August 29, 2011

August 29, 2011

Let me tell you....

Earthquakes, lightning storms, and hurricanes. Yeah, it's pretty fun.

So to start off the week, on Tuesday we were helping someone mow their lawn. They had an electric lawnmower (I know, it was weird) and right as the guy who was there with us plugged the thing in, everything started shaking. The people in the house came flying out and were wondering what the guy did, as if he plugged it into something that was exploding. The guy thought it was the washing machine..... I was standing there like "Woah, this is cool." The guy who was there has family in the Bronx and apparently they felt it up there. That was neat!

Yeah, then later in the week we were told we needed to get our 72-hour kits ready because the hurricane was coming towards Virginia. It mostly stayed on the east coast. All the missionaries were evacuated before it got there though. They all came over to the Richmond area. Where I'm at though, the thunder storm we got on Thursday did more damage than the hurricane, although there was a tree that fell over at the zone leaders apartment. Yeah, the hurricane wasn't effecting us all that much really. There were still hummingbirds flying around outside our apartment. But we were still grounded and couldn't go anywhere.

Other than that we had three investigators to church yesterday. Woohoohoo!!! (As Brig would say) We were so excited. We met with all of them after church and they said they really liked it. On of the families (a part-member family, meaning one of them is a member the other is not) invited us over for dinner. Then the other family, who aren't members yet, were already talking about what would happen if they went through with this and actually get baptized. We went over at 8pm and we were planning on being there for about 20 - 30 minutes. We were there until 9:20 answering questions about what would they need to do if they got baptized and stuff like that. We were so excited. They're planning on going out of town this next weekend and they really don't want to miss church. They're going to a family reunion and are thinking of ways the could make it back in time for church. This family is GOLDEN!!! We are going to work closely with them so that Satan will not influence them to fall away.

We were telling the family a little about ourselves and the dad really admires and is grateful for leaving our families to come out here. He said "I know it was hard for you to make that sacrifice and leave your family, but you saved this one right here".

This gospel saves not only individuals, but families as well. That is what this gospel is for; to unite families with a belief that can get them through anything. I was going to write "almost anything" but then I felt, "no, this gospel can get families through literally ANYTHING". If you feel that your family is having a hard time, start praying, read the Book of Mormon, and go to church. These are the only things that will protect us and guide us when the world goes completely insane. Nothing else can or will. Families and the Gospel. They must go together. That is my testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

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

August 28, 2011

August 29, 2011-Hurricane's Passed

Message from Mission Presidency:


Our last round of call-ins is complete. All missionaries are accounted for and safe - but many with no power. Most stakes have cancelled church. Missionaries in areas where there will be no church will be holding their own sacrament meetings in small groups. One of our branch presidents needed help getting their building open for some families that needed a safe place to stay so we had one set of missionaries who spent the night there.

There is lots of clean-up to do -- all of our missionaries are excited for that. President Hamblin, a counselor to president who lives in Hampton will be returning home and checking on some apartments and areas this afternoon and president will begin directing the return to areas as they open up. By Monday we expect most of our missionaries will be back in their areas.

Thank you for all of your prayers and support! We have the best missionaries in the world and their families are the best as well! Let's continue to pray for those who are still experiencing the storm and those who have had difficult circumstances from it.

Kind regards,

Sister Perry

August 28, 2011 - Hurricane Update

Message from Mission Presidency:

It is Saturday evening and all is well. The hurricane has drifted a little bit east and was downgraded to category 1 -- both are blessings! There has been quite a bit of damage on the coastline - some building damage - but mostly flooding, high winds, power outages and downed trees and limbs and in the inland areas like Richmond there are lots of people without power and high winds and rain - limbs and trees down but I think everyone is breathing a sigh of relief that our worst fears were not realized. We are feeling like the worst is over for our mission, although the stormy weather will probably continue through the night. We are still praying for our friends north of us in the DC, Boston and New York areas.

We will send one last E-mail tomorrow. I'm sorry we cannot respond to every individual inquiry but just know that all the missionaries have been staying in today and having an extended preparation and study day. Several of the Stakes have cancelled church tomorrow in favor of service and clean-up. I'm sure that many of your missionaries will be involved with clean-up and other service efforts. I think they are all excited for that opportunity! They are so great!

We will be in touch tomorrow.

In gratitude for our blessings,

Sister Perry

August 26, 2011 - Hurricane Irene

Message from Mission Presidency:

All of our missionaries who are south of Richmond have been evacuated inland with the exception of Jamestown, Williamsberg, and New Kent which are all far enough inland that they will be safe. The ones who have been moved are bunking mostly with other missionaries, some at the mission home a few at members homes. They will probably remain there for the weekend. The storm is supposed to reach us sometime tomorrow (Saturday) night. We expect lots of wind, rain and some downed trees and maybe some flooding here in Richmond and the surrounding and more inland areas. It looks like the coast is going to get pounded and mandatory evacuations are happening in many of those areas right now. We moved the missionaries early so they would not be caught in the long lines of traffic headed north. The missionary department in Salt Lake has been in close communication with us here and everything that can be done has been done to ensure the safety of the missionaries.

