Jam-packed

This week was pretty jam-packed. I had hoped for a little bit of peanut butter, but all we got was jam. SO, we made jam sandwiches. :)

On Wednesday last week, nothing really went as planned. We had set up a bunch of lessons to be taught, and had to have district meeting that day amid all of the craziness. A lunch with some less actives, then district meeting, which was focused on the temple, and then lessons for the rest of the day. We had a great lesson with I. about the Plan of Salvation. When he came to church, we gave him a copy of the Gospel Principles book in Spanish, and he had been reading it since then. The book begins with the premortal life, so we were able to teach him the Plan without too much hassle. We then went and had dinner with B., and ate pizza at a park. Now, about a month ago, I had this dream, that we were at a park, eating with a member, and just over behind the member was a group of fat people fighting each other with swords. When I woke up, I told my companion, and commented on how outlandish that dream was, and how it couldn't possibly ever happen. While we were eating with B., I had a very stark deja vu, and remembered that dream, for lo and behold, over behind B. was a bunch of fat people fighting each other with Nerf swords and shields. I about died. I couldn't just bust up laughing, since B. was telling us about something that had happened this week. But, once we were in the car, I died laughing. After that, we went and met with a referral named A. Her brother-in-law and niece are members, (but the bro-in-law is less-active), and she had talked to her niece about the church. When we got there and met her, the first thing she said was "You have a book for me, don't you?" So we sat down, a little surprised, and taught the Restoration. At one point, she got very emotional, and said that all she wanted was to be able to feel the love of God in her heart, and feel that joy that Christ mentions in the Bible. So we promised that she could feel that by reading and praying, and that God would tell her the truth of all things, and give her that unspeakable joy. In the closing prayer, the Spirit got very, VERY strong. I'm not sure what happened to make it peak in strength like that, but it was awesome.

Thursday, we had your average day of weekly planning. Not much happened. We went and tried to prepare to write our talks for Sunday, (since we had been asked to speak). We then met with Hna. G., and read from the BoM with her. After reading, she told us that she had been at work, and her boss told her to do something that she utterly refused to do. They argued, and Hna. G. went home crying in frustration. She said that she said a prayer, and went to sleep. She had a dream where everything was white, and she said she heard a voice saying that she should be humble, be silent, and do as her boss had told her to do. The voice then told her that He had suffered torture, humiliation, and finally on the cross, had to suffer the sadistic sneers of the Pharisees as He suffered. And He did it silently. The voice told her to be silent, and be faithful. So she went and did as she had been instructed in the dream, and everything worked out. I thought that if anyone could take something from this, it would be me, so I hurried and wrote down the dream to share in this email. We then went and visited the B.'s. Their family from Guatemala was here for the Thanksgiving week, and they are all non-members except for our members A. and A.L. We talked for a bit, and we started talking with Hna. B. about the temple and how she would be able to get there with her family, (since A. hadn't quite shown up yet). We then went home for the night.

Friday, we had MTE's. Once again, we got a zone leader coach, and this time, it was Elder H. from up in Ramona. We went out and started working by doing some contacting, and added and investigator. We then went to visit a potential investigator. When we got there, she told us that she was on her way out, (but was wearing sweats and a t-shirt, so she probably wasn't), and we started up a conversation about Alex Boye, since he was here in San Diego for a concert for Sunday. We then got onto the topic of the Restoration, taught it, and committed her and her son to reading it before we came back. After that, and for the rest of the night, we tried contacting some other members to visit, and contacted in the streets for a while.

Then, on Saturday, we ditched the zone leader, and went to lunch with the Twin Peaks Elders. Afterwards, we worked a bit more on our talks; mine being focused on the testimonies of the prophets, and Elder G.'s was on the sacrament. We then went and visited with L., our investigator. We had the Plan of Salvation lined up to teach, and when we got there, his eyes were a bit red, and he seemed really concerned. We started the lesson, and got all the way to the end, when I felt a strong prompting to ask what the matter was. I asked him, and he didn't answer for about a minute, then began to cry. He said that his brother-in-law had died on Wednesday, and he wished that he could have received the Gospel before he died. We then taught about vicarious work for the dead, and how it provides the chance to hear and accept the gospel to every being, whether living or dead. We told him that he could know that the Lord was helping his brother-in-law to receive the gospel, and that he could receive great comfort from prayer. We then went and ate dinner, and proceeded to L.'s to visit him and R., since R. is going to Mexico for two months. We got talking with L., and he finally opened up to us and told us the whole reason for why he doesn't want to go to church. He believes that the church isn't true, but that it's the best that he can find. Some very horrible things happened to him at the hands of his church leadership, and it pushed him away, and hurt his testimony. Now that we know the core of his pain, we can pray and search and work to help him soften his heart.

