MAY 1, 2018 - WEEK #9

SAYING GOODBYE -- SAYING HELLO

May 1, 2018

Alright, are you ready for this? Because I'm not! Elder Ogden!! Why do you have to leave me!!

Missionaries serve missions (Obviously), with Elders (men) serving approximately 2 years, and Sisters (women) serving approximately 18 months. My companion, Elder Ogden, who has trained me so far, has served his two years, and has been preparing to go home. It's really weird, having this book-ending experience: with me just starting my Mission and him finishing it. He was talking about a friend yesterday, and he said, "Oh, I guess I'll see him this Friday. Elder! Don't ever go home!!"

It's really bittersweet, going home from your mission. Your life has been dedicated to God and doing His work for 2 whole years, and then you have to go home. What's that like? Weird, according to Elder Ogden. 

When I was younger, I really didn't understand what serving a mission was all about, so I thought that coming home to my family and friends would be an entirely positive experience. But I love my Mission. I already have learn so much in this spiritual environment that I never really "got" before. I'm meeting wonderful people who are going through hard things, and yet they keep their faith in Jesus Christ. They teach me as much as I teach them. And that's something that will still exist beyond the mission, but there are other things that can get in the way that get put away while you're on a Mission. TL;DR, going home seems fun, and is fun, but it's also hard. 

Anyways, because Elder Ogden was going home, a lot of the week was just plain crazy! For example, President and Sister Dixon wanted the departing missionaries to have one last trip to the Temple together. So Elder Ogden and I went to go visit Elder Holton, who is also leaving, and his companion Elder Clarkson. Elders Ogden and Holton left to go to the Temple, and I stayed with Elder Clarkson in his area. 

And Oh Boy! We had some fun! We had a list of people that we wanted to go visit, and we knocked on one door, but nobody answered. So we mounted our bikes and got to the end of his driveway, and noticed this box by the road. This box is full of awesome VCR's! We saw White Christmas and Singing in the Rain, and I really wanted to take them. But Elder Clarkson said No. But then we found an old Jackie Chan movie, and we knew that if we didn't leave right away, we'd be stuck there another hour looking at the old movies! 

We also went by this one house, and instead of a man named Larry, this woman came out and told us that Larry had moved. My thought was, "Welp, let's go to the next house." Elder Clarkson, on the other hand, started talking to her, and handed her a pamphlet with our number, as well as a Book of Mormon! I asked him.about it later, and he said that learning how to open our mouths and seeing opportunities to invite just comes with time of being a Missionary. I can't wait to get to that point, but I need to be patient for that day. 

As we were talking, we heard this loud BANG!!! It sounded like it was right behind us too! 

"Hey, Elder Clarkson? Was that a firework, or a gunshot?"

"Um... Let's Get out of here."

So we biked like CRAZY to get out of there! I still don't know what happened, but I'm glad that I only heard the sound. We were kept safe, for sure!

The crowning moment of the week for me was our first lesson with Riley, who I talked about last week. We met with him and his friend (The one that invited him to Invitation Sunday) and his family. We taught about The Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is at the Core of everything Jesus Christ taught, and everything His Apostles and Prophets have taught. I'll talk a little more about the different lessons at a different point, but the lesson went really well! The family bore their testimonies of what they knew, and we set up a return appointment for this next week! And, apparently, when we left, he asked the family, "What do you think they'll teach next?" 

It's so great to see those people who have been prepared by the Lord be so excited about hearing His Gospel! But I know that none of the impact or the feelings he felt were from anything Elder Odgen or I said. It all came from the Spirit, or the Holy Ghost, which was there in the lesson. But I am honored by the ability to help others to feel that Spirit that I have felt, and to testify of Jesus Christ. I know that He Lives, and that He loves us so much that He gave us His gospel, so that we can come to live with Him again!

And a lot of stuff is going crazy this week, with new companions and new missionaries coming in, but that's OK! I'm excited to keep serving the people of Fontana with Elder Bearman (who I meet Wednesday!!), and excited to be finding more people to love and teach as the Savior would! 

