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. 

Transfer time!

Good morning Mommy!!!! 

Thank you for your emails this week! It has been so fun to get them everyday, and my companion have been enjoying past Halloween pictures of Hermanita Croft. 

I don't know if I will have more time to write today cause we got a lot of things to do down here! Your guesses were pretty close. Hermana Smith is staying here to train her baby, Hermana McCoy is off to Elizabeth to be an STL (which is very exciting, because depending on how they split the areas she might be assigned to go on exchanges with Hermana Smith and I), I won't be going back to Red Bank because they are closing down that area (nothing was happening there and they have more missionaries going home than coming in this transfer). I will be off to Kearny, a walking area.*  And guess what, I get to go to Ellis Island! Probably not a ton, but once or twice during the transfer! Yay! Also, apparently it is kind of a hood area, so that should be interesting. 

Your pumpkins are absolutely beautiful! I love the día de los muertos designs, they look awesome! In celebration of the holiday our members have given us some pan de los muertos (day of the dead bread), it is delicious and also kind of creepy as it is baked in the shape of a corpse...

Love you! Hopefully I will send another email later today. Tell everyone happy Halloween for me! 

Love,

Hermana Croft 

P.S. Yes, we do have curfews tonight and tomorrow.

* Kearny is a suburb of Newark...Newark being the area that is supposedly behind why New Jersey is called "the armpit of America." She'll be able to give a first hand opinion as to whether she feels it merits the motto or not...should be interesting. ha!

 Car selfies...

 I have no idea what is going on in this picture...

 Looks like maybe they were caught in the rain?

Trio Life

Hello Hello Hello!

Wow. What a week it has been. Let's go through day by day, shall we? 

Monday: Whilst doing P-day activities President Hess called Hermana McCoy and I and told us to pack up our stuff and drive up to Morristown to be emergency transferred. We packed, cleaned up everything and then drove an hour and a half to the mission home. We slept over that night with Hermana Smith and her sick companion. 

Tuesday: Wake up and immediately drive the two and a half hours down to Toms River with all our stuff. Unpacked a little bit to get settled in and then we were off to some appointments! Hermana Smith is still in training (we came in from the CCM together), but leading out the area like a pro!

Wednesday: Our first full day as a Trio! Hermana McCoy and I tried to memorize all the names and people as we spent the day in appointments and learned how to work in a trio. The Sister Training Leaders, who had planned an exchange with Hermana Smith and companion before everything went down, decided to come and double work our area to help us out. So that night we had not three, but five sister missionaries sleeping in our apartment. Every inch of the bedroom floor was covered in makeshift beds to accommodate the visitors. Sleep over!

Thursday: Hermana Smith and I spent the day knocking doors with one STL, while Hermana McCoy left with the other (a major feat, considering neither of them knew the area at all). They left that night after a successful but somewhat stressful day. 

Friday: We made the hour drive up to my old area (Red Bank) for interviews with President Hess. This resulted in all three of us being very anxious about transfers next week. From what we were able to piece together from the different things he told each of us in our interviews, the trio will be dissolved after this week. We are all a little sad about this. 

Saturday: Up at 4:45 to get ready and drive back to Morristown for the all zone conference with Elders Buckner, and Bennett of the seventy and Elder Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve! Super cool! We each got to shake his hand and take a picture with him as a mission. *Side note: For the picture they had us line up from tallest to shortest. And yes, in case you were wondering, I am the shortest missionary currently serving in the New Jersey Morristown Mission.* The coolest thing he said was near the end: "I want you to hear this from my own mouth, The Saviors voice is no stranger to the leaders of the church." Yeah. 

Then that night we had three dinner appointments in a row. So. Much. Food. I made the unwise decision of wearing a dress that was a little snug that morning because I wanted to look nice for Elder Rasband. During second dinner I was so full my dress was begining to really constrict my ablity to breath. So when the  member left the room for a second to get something I wasted no time in grabbing Hermana McCoy and having her help me unzip the death trap (yes, it was tight enough that I couldn't undo it on my own). Luckily I also had on a cardigan, so you couldn't see that my dress was fully unzipped for the rest of the night. Needless to say, I  don't think I will be wearing that dress again any time soon. Maybe fast sunday. We all felt super sick by the end of the night.

Sunday: Up early again to head up to stake conference in East Brunswick. We had to be there early because of the special guest. That's right, Elder Rasband chose our stake to visit out of the six he was offered. Why? Because it is where he served when he was a missionary. You can read a cool story about his experiences in Scott's Plains NJ in his last conference talk by "Divine Design". I have gone to that area twice on exchanges, so that's cool. The spirit was super strong when he gave an apostolic blessing to the stake. 