Sunday, we didn't have much of anything happen. We went to branch council and shared the "He is the Gift" initiative that's being released this Friday, and how the church would be using it to further the missionary work all over the world during the Christmas season. The leadership was geared down to share the video at the ward party on the 6th, and we have been given some assignments for the party. We then had church, and F. came again. We talked to him a bit, and found out that his family had come for a visit this last week, and that was why he couldn't meet with us on Saturday. We then gave our talks in Sacrament meeting. I gave some thoughts as follows. We forgot all that we knew and loved, including Heavenly Father, when the veil was placed upon us. I mentioned how painful it must have been for Heavenly Father to do that willingly to His children, and watch them forget who He was. I then mentioned how all of the prophets gained their testimonies the same way; through the Holy Ghost. They were called in visions and visitations of angels, and so forth, but that their testimonies had come through the Holy Ghost, and not through any vision or revelation. And at the end, I shared how our testimonies are merely us remembering those things that we knew before this life, and that they are revealed through the Holy Ghost. After church, we had dinner with some members, and went to visit a less-active member with the second counselor in the Presidency. We shared the Restoration, and called it a night.

Yesterday, we had three investigators drop us in a row. I. called us to tell us that he wouldn't be meeting with us on Wednesday, because he was going to Honduras to be with his father. His father is in very bad health, and it's very likely that he will die, so I. is going to Honduras for an undetermined amount of time, thus we have to drop him until he comes back. Another investigator then told us that he was moving to another state, and that he was very thankful for us having shared the gospel with him. Right after that, we found out that another investigator had moved away. I realized, after some prayer and pondering, that these people never were my investigators. They were the Lord's, and the He would take care of them no matter where they went. We then went and tried to see some potential investigators, and ended the night at a member's home.

I guess in this time of year, I'd like to say that I have marveled several times over my family. The fact that my parents have raised me and my siblings in such a way that all of us are active in the church, that we all have strong testimonies, and that we all have love one towards another, and that I can't even remember arguing with my siblings. (I mean sure, I remember fighting a bit with Ashley when I was little, but that was because she always started it. ;) ) But I've been astounded by that fact alone, that we have all been so strong in the Gospel, and that even though we didn't have the best that the world had to offer, we had the best that the Lord had to offer. And for that, I am forever grateful. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for teaching us to love the better things in life, and for teaching us to love one another. I'm glad to say that I can rise up and forever call you both blessed, for you both have truly paved the foundation for my life, and have put me on the right path. Thank you.

To my siblings, I express my thanks for the constant support that I've had from you all. Even though I made stupid teenage mistakes, none of you ever judged me, and instead, gave me shoulder to lean on, and carried me through hard times. Thank you, Ashley, Camille, Melissa, Rachel, and Matt. I love each one of you so very much.

That's about it! We have three places to eat at for Thanksgiving, so we'll be quite full indeed. Who knows? I may even gain weight. (Fat chance. HEHEH. Fat. Chance. Get it? Yeah....) I love you!

-Love, Elder Crook  

A good week

This last week was a pretty hectic one, but quite good, I must say. I've been having some stresses, and a couple of things went worse than I would have liked, but overall, it went really well!

On Tuesday night last week, we talked to J. and B. about some questions that they had about tithes and offerings. We talked a bit about those things, and we're going to explain a bit more in depth today, and taught the Gospel, and they really liked it! Tonight, we're meeting with them, and for some reason, they didn't come to church, so we'll see what happened.

