Loving life! (Week 30)

FAMILY!!!

Guess who got to stay in Trompillo???? I so did. Oh my gosh. What an answer to prayers. Im not kidding. Elder Chura is still with me and its the best. He is really excited to learn more English and its awesome. What he says is so awesome and he is led by the spirit. He is District Leader now, which means he is in charge of two other companionships. I have deemed myself the First Lady, or I guess Im the First Man. He is in charge of making sure everyones doing okay, and I support him and clean when hes working, or just serve when I can. I love it. 

Okay, so Valentines Day winner goes to my grandma, Dawn Fudge Miller, or DFM! No joke! I LOVED her card. And I opened it in front of the entire 20 missionaries because they asked who my girlfriend was, and I assured them it was my Grandma. So they recorded my opening it and I LOVED IT! Im the key to my grandmas heart and she is the best. I couldnthave been happier. It definitely alleviated some stress on Monday, thanks grams! 

So an update on the investigators... Guys! This work is hard! Rocky is not going to get baptized... We realized we saw him as a number and a baptism and that he really doesnt have a desire to be baptized and wont accept that the Restored Gospel In FULLNESS is on the Earth today. Its a hard concept for Cruceñas, or people in Santa Cruz. But, my companion and I DIED laughing because he didnt go to church last Sunday, and we asked why, and he showed us WITH HAND MOTIONS what was happening in his stomach and the troubles he was having in the bathroom. You guys, it made my life. I love Rocky.

Gabriel isnt progressing either. He isnt reading the Book of Mormon, his parents are inactive, and his grandma, too. We are going to work with him this week. PLEASE PRAY! 

With Oscar, the young kid. His dad told us there is no way he can get baptized and that he can only go to church with us Sunday and THATS IT! When he turns 18, he can get baptized. We are praying that in a few weeks we can teach his dad once hes a lot more relaxed. And guess what? OSCAR CAME YESTERDAY! We were running late, and he almost went by himself. Wow! How awesome life is!

So yeah! Elder Chura and I are working on RESCUING! It means bringing a Less Active back to activity! We are going to bring 8 people back to church this month! We are almost sure! Life is great, here. Elder Chura and I WANT baptisms. President Willard wants us to have one baptism each week. WOW. So we are ready for miracles. We are working on our teaching methods each day and earnestly praying for help on how we can better help our investigators. We are also eating healthier so that we have energy to work. It poured a TON this week, please pray for people in Beni, Bolivia, but now its super hot. So we NEED energy! I love where I am and even though it can be a little sad, my companion and I are angels. I was so humbled when we visited a Return Missionary who was inactive, but decided to come back because he felt like he had left God and knew that it wasn't what he should have done. I KNEW he saw himself in us. He served 10 years ago. But here I am to tell this man that he is worth it. He is as worth it as he was 10 years ago. Ahh. And we sang to a deaf man! Well, hes not deaf, but he cant hear too well! So I thought LETS SING! so we sang. And he still couldn't hear. But I sure felt good! I love being close to God. I love helping others know that they are worth it.

A quick story from my past: 

When the age requirement for missionary work changed, I was definitely one of the many who felt it was their time to serve. As my sister received her call, my urge to go on a mission grew and grew. But, because of my commitment to study at BYU Idaho, I had to wait till I was up there to send my papers to serve. Just as soon as I got settled in up there, I went to my last two interviews with my Bishop and Stake President. I sat in my final interview with my Stake President and it was great. We spoke of my dreams, my goals, and my fears. As we got to talk more, I spoke of some trials I had faced as a youth and, even thought they weren't sins I had committed, they had caused some personal setbacks. As I opened up to my Stake President, he told me that these trials I had faced needed to be reviewed my some professionals to make sure that I was emotionally ready for a mission. So at that point, my dream of a mission was put on hold. My Stake President assured me that these happenings were of no fault to me, but that the mission was a high stress life and that the leaders needed to be sure I was okay. AS I finished the interview and walked out, I cried and cried.

I was 16 hours away from home and I felt abandoned. In a moment that was to be the happiest of my life, it became the saddest. For weeks I sat in fear of an evaluation, that was to come my way. I questioned my purpose in life and what I was to do with life. But one thing I never stopped to do was attend the temple. I continued to pray to God each time I went, but I told Him that I didn't see a need to pray about my mission call because everything was in HIS time and yeah. That was my prayer. 

About a month after that interview, nothing had happened. My mission papers hadn't moved anywhere, and I was tired of being frustrated. One Monday morning, I woke up early to do some scripture study and spend some time with God. I wrote this question in my journal: When will my call come? That was my question! I began to search for the answer. Now, I cant remember what scripture I read that gave me my answer, but Ill sue this scripture to illustrate my point: 

 35 Nevertheless they did ^afast and ^bpray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their ^chumility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the ^dpurifying and the ^esanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their ^fyieldingtheir hearts unto God.

