An Extra Special Specialized Training

Hey y'all!

This week was absolutely AMAZING!!  I love being a missionary SO MUCH!!!  :D :D :D :D We've had so many miracles and awesome experiences, I don't know exactly how my Heavenly Father keeps finding more blessings to send down on us here in Memorial Springs.  But they keep coming, and I am so grateful and so happy. :)

First of all - Wes and Kelly.  We thought they had dropped us, because Kelly wasn't returning any of our calls or texts, and they wouldn't answer their door, and we even walked by one time when Wes was outside mowing the lawn and stopped to talk to him but he waved and then went inside... usually that's not a good sign.  But last Monday, after our dinner appointment, Sister Walker and I really felt the need to visit another less active that lives just down the street from them.  We didn't actually get to see them, because when we turned the corner we saw Wes and Kelly outside, with a police officer.  Wes was talking to the cop, but Kelly waved to us and we stopped to talk.  Turns out Wes's truck had been broken into, so they were trying to get all that figured out.  And that was on top of everything else bad that has happened in his their lives recently - Kelly just started a new job that is really stressful, Wes got called in to work out of town so he had been gone for the last week and a half, AND he found out right before that trip that one of his best friends had passed away.  A LOT of negativity, right there, and they had been trying to sort it all out and have been super stressed, and just haven't had time for us really.  But Kelly invited us in for a drink of water while Wes finished talking to the police officer, and she told us that he's not ready yet - he's confused because what we're teaching is so very different from what he grew up learning.  But they still want us to come over and read and pray with them and teach them, which is good.  And as bad as this sounds, I think it was divine that Wes's truck was broken into... nothing was stolen, and his insurance covered all the damages, and I'm positive that that's the reunion that we needed to have with them - not someone pounding on their door that just won't go away, but a casual interaction where they could tell that we really cared for them as we got down on our hands and knees to look for the missing piece of metal.  Just goes to show that Heavenly Father really is mindful of what everyone needs, and he has a master plan that will all work out in the end. :)

Now, on to the less actives that live down the street: The Tann family.  We didn't get to meet with them on Monday night, but we did see them on Saturday.  Sister Tann is really friendly to us missionaries, but up to this point her husband had kind of shied away from us.  He was baptized a year or so ago, but fell back into his drinking habits and hasn't come out to church in a while.  But when we dropped in on Saturday, we were able to have a good, friendly conversation with him, which was huge, because he hasn't even talked to missionaries in 6 or so months.  He didn't stay downstairs when we prayed or shared our message, but someday.  Someday soon. :)  And Sister Tann and their daughter Emily both came to church on Sunday!  And they loved it!  Sister Tann thanked us for getting her out there, and said she felt like she really needed to be there.  She also told us that it's easier for her to come when she has a responsibility, so we'll work with the ward council on getting her a calling. :)

This week Sister Walker really focused on finding.  In our zone, when we report our numbers each week, we report the regular key indicators found in Preach My Gospel but we also report ITLs, or Invitations to Learn - basically how many people we talk to and invite to do something, usually asking them if we can share a scripture or come back and teach more or read the Book of Mormon, something like that.  And each area has its own dynamic, and in our area it's really hard to talk to people because no one is ever outside because it's super hot and we don't have any indoor public places in our area that we can contact in, so basically all of our ITLs come from tracting.  Usually we get between 50 and 75 each week, but this week we decided to stretch ourselves and get 100.  It was really hard, and basically our days were filled with knocking on doors.  (side note - summer sales is ruining our tracting... no one answers their door anymore unless they are expecting someone because all the sales people are always on the prowl.  It's lame.  Anyway...)  We reached our goal!  We ended the week with 103 ITLs, which is huge for our area.  And Sister Walker and I have really worked on stepping out of our comfort zone and talking with everyone and their dog.  And it's starting to pay off!

We had one day this week where we had no set appointments, so all we did was tract.  It was a frustrating day... we talked to and invited a lot of people, but no one really let us share a message or invited us in or wanted to learn more.  Needless to say, we were a little bit discouraged.  The next day we had appointments in the afternoon, and so we didn't start tracting until after dinner.  We weren't the most excited to start, after what had happened the previous day, but we said a little prayer and just got to it.  The very first door we knocked on a woman named Marilyn answered.  She not only invited us in to share our message, but we were able to teach the whole Restoration!  She was studying the Bible herself when we knocked on the door. :)  Unfortunately the King James version is her least favorite... she prefers the NIV translation... but we'll work on that later. :)  She invited us back for lunch this week, so we're excited to see her again.