Keeping on! 

Elder Richardson

P.S. Sorry for the Lateness and shortness of emails! I've been having technical difficulties or something. I should be a lot less rushed next week... I hope...

1) So this one family made these desserts, and they are officially the most adorable desserts I've ever had! 

2) That family who hosted(?) our lesson with Riley gave both Elder Ogden and I California Flags!! I Love this Bear!!!

Benjamin Richardson

California Redlands Mission

Feb 28, 2018 - March 3, 2020

APRIL 24, 2018 - WEEK #8

INVITATION SUNDAY IS THE BEST!!

April 24, 2018

So my last email was late because my P-day ended early last week. Tuesday, we got to go to the California Redlands Temple! The Temple is so great! It's kind of like a special church building, where we can go to make Covenants, or promises, with God. I can always feel the Spirit there, and I'm glad that we have a temple just 30 minutes away!

And now, for the weather, IT'S HOT! BUT IT'S COLD! BUT IT'S STILL HOT! Honestly, I've been debating about buying a jacket, because one night we had to head home and grab sweaters, so then we could head back out and not freeze while we were biking. And then the sun is super bright, always.

But the weather's greatest weapon is The Santa Ana winds. They blow with a FURY! Elder Ogden has talked about a time where they were biking downhill with the blowing against them. His bike computer thing read that he was only going 4 miles an hour that whole time! Crazy, right? I already almost fall off my bike because of gravity! I don't need another force of nature conspiring to throw me off! Or maybe I should just stop trying to ride no-handed when the wind is strong... Regardless!

This week marks Week 5 in the field, I think... Anyways, we came back to the Mission Office, where we new missionaries met our companions for the first time, and had a follow up training with President and Sister Dixon! It was so great! I love them so much! One of the things we did was we looked at Ether 6:1-12, and compared their journey to our missions. There was a lot of good stuff in there!

That also meant I got to see Elder Tripp again(my MTC Companion)! And Sister Bastian(who was in my District at the MTC), but she's in my Zone, so I still see her occasionally. Still great to see her, but it happens more often. But it was so nice to see Elder Tripp again! It was a lot of fun to catch up and share our different experiences. I'm looking forward to having more companions so that I can have more people to check up on and catch up with!

Anyways, let's get into it. We've been working towards this for awhile, but this week it finally happened: Invitation Sunday. Now, what is this "Invitation Sunday," you may ask. Well, it's a Sunday dedicated towards inviting people to church! The Talks are given based on our basic beliefs (if you know the first three missionary lessons of Preach My Gospel, we had one speaker speaking on points of each lesson), you can say that it's for a lot of people that have never been before, AND there's a potluck after! Free food! It's fantastic!

So we as Missionaries have been trying to hype it up for the last week or so, and have been handing out invitations like crazy! Elder Ogden and I had the chance to go by one house that belonged to a man named Karl. We've tried his home before, but haven't been able to catch him. Finally, we were able to catch him, and he suggested setting up an appointment! So we set one up, invited him to Invitation Sunday, and he said he'd try to come!

We invited another man, and he seemed really excited, but he had to go back to watching his Hockey game, so we had to let him go...

The day came, and we were eagerly standing outside the doors of the chapel and we waited. And a lot of people came! We got to talk with a few of them, and even set an appointment up with someone who said that he wanted to "get back on the right track!" That's so incredible! We set up a time, and he seemed genuinely interested in learning more! The Lord is always working with people, preparing them! That's why we need to reach out, to do our part in the work! Had his friend not invited him, we may have never met this boy!

Jesus Christ is at the Helm of this Ship Zion, and we missionaries are like its crew! We have to do our part to get these people onboard to where they want to go, and home with our Heavenly Father!

Just don't think about the metaphor too much, because I'm sure there are holes in it. Unlike the ship itself. 

And now, I go.

Elder Richardson 

P.S. Also, I have come to the realization that my pictures might not even send in the correct order, so... Good luck...?

