17 Months Testimony

This past month has truly been difficult.  I know that we have trials in o ur lives to help us grow.  Our trials keep us close to our Father in Heaven. 

I do know taht God loves each of us so much.  He knows what is best for us and He will bless us if we recognize him in our lives.

I know Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  I know He died for our sins.  I know He will forgive us.  I know Christ lives and still performs miracles today. 

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

17 Months!

Dear fam bam and friends:

This week was so jammed pack full of crazy events. Be prepared for a long email. 

So monday, we had a lesson with a less active girl named Regan.  She is so sweet. We texted her and asked when we could meet and she said she would feed us as well as a lesson.  It was such a blessing. So we had a really great lesson with her and even got a member to come with us.  She was very open and honest with us and we tried to help her feel the spirit and help her regain her testimony.  After the lesson, we invited her to come to the church to have FHE and volleyball.  She said she had a lot of work to do, but if she finished she would come.  She seemed like she wasn't interested at all.  So we left and went to FHE and had a great week!  Then as we started playing volleyball REGAN WALKED IN! And she stayed and played volleyball forever. It was so cool! It was so much fun and she loved it. She texted us after and thanked us for inviting her. I am excited to meet with her again. 

Tuesday was a great day!  We had Dani come with us to meet some people and help us find things around springfield.  We tried a random girl on the list and ended up meeting her roomate who was really interested in coming to the activities. It was a tender mercy, because we are looking for people to teach.  We got in the car and Dani looked her up of facebook.  She found her in close to 1 minute.  In the YSA there is a madeup calling called FBC.  It stands for facebook creeper.  Dani used to be an FBC, So that is how she is so quick.  Sister Jacobsen and I were super impressed.  I told her she should find me without my first name. It only took her about 5 minutes. It was impressive. In the middle of the exchange, a giant ice storm came through.  It was raining and instantly froze so the roads were super slick.  Everyone cancelled and told us we had to stay inside.  So Bishop Nothum came to pick us up and we went to his son's house to help him move.  On the way, we were trying to find a detour that would be quicker than waiting in the massive amount of traffic. We were driving down a road and cute little Sister Jacobsen quietly says, "Why does that say 'Do Not Enter'? " We all busted up laughing and the bishop turned super sharp off the road as traffic was coming towards us.  It was hilarious and we laughed about it forever.  We finally got to his son's house and had everything moved.  As we were driving to his new house, the moving truck got stuck on a hill and was sliding all over the place.  It was so terryfying. We could barely move and had to stop multiple time to try and get the moving truck back on the road.  One of the members was with us and she said, "leave it up to bishop to try and move his family on the worst day of the year." hahahhaha! The roads were awful from the ice.  We said tons of prayers and the Elders were praying really hard too.  We finally made it safe to the bishops house.  He fed us dinner and then it was time for us to go home.  On our way back, he said, "We are going to stop at the airport and go to a missionary homecoming."  So Bishop Nothum, the Elders, Sister Jacobsen, Kierstyn and I walked into the airport at 9 at  night in our sweats.  When we got to the terminal, a member of the mission presidency was standing there. I have never felt so out of place in my whole life.  It was crazy.  As we were walking through the airport, Elder Dye points to a plane in the airport and says, "How far is that plane Sister Ritter?" I said, "I don't have any idea." He said, "Its only 5 weeks away." It wasn't a funny joke at all....but it kind of was. It was definitely one of the funniest nights of my mission.

Wednesday was nothing short of an adventure.  We started with a worldwide missionary training. It was a really good meeting.  They talked a lot about the Holy Ghost and how critical it is in our lives.  It made me think about what i am doing everyday.  Do i invite the Holy Ghost into my life? After that meeting, we started to recognize and think about all the things the Holy Ghost has done for us.  I have felt an increase in spirit in my life as i have been focusing and praying diligently to have the spirit with me.  I am grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost in my life. I am so happy that i am able to have that guide and comfort, expecially through my mission.  I know that without the spirit i definitely could not have seen and experienced as many things as i have on my mission. I am grateful for the spirit.  

