Character (Week 9)

Hello family!
The weeks are starting to fly by here in Bolivia, thankfully. I want to express the utmost gratitude for those letters this past week. They changed my mission so much. Im especially grateful for the sweet Young Women in 7th ward who wrote me and I cant wait for each of them to receive my responses in the coming months. I received some pictures of Ellyn and one picture was of her with her mustache on, talking on the phone. I loved it so much. It was a reminder that God has put me here in Bolivia to be RJ! To be sassy, well maybe not, but to be me! And this week I have been me! I started piano lessons with 3 young women and I will continue to teach them every week. They know enough for me to meet with them all at once. This Wednesday, music classes start and the people of this ward and investigators will learn how to read music, direct hymns, and sing closer to the right notes haha. Im so grateful for the preparation my past students have given me. Im so grateful for the chances that I was given by parents in my ward to teach their kids! And of course, Mr Keltner did so much to help me too. What a great blessing it is! And next week, English classes will be twice a week. Wow!
Yesterday we had a family at church! How awesome! Our investigators have many problems that we as missionaries cant deal with on our own, so we have to trust the Lords timing and send them to the Bishop. We continue to work hard and try and make a difference in the lives of these people.
Most of my thoughts this week have come from the hymn Dear to the Heart of the Shepherd. Here are some lyrics:
Dear to the heart of the shepherd
Dear are the ninety and nine
Dear are the sheep that have wandered
Out in the desert to climb.

Hark! He is earnestly calling,
Tenderly pleading today.
“Will you not seek for my lost souls
Off from the shelter astray?”

Out in the desert they wander
Hungry, and helpless, and cold
Out to the rescue He hastens
Bringing them back to the fold.

I sing this everyday as I prepare to leave and I plead with God that I will find one soul that I can carry on my back home. This song means the world to me because I am in a desert and I see so many people who need to know that they are important to the Lord. I hope you, too, will ask yourself the same question. Will you find a lost soul that needs to find safety in the arms of the Savior?
I bear you all my testimony of the tender mercies of the Lord. That He knows each of you. Make a list of his tender mercies in your life as a reminder of how personal He is with you. I pray for you all daily and I hope to hear from you all sometime in the next two years.
Con amor,
Elder Risueño