Getting More Uncomfortable

 My last day in Battle Creek was a memorable one. We got almost everything packed the night before so on preparation day we did not have to do much packing. We got to go over to the Snowbergers and play some pool. Our whole district came to their home and Sis Snowberger made us some GRUB. It was yummy. Very sad to leave the area of Battle Creek. 

Transfer day was long. We had to get up at 530am to make sure we had everything packed and ready before we boarded the T-van around 645am. I got to see Elder Woolsey and talk with him on the tvan for 40 minutes. That was a blessing. I did in fact transfer with my exercise bike, 50 lb dumbbells, 20 lb dumbbells, and a pull up bar. We take rising in shining seriously over here. I was with two other elders for the day as I awaited Elder Howard until 530 pm. We drove to our area and finished getting groceries and unpacking around 11pm. 

The place I now live in is a home. It was honestly left really nice when I got here. The elders that were leaving here prior to me were somewhat clean. We only had to deep clean the house for about 3 hours. Nothing in comparison to my previous housing switches. We have a front and back yard. One of the chores we have to do is mow the lawn, say what!!! A weird downside is that the water here tastes tart. I have no idea how to explain it. 

After a couple of days in this area it made me realize how difficult this transfer will be. There is a lot of finding planned. At the beginning of the week we had 0 people to teach. It's really unfortunate. It is a jurastic change from last year. Oh how I will miss Battle Creek. The Lord truly wants to test me for my final two transfers as a missionary for Him. 

Friday was a momentum building day. It was so needed. We decided to go out knocking and man was it fruitful. We are finally all settled in and nothing is holding us back. We are giving this area our all and we will see success. I am stoked. Don't get me wrong, this is difficult, but I am learning to get more uncomfortable and give more to the Lord. 

This area is very similar to Charlotte. We do have a bigger church building which is a plus. There are about 30-50 members that come to church on Sunday. The areabook that we have is probably a quarter size of the last ateabook I had which is crazy. Since there isn't much to do, a majority of our time now is spent knocking. Pounding some doors to finish the mission strong! The Branch President is literally so amazing. He looks and acts like Chandler Bing, not joking. He's so funny to work with. I love it.

Every Sunday night there is FHE at a members home here. All the youth come together. One of the youth leads a spiritual thought out of PMG, we eat breakfast for dinner, and then play a game. There is a surprising amount of youth in this branch. Around 15 kids. Which is like half the congregation haha. The FHE is needed because we are exhausted by the end of the week. 

A scripture I read this morning just sunk deep into my heart. It is in Alma 26:27:

"Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success."

I will give the Lord my heartfelt all these last two transfers. I will come home with confidence knowing that I gave everything for my Savior these past two years. I love you all and yes I still have that zeal of a missionary still in me. Reach out :)). 

Mission Bingo

 This week started off so good! On Monday we drove up to Grand Rapids for the day since I had to pick up my new contacts due to my previous ones breaking. It was about a 90 minute drive. We decided to stay in GR the whole day. We traveled to the church and walking into it again was so nostalgic. It made me miss my old area so much. We just played ball with the elders serving there, and grabbed some grub, went to the mall, and Elder Madsen wanted to go to some pawn shops. By the time we got home I was exhausted, but it was fun. 

We usually have a district council on Wednesday. District council is when the district leader leads a training for an hour and a half with the district he leads over. This week it got moved to Tuesday so President and Sister Heap could be available to join it. Throughout the council, President Heap did our interviews then. He pulled out missionaries one by one to do their transfer interviews. My interview with President was good as usual. He brought up that I only have 2 transfers left and that I will be leaving Battle Creek. He didn't hint anything else, but I know later in this email you will figure out where I'm being transferred to. The treat I made for everyone in the district this week was banana nice cream. You can never go wrong with that. 

