June 30, 2011

Family,

To start off I wanted to add a few more details to my letter form last week regarding the body we found. We never found out his name or any personal details about him. The only way we knew he had committed suicide is from what the homicide detectives told us. They made it to the body and discovered pills and signs of exposure. No signs of struggle were apparent and he was resting in such a position that indicated he placed himself there. His body was completely intact and really he just appeared to be sleeping. So there's the story of Jon Doe.

Okay so enough about the dead. Lets talk about the living. And their redemption. In particularly I wanted to share with you all a continuation of an experience that I think I already shared a while back.

If you recall, while I was serving in the office I was in an English area. I really missed learning Spanish and talking to Hispanics. However, among the handful of Hispanics I did talk to I happened to talk to a lady named Lucy. She invited us back. When we stopped by, her boyfriend, Toni, answered the door. I was the only one in the companionship that could speak Spanish, and broken Spanish at that. He did not seem interested but we gave him a Book of Mormon anyway. The truth is we gave up on him and did not go back to see him. Then we had a conference with all the Spanish missionaries. President invited those missionaries who were called Spanish but serving in English areas to speak the language as much as possible. The Spirit told me at that moment that we needed to visit Toni and Lucy. Two days later we went to their house and they were both home. We taught the message of the Restoration and the Spirit was incredibly strong there. We knew that we could not continue to teach them because they needed to be taught by the Spanish assigned missionaries in that area which happened to be the Sisters. We wrapped the lesson up and Toni began to tell us what had happened before we met him the first time. He told us that that day when we gave him the Books of Mormon he had been praying to God for guidance in his life. He said that literally as he closed his prayer we knocked on his door. His look of disinterest was actually an expression of marvel and amazement. As amazing of an experience as it was I was a little bummed that we had to transition him over to the Sisters. However, when we had the transition lesson with the Sisters, Toni, a member, and myself, the Spirit confirmed to me that he was in good hands and that I had done all I could do. I was transferred a few weeks later and kept in touch with the Sisters. Toni fell off the map for a while they said, but shortly thereafter they got back in touch with him. And from then on he was rock solid. The only obstacle he had to face was the fact that he was living with his girlfriend. In the process of teaching him he actually broke up with her, however, she had no where to go so she still lived there. Meanwhile, Toni had been going to church and bearing his testimony in such a way that everyone thought he was a member. The Sisters helped him choose a date for baptism and he chose 25 June 20011. Two weeks before then they had to tell him that he could not get baptised if he was still living with his girlfriend. They fought, I'm sure and struggled to come to an agreement. It came down to Toni leaving the house and sleeping in his truck for a few days before Lucy packed up and moved. And not just next door, she moved to El Salvador! This was truly a miracle because Toni did not want to change his date. Toni was baptised on 25 June 2011 and I was blessed be able to attend and participate. I will never forget the first time I met him and the change that I saw in him from that day to the day he was baptised. The Lord guides us to his children who are ready to hear the restored Gospel. We are where we are for a reason. As a missionary, a member, a child of God. He loves us and guides us all. Sometimes we are too stubborn to accept His Guidance or too distracted to recognize it. But when we do humble ourselves to accept His will, miracles like Toni happen. He is a blessing in my life that I cannot explain with words other than in an expression of thanks to my Heavenly Father.

And with that thanks I thank all of you who are supporting me and in doing so are support the Lord's work. Thanks for reading these letters that ramble on and sending your love in the form of candy and sweets and socks and the list goes on. I would not be here if it were not for my Heavenly Father's brilliant and perfect plan of Happiness but I surely would not feel His love if it were not for your support.

Love,

Elder Cronin