I ate pig skin this week! December 1, 2014

Dear Family and Friends,

It has been another crazy and very busy week. We were able to see a lot of miracles. Here is one of them: 

We were biking down the street (as usual) and stopped to talk to a family. They were not interested and as we biked away we felt a little discouraged. Hermana Johnson said "well we tried! and we showed the Lord our faith!" And then I said half kiddingly "yep, now we can receive blessings" Just as I said that a lady of the corner said "Happy Holidays!" We replied Happy Holidays back and she began to ask us what we were doing. We told her we were missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. And she said "well yes I can see that from your name tags. When are yall gunna come visit me??" She told us that she used to be visited by missionaries. And she told us earlier that earlier that day she'd been talking to her son who read John 3:16. Well we have Christmas pass along cards with that scripture but we only had one left and it was in Spanish, and she did not speak Spanish. But Sister Johnson reached into her bag and what did she pull out? The Christmas card in English with John 3:16. The lady then told us she knew that all of this was meant to happen. We're excited to see her again:) 

Speakling of Christmas everyone check out http://www.mormon.org/christmas!!!  Watch and share the video! It is so good! 

And as the title of this email states, I was fed pig skin this week by one of my favorite Hondurans. I pretty much adore her. It tasted good! 

 I also was asked to give a talk in Sacrament meeting about 5 minutes before the meeting started. I can say I know for sure the gift of tongues is real. I can't believe I could give a talk in Spanish and not really have any idea what I was going to say. It was definitely all the Spirit. God is very merciful. 

Things are getting chilly here in Galveston. Please pray that we can find people who are ready to make covenants with our Heavenly Father! 

 I know God lives. I know He loves us perfectly. I know He loves us enough to cut us down and let us regrow into something so much better. I know that His son, Jesus Christ, died for us, and that because of His Atonement, we don't have to be "enough." His grace covers us. He loves us perfectly. He has wept with me in my moments of despair and rejoiced at every one of my triumphs. I know His teachings lead to happiness and light. And that there is ALWAYS hope. I know it's never too late. I know Joseph Smith saw God and His son Jesus Christ. And through Him the ordinances of Salvation have been restored. This is His gospel. This is His work and Glory, our happiness. I bear witness of that in the name of my Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen. 

-Hermana Ries

This is a picture from my last last area, but it's one of my favorites. Noche de Hogar (family home evening) with some of my favorite members and investigators! I would play give said the little stream.

La vida isla‏ November 24, 2014

Dear Family and Friends,

I have been transferred to Galveston! What can I say about it.... Well it is an island. I live about a mile from the beach. It is a biking area (yes yes yes). It is very far from the mission office. So if you want to send me anything, probably send it to my actual address. My mom has it. So you can ask her about that. I love to hear from yall! 

My new companion is Sister Johnson! She and I were in the MTC together and she is super sweet! She is from Utah and the oldest of 6. We also share the apartment with Sister Kaiser (she came out with us as well) and Sister Nath (a temple square sister from Spain). They cover the same area in English. I love them all! 

This week worked a lot on what we call OYMing. or open your mouth. It's just where we talk to everyone we see. You get pretty varied reactions. I saw one lady working on her garden and her cat was outside, and it looked just like Linne!!! So I pulled over on my bike and was like "Your cat looks just like my cat!" And we had a good chat until I told her we were missionaries. Then she didn't really want to talk or see us again haha. Asi es la vida de una misionera! But we also had pretty amazing experiences too, where we were able to tell people how much God loved them. It's a really special experience. OYMing is pretty much the best.

The last few weeks have been pretty crazy getting shuffled around and transferred, but I love Galveston. We'll see how long I last here haha. 

I know God loves us. He is very aware of what we need. Doctrine and Covenants 6: 34-36 says:

34 Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail.

 35 Behold, I do not condemn you; go your ways and sin no more; perform with soberness the work which I have commanded you.

 36 Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.

I know that as we look to our Heavenly Father for comfort, we receive real peace. Peace that does not come from any other source. I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving! I am grateful for all of you! 

Les quiero!

Hermana Ries

For when I am weak, then am I strong‏! November 17, 2014

Dear Family and Friends, 

I don't really have a lot to talk about this week. I got emergency transferred out of Brazos, back to Bay City, but this time for good. I found out at about 9:30 that night that it had been my last day there so I packed my stuff and now I am here. 

I also got a call this morning that I will be getting transferred, again. So now I'm kind of just in the middle. This is us at our ward activity. 

I'm working on my fear of horses.

This truck has plants growing out of the engine.

I know God loves us. He has a plan. And that plan is perfect. If we seek for God's help, He will come to our aid. He is always ready to receive us. 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10 says: 

" 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."

One week. three cities. five companions, November 10, 2014

Dear Family and Friends,

I am sorry I didn't write last week. It's been kind of crazy. I'm just going to do a brief recap of the last week or so. 

