Incoming Missionaries 9-2016

Finally, a large transfer!  We have been waiting for a meaningful net increase of missionaries and here it is!  It's so nice to have such a large group in.  Three Missionaries returned home and in exchange we received 20 new Missionaries.  And they are great!  Immediately below there are pictures with their trainers and the rest of the pictures simply show how much fun it is to begin a Mission in the California Fresno Mission!  President and Sister Clark are feeling so blessed to have them and we know they will be a great blessing to this mission.  

Back Row, Left to Right: Elders Olsen, Meteors, Hopkins, Blume, Tawdry, Rearte, Ordonez, Bagley, Morrison, Kauai, Speer 

3rd Row, Left to Right: Sisters Blocker, Jordan, Larsen, Tompkins, Elders Lillywhite, White, Stegelmeier, Schaff, Sisters Whitney, Jeffries, Jones, Kokol

2nd Row, Left to Right: Sisters Wadham, Balls, Gough, Bermudez, Anderson Ewell, 

Dowdle, Miller

Front Row, Left to Right: Elders Warren, Edwards, Davis, Derbidge, Lopez, Perez, Fischer, Anderson, Mendez, LaMay, Jones

Left to Right:  Sisters Elwell & Anderson, Sisters Wadam & Balls

Top Row, Left to Right: Elders Bagley & LaMay, Elders Mendez & Schaff
Middle Row, Left to Right: Elders Vawdrey & Stegelmeier, Elders Lillywhite & Warren
Bottom Row, Left to Right: Elders Meteros & White, Elders Hopkins & Edwards

Top Row, Left to Right: Elders Lopez & Derbidge, Elders Perez & Fischer
Middle Row, Left to Right: Elders Rearte & Jones, Elders Ordonez & Kauai
Bottom Row, Left to Right: Elders Perez & Fischer, Elders Blume & Davis

Top Row, Left to Right: Sisters Jones & Kokol, Elders Morrison & Anderson
Middle Row, Left to Right: Sisters Blocker & Tompkins, Sisters Jefferies & Whitney
Bottom Row, Left to Right: Sisters Dowdle & Miller, Sisters Bermudez & Gough

Fresno Yosemite Airport

President's Weekly - A General Conference Pattern

A General Conference Pattern

Dear Elders and Sisters:

It was truly a spiritually uplifting weekend to sit at the feet of Apostles and Prophets and hear the "pleasing word of God".  From King Benjamin to now, the Lord has blessed His Saints with the marvelous blessing of conferences.  Even in King Benjamin's time they "caused that the words he spake should be written and sent forth....that [all] might receive his words."  Today the Prophets "cause" the same and even as early as this morning you can find General Conference talks on the internet.  In a few weeks you will receive your personal copy of the Ensign with these talks in order to have the "pleasing word of God" with you "always". 

I encourage you to set a General Conference pattern for your life.  I know there are talks that are really resonating with you spiritually from yesterday.  Talks that really "spoke" to you.  Talks that had messages and answers to questions you were asking.  All the words spoken, especially by the Twelve, are the voice of God.  Don't let them dim and fade away!  Study them!  Set a General Conference pattern to bless the rest of your life.  Plan now to review all the talks between now and the next General Conference and to do so multiple times and each and every week between now and then.  It's easy to be excited for the next few weeks or even months, but please sustain this focus on the word of God through His prophets each and every week!  There are 26 weeks between conferences.  In any General Conference there are at least 16 to 18 talks from the Prophets.  I try to study/review each one twice by tackling one to two each and every week between now and April. It really helps me get their instruction, revelation, and encouragement deeper into my heart. I also make sure I review each of the rest of the talks at least once.  And I try to do this each and every week so that it is a pattern for life that blesses each week of my life.  I encourage you to do the same.

We had a marvelous MLC on Friday and under inspiration set Zone Goals.  You Zone Leaders will communicate your Zone Goal to you, likely today.  The summation of all the Zone Goals is 70.  I know we can reach this during October and trust you can feel the same spirit as you read this.  Each baptism takes a bite out of the unit goals.  Each baptism takes a bite out of this Zone Goal.  In order to be a high baptizing mission, you have to have a lot of high baptizing missionaries who constantly live their purpose in great faith, diligence and exact obedience.  I know we have that kind of a mission so simply encourage you to get to work and give God reasons to bless you and send miracles as a result of your exact obedience.

With much love and gratitude for who you are and what you are doing!

President Clark

MLC 9-30-2016

Another great MLC.  The leaders of this mission are fantastic, we are so blessed to know them!

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Tranfer Hub 9-2016

Departing Missionaries - 9-2016

Three Wonderful missionaries are departing this transfer, we are so appreciative of their valiant service!  We had the opportunity to go to the temple with them, enjoy a session and listen to an inspirational message from President Crane and his wife.

Elder Oliphant, Elder Petersen, President & Sister Clark, Elder Roberts

Elder Oliphant

Elder Roberts

Elder Petersen

The night before these great Elders go home, we have them to dinner at our home and then have wonderful testimony meeting and our very last "Words of Wisdom" for these fine Elders.

President's Weekly - Faith: A Living Part of Who We Are!

Faith: A Living Part of Who We Are!

Dear Elders and Sisters:

I was blessed to interview an investigator last evening and witness what happens when Missionaries teach someone how to develop faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement.  It simply leads them to make better, more correct decisions and ultimately leads them to live correct principles.  An increase of faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement prepares people to make and keep sacred covenants, beginning with the covenant of baptism. 

