Hot Weeks = Ice Cream Treats

Hello!

This week was definitely slower, and it was HOT! I thought it was supposed to be fall???

Last Monday, we got permission to go to a show in Branson! It was so much fun!(: We went and saw the Duttons.  They play a lot of string instruments and have been playing forever!  They did a lot of really cool songs! It was really neat!(:  We went with Frank and Celeste to the show.  Part of the show Ben Dutton dresses up in this horn suit and plays different songs on it.  He is dressed up as "julio".  Oh man. It was hilarious. I wish i could explain it more, but it really is one of those things you just have to see.  He played the song Low Rider with his horn suit, some cleaning supplies, and a flat iron and blow dryer.  He used a looping machine to do it.  I loved it! So that was my last preparation day!(: 

Remember Pete? Well...He called us Tuesday and wanted to meet with us.  He took us to dinner and we read the Bible and the Book of Mormon for probably two hours.  He has such great faith.  He believes it, and we asked him to be baptized.  He said he has already been praying about it, but the answer is "no, not yet."  He says, "It is the not yet that has me interested.  I am going to keep reading and studying. I love that Monson guy. He is awesome."  It made me so happy!!! When i answered and it was Pete! I am so glad he isn't lost and that we still get to visit with him! We are going to meet with him again this week!!(: The Lord truly does answer prayers!(:

Wednesday was pretty good! We had district meeting which is always fun! After all of us went to Steak N' Shake for lunch.  All of the Elders were freaking out when they heard i hadn't been there, so we went.  It was pretty good, but definitely not what they all made it out to be!  Then to celebrate Sister Pereira's Year mark, we went to Andys while we were in Springfield.  Everyone talks about it here adn how YOU HAVE TO TRY IT!!!!!  HOLY SMOKES. Yummy ice cream for sure! I got a James Brownie Jackhammer. It had like a whole jar of hot fudge in it!

We had a lesson with Mirissa and Christine this week!  We talked about the Holy Ghost and Baptism.  We blind folded Mirissa and did like the faith walk thing, and at the end she got a treat.  We talked about how there are obstacles that we can't see and how the Holy Ghost helps us through them and guides us.  In her yard we set up tons of obstacles and i helped lead her through.  She loved it and i think she understood what we were teaching her.  After the lesson was finished her mom Ashley came in the room and said "Sisters. When can you come and visit me and teach the Stop Smoking Program to me?"  WHAT??? Ashley never wants to talk to us or see us. She never listens to our discussions, but she is a total sweetie.  So when she said that i panicked.  I was so excited!!! I couldn't believe my ears!  Christine has been so worried about her and that was definitely an answer to her prayer!

Thursday was Sister Pereira's year mark!!!!!!! It was awesome! I made up a little song and dance for her!(; It was  hilarious! But hey, What else are ya gonna do when you are a missionary??? I rehearsed in my head all week!(: (: (:  We didn't really do much that day, everyone cancelled on us or wouldn't let us in. 

On saturday, we did service at the Women's Shelter.  We painted an entire room and then we moved to the bathroom, I bent down to get the corner of the room and bam. My hair was covered in Blue paint.  I forgot my hair was on top of my head, so that was cool!  We had to go home after and play beauty salon for a little while.  I couldn't see where all the paint was, so Sister P helped me wash it in the sink.  It was ridiculous.  I have terrible luck.  Then later that night, we went to dinner and this family had a picture frame on their front door, as i was leaving i shut the door and the frame fell off and broke.  Seriously. I knocked on the door to tell them i could replace it and Sister P booked it down the stairs and leaves me in the dust because she is laughing so hard.  I got it all worked out with the family and when we got in the car Sister P was laughing so hard, she said. "It is funny, because you are so used to it.  You aren't even upset at all.  You are just so used to being clumsy."  It wasn't really that funny, but she was hysterical. 

Sunday night, guess who came over for dinner? The Duttons!!!(:  It was fun! We sang lots of songs, talked about their show and Ben's mission and just visited with them. It was fun to sing hymns and do different things like that.  Everytime the Flores' have visitors he always makes me and Sister Pereira sing a hymn.  So needless to say, we sang Come thou Fount last night.  It was a fun night! 

