Dear Family,
In less than 2 weeks I'll be giving hugs all around! When we're working I'm able to stay focused for the most part and not get too trunky, but at times like this, I'm getting pretty anxious to see all of you! For Mother's day we get out of church at 2:30, but we're not sure exactly when we'll call. It may depend on the house we use. We may have them call you and let you know. Hey I do have a request....after thinking about it some more, I think I'd prefer to just talk on the phone, and wait for the visual greeting when I get off the plane. We've made it this far, I think it would be cool to see each other for the first time when we can actually embrace and be together. Using skype the week before may lessen the effect of that great moment. Mom, hopefully you agree and forgive me for making you wait an extra 5 days :) You are the first person I want to hug, so make sure you're first in line. By the way, I got my itinerary as well, and I'll actually be landing in denver at 12:30, then transferring to Salt Lake by 4:30 I believe. You asked about James Martinez, and he actually got baptized on the 30th, instead of the 23rd. He got real busy and had to push it back, but it went great! He has a ton of member friends and family who came to support him. Elder Barzee gave a talk on baptism, and I did the missionary moment (teach and testify of Restoration right after the baptism while they were getting dressed). Then yesterday he got confirmed. It was a wonderful miracle to see right at the end of my mission. Probably my favorite part of my mission is to see the visible spiritual change in people as they learn, repent, and especially receive the Holy Ghost. It's an amazing experience! We actually have one more possible baptism before I go. If you could pray for Liz Vigil that would be great. She prayed about a date and felt impressed to choose 5/9. She was super busy this week, so we haven't been able to teach her, but she is just about ready and can still make it. She's made a ton of progress and has a strong testimony. It would be cool to see her get baptized, but whether it happens before or after I leave, it will still be miraculous.
Now for a little change in topic that you might find interesting. As you know, yesterday was fast and testimony meeting, and as usual we bore our testimonies. It being the last time that I'll do so as a missionary, I mentioned that I will be going home soon, and I left them with my closing testimony. It was a pretty special experience for me. After my testimony in 4th ward, our ward mission leader's wife got up and bore her testimony--part of which included how she's sad to see a good missionary go home, but her surety that there is a great young lady waiting for me. Then in Sunday School afterwards her husband taught the class and tried to tie in eternal marriage as much as he possibly could to illustrate his points. He is a pretty funny guy and isn't afraid to single people out. But wasn't all--I had plenty of others talk to me about getting married, one of which was one of the bishops. Some even have been giving me referrals--and not missionary referrals. Needless to say, it made for an interesting Sunday. (Ok, to be honest the referrals actually were discussed in the couple weeks previous, when they learned that I would be going to BYU this fall. Moms and grandmas sure are diligent when it comes to matchmaking.) But please don't worry, I've been faithfully bushing it off and changing the subject like any missionary should. I promise to come home single. I just thought you'd find it humorous. Apparently they took from conference that if they were already married, they should go forth and help others to do likewise. That's the kind of attitude and zeal we need for sharing the gospel!
Hey, I figured out my password for BYU, so I was able to get on my account. I've got a lot of work to do this summer to get everything ready for the fall. I did decide to do mechanical engineering instead of physics.
Anyways, I love you so much and appreciate all that you do!
See you soon!
Elder Craft
Monday, May 2, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
3 weeks left
Dear Family,
Yeah for Alvin! I can't wait to meet that little stud!
I could have sworn that just last week I told you that I had 10 more Sundays in the mission. Now I only have 3! It's crazy!
I read an awesome article this past week. It's called: "Daddy, Donna, and Nephi" by Jeffrey R. Holland. It's kind of old, but I highly encourage all of you to look it up and study it.
It sounds like Jacob is having a great time with Mr. Rooster. I was trying not to laugh out loud since I'm at the library. It made it even harder when I got up to go to the bathroom around the corner. Much to my suprise the men's door was wide open and there was an old guy sitting right there on the toilet doing his business. I quickly decided to hold it and come back to finish emailing. Then I desperately attempted to quietly relate the experience to Elder Barzee. :) I love Alamosa! FYI, I think he was mentally challenged, but it still was quite the view :)
Anyways, back to business. Thank you Mom and Dad for helping me with that school stuff. I can't thank you enough. What I remember them telling me is that because I worked the semester before my mission, I've been gone too long to apply for a missionary deferment, so when I come back I'll need to re-do part of the application process (just steps 1-3 or something like that). I don't know if that helps. Anways, thank you again. I love you tons!
Mom and Dad, I seriously have been blessed with the best family in the world! Thank you for being amazing. Of course we're not perfect and we're always progressing. If you were perfect, I would feel out of place and slightly depressed. You're the perfect parents for me. You inspire me to become better. I'm excited to rub shoulders with you again when I come back. Elder Barzee is pretty good at asking for marriage advice. We were talking to the stake president here and his advice, which matches Pres. Pfile's, was "Look at the mothers. Go find an awesome mother and marry her daughter." So as I was thinking about that, the Spirit whispered to me, "Your wife will probably marry you because of your parents." So thank you for being awesome and no pressure! I love you so much!
I gotta go, but thanks for everything!
Love,
Elder Craft
Mission Report:
We have 2 with dates: James Martinez (4/23) and Liz Vigil (5/8). Also, we have an appointment with a member referral at the church today (Karen Hawkins).
We got a cool phone call this morning. Lisa Ziegler was a lady we taught on the street last week, and she was very receptive! But when we went back yesterday, her boyfriend told us not to come back. This morning she called to apologize, and said that she called him out after we left. Apparently things have been rough financially and so he's been in a bad mood. She's going to talk to him and try to change his mind so we can teach both of them. If not she said she wants to keep learning more on her own. We really feel like the Lord has prepared her and that things will work out. It was sweet miracle.
Yeah for Alvin! I can't wait to meet that little stud!
I could have sworn that just last week I told you that I had 10 more Sundays in the mission. Now I only have 3! It's crazy!
I read an awesome article this past week. It's called: "Daddy, Donna, and Nephi" by Jeffrey R. Holland. It's kind of old, but I highly encourage all of you to look it up and study it.
It sounds like Jacob is having a great time with Mr. Rooster. I was trying not to laugh out loud since I'm at the library. It made it even harder when I got up to go to the bathroom around the corner. Much to my suprise the men's door was wide open and there was an old guy sitting right there on the toilet doing his business. I quickly decided to hold it and come back to finish emailing. Then I desperately attempted to quietly relate the experience to Elder Barzee. :) I love Alamosa! FYI, I think he was mentally challenged, but it still was quite the view :)
Anyways, back to business. Thank you Mom and Dad for helping me with that school stuff. I can't thank you enough. What I remember them telling me is that because I worked the semester before my mission, I've been gone too long to apply for a missionary deferment, so when I come back I'll need to re-do part of the application process (just steps 1-3 or something like that). I don't know if that helps. Anways, thank you again. I love you tons!
Mom and Dad, I seriously have been blessed with the best family in the world! Thank you for being amazing. Of course we're not perfect and we're always progressing. If you were perfect, I would feel out of place and slightly depressed. You're the perfect parents for me. You inspire me to become better. I'm excited to rub shoulders with you again when I come back. Elder Barzee is pretty good at asking for marriage advice. We were talking to the stake president here and his advice, which matches Pres. Pfile's, was "Look at the mothers. Go find an awesome mother and marry her daughter." So as I was thinking about that, the Spirit whispered to me, "Your wife will probably marry you because of your parents." So thank you for being awesome and no pressure! I love you so much!
