e-mail of May 30th.

Dear Dad and Mom,
I can't believe that it is still that cold in Utah and that its still snowing. It's also crazy to think that you are already almost out of school for the year. I am afraid that when I get home here in a little bit it's going to be still cold and I am going to freeze and get sick when I get back because I am used to the heat.
Here in Brasil they don't really have a day to honor their dead like we do in the US. (In answer to a question about Memorial Day)
So this past week was really really good. On Tuesday we divided with the Elders from our Campo Maior District and we watched their district meeting with them. That was a nice 2 hour bus ride there and back. I was with an Elder Rudophi from Colorado. He is a very good Elder. I liked doing a division with him. Then the rest of the week was pretty normal. We didn't get as many divisions with members this week but it was alright.
Friday was a crazy day. We had lots of interviews to do in our districts and so we basically lost a day of work to doing interviews but that is the life of a zone leader. We also had 3 baptisms from me and Elder Gessel and the other 2 Elders from our ward baptized 2 more people. It was a wonderful week here in the ward and our zone for baptisms. We have alot of investigators and not enough time to visit all of them.
We are teaching a couple called Francisco and Francisca and we are trying to get them married but I am afraid that the Bishop won't help them out with the money for the wedding because they usually only come for sacrament meeting cause they work on Sundays sometimes, but we are going to talk to him and see what we can do. We also have a couple other families that we are trying to get married and baptized but unfortunately they aren't showing much interest in going to the church. We had a few troubles finding new people to teach this week because we are teaching so many people that our week was just full of appointments.
Tomorrow we are going to District Poti and we will divide with the Elders there. I think that I will be with Elder Banks here in my area and I am way excited because he is from my group and it will be fun to be with him.
Today for pday we're going to go bowling at the mall here and maybe eat in the mall. We are going to have probably only 1 or 2 baptisms this week. As for being trunky I am a little bit. I have already been thinking about what I am going to bring home and I have been using a bit of my personal money to buy some stuff and also I have been needing a little bit more to catch busses and what not for interviews but I am already thinking about these types of things. It's really hard for me to believe that I only have 4 months left here in the mission. It's kind of a surreal feeling, the thought that I am going home here in a little bit. I was thinking the other day about a Job for when I get home and if someone could go up to the Soldier Hollow tubing hill and fill out a job application for me and hopefully I can get a job right when I get back to start getting some money saved up. Well that is about all that I can think of for this week I love you all very much.
Love your son,
Elder Crittenden

e-mail of May 23rd.

Dear Dad and Mom, OK to start off, I only got three stitches and it wasn't even that big of a cut. It just looks really bad. The doctors at the hospital treated me really well and there is nothing to worry about. Yes they gave me an antibiotic for infection and my finger is healing fine, in fact I took out one of the stitches today. So to talk about the week. It was really good. We had a division with the assistants on Tuesday and I went to their area while Elder Gessel stayed here in our area with the other Assistant. It was really good. When I got back on Wednesday I found out that we were going to have a baptism that morning of Leunice. President was coming to do the interview and the baptism would be at 11:30 that morning. So everything was ready and we baptized Irma Leunice and her daughter Gabrielle that day. It was a really cool baptism. It was something that she had been wanting for a long time and she decided to finally kick the guy out who was living with her and get baptized. It was really a miracle that happened in our area this week. We also did a service project on Saturday at Wallas´ house and we talked with Maria and Heleno about marriage and baptism and it looks like we may have a wedding and baptism here pretty soon. We also taught Irma Jaqueline and hopefully I can talk with her husband and get them married and baptized. We are going to baptize this week Rafael and two other little brothers of Rafaela that Elder Moraes and I baptized so we should have another great week. We are going to go to another districts meeting tomorrow from our zone that is in a city called Campo Maior and its about 2 hours from here. So we are going to leave tonight and stay for their meeting tomorrow. Elder Gessel is going to stay there for a division and I will come back with another Elder to our area tomorrow called Elder Rudolph. We will trade back on Wednesday and hopefully Elder Gessel and I can get some time teaching together. We have been dividing a lot not just with the Elders from our zone but also here in our area with the members. They help us out a lot, they give us references and will go out to teach with us and just help out a lot. Well Danielle is doing alright. She is still going to church and what not, but not too much progress on the baptism. Last night Elder Gessel and I went to her house to teach her and her cousins and we taught them a lesson about keeping the commandments and we kind of burned her cousins because they were just being lazy and not wanting to go to church, but that lesson was really powerful with the spirit. One of Danielle´s cousins has already prayed about baptism and had a dream about her being baptized but she doesn't want to follow the answer that she has so that is why we burned her spiritually hahaha. That is about all that I have to tell you all for the week, I am doing fine. I will add a couple of pics for you all to see of some of the happenings from this past week. Oh and it rained a lot this past week love you all. Love your son, Elder Crittenden
Just a small afternoon rain shower Brazilian Warrior

Got a letter from Sister Smoot, the mother to one of James companions / roommates. She said she thought we might want to see James' hand before he got stitches. I called her to find out what happened. Seems he punched a brick and split his knuckle. He hasn't told us anything about it yet in his e-mails. A few weeks ago James mentioned a new roommate they found while cleaning their backyard. Here are a few photos of the roommate he was talking about.
James and his companion found this caterpillar while out working. James carried it home in a leaf so they could get a photo. He said that if the hairs are touched, it gives you flu like symptoms. Glad he didn't touch it.

e-mail of May 16th.

