Week 64: Marco and Laura Sitting in...the Gulf?

 This week has been really weird in all honesty...not quite sure what all happened. BUT! It's still been good. Apparently there are 2 potential hurricanes chilling in the gulf of Mexico right now? Kinda crazy, so my whole zone got evacuated yesterday! I am going to be spending the next few days in Hattiesburg, MS until our good friends Laura and Marco chill out a bit. It's kind of a party up here! There are 6 sisters staying in the Hattiesburg apartment which is pretty fun! I cut Sister Young's hair to entertain us during our hurrication. So far, so good! 

Crazy miracle! We have been trying to get in contact with this super amazing couple that we fell out of contact with during Covid. We have pretty strict rules that we arent supposed to knock on other people's doors unexpectedly, so we weren't able to get ahold of them for about a month. But! we stopped by the other day and they were on their porch, so we didn't have to knock! We set up a return appointment and came by the next day to teach them more about the gospel. We were like 10 mins into talking with them and they said "I really want to get baptized, its eating me up that I havent been baptized yet." Sister Young and I looked at each other in elated shock! We told them that apart of our job as missionaries is to prepared people to be baptized and make Covenants with God! Once all this Hurricane craziness is over, we are going to teach them the lessons and prepare them to be baptized! Literally...so cool!

This week has been a tougher one. Lately, I have been missing the joy of missionary work! It's been a hot second since I've felt joy doing the work and that has really bummed me out. So I had a bit of a heart to heart prayer, the kind you have when you really mean it, and I felt so much peace. I was reading 3 Nephi 17 this week which is when Christ heals the Nephites of all of their infirmities and afflictions because He loves them. I felt His Atonement strengthen and enable me as I've been going about this tough week. The Lord has a plan for all of us and He is so aware of us! If any of yall need strength from Him, He will give it to you! He is ready to help.

I hope that yall have a safe week and find some JOY! Men are that they may have joy, peeps. I love yall, have a great week!

Love, Sister Crouch

1. Sunsets: west coast > gulf coast but it's fine lol

2. The Hattiesburg sisters amist this hurricane

3. My fav Sis Will

4. More sunsets

5. Lol

6. I'm a pro yall

Week 63: "You make my heart race, you have a cool face"

 I am extremely happy to report that Kevin found a ride to his baptism and got baptized on Saturday!!!! It was such an amazing day! He was so happy, the Spirit was so strong, his nonmember brother and sister in law came, and it was such a good day. Funny story. I played the piano for the service and I CHOKED SO HARD on our opening song!!!! I haven't played the piano in 10 years and I've been getting back into it the past few months...and let me tell yall. It is so hard to focus and play the piano with some loud, off key singers! Twas a fat RIP for Sister Crouch lol. But I eventually redeemed myself, so that's good! It was a great day for all of us despite my atrocious musical ability lol.

This week has been so busy! We did 2 more exchanges this week and I have never been so tired! I did exchanges with Sister Mansell and Sister Riddle this week and I got to be in quad for a day! I definitely know why I haven't lived in a quad yet...God knows I'd never go to sleep! We would stay up talking in bed each night! So fun, but so exhausting in the best way! I love learning from other sisters and being able to make more friends in the mission! Doing exchanges is easily the best thing about being in leadership. 

Also, transfers! We have transfers this week and Sister Young and I are staying in Goula for round 3...lesssssss gooooooo. It'll be good. We're gonna grind this transfer and get Goula to be a hopping area! Our District is getting switched up again...sister Young and I are now outnumbered by the elderen 8 to 2. It will be an interesting transfer! 

So one of the guys we were teaching needed help writing his girl a poem for her birthday and he asked us for some help before our lesson the other day. So Sister Young and I brainstormed some horribly hilarious rhymes that he actually loved! One of them was "Hey, you're so cool/we used to go to school/together/you and me forever." And he loved it lol. The other rhyme we came up with was "Hey, you make my heart race/ I like your cool face." I think both of them made the cut in the final product haha. It was super funny and made me laugh. Service can come in many shapes in sizes!

