August 31, 2015

El Camino a la Perfeccion

Buenos Dias!

It was a great week.  It is starting to heat up outside and I am loving being able to use short sleeve shirts again! I feel like people are nicer when the weather is better so hopefully we can get some miracles happening.

Well Elder Avila has started to have some knee problems.  We don’t really know what it is but we have had to go back to the pension so he could rest it at times.  I am hoping he gets feeling better because it can be tough to keep the enthusiasm for the work going if you can’t work the hardest you can.  Hopefully it all works out.  But if you could include him in your prayers from time to time that would be awesome because we need to get working! 

On Friday, we had an audition for a mission choir that we are going to have in December.  They are only going to accept 20 so I am not keeping my hopes up but I gave it a shot! haha but we got to take metro to Quillota so it was cool to at least visit some other parts of the mission! 

So Elder Avila has been helping me a lot to keep improving.  I feel like I have come to a plateau a little bit and I have gotten used to a certain way of teaching and contacting.  He has helped me realize the need to keep improving and always look new ways to teach and progress as a teacher and as a missionary.

Well the truth is that since Humberto we have had a tough time finding investigators that progress.  I am trying to be more obedient and show my faith more by the things I do.  I love what I read the other day in the Book of Mormon in 2 Nephi 26: 27-28.  The Lord commands ALL PEOPLE to come unto him.  I know that as a missionary God has given me the commandment to open my mouth with everyone I see and meet.  God loves every one of us the same.  We are all the same before God´s eyes.  I have learned just how important members are in the work.  As members, we may not have the same commandment as missionaries to talk with every single person we see about the gospel but we have been commanded to open our mouth.  I love the Savior and I love this church.  I am not afraid to open my mouth and declare the things that I know are true.  We shouldn’t be afraid to share the gospel.  If we open our mouths, they will be filled with the words that those around us need.  Thanks for the emails and prayers! They are all appreciated.  

Mando un abrazo gigante,

Con amor,

Elder Crofts

Nothing like a classic sandwich

We got together last week to play basketball. Man am I rusty....it just isn't the same. Haha.

Elder Silva from Brasil

On the way to Quillota for the auditions

August 24, 2015

When the going gets tough the tough get going

Weeks sure do fly by! 

Hey dad, I listened to your talk and I absolutely loved it.  The spirit was really strong and I had chills as I listened.  I really do feel blessed to have you for my father.  I have thought as I have been here and as I have seen so many people who are so far from the truth and so lost.  Some may have the excuse of "oh well my parents were like that" .... I know I have no excuses.  You and mom are the best parents that a kid could ask for.  I don’t know what I did before this life but it must have been something really great to deserve parents like you.  As I listened to the jellyfish story I felt the spirit really strong and felt tears flowing in my eyes.  As I thought afterwards, I realized that you are right.  My testimony started that day in Mexico when you gave me a blessing.  You may not have been prepared with the medical instruments, but I sure am grateful that you were spiritually prepared to give me the help I needed.  I may not remember exactly how it all happened but I know how I have felt afterwards as I have thought about it.  Thanks for your example and for your worthiness to exercise the priesthood.  I love the church and I love my testimony.  Thanks for giving it those first sparks.  Love Elder Crofts

So this week I had the privilege of teaching the Relief Society how to do mom´s oatmeal no bake cookies.  They all loved them and were really excited to learn. Looks like I am my mother´s son!  They want me to teach them how to do other things as well. haha  A few of them invited friends but they didn’t show up.  But I feel like we are winning the confidence of the ward and we are trying our best to work with them.  The Relief Society President also invited us to paint her house so we have been trying to serve and find people to teach! 

Well, I had some of the hardest days of the mission up until this point.  On Saturday, we really worked hard and tried to talk with EVERYONE.  We had some good appointments planned and a lot of them fell through and we had to leave or were left by a lot of investigators.  There was one man who told us 3 weeks ago that he was going to read all of the Book of Mormon by Saturday and that he would have an answer for us if he would be baptized.  On Saturday, when we stopped by his house he told us that he had not read anything from the Book of Mormon but that he had read a lot of stuff on the internet and that he wasn’t interested (what a great idea).  He told us that he was there just to be our friends and asked his wife to bring him a glass of wine and expected us to do karaoke with him.  He had planned on us eating "once" with him (it is like a late afternoon meal) but I quickly took control and told him that our mission wasn´t what he was trying to make it. We were rejected (bad) by a lot of people but we are still excited to keep working and I know that this week is going to be better.  So looks like this week we focused on pulling out the tares and we are hoping to have some more luck on finding the people ready for the harvest.

