Mission Week #92

July 10, 2012

Hi!

It was a good week here! I had been looking foward to the parade for awhile and it was fun. I was surprised how many people I saw that I knew.... Brad Stapley's sister...Jana Tucker....Tanner Pratt....Dr. Cosgrave....The Wilkins...and I am probably forgetting a couple other people. Also, I saw tons of members from wards I have been in and also people I had taught.  That night we had a district activity. We got to meet up with another district in Provo and a really cool family hosted us. We played some games and watched the Prince of Egypt.

Saturday night I went on exchanges with my ZL from Florida and we had a good time. We taught a 14 year old kid named Nathan from Cochabama Bolivia who is here with his member grandma and we had a sweet lesson with him and he accepted baptism.

It has been super dry for like the last month and there have been fires all over. We heard that the Prophet asked that everyone pray for rain and Friday it came. It was pretty cool because after the rain it went right back to being hot and dry.

Tuesday we went and did service at this Mexican party center like a block from Julie's house. They are still kind of in construction phase so we helped them with that. As we were leaving Elder Ramires asked one of the owners who he knows pretty well about an air hockey table that they werent using. One of the legs was broken so they were going to throw it away and they said if we wanted we could take it . We took it and we some duck tape and some love we have it working. It is a good way to relax at the end of the night,.

Have a great week!

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #91

July 3, 2012

Hi!

Another week gone. I am now on my 24th month.

EFY's are under way all over and a bunch of companionships were contacted and asked to speak. We got a call on Thursday and Friday we went to BYU and spoke. It was with an entire session and we mostly just answered questions and shared our testimonies on missionary work. It was cool to be with all the kids and pump them up about missionary work.

When I was here in my last area we were teaching a lady named Katy....not sure if you remember or not...but as we were coming back from the EFY she called the Elders that we were driving with and asked them to help translate because she and her husband were getting their marriage licences and there wasn't anyone who spoke Spanish. So, all 4 of us went and it was fun to see her again. She has been pretty sick due to her pregnancy and has been progressing slowly but she and her husband are hopefully getting baptized soon now that they will be married.

Saturday we had a zone meeting with President McCune. He has big shoes to fill but seems really sharp. One of the things he wants to focus on is working more with the members. He talked about priesthood keys and aligning the keys he has with the keys of the stake presidents and bishops. I asked Sister Pitts awhile ago how long it took for her to comfortable in her calling and she said it took like 6 months. It was funny to see Sister McCune because she seems so nice but looks very nervous. I guess it is just part of the process.

I had forgotten how many people honk at us when we are on bikes in Orem. It is hilarious. While waiting for a stop light to change we counted 14 different cars honk at us. Elder Ramires sometimes just leaves his arm in the raised waiving position because they are so many people that honk/wave.

I bore my testimony in the branch for my last fast Sunday. We ate with the branch relief society president for dinner yesterday and she has a son that his been out for 2 weeks. I told her it would go by fast.

Wednesday we will all be in the 4th of July parade then we have a district activity that night. President approved the Prince of Egypt as the movie. Not quite Thor but I have never seen it so its ok.

One of my zone leaders who is sitting next to me is from northern Florida and his family sent him some pictures and it looks like there was some serious flooding from the tropical storm. Its the opposite of here because there have been some bad fires and Saturday one sign said the temperature was 107.

Have a great week!

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #90

June 25 ,2012

Hi!

Its weird to be sitting at the same computer doing emails where I sat for 6 months when I was in Orem last time. It was a good first week here. We cover the east part of south Orem and we cover a ward and a branch. It was definitely a different experience to get to an area and not know anyone. We contacted the ward mission leaders and by Thursday we had met with most of the leadership. It is fun to be with Elder Ramires again and it is a good opportunity to progress with Spanish more because he doesn't like speaking English. The first couple days I was missing having a car because our bikes weren't in working condition so we had to fix them up but its OK now. I can't complain at all though, I have had a car for 18 months.

I'm not ZL anymore and it is nice not to have to worry about the extra stuff. When President gave me the transfer call he didn't tell me that I was going to be the DL but nobody in the district knew so we called the APs and they said they forgot to tell me.

