2016 May 2 Mother's Day makes up for the poison ivy

Afternoon y'all, how's things?

Everything has been great here in London! I found out on Saturday Elder Parks and I will be serving together another 6 weeks, so we will work together about 4 1/2 months total! Heavenly Father obviously has more for me to do, just waiting to figure out what it is! Man, the work has been crazy this week, we were really praying to find someone new to teach this week. We have been talking to well over 100 people a week and it was just not making a difference, so we turned to the Lord in prayer. And he answered! We met a woman named Casey Marcum who is very humble and looking to get back in church, and we were able to share a message with her about Christ's restored church. It is a huge blessing to be able to share what I love and know to be true with so many people every day for these 2 years of my life. I don't think anyone has a better job than me!

Well, since I won't be able to send out an email on Mother's Day I will give a big 'ol shouout from Kentucky to my awesome momma!! This past Sunday was her birthday, so if any of you are reading this with a shocked face then wish her a happy belated birthday! It is strange not being with my family for all of the big holidays and birthdays but I'm a bit preoccupied ;). It's crazy to think that this time last year, I was getting myself up early to make breakfast for mom and wishing her a happy birthday. I miss you mom, hope you know how much I love you!

It's good to know I have been blessed with such a wonderful family here; we are all part of a big Heavenly family and God is a God of organization, which is why we have families here on the earth. I like to think that Heavenly Father let me choose who I would spend my earthly life with while we were still living with him, but I think He put a blindfold on my when I was picking siblings 'cause I have no idea how the brother to sister ratio of 1:4 happened. He's definitely got a plan a bit different than mine, which is good because if I had a say in anything the world would probably be burning.

I was sitting in church yesterday thinking of mom (since I actually did remember her birthday) and the blessing she has been to me. I thought of how she raised me and everything she taught me, and it blew me back for a second to think about how I've used everything she taught me. The words of an old primary hymn rang in my head, "It shouldn't be hard to sit very still, And think about Jesus, his cross on the hill, And all that he suffered and did for me; It shouldn't be hard to sit quietly. It shouldn't be hard even though I am small, to think about Jesus, not hard at all." And as I thought about how my amazing mother taught me to follow the Savior's example, I thought of my own verse to add, "It isn't too hard to stand strong and tall, to witness of Jesus and give Him my all, since He bled and died and suffered such pain, it isn't too hard to remember His name. It isn't that hard even though I fell small, to live like the Savior, not hard at all." I'm grateful to be sharing the gospel with so many people out here, my mom and dad have raised me and helped me become who I am today. I can't take much credit for being where I am, I'm just blessed to serve my God and to give Him my all.

God bless everyone and Happy Mother's Day (Don't leave the Mother's Day breakfast dishes in the sink for mom to clean, bad idea!!!),

Elder Crow

This was us tearing down some vines and ivy for a member, if you zoom in on my face you will get the laugh of a lifetime

But then this happened so don’t laugh (it was poison ivy)

We helped the same member and her son stack a big ‘ol wood pile

The boy with us is Billy, he is coming to work with us every Tuesday and Saturday now

A woman we talked to a couple days ago gave us $100 in Walmart

We went to Mellow Mushroom for district lunch on Friday, some of the best pizza I've ever had 

Took some picture with a few of the cars, wish you could see my face better because I killed it! LtoR  Elder Smith, Elder Crow, Elder Chandler, Sister France, Sister Kocherhans, Sister Ruprect, Sister Achee, Elder James, Elder Parks, and Elder Champ

He Lives, March 21, 2016

Hello loved ones,

Well this transfer is at an end! I have been in London for 7 weeks now and I found out I'll be staying for 6 more weeks with Elder Parks! I'm super excited to keep working here, I know there are many more lives for us to bless!! Well, London has been going great but the weather is so wacky. There is a saying, "If you don't like the weather in Kentucky, wait a week and it will change." There is much truth found in this phrase. This past week was 70 degrees and warmer, so it was short sleeve shirts and riding our bikes every day! Today, it is 47 degrees and it will not get a whole lot warmer the rest of the week...it makes missionary work very hectic haha! But I love it either way. I have biked in freezing cold and snow, the crazy rain and lightning storms, and the overwhelming heat and sun. Whatever it's like out there, there's still work to be done, and someone's gotta do it so it might as well be me!

This week has been so amazing, I know I don't talk too much about what we do throughout the week, I'll start mentioning more of that. So we have had a huge push in the mission to talk to everyone we see and we've been trying super hard to do just that. And just because we are missionaries doesn't always make it easier to talk to complete strangers. I say a small prayer everytime I walk up to somebody (really before I do anything) on the street, or in their car, or while they're smoking, etc (we really talk to EVERYONE haha). A lot of our time is spent doing all that we can to find people who are willing to hear the message we have to share, but lots of people here are set in their ways and aren't too interested in what we have to say. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't give them the opportunity to hear more about Jesus Christ; whether they know it or not I know that what I am sharing is true and I know it can bless us all in strengthening our faith in our Savior. We have been focusing a lot on Christ's resurrection with Easter coming up and we've been sharing a video called "Hallelujah". It is an awesome video and I would encourage all of you to go watch it here: https://www.mormon.org/easter?cid=HP_SU_3-13-2016_dMIS_fSPC_xLIDyL1-A_

