Bamboo June 27

Hello, hola, konicaiwh(I think that's how Japan spells it), wie gehts,
I have been practicing my gift of tongues for when I meet the true
Apalacia people out here! Met a few this past week with Elder Bragg
and they had some of the thickest accents if ever heard! He asked me
what they said afterwards and I guess my gift of tongues has been
kicking in because I understood every word haha, I've been in eastern
Kentucky too long! But I've loved working with Elder Bragg  this week,
it is so awesome to give a new missionary the experience of a
lifetime, although I'm not sure how appreciative he is of my not using
the car too often haha. We finished our day out on Wednesday and we
came in for the day; after planning he asked me to count up how far we
had gone that day and I figured we biked about 26 miles that day! I'm
the worst car missionary ever haha! President Brough came to church
yesterday and the member teaching the class we were in mentioned how
much we bike and I'm not sure if I'll be in a car area much longer
after I leave London haha!

So onto the title of my email, bamboo. I was preparing a mini-training
I was asked to give at district meeting and my ward mission leader,
Brother Harms, gave me an AWESOME analogy on faith, you are allowed to
quote this whenever you want because it's that good. So when you plant
a bamboo seed, it takes A LOT of work. Try guessing how long it takes
for a bamboo seed, to sprout, or even grow. How long would you guess?
Well you're probably wrong, whatever you guessed. You have to
faithfully tend to and water this seed for....5 years. 5 whole years!
And after 5 years of watering (you can't stop or it shrivels up and
dies) you get a small shoot 3 inches tall. But! But, for the next 80
days after the seed sprouts, you would have a 90 foot bamboo tree!!

Well I think that takes some dedication! But how great of a blessing
it must be to have such a lovely tree after so many years of arduous
watering and weeding. I don't think it's much different from our
faith. Sometimes it takes years to nurture and care for a slowly
sprouting seed of faith and hope, but the outcome it ALWAYS worth it!
So for those of you who don't feel like your faith is where it should
be, keep trying and don't you dare give up! To quote an apostle of the
Lord, "So keep loving. Keep trying. Keep trusting. Keep believing.
Keep growing. Heaven is cheering you on today, tomorrow, and forever."
There will always be room to grow and learn, but if you feel like your
faith isn't as firm and strong as you would like, your only critic is
yourself. Do your best and trust that God will help you to complete
the rest of this long journey we call life. "You may not know
everything, but you know enough."

God Bless all y'all and Happy Independence Day (p-day is next Tuesday
so don't be surprised when I don't email on Mondays),

Elder Crow

And So The Training Begins June 20

Hello everyone,
This week has been amazing!! I got Elder Bragg from Louisville on
Tuesday and we've been workin our tails off since, and I think I'm
killin him with this humidity haha! We haven't found a lot of new
people this week, but we've been working really hard with Gabby. She
came to church yesterday and she loved its, then later that night we
went to Lexington for a fireside and she got up and bore her testimony
about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and said how
happy she's been since she's been learning about the church and I was
so happy to see someone recognize and act on the good that this gospel
brings! She and I talked after the fireside and she told me she wants
to be baptized a week earlier on July 22nd, her birthday! So very soon
we'll be havin a baptism.