I gotta go, but thanks for everything!
Love,
Elder Craft
Mission Report:
We have 2 with dates: James Martinez (4/23) and Liz Vigil (5/8). Also, we have an appointment with a member referral at the church today (Karen Hawkins).
We got a cool phone call this morning. Lisa Ziegler was a lady we taught on the street last week, and she was very receptive! But when we went back yesterday, her boyfriend told us not to come back. This morning she called to apologize, and said that she called him out after we left. Apparently things have been rough financially and so he's been in a bad mood. She's going to talk to him and try to change his mind so we can teach both of them. If not she said she wants to keep learning more on her own. We really feel like the Lord has prepared her and that things will work out. It was sweet miracle.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Huge Miracle
Dear Dad,
I look up to you so much! Thank you for sharing your spiritual experiences with me. I can't wait to come home and talk to you in person. I love you tons!
Dear Mom,
Choosing a homecoming topic is a lot harder than I thought it would be. I'll send out a letter today with my final decision. I'm out of time, but thank you for everything! I love you so much!
MIRACLE Stories:
We saw a huge miracle this past week! We got a message from James Martinez saying that he wanted to meet with us. We called him back, not sure who he was, and he turned out to be a part-member/former investigator that we've been trying to contact for a while--so we set up an appointment for Friday. We went by and they received us very warmly. We asked him why he wanted to meet with us, and he said, "Well, I've decided that I want to be baptized." After we fell out of our chairs, Elder Barzee asked him what influenced him to want to be baptized, and he said, "I want my family to be sealed." It was awesome! We found out that he's had the missionary lessons a few times before and has a lot of member friends. They've been going to church with his wife's parents in Manassa, but with gas prices going up they want to start coming here. Back in high school he wanted to be baptized, but his family was totally against it. He told us he's made up his mind to stop trying to please everyone and do what he knows is right. Even this time when he told his parents he's going to be baptized, they kicked him out of the ranching business that they shared, but the very same day, one of his member friends offered him another cowboy job! The cool thing as well is that his old job made hime work 7 days/week, but this new one is only 5 days/week, which allows him to come to church every Sunday! It was a huge miracle that he saw the Lord work in his life. Also, the night before we met with him, they randomly opened up the Book of Mormon to Alma 22 and read a little bit. At first he was pretty tired, but as they read, they were surprised at how much it felt like it was talking directly to them and their situation. We asked him if he had a baptismal date in mind, and apparently he has a friend on a mission until June 7, who he was considering waiting for. He said, "He'd probably want me to just go ahead and get baptized, and then he can be there for the sealing, but I haven't decided yet." The next day we had a church tour with him and a fellowshipping couple from the ward. (The two guys already knew each other from basketball). In the chapel, we reviewed the Restoration and talked about the blessings of baptism and the Holy Ghost. After expressing that we wanted these blessings for him as soon as possible, we invited him to be baptized in a couple weeks. He responded, "Well, I did decide that I can't wait for my friend to get home, but we were actually thinking about doing the baptism next week." Of course we were ecstatic! He has some cattle business that he needs to get worked out before the baptism, so we're totally sure when it'll be, but the plan is to review some of the lessons and then as soon as he can, he'll be baptized!
Love,
Elder Craft
I look up to you so much! Thank you for sharing your spiritual experiences with me. I can't wait to come home and talk to you in person. I love you tons!
Dear Mom,
Choosing a homecoming topic is a lot harder than I thought it would be. I'll send out a letter today with my final decision. I'm out of time, but thank you for everything! I love you so much!
MIRACLE Stories:
We saw a huge miracle this past week! We got a message from James Martinez saying that he wanted to meet with us. We called him back, not sure who he was, and he turned out to be a part-member/former investigator that we've been trying to contact for a while--so we set up an appointment for Friday. We went by and they received us very warmly. We asked him why he wanted to meet with us, and he said, "Well, I've decided that I want to be baptized." After we fell out of our chairs, Elder Barzee asked him what influenced him to want to be baptized, and he said, "I want my family to be sealed." It was awesome! We found out that he's had the missionary lessons a few times before and has a lot of member friends. They've been going to church with his wife's parents in Manassa, but with gas prices going up they want to start coming here. Back in high school he wanted to be baptized, but his family was totally against it. He told us he's made up his mind to stop trying to please everyone and do what he knows is right. Even this time when he told his parents he's going to be baptized, they kicked him out of the ranching business that they shared, but the very same day, one of his member friends offered him another cowboy job! The cool thing as well is that his old job made hime work 7 days/week, but this new one is only 5 days/week, which allows him to come to church every Sunday! It was a huge miracle that he saw the Lord work in his life. Also, the night before we met with him, they randomly opened up the Book of Mormon to Alma 22 and read a little bit. At first he was pretty tired, but as they read, they were surprised at how much it felt like it was talking directly to them and their situation. We asked him if he had a baptismal date in mind, and apparently he has a friend on a mission until June 7, who he was considering waiting for. He said, "He'd probably want me to just go ahead and get baptized, and then he can be there for the sealing, but I haven't decided yet." The next day we had a church tour with him and a fellowshipping couple from the ward. (The two guys already knew each other from basketball). In the chapel, we reviewed the Restoration and talked about the blessings of baptism and the Holy Ghost. After expressing that we wanted these blessings for him as soon as possible, we invited him to be baptized in a couple weeks. He responded, "Well, I did decide that I can't wait for my friend to get home, but we were actually thinking about doing the baptism next week." Of course we were ecstatic! He has some cattle business that he needs to get worked out before the baptism, so we're totally sure when it'll be, but the plan is to review some of the lessons and then as soon as he can, he'll be baptized!
Love,
Elder Craft
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Highest Priority from General Conference
Dear Family,
I received my last transfer call today, and it's exactly what I wanted--I'm finishing right here with Elder Barzee! I'm excited for zone leader council tomorrow, and my goal is to not cry. Time is going by extremely fast. I love the work!
I absolutely loved General Conference! It all went by so quickly; I was sad when it was over. I believe it was the best general conference in the history of the church--there were a lot of talks that will probably be classics. I can't tell you how grateful I am to have modern-day prophets! I look up to those men and women so very much, and I hope to effectively take to heart and apply their inspired messages. I now know what my "highest priority" will be starting May 14th! It was actually kind of funny because Elder Barzee was hoping for a talk about marriage and then his great uncle (Elder Scott) delivered exactly what he wanted to hear. I was amazed how much it was emphasized by Elder Oaks, Pres. Monson, Elder Scott, etc... So "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded!" Just kidding. I know I'm not there yet, and I don't feel ready for it either. I'm happy just continuing to be a missionary.
Dear Mom,
I think I'll probably cry as well when I see you again! It'll be a great day, but I try to not think of it too much. I love you so much and am excited to give you a huge hug! So you got my
Dear Mom,
I accidently pushed "send" before I was done with my email :) What I was trying to say was: So you got my itinerary? Did it have what time I am coming home? I haven't gotten anything yet. Anyways, I'm glad you enjoyed conference. When I get home I'll give Benson "Brotherhood 909" and wup him into shape! JK. As you well know and feel, he's a great young man, but it is a crazy world to raise a teenager these days. I'm excited to come home and help out around the house. I love you so much and never can adequately express my appreciation for all that you've done for me and continue to do for our family! You are incredible!
