Monday, August 14, 2017

August 14th, 2017: My last letter!!!!!!!!!!

Buenos Días Fam and friends,

This is my last letter and my last week as a missionary. Its super weird to say that and its crazy how fast this time has gone by. I am so grateful for this time the Lord gave me to serve and to teach the people here in Bolivia. It has been the greatest blessing for me and i will never forget a single moment of my mish. I have learned so much things and gained so many good habits that i know will be a blessing for me in the future. And i know that everything ive learned will prepare for the rest of my life. 

I want to thank you all for the love and support that you have all given me i my mish and i want you all to know that i love and am PUMPED to see you all on Friday. I am a little bit sad because I wont be able to see the people here for a while and because i wont be a missionary anymore, but i know the Lord is going to bless all the people i have got to know here. 

This week Alicia got baptized and it was super sick. She is super awesome and is going to be a super strong memeber and leader in the church. It was the last time i will ever step into a baptismal font as a missionary. They told me that there was a Relief Society activity after the baptism and they for some reason invited us to come, i though it was weird but we went. Turns out it wasnt a Relief Society activity, it was a surprise Going home party for me. hahaha. I was complety surprised and honestly wanted to cry. I was able to feel the love not only from them but from God, a few people bore their testimonies and thanked me for my service and i really was very happy to know that i did something right here. I dont think its too much to say that Valle Sanchez changed my life and i will never forget this place. 

I love you all and thank you for everything see you Friday night.

Love Elder Crisp

Monday, August 7, 2017

August 7th, 2017: Happy Bolivia Day!!!!!!!

Buenos días familia y amigos,

Another pretty chill week here in Valle Sanchez. Were working really hard so that Alicia and Abel can get baptized. they are both super excited for this saturday. We just have to teach a few more things for their baptism. Unfortunately Alfredo and Dayana didnt go to church yesterday so it doesnt look like they are going to make it for the 12th. Im a little bummed about that but i know that they will soon get baptized. they are super cool and they have progressed a bunch in the last few weeks.

I was reading this week in Alma 38 and i loved verse 5 And now my son, Shiblon, I would that ye should remember, that as much as ye shall put your trust in God even so much ye shall be delivered out of your trials, and your troubles, and your afflictions, and ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

Something very important that i have learned to do on my mish is to trust in God with everthing and at all times. He is the only one that knows everthing and is the only one that can give us the answer to any question or doubt. I like this verse because if we trust in God a lot, he will deliver us from a lot of things. In we trust in God with everthing he will deliver us from ever affliction, but if we dont trust in Him at all, He cannot deliver us from anything at all. Ive seen a lot how simply trusting the will of God blesses my life and the lives of the people ive taught. 

I hope that next week i have some pictures of the baptism if everything works out ok. It would be a sick way to finish the mish.haha I love you all talk to you next week. 

Love Elder Crisp 

1. the family is our luch pension and they are super cool,
2. his lady made me Apple Pie haha


Monday, July 31, 2017

July 31st, 2017

Buenos días everbody,

How's everything going with everybody. I hope you're all happy and doing well. Everthing is going pretty chill here in Valle Sanchez. We working pretty hard with Alicia and Alfredo and Dayana so that the can get baptized on the 12th. We visited Alfredo and dayana yesterday after church and she is still doesnt feel like she is ready, we just told them to pray and to ask God if the should get baptized and she said she would, we are going to have another FHE with them today and well see what they say. The Spirit was super strong in that visit so i have faith that they will say yes.

Alicia has been pretty busy this week with work so we havnt been able to visit her much but she is still pretty excited for the 12th. She is still reading and praying and all that so im sure she be baptized the 12th too. 

This week we had a Multi zone conference which was pretty sweet. It was my last one so i had to give my testimony and all that trunky stuff. It was a really good topic though. they talked about the attributes of Christ. Pres talked about faith and i liked a lot of things he said. Faith is a spritual GIFT. It has to be given to us by God, and for him to give us more faith we have to do everything we can to learn and act upon teachigs of Christ. I like that the Lord blesses us with faith as we continue to follow His example and keep the commandments, and as we gain more faith as it explains in ALMA 34, it will "produce fruit" for us ad that fruit are blessngs from God.

That's it for this week. Have a good week hahahaha.

A few random pictures and the huge disadvantage to having the flipping airport in your last area hahaha, every 15 minutes a plane takes off.


Monday, July 24, 2017

July 17th and 24th

July 17th

Hello everybody,

This week was pretty chill. This week we were focusing a lot on thepeople we have been teaching. Pamela is ready for the baptism, we just haveto teach a few more things. She is super excited for saturday. I dont know if you remember Alfredo and Dayana, but they went to church yesterday for the first time and they like it a lot. Someone gave a talk about FHE and they asked us after sacrament meeting when we could do one with them. They are progressing a lot in the last few weeks. They still arent sure about baptism but were helping them ot a little with that. 

Honestly not much happened this week so theres not too much to talk about. But for some random reason it just decided to get really cold today and it freezing cold but thats about it.

Hope you all have a sick week, sorry for the super boring letter but im kind of out of idea for this whole letter thing.

Love Elder Crisp

picture of the river here




July 24th

Buenos días everybody,
Theres a lot more to talk about this week than last week tis this letter will be a little more exciting. First off Pamelas baptism was pretty sweet and it was super spirtitual. Her dad wasnt going to go again but decided at the last second that he wanted to go, but as he was leaving work to go to the church, his car broke down and sadly he could not make. It was pretty sad but Pamela gave a super good testimony afterwords and she started to cry because she was so happy. It was pretty amazing.

