May 28, 2013

Dear Home,

     WOW. I don't even know where to start right now.

     I've been assigned to work in the Galveston Zone, in the North West area. Galveston. Oh, man. Just look it up. Galveston in an island located just off the mainland in the Gulf of Mexico, and it is gorgeous here. I absolutely love the heat, and the humidity doesn't bother me at all. I actually enjoy it. I have a little tan line where I wear my watch already, and I'm quite proud of it. There are two parts of the island. One part is on a grid system, and has a lot of buildings, many of which look a bit run down (because of hurricanes, and the constant need to fix them after a bad one hits). Some of that part is pretty, but lots of it isn't. Then the other part of the island is spread out and is way nicer with lots fields and trees and aquatic birds that make the funniest noises. That's where I work. We have to ride our bikes more, but I don't mind at all because the scenery is so beautiful, and the air is so warm. I often forget that I'm in Texas because it looks like I'm in some other tropical place.

     My trainer is Elder Jones. He's really dedicated, but he also likes to have fun when we're in the apartment making meals and whatnot. Which reminds me. I need recipes. Yup. We all knew this day would come. Elder Jones' last companion had several cookbooks, so he doesn't have any recipes. The days that we aren't fed by families get interesting when we try to fix something from what we have in the pantry and the fridge. Yesterday, you could tell that I was used to cooking for a lot of people. I went to make some rice, and without thinking twice, I made...a lot. I don't know how much exactly, but it was way more than the two of us would ever eat in one sitting. Elder Jones got a pretty good kick out of that. He's from near Ogden, Utah, and likes hunting and sports and his passion is horses. He's a really good missionary. 

     There are only 6 missionaries in my district, and yes, I'm the only visa waiter. I've been given permission to take an hour in the morning to have a language study. I have no idea when my visa is going to come through, but I hope I get to spend the 4th of July here in Galveston. That would be awesome.

      I love some of the people that I get to teach here. There is one lady here named Sister Seeber, and she is the sweetest lady. She made Elder Jones and me a full meal, and then made a cake, insisting that it was my cake, so I had to be the one to decide how much I get, and how much the others got. She said she made it because she wanted to make sure that I felt welcome on the island. The other main people we're working with right now is a family. Eli Sr. , his son Eli Jr. , and his fiance, Marilyn. They accept the gospel, and want to be baptized, but Eli Sr. & Eli Jr. are having a hard time overcoming an alcohol addiction. We are continuing to work with them so they can be ready to be baptized.

     I was extremely bummed by the fact that I didn't have to opportunity to call home. I was so looking forward to hearing all your voices, but I guess I'll just have to wait until I get my visa, or until Christmas. Whichever comes first. It's okay. I have my address for my apartment on the island (which is surprisingly really nice!). Here it is:

Elder Crapo

7019 Lasker Drive #114

Galveston, Texas 77551

I love you all so much, and I can't wait to tell you more about my life and adventures here on the island. I love it here so much, and I'm excited for what the Lord has in store for me in the future.

                                                                 Amo voces!

                                                                - Elder Crapo

First letter from Texas!

(Hand written letter arrived Saturday)

Dear Home,

Houston. It's very humid and warm, so I think I'm gonna like it here.  I woke up at 3:00 am so I could be to the MTC travel office by 4.  From there, I took a bus to SLC airport for my flight to Phoenix.  I wanted to call, but there were hardly any telephones and they were all being used, so we had to board our flight to Houston.  The flights went well except for our landing on the second.  Everyone said it was the roughest one they've ever experienced.  BUT, I'm alive and well.  We did some contacting as soon as we got here (I knew it), and that went well.
     It's so green! YES!!!  I love how many trees there are. The roads, however...I thought the roads in Utah were bad.  Nope.  Everything is bigger in Texas, including the potholes.  Well...almost everything's bigger in Texas.  I'm not, but I've been told that by the time I leave, I will be.  Gotta love the south.

