Liberty week 25

April 24, 2013

It's finally starting to warm up! We've had a cold past couple of days but today is beautiful and everything is beginning to turn green!!

This week we have knocked a lot (my emails are probably starting get really repetitive and boring, sorry!) but Heavenly Father is blessing us to find Spanish people. Our zone leaders called us last week and told us that President wants us to just teach in Spanish. When we first got here we were doing both so now we are finding A TON of english-speaking people for the elders to teach. I figure whether we teach them or the elders teach them, the work is moving along the same. We talked to this spanish guy on the street the other day and he told us to come back so we went back Sunday and the building he lives in is all spanish! We talked to this lady from Guatemala named Maria Gomez and went back and taught her yesterday. She has a lot of good beliefs (I couldn't understand a lot of what she said, her spanish was fast!) but she really values the family. We're going to go back later this week to teach her.

Sunday we had 3 investigators at church! Twas a miracle! Our neighbor Jaime (Hi may) came (he lives across the parking lot from Sister Barlow and I) and he is spanish! We always see him cuz he's always working outside on his car and we gave him a BOM a few weeks ago so we called and invited him on Saturday and he actually came! During the sacrament he pointed out that it's different from the catholic church because in the catholic church they go up to the front to take it. I said yep it's different! He said that he is going to come again this week so hopefully he will! I vote he is going to be the first bishop of the spanish branch we are going to form :D When I told the other missionaries of the sacrament experience Elder Long (senior missionary) pointed out that to him that means ours is the true church because we don't make a public display of the sacrament. Also the Elders Quorum president in our ward brought his girlfriend to church and we are going to start teaching her next week. Yay! We also had a girl named Cara that we have kinda been teaching come to church. The Long's met her in the interfaith council they go to and so we went and met her. She's really nice! She's 23 and from Albany NY. At this point I don't know if we will call her a real investigator because we don't know if she really wants to find out if it's true, but she read the intro to the BOM! So we are going to keep visiting her and see what happens.

On Sunday we went back to teach Esther (I think I told you about her, she's a cute mexican lady we found a couple weeks ago) and I was worried because I felt like we had started off on the wrong foot and I wasn't sure how to help her understand our purpose. We went to teach her on Sunday and started reading verses with her on the bible about the BOM (Ezk 37:15-17). She asked me how I knew that all this was true (bible, bom, etc) and I said through prayer! We then invited her to pray and she was about to and then said she couldn't...so I explained it was simple and then asked her to list the things she is grateful for. She did and then I asked her "If God were here right now what would you ask him?" So she listed off a few things and I said "That's just like a prayer." She has a strong desire to do what is right. We're going back on monday to teach her :) Every time we talk with her the spirit is SO strong. There is something very special about her!

We also went and had dinner with the Handley's on Sunday after Esther. They are AWESOME! Brother and Sister Handley are so nice and I feel right at home when we visit them. They have high standards for their kids and Sister Handley always makes sure they eat dinner every night as a family. Basically they would make good mormons :) We ate with them and found out their daughter Katie used to go to girls camp with a less active girl in our branch named Brittany, so that was cool! After dinner Sister Handley said she read the intro to the BOM so we started talking about it. They asked about the Gold plates and if we still have them (everyone asks that question!) so we told them no we don't. We explained more about the BOM and then I asked them if they found out the same gospel that Jesus Christ established was on the earth was here how would that change their life. Sister Handley said "It would change it alot because that would mean we're living it in the here and now instead of in the catholic church where we just reinact how it was done back then" in my head I was like BINGO! Then we explained that as missionaries we were there to tell here that we are living it in the here and now. She said "well your doing a good job, you got me thinking!" But said she is going to read the BOM in the summer when she has more time. Sooo...basically the lesson was left at nothing and I wish we would have told her more stuff like "All you have to do is pray about the book of mormon and you can know that all this is true!" They have been on my mind all week so I think we are going to try to go back on Sunday and talk to them and explain that if they just pray about the BOM they can know the truth. Pray that she'll have an open heart!

Yesterday (Tuesday) was a really hard day, I was hardly motivated to do anything (wow missionaries aren't perfect!) and we didn't have any appts so we just knocked. With no success except for this nice lady named  Teresa Murphy that we are going to go visit tomorrow! Woot! At correlation yesterday night we started talking about the plan of salvation and we had a wonderful conversation. I felt like it was just what I needed to put everything in persepective about why I am here as a missionary. 

