A week in the rain...

1- MTC reunion!  Sister Bonner, Sister Laws, and Me

2- So... funny story... remember how we got locked inside a gated community last week?  Well, we went back this week to visit the member that lives there, and on our way out we happened to find this little button... In our defense, it was well hidden behind a sign.  Haha...

Hey y'all!  

It's been a wet week here in Houston.  Everyone says it's been an unusually cold and wet winter, and that the weather this time of year is usually beautiful.  ...I'm having a hard time believing them.  I'm starting to think there's no such thing as good weather here - it's either cold and rainy or hot and humid.  But that's ok, the work of the Lord goes on. :)

With the rain this week came a lot of plans that fell through... unfortunately.  So we did a LOT of walking, tracting, contacting, etc. in the rain.  We had one day where we didn't get into anyone's house until 5pm, when some members took pity on us.  We weren't able to meet with Robert and Melanie this week because our plans fell through with the Peruches - they had some sort of family crisis so they had to cancel on us about a half hour before. (This is the second time we haven't been able to meet with Robert at their house... obviously they are going to make awesome fellowshippers because Satan is trying really hard to make this not work out.)  But we have been staying in contact, and he's still super ready to be baptized.  And we'll meet with them this week.

We did have some funny experiences tracting... here are some of the most memorable responses: "I'm gonna go ahead and say that I can't be Mormon because I like my alcohol.  A lot." (well, at least she knows who we are and what we believe)  "I'm a sinner" *shuts the door* (... aren't we all?)  "I'm a devout Lutheran, and I will not accept any of your literature." (well, ok... we hadn't offered you anything yet...) Some people just make me laugh. Oh, and I've officially had a door slammed in my face.  I'm kind of surprised it took me 8 months to have that happen.  Anyway, tracting is great... you sure do meet a lot of people from all walks of life. :) 

The whole week wasn't plans falling through though, thank goodness.  We were able to meet with the Fernandes family and taught the plan of salvation.  Brother Fernandes is super nice, and he said we could come back anytime.  He had a lot of questions, and through the spirit we were able to answer most of them.  Unfortunately they didn't make it to church yesterday, but we'll see them later this week.

On Thursday we had Zone Conference, which was great, as always. :)  I was able to see a lot of my missionary friends, including Sister Laws (my MTC companion) and Elder Pauga (who served with Sister Wahlen and me in Westlake.)  (Also, speaking of other missionaries, I found out that my new district leader, Elder Chandler, was Elder Ririe's MTC companion.  It's a small world, out here in the Texas Houston Mission. :) ) During the Zone Conference, we talked a lot about the spirit of Elijah and Family History and how to use it in our finding efforts.  Sister Bonner and I think we can really use it as our area is more wealthy and less humble - maybe it can be a finding magnet in our area.  Of course we need to really learn how to do family history before we can teach others... luckily we have an awesome family history consultant in our ward who is willing to help us out. :)  

After Zone Conference we walked back to our area (Thursday was one of the only days this week where it didn't rain, and lucky for us the Zone Conference was at our church building - not too far!) We tried to contact some former investigators from our area book, and we got talking to a guy, his name is Wilford.  He lives with his uncle Wendy (who is our former investigator) and just moved here from Louisiana.  But we talked to him for a little bit and asked if we could come by later to teach more and he said yes!  So before our church meetings yesterday we taught him the Restoration.  He's super open, and excited to learn more.  And he told us that he's been feeling distant from God lately, and that when we came by it was like God was calling to him and trying to talk some sense into him. :)  He didn't come with us to church yesterday because he said he had too much to do, but he said he'd schedule it in for next Sunday. :)  We're excited to teach him and see how he progresses!

Before we went to church, we went to see Maria because she lives in the same neighborhood.  No one answered, and she didn't make it to church... so unfortunately we'll have to push back her baptismal date because she hasn't been to church at all since I've been in the area.  We'll keep trying to meet with her, but she needs to be the one to decide that she wants to ACT on what she knows.  Hopefully she'll be able to make that decision soon.

Missionary life is great, even though it's hard.  There's nothing better than doing the Lord's work full-time, and I am SO glad I have this opportunity.  I love y'all so much!  And I hope y'all have a great week. :)

Sister Ririe

Romans 5:3-5

God Works in Mysterious Ways

#1 - Lunch with the sisters in my district - Sister Bonner, me, Sister Wahlen, and Sister Carling

#2 - Look at us, all cute and matching with our green and black! (no, we didn't plan that :) )  Sister Bonner and me with Melanie, a little girl in our ward.

