Service and Studies

Hey you crazies! :) I have loved learning more about Jesus Christ. Between reading Jesus the Christ, watching the new bible videos, and studying scriptures on Christ I feel like a whole new world has been opened up in my gospel understanding and looking at the same situations from a different angle. I'm really trying to use this time to become a "master teacher" as President Francis would call it, so I can teach my kids one day! Tuesday first thing in the morning we went and gave S a blessing before her surgery. We came back to our apartment to do studies and I learned about the desire of our hearts in Alma! Such a cool subject! We filled out E. Rushton's accident report online. We had dinner with M and went over to the N to discuss some things with his investigating friend! We got our truck(which I like better) in place of our Toyota, but we will drive our Toyota to Fayette for the specialized training, and drop it off to get fixed! And our new phone came, what a blessing! We spent a long time transferring contacts over because there was over six hundred contacts and most of them were totally random. I don't know why but in my journal I wrote about the importance of developing talents, skills, and abilities. Because that is why we are here on earth to learn, and to find enjoyment in our experiences. I also wrote about life being fragile, M and a few people in our ward are having health problems suddenly and are really seeing that we are not immortal yet. I am grateful for my healthy body! :) Thursday I focused my study on the ministering of angels. It was a very good opportunity to be directed and taught by the spirit! One of the things I learned is that much like Christ's visit to the nephites he could not explain all the subjects he spoke about fully, and some could not even be written. Instead the spirit of faith, and revelation can teach us the things in between the broader subjects. M went in for surgery on his stomach in the morning and we went and helped the R move in Niagara Falls. They live in this old house that they have made into this fun little artsy and family centered home. It was a big move but I'm glad we were able to be there to help them! While I was shredding some paper their little daughter C wanted to help. I suddenly felt the feeling of what it would be like to be a dad, so I was enthusiastic about her helping. As we continued to shred I felt Christlike love as she didn't talk but just smiled, and giggled. Later that night we helped make dinner for M! We went over to the L to teach J a lesson and it was the best lesson! But before it we hung out with J for a minute before the girls came home. When the girls came home C F had spent the afternoon with them getting their nails done! Yay for fellowshipping! We had a lesson with C, J, and us lit by a candle lamp because the lights weren't working. We focused on gaining a testimony of the Book of Mormon, she was really feeling the spirit and even got a little teary eyed. As we testified I felt power. C was an amazing help in the lesson and knew exactly where we were leading....So drum role please....J is getting Baptized! We are so excited for her! She even wants to go on a mission already and we haven't taught her the Plan Of Salvation yet! Haha My Saturday morning studies were truly inspired because I am studied the conference talks "The Greatest Generation of Young Adults"- M. Russell Ballard "Where Justice, Love and Mercy Meet" - Jeffery R. Holland And "Like a Broken Vessel" - Jeffery R. Holland we talked with J that morning while helping him with chores about how to combat life's setbacks. I figured that just like anything else we have to sometimes, not think about it and quoting Nike here... "just do it!" Whether it be with our marriages, reading scriptures, going to school, work, family home evening. "Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, FEAST upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do." -2 Nephi 32:3 Sunday we had a regional broadcast and it was very spiritual and uplifting. My favorite talk was by Linda S. Reeves on helping others and ourselves use the the atonement:) Love, Elder Crowley

Car Accident!