Bishop called wednesday and said he was going to pick us up at 4:30 to go to a crossfit class because the teacher is an inactive member.  We were so excited to go. We got in the car and guess who was there?? REGAN! She has been coming so much more just in the last week. It is awesome. So anyways, we get to crossfit and we have to fill out a liability form.  We didn't know any of the information on the page since we just got here, so we just filled it out like we were bishops kid. It was so funny.  Then the class started. Can i just say that Crossfit is the worlds hardest.  Sister Jacobsen and i were the entertainment on Wednesday.  We had to do 100 butterfly sit ups with a weight while the other person held a weight up the whole time.  After, we had to do 100 shoulder press while the other person did squats and to end we had to do 50 burpees with a weight while the other person held a weight above their head.  It was hilarious.  We had to use these wimpy little weights while everyone else was using huge heavy weights.  It was a really good work out though, and we got to talk to the teacher a lot.  As we left, my legs already felt like jello. It was awful.  While we were driving home, Bishop ran a stop sign and Sister Jacobsen jokingly said, "Why does that sign say 'Stop'?" HAHAHAHA We all died laughing again. But then we cried, because it hurt so bad! 

After that, we went to the english class that we teach. It was a lot of fun to meet new people.  We got to meet some new people who came up to us and wanted to learn more about the church.  So we got 2 new investigators!!! It was so cool! I loved going to the english class.  It was the highlight of the day. After the english class, we left and got home and couldn't find our phone anywhere. Of course it was my day for the phone, so i was panicked.  Then we hear a knock on our door and it was a former investigator who wanted to come meet us and tell us where she lived so we could go and see her anytime. It was incredible. An investigator came and knocked on our door. We asked to borrow her phone and told the elders and our ward mission leader. NO worries, later that night we had another knock on our door.  It was the elders with our phone.  It was such a great day!

Thursday morning we get a text from Bishop and he told us to come outside. We werent expecting him, so we opened the door and sister jacobsen slammed it shut. Bishop threw a snowball up the stairs to our door.  Sister Jacobsen opened it a bit later thinking that he needed to talk to us for real and he threw another one and it hit her right in the face.  It was so funny!!! Then we asked him what he needed and he said, "Nothing. I just wanted to come and throw snowballs at you." Then he yelled at us to talk to the guy outside. I told him we would in 2 seconds. He said we had to talk to him now. So i grabbed my boots and halfway put them on and we went outside and met Andrew.  He told us that bishop saw him face plant it in the snow.  We told him about some activities and he told us to come buy anytime.  We are hoping to start teaching him this week. 

Friday we had to wake up at 4:30 am to drive to Arkansas and go to MLC.  It was a fun time. We were super tired, but it is always great to hear from President and Sister Loveland.  It was also really sad, because it was the last time we will see Sister Betts before she goes home. (She promised she would come to my homecoming though.)  I am really excited to see her again. Sister Betts is such a cool lady. I love calling and just visiting with her.  We got home from MLC around 7:30 and we had an appointment.  We tried to open the institute building and our key got stuck. We couldn't get it out so we had Kierstyn try.  She couldn't get it out, so we called Bishop.  He had to end up calling the building maintenance guy...so we lost our key to the institute. Sister Jacobsen and I are soul companions. We are so spacey and clumsy.  It is seriously entertaining to see the things that happen to us. I love it.  I love Sister Jacobsen. I am so so so grateful that i get to be her companion.  I love her more than i could explain. We haven't stopped laughing since we met each other. 

Saturday, we woke up at 4:30 again because we were going to go to the temple. We got all ready and got to the institute.  When we got there, Bishop told us that he had a prompting and prayed 3 times and felt we shouldn't go to the temple.  So he took all of the YSA to ihop at 5:30 in the morning.  The second time this week that i have been out in public with bishop in non missionary clothing not following the missionary schedule.  I can already tell it is going to be an interesting transfer.  It was really fun to spend time with the YSA and get to know them better.  After we left ihop, it was time to study. We didn't have anything planned, so we just went walking for most of the day. Earlier in the week we got a blessing and in each of our blessings we were told to not be afraid to walk up to students and start talking to them.  We decided to talk to everyone.  We met this guy named william at a crosswalk.  We started talking to him and inviting him to different activites.  He didn't know english too well, but thats okay. we didnt give up.  He kept asking us different questions about who we were and everything we do.  We followed him all the way to class and when he got to class we just turned around and left. That was definitely one the of the most bold things i have done for awhile. It was a really cool experience.  We talked to multiple people who are excited to come to the english class. I learned so much. I learned that Christ really is right by us throughout our lives. I know he gave me the courage to talk to those people. I know he gave us the words to say. I know that when we do the Lords will, he will provide a way for us to be successful. 

