Sister Ripplinger's Weekly Letter, Rainbow of Miracles, June 4, 2013

Subject: Rainbow of Miracles
From: heather.ripplinger@myldsmail.net
To: nikkiripplinger@outlook.com

My dear friends and family,

I am absolutely LOVING Sister Newell. She is so happy, easy going, excited to learn, fun, and hard working. She really wants to push herself as hard as she can and do the Lord's work. I'm striving to teach by example. I've been praying for opportunities to teach the Gospel everywhere we go and the Lord is placing people in our paths. It is actually incredibly miraculous. We set some pretty ambitious goals for this transfer and we are measuring our progress in some fun ways. We took some colored paper and cut polka dots to place on the wall. On those dots, we write down the names of people that we talk with that end up wanting missionaries to come to their home and teach them (self-referrals), the date, and where we found them. 

With those dots, we are making a rainbow over our window in our bedroom. Every person on our wall was found in a different "method of finding". One was from Nauvoo on the Road in Keokuk, Iowa, where about 8 missionaries travel to a different city to kind of advertise Nauvoo and invite people to come. Another was from our tornado clean-up service that we did in Hannibal, Missouri. Another was from Mormon.org Chat online who was from Pennsylvania. Another was while we were serving at the Carthage Jail Visitor's Center. And another was in the Nauvoo Visitor's Center, etc. 

The Lord has so much work for us to do and I love it. We set transfer goals, weekly goals, and daily goals. When we are planning for the week, we break it down day by day. Yesterday, we were trying really hard to reach the high goals that the Spirit prompted us to reach. At about 7:50 pm, we had met all of our goals, except for one. We needed to leave at 8:00 for something scheduled and were just wrapping up a conversation on mormon.org chat. The guy had come on with some kind of interesting questions and at that point in the day, we were tired and worn out. 

The Spirit told me that we needed to ask if he would like for missionaries to visit him at his home, but I also had the second thought of doubt that he would probably say no. But we wanted to be obedient and we asked. He immediately said that he would and gave us all of his contact information!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We both looked at each other, somewhat shocked, and then said a prayer of gratitude together. Our goals were extremely high for that day and the Lord gave us the strength and the faith to reach them. He provided the way. It is so humbling to be a part of the Lord's work. Miracles happen all the time. There are difficult challenges along the way, but Sister Newell and I can rely on the Lord and it's amazing what happens.

Last Wednesday, we traveled to Hannibal with most of the young sisters and then several senior missionaries. We arrived at the church building and received directions from a member of the Stake Presidency. We divided up into three different groups and then went out for the day. That poor town had so many trees on the ground, in yards and along the streets. The first house we went to, had one big branch in the front yard that had fallen from the massive tree. We were all excited about it and got to work. The Spirit kept telling me that we needed to talk to the people and try to find new investigators for the missionaries in that area. 

We went and talked to a few kids fishing along the pond and the man at the home we were at. We all kind of left in a hurry to get to the next site and the Spirit just kept working on me that I need to be paying attention to people around the areas. The next home we came to, there was one branch dangling way up in the tree that we couldn't do anything about. I glanced over and there was a girl working on the steps of the house next door. We went over to ask if they could use some help. She didn't live there, but went in to ask the woman that did. Barbara came out and said that there was actually quite a bit of damage between her house and her neighbor's. 

The neighbor was a woman named Nancy that had recently lost her husband. As we walked around to see what we could do, there was a huge tree that had fallen right between their two homes. As we ventured down more, we saw that several huge trees had fallen in the back yard. Although we were unable to assist the people living in the home that had actually asked for us to come, the Lord knew how to get us to that neighborhood. We worked hard in that yard for a few hours and made friends with those two women. Before we left, we asked if we could sing them a song and share a message. We all sang "I Am A Child of God" and then the senior missionaries sang a song from one of their performances "Welcome to Nauvoo". Those missionaries looked so dang cute as they did the actions and sang that happy song. We ended with a prayer and asked if she would like to have missionaries come back and share a message about God's love for His children, and Nancy said YES. She was so sweet and humble. I checked my online area book and it looks like the elders have contacted her and are teaching her. I know that so many miracles are happening in missionary work because of the natural disasters. I saw an article on lds.org about missionaries serving in Kansas and I hear about all the opportunities around the world that missionaries have to help. The Lord is hastening His work and providing great opportunities for His servants.

