June 3, 2013 Elder Cramer in the House!

Hey hey hey :)

Elder Cramer adento la casa!

I just completed 13 months yesterday.. I cannot believe how fast time is flying by haha it is like not even fair. It is weird because the less time I have the more I want to work, the more I work the faster the time flies by so it is like.. What is going on? Whos in charge? Who gave permission? - A little quote from Papa Cramer. But in San Pedro  we have seen a lot of results because normally we have like 50ish people in the branch. Yesterday we had 72 people in the church because we had a family of visitors from Texas of about 7 people and also we had a family of 5 that came for the first time to investigate and they really liked the church and all that has happened.. so that made me super happy becuase we are helping out this family. The mother has a tough situation with her husband because he beats her and the kids have to deal with all of that emotionally and they were not very close to God when we found them. But now they are reading, praying, and going to the church and it just shows me how much God helps us in our difficulties. I know he is there and he knows what is going on in each of our lives. But about the sun.. It is just baking me like a thin strip of bacon in a frying pan haha. I have never sweated so hard.. But it is worth it when we have a lot of lessons and when we are helping some people to go to the church :) And thanks so much for updating me about the family because I like to know all of the details so I can imagine that I am there with you in the family still. And yes right now Elder Muñoz is learning a lot and he is super prepared compared to when I came to the mission because I did not have a solid doctrine background but he already knows a ton for a new missionary. Also it is kind of funny to see that sometimes a lot of people do not understand him because the Spanish in Chili is a little bit different so I tell him that is exactly how I felt when I got here because literally nobody understood me and I did not understand anyone else haha. But I am happy here right now and this next week we are gong to put some baptismal dates and I will also have another exchanges with Our zone leaders this Thursday so I am looking forward to that to learn more and have more good experiences! Here is a picture with my new car on the mission! It makes alot of strange sounds at times though :) I love you all a lot and keep working in the work of the Lord.!!

Elder Cramer

May 13 and 20, 2013 letter

May 13, 2013

Hey family!

Long time no talk :) I am so glad you have been chosen to be my family. God knew that I needed a ton of support from you all :D  But my journal is still constant and I am always trying to put at least a few details of what happened and how I felt throughout the day in the mission. Because I know that I will love to see how the mission was later on and my future kids and things like that!  But this week like I told mom I am really going to try and help our investigators go to the church because it has been 2 weeks without any. It makes me sad. But that is why we need to try and try some more until we eventually have success! I know I am doing the right here on the mission!

I am going to leave this one short because I don't have that much time!


May 20, 2013

Dear family and my fans haha :)

This week was a good week because we finally had investigators in the chapel and there were 3! So we are really going to focus on them this week so that we can get them some baptismal dates and that they can recognize the spirit that this message can bring. It is so sweet to see all of the activities each of you are up to and my with her garden and dad is just shredding off the pounds like grated cheese is what the grapevine is telling me. Thank you for inviting Jackie and Kolten to skype with me as well, our family was extended a little bit. this week that is coming up looks promising as we are trying to invite more and more people to Christ here in San Pedro.. I think every area in our mission will receive a big boost of inspiration this Saturday when we will be in the presence of an apostle of God! that is the reason why I am mainly excited for this week! My stomach today has really been upset and I had to buy some pepto and all but I will recover today I know and will be ready to work in the night time! I had a good interexchange this week with our zone leaders and Elder Starkey helped me learn a lot. I like that each Elder has his own method of teaching and his own form. It is great to see how the people react to each style of teaching and each personality! This Friday I will have another baptismal interview so I am excited for that and I expect that he will be ready for the waters of baptism!! I am really enjoying all of my new responsibilities and they keep me in line and busy.

May 27, 2013 letter

Dear Family!

