President is gone

Date: Mon, 27 Jun 2011 12:22:25 -0700
Subject: President is gone.
From: samuel.crapo@myldsmail.net

Dear Family & Friends!

 

This week has flown by so fast.. Its been a long and rought transfer... but this week in particular has gone by fast.  Thank you so much for the emails.  If its not letters in the mailbox then its plenty of emails on the computer... so i guess i can deal with that.  I sent a little apistle to some of you so you can write me letters.  Hopefully it works ;) i'm crossing my fingers.  So Simon won an IPad huh? What a punk! He doesnt deserve that! Just send it to me ;) JK he's been wanting something like that for a while some congrats! That's way sick!  So Scotts going to plan on being a Ranger huh? That is way cool!  Those guys is crazy!  I'm still interested in joining something when i get home but that is still a long long ways away.  We will see though.  As for mothers questions... My shoulder is feeling loads better.  The bump is going down as i do the excersizes that the Dr. Gave me and it doesnt give me too much grief..  Ever since i got that stinger in football, it goes numb sometimes, like shoots down my arm when i lift it up... its always been like that ever since i got that stinger, and the doctor is correcting that too... haha, looks like i brought some things with me for him to fix... plus it gives me a reason to go once a week instead of every other week. Oh and we do not have any AC in the Apartment, so it gets HOT at night! WAY hot haha all the windows are open and we only have one little rotating fan to keep us cool.We're gonna get some more fans from brother moffatt here soon, he stopped by while he was on duty the other night and said our apartment was like a sauna!

  As for my comp... i havent really gotten him yet... he wants to be a pilot and it now makes sense... he's kind of cocky and a pilot or quarterback are solo guys, they want all the glory, and it started to click... thats why i'm not getting along with him.  I just thought he had a whole bunch of issuse.... which he does... but the fact that he's cocky too is terrible, i would just let him get away with it because i felt bad he was having such a hard time, but no, i couldnt handle it, i've been shutting him down left, right, and center haha he needs to get rid of that big head.  Making him senior comp wasnt a good idea... we do everything his way now... But when we had presidents farewell this week he whispered in my ear, "two weeks (which is transfers) will bring change. Hang in there" So woo hoo! Something will change this transfer! I dont care if my comp goes or if i go... but whatever happens, change is good.  So in two weeks my letters should be getting better :D

 

Anyways i guess i will tell you what happened in my week!

 

Monday 6-20-11

There was no monday funday... but it was still good i guess? We got a ton of things done...

 

We did a lot of shopping and cleaning and reading and writing and all that jazz.

 

I was looking everywhere for Pitch Black Mountain Dew! MY FAVORITE! Which they got rid of a long time ago... and they brought it back! But i couldnt find it :( Simon! Hook me up with a 12 pack dog! :D

 

Then we had dinner with the Stanley family and that was cool.  She works up at woodward! Its a school too! And the whole area (Gym, Skating area, etc.) Is the kids playground! ITS NUTS! She's met tons of pro boarders and bikers.  The only one i cared to know if she met was Rob Derdyk! She met him! She said if she sees him again she'll let us know. They just show up for no reason! And she is a teacher at the school and one of her students is Tony Hawks son! NUTS!!!

 

Then we went over to the Handy's House so that their friends could bring you that package! haha I cant believe he called dad! I was standing right there as he was talking to him, it was funny! my dad was on the other line! That guy was way cool, i hope you got to meet them.

 

Then the Kings called and told me that my pants were finished, Michelle King being an AMAZING Seemstress hooked me up big time.  I ruined the pockets on my suit pants and she said it was SUPER hard to fix but she did it! They are so bomb!

 

Then i had an awesome work out that night! I'm getting bigger... i've gained about 25 lbs.  and almost 2 inches on my biceps! haha! So its cool! Stayin in shape :D I'm not gonna be a fatty!

 

Tuesday 6-21-11

We went and watched mormon.org in the morning.

 

Then went and did some contacting... but like usual... no one was home :(

 

Then we walked back to our apartment! AND IT WAS HOT!!! I Was sweating my... buns off! IT was so hot!  We had to like change and stuff when we got in.

 

Then we met with Brother Dixon, i told you about him last week, he's a really cool guy.  I really hope we can get him to the temple! Super awesome guy!

 

Then we met with a guy Named Brother Van Ornum, he was way cool too, he gave us a lot of info on people we had been looking for, for a long time.

 

Then we went looking for more people... like usual!

 

Ate at the Wagners house.  Had Rattotoulle! It was pretty tasty.. and i know i spelled it wrong.  but its just like Zuccini Goulosh!  And he has a pretty cool story, he went on his mission in italy and then lived there and went to school there for a few years after.  He has taught his BRILLIANT son how to speak italian and english, i dont get how kids can do that! Brilliant kid though.  Way fun family..

