Dear Joshua,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. 9 YEAR OLD!!!!!!! How's my little buddy doing?! You're getting to be such a big guy! Pretty soon, you might even be able to beat me up!!! Well anyways, I hope you have the best birthday in whole wide world!!! I wish I could be there to give you great big hug! I sure miss you Joshua, and I am so proud of the great young man that you are becoming. You're always so good at making people laugh, AND you're so smart, and obedient, and cool (not to mention your huge muscles!). Keep being a great boy and listening to Mom and Dad. They know what they're talking about.
I love you so much more than you know. I think about you often. I love hearing about the funny things that you say, and even more, I look forward to being able to come home and spend time with you again. Until that time, I hope you have a great birthday and continue to smile and let your light shine! Heavenly Father loves you so much and is very proud of you. He is preparing you to become an outstanding husband and father. Keep reading the scriptures, praying a lot, and being righteous. Be a good example to Jacob and Caleb and everyone else around you. Again, I want you know Joshua that I love you very, very much!
Also, I want you to know that I have a testimony that this Church is true. Jesus Christ really did die for our sins. This is His Church. I know that we will be happy if we keep the commandments. Thank you for all of your faith and for choosing the right. I know that you made the right decision to be baptized. The whole reason why I am out here is because I am trying to other people to know that and do likewise.
You're such an awesome guy Joshua, and I'm so excited that you've turned 9 years old. You've got 10 more years to prepare and then you can be a missionary just like me. I know that you're going to be a really good missionary! I love you buddy, and I hope you have an amazing birthday!!!
Love,
Spencer
Dear Family,
Life on the mission is great. It's getting colder here, but hasn't snowed yet. We have 2 solid investigators right now: Samantha and Zeek Garcia. They came to church yesterday with their 2 kids (4 yr. old girl and baby boy), and later that evening they texted us saying thank you and that they had enjoyed church. We're really excited for them, and we have many other potentials who we're trying to contact right now. I hope all is going well back home.
No one commented on my t-shirt quote choice. Is that because you don't like it, but no one wants to tell me? It's okay-- I understand your predicament.
I'm sort of kidding, but in case that's true, I won't be offended if you want something different :)
Okay, I've got some time, so here are some of the things that I learned from my recent meetings:
Elder Jay E. Jensen:
"What would Sacrament Meeting be like without hymns?" Followed up with: "What would you're teaching be like without hymns?"
Reverence invites revelation.
Questions invite revelation.
"I'm never content with learning something until I can effectively teach it.
6 Principles to magnify your scipture study:
1. Pray- to the degree we pray, there will come a greater heighth, breadth, and depth to our understanding. This includes pondering. D&C 138. Pondering is a form of prayer. We should have "aha" moments regularly.
2. Pay the right price. What verbs in the scriptures are used to describe how we should study? (feast, search, liken, hearken, treasure up, etc...)
3. Link/Connect Ideas. Look for themes, patterns, processes, etc...
4. Create Outlines
5. Mark, annotate, cross-reference. "If there's white space, fill it up!"
6. Share- until you can articulate it, you need to work with it more.
Elder Russell M. Nelson:
In the last 2 months, 8 countries have been dedicated for missionary work.
"The Lord uses the unlikely to accomplish the impossible." (said over and over again)
When you love the Lord more, your capacity to love others increases. Love must first be verticle, then horizontal.
Leadership Meeting:
Pres. Pfile:
You've got to BELIEVE! What's it going to hurt?
When teaching the gospel, we need to teach them how to really study and ponder the scriptures.
We must have URGENCY. There's no time to waste! We all need a little idle time, but I get sick of it very quickly. I'm happiest when I'm working.
The Spirit knows all things. Rely on Him to know what to say and do (all throughout life).
There are not enough brethren in the church with the desire to serve.
Sis. Pfile:
Desire- willing to pay the price. It's not easy.
When the Saints went west, Brigham Young wasn't concerned about them. What concerned him most, was his vision of our day. He was worried that we'd have it too easy.
I love you all! Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Craft
Monday, November 15, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
18 months
Dear Dad,
I'm truly sorry to hear about Grandpa. I'm sure that it is a hard thing for you. It definitely is sad for me too, because I love and admire him very much and will miss him greatly; but I know that it would be a whole lot harder if he were my own father. So I want you to know that you have my love, comfort, and prayers. Thank you for telling me about his condition. I definitlely do want to hear about those kinds of things, so I can know to make an extra effort to write him some letters. And I promise to keep working hard and not get distracted. Honestly, I do feel the peace that the gospel brings at times like these. I'm so grateful for our knowledge of the Plan of Salvation! This is actually the first time that I've got to really experience the comfort that can come when you're about to lose someone close to you. So thank you for teaching me the gospel, because it definitely is true and blesses lives! I love you so much and will work hard to return with honor!
Dear Family,
Our meeting got done in 2 days this time, but was still amazing! I don't have time now but will share more of what I've learned from Elder Nelson and Pres. Pfile maybe on Monday.
I don't know if you realized this, but I hit my 18th month mark on Saturday! Aaahh! If I was a girl, I'd be coming home for the Holidays! But I'm not, and I'm a little slow at learning and accomplishing all that I need to on my mission. So you still get a 6 month break from me before I come back to eat all of your food.
Anyways, life serving the Lord is great! The church is still true! And I've always been one to kick it the harderst on the last lap. So, watch out Pueblo West, here I come!
Love,
Elder Craft
I'm truly sorry to hear about Grandpa. I'm sure that it is a hard thing for you. It definitely is sad for me too, because I love and admire him very much and will miss him greatly; but I know that it would be a whole lot harder if he were my own father. So I want you to know that you have my love, comfort, and prayers. Thank you for telling me about his condition. I definitlely do want to hear about those kinds of things, so I can know to make an extra effort to write him some letters. And I promise to keep working hard and not get distracted. Honestly, I do feel the peace that the gospel brings at times like these. I'm so grateful for our knowledge of the Plan of Salvation! This is actually the first time that I've got to really experience the comfort that can come when you're about to lose someone close to you. So thank you for teaching me the gospel, because it definitely is true and blesses lives! I love you so much and will work hard to return with honor!
Dear Family,
Our meeting got done in 2 days this time, but was still amazing! I don't have time now but will share more of what I've learned from Elder Nelson and Pres. Pfile maybe on Monday.
I don't know if you realized this, but I hit my 18th month mark on Saturday! Aaahh! If I was a girl, I'd be coming home for the Holidays! But I'm not, and I'm a little slow at learning and accomplishing all that I need to on my mission. So you still get a 6 month break from me before I come back to eat all of your food.
Anyways, life serving the Lord is great! The church is still true! And I've always been one to kick it the harderst on the last lap. So, watch out Pueblo West, here I come!