The birthday of my son! Elder Madsen had his birthday on Wednesday. To celebrate he wanted to go to Red Lobster and I was all for it. I actually never been and I decided to get their shrimp Tacos. Those bad boys did not disappoint. It was a fun memory that we have now. He turned 20 years old. My son is older than me, I don't know how that works, but it does. If you are curious why I refer to Elder Madsen as,"my son." It is because I was his first companion in the mission field. I love Elder Madsen. 

Later in the week it was Budday's birthday! Weston turned 18. That's literally insane. Over in Michigan, we had a tough day. Our lessons keeped canceling and we just did not have any energy. The clock seemed to tick slower and the day just never ended. After we ended our day at 9pm, we were both so happy to get to bed. I wish we could avoid these days as missionaries, but they do happen. If I never had these days, I would never know what the happy days were like.

Saturday we received our transfer calls and our minds were blown. We both are getting booted out of Battle Creek. Elder Madsen and I are both going to seperate areas and are "white washing." This means that we are both getting new companions who are also brand new to that area. I will be going to South Haven which is on the west coast of Michigan. Its a tourist city since it's along Lake Michigan. I will be receiving Elder JT Howard. He's from California. I actually served around him while I was in Grand Rapids. He was trained by Elder Reese. Also, here is news that I have to say. I apologize to Elder Woolsey. Elder Woolsey got assigned as AP. What a goat. Love that man. #Woolseyisastriver

I will now have served in 6 different areas 

 and all 6 different zones in the Michigan Lansing Mission. I have accomplished mission bingo. Big ups. 

This week has felt too long. I have no idea why. Today I will be packing. I am actually transferring with the exercise bike and all the weights that I have. I only have 3 more months until sexy.

I love you all. Jesus Christ lives! We worship the living Christ. Never forget that. 

Sermon Preached

 Monday was quite unfortunate. We were planning on our trip to Grand Rapids, but it turns out my contact lense did not come in until Tuesday. We are traveling there today and we are just making it a day trip. I did get to finish prepping up my classes for the fall of 2023 semester at UVU. That's crazy. Shoutout to T. She is the best. To end my preparation days you already know I had to hit another workout. 

Tuesday was the most fatiguing day for me. I woke up exhausted and It felt like I had to drag my feet everywhere. It looked like we were going to be everywhere non-stop. Then one lesson kept canceling after another. We had to utilize all our backup plans throughout the day. We did find a ton of success in the huge finding blocks we then had. At the beginning of each new "finding" block (finding just means a way to find people to teach) we had to plead with the Lord on our knees that we would have the energy and diligence necessary to further his work. It was a grind. 

We got to experience a man on the run from the cops. We were at service at Habitat for Humanity removing furniture from a truck. We were in the back parking lot and a homie skirts around the corner going about 45 miles an hour and nearly runs into the garage we were working at. A cop car was cruising behind him and it looked like he was in no rush. Within 3 minutes, that guy crashed and was arrested after he tried to flee from his car. Moral of the story. Be smart. 

Well, the last exchange of the transfer happened on Thursday. It was with Elder Helaman Tillotson. I led it in my area. We had 8 lessons planned and 2 of them happened. Quite unfortunate, but it's all good. That could've been the last exchange I ever led. I hope my time as district leading will come to an end. 

Max Brown is a recent convert in this area of about 5 months. He was the Amish member I was talking about a couple weeks back. He still lives on an Amish farm and comes into society a couple times a week to meet with us and come to church. He introduced the Book of Mormon to the pastor on his farm. The pastor now wants to read more about it! Max went to his farm on a Sunday and preached a sermon based off the Book of Mormon to 300 people. How amazing is that!

This weekend we moved 2 seperate inactive members. Both of which did not pack in preparation which is completely alright, but just tough. It was good being able to serve since we haven't moved someone in awhile. Thought I would add that plug #Mosiah 2:17

Our time sprung forward so for all the people in Arizona you are now three hours behind me. People in Utah, you are good as always. Love you. 

This week we have been asked to study all of President Nelson's Sunday morning address ever since he became a prophet. I have loved learning more about the words of the living mouthpiece for God. He's a great quote from him:

"Nothing opens the heavens quite like the combination of increased purity, exact obedience, earnest seeking, daily feasting on the words of Christ in the Book of Mormon."

