LMP's!!!

Hello Everyone!

 So, this week was pretty good. We had 13 lessons this week with three lessons with a member present (LMP's), both of which are RECORDS for this area (since I've been here). Our goal is to keep improving. Transfers are next week, but I refuse to be transferred (I'd better not say that too loud, since every time I say something like that the Lord seems to know better than me...) because I love it here, and there's so much work to be done. 

Shonna is WONDERFUL!! We invited her to be baptized, and she said she'd think about it. She's reading the Book of Mormon-- no, STUDYING the Book of Mormon. We went to have a lesson with her yesterday, and instead answered questions for over an hour. I'm so glad we had a member there with us, because a lot of her questions were about hell (we taught her the Plan of Salvation last, which lacks a specific place called "hell", so when Nephi brought it up it confused her) and Sister Coffelt was able to help us a lot. Shonna loves us so much, it's crazy. She's older and sicker, and not very sociable, so we're some of her only interaction. Apparently, whenever she does go out, she talks about us a lot. She told us that one woman said she'd never listen to missionaries, and Shonna outrightly defended us! She's a really neat lady. We're hoping to take her to Kirtland this week, which would be AWESOME leading up to General Conference. I'm so excited to use that as a tool for missionary work! We actually taught Shonna three times this week: We read 2 Nephi 2 with her, then taught the Plan of Salvation, and then answered questions yesterday. She usually says, "OK, that makes sense," and asks a lot of questions. If only we all studied as well as she does.

 

Saturday was a CRAZY day. We helped the other sisters man a booth and the Norwalk Autumn Leaves festival. Members loaned us a table and chairs and a canopy and other stuff to make a really nice looking booth with posters about Christ and lots of materials to hand out, as well as cookies and dum-dums. Between us four sisters and the members who came to help, over the whole day, we placed 32 Book of Mormons. That's pretty cool. It was really good. It was funny to see the difference between the people who were really interested, those that wouldn't be lured in even with cookies, and those that knew the cookies were a ruse but didn't really care. :) We also had our first Bible study class that night. Only our ward mission leader's family and one of the sister's less-active members showed up, but it was fun. Sister Hawkins and I taught it on coming to know Christ, the difference between knowing about Him and knowing Him, and led into our weekly topic of Christlike attributes. It was cool. We didn't prepare nearly enough material to last 45 minutes, but we made it work; no one knew. :)

 

Today we spent a lot of time with Shawn, and awesome lady from the ward. She always calls us the "Stinky Sisters," but she calls everyone "stinky." She cut our hair today, and I cut probably five or six inches off, at least. It's right above my shoulders now (pictures attached). It was really fun. But, now we're running late and Sister Hawkins and I are ending our P-day early to go to a lesson. This is a weekly thing now, though, since it's the only day she can meet. She's practically a dry Mormon; her grandma just wont' let her get baptized, but we're meeting with her anyway to kinda revamp her conversion. It's all good.

 

I love being a missionary. Keep sending the letters and emails; I love hearing how you all are doing! I love you lots and lots; have a wonderful week!

 

Love,

Sister Richards

Picture 001 is me role-playing the Restoration to our "investigators"- Sister Hawkins' lopsided lion, my Hump-day camel, and my bendy missionary.

Picture 002 is after we all went out and played in the rain in front of our house one night. It was POURING, and we all had to change before we went to bed. It was really fun, though!

.Picture 003: My new hair! (You can see the difference in color really badly in the picture... Silly perm last summer changed it. It's almost gone, though.) The library is in the background.

Picture 004: Sister Hawkins and I helping Sister Tobey patch her giant bubble! I am inside. :) They have a bouncy house, and use that fan to blow up the bubble. Sometimes they put ball-pit balls in there and the kids play in it. They have the COOLEST toys. And, they're an awesome missionary family.

10 Lessons!

Hello Everyone!

We had 10 lessons this week! I know that's not a lot, but it is for our area! And, we set a realistic goal for 20 this week, so here we go!! The only problem is, we had an investigator drop us yesterday... that makes one gained and two dropped in two weeks, with another probably dropping this week. :( But, we're going to find 100 this week! Or, maybe 3, since that would be a miracle for us. :)

This week Elder Shayne M. Bowen of the Seventy came to talk to us! He met with the Youngstown, Akron, and Kirtland zones, and then with the Cleveland and Toledo Zones (me). (I guess some of you may be hearing from Elder Barnes about this same conference... It will have a different spin because it was the other session. :P) He talked about how knowing who we are influences how we act and think and work, etc. We talked about how we are of the House of Israel, and how we have a duty to gather Israel and help fulfill the Abrahamic Covenant. He also talked about the Priesthood, which I feel like I still don't understand fully. I just need a man to sit down with me and tell me EVERYTHING about the Priesthood, because I never feel like it's explained sufficiently for me. Anyway. :) He also spoke about exact obedience (surprise, surprise) and how Works+Faith+Obedience=Miracles. One of our mission "Standards of Excellence" is to goal for 10 baptisms over the course of your mission. I haven't had one yet... and I've been losing faith a little. His talk pumped me up, and I'm working on gaining the faith to get all 10! Even if I don't, if I gain the faith to, that's an achievement in and of itself. I loved his talk (it was more like a discussion, really) and it made me excited to be a missionary!

We saw our miracle investigator, Shonna, this week. We've called a few times offering to serve her, and she finally took us up on it; and boy, did she use us! We rearranged her living room, dusted, vacuumed, and listened to her talk. She doesn't get people visiting very often, I think, because she seemed to appreciate that more than anything. She can only use a quarter of her lungs, so the other stuff was very helpful, too. We taught her about the Book of Mormon, and after she'd promised to read it and born her testimony of how God answers prayers in His own way and timing (WOW!) she asked, "Will you stop visiting me if I decide not to be a Mormon?" We assured her that we would still come see her, but we're pretty confident she's going to be a Mormon. It's called faith. :) She then gave us some clothes she doesn't wear any more to try on, and then asked us what we do for the holidays, and if she can feed us for Thanksgiving. I think I've found a lifelong/ eternal friend. She is the sweetest lady with the strongest faith in Christ, and she loves us so much already. We're her "young'ns," and we're very OK with that, because we love her, too. :)

One last thing: Yesterday, we went to Bellevue with no lessons planned, and came home having taught a less-active, a member, and a part-member family. When you prayerfully set goals, the Lord helps you reach them!!

