GO FORTH WITH LOVE! (week 48)

My dearest family,

Let me just start this out again by thanking you for the many prayers
on my behalf and for all of the support you give me throughout the
days. The prayers, the EVERYTHING. It is officially WINTER here in
Tarija and it is DARN COLD! We don't have heaters so we just bundle up
and keep working. But I love it because it reminds me of the good ole
BYUI days. My comp saw snow on the mountains and got so happy because
he has never seen snow before!

Music classes are going well. I LOVE IT! and I also got to play
Consider the Lillies as a piano solo yesterday and I MISS MUSIC! The
ward asked me to play solos each Sunday just to help bring the Spirit
in. YAY! Well see what happens...

Work wise:

My comp and I followed Ellyn's advice about fasting and fasted... It
was hard, but good. We are looking for FAMILIES! And we felt the Lords
hand in our lives as we had more members go with us to lessons. We
have found families, we just havent been able to teach them. I feel
the Lord responded to our desires by just helping us work better
together. I LOVE THE GOSPEL!

Our two jovenes, Moises and Leo are both progressing so well and just
loving church. They told their mom they are preparing to go to the
temple and she said its too holy for them! hahaha, mothers. BUT we need
dads permission to get baptized. They want me to baptize them and I
want to baptize them but we need permission! Tomorrow we'll teach them
about fasting and invite them to fast so they can get baptized...
PRAYERS!

Now the rough part:
Hna Carmen, the lady with cancer and to whom we sang many times,
passed away this week. We went with the bishop to say goodbyes Tueday
night and he blessed her to enter into the Lords rest peacefully. One
of the best moments of my mission happened with her: She was in a ton
of pain and couldn't speak because of a clenched jaw, but she could see
and think fine. So I went to see her eye to eye and her face lit up
and she said HERMANO RISUEÑO! GRACIAS... and then I lost it. Forget
the fact that we are from different countries and such, but I am a 19
year old young man who has been called of God to preach His gospel and
to tell His children that they are loved. That's amazing. Hna Carmen
changed my life. We haven't been able to teach her family because they
live far away, but I know that we will have moments to do so.

As I have reflected on what to share with each of you, I have thought
of the importance that each of us to share the gospel. In his talk
this past April, Elder Ballard invited each person to get a hold of
Preach My Gospel, the guide to missionary work, and to read it! To
study it!and to apply it! He spoke of the joy that would come to all as
they share what they are learning in this god sent tool to be a
missionary! https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/following-up?lang=eng
That's the link to the talk. I invite you all to read it and think of
the difference you can make as you share the simple truths others
need! Start at the beginning of the book, or with the lessons, or
wherever! But just say a prayer that the Lord will guide you to those
who need His love. I would like to revisit a hymn I shared a few
months ago:
Go forth with love to tell the world
The joy of families--
That we may be with those we love
Thru all eternity.
Go forth to serve and do your best
With no thought of reward;
Then you shall know the boundless joy
Of serving Christ, the Lord.

I love you all and hope you all have a good week. I hope each of us
reaps the blessings mentioned above as we serve the Lord.

For a dollar and con mucho amor,
Elder Risueño

Hey There Family!!! (Week 47)

Hey there family!!

So Im super sorry about the email not getting you, I swear I wrote a letter and sent it, but thanks mom for being awesome and just smart as usual! Life is good!!

So the past week has been cray cray but good. Ready?

So I hit my 11 month mark this week! Holla!

Transfers came and I am still here in Tarija and that is good. I did happen to get a new companion! His name is Elder Fasabi. He is NOT chinese or cambodian. I thought he was. He is Peruvian. He and I are going home at the same time, so we are super happy to be best friends. He is 19, as well, and his brother is serving in Honduras as well, but in Tegucigalpa! He and I work so well together, are completely aware of our weaknesses, but are so willing to both call upon the Lord to help us as we work to help our investigators. He knows NOTHING of the Englihs language, but wants to have more job opportunities so we are working with English as much as we can in the mornings.

