We Don't Bash!!!

Dear Family,
I think I did hear some gorgeous singing coming from the west on about 3 occasions yesterday.
Now I know what it was! Thank you all very much. (Hopefully the neighbors don't think you're TOO crazy!)

But the greatest birthday present I've ever received was to be able to see Gary and Susan Hill baptized on Saturday and then confirmed on Sunday. It was very special. Gary was baptized by Elder Tauteoli (his first time ever!) and confirmed by Bro. Bayron (our great ward mission leader). Susan was baptized by Bro. Bayron and confirmed by our great Bishop Smith. I got to just stand there and enjoy it all.

Dear Mother,
Thank you for all your loving effort in making my birthday special. I really am filled with gratitude to the Lord for the wonderful mother I've been given. I truly find strength from your testimony and example.
We actually moved to a different place, and we'll only be there for a week or so, till our new place is ready. So I'll have to pick up the stuff from our old house. Honestly though, I've been too busy to even think much about it. We'll live at 4696 Montebello Dr. for a week, but you could also just send stuff to the mission office, then I'll let you know our new address next week.
So is the PMG thing somewhat easy and cheap? If it's not, then it's really not a big deal. The size that would be good is close to the standard size of scriptures. I'm not sure exactly, but that's just about what it looks like to me.

Dear Dad,
So you did get a goat?! Well, I'm actually glad I wasn't there for that little incident. I think I might have died of laughter. Remember to tell him whose boss. :)

Dear Benson,
Stop writing me such lengthy letters. You know I only have an hour to read them. JK, thank you very much for remembering me. I sure love you buddy!


Thank you for all your prayers, love, and support. Please keep praying for missionary opportunities for both me and you.
I love you all!!!

--Elder Craft


Miracle Story:
Gary and Susan Hill were both baptized and confirmed this past week, which was a huge miracle. The whole process only took about 2 weeks, which really surprised a lot of the members, but we know that it was a blessing of the Lord. After they accepted a date on the 1st lesson, we came back the next day and presented a calendar plan for everything that would need to happen for them to be baptized. They accepted the plan and followed our sense of urgency all the way through until they were baptized. We didn't exactly follow the plan perfectly, but it helped them realize that the goal was attainable. They've both made incredible progress the past two weeks, especially Gary. He went from not really listening intently or talking a whole lot, to being excited about and wanting to prepare to get the Priesthood! They've been diligently reading the Book of Mormon, and are committed to keeping all the commandments. The Lord truly is preparing people to receive of His restored gospel.


P.S. I did hear my new favorite quote this past week. Elder Tauteoli and I have been running into an unusual amount of Bible Bashers lately. (I didn't realize there are so many people who will flat out say our church is wrong). I mentioned the "bashing" to a Zone Leader, and he shared this quote by Mark McConkie (Stake Pres. in a nearby stake; son of Bruce R. McConkie/both are master scriptorians):

"We don't bash. But when we do bash, we win."

Hey, funny story: One of the nice bible bashers we ran into reminded me so much of someone. He looked and talked very much like him. Guess who? Tony Robbins! I'm not kidding. I think he was his little brother. He was really nice and friendly, but we were discussing his concerns about our church. It almost made me laugh, because I felt like I was debating religion with one of my role models.