D&C 59:7‏

Dear Family and Friends,

This week was a learning experience in the least. We had a super busy week with traveling, so we didn't get to spend much time here in Rolla.

Monday: It was potentially one of the most depressing days on my mission. Why? Well, i got an email that said i was in the red for my "aggressive driving." So yeah...Then we got home and checked the mail, and guess what we got in the mail??? Our pre-trunky papers. We had to fill out our home info and the airport we wanted to go to. The Sullivan Elders came down to Rolla because we had to switch cars with them. They have a way nicer car than us, so it was fun to pretend that we had a super nice fusion instead of a corolla for little bit. Elder Burton said, "Ill never forget the day i was with the Sisters when Sister Ritter got red dotted and her pre-trunky papers. What a good day for bad news." It was SO funny!!

We had a lesson at family home evening about gratitude. It wasn't really the typical lesson though. Christal said for all of us to pick a trial we have had in the last year that was really hard for us. Then she said, "Now write down why you are grateful for that circumstance in your life." It was really eye opening. I know that i can be grateful in all things. In sadness or happiness. There is alway something to be grateful for. I really loved that lesson and i would encourage you to do the same thing and see how many blessings are in your life today.

Tuesday, we had MLC so we had to drive to Arkansas at 4 am again. This time, we got permission to sleep in St. Robert so that we could have more time to sleep. I don't know if it really was more effective, because i slept on the floor and didn't really sleep anyway. I don't think there is a way to get enough sleep on MLC days. Sister Hill is a champion. The elders told us they wanted us to make cinnamon rolls for breakfast on the way to Arkansas. So cute little Sister Hill woke up at 3 in the morning and made cinnamon rolls for the elders.

We had a great meeting. We talked all about the Savior's birth and the significance it has on each of our lives. I am so grateful for the Savior. Without him i would never be able to return to live with my Heavenly Father. I wouldn't have the hope and knowledge to overcome temptation, and i know i wouldn't have the happiness i do without him. We also talked about how the gospel brings us much joy into our lives. I really thought about that. I had a thought come to my head. I truly think i am the happiest i have been on my mission, because i am living the gospel. It is the center and the focus of my whole life. I don't have anything to do except to share the gospel. I know that when we focus in on Christ and his teachings, we will be happier than we have ever been. I know the gospel brings more joy than anything else can. Overall, the meeting was very faith building and inspired me to work hard and do all i can to share with everyone.

After the meeting, we went to the mission office to give Elder Betts the car keys and get the new Sullivan car. We had a really cool experience on the way home. We all bore our testimonies in the car as we were driving home. The spirit was incredibly strong. We all talked about why we decided to serve a mission and what we have learned on our missions. It was cool to see the growth in my own testimony as we our shared our feeling about our missions.

Wednesday, we went to see one of our people in jail. As we were waiting to see them, A lady came in and sat down. Mykala says, "That's the lady Sister Ritter. That's her. That's the lady at 'All God's flowers." This lady made me a candy thing when i had my surgery in july. It was so cool to talk to her and thank her. She said she remembered my story and continued to pray for me and my recovery for weeks. It was so cool. She was an incredible lady. I am so grateful we got to meet her. Then they called our number and we were able to go and see Cassie. It was so nice to talk with her. She tells us she reads the Bible everyday, but she isn't allowed to read the Book of Mormon because the paper is too much like rice paper and the people in jail smoke with it. It made me kind of depressed, but then i remembered that she said she reads the Bible everyday. So i guess that is better than nothing. I really love her and i am so grateful that we are still able to see her.

Thursday was Thanksgiving. WHAT A DAY. It was definitely one for the books. We didn't have anything to do until 6 pm. It was a nonproselyting day, so we did NOT want to sit in our apartment all day. We prayed that someone would call us and right after, a member called and invited us over to eat lunch with them. It was such a miracle. So we got in our car to leave and we are headed up the street. (This is where life gets crazy. And names will not be used (; ) So Tiwi was yelling at one of us, "No Driver." So we were looking for our Tiwi cards to log in. Tiwi was being really rude and kept yelling at us. Then BAM. We heard a huge crash, looked up, and we hit a car. It was the perfect start to a thanksgiving day. Turns out, only the side mirrors on both cars got destroyed. So we got out of the car, knock on the door, and no one was home. So one of us left a note on the door "Happy Thanksgiving. Sorry i busted your mirror. Give us a call." HAHAHAHAHAHA. We live a pretty crazy life. After we got to the members home, we ate a delicious lunch and then we went on a hike with them and played at the park with their kids. It was a really good day. Then we went to Deon's house. She made the best food on the planet. She made a million different things. She also MADE us try Chitlins. In case you don't know what that is...its pig intestine. It was awful. I didn't like it, but she was just happy we tried it.

