The Most Amazing Lesson!

Hey guys, long time no see! 

Haha that skype convo was a wreck.. I'm still stressed out from that day, I think it threw all of the hnas here off. I'm glad you liked the stories though and I wasn't too rude haha. It sounded like you guys had an awesome Christmas though, and all the presents that you got are amazing! The puppy looks sooooo cute too, I can't wait to hold it!! 

So I'm really jealous of your trip to Washington.. I miss my Asians and the all of the Crawfords!! Grandma & Grandpa's house looks seriously incredible and cozy, I'm so excited to visit! I hope the visit was a ton of fun and you got back safely.

So as I was saying I'm still pretty thrown off and stressed out because of Christmas, the heat, new years, and companionship stuff.. basically we're praying that we can survive these next two weeks together. Not kidding. After Christmas and stuff we had exchanges and I got to be with Hna Schiess (the one I was with in the MTC), which was pretty fun! We didn't have a ton of lessons but it was nice to talk to her. Then the next day we had one of the most amazing lessons that I've ever had. It was with Lucia and Gloria, the 15 year old and her mom that we met a while ago and have been teaching but they never come to church and the mom is pretty Catholic, but has been starting to open up and loves when we come. She doesn't attend the Catholic church though because she doesn't like the priests, so we decided to bring the branch pres and his wife over for a noche de hogar (FHE) with them so she could see that he's a great guy and is only there to serve and help the members. The lesson got off to a good start when Pres and Hna started chatting with Gloria, they were even laughing. Then we watched the video "finding faith in Christ" and they liked it a lot. Afterwards Pres. and hna were bearing their testimonies and we started talking about Gloria's son Jose who's 12 and is pretty severely handicapped. He was sitting on his bed in his room (he's in there all day, every day) and yelling/hitting himself just like he does in every lesson. From the kitchen table where we were you can see him sitting there and Hna Aguilera was saying talking about how cute he was, and so Gloria and Lucia decided to take him out into the kitchen with us in his wheelchair (which they had never done before with us). He was talking loudly and stuff as we were talking about how he would have a perfected body one day, and then the subject of Priesthood blessings got brought up and Pres offered Gloria and Lucia one, and much to my surprise they accepted! He then asked Jose if he wanted one, and he nodded his head and smiled. After two of the most incredible blessings I've heard, I realized that Jose had been completely calm and silent during both of them! Then Pres goes up to him in his little wheelchair and puts his hands on his head. Jose's first reaction was to yell and scream and so Pres backed off for a minute. As he was standing there next to him the most precious thing I've ever seen happened- Jose takes Pres.'s wrist and places his hand on his head and smiles. Pres then started the blessing and as he was speaking (I had an eye open because I wanted to see what Jose was doing) Jose was touching softly Presidente's face and head. It was seriously one of the cutest things I've ever seen. We all left that lesson feeling blessed for the little miracle that we had witnessed. I'll never forget it.

The next few days we had a couple other lessons and got to go to church, which was awesome. Oh yeah, I remembered another funny little story I wanted to tell you! Haha the other morning we were all getting ready and we got a knock on the door, which hardly every happens. I went to answer it and sure enough it was a couple of Jehova's Witnesses! Haha as soon as they got a look at me, a blonde North American with a skirt on and a nametag, and realized who I was, I could see the horror on the 15 year old kid's face. He didn't even attempt to start a conversation, he just asked if I'd accept a pamphlet, gave it to me, and then said have a nice day and ran. Hahaha it was the best!

So this week is going to be another crazy one and will not help me at all to be able to refocus on the work because we aren't allowed to work tomorrow or Wednesday because of New Years. I guess it's getting a little dangerous and other missionaries have been robbed recently so we have to stay inside and aren't allowed to bring our cameras or phones anywhere or take cash out. Hopefully it's more fun than Christmas was but I doubt it. As great as it sounds sometimes to be able to stay home all day and relax, it actually sucks because it gives us way too much time to think about other things like home. It's gonna throw me off even more, but oh well. I'll be fine in a few weeks! I hope you guys have a more exciting and enjoyable New Years than I will and that you eat lots of flavorful food (: I love you and hope you don't think I've gotten too weird haha! HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2014! Woohoo!

<3, 

Hna Tess Crawford

(Songs of Solomon 1:6, and 1 Corinth 16:20)

PS- Pray for my comp and I to survive these last 2 weeks, please.. 

