Who We Are

Dearest family and friends,

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

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

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

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

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

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

For a dollar, and with much gratitude,
Elder Risueño

Let His Glory Round Us Shine

My loving family,

How is everyone? I sure hope y'all are getting ready for sissys homecoming. Just this morning I received her last letter to me from mission field to mission field and I definitely was filled with overwhelming gratitude for the greatest sister I could have ever asked for. She is by far my best friend I cant wait to be able to communicate with her more and receive her counsel in just two short weeks.

Quick update on my big toe nail: Pobrecito is not GROWING! So I am back to my old man sandals to wear for the next 3 months or so. Whatevs. I make it look classy.

So this week I had the opportunity to fly to Santa Cruz for a leadership council! How great it was to fly back ¨home¨ and see two of my old companions, Elders Chura and Gomez, and even my best friend from before the mission, Elder Wilkinson! It was a year and a half ago we met and spoke of that day when we would be zone leaders together. And here we are! What a great reunion. I also got to play piano for the conference and I just thank God for my talents. Many hearts were touched, including my own.

On the way home (after eating delicious CINNABON!) I prayed for an opportunity to share the gospel and I couldn't help but laugh as the man sitting next to me spoke to his friend about how he had been living in FRANCE for 2 years. Oh heck, I thought, here goes nothing. So he paused and I said Parlez-vous francais? And he responded Ouais. And there started the conversation. We ended up chatting in English, Spanish, and French the plane ride home and it was amazing. He was very open to the gospel and I know the Spirit touched his heart.

Conference was great! Yes, I loved the different languages and I think Elder Robbins of the 70 wins, along with Elder Jorg for the sassiness and directness. Holla.

So this week has been super interesting. Long story short, a lot of people have rejected me. And even with my last name meaning SMILEY. Its been rough, but has got me to my knees pleading for the Lord to direct me. I secretly love hardships like those because they let me really see the Lords hand in my life. I really had to take in what I teach. What I share. Everything. Because I saw that these peopleweren't seeing what I saw. And maybe it was because I needed to change some things. (A big shout out to the man on the bus this morning who told me I don't believe in the same Jesus as everyone else, and that Im not christian, and thank you mr. man for praying that God will lighten my path. And I hope you enjoyed my testimony because it can be more effective than bible bashing. Kill them withkindness. Thank you)

So one quick story to hopefully lighten your week. So last night after conference, and all the rejection Ive faced, I was ready to teach. We went to a family of recent converts and they spoke of how theydon't feel happy and life isn't like it was before they were baptized and it was rough. So we were led to focus on conversion. We looked up the defintion in the Guide to the Scriptures and its ALL FOCUSED on Jesus! On faith in Him. And so I just started questioning them about WHY JESUS and WHY we need to follow Him and they were excited and were like BECAUSE WE CAN BE SAVED ONLY THROUGH HIM and I said and does his suffering help ALL of us become redeemed or just some and they screamed ALL OF US and I said back firmly NO! ...and then it got quiet. And they were teachable. Jesus Christ did suffer so that all may be saved, but by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel (see Article of Faith number 3). Christ didn't just bleed from every pore so we could live and be happy, but so we could live and progress. So we could repent and repent and come to know the blessings of becoming perfect through many long years of struggles. If people don't want to change, they will have to suffer for their sins at one point or another. (See Doctrine and Covenants 18) We have a loving God who wants to see us change, and that's why we have this life to make those changes each day. Thanks to the Atonement, we can take the light of Christ, that comes from His atonement, and have that light shine about us. I repeat, the redeeming effects of the Atonement do apply to all, but they require the willingness to have continuous faith, to continually repent, to continually renew covenants after being baptized and receiving the gift of the Holy ghost, and continually enduring to the end. It is my testimony that the glory and happiness that comes from partaking of the Saviors atonement is a joy that will change our lives, and ultimately those around us. I finish with a hymn and invite each of us to meditate on the text:

Fill our hearts with sweet forgiving;

Teach us tolerance and love.

Let our prayers find access to thee

In thy holy courts above.

Then, when we have proven worthy

Of thy sacrifice divine,

Lord, let us regain thy presence;

Let thy glory round us shine.

For a dollar!
Elder Risueño

Giving my life to Him

Dearest darlingest momsy and popsicle and everyone else (I miss Wicked!)

