The One with Water Encounters

August 22, 2016

Sisters in Zone at RED ROBBIN w/ Sister Miller (Mission President Wife)

Lunch before sister Clegg left

Our House alarm went off!

Transfer News: Okay. I'm actually gonna have a companion! Wooo! One of my very own! So I'm staying in Lake Marion for another transfer and am being companions with sister Meyers. I don't know too much about her but she's being transferred from crystal (where i started my mission) and this will be her first time being an STL so yeah. More about her to come next week :)

So this has been the week of the tripanionships. I was with the Crystal Lake sisters (Sisters Miller and Corbridge) from Tuesday when sister Clegg peaced out to Duluth, until Sunday afternoon. It was fun but really stressful. This week has been crazy. Here's some complaining for ya, First off, being a solo missionary for an area is really hard. You feel like you've got the world pressing down on your shoulders and you can't see everyone that needs to be seen.  Being the only STL left in our zone, I have to worry about and try to take care of all the sisters by myself. Then on Wednesday I learned from my bishop that Nette was able to get baptized on Saturday so it was pretty much left to me to coordinate between everyone (bishop, Nette, the Apple Valley sisters, Ward mission leader, and relief society president) all of the details. Then to top it all off I've been sick all week! Don't worry I survived.

It's been fun being in tripanionships. I really like it although not gonna lie I'm ready to have a companion of my very own again. 

Nette's Baptism!

So Nette got baptized on Saturday!!! It was awesome. She had to go under three times but finally it was all done and she was confirmed yesterday. She's a super star I love her. So yesterday just fun fact we were in church for 9 hours. Literally from 7:30am to 4pm. The reason being that being in a tripanionships with the Crystal Lake sisters meant that we were covering three wards. It was long but went by quicker than I thought it would.

Okay so we had quite a few encounters with water this week. So on Sunday Sister Corbridge, Miller, and I were in a trailer park doing stop-by's and it started raining and we only had two umbrella's. So we combined our umbrellas and walked side by side so both umbrellas would cover all three of us. It started raining REALLY hard and the wind picked up and then both the umbrellas broke and we all got DRENCHED. So funny. we took pictures.

So our other encounter with water was on Tuesday, day 1 of my tripanionship with sister miller and corbridge. It again stormed SO HARD. We go to drive to our next appointment and could barely see it was raining so hard. We reach an intersection in Apple Valley and it was literally flooded. There were legit waves in the streets and it was crazy. Also have a video of that one.

Another fun thing so it was Nette's birthday this last Thursday and she told the apple valley sisters that she wanted to have a missionary party of all the missionaries who had taught her. 

Boy did we diliver. All the missionaries in the entire zone except for the Spanish elders and sisters showed up. So fun. But ya know this event became one of the best nights of my mission. The reason being b/c when it got time to share a message before the end of the night sister corbridge suggested instead that all the missionaries go around and share their testimonies. I started and we popcorned around and it was AMAZING. The spirit was so strong! Oh my goodness the spirit just filled the room! So amazing. Again, one of my favorite nights on the mission!

Okay and last but not least someones basement got flooded out due to all the rain and two feet of mud ended up in the basement. So we made a couple of calls and 6 missionaries later were hauling mud out of the basement. So cool and fun helping. and we all got so muddy.

So crazy fun week! Love you all!

Spiritual Thought of the Week:

So guess what? The new September ensign is out! I only read one article but it was really good. It's called After Love, Then What? I loved it. It talked about how if we truly love the savior then everything we do would revolve and around either doing what he would do, serving him, or doing what he's asked of us. Basically being a disciple of Christ depends on our love for him and that our love should motivate all of our actions. As I was reading this talk I was reflecting on myself. I remember talking to someone about how that's why I do a lot of the things that I do and wondering if that was a good enough reason. I loved this article. It confirmed to me if we just open our hearts to love others we are trekking down the path of discipleship.

Love, Sister Richardson

The One With Duluth <:/

August 15, 2016

Okay so this week I don't even know what happened. It wasn't that great of a week. Nothing happened that was necessarily bad this week but just not too exciting.

Highlights: We went on our last exchange this week. It was with the Crystal Lake sisters. I stayed in our area with sister miller and Sister Clegg (like egg) went with sister Corbridge to Crystal Lake. Pretty uneventful although I did get to teach Nette again with the Apple Valley sisters. It's funny I was transferred but have taught her the Restoration, Plan of Salvation, Gospel of Jesus Christ, Word of Wisdom and Law of Chastity. Basically all the main lessons. She may have to have her baptism pushed back a week do to a technicality but it's gonna happen! So excited for her. She is one of the most chill investigators and has some of the most faith I've ever seen in a person.

