Storms into sunshine 10/26/15

Hello everyone,
Wow this week has been a crazy one! It's started to get really cold
out and it's raining even more. I'm actually sitting right by a lake
right now typing this in the rain because the other elders like to
fish at 5 am...I have some very unchristian thoughts right now. It's
still not as cold as it is back home in Washington, but I'm still not
enjoying it right now. Oh well, at least I don't have hypothermia
(yet). This week was a bit rough for me on a personal level, but I've
found comfort and inspiration only Heavenly Father could've known I
needed. I cannot believe how loving and how knowledgable He is, to
know exactly what we need to be uplifted and edifices in a way that
allows us to draw ourselves closer to Him by building our foundation
in Christ. I stand all amazed at the love He and Jesus offer me, and I
am so confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me, that for me
a SINNER he suffered, He bled and died. I have felt the atoning power
of Jesus' sacrifice wash over me, because Heaven knows a man like me
needs it! I don't know why he does so much for me or why he continues
to love me and build me up, but I can't thank Him enough for what He
continues to do for me every day of my life. When we are willing to
humble ourselves, just think about someone other than ourselves for a
change, we can recognize the countless blessings The Lord gives us in
our day-to-day lives. We should not expect God to pour out every
possible blessing upon us whenever we want it. God is a God of
miracles, but the miracles are more subtle to our carnal minds. We get
so caught up in what we are doing that we are constantly blinding
ourselves to the merciful blessings He gives us.

I like to sit down at the end of my day and, while I'm writing in my
journal, think about everything that God has given me that day. We
would be amazed to recognize the grace of God in what we do every day.
Sorry I don't have much to say, but that is what I'll leave with you.
I can't believe how much the Lord looks after us missionaries, I fell
blessed to call myself his disciple. I would challenge you all to find
ways in your lives to represent Christ, you don't need a tag to do it.
We are representatives of Christ when we live our lives in a manner
that follows his example. Find ways to turn storms into sunshine,
it'll do you wonders.

Much love,
Elder Crow

I'm loving biking in the rain! As you can see on my shirt, my shoulder bag strap makes a 
difference! Yay Kentucky!I'm loving biking I'm loving biking in the rain!

The work is rolling forward and Ghostbusters replacement 10/1915

Who ya gonna call...THE ELDERS!!! Haha this is the vacuum, I used to
clean the font before we filled it up. So legit!!!



Wow aren't you blessed you're reading a missionary's email!,
Haha just kidding it's not that great of a read. Well, as you all have
seen from my pictures I had my first baptism on October 17th! Kristin
Thomsen has been investigating since last November and Elder Koenig
and I are the 7th set of missionaries she's met with! It was so
uplifting so see someone make such a sacred covenant with the Lord, I
can't describe how happy I felt! I wanted to jump up and down on the
rooftops and just let loose! But I didn't, because that would be
stupid and he missionary handbook says I can't be sumpid. Anyways,
I'll just share a little bit more, the other elders are waiting for me
to finish so we can play basketball (yes that Mormon stereotype
couldn't be more correct). We had a lot of less active members come to
church this week and it makes my heart leap for joy when I see someone
humbling themselves before God and showing Him that they are willing
to honor His commandments. I know that there is nothing more important
we can do on the sabbath than to make the time to attend church and
partake of the Sacrament. Jesus Christ bled in the garden of
gethsemane for each and every one of us and every time we renew that
covenant with Him, his atoning blood can wash over us and make us
clean again. I don't know why someone so perfect and wonderful would
want to suffer for a sinner like me, but I cannot praise him enough
for his sacrifice! Every day of my life is filled with the gospel and
the happiness that it brings and I wouldn't want to be doing anything
else than to share this message with everyone in E-Town. I invite all
of you to pray for and seek after the opportunities we have to uplift
our brothers and sisters and to be a light in the darkness. The Lord
can do miracles through our faith and our works, we just have to trust
Him to work through us. I love you all so much, I know that this is
the one true church upon the earth and the work will continue to roll
forward with or without us. Elder Ballard uses the comparison of the
church to "The Old ship Zion", but I would compare it to a train. This
work moves across the earth faster than we can anticipate and it will
move forward whether we choose to be a part of it or not. Make the
choice to grab hold of the gospel and get on the train!!! God bless,
go make the world a better place.

