Hello again!
So, are you ready to hear the Sudan miracle?
Okay, so, these two missionaries up in Richmond were teaching English to a guy from Sudan, while teaching him the gospel. He introduced his brother, I think it is, Sunday, to the missionaries. The both got baptized and Sunday told his wife about it. His wife is still in Sudan with their kids. Well, she now wants to be baptized because of that. She then taught all the women that she works with and they want to be baptized. There are about 2000 of them.
Well, the missionaries over here were in Goodwill one day and this lady came up and told them that her husband in the Branch President in Sudan. They then told her about what was going on and she told her husband. Her husband has since been in contact with President Perry about getting these 2000 or so women baptized. If a quarter of their husbands were to be baptized, they would instantly have a stake.
Meanwhile, South Sudan has left the rest of Sudan and is going to become it's own country. The leaders want to have a religious base for the country so they have strong morals and stuff. Those 2000 women make up 51% of the vote...
And all that happened, the part with the women wanting to be baptized, because two missionaries, in the Virginia Richmond Mission, decided to help someone learn English. This is definitely proof that there has to be a God. This is definitely NOT coincidence.
Anyway, I'm doing good. Everything over here is going alright.
Sadly, we found out that Bro. Raymond Dalton, of our branch, passed away last Friday. He was such an amazing man. He served two missions with his wife and held many leadership positions in the church. Not only that, he used to give us rides to district meetings and he had some of the coolest stories ever. He was 83 years old and could out drive a lot of people I know.
We have a baptism coming up this next Saturday and so we're excited about that. Sister Tucker is so ready to be baptized. She has grown and opened up a lot since I've been here. She is going to be a great addition to the branch.
Anyway, I love you all and hope you're doing good.
Love ya,
-Elder Ricky-dude
P.S. I know what kind of dog I want now when I get one. A great pyranese (I think that's how it's spelled). You should look them up. And also a rhodigian ridgeback. Sorry, just some random stuff.... Well, Sis. Trent got a pyranese puppy and it's eight weeks old, and it's already almost as big as Bro. Trents dog Whiskey. Whiskey is a two year old pure bred Australian Shepherd.
Sorry, randomness again.
(WE LOVE RICK'S RANDOMNESS!!!)
February 28, 2011
February 22, 2011
February 22, 2011
Hello everyone!!!
Sorry I didn't email yesterday, the libraries were closed because of President's Day.
So, Sunday was transfer calls and I'm being transferred to this place called Burkeville. Have you ever heard of it? Well, I heard it's really country and.... yeah I'm not going anywhere. :) It's gonna be really fun. Elder Peterson is also going to be staying with me here in the boonies.
So, have any of you ever hit a Spiritual Plateau? It's a place in your spiritual progress where you feel you're stuck and you can't progress. The thing is, this may just be for me, you don't know you're on a spiritual plateau until you've been on it for a while. Then you realize "what is up with this? Why can't I move forward?" How do you get over it? How do you get yourself moving up again? And you need to get yourself to move up soon because if you stay there for too long you'll start to go down. And that's bad.
I asked President Perry about this and he told me that fasting and prayer and more dilligence will get you to move up. And I have a very strong testimony about fasting and moving forward and I'll tell you how I gained that testimony. (If I told y'all this before, just bear with me because sometimes it helps to hear things twice)
This past fast sunday we were asked to fast for three things: for our own conversion, for our fellow missionaries in the mission, and to find non-members to baptize. There's doctrine behind why and it's found in Enos 1:4,9, and 11. So we, as a mission, did this. That night, I was laying down on my bed holding a Book of Mormon and I was just looking at it. Then the Spirit, as soft as it usually is, pierced me to the very soul with the realization that the Book of Mormon is part of who I am. There is no denying it and there is now no other option than to make that true by showing that in my actions.
Prayer and fasting work. PERIOD. The question you need to ask yourself before you pray and fast is "Do I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and really is there for me?" I promise you, that if you fast and pray in faith and with all the energy of your heart, the Lord will pour out the blessings of heaven. Also, read Isaiah 58 because that's the true law of the fast.
Love y'all
-Elder Ricky-dude
--
P.S. The Church is true!
Sorry I didn't email yesterday, the libraries were closed because of President's Day.
So, Sunday was transfer calls and I'm being transferred to this place called Burkeville. Have you ever heard of it? Well, I heard it's really country and.... yeah I'm not going anywhere. :) It's gonna be really fun. Elder Peterson is also going to be staying with me here in the boonies.
So, have any of you ever hit a Spiritual Plateau? It's a place in your spiritual progress where you feel you're stuck and you can't progress. The thing is, this may just be for me, you don't know you're on a spiritual plateau until you've been on it for a while. Then you realize "what is up with this? Why can't I move forward?" How do you get over it? How do you get yourself moving up again? And you need to get yourself to move up soon because if you stay there for too long you'll start to go down. And that's bad.
