Caroling

Salut Mere et Pere! Commet va tu?

This week was good.
I had two exchanges where
I worked outside of my area
which is always interesting
because I don't have total control.
But its good for me though to learn
how to follow as well as lead.
I worked in Gereland, which is
the southern part of the city of Lyon,
and in St. Etienne, which is about an
hour south by train and is a ville
consisting of about 60% Muslims,
which isn't bad, but when talking to
Muslims about the gospel you just
get the same responses like,
"of course God always called
prophets to deliver a message!"
me-"Exactly! So what wouldn't you
think it would be important to know that
there is a living prophet today?"
"No, no, no! Not possible!
Mohammed was the last prophet!"
You get that one every time.
There are many other cliché
responses such as "there can't
be a prophet. Look at all the wars!"
Me- "Mr., you know there were wars
during the time of Moses with their
captivity in Egypt, with Abraham
and the Assyrians, and even Mohamed
with all the conflicts in the
middle east during that time?"
"Umm... yeah.. still not possible!
Mohammed was the last prophet!"
But they are way nice though, honestly,
and are more open to talk then most
"Christians" so it is all good.
We did caroling in downtown Lyon
which was really fun and surprisingly
effective.

We had 10 missionaries carol the
last night of the Fete de Lumiere
where there were tons of people passing
by and then Friday night in Downtown
Lyon we had 10 missionaries and
2 members singing and then
myself and my trainer, who is
in Lyon but in a different Zone,
stopped people in front of the singing.
I couldn't believe how many people
stopped and listened to us!
Almost everyone!
It was so good!
Speaking of the "Fete de Lumiere,"
it was so amazing and we
need to come back and visit one of
these days! Lyon is so beautiful.

This week should be really good.
I have an exchange with the assistants
to the president here in Lyon on
Wednesday, they do that with the
zone leaders once a transfer,
and then we have a half mission
conference on Thursday here in Lyon
where it will be Christmas music
based along with the implementation of
this next years plan, "Member Lessons,"
where the members receive lessons
we have made.
I am very excited about it.
I hope you have a wonderful week

Elder Clayton Henderson Welch

Lyon Festival of Lights "Le fete de Lumiere"

My week was great, thanks for asking.  And by the way,
I make a smoothie, with only fruit and juices, for
breakfast and dinner, so I am eating a lot healthier. 
Thank you so much for that.
But this week was great.  The work is a little different
as a zone leader, but it is still great. 
There are a lot more opportunities to serve which
I am very grateful for.  This last Tuesday I went to
Zone Leader Council in Geneva which was great.
I love hearing teachings from our mission president
and the assistants.  We drove down with the 1st
counselor in the Mission Presidency, Frere Mocelin,
who was just released as Lyon's Stake President
for 9 years and who was the First Counselor in the
Stake Presidency for 9 years before that.  He
is only 46 so he has spent half his life in the
stake presidency!  He is a spiritual giant! 
We spent the 3 hour trip there and back hearing
his stories about meeting different prophets and
apostles.  We had a zone conference and
interviews on Thursday where I taught on
Prayer which went really well actually. 
And then I had an exchange here with a
missionary who is Swiss.  It was a really
great week.  But actually, the best part of
the week is that it is "Le fete deLumiere,"
the festival of lights here in Lyon; the biggest
celebration of the year.  It went fro, last
Thursday until tonight and there are millions
of people here visiting for it.  All night there
is just music and light shows and we have
taken our dinner hours just going and
walking through it.  It is so amazing.
I WILL send you some pictures of it, haha.

Questions:
how many zones are there are in the mission? 9 

How far do you have to travel and how many
elders in your zone? 
8 Elders and 4 sisters.

That is interesting that the ward doesn’t meet in
a chapel. 
How many members are there in the 2 ward? 
about 90 people each week. 
There is a chapel in the suburbs of Lyon but
this is just the church for the city.

But all is well.  thank you so much for all you
do and for all the love and support. 
We set another baptismal date this week for
the 28th, so we will hopefully have two
baptisms on the 28th. 
They both look possible right now.
But thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers. 


Elder Clayton H. Welch

(photos were not Elder Bubba's but some Patricia showed me on the internet as examples of the festival of Lights in Lyon.)