Thursday 30 Oct.- I got a call from the mission President and he asked me to go on emergency exchanges for the weekend to Houston. Like the city city. And I was with Hermana Ihrke!!! My MTC companion! So I spent Halloween there. It was a totally different area, but so much fun! 

This is how we celebrate "Dia De Los Muertos" in our zone!

Saturday 1 Nov.- We exchanged back and I was in Brazos again with my trio as usual. We went to the Houston Natural Science Museum on Preparation day and it was a blast. 

Thursday 6 Nov. - We also had a mission wide temple trip on Thursday and it was amazing! Can you imagine the temple full of missionaries? It was a special experience. The Houston temple is beautiful! 

Thursday 6 Nov.- We got another call from President and one of the missionaries was finishing her mission and her companion needed someone for the last part of this transfer. So now I am here in Bay City, serving with Hermana Moreno. She is from Venezuela. I LOVE HER!! We have gotten along so well, spoken so much Spanish and seen amazing miracles. This area is called Zebra. It is where you teach in both Spanish and English and I pretty much LOVE IT! Basically, what I'm saying is I am super happy. 

I love being a missionary. It isn't always easy. But I love it. I love that I know all my challenges are because God loves me and knows what I need. He knows how to shape us into someone so much better. When we make a mistake, we can start over. That is the opportunity we get every Sunday when we take the Sacrament. 

I hope you all had a good week. If you have any questions, email me! 

-Hermana Ries

La Familia es de Dios‏ Oct. 27, 2014

Dear everyone,

 

Another week. I keep not having much to say because the weeks are just flying by!

 

We have been helping our recent convert, Marlen, get married and this week we were able to go to the court and get the license!!!! It was a miracle. I call Marlen my Guatemalan mother because she looks like a Guatemalan version of my mom and a lot of their mannerisms are the same. It is so cute. On Sunday I told her "Hermana, voy a enviar un foto de usted a mi madre porque ustedes parecen bien similar. Y siempre pienso 'wow Marlen is como mi mama de Guatemala.'" She got a good laugh out of that.

 

One of the investigators this week who is waiting to be baptized told us that he downloaded The Book of Mormon on his families phones!!! And he gave out one of our pamphlets to a guy at work, and his wife is doing family history!!! Wow. They are so awesome.

 

These are my awesome companions! We got bluebell ice-cream this week (the best).

Later today, I'm going to sew them both skirts at a members house. I am pretty excited to get to sew again.

 

We also had our primary program this week which consisted of 2 girls and 3 boys. Yeah, our branch is pretty small. But is was so good!!! When they sang "La Familia es de Dios" I couldn't help but start to cry. Families really are the best. They also gave out little pins to everyone as they entered Sacrament Meeting that said "Las Familias son Eternas."

 

This week I've been thinking a lot about the Atonement too. Elder Holland once said of the Savior, "No one’s eyes were more penetrating than His, and much of what He saw pierced His heart. Surely His earsheard every cry of distress, every sound of want and despair. To a degree far more than we will ever understand, He was “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” ‍ Indeed, to the layman in the streets ofJudea, Christ’s career must have seemed a failure, a tragedy, a good man totally overwhelmed by the evils surrounding Him and the misdeeds of others. He was misunderstood or misrepresented, even hatedfrom the beginning. No matter what He said or did, His statements were twisted, His actions suspected, His motives impugned. In the entire history of the world no one has ever loved so purely or served soselflessly—and been treated so diabolically for His effort. Yet nothing could break His faith in His Father’s plan or His Father’s promises. Even in those darkest hours at Gethsemane and Calvary, He pressed on,continuing to trust in the very God whom He momentarily feared had forsaken Him...Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel ofJesus Christ, they come.‍ Of that I personally attest. I thank my Father in Heaven for His goodness past, present, and future, and I do so in the name of His Beloved Son and most generous high priest, even the LordJesus Christ, amen."

I too would like to add my testimony, that sometimes blessings seem to come late. But they do come. Sometimes repentance takes time, but we can be cleansed from every impurity and weakness. And that repentance really means happiness. Just take whatever it is you have and give it to the Savior and I promise He will return with something better than you can imagine.

 

-Hermana Ries

"I just spoke Spanish and bought corn out of the back of someone's car."‏ Oct. 20, 2014

Dear Friends and Family,

 

It's been less than a week so I kind of feel like I don't have much to say. The subject of this email was a quote said by me on the way home one night, just in awe of what is happening in my life. Below is a picture of Hna Savage y yo eating the corn we bought. It was so good. They put mayonnaise, cheese and chili powder on the outside. We were very excited about it:)

As I said before, we've been visiting a lot of less actives recently. This is at one of their houses. I spy... 2 puppies, one dog and two cats. What you can't see in this photo is the chicks, chickens, kittens, other dogs and birds. You could say I was pretty happy.

