Dear Family,
I love you all and hope everything is going well! I don't know if you realized, but I hit my 8 month mark a few weeks ago, which means I am 1/3 of the way done with my mission. Isn't that crazy?!
Dear Wonderful Mother,
I love you tons! Good luck with the many busy things you are engaged in at this time. By the way, I am supposed to inform the mission office when my home ward or stake changes, just to give you a heads up. Also, the next chance you get, could you by chance send me the talk "Profile of a Prophet," by Hugh B. Brown? I hear it's really good. Thank you so much!I loved the little stories you sent me about the boys! :) That is hilarious! Or, as you would say it, "the most funniest thing." :) Those are great rules for a big brother to have. I sure have a lot of things to learn from Joshua about "winning friends and influencing people." I don't remember having much success with getting Benson to do my work for me :) Anyways, I love you dearly and very much look forward to sharing those precious moments with you in the future. Keep being awesome!
Dear Dad,
I read Elder Ballard's talk about father-son relationships this morning. Of course, it made me think of you. I was reminded of how much I truly treasure our relationship. Thank you for always being such an amazing example, teacher, and friend. I sincerely hope you are doing well. Question: Could you sometime send me our priesthood line of authority? It's no rush, but I thought it'd be neat to have. Myldsmail.net is making some change so I'll probably be getting a new email address shortly. I'm not sure exactly when, but it'll be: spencercraft@myldsmail.net (pretty easy to remember :) )I received an impression this morning that I want to use with my future family. I know we've done similar things, but here's the idea: Have a family "Scripture of the Week". Something that the parents prayerfully decide on. Each day recite it in family scripture study. Then by the end of the week, maybe have a prize for those who have memorized it. Also, on a daily basis talk about ideas and experiences you've each had applying the scripture. I love you tons! Good luck with the moving process :)
Dear Benson,
Hey man, you still alive? Sometimes I'm not quite sure :P I know you're busy, but I hereby assign you another class. It's called: "Writing Spencer 101" Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to write me a letter or email at least once a month for the rest of my mission. It's pretty much a pass/fail system--not too complicated :) If you pass, the rewards will be good. If you fail....well, you don't want to know, just make sure you pass! It officially begins in February, 2010. Also, since you're growing up to be such a big boy, I'm sure you're in that puberty stage. I'm not sure if you're struggling with acne or not, but as you probably know, I have for a while. But recently I've found a product that seems to be helping quite a bit. I've tried lots of stuff before, but nothing really worked for me, except this recent stuff. And you're skin is probably similar to mine. It's "Neutrogena Deep Clean Invigorating Foaming Scrub". It's blue with little microbeads. If you need it, hopefully you can find it. It feels very refreshing and doesn't cost much! Just use a little bit once a day in the shower, and you should be good. If you do have acne, STRICTLY AVOID touching or picking your face. Some zits need to be relieved, but if it hurts at all or bleeds, STOP! Maybe you don't need all this, but I thought I'd offer it just in case, so you can learn it early from someone else's experience. I love you Benson! Keep being the great young man that you are.
Love,Elder Craft
MIRACLE Stories:
Saturday was a pretty miraculous day. After not seeing much success all week, we were able to get 1 new investigator (from tracting), 3 return appointments (2 from tracting and 1 from an ITL), and 1 referral for another area (from an ITL)! We planned to tract a certain street on the outskirts of our area. When we got there, it was chained off apartment area. We felt that we should change our plans, so we went over to another near-by street (which isn't even on our map!) and were able to find a new investigator! When we plan by the Spirit, even if it doesn't turn out the way we expect, we'll be led to the elect.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
ITL -Invite to Learn
Dear Family,
The weather is gorgeous today, which is making me very happy! The work is also going well. Thank you so much for all of your love, support, and encouragement.I want to testify to all of you today of the truthfulness and importance of our modern-day prophets. The General Conference addresses are the most up-to-date scriptures we have! I challenge all of you to make the study of them a DAILY practice. It only takes a few minutes to read a talk, and it'll probably be some of the most effective time you spend all day. At a minimum, make sure you study ALL the recent talks at least once before the next general conference. The General Authorities are inspired by the Lord! Having their leadership and guidance so easily accessible is an enormous blessing that hasn't always been on the earth. In fact, this time we are blessed more than ever before, and we should be the most gospel-learned people of all of God's children. I testify that if we follow the counsel of our modern-day prophets, we will be led on the straight and narrow path to our glorious reward of exaltation!
Dear Mom,
So Elder Greenfield sent you a note? That's pretty thoughtful of him. Tell Joshua "thank you" for his short letter :) I look forward to receiving your's. I've got something kind of cool to send you today, but you'll have to wait to see what it is :)We had interviews with Pres. and Sis. Pfile this past week. I humbly need to do as I'm told and again tell you that you both did a good job as parents :) I love you Mom so very much! Keep being amazing. Have a magnificent week!
Dear Dad,
My respect and admiration for Bishops has grown tremendously lately. We get to go to the weekly PEC and ward council meetings. Bishops sure do a whole lot more than just sit on the stand!Also, thank you for your great example of pondering and applying the scriptures. I'll try to study Helaman 5:12 out and report on it in my next letter. I love you and hope everything is going well!
Dear Benson,
What's up little growin' brother?! I miss you man. Sometimes the devil tempts me to get too excited about going home and playing basketball with you, Randy, and Dad. Do you think we could wup 'em? You better be working hard and doing your best in everything you do, especially in prayer, scripture study, family, and school work. Continue to honor, respect, and cherish our parents. I would be willing to bet that 99.9% of the young men in the world do not have as good of parents as we do. Be extremely grateful for that and take advantage of it! Learn all you can from them. I love you Benson! See you in 16 months (it goes fast; don't let a minute be wasted!).
Love, Elder Craft
MIRACLE Stories:On Sunday an investigator that we've been trying to contact for a while came to church! It was awesome. We actually didn't get to see her because we left quickly to another meeting, but she introduced herself to our ward mission leader and others, and just made herself at home :) We're excited to follow up with her about her experience.Yesterday we saw a wonderful miracle because of planning and ITLing. We had a couple of potentials that we planned to see for a couple of hours. The first fell through, but on our way to the others we passed by this lady sitting out on a driveway. We ITLed her, and she agreed to here the message right there on the spot! It turns out that she has a close friend who is investigating the Church and working towards baptism. We taught her the Restoration and set a date for exactly two weeks out! She was very receptive and commented that her friend will probably be excited to hear that she's investigating also :) It just goes to show us the importance of asking for referrals from everyone, even our investigators!