That was something that i was thinking this week is how much this family has changed and how much happier they have been in these few months, and i was reading in Alma this week and i realized a lot of important things and promises that the Lord has fulfilled for me. In my patriarchal blessing its says "You will be instrumental in teaching the principles of the Gospel to many people...and will enjoy greatly seeing the light of the Gospel come into their lives." And in Alma 29, Ammon explains how happy and joyfull he was for the same thing 

9 I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy.
10 And behold, when I see many of my brethren truly penitent, and coming to the Lord their God, then is MY SOUL FILLED WITH JOY ; then do I remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard my prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful arm which he extended towards me.

I am truly grateful for all the things the Lord has done for me and the people i have been able to teach in my mission, i am trulky happy for them and for what the Lord has done in their lives too. The Lord really does answer our prayers and listens to us when we really need Him.

This week we also had a conference with Elder Carlos Godoy this week, the Presidente of the Area, and he talked a lot about Sacrifice and the Atonement. WHat i like most was his testimony at the end he basically said, " I am %100 willing to dedicate my life to God and his kingdom; my work, my family, EVERTHING for the Lord." It was super powerful and the Spirit was super strong in the conference.

In other news Alicia is going to get baptized the 12 and Alfredo and Dayana also accepted to get baptized the 12th so that last week is going to be dope.!!!
Thats it for this week, i love you all and hope you all have a sick week.

Love Elder Crisp

Monday, July 10, 2017

July 10th, 2017

What's up everybody,

How's it going? First off, i didnt get transferred so im going to die here in Valle Sanchez with my son. I am super pumped for that because there is so much work still to do here. 

This week was prett stressful but it was one of the best weeks ive had in a while. On thursday we went over to Cain to confirm his baptism and he was still un sure about it. e taught him a little bit about the importance o baptism and invited him to pray about it. At like 830 he called us and told us that he was going to get baptized this Saturday. I was so happy to hear that he wanted to get baptized. The baptism was at 9 am on Saturday and it was really good. Our mission Pres with his wife, and the other mission pres went with his wife and a bunch of other missionaries went so it was really good. 

We were able to teach also this week Pamela and Gabriela, Sabinas 2 other daughters and they are pretty excited to get baptized. And Alicia also is preparing for all that. Its going to be a pretty awesome last cambio.
I was reading in John this week and i liked a lot in ch14 verse 12.

12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

If we believe in Christ, that he is our Savior and the Son of God, we will do the things that He did, we will try to live as He did. We will show our love for Him by doing the things that He asks us to do even if it seems impossible to us. I love that scripture.

Thats about it for this week Hope you all have a sick week.

Love Elder Crisp

Monday, July 3, 2017

July 3rd, 2017

Buenos días everbody,

First off the baptism was pretty sweet. And a long with the baptism i was able to strengthen my terstimony about fasting. We decided to fast from Friday afternoon til Saturday in the morning so that we could prepare for the baptism and we had a huge miracle. We fasted specifically for the Mamani Family, (Sabina, Emma, Ivan, Carla) and especially for the dad because he is pretty hard and he wasnt going to go to the baptism. We went Saturday inthe morning to fill the font and clean the chapel and after we finished our fast. About 20 minuted after we finished our fast while we were in the bus going home, Carla calls us tell us that out of nowhere her dad canhged his mind and that he was going to go. He called her like 10 minutes more or less after we finished our fast. I was absolutly amazed at how fast the Lord answered our fast and blessed that family. It was a pretty awesome day.

Cain went to church yesterday and we are going to see if this Saturday he gets baptized. He is still excited and hes still reading and praying. He just told us that he need a few more days to make sure that he ready for baptism.

Other baptism that we have set now is Sabina´s other daughter Pamela. She also has been going to church for a while but was taking the lessons and didnt have permission from her dad but now shes excited to get baptized as well. She is reading the BofM and praying too.

We also invited Alicia to get baptized yesterday and she said yes but she didnt want to put a date. We told her to prepare for the 29th and she said that she would get baptized when she feels that shes ready. She said that it forsure be before ileave though, so thats something to look forward too. We bought her a Triple and shes read all of Moses and is reading D&C too.

This tuesday are cambios but I'm not sure whats going to happen. I'm hoping that I stay because we have a bunch of baptisms for this cambio and I'm looking forward to all that . Thanks everyone, i love you all, have a good week. 

Elder Crisp


Monday, June 26, 2017

June 26th, 2017

What's up everybody,

How's everyone doing. Hope everything is going good. Everything is progressing pretty well here in Valle Sanchez. We are starting to see a lot more success and people are starting to listen more. We had 11 investigators at church yesterday and they all loved it. Sadly this wek we were not able to teach Diana because she had a few tests and things for school so this week she wont get baptized but well see about next week. Caín told us that he does not feel ready for his baptism. He came to church yesterday and everything but he says he needs a little bit more time. We are going to visit him on tuesday to see how he feels.

But good news is that we are still going to have a baptism this week. The Sabinas youngest daughter, Carla, has been wanting to get baptized for a long time but her dad never wanted to give her permssion, but this week he said yes so shell be baptized on Saturday. She is pretty cool, she is 11 years old but she goes to church every sundayand she is always reading the BofM and all that.

