IDK pero aquí esta una carita feliz :) OH YA I GOT FIRST PLACE IN DIMOND IN DUO LINGO AND NOW I'M FELIZ - Manizales, Colombia

Hey everyone!!! How are you guys doing? I'm doing great :) I thought I'd write again because aja, why not. This week has been good, we've had some great lessons and found some people that really want to learn about the gosple, so thats allways good :)

On a sad note, we had to drop someone that we have been teaching for a while :( His life had been changed soooo much since he's leaned about the gosple and he knows that the Book of Mormon and the church is true, but he doesn't want to keep the commandments any more. We have been trying to help him these last couple of weeks but he just feels like his life has improved enough now and he doesn't need more. It's really hard when you have done everything you can but the people just don't want to choose to do the right. We told him we had to stop visiting him but that he was still welcome at church if he ever wanted to come. Hopfully in time his heart will soften and other missionarys will be able to help him continue in the covenant path.

On another less spiritual note... I finaly did what my Mom wanted me to do and bought some fruit and took videos/pictures! For those of you who don't know, Colombia is famoso for it's fruits. I have never seen so much fruit in my life like I have here. I've been here almost 16 months now and I still am discovering more fruit. Anyway, I'll put the link to the google photos/drive thingys at the end of the email, if I don't, remind me and I'll send another email. Yes.

What more, 

Im in Manizales like I said the last email I think. Here it is always cold and rains a lot. Like, a lot a lot. Like No. 2 in the world in rainfall if you trust what the members are saying. The temperatura in Colombia is weird becuase it is the same all year, but changes depending on your altitude. Where I'm at, it's always arround 55 - 64⁰ F, but In the coast, it is always arround 100 - 120⁰ F. All year. Honestly, I like the weather here more, than in the coast. At least here you can put on a sweater or a jacket. In the coast it's just sweat and drink lots of water. I do miss the food in the coast tho, nothing compares to the salchipapas in Planeta Rica. Exept tal vez la salvajada in Montería.

OK, I've got to go and buy food so I can eat this week, but I want to end sayinig that I know this church is true. If you have doubts, thats OK, just don't lose your faith. Study the scriptures, go to church, ask God for guidence, and go to church leaders for help. If you don't have any doubts, great! Keep on doing all of those things anyway. Thats how you grow and strenghten your testimonys! Stay on the Covenent Path, baptism isn't the end, it's the begining. PLEASE, help the missionaries, they are called to help in the work of the Lord for these 2 years or 18 months, but as members, the work is OURS TOO. Go out with them, talk to the people they are teaching, give them lots of food. Ok, the last one is kind of a joke, but not really, food is the best. In the end, if you love the Lord, and love his gosple, share it with thoes you love too. I've seen the blessings it brings to people, and it will bring that joy to your life, and with the people you share.

OK bye,

Elder Crenshaw :)

Thanks to Grandma-ma y Grandma Paula for the reminder to send the pictures jaja

I realized that I haven't sent the Google Photos albums since Buenos Aires so I'll just send all the links just in case...

Buenos Aires

https://photos.app.goo.gl/3FigoF2NPMxkiWPQ9

Planeta Rica

https://photos.app.goo.gl/FPzZxVuxvw4Rvouv6

Villa Hermosa

https://photos.app.goo.gl/xJURPSC2tXUkTMkb8

La Alhambra

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ki1LRtfHV1ioNdWE6

I lost most of my photos from my first area (Calarcá) because someone robbed our phone :( but what I do have is in Google drive

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1IxklOaG6EvqWFmCE6o7c759XvWgyiGwm

Okey dokey that's it

Email time - Manizales, Colombia

Hey everyone, no clue how long it's been but i thought I'd write something really fast. Not sure what I wrote in my last email so if I repeat a couple of things ya fue.

