Whats up people!
Ugh what a great day. I have been feeling pretty down and it was so nice to read all your letters. Dad: moral of the flooding story is listen to your wife. lol. Michael I am so happy you got the job. I just seemed like the better one from the get go. Nonprofit system, better chance for a job after. Haha--this is hard to write, the computer is saying all of my words are wrong because they are in English not Spanish. Speaking of Spanish! Holy Cow I don't speak it and it sucks! I have been so frustrated this last week to the point of thinking multiple times if I even want to be here, if the
Church is even true, or if I even care enough about any of it to want to be here. Ugh-Satan is bad bad bad. Anyways we had interchanges with the ZL´s on Wednesday because Elder Powner is the DL, so I went a worked with Elder Kimball for the afternoon and evening, and boy, was he what I needed. Elder Kimball is like 20 almost 21 and he goes home in 3 months. He basically just helped me realize that my Spanish isn't that bad-it’s actually really good; better than most at my level. He helped me gain the confidence I needed to speak Spanish and use it with people. While being with him I learned for myself that God knows I don't speak Spanish. He didn't just dump me here to mosey around and hopefully learn it in 4 months and then be of use to Him. He wants me to use what I can now. Elder Kimball said the strongest thing I have is my testimony and the new missionaries have the strongest testimonies of all. So he told me to use it!. Although this helped me, yesterday after church I was once again feeling down because people say things and I don't know what they are saying. When we came back home to study I was once again feeling those feelings of wanting to go home and do something more fun or something like that, but my companion helped me realize something I already knew but that this was the situation I needed to do it. That thing was stop focusing on myself. I kept worrying about how I was ever going to learn Spanish or how I was going to be able to do this for 2 years. He said I just need to have faith and focus on other people. He said that only by focusing on other people and not focusing on myself would I learn the language and really start to enjoy my mission. I applied this principle by immediately going and praying and giving thanks for 20 things in my life. After the prayer I felt a lot better and my focus and outlook on the mission has been better ever since. I am still worried about Spanish, how could I not be, but I know that as I continue to have a desire to learn and trust that, with the help of Heavenly Father I can do all things, I will be speaking Spanish like a pro.
Church is even true, or if I even care enough about any of it to want to be here. Ugh-Satan is bad bad bad. Anyways we had interchanges with the ZL´s on Wednesday because Elder Powner is the DL, so I went a worked with Elder Kimball for the afternoon and evening, and boy, was he what I needed. Elder Kimball is like 20 almost 21 and he goes home in 3 months. He basically just helped me realize that my Spanish isn't that bad-it’s actually really good; better than most at my level. He helped me gain the confidence I needed to speak Spanish and use it with people. While being with him I learned for myself that God knows I don't speak Spanish. He didn't just dump me here to mosey around and hopefully learn it in 4 months and then be of use to Him. He wants me to use what I can now. Elder Kimball said the strongest thing I have is my testimony and the new missionaries have the strongest testimonies of all. So he told me to use it!. Although this helped me, yesterday after church I was once again feeling down because people say things and I don't know what they are saying. When we came back home to study I was once again feeling those feelings of wanting to go home and do something more fun or something like that, but my companion helped me realize something I already knew but that this was the situation I needed to do it. That thing was stop focusing on myself. I kept worrying about how I was ever going to learn Spanish or how I was going to be able to do this for 2 years. He said I just need to have faith and focus on other people. He said that only by focusing on other people and not focusing on myself would I learn the language and really start to enjoy my mission. I applied this principle by immediately going and praying and giving thanks for 20 things in my life. After the prayer I felt a lot better and my focus and outlook on the mission has been better ever since. I am still worried about Spanish, how could I not be, but I know that as I continue to have a desire to learn and trust that, with the help of Heavenly Father I can do all things, I will be speaking Spanish like a pro.
