A Happy Week in Accokeek!

Two Happy Sister Missionaries!

      Mom, please see Moroni 9:25, and insert "mom" for "son." <3 My back is feeling so much better! The first few days after my accident were painful. It hurt to sit for too long and I was exhausted every night. I feel almost back to normal now! Sitting at church yesterday hurt a bit and I have to be careful with stretching and exercising in the morning. I'm probably not going to see a doctor (sorry) because I'm too busy inviting others to come unto Christ (not sorry). I love my family so much! Thank you for the prayers and support!

Sister Crandall

Sister Olsen

     Last Monday, Sister Olsen and I went Christmas sweater shopping. Mine is atrocious. I will send pictures when we get closer to the holiday!:) We also bought some super cute matching boots! Picture attached. It was perfect timing, too, because it ice rained on Tuesday. The weather here has been so much warmer than I expected! It's normally between 30 and 50, and we have yet to see snow. The wool socks that Lindsay sent me have also worked wonders! I purchased a coat and it keeps me warm and snuggly!

     On Wednesday, we helped out at the Episcopalian Church like we do every week. It's a lot of fun and the parishioners are so good to us. One woman said, "I have a question for you, and I don't want to be offensive..." I quickly said, "No, we're not polygamists!!" She laughed so hard! She was actually wondering if we ride bikes while wearing our skirts. We do not:) We have a car. Our poor Elders ride bikes on 610 and the 1 (Jefferson Davis) and I am NOT okay with it. Anyway, the Aquia Church is one of the oldest churches in Colonial America and Sister Olsen and I are planning on touring it this afternoon!

*Here's an awkward moment in Accokeek for you:

     I'm sure those of you who have served missions have had this unpleasant experience...when someone confesses their sins. Sister Olsen and I have an investigator who I haven't written about before, because they're not one of our regulars. And I'm going to be vague, but I want you to understand that this was a traumatic experience for Sister Olsen and me and we actually had to go through this. We were meeting with the investigator, and they were depressed. (They were crying.) When we asked what was wrong, they began relating an experience they had nearly 50 years ago. It started getting pretty explicit. I could tell Sister Olsen was very uncomfortable, and I couldn't look at the investigator in the eye anymore because the story was going south quickly. I finally had to ask them to stop. So much awkward. Just wanted you to know that that happened. Sister Olsen and I hugged when we got outside and said ten prayers to bring the Spirit back. Depression makes people live in the past more than they should.

Now it's off my chest. YAY.

Kelly's Tree

     Anyway, on Thanksgiving, we helped a woman in our ward decorate for Christmas! Her name is Kelly and she is a convert of about 1.5 years. We had Thanksgiving dinner with the Hoole family, and 4 families that they are friends with. It was overwhelming to learn everyone's names, but we had a good time! And the food was SO DELICIOUS. I talked with one man who is an economist in DC. When he said that, I felt like a bolt of spiritual lightning shot through me. I was reminded of how much I enjoyed my Econ 110 class at BYU! I've never thought about pursuing a degree in economics, but he made me reconsider my major. I love business, but I think I will look into economics when I get home. (I liked Econ 110 more than Acc 200 and Fin 201, and I've always loved economics because of debate.)

     About our investigators...I feel like some of them are falling off of the face of the earth. Alex has been really sick, so we haven't seen him in over a week. Tonya is working nonstop, even over the holiday season. The Elders haven't been able to reach Walter yet. But, we're still working as hard as we can! We found a new investigator, Larissa, who seems really interested in the Book of Mormon. Kayla, the 18 year old, is back on track and wants to come to church. We do a lot of work with less actives and recent converts, too. I really love this ward!!!

     I've been thinking and praying a lot about switching to Spanish. I feel like it's the right thing for me, especially because of what my Patriarchal Blessing says about my mission. Right now, I think I'll wait until April to switch. Please pray for me:)

     Here's a miracle for the month: Sister Olsen and I have been really struggling with miles. Because I'm training, we had to go to Richmond for "Return and Report." We also went to Woodbridge to hear from Elder Sitati. That's when we had our little incident where we got lost and ended up in the DC South Mission. We lived with the Rockhill Sisters for a week while Sister Van Buskirk was out of town, and that was an additional 10 miles every day. By our last week, we had about 20 miles for each day. We did it! We made it through November with 6 miles to spare! We tried so hard to be obedient and we planned very carefully. It was truly a miracle!

Snug as a bug...

     Mommy asked what I want for Christmas. I would love to have a hula skirt and a CD of Hawaiian music. As long as the songs aren't romantic and do not detract from the Spirit, it's okay for me to listen to! I love Keali'i Reichel, Iz, and the songs from Lilo and Stitch. And anything else that I used to dance to. And Don Ho. Please make sure Pua Mana is on the CD:) If you put a hula skirt (preferably my brown one) in a plastic bag, you can suck the air out with a vacuum and get it to fit into a box. I want this for a few reasons: I need to strengthen my lower back, and hula is a great way to do that. This is a talent that I want to continue to develop. Hula dancing makes me super happy! I have 30 minutes every morning to exercise. This would truly be the greatest Christmas present in the world:) That and lots of prayers.

I love you all so much:) Love, Sister Crandall