{Week Eight}

Dear Family,

Sounds like quite the weather you have been having this week at home. With all that mud and muck and snow... It shows that although winter is long, spring is coming!

It keeps raining here in Richland and so we are getting into Spring. It will start out all sunny outside and then after lunch get stormy. But it makes tracting not so hot, so I am grateful. I guess it gets up to about 100 in the summer... so I am for sure grateful for the nice 'cool' weather right now.

This week has been good though. Some days seem long and like we have no appointments, but really, after I look back, I can see how blessed I really am.

Last Tuesday night we decided to try getting a hold of a lady that we have tried before and it just never was a good time for us to come in. But last Tuesday, we went to her door and she let us right in.

It was amazing! Amy Martin had been having a rough week, well, a rough month and year. She has been out of work for a month, no money because of a past devorce, and her boyfriend just left her (that part was good though, she may not know or realize that yet, but it was good), and she has been praying for someone to come and help her.

She was watching TV one night and saw a commercial about some church, she wasn't sure which, but it said something about starting to go to church. She broke down that night and just prayed for help, and then waited. So when we came, she was practically in tears and grateful to have someone there.

She was going to make it to church, but was unable to because her car wasn't working and she hadn't slept all night. We were sad because she didn't come, but she said she will come next week. We get to explain what General Conference is, and I am hoping she will come with us to the Stake Center to watch it! I think she will :) We have been hepling her find work as well, and she has been able to apply at more places now too!  She is very interested about learning more and we are teaching her more tonight! I am so excited!!

So another exciting event is that Austin Edler was baptised on Saturday! The entire ward, well just about, came to support him. We should have moved it to the Chapel, but we squeezed into the RS room. He was completely excited to be getting baptized and can't wait to be able to pass the sacrament! Sad thing is that we have General Conference, then Stake Conference. So he has to wait a few weeks. But it will come soon for him :) It was precious to watch him be baptized because he (I think I told you he has autism and is 14 in a past email) had to ask his mom to be able to do it. His parents are divorced but have joint custody and he lives with his dad. His mom asked him why he wanted to do it, and so purely he said he wanted to have the Holy Ghost with him and he wanted to pass the sacrament. He is a sweet boy that truly is Christ-like.

So for us, this past Sunday was Fast Sunday and I was thinking about geting up and bearing my testimony, but we didn't have enough time. And I didn't want to take up the member's time either because so many people were getting up too. But then I thought about how lucky I am that I get to bear my testimony every single day to multiple people! It is so fun to share the knowledge I have and I continue to learn more each and every day!

I have set a goal to re-memorize the Articles of Faith, the Proclamation to the Family, and to continue my progress in memorizing D&C 121:34-46. I am getting better at remembering, but it takes lots of repitition and practice. I know that as I accomplish this goal, that I will be blessed with the knowledge. 

I am so excited to get to watch Conference this weekend! We will most likely watch the morning sessions at our home and then go to the Stake Center for the Afternoon sessions. I have just started reading the April Ensign and it is geting me excited about the real meaning of the Easter Season. It truly should be focused on the Resurrection of Christ and the Atonement that we have been given. 

The gospel is amazing and I am enjoying my time as a missionary :) This morning we helped some RS sisters tie some quilts for the humanitarian project and one of them, Patty Squire- not a member, but our investigator, asked if it was a difficult transition to be without a computer, my phone, internet access, tv, pretty much without any technology or "fun stuff" and all I could do was smile and tell her it was a relief! I really don't miss all the extra stuff and I am much too busy to focus on any of it. 

I am loving studying out of the Ensign, my scriptures, Jesus The Christ, Our Heritage, and all the other missionary library books. It is so fun to learn more on my own and also from others around me! 

I love you all and challenge you to listen to Conference this weekend with open hearts and open minds, taking in the wonderful inspired messsages!

Love,

Sister Stephanie Crandall