Hotter Than Hades! Orem, Utah Mission, North Orem, June 26th, 2017

Hello everyone!

Holy Guacamole it is hot here! Its been in the upper 90s for the last 2-3 week so that's been fun, especially without a car. The heat really drains your energy!

Being in Utah where there are many mormons, we often have people drive by and honk at us, which is great and all, but we are really hoping they'll honk, pull over, and say "Wow, you sisters really look like you could use a ride everywhere today." haha that would be a dream come true!

This week has flown by! Yesterday someone called us and told us about a person who had just moved in who was ready to be baptized! We have a lesson with him tonight so we are excited for that! 

This last Friday we were able to go to the temple, and my companion Sister Clanton and I got to look up our own names and take them, which meant a lot more to me! The Timpanogos temple is gorgeous, and I love visiting the temple, there is such a strong peaceful spirit there. 

On Thursdays we always have a training meeting with our district, and every time we go our district leader always jokes that President Killpack was going to be coming. This last Thursday we walked in, and they said it again, but this time they weren't joking haha! We were all a little nervous because he doesn't visit people like that very often, but he just sat in and talked to us and helped us learn even more. He is amazing!

Overall, I'm pretty sure the intense heat that came with this week has wiped away most of my memory of what happened, but it was a great week!

This last Monday after Pday was over, my companion and I were both able to get Priesthood blessings. We were both just feeling a little off and needed some guidance from Heavenly Father. Blessings prove to me how much Heavenly Father loves, knows, and cares for each one of us. It brought me so much peace and comfort and I know that I'm doing exactly what I need to be doing. 

I'll end my email with a quote I love, 

"As you draw nearer to the Lord, He will guide you to become the best version of yourself." -M. Russell Ballard. 

I know this is true! As we strive to become more like the Savior and follow His teachings, we will slowly but surely start becoming the person God wants us to be.

I love you all! I also love sending letters, so if you'd like a letter email me your address! Have a wonderful week!

Love, 

Sister Crofts 

Bike-riding pro!

Temple trip to the Mount Timpanogos Temple

District meeting--with a surprise meeting from President Killpack

Those Eyes! Orem, Utah Mission, North Orem, June 19th, 2017

Hello! Happy Monday!

My companion Sister Clanton and I get along so well. It's like we are the same person. (We were on dance team together so we basically are). We have mini dance parties before bed and even bought matching pajamas! She's been sick this week so our mission President and his wife came to drop by some medicine and we both came out wearing out matching pajamas. Sister Killpack started talking to us and President just leaned his head out of the window and yelled, "TWINS!". It was hilarious! I'm glad to have Sister Clanton as a companion and that we work so well together!

This week flew by! One of my favorite miracles from this week happened on Tuesday, we got a call from someone telling us their granddaughter wanted to get baptized! We went over a few days later and set a date for July 13th! Her name is Brooke and she is the sweetest 13 year old girl ever and she's already met with missionaries before and so we are basically just reviewing things with her! What an amazing experience. 

We've been teaching a lot of people in this area! We are only over 5 wards, which is definitely different from my last area and is taking some time to get used to. But I'm growing to love it! We are teaching several people who have very interesting and in depth questions, which is great! it makes me study harder so I can actually help them find an answer! But the best thing is that I don't have to know all the answers, because when we pray, God can help us know. And that's what we always tell people. "Don't take our word for it, ask God! He won't lie to you!"  It's so true!  In James 1:5 it says "If any of ye lack wisdom, let him ask of God" which I love, because I'm always lacking wisdom, and God's the one who will help me find it, but only if I ask!

This week walking and biking has been a bit of a challenge. Sister Clanton has been sick on and off and it's also been extremely hot. But we keep on going! With God's help we can do anything! Even in the high 90 degree weather coming up this upcoming week :) On Friday we had a zone activity at our Mission Presidents house which was outside for two hours, (and very fun!) and then helped someone move by ourselves for another couple hours, in the horrid heat, and we may or may not have gotten a bit of heat exhaustion. But we feel great now! 

I hope you all had a fantastic Father's Day yesterday, I know I did! It's sometimes hard to be away from home but we were able to visit part of our area, Orchards Care Center, where some older people live, and it totally made our day. There's an older guy named Daniel that lives there, and he is hilarious! We also play bingo with them every Tuesday, and last time I helped him put M&Ms on his bingo card, he thought it was hilarious! Yesterday when we visited he thought we were there for a voice lesson so he started by saying "alright this is going to take about 45 minutes" which made me die laughing, but it actually did! Mostly because every time he looked me in the eyes he would stop and say "WOAH! Those eyes! You can't look at them without being lost! You're going to be a great singer!" I'll have to admit I may have laughed so hard I cried. He's such a flirt! And every time my companion smiled he would say "Wow! Those teeth!" He is such a great guy and made us laugh so much!

I hope you all have a wonderful week! I love yall! 

Love, 

Sister Crofts 

Rachel gets to do a lot of service!

Cake in a mug to celebrate Sister Clanton's one year mark.  (I have no idea what is on Rachel's nose.  Crazy girl!)

Silly Sister missionaries couldn't stop laughing!

