Week #52

Well mom I didn't get transferred. President told me he would only keep me for one more transfer, so I think this is my last transfer here in Fort Frances.

 

I have lost myself out here and found myself. Everyday is a battle, but at the end it is rewarding. I want to make it clear....that I know that Christ lives. I know it with all of my heart.

I can't believe it is August!  soon it will be Christmas , and then just 6 months left, I can feel it. Everyone says your last year goes by super fast and I am afraid for it. 

I personally know that God gives us trials, not because he wants us to suffer but I believe he wants us to see how we will react to them. It becomes more and more clear to me each day how patient and loving God is. I have realized that when we react negatively to a big or small trial, that we loose faith and trust in our Savior and in our Father in Heaven.  I know things will turn around here in Fort Frances and even if they don't before I leave, it will be OK because this area just needs a lot of love.

This week however, we only had a total of 5 people at church. But we are still close, there are good things coming. The Osters will be coming back on august 25th for sure. We sat down with them both person to person and Sister Oster said that she doesn't care what happens, if she gets offended, or doesn't feel loved. She said that none of that matters because she just wants to go back to church and the whole family will be coming starting august 25. We had a great week though. We got 2 new investigators and they were a referral from a member and the member went with us to teach them. They are very prepared I am excited. Also we got a referral from Sister Oster, she wanted us to teach someone at her work,  and it was perfect because we do service at her work and he was there when we were doing service. Now we are teaching him and we are seeing him again this Tuesday.

This Thursday and Friday we were in Kenora and wow the drive there is one of the best drives ever it is just beautiful. But we went there to go on exchanges and then I got to interview someone for baptism which is always exciting.

I am grateful for the spirit in weekly planning. Elder Weeks and I have  the best plans for this week. We are taking a new approach at this less active work. What we are going to do is go and teach our members and we will teach them about missionary work or about the gospel and then we will have them watch this video

https://www.lds.org/service/leadership/participate-in-councils?lang=eng#working-together-in-the-ward-council

and after the video the commitment will be...." sister or brother...., this week will you reach out to (so and so) and see how she is doing?" "we will make sure to follow up with you.... or "sister or brother...., this week will you reach out to the Osters and see how they are doing?" great we will follow up with you. We are so excited about this because the members don't even know what in the world to do with the progress record and home teaching and visiting teaching never happens, so in order for the less actives to really have their hearts soften, they need to see that the members care about them.  Hopefully this may even change the attitude of the members. :))

I think that slowly President Tovey's wife will come around :) we are teaching her twice this week.

We are just going to go go go this transfer none stop.

 All is well :)

-Elder Clark

Week #51

I can't believe that the fair is only 2 weeks away. Summer is almost over it is really crazy. Transfer calls are this week and we have to go to Kenora to interview someone for baptism and then get on skype for MLC with president and the other leaders in the mission. I hope they give us the transfer calls then. I really don't know if I will be getting transferred or not.....But if not then I will just keep going at it down here. This Sunday we had a total of 9 people at church. We are so close I can just feel it. We have a potential of getting 20 people to church and I really think we can do it. We taught President Tovey's wife and she said that we could continue to share the lesson with her, so this week we will be teaching her the restoration. Then after we taught her we taught or investigators Paige and Chris. Well the first lesson that we taught them was....The Law of Chasity! it was so good too she loved it. It was a really good Law of Chasity lesson. She wants to work toward marriage and she also wants to work towards baptism!! what a blessing. She used to be atheist and practice witchcraft, but she now believes in God and wants to follow Jesus Christ and be baptized. So we will see how it goes :)

This Thursday we had zone conference and Elder Weeks and I gave training to 3 zones on asking inspired questions, it went really good. Then when we came home we were able to visit Doug Olson, we will keep loving and serving him.

This Saturday we had a movie night at the church and the members are now going to use this for their missionary work, so they are all going to invite one friend out to movie night. It was an OK turn out we had a less active family come out and the Branch President, but it was better than nothing. So we are going to keep doing it and see where it takes us.

