Well, I am on my way home

Well everyone Hello there!!

I told you all a little bit about my week and all when I called today but I got a second on a train and it has little pay to go computers so I wanted to shoot you an email.

So as far as the whole Visa thing goes I have my passport in the mail under Premium EMS service (about the Most expensive mail you can send here) and ya! It is going here and I will talk to the Furniss's about whether or not you need to send it back or if you can just keep it with you and bring it when you come. That could definitely be easier.

So ya

The trip to 서울 was fun but wet. Lots of rain and my umbrella broke. But fortunately a nice guy at the Travel Agency I went to gave me one. It turn out his kids go to BYU and he's not a member and knows nothing about the church but was friendly and saved me from a very very VERY wet day. So ya.

We have been working on finding lately with not to much success. We've literally tried EVERYTHING we know.... maybe... not sure but I think so

I have been trying to focus on being obedient and focused but I am finding it gets harder and harder. I think this trip to 서울 will be good for me though because I am so ready to just not think about anything but missionary work for a while. It really is relaxing to the soul and just is good for me. I need it.

The Zone is doing great to be honest. We had 2 baptisms this week! 2 people that are starting the "Enduring to the End" journey. Fun stuff I think :) We are currently trying to find someone that can progress and all but as you know. That is hard stuff. Definitely possible! But hard stuff.

All in all though just serving here in 중앙 Ward, Still Zone leader, serving with an Elder named Elder Lyons. He's a cool kid. Love him. makes my life a lot easier and happier. It's great.

Love ya'll! I really do. So grateful to be here in Korea (even though the immigration office bugs me a lot) and to be able to teach Christ's gospel. I am trying to understand it more and more. I need it so bad

Love you, love you love you

Look forward to hearing from you next week!

With lots of Love :)

Josh (크라우더 장로)

Another week!

Well, ya'll it is just another week in the mission field. I forgot that President Furniss has a default letter that goes home asking you all to help me focus. I should have warned you about that haha. Made me laugh to see that you had just gotten that, it is kinda crazy I gotta admit.

So ya all in all though this week was a week of TRYING to find. It hasn't been very successful. I have had Elders all telling me that it is hard to find in this area and seriously they weren't kidding. It is nuts. It makes things so much harder trying to work harder when I have no investigators, because as fun as it is to work hard, doing only finding all the time is tasking and to be honest kinda boring. But we keep at it!

This week though was just a starting week into this transfer. We got a chance to actually meet everyone in the ward and all and had the opportunity to give my 인사 말씀. So ya, said hi and all, it was hard. I have been having a little bit of a "fish out of water" kind of experience being in a different ward in the same 전주. It really is kinda messing with my mojo.

This week though I went on splits with Elder Jensen and we just worked hard and so that was fun. Got out and got to meet some people and that was nice and then we also got a chance to get out and teach a referral. He was so cool! had been to Salt Lake City and everything. It is so cool that the biggest family history library in the world is in SLC because all the people who study history find their way there at some point in time. It's so weird.

I have just been working hard though. That's all I really can do I guess. We just keep working every day and see what happens. Hopefully we will find a way to get this Ward involved in the work and get things going. Pray for me to find a way okay?

I did however have a crazy experience this week. I got to participate in a traditional Korean wedding. It was crazy. One of the members in 전주 ward had asked me before I moved to be one of the guys who helped him out. so ya..... I'll attach pics.... anywho.... it was pretty legit

Today I am going on splits with the AP's. It'll be fun seeing as how it is P-Day and all we are basically just going to be hanging out a little bit and then we will go out and do some more finding for a couple hours. Then the day after that I am going on another split with one of the District leaders out in District B (정읍) so lots of moving around right now :).

All in all though good week. Great to hear that Jenna graduated from seminary and this week she graduates from high school! That's crazy. I gotta say. Alissa is busy with soccer in the rain (keep at it sis!) and Katie is our little trumpeteer so that is always fun. Kellie sent me an email saying that she might get to go to Japan! That'd be crazy! :) but ya!

Love ya'll i'll attach some pics! Remember that I love you all and that this church is true! I love the gospel, I love Jesus Christ and am so grateful for his sacrifice for us. This is God and Christs church. I know it :)

Love love love love love love love you! TAKE CARE!

