It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Chrismas!
Date
December 19, 2016
Area
Boulder Colorado
Companion
Elder Layton
It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Chrismas!
We have gotten hit with some good snow this week! To start off the week, Elder Layton and I went on back-to-back exchanges with the two district leaders in our zone. Both days the District Leader came to our area and worked with me. We have been trying to focus on helping the missionaries become better at finding more people to teach. Many of the missionaries are scared to talk to people and they aren't natural. I focused on helping them to relax and be themselves as opposed to a robot. It was cool because both days we ended up teaching 5 lessons which is a good amount. They were able to see that talking to people isn't that scary, at least I hope that they were able to.
We also had our Zone Conference on Thursday. I think I mentioned it in my letter last week. We were all assigned to sing a song and we got “Oh Come All Ye Faithful.” We skipped lunch two days and worked on it last Monday and it went AMAZING! All the other Zones just messed around and didn't prepare. It was kind of sad to see some of them. We went out and had Elder Hardman, Sister Walker and Sister Nelson and myself in the middle of the stage and all the other missionaries were in nativity costumes in the back. They were legit costumes, because we found members who have family members from the middle east. The four of us started singing and then an Elder pushed another Elder out on stage in an office chair. We all stopped and looked confused and then he started drumming on a table and we played a tape of the Pentatonix version of the song. We joined in and started singing and did an awesome song and dance and it was just spectacular. We had a little narration at the end that an Elder read to remind us about the whole purpose of singing and being here. It was great and President and Sister Mendenhall came up to us and thanked us for taking it seriously and doing a good job. At the Zone Conference, we were also challenged as a mission to read the Book of Mormon in the next 63 day. So, we have all commenced reading!
It has been a good week of teaching and finding different people. Elder Haws and I had this AWESWOME lesson where we talked to two girls outside of their apartment. They are from Thailand and just studying here. We began to teach and testify and one of them started to get excited and asked a TON of questions about how she could get an answer for herself, if God is really there. We got their number and we are hopefully going to meet with them this next week! We may need to start learning some other languages soon because we keep finding more people from other countries too!
The coolest thing that happened yesterday, was that we had two investigators at church, and then 3 random other people who just decided to show up to church randomly... All of them left as new investigators! We are seeing all three of them later today so hopefully all those lessons will go well! They are all interested in the church and had good questions for us yesterday! Miracles!!! I am telling you, they happen all the time!
It has been an interesting mix of emotions for me lately. It is Christmas time and so I miss home. I am coming up soon on my 1 year mark in the mission field (mid Feb). There are always feelings of inadequacies and feeling like I am falling short; wishing this or that would happen. Then there are feelings of gratitude for the opportunity to be out here serving. For the chance to bear my testimony. For getting to see people change. For hearing about people from past areas that I taught, who are continuing to grow closer the God. It is weird to have such a heavy mix of emotions, but I am so glad that I do. I love this work, in which I am engaged. It is more difficult than I thought it would be, but at the same time, it is easier than I thought it would be, because we are never alone in this missionary work. Our Savior is always right beside us. I am grateful for this Christmas season and the chance we have to remember the birth of our Savior and to celebrate the beginning of a life that would change human history and would also change us.
I love you all!
Elder Richards
We also had our Zone Conference on Thursday. I think I mentioned it in my letter last week. We were all assigned to sing a song and we got “Oh Come All Ye Faithful.” We skipped lunch two days and worked on it last Monday and it went AMAZING! All the other Zones just messed around and didn't prepare. It was kind of sad to see some of them. We went out and had Elder Hardman, Sister Walker and Sister Nelson and myself in the middle of the stage and all the other missionaries were in nativity costumes in the back. They were legit costumes, because we found members who have family members from the middle east. The four of us started singing and then an Elder pushed another Elder out on stage in an office chair. We all stopped and looked confused and then he started drumming on a table and we played a tape of the Pentatonix version of the song. We joined in and started singing and did an awesome song and dance and it was just spectacular. We had a little narration at the end that an Elder read to remind us about the whole purpose of singing and being here. It was great and President and Sister Mendenhall came up to us and thanked us for taking it seriously and doing a good job. At the Zone Conference, we were also challenged as a mission to read the Book of Mormon in the next 63 day. So, we have all commenced reading!
It has been a good week of teaching and finding different people. Elder Haws and I had this AWESWOME lesson where we talked to two girls outside of their apartment. They are from Thailand and just studying here. We began to teach and testify and one of them started to get excited and asked a TON of questions about how she could get an answer for herself, if God is really there. We got their number and we are hopefully going to meet with them this next week! We may need to start learning some other languages soon because we keep finding more people from other countries too!
The coolest thing that happened yesterday, was that we had two investigators at church, and then 3 random other people who just decided to show up to church randomly... All of them left as new investigators! We are seeing all three of them later today so hopefully all those lessons will go well! They are all interested in the church and had good questions for us yesterday! Miracles!!! I am telling you, they happen all the time!
It has been an interesting mix of emotions for me lately. It is Christmas time and so I miss home. I am coming up soon on my 1 year mark in the mission field (mid Feb). There are always feelings of inadequacies and feeling like I am falling short; wishing this or that would happen. Then there are feelings of gratitude for the opportunity to be out here serving. For the chance to bear my testimony. For getting to see people change. For hearing about people from past areas that I taught, who are continuing to grow closer the God. It is weird to have such a heavy mix of emotions, but I am so glad that I do. I love this work, in which I am engaged. It is more difficult than I thought it would be, but at the same time, it is easier than I thought it would be, because we are never alone in this missionary work. Our Savior is always right beside us. I am grateful for this Christmas season and the chance we have to remember the birth of our Savior and to celebrate the beginning of a life that would change human history and would also change us.
I love you all!
Elder Richards
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