So this week I found the key to happiness. A very valuable and useful lesson in life and I'm glad that I finally learned it! It is simply called, basketball. Haha just kidding, but I did play some basketball this week. It was AWESOME! I've been hitting the gym hard lately doing a vertical workout so I can dunk and then lifting weights after. At night I do some dribbling drills to work on my ball handling. And on Saturday morning is my shooting day so I found a couple of people that like to play basketball and every Saturday morning for exercise I go to the church to work on my shooting. I've honestly felt so amazing, there is nothing like being in a good exercise routine, I'm still working towards my goal to play college basketball, and I've often said basketball is really my best medicine to any problem that I have. But, that still isn't the "real" key to happiness that I found. Every morning, and night and very often throughout the days I would just simply tell myself that I was happy in that moment. And I really was! Just by telling myself that I was happy so often made me happy. And I got in such a habit that now I'm habitually happy ALL THE TIME. You guys should try it. And no, if you are wondering, I didn't take some kind of drug or overdose on those pills the doctor gave me last week, it is just a good combination of exercise, the Gospel, and hard work make me super excited and happy and I'm just loving being a missionary and zone leader right now.
This week the work was pretty great as well. On Wednesday night, the first time we reported with our district leaders, we had already doubled our baptismal dates, and found a ton of new investigators. It was awesome!! I've really just been trying to get everyone excited for the work and have the faith that in each one of our areas we can achieve the mission goals. We have a ton of new people in the zone right now too, so I've just been trying to tell everyone that they are in the best area and zone and that the Lord has put them there because He knows that is where they can have the most success. Honestly I could not be more happy and excited about our zone right now and where we are going with the help of the Lord. We are planning lots of zone attacks and divisions so that we can get closer as a brotherhood and help the areas that might need an extra push right now. It truly is a miracle work and it is a miracle at what we can accomplish when we seek diligently for the spirit of revelation and have the faith and determination to achieve our goals and plans. Perhaps what has changed the most in me from my experience in the mission is that now I know and I have a firm testimony that Heavenly Father really does hear our prayers, but not only that, it is that if we truly have the faith to do something, we work diligently at it, obeying God, we have the power to do anything and He WILL help us with our goals and ambitions, according to His will and according to our faith. I know that Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ live and that they are always there to help us.
Also this week we were able to find and put another baptismal date with Guadalupe, the mom of a recent convert. We had an amazing first lesson with her, and since then, she has gone to the temples visitors center and she loves reading the Book of Mormon! I am so excited for her and all of our investigators that we are teaching right now. I have also been very blessed to see another fruit of my labors this week. Unfortunately I wasn't able to go back and see the baptism, but I am very happy and excited to announce that Dana, the 14 year old girl from Atlicpac got permission from her mom to get baptized and was baptized two days ago on Saturday! Although I was sad I didn't have the chance to go back and see this amazing step in her life, I feel very happy and content that Elder Cruz and his new companion were able to reap the seeds that I planted and I know they have many more baptisms coming up that maybe I will have the privilege to attend such as Jesus, the grandpa of the Cortes family!! There is no work more satisfying than missionary work!
Finally I had a really cool personal experience this week. One night we were walking back to the house from our final appointment of the night, and as always I was taking the opportunity to greet the people on the streets with a smile and a "buenas noches". I have definitely felt a deep love and care for the people here that I have been called to serve especially in some of my old areas, but a certain feeling that came into my heart that night was something different. Something indescribable. It was almost as if I could look deep into the soul of each person I saw that night and truly see their personal worth and potential in the sight of God. I suppose I was just feeling a little bit of that charity, "the pure love of Chrsit", and the love that Christ has for each of these sons and daughters of God. I was able to look past their imperfections and physical experience, I didn't judge, and just loved. It truly was something incredible, something words really can't describe, but it was something real, and powerful and made me just want to run up to everyone and give them a hug and tell them how much they were loved (but that would've been a little weird and maybe a little illegal so I didn't). It made me really think that maybe that is how Christ felt as he walked among the Earth serving and loving, and that is how He feels for each and every one of us right now, just pleading and begging us to come and be perfected in Him. I am so grateful for that sacred privilege and opportunity to just feel a glimpse of that Christlike love for these people down here in here Mexico. Someone this week said that to be able to love a people that you don't know is a gift from God. It truly is amazing how much I have grown to love these people down here and it really is the best motivation to serve and work is when you truly have a love for the people that you are called to serve.
So yep it was just another, super fast, and great week in the missionary work. I also found out something scary, the last week after I had special changes, Elder Cruz and his new companion got robbed out in Atlicpac! I felt super bad for them but it also kind of showed me that Heavenly Father knows and loves me. If I wouldn't have had special changes, I might have been there and could've lost my camera, scriptures, or other things... It is really sad that people feel it is necessary to rob other people to get along in life, but it made me think that even though Heavenly Father's plans aren't always what we were hoping for or expecting at first (like special changes) He truly knows us best and has a perfect plan for each of His children. We have been able to have fun this week as a zone doing some stake activities and today we are getting together in Los Reyes with some of my best friends in the mission to play basketball!!! I am so excited and happy. We also had the opportunity to have a mission council this week with President Mann and all of the zone leaders in the mission to plan out this cycle. It was a cool experience and we will also have the privilege of having an area seventy visit us in a couple weeks! We also have had some pretty good food this week (no moronga) including a good ol Domino's Pizza! There are these donuts right outside of our house that this guy makes fresh every right and they are delicious! Street Donuts!They make me really happy but might also make me really fat if I'm not careful haha. Finally, we had some of the best street tacos I have ever had in my mission one night that really reminded me how much I will miss Mexico... Well, like always I'd like to thank you all for all of your support, love, emails, and prayers, and for being the best family and friends who get me through this mission each week. Have a wonderful week and I hope everyone is adjusting back into school and work! Love and miss yall.
Tu misionero favorito,
Elder Clark
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