Friday we had zone training meeting. It was incredible. I really love getting together with the other missionaries and talking about the missionary work in our areas.

We also went tracting that day. We met 2 incredible people. Michelle was one. We knock on her door and she looked like she was kind of running all over the place. We started talking about Christ and the Book of Mormon. She was really interested and she said, "Its super ironic that you came the exact time you did. I just finished putting up the tree. You helped me remember the true meaning of Christmas." We are so excited to go back to her house.

We also met this kid William. At first, he was not really interested and told us he didn't really believe in an organized religion. Then his friend said, "I don't care about this, i am going to get drunk." We started talking about the Book of Mormon and how reading it will help him come closer to Christ and receive more peace. We asked, "If we gave you one, would you read it?" He said yes. As he was flipping through it, he asked a really good question. "I grew up knowing that only the Bible was true. How does this relate?" We told him it was another testament of Christ in the Americas and showed him the footnotes in the Book of Mormon and how they correspond to the Bible. He was impressed and told us to come by again. It was really cool.

Those two experiences helped me recognize and understand why the Book of Mormon is so powerful in our missionary work. I know that the Book of Mormon does testify of Christ and does invite the spirit into a lesson. I know that reading it will help every single person come closer to Jesus Christ and develop a personal relationship with him.

Saturday, we were on exchanges in St. Robert for a while and then we went to a baptism for Robert and Nevaeh. The elders taught them, but we teach their mother in law/grandma. It was so cool to see them baptized. About a month ago, we were praying that Cathy would have a miracle in her life that would help her know the church was true. She was praying for her daughter to come back to church and to love God again. The elders were praying for someone to teach. Robert was that answer. It answered it for all 3 of us. When the Elders knocked on his door, we were at Cathys and saw this huge miracle happen. I am so happy i got to see that whole family at the church supporting each other. I know miracles can happen.

As we were leaving St. Robert, Sister Hill ran over my foot. I have just come to accept that i am going to go through millions of physical trials in my life. No worries though, its fine(: I am super grateful that it isn't broken or injured at all. It was super funny though. We laughed about it forever.

And now for the long awaited Transfer call result. A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE HAS OCCURRED. Sister Hill and I are.....STAYING IN ROLLA!!!(:(: I am so happy to be with her for a 3 1/2 transfers!(:(: Life is great.

I am so happy that i had this week to learn and grow. I am grateful for the holiday season and for all the wonderful opportunities i have to serve my Savior. I am grateful for trials and for the learning and growth they bring. I love the gospel and i love this work.

LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!
XOXO

Sister Ritter

pictures:
1) Okay. This is the last time i will see Sister Booms as a missionary. I love her so much. There may or may not have been tears shed.
2) We were at the mission office, and President Loveland wanted us to take a picture like everyone does in the MTC.
3) Thanksgiving with Deon!(:

You Either Cry or You Laugh!

Dear Family and Friends,

You know how some weeks just don't go as planned and everything seems to go wrong?? This week was definitely one of them. Obviously we did have some good experiences, but mostly our week consisted of laughing hysterically so we didn't cry.

Monday, it was our turn to teach the YSA family home evening, and we wanted to do something different and fun. We decided to play General conference jeopardy. It was super fun. The teams were going crazy and it was just a loud mess of General conference quotes. I love being a missionary over the YSA. It is a lot of fun to be able to go to the activities and teach people our age.

Tuesday started out GREAT. We got a voicemail from someone and they said, "Hi. I am an investigator trying to get the missionary discussions." We were so excited. Then i said, "Wait...what was the phone number? Sister Hill told me and i said, "That's no investigator....that would be FRANK FLORES." I was so pumped to talk to him. It was definitely a surprise, but it was a good tender mercy to talk to my mission father to start the day.

It was POURING rain nonstop ALL day. It was crazy. We also did exchanges with the St. Robert sisters. I went to St. Robert with Sister Norris. I really love her. She is such a great missionary. She has a super fun personality that makes missionary works super exciting. The people in her area love her and it is so cool to see.

One appointment with Sister Norris was pretty cool. We had to go on base and help a family move. We got to the gate and they scanned my ID and said, "She can't get on...she needs a background check." GREAT. So we pull around and go into the visitor center and go through that whole routine. We finally get on, and the family we are helping move is from Syracuse! How crazy right??? I didn't know them, but we did have people in common we knew.

Wednesday we had a really good district meeting on finding people to teach. We are struggling with that, so we got a lot of really good ideas. Sister Hill and i have set the goal to tract for at least one hour a day. I have grown so much just this week in my faith and testimony on tracting. I know that knocking on doors isn't really the most successful and the most fun, but i believe it is a matter of being obedient and doing all we can to show Heavenly Father we are doing the best to do his work. We had some really cool things happen and some not great things.

