Monday, October 28, 2013

I love all the videos and pictures and stories! it makes my week so much better. especially with how good everyone is getting at sports and being friends. and youre even doing missionary work! that inspires me. i dont feel like i ever made a good enough effort to do missionary work before my mission, which i guess is why i am out here learning to do it! keep on trying! dont waste your opportunities to do something good because i know i had a lot of them in high school that i never took. BUT on thing that was emphasized this week was NEVER LOOK BACK!!! if you do make a mistake or something, dont let it trouble you. just keep on agoin like gramps says, because everyones got hard times but the ones that can come out on top of them are made stronger and given more in the end, and the ones that lose their lives for Christs sake will have eternal life.

lots of things happened this week! i gained a few pounds (up to 201) and then lost it again somehow? (went back to 194) im not sure what is happening at this point haha. i have also only killed one cockroach in about 2 and a half weeks! im a little nervous.. i think they are planning an attack... those scheming little bugs. they are so fast too. and jump at your head so be careful! also bombs were going off constantly for a weekish (even through the middle of the night) while the marines came over to train. some of them were so big they shook our house from 5+ miles away! i was impressed. plus i realized that natives here pronounce fayetteville like it rhymes with louisville (they say fay-uh-vole). its kinda funny i think! i have been working on my southern accent. i also had real home cooked fried chicken last night  for the first time on my mission. how crazy is that? i had been here over 100 days (day 100 was on thursday) before i ever had fried chicken. and the family that cooked it was from washington. messed up, i know.

i also went on exchange with my zone leader, elder b, who used to be good friends with tanner beeston and went to lehi high all four years! whoa. we might have been in the same basketball game or dance a time or two. weird huh? we also had a whole mission conference this weekend! it was amazing. it was the first one i have had, and the first one for president bernhisel too in the almost 2 years he has served out here. elders zwick and pino of the first quorom of the seventy were there and spoke very profoundly to us, saying that in their opinion president b is the best mission president in the world, and thats coming from someone who has worked with almost every single mission president! crazy. that is also who said NEVER LOOK BACK.

we also went into a gated community trailer park. in it were some of the most expensive cars and plants and exterior detail that i have ever seen, let alone in a trailer park. i couldnt believe it! it was hilarious. there was a tennis and basketball court in the center of it and everything. hahaha. i am in the south i know it.

i love you so so so so so so so so so so much! keep up the great work as athletes, scholars, gentlebots, and missionaries.

love,
elder jeffy clark

Monday, October 21, 2013

Angels

the reason i say angels is because we met one this week. at least he said he was. he looked like he could be ben macklemores brother and was singing when he walked by, and we stopped him to talk and he sung out "IM SAVED!!!" and then told us that he was an angel. im pretty sure that angels dont smoke though. oh well.

i feel like we do have a lot of angels in our lives though. like for me, out here, all the people that feed us, give us rides places, teach us how to be good missionaries, all of that stuff, they are my angels. they are the ones that if we didn't have here we would be hopeless! then theres the two angels that raised me and what not. then theres other ones too that have helped me throughout my life and given me experiences that help me grow. especially my brothers. i think they are like seraphim. if you look that up it means fiery beings or angels. rileys definitely one have you seen him run over people yeah hes one for sure cuz he runs like wildfire. be careful not to get burned when he walks by.

well, i have learned a lot this week. a lot about the simple truths that i already know. especially the articles of faith. i think it is a really good idea to study them, because in them is so much more information than we really realize just by reading them. you will notice they lay out our pre earthly existence and our duty here on earth, along with a lot of information about how God works and His nature. also i read a quote this week from Joseph Smith, who said "If men do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves." wow. thats pretty deep. but it is true too! we must comprehend ourselves and our true nature, our spiritual nature that is, to understand God. i mean we are his children arent we?!

i have also thought a lot about prayer. especially because we talked this week with a man that thinks he is not worthy to talk to God Himself, so he felt like he should pray to the prophets and hope it goes up the line somehow. it was an interesting theory, but think about it! think of how incredible it is that our Father  allows us to talk directly to Him by praying. thats pretty special.

anyways, sorry for not having much to tell about what happened this week. we have taught a lot, found a little, rescued a bit, converted a little bit, and are working on baptizing! keep up the good work all yall.

love you!
elder clark

Monday, October 14, 2013

TRANSFER NEWS!!!!!!!!!

