It's Time for a Picnic!!

What a week. Craziness. That's all I can say. And I know that I say
that every week, but it kinda holds true every week.

First of all we had the branch picnic this week! It was awesome!! So
many people came! And some actually brought friends! I like friends.
Missionaries like friends. But there were so many people and they all
were in the best of moods. All the kids were playing out on the
baseball field, and I couldn't resist myself. I had to go out and
throw a ball around with them. They wore me out. We had food and face
painting. Veronica was our face painting specialist, and she did a
marvelous job  It was even funnier that Alberto, the Rico father,
got more into it than anyone hahaha. The Ricos even brought a friend!
Actually, a family of friends. The mom's name is Ana and she has two
adorable kids named Bianca and Anthony. She is super excited to come
to church (and she did come to church yesterday) and learn about the
gospel. We will be going to see her on Thursday. Our elders quorum
president, Mike, likes football. We have differing opinions on who is
the best (although clearly it is Alabama). But with the help of
another member, we painted a red and white football on his face. ROLL
TIDE. Altogether, the picnic was an amazing success!

Bonnie's baptism has been postponed a few weeks. We still need to get
a good grasp on the Word of Wisdom, but I am confident it will happen.
It will! She has such a desire to follow Christ. She was incredibly
happy and involved at church yesterday, and with that much happiness,
there is absolutely no way she won't accept the gospel.

Sister Stucki, my trainer and companion of six months, is flying home
tomorrow! It is so hard to believe she is already going home! But she
has served a wonderful mission and has worked many miracles. I know
she will continue to do so as she goes home and serves the Lord from
there.

Lesson-wise, I think I can sum up the week in two different lessons.

1. We taught Nadia. Eventually, when she arrives at Starbucks where we
were meeting, she goes to get a snack, and while she was in there
Conrado told us she wasn't interested in joining the church and hadn't
read the Book of Mormon the past week like we committed her to. When
she came back out we chatted for a little bit, and then I asked her if
she had read the Book of Mormon at all. After about ten minutes of
excuses and us invalidating her excuses, I looked her staging on the
eye and said, "Nadia, do you love Heavenly Father? Do you want to
learn about Christ? Do you want a forever family? Well, all the
answers and everything you could think of is in your hand as evidence
and you refuse to read it." Even that didn't seem to sink in, so I
turned to Sister Clarke, we made sure we were on the same page, and
then she testified about the Book of Mormon, and then I told Nadia
that until she truly wanted to learn and read the Book of Mormon, we
couldn't help her. I told her to read and contact us when she needed
help or when she wanted to learn again. Then we got up and left. The
spirit had been telling us to do it, but we were not sure if it was
for the purpose of bluffing or sincerely dropping Nadia. Later, she
texted us and said she had read the first chapter from the picture
Book of Mormon and would read the next chapter the next day.
Throughout the week we got several texts talking about the different
things she had learned from her reading. So, I am not sure what
exactly is happening, but she is reading the Book of Mormon now! It
just took a very intense lesson to get her to do so. And I am so
grateful for the Spirit convincing her to follow through with it.

