Another Adventurous Week

Dear friends and Family:

It was again an adventurous week here in the ABM.

Monday, We went over to Penny's house for our preparation day and made bracelets with her.  Well, while i was waiting for mine to get a clip on it, i passed out on her couch and just slept my little heart away.  When i woke up, Sister Hill and Penny were laughing hysterically and making fun of me. It was pretty great.  Best nap in awhile. (: 

Then we had a dinner with the bishop and we decided to invite Cathy.  She has recently been coming back to church again.  It was super cool because we had a lesson on how coming to church and getting back into routine would bless her immensely.  Then after we got home for the night, she called us and said her daughter just called and was wanting to get back to church so her kids could go and learn about God. (that story is important for later on.)

Tuesday, we went to Salem for the last time to say goodbye to everyone.  It was really depressing because literally everyone cancelled and didn't want to see us.  It was so sad. We really loved everyone there and we didn't even get to say goodbye.  We stopped in to say goodbye to one of the people we visited, but we could only say bye on his doorstep, because we didn't have a girl with us. He started crying and he said "I wish you were my granddaughters, life would be perfect." It was so sad, then he started crying and told us to come back sometime, even if we aren't serving in Salem. I totally wish we could. We then went to the Branch presidents house and said goodbye to them.  We got the rest of our stuff from living there and took some pictures with them.  We still had 2 hours, but we didn't have anyone to see.  We wanted to go to the Piano Guys devotional, but we didn't have any investigators or less actives to take.  We called random people we didn't know well and we got 3 to come!!! It was such a miracle.  All 3 of them loved the devotional and thanked us for calling them. Then we left Salem for the last time. 

Wednesday was crazy.  We went to see Cathy and while we were there, her daughter called and freaked out.  She was mad because she thought her mom sent the Elders to her house.  She said she didn't and so we called the elders to find out what happened.  They were just tracting and met Cathy's daughter. They asked to teach them, but her husband wasn't home, so they set up a return appointment,  Cathy was so happy, she was crying.  She just kept telling us how much it means to her that Heavenly Father sent Sister Hill and I to her and The Elders to her daughter and son in law.  They went back when her husband was home and they taught him.  He started crying and then he committed to reading the Book of Mormon and they all went to church on Sunday.  It was such a cool little miracle that developed throughout the week.  I am so happy that the Lord truly inspires us on where to go.  I know that it is no coincidence that the Elders tracted into Cathy's daughter the same time we are working with Cathy to get her active again.  It is a testimony to me that Families are the most important thing to Heavenly Father. He wants us to be with them and to be sealed with them eternally.  I am grateful for the hope i have for Cathy.  I know that is the exact miracle she needed to become converted to the Lord again. 

Wednesday night, a typical Sister Ritter moment happened.  Sister Hill lit a pumpkin candle and we started planning.  While we were planning, the candle got too hot or something and the glass around it shattered.  I didn't really notice and went to pick up a paper and sliced my entire finger open.  I had to squeeze it for like an hour before it stopped.  A mission definitely changes people, but some things, like clumsiness, i guess can never be changed. (; We seriously have the craziest things happen to us.  

Thursday was an absolute party in the least. On monday, i was totally kidding with Bro/Dr Pearson when i asked him if he could cut off my scar from my amputation and restart, but he said yes.  So thursday was the day.  We went in to his office and he let Sister Hill assist him in cutting out my scar and stitching my foot up again. She loved it.  Nothing brings a companionship closer than surgery? (;  Definitely a story for the books. 

Friday was probably the worst and longest day here in Rolla.  Everyone cancelled, we were sick, it was cold, and we knocked on doors.  It was pretty fun though.  We had Mykala with us and she just loves tracting... so it wasn't too bad.  We knocked on one door and as we walked up we saw the guy standing in the kitchen and heard a girl yell, "Dad someone is coming to knock on the door."  Then she opened the door and said, "Sorry my parents can't come to the phone because they are...um...on the phone....a phonecall." It was so funny.  It took all of me not to laugh hysterically.  Tracting is always a good time.  

That night we also had an appointment with a new investigator named Laina.  She is 18 and super cool.  She had a lot of good thoughts and questions.  We invited her to be baptized and she said she would like to pray about it.  We then talked about temples and she really wants to be sealed to her family forever.  I loved teaching her and i am so excited that she is open to meeting with us again.  She has definitely been prepared.