We experienced some opposition with some people we were teaching. As I daily immersed myself in the scriptures, it gave me the strength and reassurance that I needed. I testify that reading the Book of Mormon everyday allows us to access that Heavenly power. 

Love,

Elder Clouse

God Bless You

 I am currently at the point in the mission where I have no idea what to write about. We have had some insane days, but I have a hard time picking and choosing what to say. Monday we got free haircuts from this chick in a salon that I found on Facebook. I was Facebook finding the previous week and she offered haircuts and I pounced on the opportunity. It took her two hours to cut both of our hair and she did us dirty; however, it was for free which was a plus. She was a bit suspicious, but that's a topic for another day. 

Wednesday was exchange day. We began the day with the district council in the morning. Something tragic happened however. I was putting in my contacts for the day and as I went to clean it, the lense shattered. It was so sad. We are traveling to Grand Rapids today to pick a new one up. Anyway, back to my day. I took Elder Monson on an exchange to the area of Marshall. This is my third exchange with Elder Monson. The past two were not as good as this one. The Marshall area is a lot like an area I served in before, Charlotte. It is very rural, not many people, and the areabook is pretty small. In the past it hasn't had the best missionaries so it seems pretty dead. We had a great day being diligent in the Lord's vineyard and saw miracles. God delights in obedience. 

Thursday we had exchanges with the Zone Leaders. Elder Nathan Rasmussen came here to Battle Creek with me while Elder Madsen went to WMU. We had a normal day of missionary work. Elder Rasmussen was a very chill, quiet, laid back person so the exchange was alright. He actually came out to Michigan with me. I was glad to be back with Elder Madsen again by the end of the night. 

We received a referral two weeks ago for a man named Sut. We couldn't get in contact with him through his number or email so we decided to stop in. He doesn't speak English, but Burmese. He's an older fellow who was a reverend in the previous country he lived in. We by the grace of God found 2 of the 6 missionaries in the world that speak Burmese. They are located in Thailand and they are 12 hours ahead of us. We have now been teaching Sut in Burmese while these missionaries video call in. Sut said,"I need to know more about this Joseph Smith guy." It is always tender to hear his broken English,"God bless you."

Friday afternoon we got pounded with snow. We received around 6 inches of snow that day. We remained inside and did a lot of finding from our apartment. The Battle Creek areabook has over 2000 names and you can call areabook for hours and find success. It is a sweet benefit while serving here. 

On Saturday morning I finished my fourth full Book of Mormon read. Throughout this read I was mainly focused on things pertaining to revelation. Everytime I finish reading the Book of Mormon I write my testimony. I was reading what I wrote 6 months ago and so much has changed since that. Everytime I hope to receive an overwhelming confirmation about the Book of Mormon when I ask God about it. All I get is a whisper that says,"you already know it is true." I came to know that the Book of Mormon was true by small and simple reading of it. It wasn't all at once. As I have ready it throughout my mission, I have received a firm answer that it is in fact the word of God. 

In Preach My Gospel it says,"all that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ." Anything and everything. Elder Renlund clearly taught that we cannot let unfair circumstances corrode our faith in God. Rather than becoming bitter about circumstances, let Him allow you to be better. I testify that Jesus Christ makes all infuriating unfairness right through His infinite sacrifice for us. 

I believe we are taking a road trip to Grand Rapids today so I will be bored in the car. Reach out if I haven't heard from you in awhile.

31 Degrees and Chaos

 Monday was pretty lame. It honestly fell on us since we did not do much besides go thrifting for a bit. I was still recovering from my sickness, but I am feeling so much better now. I did get the chance to workout for two hours on Monday which is always a bonus. Working up a sweat on the exercise bike is unbeatable. We went into the night and all three of our lessons canceled so we went around stopping at people's homes. We knocked on someone we weren't in contact with named Tina. She opened the door and gave us hugs. It was nice. She is extremely open in learning about the restored gospel. How cash money is that!

