This week was a lot of driving. I went on exchange with our zone leaders on Fort Bragg a couple of days and another day we had combined mission leadership council, a 6 hour meeting in Raleigh, which is a 3 hour drive from here with no traffic. So that day I drove way too much. It was awful haha especially because we got caught in traffic on the way home so it took an extra hour. That's all that really happened this week plus weekly planning. I don't know haha. I feel like I am starting to learn how to put my testimony into words though which is good. I have wasted most of my email time just sitting here not knowing what to write. I think I am a little tired haha sorry about that. Anyways.

Thank you for everything that you do! I love you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Howdy ho there. This week was filled with fun activities. Like jam-packed more than a turkey stuffed with a bowling ball. Last Monday we went jousting. I sent a couple of pictures of that already and I am going to try to send a video but we will see how it works out. It's been tough to send videos from my end because of how big the files are. Tuesday we must have walked 5 miles and biked around 15 on top of that. That was kind of crazy but we got a lot of good work done! It's fun because we have been going to this apartment complex ever since the week I got here when we first found it and now we know about everyone in the complex. We are starting to even be told about the gossip and what not haha. There are some great people there.

Wednesday was a fun one. We had lunch with an investigator with a high security clearance military job, and heard some great stories. A man came to meet him that had been in the President's office the day before. That was pretty crazy. Thursday was our Zone Conference! It was a lot of fun. I led the music (or was supposed to) and we sang Armies of Helaman, which is my favorite song. It's our mission song. I don't remember if I ever told any of you but singing that song at EFY was the first time I distinctly remember feeling and recognizing the Spirit. It has taken a long time since to change my heart but we are getting somewhere. I look at that as my take off point. So needless to say we sing that song a lot and I have never gotten through the chorus once without crying when we sing it together. Friday I went on exchange with the Spanish Elders and we ended up biking about 15-20 miles in the low 30's with it raining all day. We taught a couple lessons (I even helped teach some in Spanish! It is getting better) and on the bike back, my companion fell on a train track and ripped his pants. You may have seen a post on Facebook on that (one of the members here read that post in her talk Sunday! It made my week).  Saturday was a lot of fun. We learned how to make noodles at our older investigator couple's house and made a bunch for them for a service project. We are trying different things like that to connect with them. They are really good cooks and made us some roasted red pepper pesto sauce for our dinner.

Yesterday was the best though! It was our invitation Sunday. We had over 20 nonmembers show up! That was incredible. It was a lot of work trying to talk to everyone but we got to talk to all of them (I hope!). The Spirit was really powerful there. A perfect meeting for someone investigating to come to.

Today we got to golf some! We went to a driving range and played 3 practice holes. I am a little rusty but it was fun! We played with a member of our ward who is 17 and is incredible. His average score is mid 60's. That's crazy good! It was fun to play with him.

SO YEAH FUN WEEK EH?

Love ya!!!!!!!!!

My nights after planning have become the busiest times of the day because of all the district stuff to do. So I have been slacking on my journal writing. I usually make it to about Thursday and then go a few days without getting the opportunity to write again so I have make up entries and what not. Haha not that a rant about journal writing is what you wanted to hear but it does influence my emails home. SO my excuse is being super busy which missionaries always are. Ignore that.

We have been working out every day or two with a member over the last month-ish, which has been awesome. I love it. It is almost like a pride day, just a little less intense, so I am getting back in shape. But it is not helping my weight still being low I am in the low 180's at best haha. I need to put some muscle back on eventually. So anyways that's a major highlight because I get to work myself to pieces in the morning and then I am really motivated the rest of the day haha.

We have had some milestones in the work this week! I am really excited. Two referrals from members that have become great investigators so far, one of them even was at church yesterday! This weekend we also have an 'invitation sunday' which is a church meeting devoted specifically to visitors so that members can invite all of their friends to 'Come and see!' There has been a great response from the ward so far because of the simplicity of giving someone an invitation to come see what a service is like. I am really excited and will let yall know how it goes next week!

Overall I am just feeling great. There is a greater power from the Spirit that is coming into my life as the mission moves forward. I love the Savior. His power has been changing me a little bit every day. Like I always say, every day gets better. Peace and strength just build up and I am becoming a much better version of me. I am not worried about after the mission. I know someday I will learn how to talk to girls again and be a student and what not but I will get to attack it with a different perspective. For now I get to focus on the Lord and His work and I love that. I love you too! Thanks for being you!

Love,
Elder Clark

My nights after planning have become the busiest times of the day because of all the district stuff to do. So I have been slacking on my journal writing. I usually make it to about Thursday and then go a few days without getting the opportunity to write again so I have make up entries and what not. Haha not that a rant about journal writing is what you wanted to hear but it does influence my emails home. SO my excuse is being super busy which missionaries always are. Ignore that.

