So I'm getting transferred. Yesterday we got transfer calls and I'm going to an area called Rivanna and guess what? It's a country area!! Big surprise. The real surprise is... I'm gonna be a district leader!!!! Yeah.... I'm really nervous. I'm more nervous about this than I was the first time I was asked to train... and training takes a lot more to do. So, I'm going to be praying that I won't mess up too badly. My district will consist of me and my companion Elder Van Wangoner, and two, I repeat, TWO sets of sisters...... that means I can only do exchanges with the Zone Leaders. Oh and we have a senior couple in my district. Yeah it's pretty cool.
So, we had a miracle happen last week. When I got here with Elder Flora we received a referral from a member in the Wakefield Branch. We contacted her but we were never able to set up a time to meet with her. Then, last Monday, I felt prompted to call her. We were able to set up an appointment and we went out and saw her. She lives 36 miles from our apartment. That's basically at the edge of our area. Well, we took a young man in our branch with us to go see her and she tells us about what is happening. She's had 2 strokes, a bunch of mini strokes, and tons of other medical problems. She just wants some peace and comfort. We all were glad that we could go see her and her daughter. The Spirit was strong there and they were very happy.
They also have four dogs, two white labs, a miniature poodle and an 85 pound beagle. Yeah, it's more of a beastle. They found it on the side of the road, emaciated and with a big hole in it's neck. It had been shot but no vitals were hit, so it had a huge hole in it's neck. They took it to the vet and the vet told them, if they wanted to keep it, he wouldn't charge them for services, just for meds because he didn't believe it was going to live. Well, it lived and hasn't missed a meal at all. Yeah, it's awesome.
Other than that I'm doing well, and I'm not dead.
Love y'all,
-Elder Ricky-dude
There are tons more pictures that I'd like to send, but there's not enough space, so I'll send them slowly.
--
P.S. The Church is true!
P.P.S. FROG - Fully Rely On God
June 27, 2011
June 21, 2011
So this week was fun!
This past week was insane. We had a dinner appointment every day this past week. And on Thursday we even had two... one right after the other... it was painful. But, hey, I had collard greens for the first time. They were actually pretty good. Sister Jones in the branch knows how to cook. She made us butter beans, collard greens, home made mac and cheese (the noodles with REAL cheese and not cheese powder or sauce), fried chicken, home made biscuts and a sweet potato pie. It was SOOOO good. I slept really well that night.
Yesterday was insane because our Elder's Quorum President took us to the Petersburg battle field and showed us around to see all the stuff. It was really awesome. I got a lot of picture's so I'll try to send some. (See below) It was amazing to see where a major turning point in the Civil War happened. He showed us the giant mortar called The Dictator. I'll send that picture home to y'all. It was HUGE. They used it to attack Petersburg... which was two miles from where the cannon was at. Yeah, crazy. It was really fun there.
Then after that we went to the zoo with our zone. There were a lot of crazy animals there. It's funny actually, because... the way the Richmond Metro Zoo started was a contractor really liked collecting animals. Then elementary schools started asking if they could come to his house and see his animals. His neighbors got annoyed with all the buses coming around all the time so the zoning department told the guy he had to move his animals. So he moved them to the place they are now. What's even better is missionaries get in free... because the guy who owns the zoo is a member. :)
I'll send home some pictures of the cool animals to ya'll. (See below)
I got to give a talk in sacrament about our Heavenly Father. It was good. I don't remember what I said but I remember that I felt the Spirit. Hopefully it helped someone have a better week.
Spiritual thought for the week: It's amazing how many people don't see all that is happening around them. It's sad really because if they were able to see everything going on around them then they would finally realize they can't sit and do nothing anymore. That's why we need to share the gospel. Make sure you are sharing the gospel. Just as that one guy from a long time ago said "Share the Gospel. Use words if necessary"
I love you all and hope and pray you're doing well.
-Elder Ricky-dude
--
P.S. The Church is true!
