Mom and Dad!
Things here are going well. Elder Carter and I are doing great. I'm not the senior companion. But I have to show him the area so that he can advise me on things to do differently; so I'm still a companion to a district leader - and it's fun!
The members in the branch have been awesome! Some bore strong testimonies on Sunday that were just amazing. Also, my companion and I taught Elder's Quorum on the fly. It was really fun!
We're now going to be teaching Gospel Essentials for the next few weeks. One of the coolest things is that 2 young men here who are preparing to serve missions came up to us with a ward roster in their hand and asked me what it was for. I said, "I don't know, what are y'all going to use it for?" Then they asked me what the Aaronic Priesthood duties are - without looking in the Doctrine and Covenants. I said they were to 'fellowship and to uplift the members.' They said that that's what they were going to do with the roster; they are going to go and visit all the less actives on the list, teach, testify, fellowship and uplift. Then they will report back to us and we'll see how things are going; then we can have them do more things with us. So our young men are doing a stellar job! They're both excited to do missionary work and we're stoked to get them involved more.
It sounds from the letters that Dad's beginning to be an old geezer! Haha whateva! Your not old. I hear the 50's are the new 30's, LOL. My companion Elder Carter and I are trying to fall asleep really fast (mainly me because he snores ALOT) lol. He said to lay in a way that's super comfy and then try to put parts of your body asleep and then think of "I'm suppose to go to sleep, it's night time and I'm going to sleep." He can literally fall asleep in about 1 minute. THAT'S CRAZY!
Anyway, I hope y'all don't wear yourselves out. I hope things are going well and that you've enjoyed my letters!
The humidity here is crazy; cold one day and really hot and sweaty the next!
Hopefully, we will get to do more service soon. It's really fun to put myself to work out in a field, although not too hard. Because my ankles are giving me a hard time, I'm elevating them as much as I can and soaking them in epsom salt and then I apply icy hot at night. They still hurt every now and then; but it's all good. I'm also realizing that if I want to feel less tired I should work out more in the morning, to improve my stamina and lower stress and such.
The people that we're teaching are mostly african american. They love the gospel but don't know where to find happiness; saying they don't need another bible; but it's going well. We're teaching a family that is a referral and they were really nice about hearing about the restoration. I hope their desire grows.
Today I shared the letter that Laura wrote me for Christmas with my companion Elder Carter. It was so EPIC. I really couldn't finish it without crying. I really hope she understands the gospel and how it can help her in her life. I don't get many letters from the girls. However, I did get a hand written one from Amy and I was super stoked to find out that she still goes to church and listens to the lessons at church. It still really brings me to tears when I read all the letters from Christmas. All of those letters from y'all really made this last Christmas the best in my life. The girls still have testimonies and I know where they can find them. Something universal that has helped me is to open up the topical guide and look up the topic on how you are feeling. So I did that and my day really got much better. Another topic to look up is "problem solving" also in the topical guide and use that as a ladder to solve any issues y'all might be having.
I pray for y'all every day and hope all is well.
I love ALL OF YOU!
Remember Remember......
with all my love
Elder Richards
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