Other things:

*Transfers are next week. We will definitely be split up, because Hermana Smith has been called as a trainer! She is going straight out of her own training to teaching a new missionary! She is a rockstar!

*There are a TON of Jews in Toms River! It is one of the biggest Jewish populations in the world. 

*Hermana Smith told the ward my favorite food is vegetables and now all the members are making us veggies. They are so sweet! And we are a little bit healthier for it :)

Have a great week! 

Hermana Croft 

Unexpected transfer

Buenos Dias!

You should be getting an email from Hermana McCoy with a video. Why? Because my life has changed since I emailed you this morning. (Julianne emailed a quick good luck message early this morning to do with something she knew I had going on today.) We are getting emergency transferred to the very south-est area of the mission. I will be in a trio with Hermana Smith from the CCM so that will be cool to spend some time with her. Her companion has been having medical issues the past two transfers and now they are sending her home on a plane tomorrow for emergency surgery. I don't know exactly what is going on, but she was dying (finishing her mission) this transfer anyway, so luckily she is only leaving two weeks early. Hermana McCoy and I are packing up our stuff and leaving our apartment today to move in with Hermana Smith in Toms River. We were driving to the grocery store when President texted us asking us to call him. 

So, got to go pack. Then say goodbye to the neighbors. Then probably drive for around 4 hours to get the other sisters to the mission home and then back to the south again. Who knows if I will be coming back to Red Bank after transfers, so it's a little sad I can't say goodbye to any of the members. We might be coming back up to Red Bank once or twice to meet with an investigator, but other than that the area will have English missionaries, but not Spanish for the next two weeks. Our ward has Spanish elders as well but just in a neighboring area, so they will probably take care of the members in our area for the next little while as well as their own. So it should all be fine. It sure is an adventure! Hermana McCoy and I are going to try and hit one of the restaurants here that we have been meaning to try before we leave. 

A few other things that happened this week:

* A member called me fat during dinner together (because Hispanics are just super honest about that stuff) and then 2 hours later one of our new investigators who can't pronounce Croft, called me Hermana Cow. That was a rough day. 

* My companion and I were trying to find a less active last night, but his address was impossible, mostly because they changed all the street names. So we asked a man sitting on his porch for directions and ended the conversation 30 minutes later with him offering us $100 just for whatever we needed because we told him he couldn't take us out to a fancy dinner because it was Sunday. No he wasn't hitting on us (He was actually going to invite his girlfriend to dinner as well), Hispanics are just very very giving people. 

* I watched one of the members eat a chicken foot with the nails still attached and everything. Luckily I didn't have to eat the foot myself, just the chicken it used to be connected to cooked together in the same pot. 

* We met a woman one the street who stopped us and told us she was a member, but hadn't been to church in three years. She then gave us her name, number, and address and told us to come over that week. Super cool! Definitely a miracle. She speaks english so we will be passing her on to the English sisters.

Sorry I don't have time to write more! Have a good week!

Hermana Croft

Happy Autumn

Buenas Tardes! 

What an absolutely lovely weekend it has been here in New Jersey. The weather has turned the corner into autumn, and I am thoroughly enjoying it. There are leaves to crunch underfoot and the sheer amount of acorns near both our apartment and the church astounds me. These are even more delightful to step on than the leaves, if you can believe it. I tried to refrain from crushing them at first for the sake of the squirrels that are collecting food for the winter (because there are seriously a TON of squirrels here!) But sometimes when you are knocking doors and having no luck, you need the simple pleasure of squishing an acorn to the pavement. 

The spirit was just in the air this conference weekend. We watched all four sessions at the church, 3 in English and 1 in Spanish. My notes from that session are a little confusing. They are all in Spanglish and I've got a lot of unfinished sentences where I couldn't quite understand what was going on. I'm sure I will get a lot from going back over these talks as I have time. Frankly I'm sure I will get a lot out of re-reading ALL the talks. I really loved Elder Jeffery R. Holland's talk, and Tad R. Callister's is perfect for a less-active we are working with. As I watched, taking my own notes, the names of people we are teaching would pop into my mind and I would write them down. By the end of the conference I had just about everybody's name scattered somewhere throughout my notebook. Needless to say, my lesson plans for the next couple weeks are going to be centered around the revelation we received this past weekend. 

