Week 41: We crashed a funeral in the hood (**not click bait**)

This week has been insane! As far as we know, sister Craddock and I are happy and healthy!  It's been crazy seeing the world around us freak out! We are just chilling over here in Madison! Other than the coronavirus madness, this week has been flat out hilarious. Sooooo much fun! 

We sent to Baton Rouge for MLC (mission leadership council) with all the STLs and zone leaders and it was so awesome! The Spirit was so strong as we were counciling about the missionaries and their needs, I felt God's love for us and it was awesome. But the best part about being in Baton Rouge (other than seeing my mission friends and the spiritual upliftment that comes from a meeting like that) was living my mission dream of going to the ORIGINAL, FIRST EVER, Raising Cane's!!! It was founded in BATON Rouge off of LSU campus and it was the best canes I've ever had. Dreams really so come true on the mission, friends.

Okay yall. Do I have a story to tell. So Sister Craddock and I were in Canton, MS this week which is a dinky, sketchy, town. There are some neighborhoods that are definitely the hood. Well, we were in one of those neighborhoods to try someone and we pass this house on the corner of a street with easily 50 people there all in matching white shirts. 90s Rap was blasting (those of you who know me well know thats my JAM), and everyone was having a grand ol time. Basically, once I heard the jams, I knew they were my kind of people. So we decided to go and talk to them and see what they were celebrating and maybe have some conversations about who we were. We park up the street and walk down to the house. Well, we walk down the street and up to a group at the party, and I swear all eyes were on these 2 dressed up white girls in the hood. We stuck out worse than a sore thumb haha. We ask this group what they're celebrating and this one lady goes "this is a funeral. We arent celebrating today...oh I guess we are! We are celebrating LIFE!" Our jaws were on the FLOOR. We walked up and crashed a FUNERAL!!! It was crazy! They inisted we joined and grabbed a plate of the best southern food I've ever had and my goodness it was just hilarious. We offered our condolences, told them their friend was in a better place, mingled for a sec, got plates and it was just too funny. They were so kind and accepting of us it was amazing and now we have some friends in that part of the hood! 

With all the craziness that's going on in the world right now, the peace that comes from the Gospel, from living the way God and Jesus Christ have commanded us, and from having faith has been reiterated over and over to me. The last line of Alma 12:37 says "...but let us enter into the rest of God, which is prepared according to his word." There is a peaceful rest that comes when we continue to have faith in Heavenly Father and His plan and as we try to live the best we can. Peace can be kind of hard to find in times like these, but turn to Christ! Trust God's will! You will find peace and be able to enter into that rest which has been prepared for you.

I love my mission and the people I get to serve! I love that there is peace that comes with following God and Jesus Christ. I love them so much and I love yall! Have a great week, keep having faith and stay healthy! 

Love Sister Crouch 

1. A good wholesome covid19 meme

2. MLC in Baton Rouge!

3. The OG Canes!!!!

4. Another pregnant mama at the animal shelter we serve at. 

5. We got to see some of our fav missionaries on our way home from MLC!

6. Sister Craddock is still teaching me ballet lol.

7. KATHY! 

Week 40: Hump Daaayyy!!

Hey yall! We had a crazy busy week her in Madison! We started my 7th transfer of my mission this week (how have I been out that long?!), hit my HALFWAY mark (ahhhh!!!), and have been working our way hard out here in Madison! It's been a fun time. My love for this place and these people grow more and more with every passing week! 

So something you should know the people here is they are very open, especially when it comes to God. Because of that, we had a downright hilarious interaction yesterday that made me laugh so hard! We were trying one of our friends in an apartment complex and we saw some ladies working on their car in the parking lot, so us being missionaries and all bolt over to see if we can help in any way. They said no but asked what church we went to. We told them and talked to them a little about church and this woman named Laura was talking about how you need to choose to follow God right now. And us being missionaries, obviously pull out the Book of Mormon to share a scripture that applies to the conversation and Sister craddock asks if she can share a scripture to Laura. She stops here and says "I dont need you reading nothing to me right now, honey. I dont need to hear the word now because we are finna gamble! I ain't gonna lie to you but we finna gamble!" I was CRYING I was laughing so hard! At least she was honest, ya know? Haha. These people just are always cracking me up. 