We were tracting and we met a very nice man. He talked to us for a long time and we found out that he does a lot of work on the church buildings with the electric. He told us that he has never seen sister missionaries and usually only sees the men. We actually had a really great discussion with him, then he asked us "You serve for 2 years right?" We told him sisters only serve for 18 months. He freaked out and started saying things like, "women are not treated fairly in your church. You should stand up and say something. I don't know why you think that is okay." Sister Hill simply testified of prophets and how she trusts and follows the counsel and guidelines by the prophet. Although it didn't help, and may have actually made the situation more contentious, it was a really cool experience for me. I was able to see the strength Sister Hill had and the power that can come from baring a simple testimony. As we have continued throughout the week, i am having an easier time sharing the gospel at doorsteps and not being so fearful. I have felt my faith grow a lot as we have done that.

We also had dinner with Cathy. She basically taught us the lesson. It was such a blessing to me. A month ago, she was inactive and wasn't even sure she knew the church was true. Now she is teaching us and she was called to be a ward missionary. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father has touched her and blessed her in her ability to become closer to him.

This week we had a lesson with Penny and Robert and Lois (Penny's mom) house. It was nuts. Penny is so ready for baptism. She keeps all the commandments. She knows its true, she says she will NEVER stop coming to church, but she just won't get baptized. We planned a lot of inspired questions to help figure out why she feels she can't make that step. We asked, "What do you think will happen to you if you are never baptized Penny?" She said, "I don't know. What will happen to me." Sister Hill said, "It says in the Bible and the Book of Mormon that it is a commandment to get baptized. If you aren't baptized, you aren't going to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ." I really admire Sister Hill. She is so in tune with the spirit. She is an incredible missionary and i have learned a lot from her. Penny responded to that, "Well, i guess it doesn't matter than." My heart was crushed. It is depressing and incredibly sad to see someone who knows with their whole heart that the church is true and not follow the commandments and guidelines.

Robert agreed to baptism and said he wants to read more out of the Book of Mormon before he picks a date, but that he will get baptized. Penny said, "DONT SAY THAT ROBERT. I AM NOT READY." We left that appointment worn down, but grateful that Robert has finally felt the spirit and is progressing in his journey.

Friday, our day was so slow that when we were tracting, our pass along cards wouldn't even stay in the doors. It was hysterically sad. We were crying we were laughing so hard as we went down the streets. It was great. But that basically was that day.

On Sunday, we went to the Hills house because Sister Hill and i hit a breaking point. I needed a blessing so bad, plus the Hills just cheer me up. I am so grateful for them. As we were talking to Sister Hill she said, "I know how you feel. Sometimes you just want to tell them to go to hell, because you know they will end up there anyway." hahahahha(: She is so funny. That was a basic summary of our week.

I am grateful for Jesus Christ. I am grateful that i have him as my Savior. He has been a huge example to me this week. I know that i can do all things if i rely on Christ.

I love you all!!!

Love,

Sister Ritter

Picture:

1) Sister Hill and I running home in the rain so we would make curfew.

15 Month Testimony

I've learned so much this month.  I've definitely felt myself pushed and stretched, but i have grown very close to my Savior.  

Lately,  a lot of people have been talking to us and have been doubting the church, especially the prophet.  I want to testify that i know Thomas S. Monson is the living prophet called to lead Christ's church on earth.  I know he holds the priesthood keys and receives revelation from our Heavenly Father.  I know that as we follow his counsel, we will be protected from Saan and led to eternal llife.  I know as you pray to know about the prophet, you can receive a witness that he is called of God.  I love Thomas S Monson and i am grateful for his guidance and revelation.

I've grown closer to the Savior as ive been able to teach others about the atonement of  Christ and apply it to my own life.  I know when we mess up and make a mistake in life, we can and will be forgiven through sincere repentance.  I know a great peace will come into our lives as we accept Chrsit and align our lives with his teachings.  

I love this gospel.  I am grateful for the peace, balance, and joy it brings into my life.  

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

Sister Makena Ritter

15 Months!

We had quite the start to this week in the joyous land of  Rolla. Monday, we did the usual preparation day things and basically just crashed, because...what else were we going to do?? 

