Remember Who You Are

Hey everyone! This week has been awesome! We taught twice as many lessons as we normally do and lots of new investigators have been coming out of the woodwork. It is so fulfilling and brings me so much joy when the work is going well.

We had our stake conference yesterday, and Elder Cordova of the Seventy spoke. One of my favorite things that he talked about was The Lion King. Not kidding. Elder Cordova felt the story had a lot of great messages in it. He talked about when Simba runs away from home and makes new friends (Timon and Pumba) who tell him he doesn't need to worry about anything and that life is all about having fun and nothing else. Simba lives for many years in this care-free lifestyle, when Rafiki the baboon finds him and knocks some sense into him. Rafiki in the movie is (sort of) how the Holy Ghost can be for us. Rafiki reminded Simba that his life is much more meaningful than "Hakuna Matata." He told him that life is about learning from our mistakes, and that running from them gets us nowhere. Afterwards Simba followed Rafiki into a field where he then saw his father (Mufasa) speaking to him from the heavens. Mufasa tells Simba: "Remember who you are. You are my son, and a future king..." Elder Cordova then said "Do we remember who we are? We are all Heavenly Father's children. We are all His sons and daughters. We are future kings and queens in His kingdom. We need to always remember that." I really enjoyed his talk. Yes, it made me want to watch The Lion King again (ha), but more than that, he really helped me put things into perspective and remember who I truly am. I add my testimony to Elder Cordova's, that we are all God's children. Someday, we are all going to be kings and queens with Him forever. I know that God lives. I know that Jesus Christ lives as well, and that He is our Savior and Redeemer. God and Christ are trying to tell us the same thing the Mufasa told his son: "Remember who you are. You are my son (or daughter), and a future king (Or queen)." I know that this is true. I love you all and I hope the Lord abundantly blessing you. Have a wonderful week!

A Letter We Received from Ridgecrest

Dear Sister Crow,

I have thoroughly been uplifted by your son's service here in Ridgecrest. Elder Hunsaker has really been a diligent missionary and he has personally helped me to come to know my Savior, repentance, forgiveness, and love in a way that no one else has been able to help me see. His great wisdom that has come from so much pain; trials of his family w/divorce and struggles has really come to benefit him, me, and others in the process. I too have come from a broken home. I am a ward missionary in his ward now - so we have heard personal testimony often. You would be extremely proud - he is the most wise, devoted, and spiritually prepared missionary I have ever met. I have had this calling twice now! He is an EXCELLENT teacher. He has a GIFT for teaching! If you've never heard him teach before, he bears a powerful witness and knows his scriptures very well. I had to write and tell you how great he has been. It has been an honor to serve with him and for him - as we feed the elders a lot! He is wonderful! He talks about his love for you often in his teachings and how he is so grateful for your strong example and staying active in the church. All that sacrifice - it's so worth it! You should be proud - he is well and the spirit is much felt!

God bless you.

Sincerely,

Sister T_________ [Not using her name for the sake of privacy.]

The Spirit's Guidance

Hey everyone! Things are really starting to pick up over here! We found several new investigators this week and had some amazing lessons with them. We also had a bunch of less-active and recent convert lessons. This was the best week I've had since I've gotten to Ridgecrest. I'm so grateful to the Lord for leading us to these people and for the Spirit's guidance when we taught them. I can always feel when I have the spirit with me. There are times when I do, and also times when I don't. When I do, I just have thoughts come into my mind and I can feel that they are what the Lord wants that person to hear. One thing I have learned, when you just listen to people, really listen, you will know what to say. It will be given to you by the spirit. When you stress and think about what you're going to say next after your companion is done talking, your mind will be blank (had to learn that one the hard way unfortunately). I would challenge all of you to listen to the spirit more carefully; its something we all need to work on, especially me. When missionary opportunities arise for you (and they will if you look for them), listen with your heart, and the Holy Ghost will literally put words in your mouth. I had one person we taught this week tell us: "You are definitely inspired men. You somehow knew exactly what I needed to hear even though you had never met me before. Thank you." I know that the Holy Ghost can and will inspire our words, our thoughts, even our very beings if we let Him. Don't forget that He postponed having His body so that He could be with us. Don't shut Him out! He will help us if we let Him. Well, I love you all. Thank you for all that you do each day to build up the kingdom of God; whether it be in your church callings or in your homes with your children, you are making a difference in our Father's world. Hope you have a great week!

Navigating Mine Fields

Hey everyone! I hope you all enjoyed general conference! I LOVED it. The talks were all so wonderful. One of my favorite talks (some of you may not have heard this one) was in priesthood session. It was by Elder Patrick Kearon. He talked about how in times of war, when troops had to drive through a minefield, the lead car would get information about where the mines were. They would drive first and avoid all the mines. The cars that were following, had to drive in the tire tracks of the lead car EXACTLY. If they drove even a little off of the tire tracks in either direction, they would likely hit a mine an be killed. He compared that to prophets today. Prophets know where the "mines" are that Satan has laid. If we follow him, exactly, we will get through them unharmed. If we don't, we could be caught in an explosion.


I also loved the very first talk in priesthood session. I suppose I am a bit biased though... It was by Elder Nelson and it was about missionary work. At the very beginning, he asked all the full time missionaries and mission presidents within the sound of his voice to stand, wherever we were. The other three missionaries and I stood up. He then expressed his love for us and how much he appreciated what we do. It felt so wonderful to stand when he said that. I could feel God's approval as well. At that moment, no one could bring me down. It felt incredible to stand with the other missionaries of the world, and know that I was one of them. I have waited for that my whole life. How blessed we are to have a living prophet to guide us today. My testimony has been renewed that the prophet and his apostles are truly ordained of Christ, and that everything they said was true.


This week has been going better, we have a new investigator, and she seems interested so far. Even though things are going a little slow at the moment, I know that I am making a difference here. I just feel so peaceful all the time lately. I know that is because of your prayers. Sometimes when I feel I can't walk one step further, strength will flow into me. I know that is completely because of you. When you write missionaries and pray for them, you are literally furthering the work of the Lord. Many of the letters and emails I have gotten have brought tears to my eyes, because I can feel the love you all have for me. I want you to know how grateful I am for all of you and your support. I hope you all always know that. After Pres. Monson's talk about gratitude, I am going to try much harder to remember to thank people. I am so grateful for you, every single one of you. Thank you for the examples you have all been to me in my life. Thank you for all the sacrifices you make for your children and for the Lord. Thank you for helping me become the person I am today. I can't thank you enough for all that you do.


The Lord loves you all, more than I can even begin to explain. If any of you at this moment happen to be feeling inadequate, lonely, or overwhelmed, know that Jesus Christ, the perfect resurrected Savior of all mankind, knows exactly what you are going through. Turn to Him for strength in your hard times, He can and will make your burdens light. He died, so that He could help us in our hard times, and literally wash our sorrows away. May the God of heaven bless you always, and may we always know how much He loves us, as well as His Son, Jesus Christ. I love you all as well. Thank you for being the amazing people you are. Love you!