Week #27

Oh boy this has been a week and a half.. it's been a good week full of a lot of hard work and many problems. First we took our car into the chevy dealership Tuesday and our car is still there... so we have been walking everywhere that is walkable min our area. So by the end of the day my dogs are barking!! But we have had the opportunity to take the bus and the Metro! I love it! It's so much fun and we have gotten to talk to a lot of different people!
On Thursday we had our transfer interviews with president Haynie it's always nice to sit down with man like him and talk for a second. He gave me some good insight on how to help my companion!
On Friday we received a call that we will be getting a mini missionary from the Santa Monica stake! His name was Kevin! He was so chill and he loves doing a lot so it was nice to have him for the day helping us with our Spanish!  We actually went to the visitors center and had a lesson with Jonathan about temples and eternal marriage. He loves that idea of being with our families forever.
On a funny note Monday night we were walking home to our house, when we tried to stop and talk to this one guy on the street he wasn't showing too much interest when all of the sudden a car plus up and the lady inside is screaming "brothers! Stay away from him! He is the Devil! You can see it in his eyes!" Then drove off.. we just looked at the guy and said "enjoy the rest of your night sir." The. Went our separate ways.
After the lesson on Friday I have been thinking about eternal families. How grateful I am to be in a loving home where I have known nothing but the gospel and the many joys it brings to families. That we will be able to live this gospel as a family together forever. If that is t beautiful right there I don't know what is. I am so grateful for my family and the choices my parents made to enable me to have this this gospel since I was born! I love them so much! (Yes Ashlyn I love)

Have a good week everyone!
Peace and blessings

Week #26

This week a lot happened! And we got to meet a bunch more of our members in our ward! Like the relief society president (she's a real go getter,)<- Seinfeld reference not even mad, she really likes the missionaries and is willing to do anything for us!First we did temple service and we just cleaned the patron apartments behind the temple, it was nice to do something for a change! 

Then we had Efren our investigator from Santa Fe Springs get baptized! So happy for him, when he came out of the water he just stood there, it was something so powerful to see because you could see he knew he was clean. We had to speak and it turns out I said a some things wrong in Spanish. Not even embarrassed. 

It also rained super hard on Friday and we had to go out and work.. we knocked on a door and it was a Muslim family from Pakistan! They invited us in and gave us food and we talked for about an hour comparing our religions! We didn't really get anywhere with them but it was cool to me to learn about that religion! I just invited them to open up a Pakistani restaurant (sorry for yet another Seinfeld reference.) jk jk but yeah we just worked in the rain and got soaked while doing it! It absolutely sucked but we know we will receive blessing for it! 

Also our area got bigger so we cover the beach! Nothing too great we have a narrow strip of neighborhood in between LAX and the chevron oil refinery but none then less tenemos la playa.

Funny convocation we had this week. We were talking with this old guy out in his front yard and we were talking to him about repentance and he goes on to tell us about how some guy jumped him while he was walking the street and as this guy is coming in for a second punch, the old guy whips out a 6' knife and slashes the guy! He then says proudly yeah I'm still on probation. What a guy. 

Besides that I have something spiritual to share a chapter I read this week was when  Jesus and his apostles were out at sea and there came a storm, one of the apostles went and woke Jesus up and said we are about to perish please help us! Jesus told him there is no need to have fear because I am on your side. This just really made me think, in our lives we have storms our trials that can be scary and make us have fear, but there is no need to worry because we have Jesus on our side to calm the storm or give us the means to battle through the storm with faith! I love this scripture and I have been applying it to my life! Matthew 8. 

Have a good week!

Peace and blessings 

Week #25

Well I am in Inglewood now!! I live right Around the corner from where they are building the new Rams stadium! Our apartment was a disaster. The Elder that lived here before us didn't clean it at all... one of the doors to our shelves in our kitchen the tops hinge was stripped so it was barely hanging on so we just took the door off completely. It's tiny, it stinks, it's home. I don't mind it. As for our car.. it has engine problems. So this week we have spent a bit of time I pep boys. But we have had a lot of success with the time we have had to actually work! 

We met this one guy I don't remember his name but we were talking to him and he told us his sister is Mormon in Mexico and he kinda wants to learn more! Then all of the sudden he starts to draw something on the sidewalk. I asked him "what are ya doin?" He told us that he was drawing his clique sign. I asked him what clique or gang he was from. He told us I don't remember. Then I asked "you and your boys gonna protect us?" He said to us, "yo if you ever have any trouble every call me man, don't go to the cops they are frauds, come to me and we will take care of them for you." Said sweet then left him with a prayer.

Besides that we were able to set a baptismal date with a young investigator named Jonathan! He is awesome and the LDS that introduced him to the church is even better! Can't wait to help him progress even more! Plus he came to church yesterday. What a guy. 