Hna Hatch eating lunch as you (mom) were driving to her parents house

Hna Barney (from Alpine, UT) and I with our Hot Wheels popsicles..

Guadalupe sleeping under our table on Christmas Eve

it snowed in the pench?

(not sure why my face is all blurry) my comp made us baldeadas. I don't know if Collin Porter has mentioned it in his letters (he's the one in Honduras, right?) but I guess it's like the main thing they eat in Honduras. It's pretty much a tortilla/pancake with beans. Not too bad

Christmas Conversation!

We finally got to talk to Tess today about an hour and a half behind schedule but we did it! She had been running around in the 97 degree weather from house to house trying to find a member who had good enough internet service with a good enough computer! By the time she called us she was tired and frustrated and was even more frustrated trying to speak English! Also, there was about a 2 or 3 second delay so our conversation was less than smooth... but THAT'S OK! We got to talk to our baby! Here are some things she had to say...

Funny story... Remember these shoes and these feet?

Well, some of the LDS ladies in a branch she was visiting (on splits) saw the TERRIBLE shape Tess's shoes and feet were in and figured she was so poor that she couldn't afford new shoes (really, she has other pairs and likes these thrashed, hole-y ones because they are cooler than her more sturdy shoes, and she is too busy/lazy to run to a store and buy new ones on P-days) so... the woman called the mission leader in Tess's branch and said, "Why don't your sisters have shoes?!!" So they all got together and rounded up about 6 pairs of shoes for Tess and her companion to keep! Yeah... Tess wears them every day now. She held them up and showed them to us. Sturdy, breathable and a nice gift!

They have a "pet" dog they named "Guadalupe." He's a street dog and is covered with tics (that Tess and her companion pick off of him and stomp on) and on Christmas eve he was freaking out because of all the fireworks people were shooting off, so they let it in and it slept under their table.

There are wild dogs, and pet dogs everywhere! They try to bite her and her companion. She often picks up rocks to defend herself and the other day she had to hit a big pit bull right in the face with one!

The food is terrible. She had heard lots of stories about the yummy meat and dairy but she she says it's really bland, no one uses spices. They eat fried chicken and fried stake, rice and bread, bread, bread! She really misses Chipotle, Costa Vida and Joe's BBQ.

She gets about 3 million kisses a week... and she likes it!! Tess used to hate it when people  got in her personal space but now she says she likes the kisses and gets offended when someone at church doesn't kiss her on the cheek when they meet. Every time you enter a room you give everyone a kiss and every time you leave the room you give everyone a kiss. Some areas of her mission you kiss both cheeks, but in La Punta, where she is now, you just kiss one cheek. They even give/get kisses when you meet strangers on the street. The only thing that's weird is when you kiss another American on the cheek, for some reason that still feels awkward.

Another different custom is the afternoon siesta. It is very frustrating for the missionaries because they study all morning and then in the afternoon they go out and try to contact people but they can't knock on anyone's doors between about 1:00 and 6:00 pm because they are asleep and get very mad if you wake them up. They are pretty much just left with teaching people who are out on the streets, shopping, or have their front doors open. Then in the evenings they get all their teaching appointments in. They also usually eat dinner at 1:00pm. They eat a HUGE meal and then aren't really hungry in the evening and just have small snack, like an orange, if they feel like it. 

They a Korean couple the other day that own a shop in town. They were excited to meet some Asians and say they rarely see any there. They had fun talking to them (in Spanish and English) and telling them that Tess has an aunt that is Korean (Jami)! 

One day they were talking to this old man on the street and he just popped out his dentures in the middle of their conversation and kept on talking like it was so big deal that he was now holding his teeth in his hand!

Another time they met a crazy man on a motorcycle in San Rafael. Apparently he had been baptized over 20 years ago and had been through the temple and he kept unbuttoning his shirt and showing them his garments and saying, "Do you recognize this?"

Last story... Spanish in Argentina is different from Spanish in Honduras and other South American countries. Her companion is from Honduras and found this out the hard way. When they knock on doors they often ask the home owner if there is any service they could do for them, like washing their dishes (plates). Apparently, the word for plates in Honduras is the same as the word for "butt" in Argentina so Hermana Martinez forgets this and keeps asking people, "Can we come in and wash your butts?"