I love you all! The church is true!

Picture 001: Sister Hawkins and Sister Warden by our cart when the four of us missionaries went to Goodwill last P-Day. Most of that is Sister Warden's. :)

Picture 002: This is Sister Hawkins and I painting Sister Tobey's basement. She took the pic on her  phone and sent it to my email, so it's not great quality, but it works.

Picture 003Almost an entire MTC sister reunion at Elder Bowen's conference. Sister Caldwell, my old companion, was there but left before we took this. This is Sister Nielson and Sister Planer.

Pic 004: A BEAUTIFUL red sunset in Milan. The picture doesn't do it justice.-- 

Picture 005: a closeup of the sunset

***Sister McKayla Richards***

"For with God, nothing shall be impossible." (Luke 1:37)

9/9/13

Hello everyone!
(For those of you who don't know or haven't caught it, I'm quoting my character from "The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940" at the beginning of every letter. It fits, though. :) )

This week was pretty good! We taught 4 lessons to investigators/ potential investigators, which is more than we have since I've been in Sandusky! I told you about the two coolest ones last Tuesday (Shonna and Joshua). We haven't been able to meet with them again, but when Shonna left a message last night to cancel, she said she was calling for the "two sweet girls who talked to her last week" and she really wants to reschedule when she's feeling better. I'm thinking good things are still to come. :)

We've had some interesting tracting experiences this week. We tract WAY TOO MUCH in this area, but until we have other ideas, that's what we're going to do! Anyway, we talked to the SWEETEST girls who were practicing their baton-twirling in the front yard, then a nice woman who was walking with her grandkids, and then we met "The Pagan." Seriously, though, that's what he called himself. We knocked on his door, and he leaned around the doorframe awkwardly, like he wasn't wearing clothes or something. When we introduced ourselves, he started LAUGHING. Like, belly-laughing. As in, leaned on the table next to him and laughed for thirty seconds before explaining. Then he said, "You came to the wrong house. I'm not even a Christian; I'm a pagan!" And he shut the door laughing. We laughed when we walked away-- how could we not? The guy was crazy! I hope he departs from his "pagan ways" someday and finds the gospel. :) We also met a 92-year-old Pentecostal who said that as long as you believe in Christ you're good... until he found out we were Mormon. He was warning us to stay away from the Mormons and believe in Jesus. He also told us to join a good church with the Holy Ghost and the gift of tongues and such. Umm... He was cute, though. Sister Hawkins got kinda upset when he cut off her testimony (not to him, but she told me after). It just goes to show how hard Satan is trying to fight the work.

We also met another potential investigator (we're really bad at making them actual investigators, but we're working on it!) who actually knows Shawn, a member of our ward who own a barber shop. When he learned we were Mormons and we knew Shawn, he asked if she had sent us. :P He's really funny, though, and somehow the Spirit touched him and he said he'd read the Book of Mormon. He's met missionaries before, and talked to them before, and has one if not two copies of the BoM, but something in our situation made him promise to read it. I hope he really does. His name is Larry, he's retired, and so fun, and he needs to be baptized. :D

One last story: We had ward coordination on Saturday evening, and during it our ward missionaries (Shawn and the mission leader's wife, Sister Reel) got talking about "Brother Toft." When they learned that none of us sisters had been to meet "Brother Toft", they decided they were going to kidnap us. So, they skipped most of the ward indexing party, "kidnapped" us, and with Sister Coffelt (who had come to the indexing party but we kidnapped her as well) took us to meet "Brother Toft"... a.k.a, Toft's Ice Cream. It was a big shop, with good ice cream. Anyway, that wasn't the good part. There we were, four sister missionaries and three ladies from the ward, filling every seat in the Reel's rather messy van, talking and laughing for the rather long drive (longer than I had expected; probably 20 minutes) to Brother Toft. We were laughing so hard I could hardly talk! Then, less than a block away from Toft's, the road was closed. Instead of taking a detour, Sister Reel turned down a side street, pulled into a parking lot, then, with Shawn's encouragement and the rest of us dying of laughter, she drove over the grass into a neighboring parking lot, to the road on the other side of the construction, and onto Tofts! Of course, we took the same route back to the church as well. :D It was so fun, and a real stress reliever just to be with members, eating ice cream and laughing more than I have in a long time. It was wonderful. :)

Sorry the letter's so long today. I love you all! Have a wonderful week!



--
***Sister McKayla Richards***
"For with God, nothing shall be impossible." (Luke 1:37)

5 Months In!

Hello everyone!

Yesterday being Labor Day, the Library was closed, so we get to email during our lunch today! I have SO MUCH to tell, so I'd better type like the wind! (If you don't have time to read the whole thing, read the paragraph after the next. It includes a miracle. :D )

I'll start with yesterday. We went to the Melon Festival in Milan. Sister Frankenberry and I went there on Saturday for exchanges, but it wasn't a good contacting location. (Yes, her last name is Frankenberry. :D ) Sister Hawkins and I were IN the Melon Festival Parade on Sunday and gave out more than 500 pass-along cards. There were thousands of people there, that tiny town was PACKED, but we could only get the ones on the side of the road. It's the first time I've had so many people ask for a card, and only one gave it back to me. :) How many missionaries get to contact IN a parade? It was pretty cool. Then, yesterday, we went to the festival for P-Day. Our whole district ended up going, and it was way fun. We couldn't ride any rides or watch the shows, but we ate carnival food and talked and looked at craft booths. We had watermelon and cantaloupe ice cream, and it was really good. The festival is known for it. Anyway, it was the first excursion I've done on a P-Day since I came to Sandusky.