 

Wednesday 6-22-11

Had the Chiropractor in the morning, he is going to fix my arm, like i said. 

 

Then we went to bear valley and tried contacting people... but like always... you know how that goes... no one is ever home.

 

Then we went to the Kannards and ate lunch and did a bunch of service on their ranch! PHEW it was hot.  Pullin weeds :( I dont miss it. haha  His daughter made us a whole bunch of food while we worked and we took it all home.  And i guess when we were out working, our clothes were laying on their couch and she snuck a refferral into my shirt pocket, i didnt find it until we got home, too bad the refferall was in Cali City :( But it was way cool of her to do that! She said she has another one for us though! WOO HOO!

 

We went home and showered and elder Summers got a slip for a package. so we went and got that and it had a whole bunch of junk for the fourth of july.  Hey so just so you know, i dont want candy haha maybe ties, even big old nasty pollyester ties from the DI.  I'd like that... or money, money is good too.  But as for candy...  i dont eat it... i give it to kids or i throw it out... sorry, not that i dont like candy, but i'm trying to watch my girlish figure ya know? haha

 

Then we went back to bear valley and had dinner with the Laynes.  They are still one of my favorite families! They need to write a book on their lives because they have had the BEST Stories ever!  I had really bad allergies though :( Made my head hurt real bad, it still hurts for some reason.... like it feels conpressed! Maybe i have Valley Fever? who knows? 

 

Then we visited the Coopers, and they are way cool, their grandaughter was at their house and said she was from Sandy! Why are there all these connections to Sandy? Its crazy!

 

Came home and felt really sick with allergies! WAY SICK.  Took some medecine and went to bed, it was a bad night for me :( Plus it was SOOOOO HOT. Couldnt sleep very well which made the next day not so good.  You know me when i dont get my sleep! (GRUMPY BUM)

 

Thursday 6-23-11

We had district meeting in bakersfield... couldnt find the mountain dew there either! :(  but the meeting went well and we stayed there most of the day because thats when we had the departure meeting with the mission president. 

 

Went back home and ate dinner wtih the nichols.  They are really cool.  The husband is interesting, he flies the Virgin Galactic space ship... i guess that is super exciting... at least my companion thinks so, he just about pooped his pants when he found that out.  But they are really cool. Awesome family.

 

Friday 6-24-11

We had weekly planning... always fun :/

 

Then we had an appointment with the Thomas'  Went really well.  I was able to stop the whole lesson on the Holy Ghost and teach them the whole plan of salvation. and it answered a ton of their questions! It was really cool.

 

Then we stopped by another family who was investigating for a while, and they gave us pictures of the first missionaries that came by their house and told us to give them to them. One being my companion and then the other was one guy he trained...

 

Then we went over to another investigators house and she was asleep but her husband was there and we spoke with him and his son for about an hour and they are the coolest people ever! Way stoked to keep visiting them.

 

Then we ate dinner with the Johnsons, i love that family. They are so much fun.  But i think we ate raw chicken, didnt get very cooked, but oh well... we blessed it right?

 

Then we went with Brother Mauldin to go contact some people, but he basically took us on a tour of his house and of bear valley.  He's got a cool green house though.  And he does aquaponics? Its really strange but really cool at the same time.

 

Saturday 6-25-11

So i loaded the dishwasher and we had no dish washer soap... so what did i use.....................? Dish Soap... you know like dawn? The liquid stuff. That when you put in the dishwasher it  bubbles up and flows all over the floor... yeah so guess what i did for studies...? Yah, cleaned it all up.  That was fun.  I fell asleep on the floor waiting for more bubbles to come out.  My companion took pictures but... i dont want to ask him for them... he's odd about that kind of stuff... he's odd period. anyways.... after that we went to a guys house that just moved into the ward and we helped him stack a wall in the backyard with big ol' cinder blocks. that was fun, we havent done that kind of service in a while so i really enjoyed it.

 

Then we went to "Grandmas" and sister moors house, did some service there.  She showed me the dishtowels she's making for mom and i got to pick them out.  They have apples on them! Arent you stoked mom?!?

 

Then we came in and showered, i now have a permanent white shirt on... all the time.... even with nothing on... worste FARMERS TAN EVER!!! its hideous.. But its ok... My neck got really burned so putting that white shirt back on hurts cuz of collar burn...

 

Then we visited the Bennetts and their grandaughter was there visiting, her name is Londyn! Crazy name huh? I kind of like it though...

 

Then we ate dinner at the bethkes and had a big fire because we had to burn some old progress records and it was just a good time.  We always have a lot of fun at the Bethkes

 

Sunday 6-26-11

Church was long, we were fasting for success of our district.  We are having a hard time finding people.  So we all did a fast.