I asked President Perry about this and he told me that fasting and prayer and more dilligence will get you to move up. And I have a very strong testimony about fasting and moving forward and I'll tell you how I gained that testimony. (If I told y'all this before, just bear with me because sometimes it helps to hear things twice)
This past fast sunday we were asked to fast for three things: for our own conversion, for our fellow missionaries in the mission, and to find non-members to baptize. There's doctrine behind why and it's found in Enos 1:4,9, and 11. So we, as a mission, did this. That night, I was laying down on my bed holding a Book of Mormon and I was just looking at it. Then the Spirit, as soft as it usually is, pierced me to the very soul with the realization that the Book of Mormon is part of who I am. There is no denying it and there is now no other option than to make that true by showing that in my actions.
Prayer and fasting work. PERIOD. The question you need to ask yourself before you pray and fast is "Do I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and really is there for me?" I promise you, that if you fast and pray in faith and with all the energy of your heart, the Lord will pour out the blessings of heaven. Also, read Isaiah 58 because that's the true law of the fast.
Love y'all
-Elder Ricky-dude
--
P.S. The Church is true!
February 14, 2011
February 14, 2011
So this past week has been really uneventful.
I don't even remember most of this past week so I'm sorry. I do remember being allowed to go on to mormon.org and to get familiar with it. I actually made a profile that people can go look at. Mom will be putting the link on my blog so that you all can go to it. It's really cool! I strongly suggest going to mormon.org and looking at it. There are so many different things on there and so many different people it's amazing!
For instance, Rob Morris (I think that's his name), who played for the Colts when they won the superbowl a little while ago, is a Mormon. He has a video on there about him. Also, the official sculptor for the Harley-Davidson motorcycle company, yep, he's a mormon too. He's on there. And there are many other people on there who are normal people. It's really cool.
So, I lied, I do remember more of this past week. There has been a miracle happen here and I forgot to tell y'all about it.
So, sit back and buckle up!
About a week and a half ago, we were talking to our district leader and we told him we were going to go find like three new investigators. He then told us their names would be Jimmy, Jessica, and Terrance. So we set to work looking for those people in our area books. We found this lady named Jesse Baugh and we went and saw her. Just hours before we got there, she had got a book in the mail from a high school friend who lives in Utah that she hadn't seen in about 50 years. The book was called "Reflections of Christ" by Mark Mabry. Well, we talked to her and said could we come back. She told us she's going in for a three day surgery from the 21st to the 23rd. The next day she called us up and said, I don't believe in coincidences, can I get another copy of the Book of Mormon, I lost mine. So then a few days later we get a call from her friend in Utah, Sis. Jewel Queensberry. She wanted to hear our side of the story. So we told her. Then we asked her about how there are two Queensberrys out here in our area. Turns out she's their mom, and also sister to Sister Phyllis Roark and Sister Charlotte Watts. Her boys are both less-active and one of them has a boy who hasn't been baptized yet that we've been trying to work with.
So, we talked about that and she told us all about her two boys that are out here. Meanwhile, we've been talking with Sis. Baugh about how she's doing a lot better since we started meeting with her. We gave her a blessing last week and she called us today and said ever since that blessing she's been able to let go of the people who hurt her and to forget her grudges.
And that all came from our district leader being inspired enough to give us the right name of the person we needed to see that day.
Talk about mysterious ways....
Next week, I'll tell you about the Sudan miracle. You won't believe it when you read it.
-Elder Ricky-dude
--
P.S. The Church is true!
I don't even remember most of this past week so I'm sorry. I do remember being allowed to go on to mormon.org and to get familiar with it. I actually made a profile that people can go look at. Mom will be putting the link on my blog so that you all can go to it. It's really cool! I strongly suggest going to mormon.org and looking at it. There are so many different things on there and so many different people it's amazing!
For instance, Rob Morris (I think that's his name), who played for the Colts when they won the superbowl a little while ago, is a Mormon. He has a video on there about him. Also, the official sculptor for the Harley-Davidson motorcycle company, yep, he's a mormon too. He's on there. And there are many other people on there who are normal people. It's really cool.
So, I lied, I do remember more of this past week. There has been a miracle happen here and I forgot to tell y'all about it.
So, sit back and buckle up!
About a week and a half ago, we were talking to our district leader and we told him we were going to go find like three new investigators. He then told us their names would be Jimmy, Jessica, and Terrance. So we set to work looking for those people in our area books. We found this lady named Jesse Baugh and we went and saw her. Just hours before we got there, she had got a book in the mail from a high school friend who lives in Utah that she hadn't seen in about 50 years. The book was called "Reflections of Christ" by Mark Mabry. Well, we talked to her and said could we come back. She told us she's going in for a three day surgery from the 21st to the 23rd. The next day she called us up and said, I don't believe in coincidences, can I get another copy of the Book of Mormon, I lost mine. So then a few days later we get a call from her friend in Utah, Sis. Jewel Queensberry. She wanted to hear our side of the story. So we told her. Then we asked her about how there are two Queensberrys out here in our area. Turns out she's their mom, and also sister to Sister Phyllis Roark and Sister Charlotte Watts. Her boys are both less-active and one of them has a boy who hasn't been baptized yet that we've been trying to work with.