That night, we ended P-day at 4:30 rather than 6:00 because we were doing FHE with two families, the first starting at 5:00. It's a single mom and her two kids, and it was so fun. We played "Boula Boula", which is kind of like "hot and cold". After that we went to the Browns, a less-active family, for tacos and FHE. They have 7 kids, and all but the oldest are boys. It was CRAZY, but they are a good family. After that, we had time to do stop-bys and tracting. We stopped by a man we met last Monday (I'll tell his story later), and when he wasn't home I got kind of discouraged. I had made a deal with the Lord that morning, asking Him to bless us with an other lesson and a new investigator today because we were giving up part of our P-day. Not trying to be disrespectful, but asking for blessings for diligence kind of thing. Anyway, I was sure that stop by would be the one, but it wasn't. We were running out of daylight, and we prayed to ask who we should stop by to have that lesson and find that investigator. We felt nothing, and so we decided to go home and make phone calls, and maybe we'd set up an appointment for tomorrow instead of having a lesson tonight. On the way we passed a former's house, and their light was on. We decided to stop. The former had moved, but we set up an appointment with the new person living there. We weren't sure how interested he really was, but we counted it as a blessing and went to go home. But, Sister Hawkins decided to knock on his neighbor's door because their lights were on, too. So, we did... and we met Shonna. She let is in, we taught her about the Restoration, and we're seeing her again on Thursday. An other lesson, and a new investigator. THE LORD ANSWERS PRAYERS!!! We saw a miracle last night, and we didn't stop smiling until we were sleeping. We were late getting home, (we ended at 9:30 and still had to drive 20 minutes home) but I'm SO GLAD we met her. She told us we made her night- what she doesn't realize is she really made ours.

Also, while on exchanges with Sister Frankenberry, we taught Joshua, the first person I ever tracted into who let us teach him on the doorstep. We sat on his porch and taught him the Restoration. I'm not sure how much really sunk in because his attention span is a little short (he's 19) but we're going to text him on Friday and hopefully see him on Saturday, and then he would be a new investigator, too! Maybe we'll actually reach our goal of 3 new investigators this week!! Joshua has a lot of guilt that may keep him from being baptized right away, but he said he would if he felt it was right. He just needs to access the Atonement; he just needs to keep meeting with us to do it!! And he needs to read the Book of Mormon. I think that's what we'll teach him next! :)

S

peaking of the Book of Mormon, last Monday we met Mike (the unsuccessful stop by from yesterday). He was our third to last house, and when we knocked on the door he was on the phone inside. He hung up, though, and came outside to talk to us. He's a firefighter, works crazy hours, and has seen lots of hard things. He's Catholic, and talked about finding peace in going to church. I felt prompted to give him a Book of Mormon right there (which I've never done while tracting) and promise him that he would feel peace when reading it (like it says in the Introduction). We explained the book a little and testified of it, and he committed to read it ("rack reading", he called it, during his 36 to 48 hour shifts at the fire station). We keep stopping by him hoping he'll be home... Whatever happens, a seed was planted.

I know the Lord directs this work. It can be really frustrating to work hard day after day and see almost nothing come from it, but then we have weeks like this where the work wasn't any easier, but we saw results, or budding results at least. I love this work! I've learned that sisters really only get 17 months in the field, so I actually go home in a little over a year is all. :( I'm going to have to make the most of it!!

I love you all! Good luck! Keep the faith!

-- 

***Sister McKayla Richards***

"For with God, nothing shall be impossible." (Luke 1:37)

Time for Transfer #4

Hello everyone!

This week was crazy in our temporary triple-up and doubly-big area. But, we managed, and my area got a new investigator! Her name's Tina, and she is looking for a church for her family. We came over for our second lesson (the Restoration- which, by the way, is the first time I've taught it from beginning to end with an investigator) and she sat down and said, "OK, teach me something." Her dad has Alzheimer's and interrupts and goes completely off-subject, but we do OK. We're taking her on a church tour this week, and I'm hoping to teach her a lesson there WITHOUT her dad. He's also a little creepy, but that's just because of the Alzheimer's. She accepted the invitation to be baptized, and when we see her tomorrow night we're going to ask if September 21st is a good date. I hope she says yes! Unless I'm mistaken, that's the day Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith, right?

We finally got something from drawing a Plan of Salvation! We got a text from an unknown number that said, "Spirit world?" So we texted back a definition, and he asked if family members can come back from the dead. We responded with the resurrection and eternal families. Then he asked where the church is. Say what?! I don't know if he'll actually come, but it'd be cool!

I got a hug on the doorstep (from a man!) for the first time. We knocked on his door, and come to find out he's from St. Mary's, Idaho! He wasn't interested, really, but after we talked to him he came out and gave us hugs before we left. It was a little awkward, but funny, and we're sure the Lord understands. :)

I get a new companion tomorrow, but I'm staying in Sandusky South, and I'm glad. I wonder how long I'll stay here, since I was only in Lakewood West for two transfers. We'll see! I hope she's a nice sister. I know of one who's companion is training, and if she's my companion I'll be a happy sister, because she's a sweetheart. :)

We drove to Cleveland FOUR TIMES last week! We had to drop Sister Bennett off on Monday, we had Zone Conference on Tuesday (which was awesome!), I had a diabetes appointment at the Cleveland Clinic on Wednesday (which is one of the top five hospitals in the nation, unbeknownst to me when I set the appointment, so lucky me!), and then we were surprised with an additional trip on Friday because Sister Turpin had to go to trainers meeting, and there's no one else training west of Cleveland, so we all had to go. CRAZY! And we're going to Kirtland tomorrow for transfers. Miles= shot. Luckily, we have another car that's been sitting there for a week, so that one will go under miles and will all balance out.

Question: Do any of you other missionaries have a TIWI? If so, how do you like him? I'll explain what TIWI is next week; I'm running out of time.

I know the Lord is in this work. I love being a missionary! And I love you all. :) Have a great week!

-- 

***Sister McKayla Richards***

"For with God, nothing shall be impossible." (Luke 1:37)

Never have a normal transfer...

Hello Everyone!

Sister Bennett went home this morning... We found out on Friday that she would be leaving, though we had some forewarning that it might happen. Still, it's really sad. I'm going to miss her. I'm in a temporary triple-up with the other sisters who share my ward, Sister Planer and Sister Turpin. Will I never have a normal transfer? I guess this makes it more fun. :) I've discovered that, including these two temporary companions, and my half-companion Sister Morris last transfer, I've had six companions in three transfers. What?! Either I'm a pain and they have to keep pawning me off on other people, or I'm so wonderful that have to share me with everyone. I like to think the latter. ;) So, I know for sure I'm getting a new comp next week (transfers again already! I know, right?!). This week I'll be working in "Sandusky Southeast," which combines our two areas. It'll be fun!

Our only real "progressing investigator", Jenni, isn't progressing anymore... Actually, our next lesson is going to be a "dropping" lesson. :( It's so sad to see someone choose not to take the steps toward the gospel! Still, she knows it's true, so she will be baptized someday. She got baptized at a slightly anti-Mormon church a few weeks ago and told us about it this week.. Uh-oh... I love her, though, and I'm praying that she chooses to come someday. I guess some people need more time than others.