She spoke some Spanish for us and sounded so great! Just like a 10 month old missionary should! It was very neat to hear. We had her tell us the story of Russ's and my engagement, since I knew from her email she had just told her companion that story the other day. :)

Well, Tess was pretty worn out after speaking English for an hour so we said goodbye and gave her air hugs and blew her kisses and tried not to cry.

Merry Christmas!

Hey, you get to see my face in two days! And I get to see yours. The email was awesome- the new car looks super sick, I can't wait to go for a drive in it! Haha I'm sorry you were a bit stressed out but it sounds like you were able to get it all worked out! The bikini story was pretty funny too, and I'm glad Olivia's choir concert was awesome. It looks like the Santa Shop that you guys worked on was a success too, it would've been sweet to have been able to help the Spanish-speakers although I'm not really sure if I would understand Mexican spanish.. 

So this week has also been a little hectic here in San Luis because most people are busy with family in town and all of that good stuff as expected. We had the mission party this Tuesday which was really fun! There were a bunch of sports and stuff to play but I just sat and talked to Hna Hales, Barney, Tanner, Ruiz, and Sanford the whole time, and then we ate a pretty good dinner and got a surprise visit from Papá Noel (the husband of the new older couple that just got to the mission) who gave us Argentine flags with the mission logo as our present. We got back to La Punta at like 11pm (I know it doesn't sound late at all, but for us it is haha) and I was EXHAUSTED the following three days.. On Friday, as you know, we had our Cena Navideña and also zone meeting, which were both fun. And then on Saturday we had an awesome lesson with one of the couples we're teaching and they both accepted to be baptized and then came to church yesterday! There names are Matias and Angie and they're both really cool and want to make changes in their lives because they're going through some rough times. We have a lot of work to do with them but they'll get there eventually!

It's honestly the weirdest thing ever that it's Christmas in two days, I seriously feel like I'm on another planet and I'm not myself, but it's still awesome! I might as well not write too much more because then I'll run out of things to tell you on Wednesday (and today), but I can't wait to talk to you and see how you're doing and what you all got for Christmas! Don't miss me too much. Love you all!

<3,

HermCrawf

p.s. Tess didn't get our Christmas/birthday package this week either because their was a mail workers' strike for 3 weeks that just barely ended. :( But we did get to talk to her for 10 minutes today and she will Skype us on Christmas! It was great to hear her voice and we can't wait to see our tropical tan daughter in 2 days (on the computer)!! She was out and about today with Hermana Hatch (who lives with her and their companions) instead of her companion, Hermana Martinez, because today was the one year anniversary of Hermana Martinez's older brother's tragic death. He was murdered during a mugging. She has been struggling with grief but is hanging in there. Tess has really enjoyed the company of Hermana Hatch, whose family just moved to Gilbert in September and I got to meet today!! They are wonderful and we had fun getting to know each other. I also got to talk to their daughter for a minute on the phone and I know Tess is in good hands! :)

updated pic of our tree (Hna Martinez from Nicaragua put the lights on and made a homemade -and slightly dangerous- extension cord because she's an electrician)

Christmas fiesta = reunited with Herm Hales!! 

Christmas fiesta = reunited with Herm Hales!! and Hermana Smith too!

Amigas de la mision y CCM

La Punta had its own Christmas activity this Friday- here's me with the niños of the branch

The hermanos cooking Chori-pan. The activity was supposed to start at 8 but it actually started at 9:35 as usual so we had to take the food to the pench and eat it there

the kids performing Pesebre aka the Nativity

20th Birthday in Argentina!

Hola fam. 

Thanks for the emails this week! The house looks awesome and I'm excited that you're finally going to be able to drive something other than the junky suburban even though we had a lot of crazy Crawford memories in that old car. I also loved the pics of the fam reunion! Everybody's looking better than ever!! It is so hilarious that Tiff is comps with Audrey my roomie from BYU too though, they've got to be quite the entertaining companionship.. haha!

Yeah so I'm not exactly sure what's happening in Buenos Aires, but there was some sort of riot thing in San Luis and I guess all the stores had to lock up because some hooligans were trying to break in? I don't know, that's about all we heard. There are a ton of people from Buenos Aires here in La Punta though and they all tell us how crazy and dangerous it was living there and that they moved here to have more peaceful lives for their families. It kind of freaks me out knowing that Naomi's there, but I'm sure she'll be alright and they'll put her in the safer areas. It sounds like the craziness of the Christmas season is starting to get to you guys too. I hope it's not too stressful and that you figure it all out! I still haven't gotten the package, but maybe tomorrow in Mendoza I'll get it if I'm lucky.. It doesn't really feel like Christmas to me at all not only because it's starting to get super hot (ok it's not that hot but it is when you're walking around all day with a backpack on) but also because I'm in a whole different world and the culture is way different. It's bitter-sweet I guess. 