Other than that this week was pretty chill. We had a conference with President this week and we talked about the Atonement and Repentence. I was thinking a lot this week about what was said and i learned a few things as well. In the pamphlet theres a part that i really like "Repentance does not always mean making big changes. Often it simply requires an increased commitment to live according to God’s will." 


Thats something I had never read before but I liked it a lot. We aren't all terrible people, and a lot of times we don't commit terrible mistakes, but as we repent of the little things we will feel the influence of Gods light more in our lives and will become better everyday. And I love in D&C 64:33 "Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great."

Thats all I have for this week, hope you all have a good week, I love you all.
Love Elder Crisp


(This is a random pic that i thought was pretty funny)

Monday, June 19, 2017

June 19th, 2017

Hola everybody,

I'm super pumped for this week. We put dates on Cain and Diana, both for july1. They are both super excited and prepared for their baptisms. We visited Diana yesterday and we invited her to get baptized. SHe started to cry and we asked her how she felt. She told us that she knew this was right and that she needed to get baptized. She is so happy and she invited her mom and her sister to meet with us too. She also went to a YSA activity this week and made friends with all the members and was pretty happy for that.

Cain is so happy. When we invited him he had some doubts about if he would really be ready and that he didnt want to make mistakes after, ut we explained to him that he is definitely ready and that ,mistakes are part of life and that they help us to grow. He has been going through a lot of tough things and evertime something else happens he gets stronger and more anxious to learn. 

Alicia went to church again and like always is pretty excited. We were talking about temples and families this week with the and she said that that is a goal she has to go to the temple and all that. And her husband who hasn really been to receptive is starting to open up and listen to us, so we are going to try and put a baptismal date on them too. 

Other than that this week was pretty chill. We are having a lo of success and im super grateful for that. The Lord is defintely preparing the people here in ths area.

I love you all. Have a good week.

Love Elder Crisp

Monday, June 12, 2017

June 12th, 2017

Hola everybody,

Another sick week here in Bolivia. We are having a lot of progress with our investigators. Im super excited because there was 2 new investigators at church almost all the inv. we have are progressing. One of them is a guy named Caín haha, and his son Abel, hahahaha. There were a referral from the President of the othe mission in santa cruz and he is super cool. Hes passed through a lot of problems and afflictions in his life but he loved church yesterday. He is super humble and he accepts everything we teach, this week we are going to put a date for his baptism. 

Another was Francisca. She came for the first time yesterday. She has been super sad because her husband passed away 2 monthes ago and a convert here invited her to church. She lives a lone now with 2 little kids and she needs a lot of help, we visited her yesterday after church and she had a lot of really good questions nd she is super excited to keep learning too. 

We haven't found to many new people to teach these past few weeks but those that we have found are super prepared to learn and accept the gospel. Enrique's mom went to church again and she is excited too to keep learning. I'm so pumped for these next few weeks because we are going to put dates for baptism. 

That's it for this week. I love you all. Shout out to all the dads out there, hope you all have a sick week. hahaha


We went to Johnny Rockets this week which was pretty sweet,
and we ran into a llama in my area, he spit on me shortly after i took this picture




Tuesday, June 6, 2017

June 5, 2017


Buenos días familia,
This week has been full of a bunch of miracles. Probably one f the best weeks o the mish. Yesterday at church there was 80 people which is pretty insane for this little branch and 8 investigators went.There were also a few converts that attended for the first timein about 3 monthes so it was a really good day. We fasted this weekend too and our fast was immediately answered.

Last week we were walking to a cita that was pretty far away and the road to get there is pitch black at night. As we were walking a girl asked us where we were going and she walked with us to nt be alone on that road. We talked with her as we walked and set a cita with her. We taught hera little bit about repentance and she accepted to go to church. SHe went and she told us that she loved it, that she felt peace and that she was super happy to go. We taught her again yesterday and she is super excited to keep learning. She is super prepared for everythingand the YSA here is really helpful so it wont be hard to make friends.

I read a part of a message in the April Liahona by Uchtdorf. He tells a little story that i like a lot,

There is an old Jewish tale about a soap maker who did not believe in God. One day as he was walking with a rabbi, he said, “There is something I cannot understand. We have had religion for thousands of years. But everywhere you look there is evil, corruption, dishonesty, injustice, pain, hunger, and violence. It appears that religion has not improved the world at all. So I ask you, what good is it?”
The rabbi did not answer for a time but continued walking with the soap maker. Eventually they approached a playground where children, covered in dust, were playing in the dirt.
“There is something I don’t understand,” the rabbi said. “Look at those children. We have had soap for thousands of years, and yet those children are filthy. What good is soap?”
The soap maker replied, “But rabbi, it isn’t fair to blame soap for these dirty children. Soap has to be used before it can accomplish its purpose.”
The rabbi smiled and said, “Exactly.”
The rabbi did not answer for a time but continued walking with the soap maker. Eventually they approached a playground where children, covered in dust, were playing in the dirt.
“There is something I don’t understand,” the rabbi said. “Look at those children. We have had soap for thousands of years, and yet those children are filthy. What good is soap?”
The soap maker replied, “But rabbi, it isn’t fair to blame soap for these dirty children. Soap has to be used before it can accomplish its purpose.”
The rabbi smiled and said, “Exactly.”

It just explains the importance of living the gospel. We have to act and live the principles to see a change in outrlives.Thats somethingthat a lot of people dont understand, they just think "if God gives me something, then ill believe", but its necessary that we do something before we receive the blessings.