The weather is gorgeous today, which is making me very happy! The work is also going well. Thank you so much for all of your love, support, and encouragement.I want to testify to all of you today of the truthfulness and importance of our modern-day prophets. The General Conference addresses are the most up-to-date scriptures we have! I challenge all of you to make the study of them a DAILY practice. It only takes a few minutes to read a talk, and it'll probably be some of the most effective time you spend all day. At a minimum, make sure you study ALL the recent talks at least once before the next general conference. The General Authorities are inspired by the Lord! Having their leadership and guidance so easily accessible is an enormous blessing that hasn't always been on the earth. In fact, this time we are blessed more than ever before, and we should be the most gospel-learned people of all of God's children. I testify that if we follow the counsel of our modern-day prophets, we will be led on the straight and narrow path to our glorious reward of exaltation!
Dear Mom,
So Elder Greenfield sent you a note? That's pretty thoughtful of him. Tell Joshua "thank you" for his short letter :) I look forward to receiving your's. I've got something kind of cool to send you today, but you'll have to wait to see what it is :)We had interviews with Pres. and Sis. Pfile this past week. I humbly need to do as I'm told and again tell you that you both did a good job as parents :) I love you Mom so very much! Keep being amazing. Have a magnificent week!
Dear Dad,
My respect and admiration for Bishops has grown tremendously lately. We get to go to the weekly PEC and ward council meetings. Bishops sure do a whole lot more than just sit on the stand!Also, thank you for your great example of pondering and applying the scriptures. I'll try to study Helaman 5:12 out and report on it in my next letter. I love you and hope everything is going well!
Dear Benson,
What's up little growin' brother?! I miss you man. Sometimes the devil tempts me to get too excited about going home and playing basketball with you, Randy, and Dad. Do you think we could wup 'em? You better be working hard and doing your best in everything you do, especially in prayer, scripture study, family, and school work. Continue to honor, respect, and cherish our parents. I would be willing to bet that 99.9% of the young men in the world do not have as good of parents as we do. Be extremely grateful for that and take advantage of it! Learn all you can from them. I love you Benson! See you in 16 months (it goes fast; don't let a minute be wasted!).
Love, Elder Craft
MIRACLE Stories:On Sunday an investigator that we've been trying to contact for a while came to church! It was awesome. We actually didn't get to see her because we left quickly to another meeting, but she introduced herself to our ward mission leader and others, and just made herself at home :) We're excited to follow up with her about her experience.Yesterday we saw a wonderful miracle because of planning and ITLing. We had a couple of potentials that we planned to see for a couple of hours. The first fell through, but on our way to the others we passed by this lady sitting out on a driveway. We ITLed her, and she agreed to here the message right there on the spot! It turns out that she has a close friend who is investigating the Church and working towards baptism. We taught her the Restoration and set a date for exactly two weeks out! She was very receptive and commented that her friend will probably be excited to hear that she's investigating also :) It just goes to show us the importance of asking for referrals from everyone, even our investigators!
Monday, January 4, 2010
It's 2010
Dear Family,
I love you all so incredibly much! Things are going pretty well on the mission, and I hope and pray that things continue to go well for you at home.
Mom,
Of course you can change your gift!! I would much rather spend a day with you than sleep in the mountains with 3 noisy, stinky boys (no offense guys). I was just trying to make the different gifts unique, but I will gladly comply with your request :)In the next package, could you send my hair-cutting kit? Along with all my remaining ties? You might be surprised at what's appropriate. President gives us all ties at Christmas, and I got a bright pink pasely! Then I wore it at transfers and he complimented it :) Even if it is crazy, I can always trade it for something different :PAnyways, I sure love you! Good luck with the many pressing responsibilities you have.
Dad,
Thank you for your testimony and words of encouragement. Do you have any advice for a trainer? Thank you so much for your enduring and loving support! Have a great week!So I've got a joke for all of you. This was shared by Elder Greenfield while we were tracting:So there is this (insert "favorite" denomination) preacher/minister who decides to skip church one Sunday and go out fishing. "I've lived a good life; one week won't hurt," he says. So he goes out fishing and as he's hiking along out in the middle of nowhere, he comes across this huge grizzly bear. He tries to escape, but the thing starts charging him. So he desperately prays, "Oh God, make this bear Christian, and I promise I'll never miss church again." So right before the bear gets to him, it stops, looks up, and says, "Dear Lord, I thank thee for this food which I am about to eat." :)I love you all. Have a FANTASTIC new year!!!
Love,Elder Craft
Weekly Report:We are diligently trying to contact our investigators, but only a couple have been working with us. I think I need to make it a matter of prayer as to which ones we should keep focusing on and which ones would be ineffective at this time.
MIRACLE Stories:We tracted into a young lady who used to go to church with a mormon friend, until her friend moved to college. She was very receptive to learning more. She said that she had heard a little about the church from her friends, but they seemed to shy away from it thinking that she didn't want to here about it, when in reality, she did! It's crazy to think about how many elect are right around us, and we just don't recognize them! Miracles you have seen from planning.:The last night before Elder Greenfield left we had planned to see Rich and Susie Kosut. We called ahead of time to make sure they were home. Elder Greenfield still had packing to do, so I left it up to him as to whether we ride down to see if they're home or not. He decided we should at least try. It turns out that they were home, but were just busy cooking so they didn't answer the phone. However, they let us come in and teach them. We had a great Restoration lesson with them, and they seemed very receptive to everything, including coming to church. They even agreed to continue taking the lessons and pray about being baptized on January 16th! After the lesson, Elder Greenfield told me he had a dream a while back about being a missionary and riding down a hill at night. On our way to the lesson, he recognized that the scene matched up with his dream. "Don't drop them," he kept telling me :) It was pretty cool!
I love you all so incredibly much! Things are going pretty well on the mission, and I hope and pray that things continue to go well for you at home.
Mom,
Of course you can change your gift!! I would much rather spend a day with you than sleep in the mountains with 3 noisy, stinky boys (no offense guys). I was just trying to make the different gifts unique, but I will gladly comply with your request :)In the next package, could you send my hair-cutting kit? Along with all my remaining ties? You might be surprised at what's appropriate. President gives us all ties at Christmas, and I got a bright pink pasely! Then I wore it at transfers and he complimented it :) Even if it is crazy, I can always trade it for something different :PAnyways, I sure love you! Good luck with the many pressing responsibilities you have.
