Changing the Night to Day (Week 24)

My dear family, 

I just spent 20 minutes writing you and I accidentally deleted this email and I have to rewrite it. How it saddens me. Transfers came and went. My new companion is Elder Chura from La Paz and what a blessing he is in my life. Ill write more about him next week.

With these short minutes I have left with you, I just want to share my testimony regarding prayer. PResident Monson said that 

joy comes as we recognize that we can communicate with our Heavenly Father through prayer and that those prayers will be heard and answered—perhaps not how and when we expected they would be answered, but they will be answered and by a Heavenly Father who knows and loves us perfectly and who desires our happiness. 

My dear family. I pray for you each and every day. We as missionaries need the Lord and you guys do, too. I invite you to ponder upon this beautiful hymn

 Be thou humble in thy weakness, and the Lord thy God shall lead thee,

Shall lead thee by the hand and give thee answer to thy prayers.

Be thou humble in thy pleading, and the Lord thy God shall bless thee,

Shall bless thee with a sweet and calm assurance that he cares.

I want you to know that Im doing great. I am working hard and I know that my  Savior lives and loves us. He wants to communicate with us. The way we do this is through humility and prayer. As we humble ourselves to accep the will of our FAther in Heaven, we learn His will for us. My family, how my heart aches for the Teague Family. How I will pray with the Lord and pray for the angels to accompany them. I know He Lives. I know my Savior lives with all of my heart. As I invite people to pray to know the Book of Mormon is true, the Holy Spirit resounds it in my heart that its true. We just need to get on our knees and ask. How simple yet so beautiful. As we take a few precious minutes to talk to our Heavenly Father, to express the difficulties we face each day, He WILL respond. Maybe not when we want or in the way we want, but He will. 

What an interesting email this will be to remember. This is my testimony. Talk with Him. And look for the blessings. They will come.

Of this I bear witness with mucho amor,

Elder Risueño

White Christmas (Week 23)

Dearest Family,

This past week was crazy. I loved talking to my family. How I loved talking to my sister in SPANISH! That was crazy. I have missed her so much and how blessed I was to be able to speak to her in Honduras. How I enjoyed the crazy fireworks that went off Christmas Eve and after and the lovely fly that committed suicide by crash landing into my glasses. And for the Princess Diaries 2 that was playing during a lesson. Julie Andrews was a huge temptation for me. Hahahha.

My entire life Ive dreamed of my own White Christmas. One with snow and with just beauty all around. This past week, I received my white christmas, but in a different form:

Hna Irene had her own set of struggles this week. She had her interview with the Zone Leaders before her baptism and they said that she had some past sins that required another interview from our Mission President. We were told about this on Christmas Eve, and her baptism was scheduled for the next day. How would President make it to us in time AND on Christmas Day? We called President and told him of her circumstances and he let us know that he would gladly interview her on Christmas Day via telephone. The next day, she was interviewed and cleared for baptism. As she spoke to President Willard, she asked him if she could ever be forgiven for her sins she committed in the past. How blessed President was to let her know that, yes, she was able to be forgiven. Later Christmas Day she was carried by 4 worthy men of the Priesthood into the waters of baptism and was made clean again. I was able to speak on baptism and the importance of becoming as children, meek, humble, and happy as we come to Christ. Hna Irene became a child yet again as she made this covenant with Christ. I also got to accompany Hna Thorley as she sang I know that my redeemer lives. How beautiful was this white Christmas. I know that the angels were with Hna Irene as she was baptized. She was so happy. It was my dream come true. The next day we visited her to see how she was doing and she told us that she slept perfectly and her headache was gone. What a beautiful example she is to me! The day before her confirmation she had a fever and we humbly told her that if she didnt feel well, we could postpone her confirmation. But yet again, Hna Irene showed us what it means to have faith and she promised us that she would be there on Sunday. And she was. I had the pleasure of confirming her a member of the church and what a miracle she is to me. Miracles do happen, my friends.