This week, everytime something or someone got us down and discouraged, it would always be followed with a miracle.  It is moments like that that make me realize why i am serving a mission.  I love it.  It is really hard, but a tiny little positive thing will happen and it will turn our day around.  I know that Heavenly Father is directing our path to exactly where we need to be.  I know he has our best interest at heart.  I love being a missionary.  I love the work, and i love all the miracles that are happening. Even if they are tiny and we don't have people running to get baptized.  I am so happy i am here in Ozark and meeting those people i have met.  I love it so much! 

Sister Ritter

Pictures: 

I got a unicorn sweater!

Trying Andy's

I am a HAPPY missionary!

The Dutton Show

And this Kitty who loves me to death!

Crazy Week!

Hello again, Friends and family!(:

 

This week has been crazy!

 

We had a lesson with Heidi and Kathy this week! It went decent...but she was getting ready for her son Bo's birthday party that was that night, so it was a little rushed...We just love visiting with her though! After the lesson, Kathy said, "Sister's would it be okay if i said the prayer? I am full of thanks!" UMM...YESSSSS! She will never say the prayer, so when she asked??? AHH Misson accomplished!(: It was one of the greatest prayers i have ever heard.  It was so genuine and so amazing! I love her! We are going to get her a baptism date this week!!!(:

 

At district meeting we talked about the Kingdoms of Glory, and how we should focus on reaching the Celestial Glory.  A lot of missionaries are having problems with people understanding that we don't want to settle for the lower kingdoms, and Sister Pereira said something that has really stuck with me. She said, "The fact that there is right and wrong in the world is proof that there is something after this life that matters.  If there wasn't..why would it matter? Why would it matter if we went to jail or stole or did any of those things if there wasn't an after life?"  It was the coolest testament to me, and it is incredible simple, yet so true! Our life on earth is a teeny dot in the perspective of things.  Our purpose isn't to live life and be done.  Our purpose is to live and grow and choose things that bring us closer to Christ, so we can return to live with Heavenly Father.  Our troubles and trials here in this life is nothing. It is so teeny and if we could just understand that and realize that our trials would be simpler to overcome. Not saying that it would be easy. But it would be easier, because we could understand that everything is here, so we can be our ultimate selfs.  So we can be happier, and even if we don't understand now, Heavenly Father is shaping us exactly how we need to be. 

 

We stopped by the Sheltons and visited with them after weeks of not seeing them and had a good discussion.  Then we were leaving and Sister Shelton said, "Wait i need you to say a prayer with my family."  OH MY GOSH. She used to never want prayers. Finally progression! Not a lot, but little steps!(:

 

I gave away my first Book of Mormon...(i know pathetic i have been out 2 months and only have given one.) But anyways. I gave it to Crystal and her daughter Tabitha. And at church on Sunday, i didn't see Crystal, but Tabitha was there!(: Crystal has grown up baptist and didn't agree with the fact of one heaven and hell. She believes there is levels, so when we heard this we jumped at the opportunity to teach her the plan of salvation.  She totally agrees with us! She is awesome and i can't wait to see her again!

 

Last bit for this week, we have had opportunity after opportunity this week to do service.  We helped two families move, painted a book case and some walls and the womans shelter, and many other acts of service.  During one of the moves, i was very frustrated. We walked in and the house was a mess. NOTHING was packed and there was garbage everywhere. She told us to just pack things she would need and take the rest to storage. Well i was thinking, "How am i supposed to know what you want and what is and isn't trash."  I was super negative. Then we had to leave and come back and we sat and waited for her for 30 minutes. She wasn't home we had no idea where she was, and she wouldn't answer her phone.  You can imagine my happiness level after everything that happened.  As i thought and pondered the day at night i had a thought come to my head.  I was so not Christ-like.  I was terrible. I kept thinking, "this isn't my job." "i am not doing this."  Well guess what? It is my job.  I am called to SERVE. Being a missionary isn't about teaching lessons, it is about serving.  It is my job to help serve others in any way they possibly need me.  As i was thinking about all the complaints i had i thought, "NO. I need to do this because Christ would have." He wouldn't have given moving and cleaning this families house a second thought. He wouldn't have lost patience, he wouldn't have been frustrated.  He would have done whatever this family needed and he would have done it with a smile on his face.  I realized that I am a representative of Christ.  I am supposed to say and do what he would. And i did not do it.  I have had that thought on my mind all week.  I learned that i need to humble myself and serve others to my fullest ability, because Christ would have.

