Back To Work

So included are some pictures of the FHE activity we had, the scarf I made during the ice lock down, the ice rink that was our street, and the snowman president Greer made at zone conference. Enjoy!

This last week was a pretty good one. We got back to work which was nice. We are having plenty of lessons, with the occasional tracting. The other night we finally got the area book up to date (it hadn't been touched since before I got here) but it is now ship shape, and we are implementing it into our finding activities.

One such instance, we found an old teaching record, the last note from missionaries on it said "This lady is crazy, insane in the head! Only go over if you want a good journal entry!" So naturally she was one of the first ones we visited. She wasn't soo crazy, a little drunk perhaps, but her daughter was nuts. We could hear her in the other room giving what sounded like tech support on the phone, nothing wrong with that, but then at the end we figured out that she was talking to her computer. Odd. But we had a good lesson with her and are going to see where things go.

We got a media referral from Salt Lake, I've had nothing but bad experiences with those, but this one seems to have some potential. We haven't been able to catch him at home but have spoken with who we think is his wife, and she seems nice. Hopefully he is actually golden as the referral we got says.

On Saturday the Boardman Elders had a baptism. So we went out to show our support. it was a great service, and several people I knew from Boardman were there, so it was fun to be able to catch up with them for a while. The part that made me happiest was that, a year later, they still remembered me.

I'm blanking on note worthy news, but life here is good. The work is progressing. The Spanish group is struggling due to everyone's ability to be offended over nothing, but we will keep trying to build up the kingdom.

Much love,

Elder Richards

Hello One and All,

This last week was crazy! Wednesday night a storm hit, it started out
as snow but evolved into freezing rain that went all night. and the
majority of the next day, and it just kept going. It turned the roads
of Hermiston into glass, and as a result we were...grounded. No
traveling aloud. It was a rough 3 or so days. Cabin Fever definitely
set in. In addition to studying and being productive I also started
and completed an entire scarf, it actually looks pretty good. Frankly
it's a miracle one of us didn't snap and kill the others with knitting
needles, but we all made it out ok and still sane. Barely.

Despite the crazy elements we still had a pretty productive week.
Maria is willing to give up the tarot cards and really wants to get
baptized. And we have several other investigators that are progressing
nicely.

We also had a really good group FHE, last week; it was all about
Family History Work. We had a big turn out and Diaz and I cooked 14
pounds of Carne Apastor for the occasion, it was a big hit and a lot
of fun. Next FHE will be about missionary work.

This last Sunday I was called on to give a talk in sacrament. I
focused my remarks on the Doctrine of Christ. It's a really important
Doctrine, but nobody seems to know about it. It consists of 5 basic
things, faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the holy
ghost, and enduring to the end. Pretty basic right? well, it's really
important. And if you are looking for it you can find it EVERYWHERE in
the Book of Mormon. It really is the one of the single most important
things this church is about. I'm giving out a homework assignment,
everyone who reads this paragraph needs to go read 2nd Nephi 31. That
is the best example, 3rd Nephi 11 is another good one. It is the first
thing that Christ teaches when he reveals himself in the Americas.

We had zone conference yesterday (hence why I am writing today) and it
was awesome. We had it up in Kennewick, so it was a good chance to
catch up with Anderson and others from my old area. Several people are
getting baptized there which is exciting. The conference itself was
great, it was all about the Doctrine of Christ. During the conference
I felt inspired to make the goal to read the Book of Mormon and
highlight the DoC, by the end of the transfer, so today I bought a
pocket BoM in the distribution center after our temple trip (which was
also good).

The address I sent last week is correct, if there is ever any doubt
all mail sent to the mission office will be forwarded to me. I haven't
gotten to Boardman yet, but hopefully soon. I hope that everyone has a
great week and keeps warm.

Love,

Elder Richards

Iced In

Hello One and All,

This last week was crazy! Wednesday night a storm hit. It started out
as snow but evolved into freezing rain that went all night and the
majority of the next day, and it just kept going. It turned the roads
of Hermiston into glass, and as a result we were...grounded. No
traveling allowed. It was a rough 3 or so days. Cabin Fever definitely
set in. In addition to studying and being productive I also started
and completed an entire scarf. It actually looks pretty good. Frankly
it's a miracle one of us didn't snap and kill the others with knitting
needles, but we all made it out ok and still sane. Barely.

Despite the crazy elements we still had a pretty productive week.
_____ is willing to give up the tarrot cards and really wants to get
baptized, and we have several other investigators that are progressing nicely.

