HAVING FUN IN PRIMARY

oCTOBER 25, 2010 E-MAIL
Hey everyone!!!

I'm glad to hear that the XD card made it home safe. Sorry I didn't do a picture index for this batch but that's just way too much work! I'll be happy to explain in about a year!
Yes...mom did tell me the story about Jeff and the money and pretzels. I was surprised to find that the two stories matched up pretty dang close! I guess it must all be true! :) That story cracks me up...and that letter that Jeff wrote is hilarious!
So the carpets have been cleaned huh? From what I saw in the pictures the house looks great! I really like the wood floor! I'm glad that Emma was able to find herself a soft spot to sit! That picture looks just like something that Emma would do!
That's neat about Carson's first blessing. I know how he feels! I remember the first few blessings I gave I was so nervous. My knees were louder than the spirit I think! I remember when I first came on my mission I was being asked to give blessings left and right. I always hoped that I could just do the anointing but my wise mission father (That's what we call the Elder who trains us) made sure I gave the blessing.....every time! At the time I was not grateful but now that I look back I am so glad that he gave me that opportunity because now I feel much more comfortable about doing it and I have learned how to give blessings that are directed by the spirit. I think that's awesome that Carson got to give his mom that blessing.
Wow....Jay is going to Brazil! That's great! I bet he's excited. Is he asking Jed all sorts of questions? I hope everything with his visa goes smooth.
So dad...how much money are you willing to put on the guess that I get transferred next transfer?! :) No....I really hope that I stay here through the holidays. Elder Moser is sure we're both staying another transfer! It will be interesting to see what happens. You're right though. I am really really going to miss these people here whenever I do get transferred. Ulysses just feels like the place I'm supposed to be!
Don't worry...I have already started checking about getting a flu shot. I should be getting it this week. I would have gotten it this last Saturday but that part of the hospital was closed that day. I can get one Monday through Friday though. Thanks for the encouragement...I will make sure to get it done. :)
You asked how my clothes are holding up. Well.....my suits actually are doing great. I just had the one I wear the most dry-cleaned and it came out very well. As for my pants.....they are still wearable! They have a few holes in the pockets that I need to sew up and the belt loops are starting to give me the idea they might not be there much longer! I've done a bit of sewing on them over the past year! Really the most visible wear on them though is the fading of the color from the sunlight. I can buy a dye at Wal-mart for a few bucks that I throw in the washer with the pants and I think I may give that a try. I may need new tracting pants soon though. I've already replaced my belt so I'm good there.
Things continue to go good out here. We have two people with a date right now for the early part of November.
Today it finally cooled down to about 60ish degrees. It feels really nice.
Yesterday in the Hugoton branch we went to Primary and helped them get ready
for their Primary program. It was a blast! The kids practiced singing loud and then we judged them on it. After the first hour of practice we all went outside and played tag! Its not every Sunday that you get to play tag with the Primary! Then the second hour they went back inside and continued to practice while we went to Priesthood. It was great. I think when I get off my mission I'm just going to go to Primary!
Well.....we have a busy day today. You know....P-days are the most hectic, un-relaxing days of the week! I hope I'll have time to write to you about everything I want to write about. If not I guess I'll save it until next weeks letter.
Have a great day...and a great week!
Love ya
Love Elder Cryer.

