There is springtime in my soul today

Yo

Reno isn't too cold. It's not that bad. Everyone here is a bunch of wimps. "Oh it's so cold. haha You have to go out all day and we get to be warm inside" Whatever. I didn't need to buy a new coat because some members in Vegas got me some stuff so I'm good.

I finally got Aunt Jan's package and I love it. Christmas wouldn't be the same without Aunt Jan's shirts. I got a bald eagle this time. Sweeeet. Elder Smith was super jealous. haha.

I want my cookies. No excuses. You've never had pumpkin cookies? Its like pumpkin bread with chocolate chips in it. Mike R made them for you once. I'm fine with just chocolate chip cookies if you don't want to send the others.

Do you have the 3rd memory card? I only have 2 and I don't know if I sent you the 3rd one or not.

When does Ben leave? You'll have to get me his address so I can write him when he goes to San Diego.

We a had a successful week. We got a couple of new investigators and Robin is still doing good. I love teaching Robin. She soaks it all in and wants to learn more. She is excited for baptism on the 23rd. We taught her the Word of Wisdom. She drinks coffee but she is willing to give it up. Her love for her Heavenly Father is greater than her love for coffee. She is doing great.

I learned some cool stuff on Saturday. Every Saturday morning we have martial arts lessons with Bro Reilie. It's way fun. This week we learned about yubi tori (finger holds). Ow, that is some painful stuff. I'm on the ground every time. You wouldn't think that a finger hold could do that but i testify to you all that yubi tori does work.

I love you all. Thanks for your prayers and support. They really do help.

Love
Elder Richards

PS you can send the cards. There are 2 weeks left in the transfer then it's the Temple. Reno Temple this time. Yay. I have sisters in my district so could you send 2 female baptisms too?

A mission is like a box of chocolates

Heyyyyyyyyyy

I got your letters. Thanks. But you misspelled Brian's name. You spelled it "brain".

The week was a little slow because of the new year. On New Year's it was a non-proselyting day so we got together with the other zones and played war ball. It was awesome. I got pretty messed up though because Elder Checketts and I ran into each other. Checketts is huge. Just imagine a brick wall with legs. It was like a looney tunes scene. He hit me and I spun around in a circle about 2 1/2 times. Yeah, it really hurt.

We had a awesome lesson with a new investigator named Robin last night. She really felt the Spirit and we committed her to baptism on the 23rd of Jan. It was wonderful. Her boyfriend has been less active but he is coming back. They are coming together now. Sweeeeeet.

Well, that was pretty much it. Can you send me some cookies? No bake and pumpkin cookies? Please? I didn't get Aunt Jan's package yet. Do you know when she sent it?

I love you. The Church is true. It makes sense.

Love
Elder Richards

PS did you know that dragons are in the Book of Mormon? 1 nephi 17:41 "fiery flying serpents"

Glory to the new born King!

Hey Hey Hey

I had a good Christmas. I did get a hold of Scott and Kevin. It was really nice talking to you all. It was good to hear that Ben got his mission call to San Diego. It's almost as good as Vegas. haha jk Congrats to Ben, I'm happy for him.

For Christmas we went from member to member eating, talking and being cheery. We got alot of candy and chocolate. Good stuff.

Missionary work was hard to do over the holidays but we did have a great lesson with Linda on Christmas Eve Eve. She is such a sweet lady. She really loves having us over. She has a lot of questions. We answer them the best we can and she says that we are "smart like whips." She is slowly progressing but she definitely feels the Spirit.

I love you. Keep praying for me and my companion.

love
Elder Richards

Somebody took a huge bite out of my pickle then threw it away.

Hey

I'm in Reno now covering the Mount Rose and South Meadow Wards. The ride up here was ridunkulous. It's so looooong. The only exciting thing that happened was that Elder Checketts got pulled over on the way here. haha I got some good pictures of that. Other than that, the scenery was nice... a nice big flat desert..... so cool. At least I get a white Christmas. There is plenty of snow here. I'm lovin it and I'm lovin the car.

I met some old friends up here and my new companion. Elder Smith is an interesting character. He wants to be a magician when he gets off his mission. He has potential but right now we've got to focus on the work.

The work here is a little slow but we are trying hard to build it back up. We do have a couple of investigators though. There is a really sweet lady we are teaching named Susan. She really nice and always smiling. I'm not sure if she's all there, but she wants the lessons. She loves having us over.

