Subject: Joy in the Journey
My dear friends and family,
The
sun is shining in Nauvoo and I feel so blessed to be here as a full
time missionary!!!!!!! The shows have started, the corn fields are
growing, and this week was wonderful!
Last week on Monday evening, I was in the Referral
Center calling. I had a referral from a returned missionary that wanted
me to call his old investigator that dropped out, because of a busy
schedule in Medical School. I tried calling Clark about 3 times, without
any success. That night, I said a prayer and felt like I needed to call
him. I dialed the number and he answered!!!! We had a good chat for
about 1/2 hour and it was so neat to see how the Spirit directs.
Basically, Clark knows that being baptized is the right thing and that
he wants to go to the temple, but he's afraid to make the commitment
because he wants to be 100% obedient after baptism and not "mess up". I
gave him something to read from the Book of Mormon about being baptized
and made clean, then receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost to direct and
protect him. He's going to start meeting with the missionaries in his
area again and I think he's going to get baptized
this summer! I'll keep you posted on the progress! YAY!!!!
That same evening, Sister Coyne and I set some goals
together. I know that we are together for many reasons, and many are
still unknown at this point. We said our evening prayer and I asked that
we could combine our forces and recognize an individual that we could
both influence. Well, right after the prayer, I look at a letter I had
written to my friend,Elder Slawson, in Taiwan. I told her that my dear
friend that served as Activities Chairman with me at BYU was serving in
Taiwan. She asked, "Wait, is he serving in Taipai?!" I said that he was,
and she gasped, "I have a friend that came to the US for a while and he
lives in Taipai! I've been writing to him a little bit and he was there
when I opened my mission call, etc..." The Spirit prompted. I opened
the letter back up, Sister Coyne wrote a letter to Elder Slawson telling
him about her friend, Alex, his situation, and that he should go
contact him and try to teach Alex the Gospel.
She then wrote a letter to Alex about our mission, included a picture
of us in front of the Nauvoo Temple, invited him to meet with the
missionaries, and we sealed the envelope back up. What are the odds? One
of my dear friends is serving in Taipai, one of her friends is living
there and has shown a little bit of interest in the church from across
the world, and if any missionary can teach with the Spirit, it is Elder
Slawson. I'm so excited to see what happens! I thought it was so neat
how we said the prayer and then I start telling her about this letter to
Taiwan, then it all connected!
Sister Coyne and I have been calling all of the
missions in the world, as I mentioned last week, so that they can be
ready for the Nauvoo Pageant. I am always amazed at the ways that Nauvoo
influences the WORLD!!!! Last year, members referred friends from all
over the world! The missionaries in Nauvoo call and invite them to meet
with missionaries in their area and to accept a CD with the musical
highlights from the Nauvoo Pageant. We ship out all of the CD's and keep
the missions stocked up as the referrals come. It's been so fun to
dream about all of the different missions as I'm calling them. This work
shall forth to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people because it is
the work of God. I love it and I can feel of the importance. We called
61 missions this week!
This week was a very powerful spiritual growth
experience. As I heard about Derek's track success and how HAPPY he was,
I was so incredibly grateful to Heavenly Father for answering my
prayers. I remember all of those years when he was in high school and
couldn't reach his full potential because of different road blocks. I
remember crying in my prayers at night because I would pray that I could
be the one to suffer, instead of him. Then reading the letters from my
mom and dad, reporting that he was glowing with joy after finally
reaching his goals made me so deeply, intensely joyful. I try to imagine
what he looks like in all of that joy. One night, things just built up
and my dear companion recognized that I wasn't doing so well. She ran
downstairs, got me a big glass of milk, whipped out the Pringles, and
took care of me. That made my day. =)
A young man, Owen, (I mentioned a few weeks ago)
referred one of his friends from Chicago. That friend is making
progress! She has been reading the Book of Mormon and she's meeting with
the missionaries!!!
A group of Achievement Day girls came in with their
two leaders and I absolutely LOVED them. They are all from Taiwan, so we
were able to have them sit down in front of the statue of Christ and
play the words in Mandarin Chinese!!!! I am always amazed at the
devotion of the members of the Church, and I am so proud of those good
leaders for making sacrifices to serve Heavenly Father and His children.
