What an AWESOME week!

Hello everyone at home!

What an amazing week that this past week has been! It's included many surprises that even I wasn't expecting.

 

So, first thing's first. No, the earthquake didn't affect anyone here in Tarija....I didn't even feel a thing. Apparently other missionaries did, but my companion and I didn't feel any type of quake. All things are nice and quiet here in Bolivia...for now. I'll explain later.

 

So this week has been awesome for me and my companion for the work of the Lord. This entire week we've been focusing on the baptisms that we had, a massive activity for the ward mission work, and finding news. And you know what? With lots of hard work we were able to complete all of our goals. Our ward activity was pretty cool. Maybe y'all have participated or seen this before. It's a simulation of ward members and investigators that are on a plane that crashes...and everybody dies. Then according to a label on your boarding pass you get conducted by angels into one of the three kingdoms of glory, or outer darkness. I had the privilege of being an angel in the Celestial Kingdom. It was super cool, and a really spiritual experience for me. We had almost one hundred people show up, which is almost half of the actives in our ward. It was all in all a very good experience....you should all try it out.

 

Ok, so....I had 4 baptisms this weekend! The familia Sanchez got baptized...along with five others from the other missionaries in our ward. That was a cool experience that I won't forget. 9 baptisms doesn't happen every day. It was an amazing experience that almost made me cry. It's been so humbling to see a family that we've worked so hard to teach decide to make a covenant with the Lord and join His church. They are going to do so many great things in the Church, I just know it! Then yesterday the confirmations took FOREVER during sacrament, literally like forty minutes. Then came the surprise...I was asked to bless and give names to two children in the ward from a family of converts where the dad doesn't have the Melquesidec Priesthood yet. That was really cool. But, I had always felt that the children that I would first bless and present before the Lord would be my own,,,but apparently the Lord had different plans for me.

 

And, no pics this week cuz the computer is being dumb and won't read my memory...so you'll all have to wait for next week for a new computer to see the pics. Sorry!

 

Dad- Have an amazing week! Glad you've had so much fun hiking!

 

Mom- I tell you, your business is going places. Get ready for the ride of your life!

 

Aly- Well, tell Deborah "Hi, and welcome home" for me, will ya? Don't you worry, I'll pray about the job thing for you!

 

Emi- Have an amazing week! Hope all is well!

 

Until next time!

 

 

AEA


Elder Craig

Happy Day After Conference/ Eleven Months!

Hello, hello, hello everyone!

Well, I hope everyone had an amazing General Conference weekend! Those were some pretty sweet talks this weekend, weren't they?

This week was a good week for me and my companion. We this past week had so many appointments on Tuesday and Wednesday that we didn't have time to schedule time to go knock doors or to even go to dinner! We were super busy, but we still found time to go find news. We decided to trek into an area that I've never been into before in my area, and there we found three, later seven, new investigators in one family! They are super cool, and most of them went to General Conference with us yesterday, so they are progressing really well towards a baptismal date of the first week of November. We are also teaching this teacher and her daughter, and they came to Conference too. They are doing really well in their progression. They have a baptismal date for the end of this month! They have an interesting case because this hermana has a "husband", but they don't live together, which is really unusual down here in Bolivia. She lives here in Tarija and her "husband" lives in La Paz, so really there is nothing really stopping us from baptizing her when she recieves her answer about the Book of Mormon and the Church.

So, my companion and I had a scare this past week when we went to go teach Palmyra Sanchez this past week. We went to her house with the intentions of teaching the Word of Wisdom, but we felt really, REALLY strongly that we needed to teach the Law of Chastity, and it turns out that she wasn't keeping it with her boyfriend. It would have turned into a BIG problem if they were living together, but thankfully we know that they don't, so we can still baptize her this Saturday.This weekend we have 4 baptisms planned, plus a massive ward mission activity, so this week will be a stressful one for me, because there is so much riding on our work for both activities.

So, General Conference was really good for me this year. For me the talks of the 70's were actually my favorites this time around. I especially enjoyed Elders Ian Ardern, Carl B. Cook, and Kazuhiko Yamashita's talks. They really spoke to me.


Dad-I'm keeping you in my prayers. Just trust in the Lord, and all things will turn out how they should.

Mom- Hope you had a great time in Boston! Have an amazing week!

Aly- Hope it's been good for you. Heard USU  barely lost...there's always next year!

Emi-Don't do anything stupid to worsen your ankle! ;) Have an amazing week!

Remember- always look up! 

-- 
AEA

Elder Craig

New companion, new changes (9/26)

So, hello everyone.

 

First of all, I really want to apologize for that picture last week. I didn't see the hand in the back, and I feel really bad that you all saw that....and I am really embarassed to tell you that I know who it is. But that's enough on that.

 

Ok, so this week has been a CRAAAAZY(with all caps again) week. My companion and I just got out there and started to knock all the doors we could, and our agendas started filling up with so many citas that we had to start telling people "Sorry, we can't Sunday, we're booked all day...can we come by another time?". It's been a good crazy, and I haven't had this much work in a while, so it feels really good, although I'm exhausted. But, don't worry, I like it, cause we're really working hard to try and help the people here all that we can.

