¡Me quedo!

Fammmmmily. You`re the greatest!! I love you all! Sounds like Katie is just tearin` it up in high school - I give you props in german and choir especially :) As for Scotty, I feel your braces pain. I still remember the day I got mine on. Mom put roast beef and mashed potatoes in a blender my first Sunday with braces so I could enjoy Grandma`s and Grandpa`s famous Sunday dinner. Ah! Speaking of Grandma, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I hope you all had an awesome Valentine`s day as well.

Mission Confrence with Elder Christofferson

So, as for my week, it`s been a good one. Tonight, we are saying goodbye to Elder Gonzalez. It`s been a good 3ish weeks in a trio, but he`s headed back off to work in Aguadulce. Now, Elder Aguirre and I are ready to hit the ground running with another full change ahead of us together! Since Elder Rich, this will be the longest I`ve ever been with the same companion. I told President and the assistants that I wanted to stay another change here in Penonomè - our work is not done here. We`ve seen some sweet success with our investigators this week - especifically with Monica..... her mom said that she now has dad`s permission to get baptized! Like I mentioned last week, following the advice of Omni 1:26 has really worked. We`ve been fasting every Saturday/Sunday, and what do you know! We are going to visit them this week with branch President Archireali to get the final say. Pray for Monica!

Another fun success we`ve seen is with a girl named Stefany. She`s currently 8 months pregnant and we just found her - niece of a member. She agreed to a baptismal date and I think we`ll wait till after she gives birth to her first son :) Whoo! She`ll take him to church every week and then he`ll go on a mission. That`s the goal, folks. Besides her, Lina`s marriage papers are coming along.... slowly. But hey, 23 of March. That`s the day planned. We might move it up if it processes quicker. Lastly, our beloved Hna. Andrèa Quiros - our cocinera - did her part as a member this week! Gave us an incredible reference! His name is Norberto Castillo - man this guy is intelligent. He`s blind too - imagìnanse. The difficult part is gonna be getting him to church cuz he lives in a weird, rocky place - being blind, it`s kinda tough for him. But man - he is some priesthood material who could seriously help this branch. The other hard part is he can`t read The Book of Mormon because of his blindness. But hey! Is there anything The Lord can`t do?

So speaking of The Book of Mormon..... man. I LOVE that book. What a perfectly inspired, perfectly preserved piece of God`s history with His children that he decided to give us in these last days as PROOF of The Restoration. Reading that book is like my favorite part of the day. I`m currently in King Benjamin`s speech again and I can`t wait for what`s up ahead. Abinadi, and then, Alma and Amulek! The Book of Mormon.... I am so grateful for the testimony God has helped me to develop of it here in the mission.

Well this email is ending, but I can`t go another week without sharing with you all my recently new-found favorite quote of all time - thanks for "Stand a Little Taller" by Gordon B. Hinckley. Here it is: " Adulation is poisen. It is so very important that you do not let praise and adulation go to your head. Never lose sight of the fact that The Lord put you where you are according to His design, which you don`t fully understand. Acknowledge The Lord for whatever good you can accomplish and give Him the credit and the glory." Bam. Pride - the original sin.... don`t let it get to you.  I almost forgot!!! I recieved the GREATEST package in the mail this week..... the 2013 calender from Adam!!!!! Tell him thank you so so so very much. :)  I love you all so much!!! Have a great week and keep being the Clarke family that we`re all proud of.

Love you!

-Elder Steve Clarke

P.S.... My patriarchal blessing has saved me again these past weeks. What a blessing!

¡Otra semana se ha volado!

Whoohoo! What a crazy week.

So this week has been pretty awesome. We have continued working in a trio this week and will continue to do so until the 20th, when Elder Gonzalez recieves a new companion and goes back to Aguadulce. But until that day, we will have to keep visiting his area (about an hour away in bus) about once or twice a week. I´m sad to say it, but this week has been super dead.... if you remember from earlier emails, we had been awaiting what were "las carnavales"...... man. What a disaster. Waaaaay worse than Chorrera. I saw up front evidence of the reality of the devil, and what he´ll do to a people if they give him any power. Talk about 4 straight days of drunk people and very skimpy dressed women. And beer. Man, I didn´t know people could drink so much beer. Haha. It is also because of these carnavales that we weren´t able to write our families on Monday.... all the stores were closed in both Penonomé and Aguadulce. Sorry! But I´m writing now :)

