November 11th Letter...Back to Biking Basics!

Dear Mom,

This week was very taxing and one of the most incredible weeks at the same time. My companion & I have put on two Family Home Evenings in the past week & the kids absolutely love our activities! Last night, we came up with a Gospel version of "Chutes & Ladders"; called "Afflictions & Blessings"; we thought we were pretty creative and that we might have a future for producing missionary games for Deseret Book or something, kidding....That aside, we biked tirelessly this week, which was a miracle in itself! I have gotten back into the hang of biking on a 7 speed & absolutely love it! This week we have the silver Corolla, because our area is a car-share area now, not just a biking area. We switch off bikes & the car weekly.

     
There is so much to talk about! Where to start: The greatest thing about being on bikes is being able to talk to people right on the street while out proselyting. In fact, on Wednesday right as we set off out the door we biked down the hill, when a younger man signaled for us to come across the street to a purified water station. We rode across & talked to the man. He told us that he wanted to come back to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but he wasn't sure how to start. We told him that we would drop by & share a few things with him as well as show him where the church was. 

We also had some other experiences that the people were not so nice. As I was biking on Thursday in the afternoon on exchanges with the district leader, I was almost attacked by a big white dog and had quite the scare! However, there are people who watch out for the missionaries. A big black man came out of nowhere in his military uniform & distracted the dog long enough for me to get out the gate of our apartment complex. We were biking to get  to Wal-Mart to pick up some supplies for the F.H.E. when a sports car sped past & stopped and we got cussed out like you wouldn't believe, but I just smiled & waved. These experiences taught me to open my mouth & to truly explain who I was & why I am here in El Paso Texas right now!

Later on the night of exchanges..... we had biked a long distance to almost the corner of our area & then had to bike to a Missionary Council meeting at the Arias' home after giving a blessing to a woman. We biked with haste, and the Elder in front of me kept on going & never stopped. I received an impression in my mind to keep peddling no matter how tired or exhausted I was! My heart was comforted to know that the Lord had given me strength to bike after 5 years of not touching a bike. The last stretch & the final climb were the most horrendous slopes of this ride, because it was all up-hill on a pretty steep-grade road. I was on the lowest gear & still was sore & all of the blood had rushed to my legs, I was panting, but this Elder in front of me was peddling rapidly up this hill. I gave it a chance, and followed the prompting of the Holy Ghost that I had received. I peddled & peddled& peddled& peddled up this hill & eventually we got to a light where I could rest & finish off my water bottle. We then had to bike down a straight path, and up an even steeper hill to get to our destination! I was sweating waterfalls, and pushing with all of my might & I made it, but I had to fight to get up this hill and not fall.

I take away a great analogy from my experience. No matter, how hard we attempt to do something, we cannot rely on our own strength we have to trust that our Heavenly Father will lift us in our challenges, and that the Savior's Atonement will make-up if we do our part, all of our slip-ups! As I got into the house for the meeting it was about to come to a close. As I looked around, everyone was asking : "Elder Richards todo esta bien? "Les Contesto, yo, si porque yo tengo la fuerza del Senor para llevarme en mis difficultales y desafios." Had I stopped biking, I would not have been able to stay within sight and sound of my district leader. Often times, the leaders of the church challenge us to do things, which we may not want to do at first. The point being, we need to persevere & push with all of our might to reach the finish line, which is eternity. We will have trials, and traps, and temptations thrown in our way, but we can cry unto the Lord & find rest & peace. I love the scripture in Alma 34:41: I too know that with patience & humility in our hearts & with a willingness to do our part we will be blessed more abundantly than if we rely on our strength alone!!