Saturday was a pretty fun day.  We did a lot of service and got to wear pants for most of the day!  We worked at the thrift store, raked leaves, and took a dog for a walk, we even got to meet new people and do a lot of teaching in between.  It was a really good day and it went by very quickly.  That night we had dinner with the Robbins family.  We didn't know who they were, and they didn't have a phone number.  We guessed that it was a new family that just moved in, but when we pulled up, Sister Hill said, "OH NO. ITS JERK." hahahahah(: It was so funny. The first time we met "Jerk" was in the church and he scared us to death because we didn't know he was in there. So we were a little scared when we pulled up to dinner.  then they took us around the back of their house, let us in the side door, and locked us in a teeny room.  It was definitely scary, but it ended up being perfectly fine.  They just didn't want their dogs to jump all over us, so they locked them in the rest of the house.  Sister Hill and I were dying at how funny the situation was.  

Sunday was great! I always love going to church and getting refreshed after a long day.  We also got to see  Deon.  It was super awesome.  She is doing really well and said that she is praying more and more.  She committed to reading or listening to the Book of Mormon every day this week, so we will see(:  She invited us over for Thanksgiving, and told us all about what she was going to make. 

I just love the people here so much.  I love all of them and love teaching them.  I am super grateful that i get to be a missionary.  I know that i have gained such a deeper love for my Savior by teaching all of these people.  I am excited to see what this week holds.

Have a great week. 

Love you!

Love, 

Sister Ritter

pictures:

1) Saying goodbye to the Barnards in Salem.  It was so fun to live with them.  We will miss them! 

2) These two look way too happy to be cutting my foot open! (; 

3) Sister Hill is a pro foot surgeon. 

4) You know you are in Missouri when...

5)Fun in the Leaves.

6) We had leaves all over the place. 

7)We may or may not have found a fake slot machine in a members house. We also may or may not have played it, and won. 

8)Sister Hill won the jackpot.

9) WE LOVE FALL!

14 Months!!!

Dear Friends and Family:

This week was super awesome!(: It went super fast and we had tons of crazy things going on!(:

Monday, we had a plan to go to the Salem cave with all of the other missionaries in our zone.  It all sort of fell through, but it worked out, because Brother Taylor wanted us to go and see Montak? State Park with him anyways.  We called Mykala and she came with us so that we could be in the car with them.  It was really fun.  He took us to the fish hatchery and we fed all the fish.  There was millions of them.  Then he took us to this hike/walk thing.  It is called Devils well.  It was really fun.  It was a giant hole in the mountain that led down to a river.  The stairs were crazy.  But it was definitely worth seeing.  After we drove around the country looking at all the fall leaves and sights to see in Salem, we went back to town and Brother Taylor bought us ice cream.  It was a super relaxing day.  He is such a cool guy!(:

Tuesday we were on exchanges.  I went to St. Robert with Sister Hodgson.  It was a lot of fun.  We did some service at a thrift store, and visited some of the kids that they are teaching.  One of the little boys was so cute! We taught him about the baptismal covenant.  Sister Hodgson said that at the lesson he said he wouldn't get baptized, because he didn't know what he was promising.  After we taught him the lesson, he said, "I already do those things." Then in the closing prayer he said, "I am excited to get baptized Heavenly Father, we can plan on that soon."  It melted my heart. He was adorable.  I am so glad i got the opportunity to see him on exchanges.  We also went "leaf tracting." What is that you may ask?  Well, as we saw leaves we thought were cool, we knocked on the door and asked if we could pick their leaves to add to our collection, and then slid right into the gospel.  It was so fun!!(:  I adore Sister Hodgson.  She is such an incredible missionary.  I am so sad that she is going home, but i have learned a lot from her and she has been such a great influence in my life.  

Wednesday, Penny taught the young women how to make bracelets.  It was really cool.  She loved it and she loves being involved in the church.  She is such a golden lady.  It was fun to help her and go and get to know some of the young women better as well.  

