This weeks e-mail!!! October 21, 2013!

Here is this weeks letter!!!!   

Have a wonderful day!!!!  

Love to all!!!  

Hello Everyone!!!

I made it through transfer calls!!!! I am staying with my trainer in Moscow, ID! These next six weeks just happen to be the last six weeks that my trainer (Sister Hardy) is on her mission. So in mission terms 'I'm killing my mother!' haha She's a little nervous/anxious/excited about this next transfer! It's going to be EPIC! 

Not a whole lot happened this last week! But something that continues to touch me every day are the hymns of the church! I LOVE SINGING!!! I wasn't very good before the mission....but I think I've improved a little since being home! Music is a very powerful tool! The spirit is so strong when it's used in the right way; but used in the wrong way, music can just as easily drive the spirit away! We sing to people ALL THE TIME!! It's a good way for the people we contact or tract to feel the spirit. In fact later today we will be singing to one of our less active members! I love singing! Two of my favorite hymns to sing currently are Savior Redeemer of My Soul (pg 112) and Lead Kindly Light (pg 97)! They are WONDERFUL!!! 

It's definitely starting to get colder... and biking in cold weather is... well lets just say its not much of 'a breeze'. Sometimes the wind is so strong and cold that we are laughing because of the ridiculousness of the situation! *sigh*

Anyways... There are a lot of spiders in our apartment lately... we bought more spider traps today because there were at least 3 hobo spiders in each of the last 4 traps we've put out... its ok though.... well, that's what i keep telling myself every morning after exiting the bathroom in extreme haste due to a spider threatening my life! 

I will give Moscow this... The fall is very pretty here! I leaves and bushes turn beautiful colors! If it wasn't for the temperature it'd be pretty nice here! :) 

I love my mission. I've learned so much from being out here! I love being a representative of Jesus Christ sharing His gospel! I love the people here! I love serving EVERY ONE ALL DAY LONG!!! 

I'm so happy to be a missionary! I love you all! 

Keep the faith, and keep smiling!

Love,

Sister Richardson

Last weeks e-mail!!! October 14, 2013

Here is last weeks e-mail!!!!  

Happy Reading!!!


Hey Everyone!!

Time is short today, but I have learned so much this last week! It has been depressing and tiring but so exhilarating and wonderful at the same time!

Monday night we had just got done with P-day (6pm) and we started walking to the institute building! We were on FIRE! We were talking to EVERYONE that we saw and it was so great! We were inviting people to be baptized and getting names and phone numbers and just doing what missionaries love to do. We saw that we had missed a call from our mission president, so we listened to the voice mail. He said that he had a new assignment for Sister Workman. We weren't too worried cause we have a sister in our district that is going back to temple square on Tuesday of this week so we figured she'd just go into that area until transfers (next week Sunday). After we got to the institute we called president back and he told Sister Workman that she needed to pack her bags and that she would be leaving on Wednesday to go to Sand Point... Wait WHAT?... (That's what went through all of our heads) We were heartbroken! Right as we get in the groove of learning how to teach with three people, the Lord switched it up. I'm not going to lie... I was a bit bitter! The friend that I relied on the most since I've been out here was leaving! But after she left on Wednesday I had a wonderful conversation, through prayer, with the Lord. He chastened me, lovingly of course, and told me not to be so selfish and prideful. We had just received a training on fully submitting our will to the Lords will and at that time I definitely was not doing that.... so I did what I had to do... I repented and changed my behavior. I cannot tell you what a difference that has made to my mission! The area is on fire! The members are working with us better than ever! We got two new investigators the other day! 

The Lord blesses us when we are willing to submit our will to his. I don't have the exact quote, but a prophet said that our will is the only true thing that we have to place on the alter that our Heavenly Father hasn't already given us. As you do this, miracles happen. It doesn't only work with missionary work. In your every day life, as you listen to the right music, as you make the choice NOT to go to that party, and as you decide to keep yourself clean from the things of this declining world, you will see a difference! No matter who you are, where you are, nor how you've gotten there, submitting your will to the Father and being obedient will bring you blessings.