I also learned this week that love is more important than anything else. If we love, we will be able to serve & receive the fruits of the Gospel & the Spirit in their plenitude. Joy, Meekness, Temperance, Patience, Humility, Charity, Love, Strength, Endurance, Power to bless the lives of others, Abilities to build up the Kingdom at a rapid rate, and many more. It isn't enough just to demonstrate an attribute without asking our Father in Heaven Himself for the strength to improve & to rise up to our potential in everything that we do. I challenge all to pray for love & charity to swell up in their hearts on a daily basis, and by so doing, I promise you that you will be happier & find success more abundantly in your lives. This is my humble prayer for all, and I say it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

I hope that you all have a great week! I love you Mom, and was touched by your sweet words on Sunday at the fireside. Thank you for your example & for being a "trooper" there are many who look up to your example! I hope that you feel the love of our Father in Heaven each and everyday as President Holmes promised! I still would like to hear your thoughts, and impressions on my setting-apart, especially Grandpa Grant's blessing. I remember Reggie Walbeck well, I did not know that he was serving in Roswell that is so cool! Tell his mom that I say hello to him. I am loving it here in El Paso. Especially, the other day as I was standing in Circle K getting a Coke I heard "Silver Bells", & then the song changed & I thought that it was a bit strange to be hearing "Winter Wonderland" in 75 degree, sunny weather, but I am wearing a sweater. I guess that is kind of Christmassy right? Haha, I will keep you updated about the weather & the adventures. I saw some Duck Dynasty toys in Walmart & laughed so hard. I will take some pictures. Thank you for the cute pictures of Ellie! Hayley has gotten big! Liv just chickened out like I did, when I decided to put Call of Duty before the Lord that one New Years....At least she was prepared. I am going to make her a promise: If she prays to have the ability to leave her comfort zone & reach out to someone or make a new friend each week she will be able to open up so much more. Just by talking to people as a missionary I have been able to improve my Spanish immensely, maybe I will speak some on Christmas to you who knows ;); by listening to these people & by watching their it may sound weird....lips. I can almost roll my rrs! Finally! I hope that all is well & that you continue to share the Gospel with those around you just by bearing your testimony & in the spirit of this season, serving just as Christ would! :) I will think of something that you can possibly help with. Have a great day & know that you are all in my prayers daily!

Much Love,

-Elder Sterling G. Richards

Six Months Out! November 4th Letter

Hello Mom and loved ones,

I appreciate being able to read your e-mails and although for a while sporadic; I am happy to hear that all is going well! Wow, it truly sounds like Utah is the same old Utah. It rained here last night, and then the brisk wind swept through El Paso for a couple hours....that was about it. A We got a call at about 7:30 this morning and the zone leaders told us that our area was being converted from the Jeep Compass to bikes! This will be a very new experience for me, because as we all know....the last time I was on a bike I was plummeting to the edge of a cliff on a camp out with Mike Norton almost 5 or 6 years ago down on the Slickrock trail in the red rocks of Moab!

I look forward to having this new experience. I always wondered what it would be like being a biking missionary like in the "Best Two Years." Perhaps something will happen as a result of being on a bike, definitely more interesting experiences I am sure. My companion and I talked to over 60 people this week, which was pretty entertaining and disheartening at the same time. We decided to do some tracting you know the good old knocking doors, getting them slammed in your face and then seeing someone on the street who needs help. I talked to a Russian woman and she was difficult to understand, but it might be a good service opportunity in the future.

I am happy to hear that Livi and Hayley are doing awesome, not just well it sounds like! You have to forgive me this letter might be a bit scattered....

Way to go Livi 4.0 and talking to more people. Looks like she is just being prepared to open her mouth and share the Gospel (I am hinting at something)....;) I could probably still translate a first graders work in French, beyond that I don't know because my Spanish has truly taken over!! I am happy to hear that Olivia is going to YW activities it will bless her in the future! I want to hear about how the talk goes I am sure she will be a stellar speaker, it runs in the family you know....I miss the dogs and everytime I see a Chihuahua it tries to attack me, so I miss calm dogs, although, they bark at home. I have just gotten out of the car to go to an appointment and teach and the dogs bark very obnoxiously and consistently and something always happens there, especially while relating the First Vision.