This week, I want to share with you something that happened with Hna Irene just yesterday. She gets in a lot of pain when taken in taxi to the church so my companion and I volunteered to walk her to church. It takes about 45 minutes each way and it is so humid here in Bolivia. We were running late and so we had to run as fast as we could to get her there. By the time we got there, we were hot messes. It was nasty. But she got there. On the way home, I was blessed with the joy of carrying 2 watermelons home. As I carried them in the hot sun, I had such a great experience with the Lord. I had to decide how I was going to feel. As I looked at happy Hna Irene and my experiences here in Bolivia, I gained so much joy in the journey. 

President Monson said the following:

This is our one and only chance at mortal life—here and now. The longer we live, the greater is our realization that it is brief. Opportunities come, and then they are gone. I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and nonexistent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey—now.

My dear family, this year seems kind of scary. I feel deeply overwhelmed by what may come in the next 365 days. But I know that I can decide to enjoy right now. I really love the song ¨There is Sunshine in my Sould TODAY.¨ But sometimes I feel like changing the words to ¨There was sunshine in my soul yesterday but today isnt the best¨ or ¨There WILL be sunshine in my soul tomorrow but today Im not feeling it.¨ False. Lets change that. Lets find ways to enjoy today. This January 1st, Im going to start a 365 days of gratitude section in my misson binder. Each day I am going to wake up and look up things to be grateful for. And at the end of each day, I am going to write down at least one thing. Maybe more. But I want to simply show myself that each day is a gift. Maybe I wont have the time to write in my journal each day, but I will be able to write a sentence of gratitude. 

In this talk by President Monson, he quotes Professor Harold Hill who said “You pile up enough tomorrows, and you’ll find you’ve collected a lot of empty yesterdays.”

My dear family, that definitely is a symptom of many of us. We get so excited about tomorrow that we forget about today. Let us wake up each day and sing the lovely words

Oh, there's sunshine, blessed sunshine

When the peaceful happy moments roll.

When Jesus shows his smiling face,

There is sunshine in the soul.

May we find Jesus smiling face each day of 2014 and beyond.

Con amor,

Elder Risueño

Merry Christmas! (week 22)

Family!

Is it already Christmas time? I seriously cant believe it. I feel like the weeks just go by so quickly here and I am just so happy. As I look back to where I began as a missionary and where I am now, I just could not be more grateful for the time I have to grow closer to my Savior, Jesus Christ. I love Christmas here in Bolivia. Yes, its super hard not accompanying all of the great talent in the US, but I did have some fun this week!

So Tuesday we had a Zone Conference with about 80 missionaries and our Mission President and wife. They spoke about how each day we have is our day to dedicate to the Lord. How we need him as much as we need bread! That was super funny and relevant because Bolivians eat bread like we gringos eat cookies! It was super spiritual, but I cant remember all that was said. What I do remember was the prayer I said to God thanking him for the most spiritual Christmas of my life. I also got to play piano! Hna Thorley and I played the Christmas Hymn Fantasy! Its a 4 handed piano piece that Grandma Nancy sent me! It was so fun to be able to share my talent when I really doubted that I would get to play something this year for Christmas. After that, we ate TURKEY for lunch! It was delicious and catered. And we got to eat lettuce, which is usually prohibited but it was okay from this catering company because they are safe! Yay! And after we ate, we sang Noche de Luz and let me tell you, there is not much greater power than 80 representatives of the Lord singing. I was so amazed and so touched by the power we had. 

Saturday was the ward Christmas party. It was set to start at 5, but didnt start till 7. Bolivian time! But it was still awesome. I got to play a few more numbers and just thank the Lord for what I get to do with piano. I love piano! Hna Thorley and I played again and it went well. 

