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. (;
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