Wow, What a Week!

Wow, what a week. So a lot has happened. Here we go! 

We've been teaching Josh and Sam mostly this week. Josh is stoked to be getting baptized. He's really progressing in the gospel, and has been working on changing. We taught him the Plan of Salvation and then the next night we reviewed it. So he taught us! At first he was content with making it to the Terrestrial Kingdom....yeah....so we explained how we're here to help him make it to the Celestial Kingdom! And now that's where he wants to go, and knows he actually can. 

On Wednesday we had the missionary broadcast. Also a great meeting that helped show me how to be a better missionary and to think about our investigators and teach to their needs. 

Then Saturday was our All-Mission Conference with Elder Holland!! Oh, it was so good. I can't explain it all, but it was a good one. We're talking tears, fist-pounding on the pulpit, and spirit-packed!! SO good folks. He talked about how he loved his mission and prays that we will too. He shook all of our hands, and looked us in the eye and then he told us that we have a great mission. He said he can tell if a mission is good, or if there are any problems within 30 seconds of being there, and that he could sense nothing wrong with ours, that we have a good mission and he was glad. It was awesome! Got me so pumped!!! Elder Uceda from the seventy was there too, and he was also great. He talked to us about investigator's perspectives and teaching for them, not for us. And that's probably the closest I'll get to a temple experience while I'm out here! 

All-Mission Conference with Elder Holland

Then we had lots of time on the bus. But I got to talk to Elder Eells (my District Leader from Clinton) and that was great fun! We got our eyebrows done! So he's looking really fresh for his plane ride home in a few days. 

We also taught Sam yesterday! First we made food. Oreo balls are mine and Sister Thompson's specialty so we taught him how to make them. And he made us his BBQ chicken. Then we watched "The Testaments" and Sam loved it!! We talked about it afterwards and he told us that at the end of the movie, he just couldn't stop smiling. It was a good lesson. 

And that is my crazy week in a nutshell! 

Oh, and there may have been some tears shed, because Sister Thompson is leaving tomorrow. And I'm getting a brand new missionary!! Yay!!! Should be another crazy week, but I'm excited!

1. With the Robinson's after the missionary broadcast. They are the Senior couple that work here at the Air Force Base. We love them. We're family.

2. The hub-cap war continues.

3. We got Quakes frozen custard! SO good!

4. Ward Correlation. We LOVE our ward mission leader, Brother Bahr. He's so cool. He's being deployed in April, and that makes us sad. Correlation is fun!

5. Companions/Eighth cousins

6. We ate at a gas station. And it was delicious!

7. Eyebrows on a moving bus. Was that our smartest move ever? Probably not. But our eyebrows look great! I'm a trend setter, y'all!

8. Sister Skiles, Josh, Elder Rawi, Sam, and Kim after church on Sunday.

9.Oreo balls and chicken​

In Love With Being a Missionary

This week has been incredible. Yesterday was hands down, the best day of my mission so far. So many awesome things have been happening here in Ocean Springs. Sister Thompson and I have some added fire in our steps, and I am overwhelmed with gratitude for this gospel and answered prayers. 

Last month at our Zone Conference, President Olson said that January would be one of the greatest months for our whole mission. I kind of laughed at that, and thought "no way! We have nothing going for us in January, and this is the month we get to share the Christmas spirit AND call home." But boy, was I wrong. This month will honestly be one of my most favorite and memorable months of my life. 

Sister Thompson and I Like to Match

This month our area has really turned around, and the blessings have been pouring upon us, it seems. 

Yesterday, Desirae was baptized!! After much prayer and fasting, we were finally able to help her make those covenants and it was a happy day. 

The morning started in Gulfport at our Stake Conference. There was a special meeting for investigators, recent converts, and returning members before the general meeting. So we were there with Desirae, Josh, and Diana. Elder Arnold spoke to everyone and gave a really great talk on the story of when Peter walked on water. He talked about how Christ put his arm around Peter and helped him back to the boat, and likewise he will do the same and carry us home. Something I believe with all my heart. 

Then we went to the general session which Sam came to as well. Sam is the son of Sister McClain. He recently started living with the McClains and he came to church last Sunday. We went to visit him on Monday, gave him a Book of Mormon and got to read it with him last night. He's so cool, y'all. We're best friends. And we're so glad he came yesterday and has been asking us more and more questions about the church and talks about becoming a member. 

Then the baptism!! Oh, it was beautiful! So happy! Desirae and Arnold were just smiling the whole time! They are so cute! And I don't think it could have gone better. Sister Thompson and I spent like a million years cleaning the font on Saturday night, and preparing for the baptism, but it was more than worth it. And now people won't have to be shocked when they find out that she's not a member, because she is!! Absolutely love her, and feel so blessed to be here and to have been a part of that experience. 

Cleaned the Font for a Million Years 

Desirae's Baptism

While she was changing, we opened it up for everyone to share testimonies. And you know who got up? Josh did!! He shared his testimony that the Book of Mormon is true and that the gospel has been restored. Talk about a proud missionary moment! 

Sam was also at the baptism and while we were talking after, Josh came and told Sam all about how he can come to know that what Sister Thompson and I share is true, just like he has. Josh really wants to get baptized. 

There were some other great things about yesterday, but this is already really long. But I am so grateful to be a part of this great work, and watching the gospel change lives is changing me. I love it here. 

AAAANNND *drum-roll please*  Elder Jeffrey R. Holland is coming to our mission on Saturday. We're having an All-Mission Conference, in Clinton!!! 

Yeah. I officially have THE coolest mission. 

Love y'all! 

Oh, and Sister Thompson and I like to match. Even when we go to bed. I grew a tree. And we are in a hubcap war.​

Hubcap War 

I Grew a Tree

The Weeks Are Flying!

Not much time today, but this week was a good one! We've been working hard and seeing the results. It's been awesome! Josh came to church again and has really been opening up to the members. Desirae has her baptismal interview tonight and we're going to plan out her baptism! Remember Steve from Wal-Mart a few weeks back? We finally got to teach him the Restoration! He doesn't seem too interested in continuing to learn, but he did say he was impressed I came up to him at the store. 

It's going to be another great week, y'all! We've got exchanges, zone conference, and stake conference! AND hopefully a baptism!! Love it here! Love the work! Love being a missionary!! 

Pictures: 

1. Lunch of sausage dogs with our investigator's Janice and Paul

 

2. Ocean Springs Missionaries are the coolest

3. Elder Rawi gave me a pair of sunglasses at the beginning of the transfer, and now we finally got a twinning picture

4. SisterThompson and I are slightly ridiculous

5. We ate boiled peanuts!! A Southern treat, for sure!

It's Been Cold This Week!!!

Sorry for lack of pictures this week. It's been cold!! But I totally found a quarter, a nickle, a dime, AND a penny while we were tracting! So I'm rich now. 

Sister Thompson and I have been working hard this week, trying to find new investigators. Our lesson with Jeremy went really well, and he's been reading the Book of Mormon! We're excited to go back and answer his questions. We love questions! 

So on Tuesday we walked out of the apartment and got to talking to a guy named Carl who was fixing our neighbor's truck. Then another guy pulled up and hobbled over to us. His name is Josh. He was on crutches and had a beer in one hand, and a cigarette in the other. Yes, with his crutches. His sense of balance is impeccable, y'all! He asked us if we were nuns, and so we got to talking about the church. He wanted to learn more, we exchanged information and on Friday we had a church tour with him. The spirit was so strong-I almost cried twice! Halfway through, we were talking about the sacrament and he told us he felt a pull to us when he met us earlier in the week. He told us he wants to join our church. He accepted a baptismal date of March 4! He came to church yesterday and said it felt like family. He loves the light of our religion and is excited to be a part of it. Y'all, Josh hasn't had the best life but he really seems to want to change and watching the gospel already start to change him has been incredible. He's right when he describes this gospel as a light. 

It was also pretty awesome to me, because we had a member with us. After the lesson, she took us to lunch and in the car she asked us questions about the Atonement. I was kind of taken aback that she came to us with her questions, but also very humbled. And being able to share my testimony with her on the power of the Atonement and how we can all gain that knowledge was a special moment for me. 

This gospel is true, y'all. And the power of the Atonement is real-for everyone. 

Much love, 

Sister Crosby

Happy New Year to Y'all!

​Well, Sister Thompson and I have had a fairly uneventful week! But it had some miracles, and answered prayers. 

We spent the first part of the week inside, because Sister Thompson caught whatever I had last week. So we've just traded off being sick. But we're both much better now and have finished off our week strong! 

We went to Wal-Mart this week and tried to find some new investigators there. We're mostly pretty awkward about that though, and so things weren't going too well....But one man and his son caught my attention. Then they walked past again and I smiled at them. But I was just too scared to go talk! So I prayed and told Heavenly Father that if they walked by again I would take it as a sign that I needed to talk to them. And so we started walking and guess who walked past us two more times?? So I put on my brave face and just walked up to him! I don't know why I was so scared, because I talk to people all the time, and he was really nice! And it was a miracle because he lives in our area, not any of the surrounding ones! His name is Steve and he said he would be interested in learning more about the Book of Mormon. We had an appointment with him last week, and he ended up not being home, which was a bummer, but we won't be giving up on him. 

And this week I think Heavenly Father really wanted us to teach a guy named Jeremy, because we sure have met a lot of them this week! The first Jeremy was about to watch football with his 10 day old son and said we could come by another time. The second Jeremy we tracted into turned out to be a less-active! He moved back to Louisiana this week, but we had a good talk with him about his family and his mission and he said he knows he needs to get back to church. 

Then the third Jeremy! We found as we knocked on our last door of the week. He had so many great questions and we got to hear a little bit of his story of how he found God and his faith while he was in prison. He loves his family and we had a good door-step lesson with him! We're excited about him, he seems super prepared and has been in-between churches trying to find one that makes sense. Ah! He's great! We are going back to teach him and his family on Thursday! 

Also, it has been raining non-stop here all weekend. So that was lovely. And my hair looked extra lovely. But today the weather is great! The South is a weird place, y'all! But I love it! So glad I get to spend my next year here!!

Pictures: 

1.The District! (Ocean Springs Sisters and Elders, Biloxi Sisters, Biloxi Spanish Elders, and D'Iberville Elders)

2. We gave our quesadilla maker to Sister Thomas.She LOVES it y'all!

3. Sister Thompson ate our gingerbread house...

4. Today we took down all of our Christmas decorations and our apartment is...sad.