Exchanges

Hello. :)

We had a busy week up here in Middletown, New York. 

Tuesday night to Wednesday night I had my first exchange as an STL! And I had to lead out the area after only being there for a week! It went really well, and cute Hermana Waters was super patient with all of my little hiccups. God led us to meet a lot of cool people. We had a great time together and taught a really awesome lesson to a cute little woman we are teaching from Honduras. She just got it. The Spirit was there guiding the lesson and blessing us with the gift of tongues.  

Thursday H. Kim and I had to wake up early to meet up with the New City sisters again, because H. Kim accidentally brought their phone home with her from the exchange. Then we spent a good long time weekly planning and preparing our training for Zone Conference. We helped the ward choir director with a song we will be doing for stake conference, and I've decided I need to get more into music when I come home. It was fun. 

Friday we had Zone Conference! Our training went really well! And it was fun to see everyone. Right after, we split up for our second exchange and I headed up to Monticello with Sister Arnold! Things are even more spread out up there so we spent a lot of time in the car, but it sure is beautiful. Plus it gave us a lot time to talk. Turns out where they held Woodstock is actually in that area, and one of the members went when she was only 8 years old! Crazy. They live in this super fancy apartment gated off, with a doorman and a Jacuzzi tub in one of the bathrooms. I felt very pampered. 

Saturday night I got back with Hermana Kim and then Sunday we had church! Yay! I got to meet the ward! They seem really nice. More Hispanics here than in New City, but less of them require translations. And there is only one Haitian family. I miss my Haitians. We ended the night by putting L---- on date to be baptized. She and her husband J-- are just the cutest! He inspired me to learn how to quilt. He is a buff, powerlifting, quilter, and proud of it! And to be fair, his quilts were really cool, and super warm. 

I love the feeling of the Spirit working through you. I got to feel that a lot this week and I am grateful for it. 

XOXO Hermana Croft 

Middletown

What an exciting week! Here are some highlights:

*Tracting in pouring rain whilst trying to share an umbrella. We got soaked. But we also laughed a lot. 

*We taught L---- and her less active husband. They are the cutest couple ever! Still in the honeymoon phase having only gotten married 6 months ago. While visiting a friend in Utah, L---- heard about eternal families, now she wants one of her own. They are both so humble and excited to learn more! The spirit was really strong for the whole lesson. A great welcome to Middletown. 

*H. Kim burned some leftover hot wings she was rewarming in the microwave. We almost died trying to breathe the toxic spicy pepper laced air that filled the room.

*General Conference! Yay! I loved every time the prophet spoke. I adore him! I also really enjoyed Elders Uchtdorf and Soares' talks. 

*I got to meet F---, this cute older woman we are teaching. In the middle of watching conference with us she reached into her bag and pulled out a handful of candies, silently offering them to us. I love her! So cute. She also gave us each mini loaves of homemade banana bread. She is like the grandmother for the Sisters here.  

* Everyone has been making fun of me for never having been to general conference. "Wait. You've lived your whole life in Utah and have never been to general conference?!"

QUESTIONS:

* What is your new apartment like in Middletown? Big and posh like your last one, or are you back to no washer and dryer again? Do you have wi-fi?

Very big and nice still. The New York mission had it good! Super nice washer and dryer, but the wifi is a little sketchy. We use our neighbor's, so sometimes we have to stand outside his door to sync the plans on our tablets. He is really nice to let us use it though. He really takes care of the sisters, gives us all nicknames and brings over treats at unexpected times. My nickname is TR, short for Tomb Raider (because, Croft). He also keeps up on church news and was actually the one who informed us about the name change of the choir. He brought over a little article he had printed out about it. Good guy. Maybe he'll come to church someday, he knows enough about us.

* I’m assuming because of General Conference, you won’t really get to know your new ward until next week. Are you watching conference with them? 

Yeah, I've met some of the ward, but not a lot. Only a few came to the church to watch conference.

* And yeah…how are you watching Conference? I saw a message on FB from President Hess saying to feel free to watch all sessions. Do you do so in a stake center, with another family or on your tablet?

We watched it at the church building. We had a random guy who was contacted by sisters a year ago show up for the first session on Saturday. We sat next to a woman we are teaching for both the Women's conference and the Sunday morning session. 