Thats all i have for this week.Happy Brithday Dad, I love you a lot and hope you ahave a super sick week. Thanks for everything you have done for me.
Love Elder Crisp

Monday, May 29, 2017

May 29th, 2017

Hola everybody,

this week was pretty sweet and pretty surprising. I thought forsure i was going to get transferred but to my great surprise I was made part of that dumb TLC show "I Didnt Know I was Pregnant" hahahahahahaha. I am training again in this same area, which means im probably going to end my mission here. Which honestly wouldnt be to bad for me because i love this area. My kids name is Elder Jorge and pretty weird, he from Lima, Peru. Hes pretty cool and hes super prepared. Its going to be a sweet 2 transfer because he knows a bunch. Im pretty pumped to train again. My last experience was pretty rough but i feel like we are going havea a lot of success here.

We were able to put fecha on Alfredo this week and he was pretty excited. We asked him what impeded him to get baptized and he said, "Nothing!" So we are going to focusing on him. His wife wasnt there to put fecha but tomorrow we are going to go and ask her too. Im super happy for them because they are super prepared.

Thats about it for this week.I grateful to be here in Valle Sanchez and top be able to continue to serve the Lord and the people here. Ilove you all, have a sick week. 

Love Elder Crisp

Monday, May 22, 2017

May 22nd, 2017

Hola everyone,

How's everyone doing? Everything is good down here in Bolivia. This week it got super cold and its been raining non stop so its been good. Its not hot and humid anymore here so I'm happy for that. But the bad part of all that is that my area is compleetly flooded and everything is wet. And that makes it hard to work because there's no way to get to some of the people because the paths are all impassable. But we were able to visit Alfredo and Dayana this week. I don't remember if I've mentioned them before but they are super cool. We've been teaching them for a little bit and we've focused on the BofM with them. We've read with them a bunch and they feel good about it, and this week we read 3 Nefi 11. The spirit was super strong and I'm positive they felt it too. We invited them to pray like always and they said they would.

Alicia, Enrique's mom, finished the BofM this week and she loved the end of Moroni and Eter and all that. She told us that she was going to start to read the Bible and BofM and compare them. She told us that she was going to go to church next week so I'm pumped for that. Enrique got sustained and ordained as an Elder yesterday too in the stake conference, and he is super excited now to do everything. Presidente Cabezas gave a talk in the conference and he talked about those that are preparing to serve a mission so Enrique was super happy haha.

This week is cambios so well see if i stay here, I honestly have no idea if I'm going to stay or go but i would honestly be pretty happy with either.

Today i was reading the BofM in Ether and i liked a part in Chapter 2:25 The bro of jared is talking with the Lord about having light in the boats, and i love what the Lord tells him
25 And behold, I prepare you against these things; for ye cannot cross this great deep save I prepare you against the waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come." I like how he tells him first that he cant do anything without the Lord and that they would get to the promised land without him, but then i like the question He asks him. "Therefore what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea?" He asks what the bro of Jared wanted Him to do to for him and his family and the Lord was willing to give the bro of Jared whatever he asked. God is completely willing to help us with our desires and wants and if we follow his commandments and build our lives how he wants like the bro of Jared built the boats, the Lord with give us what we need to fulfill our goals.

That's all i have for this week. I love you all. Have a good week.

Love Elder Crisp

Monday, May 8, 2017

May 8th, 2017

Hola,

This week was super sweet. The baptism of Armando was really good. It was probably one of the most spiritual baptismal services I've been too. It was a little different because a bunch of the members went to the temple in Cochabamba so they couldn't come. It was a little hectic getting everything ready and to make it worse, the font wasn't filling when we got there so we had to fill it up with a bunch of buckets and it took a long time but we got it done and everything worked out good.

We also had a conference this week with the 1st Counselor of the Area Elder Falabela. He gave a lot of good advice and talked a lot about the Atonement. He shared a scripture in Hebrews 12:2:

2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

He explained that the Lord obviously knowing that He was going to suffer to worst pain that no other human could feel without dying, He "went with joy" because he understood that that was the will of His Father and that He had to do that so that we could have to chance to accept His sacrifice and return to the presence of God.

He talked for a solid 4 and half hours but the Spirit was super strong. He applied the Atonement to our lives as missionaries and the importance of every little decision we make in the mish and for the rest of our lives, so it was really good.

That all I have for this week. I'm so pumped to talk for Mom`s Day and hope you all have a good weekend.

Love Elder Crisp


Monday, May 1, 2017

May 1st, 2017

Hola, 

So a quick update on Armando and his baptism. They decided to do it on the 6th because his Aunt and Uncle weren't here this week and they wanted to go so we pushed it back a week. He is still super excited and he is still going to get baptized so its all good. We visited them this week and had a really good visit with all his family and they told us that they were all going to go to church.

My Birthday was pretty sweet here. I ate like 3 different cakes with 23 different families and they smashed a bunch of eggs and flour on my head so it was pretty fun. That's how they show you they really care about you here. The branch also threw a little party for me and another member here who has the same birthday, so it was a pretty good day and a solid week. 

That's about it for this week. I didn't really have much time to write because we started late. I love you all, have a sick week.


Elder Crisp


Monday, April 24, 2017

April 24th, 2017

Hola everybody,

First I want to wish Mom a Happy Birthday. I hope you have a super sick day. I give you permission to do whatever you want today. But really Mom you are the best, i hope you know that you are the greatest example for me and i thank you for everything you have taught me.