 The plan of salvation is legit and our conversation helped me to remember that I am here as a missionary helping people to remember the commitments they made to Heavenly Father in the premortal life. Elder Sevy pointed out that some people in the premortal life were told that they were going to have the chance to recieve the gospel here and when they felt the spirit they would know it's true. That's why it's so important for missionaries to teach by the spirit! Cuz their spirits recognize it! :)

Okay so I think that's everything that happened this week. I hope you are all happy and grateful that our family has been sealed in the temple for time and all eternity. If only some people around here understood that their families can be eternal...but seriously, I constantly think of how blessed I am to live in a family that is FOREVER. I hope you all continue to make good choices so that one day we can all live with Heavenly Father and Jesus in the mansion they are preparing for us!!! :D

Mucho amor!

Hermana Richardson

Liberty week 24

April 18, 2013

I have no time to write today, it was transfers and it took the whole day! Transfers was a little hard for me, even though sister barlow and  I are still together and we're staying in the same place. It's just the realization that I have been out nearly 8 months and time is flying by wayyyyy too fast. There's so many people that need to hear the gospel and I feel like sister barlow and I are only making a dent!

This week some of the highlights were:

Sunday our senior couple, the longs, said they have been teaching this family (mom and dad, they hadn't met the kids yet) and they said they were coming to church. Me of little faith thought, yeah right. That's what all investigators said and they never come! So we're sitting 10 minutes into sacrament meeting and 9 NEW PEOPLE WALK IN. I'm not even kidding. They couple the longs taught brought family members to church! investigators bringing investigators!!! And they are from Brasil! The dad, Brother Pupo, is from Belo Horizante, where both my parents served 25 years ago, and so is his sister! I like to think that some of their missonary efforts down there led them to be prepared to now receive the gospel. They came to the US around the same time my parent's were serving, so maybe in some small way they touched them. It's a nice thought! Also we had 2 less active families come! Millie and Ronald from Colombia came (they haven't come for a long time but we found them a ride! Ronald is almost 12 and is the biggest sweetheart. Such a nice young man! We went over at 8:30 am on Sunday morning to make sure they remembered and Ronald answered the door looking sharp in his suit. It was so cute! So they came and Millie bore her testimony in her sweet very broken english. It was so cute. Also the Totten family came again, I think I told you about them. Siste totten is a less active and we miraculously met them one day while visiting with an active. They have come to church a few times and we are so glad they are coming back. The spirit was SOOOO strong in sacrament meeting and I wanted to stay there all day because I had had a hard morning. Some days are hard but Heavenly Father always finds some way of comforting me :)

Also last week we had an appt set up with our investigator Diego who is from Uruguay. We had to have another female with us because he lives with only guys and the rule is we have to have at least 3 girls if there is a single guy. The member we had arranged to meet with us at the last minute cancelled on us so sister barlow and I were desperate to find another lady. We said a prayer and thought of Millie and she totes speak spanish so we went over to her house 10 minutes before the lesson and she was more than willing! Her and Ronald both came and it was great. Millie is such a sweetheart. She had a bow in her hair on Sunday and I told her it was pretty so she gave it to me. That's how nice she is!

Also another miracle was the other night Sister Barlow and I had set a goal to have 4 lessons, and by 8:30 we had 3. We really wanted that last lesson! We said a prayer and then knocked on this guys door. He was Spanish and was so nice! We had a 5 minute lesson with him and he said we could come back! Also people keep telling me I sound like I am fluent. That in and of itself is a miracle and the gift of tongues is DEFINITELY REAL PEOPLE :)

Love,

Hermana Richardson

Liberty week 23

April 10, 2013

Well . . . .

General Conference was AWESOME!!! Saturday morning sister barlow and I could hardly wait to get to the chapel. It was like waiting for Christmas! On our way to the chapel as we passed people on the street we kept talking to them (we were inside the car so they couldn't hear us) saying "Come listen to the Prophet!"

Saturday morning we also called everyone we could think of to come. All our investigators, potentials, etc. We had been handing out flyers advertising the conference and hoped to have at least 5 non members there. We called this one guy named Steve that we knocked into a few weeks ago and he said he would be there on Saturday. Also another girl we had been kind of teaching said she would come sunday. We went and NO ONE came. Not even Steve. We were way sad and I just kept thinking how unfair it was that there I was sitting in the chapel being edified while tons of people in the outside world didn't even know that we were listening to a prophet of the Lord. I wanted everyone to be able to listen!

Saturday came and went and then Sunday we went to the chapel and no non members came. Sister Barlow called Steve and invited him again to come and he said he would be there for the last session. Of course we had little faith and were like okay whatever. We had a really good activity and potluck between sessions with our members which hopefully got them motivated to get more involved with missionary work. Right as we were cleaning up to watch the last session we see this guy walking up to the church. Sister Barlow goes "Is that Steve?!" So he walks in and it was STEVE!!!! The whole branch swarmed him (poor guy) but with a little branch like that it's like being in the desert for 40 years and then when a non member comes it's like WATER!!!!!!!!!!!  Yep.

