Dang sounds like it has been kind of a crazy week at home. I am glad that Taia is ok and that it is only an ACL tear. I love you, Taia keep your head up! Keep being good the Lord will take care of you if you'll just keep doing what is right. I know it will all work out.
As for things here in good old Mesquite, things are pretty crazy here as well. This past week we had to go into Vegas to MLC and we got to talk about the mission and how things are going. Then the next day we got up and we did our weekly planning and started our two hour drive to Panaca Nevada!!! We got to go on exchanges and I went with the Elders that cover Caliante and Panaca. And Elder Kredt went with the Elders in Alamo. It was really cool and fun time. But I wont lie, I was ready to get back to Mesquite and be here in my own bed haha. This whole sleeping on couches or on the floor isn't always the most comfy. It makes me super tired to haha but it keeps things interesting!!
While we were on exchanges though we had a really neat experience. We were planning on meeting a member of their Bishopric and when we got there his daughter had a non member friend who they invited to stay and take the lesson that we were going to teach. It was really cool. He stayed and we were able to share the first lesson with him. It was good to get back into teaching because lately it seems like we are either doing things for the zone, going on exchanges or going to meetings in Vegas. I actually really enjoy all of that stuff, it just felt good to be back in the seat of just teaching and helping this guy out. He seemed really solid and he had a lot of questions.
Also while we were in Caliante, we met this guy that a member took us to and we were just talking to him on his doorstep. He was talking to all of us and I was just looking at him trying to get a reading for who the guy was. He was talking about all of the crazy things that are going on in the world and how we as young men need to be self reliant. And like mid sentence he stopped and looked at me and he, "goes your a guy who studies a lot. I can really tell... whats on your mind??" And I was able to talk to him about King Benjamin and his sermon and how right after when his son Mosiah takes over the Kingdom he talks about how he wanted his people to be self reliant as well. And that he talks about how he labored with his people because he didn't want to be a burden to them. It was a really neat experience just because the things that I have been studying really came in handy haha!! And it gave me a pretty good laugh too, because all of you know how much I studied back at home...... NONE!!! haha The mission really does work miracles!!!!
Now as for my area, things are still kind of the same since we haven't had too much time to work in it. But one thing I am finding is I am really falling in love with this place. I like it here so much and I think that is mostly because of Bill, the guy that we live with. He and I have really hit it off. It is so cool. He is like my best friend. I honestly am not sure that I want to ever leave his house. I would love living here for the next like 7 months haha. He is so awesome and one of the best things is we are the same size of pants and so he was going to give a bunch of these basically brand new church pants to the DI. But instead he gave them to me! haha He loves it because now he says he knows he can give stuff to me and I can use it. You should add Bill on Facebook his name is Bill Lee and I am sure he would love to keep you posted on how life is here. He will definitely want to meet you guys at some point. He has been housing missionaries for like 30 years, so he has some experience with us haha He is just the best guy ever!!
But I am going to get going. I am doing really good. I hope that you're all enjoying school and that everything is going OK. I love you so much, Taia! Just keep doing what you're doing and everything is going to work out for the best! I am super proud of you and all that you have done!
It is good to hear from you and to hear that everyone is safe from the ride up to move the cows. It is fun to hear those stories but stinks to know that we are losing cows! Wes, that is legit you got put on the board of directors! What all does that mean you have to do?? haha Do you get to travel or anything like that for it?
Things this week have been pretty good here in Mesquite. I really, really like it here. It is a super good break from Las Vegas and the big city. This place really feels like home to me. Tons of members everywhere and a lot of cool people. Everyone knows everyone. And people actually wave when they drive by! Missionary work is a little different here, though than it is in Vegas. You can't just go tract because people here already know about the church, because pretty much everyone has a neighbor who is a member. It all really comes through less active work and from member referrals. But I am enjoying the people and trying to adjust to the different way of missionary work.
This past week I got to go on exchanges in Logandale and that was quite the experience. Logandale is much like Saint Anthony, only a little bigger because it has a Mcdonald's. It is kind of weird how the towns are set up down here, especially the smaller ones like Logandale. It seems like no one cares to pave the roads out here and so they just do like farm roads. They bust out through the sage brush and then put a street sign up. It is pretty crazy haha. I actually really enjoyed Logandale, though. The people were cool and the Elders that I was on exchanges with are doing some good work. They do live in kind of a sketchy trailer, though. We saw a camel spider in the living room while we were planning and so that really made me want to sleep in that place haha. Then I found out that they had killed a snake that was like 5 feet long and they decided that they wanted to put it in a bottle and then freeze it... and you know how much I HATE snakes! I seriously couldn't stop thinking about that dumb thing all night! haha But it was all good and I enjoyed the place. The only thing about Nevada that stinks is that it is so stinking hot!!! It is still in the hundreds and has been since like early June. I feel like it is time to start cooling down haha.'
As for things in our area, we just set a person with a baptism date for September 21 and he seems like he is pretty excited and will be ready for that date. His name is Gavin and he is 9 years old. His family has been inactive for a few years and they are just starting to come back to church. The biggest problem is that his Dad is the football coach here for the Virgin Valley Bulldogs and they have practice everyday and Gavin is also playing football and has practice everyday. So that makes meeting with them kind of hard to do sometimes. We are also working with our Young Single Adult Ward a little more and hopefully here in the next week or so we can get some new people coming to that. Yesterday, because it was Labor Day weekend we were really sparse in numbers. Our branch has about 30 active members and we are hoping to at least double that before November when Elder Kredt goes home. So we have plenty of work that we can be out doing.
We also talked to a member of our branch Presidency today and he is the Golf Pro over at the Falcon Ridge golf course. And he told us we could come over any P-day and golf on the course for free!! So I am pretty sure next week I am going to hit him up on that deal. I may have to beg Elder Kredt. haha But I think eventually I can get him to go, just so we can be outside and enjoy the 100 degree weather:) Gotta love Nevada!!!
As for our living arrangement that you were asking about..... Elder Kredt and I don't live alone. We live with a guy named Bill Lee. He is super cool and I love to talk to him. He has been a Bishop and Stake President and now he is retired and owns a bunch of property all over Mesquite. He is a widower and so I think having us there is a comfort to his family just knowing that he isn't alone all the time. But his kids live just down the street and they are a really cool family, too. His son in-law I think is going to come up to Idaho and buy a trailer load of potatoes from us! haha I will let you know next week for sure, because this week they are up at their cabin enjoying the nice weather haha. But he wants to come down and bring a trailer and then haul them back to this huge storage that he has that is refrigerated so that he can give them away to people here in the community. The people here are so giving. It is awesome! We come home and their is fresh baked bread on our counter from some of the members and people are always watching out for us, which is nice. We are even getting them excited to do missionary work! The 40 day fast is finally starting to take off and people are starting to have cool experiences already, which makes us really excited! We have had to do a little pushing, but with our ward Mission Leader's help, it has really picked up.
But that is about it for me! Things are going really well, hopefully you got the letter I sent you from our trip with the assistants to Caliante. We are going to be making the trip again this week so maybe I will run into your friend, mom! I have exchanges there on Thursday and Friday. Plus we have to run into Vegas on Wednesday for MLC, so this week is going to be jammed pack with driving and meetings. But that always makes for a really quick week!
Let me know if there is anything I can do for you guys! I hope that you have a fun 4 wheeler ride today and that everyone stays safe! Thanks for all that you guys do! I love you so much!!
Well, life in Mesquite is treating me really well! Things here are quite a bit different than the big city life. Crazy enough, I feel like I have forgotten how to live the small town life sometimes. But this is breaking me back into it, that is for sure. The sad thing is, this really isn't that small of a town. But 20,000 people feels like a really good break from the 2 million city of Las Vegas that I was in. Things here are kind of slow right now, but we have some really big plans for what is coming up. Our stake is doing a 40 day fast, where each ward has a member from their ward sign up for a day during the 40 days and then they fast for missionary work. So that will begin on August 28 and we have a lot of faith that it is going to really change the attitude of missionary work here in the Mesquite stake.
