THE TEMPLE, AUTUMN, AND ALL GOOD THINGS

(This post was sent on October 12, 2015)

First things first: I GET TO GO TO THE TEMPLE ON TUESDAY!!!

(I don't know if you can tell, but I'm excited.)

I was invited to go to a Missionary Leadership Conference, along with several other missionaries who don't usually go (the conference normally consists of zone leaders and sister training leaders), on Wednesday in Bismarck. AND, everyone gets to go to the temple Tuesday night. Which includes myself :) There are also rumors that, because so many people are attending and there are people coming from the Missionary Training Center, we might be getting iPads :D which would be very exciting.

ALSO, Valentine is beautiful in the fall. Go home, Boston, Valentine is prettier. (I've been singing "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" if you wondered.) The weather has been perfect, and the leaves are all vibrant shades of red, orange, and yellow.... well, there's still some green, but it's getting there.

We were able to watch conference at a couple different members' homes, and two of our investigators watched conference as well! I was so excited when Elder Renlund was called as an Apostle of the Lord, because he had come to our mission last month to speak to us. I love the feeling that watching General Conference brings into the home, I love that we're able to receive modern revelation through a living prophet, AND, I love that the Lord loves us a whole heck of a lot :) I've decided to start 'ponderizing' a scripture every week.... and I also heard that Elder Durant got some flack because of that word (was it copyrighted or something?), but I still really like the idea of memorizing/pondering one scripture every week. I want to focus on scriptures that talk about Christ and how His atonement helps us to become better. Luckily, that's a subject that has no shortage of scriptures :)

We saw a recent convert, Kristeen, this week and talked to her about the importance of family history. Families are so important to Heavenly Father! THEY'RE THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. Now that she has been baptized, she's going to work toward going to the temple and performing sacred ordinances for those who have passed on without having the opportunity. Isn't God so merciful?

We got a new investigator this week! Her name is Brittany, she just moved to Springview with her husband, Jeremy, from Ohio (woohoo!), and they have an adorable 8-month-old baby boy named Garrett. Sadly, we only get to go to Springview once every two weeks or so :( but we're definitely going to see them every chance we get!

Have a lovely week, everyone!  Count your blessings. It makes life happier.

Love,

Sister Clark

                           Missionaries in Sister Clark's district!

SISTER CLARK, MEET SISTER CLARK

(This blog was sent on September 21, 2015)

Highlights of this week:

Our branch mission leader set up splits on Tuesday, and we were able to go out with a couple of sisters that night. We're going to make it a regular thing on Tuesdays :)

We learned that baking things as a proselyting activity should be done only during meal hours, before and after proselyting times, and p-days. It's too much of a time waster. But also, people love zucchini bread.

We're planning on staying in Ainsworth on Wednesday evening and proselyting out in that area (and Springview) for Wednesday and Thursday! We called Sister Stoker, the wife of our branch mission leader, who is super excited to come tracting and finding with us during that time. She helped to set up splits out there, too, which is wonderful!

Our car battery went the way of the Dodo on Saturday. On Thursday, every time we started our car, we had to jump it. Friday, it seemed fine, but then on Saturday it wasn't doing too well, so Elder Hawley (our vehicle coordinator) just told us to take it in. So we did. And we got a new battery, just in time to head up to Pierre for District Conference. (We live in the only district in the U.S., besides the MTC.)

We went to the Saturday night session of conference, and then we stayed with the Pierre sisters overnight in their apartment. Sister Anderson got transferred out, and guess what! Sister Mower's new companion's name is Sister Clark. We should've taken a picture... next time.

We had one of the best lessons with George on Friday. Sister Stone gets along really well with him because they're both super stubborn and sassy :) SO, between her and President Johnson, who came with us, the spirit flourished, George was able to learn what the Lord wanted him to hear, AND, Sister Stone invited the two of them (George and Brenda) to say at least one prayer as a couple every day. She's absolutely brilliant. I'm so proud of her, listening to the spirit :) IT WAS AWESOME.

Sister Stone is amazing. She helps me strive to be better. I learn from her all the time, especially from her ability to be herself and have fun while still working hard. It's going to be very difficult to part with her, for sure.

