December 2, 2013

Dear Family and Friends,

     We have had a really wet week! It rained every day this week (except for yesterday), and some days it rained all day without stopping. I usually have my umbrella in my bag at all times, but one day I set it out to dry on the balcony, and left it there when we went out to work again. Big mistake. That night we got hit by a huge wave of heavy rainclouds and by the time we got home, I couldn´t have been more wet if I had jumped into the ocean. It got to the point where we just stopped trying to avoid the rain, and laughed at how ridiculous we must have looked. 

     Although I didn´t celebrate Thanksgiving this year, I took some time on Thursday to think about some of the lessons I´ve learned from being on a mission, and how grateful I am to be able to serve the Lord in this manner. I created a simple list of 15 things I´ve learned so far, and I´d like to share it with you guys this week:

  1. If you never ask, the answer is already, ´´no´´.

  2. Don´t beat around the bush. Many times, people already have an idea of why you´re there, and what you´re going to try to explain.

  3. Appreciate this moment of your life--right now. No matter how tough your life seems at the time, there is something about today that you´ll miss or wish you´d appreciated more.

  4. Be BOLD. And loving. Simultaneoulsy.

  5. When the lady of the house tells you to eat, you eat. When the lady of the house tells you to eat more, you eat more! You can always add a few extra crunches to your morning workout.

  6. Nothing breaks the ice faster than a firm handshake and a warm smile.

  7. Getting along with another person is not about searching for their similarities, it´s about appreciating and learning to love their differences.

  8. Love: Say it. Show it. Make sure they know it.

  9.There is no bad day that a hot shower, a hot meal, and a long prayer can´t fix.

  10. The Lord already knows everything, but He always wants to hear you tell your side of the story.

  11.No earthly, material thing should ever take precedence over your family. Ever.

  12. It´s better to have character than to be one.

  13. Usually, momma really does know best.

  14. If it´s sunny, go and enjoy it. If it´s rainy, go and enjoy it. If there´s a giant blizzard raging on outside -- see number 9.

  15. Your success as an individual is not measured against the ´success´ of the other people around you. Your success as a human being is measured by your dedication to continually become the best person you can be.

     Happy Holidays, y´all! I love you very very much and I´ll talk to you soon!

Com carinho,

-Elder Crapo

Novembro 24 2013

Dear Family & Friends,

     We had a really eventful week! Tuesday we had our zone leaders come do a division with us, so we got to talk to them about our areas and get some feedback and advise on how we can help our area grow. On Wednesday we got a call from a member who told us that her non-member friend is sick and would like a blessing. Yes. In Portuguese. No, of course I wasn´t nervous, I don´t know what you´re talking about. The lady´s name is Maria ( which is the name that over 40% of women over the age of 50 have. Everybody is Maria!), and she has an illness that has to do with her skin. It´s supposedly pretty painful, and it´s keeping her from working or being too active so she´s at home all day. She made a visit to the doctors, and they told her that they can´t figure out what it is, but they do know that it isn´t contagious. They kinda just left her to fight it out--whatever it is. I think she said it´s been a while since she contracted it, so she´s pretty discouraged. We gave her a blessing and talked about why we go through trials in this life, and the member who was with us cried the whole visit through. Maria really liked our visit, and told us we were welcome to come back and talk more about the church any time we wanted.

     The next day (Thursday), we held a division with the other companionship in our house (our district) so that Elder Johnson could go give a baptismal interview to an investigator, while working our area at the same time. I was with my district leader, Elder Bueno from Curitiba Brasil (I know, his name is Spanish, but he´s Brazilian), and we made it a goal to beat out Elder Johnson and Elder Knudsen in street contacts. Yeah...we smashed them with 20 contacts in one day. Our weekly goal is 35. Needless to say, we definitely hit our goal this week.

