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.

January 27, 2010

Family!

Life is great! Working in the office is such a blessing. Its tough work but it is worth it. 

Samuel, it's great to hear you are progressing in Scouts, keep up the good work!
I love you little man

Callie I cannot believe that you are almost 16?!?!?!?!?!? Dad better clean his shot-gun cause I know the priest-quorum is already lining up to ask you out. Have fun sista. And remember who you are! I love you tremendously and if you want any dating tips just drop me a line. ;)

Olivia! Vegas is awesome. I'm actually in a city called Henderson that is part of Las Vegas. We are about 10 miles from the stip or so. The weather is great too! Keep up the back hand-spring practice! I want to see that when I get home!

Everything here is going great. My companion and I get along really well. Believe it or not the office is quite hectic. We are the people, Elder Holt and I, who are in charge of structuring mission information. Whether it be digital or hard copy info. So when something goes wrong, we have to fix it. We're pretty much the "fixers." I guess you could say.

We live with the Assistants to the President. Elder Millkareck and Evans. They are really fun, obedient, and talented missionaries. Its good to live with them and have their example. Please send names! I haven't gone yet to the temple but I will have the opportunity to go at the end of the transfer. And I do not know where my scrap books are sorry.

So this past week was very interesting. Being an office missionary is like serving a whole different mission. I knew that coming down from Elko would be a change but even compared to normal missionary work this calling is completely different. For one I don't do any Spanish work. We cover 3 English wards. See attachment. We do our normal 10-9pm proselyting but then at 9pm we go to the office to do our office work and go to sleep around 12 or so. More than anything this calling is helping me to appreciate normal missionary work even more. Especially sleep. Ha ha.

We have a staff meeting each Friday with President and his Wife. And getting to know President and his wife is one of the greatest blessings I have right now. Because President is released in August. Which means that I will have an equal opportunity to get to know the new President for the next year of my mission. So far I have learned quite a bit from President, he is a very inspired and patient man.

In the office we do information organization. Meaning we keep all the rosters updated as transfers happen and missionaries move around, leave, or arrive. We actually get to pick up and drop off the missionaries from the airport! I can't wait until next transfers to help out with that. We also keep the cell phones updated for the Senior Couples in the office and President and his wife. Which means we get to play around with Android based phones. It's a blessing to be able to work with technology here and continue to learn as well. We do get internet access but only for specific problem solving issues. Obviously e-mails are still only permitted on Thursdays.

Hmm what else. Oh we've set 2 people for baptism since I've been here and one of them proved to be one of the most spiritual experiences I think I have ever had. His name was Tony. He's out of a job right now. Last transfer he was street contacted and given a Book of Mormon and invited to read it. He claims that since he started reading it things have been falling into place. We invited him on our next visit to pray to know if the Book of Mormon is true and if Joseph Smith truly was a prophet. He committed to do so. We stopped by the other day to follow up and he said he had a spiritual experience he wanted to share with us. Before you laugh at what you are about to read understand that the Lord allows us to receive our own personal revelation. Personal meaning both that it only pertains to the specific individual in the message of the revelations and personal because it is revealed to us in our own personal way. He reveals things to us through what we know and what we are familiar with. So, he prayed. And being an avid football fan he looked for his answer in his team the Green Bay Packers. He felt that if they made it to the Super Bowl then the path he was on was the right one and the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith are true. Well sure enough they made it and he shared this with us. Knowing it is true we asked him if he would follow the example of Jesus Christ that we read about in 3 Nephi 12 and be baptized. He paused for 10 seconds or so as he searched his heart. And with a solemn countenance and misty eyes he replied, simply, "Yes." I cannot describe the feeling that I felt as he pondered, but I have never felt the Spirit so strong before and I want that same feeling again, never to leave. Maybe it was the strength prescribed to him in order for the truth of Baptism to be confirmed to him. So I could never feel that strongly again. But I thank my Heavenly Father for allowing me to be a part of that experience.

While I am in the Office I am still in the field. I have not lost the Spirit of my mission as is easy to do in the Office. I love you all very much and your letters keep me going each week. Thanks for your support! Mom keep up the geneology work and Dad keep up your hard work. A temple session in Chinese might be interesting but I bet  you could still feel the Spirit, he translates fairly well.