 

Me and my companion both got huge headaches and his went away, mine never did. 

 

We went to the Roney's house for dinner.  It was a lot of fun.  They made us some really good Peruvian food and they have 3 teenage boys, so that means i got to pound on the Drumset a little bit, and got to the throw the football through their quarter back training tire stands... they are car tires on 2x4's and they have them all over the yard, so it was fun doing some football tossage, havent done that in a while.  We also taught a girl at their house who is on the focus 15.  She is cool and is progressing really well.  I just hope she's retaining everything.

 

Then we came home, i still had an insanely bad head ache, and i crashed before it even hit 9:30 and slept all the way to 7:30.... i felt bad because we're supposed to get up at 6:30 but our alarm didnt go off, so in a sense i didnt feel bad because my companion was supposed to set the alarm...  I woke back up with a head ache still but have TONS of energy now.  That was the best sleep of my life!  I think my head aches are related to allergies... But i'm not sure? It just feels like my dome is in a vice all the time haha..

 

Anyways... i dont know how many of you actually read all this? But i expect more letters in the mail! And lots of emails from simon now that he has his fancy Ipad!  Anyways, i love you all, i pray for all of you every night!  I hope all is well with all of you and i hope you are printing these emails up and saving them otherwise i will have no missionary journal when i get home... which would be bad haha. 

 

Anyways i'll write you next week.  Hope you are all doing well.  Love you all very much!

 

Love,

 

Elder Crapo

Hit my 4 month mark

Date: Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:47:52 -0700
Subject: Hit my 4 month mark
From: samuel.crapo@myldsmail.net

Helllllllooooooo Family and friends!

 

Hello everybody, again.  Thanks for the emails. Didnt get any letters this week in the mail but hey! I know you were thinking about writing, so its no biggy.  But i really do appreciate all the emails.  Makes me happy at least one day of the week ;) Just kidding i'm always happy...

 

Anyways, i just wanna say, everything sounds pretty cool at home.  I got mum's email about pictures and yes i guess i could try.  I was wondering if you got that picture message mum, some people from utah were at our dinner appointment last night, took our picture and sent it to your phone haha.  Theres a lady in my ward who graduated from Hillcrest, and her family (The ones from Utah) were there. So they live at the top of our street by the Goff Mortuary.  Small world eh?

 

I also want to know what scott is up to? When is boot camp. How long its boot camp? What do you do for the Reserves?  Do you get paid? Will you be on active duty? Will you be shipped somewhere else for camp?  What will you go to school for?

 

I've been thinking about the military a lot lately... i think its a huge possibility for when i go home...  I used to think about it a lot in high school too...  I didnt do too well in school so i think the Military would be a good choice.  I was thinking of something along the lines of going somewhere when they have been hit by a disaster and basically start clean up and save people who need help... so what is that like... army national guard? I dont know? that would be cool though, to get shipped somewhere, do nothing but help people in need, and hopefully get paid for it, maybe do active duty and just do that.  I think that would be an awesome job...  Anyways i'll look into it when i get home.  And try and stay focused on the dead work out here :/

 

Oh and i got mom and simon a birthday present today because i know i never got you guys a present... so i got something today. i'll send it off today.  Also saw the "Battle LA" Dvd in the stores. the box made me wanna cry, i wanna see that movie SO BAD!!!! IT LOOKS SO GOOOOOOOOD!!!!

 

So let me tell you ALL about my weeeeeeeek

 

Monday 6-13-11

We had half a p-day as you know because we were getting ready for the temple on saturday.  I wasnt in the best of moods because of what happened the night before, which was someone declined their baptisimal invite :( it was not fun.  I hope we get back into their home... we better get back into their home actually! She has 2 pairs of my suit pants that she's fixing...

 

We went and saw a lot of people, we are going through the ward list of golden hills because more than half of the people are either moved or dead.  They dont do any home teaching, its retarded.

 

We ate dinner at a members house, the food was really good and there was a baptist man there... fun.... and i caught a mouse in the house as well... that was also fun.

 

We taught a girl who was just put on the focus fifteen and she is pretty cool.

 

Then we stopped off at a members house, his name is Joe, it was his 70th birthday.  Poor guy was home alone listening to christian music :( but he was really happy we stopped by.

 

Tuesday 6-14-11

We did mormon.org in the morning, if you havent been to that website you should!

 

We went and did service for Joe, and he walked us over to the Country Store and bought us burgers!

 

Then we went to Wayne and Nita's and we thought we would have them prepare to be baptized by late aug.... and they shot that down too.  So in the matter of 3 days, we invited 4 people to be baptized, and they all said no... Yeah, the works great....

