Dare to dream! November 7, 2016

Ok, for starters, I LOVED the play. So freaking funny. I totally knew you were going to do the brownie and pickle thing and crying... But that was great. And I assume you are going to do the story of how he came into my play for Brian. That will be good. I can't wait to hear it. :) I just loved it, but really Lana Lang? I mean really? Haha

This week was pretty great!

Monday for Halloween we got to spend the day with the Lybbert family. And they stole my camera so I have lots of random pictures. But my pumpkin this year was pretty dope, just saying. But that is really all we got to do. We had to be in by 7 which is right after dinner so we didn't do anything but carve pumpkins and eat candy and food. It was great! And I was Cinderella of course. :)

Tuesday we found a new investigator and he is Asian, named Muchun. I have been wanting to teach an Asian my whole mission! But he will probably be passed off to the Young Single Adults so... lame. But he was really interested to see what our Church looks like so we are going to do a tour for him. It's gonna be awesome. I also had lots of fun at the Task Force stuffing envelopes. I was the fastest one there, too. I did a lot. I just have a talent for doing mundane, brainless tasks! Haha! 

Wednesday we got to go to the Temple!!!!! I loved it!! It was my last time as a missionary going to the Temple and it was sad. But it was great and I got to hand out all those names that I kept forgetting to do the past 8 months or so, so that was great. There are only two left! And I got this new CD from Deseret Book called Gentri and it's my new favorite. There are only 7 songs on it but I love it so much!! (The subject of this email is one of their song lines). Then we went to Kneaders for brunch and we got it for free again. Ballin! But the other great part about the day was that Benji came back from Texas! I have missed him so much. He is going through a lot right now with his dad on the way out. I almost started to cry, my heart felt so much for him. But it was great to see him. He still teases me to no end. But that's ok. After dinner we went to an appointment with a potential and he left a note telling us he was not interested. It made me laugh. I will attach a picture. So it was a good day. We talked to a garbage man that was very nice. 

Thursday we had district meeting and not gonna lie, it was kind of lame. Our district picture is even lamer. But that's ok cause we had miracles happen. First we ran into these two guys that are from Aurora and were working on a house here in Parker, Jim and Seth. They were so nice!! And they were so excited that we invited them to come to Church with us. We gave them both Book of Mormons and Jim wanted a Plan of Salvation pamphlet. He asked us questions and said that we had all the answers he needed. It was really cool. They said we made their day, which in turn made my day. That is why I love being a missionary. And then we had another really cool lesson with a potential who almost became an investigator. She wanted to read the Book of Mormon before we even brought it up and wanted us to share the message with her. So that was cool. But she wants time to read so she wanted us to come back in December. Lame. But she has had so many interactions with the Church and LDS members, it's unreal. So she is cool. And her name is cool too, Theodosia. I don't remember where it's from though... Ireland maybe? Anyway...

Friday we had a pretty cool experience. We met with a less active member who is a "do not contact" in our ward. She was really nice to us though. We started talking on her porch but then she invited us in and gave us lots of her kid's candy and water. Then she told us her story and it was really cool. Kind of sad but interesting. And she was telling us she hates when missionaries would come over and ask if they could share a scripture. So I was thinking, dang, how are we going to share a scripture/message without her getting upset? But then it happened. As she was telling us her story, she brought up the scripture that hit her hard and made her want to be baptized. Mosiah 4:9-10 [9 Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.

 10 And again, believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you; and now, if you believe all these things see that ye do them.]. But she couldn't remember the reference, just what it said. So I found it for her and we talked about how God is there and everything testifies of Him. So we got to share a message with her and I felt a lot of Gods love for her so I had to tell her. So it was a really cool experience for me. We talked for a good hour or so. 

Saturday was a pretty good day as well. We found another gator and it was a really cool experience. After dinner we were tracting in the dark, which I hate doing, and something told me to keep going down this one street. So we did and we ran into Kyle. He was smoking on his porch and was probably drunk or high but he let us come up to his porch to share a message with him. He said that he had been going through a lot lately and was really struggling. So I shared a scripture about the Atonement with him and told him that Christ was looking out for him and knew what he was going through. I felt the Spirit so strong and just kept saying that this was exactly what he needed in his life. It was so cool. I wanted to end the night on that experience. But he was so excited to read the Book of Mormon and come to Church, which he didn't do. But it was still a great experience and I just felt so much love for the gospel and know that it's true. It's so true. 