2. Ana and Maria (yep! The same Maria that I love so much from when I
was in the south area!) were in a room at church on Sunday and they
asked Sister Stucki to come and help. At one point Sister Stucki pops
her head out the door and I see her and ask if she needed help
understanding Maria's signing (it is pretty hard to understand) and
she said yes, so we both went in there. They had been upset over
something that had happened with one of their friends. After Sister
Stucki and I figured out everything going on, I turn to her and asked
if she wanted to teach a lesson (we each had an investigator in the
room) and she agreed. Sister Stucki and Crawford! Back together like
old times! We still got it! We taught about focusing on God, even when
other hard things are trying to pull their attention away. Sister
Stucki shared the scripture about praying always, so we discussed
about prayer and scripture study. I told to Ana how important it was
to pray and to just  express what she wanted and needed to God.
Then...pause for effect... Maria cuts in and says, "Ana, do you know
how to pray? No? Ok, here's how you do it." And she goes on for a few
minutes explaining prayer and how you start, how you express anything,
she gave some real life applications for Ana, and told her how to end.
We could not have taught it better. We had a couple of tears coming
down. But, that is not even the best part. She goes on to testify to
Ana about how much the gospel and the missionaries have changed her
life. She testified about how the missionaries have come over about
twice a week, every week for almost a year to teach her and her
family, and how she and her family have improved so much, even when
she could not remember things at first, but that she slowly started
learning and remembering, and that she couldn't believe it had been
one year. She went on and on. Sister Stucki and I were opening crying
at this point. At the end of the lesson, we asked to have a kneeling
prayer and asked Maria to say it. She looked at me and pleadingly
asked (like she used to do when she was still learning), "Crawford,
will you help me?" I responded, "No, Maria. You know how." She
accepted, closed her eyes, and bowed her head. She then proceeded to
give one of the most humble communications with God I have seen thus
far on my mission. I have seen some pretty good prayers, but this was
a literal conversation with her Father in Heaven. If I haven't done
anything else right on my mission, I could go home successful, because
I had the opportunity to be one of the hands who brought Maria to
Christ. She has yet to have entered the waters of baptism, but after
that lesson, I have a solid hope that she will.

Have a great week, all! Take advantage of every opportunity to share
the gospel, for they are gifts from the Lord. I love you all!

Sister Smyly Crawford

The Book Of Mormon is True!

This week was a great week! I loved it!

Bonnie and Peggie were out of town this week so we weren't able to go and teach Bonnie, but they are back now! And we are down to a week before the baptism this Sunday! Yayyy!!! So proud of Bonnie! She is so great. We will be meeting with her quite a few times this week to get her all prepared for her baptism.

We were given a referral for a woman named Julia. We went to contact it, and no one answered the door... Darn, ok. So we turn around, and as we do so, a family walks up to us and they are all deaf! What?? Apparently no one named Julia lives there... But we found a deaf family! Now we have to find a non-awkward way to go back and pick them up as investigators.

We had a great lesson with Nadia. She was SUPER focused. Wow. And we cracked down and committed her to read the Book of Mormon, no excuses. A lot of our lessons the past two weeks have been focused on the Book of Mormon.

On that note, we had Zone Conference this week. It was the best one yet!!! It was all about the Book of Mormon! It was awesome. We were given a hard cover Book of Mormon and were challenged to read four pages every day (to finish by Christmas). BUT we are supposed to mark in different colors: references to Jesus Christ's names, His attributes, His words, and principles in the missionary purpose. I'm so excited! I have heard of this challenge before, and I have always wanted to do it, so here we go! :)

I got to go see Eileen again! She is so cute. The nurse asked if I would feed her, so I did. I have never spoonfed an elderly person before, so there is always a first for everything! She was awesome. We will bring Sister Thexton from the branch this week to see her.

I hope you all had a great week too! And keep the great weeks coming! :)

Sister Crawford

Quiet Week

August 10, 2015

Hey everyone!

Not too much happened this week that is out of the norm.

Bonnie is still on track for baptism! Yay! She is doing very good at
remembering and understanding the things we teach her. She is doing
fantastic at keeping commitments. And she is super excited to be
baptized! Yay!

We picked up a cute new investigator named Brenda. She is very busy
with work, so it will be hard to set up time to teach her. But she is
super sweet and willing to listen to our message. We will be praying
for her to receive and increase her desire to seek for the truth.

Not much else is happening! I pray for every one of you every night to
be able to take advantage of the missionary opportunities that come
your way. I know Heavenly Father will bless you for trying your best!

Love you all!
Sister Smyly Crawford

P.S. Mom here again, she also sent a quick email with this....Love it!   "I'll have you know....I am trying to teach myself to play the organ. It is doable. It's just different. I do need someone to explain what all the gadgets do. "

Crazy really is the only word to describe it :)

Where to begin, where to begin... The work here is kinda crazy at get moment. Things flip flop all the time, and I am trying to keep up with it all! Haha

On Thursday Sister Clarke and I had the opportunity to go and interpret for a funeral. We interpreted for a woman named Jade, who's stepmother died. She was very grateful for our service and we are happy to be able to help. Her home teacher drove her to the funeral and he was quite possibly the happiest part of my week. He is a sweet 82 year old man. He flew planes when he was in the Air Force, and loved it. The funniest part, though, was when he randomly looked down at his watch, his face dropped and said, "I think today is my 60th wedding anniversary." Hahaha, oh that poor man. He was so funny.