The Sisters who were here before didn't leave us any set appointments but we have have contacted most of the people they were visiting and there is some good potential.

I got my last email from President Pitts today:

"I know you were surprised at transfers.  You have been a tremendous missionary.  Thank you for being solid and uplifting in all that you have done. I knew I could always count on you .. and you always came through.  I love you. Love, President Pitts"

He leaves Thursday and Saturday we have a zone meeting and we will be meeting President McCune.

Glad to hear that Josie has arrived safely. There are so many new faces to meet!

The mission office changed so I have a new address

85 North 600 East

Provo, UT 84606

Have a great week!

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #89

June 19, 2012

Hi!

Well, Saturday we got our transfer calls. Elder Jensen and I were 99% sure we were staying together and I would die in Heber. If that was the case then the Ap's just would of called us. However, when the phone rang it was President so we knew something was up. Turns out that I am going to Orem! For the third time! The area is called Orem South Spanish and it is the area right next to my last area in Orem that I was in for 6 months. And, I am going with Elder Ramires who I trained over a year ago in Santaquin. And, we are taking over the area from the sisters that are there so we dont know anyone. I wanted to stay in Heber but I think it will be a good move. After 3 months here I was getting to the point where I felt like I knew everyone and I will certainly have a lot of new people to meet for the next 6 weeks. Additionally, for the first time in 15 months I will be on a bike!

Looks like you had a fun Fathers Day. I am craving those Ribs. Have a great week!

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #88

June 11, 2012

Hello again,

It was a good week here in Heber. We taught a lot more and started teaching some new people. I think last transfer I told you about Alejandra...Elder Stephenson and I were teaching her all last transfer and she got baptized on Saturday. She was super excited because she was very ready for a while and her parents finally let her do it. 

Ivonet has been busy so we hadn't seen her for over a week but we taught her finally and she is pretty much ready. It was impressive to hear her responses regarding the commandments (law of chastity/word of wisdom). She is just a really good person with good values. We still are working on the baptism...She is deciding between University of Texas and the U and wants to go to Texas for a weekend and if she doesn't decide on Texas she is moving to Salt Lake in a couple weeks so time is short. 

Tomorrow we have an all-mission conference. It will be cool to have the entire mission in one room. It is the final meeting with President Pitts so I am sure it will be a good one. 

Not sure on what we will be doing for P-day today. Last week we drove down the canyon and went to bridal veil falls and that was pretty sweet. 

Hope everyone was an awesome week!

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #87

June 5, 2012

Hi!

Things are good here in Heber... Last week was pretty busy. Monday was Elder Stephenson's birthday so we got some pizza, ice cream, and played dodgeball for p-day. Monday night the District Leaders from Vernal and Roosevelt drove in and stayed the night with us. They are both really cool. One is from Veracruz Mexico and the other one is from Oaxaca Mexico. Elder Lopez from Spain is the District Leader here in Heber. We came out of the MTC together and he was one of the English Elders in Santaquin when I was there so it is fun to have him here. Tuesday we drove down to Provo, had breakfast at the mission office, then went to a chapel for a short ZLC. Everyone seemed to like the Nacho ZPA. The DLs joined us after ZLC for a leadership training meeting. President Pitts leaves the 28th so he is getting us all prepped for the new mission president. It is going to be weird without him. Wednesday President came up for interviews and I had my last interview with him. Thursday we drove up to Roosevelt and Vernal to go to the district meetings and present the ZPA.

5 or 6 months ago in Orem Elder Cordova and I found and taught this guy named Carlos. I dont remember if I told you about him but he was awesome. At first he was a little skeptical but after 3 weeks he was progressing well and he eventually came to church. We had a lesson with him the Monday night after he went to church and he said he had liked church a lot and when he had gotten home he read like the first 15 chapters of the Gospel Principles manual. We asked him how he felt about everything and he said that this was what he had been looking for his whole life. He accepted baptism but right after saying yes he informed us that he would be moving to Saint George the following day. He moved and I had called him back a couple times to see if he had gotten in contact with the missionaries there but he hadn't because he was living in a Hotel and didn't have a set address. Thus, I was unable to send a referral. However, I felt like calling him back Thursday night and he is doing awesome. He said the missionaries just happened to go to his apartment and they were able to start teaching him again. The missionaries were actually at his house when I called and he was going to have his interview that night and he was baptized this past Saturday.