         So this week I´ve learned how to really trust more in God, and awaiting answers to my prayers - even just in daily decisions in life. DyC 6, 8, and 9 all have good scriptures about how The Spirit will talk to our mind, and to our hearts. I am now implying that in my daily conversations with God, and I´ve found it such a good help and comfort. I wanted to tell a short experience/example. Last week when Elder Kniff and I went to Panamá for migraciones, we also got my glasses and my E´ Aguirre´s glasses dropped off to get fixed by a member in the city (they broke). Anyway, getting ready to head back to Penonomé, we got stuck in traffic - REALLY BAD city traffic. To make a long story short, the glasses place closed at 5, and I told the guy we´d be there before then. Well, finally arriving at 7 PM (because of the traffic), it would´ve been kind of a risky move getting off the bus to go check the glasses place - after all - two hours late right? Of couse it´s gonna be closed. It would cost us another half hour of traffic to get off the bus. But, at the same time, we really needed those glasses! We weren´t planning on coming back to the city until who knows when. So, I said a prayer, asking The Lord if we should get off and go look for the glasses. Immediately, I felt (both in heart and mind), and yes, we should. Well, we get off, and wouldn´t you know it, we walk up to the glasses place as the LAST worker is shutting the door for the day, locking up the place. Man. WHAT a blessing. Both the glasses as well as learning how to recognize and follow promptings of The Spirit. Needless to say, both my comp. and I now have our glasses :) God is always looking out for us, and if we´ll invoke His help, He is there to help us! Sweet sweet.

         Well dang my time is like gone.... man. I have so much I want to write. Ok real quick. Jacob 7, Omni 1:26, and the definition of sacrifice I had great rants on all those things. Oh well, another day.

Love you all!

Elder Steve Clarke

P.S.... I felt a 6.0 earthquake from Columbia on Saturday! Sweet.

Good week!

Bueno pues.

 

This week was pretty great - I can`t think of a better way to be spending my life at the moment. It makes me really sad to think I`ve only got like 10 months left of this. I love being a missionary! I just recieved an email today from one of my old companions, Elder Avery Hill (he`s been home for a while now), telling me his reflections on the mission. I really really loved it! I love that guy. He just helped refresh my thoughts on the importance of taking advantage of the mission. I really look up to him. I also recieved an awesome letter from Adam, Scotty, and Katie (I loved the pokemon drawing, Adam - you`re the bomb). I also recieved a letter from Matt Maddix! I haven`t read it yet though and I`m really excited.

Anyway, this week I learned a lot. I`m trying to purify myself, and really love and look at people how Christ does. I`m tellin` you, it`s not easy! I don`t know how Christ does it. But Christ-like love is what I`m aiming for. This week, we saw a lot of investigators fall..... don`t you hate it when that happens? I remember back in the MTC my teachers told me one of the worst feelings on the mission would be when you saw people taste and feel of the true gospel, and then reject it. And it`s true! It really makes me sad. But, it just makes me wanna go find some people who ARE willing to change their lives, and follow Christ.

A few sweet investigators we found this week are grandchildren of an old grandpa investigator. Quick story: about a month ago, I felt the impression really strong to go help and teach this grandpa - his name is Russell. Really strong impression. Anyway, he hasn`t ended up progressing very much. I kept asking myself "why did I feel so strongly to help him if he never progressed? What was The Lord`s intention there?" But I think we found out this week when two of his grandchildren - Carlos, and Marìa, both asked us to start teaching them and Carlos even came to church!
He`s 16 and he thinks church is "cool". Man, it is hard to find
jovenes like that. Blessing from God and from following the promptings of The Spirit I think. Another investigator we have, Monica, is just waiting for her dad`s permission to be baptized, because she`s under 18. She wants to get baptized so bad! She`s totally ready too. Pray for her!

Well I don`t have a ton of time left so I`ll talk more next week about my new companion?! We just got put in a trio this week. Elder Gonzalez from Guatemala. Sweet guy. Also, we (Elder Kniff and I) went to the city this week for migrations. I`m finally legal! Got lots to tell next week.

Love you all!!! Have a great week :)

Love,

Elder Steve Clarke

"Sea Feliz, Sea Mormon"

Wow, I just got done reading an amazing news article from Jeffrey R. Holland. Thanks Krissy - that was just what I needed today.