        Amo voces,

Elder Crapo

Letter from Mission President's Wife HE'S ALIVE!!!!

Dear Parents,

We are pleased to let you know that your missionary has arrived safely in the Texas Houston South Mission, the best mission in the world!!  They are happy and absolutely wonderful. President Ashton and I are thrilled to welcome them. This is the largest group of new missionaries we have welcomed—43 in all.  The Lord is certainly hastening his work and it is a very exciting time to be involved in missionary work.  We had a terrific afternoon and evening together on Tuesday. They received some training and practiced contacting.  We also had dinner together and then we enjoyed a beautiful testimony meeting. Wednesday they received more training, met their trainers as well as many other missionaries, and then left to their areas to meet and teach the wonderful people of Houston.  They come with such courage and strength.   You should be very proud of them.  We enjoyed getting to know them.

I have attached a photo from our gathering in the mission home. As you can see, there are many smiles.  We have seven children.  Spencer (14), Braeden (12), Jacob (10), Elisabeth Kate (8), Ethan (6), Daniel (3), and Wesley (10 months).  Wesley is not in the picture because he was asleep. They are so excited to be a part of your missionary's life!

Again, thank you for the opportunity you have given us to serve with these fine missionaries. We love them already and promise to take good care of them. May you find great joy and blessings as you continue to support them in bringing souls to Christ through His restored gospel. This is His work and these missionaries are on His errand. More joy awaits them than they have ever experienced!

With love,
President and Sister Ashton, Spencer, Braeden, Jacob, Elisabeth Kate, Ethan, Daniel, and Wesley

PS.  P-days are on Monday which is the day they will write/receive email. If they are assigned to Galveston Island, however, their email day will be Tuesday. I know they will love hearing from you each week and need to know you are loving and supporting them.  Please send at least a short note each week.  Thanks for everything.

Re-Assignment

I got a call from Nick on Thursday night telling me he had been assigned to the Houston Texas South mission to serve while he waits for his visa.  He was so excited but he will miss the people he has been serving with.  He is the only elder that is going to Texas with two sisters.  Everyone else is going to Colorado.  He sounded great and very happy.  It was great to hear his voice!

May 17, 2013

Dear Home,

     I am SO excited to go to Houston! I've been told that it is hot and humid in my new mission. Good thing I have all the right stuff for that kind of weather! I've also been told that depending on which area I'm assigned to when I get there, I will either go to the nicest part of the city with mansions or I will go to the "ghetto" part of the city in the slums. How weird is that? The mission is on south-eastern coast of Texas, and isn't very big. Probably because it's a huge city with lots and lots of people.

     I have a confession to make. Last time I wrote, I forgot a gigantic piece of awesome information from last week. I can't believe I did! So, two Sundays ago, when I was made district leader, our district was going through interviews with the branch presidency. After the last person was interviewed, the Branch President and one of his councilors came into our classroom where we were studying, and said that one of the sisters had asked for a blessing. Guess who got to give the blessing. The District Leader. Oh, yeah...That's me. On my first day as district leader, I was asked to give a blessing! I was kind of in a panic on the inside because all I had ever done in a blessing before was the anointing and standing in the circle. It went very well, though. I just had to let my mind go blank and speak the words I was given. It was a giant testimony builder for me because I didn't know I was capable of doing something like that. The councilor (am I spelling 'counsilor' right? I don't know. Nao falo ingles. anyway...) took me aside afterwards and thanked me for giving a beautiful blessing. He told me that it was beautiful because it came from my heart and from the spirit. It was cool.

