May 21, 2012

Mom, I said I would get better at telling you about what's going on down here. I have been doing ok here in my area, but just trying to do my part to help the ward have a real growth, but it's a long proccess. First off we need to find new people and we have been trying to do that since we split up the area with the new sisters that have joined us in the ward. We are about at the end of our transfers so I don't know what will happen on Wednesday when we have transfers, but if I end up going to Sincelejo or Monteria than I will be going to the new mission Medellin, but we will find out on Wednesday. I try always to not talk about all the bad stuff, but I usually don't see a huge growth in the wards that I attend as in participating in the missionary work. I think I will have some new goals coming up in the next transfers to get staight in working with the members where I go. I do find it difficult to work with members and I feel, we as a mission were are all trying to figure that out. The only thing I know is that if we do it and have that unity with the members more we will have success. So keep that on the list of things to rememind me that I need to do because at times I do get distracted and tend to go another direction some times. It's usually what happens because if the members dont work, we continue as missionaries. So we at times get more distant from each other as time goes on and it's a difficult proccess, but I know it can happen. Right know Elder Martinez and I have been working with a few families. I am actually excited to go work tonight because we have an appointment with a family that the father is not a member and the rest of his family is. I felt one night to go pass by this family in the ward about a week ago and we didn't even know but the man of this family has had contact with some members in our ward and they have been friends for a really long time. The family that we were going to teach is named The Perez family and the member that is helping us out is named Melendez family. Tonight we are going to have a nice family night and hopefully help this family become an eternal family. We had other appointments for tonight but I told my companion we can plan them for another night and that I want to see this family go to the temple because it's an eternal family that were going to be teaching. This past zone conference we talked a lot about this and the people we baptize. In the mission here we have been baptizing whoever and usualy the new converts haven't had the support they need from their own family because thay are not members and the members in the church don't help out that much either to sustain the new members. So they want us to find people that will help the "kingdom of God" grow this means having a true growth in the church with members converted with a testimony, friendship, and spirtual growth continually. We asked ourselves as missionary why do the members or new converts leave the church and really there are a lot of reasons, but the thing is is it begins with us as missionaries. That is what we do is we invite people to come unto Christ to understand what is a covenant and what's the importance of the Book of Mormon and how we can overcome opposition and grow our testimonies and apply these simple principles of the gospel in our lives. The thing is we are still learning and understand how that works for us too hahahaha, but we do have a testimony and we do know that the gospel can work in our lives and that it has. It has given me such strength in my life to know that I have a Savior and that I learn how to follow him in the holy scriptures and hear our prophets reveal things to me, to help me understand what I need spiritually and physically in my life. We have a new method as a mission and it is... Find- new people Teach- power and authority Baptize- ready investigators Rescue- 5 familys Retain- teach continually -grow more faith in jesus christ and understand of his atonement -teach by the spirit -have real growth in the chruch * the three main focuses in our mission at this point. Something that we haven't been doing real great at is focusing on the the enduring to the end with a lot of the people we teach and so that's what we need to get better at as well. I am included in a lot of this, but I am just glad that I get to teach. I don't feel like I have become a master at teaching really, but I am called to do it and so I do it. I am willing to make all the changes I need to be able to give someone the example of a true believer and a true follower of Christ. This helps a lot to get me refocused on telling you more details of what's happening. It helps me reflect and to keep track of things. I havent been so hot on keeping my journal up to date, but it's something that I will get better at too. I hope that you understood what I have been talking about and hope that you find this a good e-mail haha. Thanks for the encouragement from home. I really did need that. I love you mom and the family. Speak again soon. Elder Ridley