480 Bound

 This is it. Wow. The final email you will receive from me before I am back in the 480. Our preparation day the past week consisted of a lot of sports with other elders. We ran pickleball, basketball, and Frisbee golf. The UV was 9 and you can expect where we were. The one thing I am not going to miss is the smell of elders. I am also really excited to be able to light my own candles in my apartment. 

Wednesday I decided to go through all my ties and give out the ones I won't bring home to the members here. I signed all of them and then went to the church to hand them out to some of the youth and adults during their activties. It was a good amount. We are cleaning house! On Sunday, all of the pimple I gave ties to, both youth and adults wore them to church. We got a picture and they all thought it was awesome they got a, "Clouse tie."

Thursday was my last exchange. Elder Nathan Bohn came to South Haven with me. He has been out about 9 months. He is a Spanish missionary. Nothing crazy happened. It was a chill day full of missionary work.

Friday night was relieving since we had a game night planned as a goodbye party for me. We brought some of our friends and played a handful of games. It was fun. Saturday on the other hand was a grind. The majority of our lessons fell through and it was just all finding. It was so tough. It made me never want to proselyte on another Saturday again. 

Mayra has been going all out for us since I am leaving. She has made us chicken parmesan for dinner. She has supplied us with a blueberry buckle cake, breakfast cookies, pb cookies, chicken pot pies, peanut butter cookies, and a strawberry shortcake. I have no idea why she willingly does that, but it is remarkable. She always delivers. 

The last couple days of the mission will look something like this. Tuesday, I will go about it as a normal missionary day. It will be the last day I proselyte as a full time missionary in my life. The following day is transfer day. I will get my belongings early in the morning to the transfer van. I will ride the van until Lansing. I will then get off and do all my departing activities with the other missionaries going home. This consists of dinner, departing interviews, and a fireside. It will be a very relaxing day. Then as you all know you will see me in person on Thursday. 

As I conclude this email, I express deep gratitude that I chose to served a mission for Jesus Christ. I am so excited to see all of you. I am ready to move onto the next step in my life, but I will be eternally grateful for the things I learned. I will be reporting about my mission experience this Sunday. As I return home to Arizona I now know for myself that the Savior lives and He is at the head of His church. God be with you all until we meet again.

Love,

Elder Luke Ryan Clouse

29 Days

 Once you are reading this, I have one more email left to send home before I am released as a missionary. Preparation day was one to remember. For memorial day, we decided to do a cookout at the Lakes. We ran some pickleball, spikeball, cornhole, and monopoly deal. We definitely got our UV that day. Elder Woolsey, if you are reading this, I 1v1ed Elder Stevens in pickleball and beat him 5-0. We then ended our memorial day at another cookout with members. It was last holiday as a missionary. 

One week ago we invited Mayra to teach us the message of the restoration. We sent her to preach my gospel and she was in charge of studying and then doing a practice teach to us. She studied for 8 HOURS. She literally stayed up until 2am so she can make sure she knew all the information and could teach it. She definitely delivered during our lesson on Tuesday. She has been so prepared by the Lord for this time. 

Wednesday was our outdoor zone conference. It was sad to hear that this was my final one. This was my third outdoor one which was really cool. We went on this 2 mile hike that was pretty steep, it was the most elevation I have went up the whole time being in Michigan haha. It was 90 degrees and sunny. Beautiful day for a final zone conference. I can report that everyone was very stinky by the end of it. 

We met a new friend this week named Theresa. We pulled up to her home and she introduced herself as,"the black widow." We were so dead. The reason she said that is because she has outlived three husband's and she's black. She is really willing to study out the message of the restoration and act in faith. She is just the sweetest lady and I had to bring her up. 

Friday was interesting. It was the longest day ever and I do not want to relive it again. My allergies have been acting up and it almost has been a hindrance to the work. All I want to put about this day is I am glad I do not have to relive it again. 

It happened. Saturday, Mayra Calvillo was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The turn out was phenomenal. We had around 40 people attend the baptism. She felt so loved. GUYS, I do not think you realize how insane that is. There have been weeks that I've been here that there were not even 40 people at church on Sunday. About an hour before her baptism, Mayra pulled up to the church building and she made us dinner. She made homemade Mexican Spaghetti, horchata, and to top it off she decided to make us cinnamon rolls. We are so spoiled. Mayra was found, taught, and baptized in 29 days. She spoke with us that she is thinking about preparing to serve a mission. What a glorious day it was in South Haven. The first convert baptism in 2.5 years. The Lord provides!

Fast sunday is always brutal, but we did it. My last one as a missionary. I have one more email left. This upcoming week is my final week as a missionary. That is surreal. I am not going to lie to everyone, I baptized Mayra and I feel like that's why I was sent to South Haven. It is going to be a long difficult week for me to be diligent for the Lord. I know I will do it. Additional prayers are always appreciated.

