So much to say, So much to do, So little time

Over the past couple of weeks we have received lots of information about what is going on with Riah in Washington DC.  It has been so much fun to see so many pics and videos coming through on the Icloud. What a blessing it has been for her to have an Ipad on her mission.  It seriously changes the way people are taught and the way that missionaries are able to communicate. Mariah talked to her mission Pres and she is allowed to read her emails during the week at free time..like lunch, dinner, or at night during personal time but she can only respond to emails on her P-day. So, you can send her an email anytime and she will probably be able to read it that day as if she had received a letter.  Technology is simply AMAZING!!

Apparently on P-day yesterday Mariah and her companion decided to make some videos. They came through the Icloud yesterday and they are absolutely hilarious!  If you are reading this and want to see them then just send me an email, message or text and I will send them to you.  I didn't want to post them on here because this blog has too much public access. Both Mariah and her companion absolutely love Miranda (if you know who that is) and they like to talk to each other using the "Miranda" voice so it's funny to see the conversations they have, 

Below are just some cute pics that Mariah recently shared to the cloud so she wouldn't lose them. These are older pics but they are new to us:) The Church had us purchase a new Ipad that will be hers to keep when she returns home from her mission. So..she doesn't have the loaner Ipad anymore and had to remove everything off of it before she turned it in.

Here is the most recent group email that she sent on March 16, 2015

"Hello all!!

It is finally starting to become beautiful in DC!!  I can't wait for the cherry blossoms to come out!! But hello allergies!!

This past week has been super super awesome!! We have taught so many people, it's crazy!! We picked up 5 new investigators this week whom we feel are so ready to hear the gospel and receive the blessings that it can bring!! One of them is an old lady who is just SUPER cute and can't really get around much, she is a really good friend of one of the members in our ward, please pray for her! Her name is Rut :) Luis is still so awesome, continue to pray for him! He is in the process of trying to get it so that Albert and his other son, Luis Manuel can come back to live here again!! That would be so awesome!!

So last week we received a call from some Spanish elders in another zone saying that they had talked with president and they had an investigator to pass off to us but really it has kindof just become a shared investigator. She is outside of our area, but is super cute! Her name is Dora, and during the lesson we had with her last week we invited her to be baptized on the 25th of April, and she said yes!!! She said she would come to church on Sunday, and that she really feels that this is the true desire of her heart, as she was able to feel the spirit and recognize it. (Mosiah 18:8-11) we were all so happy at that moment, the spirit was so strong!! She has a 12 year old daughter who she wants to learn about the gospel. You can already see all the happiness, joy and peace that has been brought into her life through the spirit and through the knowledge of Jesus Christ and His Atonement!!

I love this gospel and I love my Savior with all my heart!! I know He lives, and that as we approach this Easter season I encourage you all to remember as well. He loves you and cares for you. He knows you and wants what is best for you. You can receive his blessing and know his will if you just Let Him In. So Let Him In!

Always have faith, and never stop believing in Him, because He will never stop believing in you!

Les quiero mucho! Que tengan una bonita semana!!

Hermana Riddle :)"

I cannot believe how fast the time is passing.  She will have transfers again on April 9th and says that she thinks she will stay in the same area again but you never know.  She and her companion are busy and teaching a ton which is so great.  Like I mentioned before in a previous post, when Mariah first signed on to the Icloud she had no idea that we could see ALL of the pics she was taking,  She only thought that we could see the shared files.  So, whenever she would take a pic, or screenshot something we would be able to see it here at home.

She took a picture of the white board in her apartment (she didn't know that we could see it) which shows all of the people they are teaching.  It was color coordinated, separated by city (they serve in like 6 cities), had stars and dots next to peoples names and then had a list of her and her companions goals.  I asked Mariah to explain to me what all of the coding was and it was interesting to hear that they have it sorted by non-member, less actives, people on date for baptism, possible baptisms (people progressing) and people that they are considering dropping as they aren't progressing. As we have seen the names of the people she is teaching we have been able to pray for them specifically by name and offer that help from here at home.  It has been such a blessing to our family to see prayers answered and see the success that in happening during Mariah's mission. There are over 50 names listed on the whiteboard so that gives you an idea of just how much they are teaching.  They have so much going on that they can't possibly get to everything.  That's a good problem to have for a missionary. They get lots of support from their ward members which is awesome! Mariah lets us know almost weekly who she would like us to pray for that week and it has been such a wonderful experience for us as well as Mariah.

Thank you to all of those people who continue to support and show your love to Mariah while she is serving. 

March 8, 2015- Trudging through snow, more investigators!

Her group email this week

"Can I just say, I love you all!!

