"Be Still, And know that I am God"

 (Feb. 21, 2017)

The hairdo's were done at the YW Presidents house over dinner. They liked my French braided bun and wanted me to do theirs too. It was super fun :) 

Transfer calls were on saturday and I am staying in Las Flores with sister Peterson. There must be more for us to do :) I am so excited to find out what that is and to be an instrument in Heavenly Fathers hands. Its been a little different to have to adjust to no changes this time. The Elders in our Ward are staying too. There must be something I still need to learn from them, too. 

Sunday I was able to sing in Sacrament meeting. It was a great tool for inviting people to church. " Hey I'm singing in church this Sunday and you are invited to come" :) a lot of people actually said they would. When the day arrived we thought no one came because we walked in late after trying to go pick up our investigators daughter. As we sat there in the front row of the overflow seats, we noticed a familiar head of hair in front of us. It was a less active we had been stopping by for a while and she hadn't been to church for about 10 years. I sang "How Great Thou Art". A Beautiful piano arrangement of it  that a member found for me. It was exactly what I wanted and needed and It was a great blessing to me. As I sang I got a little carried away in the spirit and forgot the words to the next verse. I stopped for a minute, found my place and started again. Though I was a little disappointed for it, everyone I talked to said they didn't notice. It was just what it needed to be. All of the other talks were amazing, too and also just what was needed, especially for who was there. 

I am so grateful for the testimony I am still gaining and for the opportunity I have to share that with others. I know that Joseph Smith did see our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ in the Sacred Grove and because of that, the Gospel Of Jesus Christ that he established while he was on the earth is restored today. I am so Grateful for the restored Priesthood Power on the Earth today. The authority to act in Gods name to strengthen and bless his children now and throughout eternity. I know that as we are obedient to the commandments and endure, and enjoy, to the end, we will be able to be happy here on earth and throughout eternity. 

I may need to go in and be checked for what exactly is causing all my stomach problems. It is getting progressively worst but I am slowly figuring it out. I just might need a professionals opinion. I just thought I would let you know but there is no cause for alarm.

Be safe, Be patient, Be grateful, Be faithful. I love you so much and know that you can do it. 

Have a Great week!

(Feb 27th, 2017)

So, I told you that my stomach problems were getting much worse and I have tried everything that I could think of. Because I thought it was a food allergy. I started taking everything out of my diet. That was not the thing to do.  I enlisted the help of our mission mom and mission Doctor for help and they gave more suggestions. Do you remember Doctor Bowser that I was telling you about? Well we went in for our follow up appointment for our backs and I thought that maybe I would ask him if he could tell me anything about what is going on with my stomach and he read my body.  My body said that It was not a food allergy or Irritable Bowel. He said it was being caused by an emotional stress. My body said I'm too hard on myself and I agreed with him. I guess I needed a professional to tell me something that everyone else has been already telling me to believe it. I'm working on my Hakuna Matata and its going very well.

 It is no coincidence that your message completely goes along with the message that I wanted to share with all of you today. The phrase, "Walk in the Light" has been my focus and Mantra for this week as well as the Scripture in Psalms 46:10 "Be Still, And know that I am God". 

Walking in the Light for me means that we are constantly moving forward, repenting and accessing the full measure of the Atonement. This has become our districts focus for this transfer. I think it will really help us focus on the Atonement and how to share it with others. I don't think I've ever thought about that Scripture in Psalms like this before. It especially stood out to me yesterday. I didn't feel as prepared as we could be for a Sunday as a missionary. I woke up with this thought on my mind and it really became the theme of the day. As I just did my best to be myself and to be obedient, Heavenly Father was able to work with my abilities to bring about his purposes. (Exodus 14:13-14) Down to the people we passed in the hall being exactly the people we needed to talk to, it was just a great day. The Elders had 2 of their investigators there and we had another less active that we had been working with for a while come with her little boy. It was just a great day. I know that as we don't go "beyond the mark" so to speak, but just do our best and be ourselves and have faith that Heavenly Father will bring about his purposes, we will find ourselves right where we need to be on the path and we will be able to help his Children on that path back to him, too. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Psalms 46:10 

Love,

Sister Crossett

Look to Christ in Every Thought

It's strange to have your child giving you advice. But also really nice and really good advice.

"Mother Dear I love you so" :)

I'm Glad that you are keeping busy with the things you love. Just don't get lost in the things you love. Does that make sense?

I've learned a few things about teenagers out here. Sydney Smith is one of our investigators right now. She is [a lot like Anne]  . . . she is always at church, goes to seminary and mutual. She is fully involved with the yw, she loves it. She is so fast and always with her friends.