Dear Dad,
I love you bigger than space, but my computer time is running out, so we'll have to catch up in May. Thanks for everything!
I received my last transfer call today, and it's exactly what I wanted--I'm finishing right here with Elder Barzee! I'm excited for zone leader council tomorrow, and my goal is to not cry. Time is going by extremely fast. I love the work!
I absolutely loved General Conference! It all went by so quickly; I was sad when it was over. I believe it was the best general conference in the history of the church--there were a lot of talks that will probably be classics. I can't tell you how grateful I am to have modern-day prophets! I look up to those men and women so very much, and I hope to effectively take to heart and apply their inspired messages. I now know what my "highest priority" will be starting May 14th! It was actually kind of funny because Elder Barzee was hoping for a talk about marriage and then his great uncle (Elder Scott) delivered exactly what he wanted to hear. I was amazed how much it was emphasized by Elder Oaks, Pres. Monson, Elder Scott, etc... So "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded!" Just kidding. I know I'm not there yet, and I don't feel ready for it either. I'm happy just continuing to be a missionary.
Dear Mom,
I think I'll probably cry as well when I see you again! It'll be a great day, but I try to not think of it too much. I love you so much and am excited to give you a huge hug! So you got my
Dear Mom,
I accidently pushed "send" before I was done with my email :) What I was trying to say was: So you got my itinerary? Did it have what time I am coming home? I haven't gotten anything yet. Anyways, I'm glad you enjoyed conference. When I get home I'll give Benson "Brotherhood 909" and wup him into shape! JK. As you well know and feel, he's a great young man, but it is a crazy world to raise a teenager these days. I'm excited to come home and help out around the house. I love you so much and never can adequately express my appreciation for all that you've done for me and continue to do for our family! You are incredible!
Dear Dad,
I love you bigger than space, but my computer time is running out, so we'll have to catch up in May. Thanks for everything!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Star
Dear Family,
I'm very sorry to hear about Katie Marie's accident, but I am also extremely grateful that the Lord blessed her in the way that He did. I will definitely be praying for her and all of you. I testify that the Lord does watch over us individually, and that through the trials of life, we can learn and grow. I'm very grateful for the power of the Priesthood. I testify that it's a real power. Prayer is also a passport to great spiritual power. How blessed we are to have the fullness of the gospel on the earth! I love you all and hope you have a great week full of miracles, gratitude, love, and the Spirit!
MIRACLE Stories:
Liz Vigil, who had the miraculous experience at church, met with us again last Monday night. This time we had 2 fellowshipping families there. We started the lesson by watching a talk by Pres. Uchtdorf: The Way of a Disciple, and the Spirit was super strong. It seemed like everything he said was perfect for Liz. After that we testified and began teaching about the baptismal covenant. She had a couple of her past concerns come up again, and the cool thing was that the members did most of the teaching and resolving. Because they knew her well, they knew how to help her understand. Then when the time was right, all we had to do was invite, and she accepted a date for April 9th!! (I should write a song about it!) It was such a cool experience to see her make a 180 degree turn. Our testimony about the importance of effective fellowship has been greatly strengthened.
P.S. A member suggested to me the other day that I name one of my daughters "Star," and I think I just might. What do you think?
Love,
Elder Craft
I'm very sorry to hear about Katie Marie's accident, but I am also extremely grateful that the Lord blessed her in the way that He did. I will definitely be praying for her and all of you. I testify that the Lord does watch over us individually, and that through the trials of life, we can learn and grow. I'm very grateful for the power of the Priesthood. I testify that it's a real power. Prayer is also a passport to great spiritual power. How blessed we are to have the fullness of the gospel on the earth! I love you all and hope you have a great week full of miracles, gratitude, love, and the Spirit!
MIRACLE Stories:
Liz Vigil, who had the miraculous experience at church, met with us again last Monday night. This time we had 2 fellowshipping families there. We started the lesson by watching a talk by Pres. Uchtdorf: The Way of a Disciple, and the Spirit was super strong. It seemed like everything he said was perfect for Liz. After that we testified and began teaching about the baptismal covenant. She had a couple of her past concerns come up again, and the cool thing was that the members did most of the teaching and resolving. Because they knew her well, they knew how to help her understand. Then when the time was right, all we had to do was invite, and she accepted a date for April 9th!! (I should write a song about it!) It was such a cool experience to see her make a 180 degree turn. Our testimony about the importance of effective fellowship has been greatly strengthened.
P.S. A member suggested to me the other day that I name one of my daughters "Star," and I think I just might. What do you think?
Love,
Elder Craft
Monday, March 21, 2011
Harvest the investigators
Dear Mom,
You want me to get up all by myself and teach 33 young women? You've got to be kidding me. I think I'd rather build a boat and sail to Jerusalem. On second thought, I'd rather just stay here and be a missionary. (Just kidding, I'd love to look like a fool in the service of the Lord).
As far as the garden, you could assign the boys their own plant to take care of. They could learn a lot of gospel principles that way. Maybe they could even compete with each other. When I get home, I'd gladly take on the task of helping you with it.
I'll have to think about my homecoming topic a little bit and then let you know.
Thought for the week: When we stop having challenges, we stop growing. Life is always going to full of trials of one kind or another (even now I have to go to the bathroom really bad but am struggling to finish this email). Success and happiness doesn't come when we stop having trials, but as we learn to react to them in the way that Christ would. "Come what may and love it!"
MIRACLE Stories:
Liz Vigil started off pretty stubborn and had many concerns, but was willing to listen. Her son was recently baptized in the YSA ward, and she works with a member of our ward. They're really good friends, and Liz finally agreed to meet with us missionaries. The first couple of discussions were all over the place, and we didn't seem to be making much progress. We all struggled just to be heard, and it seemed to be a small "war of words." But as she continued to meet with us, the time came when she committed to coming to church. We didn't get to talk to her much at church, but we taught her the Plan of Salvation the next day, and she was a different person! In the past, she always wanted to talk and really struggled to listen, but this time she listened intently and was very receptive. Later we found out that on her way to church she was frustrated and decided to come just this once, and that she would never come to church or meet with us again. However, as she sat through all 3 hrs. of church, she felt the Spirit so strongly that she cried through much of Sacrament meeting and Sunday School. She loved each of the talks and lessons and felt like all her questions were answered. Before she had a lot of concerns about Joseph Smith, but after church she told her friend, "I think I can start to believe this Joseph Smith thing." After church, she also felt like she had so much more energy and excitement than she usually does on a Sunday. The next day during our lesson with her, the Spirit was very strong. Before when we talked about baptism, she was very against it, because she had been baptized before, but this time when we invited her, she said that she wanted to pray about it more. She said, "I'm not saying 'no'; I'm just not saying 'yes' yet" (key word: yet). We definitely saw a miraculous change in Liz, and it was all because she came to church! It strengthened my testimony of a quote by Elder Quentin L. Cook: "Harvest the investigators going to Sacrament meeting. They are your most likely candidates for baptism." If we can just get investigators to Sacrament meeting, the Spirit will work miracles in their conversion process.