The best part of the week was Tuesday, and not just because it was my birthday. ;)  Although I think there was no better way to spend a birthday than being a missionary - I would have loved to spend it with family, but since I can't exactly do that right now... birthdays on the mission are definitely amazing. :)  And I'm pretty sure Sister Walker was even more excited than I was - she's a sweetheart!  We had studies and such and ate our birthday muffins, and then we headed off to the Temple for our extra special specialized training.  It was basically the best thing ever.  We went through a session  with President and Sister Pingree and after meeting in the Celestial Room we moved into a study room and had a specialized training with President and Sister Pingree and President and Sister Crane (the temple president and his wife).  It was amazing, and I learned so much, and I can't even begin to explain all the things I learned.  But we talked a lot about who we are and our divine natures and the different responsibilities we have here on Earth, and about the Atonement and how we can use it in our lives, and how we can "offer sacrifice in the similitude of the great sacrifice of the Son of God" (See scripture at the end).  It was so cool, and I learned so much.  I love the temple, I love the gospel, I love being a missionary. :)  And I love the Pingrees - It was great to be able to share this last specialized training with them.  I'm excited to meet the Mortensens - they got here today, and we'll get to meet them this Friday - it will be great. :)

Well there you have it - the highlights from a week full of miracles in the life of Sister Ririe. :)  I can't believe I've been out for a year this week... It's crazy, and it's hard, and it's frustrating, and it's exhausting... but I can honestly say that the decision to serve a mission is one of the best decisions I've ever made.  I love my life out here so much, and I'm so glad I've been privileged to spend the last year of my life in the service of my God.  I love Him so much, and He has blessed me so much for being out here serving Him.  There's nothing better I could be doing right now!  I love y'all so much!  Thanks for all the birthday wishes!  I hope you have the best of weeks!

Sister Ririe

D&C 138:12-14

Some pictures of the birthday missionary and a photo of Megan and Sister Walker at the Houston temple on her birthday as well. ;)  The two pictures at the bottom are at The Peruch family's house - they made a special birthday dinner and celebration for Megan on her birthday as well - so grateful for families who love her so!!

Another Week in Memorial Springs

Hey y'all!

It's been a pretty normal week here in the Memorial Springs ward.  But it was good to have a little bit of normal before the next few weeks hit - we'll be getting a new mission president at the beginning of July, so we're getting everything ready for the Pingrees to leave (I will miss them SO MUCH!) and the Mortensens to get here.  We have an extra special specialized training tomorrow - I'm so excited for it, and I'll let you know the details next week. :)  And the week after that we have a mission conference so we can meet President and Sister Mortensen and their families, and the week after that we'll have another specialized training and interviews.  So this week was a little slow and uneventful in terms of meetings, but the next few weeks sure will be busy!

Sister Walker and I have been doing a lot of finding recently, and we have really been focusing on talking to EVERYONE that we see.  So far it has been paying off - we don't have any new investigators yet but I'm sure they'll come.  There was one street that we tracted that we shared messages at 2 doorsteps, got in to teach part of the Restoration with one woman named Cinnamon (yes, that is her given name), and gave away 3 copies of the Book of Mormon.  And when you don't have a car to store supplies in, you travel light... so we had only brought 3 copies with us that day.  Luckily a member was able to give us a few so we still had some to give out in the evening. :)

Some funny tracting stories from the week:  We were walking up a driveway, and a car pulls in behind us.  We think, "perfect, we're right on time!" and step off to the side and wave, expecting to talk to them when they get out of their car.  Well... it didn't go exactly as planned... they pulled into their garage, and closed the garage door before getting out of the car so we didn't even get the chance to say hello.  Awkward.  And they didn't answer the door when we knocked.  I guess they REALLY didn't want to talk to us or something... oh well.

