October 24, 2016 Elder Conlin joins the Beaumont crew; Joy isn't Cheap

Hello everyone,

This week has been nuts, my new companion Elder Conlin just came from Jeffersonville, Indiana and he calls Heber City, Utah home. He's my first companion from Utah!!! I thought I was gonna make it the whole 2 years without a Utah boy, but I guess not! Haha it has been getting colder here, it's in the low 60s and I am not a fan of the cold. I'm in the doggone South it should just be warm all the time!!! But I shall survive...maybe, I'm on a bike for my 2nd winter in a row! Missionary work definitely gets harder when it gets colder, but hopefully we'll still be able to get stuff done here in Beaumont!!

So we were working with this mission-renowned member, his name is Brother Carr. He literally works and helps missionaries, so he's awesome!! He came to help us out and bring some of Elder Conlin's things from Indiana. He really likes to talk about the gospel and he was asking us about things that have been hard for us on our missions and I shared with him that I haven't always been the most chipper fellow. Then he said this to me, "Don't let anyone purchase your joy so cheaply, you can thrive wherever you are!" And that really hit home for me. So, boys and girls, don't let anyone control how happy you are that's just giving in to them. It's much harder to put on a smile but it's much more worth it as well; in President Monson's words: "Choose the harder right rather than the easier wrong".

God Bless,

Elder Crow

October 17, 2016 Apostles and Transfers

Hey everybody,

This week wasn't very eventful until the weekend, then things got poppin' lockin' and polka dottin'! On Saturday we had Elder Stevenson, one of the 12 Apostles, and Elder Uceda, a member of the quorum of the 70, come speak to the whole mission. I had an awesome time seeing past companions and mission friends, so many of those guys have changed my life! But it was even cooler to hear from a modern-day Apostle. Elder Stevenson is a funny guy and a powerful speaker, the Spirit was in the room the whole meeting and it was very peaceful; not overpowering, no one was passing out or getting put into spiritual comas, but it was awesome.

Something that Elder Stevenson spoke about that I really liked was when he brought up a section from Preach My Gospel called "A Successful Missionary". In it, and this is the part he talked about, he said that we don't have to measure our success based on numbers or because of how great other missionaries are doing, you can know you are doing good if you feel the Spirit. It's that simple. We, not just missionaries, make these huge expectations for ourselves that we feel we have to accomplish in order to be someone. But the Lord's expectations are much simpler than ours. In the words of Elder Bednar, "If today you are a little better than you were yesterday, than that's enough."

Oh and we got transfer news! Elder Clark is heading out to Western Kentucky and I will be staying in Beaumont. My new companion is Elder Conlin, I don't know him too well but I'm excited to meet him!

God Bless,

Elder Crow

September 12, 2016 First week in Beaumont!!!

Dear everyone reading this email,
A big 'ol hello to y'all, I hope everything has been well for each one
of you, things have been great in Beaumont! There is actually no city
called Beaumont, we bike around Lexington every day. It's been pretty
toasty out, but we got cooled down on Saturday when we got caught in a
nasty rain storm. Livin the bike missionary dream boys and girls,
ain't nobody got it as good as the Beaumont boys! It's really
different serving in a big city, I miss the country already haha!
People here are very different and it's taking some getting used to on
my part, but it'll all work out in the end! We stopped to talk to a
couple this last week and we couldn't understand them because they
only speak whatever language they speak, they're from Africa (Elder
Haws I needed you man)! So yeah, Lexington is pretty diverse. It's
awesome being a bike missionary again, not worrying about miles or a
clean car, I just have to worry about getting hit by one! The drivers
here are terrible! There is also a very sweet old lady named
Pocahontas in the ward, we visit her in her nursing home and she calls
us "her boys" and we call her "mama" and that's how everyone knows us,
so it's pretty awesome!

So yesterday in church I heard something said that I had never thought
of before and I want to share it with y'all. So most everyone knows
this scripture, if you don't here it is, in Matthew 17:20 it says: "20
And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say
unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say
unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove;
and nothing shall be impossible unto you." Now I always thought that
meant to literally remove mountains, and it can apply to that if you
have that kind of faith, but in Sunday school someone said, "if we
have faith, we can remove the mountains in our own lives." And that
blew my little mind!

So yes, you can move mountains! Heavenly Father doesn't give us trials
for no reason, He doesn't do ANYTHING without a reason behind it. If
we humble ourselves and look for God's reasoning in our hard times, we
won't question what He does and we will find peace and happiness in
our lives. I remembers as a Senior in high reflecting back on the
years my dad was deployed and wondering why Heavenly Father had taken
me away from my dad for those precious years. I somewhat understood it
in my first few weeks as a missionary. The Lord knew I needed to grow
on my own while my dad was gone, He knew I couldn't have anyone to
rely on but Him if I was gonna make it through those difficult times
and in future times of trial. God needed me to be alone so I could
realize I am never alone. Just a simple example. Try reflecting on
some past trials and try to think of the Lord's purpose in putting you
through it, it will help open your eyes to the amazing plan He has for
you.

God bless, enjoy some sunshine and some lemonade (unless you're in
school then get to work!),

Elder Crow