Wednesday was packed with lessons. We met with L. G. and his friends for lunch, and talked a bit about the things that we do as missionaries. We then went and visited with Hna. G. and read with her in the Book of Mormon. She said that there were some people that she worked with that she was going to invite to meet with us. She's an awesome member missionary. We then met with I., and this time around, he had questions about tithes and offerings. Hmm. Same questions as J. and B. We taught about those things in depth with him, and he committed to come to church. We also gave him some good chapters in the Book of Mormon to read this week. Later that night, we went and met with L. and took Hno. L. with us to teach. We taught the Gospel, and it went so smoothly. The Spirit was present the whole time, and would fluctuate in strength throughout the lesson. Whenever Hno. L. bore testimony, the Spirit always got stronger. We committed L. to come to church with us, or to go with Hno. L. to his English ward. We haven't heard back from either of them, so we'll see who he went to church with, because he didn't come to our meeting. We then went and helped a member's son with his math homework, as he's been struggling lately.

Thursday, we did weekly planning, which went normally as always, and took up our early afternoon. In the later afternoon, we went and visited with a part-member family with the hopes of teaching the non-member husband. However, we ended up sharing a message with the wife and her kids, and after the lesson, she asked if we could give her kids a blessing. She said that they possibly had an anxiety disorder that would prevent them from doing well in school, and she was quite worried about it. So, we gave her children blessings, and asked her if she would like one as well. She nodded, and we gave her a blessing as well. The Spirit wasn't quite so present with the kids' blessings, but with hers, the Spirit was very, very strong. She thanked us for coming, and we went to our dinner appointment with the H.'s. After eating, we helped them set up some lights for a party, (which will be spoken of later), and had coordination.

The next morning, we got a call asking if we could go back to the H.'s and put the lights back up. Apparently, they'd fallen down. So, we planned that in later in the night, and went about with our day. We went to a lot of different places trying to find someone to teach, and did some street contacting. We didn't have very much success the whole afternoon, and at 6:00, we went and visited with B. We started off talking about the temple, and how he can prepare to go, and we answered some questions about the temple garment that we wear, since he'd been reading the temple pamphlet. Then he went off on a tangent, and kept talking, and talking, and talking. So we got out of there a bit late, and had to rush to Hno. H.'s, set up the lights, and rush to our dinner appointment. We ate with the N. family, and shared a message with them about faith, hope, and charity.

On Saturday, we started the day off with some service for an investigator in one of the Poway English wards. After we finished, we went to visit with F. We knocked, and his friend came to the door. He then went and knocked on F.'s door for like...5 minutes...and then came outside to knock on his window. He finally woke up and came out, (this was at 11:30), and we talked to him about the 10 commandments, and the Law of Chastity. (It's a lot easier to teach the Law of Chastity as part of the "Thou shalt not commit adultery") Later in the day, we went to visit Hno. L., talked a bit with him, helped him out with some things that needed doing, and went on our merry way. We then went and visited the H. for a little bit, (since it was Bro. H.'s father's birthday, and Sister H.'s birthday, they invited us), and ate some cake and ice cream. We shared a message with their family about Nephi building the ship.

Sunday was pretty great, because I. finally came to church! He showed up at the very end of Priesthood, but he liked it pretty great. During sacrament meeting, he kept writing down questions, and after the sacrament had been passed, he said that he liked it a lot! So we're pretty excited for that. Later that night, we went to the mission president's fireside in Spanish, and it was pretty good.