Dad,
Thank you for your testimony and words of encouragement. Do you have any advice for a trainer? Thank you so much for your enduring and loving support! Have a great week!So I've got a joke for all of you. This was shared by Elder Greenfield while we were tracting:So there is this (insert "favorite" denomination) preacher/minister who decides to skip church one Sunday and go out fishing. "I've lived a good life; one week won't hurt," he says. So he goes out fishing and as he's hiking along out in the middle of nowhere, he comes across this huge grizzly bear. He tries to escape, but the thing starts charging him. So he desperately prays, "Oh God, make this bear Christian, and I promise I'll never miss church again." So right before the bear gets to him, it stops, looks up, and says, "Dear Lord, I thank thee for this food which I am about to eat." :)I love you all. Have a FANTASTIC new year!!!
Love,Elder Craft
Weekly Report:We are diligently trying to contact our investigators, but only a couple have been working with us. I think I need to make it a matter of prayer as to which ones we should keep focusing on and which ones would be ineffective at this time.
MIRACLE Stories:We tracted into a young lady who used to go to church with a mormon friend, until her friend moved to college. She was very receptive to learning more. She said that she had heard a little about the church from her friends, but they seemed to shy away from it thinking that she didn't want to here about it, when in reality, she did! It's crazy to think about how many elect are right around us, and we just don't recognize them! Miracles you have seen from planning.:The last night before Elder Greenfield left we had planned to see Rich and Susie Kosut. We called ahead of time to make sure they were home. Elder Greenfield still had packing to do, so I left it up to him as to whether we ride down to see if they're home or not. He decided we should at least try. It turns out that they were home, but were just busy cooking so they didn't answer the phone. However, they let us come in and teach them. We had a great Restoration lesson with them, and they seemed very receptive to everything, including coming to church. They even agreed to continue taking the lessons and pray about being baptized on January 16th! After the lesson, Elder Greenfield told me he had a dream a while back about being a missionary and riding down a hill at night. On our way to the lesson, he recognized that the scene matched up with his dream. "Don't drop them," he kept telling me :) It was pretty cool!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Merry Christmas!
Dearest Family,
I love you all so much and hope you're having a wonderful Christmas season so far! I'm so sorry to hear about Shawna's father. That is very tragic. I'll be praying for Shawna and her family.
Mom,
Oops! I forgot to get our measurements, so I'll send a letter today. I don't mean to be naggy, but in case you did send a package, I haven't gotten it yet. Hey, Elder Langston told me something that I thought was a great idea. He said growing up, every week before FHE, his mom would get out everyone's journals and have them write in it for about 20 minutes. That way even if it wasn't everyday, at least throughout his whole childhood, he has a weekly entry. FHE seems to be a great time to do that too. Anyways, I love you so much! Thanks for everything you ever have done and things that you continue to do for me. You've taught me so much. In stake conference yesterday, Elder Brimhall (of the Seventy) said "If God wants a prophet, He starts with the mother." That's so true! It reminded me of the quote by Pres. Lincoln "Everything I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my mother." I echo those same words. Thanks for everything!
Dad,
I'm glad to hear you're busy at work. Whenever I'll tell people what you do, they always guess that it's slowed down a ton. But I'm very grateful for the blessings of the Lord upon you and our family. Thanks for all that you do!This transfer has been kind of tough. Elder Langston has been sick and isn't supposed to ride a bike, so we walk everywhere. Also, it's been getting dark and cold very early, so it's hard to find effective things to do, since we're not really teaching anyone right now. Of course, I still have a lot to learn and practice, so we haven't quite seen the results we're used to. If you could pray for my companion's health, so we can work more, and for me to know what to do, that'd be great! I am really excited to talk to all of you on Christmas! Have a great week!
Love, Elder Craft
MIRACLE Stories:We saw a lot of miracles on teamups the other day. We were able to schedule an appointment while tracting, and we also got a call from a lady who wants her son to be taught. He's a member, but since we were going over there, a friend of their's who isn't a member, said she'll listen in on the lessons. Also, that night we got a headquarters referral for Danielle Brown, who supposedly has taken all the lessons, read 26 pgs of the Book of Mormon, has a testimony and wants to be baptized! We got a hold of her, but she was busy so couldn't meet us yet, but she said this week will work, so we're really excited!
I love you all so much and hope you're having a wonderful Christmas season so far! I'm so sorry to hear about Shawna's father. That is very tragic. I'll be praying for Shawna and her family.
Mom,
Oops! I forgot to get our measurements, so I'll send a letter today. I don't mean to be naggy, but in case you did send a package, I haven't gotten it yet. Hey, Elder Langston told me something that I thought was a great idea. He said growing up, every week before FHE, his mom would get out everyone's journals and have them write in it for about 20 minutes. That way even if it wasn't everyday, at least throughout his whole childhood, he has a weekly entry. FHE seems to be a great time to do that too. Anyways, I love you so much! Thanks for everything you ever have done and things that you continue to do for me. You've taught me so much. In stake conference yesterday, Elder Brimhall (of the Seventy) said "If God wants a prophet, He starts with the mother." That's so true! It reminded me of the quote by Pres. Lincoln "Everything I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my mother." I echo those same words. Thanks for everything!
Dad,
I'm glad to hear you're busy at work. Whenever I'll tell people what you do, they always guess that it's slowed down a ton. But I'm very grateful for the blessings of the Lord upon you and our family. Thanks for all that you do!This transfer has been kind of tough. Elder Langston has been sick and isn't supposed to ride a bike, so we walk everywhere. Also, it's been getting dark and cold very early, so it's hard to find effective things to do, since we're not really teaching anyone right now. Of course, I still have a lot to learn and practice, so we haven't quite seen the results we're used to. If you could pray for my companion's health, so we can work more, and for me to know what to do, that'd be great! I am really excited to talk to all of you on Christmas! Have a great week!
Love, Elder Craft
MIRACLE Stories:We saw a lot of miracles on teamups the other day. We were able to schedule an appointment while tracting, and we also got a call from a lady who wants her son to be taught. He's a member, but since we were going over there, a friend of their's who isn't a member, said she'll listen in on the lessons. Also, that night we got a headquarters referral for Danielle Brown, who supposedly has taken all the lessons, read 26 pgs of the Book of Mormon, has a testimony and wants to be baptized! We got a hold of her, but she was busy so couldn't meet us yet, but she said this week will work, so we're really excited!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
6 areas in 6 months
Dear Family,
Things are going great here on the mission! I absolutely love being a missionary!Transfers are tomorrow, and guess what?I'm moving again!!! I'm going to the Ridgeview and Springs 11th wards up near or in Colorado Springs. My companion will be Elder Langston, who was in my district this past transfer. He is a really cool Elder! He's from Hurricane, Ut. I'm really excited but kind of nervous because we'll be flushed in! Your prayers are much appreciated :)
Dad,
could you send my priesthood line of authority some time please :) It's no rush, but I thought it'd be kind of nice to have.
