JANUARY 29, 2019 - WEEKS #46 & 47

THERE IS SOMEONE OUT THERE

January 29, 2019

Oh boy, here we go again! A whole two weeks worth of updates! I almost wonder if I've done more catch up's than sending actual weekly emails. Regardless, here are some major highlights! 

I went for the day to work with Elder Lewis in the Spanish area, and while Elder Lewis was talking with one of the people they were teaching in Spanish, I got talking with Mario, that man's grandson. I gave him an English copy of the Book of Mormon, and we sat down and read the first chapter, about a man who prayed to know what God had in store, and how God answered his question. As we talked about that first chapter, Mario asked if we could read the next one, too! And so we read it, and he said, with a smile on his face, "Wow, reading this makes me feel like there's something out there!" I promised him that as he kept reading the Book of Mormon, then he would come to know that there was someone out there, watching over him! These experiences, where you get to just testify of what you know to people like that, are the miracles you carry with you as you continue to be a missionary for Jesus Christ!

We've been working on those member lessons in our ward, and they are going well! We had lots of fun experiences looking for a lunar eclipse, being abandoned for pizza right before our lesson, and getting Jiu Jitsu'd, but the most fun experience was with one family and their daughter Carley! 

Carley is just a rambunctious 2-year old, and she kept interupting our lesson because she wanted some attention. And so her dad told her that she needed to run to her room, grab her stuffed animals, and then throw them on the couch next to us! So as we continued to teach about why regular scripture study is important, we had baby dolls and Care Bears being thrown on us! It took all of our poker face skills to keep the discussion going while being buryed alive in Looney Toons characters, but it did keep Carley occupied, so I'm going to remember that one for later!

Elder Brown was itching to tract this one neighborhood, so I went tracting for the very first time. Tracting, by the way, is when you go in blind and knock on a door, and then just try to start up a conversation, and then offer service or to share the message we share about Jesus Christ and His Gospel. It's not always the most effective thing to do to meet new people, because a lot of the time people aren't super willing to even listen to your message when you randomly knock on their door. 

But, we did it, and we met a super cool guy named Herb! Herb is a house flipper, and he was working on a house when we passed by, so we walked up and asked if we could help! He totally rejected us, but then he asked if we wanted to look at the house! We poked around a bit, and he described everything that he had done to make the house super cool! He wasn't interested in our message, but I think that one day he might be. He has a lot of things that have pointed him towards God, and he'll have a lot more as time goes on. But for now, he's a cool friend that we made!

We had another lesson with a family, and for some reason their daughter, Heather, and I are literal best friends. I don't know how it happened exactly, but it is so fun to be best friends with a 6 year old. Whenever she and her mom pass by us when their in the car, she always says, "There's my best friend!" And now, it's a joke in her family, too! We called the mom to ask about what we could share when we came over for a lesson, and the mom picked up the phone and said, "Is this my best friend???" And I said "Of course!" It was so funny!

We went and visited a wonderful old man named Roger this week, and he's been going through a bunch of health issues, so we took him a picture of Jesus to put on his organ. A few hours after Elder Johnson (we were on exchanges) and I left, we get a call from one of Roger's friends, who is a nurse. She was freaking out because we had shaken his hand, and she thought that we were going to die! She literally said at least 4 different times that we could die from what Roger had if we had caught it and if we did nothing about it. So we were freaking out a bit, and we ran into the nearest fast food rest room and washed our hands up to our elbows, just in case. But then when we talked with our Mission Nurse, she said that we would be fine and most likely wouldn't die. So we're good, but we were given a bit of a false scare, there.

 Despite all of these fun stories, the real highlight of this past week was how Elder D. Todd Christofferson came and visited our mission this last Saturday. Elder Christofferson is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, just like the Apostles the Christ called to lead His church in the New Teastament. It was awesome to have him  here! I think one of the coolest experiences that we had was this: We were all standing and lined up in front of some chairs where Elder Christofferson and others would come in and sit to take a picture, we were all chattering together in line, waiting for them to arrive, and then he walked in. The Spirit just washed over all of us missionaries, and hushed us all. The Spirit just told us all in that moment, "Yep. Isn't that cool? That man is an Apostle!"

I know from that experience that Elder Christofferson is an Apostle of God, just like the Apostles talked about in the Bible. He does the things that they did, because they were directed to do so by Jesus Christ! 

There is someone out there, Mario! His name is Jesus Christ, and He loves you, and He suffered, died, and rose again so that you can know that and be comforted by that fact! He restored His church again on the earth with Prophets and Apostles so that you can learn how to best make your way back to Him and your Heavenly Father! I know that that is true!

I love you all, and hope that you are having a cooler rest of your winter than I am! You're the best! 

Elder Richardson

1) Biking at night! We've been doing a bit of that lately... 