This week was super fun, haha :) lots of fun experiences.. it snowed AGAIN A LOT!! We couldn't drive for a whole day, and we walked about 7 miles in the cold snow trudging that day (March 5th).. still a bit sore but it was super fun and hilarious still! We finally were able to go to church this week after not having had it the past 2 weeks, and it was so good to go again and be able to introduce my companion to a bunch of the members in our ward!

Just to sum up this past week, we went on exchanges with our Sister Training leaders on Tuesday, and I was able to leave the area for a bit to Little River and see my MTC companion Hermana Pettit who was at a dinner we had that night! Speaking of that dinner, aw man, they feed you so much here. After I choked down the last of my food, she asked if they wanted some soup and I told her I was ok, that I was full, but the rest of them wanted it so she kind of got mad (in a joking way) and I had to choke that down as well. Don't get me wrong, the food is SO good, they just give you a lot!! The Spanish culture is so different but I love it so much!! At the end of exchanges we met a guy while knocking doors, and he was from Spain. Things were going well and he was understanding and opening up a lot until his dad, who was drunk came and started taking the conversation down a whole different route. Nothing was really able to come of it except for that they were able to come from believing that we just die and that's it to that there is actually life after this one. It was super cool! The rest of this week we have been blessed to be able to find prepared people to receive the gospel, who I KNOW have been placed in our path for a reason.

Ok two real quick experiences of some of them. So last Thursday we were planning on going to the post office because Hermana Mensinger needed to send a package, and couldn't because it snowed really hard and we couldn't drive, so we went Friday instead. I thought I knew where the post office was, cuz we had been there before, but turns out we got a little lost and got there a few minutes later than planned. Right when we walk in, one of the ladies at the post office starts to help the man in front of us, and he just stands there and says, "No comprendo." (I don't understand). So he doesn't speak English at all. The lady kind of looked a little nervous because she only spoke English and her native Indian language, along with the other lady there. She looked around and I just offered to help and told her I speak Spanish. So I was able to help the man send off his package, (SUCH a cute little man!) and we made some small talk with him. Found out he is from El Salvador (there are a LOT of them in this area) and he gave us his name (Fredis) and address to go and teach him and his family! Thinking back on the experience, I KNOW that God had a hand in all that, and that He just has a marvelous plan. I know that he sent snow for a reason the day before. I know that our GPS glitched and then told us to make a U-turn to throw us out of the way just enough for us to make it in time to meet Fredis. I know that I was sent here to learn and preach the gospel in Spanish for a reason! SO cool!

Ok, second experience.. so we kind of had the same sort of experience with driving but that we were trying to find visitors parking and there wasn't any, so we just pulled into a shop close by and walked to an  appointment we originally had set. This was just last night and we found a guy taking the trash out and started talking to him, he is from Honduras, and he has three daughters. We shared a little message and a video with him, and he invited us to come and share more a different day and thanked us sincerely for the visit. He seemed super interested and you could see that he really had a desire to hear more. SO COOL how everything plays out when you are a missionary!

Well, I could go on and on with stories but those will have to be saved for a day further in the future. I can't express how much I enjoy being a missionary, and bringing the joy and happiness that this gospel brings me into the lives of God's children who have not yet had the opportunity to hear it. I love the Spanish language and I love everything about being out here and serving my Heavenly Father with everything I've got :)

I love you all and hope that you have an awesome week! May God bless you in your paths! :)

Mucho amor,

Hermana Mariah Riddle :)

P.S. we were also able to go to the Washington DC temple visitors center this week and watch Meet the Mormons. Such a neat and spiritual experience it is every time we are able to go to the visitors center.  I encourage those of you who can to go to the visitors center in Salt Lake and learn more about the church's history and who we truly are and where we come from!! It will be an awesome experience I promise!"

So..like I said in the last post-Mariah got permission to sign on to our Icloud and share pics and videos.  Below is a a silly video that she took after walking in the snow. Hopefully Mariah won't mind if I share it..haha:)

Mariah had planned to go the the Air and Space Museum in Chantilly on her P-day this week but she got sick and wasn't feeling very well so they just took it easy.  I am sure that her walking out in the snow and freezing cold didn't help the situation but luckily she is feeling much better now.

Some of the funniest pictures came in this week. I guess I will share a few of those too:)  We still picture Mariah looking like herself as shown in the first pic but apparently she looks totally different now.  Take a look:)

 

She and her new companion get along really well and it appears that they both have similar personalities. Looks like they are having a lot of fun together but they are also having much success. In her emails to us she mentions many investigators that she wants us to pray for and she also mentions that they have been teaching a lot.  So glad to hear that.

To end this post I just want to share one last video that gives us all an idea of the relationship that she has with her companion.  So fun to see that they enjoy each others company:)

March 2, 2015- New investigators, bad weather and Icloud pics

Her group email this week:)

Helloooo all!!

