Los Milagros Empiezan con MI! (Week 55)

Hello dearest family and friends!

Well, I am now 13 months old!!! And my sister is 16 months old!! that's so crazy! I cant believe she's finishing up.

So I love herbal tea. LOVE LOVE LOVE. Random habit found in Bolivia. Its so good to drink after lunch and or before bed. 

And I know I've gained some weight, but it got kind of awkward when I went to sit on the edge of my comps bed to help him with some struggles and as I sat down WABAM! We both fell to the floor as I broke the wooden bed frame. WHATEVER! I laughed and it took forever to fix, but I love life!

This week has been difficult, but my last name is RISUEÑO, so I have to keep smiling and I am! Last Monday we had an amazing lesson that changed my life. So we made a book of miracles for a family that we're helping and as I wrote the word MILAGRO, I saw that the first two letters were MI, or in English, ME! And that's when I came up with the phrase, Los milagros empiezan con mi! Miracles start with ME! I shared with the family that for us to see miracles, WE need to have the faith to see them! But a great elder in my district, Elder Marcely, changed my thoughts. He taught that WE need to be the first and most important miracle in our lives! Before I can expect to see a miracle with someone else or a miracle with my work, I need to have a miracle happen within my Spirit. 

That led me to one of my favorite parts of the hymn I Believe in Christ:
I believe in Christ; he stands supreme!

From him I'll gain my fondest dream;

And while I strive through grief and pain,

His voice is heard: "Ye shall obtain."

I wish to add something to what this verse teaches. Even if we aren't striving through grief in pain, even if we are dancing through joy and relief, we need to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd. Each person seeks that voice. No matter where we are, no matter how far or how close we are to Him, we seek Him. With all we have. And until we find Him, we are not eternally filled. My dearest family, the miracles of Jesus Christ were not just for those who were blind, or lame, or leprous. The miracles are for each and every one of us. The Lord will seek us if we cant come to Him, but He looks at our desires. I invite each of you to seek that voice. To find the comfort to keep you going this week. Yesterday we went from having 160 people in sacrament meeting to having 110. When I saw how many people weren't there, even a someone set to receive the Melchesedek Priesthood, I wasn't angry. I wanted to go find them and tell them I loved them and wanted them back. I know the Shepherd thinks the same things about His lost sheep. I pray that you recognize a great miracle this week, a miracle in yourself. Don't just go through the motions of life because its what you're supposed to do. Do it because you're becoming something. And let us live in such a manner that we can stand with Him one day.

I believe in Christ; so come what may,

With him I'll stand in that great day

When on this earth he comes again

To rule among the sons of men.

Con amor,

Elder Risueño

P.S. I also invite you to learn a spanish phrase this week: LOS MILAGROS EMPIEZAN CON MI!

Saving Souls with Eternity and PB&J (Week 54)

Hello family!

This week has been really great and I cant wait to share some of the fun stories of what has been happening here in Tarija, Bolivia!

So for a fun thing, we are working with families so we are trying to find fun activities and such for Family Home Evening and I came up with the idea of introducing something so strange… PB N J SANDWICHES! That’s right. We are now going to our families and not only saving them eternally, but showing them the love we have for Peanut Butter! We have had so much success and Ive had a ton of fun! J

Another fun thing this week was that an Assistant to the President joined us yet again for a few hours during our proselyting. Its not very common that the APs accompany us since were not Zone Leaders, but they love being with us! The second time in 3 weeks they’ve come to be with us. My companion says it’s a sign Im bound to be an AP, but I know its because my mouth is almost as big as my heart, and they love how I make them laugh. But I loved being with Elder Knight for a time. How I feel so blessed to have so many people here in Bolivia who touch my life!

This week has been a great week for us, musically, as well. A few days ago we had a Zone Conference and each of the five zones was in charge of a musical number… And I ended up accompanying three of those five. And only one was really a musical number arrangement. And it was one of my favorite pieces, Savior Redeemer, of my Soul. I hadn’t played it in more than 6 months, I only practiced it once before the meeting, but I knew the Lord had given me this talent to bless the lives of others. So I played it. And somehow I finished the piece and saw my Mission President with tears In his eyes. The room was quiet because the spirit was so present with us and I knew that I had made mistakes, but I had shared my love and my testimony through this piece. I firmly believe I was blessed with this gift because the Lord knew I would use it to bless his children. I thank my parents, and my amazing teacher Grandma Nancy Cotter for always reminding me that for a listener who needs the Lord, they look not for a song of perfection, they look for a song of testimony and of love for the Savior.