P.P.S.S. Also, this email is late because it wouldn't send. I suspect trying to attach 7 pictures caused that, but what do I know? :P

P.P.P.S.S.S. Like, seriously, I can't send this email for some reason... Why Gmail? Why???

1) Sketchy Ice Cream Truck! I just love it! I would also never buy Ice Cream from it. 

APRIL 17, 2018 - WEEK #7

A WEEK OF NEW THINGS. 

SCARY THINGS, BUT GOOD THINGS!

April 17, 2018

Ok, so the Mission President leads all the Missionaries in the Mission, right? Which means that when you have an interview with him, like you do every month or so, you're going to be at least a little panicked. 

Not that he's a scary person, like, at all. He's a man who is very in tune with the Spirit of God. And so you know that if there's anything that President Dixon needs to say, because God knows what we need to hear, he'll say it! Think about how when your mom calls you over, and you start thinking about everything you might've done wrong for the past six months. Yeah, that's the feeling. 

But my interview went really well! I think... He listened to some of my concerns about certain things, and he gave me counsel, and had me commit to trying to set goals for the future. It was great, and I'm trying to apply those things! Unfortunately, I didn't write them down, sooooo...

Something else that started this week was Elder Ogden trying to teach me how to do some basic tricks on my bike. He's got me started on riding with no hands (which I've kind of got, I'm just really wobbly), and also trying to bring up my front wheel in a hoppy-fashion. I call it hopping, but I realized that that doesn't fit. Like, at all. The idea is that you jerk back on your bike, lifting up the front wheel up. Then it should land on the top of the curb you're trying to go up, and then the back wheel just gets up on its own. I haven't gotten to try this on an actual curb yet, but I'll send you pictures of the scars and hospital visit when I do try. (I'll try to be safe, Mom!)

For the past 2 Sundays, we've had dinner with the Bishop of our ward, Bishop Dalton. So, Wards are made up of the people in a certain area. For example, I'm serving in the Baseline Ward. Those Wards are lead and watched over by the Bishop. So we work with him in coordinating Ward Missionary efforts, learning about service opportunities, and a whole lot of other things. 

And it's been really neat, because their kids are so much fun! Crazy and full of energy, but hey! That makes it feel more like home! Also, Sister Dalton and her daughter are in a production of Annie! I wish I could go see it! But alas, Missionary rules... :'( It has been fun getting to talk about that show again with them!

Something else huge that happened was that we had Exchanges! Every so often, our District Leader will call us up and set up a time to switch up a companionship for the day. We spend 24 hours like that, and then we switch back, and everything goes back to normal. During that time,  we can just work with different person, and the District Leader can work one on one with another Missionary and see how they are progressing, what he can do to better train them, set goals, etc. 

Anyways, this time our District Leader came and switched with me, so he came and worked with Elder Ogden, and I went up to his area and worked with his companion, Elder Faumui! Elder Faumui is great! I've seen him around before at District meetings and the like, but I never really talked with him. He seemed like a really extroverted guy, and during this exchange I really wanted to learn from him!

... Unfortunately for him, I was just really awkward in just watching him, so we actually didn't talk that much. But I did manage to learn a lot from him about what it means to be a missionary! He's kind of a goofy guy, but whenever we started talking with someone, he took it seriously, because he knew that he was representing Jesus Christ in that moment. 

Being able to represent Him and do His will is one of my greatest joys here in California! But now I think about my behavior, and what impression I am making to those I bike past. Can they tell from my behavior who I'm representing, who I'm trying to be like? I can do better. 

And that's what's exciting! I have the absolute pleasure to be here and to work to invite people to come closer to Jesus Christ, and the only way I can improve in that work of teaching and inviting is by improving myself, and growing in my faith of my Savior to become more like him! What an honor and privilege it is to serve a mission!

Aaaaaand... Scene!

Elder Richardson 

P.S. Hey, this email is short and late, but I'm hoping to get this week's letter out with pictures and everything as well! Brb!