On Friday we had a really special Sisters Conference for all the sisters in the mission. There were so many things said that I know were exactly what other sisters needed to hear, as well as myself. Sister Adriane Colman (a missionary mom who lives in our mission) shared a life changing presentation on our thoughts (which coincide with Carol Tuttle's books and thoughts) Just to have positive thoughts and not let the negative thought or events block you or weigh you down is what I've been practicing since Sister Coleman talked to us. I have noticed a big change in my mood and also in sister Peterson's mood. It really is that attitude of gratitude, and looking to Christ in every thought, that makes the trial or challenge more bearable and even allows us to see what Heavenly Father is trying to teach us in the situation or what we can gain from it. I am so Grateful for the Atonement and for the gift of repentance and change through his sacrifice. 

My Exchange with Sister Berg on Saturday was an amazing day as well. She is just a baby in the mission, almost 12 weeks out. Although she is older than me it was cool to be the older one in mission terms. As we worked hard and talked to as many people as passed by, and as we were obedient and followed the Promptings of the spirit we were able to see many miracles. We were walking down a street and there was a mail man out doing his job and as we almost passed by he called out to us and asked who we were. We introduced ourselves and asked his name which was Nick. We asked if he lived around the area and he said he lived close to Disneyland, so the Anaheim mission. We then asked if he would be interested in missionaries coming to his house to teach him about Jesus Christ and he said an absolute Yes. We were very astonished but so grateful to get a referral for the missionaries over there.

Another really cool Miracle that happened was while we were visiting a less active named Annika in our ward. She has been struggling with smoking and didn't have the hope of being able to quite but we wanted to invite her to ARP. 

Side note: I don't know if I've talked a lot about ARP but I absolutely love it and wish I could go every week just to feel of the spirit in the room that is comparable to the temple. Everyone should go in reality. We are all addicted to something and It is an amazing program for Accessing and using the Atonement in our lives.

 We talked at her door for a while and She was having a really Good day. The conversation lead us right into bringing up ARP and she seemed interested in going. I know this Program will help her understand how to use the Atonement in her own life and be able to change. I am so excited for her. As sister Berg and I were evaluating the day I asked her what I could do to improve and work on. She said that I need to work on just being myself and using my talents and gifts as I talk to others. I was so grateful for that counsel. We had such a fun day together including getting Waffles at a waffle truck at the apartment complex "Sable" where all our investigators come from :). I Got a gluten Free nutella and fruit waffle. . . .I am so excited to clean up my [eating habits] and I feel great :) 

My emails are still very random but I hope it gets the point across what I am trying to say to people and to you mom. I love and appreciate you and your little girl is doing just fine :)

I know that Heavenly Father is aware of us and if we put our faith and trust in Him, and In his son Jesus Christ, and keep our thoughts positive and centered on him,  We can rise above all the trials and temptations that will come and be able to become more like Him.

D&C 6:36

Love,

Sister Crossett

Short and Sweet

Grace sent some sweet messages to her sisters in the email this week.  She mentioned seeing glimpses of the Super Bowl through peoples windows, and that her fellow missionary Elder Williams, as a Patriots fan and a native Texan, was practically in tears because of the sacrifice of not being able to watch.  But here are some great thoughts she'd like to share with everyone.  

Did I tell you about Elder Zhao and Elder Williams that we ward share with? Elder Zhao is Chinese, learning English and he has an amazing singing voice. When he sings in Chinese, you don't need to know the words to feel of his amazing, firm testimony.  It is incredible. That is so cool about Sister Law. I'll have to tell Sister Jensen about it. We are helping her with service on Wednesday. 

Sister Law is a missionary serving in our ward.  She grew up to age 8 in the ward where Grace is serving.  Sister Jensen is who Sister Law identified as her "second mom" and she still lives in the Las Flores Ward. Cool connection.  

This week was a Roller Coaster and the work was slow, but yesterday was a great Fast Sunday and Prayers and concerns were answered as I turned outward towards others. We found a new investigator named Alma :) She said she is going to put the book of Mormon on her bed stand and read it every night and pray to know if it is true. It was all made possible because of obedience, patience, and charity. I am so grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost to guide and direct us always. I would be lost without it and just want everyone to have it, too. Never Give up, even when it's hard. Press forward against the adversary for Christ grace is just around the Corner. 

2 Nephi 31:20  I know as we feast upon the words of Christ we will have eternal life.

Love to you always,

Sister Crossett

Grace's birthday is coming up at the end of this month.  The 28th.  I'm sure she'd love to receive cards and letter's. (She doesn't need gifts, but if you really want to, a visa gift card or similar would be nice.)   The address is on the web version of this blog, but I'll also put it here.  

 

 Sister Grace Crossett  

 California Irvine Mission  

 23 Lake Road  

 Irvine, CA 92604-4579.