Tuesday.....well. Our health again became an issue and we had to go to the urgent care down the road.  We found out that my absolutely amazing companion had contracted conjunctivitis. AKA pink eye. So. We were on quarantine for at least 24 hours.  It was really depressing because we had an absolutely perfect day planned out.  We were so busy and we had like 7 appointments.  After we left the hospital, we promptly walked into our apartment, put on sweats, rescheduled all of our appointments and then we crashed. We slept for about 3 hours.  It was crazy how tired we were.  The worst part of all though was that our phone rang like 4 million times.  It rang more in those 3 hours than it normally does the entire week.  It was ridiculous.  That was our basic day. 

Wednesday, we had a meeting in St Robert with our zone.  President Loveland also came and we got to have an interview with him.  I loved talking to him and getting advice from him.  I really love him a lot.  He has an impressive knowledge of the scriptures.  He brought a lot of peace to my mind as he talked to me.  When i walked in he said, "Sister Ritter. You look a lot better now than the past 4 months that i have seen you. I guess you are probably healed and feeling better?"  So if anything...i know that i don't look physically drained from my surgery anymore.(:  In the interviews, he set a goal with Sister Hill and I both. We are going to tract for one hour a day and OTM (walk up to a random person and start talking to them) 5 people a day.  He said that if we did this, we will find happiness, success, and we will be able to finish off our mission with intensity.  That is exactly what i want.  I want to be so tired when i come home that i KNOW i left everything i had here.  

In the meeting while the others were being interviewed, they talked a lot about what we as missionaries need to be focusing on.  We need to recognize and realize why we decided to serve a mission. And what we can do to fulfill our goals.  I know that the goals President set with me will help me to fulfill my purpose.  He also instructed me to ponderize one thing a day. Not one a week.  It seemed overwhelming at first, but i realized i don't need to necessarily memorize a scripture a day, but i need to have something in my head every single day, so that i will always have something to share and help others come unto Christ.  

Our zone leader, Elder day, asked Elder Burton and I if we would sing 'I am a Child of God' in marshallese at the zone meeting. So that happened and that was awkward. 

We didn't get home until super late that night, so we didn't really get to be a missionary until Thursday.  It was crazy!

Thursday. We had a super cool experience.  We decided to put our goals into action.  We picked 'Missouri' Street to start our tracting goal.  NO LUCK.  There wasn't even one nice person on that street. Luckily there was only 4 houses...but man. Brutal.  So after that we moved to the gold mine for tracting.  We went to 'Heller' Street.  We knocked on a door and a man yelled, "Who is it?" We were scared because usually that doesn't end well. Cute little Sister Hill said, "Its the missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints."  He came to the door and answered it.  He was incredibly nice.  His name was Jaren and he said he was interested in coming to the church.  We had a pretty long discussion with him and got his contact info.  It was such a blessing after all the rejections we got first.  We taught 3 street lessons on that one street and got some potentials.  Heavenly Father definitely blessed us for being obedient to President Lovelands counsel. It started to get dark and sketchy things started happening, so we called it quits and ran to our car.  

We then had a lesson with Penny and Robert.  We taught the Plan of Salvation. It went SO well.  Robert believed and understood everything we taught.  He really enjoyed the Plan and was able to help us answer and teach Penny some things she didn't understand.  I really love them a lot.  He is so open to learning the gospel.  I know that the spirit is working on him and testifying to him the truth of the things we teach.  As we were leaving, he said, "I didn't understand why you always hug penny and you just shake my hand.  Penny explained the rules to me. I get it and appreciate that rule. But i will be waiting for my hug in the spirit world. Or when you come to Missouri after your mission." It was adorable. I just love them so much. 

On Friday a miracle occured. WE GOT 2 REFERRALS.  I know it doesn't sound super awesome. But we have been struggling to get a referral for months. And we got 2 in one day. It was so cool!(:  As we went to contact them, one of them was not interested at all, but they were nice. The other was definitely an interesting experience.  We knock on the door and were expecting an asian man.  Well,  a muslim lady answered the door and let us right in like she had been expecting us.  She went and got her 7 year old daughter to translate for us.  It was wild. We tried to figure out her name and if she was the person we were looking for. She definitely wasn't and said she would talk to her husband before she gave us a call. But she said we were welcome to come over any time for a visit.  It was a pretty cool experience.

Friday, we felt that with everyone we were teaching, we just needed to read the Book of Mormon and help people understand why it is so important for them to read.  We had really cool experiences.  With Brother Woodward, he was stressed and irritable and we started reading and his whole attitude changed.  It was really cool.  He said, "That is exactly what we needed to do today.  Thanks for coming over and reading with me."  We read with Mary and Jerk. (His name is Robert, but the first time we met he told us to call him Jerk. So we do(; ) He wanted to read a specific story in the Book of Mormon.  We read it and in the middle of the chapter, he jumped up and said, "I need to write that scripture down and share it with that man that keeps telling ME what I believe."  It was super cool.  He later told us that the man understood his concern after that scripture.  I realized that we don't use the Book of Mormon as often as we should.  It was written for our day and instruction. I gained a strong testimony of the  Book of Mormon that day. I know that it truly can answer any questions we have if we are intent on reading and learning.  I know the spirit will guide us to an answer.

