December 10, 2012 letter

Hey Friends and familia,

This week has been fantastic because I am studying the sciptures like it is my job! Because it is :) That is my favorite part of all, the sciptures really have power. Whether it is from the Bible or The Book of Mormon they both compliment each other perfectly and I cannot doubt they were written by prophets called and ordained of god. I am glad that God has given us so many plain and precious ways to be guided and directed in this world of so many scary and terrible things. I can really see a huge difference in the life of someone with the direction of God and someone that is looking to find their own path! (Isaias 55:7-8) I really like that scripture because I know God knows all and when we question or disobey him we are not hurting anyone but ourselves. In 1 Samuel 16:7 as well. One thing I have noticed is that many prophets have written that they are weak and it is always the same that God will be with them to make them strong. But he cannot do that if we do not have the spirit with us. So I am striving harder and harder to have the spirit with me. And if I have a bad thought or a temptation comes I try to get rid of it quickly. But sometimes it is a fight. But I am glad that we always have prayer, fasting, and repentence so that we can always have the spririt to be with us again. I have another week to learn all of this area. If I am actually going to train haha. But if not all is good. Every companion I have had has taught me so much. I am blessed to be here. I am blessed to have the support from so many people i love. I am blessed with a God that loves me more than I can imagine :) I hope to strive to be the best me I can so that others here can be the best them. I think if we all think of the will of God before our own that is when we will start to see real miracles :D

Also how great dad with the job! It is fun to see how your service as bishop is blessing your work.. it is a beautiful thing indeed. And we will be recieving 50 more missionaries as well so our cambios will be every 4 weeks instead of every 6 because the MTC is changing as well which means our mission has to adjust haha. 

And the language of spanish really is beautiful haha I agree with you. I just wish I was more fluent with my accent but all comes in time and diligence. Patience is the key! 

Thanks so much for everything and I am always praying for many blessings for you all!

Elder Cramer

December 3, 2012

Dear Family,

Yeah it is really hard to believe it is December already because it is still burning hot here and the other day it was like 86 degrees. I always feel like an egg on a frying pan... Sizzle Sizzle :) I am doing really well because Elder Molina and I had a really good week because we have 2 investigators that accepted baptismal dates and are preparing to be baptized 12 of January because he is fighting smoking right now. But they went to church and also watched the Christmas presentation to know who is the prophet. Although I could not understand much because the interpreters talk really fast, I could feel the spirit and I knew they are men called of God. And no I have not seen that Drunk lady again and I never will because last night I got a call that I have to change areas in the morning. So right now I am writing from my new area Gomez Palcio.. I am in the ward Filidelfia and here as well we will have 4 missionaries because it is a ward of almost 200 people. Also my mission leader was my first mission leader.. Elder Olea. And.. My trainer.. Elder Villacis is my Zone leader. So I am stoked for this area and.. I have 2 weeks to know every inch of this area with my companion right now, Elder Gonzalez, Because in 2 weeks I will be training a new elder. So I really need to buckle down here and take in all I can so I can be a great example and have success here in this area. And I think that I will call you from a members house first and then you can call the same number to me.. I just cant remember your number haha. Also i was a tad sad because I could not baptize Jesus and Zoila in January but sometimes that is how life is, we dont always get the chance to see the fruits of our labors but I know they will accept the word of the lord! I gave them all of my information. Also I really hope my other 4 converts are active in the church still. That is a fear I always have. It is like looking after little babies because their testimonies always need to be nourished! But I am excited and a little frightened but something I have learned hear on the mission is that every new situation or every new opportunity is only here for us to overcome so that we can become a little bit more like Christ and so that we can Become a little bit better :) I know god is with me and I can feel his spirit when I do his will. Thanks for all of your support! And about insanity.. You can send it to me in the form of discs or on jumpdrive and I can copy it here. I just need it pretty soon because I have heard that President is going to Ban weights pretty soon because some elders are lifting like hours and hours everyday and it affects their work for the Lord. But insanity does not need weights so that will be the solution for everything :) And we have a small dvd player every companionship. So we use that :) Love You all and I am hoping you are all reading and applying what the scriptures are instructing us to do daily!

Elder Cramer

November 26, 2012

Dear Fam-I-Gram,

I am glad that you liked the package.  I still have not received mine from the offices but I asked the zone leaders about it and they said they will retrieve it for me on the 5th of December, so hopefully all is good in that category! And I really enjoyed the photos. I was going to send my sombrero but they wanted 800 mas pesos and I said No Puede Ser which means it cant be... So I ended up not sending it. But at least all of you got what I could send! I wrote a list of what thing goes to whom. So I hope you can give those gifts to whom it corresponds. Our investigators are iffy right now because each one has a situation but at least it is a challenge. This week my companion and I are going to see who really wants to progress and if they do not we have to stop visiting them for awhile because we can only teach those who complete our commitments. But Elder Molina and I are a good team. It is in this precise moment when Indiana and Lima, Peru unite :) haha But yeah I think I will be leaving the Rosa this next transfer in the 14 of December. And Elder Molina told me that it is best if I give you the number of the family that I will be with and you call me so that I dont have to worry about all that card and time stuff. 

 

Also each person receives the Book of Mormon and its doctrine differently depending on how prepared they are. Only the spirit can testify of it's divinity and sometimes we do not have control over that segment. But I can tell that our lessons and my knowledge of where the scriptures are and how to use them is increasing. I love the scriptures :) Also I have a funny story to tell that happened yesterday morning before church..: Elder Molina was in the back room and I was studying in 2 Nephi 9.. When I heard someone knocking on the door (7am in the morning) So I went over to the door thinking it was the zone leaders or something like that. But when I opened the door a smidge it was a lady around 50ish years old and I was a tad bewildered. But I only had a second to think when she barged in our house and told us she was going to sit down. And she started rambling about Joseph Smith because she was super drunk... I had no idea what to do. So Elder Molina and I were trying everything to get her out of our house because it was odd.. She fell asleep there in that chair for a good 20 minutes. Elder Molina was yelling that she had to leave and I was clapping really loud to try to wake her. So finally Elder Molina and I grabbed one arm each and we picked her up and we were helping her to her house when she said leave me and she took off. It was a really odd experience that is for sure. But the thing is while she was rambling, she told us that she was baptized in our church 10 years ago and she knows she should not drink but she couldn't stop. It just made me really grateful that we have commandments however strict they may seem to be because they protect us from the dangerous world that Satan is preparing for us. Each experience here on my mission is accompanied by a sweet lesson :) I hope you all know I have much love for you all and for our Father in Heaven!