(Hel 3:35)

I realized that in the past month I had acknowledged Gods timing, but I hadn't accepted it. I hadn't yielded my heart unto God. In that moment, I found my answer. I wrote in my journal that my call would come in the Lords time. I began to trust Him even more and I was filled with the peace and joy of the Spirit. I finished my study by thanking him for the humbling me. I gave my all to him. I was humble. I was willing to follow Him. About 4 hours later, my dad called and said that my call was ready to be assigned. Again, the Lord taught me that timedoesn't matter; what matters is a humble heart and a willing mind. One year ago this coming Friday, I received my call here to Santa Cruz. I will never forget that great trial. I will never forget the importance of being humble and being worthy to feel the promptings of the Holy Spirit. 

Before I opened my call, we all sang this song that brought great feelings of love and joy to my heart: 

1. 1. The Spirit of God like a fire is burning!
   The latter-day glory begins to come forth;
   The visions and blessings of old are returning,
   And angels are coming to visit the earth.

I promise you that angels are here. I know that this life brings great trials, but God knows each of us and our challenges. Don't focus on how long your trials last, but on how you have grown through your trials. Find these feelings of joy that bring you closer to God.

Happy 7 months to me, today! And happy 10 months to Ellyn!

Con amor,

Elder Risueño

Love! (Week 29)

Hello family!!!

How are we all doing? Happy Valentines Day!! Well, this Friday. So I know that you all are dying to be my Valentine so its super easy to be my Valentine. All you have to do is listen to a song by Michael Bublé or Whitney Houston and think of me! Simple, right? And if you don't have a desire to listen to either of those people, then I'm definitely not your Valentine!hahahaha. Just kidding. But really. 

Anyway, this week has just been splendiforous here in Santa Cruz! One of the most exciting things that happened this week is I weighed myself for the first time since I left home and Ive gained 15 pounds! NO JOKE! hahahha whoa. The people here say that the missionaries need to be gorditos so that they can have evidence that they served a mission when they get home. Well, Ill definitely have something to show when I get home. The food is so good. I love chocolate and life.

Oh, and I sleep talk in Spanish now! Winning! I guess I taught a lesson one night. 

Okay, so this week is TRANSFERS!! Its pretty much like Christmas each 6 weeks because we wait until 9:30 to see what will happen. I decided that I might leave so I might as well soak up some first world stuff I have here. I got my ties dry cleaned and ate pizza. For those of you who don't know, the mission is a few pueblos so we never know! A few families have told me if I stay they'll buy me Cinnabon! YES! Winning. 

Okay, so the updates on life this week:

So we had one of those crazy miracles you see in the Ensign happen this week. So we went to visit like 3 investigators and no one was home. Or the person was sick. We were super frustrated and just wanted someone to teach and help and we had nothing. We had a few scheduled lessons later, but nothing to do at that point and we know that knocking doors is ineffective so my companion decided to go visit a Less Active we had visited the day before to see how he was doing... As we were walking to his house, a 20 year old and his younger brother were trying to carry a closet in their house and failing. So we SUPER missionaries came to the rescue. My comp used his muscles and I pretended like I knew what I was doing. We got in, helped them and talked to them and GUESS WHAT?! The young kid is a recent convert, the 20 year old is Less Active, and his girlfriend is an Investigator! Can you say CHRISTMAS?!! We had a great lesson, shes Catholic, but loves the church. She just hasn't been yet. hahah. They didn't go on Sunday because it was pouring rain and their clothes didn'thang dry in time--we don't have dryers here-- but they had a spiritual Sunday! Hno Ivan told his grandfather that he had a testimony of God leading people to scriptures so they said a prayer and opened their scriptures and WABAM! They went to Mosiah 9 which talks about prophets and their importance! What had we spoken of the day before? Prophets. No joke. They told us they had a testimony and we were SO CLOSE to invite them to baptism, but we had to book it home. Uhh can we say golden? Yup, we can. 

So Roque and Gabriel didn't go to church Sunday. Which means no baptism this Saturday. Oscar got permission from his parents to be baptized, but he isn't as motivated to learn more as usual. Its definitely a hard part for my companion and me. Please continue to pray for us so that we can become the missionaries God wants us to become so that we can help these people! But who knows what will happen when transfers come? If I end up leaving the area, I will be so content to know that I left the area better than it was. That's the purpose of missionary work. Whether or not you have the name tag, you need to find people that you can help, and those who can help YOU!

