Memorial Day Camping Trip!

This weekend I went camping with my friend Rhett. I didn't know anyone else who was going so I also invited my ex-companion, Amelia. She had never been overnight camping, so you can imagine the excitement! We went up to the Sand Dunes and found us a nice cozy spot for Friday night.  We set up one great big tent and spent the night roasting stuff and playing games. I froze to death with my one little sleeping bag, but besides that it was great!  

Amelia and I attempting to set up the tent! Be sure to note the camping outfit of Amelia- love it! 

The other girls

Amelia and I brushing our teeth around the campfire- aren't you proud Lisa?!

Saturday morning all the girls left and I got stuck with all the boys! They're crazy, but lots of fun!

Anyways, I haven't posted forever so just thought I'd fill everyone in a tad on what I've been up to! 

Don't forget about me!!

Hey family. Well, how are things there? I am great. The week was good and things are going good. It is weird writing every week because it is always the same thing every week; teach the people in the group, the people that go to church and keep the commitments we continue teaching them and prepare them for baptism, those that don’t go to church or don’t keep the commitments we cut; find new people to teach. This is really annoying, doing contacts, asking the members for referrals and all that good stuff. And that is pretty much all we do, teach and do contacts. The only things that change are the people and the excuses that we hear. But doing the same thing every week for 2 years is soo great that I wouldn’t trade anything for it. It is interesting to see how things work. We work and do contacts and teach and keep the rules and do all that good stuff, but it seems that nothing that we do goes right, but then a door opens that we never saw and we are blessed. I think the Lord does this so I can be humble and so I can’t say that I did anything. Anyway, this week was a busy week. We received a few referrals and taught a bunch of people but only 1 person went to church, Filipe. He is 18 and is really excited about everything and liked church a lot. Elder Da Costa talked to him on the street and he accepted. I remember the first time I made a contact and that person went to church. I felt like I actually did something, so I was pretty happy for Elder da Costa. Filipe is really open and accepts everything we teach and is preparing to be baptized. He watched the baptisms that we had yesterday and during the meetings he payed attention to everything. This next week I am pretty excited because the temple in Curitiba will be dedicated and we get to watch. It is only the 5th temple in Brasil. So everyone is pretty excited here. Things are great and I am really loving it here. I am taking advantage of all the time I have, because it isn’t much. I think the most important part of the mission is the end. If we don’t endure to the end, we didn’t do anything. I have already seen a lot of missionaries that slacked off at the end. If I slack off at the end of my mission, I will probably slack off at the end of my life, and in everything that I do. I want to finish better than I started and I know it is possible. I really do love this work and I can tbeleive that my 2 years is already coming to an end. It is something I don’t even want to think about. Well I love you all and KEEP ME UPDATED. I know you will be able to see me shortly but don’t forget about me these last 2 months!!!Love Elder Crosby

Get together

Hey Fam!

Hey family! Well time just flies by so fast, Its crazy! This morning we invited a bunch of members to play soccer with us at this gymnasium (mom said that my spelling is horrible and I have no clue how to spell gymnasium).It was good. We played for 2 hours. Its great to do something physical every once in a while. Soccer here with the members is like church ball in the US. Everyone gets really competitive and every once in a while tempers get going. Sometimes it is hard not to get involved, especially because I am so competitive. But anyways, it was good. This week was good. Bishop Flavio hás been talking to us about doing some activities during the week, but the hard part about it is taht the chapel is so far away from the members that nobody góes at night because it is a little dangerous tôo to walk at night after the activities, so I was thinking, “If we could find a place to have these activities close to the members, it would be perfect.” Well, Tuesday my prayers were answered. We were walking one day and we went to a street that I had never walked down before and I told my companion, “Pay attention because I’m gonna do the “contacto of the elect”. So I knocked on the door (well clapped at the door), and a lady answered and I asked “Does an elect live her? We want to share a message with na elect!” Well, she wasnt elect and was from another church and didnt want to here anything, but I asked her if she knew another person on the street that would like to here a message, and being the good neighbor that all of us should be she sent us away to talk to here neighbors. Well we got there and talked to a lady named Maria das Graças. Well, we talked and she had already had the missionaries over about a year ago but never went to churhc because they were sôo busy. Well now things are better and she said that she will go to church. We talked a little more and she said they had a big room that they donated to organizations to do activites. It is just perfect. So we talked and this Friday we will have na activity there in the big room that they have beside their house. I am excited because it will be a way to get this family involved in the church and with the members tôo. They didnt go to church this week because she went and visited her parents but this Sunday everything is a go. Another thing taht happened this week was we taught a girl named Dayse. Well, she is 14 and she is friends with a member of the church. She hás already gone to church but her dad prohibited here to go to church. Well, one day I thought, “I gotta try, if I dont try I wil never know.” So we went and talked to her dad. We talked a while and we got his confidence. The we invited the family to hear a message and the dad was a little reuctant but accepted. The mom was really busy but was listening. Well, WE taught the lesson and this Dad that wouldnt let his daghter go to church, that didnt want to talk to the Mórmon missionaries, now offers us juice and and food and cookies and all sorts of stuff. Sunday the bus broke and so everyone was going to go to church walking and her parents wouldnt let her go walkng because it is far. Well, we talked to a member and hecame with his truck and took a bunch of people to church. Well, her mom said taht she still couldnt go, but her dad said “just go!” The holy ghost really can soften peoples hearts. Well I could sit here all day telling stories of just this week. IT was a good week. Elder Da Costa is learning fast and is a great guy. He wants to learn and do whats right. Its good to see good misisonaries like this coming here because these next 2 transfers here, 30 missionaries are going home and 10 are coming. Of these 30, 14 or 15 are or were zone leaders, 4 assistants, and pretty much all the leaders of the mission are in these next 2 groups to go home so it is good to see good missionares coming here. Well fam, I love you and hope all is well. Keep me updated on everything and write me about whats going on there.
I love you all. Elder Crosby