Bonnie is doing amazing! :) We went over last Monday for FHE with them, and she had memorized all the components of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! She did soooo good! And when we taught about the Plan of Salvation, we had her copy her own outline of the Plan onto a piece of paper so she can remember, and boy was she in tune that day. Often, because of her autism, she has a hard time understanding everything, but she was very in tune with the spirit that day, so she was very teachable. We set her up on a baptismal date for August 23rd. I can't wait! What a wonderful spirit.

Peggie, Bonnie's mother, is doing awesome too. I just love her so much. She loves coming to church and feeling the spirit. She loves the teachings of the church, although she has concerns about Joseph Smith. We know that through our example, and through Bonnie's example, she will be converted in her own, and God's own, time.

We finally were able to contact Nancy again! Yay! Because of some family members, we were not allowed to see her, but because of some recent events, we have been allowed to is it with her. She is still not allowed to come to church, but still reads the Book of Mormon. She promised me that although she is going on vacation for a few weeks, she will continue reading and praying.

Ashley is doing well. She had quite an experience last week which influenced a strong feeling in her, and she was not quite sure what it was until we came over and we explained to her that that feeling she had was the Holy Ghost. I have never seen a lightbulb go off in such a magnificent way. The understanding that filled her eyes showed at least a small conversion. She finally understands how the Holy Ghost works and how it protects her in her life. She was glowing all through the rest of the lesson. She has still lost a lot of motivation for baptism and coming to church, but we are confident this experience of understanding will help her gain a testimony further.

Nadia, oh, Nadia. She's a hoot. I love her. We are now able to have more focused lessons with her now that it is not all together with the elders and Conrado. She is very interesting investigator. She asks very random, yet insightful questions. We taught her two lessons about the Holy Ghost now and she has been very interested how it applies to her life. At the end of the most recent lesson, she asked about temples, so this week we will be teaching her about temples. She wants to have her children with her forever. I know this lesson is going to be interesting for sure.

Other investigators are doing well, but these are just the investigators who are progressing right now. I have really come to know, especially working in this north area, that I can only do so much in aiding in the conversion of others. At times I become very frustrated with decisions made and desires that are lacking. Sometimes, I even wish to deny all agency and put them at the edge of the font and push. But it has been a real teaching experience for me about the plan Heavenly Father has for each of His children. This is His work, not ours. This is His timing, not ours. He knows His children the best, and He knows what nourishment in the gospel they need before entering into the important covenant of baptism with Him. As I continue to trust Him and have faith in His divine plan, I know I will have the wonderful opportunity to become a spectator and participator in His magnificent work.

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go with the branch to an ASL session in the temple. Words cannot describe how amazing it is to see the people you love most doing their Father's work in the temple. And the ASL session was amazing too. Heavenly Father truly does love all His children, no matter what conditions of life they are in. As I sat there marveling how even these people are able to do His work, Heavenly Father helped me feel even greater love for those I serve. I am everyday grateful for the opportunity to serve my mission amongst Heavenly Father's most beloved children.

I love you all, and pray every night for Heavenly Father to present you with opportunities to do your own missionary work. I pray that you will all take advantage of these opportunities presented to you, and be able to be a part of this work.

Love,

Sister Smyly Crawford

 

Sister Crawford and Veronica

 

Crazy Week!

It has been a week of crazy!

Unfortunately in the work it has turned down a little. We had so many people ready for baptism, but they all have fallen off the face of the Earth, or have become less interested in baptism. Keesha has dropped us, and we cannot contact her. Rosalia is so busy with her job at LAX that we can't keep in contact with her. Ashley is not so keen on baptism at the moment, BUT she loves coming to church. So we will keep working on that. Bonnie is doing great. She is so cute. And her mom, Peggie, has decided, although so doesn't want baptism for the time being, she wants to keep coming to church. So hopefully we will be able to get Ashley and Peggie to gain a testimony through church attendance.