Sunday we had a good stake conference broadcast and they talked about Temples. I can't wait to go to the Temple whenever I want! But not much else happened that day. We taught Liam, a 7 yr old and he is just so cute. 

So this week was great. I listen to my play at least once a day because I love it so much. I also love this Gospel so much and am so grateful for a Savior that loves me no matter what. I love Him too. 

I hope you all have a wonderful week and be grateful too! :)

Much love,

Sister Richards

 

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble October 31, 2016

Baby pumpkin!!! :)

Happy Halloween!!! I will be a missionary version of Cinderella tonight :) But we will be in all night so... lame. I miss Halloween fun!

Anyway this week was a little bit of a struggle. 

Tuesday we got to have some fun at the Task Force. Except everyone thinks I am an angry child. NOT TRUE!!! So they of course teased me to no end there. Oh well. We were doing a lot of walking because we are running out of miles so that is fun. But it is fun cause then we were out talking to a lot more people than we normally would probably. And I just love talking to people. We got to teach the Kirsten family. They are an interesting bunch. But it's a little sad because they don't have much knowledge about the Gospel. My heart breaks for them. 

Wednesday we got to go back to the Task Force to fill lots and lots of envelopes. That was fun. Nothing like mundane tedious tasks that I don't have to use brain power for. Then we got to have interviews with President and Sister Mendenhall and that is always a joy. They truly are wonderful people. We also got to go to mutual to teach the youth how to make a contact. The first group was a little rough but then we got the hang of things. And it was really cool though to help them get thinking about talking about the Gospel to their friends. We challenged them to bear their testimony on Sunday too and so many did. It really was a cool sight to see all the youth in the Ward go up and bear their testimonies. And they were all different too, that was the other cool thing. It was great.

Thursday we had district meeting. That was pretty good. I felt the Spirit a lot when we were doing a role play. Elder Olsen was on exchanges and he reminded me of my purpose here. I am here to do what Christ would do. To help serve and love those around me. I did have a cool experience. We were coming up to a mail lady and I was scared to talk to her because she was the mail lady and I didn't think she would listen. But then I thought, "what would Jesus do?" and I was overcome with a feeling of love for this lady. And she did listen for a bit but wasn't interested. But I think she needed to know that God knew where she was. 

Friday was a little bit scary. I thought I was going to be kicked out of the area. But I will not go into details cause that is not necessary cause everything is all good now. We met with a basher and I was just done with him. It was draining talking to him. People just don't listen to us. But then we met Norm. He is the cutest old man ever. We just talked to him about how he has seen God in his life. We were there for an hour and he just told us story after story. It was so cute. But it was funny because I felt like sharing a

This cat was tracting with us at night to protect us. It was great! :)

scripture from the Book of Mormon but I knew I had to quote it and not read it from the actual page. So I did and it was "I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things". So I told him that and he agreed and said that's what his bible said too. And then he went on a rant about how the Book of Mormon was false and that it says different things. When we left I just laughed because I knew that I just needed to quote it. The Book is true! Then we had a Trunk or Treat for Auburn Hills. That was fun and holy cow, there were a ton of people. But it was fun. And I got even more candy. 

Saturday was amazing. I was just on a Spiritual high. We were walking everywhere and talking with everyone and it was just great. I got a nice burn to show for it too. But we ran into some cool people. We ran into a member that lives in our ward but goes to another one. And they fed us lunch so that was super nice. So we helped them wrap presents for their kids birthday. And they had superhero wrapping paper. I want some. It was so cool. Anyway, then we met Robert. He is Catholic but hates church because the Catholic church ruined it for him. But we tried talking to him about how great it is and gave him a Book of Mormon. He was really excited and said he would read it and that we could come back next week. Ballin'. He was so funny and has a really cool story. So I am excited to meet with him again. We had dinner with the Egan's and their little boy was so cute. We were leaving and he yells out the door, "GOODBYE TOOT!!" It was so funny. Gotta love children! :) 

Sunday was great. I actually love Church for 6 hours. I get to feel the Spirit so strong for so long. Its great! And we got to have a great lesson about the Plan of Salvation with a little 7 yr old. He is so cute. And I just love the Plan of Salvation. How grateful I am for the Saviors Atonement. We would be nothing without him. 