This week, as we celebrate Valentines Day, I want to talk about the love Christ has for us. I read a great talk called, The First Great Commandment by Jeffrey R Holland. I cant express how much I love the talk, but you can read it and let me know what you think! The talk is all about how we can love God and serve Him. More importantly, how we can love Jesus Christ. 

Elder Holland said this:

“If ye love me, keep my commandments,”¹⁴ Jesus said. So we have neighbors to bless, children to protect, the poor to lift up, and the truth to defend. We have wrongs to make right, truths to share, and good to do. In short, we have a life of devoted discipleship to give in demonstrating our love of the Lord. We can’t quit and we can’t go back. After an encounter with the living Son of the living God, nothing is ever again to be as it was before. The Crucifixion, Atonement, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ mark the beginning of a Christian life, not the end of it. 

I love how we can focus on helping others in this time. I feel like we just want to find something to show others we love them this day. Or maybe we want someone to say that they love us. Well, Christ is there. He did everything for us. He loved us with all of our perfections and died so that we can experience an eternal joy. I'm so grateful that I was called to be a representative of my Savior, Jesus Christ. I'm not perfect. I'm nowhere near. But God trusts me. He trusts you. Sometimes we forget how blessed we are. Its so easy to see others and be grateful we aren't in their positions, but do we ever feel like we can help them? We need to. We must reach out. It doesn't have to be a big present. It can just be a simple act of pure love. Last year, my valentine was the library. She and I were in love last year at BYUI. This year, my valentine is la vida. I am in love with life. I am in love with how I can help other people because Christ trusts me. He has given me this knowledge of who I am and who I can become. Oh, it is wonderful

1. 1. I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me,
   Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me.
   I tremble to know that for me he was crucified,
   That for me, a sinner, he suffered, he bled and died.

Oh, it is wonderful that he should care for me

Enough to die for me!

Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful to me!.

.I hope that this week we will be able to enjoy the love that comes from Valentines Day and well be able to enjoy all that God has given us. And that, in turn, we will share that love through the blessings of the gospel.

And please don't judge me that I haven't sent photos in ages. My charger hates me and so I'm getting a knew one today... NEXT WEEK!

Con amor,

Elder Risueño

Be One with the Lord, Daily (Week 28)

Hey family!!

How is everyone?? So I got a ginormous letter from the Moss Family Christmas Party this week and it made my life. But snail mail really stinks here in Bolivia. Like snail means it takes a month or two to send letters and receive them. So feel free to update me with your life via snail mail if you want, but Im going with email for most of the time! Thanks Moss Family!

The picture of Scott Teague aka TWINKLETOES made my life. Kari Teague and family, wherever you are, I love you all and Twinkletoes will always be my role model in life. Thats right. Im still a kid at heart. Send my love to that man. And shine his shoes for me. 

Okay so this week was a week of MIRACLES! I forgot to tell yall, its the 50th year of missionary work here in Bolivia! Crazy, right? And the Lord is hastening it. Monday dad told me to work harder and smarter. Thursday we had a Zone Conference where President said to repent and get to work more. My companion and I had 30 lessons this week! We usually have 20. We just booked it everywhere and talked when we were given the chance. Its so awesome this work. Im definitely hoping I get to stay here in Trompillo for another transfer with Elder Chura. Its so funny because my companions last name means BUENISSIMO or super awesome in Tarija, a city south of Santa Cruz and my name means SUPER SMILEY! So the people of Santa Cruz get to meet Elder SONRISA and Elder CHURA! Yay them! 

Okay, so I feel like God wantred to make me super h o m e y this week because I swear my life was a movie this week. So my companion and I were called gorditos this week, which means little fatties with love and so we freaked and went on a diet. So I decided to buy banana bread from an sister to eat at night before bed and guess what? It came as a BUNDT CAKE! I died! This week Im eating it again and Im buying cheap flowers to put in the middle. Thank you, My Big Fat Greek Wedding. I dont know how the diet thing will go, but we run each day, I ran 4 laps for the first time ever, and we only buy ice cream once a week! Winning!

So we had a Greek Wedding moment, ready for the Nacho Libre moment? So we went to English class that a member teaches and then ORPHANS walked in and asked us if we wanted to buy cakes to help them cover living expenses. I said to myself, Why cant we have just like a salad or something? ...oh how I missed yall at that moment. But of course I bought the cakes. Again, maybe we can pray for a desire to diet. 

