I'll always be a Misisonary :)

Hey everyone! I'm still alive! I'll keep it short this time because I'm pretty exhausted. The flu has been going around already here so ow it's too late for anyone to even get flu shots. They don't even
have them out yet. And I've been up in the nights caring for my companion a little bit. I really know I want to be a nurse because I love taking care of people. It makes me sooo happy! It also makes me
excited to be a mom! :) so this past weekend, we haven't gotten a lot of face to face missionary work done because Sister Cozzens needed to sleep and the exchanges I set up with members fell through, but I still feel super accomplished with what I did get done while at home. My companion was my first concern, but I was also able to contact people on the phone and read in a Book of Mormon I plan to mark and give away.

Ruby and her Grandpa

Ruby...such a good influence on her family.

Ruby is a girl we are preparing for baptism and that's this Saturday!
She's so sweet and so excited for baptism. Her desire to get baptized
has got her family coming back to church. :) it's the best thing!

Tonight we are eating at a Chinese restaurant with a family that is using their own elk, and whatever else they hunt for the meat made. Apparently they are pretty close to the owner of the restaurant. They have us pretty excited! We have been working with this family and their family mission plans. They are so good! They decided to do a competition for the invitations extended to the people they each have in mind. Eight kids and two parents. They all have someone in mind. They're so great!

There are so many people here that I don't want to ever forget. I'll never finish my mission work. I may finish a mission, but I'll always be a missionary :)

One of the things I learned was to not mix up being unified with being the same person. Being unified is NOT striving to be the same person. I also have gained a strong testimony that serving others leads to a Christlike love.

Tiwi certified

Hey guys! This week has gone so fast yet it has been so long! Looking back it seems like forever ago.
Monday we played sports and test up a volleyball net. Ah! So good! I have a crazy appreciation for volleyball that goes farther than just highs hook sports. Volleyball is so regenerating and therapeutic. I played so hard and was so sore for the next few days this week. I've been sleeping on the floor some because it feels better on my back.
Tuesday when we were running at the high school track at 6:30 this girl was there and we ended up talking to her and invited her to go to mutual activities. We should be teaching her soon. That was quite the miracle to start off our week.
Wednesday I gave the focus in our district meeting. I was supposed to give it on a Christlike attribute of my choice. So of course I chose love and charity. I first pulled from the talk "the greatest leaders are the greatest followers". We know that the perfect leader is Christ. But what's interesting is that the perfect follower is also Christ. He follows His father in Heaven perfectly. We can be great leaders by being great followers. So as we study the Christlike attributes, we can focus on following him and we are leaders. We always have opportunities to be leaders in life. And then I talked about Christ's example of charity and why we need it as we lead in the mission. And what charity is. And then I wrapped it back up with this quote from that talk "There will be times when the path ahead seems dark, but keep following the Savior. He knows the way; in fact, He is the way. The more earnestly you come unto Christ, the more deeply you will desire to help others experience what you have experienced. Another word for this feeling is charity, “which [the Father] hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ.” Then you will find that in the very act of following Christ, you are also leading others to Him, for in the words of President Thomas S. Monson, “As we follow that Man of Galilee--even the Lord Jesus Christ--our personal influence will be felt for good wherever we are, whatever our callings.”" It was a great study and I highly recommend reading that talk. "The greatest leaders are the greatest followers" by Stephen W. Owen.
Thursday we had a ton of service and some great lessons. The leaders in the mission came to Gridley for mission leader conference that happens every month. So I asked to meet with President Marston. Getting to talk to him was a great experience. I love that man. He definitely loves us all so much. I feel so ready and excited to serve the people here.

Saturday we painted a house. It was so fun. My companion stepped in the bucket. Haha sometimes I wonder how they put the two ditziest girls together in a companionship.
I got my tiwi card this week!!!! Woohoo! For those of you who don't know, tiwi is the car device that tracks just about everything in our car- speed, place, battery, seatbelt, aggressive driving, driver... And more. And it yells at you if you're doing someone wrong. Like the common "watch your speed!". :) So I am now a certified driver for the mission cars!
Also exciting is we asked Preident Marston of we could both stay longer in Gridley. Chances are now, I'll be here for my first 6 months! Woohoo!
Anyway,
I love y'all! See you soon!
Sister Crowther