Here is a little Q&A thanks to mi madre.

 

1.  How is fall in Houston?

 

It is cooling off! When it's in the 70's I am cold haha. I have definitely adjusted.

 

2.  What is your mission president like?  Have you had any special training with general authorities since entering the mission field?

 

 My mission President is very young. His oldest is like 16. He has been here for awhile so my President will change about half way through my mission.

 

3.  How is this trio of sisters working?  Do you and the new sister go out without Sis. Christensen when she has AP type duties?

 

Trios are interesting. There is a lot of potential for problems. I'm sure you know groups of 3 rarely work. But I LOVE my companions. Hna Christensen is so wise and has an incredible testimony. Hna Savage has so much enthusiasm for the work. And her Spanish is so good!

 

4.  Info on new sister   Where is she from?  What is her family like?

 

Hermana Savage is from Delaware. She is the 6 of 10 children. She is very smart. She graduated early and studied at BYU for 2 years before her mission. She has a very sweet heart and is a great missionary.

 

5.  In your first 3 months as a missionary what do you think has been the most significant change in you?

 

Whoa. Has it already been 3 months? That makes me so sad! The time is flying! I would say the biggest change is a really sure knowledge that God loves me. I always know He loved others. And I thought He would love me. That is logical. But I've really come to know that He loves and wants the best for me. He is quick to forgive and He is so happy with every good choice we make.

 

This picture is on exchanges so we have Hna Armstrong and Savage in this picture. The skies here are amazing!

This week I want to share a quote from Elder Utchdorf. It is in Spanish so you might have you use google translate, or just read the talk. It's called "Are you Sleeping through the Restoration?"

 

"Ser discipulo de Jesucristo no es una labor de una vez a la semana o una vez al dia. Es una labor constant y permanente."

 

I know that really being happy, comes with living the way Christ did. It doesn't come through big or grand acts. It's not a one time event. It is the way you live. I know Jesus Christ lives and loves us. And He provided the example of Happiness.

 

-Hermana Ries

 

"Fear not little children, for you are mine"‏ Oct. 15, 2014

Okay everyone, here is some exciting news.... I have a new companion!!! I also still have my old companion! Yes we are a trio. Unusual, but it is so great! The new companion is Hermana Savage (we like to pronounce it Sah-vah-hey in Spanish). She is from Delaware and she is great.

 

​My companions and I after church! Hna Savage, yo, y Hna Christensen.

 

This week has been really good.  And really busy. We had to change our P-day because a had a zone conference where Elder Schwitzer came and talked to us as missionaries! The main message was about how we need to focus our message more on Christ, because that's exactly what we're called to do. We are representing Jesus Christ, so if we aren't focusing our lessons on Him, we aren't doing missionary work right.

 

In preparation for the zone conference, our zone cleaned the building. And my companions and I got assigned to outside duty. It was hot, and humid. I think it was in the 100s that day haha. But hey! Missionary work is all about service!

​Lets not talk about my hair for service activities. Or how my nametag is flipped over:(

 

This week for church I had to play the hymns. It was arguably the scariest thing I've done so far on my mission. It wasn't pretty, but I somehow made it through.  Ha ha. Afterwards the Young Women's President asked me if I could help her with a musical number. I said yes, somewhat reluctantly.  :)

 

Also, mini miracle this week, I got to play guitar!!!! We've been working with a family who has or had an inactive son. We had Noche de Hogar (family home evening) with them on Monday and they said "I didn't know you played Piano!" To which I responded "I don't." Hermano A. then proceeded to ask who plays guitar and I said I did. Long story short, I played "Give said the little stream" and my companions sang. It made me very happy.

 

So, recently we've been working with a lot of less active or inactive members or families. I didn't think about this a lot before my mission, but now that I'm here, I have found incredible joy in helping these people. That's the reason for the heading of this email.

 

Doctrine and Covenants 50: 40-42 says "Behold, ye are little children and ye cannot bear all things now; ye must grow in grace and in the knowledge of truth. Fear not, little children, for you are mine, and I have overcome the world, and you are of them that my Father hath given me. And none of them that my Father hath given me shall be lost."

 

This week we read Alma:36 with an inactive member, and the Spirit in that lesson was incredible.No matter, what you're state is, if you're a member, non-member, inactive or not sure if you want to be going to church, please read this chapter. Read it out loud and let the Spirit testify to you the power of our Savior's atonement. He loves us. And repentance is a gift. As we read this chapter with the member, his eyes filled with tears and he felt the Saviors love. He came back to church this week and decided to start going out with the Elders to help teach lessons.

I know Jesus is the Christ. I know we can become completely clean through Him. I know that "none... are lost." It is never to late. It is never too hard. The light of Christ penetrates all darkness.

 

-Hermana Ries