As far as what you are curious about: My ward is full of all different kinds of Spanish people, Americans who married into Latino families, and a bunch of bilinguals. Most of them speak English, however, we mostly communicate in Spanglish. There is Bishop Myers, Brother Cigarroa, and Brother Sandoval in the Bishopric. The Elders Quorum President served a Spanish speaking mission and married a Latina. The Relief Society President Hermana Maese is just awesome! In fact two weeks ago we were judges for the ward activity for the trunk or treat costume contest. Halloween was very interesting this year, because it was Thursday or weekly planning day, and although it was Halloween we still worked and had a lot of success through that. My sixth month mark or Friday was incredible because we had the opportunity to meet with Ruth who I have mentioned before. She accepted to be baptized on the 30th of November this month!! Our ward isn't all the way on board when it comes to missionary work, however, lots of the members feed us almost every night. In Las Cruces it was seldom to eat so consistently each week or month at a member's home.

We were sitting in Sacrament meeting yesterday and we heard something outside, which sounded like a hammer. We went outside during the sacrament to see what it was and sure enough it was a blue and silver woodpecker right by the window(side door) of the chapel. We stomped and it flew away. It was such a strange experience. Like I mentioned further up in this letter the area is becoming a bike area and it will be a new and interesting experience. I will miss the Jeep, however, we are going to enjoy the Jeep until Friday. Don't worry I have a bike that is in storage and I am excited for this. I think I may have to purchase a helmet, maybe. My companion is very driven and I hope that we stay together for more than a transfer! He is helping me speak Spanish a lot better, because we do our best to frequently speak it about 75 % of the time in our apartment. My companion and I we believe go home on the same day, which is crazy!  Just being with him I am getting a very mixed accent when I speak Spanish: something like a combination of Darth Vader, Russian, Peruvian, Argentinian, Mexican, Spain like, and German/ French some say.

I am happy to hear that the family is getting involved in Family History! My ward mission leader and his wife are really fascinated by my name. People struggle to pronounce. I might get a name tag that says Elder Ricardos, because it means the same thing, however, its a lot easier to pronounce. We were in the Family History Center preparing for a Family Home Evening that we kind of procrastinated preparing for until an hour beforehand....It went well! I will keep Gaye, and Kim in my prayers especially. That sounds yucky, and I hope Sherry is doing all right. Jeff teaching teenagers in Sunday school nice!! You will get a calling eventually.

I sure got the package and laughed at the "not foil dinners :)"; Thank you so much for everything I really do appreciate it. I am doing my best to budget and keep track. I am glad to hear that you got that extra job!  I hope that Jeff gets to be there on Christmas. I might get to Skype and I will look forward to that! I am so excited to see my niece! Prints would be nice!!!!

I am excited to work even harder this next week! We still live in our apartment as far as I know. I will let you know of any more changes, etc. I have felt the fruits of the Spirit abundantly this last week! I am happy to hear that you are being richly blessed, I would not rather be doing anything else or anywhere else than in this wonderful region for Kingdom builders! Obedience is first, I will continue to follow the rules and to consecrate my service and be even more dedicated! I love these people here and I love you all! I hope that you all have a great week and I will definitely report on how my first week on a bike goes here in the mission-field! Send hugs to the fam for me!

Mucho Amor!
-Elder Sterling G. Richards

October 28th Letter..Rough Week!

Dear Mom and all loved ones, 

I don't know where to start with this week, because it was very difficult and miraculous at the same time! The week started off just fine last Monday and about 3 am Tuesday I encountered a nasty case of food poisoning because I did not heed to the promptings of the Holy Ghost with enough care! I drank some water the night before....who knew how long it had been sitting out and I wanted something to drink and grabbed the first thing in my path... water! I felt a prompting to stop drinking the water and I wish I would've! Anyway, my stomach did not like that water very much and I fell very ill. I had never experienced an illness anything like this before, however I knew that Heavenly Father would help me through this but small moment and he did! Through much prayer and puking I got over it. This week was one of the best, because I truly learned the divine power of the Atonement and everything fell into place the way the Lord wanted it. This small lack to recognize the voice of warning from the Holy Ghost caused much pain and misery. 

