We got to SEE and HEAR him! - Christmas Day-25 December 2011

Wow! What a week this has been! Merry Christmas everyone and have a Happy New Year! We didn't know that our Elder was going to skype with us until about Thursday night when we received a call from a family in his ward.



Here is some of what we saw!


What a great site for our eyes!





So happy to see everyone!



Pure JOY in his service to the Lord!



Good to see his 'sense of humor' coming through!

Elder Richards also received a new companion on Dec. 22nd. His name is Elder McElhaney from Arizona! Here are the 1st pictures we've received of his new companion:



Elder McElhaney!

Nick is EXCITED to be serving with E. McElhaney. They were in the MTC together and are now companions out in the field. This is the 3rd Elder that Nick is serving with from his MTC group!

Some of the things he expressed in our conversation is that he LOVES being on a bike...(even though he gets rained on all the time!) He says that it gives him the freedom of being able to stop and visit with EVERYONE he sees. He told us of a service experiences he had in handing out food to the homeless...and you could tell of the profound effect that and other experiences like that have had on him! He really LOVES the people of Virginia and all the opportunities he has of being able to share the gospel and giving service to them....

He isn't homesick either (I'm glad!) and his face just 'lit up' as he shared with us his JOY of being a missionary. He seems to get along with all the Elders and is trying to learn new things from each of his companions. He expressed that at the start of his mission he set a goal for himself to truly love each companion he served with. So far he has achieved his goal!  YEAH for the missionaries of the Virginia Richmond Mission!! It is the BEST mission in all the WORLD!

Nick was serving in Lawrenceville before he was sent to Portsmouth. One of his investigators he taught there was baptized and he told of how he was able to travel back for the baptism. He was so excited to see this young man come in to the gospel. Those have to be GREAT MOMENTS for any missionary!

He thoroughly ENJOYED visiting with his 3 sisters and Cory and Owen! It was such a joy for Don and I to listen to them visiting and giggling together! E. Richards has such a strong LOVE for his sisters and his bro Cory.

Our Heavenly Father has certainly blessed our family richly this past year. The year of 2011 was AWESOME and we look forward to many, many happy events this coming year of 2012!

I hope that you will all continue to enjoy Nick's mission with us this coming year! It's been quite an adventure as we've shared in the ups and downs of this experience with him. Please be sure to post messages to him. He will thoroughly enjoy hearing from each and every one of you! Your comments will only add to his great memories of this time of his life.

Love, Don & Susan Richards & family xoxoxoxoxo