Also we got to see Sammie this week! Man that lady is SO COOL! Remember that she has no religious background and now within 2 weeks of us teaching she is praying for her enemies and asking us for bible and book of Mormon verses to help her with her chaotic life and just has so much faith and willingness to test out our message and take a leap of faith. We are hoping to set a baptismal date with her before next week! She was going to be at church on Sunday but her two year old got sick the night before :/ sad.

So then the other crazy thing that happened so a little back story to this. Last Monday we had a zone specialty training and I wanted an interview with president to ask him for some clarifications on a couple of rules. At the end he was like of by the way one of the sisters in Duluth is going home a week before transfers so we'll need to transfer a sister probably in your zone and it'll probably be either you, sister Clegg, or sister miller. So we got a call from president this morning that sister Clegg is being Emergency Transferred to Duluth and she leaves tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon. Sooooo yeah. That's crazy. She's going rogue and will be traveling by bus by herself for three hours. I'm gonna be in a tripanionship with the Crystal Lake sisters until next week during actual transfers. So yeah. Guess we'll see who my next companion is next Monday so stay tuned!

Fun Fact:

Our toilet was broken and I jimmy rigged with dental floss and now it works just fine. #GhettoStatusAchieved

Spiritual Thought of the Week:

"In other words, true and perfect worship consists in following in the steps of the Son of God; it consists in keeping the commandments and obeying the will of Father to that degree that we advance from grace to grace until we are glorified in Christ as he is in his Father. It is far more than prayer and sermon and song. It is living and doing and obeying. It is emulating the life of the great Exemplar." - How to Worship, Bruce R. McConkie, October 1971, General Conference.

Super great talk and quote by Elder McConkie. I love how he exhorts us to continue to worship in the correct way (which he goes over in his talk on how to do that) until it becomes more meaningful and apart of us than just a prayer, sermon, or song. When we are truly worshiping we will be living like Christ would. Following his perfect example :)

Love you All!!!!!!!

Love, Sister Richardson

The One With Letters From Vietnam

August 8, 2016

 Man, So many things!

So this last Monday we had a Sisters P-Day which was super fun. All the sisters in the zone got together and we went out to a really authentic Mexican place and then came over to our apartment and sister Cupkie loaded us with treats and we watched finding nemo. It was really fun :)

Wednesday sister Clegg and I were exhausted and it was hot and humid. We go over to a lesson with a lady that can talk and we sit on her porch. I'm half falling asleep and I look over and sister Cleggs eyes are shut. She would open her eyes and speak and testify and then close them again. The Lady didn't seem to notice at all. It was hilarious. We were like what just happened!?  haaaaaa. Well. Anyways.

I had an absolutely miserable night on Wednesday. So we had a lesson with an investigator outside and I got absolutely eaten alive! I had over thirty bug bites most of which were on my legs. So I go to bed and woke up around 1:30 am and I couldn't handle how badly my legs itched. I was trying not to itch them cause I didn't want pot marks all over my legs but it got to the point where i just wanted to start crying they all itched so bad. I rubbed anti-itch cream all over them which didn't help and I was up for about an hour and all I wanted to do was sleep. Yup. That was fun. again. Annnyyywwayyys

Okay so we have a SWEET new investigator named Sammie. She is a referral from our recent convert Angela. Now, I know I make it seem like every person we teach is really interested and exciting, but Sammie is the real deal. She has almost no religious background, and while we were talking about the restoration she was just like "Yeah, what youre saying makes a lot of sense". Then when we were describing the Holy Ghost and how she would recieve an answer if what we said was true she was like "Oh yeah, I felt that while I was reading through the pamphlets Angela gave me". And she said she would be baptized if she knew what we were saying was true! So excited! We're seeing her on Wednesday with Angela and our Relief Society President! #MiraclesHappen!

We had Pho and egg rolls this week and took some quality pictures that'll be included below for your enjoyment :)

So we had MLC (Mission Leadership Council) with Elder Suarez who is in the presidency of the seventy. It was really good! He's from Brazil so it was fun hearing his accent, and he's a really bold man. We learned a lot of good things about setting goals and working to make them happen.

Today we had a last minute multi-zone training. It was good, but it was a lot of sitting with almost no interactions or participation time on our part so it was hard to stay focused. It's always fun being with so many missionaries :)

Well, more happened but I am running out of the will to keep writing. Hahaha I didn't think that I would ever slip into being one of those missionaries that doesn't write a whole bunch but my last couple of emails are getting a lot shorter from what they once were!

Well Love You All!

Funny Moment of the Week:

So we did an FHE (family home evening) with the Larson's, a really cool family in our ward that have 3 crazy boys and they wanted to play a game at the end. So sister Larson brings out a game called story cubes. Basically you roll the cubes and have to tell a story using all the pictures on the cubes. In one story we ended up with a story about friends parting ways because of

an attack on a tent and Letters from Vietnam. It was awesome hahaha.