One of the text from the hymn teaches us the following:

Oer rule mine acts to serve thine ends,

Change frowning foes to smiling friends

Chasten my soul till I shall be

In perfect harmony with thee

Make me more worthy of thy love

And fit me for thy life above.

As my teary eyed president shook the hand of Hna Thorley, who had sang, and as he shook my hand, I just marveled at the piano. I thought of the sons of Mosiah who had been instruments in the hands of the Lord. (Mosiah 27:36)   I had been that instrument. And each of us can be. From being a pianist, I will forever remember that the Lord doesn’t and will never require immediate perfection from His instruments like us. He requires humility, love, and a testimony. He wants to fit us for His kingdom, but to do so He must use us to build his kingdom and He must tune and refine us until we are in perfect harmony with him.  Mother Theresa said, "Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love."  Use her example and do some small things this week with great love as an instrument in the hands of the Lord.

This week we have found many families to teach. It has been a miracle. We have 4 investigators with baptismal dates for the 6^th of September. No one knows why I love that date so much haha. Well work for that date!

I love you all and I love that I found Kraft Mac n Cheese this week in the supermarket!

For a dollar,

The elder who is now using normal shoes because his toenail is slowly coming back to life.

Elder Risueño

Doing our Good Turn Daily (Week 53)

Hello family!
Happy Monday, as usual. I hope you are all enjoying your summer
vacation and just loving life at home. Life here is really awesome!
On a great note: My big toe is doing super well! Friday they took off
my bandage and now Im walking fine! Yay me! And after looking for like
3 hours, I found sandals that fit me and were my size. People thought
my shoe size, 46 in Bolivia, was a joke. But I found sandals! And even
a member of the Area 70 commented on my amazing sandals. Good thing he
was laughing! He also told me I played piano well during Sacrament
Meeting! Yay for Elder Valderrama.
I am still here in Tabladita. It'll be my 4th transfer here so Ill mark
just under 6 months in the same area. Elder Fasabi and I are still
together and that is perfect. I am so excited to be able to spend my
20th birthday in a great area with a great companion. And my friend
Hna Davenport is back in my ward and Elder Gygi, my best friend in the
mission, is my Zone Leader. Happy Birthday RJ!
So this week was kind of hard. But it was a great time to reflect and
I love those times. I thought back to when I was a Boy Scout. I used
to be a self proclaimed Anti Boy Scout for most of my life. I hated
camping and tying knots so I decided the Eagle Scout award wasn’t
worth it. Then after many years, my perspective changed one day. I saw
Scouting in a new light. It wasn’t all about the merit badges and
fulfilling the requirements and camping. Rather, it was all about
changing who I was and becoming a better representative of God and my
country. And it was that moment, that I decided to become an Eagle
Scout. The requirements were more like handrails on the trail to
manhood. I loved the slogan, ¨Do a good turn daily¨ because I saw it
as turning to Christ. Once I received my Eagle Scout award I spoke of
how we must follow the example of the flowers who turn to the Sun each
day, and we must turn to the Son each day. As I reflected on this part
of my life, I was led to the following text of a hymn:
Where can I turn for peace?
Where is my solace
When other sources cease to make me whole?

It continues…
Where, when my aching grows,
Where, when I languish,
Where, in my need to know, where can I run?
Where is the quiet hand to calm my anguish?
Who, who can understand?
He, only One.