In Saturday we had a ward party for the elders quorum we had food and games it was fun and it was suppose to be in the park by our church but the park was an absolute mud bog so we had to have the party in the church but it was fun! Plus Mexican food is the best!

A thought that I had this week, sometimes we are so impatient with Christ and God to answer our prayers and help us out or give us what we want. We need to have patience with them and have the faith that they are going to answer our prayers. Because God and Christ are so patient with us and our eternal progression. Have patience with them like they have for all of us. Because I know they have to use a lot of patience with me because I am a slow learner. He is great, he loves me, I can't wait to go home to him. 

Peace and blessings 

Elder Clark 

Week #24

This week was good! Elder Loose and I are smoothing out our differences and really learning to love one another! Plus my thighs are still hams! We were able to find so many people and talk with them and get return appointments for this up and coming week!

This week we had ZTM (zone training meeting) it was really good I took se good notes about how we can help our investigators learn how to fish instead of just giving them one fish at a time. Or in other words make them connect the dots that when they are acting on our invitations and they feel good when doing it they realize it's the spirit acting on them. I have been trying hard to have them realize it when following up with them. I hope I can master it because that will help them in their spiritual growth and for me to be a better teacher. 

My companion is yes weird, but so funny. One day we were getting ready and he looked in the mirror and said said yep the genes were in my favor, good skin, almost straight teeth, everything. Well except me balding... I couldn't help but laugh. What a man. He is going to be a great missionary. 

Got transfer calls I am leaving Santa Fe springs! I was only here two weeks and I am headed to inglewood with Elder Loose! I am going to finish his training! I am excited! But I that means I need to pack again!

We found a person this week that is a JW. Ugh. But we got talking to him and he really respects us as missionaries. He told us that he hasn't lived the best life and he just wants to make it as good as he can. He told us he lived in a TRAP HOUSE just in the other neighborhood (my kind of guy.) before we met him when we were getting ready to leave I had a new Book of Mormon on my desk in English, we never carry English Books of Mormon but for some reason I just said "meh what the heck" little did I know at that moment I was going to give it to this man who wants to grow closer to God. At the time I didn't think anything of it but when I gave it to him I was just so happy and I realized that for some reason God through the Holy Ghost told me to say what the heck I'll carry an English one today. Crazy how God works. A thought that I didn't think to much about could turn into this man flipping his life completely around. 

Missions are great. God is real. Jesus Christ sacrificed for our sins and lives again. This church is the true church that Jesus Christ restored through Joseph smith. 

Peace & Blessings 

Elder Clark 

New apartment

Week #23

Bikes are the Worst

This week has been a weird one! I got a call Sunday night that said I am going to Santa Fe springs! All the missionaries say it's the armpit of the mission and that when you come out here you get forgotten about... guess we will see how long I will be out here for!

My new companion is Elder loose! I am training him!He is from Texas and he is probably the nicest person on the face of the earth. A little weird but it's because we were just raised very different. I'll give you an example. We were driving up to the temple and when you are headed north on the 405 in the foothills there is the biggest building. Every time we are driving up there I always say to the other missionaries "hey did you know that ginormous building is Kobe Bryant's house?" So I said that to my new companion and he looked at me with a blank stare.. so I had to ask if he new who that was and he has no clue... yes we are very different. But I love him. Great guy. 

Wednesday we were able to watch the worldwide missionary broadcast and there is something completely new!! Pretty much we can do studies and stuff like that whenever we want! They are giving us the agency to decide when to do it and when to prosélitos and what not. Plus we plan in the morning so now when we return home all we have to do it go to sleep which I know that was revelation. Then after we went and did a session in the temple! Plus president Haynie got permission from SLC so that the whole mission could get together! It was awesome and long! But it was a once in a lifetime experience! 

About the bike.. it's a fixy, it sucks, it's the worst, it's my mode of transportation. My thighs are already two big blocks of ham ready to be harvested by the ham man himself. It's great. Then one day we started to go down this hill and I spaced that you can't stop peddling until I lost control, so I just stuck my legs out the side and costed. I'm sure that was a sight to see with my lengthy legs. I just hate the fixy because I can't pop and sweet wheelies on it:( I'm stuck on it for now, might as well have some fun while I have it.  Pls pray for me. 

As for training it's been an experience because I really have been relying on the lord to help me speak, to grind everyday and to find people that are interested. I am gaining a testimony quick about leaning on the lord, because I don't know how to be a missionary yet. But if I pray to him for the strength to endure this challenge I will come out stronger and better then when I went into this challenge. Lean on the lord always and you will have a peace like never before. I can promise you that with all my heart, I can promise you that through experience!

That's my week! I'd love to hear from you all! Have a great week!

Peace and blessings 

Elder Clark