Spiritual Thought of the Week:

Okay so I was reading in that poetry book again and read a poem about Christ that literally moved me to tears. It's Called In His Steps by Leona B. Gates. I want to share it with you all.

The road is rough I said,

Dear Lord, there ares stones that hurt me so.

And he said, Dear child, I understand,

I walked it long ago

But there is a cool green path, I said,

Let me walk there for a time.

No child, He gently answered me,

The green road does not climb.

My burden, I said, is far too great;

How can I bear it so?

My child, said he, I remember weight.

I carried my cross, you know.

But, I said, I wish there were friends with me

Who would make my way their own.

Ah, yes, he said, Gethsemane

Was hard to face alone.

And so I climbed the stony path,

Content at last to know

That where my Master had not gone

I would not need to go.

And strangely then I found new friends;

The burden grew less sore

As I remembered- long ago

He went that way before

Love, Sister Richardson

The One With I Like To Move It Move It

August 1, 2016

So a lot happened this week and I am exhausted so this email may not be very long. Here are the highlights!

1.) Spanish exchange

So we went on exchanges with the Spanish Hermana's this week. I went with Hermana Brittner to their area and Hermana Duvall came with Sister Clegg to our area. So that means I was immersed in a day of Spanish! It was really fun. I was saying yo tengo dos anos de espanol in la escuela alot haha. I also had some AMAZING food. This lady made taco meat with vegetables and what she did was put meat and rice on a plate, and then heat up corn tortillas and you just take a tortilla, fill it with meat and rice and eat it. SO YUMMY! It was awesome getting to talk to hermana Brittner. She is an amazing missionary striving to do her best out here. Sister Clegg and I have truly been blessed with the sisters in our zone. All of them get along not only as companionships but all together, they all are trying to be obedient and to work hard and build up their area's. You can't ask for more as an STL!

2.) Kassi

So another awesome thing that happened this week was getting to teach Kassi. We had stopped by her house before and her and her husband didn't seem too interested, but we were in the area so we decided to stop by again. We started talking with her and she invited us in and we taught the restoration. It was awesome the spirit was so strong! She is so open and willing to learn and read the Book of Mormon and to pray. Sister Clegg and I left feeling like we were on cloud 9 because of the spirit. I love moments like that.

3.) Adventuring Home

So Thursday we go to drive home to pick up our service clothes and our road is completly torn up! There are piles of dirt everywhere. Every single road leading to our house was blocked and under construction so we literally had to park our car and walk through the construction and dirt to get to our house. We were really confused at what was happening.

4.) Moving

Saturday we spent the entire day helping people move. No Joke, from 11-9:30 we were in normal clothes moving stuff and cleaning. We helped a non-member family in the morning for a little bit and then ran over to help Nan and Tom (also non-members) move. I'm sure I've mentioned helping them in my last email. They're the family that we called all the missionaries to come help. Well Saturday was the last day before they had to be done so it was all hands on deck helping them clean and get all the cleaning done. Let me just say i love them but their house is disgusting. I was scrubbing the windowsills and it looked like I was scrubbing off mud from all the grime that was coming off. Ew. But we got almost all of it done and they were so appreciative. They needed the help really bad. And hopefully we'll start teaching them soon :) 

5.) Cute Kids

We were surrounded by cute kids yesterday. The little girl whose family we had dinner with yesterday wanted to tell me secrets and then asked me "do you have a secret"? So i was like "yeah, I have super secret missionary powers that makes people like me... That's why you like me". Then she goes "No, I like you cause your pretty". I love little kids haha. They either make you feel really good or bad about yourself haha.

Spiritual Thought of the Week:

So I found a book of LDS favorite poems this morning written forever ago and I love poetry so I cracked it open this morning for personal study. I LOVED this poem on Courage I found...

"Courage is armour a blind man wears

The calloused scar of outlived despairs:

Courage is fear that has said it's prayers"

I especially love that last line. Courage is fear that has said it's prayers. That reminds me of a quote from princess diaries. "Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgement that something is more important than fear." Prayer is our ultimate tool in having the courage to endure to the end. The fear of life will always still exist, but with a strong testimony of prayer and having the humility to ask for help from our heavenly father we can pick our heads up and keep going.

Well that's the week. Hope all of your weeks is great and magical and adventuresome. LOVE YOU ALL!

