Memories

This semester I am taking a family history class.  It is pretty cool.  One of our assignments for this week is to write a story about one of our ancestors and post it on Familysearch.org.  Here is my story:

One of my strongest memories of Grandpa Gary is his sourdough pancakes.  Every time we went to the ranch we would have Grandpa’s famous sourdough pancakes for breakfast.  I would wake up and wander into the kitchen to sit at that long, wooden, oval table.  My favorite was to sit on the bench against the wall.  Grandpa would be standing at the stove, spatula in hand, watching the pancakes.  Then he would bring over a plate full of tiny pancakes, all the size of a silver dollar.  On the table there would be melted butter and hot syrup to pour all over the little pieces of deliciousness.  They were the tastiest pancakes I ever ate.  My favorite was when Grandpa would start making Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes.  Grandpa always made sure breakfast at the ranch was marvelous.  Now I have some of the same sourdough starter that he used.  It is an heirloom that I can use forever, a tasty reminder of my Grandpa and breakfast at the ranch.

The sourdough champion himself, cowboy hat and all.

Moving up in the world

This week marks a monumental moment in my life.  I, M. Riley Creer, bought a motorcycle.  Holler.  Since high school I have wanted to upgrade from the moped to a motorcycle (in essence from boyhood to manhood).  Well I'm pleased to announce that I have done it.  It is a 1982 Honda XL185S and it's a beaut.

I plan to fix it up and take it to school as my main mode of transportation.  Good thing I have heaps of knowledge about motorcycles (not to mention fixing them).  It will certainly be an adventure, an adventure mostly spent, I'm sure, on YouTube watching repair tutorials.  It will all be worth it though, here's the vision: me rocketing off into the sunset on my shiny, rust-free, 185cc stallion...with a gorgeous girl on back, holding onto me like...well you get the idea.


I'm open to suggestions on what to name my trusty new steed.  Just write it in a comment.

That hurts the team...

This past Wednesday I went skiing.  I couldn't wear my glasses (it's a long story that is actually very boring).  I'd been skiing twice without my glasses and had no problems so I thought Wednesday would be the same.  Well it wasn't.  First run of the day we go into this bowl area littered with moguls and other hazards.  I decided the safest thing would be to follow right behind my brother.  So off we go.  Sam is a marvelous skier.  I'm only half marvelous.  So naturally he pulled farther ahead of me and disappeared around this grove of trees.  I zoomed around the trees trying to catch up and was knocked flat on my back.  I literally didn't see it coming.  Pause.  Rewind....Stop.  Now play in slow motion.  I came around the trees and caught a glimpse of an orange rope.  It was too late to react.  The rope caught me by the neck and threw me to the ground.  Laying there, I felt like an idiot.  I cautiously made my way to the lift where Sam was waiting.  Trying to shrug it off I told him I just got clotheslined by a boundary rope.  He laughed.  I was ready to go sit in the lodge, drinking hot cocoa as I waited for Sam and his friend to be done skiing.  But I didn't quit.  I kept skiing.  And the day turned out to be absolutely awesome!

Lesson Learned: When you get knocked flat by something you didn't see coming, don't quit!  Because it honestly can't get any worse.

My Family Rocks.

Well I'm home.  Weird.  I landed at the airport on Friday, 21 February 2014.  That night I was released from being a full-time missionary by the Stake President.  Weirder.

Following are the highlights of the past couple weeks along with my thoughts.

Skiing:

Yeah...we look pretty sick.

I missed skiing.  Especially skiing with Sammy.  He is an all-star skier and taught me basically everything I know.  When I was in 7th grade I busted my wrist snowboarding.  Lame story too.  That summer my brother convinced me to buy a pair of twin tip skis.  He is very persuasive.  I bought 'em.  And snowboarded only once after that.  I spent the next 3 years skiing behind Sam; I went wherever he went on the mountain.  He liked it steep and deep...so I had to learn fast.  I'd follow as he'd turn a normal run into a playground, jumping off hidden features, zooming down the hill at deadly speeds.  When I think of skiing, I think of skiing with my brother.