Last time I wrote I was in Planeta Rica (the coast) since then I've been in Medellin and now I'm in Manizales. I was a bit sick in Planeta Rica ( I lost 13 pounds) but I loved the time that I was there. In the end I left at the end of the transfer because the water was making me sick and the health secretary told Prezident Florez :( BUT I went to Medellin so that was cool. I was only there for a week but it was in a great area so it's OK. My area in Medellin was Villa Hermosa, I was in a trio with Elder Ballesteros y Elder Sellán. Both of them are newer in the mission, Elder Ballesteros has 4 1/2 months and Elder Sellán has 2 months. After a week all of the new group of misioneros that got here had to get resigned because there is a problem with the visas in Colombia :( they all left el miércoles and presidente had to do a lot of emergency transfers. I was in a trio so he told us that one of us was going to leave si o si. On Wednesday at like 12:00 ish one of the APs called and said that I would be leaving the next day in the morning, not a surprise because we were in trio, and that I should pack in the night. We went to lunch and the APs called us again and said that there had been a change of plans, and I should come to the offices at 6:00. That was at 2:00. We had to go home and my companions had our appointments virtual while I packed everything. I left for the office at like 5;30 and got to the office in time to see all the new missionaries leaving. Then presidente said that they had trouble finding a buss to Manizales quickly and I could only bring 1 suitcase. So I repacked super rápido and went to sleep so I could leave in the little bus the next day. And now I'm in Manizales :D

I'm out of time so I'll talk more about Manizales and my current area the next email, whenever that happens lol. But I want to end bearing my testimony that I know this church is true. At times life is crazy, but no matter what happens the work is the same. I love it here in the mission, I've learned sooo much about the gospel, about Jesucristo and about myself. I know that Jesus is the Christ, our Savior and our Redeemer. He knows us personally and loves us more than we can imagine. Through his atonement we can come to live with our Heavenly Father and become the people that he wants us to be. He has a plan for us. I also know that His church has been restored on the Earth through Joseph Smith, and that today it is lead by Jesus Christ through his Prophets and Apóstoles. I know that the Book of Mormón is true and as a representative of Jesus Christ I invite all to read it. It will bless your life in a way that no other book will. It is the word of God. I have learned of the power of the prayer. The blessing it is to be able to talk to our Father in heaven. I testify that he hears us and that he can and will respond. Go to Him in prayer and let him work miracles in your life. When we have faith in him he will respond. Find the ways that you hear him in your life, search for ways to hear him more clearly and search for the answers to your questions. Read the scriptures, they are the pre-recorded words of God and through them we will come to know our Savior and his love for us. I testify of the power of the atonement in our lives. It is a gift that is freely given to us and it is of greater worth than almost anything else than I can imagine. Use it in your life. Learn to love the blessing of repenting daily. It has blessed my life and it will bless yours too. I know this work is true, I know it with all my heart, and because I know it is true I share it with the world.

Ya nesecito dormir entonces les dejo con eso: )

If you have any questions or just want to send me an email because you're cool feel free. I can't respond until Monday but I can read it any day of the week :)

-- Planeta Rica, Colombia

Hey everybody! I'm writing again because I realized that it's been over a month since I've written and a lot of stuff has happened.

First of, it was my birthday like a month ago (21 de Julio) so that's cool, I'm officially 20 years old. I also hit the one year mark on the mission so I'm over half way done which is crazy to think about. It doesn't feel like hardly any time has gone by. Amanda got baptized on my birthday, and we baptized her in the ocean on the beach so that was cool to. I spent my Bday baptizing on the beach. We don't have a baptismal font here because the church is just a house that we use. Keila also got baptized 2 weeks ago and her husband baptized her in the pool here. It's been amazing how Amanda and Keika have progresed spiritual since their baptisms. Amanda is a 17 year old girl from Venesuela, her parents arn't members (yet jaja) but they suport her in the church which is good. In the month she has been a member she is now the leader of the young women, reactavated two other youth and their families, and has given a talk and bore her testimony in church. Keila has also been doing well and her husband is very exited that his wife finaly got baptized :)

Apart from the baptisms and birthdays, in the last month we had transfers, we both stayed here, I got sick 2 times, ate a lot of salchipapa (probably one of the reasons I got sick twice) found a new neiborhood in Planeta Rica that we didn't know existed, knocked a LOT of doors, wached the new (well old now but new for us lol) spiderman in an branch activity, found a great talk/speech/class thing about the BOM (I'll put it in the email below bit it's only in Spanish so if you don't understand Spanish too bad, got bitten by fire ants, lots of rain, only 2 floods, and so much more.

