Best Week YET!
Date
October 11, 2016
Area
Boulder Colorado
Companion
Elder Layton
Best Week YET!
I think I say this every week, but each week I spend here in Colorado as a missionary, becomes my best week yet! This week has not disappointed!
Let me begin with a funny story... Elder Layton and I have talked to this kid we have seen several times. The first time we saw him was two weeks ago and he was getting in his car so we left him with a card and our number. Then early last week he was driving by us and stopped to say hi (always a good sign when non-members stop to say hi to us). Then, the middle of last week, we were on our way to a lesson and we saw him so we stopped to talk to him. He told us he had been in jail that day because he didn't know his license was suspended and he got pulled over, so he was in jail for a few hours. He then proceeded to tell us that if we ever get locked up in jail, we can call him and he will come bail us out of jail. So we are covered if that ever happens. We also will be teaching him and his girlfriend later this week!
Last Monday, Elder Layton and I went hiking with one of our investigators. What he didn't tell us, was the hike started out at 10,000 feet and went up from there. We wore shorts and a t-shirt thinking it would be like our hikes in Boulder. Well, it was snowing the whole time, so we were REALLY COLD! We had a blast and loved it though. See attached pictures.
Other updates... EMIILY IS THE MOST GOLDEN PERSON IN THE ENTIRE WORLD!! Seriously, she is amazing and the notes she takes when she studies the scriptures are simply picture perfect. I wish more of us knew how to study like she does. Sometimes we wonder if she is getting specific answers to questions. We are trying to teach her how to gain those answers. Whenever we ask her if she is getting them, she answers, “Well I’m still here, aren’t I?” We are excited for her baptism later this month. We have to wait 3 weeks because we have the Temple Dedication this week and then another Stake Conference the following week. So she will be baptized at the end of this month!
So things got a little crazy this past Tuesday. We were sitting in the church doing some studying before we had a lesson, and in walked this random girl. We asked her if we could help her, and she told us she was a broadcasting student at the University of Colorado, and she was doing a piece on Sam Bennion (http://www.cubuffs.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=5305), one of the members of our ward who plays football for CU and served a mission. So we ended up talking to her for awhile and she interviewed Elder Layton and me about missions and the church which was super cool. After the interview she asked her own questions and was really interested in learning more and we taught her a little bit and got her number so we are trying to set something up with her. She is also basically going to be the next Erin Andrews, so when she becomes famous, we can say she got her start interviewing us! The sad news was she told us that the police had shot a man on campus just an hour earlier. He was a religious fanatic and went into the athletic building with a machete, saying he was going to kill sinners. Luckily you need a key card to get anywhere and he was trapped in the stairwell and when he wouldn't comply with the police he was shot. It was pretty scary for a lot of our students there on campus but everyone else was ok!
We had our Mission Leadership Council meeting this week and it was amazing as always. We are really stressing in our mission about why we are here and understanding our real purpose. It is something that continues to be on my mind and is making an amazing impact on me as a missionary right now. Another missionary and I will be teaching about it again this next week in our Zone Meeting.
The members of our YSA Ward love us, which makes the work move along wonderfully! They can see our hard work and it is making them excited and they all want to help in any way that they can. We have high goals for the next 6 weeks, and we are willing to put everything into it.
I want to end with both a funny, but also a very cool story. About a week ago we met this catholic missionary here on campus and chatted for a bit and she invited us to come back. This past week we did and we happened to stumble across a bible study with 7 girls, who were either Catholic missionaries or devout Catholics. We asked them some questions about what their missionary service was like, and then they asked us about what we believe. We answered their questions, but the Spirit wasn't there. I could tell that the girl, to whom we had originally spoken, was getting very frustrated because she thought everything we were saying was crazy. So finally I spoke to her and told her I wanted to ask a few questions because I could tell she was bothered. I asked her how we learn things in every aspect of life. We talked about studying and reading and trying, in the same way we study for tests in college classes. Then I asked if religious learning was different. We discussed the Spirit and many other things. Finally, I told her that so far, the questions and answers had been in the form of information. That they simply wanted facts. Then I bore testimony that the Spirit doesn't testify of information in the same way we sometimes look at things. For 10 minutes everyone in the room was quiet. The Spirit entered in a very tangible way. I bore testimony of the truth of what we share and then shared a few experiences of my own, of learning that I have a Heavenly Father who knows me personally, and about coming to know that the Book of Mormon is truly the Word of God. Everything was totally different. I shared how as missionaries, we invite people to learn of the Spirit, not to learn of their own intellect. Several of the girls had tears in their eyes. There were 2 girls in particular, that Elder Layton and I both felt like we were specifically there to testify to them. It was an amazing experience, and a simple reminder to me of the importance of our testimony and to never try to teach without the Spirit, because the Spirit is the real teacher here, not any of us.
I love this work that I am engaged in. I must say it is far from easy, but it is worth it on every level. I think that is the whole point of life. None of this is supposed to be easy, and the lessons we learn far outweigh the price we much pay to learn them.
