Returned Missionaries come home again. June, July & August of 2016

There is nothing better than to see former missionaries visiting the mission doing so fantastic!  We love these missionaries - once a missionary always a missionary!

Elder Felipe Castenda with his wife Kimberly

Elder John Garbero

In one day, we had six missionaries visit us - BLESSINGS ALL AROUND!

Elder Kyron Craven, Elder Kevin Budding, Elder Dakota Davis

Elder Dylan Rector, Elder Spencer Reid, Elder James Parkin

President's Assistants:  Elders Speer and Olson, with Elder Jaxon Ombach

Elder Oliver Joyner and his wife Breanne

Sister Gabriela Ramos and her Aunt

Sisters Marion Clark and Mary Kate Johnson

Sister Courtney Wilkins

Sisters Megan Egbert and Ally Monson 

Elder Dallin Griffin, with his wife, Melissa and mom, Connie 
Connie was my roommate in college!
SMALL WORLD!

Sister Emily Smith

PRESIDENT'S WEEKLY - UNIT GOALS - A MATTER OF FAITH!

Unit Goals – A Matter of Faith!

Dear Elders and Sisters:

As we begin a new transfer we bid farewell to some wonderful missionaries, servants of our Heavenly Father, who have served with No Regrets and an undying love and devotion to the Savior, Jesus Christ.  Thank you Elders and Sisters for being such a wonderful example to the rest of us! 

I have been thinking lately, in fact it has been pressing upon me in great earnest, the unit goals of each Ward and Branch you are serving in.  At the beginning of this year a Ward Council convened in each of these units and prayerfully, under inspiration/revelation, set a baptismal goal for the year.  I am sure as they did careful consideration was given to the strength of the Missionaries and the willingness of the Members to participate in the hastening of the work.  I believe their goals are inspired!  We now sit deep in the year with many of these unit goals short of achievement for the year.  It is time to put our faith and good works into full effect!  We must do all that is possible, all that is necessary to own and accomplish these unit goals!  Now is the time to exercise great faith!!!

As you work this week, next week, this month, and in the coming months, i simply encourage you to have the faith to Find the honest in heart, Teach repentance like you've never taught it before, and Baptize converts who will strengthen these Wards and Branches where you are serving.  I know with God's help we will be able to do this!

Now seeking God's help in all of this will be a matter of faith, obedience and diligence.  It will take great sacrifice and especially the sacrifice of our wills, putting His will ahead of ours.  That means we will do all things the spirit requires of us and in order to know what that is, we will need to be exactly obedient to qualify for this knowledge and these miracles.  So, exercise great faith unto diligence on a bedrock foundation of exact obedience and help these units achieve what they felt inspired to set as a baptismal goal.  I know we can do this!  It is the ultimate exercise in achieving MORE!!!!

With much love and shared confidence that this will be done,

President Clark

PRESIDENT'S WEEKLY - Give MORE to get MORE!

Give MORE to get MORE!

Dear Elders and Sisters:

It has been a pleasure to sit with you in interviews these last few weeks (Fresno North and Fresno Zones you are not forgotten and we will see you this week)!  Here's what we've heard that I share here to be helpful and instructive to the great CFM in your quest to obtain "MORE"!

In the category of "Giving MORE to Get MORE":

"I am studying PMG to better know what I should be accountable for so I can be MORE obedient."

"I have decided if I am going to live my mission in a great crescendo it is simply 'bump day' rather than 'hump day'.  A 'hump day' denotes a decline.  I want to keep going up and getting MORE."

"My companion and I have dedicated ourselves to being very certain we truly have a NI before we define them as such.  We just want to find MORE so we will baptize MORE."

"My companion and I have decided if we will role play MORE we will baptize MORE."

"My companion and I reviewed the 'Elder Dress & Grooming' website and I bought new ties, recognizing my Penguin ties were not in compliance with what the Brethren desired.  I am willing to give them up to get MORE!"

"My companion and I reviewed the 'Elder Dress & Grooming' website and bought new pants and sent my tight fitting, Tilly pants home, recognizing they were not in compliance with what the Brethren wanted.  It is easy to give them up to get MORE!"

"My companion and I have rededicated ourselves to ALWAYS ASKING 'Who do you know?' and 'Who else do you know?' with every person so we can find MORE, teach MORE, and baptize MORE!"

"I felt prompted to read President Benson's talk on Pride.  I have determined I still must work on eliminating pride.  I just want to eliminate pride so I can be MORE humble."

"My companion and I decided if we will follow Sister Clark's training and become better planners, we will baptize MORE!"

I think it is clear that these Missionaries will be getting MORE!!! 

And for those of you who received little or no candy in the exercise with Sister Clark during interviews, please repent so you can get MORE!  I’ll bet you never thought candy would be a barometer of your obedience but it was and is.  Please learn and obey all the rules so you can obtain MORE!!!!

We just want you to have MORE!  We know it is available to you but you will have to give something for it - MORE obedience, MORE focus, MORE dedication and diligence, and MORE faith.  And sometimes less is MORE - less gossip and sarcasm will yield MORE love and charity; less idleness and "doing time" will yield MORE productivity; less focus on self and MORE focus on others will yield MORE love and charity: less time with active Members will yield MORE time to Find, Teach and Baptize; less fear of OYM will yield MORE contacts and MORE finding! 