Ready for the miracle of this week? If you remember, last Sunday I met Irene. We got her a baptismal date and everything. And if you remember, shes handicapped. Well, we taught her, painted her room, and she has just been flying through our lessons and remembering everything! Miracle! Well, while we were setting up for the activity, a member came to us and said that Hna Irene had expressed her concern about her baptism because the doctor doesnt recommend she get a part of her body wet that can get infected if touched by dirty water. Fetch, we thought. There went our Christmas Miracle. So Sunday, we brought her to church and she just loved it! It was so great! I loved wheeling her in and just sharing her with the ward! So we dropped by her house later in the day to finish the last lesson before she could be interviewed to be baptized. We expressed our concerns about her baptism and simply told her we didnt want her baptism to be something painful, but we wanted her to do it when she felt well! Ready for this? She simply said that she knew that her baptism was what God wanted and that she wanted to do it on Christmas Day because she knew that God would give her the strength to be healed, even for that moment. What Faith she has! I felt kind of guilty because I was the one wearing Christs name on my heart, but she showed more faith than I had! What a Christmas miracle she is. I ask that you keep her in your prayers this week. :)

On to this weeks message:

Over the past few weeks many Bolivians have had their Nativity scene set in their home, but something has been missing: Baby Jesus! According to tradition, they wait until midnight Christmas Day to put him in the manger, so that they can celebrate the exact time he was born. As I marvel at this age old tradition, I cant help but take this beautiful symbolism as personal application: Am I waiting to put Christ into my life until I think I am ready? Why cant I put Him as the centerpiece of my life right now? John Nicholson wrote:

Come, follow me," the Savior said.

Then let us in his footsteps tread,

For thus alone can we be one

With God's own loved, begotten Son.

The Saviors birth is monumental and is the single most important birth in history. Even though we celebrate His birth at the end of the calendar year, I hope that we will celebrate it in our hearts each morning. As we rise, let us covenant with our Savior to follow Him. The one gift I wish to offer each of you is just a few minutes to reexamine the importance of Christ in your life. I wish to talk about the subject of Grace yet again. It was just about 6 months ago that I shared a similar message before I left to serve this mission. Essentially, Grace is a power given by Christ, through the Atonement to strengthen us. Christ didnt suffer just so we could come to Him when we have big problems, but He suffered so that we could come to Him when life just seems to be drowning us in stress. Alma 7:11-12 states:

And he shall go forth suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind, and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith that he will take upon him the pains and sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people, and he will take upon him their infirmities that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

From these verses we see that Lord has suffered ALL so that when no one understands, He can run to us and comfort us. Thats the message of Grace. Of the Atonement. I repeat, Grace is the strengthening power given to us from Christ when we simplt cant do it on our own. 

Unfortunately time doesnt allow me to go much further in depth, but I have my gift for you right here: ITs a talk by David A Bednar about this very subject. I know that each of you is walking through different trials. The Atonement is there so that you can run to Him even when you cant wake up in the morning. Thats the story of my life! As missionaries, we have hectic and busy schedules. When I wake up at 6:30, sometimes I just wonder how Im going to make it through the day. A simple prayer goes so far for me as I ask for Christ to strengthen me throughout my day. Thats all we have to do! Pray and ask with a sincere heart.One doesnt have to be a practicing Christian to ask for that help. Christ has perfect empathy for each of us. 

Here is a quote from this talk:

 It is one thing to know that Jesus Christ came to earth to die for us—that is fundamental and foundational to the doctrine of Christ. But we also need to appreciate that the Lord desires, through His Atonement and by the power of the Holy Ghost, to live in us—not only to direct us but also to empower us.

My dear family, how I wish each that each of you could come here to Bolivia and we could just walk and talk for a bit and counsel and enjoy Christmas together! But how much more grateful I am for a Savior who can walk with each of you perfectly. Jesus Christ didnt live the way He did so that we could only come to Him when we sinned; He lived the way He did so that when we need His help, He will be there to help us ¨be good and to serve beyond our own individual desire and natural capacity.¨ 

This week, I hope Christ is born in your hearts. Not just to be there for one day, but to be there forever. To live in us. To empower us. To keep this Spirit of Christ alive each day. But do that, we must come unto Him.