As I have studied and read the scriptures and prayed sincerely to learn more about my Savior, Heavenly Father has blessed me with a greater understanding of what Jesus Christ has done for me and all of us. I can testify with all of my heart that HE love you! It does not matter who you are, where you are in life, or what you are doing, HE LOVE YOU!!! Stop and think about that for a moment. The Savior of the world, the Son of God, the Prince of Peace, the Master of Light love you. He loved you enough to come to this earth. He loved you enough to live a perfect live so that you know exactly what to do to be a great deal happier in this life then you would've ever been on your own. He loved you enough to suffer and pay for every one of your sins with His own blood. He loved you enough to die for you. But most amazingly enough, He loved you enough to LIVE AGAIN!! Jesus Christ lives!! Never again do we have to worry about being alone, never again do we have to worry about being imperfect, never again do we have to worry about being lost, never again do we have to worry about being hated, never again do we have to worry about anything. Ever. Because He. Lived. Again.

I bear my witness that Jesus Christ is the living Son of the living Father of us all. I testify that He rose on the third day to break the bond of death, to ensure that families CAN be together forever. I know that I am His brother, and each one of you are His brothers and Sisters. I know that if we turn it all over to Him He will not let us fall, but He will walk with us along the long and lonely road we call life. I know that He knows exactly what we are going through and we can find new life in Him. If you ever feel like you don't mean anything, like you have no purpose, remember there will always be someone who cares. If you want to feel loved, then you must love others. We can experience all the blessings and joy that come from following Jesus Christ if we but follow His footsteps and do all that we can to make Him more central in our lives.

Happy Easter everyone remember what He did and still does for us,

God bless,

Elder Crow

The district: me, Elder Champ, Elder Parks, Elder James, Elder Riphenburg, Elder Hardy, Elder Money and Elder Watmough (our zone leaders), Sister Kockerhans, Sister France, Sister Lee, and Sister Achee

The Elder holding my left side is Elder Champ, he is from Enumclaw, WA!  We both sang bass together first district meeting, so he signed us up to sing at zone conference (when all the missionaries in our zone boundaries come together to be trained with President and Sister Brough there )!!  We are either singing “Brightly Beams our Father’s Merc y” or singing that same hymn mixed with “Now let us Rejoice”.  We haven’t decided yet, oh well we’ll figure it out!  

Part of my district after district lunch (all the missionaries in our
district go out to lunch) at Zaxby's

Dear Mom,

I already told dad, but I forgot to wish you both a happy anniversary!! I hope you two got some time together, but it sounds like these work shifts are interfering a lot. I just pray that Heavenly Father will lead him to a job that will give him time for rest and his family. I would also like to thank you for the email you sent this last week. I have been able to look for "roses in the thorns" and it has made all the difference. Yesterday was a very hard day. We had some high goals to hit and we didn't get home from church when we would've liked to. On top of that, we have to move our 2 hours of studies to the afternoon before we can work! It took everything I had to stay positive and be excited to get out and work for a  few hours. We were able to do so and we reached our goals and ended the week off GREAT! I've seen a lot of hardship this past week, but it was also one of the best weeks I've had on my mission! We have a young girl who is preparing to be baptized on April 16th (she was the one who was going to get baptized the day before my birthday but she wasn't quite ready) named Maggie. Her whole family is less active and she is the only un-baptized member in her family. Her parents are not providing any support at all to help her get baptized, we can't have lessons in the house anymore and they won't drive their kids to church even though they have a nice big SUV. It is very frustrating to see so little effort on the part of her family, but this is where I found my rose. She has 2 older brothers, Andy is 13 and Joseph is 18. They are the greatest support to their sister I may have ever seen! Joseph asks his dad if we can come teach his sister every day, and he gets yelled at every time for asking (he's doing this while struggling with anxiety and depression) yet he still keeps asking!!!! He found a way to get us over to teach Maggie; he finds something his dad wants done and if it's big enough he asks if we can come help. We then go over and do the service, and with the weather getter warmer, we have a lesson with Maggie and her siblings each time! I feel a great deal of love and amazement at how my Heavenly Father can work wonders through the most difficult circumstances. He has a plan, He has it all mapped out perfectly. He knows exactly how to bless us exactly when we need it, and He also knows when to let us tread through the wet cement sometimes. I am oh so grateful that my Father in Heaven knows me so well to build me up in ways I NEVER could on my own. I have found more joy and more self-worth in my full-time service to the Lord as I have put a smile on my face and trudged through the thorn bushes to find the roses Heavenly Father has placed in my path. It isn't always easy, but discipleship is as rewarding as we make it; we can choose to turn it into a maze of difficulty with uncooperativeness and a lousy attitude; or we can turn it into a walk in the park with a willingness to submit to the Lord's will and a happy heart. I'm so grateful for a mother and father who held my hand during the walk in the park, then taught me to rely on Christ and keep myself unspotted from the world and sent me off running into the woods next to the park; with uncertainty lingering but knowing all would be well.

I love you so much,

Elder Crow