Yesterday, we had some ups, and some downs. We started the day off with a doctor's appointment for Elder G. He needed his ADHD meds refilled, so we went to visit the specialist. The specialist took him back for about 30 minutes, and I sat in the waiting room. I read some chapters in the Book of Mormon, and then sat there in boredom until Elder G. came back. We then went and did some things to get ready for our Branch FHE, (which is tonight, by the way), and then went to our first lesson. It was with some Guatemalans who we'd met before, and they invited us into their apartment for the first time. We sat down, and shared the Gospel with them, and at the end, I asked them a few questions to see what they understood about the lesson, and then I asked them about the Book of Mormon. We had previously given them a copy, but they didn't know much about what it was. I testified to them that it was a record written by their ancestors, and that it contained the fulness of the Gospel. We invited them to read it, and apply Moroni's promise. We then went to pick up H., a young adult in the branch, to go with us to a lesson. When we got to the lesson, the investigator had cancelled the appointment by not showing up to their own house. Pfft. So we went to contact a referral with our member. She was sitting outside when we got there, and after introducing ourselves, H. just took the reins and started teaching this woman all about the church. He gave tons of personal testimonies, and invited her to attend church with us. All of this happened in about 15 minutes, and it was awesome. Then, we got a call from the H., and they asked if we could come and help them move some heavy items. We went, and helped, and then they gave us some ice cream. We sat and talked with them for a bit, and then Elder G.'s watch went off, telling us that it was time to go if we wanted to get home on time. We told the H.'s that we needed to go, but they kept talking for a bit. We finally got out of there.

Today, we're going bowling down in Mira Mesa for cheap. Poway doesn't offer many cheap attractions, so we usually just play sports or travel outside of the zone to do stuff. As I mentioned before, we're having a branch FHE tonight, with the intention of strengthening the branch in their families, so that they become more converted and happy in the branch.

Other than that, there's not much that's happened! We have MTE's this Friday, so that'll be...fun. I'm kind of looking forward to it, and kind of not. But, S-O-C-K-S. It is what it is.

Have a great week this week! But don't have too much fun...

-Love, Elder Crook

Attended the temple

Today, we took the advantage of Veteran's day, and decided to go to the temple, since all of the libraries throughout San Diego would be closed. That way, we would be able to get back later and get some stuff done, and then email at the Stake Center after everyone else had already done so. After we're done, we're hoping to be able to play some volleyball.

Tuesday last week, we visited with J. and B., and taught them the Restoration. After we finished, we explained the importance of baptism to those who desire to follow Christ, and invited them to be baptized on December 6th. They accepted, and asked what the requisites were. We told them that they'd have to understand what they were doing, first of all, and then they'd have to come to church two more times. They agreed, and said that they'd be at church.

On Wednesday, we had planned on doing some finding activities like drawing the Plan of Salvation on a sidewalk at a park or something, but our plans got carried away with something that came up. (I can't quite remember what.) After that, we visited a member and read a chapter in the Book of Mormon with her, and shortly after, went to teach I. When we got there, he started with his usual questions, this time asking about the importance of the washings and annointings with the Tabernacle. We talked about how they were meant to cleanse Aaron's sons of their sins, that they might administer in the ordinances and sacrifices. Then, he talked a bit about the chapter that we left him to read from 3 Nephi 11. He really liked it, and we segwayed into teaching him the Restoration (finally). Mostly it's just been us answering his questions, but this time around, we got to teach him. He's committed to be baptized, but he wants to come to church first. Soon after that, we added a new investigator named L. He'd met with the missionaries before, but couldn't remember much of what they taught. He told us about some trials that he'd been having with him and his wife getting divorced, and we taught the Restoration based on his troubles of mind. Halfway through, he told us about some of the things that the Jehovah Witnesses believe, (since he had been meeting with them before he chose to meet with us). He said that he really didn't like what they believed, and after we finished, he said that he really liked what he had seen and heard. He actually asked us to bring a specific member with us the next time that we come. Turns out that he knows Brother L., this member that we've been working with for the last two transfers. SO, we now have a member-present lesson set up with L. tomorrow.

On Thursday, we had weekly planning. That went without any hindrances, and we had some appointments fall through. We then went and ate with our member B., who is striving to be ready to go to the temple with his girlfriend in Tijuana. We went to El Pollo Loco, and got some food there. As we sat and ate, he told us all of these stories about him being a chauffeur driver, a miner, and a bunch of other jobs that he'd had in his life. At the end, we gave him the "Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple" pamphlet, and talked about what he could start doing to prepare himself to go. He said that he'd read the pamphlet and that we'd talk about it the next time that we met with him. We then went to coordination with Brother H. and the Sisters.