Thursday we were in Salem. We had dinner with the Williams family.  They live way out in the woods.  We were driving up their driveway and all their chicken/turkey things would not get out of the way.  Sister Hill was driving and she was honking at them and driving towards them, and they wouldn't move.  Well, we all know that i am terrified of birds, so i made Sister Hill get out, chase the birds away, and get back in the car so we could continue up their driveway.  Then we got to their house and their was a giant turkey. I got out of the car and he was making all sorts of awful sounds.  I booked it to the house and he started flapping his wings. I screamed bloody murder, and Sister Hill just laughed and laughed the whole time. It was quite the sight. 

We had a lesson with these people that we had just met.  Their names are Roni and Genie.  They are the best.  We taught them the Restoration with the cup display.  It went so well.  They were listening and answering our questions, and we didn't get off topic once! (not really a common thing.(; ) At the end of the lesson, they said, "That was a really educational and creative way to teach.  I actually understood what you were trying to teach." Then we invited them to church and to be baptized.  They didn't say yes to baptism, but they didn't say no.  They asked about church services and how it is set up.  They said, "That is exactly what we are looking for." It was such a cool moment.  I know that the Lord truly does send us to the people that we need to see.  I know that he inspires us to teach in a way that each person needs in order to understand the gospel.  I am excited to see what happens with them.  

On Friday, we were still in Salem.  We called a ton of part member families that we could go and visit.  We ended up having 6 appointments that day. It was so good! I love when days are full.  We had a really good couple visits with all of the families. They all want us to come back and visit again.  At one appointment, as we were getting ready to leave, their granddaughter, Christine, came into the room and she said, "I have been wanting to go back to church.  Will you come back and see me again?" So we were working out a time and the grandma said, "I am too busy that day." Then Christine said, "Well, we will sit on the porch or something. I want them to come and share more with me." It was so amazing!!!! I love that the work is really picking  up in Salem.  That night, we had a few appointments cancel, so we asked the President of the branch who he would like us to see.  He told us to visit the Humphreys.  We went and got to their house and it looked really dark, so we called and no one answered.  Then, they called back and we asked if we could come.  They asked kind of surprised, "Tonight? Our house is a mess." We told them we didn't care, and they said we could come.  We didn't want to be creepy, and say, "Well actually, we are in front of your house", so we went around the block and came back. We had a great visit with them and found out Sister Humphreys son isn't a member and is interested in meeting with missionaries again.  We talked about the power of prayer.  He was very concerned because he has lost his grandparents and feels like God can't hear him.  His mom bore testimony on prayer and we talked about Gods' plan being greater than ours.  He really softened by the end and bore testimony of what he knew of Christ. Such a cool experience.(: 

Saturday was transfer saturday.  Always the longest day ever, because the anxiety is high all day.  It was a really good day.  We had a lesson with Roni. He gave us turtle shells(: haha(:   We talked about missionary work.  We gave him 17 missionary acts and invited him to do 1 a week.  He said he would do it.  We asked him what blessings he has from the gospel, and he just kept saying, "Eternal life."  It made me think a lot about how that really is the greatest blessing we can receive.  We can live forever with our families and friends.  We can always have purpose and most importantly, we can always be with God, if we live the gospel standards.  It was a really cool learning moment for me. 

Saturday was the YSA halloween activity.  We had a dinner and then a bonfire. It was pretty fun, but it was definitely not warm outside by the fire. (; 

Finally, the long awaited transfer conference call.  SISTER HILL AND I GET TO STAY IN ROLLA TOGETHER FOR ANOTHER TRANSFER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited!!!!(: I love Sister Hill so much!! We also don't cover Salem anymore, so we just have our normal  Rolla and YSA.  I have also been called to be a Sister Training Leader.  I am really excited for that!(:  It was a great call(:

Sunday was one of the best Sundays of my life.  It was also horrifying, because we had to speak in both the family ward, and the YSA.  One ward asked us to speak on the Atonement and the other asked us to speak on Missionary work.  Well, i didn't really want to stress about writing 2 talks, so i just combined the topic.  

