Monday, July 27, 2015

This week has easily been my favorite of my mission, and honestly, I am happier at this moment than at any other time in my mission. I'm grateful for God's hand in His work, and how evident it is all the time.

This week, I had some personal growth and conversion as I strived to more fully follow the promptings of the spirit. I have a little mantra for myself called "think it, feel it, do it!" After talking with Sister Fuglistaler, I realized that sometimes, even the strangest thoughts can be promptings from the spirit. So, I put it to the test this week. One of the first promptings I tried was in SLC. It was new for me to be in a leadership council for the first time, and I wasn't really sure what to expect or say, but as we were sitting there, I felt the spirit prompt me to talk about how reporting should be more about what the companionship wants to discuss, and less about what the District Leader thinks they need - since missionary companionships probably know their areas better than the District Leader. It was really scary for me to speak up, but when I did, it ended up being something that the District Leaders appreciated, and I was so grateful that the spirit was so present, and that it guided us to all come up with the same answers! So many opinions became one, and that was really exciting. Besides that, we had a night where we were literally led to Botanic Gardens to contact. We hopped on the bus, and after checking numerous times that we were on the right side of the street, we got very far along on our journey when we realized that we were on the wrong side of the street! So, we hopped off, and said a prayer of where we should be going. Sister Fuglistaler suggested we contact at the park, and as we were walking along, I looked up and saw a couple walking around. I felt instantly that they were why we had come all the way here. After walking behind them, we were able to strike up a conversation. It turns out, they have family in Logan, Utah, and although they weren't Singaporean, we were able to give them contact info to keep in touch. So, I'm learning to more fully follow the spirit - in lessons too! I like trying to focus on what the spirit needs said. (this is how I increased my faith this week!)

So, let me now give you an update on our investigators!
O and his family are doing really well. They were able to come to church as a family for the first time on Sunday, and I think they really enjoyed it. It was really sweet how the ward embraced them, even though they were the only African Americans in the building. Besides that, we had a great lesson on Repentance, and they are currently praying nightly as a family and repenting for their mistakes. The spirit was so strong in that lesson as we testified of the Atonement.
J: She is still trying to find faith in Christ, but still comes to church and reads the Book of Mormon. We are striving to answer her question about why God would give us an impossible task to begin with (i.e. - coming to Earth to grow when God knew we couldn't do it alone) and the spirit was also present in the lesson so Sister Fuglistaler asked the perfect question to lead to this concern.
L: She won't respond to our texts, or calls, so we'll see...
La: So, La is our new investigator for the week and she is a miracle!!! So, on Tuesday we got a text from a random number, letting us know that she wanted to meet to learn about Mormonism! We were really excited, and really hoped that she was an expat. We set up an appointment for the next night, and when we met her, she was so cool! She is 27, from Latvia, and the sweetest person ever. When we brought her to the church and shared the Restoration, the spirit was so strong. It turns out, she met a member a few months back who had given her the Book of Mormon. She told us she 'hadn't read much' but was on page 168 and met us because she feels like there is truth here, and she just feels so happy! She is incredible. She is the most miraculous investigator I've taught my entire mission. She met with us 3 separate times this week, she accepted everything, came to church, watched a baptism, and is now on date for the 22 of August. She tells us all the time that she doesn't want to inconvenience us by us meeting with her, and that she will bring us cookies because she is grateful for our time. She is the sweetest person ever, and she even attended the YSA activity this week! All I can literally say about her is that she is a miracle, and she is God's hand working in this area. I don't believe it's a coincidence either that she has every Friday off, which is the day we will be going on exchanges with all the Sisters. I believe she is an investigator that all the Sisters in Singapore will be able to learn from. I love her so much, and feel so grateful that I have been trusted with the stewardship to help her.

We worked with the members by getting them really excited to meet our investigators at church, and by having a really great correlation with our Bishop and Ward Mission Leader. We are setting up some Visions for the ward currently and are really excited to meet with the members and help them create family visions for missionary work like our Bishop would like.