CHEF ELDER RICHARDSON

I made a stir fry this morning, for the very first time, out of some frozen Veggies, some leftover meat from a member meal, and some sauce that I've never seen before that was sitting in our fridge. It smelled good and hadn't expired, so I went for it. I think it turned out well!! :D

Elder Richardson 

FROM DAD:

Awesome! Thank mom and Amy for teaching you how in China!!

Benjamin Richardson

California Redlands Mission

Feb 28, 2018 - March 3, 2020

CALIFORNIA SAN BERNADINO MISSION MAP

CALIFORNIA SAN BERNADINO MISSION

ELDER BENJAMIN RICHARDSON

September 26, 2019

APRIL 10, 2018 - WEEK #6 - FONTANA, CA

FONTANA FOCUSED; THE ULIMATE UPDATE

ALLITERATION IS AWESOME

So, Fontana, right? I've been here three weeks. I've had lots of spiritual experiences, I've grown a lot, and I feel like a completely different person than the one who flew out of Arkansas. Within reason, of course. Fish still terrify me on the inside, I still have that thing about Prime Numbers (don't ask), and I still get my sports-games mixed up. But at the same time, I think all of these experiences have helped me to grow and change in different ways, and that excites me! Because I have 23 months left to grow even more!

But who wants to hear about that??? BOOOOO! Save that for later! Talk about funny things! 

Ok, so Fontana is really cool, but we're in an area with a lot of humble people. Which means sketchy looking Ice Cream trucks! They're just these big white vans, and they have the stickers with all the ice creams they have. You know, like normal ice cream trucks. But the best part is that they have written in big red letter on the front, "CAUTION CHILDREN!" We discovered that that probably was supposed to read "CAUTION: CHILDREN CROSSING," but the one in our neck of the woods is just "CAUTION CHILDREN," which I find hilarious! I'll try to get a picture of it this week!

One of the rules as Missionaries is that we can't leave our geographical mission area unless we have permission from the Mission President. Normally, you don't have to worry too much about this, because you're in the middle of the Mission. Fontana, however, is the western border of the Mission. So we actually bike by the Mission boundaries basically everyday. It cuts right down the middle of the street next to a big neighborhood in our area. And guess what this streets name is! It's East street. Our Western border is East street. Yep. 

The other thing that happened this week is about food! So Elder Ogden introduced me to Mac and Chili! Basically, you make Mac and Cheese, and dump a can of chili in at the end, mix it in, and it's delicious! Also, some boxes of Mac and Cheese here are only 39 cents! So between those and the purchasing of cereal, I needed a lot of milk. The only issue is, I didn't buy milk last week. So I went into MacGyver-in-the-kitchen mode for a bit this week. Dumped a bunch of olives in with spare chili. That was fun. Kind of strange, but fun!

Also, Easter was last week. And do you know what happens during Easter? People buy candy! And people also give candy to the missionaries! But I'm trying to eat healthy-ish for this Health challenge here in the mission, and one of the goals is to not eat sugary treats. So my solution has been to just eat as much of it as I can. But do you know what happens when I finish that candy? Somebody else gives us/sends us candy the very next day! Without fail, every time! I'm fully suspecting that somehow I'll end up with more jelly beans or something by the end of the day today...

Speaking of that health challenge, one of the requirements is to eat 4 servings of fruit each day. So I have a line of Cutie Oranges sitting here that I'm just trying to eat through. So if you ever were wondering what's going on while I'm writing these letters, there you go!

This week, we got to do a lot of service! We got to go to Al's again (the man with the cars and vans riddling his yard. It looks a lot better now, actually! Also, we think that he might be interested in actually hearing a message from us soon!), as well as serve the Knuth's (Sister Knuth called me a Noob. And they have the adorable dog). We also got to go with Brother Braby (Our Ward Mission Leader, which means he helps coordinate the missionary efforts of the members in the Ward) and move 2 fridges. Like, we lifted one into a car, and then lifted it out of the car, and then pushed a second one out of a house and moved the first one in. We also do couches and pianos. 

