LAST email home!! 08/15/2016

Dear family & Friends,

I seriously can't believe this is it. In the words of the Book of Mormon prophet Jacob its "...passed away like as it were unto [me] a dream...". My mission has been thee best thing I have ever done. It's

hard to describe the tender feelings I have right now. I don't think any words I have could in any way describe it. It's one of those things that you have to experience your self. To close I have but a

few words to speak.

First this week has been thee most effective week of my mission. We taught more lessons then I ever have by a large margin. Maybe even set a record somewhere. We had a brilliant stake conference where I got to listen to a general authority seventy speak, Elder Schwetizer. We had a zone training meeting where I gave my last training. I went hard his week and truly left nothing on the field as they say. I got to go the house of the Lord and escape the world for a few hours with the rest of my departing group. The peace I felt there was transcendent. We found five of the most solid people I've ever met this week and set them on baptismal date, and with Gods help they will be baptized with

in the coming weeks. God has also blessed me with the opportunity to serve along side Elder Egan again, and boy did we go HAM. We gave it everything we had and then some. The big three Elder Dickson, Elder Egan and I went hard. It was the best 14 days of my mission. Or at least pretty close to that! I finished strong and gave it everything those last precious few hours.

In the somber words of the apostle Paul I conclude. "For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the

faith:..." Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine the depth of an impact my mission would have on me. I did the best I could, and I did with Gods help I converted people, But my most prized convert is

myself. Through diligence, obedience, hope, and faith. God has molded me into a brand new person. Both physically and spiritually. I'm not 100% converted and in fact am far from it, But it's a start. It's all thanks to him, the one we call good, councilor, the mighty God, and prince of peace. I know that he Lives. For the last 23 or so months I've been privileged to wear his name on my chest, and to testify of him. I love him, and I love this church. His name is Jesus The Christ, the anointed savior. Who suffered and died for us all that we may be set free. This is his church, led by his prophet.

I thank Heavenly Father for being merciful enough for allowing me to take part in such a wonderful work. My deepest desire is to stay longer, but it's not his will. In the words of Elder Jeffery R Holland

"Having put [My] hand to the plow, [I] Will never look back. Until this work is finished, and the love of God and neighbor rules the world." This is my humble witness. Thank you all for your continued

support, example, and love. I will forever be grateful! Until we meet again!

HORRAH FOR ISREAL!!! #TurnUp

Love, Elder Carter S Crismon

Florida Orlando Mission

Sep 2014 - Aug 2016

For those of you who can go... Here's the address for my chapel and

the time of my homecoming...

11164 Londonderry Drive (1520 East)

Sandy, Utah 84092 @ 11AM

 me and Elder Dickson

 My "funeral" Hahaha

 Me and Elder Johnson

 At the temple!

August 8, 2016 update! Only 9 days left!!!!

The second to last email home....

Tuff week but good at the same time....

Well honestly this week has been one of the toughest of my mission. Lots of let downs and high points. Talk about a week that will humble you. It was good and it's such a tender mercy to have my best friend Elder Egan here with me. He's such a dawg, and we've had a killer time. The trio we are in has multiple nicknames: Swag Presidency, swaggernauts, the Big Three, Dream Trio, And Turn Up Trio. It's been a blast and now I'll go into the nitty gritty details of the week.

First a dope miracle. Last Tuesday we recovered a referral from our bishop. We were pretty freaking excited about that. So we contacted him and set up a return appointment. We went over with our young men's president. We had a killer lesson with him. His son is already a member and we were excited to see his family. The lesson went great and we actually saw him three times this week. He has progressed well and it's exciting to see that come from a referral from the bishop. It goes to show that member work is obviously the best way to do things, that's for sure. The dopest part is we are putting him on date this coming week.

Alright time for a funny story. So we were driving home from some appointments and it was late at night. We were yelling out the window and doing all sorts of crazy things. We were having a great time and life is good. I have a great yelling voice, or at least that's what I'm told. LOL. We turned down a street en route to our humble abode. There we saw a man heading to his car. Keep in mind that it's like 9:15 @ night. So this dude is heading to his car and I decide to yell at him. Hahahaha I yell "HEY" and this guy jumps out of his shoes and gets super scared! Hahahaha I scared the crap outta him. LOL. He immediately yelled back "Hey!" Hahaha It was so funny. He didn't know what to think. We drove off into the night and laughed all the way home.

The weeks been tough for a couple of reasons. It tough to finish strong when literally everything about these last couple days points to me going home! Hahaha I'm doing it, so no worries. I'm loving it here. The tough part was being kicked out of MLC this week. They didn't want me to go for whatever weird reasons. Which I don't understand completely. It sucked, and I had a hard time on my exchange in Minneola. I did my best, but it was tough. When Egan and Dickson left me it blew. There goes my bros to meet with all my friends in the Mish. So that blew. I was depressed that day for sure. Anyways luckily God helped. There's a scripture that I love in 3 Nephi 9:13. Christ says to "Repent of your sins and come unto him that He may Heal you" I love that phrase. Heal you, that's exactly what Christ does, he heals us and is always there when we need him the most.

This is my second to last email. #NotTrunky I love this work. This week has been tough, but God has provided tender mercies for me. Friday night we received a call from a less active member. He needed help, and we were able to meet with him and have a killer spiritual lesson. He told us of the issues he'd been having and the stress it's caused him. He was so sincere in his desire to change and it inspired me. We read him a scripture out of Alma 36. Where Alma describes to his son the pain he felt while being struck dumb. He then describes the sweet joy he felt from being forgiven. That's been the week for me is the love of Christ. Even though I've felt betrayed and depressed this week in many ways, I've felt his love for me every step of the way. He's always there. Also we took dope hipster pics at this huge mansion. So I'll send tons bros. please enjoy!

