...to have The Spirit.

I will share a little something from the week. One particular day we were just about to finish tracting and sister Brown felt that we still needed to be there on that street but we didn't know what to do. We decided to just get out of the car and we headed over to a house to knock on the door. No Answer. The house next door was all lit up so we went over and knocked. We were surprised to find a lady that was very welcoming and informed us that she was actually a less active who wasn't on our records. She said she was Lutheran now because of her family but she was so kind and we even taught her a lesson and ended with prayer right there on her doorstep. That was just a really cool miracle that we got from following promptings. I am coming to recognize more and more how Heavenly Father speaks to me through the spirit. 

I know that it is so important to have the spirit with me and to be worthy to have it with me. That is how God gives us revelation and guidance. I know Heavenly Father want to here from us and that if we listen to Him, He will help us know what to do and what to say. Something really interesting happened to us today. We got a Call from a less active lady in our ward today that we havent been able to contact. She Called and said that she is normally not humble enough to ask for help but she was having a breakdown so she said we could come over. We went and listened for a long time to her story and her struggles and why she wasn't coming to church. I didn't know what to say that would make her feel better but we are so grateful to know her and that she was willing to open up to us. It really taught me that we often don't know what people are really going through. All We can do is love them and help them know that Heavenly Father Loves them too.

... I will also send a letter home for the primary kids. that was the sweetest thing that so many of them wrote to me. It was just what I needed. Sarah's farewell is on the 20th?! I want to hear from her!!

... I am learning to live more simply and be grateful for the things I have. I am trying to give it all to the Lord so having less stuff will help me. Say thank you to Grandpa and Jon for me. I pray for you all daily and I love you. 

Have a Great week!! Just keep Swimming!!

Love, 

Sister Crossett​

​

At the Modjeska House.  Look it Up!! w/sister Brown

The struggle carrying in emergency preparedness water.

The work is picking up

This will have to be a short email but ill try to answer questions. I got the Photo Album and I love it!! thank you so much! I will have to hold off looking at it for a while though for it makes me homesick.  I sent dad the correct address I think. It sounds like fun in the Crossett home. 

This week has been another week of readjusting to My New comp. Sister Brown. She is so cool though and I love her. And Its no Coincidence that She is From San Antonio Texas! She has been going to BYU for a Music Education and she is mainly a Percussionist but she also plays Piano.

 The Work Is picking up and I feel like I'm Getting a lot more done and am being more productive. The Ward is So missionary minded and it is really helpful. We cant do it without them. 

I will share one little Experience we had on sunday. We were asked to teach gospel Principals and I didn't feel prepared at all. The lesson was on tithing. All we had was a few scriptures to go off of. I said a lot of prayers before hand and tried to have faith. It went amazing and we even ended with perfect timing. It is so helpful to have participation in lessons. Basically all we did was have a group discussion but we all learned so much from each other. It was also the primary program this sunday. It was so cute and the spirit was just beaming off of there little smiling faces. There is nothing quite like hearing and seeing the simple  but pure testimonies of little children.

I know that This Gospel is true. I know that through faith in Jesus Christ everything will work out in the end. I know that we will not be condemned if we always have the spirit to be with us. Here is a Cool Scripture Cross reference Chain that I really liked from studies this week. 2nephi2:2---Micah 4:13----2nephi32:9--- D&C42:6---D&C42:14---D&C63:64 all about prayer and faith and the spirit. 

I hope you are all doing well. I love you!

Love,

Sister Crossett

Please notice the new address for letters.  There was some confusion with the correct address but hopefully if you've sent something, it will make it to her. 

Transfers!

Hey Everyone!
I would just like to share a few experiences that I have had this week over here in Beautiful Cali. It actually rained today for the first time since I've been here! There is a Drought so It was a tender mercy :)


On Tuesday we had our second lesson with Faith. It went very well and she said she would be baptized when she receives the answer that its what God wants for her. She is the sweetest! I am so grateful to be able to be apart of her journey.


Thursday we had an amazing lesson with a less active in our ward. She has been doing so well with reading the Book of Mormon each day so we decided that we should talk about prayer this time. It was a very powerful lesson. She took such comfort in remembering that God Is our Father, our dad. The spirit was there and I didn't have to worry about exactly what to say. I know that If I open my mouth words will come through the holy Ghost. She even said the closing prayer. I know that through Reading the Book of Mormon and prayer we can keep that relationship this Our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ Strong.