 On Saturday afternoon, we went to dodgeball with some of our investigators. 

 Sister Jacobsen....funniest dodgeball player alive. One of the elders went to throw it at her and she screamed, turned around, threw the ball over her head and ran away.  It was so hilarious!!!!! The elder was laughing so hard he didn't even throw the ball.  After talking to sister Jacobsen about it she said, "Who cares. It worked....ill embarass myself to stay in the game and i don't even like dodgeball."

I still laugh out loud everytime someone brings that moment up, and believe me...it comes up often.

We also had a really cool lesson with Hannah.  She told us that she has never felt the spirit before. She said she didn't know the spirit even feels. We asked her about different experiences she has had as she is learning about the church.  She said that she loved going to the temple grounds because she felt holy and peaceful. We testified of the Holy Ghost and the power it has had in her life. She said, "I didn't know i had been feeling the spirit, i had thoughts but no words. But the sentences you just said is my thoughts.  I know i have felt the spirit." It was such a powerful experience for me.  We invited her to pray about baptism.  She didn't feel comfortable praying in english, so she prayed in Chinese. The spirit was so strong.  I couldnt understand her, but i could feel the spirit so strongly.  The room was filled with peace.  AFter the prayer, our ward mission leader was tearing up.  It was a powerful lesson.

Sunday we had a cool lesson with a recent convert. She wanted to write down a question and randomly open the Book of Mormon and read to look for her answer.  We did that and i wrote the question "How can i make the Lord proud in my final 6 weeks?" We flipped to Words of Mormon.  It talks about what is on each of the different set of plates, so i didn't think i would get an answer.  I got so many answers though.  It was almost a list of things i had to do.  I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon. I know it was written for us.  I know it can answer any questions we have or solve any problems we don't know what to do. I know it is true and i know it is the word of God.

This week was so great! I am so blessed to be here. I love it. I love life. I love looking for miracles and being in the service of the Lord.

Love, 

Sister Ritter

1) The famous MSU bear statue with my fave Sister Jacobsen. 

2) Our last time seeing Sister Betts. We will miss her!

3) Chalking it up at MSU.  

4) We got to hold the worlds cutest puppies at a birthday party! I almost kidnapped one. 

Goodbye Rolla ): Hello Springfield (:‏

Dear everyone:

This week has been absolutely insane. Transfer week is always nuts.

Monday we had quite the adventure.  Sister Hill took us shopping in Osage so we could get cute clothes to go home in.  Missionary Sister Hill and i told her we felt ugly and that we hated all of our clothes.  It was so fun to be with her all day.  On our way, the gps took us a crazy route.  We went off-roading the week after the whole area flooded.  We were in her car going down this insane dirt road frozen over with tons of rocks. I was the only one in the car who thought it was a party.  The Sister Hills were freaking out a bit.  It was awesome!!! As we got on a real road and got to Osage, The tire pressure got really low.  We got out and looked and it was flat as could be.  Sister Hill called Brother Hill and told him what happened.  Luckily, we were directly across the street from a tire place.  So we dropped the car off and continued on our journey to the outlet malls.  We walked in a we were completely lost.  Sister Hill made fun of us and said that she didn't actually expect it to be that bad.  We both found a really cute outfit!  I love the Hills.  They are so great!  

After we got home, we just went around and said our goodbyes.  It was really hard. 

Tuesday was crazy busy. We were trying to set up appointments for the new sisters coming in so they would have something to do.  We called a referral we got from bishop.  She is a less active woman who Bishop was worried about.  We called and asked how she was doing and if we could do anything for her.  She said, "Actually yeah. I would like you to come over once a week and re teach us the missionary lessons. We are struggling with our testimonies."  It was such a cool moment.  I have never had someone actually say, "i need help." Normally they are always full of excuses.  I was really excited for the new sisters coming in to meet her.  

