PRIESTHOOD POWER

   I can't believe it's the last week of another transfer again.... The weeks are turning into months a lot faster than I ever thought they would. We had an interesting week. I spent a day in Green River with Elder Vause, and I had some really spiritual lessons with people they've been teaching. I feel like Elder Bass and I had a lot of people cancel on us this week for one reason or another. It's so frustrating when that happens and you can't do anything about it.... We had so many people committed to coming to church, but barely any of them actually showed up. So that was a little disappointing. We had a miracle of picking up and teaching again a former investigator that was taught over a year ago. Her name is Mariana. She's married to a less-active member, and really wants to get baptized. She just has some questions about the temple and families being together forever. In our next appointment we're going to try to answer them the best we can. She's a really nice and sincere person, and you can tell that she has a desire to follow the Gospel. I have a feeling I'm getting transferred, but I really hope I don't... I love it here, and there's still so much I have to do. I forgot to email this last week, but we had a really neat experience of giving a ten hour old baby a blessing in the hospital. The mom called us and asked us to come to the hospital and give her new-born a blessing. The baby had some complications breathing and was having weird twitches, most likely from the problems breathing. It was so sad to see him all hooked up to these machines and what not. It was really heart wrenching. I was asked to give the blessing, and my first thought was, "What blessings do you give someone that has been alive less than half a day"?? I had to truly rely on the Spirit and be guided by Him. It was extremely intimidating and scary, but it seemed to go well. We were told this week that a few hours after we left, the baby started to breathe normally and do a lot better. It's so cool to see the priesthood and the Spirit in full action like that. Anyways, Elder Bass and I have been getting a lot more service opportunities lately. I feel like it's resulting in a bunch of good member relationships and missionary opportunities. Our studies are going really well as well. I'm sure that has something to do with our success. This week I'm going to Manila again with Elder Page. We had so much fun last time, and there's just so much work to be done there. He's going home in a week, so it'll be my last time with him. We'll be gone about 3 days. I'm looking forward to having some quality time with my boy before he leaves. I feel like I learn a lot from him every time we're together. I'll be sure to try and take some pictures of us because it'll be our last hoo-rah. Then my Mom and girlfriend won't be bugging me so much about pictures..... I love and miss you all like.…You know the drill. I hope and pray that everyone is doing well and being good missionaries. I love and miss my loves, Taylor and Ralphie the most! 

Love, Elder Clark  

BUILDING THE KINGDOM OF GOD

We've had a really long and eventful week out here in Rock Springs. It started with me spraining my ankle last Monday playing basketball, to ending with an amazing baptism of Vicki and Evan Vestre. I had a severe sprain on my right ankle. The doctor told me I was lucky I didn't tear any tendons. I was out of commission all day Tuesday, but with me being barely able to walk I went back to work on Wednesday. I was supposed to stay off of it for a week, but I can't just sit around all day!! The swelling still hasn't gone down very much, but at least I'm able to walk. I've been keeping it in a brace for support. Vicki and Evan's baptism was amazing. They are the two most solid, friendly, spiritual, dedicated, and converted people you will ever meet. Evan has future Bishop written all over him and Vicki is already a food storage master. They've also started on missionary work themselves. They want to help their neighbor who's had a really hard past couple of years, so we're going to do some service with them and maybe teach their friend. :) Elder Bass and I have been focusing a lot more on our studies and our planning. Diligence, obedience, dedication and focus have been our main drive. The Atonement has been the focus of our studies due to it being this month’s study topic for our mission. If we could only get every single one of our investigators to understand how important the Atonement is and how much it could help their lives, we would have so much success. Learning how to apply the Atonement to my own life is still a work in progress. It's infinite healing and comforting power is definitely something I want to master. Anyways, we've really had a good week. Still can't believe how fast this transfer is going, but we're still soaking it all up. I got an email from one of my MTC buddies, Elder Jolley, this week. He's doing really well down in Jacksonville Florida. Apparently he's in Fernandina Beach right now. He sent me a picture of a friend that I have down there, her name's DD. He ate dinner with her and I guess they found out that both of them knew me. It's so funny how small of a world it is. I hope all is well for everyone back home and that might be reading this blog. I hope you all are doing YOUR part as member missionaries. We have the truth and the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ here on this Earth today. Why be selfish and not share that with those around us, those we love and care about? Let's do it. Let's build the Kingdom of God. I love and miss you all. I love and miss my sweet Taylor Lindsey and Raphie the most.

