Sister Clause

Hello my friends!

This week has been pretty great! There have been so many tender
mercies and miracles that have happened and it just reminds me of how
aware our Heavenly Father really is of us at every point in our lives!

We went on exchanges this week and it was so great! I even got to pet
two real life HUGE wolves! It was the coolest thing ever! I absolutely
love Sister Flake and I'm super grateful that I was able to be with
her!

We also did a lot of service in helping set up for this big Christmas
celebration that Kearney does! That was a lot of fun, cold, but fun!
Then we were able to be Mrs. Clause's helpers. That was an adventure!
I kept on wanting to call her Sister Clause, so that's kind of
awkward..  but hey that's okay!

We had some great lessons this week too! We have 4 NEW INVESTIGATORS!
It is literally such a miracle! We have been praying for more
investigators for a while and it was phenomenal! 3 of them are a cute
family that Sister Helmbold and Sister Littell found while we were on
exchanges. We just had a lesson with them on Saturday and it went
awesome! Remember that one girl who came out of her house and asked us
if we were the sister missionaries? Well we had a lesson with her
(Shelda) yesterday and we brought a couple youth from our ward,
Saleena our recent convert and also Camille! Their testimonies were so
powerful and it totally added to the lesson! And it got them super
excited about their missions! They are so cute! I am so proud of them!
Shelda is super excited to learn more! She is amazing!

Everyone needs to do the Christmas initiative #LIGHTtheWORLD! It is
absolutely amazing! We have been doing it and it just invites the
spirit so much more! So just do it! It's never to late to start!

I am so grateful for my Savior and this time that we have to celebrate
his birth! I love his perfect example that he is! I love that he loved
us so much that he suffered for each of us! His love is perfect! He
knows each of us perfectly and knows us individually! I know that He
lives and loves! I am so grateful for my Heavenly Father and how
merciful He is! He is so aware of us at every point in our lives! He
knows what's best for us, He loves us! He is NEVER far away! He wants
us to turn to Him. He wants to help us! I am so grateful for Him!

I hope you all have a great week! Don't forget to #LIGHTtheWORLD!

Love,
Sister Clark

I am the worst with remembering pictures!! *face palm
Huge wolves! They are a lot bigger than they Look! The one on the far
right is a Huskey, not a wolf haha.

Mrs. Clause helpers

Heart attacking a members home! Super fun but SUPER COLD!!

Let it Snow

Hello family and friends! 

It's probably really weird to see an email from me since it's not Monday. It's a long story, but I am actually home because of medical problems. I am so super sad that I couldn't stay in Missouri longer. In fact it was incredibly hard to get on the airplane! Sometimes we don't understand the end picture. We don't understand the "whys" but that is okay we don't need to! Even though sometimes it's super stressful and you just want to know every why. I am so grateful for the 3 months that I had to be able to serve my Heavenly Father and be my Savior Jesus Christ's representative! It was the hardest yet most amazing 3 months of my life so far! I learned more than I can even begin to explain! I met the most amazing people within the ward, the investigators, and especially the other Missionaries! Friendships that were created that will last for eternity! I miss my most amazing companion more than words can describe! She helped me more than I can ever begin to explain and I feel forever indebted to her! I am especially grateful for the relationship that was strengthened with my Savior and my Heavenly Father! Wow all I can really say about that is with out them, I couldn't have even made it as far as I did! I love them so much! The atonement in reality does help strengthen us and helps us feel of the comfort in knowing that we are never alone especially in times of trial! I love this gospel so much and feel so grateful and honored that I was able testify if it every day in Missouri! I read this poem and it was absolutely amazing! So I have to share it! I just know that Heavenly Father has a greater plan for everyone! He knows us so perfectly! We just have to trust in His will and more importantly His timing! Trials stink, they are not fun! It's hard to trust in His timing sometimes,  but they are there to help us get to know Him! He so desperately wants us to get to know Him and to rely on him. He loves us so much! Keep the faith, keep on trying, keep on praying, but more importantly keep on relying! He will be there to bear you up when you can't stand anymore! 

Wait

by Russell Kelfer

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;

Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.