Besides that, we have been working really hard this week. Without these investigators, we need to find some more people to teach! So we have been searching left and right. In the ASL program, it is not efficient at all to just tract. You don't find many deaf people going door to door. However, we have a few maps with people's names all over it. We don't have their addresses, but we have a general area. So we decided to find that area, and tract it. We had such a miracle day on Tuesday when we did this. There was not one person we tried that we did not have success with. Whether we contacted the person themselves or the neighbors, we found so many new potential investigators. I am so excited to contact them.

I don't have too much else to say... My trainee is doing awesome! Love her so much! :)

Have a great week! :)

Sister Smyly Crawford

War Zones, Rest Homes, and Dedications

I seriously cannot get over how awesome my trainee is. She is so adorable and fun. We had a project this week in which we had to cross reference three area maps (keep in mind we cover two and a half missions in the north area) so we had to figure out several investigators/members/less actives. The entire time Clarke would get very excited and be like, "We can contact that person! And this person! And them! And her! Oh! And them too!" We area going to be working our tails off, and that is going to be good :)

Happy 4th of July!!!! I wish I could have been at the farm celebrating, but even more, I bet you all wish you were here celebrating with us. We went over to the Shields' home (Sister Shields is our hearing Relief Society president). Wow. Talk about a party. Their ENTIRE neighborhood celebrated. Each house had a party going on and fireworks going and BBQs and sound systems and family and friends from everywhere. All the parties added up to one huge parties as people roamed from one party to another. This is a yearly thing!!! And I think the most interesting part was as we were walking back to our car (which was several blocks away due to NO parking), there would be fireworks going off around us on the left, right, forward, back, and above. It was like walking through a war zone. It was so pretty! :) Also, a huge tree caught on fire down the street from us and it was completely burned to the ground in under five minutes. Gotta love the California drought!

Bragging time again: Like I said, we have not had a single lesson go wrong or even fine since Clarke got here. She just brings this aura of success! We had so many awesome lessons this week with different people. One of my favorites was with Monica. If you remember, Monica is a recent convert. She is so awesome. She and her sister, Annette, who is also a recent convert, moved up to Pomona this week to their own apartment. She requested that we and the elders come up and dedicate their apartment. We went up there and dedicated it and were able to have a really good lesson with them. I had never been a part of a dedication besides a couple of temple dedications, so it was really cool to do that. It really helps me understand more how the priesthood is an integral part of our lives.

We also had a sweet experience with an older member of our branch. She was very active until she became too old to leave her bed. It had seemed everyone lost where she was because she had moved to a resting home. We were able to find her address last Sunday and went to visit her on the 4th. She cannot communicate very well, as she is limited in her movement. However, our encounter with her was so amazing. She seemed to light up as we promised to go back to visit with Sister Thexton. I had gotten on my knees next to her bed to help her with her blanket and as I touched her hand, she flexed in a way of trying to communicate. I put my hand in hers and with whatever strength she had, she squeezed my hand. That was when I almost started crying. As we were leaving we signed and said to her "We love you!!" She hadn't been able to even lift her hands enough before then to move her blanket, but in that moment, she lifted her arms and signed "I love you" back with both hands. We are going back to visit her every week now. She deserves it.

I hope you all had as good of or better week than I did! You all deserve it too!

Sister Crawford

My Trainee has been Born!

Hello hello hello! GUESS WHAT. My baby is here! She is so cute!!! She arrived yesterday morning! I am so excited to have this opportunity to train here. I can already tell she is going to be amazing and be the change this branch needs.  (Mom here: She has a new Trainee, Sister Clarke....that's what she is talking about.  Silly girl)

  Sister Clarke with the Mission President and Wife.

I want to take a moment and brag on my investigators.

