Things Seem to be Going Well

Dear Family,

     Thanks for the emails and updates this week.  Things here in the great land of lakes in "the garden of Eden (Prairie)" have been going so well!  This past week we were able to pick up 3 more investigators!  That is such an answer to prayer to be able to keep adding to the teaching pool that we've been working so hard to build.  One is a 16 year old kid whose dad is a recent convert to the church.  He's never really had any religious back round at all.  The first time he's ever been to a church he said was when he came to his dad's baptism in July.  It's going to be really fun be able to start with the basics and teach him all from the beginning.  He's really open and receptive and asks great questions.  He really listens to what we're saying and thinks about it.  He knows and goes to school with a few of the member kids in the ward and is really good friends with one in particular.  We're teaching him at that friends house.  He came to the turkey bowl and really loves to talk anything sports.  Mostly basketball and football so if we can steer clear of getting him distracted on those topics things are going to continue to go great haha.  The other 2 investigators that we picked up are a really great couple we tracted into about a month ago that we finally got to meet with and teach.  It was a great lesson!  They really want to increase their knowledge, faith, and relationship with Jesus Christ.  All things that the Book of Mormon promises to do for all of us.  Unfortunately, the husband works in retail so this time of year is total craziness for him, and we can't meet with him again until the week after Christmas.  We'll still call and keep in contact to help them get to church before then.  The Lord is blessing us tremendously and we're working hard to keep these people growing in their faith and on their path coming unto Christ.  Good things are only going to continue to come and grow in these letters.

     As far as the snow here we are expected to get rain the next couple of days!  What is this?!  I feel like such a wimp.  I did not come to Minnesota to write home and report on rain in the middle of December.  It's so amazing to me that a year ago yesterday was the day that we got 22 inches of snow in 24 hrs!  I just can't believe the difference.  I keep waring Elder Parry that this is not normal and the members here back me up.  I just figure we'll pay for this nice weather come about January when the bottom of the thermometer actually just falls right out and we don't get positive numbers until March haha.  That's just my guess though.

     That's so exciting about Brady's papers.  I talked to Elder Mead the other day at transfers and he said that Jesse Wilson got his call to Bolivia?  I told Brady in other letters and emails that I'm guessing he's going somewhere in Central or South America.  I'm not sure on a specific country yet.  Don't worry that it won't be here by Christmas.  I'm used to finding out all information over email anyway haha.  Speaking of Christmas though I'm not sure if you guys want to try and Skype again or just a phone call.  We'll be over at Brother Murray's for Christmas and he has enough computers we could both Skype there.  You just might want to email him and found out if he has a Skype account to get that all coordinated.  Just let me know what time everyone will be available next week so I can try to plan that.

     I think that that's really cool about that adopt a missionary program you're doing Mom.  Sister Simpson emailed me the emails she's sent and received from Cody and his companion and I think that that's a great idea.  I wish that I could say that I'll have time to try and write every week too but that's probably not going to be the case.  I can for sure try though.  I was thinking since I've been so blessed and really don't need stuff for Christmas like I talked about last week you could go in on a Christmas package with Sister Simpson for a couple of those missionaries instead.  I realize that it will probably be late getting there now but I think it'd be awesome to just save the money from sending me one and sending it to those African missionaries there.  You might have already thought of that but if not it's just a cool idea I had.

     It's so crazy to think that Jacob will be home this week!  Time flies when you're speaking Norweigen haha.  He's written me a couple emails the past couple weeks so it was cool to talk to him.

     I hope that everything else is going great with all of you.  Sorry this is kind of short but we have a lot of stuff planned to try and get done today.  I can't wait to hear from you guys and talk to you again!

Love, Elder Craft