“All you have to do is trust your Heavenly Father. Trust Him enough to follow His plan.” -Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Dear Family,

The rain is never going to stop! I am starting to get sick of being wet and muddy all the time, but hey it makes for good stories. Plus in the future if my children ever complain about things I will be able to pull out "back in my day" stories of biking up hills in the rain, running after buses, trudging through the snow, sweat dripping off my face as I labored for the Lord. Ha ha I loved being a missionary. :) You should have seen me last night. I was quite a sight. It literally rained ALL day yesterday, and of course we were out in it. Well we road through a couple mud puddles and I was covered in it! I should have taken a picture. Ha Ha.. the funnest part was our day wasn't even half way over yet. I tried to clean up as much as possible, but I still looked ridiculous. Ha ha...I wouldn't mind getting muddy at home, but I am here trying to represent my Savior. I must admit I am so grateful to have Sister Davis as my companion. She knows how to work. Never do I hear from her that she is cold or tried or hungry. She just goes to work! Together we make a great team. I thank my Heavenly Father for her everyday. Why am I so blessed?!

This week like every week was full of ups and downs. I'm not going to lie there seemed to be more downs then ups, but such is life. If I didn't experience pain and sorrow I would not be able to appreciate joy and peace. To be honest I am grateful for the pains I felt this past week. Some were cause because of my own weaknesses which I needed to ask for forgiveness other sorrows were caused because of the choices of others. Being a missionary really helps me understand the missionaries in the Book of Mormon when they wrote of their experiences: And this is the account of Ammon and his brethren, their journeyings in the land of Nephi, their sufferings in the land, their sorrows, and their afflictions, and their incomprehensible joy!!..... Missionary work truly is JOY! I love it so much. If I just didn't love the people so much and my Heavenly Father this would be so painful at times. But really the best things in life are always the hardest!!

In my personal Scripture study I am reading the New Testament and it is so amazing. Just reading of my Savior's perfect example makes me want to be more like him. He truly was perfect! Also I am re-reading the Book of Mormon and I am focusing on how people prayed or received answers to prayers. I am amazing at just how much each prophet prays. Also this morning I was reading about temples and it was just brought back to me just how amazing and important the temples are. I am so grateful that we are all preparing to go and be sealed together as a family, its something I look forward to!

sorry that I am not really talking about my week and what happened. I guess I could share some things. Xaio Han's parents threatened to move him back to China if he continued to meet with us. Laura who is reading the Book of Mormon really fast has stopped meeting with us to keep peace between her and her husband. Gloria is having second thoughts and many doubts. She called us at 2:30 AM to tell us she wasn't coming to church. We met with Jesse and he doesn't think this is for him.....But we also had some sweet experiences as well. We were out knocking the other day in the rain and we decided to go to this house. Well we knock and a lady opens and the door and invites us in for muffins and herbal tea. We taught the restoration and we plan to return. Everything she was saying was hinting that she was missing something in her life. People need this gospel so bad! We were riding down the street the other day and as we were passing a park bench I noticed a girl sitting there smoking. I kept riding past, but I had the feeling we needed to talk to her. So I turned around unsure of how I was going to start talking to her,but like always I just opened my mouth and words came out. We plan on meeting with her sometime this coming week. Amazing things happened every week. I just feel so blessed to be a missionary!

Love,

Sister Crofts