     Friday was the day we had marked for Geraldo´s baptism. During the week, we got some unexpected results from our lessons and visits with him. His mom, Valdesir, has been taught by missionaries for years, and has always said the same thing that she said to us on my first visit to the house: that she knows the church is true, she´s attending church and doing everything she needs to do, but she wants to wait for the ´right time´. We asked her if she´s ever prayed specifically about baptism, and her answer was no. Our invitation to her was to devote a very specific prayer to God, asking about her baptism. In the following visits with Geraldo, we always ask her each time if she had prayed yet. She always responded with no, and some wishy-washy excuse.

     One day, as we were re-visiting Joseph Smith and the first vision with Geraldo, and re-commiting him to be baptised, his mom walked in from the kitchen to listen in for a moment. As Geraldo re-accepted his baptismal date, the spirit spoke to Valdesir, and she said, ´´Okay. If my son can be baptized, I will be baptized, too,´´ and she accepted a date for the 22nd. After this lesson, we began weeding out all of Valdesir´s fears and doubts about baptism. We discovered a lot of things, including a fear of water. As we discussed each of these things with her, we could always feel the spirit working on her--and she could feel it, too! Unfortunately, due to several issues with the Word of Wisdom and a discouraging family member, Geraldo´s baptismal date has been postponed. 

     However, it was my immense pleasure to escort Valdesir to the font and perform her baptismal ordinance on Friday, November 22, after many long years and tireless efforts from several missionaries. I know we were able to help this woman only with the help of the spirit, and we touched her heart through teaching her son.

     Now I have some less-good news. Yesterday was the Conference of the district Colatina. Unfortunately, I woke up yesterday morning with a really nasty illness (yay, Brasil!), that left me out of commision for the whole day, and caused me to miss the conference. Both of the companionships in our district had investigators who would be attending, so Elder Knudsen kindly volunteered to stay with me so Elder Johnson and Elder Bueno could go. My entire system was cleaning itself out with every method in the books, so I spent the first part my morning vomiting and dry heaving, and the rest of my day getting on and off the toilet with severe diarrhea. 

                            ...I´ve had better days...

     The good news is that it only lasted 24 hours, and I´m much better now. Plus, my system is all cleaned out now, and I probably lost those few extra pounds. ;) 

     Thanks to the Relief Society back at home for sending me the letter with the Christmas message! I received it yesterday, and I really enjoyed what it said! 

                 I love you all, and I´ll talk to you soon!

                                             Com carinho,

-Elder Crapo

I´ve been...what?? Novembro 18 2013

Dear Family and Friends,

     To start off this week´s letter, I thought a bit of a plot twist would be fun. I know you´re expecting to hear all about my adventures in Cobilândia with Elders M. Silva and Stilson, but I have a different topic to discuss this week. Last Tuesday (one day after I sent my last letter), we received a call from the assistants to the President. They told us that I was being emergency transferred that day, and we needed to go home and pack my bags and travel to the bus station in Vitória as soon as possible.Needless to say, that is not exactly what we thought we´d be doing with our Tuesday, but nevertheless, that´s what we did. We arrived at the ´Rodoviária´(bus station), I said goodbye to my awesome companions, and met my new one. As we sat there waiting for the bus that would take us to our new area, Aracruz, my new companion, Elder Johnson (from Ogden, Utah), told me that I was emergency transferred because his old companion decided to go home after just one week in the field. It was a while before the bus showed up, so we got to get to know each other a little bit, and he´s a good guy. By the time we got to Aracruz and to our apartment and to our beds, it was around midnight, and I was so completely drained.

     This week, I learned that they have a really good branch here in Aracruz. The members are really awesome about helping with the missionary work, and every time they hear about Elder Johnson´s old companion, they ask me if I´m doing okay and reassure me that this is a good area, ha ha ha. They´re a really sweet group of people.