The One With The Exploding Necklace

July 18, 2016

So this week I went on my first exchange ever as an STL. I went with Sister Card back to Apple Valley. Just like old times. IT WAS AWESOME! I love sister card so much and didn't realize how much I loved being companions with her until exchanges. So during exchanges we went and taught Nettie and Brother Lightner. See I thought that I had made a clean get away with transfers. I had taught Nettie three times and had been a big part of her conversion but I got to leave without teaching the law of chastity or word of wisdom. Perfect right? Wrong. I exchange with sister card to learn that we were teaching Nettie and Brother Lightner both commandments in the same lesson. It went SO WELL. It was awesome we went through and talked about each commandment and for both Brother Lightner and Nettie were like "Oh we've already talked about this and have decided to live this way already". Oh my gosh. I love being a missionary and getting to meet people like them. I'm telling ya, they make a mission worth it.

So this week had some of the GROSSEST weather I've ever experienced in my LIFE. Wednesday through Friday was miserably hot and with humidity on Thursday it was 115 degrees. Of course on that day (the hottest day of the year) we were asked to help someone move. They turned out to be such a cute couple and they understood the weather and we worked inside thank goodness. I really enjoyed helping because they knew what needed to get done and told what to do and when to do it and we got a ton done. We've been back several times to help them clean and paint cause they only have 10 days to get out of the house and get all cleaned and painted. Sister Clegg and I felt pretty boss b/c upon seeing how much needed to get done and how little help they had we made a few calls and had 6 extra missionaries there. They were so appreciative, I them :)

So Friday the other really hot and gross day it was a crazy of a day. So I ate chocolate at our dinner and got some on my shirt but don't worry my necklace that sister Peterson gave me was covering it. So we were all gross and humid and didn't look too great I have to say. So Sister Clegg and I were doing a whole bunch of stop bys and were in the top floor of an apartment building. No one was home so i go bounding down the stairs and about half way down my necklace explodes. No joke. Beads flew every where as the chunk of my necklace hit the floor and I just stared at it forlorned for like half a second and then Sister Clegg and I collapsed on the stairs laughing. It was hilarious, and luckily sister Clegg took a picture hahaha.

So then also this week was my birthday yesterday. It was good, just normal missionary life with a little extra singing. The fun happened in the evening. I had two families in the ward sing for me and had two desserts. I also got a few emails and happy birthday texts which made me happy. Then I opened my two birthday packages which was really fun and I loved the things in them, So thanks Grandma, Mom, and Sister Wiley!! Then the tender mercy of my birthday was that at around 9:45pm I got a phone call from a random number and it was Jessie, Chris, Marlee, and Minna Crusan singing me happy birthday!!!   (This is a family Kaitlyn got to teach and watch be baptized in one of her last areas.)  It made me so happy! Apparently Sister Peterson told them it was my birthday :) It was so nice getting to talk to them UGH I miss them so much!  But yeah, I felt super loved yesterday which was what really made my birthday so great :)

Funny Moments of the Week:

Sister Clegg broke a Halogen light bulb while we were helping that couple move and we had to evacuate :) What makes it even better is that sister Clegg is terrified of light bulbs hahaha.

Spiritual Thought of the Week:

So I was reading in the archives of the Ensign (just kidding but it was forever ago) in the 1972 issue. The article I read was called A time of Decision and was by President Harold B. Lee. It's about agency and war and is super good. He started talking about Satan's war on all of us and the thing that really stuck out to me is this...

"Today we are constantly hearing from the unenlightened and misguided, who demand what they call free agency, by which they apparently mean, as evidenced by their conduct, that they have their agency to do as they please or to exercise their own self-will to determine what is law and order, what is right and wrong, or what is honor and virtue."

When reading this I realized that people today are trying to change the rules of the game. To twist the game to work in their favor and justify their sins and actions. Unfortunately for them and fortunately for us God is the same yesterday today and forever, and so are the rules. What is wrong will always be wrong. What is right will always be right.

Well Love You All!!

Love, Sister Richardson

The One with the Holy Grail and Illuminati

July 18, 2016

Okay so we had transfers this week and I am now in the Lake Marion Area with the Sister Clegg. So it's been a crazy week trying to figure out all of the things we need to do as STL's. This is Sister Clegg's second transfer being an STL and her last companion did most of the things and so she's better off than me at knowing what's up but not by much hahaha. We have hit the ground running though trying to do everything we need to do, not only as an STL but also as normal missionaries in our area. So let me give you a look of what our week looked like after transfers to give you a sense of the madness that went on...

Wednesday: Transfers and Stake Meeting

Thursday: MLC (Mission Leadership Council) 6hrs

Friday: Weekly Planning 3hrs

Saturday: Phone Calls 5hrs

Sunday: Church 4hrs

Today: Monday: Zone interviews, Meeting, and District Meeting 6hrs

Upcoming:Tuesday: Round 1 of exchanges till Wednesday

Yeah. It's pretty crazy but I think it's good for me because I like having things to look forward too and you certainly have a lot of that as an STL. It's kind of hard though. I realized as I was having my interview with President Forbes while he was answering my question of how to be a good sister training leader, that missionaries really look up to and watch the examples of their leaders and trainers. I was thinking about that and just thought that really I don't deserve to be in leadership. I am not the best example or representation of the ideal/perfect missionary, but I think I need to keep in mind that nobody is a perfect leader. I do need to constantly strive to be better but I am who I am and heavenly father and President Forbes knew that when he called me to this position. Well anyways now that you've heard my deep thoughts on that.