Benson, Joshua, and Jacob,
thank you so much for your letters and pictures! I just got them yesterday.
Joshua, I'm excited to play on the trampoline with you again when I get back :)
Jacob, I love you. Keep being super cool!
Benson, basketball is awesome too! It's probably my favorite sport :) Work hard and have fun!
Thought:In Elder Holland's talk (None were with Him) he said of the Savior: "His determination to submit to the Father's will was as obvious as it was invincible." How determined are we to submit to the Lord's will in ALL things?Sorry I don't have a lot of time, but I love you all!! Keep up the good work, and have a great week!
Love,Elder Craft
MIRACLE Stories:Our greatest miracle this week was with Bill Otero. He's a referral that we contacted, but he suffers with verdigo and is kind of hard to get a hold of. On Thursday he called and told us that he had read the Restoration pamphlet that we left him, and was really excited to start the lessons. Then on Saturday we stopped in and miraculously he was feeling well and was ready to be taught. He accepted the invitation to be baptized and is really excited to go to church!
Things are going great here on the mission! I absolutely love being a missionary!Transfers are tomorrow, and guess what?I'm moving again!!! I'm going to the Ridgeview and Springs 11th wards up near or in Colorado Springs. My companion will be Elder Langston, who was in my district this past transfer. He is a really cool Elder! He's from Hurricane, Ut. I'm really excited but kind of nervous because we'll be flushed in! Your prayers are much appreciated :)
Dad,
could you send my priesthood line of authority some time please :) It's no rush, but I thought it'd be kind of nice to have.
Benson, Joshua, and Jacob,
thank you so much for your letters and pictures! I just got them yesterday.
Joshua, I'm excited to play on the trampoline with you again when I get back :)
Jacob, I love you. Keep being super cool!
Benson, basketball is awesome too! It's probably my favorite sport :) Work hard and have fun!
Thought:In Elder Holland's talk (None were with Him) he said of the Savior: "His determination to submit to the Father's will was as obvious as it was invincible." How determined are we to submit to the Lord's will in ALL things?Sorry I don't have a lot of time, but I love you all!! Keep up the good work, and have a great week!
Love,Elder Craft
MIRACLE Stories:Our greatest miracle this week was with Bill Otero. He's a referral that we contacted, but he suffers with verdigo and is kind of hard to get a hold of. On Thursday he called and told us that he had read the Restoration pamphlet that we left him, and was really excited to start the lessons. Then on Saturday we stopped in and miraculously he was feeling well and was ready to be taught. He accepted the invitation to be baptized and is really excited to go to church!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
6 months of serving
Dear Family!
I love you all so much! I do look forward to spending the holidays with you in the future, but to be honest, time just goes by too fast for me to really get homesick. My 6 month mark is coming up in 4 days!! Aaahh!!! I feel like I just started :)
Transfers are a week from Wednesday, and we just found out that La Junta will be getting two more missionaries, which will be a fun experience for the holidays. Hopefully, they (the Lord and Pres. Pfile) won't move me again, but either way, I guess I'll go and do! We had a baptism last Saturday! It all happened so fast, but we are so very grateful! (For more of this top news story, see "Miracle Stories")
Mom,
The weather is great here right now, but it'll probably get cold soon. Other than the BOM study guide, there's not much I really need in the package. I'm so glad to hear that your scripture study is going well. That is definitely something I will have learned on my mission: to just make it a priority and set aside a time for it. How much are the general conference CD's? Those would be cool to have! Anyways, I love you so much and am so proud of all the wonderful things you are doing. Whenever we talk with the Relief Society President, I think of you and all the great work you are engaged in. Keep up the good work! Thank you for everything you do! I love you.
Joshua,
I haven't got thrown in jail yet, so I think you're safe, but keep praying for me anyways :) I love you buddy!
Dad,
I still have a book marker for the place you and I left off in the Book of Mormon. I still plan on finishing it with you, so we can go on that ultimate camp out :) Thank you so much for all that you do to make it possible for me to be on this mission, and for all that you have taught me. I know that I could never fully repay you, but I want you to know that I am grateful. I love you so much and hope you have a great week!
Benson,
How's it going buddy? I'm still waiting for your next letter :) Have you been reading the Book of Mormon everyday? How's cross-country going? Are you stronger than me yet? Do you have "Tennis Shoes among the Nephites" memorized yet? JK, I love you so much! Keep being totally awesome!
Love, Elder Craft
P.S. I've included some of my last week's letter as well.
Last WeekMIRACLE Stories:It seems so long ago because of how much progress Chris has made, but just last week we taught him the word of wisdom in preparation for his baptism this past Saturday. This guy has grown up with alcohol and drugs, has forsaken a lot within the past year, and just needed to stop smoking. After teaching him the word of wisdom, we knew we'd have to pray a lot for him and we have. Miraculuously, since that lesson last week, he hasn't smoked at all! The first day after he started, he looked miserable, but slowly he got better and better everyday. It's a huge miracle and just goes to show you that the Lord strengthens those who He is preparing for the gospel. We saw a cool little miracle the other day. We were trying to contact a potential, but I got the address and street mixed up, so we ran into some random guy, invited him to learn, and he accepted! We haven't contacted him yet, but he still has a lot of potential. Even though I don't know where I'm going half the time, the Lord still placing people in our path, and it's awesome!
Testimony: I was very blessed to be able to share it yesterday in sacrament meeting. I realized that my testimony is a simple one, but it's the most precious thing I have. Take away everything from me, and I still have a reason to rejoice because of my testimony of this gospel.
Service: On teamups we were trying to contact a potential and ran into a little old lady instead. She was deaf and blind and needed help moving water jugs, so we did. It was kind of cool :)
This weekMIRACLE Stories:Miraculously, three days after we started teaching a former investigator, Julie Gonzales, she was baptized! It was incredible! A lot of her family are recent converts, but she hasn't been coming to church. After being sick, she promised God she would start coming. The past 3 weeks she came on her own, so all we had to do was teach a little bit and organize the baptismal service. After teaching her the Restoration, with some great encouragement and support from her father, she agreed to be baptized, and we are so grateful!The very same day as the baptism, we received a great referral from Bro. Gonzales. His friend, Bill Otero, has been looking for a church. We went over that very day and knocked on his door. He wasn't there, but as we started to leave he pulled up in his truck! He is such a great individual, and he is excited to hear the lessons!