That temperature thing made me laugh because I would love to have your weather right now! And that is so great that everyone is doing so good right now. Carli is already leaving "noooooo." And breanna is gonna have a ton of scars on her legs from her new board or from ryans karate.. I am not sure which one. Dad is gonna be a fitness model when I see him next.. Mom will have a gardening show on the Oprah show. Curt and Vanessa will be professors at BYU Provo before I know it and I will come back and have no idea what in the world is going on. But I am happy that everything is so swell. I had the best week on my entire mission because Elder Holstrom and Elder Holland came and just blew me away with what they had to say to us. Elder Holstrom invited us to take this message and make changes to our lives and mission so he set up the playing field for Elder Holland. And then Elder Holland just came and he was the best. He cracked me up one second and the next he was humbling me and the next the spirit was there. he was basically begging us to bring a convert home with us.. Being ourselves.. they are not asking from us numbers they are asking that we convert ourselves and serve the Lord with everything we have so that we can have the spirit with us at all times and so we can have a lot of success here in the mission and then we can come back and have the lives that heavenly father would have liked. He told us about Moses 1:39... And he said "This is not Burger King.. You cannot have it your way.. Why? Because this is "MY WORK AND MY GLORY"  He told us that when we finally figure out that this is the work of the Lord and not our own that is when we will see miracles in the lives of others. He then was talking about in Helaman how they taught with authority and power. And how he wrote that 3 times in like 3 verses. And he asked us.. "Why does he say that 3 times.. He is writing this on plates of gold with a huge ice pick and he takes the time to write it 3 times that they had power and authority!" He explained that we need to have that power and that we need to make the ground shake like it did for Alma for our investigators that we have the salvation in our hands and if we do the work like the Lord wants they will be converts but we need to be those converts first. I loved it all and I made some new goals for myself on the mission. Because he also told us what dad always tells me. That this is the only time I can serve the Lord 24/7.. Take advantage of it!

I know this is the only true church. I want to represent it in a way that God would be pleased with me. God Lives and Christ directs this work.

Love Elder Cramer

May 6, 2013 Logan in enjoying his time as District Leader

hey hey mi familia bonita!

 

So this was my first week in San Pedro being District Leader and training and I had my first district meeting and I think it went really well! ActuallyIi was not nervous one bit and0 I like my new responsibilities to help and encourage the other missionaries. This week was a tad tough because my companion and I don't even know who the members are or where they live because he only has a few days more than me here. But that is the fun part to get familiar with the region and the new people we get to work with. This Sunday we had about 50 people in the chapel and it made me want to help this branch more than ever! This week we are focused to bring more people to the church of God and help them make this branch a ward someday! And the President here is really nice. He has been President for along time already but he is still serving with passion. We don't have a mission leader yet but I think we will be assigned one in these next coming days hopefully. I had my first baptismal interview this week and that was an extraordinary experience because I get to see the incredible changes in the people before they get baptized. I am happy that God has given me this blessing to be a district leader. My zone leaders are really easy to work with and we are trying to strengthen this region of the mission. Basically there are only 3 areas in my district. San Pedro, Aguanueva, and Parras. We are all really small but that is okay because God does great things in small ways. My companion and I (Elder Muñoz) already get along fantastic because we can joke around in the street and have fun while doing the work of the Lord. He is from Chili and he has a neat accent. I imagine that to be a little bit of the accent in Spain. But there are really rough sand storms here that blinds us and we are basically eating dirt. But it is an experience worth having. I will send a few pictures to you about that. This Sunday we are going to try to skype you all. I am not sure what time that is in USA or if it is the same time. And I am stoked to see and hear from all of you and Jackie and Kolten. I send my love and I hope you know that we are all being blessed for every small part of missionary work we do. So Get to it and share the word of our savior Jesus Christ. And dad my scripture that I want on my plaque is Philipians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. :)

 

 

Love Elder Cramer

April 29, 2013 moving to San Pedro and excited about new Leadership role

Hey family :)

