February 24, 2011

Family,

The topic for this week is, "Elder Cronin's Not-So-Missionary Typical Week":

Most Days: 
 Wake up at 6:00am and workout at Gym
 Shower and dressed by 7:30am
 Personal study till 8:30
 BREAKFAST 8:30-9:00
 Companionship Study 9:00-10:00
 Out of the Door by 10:00 and working!!
 ****The preceding events happen the same each day unless we get a call from president and need to be somewhere to fix something:)
  We usually have a list of people to visit between now and LUNCH
LUNCH ~12:00 We go to the office at this time and get stuff done
Proselyte and go to appointments until dinner @ 5:00pm 
Proselyte and go to appointments until 9:00pm (Tue. Wed. Thur. we have splits with our subsequent wards)
9:00pm- To the Office
We plan for 30 minutes for the next day then start our office priorities finishing around 11:30pm and in bed by midnight.

Thursday mornings we skip morning studies to do the valley-wide supply run which take about two hours. If we have temple that week we do it Wed night. Which is nice because then we get to see all the Vegas lights!

All of the preceding schedule is tentative based on technical problems in the mission office or home and if president needs anything from us.

I hope that gives you an idea of my days. Sundays are crazy! We go to church from 9a-4p and all the wards overlap by about an hour so we split up each Sunday. 

Thanks so much for all of the letters you all are writing. I know I'm not the best at responding but I hope my love is felt. It's so wonderful to hear you all are doing well and finding success. I can't wait to meet Chandler. Make sure you show him pictures of me so when I come home he knows who I am. I don't want to have to kick another dog! :)

This week has taught me many valuable truths. One truth I'd like to share with you is the truth of blessings. sometimes the Lord blesses us because we deserve it and other times it is because he is merciful. When we receive those blessings from mercy the Lord is trying to show us our potential. Specifically this applies to missionaries. Sometimes you get investigators because you are working hard and other times you get them because the Lord wants you to know your potential and what you can accomplish once you put your mind to it. This happened to us this week. We work hard but we are not 100% focused on our area because of our office work and it is even more difficult to give all three wards the same amount of attention. But we do the best we can with what we have. In the midst of our discouragement the Lord was merciful. Sunday a Bulgarian woman named Violet showed up to one of the sacrament meetings. She struck up conversation with other ward memebrs and they took her right under their wings. I don't blame them especially after hearing her story:

Violet went into an unexpected coma this time last year. She was in the coma for 3 days. She said the most painful part of her trial was feeling her spirit leave her body. She said once this happened though she felt like she was surrounded, enveloped, and submerged in love. The love a mother feels for her child is how she described it. Later that year, in August she had a dream of a building. She went into this building and met some people and talked with them. About a week later her boss, a member of the church decided to invite her to church. She had not mentioned the dream to him. As she stepped into the building in North Las Vegas she felt an odd familiarity. This building was the same building as in her dream. Even the conversation were the same and the people. She told her boss and her boss gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon. She read it and felt is was true. Her boss told her which ward to attend and it happened to be one of the wards we cover. We met with Violet last night and invited her to follow Christ and be baptized by someone who holds the authority of to act in God's name. She said yes and will be baptized on 3/26/2011. And she recently moved from Elko.

In that same ward, Valle Verde, we have two other people set for baptism. Ashley and Erik will be baptized on March 19th.

There is no place I would rather be right now. There is no other work I would rather be doing. And I am so grateful, indescribably grateful for my decision to jump into this bucket. The missionary bucket. I could not have done it with out the support of my family. Bottom line. The more I think about it and the more families I see out here both in and out of the church the more I realize how blessed I am and how blessed we are to have truth. 

The work is always exciting. I find so much joy sharing my testimony with others. This is a privileged that I will have for the rest of my life but a calling I will only have for a short time. 

Happy Birthday Samuel!!!!!!!! I hope you enjoy your gift. It's on its way. 

I love you all. Keep up the good work. 
Love,

Elder Cronin

P.S. Picture descriptions: 1.hopeless effort to fix President's CD Drive. 2. My Planner 3. The Green Valley Zone 4. Las Vegas Temple

Hopeless effort to fix President's CD drive!!

