Turtle in Tree!

Hey Everyone!

As you can see, there is a dead turtle in my plant that one of the other Elder's put there. Haha! It's sad that it's not alive - but it's all good. If only I were afraid of dead animals........!

So these last few days have been great!

Thank you for all your emails today. It's great to hear that Mickey is Dad's HT companion. There is a video on lds.org entitled "On the road to Damascus" about how people are waiting for something big to happen when they will not SEE it. How they need to just commit to the gospel and look at the BIG picture of how the gospel will affect people's lives.

http://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#waiting-on-our-road-to-damascus  Click here and watch this great video!

It's great to feel the wonderful fulness that the principles of the gospel brings, to see what happens when we give to others. When giving something valuable to others, even when we really don't want to but do it anyway, there is a feeling in our hearts. Something that fills (an empty space) we didn't know was there. A satisfaction that fills every facet of our minds and bodies. That is the gospel. Read Alma 1:30, Alma 7:23-24. (BEAUTIFUL scriptures!)

It's AWESOME!

I'm grateful that the lessons in the Relief Society are so good (Mom) and hope they continue to be (inspiring). Being able to see how the gospel has effected people's lives is AWESOME! Even after so many years; and yet it's the small moments that those people remember and the fact that someone listened to the Spirit in order to follow that prompting and blessed someone's life. It made an impression (mark) on them and they remembered that. It's great!

So I am stoked to hear that the Sisters are coming over and planning what to do with investigators and the less active. Dad, one thing that will really help with the ward growth is matching members up with investigators for fellowship. Someone they can relate to, someone they can call anytime and explain something about the gospel to them. 

That fellowship is KEY; and inviting them to activities is great also.

So this week is hopefully going to be more fulfilling. I hope that we're able to get our lessons in with the people we're teaching. We're meeting with Daniel tonight. I just spoke to him over the phone last night and he's ready to meet tonight. We're going to be trying to help him overcome his addiction to smoking and possibly help with his drinking; so keep him in your prayers that there will be distaste for those things.

Well, I hope everyone enjoyed these things. I hope you all enjoy your week!

I love you all!

Elder Richards

Virginia Richmond Mission

The Church of Jesus Christ

of Latter Day Saints

Hello Everyone!                                   8 May 2012

So this week is going really well!

We're getting more people to teach; greater trust from our ward where we are serving and things have gotten better because of repentance.

I know that our immediate situation improves because of repentance, understanding the Atonement. Our relationship to God is so important to our repentance. When we understand Deity, our repentance is far more significant.

We can feel the Spirit more in our lives and we can know, through the Spirit, our purpose in this life and what we should do if we want righteousness; the Spirit works for that goal in our lives.

When opportunities come; which they will, we need to tell God what we're going to do, what we're doing and what we did. We should also share our thoughts throughout the experience. I can promise that the more we do these things, our trust and relationship will improve with God.

So this last week we got the chance to meet Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles. His words to us were AWESOME! We also got to meet Elder Jensen of the Seventy. When they were in the room - there was so much light! Things were GREAT!

For those who wonder if The Church is true, you don't need to meet an Apostle or the Prophet. Simply repenting and praying and attending Fast and Testimony Meeting will bring even more light - if not the same light as meeting a 'Called Servant of God. The witness is still the same from the Spirit. It's been amazing to me to see that and experience it.

I love you all. I'm going to send some recordings to y'all of my spiritual experiences. Enjoy!
(I tried to put them on here and they didn't work......Sorry!)

Elder Richards

Virginia Richmond Mission
The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints.

Hey Everyone!

It's good to hear that everyone is doing well! Things here are going well! We are continuing to gain more trust with the Bishop of the ward and we're having appointments with people who are in part-member families and it's going good...a little slow...but hey.."no worries"!

Other than my latest bike spill last week things have been good. I have a GREAT companion to work with and some good roommates!!

Recently, we've been doing service for this family in our ward. Actually it's a HUGE family and only 1 person is a member. My companion and I both had a good talk with this member about how GREAT the Church is and how it's good to set the example for the coming generations. I loved being able to talk about a subject that I am very passionate about. Sometimes when you know a person it's easier to converse with them about things of great importance because there is already a trust built up with them. It's so nice to see someone's face light up; to see their smile and the look in their eyes. Great to see and feel that connection with them about what you are teaching. You can tell they need and want what you have (as far as the gospel)and it's a great feeling to know that you can give/share that with them!!!

My weakness is sharing that knowledge effectively and expressing it in a good way! I guess being a 'gamer' all those years didn't serve me very well. I know I won't be doing much of that when I get home; I'm going to stay busy fixing everyone's bikes.