This week was super great! We were able to find a lot of people and see the Lord's hand work small little miracles in everything! It is still pretty cold here but supposed to warm up this week. Church was cancelled AGAIN yesterday because it was so icy, and we were also not allowed to drive, so we walked. Pretty sure Hermana Mensinger and I slipped like 50 bajillion times and the people in the cars probably thought we were nuts but we got a good laugh out of it. We came home super dead tired and beaten physically though, ha! Man, I really feel sad though, I'm a MISSIONARY and haven't been to church for 2 weeks! I need the sacrament! Haha :)

For all of you who know Miranda sings... My companion loves her too!! This companionship was God-given!! Well, everything is God-given but this just provides a witness! Haha :)

As far as our investigators are going... We have quite a few, but work has been pretty tough. As well as being able to see God's hand in everything, with everything we have seen Satan working on them as well. (2 Nephi 2:11-opposition in all things) :) I love being a missionary and being able to see people change their lives for the better! Just small little things you can see a light in them and see a testimony growing in them that put feelings inside you that words can't describe! There are so many things that happen here on my mission that I have been able to say, "that would have NEVER happened," or, "I would have never experienced that had I not gone on a mission!" So many awesome things and crazy things as well! Ha for example, funny story.., the other day, we were trying to find a member from our Ward that hasn't gone to church in a long long time whom we haven't met, and as we were walking down the stairs to the apartment complex there was a lady sitting there on the stairs smoking and she said to my companion, "ohhh those are some nice boots you got there! Where'd Ya get em?!" and so we made a little bit of small talk with her and she started talking about how mormons are very nice and "you are very nice.." and all, and then she started talking about how we aren't sent here to judge other people and how we all have the ability to make good or bad decisions in life. At that moment I shared a scripture with her from the bible (Matthew 5:16-thank you dad!!) And explained to her how we all have the light of Christ in us, and that is what enables us discern right from wrong and make good decisions, and the more we make good decisions that light will grow in us and we will be able to overcome any troubles or difficulties we may have with the help of our savior..well, the lady started crying and said, "I have a light! I know I do!" And was just bawling and started singing the "this little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine..." Song and asked for a hug and started hugging me, then her fiancé opened the door from inside and she just walked inside crying, and that was it! It was super interesting and we were super confused.. A lot more happened but that's the gist of it.. The lord works in mysterious ways!! That's all I have to say!

Well, don't want to make these emails too long cuz I know they can get a little exhausting to read, but I just want you to all know that God loves you and I know that! I have been able to feel His love as I serve Him, and encourage you to do the same! (Omni 1:26) "serve Him with all your heart, might, mind and strength" and you will see blessings!! Try it, I dare you :) God will never fall short on His end of the promise. I hope you all have an awesome week as you serve those around you and come to know your Christ as your savior and friend!
Love you all!

Hermana Riddle :)


Sent from my iPad

Pic 1: Someone made these in front of the church building and we had to get a pic :)

Pic 2:Walking in the cold! :)

For those of you who understand Spanish, this is part of the letter that she wrote to me in Spanish this week:) This was in response to some questions that I had for her..

"Ok, bueno. Sí, estamos enseñando inglés todavía cada jueves. Mi compañera es de Illinois. Pero fue a BYU Idaho el año pasado por la escuela. No hemos podido hablar con Albert, pero hablamos mucho con Luis y está progresando. La única cosa que él no entiende es la autoridad del sacerdocio, lo cual no hemos explicado muy bien creo. Pero Luis quiere que Albert conozca los misioneros allá en Puerto Rico. Vamos a tratar de hacer algo sobre eso. Maria.... Pues, ella no quiere asistir a la iglesia porque ella ha asistido en el pasado y piensa que es una buena experiencia, pero le gusta su iglesia católica mejor. Vamos a seguir trabajando con ella por un ratito, pero tal vez su albedrío está impidiéndole de entender y cambiar su vida.. :( es muy triste, pero vamos a ver."

She said, that they are still teaching English every Thursday. Her new companion (Hermana Mensinger) is from Illinois but she attended BYU Idaho last year. She said that they haven't been able to talk to Albert (who had to go back to Puerto Rico to live with his mom) but they talk with Luis (his father) and said that Luis is progressing.  He just doesn't understand the authority of the Priesthood of which she didn't think they explained very well. She said that Luis wants Albert to get to know the missionaries in Puerto Rico and that they will try to do something about that.  (Her other investigator) Maria doesn't want to go to church because she has attended in the past and thinks it was a good experience but likes the Catholic church better. She said that they are going to keep on working with her but her agency is preventing her from understanding and changing her life. She said, "Its so sad but we will see."

