Sister Heather Ripplinger's Weekly Letter, June 28, 2012

Finally!  We thought her P-Day was Monday, then nothing on Tuesday, then nothing on Wednesday, but finally this morning!  Her letter was worth the wait. Enjoy!  

Blaine and Nikki

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Heather Ripplinger <heather.ripplinger@myldsmail.net>
To: Nikki Ripplinger <bnripp@yahoo.com>; nauvoo president <nauvoopresident@gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2012 10:38 AM
Subject: The Umphenator is Back

Dear friends and family,

GUESS WHAT?!?!?!?! Sister Umphenour and Sister Ripplinger are companions again and LIFE. IS. GOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOHOOO!!!!!!!! =D Words simply cannot express how INCREDIBLY grateful I am for Sister Umphenour and I have absolutely been in HEAVEN!!!!! We went to transfers last Thursday and when President Gilliland said that I was back with my precious MTC companion, I could hardly contain my sheer joy. I think I gasped outloud and a huge grin rushed across my face. I am sooooo excited to be with her!!!!!!! YAY!!!!! =D Sister Brown and Sister Zibetti are back together again, too! It just makes me so, so, so, soooo happy. =D (sigh) After our planning session in the evening, we cut up some watermelon, turned up "Redeemer of Israel" on our sa-weet little CD player, cranked up the fan, and soaked up the joy of our reunited companionship and our big room with our bunk beds and all.... oh yeah, we're living the good life. =D

Needless to say, this week has been FAN-TASTIC.

Last week, we were greeting at Sunset on the Mississippi and a man stopped me to ask a question. I sat down by him and started talking. He asked me what religion I was, we started talking, and I quickly discovered that he believed in Christ, but he didn't believe necessarily in organized religion. He was one tough shell to work with. Usually, the sisters leave right after the show starts and we start serving in the Referral Center, but I felt like I needed to keep talking to this man. Soooo... he totally zoned out the show and we kept talking. It took about a 1/2 hour, but he did end up referring himself. He's going to Florida for two weeks on vacation, and when he gets back, the elders in his area will be over to meet with him!!! Woohoo!!!! THAT experience was a miracle because the band, combined with tons of missionaries singing on stage, are easy to keep your attention. The Spirit helped things along, we were able to phase out the commotion, and had a really good conversation. 

The BYU Living Legends team was here this week and we were able to watch the show, as well as attend a fireside that they did. They are absolutely AMAZING. The fireside is one of the very best that I have ever been to. These team members are from different Polynesian and Native American heritage. There were a few speakers in between several musical numbers. The Spirit was so incredibly strong and I will always remember how powerful that meeting was. I LOVED IT. 

One afternoon that we were in the Visitor's Center, two older men and a young guy came in and I could hear part of their conversation as they were looking at the Book of Mormon display. Sister Umphenour and I went over and started talking with them. The oldest man was extremely skeptical and had all types of objections and thoughts to share. I started praying really fervently and pretty quickly he walked away to go look around. The other two men stuck around and we were able to explain some of their questions about the Book of Mormon. We pulled up the talk "You Matter To Him" by President Uchtdorf on the digital display and the Spirit was really strong. It was really interesting to see how the atmosphere changed from when they first walked in, full of doubts. We were able to testify and I know that they felt the Spirit. The older two men walked away for just a few minutes and the young man said, "Hey, tell me the name of this church again..?" We told him and he said that there was one of our church houses right across the street from his house. He said that he wanted to go there on Sunday and attend one of our meetings!

Monday morning, Sister Umphenour and I were standing next to each other working on memorizing a scripture  when a mom and her two young daughters walked in. I felt the Spirit really strongly and before I knew what was happening, I was sitting at the Apostles digital display watching some of the testimonies with the youngest girl that is 11. She was totally soaking up the videos and was jumping up to choose the next one immediately after the previous one finished. We started talking and she was so incredibly prepared to hear about the gospel. I was able to explain, in as simple of language as I possibly could, the  three degrees of glory and how our bodies will be reunited with our spirits when we are resurrected. She responded, "Wow! That makes so much sense because someone that is really, really, really good shouldn't go to the same place as someone that was just kind of good!!!" I smiled and thought, "Being a missionary is so AWESOME!!!" I looked over and Sister Umphenour was talking with the mom and older sister. GO COMPANION!!! WOO!!!! That brought me so much joy! They all came together and the little girl I had been talking with asked if missionaries like us could come to their house and talk more about the three kingdoms. The mom said YES and they are going to meet with the missionaries!!!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!! I really loved that experience because I knew the Spirit was testifying to them that we were speaking truths and because Sister Umphenour was awesome!!!!

