08-27-12 Taylor Lautner and Elder Crabb

Oy! How's everyone doing this week?  I had another girl ask me if I was Taylor Lautner this week!


(Stick a missionary badge on Taylor and I think they'd make a great team!)

I don't have many witty comments this week. I hope it's still a good letter!

Basically, this week has been a "President Crabb" week instead of an "Elder Crabb" week. We've done a lot of stuff for the branch so we've had very little time to work on the area.

We're really short on time this week, so I'm going to keep this unfortunately brief.

First, on Wednesday, we went to a Zone Conference that got me super excited to work again. President Cantù told us about some things that we can do to have more success (like only work in the little farm town where the church is, and if there are people outside those places who want to be taught we should invite THEM to travel). I'm excited to implement them! It'll be really neat to see some more success here. It was also really difficult to stay awake, because WOW I have been tired lately. It's a kind of tired that I have never felt before. Like...I haven't rested for weeks! Just my eight hours every night, and it doesn't take the sleepiness away. It's probably because I'm literally always working. Even P-day, my alleged "rest day" is pretty stressful!

This Saturday, we're going to have an activity in the church called "Super Sabado" (look, they even do Super Saturday here!) And we're planning everything down to the food, so that's adding a little bit to my stress. In short, there should be some pretty great pictures coming up this next Monday.

Remember Orlando? He said he'll get baptized on September 15th! YAY!

I wish I had more time to write. We need to leave to Los Mochis so we can go to the bank there so we can take out money from the branch so we can plan Super Sabado.....Basically a lot.

Just know that I'm healthy, I'm learning a lot, and my investigators are progressing. I promise you guys a better letter next week, too. You have my word.

The church is true!

Elder Crabb

The pictures this week are:

 

 a really really awesome looking mountain right outside our area,

 

and...an adorable puppy. Hey, what's not to like? (I didn't take many pictures this week either....)

 

(I have to say that I like this kid much better than Taylor Lautner!  Elder Crabb you are awesome!) 

Pictures

 ~.~.~.~.~ 7-16-12 ~.~.~.~.~

 

Here are some photos of the baptism!

 

 

The other day I was studying innocently and, BOOM! My chair totally broke! I don't think I'm gaining weight, but....wow. So there I am.

 

 

One of the casa de oraciòn (the building where we meet) and of the office where we work.

 

Also, us going to Los Mochis with and waiting with Jesus and Erick for the EFY bus (which was an hour and a half late...)

 

 ~.~.~.~.~ 7-30-12 ~.~.~.~.~

 

Pictures! Here we have A mountain that says "Jesus loves you".

 

A soda I discovered here that is GREAT, it's called "Sangria". It's like grape slash lemon!

A pitcher that looks like a British police officer (use your imagination, would ya?)

 

Just clouds. =) I enjoy the scenery here.

 

Elder Osorio told me that these were poisonous (like Holes....), so I took a picture to show I didn't believe him.

 

Me, running (if you can believe that) alongside my companion and a member kid, Gabriel.

 

Look closely at this house....it has a China roof!

 

I dunno, I try to take lots of pictures of me, even if they're not great. =) A fiendish thingy!

 

 Here's the evidence!

 

Busy at work on Sunday.

 

And finally, us getting ready to go!

 

~.~.~.~.~ 8-6-12 ~.~.~.~.~

 

This pretty much speaks for itself. Just a hilarious billboard. I didn't make it in time to take a picture before they changed it--it used to be a gigantic hand holding a little tiny man in a suit. Who knows why.

 

 The pet PIG of one of our investigators (remember the "Keys of Enoch" gospel science guy? Him.) It's called a Javalin. It's so small and adorable. Hee hee.....it doesn't have a name, I said they should call him "Bacon" ("Tocino")

 My district in Rosales, eating together. (the one on the right, Elder Guillèn, is leaving this Wednesday for Perù!!

 Carlos! An awesome recent convert. We were just playing with the camera, and this came out. He came with us for one full day of proselyting. He's going to be a great missionary.