Later in the week, we tracted into a man in a more wealthy part of our area.  Normally people in this neighborhood politely tell us to go away, but this man opened his door and when, after talking to him for a bit, we asked if we could share a message, he said "of course!"  We shared a little bit about the Book of Mormon, and asked if he and his family would like to learn more, and he said not really and explained why he had let us share a message - his daughter was in Louisiana for the week serving a mission for their church - teaching people about Christ and doing service and the like.  He said that they weren't able to contact her in a whole week, and were excited for her to get home, even though they were proud of what she was doing.  Needless to say he was really impressed when we told him we do this for a year and a half, only emailing our families once a week.  Not impressed enough to say we could come back, but at least when we left he was feeling positive about the church.

Crystal, a less active in the ward that we've been working with, is SO CLOSE to coming back to church.  She just needs to get out the door in the morning.  Her boyfriend is currently being taught by the Spanish Elders in our area, so hopefully things will improve.  She wants to come back, and knows she needs to come back, but it's hard.  She actually told us that she really liked one of my previous companions because she was the one to give her tough love and really make her feel motivated to come to church.  ... I guess that's something I can work on.  

There's another less active that we've been working with - Sister Tann.  She recently moved here from the Champions ward (which is in the same stake as Memorial Springs), and said that one of the reasons she felt really good about moving to this ward is because there are sister missionaries here (as opposed to Elders) and she feels like we'll be able to help her husband in ways that the Elders couldn't.  When we ended our visit on Saturday, she told us that she'd definitely be at church on Sunday.  But she didn't come. :(  We'll have to meet with her again and help her realize that in order for her husband to be active in the church she needs to be a positive example.

Well, this week was a little slow... but things are going to pick up again, I can feel it. :)  I still love being a missionary, and I'm pretty sure that will never change!  Memorial Springs is an area full of miracles - it's up to us to find them. :)  I love y'all so much, and hope you have a great week!  

Sister Ririe

D&C 76:5-10 

Livin' the Life in Memorial Springs

We got caught in a rainstorm as we were walking home... luckily we were almost to our apartment, but we still got soaked.  Gotta love the rain here in Texas!

Hey y'all!

I'M STAYING IN MEMORIAL SPRINGS!!!!  I honestly could not be happier - 5 transfers in the best area ever - who could be upset with that?  :)  Sister Walker and I are preparing for a transfer full of fun and miracles.  It is going to be great!

Also - happy Fathers day to all the dads out there, but especially to mine. :)  Love you Dad!!

This week has been great, except for the fact that Sister Walker and I both got sick... not fun.  But I think we're on the tail end of it now, which is good.  And despite our sicknesses, there was still a lot of good stuff that happened this week.  We were able to have dinner with a less active family, well, the wife (Ana) is less active, but the husband is active.  Ana has always welcomed us in and asked us questions and let us share messages, but she's always said she'd come back to church when she was ready.  When we had dinner with them though, she gave us a ride home and told us she might come to church!  Which is HUGE!  She didn't actually come, but the fact that she said she might is amazing.  I have a feeling that she is well on her way back to becoming active again. :)  Hopefully we'll be able to get her to church this next Sunday.

We also met with Crystal, another less active, and it was a really spiritual meeting.  she opened up to us, and started crying because she really feels like she needs to come back.  She loves God and knows that He loves her, and she knows that He keeps sending us over to her house so we can get her back in spiritual shape. :)  Unfortunately she didn't make it to church on Sunday either... we'll have to visit her to find out what happened there.  She's ready to come back, she just needs some help getting over whatever Satan is using to hold her back.

Funny story:  Brother Foster was speaking in church yesterday, and was talking about how they are memorizing the articles of faith as a family.  Their 3 year old Ethan has a few down, including the 4th which talks about the first principles and ordinances of the gospel.  Except he says "3rd - baptism by emergency" instead of immersion ... Brother Foster told us we should use that to maybe help others see just how important baptism really is. ;)  We thought it was funny. :)

Another funny story:  We were talking to some members in the ward, and telling them how easy it is to talk to people here in the south about religion because most everyone is religious and they like to talk about such things - it's not an awkward conversation starter.  One sister said, "oh it's so true!  I have a zumba instructor at YMCA that always ends her class by saying 'See y'all next time unless Jesus comes!' "  I LOVE the south, and I'm so glad I'm serving my mission here. :)