Ready for something AWESOME?! So I went to visit the lady who speaks french and she spoke to me asking why our name is Elder and I couldnt really understand her, but she was SUPER open to us this time! Again, catholic and doesnt want to change, but talks to me in French. So guess what? I called President and asked for permission to buy a book to practice french like once a week and he said that I could practice EACH DAY for 15 minutes during language study! YES! Im going to go shopping in the next few days to see what I can find. But I WILL be trilingual when I get home. I want a book that teaches spanish speakers how to speak french so its more wise use of time. 

Okay, now for the update on life with the investigators:

Roque, thats how you spell it, is doing well. Turns out he was A MONK! I accidentally said Monkey, and he wasnt that. Difference between Mono and Monko or something like that... Anyway. He went to church and is ready, but he needs to go 3 times before baptism and he needs to remember what we teach him. But He WILL be baptized! YAY!

So Gabriel, the youth that is the nephew of a brother in the ward, is SO ready for baptism! We just have to help him resolve his questions. And to turn him away from false info on the internet. Please, pray for him.

Oscar, a teen who is listening to us, cant talk to us for a bit. His parents dont want him baptized because of false rumors someone is spreading where he lives. NOOOOO. He didnt go to church yesterday. Oh how he wants to be baptized. His sister, too.

Carolina and Enrique, our amazing couple, have bettered their lives so much! I love it! They keep telling us that they have avoided fights because they are praying together! A family that prays together, stays together! Now we just have to get them married! We got this! Prayers, family, prayers! 

But I believe in miracles and so I am so sure that these baptisms will happen. 

Ready for todays message? Me too. :)

So this Wednesday my best friend and my cousin is going to start her mission! How happy I am for her, and Ive spent so much time about the key to missionary success. Kacies mom, my aunt Julie, reminded me to be BOLD! I think thats the key to being a good missionary, whether full time or at home. There is an example of this in the Book of Mormon. Alma was teaching some people who werent very happy with him and he said the following So they were

And they stood forth to lay their hands on me; but behold, they did not. And I stood with boldness to declare unto them, yea, I did boldly testify unto them

So they were trying to attack him, but because he shared what he knew to be true, he was able to have the power of the Lord. I have thought so much about what it means to be bold. I dont have a dictionary with me, so I feel like to be bold is to be B.O.L.D. Be One with the Lord Daily. When we are on the same page he is, when we are thinking his thoughts, when we are humble to what he wants, we experience that joy. We must be accepted of Him. We know the simplistic things we must do: read the scriptures, say our prayers, etc., but do we know if we are accepted of Him? When are one WITH him, we are able to know what He would want for His children. II promise

Elder Erich Kopischke of the 70 shared the following:

Seeking and receiving the acceptance of the Lord will lead to the knowledge that we are chosen and blessed by Him. We will gain increased confidence that He will lead us and direct us for good. His tender mercies will become evident in our hearts, in our lives, and in our families.

I promise each of you that if you seek this acceptance of Him, that you will be one with Him. Its not an easy task, but its something we all must do individually and with God. Yesterady Elder Chura and I visited a less active who said he was busy, duhh, but started talking to us. He said he was atheist and didnt want to talk to us. Long story short, after 20 minutes of talking to him through his gate, we had another appointment to return and he was open to us. If we had left, and not testified, he would have continued lost. But he was found and he will be rescued. We were BOLD. 

To those who may be preparing to serve missions, or those who are in the middle of their missions at home, NOW is the time to be BOLD. To be one with Him who is our creator. I know He lives. I know this power can be ours if we only search for it. Power comes simply by the flick of a switch. By a decision. 

I hope we all can go forth with this power from today, and forever.

Go forth with pow'r to tell the world

The gospel is restored,

That all may gain eternal life

Thru Jesus Christ, the Lord.

Go forth to preach his glorious truths

Of peace, of joy, and love,

That all who heed his holy word

May praise the Lord above.

I testify of His love for us. Of the power we can have if we but flick the switch in our lives to be one with Him.

Con amor,

Elder Risueño

Teaching a Door (Week 27)

Hey family!!!

How are you guys? I hope all is well in the US of A and that everyone is eating Mac n Cheese. How awesome it is that my sister and I both celebrated our big days the same way! WITH MAC N CHEESE! Love it! I love my sister and I loved reading her letter last week about seeing people change. It definitely is what the mission is all about... but Ill get to that later.

First and foremost, the weather here is CRAZYYY! Uhhh its supposed to be summer here and it is BITTER cold! Nothing was crazier than waking up to water dripping on me from the crazy rain. And cold showers were a lot easier when I sang THERE IS SUNSHINE IN MY SOUL TODAY! Thanks Nana May for the advice. I did have a bucket shower yesterday which made it better. It was nice and warm while the bucket had water in it. We helped a handicapped man build his brick house and while we were mixing cement the rain just came out of nowhere like one of those surprise burps and WABAM! It was pouring. We got to rest a bit, laugh a bit, then get back to work.

