Crazy Miracles

Dear Family,

     Sorry that I don't have time to write much today either.  Mine's not as cool as Brady's excuse.  I wish it was because I was going to play soccer haha.  These computers just don't let us stay on here long.

     That is some exciting news about little Memphis though!  So was she born on Friday or Saturday?  In the email it said Friday the 4th but the 4th was Saturday.  Either way it's still exciting.  I will continue to pray for you all and especially Memphis too.  Thanks for the updates!  I love to hear about all the great stuff going on there.

     This week in Minneapolis was sweet as always!  We have our baptism coming up on Saturday with Scott the guy I've been telling you about.  He is so great!  It's amazing to be blessed as much as I have to be apart of his teaching process.  The growth that all of us (Scott, Elder Neeley, and myself) have all made throughout his conversion has been a great thing to see.  It's so cool the bonds and lifelong friendships that you can build from only knowing people a few months.  It makes more sense though because as you love and serve someone you can truly get to know them.  That is one thing that I've learned on my mission.  The more fully you love and serve someone the better you get to know them.  I believe that's a true principle because of the Savior's example.  He didn't need a few months to get this way with anyone or even a few weeks like it often takes me.  His perfect example of charity and service to all is what helped Him to love more perfectly and more fully.  It's a great lesson I feel that I have been able to learn and only through serving as a missionary have I come to understand this a little more.  The other woman that we are teaching is progressing well with towards his baptism on the 18th of this month. She will have to have her interviews sometime this week, but she has a lot of commitment.  She sat next to us at church yesterday and on Saturday we had set a goal with her to quit smoking.  So when we went to teach her we ended up walking out at the end of the lesson with her last half a pack of cigarettes.  It was a great feeling to see her desire and commitment to the Lord and that we got to be the hands in the work of taking away that temptation.  Things here have been going great!  Your continued prayers are what's going to help even more.

     A couple weeks ago me and another Elder (Elder Happonen) on exchanges contacted a woman who just moved from Milwaukee for cancer treatment here and all her family is still in Wisconsin.  We talked to here for awhile and set up an appointment to come back.  Unfortunately she wasn't there for the appointment or the past couple weeks as we've tried to contact her.  Last night we decided to try again at a time when she should have been at work so we weren't as confident or faithful that she would be there.  She did end up being home and told us that she was sorry that she missed us and that she was expecting us to try back again soon because we hadn't been able to connect.  She also told us her mom had just sent her a DVD from the church (Finding Faith in Christ) this past week because her mom said, "it's a good video that you might like" while she's going through chemo.  She even showed us the DVD when she saw how confused we looked at the claim her Catholic mom had just sent her some church produced movie and praised it haha.  Turns out it really was from our church and that even more crazy or coincidental I guess was that her mom "used to be a Mormon" is how she put it but had never told her that.  Her mom joined the Catholic church when her parents got married because her dad's Catholic.  So once they'd established that her mom told her, "I'm glad that you're interested because it's a great church that you'll really like".  Then that's when we came into the scene again last night after all of that last week!  It is so unbelievable how the Lord works on our behalf.  I couldn't make up a story like that.  Or like most other things I see and experience here but I think that's just Minneapolis haha. ;)

     Crazy miracles and stuff happening "er' day up in here".  Thank you so much for all your love and support that you show to me.  You all are the greatest!  Can't wait to hear from you again.

Love, Elder "Hood" Craft