UNEVENTFUL WEEK

18 October 2010 Letter

Dear Family,
Well, this week hasn't been the most eventful week ever. I did predict transfers correctly. By the end of this transfer I will have been here in Ulysses/Hugoton for seven months. That's a decent amount of time. I hope I'm here through Christmas and New Years. Only time will tell.
So on Saturday we went down to the church to make a few phone calls because our phone had died. Well, when we got there we saw a few cars outside and a BBQ that was smoking. We went in to see what was going on. We soon found out that the Activity Day girls (all two of them) were putting on a lunch for their parents and the Branch President. They told us that they were eating in two hours if we wanted to come back. Of course we aren't going to pass up an opportunity like that! So we went back in two hours and ate with them. The girls took us to our seats and took our orders. We had a salad for the pre-meal watcha-ma-callit and then we had lemon pepper chicken, corn, and a huge baked potato. Then they served us raspberry pie, vanilla ice-cream and whipped cream for dessert. They made Elder Moser put cream on his own pie but they put mine on for me. I guess we know who they like better!
Well Mom and Emma, I got your letters this week! Thanks so much!
It sounds like Carson has been keeping you all well supplied with bread pudding! He must like to make that. Man, a homemade chocolate cream pie sounds so good right now. I haven't had a real one since I've been gone. I've had a few fake ones but that doesn't quite compare!
I'm glad to hear that Chris is doing well. She has been a part of my prayers and she will for sure continue to be. I'll be praying that her surgery goes well on December 1st.
Well, to answer your Halloween question Emma...The Ulysses ward is having a ward activity on the 29th of October that we'll go to. Then the Hugoton Branch has an activity on the 30th that we'll go to as well. Then on Halloween itself we will go to church of course, have a regular day and then we need to be in by 6 o-clock. So I guess we'll just hang out, play games, hand out candy, stuff like that.
Well, your ATV trip with the Hawes's sounds really fun! I have been ATVing before when I went to Carson's grandparents house for spring break. It's way fun. We'll have to do that sometime when I get back.
Just for fun I decided to look back to my mission planner a year ago to see what I was doing on October 18, 2009. It was weird because when I looked at it I could actually remember that day! It brought back good memories! It was a Sunday and we had nine investigators at church. Speaking of investigators...we have one family right now who is an awesome family! The husband is a pilot and the wife is way funny and the kids are awesome. The only problem is that they are super busy and so it's hard to get a hold of them. It will all work out though.
We have a few other potential investigators but it's too soon to know where they're at.
Well, today has been the coolest day we've had in a while. It's about 60-65 degrees I guess. From what I hear it usually gets cold around Halloween, but I've also heard that they sometimes have 70-80 degree Thanksgiving and Christmas days. No one seems to really know.
Well, that's about all the news I can think of from my neck of the woods.
Take care, Love ya.
Love Elder Cryer

STAYING IN ULYSSES FOR 6 MORE WEEKS

Oct 18, 2010 e-mail
Hey guys!
So guess what? I have ANOTHER six weeks in Ulysses and Hugoton! I'm going to be here for Thanksgiving! That means I will be here for over six months! Pretty crazy huh?!?!?
I'm still serving with Elder Moser as well. He has never served with anyone more that two transfers (roughly 3 months) until now. This will be the third transfer (roughly 4.5 months) serving with me. I'm looking forward to another six weeks here. I wonder if I'll make it until Christmas? :)
Well....This weeks been good. "F.M" got confirmed! He went three weeks between baptism and confirmation due to General Conference and Stake Conference. We were a bit worried! It all worked out great though.
This last Friday and Saturday we were down in Hugoton. On Saturday we were riding our bikes around talking to people. We saw a group of young guys playing basketball. We decided we'd see if they were up for a challenge. They were. So we played a few rounds of basketball with them and then we talked to them about who Jesus is. It was neat. Then later on we were riding and saw another group of guys playing football. We decided we'd go show them how real football is played! It was fun. We played a while and then it got dark and so they had to head off and so we gave them each a "I'm a Mormon" "Mormon.org" card. Speaking of which.....do you guys have those new mormon.org cards back home? If so, how are they working there? They seem to be a huge success in Colorado Springs.
So the landlords winterized our trailer in Hugoton. They have that place sealed up like nothing I've ever seen. There is plastic and duct tape everywhere! Well....the swamp cooler is all we have to cool that place down when its hot and they have it all wrapped and taped up and when we went down to Hugoton this last weekend it was about 80 degrees outside and 90 degrees in our trailer with no way to cool it down. So it was pretty miserable. It the evening we put fans outside the door and blew in all the cool air that we could (and a few bugs!) That trailer is the only downfall to Hugoton.
So you know how you sent me that little matchbox version of a Shelby GT 500 car. Well we were talking to this one guy the other day and he got to showing us a ton of road and mountain bikes that he's built and he took us into his garage and there was a Shelby GT 500. Same colors and everything. Man was it a pretty car! I fell in love with it instantly. I'm going to take my matchbox version to him and see if he wants to trade!
Well.....our cell phone exploded the other day so we've been without a phone for three days. Its been a bit difficult. I didn't realize how dependent we are on the phone! Hopefully we'll be getting another one soon.
Well...last P-day we went to the local Museum. I thought I'd throw in a few pictures from our trip. It was neat to walk around and see a little of the history of where I'm serving. We spent about two hours walking around.
So we were driving the other day and we drove past a yard sale so we decided to stop and see what they had. They had two pairs of cowboy boots but unfortunately they were both size ten. Elder Moser ended up getting both of them for $5.00. Not bad huh?!?! :) Now he's got just about the whole outfit!
Well I guess I'd better run. Enjoy the pics!
Love you all a ton
Love Elder Cryer

