Indescribable Joy

It was an AWESOME WEEK! My companion and I are getting along GREAT and have really bonded this week.  One night we were up late just talking and relating and we decided we are definitely going to be hanging out after the mission.  He has a lot of family in Las Vegas, and visits there often, and doesn`t live too far from Arizona (Ensenada, Mexico) so it will be fun to have new friends and relationships, both Mexicans and Americans in the future.  He has been bragging about how good he is at Ping-Pong though so it might be time again to break out the ping-pong set and humble some people.  Plus I got to get back to 100% to win the family ping pong tournament in October!

This week was full of success, busy days, and spiritual experiences. On Tuesday we had mission council and as Russell M. Nelson says, it became a "room of revelation".  I definitely felt the Spirit and knew that God inspired the ideas we came up with.  One idea was brought to my remembrance when I first started the mission and we read the Book of Mormon in 90 days as a mission.  We were talking more in the mission about how we can help the missionaries have their own conversion so I suggested that we read the Book of Mormon again as a mission.  Then in zone conference we call got a program to read the Book of Mormon in 90 days so it will be a great experience to start off and finish the mission the same way, strengthening my testimony of this sacred and special book.  On Wednesday night we had an appointment with an investigator, Flavio.  We had planned to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ focusing on baptism, and at the end of the lesson we gave him the baptismal invitation.  When we invited him to do so, he simply replied, "Yes.  It is necesary.  Do you guys work with dates so that I can get baptized a specific day?" His question shot directly to my heart and I think my companion and I were both surprised.  We then put a baptismal date with him for August 25th but by the way he is progressing so fast we may need to baptize him before! Leaving the appointment Elder Nevarez and I were just filled with the Spirit and joy, and realized that these are the "chosen" investigators that we try so hard to find.  It is so amazing how the Spirit can work with our investigators to change their hearts, help them understand the true doctrine of Christ, and when they open their hearts and minds, our message is simple and powerful, that even little children can understand it, and it is clear that what we teach is crucial and necesary to the Salvation of God`s children.  We also had another cool experience with some investigators last night (Sunday) with the Soria family.  We taught them the Plan of Salvation, and when they heard and understood it, they were filled with joy and realized that what we were teaching was really true.  They are progressing wonderfully and I want so much to baptize them before my time is up here in Mexico.  After teaching the Plan of Salvation, Jorge, the 16 year old son, said that hearing about the Plan of Salvation just makes him wish that all of his friends and family could hear this message too.  Tomorrow we are going to the visitor`s center with them in the temple and I am so excited!! They will be the coolest converts ever and Jorge is definitely a future missionary.  After the lesson last night, I was just feeling sooo happy and grateful to be a missionary.  I just felt like I wanted to keep working, and that I didn`t even need a P-Day (although yes, today was really nice to relax, wash clothes, and prepare everything for this week).  I am just so excited for the week ahead and the full agenda we have.  The satisfaction of teaching a lesson, feeling the Spirit, and having the family understand perfectly the message you wanted to get across and inspiring them to change their life and follow Christ is truly indescribable.  I can`t describe in words of how much love I feel for these people and the true, real joy that comes from serving the Lord and bringing others to Christ.  And these were just two of the appointments we had this week, not to mention the 5 investigators who came to church, 3 new baptismal dates we put this week, and finding new investigators through other creative ways like English classes.  Last night I just wanted to give everything to my Lord and Savior for all that he has given to me and for the opportunity to serve in this great work.  Truly the blessings and feelings are indesribable, although sometimes I wish you guys could just feel or know a portion of the joy I feel out here and I hope some of the words in my weekly emails help transmit that message.  I have 50 more pages to read in Jesus the Christ this week and it is amazing about how much more real Christ and His Atonement seem and mean to me in my life more and how much my testimony has grown in my mission.  I also finished the Book of Mormon again this week.  I know this church is true.  I know the Book of Mormon is true.  I know that Christ lives and loves us.  And I know that the Lord is preparing the "hearts of men" each and every day so that we can go find them and feel just a little part of the joy our Heavenly Father feels as he sees His children progressing and taking steps in their lives to come back to Him.  I love being a missionary, I love this work, I love Mexico and the people here and I love my Savior Jesus Christ!

Well this week we played some more foosball which was good, taught some English classes which attracted some new people to the church, and played some more soccer and basketball with some investigators! We also had zone conference which was really good, Elder Nevarez and I gave a fun training that everyone loved, but probably just because candy was the reward for people participating haha. My convert, Ricardo, also went to zone conference to share his testimony and inspire all of us and he was so happy to see me.  I am so grateful for all of the converts and success I have had in my mission.  But at Zone Conference as I watched the Elders who were going home share their last testimony, and as we sang the last hymn "the armies of Helaman" it really hit me that I am almost done.  Now, next conference, I will be the one up there sharing my last testimony, and I only have a handful of days to work hard, and only a few more P-Days to write you guys and take advantage of my time here in Mexcio exploring and having fun! I never thought these days would come and it seems like the more I enjoy my time and lose myself in the work, the faster and faster it goes... Sometimes I think I don`t even want to go home because I know I will never have another opportunity quite like it but I know a lot of other fun and wonderful experiences and adventures are awaiting me ahead back home as well.... Life is just a wonderful blessing and journey.  Also one night we were up on the roof because the moon and sky was super cool so I will attach some pics below.  I know I am slacking on pics a lot so sorry.  Thanks for everything and have a great week! Love you guys!

Elder Tyler Clark