I shared this thought at Mayra's baptism. This is from President Nelson,"Once we make a covenant with God, we leave neutral ground forever. God will not abandon His relationship with those who have forged such a bond with Him. In fact, all those who have made a covenant with God have access to a special kind of love and mercy." The ability to make covenants with God is mind boggling. We have access to a special kind of love and mercy. Talk to you next week. 

I am Exhausted

 Time is running out. That is so sad, exciting, depressing, and scary. All of the above. This week we went out to this super nice resort to play disc golf. It was a 2 mile course and we probably walked about 3-4 miles that day. We payed 10 bucks and it took us about 4 hours. It was really fun except for the fact on Wednesday we heard that Elder Avery had three ticks on him. This terrified me because 1. I was with him on Monday and 2. I literally was shirtless the whole time because I was trying to tan. As of right now I am chilling, everything seems to feel like a tick now. 

Wednesday was full of activities. It was the last district council with Elder and Sister Lake with us. They are returning to Utah since they are competing their 18 month mission. We had a two hour meeting with them following the district council to gather together all of our new information to update the branch list. Afterwards, they invited us to go back to Los Ranchos and eat lunch with them. This time I took a photo of the masterpiece (you'll understand when you see the photo). There is something about good mexican food that is unbeatable. For the remainder of the day, we participated in two service projects one was helping a widow out and the other being installing drywall in a shipping container. In the middle of the day we had an amazing lesson with the Mitts family. We found Hailey on Facebook about a transfer back and now we are teaching her two kids, her mother, and her boyfriend. 

This week we had district leader exchanges. I was with Elder Avery who is actually from Queen Creek and he went to Queen Creek High School. We were trying to figure out if we knew the same people. We brought up how i used to do olympic weightlifting and he's like,"some small asian kid at my school was insane at that." I am like,"THAT was Dylan bro." I pulled up a photo and confirmed that we were talking about the same person. I found that so funny. Elder Avery came into South Haven for the day. We have been doing a lot of service in this area as well. I get along really well with him. It was a good exchange. 

Saturday was Mayra's birthday. She turned 20 so we ended up doing a game night at the church with a bunch of members. It honestly turned out really good. About 20 people showed up and we played a handful of different card/strategy games. Mayra also had her baptismal interview this week and she passed! Woo-hoo. Her baptism is scheduled for Saturday, June 3rd at 6pm. We are so excited for her. She is literally a cheat code. I wish I could explain how elect this girl is. Here is an example. We asked her the question,"what do you think enduring to the end is?" Her response was this,"enduring to the end means remaining faithful to the end of our lives while partaking of the sacrament weekly to renew the covenants we make with God." We feel like she is already a member. There is also a chance she might serve a mission.

As I am concluding the end of the mission, it is honestly really hard to stay focused. I am going to be honest. It seems that Satan is working so hard against me to be more casual, relaxed, or satisfied. What has helped me the most in relying on God through prayer. Everyone, I am exhausted from this mission experience. Once I finish, I know I won't be able to go another day. That's the honest truth. In the gospel topic of prayer it states,"At times, Heavenly Father will counsel, guide, or comfort us while we are on our knees." I know the Lord hears and answers our prayers. I wished I knew how to understand and apply the principle of revelation earlier in my life. I never paused, listened, or even waited in my prayers to receive revelation. Heavenly Father does guide. He will counsel. I know for a fact that He comforts us. 

Time is running out. Two more emails and I am home. Love you all. 

From,

Elder Clouse

With A Splash

 Our preparation days in South Haven have gotten better. The Benton Harbor elders drove over and we decided to go run a course of 18 for Frisbee golf. I have never thrown any Frisbee discs before so it was very new. Who knew that I was so nice with it. We ran teams of two and we shot like 4 over through 18. We also played a handful of games before the day was over. Elder Wessman has gotten me hooked on a game called Azul that I know the family would love. 

This week started with a bang. Tuesday morning we had a call with our friend Mayra Calvillo. She is 19 years old and has been trying to reconnect her relationship with God. She attended church last week and she really enjoyed the fast and testimony meeting. As we met with her for the second time she said,"I apologize guys, I am not a fast reader." We reassured her that she was alright. When we asked where she was she stated,"I finished the book of Nephi." We said,"." We taught her the gospel of Jesus Christ and she accepted the baptismal invitation for June 3rd. As we asked her her feelings about the Book of Mormon, she said with a smile on her face,"The Book of Mormon makes my heart glow. I really believe it to be true." This lesson almost seemed too good to be true. Our hearts melted at the fact we get to be a part of her conversion to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. She has been so prepared by the Lord. 

Following that remarkable lesson we had interviews a couple hours from that. I received my interview for my temple recommendation. I am recommended by the Lord! I am so excited to go back even though I remember absolutely nothing. President Heap and I spoke for about 30 minutes talking about how I could maintain good worthy habits as I return home. It was sad to me that that was my last transfer interview with President Heap. 

