Chitlins and Pig's Feet

Hello family!!

Guess what?! Sister Fine and I are staying in Mars Hill together for another transfer!!!!! I'm sooooo excited!!! We'll get to be together for Christmas, and we'll be here for when Sister Collier comes home at the end of December!!! Yayayayay!!!!!

How was your Thanksgiving?! Our's was pretty good! I actually woke up that morning with a bad cold, but other than that, it was a good day! We got to go play football that morning (well, Sister Fine played and I watched), and then we came home for a little bit before going over to the Mills' for our first Thanksgiving dinner. We ended up eating three different dinners...one at the Mills', one at Dee Dee's, and one with a Hispanic family who invited us over at the last minute. I felt like I was going to throw up by the end of the day. Now I know how the sister missionary in "The Errand of Angels" felt when she said, "I never want to eat again," because I said the exact same thing that night, haha! The food was all really good, though, haha! And now I can say I've had chitlins *and* pig's feet! They actually weren't as bad as I thought they'd be, haha!

Last week was a good week, other than being sick for the last half of it! We didn't do a whole lot on Saturday, since I wasn't feeling good; we came home early that afternoon since we didn't have any appointments and I ended up sleeping for four hours! But I started feeling a little better yesterday, and I'm feeling a lot better today. I think it's just with the weather change. Georgia's weather is so crazy! It changes sooo fast!

We didn't teach a ton of people last week, since everyone was doing stuff for Thanksgiving. But we did have a really good district meeting! Every Tuesday morning, our whole district gets together for a meeting, and we go over some principles in Preach My Gospel and role play. Last week, we talked about how we can help people find out the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon by sharing personal experiences. When we were role playing, I shared how I came to know that the Book of Mormon is true. I don't usually cry when I share my testimony, but I did then. And right when I started to cry, I realized that the whole room was quiet...the other elders who were role playing had stopped to listen. Of course, that made me cry even more, haha! But it was a really good meeting; the Spirit was so strong! I've also been asked to give a training at District Meeting tomorrow; I'll be teaching on praying with faith and how we need to pray for the Spirit if we want to teach in the Lord's way. I'm pretty nervous, haha!

How was your week? I sure love y'all to pieces!!! And I miss you tons!!! I think of y'all allll the time, but I'm happy to be here! And we'll get to talk on the phone real soon!!! I can't wait!!!

Love y'all!!!

Sister Crowe
xoxoxoxoxo

Happy Turkey Day!!

Hey y'all!

Turkey Day is three days away!!! Are y'all excited?! I'm super excited!!! We still have to wake up at 6:30 and do our normal routine (exercise, get ready, and studies), and then our ward is having a Turkey Bowl that morning, so we're going to head over to that. We'll be going over to the Mills' (a family in our ward) for dinner that afternoon, and then Dee Dee's invited us over for some dinner, as well, and...she's making chitlins!!! Sister Fine and I are really hoping we get to try some...we both just want to be able to say that we've had it, and then I'll always be able to remember my first Thanksgiving in Georgia, haha! I also found out that we'll get to take a nap, yayyy!!! Is it sad how excited I am for that?! haha! Oh, thank you so much for the Thanksgiving card!!! It made my day!

Sister Fine and I had a really good week! We were busy!! I know it's not about the numbers, but I'm so excited, I have to tell y'all...we taught 10 lessons last week!!! That's not including less-actives! I haven't taught that much since...ever, haha! We're tearing it up here in the Hills of Mars, haha! Of course, we couldn't do it without Heavenly Father!

One investigator we're both excited about is Dave. I can't remember if I've told y'all about him yet or not, but Sister Fine has been teaching him since before I came out here, and even since I've been here, I can see a difference in him when we teach him. Before, he didn't seem to take what we were teaching seriously, but now, we think he's starting to understand the importance of the Book of Mormon and how he really has to do his part if he wants to know if it's true. He's a really great guy, and we're hoping he keeps progressing!