Hello hello hello! Twenty more days and we be skypin yo! Tuesday: We went to Northgate, we did service with J at the North Tonawanda museum, Street contacted, and practice our song "Brightly Beams our Fathers Mercy" for the stake musical fireside! When we practice the first time we all sounded awesome on it, and I'm really loving acappella men's quartet's! Wednesday had a lot of success with street contacting and we confirmed our service with the Riviera Theatre, I'm so excited! While we were on the street a lady talked to us and she knew quite a bit about our church, but she grabbed my hand and said "now I have the gift of discernment and of the Holy Spirit is telling me that you were going to be a great leader, you are a light that people want to have and you're going to do great things in this world because that is who you are." Lol I don't know if she was half crazy or what but I wrote down what she said so I could remember it! Elder Fields gave a great training on finding people to teach. Just like anything else showing the Lord you're willing to work hard, follow him, and are willing to try allows him to bless us. Journal writing shows we appreciate what we have learned, contacting shows we want to find people to teach, prayer shows we want to learn his will and be guided, etc.… We walked on Grand island while it rained and it felt like we were on the English countryside. We had dinner with the Y Family. J the son is working on his testimony but got chills while we testified of the restoration, and challenged him to pray for himself. Friday was a good day but wasn't without its road blocks. We had a great morning with studies and weekly planning. We went street contacting, we stopped and looked at this old graveyard and some graves date back to the 1700s! I was just thinking that all those people are now having a chance to be taught in the spirit world. We went and picked up N N and took him to our new member lesson with J, J, and S. She is progressing and I'm sure she will get baptized! We then went home and had some ice cream with N and talked with him a little more about his home life. He is one of the nicest kids I have ever met and is super positive and happy. It makes me want to help people like that and gives me a greater appreciation for what I have been given. That night we decided since we were 20 minutes away from Dave and Jake Fowler we would meet up with them! We went out to dinner at this restaurant in Lewiston, and it was really good! Writing in my journal that night was really good and helped me see how the lord had blessed us that day! CHURCH IS TRUE! Recap of Saturday....I had awesome studies in the morning! I studied the scripture "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." Matthew 5:11-12 We helped M clean up the backyard. We had the birthday party for J and it was the bomb.com! She had friends there, And J said "J what happened to you? You seem happier!" #thegospel And now for the Grand Finale! Yesterday was the most effective, yet busy Sunday I've every had in my life! We all have Sunday hangovers as well! So the morning started out early like it always does and we went to missionary correlation meeting, then we did a split and Elder Tanner and I went to the the Falls to have a less active follow us to the Church while the other Elders went to ward council! We all came back and had a awesome sacrament meeting! We had the whole L family, less actives, investigators, the whole building was full! So it was nice to see some of the fruits of our labors! J was so engaged at church and was asking questions, participating, and we ordained him to the office of Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood! :) We took the lady back to the falls, practiced our song for the fireside! And then cleaned up and went to Lewiston's apartment to have lunch. We then ran to go set up for he Niagara Falls meeting downtown! We rented out a room in this place called the Naac! Which is Niagara Falls arts center but used to be the old high school so it has a lot of history! It was a great meeting and we got a glimpse of what it must have felt like when the church was first organized when only six people were there. So cool! Elder Tanner and Brother R gave improvised talks, and Elder Fields somehow had the talent to bust out a little piano! (Miracles happen on a daily basis) then we kicked it into high gear to get to downtown Buffalo for the musical fireside! We got stuck in traffic and literally walked into sing! So that recording of us was like 2 minutes after we got out of the car! Stressful! And President Francis, President Pace, all the missionaries in our zone, members, and investigators were there so I was praying that we would do well! haha It was a great meeting and the spirit was felt (lots of talent, and lots of singing from the heart;) ) After the meeting we talked to everyone and their dog! President was like a super star! We introduced S and her daughters to President and he was so excited to meet them and President told J "I want to know when your baptism is so that I can come to it! Ok?" Even though she hasn't committed yet haha. We were able to get back to the Lewiston Elder's apartment where our car was! So after we finally got to our car we left thinking we could relax, nope! We got T-boned right on center street! Ouch! I got hit on my side but we are all good, no airbags went off! The girl who hit us was balling and thought she killed someone! And our cell phone broke Saturday so we had to use her phone to call president and he was in the middle of figuring out transfers! Haha the other Elders came running down the street since we were only about two blocks away from their apartment! And I ended up driving home because Elder Rushton was a little shooken up! But M checked our eyes and we are all fine! So don't worry mom:) the Lord was seriously watching out for us! Well here we are tired as can be, we got transfer calls and Everyone is STAYING! The work is good and I love the Lord! -Elder Crowley

Go get me some baptisms boys!

