A Mishap and Lots of Storms

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!! I hope you had a WONDERFUL Sunday! I love you Dad!! (:

So...this week I took the struggle bus everywhere I went...man it was bad. It started on Monday...Sister Rock had a goofy mask on and was doing weird poses and some ladies asked what she was drinking because we were having a competition playing the flour game with the Elders at the Johnson's. Well, we lost and I was joking and shoved Sister Rock's face in the flour. But trying to get out really fast, it was kinda hard...like really hard. Her eyes watered which made the flour stick to her face worse and I felt like an idiot. Everyone thought it was so funny and I let her shove my face in the flour. We came off looking AWESOME lemme tell you. The whole ward asked about it because the Johnson's posted it on Facebook. Awesome. 

Tuesday I felt like I was in the car ALL day. We had zone conference and at to be in Greentree at 8:30 for car inspections PLUS we had to pick up the Mckeesport Elders. So we drove there and made it just in time. I got to see Sister Cook who I absolutely adore. It was a lot of fun. A little sad because President and Sister Topham are going home on the 27th so it's the last time a lot of us will see them. We got to "hang out" with them which was pretty sweet. The sisters group hugged President and he totally wasn't expecting it! So funny!! The Elders copied us....mmm. just awkward haha! We all got a picture with the Tophams and as I hugged Sister Topham she made me promise to keep in touch...like pinky promise! haha! She said "Be brave and be strong" and gave me a big hug. It was so sweet! I love the Tophams and I am sad to see them leave. It'll be an adventure with the Johnson's and quite exciting all the same.

Wednesday was BAD for me. Oh man. I wanted to hide in the darkest corner of our apartment and never emerge. We went to Dena and Marcus to help them out with their basement. When we got there, Dena said they wanted to work on the basement later so we would wash windows. So scrub away we did! Everything was going well and we had lunch with them. As we finished and wanted to share a spiritual thought...well let's just say the Spirit wasn't conducive to it, so we didn't. We quietly got back to work and just as we were finishing windexing the last window, Sister Rock asked me to hold the top window so she could do the bottom because they fold out towards the room. So I climbed up and opened the window, it made this weird noise and FELL OUT OF MY HAND!!!!! It came crashing down into the window below. I just said "No." Dena came in and Marcus said a few choice words. I felt HORRIBLE and offered several times to pay for the window but they refused. They said things happen and it will all be ok. I am SO glad they are nice people because I probably would have thrown me out. As I was leaving, I was apologizing to Dena and she said it wasn't my fault the window wasn't put in right. Then I hear "CROCKETT!" I sheepishly looked at Dena and she just shrugged and smiled. I went around the side and Marcus said "Crockett. Smile. It happened, it's over, and nothing is going to change it. Just smile ok?!" Yes sir! So we went home and Sister Rock gave me space. I just curled into a ball and fell asleep. I was pretty much useless for a good amount of time. We went to dinner at the Mackowiaks and a huge thunderstorm rolled in. We left for BoM class and it went pretty well. After mutual, Sister Crook and Haley sat in on our lesson with Tanner. It went really well. He is such a boss. But he doesn't turn 18 until April 2015.....sooo that will just be a matter of time.

Thursday came and was WAY better than the day before. obviously. We did service at the senior center. Then we went to Sue's house and helped package some meat for her. Yum raw beef. We went to Marissa's and she is goofy as always! She was dancing in her chair singing "That's funny!" over and over again. She's crazy and so funny. We met with Tanja and came up with a plan to help her stop smoking and hopefully it'll stick!! (: Pray for her please! We went to dinner at the Kerry's and they invited 2 non members over for dinner. I had the spiritual thought and I shared this story (paraphrased):

A man dies and is resurrected. He finds himself in a waiting room with another man. There is a door and it opens, the other man enters, the door closes. The man can hear everything behind the door. The interviewer begins.

I want you to tell me what you know about Jesus Christ.

Well, He was born of a virgin in Bethlehem. He lived 33 years and the last three were His ministry where He set up His church. He called apostles to help Him and gave them the Priesthood.

The interviewer stopped him. Yes, Yes that is all true but I want you to tell me what you know about Jesus Christ.

He died on a cross for the sins of the world and rose the third day. He lives and visited the American continent. He showed them the wounds in His hands and feet and side.

Again, the interviewer stopped him. Yes, that is true but I want you to tell me what you know about Jesus Christ.

A little perplexed, the man began again. Well, He visited Joseph Smith and called Him as a prophet. He restored the gospel and the Priesthood keys. He gave us the sealing power so our families could be together forever.

The interviewer stopped him yet again. Yes, yes, all that is true.

The man was excused and the next man was invited into the room. As he entered and saw the interviewer, the man fell to his knees and exclaimed "My Lord, My God."

