WEEK 11 "Blepharitis"



Another week in Florida means another week serving the Lord, the people in the trailer parks and Flamingo gardens!!!! This week Flamingo Gardens had a painting project for us to do. We were stoked and immediately took them up on the offer. After we painted turquoise benches for a couple  hours they fed us lunch overlooking the Flamingo pools.
This park is my literal saving grace because I miss escaping into the outdoors and soaking up the beuaty. It is the most peaceful shrine with the most amazing foilage. After lunch we checked up on our favorite animals. Josh the bear was the highlight because his trainer was feeding him a snack! Apples dipped in carmel, oreos, and Gatorade was on the menu that day. It was hilarious watching this huge black bear lick up the food from his trainer's hand like he was a dog eating a treat.


The only down side to this visit to Flamingo was that my fabulous comp got some type of bacteria in her eye from the animals and now her eye is red and swollen. We thinks she has blepharitis... hopefully this won't slow us down this week.

Two saturdays ago we had a blitz in our thriving trailer parks with our district. This is when ten or so missionaries get together and knock in the same neighborhood. We had whopping success and found so many new friends! we have been super busy ever since this blitz.
All of the people we are teaching literally now live in a radius of 600 yards from each other. We are seriously considering moving into a trailer because we are there 24/7.
Monday night was a night filled with miracles. We had four bomb lessons and found two new friends. One of those was a man named Juan. Juan is a straight up miracle that God put in our lives. We were trying to find Dora's house but the addresses here in the trailer park do not include which door is theirs. There are families living in one trailer and each door is not labeled with a number. We knew what trailer was hers but had no clue which door was hers. It's like a guessing game and we had three tries. I am so grateful that the doors don't have numbers because God led us straight to Juan. This isn't a coincidence because Juan is very receptive to our message and is eager to start a new life with Christ at the center of it. Juan is from Venezuela and loves rock music and star wars. We have had the most spirit filled lessons with him that usually entail sitting on his porch at 8 pm with a flashlight and with rock music playing faintly in the background. One night we brought a member with us to one of his lessons. After discussing the restoration of the priesthood Juan  told us that we were very similar to Peter James and John who gave power and knowledge to Joseph Smith, because we were there helping him gain power and knowledge too. Juan is progressing like crazy and has a baptismal date of May 12th!! Everyone pray for Juan Carlos Lugo! Letssgooo
One afternoon I said a quick prayer to find two more people and seconds later we saw a major miracle. The first door we knocked on was the home of Nancy and Gorge who are from Puerto Rico. Gorge is disabled and lives with his sweet mom Nancy. They are the biggest blessings in my life. Their father/husband just passed away 9 months ago and they are now struggling big time with finances. They are very humbled and they let us into their home to hear the beautiful plan of salvation message. By the end of this visit we were all in tears. I have never felt angles so present and close to me in my entire life. This family is so dear to our Father in Heaven and allowed us to share this beautiful message of peace and comfort they were so desperately in need of. I cant wait to see their story unfold. 
God knows us perfectly. He knows the deepest desires of our hearts. He is watching over us and wants to bless us more than we can imagine. He sends people into our lives to help us know we are not alone. He truly is in the details of our lives, directing us and leading us to higher light. If we but submit our will to His, He will mold us into someone who is more beautiful, strong, faith-filled, and Christ-like. Everyday Is a new gift here in Florida. A day in which I learn how I can represent Him better. I love that our church focuses on continual progress and improvement- improvement through the redemptive power of our Savior Jesus Christ. Each night I write on our white board " because of today... Tomorrow I will..." and then I fill in the blank. I challenge you all to do this too. I know this church is true and that by reading the Book of Mormon we can come to know the Savior better. I love you all go hiking for me when you get a chance and enjoy the blossoms.
-Hermana Richards
Fun facts:
1. I met a retired Miami Dolphin wide receiver this week at our stake young men's fundraiser
2. I ran into Andrea Thomas' (my professor at the U) business partner this week. He is the one who takes all the Eccles ambassadors to Peru each year!!! such a cool guy. 
3.I enjoyed my first zone training. I love all the people in my zone. 
4. I experienced my first lightening storm in Florida. I have never seen the sky explode in such a bright light in my entire life. I was terrified and thought I was going to get electrocuted