We love you MORE than you can ever know!

President Clark

PRESIDENT'S WEEKLY - You Get What You Go For! Go For More!

You Get What You Go For!  Go For More!

Dear Elders and Sisters:

Sister Clark and I feel so blessed to have been with you this past week in our Zone Conference.  We are so appreciative of the wonderful teachings and instruction provided and we offer our thanks to the Assistants and Fresno North Zone Leaders for their preparation and insightful teachings.  We trust you could feel the convincing theme of desiring and seeking for "More".  I think the Assistants did an especially great job of teaching this.  I also think the last several Zone Conferences and Specialized Trainings have been setting this up.  I offer a few insights from my inventory of insights gained.

Repenting and changing bestows an endowment of great power, and we do need an endowment of power to be able to do this great work.  Repenting on an ongoing basis is the Lord's divine design to help us arrive home clean, pure, and worthy to be in His presence - in other words, Celestially prepared.

We are doing a great work and must not come down.  We must be very careful not to come down in any way but rather to go up to higher ground.  Gossip, rumors, idle talk, and a lack of focus, diligence and obedience are forms of self-administered "poison by degrees" and must be eliminated.

Accessing and harnessing the enabling powers of the Atonement allows us to do and be far more than we can on our own.  This work requires we "Rise Up" to a higher call and "Go and Do" that which is very, very hard - and this can only be accomplished with "Heaven's Help" through His Atonement.  Accessing the enabling powers of the Atonement is not the absence of a load or burden to carry but the "traction" we obtain to carry such loads and burdens. Doing so helps us build a stronger, Christ-like character.

Failing to plan is planning to fail.  It is the universal week point in most of us and we have been blessed with great insights from the Apostles and Prophets helping us do this in great faith to be able to accomplish HIs will and HIs work His way.  Set goals and make plans is a divine order and requires great faith.  Exercising faith and living true principles builds character.

The Atonement offers the blessing of repentance and the ordinances, all designed to change us and prepare us to live with God.  The Savior's mercy allows us to live in His and the Father's presence again..."after all we can do" (repent and make and keep sacred covenants through the Atonement).  As Lehi said: "Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth..."  This is your message and without you, they won't have access to the Atonement. 

More is there for the taking.  We just need to set our sights higher, much higher and achieve more. I know of an account from President Packer's life when he was serving as a Mission President.  They needed a real estate attorney for a complex land deal the Church was doing.  He gathered his missionaries together and told them to go find and baptize a real estate attorney.  He told them; "You will get what you go for!"  About a month later two of his Elders called and asked; "What are you doing on Saturday night, President?".  He answered; "Why?"  They told him they were baptizing a real estate attorney.  You do get what you go for!

On my mission, our Mission President was constantly telling us we needed to find the family with the father who could serve as a Branch President and Bishop.  That's what we went for - families and we baptized a lot of families.  I am with President Packer and truly believe you get what you go for! And there is so much More for us to get!  Let's go for it!  Let's Go For More!!

With much love and appreciation for all you are doing,

President Clark

Zone Conferences - July 26,27,28, 2016

Hanford, Visalia, Porterville Zones

July 28, 2016

Unfortunately, I am not able to post the group picture for these zones.  So sorry.

Departing Missionary Testimonies . . .

Left to Right:  Sisters Corbridge and Putnam
Elders Anderson and Allred

Fresno, Fresno East, Fresno North Zones

July 27, 2016

Back Row, Left to Right:  Elders Carnahan, Poulsen, Lee, Knapton, Bagley, Rust, Flores, Wilson, Smith, Thornton, Oliphant, Vawdrey, Stojka, Van Vleet, Blume, Smith, Peterson, Schmid, Ford, Mendez, Austin, Mountford
Middle Row, Left to Right: Elders Olsen, Ordonez, Agazzani, Biggs, Arroyo, Tongish, Checketts, Gray, Russell, Smith, Beck, Halliday, Gollner, Bradshaw, Baconawa, Hibbert, Speer
Front Row, Left to Right: Sisters Besser, Frazier, Johnson, Willmore, Wadham, Sister and Elder Beutler, President and Sister Clark, Sisters Kakuschke, Tyler, Jones, White, Murray, White. Baldwin, Bangerter

Departing Missionary Testimonies . . .

Top, Left to Right:  Sisters White and  Kakuschke, Elder Bradshaw
Bottom Row:  Elders Beck and Checketts

Merced and Fresno West Zones

July 26, 2016

Back Row, Left to Right:  Elders Pace, Ikimau, Corless, Rogers, Quinn, Toombs, Harolds, Hopkins, Herman, Frei, Mederos, Cummings, Bennett, Talbot
Middle Row, Left to Right:  Watts, Burke, Valenzuela, Morales, Flores, Frame, Richardson, Mora, Eliason, Rushton, Vargas, Rearte, Perkins, Kennick, Belmont
Front Row, Left to Right: Elders Speer, Vastbinder, Carnahan, Sisters Plummer, Dowdle, Troseth, President & Sister Clark, Sisters Maxwell, Jeppesen, Windham, Elders Knapton, Carlson, Olsen

Departing Missionary Testimonies . . .

Top to Bottom, Left to Right:  Elders Eliason, Mora, Frame
Elders Pace, Carlson, Harolds