Elder Crockett's Adventues In Chile
Monday, January 12, 2015
Monday, January 5, 2015
HE FINALLY MADE IT!!!
F Did it!!! He finally got Baptised. Ive been praying my heart
out like every day for the last 6 months, and he finally did it! That
last week before his baptism i would swing by and talk to him just about
everyday, and honestly literally everyday i would go over to his house, and would expect him to be drunk, (you may remember that while i have been teaching him he passed his baptismal interview twice, but then
the last week before his baptism he would fall into his addiction again
and i would have to cancel the baptism, and i was honestly expecting
that to happen again this time), but then i would pass by, and he would
be fine, super calm, not a hint of alcohol on his breath, and each time
he would talk about how he finally feels ready this time, and strong
enough to not fall into alcohol again. And it was like that everyday
before his baptism.
And then the actual day of his
baptism came up, and i was like sweating bullets, i was so freaking
nervous for him hahahaha, i had to go in a couple of hours early to
fill up the baptismal font, and literally the whole time i was worried
that he wouldnt show up to his baptism, or he would and he would just be
stone drunk. But then about 45 mins before the baptism was going to
start, F walked into the church, totally ready to be baptised. So
i got him the white clothes he needed, and then he just waited
patiently, and then got baptised!!!!!!
Its was
so awesome the spirit was so strong, and i felt at so much peace when i
finally saw him go down into the water, because like i told all of you
guys before when i met him he was basically one of those drunks who
didnt do anything but drink, steal his families stuff and sell it for
more money for alcohol. And his family was literally going to kick him
out on the streets on more than one occasion but for reason unknown to
me they didnt. And then to see that change, see him dressed in all white
getting baptised, and then hearing him bear his testimony about how
the Atonement of Christ is something real and that one can actually
change their lives if they depend on Christ, was incredible, im glad you
cant see me writing this email because i am tearing up just thinking
about it hahaha
But then after the baptism it
was so funny, in the hallway there was a bunch of members standing there
talking (and i am pretty close with all of them that was there in the
hall) but i just ran down the hall doing this super funny victory dance
in the middle of them, and then i made a loop through one of the rooms,
and then ran back through them and gave them all high fives, they were
all dying of laughter haha.
But it was so
awesome. I saw him today but sadly i was talking n the phone with the
secretary of the mission about my flight so i couldnt talk to him much,
if i have enough time i am going to try writing him a note and asking my
comp to pass it off to him.
But then yesterday
the bishop asked me to give a talk of like 5 mins, (even though it was
fast sunday, the testimonies just started after i talked) just to say
goodbye to the ward, and the bishop didnt tell them why i was talking either.
Actually very very few of them knew i was ending my mission
(there was really just one family, and the bishop were the only ones
that knew just because i wouldnt tell anyone, every time someone asked
me how long i have been in the mission i would say ´´Ive been in chile a
little bit longer than a year´´) and so i walked up onto the podium,
and i said ´´Hey everyone, im not to sure how i should say this.....But
Just in case you dont know me my name Is Elder Crockett, ive been in the
mission 2 years now....and i go home tomorrow.´´ hahaha everyone thought
that was funny. And t hen i talked for a little bit about my mission
and how grateful i was to all of them for helping us out so much. And
then a bunch of other little things, i was cracking little jokes the
whole time, and it was still pretty spiritual. Now i am kind of scared
to be giving my homecoming talk, because in spanish i am totally comfortable with talking, and do it great, but lets get real my english
sucks haha. Ill just have to pray that God helps me with the Language a
little bit.
Im happy with how i served my
mission, the time went by way to fast, and honestly it ws really really
hard for me to accept that it was actually ending, but one of my friends
helped me out alot, and now i feel alot more comfortable about going
home.
Just just so you know, as soon as i
finish sending this email, i am going to go to the Airport in Punta
Arenas, and i should be arriving in Puerto Montt at around 9:30 tonight,
im pretty excited about that, i am going to stay in the same house that i
lived in when i was serving there in Puerto Montt, and so you can bet
that i am going to steal the Elders Phone and call up a bunch of people
haha, and then early tomorrow morning i am driving up to Osorno with
Elder Nielson, my old comp, that will be fun,
and from there i am going to
have my interview with the mission Presidente and i am going to finally
renew my temple recommend (it expired like almost 3 months ago) and in
that interview he will probably give me that marriage talk that you told
me about mom, when hes going to talk to me about getting married fast
so i can keep progressing in life, and heads up world im an obedient
missionary who has always followed the councils of my mission President,
so look out ladies hahahahahahah Just kidding lets get real thats
probably not happening any time soon haha.
