Hey sorry again that I wasn’t able to email on Monday. My companion Elder Wiscombe (pronounced Wisk 'em, like scrambling eggs) got transferred and I got a new companion Elder Lougee (it is pronounced Lou as in loud, and then the letter G). And no he is not from Mount Wannahockaloogie from Finding Nemo. He is from Oregon. He’s been out about 8 months. I don’t know much more about him than that.
This week, a lot of different things happened. I can’t seem to shake this cold away from me. The weather here is being tricky. It goes from really nice and warm to “oh my goodness gets me out of this weather before I hurt someone." Anyway here is the highlight of this week:
My camera got stolen. I accidentally left my bag in the gym overnight. I didn’t realize it until I went to get my scriptures to do my studies in the morning. My heart dropped when I remembered where it was. I went to the gym and I couldn’t find it. Then I went to the office and asked if anyone had turned it in. At first they said that they didn’t have it. And then a lady in the back spoke up brought out my bag. My scriptures were still in it but my camera was gone. Along with my memory cards and the pics I had. But I still have them all because I backed them up on my flash drive so no worries there. But surprisingly I didn’t care about that. I was more worried about my scriptures. They were untouched. I was relieved. The camera is a worldly possession that can be replaced. My scriptures however are priceless. I don’t know what I would do without them.
After that incident occurred I thought "What would I do if I found the person who stole my camera?" It has to be someone in the complex because no one else could get in our gym. Then I read in the scriptures in D&C sec 64. And I learned about forgiveness. We are required to forgive everyone. I said to myself "let the Lord judge that person. I won’t let it fester within me. I don’t want to hold a grudge. A camera is not worth it." Then I thought of other instances in my life where someone did something to deliberately hurt me or offend me. Those things are long past and I have forgiven those persons a long time ago. But I realized the damage it could cause to a person’s soul if one were to hold bitterness and anger for that long. Even if the offender does not repent and come to you to fix it, you are still required to forgive them. Or in you lies the greater sin.
So if I caught the person who took my camera I would kindly ask for it back, shake their hand and then give them a Book of Mormon.
Love,
Elder Richards
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
ooo rah!
Hey,
We went to the Temple today. That’s why I didn’t get to email on Monday. I got the names from last time done so I’ll be sending those shortly. It was a good experience as always. It was a good time to clear my head and recommit myself to the work and help the family in the process. I also got permission to attend the sealing session for the Spilsburys. It was a wonderful experience and one that I won’t forget. That was the first live sealing session I’ve ever been to. Before the sealing of the Spilsburys, we also got permission to participate in the sealing of Sister Spilsburys Father to his parents. That was something new that I haven’t been able to do on my mission before. We are allowed to stand in proxy for the children but we cannot stand in proxy as husband and wife. So Bro and Sis Spilsbury sealed her grandparents together then i was given the honor to stand in proxy as her dad. I felt very privileged to be a part of that wonderful event and like I said before its one experience that I won’t forget. Sis Spilsbury won’t let me forget it either because she kept calling me Dad. Ha-ha that’s Sis Spilsbury for ya.
Here is something new that the Church is doing. The Brethren have instructed us to study mormon.org 1 hour a week during ineffective proselyting time. We have been asked to make a profile on mormon.org and share our testimony and experiences. It’s been a wonderful opportunity to speak out and declare our witness of what we know to be true. So if it’s so important for missionaries to create a profile then it brings a great responsibility for you as well. I strongly encourage you to go to mormon.org and surf around. See what the website has to offer, read the testimonies of others and then create your own profile. You can attach your profile to Facebook. It’s so easy to get out there and let everyone know what you believe and why you believe it.
So in the words of Elder Rice "Make it happen."
Transfers coming up and I'm probably staying. We will see though. You never know.
Love, Elder Richards
PS Cool story. Remember back a long long time ago when was in the MTC for the first time? I know it’s hard to remember back that far. Anyway I told you about the first Elder I talked to there. His name was Elder McClellan. He is from Vegas going to Ohio on his mission. Well I met his parents a couple weeks ago. Ha-ha. I saw them at the temple today too and they told me how he wrote home about me when he went to the MTC. His parents were excited that i had met him. Anyway it is a really small world.