Love,
Elder Craft
Monday, November 1, 2010
"You are My Hands"
Dear Family,
Guess what I get to do this Sunday? For the first time in the history of this mission, we are going to have a meeting with ALL the missionaries in one building. Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will be coming to teach us, and of course I'm very excited! I never met any Apostles in Utah, but now that I'm in Colorado, I get to meet them every once in a while :)
We had zone conference this past week, and the theme was connecting everything we teach to baptism. We need to talk about baptism more, teach about baptism more, and make a very clear mental bridge between baptism and all the other commitments we leave our investigators. It was a very inspiring meeting! I sure am going to miss zone conferences when my mission is over. Also, next week we have another leadership conference, so I won't email till Thursday.
At zone conference they passed out an incredible talk for us to read on our own time. It's called "In the strength of the Lord"--by Elder Bednar. It was a talk given at BYU about the Atonement, and I highly recommend that all of you study it!
Okay, I decided on the t-shirt quote for this year! During one of my personal study sessions last week, I realized that I needed to decide quickly, and I actually had kind of a cool experience doing so. When I read the talk "In the strength of the Lord" I thought that it would be a cool t-shirt quote, but it didn't seem quite right. But when I sat there and decided to finally choose a quote, in the less than a minute I felt impressed to look at the recent General Conference talks for ideas. So I pulled out the table of contents for the May 2010 Ensign, and it just jumped out at me! The very first title I saw was "You Are My Hands," by President Uchtdorf, and I knew right away that it was the quote I should choose. If you don't remember the significance of it, I suggest you read to talk, because it's a really good one. So that's what I decided. I hope it's just as exciting and inspiring for all of you. As for a picture, I thought either a pair of hands or the face of the Savior--or just whatever you can find that looks good.
On Saturday we tracted into someone who was kind of excited to see us. He said that he's recently met a friend who is mormon, and he's interested in coming to church some time. He was too busy to be taught at that time, but we got his info and will set up an appointment some time. Guess what his name is? Ed Craft! Yep, that's right. C-r-a-f-t. :) It kind of took me back at first, because he's the first person that I've ever met in my whole life who has the exact same last name as me (except my family of course). Surprisingly, he did come the very next day! We went up and talked to him and his friend, and she asked us if we were teaching him. We said "not yet." :) She then offered to sit in on the lessons. He calls me his "country cousin." See, Grandma Craft, I'm doing family history work too! :)
Dad, you asked me what I thought was the most important principle for being a successful missionary, which is kind of funny, because I just recently have received some very strong impressions regarding that subject. Throughout my whole mission I've been trying to create a formula or list of critical principles for missionary work. I've had many different drafts, with mostly the same ideas, but recently I've changed it to something that is really making more sense than anything else ever did. As of right now these are the things that I would counsel a prospective missionary about:
9 Principles for Successful Missionary Work
1. Faith/Focus
2. Preach My Gospel/8 MTC Lessons/Book of Mormon
3. Prayer/Revelation
4. Goals/Planning
5. Obedience/Work
6. Charity/Selflessness
7. Effective Teaching
8. Commitment-Driven
9. Self-Improvement
I'm out of time, so I can't really comment on these principles, but I'll let you ponder them as they are. Then maybe next week I'll explain a little more.
I love you all so very much! Thank you for being amazing!
Love,
Elder Craft
Guess what I get to do this Sunday? For the first time in the history of this mission, we are going to have a meeting with ALL the missionaries in one building. Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will be coming to teach us, and of course I'm very excited! I never met any Apostles in Utah, but now that I'm in Colorado, I get to meet them every once in a while :)
We had zone conference this past week, and the theme was connecting everything we teach to baptism. We need to talk about baptism more, teach about baptism more, and make a very clear mental bridge between baptism and all the other commitments we leave our investigators. It was a very inspiring meeting! I sure am going to miss zone conferences when my mission is over. Also, next week we have another leadership conference, so I won't email till Thursday.
At zone conference they passed out an incredible talk for us to read on our own time. It's called "In the strength of the Lord"--by Elder Bednar. It was a talk given at BYU about the Atonement, and I highly recommend that all of you study it!
Okay, I decided on the t-shirt quote for this year! During one of my personal study sessions last week, I realized that I needed to decide quickly, and I actually had kind of a cool experience doing so. When I read the talk "In the strength of the Lord" I thought that it would be a cool t-shirt quote, but it didn't seem quite right. But when I sat there and decided to finally choose a quote, in the less than a minute I felt impressed to look at the recent General Conference talks for ideas. So I pulled out the table of contents for the May 2010 Ensign, and it just jumped out at me! The very first title I saw was "You Are My Hands," by President Uchtdorf, and I knew right away that it was the quote I should choose. If you don't remember the significance of it, I suggest you read to talk, because it's a really good one. So that's what I decided. I hope it's just as exciting and inspiring for all of you. As for a picture, I thought either a pair of hands or the face of the Savior--or just whatever you can find that looks good.
On Saturday we tracted into someone who was kind of excited to see us. He said that he's recently met a friend who is mormon, and he's interested in coming to church some time. He was too busy to be taught at that time, but we got his info and will set up an appointment some time. Guess what his name is? Ed Craft! Yep, that's right. C-r-a-f-t. :) It kind of took me back at first, because he's the first person that I've ever met in my whole life who has the exact same last name as me (except my family of course). Surprisingly, he did come the very next day! We went up and talked to him and his friend, and she asked us if we were teaching him. We said "not yet." :) She then offered to sit in on the lessons. He calls me his "country cousin." See, Grandma Craft, I'm doing family history work too! :)
Dad, you asked me what I thought was the most important principle for being a successful missionary, which is kind of funny, because I just recently have received some very strong impressions regarding that subject. Throughout my whole mission I've been trying to create a formula or list of critical principles for missionary work. I've had many different drafts, with mostly the same ideas, but recently I've changed it to something that is really making more sense than anything else ever did. As of right now these are the things that I would counsel a prospective missionary about:
9 Principles for Successful Missionary Work
1. Faith/Focus
2. Preach My Gospel/8 MTC Lessons/Book of Mormon
3. Prayer/Revelation
4. Goals/Planning
5. Obedience/Work
6. Charity/Selflessness
7. Effective Teaching
8. Commitment-Driven
9. Self-Improvement
I'm out of time, so I can't really comment on these principles, but I'll let you ponder them as they are. Then maybe next week I'll explain a little more.
I love you all so very much! Thank you for being amazing!
