¡Gracias gracias gracias!

Hello friends!
I hope you all enjoyed this week of family and thanksgiving for the countless blessings we all have.

For Thanksgiving (ó día de gracias/día de la acción de gracias) on Thursday, all the missionaries in the ward went to the Bishop's house for dinner. It was my first Thanksgiving feast without mashed potatoes, but true to Hispanic form, there was a lot of rice. We also had turkey and a few other stuffing-like dishes (I wish I could explain them better, but I honestly have no idea what they were). I haven't had too many problems eating things on my mission so far due to taste, usually quantity is the bigger issue, but I was really struggling with one of the dishes during Thanksgiving dinner. My sweet companion saw I was having a hard time and helped me out by discretely switching our plates and then finishing my food for me.

Friday I woke up not feeling super well, but I was sure it was just from the big meal the day before so off to the track we went! Two miles later my stomach still wasn't in the best place, but we continued the day as normal with breakfast, planning, and studies. During lunch I opted for a nap while my companion ate as the idea of more food was not particularly appealing to me. The nap definitely helped and although I wasn't 100%, I was ready to go out and work! The English sisters picked us up, and we all headed over to Walmart to try and do some Black Friday parking lot contacting. We were almost to Walmart when disaster struck. And by disaster, I mean the eggs I had for breakfast. The car ride put me over the edge, and I lost it in the back seat.

Needless to say, we did not end up doing any contacting. The English sisters ran inside to buy medicine, saltines, soup, and more cleaning supplies while I worked with what they already had in the car to clean up the mess. Hermana Hopson, bless her soul, sat next to me and cancelled all of our appointments for the rest of the day, at the same time assuring me that it was fine, and she didn't really like the shirt she had let me borrow that morning.

The rest of Friday and Saturday (I was feeling a little bit better by then, but Hermana Hopson was down) was spent at home. But it ended up being a blessing, as it gave me ample time to write the talk I had to give in Sacrament meeting on Sunday. :)

Other things from earlier in the week:
*Wednesday we had a special Thanksgiving themed ward family home evening at the church. A bunch of people we invited from English Class came, non of whom are members, so that was awesome.
*Tuesday while walking to the church we passed a homeless man on the bridge going into Newark. He was crouched down in a place where the path narrows due to some machinery that juts out, I assumed to take shelter from the wind. Because of this not only could we not see him super well, but we would be only a foot or two away from him as we passed. It wasn't until we were steps away from him that we realized his pants were down and he was actively using the bathroom. At that point we decided against a contact attempt, averted our eyes, and just kept walking as quickly as possible.
*The rest of the missionaries in the ward got sick as well. We think it was just a virus going around, but we also all ate the mystery stuffing on Thanksgiving, so who knows really.
*Hermana Hopson and I have been translating Disney songs into Spanish while looking for potential. It's hilarious. Our favorite is the duet from Frozen with Elsa and Anna.  "Por la primera vez en para siempre"🎶
*A Hispanic man approached us on the street corner talking in English, handed us a flyer and asked if we could donate to a group to help people overcome addictions. We explained that we couldn't donate, but took the flyer anyway asking if we could give him a card. He took the card and started looking at it as I was explaining who we were. After a minute he interrupted me, "Wait. This is in Spanish. Do you speak Spanish?"
ME: "Si, hablamos Español" (yes, we speak Spanish)
HIM: "But... you're white."
ME: "Es verdad" (it's true)
At this point our bus came, so the conversation got cut short. But we left him pleasantly surprised to find two very white young women who could speak to him in his native language.

XOXO
Hermana Croft

Answers to questions

So the temple was awesome... but we only got this one picture. 

To be fair Hermana Hopson and I tried to take more after, but the Elders were already walking away. And it is just about impossible to herd a group of elders once they have made up their mind about something. 

So this is it. But now you have a picture of my bishop and all the missionaries serving in the Spanish Newark ward with me. 

The bridge to Ellis Island is only used for official service vehicles and the like. We had to stop, make some calls to be put on a special list, and then get temporary badges from a security guard before they would let us cross. 

And no I didn't actually get to work in the family history center that day. Just go and fill out paper work.

As for the Face to Face broadcast last night...

Did I watch it, yes. 

Did I also know the female announcer, yes her name is Eliza Lin, we went to high school together. 

Did I also see Tanner perform, yes.

Did I also freak out when they did a close-up of Rebekah's face, yes. 

The other missionaries got a little mad at me because I kept freaking out. 

We will have Thanksgiving dinner Thursday with Bishop and the other missionaries in the ward. 

I love you! I don't have any more time to write today. Sorry! But I will send a picture of my time in exchanges this week with the STLs 

Love, 

Hermana Croft

Day trip to NYC...

Email early this morning: 

Hola mamá! Lo siento que ayer yo no escribí, pero fue por un bueno razón porque hoy tengo la oportunidad para asistir el templo!!!! Estoy super emocionada! Voy a Manhattan en 1 hora, y después voy a escribir más, entonces no te preocupe. 

Te amo!

I more or less understood the gist of what she said, but put it through the google translator just to be sure:

Hi Mom! I'm sorry that yesterday I did not write, but it was for a good reason because today I have the opportunity to attend the temple!!!! I am super excited! I'm going to Manhattan in 1 hour, and then I'm going to write more, so do not worry. I love you!

-------------------

Email from this afternoon:

Good things:

- We got to see Elva again! I was feeling really down because at first she wasn't answering any of our calls or texts. So yesterday we decided to just stop by. Turns out her phone broke and so she couldn't get in contact with us, so she was super excited to see us and invited us right in! She immediately pulled out the Book of Mormon we gave her last time and showed us a list of questions she had written up while reading it, things she didn't quite understand. We answered them all, and then proceeded to teach the restoration, and she accepted it all wonderfully! We meet with her again this week.