Elder Cramer

November 19 Letter

Dear fam,

It is hard for me to think that I will be 20 as well. Sometimes I just want to be like Peter Pan and never age because 20 is aging. But my zone leader is 27 years old so I don't feel very bad after hearing that... Also I am glad to get the updates for cada persona in our family. It is funny how things escolate when I am gone haha. Breanna looks like she has 18 years of age, Ryan will be goliath, Carli in college, a temple, Vanessa with like 5 kids (he is just kidding), and you and mom looking like p90x models. My oh my the blessings of the mission :) But yeah things here are good. My companion has 20 months already in his mission. He served one cambio in Peru because he could not get his visa for a little bit. He is really cool and is in tune with the spirit. He is a bit shy though so sometimes I have to take the lead with stuff but that is okay with me :) I am so stoked because all of my friends are leaving for their missions! Jake goes to Uruguay, Brendon goes to Brazil, and My friend Elizabeth will receive her call in like 2 weeks. I bet every call that we receive a small fiesta in heaven starts because of the blessings that will come for generations and generations to come. I am hoping that I will stay here in this area for Christmas because changes are on the 14th of December.. So it would be a bit down if I didn't know anyone for Christmas. But only God knows what is best for me anyways :) Dad where did you get those pictures that you had in your sciptures. They are like see through and I would like to put some in my scriptures as well to easily find stories. I think they are in your spanish scriptures if I remember correctly. And also something that I noticed this week is how you must have felt when I was little and you always invited me to go to church, read the scriptures, or to obey commandments and I didn't want to or you had to fight me to do it'  Many times that is what we are doing when we give people challenges to read or to go to the church because really we know of the blessings that will follow but when they do not complete them I feel really sad. So mom and dad, thanks for always inviting me to be obedient :D This week I got to dedicate a house because they were feeling some weird spirits so I was happy to do that for them. I had to use my little manual because it was the first time for that. I was humbled this Sunday in the church because we did not have many people attend in regards to less actives which we usually do. It is always good to get a subtle reminder every once in awhile :) Dad can you get me the email of Jace? I want to let her know I am still a warrior as I just finished the first phase of p90x in the mornings. I am waking up at like 5:45 everyday to workout. I feel more alive during the day when I give my body a bit of a challenge :D Thanks for all of the support and I love you all very much. I hope my package was received :) I couldn't send the sombrero because it costed a ton!! 

Love Elder Cramer

#1 Here is the beautiful mountains in the background of my area!

#2 Also some ponies that my neighbors here have

#3 And finally a member that we reactivated this Sunday and he is way sweet :)

November 12, 2012

Dear Family!

This week seemed very long but at the same time looking back on it very short as well. I like this saying because it is very true.  The days are long and the weeks are short as a missionary. La Rosa is  a ward with about 115 people consistantly. But the one thing that was a tad frustrating for me this week was that my companion and I brought 11 less actives to the church and 5 of them reactivated this week (which means they went 3 times and no longer are less actives). But then all of a sudden like 30 of our active members did not go to the church. So we still only have like 115 people! I did feel the help of the Lord like no other this Sunday.  Bishop did not have 2 speakers show up so that left me to give a 10 minute talk about the missionary work. I had a whole 5 minutes to come up with a 10 minute talk. So I said a prayer during one of the hymns and that butterfly scared sensation left me really fast. It was my first talk in front of people in Spanish and I was surprised how easily words came to my mind. I talked about how in Alma 29, Alma wishes he could be an angel to preach all of his days because that is what brings us joy. I talked about 3 Nephi 12 that the members are the Light and they cannot hide that light. I talked about in D&C 6 that it does not matter if people do not accept this gospel because they will continue to receive blessings for trying and if they do receive the members will receive joy for their work. I felt like I was not alone talking in front of everyone. Also my new companion is from Lima Peru. His name is Elder Molina. He will share the final testimony on my memory card that I will be sending you guys tomorrow. It has some presents, candy, and my memory card. Also that picture of Breanna is crazy because she looks like a woman. I did not authorize anything of that sort to happen. Also I wish you good luck dad with your talk that's coming up. I know you will be given the right words to say for the right people that need to hear them at this moment in time. P90x is going really well and I am getting my new delgado companion started on doing it. If you can tell Jace for me that I am still going strong I would appreciate it!  I got the email from Jake about his mission and I was so happy. We will talk in spanish underneath la cama.  I hope you all know I love you and I am working hard here in Mexico.

At the end of the year because we will be receiving about 50 more missionaries because of the new age, our changes will no longer be every 6 weeks but rather every 4 weeks so we will have to see how all of that works out!

Viva En Mexico!

Elder Cramer

Oh!

An experience that I forgot to share in my letter to the family!

This week like Wednesday I worked all day with my companion but I am not sure why after our last lesson my stomache hurt really bad. I tried to fall asleep. But in the middle of the night I was vomitting for 4 hours outside our house and felt really weak and my companion was sleeping. But in this moment I felt really alone and in the middle of nowhere so for the first time in a long time I prayed out loud and asked for strength and that I would feel better in my time of need. Not too long after that I fell fast asleep and in the morning I was fully functional once more and I worked fully throughout the week again. It was evidence to me that God is waiting to answer us when we are in need and sometimes small examples like that are great reminders to strengthen our testimony!

Elder Cramer

1. Elder Sosa, Hno Macias, yo, Elder Molina

2. Elder Sosa y yo with Hermano y Hermana Lopez

3. Me in the area

4. Hermana Gloria and her daughter that we reactived this sunday

November 5 letter

Dear Family!

What has happened since I have been here in La Rosa is that I came and Elder Ruiz was my companion. He changed to another area and I have Elder Sosa right now. He leaves for his house in 2 days and today came Elder Molina. He is from Peru. So for 2 days there are three of us living in our house. Elder Molina has 19 months on his mission so far and appears to be way cool. So I am looking forward to the following weeks here. But I am sad that mi amigo Elder Sosa has to leave. I only had him as a companion 2 weeks but he is awesome. And I don't have that card (phone card) anymore but I am hoping we can skype at Christmas time dad. Because that is what a lot of people do here instead of calling the family! And I am not sure if the package has arrived yet or not. The thing is it arrives in the offices and we don't get it until our leaders come and bring it to us. Also I have my package ready to send to you (Sunbrero, small presents for the fam, Letter, and my memory card from my camera) But I am trying to find a box to put it in. I am not sure how much it will cost but hopefully not toooo much to send to you all. I want it to come to the house before Christmas. And we don't have zone conference very often maybe once a cambio (zone conference) or something like that. And I am so happy that Kolten wants to serve a mission. That and Ryan are one of the biggest reasons I want to be a good example. I know that both of them will touch lives like no other. And I'll keep sending pictures as well :)

Thanks for all that you do and I am glad to be a Cramer and a missionary for the Lord!