Love,
Elder Craft
Monday, October 25, 2010
"No speak English"
Dear Family,
Ashley O'Hara was baptized yesterday after coming to church barely 3 times and being taught everything in a week and a half. When her previously LA husband talked about coming to church again, she at first was hesitant. She said that the hardest part was just stepping into the church for the first time, but she did it! After that she loved church, she was excited to learn more, and she was more than ready to accept the baptismal commitment when we offered it. Not only that, but what made her want to do it so soon, was because she wanted to go on the stake temple trip this weekend. She is extremely interested in and excited for the temple! I think that church attendance is an oustanding tool for finding, sifting, and converting the elect. Also, temple attendance is one of the greatest tools for helping new members endure to the end. How blessed we are to have these holy places!
Okay, I have a quick story to share. It's one that I didn't find too amusing, but as my companion has been devotedly telling it to everyone we meet, it seems to stir up quite a laugh. So, I guess I'll share it with you. It's another tracting one. After a long hot day of tracting, one becomes a little delirious and it's easy to not be the brightest star in the sky. Such was the case for me one day. By the way, I was called on my mission to speak English, but I've learned that in this mission it's also quite helpful to know a little Spanish, and so I've learned how to introduce ourselves as missionaries from The Church of Jesus of Latter-Day Saints, and I've been blessed with opportunities to use it. One day after talking with a bunch of white people, we ran into a lady of a little darker complexion, and so I was anxious to use the little Spanish that I know. The only problem is that this time the lady didn't seem to understand what I was saying. She just kept repeating, "No speak English". So I tried to enunciate my Spanish words more clearly, but that didn't seem to work. She was kind of laughing, but I was getting a little frustrated, so we just left her a pass-along card. As we walked away, my brilliant companion finally spoke up and, amidst bursts of laughter, said, "That lady was Chinese." :)
Ha ha ha, everyone laugh at Elder Craft. He's not very good at determining nationalities anyways, let alone after a long day.
I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the gospel is true! I'm so grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and the oppotunity that I have to represent Him and His church. I love the Book of Mormon and have a strong testimony that it is one of the greatest sources of spiritual power. If ever you are experiencing temptations, trials, or difficult decisions that you don't feel like you can deal with on your own, open up the Book of Mormon! Immerse yourself in it's spirit and teachings. Read about and ponder Jesus Christ and His Atonement. Study the righteous examples of the prophets of old and liken them to your own life. Even if you are doing that already, take it up a notch, and I promise you that strength, peace, and answers will come.
I thank you all for your continual love and support, but even more importantly, for your faithfulness in keeping the commandments. I'm overwhelmed when I ponder what my life could've been like, if I hadn't been blessed with such a righteous family. I thank each of you for your testimony and example. I love you all so very much, and I will continue to pray for your physical and spiritual safety and happiness. Continue to work hard, be obedient, be loving, be grateful, pray often, and look for miralces. Have an outstanding week!
Love,
Elder Craft
P.S. Dear Mom, I hereby covenant that I'll have the shirt quote by next week. I want it to be a good one :)
Ashley O'Hara was baptized yesterday after coming to church barely 3 times and being taught everything in a week and a half. When her previously LA husband talked about coming to church again, she at first was hesitant. She said that the hardest part was just stepping into the church for the first time, but she did it! After that she loved church, she was excited to learn more, and she was more than ready to accept the baptismal commitment when we offered it. Not only that, but what made her want to do it so soon, was because she wanted to go on the stake temple trip this weekend. She is extremely interested in and excited for the temple! I think that church attendance is an oustanding tool for finding, sifting, and converting the elect. Also, temple attendance is one of the greatest tools for helping new members endure to the end. How blessed we are to have these holy places!
Okay, I have a quick story to share. It's one that I didn't find too amusing, but as my companion has been devotedly telling it to everyone we meet, it seems to stir up quite a laugh. So, I guess I'll share it with you. It's another tracting one. After a long hot day of tracting, one becomes a little delirious and it's easy to not be the brightest star in the sky. Such was the case for me one day. By the way, I was called on my mission to speak English, but I've learned that in this mission it's also quite helpful to know a little Spanish, and so I've learned how to introduce ourselves as missionaries from The Church of Jesus of Latter-Day Saints, and I've been blessed with opportunities to use it. One day after talking with a bunch of white people, we ran into a lady of a little darker complexion, and so I was anxious to use the little Spanish that I know. The only problem is that this time the lady didn't seem to understand what I was saying. She just kept repeating, "No speak English". So I tried to enunciate my Spanish words more clearly, but that didn't seem to work. She was kind of laughing, but I was getting a little frustrated, so we just left her a pass-along card. As we walked away, my brilliant companion finally spoke up and, amidst bursts of laughter, said, "That lady was Chinese." :)
Ha ha ha, everyone laugh at Elder Craft. He's not very good at determining nationalities anyways, let alone after a long day.
I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the gospel is true! I'm so grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and the oppotunity that I have to represent Him and His church. I love the Book of Mormon and have a strong testimony that it is one of the greatest sources of spiritual power. If ever you are experiencing temptations, trials, or difficult decisions that you don't feel like you can deal with on your own, open up the Book of Mormon! Immerse yourself in it's spirit and teachings. Read about and ponder Jesus Christ and His Atonement. Study the righteous examples of the prophets of old and liken them to your own life. Even if you are doing that already, take it up a notch, and I promise you that strength, peace, and answers will come.
I thank you all for your continual love and support, but even more importantly, for your faithfulness in keeping the commandments. I'm overwhelmed when I ponder what my life could've been like, if I hadn't been blessed with such a righteous family. I thank each of you for your testimony and example. I love you all so very much, and I will continue to pray for your physical and spiritual safety and happiness. Continue to work hard, be obedient, be loving, be grateful, pray often, and look for miralces. Have an outstanding week!
Love,
Elder Craft
P.S. Dear Mom, I hereby covenant that I'll have the shirt quote by next week. I want it to be a good one :)
Monday, October 18, 2010
New Scripture Marking System
Dear Family,
Well, nothing is happening to me or my companion for transfers, which is fine with me. But Elder Hone in my district will be training and maybe he'll get Elder Scoville (Brittney's neighbor's brother). That would be kind of funny. As for me, if you could pray for me to be blessed with patience in our companionship, that would be much appreciated. Lately, it's been kind of tougher than with other companions. Thanks!
So I just found out about a scripture marking method that was brought to our mission by Elder Robbins of the Seventy, a little before I came into the mission. I really like it! (I'll put my personal ideas in parenthesis).
Purple- References to the Savior (names and things that He did/does, but not necessarily that we should do)
Orange- People, Places, Historical Info, Background/Context, etc.... (I'll also include neutral examples of people doing things that are interesting-not necessarily good or bad. There will probably be a lot of this)
Yellow-Points of interest, Eternal principles (teachings that aren't commandments OR warnings, just statements of fact. There will probably be a lot of this. I decided to switch yellow and blue)
Green-Commandments, Things to do (I will include good examples of righteous people doing things in the scriptures, even though it's not directly telling us to do them)
Blue-Blessings promised for keeping commandments (I decided to switch the colors yellow and blue, but it works either way).
