10 years ago
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
August 18th
Hi! I'm in the city of Truro. I didn't realize until just a few days ago that Truro is pretty much the ghetto of Nova Scotia. When we go tracting which we do every day for hours, the people always say, "be safe" or "be careful on this street." Sister Peaden and would always look at each other and be like, "where are we?" why are people telling us to be safe? Then we drove around a bit and realized why. It's pretty poor and small townish. Our area is huge though. We doubled in which in mission terms means that there were Elders here and they left so this area is new not only to me but my companion too so it's like starting from scratch. This means finding people to teach, which means going door to door hour after hour every day. It's hard but once you start doing it, it gets better and you meet some interesting people.
We always seem to meet the oddest people right before it's time to go in for the night and we talk to them for an hour before we say "we're going to be late we've got to go." One of them was a conversation we had with 3 people in their 40's through a trailer window. They were smoking and drinking and we basicly told them all about Joseph Smith and the Plan of Salvation. At one point 1 lady looked at me and said, "Do you really believe what your saying?" before I could respond the man in the group said, "She does, I can see it in her eyes." As we kept talking I bore my testimony of the Holy Ghost and the Spirit was so strong I can't even describe it, I almost had tears in my eyes as I bore my testimony to them with conviction and power. It was amazing.
Yesterday we met some people in their 20's who wanted us to come to a "worship Jesus" party where they dance and play on drums, we declined seeing as they were going to have it after our curfew. Shucks.
The people are really nice here. They will talk to you, invite you in. Ya you get some weirdies, and ya you get some rude people who shut the door in your face, but for the most part they've been nice and said they respect what we're doing. We've got a lot of people these past 2 days who want us to come back and teach them more which is awesome.
Each day is hard, but each day gets a little easier to love the people and to feel needed. President Simpson said that he really felt that Truro needed sisters right now and that's why we "doubled-in." I think I'm starting to see why. A lot of the less active people here who have stopped going to church have stopped because they are women who their husbands left them, or they have lots of kids and it's hard to keep them quiet at church, or they've been offended. We visited one member who that was the case about her kids, and we talked with her and played with her kids and sympathized with her, she then invited us over for dinner on Thursday. In moments like that I wonder if that's one of the reasons why sister are needed here.
All of these experiences have helped strengthen my testimony. Every time I bear my testimony I feel and know that the things I say are true. I love you all. Please keep me in your prayers! I need it right now. This first week has been hard, harder than I anticipated and I need the help to keep moving. Thank you for your letters and support. I love you!
Love,
Sister Crane
We always seem to meet the oddest people right before it's time to go in for the night and we talk to them for an hour before we say "we're going to be late we've got to go." One of them was a conversation we had with 3 people in their 40's through a trailer window. They were smoking and drinking and we basicly told them all about Joseph Smith and the Plan of Salvation. At one point 1 lady looked at me and said, "Do you really believe what your saying?" before I could respond the man in the group said, "She does, I can see it in her eyes." As we kept talking I bore my testimony of the Holy Ghost and the Spirit was so strong I can't even describe it, I almost had tears in my eyes as I bore my testimony to them with conviction and power. It was amazing.
Yesterday we met some people in their 20's who wanted us to come to a "worship Jesus" party where they dance and play on drums, we declined seeing as they were going to have it after our curfew. Shucks.
The people are really nice here. They will talk to you, invite you in. Ya you get some weirdies, and ya you get some rude people who shut the door in your face, but for the most part they've been nice and said they respect what we're doing. We've got a lot of people these past 2 days who want us to come back and teach them more which is awesome.
Each day is hard, but each day gets a little easier to love the people and to feel needed. President Simpson said that he really felt that Truro needed sisters right now and that's why we "doubled-in." I think I'm starting to see why. A lot of the less active people here who have stopped going to church have stopped because they are women who their husbands left them, or they have lots of kids and it's hard to keep them quiet at church, or they've been offended. We visited one member who that was the case about her kids, and we talked with her and played with her kids and sympathized with her, she then invited us over for dinner on Thursday. In moments like that I wonder if that's one of the reasons why sister are needed here.
All of these experiences have helped strengthen my testimony. Every time I bear my testimony I feel and know that the things I say are true. I love you all. Please keep me in your prayers! I need it right now. This first week has been hard, harder than I anticipated and I need the help to keep moving. Thank you for your letters and support. I love you!