     The musical number. That was a blessing. That day was the first day that I got my full voice back, and I was a little shaky on my words. I actually forgot my words during the sound check one hour before I was supposed to sing, and I wasn't singing the best I could. When that happened, we started where I forgot, and went on from there. After that, I ran it one more time. I didn't forget my words and the singing was better, but not what it could be. The devotional was being held in a big, long room about the size of three or more overflows. During my second time through the song during the sound check, I had several people poking their heads into the room to see what was going on, and when I had finished, two sister missionaries came in and told me they had listened to the whole thing, and that they felt the spirit so strong, it gave them chills. That was nice. When the meeting finally started, and it came time for me to sing, I sang that song better than I had ever sung it before, and I know that it was because I had lots of help. And I didn't forget my words. After the meeting, I received many hugs from Elders, and many handshakes from Sisters. One sister asked me if I was a music major, and when I told her that I wasn't entirely sure what I was doing about school yet. She told me that she was a music major, and that she was very picky when it came to the musical numbers (I am, too), and that I was definitely approved to be a music major if I wanted to be. My zone leaders, who were at the meeting, also came up to me and gave me giant hugs (they're pretty tall). One of them told me what most people tell me, and what I intend to do, which is: "Keep singing all throughout your mission. It will be such a blessing to those you serve!"

     I took some more pictures, which I'll send to you in another e-mail. Some of them are of the flower gardens here, because they are so beautiful, and because they reminded me of Mom on Mother's day. I also took a picture of all the stuff I would use to prepare my Portuguese lessons. It's a lot. Oh! On Wednesday, we had all the new missionaries come to the MTC, as usual, except for this time, my district was being host missionaries. Well, everyone except for my companion and me. We were in charge of directing all the crazy traffic and getting people parked in the right spot. Surprisingly enough, I had a lot of fun doing that. All the little hand motions we were taught to use for different things was probably the closest thing I'll get to dancing for quite a while. I got comments from other people in my district that I was "pretty good at that". Mostly because I was big with my motions, and there was no question as to what it was that I wanted the drivers to do. Another one of our jobs was to run around and grab all the sticky notes off of the windshields when they parked. I had a huge stack of green and pink sticky notes in my pocket when we finished.

     It's been a great week, and it's always great to read your letters and hear your stories. I don't have the address to the mission home in Texas yet, but I will let you know as soon as I can. I can't wait for the phone call Tuesday morning!

              Amo voces!

              -Elder Crapo

Dear Mother, these flowers remind me of you.......

Re-assignment guesses on chalkboard

Desk when preparing a lesson

 Picture of my view in the classroom when the sun comes through the window that I sit by in the morning.

May 10, 2013

Dear Home,

 

           One month! One crazy month, and one crazy week! Right after I sent my e-mail last week, one of the missionaries in my district got a call from the front desk telling him that he had an hour and a half to be packed and ready to take the shuttle to the airport to depart for Brazil! After much screaming and running around like chickens with our heads cut off, we sent off Elder Perez to the MTC in Sao Paulo on time. I auditioned for a special musical number yesterday, and that same day, I received a letter in the mail telling me that they would like me to sing at the departure devotional this Sunday for all the departing missionaries. The president's wife told me I had a very nice voice after I auditioned.

           I was made district leader last Sunday. Yup. Yay responisbilities! In all honesty, though, I'm grateful for the opportunity to serve and get to know the people in my district even better. I also had my trio companionship split up in order to provide a companion for  Elder Stilson (who was companions with Elder Perez before he went to Brazil). The language is getting better and better. I can go into some lessons with mock investigators without any notes for help, so that's good. The spirit is always stronger when I'm able to break away from my language notes. Also, I will receive my re-assignment this upcoming Thursday. I'll go to the travel office, and they'll hand me a letter, I think.

          Which reminds me. Missionaries in the MTC on Mother's day may not call home, BUT I will be allowed to call home when I get my re-assignment next Thursday so I can tell you guys where I'm going. I don't know what time I'll be getting my re-assignment, so I can't give you a specific time that I'll be calling. I also will be able to call home in the airport when I travel to wherever I'm being re-assigned, so I look forward to that, as well.

