He's In Guadlajara!.... Spain! Not Mexico

Two Pdays ago Devon emailed us to tell us that he has a new address and that was it! We were so excited to get some details in this week's letter! You can always email him at 

devon.ridd@myldsmail.net

His new address is:

Cuesta de Davalos n.2a

6i Guadalajara 19002

Espana

Ok Mom! 

So... I like Guadalajara! We had a pretty successful week this last week. We are opening the area for the first time so we are literally starting from nothing. We don't have pamphlets or an area book or anything. We had to get a new piso (apartment) with no food or toilet paper or desks or anything. (love his priority order there!) So we have spent this last week filling it up with stuff we need. I am with Elder Peredo who was born in Bolivia but has lived in Barcelona his whole life. He speaks a little English but it is nice having to speak in Spanish all day. 

We are in a Branch here and there are about 60 active members so that's not bad! We got to know all of the members on Sunday and it was nice. There are also two sister missionaries that came here too. They are great. I am the only American out of all of us! Everyone else is native so that is pretty cool. 

I really like the area. It kind of reminds me of Utah sometimes because of the type of trees and the apartments and the cold, but it is not nearly as big. It is really a nice change from Las Palmas though because Las Palmas was all about the city life and parties and crazy people. Here, the streets are big and there are fields and dirt bike stores and it's a lot more quiet. We are also only an hour train ride from Madrid so last Wednesday  we were able to go to the temple! I love the temple!

Today is my 7 month mark! I'm almost 1/3 of the way through my mission - that is so crazy! Oh, there is a kid in my zone now who is from Utah. He is Samoan and his last name Schwenke! So I talked to him on Wednesday and he said that Oliver is his dad's cousin or something so that is pretty cool! Everybody here in Spain thinks I look like Justin Timberlake so that's pretty nice. It reminds me of Auntie Fina!

Everything is going so well here! I want to send you some pictures but I can't today because I don't have my camera cord with me. I will send pictures next week I promise. To answer some of your questions: I didn't get to see Danny's friend get baptized. I left about 4 people in Las Palmas who are going to get baptized here real soon. The cool thing is that Brad Beuden went right in and took my place there in Las Palmas - he has my companion, my piso and my investigators - that is how the mission goes! 

I'm excited for Guadalajara though. I know there are people here who are prepared and we just have to find them! Right now we are just doing lots and lots and lots of street contacting. It's super exciting. I'm so glad that everything is going so well at home. Enjoy all of the celebration with the Gilbert Temple! Tell the Coles and all of the to'ona'i families that I send my love, as well as the Fosters! I haven't had time to write everyone but they are in my heart! Thanks for all of the support from everybody. I love you all!

Love, 

Elder Ridd

February 10, 2014

Hi Mommy!

Thank you so much for the email - I love you! I am sending lots of pictures for you this week! I love soaking in everything that you write to me - you are the best. That stinks that Dad and Nicole both got sick! Hopefully you and Morgan don't get it!

It is really cool that Marquiis comes over. He is awesome. He always emails me and he is definitely going to get baptized in the future! (Marquiis - are you reading this? It is going to happen - even Devon thinks so!)

So, this week we had interviews with President Jackson! He flew down to the islands to interview us so that was pretty cool! He is awesome! I am pretty positive that I am leaving. He didn't say anything but it kind of felt like it was just implied that I am leaving so we will see!

Thank you for always sharing your spiritual messages with me mom. You want to hear something awesome? I got us some sweet hook ups with the head pro at the golf course down in Maspalomas. Maspalomas is super nice and is where all of the tourists go when they come to the Islands. So, he said that we could go down there anytime and play for free. So today Elder Buhler, Elder Nielson and I are going to go hit some balls there! The pro is going to let me use his clubs and I'm pretty excited to go wail some drives - pictures to come!

I am still waiting on my residency card here because I had to get another one (I guess because of the lost wallet issue) so that could play a role in transfers and I might be stuck here for a little bit longer - we all just have to wait and see! 