I love this Gospel and I love being a missionary. The Gospel is true and it truly is wonderful. Keep the faith!! Love you bunches!!!

Much love,

Sister Richards

Just a few more seconds October 24, 2016

Hopefully I get the disk today, I am dying!!! But thanks for the update on baseball. I have missed that in my life.

This week was still a little slow but we found a new investigator so that is pretty cool. 

Tuesday we went on exchanges so I was with Sister Loyd in Parker ward. I didn't get any pictures with her so sorry. I have been failing for real at taking pictures this week. So many regrets. But anyway we had a pretty good day. We found 3 new investigators so that was cool. And we got to meet with a recent convert named David. He is the sweetest. So funny too. He just loves to joke around. He also had knee surgery recently and it brought back some great memories of when I had surgery. We had fun. We also got to have dinner in a mansion. Mansions scare me. They are pretty but I feel like I cant walk in one so as to not mess it up. But that is about all I have to say about that exchange. 

Wednesday we had a pretty good day. Lots of finding. But my favorite part was when we got to teach Sarah. She is my favorite. We always have the best lessons there. She is a spiritual giant. I always learn so much from her when we go over there. For someone not active, she has an amazing testimony of the Atonement. I just love her so much. She is so great! We just shared a talk called "Discovering the Divinity Within" and it was so good. I just felt so much of Gods love for her. She is progressing so well! 

Thursday we had an interesting District Meeting. But I always love learning new things. We also got to have some great experiences. We almost got a new investigator. She was really cool and had lots of questions. So we gave her a Book of Mormon and she seemed really interested. So hopefully we get to teach her. But then we had interesting things happened. We were in an area where there was a school and it was time for school getting out. There were so many people, I didn't know what to do. But then I failed and didn't talk to everyone. But I learned a valuable lesson about how we need to talk to everyone. Everyone needs to at least have to opportunity to accept or reject. But if we don't ever talk to them, we aren't giving them that chance to say no. Or yes. So that was a humbling experience. 

Friday was when we got out new investigator. Her name is Kian. She is a very interesting character but super friendly. She just seemed so stressed and confused about what we were talking about but she said she would read the Book of Mormon and said we could come back so that's good. We also got to see Sister Kirsten. She seemed to be doing much better than last time we talked with her. But she just said some things that really touched my heart. And it made me feel like I am needed and making a difference here. So that was cool. You never know what the good you will do for someone even if it's small. 

Saturday was a rough day! But we met this really nice man named "D".

And he was an answer to my prayers. I was just really struggling and people were being really mean that day and so I just prayed for someone to be nice. And he was so nice. We didn't really teach him anything but he had a cool story about how missionaries helped him out a long time ago in California. So he loves missionaries and just kept saying to not give up. Keep going. And then he rubbed in my face that I only have 3 months left. That was not very nice, but it gave me the motivation I needed to keep going that day. We had the Trunk or Treat for Newlin Meadows. That was pretty good. There weren't as many decorated trunks as I thought but I got lots of candy. And I failed again because I didn't take any pictures. There were lots of cute costumes though. Lots of superman, only the best! :) So that made my day. 

Sunday was pretty good too. We had a really good church meeting and it just got me excited to share the Book of Mormon with everyone. So we went out and talked to a lot of people. And we had a really fun dinner with the Grieve's/Ogden's. They are seriously my favorite. We always have a good time. They are great people. And we started teaching Liam the lessons before he gets baptized. He is a very smart kid. 

So we are halfway through the transfer and hopefully things continue to pick up. Slowly but surely they will come!!

I am so grateful for you, my family, to support me in my decision to serve a mission. I have been blessed immensely by this experience and I hope and pray that I can be an instrument in the Lord's hand in sharing the Gospel with Colorado!

Ask God for you to be an answer to someone's prayer today. Keep the faith! Love you bunches!! 

Much love,

Sister Richards

Yes I look pretty scary in this picture but I was really excited to be walking in the middle of the road in the dark. Yes I am weird :)

Loving the work October 17, 2016

I love fall!

Well this week was another slow one and cholk-full of extremely awkward moments but hey, that's the life of a missionary. I take it to mean I am doing my job right :)

Thanks for the baseball update, I have been missing that in my life.

And yes I am anxious to get the play. And Mom, I love your emoji's, they make me smile.