I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate . . .

And the Master so gently said, "Wait."

“Wait? you say wait?" my indignant reply.

“Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!

Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?

By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word.

“My future and all to which I relate

Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to wait?

I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign,

Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.

“You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,

We need but to ask, and we shall receive.

And Lord I've been asking, and this is my cry:

I'm weary of asking! I need a reply."

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,

As my Master replied again, "Wait."

So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,

And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting for what?"

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . .

and He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.

I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.

I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.

"I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.

You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.

You'd not know the depth of my love for each saint.

You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.

"You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;

You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there.

You'd not know the joy of resting in Me

When darkness and silence are all you can see.

"You'd never experience the fullness of love

When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.

You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,

But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

"The glow of my comfort late into the night,

The faith that I give when you walk without sight.

The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask

From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

"You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,

What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.

Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,

But, oh, the loss, if you missed what I'm doing in you.

"So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see

That the greatest of gifts is to truly know me.

And though oft My answers seem terribly late,

My most precious answer of all is still . . . Wait."

Thank you all for your prayers and your support though out this AMAZING experience! I loved being a missionary and I miss it sooo much already! 

Love, 

Sister Marissa Clark 

Sent from my iPad

Missin Missouri

Hello family and friends! 

It's probably really weird to see an email from me since it's not Monday. It's a long story, but I am actually home because of medical problems. I am so super sad that I couldn't stay in Missouri longer. In fact it was incredibly hard to get on the airplane! Sometimes we don't understand the end picture. We don't understand the "whys" but that is okay we don't need to! Even though sometimes it's super stressful and you just want to know every why. I am so grateful for the 3 months that I had to be able to serve my Heavenly Father and be my Savior Jesus Christ's representative! It was the hardest yet most amazing 3 months of my life so far! I learned more than I can even begin to explain! I met the most amazing people within the ward, the investigators, and especially the other Missionaries! Friendships that were created that will last for eternity! I miss my most amazing companion more than words can describe! She helped me more than I can ever begin to explain and I feel forever indebted to her! I am especially grateful for the relationship that was strengthened with my Savior and my Heavenly Father! Wow all I can really say about that is with out them, I couldn't have even made it as far as I did! I love them so much! The atonement in reality does help strengthen us and helps us feel of the comfort in knowing that we are never alone especially in times of trial! I love this gospel so much and feel so grateful and honored that I was able testify if it every day in Missouri! I read this poem and it was absolutely amazing! So I have to share it! I just know that Heavenly Father has a greater plan for everyone! He knows us so perfectly! We just have to trust in His will and more importantly His timing! Trials stink, they are not fun! It's hard to trust in His timing sometimes,  but they are there to help us get to know Him! He so desperately wants us to get to know Him and to rely on him. He loves us so much! Keep the faith, keep on trying, keep on praying, but more importantly keep on relying! He will be there to bear you up when you can't stand anymore! 

Wait

by Russell Kelfer

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;

Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.

I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate . . .

And the Master so gently said, "Wait."

“Wait? you say wait?" my indignant reply.

“Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!

Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?

By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word.

“My future and all to which I relate

Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to wait?

I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign,

Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.

“You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,

We need but to ask, and we shall receive.

And Lord I've been asking, and this is my cry:

I'm weary of asking! I need a reply."

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,

As my Master replied again, "Wait."

So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,

And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting for what?"

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . .

and He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.

I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.

I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.

"I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.

You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.

You'd not know the depth of my love for each saint.

You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.

"You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;

You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there.

You'd not know the joy of resting in Me

When darkness and silence are all you can see.

"You'd never experience the fullness of love

When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.

You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,

But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

"The glow of my comfort late into the night,

The faith that I give when you walk without sight.

The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask

From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

"You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,

What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.

Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,

But, oh, the loss, if you missed what I'm doing in you.

"So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see

That the greatest of gifts is to truly know me.

And though oft My answers seem terribly late,

My most precious answer of all is still . . . Wait."

Thank you all for your prayers and your support though out this AMAZING experience! I loved being a missionary and I miss it sooo much already! 

Love, 

Sister Marissa Clark 

Sent from my iPad