week 68: australia style

thanksgiving yo

Gday mum!!

This week was really good week!!  So I started off the week on an exchange in a wonderful place called Geelong.  It's another beach town, and it is beautiful as.  I went with these two Elders named Elder Long and Elder Concardes.  They are a part of a tri panionship, we had so much fun.  So we played a game at the bus stop, whoever could get the most return appointments got a slurpee.  So we found for like 2 hours at the bus stop.  At the end of it, we all deserved a slurpee, so I bought one for all of us.  It was heaps of fun, to work together that way.  We also had THANKSGIVING!!!  It was pretty funny, we were all sitting there with like 6 other missionaries and one of the missionaries told the hostess that my companion and I love to perform.  He said that I could beat box and my companion could sing.  So she made us perform of course, and we beat boxed and sang to "Praise to the Man."  It was epic, I wish I could send videos. 

Had a really spiritual experience this week with a woman named Pue, who was a former investigator from a year ago.  She almost got baptised and then some stuff happened.  We just stopped by her house and talked to her about God's purpose for his children.  In the midst of the lesson she told us, "I need to get baptised as soon as possible, it is what God wants me to do."  We invited her to pray for a baptismal date.  I really know that God has an ultimate purpose and plan for us, we are so lucky to know his plan, others are not.  That is why I love sharing this message.  I know it is true with all my heart!

Sounds like a busy as week mum!  I was pretty busy as well with 3 thanksgiving dinners haha.  EVERYONE and their dog wanted to feed us for Thanksgiving it was funny as.  Today is our zone p day and we are filming a nativity and then going lazer tagging, should be flippin awesome!  I am loving the work right now, seeing a bunch of miracles come forth.  I cant wait for next thanksgiving, it's just not the same over here hahaha....  No orange rolls hahaha, Australians don't believe in them.  

I love you so much mum!! 

Have an awesome week mum!!  Cheers!

Love, Elder Richins

aka: CMONEY

week 67: australia style

got a roast pig yesterday

mirror pic

we baked some pretty terrible cookies

Gday mum!!

This week was pretty awesome!  We have some 2 new faces in the zone, which isn't too many so it will be good to keep the momentum rolling!  My companion and I set dates with two guys that we have been working with for a while, their names are Colin and Hadi.  Their dates are for December 20th!  So on the first day of the transfer, my companion and I wanted to make cookies for all of the missionaries in the zone for our zone meeting the next day.  So we got this recipe and we doubled it.  But the dough looked runny as, so I kept putting more and more flour in it until it wasn't runny anymore...  So we put em in the oven and we take em out.  We start to eat one to see if they were all goods, then we both looked at each other in disgust.  We put so much flour in, you could only taste flour, and it gave us some mean cotton mouth afterwards.  Yeah, they were the worst cookies I have ever had.  But it's the thought that counts right :)  So we gave them all to the sisters :)

My testimony has gotten strengthened the past couple of weeks, my companion and I have been struggling a bit to find some new people to teach that are solid.  In the midst of those struggles, I couldn't help but think that the Lord suffered far worse than what we were experiencing.  I know the power of the Atonement enables us to do things that we couldn't do by ourselves.  We are seeing miracles as we use it each day :)  I love my Savior Jesus Christ, he loves us.

Hey mum!!!  Thank you so much for your email, and the work that you are doing on my room, it looks awesome!!  I really like the color of the paint, you are doing a great job. This week has been great, we are seeing some success.  The zone is awesome, there is a bunch of hard working, obedient missionaries here.  I found out this week that my companion is a red neck.  He tries to kill birds in the back yard. He loves to hunt.  He is awesome lol!  I love you so much mum!  Thank you for all that you do for me.  Have a great week! Cheers!

Love, Elder Richins

aka: CMONEY

week 66: australia style

toilet paper

da zone

Gday mum!!

Yo yo yo!!  So this week was pretty ballin!  So I am staying another transfer with my companion Elder Cook!  There are quite a few missionaries leaving the zone which is unfortunate...  But we are really excited for the new transfer to see what we can do together!  Something crazy that happened this week was our flat got pranked!  So we left our back sliding door open, and some missionaries were able to get in and prank us...  There was baby powder all over the floor and vegemite all over the handles of everything.  One of the Elders in our flat Elder Pitt, came running in and he slipped on the baby powder and we busted out laughing.  We found out who the culprit was, and we are planning revenge....  Haha jk, I am a lover not a fighter!  But one day later some of the members toilet papered our house hard out!  It was a mean job, and it took ages to pick up, lets just say they knew what they were doing!