Here are some clips from the email that she sent to me this week. She was answering a bunch of questions that I asked her. She loves questions because it helps her to be able to explain what is going on a little better.  She says that there is so much happening all the time that there are so many things that she forgets to talk about. So, if you are writing to her make sure to ask her some questions:)

"Things have been going great with training! It's been going really well! We found two new investigators last night from walking like an hour in the ice so thank goodness for that! One of them is the son of a member, his name is Oscar, and the other is a lady with some kids that lived close.. We set up a returning appointment with them and hopefully they will really want to listen! They seemed interested..  

A typical p-day hmm.. It depends, it's different every time.. P-Days are usually kind of stressful to be honest, trying to get so much done in so little time.. I wish it wasn't just from 10am-6pm.. But that's ok, I have the rest of my life to be able to do that kind of stuff on normal days.. I usually don't eat dinner on p-days till we get back at 9, cuz we just don't have time! Next week we are planning on going to the air and space museum though in Chantilly, which is in our area, which apparently I have heard is way cooler than the one in DC.

I wish I could just videotape my whole life and thoughts! Yes we are allowed to video, and I can watch videos too, so that's fine! Haha :) I dunno these next few weeks are going to be iPad training so we will find out more of the standard and everything.. basically I am really upset about Facebook though because they said we need to deactivate our old one, but I can go in and do that because there is a setting I have to click on so it doesn't automatically delete my account after 30 days of deactivation.. They said it shouldn't matter if your old one deletes though but that was the iPad guy who said that.. That if they are your really good friends they won't have a problem adding you in the future.. But a lot of people were concerned about all the memories and past pictures and history on there. Some people have a lot, like me.. So I just have to make sure I go in and click that setting after deactivation.. Ahh so crazy! 

We had a family history training a while back and it got me super stoked to do a bunch of family history when I get home! I can honestly testify that family history changes lives, and it is a super good way to keep your mind focused on the real purpose of life and eternity.. It's amazing! We have had the opportunity to talk with less actives and recent converts about family history and get them meeting with the family history consultant. It is a super way to get them ready to prepare and go to the temple too!! It really is a great tool, I wish I knew more on how to use it though, because for non members it's really hard to know where to start." 

This week Mariah got permission to sign in to our Icloud and share her pics and videos with us.  We have been seeing pictures pop up here and there for most of the week.  There were so many funny pics of her and her companion and I happened to mention that to her.  She said that she had no idea that we could see ALL of the pics she was taking, she just thought we could see the ones that she actually put in a shared folder.  Haha:)  Below are some pics that came through on the Ipad this week. There are others but they just might be a little embarrassing for Mariah if I post them haha:) Enjoy!

 

New companion, finished training, and now a trainer!

For this post I am first just going to share her group letter from this past week because it was hard to just choose a few things from it to share. So..here it is.

Feb 23, 2015

"This week was transfer week, and I got a new companion! Her name is Hermana Mensinger and I am finish-training her, she is awesome!  HAHA so ok, Saturday was HILARIOUS. It was snowing ALL day, and we weren't allowed to drive so we were just trudging through snow up to our knees like ALL DAY. Everything was shut down, and there was NO one on the roads, it was like a giant ghost town. But, we walked all over the place anyways and were able to talk to a few people here and there. Man so funny, and THEN church got cancelled the next day because of it, so that was weird. We had to text our investigators and a whole bunch of members and let them know, and it was kind of sad because we ended up having a lesson with one of our investigators, Luis, that night, and he was like, "it's only one day a week, ONE day a week that we give up to our Lord and to cancel church is ridiculous! Sometimes you have to work to get to church, it's not always that easy, we should be showing our dedication. If the Lord set apart that day to be the Sabbath day and for us to hold meetings then it should be that way!" Ha. We were totally in agreeance because in Utah seriously nothing shuts down for snow. They seriously close down school and everyone's jobs at the drop of a hat here. It is so funny!

But anyways, this week has been super good, still getting settled in with a new companion and new teaching styles, but it will be an awesome transfer! I know it!

John 7:17 ((What is God's will for YOU?)) James 1:5

I have already seen such a great change in my mission, and it has been so great to be able to serve my Heavenly Father as His Son's representative, even Jesus Christ, whom is the Savior of the world. I can feel more of a closeness to him each day as I strive to do his will, and not my own. A quote I like that I heard a few days ago is "If you want to make God laugh, tell Him YOUR plans." 

I will never be able to go back and try to make a big decision without consulting my Heavenly Father first. God knows all, and He can help us through anything through the Spirit in enabling to decipher between what is right and what is wrong (Moroni 10:5).