So I had some cool food for thought the other day in my studies about humility this week. Through extensive study of the scriptures and conference addresses, I've concluded that the true sign of humility is thinking about God and others more than yourself. My favorite example of that is the story of Christ raising Lazarus from the dead in John 11. I love this story! There are so many examples of Christ's humility in it, but my favorite is verse 35 "Jesus wept." Hear me out. A lot of times people tell me their story and express their feelings and their heartache. And usually, when they do that, I'm in my own mind thinking "I've got the perfect scripture to bring them peace!" or "I know what gospel principle will fix them or their problems". Very rarely do I do what Christ did...just be there in the moment with them! A way to be humble is to mourn with those that mourn and feel with those who feel. That's something I've been working on this week and I've been so blessed with the ability to love these people even more. I have a long way to go, but I love that story and the example the Savior gives us.

I am so grateful that I am a missionary and that I get to serve the Lord. It's the best. I love this gospel and I love yall! Have the best week ever and stay cool.

Love, Sister Crouch

1. Sister Mansell, aka one of my favorite people ever

2. Sister Riddle!!

3. Kevin's baptism!

4. Our friend Daphne who straight up makes the best gumbo, period. She's amazing! 

Week 62

 I swear, I just wrote one of these...time is seriously flying! This week was no exception because we were BUSY. Being an STL is kind of crazy because it seems like we just constantly are on the go! It's the best!

Just to fill yall in, we did not have a baptism on Saturday :( Saddest thing ever! Kevin didn't have a ride and after 2 hours of calling everyone and anyone, Kevin decided to push his date back to this Saturday! I'm so grateful the desire to be baptized is still there, but it sucked that something so small postponed his baptism. Honestly, I was pretty frustrated with God and I honestly, had some angsty prayers that afternoon, but by the end of Saturday I had an overwhelming peace that God was in control. I don't know why things didn't work out according to Sister Crouch's plan, but I do know that God will make things work out for us, even when we are frustrated with His plan and say really angsty prayers lol! God is still good :)

I got to go on 2 exchanges this week which was a blast! I also got to drive a 2020 Rav4 which was definitely a highlight of my week lol. It was so fun! I seriously love changing things up for a little bit. Missionary work can really feel mundane at times and exchanges really spice up our lives! I got to live in a quad for a night and it was a blast! I even got a haircut from my pal Sister Elliot (she's awrsome) and it didn't turn out bad! It was a very successful week of exchanges and we have 2 more coming up! 

Funny story for all my LOTR nerd friends...so we have spent a ton of time on Facebook trying to find people through groups and things that we are interested in as people. So I joined this healthy eating group (because, you know...the South) and posted something! Well this guy commented and we had a conversation that went from roasting veggies, to our favorite cereals, to spices, to church, to the Lord of the Rings, then back to church. It was a mess haha. But while we were talking about LOTR I tired to be a normal human and not just a missionary and I asked which LOTR battle was better and he said the one from the 3rd movie (I strongly disagree FYI) and I proceeded to tell him that the one from the Twin Towers was best...... he kindly reminded me the movie was called the TWO Towers. Basically, sis Crouch took a fat L on that one but it's all good! Hopefully I can still teach him the gospel.

Lately, I've been a little discouraged because I've been feeling out of tune with the Spirit. It's not a fun feeling. But as I've been journaling and reflecting in my day, I've been able to the the Lord's hand in the in details every day and see how He had been leading me. I love Doctrine and Covenants 11:12 "And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leaders to do good- yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously; and this is my Spirit." If it's good, it's of God! Never suppress a good thought! If you do that, you'll never suppress the Spirit :) I'm grateful that the Lord guides us even when we don't know it!

I'm so grateful to be serving a mission! I'm learning more about my Savior every week! I'm so grateful for His gospel and the peace it brings! I love Him and I love my Heavenly Father and I love yall! Have a good week!

Love, Sister Crouch

1/2. Exchanges with my peeps

3. Haircuts

4. Me when Kevin's rides fell through 

5. Sister Soloman on exchanges! 

Week 61: I'm an official sister missionary

Howdy howdy Y'all! We had the best of weeks! We were busy like all day everyday, we are having a baptism this Saturday (!!!), we had zone conference, I've gotten the weirdest missionary tan lines, and the Lord has been in the details! I seriously love missionary work so much! 