Thanks everyone for the Birthday wishes too. I happy to know that everyone is supporting me. I love you all and i happy to have you all as friends haha

I guess just an update on Armando. He had his interview yesterday and this Saturday is his baptism. We are going to have a FHE with our Branch Pres and his family to invite Armando`s dad to go and to help him a little bit. This family is the best. They are super prepared and little by little they are growing and learning more about the Gospel. I am sure that in a short time they will all be baptized. Enrique went visiting with us on Saturday the whole day. He introduced us to a few of his friends and we had a bunch of good visits. He told us that he felt the Spirit the whole day and that hes super pumped to go on a mish!!!!!

This week we had a Zone Meeting and we talked a lot about section 11 of D&C. I like verse 8: Verily, verily, I say unto you, even as you desire of me so it shall be done unto you; and, if you desire, you shall be the means of doing much good in this generation.

I like this verse because even though is talking more about missionaries, the concept is the same for everyone. If we really have a desire to do good, the Lord will guide and help us to do so. And the Lord will provide for us the things that were need. That's my little though of the day.

I love you all. Thanks again for the B-Day wishes, you guys are all the best.
Love Elder Crisp

Monday, April 17, 2017

April 17th, 2017

Hola, 

Well good news I stayed Valle Sanchez, so i was able to be there for Sabina's baptism. I was so happy i didn't get transferred and it'll be the first time in almost 9 months that I'm staying with my same comp too. It was probably one of the best baptismal services i been in. There was a bunch of support from the members and there were a few investigators too. The best part though is that her husband went. He was just going to drop us all off but we convinced him to come and see the chapel and all that. His name is Nestor, in all my time here he has never once talked to us other than to say hi, he basically hates us but i feel like little by little he too is going to open up. But Sabina shared her testimony afterwords and she said that the Gospel has changed her life and that in these 2-3 months that she known and heard the missionaries she has been happier than ever. Its amazing to see how the Gospel is changing her family. Her other kids are going to church too and they too want to get baptized.

Enrique`s brother, Armando, went to the baptism too. He really liked it and is pretty set on getting baptized. The only problem is that he is kind of lazy to go to church. He told us that he was going to be there yesterday but didn't go, we had the date set for this Saturday but he has to go to church one more time. I'm pretty sure next week he will get baptized. Something cool about Enrique is that he told us he wanted to go on a mission. We told him about it and he seems excited, he told us that he would go after he finishes school and all that but he is super excited, Armando was also asking us about it.

Other than that this week was pretty chill, we are trying to look for more investigators and we've been contacting with any extra time we have. Its a goal in the mission to find 20 new investigators every week and they emphasize finding a lot so its been a lot of knocking on doors haha. I love you all, hope you all have a sick week.

Elder Crisp



Monday, April 10, 2017

April 10th, 2017

Another sick week here in Valle Sanchez. Everything turned out good with the baptisms and a whole bunch of people went. It was pretty awesome to see how happy they were too, they both gave super strong testimonies about how they knew they were in the truth. They are going to be 2 really strong members of the church. Their families went too, and they all really like it and are more willing to listen to us. The mom of Enrique started to cry and told us that she was going to start to go to church and take the lessons too! It would be really cool to stay here this next cambio to be able to teach them too.

The baptism was really all we were focusing on this week so I don't really have to much more to talk about but it was a really good week. I was studying today about the importance of the scriptures in our lives and i found a verse in Joshua 1:8 the I really liked. "8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. "

I like it because if we really ponder and pray about thee scriptures and do all we can to do what they teach us the Lord will guide us and will make our lives prosperous and we will have success like the verse says, and that comes when we ponder day and night and when we read everyday we will receive more and more help from the Lord.

That's my little though of the day, have a good week everyone. This Tuesday we have cambios, i hope i stay here because i love this area and there is is still a lot of people to teach h ere but well see what happens.

Love Elder Crisp




Monday, April 3, 2017

April 3rd, 2017

So this week was obviously pretty sweet with General Conference, and we were also super busy with the visits and all the stuff going down for the baptisms. Patricia changed to the date to the 8th so we had to teach a bunch of stuff this week and with Enrique we also had to teach a bunch of stuff.

There were 8 investigators total that went to at least one of the sessions of conference and they all like what they heard. Especially yesterday when Elder Costa spoke to the investigators, there were 5 investigators and i feel like all of them have somewhat of the same story as him, they have some doubts about joining a new church and leaving everything behind. I feel like thats going to help a lot for them. We have another sister with a baptismal date the 22nd. Her name is Brita and her son too. They are 2 of them that have doubts about leaving their church but she was super excited after and she told us she was going to be prepared for the 22nd. 

I'm so pumped for everything that's going on in this area. In this area over the past few years there hasn't been too much work and President was about to close this area a few months ago because of that, but now it seems like everyone want to listen to us.

One talk that i like in particular was from one of the 70.I don't remember who it was but I liked his example of the scout that didn't use his sleeping bag. When he told that story about how he dint use it so that he wouldn't have to roll it up again i honestly though to myself ¨How dumb, why would you not use it.¨ Then i realized that Heavenly Father probably act the same way when we don't take the time to do the important things. The one example he used was to pray sincerely. It made me reflect a lot and think if i really take the time to pray sincerely or just so i can get in my bed faster or to leave the house on time, either way his talk made me reflect a lot.

Funny story. When they talked about that fire in California and they showed the pic of Bro Draeger, i told everyone that i knew him and that he was in my ward and no one believed me hahaha.
That's it from this week I'm super pumped for this Saturday. Have a good week everybody. I love you all!!!!

