May 31, 2011

So hello there peoples!!!

I'm doing splendiferous out here in the mugginess of Virginia!! (the last picture is one of where you can actually see the humidity in the air). Elder Zoolander (Zollinger) is having a "wonderful" time with the humidity... not really, but, he'll live. It's so fun going outside because you can just smell the moss growing on everything. It's nuts!

Anyway, so I've been out offically for one whole year... plus a few days. I still can't believe how fast it's gone by. It's insane how, when you stop to see how far you've come, you realize that much has happened in such a short time. It is truly amazing.

One thing that I've recently learned is that the Book of Mormon has more power than I realized. I was reading it the other day, and I just had so many things on my mind that I couldn't really focus, but I kept reading. Then after about an hour of reading, I just felt so much better. I learned so much from reading Mormon, Ether, and Moroni. It's crazy how much information is in that book... and it's only 530 or so pages! I am so greatful for the Book of Mormon and I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that it is the word of God.

I love you all and hope y'all are doing well.

-Elder Ricky-dude

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Explanation of pictures:

1 - me with my suspenders and cowboy hat

2 - my DOUGHBOY shirt that I got

3-6 - driving in Virginia... TREES!!!

4

5

6

7 - If you look closely you can see the humidity in the air... and possibly start smelling the moss growing on everything

May 23, 2011

So, Elder Zollinger is my new companion's name. He's from Malta, Idaho, and he's a football player so he's a big guy. I'm sending a picture of him (see below).

It's been a fun week this past week. Elder Flora and I were able to teach the combined Young Men, Young Women and it was awesome! We set up a maze type thing throughout the church and had people go through it like they were going through life. The first part was a set path that represented the first 8 years of life where your parents let you know what to do. Then you were baptized and received the Gift of the Holy Ghost and then told to go through the rest of their "life", which was going through the hallways of the church, while getting through the "trials" (chairs obstacles) which were there. We gave them some time to get used to the "voice of the Spirit", who was another person who would whisper as the Spirit does. Everyone else who was there was a distraction. It was fun to see how people reacted in different situations. Then we taught about how we need to listen to the Spirit in order to know when to help people learn about the Church.

That's what we need to do to. Listen to the Spirit to get over the trials of life and to help others do the same. That is why it is so important to have the Spirit with you at all times.

I love you all and hope you're doing good.

-Elder Ricky-dude-

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Explanation of pictures:

#1 - We have a Dunkin' Donuts in our area! Just thought I'd let you know. But sadly it's 16 miles away, just like everything else in our area.

#2 and #3 are of Elder Winward on the left and Elder Zollinger on the right. They look like brothers.

#4 that's my desk and all my stuff that I've collected hanging up on the wall.

May 16, 2011

So transfer calls came yesterday. I'm staying here in Lawrenceville and Elder Flora is going to be a district leader in the Meadowbrook area. I've been asked to train again. I had a feeling I might train again but I wasn't sure about it. Then when President Perry said, "I need to use your skills again. Would you be willing to train?" it surprised me a little bit. I guess I must have done something right the first time I trained to have to Lord and President Perry trust me enough to train.

Anyway, life is going good. I'm having fun and learning a lot. We are finding new people now and one of them is even going to make us lunch. I was pretty excited about that.

Speaking of food, at Taco Bell they have this new thing: 12 tacos for ten bucks!!! It's awesome! I ate every last one of them. It was really good.

Anyway, back to missionary work. I've learned that there is more to conversion than just a Spiritual and mental change. There is actually a physical change. In the Bible Dictionary it talks about it somewhat. I was asked to train on it for last district meeting and I just had a flood of revelation. I wrote as much as I could about it and then I had to sit back and say "woah..." Then I jumped in a re-read what I wrote. It was an amazing experience.

I just realized something very important. I just realized why I was put with Elder Flora. I wasn't the one who really needed to teach that much, but to learn. I learned how to truly be myself while being able to feel the Spirit and teach with the Spirit. Hopefully I was able to teach Elder Flora something that can help him.

Take care and always remember: there's no such thing as too much good food.

I love you all and hope you all are doing good.

-Elder Ricky-dude

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P.S. The Church is true!
P.P.S. FROG - Fully Rely On God

May 10, 2011

So, because of Mother's day all the libraries were closed out here. BUT, I'm emailing today so, YAY!

Anyway, I'm having fun out here in Lawrenceville. We have a member out here who is willing to let us come down and go fishing with him. He's pretty cool. Bro. Van Winkle is his name. He's about 6' 6" and is an awesome guy and his family is awesome too. They live right next to Lake Gaston, like literally, you can see it out the back windows of his house. You actually have to leave the mission and come back in to it to get to the Van Winkle's home. He's the head soccer coach at Brunswick High School and Sister Van Winkle is a teacher there. Yeah, the Van Winkle's are fun.

We were finally able to teach someone last week. He had been meeting with missionaries before they got pulled out. He's a pretty cool guy. Really laid back, loves to learn......... but won't take any action. He'll listen to you and learn from you but won't keep any commitments really. It's sad to see people who want to learn but won't do anything about it. Being comfortable is a higher priority than moving forward in life. Of course, many people don't realize that this gospel will help them move forward in life, and that's why I'm here. But you can see it all around in the world today; people like to just settle for things and don't strive to move forward. I guess I need to pray for more Charity so that I can help people move forward.

I love you all and hope and pray you're all doing safe.

-Elder Ricky-dude

I'm sending pictures today because mom is bugging me about it.

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P.S. The Church is true!
P.P.S. FROG - Fully Rely On God

Picture 1 - This is the bobcat that was in our apartment when we opened the door for the first time

Picture 2 - This is Elder Flora, my companion

Picture 3 - This is Elder White, one of the missionaries in Petersburg that we sometimes spend Preparation Day with.

Pictures 4 & 5 - the "One minute weight loss program" I came up with while we were with Petersburg after a district meeting. The steps, #1 take a picture of yourself, #2 move your head forward and up. #3 take a picture again and VIOLA!! You've lost weight!!

Pictures 6 & 7 - Pictures of us leaving the mission and coming back in to go to the Van Winkles

Picture 8 - the random Virginia stop light at a bridge that had no crossroads and that we had to sit at for about 5 minutes for no apparent reason.

May 2, 2010

This past week I had an awesome and enlightening experience.

We have a railroad spike in our apartment that's about 6 inches long. Well, as we were getting ready to leave the apartment, I picked it up and, not even thinking about it, put the tip of it right in the middle of my palm. I felt something rock my Spirit, and it felt like I just saw something very shocking and overwhelming. The Spirit told me right then that my own Spirit was remembering what I felt when the Atonement happened. I understood that we each have the potential to remember what we felt when the Atonement happened.

I know of so many people who say, "I wish I could have been there", talking about when Christ was in the Garden. Well, you were. You were there watching it all happen. Every single one of us was there. I remember what I felt. Now it's your turn to find out what you felt. You can do that by praying. Pray that the Lord will let you remember. Pray that you can understand the Atonement better.

The Atonement is the most important thing of all. Nothing holds greater weight than that. Many say that missionaries are to teach about the Restoration, yes that's true. More importantly, and the deeper meaning of our call, is to teach and testify that Jesus Christ, suffered in the Garden for our sins, was killed on the Cross, and rose the third day. Everything else is circumstantially based on that.

So, you'd think it's important to learn about it, huh?

Please learn more about what Jesus Christ has done for you. I promise you the Lord will teach you through his Holy Spirit.

That is my testimony, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

-Elder Ricky-dude

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P.S. The Church is true!
P.P.S. FROG - Fully Rely On God