Subject: Until We Meet Again
Dear friends and family,
Oh, the California sun is shining, as always and I am just soaking it up. My time in California is complete tomorrow evening and I can hardly believe it! This week was absolutely wonderful. I'll just share a few things about it.
Veronica was baptized this weekend. Oh my goodness, it was such an incredible experience. She came out of the dressing room, wearing white, and she was just beaming with joy. She had a huge smile on all night and my heart was so full of joy as I watched her. So many people came to her baptism, that we all had to meet in the chapel. So many people love our dear Veronica and she is a powerful example to everyone. I was able to play the piano and Sister Benally led the music. The speakers did an incredible job. When the time came for the actual baptism, everyone crammed into the Relief Society room by the baptismal font. Veronica came up out of the water and described that she felt as though she were coming up out of a cloud because she felt so light and like the weight was taken from her. She was just RADIATING.
We all filed back into the chapel while she was changing and I was surprised when our ward mission leader stood at the podium and said that by request of Veronica and with the Bishop's permission, Sister Ripplinger would please come forward and bear her testimony. He explained that I had been serving among the people here for six months and would be departing for Nauvoo this week. I gulped and walked up to the podium. I looked out at all of my precious friends with humility and gratitude. I was just overcome by the Spirit and I received the confirming witness that I'd been waiting for ...that I had finished everything that I needed to complete in this area. I bore my testimony (and I did not cry!!!) and just felt so much love for everyone in the chapel. Veronica had requested that we sing "God by with you til we meet again". I felt like I was in the movie "The Other Side of Heaven" when the elder is leaving the people and they sing that song on the beach. Oh, it was a wonderful night.
Most of the ward was there, loving and supporting Veronica, so I was able to say good-bye to them. It was a precious and tender evening. I absolutely loved it. I can hardly believe that Veronica is BAPTIZED!!!!!! Several other investigators were there and I am so grateful that they were able to feel of the Spirit and be part of the experience. There are several baptisms coming up and I am so grateful to know that I had the privledge to learn from God's children in Loomis. They have taught me profound life lessons that have changed me. The more people that we love, the better heaven will be!!!!!
Several experience happened this week that just humble me.
I've been pleading with the Lord that I will have opportunities to share the Gospel as I fly down to Texas and then up to Missouri, where I will be reunited with my Nauvoo family. I am so looking forward to seeing my Nauvoo family. Experiences that I had in Nauvoo last summer shaped me for my experiences in California. Without serving in Nauvoo, I would not have been the missionary that I needed to be in California. I look forward to all that lies ahead in Nauvoo and I'm ready to go forward with all of my heart and everything that I am to give it all I've got. I am a missionary. I am on the Lord's errand. I am here to serve my King.
Be member missionaries!!!!!! Heavenly Father needs you. We need you. Your friends need you. Thank you for your examples, your love, and your support. I could not do it on my own. Without the Savior, we are nothing. But with Him, we can do ANYTHING that Heavenly Father asks us to do.
Love,
Sister Heather Ripplinger
Several experience happened this week that just humble me.
I've been pleading with the Lord that I will have opportunities to share the Gospel as I fly down to Texas and then up to Missouri, where I will be reunited with my Nauvoo family. I am so looking forward to seeing my Nauvoo family. Experiences that I had in Nauvoo last summer shaped me for my experiences in California. Without serving in Nauvoo, I would not have been the missionary that I needed to be in California. I look forward to all that lies ahead in Nauvoo and I'm ready to go forward with all of my heart and everything that I am to give it all I've got. I am a missionary. I am on the Lord's errand. I am here to serve my King.
Be member missionaries!!!!!! Heavenly Father needs you. We need you. Your friends need you. Thank you for your examples, your love, and your support. I could not do it on my own. Without the Savior, we are nothing. But with Him, we can do ANYTHING that Heavenly Father asks us to do.
Love,
Sister Heather Ripplinger
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