Elder Derek Croft

Man, well this week has been pretty ridiculous with the miracles that we've been seeing, I honestly am just constantly amazed at all the miracles that we see on a daily basis! Thanksgiving was a good one, we were with the Gillissen family, which one of these days when I remember to bring my camera to the library I'll be able to send you home a picture. They're a really nice family where only the Father is a member. Unfortunately the mother is not interested but is extremely supportive of the missionaries and of her husband. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to proselyte on Thanksgiving so we spent a lot of the day with the members as well as taking care of other little things that we had to do.
This Friday was leadership meeting which as always was pretty enjoyable. It's always good to gather and learn how we can better fulfill our responsibilities as leaders in the mission. Let's see, what else has happened, I'm not entirely sure, I left my old planner at home which has all of the things that we did... Hm, all the days just seem to blend together, it's crazy to see how quickly time is going by, it's hard to believe that November is just about over, I could've sworn it had just begun! Well, the things that stand out is that on Saturday we had everything fall into place to have us go to the Visitors' Center with a less-active couple that we've been trying to meet with for months. We were finally able to go with them and watch an incredible performance on the birth of Christ. The spirit was extremely powerful, particularly during one of the numbers entitled "No other way". It talked about the fact that the way Christ did it was the only way it could've been done, that he had to come in a manger, etc. It was powerful to feel the spirit bear witness of the reality of that fact! It is such a blessing to be able to serve during this season! The even cooler part is that the couple came to church the next day for the first time since I have been here!
Nick Cutter is also doing incredibly well. He's the 18 year old who went to seminary. He's been really excited about the gospel and has even begun to share it with all of his friends. Not to mention the fact that we've been going out with one of the priests a number of times and he's seen a lot of cool miracles in the lessons that we've taught. His mother said that beforehand he hadn't been too sure about serving a mission and now he's positive that he'll be going as soon as he graduates from high school! Haha he even texted us and asked which appointments he could go to with us this week, it's cool to see how serious he is about preparing to serve a mission and he's been super pumped to share the gospel with his friends, asking us for advice on how we can meet them, etc. He's a cool kid and it's good to see that he's already doing missionary work and catching the missionary spirit! Sunday we also had a cool opportunity to visit a few individuals in the hospital. I say a cool opportunity but it was also a rather sad one. There's an older single lady in the ward who is quite the fireball. She's never been married but is one of the most faithful people I think I've ever met. She served a three year mission in Bolivia as a temple worker as a senior sister. Unfortunately life seems to be catching up to her and she has now been hospitalized with stage 4 cancer... Of course she began talking to us about her will and how she was planning on giving everything to the missionaries and to the church. It was quite the humbling experience to be able to be with her, to pray for her, to have given her a number of blessings in the past, and to just feel her spirit. It's very true that some of the most valiant souls will never be mentioned in the books of history and Sister Du Bois is definitely one of those. We also were able to give a blessing to another man who has stage 4 cancer and now pneumonia who was in the hospital and not a member of the church. It was a powerful experience to feel of the power of the priesthood and to be able to recognize how much we truly are tools in the hands of the Lord to do his work. The day was a touching one, particularly since it was a Sunday. I believe the spirit of the Sabbath was felt in an even more profound way. We've also ran into a lot of members who are coming up on the year anniversary of having lost loved ones... It's been a powerful week, a week of feeling of the reality of the gospel and of its power in our daily lives. The priesthood, the plan of salvation, it's all just so real! I'm grateful for that knowledge, without it I swear there would be no hope at all! I don't know, I could go on and on about just the lessons and miracles I've learned in this last week. The Lord is doing miracles. He's pouring out his spirit, and he's teaching me a lot of lessons as well as allowing us to bless the lives of others. How I love the mission!