What miracles have you seen from effective planning?:It was a day of miracles, because last Saturday, while we were tracting a street that we had planned the night before, we met Esther and taught her the Restoration. She was very receptive, and seems like a very promising referral!
Testimony: I love the Book of Mormon! I've been reading in the war chapters lately and absolutely love it! I know that it's true with all my heart.
I love you all so much! I do look forward to spending the holidays with you in the future, but to be honest, time just goes by too fast for me to really get homesick. My 6 month mark is coming up in 4 days!! Aaahh!!! I feel like I just started :)
Transfers are a week from Wednesday, and we just found out that La Junta will be getting two more missionaries, which will be a fun experience for the holidays. Hopefully, they (the Lord and Pres. Pfile) won't move me again, but either way, I guess I'll go and do! We had a baptism last Saturday! It all happened so fast, but we are so very grateful! (For more of this top news story, see "Miracle Stories")
Mom,
The weather is great here right now, but it'll probably get cold soon. Other than the BOM study guide, there's not much I really need in the package. I'm so glad to hear that your scripture study is going well. That is definitely something I will have learned on my mission: to just make it a priority and set aside a time for it. How much are the general conference CD's? Those would be cool to have! Anyways, I love you so much and am so proud of all the wonderful things you are doing. Whenever we talk with the Relief Society President, I think of you and all the great work you are engaged in. Keep up the good work! Thank you for everything you do! I love you.
Joshua,
I haven't got thrown in jail yet, so I think you're safe, but keep praying for me anyways :) I love you buddy!
Dad,
I still have a book marker for the place you and I left off in the Book of Mormon. I still plan on finishing it with you, so we can go on that ultimate camp out :) Thank you so much for all that you do to make it possible for me to be on this mission, and for all that you have taught me. I know that I could never fully repay you, but I want you to know that I am grateful. I love you so much and hope you have a great week!
Benson,
How's it going buddy? I'm still waiting for your next letter :) Have you been reading the Book of Mormon everyday? How's cross-country going? Are you stronger than me yet? Do you have "Tennis Shoes among the Nephites" memorized yet? JK, I love you so much! Keep being totally awesome!
Love, Elder Craft
P.S. I've included some of my last week's letter as well.
Last WeekMIRACLE Stories:It seems so long ago because of how much progress Chris has made, but just last week we taught him the word of wisdom in preparation for his baptism this past Saturday. This guy has grown up with alcohol and drugs, has forsaken a lot within the past year, and just needed to stop smoking. After teaching him the word of wisdom, we knew we'd have to pray a lot for him and we have. Miraculuously, since that lesson last week, he hasn't smoked at all! The first day after he started, he looked miserable, but slowly he got better and better everyday. It's a huge miracle and just goes to show you that the Lord strengthens those who He is preparing for the gospel. We saw a cool little miracle the other day. We were trying to contact a potential, but I got the address and street mixed up, so we ran into some random guy, invited him to learn, and he accepted! We haven't contacted him yet, but he still has a lot of potential. Even though I don't know where I'm going half the time, the Lord still placing people in our path, and it's awesome!
Testimony: I was very blessed to be able to share it yesterday in sacrament meeting. I realized that my testimony is a simple one, but it's the most precious thing I have. Take away everything from me, and I still have a reason to rejoice because of my testimony of this gospel.
Service: On teamups we were trying to contact a potential and ran into a little old lady instead. She was deaf and blind and needed help moving water jugs, so we did. It was kind of cool :)
This weekMIRACLE Stories:Miraculously, three days after we started teaching a former investigator, Julie Gonzales, she was baptized! It was incredible! A lot of her family are recent converts, but she hasn't been coming to church. After being sick, she promised God she would start coming. The past 3 weeks she came on her own, so all we had to do was teach a little bit and organize the baptismal service. After teaching her the Restoration, with some great encouragement and support from her father, she agreed to be baptized, and we are so grateful!The very same day as the baptism, we received a great referral from Bro. Gonzales. His friend, Bill Otero, has been looking for a church. We went over that very day and knocked on his door. He wasn't there, but as we started to leave he pulled up in his truck! He is such a great individual, and he is excited to hear the lessons!
What miracles have you seen from effective planning?:It was a day of miracles, because last Saturday, while we were tracting a street that we had planned the night before, we met Esther and taught her the Restoration. She was very receptive, and seems like a very promising referral!
Testimony: I love the Book of Mormon! I've been reading in the war chapters lately and absolutely love it! I know that it's true with all my heart.
Monday, October 19, 2009
I miss you guys!
Hello Family!
I miss you guys! I hope everything is going well. I'm sure this is a busy time of year, so remember to really focus on "what matters most." I look forward to the day that I can spend in your service and amongst your company. The mission is great though! I get to have so many cool experiences, and get to learn and grow A LOT!
The Larson's sent me a package that was pretty neat. I'm sending a thank you note, but if you could also pass on my appreciation, that'd be great.
Dad,
Thank you so much for your email! It's really cool to hear about your mission experiences and about your study of Preach My Gospel. While trying to live and breathe PMG, and being constantly instructed from it, it is so interesting to hear your insights and comments on it. Keep it up! It's an interesting experience being thrown around and working with so many different types of personalities! It's a great time to grow and learn about myself, but I very much look forward to when I can play and laugh with all of you again. I definitely have good memories of home. I also have been able to greatly realize how I could've been better, so I look forward to applying these principles at home. How is work going? I sure love you! Have a great week!
Mom,
Dad's emails are great and everything, but I feel like something is missing when I don't hear from my wonderful mother (I DID SEND HIM AN E-MAIL BUT I GUESS HE DIDN'T GET IT IN TIME. I SENT IT AT 10:34 AM AND HE SENT HIS E-MAIL TO US AT 11:18 AM - I GUESS THERE IS A DELAY IN CYBERSPACE - I FELT BAD). Although, I am quite sure that you're "anxiously engaged in a good cause." Whether it is for your calling, your self, or your family, I know that you're busily serving some one! Which is great and I TOTALLY understand. (But you better write me next week! :) ) I love you so much, and continually reflect on the many wonderful things that you taught me and the great example you were to me. Good luck with your many endeavors. Have an awesome week!
I love you all! Thanks for everything!