I think i am spending the
night there in the mission house, the next morning i will drive with the
Mission Presidente down to the Airport, and fly up to Santiago, the
capital of Chile, and i will have literally all day the to be in the
temple So excited for that. And then late Wednesday night i am getting on another Plane heading straight to the States.
So i want to keep writing but i have to be heading out. Love you all, we´ll be seeing you soon
-Elder Hamilton D. Crockett
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
SLAM DUNK!
So random fact today for p day we were playing basketball, and after everyone else was done playing, they all went and started playing soccer
(well 3 fuera which is basically the same thing) But me and elder
M decided to keep playing. And he taught me the technique to be
able to dunk it good. And oh my gosh its actually pretty easy to dunk!
My whole life i always thought that you just normally run up to the hoop
jump and slam it, but there is actually technique behind it. But he
taught me some technique and then i just started dunking like crazy!!!
Just kidding i only slammed it really good like once the rest of the
times i just got really close, or just kind of rolled the ball into the
hoop.
Other Random fact Dad ive been working alot on
doing Euro Steps during my exercise time, and so when it came down to
play time, freaking no one could stop me when i got into the key. Next
basketball goal of mine is doing a Euro Step into a dunk, but that may
just stay a dream until i perfectionize my dunk haha
Ok
so Last random fact, and the only one that is actually of any relevance, this may or may not be the last time i write home. i have to
be in Osorno By next Tuesday, and they havent sent me my itinerary yet,
so i dont know if i will be flying out of Punta Arenas on Monday, or
super early in the morning on Tuesday. And so if i dont write you next
week, dont worry im probably not dead, so dont worry too much, but ill
try to get some message out to you if i can.
But
this week was really good, It had some sad moments too, like that
funeral i told you about, i learned about how freaking heavy caskets can
be too, holy moly. The man who died was like 6`2 and easily weighted
over 200 pounds, and there was one moment when we were walking through a
door when everyone let go and left me alone to carry one side of the
casket, And i literally had to use like every muscle in my body just so
that i didnt drop that stupid thing haha. but the Ceremony was
beautiful and it was a really nice day So Menos Mal hahaha
I
also had an interview with my mission Presidente this week and it was
kind of funny, i walked in and we said a prayer and he said ``Elder
Crockett i have one question, are you still working hard, or are you
trunky?`` And immediately i responded ``Please i wouldnt get caught dead
being trunky, Im going to work like crazy every single day that i got
left`` And then Presidente Obeso Responded ``Ya i was expecting you
would respond like that, just keep it up`` He then said ``Well i have
nothing else i need to ask you, I have to interview you anyway in a
couple of days so ill just wait until then to talk more`` I was
literally in that room for like 10 seconds for my interview. Well and then after mine i grabbed my comp and we talked about all the missionaries and what i can do better to help them more, and that part
of the interview lasted like a half hour, And that was good,
But
i was amazed by something, as i was talking to the mission presidente, i realized that he knows freaking everything about the missionaries, i
know that i talk to him alot about them and email him about their needs
and stuff like that, but its like he knew them just as well as i did,
even though with some of them he has literally only seen them like 5-6
times. Granted he does get a weekly email form them, and i know for a
fact he reads them all, like every time i talk to him he brings up
specific things that i write to him about different subjects, but still
it was pretty crazy how the Lord can give him so much revelation about
how to help the missionaries that he knows them just as well, if not
better than i do, even though i have known them for longer than he has
been the mission presidente. I totally hope that some day i am so in tune
with the spirit that i will be able to be like that.
But
good news F Passed his baptism interview this week (AGAIN!) Its
been the 4th interview hes had (2nd with me) But the last couple of
times he was tempted really hard the last week before his baptism, and
he would fall. But i honestly believe that he is going to make it this
time. He has progressed alot my time ive been here, and especially these
last couple of weeks from the last time he fell. But i will keep you
posted with how that turns out. Pray for him if you can, he needs it
haha
But i am really excited for this next
week. I feel like its going to go by so fast, but i am going to work SO
SO HARD!!!! Like my whole mission i have always tried to do my best, and
work as hard as i can, but this last week i am going to try even
harder! I know that God still has alot for me to do, i mean there is
some reason why God needed me home on the 7th and not on the 3rd like it
was originally planned, and so i am positive that God has alot of
people prepared for me in this week. And i am going to find them
Theres work do and i am going to do everything i can to make sure it gets done.
See you soon
-Elder Hamilton D. Crockett
Monday, December 22, 2014
Time Flies
So
the time is going by way way to fast. I know that time has always gone
by too fast on the mission, but man this last week it has gone by faster
than just about any other week ive had in my whole mission, it
literally feels like i was here writing you just yesterday.
