FONTANA -- NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH MONTANA
(I'm still in California!)
March 27, 2018
(Ok, I am SO SORRY for the second email today. I just added a lot of people to my email list, and already I'm flooding their inboxes. I've been behind a week on emails from the beginning, and if I didn't remedy it today then I'd never fix it. So here you go, sorry again, have a great day.)
Wake up in the morning and finish packing. Meander around, see the pretty pictures in the buildings, and just continue the goodbye process. It had started that Sunday night I'd mentioned, where we had said goodbye to the entire district. 4 am Monday morning, we sent off Elder Guymon and Elder Birch, but it was too early in the morning to be emotional. At least, externally.
And now, with way too much candy I'd gotten from somewhere in hand, we boarded a bus with our travel group at noon on Tuesday. There were twelve of us heading on the same flight to Ontario: Six going to Redlands, and six going to... um... another mission we bordered! We went on a train/tram/transit thing-y, and then hopped onto another one to get to the Salt Lake City airport. That was an experience! I tried my best to keep the group together and moving, something you pick up flying around the world with a family of 14, but I may have just stressed a lot of people out. But we all made our flight, so I'm ok if some stress was needed to make that happen!
We were told that we had some time at the airport to call our families. And so a lot of us did that, understandably. I probably took way too long on my call, but it was good. I enjoyed getting to talk to everyone I was able to talk to, and I enjoyed being able to share what I had learned. A lot of people in the airport were probably confused by the Mormon Missionary ON THE PHONE pacing back and forth with no companion in sight, so that's funny to think about!
We landed in Ontario, and I was so excited to meet our Mission President (the Mission President leads the missionary efforts in the Mission area. So President Dixon leads in the California Redlands Mission). We get out to the escalator, and there's President Dixon, his wife Sister Dixon, a senior Missionary couple, the Stocketts, and a big sign that said, "Welcome! California Redlands Mission!" I got super excited and started waving at them, and then ran down to be the first one to shake President Dixon's hand (Yes!!!!!). The main thing that got me excited wasn't the sign or their waving or just the prospect of meeting them for the first time, but it was their smiles. My first thought when I was them was that they had "Hassel Smiles." (In our ward at home, a few years back, we had the Hassel Family. And their most distinguishing feature was that they always wore the biggest smiles. And when their mouths weren't smiling, their eyes were, and because of that, you knew that they loved you when they talked to you). And so I knew right then and there, because of those Hassel Smiles, that they were on the right track, and that if I wanted to be an effective missionary, I could listen to them, because they were listening to God.
We met another Elder who was coming in from somewhere else, and then we headed out to the Mission home (Where the Mission President and his family live), and had a great dinner, and also some more Mission Specific training. But as we were driving that night, and the next morning away from the Mission home, I just looked out on the space I'd be dedicating two years of my life to serving, and I was so excited! I keep saying that, but this nervous excitement is a prevailing feeling out here. Because you have to be an instrument in the Lord's hands, and that means that you have to act in His name according to His will, but you don't usually know what's going to actually happen after you act.
Wednesday morning we went to the Mission Office (the head office for the Mission) to receive even more training, but it was all good stuff! And then, the crowning moment, I got to meet my Trainer!!! Elder Ogden!!! He's so cool! And he's actually on the opposite end of the spectrum that I am! I'm starting my first Transfer (a six week period in a Mission. Every transfer, Missionaries get swapped around, people get new companions, new missionaries get in, and we set new goals to achieve by the next transfer), and Elder Ogden is beginning his final transfer! This means that for my second transfer, I'll get a new trainer to finish my training, but that should be fine. I'll send a picture of the two of us in just a bit. But he knows the Fontana area (the area I'm serving in) super well. He's a great teacher, and I can't wait to learn more from him!
We've gotten to meet so many people, and it's really hard to keep names straight, so I started a list in my notes of names and details I learn, at Elder Ogden's recommendation, and I feel like I'm going to want to use that trick the rest of my life... I'm sure I'll talk a lot more about these people that I've come to love, but I'll do the funny stories for now, because people like those.