Red-Warnings (things NOT to do. Also--bad examples. The actions of evil people.)
Brown-Punishments attached to the warnings
Also, an important principle is to only mark key words or phrases. Try not to mark whole verses or sections; if needed, use a bracket. There might be several ideas in single verse. Mark in such a way to be able to easily pick out and distiguish different ideas.
This is also how I'm going to mark my PMG. It's a great method!
Dear Jacob,
Thank you so much for your letter and pictures! You're getting so tall and you are a very good writer! I love you buddy! See ya later!
Dear Mom,
You can tell Joshua that I was kind of just kidding about not liking dogs. I still really like the nice ones.
As for clothing, everything is still holding up pretty good for now. Thank you though :)
I do have a request though: Could you please send a blank hard-back Book of Mormon? I recently found out about a new way of marking scriptures, that's different from the way I've been doing it, so I wanted to go through a mark up a sturdy Book of Mormon with the new way. As soon as you could send it, that'd be great. Thanks! Other than that I can't think of anything else I need. Sorry for not just telling you that sooner. I love you!
Hey could you tell me all the previous t-shirt quotes that we've used so far? That'll help me make an inspired decision :)
Thanks again for everything. I love you tons!
Dear Dad,
Sorry, I'm out of time, but I did want to say real quick that I love you, I'm proud of you (and your newly found handyman skills), and I hope you have a awesome week! Take care!
Miracle Stories
We had our lesson with Ashley O'Hara this past week, which was awesome! Right when we came in, her husband was asking how many lessons she needs to take to get baptized and everything. She also had a lot of questions, and seemed excited to get baptized. She was already talking about going to the temple, having her son serve a mission, and all sorts of things in that very first lesson! It was quite miraculous!
Love,
Elder Craft
Well, nothing is happening to me or my companion for transfers, which is fine with me. But Elder Hone in my district will be training and maybe he'll get Elder Scoville (Brittney's neighbor's brother). That would be kind of funny. As for me, if you could pray for me to be blessed with patience in our companionship, that would be much appreciated. Lately, it's been kind of tougher than with other companions. Thanks!
So I just found out about a scripture marking method that was brought to our mission by Elder Robbins of the Seventy, a little before I came into the mission. I really like it! (I'll put my personal ideas in parenthesis).
Purple- References to the Savior (names and things that He did/does, but not necessarily that we should do)
Orange- People, Places, Historical Info, Background/Context, etc.... (I'll also include neutral examples of people doing things that are interesting-not necessarily good or bad. There will probably be a lot of this)
Yellow-Points of interest, Eternal principles (teachings that aren't commandments OR warnings, just statements of fact. There will probably be a lot of this. I decided to switch yellow and blue)
Green-Commandments, Things to do (I will include good examples of righteous people doing things in the scriptures, even though it's not directly telling us to do them)
Blue-Blessings promised for keeping commandments (I decided to switch the colors yellow and blue, but it works either way).
Red-Warnings (things NOT to do. Also--bad examples. The actions of evil people.)
Brown-Punishments attached to the warnings
Also, an important principle is to only mark key words or phrases. Try not to mark whole verses or sections; if needed, use a bracket. There might be several ideas in single verse. Mark in such a way to be able to easily pick out and distiguish different ideas.
This is also how I'm going to mark my PMG. It's a great method!
Dear Jacob,
Thank you so much for your letter and pictures! You're getting so tall and you are a very good writer! I love you buddy! See ya later!
Dear Mom,
You can tell Joshua that I was kind of just kidding about not liking dogs. I still really like the nice ones.
As for clothing, everything is still holding up pretty good for now. Thank you though :)
I do have a request though: Could you please send a blank hard-back Book of Mormon? I recently found out about a new way of marking scriptures, that's different from the way I've been doing it, so I wanted to go through a mark up a sturdy Book of Mormon with the new way. As soon as you could send it, that'd be great. Thanks! Other than that I can't think of anything else I need. Sorry for not just telling you that sooner. I love you!
Hey could you tell me all the previous t-shirt quotes that we've used so far? That'll help me make an inspired decision :)
Thanks again for everything. I love you tons!
Dear Dad,
Sorry, I'm out of time, but I did want to say real quick that I love you, I'm proud of you (and your newly found handyman skills), and I hope you have a awesome week! Take care!
Miracle Stories
We had our lesson with Ashley O'Hara this past week, which was awesome! Right when we came in, her husband was asking how many lessons she needs to take to get baptized and everything. She also had a lot of questions, and seemed excited to get baptized. She was already talking about going to the temple, having her son serve a mission, and all sorts of things in that very first lesson! It was quite miraculous!
Love,
Elder Craft
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
I hate Dogs!
Dear Family,
No, I didn't get attacked by a dog this past week; I was just running out of ideas for a subject title. And it's just that Colorado has more dogs than the rest of the world combined, and no matter where we go, every dog within a 2 block radius knows we're there and won't stop telling everybody about it. Actually I could tell you a dog story if you want one. This happened a couple of weeks ago. We were tracting in a beautiful, quiet, and fairly rich neighborhood one Sunday afternoon. No dogs were barking, no old men cussing, and so we didn't have a care in the world. Little did we know that in just a matter of seconds our heart rate would double and we would be blessed with a delightful near-death experience. So it happened like this: We walked to a certain house and went through the gate of a small chain link fence to get to the door (which we do quite often). As we got closer, we saw that the main door was open and just the clear screen door was closed (or so we thought!). At nearly the exact time we got to the door, 2 big dogs (maybe pitbulls?) from inside noticed us and charged towards the door barking ferociously. This didn't really bother us because they were inside and this happens quite frequently, until we realized that the screen door wasn't clicked shut. In a matter of seconds, which seemed like eternity, the dogs knocked the door open, took their stance, and got ready to eat us. Luckily they hesitated slightly so that the door swung back a little bit and momentarily stopped them from coming out all the way. In that time, something deep within me that wanted to live inspired me to push the door back at them and snap it shut completely, saving the lives of 2 humble missionaries. Shortly thereafter the owner came out and apologized, while I tried (through gasping breaths) to share our message. If only he got baptized, then it would truly qualify as a legendary mission story, but unfortunetly he wasn't interested.
Anyways, my mission is going great and I love the work! Thank you all for your love and support. Have an awesome week!
Miracle Stories:
Today we have an appointment that we're really excited about. A couple of weeks ago the Kelley's had some salesman guy over at their house doing business one day, and he noticed some religious pictures on their wall and started asking questions. They got into a great gospel conversation and he was very excited about it all. They gave him a Book of Mormon, which he committed to reading. He said that he has a lot of questions and has agreed to meet with us missionaries. So today we're going over to have lunch with him and teach him the Restoration of the Gospel! Our appointment is immediately after our email session.
