The House of the Lord

 Monday was not a rest day that's for sure. It was another district preparation day. We gathered up around 12 and met at a corn maze. The winter in Michigan now is beginning to be a little rough. The high is around 60 degrees, it's windy, and it is sweater weather. We were in the corn maze for about an hour and a half. We had to get to certain checkpoints to receive our free sugar slushie at the end. We accomplished it. We then headed over to the church to play basketball. 

We concluded our pday by coming home at 5 and showering up to get ready to get back to work at 6. At 530 we had a thought that we needed to go to Target to buy stuff for banana bread and cobbler. We hurried home and came back at 6. For dessert that night we had our blueberry cobbler and it did not disappoint. The following day, I suffered the sequences. My body was not functioning right, I was home bound for the first chunk of the day. The following night, Elder Woolsey decided to make banana bread. I didn't know how easy it actually was to do that. Elder Woolsey made banana bread that was so similar to mom's. Yum. 

As you all may know by now, my first Facebook account got blocked or hacked. I am not sure how, but I know it did. I created a new one thinking if I did the exact same username and password everything would be alright. You may be thinking right now that I am not the brightest person and you are correct. My second account got locked and banned. I began my third account and learned from the past. I believe one of the reasons I am going through this is because I fasted for humility. I do not need to use social media as a place where I can be viewed, but a tool to find God's children. This humbled me enough to understand the importance of this pond of finding and how to begin to cherish it more. 

Another crazy thing occurred. On Tuesday, Elder Woolseys Facebook account got locked out too. This was apart of God's plan. This forced us to find other ways to find people to teach. We prioritized time to go do some stop bys on referrals that we haven't contacted. We visited Miriam and she has been prepared by God. She is this middle aged lady who has a solid sized family from El Salvador. She is fluent in both English and Spanish. She loves God with her whole heart and some of the things she says in lessons are just like, "YES YES YES!" We began teaching her and it was so special. I am grateful God humbled us on how we need to prioritize more time in other finding ponds.

Thursday night we were balling with non members and towards the end of the night my right knee got destroyed. Someone was on a fast break and I jumped up to block him. His ankle landed on my knee on the floor weirdly. He left with something wrong with his ankle and I left with something wrong with my knee. I guess I'm injury prone. I should be able to walk it off. 

I got even better news on thursday night … not really. I found out that my third Facebook account was taken down because it seemed suspicious. Satan really doesn't want me to use the social media pond. I guess we will see what happens next with that. 

Friday we had a virtual MLC. Towards the end, President Heap decided to give us all of our transfer news. Elder Woolsey is leaving to go to an area called WMU and I am receiving Elder JJ Watts (Yes like the football player). Elder Watts actually replaced me in the Bay City one I left. He has been in Bay City the past 4 transfers and is now coming to be with me. He actually came out with Elder Woolsey so he is coming up on a year. Cool thing is, I texted Elder Watts on preparation day, guessing that he is going to come to be with me for the coming transfer. First transfer call I predicted right.

This week was Elder Woolsey's mom's birthday. To celebrate, Elder Woolsey treated me to some Texas Roadhouse. We also tied it in as a goodbye gift. I forgot how good their rolls really are. Also, towards the end of the night, Elder Woolsey got a text from his mom saying she ordered us crumbl. Literally SCORE. What a week. 

The weekend of the General Conference was memorable. We watched all of the sessions in members' homes. We got fed, watched on comfy couches, and felt the spirit with different members of the ward. The crowning event of the weekend was of course Grand Rapids receiving a temple. THAT'S WHERE I LIVE. We have prayed everyday for this to happen. It was a sacred experience. Here is why:

We decided to watch the final session of conference at the Buckwalter's. They are a family who are all in, the father (President Buckwalter) is the stake president of the Grand Rapids stake. The whole time their 8 year old daughter named Lydia kept asking when they were announcing temples. Keep in mind that she has been writing on all her tithing donation slips,"For the Grand Rapids Temple." The time finally comes where the temples begin being announced. The room was tense and we were on the edge of our seats when President Nelson said the words,"Grand Rapids, Michigan." Holiness to The Lord, The House of The Lord. President and Sister Buckwalter started crying tears of joy. It was such a joyous moment filled with buzzing phones going off. 

At the end of the session, President Buckwalter insisted we knelt and said a prayer of gratitude. As we were all kneeling, there was about a 20 second period where no one said anything. The spirit flooded the room, it was overwhelming. Tears filled everyone's eyes and especially mine. President Buckwalter let out a heartfelt prayer thanking the Lord for a temple. As I was reflecting on this moment, tears flowed down my face. I was so happy that the people in Michigan are receiving another temple. I was so happy for the people. This was one of the first times in the mission where I felt the love I have for the people in Michigan. Tears of joy filled my eyes for the next hour. I now know that I am not called to the city, the tourist attractions, the weather, but the people. I love the people of Michigan. 

I don't apologize for the length of my email. It was a memorable one. I truly love and miss you all so much. I do have a new facebook… again so just look up Luke Clouse on your search and you'll find me. Have an amazing week.