Yesterday was an awesome Father's Day at church, it made me feel
somewhat older than a child when I got a Hershey's bar, yes!! But more
important than that was the spirit I felt there. We talked about
sacrifice in gospel principles (a class for people looking into the
church), not the lamb kind of sacrifice, but more like personal
sacrifice. I read a talk by President Monson this week. In it he
shares a story about a man named Benjamin, I'll share it with you!
"A story written by Karen Nolen, which appeared in the New Era in
1974, tells of a Benjamin Landart who, in 1888, was 15 years old and
an accomplished violinist. Living on a farm in northern Utah with his
mother and seven brothers and sisters was sometimes a challenge to
Benjamin, as he had less time than he would have liked to play his
violin. Occasionally his mother would lock up the violin until he had
his farm chores done, so great was the temptation for Benjamin to play
it.
In late 1892 Benjamin was asked to travel to Salt Lake to audition
for a place with the territorial orchestra. For him, this was a dream
come true. After several weeks of practicing and prayers, he went to
Salt Lake in March of 1893 for the much anticipated audition. When he
heard Benjamin play, the conductor, a Mr. Dean, told Benjamin he was
the most accomplished violinist he had heard west of Denver. He was
told to report to Denver for rehearsals in the fall and learned that
he would be earning enough to keep himself, with some left over to
send home.
A week after Benjamin received the good news, however, his bishop
called him into his office and asked if he couldn’t put off playing
with the orchestra for a couple of years. He told Benjamin that before
he started earning money there was something he owed the Lord. He then
asked Benjamin to accept a mission call.
Benjamin felt that giving up his chance to play in the territorial
orchestra would be almost more than he could bear, but he also knew
what his decision should be. He promised the bishop that if there were
any way to raise the money for him to serve, he would accept the call.
When Benjamin told his mother about the call, she was overjoyed. She
told him that his father had always wanted to serve a mission but had
been killed before that opportunity had come to him. However, when
they discussed the financing of the mission, her face clouded over.
Benjamin told her he would not allow her to sell any more of their
land. She studied his face for a moment and then said, “Ben, there is
a way we can raise the money. This family [has] one thing that is of
great enough value to send you on your mission. You will have to sell
your violin.”
Ten days later, on March 23, 1893, Benjamin wrote in his journal: “I
awoke this morning and took my violin from its case. All day long I
played the music I love. In the evening when the light grew dim and I
could see to play no longer, I placed the instrument in its case. It
will be enough. Tomorrow I leave [for my mission].”
Forty-five years later, on June 23, 1938, Benjamin wrote in his
journal: “The greatest decision I ever made in my life was to give up
something I dearly loved to the God I loved even more. He has never
forgotten me for it.”

As I read this I couldn't help but think of my amazing parents who
have always sacrificed so much for me and my sisters and everyone
around them. I count one of their greatest sacrifices as sending me on
my mission (especially dad, he's surrounded by estrogen so if you have
some spare man time invite Jase Crow haha) but I think when the right
kind of sacrifice is made, blessings are brought about rather than
sadness and hardship. I would also add that sacrifice doesn't feel
like sacrifice when we do it for the right reason and the right
purpose. So many people we talk to look at us like we are giving away
2 years of our lives and losing time we should be having fun with. But
serving a mission to me does not feel one bit like a sacrifice. I add
my testimony to that of Benjamin Landart, "The greatest decision I
ever made in my life was to give up something I dearly loved to the
Hod I loved even more." I know this decisions I'll shape and affect
every moment of my life to come. I love serving my Savior and my
Heavenly Father, I know the gospel I share every day is pure and true,
and nothing would make me question my decision to serve a mission.

I love all y'all so much,
Elder Crow

Changes in London June 13

Hello Everyone,
So this was the last week of this transfer (6 week time period) and on Saturday we found out what would be happening to Elder Parks and I. It looks like Elder Parks will be heading to Madison, IN and I will be staying in London training a brand new missionary!! I think the world is getting a bit scarier if they are letting me train a new missionary and see what kind of monster I can create haha! So all of you currently serving or returned missionaries eading this email, GIVE ME SON ADVICE haha!!! But I'm pretty excited, I'll end up staying in London for about 3 more months, but I know Heavenly Father is needing me here for some reason! This past week was awesome with Elder Parks! He wanted to leave London with a BANG so we set a goal to talk to 160 people this week and we exceeded it! Now I'm not saying those contacts went very well but hey, they happened! We had a lesson with Gabby yesterday with some awesome members, the Harms. We watched a video about the restoration of Christ's church, it's called Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration ( watch it here: https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2011-03-01-joseph-smith-the-prophet-of-the-restoration?category=feature-films&lang=eng . Every time I have asked to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, I have been told time and time again that he is! Gabby told us that she believes he restored the church of Jesus Christ and she believe the Book of Mormon is true!! I showed her a picture of the Birmingham Alabama temple and her face lit up; she's going to Alabama for a couple weeks in July and she said she's going to visit the temple as soon as she can! It is so amazing to watch the gospel change someone's life to something so beautiful and joyful, I have had many opportunities to see that on my mission. This past week I had lots of time to think about the blessings the gospel brings to families, mine in particular. In church and at a missionary zone meeting this week I was reminded how blessed my family is to have been raised and reared in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I particularly thought of the blessing it is to serve a mission and do for other families what has been done for mine. I thank my Heavenly Father that so many ages ago he sent 2 missionaries knocking on the door of my mother's family's home, and that there was a man strongly-willed and determined to help my dad get back in church/ The blessings that have come from their decision to live the gospel and become members of this church are immeasurable!

