Wed, 13 Aug 2008

Hola mi familia! Como le va? (That means how's it going. :D)

So it's P-Day once again. I got your dearelder letter, mom, thanks. I'm going to go ahead and buy the jacket because you're right, it is starting to cool off in the mornings, and I'd really like to have it. Plus I really just wanted the excuse to get some MTC gear.

Sorry for not sending out a letter last week--please tell Brandon sorry I haven't written back yet too, but I WILL write today. I'm leaving today completely devoted to family--you, Sister Rosser, and Elder Sammy. So I'll have time for that all today.

So let me tell you about this week! Ummm. . . Hna Lisiate started physical therapy, so we get to leave the MTC three times a week. Actually, since there's three of us, one of us stays with our district as a "solo" and the other goes with her. So we just switch off. It's weird being "solo". But it's kinda fun, because it's so different. Anyway, so this physical therapy stuff will really help her ankle, so we're all rooting for her.

Hna. Baird got some stuff from her mom today--through a sneaky car drop-off. It was awesome. Her mom parked the car in the temple parking lot and left it unlocked, and then we walked up there with the stuff she knew she wouldn't be taking with her to Uruguay, and picked up the stuff her mom had left for her. Maybe something y'all should consider. . . ^.~ She got clothes and shoes and some really yummy minty divinity. Good stuff.

Oh, and we taught in Spanish yesterday! Well, not all three of us. Hna. Lisiate got really sick--I won't give you details--a couple hours before the teaching appointment. So Hna. Baird and I worked it out. And it went pretty well. Actually, it was the same sister from last week--remember the ones who couldn't speak English, so we taught in Spanish last week? Yeah, her. She's so sweet, and helps us with our Spanish when we mess up or ask ?Que significa ___? (What does ___ mean?) And we did pretty well. Our teacher gave us good comments too. And we got the BEST compiment you can get from a native--she said we didn't sound like Americans! She said we have great accents, even though we mess up our conjugations all the time. . . Lol. It was awesome.

Sunday was the departure devotional where I sang with Sister Rosser. Just before I sang, my throat was literally swelling up. There's this cough going around here, and I caught it a few days before. So I was freaking out a little because I just knew I was going to sound awful. So I prayed--I told Heavenly Father that He could take my voice clean away afterwards, I didn't care, but I honestly wanted to be able to sing this song. I love this song. When I sing it, I'm bearing my testimony--"I praise the love that makes me whole again. . ." It's a beautiful song, and I really wanted the people who were leaving that week to feel the Spirit and really get the meaning of it, and I told Heavenly Father that. Well, I got up there, and my voice was fine. And I felt the Spirit, and I bore my testimony, and it was awesome. And Sister Rosser played fantastically.

That was the coolest thing--that Sister Rosser and I got to be together her whole three weeks here. I mean, I don't remember if I told you this, but we had the same schedule. We were together as often as an English zone and a Spanish zone can be. And we got to do exchanges together and stuff to practice our song. And she was on my floor too. It was wonderful. I told her goodbye yesterday, and she left at 6:00 am. So she's in Baltimore now. :D

I'm running out of time, so I'll finish. I LOVE it here, still. I can't even tell you how much I've changed since I've been here. The Lord is giving me opportunities to see my weaknesses and He is making them stronger here. I know that without the incredible amount of the Spirit here I wouldn't be able to do what I'm doing. I could honestly go to a South American country right now and survive. I'm not nearly fluent, but I speak much better than I ever could coming out of 4 years of Spanish. It's crazy. And I love the language, and I've decided Mexicans are my favorite. :D (Which is good, since that's pretty much who I'll be teaching down in Phoenix. . .) And I have such a love for Arizona, even though I've only been there once, and I know that the Lord is preparing people for me, right now. Actually, think about this--there are people there who He has been preparing their whole lives so that I can come and teach them. I think that's pretty dang cool.

The Lord is so aware of us. I can't even tell you how many times I've asked for help with something, and I have seen His response immediately. It's crazy. My testimony of prayer is just exploding,a dn I'm really learning how to pray in faith--I ask for something specific, then promise to act on His guidance. Or I plan something before, then ask for His help acting it out. It has been working amazingly.

I gotta go. I love you guys so freaking much.

Love,
Hna. Crowley

P.S. Meagan, HAPPY STINKING BIRTHDAY!!! Becci, I can NOT believe I didn't say it last week. Don't worry, I'll send you something to make up for it. Y'all are so cool. Trust me, you're the best family a missionary could ask for. I want pictures of the side yard!

Love you!