Monday, January 6, 2014

The Accokeeks

:)

     This past week I received the most lovely package in the mail! My parents ordered new scriptures for me to replace the ones that were ruined. I'm so grateful for my Mommy and Hapa! They have done everything to help me be a happy and successful missionary. I'm grateful that the Gospel was an important aspect of my upbringing. I'm grateful for early morning scripture study, family prayer, and family home evening. Mom and Dad, you are the best and I love you eternally:) I am proud to be a member of your forever family:) The new 2013 style scriptures are--as Mom would say--fabulous! The leather is smooth and the font is slightly different, and easier to read. I'm enjoying marking up scripture mastery and other favorite verses! This has helped me as I study the Christlike attribute of knowledge. I'm also hoping to read the Bible Dictionary this month!

     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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