Miracle for the week:  We were tracting a street earlier in the week, and it seemed like no one was home.  And when I say no one was home, I mean no one was being nice to the missionaries and answering their door, because there were definitely people home... whatever.  We were about to give up and try the street another time, because we honestly had not talked to a single soul besides each other in about 30 minutes... not good.  But we felt like we needed to keep knocking so we did, and towards the end of the street a woman answered the door.  We introduced ourselves and got talking with her, and asked if we could share a message.  She was about to turn us away, but she stopped, obviously thinking about it, and said, "you know what... sure."  She (her name is Delores) invited us in and we were able to share the message of the Restoration in a question and answer type discussion.  Seriously - she asked all the right questions and had no problem believing what we were telling her.  When we talked about the Book of Mormon and told her how Christ had visited the people in the Americas, she told us that she had always believed that He would show himself to other nations too, not just the people in Jerusalem.  We gave her 3 Nephi 11 to study. :)  She asked what we believe happens to those that don't have the chance to learn about Christ in this life, so we were able to teach her about the Spirit World.  She strongly believes in personal revelation, and she says it makes sense that we would have a prophet today - God loves us too, not just the people in ancient times.  Honestly, this woman is SO prepared. :)  She was so excited when we gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon and said she'd study up while she's out of town (she'll be gone for the next week or so, but said we could come back when she gets home).  Oh - she grew up catholic, was a teacher in a non-denominational church with her husband but they left that church when they noticed that the other leaders weren't treating each other in a very Christlike way, and she told us "When the time is right, God will lead me to the right church."  Well, we're here. :)  She is SO ready.  We're excited to meet with her again!

That's pretty much all for the week.  It has been a great 24 weeks so far, and I'm looking forward to the next 6.  :)  Have a great week!

Sister Ririe

Moses 6:60-61

Putting the Power in Power Hour

Hey y'all!

It has been a crazy week full of finding. Our mission does what is called Power Hour, which is basically a whole hour of just finding activities from 6-7 pm each day, because that's when people are usually home.  Keep reading - you'll discover why I explained this to you.  

It seems as though our teaching pool here in Memorial Springs seems to go in waves... we find all sorts of awesome potential investigators, and then they all seem to drop off the face of the planet.  Or they just tell us they're not interested anymore, because they're going to a different church.  One thing that's great about the bible belt - everyone is open to talking about religion.  The flip side to that coin - there are so many different churches around here to choose from - if you don't like any of the churches down here, that's ok because you can go ahead and start your own.  And because of that so many people are confused.  I don't know if I've told you about Iva, but she's one of our current investigators.  She had no problem believing the Joseph Smith story, because her preacher claims to have had a similar experience.  But she doesn't believe that the priesthood authority is only in our church, because her preacher has been called of God too.  ... kind of difficult.

Anyway, sorry, I'm kind of rambling here... but right now our teaching pool is kind of slim.  So Sister Walker and I have been focusing on finding activities, and so we've been making Power Hour a priority.  We even had a whole day that we didn't have any appointments, so we made it our Power Hour Day.  We tracted and talked to people, and had a lot of good discussions.  There was even one street that we taught 5 lessons on people's doorsteps!  5!  Just on one street!  Unfortunately most of them don't want us to come back, but there was one teenager, Alante, that we talked too, and she said that she and her mom would love to hear more, so we're looking forward to meeting with them.  

Unfortunately, tracting does have it's negatives.  While most people thank us for our time and our service, and wish us good luck in spreading the word of God, or at least tell us they're not interested in a polite way, we still get those that slam their doors in our faces, or tell us we're following the devil and that we're going to hell.  But I've definitely learned to take rejection on my mission - we just smile and wish them a nice day.  No matter what - we still have the truth.  And I wish everyone else would just accept it already.

