WEEK 14 "Cinco De Mayo"

Hola mis amigos!

At the beginning of the transfer my companion and I decided we were going to work in a different way and change up the pace. We knew we needed to work smarter and rely on the Lord even more. Instead of focusing on the trailer parks we felt inspired to spend a lot more time working with the members and also knocking in the closed gated areas where missionaries have barely ever gone. So the past couple weeks we have gone from the poorest trailer parks to the richest mansions. And guess what? We have had some crazy results. 

To my surprise the people who live in the gated communities were very welcoming to us. We found a lot of friends from the middle east and India. We shared some incredible conversations about Hinduism and the Muslim faith. Many let us in to do acts of service or to pray with their families. People are so kind, and this lady from Pakistan is even going to feed us this week! 

It took a while to find our Latin friends to speak Spanish to, but we did knock into a sweet family from Columbia. They had just barely moved to the US and they were very receptive to our message. They are very strong in their faith, and this week we are going back to share the peaceful message that comes with the plan of salvation.  

Last night we were coming out of a dinner appointment and to our right we saw some other missionaries that are in our zone! We immediately went over to them as they were helping a man clean his car. We joined the conversation and soon found out that this family has been through the hardest of the hard. They lost their sweet daughter in a car accident and ever since that their son has been extremely mentally ill. Their faith has been tested so many times; yet they have still trust in God. This sweet family has been broken so many times and you could see the distress in their eyes. The man described how he has been catholic his whole life but how he felt empty inside. He mentioned that he wanted to learn more about Christ and knew that this would bring more peace and strength in his life. We shared a brief message of the story of Martha and how Christ calmed her troubled heart after a death of a loved one. We are gong back this week to teach them the plan of salvation too! I know God lead four missionaries to this home last night because this family is in desperate need of more light, comfort, peace, and joy.

I know that this is the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. And there is no other way our hearts can be healed completely than through Him. A theme that has tugged at my heartstrings this week is found in 3 Nephi 22:11 "O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted! Behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires." I still remember the words my mission president said when I entered the mission. He said that he hoped we would go through a very difficult trial. I have learned to fall to my knees, to pray harder than I have prayed, to really commune with my Heavenly Father for His help and strength to keep going. My migraines are a huge trial for me. But I know that my sweet Father in Heaven is helping me build a foundation of sapphires, which I am forever grateful for. I love the story of Job with my whole heart. His story and his faith have always been a rock in my life. I love when he states, "When he hath tried me I shall come forth as gold." Although he could have been angry at God for the trials he was faced with he chose to trust in God with a firm hope that his promised blessing would be restored to him. 

I love talking about Christ wherever I go. Whether it is on the bus, in the food court at the mall, or even across the river at fishermen. It is such an honor to share the light of this gospel and to help families grow their faith in Christ. I am so happy to be here. It's the biggest blessing ever!

Happy Mothers Day!

Les Quiero Mucho!

-Hermana Richards

Other Highlights:

-We found a beautiful park to study at this week

-We celebrated Cinco De Mayo with the cutest family from Chile

-I cut open my first coconut ever this week! And I found out I have an addiction to fresh coconut water