Hey guys it's finally P-day! And tomorrow will be 3 months! Less than a month until Mother's Day! President Francis says we all need to unstring our bows so they don't break like Nephi's did. We must have a foundation on Christ! If you look at the solution to our problems the answer always ends up being the same! Look at that talk that Elder Holland gave last week called where justice, love, and mercy meet. I always read the words to primary songs (because Elder Bednar said every truth of the Gospel and everything we need to know can be learned the the primary songs) and the last phrase to one of the songs is "have faith, have hope, live like His Son. Help others on their way. What does He ask? live like His Son!" I think that is so true and we need to remember what it's really all about! And for those who have a testimony and a stronger knowledge of Christ's role in our lives need to sometimes take a step back for a minute and cut out something from our own life so we can make time to help another person. Cutting out something small in our lives could mean being the piece that fit into somebody else's life! But let's not get discouraged and hopeless, be OPTIMISTIC! We are a believing PEOPLE! "We believe all things, we hope all things!" -Articles of Faith and one of my favorites from Elder Holland "FIRST, AND FOREVER, FAN THE FLAME OF YOUR FAITH. BECAUSE ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE TO THEM THAT BELIEVE." P-day was awesome this last week we got a lot done and we played ultimate Frisbee with most of our zone. Tuesday we went to Northgate and a man came and played the piano at the request of all the residents. He sounded just like Louis Armstrong! I knew all the old songs, I'm such a nerd. Haha And I seriously need to learn how to play the piano! A B (one of our texting investigators) texted us asking questions like he usually does. He loves the Scriptures and is such a golden investigator I teared up when he called us and said that he read D&C and is now following the word of wisdom, and he says he feels happier! When Elder Willis and I taught him it was one of the best lessons that I have ever had! And then the rest of the afternoon was filled with more discouraging finding activities! It rained all day Wednesday and Elder Rushton and I walked in it hahaha. We were so soaking wet and now I have a cold from it. But I'm doing better:) we went to Bishop's house for dinner that night all the way up in Wilson. They have the cutest little family and I love how they help their kids develop testimonies. They encourage them on their answers to questions and always try to stay positive. One thing that stuckout to me was when bishop said to his five-year-old son "do you WANT to say the prayer? "And he sat and thought, and then with a smile nodded his head yes. I want a family like that! Thursday I woke up with aches and pains and everything that comes with a bad cold so we slept in and I was knocked out! We went to lunch with Sister C in our ward and her friend, then came back and slept some more! M fixed us dinner and we confirmed some appointments for the weekend. The Lord truly blessed me by providing meals when I was sick. :) And S called us and had an awesome experience with prayer where she was able to find J ID and a random $300 check in he trash! She was like "power of prayer!" The Lord really knows our needs and wants to help us! Friday was dusty! We did service for the North Tonawanda museum. They had a ton of really cool artifacts and history! We mostly lifted heavy cabinets up to the third story. S daughter J came and helped too! We left before her and while we were gone she was organizing books and guess what the first book she picked up was? The Book of Mormon! She told her mom she thinks it's a sign, and she came to church on Sunday! I'm telling you we can baptize again between J and A! I know the Lord is helping us so much and we just need things to fall into place. Elder Rushton and I talked a lot about what he has learned on his mission so far. After a lot of finishing details, rides, old missionaries flying in, and preparation M was finally ready to go to the temple! A lot of people from our ward were there and all the missionaries that had taught M (which I saw bear their last testimonies when they left, and have gotten to know pretty well) they are awesome! They had lots of good advice for how to keep at it, and reassuring us that our efforts aren't in vain:) Sister K was in the session! She says in the Celestial room "There's my boys!" She always says "go get me some baptisms boys!" Haha we love Sister Kennedy! We decided to head home with the H! On the way home we stopped for dinner with them and had a blast just laughing about dumb things and just talking simple. We got on the topic of tithing and how you always pay your tithing first and how crazy blessings come from it the usual. Well Brother H told a story I will never forget! He said that he was offered a job which consisted of combining the pipe organs from two churches into one and he would get a huge payment from it! J N (who just left on his mission) was doing chores for them said he didn't know how he was going to pay for his mission. So Brother H made a promise to him that if we would work for him as his organ apprentice full time, he would pay for his whole mission! J was so happy and could not believe this opportunity had come...but then the next day the big deal fell through. So Brother H was in a bind he didn't have the money he thought he would anymore and he had made this promise to J! So long story short Brother H. Was working on an old piano that one of his client's just bought and had not touched yet. While working on the player piano one of the belts broke and out fell an envelope with $9,600 dollars in it!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT!? He figured out that it didn't belong to anyone and the owner of the piano only took $300 of it! So the money was cashed into the Bishop a couple of months ago and J left for his mission on Wednesday! As he told us that story he started crying and we all ended up shedding a couple of tears in the restaurant. The spirit was strong! :,) "27 Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success. 28 And now behold, we have come, and been forth amongst them; and we have been patient in our sufferings, and we have suffered every privation; yea, we have traveled from house to house, relying upon the mercies of the world--not upon the mercies of the world alone but upon the mercies of God." -Alma 26:27-28 Relying on the Lord! Elder Crowley