We have been working out every day or two with a member over the last month-ish, which has been awesome. I love it. It is almost like a pride day, just a little less intense, so I am getting back in shape. But it is not helping my weight still being low I am in the low 180's at best haha. I need to put some muscle back on eventually. So anyways that's a major highlight because I get to work myself to pieces in the morning and then I am really motivated the rest of the day haha.

We have had some milestones in the work this week! I am really excited. Two referrals from members that have become great investigators so far, one of them even was at church yesterday! This weekend we also have an 'invitation sunday' which is a church meeting devoted specifically to visitors so that members can invite all of their friends to 'Come and see!' There has been a great response from the ward so far because of the simplicity of giving someone an invitation to come see what a service is like. I am really excited and will let yall know how it goes next week!

Overall I am just feeling great. There is a greater power from the Spirit that is coming into my life as the mission moves forward. I love the Savior. His power has been changing me a little bit every day. Like I always say, every day gets better. Peace and strength just build up and I am becoming a much better version of me. I am not worried about after the mission. I know someday I will learn how to talk to girls again and be a student and what not but I will get to attack it with a different perspective. For now I get to focus on the Lord and His work and I love that. I love you too! Thanks for being you!

Love,
Elder Clark

Things that happened this week.... Well we had a deep clean day! That was much needed as usual. Also I got to teach the entire zone on wednesday. That was pretty fun. I used the Fisher Space Pen as an object lesson on how to teach people. It was super awesome. I showed how their pen can't write underwater, and a sharpie can't write underwater, but the Fisher Space Pen can. We read a bunch of facts about it and showed how it was a huge analogy of the scriptures and converting people to Christ.

I went on a Spanish exchange and got to teach a little bit!!!! That was fun. My Spanish is much better and I can understand most of what people say. Thursday morning it was 12 degrees and we did a cross fit work out outdoors. That was crazy cold haha. We were on bikes last week too. So we got cold let me tell you. We share the car with the Spanish Elders and switch off every Monday so car week begin!!!!

I still haven't been able to set up golfing yet, but I have been working on it. Not a lot of opportunities so far but it's going to happen before I go believe you me.

I love you! Sorry it's so short this week we gotta get going and I accidentally lost track of what I was doing. SORRY.

<3
Elder Clarky

So yeah it's 2015. That's kind of crazy.

Our New Year's Eve was pretty great! We are not supposed to proselyte that night or New Year's day so a family took us to the church for a glow in the dark nerf war inside the gym with all of the lights off! That was really fun. We tried to be really sneaky. New Year's day we starting making some shields and lances out of bamboo so that we can joust on our bikes one of these preparation days. Pictures and videos to come when we suit up!

We tracted a few hours this week. It's not been looking great as far as tracting goes lately! We need members to make invitations. Luckily we are having an Invitation Sunday, a special church meeting dedicated to letting community members and nonmembers learn about the basics of the church. It will be awesome! It is a yearly event out here.

I can't think of much else that happened this week. I am getting behind on my journal writing because of how much I have to do out here! I will catch up though. I have written an entry for every day of my mission and I am not stopping now!

LE AMO MI FAMILIA FAVORITA!!!!!!!!!

Love,
Elder Clark

PS any requests on questions to answer for next week?

I don't remember if I told you but I got food poisoning Tuesday night last week. That was crazy. I think I am pretty well recovered now. Christmas Eve and Christmas morning we helped with the bikes, then good naps at home, then skyping YOU, then hung out with and had an awesome dinner with the Bishop's family, then we drove up to the zone leaders' apartment which is about an hour away so that we could sleep over and go to a meeting Friday morning. That was an all day endeavor. We had the 4 hour meeting and then between lunch and travelling back from the other side of Raleigh we really couldn't do much. Saturday was a great day of work though! It went really well. We found a new investigator and taught a few lessons. That pretty much sums up our week! We didn't have much proselyting because of sickness, Christmas, and the meeting. Still good though :)

This morning though, was awesome. That's why I am writing right now. We got to play rugby for about 2 hours. That was the best. We had a lot of members go out with us and I was basically in charge of teaching everyone how to play. It started out chaotic but we learned as we went. The only people I tackled are my companion and another missionary who is going to thow javelin and shotput for UVU when he goes home. It was for fun. I of course tried really hard and dove many times and kicked and ran and everything so my once white KU shirt is now brown. It lived a long, wonderful life. It may survive I don't know haha. It feels good now to have some turf burn and scrapes and tender spots once again. Oh how I have missed that.

I love you! That's all.