This week has continued to be just crazy. I am so grateful for the amazing chances the Lord gives Elder Bailey and I to learn and to serve and to serve and to serve and to serve. Its the best! It does come with some costs, though. After trying to fix a problem in the Zone, my comp got a bit angry and as we left a home I told him he could vent to me, and he was trying to be like Jesus and did not want to say anything bad, so he just punched a tree. NOT the response I was expecting! but after he cleaned up the blood and now that the swelling is down, we laughed about it! I realized how opposites we are because I wanted to hug the tree to release my frustration and he punched it! Im still Mr. Congeniality here... or should I say Elder Congeniality! World peace, friends.

This week we had interviews with President Willard. This interview was amazing. I love him SO MUCH. Hes the best person ever. I just wish to share something he said to me. I told him my struggles with being the Zone Cheerleader and just trying to get everyone--missionaries, members, less actives, investigators, maybe even dogs in the street--to get excited about this work and I was getting tired. I just said WHAT DO I DO? And he simply said, Elder Risueño, I need you to partake even more of the fruit of the tree of life. Now, for those of you who have no idea what he is referencing, let me explain. In the Book of Mormon, the prophet Lehi has a dream where he partakes of a delicious fruit and this fruit fills him with immense joy and he desires that EVERYONE partakes of the same fruit. (See 1 Nephi chapters 8 and 11.) This fruit symbolizes the love of God. To partake of His love, one must walk through mists of darkness, but must also learn to continually hold on to an iron rod, which is the word of God (the scriptures!). In an animated interpretation of this story, those who partake of the fruit, start to shine more. They become brighter. And so it is the light they shine that leads others to the light of the world, Jesus Christ. So as I sat there in the interview, my first thought was How? I felt like I was already there. But I am so grateful to a loving Lord who showed me how much I lacked. I started to pray more, to give God my all, and wow. We have seen miracles. I cant even express the joy that has come to my companion and me as we have started lessons with each person sharing a miracle in their lives. We are working to be happier and to say THANK YOU! even more to our Savior. We have found more less actives to help and more people to love.

As we were walking through downtown Tarija to pick up some people for church yesterday, a thought came to my mind while singing a favorite childrens song. I invite each of you to read (or sing) the following:

I'll share my Savior's love

By serving others freely.

In serving I am blessed.

In giving I receive.

He knows I will follow him,

Give all my life to him.

I feel my Savior's love,

The love he freely gives me.

The Lord offers His love freely to each of His children. But whats the difference between the obedient children and the disobedient? The disobedient take Gods love and just brushes it off like dust on the cabinets. They see it as something that is just there. But those who are obedient take Christs love and use it to transform them. They see his standards as offerings of strength and peace. As this love transforms the obedient child, the obedient child inevitably will transform others by sharing the light and love received from the new life. As the child serves others, the light and love are found. I see light and love as the same thing because without love there is no light, and without light we cannot find love. It is by losing his life in the service of others, that the child receives the true joy found in a life of a disciple of Christ.

I add my testimony of this joy that comes from the fruit of Gods love. I echo the text of the hymn that the Savior KNOWS I will follow him, that I will give all my life to him. I am giving more and more each day. I testify that He leads and guides me just as much as He leads and guides you. I invite you all to partake of His love even more this week by improving your relationship with God through prayer and scripture study (read this talk!! https://www.lds.org/ensign/2009/08/opening-the-heavens?lang=eng) and also by listening to a prophets voice in General Conference.

Love you all for a dollar!
Elder Risueño

Proclaiming His Love

Dearest family and friends,

So being zone leader continues to be the journey of a lifetime. i am so grateful for my loving father in heaven who sees it fit to test me and help me see the beauty in small and simple miracles in this life. i also cant express how much i LOVE my sister who is going through the same struggles right now.

So one of the best moments of this week (funny wise) was walking into lunch and seeing the REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW JERSEY on, with spanish translations. not so surprisingly, the natural man, trash tv loving RJ Risueño was so interested in seeing what was happening with the gossip, but i just stayed calm and asked God for the ability to calmly walk in the room to turn off the tv. Anyway.

