The Office

Dear Family,

Three Brazilians and and Columbian walk into the Peru Lima South Mission Office.... sounds like the start to a bad joke but thats what we got Monday morning which we were not expecting. But at the end it was fun, we bought Little Ceasar's and then they were super tired and our room was a mess so I took them back to our house so they could sleep and I cleaned, I felt like a housekeeping because they were all speaking Portuguese and I was the minority who was didn't understand a thing.

This week was pretty tiring waking up in the middle of the night to take missionaries to the airport, waking up at 5 to get to the office and set everything up the works. It was really refreshing Wednesday to get out and proselyte.

Other than that not too much has changed. We have been helping out the new office elders because they do not know their area at all. But it is good, gives us a new start to put down some good goals.

My notes from this week are from a talk called To Be and Not to Seem. and President Oaks' talk

To be and not to seem.

Vanity it is, to wish to live long, and to be careless to live well.

There is no easy formula for that contest of priorities. However, I have never known of a man who looked back on his working life and said, “I just didn’t spend enough time with my job.”

Temple Trip a couple of weeks ago

Love all you guys,

Elder Craythorne

The Office and Bye-Bye Elder Usevitch and Bravo

Dear Family,

We had another amazing week. Thank you all for the birthday wishes and a huge shout out to my parents and siblings for the cards that had all the reasons why they love me (awwww) if anyone asks that was definitely the highlight.

I hope you all enjoyed general conference as much as I did.

Mainly this week was so good because of the people we taught. Tuesday night we were out proselyting and out of nowhere a man walks up and asks when he can meet with us to which we responded “tomorrow works” and we told him we would be at the chapel because that's where the mission office is. And we really didn’t think too much of it. But wouldn’t you guess it, we get to the office at 8:30 and he showed up at 9. Inocente Garcia, Ino for short. He brought a bag with him with all the stuff he attempted to prove to us he had been baptized in Chile, we readily believed him. He had a Book of Mormon, pictures from his baptism, liahonas, teachings of the prophet and his baptismal certificate. He then explained his life and how the gospel blessed him but he moved back to Peru met with his family and stopped going to church. He told us how he was hopeless and all we did was listen we figured that was what this man needed. It was a really good experience and he got teary on several occasions in that one hour. At the end of it all I am not sure who needed it most, him or us. A real tender blessing from the Lord.

Later that day we finally had a return appointment with Vanessa, an investigator we taught 2 Sundays ago. Turns out she is really interested. We also found her grandma who has quite the hyperactive personality super funny and we quickly hit it off. In the lesson we focused mostly on the Book of Mormon and at the end we extended the baptismal invitation to which the grandma abruptly said no but Vanessa was super excited. Eventually we had to be fairly direct and we asked “Even if God himself told you this is true, you wouldn’t be baptized?” she thought about that for awhile and you could tell she was just wrestling with the idea of being in a church for about 70 years and just decide to go to another church. A really good lesson.

Something I have been really working against as a financial secretary would be just the fact that as I am punching in rent or reimbursements it isn´t the most spiritual experience ever. And from 10 to 5 and sometimes later I am just zoned in on my computer grinding away, in comparison with other moments in my mission where all my attention was on my investigators. But I cannot lie, we have a lot of privileges I wouldn’t have otherwise, namely: working this close to the mission president, sometimes getting taken out to eat, the office computers to write and skype home. So in a nutshell it could be described as “you can´t win ‘em all”

Anyone who accidentally missed a couple of general conference sessions I would definitely recommend Becky Craven’s talk from Saturday morning, Dallin H Oaks and President Nelson’s from the Priesthood Session, David P Homers and well maybe just all of them.

I love you all so much, thanks for praying for me I can truly feel your support.

Elder Craythorne

Squad pics

The Office: A Continuation

Estimada Familia Craythorne

Every time I write emails to people for work I have to sound super formal so this is me trying.

I have to give you a little update on Victor. This week we were battling with ourselves as far as whether or not he is progressing because technically he is, the only thing keeping him from being baptized was that we were assuming he was coming for the wrong reasons. We talked with him directly and we gave him time to say what he had to say and by the end of the week lets just say Bolognesi 1 (my area) has its first baptismal date since a long time (a few months). We are trying to help him really have a testimony, he could be really strong in the gospel and I had to learn this week to get out of his way.

Other than that everything is fine, this next week Elder Falabella is going to come to a multizone conference so that will be interesting.

OH I almost forgot, we went to the temple today.

I love all of you.