Dancing:

Waiting for the beat to drop

Katie taught me to dance.  I was twelve.  I was finally old enough to go to my first tri-ward dance.  I was terrified.  I didn't know how to dance to anything with a fast beat.  Naturally I hid in the bathroom for everything but the slow songs.  Shortly after, my sister taught me the X and V dance move.  I was hooked.  Suddenly I loved dancing.  Youtube became my teacher and I would spend hours in front of our glass sliding door watching my reflection as I attempted to master the moonwalk.  Fast forward a few years.  I was spending the weekend with my sister before EFY.  We had nothing to do one afternoon and decided to make a music video.  It snowballed from there.  Now we have made 8, in 4 different states.  When I think of dancing, I think of dancing with my sister.

Nutshell:

My family rocks.  And I missed them a lot.  I realized that the hobbies I love most are hobbies that remind me of my family.  In other words: I love my family more than anything.

Riley with his Mission President

Pictures 2.15.14

We were cleaning up after English Class when this chap waltzed in.  Weirdest thing ever.  He is still hilarious.  

I kept calling him E. Tzanis, Rafael is too weird.

This is our ward mission leader.  The infamous B. Ronny.  He is hilarious.  Don't worry, he wasn't ticked off in real life.

S. Ice's baptism!  Woohoo!

Fancy business baby, fancy business.

Asoka 2.15.14

Oh Mylanta.

Hey Family!

This week went fast.  Way fast.  One whole day was spent in the office knocking out our pre-transfer assignments.  It was long.  My eyes hurt after staring at computer screens for so long.  We were able to teach quite a few awesome investigators though.  One girl we met back in January randomly called us wanting to meet.  She now has a baptismal date.  This other cat we met last month came back from Phuket this week too.  His phone stopped working in Phuket or something so we weren't able to contact him at all.  So we met him and taught him everything.  He says he can feel the difference at our church.  If all goes well, he will get baptized today.  If it doesn't go as planned he will get baptized later this month in Phuket.  I love miracles.  I love teaching people that want to change their lives.  That is what the Gospel of Jesus Christ does.  It changes our lives, it changes us into saints.  We also taught this woman and her brother.  As we taught them about repentance we taught the Word of Wisdom as well.  The brother, Gae, is a smoker but has tried to quit multiple times.  We invited him to rely on Christ and quit.  He committed.  Then we had him throw away the cigarettes he had left along with his lighter.  So he did.  He is committed to change.  That is what the Gospel is all about.  Change and improvement through the Atonement of Christ.

Saturday Morning: Baptism!  S. Ice was baptized.  Because she quit her job, she will now be able to go to church with her aunt in Bangkapi.  So we drove out there to see her baptized.  She has amazing faith!  Her parents, who are still Buddhist, even went to support her.  Holler!

Luxury Lunch:  President Senior and Sister Senior took us, the 4 assistants, out to lunch...at the JW Marriott buffet.  Holy fancy.  It was delicious.  We stuffed ourselves with salad, rolls, mashed potatoes, meats, and ice cream.  I was in heaven.  I love ice cream.  A lot.

I bought 2 suits.  One is a fancy wool one.  Yes.  The other has a zebra-print lining.  Double yes.  Don't worry I didn't get anymore shorts cut.  I also bought hecka dayz worth of souvenirs.  Yeah buddy.

Well this is my last email.  Dang.  The Book of Mormon is a true witness of Jesus Christ.  It testifies of Christ's mission and His divinity.  By studying and pondering its words each day we will know how to follow Christ, be cleansed from sin, and achieve salvation.  The Book of Mormon is evidence that Joseph Smith is called of God to restore lost truths about Christ's church and gospel.  It is evidence that essential priesthood authority was lost and again restored through a new prophet.  I believe the Book of Mormon to be true.  I believe it with all my heart.  My Father in Heaven has confirmed my belief with a personal witness from the Holy Ghost.  I cannot deny it.  The Book of Mormon is real, it is true, I know it.  I am so grateful for the time I have been given to share this testimony with the people of Thailand.  I love them.

จบ

Lots of Love

Elder M. Riley Creer

the only