Christ will heal us all:)

So..first off here is Riah's most recent group email..

"Hey everyone!!

How are you all??!! How are things going?? And I really mean it, I wanna know, so tell me!! :) (I'll know if you did or didn't.. ;)) I figured if I am giving you an account of my week every week.. so it doesn't get boring I'd LOVE to hear how you are all doing!!

So this week was pretty great!! I know I say this all the time but it is SO crazy how fast time passes!! I get to talk to my mom in 3 weeks!! (Woot! :) )

So last week we were challenged by our district leader to share the Book of Mormon with anyone and everyone we can. One thing that makes it kindof hard is that once I get talking about the Book of Mormon, I just want to throw up my whole heart and soul onto them and just WATCH them to see if they will read the book!! Because seriously, that book has changed my life more than ANY OTHER instructions I have been given in my life!! It is SO amazing! I have seriously been able to come closer to Christ and gain more of a personal relationship with him and a testimony of his love for me through his words in the scriptures :) One scripture I LOVE LOVE at the moment is in 3 Nephi 17:5-7.

"And it came to pass that when Jesus had thus spoken, he cast his eyes round about again on the multitude, and beheld they were in tears, and did look steadfastlyupon him as if they would ask him to tarry a little longer with them...And he said unto them: Behold, my bowels are filled with compassion towards you...Have ye any that are sick among you? Bring them hither. Have ye any that are lame, or blind, or halt, or maimed, or leprous, or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner? Bring them hither and I will heal them, for I have compassion upon you; my bowels are filled with mercy."

(I added in the italics and bold :))

I am so grateful for my Savior, and for all he did for me, and continues to do as I accept his will and apply his suffering and atonement in my life. If you haven't done so, I invite you to do so now. CHRIST. WILL. HEAL. US. ALL.

I leave this with you in his beloved and sacred name, Amen.

Until next week!!

Hermana Mariah Riddle :)

We have been teaching the Morales family for awhile now, and some of the family members are members of the church, but yesterday we were able to see Michael, the youngest son, follow the example of his Savior, Jesus Christ, by choosing to be baptized and confirmed a member the church and partake of the blessings that are sure to flow as he stays faithful. He's such a funny kid!! He's like a little teddy bear I swear!! So cute!! Here are some pics of the event :)"

 Aww..look how cute this little guy is! It is so neat to hear about all of the things Riah is doing and actually see that the work she is doing is making a difference in families:)

In Riah's last email to me she talked about the importance of missionary work and how it really is all about helping others to "Come unto Christ". Here are some of her specific feelings about the missionary work she is doing, she says that missionary work.."is all about helping ALL to come unto Christ, and helping them "move on to the next ordinance" as president Riggs likes to say.. That is something that is the hardest in the Hispanic culture is retention. They forget what they once felt/once knew because they start working or other things and start distancing themselves from the church. Which is why whenever we can get a less-active even to church to "move on to the next ordinance" and partake of the sacrament it is magnificent! I seriously love being a missionary! It's hard because Hispanics are always working, but we do have quite a few members who like to help out. And there are some that invite themselves to help a lot, which is so good! Members are KEY in fellowshipping investigators, activating new converts and reactivating inactives.. It is just hard to get it all set up and make sure everyone is in the same page! That is why I LOVE when someone just calls us and offers their home for a family night and tells us that we can just invite someone or something, it takes a lot of stress off!! :) which I am sure you guys are already awesome at that.. :)"

Hahaha..I am glad she thinks that we are awesome at that but I have to admit that even though the missionaries spend a lot of time at our house, I feel like we could do so much more as member missionaries. We all can do so much more to help them out. Just hearing from her what a great role the members play in the overall success of missionary work just makes me want to do more.  I mean, we all know (in our heads) that we need to do more but do we really feel it in our hearts? And does that feeling cause us to move? Its only fair that if I pray for the success of my daughter on her mission, and if her success is dependent on the members in her area, I'd better get on board and start helping out more at home so that the missionaries here can have success as well:) 

Mariah was also so excited to hear that a recently returned sister missionary from Virginia won the Ms Virginia pageant.  If you haven't heard about it there is an article about it in the Deseret News. This cute girl had never been in a pageant and she viewed it as a way to continue her missionary work.  She was the ONLY one who wore a one-piece swimsuit in the swimsuit competition and her goal was to "Champion modesty"  Well, she surely did that!  Interesting topic of conversation for Mariah as she is serving the people in Virginia.

Riah also mentioned in her last email that she had to stay in one day this week because she was sick. She said that she has been having some stomach problems and that food in general isn't settling well. She called the mission Dr and he had her get some medicine to help that she is supposed to take for 2 weeks. She says its frustrating when she gets sick because it makes it hard to focus. She wants to be out teaching so please pray for her to get better:)