But
there is probably a reason why its going so fast. The other day i was
planning a bunch of stuff when i noticed that i only had a couple of
days left on the mission, and it bugged me alot, and the thought about
going home just terrified me, and i hated thinking about going home, and
so i decided to put up some goals of things i need to get done before i
go home. Actually i told one of them to the 1st councilor, and he just
laughed and said, Elder Crockett thats a great goal, but i dont actually
think its possible, jokes on him though because i have already almost achieved haha
But its really funny the last
couple of missionaries that ended their missions here in my zone did not
do it very gracefully, they got super trunky and would waste a ton of
time with members, and going out and having like little Chile bucketlist
kind of things, and just waste a ton of proselyting time, and all of
the missionaries knew about it.
So the other day we were in a meeting,
and i was talking to one missionary after the meeting and my comp was
talking to another group of missionaries, and i over heard someone ask
my comp ``Hey is Elder Crockett really trunky yet?`` And i heard my comp
say ``No way, if people didnt bring it up all the time that he is
ending i wouldnt believe it, he works his butt off every day, he does
not come across at all that he is ending his mission right now``
I was pretty proud of my comp, hes got my back
So
its super cool, i havent told you much about her yet, but there is one
lady who got baptized when i was here named M, and i only taught
her a couple of times before her baptism so i havent talked about them
alot. But shortly after getting baptized she got a job that pretty much
worked her like a slave, she was having to work from like 11am-10pm
every day of the week, weekends included, And so a couple of weeks after
her baptism she went less active, because she was basically a slave.
But the other week we taught her son (who got baptized with her, and he may be my favorite person in the ward, love that
kid to death) but i taught him about Faith, and asked him to teach him
mom about faith. And shoot im out of time but long story short he talked
to her, and she quit her job so that she can spend time with her family
and start going to church again.
But welps i love you all, see you on Christmas!!!!
Monday, December 15, 2014
stupid going home.
So it hasnt really hit me yet that i will be going home in a couple of
weeks, the other day i was having this big conference with all the missionaries in my zone, and i had a computer hooked up to a projector,
and while during the thing i had to open up my email, and we noticed
that i got a new email from the office with the title ´´Info for
returning home´´ i didnt read it at that time, but pretty much all of my missionaries have been making fun of me about that...stupid going
home... haha
Random fact i read how you talked about
how cold you are. This week i was burning it is sooooo freaking hot
here!!!!! i have been walking around in a short sleeve shirt, and im
still sweating. And so i decided to look at what the high temperature
is.......50 degrees. I am burning to death at 50 degrees....hopefully
its like snowing in Arizona when i get there, because any hotter than
like 45 and i am going to die....not excited about that haha i think
that when i experienced what -20 degrees was it just threw off my
ability to measure temperatures. That´ll be fun to get over...not.
hahahaha
But this week was really good, we have
been helping out F alot this week, and he is totally normal now,
we have him with another plan to get baptized on January 3rd. I really
hope that he makes it this time. Not so much just so i will be able to
be there ( i wont lie i really want to see him get baptized) but i just
really want him to finally get baptized. Hes made so much progress the
last 5 months that i have been here. I really hope that he finally makes
it.
L is doing good. We have been doing
family history work with her, and she loves it alot, shes starting to
meet with the Family history specialist in our ward to start doing more.
One of the biggest things that she loved when we started to teach her
was the fact that people have the chance to accept the gospel in the
next life, so she has been working in order to get the work done for her
antepasados. After we were done though she asked to see my family tree,
and was astounded that it was even possible to have so many names on
one, and so she got pumped up to have one giant too!
Its
really funny teaching my new comp how to be a zone leader, like today
we were down in Centro doing a bunch of visa junk for other missionaries, and i cant remember how it came out but i remember saying
´´Welcome to life as a zone leader, when we work just as much of P day
as we do any other day of the week´´
He´ll get used to it though. I´ve learned to love never having any time ever hahaha
Honestly i dont know what else to talk about. H's doing good too. He has alot more confidence in himself now,
I honestly cant think of anything else right now to talk about. Thanks
for sending me the photos mom, i got a call from the office the other
day and they were freaking out because no one was putting any fotos on
dropbox for them to put in our slideshow thing. and i just said ´´Ya i
already sent all of mine in a week ago, So i dont know why your trying
to give me a hard time´´and then they said ´´Oh ok... You were really on
top of that.´´ (One more thing off my to do list.)