TEMPLE WHITE

October 12, 2010 Letter
Dear Family,
Well, I'm still alive. I have done more driving than anything lately. When I drove up to Colorado Springs for my Temple trip I drove with Elder Summers...from my original MTC group. It took about five hours to drive there. On the way I saw a DQ and so I had to stop and get myself a blizzard. I had been craving one of those for about six months! It tasted good.
It felt so good to be back in the temple. It felt like home as I walked into the Celestial Room. For the first two hours I did Initiatory work and then we all went through a session. As I sat in the Celestial Room I had such a strong feeling come over me..."What would I give to have everyone I've baptized and everyone I'm teaching here in this room with me right now?" I wanted them all there so bad. I had such a feeling of love for each one of them.
After the session we went to the cafeteria and ate a steak dinner. It was really pretty good. Then we drove back to Springs and went to the mission home. We stayed up for a bit and talked with President and Sister Pfile about the day and what we learned. The biggest thing I came away with was looking at my investigators with temple white on...not just baptism white. We can't forget why we're baptizing.
When we went to bed we all slept in the same spots that we slept in a year ago! It was like a deja vu moment! Le's start all over!
In the morning we got up, cleaned up, ate breakfast, and then bore our testimonies and began our five hour trip back to Garden City where we had interviews.
Well, today of course is P-day. We went to the Ulysses Museum today and walked around. I got a bunch of pictures. It was interesting.
We have transfers coming up pretty soon. I'll find out on the 18th if I'm staying or going. I really hope I get to stay at least one more transfer. I have a feeling I will but I'm not sure.
We just found a new guy to teach the other day. His name is Jeff. He's probably in his late 20's. He seems like a cool guy. He asked some very good questions and gave good thought to the questions we asked him. He said he would for sure read and pray about the Book of Mormon. We're going back tonight to see how he feels.
We're also working with a few others but they're struggling with commitment.
So, we were tracting earlier this week and we found a yard sale and so we looked around for a couple minutes and I found a pair of shoes! They were only one dollar! When I went to pay for them the guy insisted that I just take them. He said, "You already do so much for us and this town by being out doing what your doing...you deserve another pair of shoes." So I got a free pair of shoes!
Well, not much else is new. I cut my hair again for the millionth time! It looks dang good!
Well, I better get this in the mail before it's too late! Love you all!
Love Elder Cryer
P.S. Have a great week!

Oct 12, 2010 e-mail



Dear everybody! Well...Happy Columbus Day! That is the reason that I didn't e-mail yesterday. Did I throw off your schedule by e-mailing on Tuesday?
Well last week was a good week! As I'm sure you remember (maybe!) I went to the Denver Temple this week in celebration of my groups one year mark. It was such a great experience. We had quite a large group that went. I put a picture on this e-mail so you could see everyone!
So you went to the coast again?!?!? It looks like a great time. You know, that reminds me...This last Sunday we had Stake Conference and I was talking to this one girl....(actually in all actuality it was her talking to me. She wouldn't stop!)....but anyways she was telling me about a trip that she had gone on and she said, "...and we went to.......oh...ummm...we went to....hmmm....what was that thing called......ohhhh.....ocean! We went to the ocean....that's what it was called!"
I couldn't help but feel sorry for this poor deprived girl. She couldn't even remember what the name of the ocean was! People here in Kansas just don't get the chance to see the ocean like we do on the coast. She is about thirteen and she has only been to the ocean once in her life. Oddly enough I believe that she went to that one beach we've been to on the west coast that has the ship half buried in the sand right off the coast. That's what it sounded like from what she was explaining to me. Anyway...I thought you might enjoy hearing that.
So has the rain set in for good now? Its still sunny here! Although it has started to cool down. We're down to the mid 70's to mid 80's. There was a pretty decent sized lightning storm out east of us last Friday.
So yesterday I think that the City of Ulysses had a glitch on their electric board because the bars went down and started flashing on the railroad tracks when there was no train in either direction. (We just went around the bars and across the tracks along with all the cars doing the same!) And the tornado alarm went off twice and there was no sign of a tornado anywhere! It was a little creepy though. I kept hoping I'd finally get to see a tornado! I guess not yet!
So you got to do PMG training. I bet that was good. I get to go to a three day, thirty hour training in springs in November dealing with the new simplified curriculum. Its going to be long but I'm looking forward to it.
Well it sounds like Carson is well on his way to getting his call! That's neat. So has the game of Boggle been played yet? I wonder who will win?!
Well. I had better get headed out. I will write today and try and give you a few more details about the week!
Love you all tons!
Love Elder Cryer.