 

Soo, we've got some really awesome things going for us here, We have, in our ward, 9 baptisms for the 8th of October, 4 which are mine and my companion's, and 5 of the other pair of missionaries in our ward. We also have a massive activity that we're doing with the ward missionaries on the 7th. And on top of that we have to get investigators to Conference this week and get them not to drop their baptismal dates.

 

We have many awesome investigators right now, one of which is the little brother of a recent convert whose mom doesm't  want him to have anything to do with the Church....that will be a huge hurdle to leap over, but we've got faith we can do it.

 

 

That's all the time we have for this week....

 

Dad- I hope the job search is going well....I like the new helmet and goggles you got. Looks like to me you're ready for ski season....me too. ;)

 

Mom- That's a total bummer that you're going to miss Conference....but I know good things will come from this conference you're going to.

 

Aly- You are still super cool to me! You're a dork, and that's what makes you awesome!

 

Emi- Have an amazing week! Don't do anything too dumb! :)

 

 

Until next week(My eleven month anniversary!!!!)

--
AEA


Elder Craig

Still here! (9/19)

Hey everyone!

I hope you all had a great week! Mine was good  and things are looking

up ofr the work of the Lord!

Ok, so you're all wondering if I got moved... well, the answer is no.

I am still here in Tarija "La Chura", and I have a new companion. His

name is Elder Diaz. He's from Ecuador. But, the funny thing is, I've

already lived with him. He was my friend Elder North's companion in

Cochabamba when I lived there with him, so I know what he's like

already. No praying and hoping that I have an awesome companion, I

already know what he's like. He is super cool and he works really

hard, which is really the type of companion that I've been wanting for

a while, so I'm really happy.

We went out immediately and started to work and in just three and a

half days, we found the same number of new investigators that my last

companion and I found in an entire week(sometimes two). It's been

super fun to work with him because he works hard and also plays hard,

so we really enjoy each other's company as we work.

Also, something really, really cool happened this week. That family

that I've told you about these past couple of weeks, well, they've

recieved answers to their prayers concerning the Gospel.....and they

know it's true!!! They have a baptismal date in two weeks on the 8th

of October....please keep your fingers crossed.

That's really all for this week.

Dad- Well, I'm glad you're at least have success with selling the

gear....I'm still praying that you'll find a job you want and like. I

love you-have an amazing week!

Mom- Glad that you found that office space! It'll keep you in the

habit of going into the same building. Have a great week!

Aly- Yes!The Utes won! Woop! Thanks for the news Have an amazing week!

Emi- That sucks that you're sick....hope you get better by Homecoming!

Have fun! I want to see pics!

That's all for now!

AEA

Elder Craig

Livin' la vida.....misional!

Why, hello beloved familia and friends!

I hope everyone had a fantastic week. Me, well...I've had better weeks on my mission, but that doesn't mean that it was a bad week! 

Ok, so up until Saturday, all of our appointmensts fell through, nobody was answering doors( or we got rejected), so it seemed like a very very bad week for us. I, being honestly honest, was getting a little disheartened because we hadn't taught anything all week. I guess this is the Lord's was of teaching us humility, no? Well, Saturday, we went to an appointment that we had in the morning, and our investigator was actually there! But not just that, his cousin from the army was home for the weekend! So, we read Moroni 10 together and explained all of Moroni's invitations in that chapter to them. Our investigator's cousin was really interested in the Book of Mormon, so we taught him about the Book of Mormon and how it could help him in his life to keep his standards high, especially in the military world. So, we gave him a copy, and he said that he would read it. He is a good kid. Military service, up until a few years ago, was mandatory, and he's in the army because of that. 

Well, this past week, our ward had a talent show, and my companion and I got permission to perform a song written by some missionaries in Colombia.The song was called "Querido Juan" or "Dear John". You can probably figure out what it's about by the title. :)  I sang, and my companion sang backup and played guitar. It was awesome. I had lots of fun doing it, and people were still talking about it at church on Sunday, saying things like  "Poor John!" or "Was that song about you?". And we also had an activity with thi ward missionaries, teaching them how to teach lessons and stuff. That went really well. We finished the night by eating a Chilean dish called completos....which is basically a hotdog with tomatoes, guacamole, ketchup and mayo. It's really good, actually( or my tastebuds have changed here, one of the two.).

Then, last night we had a really spiritual moment. A hermana from the ward asked us to come over and give her son a blessing. So, we went over and we talked to the kid, and well, he's been having problems with his head, so he's headed out to La Paz to go get CAT-scans done, then probably surgery. We talked and we found out what was going on and how scared he was to travel and have this all go down. but, he accepted the blessing from us. Afterwards, he told us that when he comes back from La Paz, that he wants to be baptized! I really don't understand why people get so Gospel happy when they have huge things going down in their lives, but maybe this is the time the Lord has prepared for them to accept the Gospel, and they're taking it.

I should be telling you about cambios today, but.....The presdent is giving them tonight, so ya'll have to wait until next week. Sorry!