Shortly after that experience, I noticed a woman walk in that I felt like I needed to talk to later. Someone else took her on a tour and was telling her about the history of Nauvoo. I was talking with other people in the meantime and wasn't able to see what happened. I started talking to two other people that were sitting in the chairs on the far end of the VC and I don't think they realized that I, myself, was "Mormon". It was quite funny and they were asking about the big, white building on the hill. I grabbed a temple pamphlet and started explaining and to my pleasant surprise, the same woman that I had noticed earlier walked up. She was here with these two people I was currently talking with!!!! I was able to explain the importance of the temple and the other two were interested, but didn't seem like it meant much to them. HOWEVER, this woman was totally soaking it up. I invited her to meet with the missionaries in New Mexico and she said YES!!!!!! Dominique is GOLDEN.

In the Brigham Young Home, there are a bunch of broken dishes that were excavated behind the house and there is a GREAT spiritual lesson to be learned from them. A missionary several years ago took the time to go through the broken dish pieces and put them together. He first glued the pieces together, so you could see it was a plate, but there were still big spaces in between and gaps in the cracks. Next, he took clay and filled in the empty spots. Then he sanded the plate, and continued the process, until the plate looked perfect and like it had never been broken. So there are several dishes sitting on the table and each demonstrate a step of the process. You see the broken pieces that are only glued together, all through the process, to the last one that looks like it had never been broken. Think about how that relates to the Atonement. We are like the dishes! We have flaws, imperfections, we might be broken. But the Savior can take our broken pieces, and through the repentance process, we can be made whole. He can take all of those cracks and gaps and make us into "plates" that are perfectly perfect. After we repent, the Lord remembers our sins no more. We have a totally clean and perfect plate-because of Jesus Christ. Even if we think we are THE most broken and ruined plate, Christ can help us change and become perfected and beautiful. Even if we think that we are the most hopeless, useless, and terrible person on the face of the entire earth, Christ can change our lives and help us turn them around. He can help us become the beings that Heavenly Father designed us to become. We have to give Christ the pieces, though. We have to turn our hearts to Christ and desire to experience that change. As we repent, we experience that change, the turning of our heart to Him, and the Lord will remember our sins no more. We can feel the relief of having those unnecessary burdens lifted and we can become clean every bit. 

I love to read in Alma 36 of the Book of Mormon. Alma testifies of his own personal experience with the Atonement. Throughout the chapter, he says that he was "racked with eternal torment, for his soul was harrowed up to the GREATEST degree and racked with all his sins", he felt that he should be banished and extinct and shouldn't stand in the presence of God. He had the pains of a damned soul. He was racked with torment while he harrowed up by the memory of his many sins. AND THEN he remembered to have heard his father's prophesy concerning  Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who would atone for the sins of the world. Alma the Younger says, "Now as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart "Oh Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains... when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more, yea I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more. And oh, what JOY and what MARVELOUS LIGHT I did behold, yes, my soul was filled with JOY as exceeding as was my pain." He remembered Jesus Christ and allowed the Atonement to be part of his soul. He became a changed being and had power to testify of the Atonement because he had personal experience with seeing how his life was changed. I KNOW that each of us can have this same experience. Because of the Atonement, we can be forgiven. We do our very best, and then Christ makes up the rest. We need to enter the covenants of baptism by the proper authority, receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and partake of the Sacrament each week. As we partake of the Sacrament, worthily, and repent, we are purified and sanctified. Our mistakes, our flaws and imperfections are forgiven and we can progress. I KNOW that as we strive to progress and become more like the Savior each day, that we will be filled with the same JOY that Alma described. I know it works because I experience it every day. 

There are so many other precious experiences that I would love to write about, but I don't have time. Yesterday was the day that Joseph Smith was martyred in Carthage Jail. The sisters and I sang at the Commemoration and then we had a testimony meeting in the Martyrdom room. It was absolutely WONDERFUL. The Spirit is so strong here and I LOVE being a missionary. 

I really, truly LOVE being with Sister Umphenour.She is rock solid, so strong, steadfast and immovable, and I appreciate her soooo much. She is a great strength to me and I feel like I have my wings to fly. She is happy and constant, is a hard worker, and I LOVE her. I LOVE being a missionary here and I am soaking up these precious experiences. 

Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven!!!!!

Sister Heather Ripplinger

Sister Heather Ripplinger's Weekly Letter June 19, 2012

More miracles in Nauvoo.  Enjoy!

Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2012 9:19 AM
Subject: Catholic Priests and Nauvoo Miracles

My Dear friends and family,

This week has been absolutely AMAZING!!!! I have a lot of experiences to share, so I am going to type as quickly as I possibly can.  Also, I need to apologize because I originally said that my preparation day is on Mondays...which it was for one week. Every part of my day is scheduled and things in Nauvoo are always on the fly. Today my preparation day is on Tuesday. haha! Transfers are this week (which I can hardly believe it's that time again) and so my prep day may be switched again next week. Just assume that I'm alive and well. If I die, they'll let you know!    =)

So I was standing by the front desk in the Visitor's Center and this Jewish man walks right up to me and states, "You Mormons talk all about Christ, about what He taught during His life, and think you know everything about Him. Well, I think it is ridiculous because none of you have ever even been to Jerusalem or seen the place where He suffered for all of your sins." I was a little surprised by his bold approach, but a grin split across my face as I responded, "I was in the Garden of Gethsemane about a year ago. I LOVE Israel!" His jaw dropped in shock. "You mean to tell me that, you, a little blonde girl have been to the Holy Land???" I said that I had and started asking him about his life in Israel. We talked for about 15 minutes, when he stopped and said, "Of course YOU would be the person that I chose to tell my opinion to. Ridiculous." He smiled for the first time in our conversation and said, "Well, it was nice to meet you, any how." 