When I was in Santaquin this lady who had a son on a mission would always tell us when she saw us how many fast Sundays her son had left. I was thinking about that last week since it was fast Sunday and realized I have......1 left. Weird.

Hope everyone has a good week!

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #86

May 30, 2012

Hi!

Monday all of our possible email places were closed...and yesterday we had ZLC and a leadership training meeting that lasted until around 3 so we didnt have time to write by the time we got back here to Heber. 

Anyways....last week was pretty sweet. Elder Williams (my last comp in Orem) called and told us that a girl that I had taught named Teresa was getting baptized on  Saturday. Elder Jensen was also in that area last transfer so he had taught her as well. President said we could go so we went back for it Saturday morning. Her husband is an returned missionary of around a year ago and they got married around 4 months ago. He gave the talk on baptism and he said he was very grateful but honestly really surprised that she got baptized so fast. I was also pretty surprised when I got the call because she had been progressing pretty slow but she said within a couple of weeks she just knew what she needed to do and made the decision. There are also like 3 other people being baptized in the next 2 or 3 weeks that I taught there and it is cool to hear about people making steps toward Christ even if I'm not there.

We don't have any more time because we have to go help someone move but I'll write more next Monday. Have a good week!

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #85

May 21, 2012


Hi!

Last week was kind of uneventful but it went well.

Ivonet is doing awesome. We have been talking about the plan of
salvation and we had a specific lesson on temples/sealings/eternal
families. I love talking about that kind of stuff because it just
makes sense. We started off talking about how families are central to
God's plan and then went into how the sealing power existed in the
time of the Bible with Christ giving the authority to Peter. After
talking about the apostasy and how the authority was taken from the
Earth she asked the golden question.."So how is the power to seal
families for eternity back on the Earth?" Elder Jensen turned to a
picture of Joseph Smith in a book we have and without us saying
anything she immediately was like "ooooohhhhhhh I get it all now." We
had talked about the Restoration before but I guess it had never
'clicked.' She came to church yesterday and the speakers happened to
be talking about the restoration of the priesthood. That is another
one of my favorite topics because the pattern goes back to Moses and
Elias on the mount of transfiguration.

This week is going to be pretty busy...we have to put together a ZPA,
we have exchanges with the APs, then we are doing overnight exchanges
in Vernal/Roosevelt from Thursday to Friday. Fun, fun, fun.

Have a great week!  Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #84

May 14, 2012


Hi!

It was very fun to skype yesterday. Even though the time was shorter I
enjoyed it more than a normal phone call. However, I am out of things
to say since we just talked.....

My new companion is cool. He went to BYU before the mission and will
be going back after. There are also 3 other new Elders in the
district. Elder Stephensen's new comp is Elder Reyes from Preston,
Idaho. At the first District Meeting of every transfer we have
introductions and since he is from Preston I had to ask him about
Napoleon Dynamite since that is where it was filmed. He had lots of
funny insights that I wont bore you with.

I havent done too good of a job on talking about who we are currently
teaching...but Ivonet, a 19 year old girl we have been seeing for a
while is progressing well. Her best friend died a couple weeks ago
from an unknown sickness so she has been pretty down but we are
teaching the plan of salvation and its helping her out. It is nice to
be able to answer the questions that people have about what happens
after death.

Not sure what we are going to be doing for PDay today. We will
probably end up going to the rec center and playing some sort of
sport.

Next week I should have more to talk about....

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #83

May 7, 2012 (Transfers)


Hello again,

The fist thing I guess that I will mention is transfers. President
called us Saturday afternoon and gave us the news. They are dividing
our area and Elder Stephensen is taking one half and training and I am
taking the other half and will be getting Elder Jensen from Oklahoma.
He has been out a transfer less than me. There are tons of changes
happening all over the mission due to the fact that we get 20 new
missionaries this transfer and 20 new ones next transfer and their
arent that many going home.

