Monday, February 23, 2015

New zone with a new companion - 23 February 2015 Centerville, UT


Founders Park is a really amazing area and the people here are great! We have been pretty busy with finding. Elder Celis is really good with keeping a balance of finding and teaching and baptizing but still finding. He is a really good teacher and leader. He has been helping me fix several small things I've been doing wrong which is great because some rules it's hard to know exactly what it's saying. We picked up a couple people and helped one understand baptism a little more. He hasn't gotten a "confirmation" but we helped him understand the importance of goals and exercising faith. It was a pretty neat experience. We have been teaching a pastor...haha...he was calm the first lesson but wow he got super intense last lesson. 

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Recent photos of Elder Kremer - 14th & 15th February 2015




from a mom on 14 February 2015


from friends of theirs on 15 February 2015
Elder Kremer and his companion.  Elder Kremer is a little crazy.
I think it would be difficult for me to hold a snake . . . our brave missionary. 




Friday, February 20, 2015

Mission XP - 26 January 2015

So I was in a sacrament meeting yesterday and there was a sister giving her farewell talk and it was so cool because she said she left for two years and wasn't going to go on a mission but then she really felt she needed to (it was a really good experience) so she came home and put in her papers and she just reminded me so much of Erika...I was gonna cry :) I'm so proud of you Erika. So this week there were so many miracles. We picked up three new investigators and put one on date and her parents are less active but working on becoming active. We were able to set up a couple of appointments with people that we thought we would never be able to talk to. It was pretty awesome, and a great reminder to always have a constant prayer in your heart. Some times you are going to get opportunities to share the gospel or just talk to someone and your not always going to have time to kneel and say a prayer which is why we need to always stay close to our Heavenly Father and no matter what happens follow what he has given us. The closer we stay to Him the faster we will be able to access and create a spiritual environment and having the spirit with US is the only way THEY are going to be able to learn and know what you teach is true. I love you guys. I can't believe I've already been out 4 months.


Photos of Christmas from home - 22 December 2014


Elder Kremer's first time visiting with Santa. Santa was not the focus of our Christmas at home.



These two photos are from his Christmas box - a little family tradition in a box.



First Baptism! - 13 December 2014

So triston is my first baptism! It was super awesome. He started off just asking a couple questions at dinner one night and from them he has just grown so much. He truly believes and loves what the Savior has done for us. His whole life he has wanted to help people, he and his girlfriend have been trying to go downtown and just hand out alot of hamburgers to the homeless. It's really cool. Our last lesson with him he said that he had decided to go on a mission. We had been talking about it a couple times. After his confirmation he said, "one year and then I'll be out on my mission" it is super cool. The tie I'm wearing in the last picture is my confirmation tie. Oh yea also I got to do my first confirmation! It was awesome! OK in the middle picture the left missionary, Elder Needs, he was my first trainer. He was at the baptism because we started teaching Triston together.  Anyway you guys are awesome! I miss y'all.  MORMON.  KNOW IT. LIVE IT. LOVE IT.



Tristan is the young man on the right.

The missionary kneeling, Elder Scarlett, is my companion 
right now and my second half trainer. 

Elder Scarlett and the sister missionary in the red jacket are actually 
from the same area and came out the same time.

22 December 2014 The song he wrote


Elder Kremer started writing this song a few years ago while still in high school. He was not able to come up the right way to finish it. Thanks to his companions being District Leaders mostly they have had lots of training sessions and during those sessions he has had time to finish his song.



Mission XP - 24 November 2014

Hey everyone! We had transfers Wednesday. Elder Needs is gone now in Kurrens and I was sad but my new companion, Elder Scarlett, is pretty awesome and is bringing alot of new ideas, that have been working, to the table. Elder Needs and I had alot of the same ideas and ways of teaching so it's actually very nice to have something totally new helping me. We got a referral Thursday from a R.S.M. she got back from her mission about a year ago and she has been talking to her sister in law about the gospel and she has been going to church and it's just been awesome! We had a great first lesson with her. we challenged her to pray in our next lesson because we had asked her to the first lesson and she said she didn't feel comfortable so we challenged her to pray out loud with her husband to prepare for when we asked again and she did. She didn't except out invitation to be baptized but she will soon we can feel it. She is stuck on not knowing enough right now, which is understandable, but you never know enough. It's just an exercise of faith and that what we told her but she is super excited for out next meetings this week. Yesterday, Sunday, was the first Sunday we had to go home and get something and since we were there we had a quick bite to eat. We had a lesson with Triston, who is going to be baptized 12-13-14 and after the lesson they fed us lunch. so first Sunday eating lunch and we ended up having two lunches. But wait there's more. We also had our regular dinner appointment and right after that the Lee's, who are fellowshipping Alivia, who I think i've mentioned before, fed us dinner. we already knew that was going to happen. I felt like a hobbit except they still eat more. the awesome funny not so funny thing though is earlier that week I was telling Elder Scarlett that I didn't like fish or at least I hadn't last time I tried it but that was a while ago so next time someone asked if we wanted fish I was going to say absolutley, because sometimes they ask us what we like and don't like. Well with out knowing that both families we ate with served fish. Fish and Salmon haha double dose. I actually liked it though so hey...something new! anyway, I still miss all of you guys. Time is just flying by. The day after Christmas will be my three month mark, how crazy is that. see ya'll next week.