Oh yeah, before I forget: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!! 21 years, eh.. Haha I had fun telling the Hnas Martinez's the story of your proposal yesterday. I'm actually pretty impressed with myself that I told the whole thing without leaving out details in Castellano and they loved it and think Dad's insane!! Haha enjoy the fondue too! 

So this week we also had a zone conference with Pres. Avila which lasted all day and was amazing, I learned a ton. I seriously lucked out with the mission pres I have, he's incredible- hilarious, humble, patient, and very wise. But yeah then we also had some great lessons with investigators like Jorge and Laura, Soledad, and Lucia. They all have complicated situations that we're doing our best to try to help them with but it's a little difficult with the whole Christmas being in 8 days thing, but we're working hard! Last week we realized that 99% of our investigators are living with someone (boyfriend/girlfriend) that they're not married to.. grrr. But oh well, that's what miracles and the Gospel are for! It's frustrating but we're doing what we can.

Haha so Hna Hatch hit her year mark this week too and she's going crazy.. I have some priceless videos of her beat-boxing and dancing that I wish I could send. It's seriously a blast living with her though. We're all super pumped for the party tomorrow in Mendoza (we're leaving at 4 am) and we're going to sleep tonight in the pench of Hna Jacinto, Cooley, Barney, and Russel in Sucre so basically the party starts tonight because we're definitely not going to be sleeping. I'm a little less excited than I was before because now I know that I won't see my mom Hna Keller, but I get to see HermHales!!! And then soon after that we'll get to Skype!! Ahhhh! How crazy is that, that it's already been 7 MONTHS since we talked on mothers' day.. what the. I've been living in Argentina for half a YEAR! Pucha, che. 

Well, that's about it. Thanks for being the best and enjoy the cold for me! Try not to have too merry of a Christmas without your favorite hija (: Love you and I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Con cariño,

Hna Crawford (the adult)

Merry Navidad everyone!

Watched a cat eat the brains out of a live mouse

Our new BFFs are the little girls that live next door. We hung out with them like 15 min. as we waited for the other hnas because we had grabbed the wrong key.

La Punta had a baptism on my b-day for this lady named Paola who the other hnas have been working with for a while! It was awesome even though a tormenta came and the lights when out during the first talk.

more of the baptism!

Feliz Fiestas!! Haha the ads are super weird here..

2 p-days ago hiking in Potrero (we found a goat.. and a cow)

Waterfall! It was the biggest temptation ever to jump in, but don't worry, I resisted.

The old district before the Hnas came!

Santa wants to serve the Lord too <3

Another picture of our old district

I got to go to a Christmas party in Amppya (Hna Scheiss and Sanford's ward) on Friday for exchanges and the kids did the Nativity thing and then we ate dinner at like 10 (:

Feliz 10 meses to meeee (and one year to Hna Hatch!)

Birthday breakfast courtesy of Hna Sanford

las hnas surprised me with cake and coke zero <3

Also got to eat lunch with my fave family and their cutest kid Gloria who fell of her bed and hurt her shoulder and is now in what's basically a full-body cast. Pobrecita! (They're the ones with the kittens)

the older sis of Gloria (the one in the cast), Sariah.. they're SO CUTE

Hno Martos also had his cumpleaños this week

Birthday Surprises!

Hey familia! 

Thanks for all of the birthday emails from you guys and everyone else!! You're the best! 20 YEARS.. what the. It doesn't feel real at all. It freaks me out sometimes when I think about how fast time has gone by, but hey, that's how the mission is. Sounds like your week was fun and relaxing! The tree looks awesome, but it's missing a few baby arms. I'm glad the boys are doing well with their lax and that Jake is back playing again. What the heck so I'm talking to Hna Cooley right now and she just told me that MAURICIO GOT BAPTIZED!! My investigator from Maipu that Hna Keller and I were teaching! Happy birthday to me!!!!!! Also Ana Rivero one of the toothless investigators that was SUPER stubborn got baptized too!! Ahhh. 