In between sessions on Sunday we experienced some serious miscommunications with a less-active man we were supposed to meet up with to teach. After he didn't answer the door we wandered to the side of the house where we heard some men talking. They knew our less-active, but wasn't sure where he was. Upon discovering we spoke Spanish they asked if we were from Spain (cause, white girls) and when we responded no, we were American one became especially interested. I picked up the phone and tried to call the less-active again, so I wasn't listening too closely. Soon words like beautiful, and boyfriend caught my attention. I tuned in right in time to hear an approximately 40 year old Hispanic man propose to my companion. She declined saying she was only here to teach about Christ. He offered to listen to all the lessons if she would marry him afterwards. To which she responded that she was only 19 years old. All the better, he said as I tried to interpret both the conversation and answer the less-active who I had now got on the phone, in my brain. Using the phone call as an excuse, we left in a hurry. This is actually the second time Hermana McCoy has been proposed to on her mission. Apparently it is an easy way to become a US citizen. 

The war with the crickets rages on, and unfortunately the battle territory has grown. We are now experiencing attacks on two different fronts, with the little guys appearing in the kitchen and bathroom. I was all for continuing to use the 409 cleaning spray to keep them at bay, having found it to be effective in preventing them from retreating to safe ground (namely holes we have discovered in our baseboards) mid battle. However Hermana McCoy was feeling increasingly guilty about this after a less-active (whom we were attempting to bond with over funny bug stories) pronounced our methods to be inhumane due to the bleach component in our cleaning spray. We were left at a stand still, with Hermana McCoy refusing to use the 409, but also being unwilling to go out on the front lines herself with some other weapon. Luckily the Lord has provided for His servants, and in this our time of need, we were able to fall back on the skills we have acquired as missionaries. Thinking from the cricket's perspective, as we would when planning a lesson for an investigator, we started with the end goal in mind and worked backwards from there, weaving backup plans in as we went. With companionship unity as a guiding force, we were able to concoct and execute a flawless plan of extermination. When victory was certain with the bug securely trapped under a tupperwear box (that has now officially been dubbed the bug box, and will never again be used to hold food), we opted instead to extend the hand of mercy and slide a piece of cardboard beneath the box so we could deposit him outside (a great distance from the apartment). I felt a little like Captain Moroni throughout the whole process. 

Well, happy fall everyone! We have enjoyed listening to all the messages from conference, now it is time to apply them to our lives! I hope to be able to go in the the next General Conference ready for increased revelation having taken the counsel of the apostles to heart over the past six months and as a result grown more into the person God wants me to be. Love you!

XOXO

Hermana Croft 

This is one of the crickets. He is a little on the smaller end. In fact, come to think of it, this is the very cricket we captured and then let go outside. 

This is the park by the river where we ate sack lunches today and read emails.

Acai bowl: yum!

 The face mask is from last Monday.

  

 Pretty houses and a fun Little Free Library in Red Bank.

¡Buenas Tardes!

This week was a little different from most, so that was fun. We had lots of lessons in the mornings, which was unusual. We are meeting with several different people to teach them, and a couple seem interested in learning about the gospel as well.

The natural disasters have had a big impact on the work here. A lot of the people I talk to everyday are from Mexico and still have family back there. So far all of the relatives of the members in our branch have been fine, but one of our new investigators hasn't been able to contact her family since the earthquake. She has no idea what happened to them. I can't imagine how hard that would be. Just keep the people of Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Caribbean islands, and the parts of America that were hit in your prayers. There was a lot of damage done. Another one of our investigators is actually down in Florida right now helping to rebuild as rapidly as possible. 

Also, General Conference! I am sooo excited! We watched Women's Conference with the sisters this week in the church. I didn't understand a ton at the time, because it was all in Spanish, but I could still feel the spirit. And happiest day: we had an investigator come watch with us, and she loved it! I am excited get answers to my own questions this weekend, but just as excited to share the messages with my investigators and watch as the spirit teaches them. Yay! 

Well, I've got to go now, but remember to smile and be happy this week. Why? Because we have a living prophet who is going to give us revelation from God. It doesn't get better than that.

XOXO 

Hermana Croft 

Questions and Answers:

* You mentioned doing service at the library. What do you do there? And do you do it every week? 

     We do service every week in the library in a neighboring town. We re-shelve books and help put together little craft kits that the kids can do in the after school programs. It is very small, only one room (Grandma Dalton could probably double the size of the library just by herself) but I've grown to appreciate its charm. And discovered many interesting children's book authors including: Julie Andrews, Weird Al, and Jimmy Fallon. 

* Who is the less active that came to the branch activity? Was it the one that you met with at the Soul Kitchen?