I remembered another thing that's different about people in Ohio: Everyone tells you their life story. EVERYONE. You can get an entire life story on the porch before they tell you they're not interested! And members love to tell you them, too. It's really funny, though sometimes it makes for really long teaching appointments that you can't cut short! It makes me laugh how insanely open some people are. Maybe it's something about being a missionary, and people trust us instantly. (That is, if they aren't scared of us, which some people are.) That's a good thing, I guess. There can be no conversion without trust. :)

We have Zone Conference tomorrow. I'm in a new zone, but I'm going back to the chapel from my old area for the conference (it's the stake center, and I'm still in the Cleveland stake). It should be fun, and I get to see old friends from the Cleveland Zone! Yay! Time goes way too fast on the mission... we have zone conferences quarterly, and that means I've been here over a quarter... Actually, nearly 4 1/2 months... Oh boy...

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

  

Love,
Sister Richards

Pictures! 

Missionary Pictures 004: Me in front of our house!

Missionary Picrtures 006: Part of an AWESOME Plan of Salvation we drew in a park with chalk. It includes our phone number, mormon.org, written out verses from the BOM, references for bible scriptures, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and a basic Plan of Salvation all in colorful sidewalk chalk. :D

-- 

Good Week, Bad Numbers

Hello Everyone!

Every week in the mission field is a good week, but not every week is very productive. My companion's been getting worse and worse, and this week we only taught one lesson, and it was to a member. We had zero's down the board, and it was very sad to report that last night. We've talked to other people, but she's been to sick to have enough proselyting time to really teach more lessons. But, like my mission president told me this week, it's better to focus on what we CAN do when she's sick, rather than what we CAN'T.

So, I really don't have much to report as far as stories go. But, Sister Bennett and I were philosophizing this week, and I thought I'd share it with you, because it's a really good thought: We were discussing the pre-existance, and the thought came up of what did we do in the pre-existance that made it so we came to THIS world, during THIS dispensation, born in the covenant with strong families, among the Saints (she's from Utah) and having the opportunities we do. Not thinking we were amazing or better than a lot of people, because I know there are righteous, valiant souls were are not born in our circumstances, but we have a lot of blessings. When you look at the number of people who actually have the opportunities we do, it's humbling. Anyway, food for thought. I'm so thankful I was born in this time to this family in the knowledge of the gospel with the chance to go on a mission.

I've come up with a list of 3 things that are common in Ohio, but not in Idaho (just as something interesting; I've been developing it for a while): 

   1- Almost everyone smokes. Pretty much. It's kinda gross.

   2- Almost everyone has indoor pets. Not just some people, not just people with their own houses, everyone.

   3- Men of all ages go shirtless in all sorts of situations. We've talked to shirtless men while tracting, and especially the old, hairy, chubbier ones love to go shirtless while doing yard work.

Anyway, totally random, but there you have it. Fellow missionaries, what are three things about YOUR mission that are unique and/or weird?

I love you all! Have a wonderful week!!

And now, for the report from Sandusky South

Hello everyone!

This week was... weird. We would go out for half days, or whole days, or quarter days, or none days, depending on how Sister Bennett's been feeling. It's a trial, not being able to just go out and WORK, but we're getting through it. The Lord is helping us see miracles with the time we do use well.

One of them is that we got TWO new investigators out of our ONE nonmember lesson this week. WOW!! They are two sisters, Kay and Tianni, and they have kids that we get to meet tonight. One has two kids and the other has three. Our challenge (according to them) is to keep the kids interested in the Restoration, and then they'll want to learn more and  come to church. Challenge accepted. :) We're bringing a wonderful member, and we're begging for the Lord's help, because we want them to keep investigating!

Another miracle was how many non-tracting finding ideas we've had this week. Sister Bennett does NOT have energy to tract, and sometimes even stop-by's are too much. So, we've been doing things like organizing a bible study class (which we want to finalize this week and start next week), went to City Hall in Bellevue and asked about volunteer opportunities, and we now have a booth in an Open-Air Market this week. There's no set-up fee, and they said we can give away literature!! We help them set up, so they like us more. ;)

We've also tried this cool new idea that Elder Cuestas told us about that he did in East Cleveland: We've been drawing the Plan of Salvation in parks with sidewalk chalk, and putting our number and mormon.org next to it, and on our last one we wrote, "Where did I come from?", "What is my purpose in life?" and "Where do I go after this life?" near their respective places in the plan. The miracle with this one was: It was raining, then it stopped, and as soon as we started drawing the clouds visibly started moving and by the time we were drawing the Spirit World the sky was blue. :D The Lord can calm seas (New Testament), stir up storms (Zion's Camp), and stop rain!! :D It started raining again later, but that must mean that whoever needed to see our Plan of Salvation saw it, and so he cleaned the sidewalk so we can draw it again this week. :)

I'm being kicked off by the library. :P I love you all! have a fantastic week!

Love, 

Sister McKayla Richards

Sandusky South

Hello Everyone!

 

This week has been CRAZY! Sister Bennett has been sick for a lot of it, but it's really sporadic. We'll go out for a whole day, then the next day we go to appointments, but go home because she can't tract, then we'll stay in a whole day. She has a doctor appointment on Wednesday, so hopefully we can figure things out.

 

So, something I forgot to tell you last week... Two days before I was transferred here, a HUGE tornado hit Bellevue. Like, touched the ground. I'm attaching pictures. Seeing the destruction is terrifying! No one was killed, though, which is a blessing. We've helped a member clean out some of the junk that was soaked in her basement, and helped a less-active family completely tear up their carpet. Bellevue was without power for days, and there are trees EVERYWHERE, because Ohio loves trees. Again, I'll send pictures. :)

 

Also, on my first night here we were tracting, and some guy a couple houses down from us saw us. I heard him ask his buddy, "Are they Amish?" Then he yelled to us, "Hey, are you Amish?" I answered enthusiastically, "No, we're Mormon!" He replied, "Oh, that's cool." Undeterred, I asked, "Do you want to learn more?" He said, "No," but the exchange made me smile. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ." :D

 