Natalie has been coming to church pretty much every Sunday since General Conference! We've worked it out to where we can teach her right after church each Sunday for about half an hour; yesterday, we taught her the Plan of Salvation. She has such a sweet spirit, I love her!!

We also got to go to Zone Conference in Dallas! We got to hear from President Satterfield, one of the senior couples, the assistants to the president, and the zone leaders. It was a really great day, and I learned a ton! I also got to see Sister Barton again! She's doing great in Douglasville! We also got new phones! They're so fancy!! I think it's the LG Remarq? But I'm not positive...it has so many ringtones, though, haha! I love our new alarm...I wish I could sing it over the computer for y'all, it's way peppy, haha! Anywho, we also heard that they'll be making some changes in the missions around April or May. We don't know what kind of changes they'll be yet, but I guess we'll find out soon!

We had dinner with the Collier's on Saturday night! I love that family to pieces!! Brother Collier is the most humble person I know! Can you believe Sister Collier comes home next month?! I'm really hoping and praying I get to stay here for at least one more transfer...transfers are on December 1, and we find out on Saturday if we need to get a ride, so we'll see what happens! I'll go wherever the Lord needs me, though!

How are y'all doing?! Thanks so much for the letter! And Adam's getting married!!!!! Yayayay, I'm so excited for him and Danae!!! Yayyy!!! I'm glad you're getting to see Sheila and Joss, you'll have to give them both a hug for me!! Give everyone my love when you see them on Thursday!!! Hope you have a very happy Thanksgiving!!! I'll be thinking of y'all all day, but I know this is where I'm supposed to be right now! And just think, a month from Thursday, I'll be talking to y'all on the phone!!!!! Yay!!!

I sure love and miss y'all tons!!! We truly have so much to be thankful for, and I'm so blessed to have you all as my family!!!

Love y'all!!!

Sister Crowe
xoxoxoxo

It's My Birthday!!

Hello family!

I'm two years old today!!! I can't believe it's already been two years since I was baptized! It was pretty neat, too...yesterday's lesson in Relief Society was on baptism, and the closing hymn was "Lead Me into Life Eternal!" We sang that at my baptism!! I'm sooo grateful for my missionaries and for the decision I made to follow Jesus Christ!!!

The blitz last week went good! Some of the elders in our district were able to find some people for us. And we have a new investigator thanks to two of our elders!! Her name is Mimi; she's a single mom of five kids, and she has a lot of faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. She used to meet with missionaries about two or three years ago, and she said that she wants to find the truth so that she can teach it to her children. The way the world is nowadays, she wants her kids to have something to hold onto. We've already had two lessons with her, and she is awesome! I'm super excited to see how she progresses!

Sister Fine and I had kind of a sad experience during the blitz, though. We'd finished knocking our street, and we were getting ready to head back to our car. There was another car parked across from our's, with two young men (maybe in their 20s) standing next to it, smoking and talking. We walked up and started talking with them, but when Sister Fine gave them a pass-along card, the one guy ripped it up. Sister Fine asked him if he believes in Christ, and he said, "No, I think he's disgusting." He was cussing a lot, too. He started telling us that he's in a band, and when they perform, they wear animal fur and rip Bibles up on stage. He also said that he's had a dark spirit appear to him, and when he asked it for something, it gave it to him. And he said that he'd rather burn in hell than go to heaven. We tried to bear our testimonies to them, but they just wanted to argue with us. I've still been thinking about them, even though it's been almost a week since we saw them; it makes me really sad, not only to see how they're living their lives, but to think of how much Christ suffered for their actions.

On a brighter note, though...it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Sister Cruse's home!!! We've been helping her put up all her decorations, including the Christmas tree! It's been a lot of fun, but it also made me a little homesick. I started thinking, though, Heavenly Father must feel like this all the time. He wants all His children to come home to Him!

Ooh, it was warmer this week!!! I was sooo happy, haha! It's been raining all day here today...I'll try to wish some of it to Arizona! :)

Anywho, how was your week? I sure miss y'all oodles, but I know this is where I'm supposed to be! Love you bunches!!!!!

