A new perspective on a missionary

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November 17, 2010

Family,
It might seem odd that I am e-mailing today but we are heading down to Vegas tomorrow for a conference with General Authority Elder Bowen, he is touring the mission. Its what we call a mission vacation. And because we are leaving tomorrow we have our P-day today.
   I'm so excited to hear of your progression. Things are progressing here in Elko including the weather. We have been into the 30's so far but nothing colder than that and it seems to be a bit bi-polar as well seeing as how its 58 today and sunny. Which, surprisingly seems warm.
   Thanks for all the supplies you are sending me.  My companion and I are really hoping we stay here for a while. With our next transfer only 3 weeks away there is a possibility that one of us will be transferred. It would be a shame if after all the winter stuff I have (which includes 4 pairs of gloves!) if I get sent into the valley. But I must go and do as the Lord commands and if I am needed elsewhere I will gladly accept.
   We get member dinners every night accept for on P-days.  In fact, we get member dinners/ lunches so much that Monday we had two dinners back to back. And of course we don't tell the families that because we don't want them to feel like they can't feed us and they receive many blessings for their service so we eat EVERYTHING. Needless to say I was incredibly full! But the food is very good. And the company just the same.
   My Spanish is improving slowly but its improving. We teach about an equal proportion of English and Spanish lessons. This is because we cover one English Ward which covers just a fourth or so of Elko and the Spanish branch which covers not only the entire city of Elko but 4 other cities as well. So we have a lot of area and some of which we haven't even touched yet. There is a lot of work to do here in Elko.
The English ward is about the size of Clinton ward and the Spanish branch had about 50 names on the roster but only about 15 show up each Sunday. The branch is only 2 years old though but some of its original members are inactive now. So we do a lot of less-active and part member family work around here. And so far we are seeing success. I can't say that we have had any failures.
Funny Event of the Week:
 So I told you all about Bro. & Sis. Sargeant. Well Sis. Sargeant stays at home all day because of her health mostly but Bro. Sargeant is a real busy bee. He reminds me of Doc. He is always doing something. So the "something" he is doing now is covering about 2 acres he has just outside of town with leaves. First he started taking his own leaves from his house out to his land. Then he started asking friends to drop their leaves at his house and he would haul them out to his property. So he was only taking about a load a day. He's been doing this since we first got here. All he has is a little 1993 Toyota and his cane. But he gets it done.
So the other morning we were studying in our apartment out back of their house and all the sudden we heard this big diesel driving down the ally behind our house. We looked out the window and backing into the Sargaents yard is this dump truck. It tilts it bed and out comes at least 30 bags filled with leaves! Bro. Sargeant had a smile on his face a mile wide when he told us he convinced the city to dump the leaves they were picking up from the neighborhoods in his backyard. Sis. Sargeants reaction was not as joyful however. She came out with a look on her face of utter confusing as she asked her husband, "What the heck is going on here?" He answered her with the same accomplished grin and she walked inside and called the city and told them to stop dumping! By the time they got word to stop they had already dumped 2 loads.  Those two loads took Bro. Sargeant 7 loads to get to his property! Funny old man! But the sweetest people I know.
  