Hey y'all!

It has been a crazy week.  Crazy and busy.  Perfect conditions for a missionary. :)

We were able to meet with Maria and talk with her about her baptismal date.  The only concern she has with being baptized is that she feels like she doesn't know enough.  While we were talking, we told her that you don't need to know everything to become a member of the church.  In fact, that's one of the best things about this church - is that you're always learning.  The whole Plan of Salvation is about progression; learning more so we can become like our Heavenly Father.  Hopefully we were able to resolve some of her concerns.  She's ready - she just needs to understand that. :)  She wasn't able to come to church yesterday because her baby is still sick, but she said she'd be there next Sunday. 

We were also able to meet with Robert - twice this week.  The first time was with Melanie, and I swear, something changed - there was a whole new Melanie that we were meeting with.  She was sharing spiritual experiences with us, she made some awesome comments during the lesson, and (here's the best part) she VOLUNTEERED to say the closing prayer!  Up to this point, she refused to pray with us, and she hasn't really been in the habit of saying personal prayers either... but she said one with us! and it was awesome!  It might have helped that we were teaching about prayer and scripture study... :)  Well, whatever happened, we hope it stays.  I think all the prayers said on her behalf are finally starting to pay off! :)

The second time we met with Robert this week was crazy.  We were supposed to go over to a member's home (the Peruch family) on Thursday evening to teach.  On Thursday morning, however, Sister Peruch called and said her husband was sick so we wouldn't be able to go over there.  So we told Robert, and asked if we could teach him and Melanie at his house, but Melanie wasn't going to be able to be there, so that didn't work.  And the McLanes, (we usually teach Robert at their house - Brother McLane is his main fellowshipper) were busy that night... we were running out of solutions.  But Sister Bonner and I both felt strongly that we shouldn't cancel on our appointment that night, so, after making lots of phone calls and sending lots of texts, we were able to find people that could give us rides so we could meet Robert at a public place. (We didn't really want to ride our bikes across busy roads in the dark.) FINALLY, after a few little panic attacks, we got it all worked out and were able to meet Robert at a little cafe.  And we were able to have an awesome discussion.  It actually worked out better this way - Robert was able to tell us some more sensitive details that he wouldn't have felt comfortable discussing with members that he doesn't know as well, and we were able to discuss how we can all best help Melanie overcome her addictions.  So it all worked out for the best, and it worked out exactly how God wanted it to.  I just feel bad that Brother Peruch had to get sick for it to happen the way it should! :)  

Funny experience: on Friday we were walking around, street contacting and tracting and visiting members, and we decided to visit a member that lives in a gated community.  We had the code to get through the gate, so we walked in and knocked on their door.  Unfortunately no one was home.  So we went to walk out of this gated neighborhood, and we realized that there was no walk in entrance... basically we realized that you need a car (or something big enough that the sensor will recognize it) to get out... so yeah... we got locked INSIDE a gated community... it's not everyday that you can say that. ;) Luckily we only had to sit on a curb for a few minnutes, waiting for a car to either go in or out. :)

We were also able to see a less active this week - sister Fernandez.  Her husband is not a member, but they both came to the game night that we had a few weeks ago.  We talked to her, and she said that her husband is opening up more to learning more about the church!  So we set up an appointment to meet with the whole family, and we will teach them tonight. :)

Well, that's all for this week.  I love y'all so much!  Thanks as always for the love and support!  Have a great week! :)

Sister Ririe

Isaiah 55:8

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!!

Hey y'all!

This week has been amazing.  I don't even know where to start.  But, what else is new, right?  Basically, missionary work is great, and I love being a missionary.  :D  Yep.

Before Sister Goodrich left, we were able to meet with Robert and Melanie.  Robert is still solid, and working his way to his baptism. :) We went over the baptismal interview questions with him, and he passed!  Now we just need to finish teaching him the lessons and then he'll be ready!  We're meeting with them again tonight, and hopefully on Thursday too.  They are awesome, and I love being able to work with them!  Melanie is slowly but surely letting us bring the spirit into her life, and slowly but surely we're helping her realize that she can have it with her every day again.  I love being a missionary, and seeing/feeling the spirit work through me to touch others!