I had a really cool insight this week during my studies this whole week that I wanted to share! In our 90 day challenge for the Book of Mormon,  we were in Mosiah all week and I just noticed how Mormon chose interesting language to talk about faith. He said over and over how Alma went about preaching "repentance and faith ON the Lord." Well I thought it was interesting he used the word on instead of in. Well, by the end of the week I came to a conclusion that faith on the Lord must be different than faith in Him. I think faith on Christ means relying wholly on Him. It's more than just believing that He is our Savior but believing in His promises, in His enabling power and the way He can help us through anything and everything. This week I've tried to have more faith ON Christ and trust Him more in the day to day. I've seen miracles. I've done things that are hard for me as a missionary this week that I normally NEVER do because I just trusted! I've made it my goal to have more faith on Christ, to rely more on Him, to be a better disciple of Him.

I've been thinking back on the past 9 months and I'm honestly shook. Shook that it's gone by so quick, shook by how much I've changed and by how much I've seen God's hand in my mission. I'm so blessed to be here. I love my Savior, I know He lives and because He lives, I can have hope and peace in this life. 9 months seems like a long time and 18 months seem even longer (sorry elders, 2 years is long too). But it's the most worth it thing I've ever done! I'm so pumped to see what the next 9 months bring!

I love this gospel, I love Jesus Christ!!!!! I love my Father in Heaven and I am grateful to know I can make it back to Him one day because of Christ. Life is hard on the mission, but man it's too good everyday. I love being here. Thanks for all the messages and emails this week, it means the world! Love yall!!

Love 

Sister Crouch

1. Hump day celebration calls for some froyo. Sister Craddock came out with me so we got to party it up together!

2. Apparently that finger thing is a heart? We tried to teach Kathy last time we were over because we just love her haha.

3. Its SPRING!! 

4. Weekly tanning pt 2.

5. We played an iron rod game with all our mini peeps this week and it definitely involved some blindfolds haha. It was hilarious! Kids are our favorite!

6. I love the people here! 

Week 39: What the leak?!

Howdy howdy yall! Transfer news came and Sister Craddock and I are staying another transfer in Madison together! I'm super stoked and excited! We are FINALLY starting to figure out the area, finally finding more people to teach and finally getting into our groove! So I'm excited to be able to keep it up this next transfer! 

This week has been so much fun! The sun's been out, the weather has been perfect, and we totally got out than on...walking 15 miles the last few days of February because we were sooooo out of miles haha. Every month, we get a mile allotment and every month we are barely under! Safe to say we got our steps on this week!

Another funny thing! We volunteer at the animal shelter in Madison and there are so many mamas there! This one pitbull Miss Hershey had a litter of puppies last friday and we got to see them again! Last week, her puppies were 4 days old and oh my gosh they were so cute! I learned something new too. Fun fact for yall: mama dogs leak too when they hear their babies cries...all over the person in whose lap they're sitting in. Beware of the nursing dogs people! 

For real though, this was such a good week. I keep finding myself relying on Christ more and more as I go throughout my mission. I've been thinking a lot about trials because I feel like I've been having so many of them! Then I read Mosiah 14! It is so comforting to know we can be healed and strengthened through Christ. He truly was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. And because of that, we can be strengthened through all we go through. Life is hard for everyone. All our trials are valid to God and Christ. They help us through them all. I love that I don't have to walk through this life alone.

I love my mission even though its hard. I love the people here, I love Madison and I love Jesus Christ and my Heavenly Father. Rely on your Savior this week like that's the only thing you can do and I promise miracles will come. I love yall!

Love, Sister Crouch

1. Ms. Hershey!

2. Mile 10

3. A mural we found in an apartment complex in this town Canton that we also cover! Small towns are so cute.

4&5. More butterflies! 

Week 38: "I knew you weren't from the South..."

Howdy howdy yall! It's a fast week here in Madison! Lots of crazy fun stuff happened! It's been a bumping week, but it's also been surprisingly rough! But, I've also learned so much this week!

So we finally got back to our area Monday night after the floods moved us to another area for the weekend. Sister Craddock and I were so glad to be back! We got right back to work! We have been visiting people all week, knocking tons of doors, and it really didn't seem like any one was really interested in the gospel out of everyone in our teaching pool. And honestly, it was a little discouraging! This week its seemed like no matter how hard we tired to help someone things just weren't working out. It was hard to feel joy! But Heavenly Father provided us with some tender mercies each day that reminded us that He was there. Whether it was just being able to talk to someone or reading a scripture that just comforts you. He really has been here with us! 

I had a bit of an epiphany this week that really just hit home! As I have been going through my mission, there have been times where I have trusted and relied heavily on the Lord, as I should! And then there are times when I'm not relying as heavily on the Lord as I should be. I realized it's in those moments where I struggle that I eventually turn back to Him because I have no other choice. Well, I realized if I am relying on anyone or anything more than Christ at any point of my mission/life, I'm doing it wrong! I feel like for me there comes a point where I get confident and basically say  "Alright God, I've got this. I can handle this just fine." How lame is that!? So I've decided I need to rely even more so on my Savior. Its changed a lot this week and its changed my perspective. I challenge yall to do the same!