A Clarification of Missionary Work:
   Some people think that as missionaries we harass and bug and probe. Well we do in a sense. But the important thing is why we do it. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, the doctrine of our Heavenly Father, is once again restored on this Earth. While technology has grown more in the past 75 years than it has in the past 2000 years alone we still cannot reach everyone to share the message of the Restoration. But God can. He prepares each and every person who has yet to hear the message to receive it. Some of those he prepares accept his preperation but others reject it. Our harassing, bugging and probing comes as a result of our commitment to find those who have been prepared by the Lord to receive the message. To find those people we simply invite. We do not pressure or demand, we merely invite. We invite you to listen to our message. Then we invite you to pray to know if that message is true. Then we invite you to listen for the Holy Ghost to confirm its validity. Then if you accept those invitations we invite you to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone who holds the proper authority given to them through Jesus Christ himself. Then we invite you to continue to live by God's commandments and endure to the end. These are merely invitations. We are not on a mission to change, to demand, to argue, or to belittle. We are here to invite. So if there are any of you who are reading this and have not accepted or even been offered the invitation, I invite you to listen to what the missionaries have to say. And if you have heard the missionaries before I invite you to pray about their message. Will you do that? If you accept this invitation I promise you it will affect you for the better. And if you decide to take this challenge, this invitation, write me and let me know of your experience!
Family, I love you all and am so glad to hear of the blessings you all are receiving and I know that because of your support I am seeing blessings as well!
It gives me indescribable joy to know we are sealed together for the eternities. Sometimes that might seem unbearable but I promise it is the greatest gift we can receive!
Love,
Elder Cronin
P.S. I could use my Doc Martin work boots. We do alot of service :) Thanks!!!!

November 11, 2010

Family,

Another week in Elko and finally we are met with snow! The first snow fell Tuesday night as we left a teaching appointment. It was Elder Macferran's first snow fall. He is from Florida, Tampa area, and has only seen snow twice in his life but never actually falling from the sky. Elder Macferran's mom sent some "dinner funds," so we took a dinner appointment on Tuesday to go to a local sushi dive, Kabuki. It was an all you can eat diner and I tried oysters for the first time. Delicious. And we rolled out of that place stuffed full with sushi. It was a great experience. One, because of the food but two because I learned something very interesting about the mission and about myself.
   As we walked into the restaurant there was music playing. And not just random elevator music but some pop station on XM radio. I recognized a few of the songs that I had listened to before the mission but there were some I had not heard. My first feeling was to ask if we could turn off the music. This is what we do when we are with a member or investigator in their home. But of course doing that in a public restaurant was impossible. So I did  my best to tune it out. As I turned it out I realized how unimportant music was to me now. Before my mission I listened to music all the time. It gave me motivation, hope, peace, and at times it helped me sleep. I was almost disgusted at myself to think how dependent I was on music. I realized sitting in that sushi restaurant that whoever was coming in through the airwaves was just a person, a natural human being, who before my mission I, in one form or fashion, worshipped. I could only bow my head and ask for forgiveness as this all came to my mind later that night. As missionaries we are "set apart." Some think that only means we are assigned or given a title, but what I know and have a testimony of is that we are "set apart" from the world. In every sense. Even from music. Now please don't misinterpret that. I love music. I enjoy playing it and listening to it. But the dependence and attachment is something that I will not miss. 

So I don't know how much I've told you about the Sargeants but they are the member family housing us here in Elko. They are in their 80's I believe and have 9 kids I believe. They are the sweetest and most missionary minded people I've met. They are always looking to do missionary work. In fact we were over there the other day getting some referrals form Sister Sargeant. As she began writing the names down her husband, to fill the silence, started telling us a story about his fence building days. She quickly cut him off saying, with a straight face, "Oh hush now, they don't want to hear about that, not be quite we have missionary work to do." Elder Macferran and I couldn't help but let out a few muffled chuckles. They are dedicated to the work. In fact they fed us whole wheat pancakes this morning! I am still full!

The work is really progressing here. We have a few solid investigators and I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch so I won't say any more than that. I will say thought that the Lord prepares and as we are obedient he leads us to find. 

That is so exciting to hear that the whole family might be together for Thanksgiving. Families are one thing for which I am eternally grateful. Samuel's doing Jui-jitsu!? Awesome! Keep us the good work buddy. Don't get too distracted by the video games! I'm glad to hear that every one is doing well and thanks for getting me the shirts from Mr. Mac and sending more winter stuff, whoda thunk it? That I'd be in the snow.