Love Elder Cramer

The photos below are about the families I go to church with.  I also wanted to share the donkey photos of course.
photo 1- Logan taking charge of the donkey cart!!
photo 2-Hermana Ramona we reactivated her in the church this Sunday
photo 3- Jorge, we are going to reactivate him in this church if he goes one more time

photo 4- Karla Elena, new investigator and she went to the church this Sunday for the first time

October 29, 2012 Letter

Hey familia,

This week was really good with Elder Sosa. It was our first complete week together and he only has like 9 days left on his mission. He likes to work hard but sometimes I have to get him refocused because I catch him daydreaming about home haha. He is from Vera Cruz and is a really good missionary. He is teaching me alot of great things to help me personally. I am glad to hear all is good in Indiana and I am glad you all got the time to spend with gram and gramps. I feel like I can say whatever I would like to say when it comes to the church and about other things it is about 75% which is fine for me right now. I am dreaming in spanish and it is hard to talk in english as a matter of fact sometimes if I need to. I do not need any shirts or anything, actually I want to send a package to you guys with my sunbrero, and some candies along with my memory card of photos. I just need to find a box and send it to you guys already. I had an interview with the president the other day and we had a good laugh about me being in Texas! I really like my president and I will have him for all of my mission. This wednesday we will have a talk from someone from the chorum of the 70 I think. So I am looking forward to that. Also next week is Cambios so I will have my third companion in 3 weeks haha. My companion thinks I will be training a newby! I hope I am ready for that :)

Also my camera is not charging so I cannot send or take pìctures at this moment. So I bought a new cable today but it still is not working I am not sure why not.. Also I bought to dumbbells today because I am on day 8 of p90x tomorrow and the bands just are not doing the job. That was a birthday present to myself so I hope that is ok haha. 

But we are working hard in La Rosa. We are working with a handful of investigators but it is hard to get them to progress sometimes. I feel like sometimes people don´t know how much they need the true church in their lives. If only they could see the end from the beginning like Elder Uchtdorf says.

I hope all is well and I love all of you! 

Elder Cramer

Two weeks of letters

Oct. 15, 2012

Hey familia!

I like all of the halloween ideas haha. Pumpkin mania in the cramer family. I have not heard much hype about halloween here. I am not sure if it is a big thing or not. But count your blessings that it is cool weather in indiana because i am still getting sunburned each day here in La Rosa haha. And the ward here is good. The thing that is lacking is references because we dont have many investigators. So we have to focus on less actives which is fine. We had 116 people attend church 2 weeks ago and this week we had 135. That goes to show you how much we are working with less actives because we dont have many investigators. Nontheless i really love this ward. And yeah i went on exchanges the other day with our district leader Elder Wagner. He is a really good missionary. I really like exchanges because i get the chance to see how other missionaries teach and preach. The more experiences the better i feel like. And i always like to hear compliments dad :) Thanks haha. But the thing is we never really hear  compliments or recieve recognition until we leave or are no longer there haha. But it does not have to be that way. That is why it is important always to tell the ones you love how much you love them or if someone has done something for you we should always give them a kind word. Because that is what i believe jesus chrsit would do. I really enjoyed conference as well. The talks i felt were really inspired and i am glad i had the chance to hear them in english! I just downloaded the priesthood session to my ipod beacuse i could not understand it in spanish. I am doing good here in La Rosa. I have not really given too many blessings. I still struggle with all the words that i would like to say but i am always trying to understand the holy ghost a little bit more every chance i have. I gave my companion a blessing of health the other day when he was not feeling the best. I think it is always a great feeling to know we are doing the work of the Lord through the priesthood. Our district this week has really focused on the confidence of the members and how we can win referneces to further expand our investigators. That is what we are going to work on this week to retrieve as many as we can. In our mission we have had in the past a ratio of like 1 of every 2 references was baptized. Hopefully we can keep that up haha. Yes in the MTC we used the videos of the district to learn. It is a really great program actually. My favorite is Elder Christianson. Because he listens to people really well and he is BUENO. Actually many of the people in this show are working in the MTC and i have seen them in person. They are kind of mini famous in the Mormon world haha. Anyways that is all for now. Hopefully i can get my creditcard soon along with all the other mail that i have not recieved yet haha.

Love Elder Cramer!

Oct. 22, 2012

From Paul to Logan - I'm adding this so his letter makes more sense.

Hola Handsome Elder Cramer,

Good evening!  It is Sunday evening and we just had the Sister missionaries over for dinner and to talk about the investigators in our ward and how we could help them move forward.  We shared with them your last letter about the Soccoro family and their 17 year old daughter.  We also shared the explosion experience with the dog.  We all had a good laugh with that.

How are you?  We got your question regarding the credit card not arriving yet.  Were you able to call the mission office?  Did they receive it?  We have confirmation on our end as mom said that they did sign off on it as they received it.  Let us know if you have it or the mission office has it, otherwise I will call them to confirm.

We had stake conference this weekend and I was under the weather and stayed in bed most of the day to recover.  We also had celebrated Bree's birthday- she is now 15 and proudly says that she has one more year until she can date.  After she pronounced that statement, I changed the age to 18.  Bree doesn't like my new rule!!  Oh well!!

I am looking around for a costume that would be fun at work.  I hope to find a fun one and that also would fit me.  

And guess what, Mom and I are back on the P90x.  You will not even recognize us.  I'm feeling good.  What do you think?  My abs are really coming along!!!!!  Mom looks great too!!

Hey hey,

I am really liking your p90x results dad.. The abs are really coming in nicely and Mom must be pushing you hard with the Push ups haha! This week was really good when it came to less actives.. We had 6 people come for the first time, 2 for the second, and 3 that reactived this week. We also had an investigator assist which is wonderful and her name is Maria Del Rosario! So in terms of less actives we are doing great and helping herd the sheep of those who wondered off back into the fold of god! 

Last night after all of our meetings we arrived at our house to plan and Elder Ruiz recieved a call that he need to pack his stuff and get ready to leave. This was unexpected but with our president we never know. So my new companion is named Elder Sosa. And he is way cool and this next week we are actually going to start p90x as well haha. But the thing is he only has 2 weeks until he leaves for his home. that is why this change is a bit odd. But he thinks i will train a new missionary in the next change. so i hope i am prepared enough to do that. But this week i have a few different goals.. I want to learn all i can from Elder sosa, i want to try and remember names of people and the streets, and i really want to focus on my example if i am going to prepare to train someone new in the mission. This ward is really great and i am glad that i am hear and with my new companion. My camera right now is now charging correctly so i am going to buy a new cable. And i have not yet sent the memory with fotos and videos because i wanted a testimony of Elder ruiz and i am going to ask for the Testimony of Elder Sosa as well. And i will give mine in spanish and i will talk to the family. Also i am going to send a sumbrero that a member gave to me. So i hope to send this package this next week or the following. 