 

Pictures:

1) We did some planning at a pond cause we were falling asleep.

2) Same as 1

3) Spiders like to cover our door, and not let us in, so we use the hose to get in.

2 Months!

Dear Family and Friends,

 

So this week was full of many spiritual moments and incredible miracles!

 

We had an apppintment with our investigator Heidi.  We haven't been able to meet with her since we first got here in Ozark! She wasn't ready for her baptism date and different things have been coming up so we haven't met. Well....Tuesday, we met with her! It was so nice to see her again.  We were teaching her and randomly in the middle of the lesson, she said, "I have picked my baptism date. Don't ask me how.  I just woke up in the middle of the night and had the thought, i need to be baptized on Nov 15."  AHHHH!!!!!! It was such an exciting moment. We explained to her that that was God telling her and influencing her thoughts. She agreed and she is doing awesome! Her desire to be a disciple of Christ has increased immensley.  We taught her 3 times this week!(: I just hope and pray that she continues to live the gospel standards so she is able to be baptized on that day!(:

 

We were invited to teach about preparing for a mission to the young women this week.  It went well, and at the end we got to be someone behind a door.  It was so fun because Sister P and I just did things people do to us.(: At the end we got twinkies dressed up like missionaries called, "minionaries." It was so cute!

 

We have also been teaching Pete, but we can only see him at the Farmers Market and it was the last week on Wednesday, so we were planning to get his number so we could continue talking to him.  He is amazing, he read the entire Book Of Mormon in 2 weeks, and he believes Thomas S.Monson is a true prophet, he reads the stacks and stacks of Ensigns we give him, and is so faithful and has such a strong desire.  Well, i learned a really unfortunate lesson this week that was really difficult to learn.  We were headed to the Farmers Market, and we were about 7 minutes late, and he was gone. We asked everyone where he was and they said he left 2 minutes ago. We missed him by 2 minutes. A perfect, golden investigator. Gone. Because we were late. It was terrible. I feel like his salvation is on my back. I was seriously depressed that night. Because i was late, i cost him a lesson and opportunity to come closer to Christ.  I know Heavenly Father has him in His hands, and i KNOW Pete the Popcorn Man will be baptized and continue to seek the truth, but it is sad i had to learn a lesson that way. 

 

Frank and Celeste were gone all week, so we made them a welcome home sign!

 

This weekend, The Flores' took us to dinner at their Russian friends house. They knew minimal English and their other friend would translate. It was really neat to here Russian and to learn some.  I learned how to write and say, Hello, Goodbye, and I Love you.  Luda, the wife was awesome! She was so nice and sweet! She told me, "You have the most beautiful eyes, and your hands are like Mona Lisa's, Gorgeous."  It was so cute! She sang us the Russian National Anthem.  The food was awesome!  We had so much food and i am not exactly sure what the meat was, but...YUM! It was so good! She made homemade bread and baked vegetables and meats of all kind (yes. i tried it all.) It was a cool experience.  I didn't know i was going to Russia on my mission(;

 

On Friday, our companionship study was so spiritual! The spirit was so strong it was loud.  I don't know how else to describe it, or if that even makes sense. It was intense. I couldn't believe it.  It was so comforting and relaxing.  We were talking about why we are serving a mission and our feelings about being called to the Oklahoma Tulsa Mission.  Sister Pereira said something that struck me so hard. She said, "You know, sometimes i think one reason we are on a mission is because Heavenly Father needs to teach us lessons He couldn't any other time.  Just like our investigators cancel appointments, don't keep commitments, or even drop us, we do the same to God. Maybe that one time we Heavenly Father was going to teach us a lesson that would change our lives, we were too tired to read scriptures or too tired to pray, so we "canceled our appointment" with God. Well. Now is our appointment with God. We have an 18 month long appointment to learn the lessons God needs us to learn."  It was such a cool concept to me!  How many appointments have we canceled with God in our lives? Millions.  But He NEVER gives up on us. He will always be willing to teach us. Always! We need to be better at keeping our appointment with Heavenly Father and doing the things he asks us to do to come unto Christ. It isn't hard to pray before bed. You just talk to Heavenly Father, it isn't hard to read the scriptures everyday. Even if it is one verse. It takes 30 seconds.  If we think about all the time God gives to us, our "appointments" with Him are no time at all.  It was an inspiring study, and i know that those words came from God.

