Miracles in California, Sister Ripplinger's Weekly Letter, October 22, 2012

Dear friends and family,

This week was absolutely INSANE!!!!!!! There were definitely
challenges and obstacles to over come, but amazing things
happened!!!!!!

We picked up a new investivator  named Ericka and started meeting with
her on Monday night. She is absolutely INCREDIBLE!!!!! The first night
we met, she was telling us how badly she wants to change her life, how
she wants to leave the past behind, and move forward. We taught about
the Atonement and committed her to baptism on November 17th!!!!! =)
She has such a sincere desire to do good and when we taught her about
repentance, she said that she wants to go meet a friend for lunch that
she hasn't talked to in a long time and make things right, she wanted
specific scriptures to read from the Book of Mormon about faith and
repentance, she said she had heard that we don't drink coffee and
asked if it was true (then immediately said that she would never drink
coffee again). Before we could even ask when we could come back, she
asked US when we could come back. We met with her several times this
week and she is absolutely on fire! I have to share a few things she's
said that make me love her. =) So after we taught one night, she looks
right at me and asks, "Wait! Does this mean that I have to marry a
Mormon?" I smiled and responded, "You're gonna WANT to!" She got big
eyes and said, "You are RIGHT! Anyone else is going to make me SIN!!"
hahahaha I got the biggest kick out of that! Then she said that she
feels so good inside and she wants to stand on top of a building and
yell to the whole world that they should repent so that they can feel
as good as she does! This week she went to the store and bought church
clothes for herself, her 7 year old son (Dylan), and her 9 month old
baby (Alana), she bought her own set of scriptures (Bible, Book of
Mormon, D&C,etc) and had her name engraven on them, she came to the
big Relief Society activity on Saturday and met several of the RS
ladies, we went to lunch with her and she asked if she was allowed to
drink soda (she wants to be exactly obedient), and so many other
things. She is just incredible. I know that the Lord led her to us and
prepared her to receive the Gospel. I am so eternally grateful that I
was able to be there when she first started on the path. At church
yesterday, I introduced Dylan to the elders and he had a big grin on
his face. He said to them, "Someday I'm going to me a boy missionary
like you guys!!" Well, if Ericka didn't do it already, Dylan just made
my heart want to burst with happiness. The other night when we were
teaching them the first lesson at a member's home, Dylan walked over
to her and said, "Mom, the Book of Mormon is true! You should pray so
you can know that, too!" =) I love them!!!!!

Pat is the man that recently lost his wife. We've taught the Plan of
Salvation and gone over Christ's Atonement. He's healing slowly and
his faith is increasing. He's been reading the pamphlets we leave and
his eyes are starting to light up. He still doesn't want to pray and Iwhat he's supposed to say. I took a sheet of paper and wrote on it
like a letter, the top saying "Dear Heavenly Father..." the next lines
were "Thank you for ____" and "please help me with___", then closed in
the name of Christ. We went back a few days later and he has kept that
little paper with him everywhere he goes. He told me that he takes it
with him everyday when he goes to his wife's grave and he prays. That
makes him feel better. That absolutely melted my heart. He's a good
man looking for hope!

The missionaries have been teaching Muang for months now. (She's from
Laos). This week, we were preparing her for baptism. She is a good,
good lady and I'm so proud of her! She was baptized on Saturday. That
baptism was really special. We asked a member of the ward named Kia to
baptize her. He's Tongan and he's getting ready to be sealed to his
wife in the temple in a few months. We were praying about asking him
and Muan wanted him to, so we went ahead and asked him to baptize her.
He was thrilled! The family told us that he was practicing all week.
=) That melted my heart. At the baptism, when they were both dressesd
in white in the font, and he rose his hand to the square, I felt the
Spirit really strongly. The next day in Sacrament meeting Kia spoke
and he talked about baptizing Muang. He said that it was the most
powerful spiritual experience of his life.

Scott and Cindy Tate were also baptized on Saturday! They've also been
meeting with missionaries for a while. He quit smoking and they had to
work through a few things, but they made it! They were both beaming at
their baptism. Last week I came in just in time for a really intense
lesson and I felt like that immediately brought me close to them.

Melody and Gabrielle are the two sisters that came to church for the ry first time last week! This week they made leaps and bounds of
progress. Bishop Wylie has been absolutely wonderful in fellowshipping
and loving them. He has been over to their house with his son to help
them with yard work. Those two should get baptized soon. One afternoon
when we stopped by to visit, we were out in the yard with all of their
flowers and I thought about that Primary song about faith. =) I
couldn't resist and so I sang the song. Melody teared up and said that
she'd never felt like she had friends before. I can tell that several
people in the ward love her all ready and I'm so grateful for the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm so excited for them to finally have that
in their lives. She said that she feels really peaceful when she prays
and she knows that God is there. Aww.. I love that!

So, I guess the smaller news is that transfers happen tomorrow and I
am going to Loomis!!!!!! I get a new companion that has been out about
six months and we're going to be in an area that is on fire and has a
lot of investigators. I'm really excited to meet everyone there and
get to work. President Weston is going to let me come back for
Ericka's baptism (I'm SUPER grateful for that!!!!!) and maybe a few of
the others if they get baptized while I'm in California. I've loved
the people here and I'm grateful for the experiences that I've had
already. I'm ready to work my heart away and to love like crazy!

This week, I have really relied on a motto that I learned while I was
in Israel with Brother Lund. "Take your love to your loved ones, and
your frustrations to the Lord." I've pourded my heart out in prayer
and I know that the Savior's Atonement really can give us strength and
heal us. We just need to turn to him, forget ourselves, and go to
work. This is the work of Salvation! I love my Father in Heaven and I
am so grateful that He has given me this time to be a missionary. I
LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!!!!!

Love,
Sister Heather Ripplinger

8583 Watt Avenue
Antelope, California
95843-9117