"Just Go Serve a Mission! You will love it!" -March 4, 2013

Hi family,

Thank you for your letters and your prayers. I don't have a lot of time again...but I just wanted to share with you a miracle that happened this last week. We have found an investigator who is super excited in sharing the gospel and actually set up a meeting with us and 5 professors from a University to take part in their discussion group. We were able to discuss the gospel and the restoration opening with these people who will then influence so many more. It was incredible! We were able to bear solemn testimony of the truths that make us happy and were reinforced that they really do make us happy.

President Campero (our mission president here in Donets'k) is actually in America right now because of health issues, but we're moving forward while he's gone. Pray for him though.

The Lord is doing an incredible work here in gathering Israel. We will be opening an African branch ("branch" is a term used for a group of members, because there aren't enough members to form a 'ward' yet).  We are baptizing so many from Africa that live in Ukraine. Also, we need 120 more Melchizedek priesthood holders to make a stake (many wards make up a stake). Pray for Zion here!

I love you! Keep being the amazing people you are at work and home. And I would eat dad's cooking any day ;)

Elder Claypool

PS This really is the best time of my life and is my life.  Everyone should serve.

"Great Success in the Work" - February 25, 2013

If there is something that I have learned it is that we are commanded to do all things in the name of Jesus Christ. I've taken this is stride and really try.  As you know I have kept a journal every day for the past 6 years.  Now I start even my journal writing with a prayer. If there is anyone to thank, it's the One who gives me the inspiration. 

Your pictures were incredible and I'm so glad to hear that you had a good trip in Japan. I eat fish very very rarely here, but when I do....it is an incredible delicacy!

I also was able to have a little taste of how your Sundays are because we were asked to translate the high council meeting for the few senior Russian couple missionaries and members who are serving in district callings who don't speak English. There were a lot of words I did not know since I'm still learning Russian, but it was super amazing to be a part of the growth of the church here in Ukraine. We had two baptisms this last Sunday, and we will have 4 baptisms next week.  There are currently 24 investigators ready for baptism all around our mission with a baptismal date. 

Nina's baptism was amazing from what I heard! She was baptized by Elder Lukashuk and had to be baptized 5 times because her elbow kept coming up... :) I wasnt able to be there, but I wrote her a letter, talked to her on the phone afterwards, and she was confirmed Sunday. How incredible and blessed I feel mom! Her husband wasnt baptized and still is having a ton of issues, but we still hope and pray!

Cool story for the week:
We have an investigator named Natalia who is a professor, super smart, and read the entire book of mormon already. She shares the Gospel with everyone. She believes the Book of Mormon is true and this last tuesday we had the oportunity to come over, learn a lot about the ukrainian culture, (they cooked for us, sang, told history) and then we got to sit in a circle on the ground with 10 other people and just talk about the restoration and book of mormon. What a blessing! Thisnext friday, we have an appointment in a university here to give a presentation infront of about 20 professors about our missions and why we are here. Amazing! 

A large part of our missionary work is self-contacting on the streets. The average per comapnionship is 10 new people teaching per week, there is one companionship in my zone who I think are some of the best missionaries in this mission, and they got 47 new interested people to teach in one week!! There are miracles happening!

The paper that I sent you in Russian is called "roots and branches" and maybe it would be a good way to help members get excited in temple work and missiorary work in saving their own families to be together forever. They need to understand the eternal doctrine of the family better found in the Bible by the prophet Malachi, the last verses of the Old Testament.

This last week I wasn't great with exchanges. We didn't wisely use all the time we could, but I'm starting to realize this one thing: Those who fight for a cause greater than themselves are going to have a greater strength, desire, and capability. The cause of God's work and glory is the greatest. Building Zion is our goal. However, the only way we will be able to become "one heart, of one mind" (Moses 7:18) and dwell in rigtheousness, we have to have charity. Charity is the driving force that allows the disciple of Christ to press-forward and work beyond his own abilities. (see 2 Nephi 26:29-31).

Seek The Zion!

I love you.

Elder Claypool

Church building in Elder Claypool's area

Go and Do The Things The Lord Commands - Feb. 18,2013

I'm so glad that your week was well and that you are having some wonderful learning experiences as parents with Korm.  Both of you seriously did so well in raising me and I still attribute so much to you. 

Our new area is wonderful and there is a whole new side of missionary work that I see now. There is a lot more to do with numbers, follow-ups, exchanges (exchanges means when missionaries trade companions for a day to learn from each other and learn areas), but I am so grateful for my companion (reminder: he is from Germany). He is a wonderful example to me and teaches me so much. We were able to have an inspiring district leader's council and zone meetings too with all these hard-working and dedicated missionaries. It felt strange that here I am sitting at the head of a table to lead them when all the other missionaries sitting in front of me are all more experienced...needless to say, when they spoke, I was taking notes as I knew I could learn from them too.  A good leader needs to realize he or she has much to learn from the people they associate with.

