Hello My Dear Family and Friends!
First of all, thank you so much for the e-mails! Other Elders and Sisters have been getting mail all week and I was very much looking forward to checking my inbox and so encouraged by your sweet words and confidence! I love you so much! I only get 30 minutes once a week to read and type emails and after reading I now only have 11 minutes left! Which makes me kinda sad because so many wonderful things have happened this week and I have learned and experienced SOOOOOOOOO much that I could never write all...especially in 10 minutes! But here is a fun trick I want to encourage you to use! DearElder.com. Go there and you can write me...just use my MTC address and add my departure date...which is July 17th...and my mailbox number...#134. They print those letters off daily and I can get them every day and read them and then I can spend my full 30 minutes responding and telling you all about what I am up to! It's free!!!
Okay so wow.....what a week...in just the first 2 days I learned SO much that I was like...holy cow...no way is my brain gonna retain all of this! And already if this is all I learned from the MTC my missionary work would improve immensely!!!! It is incredible how the spirit can expand your knowledge! I was just on cloud nine the day I entered and one moment I was waiting for, for a long time, was the moment I would stand and sing with hundreds of brothers and sisters...all of which were wearing missionary name tags and had been called to serve...that moment came in our very first meeting. The spirit could not be restrained and I was so incredibly grateful in that moment to be standing there and to truly be on our Heavenly Father's front lines! 444 new missionaries entered the same day I did....from all over...even Greenland!!! So cool!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE my companion...we sinceriously are one in the same...and it freaks us out and makes us laugh every day. But she is just incredible and we are both so bubbly and giggly, it's awesome. We are always on the same page and same track and when teaching we go in the same direction every time and it is just awesome! An amazing way to start my mission experience. Her name is Sister Madsen. I am roommates with two others sisters...Sister Rasmussen and Sister Kunz and we are all going to the same mission. We had our dress fittings and whoa dang,...look out San Diego...you got some pretty cute pioneer ladies coming your way!!!
Ahhhh 2 minutes....
The spirit has testified to me on a daily basis that 1) The Lord loves me 2) This is where He wants and needs me right now and I am called for this exact time and purpose 3) THIS IS TRUTH!!!!
I have had incredible experiences with the spirit every day. My teaching experiences have been very humbling and also incredible learning experiences and I am constantly being taught by the spirit how I can improve! It's amazing! And in teaching investigators I am in awe at how much love I feel for a stranger within just a few minutes of talking to them.
I already have a sister who asked, "Do you have a man? Because I have a man for you...and I want to be related to you so I am gonna get him to write you!" LOL. Don't worry...my "funny rep" is good! Everyone in my district is always telling me how funny I am and how grateful they are that I keep them laughing. My tired brain is constantly messing up words and switching them around and everything...it's pretty flippin' hilarious...I wrote in my journal..."I couldn't keep the tears from falling down my FEET." LOL....my cheeks...don't know where feet came from...ha ha..I have never felt SO exhausted in my life and I have never slept better! I love this work, I love the Lord!
There really is no greater happiness...and my joy could not be more exquisite!
Love you all,
I will try to write more next week!!!
Sister Riggs