We also had some of the investigators come down from Salem on friday to take us to dinner. It was a lot of fun to see them again.  We missed them a lot. 

Saturday, we started teaching a super old man named Harvey. He lives in a Veterans home. We don't know if he will ever get baptized, because he is really, really old, but we know that if we teach him now, he will have the  opportunity to accept the gospel in the spirit world.  He expressed to us that he wish that he spent more of his life learning about God instead of waiting until now.  He said that his roommate Vance has been a huge blessing to him.  Vance told us that he wanted to be a missionary, so they are each others miracles(: 

We had dinner with Roni.  He told us he would feed us dinner, so we took Mykala.  We pull into his driveway and there is like 10 cars there.  We walk into his barn, and it is a straight party with 7 dead deer hanging from the ceiling. It was horrid. We definitely had no idea that was comin....(: 

On Sunday, we got roped into teaching singing time in primary. Why? I have NO idea. I can't lead music, we can't play music, and we didn't know a single song we were supposed to teach. It was chaos. Not really a highlight of my week.  Sister Hill rocked it out though.   Then we had the YSA potluck. That was fun. We also got to see Brittany from Salem again.  She was in Rolla for work, so we read the Book of Mormon with her. 

This week, people have informed us of the many sad and scary things that are going on in the world today.  I have been thinking so much about how important it is to have faith in Jesus Christ.  These things have been prophesied about forever.  We have clear instruction of how we can avoid and overcome destruction.  The same things happened in the Book of Mormon.  It is just a testimony to me how important living the gospel standards is right now.  We HAVE to follow Christ if we want any peace and comfort right now.  I know that God loves us.  He gives us the commandments to overcome the destruction and temptations from Satan. I know that if we read the Book of Mormon daily, and follow the prophet, Thomas S Monson, we will be protected in these crazy days. 

Love you all. 

Sister Ritter 

Pictures:

1) The Gross barn we ate our dinner in with 7 dead animals hanging by my head. Sick.

2) "Oh Hey." We found this crazy unicorn mask. Its pretty sweet. (: We had fun with it. 

3) WE HAVE BEEN OUT FOR 15 MONTHS!!!(: 

4) We are a packaged deal. (: Cant take us apart. 

5) Stress Relief with baby kitties(: We named them Minnie and Ellie(: 

Making the Most of It

Dear family and friends:

I have grown so much this week.  It wasn't one of the most eventful weeks, but it was enjoyable and we had a good time.  Sister Hill and I always find a way to  make it through the hard times we face.  I just love being her companion so much.

Monday:

We had a lesson with Deon at a members house.  It was really perfect.  We scheduled to have dinner with them and to do a family home evening with her and  her boys. We got to their house and waited for a while and no Deon.  I was afraid that she wasn't going to come.  Then she calls us and says, "Sisters. I am lost." The family who hosted everything kind of lives in the boonies.  So we did our best to direct Deon to her house.  She told us to go outside and stand with a flashlight in the road so she could look for us.  So we did just that.  Sister Hill and I and the whole crew of kids went outside in the darkest of darks, tried to find our flashlight in our trunk and waved Deon into the driveway.  It was super funny.  Then we had a great dinner and a lesson on following Jesus Christ. For the activity, we played follow the leader.  Deon's boys loved it.  At the end, we were ready for the prayer.  Deon's boys are 1 & 2.  They usually run around a play during the prayers, but this time, they sat and folded their arms.  It was so cute.  I love her so much!

Tuesday was probably the longest day in my recorded mission history.  I had to go to a meeting in Arkansas, and it started at 8.  We had to wake up at 2:30 and drive 40 minutes to St. Robert to meet the elders in their truck.  From there, we went about an hour to Lebanon to get the other zone leader and switch companions.  Then we had another hour drive to Springfield to get into the mission van.  Sister Hill got to stay there with Sister M&M (:  After that, we drove another 2 hours to get to  Bentonville.  It was so great. We were all super tired, so everything was really funny.  I sat next to Sister Streadbeck, and we literally just talked about our time in elementary school together.  It was super funny.  We finally got to the meeting and it was a super spiritual time.  One of the elders talked about the priesthood and the importance of it.  It strengthened my testimony on the priesthood a lot.  I am so grateful that the priesthood is on the earth today and that we can receive personal revelation and blessings because of it.  We also watched a mormon message called lifting burdens.  EVERYONE WATCH IT RIGHT NOW.  It is so good.  I love the quote in it, "we see ourselves in terms of yesterday and today, but our Heavenly Father sees us in terms of forever....He sees us as the glorious beings, we are capable of becoming."  I know that we can do all things through Christ.  He is there for us.  He atoned for our sins, so that we can overcome our weakness.  I love the message and the hope that video brings.  I know that Christ is always and will always be by our side, lifting our burdens, and strengthening us. 

