Hello all! Firstly, I hope EVERYONE got to watch Conference and LOVE it...but we will get back to that later...it was a crazy week...nothing normal about it! We had 2 big zone conferences as well as 2 days of General Conference--it was a week full of great learning! However, we are excited to get back to a more-or-less normal schedule next week! Just a personal opinion...I think the missionary efforts would be much more successful if we involved the kids ages 9-11 more...I have 2 reasons why based on 2 experiences this week: 1. *"B" the Cub Scout * We went to the church on Tuesday night to make some copies and as we were walking down the hall, we saw 2 young boys in their cub scout shirts. As I approached them, I asked enthusiastically, "who can't wait to be a missionary!?" Both boys answered affirmatively, but one was visibly more excited that the other. This made me happy. "B," the boy who was visibly more excited, began to tell me about himself and his family history. Of course, we followed up and told him that is a great tool to share the gospel and that he can invite his friends to church. He told us that he does already invite all his friends to come to church, but then his countenance changed a little as he said, "...but they always say no..." He frowned. I felt so bad. Then his mom came over, looking for him. We told her that we were super impressed with "B" and his desire to be a missionary. She rolled her eyes and sighed, seemingly embarrassed, and said, "oh my goodness, he invites EVERYONE to come to church or meet the missionaries. I don't know where he got it from. Even at the store, every time we go, he invites EVERYONE to church..." I was a little puzzled as to why she would be embarrassed and not ecstatic that he does that, but I bore my testimony of the power of inviting everyone and assured "B" that his efforts weren't going to waste and to keep up the good work! 2. *Victor* Victor recently came to the US from Peru with his grandma and is 11 (learning English little by little). He got baptized after his grandma back in December. This kid is on fire. We went to go see him and his grandma for their weekly lesson and he was outside and told us that his grandma was busy and couldn't meet with us today. I said, "well, that's okay. We are going to go knock some doors! Do you want to come be a missionary with us and find all your neighbors that speak Spanish?" Thrilled, he said "Yes!! Let me ask my grandma!" With permission from his grandma, we started our way down his street and let him pick whatever doors that we wanted to knock on. His excitement was contagious. Funny story with this is going on... We find 2 guys outside working on their car and introduced to them the Restoration of the Gospel. We then turned to Victor and told him that he could share his favorite part. He opened the Restoration pamphlet right to the end where it talk about "The Restoration of the Priesthood." He began to read, " In 1829, Joseph Smith received the same priesthood authority that Jesus Christ had given to His Apostles. John the Baptist, who baptized Jesus, appeared to Joseph Smith and conferred on him the Aaronic Priesthood, or lesser priesthood. Peter, James, and John (three of Jesus Christ’s original Apostles) later appeared to Joseph Smith and conferred on him the Melchizedek Priesthood, or higher priesthood..." He then paused and closed the pamphlet. We looked over at the guy were were talking to, and he looked thoroughly perplexed (we hadn't taught anything before Victor shared his "favorite part"...which must have sounded incredibly weird without knowing the other information before...) and said, grabbing the pamphlet out of Victor's hand, "...what religion did you say you were...?!" I had to hold in my laughter...I can only imagine what this guy was thinking... (I promise this story was funnier if you were there). Victor felt on cloud 9 after this experience and he took us from door to door knocking. It was fun to see his zeal and excitement to share the gospel. I think "B" and Victor would make a stellar companionship...oh that we could all be like children... Highlight of the week: Lyli and Elvin's daughter is getting baptized! We had invited her to be baptized when she got here from Guatemala 2 weeks ago, and she hesitantly accepted, but it wasn't super firm or anything. We decided to just keep teaching and the testimony and desire would eventually come. And it did. And obviously the Spirit is the real teacher and not us because...this past week we were teaching the Law of Chastity (yes, of ALL lessons) and in the middle of it, she turns to her dad and says, "Dad, I want to get baptized." We were all caught a bit off guard, but took the opportunity to testify and let her choose what day she wanted. She wanted to be baptized Sunday...5 days later--but after talking it all through, we decided on April 13. We are so excited! One step closer to their eternal family! This family has my heart. And lastly, General Conference. Wasn't it just awesome!? I received specific answers to the question I went in with. I couldn't have been more pleased. So grateful for living prophets! I'll share a few of my take-aways and I would invite you all to reflect on your own. Disclaimer: I decided I wanted to watch Conference in Spanish this time, so any quotes that I share are going to be translated and paraphrased by myself. [This was a cool tender mercy and testimony to me of the Gift of Tongues as well as the Interpretation. 6 months ago, last Conference, I probably would not have been able to understand much if I listened in Spanish, but this weekend I understood perfectly and heard exactly what I needed to hear in the language I needed to hear it. So cool!] "Questions are an indication of a desire to learn." Ronald A. Rasband "The Spirit burns the evil out of us." and "We are imperfect beings living in mortality trying to live a perfect plan. Don't be too hard on yourself and don't give up." David A. Bednar "Decisions determine destiny." President Thomas S. Monson "Obedience sustains faith." Dieter F. Uchtdorf One of my favorites was from Bonnie L. Oscarson. She talked about "knowing" and "believing." This was profound to me. Simple, but profound. She explained, when talking about the simple truths of the gospel, "We know these things, but do we *believe* them?" She further explained, "We act when we* believe*, not when we merely know." I know this is true. We can know all the doctrine and information we want, but the blessings or peace, confidence, and assurance come as we *believe. *This belief which depends on faith changes everything. I invite you all to join me in making the conscious daily decision to choose faith over doubt. *"...be not faithless, but believing."* *John 20:27 * And if this isn't a problem for you... Take one thing you learned from Conference and apply it daily this week! We don't see results until we act and make a change! I promise that as you do this, you will gain faith and confidence. It won't be easier, and may even get harder, but it will make you what your Heavenly Father wants you to become. I know this is true!:) Have a great week! Hermana Clark |
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AuthorHi! My name is Kallie Clark and I am a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, called to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in Spanish for 18 months to the residents of Everett, Washington. Archives
August 2015
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