I gave thought to this awesome Father's Day (God Bless It!!!) when we have the opportunity to give our dad's just a little thanks and praise for all that they do. It makes so much sense to me why we are put into families with a mother and a father. We all came from one huge Heavenly family, so when Heavenly Father decided to send us here to earth he organized us into families. God is a God of order and love, he wants us to have the opportunity to be reared in a loving home, to learn about and follow Jesus Christ, and to learn how to love EVERYONE!! I am grateful for my mom and dad, who took so much time (and the patience) to raise my troubled self. Dad especially, he has no masculine support or presence in his house right now besides the Holy Ghost. Keep trucking dad, keep trucking. Haha but in all seriousness, I have the best dad on the earth. Don't care what anyone else says, mine wins. My dad has supported me through thick and thin, he has shaped my life and my personality through the skills and abilities he has engrained in my soul. I saw a quote this week on another church's billboard and I wish I would've taken a picture. It said, "God gave me the greatest gift ever and I call him dad!" My family really is my greatest earthly blessing, or at least very close to it.

What kind of men should we be? We learn in the Book of Mormon in 3 Nephi 27:27 as Jesus speaks to his disciples: "Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am." I am grateful for a father here on earth who emulates the ability to love as Christ loved and serve as Christ served, I consider myself beyond blessed to have a man to look to here on earth whom I can learn from and follow as I seek to learn from and follow the Savior. I know that God's love for us is so great that He sent His beloved Son to live a perfect life then to give it up so that we could become clean and live with him again someday. I know that while we are here He has placed us in families so that we may be happier than ever. God the Father lives with His son Jesus Christ standing on His right hand. I an eternally grateful for everything I have to thank Him for and the blessings He continues to give me.

God Bless and Happy Father's Day,
Elder Crow

P.s. July 4th is a work day for me so I won't email until the Tuesday following the 4th

Happy Sunday June 6

󾓦Happy late Memorial Day everyone 󾓦
God Bless 'Merica as the hillbillies would say. Wow, this week has been so amazingly wonderful and crazy! It has been at least 75 every day this week, it even gets past 80 when it is raining, and we've had so many people to talk to! Thanks to Heavenly Father putting so many people in our path, Elder Parks and I talked to 145 people this week! Most of the people aren't too interested in what we have to say, it makes me so sad that a people who care so much about Christ are so quick to shove us off and judge us for our religion rather than take the time to realize what we are doing. But that's their choice, can't change it. I can only bring a flashlight into this dark world and shine my light wherever I go. It may not be very big, but it's enough. And if we all shine our lights together, then we can really make a difference.