P.S. This little squirrel let us get so close to him! I thought Emma especially would like this picture!

"AM I REALLY THAT GOOD LOOKING?"

10-4-2010 letter
Dear Family,
I enjoyed getting your letter mom. That's neat that you got to attend that baptism. It's always nice when there's good member support at baptisms. Was he a child of record baptism or had the missionaries taught him?
Mmmm...a chocolate frappe sounds really good! Actually it would have a few weeks ago but believe it or not it's actually starting to cool down here! It's been in the 70's and 80's during the day. Feels good!
Well, I'm glad that you're all enjoying bearing your testimony every month. I've really enjoyed it. I feel like I've grown a lot just by bearing it. By telling people what you believe you start to be more convicted in your own belief. It's a cool process.
What? Natalie is 16? Are you sure? That's so weird! I can still see her and Emma playing make-believe in the living room. And Natalie crying when her mom would come to pick her up. Well Emma, I can't wait to hear all about your trip. That sounds like a very fun trip.
I think I told you about the goals for the last half of my mission in my last letter. Let me know if I didn't.
So mom, your goal sounds like a good one. A hard one to develop as well! (At least for me!!) Especially to get it to become a natural thing like you were talking about. How are you going about developing it?
Well, you asked about N and how her baptism came about. Well, after she got back from her 'family emergency' we went over and asked what had happened. She said that she really did have a family emergency but also she really just didn't feel ready. As we continued to talk with her we found out what her concerns were. Over the next week we went over to her house every day and really helped her feel ready for her baptism. She was ready when the next Sunday came around. Then the following Sunday was the day for her confirmation. When we went by she was having a very hectic day. She said that today wouldn't work. We explained why it was so important for her to do it that day. With a little explaining and prodding we finally got her to agree to come.
It has taken a year...well a little less... to figure out that there is no perfectly smooth conversion process. There must needs be opposition in all things definitely applies to every individuals conversion process. The adversary always throws road blocks in the way, every time, without fail. Which makes sense because these people are about to enter onto the straight and narrow path. They are about to receive the Holy Ghost and 'have it with them at all times'. Of course he would want to stop that. But we also know that the power of God has a greater affect and power on people. So as long as they want to they can choose what they know is true.
So, that's N's story.
Well, lets see...what else is new? Oh, funny story.
So the other day we were in Wal-mart picking up a few needed items. We were standing in an isle when these four girls walked by and then stopped as they passed us and said, "Both of you are named Elder?"
I said, "Yeah, that's crazy isn't it?!...No, actually it's a title."
"Oh, O.K." they said, and kept walking and then they said, with a slightly confused expression, "A title for what?"
We explained that we were missionaries and what we were out talking about. Then, trying desperately to get these girls to move on we said, "Here...we'll give you each a card." So we handed each of them a Salt Lake Temple pass-along card. They took them and then we all went our separate ways. Well, for a second anyway. About a minute later I got a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and there was one of the four girls with the other three not far behind her. She said, "I'm sorry...my friend is mental and she was wondering if you had a different picture."
So I gave her a different one. She thanked me and then they left. Don't you wish the story was over? Well, I wish I could say it was...but it's not.
So about 5 minutes later we get cornered by three new girls! (I'm thinking: "What's going on? Am I really that good looking?!!:)
Well, once they cornered us they asked, "Are you the guys handing out the pictures of the castle?"
We told them that it actually wasn't a castle but that it was a temple. Then we gave each of them a card and made them promise that they would call the number on it (that will hook them up to the referral center at the MTC) and then we asked, "Where are all you girls from? Are you all together?"
They told us that they were from Colorado Springs and they were down for a volleyball tournament. We wished them a good stay in Kansas and then we left Wal-mart as quick as we could! It was very amusing but a little awkward because we had a few people looking at us wondering why we were always surrounded by girls when we were shopping! It was funny.
Well, it looks like I'll be cutting Elder Mosers hair today. Wish me luck....and him!
Well, I better let you go. I love you all. I hope to hear that you had a great week.
Love you
Love Elder Cryer
P.S. By the way...my week just got less hectic because I found out that the team ups in Liberal were canceled. Sweet!