We also had a really good group FHE (Family Home Evening) last week. It was all about Family History Work. We had a big turn out and Elder Diaz and I cooked 14 pounds of Carne Apastor for the occasion. It was a big hit and a lot of fun. Next FHE will be about missionary work.

This last Sunday I was called on to give a talk in sacrament meeting. I focused my remarks on the Doctrine of Christ. It's a really important Doctrine, but nobody seems to know about it. It consists of 5 basic things, faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the holy ghost, and enduring to the end. Pretty basic right? well, it's really important. And if you are looking for it you can find it EVERYWHERE in the Book of Mormon. It really is the one of the single most important things this church is about. I'm giving out a homework assignment: everyone who reads this paragraph needs to go read 2nd Nephi chapter 31. That is the best example. 3rd Nephi chapter 11 is another good one. It is the first thing that Christ teaches when he reveals himself in the Americas.

We had zone conference yesterday (hence why I am writing today) and it was awesome. We had it up in Kennewick, WA so it was a good chance to catch up with Elder Anderson and others from my old area. Several people are getting baptized there which is exciting. The conference itself was great, it was all about the Doctrine of Christ. During the conference I felt inspired to make the goal to read the Book of Mormon and highlight the Doctrine and Covenants, by the end of the transfer. So today I bought a pocket Book of Mormon in the distribution center after our temple trip (which was also good).

The address I sent last week is correct, if there is ever any doubt
all mail sent to the mission office will be forwarded to me. I haven't
gotten to Boardman yet, but hopefully soon. I hope that everyone has a great week and keeps warm.

Love,
Elder Richards

Tangled in Yarn

Hello One and All,

I'm all settled in Hermiston. Life is gradually falling into a
routine which is nice. Things are starting to become "normal", or as
normal as to be expected on a mission. First order of business, here
is my new address:

Elder Richards
565 Willow Court #A
Hermiston, OR 97838

Hopefully that works, but I'm pretty sure that that is it. Or if there
is any doubt, letters can be sent to the mission office address, and
from there they will find me.

The Plex is a pretty cool place to live. It's by far the largest
apartment I've lived in so far. The Vancouver apartment might have
been close, but this one is so much more furnished. I have laid claim
on a comfortable arm chair, that is usually where you will find me in
my down time. It can be a lot of fun living with an extra set of
missionaries, but I am still doing well and not going crazy and
partying. Me and Diaz are getting along well. The other two are
Westover, and Fucuri, they're both pretty cool guys.

E. Fucuri taught us all how to knit. Yup, knit. I am a stud at
casting, but my pearling leaves something to be desired. I was making a scarf but it wasn't looking too good, so I eventually destroyed it. I'll give it another shot soon though. Although occasionally stressful,knitting can be kind of therapeutic.

The other night we had snow. Nothing major, just a light frosting.
Speaking of which, it is much colder in Hermiston than it was in
Kennewick, here it actually feels like it's the middle of January.

The group here is pretty small, but it has some good core families.
Today we'll be running all around getting things ready for a FHE
activity we will be hosting tonight, it should be a lot of fun. One of
the strongest members is Freddy Alva, who as coincidence would have it knows Eric from the mission. We finally made the connection last night, and he started texting all the old gang from Eric's group telling them I was here in Kennewick. They all seemed pretty excited. Apparently Russel Carlson an old companion of Eric's lives up in Yakima, and is now hoping I get sent there. We will see what happens. With only three more transfers left my odds of moving are getting less.

The work here is pretty good. There is a lot of potential. We have
several people who are right on the edge of baptism. "Momma" Maira, who prides her self on taking care of the missionaries; Lisa Sanchez,who is waiting on her husband to get back in town to get baptized; the Estrada Family, who have been with missionaries for ever; and another woman who we actually put on date the other day, the only catch is she kind of practices witchcraft so we need to put a stop to that (she showed us her tarot cards and everything). But we're not too concerned she's a sweet old lady and we can still feel the spirit around her, she even said she would give it up if that's what God wanted, and it's what He wants.

On Friday we have zone conference, we'll be doubled up with the
Kennewick East Zone. I'll get to go back to familiar turf for a few
hours and see Anderson and everyone else, that will be nice. Speaking of old stomping grounds, I worked it out with Fucuri (the district leader, yup I'm just a normal missionary now) so that I can go on an exchange to Boardman during the transfer. I'm really excited for that, to get to see old converts and whatnot. it'll be fun.