Have a marvelous week! Try and notice all of the blessings that are rained down upon you :)

Love, Sister Clark

THE LORD WON'T LET ME FAIL

(This post was sent on September 14, 2015)

I forgot to tell you: I titled last week's post The Heart Surgeon and the Attorney... Elder Renlund is a heart surgeon, and Sister Renlund is an attorney. 

This week, Sister Stone and I were able to help David paint Lisa's house some more, and he even talked about inviting us over for dinner with him and his wife! He owns the only gluten-free-friendly store in Valentine, which is great for Sister Stone, so we're going there today to get stuff. 

Our branch had an activity at the park on Saturday, and we were able to visit with and become closer to our members. There was also a new family that moved in to Ainsworth (which is part of our area), so we got to know them, too! It was all-around good.

I've had a lot of gentle reminders from Heavenly Father this week, telling me that He needs me to be myself. He needs me to accept my weaknesses, strive to improve them but not be overwhelmed by them, and recognize the unique strengths that I have to contribute to His work. Sometimes it's hard, because being myself means that I'll take it harder when I come up short. But the Lord won't let me fail, so I just have to have faith that He'll use me the way He needs me.

Have a marvelous week!

Love,

Sister Clark

THE HEART SURGEON AND THE ATTORNEY

(This post was sent on September 8, 2015)

Great things that happened this week:

Sister Stone and I have laughed A LOT, mostly at each other because we're hilarious.

We were able to have dinner at a member family's house that we've never been
to before, gain a better relationship with them, and talk about the importance of families.

Sister Stone and I have the Plan of Salvation lesson down because of all the excellent opportunities we've had to share it this week.

We volunteered at the Good Samaritan Nursing home, painting nails and playing bingo. I always love doing that!

I finished the Book of Mormon and started it again.

We are now able to use the high school's track, so I can run in the morning! Good exercise makes for a happy missionary.

A sister in our branch gave us an idea for service: her neighbor needed a bit of cheering, so we made her a cute little craft to brighten her day.

Weekly planning didn't take a million years on Thursday! We got it done in a timely manner, and came out of it with effective plans.

We had a fantastic lesson with a less active member, Lisa, and her family. We asked if we could go through all the lessons with her again (for practice purposes, but also to help strengthen her), and so we taught the Restoration lesson and the importance of church attendance. And they came to church on Sunday :)

We had a lesson with George and Brenda on Friday, and as we talked about eternal marriage and families, we committed Brenda to do family history work so that she could do temple work for her family the next time she was there. AND, we committed George to pray about baptism so that he can be with his family forever.

Also, probably my favorite thing that happened was that on Monday (the 7th), we had a zone conference in Rapid City where Dale G. Renlund of the Seventy spoke to us, along with his wife. The spirit that was there while they spoke was so strong! I wish I could have bottled it and sent it to everyone. It's amazing how much the Lord loves us. I could feel it as Elder Renlund spoke. 

During a lunch appointment with a member a while ago, we were asked what helped us to know that the gospel and the church is true. For me, it's most definitely the message of continual hope that we have through the Savior's atonement. This week was a pretty good reminder. I would get overwhelmed by how inadequate I am compared to Jesus Christ, and that's especially intimidating to me because I'm representing Him while being on a mission (and when I'm off my mission, too, I suppose). There are also moments when I've felt like my attitude and effort haven't been as good as they should be, and then I'm disappointed in myself. BUT, the beautiful thing about the atonement is that we don't have to be perfect. We just have to be willing to change. Sometimes it's crazy to think that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us so perfectly and infinitely, especially since we're definitely imperfect. But that's what makes us want to change, right? Christ's love. Charity! Paul has a pretty awesome spiel about that in 1 corinthians 13. 

That's probably going to be my goal this week: have Christ-like charity for people. Help them change and want to follow Him.

Love,

Sister Clark

                            We got to stop at Mt. Rushmore on the way to zone conference!

GETTING TO KNOW THE MEMBERS

(This post was sent on August 31,2015)

GETTING TO KNOW THE MEMBERS

I want to tell you a couple of cool experiences that happened this week. First:  we're given a mileage allowance for the month, and with all the trips to Rapid City (four hours away) and Pierre (two hours) that we've done this month, our remaining miles were shrinking rather rapidly. All of a sudden, last week like three families in our branch, who live in outer towns in our area, invited us over for dinner. We weren't sure how we were going to make it out there and still keep within our mile limit, but we really wanted to go because it's super important to take those opportunities to visit with the members. So, during our weekly planning day, we came up with a rough plan: We would ask the families who invited us to come pick us up. They lived in Ainsworth and Springview, both about an hour away. A member here in Valentine owns a dental clinic in Ainsworth that has an apartment below it, and has offered its use to the missionaries. So, we took up the offer. We called the families and told them our idea, and you know what? It all worked out. Plus, the long drives were an excellent time to get to know them better.