I had the opportunity to serve in the Seventies Hall this week and a huge miracle happened!!!! Four young adults wandered in and asked what the place was. They had been on a road trip and saw a sign about Historic Nauvoo, so they decided to stop. They said that this was the first place they had stopped in Nauvoo. Three girls and one guy that were Methodist. I went upstairs to the artifact museum with them and we started talking. One girl was wandering around looking at the artifacts, but the other three were involved in the conversation. I asked a few questions about their religious beliefs and then one girl asked me, "What do you guys believe about people being healed like when Christ was alive?" I was able to bear my testimony about the Priesthood and share a personal experience. In the middle of my story, the wandering girl zipped right over and started listening intently. "The authority of God is on the Earth." I felt the Spirit really strongly as we kept talking and they kept asking questions. I asked the young man what it meant to him to be baptized by fire of the Holy Ghost at one point. Another tour came up the stairs, so we all went back down and kept talking. Toward the end of the conversation, I asked all of them how they had felt about everything we had discussed. The girl that had been wandering around responded, "I was just looking around and then as I heard what you were saying, I felt like I had been plugged into an electrical outlet or something. I was drawn to what you were saying and I didn't even know the whole story. I really felt incredible." The young man (that I had asked about the Holy Ghost) responded, "I felt like I might have been baptized by fire of the Holy Ghost because I felt different than ever before...in a really good way. I feel super peaceful." They recognized the Spirit!!!!!! I invited them to meet with missionaries and learn more. All FOUR of them accepted and wrote down their contact information. YAY!!!!!!!!!! It made me feel so awesome that they had all felt the Spirit and recognized it. It also taught me to never try and guess who is feeling the Spirit or not because originally, the one girl wasn't even part of the conversation, and then she turned out to be the one that I felt was most prepared. Heavenly Father knows His children. 

A few youth groups came into Nauvoo this week and it was SO much fun to talk with them. I LOVE YOUTH. There was one young lady that had just graduated from high school and was talking about how sad she was because her brother was on a mission and had missed everything. Hmmm. I could relate to that little lady! I told her that my brother had just graduated, too. We started talking and got to be friends! She ended up referring a friend from back home, too. Later in the afternoon, she came over to me and asked, "So... is your brother that just graduated going to college in the fall??" I held back a big laugh and asked, "Why yes he is... he's going to BYU Idaho!" She burst into a huge grin and said that she was, too! Basically, I said that Derek's a stud muffin, she wanted to know if he was a legitimate stud muffin, I confirmed that he was, and she told me to give Derek her phone number. Oh boy.... =) hahaha 

One of the best stories yet. Once again, I was in the Visitor's Center, I turned around and two Roman Catholic Priests (dressed in their long robes and all) walk right up to me. I'm not usually intimidated, but let me tell ya...when two Priests in their robes start wanting to know about the history of everything in the heavens (or at least Nauvoo), I think, "Alrighty, let's go talk about religion!" GULP. 

Priest #1 was the local priest in Nauvoo. Priest #2 is a visiting Father from another state. Priest #1 tells me he wants me to enlighten his friend about the history of Nauvoo. As we go along, I take them over to the map where the Nauvoo Temple stands out like a light on a hill. Immediately, Priest #2 starts asking questions about the temple. I am so incredibly grateful that I was taught by example of my parents growing up. He was asking detail questions. The Gospel is true, so I could answer all of them...but it was apparent that I was talking with a Catholic Priest. Holy smokes...he gave me a run for my money. As I listened to his questions with love, I could feel the Spirit telling me that I needed to talk to him without the other Priest there. Later on, I took them over to a digital display that has videos that explain rooms in the temple and have a little movie, like when they have open houses before the temples are dedicated. I said a prayer in my heart, "Heavenly Father... please get rid of that other priest for a few minutes and I will do everything within my power to follow the Spirit and say what this man needs to hear from Thee." RIGHT THEN, Priest #1's cell phone rings and he says, "I'm sorry please excuse me for a moment." He stepped out the door. In my mind, I thought, "Take your time, Mr. Priest, Sir!!!!!" YAY!!!! =) 

