Weekly Update 6/27/2016

Well what a week.

It's been a stellar one here in the old Leesburg Zone/Eustis Area. We saw a cool miracle or two and we are pretty happy with everything this week. It was transfers and we both stayed and we are super pumped about that. We have another transfer here to bring about some good in Eustis! I'll hop right into it.

First, I'll share a cool miracle that happened. A couple of weeks ago we got a referral from our ward council. They told us to go visit a recent convert lady who moved in with her non-Member sister! #GoldMine hahaha Well as it turns out the sister is very ill and on her death bed. She's old too. LOL, but the convert is awesome. She's from Idaho, and is originally from Florida as well. She's African American and one of my favorite people now. We felt prompted to go visit her on Friday evening. So we followed and had a cool experience. She's been really struggling and her sister had not been treating her the right way. She was getting down and distraught. We were an answer to her prayers. She told us that she strengthened her faith. She had a couple other issues, the biggest being she had high blood pressure. Her medication that she takes for it ran out that morning. She had no way to get it. She couldn't leave her sister. With her head throbbing we laid our hands on her and gave her a blessing. Right afterwords her ailments subsided and she felt good. Two days later we received a call from her. She then proceeded to tell us of how the next morning her Niece came and took her to the Walgreens to get her prescription renewed. As part of it they made it bigger! She was so pumped and I was in awe at the goodness of God! He truly does love us!

Yano never in my life have I been so tired. Literally I am exhausted physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It's been quite the roller coaster to be serving here in Florida. Elder Dickson and I find our

selves staying up late at night discussing the work we are doing. We just love it. I just love it! Everything we do is worth it! That doesn't mean it's easy- it's the hardest thing I've ever done actually! Haha But that's the thing, that's how life is! Anything that's good or great requires a sacrifice. This week we had to find out how we could best help out our zone. We are doing well, but struggling in some areas. We have great potential and we are confident we can reach it! So we think we've found the solution and we are excited to put it to work here in the coming weeks. Wahooooooo

Funny story time. So while we were conversing with our good friend mentioned in the story above, she said something hilarious! I guess her sister doesn't like it when we come over cause we distract her from helping her sister. Hahaha So she try's to stop it, to really no effect. But on the phone our friend was complaining as people do! When she started to scream out "I'll just tell her to Get Behind Me Satan!!!" I was dying, and so was Elder Dickson! Which is not good because I was driving, but we made it back alive. Hahaha

Cool miracle #2 and we'll be done with today's email. So Monday night we had a couple of appointments. Two with new people we are gonna start teaching. The first was with a man named Chino. He's half Puerto Rican and half Chinese. Which is funny cause his name means Chinese.

Hahaha He's dope. We had a killer lesson with him. One of the first things he's said was, I believe that God has to talk to man through revelation. And we get it by praying. #HolyCow. We had a sick lesson

with him and we are looking forward to teaching him more. Then afterwords we saw a part member family. We taught a young lady named Bay. She's dope too! We had a sick lesson and invited her to be baptized! Both her and Chino accepted. The craziest part about all of this is that it was on a Monday night! Which usually are a little slower! Hahaha dopest P-Day yet. So we have some good things coming this week!

So we are really happy with all the good things that happened this week! I had a cool experience this week! I got to have an interview with President Berry before he leaves this week! I needed a new temple recommend and so we got to chat. It was so cool. He told me of my strengths and weaknesses, and gave me great life advice. I love him a lot and will miss him! Although he's from Draper and I'm sure I will see him again soon! That was my week in a nut shell! Hopefully I hear from some of you here real soon! Wahooo! You're never to busy to email right? LOL! Loves!

Love, Elder Crismon!

Weekly Update 6/20/2016

Gooooooooooddd morning!

Hope everyone is doing well out there in the lands of Utah or wherever you may be located! Hahaha

This has been an eventful week! That's for sure! We've had a lot of fun going to and from appointments and preparing ourselves for next transfer as well as July! Every week it seems like life goes by faster and faster. This week we got transfer Calls on Saturday! We found out that we are both staying here in Eustis! It's gonna be a ride for these last few weeks! I've got at least 6 more weeks here in Eustis. I'm pretty happy about that! It should be a great time! We have baptisms coming and good things happening! I'm also pretty pumped I get to stay a zone leader for the last transfer of my mission. Then for those awkward two weeks at the end who knows! LOL.

So first, a pretty cool miracle that happened this week. On Sunday we were having our awesome super solid investigators coming to church. Damaris, Eli, and their two children were coming to church. I think of all the things that may stress me out the most in missionary work is getting people to church. It freaking sucks! Hahaha. It might be the toughest thing to control, but it's possible. You just have to want it dearly enough! Luckily we've been blessed in this area with investigators who come to church. I haven't had a week with out one there. Anyways, with Eli & Damaris we were super pumped to have them come for the first time. The day of church the stress was high and we

were pumped to have them come. We made the proper calls and had some things lined up. Well we were patiently waiting for them to walk in. As the time reaches the start time we start to get nervous. We already were having a tough day. With only a minute to go we got a text them and they were on their way! They came, and the coolest thing is, they also brought their grandparents! Who speak Spanish! So Elder Dickson who speaks Spanish can teach them! It was such a dope miracle! We were super pumped!! Wahoooo

So on Saturday night we had a tough night. We had some things fall through and we were having a tough time. Right at the pinnacle of our tough night we got a text from our solid investigator named Glen. He ran into some Anti-Mormon Material. He told us that he believed that it was his answer from God. What he neglected to realize is that the promise is that God will answer you by the Holy Spirit. Not by a Video you come across. Besides if it's evil then it's not from God. Anyways. Please pray for Glen. We are a tad worried about him. Hopefully he comes around and will still get baptized. We are planning to stop by this week! It'll all work out!