I keep getting questions about how I'm getting along with my companion, Elder Ogden. The fact is, we don't hate each other. Which is great! Sometimes you get put with people you struggle to be friends with, but Elder Ogden and I get along great! He's really fun, and very patient with me! He's a great teacher, too! He uses his experience to do what we need to, and to remind me of mission rules, but he constantly asks me what I think. Such humility! And the other day, he gave me the best compliment: "You know, Elder Richardson? Sometimes I don't worry about you." Isn't he the best?

We also had Zone Conference this week! So, for review, I am serving in an Area, and we, along with a few other companionships, are in a District. Multiple Districts form a Zone, and those Zones form the Mission. So we and a few other Zones went to the Mission Office to receive some training from the Mission President, and that's called Zone Conference. And it was really great! I enjoyed it! We got to talk about something that I think was a huge point in General Conference, and that's how we can receive personal revelation from God. We can ask our questions and receive answers from Him through the Holy Ghost. 

I believe I've touched on this topic before, but it is so vitally important to not only living through our lives, but also in doing missionary work! Last night, we had had dinner with a family in our ward, and we're coming up on 9 o'clock, which is our curfew time. But we had one more visit that we had wanted to make, but we would have to make quick decisions on what we would do when we got there, what route would we take, etc. And so we made those decisions and started heading out. I said a quick prayer in my heart for help in getting us to this person in time. But then I had the distinct impression to stop and suggest a different plan altogether; a plan that would make our time crunch even worse, delay our arrival even more, and we had already started biking in the original direction. But we went with this new plan. And when we arrived at this final stop, no one was there. Until a car pulled up, and a man we hadn't met before stepped out and started to head inside. We handed him our pamphlet that was for the other person, and we asked him to give it to her. If we hadn't responded to the Spirit, and hadn't been prepared and ready to receive that guidance, we wouldn't have been able to give that pamphlet to that man. The timing was too perfect to be coincidence. We had help!

In General Conference, we heard God's prophet tell us about what we can do to receive personal revelation, and how important it is that we do! I'd like to challenge you to read this talk, and look for what we can do to increase our ability to receive guidance from God (link below). If you don't feel comfortable with reading this talk, I'd encourage you to read in the Bible and find how we can get answers to our questions and receive more help from God in our lives! I'd love it if you'd email me your thoughts!

Always learning!

Elder Richardson 

P.S. So a bit scatterbrained of a letter, but this is some of the more weekly shenanigans that often come with missionary letters. I'm just weird and haven't done as much of this. :)

P.P.S.S. Also, one of the members gave us stuffed bunnies along with their candy. I named mine Barbara, because alliteration. 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2018/04/revelation-for-the-church-revelation-for-our-lives?lang=eng

1) Barbara, the Best Bunny. 

2) We took a picture of all of the Missionaries serving in Fontana! Look at those smiles!

3) Just some people yelling Fontana. I wasn't sure what to do with the orange in my hand...

            (a short video)

So Elder Ogden has this Bluetooth keyboard that he's been using his whole mission for note taking and emailing, and he said it's probably about $50 at Wal-Mart, and I can try for cheaper options. Can I use the credit card to purchase that? Or would you know about a cheaper option on Amazon? I don't know. I've just noticed that I've used my phone and notes app a lot more than I originally thought, and I think it's something I'd use throughout my Mission. 

Just asking,

Elder Richardson 

FROM DAD:

Grab it! Love you, Ben!

FROM BEN TO MOM:

Thank you so much for the Card, Mom! It really brightened up my day! Tell Mason and Joseph thank you for signing it as well! I'm doing alright! I really don't have anything huge to share or show, but I'll let you know when I do! Finding people to teach is a bit tough, but we're putting goals in place to help us along!

Thank you for sending the Program and Obituary as well. I'm praying for you and Grandma!

Could you tell Bethany that the address to mail things to is 7000 Central Ave. Highland, California 92346 ? I think she was wanting to know.