     There is one part-member family here that is really cool. They live in what is like 4 houses built around what began as just one little house. Now they have 3 generations living in one giant home. It was a little confusing my first visit as I was meeting cousins, siblings, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, and where they all are in relation to each other. I still don´t have everything straight, and need clarification with each visit. There´s one member of the family (a brother to one member, and cousin to another) by the name of Geraldo who we started teaching last week. He has an interesting life,. and he´s not super religious, but he knows his stuff. He can teach us as well as we can teach him! He´s really interested and has a lot of desire to hear our message and do the challenges we give him. He´s been to church with the LDS members of hi family before, and he came to church yesterday, so his baptismal date for this Friday, the 22nd, is still solid. Now if I can stick around just that long...

     This upcoming weekend, we have District Conference where all the saints (and some friends and family of the saints) from Aracruz to São Mateus will gather at the chapel in Coltina (the biggest and nicest chapel in the state of Espirito Santo). I´m really excited to see some old friends from the branch in São Mateus again. It´ll be a great event with so many people. The members here are pretty excited, too.

     I have to admit, I was pretty sad to leave Cobilândia and my friends behind so quickly and with such short notice, but I still believe the Lord has a work for me to do here in Aracruz, as well.Tenho absoluta certeza que no final da minha missão, vou agradecer e aprender com essas experiencias. I love you all very much, and I´ll talk to you soon!

Com carinho,

-Elder Crapo

November 11, 2013

Dear Family and Friends,

     I have so much that I could talk about, and so little time! Transfers were held last Tuesday, and I´ve been sent to the Zone Vila Velha in the area Cobilândia. It´s only two short ônibus rides (graças a ceus!) from the Mission Home in Vitória, just on the mainland. Now for some unexpected news: I´ve been placed in yet another trio! I wonder what the Lord is trying to tell me, because this is my third permanent trio now. More surprising yet are my companions: Elder M. Silva from Fortaleza, Brazil, and Elder Stilson! Yup, you read that correctly. The same Elder Stilson from before. I think our area is the biggest in the mission, because it used to be two areas worked by two companionships, and now it´s one giant area worked by a trio. We´re not sure if we´ll be receiving a fourth some time in the near future to help with the large area, so for now we´re just playing the hand we get. The area looks exactly like all the pictures you see in photos of Brazil with huge green hills, lots of tropical trees, and lots and lots of small differently colored houses. You get quite the spectacular view in some parts of our area, and my only regret is that the camera I have could never ever do it justice. 

     One of the first things I noticed after arriving in this new area is how incredibly awesome the ward (I´m in a ward!) is here. I´ve never met a more embracing, genuinely loving and accepting people in my life. The second you walk into the church building or into one of their homes, you are automatically a part of a family, and instantly smothered with love, no matter who you are: missionary, investigator, member, child, senior, everybody gets the same treatment. And there are a lot of fun people who have that certain kind of silly that reminds me of my own family, and feels like home. ´´I think I´m gonna like it here!´´

     My new companion, Elder M. (for ´Mike´) Silva is really really great, as well. He has a lot of characteristics that remind me a little bit of Papai Elder Jones. It´s a breath of fresh air to have someone to work with that has the same commitment to following the rules and working hard as I do. He actually just finished his training and has just 3 months on his mission, and (for understandable reasons such as already knowing the language and the area and the culture, while Elder Stilson and I are still learning) is the senior companion and district leader.

     Our district is comprised of 5 missionaries, our trio and a dupla of Sisters: Sister Andreá from São Paulo, Brasil (of course), and Sister Piris from Bueno Aires, Argentina. Not to be prideful or anything, but we seriously have the best district in the mission. I have no doubt. From our first district meeting, I saw that we all have the same set of standards, the same ideas of how the work should be done, and the same determination to actually get it done. I didn´t have to worry about conflict among the missionaries about the work. That was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. 

     Just like my first week in São Mateus, we had a marriage and a baptism in the same day this weekend! Iran and Analia have been investigating the church for about 9 months now, and Iran finally decided to get married and baptized. Analia attends church every week, and loves everything about it, but is a very independent woman, and wants a firm affirmation for herself before she gets baptized. They are really happy, though, and it´s cool to be able to be a part of their experience.

