Well I hope you all had a wonderful
week and that the Super Bowl treated you well ha! I didn't even know it
was the Super Bowl....the only reason I knew was because someone called
the Battalion asking if we were closing early because of it. Ha! I love
being a missionary and not having any idea about that kind of stuff. It
all just doesn't matter when it comes to eternal things! They won't
make it to the Celestial Kingdom because they won ha ha! Anyway..hope it
was fun for you all though.
I had a wonderful wonderful weekend as we were able
to have David yang, our little (6'2') China man! OK...he seriously is
the greatest. I just have to share a promise he wrote. We taught him the
Law of Chastity and asked him to write a promise to keep it to his
future wife! We told him by living it now he was showing her how much he
loved her already and this is what he wrote...SO SWEET:
"To my future wife: I give my promise to you. I will keep the
commend of God and keep the chastity before marriage. Also, I will love
you and our future children whatever we are rich or poor, health or sick
and old or young. I will always stand with you and protect you and keep
you safe. I know it is God's willing to gather us together and to let
us to spend rest of our life together. As we getting married at the holy
temple and God and Jesus Christ can be our witnesses. I am so glad to
have you and I will try my best to love you and protect you. in the name
of the Jesus Christ. Amen. -David Yang"
Sinceriously? He is too good to be true. Just the cutest, most
humble and faithful young men I have ever met. His baptism was so
beautiful and we filled the seats to the back of the room with those who
came out from the ward and those families that he knew when he first
came as a student. He was baptized by the dad of the family who hosted
him as a student. They all love him so much. The funny thing was...the
font was not filled up high enough (not our fault) and when they stood
in the water it was maybe mid-thigh on the dad...and David is taller
than him...I looked at my companions like "oh no!!!" ....but after him
basically laying down in the water ha ha...it all worked out. What I
loved was he didn't even notice or say anything about that. At the end
he bore his testimony and he said, "my first thought when I got in the
water was, 'Wow, the water is cold.'" But he said after his baptism when
he went back to change he just stood there for a minute and did nothing
and took a moment to feel and he said the feeling was indescribable and
in his words. "I'm so exciting right now!" = ) His testimony was
powerful and I was crying tears of joy! I had the opportunity to sing "I
Am a Child of God." I sang an arrangement in English and surprised him
in the middle of the song with 2 verses in Chinese. When I began he
gasped and then laughed a little with joy and there was a ripple of joy
that spread to everyone in the room as they realized I was singing for
him in his native tongue and the spirit was brought so strongly and many
began to cry. I am so thankful to have been a literal instrument for
the Lord, and to sing that especially for David. But the amazingness
doesn't end there! Sunday he was confirmed and given the Gift of the
Holy Ghost and he was just BEAMING! Then, he got up and bore his
testimony. he said he thought he would just listen but that as he sat
there he felt in his heart that the Lord would have him say something!
THEN he was interviewed by the Bishop right after and walked out of the
office holding his limited use temple recommend AND Bishop told us he
would be getting the Aaronic Priesthood after church!!! WHAT?!!! So
cool!!!! THEN, he texted us this morning and said, "guess what? I just
went to the temple to do baptisms! It felt great to do work for those
who have passed on and everything is white!" ha ha! And in our lesson
yesterday he said, "Yeah I have my first calling to the Priesthood, next
will be a missionary!" OH I JUST LOVE DAVID!!! Seriously...it doesn't
get better than that! He was all of my miracles this week = )
I am in the middle of more miracles that i am sure
will come down the road. We are teaching the apartment of men from Ghana
and it is probably the most I have been challenged on my mission. These
men are so incredible. They are so faithful. They pray daily and trust
in God and understand Gospel. There are 3 of the 7 who are very
open...and were it not for the others we could progress in teaching
them...but the others are set on the Bible and believe there is no other
word...nothing else needed...even asking them to consider and just try
reading a page or two they will not do. It blows my mind! I have been
delving into the Book of Mormon and the Bible and was counseled to study
with their questions in mind...making them my own. Why do we need a
second witness? Can I not get to heaven if I just read the Bible? Where
does the Bible talk about this Book of Mormon? It says that nothing
shall be added and you are telling me this is an additional witness. I
bore the most fervent testimony of The Book of Mormon I think I ever
have...and they still just can't wrap their mind around it. They told me
if I would have said it was a commentary on the Bible that they would
read it. So, I decided I am going to make book covers for them and put
it on their copies of the Book of Mormon with the title "Bible
Commentary" and ask them to read it! ha! I think that will soften their
heart = ) Hanifa, Bright, and Pizzaro are so open to it though and they
have agreed to read the introduction in preparation for watching the
movie "The Testaments." I can't wait for that lesson...and to see how
their hearts soften and change as we continue to teach and testify of
the 2 witnesses that the Bible and Book of Mormon are of Jesust Christ!
It is 2 Nephi 29: 3-10!!! I read those verses and say Amen! I had my
eyes opened to the fact that through these men, i am having the
opportunity to ask the questions I never had to...and to gain a further
witness of the truth....Crazy...scary and intimidating...but cool! It's
TRUE!!!!!
The beginning of my week was really rough. I was
really struggling and was given a beautiful priesthood blessing with
this counsel: "We must be tested. Sometimes we are tried and sometimes
we are instruments for others to be tried...either way we are to learn
and grow and right now, Heavenly Father would have you grow." Ever since
I received that blessing I have felt a change in my every day and I
have been able to get through with a smile. I am so thankful for the
power of the priesthood on the earth today!
I love you all and miss you so much! I hope you feel
and recognize the care of the Savior through this month filled with
extra love!
Love,
Sister Riggs