Come unto Jesus; He'll surely hear you,

If you in meekness plead for his love.

Oh, know you not that angels are near you

From brightest mansions above?

I testify that angels are near you. That our Savior Jesus Christ is here for each of us. I love you so much. Im so grateful for each of you in my life. Have a very Merry Christmas. 

Con amor,

Elder Risueño

Here is the link to Elder Bednars talk: http://www.lds.org/liahona/2012/04/the-atonement-and-the-journey-of-mortality?lang=eng

The Blessed Angels Sing (week 21)

Hey Family!

Merry Christmas! Where the heck is time going? I just enjoy everyday and time just goes by so quickly. Who knew that attitude really changes everything? This week was super fun. On Wednesday, we had something called exchanges, which is where I got to change companions for a day! I went with my good friend Elder Gygi who was in the MTC with me. It was such a tender mercy to see how much we had improved in the past 5 months as missionaries. I just love life so much. We made some cookies! Thanks, mom! Speaking of, I got 3 pairs of pants today! And they are washable! And none was stolen! Thats so awesome for Bolivia. HAhahah. Thanks Bro Schenck, Sister Huebner, and Ash for the letters! Ill be sure to respond in the coming weeks. 

This past week I was pondering upon a hymn to use for this week´s email. As I read the lyrics to the hymns, I was suprised to see that almost every hymn sings of angels. The hope fo angels coming to a dark world declaring the birth of our Savior speaks to so many people as they fill their spirits with music. AS I think of angels that have brought me comfort in my life, my first thoughts come to my Grandpa Perry and Grandma Kathryn. These two have left this life and have come to comfort me in times of need. I will never forget such instances just a few months ago where I pleaded with my Father in Heaven to send my guardian angels to surround me and bear me up. The peace brought to my sould was unforgettable. But more importantly, I will never forget the mortal angels in my life. Many of you have strengthened me in some of my weakest times. I thank you with all of my heart. My invitation this week is to be an angel to one struggling. In his talk, The Ministry of Angels, Jeffrey R Holland declares that when we speak of those who are instruments in the hand of God, we are reminded that not all angels are from the other side of the veil. Some of them we walk with and talk with—here, now, every day. ...Indeed heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that comes to mind. 

As a missionary, I have the honor of being an angel to spread the gospel. This isnt a prideful declaration, but one taken from many counsels from the Lord that angels are sent to declare His word. This past week I have visited families in the middle of a nasty divorce, with kids who seem to have been forgotten, I have visited a man with cancer that is only 32 and has lost practically everything. Yes, these cases are sad, but the angels that walk with my companion and I change everything. This past week, not one of our investigators with a baptismal date came to church. My companion and I were awestruck. We have been the most obedient we could be, we are the best of friends, yet God doesnt see it fit to help these investigators get to church. Nevertheless, we remained faithful. A few hours later, we visited a friend of a member who lives in a home of people who cant walk. I dont know what its called in English. But in this Casa de Las Impedidas, we were able to teach her, and what a blessing she was to us! She has no family, she doesnt have anyone to take care of her, she wheels herself 40 blocks to sell chocolate to sustain herself. But who came to her aid? Members and missionaries. Not only my companion and I came to her aid. But members, too. And they made a great difference!

 My dear friends who are members, go with the missionaries. Be angels with them! Share the joy that comes from the Book of Mormon. We have been blessed with the tongue of angels to help people find the light that is in them, but which they simply cant find in themselves! Nephi taught us that when we are baptized and have received the gift of the Holy Ghost, we have the tongue of angels (2 Nephi 32:2 and 3.) Let us use that gift each day! But whether or not we have this gift, let us never lose the hope that comes from the blessed angels. One of the last prophets in the Book of Mormon, triumphantly shared this: 

“Has the day of miracles ceased?

“Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved?

“Behold I say unto you, Nay; for … it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men. …

“For behold, they are subject unto [Christ], to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness. Moroni 7:35-37

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/the-ministry-of-angels?lang=eng&query=Ministry+of+angels

I testify of the divinity of modern day angels. I invite you to search, ponder, and pray about angels and how you can be one the rest of your life. I promise that if you keep a prayer in your heart, asking the Lord to grant you ways to declare glad tidings of great joy, you will feel the love of God in your life continually. I close this letter with an angelic proclamation from It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.

Still thru the cloven skies they come

With peaceful wings unfurled,

And still their heav'nly music floats

O'er all the weary world.

Above its sad and lowly plains

They bend on hov'ring wing,

And ever o'er its babel sounds

The blessed angels sing.

Con amor,

Elder Risueño

P.S. Irene accepted the invitation to be baptized and we are hoping that either Christmas Day or the week after she will be baptized. :)

1st picture is with Elder Gygi and I! We made pancakes and ate them on the 5th floor balcony of his apartment! No joke!

2nd: We made cookies while serving a family and finished them at night!

3rd: You know how I said we eat meat ALL THE TIME? This is what I meant...

Lastly: Merry Christmas from Barrio Trompillo and Elder Gomez and Elder Risueño

Following His Light Through Obedience (Week 20)

Hey family!

Its beginning to look like Christmas!! The stores have Christmas stuff here and people are putting up their lights! How exciting! 

So, I think I’m allergic to Peanut Butter or nuts. Ever since I started eating it after a few months off it, I’ve had major diarrhea and such. And so my Mission Mom told me to stop for 2 weeks to see, and after 5 days, I feel so much better. If you’ve sent some, my Mission Mom said she GLADLY take it for me. Hahahha and she told me she’d spent 2 weeks off of cookies so she could join me in this fast! How nice! 

This week, I also received a package from Mom and Dad and DIED! I opened it and found an English hymnbook, CDS, everything I asked for! ahhh I just soaked in my love for them and their support. I want to share with you something that really changed my life that they sent me: A book called ¨Suit Up.¨ It is written by my favorite Education Week speakers and it’s on preparations for missionaries! I started reading it, then felt bad because I wasn’t sure if it was approved for the church so I put it away, and decided Ïd give it to my Mission President the next day so I would be obedient. When I gave it to him, he laughed, told me to read it, and enjoy it! And man, I did! I ate that book like a chocolate cake! I finished it in 4 days and felt so good! Even though it was for pre missionaries, it made me want to better myself as a missionary. All you young people, ask Santa Clause for that book.

This week, I wish to share with you my personal testimony of Jesus Christ as seen through exact obedience to His commandments. As a new missionary I struggled with exact obedience: It just didn’t seem possible. I understood that I wasn’t perfect so I was okay with only following 90% of the rules. But something didn’t feel right because my dad, who is my role model and example, emails me each week with a simple reminder to be exactly obedient. I have asked myself many times what my father sees in my, that I don’t see myself. This past Tuesday we had our quarterly interviews with our Mission President and he spoke to our zone on obedience. He expressed his disappointment to hear that we, as missionaries, were simply content with 90% obedience. In that moment, my mind went to an email that I had received from my father the day before in which he expressed his concern for me, his son, because he felt that I wasn’t being as obedient as I could and should have been. As I continued to listen to my president, I felt the chastisement of the Lord, but I felt a greater desire to be better. With these words from my President, my heart was changed forever: ¨What would have happened if the Savior had been okay with simply atoning for 90% of the inhabitants of the Earth. And what would have happened if we were the 10% that didn’t get saved?¨ Wow. I realized that my complacency had restricted me from receiving an extra 10% of blessings that Lord had prepared for me. He himself declared: ¨I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say, but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise¨ (D&C 82:10)

How grateful I am for my dear father´s diligent counsel and example in my life.