At first, I was apprehensive about asking them for rides, because I don't like imposing on people and I enjoy self-sufficiency. But, I realized that having the members help us actually helped them. They really want to help with missionary work, but they sometimes aren't sure how. This was one way to show them that we really do need them, and that we appreciate what they do for us. Sister Stone and I even made them little thank-you cards :)

Another cool thing:  we went to dinner with the Stoker family on Saturday night in Springview, and Sister Stoker asked us if she could come tracting with us. It was really cool! Not a lot of people think tracting sounds fun, but she does. So, after dinner, the three of us went out and knocked on some doors. The first person to answer wasn't very excited to see us and promptly said goodbye. Sister Stoker asked if she could try a different approach, and we gave an emphatic "Of course!" The next door we knocked on ended up being someone she knew, and the lady let us right in. They talked about the things they had in common, and Sister Stoker introduced us, and also offered her a Book of Mormon. It was wonderful! We gave her our number and got hers, and we plan on setting up an appointment to see her again. The whole thing was really cool.

Our mission president, President Hess, knows the members of the Nashville Tribute Band and said that he'd see if he could get them to come and play for us. He also approved their Redeemer album, and he's going through the other ones to see if they'll be mission appropriate. I'm so excited! I absolutely love them.

Love,

Sister Clark

WALL DRUG IS WHERE IT'S AT

(This post was sent on August 26, 2015)

My biggest lesson this week was on obedience, I think.

Throughout the week, there have been days where I have felt diligent, and days where I think I could have been better. The Lord has promised abundant blessings from obedience, and He has also promised that we can know for ourselves whether or not what He's asking us to do is inspired. I've made it a goal this week to be exactly obedient! I've also made it a goal to open my mouth and talk to EVERYONE.

There's no growth in the comfort zone and no comfort in the growth zone. I can personally testify of the latter part, especially.

I've also made the joyful discovery of Paul this week, and the New Testament. Who knew it was so wonderful! I really love Ephesians, Romans, and the Corinthians.... more discoveries to follow, but that's it for now. Paul was such an amazing missionary! His words were powerful, and he was super in-tune with the Spirit. I can't help but feel a peaceful affirmation that his words are true when I read them.

We had a specialized training meeting on Monday in Rapid City, and on the way home we stopped in a town named Wall, famous for its historical drug store:  Wall Drug. They've made it a pretty big tourist place. It was really cool, though!

 Life is good.

Love,

Sister Clark

                             Sister Clark and Sister Stone on the way to Rapid City

                                      Sister Clark meets Sister Cavey again!

THE PIONEER CHILDREN GOT NOTHIN' ON US

(This post was sent on August 17, 2015)

Title: The Pioneer Children Got Nothin’ On Us

This week turned out to be very, very slow. The few appointments that we had were cancelled, save one. And so, what did we do? Walk. And walk. And walk. And walk. Probably not as much as some missionaries have experienced, but more tracking happened this week than I have yet done combined. And, even though the success we had was minimal, I felt more successful as a missionary this week than I have in quite some time. It was a good feeling! Our old mission president said that tracking is good for the soul, and I'm inclined to believe him.

We had a zone training meeting on Friday, and we did a zone breakfast beforehand. The zone leaders were trying to only do gluten-free foods (which was surprisingly easy to do) because there were a few missionaries who can't have gluten. They assigned us to bring fruit, so we made a super cute fruit salad and used a watermelon as the bowl. It was great :) The training was super great! We talked about ways we can help the members realize their potential for and help them feel that they can be successful at being member missionaries. It definitely inspired me to be a better member missionary when I get home.

I was telling Sister Stone the other day that I'm so glad for the study time that we're given in the morning. It's helped me to get in the habit of immersing myself in the scriptures, and I learn so much every morning! It's one of the coolest things.

Hopefully this week will pick up a bit, but even if it doesn't, I've got some pretty good walking shoes. Love you all!

Sister Clark