Week #5

Churches Chicken Is Inspired
This week has gone by so fast! And this week we have been teaching
more and I am feeling more comfortable sharing and participating in
lessons. Which is a huge blessing

Tuesday we got woken up to a 3.1 earthquake! They happened every two
hours nothing big just moved the floor a little! And this continued
all throughout the morning and our studies it was cool but scary at
the same time! Haha

Friday night the ward I cover (Hermosa Liahona) had a multi cultural
party! There was a mariachi band and different booths set up from
different Latino countries like Peru, El Salvador, Mexico etc... Each
booth had food from that country and there was just a ton of food in
general... All of it was awful I tried everything but it was all
nasty. So I came home and had a bowl of cereal. Blessed. But this
party was a huge success because there was a lot of recent converts
less-actives and investigators there. It was huge for us to go up and
talk to them or just for them to mingle with ward members. It was a
fun night and Latinos know how to party and have a good time and I
will leave it at that...

People have some pretty weird things in their front yards like Easter
island heads  we have seen a goat or a little boy going to the
bathroom but my favorite were this signs that had some explicit
wording on it they were so funny I had to take a pic I couldn't decide
the subject name for this week because these signs were so funny! To
say the least "tenemos una salvaje aquí" (we have a savage here)

Saturday we had an appointment to go up to the visitor center at the
temple in Santa Monica but the family that we were going to take up to
it got In a huge fight and backed out at the last minute... We were
both pretty bummed because we were both so excited for them because we
know this visit could really help them grow closer to God. Since we
both felt really bad my companion said lets go to Church's Chicken,
because that's all I have been talking about it since I've been here
because it was mentioned in a rap song (Jon Little should know which
song I'm talking about). So we went to Church's Chicken for dinner and
a little bit of a pick us up. While we were eating some lady came up
and started to talk to us and she wants us to come and talk with her
friend that we found out is a less-active member! So we got a member
referral from a non-member and we are hoping to go and visit with this
lady this week! After our dinner we were feeling pretty good and we
went and had a stellar lesson with a man named Edwin! He is a new
investigator and this was our first lesson with him. He speaks both
English and Spanish so this is good practice for me to get better at
my Spanish because we asked him to correct us whenever we say
something wrong.

My favorite thing on the Mish is when people from across the street or
from anywhere yell "Hey Elders!" Because we get avoided a lot as
missionaries and we get a lot of people that don't want to talk to us.
So it's nice when people on the street acknowledge you or give you a
honk driving down the street. I really enjoy it and it brings me a lot
of happiness. So I challenge you guys when you see a set of
missionaries honk or say "Hey Elders!" because I know they will love
it!

My companion and I are going hard everyday trying to reach out to
uncontested referrals and we get tired a lot but then I just say "well
sitting here won't do us no good no how" who can name the movie? (I
know my dad and my uncle Mike can)  but missionary work is tough and
it's exhausting. But it is worth it  at moments it's hard and I just
want to go take a nap. But at the end of the day when I look back at
the day I think about the conversations I had with people or the
lessons I taught and I wouldn't have had those experiences if we just
stayed in our apartment and slept. But this is the greatest experience
I have had in my life I am learning so much about this gospel and
myself and I am so grateful for this experience I have. This gospel is
so important to me now and I am so grateful to be apart of this church
and for the opportunity I have to be apart of this church

Peace and Blessings

Elder Clark

Week #4

THE CLAM IS FOREVER
This week has been awesome!

Tuesday I got my iPad so now we Rollin, the first thing I got
airdropped to me was the CLAM is forever rap. In the California Los
Angeles Mission it is a big thing to right a rap and film it and send
it to everyone right before you leave. The one I got is straight fire
and it gets me pumped. The CLAM is truly a straight up crew and it is
the best mission and I am so blessed to be here. Hopefully we can put
the rap up on my blog so all of you can see it because it is awesome!
Also I have a ton of pics I hope all of you will enjoy!

  I went on my first exchange with the zone leaders elder Wassum and
elder Rawlings two super cool and awesome elders and they are English
speaking so I spent to day teaching and talking in English which I
didn't like.. But at the end of the day they took me to yogurt land
since it was my first exchange. Then on Wednesday I went on another
exchange with my district leader elder Sambat a little elder from the
Philippines. He let me use his bike because it was the bigger bike. He
used his companions bike a small little Korean. I thought this bike
was going to collapse right underneath while we were biking... But I
loved biking I thought it was fun! This exchange was also in English
so two day this week I was speaking only English and I did not like
it. I probably looked like the biggest idiot riding down the street on
this tiny bike but hey I had fun that day.

Funny conversation we had this week :
Big black guy across the street says to us "you boys know where you
at?" We reply "yes sir Compton California!"  He then says "you boys
know what you look like?" We answer "yes! A couple of White
missionaries" then he says "your guys faces are really red you boys
scared?" We said " no sir we are just out on the streets everyday so
we are a little sunburnt!" He then says "you feel alright walking
around in Compton?" "Yes sir we are he on the lords errand he will
protect us!" Then he says "what if a gang comes up and shoots y'all?
Then were do you go?" We answer "probably the hospital sir!" Then he
goes on about how Jesus is an alien and we told him to have a nice
day! Probably shouldn't have been so smart to this man cause who know
what he has in his back pocket. Thought it was a funny convo.