I love this gospel and I love being a missionary! I love all of you, but most importantly, GOD loves you, and He sent you to this earth for a reason and with an eternal purpose, so go and find it! :)

Con mucho amor, Hermana Riddle :)"

In the emails that Mariah shared with us this week she said in all honesty that things have been a little stressful with being the trainer and having the routine of things change because of the bad weather they have been having. Her companion was previously in a trio being trained by the sister training leaders who were the only native hermanas in the mission and have been out much longer. In fact, they are getting ready to go home soon. So, Mariah feels like she has big shoes to fill while she is finishing up her companions training. And, knowing Mariah, being the perfectionist that she is- she is probably stressed out about making things just right. Of course having a new companion is a bit of an adjustment in itself, but from the sounds of it they are plugging along just fine. 

She mentioned in her letter that the English speaking sisters that live across the street from her have been staying with her for the past few days because their heat isn't working and they have some other issues in their apartment that needed to be fixed. They had to get approval from the President for them to stay there. So, I guess she still hasn't stopped asking for sleepovers even though she is on her mission..haha:)

She gave a talk a couple of weeks ago in church and I asked her how it went and what she spoke about. I would have given anything to be there and hear her speak. In her email back to me this is what she said she about her talk..."So my talk.. It was in Spanish, I talked about El libro de mormón y la importancia delo en mi vida y nuestra vida. Hablé sobre las dos naciones y como los dos testimonios trabajan juntos. Dí mi testimonio del libro de mormón también y cómo lo ha crecido durante tanto mi vida como en mi misión. Yo hablé un poco de la razón por la que estoy en una misión en la primera parte. Yo pude sentir el espíritu tan fuerte que fue difícil para mi de hablar, pero está bien, los miembros me dijeron que mi español está mejorando muy rápido. Espero que sí!" 

So..if you don't speak Spanish I guess you won't know what she gave her talk about.  Haha..no, I'm kidding. In a nutshell she said that she talked about the Book of Mormon and its importance in her life and our lives. She talked about the two nations and (I am assuming she meant) how the Bible and Book of Mormon work together. She gave her testimony of the Book of Mormon and how it has grown throughout her life and on her mission. In the first part of her talk she talked about the reason that she is on a mission. She said that she could feel the spirit so strong that it was hard for her to speak. And then of course if you know Mariah..she uses the phrase "But, it's all good". Apparently she uses that phrase in Spanish too:) She said that the members told her that her Spanish is improving quickly and that she hoped that was true.  I am sure she is doing just fine! I could understand what she was talking about so.."its all good".  It'll be interesting though to see how her Spanish improves throughout her mission.

One of the coolest things that I think happened this week was that she got permission to sign on to our Icloud. Since she has an Ipad, and often takes pictures with it we thought that it would be easier for her to just share them on the cloud. So, its been fun to see pics from DC pop up on Jared's Iphone or our Ipad. Technology is absolutely amazing!  I am so grateful for it because it still allows me to feel close to her even though she is far away.

Mariah has been using Facebook just a little on her mission so far but will be using it more in the future, Something that I found interesting is that they cannot be Facebook friends with other missionaries on the mission except for their current companion, sister training leaders, District Leader, Zone Leader, and AP's. Not sure why that is but her and her previous companion had to un-friend each other when they got transferred. 

I am assuming that this pic below was one of the last pics she took with her district before she got transferred. This is one that showed up on our Ipad this past week.  Glad to know that she can still be silly because anyone who knows Mariah absolutely loves her and her silliness.

Transfers this week, finished training!

Wow! I am getting soooo behind with this blog so I just decided that today I will mostly post just the group letters that she has sent the past couple of weeks and then give maybe a little more info that we have gotten from her letters to us.  We also have received some cute pics and some of them she hasn't sent in her group emails so I'll post those as well.  Here are a couple of them:)

One thing that I absolutely love is that with every email that Mariah sends to us she says how much she LOVES her mission!  I am so happy that she is enjoying it and is making her time count.  She loves the people that she serves!I guess that happens to all of us when we serve others. She went to Washington DC on her P-day that was on Feb 2, 2015 and didn't get a chance to write a group email that day but she wrote to us to let us know that she had spent some time at the Holocaust Museum which was so sad. She also wanted to let us know that she had a baptism on Jan 31, 2015. Mariah and her companion were teaching this young man and had set a baptismal date for him.  They had been teaching him at a members home in their ward and he had also been attending their ward. Well, the week that he was supposed to be baptized they needed to take some stuff to his house and they got his address and realized that he lived just barely out of their Stake boundaries. So, unfortunately it delayed his baptism for a couple of weeks and they had to turn him over to the sister missionaries in the Stake that he lived in. So, that is the reason that there are so many sister missionaries in the picture haha. See picture below.

Here is her email from Feb 9, 2015

 "Hola everyone!

This week went by super fast! So crazy, time is the weirdest concept, I don't understand! Again, sorry for not really an email last week, we were busy in DC, but, I actually don't have my camera with me right now so I will be sending pictures next week! Ok, one thing I have been meaning to tell you all, that I haven't experienced until my mission.. If you haven't tried Cookie Butter from Trader Joes, do it. After you do there's no going back...