After this good Sister opened with prayer, I knew she was prepared to be baptized.  It was clear in her pray that she knew God was her loving Heavenly Father and that Jesus Christ, His Son, is her Savior and Redeemer.  It was clear from her prayer that she had a testimony of Joseph Smith as a Prophet and the Book of Mormon as the Word of God.  It was clear she had developed sufficient faith to live the commandments and follow the Lord, Jesus Christ.  It was clear to me that faith in Jesus Christ is now a living part of who she is.

As we talked, it became more obvious that she, like Lehi and his family, was about to leave an old life behind and motivated by faith press forward and allow the Lord God to take her to a better place.   A place where she will prosper by living the gospel and doing so will bless and prosper her.  It was clear that she was excited to be baptized and receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  But she is not doing this as an "initiation" into the Church but as an evidence of her faith in Jesus Christ and her willingness to follow His perfect example.  As a result of her faith, she will follow, she will learn, she will grow, she will develop and she will "become" a Saint!

Elder Richard G. Scott taught: "...concepts like faith, prayer, love, and humility hold no great significance and produce no miracles until they become a living part of the individual through his or her own experience, aided by the sweet promptings of he Spirit." 

My desire is these principles, especially faith, become a living part of you through your own experience as a Missionary, aided by the Spirit and that you will desire this and help foster this with your Investigators.  As you do, their faith in Jesus Christ will motivate and teach them to take action, including and especially the action of baptism.

With much love and appreciation for all you are doing,

President Clark

PRESIDENT'S WEEKLY - Faith is a Power!

Faith is a Power!

Dear Elders and Sisters:

Each of your letters from me this week began with: "I just want to start by letting you know how great it was to be with you in Specialized Training this week and I trust you can observe how dedicated I am to helping you develop greater faith in the work and greater faith in achieving Zone and Unit goals this year.  I know you are the kind of missionary who will plant the seed of faith, receive the initial endowment of faith through the spirit and then get to work and give the Lord a reason to bless you."'

I do this because it is the message I want each of you to hear, to know, to feel, and to live!  I have felt such peace in teaching it and feel so aligned with our culture, the culture we seek to adopt from "Teach Repentance and Baptize Converts".  I know this is what the Quorum of the Twelve desire of us and testify it is their work we are participating with them in.  And I have already heard from so many of you how focusing on and exercising greater faith in the work is blessing you, your area, and your ministry. 

I know we are called of God and desire to live our Missionary Purpose!  And I know we will better be able to do so as we seek to increase our faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement as well as help investigators develop the same - Faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement...unto Repentance, yielding a desire to be baptized!  My heart brims with excitement as I even write about it.  The entire world simply needs to increase their faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement.  It is the cure for what ails everyone in this world.  It is the greatest message and if you'll help them understand this, baptisms will increase for they will desire to repent and be forgiven of their sins for they will want to "Come and Follow" Him. 

This is so absolutely real!  Only in His Church, the true and living Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints can one truly "Come unto Him".  But it will take faith!  Faith to begin that walk with Him!  Faith to come and see!  Faith to know "he is mighty to save"!  Help them plant this seed of faith and receive through the spirit the initial confirmation it is a true seed (Alma 32:28).  Then help them nurture it through their good works - asking, seeking, and knocking.  This pattern is so simple and it is so real!!!

Elder Christofferson teaches in his great talk "Free Forever to Act For Themselves" that we need to simply "Go to work so there is something for God to help us with."  You hear me say this often.  But we need to work in the right ways.  We need to seek to achieve things rather than just do things.  Good is the enemy of Great!  Preach My Gospel says: “Goal setting and planning are acts of faith. . . . Goals reflect the desires of our hearts and our vision of what we can accomplish.  Through goals and plans, our hopes are transformed into action.” 

“Set goals for each key indicator. . . . Do everything within your power to achieve your goals while respecting the agency of others. . . . Carefully considered goals will give you clear direction and will help you fill your days with activities that help people strengthen their faith in the Savior and progress toward baptism, confirmation, and full activity in the Church.  Challenging goals will help you work effectively and lead you to stretch and grow.”  (PMG)

I am confident (based on seeds of faith I have planted) that our increased faith coupled with the appropriate good works manifested in our finding, teaching repentance, and baptizing converts will help us advance from 30 to 60 baptisms per month. The energy and faith to find those who will listen will come alive, and repentance and conversion will follow.

I have planted seeds of faith in two things: 1. Zone Goals, and 2. Unit Goals.  And I have received, through the spirit, the confirmation they are good seeds.  I am now working to nurture them through good works and can already see how they are developing into a mighty tree.  I promise you that as you do the same (and you'll need to do this each month in regards to your Zone Goals and in each new area you may be transferred to), you will "know" they are good seeds.  And then simply go to work doing the right things and give God a reason to bless you!  In this manner you will nurture these seeds by planning and working in the right way which will serve to create and provide more faith. 

His promise is that He will bless you and while people do have their free-agency to choose, i know that where faith is present coupled with appropriate good works, faith increases.  And as Elder Anderson taught us: "There is a spiritual force that can stir a mortal soul toward the spiritual, motivating deeper study into the Book of Mormon and more prayer with real intent. Faith is a power, and it can cause things to happen that need to happen. It can cause a soul who is good but dormant to awaken to God."

With much love and heartfelt prayers of faith,

President Clark