the baptism didnt quite work out this week. poor sister g got cold feet and didnt make the interview. so, it will most likely be happening in two saturdays since that is the soonest we can get the interview and everything set up for her. pray for sister gary! shes a fighter she can make it. So, birthday. my birthday was pretty great. we were able to teach five lessons that day and were really busy all day. it was perfect. no time to be trunky when you have too much to do to even remember why you would be trunky! if you dont know, trunky means missing home, like your bags are still in the trunk. or already if youre about to leave back home.

anyways, i learned a lot about will power this week, especially in teaching others about it. when other missionaries struggle, i find that they are usually struggling with their will power. if you think about it, there is nothing more influential in your own life than your will. you can choose whether or not you want to act on certain promptings or feelings that you get from either side of the spectrum. you can push your body to do more than it thinks it is capable of. you can drown out thoughts of nervousness, sadness, unworthiness, and others just by simply having a strong will. its definitely something that everyone needs to work on developing, especially in the Lord's work. We need to have a will stronger than any temporal influence, and align that with our Heavenly Father's will for us. that is our ultimate goal. think how easy this life would be if everyone realized the strength of their will. It is quite literally more powerful than any outside force. when our body fails, our will can still press forward. isnt it amazing?

along those lines, the only thing that you can really control is your attitude about things. bad things will happen. guaranteed. what does that mean? it means you have an opportunity to grow, to increase your faith and your will power and your knowledge. You can use everything that happens to you as a motivator. bad or good. but, if you look at it negatively, you can also be the most powerful obstacle for yourself. remember that riley, kyle and austin. theres nothing impossible to you if you put your trust in the Lord and in yourself. nothing.

on a less intense note, i love north carolina. its beautiful and lovely and has great people. i am loving missionary work, and there is nothing else i would rather be doing. i just hope it doesnt keep going this fast!!!

i love you all so much.

love,
elder clark