2) A Child had this sword, and he made the shield ALL BY HIMSELF, fully equipped with adjustable armbands. Sweet! 

3 and 4) Reunited with old friends!

5) An Hermana in our District drew this, and it was just super cool!

6) Parenting Techniques: Bury the Missionaries alive to preoccupy your children, and then the Missionaries won't be able to run away before you give them your dessert!

7) "Wait, do that again! It'll be a funny picture to send to your moms!" Palm Springs Ward Member

Benjamin Richardson

California Redlands Mission

Feb 28, 2018 - March 3, 2020

Hey Mom! I love you! Also, I forgot to send this picture to everyone in the thing, so here it is! That little girl, Heather, drew this picture of Elder Brown and I, and then another of just me! It was so cute!

I love you, just wanted to remind you of that! I'm cheering for you in this corner of the USA, and I know that you've got a lot going on right now, but I can trust in our Heavenly Father to help you out and to give you the hugs that you need!

Lots of Love,

Elder Richardson

JANUARY 15, 2019 - WEEK #46

TO BRING YOU UP TO SPEED ..........

January 15, 2019

Hello hello, everyone! This week flew by, and lots of good stuff happened! So this is everything in a nutshell, because I get a lot of questions, and I never have time to answer them all individually! 

Who is your Companion?

My Companion is Elder Brown from Blanding, Utah! I managed to make it 9 month out on my mission without having a companion from Utah, which is a little surprising, haha! He is awesome! Elder Brown is a super obedient missionary, and he really just wants those around him to succeed at whatever it is they want to do, whether it happens to be learning about the gospel or learning how to teach people about Jesus Christ! 

Where are you serving?

I am serving in the California Redlands Mission, which is based primarily in the city of Redlands, but spreads through more of Southern California. I've been serving in the city of Palm Springs, California for about 3 months now, serving in the Palm Springs Ward. We just had our transfers, but I didn't get moved, so I will stay in Palm Springs for another 6 weeks, at least (hopefully more!!!!)!

Palm Springs used to be a big place for movies stars, back in the day (like, we're talking about when some movies were still black and white!) I've seen a house that belonged to Elvis, one that belonged to Debbie Reynolds, and I'm pretty sure that Frank Sinatra and Lucille Ball have houses down here too, but I haven't found them yet! It has since then become more of a retirement community for super rich people, mostly Canada, who fly down here for the winter months when the temperature is somewhat reasonable (we call these people "Snowbirds!").

There are also just a ton of people from everywhere! A lot of people that we end up working with are from all over! The Philippines, Tonga, Samoa, China, you name it! It's really neat! Last night, we had a dinner with one of our favorite members from the Philippines, and had a huge Filipino feast! There was Panzit (think Filipino Chow Mein), Lumpias (Filipino Springs Rolls, but SOOO Good!), and I was too scared to try the Filipino Meat Loaf, I think it was because of the raisins... But it's so fun to have all of these cultures!

What's mission life like?

It is nuts, but it is so fun! We are always running around everyday, up at 6:30am and running, teaching, and talking to people until 9pm! It's exhausting, but it's super rewarding!

A big part of what we do is help people to come to church! Like this week, we met a big Samoan guy who hadn't been to church in a while. He still had a testimony and everything, but was just a little worried about how he'd fit in. But we invited him to sit by us, and he showed up in a Lava-lava and sandals, and he just had a blast! He really felt the Spirit, and just loved it! Afterwards, our bishop and tons of our members just flocked to him and they all became friends! It was awesome!

Have you spoken in church a lot?

Not too much, but it's gotten to be so fun! I just get to ramble about gospel topics for 10 to 15 minutes, and people listen! No, but honestly it is really cool to go up and speak to the ward as a whole, and to address all of them about the things that they need! Also, there are a couple people that we know that really like missionaries, but aren't always super excited about coming to church, but they will come to church when they hear we're speaking! 

What can I do to help you?

I know that a lot of you are praying for me, and I feel it! It helps me so much when things get tough. Really what makes me happy and gets me excited  to keep doing this work over here is an occasional assurance that good things are happening where you are! I like hearing things like "I found this scripture when I was reading the other day," or, "I was able to serve somebody this last week!" These things are actually really inspiring to hear, because it tells me that even though I'm not about to help out where you are, you're doing the things that allow God to take care of you and  help you! That brings me a lot of joy, and also helps me know that some of my prayers are being answered! 

I hope that's helpful to someone... But that's my update for this week! 

Lots of Love! Mahal Kita! (That could be wrong...)

Elder Richardson

1) We were having a really crazy, rainy day on bike, and we turn around and see this rainbow! Blessings!!!

2) I forget that when I'm talking to people on my bike, they just see my awkward helmet... Hm...

