Looks like he needs a little diversion and action.  Nice to see him relaxing and having some fun.

Elder Houghton

Elder Lopez

Elder Crandall the Vandall

We have transfers coming up very quickly and it amazes me how fast they keep flying by.  With so many missionaries having left the past couple of transfers... there are a lot of new/younger missionaries.  We worked on tranfers for 4 or 5 hours with President Wilson this week.  Before I was an assistant I always wondered how transfers were done. It was amazing to me that we all ended up exactly where Heavenly Father needed us.  For example, I know for certain that I was suppose to be in Ana Verde when I first arrived in this mission.  I felt like many people I met and taught were just waiting for ME to find them!  Well, now that I help with transfers, I've thought long and hard about how I was put in the right spot at the right time with the right companion... and if that has been done for me... then I want that to be done for all the other missionaries as well!  We have to have the spirit with us when we make these decisions!  It can be stressful knowing that my input on where a missionary should go can change/effect their whole mission!  Obviously they are the ones who decide how hard they are going to work and how much they change... but as the ones doing the transfers... we are guided, so that they can be guided to certain people Heavenly Father needs them to meet.  By small and simple things are great things brought to pass! That scripture has so much meaning when I think about it in that way!

It seems as though I learned a lot about the spirit world this week.  It is amazing to me that God's plan is perfect and personal for each of us.  We will all die. We will all live again.  It is our choice to decide who and what we want to become.  Alma 34:32 For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.

Our desires and appetites will all be the same when we die.  If we learn to love our savior and his commandments here... then we will love them in the next life as well!  The spirit world is on the earth around us, and because of that, the veil can be very very thin between us and those who have gone before us.  I remember being very very little and missing my Grammy.  I would think about her... even though I really didn't even know her... and I felt as if she was there with me comforting me.  I would get very emotional when I thought about her.  I know she is waiting for me and is cheering me on from the other side.

Also, I remember one experience from back home when my mom was doing Family History work.  She had just completed a whole bunch of names and had them saved on a disc.  She had gone out to do errands and returned having lost the disc.  I remember how sad she was and hurt because of all the time and effort she put in and it felt as though Satan was pushing with all his might against her.  That very second it was as clear as a whisper I felt like I knew exactly where it was. I ran down stairs into the garage, opened the passenger door and in the little cubby on the door I saw the disc.  That was the first place I looked.  I know that prompting came from an ancestor from the other side who wanted their work done for them! At that time I didn't recognize this experience... but looking back I know that's exactly what happened!

I never want my mission to end!  I'm grateful for every minute I have to serve Heavenly Father with all my time and attention!

Love, Elder Crandall

Shout out to Hilario! Congrats on finishing your mission brother! I love you and I'm so proud of the hard work you have put forth!  Say hi to mom and dad for me!! (We are currently in Bolivia picking up our Peruvian son from his mission after serving faithfully for 2 years).

Here it is!

(The title of this email is because his letter is a couple of days late this week, but I am not complaining.  He has never missed, so I knew it would come).

It has been a great week filled with lots of exchanges and lots of time to do missionary work!  This was the first week so far this transfer that we didn't have a meeting or a training.  There is nothing better than getting to work a whole day straight in your own area! Then be able to do it several times a week! I'm definitely wiped out but it was worth it to see and have all the experiences that we did. 

We had a really great lesson with a born again Christian this week who has already come to church one time.  He was really confused about the difference between our church and others.  We had taught him the restoration the first time we met him... but it was interesting to me that people will hear you... but until they have a desire to learn what you have to say... they won't actually listen.  We retaught Priesthood Authority and how it was restored.  The spirit touched him and he kept saying... WOW! I wish I'd have known this before! haha He so badly wants to be close to the spirit.  After explaining that he could have the Gift of the Holy Ghost given to him by that Authority and that it would never leave him based on his own actions he kept saying Hallelujah!! haha it was great!

We had dinner with the car czar Elder Morris, his family, the Shelton’s, and all the assistants on Monday.  We got into a conversation about near death experiences and how they really change a person’s perspective of this life.  Whether someone is religious or not… when they have a near death experience and get a glimpse of the next life… they can’t deny that there is something after this life.  The more and more we shared our experiences the thicker the spirit became.  There is a saying that the second most sacred place to the temple is your own home.  The spirit was so strong that it felt like I was in the temple.  Members’ homes are the perfect refuge from worldly influences.  I am so thankful that I’ve learned to recognize and crave the spirit.  We can do all things if we have the spirit with us!

In my Krio Bible…Galations 5:22-23 (Fruit of the Spirit)  Bot God in Spirit go mek pipul lek den kompin, I go mek den gladi, I go mek den no de mek plaba, I go mek den ebul bia trobul, en I go mek den de ep den kompin motalman, I go mek den de du gud to oda pipul, I go mek den tru to den kompin, I go mek pipul put den yay don en I go mek den no jes de du wetin den at gi den fo du. No lo no de we tok bot den tin ya.

I couldn’t say it better myself!:)  If you have troubles understanding… look it up and translate it. Krio is the bestJ

Shout out to Elder Matheny… or I guess, Tanner Matheny… My mom told me all about your homecoming talk and said you knocked it out of the park! Miss you bud!

Love Elder Crandall the Vandal