Love,

Elder Cronin 

January 20, 2011

Family,

Well, I'm not in Elko anymore. I didn't survive the transfer. It was a sad day to leave that place. Especially some of the families we had recently come in contact with. Bishop gave be the opportunity to speak on Sudnay before I left for Vegas. It was heart wrenching to say goodbye to them. They told us in the MTC that we need to learn to love our investigators and the members. The truth is that as they told us that I thought to myself, "How could I love these people if I didn't even know them?"

But I just learned the meaning of the common venacular that I find a propo , "You don't know what you have it's gone." I fell in love with that town. I cared for its people and their progression in building their foundations for life. Some we reached, others we didn't. But at the end of it all I can say that for 3 months in Elko we planted seeds and built relationships that God willing will last forever. I can say that I left that place having no regrets.

So Mom and Dad you should be proud of me because for the first time in my life I have fallen, but not for a girl! Ha ha.

So we drove down to Vegas Monday morning and I spent the night in Anthem, the richest part of Vegas, before transfer conference the next day. We drove by Mike Tyson's house and the owner of EBAY's house as well. I was sick. Literally from going from hillbilly good-ole-boy town to walking into 20 million dollar homes on the Rio Secco Golf Course. We ate dinner that night with the owner of Sunburst Shutters, the inventor of the composite shutter blinds. He's got a sweet house. 

But that's enough about wordly things. Ha ha. I'm sure you're dying to know where I was transferred to. Well my new address is 3127 E. Warm Springs Rd. , Las Vegas, NV 89120. Sound familiar? It should because that is the mission office address. I was called to serve as an Office Elder! This is what that means:

We cover 3 wards: Valle Verde, Fountains, Silver Springs. Wake up at 6:10, proselyte until 9:00pm, work in the office until the tasks for the day are completed, so far we've gotten home at 12am each night! Lots of programming, networking, and computer trouble shooting.

It's a crazy schedule but to be a part of the organization and logistics of running this mission is a HUGE blessing. The truth is it is an answer to a prayer and one that I feel like the Lord has been preparing me for since I came out here. 

I'm understanding much more now why my mission has panned out the way it has so far. I know the Lord sent me to Elko to be trained for a reason. Dad was right, "[I wasn't] ready for the glitz and glam of Vegas," I needed an unbiased point to begin. And I believe with all my heart that the Lord put me with the best Trainer in the entire mission. Elder Macferran helped me build not only my testimony but make changes in my life to help me become a better person and set me up to have the potential to be a great missionary. I don't know what I did to deserve these experiences but I'm thankful for the blessings. 

That's what I'm up to now, it was good hearing from you all. I love you very much and continually pray for you. 

Love,

Elder Cronin

January 13, 2011

Family!

This is quite possibly the last P-day I will spend in Elko. I will find out on Saturday whether I stay or I go. Either way I will feel accomplished here. We did amazing work here and wrought some eternal changes here in Elko.

I cannot believe how much snow you all got! We have not gotten that much snow in one day. Over all I think we've had about 18" of snow in total this winter. Looks like you all had a ton of fun!

I don't know if I told you all but I finished the Book of Mormon again a couple of weeks ago. We read with a focus on Christ and I feel that I grew much closer to him in this experience. 

So this last week was fairly uneventful. The biggest event was Sunday. We had 8 of our investigators at church on Sunday. On Saturday we were out working all day and came home completely exhausted but full of joy from the success we had. Sunday was equally as exhausting but not physically this time. Rather it was mentally exhausting! Having to escort our investigators through church and listen to each word spoken by each teacher to make sure nothing was said that might put them off will do that to you. Whew. But it all paid off in the end. Both our investigators and ourselves received the blessings.

One cool story from that Sunday, which I don't know if I shared with you all yet is about the Z family. I included a picture. But last week Bro. Z went out and bought a suit for Sunday!!!! This man is solid. And not just for himself but he is setting a great example for the rest of his family. He plans on being baptized with his 3 other kids at the end of the month. 

Family I hope you all are enjoying hearing from me each week and I hope that my letters convey the joy I am encountering on my mission. And more than anything I want you all to know how much I truly love each and every one of you! You are my eternal family and there is no other family I'd rather spend eternity with. 