So we all went to San Antonio Tx for my last student rotation. Among other things, we went to the Alamo, saw the state capitol building in Austin, went to the zoo and the temple and walked the Riverwalk.

WE LOVE OUR MOMMY!!

Mother I love you, mother I do. Father in heaven has sent me to you!

 Mom, hope you know what a special person you are! I am blessed to have you in my life! Thanks for being a MOM!!  

Reeds Mission Pics & letter

At the beach in Manaira, Joao Pessoa. It was pretty sweet but this is as close as we can get to the ocean! At the beach we ate ACAI!! It is sooo good and big and delicious! You guys will have to try some when you come to Brazil!
Me, Elder Tesolin, Elder Motta, & Elder Da Costa after our fireside on Sat. nite.

Pictures at Adilson's baptism!

Hey family! Well I got to talk to Tami and Lisa and Mom and Dad yesturday and that was pretty nice. I wish I could have talked to everybody but it wont be too long. But anyways, I will just tell a quick story that I tried to tell dad yesterday but because of my horrible English skills I think I told it a little wrong. But anyways, Ill start from the beginning. It all started 11 years ago when Edione was baptized, her and her 8 year old son. The dad, Adilson, was always drinking ans smoking and so didn’t ever go to church with Edione. Well, 5 years later, their other son was baptized but the dad never went to church, just every once in a while for a ward party or potluck. Well, here we are today, 11 years after the baptism of Edione. 3 years ago they almost got divorced but never went through with the process. Adilson continued drinking and smoking and Edione thought she would never see him be baptized. Well, Their oldest son turned 19 and he got his call to go to Curitiba Brasil. I got here 2 months ago and I ate lunch at their house with all 4 of them, Dad, Mom and 2 kids. 2 weeks later the son left for Curitiba. That week, Adilson started going to church and he stopped drinking. I started visiting him and leaving short messages because he had already heard all the lessons about 15 times or more. Well, for 2 months he has been going to church and he is always the first one to show up. Then about 2 weeks ago I went to his house and I talked with him and told him about the importance of being baptized and keeping the commandments. The only thing that held him back was the cigarettes. He told me that day that he already decided that he would be baptized and that before I went home I would baptize him. So I made goals with him to stop smoking. At that time I was taking care of 2 wards, but I talked to president and president sent another companionship that week to take care of the ward the Adilson went to. I was a little bummed but still I saw him at church. Then this past week I planned a “Missionary Fireside” to help the members give referrals and stuff and I went by and invited Adilson. He went and it was really good. I talked 20 minutes about Faith and not judging people. Then we watched a little film about a girl that gave a book of mormon to her friend. Then Elder Tesolin talked about 30 minutes about the process of repentance. It was really good. Sunday Adilson went to church and talked to Elder Tesolin and Elder Motta (the 2 misisonaries that are responsible for his ward) and he told them that he decided to be baptized. They went to his house to mark a date and his wife said, “Why not today? Why not right now?” so they called me up and I ran to the chapel and we had his baptism. I don’t know why he chose me, or why I was blessed to take part in his baptism. I really didn’t do anything. I talked to him and he said that when I was talking at the fireside he saw a light around me and he felt that he needed to be baptized. It was a really special baptism and a lot of people went to watch. His son is having a hard time on the mission in Curitiba and was thinking about coming home but he talked to his parents yesterday and they told him that his dad was baptized and he got really happy and didn’t feel that need to come home anymore. The Lord works in mysterious ways but he always knows more than we do.This was the highlight of the week. The rest of the week was good. We worked a lot. Elder Costa is doing good and is a good missionary. I am excited to be here still and I made a new goal for me. I want to talk to the pastors of the other churches. I talked to one from the Baptist church Saturday and he was really receptive and even told me that he had curiosity to know more about the “Mormons”. I know that my time is running out so these past few months I will do all that I always wanted to do as a missionary.I Love you all. Keep me updated on everything.

Elder Crosby

There are fish in Roosevelt Lake!!!

Dad wanted you all to see the proof that there are fish in Rooosevelt Lake! Here's the proud fisherman with all the wide-mouth bass! They caught their limit in about an hour!
They caught some "BIG ONES", of course the biggest one got away!! We had a fish fry and ate until we were stuffed!!

Dad's friend, Jim Rogers took him out and he got a kick out of how excited Dad got when they were pulling them out as fast as they could cast in! Roosevelt Lake is supposed to be the best fishing lake in the West due to the new 500 acres underwater! SO.... get your fishing licenses and lets go fishin' !!! YUM-YUM!!!