FOR THE RECORD - THE SPIRIT OF GOD IS AMAZING!

July 18, 2011 Letter
Dear Family,
Well, it's another hot day here in Colorado Springs. It's been hot and humid the last few days. I'll take it over the cold though! I like the cold when I don't have to go out in it!
I got your letter Emma! Thanks....it was a nice long one too! It is always fun to hear what's going on. Your birthday bash sounds fun! Sounds like you've developed a good group of friends. And you had an ice-cream cake huh? Those are so good! Maybe I'll buy me one of those for my birthday this year. Or better yet, convince my comp to buy it for me!
So they must have come out with new flavors for the Berty Botts beans because I don't remember 'skunk spray' and 'canned dog food'. Those sound gross!
Well, Elder Hakes and I have had some good laughs lately. I think you really had to be there to really think it was funny though. Like, this one time we went to go see a potential. We knocked on the door and were just standing on the porch waiting. Well, there was a statue of a bear (like one of those chainsaw carved wood bears). Well, it was holding a sign that said, "Bear hugs 5 cents each." Elder Hakes was just staring at it for 30 seconds and then he turned and looked at me and said, "Beware of hugs." I gave him a confused look....looked down at the sign then back at him and said, "Um...it says Bear Hugs." He turned back to look at the sign and then we both started cracking up! We have a lot of completely random funny moments like that. It keeps things fun and alive though. I always try to get my companions to laugh. Missionary work needs humor! It's way to stressful without it.
I think I told you about the single mom and the service we did for her right? That was neat. We also did some service for some non-members who have a son (who is a member) on a mission. Their daughter is getting married so they're prepping their house for the reception. We removed some dirt and moved some lumber and dug post holes, mixed cement, and set the posts. It was fun. Then he fed us some lunch. Hamburgers, hot dogs and salad with some Sobe drinks
While we've been tracting lately people have told us to come back later and they'll talk with us. So hopefully they mean it and we can go teach them soon. We had a neat experience the other day. We went to see a guy we've been teaching. He's been through a lot lately and has really been struggling. We've been going by to visit him but it still seemed he had a lot of concerns. We went by this last time and talked for a bit and then he said, "You know, there's something that you mentioned when you first came over that I've been thinking about a lot. I want to get baptized." It was totally not what I was expecting! It was so neat. So we set a date for the 31st of July. We are all excited for it. So, for the record....the spirit of God is amazing! It has made a change in this man. The last time we went to see him he was so much happier than the first time we met him. God offers happiness to everyone! It's the gospel. It's simple. Yet so many people struggle to find it. They try to find alternatives....but there are none. I love when people accept the gospel. It's a great thing to be a part of.
Then there's the flip side. We recently had an investigator...(well, I think it was the investigators boyfriend) text us and ask us to not come over anymore. It's hard to drop people like that. She was so solid. But we have to respect their decisions. She is in the area book so with time she will be ready again.
Well, I really need to get this off! I feel bad it's gonna be later than usual again. Sorry! We are so busy right now, which is a good thing but it makes it hard to write quickly!
Love you all!
Love Elder Cryer