August 12, 2009

Hey family and friends,
How are you all? Did you have a good week? I think the family campout was this past weekend? Did you go? How was it? Grandma sent me some of her raisin cookies so I almost felt like I was there with you all! :) I also got some sunflower seeds that had instructions on how to eat them and it looked like something you would write ryan...it was way funny! Have you started writing "how to"´s for food items? What´s new with you all? Tiff and Jas when is your baby due? I know it´s not for a few months. This week was a good one here in the mission field! It was hot this week so I thought summer was coming but they tell me that august will be cold and in sept it will start warming up. I guess we´ll see. My zone had an activity at a park here and we played soccer...i was a little intimidated to play soccer with brasilians but it was a lot of fun. Things are great! My companion is great and we are looking forward to zone conference next week! We had a baptism on saturday of a 16 year old girl who reminds me a bit of Carly Dekeyzer, she´s so cute and funny! She was so excited and the young women in the ward are great with her! It was a good day. Her parents aren´t members but her dad and brother were there too. I am loving Brasil and the people here a lot! What a blessing to be serving here in the Lord´s work! Thank you all so much for your love, support, prayers, testimonies, examples, etc, etc! I love you all!Beijos!
Sister Richins

August 5, 2009

Hey everyone!How are you all doing? Any exciting news? I hope life has been sweet to ya´ll (that´s for you trav and chan ;) ) this week! Things here are great! This week has been a good one! It´s been a bit warmer and but windier lately and every street we walk down there are people flying "pipas" they are little kites with way long string so they get way high in the air and when you look up into the sky you can see tons of pipas everywhere...it´s hilarious. I think I´ve made a big deal about it cuz almost everyday I stop and look up to see the pipas and I´ve talked about how I want to bring some home to fly with my nieces and nephews and I talk about how funny it is to me that people spend the whole day flying pipas, etc. So the other day my companion was talking to our district leader and she´s learning eng. so she was talking to him in eng. and he said something about the kites she didn´t know the word and he translated "pipas" and she said...but you don´t have them there (in the US) right? and he said yeah we do...and she said but Sister Richins has never seen them in her life. Ha...she continued to explain how I make such a big deal about them so she thought ít was something completely new to me...which it kinda is but pretty sure our district has made fun of me for it everyday since. We have had some success working with the leaders in the ward here which is great and really helps the work. The members here in Brasil have a real desire to help in missionary work, I think part of it is because many of them are converts themselves and so they had the lessons from the missionaries and have a testimony of the power of the work. It´s great, I´m learning a lot! We have a goal to work with the members more and more and to really strengthen the ward here so we do have a lot more work ahead of us but so far we have seen the benefits of having the support and help of the ward. On Sat. we had two baptisms, two men that were seriously elect of elect of the Lord, we taught them a principle and they accepted it prayed about it and changed. It was so great to see how happy and sure they were about their decision to be baptised. One of them, Claudine, said that he just kept becoming happier and happier the more he learned. What a blessing, I have been strengthened through seeing their testimonies grow. I seriously learn something new everyday. I am feeling the love of the Lord for His children stronger and stronger everyday and see His tender mercies more and more. Well, I better get going, but thanks again for your love and support! I love you all! Have a great week!
Beijos!
Sister Chelsea Dawn

July 29, 2009

Family are friends!Oi! Tudo bem?! How are you all this week? I hope you are happy and well and know that I love you all! Thanks for the emails and support! So it was a good week in the mission field! We had a baptism last week the senhor I wrote about and a little girl...adorable!! And we have another coming up this week, two older men that live together. They are seriously elect of the elect. Our only job as missionaries was to teach the principle and the spirit testified and they accepted. We have been teaching them for a little over a month and the ward has also been very involved which is great and has helped a lot since we couldn´t visit their house alone we always had a memeber to help and testify. What a blessing to see the hand of the Lord directly in this work, leading us directly to those that are prepared! I am so grateful to be here! I also witnessed a miracle in my Portuguese progression this week that I am so excited about. I can understand way more and converse way more then just last week. It was like almost over night and I already feel more like myself...not that I like to talk or anything ;). But really it is a blessing! Transfers were today but my companion and I will be staying in our area for at least one more...we were both way excited about that! Life is good! Missionary work is the best! I am so grateful for you all, for your examples, testimonies, love, etc! MUITO OBRIGADA! I love you!
Beijos,
Sister Richins

July 22, 2009

Hey fam and friends! How is everyone this week? I hope life is great and the summer weather is treating you all well! This week the weather here was way tempromental we had a couple really cold days and a few really hot days...it´s great...I never know for sure what to wear. I think it´s supposed to get colder in August and start warming up in Sept. I hear by December I will want to die because it´s so hot! yay! Any fun summer vacations or plans? This past week was great! We have been teaching a man named Wilson for the past two months almost. When we met him he was way sad everytime we visited because he just got a divorse and his daughters weren´t communicating with him and he was drunk everytime we visited. His mom is a member but left the church years ago and doesn´t really talk about why but she agrees with every principle we taught Wilson. Anyway, it was pretty draining everytime we went to their house and he would cry and she woud get on his case. But he kept going to church and really had a desire to change. About two weeks ago he found out about some health problems he has that are pretty serious and so we taught him about priesthood blessings and he said he would like to have one. After the blessing his pain subsided and the next day when we visited he wasn´t drunk and didn´t cry...which really was a miracle. Everyday after the blessing he looked better and better. He hasn´t drank since and we moved his baptism date up to this Saturday. I am so excited and feel so blessed to have witnessed the spirit and power of the atonement work in his life. He has since been in contact with one of his daughters who plans on attending his baptism this week and his mom will enter the chapel again for the first time in almost 20 years this saturday!! I am so happy and so grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of the Lord´s work. The atonement is real and powerful and changes lives...and gives eternal life. This gospel is true and God works miracles today the same as he did yesterday and will forever!Next week is transfers again...I can´t believe how fast the time is passing...wow! Well I love you all, thank you for your love and support! You are in my thoughts and prayers!!
Beijos!
Sister Richins

July 15, 2009

Hey everyone! So how was the week? I hope you are all happy and doing great! Thanks for the letters and emails...as always so great to hear how things are going for everyone! Grimes kids thanks so much for the letters and pictures...they were so cute and way fun to receive! :) So Brett asked if I was able to receive pictures at this email address...I can...probably only a few at a time because the memory in this account isn´t very big but I´d love to see pictures of you all! As far as sending pictures from this account I dunno but I´m working on putting my pictures on a CD and sending that. So this week was another good one. We had zone conference and interviews. It is such a blessing to have every transfer because it really helps us evaluate what and how we are doing and where we need to improve. I love our mission President he truly is an inspired man! He talked a lot about the advesary and agency and the plan of salvation. It is so interesting and so very clear that the advesary is constantly working to stop the progression of the work of God and of each of us. We are either progressing or digressing based on our decisions. I´m grateful for this knowlege because it helps us realize how important it is to use our agency wisely. Agency truly is a gift from God and He will never take it from us, that is the opposing plan of satin that we have addictions, give into our weaknesses, and lose our agency. But there is peace in knowing that our Savior already atoned for our sins we can be forgiven and God will always do His part to bless us and help us overcome our weaknesses, have true happiness, and return to His presence and with these promises we just need to step up to the plate and do our part...obey His commandments. I love this gospel! I love teaching it and I love seeing the joy and change it brings. I love you all and hope you have a great week!
Te amo!
Sister Richins