Everyone has been instructed to have extra water and food on hand and to stay inside during the storm. I am expecting all of your missionaries to come through safe and sound.

We invite everyone's prayers on behalf of the people all up and down the east coast and in the Bahamas where so much damage has already been done.

Kind regards,

Sister Perry

August 23, 2011

August 23, 2011 - Earthquake!!

Message from the Mission President's wife:

Hi Everyone, just a little update on the earthquaking in Virginia. President and I were in the middle of a Zone Conference in Newport News this afternoon when the earth started to move! Now I have to admit that President is a great speaker and teacher but really!!

Thankfully it was a big rumble and not much more. We have little damage in Virginia at least as far as we can tell and all of our missionaries are safe. The phone lines, cell and otherwise, have been completely jammed so communication has been slower than normal. I hear there was a little damage up in the DC area to some historical buildings and a pipe broken in the Pentagon. The epicenter was near Louisa, halfway between Richmond and Charlottesville - but I personally talked to Elder Stoddard and his companion in Louisa and they were calm and happy, although a little shaken (just a little joke there). He said they haven't been back to their apartment yet but will let us know if anything is amiss. I have heard on the news that some tremors were felt as far north as Canada - wow! Evidently it was one that spread out quite a ways even though it wasn't too severe. We are very grateful that everyone seems fine.

So, all is well, all is well.

Kind regards,
Sister Perry


August 22, 2011

So... things are finally picking up.

This past week has been AWESOME. We are being blessed a lot because, well, we're working a lot more and having a lot more faith that the Lord will bless us. We found 4 new investigators this past week and they're all pretty solid. We are having a great time here. Elder Harrison is really helping me. I now have a newfound desire to be lovingly bold with people. A switch has finally be flipped and I have a great desire to share the Gospel now. I really can't tell you how or when it happened, because I don't know how or when it happened. All I know is that it did and I'm gonna use it.

I am just so excited to share this Gospel it's not even funny!

I guess what really helped it was one appointment we had last night with this really cool family. They've been going through a whole lot and their marriage was in trouble. We had a member with us who's been through a few marriages until he found the right person and he was able to relate to them really well. It was a very spiritual experience and Elder Harrison said it was the most spiritual experience he's had on his mission so far. We testified about how this Gospel with help them in everything and that the Lord truly loves them and wants to help them. It's a make-it-or-break-it situation for them and I know for a fact that God sent us to them at the right time. This has seriously helped my testimony grow even more.

Another way my testimony has grown is by studying the scriptures. I actually study them and not just "study" them like I used to do. (That means I just read them and said "if I learn something I learn something. If not, then next time I guess I will.") Study the scriptures AND Preach My Gospel and I promise you that you will learn all things that you need to do. (see 2 Nephi 32:3).

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

-Elder Ricky-dude

P.S. If you wouldn't mind, send me some pictures of you all. I actually don't have any. I'm going to put them on a jump drive and print them out to show my companions how insa--awesome y'all are.

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

My Companion - Elder Harrison:
Elder Harrison, my companion

August 15, 2011

August 15, 2011

So, the greenie's name is... Elder Harrison. That's his name. He's from Parowan, Utah. He's amazing. And he's training me!! Yeah, he's whipping me into shape. He hit the ground running and, as y'all know, I don't run very well, so he's really pushing me to stretch. In a good way. We're having a great time together and he's helping me see I can do so much better than I am doing. So it's really fun.

Being a District Leader is fun. I get to talk to the other missionaries in my district everyday and they're all sisters. So it's a little strange because I'm like my dad, I like to have fun and flirt a little when talking to girls. I used to do that a lot in high school. Now though, I have to NOT do that because it's inappropriate and undignified. What I do instead, is treat them as sisters, like they are my sisters, not as casual as when I talk to Mariah because, well YOU remember the conversations we have around the dinner table. Yeah I don't do that. I have to report on how my district is doing to my Zone Leaders at least three times a week. Every Sunday I have to report Key Indicators (number of lessons, people set for baptism, and so forth) to the Zone Leaders. We do this so we can measure our progress and also how each area is doing. I get to set up district meetings and have missionaries from my district train and train myself at those meetings.

Being a trainer I have to teach the new missionary how things go out here; where to email, when to plan and have companionship and personal study; when to weekly plan, and, this is the biggest part, how to teach people and how to listen to the Spirit to know when to say what the Spirit prompts you too. I need to do a lot of encouraging, some correcting, and a ton of loving to help Elder Harrison.