Funny story: I gave a talk in sacrament yesterday and everyone came up to me to tell me they knew I wasn't from the South because I kept saying "you guys" instead of "yall". I guess I wasn't as Southern as I thought I was! Good thing I have 9 more months here to change that! 

I love being a missionary in the good times and even the bad! I'm so happy that I know my Savior and God's love for me and those around me! I know this work and this gospel are true! I love yall!!

Love, Sister Crouch

1. Weekly planning? More like weekly tanning! We've been enjoying the sunshine this week!

2. Be the change 

3&4. One of our favorite members took us to lunch this week! Sister Alhalteh is the best

Week 37: The rains came down and the floods came up

What a week we have had! So much has happened it's been unreal. It's been so crazy but so fun! We had Zone conference this week where Sister Craddock and I were able to help with the instruction and that was really cool! I got to see Sister Johnson AND Sister Strobelt! It was a total party! It was such a nice spiritual reset that just got me even more pumped for the rest of this transfer. It was much needed. After zone conference our week was insane! We got evacuated from Madison because of flooding and we are just having a ball. It's been crazy.

We led our first exchange as STLs this week! I went back to Mendenhall for a day with Sister Johnson! It was so fun to be back at my old stomping ground and see how Sister Johnson is taking care of Mendenhall. It made me so happy! I even got to see 3/5 Waldrops and that actually made me the happiest person ever! 

Okay yall but Valentine's day was actually the best. We were finishing up exchanges when we had a service opportunity pop up with the red cross. So theres been a lot of rain in Mississippi the past few weeks and its causing the river running through Madison and Jackson to flood, so lots of people are getting displaced and evacuated (including us). We were evacuated to a neighboring area Saturday night so the floods must be pretty serious. But lots of other people are being evacuated from their homes but with no where to go. So a bunch of missionaries got together and set up cots and supplies at a shelter for those who will be displaced due to the floods and it was such a fun way to serve! We served there, then we went and calked baseboards at someone's house and that was even more fun! But it was honestly the best way to spend Valentine's day! We heart-attacked some peeps and just expressed our love to others through our service and it made for an amazing day! 

As a mission, we are reading the Book of Mormon in 90 days and it had been so much fun! I have been focused on the Savior and his teachings as I've read and I've truly just realized how the Book of Mormon is just another testament of Jesus Christ. I've felt so close to my Savior and I've studied the Book of Mormon looking for Him! Life can be real bonkers sometimes and it's hard to focus on the gospel a lot of the time. But as we look for it and turn towards the Savior we can feel closer to Him and become more like Him! I love the Book of Mormon and I love this gospel! 

I hope yall have a great week! I love yall and I love this work! 

Love, Sister Crouch

1. We're trying to be cowboys. Toothpicks and service make for a fun day of service 

2. Crouch and Craddock Calking Companions

3. Sister Strobelt!!

4. We love love love President Varner

5.  Sister Johnson 

6. First day of sunshine calls for comp study poolside 

7. Post Zone Conference Canes 

Week 36: Is Jesus your steering wheel or spare tire?

What a week! God is SO GOOD!!! We had the craziest, coolest, most unreal Saturday with the biggest miracle I've had my whole entire mission! It's just been the best week!

Saturday had a real rocky go. We had some solid appointments with some legit people, all of which (by 10am) had fell through. Our day was planned out around those individuals so we had no idea how to spend out time. Honestly, I was a little salty. But, all day we just prayed to be where God wanted us and prayed to be an answer to someone's prayer, and we felt prompted to go knock some doors in this apartment complex, something we normally wouldn't do...like at all. But we did! Then we tried some other people around us and eventually every second of our day led us to be at the exact right place at the perfect time. There are some miracles that Heavenly Father plans by the second, and looking back, the Spirit was guiding us all day by having us do things we normally would never do! And it all led to seeing a man walk down the stairs from his apartment while knocking a members door and saying hi.

This guy said hi back and we asked how his day was. Turns out, he had just gotten back from a funeral where he had buried his father in law. I asked if there was anything we could do for him and he just looked at us and said "yes! You go upstairs and knock on my door and talk to my wife." Uhhhhh OKAY! The spirit bore powerful testimony that our appointments and plans fell through for this moment and for this person. So we go straight upstairs and we meet his wife, who was just broken because of the loss of her dad. She looked lost and hopeless and it really broke my heart to see. She told us all about her dad, told us about the funeral, then asks "you believe he's in heaven right?" And guys. We bore testimony of eternal families, of God's love for her, how aware He is of her family, and told her that her dad is being taken care of. There's something really amazing about being a missionary. Sometimes God let's us feel the love He has for His children as we teach them and love them. That's what he did. I grabbed her hand and cried with her, but because I knew that she was going to see him again. Before we left their house she looked at us and just knew God sent us to her because He loves her, and we got to tell her we knew that God sent us to her because He knows her and loves her. 