This week has been good we are still just trying to get people to church believe it or not. I honestly think that this is the hardest area I have ever had.....4 months of the same thing getting people back to church. We have made huge progress. I have been discouraged and have felt like I just want to give up, teaching less actives is harder than teaching investigators.....I have felt defeated in so many ways, like nothing is working. But I know that this gospel is true and pure and I know that God is always there. Because when we feel like nothing is working, is when things start to work.

In Mormon chapter 9:20-21 it says

 20 And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust 

21 Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth.

I still give it my all everyday and I still will give 100% even if things do or don't turn around, whatever Heavenly Father's will is.

I have seen miracles that I cannot deny. I have seen people change their lives, and I have seen my life change. I know that this is the only true church on the earth no matter how bold that sounds, it is true. and people need what we have.

I know that Jesus Christ lives. Joseph Smith did restore the gospel on the earth.

All is Well :)

-Elder Clark

Week #50

 

This week was.....really really odd. Like nothing happened. We had to travel and go on exchanges with some of the district leaders in our zone, and when we got back we only had like Friday, Saturday and Sunday to work in our area.  And only 3 people came to church on Sunday, well actually 5 if you count President Tovey and President Jensen. We only had 1 member and 2 less actives as our audience. I was pretty mad and frustrated actually because I have just been trying and trying with these less actives and man Satan is just pulling out the big guns and people are using their agency. But I told myself that there is no point in being frustrated or complaining. So it just means that this week I will have to just work work work!  But we already have a bunch of things going this week!

 

 Tuesday we have  church tours set up so hopefully people come to that and then this Saturday is the big movie night and we will be watching One Man's Treasure, we just need to get people out to these activities.

 

While on exchanges I went to go stay with some other elders because one of the elders was struggling with a lot of different things going on. As I sat down with him I just asked him some questions and he told me that he doesn't know if any of this is true and said that he wants to believe it but  he has never felt the spirit ever in his life. I listened to him and asked some more questions and then taught him. But yet he was still struggling with all of his questions and he just wanted to give up and go home. So I testified of The Book of Mormon and said "I know this gospel is true so lets pray about it elder." So we all prayed and I said a prayer. I was shaking in my boots like crazy I was praying so hard to myself just hoping that he would receive an answer. I was scared to be honest. Then he prayed and  asked god if he was just there for him and to feel his hand in his life, and I told him to just wait and listen to your feelings. We waited for 10 minuets just silent. He was crying, the spirit was so strong in there and then he looked up and said " I don't know what to think" I thought to myself oh no.....but then he goes on to say that all of his life he has always had these different things going on in his mind and he has just never been able to get rid of them and that it has always given him trouble and has scared him, and then he said when I was done praying everything just left and he felt so much peace enter into his mind and has never had that before, but didn't  know if that was the spirit. I testified that it was and then we all rejoiced with one another just like in D&C 50:22

  "  22 Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together."

 

That is neat that Taylor is serving in Ohio for a bit! that will be good for her :) I have no idea how long they will keep me here for....so we will see.

 

I know that god answers prayers, and I know that when we get frustrated... it's because we are trying to do it all on our own. Sometimes we just have to realize that it is in someone elses hands. I do know that The Book of Mormon is true and that Joesph Smith was a prophet of god.

 

Love you so much mom and love all of you

All is Well

-Elder Clark :)

Week #49

 

Well I don't really know how to explain how crazy our week was, but I will try.