So my first full day in Fontana, Elder Ogden and I, along with our roommates Elder Patterson and Elder White, we went to go and do service for this man named Al. He was 50-something and had a ton of stuff in his yard. Like, if you've seen my room after a while of not getting around to cleaning, just scale that up and replace knick-knacks and clothes with cars and poles and all sorts of other things. So in the heavy rain (which I didn't realize existed in California), we were set to work attaching a winch to a super old "Scooby-Doo" van (which had had most of its insides removed). It was very whelming. I got set in the van and was told to steer while the winch pulled on the back. I just kind of sat there and turned the wheel one way or another and hoped that it would do something. I wasn't sure. Old van, plus there was no way for me to know entry way the wheels were facing.
Very stressful, but then he thanked us for the help and told us about how it blessed him to have us there, so that made me feel a bit less freaked out. It was good.
And then somebody told me about the Book of Mormon Class that we apparently teach. What?? Where'd that come from?? So every Thursday night, we read through and discuss a chapter in the Book of Mormon with a bunch of members. It was a huge surprise, but I was so Hyped for this class! We were reading some Isaiah, and I somehow got a hold of Elder Tripp's student manual for a Book of Mormon course, so I was so ready to tackle that project! We had a great discussion, and I think that with a few changes, we can really invite and strengthen more testimonies of Jesus Christ through it!
The last thing I'll talk about is my Bike. I'm in a Biking area, so Elder Ogden and I have to ride a bike or beg for a ride everywhere we go. So Saturday, we biked 16 miles! 16! That's absolute insanity! I haven't ridden an actual bike in four years! But you know how I was able to make it through those bike rides? A very patient companion. But you know how else? A prayer. I asked my Heavenly Father to help me through my weakness, and to help me to do His work and His will. And it still hurt, but whenever we'd stop at a house, I would set my Bike down and not be distracted by any pain in my legs, and by the time I'd get back on my bike, my legs wouldn't ache any more. Heavenly Father loves His children, and He blesses them, even if it's something so inconsequential as me being terrible at riding a bike. I know that God's love for me is evident in my life, and I know it's present in yours. I'd encourage you all to look for, and maybe even make a list, or the ways that your Heavenly Father has blessed you in your lives as you go about this week. I know it helps me to find those blessings!
And one final story! There's a woman here named Sister Caroline, and I love her to death! And whenever she prays, and she can't think of anything else to say to her Heavenly Father, she says, "That's it. Amen."
So That's it. Amen.
Elder Richardson
P.S. Caught up! Yay! Also, my P-days (the Emailing days) are on Monday now! I'll probably only have a short window for writing emails (can still read any point in the week), but I'll try to reply, starting now, to as many emails as I can! I've just been trying to stay caught up up to this point, so sorry about not getting back to you... Well, Bye! Enjoy your week!
AWKWARD UPDATE
March 27, 2018
This is my 3rd cousin, Sister Bentley (far right). We met at the MTC. Also, Cousin Birch (That's his neutral face, don't worry), through the same line from me, so we're all related. It's pretty awesome. They're pretty awesome. So, yeah. Just thought I'd let you know.
Awkward update,
Elder Richardson
P.S. I FOUND MALCOLM AGAIN!! AND I GOT PICTURES!!! I'll send them separately.
FROM DAD (Vernon)
Cool! Love the pix!
This is from Wikipedia about Fontana.
Fontana (/fɒnˈtænə/) is a city of 207,460 residents in San Bernardino County, California. Founded by Azariel Blanchard Miller in 1913,[2] it remained essentially rural until World War II, when entrepreneur Henry J. Kaiser built a large steel mill in the area. It is now a regional hub of the trucking industry, with Interstate 10 and State Route 210 transecting the city from east to west, and Interstate 15 passing diagonally through its northwestern quadrant.
It is home to the largest of the San Bernardino County system libraries, a renovated historic theater, a municipal park, and the Auto Club Speedway on the site of the Kaiser Steel Mill. Fontana also hosts the Fontana Days Half Marathon and 5K run. This race is the fastest half-marathon course in the world.[14]
The United States Census Bureau estimated Fontana's 2016 population at 207,460, making it the second most populous city in San Bernardino County and the 19th largest in the state.[10] The name fontana is Italian for fountain or water source, being in close proximity to the Santa Ana River to the east.
Benjamin Richardson
California Redlands Mission
Feb 28, 2018 - March 3, 2020
No comments:
Post a Comment