After our interviews, my companion and I made goals to be exactly obedient. We started with our biggest problem, which was getting home by 9:30pm. In our area, most people work until 8 at night or so, so our last hour of work is primetime to teach. Thursday night we had a lesson with Hna Berta, a mother of a less active. It was a beautiful lesson on the Book of Mormon and she even testified to us of the truthfulness she had found because she could recognize the feelings of the Holy Spirit. While the lesson was so spiritually powerful, we had to leave because it was 9:23pm. So, we sprinted home. My exercise hating, chocolate loving body could barely do it. (I’m still working on obedience to 30 minutes of exercise.) It was so humid, my body hurt, and I said a prayer to God. I told him I was doing all in my power to be obedient and I needed Him to fill in the rest so I could be the representative I was prepared to be. As I said this prayer in my heart, and followed blindly behind my companion, we got home at 9:30, just as I was about to give up. What a great spirit my companion and I felt as we entered our home and reaped the blessings that come from obedience. At that moment, I was a witness of the power of prayer and the personal relationship God has with us.

As I meditated upon this tender mercy of the Lord, I asked myself this question: ¨What can I give to my Savior and my Father in Heaven in gratitude for their mercy upon me?¨  As I reflected some more, the words of a favorite hymn reminded me that ¨Never can I repay thee Lord, but I can love thee, thy pure word¨(Savior, Redeemer of my Soul.)

In the April 2013 conference, a living prophet of God, Thomas S Monson, shared how our Savior Jesus Christ showed love for His father in Heaven:

The Savior demonstrated genuine love of God by living the perfect life, by honoring the sacred mission that was His. Never was He haughty. Never was He puffed up with pride. Never was He disloyal. Ever was He humble. Ever was He sincere. Ever was He obedient...As the Savior instructed His early Apostles, so He instructs you and me, “Follow thou me.”¹⁶ Are we willing to obey?http://www.lds.org/ensign/2013/05/obedience-brings-blessings?lang=eng&query=

I invite each of you to read this talk this week and meditate upon the Divine invitation to obey. President Monson finishes his talk by declaring, The knowledge which we seek, the answers for which we yearn, and the strength which we desire today to meet the challenges of a complex and changing world can be ours when we willingly obey the Lord’s commandments. I quote once again the words of the Lord: “He that keepeth [God’s] commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things.”¹⁷

I promise you that the answer to every problem we face is centered upon a teaching of our Savior and his prophets. I testify that we have a prophet who speaks to us the words of our loving Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. IT is my hope that each of us will follow our Savior to the best of our ability. He doesn’t expect us to be sinless, that’s why we can repent, but he does expect us to do all we can to follow Him. 

As the Star of David led the shepherds to the new born Christ child, the gospel of Jesus Christ leads us to Him as well. Through obedience, we can continue our journey through the dark and lonely paths with the Prince of Peace as our guiding light. 

I finish my testimony with yet another hymn:

Let us govern by kindness and never by force,

All cheering and bright, like the Sun in its course,

Obedience will spring from each heart with a bound

And brotherhood flourish the wide world around.¨¨ (Come Along, Come Along)

Con amor,

Elder Risueño

I LOVE MY SISTER!!! and Merry Christmas...(Week 19)

My dearest family and friends,

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and enjoyed every minute with your family. I had a great Thanksgiving, thanks to mom and dad who let me splurge a bit. I went to the store Monday afternoon and bought PB and J, syrup, and pancakes and so Thanksgiving was spent making PANCAKES! Why? We have neither ovens nor turkeys here in Santa Cruz so my companion had never had pancakes so we made some. We did the traditional syrup way, and also the Moss Family way (thanks, Mom!) with peanut butter and jelly! Oh, and to make my Thanksgiving day so much better, I totally went in my pants. I had a PB and J sandwich the night before and when I had to go, I had to go and my comp wasnt feeling to well either so I just thanked the Lord that I had the ability to go to the bathroom and yup! Thats the mission! And, we had such a spiritual training meeting about how we can repent and change our focus as missionaries! Sometimes I get discouraged, but its time to change! 