 

On Tuesday we had our zone training meeting, Elder Weeks and myself had the idea to do like a TRC (teaching resource center) situation like in the MTC. So we did our portion on Listening in chapter 10 of PMG, (Preach my gospel) and what we did was  have less actives and members come and pretend to play investigators, and so the missionaries had the opportunity to teach these people. One of our less active member Grad Wagner brought 2 of his non member friends, their names were Paige and Chris. Paige told me that she was only here for the food and didn't care about religion. She even told me that she was an atheist, and that she was going to let the elders have it with all the questions she has. I said perfect, just be yourself haha. So the elders are teaching her and she just starts crying and they invited her to come to church and she said yes! hah. Later that day however...Brad Wagner's wife's brother Joe, shot himself in Brad's house....Paige and Chris were very good friends with Joe. It was weird for me too because I was just talking to Joe 3 weeks ago and he was wanting to change his life and now all this happened. So later that day we went to go visit Brad and we gave him a Priesthood blessing and then gave Paige a blessing as well...she was crying at the end of the blessing and we were able to teach her and her boyfriend, and now they are new investigators. What a miracle, her view of God has totally changed.

We went to Kenora on exchanges this week and we got up at 4:30 in the morning and went fishing!  I caught like 2 fish and another elder caught a big Bass and so we cut them open and then had a fish fry for lunch ha.

 

Some other crazy stuff has been happening....we taught a less active who hasn't been to church in 15 years and he came to church this Sunday. We had a good turn out this Sunday we were close to getting 20 people there, but Satan pulled out the big guns! I just got out of a Branch Presidency meeting and it was good, I brought up the idea of doing a movie night every Saturday. The members are so on board and so I hope they invite their friends!. President Tovey is so on board for member missionary work. Their is a harvest about to happen! We kind of have a youth group going. On Wednesday we have 6 non member young men coming out to play basketball, so hopefully we can start teaching their family.

 

So we taught a former Branch President and his wife, and we invited them to church and they said yes...I was so shocked. When Sunday came around, they didn't show up....I was Ticked! my goodness. Luckily we have to Osters coming back and brother Oster wants to be in charge of the movie night, so that is good he wants to get involved with missionary work.

 

Other than that this week has just been crazy with Joe and everything. I'm just ready to go out and keep giving it all that I can. We have a goal of getting 23 people to church this week, so I'm ready to hit the streets!

 

 

Well honestly it feels unreal that I have been out here a year....it is going way to fast mom. It is so hot and humid here......it's like you freeze all winter and sweat all summer there is no in between.

 

I know that the power of the Priesthood is real, that God is really there, that Jesus Christ extends his arm to all. This gospel is true, this church is the only true church....and I know all of this to be true.

 

All is Well:)))

-Elder Clark

About Robert

Just wanted to say that Robert will have been out for one year on July 11th. I have seen this boy grow so much because of his choice to serve a mission. I am very proud of him and the man he has become. Canada is lucky to have him for one more year.

Love from his Mother, Kay

Week #48

 

This week was really good. Monday we found 4 new investigators from playing basketball and we will be teaching them again this week.
Well we had a miracle....starting next week we have a less active family that told President Tovey they would be coming back weekly. The Osters are coming back for good they said starting next Sunday! :) patience is real. We have been working with them for 4 months and it really did pay off. I think telling people in the right setting that their eternal salvation is at stake really gets them thinking, because I told them that. We have a book of Mormon class starting up and we might be having a non member show up she is prepared she went to the church growing up.

On Wednesday night, we went to visit a former branch president. He told us the same story over and over, so I just asked him....do you love god? do you love him enough to keep his commandments? then why aren't you doing it? then I  asked him how it felt to go through the temple with his wife. He said great.... I then said,  then why aren't you keeping your covenants? it was the neatest thing I asked him if he wanted to be with his family forever and he said yes, I said then how will that happen. He said, well be an example and be there for them and plus we were sealed in the temple. I told him the blessing is for those who qualify and right now.  I told him....why do you think I'm here? he said because it's a commandment to be on a mission and you want to share the gospel and your doing what you should be doing...I said...your wrong.....I told him I was out here because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I asked him....do you realize that the atonement can help you overcome the hurt feeling that you have been through? he said yes I know that, I understand that. I said no you don't, you don't understand that one bit. I then bore my testimony of the Savior and Atonement, and many more things did I say. He just sat there and he began to cry he felt the spirit so much, and then we just showed him an increase of love and I told him that we loved him and he said he loved us too. When you love and serve them you can teach them and they don't get offended. They know it's because you love them.And before we left, he said....I'm going to talk to my brother about all this and coming back to church. I really think we can get these former branch president's back. I love these guys a lot and the great thing is that they love us too.

