Michigan Winter Begins

 We did the most exciting missionary activity on preparation day. BOWLING. It was not too exciting. We did however get our friend Brian to pull up to bowling with us. He's one of our most progressing friends and he is beginning to change through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Other than that, I shipped a package back home, got Culver's (watched people eat Culver's since I ate food at home), and prepared meals for the week. 

Tuesday flew by and I have no idea how. We are continuing to find people to teach and one of them we found while we were proselytizing on Kellogg's Community College. Talking to college students about God is such a move. They make the work feel fresh and upbeat. If we get rejected, it is so polite. I love it.

Elder Madsen and I decided to make some freshly squeezed orange juice since we get two full bags of oranges every week from one family in our ward. Do not ask me how they think we can eat that many, but we are loaded up on free Oranges. The juice was indeed bussing. 

Wednesday we had exchanges with the Marshall elders. I received Elder Monson into the Battle Creek area for the day. I went on an exchange with Elder Monson last transfer. He is from Arizona as well. He has given me a lot of insight on ways I should take the district and he is very familiar with the scriptures. He really helps me out in these exchanges because of the things he shares with me. On this day it snowed about 4-5 inches, so it was coming down on us throughout the day. After living in Michigan for over 18 months I can still say that I do not know how to properly drive in snow, but I'm surviving. 

Friday was an interview with President Heap. As you know, he goated. They went really well and gave good feedback on what I asked him. We spoke heavily about the needs of the district and the trainers/trainees. Love that guy. 

While we were driving home we saw someone stuck in the snow so we thought we could help. We went over to try and push him out, turns out he was too stuck. I was near the front right tire which shot up a ton of mud. I unfortunately stained one of my new ties I got for Christmas and had to throw it away. Good news was that my white shirt got saved with some bleached. 

Small side note. Some of the elders in my district were chilling at their apartment when they heard a knock on the door. A drunk lady walked straight inside their apartment and was trying to pick a fight. An hour later, they finally got her out of the apartment and the cops came to arrest her. If you want more details, I can explain over the phone. It was funny to hear about, but one Elder is really shaken up about it. 

The work goes forth. It seems we are beginning to be desensitized to success since we are seeing it so much. I can see that we might be hit with some major opposition in the next couple weeks. God is teaching Elder Madsen and I something and we are still figuring out what. 

Let's hear some words from President Nelson:

"Nothing is more liberating, more ennobling, or more crucial to our individual progression than is a regular, daily focus on repentance."

What a simple task with a countless amount of blessings. As I daily repented every night, I continue to ask the Lord,"what lack I yet?" I have grown tremendously from this and I find so much joy knowing my hands are clean and my heart is pure. 

Dreaming To Teaching

 It was a memorable preparation day. After completing the remainder of our chores we went to the church. We gathered a handful of youth to play "gaga ball." Apparently this game is known around the states and I've never heard of it. There were about 15 of us there running constant rounds of this game. By the end of the two and a half hours we played, we were exhausted. Elder Madsen decided to take a nap while I prepared meals for the week. 

We got right into the week with an exchange with Elder Tillotson. He actually came out the same transfer as the first missionary I trained. He is 14 months out. He is also training a new missionary. I went into his area so we could leave our trainees in one area with 6 lessons planned and we could see how they do. Spoiler alert: they did really well. Elder Tillotson is a Spanish Elder and they have to do a lot of language study planned in their day. When we were doing language study, it was absolutely killing me since I felt that I needed to be doing missionary work. It was overall a good day and we got to grab dinner with us four missionaries before the day was over. We set up a handful of teaching appointments for them and found someone new to teach. 

Wednesday was a rough day. It was one of those days that just seemed to not go our way and we were exhausted. I also was just so impatient and not in the best mood. No worries, handled it well, but maybe you should ask Elder Madsen. 

Memorable story ALERT. I get up on Friday morning and Elder Madsen turned to me and said,"dude you literally were teaching a lesson while you were asleep last night AND you were talking at full volume." He went on to explain that I slept, I taught someone a lesson and it was really loud when I did it. I thought this was so funny since apparently I'm so lost in the sauce, I dream about teaching people. 