I recovered after three days and then my companion fell ill so you could say that our companionship was sick the entire week. As I told my Mission President this week: The work still goes on even when we are in a state where what we feel like is the absolute bottom! I have come out of this illness stronger than ever. As I was attempting to recover from this trial I prayed for guidance to know what to do, because even though I couldn't go out and teach I could prepare myself to do so when I got better. I thought of what it truly means to be a builder of the Kingdom of God and I went to the index to see if I could find any scriptures to make sense of a definition. I came to the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants  64:33: "Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great." I felt nothing but the Savior's love and the same our Heavenly Father's grand love for all of us His children. He takes the weak and makes them strong builders; for Jesus the Christ is the Master Builder of all. I really love President Monson's address- "The Bridge Builder" from the October 2003 conference and I would encourage you to read it and liken it unto your own lives this week! It is powerful, especially where he relates obedience to a foundation. The work goes on and continues to hasten, because there are many souls who need to be brought unto this Gospel of happiness and joy and love! I am so happy that I have been blessed with this capacity to serve in this tremendous area at this time and I know that it is by divine revelation that I was sent here! The people here are incredible: In fact Mom....Yesterday at dinner with the Arias Family we got talking about our genealogy and it somehow came up and I was wondering if we are related to Constantine through your side of the family or are part- Turkish, because Constantinople originates from Constantine. Also, do you know if we are actually Native Americans, because that would be cool as well to know. 

When my companion and I were both feeling better we went out and worked and it was the greatest feeling! I followed the promptings to go visit a less-active family and sure enough they were there and it was truly incredible to understand the importance of obedience and that we are all instruments in some shape or form in the Lord's work as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I am excited to work even harder this week and to see what will happen!! I would like to end with my testimony that if we are dedicated and consistently building more and more on the "rock of our Redeemer", we cannot be consumed by adversity or the tempter and his snare. Obedience is key; no matter what time of our lives we are in!

 I cannot believe that on Friday I will have been out six months! I am so excited to continue to serve and I want to hear an update! I pray for all of the family each and every day and I pray that Liv will prepare to be a missionary, because she would be an incredible one! I love you all and I hope that you have a wonderful week.

Much love,

Elder Sterling Grant Richards

October 21st Letter: A New Area...in Texas:)

Dear Mom,

This week was quite incredible in many different ways. The first of which as I already mentioned is that the work is truly hastening enough to open more areas and split others 2 or sometimes 4 ways if the work is progressing enough. My companion was re-assigned from the Honduras Tegucigalpa mission and sent here. He is a native and is teaching me a lot about Spanish and I am starting to speak at a machine-gun pace well....I am getting there! My companion reminds me a lot of Kevin Knox from BYU-Idaho, and his family originates from Peru and Spain; Lima and Barcelona. 

I am loving this area so far because there are so many wonderful people here and I have heard some interesting stories. One of these stories is about Hermano Felix Valenzuela Ochoa who built the first Taco Bell in El Paso and is known as "Mr. V." He served in Peru on his mission and he also served in Vietnam I think around the same time as Mark, I am not positive though. He reminds me of Grandpa Grant a little bit and enjoys doing magic tricks for people. My area is over the mountains and is a very scenic place to be. To get to our area we had to drive from the Redd Stake Center over the top of the mountain and then back down again by Hondo Pass. Since you like to hear how I arrived here: I rode in the Jeep Compass from the Venus Chapel to the Redd Chapel and then drove the Jeep Compass with Elder Hidalgo to the Trans-Mountains above and beyond the city.

Over the other side of the mountains is red rock much like St. George. This area is beautiful and we are hopefully going to get some pictures on the ridge where you are able to see the entire valley; I'll send those soon. I will also send you a picture of my companion. The houses here are mostly large, almost mansion like ones. In my area this week we found a new investigator named Ruth. It was a de-ja vu experience for me, because the house was so familiar and the scene was as well. I know that she has been prepared. We are also working with the Si Fuentes family, especially Ricardo the son, and the Dominguez-Soto family. I know they can all change! There is a lot of part-member work in this area and we are seeing miracles just by going out and working with the members. We have so many amazing families who have just been called as ward-missionaries and I know that we are going to have a lot of success this week. Things will only get better here in Trans-Mountain North!