President said we could skype so I plan on doing that.  It would work
for me to do it around 2 my time which is 4 your time. I talked to the
Harringtons and they said I could use one of their computers.

Friday night there was a big wedding in the branch. The husband and
wife are both recent converts and they are awesome. Elder Santos, who
has been home for a little while now, baptized the husband when he was
here and he came up for the wedding. It was cool to see him and wierd
to see him as a non-missionary.

It was fun to meet more of Ann's family on Thursday. They were very
nice and made us an awesome dinner.

Talk to you Sunday!

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #82

April 30, 2010


Hello again,

I start to laugh every time I replay in my head seeing my aunts jump
with surprise when we pulled up next to them. What a coincidence that
you happened to be on the phone with them. I had talked to Ann's
brother earlier on in the week because we are going over to his house
for dinner this week and he mentioned that there was going to be a
shower on Saturday. So, several times throughout the day I had joked
around with Elder Stephenson saying...Look! Theres my aunt!...without
actually seeing anyone. However, when we actually drove by them I told
him I saw them so he flipped the truck around and we pulled up next to
them. My comp said he had never seen anyone jump as high while seated
as aunt Wendy did. Yesterday was the confirmation of the 3 Myanmar
kids and Elder Stephenson was confirming one of them so we went to
that. They are in the same ward as the Harringtons so I saw them. We
had a lesson right before and then one directly after so I didn't get
to talk to them. However, we were at a chapel later last night and I
saw brother Harrington again and got to say hi. Sightings of people I
know are getting very frequent.

This week we were super busy. Monday night the district leaders from
Vernal and Roosevelt drove down to stay with us for the leadership
meeting on Tuesday. They hadn't been to Heber before so they didn't
know where we lived and they both accidentally left their phones in
their areas. As a result, we had to park by the highway at 10 pm and
watch for their car and chase them down when we saw them.
The leadership meeting was great. It is weird to hear President Pitts
talk about going home. He has 7 weeks left!

Thursday we drove up to Roosevelt with the APs, then I went with the
Spanish Elders the entire day until Friday morning. It was great to
see 2 of my favorite families...the Vasquez and Uribes. Hna Vasquez,
who got baptized when I was there, is now in the Relief Society
presidency. Her other son who didn't get baptized when I was there has
since got baptized and her husband who didn't either has been coming
to church. One of the branch missionaries in Roosevelt who went
teaching with us happens to be from Rupert, Idaho. His name was
Russell Griffin and his siblings are Rex, Ralph, Ron, Ray, and Rita.
He said he remembered the Mackays well.

Things are going well in the area. We started teaching a young couple
yesterday that seem awesome. He is from Guatemala and she is from
Mexico.

Tomorrow we are headed to Provo for ZLC. Hard to believe tomorrow is May!

Have a great week! Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #81

April 24, 2010 (21 Months)


Hi!

I have been excited all week to log on and check out the pictures of
Harper. She looks good! And I am excited to meet her.

Yesterday was a very eventful day. At around 7 we got a call from
Elder Clarke of the 70. He told us he wanted to attend our spanish
branch and asked us what time it started. About an hour later we
showed up to the chapel at the same time as him and his wife. We met
then they walked in with us. The branch was pretty surprised and I
think it was very good for the branch to have him there. I am still
not a big fan of speaking in sacrament meeting but it was a cool
opportunity to sit on the stand with a 70 and speak about missionary
work with him. After sacrament we ended up having combined 2nd and 3rd
hour meetings with everyone in the branch and Elder Clarke. It was
awesome to listen to him for a couple hours in a small group setting.
Another cool thing is that they had a referral for us. It is the old
babysitter of their grandkids and her family that live here in Heber.
Sister Clarke gave is the information and we are going to be
contacting them in the next couple of days. They said if they are
available they want to come to the lessons or have them in their home.
It was funny when they mentioned having the lessons in their home
because they live in Park City and acknowledged the fact that that is
out of the mission but said that they thought President Pitts might
let us leave because it would be with a General Authority. We will see
how it turns out.