So I have one more thing to add to my Christmas list. We went to a member's house and I saw some posters on his wall of computer developed images of Biblical and Book of Mormon prophets and stories. The website is www.realheroposters.com. I would love a  poster of Moroni, Joseph Smith, or Alma. Oh and don't worry about the voice recorder deal. The I have is sufficient. 

Family and anyone else who reads this, one thing we stress to everyone we talk to, even members is that we can recieve answers to our concerns, questions, or doubts through prayer. Just like with school the more we read and study the more we learn but we can learn even more by addressing our concerns and asking the teacher to clear them up. The same applies to life. Our teacher is our Heavenly Father. And He loves each and everyone of us. We are all equal in His eyes and I can promise you that if you pray sincerely like it says in Moroni 10:4-5 that He will answer you. So if you have any concerns, doubts, struggles, or are just plain stressed about something, will you take your burden to the Lord? I promise you will be uplifted and enlightened. 

We do have a car up here. It's nick name is "Boriqua" or Puerto Rican. Its a Toyota Corolla. We are the only companionship up here without a truck! The snow will be a trial of our faith. And, yes I can pick up a comforter here so no worries about that. And we are allowed to go to the temple once a month if we are in Vegas. So hang on to the names and I'll let you know when we get to go. 

I love you all and pray for your success,

Elder Cronin (aka Clark Kent) - My nickname from a member family.

Elder Cronin's "Parents"

While Elder Cronin serves his mission, Brother and Sister Christensen will watch over him and help keep him safe and sound! Elder Cronin love them both from what he has told us.

November 4, 2010

So here goes the first week. I'll try and keep it short and sweet.

We have member dinners every night. So far we have had about half English and half Spanish member dinners. My favorites so far have been the Spanish ones.

My Spanish is not as good as I thought it was. A very humbling observation, ha ha. I am improving but sometimes I say some interesting things. For example we were teaching a lesson the other day and instead of saying that Joseph Smith was called as a prophet I said he was called by a prophet. My companion quickly corrected me. We laughed about it afterward though.

So far we have had the opportunity to give a few blessings. The members of Elko are excited to have Elders. They have had sister missionaries for the past year or so. We are very excited to be here though.

Everyday has flown by as they are filled with appointments and getting to know the people here. I can already feel a love for those we have taught. We have been doing a lot of organizing the past week to prepare to work here in this area. I am learning very useful things from my trainer, Elder Macferran. We get along very well.

There is so much to write but so little time so I'd like to share some of the main points of the week with you all. And hopefully I will get into the habit of this each week.

The funniest moment: We approached this man swapping propane tanks on his trailer, he looked Hispanic, but we introduced ourselves in English. In a Spanish accent he said, "I no espeaka Engles." So we addressed him in Spanish and he rolled his eyes and said with a polite smile and again in a Spanish accent, "I don't espeak'a tha Spanish." So we asked if he spoke Portuguese and he said, in a Spanish accent, "I speak Frances." Frances means French in Spanish. We all started laughing!! It was a nice icebreaker

The most spiritual moment: Not really one in particular but we are new to this town and get lost very easily but it is no coincidence that at times when we are lost that we end up finding the person we are looking for on accident. We might not have a GPS but the Spirit definitely guides us.

The Highlight of the Week: Eating at a Vasco "Basque, in English" Restaurant. Very garlicy food but a new and exciting experience.

Family, I am loving Elko and I know the Lord has me here for a reason. I love you all. I hope you are able to see the blessings the Lord is giving you all because my eyes are opened each day to new ones. 

I talk about you all to almost every person we come in contact with. Without my family I would not be here. My family, you all, are my rock and my motivation. As we each choose to follow Christ I know we will have happiness and order in our lives and eventually we will be able to rejoice in Heaven together for eternity. Keep everything in perspective and strive to have the Holy Ghost as your constant companion. You can never be lost. Even in a small town in Northern Elko where you've never been before. This is my testimony. I hope it touches you all for the better.

Love
Elder Cronin

The First Transfer!! Hello Elko!!