 It's just a tree.....right? Or is it a gigantic tree-version of Dora the Explorer's head!? Swiper no swiping! (In Spanish, Dora teaches English. They say "No te lo lleves! No te lo lleves! No te lo lleves!" and Swiper says "Oh, rayos!"

 Waiting for one of the sisters to finish lunch.....we were so sleepy this day....

 

 

~.~.~.~.~ 8-13-12 ~.~.~.~.~

Angel Code-oni‏

Here's a picture that one of our investigators' daughters drew for us in her Book of Mormon! It's me and my companion!

 

 

 

Now we are all caught up on the pictures Cody has sent home.  Hopefully I can keep up with them better!

08-20-12 a huge black dog...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEATHER!! I looked at the calendar yesterday and I realized I couldn't go bowling with Heather before school started, and I was so sad. But next year we will, okay? =)

This week, I met an Area Authority. His name is Josè L. Alonso. Right now he's the Second Counselor of the Mexico Area. He came to OUR district in El Fuerte to "see how we're doing".

Whoa.

The meeting we had was for all the bishops/branch presidents in Los Mochis and El Fuerte. It was kind of nerve wracking, because I didn't know what he was going to ask us or anything like that. A super huge meeting with a General Authority is fine. But in a meeting with about thirty? Wow. So we went yesterday evening. It was a fantastic meeting. He's really great. He basically told us a lot of things we have to do or they'll consider taking the missionaries out of our branch/ward. Seeing as I'm the branch president here, I'm going to do my best to make sure that doesn't happen. He also told us a few things that blew my little Elder mind! I'm not going to tell you right now, but it's basically an area-wide rule that is going to happen here, and it's going to be totally crazy. They haven't told any other missionaries yet, just the branch presidents, so that's why it's a teeny bit more confidential. But as soon as they tell the world (and the other missionaries) I'll let you know. But WOW! Everything is going to change. Missionary work is going to be completely different.

I also got audited this week. Yep. Audited. They sent a guy from the district to audit us. It was kind of scary, but I will say it wasn't the fairest audit, because they audited this whole year and I've only been here since May. "Why don't you have reciepts for this?" "I don't know.....and the person who spent this money now lives in North Carolina." That's basically how it went. They understand that we get changed a lot, so it's alright. They weren't too harsh, but it made me want to be a better record-keeper.

This week, we also Lupita. Remember that lady who was very involved in her own church but also quite interested in the Book of Mormon? She keeps getting more and more interested. We went back the other day and, after eating (can't complain about an investigator that feeds you=), she talked to us about some scary things that have been happening in her house. At first, when she told us she was afraid of where she was living, she said it was because of her husband in rehab. This week she confessed to us that it didn't have anything to do with that. She thinks one of her neighbors was trying to "curse" her. Literally. With witchcraft. I'm not going to lie, that stuff has always creeped me out, so she kept talking and I just listened. She said that sometimes, she felt cold in her house even when it was hot outside. And sometimes, there was a black cat that walked around the house and kept looking at her, even when it was walking away. So we taught her a little about the priesthood and asked if we could dedicate her house. She said she would love that. I said the prayer and left. Later, Elder Osorio said "Man, during the prayer I thought her dog was going to bite me, but after the prayer it left" I mentioned that Lupita doesn't have a dog. "Really? Because there was a huge black dog inside right behind me." Then we both realized that she doesn't let animals in her house, all the doors were closed and we were inside. Let's just say that we walked home a little faster that night. The church is so so true. If we didn't have the priesthood, what would have happened. Luke 11 19-20

In other news, that email Curtis sent with the tuna patty idea was the greatest thing ever. I LOVE those tuna patties! I've had one almost every single day since I read that email! Hats off to you, Elder Stone!