SO ya!! Love you have a good week

Mother's Day call

(This is from Elder Crowther's mom):  We were able to Skype with Josh for an hour on Mother's Day.  He surprised us by calling his dad's phone and saying, "I'm going to be on Skype in one hour.  Be ready."  It was literally an 8-second conversation; David could scarcely believed it had happened.

Josh is still working hard, dealing with the challenges of being in a new ward and area and searching for investigators.  He said he struggles with declaring the gospel with boldness v. overbearance.  He described an encounter with a lady where they kept going back and forth until the woman finally said, "Okay, you're right, but don't talk to me about this anymore."  He's still learning 22 months into the mission. :)

We spent a lot of time talking about our visit to Korea to pick him up.  He definitely wants to spend our only Sunday there in Jeonju, the area he has been in since last October.  He also wants to take his dad to Pyongtaek to get new suits together.  He's looking forward to exploring Seoul, since he has only seen the airport, and we realized that when we fly in, it will actually be him coming to the airport to get us!  We told him we want balloons and banners saying, "Welcome family!"  

His sisters learned the Korean word for "older brother" which is oppa and kept calling him that.  He would laugh and shake his head.  As he watched the girls banter and interact, he looked at his dad and said, "How have you survived without me?"  David laughed and said, "I need you back, son."  Josh smiled, "Don't worry, Dad, I've got your back."

Over and over, he would look at us and smile and say, "My family....my family...."  He misses us, I think.  We miss him, too.  We prayed together, with him praying in Korean, and there were many tears throughout and after.  

We love our Josh.

Wow I can say that 100% without a doubt I did not see this coming!

Hey ya'll

So ya as the title suggests I have some interesting news...

I'm getting transferred.... WOW

It's not a big transfer seeing as how I am just going to the other ward in 전주 [Jeanju] city but it's a move and it is intimidating. I will be in the house with probably my best friend in the mission and we are just going to live it up... I am excited

This transfer is a big one for our little 전주 [Jeonju] zone. We are getting huge. There are a total of 2 more companionships coming to our zone with a companionship being made into a threesome. It is exciting. It is also fun to see that my "son" Elder Miller (the one I trained) is coming back to our zone! it is going to be fun. I know everyone in our zone and am just excited to have another adventure ahead of me.

This was a good week. Elder Zaleski and I were able to just get out and go to work. We have been teaching a lot of people and it is just good stuff. We were able to find 3 more investigators this week and 1 of which was a member bringing his student to church! It was way legit. So we totally pulled a member referral this week and ya! 

We also went to 대전 [Daejeon] and I got to see all of the missionaries who are going home this transfer (except for elder 구병모) it was really cool. I love all those elders, they are studs and have served honorable missions. I am so very very impressed with all of them and if we could just clone them and make more of them we would be set as a mission for a long time. They are amazing.

I realized this week that I still have a long way to go. I am working hard on trying to be better but it gets harder and harder because I feel like the things that I am trying to fix now are just more and more ingrained into my personality. So I am trying my best to kinda wrench those things out and fill them with good qualities. But it's hard... ya....

This week will just be busy with trying to get everything handed over to Elder Zaleski. He will be going co-senior here in 전주 and it will be really good for him. He needs a senior assignment. He'll progress a lot with it.

I will be serving with an Elder Lyons. He was in my zone beforehand so I know him a little bit but we will be working together and I am excited to try and help him out. He is a young missionary so I am excited to work with and learn from him. Just plugging along :)

Next week however is Mother's Day! I will do my best to find a member with whom I can skype (seeing as how I am in a new ward that could be a little bit of a task but I will do my best) but if I am unable to find one by about 8PM your time then just call me.

But hopefully I will be able to be on skype sometime before then. I will try to do something in the morning. :)

So at the end of Mom's email she asked me to Tell ya'll about something that brought me Joy... so let me think...

I think that the thing that brought me Joy this week was a meeting I had with our members last night. I went to a members house just to stop by and visit and I told them about my coming out on a mission and how that all went about. It was so sweet the spirit that was in the house. I was just so happy for the gospel and in talking to my companion afterwards it was so clear that the spirit was there. So grateful for it :)

So simple, read the scriptures, pray, go to church (willingly) if you do those things the change that occurs is SO real. I love it. I'm so grateful to my Father in Heaven for helping me to be better. Grateful for the gospel. glad I can share it.

Grateful for you all. Love you so much :)

P.S. I saw Sister Simonsen at the office for ZLC on Wednesday so I took a picture with her. Show it to the ward