Mexico City #2 address for Clayton

Elder Clayton England's experiences as a missionary in the Mexico City East Mission!

 Please send all mail and packages to the mission home.
 Mission Home Address:

Mision Mexico Este

Av: 510 #90 col. San Juan de Aragon

Delegacion: Gustavo A. Madero

Mexico Df

CP 07950

Para:Elder Clayton Rodney England

Moctezuma Barrio Aeropuerto

Mexico City #1 Clayton gets to Mexico City!

                                                          Clayton Gets to Mexico City!

Oct. 7, 2013 Hola! Well first week in the field…I may say that this has been the longest week in my entire life! In the MTC I had so little to write about and now I have too much! Hope you like the photo from my Mission President. I love that guy! He is super cool.







 Do you like our washing machine? It's now from GE. our laundry room…outside!













 Here's an update on my first week: On Monday we land and went right to Temple Square, spent the night at the Mission Home and with the Mission President. The house was super cool. The next day we left and had a 10 hour training followed up with meeting our companions.

 My companion is Elder Lopez and I'll talk about him later. On Tuesday night we went to a recently baptized member's home. It honestly moved so fast. It felt insane! My area is Aero Puerto, which is one of the safest areas here, I'm told. You wouldn't know from looking at it though. I wake up to police sirens. On Friday I had one of the funniest days of my life. After study time, me and my companion left to go have my companion buy new garments. But when we got to the metro station, there were other Elders. All of a sudden, I was on the other side of the railing with a different missionary and my companion was asking away. We had gone on splits and I had not had any idea. It was super funny. Part of the reason I didn't understand what my companion was telling me was…he didn't! He's from this Mexican state that is mainly rural. His spanish is not what I learned from the MTC, or what I'm hearing it. From what I can tell is that he speaks some sort of hick spanish because I can kinda understand others.

 But whatever, back to the splits. Well, me and Elder Alva, (he's dope!) went back to his apartment where there were two other American missionaries I knew from Utah. We studied for a couple of hours and then went out to do some service.




Our service project was to walk a member and her son to a school so they could pick up her daughter. She needed help because last time she had been beaten up by thugs in the middle of the day while doing this simple thing….not America here! While we were walking with them to school, I was talking to her son. He was about 4 years old. He spoke much better spanish than me. I had to say "Como? (what) sooooo many times. I was laughing so hard at myself. So we walked these two to the school that turned out to be an All Girls Middle School. The funniest thing happened when when all the girls came out of the school. They started gathering around us. It was so funny. They would talk to me and quickly realize that I spoke the same amount of spanish as a rock. But they kept saying :Sus Ojos! Their eyes! That was super funny to me because they are super excited to see someone with any color in their eyes.

 Well, my companion is Elder Lopez. We missed the first session of General Conference on Saturday. I have no idea why…so weird. In General Conference I heard the quote from The Great Gatsby, something about beating on against the current, keep on rowing, something like that. So Family, I want to tell you to keep rowing. Keep on pushing. Keep on pushing against the current. We are born to succeed. It's the only reason we are here. Heavenly Father wants all of us to succeed! I'm reading Alma 40-55 this week. Please study with me.


 I love you guys,
Elder Clayton Rodney England

MTC #7 24/7 Spiritual

 Mom:
Ok, I will try to get a go phone in the airport, I'm not sure if they have them in Salt Lake, so if not I will call you both there, and in Houston at around 10-12. I will call you earlier in Salt Lake at around 6 in the morning. That way we can coordinate better. 

 Thank you so much for the letter mom, it was really nice to read. haha i do not judge you at all for the letters, haha don't stress it. 

 Well this is the last email i will have in the United States, I'm really excited, and really nervous!! I'm scared I won't have the drive, but I know Heavenly Father will help me out with this! 

Well, I could hear the BYU Utah game, and I got a pretty good sense that Utah was winning most of the time because I could hear the Utah song playing a lot of the time! That was pretty awesome!! 

Something I'm studying: right now: I am using pmg to develop Christlike attributes, and I'm studyin hope. It was really interesting to me that hope and faith were in different catagories. What I've been learning is that hope really is a strong firm belief in the blessings of Heavenly Father. Hope is knowing that God will keep His word, especially when you don't have a sure knowledge. Hope is always the most powerful when it's hard to have. If you push on when it's hard, you come out at least 3 times stronger! haha...that's a joke! 