Last week when we were emailing a guy came up and identified himself as a member of the church who has recently moved into the area. He said that he hasn't been active for a few years, but wants to get into it again. We told when and where church was at, and he said that he'd bring his non-member wife along, which he did! They came to church for all 3 hours, and afterwards, he came up to us and set up an appointment to have us for dinner and also for us to teach his wife! The appointment is this Thursday!
Love,
Elder Craft
No, I didn't get attacked by a dog this past week; I was just running out of ideas for a subject title. And it's just that Colorado has more dogs than the rest of the world combined, and no matter where we go, every dog within a 2 block radius knows we're there and won't stop telling everybody about it. Actually I could tell you a dog story if you want one. This happened a couple of weeks ago. We were tracting in a beautiful, quiet, and fairly rich neighborhood one Sunday afternoon. No dogs were barking, no old men cussing, and so we didn't have a care in the world. Little did we know that in just a matter of seconds our heart rate would double and we would be blessed with a delightful near-death experience. So it happened like this: We walked to a certain house and went through the gate of a small chain link fence to get to the door (which we do quite often). As we got closer, we saw that the main door was open and just the clear screen door was closed (or so we thought!). At nearly the exact time we got to the door, 2 big dogs (maybe pitbulls?) from inside noticed us and charged towards the door barking ferociously. This didn't really bother us because they were inside and this happens quite frequently, until we realized that the screen door wasn't clicked shut. In a matter of seconds, which seemed like eternity, the dogs knocked the door open, took their stance, and got ready to eat us. Luckily they hesitated slightly so that the door swung back a little bit and momentarily stopped them from coming out all the way. In that time, something deep within me that wanted to live inspired me to push the door back at them and snap it shut completely, saving the lives of 2 humble missionaries. Shortly thereafter the owner came out and apologized, while I tried (through gasping breaths) to share our message. If only he got baptized, then it would truly qualify as a legendary mission story, but unfortunetly he wasn't interested.
Anyways, my mission is going great and I love the work! Thank you all for your love and support. Have an awesome week!
Miracle Stories:
Today we have an appointment that we're really excited about. A couple of weeks ago the Kelley's had some salesman guy over at their house doing business one day, and he noticed some religious pictures on their wall and started asking questions. They got into a great gospel conversation and he was very excited about it all. They gave him a Book of Mormon, which he committed to reading. He said that he has a lot of questions and has agreed to meet with us missionaries. So today we're going over to have lunch with him and teach him the Restoration of the Gospel! Our appointment is immediately after our email session.
Last week when we were emailing a guy came up and identified himself as a member of the church who has recently moved into the area. He said that he hasn't been active for a few years, but wants to get into it again. We told when and where church was at, and he said that he'd bring his non-member wife along, which he did! They came to church for all 3 hours, and afterwards, he came up to us and set up an appointment to have us for dinner and also for us to teach his wife! The appointment is this Thursday!
Love,
Elder Craft
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Life is Good on a Mission
Dear Family,
Life has been good on a mission. Today was P-day, and this morning our district went and played frisbee golf. It was my first time, and it was pretty fun. Also, I absolutely loved General Conference and hope you did too! There were so many great things I learned about how to contribute to a happier family, that I'm disappointed that I have to wait so long before I can fully apply it :) I love you all very much and I pray for your happiness and well-being, physically and spiritually. Continue to do all that you can to follow the counsel of our prophet. Remember: "A living prophet is more important than a dead prophet." May we all be more conscience of our choices, and strive to cultivate an attitude of gratitude. Right now we're teaching an 18 yr. old young man, named Jesse. We've had 3 lessons with him, he's been reading the Book of Mormon, has some great fellowshippers, really has liked what we've taught him so far, and will be coming to church this weekend! Anyways, I love you all and hope you have a super-duper week!
Dear Dad,
It's kind of funny, because I had guessed that you would go hiking on the Saturday of General Conference. I guess bringing the goats will be a new tradition. :)
Anyways, of course I don't think too much about it, but I also very much look forward to spending time with you and the family again: going hiking, camping, 4-wheeling, etc... I love you so much Dad, and cannot fully express my gratitude for the outstanding support that you give me.
Oh, and I feel like I should comment on Elder Holland's talk. First of all, I want to echo the same heartfelt thank you for all that you do for me. Second of all, looking back on my life before my mission, I believe I could have saved up enough money to pay for my entire mission, had some extra money put away for school, and still have gotten the same grades. I wish I would have tried harder to do that. Since I only got about half of it saved up, it is my wish that all of it be used towards my mission. Where I'm at right now, I kind of WANT to come back with no money, just everything I learned on my mission, and see how I can do swimming in the deep end all by myself. I'm sure it'll be hard, but I think it'll be good for me. So please don't feel like you need to do the same as Elder Holland's Father did, but just accept my sincere appreciation for all that you have done for me, which is more than I ever could've asked for. I love you tons, and hope you have a superb week!
Dear Mom,
Guess what I was thinking about last Sunday morning? How much I miss you amazing General Conference breakfasts! Was it waffles, crepes, or something else wonderful? Never mind, actually don't tell me; it'll just make me trunky. But I hope that the rest of you were able to enjoy Conference weekend.
Hey, when's my deadline for coming up with my clever shirt quote? You know me, I don't ever do things any sooner than needed. That's probably something that I should overcome, but it seems like the best inspiration comes when the demand is the greatest. :P Do I get to choose a picture as well?
Oh, and you'll be happy to know that I've been eating healthy. I got a small blender (about $16), and nearly every morning I have a "Super Smoothie" (banana, oats, strawberries, blueberries, spinach, etc...). So hopefully I'm living like a good Craft-boy should. Thank you for all that you have taught and for your great example.
Anyways, I love you so much and wish you the best in the coming week!
Love,
Elder Craft
Life has been good on a mission. Today was P-day, and this morning our district went and played frisbee golf. It was my first time, and it was pretty fun. Also, I absolutely loved General Conference and hope you did too! There were so many great things I learned about how to contribute to a happier family, that I'm disappointed that I have to wait so long before I can fully apply it :) I love you all very much and I pray for your happiness and well-being, physically and spiritually. Continue to do all that you can to follow the counsel of our prophet. Remember: "A living prophet is more important than a dead prophet." May we all be more conscience of our choices, and strive to cultivate an attitude of gratitude. Right now we're teaching an 18 yr. old young man, named Jesse. We've had 3 lessons with him, he's been reading the Book of Mormon, has some great fellowshippers, really has liked what we've taught him so far, and will be coming to church this weekend! Anyways, I love you all and hope you have a super-duper week!
