Baptize right up to the very end!

Elder Rasmussen and Elder Griffin baptized and confirmed a wonderful family this evening.  As with every baptism - it was special, but what was really great is that Elder Griffin completes his two year mission tomorrow morning!  Now that is what I call WORKING TO THE VERY END!!

PRESIDENT'S WEEKLY - Shout Hooray for Zion!

Shout Hooray for Zion!

Dear Elders and Sisters:

Shout Hooray for Zion! The Lord has seen fit to allow us to baptize 1,000 souls in 2014 and I congratulate you on your worthiness, commitment, obedience, and focus as you have participated with Him in the hastening of His work. What a wonderful time to be a missionary in the California Fresno Mission where we serve with No Regrets! It could have been so different especially in October when our numbers dropped fairly low but no, you, the wonderful missionaries of the CFM, went forward and exercised your faith, you were diligent and devoted, and did all that was necessary for the Lord to bless you with the righteous desires of your hearts. Well done! Well done!

I love you and appreciate your love of and devotion to the Savior. Clearly, your motives are aligned with God's Will and it is clear to me that you serve because you love the Lord, Jesus Christ. I am both humbled and honored to serve with you and appreciate the incredible missionaries that you are. You teach me so much and bless my life with your love and support. This is one of the biggest "pinch myself moments" of my life to be here, now, with you and participate in this incredible miracle.

As the wonderful Christmas Season draws to a close, I give my thanks to the Savior of the World for his love, ministry, and gift of life to us. How appropriate to celebrate His birth and how wonderful to be in His employ each and every day as a called, set apart California Fresno Missionary. He truly is The Gift! Let us go forward and share the gift He offers with every one as we link our commitment to serve with the wonderful Member Missionaries here in the Stakes and Wards of the CFM to assist them in their covenants to take upon themselves the Name of The Son - Jesus Christ.

Sister Clark and I love you and feel so honored to serve with you! You are such a wonderful blessing in our lives and we desire to do all that is required, all that is appropriate, all that is necessary to bless your lives.

With much love,
President Clark

PRESIDENT'S WEEKLY - With God all Things Are Possible

With God all Things Are Possible

Dear Elders and Sisters;

It has been such a wonderful couple of weeks to be with you in interviews and to feel of your great spirits and love for the work of salvation here in the great CFM.  Thank you for all you do to bless the work and thank you for what you will do to better keep pace with the Lord as He hastens His work.

As noted in our interviews I was focused on your studies - personal and companionship.  When you were set apart as a missionary all that you do to be a Representative of Jesus Christ was set apart, consecrated and dedicated for that purpose. This includes your studies which you do in order to be teachers and as a true Representative of Him.  So, your studies are set apart as well.  Please do not take lightly this wonderful opportunity to study the gospel on your mission.  You will never be able to duplicate or replicate what can happen each and every day of your mission as a called, set apart missionary who studies the gospel of Jesus Christ.  You will likely not be able to allocate two hours a day or more to the study of the gospel after your mission but even if you did, it will not be the same, set apart, consecrated activity it is here on your mission.   Consequently, it is like studying on steroids because it is such deep spiritual learning.  As you study you do so for your investigators - you study to teach and you teach to study.  As I was sharing this with a missionary in interviews he confirmed the truth of this by relating his experience with studies while at home recovering from some surgery.  He was shocked at how, once released from his mission, it was much more difficult to study the gospel - citing that even his motivation to do so had changed.  Studying the gospel as a set apart missionary is such an incredible opportunity and I encourage you to squeeze every ounce out of this wonderful opportunity to learn the gospel in a consecrated way. This is spiritual learning at its best!  It will bless your life for the rest of your life as a husband/wife, father/mother, priesthood bearer and servant in the Kingdom.

In a few days you will be visiting with your parents and families for Christmas using Skype to video call them.  My challenge to you is to teach your family a gospel or Christmas message. Provide them the blessing and privilege of witnessing first hand your great teaching abilities and to feel the spirit you have as a called, set apart, consecrated Representative of Jesus Christ.  Bless their lives!  After all, you are a California Fresno Missionary.  This isn't any old mission we're talking about here. This is the CFM.  Show them how a CFM Missionary teaches with the spirit and bless their lives with the same experience you offer to so many people here each and every day. I promise you it will be the best gift you give this Christmas and you will receive the most back from offering this great gift.