I love you mom! I am so happy that you are happy with your new job and it is working out for you! You and dad are so great and such good examples to me. I am always praying for you guys. I'm so glad that Courtney is doing so well too. Thank you for always sending me pictures too - it's one of my favorite things about P Day!

The church is true! Obedience brings blessings! Have a great week!

Love, 

Your Hijo Unigenito

February 3, 2014

I am sorry that I haven't been very good about sharing Devon's letters. He doesn't write a lot. He writes every week but they don't always have a lot of information. Just that he is doing great, he loves it, not to worry - he doesn't need anything etc... However, this week when I sent him a copy of Courtney's first letter he apologized for not putting much effort in to his emails and said he is going to do better. Sometimes the positive pressure of having a twin is great! Here is this week's letter!

Hi Mom!

Thank you for that great email. I think it is awesome that you have had the opportunity to work at the temple open house. What a blessing that must me!

Courtney sounds like she is doing great at the MTC. I have been praying for her a lot and I am just so happy that she is loving it there. Her email that she sent was pretty sweet. Thank you for always letting me know what is going on! I soaked it all in and it is all in my brain! I am glad that everything is going so well at home. It is super weird that you took the leaf out of the table! Holy smokes you guys are living a different life now with only two kids at home!

This week in the mail, I got a wallet from the Johnsies (his wallet was stolen or lost on a bus a while back - we don't know the details as per usual!) It was a hard day of work and we were coming back to our flat at almost 10:00 at night and then I saw a little package sticking out of the mailbox and it was a new wallet that the Johnsies sent me for my birthday. It made me so happy. It was so simple but I just felt so grateful for them and how awesome they are.

This transfer has been hard! (they went from four Elders in their apartment/area to just two) The people are so stubborn here. Our patience is always being tried. We were able to schedule three baptismal dates this week though! So, hopefully right at the end of this transfer we will get a baptism. We don't have as many lessons as Elder Doane in the Philippines - goodness gracious! But we are happy with the success that we het here. The transfer is in two weeks and I'm pretty sure I will be leaving the islands. I have been in this same area on the same island for five months now so I am pretty positive I will be going back to the peninsula soon. So, if you want to send me anything, send it to the mission home address and I will let you know what my new address is when I get it.

We had such a great week! One of our best investigators who is hopefully getting baptized in two weeks isj a friend of Danny, our recent convert. Danny invited him to church a few weeks ago and he is now ready to get baptized! Recent converts always have such a great spirit with them and the excitement of being a new member so we are super grateful for Danny and his example to all of the other members. We also brought an inactive family back to church on Sunday. They hadn't been to church in 25 years! The Bishop was very impressed haha! He gave us the challenge at the beginning of the transfer kind of as a joke because they are pretty stubborn to say the least. But Heavenly Father helped us to bring them to church. I see so many little miracles while I am out here serving the Lord - I love being able to see Heavenly Father's hand helping us and helping the people of Las Palmas almost every day! The church is true!

Thank you for all of the prayers that you offer that help me to be the best missionary that can be out here!

Love,
Elder Ridd


p.s. This is what I call a "fatty burger" - its a burger between two grilled cheese sandwiches. (no wonder he tells us he is gaining weight!)

December 2nd, 2013

Just a reminder that you can email Devon at devon.ridd@myldsmail.net or you can send him things at 

Elder Devon Ridd

c/Eusebio Navarro 1,4A

35003 Las Palmas

Gran Canaria

Espana

Well Mom, I'm happy to hear about your new job. That job is the answer to a lot of prayers! Heavenly Father really knows each one of us and it is amazing to me that even though he has so many kids and so many things to do, he still pays attention to the little things in our lives because he wants each one of us to be happy! Congratulations Mom and let me know all about your first week!