Thomas received the answer to his prayers!! On Monday he told us he didnt know if it was true and he was really skeptical but we said PRAY PRAY PRAY and he was like yeah okay. So we stopped by the house a few days later and he was like, I got my answer Ill tell ya later... and later came and he was like yeah, I know Joseph Smith was called of God. SCORE SCORE SCORE. We just have to wait for him to get home from his trip and the baptism will be planned! 

Our two teenagers are still waiting for their parents permission. Their mom is totally for it, and dad left yesterday for his 15 day trip to work in the fields. PRAYERS! Leo and Moises are just so amazing.

Aside from that, we are just praying that our investigators will progress this week. We are looking for new people, but we are also praying for better ways to help our investigators who are already learning about the gospel to progress. I am super happy right now with my companion and I know that the Lord is guiding us.

A bit of sad news: I have shared some storied about Hna Carmen, who has been battling cancer but has received such strength from the testimonies I have shared about dad. We visited her Saturday and Sunday, and she isnt doing well. I dont think she will make it another week she is so weak and the doctors arent really visiting her. We have been able to sing to her each time and just shared our love for her. She falls asleep as we sing and it is so beautiful to be there to strengthen her family. As I have spent some time contemplating these trials she is passing, my heart has been comforted by the following verse of How Firm a Foundation:
When through the deep waters I call thee to go,

The rivers of sorrow shall not thee o'erflow,

For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,

And sanctify to thee...thy deepest distress.

I testify my dearest family members and friends that the Lord who suffered for us, will also suffer with us. He loves us so much and we have chosen to come to this Earth to become transformed. To return to our Father in Heaven as people more like Him. I promise that though our troubles may be great, the love of our Father in Heaven and Savior are greater. I love each of you and I am grateful to be here. 

For a dollar,
Elder Risueño

I love daddy! (Week 45)

Happy Monday family!!

I hope all is well in the US and that you are enjoying the beautiful
weather! Here in Bolivia it still gets super cold at night, but Im in
love with the work here! We have definitely had some setbacks this
week, but we are continuing forth with the work! Hno Fernando, our
golden investigator, is not ready for this Saturday. He told us that
he wants to wait till he visits his son in Santa Cruz next month
before he gets baptized. The good news is that he wants to talk to his
son about baptism and invite his son to be baptized too! So that’s
good. But no baptism this week. Our other investigators with baptismal
dates each are passing through their own difficulties, but Elder
Zavaleta and I refuse to give up hope! That’s the beauty of being a
representative of Christ: We cant lose hope that others will change
because Christ has never lost hope that we will change!
Today I just want to focus on my dad because its Fathers Day this
Sunday. I had two chances to share some stories of my dad with others,
one of which I would love to share. We got to teach Hna Carmen once
this week and she was so excited because she was having a GOOD DAY.
That’s my dads life… The good days are always few and far between, but
taken advantage of. She spoke of how she had been praying but didn’t
know if God was listening or if her life had much meaning. She has
been suffering some trials healthwise, and as my companion was
teaching, I pulled out the photo of my dad and me and just smiled. I
thought of how much my father has suffered with his health, but the
hope and courage he has continued to show as he fights valiantly. I
thought to myself, Thank you Dad. That was all I wanted to say to him.
If my dad hadn’t been so strong, I wouldn’t have been able to testify
to these people how important it is to keep going. Even when we feel
like its not worth it, our family is what makes it worth it. My dad is
all I have and I don’t want him to think that its okay to give up,
because its not. This life isn’t just about our personal well being,
but the well being of those we love. My dad and I haven’t always been
super close, and we have had some crazy rough moments (thank you,
teenage years), but I love my dad so much. He has shown me the
definite example of the Atonement. He has suffered so much so that I
can be happy. So that I can be with him for this time. He has been
patient and loving, even when I was the opposite.
My cousin Suzie told me that my first sentence that I could articulate
as a child was I love daddy. That seems perfect to me, 19 years later.
Friday, as we were walking the dusty roads without anyone to talk to,
I took a few minutes to write a song to the tune of IM SO GLAD WHEN
DADDY COMES HOME. I call it IM SO GLAD WHEN DADDY WRITES ME because
when Dad writes me, it’s a good day. I hope you all enjoy.