Yesterday my companion and I taught a 5 minute segment of Primary on how to share the Gospel with your friends in an easy manner. I took away several things from this experience. Think of M&M's or Members combining with Missionaries to help others enjoy the "sweetness" which the Gospel message brings. Not everyone likes chocolate until they taste a specific kind of candy (like M&M's). This is much like member-missionary work in this manner. We as missionaries need the members to talk to their friends or their relatives to bring them into the Gospel. I don't know if you know this, but Hannah sees missionaries all over the place and she has been attending mutual. Our family can be member missionaries even if you don't wear the badge; take Elder Ballard's challenge to heart and invite someone; just one before Christmas to an activity or share your testimony, sing a song with them, have a prayer with them. It is just as easy as little kids before they play together having a quick prayer before and maybe singing a hymn. You can relate the Gospel to anything, and I promise that if you exercise your faith and work to build up the Kingdom of Father in Heaven you will be richly blessed and He will guide you by the Spirit. That is how I have been learning Spanish by the promptings of the Holy Spirit and diligent study. 

Lastly, Elder Smaellie is an awesome missionary to be around and he has really good Spanish for how long he has been out. It is heart warming to have a missionary from the Union 4th ward so close! I hope that you all have a great week and continue to pray fervently and read the scriptures with a question in mind! I know that these are the Latter-Days and we cannot procrastinate sharing the Gospel!! The Lord will bless us if we serve others in faith and righteousness. Apply the Gospel to your daily lives, this is but an invitation to you.... 

Again, I hope that you have a wonderful week.

-Love,

Elder Sterling G. Richards

Your son

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Transfer Update, October 16th

Real quick,

I understand completely what being in-charge is like. I just opened a brand new area in El Paso in the Franklin Mtns. called Trans-Mountain North! Sorry I have not had the time to let you know where I was sent.... but a little bit about whats going on. My companion is a native from Palm Beach, Florida and he was serving in Honduras Tegucigalpa before getting re-assigned here. We drive a brand new 2014 Jeep Compass and everything is amazing. We have been abundantly blessed, and live in a senior couples apartment with tons of space, which missionaries definitely need! I will get you my exact address by Monday. Things have been crazy here! Elder Smaillee serves in the southern part of the ward, what a tender mercy that has been to serve alongside him the past couple of days. I am learning a lot, until Monday, have a great rest of the week/ weekend! 
Love always,

Your son 

Elder Sterling Richards

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Goodbye Miranda North, Oct 15th Letter

Dear Mom and loved ones,

This weekend I received my transfer call and won't know where I am going until tomorrow. If I get the chance tomorrow I will let you know from my new area! I could go up north or further south to Texas; either would be cool! My companion is staying here in Miranda North and training a new missionary. Who knows maybe he will get Elder Smailee as his companion.... It is suit season so we have been wearing our sweaters with the new dress and grooming modifications. It is still hotter than the blazes here!

Not much to report from this week other than the fact that we no longer with the zone leaders and more sisters are coming into Las Cruces. Our district is pretty much relief society already haha! Anyway, everyone living with the zone leaders got sick except for me. I will send some pictures, and yesterday I got called on in sacrament meeting to say the closing prayer as well as give my testimony. My Spanish is improving immensely- I never would have thought I could hold a conversation as well as talk in two languages at once. I cannot translate very well right now, but I am getting there. The Lord has blessed me so much so that I can share the Gospel with this beautiful culture!

Remember the scripture in Philippians 2:17 and rejoice in gladness often!

-Love Elder Sterling G. Richards

October is Here! Oct 8th Letter

Mom and loved ones!