I am not losing my companion, but we are gaining a new one! we get to train him together. His name is elder chevy cruise, he is gold and was born in 2014. WHAT?!?!?! Thats right, we are getting a new car tomorrow. all to ourselves. i am going to gain 20 pounds now. ill just hand over the money while i can. the bet is over. JUST KIDDING i need to stay in rugby shape so im still motivated! im going to buy some weights soon so i can get strong in the mornings. just a pair of dumb bells is all like 30 pounds or something. we do have a meal set up with a member every single day this week though! its going to be incredible. but im going to have to work really hard haha. worth it? i think yes. im still hovering at 195ish so i have about 20lbs of leeway before i get too close to 220.

anyways, everything seems to be going just as planned. riley is superman (thats my nickname out here because some people in the ward think i look like clark kent so apparently now im elder kent!) kyle is amazing and tall, and austin is fast. papa bear is happy and foony, and mommy is running the world. i think that the only things that are really out of place are that tyler is organizing everything (what?!?!) and i havent played enough rugby lately. i think my neck is getting smaller too because my ties fit! all of them!

with the facebook thing. i cannot post my address on facebook, and i also cannot look at anything on there that doesnt further support my calling, so that includes talking to family and looking at their pages. if a friend messages me though, with an interest in learning about the gospel, i think i am allowed to message them back and teach them through facebook, and prepare them to meet missionaries where they live.

2 crazy things happened this week:
1. elder b admitted that i make people laugh haha. i wonder if he has ever once laughed at something i have said. its funny though becuase he says he laughs on the inside. i think he was just admitting that because he thought it was his last week with me. little did he know haha!!!!!
2. two cockroaches dive bombed my head on monday. TWO! dont worry though. i killed them. i also went on a rampage and killed like 20 cuz they were in a big group. i am really concerned at how good i am getting at killing bugs and flys. i should have been at conference with the australian elder with the fly buzzing around his face. i would have had it!!!

guess what?!?! i am officially done being trained. the 12 week program is over, and i am now ready to train dee world on how to be a missionary! haha we are actually thinking of starting a class in this ward that teaches from preach my gospel though. things like that missionary prep class and the missionary moment things we do back home are things i really took for granted because they dont do them out here! we are going to push for it to start though. our bishop also got deployed this week, but he hasnt exactly been released. we arent sure whats going to happen. maybe skype during ward council or something haha technology these days...

speaking of which conference!!!!! there were like 10 other people at our stake center to watch conference, even for priesthood. i didnt realize so many people watched it at home i guess! oh well. conference was amazing! it was so powerful. i think my favorite was president uchtdorfs talk on saturday. He said something that really stuck out to me: "doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith." he also made some great points about: if you come looking for perfect people, you will be disappointed. but if you come looking for the pure doctrine of Christ and the Spirit... you will find it here. i loved that most probably because we watched it with an investigator who is struggling to progress, and he was speechless the rest of the day after that talk. it was so powerful. its interesting to think about how even some of the very elect will be deceived. DONT BE DECEIVED!!! even when things get crazy stick to your testimony. there were many other talks that were much much needed, like the talk on women and also elder holland's talk. i love conference. its so evident that these men are close to God, and they make it clear that we can be that close to him too. that we can be witnesses of our Savior in everything we do.

i hope and pray that every one who reads this will take the courage to stand as a witness of the Savior. He is really there, i promise, and he will really help you. i promise. thanks for everything you do!!!!!!

i love you!
love,
elder clark (the taller one)
im not sure why todays the day, but it is. maybe because its the day i say everything ive learned this week. ill explain all of these dont worry, but this is what i have learned: one thing is you can always trust a man with a metal detector. another one is conference confounds the wise. another one is that spoons work better for buttering than knives if you use them right. another one is everyone i have met that has been to prison hears voices. i think i understand consecration now. and finally, the restored gospel is what everyone is missing in their lives.

okee first. metal detectors. we met a man out in a field with a metal detector. he was searching for old colonial coins, and has actually found some really neat things. he wears a piece of silver he found around his neck. he was pretty into what we taught him, and hes supposed to call us today or tomorrow. if he does, guaranteed he gets baptized. hes a great man.

conference confounds the wise. one of our investigators went to conference on saturday morning, that was the only one he could make it to. so, by divine interaction of course, he was there to see president uchtdorf's talk. he said that he kept looking around because he swore that president uchtdorf was talking directly to him, and thought that the other people would be looking at him too. haha. he was really inspired, and that was the first time i have ever seen him be silent. dead silent. he was also dead silent in our lessons this week, when usually he talks the 45 minutes away. hes goofy and friendly, but this time he was silent. those who speak at conference are inspired and theres no question about it.

the spoon thing... lets just say all the forks were dirty one morning, and i was feeling lazy. so i ate french toast with a spoon. and it buttered so smoothly i cant even believe it. wow.

the prison thing is pretty self explanatory! we talked to two people in the same day that had been in and out of prison, and both of them hear voices. a lot. like in the middle of us teaching. oh well. we can pray for them.

consecration. we looked at our meal calendar last week and this week, and both saturdays were taken by the same person, someone we visit every once in a while. he lives alone out in the boonies in a mobile home that is paid off, doesnt have a car or phone, doesnt have money for electricity or running water in his house, and hardly any for groceries. but he signed up for two saturdays in a row to feed us. THAT is consecration. it reminded me of the story in matthew about the widow's mites. she didnt have anything, but gave all that she had. that is what this man does. he has nothing, but he still gives and loves. its incredible what you can learn from people.