Something spiritual; this one's hard because 24/7 is spiritual hear, so it's hard to have specific times. I think this week was in the temple, and I couldn't really tell what Heavenly Father was telling me. It was really frustrating...I think this is an important spiritual lesson, because we often know what we need to do, but we feel like we always need spiritual confirmation. Sometimes we need to just take a leap and go and do! I know what I need to do; I need to serve Heavenly Father well and give it my all. 

 Thank you mom for preparing me for this. 
-I love you ma 
-Elder Clayton Rodney England

MTC #6 Last Week in MTC

Dear Dad/Family,

So another week in the MTC. I guess the very last one!!! It feels so insane! The time here just moves so differently!!! It feels like just last week I got here. All the days are the same so they just blend together!!!

 Ok this week...? Kind of a weird week, doing everything here for the last time. I'm gonna miss my district really bad! It's so fun, in class during our 5 minute breaks, we play 7 on the line in the classroom with a little mini basketball hoop! Haha it's become a pastime here in district 62c! Our teachers, Hermano (brother) Launsbury, and Toledo get really into it too. It gets really competitive sometimes, but its good, it helps us keep our sanity!!

 In this place it's sometimes easy to forget that there is an outside world..Thats why I'm so excited to get out and help people!!! It actually gives me something to do, something to actually push for!! Umm ok I'm really trying to think of things that happened this week...everything feels like the same day. Last night, we had our Tuesday night devotional by one of the Seventy. I don't remember his name, but he was really good! His whole talk was just perfect for a missionary just about to leave the MTC. He really stressed that it's our decision as LatterDay Saints, to be happy, make our lives better, and to love the Lord. It was really cool. He also said alot about including your family in the work! I know my e-mails haven't been exactly impressive for the last little while. I'm gonna start stepping up my game. So this week, I'm gong to be studying Alma Chapters 7-25. Will you read them and share with me your thoughts and impressions? So I can get the most of them?? It'll be just like family scripture reading!!!

Ok,I got my flight plans on friday!!! Yes I am leaving the 30!! My flight from here to Dallas is at 6:25. Do you want me to call you then or during my layover in Dallas for two hours? I can e-mail again on Saturday, so I will be able to see your answers. I am going to buy a pre-paid card, I think, I'm not sure though. Your thoughts??

Ok courtney gordon and Jax! Thats so awesome you are in Mexico! How is it?! Are you doing well? How's the baby? Jax bones...snail! I do that to a lot of people here...it's still apart of me. Gordon, how's your insides? Are you still super healthy? or no? I am praying for you guys! Keep me posted!

Chase and Amanda. I think I have your address now, so I am going to send you guys a letter today, I think with some stuff for the boys, but I'm not sure! I miss them.

 Oh yeah, Chase, Gordon, Rhett, Connor, Dad, any insights from your mission you feel like you want to share with me? This mission thing is tough. I know I can do it, but it really is so hard!! How do you know if you're really ready?

Connor, how are you man? I was talking to another Elder in my district andIi was telling him about you. haha sometimes you just crack me up!! There are a lot of missionaries here going to Brazil, so I'm reminded of you daily. Cody, I heard mom and dad went to dinner with you and Marina. How is that? Do you really like her alot? That's dope if you do! If not...still chill. haha Chelsey and Rhett. I hope the move is going well!! Does the place look nice?! Rhett, thank you SO much for the ipod!! it is so choice! The pictures are perfect!!! I was really missing you guys!!! The music is so cool! there is a lot of exploring i will have to do, but I am so grateful!!!

Cassidy, how are you? I miss you, you're my best friend! Hows Italy? a lot of really nice cars? That's what I would hope for.

Cole, hey brosky!!!! I miss you man!!! you have taught me so much about how to be a good friend!! Thank you! I love you all, and I'm really glad to know you are all being blessed!! I'll keep praying for you all!

 This mission is a family affair! I'm so grateful for the work. I'm so grateful for our Lord Jesus Christ. I am trying to grow to know Him better. I know this is the Lord's work. I know that we all have the choice to either hinder or help this work. There was something my teacher hermano toledo told us; whenever you feel like you shouldn't do something related to the gospel, that means you need to do it, and you need to do it harder!! That is so true! This week I have really come to understand how much of a real war this is...The adversary hates us and we need to be soldiers. We need to fight for zion.  It's really empowering to know how much of a difference every single person can make in the world. I love you guys! I'm going to probably write some letters to you today. but I will be writing you on Saturday! have a good week!!!

nos vemos! les amo!!
-Elder Clayton Rodney England

MTC #5 "We Are As The Army of Helaman"

Mi Familia!

