Mon, 29 Sep 2008

Hey fam! How's it hanging?

Ugh. I got the achy sick today. No worries, I'm well taken care of, just something to complain about.

Otherwise, this last week has been really good--again. I honestly can't complain. We've had some success, and some dissapointment, but that just goes with the job.

Sad story--the woman Aurea, I'm not sure if I told you about her, decided she wants to keep going to her Presbyterian church. Well, that was disheartening, but her choice. I know we did our part to bring her to the gospel, but she still has her agency.

But we still have Gabriel, Estela, Arlim, and Melissa, who are all getting baptized in the next couple of weeks. Plus other progressing investigators we have a lot of hope for.

One story, and them I'm going to go because this computer is giving me a headache. Lol.

We had the opportunity to take Gabriel to the Visitor's Center up at the Mesa temple (we get to leave our mission to take our investigators there. Cool, huh?) The Mesa temple is beautiful. Kinda odd, because it doesn't have an Angel Moroni on top--I think some sort of building regulation--but it's awesome. So we went because we really wanted Gabriel to watch the Joseph Smith movie--Hna. Corless had been having that thought all week, and felt it was really important to get him there. So we call the ward mission leader in the ward he's getting baptized in--Bro. Bierman--and he said he and his wife would love to take us! Then we had some crazy stuff--Gabriel took work off, but the Biermans forgot that it was the Relief Society Broadcast that night, so Sis Bierman couldn't go, and blah blah blah--Saturday was stressful. I bet Satan just didn't want us to get Gabriel to the temple. Anyway, Hna. Corless was firm--Bro Bierman, turns out, was able to take us, just without his wife--so it was us in the back seats of the SUV, the Elders who work in that ward, and Bro Bierman and Gabriel in the front. They were talking the whole ride up there, and the whole way back--which is amazing. Gabriel has a friend! He's pretty shy. And when we got there, we had half an hour before the movie started and there was an exhibit of Book of Mormon art that we looked at--the prints that are in the older copies of B of M that illustrate the main stories. We walked around and told about all the stories, and he LOVED the Captain Moroni painting. . .It was amazing. There was also this guy there who was a Bible scholar, like Gabriel, who had JUST GOTTEN BAPTIZED THAT DAY. We talked a bit with him, and Gabriel got to hear this guys amazing testimony, fresh out of the water, and how excited he was to get confirmed the next day. It hit Gabriel pretty hard, and he was like, wow.

Then the movie--he cried a little bit, and he said he really like it. By the end of this trip, he was feeling overwhelmed, but happy. We even got to walk around the temple and talk about how he can do baptisms for the dead after he is confirmed, so he can go inside that amazing building. He seemed pretty excited. (Side note--the Elders told us that yesterday, when Bro. Bierman was giving Gabriel a ride home from church, Gabriel basically bore his testimony that he did believe the church, the book of mormon, all of it is true, and even he believes in the Prophet Joseph Smith--which is usually the hardest part for most people. He's so awesome.)

So that was amazing. And then, on the way back, there was this guy stalled just off the freeway exit. Bro Bierman goes--"Hey, you guys ready to do some service?" And then, "Hey Sisters, can you drive?" So all the guys hopped out, and they pushed that little pickup a couple of blocks to the next gas station, and Hna. Corless drove a big SUV for the first time, and I took pictures. I'll send you some. Turns out this guy only spoke Spanish (Bro. Bierman speaks Spanish too) and he had no money, no cell phone, and had no hope basically. While we were there--this guys battery was dead, so we were searching for a jumper cable or something--a tow-truck driver just happened to pull in to fill up right then, and he helped too. When they figured out the battery was completely dead, Bro. Bierman asked how much it would be to get this man a tow home--the tow truck guy did it for $20. Amazing.

That was our wonderful Saturday night, and we got home at about 10:45, and we were very tired, but happy.

Ok, I'm going to go now. I love you all so stinking much. I wrote you a letter last week, but I could not for the life of me find some place to drop it off, til last night. So it should get to you in a couple days. I got you letter last week too, and I'll write you again today. Man, I love you guys. And I love this work. Too much amazing stuff happens every day for me to not love this. We just have to be looking for the amazing stuff. Sometimes it's pretty discreet.

I'm going to go now. You're amazing. Write me again.

Love,
Hna. Crowley

P.S. How's the recipe/photo/cds package coming? ^.~ Can you tell I appreciate you? I do