I chose to show the sealing room video. As it started to play, my heart stopped as I realized what would be said at the end of the video. Elder Holland basically says, "Heaven wouldn't be heaven ...without my wife and my children." GULP. "What have I done!?!?!?!?!" This is a PRIEST, that will never be married, never have children...and I'm probably going to offend him!!!!!" The Spirit told me to calm down, so I did, but I was slightly (ok, incredibly) concerned. The line came about heaven and then the video shut off. I closed my eyes with a grimace and waited to hear what he had to say about all of it. I opened my eyes as he looked up at me. His countenance had changed and his eyes were incredibly deep. He asked, "What ...is heaven to...you?" I felt the Spirit really strongly and I responded, from the bottom of my heart, "Heaven is where I can live in the presence of God...with my family." His eyes were fixed on mine and he said, "I grew up and always knew I wanted to bring people to Christ. I knew that in order to be a Priest, I would never have a wife or family. I had never even considered having my own family....until right now." The silence was like thunder. I felt like the earth had shaken a little bit. Then Priest #1 walks back in and said they needed to get going. Priest #2 shakes my hand in both of his hands and says, "Thank you. You have given me much to think about and I never expected to consider a family. I felt something new here." And then they walked out the doors. I was with those two priests for TWO HOURS. Talking for 10 minutes about Nauvoo's history and the rest of the time was talking about the Houses of the Lord, the temples. 

Sister Coyne and I have the WONDERFUL opportunity to contact people at the Nauvoo Temple on Sunday in the afternoon. I just have to say that I absolutely LOVED that experience. Tons of people that don't have the gospel in their lives are driving along the main road and slam on the brakes when they see the beautiful white building on the hill. Two men pulled up and hopped out to take pictures. In a matter of just a few minutes, I spoke with one man. He wanted to know when another temple would be built so he could see in the inside, he wanted to know who the two men were in the statue (Joseph and Hyrum), and he wanted to know why I was giving up part of my life to wear my precious name tag. Well, the Spirit directed me to ask a few questions, I did, and he wanted to have missionaries come to his home to teach him. He wrote down his contact information, the Spirit was strong, and then they drove away. It always amazes me how quickly things can happen. When it's right, it's right. Heavenly Father has people prepared and there is no questioning His perfect plan. Don is going to have missionaries in his home in a few days!!!!

There was a young woman that drove about 1 1/2 hours to come to Nauvoo. She is a member of the Church, was adopted at a young age, and has a rough life. She was sitting in a chair and without any effort on my part, she wanted to refer a friend to hear about the Gospel. As she was filling out the referral card, I felt like she needed some loving. We went down by the Christus statue and sat down. I could see in her eyes that she was hurting. We talked for about an hour and I felt like we had known each other our whole lives. She said she was going home that night, but the next day at church, I saw her face in the crowd. All of the Young Sister Missionaries and I sang "I Know That My Redeemer Lives". When the meeting was over, she jumped up and came right up by the stand. She was motioning for me to come down. I got to her as quickly as I could. As soon as I was there, her arms wrapped around me, put her head on my shoulder and began to sob. Her whole body was shaking and I just held on to her tight. As mortals, we have many burdens to bear. This daughter of God was especially struggling and it was such a precious experience to sit by the Christus, figuratively, at the feet of Christ, and testify of how He can make our burdens light. 

I know with all of my heart that Christ can make our burdens light. As we strive with all of our might to become like Him and to submit our will to Heavenly Father's, we can find joy in life and be truly happy...even though we have challenges. I am so confident that the Atonement is real and that Christ is aware of us, that He loves us perfectly, and that we can be made whole. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior. He is my best friend. Each day I am drawing nearer to Him and to my Father in Heaven. My kneeling prayers are becoming a precious part of my day and I feel of God's love every time. I know that if we will make time to pray, sincerely-with all of our hearts- we will be able to feel of His love. You can know of His love for you. 

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT. 

Sister Heather Ripplinger

Sister Heather Ripplinger's Weekly Letter, May 28, 2012

Sent: Monday, May 28, 2012 10:32 AM
Subject:

Friends and family,

Sister Coyne and I are together again for this transfer and my preparation day is now on Monday!!!! It has only been a few days since I last wrote, but I have good things to report!

Last week on prep day, we went on the oxen rides, ate lunch with some of the temple missionaries, including the Argyles! =) We went to David's Chamber, cruised around downtown and I bought my first Nauvoo t-shirt, ate dinner with the "Temple Andersons", and then went to our transfer meeting! There were three companionships that stayed together and we now have our complete family of sisters!!! The last three came out of the MTC this week!

I absolutely LOVE going to the temple each week. I have started a new tradition that I am very excited about. I have a map of the world in my room and I am going to use pins to mark each country or state that someone comes from that accepts and allows missionaries to continue teaching them as a result of coming to Nauvoo. Also, I will keep track of the individuals that I do work for in the temple. Last week in the sealing room, the daughters that I represented were from India, South Africa, Netherlands, New Jersey, and Italy. This week, we did initiatories,  and the women were from Hungary. The Nauvoo Temple is absolutely BEAUTIFUL and it amazes me where the names of individuals come from!!!!