We continued our goodbyes and i held in my tears pretty well. Every time we left, i wanted to cry so hard. I never expected to leave Rolla, but i know it was what the Lord wanted.  

Wednesday, we met another lady who came up to us during Christmas time and said, "This always happens to me. I always see the missionaries when i am struggling." We finally got in contact with her and got to have a lesson with her.  She hasn't been to church for 9 years and has lived in Rolla for 5.  She told us everything that had been happening and why she stopped going to church.  She said that she always runs into the missionaries when she is going through really hard struggles and hasn't ever done anything about it until that time.  It was so cool.  We had a really good lesson with her on Christ.  At the end of the lesson, she requested a priesthood blessing and gave us a referral.  It was a really cool experience.

Thursday was Transfer day. Sister Hill drove us.  I was dreading the time she had to leave me there and take the other sisters.  It was such a blessing to spend time with her.  

I met my new companion, Sister Jacobsen.  She is so cute. I seriously love her to death already. She cracks me up! We are going to have a great time together. 

After waiting for hours, my new bishop came. Bishop Nothum. He gave us a pass along card and said that we couldn't get in his truck until we gave the pass along card away.  We left and went to talk to some people. It took me forever and everyone i talked to about the gospel wouldn't take my card.  I basically talked to everyone in any business nearby.  As we were walking back toward all the missionaries, Sister Hill said, "You can do it. I'll pray for you." Then she yelled across the parking lot at some truck drivers.  We got talking to them and Sister Hill said, "This girl lost a toe." Then both of these truck drivers had lost some sort of body part as well. It was so cool and they listened to me and took my card.  I ran up to Sister Hill after and gave her a huge hug. Her prayer was incredible. (; The time came to say goodbye to her.  I gave her a big hug and cried forever. She took such good care of me in Rolla. It was so hard to leave her.  

That night, we had a lesson with a recent convert,Holly, and her roomate Daisy, who is still investigating the church. They are adorable. They wanted to start their lesson with a hymn. It was so cool! They are adorable. I am going to like it here. 

On Friday, we were trying to figure out the area.  We didn't have any appointments. So we seriously just called everyone on the list.  We finally got an appointment with a recent convert, Amanda.  She is so nice. The sisters left us a note saying that they were trying to prepare her to go to the temple and do baptisms since she has never been before. We talked all about it and told her why the temple was so important. She agreed to go and felt good about it. Then she set up a time to get a recommend. Miracles are already happening!  After our lesson, she said, "You HAVE to try this restaraunt with me." She took us to lunch at a super fancy Italian restaraunt.  It was a really fun time!

Saturday we mostly just walked around and tried to get used to the area and tried talking to people so we can find new people to teach. It was freezing. After all of our work, we got 1 appointment. Our bishop texted us and said that we would see miracles! We totally did! We got an appointment!!! I am super grateful for that tender mercy!

The funniest thing happened on Saturday and i still tease Sister Jacobsen about it. We were walking and there was a dead possum in the road. She said, "I can't look." Then we got closer and she said, "Im looking......im looking.....Sister, I am still looking." hahahhaha!!!! It was so funny! She is so funny!

Sunday was so great getting to see everyone at church. Its going to be a good transfer!

After that, we didn't have anything planned. We texted the elders and asked if they wanted to go chalk this weeks activities on campus.  We told them we would try to squeeze it somewhere in our busy schedule! They laughed and said the same. Both the elders and us got shotgunned into the ysa, so we don't really know much yet. Neither of us really have a teaching pool either so we are trying to meet people.  It was really fun to go and chalk on campus, but it was freezing cold. We were dying. 

I know this transfer is going to be amazing.  It is going to be hard because we don't have a car, its freezing, and we can only teach ysa. But i am so excited to be here. I am blessed to have a bishop who loves missionary work and is really expecting a lot from me. I am blessed with a hilarious companion who makes missionary work so much fun even in the icy weather. I am excited to see what miracles we see this transfer.

Love you!

Love, 

Sister Ritter

Pictures: 

1)Saying goodbye to Maizy, Rydin, and Andy. I love them to death.

2)Saying goodbye to the rest of the family! 