okay last one. the restored gospel is everything that everyone is missing in life. everyone is searching for something, whether they know it or it is subconscious. something is missing. they are happy, but they dont experience true joy. they have security, but not hope. they are comfortable where they are, but they arent where they belong. and they will never ever know it until they come and see for themselves! that is our great and important duty, to help people to come and experience it for themselves, so that everyone at least has the opportunity to choose whether they will make it home or not. this is real truth, straight from the source, something that i will stand as a witness before God and men to testify. and that is because the gospel of Jesus Christ, in its fulness, and under His direction and God's authority, can fill in the holes in peoples' hearts. its a real thing with real blessings, and its something that everyone will eventually be taught whether we do it in this life or not. thats why its our duty, and our joy! how joyful a thing to help people understand - that this is everything they are searching for!

thats all i learned. just kidding. i learn a lot. every single day. i love how much i learn. and more importantly i love you! haha have a great week!

love,
elder jeffy clark :)


Tuesday, October 1, 2013

I just wanted to write and say you are the BESTEST. anyways. everything seems to be going well and in order back in Rocklin, except of course nobody going hunting?!?! what is that??!?!?!!!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!! Oh i know what it is. everyone just wants the reward of eating really good fresh meat and they dont want the sacrifice of doing it. thats okay though because heaven works the same way. you believe and youre in. NOT!!!!!! GO GET EM!!!!!! (to make an analogy) the work is worth the result. trust us. i havent seen heaven, but scriptures makes it sound amazing. even just feeling God's love/presence is amazing so how much better is heaven then?!

i tell you, there are two places that can feel like heaven on earth. 1st is in the temple, where you are doing more of God's work. kids, go see the temple! riley, go do baptisms! parents, you just went this week but go again every single month! its just a couple hours of your time but its so incredible. i only get to go twice a year, and i know thats not quite enough. along with that, do family history! even what is already on familysearch.org is quite amazing. dad and mom i think you should ask the grandparents for all the information they know and have on their history so none of it is lost with time too! we had a lesson yesterday in church on that. anyways, i digress. 2nd is the home. you can make your home the next best to the temple if you treat it that way! the spirit of members' homes are amazing. just incredible. something our mission is emphasizing is that lessons, as many as probable, should be taught in members' homes. i would encourage you as a family to get to know people that the missionaries are teaching in rocklin (or better yet have them teach one of your friends) and let them come over for a family night! they will love it, guaranteed because yall are the funnest family west of the mississippi (if you go far enough west of the mississippi you end up east of the mississippi... the world is weird in that way). also, some advice that has really helped me: dont be so afraid of offending somebody that you miss the opportunity to help them know what they are missing. we know what they are missing, and we know how they can get it! this is a joyful work, one that replaces sadness with endless happiness! people really do not know what they are missing!

here is what i really wanted to tell everyone: we had a great week! sister g got confirmed yesterday, and it was a really powerful blessing that was given to her. she felt so good and so happy. we are doing everything in our power to help her get fellowshipped and home taught and motivated to keep learning and working towards the temple. we also had kind of a crazy experience this week! we went by a family that is really fun and crazy. it is a dad returning to activity who has a long pony tail and is in a rock band that sings about the holy ghost and what not and then his son is one of our investigators. they are hilarious together. anyways we went to visit them, and found the dad outside with a cage and two vicious cats in it. he said he called the pound and had quite a struggle getting them in the cage. we picked up the cage to move it and they escaped out the bottom. uh oh. they went psycho and sprinted around like sadie does when shes excited. then the animal control lady came by and grabbed them around the neck with these things that looked like trash picker uppers, and they went even more beserk and started clawing at everything and flipping and twisting.... it was crazy but she finally got them into the cages and off to the pound. the rest of that day was so crazy that we left at 11am and didnt get back to the apartment until 830pm, and hadnt had time for dinner before that.... good stories, fun times.

well, next week may be my last with elder bagley. transfers are happening tuesday, and he will probably be heading off to somewhere else since he has been in this area for 7 1/2 months now. thats a long time. but i will probably stick around here and learn the area even better. ill let yall know what is happening next week. as for my address, i forgot to tell you about that. the mission wants us to have mail sent to our apartment addresses now instead of the mission office, because there are way too many missionaries getting mail now. this mission has grown a lot. i think there were 45ish new missionaries last transfer and only 10 or 15 went home. holy cats thats a lot. the mission has over 150 i think. and its only about 1/3 of north carolina. the best third of course.

i love yall and hope you are having a wonderful time with everything! the best advice i can give is to keep being an example and doing the best you can to get closer to God and Jesus Christ.

love,
elder clark

ps jabari parkers uncle is our area 70 (elder parker)! he spoke at a fireside last night and was hilarious and dynamic! it was amazing.
pps a lot of the ward calls me superman now because im elder clark and they think i look like bruce wayne haha
ppps i love you!