Something REALLY cool that happened this week was I got to use my French! No joke! I was talking to someone and somehow French came out and I lost so much of my french, but it was fun! She ended up speaking to me in French, I responded in Spanish, and THEN she spoke in English asking if it was okay if we returned when we had time, but she didnt want to talk about religion. I said it was totally fine, but religion will come in one day! But yeah, trilingual! I will learn French after the mission. Definitely positive. I taught my companion how to say I have lost my book in 3 languages. Fun times!

This week I have definitely learned how to be firm, but not sassy. When I left home, I also left the sass. Well, in the CCM I was a bit sassy, but yeah. I have been more of a pushover now and these people need to know that we are NOT like other religions. That God DOES have prophets today and that they should pray to know its true. Weve seen some miralces in an ex bishop who is less active and we had a lesson about the importance of paying tithing because he didnt want to, and we really laid down the law for love. This week he told us hes going to stop traveling so that he can have a calling and he wants to go to the temple! WOW! MIRACLES! He has made a 360. And its not because of me, its because the Spirit was there. The Spirit converted him. I just had to make sure he knew what we were teaching was true.

So we had ward council, and there was NO electricity. AND everyone from the ward council showed up. It was definitely a first. So we were really sad as missionaries that the one day everyone showed up to help, there was no power. Hna Thorley reminded us that we as members and missionaries were the light! So we had that ward council! We got some light from cell phones and just emulated the love of members and missionaries working together. It was so awesome.

So we went to visit a less active. Hes really sick. He had problems that made his face look really bad. His sister, a returned missionary and super active lady, asked us to visit him. But she felt badly because he didnt want us to come in and see him, but she wanted him to have a lesson. I thought for a bit, and remembered the days when dad was sick and couldnt leave his room and Ellyn and I sang and shared music so that he could hear! I remember those days! I remembered how much better he felt and how much it blessed his life! So I asked if we could sing. And we sang to the door. We sang to his door. He never let us in. He never responded, but we testified that God was close to him. That he was never alone. It was the most spiritual lesson Ive had with a door in my life. I knew at that moment that God loved this man. I found out yesterday at church that he wants us to return and he wants to talk and sing to him again. I love testifying through music. I know music breaks barriers. It goes through doors that separate a missonary and a person sick. I love my mission..

As we were walking to the Casa de los Impedidos I SWORE I saw Jean Val Jean so I knew I had to talk to him. No joke. Like from the beginning when he was working as a slave. And guess what? HE came up to US! Hes a less active who is need of help. He used to be pretty well off man, but sickness overtook him and how he has CRAZY arthritis in his hands and we were there to help him. Im so happy he was put in our way. Im so happy that even though its hard to see people who cant move their hands, or sleep on the floor in the pooring rain, that I am able to help them to live a better life closer to God.

This month we have a goal for 5 baptisms! Hno Rocki, who is paralyzed, will be baptized the 15th! Along with Oscar, a youth, and we are hoping for Hno Gabriel! This youth is so smart and wants to learn and is just so on fire! All 3 went to church this past Sunday and enjoyed it. Hno Rocki couldnt hear anything, but he is such a blessed son of God. And we also have a couple, Carolina and Enrique who we are hoping to get married this month! THEY have made a 360, too, and were on the point of divorce, but the gospel changes lives! They are now praying together and reading the scriptures together! Now, with my sister, I may not see these people baptized. Transfers are the 12th. How sad! I dont know. But if I do, its okay because I have been able to participate in their changes and their growing closer to God. 

This Monday I received my family Christmas letter and I loved the message that my sister and I both shared individually. Thatr Christ lives. That because He lives, we live as well! I love the hymn that says the following:

I know that my Redeemer lives.

What comfort this sweet sentence gives!

He lives, he lives, who once was dead.

He lives, my ever-living Head.

He lives to bless me with his love.

He lives to plead for me above.

He lives my hungry soul to feed.

He lives to bless in time of need.

I, too, share my testimony that He lives! Why is that so important? Because with these simple truths, we build our own testimony! Our foundation is so important. So many Bolivians know that Christ lives! But they dont believe that He speaks to us today through prophets! I testify that He does! That He loves us and He speaks to us individually as well. I love this gospel. I invite each of you to read the book of Enos in the Book of Mormon. Its super short, but so powerful about the reality of Christ. I know that He has fed my soul when it hungered and that He will do the same for you. Enos was a man who was far from perfect, but because he desired a relationship with his savior, he prayed and grew closer to Him. I testify that this is true. That by learning about Enos, you will also learn that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. Its another example of Gods love for us. He does have a rest prepared for us if we follow Him. Shortly before he died, Enos said this:

And I soon go to the place of my ^arest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know that in him I shall ^brest. And I rejoice in the day when my ^cmortal shall put on ^dimmortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the ^emansions of my Father. Amen.