Well that's my week in a nut shell. I love this work so much. It is true and I know it with every fiber of my being. Even though this kinda sucks and I feel like I'm not much of anything anymore Gods

there and he cares. I've got 9 days left to make a difference and I'm doing it. God loved us enough to send his only begotten son to this earth. He suffered and atoned for the sins of all mankind. This

knowledge gives me hope of a brighter tomorrow. I hope that one day I can really be perfect and that all will be made right in the end. Hope is what this world needs and I'm doing my best to bring it to others. That's the message of this gospel and that's the message that we missionaries bear to the world. I'm grateful for the chance I have to be with Elder Egan again. That's the best part about all of this. I hope all is well with everyone back home! I guess I'll be seeing you here soon. Honestly I wish I could stay longer and work harder, but it has to end. Hopefully I hear from some of you here soon! Enjoy the week shavers!

Loves, Elder Carter Crismon

Weekly Update 8/1/16- SIXTEEN DAYS!!

It's that time again.....

 There's only two of these left after this....

 With that humbling thought in mind let me begin my little email here!  Life is soooooo good here in the place called Eustis. My last official  transfer as a representative of the lord Jesus Christ is over. It

 brings a mix of emotions and a flood of memories. This week has been  one to remember. As for sure we worked hard, saw some cool miracles and finally received welcome news about transfers. I'm so very  grateful for the chance I've had to serve here in Eustis.

 "Who Do You Represent?"

 Alright funny story time.... So yesterday Elder Dickson and I had a surplus of miles. We decided to go see this Ward Council referral that was wayyyyy out in the sticks. It actually was really close to my old area. By the time we arrived it would have been less miles to travel to my old apartment. LOL. Anyways we drove all the way there to be blocked by a locked gate. With lots of hope and even more courage we knocked on some doors. We then came to what seemed to be an abandoned trailer. Completely ignoring the No Trespassing sign we wandered  forward to the front of the house. After about 45 seconds a woman comes storming out of the house behind us. We hear the commotion and

 begin to walk towards her. She yells "Hey, Hey!! Did y'all read my sign?!?!" We replied "Uhhh that one?" "yes!" She said, then she questioned our authority "Who do you represent!?!?" This is my  favorite part.... Elder Dickson Replies "Jesus Christ!!" Hahahaha She honestly didn't know how to respond to that! Hahaha She simply gave us  a little warning and then bidded us farewell! Hahaha #GoHawks

 "The love of God"

On Tuesday we had dinner with a family that I have truly come to love with all of my heart, the Mallory family. Hunter Mallory, the father was baptized in October of last year. They are an awesome family. We always have just the best time at their house! Thinking that it was my last time to visit and eat with them it was my turn to share a message with them. I chose to read one of my favorite scriptures. In the book of Romans 8:37-39. That whole chapter is great, but for sake of time I read only those passages. As I read them I had an amazing experience. Throughout my mission I've had hard times and good times. The mission is like a Mini life, with all of its ups and downs. This scripture caused me to reflect on my mission in a way I haven't quite done yet. It then hit me pretty hard that this scripture was true. I felt it, deep inside. God loves us so very much, and above all else my mission has taught me that. I believe Joy is simply gratitude over a period of time. I'm so very grateful for this experience, Gods love has been very evident in my life these past 23 months. I would invite you to read those scriptures. They are awesome.

 "Well Transfers...."

 This was probably the craziest part of my week. On Saturday we received an email from the assistants concerning transfers and who'd be transferred and all that. It then becomes the zone leaders job to let everyone know in the zone. Fully expecting to be transferred closer to the airport these last 14 days I wasn't to worried. Then we received the email. To my surprise I was staying, both Elder Dickson and I. This was shocking considering the fact I go home in 17 Days here. Bewildered, we continued on to dinner with a member at 5 Guys. A great way to spend transfer day. Fully knowing we needed another missionary to come here in a three some we anxiously awaited another call. Then we got a call from Hunters creek, and the missionary who will be staying with us, and replacing me, is Elder Egan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just about cried and then I screamed and everyone was looking at me funny.... That man is my favorite companion. For those of you that remember, we served together in

 Daytona for 3 months. It was so crazy. He was on my most recent Christmas card. Hahaha We are going to have a ton of fun. I guess I'm now an emeritus Zone Leader. LOL.

 Well that was my week in a nutshell. Full of goodness and fun times. We had a killer week and my zone continues to just slay it out here in Leesburgerking. My first thought when I was getting transferred here was "Fetch..." I wasn't looking forward to it all that much. The zone was struggling and it was gonna be tough! These 5 months here have been amazing. I've seen so many miracles and loved every minute of it. We've turned the zone around and we've established a culture of hope. Now I get to finish it all of with two of my favorite people here in one of my favorite areas. God is good and my mission is powerful evidence of that truth. I know that God loves every single one of us!

 He wants us to be happy, and we can be if we but follow his commandments. This is his church, and I get to be a part of this work. I love it and it saddens me that it is almost over.... But in reality

 it's not. It's never over, I've put my hand to the plow. As Elder Holland put it, "God doesn't want people who will die for this gospel, he wants people who will live for it." That's me shavers! Hahaha

 That's the new word shavers. It's slang for little boy, #GoHawks love you all so much and hope you have a good week!

 Loves, Elder Carter S Crismon