August 18, 21014

Dear family, 

Thank you so much for all of the prayers and fasts on my behalf.  I really have felt so much help from that and can’t thank you enough.  I was feeling really depressed and overwhelmed last Monday about all the things going on, but I spent a fair amount of P-day trying to find foods that don’t have gluten in them. With the time left, I just prayed to God.  I wanted more than anything to just feel happy and peace about the Celiac diet and that I would feel better.  As I prayed, there was honestly a miracle in my heart.  The way I saw everything totally changed.  I realized how much God has blessed me, how this Celiac diet is a way to help and strengthen my body, and that if I stick to it, it will help me to just serve faithfully to the end of my mission. I also think that it was an answer to prayers because I was praying for the strength and motivation to lose weight and what not... Well, I think God said -Sister Crofts, let me introduce you to a celiac diet. Because last week alone, I lost 6 pounds.  Hahaha anyway, I have really just felt a lot of gratitude and peace and it has made all the difference to have a positive attitude as I am changing everything that I eat. My stomach pain/diarrhea almost completely went away last week and it was feeling so much better. My rash on my arms went away, but it is still there a little bit on my lower body. I have been a bit dizzy and completely exhausted, but we are trying to balance out working and still taking some time to rest for my body. I am praying so much that I will have the strength and energy to do everything I need to, but above all things I just want to learn what God wants me to from this experience. I want God to know that I am really grateful for this.

It felt so good to go and talk to and visit people last week. Even though it totally wore me out, it made me so happy. We went streeting on Thursday and talked to over 70 people. In those 70 people, there was only one person who said she would maybe listen if her friends came. I am praying that she comes next Saturday! We also met a woman from Nepal who wanted our number. There were lots of kekos, but it was great. 

Saturday we went housing at these (we call them danchis).  We met with one of our investigators there and he actually ended up coming to church yesterday with his daughter. He doesn’t believe in God, but I was way impressed that he came. As we were walking up those flights of stairs and knocking on the doors, I physically thought I was going to die, but I didn’t want to go home. I also never realized how much spiders freak me out. On all the stair wells of these apartments, they are just covered in spider webs and these huge nasty spiders. Their body alone is the size of a quarter but I am super tall and so ALL of the webs would just hit my head and they would fall on me. It was so gross. But we found these two girls at the very last row we knocked on. They were 16, the one girls parents had died or something and she was just working. She had never thought about God or anything, but it was awesome because she wants to learn English and hear more. The trick will be just meeting with her because she is so busy with her job. 

Moore Shimai is helping me SO MUCH and I am so grateful that she is so patient about this. I am always like -Moore Shimai lets go dendou!! Pleeeaseeee!!!- and she just says “Crofts Shimai, you are sick. don’t be unreasonable.”  Hahaha, I love her so much. I am getting better little by little. I am so grateful that I have gotten so much better in the last week 

Well, I love you all! Thanks for all of the support and help, I honestly can’t thank you enough.

Much 愛

クロフツ姉妹

Sister Warner is an angel!! She spent 2 1/2 hours just looking for gluten-free food that I can eat.  She even found gluten-free soy sauce.  I love her so much. 

Dinner at our Bishop's house

Biking despite feeling sick

Young Women's activity

Housing at Danchis