(In response to dad's question about if his baptisms were going ahead on schedule.)  The family that I was talking about have baptismal dates for the 11th of May but last night they (the Mission) called me at 10:15 and said that I am transferring to San Pedro. And I will be training again. This time my companion is from Chile. His name is Elder Muñoz and so far from the 3 hours I've known him he is way cool and focused. He is a big fella haha. But also I am District Leader here and I already have to give my first district meeting tomorrow in the morning.  I am a little nervous and I will have to plan out in the night time what I am going to say and talk about. But apparently the Lord trusts me a lot to give me all of these leadership positions of a sudden . When I first got off the bus to San Pedro my companion forgot where we lived so we were there in the street with all of my suitcases and  a random lady gave us a ride and helped us find our house.  (Because my companion has only been here for a week.)  But we contacted the lady and we have a lesson with her later this week so within minutes of arriving I already had my first contact haha. But I hope I can make God proud here in this new area. It is a branch here with only like 50 people we I will try to leave this branch stronger than when I found it.  So I imagine that being missionaries here in a branch, we will have to give talks and do a lot of things because there is not much priesthood. But we already have a few baptismal dates here in this area so we have to get them prepared to make covenants with the Lord. I will also try to find a member so that we can do skype in like 2 weeks. And Elder Holland comes on the 25th of May so I am gettting stoked to see him in person for the 2nd time in my life. I hope I can feel the spirit and remember what he says so I can work really hard :) That is all for now and I hope you all have a fantastic week. Tell Curt candy cabeza :)

Love Elder Cramer

April 22, 2013

Hellllooo family and los demas!

Yeah just to start off I probably should not have starred the guy in the face like that but at least I restrained myself and did not do anything else. It was one of the times that at first I got mad but then the Savior flashed through my mind and I was not mad after that and I just let them have our cell phone. It was one of those moments like ¨What would Jesus do?¨ But this week was way good because we had two baptisms for Misael and also Marcos.  They were so happy and their family was supporting them a ton. I will add a photo of that at the end of the email. Their parents have not yet been baptized but that is because the dad is trying to divorce from his x wife so they can be married and then be baptized. I have faith that they will be a family for all time and eternity because I could feel it in the moment of their baptism! Also we are right now focusing on a family of 3. Pablito Juarez, Griselda Juarez, and Daniela Juarez. We found this family and we taught them to pray and they went to the church for the first time this week which I think went really well and I hope they learned a lot! They have a baptismal date for the 11th of May so we are preparing them for that moment and right now we are explaining the plan of salvation and we are really going to focus on how they can be with their family forever and eternity! We have our lesson tomorrow in the night time :) I am almost done training Elder Cuevas and I love that he is always thinking about the investigator and how the person thinks. That I think is his best attribute. He himself has a pretty rough family situation and he is hoping to receive many blessings for them as he serves the Lord. I think also that I will be transferred before mothers day because the first cambios are this next Monday so we will see what plans the Lord has for me. I have already been here in Gomez Palacio for 5 months now so who knows :) Elder Holland will be coming on the 25th of May so I am getting stoked for that! I complete a year on the 2nd, I get to talk to the fam, then the baptism of the family Juarez and then Holland. There is a lot to look forward to this month so I am stoked and ready :) And yes I am expecting to have another wonderful year and I am glad that Aunt Inez and the grandparents are doing so well. It will be great to hear from them as well on the tape to see how they are doing and all! I am glad that God has given me the chance to repent while serving him and for his sacrifice of his only son Jesus Christ. Families can be forever but we have to earn it. So Let´s as a family earn it :) 

Love your son and elder

Elder Cramer

April 8 and April 15. 2013 letters

This is a Hna (Sister) who is helping Logan get the spots out of his white shirts!

This is heartwarming!

April 8, 2013

Querido familia que amo muchísimo...