All is good here in the rosa. I like all the updates and i hope all my friends and family are doing good. I finally recieved the greenie package from momma gardner but because of all the changes i didnt have a chance to send a letter back but let her know i recieved it and i am sending one on the way!

Elder Cramer

This letter was Aunt Debbie and Uncle Kenny Fowler

Wow debbster those doctors are going to think you have a Jimmer crush on them if you keep spending all your time in their office! haha well I am glad you are getting all healthy. I was thinking the other day about Zac the other day. and how really he is one of the most pure people on this earth and what a blessing it is to have him in our lives to show us the pure love of Christ. And then I thought about you and Kenny. You both have sacrificed a ton to take care of and nurture Zac and grandma. The blessings that you both will receive is tremendous. I think of before this life you and Kenny volunteered to take care of Zac and take care of grandma. And in by doing so I know that you both have grown a ton spiritually debs. I hope that you never get discouraged in this divine calling. The work of the Lord is often the most simple and sacred things that many people do not have the spiritually capacity to see. Look and Search for the blessings that you have, but not through the eyes of the world, but through the eyes of the spirit. Take a few minutes each day to open our guide, the Book of Mormon, to obtain that extra guidance that we need daily. I promise you, you will be able to see and feel the difference.

I love you and I hope all is well in the states! 

Elder Cramer

Weekly Letter October 8, 2012 - A Couple of Funny Experiences

Hey family!

I really like this new area. There are about 116 people that went to the church the other week and the members are so nice. This ward is like 2 times the size of my other one. And well we are just starting to get references which is good. This last week we did not have many people to teach so we just kept visiting less actives. We had 15 lessons this week with less actives which will hopefully pay off in retention. But we are always pushing the members to do a little bit more in the work of the Lord. I think General Conference will help many people and like you said dad, Elder Holland is always a good help to get the work moving forward. He is my favorite apostle and Bednar follows closely behind him. I really admire Elder Holland because he always says it like it is. Direct but with Love at the same time. I love his passion for doing what is right and not caring about who thinks otherwise. I really like Elder Bednar because just by the way he talks and presents hisself I can tell he is a man of God. His knowledge and insights about the doctrine make me want to study. But yeah I really love this area and I am glad it is starting to cool off a little bit. I had to wash my clothes for the first time without a washer or a drier. We hand washed it in this cement block thing. Makes me really appreciate what we have at our house and how foolish I was for not wanting to help more with the laundry. Also I had 2 experiences this week that were pretty funny I thought! 

1) We visited a less active family. Family Soccoro is their names. And they are just a family that likes to joke around a lot and as well have not gone to church for a very long time. We had to give them the Book of Mormon again because earlier their house burnt down and they no longer have theirs with them. But during our lesson the mom of about 40 something years of age said this to me "My daughter here has 17 years of age and if you want you can marry her".. I had no idea what to say so I just did what every smart Gringo would do... I pretended to not understand her and then avoided the situation and asked her to say a prayer instead haha. Sometimes being White among all of the others is a benefit :)

2) My companion and I were walking to visit a less active lady but on the way there was a really mean dog that stuck his head as far as he could out of the fence barking his head off like he had mad cow disease. So my companion and I walked around him in the street. After our lesson my companion remembered and went in the street but I had forgotten and I walked close to the fence. The next thing I knew I saw this head lunge out of the cage and bit my scripture case really hard (Thankfully!) But the thing is I had my deodorant in my scipture case as well and the dog bit through the case, through the can, resulting in a huge explosion! So I had no idea what happened. It was like dog, fireworks, and a lovely Old Spice smell all together in one small event. My companion could not stop laughing and I screamed like a girl. But I think it is funny but my scripture case was destroyed but luckily not my scriptures.

Anyways this week was a day of progress and my companion and I will hopefully have a bit more lessons with investigators this week to come. I hope the family is doing good and I really enjoy all the updates. I couldn't believe how big Ryan looks in his video that he showed me. :O Anyways I hope that we can all leave our ships and our nets and follow Christ in the work of the Lord this week like Elder Holland said. This is the way we can really show Christ that we in fact do Love Him.

Love you all and I hope all is well!

Elder Cramer

October 1, 2012 Letter

Amigitos y mi familia!

¡Que Tal! The area La Rosa is the bomb. I enjoy this area even more than my other and that is saying something! I came exactly at the right time because it is starting to cool down and the weather is perfect. The mountain range is really close to this city and I love the view that it brings. Also in the distance we can see a huge stature of Jesus Christ in the mountains which is like the 3rd biggest statute of Christ in the world or something like that. My new companion Elder Ruiz is by far my favorite up to this point in my mission. He only has 2 and a half months left in his mission and he is teaching me tons of great things. I think our lessons this week were pistola! And the members here are fantastic and are eager to help us in the Work of the Lord. We had an attendance of 116 people in our ward this week and we are shooting for 120 this week to come. We split our area in half when it comes to missionaries so we have half and the other pair of missionaries have the other half. We had 4 less actives attend the church this week and for that we are stoked. My companion and I have a great relationship already and I am really thankful for that. I think it is so easy to appreciate this companion because of the other one that I had. I know that this area indeed is a grand blessing and I hope to aide the people here in this area to the best of my ability! I am stoked for this Saturday and Sunday because here on our mission it is required to watch every session of conference and I intend to Note it up! But hopefully I can understand a lot of the talks because I believe it will be in Spanish.  And I already wrote Kelcie and Kolten back in the mail so hopefully that comes pretty soon. I couldn't be happier here in La Rosa. It really is a wonderful area to be in! Woot Woot. One thing I would like for you to do dad for me is personally thank Brother Svedine and Sister Butcher for being wonderful seminary teachers because I can remember a lot of stuff from what they taught me surprisingly because I fell asleep a lot haha!

I want my family at home to know I love them oodles and I hope each one knows I am praying for them!

Love Elder Cramer

Logan was transfered this week to La Rosa, Torreon

Hey Family and friends!

