Tuesday, June 10, 2014

SISTER MELISSA RICHARDSON WEEKLY LETTER #45 -- MAY 19, 2014

SISTER MELISSA RICHARDSON
MAY 19, 2014


I got transferred 12 miles, hooray!
Well, this new area is super.  I am really spoiled.  We have our own car, which is so nice.  We live in this really nice, new house with a member that is hardly ever there.  Our area isn't that big.  My companion, Sister Gillman is a dream companion. The people are really great, especially the ward.  A lot of people are from Utah.  Most people have about 4 kids and are in the middle stage of their married life.  So not super young families, but not older families.  A lot of people are responsive to us when we are out tracting too! The members are very willing to help us with missionary work.  So I am very happy here!
Sister Gillman is from Myton, Utah which is a really small town.  She lives on a cattle ranch/farm. So she has awesome stories about farming, chasing cows, riding horses, raising sheep, growing gardens, shooting raccoons.  She graduated last year from high school and has been on her mission for 5 months.  Last year, she won the grand prize for her steer and won $10,000! Which she used to pay for her mission. Pretty cool! She has promised me that I can come visit her and ride horses with her after our missions.  She also was a temple worker in the Vernal temple before she came on her mission.  We are both easy-going but hard-working, so we get along great! 
Another "exciting" thing.  I got transferred from the deaf ward just in time, because I have slight carpal tunnel I've been told. I'm guessing it's from signing and playing piano/organ so much in my last ward.  But I was just told to let it rest for a bit and it'll get better.  I wear a wrist brace most of the time now.  It's in both hands, but the right hand is worse.  Thank goodness there are other people in this ward to play piano and organ!
We have seen some cool miracles this past week!
We had a lesson with our investigator Nora this past week about prayer and the Sabbath day.  Her kids are CRAZY and so it was a distracted lesson, but we still managed to help her feel the spirit I think and teach her. She came to church with her two crazy boys, but guess what. They were so calm during sacrament meeting.  I couldn't believe they were the same kids.  And their names are Finnbar and Oliver.  Pretty cute.  Oliver sang the hymns by singing "Pikachu" over and over again to the melody. 
There is a less-active family here, the Lunas, and the Sisters ran into them while walking down the road last month.  They weren't on the ward records at all! They recently joined the church and then moved.  So we arestill helping them with their conversion process.  And trying to get all of their kids on board with it as well so they can all come to church together.  In Preach My Gospel, it says that the Book of Mormon combined with the Spirit are your most powerful tools for conversion.  I know this is true! We read about Nephi and the broken bow in the book of Mormon with them and helped them apply it to their lives! The book of Mormon and the spirit transformed a family that before wasn't wanting to come back to church, into a family that was asking all sorts of gospel questions and making gospel connections on their own, and finally being willing to pray for us.  They had a nonmember friend there with them, and she became super interested in the gospel too and was asking awesome questions.  It was neat.  And then she fed us delicious South American food. Worth it.
It is always a bit overwhelming coming into a new area with trying to learn how to get everywhere, the names of everyone, what their background stories are.  But haven't even been here a week, so I know it will come in time.  It always does!
Hurricane season starts June 1!
Have a great week!
Sister Richardson
 This is for Grandma. Sister Greeley's dad was baptized by my Grandpa
Richardson! Pretty neat!
 
The sisters from my MTC district when we were at the temple

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