Elder Jacob Crandall
Philippines Cebu Mission
January 2016
Hello Plano 4th! Things are going so
well! I am still on the island of Siquijor and loving it so much! My companion
is getting transferred to the city and I will be getting a new companion from
Luzon. We watched conference and I loved it so much! One of my favorites was
Elder Oaks talking about loving our neighbors, not as we want to but as Christ
would as our perfect example. Being here in the Cebu mission has been so
amazing! Here in Siquijor it’s just a group, though almost a branch. It’s
amazing to see the sacrifice of the members. Many travel a long way just to go
to church, they endure lots of persecution and as well as personal problems
such as finance, work, etc. They give up so much to be active in the gospel and
the church. It’s the most amazing experience to be able to see all the
blessings in their life from a missionary point of view. We see their families
grow so much, see their testimonies grow, see them literally light up more with
the light of Christ as they better understand God’s
Plan. I have seen so many miracles. In life we can’t choose what happens to us,
we can only chose how we react. We can ether make excuses/ complain, or we can
act. Let us be more Christ-like every day! I
love yall so much!
Elder Crandall
Elder Kent Templin
Japan Tokyo Mission
August 2016
After arriving in Tokyo and receiving an orientation from
Mission President Todd Budge (former CEO of Tokyo Star Bank), Kent and his new
companion, Elder Kondo, hopped on a train and travelled 50 miles east to
Yachiyo city, in the Chiba prefecture. People have lived in the Yachiyo area since
around 35,000 B.C. Today, its residents live there while commuting to work in
Tokyo and other major cities.
Both Kent and Elder Kondo were new to the area, so they
started with no contacts or investigators. Kent learned “streeting”, catching
people on the street and talking to them. The Japanese culture is not as
outgoing as it is in America, so meeting new people can be a challenge,
especially through streeting. They met one young man who agreed to hear about
the gospel. Later, he committed to baptism, but his family was opposed, so his
baptism is pending.
On Respect for the Elderly Day (third Monday of September) Kent
and his companion met an elderly man. He was an inactive member who had just
moved to the area and was happy to meet the missionaries and go to church with
them. This truly felt like a miracle.
More recently, Kent and Elder Kondo tried proselyting by
phone and met a Chinese man who agreed to meet with them and hear about the
gospel. “Onward, ever onward.”
Hermana Emily Santiago
Spain Madrid Mission
March 2016
Hermana Santiago just had
her first mission "birthday" having been out one month, and said,
“I’m not sure how I feel about it! It went fast.’ She says, “…some days I feel
like I could do this forever, other days I feel like I’m never going to
survive.” She mentions a day where she felt like she could do this
forever. On Saturdays they get to proselyte in Retiro Park. It is
the Central Park of Madrid and it is beautiful! She explains, “We
usually talk to about 50 people and rejection comes often. However, this
time it started at the metro station. The door of the train opened and an
older gentleman saw us and started beaming. He said hello and grabbed
a Book of Mormon right out of my hands. The language barrier was thick, he
was from Italy. We run into Italians often, and because the languages are so
similar they normally just fake Spanish, and it somehow works! So this
man tells us that he has read most of the Book of Mormon and had met the
missionaries in Italy but had since moved to Madrid. He has been trying
to find out how to get in touch with missionaries and find out what time and
where he could attend church! He even followed us off the train to make sure we
had swapped as much information as we could. That was a sweet experience.
Our next was a man that had heard us sing at the fountain each Saturday.
He had found a Book of Mormon sitting on a bench and had read it cover to cover.
He said that it had made so much sense to him. That was how our day went.
I could have relived it a 100 times! Now when I’m down, I just think of
that day.”
She is a happy
missionary! She concluded a recent letter with the following. “I
love my companion, I love my district, I love the MTC, the other sisters and
elders, and my mission! I’m not ready to leave the MTC. I feel like
I still have so far to go. However, I know I’m here for a reason, and I’m
ready to find out that reason!” Hermana Santiago leaves the MTC on
October 28 and crosses the LDS compound to her mission headquarters.