Family,
Go go go!! You can make it through 2 Nephi! This is one of my favorite books in the Book of Mormon. Especially chapter 31. You cannot read that chapter and say no to baptism!
I am in the field, finally! My first transfer is in Elko, a mining town on the north border of Nevada about the size , population-wise, of Clinton. My companion, Elder Macferran, and I are the only Spanish speaking missionaries here. We cover one English ward and the rest of the city for Spanish-speakers.
I decided to keep up with the e-mailing so expect an e-mail every thursday from me and in the field I actually get 1 hour each P-day (Thursday). So I will wait for a response from you within my hour. I can't go back to it later like I did at the MTC.
So the last few days have been amazing. Let me tell you about them. I woke up at 3am Tuesday morning and left our room by 5am with all of our suitcases and luggage. We got to the airport and boarded the plane to Vegas around 8:30am. I sat in the window seat next to Donald Counsellor, an architect from Montana. There was no one sitting inbetween us on the three seat row so it made communication with him very easy. In fact as soo as I sat down I introduced myself and aside ffrom the 30 minute nap we both took after we reached cruising altitude we talked the whole flight. Before the plane took off I got to know Don. He has two kids, both grown with children and they live in Seattle. Him and his wife along with one of his cousins and his wife were on there way to vegas for 3 days. They were going to stay in the Venetian and see The Beattles version of Circ 'de Soile. He hadn't been to Vegas sinve 1980, when the only strip was the Old strip with Circus Circus. As an architect he said he was more interested in the buildings themselves than what was inside of them. He mentioned in passing that he didn't gamble. I asked him why not? His response was that he didn't find it fun and knew that the only reason those buildings stand tall on the strip is because the house always wins. And there is no sense thingking you will be 'that' person who wins big. A waste of time, he said. I agreed. I related a story of some people I know who becaome addicted thinking they could win big. He then told me that he had an uncle who was a professional card player in Montana and lost his house in a high stakes game. He was young when that happened but he remebered thinking at that age that gambling was not worth it. It goes to show that everyone can be a good example, some are just good examples bad things.
    We talked briefly about my role as a missionary. He was fairly familar with what I do because of the members he lives near but he didn't ask any doctrinal questions just logistical. He mentioned he had been studying in a bible class in Isaiah and they were through to chapter 9. My response was, better you than me. Joking obviously, I was reffering to the confusing nature of Isaiah. He said he enjoyed the book and Isaiah's determination to prophesy to the Jews of their destruction. To bad no one listened to him, Don said. We shared a laugh as I said to Don that he probably knows how that feels being a parent, because I sure know how it feels to not listen being a child.
By this time we were making our final descent into Las Vegas. The filght was a short 55 minutes. Little did Don know but that morning I placed a pocket-size English Book of Mormon in my breast pocket of my suit coat with the goal that I would give that book, the most correct book on this earth, to someone before I landed in Vegas. So as the plane descended I took a silent minute to write my testimony and some friendly words to Don on the inside cover where the night before I had glued a blank piece of paper for this exact purpose. I also marked in 2 Nephi were Isaiah 2- 8 are referenced and Moroni 10:3-5 & 3 Nephi 10:14-15. I waited until after we landed and were taxing into the gate to offer him the book. It took some nerves from me I can tell you that much. I didn't know what to say as I offered it to him. I simply told him that the Book of Mormon was a gift and I encouraged him to read the marked passages on the pages I had dog-eared. He graciously accepted the gift and mentioned how he enjoyed our conversation. I wished him luck in Vegas and told him I would look him up after my mission, and maybe come to Montana to visit. I don't know what lies ahead for Don but I hope he uses the Book of Mormon to find his way.