Tuesday we had a really awkward lesson with a 21 yr old. He was being taught up in Greeley but when we asked about baptism he had never heard of it. But he has been taught almost all the lessons... What the heck? But we had to pass him off to the Young Single Adults so I didn't have to deal with that awkward situation. But it made me realize how important it is that they understand our purpose. We are here to help others come closer to Christ by receiving the restored Gospel. But we also had a really cool experience. We met a guy from Michigan that was soliciting in our neighborhood and he stopped and let us teach him. It was very refreshing to teach someone who was willing to listen. In fact he asked us to continue. So we gave him a Book of Mormon and hopefully he finds missionaries in Michigan. 

Wednesday we didn't really go out. My companion wasn't feeling very well this week so we were in most the week. But we did get to teach Shereen, the lady that came to Church. She is going to be a lot slower than I thought but she loves coming to Church so hopefully the Spirit hits her hard and she wants to get baptized in 4 weeks :) But being in gave me the chance to really think and catch up on some things. 

Thursday we had a bomb diggity zone meeting. It got me so pumped to share the Gospel. We talked about being a committed missionary and building your faith and testimony, and having enduring faith. It was really great. I learned a lot and got really excited to share the Gospel with everyone! And Elder Olsen was there for our meeting and totally did the splits. I was scared for his pants, but he did it and it was great. But then we went in after that. Again more catching up. But I did get to read a lot from the Bible. That was fun. Some of the stories were super sketch, but being able to just sit and read like I would a novel, made the story come alive and make more sense. So that was fun for me, even though we were inside all day. I missed the sun.

Friday was a fun day. We didn't really have anything happen but we had fun doing the work. And check

it, there were these little girls driving around one of those toy cars and it was my Mini Cooper. I wanted to sit in it so bad but just took a picture of it instead! That made my day!

Saturday was a long day of finding. I was wiped by the end of it. We got to teach a couple of people but no one wants to make return appointments. Lame. Awkward/creepy story of the day. We were walking around trying to find a house in the dark and we saw this car drive by. We still couldn't find the house so we were still walking around and the car drove by again but this time he stopped to take a picture of us. What the heck? Who does that? I was so dumb founded. 

Sunday was another really long day but it was good. We had the Temple dedication and that was really good. There were a lot of really good insights and the Spirit was so strong. It just made me want to go to the Temple every day, I love it so much. Temples really are great. We get to have a safe place to go and feel God's presence. Love it. 

So it was a pretty slow week but I still love the work and hope that it continues to progress. May the Lord continue to bless every one of you in your endeavors.

Much love,

Sister Richards

Elder Olson splits

Beautiful Sunrise!

 

We be blessed October 10, 2016

This is Boots our new horse. Smores is no more

Well... this week was interesting. I had to say goodbye to an amazing companion and we literally taught 4 lessons this week. Transfer week is always a struggle. But I think miracles are coming our way.

I am excited to get my play, this is going to be fun. You can do a CD. I have a way to play it. I also have a way to do a flash drive. No need to get a new iPod. Whatever is easiest!

Tuesday we got to have a really cool service opportunity. We got to help a lady make breakfast burritos. And in turn we got to make some for ourselves and take then home. Yum. But it was fun to just talk with her. She is super sweet and I am so grateful that someone let us do service for them. No one ever lets us help them these days. We also met this girl that was so excited to get a Book of Mormon. Whether she was serious or not I don't know but it was still cool to be able to help her out with that. We did have a lesson with Sarah, that was just so amazing. She is so ready to come back. She totally gets it too. She just needs to take that leap of faith and act. We talked about taking small steps. And by small and simple things are great things brought to pass. Truly it is those small things that make everything better. 

Wednesday was crazy cause it was transfer day. But we had fun at transfers because our whole zone was just telling stories and boy was it funny. We alsotook lots of fun pictures and videos. Gotta love those primary pop songs. They are the bomb. But then the transfer van came and my companion was not on it... so we had to go pick her up. It was really funny because I got to see everyone that just left Parker again. Good times. But my new companion is Sister Callens. She is from Texas and is super quiet. But she also served in two of my past wards so we have a lot of fun talking about them. 