Love,

Elder Cronin

Happy New Year!!! January 6, 2011

Family,

Hello back!

Olivia! Goodness child do you enjoy anything? Ha ha. There are many joys in life waiting to be explored. Try finding them! And if you can't find them, make them enjoyable!

Callie! I like how you're note starts out in Ebonics and then switches to proper English. Nice! Please assure your friend that I am alive and well! I got the Christmas card from the family too. Did you get extensions? There is a Callie street here I'll have to take a picture and send it to you soon. You all are the best! Thanks for all the support and time that you all put in to my mission. The Lord will surely bless you!

Samuel! Buddy! How tall are you now? How are the video games going? I hear scouts are going well is Pinewood Derby coming up soon? Got any ideas yet for the car? Let me know. It was nice to see the picture of you and your carp made it onto the Christmas Card! That was an experience watching you bring that monster in.

Momma! It is so great to hear  you are doing your part as a member and helping out with missionary work. If it weren't for the members we could not be effective. I don't know if you remember my talk before my mission but you are doing your part for the 170 allotted to you! The best thing a member can do in helping a person progress is bear a simple and specific testimony based on what the investigator needs. Use Preach My Gospel! Its an amazing tool!

Family, time is flying by even faster now. And another week  has passed. So let me tell you about it.

Sunday I had the great opportunity to teach High Priests. Ha ha. The Lord must really trust me. Because my lesson was based on the talk fromt his past conference by Larry R. Lawerence titled , "Courageous Parenting." That's right, this young buck got to instruct some seasoned veterans on how to parent :) Look up the talk though. It was very insightful.

Monday morning around 8:00am we got a call from one of our investigators who we've been trying to get in contact with for about a week. So this phone call was unexpected. I answered and struggled to understand exactly what he was saying. But what I made out was this: He asked if we could come over right then. We were in the middle of breakfast and half dressed so we hurried over there. Once we got there you could tell he hadn't slept all night and he was depressed. He began to explain to us that he has been having these vivid dreams of Satan beckoning him to worship him. He has a drinking problem and he kept asking us why he falls into this bad habit sometimes. Why doesn't God intervene? He said he prays for strength often but it seems God doesn't help him out. God hasn't answered his prayers. Unfortunatly, being to cuaght up in either himself or the world or even both he couldn't realize that we were an answer to his prayers. As we explained to him the benefits of following Christ, being baptized, and recieving the Holy Ghost, he began to understand. Him and his wife are now preparing to be baptized!

For the majority of the week Elder Macferran and myself have been sick. He has a sinus infection and I've got strep. Boo. So the work has been fairly slow as we've rested to recover. Successful nonetheless. We've had two successful lessons with the Z family from last week. Bro. Z even set up a private mine tour for the 20th!!!! But here's the catch: transfers are on the 17th and we find out on the 15th if we're staying or not so pray that we can stay here!! Plus if I stay I get to be here for Cowboy Poetry, focused on Hungarian Cowboys! They're flying in to Elko all the way from Hungary!

The only bad new from the week was that we got to teach our neighbor but when we went back to follow up to see if she had prayed she told us our message just wasn't for her. She said she doesn't think she can handle another life changing experience right now. We're still friends, in fact, we had breakfast with her this morning. But I was depressed the whole day after she told us that. I just see so much of Mom in her that I know the Gospel would do nothing but help her. But she has her agency as do we all. But Mom I know she would love a quilt so if you have time...

Yesterday I finally got to ride my bike!!! Elder Jennings was my companion for the day and we both reported to the MTC on the same day so neither one of us can drive yet so we opted for bikes. Well i opted for bikes because we could have asked a member to drive us around all day but I wanted to try out the bike. So all day yesterday in 20 degree weather we trekked across Elko on bike. It was an amazing experience. I've been here for 2 months and I got to see a whole new side of Elko. The smells, sounds, and people were all different for some reason. Being on bike makes for easier street contacts as well so we had some interesting encounters. I added some pictures. I hope the chilliness was conveyed in them.

I love you all,

Till next week,

Love,
Elder Cronin 

Yes, that is medicine - the elders are sick!!

A lovely winter bike ride!!

A great way to take in the sights!