Hermana Tess Crawford: Maribel and Maria

Hey so, surprise-

we get to email today because on Monday we'll be in Mendoza for our leadership meeting and we're having a super p-day with Pres. so we won't have time! I only get half an hour so I'm trying to send a bunch of pictures and make this letter short & dulce. So I finally got my new comp on Wednesday at 5 pm (super late) after being with Hna Reyes and Japa for like 3 days!

Hna Lybbert (my new companion) is awesome, we already get along super well. She's 21 and she's from this town of 5 or 6000 people that no one's ever heard of in Washington called Quincy. She says there's mostly Mexicans and farms there- she used to drive a tractor and everything. She goes to BYUI and she's studying to be a high school softball coach or PE teacher. It's been crazy to try and find our way around San Rafi and finding new people to teach because we didn't have a ton when Anderson left. We've had a lot of success though surprisingly! We had another lesson with Maribel who's the Ibañez's friend, and it was amazing because she remembered every single detail of the Restoration that we had taught her the week before. That NEVER happens here. They almost always forget completely who Joseph Smith was and what the Apostasy is, etc. but not Maribel! She's super smart and likes what we teach so hopefully she'll have time in between all her studies to study the Book of Mormon and come to church!

Also, on the day we took those pics on the street the ONLY person we talked to was this girl named Maria Belen who was pushing her baby in a stroller and told us we could stop by whenever. We went yesterday and she let us in right away and said she had been hoping we'd come soon. She started telling us about all these trials she's going through with her mom who beats her and her siblings and then pretends like nothing happened, and her various suicide attempts, and her severe anorexia (she hadn't eaten in 4 days when we showed up). She told us that she wants to change for her 9 month old daughter and that she's gone to other church's but hasn't felt anything, and the psychologist hasn't helped at all either..... I'm extremely grateful that we found and decided to talk to her on Sunday and that we didn't give up trying to find people and go back because this girl seriously needs help, like now, and we know that this is what she needs and has been searching for. We're going to do a church tour today and then she's going to come to church on Sunday. Please, please pray that she sticks with this and doesn't run away from the answer God's given her.

Yeah I'm out of time but I hope you like the pictures and that you've had, and continue having an awesome week! I'll talk to you the 29th if I'm not mistaken. Love you!

Hna Crawford