As i studied, i really focused on our purpose on earth.  In the Book Of Mormon in Alma 34:32, it says that "this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God."  How do we do that though? Well, we live the gospel.  We exercise faith, we repent, we are baptized, we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and follow the promptings we receive, and then we endure to the end.  Christs purpose on earth is in Alma 11:40.  He came into the world to perform the atonement.  He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane for all of our sins and afflictions, He died on the cross, and He was resurrected. We accept his atonement by living the gospel. Faith, repentance, baptism, the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. Our purpose on earth are the very things we must do to receive the blessings of Christ' atonement.  So our purpose on earth is to accept Christ. Another purpose we have is to share the gospel with those we know.  It can be hard, but just like the atonement helping us through life, it can help us as we share the gospel.  Christ has been in our exact place. (See The Atonement and Missionary work, by Elder Holland.)  I loved studying this topic so much.  I learned a lot about the atonement and just how crucial it is for each and every one of us.  I am grateful for Christ and his atonement and for the strength it gives me each and every day. 

Love you all!

Love, 

Sister Ritter 

Pictures:

1) Me and Sister Hill at Mantak State Park(:

2)The staircase to Devils well. 

3) The Crew!

4) Holy Cow!! We have been missionaries for 14 months!!

5) Me and Hodgy Momma Egg nog on exchanges!

6)The Williams farm, feeding the baby cow!

7)More pics at the farm.

8) Me, Sisters Hodgson, Norris, and Hill

9) What beauties. (; 

14 Month Testimony

Another month come and gone.

This month, as i have gone through different trials and struggles, i have come to know that Christ is real.  He is with us.  He is walking step by step with us so that we can receive his help when we need it.  I know he  guides me every step of my mission.  

I know that when we pray for things, we will receive them if we have faith.  I know that we do not have to go through our trials alone. 

I know that if we look for miracles in our life, we will be able to see them.  I am so grateful that i have had the opportunity to serve in 2 areas this past  month.  Even though it has been super hard, and really stressful at times, as i have continued diligently doing the Lords work, i have grown to love both areas tons and i have also been able to witness miracles every single day in my life.  I love the Lord. I love this work. 

I say this in the name of Jesus  Christ. Amen.

Sister Ritter 

Eggnog Wasted?

Dear Friends, 

This week was amazing. It went by super quickly.  I can't believe it is already monday again!!(: 

We had a ton of funny/random things that happened to us this week.

On Monday, we went to the car wash to wash our car like usual.  It was hilarious.  Sister Hill paid and she pulled forward. Then it told her to stop, so she did, but it kept having her back up.  We were in the middle of a car wash and i was NOT getting out to back her because i didn't want to be caught outside the car when the machine started.  So she backed and backed and it made her back all the way out of the car wash into the street.  It was hilarious! So we went in and told the cashier, he helped us get it fixed and we got back in our car and tried again.  This time, the car wouldn't drive over the rails, so the car wash was starting, but we couldn't get in.  I was hysterical the entire time and it was just super funny. I wish you coulda seen it!(: 

So the next day, we told a lady named Cathy that we would go to Institute with her.  We drove to the church, and waited and waited. No one came, so we called everyone and no one would answer their phones.  It was ridiculous.  Finally we found out that it was at a members house and we started our journey.  Half way there i remembered that i had NO idea where this member lived.  It was ridiculous.  So i said a quick prayer and did my best to drive there.  After driving around in circles for a decade we finally ended up where we started and finally made it to institute.  We got there and Cathy said, "Where did you learn how to drive?" hahahahha(:(: It was hilarious.  

Institute was a super awesome class. We learned about the symbolism of Christ in the Old Testament, and the fulfillment of that sign in the New Testament and Book of Mormon.  I didn't even know half of the stories were symbolic of Christ.  It was really cool, and i ended up restudying it the entire week.  I learned a lot.  The message was that our whole world symbolizes Christ.  It helped us place Christ at the Center of our lives so that we can focus on Him and see how much He is in our lives each day.  I am grateful we got the opportunity to go.  