Sister Crowe
xoxoxoxo

P.S. Sarah, I don't know if you'll get to read this or not, but...good luck on your mission!!!!! You will be an amazing missionary!!! Let's keep in touch!

The times, they are changin'...literally!

Mama, Daddy, and Chris...hey y'all!!!

First...Sarah, I hope you're reading this!!!!! California Oakland/San Francisco Mission, woohoo!!! When I read your note, I felt that same feeling when I opened my own mission call--you'll be serving in the perfect place for you! I've also learned that, not only are you called to serve in the right place, but your mission president and his wife are perfect for you, as well. I'm sooooo excited for you!!!!! San Francisco is such a cool city, and the Oakland Temple is one of my favorites! And you'll be speaking Spanish!!! How cool is that?! Oh my goodness, you are going to have to send me your addresses so that we can share all our missionary adventures! I can't believe you enter the MTC next week!! I absolutely loved the MTC! Yayyy, sooooo exciting!!!

Anywho, everything is still good here in Mars Hill! Apparently, this is a harder area than some of the others in our mission, since it's a little more well-to-do. (I guess you could call it Atlanta's Scottsdale? Only much more Baptist.) We've been going through all of the former and potential investigators in our area, to see if they're still interested in talking with missionaries. We'll also be doing a "blitz" with our whole district tomorrow--Sister Fine and I have picked out some streets, and each companionship in our district (there are four total companionships) will tract on about two streets each. Hopefully we'll find someone who is prepared to receive the gospel--we just need to have faith! Not only faith in Christ, but faith in ourselves, as well!

Guess what?! We're only two hours apart now! It feels sooo weird...we got up this morning to exercise, and the sun was coming up and the birds were singing, when only two days ago, it was completely dark out. Crazy!

Last p-day, we went grocery shopping right after e-mailing, and the first thing we saw when we walked into the Walmart was a giant Christmas tree...it made me happy! And Sister Fine and I have broken out Josh Groban's Christmas CD to listen to in the car, yay! (We make sure to skip over "I'll Be Home for Christmas," though...) I love Christmas!!! I'm getting excited for Thanksgiving, too! Sister Fine and I will be eating with a family in our ward, the Mills'. They're a really fun family, and we're also going to try to stop by Dee Dee's (one of my favorite people!) for some sweet potato pie. :)

The weather here is crazy! It was freezing all last week...it was in the 40s and 50s most of the week, and I think it got into the 30s a couple of days. I've pulled out my winter coat and my long skirts, haha! It's supposed to be warmer this week, though (keep your fingers crossed for me!). Sister Fine laughs at how I am with the cold...she was talking about how it gets into the teens in January and February, and I must've had a really weird look on my face, because she just started cracking up at me, haha!

This past Saturday was the ward's Relief Society "Super Saturday." It was a Christmas craft day, and Sister Satterfield came to speak! She talked about finding peace in the holidays--how to simplify things so that we can focus on the real message of Christmas. She's so amazing, I love her to pieces!

How is everyone doing?! How are the kitties? I miss y'all sooooo much!!! Thank you for the package!!! It really brightened my day! I loved everything! Mom, you read my mind--I was going to ask if you could send me the seminary study guide! And that paper with all the quotes about faith was so neat!!! Thank you, thank you!!! Sorry, I feel like this e-mail is everywhere today, haha! But I'm doing really good--trying to stay warm! I'm so happy, though--I know this is where I'm supposed to be! There are hard days, but I remember what Dad always says: "Accentuate the positive!" :)

Love y'all!!!!!

Sister Crowe
xoxoxoxoxo

P.S. Chris! I've been meaning to tell you! We drive a silver 2010 Chevy Malibu named Shillings, and we have a GPS named Maggie. :) Just thought you'd like to know!

It's Already November!!!

Hello family!