Transfers:  Sister Goodrich left and is now serving in Conroe, and my new companion is Sister Bonner!  She was in my MTC district, so she's been out as long as I have (just over 7 months - crazy!).  It is really fun to get to know her again, and get to know her better now that we're companions.  She's from Bountiful Utah, and she's awesome, and a really hard worker, and she has a lot of great ideas that we're putting to use here in Memorial Springs.  This is her 2nd area, just like me - she served for 7 months in the Melbourne ward, which is the southeast corner of our area, just above downtown Houston.  So she moved from the ghetto to the suburbs - quite the change.  She can't get over how small (geographically) the area is, and how there's a member on pretty much every street.  So, quite the change for her, but she loves it here.  Which is great, because I do too. :) That's Sister Bonner for ya - I love her! :)

Also with transfers - I didn't think I would be able to take over the area after just one transfer of being here... but so far I haven't gotten us too lost. ;) I'm really surprised at how much I've been able to remember, about members and investigators, where everyone lives, etc. - and I know it's not just me.  Alma 26:12.  I would NOT be able to do this alone.  But I have the Lord on my side, and with His strength I can do all things.  

We were able to meet with one of our investigators who we haven't been able to see in a long time - her name is Maria.  And she agreed to set a baptismal date!  March 22 - it'll be awesome. :)  We went over the baptismal interview questions with her too, and she passed too.  She's had the missionary lessons 3 or 4 times, but just hasn't been ready to commit and stick to a date (she's had 4 different dates in the past...) but this time it's going to happen.  She's ready, we just need to help her realize that. :)

We've been doing a lot of biking this week - we discovered a way to get from one half of our area to the other without riding on the really dangerous, busy, no shoulder, no sidewalk, no bike lane, ditch on both sides roads.  Don't worry, we haven't been riding on them, we've mostly been getting rides and then walking around.  Here's the dilemma we've faced: our apartment is at the corner of two such roads, so we've only been able to get into one neighborhood via bike.  But last week we moved our bikes to a member's back yard, so we've been able to ride around 3 of the 6 neighborhoods in our area without riding on any main roads.  Well, we finally found a back-road way to get to 2 more neighborhoods, so now we can get almost anywhere on bike, once we get a ride to our bikes that is.  ...I'm not sure if any of this is making any sense... moral of the story: we are now able to use our bikes a lot more.  So we have been using our bikes a lot more.  It's great - we're able to get places a lot faster without having to rely as much on members for rides.  And the weather right now here is great - I think most of the freeze has left and we are quickly plunging through spring back into summer.

Anyway... sorry about the long tangent... back to my story.  Along with all the biking we've been doing, we've also been doing a lot of tracting.  Sister Goodrich had tracted most of the area already before I got here, so I didn't tract hardly at all with her.  But now I'm with Sister Bonner, we've been tracting a lot.  And we've run into a LOT of different people - new investigators (Betsy and Coy, they're mostly interested in learning so they can respect mormons and our religion, they don't want to convert... that's what they're saying right now anyway...;) ) to people who say they're so sorry for us, that we're delusional, and that they hope we find the truth soon.  People like that... they don't realize that we're feeling sorry for them too... We hope that our knocking on their door will somehow plant a seed into their hardened heart.  But every door that we knock on that we get that response just strengthens my testimony - even with the hardest opposition, I can feel the spirit with me, helping me stand firm in what I know.  If the church weren't true, would I have that?  I don't think so.  I love being a missionary!  My testimony has grown in so many ways - ways I didn't even think were possible.  I love it.  

Summary: This week we have 2 new investigators, and 2 investigators with baptismal dates, in a ward that hasn't seen a convert baptism in over 2 years.  I can feel it - the Lord really is hastening His work!

I love all y'all so much!  Thanks for the love and support. :)  Y'all are awesome - stay strong in what you know.  And have a great week!  Oh, and Elder Johnny Ruesch - welcome back to the field. :)  Love y'all!

Sister Ririe

John 14:15

oh, and happy valentines day!  We heart-attacked a few of our investigators and less actives to let them know they're loved. :)

A House of Learning

 #1 - Sister Goodrich and I at the temple
#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