There have been days on the mission where everything falls through and we have no idea what to do and it seems like we are just kind of there. But I have a strong testimony now that as we follow the Spirit and go with the flow of things, we really are on the Lord's errand. I know God is in the smallest details, even down to the millisecond. He is aware of His children, He is aware of you! My amazing and wonderful mom sent a quote from my friend who just got home from her mission. They said the more we serves the more we learn it is less about our abilities and more about watching the Lord work His miracles. If that's not true I dont know what is.

It's been a real good week. The Lord has taught me more about my mission this week than the past 8 months. This work is amazing and I am so blessed to be apart of this work.

I love my mission, I love this work. I love being able to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord and I'm so blessed to know who I am and where I'm going. I love God! He is so good! I encourage yall to pray and ask Heavenly Father to help you be an answer to a prayer today. Be on His errand. It's the greatest work to be apart of :) I love yall, and have a great week!

Alma 26:3

Love, Sister Crouch

1. Seriously though, how do you get the job to come up with the church signs?

2. The district with a some member who wanted a picture with some awesome missionaries haha

3. KATHY! The light of our whole LIFE in this area. Shes a recent convert we get to work with in Madison!

4. JIMMY JOHNS! First time having it in 8 months! 

5. We tried this member, but his wife wasnt home so he delivered a warm meal to us on a miserably cold, Mississippian evening. Southern hospitality is REAL!

Week 35: "Stop, drop and roll doesn't work in hell." We love Louisiana!

Hey yall! Remeber how I said I was starting to like dogs less and less in Mendenhall? I take it back! That's just because we weren't going to the animal shelter and walking dogs for 2 hours a week! Heavenly Father was too good to us this week. It has been really stressful in figuring out the missionary work in Madison with Sister Craddock and I being so new. Earlier this week was overwhelmingly so the idea kept coming into our minds to check out the animal shelter for service and Heavenly Father led us to PURE JOY!! Safe to say, God is good.

This week Sister Craddock and I got to go down to Baton Rouge for a Mission Leadership Council with all the Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders in the mission and it was the coolest experience! We got to go to Baton Rouge and it felt like going home! I missed seeing the Jesus Semis (pics attached). But for real, MLC was the best. It made me realize how much prayer and revelation truly goes into the mission, which may seem really obvious, but that was my first time ever seeing it! The Spirit was so strong. As we were talking about the mission and our goals and a mission, the amount of love and trust I felt from Heavenly Father and President Varner was just unreal. It was so humbling remembering how God is giving me this incredible opportunity to be apart of this great work and how great of a gift it is! It was amazing! And I got to see Sister Rowe! I just love my mission!

Cool story folks. We had a really cool miracle! We were trying someone in an apartment complex Saturday and we just prayed before we went in that we'd be able to find unplanned opportunities to talk to people and find those interested in the gospel. We close our prayer, open our eyes and the car next to us has someone right outside working on the car! So we talk to him and he tells us "hey my moms a church lady! You should go to her door, she loves talking Jesus." I mean who can pass up that opportunity?! So we head up and they let us right in and we have an incredible lesson the Book of Mormon and the spirit was so strong! I felt God's awareness of them and love for them and I just see so much potential in them! It was a huge blessing!

It's been a rough week trying to know where to even begin to know where to start with our area, but God is providing! He is blessing us so much everyday and it's only through Him that this work is possible! We taught a lesson on the Atonement this week and I found a picture called "Not my will; but Thine be done" by Walter Rane and it is so powerful. I think it captures the emotions Christ may have had as He prepared to take on the world, literally. Upon His shoulders. Take the pains and sorrows of the world and the sins and it's only because of that event that I'm able to do anything in the work. Jesus Christ is my strength, my joy and my salvation! I'm blessed to have that knowledge and I just love Heavenly Father for sending Him to earth for me and you. It's the best.

I love this work and I love yall! This week marks 8 months as a missionary and it's the best thing ever! I love it! Love yall!

Love, Sister Crouch

1. Best way to get attacked by a dog haha

2. All the STLs in the mission at MLC!

3. All the mission leaders at MLC

4&5. That. That is my mission. I love Louisiana!

6. Sister Rowe!

7. Sister Craddock!

8. I told you the gas stations were posh

9. "Not My will; but Thine be done." By Walter Rane