:)
I had a great week in Accokeek! For New Year's, Sister
Van Buskirk took Sister Olsen and I on to Quantico Marine Base to do
some shopping. We didn't find anything we liked, but it was fun to look
around. We even got to do some grocery shopping in the commissary!
Afterwards, we drove around to look at some of the training and
schooling facilities. It's a great place, but I definitely wouldn't want
to live there;)
Tuesday
was an all-day P-day, because we weren't allowed to leave the apartment
after six. We stayed in and studied and chatted until we went to bed at
ten. We considered setting the alarm for 11:59, but decided to sleep through the new year.
We saw some amazing miracles this past week!
*Tonya
- WOW this woman is ready for baptism! She's making all of the
necessary life adjustments. She said that she believes everything we've
taught--the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, the plan of salvation, etc. We
brought the couple that teaches temple prep with us to talk about the
temple. Tonya seemed really excited. AHHH! Keep praying for her!:)
*The Fishers - This is the fam we picked up from the
Elders. They've gone through about 6 or 7 Elders, and so there are
things that were taught a couple months ago that they've forgotten. They
have a lot of outward commitment (ie. activity) but we need to work on
their conversion. All of them are reading from the Book of Mormon, and
we've committed them to ask specific questions in their prayers.
*Patty - We found her tracting! We taught her to
first lesson and committed her to be baptized if she comes to know the
Book of Mormon is true and if her husband is on board with it. The best
part is that her neighbor is a member of our ward. Sister Ross is
amazing! She knows the names of everyone on her street, and they all
know that she's a Mormon. Sister Ross doesn't realize it, but she's
being a member missionary by knowing her area:) Unfortunately, Patty is
really busy and we can't see her again until the end of the month. Fun
fact--she's close friend with Merrill Osmond!
*Rebecca - The Elders gave us a referral of an
investigator they were teaching a couple months ago. He said he was no
longer interested in learning more about the Gospel, but he occasionally
came to basketball with the Elders Quorum or service projects at the
church. Unfortunately, the teaching record wasn't up-to-date, and it
said he lived in apartment 303 without specifying which stairwell. We
knocked 303 in all 5 stairwells before we found him. He still isn't
interested. However, in the stairwell before him, we found Rebecca! She
is golden! She's a junior and she said her mom would be interested too
because they've talked about our church before. So excited!
*Leah - She's a less active in our ward that hasn't
been attending for almost 10 years. We called her up to make an
appointment. When we went over, she poured her heart out to us. She went
through a messy divorce and feels very lonely. She doesn't want to come
to church yet because of anxiety, but she said we can begin visiting
her weekly. She wants to do things with us, like crafts and cooking.
This is what I love about missionary work. I love going into people's
homes and making them happy:)
*Julio - The man that the ward swore would never
become a member... His wife is less active, only because of health
complications. (She's the one we raked leaves for.) Over the course of
three months of visiting his wife, he slowly warmed up to us. We finally
had a discussion, and he talked about his religious beliefs--all of
which aligned with what we believe. We went by later in the week with El
Libro de Mormon and committed him to read it! I think his wife was
shocked:) She was so happy!
*Please pray for all of these amazing people:) I love them so dearly.
Here was something hard that happened this week:
Sister Olsen and I LOVE Panera Bread. We went there for dinner on Saturday
night and we were sitting next to a table of teen girls. One of them
started talking about us and explaining to her friends who we were. We
couldn't hear all of the conversation, but words stuck out like
"Mormon," "Joe Smith," "indoctrinated," etc. Occasionally they would
giggle about something she said. I'm a sensitive little sister, and I
could feel the back of my throat getting dry as if I was going to cry. I
went to enjoy a nice dinner, and now I was being mocked. The girl
started talking about BYU and how all Mormons go to this school and live
inside of a bubble.
It struck me that the world is a bubble. People are
so caught up in celebrities, entertainment, immorality, and the
materialistic lifestyle. They have no idea what's outside of the
bubble--sacred and holy things, like temple worship and the sacrament.
Things of eternal importance. Those girls have no idea who they are.
They are daughters of a Heavenly Father who loves them dearly and wants
them to pray to Him. They're so stuck in their bubble :(
Anyway, this experience has caused me to reflect on
the temple. I'm really sad that I can't go. I remember the covenants and
ordinances, but I'm beginning to forget the instruction. I was studying
Doctrine and Covenants 88 this morning, around verses 25-35. It amazes
me that our glory will depend on how comfortable we feel in God's
presence. When we strive to become more like our Savior, we allow
ourselves to be quickened by a portion of Celestial glory. The
initiatory is what prepares us to receive the endowment. Just think on
that for a while:) Verse 28 was especially interesting, and I'm still
trying to figure it out.
This is your challenge for the week!
If you haven't made a mormon.org profile yet, then make one! After you finish, post it to your facebook page! Here are a few of my favorites:
Email me your results, please:) I want to see your profile!
I love you all dearly. Thank you for the love and prayers!
Sister Crandall
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