Nyob zoo,
Wow, another week and another month! Today is my 11-month mark! Where has the time gone? Have I really been out this long mom? It definitely doesn't feel like I have been out 11 months. Time has gone way too fast and I don't think I can comprehend that I am almost to my year mark. That is crazy!
Before I came out on my mission everybody said that Wisconsin is really hot and really humid. So far on my mission, it really hasn't been that bad...well until this week haha. I think summer finally decided to come to Wisconsin because it is suuuper hot and suuuper humid. It feels almost as if we are walking through the jungle or something. The humidity just drains you. At this point, I don't know if I like the summer heat or the winter cold better haha. It is a toss-up. We will see if the warm weather stays because yesterday was cold and rained super bad. Wisconsin is pretty confused on its weather still...
This week I was able to go on exchanges with an elder in my district named Elder Raymer. I went to his area which was a lot of fun because I haven’t been in a non-Hmong area for a while. They didn't have any appointments for that day so it was a full day of finding. Knocking on doors for 5 hours isn't the funnest thing, but we both talked about how we wanted to look on the bright side of things and be positive. We could have thought, “Oh man 5 hours of finding. That sucks. That is such a long time.” Or “5 hours of tracting! That is awesome. That is so much time to find. Think of how many people we will be able to talk to.” A lot of the things we are able to accomplish are based on our attitude and mindsets. I definitely saw the difference when we stayed positive and made the best of things. We were able to meet a lot of people. Some were interested and some were not. A quick funny story - We met an old guy who we talked with a little. When we were about to leave we asked him if he would be interested in coming closer to Jesus Christ and he said: “Don't worry about me because I am getting pretty close to meeting him.” After we left I couldn't hold it in. I was dying. It was so funny.
Also on Saturday one of my old investigators from Sheboygan, Ariel, was baptized. I wasn't able to make it down there for her baptism, but I am so happy for her and her decision to be baptized. She is awesome. Also, shout out to the Sheboygan Elders!
Recently I have been reading the Old Testament which I actually have really enjoyed so far. Before my mission, I honestly wasn't a huge fan of reading my scriptures and I was quite bad at reading them too haha, but the longer I have been out on my mission it has been cool to see how my love and my desire to read the scriptures has grown too. I love reading the scriptures and learning from them. It is definitely my favorite hour each day, the hour I get to study the scriptures. I know daily scripture study is very important and there is a special spirit that we feel each time we read. I invite you all to try to find that time every day to read the scriptures. I know life is busy and it can be hard to find that time, but I know it is so important and if we can find that time to read, we won't regret it. The scriptures are awesome and I love them. They really do help us and are applicable to all aspects of our lives which is awesome.
Love you all,
Elder Rich
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| Ariel's baptism in Sheboygan |
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| It rained so hard yesterday. |
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| It's so HOT here! |