For Friday, I had something pretty crazy happen. I was sitting there studying for what I would teach for District Meeting, and for some reason, three topics kept coming to mind; how to recognize the Spirit, extending commitments, and baptism/confirmation. I wasn't quite sure why, so I settled for going into depth on the recognizing the spirit, and just leave the other two for the end. We then went to DLC, or District Leader Council, and talked a bit about what President S. had shared with the zone leaders. Three things were mentioned; recognizing the spirit, extending commitments, and baptism/confirmation invitations. I was pretty dumbfounded by the fact that I'd studied for the exact three things that President had shared. I shared those things with the district in district meeting, and it was a very spiritual meeting. After that, we then went to try and visit some potential investigators that weren't home. We then decided to go to our dinner appointment with the B. family. We met with them, ate some food, talked a bit, and then they mentioned that their son was struggling with math in school, so I offered to help him out with his math homework. They happily agreed. Afterwards, we visited Hno. L., and told him about the investigator that wanted him to come with us to a lesson. He was pretty surprised, but happily agreed.

Saturday was rough, starting with F. cancelling his appointment with us. We've invited him to be baptized, he says he'll want to get baptized, but doesn't want to pick a specific day. After that, all of our appointments kept falling through. We helped Hno. L. to move some stuff out of his house for his yard sale, and that was pretty much the big event of the day. We wanted to visit the H's, but they were out of town. Luckily, their parents were taking care of their kids, so we went and shared a scripture with them and the kids.

On Sunday, almost nobody was at church. For some reason, a ton of the members weren't there, not to mention the fact that our four investigators that had committed to come to church, didn't come. Then, at 7:00, after wracking our brains for something to do, we visited Hno. N. and his family. They hit it off really well with Elder G., and he and Hno. N. dominated the conversation, so I just sat there. After that, we just came home.

Yesterday, we had zone meeting. We went over some little things, and when we got to accountability, once again, the zone leaders and a few other missionaries decided for the rest of the zone that our new investigator goal should be wonderfully high. I sat and fumed for a bit, since my comments kept getting shut down. I finally gave up and just sat and let things go. After that, I got asked to teach a bit about Christ-like charity. The other district leaders were assigned other topics to teach about, all related to charity. I shared the parable of the Good Samaritan, and gave some personal insights as to why this Samaritan, who should have been an enemy to the wounded Jew, was instead his friend and savior. I based what I taught on understanding who other people really are, and not as we understand it with our blood-relations. Rather, we should look at others with the understanding that we loved them before this life with an eternal, or pure, love, and that we were and are family. After that, all of our appointments fell through, and we weren't able to visit with hardly anyone. We finished the night off with helping the B's son with his homework. I think that he has ADD, because he had a really hard time focusing. BUT, he got the math at the end, so that was good.

And today, we went to the temple and out of the blue, they showed the really old movie. Like, the one that I saw when I first received my endowments. It was pretty nostalgic. I didn't think I would ever see that one again.

Other than that, not much has happened this week! I hope you all have a great week!

-Love, Elder Crook

Training a new missionary companion

Y'know, I was expecting President S. to make some sort of announcement regarding elections and how missionaries could participate. I mean, we're still citizens, and I figure that we should take part in the political functions of our country, since our freedoms are being affected. But, it looks like we won't be doing much as far as electing anyone anywhere.

My trainee's name is Elder T. G., and he's from Mapleton, Utah. He has some pretty good Spanish for only being in the mission field for a week, and he's a pretty funny guy. I've been feeling a lot more relaxed with Elder G., and we've been able to crack some jokes that I couldn't crack last transfer because of a lack of laughter. Srsly. There wasn't much sense of humor last transfer or the one before that, so I felt pretty restrained. Nowadays, we've been working really hard in our area, getting Elder G. used to the area. We've been meeting with investigators, members, and less-actives, and he's been getting used to what we do as missionaries. He's still in the English missionary mindset, so I've been trying to show how some things work with English people and some things don't, and vice versa with Spanish speakers. We have a Spanish missionary serving in English for our new zone leader. We're still struggling with the dinner appointments.