 Allright, so this week has been brilliant. I finished reading Luke this morning - reading Christ`s life is incredible. If only I had more study time, I would devour Jesus The Christ. It`s hard though - I`m currently reading the Bible, the BOM, PME, and "Our Legacy" during studies. I think studying may be one of my favorite parts of the mission. Also, we just got done with an AWESOME P-day....... we played kickball! Yeeeeah. Reminded me of 4th-6th grade times. It was way fun though. I even had a home run!

So man, this week I`ve learned a ton. Learned from my comp. too - Elder Aguirre is awesome. I admire his work ethic. His english is improving so rapidly! He will definately be fluent by the end of his mission. That guy is goin` places in life. But anyway, I think I`ve adopted a new theme to my mission. "Be happy, be mormon". The old propaganda of the church totally rings true for me right now. I`ve gotta constantly be keeping with a positive attitude! It`s something I`ve stuggled with lately - no one knows why. Maybe Satan is tryin` to play with me or somethin`. But man! We`ve got the gospel! The restored gospel of Jesus Christ! The gospel that Isaiah prophesied would go forth in the last days! Wow! We don`t have any reason to not be constantly rejoicing and happy! Share that happiness with others! With the world! That`s what we`re called to do as missionaries! "Sea feliz, sea mormon." That`s the key right now. Keepin` the positive attitude. District meeting helped me realize that today too - Elder Kniff and the rest of our district.

Another great lesson I learned this week is there is a very big difference between being humble, and having self-confidence. Self-confidence is the middle ground between humility and pride. I am striving to acheive that perfect balance - sometimes, I think I don`t stand up for anything I know because I`m "trying to be humble". No, I`ve gotta cut that out! One can be humble while at the same time being self-confident and trusting in what they know.

Ok so this week, we did some sweet divisions with the ZL`s. Elder Larsen (from Alabama - cool guy) came to my area and we stayed together for a couple of nights. While together, we put together another awesome "Missionary Wednesday" and then had a sweet group night the following night - human foosball! Elder Kniff`s idea. It was way fun.

As far as investigators, we had 5 in sacrament meeting! Lina and her daughter, Abdianis, Russell, Monica (soooo close to baptism - just waiting for her dad`s permission. Pray for Monica! A friend of Abdianis also came to church :) The Soto family, sadly, is losing interest fast. This makes me sad. That`s one part of the mission work that I don`t like - doing all you can to "invite" and help them come unto Christ, and then in the end they don`t choose to follow. But we`re gonna keep givin` them chances until we`re sure they`re not interested!

I`m looking forward to an awesome week - we`re trying to get in as much work in before "las carnavales" hit in the coming weeks. That is gonna be a total disaster. Here in the interior things get crazy. President Ward isn`t taking us out, either. I`m excited for another week! I hope you guys all have an awesome week too. You guys are the best.

Love,

Elder Steve Clarke

Special Witness of The Lord.

Que xopa pelao?

 

Bueno fam, I love you so much. I have had one extraordinary week. Things I`m learning on a weekly basis here are just amazing. This week especially, I gained a stronger part to my testimony of the fact that God gives us trials to HELP us, because he LOVES us, and he KNOWS us - much better than we know ourselves. And finally, He will never give us anything we can`t handle. He relieves us from the trial when we most need it. I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father.

 

So man, this week has seriously been action packed. We`ll start with the ward weekly activities we`ve started - they are becoming some of my favorite days of the week - Wednesday and Thursday. Miercoles con los misioneros, us 4 in the branch (Kniff, Carrillo, Aguirre, and I) went out to Churuquita Chiquita and had a great family night with the Arias family! We watched "Only a Stonecutter" in spanish and had a great talk about faith and trials. The next night, we had 47 people at group night in the church!! We`re bound to break 50 this upcoming week. The members are getting so involved! I`m loving that part of the work right now.