Thursday we had a really awesome District Meeting. Our new District Leader is Elder Wohlrab and he actually came out with me. So that is fun. The rest of the day was filled with lots of finding and rejection galore. Gotta love it

Friday was special. We actually finished weekly planning on time. That never happens for me. But then the check engine light came on and we had to take our car all the way to Lonetree and have some sisters pick us up. So we were without a car all weekend. Fun stuff let me tell you. Our area is too big for walking so we could only really stay in one area. 

Saturday was a full day of walking but we were totally blessed for that. We got to teach someone! And when we went to lunch, a member paid and gave us a ride back to our area. Bless. Then we had lots and lots of walking and finding to do. But we made it through. And I had a ton of fun. It was great! We got to

Goodbye

take lots of pictures too. We were truly blessed that day.

Sunday we had a miracle happen. A woman that lives just down the street from our Church building, just decided to come that day to see what it was about. And she stayed for all 3 hours and totally loved it! She was just so grateful and told us that it was exactly what she needed in her life. Amazing. So that was really cool and we are going to teach her tomorrow and I'm pretty sure she will be baptized! Love. We also got 3 different desserts that night from members. Oh how I love dessert. 

So all in all it was a good week. I just hope and pray that miracles continue to happen here. I am learning a lot and hope that this time it sticks!

Anyway, I am excited to get the play! Thanks for all you do!

Much love,

Sister Richards

someone made us dinner and left it at our door :)

yes we are wearing winter coats cause it was that cold

Its fall! :) walking our lives away

A member gave us flashlights to walk in the dark :)

Another one bites the dust Oct 3, 2016

Happy Birthday Sister Richards!

Well first things first. It's transfers. I'm staying in Parker...again...for a fourth transfer... I don't know what to do with myself. But my new companion is going to be Sister Callens. I have met her once and all I
know is she is from Texas. This is going to be an interesting transfer for me... But I guess here we go!

Sisters Prep-day

Monday we had Sisters Prep-day and that was fun. We mainly just played games and ate food. But it was fun. 

Tuesday was kind of a rough day. Not much was happening and literally all of our appointments cancelled on us. We had a day planned full of wonderful new investigators and ended up with none. 

But Wednesday we got to do some service and had fun with that. We did the horses again and Boots farted in my face but it was way worse than when Smores did it. Uh I hate that! We did get to visit with Benji as the newest member of the ward! :) That was interesting. He is not getting along with his roommate... But that's ok. Hopefully things work out for him. And we got dropped by pretty much all of our investigators within the first three days of the week so that was awesome!

But Thursday we had a crazy day. We had a great District Meeting. Got super pumped for doing the

District Meeting

Lord's work and then we had a party sort of cause it was our District Leade'rs last District Meeting. We made him brownies :) Then we got dropped by two of our investigators, one of which we didn't even say more than 5 words so that was fun. 

Friday we got to do some fun service. We got to ask for donations. I felt weird doing that actually. But then we found 3 new investigators! How cool is that?! They might have some great potential. We will have to see about this. 

Saturday was a Conference magical day. So many great talks and so many answers found. I had all my answers in the first session of conference so that was pretty cool. I did get my package and thank you for that. I really loved the earrings and journal. Those were awesome! Thank you!

Sunday was another great day full of conference fun. It was great.

So I apologize for my letter. I know I promised a better one but today was not the greatest for trying to make a better one. Next week... Promise :)

Much love,

Sister Richards

distraction September 26, 2016

Ok I am going to warn you right now, this may not be the best email because my brain is so distracted and I can't think about what happened this week but I will do my best! Oh and I forgot to send pictures last week so I will send those too! :)

But first, BENJI GOT BAPTIZED!!!! It was such a good baptism. We sang a song that didn't really come out as well as when we practiced it. Struggle. But it was so good. He was so excited to be there and to be baptized. He was held under for like a whole minute so that was kind of scary but he loved it. It was so good. God is real and this Gospel is true!

Anyway Tuesday was a pretty normal day of not much happening! Yay. 

I got to mow a lawn this week and it made my day! 

Wednesday we got to do a lot of service and see Shea and Sabian. That was an interesting lesson. They are so sweet but they aren't too sure about this Church. It's really sad they had a terrible experience at Church but they said they were not going to give up yet. Except they didn't come to Church and said they might not want to meet anymore. Dumb Satan. But we had a great dinner with a new family in the Ward and they were telling us some funny stories about President Hinckley and President Monson. They are funny. We also had a great lesson with a less active member, Sarah. She is so amazing. She is just like a golden investigator. We just talked about the Atonement and it really just made me think about how important the Atonement is and how we go through the things we go through to learn to rely on our Savior. I can't really describe what I learned but it was amazing. 