So just a few main things that happened this week.. So we went to see one of our investigators, Maria, this past week cuz we haven't seen her for a while she has been out of town. We just randomly went on a whim because we just felt really prompted that we needed to stop by. I had this feeling we needed to share a video with her, but I didn't know what. All of the sudden I felt like we should share the "Patterns of Light: Spirit of Revelation" video from David A Bednar (if you haven't seen it, go look it up, it's pretty neat :)) and so we walk in, start talking with her a bit and right after we showed that to her she just kindof poured out what has been going on in her life, and how she has been praying for some way to be able to receive revelation and how to recognize it when it comes. She told us that it is super interesting that every time we come over we happen to share something with her or touch a subject that she had been thinking long and hard about just recently, but that we had no idea. It was an awesome time to see that the authority of our calling as missionaries is real, and that the power and influence of our Heavenly Father can lead us to help others, because He is the one who is completely aware of what is going on. So cool!

So yesterday on the way to church I almost hit a deer, we had a little Studio C moment, for those of you who have seen that episode.. ;) It was scary, there are so many of them right by where we live! After church we went to the temple visitors center with Albert's dad, and we saw meet the Mormons and were also able to look at the new temple display and explain to him kindof what temples are for and what takes place in certain areas of the temple. He really liked it. It was a super awesome time, and he is super curious about everything we have to say. Every time we go to the visitors center there is always such a special spirit there. I feel so blessed to be able to serve my mission here and be able to have access to all of the many resources in hastening the Lord's work.

Ok one last story.. so we were trying to figure out if we were going to go to the Library we live by in Reston since we are planning on going to the GIANT TARGET that it two floors they have here in Fairfax, but last minute we just decided we would just come to the library here in Chantilly, which is close to Fairfax.. we don't know why we just felt like it. Right when we walk in, a girl that goes to the Spanish ward in a different area that was walking came up to us and had just an astonished look on her face. She doesn't have a way to get on the computers here at the library, but she needed to print something out for school and was stressing out about it. So she said she prayed and all of the sudden we walk in and were able to help her out with our cards to get on the computer. She just kept saying, "You were an answer to my prayers!"

I love little experiences we get like that every day, it really enables me to see God's hand in everything! I LOVE being a missionary and being able to work so closely with my Savior and represent him at this time in my life.

I hope you all try and see the Lord's hand in your life in some way or another every day this week. If you need help with something, PRAY, and He will send help, He is watching out for you.

I love you all so much, make it an awesome week!"

A lot of her pictures from DC were taken from far away so we couldn't see her very well but here is one of the pics that she sent to us of the Holocaust Museum.

This week Mariah told us some more detail about some of her investigators and I won't go into detail about them all because of time but she has quite a few investigators who are progressing nicely at this time. 

Here is her most recent group letter from Feb 16, 2015

"Hi all! So this week was so crazy! On Saturday we got a HUGE blizzard and I was driving and couldn't even see! Everyone was going like 2 miles an hour, literally though you couldn't see like ANYTHING around you cuz it was also at night. It was so dangerous we had to wait it out for about an hour until it cleared up. Thank goodness for technology because you can still do missionary work during those kinds of times! Yesterday I also spoke in church, and come to my surprise I met my "great-grandma," Hermana McDonald! (She was the trainer of my trainer's trainer, that's why she is my g-gma.. She went home this past September or so). She came to surprise visit and it was super awesome to see the love the members had for her and how much they missed her! I seriously love this Ward so much! Transfers are this Thursday and I am pretty sure I am staying, but we won't find out until tonight or tomorrow so we will see! Ha, but to make this letter short and to the point I'll just tell you a quick story of something that happened this Sunday..

So, about a month ago we went and knocked on a door to a random referral from a LONG time ago, whom we didn't know who she was. When we knocked a lady named Adriana opened the door, she is from El Salvador, and the lady we had been looking for had just moved out like two weeks before and she had no idea who she was. We were kind of bummed because that means we lost contact with someone but of course we talked to her a bit and she said that some of her husbands family is mormon, but that she is catholic and can read better in English (we had tried to give her a Spanish Book of Mormon, which she speaks Spanish perfectly but whatever) so we asked her if we could just stop by some other time to bring her a copy of an English one. Well, rewind to last Tuesday, we had zone training and our mission president (pres riggs) showed up and said he needed to talk to the Spring Lake District after the meeting (which is our district, the Spanish district in the zone). He talked about how we have 117 prospective elders (men who have been baptized but haven't yet received the priesthood but of are the age to do so) in our Ward. He said he has received revelation, along with some other leaders of the mission, that we need to go rescue these elders and their families. He has challenged us to try and teach as many as we can to receive the priesthood and baptize their families so that they can receive those saving ordinances and be sealed in the temple. He wants us to try and meet as many as we can and work so hard with this so that in June, at stake conference we can have a miracle amount of elders who have received the priesthood. So as a district we have been praying and trying to find these prospective elders. Ok fast forward to yesterday. So we finally were able to stop by Adriana's house again, and her husband answers the door and just invites us right on in, he introduces himself as Cuauhtemoc, which is Mexican name from where he is from. We talked to him for a bit cuz Adriana was busy in the other room with something for a second, and come to find out he was baptized and hasn't been to church since 2001! His name is in our Ward directory but there is no address or way of finding him.. We come to find he is one of the prospective elders, who hasn't received the priesthood yet! Adriana came out and we were able to get to know the both of them a little more, and Cuauhtemoc expressed that he would like his kids to learn about the gospel, and that he would like us to teach them since he hasn't been to church in awhile. So we are planning on teaching their family and visiting with them now!

