A letter of gratitude (Week 5)

My dearest family,

 

Its been a great, but hard week here in the CCM. My heart hurts for my dear cousin Linda who was called home to be with our Savior and his family. I had a really hard time, even though I rejoiced in the knowledge of life after death. I found so much solace is the words of a favorite song that my friend Rachel Lockhart sang many times:

Jesus´ love is like a lighthouse

When the storms of life appear

Like a beacon in the distance,

Always steady, Always clear.

And those who will go where the lighthouse goes

Are warmed by His Spirit and find repose...

Jesus´ love is like a lighthouse

Leading to His peaceful place.

 

I wrote that in my journal last week and just cried. Its hard not being able to hug a mother or just cry but I got back up and went to work. And let me tell you how many tender mercies I have seen in my life. My lessons with my investigators aka teachers are going so well. Spanish is coming along. I have a ton of work to do, but the Lord is at the helm of my Spanish. I feel it at all times.

I´m grateful to be here at the CCM. Were almost at max capacity with about 150 missionaries here, and most Bolivia missionaries have been transferred to Mexico City because we just dont have room for many incomining missionaries. I love the teachers here and they have taught me so much. They are so much like the Savior Jesus Christ. I tell them my name is Elder RISUEÑO in the day because I smile a ton, and Elder SUEÑO at night, because thats when I want to go to sleep. I have a ton of fun with them.

Im so grateful for my talents. I was able to accompany the MTC presidents wife and another elder on a violin duet and it was so beautiful. I love accompanying people while they sing and I play. God is so good to give me this talent. It looks like Ill be playing this Sunday when Elder Cook comes as well.

Im grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who tests me and tries me so that I can grow and become a better person. Although its hard to be tested, I face my trials with a smile because I know theres something to learn.

Im so grateful for hilarious district members. An elder was having constipation so he took laxatives, then realized he didnt want diarrhea either so he took anti diarrheal meds and it was pretty sad and funny. He pooped six times in the middle of the night and threw up on his way to breakfast. Im so glad that wasnt me.

Im so grateful that missionaries are normal people. A few of us love Christmas Vacation, the National Lampoons one, and we quote Aunt Bethanny almost every day because someone has to say THE BLESSSSINNGGGG. hahahhahaa I love it.

Family, I love Peru. I love learning the gospel of Jesus Christ all day every day. There is so much to learn and so much to grow. The Book of Mormon is the answer to our heart´s questions and is the word of God. Its the best way for man to become closer to God. I love temples. I went the last time today for two years. I ask that those of you who are worthy of a recommend, please go to the temple when you can and keep me in your prayers. I will miss being close to my Savior, but being a missionary is a plus because Christ´s name is on my heart at all times.

Elder C. Scott Grow (his name isnt a joke... so stop laughing) said the following at a devotional this past Tuesday:

It doesnt matter where you serve, it matters how you serve.

Bolivia has no idea whats about to hit their country. Please pray for me, and pray for the members of the ward. I pray that they will work with me.

 

I love you all and constantly pray for you.

 

Con amor,

Elder Risueño

Music Blessings in Peru! (Week 4)

Oh my lovely family and friends!

I have been so blessed with so many awesome things happening this week I am so excited to email you. This is what has happened in choronological order...

Proselyting on Saturday was such an awewsome thing!! Mom, there were tons of dogs. Like I saw so many just roaming around. A couple were fighting but I did okay. I went to a super poor area of santa anita and it was so humbling. The people were building houses themselves and didnt have any money it looked like. No roads, just dirt. We taught 10 people in about 4 hours or so. We only taught on families and the Plan of Salvation. What sweet testimonies we bore because I opened my mouth. My companions opened thier mouths a ton and we were blessed by the Lord!! At one point, Hna Boza, our supervisor, chastized us for being scared and we prayed for help and every time we spoke to someone we taught. A sweet ladyt was standing by herself waiting for a bus with her baby less than a year old. She didnt have much money and we could tell she was hungry. I went up to her and taught on the Family Proclamation and Hna Boza gave her an apple. She said she needs more happiness in her family and she works so much so her family can have money. What a blessing!!!