At the moment we are in the process of finding some new peeps!  We have an investigator named Doug who is awesome, he has a less active wife who introduced him to us and he will get baptised soon hopefully!  He is keen and a bean!

I love this work so much, sometimes weeks like this aren't the best, when you spend 2 hours cleaning up vegemite but I can look back and laugh now which is good!  The Lord tests us in peculiar ways hey???

Gday mum!  Sorry I have been leaving out some of the specifics, I am always just in a rush to do something haha.  All of your answers were correct except the last one, my area is called Werribee and it is in the Wyndham zone hahahah!  I wake up at 6:30 on the dot every single day hahah, sometimes even earlier if we go and play b ball!  My favourite part of the day has got to be studies, or the time we get to go finding.  The hardest thing about the mission is balancing fun with being a dignified servant of the Lord, I tend not to do as many stupid things anymore hahaha because I love having fun.  But what I have found on my mission, is the times I have the most fun are the times that I am being exactly obedient.  My comp is cool as, he likes b ball so we get along pretty well haha!  My buddies are good, we are still all talking and they are alive for the most part!  Today we are going to the chapel for games and pizza, this is the last day we have with a bunch of our missionaries getting transferred so we are spending time with each other.  I love you so much mum, keep asking Q's and I will answer!  I hope you have a wonderful week, you are an inspiration to me each day.  Cheers!

Love, Elder Richins

Aka: CMUN$

week 65: australia style

tarawa's baptism

wyndham zone

Gday mum!!

This week has  been really hectic!  We started off the week at MLC, at the mission home.  All the ZL's around the mission came and had a 7 hour meeting!!  On the way to the meeting we got some Krispy Kremes and they were sooooo good!!  We also got AMERICAN CEREAL at the meeting for lunch, which was a Christmas miracle!!  Captain Crunch all day!  The meeting was really good though, we had a General Authority come, named Elder Dudfield.  He taught us about the importance of aligning with the brethren, it was awesome!!

We also had Zone conference this week!  Which was another 7 hour meeting with the rest of our zone.  Heaps of great trainings I learned heaps! 

We also had a baptism this week!  Tarawa got baptised!  Funny story actually...  So yesterday afternoon at 3, we went to Tarawa's home to see if he was all ready for his baptism at 4 30.  His mum was there, and told us that she had no idea where Tarawa was.  So we drove around all around Werribee trying to find this kid, and an hour later we found him at the public swimming pool hahah!  So he went back home, got changed and we had the baptism, my companion and I were so frustrated we wanted to cry hhahahaha!  But we found him!!

I know the Lord tests us in different ways to prepare us, so that we can maximize our capability.  I love this Gospel, my companion and I are seeing miracle after miracle!! 

Hi mum!!  I hope you have had a great week!  My week has been all goods, today I think my comp and I will take a nap.  It has been a long week, and this week is the week where we find out if we are being transferred or staying, so the drama is real hahaa!  But I am really excited to see what happens, I hope I stay!  

I love you so much mum!!  I hope you have a great week!  Cheers!

p.s. my return date is July 17th, 2015 and possibly earlier they are trying to figure out the visa still. 

week 64: australia style

Gday mum!!

 

This week was pretty hectic ay!!  So we didn't get much done this week because we switched flats with the sister missionaries because people were causing trouble at their flat!  Now we are in the danger zone lol :P  Then on Friday, this Tongan family gave us some horse to eat and my companion and I got food poisoning:)  Haha it was a bit rough, I wish I would  have been able to get out more this week, but it was a good learning experience!! :) 

Gday mum!! We have zone P day today, we are playing bubble soccer I am excited as!!  I am feeling a bit better after a rough couple of days.  I am sorry I don't have much time today, we have a reservation we need to catch!  I love you so much mum!!  Have a great week!!  CHeers!

Love, Elder Richins

aka: CMONEYLOVE