3)The Clayton Family!  They mean a lot to me!

4)The Pearsons!

5)The Nordwalds!

6) Sister Hill and I have been out for 17 months!!! Goodbye Sister Hill, Love you!

7)Missouri State! 

8)Chalking with the elders!

9) I seriously love Sister Jacobsen!

 

Trunky Transfer!

Dear Family and Friends, 

 

This week has been unreal. Tons of crazy things have happened.  First things first, there is no better feeling than being exhausted as a missionary.  I love it!!! It means its been a week full of hard work(:

 

So last monday, we went bowling with our district.  It was way fun!!!  I love hanging out with the other missionaries and getting to know them better.  We were all trying to say "We are all bad bowlers" but everyone kept getting strikes, which is crazy cause it never happens.  Sister Hill's magic trick was getting a strike on the very first turn.  I laid on the floor on my stomach and pushed the bowling ball and got a strike. It was hilarious to see all the crazy ways we were bowling.  

 

Tuesday was a really cool day! We didn't really have anything planned in the morning, so we decided we were going to stop by some referrals and potentials again and try to set up a lesson with them.  We met this really awesome lady, Christina. We had met her before Christmas and she said she was super busy, so to come back after the holidays. She stood on her porch in the freezing weather and talked to us about the Book of Mormon and her mission trips and her former religion.  It was so cool to hear her story.  We talked forever and Sister Hill and I were freezing.  We looked at her feet and they were purple.  She said, "Well, can we set up a time for next week? My feet are going to fall off." I was so impressed with how long she stayed and talked to us.  We are excited to begin teaching her this week. 

 

Wednesday, we had a really cool district meeting.  Elder Latimer instructed on our missionary purpose.  He said that the gospel is like a freeway. Our job is to get people on the freeway by teaching them the basics and about the nature of God.  Our job is also to keep them engaged and help them become converted to the gospel so that they don't take the next exit and stop driving on the freeway.  He then talked about how the freeway is a much faster speed and that is what will make us truly happy.  I wish i could explain it as well as he did, because it was a really cool analogy and helped put what i am doing in perspective.  It helped me realize how important missionary work is.

After the meeting, we started the wonderful adventure of a 2 day exchange with my favorite Sister Peters. That sister is basically one of my heroes.  She is hilarious. She made me laugh basically the whole 2 days.  I think i needed the exchange more than she did. (:  We were given the assignment to contact all the ysa on our list and find out where they were. Mykala was in our back seat calling all sorts of ysa, while we were driving to the people with only addresses listed.  Sister Peters was texting the updates into a story.  It was hilarious.  They thoroughly enjoyed hearing about all the ysa who were out of country, avoiding us, and currently MIA.  It was an entertaining day.  You hear the craziest excuses as a missionary.   

 

We also got another media referral who had referred himself to us.  His name is Ricky.  Ricky is incredible.  We taught him the first lesson and we read Moroni 10:3-5 with him in the  Book of Mormon.  We asked him what he thought and he said, "I know this is true. I know it is a true book because no other book is going to say, 'Prove that i am wrong'. No other book would even extend that invitation if it wasn't true."  I couldn't believe my ears.  That experience helped strengthen my testimony a lot.  I know God is preparing these people.  I know the spirit can testify to people.  I know that Ricky is prepared for the gospel.  Unfortunately, he is moving to Arkansas. So that is sad (: But the missionaries there are going to be very lucky to teach him.  He told us that he is wanting to get baptized and as soon as he walked in the church he felt comfortable and that he was in the right place. 

 

Thursday, Sister Peters and i woke up sick. We didn't have voices at all.  It was so funny! We sounded crazy. We were really excited for the day though because we had a super full day.  Well, like usual, most of our appointments cancelled.  We were determined to have a perfect day, so we just called everyone. We ended up with a really busy day.  During part of the day we went tracting by a members  house.  It was terrible.  No one liked us at all.  We walked up one driveway and the lady yells, "READ THE SIGN." Sister Peters said, "Well....we are selling anything. We wanted to save your soul for free." hahahahha!!!! I love her so much. It made tracting so fun!