We have been teaching people from Scotland and England, working toward getting their local missionaries there. Technology is a way for people to search for the truth in a non-threatening way. Althougt they may not allow missionaries in their home at first, those faithful missionaries leave a mormon.org card and the individuals look up the site later. We have had so many people come on asking questions about the faith that feel the Spirit and then allow missionaries to come. 

It is so neat to be part of the Lord's work in so many different ways. I love being a missionary in Nauvoo. At times, I miss my California family, but I trust that they are in the Lord's hands and will be taken care of. It's interesting where life takes us. It's miraculous. We really can trust the Lord. He will strengthen us in our challenges and carry us when we couldn't make it on our own. I felt especially close to the Savior this week. We really do come to know God through our trials and if we endure well, the blessings will pour down. The enabling power of the Atonement is real. Heavenly Father hears our prayers. 

One specific example of that is a few weeks ago, my companion and I had dinner with a senior couple that I absolutely adore. They were talking about when President Gilliland taught about prayer some time during the winter. I was pondering how powerful his prayers are. When that man prays, you know that he is talking with God. I was praying that we would have an opportunity to learn about prayer from President and then President Gilliland, himself, told Sister Zibetti and I that he felt prompted that he should teach all of the young sisters in our weekly training meeting how to pray and bear testimony with power and understanding. 

I was so excited to hear from him and I soaked up the training meeting this week. President inspires me in so many ways and he has deeply impacted me for the rest of my life. He leads by example. If I had to describe him in one sentence, I would say that he knows how to receive revelation. I am forever grateful for the wonderful lessons I am learning on my mission. On that same topic, I am so grateful for my parents and all those that prepared the path before me. My parents taught me how to use the language of prayer from the day I was sent into their arms. They taught me that my prayers were heard and would be answered in the Lord's ways. They taught me to rely on the Lord. I'm so grateful for the privilege and opportunity I have had to hear people pray for the first time and to see them gain testimonies of prayer. I am so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love this work so deeply. I love the Lord and I love Nauvoo!!!

Everyone have a wonderful week and I encourage you all to think about what you can do to strengthen your own testimony. If you ask in prayer, the Spirit will inspire you in what you can do. Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven.

Love,

Sister Heather Ripplinger

Family Sealed in Nauvoo

Tree After Storm

We wear volunteer yellow

Sister Ripplinger's Weekly Letter, Nauvoo Storms, May 21, 2013

Dear friends and family,

This is going to be an extremely short email because I had to register for my BYU classes in the fall. It is all taken care of and I'm good to go! It was a miracle because I missed the day that classes opened for me to register, but all the classes that I needed had ONE seat open still that I could get into. The Lord is looking out for me and providing the way. I'm SO GRATEFUL. Now I can dive back into Nauvoo and finish my mission hard.

This week was full of excitement with the storms. Nauvoo is protected from the tornadoes and serious storms. We had a lot of heavy rain and some branches on trees came down, but nothing too serious.

I have really been focusing on making my heart pure and completely sanctified. This week, I have felt the Spirit more than ever and received many distinct and clear impressions. There have been a few times when I knelt down to pray and could feel the Spirit in such a way that I had to open my eyes a few times to see around me because I felt the Spirit so strongly. I know that Heavenly Father's promise to surround us with angels is real and that we are truly protected and directed by heavenly help. I am striving to train myself to "see the unseen" and to recognize the most quiet promptings.

This week, we had the privledge to serve in Lands and Records and OH MY GOODNESS. It was incredible. I found that I had several relatives that lived in Nauvoo, were actually endowed in the original temple, and I found a TON of information about their lives. I have also been researching and studying the life of Emma Smith. The Lord is teaching me a lot and my vision is lifting higher. While in Lands and Records, we were researching individuals and going through several books. I could feel the Spirit in there and it made me soooo excited for all of the modern technology.

Next week I will have to update more on the missionary work of people who have come to Nauvoo. It is so exciting and I feel like some neat things are going to happen this summer. The shows start this week and I'm soooo excited!!!!!

