Dearest Family,
Como estamos? How are we? I hope everyone is great here. I continue to
just enjoy each day of the mission and love inviting others to come
unto Christ.
A few funny stories:
So on Halloween day it HAILED! A HUGE STORM! The first time we stayed
inside for a bit because it was literally dangerous. We booked it to
get home fast and Elder Bailey got hit by a hail! But he was fine.
Happy Halloween!
So I definitely had a Coalie moment with a members dog. We visited
their house and a dog jumped on me and I started talking in my high
pitched and WUSHHHH the pee flooded out of the dog and onto me.
Whatevs. Dogs love me!
Besides that, its been a pretty difficult week. We only taught three
lessons with investigators this week, one on Saturday night, the other
two just last night. The last two were miracles because we entered
church without progressing investigators and a couple came in and had
been invited by the sisters to church just an hour before and stayed
and LOVED CHURCH! The other investigator is the Elders Quorum
Presidents brother who was touched by his brothers example and has
accepted a baptismal date for November 29th. But lets rewind a bit:
So Saturday we started our fast and we were hurting. Five days without
investigators isnt easy for missionaries, especially leaders. But
Elder Bailey and I have spent so many great moments just saying
prayers of thanks. Each night we share our testimony and gratitude to
each other for our days. We never focus on the negative side of our
work, we just focus on being happy. And that is the key to life in
general. I say that a lot to each of you. But Saturday we came home at
4 to do some Progress Reports for the ward and had no where to go. So
I got on my knees and before I prayed, I chose a hymn to sing to
myself. Here is some of the text:
Nearer, dear Savior, to thee,
Nearer, nearer to thee--
Ever my anthem will be
Nearer, yet nearer to thee!
Loving thee, ever I pray,
Aid me thy will to obey.
Of all the anthems I could have, mine would be Nearer, dear Savior, to
thee. That's my goal in this life: to grow nearer and become more like
Jesus Christ. As I sat and prayed for direction, I felt a great
calming sensation, just as each of us always wants in life, and I
continued with the work. The next day we went to teach the couple that
we met in Sacrament meeting and we brought our ward mission leader and
his wife with us. We had a great lesson with this family. They were
impressed by the ward, we shared how the gospel blesses families, and
it was great. But as the lesson kept going, we didn't to the point of
our lesson: That God speaks through a prophet. That He still talks to
us as individuals, and that we are representatives of Jesus Christs
church. I prayed for a moment to share this message and I received it.
The husband was astounded that two 20 year olds were teaching him and
I stopped him there and said the following.
¨Sir, I may only be a 20 year old. I may not speak Spanish perfectly.
I definitely don't have a college education, nor a lot of life
experience. But what I do know is something I treasure greatly.¨ And
that's how I started the story of Joseph Smith. And that is how the
Spirit testified to their hearts that the message was true. It was at
that moment that I grew to know my Savior more than I had been able to
in previous weeks and months. Up until that point I had been ashamed of
the baptismal invitation because I didn't want to offend people. But
with that family, something changed in me. After having a dry spell of
lessons, I realized that baptism is the door to happiness. The door to
change. The door to Christ. And if I don't invite a family to be
baptized, I am not bringing them to Christ. We went from that lesson
to our last lesson of the night and we taught this new investigator,
Ismael, about the Book of Mormon. I testified to Him that this book
had brought me closer to Christ and than any other book I had read.
And from there, I invited him to come unto Christ through baptism. My
companion and I set the baptismal date for the 29th of November.
The changes that have happened in me haven't happened just because I
have a name tag on. There have been many others just like who haven't
been changed one bit by this name tag. The changes have happened in me
because I have come to trust in my Savior and Redeemer a whole lot
more than I used to. I pray to my Father in Heaven each day and find
the Savior in the book of Mormon each morning. I work so hard to
understand my Saviors will and do my best to help those in need. As we
enter the time of thanks and the time of giving, it is my hope that we
may also remember the time of loving. It is through Christlike love
and service that we continue to change and become better people. And
these changes are a little bit each day, till we look back and see
what Christ has made of us.
I love you all! :)
Till next week
Elder Risueño
Monday, November 3, 2014
Monday, October 27, 2014
Hey Y'all!
Hey yall!
Happy Halloween and parties and such. Life here is pretty darn awesome and I am so grateful for the fact that I am a missionary. I am just SO HAPPY! We call it fengue. Its like dengue, the fever, but with FE (faith)! Its super contagious and amazing.
And a few hours later, we were teaching outside and a drop of water mysteriously fell from the sky and I looked up to see a little kid with some water just spitting it on me. Love children!! JESUS LOVES THEM!
This week we have seen miracles. We had 4 less actives in church, and these people are coming back for good! Its so amazing to see people change because of a simple invitation home.
Come unto Jesus; He'll surely hear you,
If you in meekness plead for his love.
Oh, know you not that angels are near you
From brightest mansions above?