So, Steve came in and sat down and the first speaker was Elder Holland. I was like, crap. Steve is going to get scared away. :( haha no but really all the talks in that session I felt were perfect for someone who didn't know anything about the church! Especially Elder Oaks talk! We were soooooooo happy we had one non member come, even though we had a goal for 5. It was a miracle and I know Heavenly Father knew our desires and that we had done all possible to get people there. Steve hurried and left right after so we're not sure what he thought but we 're hoping to go visit him soon.

Also Sunday we followed up with this kid named Samuel Andrade who is Mexican. We had knocked into him a few weeks ago and he told us we could come back. Usually when someone says this and we go back they are never home. BUT we went back and they were all home! All 6 (ish) Mexicans! My thirst for spanish people was quenched! :D We have a rule though that sisters (and elders) can't teach unless there is a third member of the opposite gender with us. We walked into Samuel's house and in the bedroom sat 4 guys. I was like darrrrrn we can't teach but then I asked if there was another girl home and their sister came in so it was okay (tender mercy) Their apartment was really tiny so we went into one of the bedrooms where Samuel, his brother, and 2 friends were. Then the sister came in so we started talking to them. I noticed a baptism certificate on the wall so I asked about it. It was one of the friends that was there (I didn't catch all their names) so we specifically started talking to him. He said he was baptized into the pentocostal church after he decided to change his life. He was involved with drugs, etc before but he changed. We started talking to him about the gospel and gave him a BOM. The thing that is hardest for people to understand is why our church is so different from other churches. The only difference is that we have the PRIESTHOOD. That is also hard to explain to people. We said a closing prayer and were about to leave until this other guy came in. This is when our visit actually started. This guy (must have been a friend) had sooooo many questions and it was a miracle I was able to understand and answer them all in understandable spanish. The gift of tongues is real, I'm telling you! We talked to them and I emphasized that as missionaries our job is not to convert, but to invite people to find out for themselves. This guy I was talking to really liked that so I challenged them all to read the BOM and pray about it. We haven't been able to follow up yet but we're going to see if we can go back tomorrow and see them. This family was legit!!!

We've been praying really hard (sounds like you have been too!) that we can find Spanish speaking people. This past week it seems like they have been popping up like daisies! The Lord is blessing us so much and even though most of them are flakes it's okay because someday we will find the honest seekers of truth. The Lord is really blessing us for our efforts and I remember something another missionary had told me before I came here to Monticello. They said that when you open a new area and train a new missionary, you really have to be satisfied with the little successes. It's true! We aren't seeing any huge miracles but we see little ones every day. Samuel Andrade's family was definitely a little miracle! Also Steve coming to the last session of conference! I need to give Heavenly Father more credit sometimes.  We talk to so many people everyday and although I want to teach and baptize them all I realize that we are the angels that are preparing the hearts of the people to recieve the word of God like it talks about the BOM. Most of the people (actually I think all of them) have never even heard of the Mormons. We spent the rest of last week, Thursday and Friday, handing out tons of Mormon.org cards. We walked up and down main street and talked to everyone we could. Now when these people see missionaries again they will recognize them. It makes me happy that Sister Barlow and I could be pioneers and even though some days are so hard I want to quit, Heavenly Father shows us the little miracles or I will say a little prayer and He comforts me and tells me I can do it. I love being a missionary and declaring the gospel to everyone!

Some of the dearest experiences I have are the ones where we are sitting in someone's house and I am able to bear my testimony of the Restoration. After Samuel's house on Sunday we went back to another house and the family let us in. Their name is the Rhode family (I think...) and they are of the religion Bahi (I had never heard of it either) and the wife sat us down and tried to tell us all the false doctrines of the mormon church. I told her that we're not perfect teachers and we may not have a perfect knowledge of the bible but I do know these things:

Joseph Smith restored the same church that Jesus Christ established when he was on the earth.
The Book of Mormon was true.
This knowledge can bless our lives immensely!

I looooooove LOVE bearing my testimony to people. I feel like my testimony gets 1000 times bigger each time I do it. It's crazy how much I have grown when I look back 7 months to when I first started my mission. The progress has been slow but Heavenly Father helps me to see the progress I have made! Talking to random people on the street now is a piece of cake where 7 months ago it was like trying to climb Mt. Everest.

Anyway, este iglesia es la unica iglesia verdadera en todo el mundo! Necesitamos hacer nuestro estudio personal del Libro de Mormon diariamente y orar a Nuestro Padre Celestial en todos de los oportunidades que tenemos. Dar su testimonios frecuentemente.Se que Dios quiere bendicenos TANTO pero necesitamos hacer nuestro parte. Ir a la iglesia los domingos y tomar la santa cena. Vamos a recibir muchas bendiciones si hacemos estas cosas!