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY. I absolutely LOVE it.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week! Remember what really matters most! =)

Love,

Sister Heather Ripplinger

Sister Ripplinger's Weekly Letter, Baptisms in England, May 14, 2013

Sent: Tuesday, May 14, 2013 12:18 PM
Subject: Baptism in England

Dear friends and family,

I am reminded that before really powerful spiritual experiences or something important happens, we usually have some opposition and Satan puts up a fight to hinder the work as much as he can. But the good news, is that the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent until it has covered the whole earth. This week, I was sick and my body took a few days to get its act together. On Saturday, I didn't feel like I could be on the main floor of the Visitor's Center all day, but Sister Mills and I went up into the Referral Center and were on Mormon.org chat. We had a few funny experiences and then a young lady named Jenny  from the United Kingdom came on. The beginning of the conversation was Jenny telling us that her parents were never religious, but she wants to believe in something-that she NEEDS to believe in something. She expressed how she needs motivation and a better vision of her future. I felt really strongly that we needed to teach her about prayer. She had not prayed before and we were able to very simply teach her how to speak to her Father in Heaven. She prayed outloud and then expressed that she has never felt so overcome with emotion. She then said, "I didn't know that I could come to believe so quickly." The Spirit was strong . We went on to teach her about some basic gospel doctrines. She said that she feels this strong desire to do charity work or to do something good. We talked about how the Spirit prompts us to do good things and that through the Spirit, God helps us know what we should do. Then that strong impression came over me to invite her to be baptized. A flood of previous experiences came pouring into my mind and I remembered sitting in the chapel in California with Steve when we invited him to be baptized, etc. We invited her to be baptized on June 8th and she accepted. We got the elders in her area in contact with her that day and got her the address to her local church building. She attended church yesterday and is on her way to baptism. It is absolutely INCREDIBLE that technology is helping the work of the Lord move forward in the ways that it does. 

The very next day, we were serving in Carthage Jail. We were busy taking tours all day and it is interesting how timing works out. I was with Sister Garner and we ended up talking with a sweet couple that has traveled around the world in the military. They have lived in Japan, Europe, all over the United States, etc. They "somehow" just ended up with a road trip that led them to Carthage Jail and they had never even heard of Nauvoo. They walked in, we smiled and greeted them, and asked if they had come from Nauvoo. They gave us these cute little smiles and a funny face and asked, "What is Na-voo?" That gave away their position pretty quickly...haha We took them to the large picture on the wall of the First Vision and taught the whole Restoration lesson right there. The Spirit was there and the feeling was very strong. These people were very pure and very prepared for the truth. As we took them on the tour of the jail, we didn't even take the regular tour with the historical information. We taught the Gospel and they asked question after question, with deep interest and sincerity. It was soooooo cool!!!!!! In the Martyrdom room, the Spirit was especially strong. After we went through the jail, we went outside and stood under the trees for quite a while. We read from the Book of Mormon together and they loved it. We were able to get their contact information and they said that they really wanted to read more from the Book of Mormon. As they were getting ready to leave, the man looked me straight in the eyes with this look of .....desperation to stay longer or something. I could tell that he did not want to leave. He looked at me and said, "You make sure you contact us, ok?" I felt something special with that couple. I don't even know how to describe it. I have no doubt in my mind that they will accept the gospel very soon and be faithful members, but they were really special. I don't know what the Lord has in store for them, but they still stand out in my mind very strongly. 

I am also so very grateful for people that the Lord puts into our lives to help us along. One of my dear friends and missionaries here is Sister Dransfield. I feel like she knows my heart like my mother does. Since arriving in Nauvoo, it has been full speed ahead all the time. I haven't had much time to think about how I feel about anything other than the missionary responsibilities that I have here at this time. Sister Dransfield stayed at the house with me one night when I was sick so that my companion could go to the music practice with the rest of the sisters because she is playing the piano for one of the numbers, as well as singing a song that she needed to practice. My being sick and staying at the house with Sister Dransfield was one of the most needed and precious experiences. 

I absolutely LOVE being a missionary. I treasure these experiences so much. One of my favorite things in the whole world is when someone prays for the first time to Heavenly Father and they feel the Spirit. Oh, what a precious experience. I want to help as many people as I possibly can make it back to Heavenly Father by helping them come closer to their Savior. I LOVE the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Please, please, please attend the temple as often as possible. I went this morning and had a special experience with a woman that hasn't been in a long time. Heavenly Father doesn't mind if you don't know what you are doing or if you haven't been in  a long time. He just WANTS YOU TO COME and to start coming regularly. If it is uncomfortable right now, go again and again and again. The temple is soooo important. Serving in Nauvoo has really helped me gain a deep love and testimony of the temple. I LOVE THE TEMPLE. And I love to see it! =)

Love,

Sister Heather Ripplinger

Sister Ripplinger's Weekly Letter, Handcart Trek and Sunburns, May 7, 2013

Dear family and friends,

This week has been really wonderful. I am learning sooooo much and it's amazing to see what the Lord has to teach us. I've been praying really hard about specific topics and the Spirit is working on me. It's AMAZING!!!!!! We had a few really neat experiences with all of the sisters this week.