So Wednesday was Zone Conference and it was so refreshing! As an STL, I got to instruct the whole zone of missionaries on what it means to be a "hybrid" missionary, combining our skills from quarantine and pre-quarantine. It was a tender mercy for me because I feel like I've had a dry spell with the Holy Ghost, like I haven't been able to hear him speak to me. But, as i was preparing for zone conference I was completely led by the Spirit to help me know what the missionaries needed and how I could help them. The Spirit was really strong as it guided our words to be what the zone needed! I loved being able to have that experience! I seriously love being an STL and figuring out how the Lord wants me to use my talents to serve others and help the missionary efforts. It's a blast! 

We had an amazing lesson with our friend Kevin who is getting baptized on Saturday! Bless his heart, he has been telling everyone and anyone about his baptism, he is that excited!!! So to help him prepare for what happens after we had a lesson with a cute couple in our ward about the temple and it was amazing! We showed him pictures of the Baton Rouge temple as we talked about certain rooms and the Spirit was so strong as we talked about the sealing room and eternal families. He is so excited for his baptism, but more importantly hes so excited for what comes after it! It was a huge tender mercy to see his excitement to continue to grow in the gospel and it has been amazing to see the ward embrace him and help him! Gotta love enduring to the end! 

Something that I've realized this week is how much power there really is in the Book of Mormon. I seriously love the Book of Mormon, especially the war chapters in Alma! I know, weird right? But as I was reading about things that will honestly probably never pertain to me (like war strategy or battles and stuff) the Spirit taught me principles that I could apply to my life every single chapter! Yall, the Book of Mormon is soooo true! I have learned more this time reading the Book of Mormon from the war chapters than I ever had! It's been really cool! 

Just wanted to update my peeps, I am officially a sister missionary. It has taken me almost 14 months to acquire the awkward tan lines that I have and I am pretty darn proud of them! Just figured I'd make everyone aware that the coast is getting me good lol.

I really love the gospel and I love the opportunity to share it and help others repent as I repent! It's the biggest blessing ever! I hit 14 months as a missionary this week and time is going way too fast! I love being a missionary and I love sharing the good news we do. I love yall, I'm grateful for the prayers and support!

Love, Sister Crouch

1. The farmers tan

2. The watch tan

3. District pday at the beach

4. Our neighborhood cat Zoey!  

Week 60: Someone stole my street contact?

Hey yall! I have been running around like a crazy person all week long and it has been the exhausting but I've also felt like a normal missionary again. We have been coming in after 9 most nights and it's been the best! The Lord is definitely blessing us for our efforts because we have had some crazy miracles but have also had some crazy experiences lol.

Okay yall. I can't think of any other place in the world where you literally are competing with other people on the streets for street conversations! Get this. We are trying someone's house who used to be taught by the missionaries when I hear a guy in his driveway next door. I had a very clear impression that we should go talk to him and a conversation popped into my head that we could have. So we leave a note at the house then I just start walking over there to talk to this guy. We have a conversation and MEANWHILE! Another man was walking down the street and honestly he looked a little sketchy...so I avoided eye contact for the most part until he got closer. The guy we were originally talking to (Juan) tells us about how he had a stroke and how God had a plan for him. As soon as I tell Juan that God was good and totally did have a plan for him, (no joke) this sketch guy SWERVES and walks up Juan's driveway! He then begins to preach to us about his belief. This man is holding the biggest Bible I've ever seen, easily 2 feet long and just preaching but like low key preaching that Christ didn't die for everyone. It was so sad to hear that some people didn't believe that Christ was the Savior of the whole world! He tried bashing a little, but I shut him down quick because I was literally trying to tell Juan about the gospel! But, at the end of that crazy interaction, Juan told us we could come back and read the Book of Mormon with him (miracles!!!) which was cool! But yeah. Only in the South does someone literally try to steal my contact! Side note: we totally saw the bashers at Walmart lol.

So we are teaching this guy named Kevin and he is on date to be baptized on August 8th and we are so pumped! But all last weekend we couldn't get in touch with him at all. All our calls went straight to voicemail, he didn't answer any of our texts. Those are very out of the ordinary for Kevin! So we decided to go over on Tuesday and see what the heck was going on. We saw him and told him what was going on and he had no clue what was wrong with his phone. Well we head back home and we get a text that Kevin accidentally blocked us and that's why our calls weren't going through! He's still learning about technology but we are super glad he accidentally blocked us and still wants to get baptized! Haha. We are so excited for him!

