Nyob zoo from frogtown!!‏

Wow its been such an amazing week here! We have seen so much success this week! 

I don't know where to start here but i'll just do it anyway ha ha!! First off me and Elder Lor are like brothers.... its so fun working with him. He is going to BYU so I'm glad I will see him allot after my mission! We both really love basketball so we are thinking of challenging some African Americans at a local court and tell them that if we win we get to teach them! but I will let you all know how that goes.... when we decide to do it because we just don't have enough time as it is. :) We are so busy here we just killed it this week....we have gotten allot of new investigators and we also SET 2 DATES for May 18th there names are Brian he is 15 and his little sister she is 13 her name is Precious! they are so awesome!! They came to church yesterday... so yesterday we were expecting about 3 of our investigators to church and 7 came so it was so good!

One of the coolest stories that happened this week I want to share with you all. So at the start of my mission when I was in frogtown we were teaching a man (name withheld) and he just disappeared one day and we later found out he went to prison. He just recently got out and is living in a half and half house or something like that! So we started teaching him again! It is so scary walking in there! There are so many ex-convicts and he is like telling us what  everyone has done. It was scary but they all love us for some reason.... it's mostly African Americans and Hmong people in there and they are like "hey bible boys how yo doing?" It's funny! We also found out that one of his friends is a less active member and he is in the same place so he sits in the lessons with us and I don't know what it is.... but I love teaching people that just got out of prison they are so sincere and humble. We were teaching them the gospel of Jesus Christ and they had really awesome questions like one was "since we all are sinners and the Holy Ghost can't dwell within a dirty temple or body how can the spirit dwell then? and so we taught about repentance and all that...... it was so spiritual, they were pretty much bearing their testimony to us and the less active said this....he said " I was active in the church and when I was a teen I fell away... started doing things that I wasn't supposed to be doing and I got into gangs and stuff, but now I need to change. I have nothing left for me in my life except for Jesus and I know Jesus can change me". We are so excited for these two guys they didn't come to church because they have to get permission from their case workers before they can come and they had to get permission from their case worker to even talk to us so its pretty strict.

Oh I also got a haircut from a less active member... it was cool, we went and visited her and she was cutting hair, she cuts hair for a profession and we were like, "we need hair cuts!" she just gave us one right there. It was cool! I was talking to her and told her my mom cuts hair and she was like "well now you have a hmong mom that cuts your hair too!" it was funny! well i love you all and keep smiling!

Love,
Elder Crandall

Hello Family!

Well hello family!

This week has been great... it has been one with allot of drama and very hectic but it has been such a good week back in frogtown and getting back in shape and seeing all the old people I use to visit! Its so fun being back with Elder Lor its like two best friends getting back together!! :)

This week all started off like this... on Monday of last week our transfer calls which you all know about!! Then we went to the church to play basketball. We were playing and we were playing pretty hard and about 3 games in Elder Angeles started to breath really heavy and couldn't move and we didn't know what to do he would speak and it was like he was a vegetable pretty much... that's what it reminded me of. I was like "okay we got to get him to the hospital" so we rushed him to the hospital and I was driving Elder Lor and Elder Moss gave him a blessing on the car ride there. It was really scary and I didn't know what was wrong with him. We got him to the hospital and I went in the doctors room with him and they put him on oxygen and stuff.. but we had an appointment that day at 6 with a really cool new investigator we picked up and so me and Elder Meyers went and I had no clothes or anything so I used Elder Abbotts church clothes and Elder Lors hmong name tag... it was a crazy day! We just stayed there that night in Minneapolis and the hospital was in St Paul.. President and Sister Clements came down to see Elder Angeles as he had to stay in the hospital for the night by himself. The next day we found out he was going home so we had to pack his bags for him. It was a crazy day!! I was super sad to see him go home!

It snowed really hard my second day in frogtown. It was crazy riding our bike through about 3 inch of snow! It was definitely an adventurer though!! We kept falling and slipping but it was fun. We were soaking wet by the time we got home that night because we had been out in it all day!! Some good experiences though and it has been a blast working with Elder Lor again. It is his last transfer if i didn't tell you last time. So I will be "killing him off" as a missionary! 

So what I'm thinking is going to happen is that I came here for this transfer so I could get use to the area again and then train one of the new missionaries here. So pretty much back to back training is what will happen if I'm correct but I don't know.... its still up in the air!!

