Subject: Clean Hands and Pure Hearts
My dear friends and family,
One of my favorite things about Nauvoo is that we are able to attend the temple each week. This morning we went to an endowment session with six of us sisters and it was wonderful! One of the temple missionaries whispered to us on our way out, "There is a special spirit in the sessions when you sisters come. Thank you." I love the fact that we see the same faces in church on Sunday, in the sites, as well as in the temple.
There is a young woman from TAHITI that is living in Nauvoo for three months for a work experience. She walked into the Visitor's Center and I had the opportunity to explain a little about the temple and the Plan of Salvation. She said that she felt this indescribable peace in Nauvoo and when I was talking about the temple. She had walked on the temple grounds earlier and felt that same feeling. When I found out that she would be in Nauvoo for a few months, I got the powerful feeling from the Spirit. I'm excited to keep in touch and see what happens.
We met this outstanding couple from Australia yesterday and I was VERY touched by their story. Both are converts to the Church. The man said that one day he was reading from the Book of Mormon that someone left out in a hotel room and he knew that was the Church for him, so he found missionaries and asked when he could be baptized. But his wife, however, was one tough cookie to crack. She avoided the missionaries and church members like a plague. Finally, after a year, she told her husband that it was either her or the Church. He said that he would have an answer for her in a week. After a few days the Spirit touched her heart and she called the missionaries. She was baptized shortly thereafter. Since then, they have been sealed in the temple, he has served as a bishop and is now serving as a district president. They were in the United States for about a month to attend General Conference and visit the historic sites, as well as to see the missionaries that taught them years ago. It gave me a better vision of the eternities and what years down the road may be like. We have no idea the potential of the people we love, but we better love them like crazy because they are God's chosen children and they have work to do for Him, as well.
I had the opportunity to serve in Carthage Jail on Sunday for the first time since last fall and oh, how I loved it! The tulips are blooming and the weather is warming up. I love it when I walk out of the Visitor's Center and hit a wave of warmth. The humidity is starting to kick in and I like it!!!!! Next week, all of the sisters get to take a morning out of the sites, and we're going on a little three hour pioneer handcart trek together. I'm so excited for that!!!!!!! Living in Nauvoo really is like living in a dream. The Spirit is so incredibly strong, the people are so incredibly kind, and so many miracles happen. I LOVE IT!!!!!!
One man that came into the Bakery when I was serving there shared a really neat experience about his conversion. When he was in his 30's, he started having dreams that heavenly messengers were visiting him and teaching him about Jesus Christ. Finally, one said that this was his last visit, but he had a question for the man. "Do you have clean hands and a pure heart?" This man looked down at his hands and the question hit him deep in his heart. He woke up kind of troubled by the question and kept thinking about it for a few days. Then one day these two young men showed up at the door and he told them to get lost. Before he could shut the door, one young man (a missionary) said, "I just have one question for you. Do you have clean hands and a pure heart?" This man stopped dead in his tracks with big eyes and stared at the elders. He let them in and was baptized three weeks later. Those missionaries were in tune with the Spirit and Heavenly Father knew exactly what that man needed to have his heart softened. MIRACLE!!!!
So I have an embarrassing story to tell...that made me laugh really hard. My whole mission experience has been wonderful and I try to be diligent with my time. California was absolutely insane and busy, which I'm grateful for. Since arriving back in Nauvoo, things have been just as busy. Sister Zibetti and I are always planning something or trying to help someone keep going, and occasionally try to brush our hair in the morning. In addition, we are training new missionaries that are full of energy and want to learn everything we have to offer. So you can imagine, by the end of the day, I flop into bed, dead tired. So one day, Sister Mills and I were serving in the Log School House with two other senior sisters. Not a lot was happening that day and hardly anyone was in town. So I put together my little scrapbook of all my California pictures and wrote in names and experiences, etc so I will always remember them. Then I read about 50 pages in the Book of Mormon...then I did a few Preach My Gospel activities...then we sat in the sun and talked with the seniors, then I wrote in my journal...you get the picture... haha At about 4:00 pm, in the last hour, I was just hanging in there to stay awake. There are only two chairs in that site, which we had the two senior sisters sit in. Sister Mills was working on a cross stitch project on a little foot stool and I was leaning against the wall, sitting on the floor. I'll just get right to it... at about 4:00, I slithered down and fell into a deep sleep. I'm out like a dead woman, laying on the floor, when all the sudden, I hear a creak in the floor. My eyes crack open and President Gilliland is standing there. (OH MY GOSH!!!!!!) I get this sheepish little grin and say, "Hi, President..." I started to try to sit up and he told me to just stay there. He talked to us for a few minutes, then he left. We were all laughing and I just thought, "I need to repent..." hahahaha The next day in our weekly meeting that Sister Zibetti and I have with him, President and Sister Gilliland talked about not wearing ourselves out and mentioned that in some of the sites, there were beds upstairs that we could take naps in if the sites were slow. I just figure once I make it through the Isaiah chapters, I'll be able to stay awake. =)
One day, my companion and I were sitting outside in the sun by our site. We were soaking up the warmth and a temple missionary came out of his house across the street and brought up pop-cycles. Such a sweet heart!!!!
I love being a missionary!!!!!!! I love being back in Nauvoo, I still love my California family, and I love those back home. I am so grateful for your love and support. Heavenly Father hears your prayers and He loves you!!!!
Love,
Sister Ripplinger
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