Funny story: So we are walking down a street and a little kid is playing on a hill of sand!! How cute!! then some man drives his car down and yells at the boy. We thought to ourselves that he as rude! then we got closer and realized the boy was throwing baby hamsters up the hill, watching them roll down the hill, then throwing them up again. How crazy is that!! They werent dead, but it looked like he was choking them when he was holding them. Too funny. We laughed so hard!!

On Sunday I was called as Music Coordinator. It just means I choose the pianists for each meeting and the hymns and such. And musical numbers!! I was so honored. Its so exciting for me to participate in inviting the Spirit into the CCM.

Now if youre still with me, I have huge news:

1. Tuesday the Peru CCM participated in the first LIVE devotional from Provo. Every Sunday we usually watch reruns but Tuesday we, along with other Missionary Training Centers across the world, watched a live broadcast from Provo. What an awesome feeling it was to see a General Authority speak live...

Speaking of seeing a General Authority speak... you ready??!!! Sunday, August 25th, we will be meeting the following people: Quentin L Cook, Tad R Callister, amnd John Groberg. HOW AWESOME!!!!! Now, Im not in charge of the music for that because theyre not speaking at a devotional, its just a metting but still!!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!!! I literally gasped when they said Tad R Callister...

Family, I love you all so much. I love the gospel of Jesus Christ! Every morning I get to wake up and put Christ´s name on my heart. What a splendid feeling. I am having such a blast here and hope to hear from you all sometime soon. I pray for you all daily and hope God´s blessings are upon and, and also that you are recognizing his blessings! We need to choose to remember his tender mercies.

Con amor,

Elder Risueño

P.S. Im teaching piano to Hna Boza!! Shes helping me learn piano vocab in Spanish!! hopefully it helps in Bolivia!

Loving Lima!! (Week 3)

Hey family! Ahh man I just love Lima so much. The Spanish is getting better, I´m becoming more humble, and Im still having fun!! First off, the trifecta of Elders Olsen, Holmes, and Risueño is AWESOME! I love us so much!!! We teach so well and we all get along great. Its so awesome to live with people you like. I pray all the time for my Spanish to help. We are starting to teach a real investigator who works here and its awesome. He needs a lot of time before he will be ready to enter the waters of baptism because of some trials in his life, but we have a scripture where God says that missionary work is HIS work, not ours. Entonces, we just want to be great friends to himl. I am starting to learn that to be a missionary you needt o be a friend! Jesus Christ was a friend to everyone he taught. He cared for them. He helped them. I am a representative of Christ and I will do all I can to e like christ. Ive really changed a lot this week. I still laugh a ton but I just look at people and think that each person is such a great asset to our Savior and God must be so grateful for everyone in the world.  On a fun note, I love Miranda Sings. Shes a youtube sensation who has a saying HATERS BACK OFF. So, while playing volleyball, péople get jealous because I tend to hit the ball too far because I kind of handball hit it instead of the normal way becasue Im not normal so I wont hit normally. When they get mad because they have to go after it, I just say "HATERS BACK OFF." Está bien everyone. They all love me.  I love playing piano, in typical RJ fashioin, the CCM president´s wife an d I are good friends because shes an awesome violinist so were jamming a good amount. Were even performing next week I think for church. I played for Elder Waddell who visited our stake a while ago and I played prelude4, musical number, and hymns. So fun. And the Latinos are CRAZY singers. They may not hit the right notes, but man they just love the Lord so much and they sing their hearts out. Im so excited to hopefully work with some Bolivian singers more and maybe even get them to the right notes. I always tell the Latinos that God loves ALL pitches. Which is true, but I testify that he loves the right pitches even more. hahahhaha Family, take the time to read the Book of Mormon. Share it with your friends. I was reading Alma chapter 16 a few days and it teaches a beautiful lesson about missionary work: Ammon and Alma were working together as missionaries and Ammon decided to give up EVERYTHING for the Lord. His family even pretty much disowned him. So Alma went to build up the church in the area they were teaching, then he did something so Christlike: He went back to Ammon to comfort him and "strengthen him in the Lord." Now, if youre not of my faith, I hope you think of a friend who may have given something up. Maybe they lost their home, or had a huge trial of some sort. Have you, have WE taken the time to strengthen them in the lord? I hope we have or we will make the decision now TO strengthen them when they need it most.   Lima is great. Im great. I love you all.  Just a reminder that Dearelder is a no go for the rest of Peru. Bolivia is fine but I’m leaving in 2.5 weeks!!! Con amor, Elder Risueño  PS:  How fun. I love meeting cool people. I love everyone!! To Alyssa Whalen:  Elder Ellsworth (from the El Dorado ward in Long Beach) says to say hi! To Sydney McGagin:  I met Elder Holland Wilson from Kaysville who is good friends with you!!