We went to the Temple today. That’s why I didn’t get to email on Monday. I got the names from last time done so I’ll be sending those shortly. It was a good experience as always. It was a good time to clear my head and recommit myself to the work and help the family in the process. I also got permission to attend the sealing session for the Spilsburys. It was a wonderful experience and one that I won’t forget. That was the first live sealing session I’ve ever been to. Before the sealing of the Spilsburys, we also got permission to participate in the sealing of Sister Spilsburys Father to his parents. That was something new that I haven’t been able to do on my mission before. We are allowed to stand in proxy for the children but we cannot stand in proxy as husband and wife. So Bro and Sis Spilsbury sealed her grandparents together then i was given the honor to stand in proxy as her dad. I felt very privileged to be a part of that wonderful event and like I said before its one experience that I won’t forget. Sis Spilsbury won’t let me forget it either because she kept calling me Dad. Ha-ha that’s Sis Spilsbury for ya.
Here is something new that the Church is doing. The Brethren have instructed us to study mormon.org 1 hour a week during ineffective proselyting time. We have been asked to make a profile on mormon.org and share our testimony and experiences. It’s been a wonderful opportunity to speak out and declare our witness of what we know to be true. So if it’s so important for missionaries to create a profile then it brings a great responsibility for you as well. I strongly encourage you to go to mormon.org and surf around. See what the website has to offer, read the testimonies of others and then create your own profile. You can attach your profile to Facebook. It’s so easy to get out there and let everyone know what you believe and why you believe it.
So in the words of Elder Rice "Make it happen."
Transfers coming up and I'm probably staying. We will see though. You never know.
Love, Elder Richards
PS Cool story. Remember back a long long time ago when was in the MTC for the first time? I know it’s hard to remember back that far. Anyway I told you about the first Elder I talked to there. His name was Elder McClellan. He is from Vegas going to Ohio on his mission. Well I met his parents a couple weeks ago. Ha-ha. I saw them at the temple today too and they told me how he wrote home about me when he went to the MTC. His parents were excited that i had met him. Anyway it is a really small world.
Monday, January 24, 2011
I would like to buy a hambwurger
Hey sorry I wasn't able to email last week. The library was closed.
So funny story.
Every Tuesday and Wednesday night, if we have no one to visit, we teach an English class at the Church. There are a lot of Hispanics who show up. We pair up with different people and go over some worksheets. I was going over how to pronounce some basic English words with the person I was paired with. He was doing good until we got to the word "fast." He couldn't pronounce the "s" so he kept saying "fat." I chuckled a little bit and then we worked on the pronunciation. He kept calling me "fat." So I broke it up. First say "fas" then say "t" right after that. Nope didn't work. He was still calling me "fat." I said your calling me "gordo" not "rapido". I could not stop laughing. This guy was hilarious. He would bulge out his eyes, look at me and say "FAT! " We spent half an hour on the word "fast." Then when I thought he got it down, I had to take a potty break. As I was walking away he yelled "FAT!" He really was trying to say "FAST!" epic fail. I almost pee'd my pants right there. I thought you might like to know that. It reminded me of the movie the Pink Panther. I'm totally going to get him to say "I would like to buy a hamburger"
Our investigator Sister Izzy has accepted to be baptized! She has a baptismal date for March 5. She works a lot so hopefully it can go through. She is such a great example to me. Listen to this. She works as a manager for a casino. She only gets Thursdays and Fridays off. She has to go into work on Sundays at noon and because of the time change, our sacrament meeting starts at 12:15. The Spanish ward meets right before us. Their sacrament meeting begins at 9 am. So she goes to Sacrament meeting in the Spanish branch (with someone translating for her) and then goes to our Gospel Principles class right after that. Then its off to work. How cool is that? She is not even a member yet and even she understands the importance of the Sacrament. She knows that she needs to be there no matter what, even if it means going to a Sacrament meeting in a different language. Such faith and devotion. I'm blown away. The members of our ward are very impressed with her as well. She will fit right in. But if you think about it, everyone has a place in the true church of God. Everyone "fits in." We are all God's Children. He is not a respecter of persons. Each soul is precious to Him. I know it. Sister Izzy knows it.
In other news, I've been sick all week this week. I'm starting to overcome it now. I'm so tired but the work must go on. I love you all.
Elder Richards
So funny story.