I'm in Orem! Orem, Utah Mission, North Orem, June 12th, 2017

This week has been crazy! But in a good way :)

Monday and Tuesday were my last days in Eagle Mountain, and they were very emotional. On Monday we had an awesome lesson with Faleshia and her family (three boys). We read with her 2 Nephi chapter 31 from the Book of Mormon. It's a section talking about baptism. One of my favorite verses is verse 5. 

"And now if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfill all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea even by water!"

We read this with Faleshia and she instantly knew that it was true. She has such a strong spirit and she knew that she needed to be baptized, because Jesus Christ was baptized! We invited her to be baptized on July 8th, and she paused for a while before answering. Finally, she turned to her 12 year old son and said, "Will you do it with me?" He agreed and it was such an amazing, spiritual moment. The gospel of Jesus Christ is true! 

Wednesday was transfers, so I had to leave Eagle Mountain, my home away from home! I met Sister Clanton there and away we went! Since we are now on bikes/walking and don't have a car, my new landlady picked us up. 

Orem is definitely a lot different than Eagle Mountain! There are some sketchy places but I know the Lord protects His servants. I've met so many amazing people here, and we've already found 3 new investigators in this area. I have a feeling we will be able to help some of them commit to a baptism date this week so I'm very excited for that! 

I hope all is going well for everyone. I just want to conclude by saying that I know that I am a missionary for Jesus Christ's church, the same church that He established when he came to the earth. He is my Savior, and He has sacrificed himself for me. I know this to be true. 

Love, 

Sister Crofts 

Rachel has LOVED her trainer, Sister Hutchinson!  They have had a wonderful 12 weeks together!

Saying goodbye is hard!

Faleshia and family. 

Rachel and new companion, Sister Clanton.  They are having a lot fun together and working hard! (They knew each other in high school!)

Service is fun!

Are Your Parents Home? Orem, Utah Mission, Eagle Mountain, June 5th, 2017

Hello everyone! 

This week has been crazy! In a good way of course. Up here in old Eagle Mountain they had a town celebration called "Pony Express Days". I'm not sure why, but they have a street called Pony Express and I'm assuming they needed something to celebrate up here in the midst of nothing!

There was a carnival/fair in the middle of a giant field in one of our neighborhoods, so we actually went by two nights and walked around and talked to people! It was weird hearing all of the normal music and seeing so many teenagers who needed to be wearing more clothes.. But fun and productive none the less! 

Then on Saturday they had a Pony Express Parade where... You guessed it, a parade marched down Pony Express. It was unlike any parade I've ever seen, in that it was basically just businesses driving down a road slowly with their cars and people throwing candy and flyers at people haha! I figured there would be more bands and dancing, but not much of that. Still, another great way to contact people! 

We taught Faliesha and her family Sunday night, and before we went in we knew we wanted to talk to her about following through with the commitments she had been saying she would keep, like going to church and reading the Book of Mormon. Right when we got in she said, "I realized this weekend that i need to go all in. So I'm not going to miss a single Sunday of church!" It was awesome! She is such an incredible person who is always striving to help people and Heavenly Father definitely needs her on His side. 

Last night we had transfer calls.. Usually we get them Monday mornings,  but I'll explain why we didn't in just a second. President had said that from 8-10 he would be calling people, so from 8 until 9 when he called my companion and I were a having a bunch of anxiety and mini heart attacks! We had no clue what was going to happen. When he finally called, I found out that I would be leaving Eagle Mountain. I'm sad to be leaving, but know He needs me in my new area, Orem! I'm going to be in a biking area, over only 5 wards! (Which is crazy small for Utah). It's called a ward focus area and I'm excited to get there and start working! I'm also going to slowly start doing ASL as well, so hopefully I'll be teaching people in Sign Language soon! And last but not least, my new companion will be... Sister Jenna Clanton! I'm not sure how many of you know her, but we went to the same High School and were on dance team together! Small world!

The reason we got transfer calls last night was because our entire mission attended a funeral today for our Mission President's recently released Secretary, Sister Gunther. She was the one who picked me up from the MTC. The thing about Mormon funerals though, is that while we may be sad that they're not with us on this earth, we know that we can be with them again some day, and for me that gives me even more motivation to do all I can to be righteous enough!  

Before I go, I suppose I should probably mention the title of this email. About an hour ago, a kid, probably about 12 years old, came to our door and was selling something for a fundraiser. We answered the door and he asked, "Hi! Are your parents home?" Haha I guess we are pretty young looking. We told him that we are missionaries so we don't live with our parents, but the owners of the house might be home Friday! That was pretty funny. 

I hope you all have a fantastic week! I love you all so much!

Love, 

Sister Crofts 

I received a text and this picture from a sister that has been teaching Rachel ASL once a week.  She said that Rachel is learning quickly and is so fun to be around.  (and it looks like silly, as well!)

Rachel had to get to cavities filled this week :(

Zone meeting/photo with President and Sister Kilpack in the middle.  They are awesome!

They have to trick their thermostat!

Pony Express days

Parade

Missionary exchanges

Lots of yummy shaved ice in Utah!