Fixing my bike and helping other Elders with their bikes has been a great way to relieve stress for me. It makes me feel great to be able to help others; knowing that I know how to do it. Also, I'm learning that when I run across something I don't know how to do - I Ask someone that does to teach me. It's helped me to realize how important education is. Knowledge is soooo valuable! Not only can it further my skills...but down the road - I can fix it myself and save myself $20-40 dollars!!

The Scriptures are the same way! Has anyone ever played the telephone game? One person says one thing and by the end - it's something not even close to what the first person said.

Well, the Navy does something interesting that is similar. Once they get information, they ask for it to be verified from the last known source - to make sure that there are very few mistakes in the message.

The Gospel is the same way! Once we receive a message (i.e. a talk in General Conference, lesson, etc..) We need to take the initiative to pray to the Lord and verify the message we received. Once we do that, we can then ask Him for directions on how to apply that message (teaching) in our personal lives; or for a father, how to apply that teaching in our families. That way we have gained a witness that the message (teaching) is just and true.

Another analogy:

Regarding adjusting the Derailer on my bike! (the guide arm with two cog wheels on it in the rear of the bike!)

When the Derailer is out-of-line on the cassette (the rear gears) the chain can ruin the gears and eat away at the metal over time. It can also wreck the front gears. All because the derailer arm is not where it should be. It needs to be exactly in the right spot in order to work properly....spacing is everything!! There is much more damage that can happen when the derailer is not where it should be or lined up correctly.

So it is with the Gospel. We need to be in alignment with God in order to ride smooth, straight and true. We don't want any unnecessary breakage or miscommunication and we want to make sure the spacing is just right (i.e.the frequency of our prayers, scripture studying and honesty). The more we are consistent with our prayers, scriptures and in being honest, the more knowledge and inspiration we're going to get from the Lord.

So my question is: What adjustments do we need to make in our lives (how can we improve) so that we can be closer to the Lord? How can we go about finding out? Good questions...hope you search for the answers! I hope you enjoyed those simple analogies and that it made sense!

Following is a short summary of this past week:

* Got dirty while fixing our bikes! :-(
* Got in a 'hairy' discussion (lesson) with a Pastor! :-)
* Had another Pastor pay to fix our bikes! :-)
* Came at a perfect time in someone's life! :-)   :-)
* Saw a cadaver lab and got a human's dead body juices on our hands!!! YIKES!  YUCK!! AWESOME!
* Got rained on all day on our bikes and were SOAKING WET! and finally....
* FOUND A SWEET BIKE SHOP!

ENJOY...we did!

I love you all,

Elder Richards

Virginia Richmond Mission
The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints

Hey Everyone!                                                                  24 April 2012

Things here are quite nice today. It's a bit chilly but perfect for biking. That way we don't sweat our &*@!(butts) off. Ha ha!

So...my new companion and I are doing great!! He is the man! We're both from Washington and we have a lot in common.

Lately, things have been going down a bit here in the ward but we're going to be getting things going! We're setting goals and making plans. (Sometimes working with 'people' is the biggest challenge in missionary work).

We're trying to build up our relationship with the Bishop here in the ward. He likes to throw down on us a lot and all the other past missionaries, so we're trying to figure out what to do to help him out more.

We're also trying to get the mission plan for the ward working better. They have goals now; but no plans on how to implement those goals into action.

2 TIMOTHY 2:1-4 (Very appropriate scripture for a missionary)

I've gotten better with stress due to my new companion (he's the man!). Things are getting much better; plus he LOVES to work really hard....so that's great! The other day we were looking for a street and ended up biking all the way across town and then ended up having to turn back and bike the way we had come. It's all good! We  had a great conversation while we were at it!

I hope all is going well at home...that things are getting better. One thing that's really helped me is when I can go into my room (here on the mission) where I have a lot of pictures of the Savior. I just look at them and think in the scriptures where they took place. That really helps me out a lot and fills my mind with peace, virtue and the thought that "none of the knowledge from the gospel (scriptures) really works until we take the time to use it in our lives. I hope that can help you!

Regarding my box...I HOPE to get it together soon. I keep putting it off...I hope I can stop putting the "pro" in procrastination off because I'm really good at that. Actually that's the only thing I'm a Pro at...HaHa!!!

My bike will hopefully be getting worked on today as we will be downtown.

I hope all is well. When I get home I'll be sure to be in the garage fixing everyone's bikes!! (We are having major bike issues at our house at the moment!) Ha! Ha! that's one of my new stress relievers!

Anyway, I love you all!

Elder Richards

Virginia Richmond Mission
The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints

Mission Update

VIRGINIA BEACH ZONE CONFERENCE

December 2011

Elder Richards - Front Row - 4th from our right. RED TIE!
So good to see his smiling face!

I found this picture on the facebook page for the Virginia Richmond mission. Sis. Perry takes a lot of pictures and then posts them on there! It's great to see what is going on. ENJOY!