Happy Easter

First of all thank you for the Easter package! It really brightened our day and I was like "God is good!" Haha I loved all the notes and treats they made us smile and laugh out loud!:) (nothing melted and ) Whenever I read all your emails I always laugh out loud and smile, it is great to hear about some of the details about what is going on with you guys! Ethan always says the same thing haha "I hope your having a great time out there" lol but Ethan Nice job making Varsity! YAY! Now you can really show off those skills:) How come I haven't heard from Bethany or Lissa much lately? But I always love their short notes on packages:) I'm glad that you guys are still kicking and even though things can be busy and it seems like you can't do one more thing, you are all striving to work hard and do what the Lord wants us to do! I think that if we read the scriptures everyday despite how busy we are we will be able to accomplish everything that we need too! The scriptures give us power to overcome, peace to enjoy, and knowledge that gives us perspective! Our spirits need nourishment just as much as our bodies do! So here we go! Monday we had one of the better P-days that I have had in a while we headed up to Youngstown and spent the most of the day up there. We played soccer with some youth in our ward, but mainly roll down hills and froze our buns off! There were lots of brick houses that held troops during the war of 1812, so cool! We walked down to the bank of Lake Ontario and it was so big it looks like an ocean, it was also cool because you could see the huge skyline of Toronto Canada all the way on the other side of the lake! Very windy but awesome. Tuesday was a little less than enjoyable but I don't think that we will have many days like that! haha we went to Northgate as we usually do on Tuesdays and met a lot of people that have a firm belief in the Savior. We went Street contacting and nothing but bad things happen, people were rude, they thought we are crazy, and most people thought that we were Jehovah's Witnesses and that makes them very angry. We ran into this Lutheran Church and asked if they had any service opportunities or jobs they needed to get done, and the people working at the church were very nice but the pastor was not. The pastor took us into his office and try to bash with us and totally destroy any value of our calling as missionaries! When all we asked was to help him! The spirit was absolutely gone and I was so disheartened by the experience. And to think I was about to climb 50 feet in the air to change a light bulb in his steeple! I want him to ask me to do it just to show him I can! Haha And that wasn't the only sarcastic human being we dealt with. We met quite a few people who worship Peter Cottontail instead of Christ on Easter. Haha and all the less actives we met said they were too tired to watch conference this weekend. But I think we did with the Lord wanted us to do and he was pleased for our efforts! Wednesday was April fools and we didn't do any crazy pranks! But Elder Fields got me so good by telling me president was emergency transferring me to Wellsville! Haha I really learned a lot in my studies that day, I love studying and learning more! I learned a lot about keeping our fishing lines in for as many hours of the day as possible in Preach my Gospel. I also learned about Jesus his early life in "Jesus the Christ" I love that book, it is seriously one of my absolute favorites! I learned that Jesus had to learn his purpose and still had to grow as a child just as any other man. The only one who knew his true purpose was Mary and even she was reminded time and time again of the magnitude and glory of the Savior's calling. Elder Fields gave a great training on not being lazy and letting go, or getting rid of distractions. We played V-ball...we went to Duffs as a district then Elder Rushton had a nice discussion about being an effective leader. (We always talk on the way home from the church building) Thursday I was so glad that we went to Northgate because we were considering not going but we did and guess who we saw? The performing African-American lady with the bleach blonde hair! Oh my gosh after we finally mustered the courage to go sit in the audience, we were of course called up to perform. Elder Rushton went up and sang 'Oh happy day' with her and was so embarrassed it was hilarious! We had so much fun helping her entertain the crowd and getting them moving and dancing! I saw A(the polish lady who we all have a crush on) in the third row and I went up to her in the middle of a song and started dancing. Her face lit up she was so happy to see us! In the middle of the happy song she said HAPPY EASTER!" I literally had President Monson's words from the last conference running through my head "let us not forget the elderly" the whole time we were there. We had dinner with the F and M that night!