-Elder Craft
MIRACLE Stories:Well Elder Baker was sick on Friday, which was a big bummer because we had a lot of appointments planned for that day, but we were able to see many miracles from it. Two investigators that we planned to see on Friday, weren't home that day, but were the next day on Saturday. We had very successful visits with both of them. Also, Saturday evening when we visited a part-member family that we had planned to see on Friday, they had some family who JUST came into town, and we were able to teach one of them and get a really golden referral out of it.Besides those miracles, on Friday we gave Elder Baker a priesthood blessing and blessed him that he would "recover quickly," and next day we went out to work! The Lord really does watch over us :)
I miss you guys! I hope everything is going well. I'm sure this is a busy time of year, so remember to really focus on "what matters most." I look forward to the day that I can spend in your service and amongst your company. The mission is great though! I get to have so many cool experiences, and get to learn and grow A LOT!
The Larson's sent me a package that was pretty neat. I'm sending a thank you note, but if you could also pass on my appreciation, that'd be great.
Dad,
Thank you so much for your email! It's really cool to hear about your mission experiences and about your study of Preach My Gospel. While trying to live and breathe PMG, and being constantly instructed from it, it is so interesting to hear your insights and comments on it. Keep it up! It's an interesting experience being thrown around and working with so many different types of personalities! It's a great time to grow and learn about myself, but I very much look forward to when I can play and laugh with all of you again. I definitely have good memories of home. I also have been able to greatly realize how I could've been better, so I look forward to applying these principles at home. How is work going? I sure love you! Have a great week!
Mom,
Dad's emails are great and everything, but I feel like something is missing when I don't hear from my wonderful mother (I DID SEND HIM AN E-MAIL BUT I GUESS HE DIDN'T GET IT IN TIME. I SENT IT AT 10:34 AM AND HE SENT HIS E-MAIL TO US AT 11:18 AM - I GUESS THERE IS A DELAY IN CYBERSPACE - I FELT BAD). Although, I am quite sure that you're "anxiously engaged in a good cause." Whether it is for your calling, your self, or your family, I know that you're busily serving some one! Which is great and I TOTALLY understand. (But you better write me next week! :) ) I love you so much, and continually reflect on the many wonderful things that you taught me and the great example you were to me. Good luck with your many endeavors. Have an awesome week!
I love you all! Thanks for everything!
-Elder Craft
MIRACLE Stories:Well Elder Baker was sick on Friday, which was a big bummer because we had a lot of appointments planned for that day, but we were able to see many miracles from it. Two investigators that we planned to see on Friday, weren't home that day, but were the next day on Saturday. We had very successful visits with both of them. Also, Saturday evening when we visited a part-member family that we had planned to see on Friday, they had some family who JUST came into town, and we were able to teach one of them and get a really golden referral out of it.Besides those miracles, on Friday we gave Elder Baker a priesthood blessing and blessed him that he would "recover quickly," and next day we went out to work! The Lord really does watch over us :)
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Emergency Transfer!
Dear Mom, Dad, and Family,
Well, something sort of exciting has happened to me this past week. I moved to Pueblo West, got un-packed, and began working with Elder Anderson for a day and a half. Then we got a call from the A.P.'s saying that I was being emergency transferred to La Junta! So that's where I'm at now :) Elder Conley was working here and got a kidney stone and had to go home for an operation, so I came to fill his spot. My companion is Elder Baker. He is from Detroit, and this is his second transfer. (So I'm "techinally" senior companion, aahh!) He is a great missionary and knows the area well. Everything is going really well, but I sure need your prayers!
I started driving the car (after 5 months of not driving at all) which was kind of weird :) Elder Conley could be back as soon as 3 weeks, and either everything will just be undone or I'll stay here in a three-some.
Guess what? We don't live in an apartment or a member's home. We live in our very own house! It's big, stinky, and pretty messy, but we're trying to change that :)
The address is:
211 W. 5th St.
La Junta, CO 81050
Remember during transfer time or if you don't know my address, you can just send stuff to the mission office and they'll forward it to me. I'm glad to hear that you're both studying from Preach My Gospel. Dad, it's kind of funny, because as a mission we have a focus chapter every transfer, and last transfer it was chapter 8!Anyways, one of the sacrifices that are hard to make on a mission is not going to the temple. I really miss it. I was reading in a talk by Elder Richard G. Scott the other day and I really liked something he said:"What activity could have a greater impact and provide more joy and profound happiness for a couple than worshipping together in the temple?"Isn't that neat?! I immediately thought of my experiences going to the temple with you, Mom and Dad. I look forward to doing it again when I get home. Anyways, I love you all so very much! Thank you for being the best parents and family in the world! I love reading your letters and looking at your photos (but don't worry I don't spend too much time on it :) ). Keep up the great work of the Lord!
Love, Elder Craft
President Letter Excerpts:
We've been staying busy seeing potentials and trying to teach as many Restoration lessons as possible. We have 2 planned for today and will hopefully be able to get some with a date. We have someone with a date but she's on parole, so the earliest is on Oct 9, 2010 :(
MIRACLE Stories:Yesterday after zone conference our scheduled appointment fell through, so we went out tracting for about an hour and got 3 return appointments! It was amazing! After a great Spirit-filled day, the Lord just poured out His blessings upon us and opened the way for us to have 3 more solid potentials.
What miracles have you seen from effective planning?:
We have taught two young girls whose grandparents are strong members of the ward, but they're parents are not. They really want to be baptized, and we've been trying for a while to get in contact with their mother, so we can get her permission to baptize them, but it's been nearly impossible. A few days ago we planned to go to the grandparents home to check up on all of them, and lo and behold, the mom shows up. We went out to talk with her. She doesn't really like us, but at least we got to meet her! We're still waiting to get her permission though.
Service:
We got to tutor at the library for a couple of hours. It was a great feeling being able to help out in the community!
Well, something sort of exciting has happened to me this past week. I moved to Pueblo West, got un-packed, and began working with Elder Anderson for a day and a half. Then we got a call from the A.P.'s saying that I was being emergency transferred to La Junta! So that's where I'm at now :) Elder Conley was working here and got a kidney stone and had to go home for an operation, so I came to fill his spot. My companion is Elder Baker. He is from Detroit, and this is his second transfer. (So I'm "techinally" senior companion, aahh!) He is a great missionary and knows the area well. Everything is going really well, but I sure need your prayers!
I started driving the car (after 5 months of not driving at all) which was kind of weird :) Elder Conley could be back as soon as 3 weeks, and either everything will just be undone or I'll stay here in a three-some.