Dad- I'll talk to my mission pres about that.....Have an amazing week!

Mom-Well, I think it's time for a new office....just my suggestion.

Aly- I love that pic! Freak....makes me a little trunkee, but that's ok.

Emi- Sorry about the bad meet....just esforzarse and keep working hard to get better.

Scriptures of the week:
Ether 12:36

I hope you all have an amazing week!
-- 
AEA


Elder Craig

Chunka(diez, ten) meshes!!!!! (9-5-2011)

Why, hello everyone!

I hope you all had an amazing week! Mine, as usual, was fantastic!  This week was super cool for a few reasons.

This week we were finally able to contact a family that we've been trying to contact for weeks. They were a reference given to us by a member. Well, they are one awesome family. It's a single mom and four of her kids(We're still trying to contact the oldest son....teenagers are always difficult.Yes, parents, I finally sort of understand...probably not XP), and they are loving the Gospel! The mom and three of her kids accepted a baptismal date for the 1st of October.We're super excited for them, and we're going to do all that we can to help them reach that goal. Really, giving references really helps our work out. According to Preach My Gospel, the ideal situation for us as missionaries is that we work off of pure references given to us by members. We also have those two brothers that I told y'all about last week that are still super excited about the gospel, and we started to teach their mom this week, so that family is being awesome as well.

We have one frustrating thing right now. We have an investigator who is like this close(imagine for a moment that I'm squeezing my fingers together really closely) to baptism. Well, we taught her the last commandment that she needed, which is the law of chastity. Well, she's been good with everything.....but she has a belly button ring( which is against the law of chastity if you didn't know, only piercings allowed are only on women, and one pair on the ears.) and she refuses to take it out. Right now it's literally a piece of metal separating her from starting her path to eternal salvation. That is super, super frustration, because she loves the Church, and goes as often as she can. She even went the weekend that we were gone to Cochabamba, which means that she loves the Church for the Spirit that she feels there, and not for us. So, please pray for her. We challenged her to pray to the Father and ask Him whether she should have the piercing or not, and really that will be her response for whether the Church is true or not.

Dad- Don't worry, I don't have the same plans coming home from the mission as most missionaries. I know what really should be a priority. Have an AMAZING week!

Mom- I'm glad you get to see everyone so much- tell them hi for me sometime!

Aly- Thanks for the Times Square pic!  I hope you have tons of fun today. And I don't know that band...you'll have to burn me a CD for when I get home.

Emi- Thanks for the letter(finally ;) ). Have an amazing week!

Scriptures of the week:

D&C 97:8, 88:123-126

That's all for now! I love you all!
-- 
AEA


Elder Craig

I Shook the Hand of an Apostle!

Hello my dearly beloved family and friends!

I hope everyone had a fan-diddily-tastic week! This week was one of the best of my mission. 

So, this week started off pretty good. That hermana that I told you all about last week, well we were passing her house to go knock doors and she came out and asked us to come in and talk. So we went in, and she apologized to us for how she had been acting and asked for our forgiveness for how she had been acting. I thought that was pretty cool of her, she seems to really be repenting of starting to inactivate in the church. What I really want now is for her to get a calling in the church to really help her and keep her active.

So, the best part of the week started when on Tuesday night we found out that we, as a zone, were being flown out to Cochabamba to hear Elder Neal L. Anderson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles speak! And, man, what a weekend that was! They flew us out on Friday, and we were there until last night, so we spent the weekend in Cochabamba! One of the cooler parts was seeing the ENTIRE mission together. I was able to take a pic with my padre and my abuelo(my trainer and his trainer), whick was really cool. Then we were able to hear him speak, plus ask him questions for about whatever we wanted. The first Elder to ask a question went straight for the big guns and asked him if he's seen Christ. Well, needless to say, Elder Anderson didn't say yes or no. Just said that the testimony of an Apostle is enough, and he testified that He lives! I think the answer is pretty clear there. But the best part for me was when he was explaining on how we can keep the Spirit as strong as it is now after the mission. He said that in the mission that we are preparing to recieve a greater blessing afterwards, and if we aren't faithful during and after the mission, that we won't receive those blessings. Pretty deep stuff. He said a bunch of other awesome things, and finished the meeting reading MY mission scripture( Moroni 10:31-34), so I was pretty much sobbing at the end, I was feeling the Spirit so strong. The only disappointing thing is is that we weren't allowed to take pícs with him, but I still took one of him as evidence that I was there :). 

Well, that was my amazing week- I hope everyone has an amazing one!

Dad- Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it. have an amazing week!

mom- Sounds like things are going great! You'll have to wait for next week for the pics of everything.

Aly-Wow, NY sounds amazing. Maybe we can go and rock it there someday together. ;)

Emi- Well, I only send as much as happens, and every week'll be different. Glad you had fun with Jana. I met Aubrey with Cherene once, she's her best friend.

Scriptures of the week:
2 Nephi 2:8
2 Nephi 31:20

Luv ya all!
-- 
AEA

Elder Craig