Basically, the church is so true, and there is so much going on in this area right now. God is truly blessing it, and I'm not exactly sure why. Sister Fuglistaler is as great as ever, and she is such a great companion. She is helping me every day to become better, and her love and kindness is felt by everyone.

Besides that, I just want to say, that the lesson with La on the Plan of Salvation, I got to bear my testimony on the Atonement, and the spirit was so strong in the room! Then, I followed the spirit to put her on date. I was really, really proud of myself for following the spirit so well, and Sister Fuglistaler said it was so cool to watch me be an instrument in God's hands, because she felt the spirit so strong too, and said you could have cut the air it was so strong. Such a good week, La's amazing! Love you all!
Love,
Sister Crabb

Sister Crabb and Sister Fuglistaler

Monday, July 20, 2015

A Crazy, Crazy Week!

Dear Mom and Dad and Rachel and Kaylie!

This week has been really, really crazy! But also, lots of fun. I've really enjoyed this transfer, and am having a lot of fun with all the new things I get to try out and do. As a Sister Training Leader, I have lots of responsibilities! I will send you a list of them but I get to just serve and love. I get to go to MLC (mission leadership council) and I get to pick up people from the airport! It's been one big adventure and I love it. President Simmons is absolutley amazing! I LOVE him, and Sister Simmons. I feel so blessed to be able to serve so close to them my last little bit here. I want to soak up so much from them!

Let me try and give you a little bit of a rundown of what happened this week. So, I basically packed up and said goodbye to people in 4th ward on Monday and Tuesday. It's really strange to only be in an area for about 6 weeks, because you feel like you don't really know people.

The real fun began on Wednesday. I got up and literally just went straight into New Missionary Orientation! Sister Asanuma and I were able to go to the office, and head in the Simmons mini van to the airport to pick up all the new Sisters and Elders. It was so fun to just be around such awesome people, and see how cute President and Sister Simmons are as they try and figure out their new responsibilities. We got to the airport, and I was a little bit nervous, but then all the new missionaries came out, and we got to embrace them with a hug, and tell them we loved them, and that we're excited for them to be here in Singapore! They are so amazing, and I loved being able to take a little bit of time with each of them to get to know them and help them. We rushed from lunch at Burger King, to the church. And, on the way, we got to split up and help the new sisters contact! It was super exciting and intimidating to be "the one who knows all" which is absolutely not true, but all the new sisters look at you like you do. They did a good job though, and we successfully handed out two Books of Mormon. Afterwards, we got to the church and were able to do a training on contacting, immigration, Book of Mormon, and the 1st Vision. Then, we ate Subway, and tried to figure out all the housing arrangements. We had sisters staying at our apartments by the church (all the trainers) and so the new missionaries needed to be taken to a hotel. We hurried and got them off to the hotel, and at this point, it was 8pm. I was absolutely exhausted! We then got breakfast set up for the trainers since they had no food while they were away from Malaysia, and then we got ready for bed, since we had to leave the house at 7:30 the next day so we could pick up the new sisters again! It was crazy.

So, in between all that, I was supposed to prepare a talk on dress and grooming, but literally never had time. I just prayed really hard that when I spoke the next day, it would go well. Because on Thursday, we were up and going and got the new Sisters and helped them find breakfast. It was really fun that they all walked right to the Hawker Center (like a food court), instead of 7/11. So, they had Indian prata (like a flatbread) and curry for breakfast instead of muffins and orange juice. Look at them, so cultured already! After eating my 3rd consecutive most hurried meal, we made it to the church on time, I successfully gave a talk on dress and grooming with the spirit, and then, one of the most tender moments for me this week came as I was watching the slideshow which paired up the trainers with the trainees. It was such a sweet moment to feel God's love for these people, and I am so grateful for the charity and love I'm able to feel for all the people around me as a missionary. I was literally crying as the slideshow was going, because of the spirit that was in the room. Following that, we got Sister Asanuma ready to go home to Japan, since she finished her mission. Also, Sister Fuglistaler has a 7 day chop in Singapore, so we went and got her taken care of at the medical center so she can get her work permit ASAP and not get kicked out.