All things crime don't even phase me anymore we hear police cars and
ambulances everyday now I don't even notice or hear them. The smell of
weed and cat pee have mixed so I don't know the difference now. Still
loving it and I am getting nervous for transfers because I don't want
to leave because I love this ward and I love going to Compton. The
other night we were walking back to our apartment and there were
cockroaches all over the side walk so we started to stop them out and
I bet you didn't know when you stomp out a 2inch cockroach it sounds
like a pop-it firework man I love it here and that is with no sarcasm

This week has gone by fast and transfers are coming up soon and
Saturday my companion turned to me and asked if I thought this was a
successful transfer. I said define success? Because success to me is
going out and giving it your all everyday and trying your hardest.
Number wise we aren't having much success. But I think we have been
successful because we haven't let our lack of numbers or "success" get
to us and we don't give up. We give it our all everyday and we can't
control others. As long as we give it our all everyday God will do the
rest and then we will start having success number wise. We are
starting to see it though. Please pray for Fransisco my companion and
I are hoping to get him to the visitors center this weekend and
hopefully it should be a huge spiritual experience and i am excited!

The language is coming. Still not as fast as I want but it is coming
little by little. I am able to stop people on the street and ask them
if I can ask them a question and then I can ask them a question. The
members here in the Hermosa Liahona ward really help me and make me
feel comfortable speaking and I love church because I can speak in
Spanish and they correct me with love and they give me help and
pointers.

Thank you for all the safety and language prayers I can feel them
everyday and I can feel that I am getting better and I feel more and
more safe everyday. So thank you

I hope everyone has a good week this week! And never forget God and
Jesus Christ love you! He was willing to sacrifice his body so that we
can live with our father in heaven again!

Peace and Blessings

Elder Clark

Week #3

Firework show in September??

hello everyone! this week has been crazy! we havent been teaching much because we have 36 uncontacted referrals we are trying to meet with! but we taught this one man named Fransisco who just got out of prison for domestic violence. every time we go over and teach him he has his shirt off and he is nothing but tattoos. we taught him the restoration and the atonement. i had a spiritual prompting to show him because of him video after he watched it he had tears in his eyes. then my companion and i shared our testimonies and the spirit was there so strong it was awesome!

ok now to the caption. im suppose to not share this with my mom but Melanie is a lit mother and i think she can handle it. so Saturday night we just got back to our apartment and it sounded like a firework show was going on about two or three blocks away. as i sat there writing in my journal i thought thats kinda weird having a random fireworks show in September.... then i heard a semi-automatic firework go off. little did i realize there was a gang fight going on. man i love it here! the lord is protecting me and i can feel a bubble of protection around me when we are out walking around!

this week has been hard ive been burned out and out of energy but i say a quick prayer and the lord gives me strength. i also look at it when im tired i think how proud will heavenly father be when i talk to this person meet with one more person or visit one more person. i think when i give it my all picturing how happy and proud he is of me because i am bring one of his children home and that gets me motivated and i finish my day strong!

thank you for all the prayers!!

love you all 

Elder Clark

Week #2

hello!!

sorry i didnt really get to email last week but i have time this week!! things here are fast pace and everyone is going a million miles an hour! i love it! 

my  companion is Elder Jensen he is from denver and he loves telling people that i get potatoes for cheap.... we have nothing in common except we both know this church is true and we both love the Broncos  and that all i need! he loves to tell me how he loves being in plays and how he has won some swing dance competitions and i just sit there and listen and think in my head... when did your dad throw away your baseball glove.. jk jk i love him he is teaching me everything i need to know about being a missionary in the CLAM.

had a funny thing that happened to me this week and it reminded me of Seinfeld it was about three in the after noon and we are walking down the street and we saw a nissan pathfinder a rockin' and lets just say we did not go a knockin' every night smells like weed and i just think to myself man everyone in CA must be hurt of sick.. 

im in a pretty rough area but when we are walking the streets i dont feel like i am at all and i know the Lord is watching over and Protecting us as we are out sharing his word

i got a letter from bucky this week. it is so good to hear that he is doing good and loving it! if someone could send me his email address i want to reach out to him!

i am loving it here though the people in my ward are amazing went to church on sunday and i didnt understand most of it but i could feel the spirit. i am starting to understand and share more in Spanish so keep those prayers rolling in to help me with the language!

one thing that i have been studying this week is the atonement. that is so powerful and it is so needed for us to make it back to live with God. i have gained a strong testimony that Jesus Atoned for our sins and by him doing that we can have eternal life i love this gospel and i try to share it with every person i pass by because it truly does bring blessings into peoples lives!

thanks for all the support!

Elder Clark