October 31, 2016

Hola familia! 

 

This week was really great! I am lovng my new area alot along with my companion Hermana Rios! She is the greatest thing ever! I had a fantastic birthday and I wanted to say thank you for all the notes!! They made my week! Best present ever! 

 

My ward is really great and the members want to help us so much! Funny story, my first ten minutes in the church building and I got asked to speak in sacrament and teach in sunday school...the same day! It was pretty funny but it turned out really well! My area is just fields for farming or nothing with a town in the middle and I love it! We were able to put two baptismal dates this week for the 19 of November so that makes three! We are super super excited about it!! Something else that I am loving about my area is the fireflies!! At night is my favorite time of day!! It looks like the fields are exploding because there are soo many firfelies!!  

 

My companion pointed them out to me on my two hour bus ride to our area from the stake center. At first I didn't see them but once I started really looking they were everywhere!! I can't get enough of them! But it made me think about the gospel. If we aren't truly looking for opportunities to share the gospel we will never really see them. But once we start looking they pop up everywhere!! When we were baptized we made the promise to be witnesses of Jesus Christ at all times in all things and in all places! Not just sometimes! I invite you all to start looking for more opportunities to serve others and share the gospel. I promise as you do so they will start popping up everywhere. And just like I love these fireflies you will love the opportunity to be a witness to our Savior. I love you all and I hope you have a great week! 

Love, 

Hermana Rich

 

The last week together for Hermana Rich and Hermana Paul!

Hermana Paul is going home and Hermana Rich is going to miss her!

Farming fields or nothing....

This girl had a birthday this week!

And I think she had a good birthday!

 

October 25, 2016

Hello Friends and Family!

 

This week was super, super great!! 

To start off the viajantes, our sister training leaders, came and worked in our area with us! In my area we were struggling to find new investigators, so I had done a fast asking the Lord to help us find new people to teach: Well as a result, that day alone we found 3 new investigators!!It was soo awesome and they all have soo much potential!! Two of them are brothers and their mom is a less active member that no one knows lives in our area! It was such a miracle and just goes to show that the lord really does prepare the people to receive the message of the restored gospel. we just have to be willing to open our mouths and talk with everyone!! 

 

We also did a thing called a capill abierta inour zone.  Acappilla abierta is where we invite everyone to come and take a tour of the church and we have a statue of Christ like from Utah and we teach throughout the tour. You are basically a temple square missionary and we did that on Saturday night. It was the most successful capilla abierta that the mission has seen!! Plus it was soooo fun! We had to teach all five lessons in about fifteen minutes! I absolutely loved it!!  

 

As for cambios!! I am getting transferred!! I am moving to the interior with an Hermana from Bolivia, Hermana Rios! She has about five months on the mission and we are going to be in Sarandi del Yi! I have heard a lot of super awesome things about this area so it should be really fun! I am really sad to be leaving Pando after only one change but the Lord knows what is best for his work! They are going to put in elders on our side of the area and see if that change will help the Ward! I really think this change was inspired and will help Pando a lot!!  

But I love you all and I hope you have a great week filled with miracles!! 

 

Love, 

Hermana Rich

 

 

October 17, 2016

Hola familia! 

This week was really good! We had a lot of fun things happen! 

 

To start off I did a lot of intercambios(exchanges) with Hermana Mejia because Hermana Peay is still having problems with her foot. I love going out with Hermana Mejia.  She is soo funny! We also contacted a guy that would only talk to me in English! It was really weird because Hermana Mejia doesn't know a lot of English so I had to talk to the guy in Spanish the whole time! I have tried contacting people in English and I can't even do it! It is so hard!!  

 

Also, for one of our lunches this week we had to pass by an abandoned train station. Well Hermana Paul LOVES to take pictures so naturally we took advantage of the opportunity! Well while I was in the middle of climbing into one of these abandoned trains (in a skirt mind you) this old, shirtless man walks out of one of the trains!! Apparently he lives in this abandoned train and I felt sooo awkward!! He just kind of stared at me and we had a few minutes of awkward eye contact and then he went back into his train!! It was a pretty funny experience! Just try and picture me in a skirt climbing into this big old train and you get the idea! It made for a good lauhg that is for sure! 

Also, Hermana Peay has developed a new talent this week that we are not too thrilled about. I woke up a few nights ago to Hermana Peay teaching charlas(lessons), in Spanish, in her sleep! Super consecrated right? It will be all fine and dandy except she is basically yelling in her sleep!!  

 

This week I was able to receive and answer to a prayer that I have had in my heart this entire change really. Our ward has been really struggling and I have been praying to know how to help all change. Well in the middle of ward council it just came!! I suggested doing a scripture study class and all the members loved it!! It just made sense. If we get back to the basics and focus on what is most important we will also have a firm testimony! It was just a testimony builder to me that the basics are so important and fundamental to our testimonies. Heavenly Father gave us these tools for that exact purpose! I know as we use them to our best abilities the Lord will bless us! I love you all and I hope you have a great week! 

Love, 

Hermana Rich

 

 

October 10, 2016

Hola familia!! 

 

This week was super great!! We had intercambios(exchanges, this is where they “trade” companions for the day) with our sister training leaders and it was sooo fun! It was great to get out of the house and work and I was right next to the beach!! It was such a great area!! I also did intercambios with Hermana Mejia because Hermana Peay is still having problems with her legs and feet! It was so fun to get out and explore my area..except I thought I was going to die when  a pit bull almost attacked me. It was one of the very few minutes when I thought my life was over.. I just kind of accepted it and was waiting for it to bite me but a young guy saved me!! The Lord really does protect those he calls hahaha. 