You want me to get up all by myself and teach 33 young women? You've got to be kidding me. I think I'd rather build a boat and sail to Jerusalem. On second thought, I'd rather just stay here and be a missionary. (Just kidding, I'd love to look like a fool in the service of the Lord).
As far as the garden, you could assign the boys their own plant to take care of. They could learn a lot of gospel principles that way. Maybe they could even compete with each other. When I get home, I'd gladly take on the task of helping you with it.
I'll have to think about my homecoming topic a little bit and then let you know.
Thought for the week: When we stop having challenges, we stop growing. Life is always going to full of trials of one kind or another (even now I have to go to the bathroom really bad but am struggling to finish this email). Success and happiness doesn't come when we stop having trials, but as we learn to react to them in the way that Christ would. "Come what may and love it!"
MIRACLE Stories:
Liz Vigil started off pretty stubborn and had many concerns, but was willing to listen. Her son was recently baptized in the YSA ward, and she works with a member of our ward. They're really good friends, and Liz finally agreed to meet with us missionaries. The first couple of discussions were all over the place, and we didn't seem to be making much progress. We all struggled just to be heard, and it seemed to be a small "war of words." But as she continued to meet with us, the time came when she committed to coming to church. We didn't get to talk to her much at church, but we taught her the Plan of Salvation the next day, and she was a different person! In the past, she always wanted to talk and really struggled to listen, but this time she listened intently and was very receptive. Later we found out that on her way to church she was frustrated and decided to come just this once, and that she would never come to church or meet with us again. However, as she sat through all 3 hrs. of church, she felt the Spirit so strongly that she cried through much of Sacrament meeting and Sunday School. She loved each of the talks and lessons and felt like all her questions were answered. Before she had a lot of concerns about Joseph Smith, but after church she told her friend, "I think I can start to believe this Joseph Smith thing." After church, she also felt like she had so much more energy and excitement than she usually does on a Sunday. The next day during our lesson with her, the Spirit was very strong. Before when we talked about baptism, she was very against it, because she had been baptized before, but this time when we invited her, she said that she wanted to pray about it more. She said, "I'm not saying 'no'; I'm just not saying 'yes' yet" (key word: yet). We definitely saw a miraculous change in Liz, and it was all because she came to church! It strengthened my testimony of a quote by Elder Quentin L. Cook: "Harvest the investigators going to Sacrament meeting. They are your most likely candidates for baptism." If we can just get investigators to Sacrament meeting, the Spirit will work miracles in their conversion process.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Secret Spinach Smoothie
Dear Family,
Can you believe I only have 2 months left?!! Time just keeps going faster and faster! This transfer is already half way over. Before you know it, I'll be home again, and all of us will be wishing I was still a missionary :)
So it's kind of funny: my secret spinach smoothie has been discovered by a few couples in the ward and every time the wife is always intrigued and thinks it's a great idea, but the husband is always disgusted and vows that he will never try it. It's a funny pattern that I've noticed.
I can't remember: Did I ask about housing this fall? How does that work? Am I gonna have to live on the streets? Or is there a way to get it worked out now? If you could find out, that would be awesome!!
Dad, there's a lot of great scriptures and stories about faith! A favorite talk of mine is: "Seek learning by faith" -Elder Bednar. Maybe that will be a good supplement to your study. By the way, thank you for reminding me of those great gifts taught by Pres. Hinckley. I can honestly say that I have felt each of those gifts take on much more meaning for me because of my mission. Congratulations on the new calling. You'll do great! I've definitely learned how essential it is to have effective gospel teachers in the kingdom. It makes a huge difference! Also, there is ALWAYS room for improvement, when it comes to teaching. It's a very important skill to continually develop. I can't wait to come home and learn more from you and the talents that God has given you. I love you tons!
Mom, thank you for sending Papa's funeral program. It looks very well done. I love you so much and hope you are doing well and have an awesome week!
Love,
Elder Craft
Can you believe I only have 2 months left?!! Time just keeps going faster and faster! This transfer is already half way over. Before you know it, I'll be home again, and all of us will be wishing I was still a missionary :)
So it's kind of funny: my secret spinach smoothie has been discovered by a few couples in the ward and every time the wife is always intrigued and thinks it's a great idea, but the husband is always disgusted and vows that he will never try it. It's a funny pattern that I've noticed.
I can't remember: Did I ask about housing this fall? How does that work? Am I gonna have to live on the streets? Or is there a way to get it worked out now? If you could find out, that would be awesome!!
Dad, there's a lot of great scriptures and stories about faith! A favorite talk of mine is: "Seek learning by faith" -Elder Bednar. Maybe that will be a good supplement to your study. By the way, thank you for reminding me of those great gifts taught by Pres. Hinckley. I can honestly say that I have felt each of those gifts take on much more meaning for me because of my mission. Congratulations on the new calling. You'll do great! I've definitely learned how essential it is to have effective gospel teachers in the kingdom. It makes a huge difference! Also, there is ALWAYS room for improvement, when it comes to teaching. It's a very important skill to continually develop. I can't wait to come home and learn more from you and the talents that God has given you. I love you tons!
Mom, thank you for sending Papa's funeral program. It looks very well done. I love you so much and hope you are doing well and have an awesome week!
Love,
Elder Craft
Monday, March 7, 2011
Make Every Moment Count
Dear Family,
Time just won't slow down will it?! Good thing we get to live for eternity because life just doesn't give us enough time to do all that needs to be done! Life as a missionary is very busy, and I'm sure it only gets better :) I've come to know more than ever the importance of focusing on priorities. I guess that's my thought for the week: "Make every moment count." And how do we accomplish that? Live the gospel the very best you can. As we turn our lives completely over to the Lord, He'll bring us much more success and happiness than we ever could on our own. Don't stress if you don't get to everything that you expected, just be patient and diligent. Simply do what the Lord wants you to do, and be the person the Lord wants you to be. Only then will you live with no regrets.
Dear Mom,
I'm sorry to hear about your sickness. I hope and pray that you'll be fully recovered soon!
I think that's a great idea about my birthday (especially if Benson has done what I expect he has done). I really don't need anything else on my mission (except more time, but I don't suppose you can get that for me, can you?).
I don't remember hearing that Kristen Judd is going on a mission! That's pretty exciting.
I'm in the spot that I've heard from others is the best place in the mission: junior zone leader :) I get to teach and serve other missionaries, but if something goes wrong, I can blame Elder Barzee! He's a great missionary and will go home in August.
As far as my homecoming talk, it doesn't matter to me when I do it--just whenever the Bishop would like me. After May 13th, my schedule is pretty open :) Is there a certain topic that he has in mind?
Dear Dad,
It's always good to hear from you about all the exciting adventures you go on with the goats! I can't wait to meet my substitutes :)
How is work going? Are you staying healthy? Anyways, I just wanted to say thank you for your wonderful love and support spiritually, emotionally, financially, etc... I love you so much and wish you the best week ever!
Love,
Elder Craft
Time just won't slow down will it?! Good thing we get to live for eternity because life just doesn't give us enough time to do all that needs to be done! Life as a missionary is very busy, and I'm sure it only gets better :) I've come to know more than ever the importance of focusing on priorities. I guess that's my thought for the week: "Make every moment count." And how do we accomplish that? Live the gospel the very best you can. As we turn our lives completely over to the Lord, He'll bring us much more success and happiness than we ever could on our own. Don't stress if you don't get to everything that you expected, just be patient and diligent. Simply do what the Lord wants you to do, and be the person the Lord wants you to be. Only then will you live with no regrets.