 

 

Allright so some other great news among investigators. It`s looking like the Soto family might be coming around... we were able to put baptismal dates with all three of the kids! But then they didn`t come to church yesterday, so I don`t know what to think. Also, Monica and Lina and Abdias are all doing very well - but especially Lina. This week we were able to put a bap. date with the couple for March, and we had a great discussion with The Family: A Proclamation to the World (thanks so much for sending them - they were very much needed for this lesson) :). Also, yesterday, when we talked to Lina yesterday, I`d like to tell you guys it was one of the most spiritual lessons I`ve had in a long time. We talked with her about faith, and obedience to God`s commandments. More than anything, it helped me appreciate even more (I didn`t think it was possible) my family, and the eternal blessings we`ve recieved from The Lord. Lina went on and on and on about how badly she wishes her family was like us missionaries. She said her and her husband anylized us one night, and came to the conclusion we turned out the way we did because we were brought up with good values, and more than anything, our parents taught us correctly. There, she realized the faults her and her husband have made in raising their kids - because it wasn`t in the way of God. Wow! It was so bittersweet for me. So sad for her, but SOOO grateful for my family and the things I have. You`ll never understand how grateful I am for our family. That was the first lesson in a long time that actually brought me to tears! We then continued with the lesson, teaching her that because of our Savior, Jesus Christ, all those past mistakes can be corrected, and she can put her life in the way of God right now! As we talked about Christ dying and suffering on the cross for us, I started crying again! What an unbelievable Spirit I felt.

 

Ok, finally, I gotta tell you all about Saturday. Elder D. Todd Christofferson came to the city and we were allowed to go see him speak!! Totally worth getting up at 3 in the morning. Not only was he there, but there were 5 general authorities and their wives present. Such a great morning. My favorite talk actually didn`t come from Elder Christofferson though - it actually came from Sister Maine - the wife of seventy Elder Maine. She talked about being an example to all as a missionary, and that the mission should be something between you and The Lord. Finally, something she said that I really liked was this: "Be the missionary your parents think you are." Yeah! I loved it. I just want you guys to know I`m committed and trying my best to live like you think I do. Anyway, her husband, Elder Maine, also gave a really good talk - the point I loved most was that everything in your mission has to do with your DESIRE. Being self-sufficient. Super sweet. Elder Christofferson was really incredible though - he started out his talk teaching us all a priesthood principle found in the Doctrine and Covenants, and he talked about sanctification. Whoa. I`ll never look at 3 Nephi 27:20 the same again. The man is without a doubt called of God. Not to mention his spanish is flawless. Before he arrived, Pte. Ward shared with us something cool about what it means to be a special witness of Jesus Christ. So sweet. The gospel is so dang sweet. I love it! And I love being a missionary.

Well, I gotta go now - my time is up. But I love you all very much! I hope you all have a great week.

-Elder Clarke

P.S.... my branch president finally got back from Venezuela! Now the fun work begins.

P.S.S.... challenge this week: if you haven`t already, go to the temple!

Here is a link to a you-tube video made by our zone today:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4jMjSUCWpI&feature=youtu.be

My parents are one year older!

Fam!

I was so pleased to open up my email and read that you guys (Mom and Dad) had a great birthday date. Dad is a stud.

Allright well the letter might have to be a little short this week cuz I was writing to Dave about our wonderful family. Anyway, this week has actually been kind of rough. We saw a few baptism fechas fall..... but now we´re working on recuperating them and looking for news. I´m also making some personal changes to try to follow The Spirit more, and we even started contacting a little more! Gotta love the classic knocking on doors. It´s somethin you can only do as a missionary :) Basically, I´m working on putting my trust in God, looking for those that are prepared. According to The Spirit, and those who follow through with their compromisos, that is who we are working with. We are also SUUUUUUUPER (did I mention super?) pumped to hear from Elder Christofferson this Saturday. What a blessing.

So for a cool experience this week. On Saturday night, we were fasting, and we went to Lina´s house (I don´t know if you guys remember her but she was an old investigator who wasn´t progressing because she wasn´t married). Anyway, we went their house and talked with the Dad..... showed them A Proclamation to the World and had a kneeling prayer!! He responded very positively.

Wow I´m so sorry but that´s all I had time to write. I just wanna say that Jesus is the best teacher and Luke is amazing. I love Luke 15-17.

Talk to you all next week!

Love,

Elder Clarke

Feliz año nuevo! 2013! Y feliz cumpleaños abuelo, papá, y mamá!

Bueno,

 

So much has happened this week! I hope you guys are doin´ awesome. I am learning good things here in Penonomé every day. Sorry I didn´t write yesterday... I wanted to apologize. Here in Panamá, yesterday was a holiday and so all the internet cafes were closed....so ya. Nos toca ahora.