I went to a Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall for the first time this week. We were invited by someone in their congregation and so we thought hey why not. We've never been! Nothing too bad to say, friendly people trying to follow Christ. It's always funny going to other church's though because we are able to view everything with the understanding we have of the restored gospel and it all makes a lot more sense and things that aren't true are more apparent.

We had two awesome lessons this week with a man named Jeff and a cute Vietnamese lady named Mylihn. Jeff is so awesome the Hermana's found him and referred him to us and he is so prepare he wants faith back in his life and is so open. Mylinh is the same way. She is critically reading the Book of Mormon and has a bunch of questions. She is so energetic and so cute. She made us stir fry and brownies for our visit hahaha.

Okay so Sister Clegg and I had a goal this week of teaching at least two lessons every day so we could reach our weekly goal. We were headed back to our car and had only taught 1 and then two ladies sitting in their garage flagged us over and one of them was the mom of a recent convert and her friend. We started taking to them and teaching, but both of them were talkers so sister Clegg talked to one of the ladies and taught and I talked to the other and taught. So we had two separate lessons at the same time. It was pretty funny and we both walked away feeling pretty boss :)

Funny Moment of the Week: So we had a lesson with our investigator and it was all spiritual and great and we end and say a prayer. We go to leave and he's like hey i have a question. What do you guys think about the holy grail? He then took us through a conversation that went like this. Holy grail--> Leonardo Da Vinci's the Last Supper--> Illuminati--> Jay Z and Beyonce--> (attempted to leave the conversation)--> Holy Grail--> Mary Magdalene is pregnant with the child of Jesus. I don't even know what happened in this conversation. I was just trying not to laugh because he was dead serious. I almost lost it a couple of times hahaha.

First of the Week:

The Stir Fry Mylinh made us had legit squid in it. I ate squid this week. 😐

Spiritual Thought of the Week:

2 Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight"

This is an awesome scripture for obvious reasons. In the trail of life we can't see the end as were going along but if we walk by faith we can have courage and the strength to make it to the end. If we walk relying on our faith, we will walk with the savior.

Love, Sister Richardson  

The One Where I DON'T GET CALLS

July 11, 2016

ZONE 4th of July Celebration!!!

I DON'T FLIPPING GET CALLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh My Gosh So we just got the transfer board and I'm staying in the Lakeville zone but am the new STL (A.k.a Sister Training Leader) with Sister Clegg in the Lake Marion Area. And once again. I DIDN'T GET A CALL!!!! I don't get called when I train, I don't get called when I'm leader. WHAT IS THIS!!! oh my gosh :l Not cool. I'm a little scared to be with sister Clegg. She's a train, she's ultra obedient and just goes if you come along or not. She's hilarious but I'm not quite sure how this is gonna go, but I'm gonna give it my best shot. Here goes nothing! On the flip side sister Card is staying in Apple Valley and is training a newb so I'll get to see her all the time and possibly go on exchanges with her :)

So this week. Man, after the transfer board comes out i just have like no energy to email, Sorry.

So Tuesday evening we had one of the craziest storms of my life! 

The Sky actually turned green! Like that's a real thing. We were asked to go back to our apartment till it was over. One of the houses about 1 minute away from our apartment got struck by lightning. So Crazy! No tornado but still crazy.

So the other thing that happened this week is that Nette set a baptismal date! She's gonna be baptized on August 20th! She is so prepared. She read the pamphlet we left cover to cover twice, didn't have any questions about it, started reading the Book of Mormon, and came to church yesterday when her member boyfriend was 'too tired' to come. She's amazing. The spirit was so strong during her lesson.

 So the last thing was we had dinner with the Cupkies. They picked us up and drove us to their house and made us juicy lucies (burgers with cheese in the center) and they bought me cheesecake factory chocolate cheesecake. They are so great. It was so fun I LOVE the cupkies. I'm glad that I get to stay in her zone, not that that would stop her from visiting :)

Well that's all the energy I have for the week. Sorry. Want any more details just email me. You can still email me even if you don't want more detail ;) You feel me?

Spiritual Thought of the Week:

1 Corinthians 13:13

"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."

When I came to this scripture I was confused as to why charity is so important but then I remembered Matthew 22:36-40

" 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

 38 This is the first and great commandment.

 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

Paired with this scripture it all makes sense! If we love god and our neighbors we will only desire to do good and keep the commandments. If we have charity in our lives and decide our actions by that charity we WILL make it back to him.

