My Dear Family,
Wow! I can't believe
it has been two weeks....time here just seems to fly and drag and just
not matter here...ha ha, I am always wondering what day of the week it
is because they all blend together! Days feel like weeks and weeks feel
like days. I overheard an Elder say, "This has been the longest, fastest
day of my life." I thought, "Amen!"
I seriously can't believe how much I learn here
in just a day....the knowledge I am gaining is so vast it sinceriously
blows my mind every day! I LOVE IT!! I love knowing I am learning and
growing in so many ways I never would have, had I never made the decision
to come on a mission! I was sitting in our Sunday night fireside and
looking around, looking down at my notebook which is already almost full
and just feeling so grateful for the Lord allowing me to be in such a
position. It's AWESOME!!!
This week I literally sat down and made an
outline of what I would put in my letter before starting my thirty minutes to
write! lol...I just learn and experience SO MUCH! It's like Lehi tasting
of the fruit of the tree of life and immediately wanting to share
it!...In other words...I've eaten cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory
and everybody just HAS to have some! You will never be the same again! ;
) I just want to share all that I am learning and experiencing because I
am blown away at how it is changing my life and know it would help
everyone to learn of these things. But I guess that is a special
privilege I have in being a missionary for the Lord! Yay! = )
OK so last Tuesday I had an honorable experience
that will probably never be repeated in my lifetime. I was in a special
MTC Fireside with ten of the twelve apostles!!!! That's right...I said ten!
Everyone was there except Pres. Packer and Elder Hale. I couldn't believe
my eyes as they kept filing in to take place on the stand....so many
brethren I love with all my heart and so many that I wanted to throw my
arms around and cry in gratitude for words they had spoken that saved me
in times of despair....I also just kept looking at them wondering,
"Which one of you had a hand in making my mission call???" The spirit
was so strong though...and I was in the 9th row only about 50 feet away
from them all! WOW!!! These are Apostles of the Lord...who each have a
special witness of Jesus Christ! ....meaning they know him personally
and have seen him...and here they were, taking an hour out of their busy
schedules to spend with the Lord's missionaries in training! This only
happens maybe once out of every year, and I was there!!!! Boy the Lord
sure loves His missionaries to bless us with such an incredible
opportunity! I will never forget it! L. Tom Perry spoke to us that night
about many statistics of Latter-Day-Saints and how they compared to
that of the world....for example - LDS women live 5 years longer and LDS
men live 10 years longer compared to the age of death of men and women
in the world. We are 41% less likely to have clogged arteries because we
fast once a month...and many more very interesting things about how we
are happier and more content with life, healthier, how about 80 to 90%
view having a successful marriage and being good parents as their main
and most precious goals in life when the world is less than 40%. So
interesting. As Elder Scott left he waved to us and Elder Holland blew
us a kiss.....I was just in awe....the best part though...was standing
with about 2,000 young missionaries preparing to serve the Lord, and
with the grand organ playing, and singing "Called To Serve" in front of
the Apostles who extended our calls and received revelation on our
behalf and in front of men who were also called by God to serve 24/7 and
help build his Kingdom. Our Branch President said that as we serve as a
missionary, our call is hand in hand with that of an apostle. Never
will we work more closely, or in a sense, along side them, as we do now!
Oh my goofy gummies!!!! SO COOL!!!
So funny story, I read my first letter from my Branch
President and he counseled me to put my trust in the Lord and said to
see Proverbs 3:5 ...so I looked up the scripture and read "I laid me
down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me." I turned to my
companion and said, "I don't get it." With a very confused face. She
laughed and said, "Really? It's a pretty straight forward scripture...I
then looked and saw I was in Psalms 3:5...lol.We all laughed so hard! I
thought well, it's true though! I have never been so tired in all my
life and the Lord is TOTALLY sustaining me through my days! Ha ha...so I
wrote a thank you to my President and said, "I know I can trust the
Lord, and I know that he sustains me...see Psalms 3:5." ; )
I absolutely LOVE my Branch President...he has so
much love for the Lord, for the work, and for us! I wish I could have
all that he has said to me on paper or recording because when he speaks
and teaches he speaks with the Power of God! I want to share one thing
he shared with the Sisters on Sunday...he reminded us of who we
are...our incredible worth...that we truly were the crowning jewel of
all of Heavenly Father's creations. He said he felt prompted to tell us
that our Heavenly Father loves us deeply and is so pleased with out
decision to serve. He said as Sisters we are incredible...that we are
often in the prime years of our lives and have many things going for us
in our schooling and relationships and careers, and for us to give all
of that up and put it all on hold without any obligation or expectation
for us to serve missions....is a remarkable thing. That Sister
Missionaries are one of the greatest blessings for the work...That
mission presidents call SLC and ask for them.....the most incredible
thing that he said though was how what we have done says so much about
our character and that we are among the noblest of women...even as the
most holy daughter of God who answered a call that cam to her...even
Mary when she said, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me
according to thy word." When he said that tingles went all through my
body...and I heard the voice of my sister singing that scripture as she
did when she sang the part of Mary......WOW! Again, I never would have
compared myself or thought that I could be that great!