Love,
Sister Crane
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
She's in Canada! August 11
Hi! I'm here and safe! I only have a few minutes to let you know about how I'm doing. My p-days are on Wednesdays so next Wednesday I'll be able to write more. My first area is in the Truro area. It's about an hour away from the mission home. My companion is Sister Peaden. I haven't met her yet but I will tomorrow. The mission president and his wife are so great. He keeps bringing up obiedience and obeying with exactness, I love it! I think I will love serving with them for the next year and a half. They also said that in the next few weeks we are going to have a sisters conference on Prince Edward Island! so I actually get to go and see it! yay! I'm so excited for that! The mission home is so wonderful. They feed us the most delicious food and it just feels like home. It's beautiful here. Really green and the ocean is like a mile away so you can see it in the distance. I haven't seen too much of Nova Scotia yet but I will soon so I can be more descriptive then. We also went to the temple today. It's the smallest temple I've ever seen but it was so neat to go our first day here. They have made us feel so welcome and I'm so excited to go out and work hard and to take all the advice I've been given and put it to work! I already got to hand out a few pass a long cards on the plane. It was so cool. I sat next to a 12 year old girl and chatted with her like she was Logan or Janai. (I told her all about them too) and she was a little bashful talking about religion and I thought I would be too but the words just came. I'm so excited to have the opportunity to do that all day tomorrow! I love you all and I'll write next week.
Love,
Sister Crane
Love,
Sister Crane
Thursday, August 5, 2010
August 5th MTC
Hi!
Thank you all so much for writing me! really it is so good to feel like I am apart of your lives and still informed. I love the e-mails and letters and they keep my spirits up. If you wrote me I'll have to write a hand written letter back because the e-mail time limit doesn't allow me to write as much as I would like to.
So what's up with me? I leave for Halifax on Tuesday! Pray I'll get there safely! I'm so excited but feel totally unprepared. I've learned so much here but I want to know Preach My Gospel more than I do and it's hard to feel like I know everything I will need to know. But I am so excited to serve! I went to the temple today and saw President Daines! He said Bret and Em got back safely which I was glad to hear and it was good to see him. The temple was amazing! Seriously I have been beaming ever since I left. It's rainy Utah weather which oddly I LOVE and the peace that I feel from being at the temple today is just amazing.
I have a cold, which is such a bummer. I wake up every morning not being able to breath but I'm glad it's only a cold and nothing more. I have to say that MTC food has taken a toll on my stomach though. We ate breakfast at the temple this morning and their cafeteria is WAY better than the MTC. Delicious!
So let's see we taught 2 more investigators. Last Friday I taught a woman who her sons best friend just died in a car accident at Springville high. (I think she was a real member but i know the story of the car accident is true) The whole time we taught her it was tangible that she needed something, and she needed to hear about the plan of salvation, and we didn't teach that. I felt frustrated afterward. She needed something and I didn't give it to her! We taught her the restoration which was fine but not what she needed. So that was def. a low point where I struggled but then we taught Janice (our 1st investigator she's old and so cute!) for the second time. We taught her the plan of salvation and she was so cute. She just nods the whole time and is obviously a member of the church because she eggs us on and hints stuff. So while we're teaching we notice that her eyes start to close as we talk to her. Sister Hudson and I are first worried thinking she's having a stroke but she does it again and I realize that she's falling asleep. In fact Sis. H is in the middle of a sentence and starts laughing because Janice is totally asleep. Janice opens her eyes and I take over trying to cover up Sis. H trying not to laugh. We end with prayer and we open our eyes and we look up and Janice still has her head down totally asleep. Sis. H and I look at eachother and start laughing it was hillarious. We tell Janice thanks and get up and she opens her eyes and we walk out run to our district and start busting up laughing. I was dying it was so funny. Oh Janice. She was so cute.
We had a member of the 70 come again L Lionel Kendrick. He was really great and motivating, we're all crossing fingers for an apostle but I think they only come on Tuesdays so we might have missed out, but we had Gene R. Cook so my life is complete! :)
I have been blessed with so many tender mercies from the Lord while I've been here. Everytime I get a letter or a package or feel your prayers I just feel so blessed. Thank you for your prayers. I am happy and Sister Hudson and I are sad we'll be split up soon but hopefully we'll get to serve together in the field again. Oh by the way they changed the dress code here! You can where color! and you don't have to wear nylons and your skirts just have to cover your knees when you sit down! it's insane and Mom I may ask for you to send me 2 of my dresses from home because they would be long enough, but i'll have to see if my mission pres. has the same rule or not.
Anyways I so wish I could write more. I love you and thank you for your letters! Next time I write I'll be in Canada! yay! The gospel is true and God is mindful of every one of His children. The temple is amazing! And the work we do in there is sacred and of God. Thank you for bouying me up!