I'm already out of time (I only have a half an hour to write this) but I want to testify that durring my mission, I've seen more than ever how God bleses the lives of his children here on the earth. I testify that he loves each and every one of you and that he is ready and waiting to help and bless you in ways that you can't even imagen. I have seen so many lives changed for the better durring my mission, including my own. I love the mission, it's the hardest thing I've ever done, but its the best thing I've ever done and one of the best things that has ever happend to me. I know that Jesus lives and that he is our savior. That he has established his church on the earth today and that it is lead by his prophet. I know that the gosple of Jesus Christ is the sorce of hope, love, and joy that this world needs so badly in this time. I love the description in Mosiah 28:3 of how the sons of mosiah felt about missionary work. It describes so well why this work exists.

I hope you guys have a good week, I'll put pictures below and the link to the Google photos thingy for más.

Elder Crenshaw :)

I FORGOT THE SUBJECT LOL

send me what you think the subject should be, also, more pictures:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/FPzZxVuxvw4Rvouv6

^ If this thing doesn't work tell me ^

The Book of Mormon John Bytheway thingy is long but HERE'S THE LINK :)

You can probably find it on YouTube as well, I think it's called "Heroes of the Book of Mormon"

Floods and I bought a hammock - Planeta Rica, Colombia

Hola a todos! Espero que todos se encuentren muy bien :) I'm bored and I have time so I might write this email in english and then write it in spanish. I won't say I'll translate it, because it probably won't be exactly the same, or even related to what I said in inglés, but ya fue, no me importa jajaja.

Ok so what did we do this week? We had a pretty normal week in general, we went to Montelibano for pday, ate hamburgers at a member's house, and just walked around the town. The next day we had an intercambio. I went back to Planeta Rica with Elder Ponce and Elder Escalante stayed allá en Libnao with the district leader Elder Jameson. It was a good intercambio, I've only been in Planeta for about 3 weeks and during the intercambio only 2 weeks so we almost got lost twice but somehow we got through lol. The next day the other elders were going to come back to Planeta but on their way they had to pass through a paro or a protest. There were people burning things and blocking the road because they were mad. From what we understand, the peoples were mad because their houses were flooded. Apparently at this time it always rains a lot, they call it "winter" but it's more like a rainy season. ANYWAY, the people always build right next to the river because it's pretty there and it's a bit cheaper. The problem is that every year that area always floods. Every year the people "discover'' that indeed every single year without fail it does in fact flood and that just because they build a house there doesn't mean that the next year will be different. So they get mad, block roads, burn lots of things, and blame the government. 

Someone in church this week talked a little about this situation and how we can relate it to the gospel. At times, in our life, it feels like we are in a flood. But the thing about floods is that you need to prepare for them before the flood gets there, not when the water reaches your knees. If we are strong in the church, serve faithfully in our calling, study the scriptures daily and try to apply them to our lives, pray in family and individually, find ways to serve others, etc.. we can be prepared before the flood comes. At times tho, we can get a bit more relaxed, we can say that we don’t need to read the scriptures today because we already read them yesterday and we don’t have time today. We lose that support and preparacion that we need. You start to relax and start building your house a bit closer to the river, and you don’t notice that the water is starting to rise. Because you were living in the world, you might not even realize that something is wrong, because the world’s standards are different from the standards of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The world will say that it’s normal if a little water seeps in from under the door, and then you realize that you need to change something when the water is already at your head.

