Have I told you lately I love you?:)
Last Monday was the greatest ever because we had a lesson!!! It was our first time having a lesson on Monday night this transfer:) Poor Kathy has come out with us every week on Monday, and our lessons always fall through! But on Monday we were able to visit with a less active:) Little miracle. So grateful:)
We've been having a really hard time getting
investigators to keep their appointments. Last transfer we were teaching
twice as much as this transfer. It's been pretty discouraging. There
are quite a few Hispanics in Stafford, but there's only one good area
for knocking (which we lovingly refer to as "Hispanic Heaven"). The rest
of them are scattered in neighborhoods, and we have to rely a lot on
referrals from other missionaries to find them. I've spent A LOT of time
in Hispanic Heaven because it's located in Accokeek. When we walk down a
street, I can point out who's American, who's Hispanic, who's a former
investigator, and who's a potential. We contact everyone on the street,
but most I've already contacted before. We've been working on creative
ways of finding so that we can change up our teaching pool!
Also, I believe I mentioned about two weeks ago that
in my interview with President, he asked me to pray about whether or
not I wanted to stay another transfer in Stafford. I haven't decided
what I want to do, but I fasted about it last week and feel like I need
to stay 6 more weeks. It's kind of hard because that means I'll have
spent more than a year in the same area. It's definitely taken a lot of
humility to keep working hard and to not feel burned out from doing the
same thing in the same place. However, there are also some exciting
things coming up in September that I don't want to miss out on! I'm also
so attached to the members here that I don't know how I'll be able to
adjust to a new area. I guess we'll just wait and see on Saturday with transfer calls:)
Oh, and also, a boy from Accokeek came up to me on Sunday and asked, "Sister Crandall, are you ever going to leave this place?" Hahaha:)
On Friday
we had Return and Report, where all of the trainers and trainees go to
Richmond for a follow-up meeting. We got word that the meeting would be
at the Grace St. Church in downtown Richmond and it was going to be a
full-day meeting. (Normally it's just a half-day meeting.) I knew that
something was up! And before we left Friday morning, the Sister Training Leaders stuffed a bunch of Mormon.org cards and English pamphlets in our purses.
After lunch, we were separated into different
companionships. Trainees went with trainees, and trainers with trainers.
Then they put us on the streets in downtown and told us to talk to
everyone and we had an hour and a half! I was with Hermana McRae, who
is training in Fred. We had about 10 good conversations on the street. 7
of the people became potentials, and 5 of those 7 accepted a baptismal
invite! At the end of the street contacting blitz, President took count
of all of the potentials. We came up with about 70 referrals, 12 of whom
had a baptismal date!!! It was SO COOL! And if you people didn't know
this before, I am incredibly bold :) I absolutely loved it! When we made
it back to the church building, it hit me so powerfully that I will
never have an opportunity like this for the rest of my life. Being a
missionary is the coolest thing. I have special authority and power to
share the message of the restoration. I'm different from the world
because I've been set apart. I want to be a missionary forever:)
Anyway, it was a great meeting:) It ended at 3, and
our ride (Marco, of course!) said he couldn't make it until 4. And then
the traffic was really bad, so he didn't make it until 7! So we did
weekly planning in the church there and then stopped at Panera Bread for
dinner. Yum:)
On Saturday,
almost all of our appointments fell through again. By dinner time, I
was super grateful because I knew for sure we'd get a lesson with
Hermana Monica. But, I guess she accidentally signed up the Fred
Hermanas to eat dinner at the same time. There's a mission rule that
missionary companionships can't eat together. So Hermana Quinones and I
ate really fast before the other Hermanas showed up. Even our dinner
lesson fell through :( So we knocked and talked all night. We contacted a
family chilling outside, and I was super determined to share a lesson,
even if it was outside and we had to stand up for 20 minutes.
Fortunately we finished just as it got too dark.
Then, we had an investigator who said we could stop
by. We went over to her trailer and her son answered. He let us in and
we sat down. He was watching a Jackie Chan movie, and we asked him to
turn it off. He said that the remote was in the other room. Like 50 people
got shot while we waited for him to come back... Anyway, he said his mom
was coming and he left. Hermana Quinones and I sat quietly waiting for about
25 minutes. When it hit 8:50, we finally just left a note. I'm pretty sure we could hear her in the bath tub and on the phone;) hahaha. Embrace the awkward.
Sunday
was really great because I enjoy taking the sacrament each week. That
and I really love Spanish services! Hermano Schroeder spoke, and he
never learned Spanish so it was funny to listen to him and I was
impressed;) He said that they do emergency drills in their house where
they have to use their emergency preparedness stuff to cook meals. I
thought it was a really clever idea!
Sunday
night we were finally able to teach Miguel! He came to church last
Sunday and LOVED it, but he wasn't an investigator. Now he's an
investigator:) Hopefully he'll be at church next week too!
Yesterday felt really off, because it was a Monday,
but not P-day. We just contacted and tracted all day. And we ran into a
Testigo de Jehova! He was really nice. He asked us if we were tracting a
street, and we said no. Then he asked who we were already teaching on
that street, and said he wouldn't contact them. I thought it was very
nice of him to do that:)
On the next street over, we contacted a man on his
porch, and he surprise-fed us right then and there! It's like getting a
surprise on Christmas, except that surprise is really hot food when it's
already 90+ outside and it's an unwanted surprise. He gave me a tostada
(crunchy tortilla) with this giant slab of BBQ meat on it. Then he gave
Hermana Quinones a soft tortilla with a little piece of meat on it. Why
do they always give me more??? Anyway, we were trying to share the
Gospel, while eating this really hot food, and we were already sweating
because of the heat. Good times. Then pretty much 5 seconds after we
left his porch, it started to pour rain. The weather here is much more
bipolar than Utah!
We were driving out of the trailer park, and were
stopped at a red light, and the guy in the car next to us was making
some motions. I rolled down Hermana Quinones' window (it was raining..)
and he rolled down his window, then said, "I just wanted to say hi." It
was a 20-something black guy....hahahaha:) It's always them.
We also had a great dinner with the Schroeder Family
and we invited Hermana Schroeder to read the Book of Mormon and I
really hope she does! Everyone pray:) And she made us hotdogs which was
awesome because I haven't had American food in a while.
Well people. I hope you know how much I love my
mission! I can't believe that summer is over and it's September again.
How does this happen??? I also want to express my love for the Book of
Mormon. I finished it again this past week:) I really love that book and
I know it is true. I'm so grateful for all that God has done for me to
confirm my faith. I know He's real and I know He's there.
I also want to express love for a special friend of
mine........Her name is Clarissa Sheney Wilcken Miller, and I just adore
her. Two years ago we became roommates at BYU and she has changed my
life:) I have learned so much from her about what it means to be a true
friend and a true disciple of Jesus Christ. She really loves the temple
and she taught me to love it too through her example! I love her so much
that I would even kill a giant spider for her in the bathroom at 4 in
the morning. And I would even jump and dance and click my heels together
in the rain. I'd probably even do zumba or wear my T-shirt like a nun
or watch The Hobbit in the middle of the night or pet a camel for her.
Happy birthday Clarissa! I love you so much!:) The people in North
Carolina need you;)
Have a happy week mis amigos!
Con amor, Hermanita Crandall
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