SISTER RICHARDSON WEEKLY LETTER #10
SEPT 16, 2013
Hello all!
Thank
you so much my family for all your letters and emails! I love hearing
about what's going on at home and opening mail is like Christmas morning
every time. Thanks for the pictures too! They are already up on my
wall. So last week, I ran out of time to write a weekly email...but
President Craig changed the rule and we now don't have a time limit for
email as long as it's not excessive. So I'll be writing for last week
and this week this time!
Week of Sept 2-Sept 8:
Got my new trainee this
week! It feels like I'm a mother basically. Training is really scary!
You have to trust in yourself and in God that you're doing what God
wants you to do in figuring out to who to see and what to teach every
day. My new companion is Sister Spendlove. She is from Sandy and is
the second oldest of 8 kids. She did a year at Snow College before
coming on her mission. It was a bit of a culture shock at first for her
seeing the lifestyle these people have that revolves around football,
smoking, their dogs, and figuring out how to pay the bills. But she is
adjusting and it's cool to see her learning through the Spirit. I'm
figuring out how to lovingly correct...but thank goodness for the spirit
because it tells her what she's supposed to do as I lead by example.
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| Melissa's Study Area |
Okay here are lots of random things again...I'm horrible at doing a sequential order!
-It's
always an adventure when we meet diehard African Baptists. I love
them! Their style of worship is just different than ours. We met this
one lady on her front porch and we were talking to her about the Holy
Spirit. I told her about how the Holy Spirit to me is a feeling of
peace and comfort and happiness. She said "Mmm the Holy Spirit is like
that cold water just running down your throat. Into your chest. Just
fillin up your whole body. And quenchin ya thirst." Now every time I
drink cold water and feel it running down into my stomach...I think of
this lady and the Holy Spirit :) I loved her analogy :)
-I have resolved to know the Bible better! There is so much
good stuff in there. I am reading through and studying the New Testament
right now and reading corresponding parts in Jesus the Christ. Also,
who knew Ephesians was a gold mine of doctrine! So great. The people
here teach me so much.
-A miracle from the week was a less-active family that we've
been trying to visit. We have gone by so many times to see them, but
they aren't home or don't let us in. But we kept going back and they
let us in! They are so so nice! The right people were home at the
right time and we had an awesome spiritual lesson with them. There is
hope for their reactivation! I'm excited to keep working with them.
-Sister Spendlove and I were doing our studies at the church
one day and this lady knocks on the door of the Relief Society room
where we were studying. She asked if she could rent the cultural hall
for a wedding reception. We told her we'd have to ask and find out.
But in the meantime, we shared the restoration with her and a book of
mormon! Tender mercy timing for us all to be there!
-I had a cool missionary experience that I've read about other
missionaries having, so it was cool it finally happened to me! We were
driving down a road and this house popped out at me. I ignored it at
first, but then the prompting kept coming back. So we went and knocked
on the door and they were receptive and we're going back to teach them!
Awesome!
-Sometimes, well often times, I get so into missionary work
that it becomes an obsession! I have to make myself plan in an hour for
lunch and an hour for dinner and have to keep myself from setting up
appointments on our p-day....for the sanity of my companion, and mine as
well I'm sure. I just love always studying the gospel and always doing
missionary work and learning more, whether we are in the car driving or
sitting down to eat lunch.
-This week in becoming a trainer, I have felt an endowment of
power from God as I have had to rely completely on Him. Being set-apart
as a missionary is a real thing that comes with a specific endowment.
-They said that in our Kingsland stake, there are enough
melchizedek priesthood holders to make another stake. That validates
all of the work that we do with less active members!
-We
went to go to service for a lady in the ward with a small farm this one
morning, but she was too nice and couldn't let us do anything for her.
She didn't want us to get hot and sweaty and dirty outside. So she had
us brush her horses. I didn't complain! I did scoop out the manure in
her barn without her permission, but she didn't stop me. And then we
braided the horses tail and manes. Ha! It was fun. I french braided
the horse's tail. But as I was braiding it, it lifts up its tail and
farts. Oh man I almost died from the smell. Wish the horse could have
warned me! But I didn't want to make a big deal. So I just gagged in my
mouth, found some fresh air, and stood to the side to finish the
braiding.
-I've learned this week to never give up on people! Christ
never gave up on people. So we shouldn't. We work with people that have
been excommunicated, disfellowshipped, are going through their 3rd
divorce, went back to smoking after quitting several times....there is
never a reason to give up on someone though if we truly strive to love
others as Christ loves us. That is why it is so hard for me to "drop"
investigators when they aren't progressing and continuing to read and
pray. Something I'm praying about, to figure out the balance!
Week of Sep. 9-Sep. 15
-I have been
called to be a Facebook missionary! Our mission has been one of the
pilot missions for facebook missionaries, so they've been doing it here
for about a year already. They call people to do it after they've been
out a while so there is less of a temptation to goof around on fb and
talk to people from home. So here are the rules. My profile is
Sister-Melissa Richardson. You can add me as a friend. But we can't
really talk on facebook...unless it's something to do with missionary
work. Like you could give me a referral of someone I should message and
share the gospel with. You can comment/like/post things on my profile
as long as it's not talking about home and adds to its visibility/gospel
conversation. There is a 4-week training for facebook missionaries, so
I"m just starting it. But with what I've done so far, it's AWESOME!