This week was spiritually enriching and very edifying throughout many of my experiences. I also came to truly know that there is power from applying the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are going to move in with the zone leaders for the rest of the transfer and a lot of events jumped out of nowhere! The Lord's hand is truly in all things. I know that for certain. As I listened to General Conference as a missionary out in the field of labor, I felt a special spirit that I had never felt before. I was touched in some way personally by each and every talk of the 183rd Semi-Annual General Conference. I particularly liked how over and over again the cleansing power of the Atonement was re-iterated and how the Lord does give us strength always, if we rely on Him. "Being meek and lowly in heart" is very important and demonstrates our Love for the Savior. I really loved how these inspired prophets, seers, and revelators focused on the basics. Missionary work is no different. We teach people to prepare them to make covenants and to become converted unto the Lord Jesus Christ.

It was a bit disheartening to not have been able to attend the Priesthood session of this Conference, because it is more important to seek out souls to bring unto "God's kingdom." I was touched by Elder Christofferson's talk on "womanhood, moral authority, and respect for women." This applies directly to our family, because of Maddie, Olivia, and Hayley. I had the opportunity to give several priesthood blessings to the Sisters in our district as well as my companion. There is incredible power in the Priesthood even the power of Jesus Christ to act in the name of God. I tenderly anticipated and prepared to receive revelation for my conference experience this year and what a blessing it was. I too loved Elder Bednar's talk on tithing, as well as President Uchtdorf's. As missionaries we have the wonderful opportunity to serve others and talk to as many people to bring them unto our Father in
Heaven. With this comes a need for boldness and faith! "Doubting the doubts" is a huge factor in this.

I talked to Olivia a little last week and expressed some thoughts and feelings and I know that she was touched during General Conference. I am happy to hear that she has such great leaders. I cannot thank my leaders enough for helping me to become the man and missionary I am today! Mom, tell all of my leaders this and that I love them! I am grateful to have such wonderful sisters and to you Mom for your wonderful example! I feel that the Lord has known what he wants me to accomplish here in my mission since the beginning and as I apply that which I know and rely on Him in all things I am seeing the miracles, not just the blessings. There are countless blessings here that I have seen. I hope that you all see the power of prayer and the miracle of forgiveness in your lives. As I have come to diligently seek for understanding, ponder, prepare, and help others to my best ability, I have come to know of the Savior's divine strength in my life and our Heavenly Father's divine will in my life.

I had the opportunity to help many people this week through acts of service. Whether it was lifting objects and furniture, or painting walls and struggling to keep rollers in-tact, I know that these simple, sometimes strenuous acts of service are part of "charity never faileth!" If we serve out of love, we will feel the love of the Lord even more immensely in our lives, and know that our Heavenly Father's Plan of Happiness is a blessing and a way of eternal blessings, rewards, and happiness unlike any that we have ever received in our lives! 

As I was serving in the House of the Lord yesterday, I was overwhelmed with joy, emotion, love, and a heart full of humility and devotion. The blessing of the temple and temple ordinances, even saving ordinances, is indescribable for me. I cannot express how much happiness I could feel in the temple and of the power and strength and might of our Father in Heaven. It truly cannot be measured! I could talk about many things, but I think that will do for now. I cannot believe October is here. It flies, and I love every moment of it. It is hard at times and I know that the Lord will not entrust us with anything that we cannot achieve or reach to our capacity or our potential that is God-given. Gifts are God-given and they should be used daily to bless the lives of our Heavenly Father's children, even our spiritual Brothers and Sisters! 

A quick story about acting on impressions of the Holy Ghost immediately: This past week my companion told me you are going to be a leader and a senior companion and a trainer very soon. What are we going to do at 2 in the afternoon tomorrow? I sat there for a minute and he calmly said; ponder and pray that is the only way! I did just that and the next morning I woke up and a thought popped in my head directly from Heaven and we actually found someone else who knew the person I had thought of. Had we not been there, the ladies would have struggled to carry the furniture and bins up huge flights of stairs. They were interested in hearing the message of the Restored Gospel and we set a return appointment with them! Always act on the mysterious thoughts that come suddenly, because they can be of the utmost importance!

I love you all and I hope that you continue to deepen your conversion and enhance your study about and to the Savior and his teachings and our Father in Heaven's eternal plan, which is the same for all of us. "To bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man!" 

I sincerely hope and pray that you all have a tremendous week! There is always hope with faith.

- Love Elder Sterling Grant Richards

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