Yesterday, all 20 sisters and Sister Gilliland went on a handcart trek. We started out at 9:00 am and we got back about 2:30 pm. We were all divided into companies and had a handcart to take as a "family". We each brought 17 lbs worth of stuff to make the carts more heavy. Some of the sisters have been sick all week, so they were weak and tired, but they were troupers and they made it. It was a really neat experience for me. There were five of us to my handcart and we were able to see the other handcarts ahead going up the steep and muddy hills before we got there. It had been raining all week, so everything was pretty wet and muddy. Everyone was slipping  and struggling to get the handcarts up the hill, but we all made it. My handcart group was struggling quite a bit. We were in the back most of the trek. We got a system down where Sister Holt and I were pulling in the front and it was working really well. I started to think, "Ok, it's easy like this. We'll enjoy the rest of the trek." Right after I thought that, we all stopped and some of the sisters were "claimed as sick" and taken away. Sister Holt was taken from me, as well as one other sister. So three of us (one who had been sick all week) pulled our handcart up the huge hill by ourselves and it was pretty difficult. We barely made it and the other handcarts weren't in sight when we got there. haha I was very, very grateful to get Sister Holt back at the top of the hill. That experience made me realize how hard it really might have been to lose your spouse on the trek across the plains. To be honest, I was devastated when Sister Holt was taken. The woman I was representing on the trek had come from England and had a comfortable lifestyle. They had two homes and were doing well. Her husband would never convert to the religion, but he wouldn't let her trek across the plains on her own, so he came. Halfway across, he died and they had a lot of challenges the whole way, but she made it to Salt Lake.  In life, the Lord knows us and He knows that there is no growth in comfort. As soon as we start to get comfortable or it gets easy, He gives us the opportunity to grow, to push harder, and to become better. We're all supposed to go onward and upward. 

Today we went to the beautuiful Nauvoo Temple. We get to be the daughters when we participate in sealings and I LOVE being around those temple missionaries. President Condie is the temple president and he is AMAZING. He was a general authority for several years and has so much experience. He was performing the sealings and afterwards, we had our own little lesson from him. We were sitting there with big eyes, listening intently to what he had to say about the sealing ordinance. I LOVE the opportunities that come in Nauvoo!!!!!

This week, we were serving in the Lyon Drug and a man came in that had a relative from the 1840's that was baptized in the Lyon Drug by Heber C. Kimball. It was so neat to hear him tell the story of his ancestor and see the sparkle in his eyes. It's always fun to see what will happen when we are serving in the historic sites. Sister Mills is a lot like one of the senior sisters we served with. The historic sites take a lot of endurance and those two sisters were going crazy sitting still for very long. So they were both jumping up and down, flapping their hands in the air like birds, and laughing about how funny they were. hahahaha The other senior sister there looked at me and we both started laughing. This time of the year was pretty slow last year, as well, so I have some goals set to make the most of the time we have. I'm reading the Book of Mormon in 85 days, reading the Doctrine and Covenants, reading "Our Heritage", and I am trying to teach Sister Mills everything I can. Endure it well!!!!

This week, we got bikes for the sisters and everyone was very, VERY excited. My companion was especially excited. The first morning we had them, we woke up and went for a long bike ride up a long, steep hill. haha I have to try and wear her out somehow! =) Then we rode to our site we were serving in that day and back home afterwards. It is so much fun to enjoy Nauvoo in a big, puffy pioneer dress on a bike. 

One of my favorite memories from this week is when we were serving in the Cultural Hall. There is a stage/theater on the first floor where some of the live performances take place in the evening. President Call came in during the morning time and we were standing on the stage. He is "George" in one of the skits they do. George has a crazy wife named Agatha and she's always bossing him around and telling him this and that. George works the system right and convinces the doctor that she's crazy, so the doctor takes her away. In that scene, Agatha is jumping and squealing and fighting to get away from the doctor. Anyways, so we are standing there on the stage, I smiled and started yelling, "GEORGE!!" and President Call hands me the duster that Agatha uses. I start jumping around yelling, "Oh! It's George!!! He's the crazy one!" We acted out that scene and I pretended to know all of Agatha's lines. It was SO MUCH FUN!!!! 

I love this gospel. I love being a missionary!!! We have the opportunity to learn and grow, to be taught by the Spirit, and to share the gospel with others. I am so grateful to know that Heavenly Father is perfect and that we can trust Him. 

Love,

Sister Heather Ripplinger

Sister Mills and I

Sister Zibetti and I