I was a little hesitant to share this because of non members but I realized it is always a good time to bring up the gospel. There is never a bad time to share with someone your testimony of Jesus Christ and so I did. They had tears in their eyes and the Spirit was really strong. We went on splits to do some visiting teaching with the ladies of the ward and it went really well! We visited some people and learned a lot....about the Elders' area. d: We are guilty of poaching a lot of the time but sisters are awesome and there are people we can reach. The Elders work in our area too so don't worry. They have plenty to do haha!

Friday we had weekly planning and got it all finished! Whoo triumphant! We had another HUGE storm roll through and the thunder was SO loud. It was pretty crazy, but not for PA haha! We then went on splits with Tanja and the Relief Society President, Marne. We saw the Humberts and it was kinda awkward for the most part but we survived and got a lesson in haha! We ate at the Cooks and watched another thunderstorm. It was way cool and super loud. We did try to visit people but no one seemed to be home at that time.

Saturday was the day Tanner was supposed to be baptized. Instead, we helped Brittany pack and move boxes. She is hoping to move to Tennessee soon. We had lunch and then saw Vi. We talked with Tim and Tanja next. We had to keep checking on Tanja because her daughter is home for a week and they don't always get along. Then we went to the Mosser's and ate AWESOME Brazilian food. It was so good. Brother Mosser also taught us how to throw a tomahawk. Pretty much a pro haha! We saw the Braddy's and Brother Braddy participated. This was a HUGE breakthrough! We were so happy when he commented and participated in the closing prayer (ya know...said Amen)

Sunday started off...well rough. But what wasn't this week. We locked our keys in the car. Luckily we have AWESOME member neighbors and Brother Martin came and broke into our car. We made it to the end of ward council and as we walked in, everyone started laughing. Yup. That's us! The sisters who lock their keys in their car d: But who hasn't right?? We had lunch at the Aders and talked about different experiences we've had with our fathers, earthly and Heavenly. It was kinda neat. Sister Rock wasn't feeling well so we came home and I studied a little bit. We left a few hours later and saw the Hoffmans. All in all a pretty eventful week!

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week! The Church is true!!

Love,

Sister Kaitlyn Crockett

Be Still

Well I can hardly believe it's P-day again! This week FLEW by which scares the crap (ummm I mean scares me A LOT!!) because I need it to slow down!! haha! It's really starting to freak me out and I am glad I have as much time left as I do because any less would bring on a sheer panic attack. I know my mission is coming to an end in the next several months but I am definitely making the most of it!

With the summer some really bad allergies have hit which is pretty obnoxious! Sister Rock told me the other day that I was up to 6 sneezes in the morning and she was so proud of me because I was improving. Well gee, thanks!!

So Tuesday was really busy. We talked with Sue and even though she has been reactivated we still visit with her to keep her coming! She is so amazing and has a wonderful grasp of the gospel so we can talk about anything really. It's the best! We went to Marissa's and read the Book of Mormon with her to help her continue to grow and to learn as much as she can. We went to Tim and Tanja's and they taught us the law of chastity. We were rolling on the floor it was SO funny. Tanja REALLY hates kissing haha! We also went to the ward librarian's house, her name is Pinky. She is nice and we are trying to take a page out of President Monson's book and visit the widows as well as the less actives and investigators we are visiting. It makes for a pretty hectic schedule but I love it! 

Wednesday was district meeting and we got asked to help at the senior center in the morning because they were going to be extremely busy. So we went and then the elders picked us up. We had district meeting on the importance of the Book of Mormon so that was pretty good. We still had to do studies when we got home so that took up most of our day. We had dinner at the Mackowiak's house then blitzed to the Book of Mormon class.

Thursday we did service at the senior center. Old people are the best. I love giving service there because they are SO nice and so excited to see us. After serving and cleaning up lunch we went to Sister Braddy's and had a pretty good discussion on enduring to the end. We asked her to make her own commitment; she is an RM after all!! So she said she would read her scriptures so we are hoping she will come through!!! She then saw Vi and talked about the Holy Ghost with her. We kept it short because she wasn't feeling good. We went to Sue's house with the Elders and did service for them! It was really cool because Sue's husband, Bud, and their daughter Sarah, used to be really against the missionaries but we have really began to develop a good relationship with them!! Sarah is so funny and Bud likes to tease us now so we are moving our way up!! (: No one was home after dinner so we saw Sister Fitch and talked with her for a bit. She is the most adorable lady!!

Friday we had lunch with the Robkers after weekly planning. It was pretty awesome because Sister Robker invited her aunt who isn't a member but LOVES the missionaries. It was really cool. Then we went to help Sue again! It was really fun because our plans fell through but we were able to eat with her family again that night. We tried a potential investigator but she wasn't available so talked with Sister Stoy, an active/less active family. 