After the meeting, we did the whole driving process all over again.  We didn't get home until 10:40. 20 solid hours of not sleeping.  It was super great, but i was so happy to get home and get in bed.  

Wednesday, oh dear.  Another one our crazy stories.  We had district meeting at 10:30, so we went to leave our apartment about 10 so we could be early.  We walked outside, and unfortunately our road had been torn apart and trucks were blocking it, and signs saying, "road closed." So our car was stuck and there was no way of getting it out. Sister Hill and I looked at each other and laughed and began our walk to the church.  It was hilarious.  Here we were leaving with plenty of time, and now we were going to be late.  Just our luck.  Luckily, the other missionaries rescued us half way, so we didn't have to walk the whole way, and we weren't late. 

 We had some really cool experiences that day.  We had a lesson with a less active man, Brother Woodward. We were going over the restoration and his testimony on the topic. His son in law was in the room on the computer, but didn't seem to be paying any attention.  All of a sudden, his son in law starts asking questions and becoming interested.  So we basically retaught the lesson again with him.  He said he was open to learning and asking questions, but he didn't want to make any commitments.  It was really cool to see the spirit touch him and his heart become softened.  We are going to go back this week and visit him.  We are really excited to start teaching him. 

We also saw one of our investigators, Brother French.  He is what we call an "eternigator."  He has had the missionary lessons countless of times and has a testimony, for some reason, he just won't commit to baptism.  We taught him the plan of salvation.  He has a really powerful testimony on the Plan of Salvation.  We made me think a lot and he taught me alot.  He said, "If i don't help your wheels turn, it wasn't a good lesson."  He testified of the resurrection and judgement day.  He said, "I feel like it isn't going to be scary, and got won't be rude to us.  I think it is going to be enlightening, and we are going to know what we did wrong. We will know what we deserve for our eternal salvation."  He is such a cool guy to teach.

[This is the worst part of the entire week.] We were driving home from the French's to go to another lesson and SISTER HILL KILLED A CUTE LITTLE RACOON. She just squashed it flat dead.  I have never heard a more awful sound, or seen such a horrifying sight. His whole family was with him too. It was the absolute worst thing to ever happen.  

Thursday was absolutely incredible.  We had a lesson with Robert and Penny.  We re taught the Restoration.  As we taught and testified, the spirit was so strong.  We asked Robert to read Moroni 10: 3-5.  As he was reading, he started crying.  He paused and didn't say much.  Then he said, "Hmm.  I have a lot of deep thoughts and pondering to do.  I need to read the Book of Mormon everyday.  It is really interesting."  We then invited him to be baptized and he said if he comes to know its true he will.  I have never had such a powerful experience as i have taught the Restoration.  It was one of the highlights of my mission.  The lesson went perfectly.  The spirit was strong, Robert was open, he was asking questions and Penny was able to answer some and share her testimony of Joseph Smith.  To close the lesson, Robert said, "I like what you taught. It just makes sense."  It does make sense.  The gospel of Jesus Christ makes complete sense.  It is such a blessing to us. I am so grateful to have the restored gospel on the earth today. 

Friday was pretty good.  We had absolutely nothing scheduled and we both prayed really hard that we would be able to fill our schedule.  Right then, Cathy's daughter called and needed our help with service.  We helped her clean her rental house. We scrubbed the kitchen with bleach for 3 hours.  It was terrible.  I felt so bad for her because the people she was renting it to just left, and didn't take any of their stuff.  It was cool to get to talk with her and find out about how she has been enjoying the missionary discussions from the elders in St. Robert.  

Friday, Sister Hill made me laugh so hard. She was putting gas in the car and i was just chillin in the passenger seat.  Next thing i know i hear a thud and look over, Sister Hill tripped over the gas chord and was laying on the floor.  I looked and her and just laughed and she said, "This is why oregonians don't pump their own gas." HAHAHAHAHA. It was the best ever. 