I don't have much else to say, other than the little branch (well...."extention", technically it's still part of the branch here in Carrizo) in the other tiny town about twenty minutes from here (Poblado 7) is growing really fast. Right now, sacrament meeting attendance is at about ten or twelve, compared with four or five when I got here. To have an official branch, we need four active Melchizedek Priesthood holders. After the District Conference, (Sept. 30) we should have three! Woo! If we keep this up they'll send two more missionaries here in no time.

I love my mission! I had to laugh, the other day, I found out that one of my friends, in the time that I have been gone, has found a spouse, dated, gotten married, and any time now, is going to be a mom. Have I really been gone that long?

Elder Cody Crabb

08-13-12 The black truck (of death)

Hey everyone! Thanks so much for the candy and socks--they haven't come yet, but I will wait anxiously!

First things first. I'm still in Carrizo! I'm going to be here at least six more weeks. And my companion is....Elder Osorio! Yay! We both stayed the same this time, which will be good. I'm going to be the district leader over six missionaries (I've never done that before!) one of which just finished his time as an assistant. All of us are branch presidents! The other two are whitewashing their areas--both of the missionaries there are new to the area. Haha....the ones who just got put as branch presidents will have NO idea what they're doing. I'm going to have to teach them how to do stuff on the computer and stuff. Other than that, I've had some crazy experiences this week, I'll share some. The Spirit has really been with us.

We were just walking on the sidewalk one day (I was behind Elder Osorio) when he just STOPPED. It was so sudden I ran into him! Just when I was about to say "What was that all about?" a big old black truck (of death) came from around the corner (REALLY fast) without stopping. Right where we would have been walking. If Elder Osorio hadn't stopped we both would probably be in the hospital right now, or worse! He told me later that he felt like someone put their hand on his chest to stop him. What an amazing testimony that we're being protected out here.

The other day, we were at Selene's house teaching, when she said she didn't want to come to church because she feels like it's "too soon". Like it's too big of a step. She said she would need to know that it's true first, and besides, she couldn't come on Sunday anyway because she had to work at 8 (our meeting starts at 10). Her cousin Andrea said that she would go if it wasn't so hot, and there would have to be clouds. I smiled as I realized this would be a fantastic opportunity for them to see God's power. I said "You two really don't think that God has the power to make it cloudy, or make it so you can come to church?" They looked at us blankly, like "Well....yeah." I then promised them that if they prayed that it would be cloudy and that she could get out of work, it would happen. At the end of the lesson, Selene prayed for both of those things. That night and every day until Sunday I was praying a LOT for that. Clouds aren't very common for August here (it's just HOT). When we woke up on Sunday morning, we went outside to a beautifully cloudy day. I was super excited! We did splits with the members to go pick up our investigators, and Elder Osorio went to pick up Selene. When I got to the church, Selene wasn't there. I then found out that when they had gone to her house, her aunt came to the door and said "Oh, Selene and Andrea are asleep. Selene went back to sleep after they called her and told her she didn't have to come into work until 1." GAH!! BOTH prayers were answered, but they didn't have the faith to just get up and go even though they were tired. It was too perfect--Selene could have gone to all three hours of church! It's just frustrating sometimes. Even if someone gets such a huge answer to their prayers, they don't follow it!

In less important news, last week my district and I went to this cool astronomy exhibit in the mall in Los Mochis (the mall's called "Liverpool"). It's like a big inflatable igloo, and you just go inside and lay down on the ground and watch a big 3D movie about space. When we went we were the only four people in there, so we took some pictures and video and stuff like that. I don't have the pictures because I filled up my SD card! (one with 4 GB) so I needed to put in a new one. But it was super cool. And I learned the names of the planets in Spanish!

There's a kid here named Erick who really likes the guitar. Him and his friend are learning a song called "Hanuman" by Rodrigo y Gabriela. Oh my word, if you haven't heard it, you (who aren't bound by mission rules) should go look it up. He showed us a little bit that he's learned and he is amazing.