Lyon, France

I am doing great!
My birthday and Thanksgiving were good. 
Thanksgiving we actually ate at a recent converts house
 and we had a huge wok full of vegetables! I
t was way good.  He is like a hippie teacher here so
it was a blast.  That's whats great about 
here, the people are sweet city folk. 
My birthday was good.  I went to church 
as usual, but my companion got really sick in
the middle so I left church early for the first time in my
mission and he slept while I cleaned the apartment 
because it was pretty gross when I got there. 
He got sick from the pizza we had from pizza hut for my
birthday the night before, haha.  It was stuffed crust but 
spicy stuffed crust.  He is better now so its all good. 
I opened your presents last night when he got up and
they were so good!  Thank you so much.  I am 
already using the pen, i am wearing the tie, and we
went shopping this morning and bought tons of fruit to
use in the blended!  I am stoked for it!  Thank you 
so much!
I will try to answer some of your questions though. Lyon?
I love it.  It is huge and I love big cities/ 
Where is he from:
Alpine Utah.
How long has he been out:
a year and 8 months.  He has had three french
companions and speaks way well!
Was he a football player: 
no, but he did ski tons which is cool.  He is a 
really nice guy. 
Do you think it will be a good companionship
and will be able to work well together? 
Yeah, he is a good leader and I am going to learn
tons from him.
What is your apartment like?  old, haha. 
Your address is Villeurbanne - is this a suburb?
Nope.  It is us two, and two sisters who have pretty much 
ALL of downtown Lyon. 
How far are you from the church? 
really close.  The church is actually not a chapel. 
It is a like in the city so its just in a 
building with businesses.
Will you take the subway most of the time?
Yup.  Everyday.  It was raining the other day so
we contacted people on the subway for 
like 3 hours/  It is really scary but fun. 
The weather: its cold.  I wear a coat, scarf,
and gloves all the time.
But the work is going well.  It will be a good transfer. 
I am going to learn a lot.  I am excited.
But thank you for all your prayers and thoughts. 
I do feel them and they do help.

Elder Clayton Henderson Welch

HAPPY 20th BIRTHDAY ELDER BUBBA! <3

WE LOVE YOU!

Zone Leader

This week was pretty good.  In regards to your questions:
Do most Swiss travel via public transportation
or have their own cars?

Most people take trains everywhere.
But there are quite a few carsin the cities.
The bus system is very clean and very efficient.
Is it a social status to have a car there?  Yes.  
You know if someone is rich if they have a car.
And you know someone is really rich if they own
their own house.

So how is it going trying to find French 
speakers instead of German?   
It is going well.  After talking to my mission 
president about it we havedecided that any
time that both of us are trying to find people,
i.e. knocking doors or talking to people in
the road, we will do an exchange.
It has worked out really well and I have learned
a little German while doing it.
Nothing beyond a contact
about the gospel though.

Any success yet or is it too early to tell? 
There is a little success.  We had an ami come to
church, his name is Nimaga, and he will be asked
to be baptism this Wednesday.
I am almost positive he will be baptized by
the end of the year.

So now, the moment I know you have been waiting for:
Is Elder Welch staying or going?
Well, this morning we received calls and what
President Peterson said I was not expecting at all.
I am being transferred.  I am going to Lyon!
The biggest city in the mission to be in the highest
baptizingward in our mission.  Not only that
but I am going to be a zone leader. 
That is what was so shocking.  
I am only on my sixth transfer.  I am not going to lie.
I feel really inadequate for this calling.  As far as I know,
the next youngest missionary who is a zone leader in our
mission is on his 11th transfer.   I will be serving with
Elder Black though, who is a really good missionary
who speaks very well (he has had three
French companions). I think we will probably
speak French all the time.
But I really am nervous for this calling.  I know
"whom the Lord calls, he qualifies,"
but I still can't help but think that I am not ready.
But, all will be well.  Maybe just pray to give me
strength and patience during these next couple of weeks.
I really am not that worried, but it is just shocking for me.
I know I will be OK.
I am stoked to be in Lyon for Christmas.  
It is a way big city with a subway and everything.
I am stoked! My new address is:

  Elder Clayton H. Welch
  Les Missionnaires
  138, rue Dedieu
  F-69100 Villeurbanne
  FRANCE

But I will be going to Lyon on Wednesday.
Being a zone leader I will be going to Geneva 2 times
a transfer for "zone leader council" which will be a cool 
experience.This week I hit 9 months!
It crazy how fast time flies.
But I can't tell you how much fun I am having.  I have grown
so much and I know that I will grow 
enormously in the upcoming weeks.
But thanks for all of the birthday wishes.  I appreciate them.
I don't know what I have planned for thanksgiving, but I am sure
we will get a Turkey Sub or something.
As for a Christmas list, maybe just a new suit.
Mine are both still a little 
lose so I wouldn't mind a smaller french one.
But that wont be for a month or so.
What do YOU want for Christmas from France?
Thank you for all you do.  I am truly grateful for all that you do.

Your thankful son,
Elder Clayton H. Welch

Family

I actually had one of the most low key weeks of my 
mission surprisingly so not to much to report on.
But I am still doing as great as ever.

My week, as previously alluded to, was pretty
uneventful aside from the usual missionary routine. 
I spent almost the whole week here in Bienne. 
I have changed the focus here from the missionaries
here in the past to working primarily in the city. 
Missionaries in the past worked in the smaller French 
only cities in Switzerland which I did my first transfer
here, but it is next to impossible to get members to
help that far away, and even harder to get these 
investigators to travel so far for church. 
So, we are toughing it out and sifting through the
German speakers here in Bienne.  It is a lot harder
but I feel that it is much more productive and we
will have more success in getting people to come
to church.  We are still teaching the Iraqi family and
they are great despite the HUGE language barrier. 
We have to teach so simply, but they love having us
over.  We got them to pray with us last night, and
will be giving the mother, who is pregnant, a
blessing due to an illness on Wed. night and then 
we will be eating with them.  They are great. 
They faced so many hardships in Iraq and had so
many crazy experiences!  They once had a bomb go off
by there house, leaving their oldest son unable to
walk for 6 months!  They are struggling here in
Switzerland, but they are so grateful and humble to
 have their family here together in safety. 
It makes you really realize what is 
important; Family.

