Monday, March 30, 2015

Dear Family,

What a week it has been! The biggest news, N did not get baptized this week. She is still fine and good to go, however, something big happened in Singapore this week. Their founder, Lee Kwan Yew, passed away this last Tuesday, and so the entire city was focused on him. He was focused on during Sacrament meeting in testimonies, we got approval from the Asia Area Seventy to combine our Sacrament Meeting with Clementii so members could be home for the funeral, the Singapore Stake Presidency sent out a letter about what a good example he was to be read in Sacrament meeting...In a nutshell, to honor Lee Kwan Yew, the baptism was postponed until Easter. Please pray that there will be no more deaths so the baptism can proceed :). But, Lee Kwan Yew was a huge deal! They put his body in a casket at City Hall, and let Singaporeans come and pay their last respects this week - which normally is a bow at the casket. According to our 'Member Bonding" what's app group that we are in (it exploded this week!) the que to get a 10 second bow was about 8-10 hours, and you cannot leave the que to use the bathroom or you must start over. We got to talk to some taxi drivers about it this week as we flew to and from downtown a couple times, and they mentioned that he literally turned Singapore from 3rd world into a 1st world country. He was a genius, and so people here really respect him. Yesterday during the funeral, they set off the city sirens in honor of him! Bill Clinton came as well as a few other big name people for the funeral yesterday.

With that all said, as far as missionary work goes, I got to spend a little bit of time at the hospital and at home as my companion is feeling sick. I had a lot of fun one afternoon while my housemate let her companion take a quick nap..(also sick...) calling through people in our area book and having what we called an 'area book party'. We had a lot of fun, and apparently I'm really fun to listen to as I call potentials. Also, our other housemate that leaves at the end of the transfer has all of these fancy whitening strips for her entire mission that she never used. So, as a house, we are having whitening teeth parties at night! It's fun to be in a house full of American Sisters :).

We were also able to give a spontaneous training on Sunday to the members! It was only a 24 hour prep - but with 8 missionaries involved, we did a great job following up for 3rd hour with the members on the 90 day challenge. We talked about how love is the motivation behind missionary work, and how if they can access the Atonement through Charity, they will enjoy the work, and they will have success. I know this is true, and let me get to my little talk on love in a minute...

We had a lesson with H, and he has really, really good questions. He asked us which church is true, and why Jesus Christ must be the link. There is a lot of thought that goes into questions like that, and I'm really studying why we NEED a Savior, and why we can't just have God punish us for our sins when we get to heaven.

The most exciting part of our week was that J came to church!! He came, and he loved it. He is such a good kid, and he said he loved Sunday School with all the people his age. We are hoping he comes again next week, since he is on date for the 25th of April!! (No, I did not do that on purpose...) He is so sweet. He didn't have dress clothes, but we told everyone to love him, and the ward did. They helped him have a great experience. Members and Missionaries coming together!!!

Interviews with President Mains was wonderful! I loved just talking to him, and he is so kind and understanding. He always asks such good questions, and loves to listen to us tell him about our area and see how we are doing. I always feel uplifted at the end of interviews, and am so happy I have such a great person to look up to.

District Meeting was also great! Elder Holmes from my MTC district is my District Leader, and we had a great training on using the Book of Mormon - it really is such a powerful book, and I am so grateful that it literally can answer any question, ever. It's that powerful! I know that it is true. I know that it can change lives - I've already seen it do that here in my mission!

We met N a couple times this week, and we taught her about how to apply the Atonement more in her life. What's amazing about it, is that applying the Atonement really comes back to applying the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

To conclude, I still love the gospel, I love to pray, I know the church is true, and I am so grateful to be serving God full time. I got caught in the Singapore rain again, got my shoes soaked, and am loving every moment of this beautiful green city! I feel my testimony growing, and know that God is preparing me for the many adventures I have ahead in my life. My little thought for the week is about faith once again. So, we were trying to decide how to use the word 'faith' since you could honestly have faith that if you were to go switch on a fan, and you acted on that, the fan would turn on. But of course, that isn't real faith. What we discovered, is that faith is truly based on love. There must be a motive - and the motive is Charity. When we use that love to act on the teachings of Jesus Christ and His Atonement, that's when we can have hope in life. It blew my mind to think about this this week. It's all so simple - and I truly understand why faith, hope, and charity must always be together. Isn't it amazing that Charity could be the one word we use to sum up the gospel?