Elder Crisp


It was my comps b'day this week.

Monday, March 27, 2017

March 27th, 2017

Hola, 

This week was one of the best weeks of my mission. We were able to put 3 baptismal dates and they are all pretty really to get baptized.

Sabina is pretty excited for her baptism. She went to church yesterday and then we visited them after. She is progressing so fast. She is praying on her own and shes reading the BofM with her kids. Her date is still the 15th so im excited for that.

The other is Patricia. We also visited her yesterday and she asked us if we could move her date up a week to the 8th so shell be getting baptized next Saturday. She is completely prepared. She goes to Institute and is reading the BofM too. Shes super excited for everything.

The other one we had this week is a guy named Enrique. Hes 21 years old and we{ve been teaching him and his fam since last cambio. He has been the one that is more interested. He reads and prays and is the only one of his family that goes to church. Yesterday we went over and watched the Restoration, which is always a good way to explain about Joseph Smith. He liked the movie a lot and afterword we invited for the 8th as well. He told us that yes and that he was really excited too. All 3 of them are super prepared and I'm super pumped for the nest few weeks. 

So crazy story that shows again that this world is super tiny. There is a recent convert here that has a daughter that lives in Virginia. I looked up her address and realized that she lived in Jeremy´s mission, so I sent him the address. Jeremy told me that she actually lives in his new area and only a few blocks from his apartment. So he went a contacted her and told her that her Mom sent the missionaries to come visit her!!!!! The picture of Jeremy is with the daughter and the picture of me is with the mom.


Elder Crisp



Monday, March 20, 2017

March 20th, 2017

Buenos días,
This week was super cool. we had a lot of super good visits with some investigators and there are a bunch that are starting to progress and I'm super pumped. One of them is the mom of the 2 converts we had last cambio. her name is Sabina, she already told us that she is going to get baptized and she super excited, but she told us that she doesn't feel ready to do it right now. We had a super good lesson with her yesterday and we talked about the BofM. I'm super excited because little by little this whole family is opening their hearts to the church. There are 3 other kids and the dad that are still pretty tough about the church but they are starting to talk to us and say hi instead of completely ignoring us, so I'm super excited.

There is another girl named Patricia that is also pretty excited to get baptized. She has been going to church the last few weeks and we started teaching her this week. She is also definitely going to get baptized, she is 19, so shes already going to go to Institute and shes sharing the gospel with all of her friends too. She has a lot of support in the church with the YSA here so I'm also pumped for that.
I was reminded of s scripture that I really like this week. In Revelations 3:20


20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

I've always like this verse because its teaches that we are the one s that have to let Him in, he is always there but a lot of time we ignore it or we cant hear his voice. If we search carefully, we will always find Him and hear His voice and he will join us and guide us to where we need to go.

That's it for this week, hope you all have a sick week and Happy Bolivian Fathers day to all you fathers out there.

Love Elder Crisp

Monday, March 13, 2017

March 13th, 2017

Hola,

This week was pretty sweet. It was Branch Conference here so everyday this week we did an activity. We had a lot of investigators come to all the activities and they were all super special. They were able to meet the members and do some fun stuff. On Saturday we had an activity called Zapato Misional, it where everyone wears our shoes for a day, so it was pretty cool, hahahahaha,. No but a bunch of the members went with us and we visited all the people and invited them to church on Sunday. It was really cool and yesterday there were 6 investigators and like 10 less actives that attended for the first time since ive been here. So basically it was just a really sick week. On Friday we had a huge buffet of food and i decided to make Peanut Butter cookies because thats all i know how to make and everyone loved them. hahaha.

I was reading the Liahona from March and there is a quote that i really like. Its pretty rough but i like it. Its from Neal A. Maxwell, i think, its says "If you have not chosen the kingdom of God first, it will in the end make no difference what you have chosen instead." Its pretty self explanatory but i like it.

Thats it for this week but i hope you all have a sick week, Felicidades Emmett por su llamamiento!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!TEXAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love Elder Crisp




Monday, March 6, 2017

March 6th, 2017

Hello everybody,

This week was pretty sweet. 3 days in the house with nothing to do was pretty terrible I'm not going to lie. We literally didn't do anything the whole time but read and sleep. They did let us watch the Saratov Approach so that was good but it was still really boring. After that on Wednesday we got cambios. I'm staying here in Valle Sanchez but i have another new comp. Elder Vilca from Peru haha. There are a lot of peruvians here. Hes pretty chill, he has 8 months in the mission. He doesn't really talk much but hes still pretty cool.

The baptism was awesome, there was a lot of people there and everything went well. Unfortunately my camera died and I didn't take photos with my camera, but ill ask my comp to send them to me, hopefully you'll see them today. Its pretty awesome because yesterday they ordained him as a deacon, and next week is Branch Conference and the Branch Presidente assigned him to pass the sacrament, so hes pretty excited. Other than that this week we just tried to find the people we were teaching before, with the whole Carnaval thing we couldn't really communicate with most of the people, but we were able to get some good lessons in this week

I was reading a talk by Elder Ucthdorf this week that i love. He talks about hope.
"Hope is a gift of the Spirit. It is a hope that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the power of His Resurrection, we shall be raised unto life eternal and this because of our faith in the Savior. This kind of hope is both a principle of promise as well as a commandment, and, as with all commandments, we have the responsibility to make it an active part of our lives and overcome the temptation to lose hope."