We have interviews tomorrow with the mission president
which I am excited for.  He is a very wise and inspired man.
Next Monday is the start of the new transfer and I will know
if I am staying or going.  I am pretty sure I will be 
staying here with Elder Nelson though.

Elder Clayton Henderson Welch

Bu

Testimony of Obedience

I am as well!  Everything here is going great and I love 
being a missionary so much!  This week was good.
A lot less traveling, but a nice relaxing week of focusing
on missionary work.  It was great.

That's great that you had daylight savings. 
I was surprised to find out that they 
do have it here, but it was a couple of weeks ago. 
Good old Benjamin Franklin 
and America influencing the rest of the world.


Oh man, it was so great to hear
that Obama won the election.
I was so stoked!  Everyone in Europe was so stoked and
that is all you see in papers and magazine 
covers.  I wish you could see how happy everyone
in the world is to see the progression we our finally
making in the world of acceptance.  I was actually at 
a less active members house the night of the
elections for her birthday.  She is African, as well as her
2 sisters and her brother in law who were there. They 
were so stoked to see that I was for Obama and
laughed for like 10 minutes when I pulled out the
Obama pin.  People just love him here.
I just hope he can help us out!

But as I alluded to, this week was pretty chill. 
We added a family from Iraq actually to our
teaching pool, so its great to finally be teaching
a full family.  The language barrier is hard though
because the parents speak Arab and 
little to no English and French, but the children,
there are 5, speak French.  It is fun none the less.
Last night we actually had a really great experience;
a real testimony builder for my companion and
I know it is helping him better understand the need for 
exact obedience.
We were knocking on peoples' doors at about 7,
and were in the area of a family of which are members,
though, the father is a less active.  We passed by and 
shared with them this great film, "Finding Happiness,"
its my favorite church film, its only 6 minutes and is
made just for Europe and is brand new.  We 
watched it and I bore testimony of the great "light"
God gives to us through prayer, scripture study, and
families and then invited them to share this video 
with a friend.  They said they would and when I asked
what we could do for their family, the wife said that
her husband, who was sitting right next to her was 
struggling.  I asked if he was sick and how we could help. 
She said, no, not sick, but struggling with the church. 
I offered to give him a blessing and then 
began to teach about my testimony in the church. 
As we talked I realized he had a problem with leaders
in the church and we began to talk about that.  As we the 
man struggled to express how he didn't feel the branch
president was called of God because of his disagreement
on certain topics, my companion did something I 
couldn't believe:  He began to talk about how when
he entered the mission field he thought that the rule
on music was ridiculous and that he could listen to 
whatever he wanted.  And on top of that, he said
that our Mission President had imposed further restrictions,
as to say that we can only listen to The Mormon 
Tabernacle Choir, and songs written over 100 years ago. 
He talked about how he didn't agree with that and for the
first 5 months of his mission he didn't follow 
this rule.  But then he said, "the last month, I have lived
this commandment, this commandment given to us by
a man inspired and called of by God, holding the 
keys to our mission and us as missionaries, and
I have felt the Spirit stronger more than I have ever felt
in my life.  I know that this man of called of God, 
just as I know that our branch president is called of God." 
It was so powerful.  He is gaining a testimony of obedience. 
It is so great to see.  I love being able to help him realize this.
This church is true.  I know it with all of heart, might,
mind, and strength.  Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God;
 the man on the earth, holding ALL the keys 
of the Kingdom of God.  I know this, and this knowledge is
something I am here to teach to all the world. 
This church is true.  The Book of Mormon is the word 
of God.  I love being a missionary and
I learn and grow so much everyday. 

Elder Clayton W.

A week of travels

This week for me was nothing but going places.
Its good though.  I like to travel.
Tuesday and Wednesday I was in Granoble with
my companion and I finished up all
my paperwork and am just waiting for the
papers to come in the mail.  Granoble
was so nice and is such a beautiful city.
It is a lot like Salt Lake mountain
wise, but the architecture is much more ancient.
Thursday I had an exchange with the zone
leaders so I was in Yverdon, which is
actually a very pretty Swiss city.  I stayed the
night there and went to zone
conference on Friday which was soo good.
Its one of my favorite parts of being a  missionary;
the instruction we receive from inspired leaders.
Saturday I actually worked in Bienne, but not really.
I went to Moutier where we found a new ami who
is awesome.  She is a sweet 30 year women
from Gabon, and is dating one of our amis.
Then, we went to Tavannes, and met with a less
active and started teaching her husband.
Sunday, I went to Lausanne, which is such
an amazing city.  It is so beautiful and is the olympic
headquarters for the whole world!  Stake conference
was great, and yeah, it was in French.
Last night I actually came down to Geneva while
my companion went back with a different missionary
to Grenoble to finish up some legality stuff.  So right now
I am in Geneva which is amazing!  I think we are going
to some sweet castle on Lake Geneva later today with
the assistants to the president, but I am not sure.
I will let you know next week.
So this week was crazy.
I was in Bienne, Moutier, Tavannes, Yverdon,
Lausanne, and Geneva.
This week should be a little more chill which will be nice.
I can't tell you how much I love being a missionary.