Friday rolled around really fast, and I was not super thrilled to go on a Visa Run and leave at 7:30 again, especially since I hadn't unpacked, but I went and had a whole bunch of fun! We went to JB Malaysia and we enjoyed wandering the mall for 7 straight hours, and played a very fun game at H &M where we tried on the ugliest outfits we could. We also indulged in foot masages, and the people doing them laughed when I told them "Boleh, Baka La Kau". Which is Malay for, Can if you want to! I made it back into Singapore with 90 days - we all made it through with no issues! It was such a tender mercy. Thanks for your prayers:). I really did feel all the prayers for me. I was left with such an innate sense of calm that I felt no stress at all. I enjoyed some delicious food, and was so so so happy to sleep.

Saturday wasn't too exciting, as with a white wash, we had to plan and plan and plan some more! We planned literally all day, and it was so nice that a member texted us and gave us free pastries that day. It made planning much more enjoyable.

Sunday I got to bear my testimony in church, and get aquainted with the ward! I'm not really sure who our investigators are, but we will figure it out! I love this work. Sunday was also a crazy day, because my housemmate played a prank on me by telling literally so many people to tell me that President Monson is coming to the mission, and I am speaking. I never believed her, but I had to smile at the great lengths she went to to convince me. In other news, we left our phone at home, and got to a dinner appointment 45 minutes late because no one could find it, and then we had pie to celebrate a ridiculously crazy week! I have more meetings and plannings tonight, so I'm just really excited to get going with missionary work again.

Overall, I know the church is true. I think I say this a lot, but I know that the Atonement is a real force. I had one of my best studies this week as I was able to ponder over "The Touch of the Master's Hand" by Boyd K. Packer. Please read the poem at the end of the talk! Our Savior really does live, and I know that He cares about us more than we understand. The Atonement is real. The Book of Mormon is true.

Love you!!

Love,
Sister Crabb

Sister Crabb and Sister Roberts at a 4th ward member's baptism

With some member kids from 4th ward

With investigator, R

Visa Run to JB Malaysia

My crazy outfit Sister Carson picked out for me

Caught in rain on Visa Run

Monday, July 13, 2015

So, transfers for me are in, and Sister Fuglistaler and I will be reunited as STL's in 1st ward!! 1st ward is in Singapore and is another ex-pat ward. It's going to be super exciting!! I'm really nervous, and am really worried that people are going to see all my weaknesses, but I'm just going to give it my best shot.

K is doing so good! We met her 3 separate times this week, and she came to church for the first time in probably 8 months on Sunday. It was such a cool miracle, and I'm so grateful for her and her sweet family and spirit. Sister Roberts has so much love for her, and she almost cried when K came to church. She is so sweet, and is learning to develop charity recently. She is really trying to improve.
S didn't meet us and is so overwhelmed with work, and R read the Book of Mormon 5 separate days this week. M our less active - this was also a miracle - had his brother who was actually there this week and is a member, and his brother is going to help him study about the Atonement and M is supposed to search for 'Why God lets bad things happen to good people'.

We have really been working to get member referrals in this ward, and currently have a really large wall with members and the referrals they are working on, and when we are supposed to follow up. It's so fun to put a 'date' on our members. Also, we were able to contact a Norwegian with the 4 minute Restoration! He was so touched by it, and told us he believes it's true. We plan to meet him this week. We also got to contact on the bus on our way back home from Bedok the night the MRT broke down, and we handed out 4 separate Books of Mormon. It was really, really exciting! We put our faith into it, and we were able to contact some really fantastic people.

The MRT broke down this week, and so we were forced to take the buses. So, a 45 min ride home turned into 2 hours! It was insanity. It felt like a ride at Disneyland had broken down. But, we contacted some really awesome people, as you can see above. It was a crazy night!

