Elder Crossman Has Returned

Hello everyone, this is the former Elder Crossman, now Luke Crossman.  Today I am writing exclusively to you blog audience, oh how special.

So as the title says I have come home from my mission in southern France.  It was incredible.  A life changing experience for me, and I hope that I had some part in helping change other lives as well.  I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my blog.  When I got on and saw how many hits I had gotten, I was quite surprised.  I hope that it helped you in some way or just made you smile.

I am back to work and going to school this January.  I have considered continuing this blog, in hopes of keeping it related to missionary work/spiritual things... I am still undecided, because I might also like to finish it and leave it as a memorial of sorts for my mission.  I think it could be good for people if I put the perspective of a return missionary here to give my point of view so family might understand their missionary better, or maybe random bits about France as a missionary... I just don't want this to end up like so many American television programs where you keep churning out content until the creativity bucket has really gone dry, the whole thing crashes, and you end up leaving with a little disappointment. 

Things to ponder on.  For now, I would like to say again that Jesus is the Christ, our savior and redeemer, the very son of God.  His church has been restored again to us through modern day prophets.  If you are not a member of my faith, and you wish to learn more, here are a couple handy websites:

Mormon.org

LDS.org

May God bless you and keep you.  La France est un beau pays ou des miracles se passent tous les jours.  Good bye and Good night!

Here is a photo of me in normal human clothing... I just thought photos make everything more entertaining.

Coming Home October 28, 2013

Hi everyone, so I am in the office in Lyon.  I got on a train at 7H20 in the morning.  And now I'm here.  President is doing interviews. I have not had mine yet.  We have had a cool group discussion about things to do going home.  I won't go into details here, secret combinations and such.  So  I am in a weird... state right now.  i am not too focused.  I feel a lot like I did at the beginning of my mission.  Well.  I don't think I'll be able to call from dallas, but I'll be there don't worry.

I love you very much... we might have beef stroganof for dinner, sister Roney asked for my favorite plate, and I said that.  I figured I can't  get mexican.  Well see you later... tomorrow.  Love you!

Perpignan October 21, 2013

Hello everyone to this last episode of Elder Crossman on mission.  next week we will have the special closing ceremonies, but it will not be a normal email due to time restraints.  However the host and its crew would like to ask the audience to send in their letters for next week.  They will still be appreciated.  So yeah, I wouldn't mind if you sent me a quick email to let me know you will not forget me at the airport, or will move last minute and not tell me ha ha.

 so Let's go to the questions.

No I have not written the primary.  i have got quite a few people to write while I'm here, and the time is not slowing down.  

I didn't get what you meant by do I get a burner or a phone... I don't get a phone for the trip home, I just have to hope that you are there by 7 50 or whenever the plane comes in.  

So I don't know when I'll be going into the mission home, but it will be by train.  Probably early Monday morning.  I figure I won't have much time do m'amuser in Lyon.  

I never went to pick people up at the airport, but I did take the plane to Bordeaux when I was zone leader in Lyon.  So I have been to the lyon airport before.  It is cool and futuristic looking, but it is very small.  Instead of going ton teh jetwayss you just walk onto the runway and get on the plane directly.  The bordeaux airport is even smaller.  a plywood box with a long runway basically.  The flights here are really cheap though, so I guess you can't complain.  I think Lyon to BOrdeaux costs about 30 euros with easy jet.  

For registering.  I think France is only 7 hours ahead of you.  Maybe I'm wrong.  but nonetheless.  I will more than likely be on a train or at a train station at 7 or 8.  It is about 7 hours of train to Lyon from here, so I probably won't even be in Lyon until the afternoon.  Could you get JJ to do it?  and to practice beforehand so he knows where to go?

David is doing great.  he got the aaronic priesthood yesterday, and is excited to do some home teaching.  He really is shining... and has a new suit and a place to live now.  Though apparently he isn't a very good truck driver, so hopefully he gets better or finds a new job.

Gedemias won't be baptised this weekend sadly.  he still will be eventually, but we just were not able to see him..; rather he wasn't able to see us this week, so we have too much to teach him in too little time.  

Our other amis are doing well.  Daniel and his wife Alicia are progressing little by little.  Yesterday we set another rdv with a spanish family that we talked with in the road, and another with a young student kid, so things are going well.

Yes I have a good ammount of money still

Yes send me an email

What robe?

