November 24th, 2014

We had the oppurtunity to go to the temple this last week, it was pretty sweet. The temple is super beautiful, and just going teaches me so much every time. It makes me desire even more to help the families that we talk to every day get past those first requisites to be able to prepare to enter the temple. I really know that the temple is the house of the lord here on earth. I am not gonna be with you guys on thanksgiving but I am grateful for the fact that God restored temples with the church. And that theres one in my mission.

Something that was on my mind this week was the topic of faith. We got asked kind of a smug question from somebody, if we would have the faith to walk on water to Christ. The answer for me is honestly no, I say cause not even peter could stay up. Its the truth that we have a releatively small portion of the faith that is required of us, and thats something president riggins said this week....If we havent moved a mountain with just a thought, or walked on water, why stop trying to improve in faith. How can we settle? How can we stop trying to study and understand the words of God, understand what it is to have faith. I think really the lesson is to never conform to who we are, but continually grow in f aith. Unless we can walk on water, I think once that happens well have enough.

I love the question, What do you think about when you dont need be thinking, And I love this scripture as well in DYC 43


34 Hearken ye to these words. Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. Treasure these things up in your hearts, andlet the solemnities of eternity rest upon your minds.

35 Be sober. Keep all my commandments. Even so. Amen.

Have a good one HAPPY THANKSGIVING,

Elder Crisp

November 17th, 2014

This week went by way super fast, I think itd speeding up too much. I was reading a lot this week from the talk from Elder Holland, the Cost and Blessings of Discipleship, he talks about why its difficult sometimes to live the gospel and serve in it. He mentions how nowadays the gods that people want are the ones who pat us on the head, make us a giggle, and tell us to go run along and pick marigolds. I wish that wasnt so perfectly true here, how much people just want God to be comfortable, loving, and not expect anything from us. I think that is one of the most important things we can learn, that Im trying to learn, is how God really is, if we want to know how to remain faithful to him. Because like Holland says, the question what would jesus do? doesnt always bring a popular response....Even though the image of God has diminished, here especially, we need to serve the same God that we read about in the Bible. Thats super difficult today, but we need to do the unpopular thing and always be a disciple.

That came up from some opposition that was coming up, in other areas closer to the city (luckily were way out in a bubble) theres a ton of antimormon literature going around, and some sisters were getting persecuted pretty bad for it. I know its a lot worse in other missions, but I noticed it was coming up a lot this week, contention and gross words. Investigators that want to stay in sin, or crazy boyfriends that make threats when the other chooses they want to live the laws of God. Its all really fun stuff, but I know all this opposition is nothing near the joy of the gospel...the restored gospel. Its ok cause we still have the power and authority so were gonna win. Its the same power that Christ conferred through his hands to Peter, that Peter conferred through his hands to other disciples like Stephen during his life (Acts6), and after his life as well to another disciple Joseph 200 years ago. It came directly, physically from Christ and not from some dream some dude had. That is why this message is so powerful, and why were gonna top all the ugly stuff and blasephemy and change in the view of God that there is in the world.


Con Amor Elder Crisp


We went to do service at a Cocoa farm and found a field of a [ton] of tabacco and we almost left a pamphlet of the Word of Wisdom by it

November 10th, 2014

Wow so I got a lot more birthday wishes that was cool, it was a pretty cool day here a sister made me a cake so that was cool, and a part from that it was a good week too, Im super comfortable in this area and Im really heppy to be here, were really improving and seeing quite a few people progress, I really think that the fruits of these labors are coming soon. We have the man Jaime whos doing great, puts in a lot of effort to understand the scriptures. And we got Neli a lady who has been with us a while, who just seperated herself from her man who she had been living with for 12 years in fornication cause he didnt wanted to get married. Shes really cool but kind of crazy, but she taught me a lot when she responded simply to the question why she wanted to seperate...Because I love God.

We had a super cool experience this week, with a less active whos name is David.....He doesnt usually live here but his brother does, who happened to be our ivestigator (his brother/wife are the ones who gave us the cuy).They werent really progressing and started to avoid us so we hadnt been visiting them, but the other night when we had nothing to do we decided to go back to their house, and there we came across David. He was going to go work in columbia but quit that job cause he decided to start looking for god again...so we found him and he told us that he had been praying that wed come to help encourage him to continue in the church. It was not in our plans at all that day to go there and even though we didnt realize it we were led there by God...It is really true that we can feel successful simply by knowing that the spirit led us, knowing that we did the will of the father. David hasnt been going to church for a few years, but gave up his job to figure out everything. He is a good example of following the guide that God gives us, and really listening and acting on those answers, cause now hes committed himself to keep going to church. All he did was be humble and ask for something specific, and decided before to make the decision that god was giving him.

"Organize yourselves, and prepare yourselves, and sanctify yourselves; yea, purify your hearts, and cleanse your hands and your feet before me, that I may make you clean;

That I may testify unto your Father, and your God, and my God, that you are clean from the blood of this wicked generation;that I may fulfil this promise, this great and last promise, which I have made unto you, when I will."

Love,

Elder Crisp

November 3rd, 2014

Its been kind of frustrating this week cause all the people that we had been finding that were super receptive, dont seem to want to do anything to progress or learn...they seemed like super chosen families but they are too caught up in other things so its been really difficult to try to help them understand better all of this. But in spite of that it was cool we had 2 super good investigators come to church, and they came by themselves with out much (if any) help or reminder from us. It was an awesome surprise cause I didnt think wed have anybody, we got to church and this man Jaime who we taught 1 time, and lives 40 minutes out into the field, was waiting for us, and shotly after this man Jose came who previously told us he wouldnt be able to come today. It was a super cool experience, they both enjoyed the church, I know it had something to do with the fast, the fast always makes things better.

We had a little conference thing with President Riggins for the missionaries that are in training right now and it was super cool something he said. He said that Change is the Breakfast of Champions....those that are willing to change with the champions of the eternal life. He said how we need to always be looking for ways to change and be better, like the boy that asked Jesus, What Lack I Yet? What more do we need to do to be perfect. I think that that is something we should always have in mind, is that we need to change always, cause there is always something more we lack, we being inperfect. That was something that impacted me a lot. Sometimes we settle for what weve done, or what we are, but were never anywhere close to where we need to be. If we know where were going, whats the point of looking back, or settling. So ya we need to always be chomping on those wheaties of change, every morning, day, and night.

So ya thanks for all the support, and the birthday wishes, keep it one hunnid.

Elder Crisp