There is a younger family in the ward named the Sides. They have two young kids both under the age of 3. They are actually vegan and they invite us over for dinner every other week. I've been over there about 4 times now and they always introduce us to something we have never had before. One of the nights they gave us "nice cream." It was ice cream, but the base of it was just frozen Bananas. They gave us one of their old food processors and I decided to master the nice cream. We made a couple of batches and the one that was so good was the peanut butter chocolate reese's nice cream. Yeah. You heard that right. It is so yummy. I am learning so many new good habits on the mission. I love it. 

We received a text from our mission President into our mission chat during the morning on Wednesday. He instructed us that we should not leave our apartment unless it is an emergency. You might be wondering what is going on in Michigan. We got a warning about freezing rain coming. It was predicted that there would be .5 inches of frozen rain on the roads. All schools, activities, and the whole city shut down. They were nervous about the power going out as well. We had to cancel 5 lessons and had to replan out our day Wednesday. Who knew a 31 degree storm could cause such chaos. Towards the end of the night we received a phone call from the Spanish elders that their power went out and they were crashing at our place. Wednesday I got to experience what it was like to be a quarantine missionary. We saw a lot of success. It was a needed day contacting nearly 100 plus people. 

This honestly worked out well. Since the Spanish elders were over at our home over the night, we began exchanges at 6:30am. I was with Elder Allen for the day. He got to begin the day off strong with me. I ran him through a workout. He will wake up sore tomorrow haha. I went on an exchange with him last transfer as well since he is also a new missionary in the mission field. We set some really meaningful goals. One thing that is quite unfortunate about this district is that the trainers are holding the trainees back. All the trainees are so ready to go, but the lack of knowledge from the trainers is restraining. Elder Allen and I experienced the most overwhelming thing that evening. In a lesson we had I felt a little bit more of what the Savior has to bear. The Atonement of Jesus Christ literally applies to everyone without exception. 

Friday and Saturday I had no energy. It was two days back to back where lessons kept falling through, but it was a good experience to grow. It is really cool to see how much Elder Madsen has matured as a missionary. He does so good at keeping me accountable now instead of vice versa. We are teaching people like crazy, but we do not have anyone super close to baptism. 

Sunday I got the chance to speak in church about the restoration. Every fourth Sunday of every month a missionary is assigned to speak. They usually only do two speakers that Sunday, but this Sunday there were three speakers so I got to speak for only 10 minutes. Score! 

Another week in and another week to go. The Lord's work is going on and we are trying all we can to further the work. It will not stop! Time is running out for me. Time to get to it. Love you all. 

Its For My Cat

 Monday was so amazing. It was the perfect day to be outside and we were. The sun was out, there was no wind, and it was 50 degrees out. The Snowbergers, who are one of the members here, invited us to their home. They literally live on a lake. It is so beautiful. We even got to pull out the cornhole board and play some of that. I haven't lost my groove in case you were all wondering. They had a BBQ for us and it was just one for the books. I love it. 

We had a very interesting lesson that had to make the email. We went over to our friend Joseph's home for a lesson. As we were concluding the lesson, he begins to hold his knee and asked us for a blessing. We began to explain the importance of blessings to him and as we were about to do it he said,"no it's for him," as he pointed to his sick cat on the couch. We had to awkwardly tell him we don't give priesthood blessings to animals. It was actually really funny when Elder Madsen and I left the lesson. You literally could only experience that when you are serving a mission. What a time. 

Monday night we were notified that there was a shooting at MSU. None of the missionaries serving there were injured. 3 students were killed and 5 were in critical condition. Please keep the families of those who lost a child in your prayers. It really put a damper on the mission. 

Wednesday I led an exchange with Elder Damian Laudie. I went into his area which was Marshall. It is a small town about 20 minutes east of Battle Creek. I went on an exchange with Elder Laudie last transfer. He is a brand new missionary as well. We had an extremely successful day in the area and set up a handful of return appointments. The Lord loves diligent and consistent effort. 