Proselyting in Peru (Week 2)

Family!!!

This week has been so awesome. Let me tell you about it:

So obviously I went proselyting in Peru. We got on the bus and after about going half a mile from the CCM, the bus broke down. We had to push it to the side of the road in crazy traffic and it was freaky. I actually jsut pushed a Latino who pushed the bus hahahhaa

The Lord blessed me so much. While talking to a person, the Spirit prompted me to share with him a scripture 2 Nephi 25:26 and give him a Book of Mormon. So I did and testified of it. I didn’t say much but I knew it was true. The Lord has blessed me for all of my hard work and preparation here in the CCM. After that, we went to visit a less active and as the Latino missionaries were knocking on the door, E. Holmes and I saw a guy across the way just standing there... I went up and spoke to him and it was awesome. He didn’t know about Mormons and once it got complicated, I had one of the Latinos take over. I was so blessed to meet him and we gave him a Book of Mormon as well. This was when I had been there for 10 days!! God is so good.

Oh, one of the Elders in my district got transferred to the 2 week Latino group so E Holmes and I got another comp, E Olsen from Ephraim! He’s so fun!

I play volleyball and I´m not too good but I sure laugh a lot! My district forced me to play soccer one day and I blocked like 5 goals by simply cringing and the ball hit me while I was bracing for impact! It was such a blast, especially because they call me Mama Risueño because I have so much hand sanitizer and stuff. Speaking of health, I have had DIARRHEA SINCE EASTERS! Well, for a few days. We call it the siempres here, which means always in Spanish because you’re always in the bathroom hahhaa. It’s getting better…ish.

Look up granadillas (sp?). They are Peruvian fruit things that look like snake eggs, but are so good!! Weird.

We had Peruvian independence on Monday (we celebrated it then) and the food was SO GOOD!! If i could take pictures of it I would. CLASSY MOM! Its like normal food but with goodness.

Finally, I’m playing piano every day because jam sessions are so great. Its so awesome. I’m really close to my flight friends and its really fun. I saw a video last night called only a stonecutter and I thought of Dad. How I miss you all so much!

Oh Spanish story for the week:

So were teaching an investigator, our teacher, and he says he teaches 10 year olds. Instead 9of saying MUCHO JUEVES which means REALLY YOUHNG I said MAS JUEVOS which means big eggs. Super awkward. He laughed so hard. Put that on my blog! I thought of that after I said it hahahahha

Its rough but I love it so much. The spirit just whispers so much goodness.  The language gets hard and so do my worries about home. But I trust in God so much. I’m so strong now. I know he’ll do what needs to be done.

So I wake up at 6 every morning so I don’t have to wait for the showers because they have long lines and I hate waiting. I loved the Latinos that left and I was really sad.

Oh my Spanish teacher speaks with the voice of an angel. Pianists dream come true. 

I really love it here like I say every day. The spirit is so strong and when I want to be angry on Sunday because I’m tired and frustrated God just answers my prayers with Devotional videos we watch...

I really love this gospel. A mission is hard, but so fun. Peru is such a beautiful place and I am so grateful for all I’ve seen. Its hard being away from home, but I know the importance of sacrifice and loving life. I love you all! Please write me via snail mail or DearElder.com because Internet here is bad. Thank you all for your prayers and please continue to pray for ALL of the missionaries out there.