Well, that's pretty much it. For now I'm just trying to get settled in and get familiar with my new area. The Church is the same here in Reno too! It must be true. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. So there must be one church. The truth is restored!

love
Elder Richards

PS can i get some stamps?

Gah, transfers

Yo,

We had a busy week. We had a Christmas zone conference Wed, I had my 4th bike wreck on Friday, we had baptisms on Saturday (Danielle and Aalahni Cowart) and I'm getting transferred to Reno. Hurray! (sarcasm)

I'm going to Reno tomorrow (8 hour bus ride). My new companion is Elder Smith and I'm District Leader.

The Baptism went very well. Danielle picked me to baptize her and Aalanhi picked Touchin. I also got the opportunity to baptize DeAngelo Brooks (8) who is their younger brother. It really was an amazing experience. Touchin was so excited because this was the first time he got to baptize someone on his mission. It was great.

Zone conference was awesome. It was really spiritual and uplifting. Wow. And the Relief Society did a awesome job with lunch. We got to give out presents also. We couldn't spend money on it so I gave someone a coupon for a free magic trick. haha. Elder Shanks really liked it and he is working on it. I got a sick tie for Christmas.

Well, I got to get back to packing now. haha. The Church is true ladies and gentlemen. As Elder Lang would say. "I think you should pray about it."

love
Elder Richards

You so cute

Subject Line: You can't mess with the best in Las Vegas West.

Hello

Well it's really cold out here. I had to go buy thermals. That's right, I am wearing thermals in Vegas in the middle of the desert. Who would have thought that would ever happen?

Fun fact: the strip was built exactly in line with a fault line and when there is a big earthquake the whole strip will sink in the ground and will be swallowed up. It will happen someday. No wonder missionaries can't go on the strip. haha

So Saturday we went yard-saling and ran into this Mexican lady. She was so funny because she kept saying " Ohh, my, you so cute, I sell you jewelry for your girlfriend, really good deal." Then I explained that I didn't have a girlfriend because we are Missionaries. Then she said "Why you have no girlfriend, you so cute." I just kept laughing. She told us about her daughter and how she is really beautiful because she is half Mexican and half white. She said "half white babys are soo cute. You so cute." She kept calling me that. It was a little freaky. I was afraid she was going to offer me her daughter so I wanted to get out of there. Then she gave me a whole bunch of ties for free and we gave her a pass along card and left. That was weird.

We taught a guy named Frank the other day. What was cool about this guy is he said some of the same things Joseph Smith had said when he was searching for the truth. Things like " I'm concerned for my soul". Frank is an older guy and he wants to know where he is going when he leaves this temporary world. So we taught a lesson and invited him to Church. He said he would next week but not yesterday because he already promised another church he would come that day. So I look forward to teaching him again on Tuesday and then seeing him on Sunday.

The Church is true. It makes sense. All you have to do is pray about it.
Love ya.

Elder Richards

Show me, not tell me

Subject Line: Sorry, Mom, I'm never coming home

Hola

It was an OK week. It's cold. I love it! We had alot of appointments fall through so our stats were kinda low, but we must press onward. No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing.

We did have a great lesson with Juanita and Travelius. Travelius is right on the money. We were teaching some of the commandments. He used to be Baptist and the main reason he doesn't go there anymore is because the preachers say one thing then do another. He says, "show me, not tell me". That's when we committed them again to follow the example of Christ and be baptized. He said, "yes, I have to. My decision has not changed."

Another reason that he didn't like the Baptist religion is the collection plate. He said that if you go to a Baptist church they will pass around a collection plate at least 6 times. And then they post it on a projector how much people have donated. We were just about to teach the law of tithing when he said " if I understand the bible correctly, it should be 10% of your increase." That blew me away. My companion and I looked at each other and just laughed. We told him that's right. Its in Malachi. Then he goes "yes! exactly!" Juanita is bawling at this point. She always feels the Spirit whenever we give lessons. She knows it's true. Travelius knows it's true. They have accepted baptism. The only thing now is to get them married and to get them to come to church. They work a lot so it's hard. But they really really want to go.

Well, that's my spiritual experience of the week. The church is true. It makes sense.

Elder Richards