Also, we were able to finish making all the wire balls with K, and take selfies with her son. He is adorable and their family is just really, really cute!

I met a family I will be teaching now I guess from Rwanda, when we went on unplanned exchanges with the STL's this week and that was super cool. The family is the sweetest. It was a super funny moment when the little 3 year old boy flashed us and told us about the circumcision that he got on his recent trip back to Rwanda. It was really, really awkward. Then, we were late home, so we grabbed some Honey Lemon Drink for our housemates to help them feel better, and then ran home as fast as we could.

I contacted someone in almost fluent Spanish.

I had a DELICIOUS dinner of Korean BBQ, and I will have to make it for you sometime, because it is seriously the best.

Gay marriage is huge, we taught in 3 separate lessons at church, and the church is totally true!

I've had so many experiences with the Book of Mormon that I have no doubt it's true. The secret is just to ask God, and plant that seed of faith. Logic will never work with this gospel, it's the simple experiences we have with the spirit everyday that keep us "listening to the right voice".

Love you!!
Love,
Sister Crabb

Singapore Sisters

Monday, July 6, 2015

Dearest Family :)...
Here's a rundown of a few people we are working with:
K B: We were able to meet her a few times this week, and serve her quite a bit. Things are going pretty well with her, and she has a cute family with a couple kids. She felt God's love this week, and is increasing her faith, so that's really good. Also, after fasting for her this week, she texted us randomly this morning and told us she is coming to church!! This is a huge deal.
S M: She is Japanese, and has been investigating forever! She told our member though that she knows she will get baptized someday, just not sure when yet. We are hoping for sooner rather than later since she has had all the lessons now. She came to church on Sunday, and that was really good.
R: He is a Seventh Day Adventist, and meets us every week. He is willing to change religion if he feels like the church is true! We tried to have a really short, powerful Restoration with him since it's really important to have the spirit there to teach. Logic, bible-bashing...nothing works except the spirit. We still need to work on it, but it was better this week.
We have a couple less actives....one family that is from New Zealand and they have lost almost all belief in God. We are working with them to figure out if God really does exist, and I'm excited to study why God lets bad things happen to good people, because it feels like a theme in this area and at this time to me. That is a little bit of who we are working with and how it's going! I love all these people so much, and am so grateful I get to be working with each of them.

Let me give you some fun highlights :)
President Simmons is literally the best! He and his wife are so young, and energetic, and down to Earth. President Simmons served in Taiwan, and Sister Simmons in Spain. They have so much advice for us, and they love talking to us! I think they are absolutely incredible. My favorite part of the week was when we were spontaneously called by the STL's to go and fill in for them and pick up a couple sisters from Malaysia who just got set apart, and take them to dinner! While we were there, so were the Simmons. We got to sit and talk with them for literally 40 minutes about how they got called to be mission presidents, and it was the funnest thing ever. You just get randomly recommended, and then you get called by the Quorum of the 12 apostles and get interviewed, etc. You could get called to serve really soon, or wait for 10 years or so I guess. I hope this makes a little bit of sense...but it was so fun! Also, it was really great to be able to talk with the Sisters from Malaysia as they started their mission. They are so nervous, but they are going to be great! They will actually be back in Singapore next week at transfers. I also got to see Sister Fuglistaler this week! She is STL in west Malaysia, and so she slept at our house this week. She is one of my best friends, and I love her.

Also, besides that, I curled up on the ledge of our 10-story building (please don't panic mom...I'm fine) and looked out on the city and just relaxed and thought about how much I love it here.

We made so many wonderful wire balls with K this week to serve her, and got to teach her 3 times which was super great. K is doing really well right now, and it's so fun to be around her. She is struggling with Lymes disease, but she is fighting hard through it!

We went to a Navy family for dinner, and this was a sort of miracle! We talked to our Stake President as we were leaving our house and the chapel, and he told us that he has a referral for us, and that if we asked the Money's about it, they would be able to set up an appointment. So, sure enough, as we went to the Money's, they had a referral for us! It was someone who is going to listen to a discussion because the stake president was willing to serve him. It will take some time to set up the appointment, but that was really cool!