Saturday: 

We FINALLY got into contact with Christine.  We have been trying to meet with her for like 9 weeks and she is never there.  We got into her house and she just kept asking us crazy off the wall questions.  She kept saying, "I don't have what it takes to be Mormon."  It was heartbreaking.  She is a recent convert.  We asked her why she wanted to get baptized in the first place.  She had no straight answer, but just kept asking us all sorts of things that were not related at all.  It was like she was trying to get us to say something that was against the church.  She told us she didn't believe in organized religion and that she would never follow a prophet, but she would follow  Christ.  We couldn't get a word in, and it was really sad to see someone like that.  When i first got to  Rolla, she was active, she was happy, and she had a testimony.  It just made me so sad to see her testimony gone.  I know it is because she stopped doing the little things that God commands us to do like praying, reading scripture, and attending church.  I know that when we stop doing the things that invite the spirit into our lives, Satan puts doubts into our hearts and minds and drags us further and further away from the path.  It strengthened my testimony on doing the little things.

Sister Hill and i also made a new goal.  We are going to tract on every street in Rolla. Starting....NOW.

Sunday was interesting.  We drove down to St. Robert for stake conference.  The missionaries were invited to sing in the conference with the young single adults.  It went well i think.  We sang 'How Great thou art.'  We were told that during the video, it was zoomed in on Elder Furniss the entire song until the last verse and he didn't even sing. It was super funny!!!

The whole week Penny told us she was going to skip the conference and not come.  But then she said, "It is nagging at me that i keep saying i am not going, but we will see. I don't want to watch a broadcast." Well as we were practicing, guess who walked in?? PENNY and ROBERT.  She said she wasn't going to come and she drove clear from Rolla to St Robert.  It brought a huge smile to  our faces.

I learned a lot from that conference.  One of the Speakers, Elder Robbins talked about simplifying our lives.  He asked us if we were making our lives easier to follow Christ, or clouded and full of other things.  It made me think,  "Do i have time for Christ in my life?" I know that right now, of course i do, i am a missionary.  But i hope to make habits on my mission that will carry throughout my entire life.  I want my life to be simple, so that i can do my best to serve Heavenly Father the best i can.  It was a super helpful talk.  I can't wait to make changes in my life to simplify.  

After conference we had a lesson with a member.  She just kept saying, "I don't follow prophets, i follow the Bible." She wanted our advice, and all we could say is to follow the prophet and pray about it for yourself.  It was so hard.

These past few weeks we have had so many people that have doubted the prophet and said that they were not going to follow him. 

I want to testify, that i KNOW without a doubt, that we have a modern day prophet on the earth.  I know that  Thomas S. Monson is called of God and has the priesthood keys.  I know that he doesn't teach us anything that God wouldn't teach if he were here.  I know Thomas S. Monson is the leader of the church here on earth.  He is here to guide us and teach us what we need to do to return to our Heavenly Father again.  I know that by following the prophets teachings, we will be the most happy in life. Mosiah 2:41.

I love you all and hope you have the best week. 

Love, 

Sister Ritter 

pictures:

1) I don't even care that its an awful picture. I got to see my fave Sister Booms!(: 

2) I was reunited with my daughter <3

3) Sister Hill and i walking to District Meeting.

Nothing Less Than a Crazy Adventure!

I would be lying if i said that this week was anything less than a crazy adventure. 

Our week started with one of the funniest things that has ever happened.  Sister Hill went to the Jacobs to do some service.  We have a rule as  missionaries that we are to back each other up when we are driving.  It is such a pain at the Jacobs house because you have to do like a 40 point turn to turn around, and that day, it was pouring rain.   Above their house is a field, so dear Sister Hill and i thought, "We don't need to back, we will just drive in the field and flip around." Well, we quickly found out that the field was  FULL of ditches and deep holes. We definitely got our car stuck.  As we were praying to Heavenly Father asking him to help us get unstuck, up the hill comes...yup...you guesed it. A cop.  It was hilarious. He came up to us and asked what in the world we were doing.  We explained to him the situation and he told us he was going to call other police officers so that we didn't have to pay for a tow truck.  We sat in our car just waiting for the other cops to show up.  Sister Hill and i were praying SO hard that nothing bad would happen, and the Jacobs wouldn't come outside and see the chaos going on outside.  We were laughing hysterically. (i am pretty sure it was a stressed/scared laugh though) Finally, the other cops came. He called 4 officer. 4. Here we were sitting at the top of a hill in a field in the pouring rain with 5 police officers trying to get our car unstuck.  They got it unstuck and there was NO damage to the car and NO fine to be paid.  It was so great. Things like this only happen when companions with Sister Ritter. (; 

After our incident, we started to clean the Jacobs house.  It was such a tender mercy, because a family that we had wanted to start teaching came over to visit and we were able to share a message with them after we were done cleaning.  