The next day, we went to visit Roni.  We took Cathy with us.  He is such a cool dude.  I love going to visit him.  He wants to be a missionary, so we are teaching him the missionary lessons. We took Cathy with us because she is returning to church and we thought it would be a great opportunity for her to share her testimony with Roni.  After the lesson, Sister Hill says, "I am hungry." And Roni said, "I will fix ya something.  What do yins want?" Roni went inside and came back with a block of cheese and a package of Salami. We literally ate an entire block of cheese for lunch.  It was ridiculous. But it was hilarious. That was also the same day that we bought a carton of egg nog and drank the entire thing in one sitting. (; 

Previous to this week, we met a lady named Briana in Salem. (I can't remember if i have talked about her before.)  We tried to teach her the restoration, but her kids were running around and screaming, so it was a half lesson, but she really enjoyed it.  We gave her a Book of Mormon and invited her to start reading it.  This time in Salem, we met with her and started talking about the Book of Mormon.  She said, "I read the introduction. You guys might think i am crazy, but i already believe its true." AWWOOOGA. My eyeballs left my head.  I couldn't believe it.  It is so incredible how the Lord has prepared her to hear the restored gospel.  I am so grateful we were led to her our first day of Salem.  She is such a blessing to us.  We are so excited to see her again and continue to see the miracles that come from teaching her.  

We also got to see Penny again this week.  My heart just adores her.  She is so amazing.  I have a deep care for her and for her progression in the church.  We met with her 3 times this week. She is already over 100 pages in the Book of Mormon, she started reading the Old Testament and she reads 3 times a day.  She tells us every single time we go over there that she knows its true.  She knows that it is "her" church.  She loves the gospel and says that she has never felt this happy in her life, but then she told us that she is not going to get baptized right now and she doesn't know if she will ever.  It breaks my heart.  

We also saw Deon this week and talked to her about Temples.  We had her get on LDS.org and look at all of the different temples.  She wants to go to the temple and see the inside.  She wants to be able to feel the spirit inside the temples and draw nearer to her Heavenly Father.  As we were looking she said, "They are so beautiful. They are real life castles."  She also has a knowledge of the truth of the gospel.  She still has the desire to be baptized, but she still is praying about things in her life so that she can be completely cleansed and ready to make that covenant.

It is so hard to see people have such a bright testimony and a knowledge of the truth, but then they don't act on it.  It is so discouraging.  I know that if our investigators would act on the things they "know" to be true, that they would see amplified blessings in their life.  It's hard because i want to say, "Just get baptized, or just come to church." But I know that they are in the Lords hand and i just have to do my best to help them come unto Christ and trust in the Lords' timing.    

This week, we got to go to Cheyanne's choir concert.  She invited us and was incredibly happy that we could go.  She called and texted us all day reminding us about it.  She is so cool.  She is 15 years old and loves going to church activities, but she has a lot of trials right now.  We do our best to support her and love her.  She loves it when we come and read the Book of Mormon with her.  She also wanted us to sing with her while her friends were there.  We sang "I am a Child of God."  Anyways...back to the concert.  We got there a little late and we seriously had to run multiple blocks to get there.  We ran inside and she sang 1 song and got off the stage, we felt horrible, but we explained what happened and she didn't really care.  She was just happy we could go and see her.  It was pretty cool too, because tons of the people in the ward were there, so we got to support all the youth!(; 

We went and saw Fern again this week.  Every time we go there, she says something that really makes me think.  Even though she just talks and talks.  This week she said, "When you pray for something, be sure you tell Him how much, because you will get it."  I thought that was a really cool thought.  She was talking about rain and floods, but i think it could be for anything really.  Heavenly Father promises us that if we have faith we will receive.  So if we ask for something and we have faith, he will fulfill his promise to us.  I have started to make my prayers more specific and i definitely have seen a difference in my mission.

The funniest thing that happened in Salem this week was that we were trying to meet a less active family that lived in the country.  We knocked on this door and asked for them and they said that they lived next door.  So we walked down this super long gravel driveway to the next house, and we knocked.  The husband came to the door and he said, "Yes?" And then he stared at our nametags for awhile and then he said, "Oh you can come in.  I thought you were Jehovahs Witness. I will listen to the Mormons."  It was so funny because usually when people see our nametags they shut the doors, windows, and run as far away as possible...but this time our nametag is what got us in the door. It was awesome and we get to go back and see them again this week. 

I love being a missionary so much. 

 Have a great week, my peeps! I love you <3 

Love, 

Sister Ritter 

Pictures: 

1) This is us in the possessed car wash. (; 

2-5) Just some pictures at Roni's house.  I made Sister Hill and Cheese Carved heart!(: 

3) "Eggnog Wasted" haha(: Never Drink that much eggnog in one sitting. It isn't fun. (: 

Fight or Flight?