Love, Sister Richardson

The One With #Merica🇺🇸

July 5th, 2016

We got to road trip through Minneapolis and Saint Paul for our dinner appointment on Friday!

The Skyline is my beautiful Minneapolis which I miss so dearly! 

Okay so we find out about transfers next Monday which is crazy because this transfer has gone by so quickly! I feel like i say that every time but this ones for real cause i was only in Apple Valley for 5 weeks instead of 6. But I do have some sneak peaks and information about what might happen and let me just tell you it's gonna be crazy! 

So last Monday around 8 we got a text from our mission president and all it said was call when you get back to your apartment. No context for what he wanted to talk about, nothing. So i just thought great! He's waiting for us to get back to our apartment so that he can say something that's gonna cause a lot of stress or drama emotionally. So we call him and he wants to talk to sister card and says "okay, i want you to be completely honest. Just tell me your first reaction to this. How do you feel about being called to speak Karen?" (For those of you like me before my mission who have no idea what that is let me explain. It is an Asian language that is pretty difficult to understand and has no written language. The language that the missionaries have on their tags is Burmese because that's the closest you can get to it. There's no book of Mormon in Karen, we don't have any native speakers in the mission, and if you are called you are in the same area with the same companion for the rest of your mission). Both our jaws just about hit the floor. She said she would be willing if she were called.

So that was crazy enough to think that that was a possibility for sister card. Then we were talking to the AP's on Thursday and he said that sister cards first trainer sister fine has been Emergency transferred into doing Karen work and that president is looking for a tripanionship in that area. So as of right now we are waiting to see if she will be called to speak Karen. So. Crazy things are happening this next transfer. Well, I guess I'll let you know what the verdict of that is next week! 

So one of my tender mercies was going and visiting with Brother and Sister Bradford this week. I can't remember if I already told ya'll about them or not. They are a cute old couple that live in a really nice assisted living place. They are so amazing I absolutely LOVE visiting them. They both have such strong testimonies and they are so kind to us and love the missionaries. While we were over this week I don't know why but the spirit was really strong while we were talking and Sister Card and I teared up. Brother Bradford looked over at his wife and said I think these are two amazing sisters don't you? They just have something special about them. He asked me to say the prayer and I almost started crying as I was giving it. They definitely have found a very special and fond place in my heart.

So the other awesome lesson we had was with Brother Lightner and his girlfriend Nettie. Brother Lightner is a less active and recent convert in our ward who just started dating a non-member named Nettie. They both came to church last Sunday (so i lied in my last email when i said we didn't have any investigators at church...sorry) We set up a lesson with both of them and it was so cool! We decided to treat it like a less active visit because we didn't know if she wanted to take the lessons so we talked about personal revelation and shared the Mormon messages patterns of light part 2&3. It was kind of comical. While we were talking about it Brother Lightner was the one who was voicing doubts and questions and uncertainty and Nettie was just like it makes sense and I've experienced it. It seemed like their roles were reversed and Nettie was the member and Brother Lightner was the unsure investigator haha. At the end when we asked if they'd be able to come to church again, again bro. Lightner seemed unsure and looked at Nettie and she was like yes we'll be there. The spirit was really strong and we are so excited about her. She set a reoccurring appointment with us for every week! She's so golden!

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA! The 4th of July was so fun! Our zone met at the stake center in the morning and did a zone study together, and then sister card and i headed off to the Mall of America to help with the Blind Convention we were assigned to. So first of all the mall is HUGE. 

It has a full blown amusement park in the center and a legit aquarium on the bottom, and just about every store you can think of. We walked around with the prior lake elders for about an hour and then met up with the convention director. So what does a blind convention at the mall of America entail? Well we were paired with a blind person and walked with them around the mall describing what was around them and letting them feel things and helping them buy things they wanted. It was very interesting and very different. I had a cute older lady named Darlene. 

She was adorable and really fun to be with. She wanted to go in stores and try stuff on and was so sweet and bought me a bracelet and smoothie. When we got back to the bus she kept saying I'll be praying for you and you are a good girl I bet your mothers proud of you. She was too cute!

So Sister Cupkie picked sister card and i up from the mall and then we went and grabbed the prior lake elders from the Bursnville chapel and took us back to her house where the rest of our zone and plus some were. SO FUN. We played some games and then almost everyone started playing signs outside in the back yard. As we were playing brother Cupkie and his kids come around and sneak attack us all with water balloons! It ended up a full blown water fight elders versus sisters and we all got DRENCHED!! Ah so fun! Then they started up a fire in the back yard and we roasted marshmallows and then all set up lawn chairs and they started setting off fireworks. Like the illegal kind that you have to go across state lines to buy hahaha. Definitely one of the funnest days on my mission and one of the funnest 4th of July's I've had. I don't have any pictures from this yet cause some of the other missionaries in my zone have them so I'll attach them next week.

