September 12

I just came from a funeral. I hope this e-mail isn't too much of a drag because of it. An 11 year old passed away from cancer. I never got to meet him, but his parents are in the ward here and Sister Davis knows them well. It's so sad to see people grieve. Everything we teach is so important, but sometimes it gets routine until something like this wakes you up and you realize how each of God's children needs to know what we know. Life is so short. I see all of these college students and high school students on the streets down town and think, "what do they think the purpose of life is?" "do they understand their potential?" How sad that more people won't accept our message. But how wonderful it is for those who are humble and who are seeking for truth and light. My testimony has been reaffirmed that there is life after death, and what we teach is real and of great importance.
The Thomas family is a less-active family here. The sisters have been teaching them for a few months. Their daughter Anita is 12 and their son Adam is 8. We had challenged the family to think about and pray about a date that their kids could prepare for baptism. Last night they told us that they decided on Oct. 15th! We're so excited for them! I love going over to their house, their kids are so full of energy. Families are so important and I know that by them preparing together as a family for the baptisms that they will be even more unified.
Pegah came to church on Sunday. She's the one we met last week who is from Iran. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly to her! I love it when members talk to our investigators. Even if they just say hi and introduce themselves, oh man I get so excited! It means so much to a missionary to see members take the intiative and be so kind. Pegah seemed to like church, but she only came here 10 months ago so she couldn't understand some of the speakers. I'm grateful that the Spirit speaks all languages. :)
Speaking of which! Elder Oaks gave this phanominal talk at the CES broadcast last night! He talked about the 2 twin pillars of truth and tolerance. Highly recommend reading it! I love how bold he his. He just lays it out for you clearly so you can't misunderstand. If only I could teach with that clarity and boldness like he does.
I'm so grateful to have been blessed with the knowledge of the gospel all my life. It's amazing how much we take for granted. Last night as we watched the broadcast one of the YSA members here asked me if I had ever gotten the chance to be in that building that it was being broadcast at. I said that I had, that that in fact was my school. She asked me what it looked like and I told her about the Marriot center. How amazing is it that I've gotten to be in that room with apostles and prophets and hear them speak! I just can't say enough how much I've realized on my mission how blessed I am, and how selfish I have been. How lazy. I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father allows His children the opportunity to serve, that He has allowed me to come here and to look outside myself and to help someone in whatever way I can. What we share is true. God does live, He does know us by name, and our Savior lives and we will live again too. If only I could help others see how important our message is and how it applies to them! I'm so grateful for the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Without it I would not be able to do this work. I'm grateful for this time that I have on a mission to focus on eternal things. I get so caught up in day-to-day matters and so often forget about our eternal progression. What a blessing and a gift to have the gospel restored on the earth today! To have the chance to be apart of Christ's restored church! To be able to repent because of our Savior. I'm so grateful for the temple and for the authority that was restored to the earth to bind families together eternally. This is a great and a marvelous work and I'm grateful to be apart of it.
Love,
Sister Crane