So first of all, I hope you guys had a HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I can´t believe it´s 2013. What´d you guys do? I´m happy to say we worked the best we could that day, although there were quite a lot of people sleeping or recovering from their night-long party. Fun new years day fact: a drunk guy came up and kissed me on the arm, and asked me and my comp. to accompany him to Chitré.... he seemed a little homosexual as well. Hahah it was funny.

Allright a few quick things back from Christmas that I forgot to mention to you guys: I was finally able to watch Dave´s mission call opening! Yes!! It teared me up a little bit. I appreciated that gift maybe almost more than any other. Thank you so much for sending it. And thank Amy for making it! I really loved it. Also, Christmas day we were able to paint the house! Way to stick to the panamanian tradition right? We painted it blue. I´ll send pictures. Finally, I also recently recieved the Christmas letters from Grandma, Grandpa, and our family Christmas letter! Man - grandma and grandpa´s letters were the bomb. Tell them please that I loved them. Grandpa´s temple experiences especially were great. I can´t wait to read his book.

Ok so we´ve been seeing lots of success in the ward recently. Sunday, we had 91 people in church!! Usually it´s like 65. Attendance is going up, and I think a large part has to do with what we´ve started here in the ward amongst the members. First, Elderes Aguirre, Kniff, Carrillo and me have started a fun program called ¨Miercoles con los Misioneros (Missionary Wednesday)¨. What we´re doing is every Wednesday night, we go to a different member´s house and hold a family night, where they invite friends, neighbors, and there is food and games. Then, we post on the bulletin board every week a big picture we print out of the family night, along with a little description of what we did, we the lesson was about, etc. It´s looking to be really successful. Also, the other thing we´re doing to help the branch is reviving ¨group night¨ every Thursday. Last week, the attendance had tripled from the week before! 38 people! Us missionaries are really looking to make it more exciting, and get the member´s support behind it. We wanna turn this place into a ward - not just a branch.

Allright well I thought I should probly mention the progression of some investigators: I wanted to let you guys know that Edelsy, José, Karol, and Michael are really progressing. I know they are gonna get baptized - now it´s just a matter of when. We´re aiming for the end of this month - the 26th of January. Also, we have a lesson with la familia Sotto tonight - Mom - thank you SO much for fasting for them. I know all our sacrifice for them will not go in vain. They are great, that family. Lastly, I don´t know if I´ve mentioned Luís before, but he´s the husband of a less active mother. Anyway, he´s a BALLER at basketball. Like, probly the best panamanian I´ve yet seen here. So anyway, we´re trying to get them married and decided it would be fun to use bball to have a lesson with them. So, a few days ago, us 4 missionaries, along with him, played bball at the church, and then had a lesson about marriage afterward. It was pretty successful, and I REALLY wanna baptize him. I asked President to leave me here another change so I can see all these guys get baptized. I don´t know if you guys remember ¨Carvinales¨ from a year ago, but it´s like the panamanian Mardi Gra - everyone takes like half a week to drink and just do whatever they want. It´s get pretty ugly - especially here in the interior. Last year in Chorrera it wasn´t so bad - it doesn´t get too bad there. But here, President takes us out of the area for like a week, and that´s gonna hurt our investigators too I´m afraid. But just pray for em all :) They´ll be ok.

Lastly, I just wanted to mention a cool experience from Sunday. We walked in a little late to church cuz we were waiting for and brought an investigator. Anyway, when we walked in the first thing I hear is that the guy at the podium said I was about to give a baby blessing. What? Hno. Castillo wanted me to bless his baby. No sé. So with literally like 5 seconds notice and without having ever done it before, I walk up and give the baby blessing! And gave him a name and everything! Aaron Enrique Castillo Morán. I didn´t do it perfect, but it was a really really cool experience and I felt The Spirit work through me. I loved it.

Anyway, I´ve gotta go cuz my time is up, but I hope you all have a grrrrrrreat week! Grandpa, Dad, and Mom especially!!! Happy birthdays!! I´ll talk with you all next week!

-Elder Clarke

P.S... I was THRILLED to see that picture of Whitcomb with you guys on Sunday. That made me so so happy. He´s a stud huh?

P.S.S.... guess who´s coming to visit the mission is a couple of weeks??? Elder D. Todd Christofferson! Yessir.