(more authentic phillipino food, and jackfruit!) They invited their apartment neighbor across the hall to listen to the thought. His name is R and his wife and him are from China! He understood our lesson on charity and the Easter Video #BecauseHeLives. I was able to speak a little Chinese with him and he said I didn't have an accent at all and he was very impressed with how much I knew so that was a plus! Hopefully we can teach him sometime! On the way home 'Grandpa voice' came and M always gets a kick out of that. (He's trying to convince me to be an actor lol) We talked to M in the rain the on the back porch about temples:) (his endowment is on Saturday the 11th) I always start writing my journals at night thinking it was a pretty rough day, but then my eyes are opened and I can see how the Lord's hand was there that day even if it wasn't there all day. I guess if the Lord had his hand in our day all day he would be controlling us and we wouldn't grow! I am always reminded to be humble and charitable several times in a day! haha we took forever to watch the "Joseph Smith the prophet of the restoration" movie with S and J. We had dinner at the H that night and what a cute old couple they are! Brother H. And I love talking about music and the physics of sound. Since he knows a lot about organ pipe work and piano work and I know the voice pretty well we talked about how if the higher note and the middle note are perfectly in tune they will naturally bring out the low note in a chord, both in strings, pipes, and vocals! The sound of music is so cool! When I hear music I hear God speaking to my spirit. I feel grateful to be alive when I hear or produce music. It rained again tonight and Elder Rushton and I sat in the car and talked about life and how to deal with people. Peter Cotton tail also left a present on the door step! (Thanks again ;)) I have been shrieking with excitement all week for General Conference!(seriously though) I always receive a ton of Revelation and peace during General Conference! We switched watching sessions between the church and the L house with some technical difficulties here and there! We had Easter dinner with some of the L extended family and so it was a great missionary opportunity! I loved Conference SOOO MUCH! I swear every time I watch conference I say "this is the best conference ever lol" and Kim B. Clark being called into the First Quorum of the Seventy ! I saw many people I have recently heard from in the last couple of months speak, sing, or names be announced in conference so I felt a special connection to Colorado, Utah, BYU-I, the NYRM, and the world all at the same time! But isn't that what the gospel is? It binds all of God's children into one eternal realm and work here upon the earth! It made me excited for that momentous event when all of us will be gathered in the flesh and know that the work is done! Some quick memories from conference are 1. We will all have the same "well done thou good and faithful servant" no matter the office we held or the time spent in the vineyard 2. Being a disciple of Christ comes over time and President Monson isn't perfect either 3. There are still good people in the world and the Church is in good stance the adversary would have us believe we are not doing well or not progressing so we don't have hope 4.RM doesn't stand for retired Mormon 5. We mustn't live fake lives 6.This Generation needs to carry the baton higher than ever before 7. On Easter we celebrate the victory over all our falls 8. If your not hearing the music of the Gospel..keep practicing 9. the Lord loves us 10. Being a Dad is awesome 11. Be useful not deceitful 12. Fight for liberty 13. Press forward with faith in Christ 14. The elect are being gathered 15. Godly fear chases out worldly fear. (And a book full of notes ;)) It has been I pretty rough week in between these moments I have explained, (with no success finding people to teach) but for some reason it feels like it has been a week full of love, new understanding, and a greater desire to serve the Lord. So it is great to be alive and I challenge you guys to really study the conference talks not just set them aside and say "well that was a great spiritually uplifting conference now I'll wait until the next one!" Haha only paying attention to conference once every six months is like brushing our teeth once every six months. Nasty! Pick one talk and strive to live the principles taught in it that week! :) I love you guys! Elder Crowley Ps. Mormon.org/easter has been awesome this week with the timeline and everything!

Three Baptisms!

HI there!:) Well it's finally the end of one crazy week for us! It has been a week full of worry, excitement, planning and lots of calls. But through it all, it ended with an awesome baptism yesterday! I'll give more details later but the spirit was strong and It was truly memorable! We kind of put our whole heart and soul into this baptism and I feel like we are starting from ground zero in a way! I can't tell if I am sad or what but I have always loved President Uchtdorfs council "there are no true endings only everlasting beginnings" I think that is true and I can't wait to start new member lessons with the L, and go to the sacred grove with them and such! Monday we have a great P-day but we took a while to get our laundry and shopping done while trying to organize a fun thing to do with S and her daughters. S had to drive her friend to the doctor so we ended up bumming around with J in N.T. We tried to go to the Riviera Theatre but they weren't doing tours yet,(we might start doing service at the theatre!) then we tried to go to the museum but it was closed so she likes antique shops and I like antique shops… So guess what we did? Ha ha we had a great time bonding with her and getting her more comfortable with us as missionaries I think she will be more willing to listen to us now! And she came to the baptism yesterday so that was good! We deep cleaned our car because zone conference was the next day. We had dinner with the L that night and had more great discussions on the gospel, life, goals, debt, and our families. We talked about how great our moms are, and I truly believe that Eve is the best mom ever that ever lived and I love her so much! Tuesday we had zone conference and some of the things that the spirit taught me were that we must listen to the spiritual promptings that we receive and always be willing to act on them to gain the Lord's trust. I also learned that when we teach we must teach like God teaches Joseph Smith in the first vision! One of those teaching methods being..calling people by their name when we begin teaching. Ex. "Joseph, this is my beloved son." It's awesome what the spirit can teach us when we are prepared in meetings even when the speaker doesn't say it! President asks us what did you catch? Not what were you taught? Present Francis gave a great training on lots of different topics. He shared a story of James E. Talmage (the writer of Jesus the Christ) when he was in the temple in he upper room writing. He would