AUGUST 28 & SEPTEMBER 4, 2018 - WEEKS #26/27

UPDATES GALORE!

Aug 28 & Sept 4, 2018

John! He got baptized on the 25th! Hooray!!! (Fanfare!)

The baptismal service was super awesome! We had a lot people from the ward there, our Zone Leaders came, and then our Mission President, President Dixon, was there, too! So no pressure, right?

But it went really smoothly! Our Ward Mission Leader took over the program planning, and it went really well! After John's baptism, he just shone a little bit brighter, and I didn't see his smile leave his face for the rest of the day! 

On Sunday, one of his friends in the Ward was able to be the voice in giving him the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and I got to stand in the circle for that. What an amazing experience! 

Something else that is incredible is that Manuel, who we learned prefers to be called Richee (He emphasizes the "ee" sound at the end, so then he will always make you smile!), was able to come to John's Baptism with his neighbor, who is a member in our ward! Ever since then, he's been talking nonstop about the feelings he got there. 

Fast forward to Sunday the 2nd, Richee comes to church with that same member, and is talking that whole way about things at the baptismal service. Our member said that Richee said something like, "I want that same thing at my baptism!"

Needless to say, we are going to invite him to be baptized in the near future.

A couple that we've been working with for a while, the Liggetts, have been making some good progress lately! We've also been shown a couple of cool things by them. Like a BB Gun modeled after a mafia gun (the Thompson), how to shove a nail in your head, and more Card tricks! And on top of it, we've gotten to understand their needs better.

We also met Janet, who is super cool! She had a medical trial she was going through, and then one day, it mostly went away. She Says, "It must've been God, right? Do you think I was healed by God?" We know she was!

We had the awesome oportunity to learn more about a topic I was not very familiar with. We learned about family history! I learned that there are 2 super cool websites to go to and each of them has a different purpose. They are rootsmapper.com and relativefinder.org. On the Relative Finder one, we are able to see all of the famous people we are related to! It is super fun! On Rootsmapper we are able to see where all of our ancestors are from according to the map! It was so cool to learn more! I'll send some pictures of some of the things we found!

And finally, Transfers are happening. I'm staying!! Elder Ford is going, though. He has been here 6 months, and so it's been a little crazy for him, but he'll do just fine in his new area. Meanwhile, I'm going to have a new companion that I've never met! Well, I talked to him once and saw him a couple times, but we were never formally introduced, so I'm excited! 

Shorter Email, but I'm hoping things will calm down after transfers. I know that God lives and loves us! He will send people to help us, and His Spirit is always available to give comfort and direction, if we will reach out and seek Him through Prayer and reading His Scriptures!

Love you all!

Elder Richardson

1) John's Baptism! This is (Left to Right): Elder Ford, Elder Knavel (The missionary who baptized him), JOHN!, Elder Richardson, and Elder Shelton (one of the first Elders to contact John).

2) The Liggetts have a Bullwhip! I gave it a shot, but I wasn't very good...

3) Rootsmapper.com! Turns out, we have some Jamaican Ancestors, Daniel!

AUGUST 14 & 21, 2018 - WEEKS #24 & 25

ALL PRESENT BLESSING

August 14 & 21, 2018

So, things are a little crazy. We had gone to the Temple a couple weeks ago, and that threw off things. And between that and the fact that I write very slowly, we got a bit behind. The other thing that happened that is throwing things off is that I normally keep notes on my phone to keep track of what happened over the week (Because I'm still trying to get better at writing in my journal), but then this morning our devices started freaking out. A couple minutes later, most of the devices had all of their apps deleted. We're all in a little bit of confusion, but it will all work out! Elder Ford and I were able to get our schedule down before everything disappeared, but now we're without a map or our directory for a bit, so I'm thinking this will be a new adventure!

Something CRAZY that happened was that we were at an after baptism party for one of the kids in our ward, and I ran into Krystal! If that name doesn't sound familiar, don't worry! It still doesn't. But, it turns out that we live in China at the same time, and even went to the same Youth Conference! That was a little weird, especially since I don't recognize her but she recognized me, and because of the fact that I still don't know why she was there, but it was really cool! I also was able to reach out to another friend from China, and they responded, so they must still be alive. That was cool!

On Saturday, we got a notification for a media referral (Someone who had requested a free copy of the Bible or the Book of Mormon), and so we went to go deliver that, and met Manuel! Manuel is this sweet old man, and he was going to be sitting at home a lot for reasons, and decided to actually read the Bible, so he requested one online! We went over, and he asked if we believed in apostles. We smiled, and told him yes, and that God loves us so much that he has called Apostles and Prophets to lead and guide His Church today! We were able to go back last night and teach him a little bit more about the Restoration of the same Church Jesus Christ established! 

Also, John's Baptism is this Weekend! He will be baptized Saturday the 25th, and we are doing everything we can to make it happen! Neither Elder Ford or I have taken part in planning a baptism before, so we are planning and replanning and probably overplanning to make sure everything is in place for him! It sounds stressful, but we're actually super excited for him! 

John really loves Jesus Christ, and he loves things that remind him of Him. One of those things is a heavy Christian Rock band called Stryper. He LOVES this band! I think he's legitimately mentioned them everytime we've met him for a lesson, and keeps reminding us to look them up after our mission. So after a lesson, we wanted John to have some input on who would speak or what hymns we would sing at his Baptism, and so we ask him. 

"I want Honestly by Stryper to be played at my Baptism!" We had to explain that it was a sacred meeting, so we didn't want to play rock songs. But that was such a John answer! He is so much fun!

