SEPTEMBER 25, 2018 - WEEK #30

ANSWER TO AUTUMN'S PRAYERS!

September 25, 2018

We've been trying to work more with the youth recently here in Yucaipa, and that has been interesting. One of the things that we've been doing is going to Early Morning Seminary. Basically, the High School aged youth can attend this early morning class that covers the Book of Mormon, The New Testament, the Old Testament, and then the Doctrine and Covenants (which contains many revelations received by Joseph Smith from God), one for each year. It's really cool, and my seminary experiences are something that I've drawn upon a number of times throughout my mission

It's been absolutely fantastic for getting to know the youth of the church, but it is absolutely awful waking up at 5:15am to be ready for that! And I was thinking that 6:30am was early!

Also, these kids are so funny! The class was studying about the Godhead (the Doctrine that God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three separate beings, but are One in purpose), and split up into partnerships to role play teaching this old man named Ben, who didn't understand the principle. So, firstly, almost every group shared the same scripture, but then they just start Roasting this poor old man Ben! He just had a question, and all of these kids just kept telling this imaginary man how wrong he was! It was so funny, Elder Equatore and I couldn't stop smiling in the back. They'll get it someday!

By the way, I'm writing this on Tuesday because on my normal P-day, which is Monday, some help was needed at the Temple, and we volunteered to help out, with the promise that we could make up for lost time on Tuesday. I love being in the Temple, because it is such a special place where we can put normal stress away and feel the Spirit! 

I think that one of the biggest miracles from the week would have to be last night. We were just walking through Walgreens, and one of our members, Sister Nichols, was there! We start talking with her,  and she asked if we had a dinner appointment that night.  We didn't,  so she invited us over for soup. Sweet,  right? 

It gets better.

We're getting ready to go,  and she tells us that she invited her friend,  Autumn, and Autumn's daughter, Macie, over for dinner as well! We were so excited! We had talked to Autumn a little bit before, and she seemed super interested in learning more about the gospel! But we hadn't really been able to get in contact with her for a while, so we couldn't wait to get over there! 

When we did, we had some super good pizza and soup! We finished eating, and then Autumn started talking what she knew about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It turned out that she had been thinking about the Church a lot more than we thought. She had cornered one of Sister Nichol's sons one evening and told him to tell her more about the Book of Mormon. He, being a Return Missionary, was super excited and shared a lot with her! She kept saying, "With all of what I've learned about the Church so far, it just makes sense," or, "It just sounds right!" 

We shared the scripture Moroni 10:5, which says that "By the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." We told her that that was the Holy Ghost telling her that what she had learned was true, and then asked what her biggest Question at that moment was. She thought about it, and decided that it was whether or not she should keep meeting with us. We invited her to pray right then about it, and she accepted! 

We went to the living room and kneeled down, and Autumn gave the most Genuine, Heartfelt prayer I think I've ever heard. She asked her question, and the Spirit just filled the room! I know that God answered her question right then! We asked what she would do now that she had gotten an answer, and she, without our input, started listing off all of the things that she wanted to do, like reading the scriptures more, reading the introduction to the Book of Mormon, and so on! 

We are so excited for Autumn to meet with her assigned missionaries, because she has been searching for a long time for God's true church, and I know that she has found it! 

I know that this is the Lord's work! It is the work of bringing all of our Heavenly Father's children, that's all of us, home again! I know it, and I love the opportunity to be a part of it!

Elder Richardson

A NOTE FROM BEN TO HIS MOM:

Hey Mom! This is your son, Elder Benjamin Richardson, emailing you to let you know that I love you! You are the best mom that I know, and I've met quite a few moms out here, so that's saying something! 

I love you so much!

Elder Richardson

Benjamin Richardson

California Redlands Mission

Feb 28, 2018 - March 3, 2020

SEPTEMBER 18, 2020 - WEEK #29

CACTUS, CHILI DOGS AND

CHERRY CHEESECAKE

Sept 18, 2018

Ok, where do I start this week? It was pretty nuts! That being said, it was more like the good kind of nuts. Like, lots of super good, Mind-Blowing Stuff!  Not the bad kind that makes your throat all itchy and swelly and makes your lip all swelly. That would be bad.

Speaking of weird things we're eating, someone we are teaching invited us over for her birthday dinner. There we had chili dogs, with Mayonnaise mixed in the chili. THE. BEST. CHILI DOGS. We also had some cheesecake with Cherry filling on top. And then, her mom gives us each a piece of cactus. Like, CACTUS. Like, they have cactus in their backyard,  and they just cut off a blade-thing and peeled off the spines, and we ate it with lemon juice and salt. So, we had Chili dogs, Cherry Cheesecake, and Cactus. Yep. 

There is this woman learned that she needed to move out of her house this weekend. She called the missionaries and ask for help. So our Friday and Saturday were mostly camp rise of service! We helped load and unload basically an entire house. But, some of her family aren't members of the church, and we got to get to know them a bit as we helped there! 

We also had an amazing Zone Conference with Elder Pearson! He is a member of the Quorum of the Seventy. (Remember in Luke 10:1, where Jesus gave Seventy others similar duties as the Twelve Apostles? Same thing with Elder Pearson.)

