1st letter in the field

 what is up!!!! i dont have time to send a big email this week so ill tell you whats going on! you can send this to the family and let them know im doing ok! i live in Gardena. Sketch. we cover Gardena Compton Carson and Lawndale. my companion is elder Jensen he is from denver. knda a strange kid but he is teaching me right! we have cockroaches but its alright. there was a man hunt that ended by our house and there was a helicopter and everything! and then the next day we saw someone get arrested! and everynight smells like weed! but i love it here the members are so cool and i love them. im sorry i dont have much time to email becuase i dont have my ipad but i get it next week i think! i tell me whats going on up there! everyting good? i miss you guys but i love it down here! but email me whats going on! i want to hear
love you
elder clark

1ST COMPANION

Letter #6 last from the MTC

One More Week in Prison


if you cant already tell but i am ready to leave and get to LA already. i am a little nervous to get there and have to start all over with someone new and teach lessons to real people in spanish. but i have faith that the lord will bless me. im most excited about eating some real food finally that is what really excites me!

my district is having a hard time focus because all we can think about is leaving so we are all pretty antsy. there are some companionships that are struggling in my district and i just tell them we have one more week, but at the same time when they get out into the field it will be only you and your companion you wont have a district to talk to everyday so you need to learn to put your needs second and love and serve your companion. one elder will not listen to me at all so i just tell myself there is one more week. but this elder has also taught me to love and find the good in everyone and have christlike chairity.

funny story that involves the lunch room for a third time. elder kramer got done eating his wrap and started to stab his fork into is then i took my empty cup and started to smash his wrap with my cup. the same guy (Brother Justice, learned his name cause we get talked at by him frequently) comes over and tell us that he has sent missionaries home because of actions like ours.... our whole zone started laughing and not he is always within 5 feet of our table.

this week im packing little by little getting ready to head out and its kinda sad because i remember when all of the older guys left before us and how sad it was for the ones staying here. i dont want to leave my zone they are all so much fun and when they share their testimony the spirit is ridiculously strong and i am going to miss that. 

i love getting dear elders and i would love to see pictures of what is going on in everyones lives!

yo amo este evangelio y yo se es verdadero, (i love this gospel and i know its true)

i love you all, and so does heavenly father

Elder Clark

Letter #5 from the MTC

PRESIDENT DOESN'T APPROVE OF YOUR EATING HABITS

This week has been really good. i have gotten a package 5 days in a row now! i am so loved by my family and friends its unreal. pls tell the tadjes thank you for the animal crackers. they are already half gone. i can feel all of your prayers helping me with the language and i know the gift of tongues is real. we are teaching this one lady named Maribel we have 25 minutes to teach her and she talks for 20 of them. she is the greatest and she is so funny and nice. 

its been a hard one as zone leader because we have had two elders leave after only being here for 5 days so Elder Kramer and i tried talking to them and making them feel loved and have them know what they are doing is something really special. but its better for them to go home because they were miserable here and i didnt want them to suffer any longer. they both had problems witht the mental part of the mission. but our zone has grown together because of them. and our branch president told us that god has a plan for all of us. which is so true.

we hosted on saturday i hosted jeff beals grant gardener (connors cousin that i am friends with) and the man himself connor. it was so nice toto see the whole Van Alfen family and it made me realize how much i miss them. i wanted to give Lori a hug because she is pretty much my mom but i didnt buy Ryan gave me a huge hug. it was awesome. Connor lives on the first floor of my building and Riley Adams is his companion i see them often. Ryan Christensen is on my ZONE and he lives like 2 doors down from me. Blessed. i was in Stephanie Nielsons instagram apparently. and you can see me in the very back which is tight! also BRANDON TAYLOR from the runnin utes was at the MTC i yelled his name and held up the U and he flashed it back at me. it was awesome.

ok two funny stories

at lunch on saturday this one Elder in my zone ate an entire apple core and everything and an entire banana peel and everything. the old man that got after us first time came up to us and said president doesnt like your eating habits. even though president burgess wasnt even at the MTC  that day and then this man says i have had 8 complaints from the senior couples about the way youre eating your food. the senior couples sit on the other side of the cafeteria. then he invited us all to leave the cafeteria. it was so funny even though elder Peterson was the only one eating. Lol.