Obedience

I am so glad to hear that the football game
went so well on Tuesday!  It sounded like a
great game and Trey did great as usual. 
He is a stud.  And that is to bad about the
game on Saturday, but I am glad it was still 
a good game and that they went out with pride. 
I can't believe that we are both done with football. 
That is crazy.  I remember when all I cared about
was football, and girls I guess; haha. 
Although I still love both of those things, it is
interesting to see how the importance of things
in our lives change as we mature, and how our
retrospect alters when we have a better
understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 
I can honestly say that I know that the most
important things in life are Family, Church, and
Education.  I am so excited to get back 
involved with the first and latter.  I think
I will look at schooling in a whole 
different light when I return and will try
a lot harder.  Never thought you 
would hear me say that, did you?

I can not believe I am 8 months done with
my mission today.  I can't tell you how crazy
that is.  I feel like I just got here. 
I have grown so much though and I am
excited to see my personal growth and change
in the upcoming 16 months. This week was
pretty mundane (sp?) to say the least. 
Sorry about all the spelling errors. 
The French language kills your spelling. 
No one here can spell their own language
because you only pronounce half of the words. 
But this week was good, but nothing too out
of the ordinary.  We found 4 new investigators
this week which was great.  Two of them are
here on business from Ghana for the next 
three months and are really excited to find
out if "the stick of Judah, and the 
stick of Ephraim"/the Bible and the Book of Mormon
really do strengthen our 
testimony's in both and in our understanding
and belief of Jesus Christ.  I really feel they
have the faith necessary to receive an answer
and am excited to share in this experience with them.
One of the others was a man named Franky 
who we actually met by asking him where he
got this sweet coat he was wearing.  The fourth
new ami we found is probably the weakest,
but the story is a miracle in itself.    We were working and we had
just had to people bail on us for rendez-vous. 
He started to get frustrated and wanted to go in
for the night because he felt like he was doing
no good as a missionary.  It was 8 o'clock and
we still had another hour of work before we
should have gone inside.  There was no one
really on the streets and he felt that it was 
pointless just to walk around for an hour. 
I told him that I knew that God had prepared
someone for us that night and that through
obedience, we would find him/her.
I told him that we would keep working
and we would contact every single person
that passed.  Well, the first person we passed,
we stopped and asked him if we could talk
about the gospel of Jesus Christ to him. 
He said he had just got off work and was
headed home.  I told him that's great and if he 
wouldn't mind, we would love to go back to his
place and teach him about the restoration of
the gospel of Jesus Christ for about 15 or
20 minutes.  He said yes!  We went to his place
and taught him about the restoration and
have an appointment for this Thursday. 
I know that we found this man, Asefaw,
thanks to obedience and listening to the
promptings of the spirit!  It was a huge help for
my companion and we both learned a lot
from the experience.  I love how blessed 
we can be through listening to the spirit
and following the commandments we have 
been given!

This should be a great week.  We have
 district meeting tomorrow in Neuchatel, 
one of the most beautiful cities ever. 
Then we are going to Granoble, France 
Tuesday night and Wednesday to do
some French legality.  Then we have an 
exchange with the zone leaders so I will
be in Yverdon on Thursday, and then we 
have Zone Conference in Lausanne on Friday. 
And then we have stake conference 
on Sunday in Lausanne again.  It will be
a crazy week and i will be all over 
Europe, but it will be fun! 
I am excited to eat another French paticerie (sp?) 
and receive counsel from the mission president!

Elder Bubba

Cultural Night

 I am doing so well!
As for the questions:

How is your new companion, Elder Nelson?
He is sweet.  We actually have things 
in common and he is probably one of the 
most likable missionaries in the mission.
He is rad.
Where is he from and how long has he been out? 
He is from Lehi, Utah.  He has been out for just
over 6 months.  He is one transfer younger then me. 
I am his third companion.
Do you have anything in common? 
Yeah, he played football in high school and he likes
to snowboard.
Were you able to reschedule any of the appointments
and did the amis show up? 
A couple but I am really trying my hardest to find the
"elect," those whom God has already prepared, and
I don't feel that we have found anyone who could be 
baptized this transfer.
Did you have your cultural night with the branch
yet and did they like the Special K bars?  Yes! 
They LOVED them. 
Thank you so much mom for making them!  
I had a couple of people who asked me for the recipe,
so if you wouldn't mind sending it, I wouldn't mind
it to much either!
Have you seen any impact to the world falling
markets in Switzerland?
Honestly, not really.  People haven't really talked
about it much.  I know there was a 
pretty big hit last week though. 
But everyone still seems pretty chill as usual.
Have I gotten sick/health? Not really. 
There have been two nonconsecutive days 
where I had a runny nose but that's it. 
I drink a lot of this multi-fruit drink 
and I am taking a vitamin everyday.
So this week was good.  We unfortunately
had several other lessons fall, but we 
were able to find three new amis. 
It was sweet!  The cultural night was way fun 
and it was cool to "hang out" with the ward. 
Church was good.  The stake president was
there and he is way cool.  I taught the priesthood
lesson again and I gave a 15 minute talk on how
we need the members help to achieve a couple 
of goals we set for the end of the year, and
how they corresponded perfectly 
with the branch goal they set for the end of the year.
Now we are just talking about ways we 
can better follow the rules and be "exactly obedient"
to better have the spirit 
with us in our companion study. 

