The Great Divide

#1 - Jennifer, Sister Ostvig and I at the temple

#2 - Honorio took us out to lunch afterwards

Hey y'all!

It has been a great week out here in the Fairfield ward.  Although I guess it's now the Fairfield ward AND the Cypress Lakes ward... that's right - our ward split.  Fairfield was so huge that they split it right down the middle and created a new ward.  Of course, you would think that we would see this coming, and yes there have been rumors flying since I got in the area, but no one was expecting it this soon.  We just showed up at church and the whole stake presidency was there and they split us right then and there.  No warning or anything.  Apparently the Stake President just got approval this past week - our bishop didn't even know until Friday.  And one of the new counselors wasn't even called until Sunday morning.  Yeah, it all happened really fast.  Good news though, sister Ostvig and I are covering both wards!  So our area is exactly the same size, with exactly the same people, but now we have twice as much church and 2 wards to work with.  It should be fun.  Quite the adventure, as neither of us have served in an area that is over more than one ward before... but I guess we'll learn as we go.  I'm excited for the challenge. :)

I think that's the biggest news of the week.  But we did have a lot of other stuff going on too.  We had a Zone Conference, which was kind of weird because I realized that I only have one more of those left on my mission... crazy.  President Mortensen is really good at helping us become the most powerful teachers we can be, which is something I REALLY appreciate. 

John is still progressing well, and we are looking forward to his baptism this coming Sunday!  We went to a baptism in Sister Ostvig's last area on Saturday and he and his wife came with us.  The spirit was so strong, as it always is at special occasions like baptisms, and John came out of it crying.  He is SO ready, and we are SO excited for him!!

Also, we got back in with Jacob and Mayra this week!  They have been struggling recently, and because of that they started to push us away for a while. :(  But they came to church last Sunday, and then invited us over, and we had a super powerful lesson with them on Friday.  They told us that they have been missing the spirit, and they want it back.  And they know what they need to do.  We recommitted them to read their scriptures daily, pray, and come to church weekly, and Mayra agreed to take the lessons again. :)  We're looking forward to doing all we can to help them progress!

We did have a few days this week where everything seemed to fall through.  Which is normal for a missionary.  As I was writing in my journal the other day I got caught thinking about that.  I don't know if it's because I'm just used to things falling through or if I'm more aware of the hand of the Lord in my life, but it seems like everything has been working out the way it should.  Even if we can't see the success that comes from tracting a street or talking to everyone we see, If we're working hard and doing what we should everything will work out.  And the Lord will bless us.  Sunday morning we had a lesson fall through so we decided to do some tracting.  I'm telling you - it was a miracle street.  We only knocked on 5 or 6 doors in an hour, taught 3 lessons and got inside 2 homes.  We NEVER get inside when we're tracting!  Heavenly Father was DEFINITELY watching out for us.  I am so blessed - I see miracles every day. :)

Highlight of today - we went to the Temple!  I feel like it has been so long since I've been able to go... although I was pretty spoiled with President Pingree in getting to go every transfer... but either way, I'm used to going pretty regularly, and it has been 5 months since I went last... Anyway, I love the temple. :)  Love it Love it Love it. :)  Jennifer and Honorio took us, and although Honorio couldn't go inside he was happy to give us a ride.  And we enjoyed the time we had to sit in the Celestial room with Jennifer.  It is AMAZING the peace that is in the temple.  It's definitely not a worldly peace - it's a peace that can only come from heaven.  I can't get over how lucky I am to be a member of this church and have access to all these blessings!  Tis the season to really be grateful.  Well, I guess it's good to be grateful all year round, but it's especially good at Thanksgiving.  I'm so grateful for all of you!  Thank you so much for the love and support!  I hope y'all have a great week!!

Sister Ririe

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