Sister Crofts-Called to Serve

DECEMBER 2, 2013

Dear family and friends,

こんにちわ! I hope that Thanksgiving was awesome and you ate lots of yummy food. I ended up eating Japanese pizza on Thursday and I was missing Nana and Grandma`s cooking BIG TIME. It was good though and I have so many things to be grateful for! This last week basically everyone in our area has gotten sick - EXCEPT ME (knock on wood). So I am super blessed. It is sooooo freezing outside and it will get colder and colder! It is freezing to ride the bike and what not when it is cold. Hahaha. Several of our investigators have been sick or busy so it has been hard to meet with everyone this week. However, we had a really awesome week. We are now getting up at 5:30 in the morning so that we can go teach lessons at 7:00 am on several days in the week. It is so exhausting, but it is good and I hope that we can help the people of this area and bring blessings to them. I know that as we make sacrifices and work our hardest we will see miracles and be able to help these people to our best ability.

So we are teaching this awesome Brazilian man (Romero). He has so much faith in Jesus Christ and it is incredible to be able to teach him! However, our lessons are in all Portuguese. So last Saturday we were teaching him again and I was trying so so hard just to listen and understand what they were talking about. Before going into the lesson we hadn`t really had the opportunity to talk about what she would be teaching him, so I was just trying with all my heart to understand. So like the time before, I was just pleading/begging Heavenly Father to bless Sister Silva and help her to be guided by the Spirit, and I would feel the Spirit as a witness that what she was teaching was true. So there would be moments where our investigator would look to me and ask in English if I have something to say- and then I would think and testify really simply. But at the end of the lesson, I just began to testify and I felt the Spirit really strong. Apparently I said the exact things that Sister Silva had been saying in Portuguese in ENGLISH. (Even though I didn`t really understand anything she was talking about) After I finished he looked to Sister Silva and said - How did she do that? It is like you have some connection to your minds. Did you tell her everything you were talking about today?" Of course she said "No, it is the power of the spirit." He honestly couldn`t believe it. He said "She doesn`t speak Portuguese, but she understands and can say exactly what you said." It is crazy how amazing the gift of tongues works. I wish that I could speak Portuguese, but right now I don`t need to. I just need to have the Spirit!

The work is good, but it has been hard these past few weeks. I just want to testify about the power of prayer. God hears our prayers, He knows us personally and He is always there and always listening to the pleas of our heart. He DOES answer our prayers! We have the ability to feel His infinite love through the Spirit. I am so grateful to know this and to feel and know that our Savior lives. The scriptures are true, and they are the ultimate source of comfort and strength. We are so blessed! I love this church, it is true.

Love,

Sister Crofts

PS- also please disregard my chubbier cheeks! i am trying to eat healthier at this current time... Hahaha Dangit I totally lost weight in Nagano and then gained it back!