Missionary work has gone so well this week. We now make ward baptismal goals in ward council under the direction of the bishop. This month, our goal is 20 baptisms. Super high for the ward. 5 baptisms per companionship. Elder Gomez and I had 0 with a baptismal date so we were kind of lost. Nevertheless, we put our trust in the Lord, said a prayer, and asked for him to help us to do all we can to achieve this goal. As of right now, we have 5 investigators who have accepted the invitation to be baptized, and we have one family that we are hoping that they will accept the invitation too. This is a reminder of the importance of obeying Gods commandments. 

I hope you all are enjoying my sisters emails as much as I am. I am kind of envious that she is in a poor area because she really will have the best stories there. This Sunday, she turns 21. Shes my only sibling and I love her so much. Shes my role model and weve passed through so much together. We kept hold to the gospel and now we are both serving the Lord. As a child, I wanted her to express her love for me and the only way that it could happen was during a hymn which we sing in church:

Savior, may I love my brother

As I know thou lovest me,

Find in thee my strength, my beacon,

For thy servant I would be

Savior may I love my brother

Lord, I would follow thee.

We would laugh so hard and she would turn red as we sang this blessed hymn. But now, I know not only that she loves me, but that she has found strength in Christ because she knows Him and she shares His light with others. 

This week, I invite you to read a talk entitled ¨The Hope of Gods Light¨ by President Dieter F Uchtdorf (http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/the-hope-of-gods-light) . I invite you to listen and read it at the same time. He gives 3 steps of how we can open our eyes to the hope of Gods light to be come a beacon of hope to others. While I wont share those steps, ill share a quote that touched me:

God’s light is real. It is available to all! It gives life to all things.¹ It has the power to soften the sting of the deepest wound. It can be a healing balm for the loneliness and sickness of our souls. In the furrows of despair, it can plant the seeds of a brighter hope. It can enlighten the deepest valleys of sorrow. It can illuminate the path before us and lead us through the darkest night into the promise of a new dawn...Yes, we will make mistakes. Yes, we will falter. But as we seek to increase our love for God and strive to love our neighbor, the light of the gospel will surround and uplift us. The darkness will surely fade, because it cannot exist in the presence of light. As we draw near to God, He will draw near to us.⁶ And day by day, the hope of God’s light will grow within us, “brighter and brighter until the perfect day.”⁷

This month, I invite you to spend some time seeking the light of Christ. I invite you to spend some time with Christ as you learn more about Him. About His attributes. I invite you to seek to attain those attributes. For us to have Christs light in us, we first need to find Him and know Him. As a role model of mine recently shared: We are not the light, we are the vessels that carry the light.¨ 

I am so grateful for my sister and the example she is to me. I am so grateful that she has that light of Christ that others need. I hope that this week we all can decide to carry that light of Christ into our own hearts, and then to others. 

I know my Savior lives. I am so happy as a missionary. And I love you all.

Con amor,

Elder Risueño

I am in the Estaca Cañoto (week 18)

November 25, 2013
Hey family and friends!

Are you guys ready for some CRAZY NEWS?!!! Okay, way fast. I went to Burger King for the first time in 4 months and it was SO GOOD! Steakhouse Burgers are so great. But I got a stomach infection from it, so diarrhea for 5 days wasnt a good return. Hahaha dont worry. The medications are working. I was able to work! And I went to a supermarket and bought a ton of healthy food and didnt get to keep any of it. Lets find out why!!!

