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Wednesday, January 1, 2014

September 23, 2013 Elder Kredt getting a transfer, New Companion, Elder Seljested

Hey fam!!

  Dang, sounds like things are going pretty good for everyone at home! It has been a crazy week and things have been going insane here! I can't believe how fast time is just rolling by and the changes that are happening here in the mission. Elder Kredt and I got some pretty crazy news this week that we were not expecting.   He is actually going to be getting transfered back to Vegas for his last six weeks and I will be getting a new companion. Elder Kredt is going to be working in the office and doing technical support for the senior couples because they are getting behind a little bit right now. So that is going to be a pretty cool opportunity for him. I am going to be getting a guy named Elder Seljested and he is from Kansas from what I hear. I honestly haven't met him yet so we will see tonight what he is like! It is always an adventure to get a new companion. You have to completely change up the style to take in what he does and what you do to make it all work. But it is good to learn how to adjust to others and to just work hard no matter what.

   Right now things in our area are doing much, much better!  This 40 day fast thing is really kicking into gear. There was a lady that a member brought last week to church and her name is Sam.  We were able to meet with her and teach her for the first time, which was awesome. We had a really good lesson and she has committed to meet with us again this week.  She wants to read the Book of Mormon and she seems really interested and has a soft heart right now. This fast has been a huge blessing to the missionaries here in the stake. We have found several new less active members who we will start working with and they are being prepared to go to the temple. The Lord truly is preparing the hearts of the people here.

  As for the Elders in our zone, everyone seems to be doing alright.  It is probably time for change. It is going to be very interesting because the entire leadership except for me, is changing this transfer. We are getting 4 new district Leaders and my companion is a new zone leader, as well.  So I am sure that there will be some training involved, but it will be good because I know 3 of the district leaders and they are really solid Elders.

  Things in Mesquite are finally changing this week.  We are only supposed to be in the 80's which is going to be awesome!! It seems like it has changed literally overnight! Last week we were still tipping in the 100 degree range and now we are down to 80 or so.  I am really hoping that Nevada isn't just playing with my mind and that it is actually going to start cooling down now.  It is definitely time.

   But I hope all is well.  Sorry I don't have too much to report on as to how things are going. It has been a pretty crazy morning. We have had some issues with some of the Elders and their driving… Fun, fun right??:) haha  You just gotta keep on keeping on, is what I have decided. It is good to learn all of these skills and be put under pressure sometimes because I am sure life at home is much worse.

   Thank you so much for the package mom and for the letter. As for fast food restaurants around here, there isn't too much. haha We have a Jack in the Box, a Subway, and 2 McDonalds. Oh and a Taco Bell that they just put in a few months ago.  That has been the big news of Mesquite for a while haha. But thank you for all that you do for me and for the prayers that come my way.  I feel them each day.

  As for what Stratton said from my letter- that is very, very true! haha  This is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. But it is weird, because I wouldn't trade it for anything. A mission isn't a gloomy thing or something that sucks, it just tests you and pushes you to see how far you can go. It really is like they say "The Best 2 Years!" haha

   I love you guys and hope that everyone stays off the roads by Crapo Farms for a few days...;) haha I am sure the kids will do fine.  Just tell them to be safe and to enjoy the long nights. I would really give a lot to be back digging spuds, so enjoy it! I made some of the best memories of my life there and can't wait to do it all again. Thanks again for all you do! Ill talk to you soon!

Love,
Elder Crapo


September 16, 2013 Lots of meetings and Exchanges this week! Atonement quotes

Hey fam!!

   Well, sounds like things are going really well at home and harvest is about to begin! I can't believe that all the kids are going to be driving truck this year!  That is crazy to me. But I guess that I was younger than that when I started driving all that stuff, so I am sure that they will be able to do it. I am glad that you got to talk to Bill, Mom.  He is such a good man and I am learning a ton from him about how to live life. I haven't ever met a more generous person. He would seriously give you the shirt off his back. He is so awesome and he and I are really close.

  As for the rain, we have recieved a little here, but nothing like they are receiving in Colorado from what we hear. We have got a little and it is pretty awesome.  I love the rain in Nevada because you only get it like once a year. The only crappy part is that it does flood. But since we are in town we really don't feel the affects of that too much. The Elders in Beaver Dam Arizona that are in our zone got flooded out and they couldn't get back to their house.  So they came and had to stay the night at our place. So that was kind of interesting!

  As for this week, our lives have been absolutely crazy.  I feel like we have just been running from meeting to meeting with exchanges in the middle and then driving all the rest of the time. It has been pretty cool, though and we've had some really neat experiences. Elder Anderson and Elder Callister gave some really awesome talks. It was crazy that both missions were there, I even got to see Ethan Gilstrap, which was really cool. We took a picture together and I have it on my camera.  I will send it to you next week.

  I also got to go on exchanges with Elder Gray from Washington.  He is the kid who went to high school with the Anderson clan from Washington. He is a super cool dude and it is nice to be able to talk farm with someone for a little bit.

   Then on Friday we had exchanges with the Assistants and I got to go back into Vegas for the day, which was different. I can't believe how foreign it was to me. I mean it was right next to one of my old areas, but just how dirty it was and just the city. I don't know.  It really threw me off.  I am just getting way to used to good old Mesquite. 

   We had a really neat experience yesterday with the 40 day fast here in the Mesquite 7th ward. One of our councilors told us that he had a person who he worked with at work who had been asking questions and she really wanted to learn more. Well, luckily we had gone over to his home like the week before and we gave him the Restoration pamphlet and committed him to read over it and be prepared to give it away.  The next week the opportunity came to him and he was prepared. He said that he tried to answer her questions the best he could and then he referred her to the pamphlet we had given him. Then yesterday while at church she walked in and really enjoyed it and we have a lesson set up with her Thursday at 1!!! So we are really excited for that because it would be her and her son.  So fasting really does work and the Lord truly is preparing the hearts of the people here.

   Things definitely are different here in Mesquite as far as how fast the work goes. It has really taken some getting used to, but I am really starting to love it here.  People are really difficult to find and we have to lean on the members to help us find their friends, which I am sure is a lot like home for the missionaries. But we are having some really good success and the whole idea of the wards having 3 people who are assigned to help them get back into activity is exactly what we are doing too!! We just have to keep working hard and let the Lord take over.

  Lastly, I wanted to leave you with my favorite quote I have memorized this week.  It is from C.S. Lewis and Elder Holland quoted it in his address in the Ensign this month... "I do not believe that all those who choose a wrong road perish, but their rescue consists of being put back on the right road. A (mathematical) sum (incorrectly worked) can be put right. But only by going back till you find the error and then working it afresh from that point. Never simply by going on." I really liked that just because we are out here to help people come back to Christ and help them repent.  The only way we can do that is by helping them find what it is in their life that is going amiss and then help them use the Atonement to change. Elder Oaks said in a talk that he gave called The Lords Way, "The Repenting sinner must suffer for his sins, but this suffering has a different purpose than punishment or payment. Its purpose is change." I know that through the Atonement we can change our lives and become new. You should all read the talk entitled "His Grace is Sufficient" by Brad Wilcox.  It is in the Ensign this month and it is AMAZING. I have read it a million times before, but this time it really helped me. But I have to get going.  I love you all so much and hope that you have a good week!!!

Love,
Elder Crapo