Tuesday, May 27, 2014

May 26, 2014 The Rain in Spain...

The missionaries in Guadalajara

So, this week the Real Madrid won the Champions League. Nobody wanted to talk to us in the streets that night and we couldn't sleep because of all of the parties and explosions! 

But you had a crazy week too! I am so proud and happy for Morgan! I miss that girl! I got her graduation announcement in the mail! She is so beautiful and I was very very happy to get the invitation! And I am very happy that Courtney is in your care and that she is on her way to getting better. She did email me all of the details - I know it is hard for her but it is what it is. She needs to be home so that she can get better, and she needs to understand that and be happy! And I miss Mu Shu.

So the weather here has been crazy. It was starting to get really hot two weeks ago and then this week it has been raining and hailing on us... ha ha these Catholics and their rain dances... ha ha. We also had zone conference this week! The APs and President and Hermana Jackson spoke to our zone. I love it. I learned so much. We have great great leaders in our mission. They stressed the importance of love and hard work. Two things very important in missionary work. We also ate Dominos pizza afterwards!

So our investigator, Godspower, and his girlfriend Faith and his sister Blessings (With Faith and a little bit of Godspower we see Blessings) :) fed us this week some crazy African food. They plopped on my plate a full fish and bull's heart and some rice and some insanely spicy sauce all over it! It was pretty awesome! Elder Peredo cannot handle spicy food at all so he was dying - plus we were speaking English because they don't speak Spanish. I was laughing pretty hard. Poor Elder Peredo I love that guy! It was a good experience for both of us!

We are seeing so many blessings here in Guadalajara because of our obedience and because of our work ethic. It's amazing. We have 7 (!) baptismal dates coming up soon so we are so excited for that! I can feel myself becoming more consecrated to the work and I know that is why Heavenly Father is helping us out so much. I am learning so much out here on my mission. What a blessing it is! Can you believe 10 months have already gone by? Ha Ha talk about what it is, what it was, and what it will be. (that QFL quote is for Dallas who will be home this week!)

Thank you as always for all of the letters and emails! I love you - have a great week!

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

May 19, 2014 - Blessings

Well, I am very happy that you guys had such a busy, fun, happy week. I love my family! Well, dang, I honestly don't feel like writing very much! I'm pretty much in shock that Courtney has to go home. I feel so bad for her. I know it is going to be very hard on her. Holy Crap...

Well, thank you so much for sending me all of the pictures this week! I loved every single one of them and I showed them to everyone here in the computer lab! Ha ha I love you Mom. This last week here was great! Elder Peredo and I are working hard and we are seeing the blessings. You and dad have taught me so much about faith and about how to be a good servant of the Lord. So thank you for that.

I am so glad that everything is going well back home. There are people here in Spain praying for you guys did you know that? I was very touched the other day as we visited with a family in our ward. As we finished, the mom said the closing prayer and she prayed very long and sincerely specifically asking Heavenly Father to bless you and dad and my sisters. She said please bless them and all of Elder Ridd's family for what he is doing out here in the mission. I was so touched and I often think that I really don't deserve all of the blessings that I have. Heavenly Father has been so kind to me. I have so many worldly blessings of friends and family and loved ones and this mission does not even begin to pay back for that stuff.. and yet Heavenly Father gives me and you guys additional blessings for this service. It is special to think about. I love Heavenly Father and I love you guys. Have a great week!

May 12, 2014 - the One After Mother's Day!

I love you Mom! I'm glad you had such a good Mother's Day! Don't worry, I am happy and healthy and eating right and saying my prayers and brushing my teeth and making good choices and making my bed and doing all of those things that you want me to do! So don't even ever worry about me! I loved being able to talk to you guys! I love my family so much! I thought of a million things I wanted to say after we were done - the time just went by so fast! I forgot to tell Nicole Happy Birthday!! tell her I say happy birthday and that I will send her a letter this week! Also, tell Morgan that she didn't email me like she said she would...

So, we had a baptism this last week like I told you when we skyped. I am sending a picture. It was such a great experience. It is so great to be able to see people change their lives and get closer to God. Elder Peredo and I are staying together for another transfer so we are looking forward to some more baptisms together during this transfer!

I don't have a lot of time. Choose the right! I love you! Have a great week! Thank you for always sending me such great emails - I am very very grateful for that! Tell dad I say hi! and Mu Shu! And everybody else I know too. Tell Dad that I was serious about him telling the ward that I say hi and that I love them!



May 5, 2014 - More on Godspower

You can write Devon at:
Elder Devon Ridd
c/Cuesta de Davalo n.2a, 6i
Guadalajara 19001
Spain

And you can always email him at:
devon.ridd@myldsmail.net

Mom!

You are so funny with your Spanish! :) I can't wait to talk to you guys next week! It is going to be great!

So, Godspower (his real given name) is awesome! He came to church on Sunday and sat next to me, and I was translating in to English for him and he leaned over to me and said, "hey! I want to get baptized in this church" !!!!!!! So, I played it cool and just said, "alright, that's great. We'll teach you some lessons and you can get baptized in a few weeks. Ha ha, I am very grateful for him and to Heavenly Father for letting us find him.

Ricardo is also doing great. Technically he is supposed to get baptized this Saturday, but I don't think he is going to be able to. He is still as prepared as ever but we found out that he lives with a girl, so we are going to have to figure out that situation. We have faith thought that everything will go well. We know he will get baptized, we just don't know exactly when. But yes, it is such a blessing to be able to see the Lord's hand in this work and to see miracles.

Tell Uncle Jale that he will be in my thoughts and prayers. He and Auntie Shelley are so great! It sounds like Nicole had a good time at her birthday party! I didn't recognize hardly anybody in the picture from the party (there were boys?) but I'm sure they all had fun. Tell her I say happy birthday.

I am glad to hear that Courtney is getting treatment and doing a little better. I will pray with all of you guys now for a quick recovery.

So, I got your package this week! I love the flag! It is beautiful! Seriously, it is so professional and clean looking and great. So thank you for that and for the socks and the candies. I loved it all. Now you don't have to send me another package until Christmas. Seriously.

I got a letter from Grandma Ridd! She is so nice and great. Tell her that I say thank you very very much and that I loved it. Also I got a letter from Sister Erekson - will you tell her thank you as well please?

We have had a great week here in Guadalajara! We had a zone meeting and the zone leaders asked me the night before if I could start the meeting with a talk. So, I was a little bit nervous for lack of preparation but it went really well and the zone meeting was very inspired. i was able to talk to president Jackson a few times this week. He is so great. He also came to Guadalajara to visit our branch and that Sunday we just happened to have six investigators with us so that was awesome. Things are going pretty well here. We find out transfers this Saturday! I am excited to figure out what happens. I don't know anything yet but I have a hunch that Elder Peredo is leaving and that I am going to stay here in Guadalajara... but we will see! We are going to have a crazy week this week. Talking to you guys on Sunday, Saturday we have 2 baptisms and two members of the Seventy are going to visit our zone as well! Tuesday I am going to do exchanges with the Zone Leaders and we have lots of stuff planned so it's going to be fun.

I am so excited to talk to you guys! It is going to be awesome! Thank you for everything that you do for me! I love you so much! I pray for you guys and I am very grateful for all of the prayers that you guys offer on my behalf. The church is true! Talk to you soon! Have a great week!

Love,
Elder Ridd