Well, I have to go!

Bye!
Elder Richardson

FROM DAD:

So good to hear from you!  We love you!  We had seen pictures of your zone conference on Facebook and loved it!

Mom just got home bringing home Grandma and Jane.  They drove a big moving truck and got here last night.  We moved everyone in and I’m guessing it will take a few days for us all to recover.

I’m headed to New York City tomorrow to present some ideas on data analytics at Baruch College.  It is always fun to go there.  I’m going to see if I have time to sneak in a show on Broadway, or maybe just spend some time walking around.

We also loved conference! I keep reading quotes of what was said and wondered if I heard the same conference everyone else did.  It just means there are lots of nuggets to find these next six months.

Joseph finishes up his pharmacy class tomorrow.  He has done and seems to have enjoyed it.  He might choose to become a pharmacist!

Beth is still working lots of hours at Subway.  She keeps telling them she wants to work less, but she must be really good because they keep asking her for more.

Daniel has gotten some personal records in his running.  He has another meet tomorrow so hope it goes well for him.

Thanks for the details on your companion! And for the wonderful letter.  We very much look forward to reading it each week.

Feel free to tell us what you need to be successful – like the keyboard.  We’re happy to help where we can!

Love you, Elder!

Dad (and Mom)

Benjamin Richardson

California Redlands Mission

Feb 28, 2018 - March 3, 2020

APRIL 3, 2018 - WEEK #5

HERE COMES THE GENERAL CONFERENCE .... 

(AND A SLIGHTLY LACKLUSTER LETTER.....?)

April 3, 2018

Ok, everyone. Stop what you are doing, I have an emergency. I've been out in the Fontana, California area of the California Redlands Mission for 12 days now, AND I STILL HAVEN'T NAMED MY BIKE!!! This is preposterous! Unheard of! How can you suffer through 18.8 miles of bike riding through the day, and not have come up with a name for your form of transportation??? Well, clearly I need some help, so I'll include a picture of my Bike in this email (probably). Help me name it! It's driving me crazy!

Also, the other thing: General Conference (Where the Prophet and Apostles of the Church speak to the world in a broadcast) was this weekend, and I was excited to use this time to finally finish off the ridiculous amount of candy I got from the MTC once and for all! So I work through eating it as I'm watching all of the sessions of General Conference, and by the end, the final Skittle (or Ski-diddles, as someone once told me to call them) was eaten. Now I could finally begin a healthier lifestyle and diet that would better fit all of the biking and travelling I have to do. 

Until we went to a Member's house for dinner, and in her generosity, she gave each of us an Easter basket. I was so close!!! I thought I could finally be healthy!!! Ugh!! Oh well... 

And then today I get back from Grocery shopping and I've bought a box of Reeses Puffs cereal. I'm doomed...

Moving on, I got to witness a few neat things this week that I would like to share, and learned some very important lessons about missionary work, and also for life in general! 

The first thing is that the people here are truly fantastic! On our first Sunday, we needed a ride to church (or to prepare ourselves for a 6-mile bike ride in full on suits. Yeah... That wasn't really an option for me), so we called up the Knuth's (pronounced "Kuh-nooth"). They're this older couple in the ward, and they agreed to come and take us to church! But then, when they started talking to us, they asked about how long I've been out. And so I had said, "Oh, about four days now." And then she says, "Ah! So you're a Noob!" She might've said "newbie," but I could've sworn that this older lady just called me a noob! It's so much fun here! And there are just so many great personalities here in this ward, just like them, who all serve each other and God in their own unique ways! Isn't that great? Also, on Sister Knuth, I wouldn't accept a soda from her, so she said that she'd  chuck one at me then instead. If she hadn't forgotten about it, I would probably have a bruise from a flying Cactus Cooler projectile. Also, their dog is adorable. There will be a picture.