     The less active who came to the activity is not the man we meet with once a week in the Soul Kitchen. It is this spunky old women from El Salvador who refuses to speak entirely English, or Spanish, opting instead for constant Spanglish. This throws off Hermana McCoy but is perfect for me! We are meeting with her tomorrow night and she promised to provide Pupusas. Yum! The man we meet at the Soul Kitchen is from Oaxaca, Mexico and is super confusing because he doesn't really want to talk about gospel things, but loves meeting with us every week. He always asks me to sing for him, so we are going to try and get him to come to church by telling him I will be singing. 

* Since you are now in your second transfer, do you get to start driving? 

     Hermana McCoy is still the designated driver. 

* Do you say a prayer every time you get in the car to drive anywhere like Aunt Rachel did when we visited her on her mission? And anytime you back up, does one of you have to guide the driver out of the parking spot? I just remember thinking that was kind of hilarious. And yet, now it makes a whole lot of sense. 

     I am the designated backer-upper. Sometimes people give me super weird looks when I do this. We pray every time we leave our house and before and after every lesson. And if we just haven't prayed in a while and we are about to do some finding in a different area. Basically, we just pray a lot. 

* How do transfers work in your mission? Do you get calls the night before or morning of? If things were changing up, would you all meet somewhere local and then trade companions and areas? 

     Transfers are via a group call with the whole mission. President puts all on mute and then goes through area by area, only reading out the changes. Then the people who are transferred go to Morristown Tuesday morning and have a quick meeting before heading off to their new areas. This is also where all the new missionaries meet their trainers, and all the old missionaries gather to spend a night in the mission home before getting on a plane. 

* Did you get any extra wind and rain from Hurricane Jose as it passed by you on Tuesday/Wednesday? Did you even notice anything different or did it just feel like a normal storm? 

     We got a little rain and wind, but it wasn't bad.

* Did you sing in Sacrament Meeting yet?

     I have not sung yet, it will probably be after General and Stake Conferences. 

Feasting...on the Word and Latin American food

Things that happened: 

* We discovered a very large bug in our supply closet. We tried to catch said bug, and ended up losing it in the process (which was even scarier than finding it in the first place!) But our prayers were answered, and we were able to find and kill him the next day. (By the way, bleach makes a great bug killer. Especially if you don't want to get close enough to actually squish it. I have utilized this cleaning spray method twice now in this apartment). When we were explaining this all to the ladies at the library where we do service, they informed us that this specific cricket eats paper and fabric. So, it makes sense he was hanging out in the supply closet with all the pamphlets and Books of Mormon (Book of Mormons?). He was literally feasting on the words of Christ! 

* The branch activity on Friday went great! Elder Langi (my former Zone Leader, as he was transferred out just today) played the guitar and sang along with me. The members in the audience joined in for the last chorus. And now they want me to sing in church next week. 

* Also about the activity. It was a culture night with our branch, celebrating all the different Latin American countries they come from. Literally every person who came brought some sort of traditional dish from their país. We had food from Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Bolivia, and of course Mexico. It was delicious! The walls were all decorated with flags and streamers. And at the end, 5 couples in the branch performed a traditional Mexican dance. All in all, a really fun night. We even had a less active we have been working with come! 

* Transfers! As a baby, I stay where I am for another 6 weeks with Sister McCoy. 

Love, Me

Adventures

Thank you as always for your email! I love hearing about what everyone is up to. And I was endlessly jealous of your adventure down in Provo with Melissa!* Hermana McCoy was interested to discover that it was merely reading about a concert that caused a multitude of oohs, ahhs, sighs, giggles, and squeaks to escape me. But if I'm honest, that happens every time I read an email from home. What can I say, I'm a sucker for a good adventure...living it is preferable, but I'll settle for reading the adventures of others if need be. And you all have been very adventurous as of late, what with your hammocks, soccer tournaments, and crepes. 

I have been slightly adventurous as well. This week we met with a less active member at the restaurant he works at to eat lunch and then teach him a small lesson. Coolest of all cool things, he works at the Soul Kitchen, a little restaurant owned by Bon Jovi to give back to the community. All the proceeds go to charity and nobody is ever turned away. If they can't pay, they just do an hour of service in the gardens for their meal. And boy do they have beautiful gardens, because everything they cook is 100% organic. I never knew Bon Jovi was such a cool dude. 

