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Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Logan and friends - July 29 letter

Hey Hey Hey,

I am in a constant battle with this sun here. I bathe in this sunscreen but it still burns me. Oh well at least the president knows that we are out working. This last week we have found new investigators some that are progressing but what made me sad is only 2 went to the church. I know that they cannot receive a full testimony of the gospel if they do not go to the church. It is a huge building block to see what we practice and teach within the walls of the chapel.  These last 8 months I really want to try and be the best.. I know God gives me a lot of impressions, it is just finding out if it is my own impressions or the spirit that sometimes is the hard part.  We are going to have a baptism the 24th of August with a man named Gil and he is such a good guy. He leaves work early on Sundays to go to the church, he left his girlfriend that he had for 10 years because he learned about the law of chastity. He is going to go with us to visit our new family that we met named Gerardo to help him go to church this week (I will attach a photo), and he just signed up for a year of the Liahona. He is what we call a golden investigator.  I am stoked for him and we are trying hard to find and help these new investigators progress. This Sunday we got like 6 references from the new program that we are doing so we are excited to contact them and work with these families!  Also I had to take out a tad more money this week because I lost something that made me super sad.. I did exchanges with an Elder and he was calling an investigator to be interviewed by me but meanwhile I was contacting a lady on the street so I placed my scriptures on the telephone booth.. and I forgot them there and my backpack was full with my clothes for the next day so I did not realize the weight difference. So I lost my year and 2 months of revelation and the little pictures in the scriptures.. I bought new ones and they should come to me when we have the next consejo con Presidente.. But right now I am just using a Book of Mormon that we give away and I am borrowing a bible from a brother in our war . I feel naked without my scriptures! :O But other than that I am loving my time here and Elder Ringer and I are trying to be a good example for our zone. :) I love you and serve the Lord because he will serve us 200% :)

Elder Cramer

The picture is with a new family that we have this week. Gerardo, Gerardo junior, and his daughter. They are super awesome but I think the dad is a little hesitant to go to church. So Gil is going to go with us and the son of the Bishop here to befriend Gerardo jr. and to go to the youth activity on Tuesday. We are stoked for them :) (They are reading the Book of Mormon and are in 2 Nephi)!

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Logan is learning to be a real missionary - like Pinnochio and the Road Runner?

July 8, 2013

HelllLLoooo family! ;)

This week was super rewarding for all of the hard work we did. I learned probably more this week than 3 months in the mission because of all the new experiences lately. We had Leader Council last Friday so we ate breakfast with the President and all of the zone leaders and then he sent us on a huge scavenger hunt with objectives and they were super hard haha. But they were so hard because we made them hard because the answers were super easy. It just shows how smart President is, being a psychologist.. But then he told us that on the mission we are complicating things. Our job is to find, teach, and baptize. If they dont want to obey the commandments then we have to drop them and find those who are waiting for this covenant with God. He said we need to have faith that God is preparing his sons and daughters to be found. He then taught us about the importance of the Book of Mormon and that we need to use it better and give it more importance. So he gave us each a Book of Mormon and he sent us all outside and we had to give and contact someone using them. So that was awesome and we came back to our areas super excited! This week we had about 15 lessons with investigators and members so we were running from lesson to lesson. In the church yesterday we had the most investigators that we've have ever had. We had 9 and I was super excited to see that our hard work is paying off in fact. After church we ate super fast and we took a taxi to another church for our zone meeting with our zone. I taught about the importance of commitments and if they are not progressing, maybe it is because we need to focus on putting baptismal dates and help them with their needs to be prepared. So we did practices and they got a little better as they practiced. Then my companion talked about the Book of Mormon as well and we did the same activity contacting the people outside with the Book of Mormon. It was pretty successful for my first time I think! Today President told us that this Friday my companion and I have to give a presentation for all of the young men that are going to EFY here in Torreon. So we will talk in ront of a group of about 100 people and their counselors or something like that. And then we have interviews this Friday so we have to get that all ready for President and so everything is smooth. During the interviews we will have to review their mission binders for their houses to make sure they are updating it and always keeping it ready for the next missionaries. So that was my week and a small preview of the week to come. I am stoked and I know that this is the Lords work and we just play a small part in it all. Actually it is a blessing to just to see a bit of the power of God working in the lives of others!! I am having a party with my sun block everyday because if not I look like a red martian from mars. But I love you guys and I hope you are participating in the work of the Lord as well.. 

Suba a la ola! (I think this means catch the wave?)

