Sister Caroline Richards: Week 30: Straight Outta Ruwa

I'm running out of ways to greet you all at the start of my emails but fortunately King Benjamin has taken care of that for me:

"My friends and my brethren, my kindred and my people"

This week was good! It was full of sunshine, the spirit, DIET COKE, laughter, general conference, and ended off with a sadza party.

Our washing machine has been very less active lately, so I've decided to just hand wash all my clothes. Hard work, but it's not too bad. SO last p day I walk into our bathroom with my arms full of laundry ready to dump them into the bathtub, and do you know what I saw, sitting in my bathtub? A RAT! So naturally I threw my clothes up in the air and started screaming and running around the house like a mad woman, but Sister Wells came to the rescue and got the rat far, far away from our home. (sister park claims it was just a small mouse, but it was most definitely a rat)

Saga onto spiritual stuff. This week we followed up with Brother Innocent to see if he had received an answer to his prayer about the Restoration. He told us how he had such a feeling of peace come over his body as he prayed. That night while he was sleeping, he had a dream. In this dream, there was someone speaking to him telling him that what the Sister Missionaries were teaching him was true. I had the biggest smile on my face! God answers prayers in so many ways, and I think He knew Innocent needed this answer. He expressed to us his desire to stop drinking, so we are working with him on that and also getting his marriage worked out. My favorite part about Innocent is that after the first time we taught him, at the end he said, "I've got to tell my family about this!". This reminded me so much of Lehi, and how he desired that his family would partake of the fruit as well. We're teaching the family as a whole this week, and are so so excited!

We're teaching this boy named Aneisu, meaning "God is with us". He's 16 and wears a wife beater and these really short yellow shorts every time we teach him haha. He's come to church three times already, and is so sharp! We taught him Restoration yesterday, and it was SO POWERFUL. Yo. Pretty much he just rehearsed the whole pamphlet to us, and bore his testimony about the priesthood being restored. He came to conference so he saw President Monson speak, and told us he knew that man had the priesthood. Anyways he's writing exams on the 24, but said he wants to be baptized on the 22 so it will give him extra help. So stinkin cute! The two ward missionaries who came with us told us that lesson was going down in history as the most powerful lesson they've ever been to.

This week I had such an amazing time listening to conference. So many insights came to my mind, and I felt like many of the speakers were speaking to missionaries! As I was reading in Mosiah this morning Abinadi is speaking to wicked King Noah and his priests. He says to them, "Ye have not applied your hearts to understanding; therefore ye have not been wise". This struck me really hard. I love the part that I'm at in the Book of Mormon because I feel like it's like General Conference with King Benjamin and even Abinadi speaking to us. I know that the Lord has put me in this book at this point in time because He's trying to tell me, "Sister Richards, you heard the words at Conference, but it won't do anything for you until you apply them!". Some of my goals include more sincere repentance, more fervent prayers, and recognizing the diamonds from the pebbles on the path that I am walking.

Last happy thoughts: the grocery store in Mabvuku has started selling COCA COLA LIGHT which is the closest thing to diet coke here. I'm in heaven. Also we had a sadza party with the ward missionaries and we made the most giantest pot of sadza. It was nice. Pictures to come.

My friends, be wise and apply the things we have learned at conference! I love you all and am so much grateful for the support you give me out here!

Love, Sister Richards

also MAJOR SHOUT OUT to my senior year chemistry partner, Elder Winter, who sang in the MTC choir in conference! I owe my A- in chemistry to you, my friend.