Saturday we helped Sue at the Fleatique (basically everyone sets up tables in downtown Monongahela and sells their old stuff, crafts, or food). It was really cool because we got to talk with a lot of different people. But we spent the whole day in the sun so we were pretty toasty by the end. We saw Sister Humbert and then tried to see Sister Latkanich but she fell again /: Her nurse says this is fall number 5 since she left the hospital so we are pretty worried about her. She is pretty old and not doing so well. Keep her in your prayers. We also saw Sister Shoaf and visited with her about her son who is on a mission in Utah right now. Then we had dinner at Tim and Tanja's and then had a lesson with them afterwards. We shared the lesson so no craziness then haha! But they were on one and telling all sorts of funny stories. 

Sunday we went to church and there were CRAZY thunderstorms!! It was pretty awesome!! We saw Dena and Marcus after studies and dinner. We are STILL working on them. I don't know why it is taking so long. We are getting them this week FOR SURE. Then we saw Cheran one of our investigators that we haven't been able to teach since I got here! Crazy. 

So that was my week! Sorry my letters aren't super exciting! I just want you to get an idea of what my day-to-day life is like! Some days are always better than others but it's alright there are always tender mercies.

This week I realized that I am moving too fast. I took a second to look at the time that I have had to "be still and know that [He] is God". So I dedicated some time in my studies to be still and contemplate God. I marked all the scriptures that I could find on that, one of my favorite being D & C 101:16. As I wrote on a little sticky note "Be still and know that I am God" to remind me. As I was putting it in the front of my scriptures I found a little picture card of the story of Mary and Martha. I read the story again and realized that that was EXACTLY what I had been studying. Martha was "anxiously engaged in a good cause" but Mary was taking time to be with the Savior who wouldn't be with her for very long. Although Martha was encouraged to remember to listen to the words Christ spoke, she was also commended  for her desires to make Christ comfortable. I relate to Martha more often than Mary because I want to be busy and involved but am I missing the time to spend with my Savior one-on-one? I encourage you to take time this week to "be still and know that [He] is God". Reflect on the time that Heavenly Father has given you and all of the blessings that are yours. Think of the relationship you have created with your Father. How well do you know Him and His plan for YOU? I know that is something I am going to work on this week as well!!

I love you and hope you have a wonderful week!! 

Love,

Sister Kaitlyn Crockett

Unlikely Surprise in McDonald's

WELL! Here it is, another week has come and gone and I can hardly believe it. I will have some bad news to tell you, so just be prepared! Nothing horrible but I will need your help in some prayers.

Monday (unusual I know, but this is where it starts). We were at the Memorial Day Picnic and Sister Hoffman came up to us. She told us that when Tanner got home, his mom told him he could not get baptized. She had come across some anti material. So Tanner is pretty crushed and so were we, but with all of the miracles that have happened, I know that Heavenly Father will take care of it. But if you wouldn't mind praying for Tanner to have the strength to continue, I would appreciate it; I know he would too.

Tuesday we helped one of our investigators, Cheran, clean her house. She has a lot of dogs and so my allergies were CRAZY. But we got a lot done. We then saw the Humberts and it started POURING outside. They really like it when we come over so that it good! We hope that they will begin to understand the gospel better in the next few weeks! We tried to see Sister Latkanich afterwards, but she is STILL in the hospital; which isn't very good. She didn't look very good when we stopped by. We took dinner then saw Brother Burnworth. He is a hilarious old man!! His daughter, Rachel, was there and she told her conversion story even though she is less active. It was really cool, actually. We had a good talk. We are still working on inviting Dena and Marcus to take the lessons! It's so hard to find an opening but, we have to move soon! I'll probably just be very bold next time we see them. Then the storm rolled in again and we had to go inside because we couldn't see outside!

Wednesday we did 12 hour missions with 2 of the girls in the ward that are home from college. I was with Isabella who leaves for the Dominican Republic on the 4th! We did studies and had District Meeting. I never realized HOW awkward missionaries were until we threw 2 non missionaries in the mix haha! Oh man. So weird haha! Isabella and I went to visit Sue and we talked about fasting. We spent our day making contact with all sorts of people. Some less actives, some potentials, and some non members who wanted nothing to do with the church. Just a typical day as a missionary. We went to dinner and this old guy's phone rang. It was "We are never getting back together" by Taylor Swift....yup. Pennsylvania. Then the Book of Mormon class. We ended up having a really good discussion in the class. 

Thursday was all service. We went to the senior center as usual then we went to Dena and Marcus' to help them clean their basement....that was SKETCH. haha! It was so much fun though! We scrubbed the floors because they had flooded with the monster rain storm that came through. Then we had to go to dinner at the Crook's. We had the Relief Society meeting afterwards, so that is where we spent our day. 