On Wednesday, we got Elder G.'s stuff into the apartment, and started our day with some lessons. We went and met with I., and talked a bit about the Bible. He asked about the law of circumcision and why the Lord would command Abraham to do that. After we explained it a bit, he asked why God would command Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. We explained a bit about sacrificing our desires for what the Lord wants, and he asked how he, personally, could make a sacrifice for the Lord. We talked a bit about how God has asked us to fulfill certain commandments, and we talked about baptism again. Tomorrow, Elder G.'s going to be extending the baptismal invitation to I. We then went and met with Hna. G., a member in Mira Mesa. We read a bit from the Book of Mormon, and she told us about how on Wednesday the week before, she had had this horrible pain in her head, and that it wouldn't go away. Her sister came over and gave her some pain pills, and the pain went away. However, she was still pretty shaken up from it, so we asked if we could come back the next day and give her a blessing, as we were tight on time. She said yes, and we went on our way to our dinner appointment. We went and ate with a younger member, J., that has some doubts about the church and the gospel. He pointedly used a scripture about polygamy in D&C, and asked why God would tell Joseph to reveal that. I had been studying this a bit, and the spirit guided my words. I feel that he got the message, and that it satisfied a little bit of the doubt that he had.

Thursday, I introduced Elder G. to Weekly Planning, and we went over all of our members, less-actives, and investigators that we meet with, and got him a little more familiarized with the area. We've been speaking quite a bit of Spanish to help him, (and myself), to speak better. We started our proselyting day with some contacting, talked to a few people, then we went and gave Hna. G. a blessing. After that, we went and helped a member to get ready to move, since they had to be out by Saturday. We then went and helped out a bit, she gave us dinner, and we then went to coordination meeting with Hno. H. I don't know what was up, but he was on one. He was cracking all of these jokes, and the meeting didn't stay very focused. But, he toned down a bit towards the end, and we finished the meeting on a good note.

Friday, we had District Meeting, and I got a very strong push from the Lord to talk about families and what strengthens them. Seriously, it was really surprising how strongly the impressions and thoughts came. So, after getting it all ready, we went and got the room at the church all ready, (since it was Halloween), and we decorated a bit using the webbing and stuff that you sent. I had this mechanical mouse that squeaks when something walks past it, and we set it up strategically to go off when the sisters walked up the stairs to the room we were in. We scared them both pretty good, and even scared the other district that was there. I felt pretty smug about that. :3 We then set a plan to help the branch to get stronger as families, and have set up a branch FHE for the 18 of November. We then went and tried to find some investigators, and contacted for a bit, and then we returned to the apartment for the night. We got all dressed up in our costumes, expecting to have a lot of kids knocking on our door for candy. Any guesses on how many came to our door? Only 3. That was it. And they came together, so we only opened the door once the whole night. Now we have this huge pile of candy to deal with, which I am not going to eat. We finished our huge study assignment pretty quick, listened to a talk, and went to bed a bit early.

For Saturday, we started the day off with some final service helping out Hna. W. to move out of her old apartment into the new one. When we arrived, there were several other people helping, including the branch president, his wife, the second counselor's wife, and some friends of Hna. W. Around an hour later, it was just us Elders and the second counselor's wife, so we ended up doing a ton of the heavy lifting all on our own. I must say, I sometimes surprise myself by how much I can lift in relation to my skinny body. I may be thin, but I can still pick heavy stuff up. The key is to lift with your back, not your legs. (Just kidding, Mom. ;) ) We then went and helped out for a few hours at the Old Poway Park with setting up for a wedding. We set up the tables, chairs, and decorations, and had this lady who just couldn't be pleased with how things were, so we changed things around several times. Ugh. Women and weddings just don't go together sometimes. After that, we had dinner with the H's, and I think that it was an inspired dinner, because they got into this mood where they kept talking about how much the Elders have influenced their lives and the lives of others. It was good for Elder G. to hear that. After that, we tried to visit a family that we had an appointment with, but they couldn't meet with us that night, so we turned into pumpkins for the night.