Sister Coyne was called to serve as the Coordinator in the Referral/ Call Center, so she is frequently upstairs working away. Because I am her companion this transfer, I get to help her call ALL OF THE MISSIONS IN THE WORLD to talk with them about Nauvoo Pageant Referrals!!!!! These referrals are unique because the missionaries get to deliver a Pageant CD to them and share the gospel message. The neat thing is that all of us sisters call the person referred first and invite them to meet with the missionaries. This way, the missionaries in the different missions, show up at the door with someone who has already said, "Yes!" to learning about the Restored Gospel. This week, we worked on all of the United States missions. Sister Coyne figures that it will take both of us 18 hours to call all of the missions in the world. I LOVE to call them because it makes me realize how God's work really is spreading over the entire earth because I get to CALL over all the earth!!!! =)

I have started another tradition! I bought a little journal book and I take it to the different sites that I serve in with the senior sisters. Inside, I have written questions like "What do you wish you would have known when you were my age?" and "What gospel traditions did you have in your home?" etc. I am absolutely LOVING the responses that these wonderful women write. I figure I have all of this experience and knowledge in one little town, so I better learn everything I can! One sister told me how she loves receiving Priesthood blessings from her father. At the end of his life, he was so ill he couldn't sit up, so she sat down on the floor right next to him and he gave her one last Priesthood blessing before he died. That was a tender one for me.

Yesterday was a WONDERFUL Sunday! We have Sacrament Meeting at 8:00 with all of the missionaries and guests. Later in the morning, President and Sister Gilliland spoke as part of our weekly training. President Gilliland brings in this huge sword and we are all immediately curious. He pulled off the leather cover and placed it on a stand. Of course, it is this shiny, strong, piece of art that glistens in the light. It had a fancy handle and all. We took a good look at it, then he pulled out a little, plastic dagger. What kind of a weapon are we when Heavenly Father pulls us out in battle? Well I sure want to be that glistening sword! I really liked that analogy, as the Spirit taught me. We don't know when someone will come into the Visitor's Center that is prepared to receive the gospel, or when someone will walk in that has had doubts their entire life. Either way, Heavenly Father needs us to be worthy, willing, and ready to teach the truth. I want to be that strong sword that glistens in the light- the representative that Heavenly Father can trust with ANYONE from ANYWHERE. 

Sunday in the VC was coming to a close, Sister Coyne had spoken with two women that were watching the Joseph Smith movie, and she had gone up to the Call Center. I was talking with a young mom about Nauvoo sites and noticed the two women. I sent the young mom to another sister to get a map of Nauvoo and barely caught the two women before they walked out of the building. MIRACULOUS that I did... because things went very well. Terrie said that she has been coming to Nauvoo for 20 years and just can't get enough because of the feeling that is here. We started talking and she explained that she had grown so close to God over the last few years. She feels like He has been preparing her to receive more knowledge and understanding of what His plan for her is. She goes fishing, catches ten fish, and throws one back in so that God knows how grateful she is for the fish. She studies the Bible everyday. She feels this peaceful feeling when she prays and feels confident that God loves her and hears her prayers. She wants to tell other people about God and her relationship, so that they can have it, too. She feels like there should be a prophet on the earth like in the Bible stories. 

I was talking with her and I just thought, "If I let this woman leave without knowing that she needs the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I will have made a HUGE mistake. She is SO prepared." Well, the Spirit directed and she wanted to have missionaries come to her home and teach her more. She said she feels this undeniable peace in Nauvoo as we were talking about Joseph Smith. She's going to have missionaries teaching her in her home!!!! YAY!!!! (The joyous feeling NEVER gets old!) She also came back last night to the fireside that the young sisters were in charge of. She brought a friend and her husband. After the fireside, all of us sisters were lined up and talking with all of the senior couples. Terrie, her friend, and husband started to head for the door and I said a prayer that the Performing Elders would catch them before they left. I watched closely and my prayers were answered. Two of the elders ran over and started talking with the husband. He ALSO filled out a referral card, not knowing that his wife had filled one out earlier with me!!!!!! Their little family is going to receive the GOSPEL!!!!! =) As soon as I possibly could, I ran over and talked with Terrie. She said, "Hey! What do ya know, my husband is interested in this, too! He's never agreed on religion that I have talked about before! I feel like this may finally be the one for us!"

I see every day, how Heavenly Father's hand is in my life, and in the lives of all those I come in contact with. I know that He hears our prayers and that He has a plan for each of us that is perfect. We just need to take action and follow impressions that we receive. We all need the truth and we need peace. I LOVE being a missionary and helping people find what they've been looking for their entire lives. I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!! My testimony of the Savior is growing stronger and stronger every day, and I know that we need Him. We could do everything in our power, and it would still not be sufficient without Jesus Christ. But with Him, we can do all things that are required of us and we can become everything that Heavenly Father designed us to become.

