Email: Week#93 in Paraguay

Hi,

It sure is crazy that I am going home soon. It is hard to believe. I won't write too much so then I can tell you more in a few days haha. But things are going super well. I just basically am saying goodbye to everyone and having some little parties and stuff. It is weird saying goodbye because everyone says stuff like ''see you in 5 years with your wife and kids!''... and that is super weird to think about. :P

I am super excited to see you guys!!! :)

Love, 

Elder Crandall

Email: Week#92 in Paraguay

SO I am writing super late today because I went off to Asuncion for the meeting. Also, I went off to my old area Huguito to say goodbye to a few members! It was so fun. I love those families so much and it really was so super awesome to catch up with them. I didn't have much time to share, so that was the bad part. We were a bit rushed, but luckily I was able to talk to several people there.

It still is raining a ton! It will never stop... its the worst because the water enters into my house very time and it gets all flooded :P.

Things are just getting hard because I know that I am getting close to finishing my mission! So last Sunday we had the testimony meeting and the Branch President was like ''We invite all of you to come and bear your testimonies, especially we want to hear from someone that is going to be leaving us soon''. So I got up and basically gave my last testimony on how glad I was to be there and how sad I was to leave. It was crazy. It was super hard, they have grown to be like a family for me. So it turned out to every one saying something like ''Oh we will miss Elder Crandall'' or something like that in their testimonies. It was really neat. I sure am going to miss it all.

But I don't have that much time... but here are some cool photos! :)

Elder Crandall

Email: Week#91 in Paraguay

Hi,

This week was super awesome! Well... it still has been raining a ton. It will be raining like crazy here until about April because every 7 years it is like this. So it is cool on the fact that it isn't as hot as usual.

So last Thursday was Thanksgiving! It was super awesome because I celebrated it with the missionary couple, the Cranneys. It was a lot of fun, we had a big meal. It was SUPER nice. I can't wait to celebrate that holiday again.

I also went on a another division last Saturday, and it turned out super well. We were teaching this one lesson to someone about the Plan of Salvation. It was super neat because we told her about how she could go to the Celestial Kingdom and that she needed to get baptized. Then, my companion invited her to get baptized and it was the strongest invitation ever. She accepted! It was super awesome because then we put a date with her and she got super excited! It is really cool to see the influence of the spirit.

So yesterday was crazy because of all the rain. We didn't think that many people would show up... but I guessed wrong! We still managed to get 52 people. Our Branch President is working super hard and picking a ton of people up in his car every week and it helps a lot! It was really cool because we had the highest attendance this week and that has never happened before. So then after, we had a HUGE lunch together. There were 35 people there to eat. The house was super full to celebrate our Branch Presidents birthday yesterday. It was super awesome because we had a really nice meal and a lot of cake! :)

So yeah... here are some photos to enjoy.

Elder Crandall

Email: Week#90 in Paraguay

Hi,

I don't think I will get to see Ignacio and Marias baptism before I go, he hasn't gone to church yet because he keeps going to Bolivia, but now he isn't anymore! So now he can start going to church. I may not get to see it, but I still am super happy because I was able to truly bless someone's life and make it a lot better. Ignacio said he is now in 1 Nephi 12 and is really anxious to keep reading. It was funny because he said that he wanted to skip to the end to see how it ends... but you cant do that ;)

So yesterday was so awesome! We had an attendance of 57! It was so crazy... we haven't had one like that in so long. It was really neat because the church was like super filled up. The church isn't that big. The other elders had a ton of investigators show up and we both had a lot of less actives that day! It was so neat. So the members are as trunky as ever. Everytime they see me they say something like... oh only 4 weeks left! or you are super close to finishing! It is crazy... they keep reminding me haha.

So I also was able to go on splits twice this week with two Elders and one of them was with my old companion, Elder Calderon, so that was fun haha. All in all, a good week.

Elder Crandall

Email: Week#89 in Paraguay

Hi,

Things are pretty good. I don't have much to say as I got sick... again! It really stinks. But luckily it will be the last time, right? And that sounds like all is good!

But things are going really good. I am trying really hard not to get trunky and keep working. Things are going good, Ignacio came back from Bolivia and so we are trying to keep him going. But other than that, things are all going good.

We didn't leave much because of me being super sick and all... but things are all good now.

Elder Crandall

Email: Week#88 in Paraguay

Hi,

So now my companion is just Elder Gomes. I am happy because we are really good friends. We are like basically the same. We like the same things and always are thinking the  same haha. He is really cool. I stayed in my area, so I am with Ignacio and Maria still. But... Gloria is now in the other area, the girl that wanted to get baptized. But it was cool this Sunday because the members brought a friend to church! So we will have to see what she thought about it.

I am talking with all the members and they are always like... ah only 5 weeks left! It is so crazy. It is really hard to believe that my time is almost over. I am trying hard to take advantage of every moment with the members because I will never see them again! I don't know what I will be doing when I get home.

Well... today was super fun. We had a zone activity and I organized a game of jeopardy and it was really fun. It got to be super competitive. So then we played some ultimate frisbee and ping pong and ended by playing some Uno. It was a ton of fun and turned out super well.

So lately we found out that Ignacio went to Bolivia! I hope he doesn't stay there too long because he planned on it. But so that kinda puts a hold on things for us. Other than that, it has been raining a ton! It is like so crazy. The worst part is that the house gets a big flooded when it does. Well... other than the baptisms, the members are doing well. We had 41 attendance on a rainy day! In Paraguay that is a miracle. It was pretty cool. We have been having 52 the last two weeks, so it was really neat to see it grow. The members are all doing really well.

But I guess that is pretty much it. Today was SUCH a fun day!

Love, 

Elder Crandall

Email: Week#87 in Paraguay

Hi,

Things are going good. I traveled to Asuncion today so I don't have much time to right because my bus is going to leave again... but it was a fun conference. It just stinks having to travel so much.

Tomorrow we have changes so it was cool to be able to say goodbye to a lot of my long time friends in the mission. It is crazy I only have 6 weeks left.

It is super hot here too, but luckily (and unluckily), it has been raining a lot. So I just get super dirty because my area is all dirt roads, so it just is super flooded and muddy. :(


So this week was pretty good. Unfortunately, Ignacio and Maria didn't go to church... but its alright, I guess. They went to a party late Saturday night and so that's why they didn't go. We visited them later Sunday and they were still excited for us to come and teach them. Ignacio said he feels like this is a good path for him. So I really hope they come to church. We need to get them married and baptized before I leave! I only have 6 more Sundays to go. They love having me over to visit. It is really funny because whenever I come they always want me to say a prayer to start because they say they need to take advantage while I am still here since I am leaving soon haha.

Also, one of the investigators told us on Sunday that she wanted to get baptized! It was super amazing to hear because she had been going to church for years and never even wanted to! The only thing is that I bet that tomorrow the area will split up and she wont be my investigator anymore... but at least I can be there for it! :)

Well... hope all is good! :)

Love,
Elder Crandall