Koti tehtu mehua ja keks (Home made juice and cookies)

Moi :) This week was another good week. And it was made even better when I got to read emails and letters in the mail full of loving and supportive words. Thank you! It is so fun to hear and see how everyone is doing in emails and pics. You guys rock!

So probably the biggest blessing from this week would be our investigator with a bapstimal date. He is progressing so well, and in our last lesson with him he simply and powerful bore his testimony of many things throughout the lesson. He talks of how he is excited to get the priesthood and how much he has seen Heavenly Father helping in his life. He says that he wants to follow all the commandments because he knows they will bring him closer to God and that there is a reason we have them. It is so simple and true. It also has brought me so much joy to see the members reach out so lovingly, although there is a language barrier. Wow, lessons with him will definitely be a highlight of the mission.

Another highlight of the week was meeting with a very sweet woman Sisar Herrmann and I found tracting last change. We had tried to stop by a couple times before but it never worked out, but this week we stopped by and she immediately brought us in and was so loving and kind. She gave us delicious home made juice and cookies and sincerely listened to what we had to say about the Book of Mormon and our church. She was excited to read and pray about the Book of Mormon and was grateful for our message. Her and her little son also showed us these cute books about bible stories that they love to read together. Such a sweet and faithful family. It was really cool to see profit out of tracting that I personally did.

Something I learned during personal study this week: When reading Helaman 4:20-26 I found it so interesting how many times it says that the Nephites could see the differences between them and the Lamanites. "they saw" and recognized how far away from the Lord they had become. In Alma 32:35 it talks about the spirit and truth being discernable. Sometimes it is difficult to see the hand of the Lord, but I hope to keep my eyes open for it always, because it is there and we will see it.

I hope school and work and other parts of hectic life are going well for all of you. Thank you for your prayers :) I love you!

-Sisar Clark

pic- the night after the punianen kuu (red moon) or indian moon .... it was too cloudy to actually see the red moon, but we thought this was a pretty close second

Ihmeellinen viikko (miraculous week)

Hello everyone :) this week was truly a miraculous week in so many ways. So miraculous I almost hesitate to tell you everything in fear that my emails in following weeks will just be too boring. So I'll only tell you everything if you promise to still support me in boring emails in the future haha. So for starters we had 6 (yes that is correct....SIX) investigators in sacrament meeting this week! It was a circus and probably hilarious to watch Sisar Bruce and I not quite sure what to do with ourselves and so many investigators. While partaking of the sacrament, I just sat in awe of how much loving patience Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have for us and are how willing they are to help and bless us abundantly in our weaknesses. In addition, we set a very solid baptismal date this week as well! And in all our lessons with this investigator, Sisar Bruce and I are practically speechless when we see how prepared he is. This week he told us of how he normally doesn't give his number to churches or come when invited etc. but just felt like he was supposed to for ours. He talked about how when we invited him to be baptized he just knew he was supposed to. And then he tells us of how when he started meeting with us he stopped smoking and going to clubs because he realized they weren't helping him come closer to God....(this was before we even taught the Word of Wisdom). Wow Heavenly Father has prepared these people in incredible ways! Anther jaw dropping quote "Ya, I think I want to get married in the temple." Not only were there miracles in the missionary work, but with me personally as well. I felt very blessed to stay positive in difficult times and blessed with energy and happiness. Wow....this week...I don't even know what else to say. Thank you for your prayers....they obviously are not going unanswered. Prayer is powerful.

A scripture that the mission is focusing on this change is D&C 123:17 "Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we standstill, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed." I think this scripture really describes this week. I have absolutely seen his arm revealed and feel so blessed at this time.
I hope you are all doing well. Chris! Happy Birthday this week!! :) Chase and Sarah good luck with your move this week. I hope all goes smoothly and you are able to feel at home there soon. Thank you for your emails, prayers, love, support, and examples! I love you all so much and pray for you often.

-Sisar Clark

Kolme Kirkossa taas! (three in church again!)

Hey everyone it is great to hear from so many of you. Thank you for your emails! I can't believe that Hayden is already old enough to do baptisms for the dead! What a wonderful experience for him. It is so fun to imagine sweet Savannah toddling around and playing with Roxy. And Callie the #thugmormon pictures in Zion make it look like you had a great time running; I'm only a slight bit jealous.

This week was another week of learning and growing, therefore a successful week. Sunday was exciting day when we had three investigators in church again! We have seen a lot of progress and growth within our investigators and feel very blessed to share this message with them and help them grow closer to Jesus Christ. Also, it is so so wonderful to see how supportive, aware, and helpful the members are in the missionary work as well. We (eli Sisar Bruce and I) ended up having to teach a Sunday School class kind of on the spot and thankfully the members in the lesson were so willing to participate and share their testimonies. That with the help of the spirit helped us squeeze by in that lesson. They have such strong testimonies and dedication to do what is right, even if it is very inconvenient. I'm really grateful for their examples. 

Fall is setting in now and the leaving are changing colors and falling off the trees. It is very pretty and great weather again. I'm very grateful to serve in such a beautiful (one might even say magical) place. With a new companion comes learning many new things and working through new challenges. I'm grateful for the things I'm learning and I'm very grateful for the truth that we know: We are Heavenly Father's children. He loves us. We can pray to him and find peace and guidance. Jesus Christ is our Savior and loving brother. He knows what we feel and is reaching out his hand.

I'm looking forward to General Conference and another good week in beautiful Suomi! 

-Sisar Clark