Love,

Sister Ripplinger

Sister Heather Ripplinger's Weekly Letter, June 5, 2012

Sent: Tuesday, June 5, 2012 8:11 AM
Subject: Joy in the Journey

My dear friends and family,

The sun is shining in Nauvoo and I feel so blessed to be here as a full time missionary!!!!!!! The shows have started, the corn fields are growing, and this week was wonderful!

Last week on Monday evening, I was in the Referral Center calling. I had a referral from a returned missionary that wanted me to call his old investigator that dropped out, because of a busy schedule in Medical School. I tried calling Clark about 3 times, without any success. That night, I said a prayer and felt like I needed to call him. I dialed the number and he answered!!!! We had a good chat for about 1/2 hour and it was so neat to see how the Spirit directs. Basically, Clark knows that being baptized is the right thing and that he wants to go to the temple, but he's afraid to make the commitment because he wants to be 100% obedient after baptism and not "mess up". I gave him something to read from the Book of Mormon about being baptized and made clean, then receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost to direct and protect him. He's going to start meeting with the missionaries in his area again and I think he's going to get baptized this summer! I'll keep you posted on the progress! YAY!!!!

That same evening, Sister Coyne and I set some goals together. I know that we are together for many reasons, and many are still unknown at this point. We said our evening prayer and I asked that we could combine our forces and recognize an individual that we could both influence. Well, right after the prayer, I look at a letter I had written to my friend,Elder Slawson, in Taiwan. I told her that my dear friend that served as Activities Chairman with me at BYU was serving in Taiwan. She asked, "Wait, is he serving in Taipai?!" I said that he was, and she gasped, "I have a friend that came to the US for a while and he lives in Taipai! I've been writing to him a little bit and he was there when I opened my mission call, etc..." The Spirit prompted. I opened the letter back up, Sister Coyne wrote a letter to Elder Slawson telling him about her friend, Alex, his situation, and that he should go contact him and try to teach Alex the Gospel. She then wrote a letter to Alex about our mission, included a picture of us in front of the Nauvoo Temple, invited him to meet with the missionaries, and we sealed the envelope back up. What are the odds? One of my dear friends is serving in Taipai, one of her friends is living there and has shown a little bit of interest in the church from across the world, and if any missionary can teach with the Spirit, it is Elder Slawson. I'm so excited to see what happens! I thought it was so neat how we said the prayer and then I start telling her about this letter to Taiwan, then it all connected! 

Sister Coyne and I have been calling all of the missions in the world, as I mentioned last week, so that they can be ready for the Nauvoo Pageant. I am always amazed at the ways that Nauvoo influences the WORLD!!!! Last year, members referred friends from all over the world! The missionaries in Nauvoo call and invite them to meet with missionaries in their area and to accept a CD with the musical highlights from the Nauvoo Pageant. We ship out all of the CD's and keep the missions stocked up as the referrals come. It's been so fun to dream about all of the different missions as I'm calling them. This work shall forth to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people because it is the work of God. I love it and I can feel of the importance. We called 61 missions this week!

This week was a very powerful spiritual growth experience. As I heard about Derek's track success and how HAPPY he was, I was so incredibly grateful to Heavenly Father for answering my prayers. I remember all of those years when he was in high school and couldn't reach his full potential because of different road blocks. I remember crying in my prayers at night because I would pray that I could be the one to suffer, instead of him. Then reading the letters from my mom and dad, reporting that he was glowing with joy after finally reaching his goals made me so deeply, intensely joyful. I try to imagine what he looks like in all of that joy. One night, things just built up and my dear companion recognized that I wasn't doing so well. She ran downstairs, got me a big glass of milk, whipped out the Pringles, and took care of me. That made my day. =) 

A young man, Owen, (I mentioned a few weeks ago) referred one of his friends from Chicago.  That friend is making progress! She has been reading the Book of Mormon and she's meeting with the missionaries!!! 

A group of Achievement Day girls came in with their two leaders and I absolutely LOVED them. They are all from Taiwan, so we were able to have them sit down in front of the statue of Christ and play the words in Mandarin Chinese!!!! I am always amazed at the devotion of the members of the Church, and I am so proud of those good leaders for making sacrifices to serve Heavenly Father and His children. I love little moments like watching people from Taiwan listen to the words of Christ in their own language!! 

Remember the three Italian men that Sister Cloward and I taught in the Garden? Well...I sent Fabrizio an email last week so that we could keep in touch until they returned to Italy. He didn't respond, and I started to wonder if I had read his email address wrong when I entered it, if maybe he panicked and just chose not to respond... although I was very confident in the spiritual promptings that I received when I was talking with him. I felt really confident that he was going to accept the gospel and that he was prepared. SO, FINALLY, yesterday, he wrote back and it was the most sweet and beautiful letter!!!!!!!!! I literally squealed out loud with joy as I opened my missionary account and saw his name!!!!!!!! He just returned home to Italy and he has been reading the Italian Book of Mormon that we gave him.  He also said, "It is a beautiful thing- I remember very well the peace that you passed to me during our conversation. I felt peace that I am sure does not happen every day. I feel it as I read the Book of Mormon, as well." Words simply cannot express the joy that I felt as I read his email. I will never walk out into that Women's Garden again without thinking about Sister Cloward and I standing there with those three Italian men, teaching the Plan of Salvation in broken English/Italian translations. I'll keep you updated! Now that he's home, the missionaries in Italy can go over and start teaching all of the lessons in ITALIAN!!!!!

