7.21.14 Feed my Sheep

Hello family and friends:) All is well in Zion. This week.. like every week was amazing. Goodness.. I just love being a missionary! it truly is the best. Although we had some set backs this week it ended with some amazing miracles! The 4 highlights of my week were as follows.

Highlight number 1

Well this is kind of a thorn and rose. Thorn is that I haven't been feeling to well for the past while.. but the great part about that was. When I went to the doctor I got to see one of my recent converts from Caldwell (Luis) that works in that doctors office:) It was so good to see him. He seems to be doing well.

Highlight number 2

This week our zone was asked to put on a stake primary activity. We had skits, we had songs, make your own nametags, learn how to tie a tie and also we had time for 'pictures with the missionaries'. It was so fun to watch these little kids act out their favorite missionary stories in the Book of Mormon. We learn a lot from little children and how willing they are to share the gospel. We had one of the parents of a little girl who attended the activity come up to us on Sunday and told us that her daughter (with her missionary tag on) gave out 2 pass along cards at the store after the activity.

Highlight number 3

Sunday's here are always a highlight. As we were preparing to go into sacrament meeting we saw one of our investigators Mary sitting on the couch in the foyer. She was talking to the Spanish missionaries and she looked a little misty eyed. She saw us.. Gave us a look and told us to sit down. As we sat down next to her one of the Spanish sisters whispered to me "this is about to get awesome" so we sat down and Mary proceeded to tell us she decided that she's going to be baptized. She started to cry as she told us how she had been praying and praying to know if she should be baptized. Then the other day she randomly opened up the scriptures to Mosiah 27.. as she read it hit her like a lightning bolt. She said she just felt overwhelming warmth as she read about baptism. As the week went on she thought of it again and again but though it must have surly been her mind. So she decided to test it again. She sat down closed her eyes. Opened her scriptures and just pointed at a verse... the verse said, "repent and be baptized". Boom second confirmation.

So excited for Mary! It was the neatest thing to watch my companion and her just hug and sob together. Sister Allen has been working with Mary and has been waiting for this moment for a long time. We are so elated. Mary also went up to the bishop after church and asked him to baptize her. You can imagine his excitement as well. 

Highlight number 4

After church we went to go see our dear friend Dave again (man pictured last week reading the book of Mormon) lo and behold when we pulled up we found him reading his book of Mormon again:) we spoke with him and he told us that he loves the book of Mormon. How he can just sit down for hours and read. He has also gone onto Mormon.org and ordered some tabernacle choir dad’s to watch in surround sound with his family. As we asked him if he's prayed to know if the book of Mormon is true, he looked at us with a questioning look and said. “How can something so amazing not be true.” It's so hard to describe how amazingly prepared Dave is. But man... he is very prepared.. he is just eating up everything we share with him. He is 'hungering and thirsting after righteousness'. Just add some water and some priesthood and he's good to go:)

Also that evening as we were preparing to head home we decided to stop by a man who we had met the other day. He let us into his home and brought his wife and his son in and we shared the restoration with them. They are now 3 of our new investigators!

The power of the Holy Ghost is real. As missionaries, as members, as Children of God, the words we say, or the things we share with one another will not be remembered as much as the feelings we feel from the Holy Ghost. I've been so blessed to be in situations when, sometimes I have no idea what's coming out of my mouth but the spirit is there. And the words are not my own. I'm grateful for this great testifier of truth. I love being a missionary. This week I’ve really been able to reflect the things that matter most to me in life; my relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ- The Gospel-My Family. 

Anyways I hope you all have a wonderful week! Thank you for the prayers. They are felt every day!

Love,
Sister Clark

P.S. A random quote from a black guy we met, "You know some people always tell me "god is good, I always say, No, chicken is good, God is GREAT!"

7.14.14 I Love Being a Missionary!

This week was amazing! It literally felt like the days would last forever but the week just flew by! 

Oh Happy Birthday Emmitt! Hope you have a great birthday and have fun on your new trampoline!

The first part of this week was mostly knocking lots of doors and trying to find people; it was towards the end of the week when we started to see the miracles. 