We have some great plans to have a youth program where the youth in our ward follow us around for a day, as well as some fun social media things. We get to kick this off on the 5th Sunday in August when our ward is back. We want our ward of 'Boise, Idaho' members to have some missionary experiences in Singapore, so we are going to 'embark in the service of God' together :).

I will speak in sacrament meeting soon, so that will be super fun!!! The ward is so small right now...it's literally the white people branch. Except, that we have dinner almost every night this week. #love

Anyways, the fourth was super super fun! We celebrated with really bad Burger King, and then European llaollao's. Not the best, I know, but I still loved it! Then, we saw fireworks at the American school, and got to contact some people! I dressed up all patriotic, and it was just super fun. Much better than last year! Our whole house is American, and so we were able to sing so many patriotic songs together!!!

To finish off this letter, we went and ran around in the rain for exercise on the fourth of July. We usually run around downtown in the morning - which is really enjoyable! And it was pouring the morning of the fourth. Me and my companion related it to us going through the storms of life :)

Anyways, I need to go! Just know, the work is hastening, in so many small and big ways here in Singapore! I am so happy and blessed to be a missionary. It is the best part of my life, and I don't ever want it to end. There's something so special about serving God.

Love you so much!! Happy Fourth! God Bless America!!!

Love, Sister Crabb

Sister Roberts and Sister Crabb at Merlion Park on P-Day

With peacock...

P-Day

P-Day

Selfie on the bus

There is a literal Chico living in our house, and it scared me so bad, I went and grabbed the broom so I could kill it. Unfortunately, it lives behind our air-con, so I never got him! 

Group of Sisters 

"This is the motorcycle that the Chinese man in the Children's Museum had us sit in. He gave me a coke to pose with so naturally I drank it! He lifted our legs from the buggy on top of the motorcycle - hope that gives you a better visual, from the story I emailed you." 

Posing with a mic at the Children's Museum

"The South East Asia Games came to Singapore!! It's basically like the Olympics of South East Asia, and it only happens once every 22 years! Unfortunately, I couldn't get anyone to come with me to an event on  P-Day"

Sister Roberts and Sister Crabb

"Look at the clouds! And the laundry hanging out the HDB's. Got to love Singapore!"

Monday, June 29, 2015

Catholic Church Fight!
So, I'm sorry this is going to be a shorter letter...I don't really have much to say! It's been a really tough week. But, let me give you the biggest miracles and a fun story.

So, a couple miracles! We were able to meet with a less active family really spontaneously that has been gone in Greece  - they literally popped up out of nowhere, and now we have a family to work with! The dad has no belief in God anymore, but his family is all active in New Zealand, so hopefully we can make some leadway with him.

We also have a new investigator named D! He is 15, and decided that either this church or the catholic one is true. Which leads me to my story for the week...

We were meeting D at the church, and as we were waiting for him in the cafeteria near the church (please imagine how weird we are feeling as Mormon missionaries sitting in the Catholic church...) we look back and there is this Chinese lady who is legitimately 6 feet tall, and she is pushing back some Indian lady with an umbrella, then she swung down the umbrella and hit the Indian lady. Then, she screamed louder than I've ever heard anyone scream "GET OUT OF MY CHURCH". Needless to say, at this point I was really worried and scared. Then though, the Indian lady's mom who was also there came up to us, and begged to use our phone to call the police. We did not give it to her because we just didn't want to be involved, but then the police came because the Chinese lady called them, and we were standing right where the police car was trying to pull in. The Chinese lady looked at us and said, sorry for all the drama!

Love you all! Have a great week! And please remember, the Book of Mormon is true, Joseph Smith is a prophet - the spirit can whisper these truths to us and pierce our hearts. It doesn't matter what people tell you, or what happens - the Church is true - the Savior of the world is real.

Love,
Sister Crabb