One cool thing that has happened in the past week was I had the opportunity to go on exchanges with the Elders that serve in Beaver Dam Arizona and also Scenic Arizona. That was a pretty cool experience and those are really small towns - like good old Saint Anthony and Parker, Idaho. It is funny because I can remember thinking that the people who lived in Saint Anthony were city folk... Yeah, haha I definitely needed to broaden my horizons a little bit and see what else is in the world. But this has been a really cool experience and a good challenge for me, because now I see why it is so so important to help the missionaries in our area back at home. Tracting is so so ineffective. The other day we knocked one door and the guy answered and said hey Elders how are you?? And we said good and then he was like well we have had you guys knock on our door probably ten times and we really aren't interested. It was pretty funny that even the non-members know who we are and if they aren't interested then they aren't interested. So really the only way to find people who want to hear our message is to work through the members and then we tract the apartments where there is actually some turn over. We only cover the one ward here. so we only have about 2 apartment complexes. But we are getting creative and we are working with as many less active and part member families as we can. I think that there are a lot of really good opportunities here to do some good work and we just have to work our guts out!
As for my companion, his name is Elder Kredt and he is from Austin, Texas. He has been out 21 months and so he will probably finish up here in this area. He is going to BYU after the mission and is a super smart and cool guy. He was actually my Zone Leader when I was in the Meadows zone and now we are companions, so that is fun.
That is super cool to hear that Jevin is back home. He is a stud and I bet he tore it up in the mission field. Wasn't he in Ghana?? If you get a chance to see him, tell him I said hello. And Taylor Martindale, too. Tell him I said hi. I am sure Jase Jeppeson is pretty pumped to have him back as well. Does anyone know, when good old Billy Birch (aka Houston Birch) comes home? I think he is getting pretty close to the end of the rope.
As for the bear attacks, that is pretty crazy that that has been happening! Has that been like attacks on people or what has been going on there? Keep safe when you go up there and move the cows, I am sure super Duke will keep you safe! haha
Well, everything here seems to be going really well and we are having a lot of fun. For P-day today we are going to go up and play soccer at these super nice fields where they do the driving competition for golf that they hold on ESPN. I guess that that competition is going to be going on sometime this week, so that is going to be pretty cool. Maybe we will see some famous golfers driving around down here playing the slots. We also have hook ups to play the Wolf Creek Golf course, which from what I hear, is on the Tiger Woods golf game for play station. So hopefully I can get out there and golf it up next week on P-day:) But that is all I have for this week!! I love you guys and hope all is well at home. Let me know if there is anything I can do for you!
Dang! It feels like it has been a while since I have been on here and emailed you. This has been an insane, crazy week and I have so much I could tell you! I don;t really even know where to begin. I feel like I have been in speed mode the past week and on SUPER SUPER high stress mode.
Mesquite is a totally different town. I can't even believe how much different the work is here. People are much more laid back and aren't too motivated to do missionary work. I think it is harder for them because it is quite similar to Rexburg - minus BYU-I. It really does feel like home to me, though and the people are amazing. My Zone... well, haha, this week seems to have been a little difficult for me. I have had to come in and stop a few things that were happening that the old zone leader was allowing. So right now I am not always the favorite. I think it will all work out in the end. I have just had to kind of stand my ground and say no a few times. Honestly, the zone has so much potential and some of the best missionaries in the mission.
I have met some really good people here in the past two weeks and I am super excited to be here. This was actually the same area that Elder Cunningham came from right before he came to train me in Southern Highlands. So it is cool to be in his old stomping grounds. I am living with an older widowed guy and he is such a Stud! His name is Bill Lee and he is so awesome. Our house is amazing and it is just fun to finally have someone that we live with that I have a super close connection to. I totally want him to come visit us in Idaho. He would really fit in. It is just good to be back in a town where everyone waves and everyone knows everyone for the most part. Like I said, there is 7 wards here and about 20,000 people. We have two Mcdonald's and 3 Casinos. And the Virgin Valley Casino that we stayed at when we came to the Monster Truck Rally is actually in my Ward boundaries, which is pretty crazy!! That is nuts that the Boots' drove through here this past week because I totally could have seen them! I have been feeling like I am going to run into someone that I know all the time. I see Idaho plates everywhere and even saw a 2F today!! So I just try and avoid all of those vehicles haha.
This past week we also got to do something super cool. The Assistants and Elder Kredt and I decided we wanted to go to Panaca on Tuesday for District meeting to check things out. We had it all planned out just, kind of dreaming and wishing that it would happen. Well, we got the guts to ask President Ahlander and he gave us the OK!!!! We were all so stoked because Panaca is about a 3 hour drive from here and so we left here and went through St. George, which meant we got Chick Fila!! It was so dang fun! Panaca, Nevada is just like St. Anthony and the drive made me miss farming so bad. We even got a few pics of the St. George temple as we drove by. It was a really, really cool trip- probably one of the funnest things I have done my whole mission. The District out there is doing really well, so it was good to see those guys. That is a pretty dang cool place out there. I really, really want to serve there someday. I do know I will get to go back on exchanges here in like 3 weeks, so that will be fun.
And also speaking of Jeremy Dalling - I met one of his mission companions here in our singles ward that we cover. That was a pretty cool connection. His name is Colton something, but he seems like a cool guy. And then I also ran into Josh Norman's sister-in-law at our Zone Conference the other day. So that was another neat connection. Also, Mr. Hillman's cousin was in the temple today when we went in... Needless to say I am always safe here in Mesquite and Vegas because there are people all over the place that know of St Anthony! haha
As for my address, remember you can always send things to the mission office and they will forward it right to me. But my address here in Mesquite is:
Elder Crapo PO Box 239 Mesquite, NV 89024
The reason I didn't email until today was because today was our temple trip day. So we went to the temple this morning and then when we got back it has been our P-day. It has kind of stunk because we had to drive an hour and a half to get there and get back so as soon as we get done emailing, P-day is over. So I am sorry, but there probably won't be any letters this week either. I am sending Cole his b-day card, though. Sorry I missed it, buddy!! I love you guys so much and I hope that grain harvest is going good. You should send me some pics of the combine if you have time. I want to see the insides of those things. There is a John Deere store on the way to Panaca and it has a built on gas station. So next time, I am totally going to stop and check it out:) haha I love you guys and hope that you have an awesome week!! Today's temple experience was unreal. I got to sit right up front with President and then I got to talk to him and Sister Ahlander in the Celestial room about some of the new things I learned. It was so cool! But I am going to get going. I hope you are all doing good!! Let me know if there is anything I can do for any of you. I will email again on Monday, so I will talk to you super soon!
Well, this week has been crazy!! I have so much to tell you and unfortunately probably won't get to it all. It has been unbelievable and I have had some experiences that I won't ever be able to forget!!! I think the first one I should probably tell you about was that you remember how I said I thought I would have at least six more weeks here? Well, this past week I have been having feelings like I might be getting transferred, but I wanted to stay so bad. I just worked as hard as I could and didn't let myself even think about it. Saturday I got the phone call and I am going to be going to Mesquite tonight!!! Crazy, huh?? I will be covering two wards - the Mesquite 7th ward and the Virgin Valley Young Single Adult ward. My companion is Elder Kredt from Texas and he is a really cool dude. He was actually my zone leader at one point and now we will be zone leader companions. I won't lie, I am super excited because finally after a whole year I am going to be getting out of the city!!!! But yet I am really going to be missing this ward and the Samoan people:( Today is the last day I get to wear my Samoan tag and so I am living it up until I leave tonight and go to Mesquite. I got to go and say goodbye to a few people last night like the Thakers and the Hawks. I am really going to miss them. Mom, you should look up the Hawks and be their friends on Facebook and keep them posted on what's up with me. They are super awesome and totally a family that I am going to come back and visit at some point when it's all over. I have really connected well with them and it just felt like home to me. It made me realize how sad I will really be when I am completely done. I wanted to cry last night when we got back to the apartment. You really do learn how to love the people in all of the areas you serve in. As for my address in Mesquite, I have no idea right now. So if you send me anything, just send it to the mission office and Sister Sudweeks will forward it to me.