Satan is trying to build a world full of grey areas. It's not that these shorts are "just a little too short" it's the fact that "they ARE too short." Don't let Satan have an inch...  eventually he will go a mile.... or even longer down into a dark place that our Father in Heaven doesn't want you to be.. EVER. 

God loves all of his children and wants them to live with him again. Commandments are not hindrances, they are blessings to keep us happy in this life. As we live them we are happy and make it possible for God to give us the blessings that we need at that time. 

I am so grateful for this gospel! I love the lord for his loving way of showing me when I'm doing something wrong. It's not about relying on your friends or your family...  it's about relying on the one person you loves you and cares about you most! Our Father who is in heaven! 

I know this, and you can too!

Love,

Sister Richardson

October 7, 2013 E-mail!!!

Hey, Hey, Heeeeyyyyy!!!  

Here is today's letter!!!!   Is she awesome or what!!!

Enjoy, and Happy Reading!!!

Love to all!!!

Hey Everyone!!

HOLY HARRAH... what a week!!!! 

This week was filled with trainings, church tours, conferences...yes plural, ill explain later, and of course miracles!! 

We had a church tour on Monday night with a student that has been hanging around with some of he members for the last month or so. When we got there the member that was coming with us brought another one of her friends. Preface: THE LORD WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS! It turns out that the church tour needed to be for the friend that was brought not the friend that we invited in the first place!! He totally felt the spirit and it was fabulous!!.... to bad he's in the Elders area...we would have loved to teach him! 

SO MANY TRAININGS! Last week was full of them and this week will be full of them as well! The work is hastening and many of the trainings we are having are all based on how we can work better with our members!!! Those of you back home....just do it! Find someone that needs this messege and say, "Hey this is something that has blessed my life and I know it will bless yours will you meet with the missionaries to see how?" Simple. To the Point! That's what people like. Don't beat around the bush! Yes, you've just been rebuked... If you have been spreading the gospel... Keep it up! I'm positive the missionaries LOVE you! 

We had one of the most AMAZING women's conferences I've ever experienced on Wednesday! All the sisters in the mission were able to go to Spokane and have a real moral booster! It was probably one of my favorite days this week! All the sisters gathered and we had talks on how to keep ourselves healthy both physically and spiritually. A lot of the time we are extremely hard on ourselves when we are trying to be better missionaries, learning how to be moms in this crazy world, and sharing the gospel with people who constantly reject a piece of who you are. To all of the sisters there the theme was: Happiness is the design of our existence. How amazing is that!! We are here on earth to be Happy!!!! there was a quote from a brother who spoke he said, "If you're given a choice (which we are), choose happy!" *sigh* how perfect! Speaking of perfection...that was an underlying theme! When it says in Matthew "Be ye therefore perfect even as I am perfect" If you look in the footnote it says, "complete" or "finished". It is impossible for us (all of us...not just sisters) to be PERFECT. But we can be complete... and the only way to be complete is through the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ! He's already paid the price! Whether it's guilt, shame, depression, unhappiness, or even physical pain... Christ can help... I promise that as you ASK for strength it will be given to you in abundance... the hardest part of this process is asking... and believing you'll get what you ask for!! 

So that was women's conference....then there was GENERAL CONFERENCE!!!! I LOVE OUR PROPHET!!!! He's so great!! Every single word that was said in conference this weekend was inspired!!! I have a task for everyone who reads this. Use a talk from general conference to spread the gospel and invite someone to meet with the missionaries! Pray for guidance as to what talk to use. Go online. Read through the titles. If that's not enough, read a little bit of the talk. Choose a talk. Pray for someone to share it with. AND LOOK FOR THE OPPORTUNITY!!! If we ask for it, he will give us the opportunity, but we have to seize it when it presents itself!!! 

Ok...I'm off my soap-box now....but seriously...conference was AMAZING!!