Ashley. What a girl. We met up with her last week, and instead of chatting for a half hour, she said, "How are you two?.... Good, ok. I have some questions about what you believe in." Hahaha! Yes! She just wanted to know about the gospel! A few months ago, she didn't want to talk about Christ at all! So we explained to her that we have five lessons we teach people and asked her if she wanted to take these lessons. She readily agreed. We asked if she wanted to start then, and she replied, "Yeah!" So we taught her the lesson about the Restoration. She had no concerns, no questions. When we brought up the Book of Mormon, she said, "Oh yeah! I have that. I'll start reading it." So she committed herself to reading the Book of Mormon. And then she committed herself to pray about it. When we were walki back to her house, she turns to us and said, "I want to be baptized. And I want to be baptized in your church. I need to think about it more, but I am pretty sure. It feels right."

She texted us this week and said,

"Hey!!! I want to come to church this Sunday! Please?"

Us, "Of course! How is everything going?.... Have you been reading the Book of Mormon?"

Ashley, "Well, that's why I want to go to church, so I can get another one!"

We accept.  And then she came to church on Sunday and was so interested in the lessons. She is still deciding to be baptized, but she feels it is right. Yay! So we will keep teaching her. I love watching the spirit work on her. You can just see the brain working and her figuring out how it all fits together and the truth of it all. It is amazing to watch. It really builds my testimony that we as missionaries are only the deliverers of the truth. The spirit is the teacher of the truth.

And now I will brag on Keesha. Oh my goodness. Our lesson with her last week was one of the best lessons I have ever been involved in, only to be topped by this week's lesson with her. She, like Ashley, is so much fun to watch as the spirit works. She is very much like me in that she depends on what makes sense and what is logical, rather on her feelings. So as we taught her the first lesson (the Restoration), she completely understood everything. It was awesome because she is so educated. This way, we are able to explain things more to her. We went into the background of what was happening in Jerusalem at the time of Lehi and everything! I promise, it really was helpful. At the end of the lesson, we asked if she would pray about the things we taught her, and when she agreed and we promised her the Holy Ghost would answer her prayers. She then got a sad look on her face and said, "But I can't have the Holy Ghost because I haven't yet been baptized..." She had learned at church that week about receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost after baptism, so she didn't think the Holy Ghost could answer her because she hadn't yet received the gift of the Holy Ghost. So we had to teach her the difference of feeling the Holy Ghost and having the gift of the Holy Ghost. She is so educated! So awesome! And in the closing prayer, she went ahead and asked about the truth of the things we taught her. She is so awesome! And I thought that was going to be the best lesson ever.

The second lesson we had with Keesha was even better. We taught her about the Plan of Salvation. This time around, Keesha was a little different. She was a lot more reverent (she is always reverent, but she had more of a peace around her). We taught the entire lesson through with no questions from her, and when we got to the end we asked, "Keesha, we keep asking if you have any questions, but you say you don't. Are you sure?" She responded by saying, "You know, I should have questions, but I don't." She was very quiet and seemed to be pondering something very deeply in her mind. We looked at her and asked, "How are you feeling right now?" She looked up at us, and I have never, never seen someone with more of a glow about them. She smiled from ear to ear and said, "I just feel so good. I feel happy. I have never felt his way before. You should have seen me before; I would be sad, depressed, etc. But now, I am happy. If I don't go to church, if I don't pray, if I don't read the scriptures, I have a bad day, I don't feel good, and I am sad. I just really love my Heavenly Father." Her closing prayer was almost completely a prayer of gratitude. She absolutely glowed with the spirit and the majority of her prayer was telling her Heavenly Father how much she loved Him.

I love teaching people who have such a personal desire to know the will of God, to know the truth. It is so different from most of my time in the first six months of my mission where most of what I did was maintenance work, trying to keep less actives going on the basics (church, prayer, and scriptures) but having them be stubborn and needy. Now, as long as I have faith, I know that the Lord will put people who have been prepared in my path, that I may be an effective tool in His hands.

I love being a missionary. I love being a servant of the Lord. I love being a part of His work and being the means by which others can come to know Him. I am truly humbled by this opportunity, and it brings me to my knees everyday in gratitude for the Lord trusting me enough with His beloved children.

I love you all!

Sister Crawford _\,,/