Now, as you all know, these past couple of weeks have kind of been rough in finding new investigators. Our ward had a special fast last week to ask for help in the missionary work in our ward. That was one of the biggest reasons I didn't want to get transferred because I want to leave every area better than when I found it. So these past couple of weeks I have been praying so hard that we would just find someone to teach. As I began my fast, I felt like in order to receive an answer I needed to be specific with what I asked. So while fasting, I felt like asking the Lord to allow us to find 5 new people to bring to the gospel and then to find 2 less active members that would actually start progressing. Then I just left it at that and I went about my regular days, praying regularly that we could find new people to teach. Well, we have to rewind a little to start this unbelievable story. So two weeks ago Elder West and I had about 10 minutes before an appointment. So I said, "well, let's go make a few phone calls to some people in the ward and set some things up." But Elder West felt like we should go to the park and contact, so we decided to do that. When we got there we got out and contacted a man named Fransico. And Fransico gave us his address and his phone number and told us we could come back. We were super excited we finally had someone who would actually have us over!! Then we didn't have enough time to contact anyone else and we headed back to the car. Well, two days go by and we go to the apartment #1020 that he told us was his. We get there and a younger girl, like 24 or so answers the door and tells us that there is nobody in the home with the name of Fransico. We were both like crap, the dude lied to us!!!! We just started talking to her and she agreed to let us come back the next day for a lesson.
So we headed back over the next day with our Bishop, and sure enough, another let down. She wasn't there. We then made a few visits and later the next day went by and talked to her again and set up another time to go by and meet with her. We assumed that it was just her in the home because when we asked her who would be there she said just her and her son, who is 3. So the next couple of days go by and I was not really down, but I was just like, dang what else can we do? We are always out working and we are being obedient. Why can't we find anyone? What am I doing wrong that is stopping us from finding people? One thing I was doing to also help us find people last week was the scriptures that I memorized everyday. They were all about finding and missionary work. And on Friday when I was having those feelings, I came across a scripture in Alma 26:27 and it says, "And now when our hearts were depressed and we were about to turn back, Behold the Lord comforted us and said, go among thy brethren the Lamanites and bear with patience thine afflictions and I will give unto thee success." And it really hit me! I memorized it and it really stuck with me all day that day. Well, the lesson comes with Rachel and we take a member of our bishopric over. When we get there, she lets us in. Well, not only were Rachel and her 3 year old son there, but also her sister, Nikki and her husband, Langford, and their 18 month old son. I couldn't believe it!! Not only that, when we taught them they were all super solid! Langford was just thanking us that we had come by and taken the time out of our day to visit them. The Spirit was really working on him! It was crazy. He said he hadn't been praying for it, but that we were what he had been looking for, that he wanted to believe in something and that he felt like this was right. We committed them to baptism and they all accepted. Not only that, but Langford said the first prayer he had ever said and it was awesome!!!
Now to add to all of this, yesterday at church we had a less active guy named Jose, who last week wanted his records removed from the church. Now he is feeling like it's not right and that he needs to come back and we will be meeting with him every week. Well, Elder West will be. But also Brother Ludlow, a guy who was super rude to me the first time I met him showed up to church yesterday!!!! He has been less active for years and he just came to church yesterday because we kept trying to visit him and we were just nice to him. We would leave little thoughts and the Spirit took over and yesterday he showed up!!!
So then yesterday, we were driving in the car and it dawned on me- I had prayed for 5 new people we could help learn about the gospel. Rachel, Nikki, Langford and their two little kids.... that makes 5. Now it wasn't what I expected because I was thinking like 5 adults, but still those little kids can now have that same foundation growing up that I was fortunate enough to have. Then I also asked for 2 less actives that would start progressing. Jose came to church for the first time in a long time and our lesson was great with him! And Brother Ludlow came to church for the first time in years.... I almost started to cry! I couldn't believe that I had been answered so directly. I know without a doubt that fasting works, and sometimes we just have to wait it out. The Lord has blessed me so much and He knew that I wouldn't want to leave without leaving the area with something and He blessed me with that. It is crazy how things work out sometimes and how the Lord will always answer our prayers. It reminds me of the scripture I memorized today in Mosiah 4:9 "Believe in god, believe that He is, that He created all things, both in heaven and in earth, believe that He has all wisdom, and power, both in heaven and in earth, believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend."
I know that the Lord is taking care of us all and that He does watch over us. He answered my simple prayer and did it in the way it needed to happen. I am so blessed to even be here on my mission and be able to help out in the small ways that I do. I have so much more I wish I could tell you because we had a sick fireside last night with the guy who sings "How Can I Be." It is like a Samoan guy- I can't remember his name but you should try and find the song on iTunes. It is super good. We had it at the Tropical Breeze ward and it was all about missionary work and how music effects our lives. The song "How Can I Be" is about his testimony of the Book of Mormon and it is really good. So look him up he is awesome!!
(I found this video on YouTube....it must be the guy! It's an amazing song!.....Hali)
I am going to get going. I hope that everyone is having a sweet week!! Let me know if there is anything I can do for anyone. I won't be able to get too many letters written today because I will be packing most of the time! I will try and get you my address next week!! I love you all so much and hope that harvest continues to go good!
Oh, and guess what? In the Mesquite zone there is a place called Panaca and when I go up there for exchanges I will get to see snow in the winter!!!!!!!!! Best news ever!! I will drive through St. George to get to those small towns, which will be kinda cool. But anyway, I love you guys and I'll talk to you soon!!
Dang it is super good to hear from you and hear that all is well!!
Things here in Vegas are going really well as you saw from the pictures
this past weekend. That baptism actually wasn't the one that I had
worked with. It was one of the people Elder West had taught so we went
back to see her get baptized. And the other missionary in the picture is
Elder Wilkerson. He is not my companion. His companion was off talking to some
people and Brother Clawson didn't want to wait to take the pic.
And yes, that was super crazy to run into Sister Ili! I'll be honest at
first I had no clue who she was. Then when I saw Brick and Cook it
all started to come back haha. It was kind of a crazy experience because
I was just sitting there and then when I stood up and turned around I
saw her coming at me. She was super easy to pick out of the crowd-I
mean blonde haired white lady haha. I knew I recognized her face, I
just could not put a story to it. Then when it all clicked I was
super excited. It is super cool that Brick is in my ward. I had no clue! To answer your question about if the ward is small -the answer is no.
haha It is huge! I think there are over 400 active members and I only
work with half of them. Brick lives in Henderson, so he isn't in my
area so I can't ever go and see them or anything like that. But it will
be cool to see him at church and talk!
But I guess we will start with the baptism we had on Saturday
with Warner Akiona!! It was such a sweet experience. Warner is a 33
year old man who we ran into because his grandma is a less active member
and so we just stopped by. When we got there we found Warner, who is a
non member! So the rest is pretty much history and Saturday
he finally made the step and was baptized. It was the biggest baptism I
have ever had on my mission. There were over 75 people there. We barely
fit in the Relief Society room. He had a ton of family come in and they
were so warm and welcoming to us. His mom even came in from Hawaii to
support Warner. It was great!! I am not totally sure what the Lord is
doing with me because he has me in the Samoan ward and then Warner is
also Polynesian and his family is Hawaiian. I can't decide if that means
later on in life I will be working with the Samoan people or if the Lord
is just teasing me because I passed up the chance to go to Hawaii with
Austin and his family in high school. So now he is having me meet all
these people and really loving them so that I want to go more when I get
home haha.
All I know is that Saturday
was a SUPER busy day and I loved it! I love those days when you get
home at night and your head is just spinning because you have no idea as
to what really happened. We started off with cleaning the church with
Brother and Sister Hawk at 7 in the morning right after we worked out.
And then we helped with a move until 11:30. Then had a short lunch, filled
the font at 12:30.
Baptized Warner at 2, went to another baptize for our stake at 4, drove
to Redrock for Elder West's baptism at seven and then we rolled into
the apartment at 8:45.