Every Tuesday and Wednesday night, if we have no one to visit, we teach an English class at the Church. There are a lot of Hispanics who show up. We pair up with different people and go over some worksheets. I was going over how to pronounce some basic English words with the person I was paired with. He was doing good until we got to the word "fast." He couldn't pronounce the "s" so he kept saying "fat." I chuckled a little bit and then we worked on the pronunciation. He kept calling me "fat." So I broke it up. First say "fas" then say "t" right after that. Nope didn't work. He was still calling me "fat." I said your calling me "gordo" not "rapido". I could not stop laughing. This guy was hilarious. He would bulge out his eyes, look at me and say "FAT! " We spent half an hour on the word "fast." Then when I thought he got it down, I had to take a potty break. As I was walking away he yelled "FAT!" He really was trying to say "FAST!" epic fail. I almost pee'd my pants right there. I thought you might like to know that. It reminded me of the movie the Pink Panther. I'm totally going to get him to say "I would like to buy a hamburger"
Our investigator Sister Izzy has accepted to be baptized! She has a baptismal date for March 5. She works a lot so hopefully it can go through. She is such a great example to me. Listen to this. She works as a manager for a casino. She only gets Thursdays and Fridays off. She has to go into work on Sundays at noon and because of the time change, our sacrament meeting starts at 12:15. The Spanish ward meets right before us. Their sacrament meeting begins at 9 am. So she goes to Sacrament meeting in the Spanish branch (with someone translating for her) and then goes to our Gospel Principles class right after that. Then its off to work. How cool is that? She is not even a member yet and even she understands the importance of the Sacrament. She knows that she needs to be there no matter what, even if it means going to a Sacrament meeting in a different language. Such faith and devotion. I'm blown away. The members of our ward are very impressed with her as well. She will fit right in. But if you think about it, everyone has a place in the true church of God. Everyone "fits in." We are all God's Children. He is not a respecter of persons. Each soul is precious to Him. I know it. Sister Izzy knows it.
In other news, I've been sick all week this week. I'm starting to overcome it now. I'm so tired but the work must go on. I love you all.
Elder Richards
Monday, January 10, 2011
Totally sick with it week!
Hey
That's really weird seeing the house like that. It's really cool though
and you did a nice job with it. Cool beans. Sali con tu Mujer! lol
This last week was amazing. Totally Legit! One of our investigators
got baptized on Saturday. His name is Micheal and he has been waiting
a year for this event. He wasn't able to be baptized before because
of some legal issues. He has worked really hard over the last year to
get himself to this point in his life. His wife also has been waiting
and praying for this. It was a very spiritual experience for all who
attended this beautiful moment. He was confirmed on Sunday then he
received the Aaronic Priesthood that same day. He looks forward to
when he can go to the temple and be sealed for time and all eternity
to his wife. He is a stud. Also on Sunday our Recent Convert Ruben
received the priesthood as well.
Yesterday was the best Sunday I've had since I've been here. Micheal
and Ruben received the Priesthood and we had 2 new investigators come
to Church. one of them, totally out of nowhere, just showed up at our
Gospel Principles class the week before. Her name is Isabelle. She
prefers Sister Izzy. She is great. She came to Church yesterday
completely prepared and participated in the class. We taught her the
first lesson and it went really well.
Our Second new investigator is Crystal. She referred herself through
Mormon.org. She received a Book of Mormon from a client over a year ago. She told us that she has been "hiding and waiting" for the right moment to
contact the Church. I wish she would have made contact sooner because
that is a long time to wait and sit in the dark without the light of
the Gospel in her life.
We taught her the first lesson and invited her to the baptism of
Micheal. She came and she really loved it. She said he looked like a
new born kid when he came up out of the water. She is really
interested in the Church and wants to learn. Her husband is
"Presbyterian and will die a Presbyterian" he says. But he is really
supportive of her. He won't sit in on the lessons but he is letting
her make her own choice. Her brother on the other hand does not like
us and is doing everything he can to keep her from learning the
Gospel. But she says that this is her choice and she wants to learn
more. She came to Church and loved it. The members here are very
good at fellowshipping. Crystal had a lot of questions and they were
able to answer them for her.
So Crystal and Sis Izzy look very promising. We have another
investigator named James that we will be seeing today. He is very
intellectual and kinda hard to teach sometimes. But he loves having us
come over and I enjoy the lessons we have with him. We are working
hard on him. We are trying to tap into that heart of his and get the
Spirit in there. I've only had one lesson with him but they say that
he has toned down quite a bit. So he is coming slowly but surely.
So that was my awesome week and I hope things get better for us.
Thank you for all of your prayers and support. I know that it helps
us out a lot. Onward Christian Soldiers!