Elder Crow

The glorious life of Elder Crow 10/12/15

Hello you glorious inhabitants of the strange United States of America,

This week has been pretty awesome! I just got done with a baptism interview with President Brough for our investigator Kristin!! She wan't ready when we got to her apartment, so President took us out to Cracker Barrel and, since he was paying, I got The Cracker Barrel Country Boy Breakfast. It is gloriously dewlicious and it encompasses 3 plates full of food! I wolfed it all down before President and Elder Koenig finished their breakfast and they were staring at my 5'6 figure going "......". Haha it was so good! We went back to Kristin's apartment and President had us sit outside while he conducted the interview. She passed all the criteria and she is going to be BAPTIZED this Saturday at 10 am! We filled out her baptism record and then we left. Elder Koenig and I have been meeting with her for the whole 9 weeks I've been here in E-Town; Kristin has been through 6-7 other sets of missionaries! I have seen the gospel work through her while I've been meeting with her and I've seen the spirit bear witness to her that this is the true church of God upon the earth! I can;t wait to see her baptized and she asked me to give a talk on baptism! 

I can't remember most of the rest of this week, but I'll share my experience at the hospital this past Tuesday. Brother and Sister Crowe took us to the hospital on base so I could have my ingrown toenail taken out. I have had it for over a month, so I'm very grateful right now! The man that took care of me was super cool! He has been in medical Army stuff for about 25 years and he planted a southern baptist church here. He noticed that Elder Koenig and I were missionaries, but it didn't seem to bother him. We talked about religion on and off during my appointment, but we mostly just joked around. I think he was surprised that we, being missionaries for the church, were so "normal" and willing to just talk! He and Elder Koenig joked around about taking my toe off with an exact o knife and a hot iron...not cool. But me the special person I am, my toe started bleeding like crazy and he had to put some goop on it an cover it in gauze. 

After that incredibly graphic and disgusting story, I'll share a little more. Look for the opportunities The Lord will place before you to be a missionary. I promise you that you do not need a name tag to be a missionary, members are sometimes better missionaries than we can be out here. You have a special connection and bond with the people you know, something that the missionaries cannot match. When you open your mouth and do your very best to talk about the gospel of Jesus Christ in your conversations, angels will guide your words! I testify to you, as a disciple of Jesus Christ, that your example and your words are the brightest light you can share in this sea of darkness. Like it says in Matthew 5, you can be a light to everyone you see and talk to and you can be an instrument in the hands of the Lord. Do not alow yourself to think that you can't share that with someone, you can do it! If necessary, have the missionaries over for dinner and ask them to teach you how to talk about the gospel with your friends! I don't have any time left, but I love you all and hope you will do your best to shine forth among the dark.

Much love,

Elder Crow

First Baptism!! 10/19/15

This is Kristin Thomsen and some of the elders who taught her. She's
been investigating since last November and got baptized last
Saturday!!!

Conference was awesome and New week, still the same me 10/5/15

Good morning you glorious people reading my amazing email,

This week has been awesome! on Tuesday, Elder Allen was transferred to a new area and I met my new zone leader Elder Jacobsen! He's from Texas and he plays baseball, he played on BYU's baseball team before coming out here! He's a real jokester, as you'll see later in this email, but he's a great missionary!

So yesterday, we watched conference at the Brimhall home. They are a family of 6 and they are awesome! They are huge pranksters and they really like to make people laugh! And for some reason, whenever I go to their house, I get really clumsy! I am constantly dropping pens, spilling food when we eat at their house, knocking thins over; I'm just a mess! And they don't let me forget it! Every time someone drops something, even when it isn't me, they look at it and say, "Thanks Elder Crow!" They are relentless in their comedic efforts! And Elder Jacobsen just had to add to it! We made dinner for their family since they let us stay in their home, diced homemade hash browns and Danish pancakes! I ended up cutting myself in the first 5 minutes so yeah. But while I was cooking the hash browns, Elder Jacobsen would walk over and say, "These potatoes needs something else!" and he would just grab some spice and throw it in!!! For the first 10 minutes we cooked, he kept walking over and throwing flour in my hair and then everyone was like," Wow Elder Crow you get into your cooking!" I finally threw some hot oil at him and told him to try it again! So that was basically the atmosphere of my night, I'm pretty much getting the same treatment here as I did back home! Haha but I love it!