Love,
Sister Crane
Thank you all so much for writing me! really it is so good to feel like I am apart of your lives and still informed. I love the e-mails and letters and they keep my spirits up. If you wrote me I'll have to write a hand written letter back because the e-mail time limit doesn't allow me to write as much as I would like to.
So what's up with me? I leave for Halifax on Tuesday! Pray I'll get there safely! I'm so excited but feel totally unprepared. I've learned so much here but I want to know Preach My Gospel more than I do and it's hard to feel like I know everything I will need to know. But I am so excited to serve! I went to the temple today and saw President Daines! He said Bret and Em got back safely which I was glad to hear and it was good to see him. The temple was amazing! Seriously I have been beaming ever since I left. It's rainy Utah weather which oddly I LOVE and the peace that I feel from being at the temple today is just amazing.
I have a cold, which is such a bummer. I wake up every morning not being able to breath but I'm glad it's only a cold and nothing more. I have to say that MTC food has taken a toll on my stomach though. We ate breakfast at the temple this morning and their cafeteria is WAY better than the MTC. Delicious!
So let's see we taught 2 more investigators. Last Friday I taught a woman who her sons best friend just died in a car accident at Springville high. (I think she was a real member but i know the story of the car accident is true) The whole time we taught her it was tangible that she needed something, and she needed to hear about the plan of salvation, and we didn't teach that. I felt frustrated afterward. She needed something and I didn't give it to her! We taught her the restoration which was fine but not what she needed. So that was def. a low point where I struggled but then we taught Janice (our 1st investigator she's old and so cute!) for the second time. We taught her the plan of salvation and she was so cute. She just nods the whole time and is obviously a member of the church because she eggs us on and hints stuff. So while we're teaching we notice that her eyes start to close as we talk to her. Sister Hudson and I are first worried thinking she's having a stroke but she does it again and I realize that she's falling asleep. In fact Sis. H is in the middle of a sentence and starts laughing because Janice is totally asleep. Janice opens her eyes and I take over trying to cover up Sis. H trying not to laugh. We end with prayer and we open our eyes and we look up and Janice still has her head down totally asleep. Sis. H and I look at eachother and start laughing it was hillarious. We tell Janice thanks and get up and she opens her eyes and we walk out run to our district and start busting up laughing. I was dying it was so funny. Oh Janice. She was so cute.
We had a member of the 70 come again L Lionel Kendrick. He was really great and motivating, we're all crossing fingers for an apostle but I think they only come on Tuesdays so we might have missed out, but we had Gene R. Cook so my life is complete! :)
I have been blessed with so many tender mercies from the Lord while I've been here. Everytime I get a letter or a package or feel your prayers I just feel so blessed. Thank you for your prayers. I am happy and Sister Hudson and I are sad we'll be split up soon but hopefully we'll get to serve together in the field again. Oh by the way they changed the dress code here! You can where color! and you don't have to wear nylons and your skirts just have to cover your knees when you sit down! it's insane and Mom I may ask for you to send me 2 of my dresses from home because they would be long enough, but i'll have to see if my mission pres. has the same rule or not.
Anyways I so wish I could write more. I love you and thank you for your letters! Next time I write I'll be in Canada! yay! The gospel is true and God is mindful of every one of His children. The temple is amazing! And the work we do in there is sacred and of God. Thank you for bouying me up!
Love,
Sister Crane
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Sister Crane's first week in the MTC
Hi all!
The MTC is AMAZING! seriously! I love it. Don't get me wrong it's hard and each day I wake up and say to myself, "I want to be here, and I want to work hard." but it is wonderful! My companion is Sister Hudson! A blessing straight from God. She's from London, England (so pretty much awesome) and she graduated from a Drama school doing Stage Managing. So we hit it off from the start. She is so funny and gets my humour completely. She makes fun of me for saying awesome all the time and I make fun of her for saying things like "ground breaking" who says that? haha but she is so fun. She is more laid back than me and I am you know, very down to the rules, so we help balance eachother out. I love my district. These Elders are hillarious. I got a calling. Ya besides the one I already have to be a full time missionary. I am the coordinating sister. I work with the Zone Leaders and I welcome in new sisters and I help keep the residence halls organized. So far I've been to 3 meetings for it and boy oh boy do I feel humbled. Teachers are amazing. Brother Adams is phanominal. He gets into the doctrine really deeply. He says we have to understand complexity before we can teach with simplicity. I feel like I'm in a BYU religion class when he teaches and he oddly reminds me of Jeff in a lot of ways. Which I like because it feels like home away from home.