Missionary Training Center email #1- 29 September 2014

Hey, thank you. I wrote a letter for you guys two days ago but I couldn't remember the address so I still have the letter. I'll send it as soon as possible. I've been doing great so far. Oh my gosh the MTC is so much different than I thought it would be. There is so much information just being thrown at us in so little time it's so crazy. We don't have to much free time but that's fine because you know we aren't doing this for us. Anyway today was our first temple trip this morning and afterwards I felt sooo refreshed. It was definitely exactly what I needed. I'll send pictures next monday I've taken a few and I'm really getting into it- to just calm down and relax. Yesterday when we went to go see the temple I just took several pictures that were just for fun, I see why dad likes it so much now, I have a really nice flower picture with a field in the background. Mom you can send care packages I would love that. 

Mission XP - 27 October 2014

HEY! Almost one month out and I'm super excited! This week was awesome! So we have been teaching the Lee's niece. Her name is Alivia she's 18 and she is pretty much a golden investigator. She's been doing alot of research on the gospel but she was reading from books with some truth and mostly lies. The cool thing is she new which parts were true obviously because of the Holy Ghost. Anyway, the first lesson we had with her was on the restoration and she believed that she had a few questions that we cleared up pretty smoothly, the next lesson was on the plan of salvation but it was kind of a disaster she had what seemed like a hundred questions that just went everywhere and she didn't really like the concept of the atonement she didn't like the idea of not being responsible for what you did and Jesus taking on that pain. I was just trying to explain it we all did and we thought she finally understood it until she said she didn't want the atonement. the mood just totally changed and the thing is she didn't say that in a bad way she is a really awesome person who is humble and believes in Heavenly Father and everything we've discussed with her on the Book of Mormon you had to be there to understand how she was saying it. Anyway she said it and after about 30 minutes talking about that we got back to the plan of salvation. When we left Elder Needs was just down because things had been going great and then this and it took him a couple days to get out of it but he did just in time because we had another discussion planned for yesterday and yesterday morning during comp. (companionship study) We prayed about what we should teach her and after the prayer Elder Needs just said he had a feeling we should teach her about the Holy Ghost and the importance of it and that made so much sense to me she has so many questions that we can't answer but hey there's this crazy thing called the Holy Ghost that can so we role played kind of the outline of what we would do (by the way I'm getting really good at leading the discussions that is something I've been doing more and getting better at it) so we got to the Gibsons which is her friends parents house, they are members. So we are teaching Alivia with two sets of parents and two daughters which was just a little terrifying at first but when we started talking I just tunnel visioned on her for the beginning and niether of us can really remember what we said but I do know everything we said she was receiving perfectly. she had a question on why some people wouldn't get the Holy Ghost or feel it and I just started talking its no joke when I say I had no idea where I was going with it and I can remember that I had no idea what to say to that but I started talking and it was so cool because everything I was saying was coming back to me just like in John 14:26 and you'll never guess what she said after the discussion...she said, "thats exactly what I needed to hear," and we extended the baptism invitation and she said yes no actually she told us she wanted to be baptised and we asked her how 11/28 said and we found out she was planning on going back home then. She was literally looking for plane tickets to go back to kentucky and we all think she needs to stay hear a little longer and she thinks that to. So many amazing things happened yesterday so many things where said that were prompted and unplanned and it was just perfect. I love it I love how when you really pray for someone and you love who you teach and you truly only teach them and not the lessons the Holy Ghost helps you say exactly what needs to be said.   

