Monday, October 10, 2011

Oi Família!

I remember very well the advice that everyone gave me as I was leaving home for the mission, but the piece of advice that I remember the most was from Dad. He told me that no matter what I always had to send an email to him and Mom. Well I can honestly say that for one year and four months I had never missed a week... But just as every great movie has its end, so does my little angel streak haha! Last week got super busy for me and I only had one hour to send my email and it just so happens that on that hour the internet was down. Life is like a box of chocolates... you never know what you´re gonna get next... and sometimes there just aren´t enough rocks! haha

So what was Elder Clark doing these pat two weeks. Well last week were going around with our mission president giving training and whatnot to all the zones in the mission. We taught everyone how they can work better with the ward members and how to gain the confidence of the bishop in your ward. After that week I got an extremely strong desire to become a bishop one day outside of the state of Utah so that I could have more involvement with the missionaries so that the missionary work could flow so well. I have gained such a strong testimony about baptism here on the mission. When the bishop and the missionaries work together, you baptize a whole lot more and your converts stay strong in the faith. My new bishop in this ward is so good! He really shows his concern for our converts and he interviews them every Sunday! We have baptized a LOT of young men and he has already set goals for all of them to serve a mission! We got together all of the leftover white shirts and dress pants that missionaries had left in our house, and we gave them to these young men so that everyone can be dressed like priesthood holders. All of them are saying how great the bishop is and how they love seminary and it has made the biggest difference! As a bishop you have SUCH a great influence in the lives of the youth of the ward. I would love to have that opportunity one day... not that I want it really soon, but one day when I am ready.

Now this week I was still traveling throughout the entire mission doing companion exchanges. Right now, my area is the most successful area in the mission because of the way we are working. So we do these exchanges with the zone leaders so they can see what we are doing and they can put it into practice in their areas. I had the chance to revisit my old area! It was amazing! The zone leader I was with didn´t tell anyone that I was coming back to visit, so everyone got super surprised when they saw me. There was one family in particular that really marked my life there. When I first arrived, they told Elder David and me that we needed to baptized their son-in-law and their neighbor. We ended up baptizing them both and we created a HUGE friendship. When I was called as the Assistant, I didn´t have time to say goodbye to them, so I decided to give them a surprise. We knocked on the door and one of the daughters opened the door. I hid myself to the side of the door and popped my head out. She screamed and said ELDER CLARK!!!!!! The entire apartment complex looked out the windows wondering who had died lol It was so nice to see them again. Then we went and visited their neighbor whom I had baptized as well. We got there and he was telling me how he was already preparing his little boy to be baptized this week because he turned 8 this week! He has a 17 year-old daughter as well that isn´t baptized and I invited her that day to be baptized with her little brother. She accepted! I told their family that before I returned home that their whole family would be baptized. Little by little this prophecy is being fulfilled. I love that family so much!

Well that is pretty much all that I have! Just like always, when I have a period of time that I work extremely hard and then get a little break I always get sick, right? Well, I got a migraine headache on Saturday that knocked me out! I needed to do so many things that day and I knew that I couldn´t stay in bed. They gave me a blessing and I was able to do what was needed! I have such a great testimony that this Church is true and that the priesthood is true and that we are truly protected when we are giving our best to the Lord. I love you all and hope you all have a wonderful week!

Elder Clark