* Is it great fun being with H. Kim? Where is she from? When you say you fly home together and have seats next to each other, does that mean she is flying into the Salt Lake airport as well? Is she from Utah?

H. Kim is from Taylorsville, UT! She was adopted from Korea when she was really young. We will be flying home together, but we just checked and I was wrong, our seats are on different rows. Close though. 

* What is Middletown like? Big city, small town, affluent, poor, middle-class, lots of trees in the country, or more large buildings in a bigger city? 

To put it in the words of the New City bishop when I told him where I was headed, "you're going to the sticks!". Yup. Middletown is a lot of farm land. So I will be treated to an absolutely spectacular fall. So many trees!

* Do you miss H. Miller? I’m assuming she stayed in New City?

H. Miller stayed in New City. But I will be seeing her twice this week. Once for exchanges (because I am her STL) and later for Zone Conference. 

I added some photos to the google drive from my last trip to Ellis. We are too far north up here to offer service there. I will go once more a week before I come home with all the other dying missionaries, but that's it. :(

More adventures to come next week. I'm going on two exchanges this week, eek!

XOXO Hermana Croft 

Transfers

¡Buenos días!

My last week in New City was pretty good. That's right, t'was my final week here in New City, but not in New York. In a turn of events I have been transferred to Middletown, New York just northwest of where I have been. It is part of the state added from the New York, New York North mission and the only other New York Spanish sister area in the New Jersey Morristown Mission. Yeah, I'm going to spend more of my mission in New York than New Jersey. 

Also, I am going to be kept real busy these last few months because President has asked me to be an STL.* I'll be with Hermana Kim, one of my roommates from the MTC! We actually just had an exchange together this week where I got to go up and be with her in Middletown. It was like a sneak preview for my new life. The ward up there is also Spanglish, but they have more Hispanics than the New City Ward and no Creyol speakers. 

Here is a picture of us on exchanges:

Yesterday we had a really great lesson with the V-- H--- family who had invited us over for dinner. We weren't the only dinner guests as they had invited a lot of friends. Although I was a little intimidated at first by the large number of people, we gathered all 25 of them and taught a  lesson about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was really cool. The spirit was present as we testified of the Savior and invited them all to watch conference seeking for a message of repentance for them specifically. Afterwards we learned there were people of Catholic, Methodist, and Jewish faith present for the lesson.

I am excited for this new transfer and new assignment. I know it will help me to grow and exercise my faith in the Savior. This is something I have been making a greater effort to do lately. If I want my faith to grow I must exercise it, forgetting my own fears and self doubts and trusting in Christ. With His help, I can do whatever He asks of me. 

XOXO

Hermana Croft

No explanation behind why she sent this picture...unless you know what a big "Hamilton" fans she is. Weehawken, New Jersey is where Alexander Hamilton had his fatal duel with Aaron Burr.

* STL = Sister Training Leader

Happy Fall Y'all

It is officially Autumn indeed. I am pleased about this. 

This week we were sick. :( Hermana Miller used our time cooped up inside to read all of "Saints", I prepared the Sunday School lesson I taught to the youth yesterday. 

J---- was called as the 2nd Counselor in the Young Women and went to the temple! We did not get to go with her, but she was well taken care of by the Relief Society sisters. 

We had two really cool lessons with I-------. After reviewing the restoration with her, she became my companion and we taught it again to her mother! This was a great way to make the lesson engaging, test to see how much she remembered, and also focus in on her mother, who is not a member. All in all, a very successful visit. We received a call from her mother later in the week asking us to come over again and talk with I------- about some hard things that had happened at school. We did so whilst coloring together on the living room floor to help her feel more comfortable with opening up. I don't think it was what her mother was expecting, but we sure did have a lot of fun and helped to smooth some things over. 

We had a lesson with N-----. She thinks the Word of Wisdom is beautiful, and is totally down to quit coffee. 

We had a visit from President Bennett of the Seventy last week. (Super cool half mission conference actually. We got to sit in the chapel and listen to trainings from him, his wife, and President and Sister Hess for 6 hours.) He said this will be a "historic" general conference. I am excited.

xoxoxo

Hermana Croft  

🐳🐳🐳

Hello!