Have a great week 
Elder Clayton Henderson Welch

A new companion

Whats up?  Nothing much here.

This week was the last week of the transfer 
so we received transfer calls this 
morning.  I will be staying in Bienne, 
but I will be receiving a new companion:  
Elder Nelson.  He is a way sweet elder 
from what I hear.  I am now going to be 
senior companion so I am excited for 
this new adventure. 
This will be a fun transfer.
 
Nothing to crazy happened this week.  
We were supposed to add 7 new amis but 6 
of them fell through with was disappointing.  
We were able to reschedule some of 
them and this should be a much better week.

That's great that you were able to go to 
stake conference Mom.  I went to one in 
Nancy my first transfer, and we will have 
the Laussanne Stake conference on the 
second of November I believe.

As for my birthday present I have actually 
thought of something I may want.  I 
think the money will be best used as a 
donation to someone in more need but I 
have been thinking about how great one 
of those "magic bullets" would be so I 
could make smoothies and stuff for breakfast 
and be more happy.  I don't know how 
much those cost but if not to much maybe 
that and a smoothie book or something.  
But that is not a need, so don't worry about it.

I hope you have a great week and 
I will have more to say next week!
Elder Clayton H. Welch

Exchange week

Wow, this week has flown by.

As to the questions you posed pops:
What was your favorite kind of chocolate?  
haha, tough question.  I actually am not a
huge fan of chocolate, I am surprised 
you didn't know that.  I think Mom knows that.
But it actually was way good.  I have actually
grown to really like it on my mission.  I like any
chocolate with nuts in it, preferably almonds.
But, there was this one chocolate called "air 
chocolate;"  haha, it was pretty good.
Strange, but good.  It was just kind of bubbly.

So how far away are Brul and Yverdon from Bienne?
About 30 some minutes on train to Yverdon and
an hour in the car to Brul.  We rode in the car with the 
zone leaders because they have one.  It isn't that far
away but you have to go like around lakes and
find interstates.

What are the rest of the missionaries in your zone like? 
Here is the line up.  
Elder Hamilton: One of the two zone leaders.
Biggest kid in mission.  Football player from California
and that is all we talk about.  haha, he is one of my 
favorite people in the mission.  He is actually 24 and
already graduated from college at BYU and getting
married a month after he gets home.
Elder Cook:  Other zone leader.  He is pretty cool.
He talks like Napoleon Dynamite a lot, haha.
Elder Rennick.  He is in neuchatel and is one of my
favorite missionaries in the mission. He is about to go
home but he is from California and was on the 
us national cycling team (juniors, under 25).
He is the man.
Elder Buhinin:  my age in the mission.
He is way good at the piano.
Elder  :  Kind of feminine but way nice.
Elder Schmidt:  Don't really know him to well.  and my 
companion Elder Barber who likes cartoons and
stuff like that. haha, but he is still pretty cool.

What is raclet?
The greatest thing ever!  Oh man!  Ask Patty for further 
enlightenment, but it is potatoes boiled and smashed up,
and then you have cheese that you cook in a raclet cooker
that you put on the potatoes and then put some cooked
salami or other meet on top.  That and fondue are
really big in Switzerland, though, I have yet to have fondue.

Did you get a chance to watch or listen to all of conference?
If so, what was your favorite talk?   All but the Sunday
afternoonsession.  It was soo good!  I LOVE conference.
I loved Elder Wirthlin's talk, especially when he talked about 
his daughter's blind date;  probably one of the funniest things
I have ever heard in my life.  But they were all way good.

How are the potential amis coming?
Do you still call them amis in Switzerland also?
Yes, they are still called amis.  Oh man, I don't know.
It has been a crazy week here, but this week I hope
to find a couple way solid amis and help 
some of our current amis to become solid.

But this week was crazy.
I was actually only in Bienne for 2 days.  I was in 
Brul Monday, Yverdon Tuesday for the exchange,
I went to Neuchatel on Wednesday for an exchange
with Elder Renick because both of our companions
had legality to do in Lyon, and was in Bienne on Friday,
and then Neuchatel again on Saturday and Sunday to
watch conference!  I honestly didn't feel like I did
much work here in Bienne, but I did do work other
places I guess.  But it was still a good week.
I love to travel so that was alright with me.
And I am just like you mom, I love the scenery on trains,
especially through the Swiss hills and mountains.

As for my birthday and Christmas, no worries.
My mission is my presents.
If you don't want to count that, the coat I bought today,
with a pair of gloves, can count as my presents.
And if you still aren't happy, I think that there is a
charity or 2,you could maybe donate to in my behalf.
But I will think about which ones if you like
or if there is something I need.
But have a great week and keep being you! 