Last Monday evening we stopped by a less-active to give him an invitation to a YSA activity. There was a sign on the front door that said, "Use the side door", so we went around the side. Sister Bennett rang the doorbell, and I looked around the side of the house and saw a giant German Shepherd wandering the backyard, and the fence didn't look closed. All of a sudden, I felt this rush of complete and utter terror. I felt like something really, really bad was going to happen if we stayed there. I thought it was the dog, but later events proved me wrong. Anyway, I told Sister Bennett not to knock but that we just needed to leave, and we needed to leave now. So I nearly ran to the front of the house, and my companion follwed. Once we were on the sidewalk the dog started barking, and a woman came around from the back of the house. So, from the sidewalk, we said hello, and she started on us hard: I told you bishop," said with vehement hatred, "that I would have you arrested if you ever came on my property again." Thank heavens we weren't on her property, but on the sidewalk. We explained that we were just dropping of an invitation for her son, and she said that he was at college. Turns out she's been excommunicated and is still kind of bitter. It was probably the scariest exchange I've had my entire mission. I'm so glad I was warned to get away from her door, even if the Spririt had to speak to me through feelings of fear. A warning is a warning, and it kept us safe.

 

We went tracting near a river over the last two days, and my legs are COVERED in mosquito bites. We bought bug spray and smelled like camping when we tracted the second day. I have at least thirty bites... They like me more than they like Sister Bennett. Ugh. I'm glad that street's done. :P At least that's not a terrible thing to happen while tracting. I've heard of worse. :)

 

I love this area. It's going to take a lot of work to get it moving, but I love it so, so much. I love you all! Have a wonderful week!

 

Love,

Sister Kayla Richards

 

Explaination of pictures:

 

Pic 1 is all of us sisters who lived together. We took this the day before Sister Morris was sent to Bowling Green.

 

Pic 2 is our district (minus Elder Graf, who had just been transferred, plus Elder Richins, the temporary replacement, and minus Elder LaBar who took the picture for me) when we were playing football on the beach during a huge storm. So fun! We got back to the car and found quite a few "flood warning" texts on our phones. :P

-- 

First Week in Sandusky South

Hello Everyone!

 

I have been transferred to... Sandusky South! It's still in the same stake as my last area, but in the neighboring zone (Cleveland West zone). My companion is Sister Bennett, and we've both been out for three months. We live with two other sisters, Sister Planer (who was in my MTC district!) and Sister Turpin. They are serving in Sandusky East, and Sister Planer is finishing Sister Turpin's training. Also, the two elders in our district (and ward) are Elder Nielson and Elder Cuestas (from Guatemala), and they entered the MTC a month before me, but have only been in the field for as long as me. So, basically, the Sandusky ward has six missionaries, all of whom have been in the fields for three months or less. Yikes. But, I'm sure we'll do great things. There is SO MUCH work to be done here. Sis. Bennett and I cover three towns: Bellevue, Monroeville and Milan (pronounced bell-VIEW and MI-lin), and we have hardly any members or less actives, one progressing investigator, a few more investigators, and NONE of them live in Monroeville. Granted, it's a tiny town, but we are running out of streets to tract, because that's close to all she and Sister Planer did last transfer. This area needs a miracle, and we're going to try to be strictly obedient and work our hardest so it happens. (Even though being "letter of the law" may kill me...) I haven't tracted so much consecutively my entire mission, and the weather just barely decided to stop raining and get hot and humid. Perfect. But, once we're out there, I catch the "tracting bug" and it doesn't seem so bad. We had a "front porch lesson" wtih an AWESOME potential investigator yesterday, and we hope to see him again.

 

For transfers, they have everyone who is being transferred come to Kirtland. We meet in a stake center right next to the historic sites. The trainers meet their trainees in the Primary room, and the rest of us meet in the chapel. During the meeting, they have the new missionaries introduce themselves, their trainer, and their area; then the departing missionaries say where they've served and where home is; then the zone leaders stand up and list off all the areas in their zone and the companionship in each area. You have to listen and hear where you're serving and who you're companion is. Then you either meet up with your companion and you go together to your area, or (like in my case) you hitch a ride with missionaries in a nearby area and your companion meets you with the missionaries she's been spending the day with. It's kinda complicated... Our mission now has 240ish missionaries. CRAZY! We already have 22 more scheduled to come in August. We'll be above capacity... We'll see how that works. :P

 

Well, there's not really a ton to write about this week... Oh! My address is 246 W. Main St, Apt D, Norwalk, OH, 44857. We live a little ways out of our area, which is very spread out. I finally am out of suburbia and into small towns among farm fields! I was beginning to feel claustrophobic. :P Also, Cedar Point amusement park is within our ward boundaries. *evil grin*... Don't worry, I won't go. I want a miracle, remember? ;)

 

I love you all. Have a wonderful week!!

Last Week in Lakewood West

Hello everyone!

 

Yep, the "subject" line is correct: I'm being transferred! I have no idea where I'm going, and I've only been here for three months! But, since Sister Dahle is training, they have to boot me out to make room for the new sister. ;) I'm excited, but I'm sad to go. I've met wonderful people here who I love very much. It's true: Transfers are a very bitter-sweet experience. This one is unusual because we were called Monday night, but transfers aren't till Friday. So I have lots of days to see people. That's nice, but it'll be hard to be focused, especially when I weekly plan for an area that won't be mine next week...

 

We went to a BBQ with our favorite single members (and nonmembers :D) for the 4th. It was so fun! We still had normal curfew, though, and we couldn't see any fireworks from our window. :P Oh well, the holiday was still fun. :)

 

We didn't see ANY of our progressing investigators this week. Grr... Hayley and Sienna supposedly have a baptism date for two weeks from now, but unless Mom is on board it won't happen. It seems like this happens every time... Eventually they will get baptized. They want it and the Lord wants it and their grandma wants it, so that team can't be beat. ;)

 

The lady that was originally a "Do Not Contact", Kathy, is now one of our regular lessons! She woudn't commit to reading the Book of Mormon when we saw her a couple weeks ago, but when we saw her the other day she'd been reading!!!!!! I'm so excited; there is such an incredible change in her. I'm sad I won't be able to see it through. I wish I could stay and see a lot of these people reach their potential, but I've seen them change and begin on that path, so that's OK.

 

I'm sitting here in the library... and I really want to give a mormon.org card to the volunteer who's memorized my name to give me my guest pass every week (we come here a lot :P). I don't know if we're allowed to give them away in here... I'll let you know if anything happens. :P

 

I love you all. Have a fantastic week!!