One thing that I was thinking about a lot lately was just my duty and who I am. In our Zone Meeting we talked about who we are as missionaries. I thought about just what it meant to represent Jesus Christ. Elder Southam, a senior couple missionary, shared a powerful metaphor between the military uniform and our missoinary uniform in relation to our calling. When a person salutes in the military, it means three things: I understand; I will go and do; I will return and report. This simply explains missionary work. We need to understand our duty first. When Jacob, a prophet in the Book of Mormon talks about his duty, he feels guilty before God to think that those for whom he has stewardship are so guilty in sin. I want that kind of duty rooted in my soul. Then it's the actual doing that makes such a difference. I really want to become a person that is not driven by whimsical desires and acted upon, but a person who sets goals and moves forward for the benefit of others. Then, the idea of returning and reporting is more meaningful.  Accountability is a principle of heaven that as missionaries and members we often don't put enough thought into. In a way, I am giving an account to you, my patriarchal leader of my family. Also, I write a letter to my mission president every week (Pres. Camperos from Bolivia), and in my prayers every night, I should be providing an accounting to the Lord. These principles help us fulfill our roles and responsibilities in life and the callings we have been foreordained to fulfill. 

I love you all very much. I really do have a testimony that all of this is true. It changes my life and helps me to move forward. 

Elder Claypool

"Change is a constant for all" Feb. 11,2013

Good morning !

Well, I am in a new area and with a new companion...this one's from Germany! He is fantastic! Thankfully, he speaks fluent English so my brain gets to rest a little.

From last Wednesday a lot has happened in me and my focus, and I am so grateful to God for all that happened. In addition to these changes which can create discomfort of the unknown, I am blessed to take on additional responsibilities with more change. Right now I'm currently serving as 1 of 2 Zone Leaders in Donets'k with my companion, Elder Zacherl. When I was given this calling at our transfer meeting I was pretty shaken to say the least and did not at all expect it. I had an overwhelming feeling of duty come over me and just that I had now an even larger responsibility. Thankfully, the Lord doesn't let me sit in my own thoughts of incorrectness: The next thought was "why is it that now you feel a responsibility when the last 7 months of your mission you have been placed with a sacred calling to preach the Gospel?" Because of the calling to serve these missionaries, my determination, resilience, and desire to do my best has increased. For that reason, one of the things we are going to be talking about in our zone meeting with all the missionaries is what their calling really means. If I had truly understood the nature of my holy calling as a missionary, then I have no doubt that my dedication and determination, and consecration would have increased. I suppose everything takes time and that is why we learn precept upon precept and step-by-step, here a little and there a little. Like the righteous people of the Book of Mormon, we need to help all members keep in the forefront of their mind their duty and privilege to be such.

Another eye-opener for me this week was to sit on a council of leaders from all across the mission to give a reporting of our work and to receive, plan, and execute the will of the Lord for our mission. An incredible opportunity!

Thank you mom and dad for always being an incredible example to me and for being someone I can look to as an example of Christ-like leadership.

I love you. Glad that all your conferences and firesides went well!

Random fact:
In Russian, the word for rich (bugati) deals with receiving riches from God, or having his riches. Truly without God, we are not truly rich.

A good one-liner from our mission right now is ----- Fail to plan, plan to fail.

Elder MaKade C Claypool
Ukraine Donetsk Mission

"The Holy Ghost is available to us" - FEB. 6,2013

Hello everyone,

Last Sunday, in Ukraine, being from America, I helped translate from Russian to English the Sunday School gospel lesson for the Ukrainian teacher to an investigator from Ghana and also to a member from Mexico who actually lives in Canada. Sounds like the United Nations? There is no boundary too large for the Lord. REMEBER and belive that God really can do everything IF WE HAVE FAITH. It was fun and inspirational and the Holy Spirit testified of the truth in every language.

Sorry that I forgot to tell you that our preparation day was on Wednesday this past week! I forgot. I'm being transferred to a new city! It's a little bitter-sweet, but even still very exciting. Elder Lukashuk and I between the last 2 weeks have had the opportunity to get 3 Ukrainian people on date to be baptized and they are very promising, wonderful people. Isn't that exciting! One of the men and his wife are expecially dear to my heart. In fact, with them, I've learned a lot about the Doctrine of Christ. Alexander and Nina have been through a lot lately where they did not have the doctrine of Christ in their life. Because of it they had a lot of marriage problems that led to them being separated. However, the Gospel is mending their family and faith. When I was on a lesson with Nina ( because we always have taught them separately) she talked so much about how she feels this anger and darkness always in her heart. However, when reading the scriptures, coming to church, and praying, she feels this instant relief.

