22 de Setembro 2014

Family and Friends,

     This week we received two returned missionaries in the ward, and hearing them speak in sacrament meeting caused me to think about the miracles happening in my mission every day.

     I'm so grateful for all the help I've received in learning to speak the language. There were a lot of times I felt like I'd never manage to speak fluently and connect with members and investigators. I'm grateful for the testimony I've gained of the gospel, the Book of Mormon, and the atonement of Jesus Christ. I'm grateful for my perspective changed by the humble circumstances in which I often find the people here. I'm grateful for the knowledge I now have that this work is not my own. This is the Lord's work, and He is in control of it all. His leaders are called and inspired men and women who are also learning, and like me, are imperfect. I know the Lord doesn't expect us to be perfect. He just wants us to do our best and through His mercy, He will do the rest. I'm grateful for the opportunity I've had to learn to live with many different type of people and to love and serve them unconditionally as Christ would love and serve them. I'm grateful for having received several ``no´´s so that in the future, I could receive a greater ``Yes´´. I'm grateful for the Savior's sacrifice, and the knowledge that he saw and loved me enough to suffer the consequences of my mistakes and free me from an eternal torment.

     Serving a mission has literally saved my life. If there was anything I could ask of you ( yes. You. Reading this letter, you.), It would be:

     Please pray with your family. Study the scriptures together. Hold a meaningful family home evening each week teaching a principle of the gospel. Work together. Play together. Love them in spite of their flaws and difficulties. Have meaningful conversation at the dinner table. Make your family one of your biggest priorities. I promise if you do these things, you will be protected from danger, and there will be a greater joy in your home. I love you all so much, and I'll see you soon!

Elder Crapo

15 de Setembro, 2014

Bom dia, pessoal!

I have some un-surprising news for y'all this week. I got sick! ...Again! 

     Okay, I know it's not really something to joke about, but it's been what, two or three weeks since the last time I got sick? My body obviously does not like changing seasons, and let me tell you, it's starting to get pretty heated down here. I started with a pretty inflamed sore throat that broke out into a fever in the middle of the night. Luckily I sweat it all out that very night, and today my throat is much better already, just a little scratchy still. 

     We had an interesting week. We're still on the hunt for our next golden investigator, and our recent convert Ana gave us some names and Felipe will go with us to visit them, he really wants to be a missionary already. He showed up to church yesterday dressed exactly like a missionary: white shirt, dark slacks, dress shoes, tie, he even cut his hair. Both of them are doing really well. 

     We helped a single mom and her five kids move houses this week. The new house is on the mountain, and as we were mounting the beds and cleaning up, we were visited by a family of little monkeys! The kids ran to grab some bananas and we put them at the bottom of the tree they were in, and watched them come down to eat. We counted about 8 to 10 monkeys and one momma monkey with two little baby monkeys clinging to her back. Unfortunately, I hadn't brought my camera. They told us that the monkeys show up to visit every day, so the next time we head over, I'll be sure to take my camera.

     We've also been visiting a recent convert family frequently to study the Book of Mormon together, and their 13 year old nephew, Niuesli ( like...Nil - wesley), always likes to read with us. We gave him his own Book of Mormon to read, and he came to church yesterday. He's a little shy, but the ward here always does a good job at helping investigators feel welcomed. We'll help him set a baptismal date this week. 

     It think that sums it up. I hope y'all are doing well, and have a great week! Love you tons, and I'll see you soon!

Elder Crapo

8 de Setembro

Family and friends,

Today is the birthday of the city Vitória!  Unfortunately, that means that everything is completely shut down, including the computer houses, so this e-mail is being sent to y'all from the bishop's house! I don't have tons of exciting news for you this week. Ana and Felipe were confirmed in church yesterday, which was also Independence Day of Brasil. Because of this, I was handed the piano music to their national anthem about one hour before the sacrament meeting, and was asked to play it on the piano. Have you ever heard the national anthem of Brasil? Of all the crazy, all-over-the-place songs you could give me to sight read. Thankfully it wasn´t the first time I´d heard it, but the first time I played it all the way through was during the meeting. It actually wasn´t a complete disaster like I thought it would be, thanks to all the sight reading practice I`ve been doing. The only obstacle I have to get over now is putting the left hand with the right, but it´s so hard for me to play the hymns with both!

We´re starting to work even more with members this week, and received quite a few referrals that we´ll be contacting. I can´t believe the transfer is already half way over. We also had to drop a few investigators who weren´t progressing, so finding a new teaching group will be our focus this week. I hope y´all are well! Love you, and I´ll see you soon!

Elder Crapo

1 de Setembro, 2014

Family and Friends,

     We've had a great week! We spent almost every day running towards Ana's baptism on Sunday. Her biggest difficulty was quiting coffee, so on Tuesday, we bought some barley (like pero or postum) and took it with us to her house so she could try it to replace her morning coffee. She tried it, and approved! She never drank coffee again! Unfortunately, on Wednesday she got sick. Everyone here is dropping like flies because the weather is being bi-polar these days and it's messing with our health. We decided to accompany her by telephone and let her rest instead of making her get out of bed to visit with us. Thursday we showed up to fill out her baptismal record and prepare her for the interview which was scheduled for Friday. Friday we took our Zone leaders over to her house to hold the baptismal interview. She passed, and she had made dinner for us to celebrate! Saturday we stopped by in the afternoon to make sure everything was all set for Sunday. She surprised us with a little ``tea´´ party with 'pero' and my favorite bolinha de chuva with sweet cheese filling (because she knows how much I love her bolinha de chuva). She's really the best.