So I keep forgetting my journal so I don't remember too much of what happened, but I can promise it was glorious, because I'm a missionary ;). My mind keeps reflecting back to these past 2 days of conference. We were graciously allowed to watch conference with 2 families, one for each day. And they fed us food, so that makes everything better! I'm pretty sure food can make every possible situation better, the only problem is the food likes to make you fat! Anyways, I can't help but stand in amazement and gratitude that Heavenly Father still speaks to us through the mouth of his prophet: Thomas S. Monson. We are only blessed to hear from him a few times a year, and it blows my mind how powerful and inspired his messages are! To think that there is a man on earth who can still lead and guide us through the divine inspiration he receives from the Lord! I testify that he is the mouthpiece of the Lord and we will be blessed and protected as we follow his counsel!

Well I'm out of time, but I would invite you to act on the revelation and guidance we have been given this weekend. As we exercise our faith, honor the Sabbath day, remember how much of a blessing our parents are, and "Ponderize" the scriptures we will be blessed from on high. I testify that your faithful efforts to find ways to strengthen your faith and finding ways to change what you need to will bring guidance and happiness from on high. I promise you as a servant of The savior Jesus Christ that we are his children and he will uplift you in your times of need. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is His church on this earth and the work CANNOT be stopped. Choose this day if you will be an instrument in bringing about the kingdom of God, it is an important work to which you are a part of and you need to be fully committed to it!!!

Keep the faith and move forward,

Elder Crow

Mom,

I love hearing about the family activities of the week, it always brings a smile to my face and I can't help but laugh whenever I read about Leah's latest blooper! Tell her that I miss her a lot, it's really strange not hearing her piercing screams, her contagious laugh, and her "words of wisdom" at the strangest of times. I didn't believe you when you said I would miss all the craziness and drama of my little sisters, but you couldn't have been more right! I think about them almost every night when I'm getting in bed and I try to picture in my mind what they are braking at that moment or what hysterical blunder I just missed. I constantly tell Elder Koenig all about my wonderful sisters and he hears all about the Crow Craziness. I'm glad to hear that Rebekah is enjoying her time with close friends, but tell her this: family time will always be the best time. I often think about the dumb stuff and awesome times I had with my buddies, but all of that never compares to the time I spent with you all. I would suggest that she save those nights for Fridays and Saturdays, that seems to be the best time. I hope she works up the courage and ability to drive soon, I know she can do it and I know it would lift a huge burden off of your shoulders.

I can't believe I'm missing all the family stuff already! Tell Kimmy that I love her and she better enjoy my plush bed while she can! I'm sorry to hear that everything isn't picture perfect, but know that everything can be fixed with a smile, a hug, and an apology. We should always be willing to say sorry first, it makes all the difference. It hurts my heart to hear about the contention going on in the home, but I know that as you somehow find a way to bring FHE and scripture study every night, it WILL make a difference.

To answer your last email about talking to "dissenters", there's really not much you can do. I don't think there is much else you could have done to help that man, I think bearing short and powerful testimony can make a big difference. Don't try to convert him on the spot, but help him remember what he's missing out from being a part of the church. Small reminders and simple testimonies will help them to recognize the strength and divinity of your light and that may be all the influence you can have. Don't ever drop down to the level of "bible bashing" it is the biggest waste of time on the earth. If it comes to a contentious conversation, either find a way to end the conversation with a loving and powerful testimony; or it may come down to literally walking away without saying a word.

Conference this week made me think A LOT about you and Dad. The words of Elder Holland hit home in my heart, I can't imagine having chosen any other soul as loving and pure as yours to have built me up and guided me to where I am now. I stand grateful and blessed to call you mom and to know that you will always be there for me. You have exemplified and shown me what I want in my eternal companion, you are the epitome of a faithful and loving mother. Watch the video "You never know how much you do", it made me think of you immediately. I cannot think of another woman in the world who has been so loving and caring of her children, who has shown such love to every person she has associated herself with, or who has been so willing to drop everything she is doing and squeeze in a last-minute thing to lift up someone. I don't know if I've ever heard you say no to an opportunity to serve. Thank you for what you have done for me, I will never be able to thank you or love you enough in return.

Much love,

your missionary,

Elder Crow