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Dear Family,

I hope you all had a great week!

     Sister Olsen and I were finally able to teach a lesson that I've been looking forward to for a long time. Every Wednesday afternoon, we teach three boys: Steven, Jordy, and David. Their mom is a less active member in the Spanish Branch, and their dad (divorced) is Catholic. They all want to be baptized, but dad won't let them. And mom works on Sundays, so they can't go to church. This past week we taught them about missionary work! We made them little name tags and taught them to sing "I Hope They Call Me on a Mission!" We asked where they wanted to serve missions; two want to go to Brazil, and one to El Salvador. It was the cutest thing in the entire world and I wanted to bawl my eyes out:) I attached a picture of us with the boys! (Sorry my camera doesn't take great pictures.)

     Besides that, most of our investigators are right about where they were last week. Tonya is teaching me patience, as we strive to get her to come to church. She knows what she wants to do, but she just won't do it!

     This past week we had Zone Meeting, and I was asked to give a training on computer usage. In the Richmond Mission, we use computers for 1.5 hours on Monday to email and for 1 hour on Friday to compile teaching records and surf-the-web on LDS sites (LDS Newsroom, Mormons and Gays, LDS Youth, etc.). I talked about the rules in the white handbook, and then asked about things we can do during our 1 hour on Friday. The time can either be wasted, or it can be used to print conference talks for investigators, print the church logo for children's missionary tags, or what have you. Sister Olsen and I looked up the Mormon.org profiles of our Zone Leaders (Elders Hitesman and Jensen) and printed them out so I could show them off during the training. It was pretty funny:)

Here is a long story short--Sister Olsen and I pulled over on a back road and got stuck in mud. It has been raining a lot and it didn't even cross our minds that we could get stuck. The road isn't very busy, and as we tried to get out, not many people passed us. Sister Olsen felt impressed to wave down the next person to pass us. Fortunately for us, he works for the commonwealth! He turned around and parked behind us. At first, he told us that we would need to get the car towed. We were both very embarrassed and we worried about how we would pay for it. However, he said we could try a few more times. Sister Olsen got a lot of mud on her boots and skirt, but we made it out! I'm so grateful that God sent this man at the perfect time to help us out of a bad situation!

This is an update from More Fit For the Kingdom! I can do 20 girl push-ups now:) I know it's not a lot to be impressed about, but it's difficult to do with my sticky arms. I've also lost almost 2 pounds! Sister Olsen and I are getting a lot better at turning down sweets and treats. We eat smaller portion sizes and we snack on veggies and fruits. I used to wake up a lot during the night. Now I sleep through almost every night and I wake up a few minutes before the alarm each morning! I have more energy, too! My Patriarchal Blessings specifically mentions the importance of living the Word of Wisdom. What a powerful principle with promise!:) I encourage all of you to read it again and evaluate how you can better apply it to your life!

I also highly encourage reading the newest Ensign. And the Old Testament.

     Sorry, not a lot to tell happened this week. Sister Olsen and I are teaching a lot and we're working hard!:)

Love,  Sister Crandall

*PS - Transfer calls are next Sunday. Transfers are around Feb. 13th. If you're going to send any mail, make sure you send it by this Tuesday or Wednesday in case I leave Stafford! Also...just going to throw this out there...I haven't received mail in two weeks;)