Elder Nielson made it! He is awesome! I will send some pictures next week and tell you a little bit more about him. I gave him Elder Day's bed though and I continue to sleep on the ground :) Ha ha Mom, it is really not that big of a deal - I like to sleep on the floor. Goodness, I should never have said anything!

Everything here is going so great! Miracles all of the time! God is still a God of miracles just like it says in the Book of Mormon. I don't have much time but thank you for all of the emails and the support and the prayers! I love you all!

Elder Devon Ridd

Everything is going great! Miracles all the time. God is still a God of a miracles just like it says in the Book of Mormon :) I dont have much time but thank you for the email and the support and the prayers! 

November 25, 2013 - He Has A New Companion!

Hi Mom!

Thank you and thank everyone else for the emails. It is so great to hear the news from home!

Yes, I got a new companion! Elder Day is back in the peninsula and my new companion is Elder Nielson. I don't know him yet though... He is waiting for his residency card in the peninsula so he might have to wait another week or so before he gets here. So, right now I am in a trio with Elder McFarland and Elder Larsen from our apartment and it is good fun. Elder Nielson is only one transfer ahead of me so when he gets here we are going to be a pretty new set of Elders! I am really excited but I know there will probably be some difficult times. Thank you dad for sharing what you have learned from the scriptures. I will be sure to thank
Heavenly Father for my challenges.

So, today our P-day is only going to last until 4:00 because on Thursday we are going to spend a little extra time feasting on Thanksgiving dinner with the senior couple serving here. So, I am really excited for that but I will be thinking about all of you. I hope you guys have a great Thanksgiving back home. :)

Everything going on about the new Gilbert Temple sounds exciting! That is going to be an amazing experience! Keep me up on what is going on with that! Send me a picture of the Madrid Temple that Ryan drew for Dad! I love that kid!

Let me share with you a little bit about what happened this week! We had Danny's baptism! He is a stud! I honestly don't know if I will ever have another miracle like him again on my mission. I could write novels about him. Here is the short story, we found him on a Saturday night and less than three weeks later he was baptized! One of the biggest tender mercies of the Lord ever and I am just so glad that he found the Church and we were doing what we were supposed to be doing too so that the Lord could put him in our path. He is going to be such a strong member of the church her in Las Palmas.

I am doing my best and being obedient! I love you all!

Love, Elder Ridd

November 18, 2013

I am so behind on posting these letters. I sometimes feel like I want to keep them to myself for a day or two and then a whole week goes by and it is time for a new one! This week (December 9) we didn't really get a letter because he is out doing a fun activity on his p-day so I am taking the opportunity to get caught up! As always, you can email Devon at devon.ridd@myldsmail.net and here is his physical mailing address:

Elder Devon Ridd

c/Eusebio Navarro 1,4A

35003 Las Palmas

Gran Canaria

Espana

Hi Mom!

Sorry for jumping over the missionaries. Don't worry though, I did it with ease ;) if you saw the pictures from last week then you know I had to chastise him for that jumping picture! He loves to jump over things but has been hurt in the past... 

We are having Zone Conference right now and it is awesome because the whole zone came here to Las Palmas and we are just chilling. I am using Sister Buhler's (couple serving on the island) laptop and she says hi mom! I took some really awesome pictures this morning that were way sweet so I will send those next p-day. 

We were supposed to have two baptisms this week but both of the people got sick. 

Well, I love you all. Transfers on on Monday and we find out this Saturday what is going on so that is super exciting. I can't for two years when I get home and I won't be able to speak English. That is going to be awesome. The church is true!

Love,

Elder Ridd

More Pictures!!

Yesterday's email came much later in the day then we are used to. I was a little worried. When he finally emailed he said that they had gone on a big hike in the morning and were emailing in the afternoon and that he would send pictures. But all of the pictures were of his recent baptism. Then today I found these pictures in my junk mail folder. I don't know why they went there! But they look like they are from his hike! I see that some things never change - he is still JUMPING!! I wish he wouldn't send me those pictures...