A little fun thing that happened on Saturday was we got to Go do service at a boy scout camp. They were having a sort of Halloween carnival with different games at booths. Sister Bambas and I got to help with a rubber band gun game. We refilled the guns as fast as we could to keep up with the boys shooting. We actually got really fast at it and It was a lot of fun.


Sunday was a special day. In The Church of Jesus Christ of latter Day Saints visitors are always welcome but this Sunday we had a day specifically devoted to visitors. We handed out flyers and asked the ward members to invite their friends and neighbors in preparation for the day. Although only a handful of people were visiting, I know the spirit was there and that they felt it. Seeds were planted.


Well it has been 6 weeks already and that means transfer calls. We were not expecting to be going anywhere because Sister Bambas is still training me but I will be staying in this Area and she is headed elsewhere. I will miss her a lot but I will never forget the many lessons that I learned from her.


I know that every person matters to our Heavenly Father. I Know that we are all his Children and he is always listening. We just need to choose to listen to Him so he can help us and teach us. I know that through prayer we can truly come to know Him and his Son Jesus Christ.


much love,
Sister Crossett

New Pictures on the Live Oak Canyon tab of the blog soon. Hike and others. 

An email from a stranger.

I thought the sight of these beautiful faces would be welcome!!! I'd give almost anything to have these girls as mine..... so you are LUCKY!!!!! They both seem super well, they either are very happy or they are the best fakers on the planet and from my standpoint I would imagine that they like each other so much!!! They brighten the life of everyone they come in contact with and are just amazing. They came over to pick something up and had just come from the home of a single sister who has struggled with activity, depression and so many things!!! They have got her reading, praying , committing to do these things daily and they are completely oblivious to any negatives as far as this sister (Zoe) or actually anything in life!!!! I love them with a passion and hope I always keep tract of them. Hope you are having a good day and please feel free to call or email if here is ANYTHING I can do for you or your angels!!!
Love,
Jan

Toy expert, exchanges and frogs

I don't have as much time as I usually do for emails so this will have to be quick. 

This week has been a RollerCoaster ride. The Work is picking up and we have Been seeing Miracles. On Tuesday we did service for a less active in our ward named sister Batimana. Our task included, sorting, organizing, and getting rid of toys in her 5 or 6 year old sons toy room. Now this is something that I actually enjoy doing but this was different. The little boy had a Billion toys!! I didn't even know where to start, let alone what half the toys were. It was very taxing for me. Four Hours of "Imagine-X or not", thousands of nerf darts and a tub full of cars really takes it out of a person. Although it was long and hard, I am a toy expert now and we actually got a lot done and hopefully blessed their lives by the service. 

We had a mini exchange on thursday and then a really exchange on friday to saturday. On the mini exchange I went to the foothill ranch area with sister hill. We always get paired together because our companions are sister training leaders so they have meetings a lot but I love sister Hill so much. During personal studies that morning I came across the scripture 2 Nephi 16:10. I'd read it before but It really got me thinking about being fully converted and receive the healing that comes from the atonement. In order to receive it we need to be willing to give everything up to the Savior. We need to remember that we cannot do it alone, willing to let him help us, carry us, and teach us. Then on Friday we had awesome exchanges. I stayed in my area this time while sister Hill and sister Gage came to me. It was hard because I'm still not super familiar with the area but I had lots of help and I always learn so much from working with new sisters. It can be hard sometimes being with someone 24/7 but you really learn a lot and are humbled and taught a lot of patience sometimes. I've been learning that I just need to do the best I can do in what ever situation and circumstance we are in. 

tell Flavia Thank you. Tell lauren I can't watch tv but we have church dvds that we can watch sometimes on our portable dvd player. Tell sarah I love her and that she needs to email me. Tell derek happy Birthday on the 17th. I need more contacts soon, my wish list for anyone who would be willing to help includes watches (black and white), a soft plushy blanket (with frogs on it), really anything frog related. I was wondering if you could look into that red bag for me at deseret book if possible. maybe send me some pictures. I just need a smaller bag with more a more accessable opening. Sister Bambas has a flash drive recorder that she records herself on and sends it home in emails. I think that is a really good idea but let me know what you think. I Also would love Mrs. Coates and Mrs. Mardens email addresses if possible. Thanks mom! whatever you can do would be fantastic!