WHO IS THAT MASKED MISSIONARY?

October 4, 2010 e-mail



Dear Family.....
hello again!
Another week has come and gone. Whats this about conference you were saying? General Conference wasn't this week was it? I'm pretty sure it wasn't because we never heard anything about it. Oh.....General Conference! Now I remember! :) Yes...that was awesome! I got a ton of great notes that I need to go back and study! I can't wait until the Ensign comes out as well...I always love going back and reading the talks.
Well...the dinner before the priesthood session was really good. Surprisingly it consisted basically of all meat! I don't think there was a single vegetable there.....except for a few jalapenos! It was way good though. And we had homemade ice cream and brownies and apple crisp. Very delicious.
So after dinner we all went into the chapel to watch conference and they were like "Oh dang it....we forgot to set up the projector!" Imagine that.....they were all so preoccupied with the food that they forgot to get conference ready! (I guess that explains why we were really there!) So we got the sound turned on at least and then we scrambled to get the projector set up. We eventually got it all working but we had to listen to the first ten minutes or so without the picture! It was funny.
We had an investigator at the priesthood session which was good but we haven't had a chance yet to follow up with him. He seemed to enjoy it though.
Sunday conference was good but there was practically no one at the church to watch it. They were all watching it at home.....at least that's what we think! The first Sunday session there were 7 of us (including us) and the second session there were only 3 of us (including us!).
Well this week I am going to be very busy! I did a little math and found that over the course of the entire week we will only be working in our area for a grand total of 13.5 hours. For the whole week! Tonight we're going to Liberal to do team ups with the Elders there from Tuesday to Wednesday. Then on Wednesday night we'll travel back and then on Thursday I'll head to Garden City and then off to Colorado Springs and then off to Denver to the temple. Then Thursday evening we'll travel back to Colorado Springs and then stay the night there. On Friday we'll do a few more things in Springs and then we will head back to Garden City for interviews. When interviews are over then we'll finally come back to Ulysses. Ah....if only it were over. But no......then on Saturday we have to go to Garden City again for Stake Conference and then come back to Ulysses after-wards and then go up to Garden again on Sunday for Stake Conference. When Stake Conference ends then we will finally come back to Ulysses to stay. Whew.....are you exhausted yet? Because I am.....and it hasn't even happened yet! :)
I've been thinking about making some oven pancakes for Elder Moser. He has never even heard of them. The problem is that I don't remember exactly how to make them. Do you think you could send me the recipe and instructions? That would be awesome!
So...about the canoe....either way would be fine with me. Just don't get rid of my kayak!
About the debit card....it expires 8/11. So that's like one month before I come home.
I can't believe that you don't have any pictures for me. Boy do I have some for you!
F.'s uncle is a biker and has a motorcycle covered in skulls and stuff and we found his helmet while we were talking to F. and decided to have a little fun! Enjoy!!! Oh, also....Ciara's dogs had puppies....aren't they cute! There are six of them.
Well...Love you guys....Hope you have a less hectic week then me!!! I'll get my letter off to you soon!
Love Elder Cryer.....(A.K.A. Ben)

P.S.....for anyone else who may be reading this ;) I love getting letters!!! :

Elder Benjamin Cryer
4090 Center Park Drive
Colorado Springs, CO 80916

(Hmmm....lets see if that does anything for me!!!) :)