Friday was weekly planning and Jackie's lesson. Half way through she got a call from her daughter that her granddaughter had swallowed a bottle of vitamin C (turns out it's water soluble). So she rushed to pick her up and take them to the hospital. We ended up driving to Paige's to try and see her. She wasn't home. /: It makes me so sad because I love her and we had a ton of fun in Beaver!! I wish she would just come to church!! We then went to Meg's and saw Chelsey. Chelsey is married to a less active member whose parents live in the ward. We are trying to start teaching her and she said she wants to learn more! We then went to dinner and visited Sister Fitch! She is the sweetest old lady in the world!! I love her so much!! haha! 

Saturday. Oh man. This day was CRAZY. Like typical missionary day. But so extraordinary it's not even funny. It started on Friday night after planning. Our main plan fell through so we decided to do what we could. We visited Sister Latkanich again. She is doing a lot better than the last time we saw her. When we showed up to the hospital, our lunch appointment fell through. So we were struggle busing it. We visited Sister Braddy and they were cleaning their house so of COURSE my allergies decided to flare up. Talk about difficult. We talked about the Holy Ghost and then walked everywhere in the world. Nope, just Charleroi. We walked to Vi's house and then took dinner. We ate and then decided to go grab a 49 cent ice cream cone and McDonalds. We're poor...so haha! So we walk in and stand in line when a guy runs up and says "Sisters! Let me pay for you!!" We looked pretty shocked and he said "Don't worry! I'm a member! Please, let me pay for you!" Sooo a member we don't know in OUR area?? What? We got our ice cream cones and went to talk to them. Chad is from California and his wife, Michelle is from Utah. They both go to BYU-I but are here for the summer installing security systems. They are actually in Pitt 2nd ward! We were so mind blown! And their friends walked in and they were members as well!! It was so weird to see so many members in one place (; haha! But it definitely was a tender mercy. Not that we couldn't buy our own ice cream but that the whole experience took place. The act meant more than the money. We then walked to the Hoffman's and talked with them, then went to the Sullivans. They are the sweetest!!

Sunday was really good! Fast Sunday wasn't that bad. We had a really good ward council and Tanner came to sacrament meeting! I don't know how much longer he will be able to. I know it will all work out. This isn't our work; it's the Lord's. We said goodbye to Isabella who leaves this week. Then did studies and went to the Stinnett's for dinner. They crack me up. One of their sons came home and surprised them for his Mother's Day gift. We had a really good Sabbath. 

So that's how my week went! It was busy and we got 11 less active recent convert lessons!! We average about 7-8 weekly so that was really cool! It was so wonderful to be able to work with the youth this week! I hope you all have a wonderful week!!

Love

Sister Crockett

Best Day of My Life

Hey there family!! So this week has been ya know, one of "those" weeks. So many good things can't be jam-packed into one week so Satan threw some nasty curve balls. But it's fine because Christ is known for His home runs. Baseball analogy anyone??

So let's get started. I know you are all excited to hear about Thursday (; me too!!

Tuesday we volunteered at the senior center and the ladies there were as crazy as ever. haha! We tried to visit some less actives in Donora and we found the Humbert's. They are pretty interesting. They (a son and his mom) are pretty old converts and kind of contradict themselves. Like when we left, Brother Humbert said he had these blasted cigarettes and he didn't need them but every so often he would get a craving that he couldn't deny. That sounds like you need them and an addiction, but don't worry. We've got a plan for that (: Then we saw Sister Latkanich which turned out to be a huge blessing because her nurse left to get her groceries and her doctor called. He told her she needed to go to the ER because of her UTI and she wouldn't have gone if we hadn't been there. We called the ambulance and got her all comfy while we waited. Once they showed up we went to dinner at the Johnson's. They are AWESOME. Love them so much.

Wednesday was CRAZY. We got SO much work done in one day. It felt awesome! We saw Sue but we got interrupted by her mom's "cremains" coming home. So we tried to see Dena and Marcus but they had a family emergency so we took lunch. Then we saw Vi and she was resting from coming home from the hospital. We talked about repentance and she gave us a HUGE cake that we decided to take to the Book of Mormon class later that night. We taught Marissa about Agency and Accountability. Since she is done with her recent convert lessons we are going through the For Strength of Youth pamphlet with her to help her understand the standards of the church. We also saw Tim and Tanja. We talked about following the prophet and they are such rock stars. They are SO cool. We also saw Brittany. Her mom is more involved in our lessons than she is. Her mom also isn't a member...opportunity? (: We had Book of Mormon class and the Elders did an awesome job talking about King Benjamin's address. After that we had an impromptu lesson with Tanner, our most recent investigator. He is soaking it up like a sponge!! Couldn't be more golden that's for sure!!

So Thursday....BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can I just say, I was star struck. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland is the MAN! That was the BEST conference. I can't even begin to describe it. I was so exhausted by the end, but it was so worth it.