This week has been filled with many rare and odd things. Like how my credit card information ended up in Texas for some reason! But I am glad I have parents that care enough for me to figure it all out. It made me think that I need to be more aware of what is going on. But I have a lot of news since last week. One, it was my third week with Elder Verdugo and we baptized a sweet lady by the name of Hermana Maria Del Carmen Ramirez Mesa and she accepted the gospel so fast and has a firm testimony it makes my head spin. I had the opportunity to baptize her and I could feel the spirit so strong. But the best part was when after she was baptized she bore testimony of the truthfulness of the ordinance she just finished and the truthfulness of the church of Jesus Christ. Right when my companion and I were getting used to each other, right when the members could finally pronounce my name right, and right when we finished planning for the week, I recieved a call from my district leader that I am going to La Rosa, Torreon. So today I took a 3 hour bus ride with all of my stuff and now I am in what seems like an oven. I was so fortunate before to be in Guadiana because it was one of the coolest areas here in our mission. But I have only been here for like 2 hours and my face is burning off! I will have to adjust to that. My new companion is Elder Ruiz and he appears to be way nice. The neat thing about this area is that we are going to have 4 missionaries here. So today we looked for a house for the other 2 missionaries that are on their way in a few days. It is mind boggling how fast I can move from one area to the other. I wrote my converts letters before I left so I hope they know that I love them! So here is to a new chapter in my mission! I am no long an entrenee (trainee). I officially finished my entrenimiento (training) yesterday. But now the objective is to know this new area, the members, and help my new companion. I have had some big experiences in regard with the spirit. The last day we could contact in the street my companion and I walked by a lady and her 2 nieces. (Maria Soto, Paula, and Jacklyn) But Elder Villacis stopped in his tracks and said we need to turn around and talk to them. And it was by that same exact spirit that made us stop, we latter baptized and confirmed this lady. Many things like that seem to happen on our mission in small ways we receive inspiration through feelings and thoughts. But Wow ryan way to go!!! You really are Dash haha.  Thanks so much for your love and your prayers. I am trying my best out here in the Mexi-Microwave. :)

Love Elder Cramer

September 17, 2012 Letter

Thanks so much for this letter. In fact I wrote a letter that was

really long and then the power went out here in this internet shop or

a second so I lost everything I said so I am going to summarize.

My companion and I are getting along much better and we are teaching

better together because small acts of kindness I have been trying to

do for him and I have noticed the same from him as well. And I have

had 2 interviews from the president so far. One when I got to Mexico

and other for the end of the last cambios. This week was really good

and 4 less actives went to church for the first time in a long time

which is really good. We have a baptism this Saturday if all goes well

and her interview with our district leader goes well. She has seen

many miracles and I have seen the hand of the Lord during teaching

this lady. Our first visit with my other companion we gave her a

blessing of health and the pain that was in her side she said was gone

right after that. And the other Sunday she was waiting for the bus and

it was not coming to get to church and she was about to leave when a

taxi came up and said get in and drove her to the church for no money

what so ever. And also she gave up her addiction of coffee the moment

we talked to her about it. I just hope all goes well this week for her

baptism! Also we had some activities today as a district. We went to a

museum here in Guadiana called BEBELECHE. It was really cool I

thought. I am going to send a letter home next p-day and I am going to

put my camera chip in there with all my photos and videos from my

mission so far. I have a backup of all the files on my jump drive just

in case! MY companion and I are going to send my testimony as the last

thing on there so hopefully you all can get it! I did receive your

package and this week was Cliff-bar mania in the mornings for

breakfast! Thanks so much for the love and support. Here are a few

pictures!

Elder Cramer

Letter Sept. 10, 2012

Hey family y amigos,

This week has been a grand change because of my new companion. All
companions are different of course and the his personality is like
opposite. He is from Quito, Ecuador as well ironically. I think
God wants me to learn all about Ecuadorians. But his name is Elder
Verdugo and he is a lot more serious and he knows no English at all.
And he has no intentions of learning any of it either which makes it a
tad bit harder to communicate at times. But it is neat to see the
different teaching styles. With Elder Villacis we would visit like 25
investigators in a week and like 18 less actives and with Elder
Verdugo we had much less because he takes his time more in each
lesson. I have really had to gain patience this week because sometimes
 I dont get my turn to talk for a long while. But he is a good
person and knows a lot of doctrine which I love. I am glad I get to
take the best out of every companion and become the best I can be from
all the things I can learn. Every day I love the scriptures and talks
from living day apostles and the prophet more. We can really learn
everything we need to know from these sets of doctrine. Today we had a
zone activity and we went bowling all of us in this mall place which
is like 30 minutes away on the bus. It felt weird because there was
regular music and it seemed like USA. Sometimes I like quiet
places more :)

But I am glad all is well in the Cramer home! Happy Bday Curt!! Love ya buddy

We have to run and visit some less actives and give some medicine to
my recent convert so I will look forward to hearing from all of you
next Monday!

Love Elder Cramer *Eliot Slitherspoon*

Short but sweet letter Sept. 3, 2012

Hey friends and fam,

I only have like 5 minutes in reality this week to write because last
night our zone leaders called and said emergency transfers and my
trainer left for La Laguna in Torreon. I recieved a new companion
today so all of my day was waiting in the bus station and I was on
splits with another elder that had to wait as well. So everything was
all mixed up today. It is kind of odd how fast things utterly change
on my mission because now I have another companion that has 1 year on
his mission and he doesn't know a lick of English like my other
companion had and now he is relying on me to introduce the members and
to know where to go all the time. So this will be a new adventure for
me this week and I hope I am up to the task. But I know I will learn a
ton and that every test that has been thrown my way thus far has been
for my benefit and it won't stop being that way until I am back in
America lol. But I am very grateful for my first companion Elder
Villacis and am hoping the best for my second Elder Verdugo. This week 
I have not been listening to church music in the house like usual but
rather I have been gettting General Conference talks because I am
addicted to them. The more I listen to our authorities of our church
the more I know for a fact that they are ordained, inspired, and teach
from God. I want to be as powerful so I am starting to part my hair
like Bednar, hoping to see some spiritual results! :)

But sorry that this is short

Elder Cramer




This is what Logan must look like now.

David A. Bednar

Letter August 27, 2012

Hey hey, Hola Hola

This week has been a great week and I have learned tons like always! My language is always increasing but I can tell the most from my understanding of what people are saying and I am starting to dream in Spanish as well which is different haha. I am glad your work is going swimmingly paps! I know a little bit is from blessings from my mission but a lot of it is blessings because of your service as a Bishop. This week I have done a lot of things for the first time. Like yesterday I gave my first blessing ever. To a little girl named Vanessa that was having troubles breathing and it is a wonderful feeling to promise people blessings from the Lord. As well it was the first time that I really felt my companion and I are working our tails off. Running from one lesson to the next which is sometimes miles away. But life in Mexico is always good and I am stoked for the opportunity I have to change habits and make new great ones! Like ironing, doing dishes, making my bed, loving study time for the scriptures, but most of all I love the chance I have to become more Christ-like and this week was patience for me because I expect a lot from myself but if I am obedient I know that all the blessings will come that I need. As well I was teaching a less active family with my companion and one of the sons brought down their pet. It was a whopper Duck that they have as a pet in their house and it was like what the Quack is going on. Also when I was walking in the street these big trucks drove by with 3 cages. Each one had a tiger in it and it was like OHH! Mexico is always full of surprises and the dogs here run rampant in the streets and there are always weird animals haha. In the chapel the other day was a big dove and I was trying to scare it outside but it flew right over my head and it scared me and I basically screamed like a girl...Right as the Bishop walked in. So now I am pretty sure he is questioning if I am an Elder missionary or a Sister missionary. Also which was funny is that we locked our keys in the house so we had to break into our own house and my companion snuck in but if anyone saw us they would probably think strange things about missionaries. Like we are the Gaddeanton Robbers or something! :) Anways my mission is always fun and I learn oooooodles. Hope all is well for the family and good luck in school. Thanks for everyone's support always

Love Elder Cramer

I have to take out some money from my own because we have no gas/food and we don't get more money until Saturday. But the church will refund the money that we need for gas so that is the good part. Just a heads up. I am starting today a little notebook because I think I am not keeping track of my money as much as I could. I love this scripture in 1 Corinthians 13:11 "When i was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things." I love this and it is one of my favorite scriptures in the Bible because this is my chance right now to grow up, become a man, learn new things, increase my testimony, rearrange priorities, and become what God wants me to become.. It is a slow but worthy process and I am stoked for things to come. Love Always Mom, Dad, Ryan, Bre, Carli, Vanessa, Curt!