MY 2nd YEAR GAME PLAN

9-28-2010 Letter

Dear Family,
Man, It has been an awesome few weeks. I have had such a sense of urgency. I'm really starting to realize how short a mission is. In my letter for my Temple Jubilee it said to come with a clear idea of my goals for the next year of my mission. As I have been thinking about it I have been thinking that the only way to improve my mission is to improve myself. So, I think that I am going to study and apply a Christ-like attribute every month. There are nine listed in PMG so for the last three months I will re-study and continue to try and apply.
I also want to memorize (and study) at least two key scriptures every month. That would give me 24 key scriptures.
I have also decided to slow down my Book of Mormon reading to once every two months instead of once every 6 weeks. I feel like that will give me more time to really study. I have read it four times since I came out. So by the time I finish I will have read it ten times total on my mission.
The other thing I want to do is what is taught in D&C 11:21. I want to really 'obtain the word'. I am going to study lesson 1 for a month, then lesson 2, then lesson 3, and then 4. Then I will start back at 1. That way I can study each lesson for one month each three times over the course of my remaining twelve months. (Did that make sense?!)
So, that's my game plan. What do you think? Do you have any other ideas?
Thanks for your letter Sam! It was good to hear from you.
Yes! I am doing great! I think that I'm starting to get over the fact that a flippin' chihuahua ate my dinner!
Wow! So...Relief Society President?! How is that going? I bet that's a little stressful! You could always use my game plan...just transfer your records! It sounds like you got some great counselors...and a great secretary (even though I don't know Katie as well as I know the other two).
That is just embarrassing that you got passed by a butterfly! I'm glad it was while you were on your bikes and not in the car. That really would have been something!
There has been a ton of little flying bugs in the air here. It's nasty when we're riding our bikes towards the evening because the air is full of them. We have to brush off our shirts when we get to our destination.
That sounds like quite the sight...you all crowded around the sink trying to get the juice can out of the drain! I'm glad that you were finally able to get it out! (Good idea...with the tongs.)
Well, I'm sorry to hear that work is boring. Hopefully it will pick up soon. I guess it's not too bad if you get paid to chat or read though!
Well Emma....I have to agree with Sam. Your cartoons are amazing! I wish that I could watch you draw one because I'm still trying to believe that you are actually drawing those! You picked up on those very quick. I agree with Sam also on her idea that you should start doing a monthly comic strip for the Morning Toast. I think that would be awesome.
So, about the baptism this last Sunday. His name is F.M. He is originally from L.A. but he is here for work. His baptism was so awesome. He had been really concerned about the number of people that were going to be there because he is a little shy. Well, there was a very good turn out. There were about forty people that came. I was the one who got to baptize him. After the baptism, while we were changing, I asked him how he did with that big crowd. He said it was great! It was neat to hear because we had promised him that those shy feelings would go away when he got baptized. His baptism was a very spiritual experience.
Well, today we got our car all washed. It's looking mighty fine. Somehow I ended up washing it all by myself. Elder Moser sorta put himself in charge of working the hose! Oh well...it worked I guess!
So do you remember Kurtis Pugh? He was my very first baptism on my mission. Well, I heard from him the other day. He told me the best thing that I could have dreamed of hearing. He told me that he is getting ready to go on a mission. It just filled me with so much joy and gratitude! He is going to be an amazing missionary! I can't wait to hear where he will get called to.
Well, I guess I'll let you go on that happy note!
I'm glad your all doing good! Thank you all so much for everything you do for me. Both things I see and know about and the things I don't see. It means a lot to me. I love each of you so much!
Love Elder Cryer

ANOTHER BAPTISM!!!

Sept 27, 2010 e-mail
Hello once again! I hope this e-mail finds you all happy!!! How are you all doing? Has the rain continued? The weather here is perfect right now! Its sunny, in the high 80's, and a cool breeze. I love it! I wouldn't mind at all if it stayed like this all winter long! It's not too hot and not too cold!
Thanks for the pictures! I think that I'd only seen one of them before...but I don't mind seeing them again! :) Man.....I really can't wait to go to the coast again. It looks so nice and relaxing! I literally have not seen a large body of water (like, even lake status) in over 8 months!!! There is a tiny little pond outside of Ulysses a mile or so that I have been to once but its man-made and not much to speak of. I may be suffering from aquaphobia when I get home!!!
Well I can't believe that I was absent for that Bob and Bill der moment. That does sound very similar to our many "der" moments!!! Hey...we always figured it out.........e....v....e....n....t....u....a....l....l....y! As long as we get paid by the hour we're in good shape!
So you and Sam and Mom went to the Relief Society broadcast? It was good wasn't it. Yes...I was there as well! Don't tell anyone. Can you believe that?! After 20 years I finally got to go to one! No, actually the reason I was there (Along with Elder Moser of course) was because they were doing a dinner at the church for the sisters and they told us to just come eat dinner with them. So I only got to hear the very first talk.
Well, we haven't actually eaten at the Mennonite restaurant yet. We have been there multiple times but they're always closed. Our last attempt we called to see if they were open and they were but they were charging $7.00 for lunch. We decided to pass. I know, I know....we're tight wads. :)
So guess what?!?!?!?!?! I have awesome news! We were blessed with another baptism this Sunday. He was so excited to be baptized. We found him two Mondays ago. He is 20 years old. He loved his baptism and loves the church!
(Pic 1 and 2 are at his baptism)
I also thought you might like to see a picture of my beautiful B-day cake that you sent and I baked! Elder Mosers 20th B-day is Oct 5th and so we decided to just do a joint B-Day! (Hence, both the badges!) It turned out really good! Very tasty!
(Pic 3 is the cake!)
So I guess that I'll be sending home that picture card soon! I thought that was one that I had sent and got back but I guess not! I'll get on that!
Well....I'll give you more info about the baptism and other stuff in my letter but for now I gotta run!
Love you all! Keep being awesome and doing great!
Love Elder Cryer!!!

