Hello Dear Family!!!
Are you all ready with your Halloween costumes for tomorrow?! I
hope you all have fun plans! We have to be in and off the streets by
6:30pm to be safe so...ya'll have some fun for me OK? I'll be studying =
) Anyone dressing up as Sister Riggs?? Ha ha...I'd be honored.
What an amazing week we have had here in El Cajon! We are in such a
blessed area and as we have planned out every hour and had back-ups
ready to go...we find we are constantly able to teach. We taught 25
lessons last week, added four new investigators, and have 6 with a
baptismal date! MIRACLES! I have been astounded by literally feeling the
Holy Ghost guide and prompt my steps and my words. I am always beat at
the end of the day and collapse into my pillow and there is not greater
feeling than knowing everything I did that day was for the Lord and for
the salvation of His children. It's the greatest thing to be exhausted
in!
So some of our miracles that happened this week came because of a
list of names given to us both by the young women and the relief
society. They were names of less-active members or members they hadn't
seen or heard from in awhile. We taught one young woman and found out
she actually had never been baptized and was in a part-member family and
has wanted to be baptized for a long time now...she is 12 and her
little sister is 9 and my little trainee (Sister Greathouse) extended
her first baptismal invitation and they both said yes! So cool! They
always say how happy and excited they are and the joy
they feel because they are excited to be clean when they are baptized!
Then, we also discovered another part-member family at one of the
residences listed on the Relief Society list....I think I mentioned that
last week, but to update..we added the woman's daughters, age 12 and 15,
and they are also so excited to be baptized in December, and just always
say how they can't wait to have the gift of the Holy Ghost with them.
ANOTHER great miracle comes back to our dear Pentecostal friend,
Jack...we were planning for his lesson this last Thursday morning and all
of us felt stumped as to what he needed. We said a prayer for guidance
and each of us started pondering...the story of Abinadai and Alma came
to mind and I was thinking, "huh??? how does that relate?" But I turned
there and started reading about how Alma believed on Abinadai's
WORDS...just his word....because it was filled with truth...it pierced
their hearts and they knew...they didn't need further evidence....Jack
has been saying he wants to believe but needs to learn more and
understand this and that...basically answers to a lot of deep doctrine
that just doesn't matter when it comes to gaining a testimony...I read
on to the baptismal invitation in Mosiah 18 and felt the spirit
strongly...I mentioned it to Sister Hudson...she said,
"interesting...because that crossed my mind too when I was looking
through stories about testimony of Jesus Christ...and that popped out to
me...what's interesting also is that Alma was a priest and very involved in his
church or with the other priests, just like Jack is tied to his...." Then
Sister Greathouse said, "I was reading in Alma 32 about faith..." and
as we talked we saw how each piece came together...We read how Alma
believed on Abinadai's words, how the people believed and had hope
because of what he taught (repentance and redemption), showed him a
Mormon Message about the Atonement and asked why he thought the people
were able to believe and have hope as they heard that message, then read
in Alma 32 about what faith is and nourishing the word....I asked him
to tell me yes or no to the the questions in Mosiah 18: 8-9....then had
him read verse 10...and invited him to be baptized...the spirit was so
strong and he sat and sought heaven for a long time in silence and said,
"Yes. I can't feel a no, so I will say yes." WHAT???!!!!! MIRACLE! He
told us of the concerns he still has...and we promised to help...he may
not keep his date for Dec 1st...but...the spirit strongly prompted us to
extend the invitation so I know it was inspired and needed to happen. I
had tears in my eyes as I asked. We saw him last night and he said ever
since then he has been tossing and turning and praying constantly and
calling all his Mormon friends to ask them what they think or know about
a few of his questions...he knows this is true..he just has to accept
it! Too cool!
Another BIG miracle...my companion that I am helping to train,
Sister Greathouse, was struggling a bit...had some health problems in
the MTC and spent extra time there...and when she got here she was
struggling. Missionary life is very stressful and challenging and
physically taxing and she was in a lot of pain from anxiety. She had
decided to go home, but it couldn't be final until all the hoops had
been jumped through. I did not want her to go. I saw so much potential
in her and knew she would be a powerful force here if she could just
keep pushing on and get through the first few weeks. I did what I could
to encourage her, pleaded and pleaded with the Lord to help me to know
what to say so she would stay. Well, I wanted to give her the best days
if she was going to be leaving. She loves the ocean and I planned to
surprise her and take her to the cliffs so she could see it before she
left....everything fell apart last week and all the plans fell through
to do that...I was so sad...but I had to go to a rehearsal for a
fireside that night at the Battalion (which she also wanted to see) and I
told her on our drive there I was sorry and sad because I wanted to
surprise her and it didn't work out....(miracle one) ...she also felt a
special spirit at the Battalion and while we were singing was prompted
to open up her scriptures...she opened to D&C 75:3-5, 12 (miracle
2)...the next day...just before her final phone call to the president
with her decision...she got to make her first baptismal invitation...and
they said yes. (miracle 3) Through all of that she decided to stay! But
she wrote me a note and told me the first time she felt to stay was when
I told her of my plan to surprise her and how much love she felt in
just that simple thought of her! Who knew that was all it would take?
Heavenly Father did!!!
He is aware of you. You are His child. Trust Him!
Lots of Love,
Sister Riggs