I know that our heavenly Father has a Plan for each of us. I know my Savior lives and I know that he can help us if we are willing and have an open heart. I love this Gospel and I know It is True.

I love you all!!

Love, 

Sister Crossett

two weeks of many first's

A compilation of stories from letters and emails that I have pieced together in, from what I can tell, is chronological order. 

Monday Sept. 26, 2016

The work is very slow here to be honest.  We are doing things but we don't have any progressing investigators and I've only ever taught one door step investigators lesson. It just takes patience and diligence. I've been struggling with knowing what God's expectations are for me. I know I just need to do my best, but what is my best?  These questions have been on my mind yesterday and today. I decided to pray and study about it and the answers I got didn't really answer my questions but made me realize that my questions weren't really important. The jist of my answer was from a talk someone gave on Sunday.  "Winning is getting up each time you fall down."

Sister Bambas and I were out visiting a potentials house one day. As we were walking, there was a little girl that came up to us on her scooter and said hi.  She was super friendly.  She asked us who we were and where we were going.  We said, "We are the missionaries out talking to people about Jesus".  She responded with something like, "I love Jesus! I know about him. God is good because he helps us."  We asked her where she learned that and she said,  "No one taught me, I just know."  If only everyone could be like little Katelyn.  We are going to stop by sometime in the future to see her and her family.   

Another fun story from last week was a first for me.  To tell you the truth I was just being silly me and left the spoon in the blender and the lid partially off as I turned it on.  And yep, you guessed it, Smoothie went everywhere!  from the counter, to the ceiling, to the top of my head.  I wasn't happy, but it was really funny. (smiley face) Funny story of the week.  

We visited the Newport Beach temple for a session on Friday (Sept. 23) It was beautiful. I got an answer to my questions. (pictures posted)

The Trip to the Mausses (Fri.23th?)
The Mausses are a member family in our ward that live outside of the mission but have special first presidency permission to live way out there and still be in our ward. So every once in a while the Mausses have the missionaries over for dinner and they drive down and pick us up.

The Mausses live way up in the Mountains in a little ranching neighborhood area.  it takes about 30- 45 minutes to drive up the winding and pretty schetchy road to their house.  Brother Mausse came to pick all four of us up ( a lot of families feed the elders and sisters in the ward altogether) for my first trip to the Mausses. I was told it would be quite the experience. The car was little so Elder Fullmer and Sister Bambas and I were squeezed in the back...a pretty awkward experience for missionaries, especially with the ride that was about to happen. 

Brother Mausse is quite the character: Always cracking jokes, telling very interesting stories, and driving confidently (with higher speeds than necessary) up the steep twist and turns of the mountain. It was pretty fun.  We finally got to his ranch/house and we meet the dogs, cats, horses, sheep, and people too. 
I think they sent pictures to you of us with the horse and maybe one with me holding a kitten.  (yes.  pictures are posted on new Live Oak Ward page)
O MY GOODNESS the KITTENS!!!  Their mom was an orange cat so they all had orange on them (smiley face)!  There were 5 kittens and they decided to name them after the little women characters because they matched their personalities exactly. Meg, Beth, Jo, Amy, and Teddy.  Amy was the one I held in the picture.  Anyway that was one of the highlights of the night for me.  Then we had dinner and talked and laughed.  I needed a good laugh. (smiley face)  Then we had a great lesson about the B.O.M. When it was time to go, Brother Mausse and the missionaries piled back into the little car.  The drive home was a lot scarier in the dark because occasionally Brother Mausse would flip off the headlights (his justification was that he had driven that road a billion times, but it was still terrifying.) Anyway we made it home in one piece and that was the trip to the Mausses. 

Women's Conference, Saturday 24th.  I loved it all.  Just sitting in the chapel with women of the church watching together made me feel so warm and welcomed.  The closing song was especially good because I was having a hard time and there was a down syndrome girl sitting next to me singing her out-of-tune little heart out and it just touched me so much.  

We sang that song (I Need Thee Every Hour, posted previously) in Sacrament meeting Sunday. The arrangement was really cool. from the Favorite Hymns of the Prophets book. Sister Kinnison, ward music coordinator/chorister, played for us.  Everyone loved it.  