Another adventure with John, our Bishop had asked us to help John start his Family History work, and so Elder Ford and I, the least qualified Family History Consultants, sat down with little to no information and John. We clicked a lot of buttons, and then, through a miracle, we found John's Grandma! And from there, his family tree exploded! We got a ton of his family going all the way back to 1605! It was super cool!

Something I learned from my Personal Studies was in 1 Nephi 17:30. It says, "And notwithstanding they being led, the Lord their God, their Redeemer, going before them, leading them by day and giving light unto them by night, and doing all things for them which were expedient for man to receive, they hardened their hearts and blinded their minds, and reviled against Moses and against the true and living God."

I specifically honed in on that first part, that said that they were led by a cloud at day and were given light at night. I find it interesting that the Lord didn't expect the children of Israel to always be moving. Sometimes, it was night time, and the people needed to rest. But no matter what time it was or the circumstances of their travels, they always benefited from the presence of the Lord in their lives whether it be guidance while in hard times of trial and travel, or the comfort and support came from the light surrounding them.

I've seen that different people have different needs at different points in their life. Some have felt their way of life was in jeopardy, other feeling a bit of anxiety. Some people feel pretty good, and like they don't need much in the way of help right now. No matter what, however, they have become happier, grown, or in some other way benefited as their faith in their Lord Jesus Christ has been strengthened. Every one. And I know that no matter what are needs or concerns maybe, the Savior and His teachings, the Gospel, will help us!

That's it for this (these) week(s)!

Elder Richardson

1) Myself, Elder Ford (On my left), and two other Elders we live with!

Benjamin Richardson

California Redlands Mission

Feb 28, 2018 - March 3, 2020

NOTE FROM DAD:

Interested in knowing if John got baptized on Saturday?!?

Alex had his farewell yesterday.  Setting apart tonight and then off on his way tomorrow morning!

We keep praying for you!

Love,

Dad

NOTE FROM BENJAMIN:

That's awesome! And John was baptized! It was a super good service, and he was confirmed yesterday! He's doing pretty well, but he's still working on getting a job, so prayers for him for a little bit would be good, if possible!

Things are good, but today was busy! I probably won't get a mass email out, unfortunately, but I'll catch up again!

I love you, Dad!

Elder Richardson

P.S. So, do we have missionaries in our ward? Have you been feeding them or anything? Are they cool? Idk, I've been curious what they're like...

AUGUST 7, 2018 - WEEK #23 Opportunities!

OPPORTUNITIES!

August 7, 2018

Ni Hao, WoDe JiaTing!

I'm sure I butchered that Pinyin and Chinese Grammar. I'm a little bit out of practice. Or rather, I never practiced, sooooo...

So there Elder Ford and I are, last Monday Morning, and we wake up to find a text on our phone from the Sister in our ward who signed up to feed us dinner on Wednesday. She tells us that she has 2 girls from China staying with her, and that she wanted us to teach them before they flew home on Friday. We were SO STOKED!!! But what were the chances? That I would be in Yucaipa, and that I would still have those memories of living in China a few years ago fresh in my mind to be able to talk with them about it. 

At first we talked a lot about the differences in our cultures, and then we started talking about our individual beliefs. We talked a lot about who God is, and how He loves us, and so He teaches us how to be better people. Our Ward Mission Leader happened to have two Chinese copies of the Book of Mormon, and we gave those to them. Apparently, Lily, one of the girls, was reading it constantly after we left. She said something along the lines of, "I don't quite understand everything this Book says, but I like the feeling I get when I read it!" 

Would someone else have been able to talk to and relate to them? Probably. But God placed Elder Ford and I in this area for this opportunity to prepare them for when Proselyting missionaries can find them in China. 

When we are doing what we can to invite the Spirit into our lives, and doing what we are supposed to do, there will always be something that God wants us to do. Whether it be something that we need to learn, or someone that we need to help. We just need to be ready for that opportunity. 

After dinner, we went to read in the Book of Mormon with John, who is going to be baptized on August 25th! As we sat down to read with him, we saw a girl sitting nearby. We invited her to come and read with us, and she accepted. When she came and sat down, though, John just started telling all about us, and how if she had questions, she could ask them right away and that we would do our best to answer. He is so awesome!

Madison, that girl, had an awesome experience reading in the Book of Mormon! She said that she really wanted to meet with us again, and so that next morning we did! And after that lesson, she asked if we could have a Bible and/or Book of Mormon Study with her throughout the school year! 

That morning, we had our Zone Conference all about our studies! We really learned a lot about how to study for the people we are teaching and working with, rather than just study for ourselves. 

I was feeling pretty bleh that morning, but after the testimonies and the Spirit I felt in that Zone Conference, I was ready for both that dinner and that lesson! Otherwise, I may not have been ready for the opportunities that my Heavenly Father was presenting us with!

Always remember that God is mindful of you, what you've been through, and is giving you the opportunities to see miracles because of those things! When we remember that, it becomes easier to reach out to our Heavenly Father, which means that He can open the gates of heaven to drench us in every blessing and tender mercy!

That's a lot of random things tossed together, but that was this week (Last week. Sorry, I'll explain the lateness in the next one). It's all good stuff, and, ultimately, I've just been learning about how much my Heavenly Father, how much God Himself, cares about each and every one of us. And I'm doing my best to show and communicate that I love Him too!

Working Hard!

Elder Richardson

1) Look at this Puppy! Her name is Lucy (like after Lucy in "I Love Lucy") and she is super cute!

2) This is a Street Corner food, Eloté. It's literally a corn cob, Butter, mayonnaise, parmesan cheese, and cayenne pepper. It ... was interesting...

Benjamin Richardson

California Redlands Mission

Feb 28, 2018 - March 3, 2020