Love, Elder Clark

GOLDEN INVESTIGATORS

Hey everyone!!!!! Another week and more miracles!! Vicki and Evan are the most converted people I've ever met in my entire life. The day after they accepted to be baptized, they started planning their own baptism. That never happens, ever! They're getting baptized this Saturday, and I can't wait. They asked us to baptize and confirm them. They're already paying their tithing and coming to every hour of church. I can't wait to come back and visit them in 2 years and see how much they've grown. I'm going to try to come back in a year and go through the temple with them. We've been working a lot with helping people quit smoking. It's a huge thing here in Rock Springs, so most of the people we meet and talk to have the addiction. It's been awesome to see people gain a desire to change their lives just from the Gospel. There's no better feeling than seeing the Gospel help others and change them for the better, getting them on the straight and narrow and helping them stay there. Elder Bass and I are having a lot of fun and really enjoying this area. Things are going really well in our wards, and it seems like the member missionary work is progressing as well. We've been studying how to ask more inspired questions and teach more by the Spirit. It feels like whenever we focus on a certain thing in our teaching, we have some instance where the studying we did comes in handy. I'll be sure to take pictures of the baptism next week. Sorry that I'm so bad at taking pictures.... I just never think to take pictures, ever. I love and miss all of you so much. I keep you all in my prayers on a daily basis. I love and miss Taylor Lindsey and Ralphie the absolute most!!! :)

Love, Elder Clark

THE FRUITS OF OUR LABOR

What an amazing week it has been for Elder Bass and I. We had 7 investigators come to church this week, which is the most I've ever had in one week. We invited three of our investigators to be baptized, and they all accepted. I feel like we've had a lot of miracles just fall into our lap recently. I don't know if that's from being obedient and diligent, or just being lucky. Haha. I'm sure they are all blessings from Heavenly Father. We've been studying the Restoration a lot lately. We've made a companionship goal to teach more first lessons, so we figured we should know it like the back of our hand. We decided to come up with some questions about doctrine of the Restoration that people might have for us, so that we would be prepared if we were ever asked. Then later in the week, two people we've been teaching, Vicki and Evan, asked us one of the questions we had gone over previously that week. It was a real testimony builder of being prepared by planning and studying for things in the coming weeks. What's even cooler is that those two investigators accepted the invitation to be baptized and now we just have to set a date. :) I love when things like this happen. It's such a testament of why I'm here doing what I'm doing. It's all about sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others. I love it. I also went on exchanges with Elder Paige again this week. This time Elder Bass went to Manilla with Elder Paige's companion. So Elder Paige and I were here in Rock Springs and had a blast. He and I get along so well. I'm really sad that he goes home next month. We played softball and basketball with some investigators, which we really never get to do. My best friend Josh (from Nashville), and a couple other guys stopped by in Rock Springs on their road trip to see me. We went out to lunch at Cafe Rio and just talked. Josh was telling me more about the mission that he's going to be going on pretty soon. Sounds like it'll either be to Chile or Argentina. I'm really excited for him, and I know how ready he is to go. Anyways, this week has been very eventful and full of fun and excitement. Next week we're going to Salt Lake for a zone conference with Elder Clark from the 70. I'll be sure to tell everyone how that went next week. :) I love and miss you all soooo much. Thank you all for being so supportive. I love and miss Taylor Lindsey and Ralphie the most!! :)