All in a day's work

The Zone

The Las Vegas Temple

February 17, 2011

This week, Elder Cronin and I had an e-mail conversation. We sent notes back and forth asking various questions and catching up. Overall, the weather is great out there, he is still very busy, and he is still having a blast!! Here are a few clips from the conversation:

Well, we just finished the supply run that supplies all the missionaries in the valley. Got my hair cut by SIster wilcox and now I'm talking with my momma!


Transfers are on march 1 and I feel I'll be here for at least another transfer. We're moving the office in April and I feel like I was assigned here to help with that. But only the Lord KNows (and Mom replies:)  Well the Lord knows you have enough experience in that area. Remember to label the boxes!


I'm gonna write you all a letter now it was nice chatting with you!!!! I love you and can't wait to talk to you on Mother's Day!!

Love,

Elder Cronin


Well, I didn't get another letter, but the day is not over yet!! I did get a picture from the baptism of a family up in Elko!! Quite the crowd!!

The real letter came much later in the night due to our 3 hour time difference:


Family!

I did not forget about you all. We got called into the Mission Home to install a new CD drive and a file backup system in the home. I love this opportunity to spend more time with President Christensen and render him service. In turn I know I am rendering the mission service aiding in perpetuating this machine of missionary work. 

This week has been magnificent. We've set a couple of people for baptism. One just happened about one hour ago! Ashley is her name and as we set her for baptism the Spirit suggested that we invite the husband, a member returning to activity, to perform the ordinance. We found out later that the member who was with us in that lesson felt the same prompting. The Holy Ghost is real!!!! And what's more is that he communicates the will of our Father in Heaven. 

I love to see that you are doing well. Sorry this letter is so short but I hope you enjoy the picture of Dominick. I guess they are worth a thousand more words :)

Love,

Elder Cronin

P.S. Caption for picture: Left to right: Elder Cronin, Kelsi, Dominick, Elder Holt. " A missionary is someone who leaves their family for 2 years so others can spend eternity with thiers." - Anonymous

P.S.S Weekly schedule letter is coming

February 10, 2011

Family,

Another late e-mail. My apologies. Life is hectic here in the office so we are always busy. But the blessings outweigh the sleep deprivation. :)

This has been an interesting week to say the least. Fast Sunday was amazing. Covering 3 wards is such a blessing on fast Sundays because we get the chance to hear three hours or so of members share with others their conviction in the gospel. Its amazing to hear such powerful testimonies. And what's even more amazing is hearing them share that testimony with complete strangers as we take them out to lessons with investigators. Without the help of members this work would not progress. Let's face it, who's going to believe a couple of young-bucks in shirts and ties. Maybe a few, but not enough to fulfill the many prophesies of the gathering of Israel. 

This week we had the opportunity to solidify plans to have Dominic to be baptized and confirmed this weekend. He is a 9 year old who's mother has had a rough life but has now come back to church and wants her son to grow up with a solid foundation. Her love for her son is not unfamiliar to me. As I look at her, Kelsie, and see her willingness to usher her son into the fold, I cannot help but think of you Mom and your unwavering desire to have each of your wonderful beautiful and borderline perfect kids come unto Christ. Thank you for your faith and patience with us. 

We also sat down with one of our investigators, Claudio. No not the General authority who will be visiting our mission on the 19th, but a father of three young boys and the husband to a wonderful wife, Graciela. Unfortunately our second visit with them did not turn out too hot. We were able to teach them the first lesson las week but this time Claudio invited a friend. Claudio was under the impression that this friend was simply interested in coming closer to Christ. And it seemed that was too as he walked into the house with the Book of Mormon and two other church publications. However, we soon were able to discern his intent as he was flipping through his Book of Mormon and both Elder Holt and myself caught a glimplse of a sticky note with the words "False Prophesy" and an arrow pointing to a verse. What followed was a spiritual battle. He attacked our faith without having read the Book of Mormon. He made very uneducated assumtions and accusations. All of which would have been made worse had we not brought along Brother Warthin, a former mission president. His testimony and ability to harness the Holy Ghost in an effective manner against this young man and the evil spirit he brought was incredible. We all left that appointment mentally and spiritually drained. In fact I was weak the rest of the day. We did leave them, however, committed to reading the Book of Mormon before making any other conclusions. As for Claudio, he has not turned to the world for education on our faith so his perspective is still based of what we have taught him so far. But as for the friend, it seems he was able to find holes in his attacks of which he will simply try to patch rather than cease the attack. 

