May 26

Dear Family and Friends,

Well we are approaching the last week of May.  The time goes so fast.  It is hard to think of buy as school comes to a close over there, Everyone is getting ready to go back to school this week.

Not going to lie it was a little difficult week, we had to drop a lot of investigators.  Sometimes the outside influences of family members and friends is really hard for people.  Sometimes it is just a hard part of missionary work, even when people have really great experiences and they just can't withstand some social temptations.  It just reminds me of the quote from Elder Jeffery R Holland that said that of course missionary work is not easy, it was never easy for the author of Salvation, even our savior Jesus Christ.  He also said that Missionaries and investigators will have to feel a little of what the Savior felt.  That is how we come to know our savior.

But other than a few disappointments we did have a good week in Bacon. We had one investigator sister Rose Ann.  We have been teaching her for a while.  She was a referral from Sister Alma Carrido when she was an investigator.  She knows that Book of Mormon is true and loves reading it, but has just been so shy to come to church.  She lives really close to our apartment so we have tried 3 times to pick her up for church, but is is says next time, next time.  So on Saturday they branch has a picnic dinner really close to her house.  We decided to see if she would come to the picnic with us.  We went to get her, but she said she was too shy because she wasn't a member yet. We we went to the picnic and enlisted the help of the members.  Sister Alma volunteered so Sister Alma and three of the Relief society sisters went to Rose Ann's house to get her.  She was still shy so she she sent her kids instead, when they got to the picnic her little daughter decided that she didn't want to come, so sister Alma walked her back to her house and then when she came back we saw Rose Ann with her kids and Sister Alma.  It was so great.  The Branch was so quick to fellowship and was like okay I can come to church.  This is why we need members!

We also found this investigator this week that was really prepared by the Lord, she has a lot of trials in her life and has been having a really hard time, she was suppose to be at work, but for some reason she felt that she should stay home and they we came and she said it was like and answer to prayers.  She was so happy, we gave her a book of Mormon and taught her to pray.  She was like I didn't know how to pray sister. She was so happy.  It is these moments that make me so glad that I get to be an instrument in God's hands.

-Sister Richins