I really like at the end how it says that losing hope is a Temptation, if we lose hope we cant really have faith, like it says "that we will be raised unto life eternal" That is really the greatest hope we have, that through Jesus Christ we can live with him again, that is what pushes us to do what is right and to always remember him. That's my little message for today.

Have a good week
Love Elder Crisp

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

February 21st, 2017

Hello everybody,

This week was pretty chill. We did have some good visits and we have a baptism this week on Saturday. We visited that guy that we found that said he had never talked with the missionaries before and we had a really good visit. He had a lot of questions and doubts but we were able to resolve a few of them and help him understand a little bit better. We talked about the Bof M and he told us he would have to read it to know. We invited him to pray to know if it was true, he also said he was going to go to church but it rained super hard Sunday morning and when it rains here no one does anything so he didn't go but its fine.

I don't know if i mention Ivan, he is the brother of a recent convert here and he came up to us and told us he wanted to get baptized. So this Saturday he is going to get baptized. He is super cool, he understands everything and he goes to index whenever he has time, he reads the BofM everyday and is only 13 years old. I'm super pumped for him because he is super cool.

I was reading the BofM this morning and I read a scripture that i really like in 1 Nefi 15:24

24 And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.

I like his verse because its so clear, if we read and live the word of God we will never perish, we will have the power to overcome temptation and to be happy in our lives, to strengthen our testimony of the Gospel and to know what and how to live our lives.Thats my little thought of the day.
I love you all and hope you all have a sick Presidents Days hahaha and a sick week. I love you all.


Love Elder Crisp


(this is a random picture in the middle of nowhere, I look like I'm sagging but I'm not)

Monday, February 13, 2017

February 13th, 2017

Hello everybody,

This week was pretty crazy. We honestly didnt get too much time to work because we had to move, so we were stuck in that for a few days , but lucily in the time that we worked we were able to find a few more people to teach. We basically just contacted for the time that we had. But there realy isnt anything to share.

I read a verse this week in 1 Nefi that i really liked, in 17:13:
13 And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by Me that ye are led.

I love this verse because like it says, He will be our light. If were are always trying to do the right thing, He will guide to where we need to go and we will recognize that it was Him that lead us there, that He is the one that we need to depend on not ourselves. Just a quick though haha.
Sorry this was a lot worse then the rest of my letters but there really wasnt much to share. But something cool, i met a monkey the other day.




Monday, February 6, 2017

February 6th, 2017

Buenos dìas,

This week was a really good week. We had a lot of success finding new people to teach this week. We contacted 2 brothers that were sitting on their porch fixing their motorcycles and we started to ask them a few questions. They told us that they had heard a lot about us but that they never had the opportunity to talk with the missionaries. They had a bunch of questions and we were able to answer them and have a quick lesson with them right there on their porch. They seemed super interested and told us to come back today, so we are going to visit them later and see how it goes. We also found another family that's seems pretty interested. We taught them about the Restoration and we kind of found that they don't really have a strong christian background so we taught them about the Atonement and they liked it a lot. They also told us to come back this week.

We also had a baptism this week of Danny Paz. It was really cool because a bunch of people went from the branch and he bore a super cool testimony at the end about how the Gospel had changed his life. The spirit was super strong in his baptism and the Branch President gave a super good talk too. Overall is was just a super sick experience.

That's about it from this week. Have a good week everybody. I love you alllll!!!
Love Elder Crisp

Monday, January 30, 2017

January 30th, 2017

Hello everybody,

This week was pretty awesome. A lot of pretty sick things happened. First off we had our Conference with Elder Cook which was probably the best part of the week. We also had a worldwide broadcast with all the missionaries and the changed a lot of things for the mission. We also had a bunch of really good citas and we have a baptism for this next Saturday, so it was a pretty packed week.

The Conference with Elder Cook was pretty cool. He didn't really talk much about anything in specific but he did share a few stories and answered a few questions. What he did share was from D&C 31. He talked about the importance of the Spirit and in verse 7 it says 7 Yea, I will open the hearts of the people, and they will receive you. And I will establish a church by your hand. He made it clear that if we do what we need to and we are worthy that He will open the hearts of the people but that we would be the tools in the Lords hands. He told us that we were the ones chose to establish the Church as missionaries. That was really good, but i think the best part of what he said was at the end Elder Cook said, "I decided that I'm going to be more specific with you guys about my testimony of the Savior. I know that He lives, I know the Savior's voice, and I know His face, and I am a witness of His divinity." I felt the Spirit in that moment stronger than I think I ever have in my entire life, It really confirmed my testimony that this is the only true church on earth. I am grateful for the opportunity to shake the hand of an Apostle and to hear his sure testimony of Jesus Christ.

The baptism we have this week is a guy named Daniel Paz. He is super cool. He just moved here from another ward where he was receiving the lessons but he lacked a few things. He is super excited for Saturday. He has changed a lot of things to be a part of the church and he has a strong testimony too that this is the true church.
That's about it for this week. I hope you all have a sick week.
Love Elder Crisp
(random pictures of my area)


Monday, January 23, 2017

January 23rd, 2017

Buenos dìas Familia,

This week was pretty crazy. I got transferred again and i am no longer training. My new area is Valle Sanchez and my new comp is Elder Aguilar from El Salvador. I'm pretty pumped for this new area. It's a little Branch like an hour and a half outside the city. So far the branch is pretty cool, its a little bit different but its cool. There not even a chapel here, its just a house they rent. But there is a lot of support from the members.

