Week 29: Dona Ana and Las Colinas Wards, Las Cruces, NM

 Uhjambo! 

We did a lot of street contacting this week, well at least more than usual. We talked to a lot of awesome/interesting people. 

We also had a lot of member lessons where we roleplay with then, it helps improve our teaching. We actually started teaching this boy Ethan from it! He's a members boyfriend and we probably wouldn't of started teaching him without it.

I love our ward members here! Members strengthen my testimony a lot. We have this amazing member that went through so much in her life and she is so strong through it. The Lord has truly worked in so many peoples lives here and it's awesome. 

We had two people read from the Book of Mormon when we invited them which was cool.

We started meeting with Evan and Laura again and they have some HARD questions for us to answer, but they are good and help grow my testimony as I study them.

I know God loves all of you so much.

Anywayyyyyyssss, that's about it for me right now, love y'all!

Sister Crofts

Interesting lawn art

Exchanges!

Alexa LOVES the blue skies

Morning hike

Week 28: Dona Ana and Las Colinas Wards, Las Cruces, NM

 This week was crazy!!! We had to plan a baptism and teach our friends Mwanenge and Balebanga  so they could be baptized this last Saturday! They are the sweetest, and although we don't speak the same language, the spirit is the same. We zoomed the Swahili elders and Sisters in Albuquerque and they translated for us. I just love them and we went over on Tuesday for three of their birthdays and we gave them a present and they were feeding us cake like they feed the Grinch fudge in the live action one haha!

Satan doesn't want people to get baptized and in small ways he tries to stop it from happening. The spirit was so strong when they were baptized and they got to be baptized by their dad in Swahili. They sang I am a Child of God as a family at the front which was so amazing.  Mwanenge who is 23 and Balebanga who is 11, both bore their Testimonies!

It really confirms to me that even though we don't speak the same language, the spirit is the same everywhere in the church. I know this Church is true and it will bless anyone that comes to it. It is where we find eternal joy in Christ!

Love yalll!! Have the best week!

Week 27: Dona Ana and Las Colinas Wards, Las Cruces, NM

 Jambo! It's hello in Swahili I think lol

So I'm staying in my area and I'm with the same companion. I was really excited to stay because I love these wards and the people are great!

There is this refugee family from Tanzania, who lived there for 25 years, that just moved to Las Cruces last month. Most of the family is baptized or not old enough to be, but we have been teaching two of them, Mwanege and Balebanga, and they are going to be baptized Saturday! They don't speak English though so we are having to have the Swahili elders or sisters translate for us. I definitely have learned to teach simpler and it's been really cool meeting with them. 

We had a missionary activity with the ward, so a more low key activity, and we had a bonfire! It was awesome and we had about 8 of our friends come and some less actives too. It was a great success! It was so fun, and we lost track of time talking to people and we missed our ward coordination meeting 🤦‍♀️ lol. After, we had a great phone call lesson with our friend Barbara, and we invited her to church.

The next day we had church and early meetings. I'm fine in the mornings, sometimes, but it was a bit rough. Well, in our second ward, our new convert Matt gave a talk. But that's not all, he gave a talk the WHOLE sacrament meeting. Haha, and he's a really funny speaker so it was entertaining.  Barbara and her three kids came!! I wasn't really expecting her too, but she did. And the whole time I was praying she would feel the spirit and not be weirded out with anything. She said she hopes to see us Sunday!!! Wooo

Also, some less actives came and I am so proud of them, and of Barbara. It's not easy going somewhere new or that you haven't been to for a while, but when people do, it's awesome!!

I also had a prompting to visit another less active and it ended up really good, and she even had three kids baptizing age. I think it's cool that the Lord guides us. It was just a regular thought, but I know as we act on those, we are blessed.

Last thing, so this guy named Jon Bernard blocked me on Facebook a few months ago. I started mentioning the Book of Mormon and he was like, no thanks. But then today he unblocked me and wants to talk again!! I think it's cool that people can really come around. If we are examples and if we try to share it, they will remember and be drawn back.

I'm so grateful for the light of the gospel and the light that so many people have. People here in my ward are such examples to me. I want to have more light!

Love y'all and I know Christ loves you infinitely 

Love Sis Crofts

Week 26: Dona Ana and Las Colinas Wards, Las Cruces, NM

 Wow! Time has flown by wayyy too fast! This week I got sick (not covid) and have had to stay inside since Wednesday. It's been a bit rough, but we did have some good things happen.

The ward members at sooo sweet with us being sick, we had a secret early morning snack drive by and soup and medicine brought by the one and only Sister Cooley and the sweet Sister Training Leaders. The people here are awesome. 

We had this one guy ask if we believe in aliens, then promptly said he believes Jesus is an alien....then said jk. But that wasn't so convincing-- I think he might believe it. 

We ate a lot of food for dinner Tuesday, then went over to this recent converts house and she made lasagna. I could not barely eat the piece I got. The funny thing is we told her we already had dinner! Hmm, maybe she just wants to fatten us up!

Sister Billete is the Las Colinas Young women's leader. She is one of the funniest ladies ever. She brought cupcakes for her class last Sunday and she brought way more than would be needed, but she said, "those skinny girls can put down like two each they are heifers," or something like that. It was hilarious.

Also, we called this one guy, Henry, (side note, his little chihuahua is named scrappy) and I started praying and he started walking so fast and it was awesome loud, we died.

We planted some flowers for Sister Cooley. It was really then that what I thought was allergies, was definitely sickness cause I was not feeling too hot--but the flowers looked nice!

Oh yeah, a few weeks ago our zone (the group of missionaries in the area) made raps about our social media action plan. An action plan is what we will do when we get distracted or see inappropriate content on our phone. So we all made raps and some were so catching and have been stuck in our head. Just one of the many cheesy things us missionaries do that we find hilarious. 

We had lessons with two members this week that were really good. As Missionaries people open up to us a lot, and they did. It was really cool to be able to talk with them and feel the love that Christ has for them. The Book of Mormon says to mourn with those that mourn, and I love doing that. I love just being able to listen and cry with people. I have definitely appreciated it when people have cried with me and I know that's what Jesus does. He cries with us when we do. 

I love being a missionary even though it is hard. It's hard for me in different ways than it might be for some others. But if anyone on this email is contemplating going on a mission, I would invite you to pray and ask God, ask what He wants for you.

Love you all!!

Sis Crofts

Special delivery for the sicky!