Sorry that story was all over the place, I hope it made sense. The Lord just works in mysterious ways! I know we showed up that night a month ago, not finding who we were looking for for a reason now. I know we met Adriana there for a reason that night only TWO WEEKS after they had moved in for a reason. I know that our church leaders are inspired by God, and that if we will just LISTEN to them and follow their counsel, that we will see miracles and people's lives will change and be blessed forever. I know the Lord has a hand in all things, and that as we prepare ourselves, God will provide prepared people in our paths, so that we can all touch each other's lives and learn and grow together.

Ok so sorry I thought this letter was going to be short but it's not.. I love you all so much and hope you had a fantastic Valentines Day! May we all remember our Savior in every moment of our lives, and strive to become more like him and have pure love for those around us. (John 15:12-13)❤️"

So..Mariah has transfers this week on Thursday the 19th.  She said that she is hoping that she will at least get to stay in her same area for another transfer. Who knows though.  Here is what she shared from her email to us about transfers this week. 

"I have no idea what is going to happen on transfers.. One thing I do know is that last week when president kept us after zone training and we were leaving he was like, "how are ya Hermana Riddle? :)" (you just have to know, he is one of the neatest, most genuine guys you will EVER meet, SUCH an amazing man and president!) and I was like, "good! Really good!" And he was all, "good, you ready to train?" And I was like.. "Um... What are you trying to say?" And he looks at Hermana McMillan and is like, "how is she? Is she ready to train?" (Oh, and he had already pretty much made decisions about transfers already, but we won't find out till tonight.. We will get a call) and Hna McMillan was like, "yeah, she is ready! But we're really sad, we just want to stay together!" And he was all, "well what if you co-trained?" And we were like, "AHHHH that would be so much fun!" And he was like, "hmm.. Yeah! I think I'm really going to take that into consideration!" ..... So we'll see, it'll be whatever the Lord wants though :) we've been praying so hard to stay together though, and we've been telling everyone that we are going to be staying together so we'll see, haha :)"

I'm so glad that she gets along so well with her companion. They have had a fantastic experience together and have grown to love each other so much.  What a blessing that has been.

Here are some other pictures that Riah has sent us! ENJOY! Until next week....I hope:)

Some Ups, Some Downs

Virginia had its first snowstorm that "stuck" and Mariah says that it is BITTER COLD in DC! She did mention though that it has been a pretty mild winter so far compared to what she was expecting. She says that it snows often but it hasn't been sticking to the roads so it has been nice for driving. She is now the designated driver as her companion didn't want to be the one driving around in the snow and bad weather. (Her companion is from Vegas where they just don't have weather like that). I actually think Mariah welcomed this first snowstorm.  I personally haven't realized how much I have missed snow until we haven't had much of it this season. Below is a picture of Mariah in front of her apartment building while it was still snowing.

A couple of weeks ago Mariah was told who her new Mission President will be.  His name is David Huntsman. He has eight kids and is the brother of Jon Huntsman Jr. who was the Governor of Utah. She hasn't met him yet but has heard a lot about him. She asked us all to pray for him and his family as they get prepared to move to the Washington DC mission in July. She is sad to lose her current Mission President because she just loves him so much but she knows that the new one will be good too. She is looking forward to meeting him:)

Missions always have ups and downs like that and it was sooo sad to hear that Mariah had one of those downer times just recently.  But luckily for Mariah, that downer moment has turned into something positive. Here is what Mariah shared about the sad/happy experience...