Sunday rolled around, and my compy had his first day of church on the mission. He enjoyed it pretty well. F. came, and he had a white shirt and tie. We had really good classes, with Gospel Principles talking about temple work and family history. Then, in Priesthood, we talked about the topic of "Come, Follow Me", and managed to touch on several good points that I think F. liked. In Sacrament Meeting, we had the testimony meeting, and several members got up and bore their testimonies. At the very end, the second counselor in the presidency got up, and bore his testimony of the reality of eternal families, and told us that he had been with his brother in the hospital this last week just before he died. (That was why he wasn't helping us with the service, but his wife was.) He invited the spirit really strongly, and a lot of the women in the branch were pretty weepy by the end of his testimony. There was a Break the Fast after church, and we had some tacos. We then went and tried to visit some people, and finally met with the B. family. They gave us PB & J sandwiches, and we talked for a bit about helping their son with his homework. After that, we went and visited a member that goes to a Dialysis unit every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday. His car is broken down, so he's been relying on the members of the branch. We're hoping that as the members help him, that they'll get that desire to serve more.

And finally, yesterday, we spent the day trying to get a lot of things done, but we ended up getting pulled back a bit by some circumstances. We went and contacted in some apartments, and found a woman which, once we'd talked about temples, agreed to have us come by again to talk to her. Around 6:00, Elder G. had to use the bathroom, so we went to McDonald's since that was the closest thing we could find. We ran into our investigator F. at the exact moment that he was taking his one and only 30 minute break for the day. It was really miraculous that we found him right then. We talked a bit, shared a scripture, and let him get back to work. Later that night, we went and visited the B's. They gave us a drink that we're a little suspicious about. It may or may not have been tea, so we're praying that it wasn't. We talked a bit, but this time around, the conversation didn't revolve around the temple. I tried to pull an inception, and tried to get the conversation there, but it seemed that they needed to let some things off of their shoulders for a bit, so we let them talk to us about some other topics.

And that's the week! We had some pretty amazing miracles this week, and are looking forward to more.

Talk to you next week!

-Love, Elder Crook

Staying in Poway

Originally, I had expected to be transferred out of Poway because I had more time on the mission, and figured that Elder M. would take over the area. On the flipside, Elder M. is getting transferred, and I'm training my new companion. This'll be a big change for the area, and I'm kinda hoping that I get a native Spanish-speaking companion. That would help things out a bunch. BUT, if I get a companion that can't speak very well, I'll help him out the most that I can.

 

Well. I'm having a little bit of a hard time remembering what happened last week because I have a new planner in my pocket, so bear with me as I try to remember the events of last week.

 

On Wednesday, we helped Elder N. and Elder B. out with their shopping, as they had been in the hospital for all of Monday and Tuesday because of medical complications. We helped them out for a few hours, and then went to an appointment with I. We started talking for a bit, and he started asking us questions about the apostasy mentioned in the scriptures, the reason for burnt offerings and sacrifices in the gospel, and several other questions about the Book of Mormon. He apologized to us for his many questions, and explained that he likes to "study" the scriptures, not just "read" them, because he said that he'd forget what he read if all he did was "read". We then went and finished off the night with some visits with members.

 

Thursday, we helped the Twin Peaks elders and their members to set up for the Trunk-or-Treat on Friday. We ended up doing that for the majority of the afternoon, as it was a lot of work to get everything set up. The theme for the activity was "Pirates", so we were hauling all of these decorations and things over to the Church to get things ready. We had a big pile of netting, wooden pallets, palm tree stumps, signs, fencing, bamboo stalks over 18 feet long, 12 foot wooden stakes to hold up slats and stuff, and a bunch of other things. After that, we went and tried to visit some potential investigators, and finished off the night with a visit to some members again.

 

For Friday, we had district meeting, and I had the impression to talk about the importance of the Book of Mormon in the conversion of our investigators, as well as our members, and that if we were to help our members to more faithfully read the Book of Mormon, that their testimonies would be strengthened, and they would have a greater desire to serve selflessly. After that, we had a district lunch with the Twin Peaks district (minus the zone leaders because they left), and got started on getting all of the decorations set up for the Trunk-or-Treat. After getting everything set up, we went and got ready for the activity. I dressed up as a pirate, using items found at the 99 cent store just down the road. The whole costume cost less than $10. Fancy that, eh? I had hoped to get a picture of the decorations that we'd set up, but alas, I didn't have time to get it done because I was assigned to help with the games. Oh well. We had dinner, which was a serve-yourself taco thing, and then we did the Trunk-or-Treat. After the kids had gone around to all of the cars, we opened what was called "Pirate's Cove", and the kids came flooding in. My big beard and the angry eyebrows scared a few of the younger kids, so I guess I did pretty well with my costume.