Mission XP - 20 October 2014

MIRACLE TIME! This is super awesome. Friday evening we felt like we had wasted time. We had only been to two houses in two hours and were just talking to the families. So we got into the car and agreed that we needed to pray for forgiveness and ask for guidance on how we could better spend our time. I think we only had thirty minutes before we needed to be home but that's not the important part. The important part is when we were planning for Saturday. First we prayed, and we didn't know what to do from 1p.m-2p.m so I was thinking hard and this was the first time I actually helped with the planning, for the last week I was just seeing what they did, anyway, so I said let's go knock on doors. It was kind of weird because in Utah you barely ever just knock on doors but I said it anyway and Elder Needs told me to pick the ward area we would do it in because he already knew the areas and he didn't want that to get in the way of where we needed to go. So I thought about it and I said we should go to the second ward. I had no idea who was in the second ward. So Saturday came and so did the miracle. we had planned on going through 3 to 4 streets in and hour, it seemed reasonable. Well, on the first street we hit 3 members and 1 non member who so politely said we're not Mormons and we're not gonna be. (I was hoping for a door slam, no such luck) them we got to the fifth house. Her name is Sharry and many a missionaries have come to her door to try to get her to come back to church. She is active and lives the commandment, well all except keeping the Sabbath day holy, anyway for some reason she let us in we talked a little while and I shared with her the importance of Sacrament. The covenants. So because she is an active member minus church I went off sacrement and how she doesnt get to take it not being there and all so I offered for us to bring it to her which I don't think we are aloud to actually do but I was just saying it, it's what I felt needed to be said. and that opened her up. She asked three huge questions that really makes us think she's going to start comming to church again. Also, I forgot to mention that while we were at her house Leroy (an investigator we haven't been able to contact) showed up at her house to cut down a tree for her. They knew each other! They work together and we taught them both at the same time Saturday and got an appointment for next Saturday to teach them at Leroy's house. It was awesome because Leroy was telling Sharry she should go to church and said he'd go if she did and in our heads Elder Needs, Collins, and I were just cheering like woooh yea Leroy who just so happens to be a close friend of Sharry's tell her she should go to church! Any way that was the last house we were able to go to during that hour but it was obviously where we needed to be.

Mission XP - 1st monday in his first area 14 October 2014

Everything is awesome! OK so I got out here Wednesday and after all the new missionaries went through a couple small info sessions we got our new companions. Elder Needs (District ldr) and Elder Collins are my two companions. They've been out about 17-18 months each and neither of them have been in a tripanionship which is kind of funny because I was in one in the MTC so a trio is all I know haha anyway we started teaching right away and it was awesome! I didn't have a problem teaching like I though I would it's been going so smooth. Elder needs starts it off then we just talk about one thing and set it up for the next one to take it way. IT's so amazing and we aren't just teaching the lessons we ask aseveral questions to get them involved and bring out a little of there testimony then we just feed off of what they feel It's amazing how the Holy Ghost works in different people. Chris is an amazing person. He is a non-member but how he sees everything is so different and spectacular he believes everything we are teaching him and apparently he had a baptism date for this Saturday. He has a son with his girlfriend and Elder Needs thought he was married but we taught him the law of chstity and the word of wisdom and we found out he wasn't because he asked us a couple questions starting with "my partner or my partner and I" he's accepted the word of wisdom and is going to live it. He has no problem with that, he meditates and know beverages like that make you not be able to think right and he has even added sugar to that but the more impresive thing is he is going to talk to his girlfriend about getting married which he feels she wants to and he knows that Heavenly Father really does want him to live fully of the law of chastity so he said, "I'll do whatever the lord wants me too." Reminds you a little of Nephi right? Anyway there are more investigators and less actives and just so many and I love all of them so much. I came out here already set in mind that no matter what I was going to love everyone but I dont even have to force it I just love everyone so much anyway. You know what is crazy though is when we knocked on a return missionaries house who fell away from the church and is now a Jehovah's Witness when we left we were just like what? Really? uhggh it doesn't make sense.  I can't wait for a door to be slammed in my face though! For some reason I want that to happen just once so I can laugh. Anyway, I love you all and I miss you guys!

Elder Kremer's first area is South Jordan, UT- 8 October 2014


The evening Elder Kremer arrived in South Jordan I received a text from a missionary mom saying, "I just fed your son his first meal in the field." Of course I burst into tears because I was so thankful for modern technology. When Howard served in Texas . . . many moons ago there was only "snail" mail so mission moms didn't have the opportunity to send photos so readily because photos were all paper- not digital. While technology can be harmful if used incorrectly I am so grateful for the righteous way in which it is being used to keep missionary moms and families informed of their "stippling warriors," as Helaman speaks of the young men in the Book of Mormon, who are serving our Heavenly Father willingly. 

His first assignment was actually a tripanionship. It was like that for several weeks.




Here are a few other photos that were sent to me in the first few weeks of Elder Kremer being in South Jordan.
Two days after the above photo was taken - at the same members house.

In West Jordan on a split with a different companion for the day.

Do some service for a member a few days after he went on the split in West Jordan.