I was reminded that we must be a person who sees being a member of the
Church because we love eating refreshments or chatting with others. We
must be a member who goes to church because we feel refreshed by
Christ and we have time to chat with His Spirit. Last night I was
taught a very powerful lesson: I was prompted to go visit a Less
Active I hadn’t taught in months. I thought he didn’t like me and he
was part of the sisters area so I kind of forgot about him. Well, God
said we needed to go back. At that moment. So we went. And he was
drunk. He told us of how he loved how I was always so positive and he
used us an excuse to not drink. (He would tell his friend he couldn’t
drink because the elders were going to visit him each day.) Then we
stopped visiting him and he turned to drinking. And it was that moment
that he needed us. Jose Maria needed more love from the Lord then and
he will need it much more. He said that he believed that the Lord had
let us stop visiting him to see how he could do alone. But Jose
couldn’t do it alone and fell again. And now he is starting his
journey, yet again with the Savior. He will work to turn to the Savior
each day.
This week I invite each of you to find a hymn that you can read, sing,
or listen to, before you pray. I know that it will help each of you
not just turn to the Lord daily, but do a good turn daily. As you
listen to the hymn, I know that you will be find the Lord even closer
to you than before.
He answers privately, (not in crowded areas)
Reaches my reaching
In my Gethsemane, Savior and Friend.
Gentle the peace he finds for my beseeching.
Constant he is and kind,
Love without end.

I love each of you and hope you all have a good week.

Love,
The elder with only nine toe nails… Elder Risueño

The loss of my big toe nail... :) (Week 52)

Well family,

Each week we all seem to be amazed with what I write and I am too! Haha this week has been so different, but so magnificent. I pray that the words I am writing will touch you and help you in each of your struggles.

So the day before Leo and Moises baptism about a week and a half ago, I felt a SEARING pain in my toe. And I avoided it. BAD CHOICE. I waited till Monday and showed it to my pensionista and she did her own surgery which hurt but didnt solve the problem. So Wednesday I humbled myself and went to the doctor. For my close family and friends, you know how sacred my big toe is in my family. It is practically a member of the family it is so big. So when the doctor looked at it and said, we are taking the whole toe nail, a part of me died. And I am a big baby. I am not ashamed of being a mommys boy. So she started with one injection of anesthesia, but because my toe is SO BIG (thanks Aunt Janet for always making sure my big toe was full) it took FOUR injections to calm the pain for the sucker. And it still hurt. I still screamed and was not happy. And there was one super important part that happened:

So the pain was not going away and the doctor was working on my toe and stopped the surgery and said the following: 

Look, your toe is infected and there is puss. The anesthesia doesnt take care of the pain that comes from this so youll have to get through it without help.
Dang it. I looked around. Mom wasnt there. No gringos were there. I was surrounded by foreign people. And I asked my companion for a pillow to hold and I didnt even have that. So I just grabbed the side of the bed and the only thing that came to mind was to shout really loudly the texts to I am a child of God and Families can be together forever. And so inbetween yells of pain, I managed to squeeze out a reminder that I was a child of a Heavenly Father who loves me and also earthly parents who love me. I know it may not seem so brave to have done that, but to me it was. I could have cursed God in English or said WHY ME or something like that. But I chose to thank God for what He had given me. And when the pain became unbearable, I cried in a vocal prayer asking for God to send someone to help me with the pain, and I didnt feel anything. and it was then I realized that the Savior had been with me all along. That he had sent angels long before I had asked him too.

I have thought so much about that moment. Sometimes we get so focused on praying for God to help us get through a trial or for Him to give us the help we need, but do we ever think that maybe he has already ¨been there and done that¨? I know that each of you is suffering, but are you changing your vision to see Gods care for you? 

More holiness give me,

More strivings within,

More patience in suff'ring,

More sorrow for sin,

More faith in my Savior,

More sense of his care,

More joy in his service,

More purpose in prayer.

Thats a hymn that I have read and sung many times this week. I see this verse as a step by step process. We have desires to receive holiness, and that leads us to have greater desires, but greater trials as well. As we recognize our weaknesses and sins, it gives us more faith in the One who can take away these struggles, and that leads to our awareness of Him in our lives, a joy that comes as we serve Him, and better prayers that come from knowing Him.

The day after my surgery I went to get my toe cleaned, and while on the way in a taxi, I spoke to a young lady for a good minute or toe (two. haha punny). I took down her contact info and gave it to the sisters. Last night as I was asking the sisters for how many investigators had a baptismal date, they said that this young lady and her mother both have baptismal dates. Ana was looking for someone to help her grow closer to Christ and she found it as I chose to see my life with Christ by my side, not just with Christ when I need Him.