Elder Richards
That's really weird seeing the house like that. It's really cool though
and you did a nice job with it. Cool beans. Sali con tu Mujer! lol
This last week was amazing. Totally Legit! One of our investigators
got baptized on Saturday. His name is Micheal and he has been waiting
a year for this event. He wasn't able to be baptized before because
of some legal issues. He has worked really hard over the last year to
get himself to this point in his life. His wife also has been waiting
and praying for this. It was a very spiritual experience for all who
attended this beautiful moment. He was confirmed on Sunday then he
received the Aaronic Priesthood that same day. He looks forward to
when he can go to the temple and be sealed for time and all eternity
to his wife. He is a stud. Also on Sunday our Recent Convert Ruben
received the priesthood as well.
Yesterday was the best Sunday I've had since I've been here. Micheal
and Ruben received the Priesthood and we had 2 new investigators come
to Church. one of them, totally out of nowhere, just showed up at our
Gospel Principles class the week before. Her name is Isabelle. She
prefers Sister Izzy. She is great. She came to Church yesterday
completely prepared and participated in the class. We taught her the
first lesson and it went really well.
Our Second new investigator is Crystal. She referred herself through
Mormon.org. She received a Book of Mormon from a client over a year ago. She told us that she has been "hiding and waiting" for the right moment to
contact the Church. I wish she would have made contact sooner because
that is a long time to wait and sit in the dark without the light of
the Gospel in her life.
We taught her the first lesson and invited her to the baptism of
Micheal. She came and she really loved it. She said he looked like a
new born kid when he came up out of the water. She is really
interested in the Church and wants to learn. Her husband is
"Presbyterian and will die a Presbyterian" he says. But he is really
supportive of her. He won't sit in on the lessons but he is letting
her make her own choice. Her brother on the other hand does not like
us and is doing everything he can to keep her from learning the
Gospel. But she says that this is her choice and she wants to learn
more. She came to Church and loved it. The members here are very
good at fellowshipping. Crystal had a lot of questions and they were
able to answer them for her.
So Crystal and Sis Izzy look very promising. We have another
investigator named James that we will be seeing today. He is very
intellectual and kinda hard to teach sometimes. But he loves having us
come over and I enjoy the lessons we have with him. We are working
hard on him. We are trying to tap into that heart of his and get the
Spirit in there. I've only had one lesson with him but they say that
he has toned down quite a bit. So he is coming slowly but surely.
So that was my awesome week and I hope things get better for us.
Thank you for all of your prayers and support. I know that it helps
us out a lot. Onward Christian Soldiers!
Elder Richards
Monday, January 3, 2011
My prayers were answered!
It totally snowed this morning. That's right snow in Vegas! le... git!
That's a bummer to hear about Keith. I say don't worry about it. Who cares. It was their choice to get offended. I know that I have offended plenty of people here on the mission. I don't ever try to, but members choose to be offended because they think missionaries should be perfect. I actually got transferred from Lone Mountain because of it. It was the Stake President who wanted me out tho because I was there for 6 months already. He told President Black that I "burned bridges" with some of the members. Which i didn't. A few incidences occurred with some of the other missionaries in my district but we took care of all of those. Everything was fine, but I think the Stake President thought I was burnt out of the area. It was quite the opposite.
Anyway, what I am getting at is that I was really upset to be transferred. But President told me something. He said that anyone who falsely accused me, the condemnation would be on their heads. And they will have to answer for that. So I say don't sweat it Keith. It's on them. That may sound kinda harsh but I've dealt with this kind of crap a lot. And it's a waste of time to dwell over it. Love those that hate you. And they will come around. And if they don't then again it's on them. Everything will turn out fine. Great even!
This week was good. I feel a lot better this week than I have in a long time. The ward is great! Our Ward Mission Leader is awesome and we have some awesome ward missionaries as well.
Now that the holidays are over and our investigators are back in town, now it's time to go get them. I'm really excited about this upcoming week. We had a random person walk into Church yesterday. She has been trying to find our Church for a month now and finally found it. We are meeting with her later in the week and I really look forward to it. Her name is Isabelle and she is awesome.
I've been pondering about being a missionary--there are about 52,000 full- time missionaries out in the world. And there are about 6 billion people in the world. That's a lot of people to cover. We are vastly outnumbered. We need more missionaries! We need member missionaries. If all the members could be missionary minded that would help us out a lot. There is so much work to be done. I love this work. He lives. Shall we not go on in so great a cause?
Elder Richards
That's a bummer to hear about Keith. I say don't worry about it. Who cares. It was their choice to get offended. I know that I have offended plenty of people here on the mission. I don't ever try to, but members choose to be offended because they think missionaries should be perfect. I actually got transferred from Lone Mountain because of it. It was the Stake President who wanted me out tho because I was there for 6 months already. He told President Black that I "burned bridges" with some of the members. Which i didn't. A few incidences occurred with some of the other missionaries in my district but we took care of all of those. Everything was fine, but I think the Stake President thought I was burnt out of the area. It was quite the opposite.