Ok, well this week was awesome but a little difficult. Sorry I can't concentrate right now all these sisters are talking to me ahh. Dang it I forgot my camera and I was going to send a bunch of pics of this waterfall hike that we went on as a district last week and some other funny ones, but oh well, you'll get like 30 next week! Oh and Luciana's son got baptized too and she's about to get baptized too!! Sorry I really can't concentrate at all they're standing here talking to me... but yeah we have some really awesome investigators, but the only down side is that they're pretty much all unmarried couples so it'll talk a while for them to be able to get baptized, but we're super excited and working hard! 

Also my comp had a major breakdown (she's had like 4 but now as bad) and called Pres. because she's depressed, but he helped her out and she's doing good now. Ahh so my time is up now.. this letter was a wreck, but this week's going to be awesome!!!!!!! I promise next week it'll be more cohesive! I'm happy though and I love you guys!! Thanks again for the birthday wishes and pictures!!

Hna Crawford (the teenager)

Mauricio's baptism!!

¡Feliz día de la acción de gracia!

Hey fam. 

I'm feeling a lot better stomach-wise and the power's been back on for a week or so! Don't worry about the email thing either- I got it in time. It looks like the Koski family reunion was a hit once again! The shirts are so awesome and the food looks/sounds amazing. Charlotte is SO CUTE! Haha I wish I could've been there, but it's all good, there'll be plenty more to come. Grandpa's 70th looked super fun too! Feliz día, gramps!! Oh yeah and the Winters' song was hilarious- very creative. I wish I could've been there to school the boys in Rockband too.. oh well! I'm glad everyone enjoyed themselves though.

This week was a little slow, but good! Hna Hatch and I had fun trying to explain Thanksgiving to the other hermanas and I'm pretty sure they think were crazy. It wasn't one of the most delicious thanksgiving meals ever but it could be worse I guess! Our investigators are doing well but not progressing as much as we would like them to be. 

Dang sorry I just found out that Hna Keller had to go home early for health probs and I'm a little bummed out, but yeah, it was a good week overall. This morning we found out about transfers and none of us got changed, but 4 more hnas are coming to the zone including Hna Cooley and Hna Jacinto who are both good friends of mine, so I'm excited!! This month's going to be insane because we have a conference with Pres. here, then a trainers meeting in Mendoza, then my 10 month mark and birthday, then a party with half the mission for Christmas, and then Christmas itself and New Years! It's going to be insane, but we're all excited! 

On the 24th apparently we work until 6 and then we can go to members houses until 12 am. Then on the 25th we wake up at 7 and stay in the pench all day (we'll probs play games and have an asado with the 10 hnas that are gonna be in our zone)! I'm not sure when I'll call or if I'll skype, but I'll keep you updated. I hope you have a relaxing week and enjoy the cold because it's gettin toasty over here in La Punta! It's going to be a weird Christmas as far as weather goes.. But I really do love this area and this branch! Oh yeah, this week an investigator of the other hnas came to church and Hna Martinez and I actually found her for them because I had cravings for Grido (ice cream) one night and met this worker girl who had a book of mormon and gave us her adress because no missionaries had ever talked to her before and she wanted to know more, so that was pretty cool to see! She couldn't go because she was super tired (she works till like 3 am, but her mom came and really liked it. So yeah, that's all I've got. Today we're going to one of the prettiest places in San Luis with our district (which will change next week because of transfers) so it should be pretty fun! 

Love you all!

Hna Crawford

La conferencia de estaca con Pres y Hna Avila!

Recently we've been finding snakes and tarantulas randomly on the street. I found a dead one (tarantula) and have it stored in an icebreakers box in my backpack so I'll show you guys when I get back.

It's been super hot lately so we moved all the mattresses into the living room where the air condicioner is and we sleep there now. The shower sucks because we have to duck down and use the faucet instead of the showerhead, and the hot water doesn't work sometimes.

my district doing some weird teamwork thing

one of the Videla family's new baby kittens (I think there's five)

our Thanksgiving lunch: rice (as usual), beef, tomatoes, onions, coke, and chocolate pudding..  just like home! 

the Thanksgiving newbies couldn't quite handle the pigging out and had to take a recovery nap

Hna Hatch and I with our delicious turkey/chicken that we prepared.

Pudding.. mmmm. Probably just as good as any of the pies you guys ate..