 

Last fun fact: I HAVE BEEN OUT FOR 2 MONTHS!(:

 

I love you all!

Love,
Sister Ritter

 

 

Excuses

Hello Family!

Another week down here in the Oklahoma Tulsa Misson! I can't believe it! Time is seriously cruising!!!(:

 

Well, this week was definitely better than last.  It was long, but busy!

 

We went to a lady's house and talked about Family History. I am terrible at mine...): Turns out, we are probably related.  She is from Morgan/Henefer and She has Porters in her family.  It was way cool and we talked about her stories growing up and things.  She talked about raising sheep and helping her grandma in the fields with them.  Then she showed us old books.  She showed me the teeniest little bible in the world.  It had great advice on it....i guess....definitely not the correct bible, but hey.. it was cool!(:

 

Wednesday i went on an exchange with Sister Henderson! She is hilarious. She is very blunt and to the point.  I love her! She is a driver who is.......crazier?....than me. Lets just say, kinda scary! (; We went to a youth activity and it was super fun! The kids pretended to be missionaries and i was an investigator! (: Pretty easy since i can just pretend to be one i am teaching. They said, "We can't take you seriously as an investigator with a missionary nametag." So i took it off and man did it feel weird.  I felt like i suddenly was missing something. It was cool to see the desires of the youth to teach people. Such a fun activity!

 

Friday we had the greatest opportunity to see and watch Meet the Mormons.  It was such a great movie! We are using that in our missionary work because it is a non threatening way to share with others our beliefs.  It follows the lives of 6 families.  I love the candy bomber and the missionary mom, (though i can say i cried during the entire missionary mom part. That is still a tender subject.) It comes out on Friday, and i am sure its playing in tons of theaters in Utah. So y'all better go see it! It is so good, and the proceeds go to The Red Cross Foundation.  Elder Holland said no missionaries could be there so that is why we saw it early. (;  A cool thing that happened because of this movie... Here in Ozark, the closest place this movie is playing is Kansas City.  So we have been working so hard to get everyone to like it on facebook, share it, and request it for this area.  It needed 600 requests.  Needless to say after all that hard work, it is playing in Springfield! We got it here!!! It was so exciting! I am so excited for everyone to see it!!!

 

Friday night, we went to dinner at the Palmers. They are incredible! They are so nice and help us so much!!! We got to their house and we were SO excited. We waited all week to eat there.  Attached is a photo of their house. Seriously. Coolest thing ever. 

 

This week i have been really bothered by all the excuses we have been getting. I am so sick of hearing all these excuses of why people cant come to church, why we can't come visit, why they can't pay tithing, why they can't pray and read scriptures.  It is so hard. I know that these things will bless them and bring them closer to Christ. I know they will see the effects in their lives.  As me and Sister Pereira were talking about this, we realized. Wow. We make excuses. Everyone does. Sometimes, you just need to be humbled a bit. I am sick of excuses from everyone, and i am sure Heavenly Father is sick of mine. I am not making excuses anymore. We decided we are going to give 110% so that we don't have any excuses. We made it a goal this week to visit every single person on our roster.  Thats a lot. But we don't want any excuses from people of why they didn't feel the spirit in at least some way.

 

One more cool thing this week.  Last night, we went to teach at the Roberts. We taught of repentance.  We did a great lesson, a cool object lesson, great scripture and the spirit was so strong! When we got up to leave, Sister Roberts said, "I don't know how you knew we needed that, but thank you.  That lesson was perfect. It is exactly what we needed."  It is moments like those that make the terrible, frustrating, and hard moments of missionary work worth it.

 

With love,

Sister Ritter