Dear Mom,
I'm sorry to hear about your sickness. I hope and pray that you'll be fully recovered soon!
I think that's a great idea about my birthday (especially if Benson has done what I expect he has done). I really don't need anything else on my mission (except more time, but I don't suppose you can get that for me, can you?).
I don't remember hearing that Kristen Judd is going on a mission! That's pretty exciting.
I'm in the spot that I've heard from others is the best place in the mission: junior zone leader :) I get to teach and serve other missionaries, but if something goes wrong, I can blame Elder Barzee! He's a great missionary and will go home in August.
As far as my homecoming talk, it doesn't matter to me when I do it--just whenever the Bishop would like me. After May 13th, my schedule is pretty open :) Is there a certain topic that he has in mind?
Dear Dad,
It's always good to hear from you about all the exciting adventures you go on with the goats! I can't wait to meet my substitutes :)
How is work going? Are you staying healthy? Anyways, I just wanted to say thank you for your wonderful love and support spiritually, emotionally, financially, etc... I love you so much and wish you the best week ever!
Love,
Elder Craft
Monday, February 28, 2011
Returning Home May 13th
Dear Family,
I'm glad to hear that Papa's funeral went well. Thank you all for taking such good care of him. I'm sorry to hear that some of you are currently sick. It's been going around quite a bit in Alamosa also, but it's amazing how the Lord takes care of us missionaries--we've been very blessed with good health. I hope and pray that all of you will receive the same blessing. Until then, take the opportunity to come closer to the Savior. Just like physical exercise, the more spiritual resistance or adversity we experience, the stronger we can get. Trials really are blessings in disguise, if we turn to the Lord. I love you all so much and am so grateful for your righteous examples!
For me, it's been a good week. We had transfers and our zone leader council, which is always a treat. I asked President Pfile again if there was any possibility of extending, and he said that it's getting harder and harder to do that. The Church is getting strict about missionaries serving the 24 months and then going home and moving on. So now I know for sure that I won't be extending and will be flying home on May 13, sometime probably in the morning. That will be Friday the 13th, which is kind of a scary time to enter the real world, but I guess that's what the Lord wants. I get to call on Mother's day (May 8th) and then see you 5 days later. :) Anyways, it's a very weird feeling being so close to the end. Elder Barzee lovingly pointed out that I only have 10 more Sundays in the mission field! After that I'll be back with all of you! I've never been so sad and excited at the same time. I'm going to miss my mission terribly, but at the same time, I know that there are better things yet to come. I look forward to spending time with all of you, and I promise that I'll finish my mission strong!
Love,
Elder Craft
I'm glad to hear that Papa's funeral went well. Thank you all for taking such good care of him. I'm sorry to hear that some of you are currently sick. It's been going around quite a bit in Alamosa also, but it's amazing how the Lord takes care of us missionaries--we've been very blessed with good health. I hope and pray that all of you will receive the same blessing. Until then, take the opportunity to come closer to the Savior. Just like physical exercise, the more spiritual resistance or adversity we experience, the stronger we can get. Trials really are blessings in disguise, if we turn to the Lord. I love you all so much and am so grateful for your righteous examples!
For me, it's been a good week. We had transfers and our zone leader council, which is always a treat. I asked President Pfile again if there was any possibility of extending, and he said that it's getting harder and harder to do that. The Church is getting strict about missionaries serving the 24 months and then going home and moving on. So now I know for sure that I won't be extending and will be flying home on May 13, sometime probably in the morning. That will be Friday the 13th, which is kind of a scary time to enter the real world, but I guess that's what the Lord wants. I get to call on Mother's day (May 8th) and then see you 5 days later. :) Anyways, it's a very weird feeling being so close to the end. Elder Barzee lovingly pointed out that I only have 10 more Sundays in the mission field! After that I'll be back with all of you! I've never been so sad and excited at the same time. I'm going to miss my mission terribly, but at the same time, I know that there are better things yet to come. I look forward to spending time with all of you, and I promise that I'll finish my mission strong!
Love,
Elder Craft
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Passing of our Dear Papa
Dear Family,
I am very sorry to hear about the passing of our dear Papa. I wish I could be there to offer more comfort and support, but I do offer my testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel. I know that the Lord is watching over him, and he is in a better place. His spirit is now free from physical pain and affliction. He is where he can find rest, peace, and happiness, while he continues to do the Lord's work. God is using his talents and abilities to build of the kingdom on the other side of the veil. I testify with all my heart that one day, through the power of the Atonement, his body will be resurrected in a perfect, painless state, and that we will live with him again. How grateful I am for our Savior Jesus Christ! How blessed we are to have a knowledge of the fulness of the Gospel! Times like these are certainly sad, and we will miss him greatly, but my heart really goes out to those people who don't have a testimony of the Plan of Salvation. How wonderful it is to know that this life is only a brief time of mortal experience and testing, and that through obedience, we may be privileged to live with God forever in a state of never-ending happiness!! It almost seems too good to be true, but I testify again, by the divine witness of the Holy Ghost, I know that it is true! I hope and pray that Papa's legacy will live on in our hearts; that we will remember his great life, counsel, and example. May we be like Nephi and Lehi of old and when we remember our names, also remember our ancestors and their good works, then go and do likewise. I strongly believe that they are watching over us, so let us pick up our heads and live to make them proud. I love you all!
Love,
Spencer
I am very sorry to hear about the passing of our dear Papa. I wish I could be there to offer more comfort and support, but I do offer my testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel. I know that the Lord is watching over him, and he is in a better place. His spirit is now free from physical pain and affliction. He is where he can find rest, peace, and happiness, while he continues to do the Lord's work. God is using his talents and abilities to build of the kingdom on the other side of the veil. I testify with all my heart that one day, through the power of the Atonement, his body will be resurrected in a perfect, painless state, and that we will live with him again. How grateful I am for our Savior Jesus Christ! How blessed we are to have a knowledge of the fulness of the Gospel! Times like these are certainly sad, and we will miss him greatly, but my heart really goes out to those people who don't have a testimony of the Plan of Salvation. How wonderful it is to know that this life is only a brief time of mortal experience and testing, and that through obedience, we may be privileged to live with God forever in a state of never-ending happiness!! It almost seems too good to be true, but I testify again, by the divine witness of the Holy Ghost, I know that it is true! I hope and pray that Papa's legacy will live on in our hearts; that we will remember his great life, counsel, and example. May we be like Nephi and Lehi of old and when we remember our names, also remember our ancestors and their good works, then go and do likewise. I strongly believe that they are watching over us, so let us pick up our heads and live to make them proud. I love you all!
Love,
Spencer
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Zone Conference
Dear Family,
It's beautiful weather here in Alamosa! We had zone conference yesterday, which went wonderfully. A large part of it we rotated the districts through different workshops:
1. Pres. Pfile and Elder Barzee- role playing the end of a 1st lesson: commitment to baptism, read and pray about BOM, and attend church. They focused on 1. Inspired Questions, 2. Promised Blessings, 3. Commitment Invitations.
