Date
May 9, 2016
Area
Arvada Colorado
Companion
Elder Laney
Another week in the books! Boy has it been an interesting one! We did a lot of service this week! It was mostly with members which is still good! It is definitely a nice break to be able to go out and get some yard work done. We helped one lady till her yard and cut down a few trees that had been damaged from the storm. She was super nice and bought us all lunch. It was nice to be out and get a little bit of sun!
We also helped another family make a few raised garden beds, so we moved a lot of soil. We weren't able to finish the first day so we went back on Saturday and finished. The best part was it was raining. The family kept asking us to come in but there were four of us Elders there and we loved being out there. We got pretty muddy but had a great time.
On the way to their house that day we saw a homeless man walking in the rain. We parked our car and went to go catch up with him. He was certainly interesting and one of the nicest, most sincere guys I have ever met. He had a few crazy beliefs, but that didn't stop me from loving to talk to him. He said he had seen Mormons before and they were some of the nicest people they had ever met. We chatted for a little bit and then went on our way. We ran into him again later. I am hoping that we will be able to see him again and talk with him more.
We had a tough week in some aspects. We were not able to find many new people to teach, but we were able to make contact with a ton of less-active members in the ward that most people haven't seen in years. None of them were very interested, but I trust that the Lord is watching over them, so we will continue to try and see what we can do.
We did teach one man who hasn't been active for like 30 years. He still believes that the Church is true, but he struggles with some of the commandments and doesn't want to go to church until he is living the laws of the gospel, but he doesn't have much desire to change. We were going to share a lesson with him, and suddenly the first verse in the Doctrine and Covenants came to my mind. In the verse the Lord talks about the people on the islands of the sea. We shared with him how these islands in these obscure locations still get taught the gospel. The first missionaries sent outside the United States were to an Island in French Polynesia. We bore testimony that God knows each of His children. He knows where they are and what they struggle with, and He will never forget them. We testified that God has not forgotten this man, and that He still loves him. I could see in his face that that message pricked his heart. We told him we planned to come back and meet with him more often. At first he seemed hesitant, saying that he couldn't commit to being able to meet. We told him that we would try anyway, and he seemed to soften to the idea. I am praying that he will continue to have his heart softened, but we shall see what happens. He is in the Lord’s hands.
We met another super great couple. We were trying to visit a family on our ward list, and it turns out they had moved. We talked with the young couple that now lives there. They were very nice and polite. We gave them our names and told them to call if they ever needed service or help with anything, especially having just moved in a month ago. They were touched by our offer, and we started talking about religion. They attend a non-denominational church in the area. We shared with them a YouTube video about Christ and told them we would stop back and check up on their thoughts on the video. I don't know if anything more will come from that, but I know that the Lord does not work with coincidences, we were sent there for a reason. I look forward to finding out what the reason is.
Oh! We also got to go to the Denver Temple this past week! Such a blessing! Words can not describe the love that I have for the Temple and I am grateful that we will get to go once every three months!
Skyping with my parents for Mother’s Day was interesting yesterday. It feels like just yesterday I was saying goodbye to them and getting on a plane. Yet in one week I will have been out for 3 months. That is 1/8th of the mission. It is scary. I don't want it to go by too fast. I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve a mission. I love Colorado, the people, the members, and the missionaries. I know this is where God wants me to grow right now, and I am grateful for that.
I will close with the scripture that I decided to put on my missionary plaque back home. It comes from Alma chapter 26 verse 8; "Blessed be the name of our God; let us sing to his praise, yea let us give thanks to his holy name, for he doth work righteousness forever."
As always, I love you all and I pray for you!!
Elder Richards
We also helped another family make a few raised garden beds, so we moved a lot of soil. We weren't able to finish the first day so we went back on Saturday and finished. The best part was it was raining. The family kept asking us to come in but there were four of us Elders there and we loved being out there. We got pretty muddy but had a great time.
On the way to their house that day we saw a homeless man walking in the rain. We parked our car and went to go catch up with him. He was certainly interesting and one of the nicest, most sincere guys I have ever met. He had a few crazy beliefs, but that didn't stop me from loving to talk to him. He said he had seen Mormons before and they were some of the nicest people they had ever met. We chatted for a little bit and then went on our way. We ran into him again later. I am hoping that we will be able to see him again and talk with him more.
We had a tough week in some aspects. We were not able to find many new people to teach, but we were able to make contact with a ton of less-active members in the ward that most people haven't seen in years. None of them were very interested, but I trust that the Lord is watching over them, so we will continue to try and see what we can do.
We did teach one man who hasn't been active for like 30 years. He still believes that the Church is true, but he struggles with some of the commandments and doesn't want to go to church until he is living the laws of the gospel, but he doesn't have much desire to change. We were going to share a lesson with him, and suddenly the first verse in the Doctrine and Covenants came to my mind. In the verse the Lord talks about the people on the islands of the sea. We shared with him how these islands in these obscure locations still get taught the gospel. The first missionaries sent outside the United States were to an Island in French Polynesia. We bore testimony that God knows each of His children. He knows where they are and what they struggle with, and He will never forget them. We testified that God has not forgotten this man, and that He still loves him. I could see in his face that that message pricked his heart. We told him we planned to come back and meet with him more often. At first he seemed hesitant, saying that he couldn't commit to being able to meet. We told him that we would try anyway, and he seemed to soften to the idea. I am praying that he will continue to have his heart softened, but we shall see what happens. He is in the Lord’s hands.
We met another super great couple. We were trying to visit a family on our ward list, and it turns out they had moved. We talked with the young couple that now lives there. They were very nice and polite. We gave them our names and told them to call if they ever needed service or help with anything, especially having just moved in a month ago. They were touched by our offer, and we started talking about religion. They attend a non-denominational church in the area. We shared with them a YouTube video about Christ and told them we would stop back and check up on their thoughts on the video. I don't know if anything more will come from that, but I know that the Lord does not work with coincidences, we were sent there for a reason. I look forward to finding out what the reason is.
Oh! We also got to go to the Denver Temple this past week! Such a blessing! Words can not describe the love that I have for the Temple and I am grateful that we will get to go once every three months!
Skyping with my parents for Mother’s Day was interesting yesterday. It feels like just yesterday I was saying goodbye to them and getting on a plane. Yet in one week I will have been out for 3 months. That is 1/8th of the mission. It is scary. I don't want it to go by too fast. I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve a mission. I love Colorado, the people, the members, and the missionaries. I know this is where God wants me to grow right now, and I am grateful for that.
I will close with the scripture that I decided to put on my missionary plaque back home. It comes from Alma chapter 26 verse 8; "Blessed be the name of our God; let us sing to his praise, yea let us give thanks to his holy name, for he doth work righteousness forever."
As always, I love you all and I pray for you!!
Elder Richards
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