This week I also learned how to make cinnamon rolls. Hermana Paul taught me and it was so fun. We all just hung out while she taught me on Sunday after planning and to my surprise they actually turned out really good!! I also managed to get the flu this week as well..that was a fun one but I was out of the house in a day and a half!! Luckily it didn't stay too long and we were able to get back to working!!  

I really just love being able to go out and help others come unto Christ! I have felt his love soo much in my mission and have come to know my savior through the book of Mormon! I know that it is true and the Joseph Smith was a prophet of god! I know that Thomas S. Monson is his prophet here in the earth to lead and guide us! I love you all and I hope you have a great week!! 

 

Love,

Hermana Rich

 

1. MMMM...lunch!

Yummy!

Lunch in Toledo!

I'm not sure Hermana Rich likes this whole cooking/flipping food thing!

She always loves a good burger!

No clue what they are looking at!

More Hermanas!

Peace!  Love that girl!

October 3, 2016

Hola familia!! 

This week has been pretty good with general conference and what not!! 

Well to start off I officially have ten months in the mission, yay!! I also had the worst lunch of my life on the mish this week and one of the best so that was fun! Hermana Peay sprained her ankle last week and it still hasn't healed so she has been in the house. Hermana Paul and I went to lunch like normal and this poor little lady had made lunch for four hermanas and not two. So to start off it was a TON of food...then as I was eating I realized I was eating mondongo. For those of you who don't know that is the stomach lining of a cow. I just about died. Two huge bowls later I came home and just about drowned in my tears. But I survived and that is all that matters. We also had a meeting with hermana eddy this week and she ended up taking my companion and I out to lunch. We had the most amazing crepes ever!! I had a carne crepe with cheese and all of this yummy stuff and it was one of the best meals I have ever had! 

This week Hermana Mejia and I went around Pando putting up flyers inviting people to come to conference and it was super fun! We actually got a new investigator at the church from it!! We also had to watch general conference in Spanish and I understood all of it! I was super excited!! 

I actually went to conference with some specific questions that I wanted answered and I received answers to all of them!! Today I was reading in my scriptures and thinking about all the counsel I had received from conference and a scripture came into my mind. It is 2 Nephi 9 verse 29. It talks about how it is good to be counseled by the Lord if we will actually listen to it. We have received two days of counsel from God's servants. Now we need to choose if we are actually going to apply it. We can take all the notes we want and sit and listen to those talks over and over again but until we actually make a change we haven't really learned or done anything. I have been studying my notes and trying to think of ways to apply what I have learned. It doesn't have to be a big change }, start with something little. The Lord doesn't care how fast we are going He only cares in what direction we are headed. I know if we apply what we have learned we will be headed in the right direction. I love you all and I hope you have a great week!  

Love, 

Hermana Rich

 

Pando with Hermana Paul

Celebrating the 10 month mark in Pando

 

 

Putting up fliers inviting people to watch conference!

 

September 26, 2016

Hey fam!! 

So this week has been pretty exciting! Last week Hermana Mejia had sprained her ankle and couldn't work very much and this week it was Hermana Peay's turn! I guess the pando house still has the sick cure hahaha. But it was a really good week full of bunny farms and miracles! 

So I have been trying really to find new people through old investigators that we have in our carpete de area! Well one day I was at the church going through our phone while Hermana Paul was working and decided to call an old investigator in our phone. I had felt like I needed to call them before and tried to find their registro(address) but we didn't have one. So I just called. Well I was able to set up a charla(lesson) at the church with this man named Omar. The day of the charla came and we were on the way to the church and the other Hermanas called us to let us know our two investigators were 20 minutes early for their charla and were super excited! Omar brought his wife and we now have two new investigators!! Just goes to show that when we do our part the Lord makes up the rest!! 

We also had a charla with a recent convert named Jorge yesterday! We decided to share a scripture with him about enduring to the end. At the end of the charla he explained how the two verses we shared lifted a weight off of his shoulders and how he felt like he could see things through a different perspective now. It made me think about how I feel about the Book of Mormon and how it has helped me through out my life. I must say that I had a testimony of the Book of Mormon before the mission. But now the Book of Mormon is my best friend.  

I was reading in Mosiah this morning and I wanted to share a little bit of it with you. In Mosiah 2 King Benjamin is talking with his people about how he has tried to follow the promptings of the spirit to the best of his ability and love and his serve his people and God to the best of his ability. Well in verse 15 he says that he could go before God with a clean conscious. This verse really called my attention, not only as a missionary but as a daughter of God. Could I really go before God with a clear conscious? Would I be able to say I have done my best to do God's will and love and serve everyone that I see? As general conference soon approaches (whoo whooo) I would like to invite you to think of what you lack to have that clear conscious of mind and how we can all work to better ourselves and help others come unto Christ! I know if we pray for the answers the Lord will show us the best ways we can do so! I love you all so much and I hope you have a great week and learn a lot at conference!! I am beyond excited if you couldn't tell haha!  

Love, 

Hermana Rich

 

The Hermanas at the Bunny Farm



They all got beautiful flowers too!

The Hermanas take Pando!

Looks cold!

Hermana Rich checkin' out the California bunny



Hey, it really is called the Californian!

More of the Californian!

Shocking!  More Bunnies!

And a puppy!

Isn't he cute???  Please leave him there Kenzie!