Anyway, what I am getting at is that I was really upset to be transferred. But President told me something. He said that anyone who falsely accused me, the condemnation would be on their heads. And they will have to answer for that. So I say don't sweat it Keith. It's on them. That may sound kinda harsh but I've dealt with this kind of crap a lot. And it's a waste of time to dwell over it. Love those that hate you. And they will come around. And if they don't then again it's on them. Everything will turn out fine. Great even!
This week was good. I feel a lot better this week than I have in a long time. The ward is great! Our Ward Mission Leader is awesome and we have some awesome ward missionaries as well.
Now that the holidays are over and our investigators are back in town, now it's time to go get them. I'm really excited about this upcoming week. We had a random person walk into Church yesterday. She has been trying to find our Church for a month now and finally found it. We are meeting with her later in the week and I really look forward to it. Her name is Isabelle and she is awesome.
I've been pondering about being a missionary--there are about 52,000 full- time missionaries out in the world. And there are about 6 billion people in the world. That's a lot of people to cover. We are vastly outnumbered. We need more missionaries! We need member missionaries. If all the members could be missionary minded that would help us out a lot. There is so much work to be done. I love this work. He lives. Shall we not go on in so great a cause?
Elder Richards
Monday, December 27, 2010
Happy New Year!
Hey
I don't know what to write honestly. There is a lot of stuff going trough my head at the moment. I've just been sitting here for awhile trying to figure out something to write....
There seems to be a reoccurring theme that's been coming up in my studies. It started in sacrament with a talk titled the pitfalls of pride..... darn... here we go again! I swear I feel like the Nephites. So again I'm trying to work on my humility and patience. It just goes to show how imperfect we are. There needs to be a constant change and repentance. One day I'll learn. But that's only through my Savior Jesus Christ.
My time's up. I've been sitting here for awhile now. Sorry my email is kinda lame this week. Next week's letter should be much better. Just know that I am OK and I'm livin the dream.
He is Risen!
Elder Richards
I don't know what to write honestly. There is a lot of stuff going trough my head at the moment. I've just been sitting here for awhile trying to figure out something to write....
There seems to be a reoccurring theme that's been coming up in my studies. It started in sacrament with a talk titled the pitfalls of pride..... darn... here we go again! I swear I feel like the Nephites. So again I'm trying to work on my humility and patience. It just goes to show how imperfect we are. There needs to be a constant change and repentance. One day I'll learn. But that's only through my Savior Jesus Christ.
My time's up. I've been sitting here for awhile now. Sorry my email is kinda lame this week. Next week's letter should be much better. Just know that I am OK and I'm livin the dream.
He is Risen!
Elder Richards
Monday, December 20, 2010
Livin the Dream
Hey
I don't know what time I'm going to be calling on Christmas. We haven't set it up with a member yet. I will probably just call whenever. If you don't pick up then, oh well, I'll see you in May. I don't really care. No offense but I think emails every week are all I really need. I guess the phone calls are more for you.
We had a cool experience this week over Facebook. Now I didn't get on my facebook, a member got on for us. She has a friend in Wyoming who is interested in the Church. We got on her Facebook Chat and threw down the first lesson. It's amazing how we felt the Spirit while teaching over a long distance. It was really neat. We even committed him to baptism over Facebook. We got ahold of the missionaries over there and they went over and set him on Jan 31. Now how legit is that? If we can spread the Gospel over Facebook then anyone can. That was our highlight of last week. Things are kinda slow because all of our investigators are out of town for Christmas.
Have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!
Love,
Elder Richards
I don't know what time I'm going to be calling on Christmas. We haven't set it up with a member yet. I will probably just call whenever. If you don't pick up then, oh well, I'll see you in May. I don't really care. No offense but I think emails every week are all I really need. I guess the phone calls are more for you.
We had a cool experience this week over Facebook. Now I didn't get on my facebook, a member got on for us. She has a friend in Wyoming who is interested in the Church. We got on her Facebook Chat and threw down the first lesson. It's amazing how we felt the Spirit while teaching over a long distance. It was really neat. We even committed him to baptism over Facebook. We got ahold of the missionaries over there and they went over and set him on Jan 31. Now how legit is that? If we can spread the Gospel over Facebook then anyone can. That was our highlight of last week. Things are kinda slow because all of our investigators are out of town for Christmas.
Have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!
Love,
Elder Richards
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