Throughout the week, we have been outside in the sun so much. It has been such a blessing. I have stayed consistent with tanning and we are out and about either having lessons in the sun, going door to door, or even doing service for our friends. The downside is my allergies are acting up so much, they have never been so bad in my entire life. I absolutely love the weather currently. This next week it is going to be 65-70 degrees with the UV being 8 everyday and not a cloud in the sky. Does it get better than that?!? 

This weekend turned into service wahzoo! We were running around town either moving someone, doing yard work, or moving more people. It has been really fun though. We love serving God's children. 

Update on our friends on date preparing to be baptized. Keene (he is the homie that lives in two shipping containers) is progressing well. We will have to postpone his baptism due to some substance struggles, but he will get baptized. Our friend Lisa we have decided to take off date since she did not see the importance of the covenant made at baptism… UNTIL she came to church with her husband Sunday, the spirit touched her heart where now she has made a firm decision to become a baptized member of Christ's church. 

Finally, we have our girl Mayra. She is the one we found 2 weeks ago on Facebook. She is 19 and I have never seen someone progress so fast. I also have never been so nervous to teach someone the gospel my whole mission because she is so close to baptism. She is one of the main reasons I got assigned here to South Haven. June 3rd, there will be a baptism in South Haven. The first in over 2.5 years. Hurrah for Israel! She came to church on Sunday and brought us homemade snickerdoodles. I think I will have to compare them to grandma's recipe because they were that good. 

All of our lessons were canceled on Sunday, however, 6 of our friends came to church that day. The members were honestly like astonished haha. The Lord is in charge. Miracles are happening. Elder Clouse will finish with a bang in the Michigan Lansing Mission. Actually, more like a splash  (if you know what I mean). 

Love,

Elder Clouse

Smooth Transitions

 We have soared through another week as a missionary. The first one of the transfer. On Monday, we convinced President Heap to allow us to have another district pday so we were back at the Lakes home again. We went to a Taco bar this time and played games. It was hailing on us since it was 37 degrees out, but we still ran some spikeball for a couple hours. 

Transfer day was on Tuesday and this is where I received my new companion Elder Wessman. I learned that homie is 22 years old. I picked him up at 745am and we were back at the house before 9am. We had the whole day to do missionary work which was such a blessing. It has still been cold here in Michigan and I have been waiting for summer. Elder Wessman and I seem to be getting along. The work is not slowing down so I cannot complain. The transition has been smooth. 

We found a 26 year old girl named Hailey on social media last week. She admitted one of the main reasons she was open to us talking was because she thought I was attractive. God works in many ways. Besides the point, we got our foot in the door and she is progressing so well now, she even came to church. She has two kids named Noah and Emersyn. Noah is 7 years old and I have never seen a more engaged and willing to learn child in my life. While we were leaving her home, Noah said,"you guys better be coming over for LIFE!" There is such high potential for this amazing young family. 

Our friend Lisa is on date to be baptized! She has been so prepared by the Lord. We have been teaching her for about two weeks now and the past couple of lessons have been so good while we have had members present. She has recognized the spirit of God a handful of times as she has read the Book of Mormon. She has had word of wisdom struggles throughout her life, but she is finally off them. She is planning on being baptized on May 27th. Time is running out! So much momentum in this area, I literally am loving it so much. 

The UV is finally starting to pick up over here in Michigan, it is going to hit 8 this upcoming week. What a blessing. I am going to be consistently getting my 30 minutes everyday during my lunch hour. It will be a smooth transition to Chandler let me tell you. 

We come to a close on week 1 of this transfer. Yesterday was fast sunday and after fasting every Sunday of the mission, I can still say it isn't easy. The latter half of this week seemed to drag on since lessons kept canceling, but this area is in a good spot. The Lord loves effort. 

Scripture of the week. Alma 37:6:

"but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise."

If you want to see change in your life, focus on the small things which will in turn change the big things. 

Love, 

Elder Clouse 

Dying in SOHA

 District pday was actually so fun. It was extremely needed. We went to the Lakes (senior couples) home. We had a BBQ, played some board games, ran some football, and a lot of spikeball. It was seriously so fun. I woke up on Tuesday so sore since I haven't gone that hard in a sport in over 6 months. I have not served around many elders that are too athletic so this was a good break from that. 

Tuesday we faced a lot of rejection, but it is okay. We are still going forward. We had about 6 lessons canceled. The hope that pushed us through the day was from a text from a kid named Cagen Ernsberger within the branch. He was opening his mission call that night. We gathered at the branch building and he opened his call. He has been assigned to labor in the California Ventura Mission speaking Spanish. He begins his mission on my birthday. It was a fun end to the day. 