Yesterday my companions and I were on a spiritual high!!! It was fabulous!! We are on the University of Idaho campus and we went and asked 20 people to be baptized in 3 hours!!!!! It was INSANE!!! The spirit was soooo strong and we even found a less active that had been baptized at 8 and then his parents fell away...so he did too... Brothers and Sisters he STILL had the look in his eyes of someone who was SEARCHING FOR THE GOSPEL!! He felt the spirit and wanted to meet with us later! As Elder Holland says, "Look into their eyes. They will tell you everything you need to know" 

I love this gospel! I know it's true! I've read the Book of Mormon and prayed about it to find out. You can too. Nourishing our testimonies is an ongoing process... you can't just read the Book of Mormon once and be set for the rest of your life. You have to continually work at it! I thank my Heavenly Father for giving me a home where I could be raised with the values of the gospel continually surrounding me! If there is something in your life stopping this progression, I beg you to change it! God loves you. He wants you to live with him again!! 

I'm so grateful for all the letters and packages that have been sent my way!! I know there are people at home who love and care about me and THAT has meant SO much... especially through hard days! 

Keep the faith and stay strong.... and remember to smile! :) 

Love ya!

Sister Richardson

September 30, 2013 E-mail!!!

Hey there Everyone!!!

Sorry this is late, ....  but better late than never!   Right!?  Here is Kayla's e-mail from last week!

Enjoy, and Happy Reading!!!  



On Mon, Sep 30, 2013 at 4:24 PM, Kayla Richardson <kayla.richardson@myldsmail.net> wrote:

Hello Everyone! 

There are so many things that have happened this last week but I want to concentrate on 3...

First of all... life is full of trials and challenges. I can testify to you right now that if you're not happy... change your thoughts. Make goals... write them down... hold yourself accountable for them (and if you know you won't get someone you're with a lot to do it for you) If you change your thoughts, your behavior will follow! I have a testimony of that! I thank heaven for the companions I have right now who so lovingly help me with my goals to change my thoughts from negative to positive thinking! It works miracles brothers and sisters! Truly!

Secondly, here is something for your enjoyment that was given to us by a member:

The Way It Is

THE MISSION PRESIDENT:

Leaps tall buildings in a single bound,

Is more powerful than a locomotive,

Is faster than a speeding bullet,

Walks on water,

Associates with God.

THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT:

Leaps short buildings in a single bound, 

Is more powerful than a switch engine,

Is just as fast as a speeding bullet,

Walks on water if the sea is calm,

Talks with God.

THE ZONE LEADER:

Leaps short buildings with a running start and favorable winds,

Is almost as powerful as a switch engine,

Is faster than a decelerating bullet,

Walks on water in an indoor swimming pool,

Talks with God if special request is approved.

THE DISTRICT LEADER:

Barely clears a mud hut,

Loses tug-of-war with locomotives,

Can fire a speeding bullet,
Swims well,

Is occasionally addressed by God.

THE SENIOR COMPANION:

Makes high marks on the wall when trying to leap tall buildings,

Is run over by locomotives,

Can sometimes handle a gun without inflicting self-injury,

Dog paddles,

Talks to animals.

THE JUNIOR COMPANION:

Runs into buildings,

Recognizes locomotives 2 out of 3 times,

Is not issued ammunition,

Can stay afloat with a life jacket,

Talks to walls.

THE GREENIE:

Falls over doorsteps when trying to enter buildings,

Says, "Look at the choo-choo!"

Wets himself with a water pistol,

Plays in mud puddles,

Mumbles to himself.

THE SISTER MISSIONARIES:

Lifts buildings and walks under them,

Kicks locomotives off the tracks,

Catches speeding bullets with her teeth and eats them, 

Freezes water in a single glance.

Knows God.

Lastly, I am so grateful for inspired leaders of the church to guide us with their words. The General Relief Society Meeting was in a single word: INSPIRED. I'm sure you can say that about any church meeting, but I love listening to the leadership of the women in the church, and what a treat it was to listen to the prophet of the world talk to his beloved sisters! I love listening to the prophet! As we come to listen to the apostles and prophets this weekend, have a question or two in mind so that the spirit can work within you to answer those questions that you've been pondering!

God loves you, He knows you, and He wants you to live with Him again! I know that. I've found it out for myself! 

Do everything in your power to listen to the prophet and apostles of Christ's church talk to the world. You will be inspired! I know the fullness of the gospel has been restored once again upon the earth! I know it, I live it, and I LOVE IT! 

I love you all! I hope all is well! Keep the faith and God's speed!

Love,

Sister Richardson