Spiritual Thought of the Week:

Alma Chapter 5:

So one of the questions Adrien asked us a couple weeks ago was why does god love and reward someone who is bad their entire life and then turns it around at the end of their life as someone whose striven to follow him for their entire life? How is that fair? I found the answer today as I was reading Alma this week. Alma throws out that exact same question in regards to the people of Zarahemla...

10 And now I ask of you on what conditions are they saved? Yea, what grounds had they to hope for salvation? What is the cause of their being loosed from the bands of death, yea, and also the chains of hell?

Speaking of his father Alma Sr, who grew up a very wicked man and who repented and was instrument in gods hands for much good he says...

13 And behold, he preached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves and put their trust in the true and living God. And behold, they were faithful until the end; therefore they were saved.

It was a that change that occurred in their hearts and their faith and trust in God that allowed them to be forgiven and saved. And I think also that that little section at the end of verse 13 which says "they were faithful until the end" is the key to this explanation. People all come to know god and Christ at different parts of their lives. The deciding factor is how they act after they have received that testimony. For some they come to know god earlier in life and others later. Even though it can seem unfair to have to strive to follow god and do good for longer than others, we are all on our own personal paths back to him and your path was tailored specifically to help you grow and progress in the way you need to. God knows us perfectly and individually. Trust him and leave what fair and just to him.

Love, Sister Richardson  

The One Where My Companion Is Poisoned!

June 27, 2016

Sister card and i at the temple

   Our district at the temple

So this week was weird. It was thrown off because we went to the temple on Friday so we had like a half p-day on Monday and then did weekly planning on Thursday and Sister Card was poisoned this week so that knocked out like a full day. So here's what DID happen this week:

- Anthony: So we met with Anthony this last Monday and it went so well! We talked with him and he had started reading the book of Mormon within the like 1 1/2 days since we had seen him and he said that what he read he liked and agreed with. We asked him what it would mean for him if he knew that the book in it's entirety was true and not just the little parts that he read. He said that it would change a lot but he was willing to do the work to read, pray, and find the truth for himself! Ah! So cool! So excited for Anthony!

  Our district

- Prince of Peace: This is the food shelf that we volunteer at as a zone. That was really fun. It's nice to be back in my element of food shelf's. That's all we did in the 1st 6 months of my mission (A.k.a the Anoka zone). Something cool I realized was that I actually prefer to work with people now! So our normal job there is hosting, which means we take people back to the food shelf and ask them questions. But there weren't a lot of people there that day so sister card and i were asked to go through clothes and hang them up. I realized while doing that that I would rather interact with and be around people. Weird. Definitely was not like that before the mission.

- Adrian: So Adrian. We met with him twice this past week. The first time was at the library again and then the second time was at his house and we had the lake Marion elders come with us. So Adrian is awesome he is so open minded and asks tons of questions and just wants to understand god and his plan and will for us. Both lessons are good. The last one with the elders was a pass off lesson though because he would rather meet in his house and there are a bunch of recovering addicts/ ex-convicts there so we thought maybe it would be best for sister missionaries to NOT teach him haha.

- Temple: So we got to go to the temple on Friday! It was sister card's first time at the St. Paul temple and she couldn't get over how small it was! The most exciting thing was that i walked into the temple and ran in to brother and sister moss from the Anoka ward and Brother and Sister Delong! The ward mission leader of Anoka! It was so exciting to see them all. It felt like getting to connect with old friends. I didn't realize how much I've missed the Anoka ward and the people there. I really hope i get to serve there again!That was such a tender mercy. The temple was awesome and i loved being able to go again. We went with the prior lake elders. Elders Swendson and Black. Those kids are great :)

 Car picture

- GLUTEN!: So sister card is pretty allergic to gluten so avoids it like the plague. This cute african lady in our ward had us over for dinner this week and forgot that she's allergic so we had spaghetti and meatballs. Luckily she invited two of her neighbors and their families so she wasn't watching us closely so sister card dumped the spaghetti on my plate and i ate it for her and she just ate the meatballs. So she ended up having like 8 meatballs and we thought we were safe. Unfortunately not. The meatballs definitely had gluten in them. So sister card was on the bathroom floor all night that night, we went to sacrament meeting the next day and then came home. Poor girl. She is REALLY good at acting normal when she's sick so i couldn't tell but apparently she wasn't doing too hot. She's just about normal again which is good. She said that was the most gluten she's eaten in a long time. Luckily though she did not die and i still have a companion.

