WEEK 9 "Crimes Committed"

Happy late Easter! I had the most amazing Easter Sunday!

We watched conference at the ward with all of our branch.. we went in a seperate room and watched it in English while they all watched in Spanish. But we had the biggest buffet of my life yesterday with them. It was the bomb!

Wow the mission is the best when you are with Latinos. They are simply the most kind hearted people. They give you everything they have... from floss after meals (when you dont even need it), to apple juice at every door. Oh and within minutes of meeting random people on the street  the conversation always jumps into an invitation to arepas or empanadas at their house. It's amazing!

I had the opportunity to help the English speaking sisters this week and man was it a totally different story! It was a lot harder to have conversations with people. My appreciation grew soo much for my Latino friends. However, we did talk to a very nice Jewish man who gave us each a banana. He was a hoot. And we ran into a sweet grandma who let us in and gave us cookies. I am telling ya'll the mission is even better than college. The amount of FREE FOOD we receive is incredible!

I am currently in the hardest area of the Fort Lauderdale Mission. The missionaries here have not seen a lot of success in months. There used to be zeros across the board on finding new friends to talk to. We are in a pretty rich area and people are not as open to talking about the gospel. However, the past three weeks we have been finding 5-7 new friends each week to teach the beautiful gospel of Jesus Christ to! I think one of the factors that is playing a huge role in finding more people to talk to is the unity in mine and Hermana THurman's companionship.

We absolutely adore each other. Our spirits have been long lost friends and I know that we are here together for a reason. To lift each other and love each other and have the time of our lives together as we work to bring everlasting peace and happiness to the people around us. 

One of the biggest compliments we receive out here is that we look like we have known each other our whole lives and that we have been best friends our whole lives. I am so grateful for the life changing experiences we are having together. 

I have realized that there are angels all around us and in the mission it is even more evident. One story that we had this week was with our dear friend Ren the bus driver. One lovely morning we were hopping on the bus and realized we had both forgotten our cash. We would have been super late to our appointment if Ren didn't automatically say, "It's alright. It is on me this time." WHAT A NICE GUY! We then sat down on the bus and read a paper that said, "Not paying your fine is a crime." In that moment we knew that God had sent us angels to come to our rescue. We had made fresh banana bread that morning and it was in our bag so we decided to give it to Ren as a gesture of our gratitude. 

In my personal study this week I have focused memorizing and studying in depth the Savior's Atonement. In particular, I have read from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John ( and other cross references in the Book of Mormon) about Christ's Atonement, Betrayal, Crucifixion, and Resurrection. I have drunk deeply of the living waters and I have been filled to overflowing joy. I thoroughly enjoyed comparing the four different books and the different perspectives and details each contains. As I got to know my Savior better, I felt a deep burning in my chest as Elder Eyring described this weekend in conference, and I knew that the spirit was purifying my heart. I realized I experienced a small glimpse of what Mary felt when she found Christ resurrected in perfect glory. After the disciples looked into the tomb and found it empty they went back to their homes. However, Mary continued to stay and look for him (John 20:10). This resonated within my heart. As we seek for Him with all of our hearts we will be filled with the utmost peace and clarity. We will truly understand His role in our lives and our very nature will change. Elder Uchtdorf's talk touched my heart deeply because I was prepared to hear his message. As we "Behold our Savior" we will feel the power of His Atonement transform our very nature. I love when he stated, "The most important day of our lives is when we Behold Him, see Him as He is, and use His Atoning power in our lives."

 I am so grateful for the opportunity we had to listen to conference this weekend and sustain our new prophet Russel M Nelson. It was an experience I will never forget. The rush of the spirit was spine tingling as I lifted my hand to support this man of God. Oh what a blessing it is to testify that we have a living prophet each day. I know that He is here to guide us and reveal the true nature of God to the people on the earth today. 

Les amo mucho,

Hermana Richards