 

Love,

Sister McKayla Richards

 

 

7/1/13

Hello Everyone!

 

This week was more eventful in the investigator department. Most weeks we end up focusing mainly on less-actives, but this week we had five lessons with investigators or other nonmembers, plus we actually got referrals! We met Bob, the crazy guy on the phone from last week. He's... interesting. Sister Oliver and I saw him while on exchanges. When the Spirit started getting strong he got fidgity, then grabbed a random 5-pound weight and started doing bicep curls! What?! I've never seen so many people uncomfortable when feeling the Spirit as they do here. I just want to tell them, "Stop! Sit down. Feel. It's a good feeling, trust me. But, don't move!!" But, as a missionary, we have to be a bit more reserved than that. We're hoping to see him again today. I'm not sure he's really interested, though. Still, who am I to judge?

 

We had a lesson with Hayley this week. She didn't go to girl's camp, and hasn't been to primary in two months or so. I think there are some hard things going on with her (she's the eleven-year-old, Sienna's sister, and their mom is always out of town and they are living with her boyfriend, etc) and so she's struggling a bit. She still says she wants to be baptized on the 20th, but I wouldn't be too surprised if she backs out at the last second. Sienna, however, LOVED girls' camp, even though it rained the entire week and her tent was flooded. She is rock solid, and I hope her testimony can help her sister.

 

We also taught the Seljan family this week. Denine is reading the BoM ON HER OWN!! She is GOLDEN, but her husband is stubborn and completely not interested. He must know it's true deep down inside, because he comes up with all sorts of reasons NOT to read the Book of Mormon. Silly reasons, ones that should convince him not to read the Bible, either. Oh well. We'll keep working on him. The only problem is, Denine may not be baptized without him. But, if she does get baptized, her kids will, too. Her eight year old (who is CRAZY, but super cute and a mini Mozart on the piano) wants to be a missionary. :) They've always lived by Mormons, whenever they move, and they are friends with the best member missionaries in our ward. We have a lot of hope for that family. Actually, Denine counts as a progressing investigator now! So, we're up to THREE!! (Our area is a little slow... can you tell? :P) I love it here, though. Transfers are next Friday (so, in a week and a few days) and Sister Dahle and I are both anxiously waiting to see who gets transferred... I hope I get to train, though. It would be so fun, and you know how much I love to teach. Plus, I want to love on a scared new missionary and make them feel like they can do anything and help them learn that they can continually improve. Sis Dahle thinks I'm weird for wanting to train, but I do! Does that surprise any of you? ;)

 

Have a wonderful week! I love you all! We are all part of the same amazing redemptive work. Press forward, Saints! :D

 

Sister Richards

Kayla's letter 6/24/13

Pictures:

 

Pic 1: Last P-Day we played Lightning with all five of us sisters and these two elders. The brought a HUGE watermelon, and we all had pieces about this big (maybe a little smaller) and we ate like savages. On the left is Elder Graf (our district leader) and on the right is Elder Moreland (my district leader from the MTC).

 

Pic 2: Moosehead Saloon. (I really didn't feel awkward being there, I promise.) Next to me is Hermana Morris, who is waiting for her visa to Argentina.

 

Pic 3: Hermana Morris and me again. We pulled these CRAZY bushes out, and so decided to show them off. The roots were deep and GIGANTIC!!! Some of them were a couple inches in diameter. But we did it with our awesomeness, super strength, a pick axe, clippers, and shovels. :)

 Hello Everyone!

  

(Sorry this letter's so long today. You missionaries can just scan it and pick out what you think is interesting. :P )

 

This week was much better than last week. Not that we had anything extraordinary happen in proselyting, but I relied more on the Lord and focused on how I've improved, rather than how I'm lacking. Everyone falls short. Everyone's inadequate. No one is perfect. But, God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies that called. "For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; ...But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:" (1 Corinthians 1:26-27, 30). I put that scripture on my mirror so I remember that. I did that about a month ago, actually, but I actually remembered to apply it this week.

 

We met a crazy guy this week. Actually, not really "met", but anyway... He is a former investigator named Bob. We liked the look of his teaching record and stopped by his mansion on the lake. He wasn't home, but his wife gave us his number and told us to call him rather than stop by again. So, we called him. He had sisters teaching him six or seven years ago, but as far as we know hasn't had any contact since. Well, we called him, and he is FUNNY! He talks really loudly, and doesn't want to set up an appointment, but if we call when he's free we can come over. He asked, "Who gave you my number? My wife? The Filipino lady? She wants me to convert!" Then he asked me, "Where are you from, Utah?" and seemed very interested in my name. We think he isn't hearing the "s", so thinks my name is "Sister Richard", which I think he finds weird. We'll just have to meet him and clarify. :P So, we got off the phone with him, then he called two minutes later to tell us about John, who was just diagnosed with cancer, and was ready to convert a few years ago but lost contact and didn't. "I think he's ready to convert now. You should call him." And Bob gave us his number! It says on his teaching record that he likes to give referrals, and we are seeing that as true already. Hopefully something will come of it, and he'll be converted himself, as well. :)

 

We said good-bye to Brett, the less-active who's become fully reactivated, this week. He and his wife are moving to Utah. So, I'll just have to go visit them when I get home! They took us out to lunch at the Moosehead Saloon (picture attached :P) probably because it's called a "saloon" and they were helping us rebel a little. :P It was fun! I love them both so much. It's amazing how quickly you learn to love the people, but what's even more amazing is how quickly they come to love you.

 

I love this work. Time is so weird out here, and it goes so incredibly fast while completely dragging on... But I love it. I love it! I love you all and I hope you have a fantastic week!

 

Sister Richards

 

You're Weekly Update from Cleveland, Ohio!!

Actually, it really is an update from Cleveland, not just the Cleveland mission. My area consists of three of Cleveland's suburbs, so we're the closest a sister will ever come to serving in downtown Cleveland... Exciting! It's very safe, though, so no worries. Elder Graf and Elder Moreland, however, have a sketchy area. What's funny is that we share a ward! So, when we go visit people in their area (which we do on occasion) we try to stay during the daytime. One of the ladies in their area, who we stopped by and set up an appointment with once, is now suspected of illegal drugs, so we cancelled our appointment and NO missionaries are to go see her. Usually, though, we go to Lakewood just to see the single sisters FHE group. We go over almost every Monday. We shouldn't, but we love them so much! Plus, there have been nonmembers coming lately, so it's been good.

