Hey Everyone,
Thanks so much for all of your emails and letters this week. They mean so much to me, and always come at the perfect time. Although we do meet many people who are interested in the gospel, there are also many who don't want anything to do with us, and they let us know. So thank-you so much for your wonderful letters and emails, they've sure helped cheer me up during the hard times. I have had many incredible experiences that definitely outweigh the difficult experiences. Mission work is not easy, but after several no's, the yes's are such a wonderful blessing. I've realized how much I need Heavenly Father, and that this is his work, and all I can do is my best, and then I need to leave the rest to him. I've realized in life that even if we serve and others don't appreciate what you do, the Lord still appreciates your service, and in the end it is him that we are serving.
I'm so glad to hear about all the fun things you are doing! Park City, Family Parties, Back to school shopping, how fun! I'm sorry to hear Michael and Andrew aren't doing so well though... I'll keep them in my prayers.. Yeah, hopefully the doctors will find a solution for Michael, allergies are the worst... I can't believe everyone is going to be starting school here so soon! So, did Michael end up deciding on going to Kaysville or is he going back to Jefferson Academy? This is the milestone year, Rachel is a senior, and Michael is going to be in 6th grade, Josh is more than half way through with junior high, and Andrew is almost three, where has the time gone?
Okay, so I have some funny stories that I think might give you all a good laugh. So my companion Sister Knowlton is such a great missionary, she even teaches lessons in her sleep at 3a.m. the other night I woke up to her talking in her sleep teaching the restoration haha. There is never a dull moment, she always keeps me laughing. So I thought I'd share some of her great jokes with you!
~ A set of identical twins were born in Mexico, and their mom wasn't able to take care of them so she gave them up for adoption. The two twins were named Juan and Jamal (pronounced Ha-Mall). The woman who adopted Juan was sitting in her living room flipping through Juan's scrapbook, she called in her husband to talk. She said, "Oh, honey, I really wish we could see a picture of Juan's twin Jamal..." Her husband replied, "Well if you've seen Juan, you've seen Jamal."
~ Do you get it? Pretty funny right? Haha :)
That's so neat a new family just moved in! What a great missionary opportunity, I never realized how important member missionaries were until now. After working with the ward council and ward missionaries, it's so neat to see how loved a family feels when they are welcomed by the ward. As missionaries we always hope the ward will give our investigators a warm welcome. The other day I tried to put myself in the shoes of a new investigator coming in to church for the first time, not knowing what to expect, and then having people just warmly welcome me. I feel that that's what Christ would do if he were there at church is make sure they felt loved and had friends. When I get back home I want to be a much better member missionary, I've come to realize that members are just as important, or maybe even more important than the missionaries. So what a neat opportunity! Friendship can seriously change lives, that's one of the most incredible lessons I've learned is how much we can bless and influence others lives because we have the light of Christ within us, and others can see that and they want that in their lives.
Well, this week has been incredible! We met a man named Warren while we were out riding our bikes. He was carrying his groceries back to his apartment, and we asked if we could walk with him and he gladly but hesitantly agreed. As we talked with him, we learned that he had dealt with liver cancer for the past two years, and he said it had made him stronger and had made him think more about God and what would happen after this life. It was a pretty quiet walk, yet right when we started talking about The Restoration, suddenly a wave of loud noises came through! An ice-cream man drove by, a huge loud group of children came by on bikes, and 3 other cars passed. It hit me that the adversary knew how much this message could help and bless Warren's life. We asked if we could walk with him to his apartment, and a few moments later the loud noise died down. As we told him about Joseph Smith, and that God restored his church through Joseph, there was a light that came to his eyes. As Sister Knowlton got out a Book of Mormon, his interested had been sparked. He looked longingly at the book, and we told him it was the guide to finding peace in his life at that it was a book that could help him feel God's love more strongly than ever in his life. It is so incredibly that the Book of Mormon constantly talks of the Atonement, and how those in the Book of Mormon use the Atonement. So many people don't understand that using the Atonement is God's greatest gift to us. As we told him of this and gave him a Book of Mormon, he thanked us very sincerely. I felt so happy being able to share this with him. He'd been re-searching many religions, and doesn't belong to a particular denomination. We gave him our number, so we are praying that his interest will be kindled, and that he'll want to know more, so keep Warren in your prayers...
Another incredible experience, was teaching Barry and Lori White about the Book of Mormon, and the Restoration. The lesson went wonderfully, and I felt the spirit so strong! I felt the words they needed to hear flow through me. After we were done teaching I knew we had had divine help during that lesson. It's amazing, I have learned so much about relying on the Lord... I know we couldn't do this work without his help.
Also, yesterday we met a very devout Catholic woman. We just started talking to her and her husband in Casual conversation and knew we couldn't help them much because they were so set in their ways. Then I felt inspired to ask her if she'd done much of her family history. She said she hadn't done much and would love to learn more. I felt the spirit so strongly and we gave her a pass-a-long card with the address to the family history center. If it weren't for the spirit, I wouldn't have known that family history would have touched her heart in that way. I felt that maybe as we were talking about family history, her ancestors could have been there with us touching her heart. That thought came to my mind as we were speaking with her.
So, just a thought I feel I should share this week... My perspective on the scriptures has changed so much! I heard the other day in our zone conference that as we read the scriptures and gain new insights that it's you that changes, not the scriptures. As we grow, we gain can learn more in depth. It's crazy, I've known these things my whole life... but as I've studied I feel I'm learning these concepts for the first time, I'm just understanding how important they really are. As I learn more about the What, and the Why of the commandments, and the incredible blessings that come... I've become emotional realizing that the commandments are given to us as loving guidelines, and there is always an incredible blessing for every commandment we keep... So my perspective on the mission rules has changed so much...
Anyway, It's fun to hear from all of you! I love you all so much, and miss you!
Love,
Sarah
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| MTC District |
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| Sarah at the Provo Temple with her 2 MTC mission companions, Sister Gifford and Sister Richardson- the Elders in their District called them the Tri-force. |
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| Sister Sarah Clark & Sister Kylee Mahlstede at the Provo Temple July 2013 |
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| Sister Knowlton & Sarah in Veradale, Washington in Spokane Valley |
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| Sarah's Washington District- August 2013 |
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