Sister Clark and I love you and love serving with you and wish you a wonderful Christmas experience here in the CFM.  Most importantly, we unite our prayers with yours as we seek the Strength of 1,000 Baptisms.  We know the Lord will bless us with this righteous goal and desire based on our faith and diligence.  There has not been a time like this in the CFM where we have the privilege and blessing of uniting together as worthy, committed, obedient, and focused missionaries to obtain such a defining, pinnacle accomplishment.  This is serving with "No Regrets" magnified!  I know the Lord desires to grant this blessing and is perfectly capable of doing so.  He simply wants to see what we are willing to do, to give, to become as condition of granting this wonderful outcome.  I know He has not given up on us for "with [Him] all things are possible".  Please do not prematurely give up in the pursuit of this wonderful accomplishment.  "Be it according to your faith and desires."

With much love,

President Clark

Because our transfers are the week after Christmas, we started early!  The Departing missionary trip to the temple is always a highlight in my book.   The Missionaries arrived at the mission home around 7:00 a.m. to pack up their bikes, turn in their emergency bags and -- most importantly, eat breakfast!  The President talked briefly about the temple and our covenants then we were off to attend the 9:30 a.m. session.  After the session and photos, we had lunch where the President gave a great message encouraging the departing missionaries when they go home to 1.  Pray alone and with family every day without fail 2.  Read the Scriptures every day without fail 3.  Go to FHE every Monday - creating a habit for the future when they have families and 4.  Pay a full tithe without fail.  Doing these 4 things will help to ensure continued faithfulness in the Gospel.  The topping on the cake was when the President asked each missionary to bear their testimony.  These are some fine, fine missionaries!  Great day!

Elder Benson, Elder Altner, Elder Hall, Elder Grisenti, Elder Badley, Elder Drapeau
President & Sister Clark, Elder McClung, Elder Goettman, Elder Griffen, Elder Smith

President's Weekly - Keeping Pace with the Lord's Work

Keeping Pace with The Lord as He Hastens His Work

Dear Elders and Sisters;

It has been my pleasure to sit with you in interviews this week and I thank you for your time, love, and support. It is such a blessing to be called and set apart to serve as a California Fresno Missionary with you at this time. I am so grateful for the love of Jesus Christ that sustains us in this work and for the rich blessing and opportunity it is to participate with the Lord as He hastens His work (D&C 88:73).

Elder Bednar has said: "If we always do what we've always done then we'll always get what we've always gotten". He then went on to ask a question: "Will we keep pace with the Lord as He hastens His work or will we insist on doing things the way they have always been done, or the ways we are accustomed to or comfortable with?”

When we were together I posed a question for you to ponder, pray about, and seek revelation to know the answer. The question was: "What might you do differently, change, or do/give more of (or perhaps less of as in 'bury a weapon of rebellion') in order to more fully participate in and keep pace with the Lord as He hastens His work?" As each missionary seeks to receive their own "Inspired Vision" and implement what they should do in order to more fully participate in and keep pace with the Lord as He hastens His work, the effect on this mission will be powerful. It will be a rising tide that will lift each missionary's boat and collectively will raise all boats.

Please invest yourself in the discovery of this answer. What the Lord reveals to you will be something that should become part of you. It will not only bless you as a missionary but will transcend your full time missionary experience. It should be something you "become" that will be of value to the Lord as a servant and disciple in His Kingdom.

I love you and know the Lord is watching over this mission and its missionaries. I know He directs all facets of His work here upon the earth through his servants the Prophets. I know that as we follow the Prophets and Apostles we will be lead in paths of righteousness and ultimately back to Him and the Father. I also know that if we do all that is asked of us we will be blessed with the "Strength of 1,000 Baptisms". So, I encourage you to discover what you "yet lack" and then simply "go and do"!

With much love,
President Clark

Our Missionaries are loved!

The postal truck drove up to the mission office, the driver came into the office without anything in hand and asked if he could have some help.  His truck was completely filled with boxes for the missionaries!  It warms my heart to see the outpouring of love for our wonderful missionaries.
I LOVE CHRISTMAS !!!!!  What could be better, the Celebration of our dear Savior's birth with
love , peace, and joy throughout the land.