Im so glad when Daddy writes me
Glad as I can be.
Clap my hands and shout for joy
And write him back quickly

I tell him that I love him so
He does so much for me!
And in the end hes my best friend—
I love Daddy! KISS NOISE!

Anyway, that’s it for this week. Thanks family for being awesome.
Thanks for your prayers. The work here is progressing and we are
hoping for baptisms in the coming weeks. I love the Lord and His
sacrifice.
For a dollar!
Elder Risueño

Love, Learn and Overcome (Week 44)

Happy June!!

 

I love you all so much and just want to see a virtual SMILE across your faces right now. That's right, peeps, break out them smiles. Because the world needs it.

 

Anyway, the work here is going really well! Ready for some funnies for the week?

 

The best moment of this week had to have been when we were teaching a super spiritual lesson in a poor house and my companion was testifying of the priesthood and WABAM! I totally fell THROUGH the chair... Like my bottom was on the dirt. Everyone was dying of laughter. I couldn't hold it in either. Like my comp ALWAYS gives me a hard time for eating so much and then obviously I realized I have a problem. Whatevs. Don't judge. But I loved it! I love the mission.

 

This week we got to sing to our good friend Carmen who has cancer. We stopped by her house and her husband told us to come later because she was sleeping and we sheepishly said, but we came to wish her a happy mothers day! And we got in. :) We sang count your many blessings. And it was awesome because we dont sing on tune, and we invited hno enrique to sing with us and he was like, yeah no. But then by the time we got to the chorus for the 3rd time, I heard a 3rd voice. At first I thought it was an angel, but it was hno enrique! YAY! Hna Carmen was so happy for the visit. And then we came back a few days later and Hno Enrique and I washed his clothes which is HILARIOUS because I never washed my clothes at home and we had machines! Sorry mom. LOVE YOU! Lives change.

 

Last Monday I invited you all to practically, find yourselves by losing yourselves. So I decided to do the same. And I started with my personal study. I got on my knees and just prayed that the Lord would lead me to scriptures that would help others. Oh how awesome it went. Each time I did that, I went to a lesson and the scriptures I had studied were ones needed by our investigators. It was a testimony of the love the Savior has for me as an instrument in His hands. We had miracles happen with the Hno Fernando, his son said that I was sent to this ward to baptize him, and guess what? He wants be baptized the 14th!! No joke! So amazing. I love this work and that I'm here. You guys, I also interviewed a lady to be baptized and I felt the love God has for each of us. I even finished THE CONTINUOUS ATONEMENT grandma sent me. I have grown so much. I love this work. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. But its not easy. Life isn't easy. The day after my DAY OF MIRACLES, I had a meltdown. I felt like my weaknesses were too big to take on, so I just lost it. Lets be real. The stress is crazy. But how grateful I was to feel the presence of angels as they bore me up. I was blessed to pray to my Heavenly Father and feel His arms around me. Sometimes we feel like we cant do it, but we can! In the continuous atonement, Brad Wilcox reminds us that as our heart beats with UPS AND DOWNS on the monitor, it shows that we are alive. But when its a straight line, were dead. So ups and downs are good. :)

 

With my love for the Savior and for this work, I just want you to read the lyrics of this hymn to finish off my letter:

 

Thru test and trial we'll have our fears,

But we will not despair.

We're here to serve a righteous cause,

Truth gives us strength to dare.

We'll love, and learn, and overcome,

We'll sing a joyful song,

As Zion's youth in latter days,

Triumphant, pure, and strong.

 

My dear friends, I simply hope that in each of our journeys  we will be able to love, learn, and overcome as we walk in the paths of the Lord. Remember that we are to LOVE first. As we love whatever is happening, it is only then that we can learn and overcome and sing that joyful song. I love each of you with all my heart. I love this gospel and I love the trials I face. The Savior wants us to use his atonement to grow and that is what well do.