on sunday we watched Ephriams Rescue and one point in the movie the teenagers that are coming across the plains kiss and everyone started to go wild. a small fire was lit inside of me and i was insta annoyed. i just said yeah were is the exit i want to go home.

but watching Ephriams Rescue made me realize i want to live like the pioneers. they were so faithful and were willing to sacrifice what they already had their old lives, jobs and family. they left and endured the hardest thing every, walking with what they could pull to salt lake. they left it all and walked to Salt Lake because they knew the gospel was true. i want to live like the poineers because of how much faith they had and when the prophet asked them to leave everything they did it without second guessing or asking why. i want to have as much faith as the pioneers and do whatever the lord or the prophet asks of me.

i hope all is well back at home.

still love getting dear elders each day

yo se que el evangelio es verdadero (i know that the gospel is true)

Elder Clark

Letter #4 from the MTC

ALL THE LEGENDS ARE GONE

this week has been a hard one. i have had thoughts of i cant do this and i dont know if im worthy/ready to be a missionary. And on  top of that two zones left that were so fun and a blast to be around. they left yesterday and its been quiet since. so this week we have been writing in journals and giving emails to them it just hasnt been a good week.

we started teaching TRC and it been tough because i kind of understand the question and i know how to answer or share something really spiritual but i cant because of the language barrier. BUT the gift of tongues is real i can feel heavenly father help me in language class. its not coming at the speed i want it to but i cant control god i can only be grateful for what he has given me and work with what i have.

my companion and i got pulled into a room by the branch president and he asked if Elder Kramer and i would become zone leaders!! and one thing he said really stuck with me. As we were getting ready to leave the room he looked at both of us and said i got a feeling form the holy ghost that you guys should become zone leaders 3 weeks ago. i thought that was really cool because we have only been here 3 weeks and a couple of days. he knew we would become ZL only after a few days we were there. so another guy in our district is now district leader and his companion is not happy he thinks he should have gotten it and there was a ton of drama and i said hey guys there was a reason why i left eagle high and that was to get away from high school drama so elder suck it up and support your companion because he has extra on his plate now

i took a lot of pictures with all of the guys that left ill send those

other than that things will get better. i have had one thing stuck in my head for the last week and that is "god will tear you down only to build you stronger and higher than before" that has been huge for me this week.

also i saw Mckenna Lake at the temple!! it was awesome to see her and she told me she will be here in a couple of weeks!

im hosting tomorrow so i hope connor ryan and austin are ready to be picked up by elder clark!

yo se el libro de mormon es verdad (i know the book of mormon is true) i have also gained a stronger testimony of the book of mormon i love that book and its a blessing to have it at our finger tips.

i love and miss you all 

Elder Clark

Letter #3 from the MTC

almost to week three. its been good here its nice to be in the world but not of it i heard that there has been some sad news going on around the world but im not 100% sure whats going on and i dont believe anyone here because they know just as much as i do lol.

Spanish is coming along great i really only know two phrases

es retrosado -thats retarded

esta iluminado -its lit

jk jk but the gift of tongues is so real. i can bare a simple testimony but i can feel the spirit so strong and i can pray in spanish and the more i do those two things the more i remember and the easier it is for me to put sentences together and to understand what is being said.

since ive learned patience the lord gave me something else to work on charity and love. i love my companion and have no problem with him but there is another elder that is just driving me up the wall cause all he does is talk him self up and our whole district just know hes full of it. but i want you guys to read the love and charity paragraph in preach my gospel it has helped me this week but im still working hard at always seeing the good in others

ok to my subject. i have two funny stories to tell the first one we were in the lunch room and whenever people drop their lunch treys we start clapping for them. so we heard a big crash and my whole zone started to clap and then an old man comes and grabs an elder in my zones neck and yells at us "the president wants to know why you elders are clapping" all of us just sat there and sat there and looked at him. it was funny.

second story. we were at the Tuesday night devotional and they show the crowd and two guys in my zone just got there and fell asleep they were like hunched over asleep and they were showing the crowd and zoomed in on those two asleep and the rest of our zone was just cracking up laughing they hurried and switched cameras. should have been there.

there are already problems starting to rise from my district. and i have to take care of it. i feel bad for the one elder because the other elder is just bossing him around and wont give him any say in anything . 

still love getting all of those dear elders. i love reading them before i go to bed every night.

i love and miss you guys

PEACE AND BLESSINGS

Elder Clark