Here's a weeks spiritual thought. Considering all of the opposition that we faced this week in our efforts I decided to look into opposition a little bit more. I listened to a talk by Elder Dallon H

Oaks of the quorum of the twelve apostles. In that talk he outlines the importance of opposition. Sometimes I find my self asking why can't everything just go a little bit better. I mean with Glen we felt we did everything we could have. Elder Oaks outlines that through our trials God molds us into the people we need to become. It's a nice thought to think God is helping me along. Moreover with out opposition there wouldn't be agency or the ability to choose! Cause without there being an opposition we can't choose to go against it. It was a cool realization that occurred to me. I have never thought of that before. I learned a lot, I have more, but I don't want to bore y'all with that.

Anyways! It's been a great week! I have learned a lot and had tons of fun. This church is true and God has shown me this again and again. I know it and I know that God knows it! The best part about all of this is that because it's true we know that in the end all will be made right, and that one day we will rest from our labors. God still cares ladies and gentleman! Wahooooo! Pretty dope! Anyways! I love all of you and hope you all have great weeks! Hopefully I'll hear from some of you here soon. Loves!

Love, Elder Carter Crismon!

Weekly Update 6/13/2016

Weekly Update 3.45

Hey there fellers/Lumberjacks

Well I hope all is well in the place they dubbed Utah. Things are going well here in Florida! It's been a crazy week, filled with a tropical storm, a zone meeting, an exchange to the boonies, cows, and

a shooting in Orlando. For those of you who may be concerned I'm fine, we are about 45 minutes away from where the shooting took place. I've driven past the place a couple of times so that's weird to think about. The state of Florida seems to be holding up well. You can feel a little uneasiness, but it's good. There is a ton of people donating blood, so that's cool to see! Hopefully this will get people asking those tuff questions about life that really only the Gospel of Jesus Christ can answer. Please pray for those families involved in the attack!

So to kick it off we will talk about the tropical storm that came rolling through on Monday night, it was pretty wild. Ive never seen clouds move that fast before. We got a text from President Berry

informing us to be in early and to be careful. There was minor flooding in my area, and a tornado about an hour away. The wind howled and I loved every minute of it! It was cool to see how the storm moved and acted. Really it didn't do to much to us here. Just some heavy rain! We enjoyed our time though!

On Friday we had an amazing lesson with one of our investigators Damaris. She's been studying with us for about 3 weeks now. She's one of the most prepared people I've taught! This week as we were teaching her she told us of a cool dream she had. Basically the dream was straight from heaven and was an answer to her prayers about which church she needed to join! She had already received an answer to prayers in the form of a feeling and now this is added on top of that! It was cool to see that Moroni's promise at the back of the Book of Mormon is true. Anyone who has a sincere heart and really wants to know, then acts on that and seeks by doing simple things such as praying and

reading will get an answer. It's a good feeling to know that God still cares enough to reach out to us and make himself known. She's doing well and we look forward to continuing to teach her! Please pray for her and her family, the Rodriguez family!

This week we had Zone Training Meeting, also known as ZTM. What a good time! This meetings topic was all on involving the Lord in his work and knowing how to better and more effectively find. The meeting went well. It was a little sad knowing that it might be my last one as a zone leader. I felt that it was a good one though! Transfers as a week from Tuesday, so on Saturday we will be getting an email holding our fate as the Eustis Elders. It's gone be weird cause this will be my last full transfer before I head home! There is a possibility that I might drop from being a Zone Leader. Not sure what I want to happen! Honestly, I'd love to stay here but we'll see where the Lord needs me!

The meeting was killer and it was also fun to have my two good buddies Elder Johnson and Elder Thornock. Couple of Stallions.

We saw and milked a wood cow. It sits out from of the Reisings home. I send pics of them from time to time. They are old folks that help us out a ton!

I went on an exchange to a wonderful place called Lecanto. This place is the farthest west area in the mission. It actually boarders two other missions to the north a one to the south. Then on the west side

it touches the gulf coast. It's out there and has some funny people there. I was with a lovely missionary by the name of Elder Carlos Hernandez. He's the man and we had a stellar time. We taught some crazy people and I got to help them get their area to where they want it to be! Hahaha We got to go on special permission from president Berry, due to the bed bug issues our mission had been having! But luckily we got to go and have fun over yonder! Haha

Well that was my week in a nutshell! We saw some good things happen and I'm excited to see what this next week will bring for us here in Eustis. Good things are happening. Please continue to pray for us though! We need to find some more solid people to teach! This church is so true! It has to be true! I've seen too many cool miracles and felt the confirming witness of the spirit too many times! I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet. Through him God established his true church back to the earth! God still cares and he loves us very much. He knows us by name and knows what we need most. Everything that happens to us in life is calculated to bless and is for our benefit. I hope you all

have an amazing week and hopefully I'll hear from some of you here real soon! Where is Kelly? Anyone know?

Love, 

Elder Crismon

 Gotta love cool sweaters! Hahahaha!

 Notice the floor in this one- the missionaries sign it when they leave the area! So cool!

 The wood cow!

 Not sure where he found this but it's funny!

 Zone Meeting