 

 

 

Saturday, we spent a good amount of time trying to contact in the streets, and find some new investigators. We got a text from the Penasquitos Zone Leaders that had a number, and they told us to call it. So we called, and the people on the other end agreed to meet with us that morning. That's weird, because most of the phone call contacts that happen in the mission don't go through. So we went and met with J. and B., an older couple from Mexico. Right off the bat, J. asked us if we believed in God. "Yes. And we believe in Christ as the Savior of the world." After that, they were perfectly fine with listening to us. We talked a bit about the basic beliefs of the Church, and gave them a Book of Mormon. After explaining that the Book of Mormon supports the Bible and strengthens our faith in Christ, they snatched it off the table and started flipping through the pages. I'll admit, I was pretty surprised. They accepted it so readily. Then they committed to come to Church with us. Again, I was surprised. We said a prayer, and they thanked us profoundly for coming. After that, we met with F., and had a great lesson on the Word of Wisdom. Once we explained the commandment and the blessing that the Lord gave, he was able and ready to make the commitment to live it. Later that night, we had a lesson with another younger couple, G. and E. Their problem was that they couldn't believe in a modern-day prophet, nor could they believe that there was anything other than the Bible. They adamantly stated that they wouldn't change their beliefs, so we took the tactic of saying, "Can we explain to you why we believe the things we do?", and they then opened up to us and listened. They didn't want to read the Book of Mormon, but they accepted a return appointment.

 

Sunday, we went to church, and right before Gospel Principles started, J. and B. walked in. Once again, surprised was I. We took them to the class, and it was on the law of chastity. F. walked in a bit late, and sat with a member-friend of his. We talked about the key role that the family has in the Plan of Salvation, the importance of parents, and so forth. They both made great comments, and were very engaged in the lesson. During Priesthood/Relief Society, they once again were making very good comments about what was being taught, and gave good insights. For sacrament meeting, Elder M. went and sat with F. while I sat with J. and B. The talks were based on "How to Gain a Testimony", and I felt that the meeting was specifically for J. and B. They sat and listened intently, and when the meeting was done, B. shook my hand and said that she would love to be baptized into such a church as ours. For the ump-teenth time, I just about fell over, I was so surprised. After that, we didn't see anyone the rest of the day, but we sure were feeling good.

 

Yesterday, we helped Elder B. out as Elder N. was at departure activities. Apparently they were visited by President S., and Elder N. was told that he would have to go home because of his diabetes, (which was the reason for them being in the hospital on Monday and Tuesday). So, Elder B. rolled with us for a little while, and we ended up going with him to eat dinner with one of their members, and after that, we visited a member family for him. We then went and picked up Elder N. from the mission home, and when we got back to the apartment, he got packing.

 

This morning, we got up and got ready early to take Elder N. to the airport. After dropping him off, we moseyed around for a bit until we got the transfer calls. So Elder B. is getting transferred, and Elder M. is getting transferred, so I'll be the only one staying behind. Oh goodie.

 

OH, and in answer to one of Dad's questions, I do prefer standard transmission over automatic. I like having the extra control. And in answer to Melissa's question, we mostly just update our Mormon.org profiles or browse lds.org for good talks that we can download and listen to. We don't do much, but it's a good time to sit and relax for a bit. Odds are I won't have much time this week to relax because I'll be trying to get things going with my new companion. And in answer to Mom's question about Halloween, we have to be inside our apartments at 6:00 pm, and we'll probably get an assignment to study something or watch something from the District. The reasoning behind having us in early is to protect us from masked vigilantes that want to break the law while wearing masks, or to prevent us from being confused as people dressing up as missionaries...instead of us being real missionaries. SO, we get to stay in on Friday night.

 

Not much else to report! Thanks for the package, and thank you for your letters. They've brought me a lot of peace and comfort. And I hope you all have a happy Halloween!

 

-Love, Elder Crook