 

Then we went to a ladies house who we had done service for, she said she would start to take the lessons, so we went over there, and she was 45 minutes late getting out of the shower, and then when we were teaching her.... she fell asleep... multiple times.  i was laughing so hard, we basically left with her still asleep on the couch.

 

Then we went to the high school for dinner.  The Moats took us over there, the boy scouts were having a huge flag burning, it was way cool! TONS of flags to be burned.  There was also an F-18 that flew like 50 ft over our heads to start it off, that thing was so dang loud it was awesome!  But it was way cool because as they were recognizing the military veterans and officers at the burning, they also wanted to recognize all the Eagle scouts, so me and my comp stood up, and everyone was shocked, we spoke with a lot of cool people after because they thought it was cool that we were eagles.

 

We went to the church because we had an appointment with a potential, he didnt make it, and we've been trying ever since to set up another appointment... it doesnt looke promising.

 

Then we got our bikes ready because the next day we were going to bike in golden hills, to save on miles.  We are way over.  There was a lot of complaining from a certain someone i've been chosen to work with.... but i told him what my trainer told me... "PICK UP YOUR SKIRT" i wont say the rest though...

 

Wednesday 6-15-11

We went to the Chiropractor, Dr. Schall is the man! He has helped me so much while being here, my shoulder is almost back to normal but hurts every now and then, we are just trying to get it back into place.  But it was way funny becuase as he was adjusting my companion, he popped his back and he yelled and was like AH THAT HURT!!! and complained the whole time, made a big scene, i just sat there and laughed, but my companion keeps say "I'm probably never going to go back to the chiro after that" so... he once again needs to "pick up his skirt".

 

Then we visited sister alvis with brother lewis.  It went pretty well. and we showed a video that applied big time to her! BIG TIME, she loved it! We always brighten her day.  But when i got up to leave, i guess i had been sitting in a pile of dog hair because it looked like my but had been shot with white silly string haha it was so bad, but thanks to you guys! i had a mini lint roller in my backpack and made easy work of that fur!

 

Then we went to brother lewis' house, where they made us pizza and cookies, its like going to grandmas house when we go there haha its so awesome.

 

Then we went and changed into service clothes and rode our bikes to help a lady.  Then after helping that lady we went and helped another lady.  It kind of sucked becuase on the way to the other ladies house, my comp FLEW down a hill, like way far away from where i was (Probably because he has more weight to pick up speed) anyways, he's way down, cant even hear me yelling at him that his big dumb butt was going the wrong way... so we got to ride back up that big hill... i've been cursed... but hey it was a good work out! Woo Hoo!

 

Then we had dinner with the Warings, and that went... well.  They were getting ready to go camping.

 

Then we stopped by Grandma's house, played with her kitten and talked and what not. 

 

Then we contacted some people on the ward list, and then came in and made a bunch of phone calls.

 

Thursday 6-16-11 (Month Mark)

We went to district meeting at our church building and ate taco bell after (Yummm)

 

Then we went to the store because my companion wanted some service gloves, it ended up taking a long time and a lot of miles...  We were 30 minutes late for our next appointment,  but it was just service up at a couples new/old home.  We were helping them fix it up before they moved in.  The place was TRASHED! Like it should be condenmed! haha but it was a lot of fun helping them out, lots of non members to talk to.

 

And then we went to Chesters house where we ate dinner and did some work on his ranch.  It was a good time.

 

And then after that we didnt know what to do because we were all the way out in stallion and only had an hour left, so we went back to the first service we did and helped them some more because my companion didnt want to go back the next day...

 

Then we went in and planned and i wrote down a whole bunch of people from the ward list and told elder summers if they were less active, active,or do not contact.  He made a big fuss about seeing people under DNC... but what are they going to do? Say "Do not contact me?" Ok then... we wont, but it doesnt hurt to try, you never know where their heart is at now...

 

Friday 6-17-11

Weekly planning took a really long time becuase we just had 4 people deny a baptisimal invite, we had to have a game plan. 

 

And then we went to Brother Dixon's house, who is pretty cool, i think we are going to help him get to the temple.  Poor guy was preparing with his wife to go to the temple and she died a couple days before they were going to go, he never ended up going :( Made me sad, it would be so cool to go to the temple with him.

 

Then we went to the Bennetts and gave Sister Bennett a blessing because she had been sick.

 

We ate dinner at some peoples wedding practice thing...  The bishop is marrying some people and we had him for dinner so he just took us to that.. Cool thing was the lady who is getting married is someone we had been looking for, for a way long time out in Stallion. So now we know she lives in Golden Hills.

 

Then we watched mountain of the lord with the holloways. Because the next day they were getting ready for the temple, to be sealed!