Dear Dad,
It's kind of funny, because I had guessed that you would go hiking on the Saturday of General Conference. I guess bringing the goats will be a new tradition. :)
Anyways, of course I don't think too much about it, but I also very much look forward to spending time with you and the family again: going hiking, camping, 4-wheeling, etc... I love you so much Dad, and cannot fully express my gratitude for the outstanding support that you give me.
Oh, and I feel like I should comment on Elder Holland's talk. First of all, I want to echo the same heartfelt thank you for all that you do for me. Second of all, looking back on my life before my mission, I believe I could have saved up enough money to pay for my entire mission, had some extra money put away for school, and still have gotten the same grades. I wish I would have tried harder to do that. Since I only got about half of it saved up, it is my wish that all of it be used towards my mission. Where I'm at right now, I kind of WANT to come back with no money, just everything I learned on my mission, and see how I can do swimming in the deep end all by myself. I'm sure it'll be hard, but I think it'll be good for me. So please don't feel like you need to do the same as Elder Holland's Father did, but just accept my sincere appreciation for all that you have done for me, which is more than I ever could've asked for. I love you tons, and hope you have a superb week!
Dear Mom,
Guess what I was thinking about last Sunday morning? How much I miss you amazing General Conference breakfasts! Was it waffles, crepes, or something else wonderful? Never mind, actually don't tell me; it'll just make me trunky. But I hope that the rest of you were able to enjoy Conference weekend.
Hey, when's my deadline for coming up with my clever shirt quote? You know me, I don't ever do things any sooner than needed. That's probably something that I should overcome, but it seems like the best inspiration comes when the demand is the greatest. :P Do I get to choose a picture as well?
Oh, and you'll be happy to know that I've been eating healthy. I got a small blender (about $16), and nearly every morning I have a "Super Smoothie" (banana, oats, strawberries, blueberries, spinach, etc...). So hopefully I'm living like a good Craft-boy should. Thank you for all that you have taught and for your great example.
Anyways, I love you so much and wish you the best in the coming week!
Love,
Elder Craft
Monday, September 27, 2010
What I love about my Mission
Dear Mom,
Man, those missionaries don't know a good meal when it slaps them in the face. I've been craving waffles and gravy for 16 MONTHS!! I want to assure you that I've been trying and finishing everything that's put before me. What can I say, I've been taught well :) But I guess since I'm not in Venezuela, it's not too hard. We're usually fed very well.
So I talked to the Wards, and they said that they absolutely love Chantelle and Becky! Sis. Ward said that at one time she wanted Chantelle to marry Jacob :) But apparently Chantelle is preparing for a mission?! Is this true? If so that's awesome! Tell her for me that I think she'll be an outstanding missionary and that I wish her the best.
Anyways, we had a pretty crazy day at church yesterday that I thought I'd tell you about. First off, we went to the bishopric meeting, I said the opening prayer, and we reoported on the week. Then we reported in the Ward Welfare Meeting. After that I gave the opening prayer in Sacrament Meeting and Elder Neff gave the closing prayer. It was Fast Sunday, so we also both bore our testimonies. For the 2nd hour, we had prepared to teach the gospel principles class about Obedience, but a young woman in the ward brought her friend to church, who wanted to be taught the lessons, so during the second hour we taught her the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which went very well. Then for the 3rd hour we taught Elder's Quorum about the importance of focusing on commitments when we teach in our priesthood responsibilities. That lesson went pretty well. We have a pretty big group of Elders, but the end of this crazy day, I wasn't even nervous about public speaking. What a miracle! After church we had a couple of errands to run and people to talk to, then right after that, we hurried off to an appointment that we had with a potential investigator. The lesson went great! She received service from missionaries in the past, but never learned about the church. She recently moved in and has been looking for a church, and so she was interested in what we had to say! And that about wraps up our crazy day! :) Oh the wonderful experiences of a mission!
One of the members we had dinner with asked us what we love about our mission, and as Elder Neff was answering I had so many things going through my mind, I couldn't decide on just one. So I decided that I would try to write them all down. So here's a list in no particular order:
People- I've learned to greatly love peope. I've met thousands and am absolutely certain that EVERYONE has something that you can love about them and something that you can learn from them.
Teaching- I love teaching the gospel. Having been blessed by these wonderful truths all my life, it's a thrilling thing to find and teach people that have been thirsting for them for a long time.
Schedule- I love the simple, consistent schedule that we use as missionaries. Our 2 hours in the morning to study and feel the Spirit is very special. Also, at the end of every day, we're exhausted, but we're blessed to get 8 hours of sleep, so the next day, we're ready to go again.
Focus- I love only having one thing to focus on: building the kingdom. I don't have to worry about school, work, bills, kids, or anything else, and that's pretty awesome.
Meetings- I love the incredible Spirit of the missionary meetings that we go to: zone conference, leadership conference, district meetings, etc... It's definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Service- I love being able to be completely selfless and just give all my time in the service of others. There's nothing like it!
Revelation- I love the right to revelation that comes with being a missionary. I love being an instrument in the hands of God to accomplish His purposes.
Members- I love being able to get to know so many members of the church, more so than I ever did before my mission. I've learned a lot from them, both what I like and what I would do differently. I've watched them closely in family relations, leadership responsibilities, gospel teaching, etc...
Dress- Every once in a while, I will wear jeans on P-day, and let me tell you, slacks are a lot more comfortable than jeans!
But most importantly, I love my mission, because it's God's work that I'm doing. This is the greatest work in all the world, and I get to do it 24/7. That's an enormous blessing!
I love you Mom and hope you have a great week! The Church is true!
Dear Dad,
So you're working another job? How's that going? Do you mind me asking why you decided to do that? How's the appraising going?
Anyways, I love you tons and hope everything is going well. Have a great week!
P.S. Of course you can also read my letter to Mom. It's for you too. I'm not playing favorites :)
Love,
Elder Craft
Man, those missionaries don't know a good meal when it slaps them in the face. I've been craving waffles and gravy for 16 MONTHS!! I want to assure you that I've been trying and finishing everything that's put before me. What can I say, I've been taught well :) But I guess since I'm not in Venezuela, it's not too hard. We're usually fed very well.
So I talked to the Wards, and they said that they absolutely love Chantelle and Becky! Sis. Ward said that at one time she wanted Chantelle to marry Jacob :) But apparently Chantelle is preparing for a mission?! Is this true? If so that's awesome! Tell her for me that I think she'll be an outstanding missionary and that I wish her the best.