Well I think that pretty well covers it for the week, I hope everyone
is doing well, and don't be strangers, it's OK to write.

Love,
Elder Richards

Where oh Where in the WKM...

Hello One and All,

Well the sad news is that transfers are in and Elder Richards is out! But it's not the end of the world I suppose. Wednesday I'm shipping off to my greeny zone, not Boardman but darn close in Hermiston. My new companion will be none other than Elder Diaz, yep my first companion from my time in Vancouver. I'm kind of bummed to leave Kennewick, especially before a lot of awesome stuff that is just around the corner. I don't know the address, I'll send that next week. I'll be living in what is known as the "Plex". A four man apartment with two other english elders that is widely recognized as one of the funnest living arrangements of the mission, I was in Boardman when the Plex was founded, and now a year later, I'm living there, should be fun. And if I'm still a district leader I'll be able to arrange exchanges where I go check out my old stomping grounds in Boardman.

This last week was a good week. We taught some good lessons, had a few laughs, and did a lot of speculating on what transfers might bring. Elder Anderson is going to be staying and Elder Broadhead will be taking my spot. So the area's in good hands.

I've learned a lot during my time here in Kennewick, and even though we only had the two baptisms, I am leaving feeling very accomplished. Our mission president forwarded us a list of reminders from Elder Ballard and one of them hit close to home:

"Second, that we understand that the real measure of success as we move from any assigned area is whether the ward/branch is better and stronger than when we came. We do that, not only as we “find, teach and baptize”, but also as we bring back members who have fallen by the wayside through inactivity. Also, by the feelings we have for those within the ward/branch boundaries and their feelings for us."

When I came the branch was one week old, strong, but still somewhat similar to a deer on wobbly legs. This last Sunday we were shocked to realize that 15 people (less active members) all showed up independently of one another, and testimony's were very much directed towards us. One of which was a young man who is now getting ready to start his mission papers because of a conversation we had with him at dinner. Another one of the branch missionaries is also getting his papers ready. The Ramos family is now one of the strongest families in activity. Bro. Ramos has been sustained as a member of the Elders Quorum presidency (secretary), and I've made numerous strong friendships. This area has truly been a success for me. I will always remember my time here.

I got to talk with Yhon on the phone which was way nice. He went back to New Jersey about a month ago, and is making preparations so he can move back permanently with his wife. His wife spoke with me for a moment and expressed a great deal of gratitude for what I did for her husband, but it wasn't me, it was the Lord. I really look forward to visiting Yhon with mom and dad in a few months, he'll be back by then, and he is looking forward to it too. Such a cool guy.

Thanks everyone for all the letters and support and what not, my journal writing is still 100% so far. Next time you hear from me, I'll be back in Oregon!

Love,
Elder Richards

Happy 2012

Hello One and All,

Well, the new year has finally arrived, which makes the end of my mission seem shockingly close. But that's ok, I still have plenty of time to buckle down and get some good work done. This last week we put one of our investigators on date, she has 4 children of baptismal age, and a nephew who lives there also, so this could potentially be a sextuple baptism. That would be way cool. The cool thing about this investigator is that she has recognized the change that the spirit has brought into her home. We are hoping for some good things from them.

Dad, in regards to you and mom visiting ...my mission president had this to say:

"Elder Richards, Thank you for your letter and hard work. As to your question, I do not have a problem with your family coming to the field at the end of your mission as long as you avoid contact with other missionaries. That can be a serious distraction. With love, President." So there you have it, it is approved.

It's really hard to believe that the transfer is almost over. This saturday we will get the calls telling us what the changes will be. And there will for sure be some changes in our district, which is derived of the sister missionaries Elder Anderson and myself. (I included a few pics of the district). I really hope that I get to continue working here for a little while longer, it would really be great to get to see the fruits of all the great seeds we've been planting. Especially with the Ramos family and Yhon and a few other awesome people I've been privaldged enough to get to know during my time here.

New Years was pretty fun, we went to a small branch activity and played some games. During a game of musical chairs Elder Anderson and I got into a small tussel and things escelated quickly, but that's ok, all is well in the companionship. A good time was had by all.

Well, I hope everyone is doing well, and hopefully everyone has some great resolutions. Mine is to write in my journal every night, thankyou for the sound rebuking Mike. I'm taking it to heart.

Love,
Elder Richards