often go to the upper room and open the window to let the breeze in and then close it when he left. Well one day a Honey bee flew in and as he was leaving he tried to direct it out so it wouldn't die but it ended up getting mad, stinging him and dying anyway. He related it to how we sometimes deal with those leaders,(or Heavenly Father) who are trying to help us live better and lead us to freedom, but we end up fighting and hurting ourselves because we didn't understand the bigger plan. I can't write everything I learned but I loved listening to all the senior couples (who are going home soon) share their testimonies! It was the best! And sister Ray ( A lady from the senior couples, the mission nurse, and Elder Neil L. Andersen's sister! So cool) said that she is working on being hip and cool, so she says "Elder Crowley that is a sick tie, that tie is just. so. sick!" LOL the senior couples are so cool, and young in spirit! I am going to miss them:) Wednesday we talked to a lot of the people on the street as the rain poured down! We met some crazies! We finished most of the L lessons and I could sense a true change come over the them and an excitement to become clean as they partake of the first fruit of repentance, which is baptism. Elder Rushton and I watched Joseph Smith the prophet of the Restoration that night and I busted out "THE CHURCH IS TRUE!" Seriously though I was on a spiritual high! Thursday we did our service at the Grand Island library, by helping them with their book fair. We got there and we soon found out that the only ones who could lift a box were Elder Rushton and I because the rest of the volunteers were old ladies! haha There were so many boxes it was almost hilarious. The Librarian was running around a little bit stressed. It was so funny because he said, "Now I have been working with missionaries since before you guys were born and now I understand that you guys can have pop now." And we said oh no we could always have soda haha, and he just kept on saying "No I have been around longer and I know they didn't accept pop before." It's awesome to see how the Gospel blesses families in action. Living the Gospel principles is the difference between successful and happy families and unsuccessful and unhappy families. And Success is not defined as "making it big" in life as the world would say! Friday/Saturday we did exchanges and Elder Fields came down to N.T. In the morning we whipped together a quick musical number for the baptism "Dear to the Heart of the Shepherd". Elder Fields has a great baritone voice we sang it acapella and It was really cool how we could just read the music and Heavenly Father helped us use our talents to put it together and then perform it the next day! We got a lot done and helped with the take down portion of the Library book fair as well. I loved talking with all the volunteers and seeing all these old books. Haha Later we had the L interviews and obviously they all passed! haha J said she was wondering when she was going to get her answer that the Book of Mormon was true, so she prayed and said that if God wants me to know that the BOM is true then he will deflate one of my balloons and sure enough her favorite one deflated that night. It's funny how Heavenly Father teaches us each in a way that we understand and at our own level:) Sunday was a crazy day! We didn't have any morning meetings but there was lots of stuff to do as far as making sure everything we had planned came together! Testimony meeting was awesome and so were the other meetings! Our ward mission leader was sick so he just had to describe to us how to fill up the font over the phone so that the hot water wouldn't run out! It was quite the lengthy process, but let's just say S face was priceless when she walked in it was so cold! haha We had a bunch people coming up to us and asking us questions, and Elder Rushton and I were getting a little overwhelmed but I said we are going to have the spirit at this baptism and everything will work out:) and it did! But we did have a lot to do we were clothing crew, set up crew, program crew, music crew, ordinance crew, font crew, and clean up crew! It was so funny the L were waiting at the font while everyone was in the chapel waiting for them and we waited for like 15 minutes until we went and found them and they were like "we were waiting for you!" Haha once the Program started everything went pretty smoothly, the spirit was so strong and and we had both nonmembers and members involved in the program! S. O. (J sister who is a member in the freedom branch) gave the best talk on the Holy Ghost! And his mom gave a great testimony:) all the auxiliaries were so welcoming and they helped with refreshments which was such a blessing! Helping one family come into the gospel makes me want to continue to find more people who need the gospel in their lives! I am grateful that I have been able to be a part of their conversion and I know that years of prayers were answered yesterday! S (J sister) kept wondering how it even happened and said that it was truly inspired that we were supposed to be here to teach them at this time:) I love the Lord and know that although I am not perfect I can become what I need to be by fulfilling his will and not mine. "Green ambition my whole mission!" -President Francis "Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is not an effort of once a week or once a day. It is an effort of once and for all." -Dieter F. Uchtdorf Love, Elder Crowley

The Highs and Lows