So this week was super different. in a good way. So Tuesday night as we were sleeping nicely, we got an emergency call that elder baileys visa papers were having difficulties in Santa Cruz so he was sent to Santa Cruz the next morning. i got put in a trio for 3 days and a little more. it was a really interesting experience. I kind of just put myself in the spot of angel and just accompanied the two companionships i was with and tried to see how an angel would feel if he were called to help these missionaries. and first off, i learned to laugh more. i love these elders. especially my good friend elder Langford. he taught me to laugh and to enjoy myself after a stressful day. But at the same time, it was sad. i realized how hard it is for missionaries to keep the faith. To trust the Lord and to be okay with going forth even without direction. but how grateful i am for being blessed with a great attitude. even though its hard, i keep going. not because i have nothing else to do, but because its the only thing i can do. and i have been blessed to see some fruits of my labors. To keep the joy in my life, I've been singing the missionary anthem:
Called to serve Him, heav'nly King of glory,

Chosen e'er to witness for his name,

Far and wide we tell the Father's story,

Far and wide his love proclaim.

This week i have been focusing on proclaiming His love. on showing people each day just how much God loves them and how everything i teach should relate back to how God loves His children and desires to help them be happy forever with their families. After a hard day in a trio, we went to a ward activity and a good member who goes on visits with us, Jose, came in with his dad. I had no idea whether his dad was a member or not, i just shook his hand and went on with life. A few minutes later, Jose asked us to teach his dad, who turns out to be less active. So we walked in kind of nervous because we were low on time, but I was comforted to know everything would be alright. Within seconds of starting the lesson, both Jose and his father were in tears. I learned of Joses father, Omar, who was baptized in the church, but left his testimony to the side when a storm of struggles hit him. He regretted his decisions, but it was his loving son who welcomed him back to the arms of our savior. Omars wife, and joses mother, passed away a few years ago and they have yet to be sealed in the temple. tears filled my eyes as 19 year old jose pleaded with his father to return to the Savior so that he could have the promise of being with his family forever. Omar committed to make it to the temple soon and he returned to the Savior. He felt His love and his life was changed. My dear family, this is why I do what I do. For moments like these. Yes, the struggles come, and they come hard. But there is no struggle so great that can beat down the knowledge that my family can and will be together forever, through obedience to our heavenly fathers plan of happiness.

My dear family, I thank you for your prayers on behalf of me and my missionary companions in this world. Our work is a great work, and it is your work too. We must work together to share this message of love with everyone. many will reject our message, but the few who accept it will be eternally grateful and eternally changed. I testify of the Living Christ, of whom I represent. I testify this is His work and He loves all of His children and blesses all, but wants them all to be eternally happy. That happiness can be found in the message I share and I invite all to learn more of how they can be with their family forever.

Of this I testify for a dollar!

Elder Risueño

In the Hollow of His Hand

Dearest family and friends,

Yet again I pray that this email finds you all in good places on your earthly journey. I know we all suffer through struggles, but I pray that these few minutes I get to spend with each of you will give you a little more strength to keep going.

So one of the random stories of this week is I got hemorrhoids because members kept feeding me lunch (I ate 2 lunches filled with soup, main course, and dessert in a row sunday and tuesday) for my birthday and tuesday my colon gave out. But I'm okay now! YAY ME!

Also, yesterday in my new ward I played a musical number in church and some investigators came and gave me a round of applause and the whole ward followed with them... Awkward. But thanks!

This week we had transfers and I moved a whole 5 minutes in bus down the hill. I can see my old area from my new area. But I am also a Zone Leader now. So for you people not familiar with missionary jargon, here's the DL on being a ZL. :) So my comp and I are the examples in our area. Our area needs to be the prime of all primes. Along with that, we are in charge of keeping track of the missionaries, especially the 10 elders in our area. We make sure they are obedient, they are working, and they are happy. We visit them, go on exchanges with them, and we train them. We are also in charge of keeping track of the money the missionaries spend that needs to be reimbursed and sent to the church offices. We are Presidents eyes and ears. We are an organized church and that is good, but it is work. So imagine the stress that can come with this role. I am so blessed to have a great companion, Elder Bailey. He was my old District Leader a few months ago, and is a great friend. We are working so hard and just feeling so much love from God. Hes from Ogden, Utah and is great. 