 I testify that this is true. That by learning about Enos, you will also learn that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. Its another example of Gods love for us. He does have a rest prepared for us if we follow Him.

I love you, I love the Lord.

Con amor,

Elder Risueño

Search, Ponder, Pray, and SHARE! (Week 25)

My dearest family,

Im super sorry about what happened last week with the whole letter. We had problems with the internet location, with the time for internet and so many other things. But this week Im back to normal so YAY!

Ill try and send the pictures of the hand written letter I wrote last week so I wouldnt forget what happened the past week. Elder Chura, my companion from La Paz is amazing and we are working hard. We enjoyed delicious ice cream and BBQ Chicken pizza for NYE so dont worry. We also had some fun with some food not going to well about a week ago. We definitely enjoyed some bathroom trips and laughs. You have to laugh at the fact that our dueño, or renter, is the Spanish version of Tulas Mom from My Big Fat Greek Wedding. No Joke. Its the best. She even gives us really gassy food. Thats not in the movie, but it should be. 

Elder Chura LOVES to exercise. Which, yall know that isnt too good for me. My favorite exercise activity is called the sleeping sit up. Its where you go from your bed to the floor, with your blankets on, and you do sit ups with your eyes close. Its pretty great, except Ive had too many accidents where I go down from a sit up and sleep a little longer. Hence, weve made some changes as a companionship. We now eat a TON of fruit. Bolivia thrives with delicious fruits. We cant eat strawberries, but cherries, bananas, apples, peaches, pineapples and the lovely Hachachairu! Its a fruit that you suck on, then spit out. Definitely weird and nasty, but crazy aweswome! Weve even gone running at the park a few times! I decided to time myself one time around the park and I went a whole 2 minutes without stopping! Believe it! I then rested for about 10 minutes after that. One step at a time, family, one step at a time.

We had a CRAZY funny lesson last Monday. So we went to teach a part member family and we had a great lesson plan, but before we got to it, we had to answer a question about why we celebrate Halloween. WHAT? Yes. We did. Our recent convert, Hno Adolfo, had a pamphlet from another church that showed why Halloween was bad and he was confused as to why we celebrate it. I couldnt help from laughing and my companion took the reins because no matter how I explained how it wasnt bad, he didnt understand it. The lesson came down to how we feel during the celebrations of Halloween. In Moroni 7:17 we learn that that which is good comes from God! So if we are celebrating Halloween with our families and eating candies and NOT worshiping devils, we are good to go! Remember that, my future missionaries! 

Tuesday I got another crazy bout of food stuff. I dont know what I ate, but it was awesome because I felt like dad in that I had to go to the bathroom BADLY all day long. oooh it was crazy. But I kept thinking of how Dad is still sick and continues to walk with me here in Santa Cruz. Im sure he was with me during those moments! 

Another crazy moment happened to be when we were talking with our angel convert, Hna Irene who was baptized Christmas Day and WABAM! Poop landed on my comp. And it was not normal poop. Definitely food problems with the bird, too. We definitely enjoyed a good laugh. 

This week, I wanted to thank those of you who have served my friends who dont have family writing them. Elder Vallejo, my friend who served with me in my first area, is now with me, too! He got transferred here last week. And I was here when he received his first package of his mission! I was also with him when he opened his presents from his Secret Santa. Bremmer family, thank you for making his life. I couldnt be happier to see him feel loved all the way from the USA. To the others who have sent or will send, thank you, as well. This is how missionaries live. And also, thanks for the package for me, too. Starbursts, Skittles, Hot Cheetos, chocolate, and more. I was definitely happy. And it helped me when I didnt have ice cream in the house. Oh, and I cant forget the mustaches! Pictures to come soon!

Yesterday, was another Dad themed day! I got to go to the Family History Center with the same part member family from Halloween lesson. Hna Regina is super baptist and has no desire to leave her church, but she doesnt understand temples. Last night we worked on her family history and she learned indexing and I just lit up with sheer joy to feel the angels and my dad with us! Yay for Family History! And I cant forget about my Nana Moss who is a Family History missionary, too! Thank you to all who participate in that program.

