Hello Dear Family!
Happy Valentine's week! I hope your week is full of so much love
you don't even know what to do with it! I also hope you take a minute to
tell those you love how much you appreciate having them in your
life...and also tell someone, who might not have many to say to them how
much they are loved, how great they are or some kind compliment that
will lift their hearts! This world needs more love! I LOVE you all SO
MUCH and the more I serve a mission the more I love and appreciate you,
and thank Heavenly Father for blessing me with such incredible people in
my life that I KNOW I would not be who I am today had it been any other
way! You are my greatest Valentine's! Look for a Valentine from
Heavenly Father this week...I know He will show you how much He loves
you if you look = )
I have so much to tell you all...I forgot a few things last week
that were pretty awesome! First thing's first though...we got transfer
calls today and I found out I am staying in the La Jolla Singles Ward
with Sister Rasmussen!!! Sister Pagel is being transferred so the
adventures of the three Blonde Musketeers are over. I guess I better get
use to this Singles Ward thing = )
So...last week I had the opportunity to whip out my best Jack Bauer
(from "24") skills and capture a bad guy on the run...but I guess there
really is only one Bauer...because I completely failed... I was on
shift at the Mormon Battalion and it was kind of slow...late afternoon
around 4pm...and I was up at the front sitting on one of the couches
talking to another Sister and this guy came walking down the hallway
very quickly...looked a little agitated and was putting something in his
pocket. He turned the corner right into Theatre 1 and we heard the back
exit door open and close. He completely knew where he was going. Sister
Madsen asked, "Who was that?" I said, "I don't know...guess he knows
where he's going." She said, "Yeah that was weird." We thought nothing
of it until policemen started running through the building. A cop told
one of the Sisters walking outside that there was an armed man on the
run and it was dangerous and she should go in. We quickly spoke up and
told him we had seen a sketchy guy come through and exit out the back
theatre door. He asked, very agitated, which way he went and we said we
didn't know...that we hadn't watched him that far. We were able to give
him a description of what he looked like. We then saw in the parking lot
what appeared to have happened. He had crashed a stolen van into a car
in the back, abandoned it and ran and jumped over our back wall. He came
through the back door people exit to go pan for gold and walked through
and to the theatre and out the side door. I walked out front to find
several cop cars and cops going up and down the street on their walkies
and there was a helicopter searching over old town for the bandit! Then a
citizen from old town ran up to the cops and said he saw him change his
clothes in one of the stores. They threw him in the car and suddenly
everybody was on the move. I was so disappointed with myself. He looked
sketchy for sure and I thought nothing of it cause he seemed to know
exactly where he was going. I was like, "Man! I could have followed him
in the theatre and asked him what he was doing...then realized he was a
criminal and taken him out with my pioneer dress! Or offered to take him
on a tour then karate chop him!" Ha...the cops were only like 30
seconds behind him...if I could have just detained him a few it may have
helped! Sister Madsen, in the meantime, said, "I'm glad we didn't! We
could be dead!" I felt I had failed with my civil duties and was wishing
I would have been more alert! Ha..Jack Bauer would be so disappointed =
) Anyway, the next day I was shown the footage from the security
cameras and had to identify the criminal and confirm who it was. I felt
like I was in an action movie...well...as action packed as it can get
here in Old Town at the Mormon Battalion ; ) It was pretty crazy! Don't
know if they ever caught the guy...but it sure surprised us that day.
In my Miracle news, we had another baptism this week for our sweet
friend Tanya Ramos. Her parents were baptized about 2 years ago and so
she was already going to church and pretty well acquainted with
everything. She is a student at UCSD and extremely shy. She understands
and loves the gospel though, and simply couldn't wait to be baptized!
She asked me to sing her favorite hymn at her baptism, "I Need Thee
Every Hour." I asked her if she wanted me to sing it in Spanish since
she is Spanish and her parents would be coming and they speak very
little English. She said no and English would be fine....I wouldn't
settle for that though. I sang the last verse in Spanish and when I
began and she realized it, the smile that beamed across her sweet face
was an image I will never forget. Like I said, she is very shy and shows
little emotion...so to see how happy that made her was the greatest.
She hugged me after and thanked me for the song. She is already a great
little missionary too...her 2 roommates came to the baptism...one
brought her flowers and then they took her out for a special lunch after
claiming it was her big day. They were very very sweet and I asked how
they felt watching the baptism and they felt so happy and were just so
excited because they knew how badly she wanted it. I told them they felt
that because it was right. I hope they will want to learn as Tanya did
soon. As I watched her receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, I felt a
strong spirit as I looked at the smile on her face and watched as the
proper priesthood authority of God was being exercised for her personal
salvation. I am so thankful to know that has been restored to the earth
and to see other's Eternity forever changed, and life here on earth
forever made better because of their decision to answer our Savior's
call of, "Come, follow me."
So we are struggling to find new people to teach now...I am not use
to this. in Fuerte I usually had 5 to 8 progressing investigators. Now
we have 0 and are lucky if we have 1 or 2...BUT the Lord has already
blessed us! We met Raquel on Sunday and we will be teaching her tonight
for the first time. She is from L.A. and has a boyfriend who is a member
and goes to BYU. He encouraged her to take an institute class on The
Book of Mormon, so she did last quarter. She has enrolled in another one
this quarter and has loved everything she has read. Her family is
Jewish, but she said she knows and feels what she has read an learned is
true! Wow! Heavenly Father loves us! Miracles! She loved church, and
brought her friend and she loved it too! I am excited to teach these 2
sweet girls!
I had the chance to perform at the Misison President's Fireside
again this month. I whipped out my trumpet skills again and played
"Called to Serve" with Elder Coon as the missionaries came marching in
through the chapel singing. That was pretty cool...and I didn't do so
bad! = ) I also had the chance to sing a duet with Elder Dehlin (one of
our Assistants to the President who has a very beautiful voice). We sang
"Power in His Touch" and the spirit was felt in abundance. Some said to
us after that we should do business together after our missions! I was
grateful for the opportunity to sing with him and to share my talents
and testimony through a song that I love so much... "There is power in
His touch. Through His eyes, the blind can see. He has healing in His
hands. They reach out for you and me. This is God's plan, to learn His
love by following this man. Come find Him and feel the power of His
touch." What an incredible and powerful invitation. I was also able to
see some old faces from El Cajon...some that are still investigating
that I was teaching and some that are working toward a Baptismal date
now....it was such a blessing. One, my first baptism, Sister Taylor, saw
me and hugged me forever and said she just wanted to take me home = )
How great it is to know the people you gave your heart to have a special
place in theirs for you! = ) I also met my number one fan apparently.
He said he will be starting a fan page ha ha...he took a picture with me
to post and I gave him a signed copy of my CD lol....he was ecstatic = )
I am so thankful to be serving in a mission where I have so many
opportunities to use the voice my Father gave me to sing praise and
testify of Him and His love!
I love you all with all of my heart and you are always in my
prayers! Have a wonderful week and remember there's a Sister Missionary
in San Diego who loves you and is working her hardest every day and
praying for the Lord's blessings to find you!
Happy Valentine's Day!
All my love,
Sister Riggs
P.S. The picture is of me and 2 wonderful girls I met at the
Battalion from Hawaii! They have given me an invitation to come when my
mission is over! Ha! Accepted! I will need a serious vacation! = ) They
sent me this picture and I wanted to share it!
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