So with everything going on, we also went from having 30 lessons a week to 20. A big drop. And the Lord kept humbling us and humbling us. We realized our vision wasn't His so we fasted and prayed. We realized in this time that our ward doesn't have an Elders Quorum President because we don't have a priesthood holder worthy to fill that spot. So we realized the Lord needs us to build this ward. As a leader, its hard to change my focus baptisms to visiting active members, but the Lord needs us to do this work to bless many others. I have felt so close to the Lord as I have relied on Him with all I have. One night as we were meditating, a favorite song came on that has changed my perspective on life and the mission. I have changed some of the lyrics to make the song more personal:

Dear Lord, who blesses me with love,

Please send this day, thy spirit from above,

As I, thy child, accept a call from thee,

Help`me, I pray, to learn humility.

Direct my footsteps every day,

And keep me ever walking in thy way,

Inspire me as I preach thy gospel plan

Lord, hold me in the hollow of thy hand.

In the hollow of Thy hand, as I grow from boy to man

Help my understandings deepen and increase

In the hollow of thy hand, as I grow from boy to man

Help me know the special blessings of thy peace.

I know that this song applies to each of us. We each have been called to serve others, to put smiles on their faces, to heal them, and to walk with them. Its not an easy talk, but its the most rewarding. I promise each of you that as we make the decision to put aside our troubles to help others, we will feel the presence of He who walks with us each day. I know He holds us and cares for us in the hollow of His hand. It is my prayer that we can follow His example to heal those in need through our light we shine, the light of Christ.

I am now in downtown Tarija. Its a super nice area, and we have everything I could ask for. I am happy, and I am obedient. I love my Savior and His work.

For a dollar!

Elder Risueño

More than just a date of birth

Holy goodness!

This week has been crazy, so I apologize if its a longer email this
week. but lets get through the crazies!

I got to eat american food this week! Yay! And OF COURSE I ate pasta!
Tortellini! My comp loved it too. And we had a MIRACLE! WE FOUND DIET
COKE! It cost 1.50, but still. We had a great time burping through
life. It was a great day.

Aside from that, I have also eaten cow intestine (good, but chewy), a
jello made out of boiled cow foot (totally couldnt tell... so good), I
had a dog sniff my foot and then pee on it, and my favorite of all? We
went to go to visit a contact on my birthday and we went FAR AWAY and
a drunk man approached us in his truck and oh heck. I thought I was
going to be robbed. (Mom and dad, nothing happened dont freak.) So I
said a prayer and asked God to guide me, even though the drunk couldnt
hurt me because he was REALLY DRUNK so I just kept talking to him and
saying DIOS LE AMA! God loves you. And before I knew it, he was crying
and reached his head out the window to kiss me on the cheek! Yup. I
can schmooz drunks really well. And on my birthday. Winning.

My birthday itself was fantastic. I ate some traditional bolivian
food, they threw eggs and flour on me, and my comp even added a tomato
to throw on me! I was so loved that day. But the best event of all?
Fernando got baptized. And I baptized him. And it was beautiful I felt
calm and it was great. And after his baptism, he got to bear his
testimony and I had never heard his testimony before because hes kind
of closed about that stuff so when he got up and bore the sweetest
testimony EVER my comp and I got tearey eyed and just rejoiced in
being missionaries. Needless to say, I am just so grateful to be a
missionary. Thanks for the birthday wishes and everything.

Now this weeks message:
This week we got trained on Family History! We havent really focused
on it as a mission, but this week changed everything! We got super
cool pamphlets to fill out and to hand out and I am going to work with
my family to get all the info I need so I can share with others! Its
been AMAZING!!! I was filled with the Spirit of Elijah all week. But
what was the crowning moment of this week was my personal study on my
birthday:
I prayed really hard to find out what to study and I felt like I
needed to write a summary on Family History. I felt like it was kind
of boring, but it turned out well. With a few minutes left, I turned
to a general conference talk by Elder Cook entitled Roots and
Branches. While reading it, I was once again filled with this great
spirit of family history work and I saw that a quote from Brigham
Young cited in the talk was dated September 6th. My date of birth. The
quote emphasized temple work. Wow, I thought. What a coincidence! And
then I was reminded of a section of Doctrine and Covenants written
September 6th, as well. So I went to the 128th section and saw the
topic: Temple work. I realized it was no more a coincidence. I started
to tear up there in my apartment as I realized that my September 6th
is more than just a date of birth, it is a date of temple work. And it
was a date of conversion, my personal conversion, to temple work. My
fellow missionaries, I invite each of you to work this week to convert
yourself more to this marvelous temple work. To find your family
members, or other people, and help save the dead just as I am saving
the living. I echo the words of President Woodruff who said “I look
upon this portion of our ministry as a mission of as much importance
as preaching to the living; the dead will hear the voice of the
servants of God in the spirit-world, and they cannot come forth in the
morning of the [first] resurrection, unless certain ordinances are
performed, for [them].” He also said, “It takes just as much to save a
dead man … as a living man.