 

For a dollar and con mucho amor,

Elder Risueño

Growing up (Week 43)

Happy Monday family!
This week has been amazingly COLD. Winter is officially here in Tarija
and I am just like enjoying EVERY SINGLE MINUTE because I know that I
will never freeze my toes off like this again. So I am just keeping
the smile going and loving life. The cold is so humid and down to the
bone. 5 layers dont do any justice. But the good thing is there are
always things like socks made out of alpaca that can help save the
day. And a nice warm shower. Thank you, nice house.

This past week we went to a place called the Casa Vieja, or old
house that is famous for its wine!! We didnt try any, even though it
was free, but it was so beautiful and I cant wait to send some
pictures. I love Tarija and I love that we can just enjoy the culture!
This past week something really fun happened: So I decided to laminate
my family photos just so that I can be super prideful of my family and
show them off to everyone. So I started with the family that gives us
lunch each day and they were SO AMAZED at how beautiful Ellyn was. My
pensions son even wants to marry Ellyn. I hope its a joke. But
needless, they asked if they could keep ellyns picture and I was like
WHY NOT? And then Hna Morales put it next to her FAMILY PHOTOS. Hahaha
I took a picture of it and youll see it in a few.
Oh, big shout out to GALE VAN PATTEN for sending me a super sweet
card. You are amazing. 
So this week has been one of those growing up weeks. Well, I called it
that about a week ago. So I decided it was time to grow up because I
am almost 20, I have FINALLY found reason to shave each day like it
says in the Missionary Handbook, and I feel kind of old. So I decided
to Budget my money, for the first time EVER, and just try and be
organized. And the whole money thing is going REALLY well. Turns out
going to the grocery store once a week is A LOT better than going to
get fast food each day. WHAT A CONCEPT! (Thanks, Mother.) But besides
that, Ive been losing more things. I left my copy of mission pictures
in a taxi, and the taxi didnt want to let us visit him so I dont have
his contact info (for the record, my original copy is safely en route
to the US… hopefully it gets there). And like it was one of those
moments where I just had to suck it up and just go on with life. A few
days later, I lost my gloves too, but an angel left them out on the
Street for me to receive the next day! AWESOME! So with all of that, I
have been feeling a little bit lost. I see that so many times we feel
like we are trying to get to a better place, but we are just being
pushed farther and farther back. But then something happened this week
that I want to share with you: So I have had more chances to share the
problems my family has passed through. Last night, I spoke to a family
about how even though my dad was sick and suffering a lot at home, I
had the ability to be in Bolivia because I knew that we would be a
forever family. That my family is keeping their promises that each of
us has made with God and that nothing can separate us now. The man we
spoke to was just in awe of the power I had in my testimony. As we
finished the lesson, and invited him to baptism and he accepted the
invite, he also prayed intently for my family. He prayed that they
would be blessed for their sacrifices and have peace. That stuck out
to me that my trials are for a reason. For me to grow and appreciate
that I am imperfect.

A few hours later, we walked up a super steep hill to get home and my
legs were hurting and my back too and I was super cranky and then I
paused for a second and turned around. I saw a beautiful view of
Tarija and I was filled with love for the new view I could see because
I had climbed that hill. Had I not suffered the hard walk, not only
would I have missed the view, I wouldnt have been able to return Home.
It is the same with our lives, my dear friends. The hills may be
steep, the frustration may be too much sometimes, but we must return
Home to our Heavenly Father. He has sent us here to learn, to grow,
and to come to Him with a greater view of who we are. That we can
become like He is and that we, too, can help many others. I know that
we can. In my sisters room, she has a poster of yoda that says DO OR
DO NOT, THERE IS NO TRY. But that isnt true with God. Because He wants
to see us try and try again. He knows that without falling, we can
never rise to greater heights. He wants us to become like our Savior
one day at a time.
I'm trying to be like Jesus;
I'm following in his ways.
I'm trying to love as he did, in all that I do and say.
At times I am tempted to make a wrong choice,
But I try to listen as the still small voice whispers,
Love one another as Jesus loves you.
Try to show kindness in all that you do.
Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought,
For these are the things Jesus taught."