*I sent grams and gramps a small email last week about birthday and anniversary.. SO i am way ahead of you :)*

Love Elder Cramer

Logan Cramer	12:12 PM (22 hours ago)
to me

This is what happens when I really want to get down in the nitty gritty of the scriptures. Look the part, Want the part, Be the part! :)

Letter - August 19, 2012

Como esta familia y amigos,

This week has been a great week of revelation and also a week to find
out what we can improve on as a companionship! After a baptism you
only want to baptize more but with this new form of missionary work it
soley depends on the members and their references and for that we are
lacking dramatically. Our ward has tons of people but basically only
60 actives. For that we have a tremendous amount of less actives that
we need to help strengthen. So this week my companion and I are
focusing on giving service to less actives and members to gain their
confidence so we can receive more references and increase the
assisance of our ward. We have a new district and zone after
transfers and both look very promising after this Sunday of missionary
meetings. I like that each missionary brings a different perspective
and bag of experiences that I can always benefit from. But weather wise
basically it rains every evening and for that what a blessing.
Yesterday we had to walk one side of our area to the other to eat
comida with a family and it was dead heat. And apparently Guadiana,  
Durango is close to the coolest area. So I will have to see how bad it
is other places haha. But my companion and I area always working to
try and teach in unison. Each time we teach we get more and more
practice! This week I am really trying to work on my patience. Because
a lot of the times in the street there are gangsters or people that
taunt or something like that and it is hard to just grit your teeth
and keep walking but I always want the spirit and for that I need to
just smile and wave and continue on my way. As well this week I am
going to strive to not waste very much time. Many members love just
chatting in their house after food or if we visit to reactivate they
just love the presence of missionaries but we are going to really be
aware of our time with all of the people here! I really love this
quote that I found "You may sometimes be tempted to say-- Will my
influence make any difference? I am just one. Will my sacrifice affect
the work that dramatically? I testify to you that it will. You will
never be able to measure your influence for good." -Elder Uchtdorf.

Ryan Happy birthday! I want you to know I am so proud of you for all
you do and I brag about you when people ask about our family! I have
the best brother ever and I am glad you are such a great example to
our family always! Love Logan!!!

Dad great job with the diet! You are da Hombre! Yo tambien ha perdido
un poco pesa aqui en mi mission. Estoy animado por el libro de p90x.
Estoy motivando mi companero en la mananas para ejercisio conmigo.
Tambien siempre estamos camindando todos lugares. Pero, me encanta el
tiempo para pensar a mi mismo. Siempe le tengo en mis oraciones y
muchas gracias por su ejemplo en mi vida padre! Vive en Mexico!

*only things i need as a missionary basically in packages is this
after i thought about it: p90x or insanity book, disney songs in
spanish, protein powder, and axe deodorant. I never really need
anything else because mom and dad prepared me for the end of the world
basically for my mission! :)

Love Elder Cramer

Letter to Mom August 13, 2012

Yeah sickness is never fun but I am all over it now just like you guys haha. It is kind of funny that our family was all sick at the same time. But being sick made me appreciate how blessed I am just to be healthy . I can eat most all of the food now but I am hesitant with chili or peppers in the united states. The people here can eat them like they are candy, but it feels like a fuego (fire) in my mouth. The first pepper I ate with my companion, I drank like 3 things of milk because my tongue hurt so bad. I'll send a picture haha. But this week was amazing.  I had my first 3 baptisms and there is literally no greater joy in this world mother. But hmm. I don't think I need that many things but pictures are always the best. Oh if you could send the p90x book to me that would be amazing because I forget a lot of the routines. But other than that just send your love. I miss you  ton mom and I am making good habits like making my bed, brushing my teeth a ton, and reading-studying mucho. Love always your Elder

First baptisms in the field

August 13, 2012 Letter to Family and Friends

Hey hey hey from Mexico,

This week has been by far my favorite because we saw some fruits of our hard work here in Guadiana, Durango! Hermana Maria, Paola, and Jackylyn were baptized this Saturday and on Sunday were confirmed as members and recieved the Holy Ghost. I will tell you there are no words to describe how happy I was during the baptism. I had the opportunity to baptize Paola and Jackylyn and they have such strong testimonies for little girls haha. Jackylyn is extremely shy but reminds me of Breanna lol. Anyways I am so happy that these worthy princesses of God decided to change their life for the best and come unto Christ.

Now my companion and I are going to work on the rest of the family as Hermana Maria has 6 sons that are really special as well but with their work and their doubts they have not showed an incredible amount of interest. But the example of Maria is so strong I know that they will come around. I finished my first cambio in the field which means I have been here for over 6 weeks now. I have the same trainer for another 6 weeks so I am excited for that because Elder Villacis is an amazing missionary. His example of obedience is the best part about him.

The hardest part here is when members active or less active do not want to give references because with this new form of work we cannot function without them. But I know if we take the time to work with everyone and help motivate them all will work out. I hope to work even harder this cambio so I can bring even more people to our Father in heaven. I liked that they said in the little talk for their baptism that right now they are having a fiesta in heaven. I can literally imagine how happy our Father in heaven is when His children decide to be obedient and make covenants with Him to follow his Son always and keep His commandments that we may always have his spirit to be with us. This Sunday we also had assistance of 65 people which is the most we have had so far.

I am doing good and I think I walk over 20 miles each week at least. My shoulders hurt often from lugging around my stuff everywhere but if we have one influenTial lesson it is all worth it. Thanks so much for all the support and I love all of you... Viva en Mexico!

Elder Cramer

August 6, 2012 Letter to Family and Friends

Como esta famlia y amigos!

I feel sometimes like a news reporter about my life when I give my
weekly news haha but this week was really good I think. I am starting
to get better and adjusted to the food here which means I can work at
full capacity again which I am so grateful for!