We got to our choir practice 20 minutes late because of Pittsburgh traffic. But we made it. We practiced and then we sat on the stand restlessly for 30 minutes. Every missionary was silent and completely absorbed in the Spirit. Finally 2 pm rolled around and Elder Holland entered the room with Elder Hallstrom from the the presidency of the 70. We all stood and he started waving and blowing kisses at the choir (us). He turned and did the same to the congregation. He wanted to meet us all before the meeting so we shook his hand before. When it was my turn, he asked how I was, but I had a look of complete shock on my face (I guess) because he laughed and mimicked my expression haha! It was amazing! He was SO real and so hilarious! What else could you expect from him??? He rarely stood still. When it was his turn to speak, he clipped a mike on and said "So I can be right here!!!" And he shook and elder by the shoulders! He grabbed Sister Aston's face. He looked me right in the eyes as he was speaking. I could feel the Spirit SO strongly as he pleaded with us to never, ever go less active. "We can't afford to lose the shepherds. We are already losing too many sheep." Okay, some jokes. He said he hopes to die in a high priest group meeting that way no one will know, not even him. He recounted a "story" of a few weeks ago a high priest went into cardiac arrest and the paramedics gave mouth to mouth to 5 other men before finding the right man. Elder Holland was describing King Noah and said he was a slob. He hesitated then said, "Well, 'slob' isn't a very apostolic word. But then again, Noah wasn't a very apostolic man." Elder Holland said if we ever went less active, he would hunt us down and ring our necks...but that isn't very Christlike and we shouldn't tell our mothers that. oops. Instead, he said he would come haunt us. We would hear scratching on our windows, look outside and see his face pressed against the glass. haha! Overall, it was a pretty legit experience. He talked about how Christ had to pay everything for our salvation so why shouldn't we have to pay a little? The destination of salvation passes through the Garden of Gethsemane and the Road to Calvary. He talked about how we need to make changes in our lives so we can be the kind of missionaries that God needs us to be. It was so amazing. I can't even write a tenth part of what happened. But I am God's investigator.

I am just gonna skip to Sunday because everything else was pretty average for the week. Weekly planning (which led to me getting sunburned) and some visits with people. I do want to tell you about this miracle that happened yesterday.

So Friday though, during weekly planning, I looked at a sticky note from last weeks' planning. It had a question mark with a baptismal date of June 14th. That following Sunday, last week, we picked up Tanner as a new investigator. So noting that the date was set in faith, we began to plan for our next lesson with Tanner. It ended up being yesterday and we were both pretty nervous about it. We really wanted to set Tanner with a date. So we went to the Aders' home for dinner and Haley and Tanner came over later. We started to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ (being cleansed from sin, faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end). We got to the Holy Ghost and the Spirit kept coming. It was so powerful there. Tanner even bore his testimony and it was awesome. Sister Rock then asked him to be baptized on June 14th. He said "Yes. That should work!" Everyone was in tears. He said he knew that the church was true and we bore testimony to him that he was making Heavenly Father very proud (sorry Dad!) of the choices that he was making at this time.

I am seriously so mind blown as to how this happened. Heavenly Father is definitely in control. I want to share the lyrics of a song that we recently got from another missionary and it describes how I feel very accurately after this week.

What Do I Know Of Holy?

I made you promises a thousand times. I tried to hear from Heaven, but I talked the whole time. I think I made you too small. I never feared you at all. If you touched my face, would I know you? Looked into my eyes, could I behold you?

What do I know of you who spoke me into motion? Where have I even stood but the shore along your ocean? Are you fire, are you fury? Are you sacred, are you beautiful? So what do I know, what do I know of holy?

I guess I thought that I had figured you out. I knew all the stories and I learned to talk about, how you were 'mighty to save'. But those were only empty words on a page. Then I caught a glimpse of who you might be. The slightest glimpse of you brought me down to my knees.

What do I know of you who spoke me into motion? Where have I even stood but the shore along your ocean? Are you fire, are you fury? Are you sacred, are you beautiful? So what do I know, what do I know of holy?

What do I know of holy? What do I know of wounds that will heal my shame? And a God who gave life it's name? What I know of holy and the One who the angels praise? All creation knows your name. Higher than heaven above, what do I know of this love?

So what do I know of you, who spoke me into motion? Where have I even stood but the shore along your ocean? Are you fire, are you fury? Are you sacred, are you beautiful? Lord, what do I know? What do I know of holy?

Have a wonderful week! I love you!!

Love,
Sister Kaitlyn Crockett

Good Feelings

Well hey there!! Another week has come and gone and I can hardly believe it!! Pretty crazy!! It ended with a bang and I can't WAIT to tell you ALL about it!

Tuesday we went to visit Sue and chatted with her. Her mom wasn't doing well and so we tried to distract her by reading the Relief Sociey/ Priesthood lesson, The Witnesses of the Book of Mormon and we had a pretty good discussion. We went to Dena and Marcus' and Dena was surprised when we showed up because she told us that they weren't married and she thought that made us hate them. Ummm no. Sad? yes, but we'll change that! (: They were really happy to see us! We hope to invite them to take the lessons this next week! No one was really home or interested as we tried a whole slew of potentials. We had dinner and went to Tim and Tanja's for a lesson. They taught US baptism and confirmation and rocked it! We were some tough investigators haha!