Thursday we got to go on exchanges and that was so much fun. I got to be with Sister Kastner and we didn't really take pictures but it was great. I learned a lot and had a lot of fun. I always learn a lot about my purpose when I am with her. And we always have something go wrong. This time we couldn't get into the building to get the bikes so we had to wait for awhile. That was fun. But we talked to a lot of people and it was just awesome. I miss having people to talk to. So that was great. And I got to use my psychology brain so that was fun:)

Friday was crazy awesome. We got to teach a lot of people and got a new investigator. Suhweet!! He is a Christian Indian so that is cool.

Filling the font

Saturday was crazy busy. We, of course, had Benji's baptism and that was awesome. And then we got lost trying to find a President's house and that was quite an adventure. We also got to go to the Women's Broadcast and that was ok. I didn't really learn a lot from that but it's always a blessing to hear from our leaders. And we found a new investigator. He is an old Asian man and his wife just died recently so we are hoping to help him and I want to baptize an Asian. 

Sunday was a great day. Benji got confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! It was awesome! And after church and dinner, we had a Sisters' fireside. They had a fireside for all the sisters that got to help out in the Temple open house and it was so good. It just brought back so many memories and made me realize what a blessing it is to be here now serving the Lord. And I finally got my picture with all my companions. :)

But sorry this is so rushed and not really great. I will try better next time. But know that I love being a missionary and I love being able to help others come closer to Christ. This is a great work and the Gospel is amazing! 

Much love,

Sister Richards

All my companions in one

The sisters that came out with me!

#bless September 19, 2016

Well this week has been a pretty good one. Lots of miracles and fun times were had.

Before I begin I forgot to tell you something that I found out last week that made my day. Allison got baptized! I don't know if you remember her but she was the one Sister Hudson and I found right before my car accident. I am a little sad they didn't invite me to her baptism but I am so excited for her. She is awesome!

Tuesday we did a mission wide car fast and so we were biking for most the day. We had a lot of fun, for the most part. Nothing too miraculous happened that day but I think we were blessed later for it. We talked to a lot of people and it was a nice day for biking. We even handed out a Book Of Mormon and ran into the cutest lady and her son who are now new investigators. So that is pretty cool. I will talk about them later though! But here was the not so fun part for me. I don't know if you know this about me but I don't really like being wet in the rain. Sometimes it's fun. But when you have to bike 30 mins home in pouring rain, not so fun. I am kicking myself though cause if we would have started heading home when I was prompted to, we would not have been so wet and cold and sore. But alas, we got soaked. And I actually felt pretty sick from that so that was not fun. But looking back on it I can laugh a little. We got to visit with Benji after that so that was good. He is doing so well and is so excited to be baptized this Saturday! He has a countdown. It's so cute. He is already a great member missionary too!

Not much happened on Wednesday except some service. Except I think I am allergic to horses cause my allergies go crazy when ever we go through. JK I know its the dust and stuff but I will blame the horses. Speaking of, I have tried like 5 different medications and nothing is helping my allergies. So now I just have this cronic stuffy nose that is driving me insane... 

Thursday we had a pretty bomb zone meeting. I learned a lot. And our zone leaders got us matching zone t-shirts so that is pretty fun. Also I found out that Sister Dennis is now in Parker. Sadly because of and ET but I am excited that she is closer to me. And I get to see her today because of zone pday! Woot woot! But we got to teach one of our less active members and she is such a sweetheart. I just feel so bad for her. Her family is super anti and don't know that she got baptized and she feels like she is living a double life. Its so sad. So we ended up talking a lot about the Atonement and boy am I grateful for that. When we can learn how to personally tap into the power of the Atonement, we are free. And it is so personal because everyone has their own personal relationship with God, and thank goodness for that. We also found a new investigator, Jackie. We actually tracted into her like two months ago but finally got to teach her. She actually has a lot of the same beliefs as us and so hopefully she makes time for the Gospel to learn more. 

Friday was a long day of contemplation and realization for me. And I realized that Satan is very sneaky and powerful, when we let him be. And I also learned that the little things are so important to do. Little acts of kindness and obedience go a long way. And there are a ton of scriptures to support that. 