Hey GUYS! 1. I am doing pretty good I am anxious to find more people to teach! we have a couple of people that are potential investigators that I believe could become regular investigators! And yes dad we are going a visiting all the less actives in the ward but it is such a long process to get a hold of people and then to finally meet with them! I feel like by the time you have met with everyone in the ward it would be a year! We figured out that if everyone came to church in the ward then our ward would split! Haha I texted a guy to invite him to church and all he sent back was "too boring" lol 2. We did go visit C when I was with Elder Willis! He basically opened the door and almost shut it on us, he was the grumpiest old man! Until I finally said I know your Grandsons! (I think he thought we were secret service or something) Haha he lightened up a little but he was on the phone, and just kind of waved us away. It was basically a bust when we asked him if he needed any help! Haha oh well it was great! Wow what a week it has been! I can't believe how much has happened! Lots of different highs and lows this week. It has been a great growing week for us as missionaries, the community, and our investigators as it always is. I love the way that the lord works with us and through us as we keep the spirit with us! Monday was great because it was your anniversary Mom & Dad and I thought a lot about all you guys that day!:) We had a pretty boring P-day because we did hardly anything except play munchkin with Elder Fields, and we were preparing for our stop smoking lesson! But we ran into this lady at the laundry mat who was interested in the church and what we do as missionaries! I thought that was interesting because I believe the Lord places people in our path when it is least convenient just when we could say "oh we are on our way out and it's my P-day so sorry can't talk." The Lord wants to see where your heart truly is. Monday was also great because we were able to successfully deliver the stop smoking lesson! The spirit was so strong and we had a great support group, M, the F(newly wed couple), F and K, the Lewiston Elders, and their kids. They committed to all of the 15 steps and we're super excited, and nervous to make this big change. It rained that night and the spirit is always strong when it rains! :) Tuesday we got Chet done! As Elder Willis would say! (Chet was one of his companions dad's name, he thought it was hilarious haha you can replace it for any word in the dictionary ex. I'm hungry for some Chet) it was St. Patrick's Day but it didn't even really feel like St. Patrick's Day because we were so busy you know doing missionary work! We met with J (the minister from before) about some ideas for his congregation and our ward doing a combined service project. He loves to talk about the Lords work and we wanted to be that bridge for bishop. We went finding in Grand Island, and had dinner with M, Internet proselyted, made calls and bonded with the E kids. S texted us in the morning saying it was set in stone, J her and J would all be getting baptized on the 29th. I was so happy I cried a little! I am going to baptize both J and S and J brother in law will baptize him! YAY so EXCITING! We still have to get a lot done before then but we are pretty sure it's all going to work out! ANYWAY! Wednesday was spicy! We had dinner with the F and C made some amazing Filipino food (because she's from there) except both M and I ate the habanero peppers and we didn't know you were supposed to, oh my gosh we almost died we were sweating and our eyes were watering! Haha I think my throat swelled up too. But we had jackfruit and fresh mangoes Mmmmm so good! Then we ran to our lesson with S, J, and J. On Thursday We cleared our old iPads, and M helped us put our pictures onto a flash drive! We helped J with his car by painfully screwing the fan that cools off the radiator back on. Then we had a great lesson with S and J over lunch about the plan of salvation! I think that lesson went much better, and the spirit was felt. Then we rushed to meet the other Elders and the M (the technology senior couple) for our new iPad set up! We we got our new iPads with a really nice protective case to go with it! What a blessing it is and I am grateful that the Lord can trust us to further his kingdom with technology and righteousness. I love the Lord and I hope that he can use me as an effective tool in the vineyard and not as the dung that fertilizes the soil hahaha! In our new training I've learned a lot about how to be in tune with spiritual promptings regarding technology, how to be focused on the mission and purpose, and how to be one with my companion while using technology instead of working separately. Just like instruments given to the Lord's servants in times of old iPads are and other devices did not come forth the benefit business, but the Lords work! A texted us! The young man who we met before and had an amazing lesson with. He finally got a phone and started asking me tons of questions about the degrees of glory, and then later he called me about John 10:16 and I compared it to 3Nephi 15:21 (other sheep I have which are not of this fold) it was amazing how the spirit helped me recall that scripture while I was on the phone with him!... We had an awesome lesson with the F family, they live in a house that was built in 1890 right on the canal but it is all decorated new and hipster like inside I love it! We taught them how they can share the love of the gospel with their friends! Saturday is a special day it's the day we do lots of service! (Isn't that how the song goes? Haha) We helped this less active move on Grand Island that day. We also did service at the library which we will continue next week! So Sunday was filled with great things! As you know already I've kind of talked about how the day went with the L but there were lots of moments of bearing testimony and really supportive relief society moments that were experienced yesterday! K in gospel principles started laughing about this typo in the manuscript that said "do do" and she was laughing so hard that S started laughing then everyone in the room started laughing then Elder Rushton was laughing and I was crying because K was laughing so hard! Anyway that was the gist of our missionary week! I can't wait to see what is in store for us next! Today for P-day we are going to visit the Riviera theatre here in N.T it is from the 1800s and is supposedly haunted! Love, Elder Crowley

:)

