THE TENNESSEE DUO

We have had one eventful week. It started with transfers, which takes all day to travel back and forth to Salt Lake, and then ended with a very, very busy Sunday. My new companion is Elder Bass from CLARKSVILLE, TN!!!!!!! Haha, I don't know how it happened, but it's pretty cool to have a companion from back home. He just graduated high school a month ago so that's pretty cool. He's a really hard worker and knows the scriptures and Gospel really well. He's still got a lot to learn, as do I, but his potential is really high. We've been exactly obedient this week and as diligent in the work as possible. We've had some great experiences and some cool miracles. We went by a less-active's house to find out that he no longer lives there, but his ex-wife does. She's remarried now and we came up to her new husband working in the yard. We asked if we could help him, but he declined. We then asked if we could do anything to help the family, and he told us to come back around 6 that night because his wife and daughter could use God in their lives. So we went by around 6 and no one was home.... :/ Later that night, we were about to go home and something told us to go back and try again, so we did. As we pulled up to the house, so did the father of the family, and he proceeded to invite us into his home. The family is going through a really hard time. The father is a recovering addict. The mother has a terrible back that will never heal and she is always in pain. The daughter, who is 17, just has a brain surgery to correct a birth defect. It left the right side of her body paralyzed for awhile. Now, she has all her movement back. The only thing she hasn't gotten back is her ability to write, which is really hard because she is going into her senior year and had plans for college. The father was telling us how when we walked up, he was just gonna brush us off and be on his way, but something told him not to. He just recently found God again, and was really open to our message. We're going back tomorrow for a lesson. We also went by a part- member family's house earlier this week, and when the wife answered the door she almost started to break out in tears. Her daughter had an accident at work earlier that morning, and was terribly burned. She said she was about to call someone to come give her a blessing when we knocked on the door. It's really cool to recognize when we're being guided by the Spirit. We put one of our investigators on date this last week. Her name is Heather. Her mom is a recent convert, and has been really interested in the church ever since her mom got baptized. This week has been a big testimony builder for how the Lord prepares people to hear the Gospel. I know that if we're faithful and diligent in His work, then those opportunities will be put right in front of us. I love this Gospel and testify of its perfection and power. I love and miss you all. As always, I love and miss Taylor and our puppy John Ralfio the most.

Love, Elder Clark