P.P.S. FROG - Fully Rely On God
This past week was insane. We had a dinner appointment every day this past week. And on Thursday we even had two... one right after the other... it was painful. But, hey, I had collard greens for the first time. They were actually pretty good. Sister Jones in the branch knows how to cook. She made us butter beans, collard greens, home made mac and cheese (the noodles with REAL cheese and not cheese powder or sauce), fried chicken, home made biscuts and a sweet potato pie. It was SOOOO good. I slept really well that night.
Yesterday was insane because our Elder's Quorum President took us to the Petersburg battle field and showed us around to see all the stuff. It was really awesome. I got a lot of picture's so I'll try to send some. (See below) It was amazing to see where a major turning point in the Civil War happened. He showed us the giant mortar called The Dictator. I'll send that picture home to y'all. It was HUGE. They used it to attack Petersburg... which was two miles from where the cannon was at. Yeah, crazy. It was really fun there.
Then after that we went to the zoo with our zone. There were a lot of crazy animals there. It's funny actually, because... the way the Richmond Metro Zoo started was a contractor really liked collecting animals. Then elementary schools started asking if they could come to his house and see his animals. His neighbors got annoyed with all the buses coming around all the time so the zoning department told the guy he had to move his animals. So he moved them to the place they are now. What's even better is missionaries get in free... because the guy who owns the zoo is a member. :)
I'll send home some pictures of the cool animals to ya'll. (See below)
I got to give a talk in sacrament about our Heavenly Father. It was good. I don't remember what I said but I remember that I felt the Spirit. Hopefully it helped someone have a better week.
Spiritual thought for the week: It's amazing how many people don't see all that is happening around them. It's sad really because if they were able to see everything going on around them then they would finally realize they can't sit and do nothing anymore. That's why we need to share the gospel. Make sure you are sharing the gospel. Just as that one guy from a long time ago said "Share the Gospel. Use words if necessary"
I love you all and hope and pray you're doing well.
-Elder Ricky-dude
--
P.S. The Church is true!
P.P.S. FROG - Fully Rely On God
Me and Elder Flora with "The Dictator"
"The Dictator" in it's native habitat
"The Dictator" up close and personal
Feeding the Giraffes
Hello!
Lemur
Male Peacock
Female Peacock
Prarie Dog
June 15, 2011
June 13, 2011
Well, I don't have much time today because we're running behind and we are going to Petersburg today to spend time up there and then go to Mission Conference tomorrow. So really quickly.... ADHD + caffine = I'm going crazy! We got some soda from a member and I didn't know there was caffine in it. Well, in short, I went nuts. I was so hyper it made Elder Zollinger not stop laughing.
Anyway, that was saturday night. Later that night, we were driving back home at about 8:30pm and I looked over at the big dark clouds coming our way and saw some of the clouds, which had light coming through behind them, start swirling pretty fast......... and I felt the pit of my stomach drop because that's usually how tornadoes start...... well, a tornado DIDN'T start so don't worry, but it sure did scare the caffeine right out of me. I slept better that night than any other night.
This past week I've been up to Petersburg 3 times and it will be 4 today. We went up there to switch for exchanges on Thursday to have Elder Wardenburg, a missionary who served here a while ago, come down and help with one of the recent converts he taught and helped baptize. Then we had district meeting on Friday, then went back to Lawrenceville for our dinner appointment and came up Friday night to spend the night at Petersburg so we could go to this big zone service project on Saturday.
Friday night I tried to do yoga....... I am definitely NOT built for yoga. It hurt SO bad. But it was funny to watch 3 big guys (me, Elder Zollinger, and Elder White) try and do what Elder Richards (the smaller one) was doing.
But all in all this past week has been a week of not stop going somewhere basically. I'm pretty tired but I've gotta keep going.
One last thing, this is the Spiritual thought that I've had this past week: Why is there music in the world? Why do we need it? I know D&C 25:12 says "For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and is shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads", but what I'm trying to figure out is, why does music have such an influence on life and things? Maybe y'all could help me with this. I know that music has such a powerful effect on the Spirit and I know that listening to Spiritually uplifting music we can come closer to Christ.
I love you all and hope and pray y'all are doing good.
-Elder Ricky-dude
--
P.S. The Church is true!
