short week
'New transfer!!! New Companion!!! So this past week has been crazy wednesday we said our goodbyes and we just drove ALL day!! we almost went all the way up to Boston! But the last couple of days we have been soooo successful!! we found a family that are super solid!! I am super excited! Things are way different... everyone in the district got a new companion, but I think this one will be a good one. This email will be short but I am so grateful for all of you that wished me a happy birthday you made it great I love you all. Not much to even say this week.... (awkward fart noise...) well hope you all have a great week. The Church is true:) xoxo, Elder Richins'
0 Comments
When church gets cancelled..
'This week was pretty crazy... first of all for all of those who I forgot to mention in my last email... Thank you to... My cousin Austin Richmond for being the closest thing to a brother growing up he has been a real help to me in my life. To Cienna Dorny for being such an amazing friend always, even to my mom:) to my amazing grandparents all of them! Also shoutout to Gma and Gpa Richmond they have been married 50 years now!! and all the others because there are so so so so many that I cannot count! But I love you all. okay. So to start of the week it was about 70 degrees outside. On Wednesday it was the nicest weather!! We went out to do some service at the farm but turned out the farm did us a service! Craig gave us a tour of the wildlife habitat where they fix up wounded birds and try to get them back into the wild! We saw some hawks and owls and they were super pretty. We even tracked down a wild Owl it was huge!! So the next day things kind of went down hill... we woke up to a red dot text meaning we can't go outside... so for over 24 hours we went crazy in a tiny apartment I took a 4 hour nap tried to do a puzzle studied sooo much and watched a movie... It was a tough day Then the next day it had snowed so much we couldn't have district meeting in the chapel sooo we went to a members house! We all wore flower ties to hope it would warm up the day. Then we went and all ate together and received our transfer texts!!! So the results: Elder Villar will be spending his last transfer walking the streets of Providence, Rhode Island. Elder Miller will be replacing Elder Stephens in Central Falls, Rhode Island. Elder Harris will be training this transfer in Waterford, Connecticut. Sister Anderson is off to train her last transfer in North Brookfield, Massachusetts. Elder Henness is leaving us to go to Cambridge, Massachusetts ... And Elder Richins will be staying here in New London as the District Leader! My new companion is Elder Petersen. It should be a good transfer! Then... my birthday was a normal day all appointments cancelled, we were planning on going to the temple but Elder Villar couldn't get his recommend renewed in time... so we didn't go. the best part is members bought me SmashBurger!! I love smashburger! they are the Zegarras and they greatly appreciated your gift Mom:) Then sunday... well we got trapped inside again but this time it was halfway through the day we got stuck at the other elders apartment because our cars defroster is broken... so that is cool. We had a sleep over!! haha it was super fun until we had to go to bed.. because then we had to sleep on the floor and there weren't a ton of blankets... so another sleepless night but it was a good memory.. and here we are made it to the chapel to email so all is well!! Looking forward to this next week! I love you all and am so thankful to have this opportunity to be serving the Lord. Here is one picture... because the rest won't load for some reason... I know right? I had so many to send too.... :(' A good 20 years
'Well... this is the last week of the transfer. and the last week of being a teenager. This past week was good. on Tuesday we got stuck inside because of another crazy snow storm! I got to eat duck for the first time in my life and it tasted like roast beef... I met a little boy that is just like me when I was a little boy. He climbs the door frames and loves to do push ups and wants to swim with sharks when he grows up... maybe that last part is nothing like me but you get the point. We had multiple investigators at church yesterday and we are looking at baptismal dates this week!!! I hope I don't have to leave these people I am coming to love now! If you have transfer predictions send them in. I think I will stay here though. I cut my hair again and I only messed up a little bit this time... I thought the number 1 was a 2 but that is okay. what is important is that I tried. We stopped by a members yesterday and the first thing they asked was are you hungry? We said yes because it was fast sunday and we hadn't eaten much and they whipped up some awesome chocolate chip pancakes with strawberries! We got sooo full! They are my favorite family! they were throwing the pancakes to our plates and if we wanted to eat it we had to catch it haha. I guess not much else happened this week... But... I would like to thank a couple people who have influenced me the past 20 years... First of all my mom and the doctors who delivered me... because I am sure they are the first humans I ever saw in the flesh... And the incubator if I had to be in one I don't really remember. and also baby food. For all that apple sauce I once consumed... I would like to thank my dad for allowing me to learn so many things and teaching me how to ride a bike... I would like to thank my sister for providing that bike, even though it was very pink. I would also like to thank them for allowing me to put money stickers all over that bike to hide the pink. I would like to thank my sister also for letting me pretend to fix her barbie Jeep. I would