Hark Dear Angels!
I hope you are all well and happy and loving those Christmas lights
in the neighborhood and favorite jingles on the Christmas station and
seeing so many family and friends. Give a hug and a kiss from me when
you're together. I sure can't believe how much I miss everyone!
3 Great Stories for you this week:
So remember Myra? Our awesome investigator we met on the street?
Well, she lives in a half-way house (for people and families who are
struggling and need a place to stay until they get back on their
feet)...and through meeting her...we met Thelma...a wonderful and
faithful woman who loves the Lord and is reading the Book of Mormon and
is past page 60 in one week! I have never seen someone so grateful to
receive The Book of Mormon before. She grabbed Myra's hand and got so
excited (a lady in her 60's) and started praisin' Jesus. When we gave it
to her to clapped her hands together, kissed it, and held it to her
chest! (Wow! Are we all as grateful to have this amazing blessing in our
life?) So, we are teaching her too. The other night though, we were
having a lesson with Myra and one of the other residents, a 14 year old
girl named Christina, asked, "Are you from the Mormon Church?" We told
her who we were and what we teach about and she said, "Yeah I went to
church a couple of times and learned a little back in Chicago." My
companion and I looked at each other excitedly. I asked her if she had
ever read the Book of Mormon and she said, "Yeah I have one, just a sec
I'll get it." We looked at each other wide eyed and then she came back in
the room with a full on quad with all the books in it like we have!
What?! We were speechless! We asked her if she would like to learn and
she said yes. We have started teaching her and I have never seen so much
faith in one so young. She even serves her community in a program
called Dare to Care, and even though she lives in one bedroom with her two
little brothers and mom, she prays in her prayers for those who don't
have much to be able to have at least as much as she has...wow...what a
spiritual giant! She loves the scriptures and gets them. When we taught
her the Plan of Salvation and asked her if she knew she would have a
perfect body someday because of what Christ did for us all she said, "I
had a hunch." ha ha! When we taught her about enduring to the end she said, "Kinda like Job right?" And recounted his story. I walked out
of there in total shock! She just fell right into our laps! She said she
wants to get baptized but her mom wants them all to be baptized in the
same church....sooo...hopefully we'll have a family baptism in the
Lord's time = ) Too cool! The Lord loves us!
Sunday night was a sacred experience. We left the Stake Christmas
concert and tried a couple doors and then I thought...so
casually...let's go see the Chavez family...Bishop asked us to, and it's
Sunday night so they should be home (they are members but are going
through quite a lot right now). I prayed before we went that the feeling
to go was from the Lord and that we would be needed. We knocked on the
door and Sister Chavez looked through the window of their little
apartment and had an expressionless look...not very excited we were
there...and then she opened the door and asked, "Yes? What can I do for
you?" We just said hello and that we came by to share a little message
about Christmas with her family. She said she was sorry but she was on
the phone and had a lot of stuff going on and to do....we said something to the effect that we were sorry there was so much happening
and that was why we wanted to come by...to bring some love. She said,
"yeah I'm sorry." I looked at her and said. "Well, can I just give you a
hug?" I gave her a good one = ) And then Sister Hudson said, "We just
want you to know your Heavenly Father loves you and appreciates all that
you are doing to help in the ward and everything." As we did
this....her hands came to her face and she just began to weep. We stood
with her and let her cry and she started to tell us all that had
happened just in that one day and everything she was trying to be strong
about, and all that people were demanding of her that was making her
feel like she wasn't doing enough when she herself is in the middle of
many storms and she was feeling like nobody cared, and wondering if
anyone stopped to think about that and maybe offer a helping hand. She
then let us in to share a thought of hope. We shared a Mormon message
video with her about good things to come and the Lord being there in the
times we feel he's not and ask, "Do you know I'm having a hard time?"
As she talked and then began to testify herself of her trials and how
she knows the Lord carries her...I asked if I could sing one of my
favorite songs about the Atonement and enduring trials..."He'll Carry
You." As we knelt to say a closing prayer Sister Chavez told us...when I
saw you at the door I thought you were coming to ask me if I could do
something for so and so... (she is in the Young Women's Presidency...part
of why she is feeling so stressed with people asking her to do so
much)...but when you said you were here for me....the feeling in my
heart that came, I felt like I couldn't contain....because I was
praying...I was crying and praying for Heavenly Father to know what I
was doing was enough...to know if He was there and was aware of all this
turmoil in her life and to feel His love.....and that is when you
Sisters knocked on the door." She began to cry again and said, "I
couldn't believe it...but I knew the Lord heard my cry." I then
cried..ha...there were lots of tears....because the thought to go there
came as easily as the thought to brush my teeth! I was able to share a
thought I read in my personal study that day that touched her
heart....the Lord totally prepared us to be there that night and in that
exact moment. I cried at the thought of being able to truly be on the
errand of angels and be able to be an instrument to answer a cry of one
of Heavenly Father's precious daughters so immediately...in the middle
of her plea. She said that was the first time that had ever happened to
her. It was a sweet experience I know none of us that were there will
ever forget. I though about how the prompting to go was so natural it
wouldn't normally stand out as a prompting and I thought, "Wow, the Lord
can really trust me."The more and more in tune we are and the quicker
we are to act upon the promptings He gives...He will send more...and He
won't have to shake us to get us to realize we need to do something! I
always want Him to be able to trust me!
Finally..a funny story....we parked on the street in a pretty shady
neighborhood to go contact a referral. It was our last stop of the
night. 8 pm and dark. We were in the middle of praying in the car and a
black man (not being racist, I love them, just saying) came up to our
window...
"Hey how ya'll doin? What are you doing here?"
Sister Hudson, "uuh,,,,we're trying to pray."
"What?"
"We're trying to PRAY!"
"Yo could you jus crack your windo fo a minute?"
"No..."
"Look I ain't tryin to kidnap you or nothin I just wanna conversat witch you! Crack your window! Just roll it down a seck."
"No."
"Why not? Look I am a US Marine!!! ok? ok? I ain't gonna kidnap
you....look." (he full on got his license out and pushed it up against
the window and said, "Look, this is who I am ok? This is who I am. You
wanna come drink or something?"
"No, we are missionaries."
"What?"
"Missionaries!!! ..Look..." then she pulled her tag off and put it
up against the window and said, "Look this is who WE are!" His look on
his face was like, "Oh dang!" He bent lower and pointed at me and said,
"Aight, you..you pray for me ok? You'tre not gonna come out?"
"No..."
"Aight pray for me.."
"We will." And he left....I said, "Ok we are NOT getting
out.....home it is!"...and we drove home laughing about what a crazy
exchange that was...too funny...no worries...I had my pepper spray ready
to bust out.
Oh the joys of being missionary! Gotta love it! What a week!
Love you all! Thank you for your prayers!
Just FYI....Christmas packages will be delivered to us on the
morning of the 22nd....so...needs to be here by the 21st to get before
Christmas! I love you all! I am working on a Christmas card!
Have a merry week!
Love Sister Riggs
