August 20, 2012

Hey Family!!

   How the heck is everyone?! I hope all is well back in good old Idaho! I am going to try and send some pictures sometime this week and figure out how I can work all that out. Things here in Las Vegas are going good. Of Course there are struggles but that's life right?! We were able to get a ride home from church yesterday with a man named Brother Gubler.  He talked about how his business just went under and how the airport owes him 14 million dollars, and yet he is so happy and has an awesome attitude. So I know that I can't ever complain haha.
    As for this week last Monday after we got done emailing you we went and we pawned these old guitars that a member had left at our apartment.  It was awesome, but took forever to get rid of! We were there for like an hour but we ended up getting like 45 bucks out of it.  It was awesome! Then after that we got to play basketball and then write a few letters and then it was back to work!
     Wednesday we were able to meet with a lady named Sabrina Chang. The other missionaries got a referral for her and visited her once and so we went and taught part of the first lesson about prophets. The spirit was so strong-  it was great. I was also able to give her son a blessing and that was awesome! It was good to finally get the first one over with. haha  We gave her and her other son a blessing as wel because they have been sick. We tried to get her to church yesterday, but her A/C went out.  That really threw a cork in things because her and her husband had to go and stay in a motel. Dang you Las Vegas heat!! But hopefully this next week we will be able to set her with a baptismal date. Her husband is a Buddhist... but he is very supportive of her joining the church and wants his kids to go on a mission? haha  We were way way stoked because it sounds like eventually she will be baptized.
    On every Thursday we meet with this man named Brother Van Der Wyk.  He is way cool.  He is a great man and he has some sick guitars that you will see when I send home my SD card. He let me hold some and take pics with them. It was fun. I love the guy. He is amazing!
    After Brother Van Der Wyks guitar lessons we had the most awkward dinner of our lives!!! It was crazy. haha We went to Enrichment night. Yeah- AWKWARD! But the food was the Bomb!!! The people were really nice. The members here are awesome. But I had to let you know some of our dinner adventures. hahaha
    Now to my trying investigators. We have this investigator, and now when you think of a messed up person I think of her. I am really struggling with loving her because she is so selfish! She knows that the church is true or at least she says she does.  She says that she believes in Joseph Smith and prophets and she comes to church every week and goes to all the classes and is married to a very active member of the church who is in the Stake Sunday School council. But she has one problem.... addiction, she can't get off of the pain meds as well as stop drinking. She claims that she has stopped drinking, but I am not sure if I believe that. Then we had a lesson that was so crazy.  We had the spirit there so strong and you could tell that she was feeling it, and then it honestly felt like Satan just came into the room and ripped it right away from her and she just totally let him. It was annoying and honestly a little heart breaking. She has some serious issues.
   We then had zone Conference and wow that was good! President Black is so inspired. But one thing that stuck out to me was we were practicing the first vision and I thought I had it memorized and when I practiced it the first time to Elder Cunningham I totally forgot like half of it.  Then we were challenged to do it again.  So I started over and as I recited it to him I had a very very strong impression come over me. I said it exactly perfect and the spirit was so so strong.  Then as I began to testify that I knew it was true I was almost over whelmed with the spirit and tears filled my eyes. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that this church is true. And I found myself feeling bad because I have been holding off in telling people, because I am scared. I have found myself repenting of that because that is very very selfish of me. I should be running door to door trying to get people to listen, not being nervous about it. So that is something I am trying to improve on everyday.
   Then we had church yesterday and it was 7 hours, and it is really long. haha.   But it is really good and we had a fast to try and find new people.  We began our fast Saturday night and we went out on bikes and tried to just talk to people.  As we were headed home we saw a family and we just rode by. We got to the corner and we both looked at each other, and without another word we turned around and rode up the hill and talked to them. We got an appointment with the whole family and they seemed to be very receptive. I know that the Holy Ghost is guiding us daily.
     I love you all so much and know that things here are doing great! Keep me posted on all the grandkids and remember snail mail isn't a bad thing:)
   I love you all so much and thank you so much for the GPS. It has changed our tracting tremendously! haha We are much more effective. I love you, you're amazing!! Keep up the good work and stay strong. I love you guys!!!!

Love,
Elder Crapo