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