We also got to start teaching Henry again.  We randomly(which isn't really random) decided to text him and ask if we could start meeting with him again.  He is so open to the gospel.  He wants to be baptized really bad, but his family is very against it.  He has a strong testimony and is half way done with the Book of Mormon.  I am excited to continue meeting with him.  He told us that he is still praying about it and that he might just have to make a decision for himself and hope his family will still support him.  Sister Hill and i don't believe that Henry is real.  He is so prepared and so open.  It is so nice to teach him and to have a nice discussion with him.  

Wednesday, we had district meeting.  We talked all about how the gospel of Jesus Christ can and does bring great joy into our lives.  We all shared experiences when the doctrine of Christ (Faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the end) has helped us in our lives and how we have learned from that experience. The spirit was so strong in that meeting.  It was so nice to feel the joy and peace that comes as we talk about Christ and his teachings. I love the gospel so much.  I find so much joy in missionary service.  I love Rolla. I love Sister Hill.  I love the people we meet and teach everyday.  I wish i could express in words how much i truly love being a missionary and the joy it brings into my life every single day. 

After district meeting, all the missionaries came with us to Penny's house.  We all sang 'The Spirit of God' to her.  It was really cool, and we think she liked it. (; 

As we were planning for our day, we had the idea that we would fill an open time with visiting Brother Woodward.  We had a couple of appointments and at the end of the last one, he texted us saying, "I need you girls to come over today, its been a while and i need a lesson."  It was so cool to see that Heavenly Father inspired us to write him in our planners the exact time he wanted us to come over.  That was  a testimony to me that God really does lead this work.  

Thursday we had the lovely experience of being anti-ed by a mostly active member.  It was unreal.  I never in a million years i would ever experience that on my mission.  We shared a scripture with him that talked about  Christ and his atonement.  We testified that we knew that the atonement will help him through his trials and  help him as he tries to follow Christ.  He was so persistent about telling us that we can't KNOW spiritual things. We can only BELIEVE.  He asked us, "Do you know that St Louis is next to the river on a map?" Sister Hill and i both looked at him and said, "No. We have never been there. We don't know that."  He said, "Well, you can look on a map and see it is true and then drive there and see it for yourself. You can know that. But you can't know God is real."  We said, "well, just like the map of St Louis, you can read the scriptures to find out the things that God did with his people and the things he commanded them and know. Then you can do the same things, receive the same blessings, and know that it is true."  He paused and then completely changed the subject and rattled off a bunch of crazy math equations and said  he knew those were true, but we can't know God is real.  Sister Hill stood up and said, "Thank you for having us over, we are leaving."  That was an incredibly hard experience.  It makes me so sad to think and know that people are not putting their faith and trust in Heavenly Father, but they will put their trust in man.  I KNOW that God is real.  I KNOW that he loves us. I KNOW that he guides us every step of our lives.  I KNOW that the scriptures are true and that they testify of Christ.  I KNOW that he have a savior and that he loves us.  I KNOW that Christ lives. 

That night, we did a fake baptism with Penny.  We showed her the font, and we helped her understand what the baptism would be like.  It was really cool to do and see her open up more and more.  Even though she still won't set a date to be baptized, i know that she will be baptized one day.  She knows it is true and she thinks about it all the time.  

Friday we did a whole lot of tracting.   We met a super awesome lady.  As we were tracting, we saw these cute little cats.  They started following us, so we named one Purr. He followed us up to the door and would leave with us.  He followed us forever. It was super funny.  

Saturday was Halloween.  It was a really fun day.  We started with a breakfast at the Claytons.  Then we had some appointments and ended our day at Roni's house for dinner.  I attended my first ever authentic Missourian fish fry.  It was really good.  We had a ton of food.  We also wanted to wear camo shirts to his house, because he is ALWAYS in camo.  So we changed right before we got there. He was so happy. He said, "those are the coolest shirts i have ever seen."  Then we had to be home at 6.  We got home, carved pumpkins, and i went to be super early.  Plus than i got to sleep an extra hour because of the time change.  It was a great night.

Finally, Sunday came and Sister Hill got up and bore her testimony of the experience we had with the difference of knowing and believing things.  It was super awesome.  After that, EVERYONE emphasized the words "I know" in their testimony. 

We also got to go to the Hills' sons baptism.  It was a really fun night.  

I am so grateful for the knowledge of the gospel.  I am grateful for the hope and the peace the gospel brings.  I am grateful to have  Christ' restored church on the earth today.  

I love you all. 

Love, 

Sister Ritter

Pictures:

1) We heart attacked Penny's garage, and she decorated it more for us.  The sign says, "For my 2 special lady's in my life." hahahah(: 

2) Me, Penny, and Sister Hill

3) This is my camo outfit. (; 

4) We actually like camo and wish it was allowed to wear all the time. 

5) Happy Halloween!