From the President

My parents received this letter and picture, last Saturday, from Emily's mission president:

They sound so grateful to have her!  We also received an email from Sister Clayton on Monday which I will be posting soon and am in the middle of attempting to put together a list to distribute it.  She sounded the best she's been since she left!  

Florida or Bust!

We received a call from Sister Clayton at about 5AM today.  She was at the airport waiting to board her plane to Dallas and from there she was flying to Florida.  A friend of hers from Utah State happened to be on her same flight and let her borrow his phone to call each of us and sent us this priceless picture.  Em sounded great and I told her she didn't even sound like a 'wierd' missionary.  She was anxious to get to Florida and we can't wait to hear from her there! 

Week Eight, The Last One in the MTC

Emily leaves the MTC early Tuesday and we are expecting a phone call in the morning!  She said her last week in the MTC has been an interesting one!  She had an allergic reaction to something in the cafeteria and the inside of her mouth got huge!  They gave her two Benadril, which she's never had before but told her companions she was okay and they went to a devotional.  Well, it turns out she became extremely tired or as she said, "out of it" and said she knew sentences weren't coming out right.  She was so confused what she was saying, some Spanish, some English but apparently none of it was making much sense!  She said she slept better that night than she has in the past two months!  Emily got to host another incoming sister this week and said while she was outside she saw her aunt Kathy and uncle Russ dropping her cousin Cole off for his mission.  She said she waived but wasn't sure if they saw her.  She hopes she sees Cole before she leaves.  She is obviously so anxious to go to the field and has just days left!  She knows her Spanish needs some work but said she's been trying to work her "little hiney off"  Emily said this week, "I don't know how to explain it but I know that my relationship with the Savior and the Lord is becoming so much stronger because of the challenges and trials on the mission.  She said her two companions have had a lot of personal/family problems this week and that the elders have been so sweet to give them many blessings.  Emily said she's grateful for them and her experience in the MTC.  She said she's doing wonderful because the Lord helps her though hard things.  All is 'wonderful' and we're looking forward to hearing from her Tuesday!

We haven't gotten any pictures from Em in awhile!  Luckily I'm kind of a stalker and got these beauties from an unidentified source.  I'm sure having some of her best friends in the MTC with her  has been a great experience for Em!

Week Seven

Emily started by saying she is still experiencing night terrors regularly and is told by her roommates that she screams out every once in awhile throughout the nigh.  The only way she could explain it is that she gets so excited at night and is wide awake thinking about things and then crashes.  Other than that Emily said this week was wonderful and again mentioned how much she loves Sundays!  She spoke in church this week and said her talk was all in Spanish.  She said she loved it and and wasn't worried one bit.  She also said her relief society lesson was really good this week and sent an excerpt from her journal that day.  It read:  "The night before I prayed to learn more about the atonement.  Of course the lesson was on the atonement.  I know Christ went though what he did so we would know how to succor me Emily Clayton in time of need and run to my aid.  I know he is walking by me every step of the way.  The the devotional was about Come Come Ye Saints.  Wow this week I have been so proud to be a Clayton that song is amazing and the speaker talked about how it relates to missionary work so much and how we can have pioneer faith and be a pioneer for the people in Florida.  I feel so blessed to come from such a wonderful heritage.  A mission is so fun!  I have enjoyed it so much this week."  Also this week Emily said they had a good week in her trio.  They fasted and read their Book of Mormon in Spanish together and only spoke Spanish for two days.  She said her Spanish is improving and she is becoming more confidant.  She said she talks every lunch and dinner with one of the Spanish workers.  Other than that she mentioned she has a new running sister buddy and they go running together every morning and try to talk in Spanish while they run!

Week Six

This week Emily got to host a sister for the incoming sisters and said it was awesome!  She said this week was a little frustrating but that she has seen so many blessings come from difficult times.  She feels like she is so anxious and excited to go into the field but that part of her kind of likes how comfortable she is in the MTC.  Emily always talks about how wonderful Sundays are in the MTC.  This week she said President Jolly spoke and said that sometimes we have to take many steps in the darkness to find light, it's part of God's plan for us.  She said she saw a glimpse of God's plan for her and why she is here.  She also talked about how our generation always expects immediate results but that this week she watched a video on the building of the Salt Lake Temple and it put 'immediate results' into perspective.  The email was short this week but she sounds good!   