2. Sis. Pfile- training on effective planning.
3. AP's and Me- roleplaying teaching current investigators, focusing on: 1. "Will you....?" Commitments, 2. Simple and Direct Teaching, 3. Focus on Baptism, 4. Effective Questions
It was a great learning experience for everyone. Another theme that President talked about a lot was "Hold the Line!" (relating to football, the battlefield, etc...) He applied it to missionary work in a lot of ways and was pretty inspiring. It also applies to the Church as a whole, to families, relationships, fishing, etc... :)
Also, Elder Barzee and I did a presentation about faith. The valley is kind of its own little world. There's a lot of members and everyone's related. Sometimes in the smaller towns it can be tough for the missionaries to find new investigators, so we felt impressed to address the importance of always having faith. We broke it down into showing our faith through our thoughts, words, and actions (Mosiah 4:30). We also referenced Moroni 7:33, Ether 12: 14-15, and Pres. Packer's quote: "There are two kinds of faith." We had a pretty good discussion with everybody, and I'm excited to see miracles continue.
Dad, the area is great. I wouldn't say there's more Hispanics than the other area's I've served in. The members are wonderful; they feed us very well. Elder Barzee is awesome. He's a really good companion for me. I hope I've answered all your questions. :)
Dear Papa Craft,
I know I've said it before, but I want to say it again: You're my buddy, my pal, my friend!!! I love you so very much, and I am so very grateful for the wonderful grandpa that you have been for me and for the outstanding person that you are. Please don't ever forget that. I hope you're doing well and are finding peace and happiness, even during this hard time of your life. I wish I could be there to spend more time with you, but I know that you understand. I do want to again leave you with my firm testimony that I know the gospel is true. I testify that God does live and love us. He is very aware of everything we're going through and has provided a perfect plan for us to return to Him. I testify that Jesus is the Christ and our Savior and Redeemer. He paid the price so that we can live together as families for all eternity. The blessings of the Atonement are real; I know that without a doubt. I testify as well that the Church of Jesus Christ with priesthood authority has been restored on the earth through the prophet Joseph Smith. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. How blessed we are to have these truths in our lives! I love you so much more than I could ever express Papa. Again, I hope and pray for God's choicest blessings to be upon you at this time in your life.
Love your grandson,
Spencer
It's beautiful weather here in Alamosa! We had zone conference yesterday, which went wonderfully. A large part of it we rotated the districts through different workshops:
1. Pres. Pfile and Elder Barzee- role playing the end of a 1st lesson: commitment to baptism, read and pray about BOM, and attend church. They focused on 1. Inspired Questions, 2. Promised Blessings, 3. Commitment Invitations.
2. Sis. Pfile- training on effective planning.
3. AP's and Me- roleplaying teaching current investigators, focusing on: 1. "Will you....?" Commitments, 2. Simple and Direct Teaching, 3. Focus on Baptism, 4. Effective Questions
It was a great learning experience for everyone. Another theme that President talked about a lot was "Hold the Line!" (relating to football, the battlefield, etc...) He applied it to missionary work in a lot of ways and was pretty inspiring. It also applies to the Church as a whole, to families, relationships, fishing, etc... :)
Also, Elder Barzee and I did a presentation about faith. The valley is kind of its own little world. There's a lot of members and everyone's related. Sometimes in the smaller towns it can be tough for the missionaries to find new investigators, so we felt impressed to address the importance of always having faith. We broke it down into showing our faith through our thoughts, words, and actions (Mosiah 4:30). We also referenced Moroni 7:33, Ether 12: 14-15, and Pres. Packer's quote: "There are two kinds of faith." We had a pretty good discussion with everybody, and I'm excited to see miracles continue.
Dad, the area is great. I wouldn't say there's more Hispanics than the other area's I've served in. The members are wonderful; they feed us very well. Elder Barzee is awesome. He's a really good companion for me. I hope I've answered all your questions. :)
Dear Papa Craft,
I know I've said it before, but I want to say it again: You're my buddy, my pal, my friend!!! I love you so very much, and I am so very grateful for the wonderful grandpa that you have been for me and for the outstanding person that you are. Please don't ever forget that. I hope you're doing well and are finding peace and happiness, even during this hard time of your life. I wish I could be there to spend more time with you, but I know that you understand. I do want to again leave you with my firm testimony that I know the gospel is true. I testify that God does live and love us. He is very aware of everything we're going through and has provided a perfect plan for us to return to Him. I testify that Jesus is the Christ and our Savior and Redeemer. He paid the price so that we can live together as families for all eternity. The blessings of the Atonement are real; I know that without a doubt. I testify as well that the Church of Jesus Christ with priesthood authority has been restored on the earth through the prophet Joseph Smith. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. How blessed we are to have these truths in our lives! I love you so much more than I could ever express Papa. Again, I hope and pray for God's choicest blessings to be upon you at this time in your life.
Love your grandson,
Spencer
Monday, February 7, 2011
Brrrr....
Dear Family,
One day in Alamosa I went out with a short sleeve shirt, then a couple days later, we were bundling up for dear life! I'm sort of kidding, but it was pretty cold. We were long over-due for it though. The work is going well, the time is flying by, and I continue to learn a lot each day. Thank you all for living righteous lives. I love you so much!
Dad, I'm proud of you for doing missionary work this past week with your cousin. That's so exciting! Even in Utah, there's a ton of opportunities to share the gospel and invite others to come unto Christ. Since I've been a missionary it seems so much simpler to share the gospel than it was before. I've definitely developed more loving boldness and have realized many things I should've said to people before my mission. Oh well, I'm excited to be able to apply it when I get home. As I think about member-missionary work, the skill that I think makes the biggest difference is the ability to ask inspired questions. If one can master that, then teaching, testifying, and inviting will come naturally. I suggest that you role-play in FHE scenarios where you can share the gospel, ask questions, and make invitations. Role-playing is something that we do a lot of as missionaries and really makes everything a lot easier. I wish I would've done more role-playing (street contacts, teaching lessons, etc...) to prepare for a mission. Benson, Joshua, Jacob, Caleb, and Oliver, you better prepare yourselves for Spencer's Mission Prep 101! I'm going to make you role-play!
Mom, you're right! The life of a mission president's wife is very busy, but who the Lord calls, He qualifies. I haven't thought about it much before, but I could see it happening--get ready! Missionary work is growing, and the Lord needs many more prepared mission presidents. Congratulations on the new grandson. Keep up all the great work. I love you more than I could ever express!
I suggest all of you look up the talk "The Abundant Life" by Elder Wirthlin. It's great!
Love,
Elder Craft
One day in Alamosa I went out with a short sleeve shirt, then a couple days later, we were bundling up for dear life! I'm sort of kidding, but it was pretty cold. We were long over-due for it though. The work is going well, the time is flying by, and I continue to learn a lot each day. Thank you all for living righteous lives. I love you so much!
Dad, I'm proud of you for doing missionary work this past week with your cousin. That's so exciting! Even in Utah, there's a ton of opportunities to share the gospel and invite others to come unto Christ. Since I've been a missionary it seems so much simpler to share the gospel than it was before. I've definitely developed more loving boldness and have realized many things I should've said to people before my mission. Oh well, I'm excited to be able to apply it when I get home. As I think about member-missionary work, the skill that I think makes the biggest difference is the ability to ask inspired questions. If one can master that, then teaching, testifying, and inviting will come naturally. I suggest that you role-play in FHE scenarios where you can share the gospel, ask questions, and make invitations. Role-playing is something that we do a lot of as missionaries and really makes everything a lot easier. I wish I would've done more role-playing (street contacts, teaching lessons, etc...) to prepare for a mission. Benson, Joshua, Jacob, Caleb, and Oliver, you better prepare yourselves for Spencer's Mission Prep 101! I'm going to make you role-play!