This week there was a baptism too of a girl named Emma, ill send fotos of that so you can see. Other than that I'm just kind of getting to know the area and the people here so there's not much to share.
I was reading the Liahona from January and I like the message from Dieter F Uchtdorf about the bow and arrow. "As Church members, we sometimes have a tendency to attach ourselves to gospel programs, issues, and even doctrines that seem interesting, important, or enjoyable to us. We are tempted to draw targets around them, making us believe we are aiming at the center of the gospel..." He then shares the scriptures where Jesus talks about the 2 great commandments and that all the other commandments fall beneath those 2. It made me think that if we really love God and we want to show that love, we aren't going to pick and choose what commandments we do and don't want to keep. And as a missionary that happens a lot. There's rules that "don't make sense" or things like that but as we always say we have to obedient with exactness. It applies for everyone hahaha. 

That's it for this week. I love you all. Have a good week.

Elder Crisp

Monday, January 16, 2017

January 16, 2017

Hola,

This week just flew by. We didn't really get that much time to work this week because we had interviews with President and a few other things to do outside our area but it was still a good week. We had a few really good citas with less actives this week, because there's more of them then there are investigators here. There is one named Jorge Fernandez. Hes been a member for like 45 years but he is the only members of his family. None of his kids want to listen and hes basically alone, but we passed by his house and as usual he was busy. They were getting ready to sell food, cuz they have like restaurants in their driveways here. Instead of teaching him we offered to help him clean some stuff and get it all ready and he accepted. The other elders her told us he hasn't gone in 3 or 4 months but he went yesterday. He seemed super happy too. He was talking with all the members and it was really cool. We also visited the other Jorge, whose 16, we talked with him and offered to pass by in the morning to go to church together but he was sleeping and he didn't want to go. 

Today i was reading in Alma 13, the chapter that says that the time to repent is now. There was one verse that stuck out to me, the 29: 29 Having faith on the Lord; having a hope that ye shall receive eternal life; having the love of God always in your hearts, that ye may be lifted up at the last day and enter into his rest.

I think of it as a reminder of what we should strive for. To have Faith,Hope and Love. But i like that the hope is for eternal life because that the goal we should all have and strive to fulfill, and sadly there are a lot of people and members that forget that, they look for temporal things and forget what they need to do to have eternal life. And its a lot easier to have that hope if we really love God, like that talk from Elder Holland said.

We found out this week too that Quentin L Cook is coming here the 28th of Jan, so im pretty pumped for that. We haven't really had any kind of visit from anyone in all my time here so its should be pretty cool.

Have a good week everyboday. I love you all.
Elder Crisp

Monday, January 9, 2017

January 9th, 2017

Hola,

This week was pretty good. Its still been a bit rough finding people to teach here but were working hard. We had a visit with an investigator named Jose Alfredo. He is pretty cool. We taught him about the Book of Mormon yesterday and he accepted to read it. He is pretty catholic so he always asks us "Where does it say that in the Bible." But we explained the BofM and that it helps us to understand even better all that and he accepted it. It was a really good visit. Other than that this week we visited a few less-actives and had some good visits with them. 

This week i was listening to a talk by Elder Holland that I loved from Oct 2014. Its the one where Jesus is talking to Peter after he is resurrected. It puts the conversation in his own words. He says, “Then Peter, why are you here? Why are we back on this same shore, by these same nets, having this same conversation? Wasn’t it obvious then and isn’t it obvious now that if I want fish, I can get fish? What I need, Peter, are disciples—and I need them forever. I need someone to feed my sheep and save my lambs. I need someone to preach my gospel and defend my faith. I need someone who loves me, truly, truly loves me, and loves what our Father in Heaven has commissioned me to do. Ours is not a feeble message. It is not a fleeting task. It is not hapless; it is not hopeless; it is not to be consigned to the ash heap of history. It is the work of Almighty God, and it is to change the world. So, Peter, for the second and presumably the last time, I am asking you to leave all this and to go teach and testify, labor and serve loyally until the day in which they will do to you exactly what they did to me.”

I love this because the Lord asks us to do the same. He asks us to truly love him and do the work His Father sent him to do. The message we have is the most important thing we have and we need to share it. And we need to be willing to defend it even they do to us what they did to Him. I love that talk a lot.

Hope you all have a sick week and that you're all ahappy. 

Elder Crisp

Monday, January 2, 2017

January 2nd, 2017

What's up everybody,

This week was pretty interesting. There wasn't too much work this week for New Years and all that but we did have a pretty sick week. We were able to have a few good citas with some less active members. There is one that we visited named Jorge. He is 16 and he is the only member of his family. He mentioned to us that his family is not very supportive and that they didn't really want him to go to church. So he lost his motivation to go to church. But we were able to help him a little bit and he told us that he was going to start reading and praying and that he is going to go to church this week.

There is an investigator that we are teaching too. His name is Gerardo. He is a security guard for a company and hes always there and theres always time to teach him. His son is a member and he told us that he was intrested in learning more. We taught a few times and taught him about the restoration. He said he was going to read and pray about the BofM. He told us too that he has had problems with drinking and something they do here is chew on coca leaves. He said that in these past few weeks that when he goes to drink or chew he feels like he has to throw up. Its defintly a sign that he has been prepared.

I'm super excited for this new year. 2016 went by so fast and I'm so grateful for all the things I've been able to experience here. For all the things I've learned and the people I've been able to teach. I'm pumped to be able to work more and to keep learning about the Gospel and to help other to do the same. Hope you all had a good weekend and that you can have a sick 2017.


(this is what we had for New Years)