#2 - This is a couple of weeks late, but all of Houston was shut down, for this... :)
#3 - My district - me, Sister Goodrich, Sister Wahlin, Sister Hudgens, Elder Graham, Elder Thomas
#4 - Sister Jackson, Sister Sansom, Sister Goodrich and me at the quilting bee
#5 - Sister Goodrich and me with some of the Rackleffs - one of our favorite families!!
Hey y'all!
This week has been pretty amazing, so much has happened! You
know, for being in such a small area, there sure is a lot that happens here.
Memorial Springs sure does have a lot of adventures in store for
missionaries... I love it. :) Where to begin...
Tuesday was the first day that I rode my bike in the rain, that was
fun. Usually when it rains we just walk or get rides so we can use
umbrellas and hopefully not get soaked, but we had a lot of people to see, so
we decided to use our bikes. We got soaked. But it was an
adventure, and we had fun with it. And it wasn't as cold as it has been,
so it wasn't too miserable. ;) We were able to do some service for some
less active members, including helping one of them move from one apartment to
another in the same complex. (at this point in the day it wasn't raining
anymore.)
Wednesday we were able to go to the Temple! Finally! We had a
great experience there, and I learned so much - more than I've ever learned in
the temple before. I love going to the temple - there is such a special
spirit there - a feeling of peace that can't be found anywhere else. I
love it!
We started off Thursday by helping the Relief Society sisters finish
some quilts for the interfaith quilting bee that we went to on Saturday (more
on that later). We were also able to visit Jo and Lesa - we told them how
we had been to the temple, and Lesa asked some questions and we were able to
answer them for her. Usually Lesa doesn't pay attention when we are
teaching Jo - she likes to visit with us, but we haven't been able to teach
her. But she's starting to open up, listen when we share scriptures, ask
questions, and participate in prayers. We're hoping we'll be able to
start teaching the lessons to her soon!
After visiting Jo and Lesa, we visited the Bosens (I don't know if
I've mentioned this, but they're active members, and we've been practice
teaching the lessons with them) and taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Brother Bosen likes to play the "bible scholar" role, and has a
lot of difficult questions... but the spirit always surprises me and we're able
to answer his questions. Practice teaching with them has been an awesome
experience for both of us, but especially for Sister Goodrich, because it's
giving her the confidence that she needs - that she really can teach these
lessons. She hadn't had a lot of teaching opportunities before I got to
the area, so watching her grow in her ability to teach has been awesome. :)
I love Sister Goodrich so much!
Later that night we taught Robert and Melanie - we surprised Robert
by having him and Melanie meet us at the temple. :) Unfortunately it was
kind of cold, so we weren't able to teach the lesson outside on temple grounds,
but there is a waiting room by the distribution center on temple grounds that
we were able to teach them in. We taught Gospel of Jesus Christ (it was
great to be able to "practice" on the Bosens earlier that same day :)
) and that went really well. Robert didn't have a lot of questions.
We also taught law of chastity... that part of the lesson didn't go as
well... Robert and Melanie almost got into a fight right in front of us - Robert
wants to follow the standards of the church, and Melanie is struggling to keep
up... but after the spirit left with all the contention that came, we were
somehow able to bring it back (I have no idea how we managed that one...
definitely a miracle) and we invited them to walk with us up to the waiting
room inside the temple. They accepted, and as soon as we walked in the
doors, we could see the spirit hit them so strong. Once inside, we shared
the scripture John 14:27 and talked about the peace that the gospel brings.
Robert surprised us by telling us he had prayed about a baptismal date,
and March 15th came to his mind. So ROBERT IS BEING BAPTIZED ON MARCH
15!!! I am SO excited for him - he is SO prepared! And, on Friday he
texted us, telling us that after talking at length with Melanie, she has
decided to take the journey with him. :D Slowly but surely we're
tearing down the wall that she has put up.
Friday was Zone Meeting - we talked about the difference between
light and darkness. The Zone Leaders led an awesome discussion, and here
are a couple things I learned:
- We as missionaries (and members) have the light, and it is
our responsibility to give it to those who are living in darkness.
- We may live in a telestial, somewhat dark and ever darkening
world, but we were made for so much more - we are creatures of light!
Saturday we went to the Interfaith Quilting bee - where women from
all different faiths came together and finished quilts to donate to NAM and SOS
- societies that help the homeless. Our ward donated 21 quilts, and all
together there was a total of 425 quilts that were donated. The
representatives from NAM and SOS expressed there gratitude - apparently this
has been the coldest winter Houston has seen in a long time, so the quilts are
greatly needed. It is always fun to serve, and it was great to be able to
visit with service-oriented women of other faiths.
We got the news yesterday that Sister Goodrich is being transferred...
I will miss her so much! And I don't fee like I know enough to take over
the area... but I am, so... here it goes. I'm sure this next transfer
will be great. :)
I love you all so much! Have a great week!
Sister Ririe
D&C 109:8
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