June 23, 2014 New City, New Calling

We don't have a new address for Devon yet but you can always email him at devon.ridd@myldsmail.net

We didn't really get a letter this week from Devon - but we got some pictures and a little note telling us that he was transferred to Madrid. He is serving on Temple Square as the Zone Leader. Hopefully next week we will get some more details!!

I love this guy! I was able to do his baptismal interview, be a witness for his baptism, confirm him and give him the priesthood. True happiness comes from serving others!

A lot of the members threw me a surprise going away party and it was awesome. I was sad to leave Guadalajara - I really love the people there. 

My new companion is Elder Alvarez from Chile! I am going to learn so much from him before he goes home next transfer. I am serving as the Zone Leader here. This is our apartment! You can see the temple right outside our window! 

June 16, 2014 Another Beautiful Sunset!

I hope you don't get tired of my sunset pictures! They are just so beautiful here in Gudalajara!

Thank you for all the pictures and the emails! I'm glad that dad had a good Father's day and that you guys were able to spend time together as a family! I love my family! Thank you for letting me know what is going on with everything! Courtney is letting me in on everything too so I am well informed! :) Tell Dad I say Happy Father's day and happy birthday to you too Mom! Your birthday is coming up soon! 

So, this week was interesting here! I was sick (do NOT worry mother, sickness is part of life!) and we had some hard challenges with our investigators. We are seeing that with the blessings also come the opposition and it lets us know that we are doing our job. So we find out transfers this Saturday! So it is possible that the next time I email you guys I will be in a new area! I think some big things are going to happen this transfer but we will just have to wait and see!

We are just starting to teach a Peruvian man here named Alan! I thought that was pretty interesting! Elder Peredo and I participated in a big soccer tournament in the stake to help our ward and it was awesome. I love soccer! And today a guy from our ward is going to take us to some tennis courts to play some tennis with him so that will be fun! Everything is going well here. We have had a lot of heart breaks here in Guadalajara lately but it is all part of the mission. I am learning so much out here! I love speaking Spanish and I feel like I can fully be myself now in Spanish which is really good. The church is true!

I have been reading the April conference talks and there is so much wisdom in them! I know that if we follow the prophet and the apostles we will receive guidance and we will be protected from Satan! Families can be together forever! I have adjusted my vision out here on the mission; our goal really isn't baptism, it is to have families get sealed in the temple. That is our real goal and what a blessing that is. We are so blessed in Mesa to have two temples so close by and to be able to do saving ordinances for our ancestors there. I love the temple!

Gracias por todo mama! Tu mereces lo mejor y estoy muy agradecido por tener una madre tan buena:) Manda saludos a toda la familia y que tengais una buena semana y un buen dia hoy! Os quiero!

Love, 

Elder Ridd

June 9, 2014 - Two Baptisms!

First of all I have to say thank you for all of the emails and letters! I love getting them! I have been chatting with Courtney a little bit this morning and that has been fun!

This week has been great! Both Julio and Avy were baptized this week! They are both so awesome and are going to help the ward out so much here! They have very strong testimonies and are great examples to everyone here. It is interesting because we found Avy and started teaching her, and Christian ( a member here) started helping us with the lessons and then they started dating... so we let him baptize her! It is cool the way all of that happened.

Julio is from Peru and is a machine! We found him two and a half weeks ago and he is already so so strong in the gospel. We had another member named Ricardo from Peru baptize him. It was such a great service and the spirit was really strong. Godspower was there with Faith! I love that man! I attached a picture of him and me. I probably won't ever be able to see him get baptized because we are waiting on lots of papers and stuff from Nigeria but just to know that one day in the future he will get baptized makes me so happy.

I have come to know so many great people here in Guadalajara. It is such a blessing. It is so different here in Spain. You are assigned to a small ward or branch where the church is still really new and you serve there for 5 or 6 months and you become such a big part of everything. The members call us for everything! We run around giving blessings and helping with the church activities and helping in ward council and helping with everything and it is so great! Here the families in the branch pray for us by name in church and tell us that we are heroes to their kids and it is just something so special. Members have given me so many coats and ties as gifts just because they love the missionaries so much!

I have truly come to know that as we serve our neighbors we find true happiness. I am so grateful for this opportunity to be out here on the mission and to serve these people. This is the Lord's work and I know without a doubt that the church is true. Thank you for everything that you all do for me! The support back home means a lot! I love you all!

Have a great week!

Love, Elder Ridd

Sunset in Guadalajara

At Julio and Avy's baptism

With my main man Godspower

The street right outside our apartment - they are setting up for a race or something

June 2, 2014 - Temple Pictures!

I don't have a lot of time to write this week! But we had such a great week! We are working really hard here in Guadalajara! This week we will have a few baptisms so get ready for some pictures next Monday

! Let me just tell you about an investigator named Julio - I don't think I have told you about him yet.
We found him two weeks ago and he is getting baptized this week! He is golden!! He loves everything about the gospel and on Sunday he said a prayer in church and prayed that God would give him a job so that he could pay tithing! He is just so awesome and I know that Heavenly Father let us find him because we are being obedient and working hard!

We were able to go to the temple on Wednesday and I loved it! I love going to the temple. The APs also came to another of my district meetings this week so that was pretty nerve-wracking but it went well! Everything is going well here! The ward is so excited about all of the missionary work that is going on and it feels so great to be here right now!

I know that the church is true. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet and that we have the priesthood again on the earth. I don't have lots of time to email but I love you all!! Thank you for everything Mom and Dad and everybody! I hope you all have a great week this week! Keep whipping those girls in shape!

Love, Elder Ridd

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!

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!