Elder Ethan Crisp

¡Buenas tardes! Ojalá que todos esten muy bien y que tengan una dia de accion de gracias muy bien. This week was pretty good. I had an interview with President Cantu this week which was pretty good. I am certain that he is going to be at least a Seventy. Bien poderoso (powerful). This week we started teaching a girl named Cynthia. Like 2 months ago, her husband and her baby boy were killed in a car accident and she broke her leg and part of her spine and can barely walk--she couldn´t at all but has improved and now can walk with a walker. We started teaching her and she accepted a baptismal date right off the bat and then we taught the plan of salvation and it was super awesome to see her reaction to the truth that she will see her husband and her baby again. After that lesson she told us, "Elders, I want to go to church!" So we got a ride for her and she came to church. It´s awesome to see the gospel change people like that. She doesn´t have any issues--the only challenge will be how we baptize her with her physical limitations. We´ll just have to wait for the 3rd of December to find out. We also met this guy named Edwin. He had been in teaching about a year ago and was about to get baptized but started working and going to school and didn´t have time for anything. We found him again contacting and started teaching him. We talked about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith and prophets and he got all excited. He said, "Next time you come, bring the words of President Monson--i wanna see what a living prophet would say." So we brought the Ensign from last month on the book of mormon and that was awesome. He told us "My goal in all of this is to get baptized--the question is when." He didn´t accept a date but we are gonna help him to. We learned alot fro President in the interviews the things that we need to do to find new people to teach. So far it hasn´t exactly panned out but it will as we keep working hard. The main problem with our investigators is getting them to church. ONe thing is the motivation--aother is the fact that not everyone has cars like the US. Saturday night I was worrying a ton about what we were going to do to get them to church and I took my scriptures and opened them and i opened and read this: (Alma 29:4)

4 I ought not to harrow up in my desires the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their adesire, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their bwills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction." When it comes down to it, the people have their agency. All we can do is do our part the best that is possible to help them realized which decision is the right. We had 1 (Cynthia) in church yesterday, so we are going to have to work our best to get the others to church. The others are really struggling--if they would just go to church they would realize that those trials that we have seem a whole lot easier when we keep all the commandments, including going to church. Like that is with us too. When we keep the commandments life seems a whole lot easier. It´s not true--we still have the same trials and pains and heartaches, but they don´t seem so hard when we have the gospel. I love Alma 29. I especially love verse 9--and i realized as I read it Sat night how true it is at least with me, and how it should be for every missionary: dice, "9 I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do anot bglory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy." I love it. I´m truly happy. Even though our investigators are struggling and we don´t have that many people to teach, the joy that I feel everytime I come out of a reall yspiritual lesson when i know that they felt the spirit, I´m happy. and with that I remember D&C 18:16: And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the akingdom of my Father, how great will be your bjoy if you should bring many csouls unto me!" And so it is.

Sad news about Bishop Waldron. They say in the mission, that when missionaries leave an area, it means that they´re progressing--moving up. Its not always true of course--i guess it can be the same in regular life. With him, because i´m sure he made this decision in prayer and communion with God, maybe its time for him and his family to progress, which of course would be best, even though he won´t be around to shine his light and his awesomeness on the people in Temecula. As for the next bishop, I am not going to name names but I have my guess. Its a wild card haha. Dad said some about Pres. Osbourne saying something about my setting apart? What was that?

Awesome news about Kershaw and about Kemp. (Where did they get the money to sign him to that deal? That´s insane). I have seen promotions for the twilight--I saw briefly one commercial and it looked pretty scandolous. Hope you enjoyed it. How goes college football these days? Who´s number 1? How´s USC? Boise? BYU? Only a few questions for ya.

They talked about the millenium a couple weeks ago. One thing that caught my attention is that all the just will be saved--from any religion. If there is effort to keep God´s commandments you will not be burned. Then when Christ comes, there will be missionary work for them, and temple work and total awesomeness. I personally think that it is sooner than we think (December 23, 2012 :P ). So yeah, we need to prepare and live right to avoid being burned. I have been eating up the words of Paul (it´s in spanish so its Pablo haha). I´ve read in Corithians 1 and 2, Galations, and Efesians and there´s soooo much awesome stuff. I would share some of it with you but your eyeballs will probably fall out because i´ve already written a ton. Next week i will have algunas de las palabras del apóstol Pablo. By the way my spanish is doing well. Now I can worry less about spanish and more about the people and the work and all that good stuff. This transfer has gone by sooooo fast. We´re down to two weeks left already. I´m probably going to stay and I hope Elder Sandoval does too cause he´s fun and a good missionary too.

Don´t worry about the package--you´re not the worst mother, Mom. By the way, my card is either damaged or "vencido"--I don´t know the translation for that but i´m sure Dad does. I don´t know what can be done about that. I still have plenty on my mission one left over from the medical stuff reimbursments. In the next package, it would be awesome if you could send socks--I don´t know what happened but I´ve lost socks. I think they weren´t up for the task of dealing with all the walking so they left. But yeah i need socks-I bought a couple pair but they´re weird here--i don´t know why. Other than that i think i´m good on special tough.

My fingers are tired so i´m gonna stop here. Hope you all have an awesome week and an awesome Thanksgiving! Say hi to all the fam and say good bye to the waldrons for me before they leave. I´m not gonna lie, things are pretty sketchy here in Culiacan right now--i would advise you not to look up news for here. But know that I am safe. I know not to do anything stupid and so i´m good to go. ¡Ojalá que tengan una semana muy bien!

--Elder Crisp

ps. I have no idea about when we call or anything like that, but there´s time. I don´t think that i´m gonna be able to speak english then, but whatever (I already have an accent when i talk in English). Good thing we have dad to translate haha. Bye.