Letter from Monday, May 4, 2009

Hey Y'all! Just so you all know i have not gotten the package you sent yet, im hoping for today though. Who's excited to talk to me on sunday? Im not sure how it all works, but you should be getting a phone call from my companion some time this week saying what time i will be calling on sunday...Im sooooo excited!!! This has been a great week, the best ever it seems! We had transfers on wednesday, i drove out to irmo with sister temple with the bushmans and came home with sister smith. I was really nervous at first because i have a hard time with change, and i was also scared out of my mind that i would be a senior companion, im not but i still have had a ton of responsibility this week since sister smith is from another area and its been my job to orient her. Sister Smith is from portland, shes tall skinny and blonde... and i love her to death! I loved sister temple don't get me wrong, but we werent close, never had we ever hugged or said i love you, but when sister smith and i turn off the lights and get in bed we always say i love you, its great! I love being able to have a companion that i can be honest with, someone i can talk with about a problem i might be having, mostly i love having a companion that i can serve. Sister Smith just happens to love getting foot massages, and i just happen to love to give them! I know that Heavenly Father wanted us to be together, there is so much i can learn from her, not just how to be an amazing missionary, but how to be a great human being, sister smith is 25 years old, so she has quite a bit more knowledge of how life is that she can also share with me. She also has a strong passion for sharing the gospel that i dream of having. I love sharing the gospel, its still a little hard for me to come out of my shell some days but i still have a ton to learn! We have some golden investigators... im so excited!!! Two of them came to the gladys knight fireside and have been waiting to see us, we only got the referral jsut this week, and they have been so excited to come to church. We are seeing them on tuesday and we are planning on setting up a baptismal date for the 16 of this month. We also have 3 others that we are planning on baptizing the same day, we're praying hard for miracles in may! Our zone has a goal of baptizing 30 in may, i know that we can do it, sister smith and i were setting goals for today and we plan on baptizing 7 in may... thats a lot by the way:) Sorry i didn't write last week things were so crazy with zone conference and transfers but now that things have cooled off a bit i can tell you a bit about the experience i had. For zone conference we were surprised by being driven to the woods and having a "first vision" experience. We walked for about a half mile and then stopped in the middle of a grove of trees and sang Joseph Smiths First Prayer, it was amazing by the way, the sun was just coming up and when we were done singing most everyone had tears in their eyes. We read from joseph smith history about the first visison and then President Mc Conkie shared and experience he had in the grove of trees. We were then told to wander off by ourselves and pray. I was able to find the perfect place, somewhat secluded next to a fallen tree that i could kneel at. I guess i ended up praying for close to 15 minutes, i had never had such and experience, by the time i was done i had forgotten that i was even in the woods, i would describe it as nephi did as being "caught away in the spirit." The quote for the whole thing is "The fastest way to conversion is throught the Sacred Grove." I was glad to hear that mom went to church on sunday, i must have made a sound because when i read it the guy sitting next to me on the computer gave me a weird look. Did you say vita-mixer? Did you buy one? Hmmmm, i've heard those are the best blenders you can buy. I can't wait to get home and see all the improvements. What else have you done? Is Shannon and I's bathroom on your list, if not its okay because im not coming home for a while: ) Hows everything else at home? Hows Molly? Hows the weather? Here its finally up to about 90, so im about ready to die when ever im not in the car, which is the only place that has a/c. You might be wondering, "What about the apartment?" Our fan does not blow cold air! The ceiling fan in our bedroom has no effect on the temperature whatsoever, so pretty much i haven't had a good nights sleep in almost a week! Today we are going to walmart to do our shopping, so im hoping to find a really inexpensive fan. Im also excited to buy some more clothes. Its to the point where i need to change my shirt half way through the day, and thats if i can manage to keep my BO hidden with body spray until that point! I might also stop by the mission office and order some new and lighter garment bottoms. I don't know how people can live here, the humidity is insane!!!Well, know that i love you all very much and pray for you every night. Im so excited to talk to you in just six more days...everyone better be there!Thank you for all that you do, thanks for your thoughts and prayers!Love, Sister Richards