Anyways, we had a pretty crazy day at church yesterday that I thought I'd tell you about. First off, we went to the bishopric meeting, I said the opening prayer, and we reoported on the week. Then we reported in the Ward Welfare Meeting. After that I gave the opening prayer in Sacrament Meeting and Elder Neff gave the closing prayer. It was Fast Sunday, so we also both bore our testimonies. For the 2nd hour, we had prepared to teach the gospel principles class about Obedience, but a young woman in the ward brought her friend to church, who wanted to be taught the lessons, so during the second hour we taught her the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which went very well. Then for the 3rd hour we taught Elder's Quorum about the importance of focusing on commitments when we teach in our priesthood responsibilities. That lesson went pretty well. We have a pretty big group of Elders, but the end of this crazy day, I wasn't even nervous about public speaking. What a miracle! After church we had a couple of errands to run and people to talk to, then right after that, we hurried off to an appointment that we had with a potential investigator. The lesson went great! She received service from missionaries in the past, but never learned about the church. She recently moved in and has been looking for a church, and so she was interested in what we had to say! And that about wraps up our crazy day! :) Oh the wonderful experiences of a mission!
One of the members we had dinner with asked us what we love about our mission, and as Elder Neff was answering I had so many things going through my mind, I couldn't decide on just one. So I decided that I would try to write them all down. So here's a list in no particular order:
People- I've learned to greatly love peope. I've met thousands and am absolutely certain that EVERYONE has something that you can love about them and something that you can learn from them.
Teaching- I love teaching the gospel. Having been blessed by these wonderful truths all my life, it's a thrilling thing to find and teach people that have been thirsting for them for a long time.
Schedule- I love the simple, consistent schedule that we use as missionaries. Our 2 hours in the morning to study and feel the Spirit is very special. Also, at the end of every day, we're exhausted, but we're blessed to get 8 hours of sleep, so the next day, we're ready to go again.
Focus- I love only having one thing to focus on: building the kingdom. I don't have to worry about school, work, bills, kids, or anything else, and that's pretty awesome.
Meetings- I love the incredible Spirit of the missionary meetings that we go to: zone conference, leadership conference, district meetings, etc... It's definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Service- I love being able to be completely selfless and just give all my time in the service of others. There's nothing like it!
Revelation- I love the right to revelation that comes with being a missionary. I love being an instrument in the hands of God to accomplish His purposes.
Members- I love being able to get to know so many members of the church, more so than I ever did before my mission. I've learned a lot from them, both what I like and what I would do differently. I've watched them closely in family relations, leadership responsibilities, gospel teaching, etc...
Dress- Every once in a while, I will wear jeans on P-day, and let me tell you, slacks are a lot more comfortable than jeans!
But most importantly, I love my mission, because it's God's work that I'm doing. This is the greatest work in all the world, and I get to do it 24/7. That's an enormous blessing!
I love you Mom and hope you have a great week! The Church is true!
Dear Dad,
So you're working another job? How's that going? Do you mind me asking why you decided to do that? How's the appraising going?
Anyways, I love you tons and hope everything is going well. Have a great week!
P.S. Of course you can also read my letter to Mom. It's for you too. I'm not playing favorites :)
Love,
Elder Craft
Thursday, September 23, 2010
11 companions
Dear Mom,
Yes, I do know the Ward family!! And yes, it was Jacob's farewell. That's kind of funny. I'll have to talk to them about it.
Here's my companion and area list:
1-Elder Kyle Staheli Payson, UT) in MTC -- just left this area in PW
(he trained Elder Neff); now serving in my old area in Springs :)
2-Elder Octavio Godinez (Chicago) 1 transfer in Castle Rock -- home and supposedly married
3-Elder Aaron Petters (Stafford, Virginia) 1 transfer in Monument -- at BYU now
4-Elder Cody Oakes (Burley, ID) 1 transfer in Pueblo -- he's my current zone leader!
5-Elder Daniel Baker (Michigan) 1 transfer in La Junta -- serving in San Luis Valley
6-Elder Jase Langston (Hurricane, UT) 1/2 transfer in Colorado Springs -- went home for shoulder surgery
7-Elder Eric Greenfield (Wisconsin) 1/2 transfer in " " -- serving with Elder Gemmill right now :)
8-Elder Christopher Allen (Victorville, CA) 2 transfers in " " -- went home a couple of transfers after serving with me (emotional struggles)
9-Elder Rusten Tauteoli (West Valley, UT) 1 transfer in " " -- just went senior companion in Parker (that's my boy!)
10-Elder Darren Gemmill (Alberta, Canada) 3 transfers in Colby, KS -- in Fountain with Elder Greenfield
11-Elder Mackinley Neff (Buckeye, AR) in Pueblo West -- now suffering the wrath of Elder Craft!
Phew!! That's a lot.
I love you so much Mom, and am so grateful for all that you do to support me! Have a great weekend!
Dear Dad,
We had another 3 day leadership conference this week, which is why P-day is today. The conference was awesome! The Spirit was so strong, the training so profound, and the experience so uplifting! I'm truly grateful for the opportunity that I had to attend.
The lessons that we went over are:
The Doctrine of Christ--The Missionary Purpose
The Role of the Holy Ghost in Conversion
Revelation through Prayer
Revelation through the Book of Mormon
Revelation through Church Attendance
Teach People, Not Lessons
We Invite, They Commit, We Follow Up
How to Begin Teaching
As you can see, they're all pretty important topics in missionary work. I know that the Brethren are inspired of God, and that missionary work throughout the world will continue to accelerate in miraculous ways. I'm so grateful to be a part of this great work! I bear you my testimony that everything that we sacrifice for the Lord and His work will be well worth it. Thank you for your outstanding example and loving support.
I'm glad to hear that Benson is making sure that you keep in shape, because as soon as I get home we're going to have to make up for 2 years of basketball, football, racquetball, ping pong, etc... By the way, have you gotten a ping pong table for the new house? I actually got to play a little bit at a member's house recently, after not playing for a long time. It was still pretty fun.
I love you so much Dad! Have an awesome weekend! (PS- stuff Benson for me :P )
Love,
Elder Craft
MIRACLE Stories:
Yesterday while tracting Elder Neff and I saw two teenagers talking on a driveway, and so we went up and started talking with them. We immediately felt the Spirit as we began to talk about the gospel with them. They agreed to be taught right then and there, and we had a short powerful lesson on the driveway. Things just flowed. They seemed to be excited about the message, and they agreed to prepare themselves for a baptismal date of Oct 16th! After that lesson, we continued tracting and really felt spiritually uplifted. We know that that was where God wanted us to be.
Yes, I do know the Ward family!! And yes, it was Jacob's farewell. That's kind of funny. I'll have to talk to them about it.
