Transfer Week #4:

Once again we have experienced the "miracle of the transfer" where the whole created in our hearts and mission by the wonderful, seasoned missionaries departing is filled by the wonderful new arriving missionaries.  They come bright and shiny and ready to become great missionaries.   We love this week of "beginnings and ends", our emotions are on a roller coaster, but it is the best week ever!
(Video of the New Missionaries is posted on Facebook)

New Missionaries with their Companions (Trainers)  

Sweetest experience:  Attending the temple with the departing missionaries

Departing Missionaries

Departing Missionary activities

PRESIDENT'S WEEKLY - CONSIDER THE LILIES

Consider the Lilies

Dear Elders and Sisters:

The other day my wife was practicing for someone and played one of my very favorite songs - Consider the Lilies.  It has been in my head ever since and as I considered what to write today, the spirit said: "I have been telling you for days now.  Write about how the Lord will take care of those who love Him."

"Consider the lilies of the field, How they grow, how they grow.

Consider the birds in the sky, how they fly, how they fly.

He clothes the lilies of the field, He feeds the birds in the sky,

And He will feed those who trust Him, and guide them with His eye.

"Consider the sheep of His fold, how they follow where He leads,

Tho' their paths may wind across the mountains, He knows the meadows where they feed.

He clothes the lilies of the field, He feeds the birds in the sky,

and He will feed those who trust Him, and guide them with His eye.

"Consider the sweet, tender children who must suffer on this earth.

The pains of all of them He carried from the day of His birth.

He clothes the lilies of the field.  He feeds the lambs in His fold.

and He will heal those who trust Him, and make their hearts as gold.

He clothes the lilies of the field.  He feeds the lambs of His fold,

and He will heal those who trust Him, and make their hearts as gold."

I promise you "He will feed those who trust Him" by sending you to them.  I promise He will "guide [you] with His eye."

I promise you "He knows the meadows where [His sheep] feed" and He will lead you to them if "you are prepared."

I promise you "He will feed the Lambs of His fold, He will heal those who trust Him, and He will make their hearts [and yours] as gold."  And I bear testimony He will do this through you to the extent you will allow Him as a result of your Worthiness, your Commitment, your Obedience, and Focus as you serve each day with No Regrets!  And I promise and bear testimony as you focus on this you will be keeping pace with the Lord as He hastens His work!

And, I promise you "He [has] carried [you] from the day of His birth."  And I know He will make up the difference between what you have to offer and what you need to offer.  I know He will provide anything that is needed that you lack of who you are and who you need to be (the Enabling Power of the Atonement).

I love you and pray for you in earnest as we strive towards the Strength of 1,000!

President Clark

PRESIDENT'S WEEKLY - Exact Obedience Brings Miracles!

Dear Elders and Sisters:
A few weeks ago I wrote a letter entitled "Mending Broken Fences" and all of you accounted that you had read it and committed that you would be more Exactly Obedient. Your commitments and follow through have changed the California Fresno Mission for the better! Your commitment to Exact Obedience has yielded a portion of the blessing we desire and I know the trend is set and the trajectory is clear. Last weekend, November 15th and 16th, we were blessed with 31 Baptisms - including a family of 6 in Madera. Wow! What a blessing! Thank you for "partnering" with the Lord as He Hastens His work! What we seek, the Strength of 1,000, will only come as a result of our Obedience, Worthiness, Commitment, Focus and Faith. You are on the right path and are "participating" with the Lord in His way as He Hastens His work. Now is the time to become even more Committed and Focused. Look in your lives to find where you can become even more Obedient and make the necessary changes. Serving with "No Regrets" never had greater meaning than now! I know the Lord will bless us with this blessing if we do our part so stay focused. Please don't allow transfers to be a distraction. Just continue forward with great energy and effort. This is an exciting time and a very enjoyable time. Aside from diligently seeking this righteous goal and blessing of the Strength of 1,000, the Lord is also teaching us how to baptize over 100 in a month as well as how to achieve a goal of over 1,000 baptisms in a year. You should already be focusing on December and soon January as this is the "New New"! In other words, build momentum for months to come rather than viewing each month as a single goal. This is what will be required to truly link keys with these wonderful Stakes and Wards to "partner" with them as they "participate" with the Lord in His Hastening as they set their worthy goals for next year. This will be the great evidence that the church of the Members and the church of the Missionaries have truly merged. What a wonderful day, week, month and time to be a Missionary in the CFM!!!!
Sister Clark and I pray in earnest for you, your investigators, and your righteous desires.
With heartfelt love,
President Clark

One Reactivated Saint

This mission is amazing, we are going to hit our goal of 1,000 baptisms by the end of December.  With that being said, there are a lot of baptisms each week.  The President and I try to attend as many as we can, and sometimes we split up to do so.  Tonight was one of those nights.  I went to an amazing baptism!  When I walked into the church, there was a commotion in the hall, as I turned the corner I saw an amazing site.  There was a family of 6 all dressed in white having their pictures taken with many family members.  This family is evidence of what can happen when an in-active member is reactivated.  This in-active member reactivated himself and has brought over 20 of his family members into the waters of baptism.  WONDERFUL.