The Kalamazoo zone conference was on Thursday. It was from 12:30pm-4:30pm. It was heavily focused on an address Elder Cook gave to the missionaries on how we can be more effective and successful missionaries. It was mainly on the first great commandment. The mission always leads you to have charity for other people. As I have served other people selflessly, my love for them increased. Even the people I do not get along with. Service is most of the time the cure. 

Saturday was the most fatiguing day of the mission. I woke up with a cold and my body just seemed slow. It was mainly a headache, sore throat, and my nose just hurt. I probably could have stayed inside and did nothing, but who would do that. We had 4 lessons and did a lot of finding. We went into the night and we had basketball from 7:30pm-9pm. We went so hard at basketball and when I arrived home I wanted to collapse. My head was pounding, my nose was aching, and my throat was hurting. What a day. This was memorable. We stay all in for the Lord. 

This wraps up my week. Sunday was very similar to Saturday except minus the basketball. I am glad that the week is over. I am ready for a rest day. We did finish off the week strong however. Sunday nights are always the hardest, but we had lessons stacked on top of each other so we were busy until past 9pm. 

"The Lord loves effort. The Lord loves consistency. The Lord loves steadfastness. While we surely will come up short from time to time, our persistent efforts to hear Him and follow the inspiration He gives us will help us to 'wax strong in the Spirit'" President Nelson. Consistency is a Christlike attribute, don't forget that. 

Love and miss you all!

Love,

Elder Clouse 

Good, Better, Best

 Preparation day started as a flop, but did not end as bad as we thought. We finished all our chores immediately and then began calling people. It turns out that in the middle of the day, the maintenance guy knocks on our door and began installing a new electronic lock on our door. We do not know the code since it got sent to the mission office. We tried calling the office and we got no answer. We had to wait at home until we heard back from the mission office. While we waited, I hit another workout. We ended the pday with some sledding with the other elders. No injuries so it was a good one. 

The week began with ZL exchanges. I was with Elder David Meyers in Battle Creek for the day. They decided to send Elder Madsen to a college campus to get him out of his comfort zone. We had a fun day overall in Battle Creek. Elder Meyers is from Orem, Utah and he was actually MTC companions with Brecken Fonnesbeck. Miss that guy. I set some lofty goals for the next couple of months that I hope to accomplish.

These emails for some reason are harder to write the longer I have been out here. Thursday was a day. We had 9 lessons scheduled and only 3 of them went through. It was truly unfortunate. It seems the area has slowed down, but then I look at our schedule and it does not feel that way. I usually think of the mission as a marathon, but right now we are on a sprint. 

Well, another week has come and gone. That is crazy. I just completed my first transfer training Elder Madsen. He's stuck with me for another. It has been such a good transfer honestly. I really enjoy being around Elder Madsen and training. Training a new missionary has given me the push I needed to keep giving the Lord my all. It begins to get harder the longer you have been out here. The days go longer, the weeks seem slower, and the work seems repetitive. Training has gotten me out of that slump I would say I was in prior to this transfer. 

I just recently began another Book of Mormon read this week and I am focusing on the Christlike attribute of humility. I am in the first book of Nephi and that man exemplified humility. When I focus on a specific attribute when I am studying the Book of Mormon, I seem to take more out of my studies. For example:

In 1 Nephi 5:10, it speaks about how when the sons of Lehi returned from Jerusalem with the brass plates, the first thing Lehi did was give sacrifice unto the Lord. If I was Lehi, I would be like,"yo let me see those brass plates you just got!" It is interesting how Lehi put first the sacrifice rather than searching the brass plates with his genealogy. I bet he was pretty thrilled to have those things. There is a good, better, best principle in this verse. Searching the brass plates first would still be good, but honoring the Lord and giving sacrifice was the best thing to do first. Christ loves all things that are good, but do not forget to think of the good, better, best principle. 

I miss you all. Excited to see you all sooner than later. Reach out  

Love,

Elder Clouse

	5:06 AM (9 hours ago)