I love you all, and I’m grateful for your continued support on behalf of me and all the rest of those who serve God diligently.
Elder Richards
Let me begin with a funny story... Elder Layton and I have talked to this kid we have seen several times. The first time we saw him was two weeks ago and he was getting in his car so we left him with a card and our number. Then early last week he was driving by us and stopped to say hi (always a good sign when non-members stop to say hi to us). Then, the middle of last week, we were on our way to a lesson and we saw him so we stopped to talk to him. He told us he had been in jail that day because he didn't know his license was suspended and he got pulled over, so he was in jail for a few hours. He then proceeded to tell us that if we ever get locked up in jail, we can call him and he will come bail us out of jail. So we are covered if that ever happens. We also will be teaching him and his girlfriend later this week!
Last Monday, Elder Layton and I went hiking with one of our investigators. What he didn't tell us, was the hike started out at 10,000 feet and went up from there. We wore shorts and a t-shirt thinking it would be like our hikes in Boulder. Well, it was snowing the whole time, so we were REALLY COLD! We had a blast and loved it though. See attached pictures.
Other updates... EMIILY IS THE MOST GOLDEN PERSON IN THE ENTIRE WORLD!! Seriously, she is amazing and the notes she takes when she studies the scriptures are simply picture perfect. I wish more of us knew how to study like she does. Sometimes we wonder if she is getting specific answers to questions. We are trying to teach her how to gain those answers. Whenever we ask her if she is getting them, she answers, “Well I’m still here, aren’t I?” We are excited for her baptism later this month. We have to wait 3 weeks because we have the Temple Dedication this week and then another Stake Conference the following week. So she will be baptized at the end of this month!
So things got a little crazy this past Tuesday. We were sitting in the church doing some studying before we had a lesson, and in walked this random girl. We asked her if we could help her, and she told us she was a broadcasting student at the University of Colorado, and she was doing a piece on Sam Bennion (http://www.cubuffs.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=5305), one of the members of our ward who plays football for CU and served a mission. So we ended up talking to her for awhile and she interviewed Elder Layton and me about missions and the church which was super cool. After the interview she asked her own questions and was really interested in learning more and we taught her a little bit and got her number so we are trying to set something up with her. She is also basically going to be the next Erin Andrews, so when she becomes famous, we can say she got her start interviewing us! The sad news was she told us that the police had shot a man on campus just an hour earlier. He was a religious fanatic and went into the athletic building with a machete, saying he was going to kill sinners. Luckily you need a key card to get anywhere and he was trapped in the stairwell and when he wouldn't comply with the police he was shot. It was pretty scary for a lot of our students there on campus but everyone else was ok!
We had our Mission Leadership Council meeting this week and it was amazing as always. We are really stressing in our mission about why we are here and understanding our real purpose. It is something that continues to be on my mind and is making an amazing impact on me as a missionary right now. Another missionary and I will be teaching about it again this next week in our Zone Meeting.
The members of our YSA Ward love us, which makes the work move along wonderfully! They can see our hard work and it is making them excited and they all want to help in any way that they can. We have high goals for the next 6 weeks, and we are willing to put everything into it.
I want to end with both a funny, but also a very cool story. About a week ago we met this catholic missionary here on campus and chatted for a bit and she invited us to come back. This past week we did and we happened to stumble across a bible study with 7 girls, who were either Catholic missionaries or devout Catholics. We asked them some questions about what their missionary service was like, and then they asked us about what we believe. We answered their questions, but the Spirit wasn't there. I could tell that the girl, to whom we had originally spoken, was getting very frustrated because she thought everything we were saying was crazy. So finally I spoke to her and told her I wanted to ask a few questions because I could tell she was bothered. I asked her how we learn things in every aspect of life. We talked about studying and reading and trying, in the same way we study for tests in college classes. Then I asked if religious learning was different. We discussed the Spirit and many other things. Finally, I told her that so far, the questions and answers had been in the form of information. That they simply wanted facts. Then I bore testimony that the Spirit doesn't testify of information in the same way we sometimes look at things. For 10 minutes everyone in the room was quiet. The Spirit entered in a very tangible way. I bore testimony of the truth of what we share and then shared a few experiences of my own, of learning that I have a Heavenly Father who knows me personally, and about coming to know that the Book of Mormon is truly the Word of God. Everything was totally different. I shared how as missionaries, we invite people to learn of the Spirit, not to learn of their own intellect. Several of the girls had tears in their eyes. There were 2 girls in particular, that Elder Layton and I both felt like we were specifically there to testify to them. It was an amazing experience, and a simple reminder to me of the importance of our testimony and to never try to teach without the Spirit, because the Spirit is the real teacher here, not any of us.
I love this work that I am engaged in. I must say it is far from easy, but it is worth it on every level. I think that is the whole point of life. None of this is supposed to be easy, and the lessons we learn far outweigh the price we much pay to learn them.
I love you all, and I’m grateful for your continued support on behalf of me and all the rest of those who serve God diligently.
Elder Richards
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