Well the most awesome wonderful part about my week was yesterday. We had a church service called stake conference. It's when a generalized area of LDS congregations meet together for a church service and we hear from a few members of the church. My congregation, or ward, stayed at our building in Corbin because it's too long of a drive to Lexington. And I was reminded that technology is a blessing and a curse!!! The sound and the connection of the church broadcast was pretty terrible and I was afraid it wouldn't go to well, I was especially afraid because Gabby came to church for the first time and I wanted it to be a good experience for her. It ended up being AWESOME!! My mission president, President Brough, and his wife spoke and they are such powerful speakers! After church ended, Gabby looked at me and Elder Parks and told us he knew the church is true!! I was so happy I felt like sprinting a few laps around the church, but I help my cool together. It is so amazing seeing the gospel change people's lives and see the joy it give them, I can truly testify with all my heart and soul that this church is true and that it is lead today by the living Son of God, Jesus Christ!

Sister Brough, President Brough's wife, spoke about standing. That sounds kinda funny but let me explain. In the church, we stand a lot more than we think. We have STANDards that we live by, we STAND up for what we believe in, we STAND up for what is morally good and true, to name a few. So let me add my testimony to standing. There is a scripture that states, "stand ye in holy places, and be not moved". If we are true followers of Jesus Christ, we will "not [be] moved" as we stand for what we know to be true. Growing up in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints I didn't have a lot of members around me, most everyone I knew went to some other church and believed differently than I did. So when it came up that I am a Mormon, I had plenty an opportunity to stand up for my faith and my Savior. Since my youth in Alabama I have came to this conclusion, I will never stop standing up for what is right and what is true. For as long as I live and breathe I will stand, and I invite you to do the same. Never give in! If it takes a cane and pair of braces I will always stand for my Savior Jesus Christ. Each one of us has an unspoken responsibility to STAND up. So stand, do all you can to keep standing; and when you feel like you can't? You are surrounded by those who will help you to keep standing. Jesus Christ will always be the living Son of the living God Almighty, Joseph Smith will always remain the prophet of the restoration, and The Book of Mormon will always be the word of God. I know it. And I know God knows it, and I will not deny it.

God Bless,
Elder Crow

Suffering Patiently May 30

Good afternoon everyone!
Sorry I'm sending this off so late, but everything here in London is
slow moving or closed for Memorial Day so I didn't get to use a
computer at the library. And I hope all of you on this email list who
are not full-time missionaries have spent/are spending as much time as
you can with you families. Be grateful for your family members, you
never know how much you miss them until you can't see them every
single day. But enough about that, I hope it is bright and sunny
wherever in the world you are 'cause it is so nice here in London
(except for this exact moment because it decided to cloud up and that
not cool)!! It's been at least 75 every day this past week and Elder
Parks and I have been working enough sweat up on the bikes to make the
whole state of California green again! But I can't complain, I'd
rather be blazing hot and sweeting than freezing cold and dying. And
missionary work always picks up in the spring and summer, it's
awesome! There's so many people to talk to, and most of them seem to
be nicer, than usual, so yay sunshine!

So I read something this past week that I wanted to share with all of
y'all. In Preach My Gospel (a book to help missionaries be better
missionaries) I read this sentence about patience, "Patience is the
capacity to endure delay, trouble, opposition, or suffering without
becoming angry, frustrated, or anxious." And I thought that was a
pretty great statement, but I wanted to know what the definition of
endure was. So I looked it up and it means to suffer patiently. I had
a profound thought at this point, and that is that we are not promised
we will live a life free of trial or adversity, in fact we are told
just the opposite. But the world's definition is much different from
the Lord's. The world would have you "suck it up" and push through it
just hoping you'll make it through. On the other hand, Heavenly Father
asks us to hold out just s bit longer; keep trusting in His plan, keep
being faithful and it will all be alright very soon. The world tells
you to trust in yourself, while Heavenly Father asks you to trust in
Him. Just as it says in Proverbs" Trist in the Lord with all thine
heart and lean not to thine own understandings". I would much rather
follow the wisdom and counsel of a loving, all-knowing God rather than
the reasoning and thinking of a person such as myself. But that's just
me.