So, we talked about that and she told us all about her two boys that are out here. Meanwhile, we've been talking with Sis. Baugh about how she's doing a lot better since we started meeting with her. We gave her a blessing last week and she called us today and said ever since that blessing she's been able to let go of the people who hurt her and to forget her grudges.
And that all came from our district leader being inspired enough to give us the right name of the person we needed to see that day.
Talk about mysterious ways....
Next week, I'll tell you about the Sudan miracle. You won't believe it when you read it.
-Elder Ricky-dude
--
P.S. The Church is true!
February 7, 2011
February 7, 2011
So this past week has been a doozy. One of our investigators we are working with, who had one of the strongest testimonies I've ever seen... doesn't want anything to do with the church. They said that they've been saved through Faith alone and they don't need the church any more. We get to meet with them today, just them and us, and the Holy Bible ONLY. Then, yesterday, in Priesthood, Bro. Brown, who was teaching, was talking about how he talks to this kid he works with is looking for religion by himself. Well, I remembered I have this little card that is called "Seventeen Points of the True Church". You may have heard of it. If not, I strongly suggest you look it up. These guys in college wanted to know what the true church would be like, so they studied the Bible and found 17 points as to what the true church would have. Then they met somewhere down the road and they were both members of the church. Elder Peterson, when I brought that card out, said we need to share that with the person we're working with. By the way, did I mention that all the scriptures and points were found in the HOLY BIBLE?
So we're gonna be doing that.
(QUICK! Make a wish it's 11:11! Sorry, random...)
Anyway, it's also been a great week because another investigator we're working, Sis. Dorothy Tucker, with has decided to be baptized... after YEARS of being taught and many different sets of missionaries, and being Catholic her who life, she wants to be baptized by the proper authority of God!!!! It was amazing when she said yes to being baptized.
Here's the story, last week, at church, Bro. Wyatt, Sis. Tucker's husband, talk with our branch president saying he wants to baptize his wife. The branch president then told us and then we prayed to know what to teach her on the following Tuesday. We were prompted to teacher her about baptism and confirmation. We read 3 Nephi 27:13-22 and we got to the last verse which says something to the effect that if you do these things you will be lifted up at the last day. We then asked her "Sis. Tucker, is this what you want?" She said yes. We asked her "Then will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the proper authority of God?"......... "Yes." I was so excited I almost started jumping up and down saying "Hallelujah Jesus! Amen!" It was amazing!! I was so happy I almost started crying! Bro. Wyatt then told us about how HE found out. They were in Petersburg eating at a Chinese restaurant and instead of sitting across from him, Sis. Tucker sat next to him and said "I have something to tell you". That's when she told him she wanted to be baptized. He was crying and she asked "Why are you crying?" "'Cause I'm happy!"
It was amazing!
Also, this past fast Sunday (yesterday), we fasted for our own personal conversion, our district, zone, and mission as a whole, and to find more non-members to baptize.
I now have no doubt in my mind that this is the true Church of Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon is part of who I am and there is no power that will convince me otherwise. That is my testimony. In the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.
-Elder James Richard Mangum
--
P.S. The Church is true!
So we're gonna be doing that.
(QUICK! Make a wish it's 11:11! Sorry, random...)
Anyway, it's also been a great week because another investigator we're working, Sis. Dorothy Tucker, with has decided to be baptized... after YEARS of being taught and many different sets of missionaries, and being Catholic her who life, she wants to be baptized by the proper authority of God!!!! It was amazing when she said yes to being baptized.
Here's the story, last week, at church, Bro. Wyatt, Sis. Tucker's husband, talk with our branch president saying he wants to baptize his wife. The branch president then told us and then we prayed to know what to teach her on the following Tuesday. We were prompted to teacher her about baptism and confirmation. We read 3 Nephi 27:13-22 and we got to the last verse which says something to the effect that if you do these things you will be lifted up at the last day. We then asked her "Sis. Tucker, is this what you want?" She said yes. We asked her "Then will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the proper authority of God?"......... "Yes." I was so excited I almost started jumping up and down saying "Hallelujah Jesus! Amen!" It was amazing!! I was so happy I almost started crying! Bro. Wyatt then told us about how HE found out. They were in Petersburg eating at a Chinese restaurant and instead of sitting across from him, Sis. Tucker sat next to him and said "I have something to tell you". That's when she told him she wanted to be baptized. He was crying and she asked "Why are you crying?" "'Cause I'm happy!"
It was amazing!
Also, this past fast Sunday (yesterday), we fasted for our own personal conversion, our district, zone, and mission as a whole, and to find more non-members to baptize.
I now have no doubt in my mind that this is the true Church of Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon is part of who I am and there is no power that will convince me otherwise. That is my testimony. In the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.
-Elder James Richard Mangum
--
P.S. The Church is true!
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