I have missionaried in New York for forever now! Not complaining, I have loved it here. It is equal with Kearny if not above now. The ward is just too lovable. But I should be back in New Jersey in two weeks. I'll be very surprised if I finish out my mission in New York. There is technically one other Spanish sister I could go to in N.Y., but I don't think I will be sent there. So back to Jersey for me! And most likely back to a full Spanish ward/branch! Exciting things!

This last Saturday we offered service at the Salvation Army as usual. We go over every week to help prepare and serve food to the poor and homeless. We served a Thanksgiving-type meal of turkey, stuffing, green beans, and gravy. I'll tell you what that stuffing was so sticky! I was in charge of scooping it into each tray, and it was slow going. The other volunteers don't really speak Spanish, but they know a couple phrases because most of the people we serve are Hispanic. They asked how to say turkey, to explain what was in each tray as we offered it to them. I said, "Polvo". It wasn't until a couple hours later I realized I was wrong. The word for turkey in Spanish is "Pavo", "Polvo" means dust. We literally spent several hours offering people trays of dust. SOS. 

¿Qué más? I am currently listening to Hercules. My companion is a big Disney fan. Scratch that, the song just changed to the Harry Potter soundtrack. She is also a big Harry Potter fan. Speaking of Disney, the V-- H---- always talk about me being a Disney princess. They ask if birds come when I whistle to do our laundry in the morning. 

I sent a video of the new apartment. I also sent some pictures from cleaning the old one, and playing around on a fire escape after leaving a lesson. I was really happy because a lot of prayers had been answered and our investigator was able to get a car! 

Love love love!

Hermana Croft 

Hurricane prep and a new apartment

Good morning!

Another nice and rainy day for us here in New York. Seems like fall has officially kicked in. But who knows, maybe the temperatures will rise again after Hurricane Florence has passed. President Hess sent out a warning email last night asking us to stay away from the coasts and prepare for possible power outages. I'm thinking nothing will really happen. But we sure do like to be prepared here, so we will transport our water storage inside and make sure to buy some non perishable foods today in our shopping trip. The water storage is currently in the trunk of our car from when we loaded it up to move over to the new apartment.

New apartment!! Wow. What a lovely little place we have now. I say little, but it is actually quite a bit bigger than our last apartment. Other perks include: substantially better wifi, central A.C., and our own personal washer and dryer! As Rebekah might say, our flat is rather posh. 

Later

Wow! I need to stop trying to take naps on P-days. My brain knows it needs to be awake, so I just end up having these crazy nightmares as it attempts to wake me up. No me gusta.

Anyway, moving took up the majority of our week. Tuesday we packed. Wednesday we cleaned (the STL's came to help in the morning which was very kind of them. Fun fact: the STL's currently assigned to me are Hermana Smith and Hermana Kim my roommates from the MTC). Thursday we moved. We got two sets of Elders and two senior companionships to come help us. Everything went well and we now owe them all cookies. Friday we unpacked in the morning and then got back to being missionaries by the evening. I wore pants more this week than any other time during my mission. 

Also, my new address is 135 West Nyack Rd. Apt 113, Nanuet, New York 10954. But I will probably be moving at the transfer October 2nd, and I don't actually know where my mail box is yet, so perhaps it would be safer to send things to the office. 

¿Qué más? We met up with a really cool referral this weekend. He is super excited about reading the Book of Mormon. He also likes to speak really quickly about all sorts of different religions, philosophy, and astrology. It's a real mental workout to try and keep up with all that in Spanish. But we have only met with him once, so hopefully once we get into the flow of the lessons we can focus our discussions better. 

Cute little J---- taught the Relief Society lesson on Sunday. Ah! I am so proud of her! 

I------- was confirmed in Sacrament meeting on Sunday, and I got to do the translation. What an interesting experience, one I will probably never get again. 

I have 100 days left! I don't really know what to think about that. Seems like it should be significant though.

¡Te amo! 

Hermana Croft

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

Throwback to the Mexico CCM...Julianne with H. Kim and H. Smith who are now her STL's.

H. Price on the end was Julianne's actual companion in the CCM and she is serving in Kentucky.  

This is the FB message that the mission president posted about getting prepared for the upcoming hurricane...similar warnings to the ones he posted when they had to prepare for all those crazy nor' easters they got last winter. (We parents are also allowed to be on the mission FB page so we get to see all the back and forth messages between the missionaries sharing tips, goals, pictures and good news, as well as messages from President Hess. It's been great fun getting kind of an inside look at what the mission is up to.)

