Dear Family,

It's been another exciting week here in Maputo. You guys know that when it comes to heat, I'm not much of a complainer. You'd think growing up in the dry Utah summers, the sunny Brasilia afternoons, the Puerto Rican humidity and even the desert like Teotihuacan scenes in Mexico would have prepared me for this. We walk outside some days and we laugh at how ridiculous the heat is. January and February are the hottest months of the year. It really does slow us down. Our kitchen is actually separated from the house and is more like an outisde Churrascaria, like the one in your last home. When it's your day to cook, good luck out there in that inferno. Sometimes when we are walking, the only thing we can do is put our heads down and focus on each foot stepping in front of the other. There have been times where Elder Ruhle and I look up at each other, delirious and try to recall where we were headed again. We slept on the roof a few nights back to cool off, but woke up to a good sweat at 6:00 am. It is great. We are praying for the energy to keep on working hard and to keep walking despite the heavy mask of heat that humbles us to the ground.
I am discovering that the change that happens to these people is a change only brought about when they center their lives around Christ. Like our investigators, I am focusing on centering my life around Christ and not just myself. I can't do this on my own out here. I need my Savior close. There have been moments when I can feel his pain. I have felt His nails and the weight of His cross. These are the hardest days. My legs tremble, my toes blister, yet I am somehow able to stand. I stand all amazed at his love that enfolds me. On this day I will remain standing for Him. Ether 12:4 Says - Those who believe in God hope for a better world. This hope serves as an anchor to our souls and helps us remain steadfast, do good works and overall, glorify God. I know that the Gospel is the answer for a better world. From Mozambiqe, to Omaha, to Santiago- This is our hope and our anchor.

With distant although never fading love, Elder Clegg

HAPPY 7th BIRTHDAY ANNA!!!

HAPPY 12th BIRTHDAY BRAD!!!

Thank you Grandma Gayle

for the beautiful Christmas dresses and the boy's ties!
We LOVE them!
Thank you Grandma Sue for the Christmas box, we look forward to it every year, and we love the boy's christmas ties!

Hard things, if they don't kill you, they make you stronger.

On Thursday, December 4th, Lora went to the doctor to get a nodule on her Thyroid biopsied and learned minutes later that it was cancer. By Monday, Lora was in the operating room having her Thyroid removed. The surgery went extremely well with absolutely no complications. The diagnosis was Papillary Thyroid Cancer.
The C-word strikes fear in your heart like no other disease. Once we overcame the initial shock, we learned that thyroid cancer is one of the most curable if treated appropriately and can have a better than 97% cure rate. Those odds work for us. We are keeping our fingers crossed that this is only a speed bump in our lives.
Our family is overwhelmed by the outpouring of genuine concern and support from everyone.

Thank you!

Happy Thanksgiving...

Our trip to Disney World!!!

Dear Mom, Dad, and Family--

This week I had a powerful experience that I will never forget. The tennis opportunities that you gave me while growing up have proved to be valuable, even as a missionary hundreds of miles away in Mozambique.
This past Tuesday, (P-day was changed due to a Holiday) Elder Ruhle and I decided to take it to the tennis courts and smack a ball around for an hour. We each payed 150Mt (6$) each for a racket, balls, and the court time. We had a good time rallying and it felt good to get back into a rhythm. I remembered the summer work days in Omaha, the late night embassy practices, the after school clinics at match point, and the burning drills with our friends Gilson and Gabriel. Near the end of the hour, Elder Ruhle sat down to rest and then left to change back into the proselyting gear. Taking advantage of the moment, I called one of the young men who I noticed had been watching us the whole time. He was a humble kid who was 18 years old, but looked like he was 16. His shoes were worn from what seemed like hours on the court. He told me his name was Hercilio. We started rallying and the kid was solid. He reminded me of the ball boys in Acapulco--you'd never really know how good they are. Hercilio and I hit for 10 minutes and then I called it. I could have played all day. After inviting him to church and telling him about the missionaries, we said bye and continued on with our activities.
Later that evening, back in a humble village in Magoanine, just after Elder Ruhle and I had left Irmao Costa's house and were walking out of the village to go back to the house, I was called out by someone. I turned around and saw a dark face hidden behind the shadows of a wooden gate. "Nao lembras de mim?" he asked. I looked at him confused, thinking he was probably mistaken. He probably thought I was a different missionary. I studied him a little longer, but remained confused. I had been in Magoanine for 5 days, I couldn't have known this kid. I was tired, and wasn't in the mood for games. The boy then said, "Tennis!" Ding. It hit me. It was Hercilio and I happened to be standing in front of his house in the middle of Magoanine late at night. He called his Mother, who called the 4 other siblings, who even called the Grandma to come out and meet us. We introduced ourselves and marked for Thursday.
On Thursday we sat with the whole family. Hercilio walked in from tennis practice just in time for the opening prayer. He lives with his Mother, his G-ma, 2 older sisters, 1 older brother, and 1 younger brother. One of the older sisters named Valda had the fattest little chunk of a baby I had ever seen. Mama called him Buddha the whole time.
We had a nice lesson and I feel great potential for this family. The Mother said she has a church she likes, but she said if the Spirit tells her that this church is good, she promises to visit. We coordinated with a branch missionary to acompanhar Hercilio to church on Sunday. He said he would be happy to visit.
I know that my Heavenly Father is preparing every minute in the day, every fiber woven, every step to be taken, every word to be said, and every person within range to hear the message of the restored gospel. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is fire in my bones. I am grateful for past experiences and privileges like tennis and for the literal instrument that I am in God's hands in finding people. Maybe Hercilio will be baptized next month along with his family, maybe he won't. I don't know, but one thing for sure that I do know is that if I trust in the Lord with all my heart, He WILL make my paths straight and lead His children, All of them, in the way everlasting. Through the Holy Spirit, Hercilio will feel something different. That is where I leave it up to Him.

REDSKINS SUPER BOWL!!!


David and Brad both got to play in the KWAA Super Bowl. The games were played at the UNO stadium. It was such a memorable event! The night before the games the coaches went around and toilet papered all the players houses, and stuck signs in the lawn. They also painted on our car to get everyone excited for the big games!

All the players got to run through a tunnel with balloons flying up into the air, then they announce all the players on the huge speakers! They would also call their name and number when they made a good play. It was so cool!
Dave's team won, which put their team in third place overall. Brad's team went undefeated all year and are the champions of their division!