 

President's Weekly - If the Prophet had bid thee do some great thing…

If the Prophet had bid thee do some great thing…

Dear Elders and Sisters;

It was so wonderful to be with you in Zone Conference last week and I appreciate your kind, sweet sustaining love and support. Sister Clark, the Assistants, and I truly hope what we shared was and will be a blessing to you in your lives as individuals, as set apart missionaries/servants of the Lord here in the CFM, and as companionships. I felt we were truly blessed by an outpouring of the spirit as we were taught to better focus by the Assistants, to be industrious and make sure we don't drop the ball by Sister Clark, and what will we give and give up to assist Heavenly Father's children as they travel their "Road to Jericho". We also hope you enjoyed our Christmas Gift and noted that the most important part of our offering hopefully pointed you to the Savior, who is "The Gift".

There is a wonderful account in the Old Testament of Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria (2 Kings 5). "...he was a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper". His army had captured a "little maid" from Israel who "waited on Naaman's wife." Although captive, she cared for Naaman and his wife and lamented to his wife that she knew the "Prophet that is in Samaria...[could] recover [Naaman] of his leprosy.

"But the King of Syria being confused as to who a prophet was, sent a "letter unto the King of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.

"And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.

"And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and sad, 'Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy?"

Well, Elisha the true prophet heard of this and bid the king to send Naaman to him to be healed saying: "Let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in the Israel."

"So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.

"And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, 'Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean'.

"But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, 'Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.

"....And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, 'My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? How much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash and be clean?'

"Then he went down and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean."

A Prophet of God has asked us to do some small things which, when combined together, will yield a great miracle. Each and every one of them is very simple, not a great thing in and of itself. So when you consider each and everything you've been asked to do, like get up on time and exercise, conduct personal and companion and language studies and begin them on time, offer prayer for the mission at 7:55, keep a model home, a clean car, be clean yourself, and Find, Teach, Baptize, and Rescue, consider that each one is a small thing but that it will yield great blessings. The Lord or Prophet will not themselves "come out to [us], and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover His people." He sends us to do simple things that His people may be recovered as a result. Each thing we do, each rule or commandment we obey, in and of itself is simple and when combined together will allow the Lord to "recover" His people here in the CFM and "make their hearts as one" with His.

I would ask that you give serious consideration to all the small and simple things you've been asked to do to be Exactly Obedient as we seek the miracle of the "Strength of 1,000" in the CFM. I know He will bless us to the extent we will let Him. I know He is trying to give us the best deal we will allow Him to as a result of our obedience. And I know we can do it. He has not asked us to "do some great thing" but rather a lot of very simple things that will yield a great blessing - the Recovery of His children in the CFM.

I know as each of you give more and give up more "burying your weapons of rebellion", the Lord will bless this Mission with the righteous desires of our hearts.

All my love, prayers, and blessings,
President Clark

Senior Missionary Christmas Dinner

A BIG THANKS to this lovely couple.  Brother and Sister Hansen hosted our Senior Missionary Family Night last evening.  We had a beautiful dinner, fun games, caroling, and great company. 

 LIFE IS GREAT thanks to all of these wonderful people.

 

Trainer/Trainee Training

It is always fun to see our new missionaries with their Trainers after two weeks in the field.  We had a great day training and know these missionaries will be AMAZING CFM missionaries! 

President's Weekly - What Power Shall Stay the Heavens?

Dear Elders and Sisters;

"What power shall stay the Heavens? As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course, or to turn it up stream, as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from Heaven..."

This is how I characterize what has occurred this month as we have participated with the Lord in the Hastening of His Work. Well done, Elders and Sisters!!!! Well Done! This is the "New New" in the California Fresno Mission as the wonderful Missionaries come to understand that there is no end to what the Lord can do as we do what is required to participate in the Hastening of His Work.

I am convinced that He will allow us to participate to the extent we allow Him to. I think we saw just the beginning of this in the Month of November. Now, I ask you, what will you do differently in December to get different results? Remember, "If we always do what we've always done we'll always get what we've always gotten." What we've done and gotten in the past is wonderful and makes it possible to move forward. For that we should be very appreciative. But we are in the process of doing things differently to get different results. We did some things different in November and got different results. What more will and can we do in December, and January and going forward? It is up to us.

We are so pleased with November. As I said, it is the beginning of the "New New" and I love it. I also know we can do and give so much more. I want to fully participate with the Lord as He Hastens His work and I know you do as well. Thanks for being so wonderful and being such great Committed, Worthy, Obedient and Focused CFM Missionaries. Please serve with No Regrets! You are AWESOME!!!

Sister Clark and I are truly looking forward to seeing you at Zone Conference this week!

Love to all of you,

President Clark