Mi amor a todo!!

Hermana Richardson

Liberty week 22

April 3, 2013

Gracias familia por sus cartas-Estoy MUY MUY bendecido porque yo tengo una familia de fuerza. No se porque mi Padre Celestial ha bendecido mi mucho en mi vida pero ahora yo necesito ayudar a los demas!

Hola!

Last week we met a family named the Handley's (did I tell you about them?). We knocked into brother Handley and he said we could come back the next day when his wife was home. We went back the next day which was sunday and he said "Girls you came back!" Their family is SOOOOOOO incredibly nice. The most christian people ever. We went in and talked a little about our beliefs and his wife is a very strong catholic and goes to church every sunday but they were willing to listen to us. She also had a question about baptism so I told here what we believe about baptism. A few days later during personal study I felt prompted to get a BOM and write my testimony and then write on a piece of paper how the BOM answers questions of the soul (chapter 5 of PMG). I did and we gave it to them. That was last week and then this past Monday we decided to visit them again because they said we could come back anytime. We went back and Sister Handley immediately let us right in and fed us her left over easter food which was YUMMY and her and brother handley sat down and talked to us. They both work as counselors for people with drug addictions and they actually both smoked cigarettes for YEARS (brother handley for 40 and sister handley for 35ish). Anyway they both quit (sister handley still uses a nicotine lazange). Anyway, they both thanked us for the BOM and brother handley said he had read a little bit (keep in mind brother handley doesn't believe in organized religion even though his wife goes to church every sunday) but sister handley said she hadn't had time. We asked if we could share the message of the Restoration with them and let me just tell you the Spirit was SOOO strong and the whole time Sister Handley just stared at me. I could tell she was really feeling the spirit. Brother Handley asked a lot of good questions and he seemed to understand! They didn't have any opposition to it and they both committed to read and pray. Man it was sweeeeeeet :) Pray for this family that they can find time to read the BOM!

We've been handing out a lot of fliers this week for general conference in hopes that we can get people to watch it! What a wonderful opportunity it is going to be for us to hear from our prophet. I can't wait!

Elizabeth and her family have been hard to get a hold of lately but the other day we were in Monticello tracting an apartment complex and we ran into Shauna! It was such a tender mercy because we haven't seen them in a while. Yesterday we went to visit Elizabeth and she let us in but then Shauna had gotten in trouble at school so she had to leave really quickly. It may just be that our timing as missionaries is off for their family right now because they have crazy lives. Their baptism date is still set but we can hardly ever visit them and they haven't been to church. Boo.

Yesterday we got to have lunch with the AP's and it was a great opportunity. Elder Fusco is from Sao Paulo and his comp Elder Hutchins is from Grantsville UT. They are nice and gave sister barlow and I lots of good advice! One thing we need to work on is speaking spanish. Poor Sister Barlow hasn't had any experience with Spanish and here we hardly ever speak in Spanish so it's hard for her to learn. That means it's up to me to help her! No pressure or anything...pray for us in our abilities to learn together and persevere to conquer the language!

Zone Conference March 2013 (I'm in the middle in the blue blouse.)

Zone conference was last Friday two hours away in Ossining.  The plan was for Sister Barlow and I to carpool with the other sisters who live 1 hour away in Newburgh. Unfortunately on the way to the sisters we took the wrong exit so we couldn't carpool with them. We decided to just drive all the way there by ourselves but since we took the wrong exit our GPS was leading us to a toll road. The only experience I have ever had with a toll road is when we were with dad in Baltimore. So I was like yeah okay we'll just pay the toll and get through. We got there and realized we had NO cash, only a credit card. We got up to the window and asked the lady if she would take our card and she said no only cash. Except we had no cash (it was only 1.25. 5 quarters.) so the lady started to get really impatient and she was rude. We explained we are both from Utah and aren't familiar with these roads but she didn't care, we had ruined her day because we didn't have 5 quarters. Sister Barlow and I looked at each other and said what should we do?! I got out of the car and started to walk to the person behind us to beg for 5 quarters but the toll bridge lady said "hey you can't do that!" So I was like well what do you want me to do! I mean we could have just turned around I guess and went against traffic. Yeah we totes could have done that. Anyway, she finally just ended up giving us a stub that said we had to send in 1.25 to the state since we couldn't pay. No biggie. We laughed about it after and now it's just a funny memory. People here in New York don't like missionaries/foreigners who don't know anything :D

So Zone Conference was good! We learned about how to begin teaching, teaching with pamphlets, and how to follow up on commitments using the pictures in the pamphlets. We went away with a better sense of how we can help our investigators progress towards baptism!

Thank you all for your emails! Les amo muchisimo!!

Hermana Richardson