Today as a district we took a bus to some mall and went bowling of all things! It was weird
to be in a place that appeared to be like the USA because I am more
used to the poor atmosphere I guess haha. But I think it is funny when
I walk around the town in the streets because I am literally the only
white person in this city. People either stare at me, trying to talk
to me in caveman english, or call me Gringo lol. But I am really
excited for some of the investigators that we have right now and the
opportunity to work with less actives! There are so many members that
do not go to church or do anything church related. It is so bad that
sometimes people do not even know who Joseph Smith is and they are
members.. It is because years ago basically the standards for a
baptism were a lot less. And for that we have many members that know
nothing. So we basically treat them as investigators. But right now
our church attendance is about 53 people for church. It is like half
of Manitowoc! Which is unbelievable!

My companion and I are really striving to motivate these people to do the Lords work. I find that
here in Mexico members are one of two things, either extremely
dedicated to the church or want nothing to do with it. But the more I
apply myself, the more things I see that begin to take place. If all
goes well our Investigator Maria will be baptized this Saturday! This
woman is remarkable and has been through so much. She is a mother of
like 7 or 8 kids and they are all grown up for the most part but they
are all involved in terrible things. Maria lives in a part of this
city that is terribly poooor. Many drugs and bad things take place
here. But it reminds me of the people in Alma when he was trying to
preach to the rich and they had hard hearts but the people who had
nothing were humble and ready to accept the gospel. This week we are
really focusing on her and hopefully she continues to desire to follow
the path of happiness! Other than that we have a mission leader but he
doesn't actually help us all that much. But each week I think our work
together gets a tad better (i hope!) I can definitely tell the
difference when as a companionship we are trying to teach a lesson or
teach the person. When we actually care for the person and help them
come unto Christ personally, our lessons are 100x better.

Until next week!
Elder Cramer

July 30, 2012 Letter to Family and Friends

Hey family and friends!

It sounds to me that my family has experienced some troubles gettting to Utah. It sounds crazy and I think all things that are good have a lot of adversity. This week has been a rollercoaster of a sort. And for many others it seems that way as well. This week my companion and I were working hard and I am going to share some experiences. We found about 3 new families that I could see being baptized but that is up to the Lord. One of the families we found when it was raining really hard. They were a references from less active members across the street. We told the members, lets go visit them right now. They said ït is raining like a hurricane¨ my companion and I just smiled and we took some of the plastic covering and we ran across the river in the street and knocked on the door. They had to let us in, what else could they do haha. It was raining cats and dogs. But this family consists of a mother, father, and a little boy about 12. We taught a little bit and asked questions to get to know them. I think the spirit was fairly strong. And they accepted baptismal dates the first lesson. And after our lesson there was no more rain.

And also this week on Saturday my stomache was in tons of pain and i was vomitting alot. I could barely move. Apparently the food here is different than in the US and for that it takes some getting used to. I had to go see a doctor which was just a member. He was really nice and gave me shots but the shots are not given in the same place in the United States either so that was kind of an interesting experience as well. So all of Saturday I just slept in my house and I felt useless as a missionary. But the next day I collected my strength and went to church at 8am. 7 of our investigators showed up and attended. It was the most people we have had thus far. And for this I just want to share that when we are in the midsts of good things there is always adversity. But God never leaves our side. Right now I am still a little sick but I am trying my best to stay in the game. I like in the scriptures in Alma when the people had a heavy burden on their backs. And they were praying vigorously. But then they were not allowed to pray anymore because of a Law. For this the people continued to pray vigorously in their own hearts.
I know God hears our prayers, and in return answers them. The people had their prayers answered and God made their burdens light and that they could bare it with patience. I like that because never does God take away our trials or our challenges. We have them that we can humble our selves, that we can grow, that we can learn to be more like our Savior Jesus Christ. But I love that God makes it possible for us to overcome. And eventually because the people endured it well, the Lord provided a way that they could escape from the people who were holding them captive. I saw the blessings that came with working hard and trying my best this week. I am going to keep trying despite hardships. Because there are people here that need this gospel and Satan knows that. And for all of you who have struggles don´t rely on your own works, let God help!

Love Elder Cramer

Dad Your dream was amazing thank you for sharing that. That was very special I think. I am doing okay here I am learning a ton and I try to better myself every day.

Hopefully I can send a few pictures that I thought were cool this week from our zone activity last Monday!

Elder Cramer scripture study and reflection

July 23, 2012 Letter to Family and Friends

Hey family and friends!

Well week three is just about over on the field and wooo it is so funny when it comes to the language because some people here basically can not understand a word i am saying but then others are amazed that i can say and understand so much already. I feel like i do it but if i do not focus and watch their mouths when talking i dont pick up anything. It really takes a ton of effort to understand like you said. My companion can understand me and i can understand him because his ecuador spanish is so much more pure. The people here mumble and slur words together like it is their job! But i continue to try my hardest. Once and a while i get down in the dumps when nobody can understand me but i try to stay focused and just say jokes in spanish with my companion and it is all better afterwards. My trainer is amazing and i am grateful for him. He loves english music but sometimes he doesnt know what the lyrics mean. I am teaching him english and he is teaching me spanish. But this week was kind of rough because we had 4 families lined up to come to church with rides from members of the church but all the members couldnt do it for some reason or another so that ruined alot of plans for this sunday. But a little 11 year old boy came which we werent expecting. It just comes to show me that the power of the youth or the power of testimonies is not always in adults. The young children can have tons of faith as well. 

Also during church i had an answer to my prayers and it just hit me. With all of my challenges or desafios in spanish, i need to look at them like they are a blessing like Ammon did in the scriptures when the robbers were coming for the king's sheep. His heart rejoiced in obstacles because it gave an opportunity to display his love for God and show his faith. I am going to try and display my love and faith for god this week by not getting down on myself if nobody in the world can understand me. Everyone can understand the language of the spirit and that is the goal i need to strive for. If i am obedient and do all that is asked of me the Lord is bound to give me blessings. From this point on we can no longer know doors or talk to people in the street solo en familias de miembros y no podemos ensenar personas sin un miembro tambien. Oh, woops. We need members for lessons now and stuff because it is our responsibility to teach and the members to give referals. This is a great way to have the members and us work together for one common goal of bringing the souls of people to god. This is a huge task to do though because alot of the members here are incredible strong in the church but about half of them do not go or are just incredibly lazy. Our job is to motivate them to want to help us basically. With spiritual thoughts and always offer our service. 

One thing i really love here is that maybe i cannot express myself every way i want to but i can serve like no other and i can demonstrate that i am happy with the gospel in my life. That says more than words many a times. Anyways i love all of you and i am happy that i have such a loving family and friends to always support me with whatever i need. I pray for tons of people everynight and morn. Vive en Mexico! 

You can send all cards and packages to the mission home.