 

Friday, we had a wonderful lunch/exchange back with the Sisters at Roni's house.  He always makes really good food.  We taught about the Book of Mormon and we asked him why he didn't read it like he promised us. He said, "I don't know why. I guess you have to want to before you will just do it."  It cracked my heart in half.  I know his  life would improve so much by reading the Book of Mormon.  I know it would bring peace into his life and help him answer a lot of the questions he has.  I know that just by picking up the scriptures and reading, it can brighten anyone's day.  I love the Book of Mormon and it is experiences like that when i am grateful that i have a testimony on studying the scriptures.

 

We also taught Ricky again.  We taught him the Plan of Salvation and he said, "This is really simple. It all makes complete sense." Then we invited him to church.  He was so excited! He talked about it forever. I am so grateful for him.  He truly was a miracle for  Sister Hill and I. 

 

Saturday was definitely the best day in the entire week!! Why?? Well. Sister Hill beat down the bathroom door while i was showering to tell me it was blizzarding outside. IT WAS THE BEST EVER.  I seriously miss the snow so much it is unreal.  I was so excited. Everyone else in the entire state of Missouri was sad about it, but i am pretty sure i am much happier in the snow. It was the perfect start to our morning.  We went upstairs and Sister Twyman said, "I don't think you will be able to get your car up our hill this morning." It was Sister Hill's day to drive and she handed me the keys and said, "You are from Utah. You know how to drive in this stuff." No worries, we got the car up the hill. Then this is the next part that made the day perfect.  WE HAD A BAPTISM. BRIANA FROM SALEM GOT BAPTIZED!  I am SO happy we got to see her baptized.  The elders called and said, "Sisters, i think you get half the credit for Briana. You are the ones who knocked on her door and taught her half the lessons before we got here."  I was thrilled to hear that she had decided to be baptized.  The first time we met her she thought we were homeless. It was such a miracle.  We prayed for a baptism this transfer and i guess we got it!(:  We asked her how she felt and she said, "I feel like something else exciting is going to happen now that i am baptized. I don't know what, but i am nervous and excited all at once."  She continued to thank us for knocking on her door.  The spirit was so strong at her baptism.  I am so grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost.  There is no way we would have found her without it.  The spirit led us to her and she now has the perfect blessing of the gospel.  It was a huge tender mercy to be able to see her again.

 

Sunday was terrifying. We sang in sacrament meeting. I know what you are thinking..."Sister Ritter, you don't sing." hahahha. I was definitely terrified, but Cheyanne and Mary were so excited to sing in church.  So it made it worth it to sing with them. Everyone said it sounded good, so i am sure Heavenly Father helped us out a lot on that one. (; Then after i sang, i had to give a talk. It was just a nerve filled day. No worries, i survived.  It was a really great day!

 

We also got transfer calls. I am being trunky transferred to Springfield YSA! My companion is going to be Sister Jacobsen. I am really scared to be transferred because Rolla is my home. I have been here since June, so it is going to be really hard to say goodbye to my Rolla peeps.  I know it is the Lords' plan and i am excited to see what i have in store in  Springfield. 

 

I hope everyone has a great week!

I love you! 

Love, Sister Ritter 

 

pictures

1) Its our last district meeting! I sure am going to miss these elders and Sisters. 

Me, Elder Hardy, Sister Hill, Elder Roy, Elder Day, Elder Bettinson, Elder Latimer, Elder and Sister Gines, Sister Peters, Sister Peterson, and Elder Azbill

2)Briana got baptized!!! January 9, 2016. 

3)Her whole family and Thomas after her baptism.

4)Sam made Cheyanne, Mary, herself, Sister Hill, and me as snowmen!(:

5)It was a good day to wear a green striped skirt. (; 

 

 

 

Happy New Year!

Dear Family and Friends!

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope everyone had a great new years celebration. As Sister Hill and i were thinking about what we did this week, the only thing we could remember was the exchange we went on.  So we had to go back through our planners and journals to figure out what else we did. Its so crazy to me how some weeks feel incredibly long but then so short at the same time.  