 

Saturday 6-18-11

We went to the temple, bro williams drove us (Sister Bethke's Dad) and he is a speed Demon! we got there with an hour to spare!  But it was nice, a way nice time at the temple, so cool to see them and their little 2 year old be sealed to them for eternity! The spirit was so strong.

 

Then we went to in and out for lunch and came home and got back on our usual activities... Elder Summers was having another break down but it wasnt as bad, i cheered him up with some funny stories and stuff.

 

Then we went to the bethkes and had a fire and ate dinner, it was a really good day.

 

Sunday 6-19-11

We had 7 hours of church.. yay! and then we ate dinner at a house where all the hillcrest grads were! It was crazy, spoke a lot about home and stuff.  They are a way awesome family.  then after that we went to the Kills and had a good time over there.  Summers and her clanked heads because they are big football buffs and their favorite teams are rivals so it got kinda crazy.  but it was way funny to sit there and watch her punch summers, something i cant do... It was great, her husband had to hit her with a fly swatter, and he kept yelling "You're not allowed to touch missionaries" it was pretty funny.

 

Anyways that's my week... not so eventful... not so fun... but better than the last two i guess?

 

I just hope things are going to get better.  Anyways, everyone stay safe! Love you all, i pray for you guys every dang day haha.  I hope you are recieving blessings through my trials :D  have a good week i'll send you another email next week. 

 

Love

Elder Crapo

 

Slow week 6/13/2011

Hello Family and Friends,

This week is going a little better. Thank you for all the emails.
Sorry i dont have the chance to write everyone back seperately, we are
going to the temple on saturday, so we have to cut our P-Day in
half...
My nerves have settled, i just wasnt ready for what hit me. I was
supposed to get a fearless senior comp and got someone with a whole
bunch of problems so i had to step up to the plate and take a lot of
responsibility. Everyone says they feel like i've been out forever
because of how well i'm handling all this. They keep saying i'll be
ZL before i know it... pft, yeah right. i dont want to be ZL. I wrote
president about it all and all that happened was now Elder Summers
talks to a Dr. from Utah and he takes a prescription which he calls
his crazy pills... which is just the knock off of prozac... yeah so
these pills are the hard stuff. I dont think its right if you ask
me... if pills are keeping you on your mission, then go home. Thats
what i told president... i told him to send him home... he obviously
doesnt want to be a missionary and i want a companion that wants to be
one ya know?
Anyways in almost every letter you guys asked how my shoulder was.
Besides it hanging a little lower than the other its fine. It only
hurts a little bit. The Dr. actually said that it fixed the muscles
in my neck and i havent had a headache since... (Except fast sunday)

So here's my week...

Monday 6-6-11
I forgot on this day to write home about when we were at the Bennetts
tying the dummy calf, Elder Summers ripped the crotch out on his pants
on his second run... it was so funny. He put on some sweats while
sister Bennett sewed his pants back up. I also forgot to say that i
heard the longest fart of my life... When we were at brother Kannards
he... gets gassy. And his fart lasted AT LEAST 15 seconds long.
Continuoslly! It was nuts! I was laughing so hard.

We ate Breakfast at the Leishmans with all the YSA and then we went
over to the Church and played cames. My Comp said that it was like an
awkward day activity to a dance which is stupid because i love monday
fundya. He just sat around writing letters the whole time while were
were all having fun. He's excited that we arent having monday funday
today...

I spoke with Elder Carrera about Elder Snarr. They were having a
difficult time to start. They had to leave early to go to an
appointment.

We stayed a little longer and then left to go change the laundry, well
when i opened the door, Carrera and Snarr were just YELLING their guts
off at each other. So i shut the door and walked back to the car.
Told my comp. what was going on. Said they just need to get it out...
Well we waited a little bit before we went back and as soon as i
walked through the door Elder Carrera pointed at me and marched
towards me and said "YOU WALK WITH ME NOW!!!" and we went on a walk
and talked things out a little bit. Then we came back and got him on
the phone with president. We wasted about 2 hours of our P-Day doing
this.

We then went home and changed, picked up the other elders and went
shopping. The President called and was concerned for how this was
effecting me. I told him i was fine, because at that point i was just
like... this is stupid. All the Elders Around me are going crazy!
haha i think i'm the only normal... i think i'm normal...?

Well then he wanted to talk to Elder Summers. He spoke with him
outside the car for about 40 Minutes... and i just sat there and
listened to him tell president about how much he hates this place...

I wrote president a novel of a letter telling him what i think about
Summers. Cool guy, doesnt want to be a missionary, send him home.
that was it... except in detail.

Then we went to Stallion Springs and ate dinner with the McHenry
family, after that we went to Wayne and Nitas and shared a video with
them and talked to them a bit. It went pretty well. I love Wayne and
Nita, they are pretty much members, they just need to stop smoking.