Love you all so much!! Thanks for your prayers and support!!! I am truly blessed to have such good people around me.

Love,
Sister Crabb

Monday, March 23, 2015

What do I tell you about this week?? It was a little bit harder seeing that Sister Lawless was sick a good portion of the week, so I spent a decent amount of time inside. However, we were really able to hit home on being able to teach N - our baptizee. So, we showed up to her house on Monday, and both of us felt that she was absolutely not ready to be baptized. She had been taught the lessons, but seemed really shy, and unsure of her testimony. We spent a lot of time praying over it, and realized that we need to convert her, and not let her get baptized relying on her mom's testimony! So, we decided that we were going to help her build her own testimony of Joseph Smith. I enjoyed studying last conference's talk about Joseph Smith, and we planned and studied for a really nice lesson for her. We also decided to teach her by herself, so she felt comfortable being open and honest with us. As we taught the Restoration, I was flashed back to Elder Funk's training, and the spirit was directing the lesson, and very powerful. We knelt down with her in her house, and helped her get an answer from God that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. We also recorded her voice saying it, so she can always remember her testimony and regain the witness she had that night. We met her 4 times this week, the last one being the baptismal interview. All the lessons were powerful, and her interview was magical. We are so excited to get her baptized this week!

As far as the rest of our area goes, our investigators J and S are doing really well! S came to church for the first time for all three hours. We were going to try and pick him up, but then realized we couldn't. So, with sore legs and feet, he came all the way from Boon Lay to Pasir Panjang for church! It was amazing, and he was so nervous. He ended up being fellowshipped well though.

J really progressed well, and is texting us numerous questions about the gospel. We had such a powerful lesson with him about Joseph Smith and recognizing the spirit. Through inspired questions, we discovered that he had been anti-ed, and we were so grateful we found that out and were able to resolve his concern. He is doing very, very well and is planning on coming to church this Sunday!

H is good! He is really interested in spending lots of time learning when he's free, and he teaches us a little about Muslim culture too, which is actually pretty interesting. He has a question about the Apostasy (which we haven't taught just yet..) and, he doesn't realize it! I'm hoping when we teach the apostasy this week that it will go really well!

As a side story, Elder Liddell got sick right before sacrament, and he was supposed to speak. So, I volunteered to do it. I was so scared, and didn't really get to plan, because our investigator was late to the MRT station! In a nutshell though, we made it right on time (like, we walked in, and Sister Lawless stood up to speak...) and then, I got up within 4 minutes of Sister Lawless! Basically, I had to really use the spirit. It was cool though, because words literally filled my mouth. I scrolled through looking for a specific quote, and came to another instead that I shared. It ended up being a 10 minute talk! What a miracle!!!

For me personally, I learned this week that faith is a principle of applying the gospel. If we love Jesus Christ enough, we are going to act on His commandments, and Atonement all the time - even when it's hard, even when others don't. That's what distinguished some people from others when it comes to faith in the Book of Mormon. If you think of Captain Moroni, or Nephi, you realize that their faith was so big, because they probably acted on the hard rules, the simple rules, - everything!

I think I realized this week that hope is important, and so is enduring. Faith is acting on our hope, and applying the gospel. I think that's where a lot of us struggle. We know we should keep the Sabbath Day holy, but then we just really want to spend Saturday playing with friends so homework ends up being on Sunday instead of scriptures, prayer, and spiritual renewal. It's when we have the faith to act on our hope of Eternal life that we realize how great the gospel really is. It's when we root out what is hard to give up and consecrate ourselves that we find true joy in living the gospel. I've noticed that to be true! When I slip up on my faith, that's when I struggle and don't feel happy. Isn't that interesting? 