Mom, you're right! The life of a mission president's wife is very busy, but who the Lord calls, He qualifies. I haven't thought about it much before, but I could see it happening--get ready! Missionary work is growing, and the Lord needs many more prepared mission presidents. Congratulations on the new grandson. Keep up all the great work. I love you more than I could ever express!
I suggest all of you look up the talk "The Abundant Life" by Elder Wirthlin. It's great!
Love,
Elder Craft
Monday, January 24, 2011
Driving a truck on my mission
Dear Family,
Thank you Mom and Dad for working out the BYU thing; now I can get some sleep at night. (JK)
Remember you can always send stuff to the mission office and they'll forward it to me, but here's our address:
208 Ross Ave. Apt A
Alamosa, CO 81101
Hey can I ask a favor? If you're going to send something, could you send me a copy of the lastest conference ensign. We don't have one in this new place. It's not a huge deal, but if it's convenient, that'd be great!
One other note on this new area: guess what we're driving? A truck! It's just a Colorado, but I thought it was pretty sweet. The cars I drive on my mission will probably be the nicest I drive for a while :)
Hey funny story: yesterday we had 2 investigators come to church, which was exciting. We were proud to walk in and show the ward we had someone with us this week. However, right as the Sacrament was starting, they said they had to go to the bathroom. We waited for them, but they never came back. We tried to track them down but to no avail. We walked back into Sacrament meeting, a little embarassed, and sat by ourselves. It turns out one felt sick and they want to come back, so it was just funny.
I love you!
Elder Craft
Thank you Mom and Dad for working out the BYU thing; now I can get some sleep at night. (JK)
Remember you can always send stuff to the mission office and they'll forward it to me, but here's our address:
208 Ross Ave. Apt A
Alamosa, CO 81101
Hey can I ask a favor? If you're going to send something, could you send me a copy of the lastest conference ensign. We don't have one in this new place. It's not a huge deal, but if it's convenient, that'd be great!
One other note on this new area: guess what we're driving? A truck! It's just a Colorado, but I thought it was pretty sweet. The cars I drive on my mission will probably be the nicest I drive for a while :)
Hey funny story: yesterday we had 2 investigators come to church, which was exciting. We were proud to walk in and show the ward we had someone with us this week. However, right as the Sacrament was starting, they said they had to go to the bathroom. We waited for them, but they never came back. We tried to track them down but to no avail. We walked back into Sacrament meeting, a little embarassed, and sat by ourselves. It turns out one felt sick and they want to come back, so it was just funny.
I love you!
Elder Craft
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
A Zone Leader in Alamosa
Dear Family,
This past week has been a crazy one! Last week on Monday I had to pack faster than I ever have in my whole life, quickly say goodbye to some people, and then rush off to transfers. I had a really neat experience going to say goodbye to Kim de Ridder (our most recent convert in Pueblo West) and her two boys: Zander (6) and Leland (4). We took a couple of pictures, and they gave me a tie as a goodbye present. After that Kim told us that Zander and Leland had been practicing all day so that they could each say a prayer for me before I left. We had tried to get them to pray a few times before, but they always picked on us or their mom instead. We didn't even make a big deal about it, but I guess it was something they wanted to do, and they surprised me with it before I left. They practiced so they could say it all by themselves, but when the time came they wanted their mom to help them. They sounded as if they have been members their whole life! It was a truly precious moment!
Anyways, after that I got to take the 2 members of my old district who were now becoming district leaders up to Colorado Springs for the new DL/ZL meeting with the AP's. It was kind of cool spending time with that night and sitting next to them in the meeting. Afterwards we went to Subway and while we were eating a girl asked us to help her jump start her car. Then we went to a missionary apartment to spend the night. The next day was transfer meeting as usual. We got to meet all the new missionaries and see them get teamed up with their trainers. Afterwards I got to go to Zone Leader Council for the first time. It was held at President's home and lasted all day. It was really relaxed and spiritual. After the official meeting of the night, we got dressed and just hung out with President as he told stories about the navy, meeting Sister Pfile, etc... It was so much fun! We spent the night, then had breakfast and a testimony meeting in the morning. Then Elder Barzee and I headed for Alamosa!
It actually has been pretty warm here in the Valley. Everyone keeps saying that it this isn't normal, but I'm not going to complain :) Anyways, it's been a busy week, and I've been learning a TON from Elder Barzee. We've already done companion exchanges, gone to Elder Butcher's district meeting (he was one of them in my last district), met with a stake president, set up the zone interviews for President, trained with the AP's, and best of all: had a baptism!!! It was Ariel Magana: a 9 yr. old girl whose mother and sister are members. The baptism was yesterday, and it went great! I was pretty lucky to come in at this time when she was pretty much all ready to go. We're also expecting another one this weekend for an investigator, Len Millard, who just needs to quit smoking.
I gotta go, but I love you all so much! Thank you everything!
Love,
Elder Craft
This past week has been a crazy one! Last week on Monday I had to pack faster than I ever have in my whole life, quickly say goodbye to some people, and then rush off to transfers. I had a really neat experience going to say goodbye to Kim de Ridder (our most recent convert in Pueblo West) and her two boys: Zander (6) and Leland (4). We took a couple of pictures, and they gave me a tie as a goodbye present. After that Kim told us that Zander and Leland had been practicing all day so that they could each say a prayer for me before I left. We had tried to get them to pray a few times before, but they always picked on us or their mom instead. We didn't even make a big deal about it, but I guess it was something they wanted to do, and they surprised me with it before I left. They practiced so they could say it all by themselves, but when the time came they wanted their mom to help them. They sounded as if they have been members their whole life! It was a truly precious moment!
Anyways, after that I got to take the 2 members of my old district who were now becoming district leaders up to Colorado Springs for the new DL/ZL meeting with the AP's. It was kind of cool spending time with that night and sitting next to them in the meeting. Afterwards we went to Subway and while we were eating a girl asked us to help her jump start her car. Then we went to a missionary apartment to spend the night. The next day was transfer meeting as usual. We got to meet all the new missionaries and see them get teamed up with their trainers. Afterwards I got to go to Zone Leader Council for the first time. It was held at President's home and lasted all day. It was really relaxed and spiritual. After the official meeting of the night, we got dressed and just hung out with President as he told stories about the navy, meeting Sister Pfile, etc... It was so much fun! We spent the night, then had breakfast and a testimony meeting in the morning. Then Elder Barzee and I headed for Alamosa!
It actually has been pretty warm here in the Valley. Everyone keeps saying that it this isn't normal, but I'm not going to complain :) Anyways, it's been a busy week, and I've been learning a TON from Elder Barzee. We've already done companion exchanges, gone to Elder Butcher's district meeting (he was one of them in my last district), met with a stake president, set up the zone interviews for President, trained with the AP's, and best of all: had a baptism!!! It was Ariel Magana: a 9 yr. old girl whose mother and sister are members. The baptism was yesterday, and it went great! I was pretty lucky to come in at this time when she was pretty much all ready to go. We're also expecting another one this weekend for an investigator, Len Millard, who just needs to quit smoking.
