leave it at that.
He is so cool though! I forgot to tell y'all more about him last week. He's from Fort Collins, Colorado (I have yet another CO friend) and he's hilarious! He's an amazing athlete. He has a scholarship to play wide receiver on the BYU Provo Football team when he gets back. He can also dunk, which is pretty sweet. We play frisbee pretty much every morning for exercise, so thanks so much for sending me that disc! We'll also sometimes run routes with a football so Elder Leonard can get back in shape (he's gotten flabby). He's been out 18 months but still has no accent!
It's so great having a 4-man flat, though! Elder White and Elder Nordfors are so funny. They're both from Utah.
And to answer your question, Mom, everyone here definitely says "ye" instead of "y'all" or "you guys". I still get so much sass for saying "y'all". From everyone.
It's so obvious now why Siobhan's name is spelled the way it is! All of the road signs and everything here have English and Irish (Gaelic) right below. Lot's of the Irish people here speak Irish, but there's almost nobody that only speaks Irish. So many people have Irish names.
One woman we're teaching right now is called Niamph, but it's pronounced 'Neeve'. Siobhan is one that makes a lot more sense. Hahahaha.*
Everything else is great! Our branch is tiny. There are around 30-40 members that come every Sunday. Elder Leonard, Elder White, and I gave talks on Sunday since we're new. That was fun.
I'm having serious guitar withdrawals. I don't know how I thought I could go two years without playing! I'm gonna have to buy a cheap one next week. Maybe someone can put some money on my card for that for my birthday ;)
Again, being on a mission is awesome. Constant prayer is such an amazing tool to allow God into our lives consistently!
I love you all back home. I'm so grateful for friends and family. Getting emails from everyone today made me laugh and cry! It's amazing how much I'm missing already. I didn't even think about the fact that graduation was a couple days ago, or that Grayson is already almost gone, or anything else. It's not because I don't care, but just because I feel so immersed here! I don't really have time to think about anyone but my companion, ward members, and people we're teaching. Sorry!
I love you all so much, though. I'm proud of you, Tamsin. I love you, Ellie! Reading about your chapstick cozies made me lol so hard. Zoe, thank you for all you do! Everyone please wish Braxton a happy birthday for me. Mom and Dad, you're both amazing. Your example is so wonderful to have with me everyday as I think about what either of you would do in any given missionary situation.
I wish I had time to email everyone back long replies individually but I'm limited! I'll try my hardest. I also don't have many pictures this week cause we've been busy. I realized that yesterday, so I took a few while we were driving.
To everyone reading this: make prayer a priority this week. No matter how busy you are or how much you don't think you need God's help, you will allow blessings to come to you by thanking God and asking Him for His all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving helping hand.
Love ya!
Till next week,
Elder Clement
*This footnote is for those of you who are reading this and wondering who in the world Siobhan is. She is our realtor.
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