Wednesday we went to Sister Braddy's house. She isn't progressing and she is a return missionary. It's really discouraging because I know that she can reach the potential that we see in her! I just hope that she can see it. We went back to Tanja's after that and talked with her. She is trying so hard to quit smoking so she can be ready for the temple later this year! Any prayers you can offer in her behalf would be awesome! We went to lunch with some members and the Elders. It was pretty good and we had some much needed fun. We ended up seeing Brittany's mom, Vi and Sister J Hoffman later that afternoon. We tried to share to messages with them, some were more successful than others. We tried to hold Book of Mormon class but that didn't happen. So we helped some people with family history.

Thursday was pretty good. We went to Sue's to comfort her because we found out that Sue's mom had passed away on Wednesday. We talked with her and then went to Jackie's. We taught the Plan of Salvation and she is understanding more and more! It's wonderful! We finished Marissa's recent convert lessons so that was pretty awesome!

Friday was Zone Training. We had to practice for Elder Holland's thing on Thursday! We are singing "Behold! A Royal Army!" We tried to start Weekly Planning and but had to go to dinner at Bishop's house. We had a really good time. And that led us to the end of the day!

Saturday we went to Sue's mom's funeral. She was Methodist but their chapel was occupied and so they did it at our church. It was led by their pastor and we watched a Mormon message, Because of Him.


It was really neat and very sweet. We helped with the luncheon the best we could. We came home and finished weekly planning. We had a lesson with Sister Latkanich. She is the funniest old lady ever. She basically insults us without realizing it and it is SO funny!!

Sunday was AWESOME!!!! Like THE best!! We went to church and Sue's husband, Bud, came to church!!!!!!! WHAT!?! It was their anniversary and that's what she asked for! All of our faces dropped when he walked in. And Elder Sheffer is getting transferred so it was kinda his party. We peaced out, had lunch, then went to the OTHER Hoffman's. Haley, the daughter has been working with her boyfriend and he finally said that he wanted to take the lessons. Tanner said that just having us there he could feel "something." Ummm that's the Spirit. (: Sis Rock and I were so in tune with the Spirit so it turned out to be a fabulous lesson! He accepted the invitation to be baptized!!! WHOOO!!!!!!!! We finished talking with the Hoffman's after Tanner left then went to Sherrie's house, our other investigator! We talked with her boyfriend, Jim. He was kinda interested in what we had to say so that was pretty exciting! We finished lesson one and asked her to be baptized and she said YES!!! 2 investigators want to be baptized!!!!! I can hardly believe it!! It's amazing!! I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (:

This week has been amazing! I am so grateful for the work we were able to accomplish this week! I really feel like an instrument in the Lord's hands and I am so grateful for that!! (:

I hope you all have an amazing week! I know I will!!! (;

He Misses Me

Well this week was exciting. In more than one way, ahah! Pretty crazy and up in the air. I don't know how to explain it, but it was good.

Tuesday we went to a work out class and it KICKED MY BUTT. I couldn't walk until about Friday. Great fun haha! But there were a lot of non members and we ended up talking to them for a bit. Chelsea is a member's daughter-in-law. She is 21, and said since we are close to her age we can be friends haha! They have already talked about inviting us over. SWEEET. We went to Sue's house and talked about everything in the gospel. It was so wonderful! I always learn so much from her. Then we went to Sherrie's, our investigator. She talked for 2 hours straight. BUT she did ask a question about Joseph Smith so we started teaching the Restoration. But right as we got to the 1st vision, she told us a random story about somebody who did something that I really don't want to know about. No filter. But at least she is starting to read the Book of Mormon. She did say something that leads me to believe that she can really progress in the gospel. She said "Right when I felt that I needed more God in my life, 2 girls knock on my door with the book that my grandfather used to read out of". Her grandfather was a member of the church. MIRACLES HAPPEN.

We then went over to Marcus and Dena's. We helped them get a little more settled in. They really want us to just come over and hang out, which isn't allowed, but it's a good step in the right direction.

Wednesday was district meeting with our zone leaders.

 As we were eating lunch, we were told that our zone would be singing at Elder Holland's conference....there are 6 sisters in our zone.....in front of the entire mission....and Elder Jeffery. R. Holland. WHAT!?!?!? They said don't worry, just practice in your district meetings before then. Well, we have zone training this coming week and then Elder Holland...so no practice. Nervous?? Just a little haha! Then we went to help Dena (found out they aren't married) then went to Tanja's and talked about quitting smoking with her. It's a tricky one, but I know the Lord can help her if she wants His help. Then we went to the cemetery and placed flags on the graves of all the Veterans. Over 4,000 flags were placed and it was an amazing sight.