Departing Missionary Temple Day

The highlight of the transfer out is going to the temple with the departing missionaries.  We know there, for certain, they hear the Savior's words:  "Well Done Thou Good and Faithful Servant"

A wonderful group of powerful missionaries!!!  We are sure going to miss all of you.

An Incredible Birthday Gift

Dear Elders and Sisters:
It was my birthday today. I was born in 1957 and today, on 11/11, I turned 57. So, I was thinking that was a double golden birthday or something pretty cool where the stars would align and drop BMWs or Ford GTs out of the sky onto my driveway or something extra-spectacular like that. Well, something extra-spectacular did happen. As I arrived at the office this morning to begin Transfer Boards, I found my office well decorated for the occasion and my desk full of birthday cards from all of you. It was truly marvelous and one of the best birthdays I've ever had. Thank you for making this a very special birthday for me. Your cards and notes and artwork were all fantastic and are now neatly tucked in a new journal volume to be viewed and reviewed with great fondness for years to come. You have made me feel very loved and appreciated this day and I want to thank you so much for such "An Incredible Birthday Gift"!
Love to all of you,
President Clark

PRESIDENT'S WEEKLY - Psalm of the Strength of 1,000

Psalm of the Strength of 1,000
"My heart exclaimeth;" May we know that with Thee all things are possible and that Thou desirest we "come unto thee with full purpose of heart" in our desires to reach the "Strength of 1,000". May we come to understand that whatever hurdles there might be in our path are placed there by our own doing, or lack of doing.

May we view those we seek to Find, Teach and Baptize as Thou seest them - as Thy son or daughter who is temporarily lost. Who said "yes" once in the pre-existence to the Plan of Salvation but, as required by the Plan, have had the veil drawn over that recollection and now must find and follow Thee. May we be instruments in Thy hands in bringing them to Thee that through Thy Son, they may be Redeemed and Enabled to return to Thee.

May we see the value, no the blessing, nay the Miracle that Exact Obedience yields and endeavor each and every hour of the day to exactly obey that we may be counted worthy to participate in Finding those thou has prepared to receive, here and now.
May we correlate the blessing of hard work and diligent effort with great faith and, as Nephi of old simply "go and do"! For we know, that just as the task he was sent to do, our assignment will bless lives for generations to come.

May we be agents unto ourselves and Act, rather than be Acted upon. Rather than be slothful and "compelled in all things", may we be the wisest of servants and be true agents unto ourselves, taking upon us, in the truest sense of the word, the name of Thy Son and "always remember Him"! That by so doing, those we come in contact with will know that we represent Him and are placed in their paths to Teach and Testify of Him! And as we do, may they become fully aware that we serve Him because we love Him.
May we always be mindful that what thou requires is our worthiness, our obedience, our committed effort, and our focus and wilt Thou help and assist us to serve with No Regrets!

Wilt Thou help us to "love one another as He has loved us"! Wilt Thou impress upon us to know how this can bless the work in countless ways. Also, in humility, wilt Thou give us a full awareness that to not love will do more to thwart the work than we can imagine. Therefore, wilt Thou assist us to set our wills aside for the work and to bless it with our love for one another.

May our pride be stripped away and replaced with humility. May we know that it is Thee that is hastening this great work and it is our special privilege to participate - to be set apart, consecrated, and dedicated at this wonderful time and in this very special place called the California Fresno Mission. May we keep pace! May we, like those in Lehi's dream, bow down and look up that we may partake freely of the fruit we so earnestly desire.

And may we know, here, now, and forever, that Thou art Lord God, that Thy Son Jesus Christ has redeemed us, and that we may be continually guided by the Holy Ghost to the honest seekers of truth prepared by Thee to receive the message of the gospel of salvation. May our hearts, our thoughts, our actions, our words, and our deeds indicate to Thee our desires to seek this blessing for this mission, with all of its wonderful Stakes, Wards, and Members, - the blessing of the Strength of 1,000!

With all the love and energy of my heart and soul.   President Clark 

President's Weekly - Mending Broken Fences

Mending Broken Fences

Dear Elders and Sisters;

I grew up on a farm where every spring I would be allowed to miss a day or two of school to mend the broken fences. The advent of spring would always manifest many broken places in the barbed wire of the fence as a result of the heavy winter snows. Left un-mended they wouldn't hold the cattle which needed to be put out to pasture for the summer from their winter grounds. Without a fence to protect and keep them on the right side of the fence, the cattle would quickly leave the green pastures for the greener fields of Alfalfa and fresh starts of Barley. Doing so would result in the cattle suffering cuts and perhaps getting caught in the fence unable to get free often suffering leg injuries beyond repair and/or death from the loss of blood. if they made their way to the fields of fresh Alfalfa and Barley, they would quickly eat too much, bloat, and die as a result if we didn't catch them in time. So, mending a few fences was always the wise thing to ensure safety for the cattle and as the same time allow the crops the time to grow and mature for the harvest.