He instructed us on how we could be more effective missionaries. There are so many things we learned! I think that the biggest lesson that he drove home was that God loves us! He is our Heavenly Father, which means that, at the core of our Identity, we are His Sons and Daughters. With that pressed into our minds, we then understand that there is nothing that we cannot do when we align our lives with the will of our Heavenly Father. He will never abandon us. EVER! Everytime we ask sincerely in prayer with real intent if He loves us, then He will answer everytime. He will answer, usually, through His Holy Spirit. We can recognize that Spirit through the feelings of love and peace that are brought to our hearts. 

He encouraged us to go out and invite others to do this, and I wish to invite all of you! Even if you know, based on knowledge or past experiences, that your Heavenly Father loves you, please pray again. Pray and ask if He loves you, and the answer will come! 

After you receive that answer, you will be able to find comfort as you remember and reflect on that experience. You will be able to know that God is there, He hears your prayers, and that He loves you, His Child. I know this will happen for you if you will pray and ask!

I know Our Heavenly Father lives and loves us. The Entire Gospel of Jesus Christ is put into perspective as we understand that that principle. 

From,

Elder Richardson

P.S. If you want to hear some of the other things I've been learning about this last week, try these two links. A lot of what we learned was covered in these two talks!

P.P.S.S. So, this book came out recently, and it's called "Saints." It's about the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, starting with the Restoration of the church by the Prophet Joseph Smith. Well, I kind of binge read it, and it was delicious. I finished it, and it was really good! If you've ever been curious about the History of the Church, this novel is the best way I know to learn about it! It answered some of my questions, and it helped me to learn some new things as well! Here's a link! I highly recommend it!

1) Me!

2) Some other missionaries with Sister Pearson and Sister Dixon!

3) Here's Elder Equatore, my new Companion as of this Transfer!

SEPTEMBER 11, 2018 - WEEK #28

TRANSFERS .... UH OH ...

September 11, 2018

Transfers!!! Elder Ford left, which was super sad, but Elder Equatore just came in! Turns out, the two of them just switched places. From Northpark YSA to the Yucaipa 3rd Ward! It's been a bit of a change for him, going from teaching Young Single Adults to teaching families again, but he's still been super Awesome! 

Elder Equatore is from Montana, and he likes throwing Knives! He doesn't do it on the mission. He's super crazy, but also super creative, and an awesome missionary! His last name comes from Italy, and it's pronounced like the country Equador, but with a "t." 

Fun things that happened this week include: 

- Elder Ford wanted to say goodbye to our Elder's Quorum President, and so we go into his home and Elder Ford starts talking to him. His Daughter comes up to me with a little children's book (Baby Mickey lost his ball or something), and I'm all like, "Why not? I can serve her parents for a few minutes." We read through a couple short books, using silly voices, and it was a lot of fun! A couple days later, we go back to introduce Elder Equatore, and there she is again! "I remember you! You read this book with me!" So we went and reread the books while Elder Equatore met our Elders Quorum President. It was so fun!

- We went to visit Richee on Tuesday, and while we were waiting for him, another man named Mario started talking to us. He told us that he used to be a member of the Church when he lived in Glendale, which he told us had a large LDS Population. We invited him to come to church again sometime, and after we told him where our building was, he told us again that he used to be a member of the Church when he lived in Glendale, which is well known for it's large LDS population. We looked at each other, but kept talking. Later in the conversation, he informs us that he used to be a member of the church, but that was when he lived in Glendale. Glendale, you see, has a strong LDS Presence, or, at least, that's what we hear. He had asked for our phone number, and we gave it to him. Today, we get a phone call, and guess what! It was Mario! He asked who we were, and how our number got on his phone. We explained who we were, and he then said, "You said LDS? I used to be LDS! When I lived in Glendale!" He also said that he had no recollection of us talking with him, so we're pretty sure he's got an issue with his memory, but he's a really sweet nice and fun guy!

- We went to the house of a Member kind of on a whim. They had helped us in teaching a lesson before, and I thought it would be good to introduce Elder Equatore. We go over and knock on the door, and then this car pulls up into the driveway. The mom gets out of the car, and the daughter jumps out and runs to the back. We got talking to the mother, and she tells us that she has friends who are members of the church, and she wanted to learn more! She asked if we did Bible Studies or anything like that, and we were like, "Um, YES!" After we exchange numbers and everything, the member we were going to visit comes out of the house, along with her daughter and THE ENTIRE DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS GROUP, all heading out to go clean up the  church building!! They were super nice, and we're hoping to go and talk to some of those kids again soon!!

That was some of the craziness from this week. I've been trying my best to lead this area, and I can tell you that there has never been a greater measure of the Spirit leading our day and our activities. As we humble ourselves and pray for God to help us in our days, He will! I know it! 

There's the week! It was pretty crazy, so that's it. Yep. There we go.

Elder Richardson

1) Here's me being weird.

2) Here's my district.

Benjamin Richardson

California Redlands Mission

Feb 28, 2018 - March 3, 2020