Well another week has gone by Crowleys! Happy ANNIVERSARY Mom& Dad! I'm so proud of you guys! What you have done to shape our family, and direct us all in such a positive and successful direction! You guys are celestial to me already and I hope that you guys will always remember Christ in your relationship because it is through him that things are made right and we can all grow, and love together :) I love you guys Elder Rushton is great! We have met lots of people in the Ward and he is already starting to pick up on the area of N.T./Grand island! We had a barfing episode on Saturday which I will explain later but other than that we are great! And working smart ;) (that's for you dad) Elder Mckade Rushton is from SLC (but really from coalville) and has been out for eight months! Our birthdays are 5 days apart:) He teaches differently than I do, so we are loving to learn how to teach together it's really interesting! (in a good way though) So its been a great transition week with Elder Rushton! The last P-day I had with Elder Willis was very typical and I just tried to use it as a last day to suck up all the memories from our transfer together! We finished packing him and he could not focus while packing, I think he was just in denial about what was happening! The next morning was transfer meeting and it started out with an eternal wave goodbye as my trainer, and first companion drove down Klaum Ave to go home having served an honorable full time mission. He made it two years! As he drove away I felt like I was starting my mission all over again. I have mixed feelings about him leaving, I felt like I had just been left in the dust, but I also feel like you can make every companion your favorite companion in some way! After they left Elder Rushton and I went back to his apartment in Kenmore which was only two miles away and moved his stuff over. We then cleaned his old apartment and went grocery shopping. We met some of the Ward members, I gave him the low down on the crazies, talked about our goals, we went to Northgate and he loved the old people! (He calls old people cute too haha I thought that was funny) and finally we ended the night in some intense V-ball. While playing V-ball we (the leaders, us, and people not in the tournament) were so determined to win we kept changing "win without Willis! win without Willis!" Haha we one both games:) It got intense haha On Wednesday My morning studies consisted of learning more about the three Nephites I thought it was interesting to learn that if we ask for a righteous desire God will grant it unto us. I have been praying for God to send messengers to give me strength and direction during the day, and I never seem to notice them but at the end of everyday I pray to my Heavenly Father and he reminds me of the people that he sent that day. I love prayer and the fact that we can speak with our Heavenly Father! I also love what prophets have told us before "we must learn to talk with God" We will never know how God works, or talks with us if we are never willing to talk or work with him. It was a pretty typical day and ended with us having dinner at the E. We had our lesson on gaining a testimony of the Book of Mormon, and everyone was giving major attitude. Reading Jesus the Christ helped me feel morecalm and understanding of their position. Thursday was super warm and so was Friday! (Like 48 degrees haha I'm going to die when summer comes) my studies today were based in 1 Nephi 10 and finding evidence in the Book of Mormon of prophets prophesying Christ's life, and works. Specifically John the Baptist! We helped brother G move some of his stuff into a storage unit. He is so funny he talks really slow, has this crazy white beard, a high pitched laugh, and he is super short. First thing he says to us when we get there is "I though you were going to bring your grungies" haha while we were eating lunch with him he counseled us about our retirements. He said when we are planning for retirement that we should put 10% away because that is the most successful route (he read a book on it haha) I got a migraine and took some medicine, why do our bodies have to be such a pain sometimes? But we taught S that day! She read and prayed everyday, and I can truly see a change coming over her! We have our Stop smoking lesson with her J, the family, and some people in the Ward tonight! We are praying that we will be able to teach it well and that the spirit will help them overcome this problem:) We put a sticky note on our 'miracle wall' that day saying " today brother G gave us a ton of toilet paper!" Haha Friday we had lots of planning to do! At lunch Elder Rushton set a lighter that he was playing with on top of the stove and it blew up! As I'm talking to Elder Fields on the the phone I see our cabinet catching on fire! So I run and starting beating at the flames with my hand (they weren't that big yet) it was seriously hilarious, probably looked like a frantic housewife as Elder Rushton came booking it out of the bathroom! We got it out and everything was fine! We went to visit Northgate and the Activity leaders weren't there so we just walked around and talked to some of the residents! We talked with an older man named P who is a tough OL' man who served in WWII and had many different jobs in his life including putting light bulbs in for the old marquis! He told many WWII stories, his advice was hard to understand because he is 95 but long story short he didn't like to pray and said he wouldn't but I know that he will have a chance to be taught about Christ and the plan soon:) Our Grand island day was a bust because Elder Ruston and I got the stomach flu and were awake all night. We spent all day inside! I felt the aches, but I didn't have a fever. The Lewiston Elders came and gave us a blessing and I told Heavenly Father I had enough faith that he would help me not to throw up and guess what? I didn't! Doesn't mean I felt better right away but I did not throw up! Sunday M (the convert who lives upstairs) got the priesthood, and his temple recommend, the L came to church, and we had a missionary moment in primary:) during sacrament S leaned over to me and said "I want you to baptize me and my daughter on the 29th" half of me was so excited, and half of me was super nervous. Brother S (served in the temple presidency, taught Latin to high schoolers, and is super friendly) taught an amazing Latin lesson in Elders about the word Redeemer! Re(retro)=bring back/restore, dee=buy. It was very cool:) Love you guys so much! Elder Crowley