Saturday was a pretty good day. I was having an off day and had the tendency to say really awkward things but that's OK. That was when we got to visit with Shea and Sabian, the two we ran into on Tuesday. They have the coolest story. Well, it's not that cool, but very inspiring to me. They came from Alabama and their adventure to get here is crazy. They have been through so many hard things just to get here but they still love God and know he is watching out for them. And Sabian is 10 and is just so adorable. But I love to hear the stories of those people that go through so much and basically have nothing but are as happy and content as they can be. They are truly humble. And it's a lesson I need to learn everyday. So they are awesome!

Sunday was a fun day. We had the primary program in one of our wards and Shea and Sabian came to Church. They were really overwhelmed so I don't think they had the best experience but hopefully that doesn't deter them from learning. We also talked all about marriage in both Relief Society meetings. Fun

stuff. We also had a great lesson with Benji at the Ogdens again. They are just the best. There are some really great people here. And I just love them!

Well this week is probably going to be a stressful one with getting ready for Benji's baptism but I am so excited for him. He has come so far!

Anyway keep being disciples of Christ and loving God. Love to you all!

Much love,

Sister Richards

Soaking wet after.....

Benji got us razors:) haha

Yes, time flies! September 12, 2016

Last Temple Day.  It was very windy...

You are totally right Mom, time does fly indeed. So I will tell you about the time we had this week!

I will start with Wednesday. We had an amazing Zone Conference. It was really fun too cause all the Sisters were in the same meeting because of the Temple open house help we have been doing. So I got to see all of my companions in one meeting. Sadly didn't take a picture but it was great. There were also some really great musical numbers too. Gotta love those harmonizing skills. But let me tell you some things that I learned. The biggest thing I learned is how important love is in doing the Lord's work. Love is the driving force. But it's not just love for the people we teach but also love for the Gospel and for Jesus Christ, and the difference between love, the noun, and love, the verb. Something else that was really prominent to me was being a disciple of Jesus Christ. I'm trying to be like Jesus. What would Jesus do? It was all just very good and eye opening. Our President's son was our guest speaker. That was awesome! He mainly talked about no regrets on the mission and working hard. Really great! I learned a butt ton! So that was a really good meeting. And everyone sang happy birthday to me so that's a plus! :)

Not much happened on Thursday. We got to meet with one of our investigators, Danielle. She even fed us dinner so that was awesome! She is so sweet! She is kind of hard to read right now but hopefully she reads the Book Of Mormon and prayers and just feels the Spirit so hard. That's basically the highlight of that day.

Friday was our last day at the Temple open house, which is where I sent those pictures to you! Did you get the one with me and my companion? Anyway that was super fun. On the way up to the Temple I was just thinking that it would be really cool if I could see someone from Henderson there and lo and behold God answers prayers. I got to see Sister Gilson! She is seriously my favorite. I just love her so much and I was so happy to have seen her. But we also got to go through the Temple one last time with President and Sister Mendenhall actually so that was awesome! We had an interestingly unpleasant experience though after dinner. We tried by a less active member's  house and no one answered so we went somewhere else but then I felt like we should go back to that same street and try the corner house. I didn't know what I was doing but nothing came of it. But as we were walking back to our car to go home, we saw the lights on in the house of the less active member we had tried previously. So we knocked on it again and you could hear lots and lots of screaming. It was hurting my soul. So they finally answered and we, of course, got yelled at. But I wish they would have just listened. We had a solution for them that no amount of screaming was going to take care of. So that was just an interesting experience for me and I learned something from it, even though she yelled at us and rejected us.

Sunday we had ward conference in one of our wards and it was amazing. I again learned a lot about love

Beautiful Sunset

and being a disciple of Christ. It was really good. And to look at the little miracles and tender mercies that happen every day! They are there, we just have to look for them and be grateful for them. Oh and there was a musical number that was to die for. I was blown away. We actually taught his daughter after church and just talked all about singing. I think he was in Vocal Point once. But he just didn't want to tell me. But he told me to keep singing, which of course I will do. Its the best! :)

Anyway that was our week. Not much happened but I learned a lot. And I will definitely pray for those people. Thanks for all the love and support! I hope you all have a great week. I will leave you with something to remember. Comparing yourself to a pencil, remember 1. that everywhere you go you leave a mark. 2. you can always correct your mistakes 3. the inside or core is the most important part and what matters 4. you have to go through painful sharpening but its to make you better and 5. you must allow yourself to be guided by the person that holds you. Think about that one!