     Things are really speeding up with the language now a days. I´m having an easier time just talking every day. I´m really grateful for the opportunity I´ve had to have Brazilian companions so that I have to speak the language at all times. You can see the difference in the missionaries who speak English with their companions all the time. 

      I love you all so much! I´ll talk to you soon!

Abraço grande!

- Elder Crapo

                                                       A  teeny tiny portion of our area.

Our District

November 4, 2013

Family and Friends,

People always told me that missionaries come home weird...

When I left, I was weird...

Does that mean I get to come home normal??

     Good November, y´all!! I can´t believe how fast October flew by! Things here in Brazil are starting to get hot, which is strange, because I heard it snowed back home this past weekend. That, and the fact that it´s supposed to get cold before people start putting up Christmas decorations! 

     By way of announcement, I´m being transferred tomorrow! Wahoo! I also heard that we´ll be receiving 12-15 new missionaries from the good ol´ US of A this week. Hopefully this will include the remaining missionaries from our MTC district who haven´t arrived yet. Cross your fingers, y´all! I´m excited to see where I´m headed and who I´ll be serving with for the next while. 

     This week was a great week to go out on. It was a little sad not having any Americans around to share in the excitement of the non-existent Halloween on Thursday. (Thursday? Quinta...yes. Thursday. aiai...) But on Friday, we had a branch activity where a few members and the missionaries put on a little theatrical show about final judgement. They asked me to prepare a musical number for the show, which I did, but when we gathered on the day of to review what we´ll do, I was told they wanted 3 or 4  musical numbers. It was time to pull a ´Crapo´. With about an hour to prepare, the Mission Leader let me hop on DeFordmusic.com (thanks, Mom and Dad for introducing this to me before the mission. It quite literally saved the show) and I prepared and used two arrangements with the accompaniment, and sang the fourth song a´capella. I started with the song I originally arranged, ´´Come, come, ye Saints´´ in Portuguese. Then as the man acting as ´´The Father´´ or ´´The Judge´´ was calling (previously selected) people from the audience to come sit at the front to be judged, I used Sally´s arrangement, ´´I need thee every hour´´, with the english lyrics switched out for the Portuguese ones. Then as one of the ´wicked´people were being judged, and were thinking about their life and accountability for their transgressions, I used a verse of ´´ É Tarde, a Noite Logo Vem´´ a´capella. ( I can´t, for the life of me remember the name or lyrics in English). That was really a touching moment for everyone in the room. Many people told me they cried. Finally, as one ´righteous´person was being freed and escorted to be exhalted, I sang ´´Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing´´ in English, the same arrangement from Sally that I sang that last time in Sacrament meeting back home. It turned out really well. Everyone seemed to like it. After the show, they prepared one of the rooms with Halloween decorations and had food and Halloween music playing. The Elders had to go home for curfew at that point, but it was good to just look for a moment. It was like a tiny piece of home for 10 seconds.

     Of course, after the great reveal of Elder Crapo´s ability to sing, the members make other plans to use this talent. And of course, Elder Crapo is transferred shortly thereafter...

 Life.

     At any rate, I´ll be sure to tell you all about my new area and companion next week. Be excited! I love you all very much, and I´ll talk to you soon!

Abraço Grande!

-Elder Crapo

Outubro 28, 2013

Dear family and friends, 

     ´´Graças a ceus´´, this week slowed down a little bit from last week. I was honorary senior comp for just this week, so things got a little interesting. When my companion told me I would be senior this week, I thought, ´´oh, man, you have no idea what you just got yourself into, ´cause we´re gonna work like were in Texas.´´

 That being said, I´m pleased to announce that we received 4 referrals, gained 5 new firm baptismal dates, found 9 new investigators, and taught 24 lessons this week. Ah, it looks like Texas again. 