There is a man named Randy, that was just smitten by the peace that he felt as the Young Performing Missionaries were singing on the streets. He finally broke down and went over to talk with them. He watched all of their performances and then came into the Visitor's Center. He has been coming to Nauvoo for 25 years because of the peace that he feels here, and somehow, he was overlooked by the missionaries!!!! One of the cute performing sisters, Sister Knell, spoke with him and did an awesome job. I was just a small instrument in this moment, but Randy wrote down his address and he wants missionaries to come teach him the Gospel!!!! I am so humbled by the influence of the Holy Ghost. 

Yesterday was just absolutely wonderful!!! Sister Coyne, Sister Cooper, Sister Zibetti, and I were able to be part of Nauvoo's BIBLE CAMP!!!!! There are several different religious groups in Nauvoo, but they all come together to create this wonderful Bible Camp for the children! We taught the music rotation, so it was kind of like teaching Singing Time in Primary!!! I LOVED IT!!!!! Because of certain restrictions, we have a specific list of songs we could use. Some of the older kids (grades 3-6), we did some Girl's Camp songs and that brought me SO much joy!!! I said a BOOM-chicka-rocka-chicka-rocka chicka boom! =) We get to go back again on Wednesday and I am really, really looking forward to that!!

I just love the little moments here, as well as those like teaching Fabrizio in the Garden. I love running right next to the cornfields in the morning, driving past the temple frequently, watching the sunsets on the Mississippi because they are BEAUTIFUL, and some of my favorite senior couples just make me so happy every time I see them. I love the moments when Sister Coyne and I get to figure things out and grow closer together. I have learned that charity is what you give no matter what you receive. There have been the moments where I have to choose to respond with love no matter what, and it is in those moments, that I feel like angels are around me and I feel of their approval and joy when that increase of love comes in my heart. People just need to be loved and understand how much Heavenly Father loves them. It's so humbling to see what happens when there is an increase of love. I'm striving with all of my being to develop the pure love of Christ. Not to just be good, but to let my heart be fully and completely open and loving, ALWAYS.  I feel Heavenly Father and Christ's love even more deeply as I strive to be my best and I feel angels around me, helping me every step of the way.

I am so grateful for the love that I have received throughout my life. If there is someone that you're holding back on, that you aren't loving fully and completely, I invite you to soften your heart- to allow yourself to become a Zion. Pray for help, and you will receive it as you open your heart. Everyone in the entire world deserves to feel loved, and that love begins with Christ and needs to come through you, pure and clear. Don't hold back. As you open your heart, you will be so incredibly happy and able to feel the Spirit without restraint. As Fabrizio described the Spirit, "It is a beautiful thing." Find joy in the journey, don't just try to survive-  but THRIVE.

Love,

Sister Heather Ripplinger 

Called To Serve Him, June 12, 2012

My dear friends and family,

I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to be a missionary in Nauvoo. I am so sincerely, deeply, and humbly grateful. I LOVE it here. I thought I loved being a little girl and riding my horse around in the fields for hours when I was younger, then I thought it didn't get better than high school. Then I went to BYU and was so convinced that no ward would be better...and soon found out that I loved every ward even more. Then I came on my mission and I just love it SOOO much!!!!!!  I am completely converted to the belief that we can find joy in the journey no matter where we are, no matter what our circumstances. Heavenly Father's plan is one of HAPPINESS!!!!! I get to share that message of God's plan as a full time missionary! Woo!!!!! =)

This week has been full of several tender mercies. 

I was in the Visitor's Center over by the Christus and felt like I should go toward the north entrance. I walked over and the moment that I got there, two men walked in the doors. They both had thick Hispanic accents and I had to listen intently to understand everything that they were saying. Pretty quickly, I discovered that they were both from Texas and had been "randomly" assigned to work together on a project in the area. One man was a Latter-day Saint and the other was a devout Christian that believed in the Bible. Migael said that he felt something peaceful about Nauvoo. They had the afternoon off from work and decided to come to a show called "High Hopes and River Boats" in the VC. They had about 10 minutes before we started seating for the show. I felt that sense of urgency to talk about the Book of Mormon and how it teaches of Christ. Migael strongly believes in the Bible as the word of God, but he didn't know why we had the Book of Mormon. He said that so many people just write their own words and call it words of God. I bore my testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and asked him if he felt like he would recognize an answer from God. He said, "I believe in God and have a very personal relationship with him. Of course, I would recognize an answer from Him." 