And thanks for the advice dad. I really take all of your experiences to heart because you are my example :) 

Love Elder Cramer

Elder Cramer's Mission President and Wife - President FLores

David and Claudia Flores

David Flores Villaseñor, 44, and Claudia Vázquez Martínez, four children, Mexico Torreon Mission; Gaviotas Ward, Coatzacoalcos Mexico Puerto Stake. Brother Flores serves as stake president and is a former counselor in the Mexico Veracruz Mission, stake Young Men president, bishop, counselor in a bishopric and missionary in the Mexico Torreon Mission. Regional coordinator of seminaries and institutes. Born in Mexico City, Mexico, to Ricardo Flores Corral and Alicia Villaseñor Villalón.
Sister Flores serves as a visiting teaching supervisor and is a former stake Young Women president, Sunday School teacher, Relief Society teacher, Primary teacher, seminary teacher and missionary in the Mexico Veracruz Mission. Born in Mexico City, Mexico, to José Antonio Vásquez Romero and Enriqueta Martínez Chávez.

His first Companion in the field -Elder Villacis from Ecuador

Snippet of the Mission so far....

July 16, 2012 Letter to Family & Friends

Hey Family and Friends,

Loving it here in Guadiana, Durango. It is indeed another state because our mission consists of 3 different states apparently! It rains here at least once everyday which i really like because it feels really good, but it also makes things really muddy at times. But honestly nothing feels better than serving God in the rain because you feel like nothing can stop you. I am getting used to walking everywhere. I probably lost nearly all the weight i gained in the MTC already which is really good. But right now we have a really promising investigator named Margarita and her family is mostly mormon but she is not so we have been teaching her and she went to the church this last sunday and all is going well so far! We did have Emanuel as an investigator and i think he had faith in christ but his parents basically yelled at us saying they are catholics and nothing will change and the fact that Emanuel was doing some bad things like selling drugs we are not wasting our time with that! Hopefully he finds the need to chagne his life somewhere along the line. Mexico is really amazing and i love the people. Some people here, literally have nothing. We taught a recent convert to get referals and she did not have any furniture so she took a bucket and we sat on a plank of wood ontop of the bucket. But this lady was incredibly happy and that is what i love about it here. Some people can have close to  nothing and they are perfectly content with that and their believes. Our bishop is really cool. They have a strong family as well. My companion and i make alot of jokes whle walking everywhere because i am starting to get better at speaking a little bit. At least i can pick up about half of the things people say now but usually that is enough to get the general point across. My companion and i have high hopes for this up coming week. We helped a young man named Hafith become re-activated. He is way cool and i like him the most because he can speak english. But he has been going to many lessons with us and i hope he goes on a mission. I am really pushing him to go on one. There should have been like 3 pictures on my last email and i am sending 3 more right now. Every morning when i wake up my neighbors have like a pet rooster or something and it just goes nuts lol. I am used to it now but the first week i was going crazy! My district is really cool and we had a really great lesson yesterday. I think it is cool to see other gringos like me after like 18 months of their mission because i can see how much god has worked on them and they are really fantastic people. My faith is growing each and everyday and i am striving to be perfectly obedient. Obedience brings good things, Perfect Obedience brings Miracles.
 
Mom i will keep that in mind with the money stuff. I dont want to use a ton. I just had to use some because Migration took alot of money to get some kind of Identification thing and i like to have food so i needed some haha. But I love ya mom and i am safe :)

Debbie/Kenny thanks so much for the jumprope i use it every morning and i am keeping your fam in my prayers constantly

Ness/Curt, I think that answered most of your questions as well :) We will all be in different countries soon enough\

Siblings, read the book of mormon, it owns haha

Until next week i love you all and i want to make all of you proud :) 

Elder Cramer

July 9, 2012 First Week in Mexico - To Family/Friends

Hola Family y amigos!

 

This is my first week in mexico and i will tell you it has been alot different than i pictured haha. there are so many things that are different it is crazy! I arrived there and the first thing i see when i got off the plane was a man in an army suit with a rifle. I didnt know call of duty was in the job description. But after that right away we went through security and then we waited at the airport for like 2 hours because the president was late. We slept at the house of the assistants and i met alot of the people there. The next day i was given my first companion and his name is Elder Villacis. He is from Ecuador and he speaks so fast it is crazy. He has been a huge help to me so far though. There are so many things i want to say... we have 3 baptism dates right now but only one came to church which is not very good because when people go to church that basically makes or breaks them. Emanuel is his name and i actually teach him again today right after i do the laundry. But he is really cool and he lives in a really rough part of town where there is a lot of drugs and stuff. Oh my area is Guadiana, Durango. It is pretty downtown but i am not in the downtown area i am in the poorer area of it. There are so many people here and the thing i here most is "Yo Soy catolitico." But there are always tons of people who reject us, and i hardly understand anyone, and basically i can only bare my testimony in spanish when my companero stops talking, and alot of the time people in the streets just call me gringo and shout out naughty words haha. But despite all of that i have seen so many miracles already! 

The members here that are active are incredibly strong in the church and they are have really strong testimonies. Alot of the time people dont talk to me because they know i cannot understand much but each day i can tell more and more of what people are saying. I like talking to middle aged old people because they talk slower but not so rusty sounding that i cant understand them. I love the humilidy of alot of the people here. The houses of some of these people is crazy and is almost hard to see sometimes. There are dogs just running around like everywhere and alot of the people just throw garbage whereever they would like to. The other day we were tracting and it was raining real hard but i dont mind it is actually kind of fun and some lady apparently yelled at us that we are crazy and we will get sick. My companero laughed and said no we are not crazy we are dedicated to a wondedrful cause! 

There are many opportunies i have seen already to get discouraged though. Many plans fall through or you have to walk at least 10 miles a day just to have the person not even be there. Those can be tough but i just have to remind my self of what i am doing and why i am here. Each day will get better. Each day my testimony will grow in Christ. How can i expect others to become closer to christ if i myself am not. Anyways, Torreon mission is starting something new in the next few days. We are the first mission in the world that is stopping tracting all togehter and we can only teach if a member is present. This is my opinion is alot better because it forces the members and the missionaries to work together. If we do not get help from the members then they are not allowed to have missionaries and we have to leave. Our mission is setting an example for others so hopefully this new plan is successful! 

Family and friends i hope you are all doing wonderfully and i hope that everyone is enjopying their beautiful summer. Because i am enjoying mine here being the big red missionary that is taller than everyone else and cannot understand a thing haha. But the good always out weighs the bad i will admit that! My companion and i will continue to get better together. He is a short elder who has been on his mission for 10 months and he likes english so while he is teaching me spanish i am returning the favor for english. I can honestly say my spanish is just flying though. I hope i keep improving! I love you all and you are always in my prayers! Hooooorah for Israel :)