Feliz Cumpleanos

Hi Mommy,

I'm so glad you had a good birthday! It sounds just lovely. 

How sweet of Lilian to decorate your bedroom! You deserve it. Also, I am pleased to hear Brandon has re-instituted your weekly lunches. That thought always made me smile. I think he might be my favorite 17 year old boy in the whole wide world. I'm not sure many boys his age would suggest a weekly lunch date with their mothers. I love our family. I love that we are close. I love love. 

Also, yes we did have a baptism this Sunday. Neither of her parents are members, but her two older brothers are. Cute little girl. It went surprisingly smoothly. Hermana Miller and I even taught the Spanish Sunday School class on the fly before the baptism because the teacher is out of town. I felt very accomplished about that. 

Dr. Moss sounds like a stand up veterinarian. What an interesting experience; divine design, as we would say here in the mission. When Elder Rasband came to visit at the end of my training he spoke about his general conference talk entitled Divine Design. Since then, it has been the phrase of choice whenever anything happens in which we can see the Lord's hand guiding us. It happens more than one would think, especially when you have eyes open to see every small miracle. The trick is simply remembering to keep your eyes open. 

Also, I am moving. We got a message from the mission office yesterday. Apparently the mission department doesn't want Elders and Sisters to be in the same apartment complex, so Hermana Miller and I are being moved to a different place about 5 minutes away this Thursday (I will send you my address when we get settled). From what we can tell, it looks like it will be an upgrade. 

Love,

me

Don't judge my handwriting, I had to write it all backwards to get it to show up correctly on the camera.

HELLO

Good morning, good morning! It's great to stay up late. Good morning, good morning, to you! 

I am currently chilling in a member's house while she teaches my companion how to play the piano. She is loving life. Last week the ward mission leader gave her a fancy keyboard he had in his basement that was just collecting dust. Then on Sunday she asked the ward pianist if we could come over on Monday's for lessons. She said yes! And she even looked up all the requirements for BYUI's piano proficiency test for all music majors (My comp wants to be a band director. She plays the trumpet.) Yeah, we get spoiled here in New City. I can already hear H. Miller gushing over how wonderful Sister Meghan is when we leave. 

But in other words, it's the perfect time to email! 

Our two new Elders, Elder Scholl and his trainer Elder Spencer joined us here in N.Y. on Tuesday. It has been fun showing them around. Although, with the other Elders gone, I have officially become the New City veteran. I'm supposed to know what I'm doing now. No excuses. Luckily H. Miller now has 6 weeks under her belt here, and helped me out yesterday in getting everyone translators while I was up on the stand spitting Spanish into my little headset. Because yes, I am now the designated Spanish translator. 

Okay, technically there is a member officially called to translate Spanish, but it's always a toss up as to if he will come or not. And frequently when he does it is in the middle of the meeting when I am already sitting up front. I'll tell you what though, it is a little weird reading off the Sacrament prayer. I'm sure it's weird for the people listening as well to hear it in a female voice. They called a young Haitian man to replace Elder Merizier as the Creole translator. He is working on his mission papers right now. We are friends and sometimes make panicked faces a each other when the speaker starts going really fast. :)

Church was a real accomplishment yesterday. Sacrament meeting, I translated and H. Miller spoke. Second hour I taught the youth class, and then third hour H. Miller made a special appearence in Primary as part of the lesson before we made it back to coordination with the ward mission leader for the rest of the time. Busy but successful. 

I love the back to school pictures. Lilian it getting old! And SO blond! But she looks super cute. The nails are a nice touch to the outfit. Always good to see a picture of my favorite brother. And good to know my car made it through the hail storm. I imagine Brandon is going to be rather upset when I come home and take the car away. That is, unless it is determined he needs it more in K-town then I would in Provo... vamos a ver. 

Answer to your question: yes, I do dream in Spanish. Funny that you should mention it, because I actually dreamt (dreamed?) In Spanish last night. I woke up thinking in Spanish. This is a good thing. It means I have been practicing more, which I definitely need. Success! 

Not much else happened this week. We had 4 super bomb lessons on Friday though! And a little girl we have been teaching will be getting baptized this next Sunday. Also, J----'s sons want to take seminary this school year! They aren't members yet, but they are still willing to be at the church by 5 am to study! I adore them!

