Monday, April 11th 2011

Oí Família!

What a week! You guys will never believe what happened to me this week. So as the district leader, one of my jobs is to do companion exchanges with the elders in my district to see how they are doing in their area and what specific help they need. The only tricky thing out here is that it is literally the "boonies" out here. We are so far spread out from all the other areas in the district that it costs a fortune to pay for the bus. Our mission president told us that we could travel alone when we do splits like that because it doesn´t make sense for both elders to pay for the bus, switch companions, and then have him pay for ANOTHER bus pass, so we have to travel alone. As I got on the bus (alone), I sat down at the back of the bus and began to feel extremely weird. It was the first time being alone in 11 months! I actually started to get a little scared at first, but then I calmed down and I was normal again. I don´t like being alone; it´s extremely odd now. But do you know what´s even more funny? When you are with your companion, it seems like people are intimidated by you two. But when you are alone, you are like their prey! I had SO many people start to talk to me on the bus, asking where I was from and what I was doing (I got a lot of references that day) and why I speak so funny. When I finally got off the bus and met up with my companion again, I told him that I would prefer to never have to go through that again. He laughed and patted me on the back and told me "good job Elder."

Well this week my leg started to hurt a bunch. I think it´s shin splints, but I don´t know for sure, but what I do know is that it hurts a lot to walk. I remember that I had the same kind of pain when I played basketball. I hurts everytime I take a step and there was even one day this week where I thought that I wouldn´t be able to make it the rest of the day. We stopped by a member´s house to rest a bit and I saw a roll of black electric tape. I remembered that when I got hurt like this in basketball, the personal trainer did a little thing with the tape where he wrapped it around my leg, just a little above my ankle, and pulled the muscle more the front of my leg. It took the pressure off when I stepped and made it so it didn´t hurt as much. So I grabbed this black electric tape and tried doing the same thing. My companion and the members were laughing at my extremely white and hairy legs... and the crazy thing that I was doing with the tape, but I didn´t care because we had a bunch of appointments and I didn´t want to miss them. Then came the miracle... it worked. When I left the house, the pain went away and I was able to walk again without problems. I know that the Lord helped me a lot with my leg because I know I didn´t wrap it up exactly like my trainer used to when I played ball, but the Savior is a better doctor :)

This weeked was a little frustrating because we had three baptisms marked for this Sunday, but they all disappeared on Saturday and Sunday. One thing that I don´t like is when people show SO much interest in being baptized and accept a date and everything, but at the last minute they run away. One of them even hid herself in the bathroom when we passed by her house to take her to Church. I got a little annoyed with them yesterday, but my companion and I talked about it and we know that there are many other people who are better prepared to be brought to the Gospel. I am not the type of missionary who sits there begging people to be baptized; if they show me that desire, I will help them and push them to accomplish that goal. I know that the Lord has a bigger and better plan for His other children here in this area and I don´t need to waste the Lord´s time running after people who don´t want to be blessed when there´s millions of others who DO want to be blessed and be baptized.

As frustrating as this work gets, I am so extremely happy to be doing it. I have never gotten so much satisfaction from anything in my entire life. I think that baptizing is like a drug. The more I help people being baptized, the greater lack I feel if I don´t baptize that week. I feel so happy when someone actually accepts this great gift and starts to walk on the path of righteousness. I am actually quite addicted to this drug and I will have to baptize a lot of people this next week to make up for this past week.

I love you all and thank-you so much for all the letters and emails and support you give me. I am the luckiest person in the world because I have the best family! And Jacob... I am sorry, but I am in the best mission in world haha!!! Have a great week everyone! Enjoy the snow hahahahaha! Love you all!

Com amor e um beijinho,
Elder Clark