Highlights of the week

-Acting out 1 Nephi 3 with a 13-year-old recent convert. We had a lot of fun. I think sister Allen had some built up anger from the week as she pretended to beat me with a stick. Ha-ha jk but it was a great way to learn and understand the scriptures better.

-We met a man named Henry from India and we learned a lot about Hinduism it was neat. We were able to share the restoration with him and he wants to learn more! We are excited to teach him and his family.

-So on the 4th of July Sister Allen and I decided to contact in an area that we hadn't before. As we tried a few potentials no one answered. The first person we talked to that day was an older man sitting on his porch. We talked to him and we asked him a few questions and really got to know him. When the time was right we introduced who we are and our purpose. He saw our Book of Mormon in hand and told us. "You know.. When I moved into this house it was completely empty except there was that book still here. And I don't really believe in coincidences."

 Sometimes when people say things like that I just don't even know what to say I’m just so excited and filled with eternal Joy. He proceeded to tell us that he had read some of it but didn't really know what it was about. So we scheduled an appointment for yesterday.

 As sister Allen and I went throughout the week we called and left messages but did not receive an answer. He was so far on the border of our area we couldn't afford the miles to just stop in. So we drove yesterday in faith to West Orange for our appointment. We ended up arriving around 45 minutes early to find Dave sitting on his porch reading the book of Mormon.:) Best moment ever! (Note the stalker picture)

We went and talked with him as he described what he read and we explained that we wanted so share with him today how it came to be. He said, "I would like that". As we taught him he agreed and was eating up everything we told him. As we shared the first vision with him he told us that he could not deny it. And that he was excited to read more of the book of Mormon. As we drove away after the appointment he was reading more on his porch. MIRACLE! I know and testify that the Lord is preparing people for us to teach!

 My week ended with an appointment with the Thomas family they are active members of the ward and they actually are the family who introduced Luis and Denise (recent converts from Caldwell) to the church. We had an amazing conversation about the gospel with the Thomas family.

I feel like I'm in spiritual/physical boot camp for this last stretch of my mission. I already have seen a lot of work the Lord has done on me to increase my faith and to have a deeper understanding about the gospel. I'm so grateful for my mission. Ah I just love it:) hope you all have a great week! Keep it up!

Love,

Sister Clark

best hobbit door

young women lesson

"gimp"

7.7.14 God Bless America

My heart is just so full right now. It's strange but amazing how you can feel the spirit even in a little library in New Jersey. I am so grateful for all the freedoms we enjoy. But most importantly the freedom we can enjoy with our savior Jesus Christ. Freedom from heartache, pain, worry, fear, sorrow. All can be whipped away as we put our trust in the Lord... Man.. doesn't the gospel just make you happy? D

I am very proud to be an American:) it's interesting here in New Jersey that even though most the people are from all over the world. When we ask them what brought them to the states the usual response is the American dream. I've grown such a love for other cultures since I've been out here as well. But I am grateful to be serving in America and speaking English.. although I have learned how to tell people who I am and my testimony of the savior in Spanish. That’s about it..wow I am grateful for freedom:) (Sorry that was all over the place)

Sister Allen and I had a fantastic week here! I love this area! There is so much work that needs to be done, and that's what I like to do.. work:) But I think the best part of the week is no matter what happens sister Allen and I are always laughing and having a good time:). 

Monday

Such a fun p-day, we played beach volleyball in Perth Amboy. It was a lot of fun to be on the beach and to hang out with other missionaries. So after our adventure to the beach and also to an amazing farmers market (I love fruit)

Sister Allen and I hit the streets looking for people to teach. After contacting some people in Spanish we met this man named Ishan from Pakistan. He wanted to learn more about what we were doing and as we were talking to him his neighbor was trying to get our attention because he wanted to talk to us. We told him he could come over to listen.. his response.. well.. I don't have a shirt on... our response.. well go put a shirt on.. so he did and came over and talked to us. Ha-ha some people in Jersey are just crazy but you've gatta to love them:)

 Then as we were heading home for the night we got a call from a member who we've been working with and she told us that she was having some chest pains and she was worried and alone and asked if we could come over. So we did. We sat down and talked with her tried to calm her down, we called a doctor from our ward and also called the bishop and asked him to come over and give her a blessing. As we waited we read some scriptures with her. It was a neat experience as she was given a blessing and she called us the next morning telling us that all her sickness and pain was gone. An amazing testimony builder about the power of the priesthood. 