There isn't much else for Elder Clouse. I am alive. I am thriving. Elder Madsen and I get along really well and I still do not know how since we have no common interests. I love the kid. We are teaching a ton of people and we are furthering the work of the Lord like no other. God has entrusted us with a lot, lowkey stressful, but I love it. 

Here is some spiritual upliftment coming from Elder Olsen:

 "No matter how difficult or confusing the challenges may be, you can always remember that the answer is simple: it is always Jesus." 

Spending time with Jesus has allowed me to face my trials with courage and has given me the opportunity to become what God wants me to become. I testify of Christ's reality and how Jesus is in fact the answer. 

Love,

Elder Clouse

Chugging Milk To Bappy's

 We had the chance to go over to the Snowbergers for preparation day which was just phenomenal. Sister Snowberger made us her go to fried chicken, so yummy. I then got beat by Brother Snowberger in billiards since he's nice with it. In the morning of preparation day, Elder Madsen got me to go thrift shopping and we saw no success, but it did make him happy. 

It has been full of success and we are continuing to have multiple lessons everyday. Wednesday we had exchanges with the Marshall elders. I was with Elder Damion Laudie. He is from Haramon, Utah and came out in the mission field the same time as Elder Madsen so he is fresh. He reminds me a lot of Magnus. Elder Laudie is a gym rat and is pretty chill about everything. Doesn't care what is going on as long as it is good. He also forgets a lot of things. We were eating dinner and he decided to have a bowl of cereal. He finishes off the cereal and then puts the empty box of cereal back on the shelf. Later I asked him why he did that and Elder Laudie claims that he forgot to throw it away. Besides the point, our day went extremely well. Elder Laudie experienced his first lesson in the mission field and experienced four additional lessons that day. He came willing to change and become a better missionary so he absorbed all he could. We set very meaningful and effective goals. 

We had a zone conference this week in Lansing. One of the pros of this was that I got to see Elder Reese AND Elder Woolsey. This was the first time I saw Elder Reese since I left Grand Rapids two months back. The Zone Conference was kept to the four hour mark and we only had a 35 minute lunch… bruh. It was spiritually draining which is a good thing, but Elder Madsen and I did not take much from it. It was mediocre. 

One person I would like to touch on is our friend Brian Fox. I found him over Facebook and we have been meeting with him for a couple of weeks. He has had a pretty rough upbringing which has led him to fall into some bad substance habits. He used to be extremely closed off when we first met with him, but as we have met with him consistently and he began keeping commitments there was a change. The Savior began to change him and we were able to see more visibly his divine potential. Brian does not even realize it yet, but the Atonement of Jesus Christ is working in his life. This again brought to my attention that this is a gospel of change. We invite all to ponder the message of the restoration and to come unto Christ. 

Alright, this is funny. We were eating our delicious pot roast with potatoes and carrots for dinner on Friday night. As I'm drinking my chocolate milk (fairlife) don't you worry. We received a video call from David Bell. He accidentally called and was in the process of canceling our lesson for later that night. I then said,"are you available for 20 minutes right now?" He agreed and I told him to hold on as I chugged my chocolate milk in front of him. We sat down, opened with prayer, and got to know him. Turns out he has met with missionaries in the past, quit drugs, broke up with his girlfriend, knows the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith is a prophet, and wants to get baptized by Bishop Rowley. We invited him to be baptized and set a specific date. While this was happening, it was all so casual which made it so funny. As we finish the night on Friday, our earliest appointment we can make with someone is next Thursday afternoon because we have no free appointment times. Battle Creek does not stop. 

We finished the week with a crowded Sunday. We haven't had the chance to comp study for the past two days due to lessons occurring. We got the chance to see seven of our friends at church! Seven! I haven't seen that many since I was serving in Bay City. 

The gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of change. Let's hear one of the Big B Brethren drop doctrine,"The gospel of Jesus Christ is the plan by which we can become what children of God are supposed to become. This spotless and perfected state will result from a steady succession of covenants, ordinances, and actions, an accumulation of right choices, and from continuing repentance." *close quote*  

Can't say it better than that. This is the gospel of becoming. I can say that I have changed immensely throughout these past 18 months. Can we talk about how awesome that is? Jesus is the answer :))

Love,

Elder Clouse

Sweet Is The Peace The Gospel Brings

 First ever preparation day for Elder Madsen was not anything too special. Our district all gathered at the Battle Creek building to hang out. We decided to go grab some Chick-fil-a which did not disappoint. I am glad i got to use one of my Chick-fil-a gift cards before they got taken (foreshadowing). We came back to the church and played sports. That might be the last week we play sports for the next three months since no one is athletic so it was boring to play. We will figure out other things to do. Sad part of the day was that both our lessons were canceled. 

Tuesday began not on the greatest note. We walked out to our car around noon and we saw that our Jesus ITL cards were on the ground outside our vehicle. We looked in our vehicle and things were messed with and my wallet was unfortunately taken. We filed a report with the police and canceled all the cards that were in it. Thankfully no money was purchased on either card. #Godgotme. I would have thought I would have reacted more negatively, but I did not. For some reason I was completely calm and resumed my day with a smile on my face. To be completely honest with you, I did not have the time to be sad about it since we were running from lesson to lesson. I have learned my lesson. I will not leave my wallet in my car, always lock the car when I leave it, and start locking our apartment. There are a lot of things that I could've been better at, but this is a time to learn okay. Sweet is the peace the gospel begins. 

It literally gets better. I do not know how. The Lord is just hand delivering us people to teach. On Wednesday we found four new people to touch. One of which came from a man randomly walking into our church building on Monday looking for missionaries. What. The. INSANE. This story gives you some context on how insane this week has been. We are in a lesson with a potential new friend we are teaching. I began talking in the lesson and I just felt prompted to end what I was saying and turn to Elder Madsen. At this point in time Elder Madsen did not know what to say so we sat there for 10 uncomfortable seconds. Elder Madsen finally cracked and blurted out,"well Marcus do you have any questions for us? Marcus literally replies with,"how does one get baptized?" I was in awe. Straight AWE. God is a God of miracles. 

Thursday was exchanges with the Battle Creek Spanish elders. I led an exchange with Elder Shawn Allen for the day. He is from Lehi, Utah and also just got into the mission field like Elder Madsen. The area he is currently in does a lot of finding and has not had the chance to teach a lesson. Good thing for him was that we taught 6 lessons on Thursday. We were so busy and only had about 30 minutes total to eat both our lunch and dinner. Sometimes Elder Clouse thinks he can be at more than one place at once which overwhelms him. It was a great day to be taught and to teach Elder Allen. Successful exchange. By the end of the day, Elder Madsen said he missed me. 

We have been teaching a middle aged woman named Maria ever since I've been here. She has struggled with substance abuse her whole life. As we have been meeting with her, she has given up alcohol, Marijuana, drugs, and we are almost getting her off cigarettes. She also still struggled with coffee and tea, but we will get to that. Oh and she lives with her boyfriend; however, she is willing to let God prevail so do not fret. We extended the baptismal invitation for February 18th. She has already received her answer on how this is the Church of Jesus Christ, so now it is just getting her to follow the commandments line upon line. 

This week was another one that was extremely hectic. It was so awesome. Elder Madsen and I get along really well and are always laughing with each other. It is fun to have the opportunity to train again as well. It is pushing me greatly and recently I feel I have sacrificed more which in return has blessed me more with the Spirit. The Lord has entrusted us with so many people to teach it is honestly overwhelming, but we LOVE it. 

On Saturday we had the chance to go to the Historic Bridge Park. The main reason we went was so that Elder Madsen could get a new profile picture. We both took some photos and I attached them to Google photos. Hope you did not forget what I looked like. 

Sunday was a fast and testimony meeting. Elder Madsen wasn't prepared to fast as a missionary since he fasted similar to how I did before I came out. Which was that we don't eat breakfast and then eat after church. I went up to bear my testimony and as I get up there I saw the zoom camera was on me and I could see myself in it. I made the comment right when I got up there,"oh wow I look good." I didn't think much of it, but the whole congregation burst out laughing. To be honest I don't think I was attempting to make them laugh, but it worked. I then went on to testify of Jesus Christ and he is the only unfailing source of hope. As I have drawn closer to him, I have felt the peace and joy my Savior brings. I have learned things on the mission that I will cherish for the remainder of my life. The Savior is aware of me and is my advocate to the Father. 