Guess what? We don't live in an apartment or a member's home. We live in our very own house! It's big, stinky, and pretty messy, but we're trying to change that :)
The address is:
211 W. 5th St.
La Junta, CO 81050
Remember during transfer time or if you don't know my address, you can just send stuff to the mission office and they'll forward it to me. I'm glad to hear that you're both studying from Preach My Gospel. Dad, it's kind of funny, because as a mission we have a focus chapter every transfer, and last transfer it was chapter 8!Anyways, one of the sacrifices that are hard to make on a mission is not going to the temple. I really miss it. I was reading in a talk by Elder Richard G. Scott the other day and I really liked something he said:"What activity could have a greater impact and provide more joy and profound happiness for a couple than worshipping together in the temple?"Isn't that neat?! I immediately thought of my experiences going to the temple with you, Mom and Dad. I look forward to doing it again when I get home. Anyways, I love you all so very much! Thank you for being the best parents and family in the world! I love reading your letters and looking at your photos (but don't worry I don't spend too much time on it :) ). Keep up the great work of the Lord!
Love, Elder Craft
President Letter Excerpts:
We've been staying busy seeing potentials and trying to teach as many Restoration lessons as possible. We have 2 planned for today and will hopefully be able to get some with a date. We have someone with a date but she's on parole, so the earliest is on Oct 9, 2010 :(
MIRACLE Stories:Yesterday after zone conference our scheduled appointment fell through, so we went out tracting for about an hour and got 3 return appointments! It was amazing! After a great Spirit-filled day, the Lord just poured out His blessings upon us and opened the way for us to have 3 more solid potentials.
What miracles have you seen from effective planning?:
We have taught two young girls whose grandparents are strong members of the ward, but they're parents are not. They really want to be baptized, and we've been trying for a while to get in contact with their mother, so we can get her permission to baptize them, but it's been nearly impossible. A few days ago we planned to go to the grandparents home to check up on all of them, and lo and behold, the mom shows up. We went out to talk with her. She doesn't really like us, but at least we got to meet her! We're still waiting to get her permission though.
Service:
We got to tutor at the library for a couple of hours. It was a great feeling being able to help out in the community!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Transferred again to Pueblo West
Dearest family,
Guess what?! I'm being transferred again!!! Weird huh? It was a total surprise to me! I'm going to Pueblo West to take the place of someone in my district who finished his mission. My companion is Elder Anderson. He's been in my district this past transfer, so I know him a little. He's a really nice guy. My previous companion, Elder Oakes, is training! It's funny, because every companion I've had has always trained right after I left. I guess I train trainers and prepare them well for greenies! :)
My heart is full at this time because of 3 main things:
-Your package and letters
-General Conference
-My realization of the blessings of the Gospel
First off, thank you so much Mom for the package you sent! I was overwhelmed with gratitude upon receiving it. The scriptures are perfect! That talk was awesome (was that highlighted by Dad?). And everything else was great! I was wondering why you sent me this other coat. It is really nice, but now it makes sense :) I'll send it back though. If it's okay I may have to wait until you send my other one though, because it is getting cold here. Mom and Dad, thank you both for your letters of your insights and experiences. It brings me such joy to read them. I'm so glad to hear about the things that you're doing to learn and live the gospel! I must whole-heartedly agree with both of you that General Conference was absolutely fantastic! It was very interesting watching it from a missionary's perspective, everything seemed to apply in some way. You perfectly listed all of the talks that were my favorites! Pres. Uchtdorf is such a great speaker/teacher with his talks about love, work, and learning. I about fell over with Elder Holland's talk/testimony. I wish that I could testify with same amount of passion and conviction. Also Elders Bednar and Scott, along with many others gave such inspired and inspiring messages. After watching that conference I can more proudly and boldly declare that I know that this church is true! I would give my life for it!
We had a very interesting experience in between the first two sessions of conference. We went out street contacting on our way to lunch and talked to a particular man who was convinced we were wrong. He was bashing us on everything he could think of. He very boldly got in our face and proclaimed that Joseph Smith, President Monson, and us missionaries were all "false prophets." We stared him straight in the eye, tried to show love and resolve his concerns, but then just testified and moved on. These experiences as a missionary are so interesting. It is strange to run across such conflict with fellow Christians, and have them flat out reject your testimony. It sure makes us need to solidify our testimonies though. The more I see different kinds of families, the more I'm so overwhelmingly grateful for the one I have! You guys are AWESOME! I will be eternally grateful for your faithfulness. Keep it up, and remember that I love you!
Excerpts: Well, we've been really working with each of our investigators to help have spiritual experiences, and it's going well. We've had a lot of really spiritual lessons this past week. They each have their own little hang ups, but with faith, work, and time, they'll come out successful in the end.
MIRACLE Stories:This week when we had planned teamups with the high priests we were surprised with two brethren who came to help. That blessing allowed us to teach the lesson we had planned, and Elder Oakes also took one of them to go see some PM/LA families. Shane Bennedict's mother is a member, but they haven't really been coming very much. After visiting with them, Shane and her mother's boyfriend both agreed to take the lessons!We were able to get one of our investigators, Robert Tafoya, to the Priesthood session of conference. His girlfriend, Jenny, watched the other sessions and took very copious notes. We talked to them yesterday and both of them have had good experiences. There was an incident on Sunday where Robert remember Pres. Monson's counsel against anger, and he heeded that counsel by responding well to a contentious circumstance. During the same visit, Jenny bore her testimony to all of us. It was so powerful! We were so extremely happy to see the Gospel take real effect in blessing their lives!Another experience that I had, which was such a blessing to me happened a while back. Upon transferring to another area, I was reading in "The Messenger" and saw the news that one of our previous investigators, Tim Whitty, had been baptized. It filled my heart with joy and gratitude! I'm so grateful to a part of continuous work where we're all working together for the salvation of souls!
Guess what?! I'm being transferred again!!! Weird huh? It was a total surprise to me! I'm going to Pueblo West to take the place of someone in my district who finished his mission. My companion is Elder Anderson. He's been in my district this past transfer, so I know him a little. He's a really nice guy. My previous companion, Elder Oakes, is training! It's funny, because every companion I've had has always trained right after I left. I guess I train trainers and prepare them well for greenies! :)
My heart is full at this time because of 3 main things:
-Your package and letters
-General Conference
-My realization of the blessings of the Gospel
First off, thank you so much Mom for the package you sent! I was overwhelmed with gratitude upon receiving it. The scriptures are perfect! That talk was awesome (was that highlighted by Dad?). And everything else was great! I was wondering why you sent me this other coat. It is really nice, but now it makes sense :) I'll send it back though. If it's okay I may have to wait until you send my other one though, because it is getting cold here. Mom and Dad, thank you both for your letters of your insights and experiences. It brings me such joy to read them. I'm so glad to hear about the things that you're doing to learn and live the gospel! I must whole-heartedly agree with both of you that General Conference was absolutely fantastic! It was very interesting watching it from a missionary's perspective, everything seemed to apply in some way. You perfectly listed all of the talks that were my favorites! Pres. Uchtdorf is such a great speaker/teacher with his talks about love, work, and learning. I about fell over with Elder Holland's talk/testimony. I wish that I could testify with same amount of passion and conviction. Also Elders Bednar and Scott, along with many others gave such inspired and inspiring messages. After watching that conference I can more proudly and boldly declare that I know that this church is true! I would give my life for it!