Yesterday in church we talked a lot about tithing.  I loved some of the things that were said.  Our bishop talked about how the material things in this life really just don’t matter.  Our ward leader mission said "Tithing isn´t paid with money, it is paid with faith."  I know that all of the commandments that God gives us are spiritual, not temporal.  It all just comes down to one thing: Faith.

Well my focus this week is going to be to really love everyone I serve and contact.  It has been tough to love the people who really don’t treat us well.  This week I am going to try hard to follow the Savior´s example and love the work and strive to do my best.  I love you all! Thanks for all you do.

Un Abrazo,

Elder Crofts

Doing well!!! A sunny day here in Villa Alemana

Cookie Time with the Relief Society!!

Elder Avila got carried away with my camera with some of the kids

August 17, 2015

Hola Mis queridos!

Hey fam! How ya doing! I am doing great here! I love to see all of the pics and it looks like you all had a blast in New Zealand and Australia.  Dad the shoes fit well! They are perfect! Thanks so much! I also was able to listen to all of the audio things that you sent me.  Kristy I loved your talk! It was amazing and I could feel the spirit as you testified about your experiences! Amy and Heather you both also did great! 

Well, I feel like a ton happened this week! Humberto was baptized and it was so awesome!  He was so excited and invited family members to come and support him on this big day.  In the morning yesterday, we got a call at about 8:40am from Humberto saying that he was already there! (Church doesn’t start until 10am!) haha  He was so excited and anxious that he just couldn’t wait to get there.  We shared an awesome message with his family while he was getting changed after the baptism.  We are going to try to network through Humberto so that we can have some success with his family as well.  The best part was when we asked Humberto if he would like to share his testimony.  He said that he would and stood up and bore his testimony and his experience and how he came to be baptized.  He talked for about 15 minutes and the spirit was really strong.  Some of the things that he said that really impacted me were: "I have been looking for something that was missing all of my life and my search has finally come to an end.....I knew the moment that I walked in the church`s doors that I was where I need to be......my only desire is to obey until the end."  He really is a great guy.  A lot of his family were in tears as they watched him.  They were amazed by the change that he had gone through.

The 3 women that I contacted a few weeks ago with Elder Goulding were also baptized yesterday.  I was able to do the interview of the youngest who is 9.  It was awesome to see the results of how trying to talk with everyone really brings miracles.

Well, Elder Avila and I are trying to depend more on the Lord in our day to day proselyting.  The other day we had one of the least successful days in a while.  We had passed by our plans and no one was there and none of the contacts that we did in the street were very receptive.  We decided to say a prayer and shortly after I felt we should go down a previously untraveled street.  A man stepped outside of his house right as we were passing by so we started to talk to him.  He was really interested and said that he would like to come to church next Sunday with his wife and his daughter.  It was so cool to see just how quick God answered our prayer.

Well the point is..... I wanted to ask each one of you what is something that has helped you to strengthen your prayers throughout your life.  I really liked in Kristy´s talk how she said we sometimes treat it like an errand because it is so true.  I am trying to strengthen myself and become more converted through consecrated prayer.  If you could all send me your testimony about prayer and something that has helped you I would be really grateful! Thanks for all you do!

STOMACH!!! I ate stomach for the first time and I can say that it was SWEET! The sister that prepared it is an awesome cook.  It was great but I don’t think I would eat it unless someone really knows how to prepare it! haha

I love you all! I love the mission and I am trying to do my best! 

Love,

Elder Crofts

Humberto's Baptism

Humberto's Family

Elder Avila & I

Peanut butter banana chocolate chip pancakes!

YUM!

Yeah, some last minute pics on the way to do laundry so that you can still feel the love. Haha

Picture of the church

Elder Pereira from Idaho

At our lunch, he saw a video game that he loved and the members said that they never even use it so they gave it to him.

I seriously thought he was going to have a heart attack.

Haha, what a guy!