Elder Cramer

July 1, 2013

HelllLLOooooOO :)

This week was way sweet to tell ya the truth because we worked our tookis' off and we were working with the members and we had like 5 investigators in the church and they seemed to like what they saw. (I hope haha) Our ward is super big -- I went from like a 50 or 60 branch to a 181 ward that is like super busy. It is hard to keep track of everyone, and on top of that I am trying to memorize this new area and Elder Ringer is teaching me the ropes of how to be zone leader. It is a lot to think about because we have to make sure the missionaries are working, are obedient, keep track of their numbers, make sure that they are sending reports and arrive on time for the meetings. I feel like a babysitter for 16 men that left their houses and are baking like a piece of pork in the street. That is because it is true hah. Now I see how you guys must have felt.  I am trying to  making sure that and all is well and I feel like a parent almost haha. Elder Ringer actually has less time than me like, a year and a week but his Spanish is really good and he has been zone leader for awhile now. He has good work ethic and loves the work of the Lord. We are a good team and I know God does not put missionaries together for casualty (?  I think he means God puts missionaries together for good reason). I hope to make you all proud and we just had a new meeting saying that we have a new form to work with the ward to get references and so we should never have to contact in the street like we have been doing lately to get new investigators. So our bishop will be calling Ward Missionaries to do interviews for all of the members which gives us like 20 references and they take all of those hundreds of references to ward counsel and they decide who will progress and we go with those that will progress. This form has been approved by Elder Holland when he was here so I think that is why he is keeping a close eye on Torreon. I hope to become a sweet missionary like Pinnochio wanted to be a real boy. But I know it is possible and that there is no other place that God would rather have me be. I am fortunate to be able to serve and actually I am happier as I work and work. I am like the Road Runner out here with the spirit because bit by bit I am learning to be what God would like me to be and that is why I am enjoying my time here.

Pictures: I had a confrontation with a mean character on the wall! I taught him the gospel

A less active that goes with us to lessons here!

Monday, July 1, 2013

Logan on the move back to Torreon!

June 23, 2013
Wow!

There is just so much activity in our family I think you need a missionary agenda to keep track of everything. We have a surplus here if you would like me to send you one haha. And yes we watched the broadcast and it was awesome but sometimes because of the internet connection I could not see everything. And yeah I saw the elder from Torreon and that Elder Holland said he visited us. And yeah when elder holland came you can feel in the room and the way that he talks that you are in the room with an apostle... It was a life changing experience for me for sure! And actually.. I was a district leader for 2 months and I was training for like.. 5 months in total.. but today I had transfers to Torreon again. And now I am a zone leader and my companion is Elder Ringer. I am junion companion so he is going to teach me the ropes and he is super cool so I think we can have alot of success here I hope. Everytime I finally get to know a city perfectly they change me haha, but I guess that is the will of the Lord. And it is so neat to keep in contact with my brothers of Mosiah.. Kaden in Africa, Shaye in Guatemala, Brenden and Brad in brazil, and Jake in Uraguay. I feel like we are all in this together. Maybe with different languages, companions, areas, but the same work under the same direction of the Lord. I am just starting to realize that time is flying by so fast I feel like I just arrived in San Pedro eating a bunch of sand because of the sand storm and now I am back in Torreon. New responsablilities and new ways to become what the lord wants me to be. And how is Jackie doing with the lessons? Have you ever seen Graham lately.. I know he is going through a rough time because he moved in with friends and they are not paying rent and he has to pay it all and it would be good to give him a jingle if you can. I have alot of work to do when I get home and I hope I get a calling right away like ward missionary or something awesome to do visits. I also want to take Ryan and Kolten with me to visit less actives and to visit with the missionaries. I have it all planned already haha. But right now the focus is the mission because I will never have this time again and that is what is starting to hit me. I love this gospel and the peace and true happiness that this work brings to those who try to do the Lords will. This I know because the spirit tells me. I love you all and keep being happy. Let Ryan know that he better be karate chopping open his scriptures as well somedays to prepare himself and that Breanna has to fight me for the car when she gets back. But not with fists... with church doctrine haha. Dad I have faith that you can help my friends because right now I can't.

Love you all.

Elder Cramer

June 17, 2013

This week was a really great week I think. We have found a few new people to teach and we had like 5 people in the church to feel the spirit there. I think my favorite part of the church is the second hour because Elder Munoz and I get to teach principles of the gospel to the investigators and I feel like that captures alot of new things and are enlightened by the spirit! That is the fun part when they understand something and you see it in their eyes! But this week went by so fast haha I don't know where it went.. Tomorrow we have a meeting with our zone and the mission president so I am eager to hear what revelation he has in store for us! Also I had 2 interviews for baptisms this week and I really love the chance I get to do them to see how much the people change from this gospel. I interviewed a woman named Juanita and she is so sweet and she told me of some miracles that she has had in her life one being that she has had many dreams of Thomas S. Monson before she even knew who he was and he was all dressed in white walking on a white beach of sand. That is really cool and how much she wants to be a member :) She has to have an interview with the president because she has experienced many things in her life but she looks so dedicated and ready to do anything the Lord asks of her and so that is the best part! Our goal this week is to find new people and to try and put baptismal dates with a few people. We have a family named La amilia Losa Sanchez and they are alot like jackie because they are gong to the church and are reading the Book of Mormon and are praying to find out if it is true. Sometimes I would really just love to speed up their answers because I know how much it could help and change their lives but everyone has to have their own moment and God works in his own time schedule even though many times we would like to tell him what to do he is the boss haha. So it is interesting to see how the spirit little by little is working in them to reveal the truth! I really want to try for baptism before I end training Elder Munoz so I am trying to find and to put dates and to prepare them for this special day. That is my goal and I am determined to get it. Te Encargo paps. :) I love you all and I hope you had a great fathers day dad. I love you all a ton and know dad that you are an amazing example for me in my life.


Elder Cramer