Elder Craythorne

The Office and Progress

Dear Family,

This week we were able to do a lot of work, since both my companion and I realized that the stuff we did in our other areas to have success isn't what works here. We are trying new stuff and stretching our limits, on Wednesday we did a long service to help members move trying to improve our relationship with them, we contacted 3 gringos on Thursday! Trying everything we can.

This week for leadership counsel the APs Elder Kirby and Elder Limao gave a really good workshop about Stepping up to the Plate and being clutch. It was really inspirational actually.

This week I learned that the most important time in anyones life is right now. I want to apply that.

Study notes:

And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them. That’s the test you win or lose just by thriving through what he gives us.

You who may be momentarily disheartened, remember, life is not meant to be easy. And for you I bet you are thinking, “ok well an easy life is a happy life” which is only true to some extent. Maybe instead of thinking “I will be a good (fill in the blank for me I’ll use the word: ‘missionary´) I will be a good missionary when I am happy” the real thought should be “I will be happy when I am a good missionary.”

 I love this gospel and I love being a missionary.

Elder Craythorne

The Office and the Mechanic

Dear Family,

To start off with a story this week the setting is Thursday. Trying to look for my bishops house which you think would be one I have memorized but he lives far away and right at the border of another mission. I think we passed his house by a couple blocks and an older lady called us over we saw that she had her hood popped up so we looked at each other to see who had more knowledge with mechanics and neither of us new what was the difference between a spark plug or a bike chain so we decided to look. She said something about "una manguera que no estaba conectado y que estaba cayendo liquida verde (which looked like nitros but it wasn't) y que su esposo esta lejos y no puede ayudar" mustering up all my Spanish I had I look for a manguera. I got my hands a little dirty in the process but turns out the liquid that was leaking was coolant and not nitros so I plugged it in somewhere and sent her off her way. The spirit works in incredible ways.

We had a really good lesson with David, recent convert, this week. He feels like he isn't progressing very much in life because he works a moto taxi which doesn't give him very much increase. We decided to talk about goals and showing God that we are doing all we can to deserve the blessings that he wants to give us. He even said he has plans to get married in the temple and send his kids on missions! He asked us a question but I found the answer later.

David: “Why would God try to make such a perfect plan and in the moment of most importance on His divine creation send Satan to earth where he would knowingly also put Adam and Eve?” 2 Nephi 2: God gave unto man that he should act for himself, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other, the tree of life of the forbidden fruit.

I have learned a lot here in my mission and most things I can apply to everyone about what brings happiness.

lesson number one is that if we want to feel love, joy, and peace, we must do the things that bring the Spirit into our lives.

The truth is that there is no joy or happiness without something to overcome.

The just man does not permit several elements within him to interfere with one another. He sets in order his own inner life and is his own master and his own law and is at peace with himself. Socrates

Happiness adds and multiplies as we divide it with others

Thou must live for another if thou wishest to live for thyself.

I hope you are all doing well. I pray for you everyday. To describe the pictures its from playing the guitar and singing. And the other one is an pic from right now.

Elder Craythorne

The Office

Dear Family,

Again, another week flown by.

 I just got permission from President Richey to be able to call when Ryker gets his call.

I will check my email at around 3 or 4 pm my time every day to see if he's got it make sure you let me know as soon as you know.

We had a good week this week, yesterday was our most productive day. On Wednesday we talked with Lazaro again, I can't remember if I mentioned that he got a new job that will allow him to go to church a wopping 6 times in a year. We tried to give off the vibe that its going to be impossible to progress and keep the commandments with such a job but he has been without a job for 11 months so I think he was more hungry for satisfying his temporal needs than spiritual.

Yesterday we found a less active family who has family in Sandy Utah so that was pretty cool. We talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Sacrament and how those relate and the importance of it, it was a top notch lesson the spirit was really strong and you could tell it was what they needed to hear.

Our Heavenly Father expects the best from each of us. We must believe in ourselves. Don’t give in when the going gets rough.

Difficulty is one excuse history has never accepted.

There is no education like adversity. Benjamin Disraeli

We receive our inspiration from the mountaintops but receive our maturity from the valleys of life. Winston Churchill

Then I realized that we are not commanded to have faith in blessings but in the Giver of blessings.

Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace. . . . But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods Daniel 3:17–18

In the midst of their fiery trial, these three men—who leaned for repose on Jesus, not on outcomes—communed with the Son of God.