Tuesday 6-7-11
This day was a rough one as well. Trying to find something to do...

We contacted lots of people and taught only one lesson. We contacted
Less actives, Formers, Recent Converts, Service, Tracting...
EVERYTHING! and still had time left over... it was making me so angry
because i didnt know what to do?

While we were tracting we got stuck on a porch with a guy for one hour
who told me to my face that Joseph Smith was a nut job, i wanted to
bear my testimony that i know Joseph Smith to be a true prophet
because of the intense desire i had to punch this old fart in the
face. TKO.

Elder summers got a lot of mail this day... i hadnt had mail for... 3
weeks and he sat on the phone with the president and just tore open
his mail and threw it on the ground... wow...

Wednesday 6-8-11
This was a pretty good day... better than the day before

We went to Dr. Schall and he took care of us. Sister Alvis Cancelled
our appointment.

We then went and picked up some weed wackers because we had a bunch of
service planned for the day. We went to Joe Moynya's house and he
wasnt home. So we went to the Bear Valley market and got some burgers
from there. Also got some oil for my cool cigar lighter.

We then went to a potentials house and did some yard work for her.
She wasnt home because she had a stroke earlier in the morning... so
we just did it so she could be happy when she got home.

We then helped wayne wtih some yard work, then we had a good
discussion about a guy we found on Mormon.org who told his story about
how he conquered smoking. We shared that with him and his wife and
they said it was a really good idea and a way good story. No
missionary has presented something like that so i hope to see progress
from them.

I bought some boots the day before, i needed some service boots. I
was sick of getting fox tails stuck in my socks. So i got some Texas
Steel work boots and they look like army boots. they are pretty sick!
They were only $32.

We ate dinner with the bishop at a burger place. Two burgers in one
day :( No Bueno!

WE dropped off a book of mormon and a guys house who requested one
online, he said he was curious and we set up an appointment with him
on tuesday. It made my day.

We visited sister Layne and found out that when she was married she
was only 15! and her husband was 18! and they've been married ever
since. They are two years away from their 70th anniversary!

And then we went over to the Holloways house to see how it is doing.
They have everything set up and it looks WAY GOOD.

Thursday 6-9-11
WE went to Bakes for District meeting. On our way back the two other
elders fell asleep in the back seat so while we were on the highway we
hit the brakes really hard and screamed "DEEEEEEER" and thye jumped so
high, pooped their pants i think. It was wya funny.

I got two letters. One from mom to tell me that she had been sending
emails to the wrong address, and one from a sister i met in the MTC.
so that made me a little happy.

We found an old guy and gave him a pamphlet and he was pretty cool.

We went around looking for something to do and found an old lady who
was pretty cool, has a huge front gardent and we told her we'd come
help her sometime.

Then we ate dinner at the Bennetts and watched the Joseph Smith movie.
I havent seen the whole thing in forever.

Friday 6-10-11
Times arent getting any easier, we are way over on miles, and golden
hills is dead. I'm so sick of tracting its a joke. The Golden Hills
ward needs to do their stinking home teaching because more than half
the people on the ward list are either less active or dead or moved.

We had weekly planning. It went by WAY too fast...

Travelled to stallion and saw irlene (Potential) We asked her if she
would be interested in taking the lessons and she said yes, so we get
to start meeting with her which is SICK!

WE went to brother Moats house and had some homemade ice cream, he
said to come back sometime so we can rope llammas.

We taught a recent convert lesson to the Salyers kids, that went really well.

We went to the apartment and made some calls, dinner was pushed back
an hour and so we basically just waited, biggest waste of time ever...
because elder summers didnt want to tract or anything... we just sat
in the car...

we had dinner with the clarks. Brother clark was scaring me, he
seemed way sketched out, like in his own world. it was way scary. he
was pail and looked like he'd lost a lot of weight.

Then we came in early because we didnt know what to do. Coming in
early Drives me NUTS!!!

Saturday 6-11-11
I put down that Elder Summers is a stickler on the little rules... so
we didnt get to go to the Leishmans until 10 because Elder Summers HAS
to do his studies in the morning... PLEASE. He wont even make u-turns
so we end up wasting a grip load of miles trying to find some place he
can turn around... He keeps changing routine things that we do,
because he doesnt like them and he wants it done his way... its
driving me up the wall.

We stopped by a potential, the guy lied and said that the lady we were
looking for wasnt there...

Then we tracted a way nice neighborhood and didnt find ANYBODY. Golden
Hills sucks.

WE ate lunch at Jack in the Butt.. Summers likes it... Made me feel fat.