Todays message is centered on the blessings that come from the Book of Mormon. This past week, we have been pounded with questions regarding the Bible, where our power to baptize comes from, and so many other encounters where people want answers from the Bible. I hate contention. I just want to plug my ears when I feel that someones angry. So I usually let my companion take the reins. This week I studied the Bible. I found ways to respond, but I wasnt too happy. I read Preach My Gospel, a manual for members to read about missionary work, and there arent too many answers to help us with that situation. But what does it have? An entire chapter on how we can answer these questions with the Book of Mormon. I shared with Hna Regina this week that her church is only missing something. In the introduction of the BofM we read that it contains the fulness of the everlasting gospel. But people want the Bible. WHY wont they read the Book of Mormon? Why wont they pray to know its true. I think its because to them its just a book.Chapter 5 of the said manual provides many answers to people who have burning questions about life. These answers are found in the Book of Mormon. Maybe people wont read the book of Mormon because they simply dont know what the chapters have to offer. What we need to do is read it with them and show them that  we ^atalk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we ^bprophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our ^cchildren may know to what source they may look for a ^dremission of their sins.

That is in the Book of Mormon. That shows them a ned to read it. Maybe it would help if we remembered the steps of knowing that the scriptures are true:

I love to read the holy scriptures,

And, ev'ry time I do,

I feel the Spirit start to grow within my heart-

A testimony that they're true. 

Search, ponder, and pray

Are the things that I must do.

The Spirit will guide, and, deep inside,

I'll know the scriptures are true.

Brothers and sisters, how can we expect our friends to search the scriptures if they dont know what to look for? How can we expect them to feel the Spirit if they think a Spirit is a ghost that scares?  This week my invitation for each of us comes from a chapter in the Book of Mormon that teaches us where we can find joy and peace. it says:

 if ye have known of his goodness and have ^atasted of his love, and have received a^bremission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God

For those of you who have tasted of this joy, remember those feelings and share them with a friend! Simply invite your friend to read the screiptures with you. Find the questions that they want answered, and search the scriptures for that answer. I promise that as each of us remnembers the blessings that come from serching, pondering, praying, and SHARING the scriptures, we will receive strength to fight our daily battles. To reach our goals. To exemplify the Christlike attributes within us. 

Have a good week, everyone. We are working with a few people. But powerful people. They need help learning to work. They need to understand the importance of the Book of Mormon. We hope to baptize a 22 year old, Carlos, this February 8th. He needs to get to church. Please also pray that we will continue to find more people who need the gospel. I love you all.

Con amor, Elder Risueño

Do It for Love (Week 26)

FAMILY!

Holy goodness! Can we just say what a blessing this life is? I have just had a great week and I am so grateful for the blessings of being a missionary and just being alive. This past week my family and I just celebrated great achievements in missionary work! My sister completed her 9 month mark as a missionary, and is now HALFWAY through the mission. Ummm, what? I swear we just dropped her off at the airport and we should be at Spires right now. No joke. This time has gone by so fast. And Ive been a missionary 6 months? Half a year? What? No! Thats so crazy. But so true. How grateful I am for not being perfect and for a Lord who gives me time to become a better person each day. And completely unrelated, Im dying in this internet cafe. Figuratively. Its so hot. Blehhh. Sweat. JOY! I choose my attitude. 

0kay, congrats to Natalie and Paola! IM SO EXCITED FOR MY TWO BEST FRIENDS!!! AHHHHHl. And Natalies going to JAPAN!? How fun! And Paola to Chiclayo!!?? Im sure shell run into siome of my best MTC friends there. How grateful I am for missionary work and my friends who are my examples. For those of you who dont know these two sisters, we grew up in the youth program of the church together and we are now going to serve missions together! 

And my best friend and cousin Kacie is going on her mission in 2 weeks? AHH! MISSIONS!  

I did bring my camera cord today so hopefully we can getthose 30 pictures uploaded! 

Okay, are you ready for some good stories? First and foremost, I ran into a cactus this week! No joke! I was walking with Elder Vallejo and WABAM! I walked sideways into a cactus. Luckily, nothing poked me, but man I was laughing. I cant walk in a straight linet o save my life. This past week, I also found MAC n CHEESE in the store! YUM! I about cried when I ate it. It was perfectly artificial and plastic tasting! All it was missing was some Netflix and some family members! But it was good. I also attempted to make Burritos last night, but the avocados were old and the beans were kind of burnt. Fail.. OH! I ate CHINESE food for the first time in 6 months, too. Definitely sentimental. A family invited us over for lunch and CHINESE! I only suffered in the bathroom for a bit, so it was worth it. 