Well, we got to go now. Piano lesson over. 

XOXO

Hermana Croft

And the transfer news is....

Hello mommy and everyone!

Guess what? I love you a bushel and a peck. A bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck. A hug around the neck and a barrel and a heap! A barrel and a heap and I'm talking in my sleep.. about the gospel. Because apparently I sleep talk when I am anxious. Not that I have been anxious lately, just that I didn't realize I did this before my mission. I have actually been super chill as of late. Even with it being transfers. Granted, we were pretty sure we knew what the outcome would be... and drum-roll please!

Hermana Croft is sticking around in New City for transfer number 5! That's right ladies and gentleman, in total I will spend 7.5 months in this area. Hermana Miller (we are staying together, by the way) says she can't imagine being anywhere that long, but I'm not sick of it yet! I love the ward here SO much! This last week at church some of the Haitian members were getting a kick out of trying to teach me a couple new phrases in Creole. I now know how to compliment the ladies on their Sunday dresses. They were delighted when I greeted them in their native tongue. 

This week was very exciting. Here are some of the highlights:

*Tuesday evening we had planned to continue knocking our recent convert J----'s neighborhood. But I had to go to the bathroom, so we figured we would stop by and see if J---- would let us use her restroom first. She answered the door and in hurried whispers, frantically gestured us inside. It was then we discovered the plot to have a surprise birthday party for her oldest son, J---, who was due to get home any minute! We stayed for the surprise, singing and helped take a couple family photos. But when we went to leave, J---- would have none of it! She insisted we stay for dinner and presents as well. It was a lot of fun. I love that family!

*Wednesday we had a shift at Ellis Island. The workers there have gotten to know us rather well this last transfer. Always a good time at Ellis. On our way home we stopped by the home of a senior couple to pick up some supplies. We were all set to go, but again, I had to use to bathroom. When I came out, my companion informed me that we would be staying for a little bit longer, as the senior couple had decided to make us a little snack and had already started warming up the food in the oven. Oh my. Next time we are feeling hungry, I'm just going to ask someone if I can use their bathroom. Haha!

*I made an unpleasant discovery whilst getting ready for bed one night. Hermana Miller came running when she heard my scream, then helped me figure out a way to transport the mouse I had just trapped under the trashcan. We ended up taking him out to the dumpster along with the rest of the trash.  

*Thursday we deep cleaned the apartment in preparation for transfers, which consumed a large part of the day. 

This week I have seen God's hand guiding us a lot. Here are just couple instances of when I felt the guidance of the spirit:

*After being foiled in our plans to run due to the football team using the track, we headed back home rather dejected. However, that put us in the right place at exactly the right time to help this sweet old Hispanic carry her GIGANTIC trash bags up the hill and around the corner. 

*We taught the Law of Chastity last night. I was prepared for all the awkward, but that was far from the case. The woman we were teaching kept commenting on how true and beautiful the principles are. I love her. She is on date to be baptized next month (another reason why I am excited I will be staying in New City).

*On an inspired visit to the nursing home, to visit one of our older members, we met a sweet little woman named J------. Ca-----, (the member we were visiting) is a natural missionary, and invites anyone who passes by to sit down and join us. J------ took her up on the offer and we spent the next 40 minutes discussing all sorts of things, including the gospel of course. I think she just really needed someone to talk to. We are going back to see her this week. Quote from C----- to J------: "Honey, let me give you a lifelong recipe for happiness. Listen to the missionaries. They will teach you about Jesus." 

*While contacting in the area, my companion suggested we stop by someone in our area book who was taught several years before. I was doubtful, but he answered the door and immediately started sharing stories with us about the past missionaries he has known. He invited us back this week. 

Also, the pictures of the dog were taken at the ward mission leader's house. He and his wife had us over for dinner on Friday night. He also took us around town and showed us some great apartment complexes we could knock. The area boundary was taken down, so we are back to proselyting in the entire county... at least in Spanish. We are getting a new set of English Elders doubled in. I will miss the old ones, but that is okay. Also, I will now be expected to translate in Sacrament meeting on a more regular basis. Yikes! Most of my teaching has been in English this past transfer. My Spanish is getting a little rusty. 

LOVE,

Hermana Croft