August
20, 2018
HOLAAAA
AMIGOS
Hola
hola my favorite people!!
Good news!! With transfers on Thursday...
ALL 3 OF US ARE STAYING. Honestly that is the best news we could have gotten.
We are pumped. We are taking over the English Elders area, so our area is going
to be the whole Myrtle Beach ward in English and Spanish. IT IS HUGE. We have
our work cut out for us.
David received the priesthood and just
talked about how happy he felt. He told us he cried as he received it because
he just felt the Spirit so strongly and couldn't control it.
I am so happy. As I talked with my
mission president at interviews I just wanted to shout from the rooftops
because I am so happy. I really love being a missionary.
We are teaching a couple of Jamaicans.
They are so fun. Whenever we are around them we pick up their accent. They are
just so humble and willing to listen.
We had some cool miracles on Saturday. We
finally got to see Dalia again. She moved and was so happy that we came over to
see her. It was just a miracle lesson and she has been so prepared in the last
couple weeks. We were leaving her house to go to our next appointment and it
cancelled so we had time to knock!! We were in a place that the locals all call
mini-Mexico. We were walking and met Eduardo and his wife Letecia. We talked to
them for so long. They have studied the Bible and been to so many different
churches but just always felt like something was missing. We talked to them and
bonded about the truths of the gospel. Honestly it was just incredible to see
how much they already know and we are excited to teach them!!
Ahhhhh you gotta love the south. We were
going to visit Chester. He's an old man we've been teaching. We walk up to the
door and there is a huge snake that slithers out of the doorway.... we get
closer and there is a frog too!! They moved and let us in, but as we were
leaving the frog jumped into the house!!! We were running around trying to
corner it. We couldn't just leave it in Chester's house, he's like 87!! So I
grabbed a cup and Hermana Champlin screamed as she caught it.
I love being a
missionary! God is so good and just really loves us.
Have the best week!!!!
Con amor
Hermana Crofts
David’s Miracle Baptism
I really wanted to share with you the
miracle that we had with David. When we first got into the area we both felt
slightly overwhelmed. There hadn't been Spanish sisters ever and it's been
almost 4 years since they had had Spanish missionaries. We were so happy to go
to the temple the next week. While I was sitting in the celestial room praying,
I got the impression that English classes were going to be key!
We got the clases de Ingles started ASAP. We had lots of
people coming and a few that would stay at the end for our spiritual thought.
Well, that's how we met David! At the end of the spiritual thought, he would
offer to say the prayers and he'd always encourage everyone to stay. There
really was just always something different. After one of the spiritual thoughts
he said I need this in my life! This is it! Where's church?"
He loved church that Sunday. We'd never had a lesson, he
just came! All the Hispanic members were so awesome. Eva Perez asked if he'd
read the Book of Mormon yet and he hadn't even really heard of it. So we gave
him one. (15 de Julio)
The next day (16 de Julio) he texted us a picture of the
BOM and said, getting ready to read! The next day (17 de Julio) he texted us
and tells us "Hermanas, I have had my doubts and I have lots of questions,
but without exception and with total conviction, I know the Book of Mormon is
true!" He would come to English class full of questions and would just ask
Alex Perez or us. We finally got to start teaching him (24 de Julio)! He would
pull out his BOM and show us all he had read and was just so excited. It was so
fun teaching him because it felt like teaching my best friend. It also felt
familiar. As I prayed about it, I just felt so strongly that he was my friend
before this life and one of the people I promised in the heavens I would find.
I've had that happen a few times in my life where it feels like you've already
met that person. David is one of those people for me. As we taught him that
lesson, we talked about baptism! He really, really wanted it but wanted to wait
until his mom came in September. That was fine at first but then we just kept
teaching him and he kept progressing, we all really felt bad about waiting that
long. It was Monday (30 de Julio) and we watched the new Mormon message about
Reyna Aburtos story (if you haven't seen it --Watch it.) it touched him so much
when we sent it to him. As we talked to him that night, we asked him to change
the date to 11 day Agosto and he was so quick to say yes!
We sent him talks to listen to and he listened to them five
times each! President Nelson's talk about revelation really hit him. There was
a night that after one of our lessons he just went home and cried because he
couldn't believe how merciful God was to get him to this point. In Mexico, he
didn't live the best life and really rejected God. He thought it was more for
the weak. He was not with the right people and was almost killed several times
by being in the wrong place with the wrong people. -----God saved him! He
changed his life around completely! He came to the USA. He stopped drinking and
smoking two years ago and was FINALLY open to God when he met us. When he chose
that date, he stuck to it and was so giddy and excited. He got a lot of
kickback from family but his parents supported him.
We prayed and worked and had the faith and David came to
us. I have a testimony that this is God's work. We can find and find and find
but God is preparing people, Christ is strengthening them and changing them and
it is always the Spirit that testifies to them and ultimately converts them. We
cannot do anything without the Lord.
I am so grateful that God trusted me enough to come on a mission
and to find my friend David and to witness the miracle. I know that God knows
us so personally and he will always meet us where we are, and help us become
what he needs us to be. I wish I could capture the miracle in a story or letter
but it is not possible.
Les Amo,
Hermana Heather Crofts
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Nuestro Amigo DAVID |
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Our lesson with Dalia & Giasel |
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The Dicksons. They are moving up to NH and we are so sad. They've helped us a lot the last couple weeks. We are going to miss them. |
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We are teaching a CHRISTI. I told her I had to take a picture because this is my sisters name. |
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Shannon's sweet girls |
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Ice Cream |