Crystal's First Letters from her first area. Aug.1 & 8, 2011

So...I guess the last email didn't go through? Hopefully this one does!

Here is the one from last week (Aug 1):

Hi again!

I am alive!! I am in my first area in good old Sandy, Utah! Our first baptism is on Thursday & we have...4? lined up for the next two weeks, teaching has been good :) my companion's name is Sister Pousima. She is from Orange County, CA. We live in the basement of Sister Roper's house...she is a single lady in one of the Stakes we are over. She has a son and daughter both on missions. We are over two stakes, Granite Stake and Granite South Stake. We have a car! Oh I feel like this email is super confusing...my companion looks like snoop dog with her hair all braided.
ANYWAY
I am so glad Cody had a great farewell!! Tell Camerono hi back for me! & I am SO glad david had a good time at youth conference! was he in the group that you hosted over night?
Umm updates...our PDay is on Mondays now, they just changed it :/ but we get to go as a district to the Temple once a transfer and once every 6 months our Zone gets to go up to Temple Square & for the last two Conferences of our mission we get to go to the Conference Center!! So next April & October in 2012 I get to go! :)
Teaching is going great!
The day I got here we had 4 teaching appointments lined up already! We got to go up to the Draper Temple that day too & the AP showed us all our area in the valley & how you an see all 3 temples at once, very cool experience. He told us, "well elders & sisters...go baptize the hell outta 'em"
And we are trying to!
I am running short on time, but just know how much I LOVE the Savior. My testimony has grown and grown since coming out here. It is rough at times, but the Spirit is so strong and I am connecting with people already! There are just so many families who benefit from the truths we have been blessed with, I am eager to keep this work going and do my part.
I love you all, have a wonderful week!!!
OH! Tell Sister James I sang in one of our lessons this week...I'm trying to be like Jesus. I told her I would :)
"bear CONSTANT testimony, use words when needed."
Sister C
ps...Read...1st Nephi 8. Contemplate the 4 groups of people...where are you compared to where you want to be?

So...as for this week, let's see.

Xander, Preston, and Kayla got baptized this week!!

They were such great experiences!

Yesterday was Fast Sunday, as we all know and our Zone Leaders challenged us to bear testimony in each Sacrament Meeting we went to that day. In the MTC a teacher told me to only use I in a testimony once, for instance, This Church is true. Heavenly Father LOVES his children. Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. He is our older brother. We are to follow Him and His example. He suffered and died for each and every one of us. Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is powerful. It heals. It guides. It testifies of Truth. I KNOW these things to be true.

It truly does make it all the more powerful.

I am grateful for where I am, who I am serving with and most of all, the people who are here.

There is so much work to be done, and now sitting on the other side of the fence I realize just how much the members play a role in this work. We rely on members for SO MUCH. We can not do this alone, which is why EVERY member is a missionary.

This I learned this week.

There is a boy named Nico, he is 18 and has been investigating the church since he was a little boy. The missionaries dropped him a week before I got into the field. He was not keeping commitments, or showing much desire so they stopped teaching him and making appointments, then he went on a trip to Vegas with his dad, saw a church building and realized what he was leaving behind. He felt the Spirit and KNEW he could NOT deny the power of it. He called the next day, saying he wants to be baptized on August 20th!! The Lord sure knows what He is doing.

Last week in District Meeting we took a different route. The Spirit Prompted our District Leader to talk about Pat. Blessings and Spiritual Gifts we are each given. It was such a powerful meeting. We were each divinely desgined by our Heavenly Father. Each and every single one of his children. It is amazing to see.

This coming sunday we have been asked to speek in Church for a boy who is leaving on his mission next week to russia, and to teach the priests on Preach My gospel (WHICH I LOVE)

But our talks are on the Atonement and how it ties into Missionary Work specifically.

In the MTC I learned just this, I read 2Nephi 2:9 which says: "Wherefore, he is the firstfruits unto God, inasmuch as he hall make intercession for all the children of men; and they that believe in him shall be saved." I looked up intercession in the dictionary, it states: to plead on another's behalf. To mediate. I then looked at the footnotes for intercession and it says: Jesus Christ, Mission of.

Jesus Christ's ENTIRE mission here on earth, his 33 year long mission was dedicated to US. His brothers and Sisters. HOW POWERFUL IS THAT!? That makes me want to NEVER leave. To NEVER give up. The scripture then goes on to say, "and they that believe in him shall be saved." That is exactly what His desire was from his mission. To teach people, let them use their agency to CHOOSE whether they would follow Him. To CHOOSE to believe. That is exaclty what not only the missionaries, but the members of this gospel are to do. He dedicated EVERYTHING to us for so long. We definitley can help this work along, help out OUR brothers and sisters to come back home.

There is this little boy Trent who we are teaching. HE IS SO CUTE! He is 11 and LOOOOVES going to scouts. His parents are inactive, but he has the influence and example of his scout buddies. It makes a HUGE difference. He doesn't like the idea of sitting there listening to 22 year old girls, but when we mention his BEST friends coming along, he listens. David, Drew, Lainey, YOU HAVE A STRONG VOICE. Never forget this.

Last night when we were teaching Nico I brought up again how we are to bear CONSTANT testimony, and use words only when needed. There are a MILLION ways to do this. People are watching you and your example. How you hold to your values. It is SUCH a powerful thing. Heavenly Father DIVINELY DESIGNED you to do AMAZING things. These things I KNOW.

I love you all.

I urge you to read Elder Holland's talk from this last conference, I forget the title, but know it has Ensign in it & it was the 2nd to last talk of the Sunday afternoon session.

ps, I am so glad you got to go to the Temple!! Our District gets to go in Thursday and I CANT WAIT!!!!

love love love love love love love love love love LOVE YOU!!!!

Go squeeze those kiddos for me!!

Sister G

i. love. pie. ;)