Well, we were getting out of the car when we got a text from some Elders
in our zone and they needed Mormon.org cards for the next morning. So a
little bit of complaining may or may not have went on but we went
and made the 10 minute drive to drop them off. Well, while on the way
back we saw these two guys pushing this car down the side of the road.
It was 9:05
so we had to be in in 25 minutes. I was dead tired and we had already
made it to the parking lot once and we did not want to go and do more
work. But as I drove by, I of course, had the prompting to go back and to
help the guys. My heart raced and boy did I want to just keep driving. There were cars behind me, it was late and I really was not in the mood.
But then I just couldn't keep going. I turned to Elder West and said let's go back and help those guys out. Well, we pushed the car about a
quarter of a mile so not even that far and we were able to talk to them
about the gospel. I am not sure if there will ever come anything of it,
but when I hit the pillow that night I knew I had done exactly what the
Lord wanted me to do that day. It is funny because just the week before
we had a talk on how when we serve others around us we are really
serving God. And I know that that is true. Even when we are dead tired
we still have enough to go just a little bit more!!:)
On more of a funny note- last Monday we had a dinner with a Samoan
family and they wanted us to try what is called Coco Samoa. It's
kind of like hot chocolate, but it is a super good drink that Samoans
make. It is awesome. Well, we tried it and Elder West and I really liked
it so we pounded the first one down. Then without even asking, they
grabbed our glasses and filled them up again. Big mistake to pound the
first one! Then they were super excited that we liked it and they just
assumed we wanted all the Coco Samoa they had!!! 4 big glasses of
Coco Samoa later and a completely full bladder, we finished our dinner.
It was super intense!! But I will say Coco Samoa is really good! You
should see if Zack will make you some. I am sure he knows how to.
Then this past week we have been tracting quite a bit because for
the first time in my whole mission, we have no one in our teaching
pool.... Yeah, not good. So we are tracting and visiting less actives
looking for some new investigators we can teach. But we tracted this one
street and we went up to this house and he had posted "no soliciting." But that hasn't ever really slowed us down because everyone seems to
have those. So we knock on this guy's door and he comes out
just ticked off at us. We didn't even say one word and he comes out
yelling, "ARE YOU BLIND??? YOU WALKED RIGHT PAST MY SIGN THAT SAYS NO
SOLICITING!! GET THE HECK OUT OF HERE AND DON'T EVER COME BACK!!!!"
Well,
Elder West and I just started laughing as soon as he shut the door. It
was super funny. If people here only knew what we were offering them,
but someday they will!:)
On a more spiritual note, this past week we also had Mission
Leadership Council. It was the best MLC I have ever been to.
President Ahlander is seriously the man and gives super good trainings.
We also just got a new member of the mission presidency. His name is
President Stewart and he is the Southwest Regional manager for all of
the seminaries and he is so legit. He stood up and unfolded the
scriptures like Brother Chelson used to do in seminary all the time. And
I just sat there going gosh dang it! Why didn't I ever pay attention in
seminary?!!! Tell the grandkids to pay attention because it really does
pay off. I do regret not doing all that I could in school, but I really
regret not paying attention in seminary. I am so far behind doctrinal
wise it is sad. But besides that, one thing I really liked about the
trainings that were given was that President Ahlander started to talk
about how missionaries come home and then they fall away. He talked
about how he went to speak at a jail one time and 18 of 36 inmates that
were at church that day were RM's. And holy cow did that scare me. haha I
was like, wow!! I cant believe how serious all of this really is. The
mission lays the foundation for the rest of my life and I just want to
make sure I use all of this time wisely. I want to be able to come home
and have a testimony that is so deeply rooted that there is not any
storm that can waver it. Which scares me because I know that life is
dang tough. So one thing I did to help prepare myself for the storms
that will come after the mission, which by the way I am not trunky I
just want to have a super strong testimony for when it does end. But I
went through my patriarchal blessing and I made a little paper with all
of the things that I am admonished to do or not to do. And that was
really cool. You should try it. I found some really interesting things
that the Lord wants me to be careful of. And now I am going to try and
learn how to get good at those things so that when I am off this
spiritual high I can continue on in the right path and be back in the
world, but not of the world.
But I am sure you are sick of hearing about me, but I just had an
awesome week so I wanted to try and get it all in for you! And mom keep
up the journal writing. I have a quote in my scriptures that says
remember the Lord Chastens those who don't record things. I am pretty
sure President Hinckley was the one who said that but I will get the
whole thing next week. Trust me, I am not perfect at that either, but really is important! So the whole family really should be
keeping journals. I know an Elder out here who has been keeping a
journal pretty much everyday since he was 12. It is so cool that he
has his whole history and whoever wants to read it when he is gone can,
and they will know him.
I am going to get going. I love you all so
much and hope that you have an awesome week!! Thanks so much for all of
the support and all that you do. I love you so much!!
Love,
Elder Crapo
PS this is my favorite quote from the week
Forget
About
Me
I
Love
You
Kind of a cool thing someone showed us yesterday:)
My dad got a text today, from a sister and friend from our home stake in St. Anthony. She said, "Hello, President Crapo. I just saw your boy, Braxton and his companion at the Samoan Ward in Las Vegas. I gave him a big hug for you and your wife. My son and his wife are in that ward. I know how much you love your son and I loved your story about him deciding to go on his mission. He looks great! Sending love to you and your family. Talofa!" ~ Karen
Boy, does time fly and things seem to just keep plugging along! We are having some good success here in the Nevada, Las Vegas West mission. As for our zone, we have been a little bit slower this month. But we have been tearing it up for the past couple of months, so it always seems to do that. When you kill it for a while, eventually it slows down a little and then it takes off again. But Elder West and I have a baptism in the ward that we cover coming up this Saturday. So we are super excited for that!!
The guy that is getting baptized, his name is Werner. We found him by typing in all of the less active members in our GPS. Then as we were close to them, if an appointment fell through we would go and try to visit these less active members. Well, when we knocked on their door they were super welcoming and we soon found out that Werner was a non member!! That was super exciting and we later found out that the only reason he hadn't been baptized was because his grandma, who raised him, got offended a lot of years ago and so she never had him baptized! He is 33 years old and we have really gotten close and he has warmed up a lot. He is such a nice guy and is really smart. He has graduated college and he said that this is his next step. So we are really looking forward to that. That will be Saturday at 2:30 and his uncle is going to baptize him. The best part is that his Grandma who hadn't been to church since Werner was like 8 came to church last week!!! So it has been a really cool journey to be with them through the whole process!
As for the 24th of July celebration... I won't lie. That is the one celebration that I truly miss going to. It seems like some of my best memories are from that day. The parade and all of the work that goes into the float.... I will be stoked to see it next year!! Hopefully people will stop confusing me with Foster!! haha I guess that just means one thing - Fos your dang good looking:) How did the softball tourney go? Did we even have a team? Sounds like the rodeo wasn't too bad. I am glad that the weather wasn't too terrible and that you were able to enjoy some of the summer in Idaho. Trust me, Idaho summers are the best!
As for my wonderful Vegas summer.... well, we are still right in the middle of things. This past week we went on exchanges with a compianship who is on bikes and I was able to get out and feel the heat for the day. Holy cow! I feel bad for all of these Elders who are on bike. It was probably 112 or so, which isn't too terrible for here, but it still sucks! Anything above 105 is way too hot for me. It is interesting, though. I am actually adjusting a little bit to it. I think that 80's are going to feel somewhat cool haha. We won't be back under 100 until at least September, I am sure. It has been a little cooler the past couple of days, but nothing below like 95.
We did have some really fun stuff go on this weekend, though. On the 27th, the day you were all partying back at home, we had dinner with the Palepoi family who lives clear on the other end of town. That was super fun to get to go and see them and get close to my first area!! That place seriously feels like home to me. I miss it sometimes haha. Then that evening one of the Sisters in our ward, Sister Cripe, had her 85th birthday party. So we went and told her happy birthday and got to sing to her with a bunch of the other members of the ward.