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply. The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design . . . Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

The gospel is still true in the foyer. He talks about his daughter who has disabilities and how every Sunday she gets noisy so someone takes her out to the foyer. In the foyer he sees people who show up a little late, people with fussy newborns or people who just like the softer seats. He compares his daughter’s disabilities with others infirmities and imperfections things like mental/physical illness or imperfect faith and even though those stages may feel like a foyer instead of the ideal chapel situation, the gospel is still true.

That is why His grace is called amazing. It includes all people, which means you. It includes all time, which means now. It includes all pain, which means yours.

 I think my emails are becoming more like telling you guys what I studied this week but I gotta share it.

I love all of you.

Elder Craythorne

The Office and Modern Revelation

Dear Family,

This week was pretty normal until yesterday when we got the news about the new communication methods for missionaries.

I was able to talk with President Richey about it and he says that it makes sense. "They always say its supposed to be the best years of your life until this point, but until this point in your life the best thing that has happened to you is your family and then you are 99% cut off from them"

This week we are still housing a missionary with a bad leg so we haven't left much but we did go share a talk with Lazaro the one by Russell M Nelson "What would your life be like without the Book of Mormon?"

I wanted to share what I learned in my studies this week

Perfection can sometimes be the enemy of righteousness.

And if we humble ourselves, His grace is sufficient to make those weaknesses become strengths (see Ether 12:27) but not perfections.

When you’re sitting there wondering if you can stand back up again, remember that sometimes the test is not about overcoming but about whether we will keep trying no matter how hard things seem to be. 

We will feel more joy and hope in this world when we do our best to seek and obtain Christ’s and God’s approval.

Being in the office I have been super blessed, one of the missionaries commented that the office is the most united zone in the mission and we really are best friends its so fun.

I love every one of you and I have a testimony your prayers are being answered because I see the blessings.

Elder Craythorne

The Office and Jose

Family,

We had a really good week here in the office, I have gotten so much work done its incredible but no one really notices because they are all small tasks, oh well.
This week our proselyting was limited as well but we had intercambios with the Zone Leaders yesterday and we found 4 news.

Our miracle this week was Jose. On Wednesday we were walking with not exactly set appointments but we passed a kid who was playing guitar on the curb. Elder Mortimer is super musically inclined so I asked if he wanted to play the guy's guitar while I contacted him. We taught him yesterday and he was super prepared. He paid so much attention and you could tell it was important to him.
President Richey is a quiet guy but he has undoubtedly changed my life, he'll never sit you down and teach you an important life lesson he does it when you least expect it and then he walks away without saying another word. I can't describe it but I really like him.

I pray for all of you.

Elder Craythorne

The Office and Inspector Gadget

Dear Family,

One of my responsibilities as housing coordinator is to do inspections and make sure everyone is taking care of their houses, Thursday I did 6 and yesterday I did 10. It is pretty fun, I don't go to burn the missionaries for what their doing wrong but it is fun to be able to talk and get to know everyone even if its only a few minutes.

In other news, basketball got approved this week so we played this morning and you'd think it would be quite different after a year and a half but those who know how good I am know that nothing can stop my game.

Got some extra study time in this week and I read a few BYU speeches I really liked one was recent called Knowing who you are and this are some quotes I got from it.

You may have the vain hope that by acting in a telestial or a terrestial manner somehow you will become celestial. Or you may decide in the first place to be celestial and then really reach that goal.

We were made not primarily that we may love God . . . but that God may love us, that we may become objects in which the Divine love may rest “well pleased.”

There is kindness in Love: but Love and kindness are not coterminous. . . . Kindness, merely as such, cares not whether its object becomes good or bad, provided only that it escapes suffering.

“When you realize who you really are, you will be sorry that you didn’t try harder.”

we need to recognize and remember that we are not alone in our struggles. God has placed others in our lives to help sustain us. They may include parents, siblings, roommates, or friends who may be praying and rooting for your success. But they will also include others whom you can serve.

Something cool I did this week was I helped an Elder with some personal financial problems like fraud or what not and we got to go to the U.S Embassy! American soil baby.

The mission is such a blessing and being in the office helps me learn a lot more than I would have other wise I am learning words like audit, guarantee, year end, and rent.

God loves us so much.

Elder Craythorne

The Office and Transfers Pt 3

Hey family, buenas tardes.

While everything is getting cold up there it is getting blazing hot down here, like really really hot and the humidity makes it way worse.