OK so what else happened this week?

We extended another baptismal date this week so that's exciting, her name is Keila and her husband gets to baptize her! He got baptized about 8 months ago but she didn't feel ready to get baptized yet. But we have been working with her and now she feels ready! :) 

That's all I have for this week, if I think of anything else important I'll add it next week :) 

OH YA!!!

I bought a hammock :)

Ok that's it.

Elder Crenshaw :)

My attempt at speaking Spanish: I wrote almost all of this and then is got deleted :( so so this is a shorter version because I don't want to write all of that again.

Español: Escribí casi todo esto y luego se borró :( así que esta es una versión más corta porque no quiero escribir todo eso otra vez.  Jaja

Tuvimos una semana normal en general, fuimos a Montelíbano para pday, comimos hamburguesas en la casa de un miembro y pasamos por algunas tiendas el el pueblo.  Al día siguiente tuvimos un intercambio.  Regresé a Planeta Rica con el élder Ponce y el élder Escalante y el élder Jameson se quedaron allá en Líbano.  Fue un buen intercambio, solo he estado en Planeta por 3 semanas y casi nos perdimos dos veces pero todo salió bien jajaja. Al día siguiente los Élderes iban a volver a Planeta pero en el camino tuvieron que pasar por un paro o protesta.  Había gente quemando cosas y arboles y bloqueando el camino porque estaban enojados porque sus casas se inundaron. La gente aquí siempre construye al lado del río porque allí es bonito y es un poco más barato.  El problema es que cada año siemprw se inunda las casas y cada año las personas se enojan. Alguien en la iglesia ayer habló sobre los inundaciones y como son relacionados al evangelio. Sabemos las normas del evangelio y que va a pasar si construimos al lado del "río" pero la tierra es más barata, es bonito al lado del río, y muchas otras personas dicen que es normal. Entonces nos acostumbramos a vivir en el río. Y no entendemos cuando el río comienza a inundar. Decimos que todo está bien y que éste es normal. Y cuando llega a nuestras rodillas no entendemos como todo pasó. Si estamos preparados antes de que las inundaciones llegan, vamos a estar seguros.

Este semana entendemos otra fecha bautismal a Keila. Su esposo va a bautizarle. Él se bautizó hace como 8 meses y está muy emocionado que ella quiere bautizarse también.

Este es todo para hoy, compre una hamaca y probé salchipapa y Salvajada :)

Tengan una buen semana y nos vemos

Elder Crenshaw :)

I have no clue what to put here so here's a carita feliz :) - Planeta Rica, Colombia

HI EVERYBODY!

I realized that somehow I lost some people in my email list, not sure how but oh well, I think I fixed it all but if you know anyone that wants these random email thingys for some reason write me and I'll add them :)

This week was good, our phone is very broken so no new pictures in the Google photo thingy, our phone weird right now, but that means we're going to get a new one hopefully so at least that's good lol. The zone leaders tried to fix it like three times but each time they try, it messes up the phone more, we don't have a camera because the app got deleted and it won't let us install it again, we don't have maps for the same reason, but at the same time, we can download games, en general, everything that we need is blocked, and everything that we don't need is available. No don't worry, we haven't download any games. 

Ok, what else has happened this week? Oh ya we extended two baptism dates for this month, one for the 16, and one for the 21, yes that is my birthday, no that's not why we set the date that day, but yes it's a cool day to have a baptism :) 

In the coast it is very hot. I know I said that last week, but it's true. This week it ONLY got up to 96 and I literally saw someone with a sweatshirt, I kid you not this guy actually thought it was cold in 96 degree weather. To be fair, that night it cooled down to a balmy 90 so I guess he had a good reason. 

The good thing about hot weather es that costeños have made something called bolis. Bolis are the best. It's kind of a mix between ice cream and a popsicle. From what I understand, they just make some fruit juice in milk, put it in a bag, and freeze it. It is amazing and very cheap. 500 pesos which is like $0.12 USD I've bought way too many this week 

Ok, I've forgotten to do these for a while but it's...