Food isn't so bad, I didn't have an appetite for the first couple of days, but once you start working you want to eat. Traci I haven't gotten a hot pocket from the vending machines yet but I suppose there's still time. :) We went to the temple today. Amazing! Seriously I walk outside and forget that I'm a missionary sometimes. I have to keep pinching myself. I wish I could explain it. I feel so blessed and so at peace and I love this place. I'm so excited to teach and to open my mouth and talk to everyone I meet. We had our first "investigator" where we practice. Her name is Janice and she's the sweetest old lady. And we did awesome. For the first time I felt like I can do this! It's so hard not to think of home though. I've seen Taylor Willardson and Clark Petersen, they both work here and I know them from home and school and I've seen a few other friends. I love it, but it's hard not to think about home the rest of the day after seeing someone I know. The devotionals are amazing. Gene R. Cook came and I almost died from excitement. OH I wish I could write everything I was feeling so you could know how happy I am but maybe by the judge of all my exclamation points you'll get it. :)
The work is hard. And it's hard to stay focused and work the best I can. I struggle with feeling like I'm using every minute I can to be the best I can, but I know it will come with practice. I'll send pictures by mail, I can't figure out how to do it on these comps yet. Thank you for your prayers and thank you for being so supportive. I'm glad I don't have to keep a secret anymore about the talent show video for the reunion. I hope you liked it. I totally tried explaining some of it to my comp. she didn't get it. haha. I wish I had more time to write. All I can say is, the Lord loves us. He loves His children so much. More than we know. He wants ALL of them to return to him and I need to do all I can to make that possible. The gospel is true! Joseph Smith was a prophet and Thomas S. Monson is the prophet today! I love you all! Keep writting it gives me such inspiration and helps me keep going each day. Know that I'm safe, you are in my prayers, and that I am where I am supposed to be!
Love,
Sister Crane
The MTC is AMAZING! seriously! I love it. Don't get me wrong it's hard and each day I wake up and say to myself, "I want to be here, and I want to work hard." but it is wonderful! My companion is Sister Hudson! A blessing straight from God. She's from London, England (so pretty much awesome) and she graduated from a Drama school doing Stage Managing. So we hit it off from the start. She is so funny and gets my humour completely. She makes fun of me for saying awesome all the time and I make fun of her for saying things like "ground breaking" who says that? haha but she is so fun. She is more laid back than me and I am you know, very down to the rules, so we help balance eachother out. I love my district. These Elders are hillarious. I got a calling. Ya besides the one I already have to be a full time missionary. I am the coordinating sister. I work with the Zone Leaders and I welcome in new sisters and I help keep the residence halls organized. So far I've been to 3 meetings for it and boy oh boy do I feel humbled. Teachers are amazing. Brother Adams is phanominal. He gets into the doctrine really deeply. He says we have to understand complexity before we can teach with simplicity. I feel like I'm in a BYU religion class when he teaches and he oddly reminds me of Jeff in a lot of ways. Which I like because it feels like home away from home.
Food isn't so bad, I didn't have an appetite for the first couple of days, but once you start working you want to eat. Traci I haven't gotten a hot pocket from the vending machines yet but I suppose there's still time. :) We went to the temple today. Amazing! Seriously I walk outside and forget that I'm a missionary sometimes. I have to keep pinching myself. I wish I could explain it. I feel so blessed and so at peace and I love this place. I'm so excited to teach and to open my mouth and talk to everyone I meet. We had our first "investigator" where we practice. Her name is Janice and she's the sweetest old lady. And we did awesome. For the first time I felt like I can do this! It's so hard not to think of home though. I've seen Taylor Willardson and Clark Petersen, they both work here and I know them from home and school and I've seen a few other friends. I love it, but it's hard not to think about home the rest of the day after seeing someone I know. The devotionals are amazing. Gene R. Cook came and I almost died from excitement. OH I wish I could write everything I was feeling so you could know how happy I am but maybe by the judge of all my exclamation points you'll get it. :)
The work is hard. And it's hard to stay focused and work the best I can. I struggle with feeling like I'm using every minute I can to be the best I can, but I know it will come with practice. I'll send pictures by mail, I can't figure out how to do it on these comps yet. Thank you for your prayers and thank you for being so supportive. I'm glad I don't have to keep a secret anymore about the talent show video for the reunion. I hope you liked it. I totally tried explaining some of it to my comp. she didn't get it. haha. I wish I had more time to write. All I can say is, the Lord loves us. He loves His children so much. More than we know. He wants ALL of them to return to him and I need to do all I can to make that possible. The gospel is true! Joseph Smith was a prophet and Thomas S. Monson is the prophet today! I love you all! Keep writting it gives me such inspiration and helps me keep going each day. Know that I'm safe, you are in my prayers, and that I am where I am supposed to be!
Love,
Sister Crane
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