Sister Ripplinger's Weekly Letter, October 10, 2012

Sent: Wednesday, October 10, 2012 2:37 PM
Subject: CALIFORNIA!!!!

My dear friends and family,

 

I am in CALIFORNIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And it feels GOOD!!!!! =D I already LOVE it here. LOVE IT.

 

The last week in Nauvoo was wonderful. I was in the Visitor's Center one morning and two men walked in. One was a member of the Church and the other was a Korean man that was riding his bike across the United States. He's lived in Los Angelas for a few years now. This member somehow ran into this biker and felt really strongly about bringing him to the VC. They came in and watched the Joseph Smith movie and afterwards, the member immediately asked if we had a Korean Book of Mormon. We sure did!!! As I was walking up the stairs from the storage area, I felt really strongly to ask him if he had met missionaries before. I handed him the Book of Mormon and asked. He said that several years ago, in South Korea, missionaries had taught him English!!! He anxiously agreed to meet with missionaries in L.A.!!!!!! It was a quick and really amazing miracle!!!

 

Saying good-bye to my Nauvoo sisters and my dear Sister Christensen was really difficult. I have really come to love them. We were able to attend a temple session and eat dinner at President Gilliland's house all together before we left. It was such a great blessing to be able to go to the temple one more time. President Gilliland gave us Priesthood blessings before we left and I am truly looking forward to what lies ahead.

 

So Tuesday morning, we packed up the vans at 7:30 am and drove to St. Louis. None of the other sisters were going to fly with me, so I was on my own. I hugged the last sisters good bye and had tears streaming down my face. They walked away together and I closed my eyes, said a prayer for strength to jump in with both feet, then opened my eyes. I had been praying that Heavenly Father would place people in my path in the airport or on the planes. I looked around and tried to listen to the Spirit. I sat down and pulled out my Book of Mormon. Immediately, this man sitting across from me looks up and asks if I'm ok. I smiled and wiped away the tears quickly. Rodrigo's flights had been changed last minute, and had just barely been switched to my flight to Dallas, Texas. He is from Mexico and was just in the US on business. We started talking and before I knew what was happening, he wrote down his home address and said he wanted missionaries in Mexico to stop at his home and teach his family. He has two little kids and he's seen missioanries before, but they've never stopped to teach him before. I gave him a Plan of Salvation pamphlet and I saw him reading it on the flight. =)

 

On the plane, I sat down and started talking with my neighbor. His father had just passed away and Mario was returning from the funeral!!!!! We started talking about where his dad is now and we read from Alma 40. He was soaking it up. He wanted to know all about the Book of Mormon and I was able to teach the Plan of Salvation to this young man that had just lost his dad!!! Before I could offer, he asked if he could take the Book of Mormon and read more. His flight had also been switched last minute because flight schedules were off. MIRACLE!!!!

 

I had to switch gates at the airport to take my next flight to Sacramento. For some reason, my boarding pass did not include the gate number and I was going to have to find a digital screen to find my gate. As I walked toward the information desk, the man standing in front of me asked about the Sacramento flight. He helped me find the right place and I know he was sent by Heavenly Father to help me get where I was supposed to be on time.

 

There was also a nice member on that flight and as soon as I walked into the plane, he popped up out of his seat and yelled, "SISTER!!!!" He had a huge grin and was so excited to see a MISSIONARY!!! =) It made my day!  haha

 

So....I was kindly escorted by this member named Scott and he walked me out toward the luggage pick up area. And there....standing with a glow around them... was my President and Sister Weston and their little daughter, Lizzie. =) I immediately felt their love and I love them. They were SO good to me!!!! I honestly felt right at home and so loved. We went to dinner and then they dropped me off with some sisters in the area for the night. I don't have my companion assignment yet, but I will shortly. I am SO excited to be here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

This email is kinda quick, but know that I'm doing GREAT and I am so ready to get to work! I feel so grateful that Heavenly Father answered my prayers and let me find a few people that were prepared on my way to California. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!!!!

 

Love,

Sister Heather Ripplinger