 

We met with Hayley and Sienna this week for the first time since their mom left. Their grandma is adament that their mom won't add any more stipulations to their getting baptized. We hope she sticks to that determination, because if she decides to make them do something else, we as missionaries can't do anything about it. We're back to meeting with the girls every Tuesday and Thursday, and they have a new baptism date for July 20th! We're PRAYING that goes through. The only bad thing is that it is the week after transfers, so Sister Dahle is praying she doesn't get transferred (she's been working with them for six weeks longer than I have) and I hope I don't get transferred either. Maybe we can come back to see the baptism if we beg hard enough. ;)

 

We haven't found any new investigators yet, but we did meet a less-active's son's nonmember girlfriend yesterday, and she was very interested in our religion. I gave her a BoM and gave a two-minute Restoration. She didn't commit to meet again, but the less-active said that she could meet with us in their house. If that really were to happen, imagine the blessings for all parties involved! You'd have a less-active (practically inactive) member, her wayward son, and his nonmember girlfriend all coming closer to Christ. It seems to good to be true, so I'm hoping it is. If not, it was great practice for the Restoration anyway. :P

 

I love you all. All you missionaries, have a fantastic week doing the Lord's work! I'm blessed to be part of a huge support group of missionaries all around the world doing the Lord's work. To all of you at home, have a fantastic summer and have fun! I love you all! Thanks for the letters, prayers and support.

 

Love,

Sister McKayla Richards

Week one of transfer two

Hello Everyone!

 

This week was CRAZY!! We had transfers on Wednesday, which meant we had to say good-bye to Sister Bell (my companion) and Sister Frampton (one of the other sisters who live with us). But, we got Sister Oliver in the other companionship (still a triple-up) and Sister Dahle and I are enjoying working in a duo. You wouldn't believe how much easier it is to teach with just the two of us. We already have more companionship unity in teaching than we ever have felt. Maybe trios are easier when all three of you are thrown in at the same time, but we have learned that adding a third person to an original duo is hard. But, I'm so glad I was able to serve in the trio last transfer, and I'm excited to serve with Sister Dahle now! She is so fun, and together we're focusing on finding someone this transfer. That means more tracting and contacting and lots of praying. This last transfer has been very focused on reactivation efforts, but now that most of them are progressing, we want to expand our focus and find new investigators! :P

 

At transfers I ran into an old friend... Elder Barnes! He's a Zone Leader now (not of my zone, though) so there was no way I could miss him. I also saw Sister Ahrenson, but she had to go back to the historical sites before we could take a picture with her, too. Jon and I didn't get to talk much, but I told him it was weird to see him. Good, but weird. It's true, though! It made home and mission seem way to close. The mission is so different, and then seeing a friend (not even just an acquaintence, but a friend) from home kinda threw me for a loop. It was fun, though. :) I attached the picture we took. (I have to say, taking pictures with elders (who you aren't allowed to touch) can be kinda awkward. What do you do, stand side by side awkwardly? Yep, that's what you do. :P)

 

One of the less-actives we've been working with (and who we love dearly), Kathleen, invited her nonmember son to church, and he said yes!! We are so proud of her. Next week is "Bring a Friend to Church Day," and we're hoping for lots of people to take the chance to invite friends to a nonthreatening sacrament meeting. Kathleen is such an inspiration. When we taught her the Word of Wisdom, she already knew everything but coffee and tea. When we told her that she said, "I don't know why the missionaries who taught me didn't tell me that. It wouldn't have changed anything, but I wish they had told me!" This is the same woman who has had a boyfriend for over twenty years, and has been dutifully living the law of chastity over those same twenty years since being taught and baptized. She is completely incredible and has a stalwart testimony. I hope that her son still comes and he listens to his mom, because she is incredible and can teach him a lot.

 

This week, we tried a new tracting method. We stopped at the Correa (pronounced Co-hey-a; the dad is from Brazil) family's house and told them that we were sharing a message about the Family Proclomation, and asked if there was anyone on their street who's door we could knock on (Sis. Correa is an RM, so she thought that was funny) that would appreciate the message. Even though we didn't get into any more doors than usual, we felt like we had been more productive because we tracted with purpose, not just willy-nilly, "let's knock on this door." We think we'll be doing more of that. At one of the doors no one answered, but their dog came up and pushed the door open! It was just a little dog and it was very friendly, but there was no one inside the house, and when I opened the front door and tried to coax it back in, it wouldn't go. Awkward! Luckily, the family was around back. They did NOT look pleased to see us (in fact, they scared me a little with the look of pure "get the... out of here" in their eyes) but we had to return their dog. Oh well. Hopefully we'll have more successful doors than that. :P

 

Sienna's mother left for her next month-long job this week. So, no baptism till at least July, if not August, and that's if we can get the mom to cooperate. It's so sad to see how much Sienna wants to be baptized, but because she's not eighteen she can't. We're going to see her and her sister this week, though, and we hope we can set up a new date to push for. They are such sweet girls and have incredible testimonies.

 

Sorry to you fellow missionaries that my letters are so long. You can just skim through and read the parts you want. :) Good luck to all of you, and I love getting your letters and hearing about your successes and stories.

 

To all you family and friends at home: Thank you for your love and emails. Keep writing me letters (because I'm selfish and will ask for that ;) ) and have a fun summer.

 

I love you all! Have a fantastic week.

 

Sister McKayla

New Pics

All of us sisters at 6:30 a.m. with Cleveland in the background

Me with our truck. Yes, it's red:)

Me eating with CHOPSTICKS! (I thought Emily would be proud of me.) We went to a Japanese resturaunt with Brother Brady and Sister Hulse, and Brother Brady taught me how to use chopsticks. He's a less active that's been reactivated and who we love very much (and his wife is an angel, too, but she's in Utah right now) and Sister Hulse is an older lady in our ward who is a sweetheart.

  

Transfer Week

Hello everyone!

 

So yesterday we got our transfer calls, and.... (*drumroll*)........................................... I'M STAYING IN LAKEWOOD WEST!!!! Sister Dahle is staying with me, which was a surprise because she didn't go to trainers meeting. So... she's training me... with no training on how to do it! I'm sure she'll be great. As far as we know, it'll just be the two of us, which will be nice. After this next transfer, I'm elligible to train. Oh dear! I do NOT feel ready. Looking back at six weeks ago, I don't feel like I'm where Sister Dahle was when I met her, even though technically I am. Still, I've learned a lot in the last six weeks, and I hope I learn more in the next six (actually over the next 16 months I'd better keep learning things!)