Arrival at the Mission Home in Sandy, UT- 8 October 2014 - Elder Kremer's Mission address

This is the email we received when Elder Kremer arrived at the Mission Home. This brought great comfort to us as he was our first missionary, and the youngest of our children. Prior to leaving to serve a mission he had not be away from home for more than a week at a time.

THE CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST
OF  LATTER-DAY SAINTS
Utah Salt Lake City South Mission
8060 South 615 East
Sandy, Utah 84070

Dear Parents of Elder Kremer,
What a pleasure it was to welcome Elder Kristofer Aaron Kremer into the Utah Salt Lake City South Mission.  He arrived October 8th.  His first day with us included lunch and orientation at the mission office, and of course, meeting his companion. I am impressed by his desire to serve.  He is well and in high spirits as he anticipates the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.  Please be assured that we will be watching over him while he is here.  I'm attaching photographs taken as we welcomed him at the mission office.
After prayerful consideration, excellent missionaries,  have been assigned as his first companions.  I am attaching our Family Guidelines which we urge you to follow.  We have learned from experience the importance of family and friends following these guidelines.  Please share the guidelines with those who may write to him.  Your compliance of these guidelines can reinforce your missionary's willingness to follow the guidelines in the Missionary Handbook.
Please email your son each week and send any hard-copy letters and packages to the mission, addressed to your son at the address listed above. 
Thank you for raising such an outstanding young person, worthy and willing to serve the Lord full time in our mission.  I know you will be blessed for the sacrifices that make his service possible.  May the Lord's choicest blessings be yours.
Sincerely, President Chambers
Robert E. Chambers
Mission President


Missionary Training Center email #2 - 6 October 2014, General Conference weekend - A few days before going to the Mission Home

Oh my goodness yes! General Conference was amazing! I loved Elder Bednar's talk in the last session I laughed a lot. It is probably just because I'm on my mission, but it felt like many of the talks at General Conference were focused on the missionaries. I don't know, maybe I just got more out of them because I'm trying to take anything that I can apply to my mission from any source.  I love how you phrased, "I reckon that it is good that I have no money to duck hunt this year as I have no dogs now to hunt with." I'm having a great time and still learning but I am sooo ready to get out of the MTC like seriously lets get this thing started you know what I'm saying ;) 

There was a short period two or three days ago in which I was tested in my testimony, faith, and patience. We were doing role plays and Elder Johnson, who always asks the most difficult questions, asked something pertaining to the priesthood. Why is it necessary? I was already baptized, where in the bible does it show Jesus giving the priesthood to his disciples, which by the way is Luke 9:1, I couldn't answer it- none of us could. So I did the next best thing, I bore my testimony on it. I should mention that both times I'd bore my testimony before were with Agitha and Ben Smith they are TRC investigators, when I bore my testimony with Agitha it was on the Atonement which is the strongest part of my testimony and after that lesson both my companions said that the spirit was so unbelievably strong in there and when we got back to the classroom Elder Egan said he could feel it as we were walking into the classroom, the other time I bore it on the sacrament and baptism, which means so much more to me now that I have a fuller understanding of it- and it wasn't as strong but it was still strong and I feel it did something for Ben. 


I don't know, anyway during role play when I bore my testimony on the priesthood I kind of felt something then BAM we'd just gone in a circle back to the question and it was a setback- understandably. And for some reason instead of going forth and searching for the answer my mind started asking me questions like why didn't that do anything? I didn't feel anything, do I not have faith in that, is that why I couldn't answer his question. I started questioning myself in everything. It was the worst feeling I'd ever had. I described it in my journal as the feeling of death. I prayed for the longest time that night and the feelings I had in the classroom earlier (which I'll tell you about in a second) overwhelmed me indescribably and everything I knew came back and I'm so much stronger now through that experience. I feel it was something I needed to go through before I actually started in the mission field. Now, earlier that day we did an exercise where each of us took turns in a chair and were asked questions from the other Elders for a minute and a half but only questions that they felt prompted to ask. I was last to go up there and I was already crying the spirit was so strong it was amazing. When I got in the chair every single question I had was a question either relating to or exactly what I had been praying for and about. The two that were most important then, and as I'm typing this I'm feeling the spirit in waves through my body, were How do you know your Heavenly Father loves you? and (I'm not sure exactly how this one was asked but) What are you doing yourself to better be like Jesus? Every experience with the Holy Ghost, every moment in which I could feel it previously in my life can not, combined, comparably match up to how much I felt it then and what difference, what an impact it had on me. It was the answer to my prayers both the ones I had been having and the one (as I before mentioned) that I would be having later that night. What I have been praying for every night it to be able to be as loving as our Heavenly Father, to be more patient and understanding, and to continuously be strong throughout everyday. and through the questions the other Elders asked me I received my answers. It was such an important and amazing experience. I love you all so very much.