Mending fences was always interesting to me in how simple it was. You merely brought the two broken ends of barbed wire together, made a loop with a wrap on each end and then spliced a small piece of mending wire between the two and stretched the now complete barbed wire strand. This way the two broken, yet useful pieces of barbed wire became valuable by being connected to one another. Then you just made sure it was properly stapled to the fence post and that all the posts were still firmly planted in the ground. The repaired fence then became the defining boundary that would keep the cattle where they should be, safe from harm and even death, and the crops were allowed to grow and mature until harvest time.

We have some broken fences in our mission and have lost some protections which are so vital to ensure safety and a bounteous harvest. Just a little mend here and there will undoubtedly put things back in order and ensure safety and a future harvest. We just need to "connect" some things together so there will be protection and safety as ell as a bounteous harvest. Currently, our boundaries are undefined, unsafe, and not able to protect. As a result, they put the harvest in great jeopardy.

The "Principle" of fence mending is that safety is ensured, boundaries are set and defined, all things are in their proper place, and growth and development of the herd and the crops are allowed to be fostered. That being said,
there are still rules that must be obeyed. The crops must be planted at the right time after the fields are properly plowed, tilled, and prepared. They must be watered and fertilized. They must be harvested at the right time and properly "put up" so they will provide for the long winter ahead. There are also rules that must be followed in regards to the cattle. They must be vaccinated, dehorned, protected from predators, and watched over. Time and energy must be devoted to both to ensure the desired results are obtained.

When we defined and highlighted the principles this mission has been living, we didn't do away with any of the rules that ensure safety and a bounteous harvest. In "Principle" we are "Preach My Gospel Missionaries" but in order to truly be so in practice we must follow the rules outlined in Preach My Gospel. For example, we must follow the daily schedule that promises "to help fulfill our purpose as a missionary and strengthen our testimony". One cannot turn "8:00 a.m. - Personal study; the Book of Mormon, other scriptures..." or "9:00 a.m. - Companion 'Study..." into a "principle of sorts" and determine it doesn't matter what time you start Personal or Companion Study. If it didn't matter what time you began, the Prophets who wrote this inspired work would not have put a time schedule in.

The point is that Principles are based on rules and experience. Based on experience, this mission has been very successful because it has striven to be Exactly Obedient. You cannot maintain you are exactly obedient to principles. There are too many levels of interpretation and variations of testimony. So, in order to be a CFM Missionary, you must be Exactly Obedient to the Rules that have blessed this mission for so long. The Principles are simply, and most valuably, the overview and guidance that drive your desire to live and be blessed by the rules. The Principles are the "why" and the Rules are the "how". Both must be followed.

So, I ask you; What are we Exactly Obedient to? We should be Exactly Obedient to the Rules found in the MHB and Preach My Gospel. We must be Exactly Obedient to the additional Rules found in the Resource Binder. All of these will be a blessing in our life, just as a strong fence, to ensure the harvest is achieved and is bountiful and a blessing to all.

We, as a Mission Leadership Council, have just completed the referencing of the Mission Culture to Preach My Gospel and the MHB. We, as a Mission Leadership Council, ask that each Missionary study this for 10 minutes a day until further notice. This means you should read the Principle then look up and read and study the references to the scriptures, Preach My Gospel, and the MHB. As one Zone stated, "Learn it! Love it! Trust it! Live it!" I think that is great advice! We also ask that you study the Policies, Financial & Housing, and Vehicles & Fleet sections in the Resource Binder for 5 minutes each day.

It has been revealed to me that there are two reasons we are struggling with poor results right now:
1. Lack of Exact Obedience which leads to a lack of worthiness, commitment, and focus! I fear many are currently serving in a manner they will regret.
2. Lack of Desire which leads to complacency, laziness, and indifference! This, at the end of the day, is a result of a lack of conversion to our Missionary Purpose.

I think our current situation relative to our goal and desire to reach the "Strength of 1,000" has us exactly where the Lord wants us. He wants us to step up, give more, be more diligent, more obedient. In fact, He wants us to be Exactly Obedient so we can learn what it takes to baptize 100 a month. We will then know how as well as know that we can do it if we give what it takes and rely on Him in faith. We must do this so we will be prepared to assist the Wards and Stakes next year in their baptism goals - which will undoubtedly be more than 1,000.

I know the Lord is Hastening His Work. I know we must do it in His way. I believe what he is asking of us is to give more and truly be Exactly Obedient so we may "harvest" the miracle of conversion - the Strength of 1,000. I have every faith this can be done. I know there are prepared people just waiting for "Worthy, Obedient, Committed, Focused Missionaries that serve with No Regrets! Let's show the Lord we are willing to do whatever He requires to keep pace with the Hastening of the Work.

With much love for and confidence in you,
President Clark

P.S. Please account to me that you have read this letter and will implement its requested behaviors.