Date
August 29, 2016
Area
Boulder Colorado
Companion
Elder Layton
What a week; what a week! So of course I had two days of struggling through all the goodbyes to investigators and members that comes along with transfers. It was really tough to say goodbye to some of the people. I hope that I will be able to see many of them again. Anyway, I said goodbye and packed up all my stuff... Then I hit the road!
So officially, I am up in the Boulder Stake! Boy is this place different from Parker, CO. Different, but wonderful! We went to our apartment to drop off our stuff and got a fun surprise.. We are living with the two Spanish elders in the zone. So there are 4 of us in one apartment... That is both fun, and distracting.. But we got word that the Stake is trying to get those Elders moved sometime soon. They might be moving us out, but it sounded like they wanted to keep us in the apartment. On Sunday, we met the family who will be housing the missionaries. A WONDERFUL family but they seem like they like to have the missionaries hang out at the house which is dangerous. So we will see how that goes. So far it has been cool getting the know Elder Thomas and Elder Jarnigan.
Elder Layton and I are serving in the Mountain View YSA ward, so our boundaries are the entire stake, which is really nice and also sooo difficult at the same time. It is an interesting area. We have the University of Colorado in our boundaries so there are a lot of YSA-aged kids around there, but it is a very interesting place.. a LOT of people are very against religion... and a LOTTTT of people smoke marijuana.. Like a LOTT... Like a lot a lot. We smell it everywhere.. So that is kind of weird. We don’t want to spend too much time around the campus, because we have a lot of young singles in other cities in the stake, but it is hard to find them. So far last week from Thursday to Sunday we have 4 new investigators and 3 solid people we are going back to this week, but only 2 of them were YSA so all the others we will turn over to the other missionaries in those areas. The missionaries in this Zone are going to start LOVING us for all the people that we give them.
So overall, Elder Layton and I have LOVED it here in Boulder. It is so fun to be back with him. We realized that the first time we were together was his 5th transfer out, and now that we are back it is my 5th transfer out. Such a weird coincidence. We are excited to work hard. We were talking about how this area has the potential to be our very favorite area, or just miserable, it is all going to depend on our attitude and how hard we are willing to work.
I'll close with a few little miracles. We pulled into a gas station, but we then decided to go to a different gas station up the road. As I was filling up the truck, it asked if I wanted a receipt and I meant to click yes but for some unknown reason (it was the spirit) I just didn't click yes. So after we filled up we had to go into the store to get a receipt. I noticed the cashier looking at my nametag and I asked him if he had ever seen missionaries before. He hadn't, but had just talked to some members and wanted to come to church.... Then he asked if we had any pamphlets for him to read.. #MIRACLE This happened immediately following over an hour of completely unsuccessful contacting.
Miracle #2 We stopped by someone the last missionaries had set up a lesson with and she had moved... but we taught and scheduled another appointment with the guy who just moved in!
I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve here in Boulder. It is truly going to be a learning experience for Elder Layton and I, but one that will help us grow! I am grateful for the guidance of the Spirit. I was reading a talk by Marion G. Romney this past week, and he said something that I loved! I can’t remember exactly, but something to the effect of "The personal revelation that each individual receives is up to that individual." It is amazing to me that the more we learn to follow the promptings of the Spirit, the more we are able to receive more promptings. It is never ending. I just love the way the Lord works in fulfilling His plan for us!
I love you all and miss you! Thanks so much for all of your support!
Elder Richards
So officially, I am up in the Boulder Stake! Boy is this place different from Parker, CO. Different, but wonderful! We went to our apartment to drop off our stuff and got a fun surprise.. We are living with the two Spanish elders in the zone. So there are 4 of us in one apartment... That is both fun, and distracting.. But we got word that the Stake is trying to get those Elders moved sometime soon. They might be moving us out, but it sounded like they wanted to keep us in the apartment. On Sunday, we met the family who will be housing the missionaries. A WONDERFUL family but they seem like they like to have the missionaries hang out at the house which is dangerous. So we will see how that goes. So far it has been cool getting the know Elder Thomas and Elder Jarnigan.
Elder Layton and I are serving in the Mountain View YSA ward, so our boundaries are the entire stake, which is really nice and also sooo difficult at the same time. It is an interesting area. We have the University of Colorado in our boundaries so there are a lot of YSA-aged kids around there, but it is a very interesting place.. a LOT of people are very against religion... and a LOTTTT of people smoke marijuana.. Like a LOTT... Like a lot a lot. We smell it everywhere.. So that is kind of weird. We don’t want to spend too much time around the campus, because we have a lot of young singles in other cities in the stake, but it is hard to find them. So far last week from Thursday to Sunday we have 4 new investigators and 3 solid people we are going back to this week, but only 2 of them were YSA so all the others we will turn over to the other missionaries in those areas. The missionaries in this Zone are going to start LOVING us for all the people that we give them.
So overall, Elder Layton and I have LOVED it here in Boulder. It is so fun to be back with him. We realized that the first time we were together was his 5th transfer out, and now that we are back it is my 5th transfer out. Such a weird coincidence. We are excited to work hard. We were talking about how this area has the potential to be our very favorite area, or just miserable, it is all going to depend on our attitude and how hard we are willing to work.
I'll close with a few little miracles. We pulled into a gas station, but we then decided to go to a different gas station up the road. As I was filling up the truck, it asked if I wanted a receipt and I meant to click yes but for some unknown reason (it was the spirit) I just didn't click yes. So after we filled up we had to go into the store to get a receipt. I noticed the cashier looking at my nametag and I asked him if he had ever seen missionaries before. He hadn't, but had just talked to some members and wanted to come to church.... Then he asked if we had any pamphlets for him to read.. #MIRACLE This happened immediately following over an hour of completely unsuccessful contacting.
Miracle #2 We stopped by someone the last missionaries had set up a lesson with and she had moved... but we taught and scheduled another appointment with the guy who just moved in!
I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve here in Boulder. It is truly going to be a learning experience for Elder Layton and I, but one that will help us grow! I am grateful for the guidance of the Spirit. I was reading a talk by Marion G. Romney this past week, and he said something that I loved! I can’t remember exactly, but something to the effect of "The personal revelation that each individual receives is up to that individual." It is amazing to me that the more we learn to follow the promptings of the Spirit, the more we are able to receive more promptings. It is never ending. I just love the way the Lord works in fulfilling His plan for us!
I love you all and miss you! Thanks so much for all of your support!
Elder Richards
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