Thursday was really amazing for me. I prayed to be able to do what Heavenly Father wanted me to do. I wanted to be guided by Him and have the courage to follow through. We went to the Senior Center and there were a LOT of people there for their annual Dart Tournament. They throw darts....pretty stinking hilarious haha! Another senior center in Charleroi wants us to come help them on Wednesdays. We are spreading the word haha! Rachel, a recent RM, came and picked us up and we pounded out the lessons. We saw Sister Braddy, and her husband smoked the entire time we were there, like 3 cigarettes in 30 minutes. That was awesome. We saw Marissa and talked about the rest of the commandments. We also saw Vi and had an awesome lesson with her about scripture study. I am so amazed how awesome our lessons were because we had a member with us. It didn't seem like a big deal, but it made a huge difference.

We got home and briefly talked with Cheran and comforted her because she is going through a really hard time. She said she was SO glad we were there right then. We had to leave for our dinner appointment but we promised to talk to her later. After dinner we were contacting a referral who promptly shut the door on us when I said "Hi we are missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!" We got back in the car, I noticed a man sitting on his porch with his son running around. I knew I needed to talk to him, but we were already in the car. Sister Rock asked if everything was ok and I said it was but I had seen that man outside last time we tried to contact the referral. She asked what I wanted to do about it, so I got out of the car, grabbed my bag and a copy of the Book of Mormon. We walked up to him and I introduced us. I asked if he would be interested in strengthening his faith in Christ and he asked how. I said through talking with us he would better understand how to do that. He would learn how. I offered him the BOM and he accepted and said we could come back on Monday or Tuesday evening. That is what we plan to do. I felt SO good because I had followed through on what I had prayed for earlier that day!! I know the Church is true because I felt pure joy when I was doing the will of the Lord. I don't know what will happen with Bryan, but I did my part!

Friday was a disaster. We started to do weekly planning and I found termites swarming in our abandoned study room.

We called the mission office and the landlord and packed to move out for the weekend. It was so crazy. They were EVERYWHERE. I swear I didn't sign up to go foreign!! We got permission to stay at Sue's (it was a big deal because her husband really doesn't want anything to do with the Church right now). We then booked it to our appointment with Jackie. She had some basic questions after we watched the Restoration video. We tried to visit other people after that, which made us late to our dinner appointment because our GPS likes to get us lost! After dinner we saw the Cobert's. Their son is on a mission but they aren't members. We showed them the old Mother's Day Mormon message "To Every Mother" and she really like it, which is a pretty big deal. Tender Mercies Happen!

Saturday we went to correlation then went home to do weekly planning. It took FOREVER it seemed like haha! Then again, 3 hours is a long time. We went to the spaghetti dinner fundraiser the Young Women put on. It was fun. A lot of non members were there and Cheran came with the Martins. It was really awesome because her kids were begging to go to church the next day. Cha. Ching. hahah! We visited Sister Honick and talked about Mother's Day with her and it was really good. She is a sweet lady.

Sunday was MOTHER'S DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So awesome!! (: We went to church and Cheran came with her kids!! Plus tons of less actives were there and it was tremendous!! I was glad that Cheran came because everything was very direct and simple. Love it! The Church is so true! We went to the Ader's home and helped get lunch ready. Then it was time. I GOT TO TALK TO MY FAMILY!!!!! :D I was so happy!! It was hard to say goodbye because I know that is the last time I get to speak with them until I come home, but it was still wonderful to see everyone! I was so glad I had that opportunity.

Kaitlyn's family enjoying her call home on Mother's Day.

I love my family so much. They support me in everything I do; good bad and crazy. Talking with my family really helped me realize an important lesson that I think Heavenly Father was trying to get through my thick skull: He misses me. As excited as I am to be on my mission, I am excited to go home and be with my family again. As excited as I am to be on earth, I am excited to go home and be with my Father again. He misses us all immensely and it's hard for Him to watch us go through hard things, but He knows it is what is bringing us home to Him. I know God lives and is my loving Heavenly Father. He gives me things I need to survive this world, not necessarily things I want. I love Him with every fiber of my being and I know He hears my prayers.

I hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day and a fantastic week!!

All my love,

Sister Kaitlyn Crockett

What Can YOU Do?

Hey everyone!! May the 4th be with you?? I know I know...a day late! But it's still hilarious!! (: I hope you all had a good week because we did here!! It started off rough with both Sister Rock and I not feeling good but still feeling well enough to work. Basically, the worst. haha!

Tuesday we went to Sue's and got into some deep doctrinal discussions. Basically the Church is SO true. Sue wanted to try and share the gospel with some of her neighbors so we walked around her neighborhood and talked to who we could. We tried to visit people after lunch but no one was home. Finally it was dinner time and we made it to the Mon Valley Cloggers rehearsal. Turns out that Sister Rock is a boss at clogging and tore it up. I was so proud of her!!