Here's my companion and area list:
1-Elder Kyle Staheli Payson, UT) in MTC -- just left this area in PW
(he trained Elder Neff); now serving in my old area in Springs :)
2-Elder Octavio Godinez (Chicago) 1 transfer in Castle Rock -- home and supposedly married
3-Elder Aaron Petters (Stafford, Virginia) 1 transfer in Monument -- at BYU now
4-Elder Cody Oakes (Burley, ID) 1 transfer in Pueblo -- he's my current zone leader!
5-Elder Daniel Baker (Michigan) 1 transfer in La Junta -- serving in San Luis Valley
6-Elder Jase Langston (Hurricane, UT) 1/2 transfer in Colorado Springs -- went home for shoulder surgery
7-Elder Eric Greenfield (Wisconsin) 1/2 transfer in " " -- serving with Elder Gemmill right now :)
8-Elder Christopher Allen (Victorville, CA) 2 transfers in " " -- went home a couple of transfers after serving with me (emotional struggles)
9-Elder Rusten Tauteoli (West Valley, UT) 1 transfer in " " -- just went senior companion in Parker (that's my boy!)
10-Elder Darren Gemmill (Alberta, Canada) 3 transfers in Colby, KS -- in Fountain with Elder Greenfield
11-Elder Mackinley Neff (Buckeye, AR) in Pueblo West -- now suffering the wrath of Elder Craft!
Phew!! That's a lot.
I love you so much Mom, and am so grateful for all that you do to support me! Have a great weekend!
Dear Dad,
We had another 3 day leadership conference this week, which is why P-day is today. The conference was awesome! The Spirit was so strong, the training so profound, and the experience so uplifting! I'm truly grateful for the opportunity that I had to attend.
The lessons that we went over are:
The Doctrine of Christ--The Missionary Purpose
The Role of the Holy Ghost in Conversion
Revelation through Prayer
Revelation through the Book of Mormon
Revelation through Church Attendance
Teach People, Not Lessons
We Invite, They Commit, We Follow Up
How to Begin Teaching
As you can see, they're all pretty important topics in missionary work. I know that the Brethren are inspired of God, and that missionary work throughout the world will continue to accelerate in miraculous ways. I'm so grateful to be a part of this great work! I bear you my testimony that everything that we sacrifice for the Lord and His work will be well worth it. Thank you for your outstanding example and loving support.
I'm glad to hear that Benson is making sure that you keep in shape, because as soon as I get home we're going to have to make up for 2 years of basketball, football, racquetball, ping pong, etc... By the way, have you gotten a ping pong table for the new house? I actually got to play a little bit at a member's house recently, after not playing for a long time. It was still pretty fun.
I love you so much Dad! Have an awesome weekend! (PS- stuff Benson for me :P )
Love,
Elder Craft
MIRACLE Stories:
Yesterday while tracting Elder Neff and I saw two teenagers talking on a driveway, and so we went up and started talking with them. We immediately felt the Spirit as we began to talk about the gospel with them. They agreed to be taught right then and there, and we had a short powerful lesson on the driveway. Things just flowed. They seemed to be excited about the message, and they agreed to prepare themselves for a baptismal date of Oct 16th! After that lesson, we continued tracting and really felt spiritually uplifted. We know that that was where God wanted us to be.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Let's Change it Up
(since I so rarely email him on time . . . my last email was actually late, but worked out this time so he had something to read, so I decided to share the info with all of you instead of keeping it to myself :) Hope you enjoy his latest!)
Dear Angela,
Thank you so much for your letter! I always enjoy hearing how you're doing. I miss you too!
You're probably wondering why I'm emailing on Saturday, and that's because on Monday the libraries will be closed for Labor Day and Tuesday is transfers, so they told us to email today. And of course we got to find out about transfers, so you get to hear about them!
Since Mom and Dad usually email on Sunday, your's was the only email I got to read, so THANK YOU! And for that, you get to be the first person to hear about what's happening.
As transfers came around, Elder Gemmill and I were trying to figure what was happening, and for some reason we both felt like we were about done with this area, and that's exactly what happened! We got flushed out and 2 other missionaries will be coming in. It's something that actually happens fairly often, but this is the first time that I've gotten flushed out. We actually got to call President Pfile yesterday about what was happening, and he said it's not because he's not happy with what we've done, it's just that there's only so much that one can take of Colby, KS, which he knows is a hard area. Now you're probably wondering where I'm going, so drum-roll please.... ..... ..... I'm going to the Pueblo West 2nd Ward! Back to Colorado :) I'll be serving with Elder Neff, and I have no idea who he is or where he's from. But I did figure out that this will be his 3rd transfer. He's been in PW2 his first two transfers with Elder Staheli, who was my MTC companion. :) I'll be serving as the district leader there, with Elder Oakes as one of my Zone Leaders. Elder Oakes was my 3rd companion in Pueblo right before I got transferred to Pueblo West 1st Ward for a day and a half. Then I got emergency transferred to La Junta to fill in for a missionary who went home with kidney stones. It's funny because La Junta and Pueblo West 1st ward will be in my district! That happened back at the end of last September. And now it's almost been a year. Wow, time goes by fast!!!
Love,
Elder Spencer :)
Dear Angela,
Thank you so much for your letter! I always enjoy hearing how you're doing. I miss you too!
You're probably wondering why I'm emailing on Saturday, and that's because on Monday the libraries will be closed for Labor Day and Tuesday is transfers, so they told us to email today. And of course we got to find out about transfers, so you get to hear about them!
Since Mom and Dad usually email on Sunday, your's was the only email I got to read, so THANK YOU! And for that, you get to be the first person to hear about what's happening.
As transfers came around, Elder Gemmill and I were trying to figure what was happening, and for some reason we both felt like we were about done with this area, and that's exactly what happened! We got flushed out and 2 other missionaries will be coming in. It's something that actually happens fairly often, but this is the first time that I've gotten flushed out. We actually got to call President Pfile yesterday about what was happening, and he said it's not because he's not happy with what we've done, it's just that there's only so much that one can take of Colby, KS, which he knows is a hard area. Now you're probably wondering where I'm going, so drum-roll please.... ..... ..... I'm going to the Pueblo West 2nd Ward! Back to Colorado :) I'll be serving with Elder Neff, and I have no idea who he is or where he's from. But I did figure out that this will be his 3rd transfer. He's been in PW2 his first two transfers with Elder Staheli, who was my MTC companion. :) I'll be serving as the district leader there, with Elder Oakes as one of my Zone Leaders. Elder Oakes was my 3rd companion in Pueblo right before I got transferred to Pueblo West 1st Ward for a day and a half. Then I got emergency transferred to La Junta to fill in for a missionary who went home with kidney stones. It's funny because La Junta and Pueblo West 1st ward will be in my district! That happened back at the end of last September. And now it's almost been a year. Wow, time goes by fast!!!
Love,
Elder Spencer :)
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