Week Five

Em is halfway through her time in the MTC.  She wrote and said she starting getting night terrors and although she doesn't remember anything it apparently scares her poor roommates pretty bad!  Sleeping must have been overall  rough this particular week.  Emily said the fire alarm went off in the middle of the night one night and everyone had to evacuate.  If you know Emily you know she is NOT a morning person and HATES to be woken up.  She even admitted in this weeks email that she was beyond grumpy sitting in the parking lot in the middle of the night wondering which sister burnt popcorn.  She said the police and fire department all came just to learn that it was a malfunction.  Also this week, Emily said her Espanol was coming along but 'slowly.'  She said she might be slow at Spanish but she has a very strong desire to teach and bring people to Christ and work hard.  She added her teachers are wonderful and that her goal everyday is just to progress a little more than the day before.  She said that she knows no matter how difficult the task the Lord asks us to accomplish it is possible if we trust and have faith that the Lord can help us.  It does no good to be negative and discouraged or stress if anything it just puts you back a few steps.  This week Emily's 'trio' really tried to listen more to each other as a companionship when they taught so they taught the lesson and for the first time it clicked, all three of them worked together in unity Emily said the spirit was so strong!  This week the Provo Temple was closed and they allowed the missionaries to clean it.  Emily said the sisters cleaned all the chandlers and that it was too cool.  Emily ended her letter by saying one of her teachers told her she'd the ideal missionary and we know it!

Week Four: The 4th of July

 Well this week marked one month of the mission down, and Emily's half way point in the MTC.  She told us they got to have ice cream and go outside to watch the Stadium of Fire fireworks.  She spent most of her P-day moving rooms and said seeing her roommates leave made her antsy to get into the field.  She said her Spanish is coming around and she is trying to use it more and more outside of class.  Emily raved about her teachers and said, "fam, don't be surprised if I end up being an MTC teacher.  I think it would be awesome."  Haha, she also seemed really excited that they had been able to watch the Joseph Smith movie.  Emily quoted proverbs 3:5 trust not unto thy own understanding but trust the Lords.  She said she thinks about this when she's struggling with the language or when things get hard.

Emily ended her letter with this, "K I want to give everyone a challenge and I'm serious about this!!! You have to promise me you will all do it. Dad Mom Zac Kels Kim Dillon!!! Please read the whole book of Mormon by this Christmas. This week my testimony was strengthened the power that comes from the Book of Mormon it's the power of the atonement. Before you read it think of one specific question you need help with like becoming a better missionary, mother father, spouse teacher. When you read it highlight specific verses that help you do so. I promise God will answer your question and you will become close to God. I know I'm being supper missionary Status at this point but if there's one thing you could do for me that's it! Will you do it?????? I want a letter from each of you when you have finished it and tell me how it went and what you learned."

So there you have it, happy Independence Day!!!

Week Three

Emily started this weeks email by thanking my parents for sacrificing everything and keeping it all together to raise her in this wonderful gospel.  We learned a little more about her two companions and the difference in their backgrounds and family life.   She said how much she loves her 'hermanas' even though it is difficult at times.  We can tell Em has had a lot of practice teaching lessons this week but seems to be getting comfortable with it. 

All the mission presidents were at the MTC for a seminar this week and Emily reported that apostles and the prophet were there all week as well.  Emily got to watch The Other Side of Heaven and The Testaments over the weekend and sounded pretty excited about it.  She also seemed really touched by a talk she had read from Elder Bednar the Christmas before and talked a lot about the difference of having a testimony and truly being converted to the gospel.  She said she loves the MTC and is so blessed to be given the opportunity to serve god for two years and help other come unto Christ. 

 In other news this week, Em said she's sick of the food and looks forward to having ice cream on Wednesdays and Sundays.  Emily also had a doctors appointment this week for a knee checkup and everything went fine.  A smoothie and card were waiting for her when she got there because it was right by my mom's office, but we all refrained from visiting while she was there.  Emily left her camera card with one of the nurses and my mom went and got it later that evening.  These were some of the pictures from it, we think its her zone/district, companions and mission presidents.

Week Two

On Wednesday, June 20, 2012, my parents received a call from Sister Larsen, Emily's companion.  She told them she had made the decision to come home and wanted them to know Emily had been really good to her during her short experience at the MTC and wanted them to know what a great sister missionary she is.  Emily emailed the next day and said she felt Sister Larsen's decision to go home was best, but still hard for both of them nonetheless.  When Sister Larsen left, Emily was put into a trio with two other sisters:  Hermana Chavoo and Hermana Holyon.  

 

Emily described Hermana Chavoo as " a black girl from Philadelphia, very bold and blunt" and Sister Holyon as "quiet and from an Indian reservation."  She said the trio is an interesting mix of personalities and has it's own challenges but is overall really good. 

Other highlights from the week include:

~Emily having a conversation in Spanish and communicating.  She described it as "all the lord and the spirit."