As we "suffer patiently" we are promised reward without measure and
comfort without end, but we are require to suffer; whether that be
great or small is all part of Father's plan for us. If you are willing
to humbly recognize the trials and temptations "that so easily beset
you" as a growing opportunity, life will be much more pleasant. As it
says in the scriptures, "For after much tribulation come the
blessings." Heavenly Father cannot reward us after 5 seconds of
tribulation, otherwise we wouldn't be able to grow at all! We are here
on earth to grow, and the only way to grow is to face opposition. The
strongest trees in the world endure the worst storms and the most
bitter cold and blistering heat. So it is with each of us. The
strongest people are those who have been put through the worst trials
and the most painful afflictions.

As a missionary it is essential to have patience. I recently read back
over a favorite scripture of mine in the Book of Mormon. For those of
you who don't know it I'll break it down. There are 4 sons of a
righteous king who go about the land preaching the gospel of Jesus
Christ and helping others to live like Christ. Much to the displeasure
of their father, the king, these 4 brothers go to share the gospel
with a people known as the Lamanites. In today's world, it would be
the equivalent of me going to preach about Jesus Christ to ISIS. For
14 YEARS, these brothers toil and labor and do everything they can to
bring these people to know their savior and redeemer. They are beaten,
stoned, imprisoned, whipped, starved, and tormented in every physical
way possible. But by the end of their 14 years of service, they
baptize tens of thousands (maybe even more) of these wicked people and
help them know their savior. You and I are not required to endure such
hardships. We are only asked to "suffer patiently", to trust in the
Lord's plan, to trust in Jesus Christ and believe that all will be
well in the end and wait for His promised blessings. Do not be so
quick to look at all your trials but be quicker to count your
blessings. I've tried it myself and I know it brings a smile to my
face each time and allows me to press on even in the toughest of
times.

I love you all,
Elder Crow

May 23 Work Miracles

Good afternoon everyone,
Sorry I'm getting this out late but we went on another hike with
Brother Harms and it was great. We do so much p-day hiking it's
awesome! Well this week has been really great! We hit every one of our
goals except for 1 or 2 and Heavenly Father has blessed us for it! We
set daily goals with how many people we want to talk with that day and
there were so many rainy days this week  it felt like we wouldn't be
able to talk to anyone. But Heavenly Father prepares a way for us to
reach our goals whenever we set them and work as hard as we possibly
can. We are meeting a lot of people who either think we are crazy or
awesome for being so willing to go out and witness about Christ. And
honestly we may be drained by the end of every day, but it is honestly
so satisfying to be so dog-tired by the end of each day.

So we had a really cool experience this last week. We got a gift card
from a member for a restaurant called Fazoli's so we went to eat there
and email. When we walked up to order the cashier saw our name tags
and said," Are you guys Latter-Day Saints?" Most people usually call
us Mormons or Jehovah witness so we were surprised, but we told her we
were and she said,"I've got some questions for you guys, id like to
learn more about your church." We were completely taken back, that's
never happened to me haha! So we've met with her a couple times this
week and she really does want to learn more, it makes me so happy to
see someone who truly wants to make an effort to understand and learn
about what I am teaching them.

Putting forth our best effort is honestly one of the most sure fire
ways to qualify for Heavenly Father's blessings. How much more willing
is a parent to give their child a Popsicle or a treat if they mow the
lawn or vacuum the house? So how much more willing is Heavenly Father
to bless us if we read our scriptures each day or if we say our
prayers with our family? And as missionaries, we cannot expect to find
people prepared to hear the gospel if we sleep in when we're supposed
to get up or if we come in early from proselyting to relax. In D&C 82
it says," I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do
not what I say, ye have no promise." Heavenly Father ALWAYS blesses
obedient children. Especially when we are willing to do a little more
than we are asked; no matter how hard it may seem to keep God's
commandments, the reward is always worth the wait and the effort.

Keep being awesome and be a helping hand to someone this week,

🐣Elder Crow🐣

Hello all,

Here's the week's pics, we went to Dogslaughter falls again and it was
even sunnier this time!

Elder Crow