 

This week I have been studying about Light and stuff like that!! I remember reading in D&C section 88 I think (not 100% sure) but it talks about how Christ is the Light of the world,sun,stars,moon and all of that! It just was a fascinating thought!! A revelation I have had this week about light is that , WHATS THE FIRST THING YOU DO WHEN YOU WALK IN A DARK ROOM?" Look for the light switch? I kept thinking and pondering about how that is natural for all of us human beings so I began to think we are all attracted to light and when we receive more light from Christ we want more, we can feel a familiar feeling and its because light comes from God. It is what we all seek in life we don't like darkness!

Our light increases and decreases every second of our life, its our duty to make it be increasing every day!    

Well that's about it from here! Hopefully we get some warm weather....I'm sick of snow ha ha but its all good!! 

 love you all!

           Elder Crandall

Nyob Zoo!!!!!!‏

Nyob Zoo Kuv Tsev Neeg (hello Family)
     
Wow today is crazy! Today was transfer calls and we were all expecting some changes but we didn't really know what to expect!! But I will be leaving Minneapolis after 9 months. I will be taking my talents back to my home which is frogtown where i was trained and started my mission. I will be back on a bike! Yes!!! I can tone up and maybe get ride of some of my fat haha!!! My companion will be Elder Lor!! It is his last transfer and I have already been companions with Elder Lor at the start of my mission as wel.....lt was for 1 transfer and a half so I'm super excited to work with him again!!!! awwww I'm so excited!! I have loved Minneapolis.... its feels like home to me! I have grown so close to the members here and I don't want to leave them but I will still see them every Sunday!!
  
Well that was the big news around here. We will be getting two new elders in May so it will be interesting to see what happens then and I might be training again who knows? but yeah its been a really good day so far. 

I read Hunter and Markel's letters....sounds like they are doing really well. I'm excited to keep hearing from them!! I just can't believe hunter is in Africa right now....it still blows my mind and I can't believe Markel is learning Spanish.... its so cool!!! So I noticed something this week. When we all get back from our missions, our family will have allot of culture in it! Hunter with his African culture and then Markel and the Spanish culture and me and the Asian culture!! It will be so interesting when we all return!
  
This week we had 2-3 inches of snow and it's still here and we are expecting more this week ahhh!!!!! I just want it to be Spring and warm maybe for a change. I thought I would get away with only one real Minnesota winter and it turns out that the winter has been allot longer than I expected! I just hope the summer isn't really hot and humid! I am sure it will be... but hopefully not to bad!
 
I'm doing really good and we are picking up new investigators. We met a really cool guy this week he is 24 and he lives with his brothers and sisters and there going through a rough time. He is one of the oldest and their dad just recently passed away so they are having to try and keep the family going. They don't have a mom so it's all up to them! He was really receptive to our teachings so we are excited to see where he goes. Well I won't be in Minneapolis anymore but it's going to be interesting to see what happens with him!

One thing I have been thinking about lately is about hope and what is living hope that Elder Uchtdorf talked about in conference and I was studying that allot this week and the help from the apostle Paul. I have had a wonderful time learning more about hope and I came to my own conclusion that living hope is an action. It is constantly seeking for the Light of Christ to walk in the light and not turn ourselves from his light! His light is what pierces all darkness in our lives and is what gives us faith to press forward each day and walk towards our Savior. His love and light that he gives freely to us each day!

Well I hope you are all doing well! Here is a picture at a park in Minneapolis that has allot of art work and we went contacting there this week and took a picture! love you all
                          Elder Crandall

Nyob zoo!!‏

Hey everyone!
Well the mission is going great. We are having great success and are keeping busy! Minneapolis is an area where there isn't to many hmong people so you have to work harder but its been great. I have been here for 9 months now, it only seems like 3 though! It's crazy how time is on you mission. 

This week was so great listening to conference it is a great spiritual booster and something I look forward to every time! Maybe not before my mission but definitely now! It's crazy how that changes on your mission.
 
I think my favorite talk in conference was Elder Uchtdorf's talk on hope and light. I really liked that talk because I really love the subject of hope and studying about it! I just read Hunter's email and wow! what a first week!! It sounds like..... really crazy. I think each mission has its own challenges. But I believe there challenges specifically fit for us as missionaries because we are all different. We all need to learn different skills and things like that so the challenges on our mission stretch us and help us progress and become true disciples of Christ.
 