     On a more serious  note, we had our big mission conference with a member of the Quorum of Seventy this week. We were visited by Elder Gavarret, and I was really excited because I remember seeing him give a discourse in General Conference, and really liking it. The conference was truly an answer to many prayers and fasts. I had so many questions answered and concerns addressed by Elder Gavarret and his wife. I would do it again, even though we travelled about 8+ hours to get there and back. 

     We´ve started teaching a family that a member referred to us, and they truly are fantastic. They are a husband and wife with one 10 year old son. They´re married!!! WOOO! Man, that really is the number one thing that stops people from being baptised these days. Get married, people! *deep breath* okay...

      They´re awesome because they just express their love for the Lord and the gospel in every lesson, and their son is a religeous genious. He always gives better and more profound answers than any other person in the room. He´ll make a great missionary in 8 years. ;) 

     Our other great new development is a referral from the young man we baptised a few weeks ago. His friend and the mom of his friend pretty much just told us they´re trying to figure out which church to attend, because they don´t believe the one´s they´ve attended in the past. They responded really well to the message of the Restoration, and have committed to reading and praying about the Book of Mormon.

     Well, it´s week 6 again. You know what that means--Transfers are next week! I´ve completed my second training in Brasil, so we´ll see if I get to stay here in São Mateus or if I´ll be moved to another area. Until then, I love each and every one of you so much! I´ll see you soon!

Abraço grande!

-Elder Crapo

Outubro 21, 2013

Queridos Família e amigos, 

     We said goodbye to Elders Mason and Figueredo last week, and this week, we say hello to Elders Rocha (ho-sha) and P. Araujo ( I´m not gonna even try on that one). Elder Rocha has 6 months on his mission, and looks really young. I think he´s either 18 or 19, but he looks 15 ( I´m sure many people think the same thing about me.) Elder P. Araujo is 22 and has 4 months on his mission. He went through an inactive stage and when he came back, he decided to serve, so here he is.Yes, this means I am now the only American english speaker within walking distance, but it´s a lot of fun, and I at least speak enough of the language to understand and communicate on a basic level. You may have to re-teach me English when I get home, though. I go whole days without speaking an entire sentance in English. 

     Since the emergency transfer, there was a change in the areas, so Elder Moroni and I had to hand over Particia to Elders Rocha and P. Araujo, but it´s no problem. I´ll be there for her baptism still. In other exciting news, we had 3 baptisms this past weekend! One 15 year old named João Vítor, and two brothers Luiz and Ibison ages 12 and 9. I had been with Elder Mason to teach João before he became our investigator, and it was cool to help him finish preparing to be baptised. He was super prepared and was all worried about what kind of changes he needed to make before he was baptised. He wanted to be sure he was worthy and ready, which he is. He´s solid. Luiz and Ibison are two brothers of a recent convert, AnaFlavia (that´s such a great name!), and since the branch here is fairly new, and our building just went through rennovation. what little baptismal clothing we had was lost and we only had a few items of clothing to use for two small boys. I had a picture taken of what we ended up doing. It worked, but it was a little ridiculous and funny. 

     Yesterday, we had interviews with President Araujo, which went well. Nothing incredible or life changing happened. We´ll just keep plugging along as usual. After he interviewed us individually, he took us all into the office, and reviewed some rules (in general for everyboday) It´s funny, because he didn´t really know where I was in my Portuguese skills, so he tried to speak some english phrases to me. At one point, he looked at me and said, ´´Baby...No. Kids...No.´´ as he acted out cradling a baby, meaning missionaries shouldn´t hold children or babies. We all laughed because I already understood everything he was saying, he didn´t need to speak in English to me. The way he said it was comical.

     Right now we´re just trying to get our new areas learned and organized. Tudo bom here in São Mateus. We´ve been getting a better hang of things, and we laugh a lot. It´s fun. I love you all, and I´ll talk to you soon!

Com amor,

- Elder Crapo