P.P.S. FROG - Fully Rely On God
Anyway, that was saturday night. Later that night, we were driving back home at about 8:30pm and I looked over at the big dark clouds coming our way and saw some of the clouds, which had light coming through behind them, start swirling pretty fast......... and I felt the pit of my stomach drop because that's usually how tornadoes start...... well, a tornado DIDN'T start so don't worry, but it sure did scare the caffeine right out of me. I slept better that night than any other night.
This past week I've been up to Petersburg 3 times and it will be 4 today. We went up there to switch for exchanges on Thursday to have Elder Wardenburg, a missionary who served here a while ago, come down and help with one of the recent converts he taught and helped baptize. Then we had district meeting on Friday, then went back to Lawrenceville for our dinner appointment and came up Friday night to spend the night at Petersburg so we could go to this big zone service project on Saturday.
Friday night I tried to do yoga....... I am definitely NOT built for yoga. It hurt SO bad. But it was funny to watch 3 big guys (me, Elder Zollinger, and Elder White) try and do what Elder Richards (the smaller one) was doing.
But all in all this past week has been a week of not stop going somewhere basically. I'm pretty tired but I've gotta keep going.
One last thing, this is the Spiritual thought that I've had this past week: Why is there music in the world? Why do we need it? I know D&C 25:12 says "For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and is shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads", but what I'm trying to figure out is, why does music have such an influence on life and things? Maybe y'all could help me with this. I know that music has such a powerful effect on the Spirit and I know that listening to Spiritually uplifting music we can come closer to Christ.
I love you all and hope and pray y'all are doing good.
-Elder Ricky-dude
--
P.S. The Church is true!
P.P.S. FROG - Fully Rely On God
June 6, 2011
June 6, 2011
Yeah, y'all are fired. Not a single email from anyone...... I'm gonna cry..... not really..... but still
Anyway, this past week was cool. Saturday night to Sunday morning was insane. There was a huge thunder storm that past right over us and was lighting up the sky. It woke me up at around 4am (and y'all know that I sleep like a rock) and it was just going and going. It was nuts! Then around 5am I saw this flash and heard a boom at the same time. My eyes were wide open and I was pretty scared. Lightning struck literally right outside our apartment. We lost power and it didn't come back on until about 2pm. Yeah, so THAT was fun... :S
We had a zone meeting on Friday and that went really well. I learned that there are so many places where the Lord tells us to fear not. There were about 30 places that I looked at and that was just what I found in the Topical Guide on "Fear". I haven't looked at "Afraid" yet. The Lord really wants us to know that we need to not be afraid of anything. He is in control and He will take care of us if we have faith in him. I'm coming to understand that more and more as I go and work for the Lord. It really is amazing the things you learn out here. I wouldn't give this up for anything.
I know the Lord will help us in all we do and will help us come to understand what He wants for us as long as we are faithful.
I love you all and hope you're doing good.
-Elder Ricky-dude
--
P.S. The Church is true!
P.P.S. FROG - Fully Rely On God
Anyway, this past week was cool. Saturday night to Sunday morning was insane. There was a huge thunder storm that past right over us and was lighting up the sky. It woke me up at around 4am (and y'all know that I sleep like a rock) and it was just going and going. It was nuts! Then around 5am I saw this flash and heard a boom at the same time. My eyes were wide open and I was pretty scared. Lightning struck literally right outside our apartment. We lost power and it didn't come back on until about 2pm. Yeah, so THAT was fun... :S
We had a zone meeting on Friday and that went really well. I learned that there are so many places where the Lord tells us to fear not. There were about 30 places that I looked at and that was just what I found in the Topical Guide on "Fear". I haven't looked at "Afraid" yet. The Lord really wants us to know that we need to not be afraid of anything. He is in control and He will take care of us if we have faith in him. I'm coming to understand that more and more as I go and work for the Lord. It really is amazing the things you learn out here. I wouldn't give this up for anything.
I know the Lord will help us in all we do and will help us come to understand what He wants for us as long as we are faithful.
I love you all and hope you're doing good.
-Elder Ricky-dude
--
P.S. The Church is true!
P.P.S. FROG - Fully Rely On God
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