It is my testimony that prayer is the key to happiness. It is the key to any doubt, question, or uneasiness that besets us in this life. To those who may feel like He has left you, He is ignoring you, or He simply doesn't care about you, I kindly invite you to reconsider your thoughts. It is easy to complain, but it is not effective (thanks mom). I finish with a teaching of a less active, who said the following when asked about how she reTURNed to Christ. She said something like this:
I have learned that when we don't choose the right, Christ never leaves us. Hes always there reminding us what we should do. He always invites us back. He just waits and waits until we reTURN to Him.
I testify, as the Eagle Scout that I am, that the Savior invites us to do a good turn daily toward Him.
I pray that each of you has a blessed week this week. I love you with all my heart and thank you for your support. Let us all look for the angels on our individual journeys back home.
Till next week,
Elder Risueño
Till next week,
Elder Risueño
Monday, October 20, 2014
To the rescue
Hello family and friends!
I hope all is going well with you guys down in the U S of A! Life is going pretty darn well here. This week has been super hard and amazing at the same time and I cant wait to share with y'all the miracles of this week!
So last Monday we went to a place called the Casa Dorada, its a famous mansion on the $20 Bolivian bill and it was super beautiful. There was a piano there, an organ, and a lot of amazing art and just AMAZING! So while we were there, the tour lady got interested in our message and I had a ¨YOLO¨ moment and literally taught the Restoration IN the Casa Dorada. I recited the first vision and loved it! I sure hoped the dead people who had lived there were listening too!
So this week I also went to the doctor—thanks dad—to check out my toe and the poor baby isn't doing well. Well, I'm not in trouble. I just wear my sandals WITHOUT SOCKS and everyone sees my big toes and there are plenty of jokes going around about my feet. Love life!
So aside from that, this week has been a lot of learning for me. A few days ago it was super hot outside, all of our lessons fell through, and we had no idea where to go. I was burning like a disco inferno and didn't want to walk around lost all day so we had the idea to go to a plaza and hand out free juice!! It was fun! But off all of the 20 references we received in a few hours, none of them were for our area. But yay for new ideas!
Also, we got transfer calls early and Elder Bailey and I are together for 6 more weeks! Yay us! We are so excited for Halloween and Thanksgiving together!
So as we have gone through struggles here, I have come to know my savior more than ever. Its the biggest plus of having struggles. So I have decided to share with you some thoughts on Christ. Lets start with a hymn:
I marvel that he would descend from his throne divine
To rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine,
That he should extend his great love unto such as I,
Sufficient to own, to redeem, and to justify.
So lets focus on the word rescue. Ready?
There are two types of rescues:
- Salvation Rescue. A lifeguard does this when someone disobeys a rule or makes a mistake and starts drowning and dying and the lifeguard goes to the rescue to give the swimmer another chance at life. The Savior does that for us when we make mistakes. Many know that and use the Atonement in that sense. The song above may have been implying to that type of rescue. But I wish to focus my email on another type of rescue.
- Redeeming Rescue: A swim teacher does this while helping the swimmers improve. For example, for two summers I worked with 8 year olds as they worked to swim across the pool, width wise, so that they could pass a level. At first they started with their kickboards and with small strokes and kicks, and many times I helped them by holding their arms for them and showing them how to do it. But after a few days, its was time for them to swim on their own. They would launch off my thighs and start swimming by themselves. I would usually count till 3 to let them take a few seconds to work on swimming alone. Most times, they would get tired and not really progress, but start to drown. I would wait just a second to let them gain personal strength only attainable without my help, but I would NEVER keep my eyes off of them. And then, I would go to their aid, and when some wanted to cry, I would smile at them, look at them in the eyes, and say YOU DID IT! Lets go a little farther.¨ And then they would jump off my thighs again and swim again.
This rescue had a purpose: To let the swimmer grow and see the progress made. Maybe even to take a breath and realize that they CAN do this difficult task. What is important to note is that the swim teacher NEVER takes his eye off his student as he struggles. The teacher knows the students strengths and weaknesses and uses that knowledge to help the child grow.
Do you see it? Do you see the Savior in all of this? Many of you reading this email are active disciples of Christ. Maybe you don't need Christ to save you from some big sin. But do you see Him as a swim teacher? Do you see Him as you struggle for breath in this journey from one side of an mortal pool to an earthly rest in His kingdom? After this level of life, we go into another part where we will continue to learn. But if we don't come to trust the great Teacher who cares for us and loves us, we will not be able to grow as fast we could if we simply let Him guide our strokes. Its always easier to raise a child who is calm than one who screams and cries the entire time. And so it is with us in this life.
It is my testimony that Jesus Christ loves us. That He cares for us and He wants us to grow with Him. I love Him and I pray that each of us can take His guidance and trust Him as we swim through life.
Till next week,
Elder Risueño
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
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
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
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
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.
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;
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
Elder Risueño
Monday, September 29, 2014
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.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
Love you all for a dollar!
Elder Risueño
Saturday, September 27, 2014
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.
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
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