Elder Clayton Henderson Welch

Swiss Chocolate

I  am actually in Yverdon Switzerland 
right now for an exchange here the next few days
and also to go to a chocolate factory for preparation day.
haha, yes, that was my preparation day today.  As a 
zone, all 8 of us missionaries went to the Nestlé
chocolate factory in Brul (sp?) right next to Fribourg.
Travel time didn't allow for a whole bunch of 
time there but we were still able to take the tour
and you will not believe it but at the end of the FREE tour,
all of it was free, there was all you could eat 
FREE Swiss chocolate, fresh... oh my goodness.
It was like heaven in my mouth.  
We will definitely make that a destination on our travels
if we decide to come back.  But it was a really great day.
I will try to send you some Swiss chocolate soon. 

Sorry I am not the best at answering questions.
It is much easier for me to answer them if you put them
in like a question format, haha, sorry, its just hard to go
back an forth.  But here are some of the question you
asked and some responses.

Are you still driving or just public transportation?
Public transportation.  I am probably on a train at least
one hour every day going through the amazing 
suisse countryside.

How many members and is it a ward or branch?
There is a German speaking ward which i believe is big,
but the french speaking branch has probably 20 members 
with 10 couple missionaries.  That is because the suisse
temple is in Zolikhofen (sp?), just 20 minutes away,
so the french temple workers go to our branch.  But 
the branch is great.

Do you do much door knocking or are the members providing
enough contacts to teach?
I do a lot of street contacts, visiting former investigators,
and some doors.  I prefer to talk to people in the street
although my companion doesn't.  
Door knocking is easier, but I just feel stopping people
in the busy streets is a lot more effective.

What’s the food like and do you get many dinners with
member families or mostly cooking on your own.
I actually ate with 3 members this last week!  haha, the 
first three since I have been here.  But they were way good!
We eat raclet every district meetings every Tuesday
which is WAY good!

Is the scenery different – it looks like it is colder there than in Metz?  
completely The scenery is way different.  Switzerland and
France are different.  I think I prefer Switzerland, but cities are
just really small.  I like big cities.  But it has been cold,
but when I wear a sweater and a suit jacket its 
great.  They didn't have my size in the jacket I wanted
so i had them order it so I should be getting it this week.
Thank you for that.

But everything is way great!  I love being a missionary.
It is a really kind of surreal to me, but its a great opportunity. 

The branch here is having a "cultural night" and want me to 
talk about Minnesota.  Could you maybe make me a bunch of special k bars.
Thanks again for all that you do and cheer Trey on for me at
the Homecoming 
coronation and game!
Your Eternal Loving Son,
Elder Bubba

Getting colder

Salut
Commet va tu? 


Trey's football game sounded like it was really fun and I am glad to
hear that they are already off to another great year.  Do you know
if they are ranked in the state or not?  That's funny that Trey played
with his helmet off; its funny that that happened to both of us!
Its good though, it makes a good story to tell.  Well worth a fat lip. 
I always hated doing those autographs after the game though, haha.

Everything here is going very well.  Switzerland is so much different
than France!  I love them both but I think I like Switzerland better
though.  The people are a little more closed surprisingly, but the
country is just so beautiful and the people are just so great
when you get to know them.It actually has been cold the last week. 
It was crazy.  It was hot one day, making it necessary to wear
just a short sleeve shirt, and then the very next day it was cold
enough for a sweater and a suit jacket.  Its crazy
how fast the temperature can change but I like the cold so it is good. 
I think I am going to go and buy that coat from C&A, a British store
I really like, after I finish my emails.  It is 100 francs, so just under
a 100 dollars. 

Right now we have one baptismal date which has been changed to
the 12th because of our inability to get him to church.  We are
working really hard on changing that and hopefully we can hit
our goal of having the baptism on the 12th.We are adding a lot of
new amis, and I am trying my best to do the Lord's work to 
the best of my abilities.  As a person I fall short, but with the
Lord's help I know I can find those people whom he has prepared.

 I am currently serving with Elder Barber for a reason, and 
that reason may very well be that I need to step up my French and
be a leader as a missionary.  He is just so different from my other
two companions, but I know another attribute I am gaining from him
is patience which will be very beneficial in the future. 
But he really is a great missionary and I hope to see the good work
bring us closer together.

I met the sweetest guy yesterday.  He started yelling at us from his
window and when I asked him what he does for work he invited us
up and he ended up being this sweet surrealist painter!  He was so rad! 
We talked for a long time and although he isn't to interested in the
gospel he gave me one of his sketches for free; it is of him after leaving
the Vietnam war with just his backpack and the mountains in the
background.  It kind of reminds me of the little adventure I am 
on now.  I will try to send you a picture of it.  

I really am happy and I do love doing this work.

I am glad you enjoyed the 
pictures and I think I might send that card home here in a couple
of weeks.  It is filled up.  I already have the 2 gb card you sent me
pops so no worries about buying another.


Elder Clayton H. Welch

Finally Missionary Pictures!

Asst. to the Pres. Elder Greaves and Elder Bubba
(PV friends)

The Church in Metz, France.
"The most beautiful church I have ever seen inside."