Let's see, what happened other than finding this week... We were asked to help the cub scouts earn their religious knot, so we went to their den meeting this week and helped them prepare a skit on one of their favorite scripture stories.  We asked them what their favorite stories were, and after we had a good list they decided that they would act out the story of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt.  It was crazy, but that's just how large groups of young boys are. :)  And honestly, I was surprised at how well they knew the story, and were able to apply it into their own lives.  (seriously - when we asked the boys for their favorite scripture stories, one of them said his favorite was when Amulek takes on Zeezrom.  I'm pretty sure I didn't even know Zeezrom's name when I was his age.)  The church is definitely helping the younger generations to learn and apply the scriptures - it will definitely help these boys as they grow up and serve missions and have to face the world.  It was fun to work with them, and now they're one step closer to getting their religious knot. :)

We also had Zone Meeting this week - our Zone is super small now because they split what used to be the Klein Zone into two parts.  So now it's just my district (4 sisters and 2 elders) and one other district (with 4 sisters and 6 elders).  We used to have about 36 missionaries in the zone, so it was... different... to be in such a small group.  But it was good - I feel like we'll be able to get to know each other better this way.  The Zone Meeting was super good - it was all about Spiritual Awakenings - coming closer to God and receiving answers and revelation after trials and prayer and sincere desire.  I really like our new Zone Leaders - they teach well together, and are good at getting everyone involved.  Of course, that last point could be because we're in a smaller group... whatever.  They're great, and I like my zone. :)

Unfortunately, Wes and Kelly had to cancel their appointment with us this week... they haven't gotten back with us so we can reschedule yet, but hopefully we'll see them soon.  And Robert canceled both appointments we had with him this week, but he did come to church, which was good.  And we have an appointment with him this week - hopefully that goes through.  He could really use a lot of prayers right now.

I think that's all for this week in Memorial Springs.  I still love it here, and I still love the work.  I love you all so much!  Thanks for the love and support!  I hope y'all have a fabulous week. :)

Sister Ririe

A sister in our district shared this poem at zone meeting that her mom had sent her.  I got a copy of it because it is Amazing - and I thought I would share it with you. :)

AFTER ALL WE CAN DO

-by Elder Robbie Pierce, 2000

I'd been in that hole for a very long time - 

In the dark and the damp, in the cold and the slime.

The shaft was above me; I could see it quite clear,

But there's no way I ever could reach it from here.

Nor could I remember the world way up there,

So I lost all my hope and gave in to despair.

I knew nothing but darkness, the floors, and the walls,

When from off in the distance I heard someone call,

"Get up!  Get ready!  There's nothing the matter!

Take rocks and take sticks and build up a fine ladder."

This had never occurred to me, had not crossed my mind,

So I started to stack all the stones I could find.

When I ran out of stones, the old sticks were my goal,

For some way or another I'd get out of that hole.

So I soon had a ladder that was really quite tall,

And I thought, "I'll soon leave this place once and for all!"

Then I climbed up my ladder, it was no easy chore - 

For from lifting those boulders my shoulders were sore.

So I worked and I climbed and at last had to stop,

For my ladder stopped short - some ten feet from the top.

I climbed back down the ladder and felt all around,

But there were no more boulders nor sticks to be found.

I went back to my ladder and started to cry.

I'd done all I could do; I gave my best try.

But in spite of my work, in this hole I must die,

And all I could do was to sit and think, "Why?"

Was my ladder too short?  Or my hole much too deep?

Then from way up on high came a voice: "Do not weep."

And then hope, love, and faith entered my chest,

As the voice said to me that I'd done my best.

He said, "Nothing's the matter.  There's reason to hope.

Just climb up your ladder; I'll throw down my rope.

You have worked very hard, and your labor's been rough,

But the ladder you've built is at last tall enough."

I climbed up the ladder, then climbed up the cord.

When I stood at the top, there stood the Lord.

I've never been happier; my struggle was done. 

I blinked in the brightness that came from the Son.

I fell to the ground; His feet did I kiss.

I cried, "What can I do to repay thee for this?"

He looked all around Him - there were holes in the ground.

They had people inside, and were seen all around.

There were thousands of holes that were damp, dark, and deep.

Then the Lord turned to me and He said, "Feed my sheep."

Then He went on His way to help other lost souls.

And I got right to work, calling down to the holes,

"Get up!  Get ready!  There's nothing the matter!

Take rocks and take sticks and build up a fine ladder!"

It now was my turn to spread the good word.

The most glorious message that man ever heard.

That there's One who is willing to save one and all,

And we've got to be ready when He gives the call.

He'll pull us all out of the hole that we're in,

And save all our souls from death and from sin.

So do not lose faith; there is reason to hope:

Just build up your ladder; He'll throw down His rope.