We drove out to stallion springs and hung out with chester for a
little bit. He was supposed to be cleaning out the garage, but
instead he fixed the yard equipment and bought more junk at yard
sales. Like a big neon bud light sign. Its huge! We hung it up in
his garage. Then he called Brother Moffatt, and he drove over on his
little rider mower, it was pretty funny.

We stopped at sister Coppersmiths, less active, just talked with her
for a bit. then we contacted more people.

We went to bear Valley, looking for people on a list. Met up with a
potential and got her number so we could set up an appointment with
her. She is so cool and so is her family. She was holding a little
puppy that was all stitched up because a big bull dog got a hold of it
and just about killed it.

We then visited the Kernazitskas, and this family is like Steve Irwins
family. No Joke! They teach their kids to catch every animal and
rattle snakes and stuff. They also had a video of a bear that came
into their front yard, right up to their door.

We went to the bethkes and burnt Elder Summers hump day shirt.

Also the night before, when i was dreaming, in my dream a door bell
went off. and i woke myself up because it sounded like our door bell
and it was, someone sat outside our door for like 15 minutes tapping
on our window and ringing our doorbell at 1 am in the morning. there
was no way i was going to answer the door! We live right across the
street from the Jehovah witnesses place of worship. We're probably on
a hit list!

Sunday 6-12-11
We had a pretty good day at church besides elder Summers complaining
that its another long day... i like church, the two sessions are
good... i thought it was rough to start but get over it.

We ate ribs at the De Silvas which was way tasty..

Then we went to the kings, had a way good lesson about the gospel of
jesus christ, and then we asked them to be baptized... it didnt go
well. i think we lost a lot of trust doing so... we might never get
back in the door.... and if we dont i'll be so angry because they are
progressing amazingly. What makes me even more angry is that Elder
Summers doesnt care that it went that way... He's so used to be shot
down, he's so blunt with people because he's been dealing with the
punks in bakersfield and now that he's come to heaven where everyone
is nice he ends up offending EVERYONE, its driving me nuts, he's so
blunt, he's got dry humor, that is not humorous, more offensive if
anything, and he's cocky... how can you be cocky when you are calling
home begging to go home? I dont know if i can handle this guy much
longer. Havent looked forward to transfers so much in my life...

Anyways i guess i'm doing ok, i'm just going through a... stupid.
That's all i can think to say haha. I love you all, thanks again for
your emails and concerns. I look forward to your next emails.

Love,
Elder Crapo

6/6/11

Hello Family and Friends,

So last week i checked email and i didnt have anything from Mum :(
thats no good, so this week i checked and again, nothing from mum....
:( I need emails! Havent had any letters this week either.. But i'm
sure you're all doing well and i thank everyone who did send an email.

So this week has been the hardest part of my mission yet. I've been
so stressed and things are going way rough.

Monday 5-30-11
We spent most of the day getting Elder Pulham all packed up and said
goodbye to as many people as we could. It was rough, poor guy... But
that's basically all we did. Had a way good turn out at monday funday

Tuesday 5-31-11
We woke up at 5 AM and got ready to go. I dropped Elder Pulham and
Elder Haynie off at the Bennetts because Elder Pulham was going home
and Elder Haynie was getting ready to go to Ventura as a Zone
Leader... So we dropped them off and the Bennetts gave us some food
to eat.

Then Elder Snarr and I got in the car and i drove us to Bakersfield
where we picked up our new companions. I got Elder Summers and he is
cool. Elder Haynie said that he almost didnt come out on his mission
because of Anxiety problems and i thought that was over with, but with
change it comes back. So we waited about an hour and a half while he
was on the phone with President and his parents wanting to go home.
So that kind of freaked me out. So besides him really wanting to go
home, he is cool. He is a pilot and he's a stickler on rules :/ But
i dont know how to react when a missionary who has been out for a year
is bawling on the phone saying he wants to go home. I kind of feel
like i'm being dragged down...

But then he decided to just come and we drove back to Tehachapi.

We got unpacked and did some shopping. Then we visited as many people
in the ward we could to get Elder Summers Familiar with the area and
the people.

I had Knots in my stomach all day, i'd start to freak out on the
inside when we werent doing anything because Elder Pulham always knew
what to do... we were always doing something and it seemed like i was
on my own. The knots in my stomach were so bad i thought i was going
to throw up. So I'm way stressed right now. This week has been so
hard.

We ate dinner at the De Silvas house and went on splits with Brother
Britton. Talked to the Bethke's later that night.

Wednesday 6-1-11
We had District meeting because the District Leaders had a meeting the
next day so they bumped it up one day. It went pretty well i thought.
I had to give a discussion about asking and answering good questions.
So like questions of the soul and stuff like that.