We met a lot of new people last week but so solid teaching
opportunities came from it. Last night we had a fun lesson with Jose
and Josafina, a couple kids we are teaching. We taught the 10
commandments and taught the hand signs to help them remember. After
teaching the 5th commandment and talking about listening to your
parents Jose said..."Thats impossible...no kid in the history of the
universe has ever kept that commandment." It is fun to hear their
perspective on things.

Thursday we went out to Vernal and Roosevelt for district meetings. We
are super rushed to be back in Heber by 5 pm so I havent got to stop
by and visit anyone yet. This Thursday we are going back though and I
will be on exchanges with the Roosevelt Spanish Elders all day and
overnight then we will come back to Heber on Friday. Speaking of this
week, it is going to be extremely busy. Tomorrow we have a leadership
meeting in Provo all day. Wednesday one of the APs is coming with us.
Thursday we will be gone all day, and with any spare time we have we
have to put together a ZPA for May by the end of the week.

The attached pictures are of us with some kids from Myanmar. There are
some refugee families that the English Elders have been teaching and I
did the baptismal interviews for 3 of the kids last week.

Im about out of time but I hope you have a great week!

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #80

April 16, 2012


Hello!

Zone Conference went well. We were in Lindon but not too close to
Grandpa's house. The theme scripture was DC 21:6. We talked about the
importance of modern day prophets along with a lot of other stuff.
There are lots of new missionaries...and it is wierd being one of the
older ones in the room. The training went well. We talked about the
process of beginnging teaching and helping people prepare themselves
for baptism.

We have been teaching some awesome kids the last couple weeks. One of
them is Alajandra. She is nine and hasnt been baptized yet. Her
parents wanted her to grow up more even though she is prepared. Also
we are teaching Jose and Josafina who are 8 and 12. Their mom isnt too
interested but the kids go to church with their aunt. It is super fun
to see them because they get really excited about whatever we teach
them.

One dinner worth mentioning was Friday's enchiladas. They were awesome
but we had too much. I had 8 and Elder Stephenson ate an impressive
10. I still feel kind of full from that.

Yesterday was a very busy day. We had the 6:30 meeting in Midway then
we went to the 8:30 branch sacrament. Next, we went back to Midway for
an 11:00 sacrament because there was a spanish speaking guy visiting.
We were walking down the hall before the meeting started and we saw a
familar face. Elder Holland. He has a house in Midway and they said
that he comes to his home ward like 3 times a year. So, we got lucky.
We got to meet him and talk to him for a second. At 1:00 we went to an
English ward in Heber and we spoke on missionary work.

It is getting harder to write these emails...I cant think of anything
else to say.

But, I hope you have an awesome week and everything goes well with the
arrival of the newest Hart.

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #79

April 9, 2012 (Easter)


Hello!

Easter was a nice day yesterday. We had a 6:30 correlation meeting in the morning... I dont know who made up the time but it is quite early for a meeting. After that we headed over to the chapel where the branch meets. Evidently there are a lot of members but lots are less active so there werent too many people there. It starts at 8:30 which is the earliest I have heard of. Last week the ward mission leader asked if I could speak the 22nd of this month with him. Then when we saw him the next time he asked if in addition to that we could both talk this past Sunday. So, we both spoke yesterday. After that we went over to where the singles ward meets to hand out a list for splits. We were talking to some people in the foyer and that is how I ended up running into Ann's sister and Brother in law. It was fun to make that connection and they seem like awesome people. After lunch we spent all afternoon knocking doors...we found some cool people and started teaching a part member family. Rosa and Carlos from Mexico. Carlos got baptized like 10 years ago then went inactive when we moved back to Mexico. Rosa has been taught a little bit before and is super nice. They got married a month ago and want to start their marriage off right. 

Tuesday we had ZLC. President showed us 3 of the bible videos off of lds.org. "The Atonement," "The Crucifixion," then "The Resurrection." It was pretty powerful to watch them and remember that without those 3 things, there really isnt any hope. President shared a strong testimony and it was a great meeting. 

