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!
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