- NYC! Wahoo! We got to go to the Manhattan temple today and it was phenomenal! The bishop took the day off work to take all the missionaries serving in the ward (and it was a crowded car, because there are 8 of us). Hermana Hopson and I were squished in the back with our district leader Elder Loya. But never fear, we had a Book of Mormons distance between the whole drive #scripturepower

- I went to Ellis Island this week! I needed to go get a security badge so they will let me in when I officially go later this month to serve in the Family History center there. We went across this bridge and then through a bunch of confusing tunnels to get to the actual building. 

- A man in Dunkin Donuts called me over while my companion was talking on the phone with an investigator trying to coordinate a meeting place for a lesson. He started speaking to me in Spanish, asking about who we were. We spoke for a second, but he seemed to be having a bit of trouble and surprised me by apologizing, saying he was actually American and didn't speak much Spanish. I laughed and switched to English, responding that we were American as well. This blew his mind. Apparently he and his buddy had heard us speaking Spanish and were wondering what country we were from, thinking Colombia or Spain. 

Love 

Hermana Croft 

The outskirts of the armpit

Its a new dawn.

It's a new day. 

It's a new life, for me...

And I'm feeling good. 

Hello hello hello! A lot has changed in my life this last week, but I love it! I am now in Kearny with Hermana Hopson. She is just lovely, and my shortest companion yet. She only beats me by three inches, unlike the previous three, the shortest of which was a solid 5'8. So happy day, we can share clothes! She has been out for 6 months and is from Salt Lake. 

We have seen a lot of miracles this week, I know we are being guided by the Lord to do His work. Before I got here Hermana Hopson went through all the potential investigators in the area book and made a list of those who looked the most promising. Everyday we have been praying over this list and then choosing 3 people to go out and find throughout the day. We have seen a lot of success from this.

The first day as we were out finding, we were both prompted to change our plans and go look for the family first that we were originally planning to pass by last. When we got to their house, it was vacant and none of the neighbors knew who they were. But the feeling that we needed to be on that street didn't go away, so we pulled up the area book to see if there was anyone in our records who the Lord was directing us to on that street. After a minute or so I looked up and was startled to find a woman standing on the sidewalk just five feet away looking at us. We started a gospel conversation and ended up giving her a Book of Mormon (a miracle that we even had one to give her, because we don't usually carry English Books of Mormon with us, but the spirit had prompted us to put one in our bags that morning). Unfortunately, she wasn't interested in meeting with us again, but did allow us to say a pray with her before with left

On Saturday, we weren't originally going to have time to go out finding because of all the appointments we had set. But then all of our plans for the evening fell through. I feel bad that I was upset about this at the time, because now I can see that it was by divine design and the Lord was just opening up our evening so we could do His will. After praying over the list, we set out to find Elva. She talked with us on the doorstep for a little while and then when we explained that we would like to come back another time to teach her she invited us in right then! She is not a member, but her mother used to read to her from the Book of Mormon when she was little, so she was very excited and accepted one immediately. She told us about her 9 year old son Kevin, explaining that she is trying to raise him right and teach him about religion, but that he has a lot of questions about Jesus. When she introduced him to us she said "Kevin, these girls know about Jesus. Ask them your questions, they can help." Without hesitation he sat down and told us that since his grandma has died, he has been trying to pray every night, but he doesn't know if it is working. We spent the next hour talking to her and Kevin about the Plan of Salvation. At the end her husband came home from work and we got to meet him as well. We have an appointment with them this coming Saturday, and Elva promised to read and study the Book of Mormon this week!

Everything about this lesson was a miracle. I could feel the gift of tongues working in me throughout our whole visit and was able to understand almost everything she said. The light of Christ in her was unmistakable, I could see it shining in her eyes. I am so humbled that God trusts Hermana Hopson and me enough to lead us to this wonderful family that is so prepared to learn the gospel. 

Also, as I have had to speak more Spanish because both Hermana Hopson and I are relatively new, I have felt the Lord's help. I can point to a time everyday this week when I have been blessed with the gift of tongues. And when I do still struggle, Hermana Hopson is in tune and steps in to help. The Lord is matching up our strengths and weaknesses so we really have to rely on one another, and it is awesome! Even though we still don't know each other very well right now we work well as a team.

Here are some fun facts about Kearny New Jersey: 

- We are in a walking area! Yay! (And no, that is not sarcastic. Although there are some challenges involved with not having a car, namely grocery shopping and getting to the church, I have actually thoroughly enjoyed walking every where. Of course, we will have to see if that continues to be the case come winter...)

- I can see the New York skyline!!!! I can only see it from certain places, and apparently the view is better if you are serving in Union City, but I will take what I can get. 

- Kearny is a suburb of Newark. They don't have sisters serving in Newark because it is too dangerous, however there isn't a chapel in Kearny. So we still have to go into to city 5 times a week for various meetings. It is about a forty minute walk, or a 15 minute bus ride (but the bus can be a little unpredictable in its timing). I love it. 

XOXO 

Hermana Croft 

So for Halloween obviously we didn't get to go trick-or-treating. But we did get candy... A member of the English ward decided to treat all the sister missionaries. Just for reference, each package is 3 feet tall and has 18 full sized candy bars a dentro. The Lord provides. Doctrina y Convenios 78:19 #hundredfold

Saying goodbye to Hermana McCoy

We came across that little guy just 30 minutes ago. I have never heard a squirrel sound like that. We decided he must be a Spanish squirrel.