Facebook missionary work is going to be so effective. With finding and
teaching and getting referrals and involving ward members in missionary
work. The whole shebang. My profile is lacking right now...but I'll be
able to spend more time on it this week. They want us to spend 1hr/day
on it, except on Sundays. They had us go in to our regular fb account
and deactivate it...man that was probably the most stressed I've been on
my mission yet. I was on the phone with the zone leaders as they were
training me. And I was just hyperventilating and freaking out, feeling
like a sinner going on there. They kept reassuring me that it was
okay...haha the squealy little immature teenager in me came out. But I
went on there and saw pictures of things from the real world and posts
of people....it was soooo weird! I saw Stephanie with an Arkansas shirt
on her profile pic...but that's all I saw as I quickly clicked to go
deactivate my account. STRESS!!! It was a bizarre mixing of worlds.
And then I walked into the living room of hte member's house where we
were using the computer. And she's watching the byu football game.
Weird reminder that things are still going on at home.
-So I got pulled over by the police!! So did the Elders! We
were both leaving the church after teaching class wednesday night. And
the elders, those presh elders, sped out of the parking lot, tires
squealing and all! Of course, just as they did that, a police man
pulled into the church parking lot. Bad timing!! So he pulled them over
to see if they were trying to get away from him. He checked their
licenses and all was well when the police saw we were innocent
missionaries. But Sister Spendlove and I were freaking out trying to
figure out why the police had pulled over the elders. So kind of crept
around the parking lot, peeking at them trying to figure it out, seeing
if they needed help. Which was a dumb idea. Because as soon as the
police left the elders, we pulled out of the parking lot and he comes
and pulls us over! He checks my license and asks a couple questions,
told us why he had pulled over the elders...and then sent us on our
way. Bizarre experience! But a funny memory.
-The Holy Ghost keeps us safe! We go to some sketch places
where there have been murders, or where we have heard people shooting
pistols (don't need a license in Georgia to own/buy a gun)....but we
just follow the spirit and sometimes we feel good about going, and
sometimes we get nasty feelings about going...so we just follow what the
Spirit says!
-Have you ever tried to teach the restoration to a giddy drunk
person? I have! It was funny/interesting. She was really nice..and
wanted to learn more. I think she felt the spirit...but I'm not sure.
We will try back later and hope that she is sober.
-Okay. I'm going to call this investigator Anna. Because we
aren't supposed to share names for safety reasons. But Anna was
supposed to get baptized this Sunday. This is the person that's
supposed to have been getting baptized for the last 4 sundays. But she
keeps being called into work on Sunday mornings. And she has to come to
church one more time, so that's why we have to do it on Sunday after
church. But she told us that she got this Sunday off of work. So we
planned the whole shebang AGAIN. But thought it was for real this
time. I had this vision of this baptism being a ward unifying
experience and got lots of people involved helping with playing piano,
making refreshments, making programs. I just thought it would be an
awesome thing where Anna felt loved and welcomed and the ward felt like
they were making a difference. But then she didn't show up to sacrament
meeting!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We called her after sacrament meeting and her
daughter answered saying that she'd been called into work. It was a
bummer! The worst part was having to tell the ward members that it
wasn't happening, especially after they had been announcing it
everywhere and had crock pots already plugged in for the big event.
Broke my heart. I was bummed that it didn't work out. We went and saw
Anna that evening. And I just love her so much. This is the lady from
Africa that is a friend to all. She told us that she was so mad that
had to go into work and she is planning on quitting her job and finding
another job where she doesn't have to work on Sunday. Which is great
that she made that decision on her own. But hopefully things will all
work out eventually. Last night, I asked Anna questions about African
hair braiding because there are places around here that do it...but it's
like $150! Anna french braided my hair...it was really sweet of her :)
But it's hard bonding with people, knowing I'll be leaving too soon.
Anna is feeding us African food this week. Also, she gave us 12
referrals!!!! And she is going to visit all of them with us. Hooray for
sharing the gospel and praying with people!
-We were trying to get our investigator, who I'll call Sara,
to come to class with us Sunday night. But this extremely dramatic 68
year old lady couldn't find her keys! We looked for a while with her and
couldn't find them. So we said a prayer to find her keys. And right
away she found them! It was awesome to have her experience that miracle
with us! But then she never showed up to class.....c'est la vie
-We were teaching another investigator, who I'll call Jessica,
the second lesson and she asks us if she can get baptized this Sunday!!
It blew us away that she was so willing! We told her that not this
Sunday, but in a few weeks she could after we taught her more and she'd
come to church a few times. She came to church this Sunday!
-A super awesome experience this week was going to an
investigator's navy pinning ceremony. They became a chief petty officer
which is a big deal I'm learning. And takes a lot of work and years to
get there. It was awesome that they invited us and wanted us to be
there. It was held in a methodist church and there were lots of navy
people in their "fancy" clothes. I don't know what the right term is
for it. But it was just an awesome ceremony with oaths and pledges and
then family members pinning on the anchor pins to their lapel. Made me
kinda sorta want to be in the navy...but I can't really picture that at
all! But this ward member here who is a lieutenant is trying to talk me
into being a psychologist for the navy...telling me about all the
benefits and such. Ha! We'll see...but probably not. Can't picture
myself throwing a grenade without screaming and covering my ears. I may
or may not have bought some Navy-esque jewelry there at the shop...
-D&C 6:28
-My two month mark went by without
me even noticing it. They say time gets going faster. And the second
month went by a lot faster than the first month!
-I like
getting up at the morning at 6:30, knowing that the 70,000 other
missionaries are doing the same thing...at least the ones in my time
zone of the earth.
-I've fallen in love with the Ensign every month. Maybe
because our reading material is limited...but oh my goodness, it is so
good. Never realized what a gem it is. I could spend a whole month
studying it....okay not that long, but I just really like it.
Love you all! Go change the world!
Sister Richardson
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