~Emily thanking everyone for their prayers.  She said she would've been a goner long before now without them.  

~Emily saying the language is hard but saying she doesn't get frustrated by it... monumental for Hermana Clayton, folks!!!

~Sister Dalton coming and speaking.  Emily said she had prayed the night before to learn more about the atonement and said Sister Dalton spoke of everything she needed to hear!

~Em saying, "I truly feel the savior's love for me, Hermana Clayton, and that he needs me and my talents in the Fort Lauderdale Mission.  

~We learned Emily isn't rooming with either of her companions but loves her roommates.  Also, her two best friends from high school, April Robins and Angie Helsten, are a couple doors down from her and she sees them every night.  

~We learned her old seminary teacher and parent's neighbor is the MTC choir directer and Emily is in the choir. 

Em ended by saying she doesn't know why she is so blessed and saying she feels pushed up and at peace in someway or another at all times. 

She sounds great!!!

Week One

We've learned that emily's P-Day is Thursday and we got our first email from her on Thursday, June 14,2012. She sounded so good! She started off by saying,"The MTC is amazing! The power of the spirit is literally surrounding us each and everyday!". She mentioned she was SUPER awkward with the elders at first and felt like she was being "disobedient" by talking to them but has since come around and thinks of them as "nerdy, quirky little brothers." She said there are two girls in her district who will also be going to her mission and she has been impressed by both of them. She also said she has the least experience speaking Spanish out of everyone in her district and is finding the language challenging but isn't stressed about it. If you know Emily you know this is a huge blessing! Emily is asking for everyone to pray for her companion, Sister Larsen, who is apparently struggling. She has been very homesick and has seriously considered going home. Emily described her relationship with her as "teaching me a new kind of patience" and "we are so opposite it has confirmed my desire to be here so much more.". She also wrote "I've realized this work isn't about me growing or my testimony getting stronger, but is about helping others in anyway possible." Emily mentioned she has felt everyone's prayers and we really appreciate everyone's support. Bare with my dad and me as we get the email list together and leave a comment if you want to be added to it. We haven't sent out last weeks or this weeks because my dad has been out of town but we will get them to you if you're on the list :)

Going to the MTC

Emily entered the Missionary Training Center, in Provo, on June 6, 2012.  She was set apart by President Hill the night before.  

Emily was instructed to enter the MTC at 12:40 PM so we spent most of the morning as a family but missed the 'in-laws' (Dillon and Kelsey) who both had to work.

We went to breakfast at Maglebees Fresh.  The same place we ate almost exactly five years earlier the morning we took Zac to the MTC.

And then we spent lots of time taking pictures and enjoying each other.

 

 12:40 PM rolled around and like Em's good friend Angie (who also entered the MTC the same day) said, "Lets do this!"  Em was so excited and so ready!

Address Update and Some Mission Pics

Sister Emily Clayton

MTC Mailbox #317

FL-FTL 0807

2005 N. 900 E.

Provo, UT  84604-1793

Also, if you'd like to be on the weekly email list leave your email in a message or let Kim know.  

Farewell

Hey, it's Emily's favorite sister, Kim.  I'm going to be maintaining the blog for the next 18 months.  So here we go.  Em's farewell was held May 27, 2012.  Bishop Jeff's presided and Emily and her best friend, April, who left on a  mission the same day, were the speakers.  Both April and Emily did an excellent job and several people commented on how packed the church was!  Dad had spent weeks getting the backyard ready for people to come to a luncheon after but it was a pretty rainy day.  We made do and had a lot of friends and family come to show their support.  Unfortunately there was some miscommunication regarding who was supposed to take pictures of the aforementioned friends and family, so these were all we got.  So everyone who came be sure to come to the homecoming, 18 months from now, and we'll take your picture then!

The Call

After weeks of anxiously waiting, I received my mission call on January 18, 2012.  

I had several of my closest friends and family members there with me when I opened it.  It worked out that one of my best friends, April Robins, also got her call on the same day.  After we opened my call we went to her house and opened hers with her family.

I had told my family I wanted to go somewhere warm, and safe and speak a foreign language.  They thought I was a little ridiculous to think my wish would come true.  We had everyone there that night write down their guesses and they ranged from Wyoming to Russia.  I was more than THRILLED when I opened it and read: 

Fort Lauderdale, Florida!!!

Everyone congratulated me and we all took a second to take it all in.  I continued reading the call silently to myself and just when I thought things couldn't get better I read:

"Spanish speaking"

 

The mood in the room changed and I think that's when I knew it was really happening and it was all meant to be.