The Talk: So I had to give my second talk ever on my mission. It went really well. It was on humility and i went first. I loved getting to study the topic of humility the entire week . I learned a lot of really cool stuff which i will share a little in my spiritual thought of the week. BTW's we didn;t have any investigators at church but we had a lot of less actives there which was great! 

- Presidents Fireside: I got to go to presidents fireside for the first time in about 4 months! The last time I went was back with sister Killpack and Pat when I was in Anoka. I saw sister Killpack again! No i didn't get a picture. Not my fault this time. She left before i did. NEXT TIME FOR SURE! I did get to see Sister Xiong again too!

  Sister Xiong and I!

That was awesome! She's so cute! And i saw Buella, the cute little girl from the medicine lake ward who i met my very first transfer back when i exchanged for the first time with sister Jenkins. Basically forever ago. She's is so cute I love her. She ran up to me and gave me a big hug. I loved going to presidents fireside. I also got to see Mazie again whose from the anoka ward. So many people from Anoka this week i loved it!

Spiritual Thought of the Week:

"Humbly submitting our will to the Father brings us the empowerment of God-the power of humility. It is the power to meet life's adversities, the power of peace, the power of hope, the power of a heart throbbing with a love for and testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ, even the power of redemption.To this end, the Savior is our supreme example of the power of humility and submissiveness. After all, His submitting to His will to the Father brought about the greatest, and even the most powerful, event in all of history. Perhaps some of the most sacred word i all the scriptures are simply, "Not my will, but thine, be done" (Luke 22:42)" (The Empowerment of Humility, October 2003).

Be Humble! It helps us become like our savior and endure to the end.

   Love, Sister Richardson

The One With Heat Advisory's and Tornado Warnings

June 20, 2016

We had a fantastic week. It's been crazy! We are changing our p-day to Friday because we are going to the temple! I LOVE being back in the temple area and getting to go. I'm so excited!

This week kicked off great with multi-zone conference on Tuesday. We (the Lakeville zone) combined with the Lakeville south and Minneapolis zones. What was the best part of conference? I GOT TO SEE SISTER KILLPACK!!! She's an STL in the Minneapolis zone now. I've missed her so much, it was so great to see her. Unfortunately we didn't get a picture together... I know, I know. I dropped the ball. Sorry. Next time.

After conference we had exchanges with our STL's Sister Smith and Sister Clegg. 

I went with Sister Smith to the Lake Marion area for the day. It rained SO HARD. I swear I was jumping rivers the size of the Mississippi as we tried to get to appointments. We were SOAKED from head to toe and there was a tornado warning out haha. First one of those I've ever been apart of!

What made this week great is when we exchanged sister Card said she wanted to try being more exactly obedient with the daily schedule and so we made a goal together to be exactly obedient this week and test the promise of blessings out. Man they are real! It felt like we were running from appointment to appointment this week! We taught 7 lessons to investigators this week, two of which we just found, and taught 9 lessons to recent converts or less active members. Man I swear this is the busiest I've been on my mission. It's crazy!

Our two new investigators names are Anthony and Adrian. We found Anthony by going through our area book. He was a former investigator and we texted him and asked if he was interested in meeting with missionaries again and he said yes! So cool! We had our first lesson with him on Saturday and are meeting with him again tonight! Wish us Luck! Then there's Adrian. We met him by area book work too! I love the area book. It's a gift from god! Turns out the person we were trying to stop by no longer lives there but Adrian does. His brother was baptized a member of the church and he attended the baptism and wants to learn more. We met with him yesterday and he was full of great questions. He has a long way to go before he'd be ready for baptism but he's got so much potential!

Oh also side note. There was a heat advisory out on Sunday. It was so hot and humid. Bleh. I hate humidity. It makes everything ten times worse. Also a weather side note. We've had lightning outside our window just about every night this week. Weather is weird here in Minnesota! Well that's the update of the week. LOVE YOU ALL!

Shout Out to my brother Sean who got married this week!

Firsts of the Week:

While on exchanges sister smith took me chalking!

Nine months out and i'd never been before! It was really fun. I've attached a picture :)

Spiritual Thought of the Week:

D&C 64:2 "For verily I say unto you, I will that ye should overcome the world; wherefore I will have compassion upon you."

John 16:33

"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."

Sorry, I know I've shared the John scripture before but it's my favorite scripture and I happened upon the scripture in the doctrine and covenants while I was reading this week. I thought it was interesting that the scripture in D&C tells us to overcome the world and that in John it says that Christ overcame the world. The way to overcome the world is through Christ. To try to emulate him more and pattern your life after his, but also to use his atonement to help us. That is another way that he overcame the world. Not only was he sinless but through his suffering allowed each of us the opportunity to become as it were sinless as we partake of the sacrament each week. With and through Christ, we to can overcome the world!

Love, Sister Richardson