Thursday

Thursday was the day of the CRAZY rainstorm. I have never seen a storm like this.. It was classified as a tropical storm Sister Allen and I literally would be outside for 1 second and would be completely soaked.

It was also the night we went to go play volleyball at the church. The bishop asked me if I could coach his daughter in volleyball.. :) So we went to go play with the Spanish branch and man.. they are good! And intense. I'm very out of practice but it was fun to play with them and to coach Abby a little bit. 

Friday the Forth of July!

Holidays are so fun on the mission.. I realized the morning of the 4th that this is one of the last holiday's I will have on my mission. So weird. Sister Allen and I only had 1 appointment scheduled for the 4th of July so we spent most of the day knocking on doors and trying to find people. We met this awesome man named Dave. When he moved into his house it was completely empty but there was a Book of Mormon in the house. He told us that he doesn't believe in coincidences he has read a little of it and he wants us to come back and teach him:) MIRACLE!!!!:)

As we continued to try to find people we received a referral from a 'Liz Clark'.. that was a strange moment. I don't know if it was really from mom or not but it was a cool experience to think about the missionary work that is being done at home as well.

Ok now for a funny story. As we drove around we missed a call from our zone leaders, so we called them back. They didn't answer our call so as I'm leaving a message. I had been stumbling on my words for most of the day so the voice mail I left them was "Hi this is Sister Allen and Sister Clark, we are just calling you BLACK..(note.. one of our zone leaders is black).. awkward pause and laughter from sister Allen and I then an awkward hang up.. oh man.. They will not let me live it down.. ha-ha funny moment.

So for our 4th of July Dinner we headed to a recent converts home who wanted us to cook dinner with her. She is an 80-year-old woman with a bird named Chip. She loves crocheting and loved the missionaries. We helped her cook a nice big ole pile of meat and also talked with her about the title of liberty and how Moroni stood for freedom and for his core beliefs. It was a great lesson and time with 'Grandma'.

As we were heading to leave she told us we couldn't go because we hadn't seen the slide show yet. And we proceeded to watch a slide show of pictures of cats and birds on her computer. It was great. I love her she's such a sweet heart.

Then we met up with the other missionaries and watched fireworks for the night. It was a great 4th of July a wonderful time to reflect on the freedom we enjoy. 

 Oh we also met a lady from the Philippines. She was struggling to open her garage with full hands so we ran over and helped her and talked to us. She told us that she is a Mormon at heart, but her husband won’t allow her to join the church. She is going back to the Philippines next month and promised us she would find a way to meet with the missionaries. As we drove away she raised the pass along card we gave her in the air and kissed it and waved goodbye to us.. wow.. there are truly prepared people out there. We just got to find them. 

Saturday

Frisbee again and meeting more people, we are also working with a woman named Mary; she is 58 but such a child at heart. We brought her some cupcakes (the way to people's hearts) because she had been having a hard week. Then we helped her pick out an outfit for church and then talked about the plan of salvation. It was probably one of the funniest lessons I've had with someone. She is a great soul. I'm excited to see her continue to progress and change. 

The ward here is great. All very tall like me. I live among the giants. :) I was so impressed this fast and testimony meeting how when the time was turned over to the congration immediately 15 people stood up and sat in the choir seats waiting to bare there testimonies. They all were so proud of the testimonies they have and they wanted to share them. So neat.

There was a comment given that I loved. "The church is not a church of convenience. The Lord told us to put on the Armor of God.. not the Sweat pants of spirituality." I loved that quote. IT's true. We learn and grow through our trials. The lord see's our potential and is not satisfied in just letting us coast through a comfortable easy life. What would be the point in that? Life on earth was not set aside as vacation time but "this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God and preform there labors" Alma 34:32.

 But also something I've really been learning these past weeks with sister Allen. It’s about doing your best, enjoying the Work. And not raising our expectations for ourselves past what the Lord has set for us. But doing our best to live up to the potential and status where he wants us to be:) 

Ok enough of my missionary soapbox, but I love you all! Hope you all have a fantastic week! :) The Church is true:)

Love,

Sister Clark