We are teaching such a sweet part member family. There is one girl in the family named Traci. She is 12 years old and loves the gospel already. She seems to recognize the importance and light of the gospel so early in her life. Everytime we give her an assignment before we come back, she reads it, and then proceeds to write all her thoughts on what she remembers about that topic on paper. The sad part is that the Hernandez family is planning on moving out of the branch boundaries in a few months. We received direction from the branch president to not baptize her until after the family is situated in their new home. 

We got to put Jacob 5 into real life and prune the vineyard. We have a family in the branch that owns 30 acres of Blueberry bushes. We asked if we could come over and prune for a couple hours. It was hot and very tedious. It was a fun opportunity to learn, but I think I am going to try to stick to a white collar job. 

Thursday evening we had a lesson with our friend Keene Brown. He is currently living in two shipping containers on his plot of land. It's pretty legendary. We brought along Cagen (the soon to be missionary) with us and taught the gospel of Jesus Christ. As we were reading 3 Nephi 11, Keene looked at us puzzled and said,"I think I need to prepare myself to be baptized." He has come a long way since the first time we met him. Keene is attempting to be baptized on May 20th. What a great lesson that was. 

We received our transfer news on Saturday morning. It honestly shocked us. I will be receiving a new companion, his name is Elder Gavin Wessman. Elder Howard is getting transferred out to bluewash an area (he will be replacing sisters in an area that's never had elders). I am honestly so excited to stay in South Haven. We found a handful of promising people this week. The momentum we are carrying forth into the end of the transfer is amazing. We are going to baptize this coming transfer, it will happen. 

We were asked 5 weeks ago to speak this past Sunday. I spoke about Christlike Consistency. It was solid, it could be aired at General Conference, but I don't know yet.

We convinced our mission president that we should have another district preparation day so we are. We aren't too sure what we are doing yet, but it will be fun since we get to gather with more missionaries. I am also glad I do not have to pack. 

We are going into week one of my final transfer as a missionary. I will continue to give my heartfelt all to the Lord. This is my time and season to serve Him full time. I testify He lives and He is aware of all of you.

Love,

Elder Clouse

Satan is So Sus

 The weather in Michigan decided to take a turn for the worst. It snowed/hailed all day Monday which was unfortunate. We did not end up doing much and the day felt extremely long. I decided to do two workouts, meal prep, practice the piano, and call some of you. 

This week we had exchanges with the Allegan elders. I was with Elder Louk Stevens (yes that is how he spells Luke). Elder Stevens is our district leader and I have served around him a decent amount in Lansing, Battle Creek, and in the MLC. He is so good. This exchange was so needed. It was just a day that reminded me what it was like to be with Elder Woolsey. Just a day full of work, but just talked the whole day about a various number of things while having fun. I took a lot out of the exchange I had, Elder Stevens is a great example of being a diligent missionary. 

During one afternoon I reached out to someone named Lori Crandall on Facebook. I asked her if she would be open to doing a video call with us. She then immediately shot me a call to video chat. We had a spontaneous lesson and we learned a great amount about her. Turns out she has been taught all the lessons from the previous sisters in the area. She now has the desire to enter into the covenant path through the waters of baptism. Say whaaa!!! It was a miracle. We have been meeting with her daily and she seems to be progressing well. The Lord is at the helm of this work. 

I am writing this paragraph two days after completing the previous one above. We have taught Lori everyday and completed the first three lessons. We have had members at every single one of those lessons and man it is so good. During our Friday evening lesson, we came to the conclusion to "yeet" her cigar and vape into the woods. She has now fully committed to follow the word of wisdom and remain faithful to it for the remainder of her life. There is a video for some proof. It is hilarious. It has been amazing to teach her. It almost seems like too good to be true. 

South Haven is on fire! Oh my goodness. I cannot believe that 4 weeks ago we were doing hours upon hours of finding and then now we have 8-10 lessons a day. Consistent effort coupled with faith in the Savior allows miracles to happen. I would compare myself to Alma when he says:

"Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever."

We all know that the Elder Clouse isn't that humble. Still that prideful, stubborn, stuck in his way kid you know and love. Besides the point, the Lord is pouring out His love abundantly on the work here in South Haven. We are going to experience a baptism!!

Highlight of the week: On exchanges I met this little kid who is a recent convert in the area I was in for the day. I learned that he loved fortnite. Being the good missionary I am, I challenged him to a fortnite dance off. He technically won, but I feel he lowkey cheated. Some of the Battle will be uploaded to Google photos. These past two weeks I have been so bad at taking photos, I do apologize. 

I conclude writing this email on Sunday night. We had eight people confirm they are coming to church on Saturday and zero of them came. Why does Satan have to be so sus. 

Today is district pday so that'll be fun. This will be the first time I'll see missionaries on a pday in a while. 7 weeks left… who's counting.