As is the Lord's way, this last transfer, I too have struggled with these feelings of lack of the Spirit. One lesson we were talking about was the gift of the Holy Ghost in regards to the influence of it. With a standard definition answer, I taught that we can always have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost...however, as I said that, I thought to myself, "is it really possible to have the Holy Ghost and those feelings of peace and joy with us always?" I had thought at first, no, because I had not managed to attain that...and then the Lord taught me. I testified that it was possible and then in the coming days especially during and after my fasting, prayers, and partaking of the sacrament in particular, a desire to "receive the Holy Ghost" was realized by me. The Doctrine of Christ acts just as I learned this transfer with these wonderful brothers and sisters: when Unapplied, the Doctrine of Christ is no more meaningful to the individual than blank sheets of paper. When Abinadai spoke to the wicked priest of Noah, they too had an issue with understanding the doctrines of Christ laid out plainly in the scriptures. Abinadai's response? "Ye have not applied your hearts to understanding..." (Mosiah 12:27). Elder Bednar has taught (even in the last general conference I think), about the diference between conversion unto Christ and a testimony. If I could teach anything to the members of the Church it is that there are essentially two phases of the Doctrine of Christ: testimony and conversion. Testimony is meant to lead to conversion, not to be a stopping point just as much as mere faith in Jesus Christ is not enough. People are plauged with the teachings that to believe in your heart is all that matters. No. This faith in Christ leads us to the changing of direction and perspective of repentance. We cannot just believe. We have to do. This repentance leads to the desire to covenant with God through the sacred waters of baptism in order to further our sanctification and justification by the Gift of the Holy Ghost. However, as a member of the Church I relied on the baptismal covenant made at age 8 rather than the continual pondering, and renewing, and recovenanting that comes as a result of the sacred sacrament. In regards to the Holy Ghost, I realized that as an individual, I relied on the influence of the Holy Ghost, meaning I was waiting for the special moments when the Holy Ghost testified to me, or when I heard somethng that brought the spirit, and just in general, letting the spirit come to me rarely, and as if I was an investigator with out the Gift of the Holy Ghost having already been endowed on my head having the rights to the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost if I fulfilled the law to "Receive" Him. Like Abinidai said, if we do not apply these principles in our lives, they mean nothing to us. They are not a part of us and yes, while they may bring strong powerful testimonies, they will never bring lasting conversion. The purpose of our probationary period on the earth would have been for naught, and the conversion that you could have received if you had taken the time to apply what you knew to be true never came. The Doctrine of Christ is given to us to use the Atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ to become and fulfill all that we are capable and have a God-given right to pursue. It starts with the seriousness of our studies, prayers, the sincerity of our daily repentance, the sacredness of the sacrament, and how well we fulfill our covenants to seek after the Holy Ghost and rightfully attain the power of God in our lives.

The focus this last week has really been a lot on the Holy Ghost, the baptismal covenant, and my willingness to follow the Savior. Truly, Baptism is the gate in order to gift us our only fighting chance in becoming what we can become. I have come to realize, actually by teaching an investigator and less active about it, that only through the Holy Ghost can we have the constant peace and presence of that member of the Godhead. One of our less-actives went through a pretty crazy trial with his health after being less-active for quite awhile. We were with him in the dialysis clinic, and witnessed the cleansing power of the Sacrament, and then saw him beaming from eye to eye when we came to him last Saturday. His question: "I sit at home all day and it's not very easy for me to feel that inspiration that drives me to do what I should. (That sounded familiar)" The spirit was my response, and then the question from him " Then how can I have that with me?"

Time has become my best friend too... ;) I'm still struggling with the balance between using every second of every day more effective (because we lose a lot of time every day from extra studying, being late, taking too long planning, etc) and being peaceful.

I know that the Lord is so patient with us and that he loves us. Your testimony still rings in my ears from Christmas :"I know the Lord is so patient with me." How I want to be better for him and all of you!

Elder MaKade C Claypool
Ukraine Donetsk Mission

WEEK OF MIRACLES - JAN.28,2013

Thank you so much for your letter and I apologize for the shortness of my letter. Elder Lukashuk says hi and that he loves you all so much.

This last week was a week of miracles. We put our first investigator on date, and then on top of that, we had a really miraculous experience with our investigator trying to quit smoking, giving him a blessing, and him coming to church. Don't know if he's quit yet. Find out tonight. Also, We have an investigator named Nina who's husband left her two years ago. She is a sweet heart and has such a sincere testimony of the Gospel and the power of the Holy Ghost's comfort. Through simply the Lord's hand, we were able to also meet with the husband who want to return, is simply lacking the courage of leaving his current lady, but sincerely wants to be baptized...however not till after he gets the whole family thing figured out. We've been praying and fasting and Sunday was a day of miracles: They both (Nina and Alexander her husband) came to church together, President Campero happened to be there and we had an incredible sit down chat with President and them, following an incredible sacrament meeting about the temple and eternal families, and then had the privilege to be with President and voice a blessing from Heavenly Father for Alexander. The Lord knows us and cares for us. I know that.

Also we got stuck in an elevator for 30 minutes...but luckily we had food ;)

I love you all so much and thank you for your example mom. Keep going to the rescue!

Elder Claypool