Love, Elder Clark

A MESSAGE TO THE MEMBERS

This has been a really awesome week for Elder Bass and me. We've had some really, really solid lessons this week with a few of our investigators. The Spirit has been so strong, probably stronger than I've ever been able to recognize before. We've been studying Ether 12:27 a lot this week, and Alma 32. We've used them both a lot with our lessons and those we've been visiting. Applying the principle of humility is a lot harder than it looks. But I feel like when we do and we rely on the Lord, our lessons go SO much better. The Spirit is there so much more, and the people we are teaching respond in such better ways. A really cool miracle that we saw this week was one of our investigators that hadn't been progressing at all, finally decided to come to church. We invited her to be baptized as well, but she said she wasn't ready YET. But she knows that she should, and I think she has the desire as well. She's just scared. We're teaching an older couple named Vicki and Evan. They moved up here from Arkansas, and you all know how I love my southerners. ;) We started visiting them and helping them around their garden. Then they started asking questions about our church, and we've been teaching them ever since. They've been SO prepared for the Gospel though. They just left their church because of a bad experience and because it came out and supported homosexuality. They don't drink coffee, tea, alcohol, or smoke. Vicki's read the Book of Mormon 3 times already. She's a huge intellectual thinker, and loves to ask questions. They came to church on Sunday, and said they really enjoyed it. We had a total of 6 investigators at church this Sunday. It was awesome. Members were coming to say hi and introduce themselves to our investigators. It’s the coolest thing to see. SO!!! If you see someone you don't know, or maybe someone sitting with the missionaries, THEN GO SAY HI AND TALK TO THEM LIKE THEY ARE YOUR BEST FRIEND!!! Trust me, it makes a world of difference to them. Anyways, we're preparing 3 people for baptism right now, and they're amazing people. I love them a lot. :) We have a huge stake-wide church open house coming up on Friday and Saturday this week. The stake has put billboards up in the town, newspaper articles, and radio spots. We're going around and handing out fliers and inviting members to find people to bring. It should be a really cool thing for the stake and lighting a fire under the members for missionary work. I love and miss you all. And of course, I love and miss Taylor and Ralphie the most!! :) 

Love, Elder Clark

STAYING PUT IN WYOMING THIS TRANSFER

Well another transfer has blown by and it seems like it was all a blur. Trying to look back at the last 6 months hardly seems real. It's as if I've been doing this forever and at the same time it feels like I just got here last week. I'm staying in Wyoming for another transfer and I'm so excited. I was so scared that I was going to get moved. This has been my favorite area by far, and I have so much more to do here. Elder Bass is also staying here for another one. It's been loads of fun training a new missionary. He may do dumb things at times and act like he knows it all, but he's a good kid. He's going to make a great missionary. We had a Mission Trek last week. I had an awesome time at Mission Trek ! It was hard to leave the area for a whole day, but I think it was worth it. I tried to get as much out of it as I could. We have to sacrifice much on our missions like the pioneers sacrificed much on their treks. It's a totally different kind of sacrifice, but a sacrifice none the less. Understanding the amount of work that goes into a mission is similar to understanding how much work goes into a trek. It was cool to see those things last Tuesday. We're sad to see this transfer coming to an end, but also extremely excited to see what's in store for us. It feels like the last 5 weeks have been a blur, each one moving faster than the last. We've continued our studies on revelation and knowledge and seen the impact that it's had on our lessons. Increased spiritual prompting have been something that we've seen improve a lot. Heather, one of our investigators, is progressing extremely well and is on date to be baptized on the 23^rd of August. She's really excited about being baptized, and it's been cool to see her change from the time we first met with her to now. She's even giving up smoking. We have another couple on date to be baptized on the 23^rd of August as well. They might have to wait a little longer than that though because they have to get married. We're going to try to make it happen by then though. :) So with those 3 on date for baptism, we feel like we have several others that are really close. This is shaping up to be a great transfer!!!!! I'm so stoked!!! I love and miss you all. Thank you for your love and support that you have shown me. Every bit of it is appreciated, especially that which I get from Taylor Lindsey and Ralphie. I love and miss you the most!!! 