 Hola! How is everything going? How is Cole? Cody? Connor? Everyone!?


 We went to devotional last night in the BYU basketball place...super gross. Haha, but Elder Schwitser or something like that spoke. It was just a super pump talk! I came out with just like a fire burning in my chest and it was super cool! On the way back I was walking with Elder Wykstra and Elder Thuet in my district and we started singing "We Are As The Army of Helaman". This was the happiest I've been in a while. Just walking past all the missionaries belting that out. It was super awesome!!! Then after that, we had district devotional which is just testimony meeting. This week we didn't have one of the branch presidency members there, so it was pretty nice just having us guys. The spirit was really strong and during the whole meeting I kept feeling impressed to share the Book of Mormon story with Cole's healing. When I shared it, the Spirit was so strong. I honestly love the Spirit. That's what pushes us as members and investigators, to feel the Spirit as much as possible. I'm really sorry for hounding you guys all the time with letters. Thank you for all that you do!!! I love you guys, I'll probably right you guys a letter today! I love this work!

I love my Savior and my Heavenly Father,
I love my family,
-Elder Clayton Rodney England

MTC #4 Blake Crestani and Clayton at MTC

MTC #3 Fiesta with Queso and Chips!

  Hola! 

 On Wed, Sep 4, 2013 at 10:47 AM, Clayton England wrote: 

 It rained last weeek here and it was so nice to run around in it, even though I was in my suit, and it was right after the devotional where Niel L. Anderson spoke! Well Elder Evans spoke last night here, he pulled me out of class to come see him! haha i truly love that man! He has a picture of us I think!!

So dad you'd be glad to know that we quote some of your favorite movies a lot of the time! School of rock, and Elf...well at least i quote, and no one knows, but oh well! Our district is getting really close now, I like all the guys...mostly but I'm not gonna talk bad on anyone. Last night we had p-day eve and had a fiesta with queso dip, and candy! I like doing things like that!!!

So fill me in on what everyone is doing!!! I wanna know about everyone! Make them sit down and write me for five minutes! Cass! hows steve? Haha please!!! Oh tell amanda sorry I didn't have a specific letter for her!! I loved her story about mckay and his mixing up fruits! ...I still don't trust him...;)

So I'v got a new teacher, hermano telado. He's from mexico city, and he's really funny! He's really small and has a super high voice, but he's hilarious and I love him! So I told you about my" investagator"? Hermano Bennet is one of my teachers and he was pretending to be a investigator, Constantine. But when he teaches us, he's a lot like Elder Holland, in that when he gets intense, he lights your eyes on fire, and inspires you!!! He's super cool! Well I don't have to much time but I love you guys! I need a couple things...SORRY!!!!

1) work out timer

 2)febreeze..any kind 

 3)Car model...please!! and like a calenday, of cars, or church stuff, but at least pictures of cars.      4)Posters of the savior, there is an artist i like, i can't remember his name, but there is a painting he did     of jehovah creating the earth, and its rally cool and artsy, but I think we own it somewhere, but    anything is great! 

  5)letters 

6)anything else you want to send me!!! 

 Adios family!!

 Love you!!! -Elder Clayton Rodney England

P.S.  I'm going to vegas on Monday to get my visa, so I might be able to call you, We'll see!!! 

It's so weird to think I've been here for only three weeks... It feels like I've been here for a year already!!  It's kind of ridiculous!  The mtc is just limbo I swear.  When I went to Las Vegas, it was so weird to see that there was a real world out there!  I met a lot of really nice people, and got a chance to share the gospel a little bit!  There was an older couple sitting behind us on the plane, and they were Nazarenes', which is I think some sort of Baptist church, but I don't know.  They were really nice and really impressed with us.  We got to talking and the wife said they had gone to Temple Square to go to the Family History Library, because she is really into genealogy.  I told her that the Church had a really good Family History site, Family Search, and gave her the information.   She was really happy to hear about it.  I really hope that opens some doors for her to have more interaction with the church later.  

Ok...um something funny that happened...well our district leader has sworn on the bible that he won't speak english for the rest of the mtc...and he's not very good at spanish haha.  Mostly he's just gotten really good at charades!  Every time he talks it goes like this: ummm.....muchas.....denada.....por favor......aveceasesddsesfagakjoerjj.  He really impresses me with his commitment, but it's really funny!