Also, this Sunday was a really cool Sunday because Debbie one of our recent converts that I was able to help teach got her first calling!!! She is now the Gospel Principles class president and she is super excited! So that is a lot of fun to see. We also got the chance to pass the sacrament with our 12 year old recent convert, Christian Curtner. I know one thing, I have had a lot of Spiritual experiences. To see someone that you were able to help get baptized, pass the Sacrament with you is a pretty awesome feeling! He is a super good kid who is kind of starting into the teenage years. He is going to be at scout camp this week and so his mom, Olivia who is also a recent convert, will be home all alone. She lives in our apartment complex and so does Debbie, our other recent convert. So she will be well taken care of. Those two really have bonded together because they live so close and because they are starting their journey together. It is really cool.
I wish you could just meet some of these people! I love them all and this area is really cool. I have met the Hawk family, who is like the best family in the world. They are super cool and we get to teach Tiffany each week, so it is worth it. We have transfers coming up in a couple of weeks, but I am hoping to stay here in this area for 1 more transfer. That would make it a 6 month area for me. Can you believe I have been here almost 18 weeks now? It is crazy!!!!
But now the most important story of the week..... So last night Elder West and I parked the car, wrote down our miles and then got out of the car and were headed up to the apartment. Then out of no where, in the grass.... we see this white bunny!!! Both of us stopped dead in our tracks and looked over and didn't even think twice. We dropped our stuff and started to creep up on it. Well, let's just say we caught us a bunny!!!:) haha It was awesome!! Totally made our day! And we called Elder Stewart and Elder Reel and we all messed with it for a while. His name is Whiskers! He is the man! But we, of course, couldn't keep it. So we had to leave him outside. Then this morning when we left, he was still there!! So he is just chilling out in the grass by our apartment. It is pretty much the coolest thing ever.
But lastly, this week I have been memorizing scriptures about diligence. Since I struggle with scripture knowledge, this is my way to get caught up. I have been picking a topic every week and then I memorize a verse every day that pertains to that topic. This week is baptism, but last week was diligence. My favorite one comes from 1 Nephi 16:28-29: "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the pointers which were in the ball, that they did work according to the faith and diligence and heed which we did give unto them. And there was also written upon them a new writing, which was plain to be read, which did give us understanding concerning the ways of the Lord; and it was written and changed from time to time, according to the faith and diligence which we gave unto it. And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things." It is talking about the Liahona and how it helped guide Nephi and his family through the wilderness. It was interesting because we also just got our Ensigns and there was an article in there that talked a lot about this scripture. In the scripture it says that the things that were written on the Liahona were changed from time to time, according to the faith and diligence that they did give unto it. Now in our lives, we don't have the Liahona. But we do have the scriptures. The writing doesn't change, but we do. As we continually read from the scriptures the things that we need from them will stick out to us. The scriptures have the things we need to know to get through this life. We just have to continue to read and study them with all diligence and then we will be guided the way that the Lord wants us to go.
Thanks so much for all that you have all done for me! I hope that you had an awesome week this past week enjoying the Pioneer Days!!! I love you all so much and cant wait to hear from you!!!
Sounds like things back home are
going really well and that you are staying warm:) What I would give for
some 90 degree weather!! Things here are going really well and the
adjustment from President Black to President Ahlander seems to be going
pretty smoothly. Some of the Elders are trying to take advantage and
test the limits, but I really like how President Ahlander has handled
it. He says that all of President Black's rules stay unless you hear
otherwise. That is good and he really seems to be getting the hang of
things around here.
We had a leadership training this last
Friday and it was good to see President Ahlander up giving some more
trainings. He is already getting famous for some of the stories that he
tells and some of the things that he says. For example one thing he
always says is, "I know God loves all of His children, but if he loves
any of His children just a little bit more it is definitely his
missionaries." You can really feel the love that President and Sister
Ahlander already have for us and so that is really cool to know how much
they care about us already and we hardly know them. There is definitely
a different feel to the mission now, though. I know that doesn't make
much sense but it really does change things. I am just excited to
finally go on exchanges with him this next month and get to know him
just a little bit better. He has been super busy this first month
because he has had to meet with all of the Stake Presidencies and talk
about the work and I am sure with transfers coming up in about 3 weeks
he is stressed to the MAX! He is doing great and I am sure that Mark
and Jennie's parents are doing awesome! Mission President has got to be
one of the toughest callings in the church. I can't even imagine.
As for this week, not too much exciting happened. Although my roommates
made me a nice little poster for my year mark. It was pretty funny. It
will be cool because if we all stay one more transfer we will be here
for Elder Reel and Elder Stewart's birthdays and also for Elder
Stewart's year mark. I actually didn't burn anything on my year
mark or my six month mark. I think I am a no fun haver when it comes
to all of that. If I'm feeling it, I will burn something when I am
all done, but who knows.
We did have a pretty cool experience where
we got to meet a less active family that lives in our ward that no one
knew about. The other day we were going to go and visit a less
active family and when we got out of the car I looked over and saw this
couple and their kids outside doing something with this little welder.
It looked like they were struggling with it, so I went over and started
to talk to them and we ended up being able to figure out the problem.
They were a younger Hispanic family. After talking to them and helping get their welder
figured out, we found out that they were members and that a year ago they
were active, but because of the move they just felt uncomfortable coming
to our ward. I guess all of those welding classes I took from Hilmdog
had some real importance!!!:) They weren't able to make it to
church on Sunday but we are hoping to start work with them and get them
back to church.
Another fun thing we had was our ward Pioneer Day
activity!!!! It was really good. It was held Friday night and we had
some good food the kids sang pioneer songs. Then we had some amazing
dutch oven deserts. And after having that dutch oven I wanted to call
Hillman right there and have him bring me some dutch oven potatoes and
chicken!!! haha Not many people out here even know how to do it! It is
crazy how this is so close to Idaho, yet it is a totally different world.
Never fear though, Brother and Sister Hawk know how to make it and so I
might have them make me some if I get close to transferring. I am hoping
that maybe we can do it on like a P-day and then Elder West and I can go
and help! But who knows. We will see.
As for the thunderstorms....we
did get a few but they were all in the evenings. Vegas is crazy when it
rains. It really does pour, like you said Mom. And the thing that stinks
is non of it soaks in the ground because everything is either concrete
or hard desert clay and so it just runs like a river. We were dead
asleep when the storms went through and I was way too tired to get up and
see how bad it was. It seems like every night when I hit the
pillow I can hardly move. I am so tired. It is always such a good
feeling when you have had a really good day and then you get home and
you hit the pillow dead tired.
We also have been doing a lot with
the members and trying to get to know them all and also showing them all
of the tools that we can use in our missionary work. As I hope you know,
one of those is Mormon.org We can all go and make profiles on there,
sort of like a Facebook without all the annoying posts and stuff.
But I was on Mormon.org last week and I couldn't find any of our family!
So this week, will you all go on there and make a Mormon.org profile?? I
know it seems so simple, but it can be a really good missionary tool if
we will use it the right way. Who knows? Maybe someone will read what
you say and then the Spirit will go to work.
Thanks for all that
you guys do every week for me! I feel your prayers working in my life
every day. I know God is watching out for all of us and will continue to
guide and direct us as we are faithful in keeping all of His
commandments. One thing that has been continually on my mind is to pray
not only for physical strength for you, but also for Spiritual strength
and safety. That was talked about in General Conference and I think that
Spiritual Safety is just as important as the physical safety.
Continually pray for missionary experiences and I promise that you will
have the opportunity to share the Gospel with someone and help them feel
that same joy that we feel everyday in our lives. This really is the
greatest thing we can do right now, because as we strengthen others we
are strengthened as well! I love you all so much and again, thanks for
all that you do for me! Please let me know if there is anything I can do
for you guys!! Keep having a fun summer and enjoy the good weather!
Love, Elder Crapo
This is a picture of the Mount Charleston fire from our apartment.