(Wednesday Sept. 27th)
So, yesterday was a pretty amazing day. We had our very first real life lesson with an investigator.  Faith is golden and she committed to reading the B.O.M.and praying to know if it is true.  She also accepted a soft baptism invite.  I am just so excited and happy for her!  There really is nothing else quite like teaching someone of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love that her name is Faith, too (smiley face). 

O.K. one last story from yesterday and then I have to go study and pack. We are going on exchanges starting tonight. Fun Stuff. Anyway, last night around 8:30 we were sitting in the car parked outside a house we had just dropped off a note at. 8 to 9 pm is a hard hour to fill so we were writing a B-day notes for people in the ward to deliver. Nest thing I know I seea police car pull up and stoop. They turn on their bright lights into our car and one officer walks around back to check our license plate. I was really confused at this point. The officer then taps on our window and asks for our licences and what we are doing there. Sister Bambas says, "We are missionaries delivering notes to people in our congregation." He says "missionaries in this area? O.K."(smiley face) Then another officer walks up and says "The reason we stopped you is because you are parked just down the street from a drug house. People often are parked around here smoking weed at night. You're not in trouble, but we just needed to check it out." We were like "Good to know" and then they let us go. So that was a first for me. Pretty funny that it happened on my mission. Just thought you guys might enjoy that story.

I just want you to know I'm doing well and having great adentures. I love you all and I know that through Jesus Christ everything will turn out right in the end Because He Lives. Don't give up, Keep praying, and Endure to the End.

(now an email from Monday Oct. 3)

I'm so glad to hear that your conference experience was awesome! It was for me too!

So as missionaries we went to the stake center to watch conference. Basically it was just all the missionaries from our area that were there. It was so Fun!! We brought blankets and snacks and had fun laughing at all the little missionary insights. I definitely took notes too though :) My favorites were Uchtdorf, Hales, Anderson, and Jaun C. Ucedas ( he spoke to us when I was in the MTC) talks. I remember the Earlier sessions better because by the last sessions my brain was on overload just like you, but it was all amazing! when I heard that it was the MTC choir I said rather too loudly " Man! I was Just There!" everyone laughed. But its ok. They were Amazing weren't they? They brought the spirit like no other young adult choir ever could.

I Love Conference. I know that the prophets and apostles words are the words of God and they can help us in our lives if we are Willing to receive them. D&C 1:38

This week has been so cool. I had my first exchanges. Exchanges bring miracles. I went to the lake forest ward and was in a trio with sister Sakurai (Japanese sister) and sister Hill (from the MTC). It was actually really cool to be in a trio. Our first real miracle was when we went tracting around the apartment complex. We were lead to a building and the top floor, first door. We knocked on the door and a man named Kabir (Indian name) answered. To make the long story short we stood there and talked with him for an hour and a half and shared most of the plan of Salvation lesson with him. He was very philosophical and a very deep thinker but as we began to testify, he was intrigued by the conviction on our faces and he listened more intently. He accepted a Book of Mormon and I know a Seed was Planted. I know that I was there on exchanges on that very day for very specific purposes. It is just so cool To think about just how Our Heavenly Father works every little detail out.

I started learning to play the Ukulele because every missionary who had President Orgill as there Mission President has one. I borrow sister Bambas' and she has a book of chords. It is really fun and super easy and I have Callouses already! I thought Derek would appreciate that :)

I Love you all and hope you are having a wonderful week so far!
I know that My Savior Lives. I Know he loves us. Our Heavenly Father is just one prayer away and he IS listening. I know that the Doctrine of Christ is an ongoing cycle that we must use in our lives to return to him and I Know it is true.

Love
Sister Crossett

(from a correspondence with her dad Oct.3)

Thank you for your awesome emails. They always make me smile :) 

Yes, sister Bambas is a really great trainer. We are soooo much a like. The work is picking up. The first few weeks were really slow but I have my first Investigator Named Faith and she is Golden. We don't really have rules for what we are allowed to do during the day so we do knock doors but not all the time. It depends on what we plan for. 

Well I better get going but I want you to know that I love you too and everything is going well. I know that everything happens for a reason and I know our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ will always be at our sides. A cool little phrase I learned from Conference is that God is always listening to us so we need to listen to him. I hope you have a wonderful week dad!