cute decor of resturant

sister McMahon and I having lunch the other photo is

Elder Gallman (he grew up with Tess and Rustin Crawford.....my cousins from Gilbert Arizona) HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE The week before thanksgiving.....Life is going so fast. And the ward is so willing to feed us, I don't know how they do it or what I am going to do! I made a list of funny things that have happened each day this last week so I am just gonna give a quick run through! Mon. -NOV 17 After giving the weekly update last week, we were leaving the library and as usual I smiled at the person who was walking in, this time it happened to be an old man. I smiled and turned to say something to sister McMahon when the old man grabbed my arm and I turned back around. He just looked at me for a minute and I didn't know what was going on...he proceeded to ask me if I was 'german' and then went on to tell me that I looked exactly like his ex-girlfriend in high school. I don't know how the conversation progressed but we ended up talking about the word of wisdom - the man hadn't ever taken a drink of coffee, tea, or alcohol in his life and was planning on taking a trip to Salt Lake City, UT in December. We invited him to stop by Temple Square and asked if we could visit more about some of our beliefs to see if they matched with the way he was already living but he was from a town about an hour away from Edinburg and was just visiting. Odd, but so cool. This old man told us about his wonderful health in his old age, I know that his superior health was just a result of living a healthy lifestyle, whether member or not. Tues. NOV 18 District meeting was followed by district lunch and Sister McMahon and I showed the Elders this little house/antique mall/restaurant that we had walked by a couple times in our area. There are really no words to describe this place so I will send some pictures. It was expensive, spanish, completely empty besides us but overall a wonderful experience. The rest of the day was a slight let down as our investigator Mario canceled on our appointment, though his cancelation led us to walk over to a mexican grocery/gas station for Sister McMahon to use the restroom and that led me to buy a bag of granola from this place - best granola I've ever had. The rest of the day was uneventful until our meal appointment with a member, they gave us two gallons of orange juice to take home and we were on bikes, an hour away from our house...so that was good excercise. Wed. NOV 19 This was a hard day, we fasted for Mario's progress but again he canceled on us. We biked all day without much finding success until finally decided to take our 'mormon.org' time for the week. I found a wonderful series of mormon message videos called, "Bread of LIfe" and I would encourage everyone to watch the 'pattern' and 'change' videos. Heavenly Father didn't create us to need daily bread on accident, we have to turn to him and show our thanks everyday simply for the fact that we are still here, everything we have comes from Him. Then that night we also got huge food baskets from the ward - Heavenly Father really does just know. Thurs. NOV 20 Elder Foster, of the seventy came and spoke. He was pretty direct about what our purpose as missionaries should and shouldn't be. He did a good job of refocusing us on the 'strengthing of the stakes of zion' but overall what I got out of it, was we all need to 'build each other up'. Mom said, 'Build Each Other Up" to all of us 100x but I didn't get how important that is. As missionaries we just have to build everyone up, creating relationships between people (leaders, members, investigators) to help each one grow stronger in the gospel. Its so easy, yet not. At the meeting I was also able to see Sister Bentz again, she got me excited for all the other areas in the mission - she LOVES brownsville! I love Edinburg but it will be fun to see where I end up next in south texas. Fri. NOV 21 Uneventful but solid day of member work and mostly food. We taught Gonzalo about family history work a little, actually Sister McMahon was teaching both of us. Families are the biggest blessing that Heavenly Father has given us! And I got a letter from Grandma Rain today, she talked a little bit about Bompa and I just am so excited to get to meet him!! I love families! The rest of the day was meal appointments, my stomach was crying from all the food, 2 hamburger, 1/2 of a 12 inch peperoni pizza, 2 quesadillas, a plate of beans and noodles, BBQ chips, a apple cinnamon empinada and 2 side flour tortillas - this is just two dinner appointments, killing me. Sat. NOV 22 Cookies and being a blessing were the theme for today and the rain couldn't stop us from doing so. We made 36 cookies and strapped them onto the back of my bike and went out and tried to deliver them to some members and our investigator Mario and his daughter (but again he canceled). We ended up giving them to some random people on the street, and meeting a new family to teach - they are so cool! Oatmeal cookies ended up being a great way to meet to people but then the rain came! After delivering cookies to Mario's roommate, we got to our bikes and it starts downpouring! We ride for no less than a minute when I biff it and slide in the mud, boy was that rough but I laughed it off and we rode onward. On the way home we tried to stop by a members house to deliver the last of the cookies and they werent home. While trying to contact a referral in the rain, the next thing we know the Morales, another member couple pulls up and we were able to give them the cookies - they offered a ride but had nowhere for our bikes. The last 30 minutes of biking in the rain were painful, the rain felt like rocks but the memory was absolutely worth it. Sun. NOV 23 Mario came to church with his 5 year old daughter Kaylee!! That was just about the only important thing from yesterday, and we have a family home evening with Mario and the Morales's tonight! Heavenly Father is so good.

Sorry this update was so long but that is a very good summary of the last week!! Hope everyone's thanksgivings are good, don't get sick! Love from South Texas, H. Crawford