          It's crazy to hear about all the shenanagans going on at home. I actually thought the thought, "They should start a hotel business" BEFORE you said that in your letter. I laughed pretty hard. I got some funny looks. Speaking of funny looks, it was raining pretty hard over here the other day. It smelled so good. I was feeling brave, so I sang out some "I'm siiiiiiinging in the rain!" Accompanied by yet some more funny looks from the young missionaries, and giant grins from the senior missionaries. Especially when I got to the part that goes, "Bring on the rain! I've a smiiiiile on my face!!" That was fun. My companion was embarrassed.

          I'm learning an incredible ammount of stuff, and sometimes it feels like my head is going to exlpode in a fantastic display of Portuguese, church doctrine, and investigator stresses. I love it, though. Sometimes I get the opportunity to talk to missionaries headed to English speaking missions in America, and we share our favorite things about our countries, and other things like that. It's awesome. I love hearing about all the things at home. I always look forward to my e-mail time. Eu amo voces!

 

Sincerely,

Elder Crapo

         

May 3, 2013

Dear Family,

               Opa! Let me start by saying that President Homer and I have the same lunch schedule on some days, and I'm constantly running into him. It's awesome to see him and talk to him about things. We took a picture together outside the cafeteria yesterday, and he said he'd send it to you. I also ran into Sister Sara Newman the other day! It's awesome to see all these people I know who are preparing to serve.

               There's a funny thing that happens at the MTC that we've all noticed. The MTC really ages you. Seriously. When you show up on that first day, you can tell who has been there for a while, because they look way older than 18 or 19. My companions told me yesterday that it looks like I've aged 3 years since the first day, and to be honest, some mornings I wake up and don't really know the person on the other side of the mirror. And we've also decided that the longer you're here, the more it ages you. Crazy! It must be all the stress or something. The MTC is a blast, but it's definitely one of the most stressful experiences of my life.

               Study time. My desk area is always a bomb. Sometimes I just stop in the middle of my studies and look around. There are so many lesson materials (dictionaries, grammar books, scriptures in multiple languages, notebooks, pens, conjugation sheets, planners, etc.) it's nuts. I may have to take a picture of my desk when I'm preparing a lesson for a Poruguese speaking investigator. It's almost commical. Oh, I forgot to tell you last time that my classroom building is the George Q. Cannon building! How ironic is that?? It says some impressive things about his life on the wall just inside the door. I don't let anyone forget he's my several-greats grandpa.

              So, I gave in. I'm going to audition for a special musical number next week. I would have auditioned this week, but I got sick, and I still don't completely have my voice back. I've decided to sing "Be Still, My Soul" arranged by Sally DeFord, partially because it reminds me of dad because he said it was one of his favorites one time, and also partially because the lyrics are incredibly applicable and comforting for me and also for all of you guys at home who are having a difficult time. I would encourage you to go and REALLY look at the lyrics and think about what they're saying. It's incredible. I decided to audition because I remembered what you said about sharing my talents and how people kept telling me it would be a blessing to those in my mission. Also because I really miss singing out. Especially since I lost my voice.

              Due to the schedule changes and the end of the semester for BYU students (or something like that), Irma Wells got moved to another class, and we received a new teacher fresh from Brazil. He does a good job. Some people took pictures of our district with Irma Wells, and I'll see if I can get a copy to send to you. Also, re-assigment here is inevitable (almost anticipated) for the Brazilian missionaries. Brazil-bound missionaries are going to some really cool state side missions, and I can hardly wait to figure out where I'll be going for my mini American mission. I get the best of both! I find out where in a week from this upcoming Wednesday, I think.

              I love all of you back at home, and you are always constantly in my prayers. It's incredible the amount of love and care I'm reading about each week, and I know that through this trial, we will be strengthened. Families are forever. That's why I'm here. To take this "good news" to people who don't know that they can live with their families 'para sempre'.  

              

  Eu amo voces!

- Elder Crapo