OCTOBER 23, 2018 - WEEK #34

PALM SPRINGS!

October 23, 2018

Palm Springs! Here we are! It is definitely desert-like! Seriously, it is HOT! I stood outside for a minute, and I felt like I was melting!

Anyways, I got to meet my new companion, Elder Mills! Elder Mills is from Cottage Grove, Minnesota, which is close-ish to St. Paul. He love sports, and is a pretty chill guy overall. He's also my District Leader, which is pretty cool. In fact, most of my District (and Zone, for that matter,) is super cool! Elder Martinez, a Spanish-speaking Missionary who came out with me, is in my district, and it's been a lot of fun to see him again!

On top of that, we had a Zone meeting with our Stake President, because of some new changes regarding dinners with members in our wards, and I saw my MTC Companion Elder Tripp there! I was so excited to see him again! He's doing well, and I loved seeing how much he's grown as a Missionary since we last met. It was a testimony builder to me of how the Lord blesses and is working with those that we aren't able talk to and in ways that we might not know.

Ok, so with a new area, that means new people. And I have made the grievious mistake in each of my last areas not talking about my brand new friends I've been able to make. So here are my Palm Springs friends!

- LOURNA!!! Ok, literally the SWEETEST lady I have ever met, and she actually got baptized this Saturday! She is always smiling, and you just know that she is so excited about the Gospel! She is from the Philippines, and her English is not the best, so there is a little bit of a barrier there (when teaching her, Elder Mills and his companion would Skype in a missionary in St. George, Utah who spoke fluent Tagalog to help explain somethings). On Sunday, Lourna was trying to explain the Spirit that she felt after her Baptism and Confirmation, and it was the sweetest thing! 

- We had one of our final dinner appointments with a member family, and there I met Heather. Heather is 6 years old, loves Ariel and other mermaids, and does ballet. She proceeded to tell me all of these things, along with many others, over the course of the hour or so we were in this home. She speaks very quickly, and before she finishes one thought she's already wanting to go onto the next! I could tell that Elder Mills found her a bit whelming, so I talked to Heather while he talked with and got to know the rest of her family. It was so much fun keeping up with this rapid firing crazy fun child!

- PATTY! Or Pari, we are not sure. Most of our records say Pari, but she says Patty, so I'm going with Patty. Patty has talked with Missionaries for years, but hadn't been able to talk with them for a bit because of her previous boyfriend. She said that, with God's help, she broke up with him, so now we get to go and be friends with her! Patty is super cool because she's Persian (or Iranian? She Speaks Farsi(?)), and so whenever she says words with "W's," she pronounces it with a "V." So when we were trying to set up a time to come back, she would say "No, Vednesday is not good." She also offered us Persian food sometime, and I can't wait!

- The Cooley's are a less active family, but they still have their testimonies! A lot of trials in their lives make it hard for them to bring their family to church, but they loved visiting with us when we went over! They are super open to us coming and have lots of really good questions. In fact, Brother Cooley shared right then that he was really wanting to reach out to his sister and get her to come to church as well, and it's awesome to see his desire for everyone else to enjoy the blessings he's receIved from the Gospel!

Well, those are a few of my friends. Yeah, they're pretty cool! I'm really excited to be able to work with them all for the next little bit!

I just want to close this email by sharing an experience I had. We were in a member family's home, and, because I was the new missionary in the area, they were asking me some questions after dinner, and I was sitting there answering their questions, sharing some of my experiences that led me to come out on a mission. And as I was sharing these times when I felt the Spirit prompting me to do things, and as I remembered those critical moments in my life, my testimony, or my confidence in the truth that is God and all religion, grew stronger and  more sure of those reasons that I am out here! 

I want to invite you to recall some of your personal experiences that have brought you to be the wonderful person that you are today. Whether they were in a church or out in a sports field, in your home or driving in your car; Remember those things. Share one of those experiences with someone, or just tell it to yourself in your journal or a note on your phone. As we recall those experiences, we can draw strength and conviction in those things that will help us through hard things. I know this is true, because it's something that I've been  able to do to help me through hard days, and so it will do the same for you!

Love,

Elder Richardson

Benjamin Richardson

California Redlands Mission

Feb 28, 2018 - March 3, 2020

FROM BENJAMIN:

Soooo... I kind of lost my glasses. I don't know where for sure, but I looked everywhere I could before transfers and couldn't find them. I told the missionaries staying behind to keep an eye out, but I don't know that I'll be able to find them. I don't know what that process could look like, if a prescription could be mailed or if we would need something redone here, but I would need to call the mission nurse before too much of anything happens.

So what can we do? I've been doing alright so far, but I would need glasses again if I would ever need to drive (which is likely in, like, 5 weeks?).

Sorry I lost them! If you could let me know what I can do, that would be awesome!

Love you!

Elder Richardson