like to thank that big boulder out in front of my first home for holding its shape for 16 years and not breaking in half. And the cantaloupe for somehow flourishing in that rocky bird cemetery. I would like to thank my best friend Lane Thompson for his company and always being there for me when I wanted to play cops and robbers on the scooters or play a game of basketball or watch veggie tales. I would like to thank all my other friends for the good times and the good lessons learned. I would like to thank my dad for buying me a skateboard when I broke my old one and for always supporting me in my decisions especially the decision to get baptized. I am grateful that he could baptize me. I would like to thank my friend group in high school... Lane, Ian Dibble, Chelsie Taylor, and Tete Rodriguez. My awesome lunch buddies kept me out of trouble and I am so grateful for that. I would also like to thank all those who accepted me when I moved into SFHS boundaries and chose to stay at MMHS. For the awesome Aspen Meadows 1st Ward for accepting me and making me feel at home! All my friends that I made over there thank you so much. Even the ones that maybe I got mad at or made feel bad I am sorry and you are my friend. Thank you. When I went to NYC for my AP art class then didn't even take the AP test... and then got a D or something... lol thank you to all those who didn't even care but supported me anyway. For all of my dirt biking buddies thank you for cheering me on even after I destroyed my bike multiple times. And that we could share so many crashes together. Thank you again for my dad for trusting me enough to buy me a motorcycle right after I totaled my car... not sure why he did that but I am super grateful. I would like to thank my dog for learning to stop biting me and just let me smother her with love. and for not dying yet. Thank you to my neighbor Karson Jensen for not letting me sit alone in my house and be sad all the time. And making me do things with him and for him picking me to model for some of his photography stuff. And for sticking with me till I left. I would like to thank My bishop for being such an awesome example to me. And all my young men leaders. And Brother Walpole because he is awesome and I look up to him. Thank you to ALL of the people that take the time to email me every week and haven't forgotten about me. Thank you to all my cousins for being my brothers and sisters to fill up my small family and for keeping me busy with hobbies and laughter. I would like to thank Ian Dibble for hooking me up and giving me his free Ritas Italian Ice. And Lane Thompson for hooking me up with free soda at Cafe Rio. Thank you thank you thank you. To everyone. My grandparents. My aunts and uncles. The game of golf. Snowmobiling, Snowboarding, Skiing, Lake Powell... for not drowning me. Life has been great to me!! Thank you for all the girls that went on dates with me and taught me how to be a better future husband and person. and for those that put up with my craziness. Thank you to my future wife wherever you may be... you are beautiful. And all my companions that they could be such awesome examples to me and direct me in the right path as a Disciple of Christ. Finally thanking my Savior Jesus Christ for guiding me on this journey of life. I have made it 20 so far and am looking forward to the next 20 and all the amazing people I can share it with. All are invited to enjoy it with me:) THANK YOU. Happy Birthday to me. :) With much love, Elder Richins' What a week!
'So it all started on tuesday when we were doing service at the farm... After a few hours we went to an abandoned old mansion foundation that never got built and we were messing around there. Things got crazy real fast and a rock ended up hitting my companion in the head... Well long story short we spent the rest of the day waiting at the hospital. It was only a contusion and everything is fine now but it was a crazy day. We also sat around in a car shop because we had to get our oil changed and that took a couple hours... Also our worldwide missionary training broadcast was awesome!! simple and sweet. We get more customization in our daily schedules and we got some changes in the numbers we report... so that is really awesome. It is a lot more relaxed. But that calls for hard working missionaries!! I am glad we got so many awesome elders and sisters out here! This work is so great and I am so grateful I can serve around such amazing people!!! Also... Yesterday was Elder Villars birthday! and today is Elder Millers birthday!!! So we are going to go have a fun party! They are awesome! Oh yeah... and I gave another 15 minute talk in church... people keep getting sick and can't do it so I am getting a ton of opportunities to practice. I can talk for about 20 minutes now with a couple of scriptures and a personal experience so that is awesome... and in spanish too!!! Keep on Keepin on!! Love, Elder Richins' Bowling!! 