I have recently been reading the New testament and I'm almost done. I'm in the book of James, but one thing I have learned by reading the New Testament is how dedicated and passionate the apostles of Jesus were. My favorite is Paul he is bold and he never gives up! He always keeps the faith and is never afraid to call people out! I feel if we can all have this zeal as children of Christ how much faster would the work go forth! I have really noticed how important members are. They are way more important than us missionaries! They have the contacts, they know more people, and they all have such powerful testimonies.
 
One talk I really enjoyed too was Elder Christofferson's talk on Redemption. We as missionaries teach of redemption. We are the carriers of truth and light to the whole world.. Our light is the Savior's light and it is what this world needs. This world won't progress without the Light of Christ and it starts with his people....which is all of us who have received the gift of the Holy Ghost. Each day I sincerely pray to have the Light of Christ illuminated from me so that others can feel and have the joy that comes from the gospel of Christ.

We had a zone training this week and we were studying about the doctrine of Christ and one thing I noticed, is we all say we are not perfect and so many times our attitude is that we don't accept our imperfections and just move on and by saying everyone is imperfect. But I feel our attitude need to change we need to accept our imperfections then repent and become better! that is why we have the divine gift of repentance to make us more Godly. God gives us faith so that we have the ability to sacrifice because without sacrifice there is no progression physically or spiritually. I really in Ezekiel chapter 18:31! I will invite you all to read that scripture it is amazing.
 
Well I hope you all have a great week and I love you all 
                     Love 
                           Elder Kelby Crandall  

Hello family

Hey everyone well this week was really good..

The baptism went well! it was such a cool experience, the talks were so awesome and overall just a great baptismal service! The branch had two baptisms that day, the young girl me and Elder Angeles were teaching and another girl that Elder Lor and Elder Moss were teaching. It was a great day in the branch.. its growing fast! I hope by the time I leave it will be a ward! Oh and Mai....her whole family came so that was good and I hope a spiritual experience for them. We are hoping to start teaching them. It was a really cool thing because one of the older ladies in the branch saw mai's mom and I guess they grew up together in Laos and they are just barely seeing each other again!  It was awesome. So we have good fellowship for them.... now they just need to accept our message! :)
 
On Saturday as well was the branch Easter activity which went really well. There were allot of people and we missionaries got to hide all the eggs which was kinda fun!! It was a great day and a very interesting day, because that day we had to bike everywhere and we were on our way home and we were about 4 miles out and my bike tire popped and so we had to walk the next four miles which took us forever!! We got home really late so we let the District Leader know... but we were sure tired after that and it was night time in North Minneapolis which isn't the safest place to be! ha ha it's really ghetto! but a great experience!
 
It is getting close to the end of the transfer only like 2 more week so we are all trying to figure out what is going to happen at transfers.We will be getting 2 more missionaries in May and also a native hmong Elder who is currently serving in the Wisconsin mission. He is getting a mission transferred to Minneapolis because we have no natives.. Elder Lor goes home in less than 9 weeks which is sad! He has been around my whole mission and it's just crazy how fast time goes by!
  
I love to hear how everyone is doing especially Hunter and Markel! It sounds like they love it and it has been a crazy start for the both of them! I fell like I have only been gone for 6 month but I got a little over six months left! I don't know where my two years went ha ha! but it has been the best time of my life!! I have grown so much and I don't know what I would do without my mission! 


I read a talk about BECOMING and it was really great. Pres. Clements says that we obtain the attributes to be successful in life only on our missions. We BECOME who God wants us to be when we humble ourselves to God and do his will not our own.. the best quote I have heard was by Pres. Clements and I have really felt it on my mission it says: "The greatest change is of the human heart" and as I have seen other people have a change of heart I am just over come with joy and happiness.. and it's the same as I see myself change and become that person who God is wanting me to be!!
 
The other day we were riding our bike way down in deep North Minneapolis and I went to stop and talk to an African American guy and he was like "white boy you better keep on riding or I'm gonna have to knock you right of that bike" and I was like whoa whoa whoa now I'm just trying to spread some love man and why you haten on me like that." It was funny! He calmed down and I gave him a mormon.org card.. We have had some great experiences here!  


So we also found a dead squirrel and we were going to take it to an old hmong guys house so that he could cook it for us ha ha but we didn't have time. We got some pictures though! hope you enjoy!!

Well I hope ya'll have a great week and I will talk to you all next week. 
  

      Love 
        Elder Kelby Crandall