Love, Elder Clark

JOY IN THE WORK

What an amazing and eventful week. I went on exchanges with our district leader, Elder Paige, who's down in Green River. It was probably the best exchanges I've been on yet in my mission. We did so much great and productive missionary work that just uplifted me and motivated me to work more and more. I learned so much from Elder Paige. It's not fair, it seems like missionary work just comes so easily to him. Maybe that's what happens when you've been out 22 months... ha ha. We did lots of service. We also went fishing early, early one morning with an investigator and caught Salmon, Mac Trout, and Rainbow Trout. We got skunked on Bass. We filleted it all and then took it to the only restaurant in town, which is Mormon owned and feeds us for free. They cooked (grilled) up our Salmon and Trout for us, and it was delicious. The investigator that went with us loves us too. Everyone in Manilla loves the missionaries. We had so much fun. We even got to stay with a part-member family. They let us sleep in their cabin. They own over a hundred acres with cattle and over 20 horses. The cabin was up on the mountain a little bit and got a good view of the small town. We endured it.... ;) Anyways, with me going with Paige, Elder Bass and Williams(Elder Paige's companion) maintained our area and did so much good work. They are both in their first transfer, so we put a lot of faith in them that they could do it. I feel like I came back and Elder Bass was a new missionary. They found a new investigator, took care of Justin's baptismal interview, and did a bunch of meaningful service. I was proud as a trainer to see them grow so much. Hopefully we'll be able to do something like that again. We had a wonderful baptism on Saturday and confirmation on Sunday for Justin. I feel that Justin and I have become great friends in this Gospel. The ward has been sublime in their fellowship and support of him. Our other investigators are progressing really well. We had 5 investigators at church on Sunday;

That's the most I've had yet. Elder Bass and I also taught Gospel Principles. We had no idea we were teaching it until we got to the class. It was on the Holy Ghost, and I think it was the best lesson I've taught. The Spirit was definitely there. We had 3 investigators there, a few less-actives, and like 15 members in the class. It was crazy. We had a ward party Sunday night that was a Happy Everything party. It was.... unique.... Ha ha. Somehow I ended up playing the ukulele for a song while one of the young men in the ward sang. It was legit. So this week I've really tried to focus my studies on the trials of Alma and his people, and how much Amulon persecuted them. I LOVE how in Mosiah 24:15 it talks about how the Lord strengthened his people according to their faithfulness. He didn't just take their trials away, but he STRENGTHENED them so that they could handle their trials on their own and actually learn something from them. I love that. I know as a missionary I can be strengthened by the Lord as well, and I'm beginning to realize that it's necessary to receive that strength in order to be successful. We, as always, have a lot of people that we're teaching and visiting that have their own set of difficult trials. I want to be able to help them receive that strength from the Lord just like Alma and his people. Family and friends, I love this work. It's becoming who I am, and I'm beginning to see the Lord work in me in ways I didn't know were possible. Anyways!! We have a mission trek tomorrow in Evanston, WY. The whole mission is getting together and doing a full day trek of pulling handcarts. It'll be a fun experience, and yes Mom there should be tons of pictures from it. We're going to have a testimony meeting that night with just the Wyoming and Park City zones, since the Salt Lake zones have to drive back. We also just found out that we have another mission conference coming up in August. Elder Don Clarke will be visiting us and educating us on his spiritual ways. So that should be an amazing experience as well. I love and miss you as always. I thank Heavenly Father every morning and night in my prayers for how great of a support I have back home from my friends and family. And of course, I receive the most strength and support from Taylor Lindsey. I love and miss you and Ralphie the most. :)

Love, Elder Clark