Elder Mason Crandell

Greetings from Massachusetts! The work is going great here in the Weston 1st Ward. This Sunday was excellent- a nice married couple we have been teaching, Stephen and Diane Fay, came to church together. This was Diane's first time at church. Incredibly, everything went as planned; all of the talks were spiritual and nonmember friendly, we sang somewhat normal hymns in sacrament meeting, the lessons were simple and stayed on course with the teachings of the Church, and there weren't any awkward moments thrown at us. If any of you don't know why I find that incredible, please ask your nearest return missionary what it is like taking someone to church for the first time.

In all seriousness, Stephen and Diane had a great time. Stephen has come four times now, and has really become comfortable with the members. We have a baptismal date set with him for May 31st, which is his father's birthday. The only difficult part about it is that Stephen has the desire to be baptized in a river, preferably one in Maine where they have a summer getaway. We'll see if we can get approval to go up with him since that is definitely outside of our mission, but it will still work out if we aren't able to.

I have enjoyed serving with Elder Yurevich, we are getting along great. We have been together long enough for us to both know how the other will react to any situation, which is either comforting or frustrating (just kidding). The work is going well for us; we spend most of our time trying to find new people to teach. We are looking everywhere for them, believe me. Sometimes you just need to wait for something to happen, I've definitely learned that on my mission. For some reason, you can find 10 people to teach in one month, and then 0 people in the next month, even though you are doing the same exact things. There are always lessons to be learned from the ups and downs.

Thanks for all of the support from back at home, I wish all of you a Happy Easter! Remember the sacrifice that our Savior gave for us, and follow His example by looking for opportunities to serve those around you.

Love,

Elder Crandell