I am fine now. I am walking well and we are teaching. I love each of you and I love my trials. I love my earthly father who was ordained an Elder 30 years ago, tomorrow. I am sure he was unaware of the trials that he would endure at that tender age of 19, just as I am unaware of the same now. But in the past 30 years he has continued to go forth and has done the Lords work, regardless of his struggles. And I will do the same.

For a dollar!
Elder Risueño

Take Gods Hand! (Week 51)

Hello my amazing family!

I just hope all is well with you guys. No big, but I did get to
baptize two people this week. And I only had to repeat one of them! My
amazing young friend Leo let his knee fly up so we had to do it again,
and I was moving him AWAY from the wall he thought I was dunking him
again and I was like NO! We have to say the prayer, too! Good teaching
time and it was fun for the both of us.

This past Monday, my pension loved me enough to make me SOPA PODEROSA,
a common soup here in Bolivia which is filled with vegetables and
juevo de torro. And torros don't lay eggs, so use your brain, people.
AND IT WAS SO GOOD! Big and good. And full of vitamns so they say. I
asked her to make it for my year mark lunch! Hahaha and for the main
dish? Cow heart on kabob sticks... How I love that lady! So delicious.

We also had the opportunity to have interviews with our mission
president and his wife. So its something super special because it only
comes once every 3 or 4 months so everyone prays and all that jazz. So
I got to my interview and the topic? Organization. No joke. Im just
super overwhelmed sometimes because I'm still super crazy in all the
thoughts I have and I cant focus and I still lose things and I was
just having a hard time. And then President gave me some great advice,
but for a time I could have SWORN it was my mother speaking. I wanted
to respond, Thanks mom, but I didn't because I'm not sassy anymore and
because I thought of that sassy remark AFTER the interview, Thank you
holy Spirit. But I am just super in love with life.

I really love seeing how much I am changing and how much I am able to
be a missionary even with weaknesses! Like, why would God want me to
serve him when sometimes I dont' even know what my investigators need?
Oh wait. It teaches HUMILITY. And it teaches us how much we need God
in our lives and how we NEED to pray to Him to figure out what to do
and where to go in life. And He loves to remind us how much we need
Him by giving us weaknesses! How amazing! We fall and hes like, Oh
here, take my hand and I'll lead you to eternal happiness. But
sometimes we act like two year olds and just sit there crying until we
realize that crying doesn't get us anywhere, thanks mom for that, and
we take His hand and walk into happiness. I love this verse from Lead
Me Into Life Eternal:

Father, all my heart I give thee;
All my service shall be thine.
Guide me as I search in weakness;
Let thy loving light be mine.

Guys, people ALWAYS tell me that I smile a ton and I'm like NO DUH! I
love God and I serve Him the best I can! I invite you all to do the
same. Just do the best you can and let God fill in the rest. If you're
too busy frustrated or crying or just being selfish, get on your knees
and pray. That's the best answer and only answer that'll bring you
everlasting happiness.

I love you all and I loved having a less active I rescued give me the
sacrament yesterday. Hes preparing for the mission now! YAY!

For a dollar!
Elder Risueño

As an Authorized Representative of Jesus Christ (Week 50)

Hello Family!

Happy Monday. I really hope all is well with you all and that you are
enjoying the warm summer weather in the US! This week has been crazy,
and I cant wait to share with you some of the happenings:

On a happier note, I found PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY this week! Yay me!
I shared it with my companion and we are both just so happy to have
our lives touched by such a blessing as a PBnJ sandwich!

So on a sadder note, Thomas isn't getting baptized. Well, not for a
while. He had a baptismal date set for last Saturday and he told us he
was ready and all that, but something happened and when we went to
visit him on Wednesday to see how he was, he pelted us with doubts and
stuff and it was a long lesson. I have never been so tired and so
focused on the Spirit to see how I could help him. It came down to
being time to get home and I just said a prayer and I told him, ¨Hno
Thomas, as an authorized representative of Jesus Christ, I testify…¨
and that's all I remember. I think that's all that matters. That I
shared with him that I had the power to tell him that Satan could
never win and would never win. That is what I learned. That as an
authorized representative of Jesus Christ, I had the authority of the
priesthood. Satan will never have that power and he will never win.