   As I landed, my first day in the mission field had just begun. President and Sister Christensen met us at the entrance to Baggage Claim and shared a scripture with us, Mosiah 7:33. This scripture is now known to me and the rest of the missionaries in this mission as the 'Baggage Claim Scripture'. He then challenged each of us to, between where we were and our baggage (a good 25 feet), to place a pass along card. We were off to get our luggage and one of the President's Assistants escorted me. He went up to everyone! maybe 6 people before we got to our bags. We were rejected 5 times. The only hit we got was from a lady who just sent her son on his mission, she was member. I gave her a pass along card nonetheless. Mission accomplished.
We were taken back to the mission home where we interviewwed with the president and ate Sister Christensens now famous breakfast burritos! So good. Then we left for transfer conference. I had heard that a friend form SVU recieved his call last year to go to Vegas but wasn't sure if I would be able to see him. However, as I walked into the Church building I saw him in the foyer. I called his name and immediatley he recognized me. We embraced each other and I couldn't help but think how amazing it was to see him in the field. To see us both in the Field. We had both come so far to serve the Lord.
Shortly after we, the new missionaries, were escorted into the Chapel to recieve our first transfers. I was assigned to Elder Macferran to the Elko Zone. I had no idea what that entailed or where it was all I knew is it was cold becuase as I stood up in front of the 167 missionaries there to receieve my assignment Pres. Christensen told me I would need a jacket. Luckily I cam prepared because you all bought me the perfect one for this transfer. An inspired purchase if you ask me.
It is an 8 hour dirve to Elko form Vegas so we spent the night in East. This is probably the most wicked part of Vegas. It consists of what is called 'Naked City' and Freedmont St. I learned all this as I was put on exchanges with Elder COlon and Wennerholm for the night because Elder Macferran fell ill with food poisoning. We went to a dinner appointment at the home of Sister Augustin a native Guatamalan. The food was amazing! I left there full and rolling out ofthe door. She was very sweet and her testimony touched my heart. Later we taught the first lesson to some investigators, I forgot their names. But this entire night was in Spanish and yes I spoke and participated in  teaching the lesson. The only part that wasn't in Spanish was when I contacted Blaine as we walked back form our appointment. I told him who I was and his respnse was, "Where is your bike?" The ice was broken at that point and we began to talk about God's plan for all of us. He was interested and agreed to meet with us this Friday. Unfortunalty I am in Elko now after a long drive so I won't be able to participate in his progress. But I know that everything happens for a reason just like he said and that he met the missionaries that night for a reason.
We are in Elko now staying in a carriage house behind a member's house.
Everything is fine and I'm out of time now for writing so I need to go.
I love you all and will write again next week.
I could use some more long sleeve shirts 16 1/2 - 17'' necks and some gloves if you get a chance. Its cold up here! Oh P.S.  the temple district for this Zone is the Salt Lake Temple!
-Elder Cronin

Mom Goes Nuts in Belk!!

OK, I didn't really go nuts, but I did get a fun phone call while checking out at Belk today. It was an elder from Todd's mission office in Las Vegas. He was there getting ready to go to his first assignment. Well, being the overly organized mom that I am.....ha......I put off ordering his bike a bit too long and it wasn't at the mission office. So, the kind Elder Neilson called me to find out the details and location of Elder Cronin's bike. My first reaction was 'what's wrong'. After I got over fact that this call was only about his bike and not some other catastrophe, I realized I could hear Todd in the back ground just a little bit. OH MY!!! What a way to put a missionary mom into tears. I'm sure the store workers were wondering what was wrong with this crazy woman. At the end of the conversation, Todd and I were allowed to exchange messages, but we didn't get to speak directly to each other. It still made my day!!!!

So, I found out that he will be serving in Elko, NV. His companion is Elder McPheron. Elko is in the northeastern quadrant of the state. In fact, it's pretty much parallel with my sister and brother in law who live in North Ogden. I thought it interesting that Elder Cronin had to travel from Provo, to Salt Lake City, to Las Vegas, then 8 hours in a car back up to Elko. But, that is where he will start his missionary work. Hopefully we will hear from him tomorrow.