Who We Are

Dearest family and friends,

Wow.This email is one that I am so blessed to write today. My sister
comes home this coming Thursday and I cant continue to write without a
sincere thank you to her and for her service. She is my best friend,
my confidante, and mi hermana. Hermanita, gracias por tu servicio y
por ayudarme en mi juventud. Tu eres mi ejemplo de la caridad y de la
virtud. Gracias. I love my sister and I sure hope y'all start learning
some Spanish when she gets here because when I get home it will be a
Spanish household.

This week hasn't been anything super crazy. Elder Bailey and I have
just been doing our best to find people. We have had some great
lessons and some great trials too. Yet again, I thank my sister for
her same attitude as we pass through these struggles. Its hard, but I
have learned something so key this week: Gratitude. A german guy said
that ¨It is with gratitude that life becomes rich.¨ I am a witness of
that. This week I have started praying out loud as much as possible, I
have called people and just said THANKS! and I have just continued to
love the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It is the best thing I could have
ever asked for. Truly, the trials and hardships in life are the most
important because they mold us into who we can become.

This week marks another important date. The birthday of someone so
special to me, dear St. Karen de Risueño. She is such an amazing lady.
I went on two exchanges this week and the two elders stated that, even
though I'm super disorganized and I get lost like every second, I have
the gift of love. I love with all my heart. And I owe that gift of
love to my mom. She is the perfect example of a Christ like woman. She
has become a full time working mother while still caring for my dad,
serving in the church, and serving her children. She finds time to
send me things I ¨need¨ while sending me I love you cards. And she
does it because she loves.

While my sister and I were growing up, EVERY TIME we would leave the
house or go somewhere, my mom would say ¨Make wise choices and
remember who you are.¨ Mom even wrote me that in today's email. And I
wondered why she would say that, but it must have had something to do
with the struggles we youth face today. People try and tell us we have
no potential, or that we need to party and to drink and to forget God.
Bullies are found in every part of a young persons journey through
life. Both my sister and I suffered through difficult moments as
others tried to bring us to misery. But we are so grateful to our
mother and father who reminded us each and every day that we need not
forget who we are. We are sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father
who LOVES us and we LOVE Him. He wants us to be happy so he provided
us with a way to learn and to grow. That way was our Savior, Jesus
Christ. His way was one of love, of sacrifice, of service, of
happiness. And it is His way that my parents have both followed. My
sister and I have followed in their footsteps and are now helping
others see the way to happiness. I thank my mother for her example,
for her love, for being unique. I have gone from doubts of who I was
as a son of God to now embracing who I am and helping others see their
potential. I wish to finish this simple letter, with the lyrics of a
favorite children's song:

Mine is a home where ev'ry hour is blessed by the strength of priesthood pow'r,
With father and mother leading the way,
Teaching me how to trust and obey;
And the things they teach are crystal clear,
For love is spoken here.

It is my hope that this week each of us can embrace the merciful arms
of Jesus Christ through the power of His infinite atonement. No one is
excluded from these blessings and from this love that He freely offers
us. I promise you that as we live with more love, we will feel Him
near. Let us all Make wise choices and remember who we are.

For a dollar, and with much gratitude,
Elder Risueño