I felt the Spirit prompt me and I told him that if he would read the Book of Mormon for himself, God would tell him that it was true and that he would draw closer to God by reading it. I said, "The New Testament has taught me about Christ's life and His teachings. The Book of Mormon has converted me to His teachings." He stared at me intently as I invited him to let missionaries come to his home and explain the Book of Mormon further. Right then, everyone started rushing over to the auditorium. I was supposed to help seat people and announce the show. He said, "Something you just said pierced my heart...in a way that I've never felt before." He said that he'd think about it during the show. The show went by, I was taking a tour with another group when the show was over, I saw them walk out of the auditorium, and I prayed with all of my heart that he would fill out a referral card. I saw him walk over to a stand with the cards and then I had to trust Heavenly Father. I needed to stay on the tour I was taking. Two days later, Sister Coyne was entering the referrals in the computer and said, "Oh hey! Look.... this guy named Migael referred himself and said he wants to meet with the missionaries." That guy is golden. That experience was a tender mercy because usually Sister Coyne doesn't tell me who referred or details like that. However, this time she did and it was Migael. 

I had the opportunity to serve in John Taylor's Home this week and "for some reason" we arrived at the sites about 15 minutes before we needed to be there. I was going to sit outside on the bench and read over the outline before I went in, but the Spirit told me to go in. So...I hopped up, went in, and saw that both sisters were already taking two huge tours. As I walked in the door, a family walked in right behind me. I turned around and as I looked at their faces, the Spirit was there very strongly again. AH!!! I hadn't reviewed the outline or done the typical routine at the sites, but I grabbed the site book, pulled out the outline, and started talking with the family. As we went through the home, I couldn't focus on the outline. The Spirit was bringing all of these other thoughts to my mind. So rather than trying to ignore the Spirit, I decided to stop the tour. We stopped right by the referral cards, which have a great, big picture of the Nauvoo Temple on them. Immediately, the grandpa, Bill, gasps and grabs one of the cards. "I went through that St. Louis Temple before it was closed to the public! It looks kinda like this one!!!!" His eyes were twinkling. I think mine were, too. =) 

I asked about his experience at the temple's open house and he just raved about it. He LOVED it. I started talking about the temple and began to say that a requisite of entering the temple is that you believe that Jesus Christ is your Savior and Redeemer...you know that God is your Father in Heaven and that He has a eternal plan for each of us...and then I just bore my testimony. I briefly gave an introduction to the Plan of Salvation. I asked a few questions in between and they responded with power. I could feel the Spirit prompting everything. So there was the grandpa and grandma, then a grandson and his girlfriend. The girlfriend had seen elders before and said, "But I didn't dare talk with them for long because my boyfriend would probably get jealous." We chuckled, "But I've never seen girl missionaries before. Could you teach me more about that plan that God has for me?" The grandpa stepped forward intently, "Me, too." They both wrote down their information and are going to meet with missionaries. If I hadn't arrived at the site early and at the moment I did, and if I hadn't stopped the tour exactly where I did, and if I hadn't listened to the Spirit, I would have totally missed them. Heavenly Father's hand is in the work and I know He has so many angels helping direct people to the right places and at the right time. It amazed me how things work out like they do, but I guess it is to be expected all the time, in such a marvelous work! I just never cease to be amazed. I LOVE being a missionary!!!!!

I took a tour out in the Women's Garden this week to a cute family that is from Uncle Mike's ward in Utah. I loved talking with them and hearing about their personal experiences. They love their bishop!!! =) At the end of the tour, the mom wrote down two of her cousins that used to be meeting with the missionaries, were interested, then the missionaries mysteriously just disappeared and stopped teaching them. Earlier that morning, I had been studying in Preach My Gospel about contacting former investigators. I'm excited to call them!!!!

I was able to have a WONDERFUL experience with all of the sisters. One evening, we went to the Trail of Hope. Now that the Young Performing Missionaries are here, they all dress up like pioneers and stand at each of the stops. They tell the story as if they were the very person. We walked along the path, following the trail of lanterns, and heard the stories of those special pioneers. Some sang, some played the violin, and they told their stories. It was so real and as I looked up at the temple as we were "leaving" to head West, I gained a deeper love of Church history and of the Saints. That was a special experience and I will always remember it. 

I love my Savior, Jesus Christ. As the Primary Song says, "I'm trying to be like Jesus..." =) At Bible Camp on Wednesday, I overheard an adult saying, "Man, those kids sure loved the songs those girls taught them. I wonder where the songs came from...I've never heard them before." They came straight out of the Primary book. =) I also caught one of the adults trying to learn "I am a child of God" as we were teaching the children. It made me smile. One step at a time. Every day, we should draw nearer to Christ and we will become more and more happy as we do so. I LOVE being a missionary!!!!!!!!!

Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven!!!!!

Love,

Sister Heather Ripplinger