Dang, it sounds like things are going really well and that the heat is starting to get you, too. No worries. I think we still have you beat. I don't think we have seen below 100 for several weeks now during the day. Honestly, you just adjust and learn to live with it as a missionary. The other day we were coming into the apartment and saw these people moving in and so we went and offered to help. We moved this lady in up three flights of stairs and it was like 107 in our shirts and ties. When we were finished we looked like we had just got out of the shower. It was really funny. Things here in the mission field are going really well and I am enjoying everything that has been going on.
As the Finau's told you, I got to go and invite them to a Tongan fireside that the ward is having. We had a dinner right next to their home and I couldn't help but going and inviting them. It was good to see them, but different at the same time. I could tell how different I really was and honestly I just didn't feel the same sitting in their living room as I did 6 months ago. I feel like I have changed a lot, which in a way makes me sad. But I know that it has definitely been for the better.
I got a letter this week from Dallin Brower and he was talking about how he was getting ready for his mission next year and he was asking for what advice I would give him. It was crazy! My mind just had a flood of memories of what I was and what I am now. I wish sometimes I could go back and prepare more in high school. One thing I would have done was have a different attitude about seminary. I thought that it was just a punishment the Lord was putting me through. Little did I know He was actually trying to help me be prepared for what was ahead. I was too proud to listen, as I was with most other things. Really learning what this was all about would have been nice, but I think it was something I had to learn when I was finally really on my own and had to decide if this was really what I wanted. Don't get me wrong, I always knew that this was the right decision and that the church was the one and only true church on the earth today. But once I got out here and I was literally all alone with people I had never met, it forced me to come to really make dang sure of it myself.
I am with you, Dad....I honestly wish we could just sit down and have like an interview type a deal where I could just go through experience after experience of what has happened to me on my mission and what I have become. It would be super cool to see if you think I am still the same or quite a bit different. But one thing I do want to share is one thing I have come to know on my mission or how it has changed me, and then next year we can go over all the minor details. I remember being in the MTC and thinking holy CRAP! Am I really going to go through with this and stick this thing out for two years?? It was so unnatural to me at first kneeling every night to pray and then every morning waking up and the first thing I did was fall to my knees begging for strength. I think the only thing that helped me through it all was that I had a determination that I WOULD NOT go home no matter what. I had made the decision and I didn't care what happened I wasn't going back now. I had also set another goal for myself. A few months before I left some people told me that everyone hated the first 6 months of their mission and that just didn't sound too fun for me. So I had made up my mind that I would not go home, and that I would not hate the first six months of my mission. I remember how hard I would pray and ask for strength and thank heaven it came, because I soon found out my determination without the Lord just wasn't going to be enough.
I found that as I was obedient and as I kept the commandments that the Lord laid out to us in the white handbook I was happy. Even when I was going through hard times, or my companion and I didn't get along, as long as I was obedient and I tried to be happy the Lord would make up the rest. I won't lie, the first 6 months was probably the most challenging 6 months of my life. I would wake up with this huge weight on my chest worried sick constantly, feeling like I didn't measure up. I was afraid to speak. I was nervous about everything. Luckily I had learned to pray A LOT and to do everything I could to just have fun. It did suck at times, and it was really challenging. But I LOVED that first 6 months. Why, I will never know. As much as I worried, you would think that I would have hated it. But I loved it and those first 6 have laid the foundation for my mission. I can still remember when I would get those moments, when I would have doubts or worries or would want to go home.... I would just think of Bishop Stoddard's voice in my head telling me he didn't care if I didn't go but if I went I could not come home.:) What good advice!
I was glad I got that letter this week because it helped me to reflect a little about where I have been and where I want to continue going! I have been doing good and having a ton of fun. It has only been because of the support of the Lord. He really has given me the strength to keep going on and to enjoy even the bad days. It is cool too, because He does it through you. It seems like every time I start to feel down or lonely or something dumb like that I will get a letter or a package. Or I will find out my awesome family had pizza sent to my apartment on the 4th of July just because they are awesome!! I am so so so grateful to my Father in Heaven for you and all that you have done for me. I could go through each member of the family and tell you what you have done to help me throughout the past year, but that would take way too long and it would bore the junk out of you. So I will save it for when I can say it to you!!!:) I just want you all to know how much I love you and how much you mean to me.
I have been thinking a lot about the Savior and the love that he has for each of us. At the moment I am reading the New Testament and I have been reading in John. Today I read about the Good Shepherd and how Christ is the Good Shepherd to us. I have seen how much He has done for me and the love that He has shown me. I know that he is definitely watching over me each and everyday. I just hope that when he calls my name, just like a Shepherd does to his sheep, that I will come running. Brother Ford, in my first area, put it best. He would always say when he is done here on this earth and he goes to meet his Savior that there will be no doubt that he will know who Don Ford is!!! haha May we all strive each and every day to continue to get to know our Savoir so that we will know exactly who He is when we see Him. I love you all so much and hope you have an awesome 24th of July!!! I sure do miss that parade!!! haha But I am going to get going I will talk to you all soon!!
Happy 4th of July!!! Dang, things here are going so good right now. I am living the dream and loving life. My new companion is Elder West from Alberta, Canada!! Yeah buddy! You know I am totally headed up there to go snowmobiling when this is all over. He is a really cool guy and we work together really well. It has been a huge adjustment for me because he is kind of quiet and my last companion, Elder Peacock... well, he wasn't. But I love them both and I begin to see what the Lord teaches me with each companion. We are still rolling in our sexy van and people love it! They think we are the coolest missionaries ever. Elder West comes from a really small town and understands the small town jokes, which is good. He is super knowledgeable, too. It is kind of embarrassing for me because I am not that smart when it comes to the gospel or book stuff. He is brilliant, you can tell. He knows a scripture for everything! It is crazy! We actually compliment each other pretty good. One thing I have learned as that no matter what, there is going to be things that you do not like about each companion but you have to learn to ADJUST, like I have talked about before. And by the end, you don't want a new companion because you are used to the one you have had.
This past weekend was a really touching one for me because Daniel, from my old area got baptized. And holy cow has he changed! I haven't been able to see him since I left my old area and to see him and see how the Atonement has changed him really was almost unbelievable. I just wish I could help other people see that and see the change that can happen in their lives. The thing is, he thought he was happy. He thought he had it all. He had quit doing hard core drugs. He had quit drinking. He was living with his brother just getting his feet back under him and then the Gospel brought him real Joy. He is so so much happier. Honestly, there is no better feeling in the world than the work that we are able to do out here.
So now my favorite person to work with Tiffany. She has been doing really well. After her stumble a few weeks ago, it has been really hard for her to recover. She is still doing better but she definitely isn't at one hundred percent where she was. On the fourth of July, we of course had to be in by 6:00pm, but we could be at a members home if they would invite us. So of course, her family came through for us. We got to spend a lot of time there just relaxing and then watching some fireworks with their family. Tiffany was there but the Fourth was a really hard day for her and you could tell she kind of avoided us. It is a dang hard road to recover from and I want to just put all the info into her head and tell her what to do. But it doesn't work that way:( All I know is that when she is reading the scriptures, praying, and coming to church she seems to do much better. That's not to say she doesn't have bad days or trials. But when she is doing those things she takes the trials with a much different outlook and it doesn't hurt her as bad. I see all this and I am trying to get this all engrained so when I am off the spiritual high I am on now and I go through a trial, hopefully I will fall back to this experience. Because the Gospel is the only way to go.
Also today is Tiffany's bday!!!!! So we have dinner and a lesson with the her family tonight and Tiffany got to chose what she wanted for dinner. Guess what her choice was?.... SUSHI!!! I am quite nervous!! But of course when they asked if we liked sushi, I smiled and said yes:) So tonight will be eventful. I think you should definitely keep me in your prayers, please!!