Oh dear...my time is up already and I have not even
written half of what I wanted to...so quickly....teaching with my
investigators this week has been full of ups and downs and it is amazing
how much the Lord humbles me every day and shows me my weakness, but it
is also amazing how many times I have felt the Spirit testifying, how
many times I felt prompted to say something and saw tears come to the
eyes of those I was teaching....I may not know these people very well,
and they may not be telling me everything that lies within their heart,
but what is ALWAYS true is that our Heavenly Father knows and loves each
and every one of his children and He knows EXACTLY what they need to
lift their hearts and bless their lives if their heart is but open to
it, and if I fulfill my call and follow the promptings I am given and
trust in the Lord with all my heart and believe He will give me the
words to say! He did that countless times this week! Sister Madsen and I
committed our investigator Ryan to Baptism on our 3rd visit!!! We both
went in after having a really hard day and feeling we were going to fail
and had no clue what we would teach...we thought 2 or 3 things but
didn't feel sure...somehow the Lord guided our conversation to the
Atonement and Baptism by immersion....the opportunity Ryan had, because
of the Atonement, to be lay his past and regrets and everything he
wanted to erase, to death...and to rise up out of the water completely
new...having a fresh new start....and a chance to become everything he
ever wanted to be. As I testified of the Atonement and being able to
erase the past....tears filled my eyes and my body began to shake as I
testified of what the Atonement had done for me...and all I wanted in
that moment was for Ryan to have that chance...my heart was full of love
for him and all I could do was pray he would take the step of faith. He
had tears in his eyes as he looked at me and said, "I want to be
baptized. It's time for a change." AAHHHHHH!!!!!! I could not believe
it! We walked back into class in tears and everyone asked, "How'd it
go?" and we said, "He's getting baptized!!!!" They were all in SHOCK
because no one had gotten anywhere with him! Our teacher kept us after
and said, "That is what Ryan has been waiting to hear all his life...."
Oh how great and how sweet is the work!!! So many more stories but I am
already over time!
I quickly have to tell you I have become a celebrity in
the MTC! I auditioned and was asked to sing at the Mission Conference
on Sunday...it is basically like our own little General
Conference....the biggest and most spiritual meeting of the whole month
in which all the missionaries and the presidencies and leaders attend! I
couldn't believe they had asked me to sing and I was so nervous! I knew
they were going to put my face on the big screen and everything and it
was nerve-racking to sing in front of all of my peers! But WHAT AN
EXPERIENCE! I sang "Still Believe" by Hilary Weeks and I couldn't
believe it because it was the only song my accompanist could play and I
felt the spirit strongest as iIsang it so that's what I auditioned with.
The first two talks before I sang were all about testimony and faith in
Jesus Christ and having faith even as tiny as a mustard seed and what
miracles that can create...the song was absolutely perfect to follow
that....I couldn't believe it...even those who picked me to sing didn't
know the topics...but the Lord did...the song went great and the Lord
helped me get through it. I spent the rest of Sunday saying thank you to
all the compliments and taking pictures with people...and it still
hasn't stopped...I am recognized all over and people call my name and I
am like, "How do they know me?!" So many thanked me and told me how
strong they felt the spirit, that it was a long awaited answer to
prayer, that they clearly heard the voice of the Lord speak to them,
that as beautiful as my voice was, the testimony that I was bearing
through the song was even more beautiful and powerful....I was truly
honored, and humbled to know that the Lord had indeed blessed me with a
gift, and with an amazing opportunity to be an instrument in his
hands!!! I think I got a glimpse of what it must have been like for
David Archuletta to be in the MTC!!! ; ) Haha...it is too funny...but I
guess Sister Riggs has left her mark!!! ; ) They want me to sing again
before I leave so hopefully that will happen = )
OK I am way over my time and hope I don't get in
trouble but I LOVE You all so much! Thank you for the letters! It is
seriously like Christmas when they come and so sad when everyone else
gets some and your like, "What about me? " (pouty face) But I love
hearing from you and it is such a booster you have no idea!!!
I know this is the Lord's work...when I am my weakest
and think it impossible, he proceeds to perform miracles...in my testimony
on Sunday I bore witness of D&C 1:19...it is the truth...I am small
and weak....but with the Lord and the Spirit I can have the power to
teach Kings and Rulers!!!
Oh I LOVE THIS!!!! Go and do my friends....go and DO!!!!
All my Love!
Sister Riggs!