Spiritual thought time!!! :)

Like I've forgotten to share something for a few weeks, at times we forget to put God first in our lives, sometimes its small things. Not saying your morning prayers, not reading your scripture one day of the week, at times it can be a bit bigger. Not going to church one week because something else in life seems more interesting, etc. In the Scriptures there are many, many ejemplos of this. One of those examples is in the ven sígueme this week. (Tal vez another one of those things you could remember) I like a lot the story of Elías in 1 Kings 18 if you all ready read come follow me this week you should already know this story, or mabye you already know it, but the people of Israel were having a hard time following one of the commandments, it was a rather large commandment, they were worshipping baal and not God. Long story short, they were having a lot of problems, wanted things to fix themselves, and started searching for other ways, breaking the commandments, to solve their problems. It wasn't that hard because it was already common, but little by little, they fell away. IDK why I'm rambling about this summary bit en fin, Elías tenía fe. He had faith and trusted in the lord to help him. If you find yourself falling away in any manera, look to the Lord and his chosen servents for help. Trust in him, he loves you and wants the best for you.

I love a scripture in Mosíah 4, partially related to this bunch of rambling above:

     6 I say unto you, if ye have come to a knowledge of the goodness of God, and his matchless power, and his wisdom, and his patience, and his long-suffering towards the children of men; and also, the atonement which has been prepared from the foundation of the world, that thereby salvation might come to him that should put his trust in the Lord, and should be diligent in keeping his commandments, and continue in the faith even unto the end of his life, I mean the life of the mortal body—

     7 I say, that this is the man who receiveth salvation, through the atonement which was prepared from the foundation of the world for all mankind, which ever were since the fall of Adam, or who are, or who ever shall be, even unto the end of the world

     8 And this is the means whereby salvation cometh. And there is none other salvation save this which hath been spoken of; neither are there any conditions whereby man can be saved except the conditions which I have told you.

     9 Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.

Read the whole chapter if you want, it's all good, I have to go work now but ya, God loves you.

Elder Crenshaw :)

Cambios/transfers :) - Planeta Rica, Colombia

We had cambios last week! I know its called transfers, but it sounds wierd in english so I'll stick to cambios. This week I moved to the coast, I'm in a town called Planeta Rica. It's very hot here. Very very hot. Like 100 degrees with 90% humidity hot. That last one's not a joke. It actually is that hot. Yep, ok. Out of time for today. If you guys have any questions you guys can write me and I probably will respond eventually. We had to travel to montería so I ran out of time ahorita and I forgot to write earlier  

Elder Crenshaw :) 

Okey donkey let's write this thingy again - Calarcá, Colombia

HIIII :)

Ok so I only have como 10 min to write this so what you get is what you get. These last few weeks were fun, we had a multi zone confrence and I got to see a lot of people I haven't seen in a while. We talked a lot about los mandamientos and how we can help others keep the commandments.

Ok what else has happend this week? We extended a baptism date a una family of 3 and they said yes! It's for the 25 which is after cambios so I might not be their to baptize them but even if I'm not, I'm so exited for them. Speaking of cambios, they are next week so if I don't write anything it s because I'm changing areas or I just forgot agian. :) 

OK I've got to get going because we leave at 7:40 to go the the Piedra del Peñol and Guatapé. It's a tourist site 2 hours from medellin with a giant rock and lots of stairs. I'll put pictures in the google photos thingy when I take them, so look there in the night if you want to see, for now, here is a picture of what it says in the jet album, it's in spanish so if you don't know spanish, bad luck, google it or something.

Spiritual thought, read your patriarcal blessing, if you don't have it, get it, one of the elders in the house es getting his on wednesday which reminded me to pull mine out and read it again. It really is revelaacion for you and a guia in your lives. use it :)

OK bye

Elder Crenshaw :)