Con amor,

Elder Risueño

I love the gospel. Elder Bednar said the atonement wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for the characteristics of Christ. He said that in an MTC talk on December 25th, 2011. I love the Lord. I love his work. I give all my glory to him and his Atonement. Sacrifice is hard, but so is perfection. Giving up time is hard, but Christ gave his All. And I will do the same.

Side note: Tell Aunt Denise that Brandon Bridgewater is here and he is going to my mission! He owned a snow shack right down the street from her at Days market that Joseph and I went to at Education week.

IM ON! (Week 1)

K. Today the enter bar is not working today and the internet is slow so bear with me. The CCM is so crazy. I’m in District 204 with ALL guys. We only had 5 girls on the plane. 9 of the guys are going to Piura, Peru, E Holmes and I are going to Santa Cruz, and one guy is going to Iquitos, Peru. They are all super young and not really focused but I have become the district mother. The spongebob hand
sanitizer is a HIT, mom. I love you. PS I guess you got my flowers! I love you so much and it turns out YOU paid for it! So you’re welcome.

The weather is cold here. I wish I had brought a light jacket but whatevs. I get over it. The showers are getting better. I pray for about 30 seconds of warm water and I usually get it, followed by searing hot or freezing cold water. I am grateful. The CCM in Lima has doubled in the past few weeks so it’s crazy. 6 to 8 people to a room.

The food here is the best cafeteria food I’ve ever had. Get this, chicken, pasta, and rice ALL the time. All we need is some barbeque sauce and I’m set. Elder Holmes and I are getting along well. He’s really nice and appreciates my piano playing because he sings. Turns out, I’m not perfect. Sorry. Speaking of, no organ here. It makes me sad. ;( and we can’t listen to music because of some stuff. On to happy things: Everyone loves my last name here so I get a good kick out of it. The temple is really beautiful and was something I needed today. Shopping was so fun and I really enjoyed being in Peru. Being tall in a Latin American country is so fun because you can barely fit in a bus. The spanish is getting better. Sometimes I will start teaching in French so that gets a bit funny. My teacher laughs because I’ll say an entire sentence in French and then realize it. Awkward. Oh! A few days ago I was getting food and it was REALLY GOOD (per the usual) and I told the lady ESTOY MUY DELICIOSO!! Super awk because that means that I´m delicious instead of the food being delicious. I love it here so much and I love you all. I know that I’m sacrificing my time so I can help others be happy. My guardian angel, Grandpa Perry Moss, said the following: Do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, regardless of personal pleasure... I love you all and I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is a happy thing! I really hope my mom edited this for you all.

Con amor,

Elder Risueño

P.S.  My pillow works well. Its not too big but at least I have a pillow! Ive been having a hard week but sometimes I just cry because I KNOW that everyone is praying for me. The spirit is awesome. I love you so much!!!

I'm Safe in the Peru CCM!

Hey Everyone. Here goes my grammar because these keyboards are way screwed up and I dont have the time for punctuation.

I love the CCM. Its such a blast. Our flight was awesome and luxurioius.  I played Battleship with Elder Wilk (Wilkinson) and just had a great spiritual experience. We got in at 2am and I couldnt find a pillow so I slept on just my bed. The showers are crazy cold or hot so I just have a smile on my face with these things. At least the bathrooms are awesome. The new fancy belt I got was so dumb. It took me 3 hours to get it off and I got searched because I couldnt figure it out. I looked like an idiot. Whatever #storyofmylife. My companion is Elder Holmes from Peoria, AZ and he is such a great man! He speaks English and is a little nervous about life in the CCM, so Im just going to pray that he receives strength. The food this morning was nasty but I ate it. The humidity isnt bad but I sweat 24 7. I love you all so much and Im ready to serve the LORD! (Did you not tell him they were the Lords cheeps)

Con amor,

Elder Risueño

PS Peru is pretty much poorer than Santa Ana but so dang awesome.

Don't forget to email RJ (Elder Risueno) to keep in touch! In your email include your physical address so that he can write you by snail mail. Remember that there will be a waiting time before he can get back to you. RJ's P-day is most likely on Thursday's while he's in the CCM so except the blog updates and emails then, but it could change so be flexible.