"A picture I took from a bridge in Metz.
It has only been changes into black and white.
It is really is this beautiful.
Oh not to mention the best
kebab place in the world, "Colo Kebab"
is just down the road where you can get
a kebab, fries and coke for just 5 euros!"

His testimony

BARACK THE VOTE!
"Headline on top, "How He changes America."
"Barack and me chilling in Metz."

"Me eating the infamous Coco Kebab on one of our balconies in Metz, France."

"Myself and Elder McKnight. My first baptism."

"The greatest family ever after ours of course. They were baptized Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008."
In Metz, France.

Gospel Brings Happiness

I am so grateful for my knowledge of the Plan of God, 
and the role of Jesus Christ in this plan.  I know 
with all my heart and mind that this gospel is true.  
This gospel is something that brings happiness when 
nothing seems right.  I can't even tell you how much 
this gospel brings to my life.  If you ever feel down, 
study the atonement.  We will all live again because 
of our older brother Jesus, the Christ.  Be strong.  
Your examples will bring so many unto Christ. 
  
This week was good.  Both of our baptismal dates have 
been pushed back to the 5th, so hopefully we can better
prepare them.  The Piguet family was baptized on Saturday 
and it is so amazing to know that they will be blessed 
because of their decision. Yeah, my companion is a lot 
different than me.  Thank you for your words of 
encouragement.  I know that we are here together for 
a reason.  And I can't tell you how much better my 
French has gotten in the last week.  I don't know 
how our why.  I taught the lesson in Priesthood on 
Sunday on the plan of salvation and the revelation 
of Joseph Smith to a bunch of really smart Swiss French men 
and it was perfect!  Its crazy how much the Lord helps us.


I bought a sweater today because it is getting cold and 
I found a jacket I want to buy that's only 100 francs, 
very very cheap for Switzerland. Its under 100 dollars, 
so I think i will get that this next preparation day.  
I pulled out money the other day for Swiss legality.    
I am truly blessed.
 
Elder Clayton Henderson Welch

Qoui de neuf?

Qoui de neuf?  Whats up?  Thank you as usual for your great emails!
I loved them! Before I write to much sorry for any typing errors.
I am used to the key boards in France and the ones here are German.
It is actually just like the American keyboard, but just has the y and
z switched. But it is still way hard! 

Bienne is great!  The language barrier really doesn´t exist:  Everyone
seems to speak either French or English.  But it is way nice to
be in Switzerland.  It is such a beautiful country and everything
seems to be run very well, although, everything is very expensive. 
I did pull out 50 francs today to buy post cards and stamps and
I may have to use some personal money for trains this week 
because I have to get my train tickets reimbursed each week,
and I had to buy a "demi-carte" which allows me to get half off
on all trains in Switzerland.  We take trains a lot, probably every
day for about 20 minutes because it is a lot 
easier to do work in a little ville that is actually French. 
That is because 
for the most part the little towns outside of Bienne/Biel are either
one or the other.

Yeah, my companion is pretty sweet.  He is a lot different than me,
but that is good.  He has been out for a little over a year. 
I am not going to lie, he is really quite and kind of into animation
cartoons. I do feel like the senior companion and do most of the
talking.  Its good for me though. it will help me out in the long run. 
I really do like being the one pretty much in charge, 
but that probably isn´t always good.The work here is already
going great!  They already had a baptismal date set 
when I got here, but that one is pretty week because
he doesn´t come to church.  But actually, last week, like my
second day here, a man started talking to use 
in the gare, train station, and said he had talked with
missionaries in the past but was unable to be baptised
because he was living with his girlfriend.  He is 
from the country Georgia, and that was actually 8 years ago. 
We have been teaching him all week and we actually fixed
a date for baptism for him on the 28th of this month! 
His name is Emil and he is a great man.  It is amazing the 
many miracles I see each day.  I love being a missionary.

Elder Clayton H. Welch

ps.  I am mailing you some pictures today!

Transfered

Yes, we still have the car here, but we travel by train to Nancy
and Luxembourg.  I go to Nancy at least once a week which is
an hour train ride.  There are 8 missionaries there when we
play football.  I wasn't to sore this time which was nice.

Luxembourg was sweet!  It was just like being in America.
I cant even explain how sweet of a country it was.   
We will have to go there when we all come back.

So now, the big news.  We received transfer
calls this morningfrom President and
I am being transfered.
I am going to Bienne, Switzerland!  I am stoked.
I  will be serving with Elder Barber who I here is the
funniest missionary in our mission.  I am stoked.
I am not going to lie, it is very hard going two  
transfers with the same companion.
3 months of somebody
literally every second of the day.

But Bienne sounds sweet.  It actually is in our mission
and the  Zurich Mission.  About 60% of the people
speak Swiss Germanwhile the other 40% speak French.
It will be hard, but good.
We go on transfers all the time supposedly
with the other mission
and do porting(door to door) and contacting.   
I am very excited for this new adventure.

My new address is:
Elder Clayton H. Welch
Les Missionaires 
Madretschstrasse 122
CH-2503 Bienne 
SWITZERLAND

I think that is it, but I am not sure.
You should probably just mail stuff to  the mission home
if you do for this next week. I don't know if I will be able
to come back for the baptism,
though I hope I do.  It is on the 13th though.