'So this week was pretty good, we had zone conference and exchanges!! I got to take over the area and I was with someone who didn't speak spanish! It was so cool to see him receive the gift of interpretation of tongues! He could understand some spanish and has never spoken it! He was very suprised! Seems like a lot of people have been getting sick lately... but somehow I am okay. Other than today we played the skittles game and I feel soooooo sick!!! I ate so many! So much sugar. I hate sugar. We also went bowling! It wasn't my worst game. Elder Miller beat everyone! He seems to be good at everything he does. Something else that is super awesome is we had 3 investigators come to church on sunday!!!! YAAAAA It was so awesome! Our investigators are the coolest. We are having some changes in the missionary life I am sure! We have a worldwide broadcast for missionaries this week and I am super excited to learn some more. We also had to have our car clean for Zone Conference so we had some fun at the car wash... but because the vacuums were lame they didn't do very well and we didn't pass on the interior check... even though other cars were worse.. not sure how that worked out but that is okay. That is why there is repentance. I am also getting a lot of practice cutting hair and I am getting way better!! I hope you are all doing great and remember to keep on keeping on. which means... Read those scriptures! Every day! and Go To Church!!!!!!! And don't you ever forget to pray. because I am praying for you everyday! I love you all and want to let you know how much this gospel means to me! It is obviously my life but I wouldn't change that ever! It is the greatest thing that has happened to me! I miss you all and hope you all have a fantastic week! Love, Elder Richins' Crisp Cringle makin' his escape after a successful Holiday!'So this week was interesting, We ate some good Peruvian food!!! We are having our zone P-day. I feel bad because there isn't much that has changed.... Other than we picked up 6 New investigators!!!!! Oh YA!!! We had an awesome week. We did exchanges with the english elders and I got to testify to this bible basher named Steve... He is such a nice guy. He said he would read the Book of Mormon, so hopefully he will open his heart to the truth of the book. I know we did our job so we left with huge smiles on our faces and a heart full of gratitude knowing our Heavenly Father was proud of us, even though he didn't want to believe our message!! Also my trainer Elder Miskin is on his last transfer!!! Time has flown by! And we get to celebrate Elder Villars, Elder Millers, and My birthday this transfer and Elder Harris (Elder Millers comp.) has his birthday right after mine. It is weird thinking my teenage life is gone!!! I might have to start acting my age now!! Everything is well here! Loving the missionary life! Everyone keep being awesome and looking for ways to stay strong in your testimonies and share them with others #EveryMemberAMissionary! Also... Sorry mom but I caved and bought that German calendar anyway... soooo Ich lerne Deutsch. haha love you all!!! Love, Your Boston Missionary, Elder Richins Sorry... Forgot to take more pictures:( next week for sure! <3' Being stuck inside is sooo boring!!!
'Hello everyone!!! So it finally snowed up here... a lot. we were red dotted and had to stay inside for two days!!!! One time I got super sick of being inside so we geared up and headed out trudging through the snow... we walked for about an hour or so and my companion almost got frosbite... so we went back inside hahaha but we had so much fun!!! Here are some pictures Love you all sorry this is short... and turns out we got 75 baptisms in December which is CRAZY!!!! Watch out! we are taking this missionary thing seriously!!! Love, Elder Richins' 'I made it a year!! Happy New Year to everyone!! I will start out with a cool miracle. The english elders were tracting and found this boy who accepted a pamphlet but that is it. The Elders continued and when the mom of the boy saw the pamphlet she chased down the elders. Luckily Elder Miller speaks spanish and could talk to her. Turns out she used to meet with the missionaries in the Dominican Republic, and moved here and looked for the church but could never find it. She had been praying for missionaries to knock on her door and that day her prayers were answered!!! Turns out she was reading the Book of Mormon everyday and is super super prepared!! She even came to church yesterday!!!!! It was definitely an amazing week.
oh yeah and I am not getting transfered... staying here in New London with Elder Villar for 6 more weeks. We did some more service at a farm and we shoveled some seaweed... that was fun. Had an amazing time talking to my family on Christmas. They are the best family that there is!! Everything is well here. no snow, so we are going to the beach today. But it is cold outside so I am not sure how long we will be there. I forgot my camera but I will make sure to include pictures next week. sorry about that! Love you all so much. The church is true!!!! Love, Elder Richins See ya'll in 11 months' 'Hey, super sorry for emailing again... forgot to add one miracle!!! we had a goal for 50 baptisms for december and we got over 60!!! woooooooooooooo it is so awesome!!! and the goals are only going up! that is a lot of baptisms! the church is growing so fast!' 'So we just got back from the beach! and Taylor Swift has a house down there so we chilled at the beach behind her house it is pretty cool!!' 'Sorry We have to go right now but I just wanted to say Hi and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!! It was an amazing Christmas here I Love my family and this gospel. Keep on keeping on and here are some pictures. Love, Elder Richins' hotdogs Hotdogs GONE!
'Wow we got a huge snow storm this past week but it already melted. But we happened to be on exchanges when it came... and their apartment is on a big hill sooo we got stuck at the bottom and slowly made it up after adding a little weight. It was fun until the freezing rain came.. I left my beanie home and the rain froze to my head. It was super fun. Not much really happened... we just went christmas shopping for each other and we also helped clean out a hoarders home... we found some cool little things we got to keep haha. oh... we also got a 22" Hot Dog each. It hurt for a while I will send the pictures next week it was huge! Remember to keep Christ in Christmas this year. Love you all, and sorry this was so short. Merry Christmas Love Elder Richins' Thank you family. |