Hey Everyone!                                                               Tuesday, 17 April 2012

Today is a very nice and sunny day. Warm weather and a nice bike ride for the day.

So we just had transfer calls come and I'm staying and my "greenie" companion is leaving to go to Richmond. Lately we're getting much more out of our work than before. Our investigators are slowly progressing. Also, we're doing pretty good when it comes to safety! (They better be safe!)

Yesterday I got a flat while riding under the freeway and had to carry my bike to the gas station and pump up my tire...but it's all good! I still really enjoy riding my bike. I hope to take it home with me at the end of my mission. I have this little pouch that is attached to the bottom of my seat that has an extra tube and some patch equipment and I've also got a small bike pump on my frame, so I'm set to go if I have a flat, that way I don't have to go back to the apartment in the middle of the day.

Lately, we didn't think we were getting anywhere with our teaching pool until last night when we discovered that our investigators are still reading The Book of Mormon and still have an interest. Hopefully we're going to be getting somewhere with all of this - during this next transfer.

Our ward has been getting better and we're also getting somewhere with our bishop and getting the trust back even more.

Yesterday (Monday) we sat in on a World Religions class and answered questions from high school students. It was really fun and informative. I would LOVE to do it again!

We have a new Senior couple in our ward from Florida. They are amazing! They are going to be helping out with our less active work in the ward and with callings also. They helped us out the other day when I got sick (which I'm in recovery for :-( but it's all good!). Because of being sick we were at the store and we found some (less active) members there that expressed a desire to come back to church again....so being sick was worth it! :-) It's all good!

I hope that everyone is doing good. I can't wait for the temple when I get back home! It's going to be sweet! I hope everyone enjoys this week......even when there is sun in Washington!

I love you all!......and remember, IT'S ALL GOOD!  :-)

Elder Richards

Virginia Richmond Mission
The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints

I would like to share this poem that another mom whose son is serving in the Virginia Richmond Mission shared with all of us. It's beautiful! Enjoy!

I am a Virginia Richmond Missionary

I am a righteous warrior and a member of a team

I serve the children of My Heavenly Father and live the Gospel 

values

I will always place my mission first

I will never accept defeat

I will never quit

I will investigate all referrals

I am disciplined, physically, and mentally tough, trained and

proficient in my righteous warrior tasks

I will always maintain my gospel study and prayer skills

I am humble and I am faithful

I stand ready to defend the Gospel against the buffetings of satan

And plead the cause of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

I am a guardian of freedom and the Gospel way of life

I am a righteous warrior

I am a Virginia Richmond Missionary!

Hello!

New Photos of Nick in downtown Norfolk, VA

Look at those cobblestone streets! Cool!

Always close to the Ocean!

Hey Everyone!                                                   10 April 2012

Today after my interview with our Mission President in Virginia Beach - I left that room feeling very grateful! President Perry reminded me of my time left on the mission (me just getting worried) and asked how I was doing.

Things are going well. They continue to get better. We're here at our senior missionaries' apartment e-mailing and today we are going to be doing alot of our shopping after being in downtown Norfolk all day yesterday. The EXTERMINATORS came to fumigate our place and rid us of all possible BED BUGS, so now I'm happy!! (We hope this takes care of this aggravating problem!)

Me personally - I'm doing good! I'm learning how to have more structure with my learning and my teaching with the members in dinner appointments. I'm also really taking a great interest in the scriptures when it comes to relating (my own) personal experiences to investigators. It's great learning new things and seeing myself progress in different areas.

I'm also working at this time with one of the counselor's in the Mission Presidency regarding the Addiction Recovery Program - since I've had some experiences in that field. As we work with this program with other Elders we have noticed some changes and we are reporting that information, from my observations here in the field, to Church Headquarters in Salt Lake City. It's really great to hear that my studies and feelings about the program are being taken into consideration at Church Headquarters and we're hoping to see some good results from our study in the near future. I hope that from what I'm doing here in Virginia will help those on a national and world-wide scale some day.

We have some new people that we're working with. Sam and Jacob and Lois. They are all really GREAT people and are very open to hearing our message. They're reading and committing to our message.

I will be sending some clothing and some papers home in the next couple of weeks (hopefully days) which will really help with clutter and with the bedbug problem. (I do hope he doesn't send ME any bedbugs home in his box!!) I also plan on reducing my notes and re-copy them into smaller journals.

Some great scriptures I've had recently are:

2 Tim. 2:1-4
John 20:31 AWESOME ONE!

I hope these are really good for you; they really were for me. I hope you all get this and also enjoy your week.

Thank you for all you do. I LOVE you all! :-)

Your Son,

Elder Richards

Virginia Richmond Mission
The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints