Kevan Kingsley Clawson's Blog, page 3

Saying farewell

It is hard to begin to say farewell to those you have served with for 18 months! We went out to dinner with Pres and Sister Huggins on friday (an Italian restaurant). We met at 7pm and had a great time. Before we even knew it, it was after midnight! I can’t even remember the last time we were out that late (we ARE getting old you know…

Missionary goodbyes

Picture sent from some of the missionaries who served with us on St Martin– wishing us a fond farewell.

We don’t always know the effect we have on those around us– sometimes we never know. Terri and I have been grateful for a few notes and letters we have received from missionaries we have served with in St Martin, who thanked us for our service and the knowledge and training we were able to share with them while serving here.

The best part of this specific mission–different from our other missions–has been the opportunity to work with and teach the young missionaries on a daily basis, and then being able to see the growth in them over time. We have been so impressed by the caliber of missionaries we have seen pass through this mission! I have great hope and faith in their future, and the future of the Church that will one day be left in their hands.

So, parents…Stop worrying about your children! In fact, let me make this clear: they are no longer children–they are now adults who are serving God with all their hearts and making good decisions. I am proud of them and who they are becoming. And you have nothing to worry about…they are safe, working hard, and serving faithfully. What more can we ask of them?

A Congo reunion!

We had the fun and blessing of being able to get together with people we served with in the Congo: President and Sister McMullin , and Jeff and Sandy Wright (who worked in the office with us).

Joy McMullin, Jeff Wright, Sandy Wright, and Elder Clawson on Pic Paradis (sorry, Terri was taking the picture!)  

President Phil McMullin, Joy, Sandy, and Jeff

Some of the missionaries we served with and trained on St Martin sent us a ‘going away’ picture in our email– wishing us farewell.

Our last District Meeting !

Today was our last District Meeting. Next week we don’t have a District Meeting as we will be having a Zone Conference (via Skype) with our missionaries.

 Elder Kasteler and Elder Clement taking some time to go over Zone issues and to develop specific goals for our Zone.

Our District Leader Elder Sandbakken leading his first District Meeting here on St Martin!

I took a few minutes to talk about being a ‘professional’ missionary– always being on time, being prepared, acting and looking professional at all times, etc.

We have a great group of missionaries–but they are all relatively new to St Martin, so they have their work cut out for them!

All the new missionaries !

Here are pictures of all the new missionaries that have come to serve on St Martin:

Elder Rowley and Elder Brimhall working the whole French side of the island, based in Marigot. They will be teaching all the people on the island who speak French. They also aid in translating during church services.

Elder Anderson and Elder Sandbakken working the St Peters area. The St Peters and Ebenezer missionaries live right next door to each other, which is great for them. One set works one side of the valley while the other set works the other side of the valley.

Elder  Sejournet and Elder Lindsey working the Belvedere area. Elder Sejournet speaks French, but was put in an English speaking area–great challenge for him! But it is a good move for the area, because Belvedere has a lot of French speakers in that area. They work in an area called the Dutch Quarter that runs all the way to the French boarder.

Sister Maughan and Sister Layton working the Cole Bay area around the Church building. They have their work cut out for them as their area was ‘blanked’ (both sister missionaries were moved, so there is no one left behind to show them where to go, where their investigators live, where the members live, etc.) !! They live directly across the street from the Church in a very safe neighborhood.

Elder Kasteller and Elder Clement, our new Zone Leaders working the Ebenezer area. They live next door to the St Peters elders. They have a challenge ahead of them also, as they have to take over ALL the responsibilities from the Clawsons when they leave– paying rent and bills, dealing with cars, dealing with government and visa problems, etc. All of those things once done by a Senior Couple must now be done by the Zone leaders!

These new missionaries have a big challenge ahead of them! The Zone has been doing great– averaging over 20 discussions a week for each companionship! We have a number of people preparing for baptism and great support from the local members.

District Meeting photo

We have so many missionaries leaving tomorrow! Six out of our ten missionaries will be leaving. It will be a busy day at the airport!

From left to right, back row: Elder Noho (leaving) Elder Roley (French side) Elder Clement (Zone Leader) Elder Smith (District Leader leaving) Elder Lindsey (Belvedere) Elder Anderson (St Peters) Elder Johnson (leaving) Elder Monroe (Zone Leader leaving)

From left to right, front row: Sister Provsgaard (leaving) Sister Rindlisbacher (leaving) Elder and Sister Clawson (leaving in three weeks!)

Celebrating the lost

Is it appropriate to celebrate losing missionaries to other areas? Oh well, it’s a reason to party at the local Indian Restaurant:

Transfers– wow!

We finally received word about the transfers this week: 6 out of our ten missionaries will be leaving!

Elder Noho (french side)

Elder Smith (our District Leader)

Elder Monroe (one of our Zone Leaders)

Elder Johnson (working Belvedere area)

And BOTH Sisters: Provsgaard and Rindlisbacher

I don’t have info on all the missionaries that will be coming to replace them yet, but we should be getting their travel info soon, so I will pass the info on when we  get it.

We will miss them all! They have done a great job!

Sacrament with Monroe

Elder Monroe spoke in sacrament meeting today. There were only two speakers, and the first speaker was very short, so Elder Monroe had a LOT of time to fill– and he did it very well!

We also gave Zoyah the Holy Ghost during the meeting.

We are all still waiting for word about the transfer this week. We think they will be informed tonight. Then Tues and/or Weds the missionaries travel (unless, like last month, there are problems–it took Elder Anderson three weeks to get here!).

For Terri and I…three weeks from tomorrow we head for home!

Teaching

Terri and I have had some wonderful opportunities to teach while on this mission. In addition to being able to go out with the missionaries while teaching investigators, we have been given assignments to teach in the local Branch.

Over the winter Terri taught Seminary while I taught Institute. These both stopped for the summer. Terri then began teaching the youth Sunday School class on Sundays. She has had great success in getting the youth to come to church, and to her class–some come to church just for her class! Even the missionaries come to her class to learn.

I have been given opportunities to teach the Priesthood quorum now and then. Last Sunday I taught about the sacrament. Here is my lesson outline for those interested:

Howard W Hunter / Chapter 15: The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper

Read Section I: The Passover declares that death has no permanent power on us.
The blood of the Lamb on the doorpost saved the Israelites
The Seder meal, or eating the flesh of the lamb, was done to remember the Passover


The three ‘pillars’ or proof of the Messiah:
Ancient Jewish theology taught how to recognize the Messiah when he came: it was called the Three Pillars or Three Proofs of the Messiah:
The Messiah had to be of royal blood: a descendant of King David, and actually in-line to become the King of Israel
The Messiah had to show proof of Priesthood power and purity by performing miracles. In Jewish theology any man could gain power from God by living a pure and perfect life. The more righteous a man was, the greater his ability to receive revelation and perform miracles. This also meant that the performance of miracles was proof of a man’s righteousness!
The Messiah was to be a prophet like unto Moses. The proof of this was that the Messiah would cause manna to appear again—the Messiah would feed the Israelites bread from heaven
Read John 6:1-15 Feeding the 5,000 on Passover
Read John 6:30-59 The Bread of Life Sermon


Read Section II: During a feast commemorating the Passover, the Savior instituted the ordinance of the sacrament.


Symbolism of the Sacrament
The sacrament table represents the Altar of sacrifice
The cloth covering the bread and water represent the burial cloth or shroud of Christ
The bread and water represent the two parts to Christ’s atonement:
The bread represents Christ’s death on the cross—the sacrifice of his physical body and his power of resurrection
The water represents Christ’s blood that was spilled in the Garden of Gethsemane to atone for the sins of mankind


The higher meaning of the ordinance of the Sacrament
D&C 20:77 The blessing on the bread
See note 77d: What does the word “Spirit” mean? Referred to John 14:16
John 14:16-23 Describes ‘another Comforter’ or the ‘Second Comforter’
See note 23b: What does the word ‘abode’ refer to? Referred to D&C 130:3
D&C130:3 The appearance of Christ and the Father is a real event!
See not 3b: What does the word “appearance” refer to? Referred to D&C 93:1
D&C93:1 All who keep the commandments will see the face of God                                                                                                                                                                                                       I have learned over the years how inspired the new scriptures are. During the late 70’s and early 80’s the Church spent countless hours updating and cross-referencing the King James Bible with our modern scriptures (the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price). It took years to accomplish because they did not just want to cross-reference words, but ideas and concepts! They wanted to be able to reference other scriptures that would enlighten the mind on the real meaning behind the scriptural passage being read. This took time and inspiration at the highest levels–guided by Apotles such as Bruce R McConkie. So, now when we read our scriptures and desire to have a more complete knowledge of an idea or doctrine, all we have to do is follow the references attached to the scripture that will lead us to other passages that enhance or expand the scope of what we are reading.                                                                                                                                                                                                                               We tried that in class on sunday–did a ‘scripture chase’ with the doctrine in the sacramental prayers, and were all enlightened.