Dear Dad and Mom,
WOW I can't believe that Wasatch finally won a state title in Boys soccer. I am so happy for Coach Wheatley. Tell him and all of the boys Congratulations for the win and that I wish that I could have been there.
My week has also been pretty good. We had 2 baptisms and we are going to have probably 4 or 5 more this week. It should be a really good week.
We also are going to baptize a guy that I have been working with the entire time that I have been here in this ward. He is going to be baptized next week hopefully with another lady that I have also been working with this entire time, Sister Jaqueline. We had lunch at her house yesterday, I am really close with her and the baptism part, but she needs to be married. We have also been working a lot with Francisco and Francisca. They didn't go to church yesterday because he had to work but they are progressing alot.
This past week we have also found a family that owns a Cartorio (notary's office) which is where you get people married here in Brasil legally, I don't know what that is in English but anyway we started teaching them and hopefully it works out because it would help us out with weddings.
We have a whole bunch of families of investigators but unfortunately they are not married and therefore they can't get baptized until after marriage. We have been dividing alot with the members here and doing lots of interviews here in our zone. Tomorrow we have a division with the assistants and on Friday and Saturdays we have interviews and baptisms, so Elder Gessel and I haven't been able to work together very much, and we will continue not being able to work together too much but I love our house and the Elders that I am working with. It's amazing.
I am going to add some pictures to this email that I promised that I would send to you all last week but the computer wasn't working too well so today we are at a LAN house that works.
Walan went to church yesterday and we had him talk to some members and had them help him out with his problems and I hope that he will stay strong in the church.
I don't really have much else to write for this week. The time just seems to be flying by faster and faster these days. I love you all very much and keep praying for our investigators and I am always praying for you all.
Love your Son,
Elder Crittenden

May 9th. The day after the Mother's Day call

Dear Dad and Mom,
It was really nice to talk to everyone on the phone again and for the last time. I really enjoyed hearing from everyone and to know that everyone is ok.
We had a good mothers day here. It was clear the whole day and only started to rain when we were walking home so that was nice. (It has been raining a lot and running 80 to 90 degress with 100% humidity)
We got a lot of visits done and marked a wedding for Francisco and Francisca and a baptism too. Like I said on the phone, we are going to have 2 baptisms this week and most likely more next week.
We have zone conference this week we found out today and my comp and I have to give a training at it but only for 35 mins so it's going to be easy.
Today we were cleaning up our backyard and we found a new roommate that lives with us that we didn't know was there. I will send a picture for you all to see. (watch for a future picture, we hope)
We went to the baptism of a member's son who helps us out all the time and the birthday party is tonight so we are going to that too.
I don't really have much else to say either, other than I can't believe how fast that the time is flying by here in the mission. I am so happy with the area that I am in and the companion that I have. Until next week
Love your son,
Elder Crittenden

May 2nd.

Dear Dad and Mom, So I still don't have my package but I think that it has already gotten to the mission office, I hope. I will probably get it this week after our meetings with the leaders of the mission Tuesday until Thursday. Something else happened this past week, we had transfers and although I wasn't transferred, I was called as a Zone Leader again for Zone Horto, which is here in Teresina. I will stay here in this ward and my new companion is Elder Gessel an American, my first American comp. I am a little sad that Elder Moraes was transferred but Elder Gessel is really cool. To talk about my face book, I didn't enter into it but I had a member here enter for me and add all of the people that wanted to be my friends that I knew. I am not using it so don't worry. Helton from the Ward here told me that he is talking with you on Facebook Dad. He told me that you said hi. As for the mothers day call I still haven't had time to set up a place or get a number for you all to call me at but I will get onto that and later this week I will send you another email with the info. I am going to try and use the telephone at the church. It is kinda funny that you say not to get washed away with all of the rain here in Teresina, because here in my area that is a big possibility. When it rains here in front of our house it becomes a river and lots of water passes by. I have made some videos and will just have to wait until I get home to show you all but it is really crazy. Well that is about all that I have to say for this week but I will send an email again with the times and everything of the call.
Love your son
Elder Crittenden
Street in front of our house, after a rainstorm