"One of our investigators, (Name), who is 15 years old left back to Puerto Rico this morning for forever. We stopped by his house last night to say our goodbyes and give him a new Book of Mormon that we had written our testimonies in as well as some of the members of our ward that were close to him. We were super close, so it was really sad to see him go. He is an awesome kid, I hope the best for him and have faith that he will make good decisions in his life"  

This investigator is the one that they had a baptism date for a little over a month ago and he was getting a lot of flack from his family (especially his grandfather), about the church. His grandfather said that it was of the devil and they wouldn't support him in being baptized. So, after there was nowhere else to progress they had to let him go as an investigator.  She was so sad about it.  He still continued to go to Mutual and Church activities so they still had contact with him. Right before Christmas break she and her companion did a Family Home Evening lesson for a family in their ward and they invited this investigator and his father to the lesson. Mariah mentioned that his father refuted some of the stuff they were teaching but she said that the spirit was so strong and that it turned out really well. So, over Christmas break this investigator and his little brother went back to Puerto Rico to visit their mom (I guess they both have been living with their dad in DC). Mariah was hopeful that after this investigator returned from Puerto Rico he would be able to commit again to baptism as she was able to see his father soften a little during the FHE lesson.  But, when he returned from Puerto Rico he came back to say that he had to go back and live with his mom :( In her letter to us she shared a little more detail about how it all went down when they said their goodbyes. She said, "(Name) flew home to Puerto Rico this morning, and so we visited him last night and gave him a new book of Mormon that Hna McMillan and I, and a bunch of the members in our ward wrote our testimonies in in the extra white pages in the back. It was REALLY hard to say goodbye, for both us and (Name). I definitely cried a bit after we left, and he said he would probably cry later that night and on the airplane. We met his little brother a few times, they both came to church yesterday, and his brother is flying home with him too and he just cried when we were leaving. It was so sad."

She told us that they shared all of their social media account contact info and she gave us his info so that we could accept the friend and follow requests for her. They promised to stay in touch after Riah gets home from her mission. As for now, all they can do is send a referral to the missionaries who live in his area in Puerto Rico. I hope he can find a way that he can still be taught. BUT, upside to all of this, THEY ARE NOW TEACHING THE LESSONS TO HIS DAD and he has told them that he wants them to keep coming back! Riah has asked us to pray for him because he is having a hard time with his sons moving away. He misses them terribly.

After sharing this sad/happy news with us it was so awesome to read that Mariah's testimony has continued be strengthened even though there are ups and downs. And although things didn't turn out the way that she had hoped with the investigator that returned to Puerto Rico, she understands that it's all in the Lords hands. Here is the testimony she shared with us: “I know that the Lord watches out for his children!! Whether or not you are searching for the gospel, the Lord will find a way to help you come to the fullness of truth and joy this gospel can bring! I believe everyone has a different moment in their lives in which they are ready to receive the gospel, it is so amazing to see God's hand in everything. I can't even wrap my head around the greatness of His plan, but I know that He knows what is best for us, and that if we will just ask with sincerity for help on ANYTHING, He will be able to provide a better answer than anyone else could on this earth because He knows all things and He knows what is going to play out.” 

Mariah just had her first baptism on Jan 18, 2015. He is 9 years old. His parents are not members but Riah is hoping that they will listen in while they are doing the follow up lessons with him. This little boys uncle is in their ward so at least he has someone to attend church with. Below is a picture of her and her companion with her first convert. There is another baptism scheduled for the 31st of Jan. Details will be posted on the next blog.

Mariah absolutely loves her mission! She tells us all the time what an awesome experience it has been for her. So, to end this blog I thought I would share with you what Mariah has to say about her mission in her own words.  She says:

“I love the mission! I love mission conferences, district meetings, being able to study and teach, the members, meeting new people, and just everything, but most of all, establishing my relationship with Christ, and figuring out where I truly am in my conversion to the gospel. I know that at this point in life it is SUCH a selfish world, it is getting pretty crazy out there, and I have to admit before my mission it was starting to suck me in. Being out here on my mission has really taught me what it means to focus and give up your time to do something completely self-LESS. Rule of thumb for life is that as you are doing things for others, you end up helping yourself. It's just like that old Chinese proverb that goes something like.. Once you have stopped to help someone else's boat along the way, and you get them to the other side you look back and realize that you have made it too. It is such a neat thing to think about, AHH I love this gospel!”

Washington DC Temple Display! YAY!

I was so excited to learn that a new model of the Washington DC Temple was put on display in the temple visitors center in DC.  Mariah just happened to go there with an investigator 3 days after it was revealed.  She didn't know beforehand that they had built the display but said that it reminded her of home when she walked in and saw it.  She mentioned that it reminds her of the one that they have on display of the Salt Lake Temple on Temple Square.  Check out the pictures of the display below. BEAUTIFUL!!

I have attached the article that shares some info about the display.  It mentioned that there are many people who see the temple from the highway and stop to see the building.  A lot of people are disappointed when they find that they are not able to go inside.  So, hopefully this model will be able to satisfy their curiosity somewhat. Hopefully they will be able to at least understand that its not secret, just sacred. Click the link below to view the article.

Article about the new Washington DC temple display