So I forgot my planner, so I cannot really give you a day to day sory.  But we did go to carcassonne this thursday for district meeting.  That is a super pretty ville.  After district meeting, I gave a baptismal interview for a guy who pâssed and was baptised last saturday and confirmed yesterday.  That was fun.  I was planning on doing another interview, but that didn't work out, so we ended up in carcassonne with two hours til our train and nothing to do.  We decided to go contacting around la cité.  A huge cathedral where they filmed the original Robin Hood.  it is stunning, and I think it is the biggest castle in our mission, if not all of France.  We also popped inside for a second, and we were able to talk with two families from south america, a family from Romania, and an australian couple... still doing missionary work, just in cool places.

Then this Saturday We had a soirée talent.  I played Guitar for my last hurah, people said I did good even though I messed up on one of the verses on a poor wayfaring man of grief. There were some other funny and good acts too.  We had 20 non members there, and we fixed a rdv with a couple of them.

Anything else that happened of note?  we played football (soccer) with some amis and young adults saturday morning, yes that's approuved, if you are smart about it.  I scored three goals, and one of the amis there accepted to come to church and came! voilà

There are quite a few sick people in our district, and apparently it is true for the mission as well since I just recieved my prompt for district meeting this week and it is about physical emotional and spiritual health.  it is an oddly practical theme. Normally, it is something more like... Opening your mouths or consecrating yourself or something like that.  

Well i still don't feel like I'm going home.  I know I have my ticket, and I know I will leave, but it just feels like I'll be here foreve.  I really think it is the Lord blessing me because I am not getting trunky.  

I'll see you in .;. eight days now.  toodles, tell monte that I love him and that I still havn't forgotten that I promised him a steak.  I love you all as well.  Read your scriptures every day, and go to chruch every week.  I am getting a little tired or hearing less actives excuses for not coming to chruch, because "people don't care about me" or "I'm tired and busy" or "I can pray at my home" or "everyone who goes to church is a hypocrite"  I hope I can keep things simple in my life and remember that God has asked me to be at church every week even if I don't see why all the time.  when you do things for the right reasons, and you have the spirit with you, all your problems seem so small, and even the big ones don't matter in the long run.  i realize I am not talking from lots of experience, and that I am in a sort of missioniary spirit steroid thing, but it is so simple.  Recherchez d'abord le royaume de Dieu et le reste vous sera donné.  God's rules are simple and he always makes good on his promises.  My very very favorite scripture that I have read and quoted a lot on my mission is Jean 14: 21-27

Si quelqu'un m'aime, il gardera ma parole, et mon père l'aimera; nous viendrons à lui, et nous ferons notre demeure chez-lui. ... Je vous laisse la paix, je vous donne ma paix.  Je ne vous donne pas comme le monde donne.  Que votre cœur ne se trouble point, et ne s'alarme point. 

In keeping the commandments, we have the paix du seigneur with nous... us.   But it is not peace as the world gives (essentially finantial security and superflu) .  just do what is right and let the consequence follow.  I just wish I could make other people understand this... and I really hope that I don't forget it.  I know if I do what I shoudl than I won't, but I shoudl be wary.  

Anyway there is my discous et mon temoignage que je vous laisse avec toute mon amour, et mille corbeilles de bisous.  Je vous verrai la semaine prochaine, c'est fou pas vrai?

CIAO!  Guerra Missionario! 

Perpignan October 14, 2013

Hey;  Thank you for telling me you know what to do for classes.  It would be super cool to get that schedule that I wanted.  So we will go to teh questions:

David is gereat.  i confirmed him,a nd he brough yet another friend to church.  We fixed a rdv with the guy too. 

Yes I recieved answers to conference.  in fact just as the music was going for the first session I jotted down a few questions I had, and within the first two or three talks, I had answers to them.  These people are really inspired and know what they are talking about. 

Let's see any other questions??? Well for the front seat of zone conference, It is not reserved for dying missionaries, but I thought you would appreciate it, so I took a seat in front. On the left of the row behind me is  Elder Cueva and eElder Castillo. 

Yes, so I will possibly only mail you once more, and then I'll do instant messaging apres.  I have seen before dying missionaries use the computer in the office to write their families, but there is only one comp, and lots of missionaries, so I will try and write a little something, but It probably won't be the full blown day by day.  I'll give you theat the next evening.  Unless I fall asleep which is highly possible.

What happened this week?  Tell us Elder.

Thanks Elder, well this week has been magical and full of success, if you look at the graphic, we can see the seven day forecast.