We had a very interesting experience in between the first two sessions of conference. We went out street contacting on our way to lunch and talked to a particular man who was convinced we were wrong. He was bashing us on everything he could think of. He very boldly got in our face and proclaimed that Joseph Smith, President Monson, and us missionaries were all "false prophets." We stared him straight in the eye, tried to show love and resolve his concerns, but then just testified and moved on. These experiences as a missionary are so interesting. It is strange to run across such conflict with fellow Christians, and have them flat out reject your testimony. It sure makes us need to solidify our testimonies though. The more I see different kinds of families, the more I'm so overwhelmingly grateful for the one I have! You guys are AWESOME! I will be eternally grateful for your faithfulness. Keep it up, and remember that I love you!
Excerpts: Well, we've been really working with each of our investigators to help have spiritual experiences, and it's going well. We've had a lot of really spiritual lessons this past week. They each have their own little hang ups, but with faith, work, and time, they'll come out successful in the end.
MIRACLE Stories:This week when we had planned teamups with the high priests we were surprised with two brethren who came to help. That blessing allowed us to teach the lesson we had planned, and Elder Oakes also took one of them to go see some PM/LA families. Shane Bennedict's mother is a member, but they haven't really been coming very much. After visiting with them, Shane and her mother's boyfriend both agreed to take the lessons!We were able to get one of our investigators, Robert Tafoya, to the Priesthood session of conference. His girlfriend, Jenny, watched the other sessions and took very copious notes. We talked to them yesterday and both of them have had good experiences. There was an incident on Sunday where Robert remember Pres. Monson's counsel against anger, and he heeded that counsel by responding well to a contentious circumstance. During the same visit, Jenny bore her testimony to all of us. It was so powerful! We were so extremely happy to see the Gospel take real effect in blessing their lives!Another experience that I had, which was such a blessing to me happened a while back. Upon transferring to another area, I was reading in "The Messenger" and saw the news that one of our previous investigators, Tim Whitty, had been baptized. It filled my heart with joy and gratitude! I'm so grateful to a part of continuous work where we're all working together for the salvation of souls!
Monday, September 28, 2009
I sure love the Work!
Dearest Family,
A mission is an adventure! It's crazy that this once in a lifetime opportunity goes by so quickly. We've been really busy, and I sure love the work. I get to learn and grow everyday. I don't have a whole lot of time, but I wanted to send my love and appreciation.
Dad,
it tells me three times in my Patriarchal blessing to be grateful. Thank you for being such a wonderful example of that. It reminds me of the story that I heard of a man that bore his testimony twice in a row only saying, "If you want to be happy, be grateful." May the Lord continue to bless you.
Mom,
I've been working hard to memorize "The Living Christ". I love the intellectual stimulation of memorization :) Thank you for sharing those spiritual experiences you have. They are so inspiring! I can't wait to see Joshua's progress when I get home. Yeah I did run into Sister Sumsion! It was kind of cool :) Thanks for sending the package! All your work is much appreciated. I love you all! (By the way, transfers are next week)
***Remember how important General Conference is! Prepare well to be instructed by the prophets and the Spirit!
Love, Elder Craft
MIRACLE Stories:One of our most wonderful experiences this past week was at the FHE activity we have every Wednesday night. There are a couple of families in the ward that attend and take turns opening up their home and providing dinner for all of our investigators who want to come. We just spend time getting to know each other, then we have a lesson afterwards. After a big day full of phone calls, arrangements were made for all of our investigators (except one family) to come. We had to set up a bunch of rides with members to get everyone there. Then it was so cool being able to show up (a little late) and see everyone there enjoying food and each others' company!Also, we got free dinner at Chipotle this week! We attempted to use a coupon because we're low on money, but then we each got fed completely free! It was quite miraculous :) I love being a missionary!
What miracles have you seen from effective planning?:Something that has happened more than once is when we are trying to prayerfully set our goals, and we both come up with the same number. It's not an obvious choice either, we just both have the same thing come to mind.Testimony: It's doing quite well! I especially felt the Spirit this past fast and testimony meeting when we got up to share our testimonies.
Service: We didn't get to do as much service as we'd like this week. I did make Elder Oakes some McPfiles though!
A mission is an adventure! It's crazy that this once in a lifetime opportunity goes by so quickly. We've been really busy, and I sure love the work. I get to learn and grow everyday. I don't have a whole lot of time, but I wanted to send my love and appreciation.
Dad,
it tells me three times in my Patriarchal blessing to be grateful. Thank you for being such a wonderful example of that. It reminds me of the story that I heard of a man that bore his testimony twice in a row only saying, "If you want to be happy, be grateful." May the Lord continue to bless you.
Mom,
I've been working hard to memorize "The Living Christ". I love the intellectual stimulation of memorization :) Thank you for sharing those spiritual experiences you have. They are so inspiring! I can't wait to see Joshua's progress when I get home. Yeah I did run into Sister Sumsion! It was kind of cool :) Thanks for sending the package! All your work is much appreciated. I love you all! (By the way, transfers are next week)
***Remember how important General Conference is! Prepare well to be instructed by the prophets and the Spirit!
Love, Elder Craft
MIRACLE Stories:One of our most wonderful experiences this past week was at the FHE activity we have every Wednesday night. There are a couple of families in the ward that attend and take turns opening up their home and providing dinner for all of our investigators who want to come. We just spend time getting to know each other, then we have a lesson afterwards. After a big day full of phone calls, arrangements were made for all of our investigators (except one family) to come. We had to set up a bunch of rides with members to get everyone there. Then it was so cool being able to show up (a little late) and see everyone there enjoying food and each others' company!Also, we got free dinner at Chipotle this week! We attempted to use a coupon because we're low on money, but then we each got fed completely free! It was quite miraculous :) I love being a missionary!
What miracles have you seen from effective planning?:Something that has happened more than once is when we are trying to prayerfully set our goals, and we both come up with the same number. It's not an obvious choice either, we just both have the same thing come to mind.Testimony: It's doing quite well! I especially felt the Spirit this past fast and testimony meeting when we got up to share our testimonies.
Service: We didn't get to do as much service as we'd like this week. I did make Elder Oakes some McPfiles though!
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