Dear Loved ones:

This week was amazing!!!!  

First off:

On Monday, we had a zone outing with everyone.  Everyone came to Rolla and we had a picnic and went on a mini hike, and then roasted marshmallows.  It was really fun.  I've been dying for smores for weeks now. Anyways, it was really fun to be with all the other missionaries. 

Tuesday, we were on exchanges, and it was probably one of the best exchanges i have ever been on.  I stayed in  Rolla and Sister Norris came here.  She is so great.  She has only been out a few months, but she is full of energy and love for the work.  We prayed super hard that we would have an amazing exchange and that we would see tons of progress in Rolla.  Well, our loving Heavenly Father definitely blessed us more than ever tuesday.  

We started off with a lesson with Penny.  Penny is incredible.  She is progressing so well.  She has a love for the gospel and always calls the church, "her church."  She knows it is true and she is doing everything she can to follow the Savior.  In her words, "I am so gungho (i think?) about this whole church thing.  I have never been so excited about going to church in my whole life."  We read the Book of Mormon with her.  She has only been reading it for about a week and a half and she is already past page 80.  She told us that she reads it at least 3 times a day.  She refused to go to bed until she has read the Book of Mormon.  During this lesson, she determined that she wanted to get baptized.  She set the date for October 17.  I was so excited!!!! Later that week, she called and said she feels too overwhelmed.  She didn't want to do this anymore. My heart was ripped out of my chest and stomped flat to the ground.  We told her that we wanted to come over for a lesson and talk to her, so we did.  The lesson went well, she decided that she does want to get baptized and absolutely loves the church, but she wants to wait. She feels the 17th is too soon.  I felt better, and i know that she is going to be baptized soon.  Maybe not the 17, but soon.  I love her so much.  I have been praying and praying for her.  She is definitely a miracle and such a blessing to us.  

We also went to Salem again this week. This is where the "fight or flight" title comes in. 

Ladies and gentlemen, If you were to ask Sister Hill and i if we were fighters or flighters, we would definitely have to respond as flighters.  

As we finished off a super amazing day full of success and progression and meeting new people in Salem, we were planning for the night in our apartment. When all of a sudden, someone bangs super hard for an extended period of time on our back window.  We instantly freak out and call one of the ward missionaries to ask him to come over, but NO one would answer.  We called the branch president and told him what happened.  He came over and made sure we made it to our car in safety.  At 10 o'clock at night, we started our 30 mile drive back to  Rolla, because we refused to stay in that apartment.  So....we definitely flought. (; It was super terrifying.  We called President and he said we aren't allowed to stay there anymore, so now we live with the branch president.  WHAT a NIGHT!(: 

I also got to give a bunny a bath this week. Best service ever.

This weekend, we had general conference.  It was so good! It was nice to be able to listen to the prophet and apostles and feel refreshed.  I definitely had questions answered.  Some of my favorite things from conference: 

"Temple worthy lives will hold together everything that really matters." Quentin L Cook.  I loved that so much!!! I know that as we focus on the temple, everything else will fall into place and we will have so many blessings come from being worthy to enter the temple. 

"Be different. The things that make us different are the very things that make us an example." Thomas S Monson

"God's ultimate purpose is our progression." D Todd  Christofferson. 

I really loved Richard J Maynes talk on centering our lives on Christ.  I felt like a lot of the conference talked about how if we center our lives all of the worries and trials of the world will be a small moment of time.  I know that if we put Christ as the focus in our lives, we will be able to live up to our full potential.  We will see ourselves and others as God sees us and we will be able to fulfill the things he has planned for us.  I love the suggestion that was given multiple times to "Never let go of the iron rod. Hold tight to the iron rod." I know as we study scriptures, we will indefinitely be able to center our lives on Christ.  I know that nothing brings greater joy and peace than the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Have a great week!

Love, 

Sister Ritter 

pictures: 

1)Bunny before the bath. 

2)Bunny after the bath. I basically had to chase a bunny around a bathroom and hold him down in the water.  It is not easy to bathe a bunny!(: 

3) Selfie with our fresh and clean new fave pet!

4) This is Katherine Lewis.  She is leaving for her mission to Brazil this week.  I am so happy i got to know her and go on splits with her.