Today has also been very exciting! We went to the beach! It is only 20 minutes away from our house. I practiced an old Spanish folk song I will be singing with one of the elders at an activity with the branch on Friday, and Hermana McCoy tossed around a football with the other elder. We also explored a little shop in Red Bank while we waited for our Dominos pizza to be finished. Yeah, it's been a good day. 

 I love love love you all! Just yesterday I pondered on how very blessed I am to have the family and friends I do. I have lived a wonderful life, and had countless great experiences. 

XOXO 

Hermana Croft 

P.S. Also, I love the care package! I got it Tuesday at district meeting and I have already eaten all the lifesavers... :) The socks have been very cozy in the mornings while we plan. Hermana McCoy appreciated a box of the cereal this morning for breakfast. But my favorite part was the letter. Everybody sounded just like themselves in my head as I read it. I love letters! And I love y'all! 

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

* My sister Melissa and I went to Provo to see Tony award winner Renee Elise Goldsberry (aka Angelica Schuyler in Broadway's "Hamilton") in concert at BYU. And then afterwards, crepes for dessert at the Roll Up where Julianne used to work. And if you know Julianne, she is a big fan of any and all things theatre and music...especially if it's "Hamilton related. She and I saw Leslie Odom Jr (aka Aaron Burr, also from "Hamilton") last year at the same BYU concert series. Hammocks have to do with Rebekah and Brandon, and soccer is to do with Lilian

A snippet of a funny email conversation between Brandon and Julianne...
Brandon: Hopefully your mission starts going by faster than it is right now because right now, it's going about at fast as a speeding microorganism on the shell of a snail on a salted snowed in street. So, pretty dang slow.

Julianne: Brother my favorite brother! I don't know how you can say time is going by as slowly a microorganism on the shell of a snail on a salted snowed in street, because for me time is speeding away with the swiftness of a _______ (insert your favorite jungle cat here. I usually go for a puma or panther, but I like to switch it up now and then. Of course, cheetahs are the fastest, but where is the fun in that? Everyone always uses cheetahs to denote speed. And the other jungle cats are pretty speedy too, where is their recognition?)

Applying the deodorant

Hola! ¿Cómo está? 

Well things are moving right along here in the Armpit of America. We have been encouraging family history with our members lately. This week we had a senior couple who are family history specialists come to our chapel and work with the members. Everyone who came left with a family name they could take to the temple, and the ward family history specialist was super excited to see so many people there! Since Hermana McCoy has served around the senior couple before, they offered to take us out to dinner before the event. 

Fun fact: whilst at dinner, we discovered that we actually know each other. Mila and Chris Cutler are part of the Culter clan in Centerville, and they remembered dad. Sister Cutler even commented that I look a lot like him. Anyway, they say hi. 

Altogether dinner was delightful, especially because I was able to get me some Asian cuisine. Needless to say, I eat a lot of Hispanic food here, so it was fun to go out and get something a little different. Hermana McCoy was brave and even tried a little bit of my Sushi. However, she was horrified to discover that she had just eaten eel. But she did say that given a choice between sushi, and the cow foot we ate at a members house this week, she would pick the sushi. 

Yes, you did read that correctly. This week I had the opportunity to try cow foot soup. The soup part wasn't bad, sort of a spicy tomato based broth with onions and cilantro. However, I can't say I was a fan of the chunks of cow foot swimming in it. It doesn't have a strong flavor, just a really weird texture. Very fatty, basically all the parts of meat you would cut off were served as the main course. 

We found a really cool lady this week from El Salvador who seems really interested in learning more about the gospel. She even asked us to text her and remind her to read the Book of Mormon at night because she knows it is important and she doesn't want to forget. Unfortunately, other than her and a couple others, we don't have a ton of investigators. We live in a really rich white area, so it is tricky to find people to teach. (Speaking of rich white people: we drove by Bon Jovi's house today. It is really hard to see from the road because of the trees, but he has a really nice, long driveway). 

Spanish is a constant battle, and I'm not really sure who has the upper hand right now. But that's okay, I know it will come with time. And when I take a step back and really think about how well I am able to communicate having only studied this language for 2 months, it is clear the Lord is helping me. 

I have had lots of experiences this week where I have been able to learn a little better how the Lord answers my prayers. For me, it is usually through the Book of Mormon that I receive His counsel. I really love that book. 

Have a good week! 

Hermana Croft 

 A car I found when we were knocking at an apartment complex, looking for a house that didn't actually end up existing. 

(An inside joke that will make a whole lot more sense to Rebekah, Tanner and Jordan...) ;)   

We found these pills when cleaning out the apartment. Missionaries in the Spanish program take care of each other.