Then we got back on Saturday and we were heading to the church and I had the prompting to stop by Kenny's house. He told us that Doug Olson's wife was in the hospital and that she needed a blessing, we hurried and went to the hospital and gave her a blessing. Doug thought we were still in Saskatchewan so he didn't know who to call or get and so he was worried and then we showed up and gave her a blessing and I told him if it wasn't for that prompting we wouldn't be here. Then yesterday we saw Kenny Olson and he said that he was on the phone with Doug yesterday and Doug was all worried because we were in SK and so Kenny went and prayed and felt that everything would be OK and then seconds later we showed up at Kenny's house....I love the spirit and I am glad I listened to it. I am confident that if we keep working with these two that we can get them back.

 

Well I love you and love all of you so much. I know the church is true! 

 

All is Well:)

 -Elder Clark

 

 

Week #47

 

Well this morning we marched in the Canada parade with the highlanders. I played snare and everything. What a great way to have the whole community to see us. Well now that I am a Zone leader, it is back to being busy with exchanges and giving training, I'm just really happy we aren't as busy as like I was as an assistant, we have way more time to work in our area and do work!

 

My companion is Elder Weeks. He is great, I think we will work well together. I have realized that it doesn't matter who you work with or serve with, as long as you both have one thing in common, and that is doing the lords work and fulfilling our purpose. But it is good though because we have a lot in common. It is so hot down here. It got up to 30 degrees and plus humidity. You are just hot and sticky. It is hard for me to breathe up here in this weather, I was a huffin and puffin, I need some Washington air.

Well Zach just got back from vacation so we are going to text him this week and see where he is at.

 

 This week we have to travel all the way to Saskatchewan for a mission leader council, so we will  leave Thursday and we won't get back till Saturday. This week is gonna go by to fast.

 

Well I must say I am excited to serve with Elder Weeks. We have come up with a new finding idea. Usually we have just been talking with everyone on the streets to and from appointments, but now we are really focusing on teaching the less actives that will receive us. We are still working with the former Branch Presidents too. Our finding idea is called "activity of the day" we have basketball on Monday nights, Book of Mormon class on Tuesday nights, and we want to do a family home evening night. The branch doesn't have a youth group, so we are going to try and get a youth group together. Here is how it will work.  On the day of the activity instead of just passing out pass along cards and sharing the restoration we are going to invite people to an activity day. Whoever shows up will be what we have to show for  our day of finding. I am excited and I think it will be good.  People are more receptive to an event or activity rather than talking about prophets.   We are going to try and have our members at those activities. I'm not sure how it wall all happen but we are acting in faith.  It would be good to have facebook  here because when we coach soccer, all of those families have facebook, and that's how they all checked the soccer games.  We can add them as friends and invite them to an activity like F.H.E or Youth group. I'm excited!

We still had a good week though, we were able to finally get in contact with some of the less actives that have been busy. We taught two former branch presidents who are less active, they still need a lot of work.

Other than that everything is going good. Elder Weeks and I are seriously going to try and do all we can to hit standard each week so that we set the example for the zone. The Osters didn't come this Sunday....I don't know what happened....but sacrament meeting was great, the spirit was there, the speakers where given topics, and we were edified together. President Tovey is a game changer I think. He will really be the rock for this branch, and his wife finally agreed to have a missionary lesson with us :) we need her. Things are going good.

 

Well mom everything is going good, I really couldn't be happier. I know the church is true there is no better work.

 

All is Well :)

-Elder Clark