Miracles in the ghetto

Hey Yous guys! So I live in Kenmore (where it's nice and not ghetto) but our area is called Eggert which is the east side of Buffalo but church is in downtown Buffalo, so every week we are all over! It is a rough area but not once have I never felt unsafe or unsure. I have the bus system down! And I just love the moments that Elder Durfee and I have in the ghetto, haha chasing busses for blocks (litterally we chased this bus for forever and finally beat it and go on all sweating and everyone is looking at us like these people are crazy! But let me tell you people are really funny and if you are super happy they are too. We see about a gazillion (not that many) cops every day chasing down someone! Lol so there must be a little bubble around the missionaries I am doing alright. It is more challenging in some ways, and easier in others. But I think your attitude changes everything and how you look at a situation determines how bad or good it is. Plus I guess we just have to realize that if we are doing our best then that's all we can do! I just feel a little overwhelmed because there are quite a few less actives. I just want to fix everything! But I know that I can't. In less than a month I'll be burning a tie! :) A member gave me his bike but it is a road bike, and we need shocks and a little wider tires with all the potholes and street trash we ride through. So I am taking Kenmore's car on Wednesday to try and exchange it at a bike shop. Well it's been another crazy but awesome week here in Buffalo! :) So last Monday for P-day we had marshmallow gun wars in the cultural hall with all the tables set up and everything! It was so fun! And the weirdest thing happened we were all sore the day after....? I think it was because we did about a thousand squats each because we were popping up and ducking down every time we shot a marshmallow! Haha cleaning up the mess was fun too :D Tuesday we started our morning early, riding in the rain to meet with one of our investigators named M. We rode all the way down to Lakawana and we were sopping wet from the rain, but I didn't mind:). We had a great lesson with him, I was so happy to hear that he had read the first twenty chapters of 1st Nephi! We had a really amazing lesson and answered a lot of his questions on agency and why bad things happen to good people. It's funny how we sometimes take our knowledge of the gospel for granted, like its no big deal that we have our big questions answered haha. We went to lunch with Brother G who took us out to lunch with the Kenmore Elders. Later that afternoon we got a call from a Bishop down in San Diego we had the privilege of giving a non member sister a blessing . Wednesday we had zone conference! It was a very spiritually uplifting day but it was also very long because it was an 8 hour conference! The whole focus of the conference was "Flooding our mission with the Book of Mormon" as a mission we are going to give out 1,000 Book of Mormons by the beginning of August! (our zone agreed to hand out 350 of those #BuffNorth) And to assist us in this we are going to place the Book of Mormon in our own hearts, by reading it as a mission in a little over a month. President gave us a fresh new copy and we are going to use different colors to highlight. (Anytime he Savior's name is used, anytime an attribute of Christ is mentioned, anytime the savior speaks, and anytime the Father speaks.). I'm super excited as I place the Book of Mormon in my heart!:) My favorite part of Thursday was a lesson we had with a lady named Miss G. She is hilarious! Anyway she has almost been baptized like three times but is always too afraid to follow through because she likes her comfort zone. She says she believes in priesthood keys, she knows that we have a prophet on the earth, she knows the Book of Mormon is true, but she just doesn't feel the same when she goes to our church. So we gave her a lesson on Christ and the apostles, specifically when Jesus came back and said "Peter do you love me?" And then after Peter's response quick response the Savior said "feed my lambs" we also watched bits and pieces of Jeffery R. Hollands talk "The first great commandment" (one of my favorites go watch it!) which also talks about this scenario. We told this story of how Peter and the apostles go from being fishermen, to apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ and then Just return to being fishermen. And Christ having to come back, and have the same conversion, on the same shore, having the same meal; and compared it to Miss G life. She said it wasn't the missionaries, but it was her who needed to change and take the steps she knows she needs to take. So this next week she is going to pray and ask Heavenly Father "what is it that she needs to sacrifice in order to be baptized?" It was very cool, because we didn't know what we needed to teach her but the spirit guided well!:) Friday the appointments that we had fell through :/ but it was a good evening because we met some other missionaries from "The Way" church who the Kenmore Elder got to know, and played V-ball with them and talked about the Bible and Book of Mormon. They have missions around the country even one in Castle Rock right next to Parker! They are our age, have jobs while they are hear, wear normal clothes, and try to start what's called a "fellowship" or a mini church while they are out here. They were super cool, fun, and they are coming to pageant! Saturday I went on exchanges with Elder Eastman (pretty new missionary, from West Valley Utah, and is really cool). I love having the opportunity to minister to, and serve these Elders. And help them think of a few ideas to rub off some rough edges with their companions haha. My pants ripped and not a single person we visited answered their door. BUT the miracle for the day was handing out a Book of Mormon to this solid guy! :) Happy Father's Day! Yesterday was awesome I truly was uplifted and spiritually fed most of the day! So we didn't have any morning meetings because it was, Father's Day lol. Sacrament was awesome! The speaker C B compared the teaching model of Christ with the woman who touched his clothes, Christ said "And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace." And how we often apply D&C section 4 to missionary work but if you apply it to being a father it is just as relevant, and applicable. Later on in the afternoon we went and visited L! ( the one who we gave the blessing to earlier in the week) We taught her the Restoration, helped her pray (because she has never prayed) and it was the most sincere heartfelt out pour of a prayer! And in the prayer she asked if the things we taught her were true! The spirit was just SO strong. :) words can't describe experiences like that. It was the best lesson I have had on my mission! Then trekked it home and I called in numbers to the zone leaders. Today we are going to Niagara Falls because all the Elders that transferred from Rochester haven't seen it yet. (I promise I'm not getting sick of one of the wonders of the world haha) "And it shall come to pass, that if the Gentiles shall hearken unto the Lamb of God in that day that he shall manifest himself unto them in word, and also in power, in very deed, unto the taking away of their stumbling blocks." - 1Nephi 14:1 Love, Elder Crowley:)