Thursday we left at around 8 and headed up to Roosevelt for their district meeting. It was cool to be back there again. Right after we went to Vernal for their meeting then we had to hurry straight back to Heber to be back by 5. Lots of driving.

This week I received my "trunky papers" in the mail (that is what everyone calls them). They included a letter from president and a preliminary travel plans paper. I guess they have to start planning things awhile in advance. It is weird to have to think about going home. 

Tomorrow we have zone conference in Lindon - We are giving a 45 minute training. After having given so many trainings it doesnt really bother me anymore.

I hope you all have a great week- 

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #78

April 3,2012 (Conference Week)


Hello from Heber,

Going to Salt Lake for conference was pretty sweet. The experience as
a missionary is awesome. We sat on the 3rd row all the way to the
right which is right next to the door where all the general
authorities walk in. Three of the 12 apostles, and 5 or 6 seventies
came down and talked to us before conference started. Elder Scott
talked to us in spanish for a couple minutes. After it ended most of
the general authorites came down and I shook hands with around 20 of
them. That doesnt happen too often so it was a memorable experience.
Priesthood session was my favorite. All of the talks were impacting
and I cant decide which one I liked best.

I am enjoying Heber a lot. I am impressed with how fast I got in
contact with the Harringtons. We were getting our hair cut and she
walked in the store. We didnt have a dinner so she made us some
lasagna which was delicious. Still havent been to Dairy Keen but I
think we are going today.

All three of the companionships in the district are taking over new
stakes/areas and two Elders are white washing completely. We have had
to spend time showing them around so I am excited to have more time
this week to work in my own area. Also, we had to put together the new
ZPA for April this week because tomorrow we present it at ZLC and then
we present it to the zone at district meetings this week. Wednesday is
our district meeting then Thursday we drive out to Roosevelt and
Vernal for their meetings.

I am still getting to know all of the investigators but we are
teaching some awesome people. Next week ill update a little more on
that.

Starting today we get to work without full suits. I had been looking
foward to this for awhile but it is 40 degrees and windy so I am
wearing a jacket anyway. I cant wait for hot weather.

Have a great week!

Love, Elder Clark

Mission Week #77

March 27, 2012


Hola,

First news...... I am getting transferred to Heber! I am pretty excited for various reasons.

1. I already know my companion pretty well and he will be fun to serve with. His name is Elder Stephenson and he's from Washington.
2. I will get to go back to Roosevelt for District Meetings and exchanges. I love that place.
3. The area was two Spanish areas until this transfer. They combined it into one area so we should have lots of work to do.
4. Dairy Keen is free. 
5. We have a brand new truck. 2012 Colorado.  

Of course I am sad to leave here though. In six months you get to know everyone pretty well. We had dinner last night with the Ortegas. She made pupusas which is the best food from El Salvador. They are doing well and should be getting married and baptized in the next couple of weeks.

Martin Gonzales is on date for the 7th. He is completely ready and it had been cool to see him change.

We were at a missionary correlation meeting on Thursday and one of the ward mission leaders mentioned that a new family moved in that supposedly had like 30 kids. He thought it was an error so he had us go check it out. It turns out it was not an error. They actually have 35 kids. And 7 wives. I met polygamists for the first time. The wife I talked to was pretty nice. We talked to her about her beliefs. Pretty interesting.

In other news, I am going to conference on Saturday morning. I wasnt sure if I was going to get to go but we found out this morning. I am pumped!

Saturday afternoon we went to Rancheritos with the distict. It is the same exact thing as betos but for some reason they changed the name here. Some of the stuff still even says betos. In honor of my father, I ordered rolled tacos. Interestingly enough, I like the food there now. 

For P-day today we are just hanging out with the district. One of the companionships lives in a huge mansion. The members have three pools and like 15 cars and they are always nice about letting us come over and play with their pool table, ping pong table, air hockey table and other stuff. Also, pizza hut gives us free pizza once a month so we are getting that today. 

Have a great week! Enjoy conference!

Love, Elder Clark