Highs and lows this week, but the work goes forward. I am in a great spot as a missionary and I keep pressing forward. Love you all!!

Love,

Elder Clouse

New Year New Son

 What a strong start to the week. It is going so well. Monday was a very relaxed day again. It was getting to me to be honest. It seemed like we had a three day weekend with Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and then preparation day. I was glad to get back to work on Tuesday, but it seems like I forgot. 

Tuesday morning was transfer day. We had to wake up at 530am to get ready and head to the transfer van that arrived in Battle Creek at 645 am. Since I am training, I will not receive my companion until Thursday. Elder Monson was my temporary companion for the day since he is training as well. We had a full day of failing. That is exactly how I could describe it. We kept forgetting things, lessons were canceling, and it was a stretch; however, we tried to give the Lord our all during transfer day. At 6pm that evening we got another Elder to be with us making us a trio. We got Elder Tillotson. He is the other Elder that will be in our district training, he's from Pennsylvania, that's like unheard of. 

Wednesday flew by and miracles are being poured out in the creek. Let me tell you about it. We are just so booked heading from lesson to lesson having so much fun. We have been laughing a ton throughout the day and into the night. In the apartment there was a trash couch that an elder found off the side of the street to bring into the apartment about a year ago. Since I am the one staying in this apartment now. I decided to donate that bad boy immediately. The miracles that are being poured out upon the Battle Creek area are because of the willingness of the people! Facebook especially is going crazy. So many people are replying and wanting to meet. It seems like the Lord wants the missionary coming to the creek to be ready to work! There is no excuse. 

We also found a new family to teach and oh my! We found them about a month ago and the dad finally called us back and was willing to let us come over. We taught this precious family about the Book of Mormon and eternal families. The restored truths in God's restored gospel are unmatched. This is where I would say mic drop and then "BOOM BABY" (in Dad's voice). 

New year new son. The new missionary who will be my companion for the next three months is Elder Austin Madsen. He is from Pleasant Grove, Utah. When I first received him he was very quiet and I was thinking in my head, I can't do this again. On the road home he opened up and we clicked well. He is a mixture of Seth Ogden and Bransen Crockett. He does not like any sports at all which is extremely unfortunate, but we will survive. 

This is one way I could tell I will enjoy my time with Elder Madsen. I was eating my lunch at the dinner table for a second. I turn around and Elder Madsen is deep cleaning the microwave. Home dog was literally arms deep in the microwave scrubbing that thing. Also keep in mind I cleaned the microwave last week so he's definitely on the same standard I am. 

We have had no time to breathe! We have been going from lesson to lesson and seeing so many miracles. It is actually crazy. As I have sacrificed more and been more diligent, the Lord has provided. One cool thing you get to be a part of for training a new missionary is the In-field preach my gospel program. There is so much you can literally learn. Everyday companion study is an hour to an hour and a half. I honestly enjoy it. It has taken me back to training since I forget that Elder Madsen knows absolutely nothing about missionary work. I am learning a lot of patience and charity. The Lord has to teach me something. 

I keep writing this email slowly, but surely. Every Night when I reflect about the day, I am in awe. Literally more miracles keep occurring in every single finding pond. Elder Madsen has not experienced any rejection since everyone is accepting us. We have taught so many lessons and we are running around Battle Creek with our heads cut off. I LOVE it. As I have sacrificed more for the Lord, I am happier and I can feel the Spirit work more in my life. The Lord is aware of me and wanted me to be better which is why I was put in the position I am in currently. 

This has been a needed week for me in the mission field. It was starting to seem like I was remaining idle as a missionary just going through the motions. This allowed me to keep it fresh and change things up. I do love being a missionary and knowing that God works through me to bring souls back into the fold. I know personally that God is aware of me. Don't forget about you.

I just read back on this email and you can tell you I am a missionary by the amount of exclamation marks I use. Hope you feel my energy. This is such a needed pday. I am exhausted from this week. 

Miss you all so much. Reach out to me. Stay in touch. 

Love, Elder Clouse