On a good note, we brought a FAMILY back to reactivity. They have been
to church enough, and have had interviews that they are no longer less
actives. We also are so ready for the two young jovens to be baptized
this Saturday! And we are filling out mission papers for the son to go
on a mission!

Just yesterday a sister came up to me and asked me if I would baptize
her 8 year od son this Wednesday. How special it will be, on the year
anniversary of my being set apart as a missionary, I will enter the
waters of baptism for the first time! And then on Saturday I will go
in again to baptize Leo Paocara.

This morning I watched a video that Ellyn sent me and she reminded me
that the most important change in our missions is OURSELVES! And that
is what I have thought about all this week. With the problems with
Thomas, but also with the joys of other people, I have to see who I am
becoming at the end of each day. Exactly one year ago today, at my
farewell, my good friend Rachel Lockhart sang the following:

I need thee evry hour most Holy One
Oh make me thine indeed, thou blessed son.

Guys, lets just reflect on those inspiring lyrics. What does it mean
to be made His? What kind of work does that include from us? I can
tell you it is not an overnight task. It is a lifelong task. It is a
task for eternity. But that is my deepest wish. That no matter how
many baptisms or rescues I have, no matter how high my numbers are
each week, that I am becoming more like my Savior. I promise each of
you at home that He needs us just as much as we need Him. There are
people to comfort, people to console, and people to save. And if we do
what He wants us to do, regardless of our imperfections, we will find
real purpose in our life.
I need thee, Oh I need thee,
Evry hour I need thee.
Oh, bless me now my Savior
I come to thee.
And happy one year mark to me this year. :)
Elder Risueño

DONT BLOW OUT THE CANDLE! (Week 49)

AHHHHHHHH!!!

You know that moment in Princess Diaries where Mayra sings Miracles
happen once in a while when you believe... Ya I definitely have been
singing that all week this week.

Some funnies:
Monday my COMPANION lost the keys.. NOT I! And so we had to climb in
the house through ladder and members had to help us. Love it! That
same day we ate chicken feet and chicken gizzard! I don't know where
the gizzard is located exactly, but yeah I know more or less. SO
GOOD. We also ate cow stomach!

This week we also had pizza from a great american place... thanks mom
and dad! And we ate hamburgers! so great!

I think there are more, but I forgot. READY FOR THE MIRACLES?!!

So we have 3 baptisms lined up for these next two weeks! Thomas is SO
READY to be baptized and he is excited. That's this Saturday... AND the
two jovenes got their parents permission to be baptized the 18th! A
MIRACLE! Fasts and prayers answered. They are also preparing to go to
the temple to do baptisms so I of COURSE bought some stuff to help
them get to the temple! I just want to be like THANK YOU EVERYONE AND
GOD FOR YOUR PRAYERS!

We also found a contact and we gave him a pamphlet to read and he was
kind of interested and when we came back he said that he felt that
his eyes had been opened when he had read the pamphlet and told us
then and there he wants to be baptized! YAY!

We have so many more miracles, but I am just so excited for these simple ones.

Now a quick story so the subject makes sense:
So we went to visit a family dealing with some problems and turns out
the power went out! So I was like YAY! TEACHING MOMENT! So we took out
the hymn book and sang the following:
The Lord is my light
The Lord is my strength
I know in his might
Ill conquer at length
My weakness in in mercy
He covers with power
And walking by faith I am blessed every hour!

How beautiful! So we prayed and then I blew out the only candle that
gave us light in the dark. The daughter got super scared and we just
sat there in the dark. And I was like How does it feel? Scary, bad,
etc. And then I told them that we are SO BLESSED to have the light of
Christ with us and that Christs light will never burn itself out, WE
WILL be the ones to blow it out. So no matter how hard our trials are,
no matter how crazy life is, we must NOT blow out that light. That
candle that leads us through the darkness. We cant progress in
darkness, and so we know that we always need light to guide us.

I testify that the light of Christ is the best gift the world has been
given. I invite you all to relight that candle if it is not burning
right now. We do that through prayer. And if it is burning, but needs
some more flame, we need to add some scripture study and church
attendance. I miss you all and love you a ton! :)
For a dollar!
Elder Risueño