Monday, we had a few cool experiences. We didn't have anything planned for Monday night, which is always tough.  We called Penny and asked if we could come. She said yes! So we only had one more hour to fill.  Sister Hill suggested this older lady we have met once who needed some service.  We went and knocked on her door and no one answered.  We knocked again and no one answered.  As we were walking down her driveway, a lady came out of the house.  We thought it was Freida, but it was actually her sister Diana.  She let us in and we talked with her for awhile.  She wasn't interested at all in learning about the church, but she was very nice and wanted us to stay and talk to avoid the cold. It was such a miracle that she was there and willing to visit with us so we didn't have to stay outside.  

In Penny's lesson on Monday, she said something that i really liked.  During the prayer, she said, "My Heavenly Father."  It was so cool to me, because it showed me just how personal our relationship with God can be.  Ive never said that in a prayer before, but it made me think about how sincere i am when i pray.  It helped me evaluate my prayers.  Because of that, this week i have been working on genuine prayers.  I have felt so much love and peace from doing so. I know God knows me and loves me. I know i can talk with him just as i can my earthly dad.  I know he will always be listening to me. 

On Wednesday, Cathy called us and told us that we needed to come over right away because her brother from Texas was over there.  We didn't know if we should go because we had already gone over there earlier in the week.  We prayed and decided it would be good to go and meet her brother.  Turns out, he opened up to us and spilled his guts about his struggles and told us his life story and we taught him the first missionary lesson.  It was so cool! He loved the promise of the Book of Mormon and knowing that it can and will bring peace into his life.  He gave us all his information and we sent it to the missionaries in Texas.  Later that night, Cathy's daughter, Angela, called us and thanked us so much for going over there and sharing the gospel with him.  She said it made her family very happy, and they are all praying that his wife will let the missionaries come over. I just love the miracles we see everyday!

Thursday morning we had a very powerful lesson.  We went to teach Penny and Robert about temples and eternal marriage and ended up having a lesson on baptism mixed with prayer.  We talked about all the blessings that come from having an eternal family.  They both expressed that they wanted nothing more than an eternal family.  We told them the reason we wanted them to get baptized so badly was not to say they were baptized, but to get them on the path to the temple so they can be sealed with their family eternally.  Normally, when we bring up baptism Penny gets very upset and defensive.  This time she didn't.  Sister Hill and i were in complete shock. We focused our lesson on Robert, because we feel he is more prepared than Penny right now.  He sat and sat and thought about it.  It was silent for a few minutes and he said, "that makes sense. Its a step in the right direction."  We asked him if he wanted to get baptized.  He said, "Part of me says no. The other part says yes." We asked what part of him said no, and he couldn't answer us.  We invited Robert to pray out loud and ask Heavenly Father if he should get baptized.  He has never prayed before, so it was a VERY powerful experience.  His prayer was incredible.  The spirit was so strong, it felt like running into a brick wall.  After the prayer, we asked how he felt. He said, "The part of me that says no is getting very small."  I know this church is true.  I know that God truly does want us in families eternally. I know he will answer prayers.  I know that he will always answer us if we have a sincere desire. I wish i could express how i felt during that experience and how i feel as i continue to ponder the experience.  It is a powerful feeling. 

After that experience, we went on exchanges with the Sisters in St. Robert. This exchange was a little weird though.  The zone leaders needed me to do a 2 day exchange to try and solve a problem that has been happening in that area. I stayed with Sister Peterson and Sister Peters came here with Sister Hill.  I was really scared and felt inadequate to be the sister training leader at that time. I so badly wanted to help, but i also wanted to make sure that the sisters knew how much i loved and cared for each one of them.  As i fasted and prayed through the whole exchange, i knew God blessed me so much.  On top of the craziness of a random exchange, the sisters and the elders had to switch areas mid transfer.  We had to completely switch everything.  

Friday, we went to the Elders area and they took us to meet some of their people they are teaching and we did the same.  It was a really cool day.  We met a lot of really cool people.  I am so happy that the sisters get to have so many incredible investigators.  Their area is really cool.  We also got a referral that we got to go and contact.  Sister Peterson knew nothing about this area yet, so she was a little nervous.  We pulled up to the house and the girl came out and asked us who we were.  We told her that she had requested the missionaries or someone had requested them for her.  She was not interested at all.  She started talking about families and we testified of eternal families.  Her entire attitude changed and she listened to us.  We had a really good discussion and by the end she had committed to come to church.  It was cool to see the spirit testify to her the truth of what we were saying. 