So, one thing that we've started doing is calling all of the former investigators. We were able to set up an appointment with one of them that way. We called them up and told them who we are and she said "I've been wondering where you all went!" So instantly I was so excited about the conversation that was going on. She said she would really like us to come over so we're going over Saturday. So that's what came from the former investigators. Now we're moving on to potential investigators. We're gonna go through and call all the ones that have numbers. It's already helped to whittle out which numbers aren't good and which one's are good.

It's really awesome. I have a really strong feeling that something great is about to happen in this area. We've started the engines on a C-130 (that's a big freaking plane by the way) and we're starting to move down the runway. It's gonna be awesome!!! Not only that, we were able to get a less-active member to come to church!!! That's like icing on the cake!!

Everything's gonna be AWESOME!!!!

Anyway, I love you all and hope and pray you're doing good.

-Elder Ricky-dude

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

August 14, 2011

August 8, 2011

Transfer calls came and guess what? I'm training again for the third time! Yep President Perry called at 11pm and asked me to train. This time it's gonna be a little different because there is a new training program that we are doing now. I don't know what we do in it or anything so I'll let you know next week. So it's gonna be exciting!

So far we have 4 new missionaries coming to the Waynesboro zone (that's the zone I'm in). Elder Hunsaker, my zone leader, is going to be training so the zone leaders will have a third person with them. Which is crazy because they already have four missionaries in their apartment because they share it with the Spanish elders.

I'm still gonna be a district leader. I'm getting better at it everyday. The biggest thing about being a district leader is being accountable for yourself and your district. That means letting you leaders know what's going on in the district. So far I've done alright and I'm getting better at it everyday. It's fun to be a district leader because you get to teach people over the phone as well as in district meeting. It's AWESOME!!!

We had an awesome experience on Saturday. We tried to go see this former investigator but he wasn't home. We were just about to leave when his grandson came out to see who was there because he just got out of the bathroom. So, we talked to him for a bit and asked him to tell his grandfather we came by to see him. I had a feeling at that time to talk to him about if he's ever talked to missionaries, but sadly I ignored it. Then we were in the car and about to leave when the Spirit said, very strongly "Go back and teach him the Gospel." So I looked at Elder Van Wagoner and told him we needed to do that. So, as we were walking back up to the house I felt this was going to be really awkward. Then the Spirit reminded me of something my trainer taught me, as well as other missionaries, "it's only awkward if you make it awkward". So, I was resolved to not make it awkward. The first question I asked him when the young man (he was probably a little older than me) opened the door was "Have you ever talked to missionaries before?" We had a really good discussion about the Book of Mormon and the entire time you saw him doing what everyone else who really wants to read it does. They kind of start wringing their hands together and they hold them right in front of their abdomen. You could just FEEL the desire coming from this guy to just hold the Book of Mormon. So we set up a return appointment with him and thanked the Lord for blessing us with that miracle.

The moral of the story is: Follow the Spirit when he tells you do to something. You have no idea how many lives you could effect.

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

August 1, 2011

Hey everyone!

This past week has been a better week. We were able to talk to more people and see more people. It was good.

The coolest thing that happened this week happened on Thursday and Friday. Thursday we received a referral from the Referral Center and we called the guy and set up a time to meet with him Friday. Friday came and we had an awesome district meeting because we had it at the senior missionaries home. The senior missionaries are AMAZING! They are so much fun to be with. Then later that day we met with the referral. Turns out he's a less-active member who's going through a really rough time. Basically he's hit rock bottom and needs help. Well, we got to be his friend and talked to him for a good while. The greatest thing about him is that he has never doubted that this is the true church, and he wants his kids to know the truth. It's going to be an amazing opportunity to help him. Elder Van Wagoner and I felt the Spirit so strong when we were there (it was over 9000!! Sorry, that's something Jake will understand :D) but we are so excited to work with him.

So, I'm so excited to be out here in Rivanna! And in Virginia! I've never had as much fun in my life as I have out here. Where else do you get people slamming the door in your face or telling you you're not Christian or bashing on the Book of Mormon. I love it! Most people would think I'm crazy for saying that (well, I am, but that's beside the point). When you look at all the persecution that this church has gone through, there has to be something about it. This is the only true church in the world. Jesus Christ himself has told us that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God.

There is no other way to get to the Celestial kingdom than through this gospel. So we gotta get with it. We've gotta get on the band-wagon because we don't have much time left here.

I love you all. If you think I was being a little to blunt with y'all, well, if you look at all the Prophets and the scriptures, they tell you the exact same thing and sometimes they do it more straight forward than I have.

I love you all and I don't want you to go through life being lost in the dark.

I love you all so much

-Elder Ricky-dude

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

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