Week in Review...

These were thoughts I had on October 4, 2014:

Well, in about an hour I'd normally (pre-mission life) be going to Priesthood with my Dad, brothers, and PaPa. I feel that as a missionary, I have a more powerful listening for General Conference.  I'm certain that my Dad already has this as a father. Wesley and Dawson, I invite you to really take a step back and listen to Priesthood Session as well as Conference tomorrow. I learned a lot today!  I've spent all day focusing on Conference. It's been r-e-a-l-l-y good and I loved it! I know that if you create time to study and ponder these inspired words, you will be blessed!

October 13th...

I had some great experiences this week.  Each night we plan our "next day" schedule. We created a plan to knock doors in an area called Richmond Corner.  It's about 15 minutes or so outside of Woodstock. It's kind of a difficult area to knock because we don't have bikes.  The houses are spread apart and there are miles of houses.  We checked up on a lady that Elder Prince and I had met awhile back.  Well, turns out she wasn't home, so I decided to change the original plan and head to a different area.  The second door we knocked turned out to be an amazing opportunity.  We met a woman who missionaries refer to as "golden".  She seemed so ready to hear the gospel. She had lots of questions, however, I kept feeling that it wasn't the right time to start a lesson.  We left there and went to check up on another guy.  In the course of our conversation I found out that I had been giving people the wrong phone number (I memorized it wrong...oops!).  I called the "wrong number" to apologize to the rightful owner and explain that I was a missionary and had been accidentally giving out her number to others for the past week and a half thinking it was mine. The woman on the other end of the line was very friendly and it turns out that she is a member of the church. Ha, ha! I guess you could say I'm building relationships with members even outside of Woodstock. Dope!

Super exciting news... If our investigator Keith stays committed, he will be getting baptized on November 22nd.  He's overcome so much!!!  Please keep him in your prayers. Keith is a great friend that I will be staying in touch with  for the rest of my life.  He's so awesome!

My Mission President came to our area.  My companion and I had the opportunity to interview with him.  He is a very smart and wise guy.  He runs the mission the way he wants to run the mission.  I love him.  He is definitely someone I will stay in contact with my whole life.  Well, that 's my update for the week. I hope everyone is well!  Matt...I never got that package you sent last month.  I'm sorry about that!  I gave my mom the address for the sister missionaries who live in Maine. You can send future packages to them and I should get them no problem. In the area (Woodstock) that I'm currently in I can cross the border and get the packages sent to them fairly easily (It's still within my mission boundaries). My parents have sent a couple packages this way and haven't had any difficulty.  If you feel so inclined you can send a little something to the sisters as well.  Poor things!  When I've gone to pick up my packages from them, they say, "We haven't got a package in a long time!"

My Week in review:

I've learned that...

1. Conference was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!
2. My companion talks in his sleep.
3. It's important to journal (I have literally filled pages and pages).
4. My family is currently in California on vacation :)
5. I love my mom's letters (print them out and study them kind of letters ;)
6. My DAD is AMAZING and seems to give me advice in exactly the right moment. SERIOUSLY. PERFECT TIMING.  EVERY TIME!
7. I don't like listening to the same 8 songs over and over again.  Mom... a cheapy iPod with ONLY Mormon Tabernacle Choir songs (mission requirement) uploaded to it would be out-of-this-world amazing!
8. Humility is important. It's hard for me to step back and just let people "do their thing" but it's IMPORTANT to give others the opportunity to lead.
9. My trainer (Elder Prince) set high standards on how to do things and I'm grateful for his influence right out of the gate. Oh... and I keep my living space pretty clean compared to other Elders out here.
10. My Mission President is so wise and I love Him.


Love,
Elder Craig