Saturday, we had a crazy day.  Sister Peterson and i were playing a game to see how many different license plates we could find throughout the day.  I said, "We are never going to see Alaska or Hawaii."  We pulled up to our next appointment and what was in the driveway??? YES. An alaska license plate.  I pointed and said, "Are you kidding me???" Sister Peterson jumped and was confused because she didn't see what i did.  I showed her and she died laughing.  She said, "That was the funniest thing ever."  After that appointment, we were driving down the road and she asked what my favorite car was. She didn't know what kind it was and i said i would show her if i saw one. 2 seconds later, the car drove by. I pointed and told her that was it.  She laughed and said what car she liked. Then we passed a sign with the name of the car she liked.  She said, "Things are getting a little weird now."  I told her that it wasn't weird it was cool and we could say anything and it would happen.  I said, "Hopefully someone who is prepared to be baptized will be right in our path and we will get to see them." She said, "Dont say that. Then they will be in front of our car and i might hit them."  SURE ENOUGH....we turn the corner and this man is seriously in the middle of the road and Sister Peterson had to slow down really quick as he ran across the street.  WE WERE LAUGHING SO HARD.  Here's the worst part of the story. We were laughing so hard, i couldn't tell Sister Peterson to actually stop and she didn't think about it because she was laughing so hard.  I couldn't believe how dumb we were. Heavenly Father seriously put a guy in our path who was prepared and we DIDNT EVEN LISTEN.  I felt awful.  I couldn't believe how ridiculous that situation was.  I made Sister Peterson turn around and we knocked on all the doors around there trying to find this man.  I thought a lot about it that day and prayed for forgiveness that i didn't open my mouth.  As i was thinking about it, the spirit reminded me of a story i heard a long time ago.  

 I remember one time President Shumway told a story about his mission when he had a similar experience.  He was in England and when people walk there, they don't look up.  He said that if he makes eye contact with someone he will talk with them.  This lady walked passed and looked right at him and smiled and he didn't say anything.  She passed him again a few minutes later and again, he didn't say anything.  The third time she passed, President Shumway didn't say anything and walked the other way.  I remember as he was telling us of this experience, i could feel his sadness.  He said, "I hope in the spirit world, that Heavenly Father allows me the fourth opportunity to talk to this lady and tell her how sorry i was for not stopping and talking. I hope she gets the blessings of the gospel from someone who will bless her more than i could have.  I think about her all the time and i often pray that she will find the gospel."  I second him on that.  I desperately hope that i have the opportunity to see this man again.  I don't know if i will in this life, i don't even think i would recognize him.  But i pray that he will find the gospel and that i will one day get to apologize to him for not stopping.  It was an awful experience, but it was also a good one.  I will not let  that happen again.  I am going to talk with everyone God places in my path.  

After that, we exchanged back and i went to  Rolla.  We met this man named James.  He is so interested in the gospel.  He referred himself to us.  He wants to be a better example for his family.  He wants to be in church and he wants to be baptized.  We visited with him and he said that he set an appointment for next week to get his new glasses so he would be able to study with us.  He asked us if we could find someone to give him a ride to church.  We did and he came on Sunday.  He is so prepared.  We were talking with him and he said, "You two aren't going to get rid of me. I want to learn and it seems to me that becoming mormon is the best thing to do."  We think he is not real and that we are imagining him....so ill keep you updated on that. (; 

This week was so full of powerful experiences.  I have learned so much about myself and about my Heavenly Father.  I love the miracles and the huge learning experiences that come with being a missionary.  I hope you all can feel the same love God has for you. Look for the miracles. They will come!

Love you!

Love,

Sister Ritter 

pictures:

1)Half of our district at lunch. They wanted to make it into my blog. So they took a picture.  Elder Latimer, Elder Roy, Sister Hill and I, Elder Hardy, and  Elder  Bettinson.  

2) Quality picture of Mary and Sam.  They are so cute and super excited to get baptized.

3)This was my face during the license plate game when i saw "Alaska." 

4)Quality exchange with Sister Peterson.  Gotta love St. Rob!