Wednesday was exciting...NOT. We were doing studies and I noticed a fly and I asked how on earth it got into our apartment. Then Sister Rock saw another one and I noticed another. I asked where the heck they came from and then I saw it. A HUGE swarm by our window sill! We started freaking out and cleared our stuff and ran to the Martins (our neighbors). They weren't home so we went back and called the mission office. We called the landlord and apparently we have termites....really flippin bad!! Who said PA wasn't a foreign mission??

After that adventure, we went to the Senior Center and did some service. We tried contacting a referral and then tried our investigator, Sherrie. No one was home and we had a member with us so that was pretty awkward. As we were heading to do some work in Charleroi, we got a call from Tanja who needed help moving her sister in law. So we went there in our skirts and moved some boxes. It was great!! haha! We then went to dinner then the Book of Mormon class. No one showed up so we went to do family history. A lady from the Senior Center showed up with boxes and carts FULL of family history. It was blowing all of the family history consultants away. Debra was organized and has a lot to add to the Church's records! It's going to be wonderful! And of course it was pouring as usual! So we helped her get her stuff to her car quicker. She is going to come every Wednesday now!! It's wonderful!

Thursday we had district meeting and drove the Uniontown Elders. We did a "role party" (cooler name to get us pumped for role plays). Elder Jenkins and Elder Klima were supposed to rely on the Spirit and teach the Plan of Salvation. Elder Packard was an investigator named Bob and was crazy!! Everything the Elders taught Bob was wrong. Bob laid in to them. He said that he was tired of his family and all of the trials he had (then proceeded to complain about them all) then when the Elders talked about being equally yoked with Christ, Bob said he left all of his burdens at the feet of God. It was so funny because there were some very "special" things that were said to get into the role play. haha! But that's basically how everything goes here. There is no solution to complaining. haha!

On the way home from district meeting, our GPS tried to get us lost...and it succeeded. We wandered around for FOREVER then finally got back to drop off the Elders. We then booked to Jackie's house. She is a less active member and we recently started visiting her. She has been coming to sacrament meeting and we are trying to help her understand more of the doctrine. Then we contacted a referral and the grandma answered and said that the family attends a "Charismatic Pentecostal Church" so they weren't interested. Lost to the rock band again. When the family moves out, we'll probably go and try again.

We taught Marissa the "Big 3" after that; the law of chastity, the law of tithing and the word of wisdom. Luckily, she is good so we didn't worry about it too much haha! On the way to our next lesson, we turned left down a street and everyone started honking at us. Then we realized...one way street. We had to turn around and it was the most awkward thing of my life haha! Plus pretty scary, but it's all good. No one was injured...maybe Sister Rock's pride, but other than that, we are good.

We had a very good discussion with Vi about the Savior by sharing 2 Nephi 25:23 and 26. She made a really good comment about how when she sits outside and she lefts her mind wander then something just takes over. That really got me thinking about that. When we meditate and allow our spirits to over power our natural man, that's when Heavenly Father extends revelation. Pretty amazing.

We went to dinner then talked to Tanja about the Sabbath day. Pretty good lesson.

Friday was weekly planning and we accomplished it! Then we went to Dena's old house and packed her kitchen up so they could move by Saturday. Then we went to the Johnson's for dinner and played the Flour game. SO stressful. haha! I'll explain it some other time but when it was Elders vs Sisters, Sisters won!! just saying haha! We saw Gina and Mark and again, they fed us dessert. Silly people haha! But they really are sweet. We had a decent lesson.

Saturday was really busy, but it was good. We cleaned Dena and Marcus' new house so they could move in. We had a member help us. Then we had correlation and rushed back to meet the moving truck. Bishop Paul, Brother Wood (our ward mission leader), Brother Houser, and the Elders all showed up to help. It was SO awesome!! They were so grateful and happy to be moved in so fast!
We went to dinner and then to Brittany's and talked about Joseph Smith history and all was well! We saw Tanja again and got her a ride to church.

Sunday was pretty good. The whole testimony meeting was on missionary work and it was FANTASTIC. Loved it a lot. We studied at the church and then went to dinner. Everything tastes better on fast Sunday haha! But it was nice. Then we tried to see Sister Fitch but she didn't seem to be home. So we started to drive away, and we saw her walking. We stopped and walked with her. She had a really hard day so she was really glad we stopped by. She is so sweet.

So I have a little challenge for you!! Our fast and testimony meeting was all on how simple it is to share the gospel!! So, see what you can do to share the gospel this week. Make brownies for a neighbor, tell someone about your weekend, just try and bring it up because you are helping their perception about the members of the Church become a positive one. By small and simple means are great things brought to pass!! Have a wonderful week!!

All my love,
Sister Kaitlyn Crockett