This morning we had the blessing of going to the temple for the first time this year and as always a great experience. Elder Limao (recap: my trainer from Brazil who is now the AP) was saying that in some parts of Brazil people have to travel 3 hours to get to the nearest temple and it just made me think, if I put a pin in West Point Utah and had a 3-day travel radius in every direction how many temple could I hit, and I know we always talk about this but seriously.

This week in my study I learned a new word, stick-to-it-iveness which is self explanatory but he was saying its apart of the gospel of Christ. That is something I get to see first hand here in the mission. “Make the sacrifice and expect a miracle”.

This week after some plans fell through we decided to start knocking on some doors, which isn’t that common here but we do do it. And we knocked on a door of a lady and before we could finish “We are missionaries from the C-“ she told us to come in. We taught her and her son, she said she believes a lot in Christ but has yet to go to his church. So, though she may not know it, tomorrow she will do just that.

We also taught a crazy guy yesterday who was 75 years old and did 80% of his conversing with his facial expressions, not that he had a difficulty of speech he talks a ton but just that he was so dang funny sometimes he would just stop talking and look at us and throw his arms up like “what is going on”.

It's such a great blessing to be a missionary.

Elder Craythorne

Squad pic

The Office: The Season Finale

Dear Family,

Elder Kirby's and my reign has come to and end and I won't lie this one is going to take some getting used to, we got a long so well and he lives relatively close in Utah so it is most likely I will see him after.

MIRACLE WEEK

The science doesn't add up because we have less time and more work on week 6 of transfers but that is when we see the most success. This week we found 4 news and 2 in particular caught me off guard.

There was a sister who came to the office while we were working and she passed us a reference of her uncle. A couple of days later we just passed by as a back plan but we get there and the guy was waiting for us. His name is Juan Carlos and his wife's name is Ana, they are a little old but not so far that they can't understand the gospel.

We also found Esmeralda who went to church last week, she was really excited to read the Book of Mormon. She said one day everyone was fighting in the house about some feud so she went and read the Book of Mormon and felt that it was from God.

Another highlight of the week was definitely the surprise interview I had with President that was about 20 minutes, he is so smart and said what I needed to hear but in the craziest way. He said that when we put goals we try to emulate someone we want to become like and he goes "I wanna be like Elder Uchtdorf, silver hair 6 foot 3 public speaker" then he goes on a rant about man-caves and he pulled up google and showed me some man-caves he wants to have after the mission and it was weird but it all made so much sense to me and he is funny, he has dry humor like me so he doesn't laugh at his own jokes and always has a straight face. So good.

In BYU speeches I read a talk by Legrand Richards called Missionary Experiences and he says. "I tell our missionaries you never need to argue with anybody if you learn the sweetest story that has been told in this world since the resurrection of the Christ."

I really liked that, last year one of the APs, Elder Whitlock had a saying that went "The Gospel is so sweet there is no need to sugarcoat it."

Love you all,

Elder Craythorne

The Office and Elder Mortimer

I have a new companion and lets just say we were practicing card throwing because that is something missionaries do nowadays and he basically sliced me eye open, I am so grateful for eyelids.

This week we got our very first senior couple, the Micklesons from Manti Utah. It has been pretty crazy trying to get them a house and get them places but we are doing alright.

Worked our tails off like crazy this week, I can feel those blessings coming soon.

I really can't say too much other than that, we had our leadership council on Tuesday and we might have a problem because 7 Zone Leaders go home this week. The mission still is just super new but I am excited.

Being in the Office is like the front row seat of the best movie ever made, its awesome and you see everything but it still hurts your neck.

Love all you guys, thanks for you prayers.

Elder Craythorne

The Office a continuation

Family,

Emergency transfers this week, Elder Kirby is leaving the secretary gig and he will be the new AP so now he is training the new guy until transfers. My new companion is Elder Mortimer from Arizona.  Today we are going to eat all you can eat wings so we will see how he does.

If I could just copy and paste the talk Following Christ to Victory for my email I think that would be sufficient.

I am really happy to start this New Year in the mission, there are a lot of things I can improve and that is really comforting.

Not a lot happened this week, we visited a lot of members. Usually we just have the idea to get references from them but after studying PMG again it says the point of visiting members is to strengthen their faith and testimony and then eventually we will gain their confidence so they feel the necessity to share with us their friends and families.

After reading Matthew 3 I wrote in my study journal "From eating locusts and wild honey to baptizing the Son of God, that's quite an upgrade. The Lord requires sacrifice, but expect a miracle."

The only picture I have this week is from Christmas me being money man.

I love all of you. Thanks for your prayers.

Elder Craythorne