I loved your letters. Crazy to read about the Boston thing. I had not heard anything about it so it was nice. Dad it would be so cool if you owned an original copy of the BOM. Sell your shelby and get it. Just kidding but maybe something to think about. Dad I dont even know how you do your life its so busy maybe ill know some day. Mom, you too. Your lives are just crazy but hey your doing it right because your lives are filled with busy good things that build up each other, the Kingdom of God or those in it. Dad good luck on your talk! I know how you feel as a missionary your personal study is just for lessons you will teach later. Dad, zone conference was cool but it was in Spanish. The topic was testimony and I like what was said. I hate it because I always want to make comments or ask questions but I don't have the words. Mom, so cool to hear school is going well. How exciting with the institute teaching. I don't think you will have trouble finding a job with all this religion teaching experience.
Anne and Michael! you got the Job! I am so happy and excited for you guys. I just loved how it all kind of worked out. Lots of nerve racking changes going on for you guys but they are all exciting things. Good things happen when we choose the right.
Mary! I can't wait to hear where you are going. I am excited if it is state side English-speaking and to hear how your first week is. I am jealous that you will have the possibility to serve in 2 missions! I don't know if you know this but when you get recalled they actually send your thing back to the missionary department and they pray about it again. That’s what I’ve heard crazy right. Don't quote me on it though because I don't know. I am so jealous they changed the rules for the MTC. They told us they weren't going too ugh, but I am also happy because now you have more time to write people!
Ok more facts about Chile. Villa Alemana is pretty but also ugly. Viña is amazing and lush and green but Villa Alemana is like a desert. It doesn’t rain here is just mists or something like that. Because it is a desert (basically) here it gets hot during the day and cold at night. Actually the days are fine mostly but the nights are freezing. We usually walk everywhere which is totally fine because our area just isn't that big. We do have to take the bus to zone things though which is always fun. They drive very fast in Chile and the buses drive even faster. If you are riding a bus here and there isn't and open seat it can get pretty interesting. Chile has large supermarkets but every street also has a corner store. One they go to every day the other once a week. The only stores I see are food stores so I don't know where people buy the stuff they need besides that. Oh they also have Walmart-type stores so probably there. We have everything in our ward. Poor, middle class, and maybe rich I don't know. Like I said we have a part in our area that is por Alla! or in other words way out there. It has dirt roads, little shacks, dogs, the works. The people that live out there are obviously very poor. We also have very nice suburb type places in our area. The members there have jobs in the city doing things that a middle calls or upper middle class family would do. The houses are very small here and every family usually only has one car. They mostly use buses and the metro here to get to the city. We are teaching a man named Antonio and his son who is 8. Antonio is married but his wife is Catholic, maybe the only person in Villa Alemana who says they are Catholic and actually goes to church. They have another son and he joined for our lesson but he wasn't there this last time. They came to Church this sunday which was awesome! basically with Antonio and his son they know its all true and they have been taught everything so we just have to point to the font. We are also teaching Roxanna and Hugo. Roxanna was sick yesterday so they weren't able to come to church but we visited Hugo last night (Roxanna was sleeping) and taught him. I felt like our lessons with Hugo were too simple and easy. Our homework assignment for them to read for next time, I felt, was also too mushy and easy. Because I felt like we weren't making progress with him I just flat out invited him to be baptized. My companion freaked out and gave me a high five under the table. He accepted and then i invited him to maker the goal of the 5 of May or something like that to be his date of baptism. He said he was nervous about baptism because what would he do if he sinned after he had been baptized, so next lesson we will teach him about repentance (BAM!). He knows its all true but Satan has a strong hold on him and Roxanna. We will see if they are willing to give some things up. We work a lot with the menos activos here (less actives) during one of our meetings with a menos activo named Ingrid, I just flat out asked her where her fire was. I told her in my broken Spanish that obviously she had known the Church was true when she was baptized, so why doesn't she feel the same way now. At the end of the lesson she told us that she wanted to get her fire back so we were like YEAH! She couldn't come to Church yesterday because she was out of town but we will see for next week. So I have about an hour and a half to write you guys every week. 15 min of that are taken up by writing my president. I can also write friends, basically anyone outside of the mission, but have to ask for permission for people inside the mission (like investigators)
Alright well my time is up. Love you guys. Talk to you next week.
Love,
Elder Cropper
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