Happy New Year!

Happy 2012 Craft Family!!

     Luckily for all of us even though the libraries are closed we have awesome members here in the Garden of Eden and are emailing from the Neilson's right now.  So you know who to thank for your timely email this week Mom haha ;).

     Well just like Mom, and I'm sure a few others, guessed it ushering in the New Year was not anything too eventful for me.  Elder Pope and I got home and to bed by the normal time of 10:30 and were pretty tired.  I still asked him if he wanted to get up at 12 and we could celebrate the New Year by singing a rendition of "Happy Birthday"  with just the phrase "Happy New Year to you" instead, but we both decided it really wasn't worth it haha.  It is kind of weird to think that it is already 2012 now.  This next year is going to fly.  We've been talking a little bit about some New Year's resolutions for us and what we want to try and do better in for the next 365 days.  Basically just trying to memorize scriptures and be more consecrated are about the craziest new goals I have haha.  Do any of you have any fun resolutions?  

     This year for the MMM we have alot of goals that we're hoping to accomplish.  President Clements writes a letter to the mission each week and sends it to all of us.  With the new year comes new goals, new desires, and new accomplishments for all of us.  President talked a lot about this year being the year of "MMMMMMM"!  haha Nothing like the year of Campbell's slogan though.  I'm sure you're all used to me saying and referring the my mission as the MMM.  With President it's going to be a little more this year haha.  It's going to be the year of "The Mormon Moment of Miracles for Members in the Minnesota Minneapolis Mission".  We're really trying to work with members on becoming missionaries themselves this year and bringing about all the miracles that are in store in this area from the Lord for members and missionaries as part of all of our missionary efforts.  We've seen a lot of that here in Eden Prairie as we've been trying to work with the members through different lessons to inspire and motivate them to fulfill whatever commitments and invitations we leave them.  We've also been trying to work on teaching more lessons with members present and just this week alone we were able to see the fruits of that labor.  We had 4 investigators to sacrament meeting yesterday!  Even though that may not sound all that exciting or amazing and it was such a blessing and was the most that either one of us have seen to church in our 3 transfers here.  The teaching pool is really strong and growing.  The investigator we have scheduled to be baptized is on the 14th and he's still super pumped and excited for that just like we are!  We're going to continue to work hard because we know the blessings that can come from it.  Especially those blessings that come in the cold weather like we're having now.  It snowed a couple inches here on New Year's Eve that was long overdue.  Now it's starting to look and seem more like I remember my last Minnesotan winter being haha.  Today as we were doing our shopping and stuff the windchill dropped the temperature to 3 degrees and last night it was a familiar feeling tracting down at 0. haha  We're just out building the Kingdom and some great character is how we like to look at it.

     I'm glad to hear that everyone's talks went so well out in Hooper and that my letter helped add some material to speak on.  I wish I could have been there to hear because they all sounded like they were so great.  Is the Park Ward meeting at 9 a.m. now?  We switched from 11 to 9 here and it's the first time in my entire mission that I haven't been at 11.    All my other areas have been at 10 or 11 to start.  I've been pretty lucky I guess.  That's exciting news from Kat and Tom too!  I'm anxious now to hear if I'll have 2 nephews and a niece that don't know me or 2 nieces and a nephew like Kat said haha.  Congratulations to Brady on becoming an Elder too.  Now if we could only get your papers in to find out where you'll be serving as Elder Craft 2.0 at we'll be good. :)  As far as Elder Musaka's emails go Mom it would probably be best to print them and send them to me with your letters.  That way I can have a little more time to read them.

     Sorry that there's not much to report on today.  I'm so glad to hear that you are all doing so well and loving life.  2012 seems to have started off right for all of us.  I love and miss you all.  I can't wait to talk to you again.

Love,  Elder Craft


P.S. President Clements also sent us all an article the the Wall Street Journal did on Mormon missionaries this last week because of David Archuleta announcing that he'll be going on a mission.  I would just attach it to this but I'm not exactly sure how to do that.  haha It's titled "From American Idol to Mormon Missionary" http://newsroom.lds.org/article/david-archuleta-mormon-mission and that link should get you right to it.