Monday, June 13, 2016

Week 13: You're Supposed to Pray About That

Ah my peeps!

Today I am just sitting here beaming with happiness because I just love everything so much! Today we were able to get money from the bank (hallelujah) and I came to the mission office to find a package from Abby with OREOS! I am just spoiled rotten these days! Thank you all so so so much! 

This week was so stinkin good! Sister Jili and I have been working our very hardest, and we come home at the end of the day just exhausted. I mean EXHAUSTED. There's really no better feeling, though!  Missionary work is so good! Transfers are coming this week and tensions are high. It's one of those transfers where you have NO idea what's going to happen. There are 20 Elders going home and only one coming, which means about 9 or 10 areas are going to be closed, so Chi Town might be closed, and we all might be going. I'm going to be so sad to say goodbye to all the sisters in the house because we've been through so much together! But I'm excited to see who my next companion will be. 

This week we had about one trillion lessons and it was amazing. We got to teach the restoration to a ton of new investigators and hear about their experiences after praying about Joseph Smith. The baba I talked about last week was so cute when we asked him how his prayers went. He said, "I asked God if Joseph Smith was true, and I closed my eyes and all I could see was Joseph Smith in the trees with angels above him. That's when I knew it was true". How incredible is that! The Restoration is SO important and there's nothing I love teaching more. 

We're teaching this 15 year old boy named Paddington, and he is the best ever! I always think of cute Daniel who loves Paddington bear, and just can't help but smile when I see this kid. He wants to get baptized so bad and is so dedicated! He traveled all the way to Mbare and sat through two verrry cold hours of stake conference, and he's not even a member yet! If nothing else, the people of Zimbabwe are DEDICATED. 

This week, we were planning on starting the recent covert lessons with Albert, who was baptized in May. He has a strong testimony, but sometimes just doesn't quite get it. A couple weeks ago when I was teaching gospel principles, I asked the class what A in the steps of repentance stands for. We teach it as ABCDE, Admit, Be Sorry, Confess and Correct, Don't Do It Again, and Endure to the End. Albert so confidently raised his hand and said very loudly, "Alcohol!". Well, not quite, but yes that's something you can repent from. Anyways, so we go to teach him this week, and he invites one of his friends in and just starts teaching him his own version of  The Gospel of Jesus Christ. He starts asking his friend what all of his weakness are and every time his friends says one Albert goes, "Oh yeah you're supposed to pray about that". The guy's a hoot. Definitely have some work to do before he's our member present, but he's trying so hard! 

"Oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain! Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy". I've experienced a different kind of pain on mission than I never have felt before, and let me tell you, it was been exquisite. But as I have taught and testified with my companion about the truthfulness of this gospel, there has been nothing that has brought me such exquisite joy! "O my son, the Lord doth give me exceedingly great joy in the fruit of my labors" 

I love you all so stinkin much! Thank you for the love and the prayers and everything you do for me!

Love, Sister Richards 

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