OHHH
I REMEMBERED SOMETHING I NEEDED TO TALK ABOUT!!!! Hey what is the plan
for skype? My comp tells me that apparently its free to have multiple
callers on Skype at the same time now, and you get to have video and
everything. And i think it would be really cool if we could have me and
Truman on at the same time. I should be good for whenever you and Truman
can do it at. To be completely honest im not terribly concerned about
talking with the rest of the family because i am going to see you just a
couple of days after we skype anyways, but i really want to be able to
talk to Truman at the same time.
Welp i am
going to go now, if i remember anything cool i will write you,Welp love you all !!!!
Monday, December 8, 2014
Big Changes
So this past week i got a new comp, whos
name is elder P, and the kid is such a boss. But random fact this
week he taught me how to solve a rubix cube. and i am getting pretty
good at it, its super fun. But anyways the kids a boss, its his first
time as a zone leader, and it was really funny, he just finished
training a new elder, and then one of the first things he told me was,
´´Im so happy that i am out of training now, because now i finally get
to leave to work in the mornings again!!!´´ And then i had to burst his
bubble and say ´´Well dont really count on being outside much more´´ And
then i showed him our calender and how we literally dont have any time
any morning because we have some kind of meeting, or have to go do visa stuff and its like that literally everyday. And then he just
said´´Well....AT LEAST I DONT HAVE TO BE STUCK IN THE SAME HOUSE ALL DAY
LONG!!¨¨ hahaha we think alike. I almost went crazy in my training just
because i had to sit down so much.
But this
week was really good. We had a meeting with our mission presidente, and
it was awesome (and only 5 hours long....ALOT SHORTER THAN NORMAL!!!!!¨¨
But its nuts we are having some super big changes in the mission (all
sadly right after i go home...Waa) But one of them is nuts. We have been
selected to be a mission that starts a pilot program, where we are no
longer going to have any of the Key indicators, (lessons with member,
others, baptismal invitations, references, all of those things) And we
are only going to keep track of 2 numbers, Baptisms, and Church
attendance (in general). Which is nuts, but we are trying to test to see
if those two numbers get bumped up (because missionaries are going
to put alot more focus on those things) But sadly they said that they
are going to start the program the first week of January, and so i will literally only have 1 week to work with this program. Lame. But im sure
that it will be awesome.
We also talked alot
about Christmas, and how they want us to pass la navidad, and i am super
stoked about it, they want us to do a bunch of public activities,
and stuff, so i started to make arrangements for that too, so far we
have one event planned where we are going to go and sing Christmas songs
at the cemetery that we sung in on Halloween (its weird to think that
people would go to a cemetery on Christmas, but apparently they do. And
we also planned to sing songs en la Zona Franca, which is pretty
much a giant mall, that sells stuff from all around the world (mainly
america haha) because boats pass by there on their way up through the
channel, and sell a bunch of their cargo, and its all tax free, so
everyone goes there to buy stuff, and we are going like the saturday
before Christmas, so it is just going to be super packed. And so we
talked to someone else to get us a sweet hookup on microphones and sound
systems so that we can put on a pretty sick event hahaha just kidding,
it will just be us singing more christmas songs. And i am still in the
process of planning a couple of other events but its nothing concrete
yet (speaking of which it just reminded me that i need to go talk to the
stake presidente so that i can arrange another activity with the whole
stake, ill have to do that right when i leave to work
But
this week was really good, we found a family of a man who is an excommunicated member who wants to start his papers to get re baptized,
and his wife wants to get baptized. WE didnt put her with a date though
to get baptized, because her husband works on a boat, and he is out at
sea for 21 days and then he gets 5 days off for rest, and so we are
going to try to get her ready for baptism by the time he gets back,
we´ll see how that turns out. Regardless i wont be here to see her baptized because ill be heading up to osorno about the same time he will
get back from work.
(p.s. i found out a little
more about my plans for coming home. On the 5th i will be flying out of
Punta Arenas, on the 6th ill spend the day in the mission house with
the Presidente, then i head out that night. On the 7th ill spend the day
in Santiago and go to the temple and stuff (YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA 2 years
without the temple= too long) and then that night i fly up the Florida,
and from there you already know my plans.
But ima bounce now. Love you all!!!!!!!
Monday, December 1, 2014
The darkness always comes before the light. Boats, Demons and Baptisms
So this week was awesome. I am so grateful for it.
But first i will start with a couple of little News bits.
We learned about
transfers this week. Elder N is leaving, and so i will be
finishing my mission here in Punta Arenas!!!!!!! Im so happy about that,
This sector is going to explode we are going to work it so hard these next couple of days. Im so stoked.