The Lord's work is the most important work to be done. I am thrilled and honored to have such a calling. I am slowly gaining the experience to win in these spiritual battles and I feel the Lord has a great deal of trust in me. Thanks for all your prayers and support.

Love,

Elder Cronin

P.S. We accidentley deleted all of Presidents documents yesterday morning. But were able to recover them after about 3 hours of hard work last night near midnight :) The Lord does provide!

February 3, 2011 ---- Part II

Elder Cronin's letter finally did come through!! Enjoy!

Family!

As for the Las Vegas Mission, this week was great!!! The excitement started on Saturday when I kicked a dog. So we were on exchanges and I was with Elder Williams. As we walked out of an appointment we heard two dogs barking. Henderson is not known for freely roaming dogs and we were in a fairly nice neighborhood. So I wasn't too startled until I turned around and saw them running towards us. One was a chocolate lab and the other was a seemingly harmless chihuahua. But as I saw them running towards us they were only gaining speed and the lab was snarling with his teeth showing. I settled into a fighting stance not taking my eye off the lab. When he got about two feet from me he jumped forward and I kicked him into the curb. He slid a few feet and was back up but no sooner the chihuahua came nipping at my feet so I kicked him away gently. Then the owner came out yelling at her dogs. At first I thought she was yelling at us and I felt embarrassed. The last thing we want people to think is that Missionaries go around kicking dogs. But she was apologetic saying they were only wanting to play. It was true the lab was just a big puppy only about a year old and after he recovered from the kick to his ribs he was tail wagging happy. He was only showing his teeth because he was smiling. Still I felt confident knowing that I had defended myself. But I felt sorry for the dog the rest of the day. That feeling is gone now though. ha ha

The next best part of the week happened two days ago. We street contacted a Brazilian family moving into one of our areas, Fountains. We didn't set up a return appointment because they wouldn't commit to one. But as we rode by their house yesterday we felt impressed to see if we could help with the move. They immediately invited us in and we taught the first lesson with their full attention. The wife fed us lunch and they asked many good questions. The husband told us he had been praying that the move would go smoothly and that he could find a way to bring his family to church and teach his kids about God. He mentioned it was no coincidence we showed up. We agreed.

My companion and I have been having a ton of fun with this assignment. Some times are more stressful than others but we get through it. My companion is awesome though. He is a stark contrast to me with a few similarities mostly involving computers in one way or another. For example he did not like the MTC and I did. But we are constantly learning form one another and becoming more Christlike. 

With this new assignment I don't get to study as regularly as I used. I really miss studying but the blessings form this assignment will be well worth it. Usually when we sit down in the mornings to study we get a call of some sort of some "glitch" somewhere that we need to go fix [at the mission office]. I feel alot like the Geek Squad. :) But with each glitch I get a chance to interact with [our mission] President. And that is a wonderful blessing. He is an amazing man and a great example to have while on a mission.

Carrie had her baby in Elko! Its a boy! I'm writing her today to say hi and see how things are going. Keep her in your prayers. 

And Mom you cannot say that no one has joined the church because of you yet. I have, so has Samuel, Olivia, and Callie. And on 12/11/10 Peggy Remick did, and on February 12th 4 members of the Zimmerman family in Elko will along with a nine year old boy named Dominic here in our area. So Mom I would say you have been quite successful because I know I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you and the sacrifices you have made. 

Family, this Gospel is true. There is, in my mind, no justifiable alternative. The boy Joseph saw God and Christ and through him They restored the true church. As we follow its precepts we will find ourselves becoming more like Christ, enjoying more blessings, and finding purpose amidst the world we live in today. I love you all very much and am so grateful to be eternally bound to you all. 

Love
Elder Cronin

February 3, 2011

CAL___ - He's filling them up!!

O.K. - well, this was an interesting day. I waited my usual 5-6 hours for Elder Cronin's letter. He's really good about sending them out around noontime. Just about 1 pm I saw that his letter had come in. Of course, I was super excited!!! I opened it up and all that it said was 'Yes!'. So, I had to try to remember what question I had asked him last week. That was too far in the past, so I couldn't. But, thanks to email I found my answer easily. Here is what Elder Cronin said could be posted. These are 2 images made with Google Earth that show his mission and area boundaries! This is one thing he works on now while he is serving in the Mission Office.  P.S. I'm off to check my 'spam' box for his real letter!!

This image shows the Mission boundaries.

This image shows the areas that he covers - Fountains, Silver Springs, and Val Verde.