3) We had an FHE with a family, and we played THE MOST INTENSE game of Jenga EVER!!! At least for me... I haven't played that much...

4) This is an example of me taking random pictures of the things that crack me up, because we've all been there.

5) We found these Sunglasses in the Hermana's car during car checks, and so we snagged an awful picture.

Benjamin Richardson

California Redlands Mission

Feb 28, 2018 - March 3, 2020

JANUARY 8, 2019 - WEEK #45

THERE ARE MIRACLES!

January 8, 2019

Transfers are this week, and I'm staying in Palm Springs with Elder Brown! It was really exciting to find out, because I thought that I was going to leave, but now I get to stay in the best area with a sweet companion!

We had some super awesome exchanges this week! I got to go to Desert Hot Springs, and we had a lesson with a woman who had her nephew over. We showed a video about a man's journey from the world and sin towards God, and it really spoke to her nephew! He couldn't stop talking about the Spirit that he felt! We set up a return appointment with him, and he will be taught by the Elders there now! We had no idea that he was going to be there when we decided to share that video!

At church on Sunday, we walked out of a meeting, and then some other missionaries walked up and introduced us to Nick, who they had been talking to. Nick is a super cool guy! He just showed up at church, because a friend invited him to try this church. He was asking questions like crazy, and we told him about how we had another book of scripture like the Bible, and he was thrilled! "Sweet! I have more scriptures to read!"

We were sitting in church, and the whole time, he was practically bouncing in his seat next to me! "I love this!" When people started going up to bear their testimonies, he leaned over to me and said, "I want to go up, but I'm so nervous!"

"If you go up, then I'll go up too!" I whispered back. Nick grinned.

"Well, I want to hear your testimony, so...!" And then he went up, bore his testimony, and it was great! Everyone went up to him afterwards and told him how he did such a great job! 

After church, he said, "Wow! I think I've found my church!" 

It was a miracle of a day!

Another story! On another exchange, I was in Palm Springs with one of the Spanish Elders, and we went to a lesson with a family in our Ward. We had the lesson, and it was super awesome, and then the daughter, who was home from college, shared that she had been thinking a lot about serving a mission herself, and that she had wanted to ask a bunch of questions about serving a mission! We were so excited to answer her questions, but we didn't have time that night. 

As we were biking home, there were a lot of things that struck me that seemed to have lined up perfectly. after talking with the Elder that was with me, we decided that he needed to be there to talk with this girl about serving a mission, and that the wacky circumstances had come about to make that happen! His experience with deciding to serve a mission lined up with hers, and so we wanted to get him back into that home to share his testimony and experiences! And so, that very next night, he and I were back with that girl and her family, sharing about how she could be blessed if she decided to serve a mission, and also how she could learn for herself what her Heavenly Father wanted her to do.

I've been noticing that a lot more this week! just how as we go about our daily lives, we can see the hand of God throughout! Even in things like, this morning, we needed to do a lot of Aldi shopping very quickly! We pulled into a parking space, and there was an unattached cart, without a quarter, sitting nearby. Like, just how did that  get there? We shrugged our shoulders and took it, but then I realized that we hadn't taken any thought about bringing a quarter, and without that cart, we would've been stuck!

I'm grateful for all of the small miracles like that, and the big miracles like finding Nick yesterday! I love this work, I love my God, and I love my Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ!

Oh, and I love all of you, of course! Keep it up this new year! I'm blessed to have the opportunity to serve God all of 2019 on my mission, and I'd encourage you to consider making a greater effort to reach out to others for God, too! I know that you'll see miracles and  have a blast, too!

Lots of Love!

Elder Richardson

1) My Proof that it has been kind of rainy in the desert!

2) We visited at a thrift store, and this Legolas Lunchbox made me smile. Of course this exists!

3) We had a dinner with one of our nonmember friends, and he treated us to a very entertaining evening!

4) Yay! Awkward district photo!

5 and 6) OK, so we have an awesome friend that we played Monopoly with today (I won!!!), and he had an infinity Gauntlet, and so Elder Brown and so had a competition to see who could look scarier. I think I won!

Video) Either you will understand the reference (#AllRegion), or this will be a very strange experience.

NOTE TO MOM:

Hey Mom! 

I love you! Yep! You and Dad are the best! Thank you so much for showing me why I need the Gospel, so that I can hopefully be an awesome parent like you some day! 

I know that I haven't sent those measurements yet, but I'll make sure to take them tonight and send them next week! 

I heard that Luke came for Christmas! How was that? Was he pretty cool? Cool enough for Bethany? :D

I love you! Tell Daniel and Mason and Joseph that I'm thinking about them! Also, tell Joseph that he needs to send me some updates and tips on finding people to teach!

Love you!

Elder Richardson