I have been studying the war chapters in the Book of Mormon this week and they're secretly some of my favorite chapters because I see the kind of people I want to become in them. There are some amazing people in the war chapters and one of my new favorites is Corianton! Corianton was the son of the prophet Alma and in Alma 39, his dad talks to him about some of the sins that he committed on his mission. I used to be so confused with Corianton, wondering how he could fall so far from the path as he was serving the Lord and preaching the gospel. But this time I was studying and I came across a scripture in Alma 48:18. The prophet historian Mormon is telling us about a war hero and says that he was a man of God and that "...he was a man like unto Ammon, the son of Mosiah, yea, and even the other sons of Mosiah, yea, and also Alma and his sons, for they were ALL men of God." I LOVED that scripture! Corianton may have fell away, but he came back and became a man of God. That's how I want to be! I make mistakes all the time and I sometimes feel like I'll never be who I want to be. But Corianton changed! He became who God needed him to be. He became a man of God! There's hope for all of us to change and become who the Savior and God want us to be and who They needs us to be. 

I am grateful that I can repent and become better. I am so glad that the Savior gave His life for me and for all of us to become like Him. Jesus Christ is my biggest hope and I love Him so much! God is so good! I love Him, love the South and I love yall! 

Love, Sister Crouch

I have been the worst at taking pictures lately so please enjoy the random pictures from my week 

1. I found Paul McCartney's doppelganger in the children's Old Testament book.

2. I found this hideous moomoo at Walmart and it's the best 7 dollars I've ever spent

3. The watch tan is BLINDING

Week 59: Powdered Sugar Everywhere

What is good people?! What a week we have had down here in Goula! We have been so busy with appointments and we have someone that is still progressing to baptism!

Monday night Sister Young and I were able to drive to Baton Rouge for MLC on Tuesday! It was really cool to be able to get to know President Amos even more (he even sat with sis Young and I for lunch!) and see some more missionaries. It was interesting seeing the differences in mission presidents and their councils. It made me miss the Varners a little bit, but it also grew my love and appreciation for President and Sister Amos! The format was really different and it made me realize just how much the mission has changed, how much I have changed! It's crazy what can happen in a few months. But it felt so good to be back in Louisiana!! We obviously had to celebrate the occasion with some beignets from Cafe Du Monde (don't tell Elder Niepraschk)! It was kind of a mess to eat in the car, but by the end of the week we got all the powdered sugar cleaned up haha. We came back with a huge drive to work as hard as we could and get #backtothegrind.

Okay y'all, this week I have felt so unimportant as an STL! I'm not sure what it is, but this round of being a leader has been way harder! I didn't know what to do so I just took it to the Lord and had a "wrestle" with the Lord (Enos 1:2 a great story about prayer!) and just told Him exactly how I felt and told Him about my concerns. The very next day, no joke, I get a call from President and he decides to tell us about his vision for the mission which was a told answer to my prayers! He hadn't told anyone at that point, but felt like he should tell us. Yall! The Lord is so aware of us! He knows our hearts and He is there to answer our prayers. The change with leadership won't be immediate, but the Lord blessed me with so much peace as we talked with our President. God is sooooo good folks.

I've been thinking a LOT about prayer. But not the routine prayer, half asleep lying facedown on my mountain of blankets prayer. I'm talking a true meaningful conversation with our Heavenly Father. I admit, I'm guilty of slipping into habits with prayers and turning it into a routine...yikes, right? Well, during my studies I read Alma 37:37 which says "Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good..." I think the word counsel is so important! Counsel really tells us prayer should be a conversation with our Father in Heaven, and when we make it a conversation and put our whole soul into it. He will direct us for good! I challenge yall to figure out a way to make prayer more meaningful this week!

I love yall and I love the gospel! Remember God and Jesus loves you, spread some sunshine this week!

Love, Sister Crouch 

1. BEIGNETS 

2. Someone we are teaching named Kevin!

3. MLC

4. Cafe du Monde