 

This week, Sienna was not baptized. Bummer. We're now hoping for July or August. Her mom is leaving today until July, and the girls have to be angels while she's gone- which includes being nice to step-boyfriend, who is their guardian even though he's not their dad- and they have to keep meeting with us AND learning about other religions. I don't think she's very eager for them to be baptized... But it's like I told President Vellinga in my letter to him today: We're not giving up on them because the Lord isn't. He'll help us find a way, and those girls WILL be baptized. I just hope they don't have to wait until their 18. :P

 

This week we had a bit of a... disagreement?... with the elders. We've been doing service as an excuse to go see a less-active who is in our ward but the Elders area. She tells us things she won't tell them, and we have been able to help her in her goal to quit smoking in a different way than they have. Anyway, one of the AP's reminded our District Leader about the rules about boundaries, and we were told not to go serve her. Well, our entire ward is smaller than most people's areas, and we talked to President and because there's not an issue with miles, we should be able to go. Anyway, long story short, we were obedient, but we gave the elders a really hard time about it, asking for permission for EVERYTHING for about the next two days. "Can we leave our area to go to church?" "You need to ask for permission to come home because it's out of your area." It's a good thing they know we love them. We have a wonderful district leader, even if he did drag out our transfer information last night. He had six sisters threatening over the phone to kill him. I don't think he'll be teasing us like that again. :P Sister Dahle and Sister Bell especially give them a hard time. They say they're preparing the elders for marriage. :)

 

Sister Bell goes home tomorrow. We're not asking permission, but all six of us are going to transfer meeting tomorrow to say good-bye to her and Sister Frampton (who is being out-zoned). I think technically a couple of us could stay, but we're not going to ask permission; we'll just beg forgiveness. :)

 

I hope you all have a fantastic week. I love you so much! Keep the letters coming; my address is the same. :)

 

Love,

Sister McKayla

May 20th

Hello!

 

So, we taught a crazy lady this week. Literally. Crazy. She's the mother of a ward member, and he told us she was a bit wacky, but I was not prepared. Her name is Mary Lou. She's been meeting with missionaries since 1972 and still doesn't know what their purpose is. We know this because we knocked on her door, wearing our dresses and ready for a lesson, and she said, "Oh, I have things for all three of you to do. These two flower beds need to be sprinkled, and the dog needs to be walked." So, in our dresses, we walked her MASSIVE dog that peed on everything and watered her flowers. Then we finally got to teach her while sitting on her back porch. We asked her if we could start with a prayer ("you're always praying!") and she offered to give it, but then she said, "Hold on," and looked up at the sky. After a second, Sister Bell asked, "What are you looking for?" and Mary Lou said, "I'm trying to find God." It was all we could do to keep from laughing. Sister Dahle pointed at the setting sun through the clouds and asked, her voice shaking a little, "Is that Him, over where the light is?" And Mary Lou corrected her that He is in the clouds. "Haven't you ever seen angels wings?" After another second of looking she said, "Can't find him. It's easier in the morning." Then she started reciting the usual Catholic memorized prayer, then she added at the end something about blessing us in our traditions, and then (mid-prayer, mind you) she said, "traditions... TRADITION! Have you ever seen that movie? (*singing*) Tradition!" The prayer never really officially ended. We tried to teach her the BOM introduction, but the rest of the lesson was kind of like that. She kept interrupting and wouldn't let us talk, and told us she'd read that book and knew everything there is to know about being Mormon. It was a fun visit, but I don't think we'll be teaching her again. :P

 

We met with Hayley and Sienna's mother last Friday about their being baptized. She is a very nice lady, but very pushy and her daughters are not. What came from the meeting: Hayley (the eleven year old) is going to wait, but Sienna is hoping to be baptized on her fifteenth birthday THIS WEEK!! She just had to talk to her grandfather about Catholisism over the weekend, she's (hopefully!) having her baptismal interview with Elder Graf tonight, and then going with us to meet our Buddhist investigator tomorrow. If that all happens, she'll be baptized the next day. We're praying!! Because the Elders and the Jacklins are going to their house tonight, we decided that not all three of us should go and overrun their house with seven missionaries. So Sister Dahle is going (as Sister Jacklin's companion) and Sister Bell and I will be working on the baptism program at home (actually, on the Jacklin's computer, but whatever). With the Lord's help, I'll be reporting a baptism to you next week!! :D

 

This week was Zone Conference. We met with our whole stake, which is actually two zones (Cleveland and Cleveland West). I didn't know this, but apparently there are lots of different missionary meetings: District meetings, with our district; zone training meetings, with just our zone; zone conferences, with one or two zones; mission conferences, which rarely happen and are usually split in two anyway; coordination meetings with the ward missionaries and all the full-time missionaries in the ward (which in our case is us, the Jacklins, and the Elders); and then there's the occasional training meeting, transfer meetings, etc. I guess you missionaries knew this already, but this was a new thing for me.

 

GUESS WHAT?!?! Family, do you remember Mr. Hoopes, my sixth grade teacher? Well, our ward mission leader, Brother Hoopes, is his cousin. Crazy! When I heard his name I thought, "Oh, Hoopes, that's cool. There's no way they can be related. Wyoming, Ohio: Not possible." But while we were mulching the other day, Bro. Hoopes and I were talking and I mentioned Wyoming. He said he had family that lived there. Apparently Richard Hoopes is his cousin. "It's a small world after all..."

 

Speaking of mulching, we've done a LOT of that in the last few weeks. It's a HUGE thing here in Ohio. I've seen all sorts of different colors and sizes of mulch, more than I knew existed! (For those of you who don't know what mulch is, it's that shredded bark that people sometimes put in their yards.) People here are very proud of their yards, and they must be mulched. I'm not kidding; we did 13 hours of service this week, and eight of it was mulching or pulling weeds. Yikes. And we're mulching again tomorrow. Hooray! It's really fun to get into the sun (and into jeans!!) and work with my hands. We do a lot of sitting and talking, so yard work is fun. Saturday was a bit overkill when we literally spent ALL DAY in service clothes, but it was good.

 

I love you all. Have a wonderful week!

 

Sister McKayla Richards