What did I do for my 6 month mark? First and foremost, I made a 50 lessons learned in the mission list and after I wrote it, I laughed a lot because my grammar was HORRIBLE! What has happened? Sad day. But the lessons I learned were awesome and Ill send them home when I make it to the post office. Oh! And I burned my tie, but there was a huge failure. So I was trying to figure out how to burn it quickly so that I could watch it burn then go to bed, so I bought alcohol to get it to burn! but who knew I needed like beer alcohol? I didnt! I bought rubbing alcohol! Gosh dang it. It didnt burn. Well, a part did. Theres a reason I never liked burning things. The poor tie is now of no use. Whatever! 

You ready for the biggest lesson Ive learned this past half a year? Ive learned that the reason work and sacrifice is because of love. I hope to explain that today.  But first, we need some Mother Theresa in our life. She said that

 There is always the danger that we may just do the work for the sake of work. This is where teh respect and the love and devotion come in--that we do it to God, to Christ and that is why we try to do it as beautifully as possible.

Thank you Anna Baird for that quote! 

This past week we had a Zone Conference that was all about the love Heavenly Father has for us. President received revelation that we needed to double the amount of baptisms in the mission. How do we do that? Well, one way is by inviting people to baptism EACH lesson. Now, earthly RJ would have said no. But listen! If we love the people were teaching, we also want them to be baptized so that they can take the stpes to live with God again. God loves us, thats why we have a way to get back to him! Well, my companion and I were on fire about that and we have seen so much success! Some people have said no, but we then explain why we want that step. If they KNOW its true, then they will. Thats all we ask. If they have a purpose to go to church, its because they want to know if they should be baptized. Life changer. I love my people, so I will invite. 

As my mission president spoke about the love my Heavenly Father has for me, he also spoke of our earthly parents. I couldnt help but get a little emotional because the past 6 months have been rough. I have really been humbled and come to see the love that my parents have for me. They have read my journal they just received and have read first hand the frustrations and sadness of missionary work. But they have also seen the many miracles that come. How I love my parents and my father who sacrifices so much for me so that I can be happy. Who lives through continuous pain and never gives up so that I can see the hope of perservering to the end. My darling mother who stands by my dads side and works tirelessly so that my sister and I can help others, even though my mom needs help as well. I wish to share with you all a few stories from this week about love:

We met a man named Rocki and he has cerebral palsy. He doesnt talk much, but is super awesome. Hes old, and I thought he was mentally handicapped so I rarely spoke to him. He lives with less actives. But this week I found out that he speaks really well and he can be baptized! I cant understand his slurred speach from his handicaps, but I love him! He willb e baptized this February we hope! How grateful I am for him and the love that I know the Lord has for him.

Friday night we were walking around and working and visiting and it got late. We had about 45 minutes left till 9pm, when we had to be back at home and I wanted pizza. It was being sold really close to where we were and man was I hungry! No one wanted to meet with us, and we were running out of options. As we were walking, I thought of this in my head and then a thought simply ran into my mind: I realized that I love the people of Bolivia so I will visit them till the last possible minute of each day! We went to a house where usually no one is home, and peopel were home! Even an old investigator and a less active! I realized that blessings do come from work. That when we overcome the inner lazy, we become AMAZING! 

My grandpa taught Do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, regardless of personal pleasure. I love that! Its so sassy, but true! But maybe we can just mold it a little bit. Do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and do it for love. Be sure to see that it is not WITH love, but FOR love. When we do these things, we should already love the person whom we are serving. Its so important. We work because we love. We serve because we love. We live because we love.

I also recognize that there may be times when we feel like we are doing SO MUCH because we love someone, but they arent doing anything else in return. Ask my mom. I definitely should have done some dishes while she was busily working. When these moments come, we must think of He who loves us the most that He sent His son to die for us and to help us Home.

I love the lyrics from a song called Just a Prayer Away

If youve done all that you can, and its still not enough

And you feel the life you want is just a dream

If youve given all youve got and dont have the strength to stand

All you have to do is get down on your knees.

Though the road keep sgetting longer and youre far away from home

Just remember someone loves you more than you could ever know.

Every night and every morning, in sunshine or in rain

No matter where, Hes always there, just one prayer away.

This week I invite you to take some time from your schedule to find someone who needs some help. Who0 needs to know theyre loved. But before you perform this act of service, pray. Express your love to your God and ask for His guidance to help your friend, and you yourself. Ask for Him to help you bioth feel the indescribable joy that comes from the knowledge of a divine heritage. I promise that as you do this, you will feel that joy. That brightness that comes during a story week. I promise that you will come closer to Christ. 

I pray that each of you has a great week. We have investigators that are progressing little by little. Rocki is one. Along with some youth named Gabriel and David who have a lot of questions, but love the Lord.

And on another random note, theres a restaurant called KFC here, but its Kathya Friend Chicken. Gotta love Santa Cruz!!

Con amor,

Elder Risueño

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