Much love,

Sister Richards

Beautiful Sunset

My MTC district together at zone conference. Well at least the ones that came out with me.
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Parker Zone plus Elder Coberly

Last Temple Day--Sister Mendenhall

So I hurt myself this morning. My closet cut out a huge chunk of my finger today. But don't worry, superman made it all better. My hero! :)

 

Blessings of the Temple! September 6, 2016

Sadly this is the only picture from this week... I need more! I did the math one day and I found out that I needed to take 55 pictures every day to fill my card by the end of my mission... here comes random pictures

Well glad to hear you had a great time in Colorado, Mom. It's a good thing I had no idea!! Geez!

Well this week we didn't really have a lot of time to do much! We were up at the Fort Collins Temple helping with the open house Monday, Wednesday, and Friday! So that was really awesome! And I got to see lots of people from my past wards! And this one less active family recognized me before I even saw them so that made me happy! And yes, the temple is beautiful! I love being able to go there and help out. There really is such a Spirit there even though it hasn't been dedicated yet. It makes me happy. And whenever we are the last tour we get to go through the Temple and it is just so awesome! I love being in the Bride Room and the Celestial Room. They are really amazing! The Baptistery is really pretty, too. It's small but very detailed. And the crystals on the chandeliers are my favorite. I just love the Temple!!

Tuesday we had a pretty good District Meeting. Our new missionary gave his first training on being a consecrated missionary. It was pretty good. I did a role play with him and he was so nervous, poor guy. But I'm sure he will do great things. 

We did get to teach a less active girl on Wednesday and that was really cool. She is just so ready to start trying. She wants us to come over and to bring the Spirit to her home. You don't get that a lot here. She is super sweet! I think it's going to be a slow process for her but I think she will get there. 

Thursday was really our only day to do missionary work. And we got a new investigator from it. We were running back and forth between both Wards pretty much every hour. It was insane. But we talked with one of our investigators, Sharon, who likes to contradict herself sometimes. Very confusing. She believes in what we do, she just doesn't think she needs to be Mormon to believe it. Interesting. Then we taught a Hindu lady. Let me tell you, teaching Hindus is hard but she loves Jesus so that's cool. Except she dropped us so not so cool. That's the fastest investigator I think I have had. Found her Sunday and got dropped on Thursday. Dang... But our new investigator is Danielle. She is super sweet! It started with her telling us we could come back cause of her kids, but then her kids went to play dress up and she had all the questions. And we basically taught a principle from every lesson before we just asked to share the whole thing. So she said we could. Her ex-husband was a member so she is familiar but is interested in learning more. Her husband now is a quiet soul. Very interesting. I am hoping that he will find God again as we come over more and more. Then we taught Benji. He is progressing so well. He gets all emotional when we pray and he is so excited for his Baptism. It's going great with him. He just likes to talk a lot. But we have a great sass relationship. He says I give him the "mom look" which I don't know what he is talking about but whatever. He's awesome.

Saturday was a bit crazy. We found another investigator who is Muslim. But I don't think it's going to go very far with this one either but we will just have to wait and see what happens I guess. They have very similar beliefs as us so that's cool. 

Sunday was back and forth again. We had back to back appointments like every half hour. Crazy. But I love visiting with Brother Ogden and his daughter Sister Grieves. I don't know if I have ever talked about them before but they are just awesome. I always learn so much when I go over there. Their whole family is just going through so much right now it's ridiculous. But they also have so much faith. And I love to hear stories from Sister Grieves' mission. We just shared our favorite scriptures this last time and Brother Ogden shared Luke 9:62, which I just came across recently and it's just awesome. And it makes me think of Meet the Robinsons. (love that movie). But we cant go back to our old self. All we can do is move forward. It's like President Uchtdorf always says, start where you are. I just love that.   

Anyway I love you all and I love the work. This Gospel truly is amazing and I couldn't imagine my life without it. Thank you for all the support you give to me so that I could be here serving the people of Colorado! Love you all! And love Jesus!

Much love,

Sister Richards

Ok so we were going through a car wash and they had monkeys at the end and I flipped out. I don't know if you know but I hate monkeys. It was like they were going to come in the car and attack me... not cool!