     Sunday, she showed up with Felipe at church before we even got there! She called us to ask us where we were. We held her baptismal service after the normal church meetings, and we managed to baptize her without much complication. Her foot slipped as I was pulling her up out of the water, so she started going back down for a second dunk, but we managed to get her back on her feet before she drowned. ;p As we were heading to the font, she said to me, ``I feel like I'm starting out on a grand mission!´´

     She's very happy to be a part of the ward, and the ward is so very happy to have her. She thanked us for always visiting her and teaching her. She told me, ``You're like my son, you know that. Thank you so much.`` It was a pretty rewarding day for everyone.

     This week we'll keep on keeping on. Hope you all are well. Love you, and see you soon!

Elder Crapo

Why does this always happen? August 24, 2014

Queridos amigos e familiares!

     I'll jump right in to the bad news, and then we'll get into the good stuff, alright?

 
     I'm sick. Again. This is something that always happened when I was at home. Every year in August when the school year is just about to start...I got sick. This week, I found out that this rule applies no matter where I am in the world. I thought I'd be able to escape it this year, but I guess not. Ah, well...

     Now the good stuff! Felipe was baptized yesterday!!! His mom came to church and sat through every minute of all three hours, and then stayed to watch Felipe's baptism, and she absolutely loved it. She's progressing really well in the discussions, too, and I have no doubt that it won't be long until she follows in her son's footsteps into the baptismal font. Felipe has the full support of not only his mom, but the ward here has done a fantastic job at integrating him in with everybody at church.

     Rosangela, Juliana, and Christiana didn't make it to church again, unfortunately, but they're still loving our lessons. They just need to stop scheduling things on Sunday, and we'll be good to go!

     Things are starting to heat up a lot over here, and that may be why I got sick. We went from cold rain and floods to super strong sun. Okay, I know, cold here is not even close to cold in Utah, but y'all know what I mean. Wishing all of you a fantastic week from Vitória, Brasil! Love you! See you soon.

Elder Crapo

What do you mean, nobody was? 18 de Agosto 2014

Bom dia, gente!

     So, yeah...we got the transfer call yesterday, and to the surprise of everyone involved, nobody was transferred again. I've never seen an area stay with the same four missionaries for three transfers in a row. Elder Lima and I are happy, though! Felipe and Ana are progressing really well, and have already cut coffee out of their diet. Unfortunately, we had a lot of rain yesterday which caused some flooding, and I think that's why they didn't make it to church yesterday. They did make it to the family home evening, though, which they loved. Wahoo!

     This week we started teaching member referrals Rosangela and her twin daughters Juliana and Cristiana. They are super receptive, and are loving the lessons. I can tell they have been prepared and I doubt it will be difficult helping them get to the baptismal font. Juliana and Cristiana have already accepted baptismal invitations and their mom, Rosangela, isn't against the idea, but was a little hesitant in committing. After talking with her a bit, we found out that she's worried about how the church works: tithing, music, church attendance. She just doesn't want to make the wrong choice, which is really good. When we left from our most recent visit, she seemed a lot more relaxed about the whole situation, and they were all extremely worried that we would be transferred. Good thing we weren't! They're a great family.

     Elder Lima and I gave talks in sacrament meeting. Elder Lima spoke on why we share the gospel, and I was given the simple topic of ``How inter-religious involvement helps us become better saints.´´ They wards here always seem to find a way to help me stretch and grow. At least the feedback I received from the ward was all positive. I definitely had a little help from the pulpit, because to me it seemed like I was just rambling.

     That about wraps it up for this week. We're all pretty excited for at least one more transfer. I hope you all have a fantastic week! Love you, and see you soon!

Elder Crapo

My faith increased: 11 de agosto 2014

Family and Friends,

     This week, we received a member referral from the Relief Society president, Irmã Alba, and her son, Luis Henrique. Yesterday, Luis Henrique brought 14 year old Felipe to church, and the ward did a great job at helping him feel welcome and comfortable. In visiting his home later that evening, we met his mom who told us that she does Irmã Alba's nails and watched Luis Henrique grow up, leave on a mission, and saw the change in his life when he came back. She said she really likes the attention and care we take in our youth and has been impressed in meeting several LDS missionaries on the street in the day to day. She also told us that in the end, the decision is Felipe's, but if she could choose for him, she'd choose to put him in The LDS Church because of the young men's programs. Felipe told us he loved church yesterday, and that he's excited to go again next week. 

     As we taught the Restoration, Felipe's mom, named Ana, told us about her story in searching for the truth in the many churches, and it was a story similar to Joseph Smith's. As we told her about young Joseph's experience and the First Vision, she sat quietly and listened close. When we said the final words of the First Vision, she whispered, ``That's God. It's true.´´ Both Ana and Felipe accepted baptismal invitations and promised to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. I know they have been so prepared by the Lord, and we are so grateful for the faithful members who are helping us find and teach those who are ready to receive. They'll attend a family night close to their home tonight and meet several members there. Wish us luck!

     The talent show was a giant success. We were a little worried about the turnout because we found out that several other activities in the city and at institute had been planned at the same day and time. However, several people came prepared with talents and even more came to watch. My companion and a member of the ward helped me choose Michael Bublé's version of ``That's Life´´, and it was huge hit. The panel of judges (the bishopric) awarded me by unanimous vote 1st place in the show, and now videos of the song are posted all over facebook for those who missed it to see. It was a lot of fun to get up and play with my voice again, and the audience was super gracious in giving me back even more energy than I was giving them.

     That's about all the news I have for this week. I hope you all are well! Love you, and see you soon!

Elder Crapo