Week 79 - Still in Summer Hill

Well, transfers have come and gone, and surprisingly, Elder Jordan has been transferred. He's going up to Eastwood to open up a new Korean-speaking area. I'm so glad that he'll get such a great opportunity to speak Korean. I was definitely surprised to be staying in Summer Hill, but I'm really glad to be here for another transfer. My new companion is named Elder Ruru. He's from Melbourne, and I've been in the same zone as him before, so we know each other a bit. I'm excited to work with him.

This week has been full of great experiences. One of the great experiences we had was on Friday when we were on trade-off with the traveling elders. We had so many unusual things happen, from meeting former investigators from years ago, to finding new Korean investigators. We were able to accomplish so much in just one day. We invited many people to Invitation Sunday, and while none of them came, we were so glad to have been a part of it. I think that the greatest thing I learned was that there is so much joy in just inviting people to come unto Christ. When you serve others like Christ would, you are blessed, regardless of the outcome. Honestly, I'm just happy. Happy that Heavenly Father sees the work that we do and blesses us for it.

Elder Jordan and I were teaching the restoration to a new investigator this week. The lesson was a bit bumpy at the beginning, but as it went on, it got better and he commited to be baptized when he learns what we teach is true. Looking back on the lesson, I think the moment that it shifted from an average to an extraordinary lesson was when we started focusing on really having the spirit there. From then on, the spirit was there, our teaching improved, and our investigator's comprehension of what we taught became much better. I've learned it before and I've learned it again, without the spirit, we cannot teach, but with the spirit, we can be so much more than just teachers, we can be missionaries.

I have felt love from each of my companions at some point. Feeling that love gives me confidence, and so I have so much more desire to be the companion they deserve. One specific instance was on Sunday as I was saying good-bye to Elder Jordan. I could feel the love that he has for me, and I hope he could feel the love I have for him. It's been such an amazing experience training him, and I have complete confidence in him as a missionary and as a disciple of Christ. He's going to be a great missionary.

Preach My Gospel Chapter 8 has been a chapter that I has taken a long time for me to really apply to myself, but I'm glad for the progress that has been made in the last year and a half. My time management skills have gotten so much better.

Now we'll read chapter 9. Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Clark