So my dear sweet companion, Elder Chavez, went home and we knew that was coming. I was told Tuesday night I would stay in Nuevo Mundo. Cool. But I got a phone call Wednesday morning and I GOT TRANSFERRED! They gave me about 30 minutes to pack and get to the mission office to move. Ï was blindsided, have no pictures of my ward members because I didnt think I would go, and yeah. I was most sad that I had to leave my BBQ sauce and Peanut Butter there because there wasnt room. Ill rebuy it this week. 

So where am I now? I am in the Estaca Cañoto, in Barrio Trompillo. Its about 10 minutes closer to the Central Santa Cruz and its a total opposite of it. Its so close to the mission president that he lives in the stake, and we are in the same district of the assistants. Crazy! Get ready for more crazies. We have 9 missionaries in the ward! We had 10, but one got sent to her mission in Venezuela. So we have 3 more visa waiters, including my comp, and we have HERMANAS! Which means, Christmas musicians, please email some 4 handed piano pieces and or piano vocal duets either in Spanish, or with a translation! The Hnas can sing and play piano! its 5 elders and 4 hnas! Our ward only has 250 or so active members, but a ton of less actives. We have a supermarket in our area and SO MUCH MORE! Im so happy. My companion is Elder Gomez. He is from La Paz, and he is AWESOME! He is 25 years old and super humble. We are best friends and I just thank you all for your prayers on my behalf this past week. Im so happy. Theres asphalt in my area, people drive cars, people have iPads! ITs CRAZYYYY!!! We take bucket showers, too, but thats fine! Ill deal with it! People are more closed minded and its harder to bring investigators, but thats fine. Ill deal with it. I love where I am. Im so HAPPYYY!!!!

This past week as I visited my new ward members, everyone complimented me on my name. I laughed many times because they said I smiled a ton, where as in my head I was DYING because its hotter as heck here and diarrhea too really makes it hard to walk a ton. But they love my name! thanks Grandpa Richard! And also, my spanish just improved SO MUCH these past few months! Everyone was amazed. I only have 4 months in the mission. I couldnt help but be filled with gratitude for my savior and his blessings and gifts he has given me in my life. I was born with the gift of tongues. I fell in love with the French language and learned quickly in high school. Even though Spanish was difficult, I know the Lord gave me this gtift to help others become converted to the gospel. As you celebrate your blessings during Thanksgiving this week, I invite you ponder upon the invitation that this hymn brings: ¨Because I have been given much, I too must give. Because of thy great bounty, Lord, each day I live I shall divide my gifts from thee with every brother that I see. Who has the need of help from me?¨ Sometimes we are so self critical we forget to see the gifts that highlight our individuality. It is so important to pray to know what these gifts are, or, if we are able to, we can read our Patriarchal Blessings to read what those blessings are. And we must forgtet that while some gifts were given to us, some we had to work to attain. Either way, we are counseled just as Timothy was when the Apostle Paul wrote ¨Neglect not the gift that is in thee.¨AS you prepare to go shopping this Fridayt, I hope each of you will remember your gifts and use them to serve others.

Thank you all for your love and support. Yes, the mission is the craziest thing Ive ever done. This morning I spent 2 hours hand washing my clothes and my hands were so dry from the detergent and water and stuff on my hands. But I cant help but smile because this is the life of me, a 19 year old California boy here in Bolivia!

It is my hope that the angels will surround each of you this week and that you will continue to remember the blessings of life.

Con amor,

Elder Risueño

Love you all!

First picture is of the BK that gave me diarrhea till easters.

Second is of Hna Berta Acosta and her sister Hna Cristina. The one on the left, Hna Cristina, is super sick but super nice! I love them!

Third one is of me walking through a CRAZY rain storm to visit some members before Elder Chavez and I left. I started walking and avoiding the puddles, but once I slipped into a puddle, I walked straight through them hahaha.

4th and 5th ones are of the 10 missionaries in the ward doing service. My comp is the short one on teh way far left with the shirt that says surf shirt or somenthing like that. Hes super dark and his shirt is too.