I invite each of you to try and be a little more like Him this week.
Let us all work together and try to find ourselves as we lose
ourselves in the service of others. Ill let you know next week how my
own challenge goes. I love you all, I pray for you, and my
investigators are doing fine. No baptisms set up for this week, but we
need some more help from the Ward. Please pray that we will receive
that help so that the investigators progress.

For a dollar!
Elder Risueño

10 months! (Week 42)

Hello family!!!

Holy heck! 300 days as a full time missionary?? The days feel like weeks but then the weeks feel like days... Sure is true! I really hope all is well with each and every one of you and I pray for you all when I remember... I still am working on not falling asleep as I pray in the morning hahaha

This week has been AMAZING. I am so blessed to be here as a missionary. We are definitely going into Winter here... Its getting colder earlier in the day and I am NOT ready for that. We don't have heaters here, so we just have to bundle up as much as we can. All I can say is that Im grateful for my super fancy shmancy bathtub shower. I may live there when it gets cold.

Anyway, THE WORK! The work is going really well. We are just seeing a lot of success with the Book of Mormon. We are reading it with our family that feeds us lunch each day and they came to church Sunday. Power. We worked with my favorite old man, Fernando Villegas, and read the Book of Mormon with him and after 3 weeks HE BROUGHT UP BAPTISM! Hahaha LOVE IT! MAGIC! I know I was called here to help bring him to baptism so I am sure hoping the 31st works out for him.

NELY WAS BAPTIZED! Yesterday morning at 7am. It was a super early morning for me, but it was great. For the first time in my mission, I am really seeing people progress as I become a better missionary. I know that I am imperfect, but the Lord works with imperfect people! But I am JUST SO EXCITED to see these people coming closer to God! We even have our great joven, Leo, just loving the church and wanting to get baptized! the 31st is going to be a great day, I think!

So you ready for some other craziness? So president willard, in answer to prayer, called a district leader training meeting and we CHANGED district meetings! They are ALL ABOUT PRACTICES! I hate practices. Even though I practice to live through life with piano. But I hate it. So president told us we need to practice and we really helped and was spiritual and I saw my best friend ELDER WILKINSON. We met right when we received our calls and now we are both leaders together. Love him. So I sucked up my pride and we started practices and we are seeing MIRACLES! the district meeting was a success and we are applying what we practice and we are just sulking in the lords blessings. I love it. Oh, a sister in my district got CHICKEN POX! no joke. Yup. Elder Risueño to the semi rescue.. the sister leader trainers did most of the work because i cant enter their house or visit them...

OH! I BARFED AGAIN THIS WEEK! Sorry, but its a good sick story. So my 10th month mark came and I ate a lot. I bought some delish white chocolate from a less active, a member bought us chicken and fries, I ate cookies, and coke, and oranges, and chips, and more chocolate. So when I got home I was like OH DANG IT. Here it goes again. And it came and went. I was NOT TOO WELL yesterday. But I was like THANKS DAD FOR HELPING ME. I just kept plugging along like my dad. And I made it through. Love yall.

Anyway, special thanks to Mom for the card. I sent her an email April 14th telling her I was going through a hard time and 3 days later she sent me this card cheering me up. PROPS TO KARE BEAR! I love you! You're the best.

And a special thanks to DFM or Dawn Fudge Miller for my books. Brad R Wilcox books are the best. Thanks for your testimony in it. I really just want you all to know something I've studied this morning. A testimony isn't just the light that we carry through the dark tunnels of life, it is the light that carries us through the dark tunnels of life. When we feel like we cant get through the troubles that face us, we know that the Lord is walking with us and will never leave us alone. I testify of that. I testify that as we search for a greater knowledge of our Savior, that it was what will get us through the dark days. As we take that light that we have and share it with others, we will see our light get brighter because God will want us to bless others.

As a favorite hymn says:

Abide with me, tis eventide

thy walk today with me
has made my heart within me burn
as I communed with thee

Thy earnest words have filled my soul

and kept me near thy side

I promise you that our Savior will abide with us only as long as we take this burning within our heart and help those in need.

I love you all and ask that you PLEASE send some piano solos for church or special musical numbers for vocal solos. That are hymn arrangements. People sing in my zone.

For a dollar!
elder Risueño