Honestly though, things are going really well. I am learning a lot and the heat is finally calming down. There has been a huge fire up on Mt Charleston and so there is smoke all over the valley. It has made for some pretty cool pictures. Elder West and I were talking and the conclusion we came to was that the longer you have been on the mission, the more you love it. Now I'm not saying I have been out a long time because I still think I am a green missionary. But it is a lot of fun! There are a ton of missionaries going out and it is so cool. I am so glad I have had the opportunity to be a part of this work at this time and where I am as well. Could you even imagine if I had missed this chance?? Dang, would I have missed out on a lot of fun and so much Joy. In Preach my Gospel it says Greater Joy and Happiness than you have ever experienced awaits you as you serve the Lord with all you heart, might, mind and strength. That is so true! As Elder Holland said: missions are a family affair. I hope that you can feel how much good is happening in the missionary work not only at home but all over the world. I know without you I couldn't be here doing what I do. I am so glad that I have so much family support and it means a ton to me. I pray for your Spiritual and Physical safety every day and I know the Lord is watching over you. Keep working hard at home and doing the things that I would be if I were there!!! Sounds like boating season is on!! Have fun and be safe. Last thing, today as I studied I made a connection in the Book of Mormon that I am sure all of you have made before. But me, being the idiot, just realized it today. haha. So at the beginning of the Book of Mormon in 2 Nephi, right after Lehi dies. Laman and Lemuel begin to get angry with Nephi because they think he is trying to be a ruler over them. So Nephi asked all his family who will follow or flee for fear of their lives. But it says that the Lamanites became an idle people, the way I looked at it was like they have way too much time on their hands because they aren't out doing productive things. So they begin to think up all the bad things they can do. And now people today are the same. Almost everyone we come across, if they have addictions or are struggling with something, it is because they have too much down time. So it is good that you are all staying so busy and doing good things. Keep working hard and having an awesome summer at all your camps and sports. I love you all so much!!! I'll talk to you soon!
Well, I am glad to hear that you have been watching the news and seeing how
hot it is down here. I have honestly never felt anything like it, it is
crazy!!!! When we walk outside in the morning at 6:20am it is already in the
90s and right now it is 11am and it is already 110. But it isn't too bad
because I have a nice mini van to keep me cool:) But yes, there are elders out
on bike in this stuff it is crazy!! I don't know how they do it. In fact
my last companion Elder Frost is going to a bike area this transfer. I
feel really bad for him!
It is transfer time, though and I will be getting a new companion. His name
is Elder West and he is from Canada!! I always wanted a foreigner as a comp!
haha He seems to be a pretty cool guy. I don't know him too well.
All I know is he has been a Zone Leader 1 or 2 transfers longer than me and I
think he has been out for about 14 months or so. Elder Peacock and I are
just finishing up together and it really has been a pretty good two transfers.
To be honest, I can't believe that this transfer is up. It seems like we have
transfer right after transfer, but it is good that way. I am still living in a
four man apartment. I will be there until I transfer again, which I am
thinking won't be at least for 12 more weeks would be my guess. I really
like having six month areas because it allows me to get to know the ward
members better and really fall in love with the area. I am beginning to like
this area a lot. The members here are awesome and living in a four man makes
life exciting. Sometimes it is a little hard, but we are all guys.
We fight for a little bit and then we forget about it. I did also find
out that Elder Stewart is going to be coming to my apartment so we will be
living together. I am not sure if you remember me mentioning him in emails
before but we have served around each other A TON!!! I have been out for 8
transfers and I have served 5 of them with him in my district and now this one
will be 6, which is really almost unheard of. haha No one can believe it.
He has family that lives in Plano that know Kurtis and Emily. I'll have
to get their names from him tonight when he is in the apartment.
We did get to meet President Ahlander this week and that was super exciting
and fun. The whole mission came to one building and he gave a little
presentation on his life and they both spoke and bore testimony. It was crazy
how all of that worked. We didn't even really get to say goodbye to
President and Sister Black because the Ahlanders were only with them for like 2
hours. It was pretty sad to see President Black go just because of the huge
impact he has had on me and the example that he was. But President Ahlander is
AWESOME! I love him already and I hardly even know him. It will be an exciting week
because we have mission Leadership Council this week where the Zone Leaders
come together and we talk about the mission and make goals and things like
that. So we will actually get to meet him and get to know him then.
Not only that, but right after that meeting we have interviews and our zone is
the first zone he will be interviewing, which will be sweet! Elder West and I
will get to be his very first interviews, so that will be really interesting to
see what kind of questions he asks and what he talks about. In his presentation
he gave to the whole mission they had a lot of pictures from their home lives
and even a wedding picture which was super funny. He had a sweet mustache
when they got married. You can tell that they have a lot of connections
with the church. For one, Sister Ahlanders Dad is Neil A. Maxwell and then they
were dropping General Authorities names that they had interviewed with and
talked to like it was nothing!! So it is going to be a really cool thing to get
know them and feel the transition of the mission.
We also had a really eventful week in terms of missionary work. This week we
met with Tiffany again on Monday and she seemed to be doing pretty good. She
decided that she wanted to fast so that she could gain a desire to quit smoking
and also so that she could come closer to the Lord. So Elder Peacock, me, and
her family all fasted that day. Well, it was the WORST day she had had yet. She
really came apart and told her Dad she wanted to head back to Utah and be back
with her husband who had left her and all of this crazy stuff that she normally
wouldn't do. It was really rough. Her mom ended up texting us and told us about
it so we were praying really hard that it would all work out. Bishop even tried
to go over and see her, but she refused to come out of her room. Finally
she agreed to let us and the Bishop come by the next day so we could talk about
what had happened and then help her hopefully see what was happening. The crazy
thing about all of this was even while she was going through the worst day of
her life she still continued to fast! Well, the next day when we got there she
had calmed down and we talked for about an hour with Bishop Levanger and her
about what had happened. She admitted that she really just wanted to go
back to Utah so that she could get drugs and take the pain away. It is so sad
to see her like this because she is so normal and trying really hard. If
she even lets up a little, the Adversary is throwing everything that he has at
her. She is so strong and she has been doing really well the rest of the
week. We went over there last night so Elder Peacock could say goodbye and she
seemed to be doing really well. That made us really happy. And her mom
gave us some BOMB desert!!!:) haha It made my night.
Last night we also had a really good meeting at the Stake Presidency's home.
He set up this meeting for all Recent Converts, Less Actives, and
Investigators. It was cool. He just shared a quick message and let the
people get to know him. We had 4 of our recent converts there and they felt
really welcome and it was a really neat experience to get to be in his home and
feel of the Spirit there. The recent converts loved it.
But all is well here!! I hope that everyone at home is doing good, I will
try not to melt this upcoming week. We talked to some members last night and
they said it was supposed to cool down to like 110 this week....... hahah shoot
me now!!!!!!! But it is worth it and I am gaining some good experience. I
now know both extremes. I know the Idaho Cold and the Las Vegas hot. What
else do I need to know, right?? I love you all so much and I am grateful
for all that you do! Stay safe and keep on keepin on! Ill talk to you soon!!!
Love,
Elder Crapo
P.S. Have a sweet 4th of July!!! We have to be in by 6 that night so I
will be chilling, enjoying a nice mountain dew in the AC:) haha
It is good to hear from you and hear that all is well! Things here in Vegas are going really good and we are having a ton of success. I hope that everyone got to go and see the broadcast yesterday. It was unreal! As I looked out over those young missionaries coming into the field all I could think was that there is no doubt that this is without a doubt the Lord's work. Don't let yourselves miss out on this. There is so much to do and so many people who are being prepared right now in our places like it says in Alma 13:24.
We had a really busy weekend and I feel so blessed to even be a part of the work that is going on here in our area and in my old area. I had the opportunity to get in the water and baptize two different people that I have taught and that was so cool. The first lady's name is Cathy and she is in the area I am serving in right now. That was quite an experience. She was SUPER nervous I was going to drop her or leave her under the water too long. So every time I put her under the water her foot would come up and she would let go of my hand and try to catch herself which was not good! I ended up having to put her under the water 3 times, but we finally got it done and she was confirmed a member of the church yesterday.