Also, can you believe it's getting closeish to my year mark? I've been gone 10 months now! Is it going as fast for you as it is for me?

Love you!!!

Love, Sister Crabb

My new companion, Sister Lawless

I celebrated Rachel's birthday by making brownies!

Monday, March 16, 2015

This week, I taught a wonderful gospel principles class! I also got to feed disabled people for service. I was able to teach, and teach, and teach, and learn and grow so much! We had a great lesson with C L, where we felt the father of the home really warmed up to us. That family is close...C J is also doing well! His dad won't let him baptize, but we will be there to strengthen the family, so that when the time comes, he can be baptized! I have absolutely no time to write...but just know, I am so happy!
Love you!!
Love, Sister Crabb

Here are some comments/responses she made in her emails to us:

You can pick all the top seeds for me. Except, pick Butler, and Duke and North Carolina, and then  Gonzaga to win it all! I want to see if I beat you when I'm not really picking a bracket :).

Wait, is Cinderella at theatres at home? I see it all over here in SG...haha. It's pretty worldly here, and I see stuff a lot. :)

N's baptism is on Sunday!! WHOOOOO! It'll be so so special. I'm so excited!
I'm glad you like my experiences, and I can't teach the Phillilpina lady, because she goes to the Phillipino ward :). But, she's still getting the gospel! We actually contact quite a few people that we can't teach.

It (the mission tour) is a special meeting once a year where a general authority comes and looks at the mission, and helps it improve. We have to take a giant survey before, and then we go to a big fireside with the General Authority. This time, it was Elder Funk from the 70. It was a really great day!

We had a deep doctrinal talk about the 2nd coming this morning and I am super freaked out right now!!! Will you reassure me that the world will not end in the next 5 years probably? My companion is convinced it will. I need more time than that!!

My new companion is named Sister Lawless, and she is from Idaho. I really love having an American companion again! I haven't had one since my trainer, so it's so nice to share the same language and culture. She is really cute, and has been out for 6 months.She loves working with me in CCK! So, I'm feeling really blessed. I'm so happy to work with her too. I feel super, super happy, and much more relaxed...not that I wasn't before, but even more so now.

Our District

Our District Meeting. We were playing Simon Says and the Elder playing Simon is from Wyoming and he had us do a fake gun fight. I won Simon Says though!

Monday, March 9, 2015

(Transfer news: Sister Crabb is staying in CCK while her companion, Sister Reach was transferred to another area - she is from Cambodia and trying to get into BYU Hawaii)

Man! I am going to miss Sister Reach. Words will never be able to describe how much I love her, how much she means to me, and how much she did for me. She literally changed my mission! I don't know what I would do without her. She is the sweetest person alive, and I just want her to believe in herself! I hope she passed her English test. I really do. I want her to get to BYU so bad!!!

Like I promised though, here is some information about Sister Crabb, and what is going on in her fantastic, amazing, missionary life!!!

So, Dad, I know you have been in a lot of meetings recently, and so have I! I was able to go to Stake Conference, and a Mission Tour, and Zone Conference, Zone Meeting, and an English test for Sister Reach. I literally taxied from Chinese Garden to Newton about.....10 times this week. No joke. It was insane! However, God always provides miracles for us as we go. The biggest miracle was we got 4 new investigators this week. I had never been trained to set goals based on plans, however as I was studying and pondering, the idea came to me to probably set goals before plans - not based on appointments that are set up! As we did that and followed the spirit, we saw so many miracles.

I learned so much from all of the leaders this week, and realized how much I truly appreciate knowing that we have prophets and apostles that are called of God. They speak inspired truth that is meant to bless our lives everyday - if we choose to apply it. That's another thing I feel like I'm learning. It's possible for everyone to say and believe in the Gospel, it's a whole different ball game to live it.