To all who are reading this, I testify of a Savior who did a great
work for us so that we could be return to the presence of our Father
in Heaven AS A FAMILY. I also testify that we can be Saviors,
ourselves, for those who need important ordinances such as baptism,
but cannot because they have passed to the other side of the veil. How
grateful I am for my father who has been the greatest example of a
temple working missionary in my life. He and my mom have always been
showing me the importance of hastening the Lords work for our
ancestors.

I finish with the text from a hymn I learned just this morning:
Now, o ye saints, rejoice today that you can Saviors be
Of all your dead who will obey the gospel and be free
Then let us rise without restraint and act for those we love
For they are giving their consent and wait for us to move
(The Glorious Gospel Light Has Shone Hymn 283)

We have a work to do!
For a dollar!
Elder Risueño

Picture of his zone with President Willard and his wife:

I dont know about you,but Im feeling 20, too!

Hello family!

Can you all just take a second to listen to some Taylor Swift because I DONT KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT IM FEELING TWENTY, TOO! I have literally waited over a year to start singing that. Holla.

Anyway, some cool stuff about this week. The coolest? I went on exchanges again with my good friend Elder Gygi. We started the mission at the same time, and have served half of our missions in the same zone. Last exchange we went on was back in December so it was nice to get back together. And then we realized the first time we had been
companions for a day was Tuesday, August 27th, 2013 when we flew from Peru to Bolivia. And 52 weeks later, on Tuesday August 26th, 2014, we were comps yet again! So fun! And we ate Mac n Cheese and sang Nacho
Libre! Fun life!

Ready for even crazier news? So I want y'all to go back to when I came here to Tarija, back in March. The ward secretary bore his testimony my first sunday and said that he felt that the Spirit had told him that I was sent to the ward to teach and baptize his father… That was 5 months ago. And we have worked and his father is getting baptize... THIS SATURDAY!! MY BIRTHDAY! I know! Dreams do come true. I love little old Fernando Villegas and he is so ready to be baptized. Yay!

So this week has been kind of hard as usual, but I always find some sort of happiness. So we went to visit a family going through a LOT of struggles and we visited them every day. Becuase they needed the love. So one day we were talking and Bro Mario is sick with stomach problems, his wife is working and is a little sick, and there are family problems. Sounds like my family! And he just kept talking about how once he has his surgery all will be better and if they only had the money to have the surgery life would be perfect. As he spoke, I opened my scriptures, but not to a scripture, I simply took out a laminated photo of my dad and me. I told the man of my familys story. How we thought all would be back to normal once they took out my dads pancreas. But once that happened, it didnt get better. That was 7 years ago and were still fighting this illness. And I told them that my family is sealed in a holy temple, my sister and I are both on missions, and my parents love and serve the Lord. But wait! Don't we have a ton of trials and isn't life hard? Yes. But we have decided to smile and serve because that's all we can do. We literally have nothing left. We do what we can and leave the rest to the Lord. No excuses. This family sat there astounded. Everyone knows me as the smiliest missionary ever, but they don't know what I've been through. And that's what I want. But there are times when people need to know that since JESUS CHRIST is the center of our beliefs and our religion, He must
also be at the center of our lives.

I am so grateful for my parents and my sister who have both taken to heart the meaning of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. That because of our Savior and Redeemer, we can overcome our imperfections just as much as we will all overcome death. But there are problems that will always be there. And there is a person who will walk with us just as we walk battle life's stormy seas.

I know many of you have sent emails and cards, THANK YOU, but I ask for each of you to make a decision to serve the Lord by serving others.

There is a hymn (a family favorite!) thats teaches the following:

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.

I testify that He is our only strength that will be able to help us each day. I testify that He is our only beacon to guide us through each dark night. And as we prepare for celestial glory, we may also realize that the glory in such places as temples come from the glory of Christ. So if we are preparing to receive the glory of the Sun, we are also preparing to emulate the glory, and love, of the Son.

With my last weekly email as a TEENager,
Elder Risueño... The almost 20 year old.