Monday:  we taught Gedemias, one of David's friends who is super golden.  We fixed the 25 october as his baptism.  He said Mas pronto when we asked him (sooner), but he'll just have to wait til then because we need time to teach him everything ha ha.    After that lesson, we went to a place called Colliour, a beach town about 40 mins from here on Bus.  ti is a super pretty beach town on the mediterranian. We took pictures, saw the little church on the little island that is famous, and explored the little pretty roads.  Gorgeous, it looks just like those paintings of France, the light is perfect, old castles on the sea... Fun fun... there were also two naked people on the naked beach section... odd, unfortunatley you had to walk past the naked people to get to the tourist part. ay yay ya y this apostate world.  Then that evening we took the train to Montpellier for our zone conference.  It is a combines zoine conference, so we had it in Aix-en-Provence!  Remember that place?  So since it is kina far, we went to montpellier the day before and stayed in the elder's apt.

Tuesday:  Zone conference.  Lots of fun.  Inspirational.  I was the only one in my dying group there, so I was the only one who bore my testimony.  President made a joke about me as well, he asked me a question saying I should know the answer because I was the oldest missionary there.  Good fun.  What was great is that Elder Call, Arrington, Frandson, Gruber, Swenson, Castillo and Cueva were there.  Seven of my collegues!  That usually never happens.  Afterwards I scrambled to get them all together to take a pickure.  Then that evening we got to montpellier.  Talked to some people, and went to bed.

Wednesday:  Took the train back to Perpignan, there were train strikes, so instead of going to Perpignan directly like our ticket said, we had to take a train to Narbonne and wait for two hours for a connecting train to go to Perpignan.  It was a little annoying, but Soeur Receveur's mother had sent her the seminary general conference Jepoardy, so we played that.  It si more fun as a missionary.  We got back finally, taught a less active Bruno.  Then saw an old slightly crazy member, and then had dinner with a partially active family who live in an enormous house.  Possibly one of the nicest houses I have been to on my missin... for dinner we had... Domino's, they were not home all day and didn't have time to cook, but we had been craving pizza earlier, so we were happy.

Thursday:  Had a couple raté-vous, then Taught Raul a guy we had contacted on the street.  he is nice... on drugs or something, but nice.  Then we did calles and tried to pass less actives etc

Friday:  planning, saw our friends Judicaël and Lilian... they are both dropped.  They just aren't progressing/ we think that one of them is ligitimatly crazy.  Then we taught english class and had the baptism of the sister's amis, Alain and Catherine.  It was a really good service.  I made tiramissou which when the sisters said the elders made it, everyone was surprised because it was good.

Saturday:  Had the William's couple from Toulouse over to inspect our apt.  It was good they brought us some needed materials like cleaning supplies, bath mat, etc.  Then we gave blessings to a couple less active sisters  and taught them.  And had a great lesson/ dinner with Daniel and his Wife (a couple from south america)  and Croque Monsieurs, the best I have ever had.  The lesson was all in spanish, and I was able to say a few sentences, but mostly the other two elders talked and translated for me.

Sunday:  Curch.  David Alain and Catherine were all confirmed.  The ward was super happy.  Then we fixed lots and lots of rdvs for this coming week, and ate athe family Meunier's house.  She is from Vietnam and made us some vietnamise food mixed with French stuff.  It ended up being super super good.  Lots of salt and spicy but amazing!  Then we did lots of contacting, calls, and such.

So voilà.  I was just thinking that I really only have two weeks left.  I feel as though I have not been here very long.  Meaning my mission total.  Though I think back to the MTC and that feels like ages ago. It is interesting.  Tiem is a weird thing.  I am really excited to see you.Dont forget Sunday at midnight, so actually monday the 28th, but midnight between Sunday and Monday to register for my classes.  I will do a suivi with you after to make sure you have kept your engagements.

How many people ended up coming to presthood session?

Je vous aime tellement.  Vous me manquez beaucoup, et j'attends notre rencontre avec impatience.  Soyez sage et restez fidèles.  Ne vous égarez point du bon chemin, il n'y a pas de choses toutes nouvelles à la réunion de la prêtrise, et tous les discours sortent dans le magazine alors je ne comprends pas pourquoi ces femmes veulent la regarder...  Bin Bref, encore nous disons notre au revoir.  Que Dieu soit avec vous ce jour et pour toujours.  BYE