I only had 30 minutes this week though because
this place is closing,
so I didn't get a chance to respond to anyone.
Tell everyone I say hey and that I hope
all is well.  Tell Trey I said great job.

Elder Clayton H. Welch

Walking to Church

I will try to answer those
questions.  You both said that I need to eat more fruits and vegetables;
thats true.  I am not going to lie, it is a lot easier to spend money on
junk food, but I do try to buy some tomatoes each week,
and occasionally oranges, and we buy yogurt with
fruit in it each week which I eat every morning
for breakfast.  I am not running every morning with my companion,
but I am getting up every morning and exercising
(I do jumping jacks, stretch, push ups, sit ups, etc) so no worries.

I like that I have lost a little weight.  But we did play football here in Nancy
again today as a zone which was really fun.  I had a ton of td's
but I am really sore.  I have already started taking some  ibuprofen .
The Olympics sounded great.  I didn't really see any, just like glimpses
while at rendez-vous,   I would love to go to them someday.  Where are the 
next ones for the winter?

The French is actually coming very well.  Some days seem better
than others. I don't know if I am fluent, it depends on what you call fluent? 
I can have a conversation with anyone about anything; although
some topics are hard to talk about in English, let alone in French. 
I wouldn't say my vocabulary is big by any means, and the
masculine/feminine kills me, but it is coming well. 
I am actually going up to Luxembourg right after
I get off this computer.  I am going on an exchange with Elder Dyer,
one of the two Elders up there, so I am stoked for that. 
I will be there for a day.The work here is going soo well. 
I am going to try to send you pictures of this family that we have the
baptismal dates for.  They are honestly the greatest 
family I have met on my mission.  I love them to death. 
We have been having to find them rides to church because
the bus system is very sparse on Sundays, most 
things are closed in France on Sundays which is very nice,
but it makes it hard for them to get to church. 
We couldn't find them a ride so I called them 
Saturday night and asked them if they would walk with us. 
We get to their apartment at 8 Sunday morning, and they
were still sleeping!  So they get up and hurry and get ready
and we leave. We all walk; Elder McKnight, myself,
Andrea(the mom), Gerald (10), Audry (10), and Arnold (8),
for an hour and end up being 30 minutes late to church,
which is fine because sacrament is last. 
It was hilarious though.  The lesson for primary was on repentance
so they had the kids run around this course outside with a backpack
filled with bottled waters and timed them, and then had them run
without it and show how much more productive we can be after we
repent and don't have that burden anymore.  It was 
a good lesson but it was just hilarious because they had walked
an hour and then had to run around.  But they are great. 
They will be baptized, along with the aunt who is in Paris for a
couple of weeks, on the 13th.  I don't know if I will still be here for it,
because transfers are next week.   I pray that I will.  I hope
I will be close enough to come back for it.  After church though 
they had us over for lunch.  Every time we are over there
they give us coke, its great!  That is where a lot of our focus is going
but we are still teaching about 10-13 lessons a week,
which is pretty unheard of in our mission.  We are 
just so blessed to have the Lord's hand guiding us in this work.
I love being a missionary.  I cant believe it is 1/4 done. 
It seems like just yesterday I was at home. 
But I know I am where I need to be and will be blessed for it. 
And you will be blessed for sending me.

Have a wonderful week and I look forward to hearing from you  !

Elder Clayton Henderson Welch

Exploding

Thank you so much for your emails!  As usual, they were great.

I am not going to lie, I have not been 
eating the best lately, but not poorly either.
I make a lot of Asian stir fry, white sauce pasta and baguettes,
and burritos (usually curry.)  My weight seems 
to be staying the same and there are no health problems here.  
That's sweet that you get to have your teeth cleaned this week mom. 
That is not really something missionaries do, at least not here. 
I know one missionary who went to a dentist.  
All I know is it cost him an arm and a leg. 
But I am not worried about it.  I use a fluoride toothpaste
every night and use mouthwash about 3 times a day, 
so all is good.  I am just about to open my second
fluoride toothpaste, so I should be fine with that for another
6 months.  I can buy toothbrushes here.

The work here is so great!  We added the son of the family
we are baptizing to the list, he turns 8 in a week or two. 
So that makes in 6 baptismal dates for 
us and they are all strong!  One of them will be baptized
on the 31, the mom and her 3 kids will be baptized on the
14Th along with the daughter of the less active who is coming back. 
It is so sweet!  We taught the family and the aunt 
tithing, word of wisdom, law of chastity, and keeping the
Sabbath day holy in the same rendez-vous and they accepted
 them all with such strong faith!  I love these people!

Its funny, we are actually on our way to becoming legends. 
At the last zone leader council, where the zone leaders meet
in Geneva once a month with president, Elder Greaves,
the assistant and my buddy from junior high, got up 
and told everyone how Metz was "exploding!" 
So there are definitely great things going on! 
I love being here, it is so sweet!

Our president tries to have you stay for four transfers,
but I am pretty positive I will be switching in a couple of weeks.

Elder Clayton Henderson Welch