My Farewell Talk on Grace.

Hello family and friends!

For those of you who missed my talk or didn't get to hear all of it because I had to shorten it, I thought I would post my original talk here. I hope you enjoy it. Most of it comes from a talk entitled "His Grace is Sufficient" by Brad Wilcox. The link has been posted as well, as long as the written talk. Love you all!
-RJ Risueno


http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1966&tid=7 (If you want the text of the talk.)

The Bible Dictionary states that it is through “the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance of their sins, receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means.” The story of Christ raising Lazarus from the dead is a prime example of grace. The Savior went to the place where Lazarus had been dead for four days. He instructed those who were near to remove the stone cover that led to where Lazarus lay. It was then the Savior of the world commanded Lazarus to “come forth” and Lazarus came forward with his hands and feet bound with gravecloths and his face was bound with a napkin. Instead of unbinding Lazarus Himself, the Messiah commanded the people to unbind him. It is important to realize that Christ did all He had to do. Without Christ, Lazarus would not have had the opportunity to be resurrected. Christ gave individuals the opportunity to do all they could before he stepped in. While we may not have moments where we need Christ to raise someone we love from the dead, there have been, are, and will be moments where we will need Christ to make up what we can’t do ourselves. This is where, combined with the power of the Atonement, grace becomes something that changes our life.

In his unforgettable talk “His Grace is Sufficient,” Brad Wilcox said “Jesus doesn’t make up the difference. Jesus makes all the difference. Grace is not about filling gaps. It is about filling us.” So if Christ makes all the difference, it makes sense to question why we are asked to do so much. “We have plenty to do, but it is not to fill up that gap. We will all be resurrected… (and) go back to God’s presence. What is left to be determined by our obedience is…how comfortable we plan to be in God’s presence and how long we plan to stay there.” By following His commandments we are in no way paying the demands of justice; rather we are showing appreciation for what He did by using it to live a life like His.

Today, I invite you all to think of how you can be changed by the power of grace. Bro. Wilcox shared an analogy that fits perfectly in my personal life and I would like to share it with you. It centers on everyone’s favorite memory of growing up: piano lessons. Mom pays the piano teacher to provide music lessons for her child. Because she pays for those lessons, she asks her child to practice. While practicing does not repay Mom for paying the piano teacher, practicing is how the child shows appreciation for Mom’s incredible gift. Mom’s joy is found not in getting repaid, but in seeing her gift used—seeing her child improve. Sometimes Mom’s requirement of practice is too overbearing, possibly because the child does not see through the mom’s eyes. The child does not see how much better life is if he would choose to live on a higher plane. Because Christ has paid justice, he can now tell us to follow him, and keep his commandments. If we see His requirements as being too much to ask, maybe it is because we do not yet see through Christ’s eyes. We have no need to repay our Savior, rather repentance initiates a developmental process that leads us along the path to a saintly character. 

Grace is not just about being saved; it is about becoming like the Savior. The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can be cleansed and consoled but that we can be transformed. Scriptures make it clear that no unclean thing can dwell with God, but no unchanged thing will even want to. Maybe at the final judgment, it won’t be us begging Jesus to stay in His presence, we will the ones wanting to leave and Christ will be begging us to stay and use his Atonement, not just to be cleansed but so that we will want to stay. We must long for that feeling not only to go home to our Savior, but to feel at home there.

If we are to understand grace, we must also understand that learning takes time. Change is a process. Missionaries—member or full time--have a purpose not only to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them have faith, repent, be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Lastly, and most importantly, they must invite others to endure to the end. If Jesus didn’t require endurance to the end, then there would be no internalization of those changes over time…Put simply, if Jesus didn’t require practice, then we would never become pianists. When we understand grace, we understand that the blessings of Christ’s Atonement are continuous and his strength is perfect in our weakness.

As dark as our trials, sins, and mistakes may appear we can always have confidence in the grace of Jesus Christ. Do we have to be worthy of a chance to begin again? No. We just have to accept these blessings and take advantage of them.