Then on Saturday I got to go back to my old area and Baptize a lady named Chaquita. She is a really cool lady that we met through some investigators in my last area and Elder Frost, my boy finished teaching her and she got baptized. That was a really neat experience to be back with all the people from my second area and get to touch base with a lot of them. That area really seems like a blur to me because I was only there for 12 weeks and Elder Frost and I worked so hard and built it up from nothing because of the double transfer. It is crazy how the Lord works! I love that I have had the opportunity to be here at this time.
As we watched that broadcast yesterday the excitement was definitely in the air. I was so stoked to be there and to be there with the whole zone watching it was really fun. There was a pretty good turn out from the stake. I was able to say goodbye to the Mays and I also met Dorla Jenkins son!!! He is in my stake and Bishop Stephen's cousin is serving in his ward, which was pretty cool. I didn't really put it all together but after he explained it I was like, "oh that makes sense!!" He is heading down to visit today and was asking if I needed to have anything taken home, but I really didn't have anything for him. SMALL world, huh?? I seem to meet people with connections to St. Anthony every single week. I am sure that Elder Peacock is sick of hearing about my small little town. It is crazy to all of these missionaries that I wouldn't ever live in a city... I do love my mission and I love Las Vegas but I would do almost anything to work in the tractor for a few hours. So have fun with it!!
The one big thing I took from yesterday's meeting though, was love. We should just love everyone!! I know that is pretty tough to do sometimes, but it just seemed like the message that was being restated was that we should love people into the Gospel. Even if they won't accept the message, that doesn't matter. We have to just keep loving them. I find that hard when people slam the door in our face or we get yelled at for some stupid reason or people are rude, but remember people can always change. For instance, there is a guy from my old ward that Elder Frost and I started teaching. His name is Dan. Now Dan had been into some pretty heavy drugs and has served ten years in jail for dealing them and doing things that he shouldn't have been doing. When we started to meet with him he wanted nothing to do with God or our message. But his brother and sister in law, who he is living with are both members. His brother also is a recent convert and served 10 years in prison for the same thing. Well, anywho Dan has kept talking to the missionaries every time that they come over and they were just friends with him. That is all we ever did with him. We just tried to connect and then we would share like a 15 minute lesson at the end of dinner. Well, I guess since I left his interest has sky rocketed and now he has a baptism date of July 5. His family just loved him and never tried to push, but he could see that there was a difference in their lives and he wanted it.
I see now how easy it would have been to just invite people to talk to the missionaries. And I know that there is a fear that people might get offended. But as stated by Elder Holland last night "an invitation that is extended sincerely out of love for the person and the Savior will never come across as offensive."
I don't want anyone to miss out on this awesome opportunity to share the gospel. I know this sounds crazy but it gets you going. My adrenaline pumps and I get super excited. Last night I wanted to run out of the church building and just go find people to teach!!! I really do believe that if everyone would just listen, this message would ring true to them and they would desire to come into the fold. Now all we need to do is show people love and extend the invitation. First we must prove to people that we love them and that we really do care about them and that we aren't just trying to baptize them. That really isn't my purpose out here. I really am just trying to learn how to love everyone and help them feel the love of Christ. I know I am on one today so I am going to shut 'er down. haha I am just so pumped about the work and how it is progressing forward:) I know that you can all be a part of it, too.
I hope that you all have an awesome week! I love you and if there is anything I can do for you please let me know. I am going to get going. I'll talk to you soon!!
Dang, it is good to hear from you. I thought a lot about the fam yesterday seeming how it was Father's Day and how proud I am of my Dad. I won't lie, though. I am pretty ticked that I wasn't there to get to see the '57. That thing looks so sick!! I can't believe Regg got to see it and not me! haha I am glad that ya'll are enduring the heat there because I am making an attempt here. I would give anything for 80s or even 90s! We are in the 100s every day without fail. But welcome to Las Vegas, right?? I am surprised to find out that 100 really isn't too hot to me any more. It is just when it gets up to like 104 is when I really start to feel it. But things are going good!! We had a pretty good Father's Day, but yesterday our dinner ended up having to cancel on us because they all got the flu!! Total bummer because it was the Bishop of our Samoan Ward. But no worries! They went and bought us KFC haha It was so funny!! Only in the Samoan ward right??
As for news on this week, Elder Peacock and I had the opportunity to go and do some service for a former investigator in our ward. This is the same lady that we set up the trampoline for. She wanted us to come by and set up some shelves. Well, Elder Peacock and one of the Assistants had gone by last week to start it and when they went they ended up not being able to finish. Honestly, kind of messed it up haha. So I went back and we were trying to fix it and get it set up right and we got it all put together standing up and looking nice. Then the lady was like, "oh the one side looks a little off." Well, I quickly saw what it was and I went to trying to fix it. I had the thought run through my mind to lay it back down to fix it. But I was like oh no I'll just fix it standing up... BAD idea!! About the time I undid one of the last screws it came crashing down!!! It was so bad and none of us really even knew what to say. Let's just say we were quickly invited to go out back, take the trash out and then we left! It was so funny. I will have to tell you this in detail later on in life, but I am sure that you can imagine my face, her face, and Elder Peacock's face as it crashed down.
We also had one of the best lessons of the week with one our less active members that we are teaching. All I can say is she should be the woman on the Mormon message called courage!! She has been through so much. If I were even to begin to tell you all of the stuff you would want to cry for her. She has such a testimony that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is very real. Her husband is now out of the picture and she is left here with her parents and three kids who she can't even see every day because of some legal things. So the kids are at her sister's house. It has been so cool to see her come along and use the Atonement to heal the wounds that couldn't other wise be healed. She had nothing left and all she has to lean on is our Savoir. We were able to take her some flowers and a quote from a talk in the last general conference and we are going to see her tonight, so that will have to be continued until next week.
On other exciting news this week, I got a really funny letter from Kenny D. You should totally call his mom and tell her this story. So I went into the office the other day because we were picking up a bike rack for our sexy van. Sister McMillian, the lady who works the front desk of our office goes Elder Crapo you have a letter. So of course, I am stoked! I mean mail time!! And then she says, "I did notice one special thing about this letter." I was a little confused. Then she said, "It seems to have a prediction as to the next transfers." Sure enough, this is how it was addressed: "Future AP" Elder Braxton Crapo
Only Kenny would put that!! I laughed pretty hard and so did everyone else in the office. I have to give him props on that one. It was pretty creative. And thankfully, he is very wrong. haha That won't be me!!
This coming week is going to be a super crazy one!! We have a baptism in our area on Friday and then my son, Elder Frost called me yesterday and I am going to be going back to my old area for the baptism of Chaquita!!! I am so excited! She is a really awesome lady that we started teaching. Also Max, the kid that we tracted into that ended up getting baptized called Elder Frost and he has decided he wants to go on a mission!! The work here is going forward like crazy! I love it! You really don't know or understand the Joy you feel as a missionary until you get here. I am glad that you say I have grown. That makes me feel like I am really doing something here. I know at times I look around and I am like man, am I really helping anyone?? I know without a doubt that it is changing me, if nothing else. I have learned a lot! I feel like and I have so so so much left to learn. And no, mom I won't come back thinking that you are all sinners!! Trust me, I am constantly repenting of things I make mistakes in and also of things I fail to do. I look back and think about all of the opportunities to share the gospel and it makes me so sick. I really could have done a lot more good if I would have just applied myself. But the problem was, I was trying to do it on my own. It makes much more sense now that we can't do anything on our own. Everything that we have and everything that we will ever get comes from our Loving Heavenly Father.
I was sad to have missed Father's Day with my awesome Dad and we are all dang lucky to have him. I am so grateful that you always set an example that I could follow and have always taught me to work. There was a talk given in General Conference and they talked about a Christ Centered home. I am so grateful that I grew up in a Christ centered home. Mom and Dad, you are awesome!! Dad, Grandpa Happy Fathers Day!!
I am going to get going, but I love you all so much! I hope that Taia makes it home safe and tell her I love her and that I want to hear all about her trip! I am so glad everyone is doing good and let me know if there is anything that I can do for anyone in the fam. Know I am doing good and I am very well taken care of. We have such great member support here. It is awesome!! I love you all so much and I will talk to you next week!!
