Fried Pickles, Sister Ripplinger's Weekly Letter, March 4, 2013

Sent: Monday, March 4, 2013 4:19 PM
Subject: Fried Pickles....Mmhhhmmm

Dear friends and family,

I need to get a new phrase to start my letters off, but for this week it will remain the same. THIS WEEK WAS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will just sum everything up really quickly because we are going to go out and enjoy the sunshine!

Veronica is getting MARRIED in a couple of weeks and then she can be BAPTIZED!!!! She has been faithful and valiant all this time, attending church each week and keeping her commitments. She is getting batized Easter weekend and oh my goodness, we are SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!

We are trying to use our baptisms as finding opportunities, so we are having our investigators make a list of those people they would like to invite and watching for people that are not members of the church. Then we take different opportunities with ward members to make nice baptism invitations. Our investigators are excited to invite their friends and family and I look forward to seeing what happens. The Spirit is so strong at baptisms and I feel like this will really be a significant way to find new investigators. It is fun to see the expressions of our precious friends' faces when they see their very own invitations for such a significant and special event. OH, HOW I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Steve is doing really, really well still. His whole life is changing and it is so neat to see his countenance brightening up, as well as seeing how everything is coming together. His whole style of life is improving and he is just glowing with happiness. I LOVE to hear him pray or to bear his testimony. Anyone who comes to the lessons with us always rises from their knees with tears streaming down their face when he prays. It is so beautiful to feel the Spirit as he speaks with
his Father in Heaven. We have been preparing the program for Steve's baptism and he isn't really familiar with many of the hymns because he is so new to the whole environment. He asked me to play the piano and sing "When I am Baptized" (a primary song) one night during a lesson. We went over to the piano and as I started to sing the words, "I want my life to be as clean as earth right after rain.." I looked over at him and the Spirit just over came me. He is like a living Alma the Younger. He has made so many changes in his life and has truly experienced the Atonement. I had tears pouring down my face and we all broke down in tears. Wow- what a powerful moment.

Barton has been struggling for months. We have been praying for him and one night, we went over for a lesson and he opened the door with a huge, beaming smile. We all just kinda stared at him for a minute. Was this the same guy?? He anxiously welcomed us in and invited us to sit down. Barton is usually very sick and reclined in his chair in the corner. He can't read because the pain is so significant. That night he prayed outloud and he also read outloud from the Book of Mormon. It was a neat experience because he's never been able to do that before.

Veronica set a goal to finish the Book of Mormon before her baptism and she's going to make it!!!!!!! It's pretty neat that she'll have read the WHOLE book before she is baptized!!!! We are so proud of her!

Jacqueline's husband will be here next week!!!! They have been apart for two years and he will finally be able to be with the family again. (He's been working in Germany). Their whole family is so excited for him to come. Jacqueline is just bursting at the seams to get baptized. It's neat to see the excitement in her eyes. She will be a wonderful member. 

One of my strange things that I have come to love in California is FRIED PICKLES. One of our favorite places to stop in and eat at makes them. One day, Jacqueline was kinda sad and I suggested fried pickles. She ate some and she felt better!!!! =) The simple joys of life...haha

We have been working with several less active members, recent converts, and investigators on their family history. It is sooooooo exciting!!!!!!!!!!!! I feel like we are on this great treasure hunt and I love the feeling in the room when they find one of their relatives for the first time. It is priceless.

I went to my last Zone Leader Council in California this week. It has been such a blessing to be surrounded by such great missionaries and to learn from their examples.

Sister Benally is one of the greatest blessings of my mission. We are running at a dead sprint and I'm giving it everything I've got. It feels SO GREAT and I am so tired at the end of the day. I LOVE missionary work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I love working in the California weather. =) LOVE IT!!!!!!!!

Love,
Sister Heather Ripplinger