And on the note of the Knuth's, there are so many families that love the missionaries. I mean, I don't think I'm all that special, but they recognize the mantle of those called to do His work. And so they keep feeding us, and always shake our hands as we walk by, and always find ways that they can take care of us. It's humbling, truly. I need to do better in my part of living up to the role I've called to, and serving diligently while bearing His name on my heart. 

On another note, one of the mottos of the California Redlands Mission comes from 1 Samuel 17:47 where David is facing down Goliath, and he is responding to Goliath's taunts with confidence in God, and he proclaims, "The battle is the Lord's!" I like this phrase because I think it applies to our role as Missionaries in a lot of ways. One such application is that we are like foot soldiers, following the commands from our captains and commanders, but our General ultimately is the Lord. He is positioned to see things that we don't see on the ground. And so, He directs us in ways that maybe we don't understand (why text that man who hasn't been to church in years for a ride to church, why speak to that woman mowing her lawn?), but for things that will cause progress in His battle. We just need to trust in His greater understanding, and also heed His messengers: His Prophets and Apostles. 

In General Conference I had the opportunity to hear our new Prophet, who was appointed by God to serve Him by directing us according to the will of the Lord. As I listened to His voice, the Spirit of God testified to me that this is His Prophet on the Earth today, and I add my testimony from my witness that Russell M. Nelson is a Prophet called by God, as Moses and Elijah of The Old Testament.

So, the battle is the Lord's, which means that if we harken to the words and commandments of Him and those He has called, then we can't go wrong. I'm so grateful for the direction that we can receive from God today! I'm excited to follow the instructions of the Prophet, and to grow in my understanding of the Gospel by acting in faith!

Well, that's it from me today. Have a great week, everyone! I know I will!

Sincerely,

Elder Richardson 

P.S. That may be the most boring sign off yet! Gross! But that's life! And that's fine! :D

P.P.S.S. Again, I don't actually know how to do more P.S.'s, so this is what we will get today. 

P.P.P.S.S.S. Also, if you have actually important things to do, which is very likely, do not stress about helping me with a bike name. Because, within the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter all that much. Sooo... Yeah...

P.P.P.P.S.S.S.S. And I'm kind of tired today, so sorry about potentially lackluster letter. I need a P-day nap. Goodnight. 

(1) Bike in question. Please help.

(2) Pretty Puppy

(3) N/A. Doesn't exist. I don't know why I'm putting a number 3. Off day for me, I guess?

FROM DAD:

Loved the letter.

We’re busy plodding at home while mom is helping Grandma Beach prepare to move in to our home in Arkansas.

We’ve been busy doing school work.  I’m busy trying to keep up with my class.

Daniel got a personal record of 10min 49 seconds from his previous record of 11’09”.  He was excited.  We celebrated with Brahms.

I love the quote, “The Battle is the Lords”.  Thanks for sharing!

Wondered about your investigators.  Do you have good people to work with? Tell us more about your companion.

Love you and pray for you!!

Vern Richardson

Hey Mom and Dad! 

What's going on? I'm doing pretty good. Feeling kind of weird today, but I'm trying to shoot off emails so I can get a nap later today. I have a neat experience I'll share with you next week, but this week I want to ask if you could do two things for me. 

1) Could you call the Provo Temple for me about my camera? I can't remember if I had asked before, but that's my best guess for where it might be. The only other guess I would have would be any of the lost and founds in the T4 building at the MTC. I might have left it in one of the ponder rooms at some point... I'm not sure though. 

2) ‎Mom, could you reach out to Josie? Like, ask if she would like to come watch a low budget Christian movie or something? Maybe I worry too much, but I worry that she'd stressing a lot about college and the like. You know, post high school stress. I'm going to be sending her an email, but is there anything you might be able to do on your side? It wouldn't have to be anything big, but you and her seemed to hit it off pretty well before. Maybe? I don't know. What are your thoughts?

I'll make sure to email you more next week! Thank you!

Elder Richardson

I FOUND MALCOLM AGAIN!

     

   

Benjamin Richardson

California Redlands Mission

Feb 28, 2018 - March 3, 2020