Then the whole district went out to McDonalds, i hate McDonalds and
especially with my upset stomach i couldnt eat anything....

Then we went to Sister Moore's. Tom (Their Neighbor) Was there, so we
talked with him for a little bit. Then Sister Moore pulled up with a
stray dog in her car, and she made a little sign to see if anyone was
missing it.

Then after that we tried to go contact a whole bunch of potentials.
Nobody was really home. But you see, after Pulham left, we baptized
all the people that we were teaching so now we are back out on the
streets doing more tracting and finding... Its not fun...

Then we came home for dinner. Ate some Pasta Roni.

We went over the the Holloways new house to do some service. We
helped rip up all the old carpet, and after we did that we started to
paint rooms. My nerves were still so bad, and my stomach is still in
knots.

Thursday 6-2-11
We went to a Ladies house that we helped out last week, we did a
little more service... We really hope that she is interested in the
Gospel cuz she could really use it. She has had some crazy
experiences in her life. But all her lawn equipment gave out so we
had to leave. We drove back into town and got some lunch. I feel bad
because we are going over miles... so that's stressing me out too.

We then went to Sister Lewis' house and we sat around and talked for a
while. She made us cookies and gave us a Less Active list to work on.
People to go see. So after that we contacted as many of them as we
could.

Then we had dinner back in town with the Jacobsons. They are always so cool.

And then we went back to the Holloways again to help them move their
stuff in. All their carpet had been put in and it looks way nice.
I'm so excited for them to have a home to themselves. We are able to
go to the Temple with them too on June 18. Its going to be awesome to
see them be sealed.

I still wasnt feeling well on this day either...I worry about all
kinds of stuff that sends my stomach on a twirl.

Friday 6-3-11
This day was a bit better. We did our weekly planning and it went
really smooth and really quick. We ate lunch at a nice deli with BIG
sandwhiches.

We did some contacting and didnt really get to see any potentials even
though we tried. Me and my companion read in Preach My Gospel that
when we go contacting we should tract around the area because god
maybe put us in that area for a reason. So that takes up a little
more time.

We went to Tyler and Travis' house and taught them the commandments
all over again for their Recent Convert lessons. It was a cool
lesson. We used golfballs and rice for an object lesson. They really
liked it.

We tracted a street and talked to some cool people. Then we headed
over to Randy's and worked on Ropin calves for a little bit. We didnt
have dinner planned so Sister Bennett made us dinner and we also
shared a spiritual thought with them. It went pretty well.

Then we went to Mama Kills to see if she was there. We want to start
the Discussions with her. But she wasnt there and Brother Kill looked
like he'd been crying and said that it was a really bad time and that
she wouldnt be back for a while... It got me really worried because
they are so cool... i dont want anything to happen to that family.
They have a son on a mission.

Then we went to the air strip in Tehachapi for Elder Summers. Because
he is a pilot, he took his mind off things. He's really not having a
good time.. He wants to go home badly.

Saturday 6-4-11
We decided to have a service day. We put on our service clothes and
thought we would go tracting, except ask people if we could do service
for them. Build trust and then tell them what we are all about.. So
first house we went to was Regina and Curt. They are a Potential
family, and when we got there he was too nice to take our service so
he had us go see another guy, so we went and saw him and dug trees out
of his backyard, then we took those trees and put them in Curts front
yard. And then they gave us a referral to go see another family in
the area. That took a while and we had an appointment out in Bear
Valley for lunch and service so we didnt get to go tracting like we
wanted. But we at least established a good relationship with Curt.

Then we went to Brother Kannards. We ate lunch the and did a ton of
service around his place. Lots of weed wacking and spraying weeds and
stuff like that. They always load us up with cookies though so it was
good. But i'm having a really hard time eating... my stomach is still
no good...

Then we were near the bishop so we went to his house and helped him in
his yard. And we transplanted grass around his yard. It went pretty
well. We did a pretty good job.

After that we went home and got showered and then went back out to
Bear Valley and ate dinner with the Bethke's and had Correlation. IT
went pretty good. Besides the fact that they think i'm dying because
i cant eat... They are worried for me. They keep asking me if i've
eaten or not...

But it was a good day. All the service kept my mind off things.

Sunday 6-5-11
It was a good sunday. I missed seeing all the members and things like
that. The Fasting gave me a head ache... My companion said he cannot
do another week again. He says its too hard and he's burnt out. I
dont know what to do? I just want progress and to teach someone but
its so hard when my comp. doesnt even want to be on his mission... I
might need to say something to president...

Anyways, as you can see that my splendid week is extremely difficult
i'd like some letters haha. Especially from my parents... havent seen
one of those in a while. I'm just stressed so keep me in your
prayers... I love you all and hope you are all doing well.

Love,
Elder Crapo