Nyob Zoo Tsev Neeg‏‏

Hello Everyone.. 

I hope you all enjoyed the super bowl without me ha ha!! I had a fantastic week!    

Well first things first, at the start of the week we got the transfer calls as you all know and then Tuesday it was mine and Elder Ly's last day together which is always a bummer to say goodbye to a companion.  We had to wake up the next morning and get straight to the Mission Home for transfers. The people who were training had a training meeting before transfers took place. Elder Thao left as well and man I'm really going to miss him! We were so close and had a great friendship, and this is his last transfer so I won't see him until probably after my mission. So after everyone got their companions, all the Trainers had to stay in Bloomington and go work around the mission home for about 4 hours while President went and got the new missionaries from the Airport. We had to be back at the Mission Home at 5 and that's when they told us who we were training. 

During the meeting it went like this......they set the chairs up facing each other and all the new missionaries sit on one side and the trainers on the other side... so we were looking at each other... then they introduce the new missionaries and they gave a little explanation about themselves and then they announce who will be training who! so it's really intense ha ha.......

My new companion is Elder Angeles, he is from Las Vegas, Nevada and is 24. He has a Bachelors Degree in Computer Science so he is really smart!! He is also half Filipino! He is really quiet and reminds me of myself before my mission, but because I think I have changed.... we are complete opposites.... but we get along well!! 

The first night right after we picked them up we went straight to an appointment to an older Hmong couple.. I think he thought we would go home and unpack but we just went straight to an appointment. The next day it was about -18 outside and I was like "ready to go tracking Elder?" I think he was a little surprised we were going tracking in -18 degrees.... but I'm trying to work our hardest so that he will know how to work for the rest of his mission. I think this experience of training a new missionary has been really good for me, it is going to teach me how to be a better dad in raising my kids, for example by letting them fail and learning from it and help then help them correct it.

This week has been so exhausting because the new missionaries come out and are unsure of what to do, so you're the one doing most of the stuff, but it shows the new missionary what kind of missionary you are. I think the biggest thing that I could do for him is for me to always have a great attitude toward everything! It really hit me how that can be such an impact on them....last night all our plans fell through and I was kinda having a rough night because my pen exploded in my shirt pocket. and he said to me "your not having a good day are you?" and I said "no, but that's okay because that just means tomorrow will be better!" and later that night when we got home, he asked me why I have such a positive attitude when things are hard and it's just not your day? I told him,"if we have faith in Christ, there is never bad moments in life because the next moments will always be better and we will always get through our trials". So it was a testimony builder to me that our attitude in life is so important for us all and if we all have faith in our Savior there is no need to get down in life when he has suffered everything for us. 

Well I love you all! I think this is the happiest time on my mission so far!! 

Love you all, have a great week.
Love always,
Elder Crandall    

P.s. sorry for not sending pictures but I will next week... we haven't had enough time to take any!! love yall