This week has been a little bit difficult because we don't have any progressing investigators right now but that is what we are going to try and fix this week. We are on a quest to find work to do for the Lord. I think the general conference really helped me because it helped me answer a few questions. There were so many talks about missionary work there is no doubt in my mind God is really pressing us to our limits by sharing the gospel. Which is the best because there is no other way we are going to grow if we do not try! :) And my favorite talk was with Elder Holland. Besides the fact he says the funniest things like "i hugged him until his eyes buldged out" and "that's like trying to stuff a turkey through the beak" he always has such a powerful authority with him! I can't wait until May 25 to hear him in person to see how he really acts and what he says to a small crowd of missionaries like us! But I liked how he said it starts with beliefs and as we nuture our testimony it becomes a knowing. It reminds me of the Brother of Jared a little bit when he believed in Christ until it became a knowledge and he actually saw for himself. The biggest goal I have on my mission and I can feel that it is becoming true is... That my testimony becomes sufficient to be the base of all of my decisions. I want to live a life that is based on the teachings of Christ and so that I can make God proud of me for the way I am and live :) And no I really can't believe that I almost have a year underneath my belt. And I am excited to see what God has in store for me because I love the experiences that I have already been given. My companion and I are doing good and I think we are building a strong bond by this point. Tomorrow we have interviews with the President so I will see what he expects and what guidance he can give me. Also I am so glad we have a Prophet today. I feel like he really knows  and loves us when he talks and gives us guidance. What a blessing :) And I loved the letter of Carli. It sounds like she had a "mess" of experiences and it will probably "stain" her life forever with all of the things she saw and lived (referring to how she was sick all the way home from Spain)! That poor boy that sat next to her on the plain :P Hahah Carli I am proud to say that you most likely experienced a little bit of what dad and I had to go through for like 3 months on the mission. No one understands us and we never understand them. But that is crazy with your monkeys (again referring to Carli's Spain trip when monkeys would come up to her and pull her hair). They were bananas for you it seems. And Ryan and Breanna look alot bigger and more mature. I hope Ryan is pushing dad with the p90x because I am still counting on that promise that he made me when he said I won't recognize him :) and I still have written in my journal every day. (I only missed one day in the MTC) So I have every day minus one. Dont judge me :) I love you all and keep me in your prayers! (And no i have not recieved any packages of Easter or still from the Ritcheys either.. I hope they got through!)

Love Elder Cramer!!

April 15, 2013

Dear my friends and family!

This week was full of lovely and interesting things! The first thing is that I am glad that my tapes made it safely to the states :) First off my main man Alejandro Cordonado finally got baptized with us after being an investigator for over 6 years. He is such a great young man and smart and I hope that in about a year he will serve the lord like I am right now :). With him being baptized they can be sealed in the temple as a family so that is so exciting. I will attach a few photos of that in the end (above). Also I recieved permission from the President to baptize two young boys that we have as investigators because their parents are trying to get married to be baptized but it is a lengthy process but the kids wanted to be baptized for 2 months now so this Saturday that is coming Misael and Marcos will be baptized and I will be baptizing little Misael of the age of 9 :) So that is really exciting! And Elder Holland will be coming 25 of May to visit us.

And also something that I will never forget that happened this week is that I got jumped. Three gangsters started tripping us and laughing and the third time I stopped and stared at the 5 foot 10 man. And he got scared but then his little gangster friends came so then they made us give them our cellphone and the cell of the member with us and then they snatched the ID of my companion but the good part is that they did not do any harm to us or anything. A member told me ¨well if you never got robbed you never lived in mexico¨and so I am just glad God keeps us safe and protected :). But I am glad you loved the tapes (Logan sent some voice recordings) and I am looking forward to recieving your end of them! Also I got your Easter present and I am really grateful for the scripture pictures :D Also I just bought a few piano and violin songs on itunes just to let you know for the studies! And yeah my shoes and all of that are holding up good! And the only thing I really need is sunblock of at least 80. Because I am becoming liquified here in Mexico and everyone tells me not to worry because the worst is still to come so I am like uh oh.

I think that  will be changed (locations) here in a few weeks because I have already been here in Filadelfia for like 5 months now. For some reason the Lord is having me stay in this area :))

I hope everyone knows that I am happy to be here and that I am trying to be a great disciple of Christ. I feel happy being able to invite others to come unto our Redeemer and to be able to do covenants with our Father in Heaven! That is the  best gift I and any other missionary can possibly give!

Love Your Elder Cramer :)