So this
week i took a trip down to a island named Por Venir, i was doing some
intercambios with the Elders down there. I had to take a 3 hour boat
ride to get down there. And that was super sick, we found some pretty
sick investigators there on the boat too on our way over, and one of
them is currently preparing to get baptized!!! What! Zone Leader Boat
Boss! But i wont talk about that too much. But it was fun
Ok
onto the real story. As you know I told you that i was going to have 2
investigators get baptized this week, but there was only
one...I am so sad about that story. But i want to tell it to you guys
So
about 2 days before his baptism i felt a really strong prompting that i
needed to visit my investigator F, who was going to get baptized that weekend. So i rushed over to his house, and we get there and i
find the door wide open. (side note i dont know if this story will be
too scary or not for the kids so if you read the email to them maybe
skip over it) But i run up to the door, and i
see him lying down limp over his couch.
So from outside i call out his
name ´´F!´´ And he didnt respond, so i called his name again.
But still no response from him. So I turned to my comp, ( i was actually
with one of the APs that day) and say ´´ Dude he doesnt look asleep,we
need to go in and make sure that he is still alive´´. And i am just
about to step in when while he was still limp on the couch, he
let out a terrifying soul crunching scream. I yell at him one more time,
(this time with my authority voice haha) ´´Stand up!´´ And he
jumps up to his feet, and he had such a demented look on his face. And
he had this super creepy smile on his face, and he says really quietly,
´´come in Elders´´
And so i come in, and my comp follows me. And we
start talking to him. And he invited us to sit on his couch, so we did, and he sat down in another chair that he has. And we started to talk.
And he was not calm at all, not even for a second, he would start
talking for a second, and then would just get really tormented, and
would starts weeping and crying, and was scratching at his eyes as
though he was trying to rip them out.
And he would start to get all
shaky for second and lose control of himself. So i cut him off in the
middle of one of his weeping moments, and i said ´´When God Restored his Church he gave his power to man, the power to baptize, the
power to bless, the power to heal, and the power to cast out demons. We have been given this power by God, and are here to use it to
help you.´´ And then he took his hands off of his face, and looked up to
me, and it was probably the most terrifying face i have ever seen in my
life, He was looking at me the way i imagine a man looks at a man just
right before murdering him. But i wasnt afraid.And i said ´´Do
you have the faith to be healed?´´
Then suddenly he looked calmer, and said
´´I hope i do´´ I then stand up and put my hands on his head, and gave
him a blessing. I wont say what i said. The spirit was very very strong
there in the room. And when i finished the blessing, i looked down at him, and he looked completely different, he was calm, with just a
happy smile on his face, he stood up and gave me a big hug. And then he
told me that he didnt feel ready to get baptized this week, and told me
that he was really tempted to drink and
fell. it was hard but i told him that because he fell we wouldnt be able
to get baptized. But that we would keep helping him. We then prayed
with him before we left, and i made him pray, told him to keep reading
the book of mormon every day, and to pray everyday, and then left.
We
left the house and the AP turns to me and says ´´WHAT THE FREAK JUST
HAPPENED THERE!!!!!!´´ I then say´´ Elder Honestly you know what it was
just as well as i do´´ And then i started walking toward our house. I
was really proud of myself that not even at one second while i was there
in the house was i scared, but when i got home i was terrified. the looks
on his face were just burned into my mind, I just prayed myself to sleep
that night haha.
Hes fine now though, i went
by again a couple of times since, and he has some nice bruises and scabs
on his face, but he is doing fine. And we are helping him get back on his
feet.
Ok Good story now hahaha I was debating
not telling you that one, but i didnt write it in my journal, mainly
just because i have been really bad with writing in my journal ever
since i was with Elder N, me and him play too much at night so my
weekly emails are pretty much the records of my mission from this last
month haha
But anyways good story, L got baptized this week! The were 3 people from different wards who were
getting baptized, so i talked to the stake presidente and arranged that
we had a stake baptismal service. And wow it was incredible the spirit
was so strong there. L asked me to baptize her she was freaking
nervous up until we walked into the water, and i baptized her, and then
she just looked really happy after that. It was awesome. It was so awesome to see the change in her life.
When i started teaching her she
didnt even believe in God, but as she kept meeting with us, she started
changing alot. She is probably one of the most faithful members we have
now haha she has such a strong testimony. She had to give up alot to
get baptized, and went through some really hard times doing it, but she
is really happy about her decision. I think that is probably my favorite
part of the mission, just being able to see the changes in people
lives. It always makes me so happy.
Welps i gotz to run. I have lots of things to get done today. But i love you all. Keep me posted on how you are all doing.
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