I love little moments like watching people from Taiwan listen to the
words of Christ in their own language!!
Remember the three Italian men that Sister Cloward
and I taught in the Garden? Well...I sent Fabrizio an email last week so
that we could keep in touch until they returned to Italy. He didn't
respond, and I started to wonder if I had read his email address wrong
when I entered it, if maybe he panicked and just chose not to respond...
although I was very confident in the spiritual promptings that I
received when I was talking with him. I felt really confident that he
was going to accept the gospel and that he was prepared. SO, FINALLY,
yesterday, he wrote back and it was the most sweet and beautiful
letter!!!!!!!!! I literally squealed out loud with joy as I opened my
missionary account and saw his name!!!!!!!! He just returned home to
Italy and he has been reading the Italian Book of Mormon that we gave
him. He also said, "It is a beautiful thing- I remember very well the
peace that you passed to me during our conversation. I
felt peace that I am sure does not happen every day. I feel it as I
read the Book of Mormon, as well." Words simply cannot express the joy
that I felt as I read his email. I will never walk out into that Women's
Garden again without thinking about Sister Cloward and I standing there
with those three Italian men, teaching the Plan of Salvation in broken
English/Italian translations. I'll keep you updated! Now that he's home,
the missionaries in Italy can go over and start teaching all of the
lessons in ITALIAN!!!!!
There is a man named Randy, that was just smitten by
the peace that he felt as the Young Performing Missionaries were
singing on the streets. He finally broke down and went over to talk with
them. He watched all of their performances and then came into the
Visitor's Center. He has been coming to Nauvoo for 25 years because of
the peace that he feels here, and somehow, he was overlooked by the
missionaries!!!! One of the cute performing sisters, Sister Knell, spoke
with him and did an awesome job. I was just a small instrument in this
moment, but Randy wrote down his address and he wants missionaries to
come teach him the Gospel!!!! I am so humbled by the influence of the
Holy Ghost.
Yesterday was just
absolutely wonderful!!! Sister Coyne, Sister Cooper, Sister Zibetti,
and I were able to be part of Nauvoo's BIBLE CAMP!!!!! There are several
different religious groups in Nauvoo, but they all come together to
create this wonderful Bible Camp for the children! We taught the music
rotation, so it was kind of like teaching Singing Time in Primary!!! I
LOVED IT!!!!! Because of certain restrictions, we have a specific list
of songs we could use. Some of the older kids (grades 3-6), we did some
Girl's Camp songs and that brought me SO much joy!!! I said a
BOOM-chicka-rocka-chicka-rocka chicka boom! =) We get to go back again
on Wednesday and I am really, really looking forward to that!!
I just love the little moments here, as well as
those like teaching Fabrizio in the Garden. I love running right next to
the cornfields in the morning, driving past the temple frequently,
watching the sunsets on the Mississippi because they are BEAUTIFUL, and
some of my favorite senior couples just make me so happy every time I
see them. I love the moments when Sister Coyne and I get to figure
things out and grow closer together. I have learned that charity is what
you give no matter what you receive. There have been the moments where I
have to choose to respond with love no matter what, and it is in those
moments, that I feel like angels are around me and I feel of their
approval and joy when that increase of love comes in my heart. People
just need to be loved and understand how much Heavenly Father loves
them. It's so humbling to see what happens when there is an increase of
love. I'm striving with all of my being to develop the
pure love of Christ. Not to just be good, but to let my heart be fully
and completely open and loving, ALWAYS. I feel Heavenly Father and
Christ's love even more deeply as I strive to be my best and I feel
angels around me, helping me every step of the way.
I am so grateful for the love that I have received
throughout my life. If there is someone that you're holding back on,
that you aren't loving fully and completely, I invite you to soften your
heart- to allow yourself to become a Zion. Pray for help, and you will
receive it as you open your heart. Everyone in the entire world deserves
to feel loved, and that love begins with Christ and needs to come
through you, pure and clear. Don't hold back. As you open your heart,
you will be so incredibly happy and able to feel the Spirit without
restraint. As Fabrizio described the Spirit, "It is a beautiful thing."
Find joy in the journey, don't just try to survive- but THRIVE.
Love,
Sister Heather Ripplinger
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