Right now we're just looking for some new investigators. We've been leaving a lot of people because they don't come to church, so we're left with basically nothing right now. We are finding a couple of new people, but not many. One of them is a woman who is very involved in her religion but is extremely curious about the Book of Mormon. She thought it was written by the Mormons as like a "Bible study guide", so when we told her about what it really was she was absolutely captivated. She told us she would read. The next time we went back to her house she opened up to us about some stuff that has happened with her husband and she says she almost doesn't feel safe where she's living. She said that last week she had an overwhelming feeling (impression?) that she should stay where she is. Also last week, some lady she knows said "I feel like God's going to solve all your problems really soon here." And that same week we found her. Coincidence? I don't think so. Maybe that's why she's opened up to us so much (she made us quesadillas!)

Anyway, there's not much news this week. But here's the last fourteen months in a nutshell:

nut I love being a missionary! shell

It's the best experience ever. I have learned so much. If you have not recieved a letter from me, and you would like to, shoot me an email with your address! I hope you're all doing well!

Animo!

Elder Cangrejito (what a little girl calls me here)

8-06-12 Things are brewing...

First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHAWN!! and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TORY!! I hope you guys had a great birthday. Or birthdays. Here in Mexico, everyone mostly sings "Happy Birthday" (in English) on your birthday. It's really funny to hear everyone's accent ("Hoppy Beard They Tiyu....")

Sad news. The other week, I was here in the cyber cafè, when I went to reach for my MP3 player and it was GONE! The owner said she saw a little kid over where I was and he probably stole it. Aw.

I liked this week for some reasons. Some no (such as the above). I will explain.

First of all, we met an AWESOME family, the family Manzanarez. They are amazing. Their daughter is 13, and the parents said they couldn't read the Book of Mormon assignment that we left because she wouldn't stop reading it! She read like five or six chapters in one night. When we came back they were super interested. They told us "Whenever people from other churches come to our house, we always lie and say we're busy or things like that. But not you guys. You guys are different." Sweet! They have told us they really feel the Spirit when we're at their house and it's really cool to see.

This week marks one year out of the US. I left for Mexico on August 1, 2011, and here we are, more than a year later. But I will say, it's just as hot! =) Some things never change. I love Mexico. I don't know if I'm going to remember how to eat without a tortilla. And the states of our mission are very costal, so we eat a lot of seafood too, which is the BEST. I've had octopus, squid, turtle, swordfish....you name it. It's delicious. I really have developed a good taste for beans too. I'd wager to say that six out of seven days of the week I eat beans.

The sad part of this week was that the father of the Relief Society President passed away. He was old, but it was really unexpected. He fell and hit his head, and never woke up. He lived right in front of us. We've stopped by every single day to give some comfort to his wife. They wanted me to give a lesson about life after death, which was kind of a delicate situation, since the majority of everyone there was Catholic. I just shared some scriptures about the Ressurection from the Bible, and bore my testimony that right now he can jump and run and be free as a spirit (he was really shaky and weak at the end there). A lot of people were crying and it was a really spiritual experience for everyone. One woman told us "It doesn't feel like that in my church!" so she wants to come visit us in ours. Awesome. It's tough on her, because she's always very busy. We're going to help her however we can.

This Sunday, we did a fast with Orlando. Remember him? He's the really smart one that wants to be a missionary. He says he believes it's all true, but he doesn't feel ready to get baptized yet. There are lots of churches going around that teach that you have to know the Bible really well to get baptized, and if you don't have knowledge you'll be condemned. Well, to a certain point, yes. You need to know that the stuff that you're reading and learning is true, and that's about it, honestly. So we fasted with him so that he could get a stronger response to his prayers. He's excited to know more, he's just been taught a lot that if you don't have the Bible memorized, you can't do anything. Grr.

It wasn't too eventful this week, but things are brewing. I gave some names to the district presidency to be the branch president and his counselors. Hopefully we'll be able to get them in here, so the missionaries can focus 100% on missionary work. I'm loving everything still. Transfers are next week! I bet I'll stay here....but only time will tell! Love you!

Elder