P.S. I havn't done it yet....but would it be dumb to sell my blue pinstripe suit for $80.00 and put that towards a suit that has longer pants? What are your feelings? I'm not sure if I even want to do it. I'm just thinkin! (I had someone offer.)

APOLOGY FROM THE 'BLOG MASTER'

Is that what they call the person who keeps the blog up-dated? Well, anyway, I am way behind in my posting of Elder Cryer's letters and I do apologize. I will work hard to get caught up over the next couple days and then try to keep on top of it.
Sincerely,
The Mom!

September 13, 2010 Letter

So have you been dying for the exciting news? B, N.H.'s husband, got baptized. They had the wedding on Saturday and baptism the following day. It went really well. The ward gave great support and great talks and provided great refreshments. They have a son who turns eight in November and we were telling B that he could baptize him. He was way excited for that.
So on the 7th of this month there was a member who was going to drop dinner off at 6:00 pm at our apartment. We were running a little late and so we called them. Well they were just pulling into our driveway. We were about three minutes away and they were in a rush and so they said they'd just drop it off by our door. So three minutes later we ride up to the door...and we find our dinner....all over! There was dumb little chihuahua who was destroying our dinner! So there went our dinner. Anyway, a few days later we learned that that dumb dog lives behind our apartment next door. So we equipped ourselves with a water gun to torment the dog! We watch for him to run by and then we open the window, spray him, and then close the window before anyone can see what happened! It's very funny.
Guess what?! I made beef jerky a few days ago. It wasn't the best flavor for jerky but the texture was good. I'll try my hand at another batch later.
Thanks for your journal entry/letter mom. It is great being a part of someones conversion. There is nothing better than listening to an investigator or recent convert teach you. I have really seen that with N. She loves it, she studies it, she asks about it. It's so awesome to see.
It sounds like the 11 year old day camp went well. I can only imagine what the primal cave man yell was like. I imagine that they really got into it!
It sounds like you had a stressful shopping experience getting ready for the camp. A little too much to remember it all?
So, dad got a mini-blizzard?! How was it? I have been dying for a blizzard for the past five months but there are no DQ's here! Maybe someday I will satisfy my craving.
To answer your question...yes, I have seen a flag retirement ceremony. Only one...but still...that counts, right? It is a neat thing to see. And a neat thing to feel. I remember feeling a similar feeling when Sam and I played a bunch of patriotic songs at the retirement home on September 11 (9/11). It was a wonderful, hard to describe feeling.
Well, you asked if C got baptized on the 22nd. No. She ended up not getting baptized until the 28th. But she did get baptized.
So Sam, how is your bee stung foot? Has it stopped swelling? Has the fuzzy headed-ness gone?
That's exciting that Brett got called to Arizona! There is a young man from the ward here in Ulysses who just got his call to Arizona as well. His name is Richard Seger. That would be cool if they served together.
Have you heard anything about where Carson is at in the mission process? I keep hoping that he gets called to the CCS Mission! That would be crazy awesome!
I was wondering dad...what is the average number of baptisms per month for the stake? I was just curious. Or is that classified information?!
That ward mission plan looks very good. Who is the ward mission leader now? Do I even know him? Would I even recognize the ward if I saw it?
Well, I think I filled you in on all my random stories and facts in my e-mail so I guess I will throw this in an envelope and send it on it's way over to Eugene Oregon! (Unlike last week when I forgot to send it! Or the week before...whatever week that was.)
Well, Love ya!
Take good care of yourselves.
Love Elder Cryer
P.S. Elder Moser and I are going to head down to the high school and play some tennis. Watch out pro's...here we come!