I gotta go, but I love you all so much! Thank you everything!
Love,
Elder Craft
Monday, January 10, 2011
Transferred to the coldest place in the U.S.
Dear Family,
Well, it's that time again and guess what?
I'm getting transferred once more!!!
I'm going to Antarctica! Well not quite, but I here it's one of the coldest places in the U.S. during the winter. I'm going to Alamosa, which is near the San Luis Valley. You can look up it's infamy for yourself if you want, but I just wanted to let you know how excited I am. You don't need to send more cold weather gear though, unless I tell you. I think I'll survive. It's the only zone that I've never even seen. I will now have been in 5 of the 7 zones. The other 2 (Springs and Fountain) I've traveled through quite a bit. So it's kind of exciting to go somewhere completely new. My companion will be Elder Barzee who is also from Virginia! I'm going to be junior companion, and I'm really excited to serve with him because he's an outstanding missionary. Elder Hone (from Ogden) who is in PW1st ward will now be the district leader here. Elder Butcher who was in our district is going from La Junta to La Jara (the Valley Zone as well!) and will be the district leader down there. So we've got a big 2 days ahead of us. I love packing :)
Joshua and Jacob, that dog whistle thing you gave me works pretty good! I first tried it on a member's little wiener dog. I just pushed it for a second when he was running around (not looking at me), and he immediately yelped and jumped back! Then I tried in on this stray pit bull that wasn't aggressive at all--it was just barking at us. I kept it in my pocket and pushed it. The dog looked startled at first and then it's barks got really high pitched as if it was scared. I kind of felt bad. But hey, it's kind of a useful tool to have with you.
By the way, did you find out about the BYU thing? PMG teaches us to follow up on commitments, so that's what I'm doing. But if you want me hanging around the house for a whole year after my mission, that's okay too :)
Thank you for everything! I love you all so much!
Love,
Elder Craft
Well, it's that time again and guess what?
I'm getting transferred once more!!!
I'm going to Antarctica! Well not quite, but I here it's one of the coldest places in the U.S. during the winter. I'm going to Alamosa, which is near the San Luis Valley. You can look up it's infamy for yourself if you want, but I just wanted to let you know how excited I am. You don't need to send more cold weather gear though, unless I tell you. I think I'll survive. It's the only zone that I've never even seen. I will now have been in 5 of the 7 zones. The other 2 (Springs and Fountain) I've traveled through quite a bit. So it's kind of exciting to go somewhere completely new. My companion will be Elder Barzee who is also from Virginia! I'm going to be junior companion, and I'm really excited to serve with him because he's an outstanding missionary. Elder Hone (from Ogden) who is in PW1st ward will now be the district leader here. Elder Butcher who was in our district is going from La Junta to La Jara (the Valley Zone as well!) and will be the district leader down there. So we've got a big 2 days ahead of us. I love packing :)
Joshua and Jacob, that dog whistle thing you gave me works pretty good! I first tried it on a member's little wiener dog. I just pushed it for a second when he was running around (not looking at me), and he immediately yelped and jumped back! Then I tried in on this stray pit bull that wasn't aggressive at all--it was just barking at us. I kept it in my pocket and pushed it. The dog looked startled at first and then it's barks got really high pitched as if it was scared. I kind of felt bad. But hey, it's kind of a useful tool to have with you.
By the way, did you find out about the BYU thing? PMG teaches us to follow up on commitments, so that's what I'm doing. But if you want me hanging around the house for a whole year after my mission, that's okay too :)
Thank you for everything! I love you all so much!
Love,
Elder Craft
Monday, January 3, 2011
Happy New Year!
Dear Family,
I am so grateful for a new year! We were talking about it at church a lot, and it's really just another day, but it affords a great opportunity for a fresh start. It's a wonderful chance to take past goals or wishes and make them commitments. That's one thing that I've really tried to apply this new year: to raise my standard for certain things from goals to commitments. Of course it can only be done with something that you have full control over, but if you can help it, why not make it a commitment? For the things that really matter, is there ever a good excuse not to do them? That something I used to apply pretty good, but for some reason haven't kept with it as much as I should have. In my short 20 years of existence I've just found it to be so much easier to give 100% rather than 80 or 90. Anytime we give room for excuse, the devil gets in there and pulls you down one tired or busy day at a time. But if we make a steadfast decision ahead of time to be committed no matter what, we don't have to worry about making the decision in the trying moment, but we can focus all efforts on just making it happen--transforming the decision into action. Only then can we really have control of our lives. Only then can we guarantee success with the pass of time. Anyways, I don't know if any of that made sense, but it's something I've been thinking about a lot lately.
I don't have a whole lot of new things to report on, but I just want to say that I love you. I know without a doubt that gospel living is the path of happiness. There is no challenge or concern that can't be solved with the gospel. We are so blessed to live at this wonderful time in the history of the world--the opportunities to learn, grow, and serve at so incredibly great. I know that we are here at this time for a reason. God lives and loves us. He needs righteous leaders like never before. As members of His true church, we are the most blessed people on this earth. We are few in number, but we have an enormous responsibility to "stand as witnesses of God at all times, in all things, and in all places." That we may all go forth with courage, determination, obedience, humility, charity, and faith during this new year is my hope and prayer. I know that God is ever-mindful of us in ways that we can't even comprehend. He knows what's best for us and is always eager to help us if we turn to Him. I love the Lord, and I love all of you. Make this year legendary!
Love,
Elder Craft
I am so grateful for a new year! We were talking about it at church a lot, and it's really just another day, but it affords a great opportunity for a fresh start. It's a wonderful chance to take past goals or wishes and make them commitments. That's one thing that I've really tried to apply this new year: to raise my standard for certain things from goals to commitments. Of course it can only be done with something that you have full control over, but if you can help it, why not make it a commitment? For the things that really matter, is there ever a good excuse not to do them? That something I used to apply pretty good, but for some reason haven't kept with it as much as I should have. In my short 20 years of existence I've just found it to be so much easier to give 100% rather than 80 or 90. Anytime we give room for excuse, the devil gets in there and pulls you down one tired or busy day at a time. But if we make a steadfast decision ahead of time to be committed no matter what, we don't have to worry about making the decision in the trying moment, but we can focus all efforts on just making it happen--transforming the decision into action. Only then can we really have control of our lives. Only then can we guarantee success with the pass of time. Anyways, I don't know if any of that made sense, but it's something I've been thinking about a lot lately.
I don't have a whole lot of new things to report on, but I just want to say that I love you. I know without a doubt that gospel living is the path of happiness. There is no challenge or concern that can't be solved with the gospel. We are so blessed to live at this wonderful time in the history of the world--the opportunities to learn, grow, and serve at so incredibly great. I know that we are here at this time for a reason. God lives and loves us. He needs righteous leaders like never before. As members of His true church, we are the most blessed people on this earth. We are few in number, but we have an enormous responsibility to "stand as witnesses of God at all times, in all things, and in all places." That we may all go forth with courage, determination, obedience, humility, charity, and faith during this new year is my hope and prayer. I know that God is ever-mindful of us in ways that we can't even comprehend. He knows what's best for us and is always eager to help us if we turn to Him. I love the Lord, and I love all of you. Make this year legendary!
Love,
Elder Craft
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