The biggest miracle of our week was the fact that someone was led to us through contacting! As we sat down, a Phillipina lady looked at us and asked if we were from the Mormon church. We said yes, and she said that she had sat in on discussions for fun in the Phillipines, and that she missed learning! She gave us her number, and wants us to contact her! Such a tender mercy from God.

The other super big miracle is that our 9 year old really wants to be baptized!! He got an answer from God this week! His mom is really on board to help him, but his dad is a non member and doesn't want him to baptize until 18. We are going to need some really big faith to help out their family! It was such a sweet experience for me though to be able to realize that the mom really looks up to us. Sister Reach actually talked to her right before our lesson, while I was in the bathroom, and she told Sister M that C J--the boy--got an answer. Sister Reach didn't know, she was acting on faith. As soon as C J said he wants to be baptized, the mom was amazed. She started encouraging him like we had told her to, and then she turned to us and told us, "thanks so much for coming over. I don't know what I would do without you. He feels the spirit every time you come over, and I just don't know how to teach him or help him do that."

It's amazing to know that we have God's power and authority wherever we go, and that we have the ability to change and impact lives. All the small things add up. They make a difference. I'm so excited to be able to act on Elder Ballard's plea to help us bring Forever Families come to pass. It's been a really big focus of mine, and I really do see these families we are teaching in the temple, not just in the waters of baptism.

I love this work! I love knowing that God has a plan for us - the Plan of Salvation. It's our job to help him reach his goal.

My thought this week from scripture study relates to faith...It's in Mosiah 5: 4-7. Study it and see what you can learn. It helped me truly understand why faith is so central to everything we do.

Love you all!! Have a great week!!!

Love,
Sister Crabb

We asked her what the HDB flats are that she's mentioned a couple times:
The Flats are just the place that people live. They are basically government apartment buildings. Everyone lives in an apartment/hotel. It's a city! So, I stay on the 17th floor of a condo if that helps you. Condos are nice, and have a lot of facilities and are gated in. HDB's are just older houses. Everyone has a gate on their door, and then the door. Normally the gates are left closed because it's so hot, and they open the doors. Everyone has a gate key. It's really fun! Basically, HDB'S are one level houses. They consist of a family room, kitchen, bathroom and couple bedrooms. The bathroom isn't that nice though.

Monday, March 2, 2015

So, this week Elder Ballard came to our mission! It was so cool!!! He taught the members so well, and it was such a spiritual experience. Unfortunately, every investigator was too busy to attend, even though we told them 2 weeks ago. Sad day!

I also had Zone Conference this week, our air con broke and I almost died that night, we had a day where we got 4 phone numbers of people (yes, this is a lot for us!)

I learned so much about Faith!!

N is on date officially, and the church is so true. I will send you a nice letter next week! I have what I want to say written out...I won't email you back personally next week until I do this!

But, Chinese New Year is fun! Look up pineapple tarts, and mandarins, and good luck, and you'll figure out pretty well what it's like. Look at the pictures!!!

Love you all!!!

Love, 

Sister Crabb

These are her answers to some of our questions to her:

Are there dogs and cats in Singapore?

There aren't dogs, but there are cats. They just wander around the HDB flats, and everyone in the community just feeds them. It's like the community pet because no one really gets them here.

Have you seen Meet the Mormons yet?

YES! I saw it these week for Zone Conference!!! It was SOOOOO good! I loved the fighter one :). It was just really cool in general. I liked it. We loved the missionary one of course - because that reminded everyone of us! Also, University mall was in it! I was so weirded out when I saw it. 

While on a business trip, Lynn ate at an Indian restaurant and he asked her if she's had the dish he tried:

Haha! I actually get it all the time. I LOVE Briyani. But yes, Indians really love their spices :). It took me a little bit of time to get used to it. I actually crave Indian food here more than just about anything else.