Transferred
Date
April 18, 2016
Area
Parker Colorado
Companion
Elder Layton
Transferred
I AM GOING TO ARVADA!!! This news has come as a very bittersweet announcement to me. A little bit sweet but mostly just bitter.
Since I found a map of the mission I have wanted to go to Arvada. It is the only area that has the mountains, and I love me some mountains. I will be able to go hike on Mondays which I am excited for.
However, the news is a lot more bitter. While I am excited to go to a new area with an opportunity to meet and serve new people and to learn new things, saying goodbye is way harder then I ever imagined it would be. Without trying to seem dramatic, I really feel like I am losing a bit of my heart. My first reaction was excitement, then I immediately thought of all of the people I am leaving.
I thought of Elder Layton and the awesome times that I have had with him, the tough times and the things that I have learned from him. I truly hope to be able to serve around him in the future.
I think of all the people like Todd and Ben and Mahmoud and so many others. I also think of all of the members and other people her in Parker, whom I have grown to love. It really will be sad leaving. There are a few people that we are teaching that I am so worried about. I just wish I could be a part of their lives a little longer, but I know that there is a reason for all of this. Recently, in my studies I kept coming across scriptures that talked about us submitting cheerfully to everything that the Lord sees fit to inflict upon us. I know that this is an example of that, and I need to commit fully and be willing to go wherever the Lord asks me to go. I am excited about that this new opportunity!
This past week has been amazing! And once again tough! We taught the man from the bible study that we met. His name is Mahmoud. It was an interesting lesson. He kept wanting to bash with us and kept taking things in different directions. We tried answering his questions, but he didn't want the answer. I asked him what the point was in answering, if he’s just looking for faults. He claimed that he wanted to know the truth. He kept trying to ask deep doctrine questions, and finally I told him that Paul taught milk before meat, and that the Savior said to not cast your pearls before swine. I told him if he didn’t have a real desire to understand the basics of our message, then we wouldn't discuss with him things that are sacred and special to us. It was rather interesting. He really is a super nice guy! And we will see him again tonight, but he doesn't seem to have real intent behind his questions which stands in the way of him receiving the witness of the Spirit.
Cool tender mercies though! I ran into Josh Forsyth, who served a mission in Wisconsin and was assigned a while to the Neenah Ward! It was super crazy actually! We were on the side of the road talking to someone and he happened to drive by and recognized me and stopped to talk. Crazy cool!
We had another crazy snow storm and that was fun!
Lastly, I will talk about stake conference. The Parker Stake held their Stake Conference this weekend and they reorganized their Stake Presidency. The former Stake President was called as a Seventy this past General Conference. The Spirit this weekend was crazy! Elder Layton and I had the privilege of singing in the stake choir for both the adult session and the general session. Singing brought me back to the days of singing in my high school choir. It was amazing to have someone know what they are doing conducting us, but what was better was singing the words with meaning. As we sang words describing our Savior and how he heals us, we all sang it with more vigor, because we have FELT that healing in our own lives. It put a whole new meaning behind our song. On top of that, every talk was so powerful. The Temple president shared a pretty personal story about how he went through a really difficult trial, but he realized that the adversary cannot take away anything that truly matters to him. That God has promised those things are his forever. As the new Stake Presidency was called, we were sitting on the stand with the choir. We were able to see the faces of these man as they walked up to the stand. You could see the emotions in their eyes. You could see their feelings. It was a powerful moment for me.
I’ll end it there. I Love all of you! I continue to pray for you!
Elder Richards
Since I found a map of the mission I have wanted to go to Arvada. It is the only area that has the mountains, and I love me some mountains. I will be able to go hike on Mondays which I am excited for.
However, the news is a lot more bitter. While I am excited to go to a new area with an opportunity to meet and serve new people and to learn new things, saying goodbye is way harder then I ever imagined it would be. Without trying to seem dramatic, I really feel like I am losing a bit of my heart. My first reaction was excitement, then I immediately thought of all of the people I am leaving.
I thought of Elder Layton and the awesome times that I have had with him, the tough times and the things that I have learned from him. I truly hope to be able to serve around him in the future.
I think of all the people like Todd and Ben and Mahmoud and so many others. I also think of all of the members and other people her in Parker, whom I have grown to love. It really will be sad leaving. There are a few people that we are teaching that I am so worried about. I just wish I could be a part of their lives a little longer, but I know that there is a reason for all of this. Recently, in my studies I kept coming across scriptures that talked about us submitting cheerfully to everything that the Lord sees fit to inflict upon us. I know that this is an example of that, and I need to commit fully and be willing to go wherever the Lord asks me to go. I am excited about that this new opportunity!
This past week has been amazing! And once again tough! We taught the man from the bible study that we met. His name is Mahmoud. It was an interesting lesson. He kept wanting to bash with us and kept taking things in different directions. We tried answering his questions, but he didn't want the answer. I asked him what the point was in answering, if he’s just looking for faults. He claimed that he wanted to know the truth. He kept trying to ask deep doctrine questions, and finally I told him that Paul taught milk before meat, and that the Savior said to not cast your pearls before swine. I told him if he didn’t have a real desire to understand the basics of our message, then we wouldn't discuss with him things that are sacred and special to us. It was rather interesting. He really is a super nice guy! And we will see him again tonight, but he doesn't seem to have real intent behind his questions which stands in the way of him receiving the witness of the Spirit.
Cool tender mercies though! I ran into Josh Forsyth, who served a mission in Wisconsin and was assigned a while to the Neenah Ward! It was super crazy actually! We were on the side of the road talking to someone and he happened to drive by and recognized me and stopped to talk. Crazy cool!
We had another crazy snow storm and that was fun!
Lastly, I will talk about stake conference. The Parker Stake held their Stake Conference this weekend and they reorganized their Stake Presidency. The former Stake President was called as a Seventy this past General Conference. The Spirit this weekend was crazy! Elder Layton and I had the privilege of singing in the stake choir for both the adult session and the general session. Singing brought me back to the days of singing in my high school choir. It was amazing to have someone know what they are doing conducting us, but what was better was singing the words with meaning. As we sang words describing our Savior and how he heals us, we all sang it with more vigor, because we have FELT that healing in our own lives. It put a whole new meaning behind our song. On top of that, every talk was so powerful. The Temple president shared a pretty personal story about how he went through a really difficult trial, but he realized that the adversary cannot take away anything that truly matters to him. That God has promised those things are his forever. As the new Stake Presidency was called, we were sitting on the stand with the choir. We were able to see the faces of these man as they walked up to the stand. You could see the emotions in their eyes. You could see their feelings. It was a powerful moment for me.
I’ll end it there. I Love all of you! I continue to pray for you!
Elder Richards
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