Sorry I didn't get to write y'all my usual update last week...it was a little crazy! So transfers were on the 20th! I'm still in Mars Hill, and my new companion was Sister Barton from New York City! This is her last transfer on the mission, so I would be killing her, but...Sister Fine and I are back together again! Some stuff happened to where President Satterfield had to switch some sisters around, so Sister Fine just went on a little vacation to Buchanan, and now she's back! Sister Barton and I had a good week together, though--we definitely made some interesting memories! Last Tuesday, we walked 4.5 miles...in the rain! We took some pictures, we both look sooo stressed! I'll have to send them to y'all! Oh, and I also got to go to a baptism in Cedartown! Sister Barton had been teaching two women before transfers, and President Satterfield gave us permission to go so that she could be there for them! It was really special, and Ashley and Jewell were both so happy!

Can y'all believe it's already November?! Holy gravy, time is flying by! And my Mormon birthday is in two weeks!!! I'm gonna be two years old, woohoo!!!

Happy Halloween one day late!!! Did y'all get to go to the neighborhood get-together this year? That was so fun last year! We got to go to the ward's trunk-or-treat on Saturday night; it was a lot of fun, and it was so fun to see all the kids in their costumes! They had hot dogs and chili, some blow-up bouncy slides, and lots of games (including a pumpkin catapult launch!). Sister Fine and I had to be in early that night, so after the party, we made some hot cocoa and just hung out at the house. It was a fun night! Yesterday night, we had dinner with Mike and Sister Cruse (Sister Fine made her chicken enchilidas--I need to get the recipe!), and then we taught Mike his first new member lesson on service! We got to hand out candy, and we even got to dress up! We wore some of Sister Cruse's aprons, and she had some 50s-style glasses, woo! We also got to watch a movie that Sister Cruse had gotten at Time Out for Women about an African woman's conversion story and how she served a mission at Temple Square. It was sooo amazing!!! Even with everything she went through, she has the strongest testimony of Heavenly Father's love for her. I think you'd really enjoy it, Mom! I think it's called "Delivered by Hope." But yeah, it was sooo good, and it made me realize how much I have to be grateful for.

We have had a couple of lessons with Melanie and Ronny since my last e-mail! Melanie is super sweet. She's really open to hearing more about what we believe in, but last time we saw her, she said that she's a really independent person, and she doesn't like to be pressured into anything. She's not really religious right now, because she was pressured to be confirmed into the Catholic Church by her family. So we're going to let her set the pace for the lessons, and we're not going to be pushing for a baptism date anytime soon. So far, we've introduced her to the Book of Mormon and we've taught her about the Restoration. Both lessons went really well, and I'm really excited for her!

Ronny is doing well, also, but our last lesson with him was...interesting? He said that he'd been reading the first few pages in the Book of Mormon, and he was reading Joseph Smith's testimony, and he said the same thing had happened to him in the 60s. He'd been in his bedroom with his siblings, and they saw a light outside the window, almost like a flashlight. It got bigger and bigger until it filled up the whole window, and there was a personage standing in the light who was mumbling something really fast to where Ronny couldn't understand what he was saying. Then, he said when he woke up the next morning, there were burn marks under his eyes. Sister Fine and I have been thinking about his experience and how to respond to it; we think it's possible that he could've seen something, but we're wondering if it was from God. We don't really know how to respond other than, "Oh, that's interesting." Ronny's really nice, though, and he said he would read from the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it's true. He seems like he really wants to know the truth, yay!

Heavenly Father knows us so well! The last couple of weeks have been pretty tough--I've been feeling really inadequate, but every day there has always been one person who says something that's exactly what I need to hear. I've also been learning to rely on my Savior. I can't do this alone, but the good news is that I don't have to! I'm sooo grateful for the Atonement! I'm so happy to be here, even though sometimes it's easy to get discouraged. I'm not giving up, though, because I know what the gospel has done for me and I want to share that with all of my heart!

Love y'all and miss y'all oodles!!!!!!!

Sister Crowe
xoxoxoxo