November 2, 2009

Dear family,

Hey yall! How it be going? How be my little new nephew? How goes me little sissy ash how is Jr and Happy anniversary Clint and Traci, also Happy Birthday Scott! Man this is an exciting week! haha How are Heather and Jon doing and my cute little nieces? I hope everyone is doing well. This last week was a pretty good week, We had interviews with President McConkie, man i love those, he is just so fun to hear speak and so full of love. My interview with him was real good, he asked if i was training Elder Puhlmann to be the best missionary? he said we only have the best missionaries train to make these elders into the best. That was nice and humbling to hear. He also said that "Elder Riding i only ever hear the very best of things about you, the assistants all love you and your zone leaders are so grateful for you." i was shocked but happy to hear my hard work had pleased my leaders, i wanna gain there trust. Man it has definitely been difficult training a new missionary but i knew it would be, With ALL good things comes hard hard work. We had only a few miles for our car this last week cause it was the end of the month and i told my son that we will be exactly obedient in all things, so we biked alot, but he popped a few tires on both my bike and a bike of the zone leaders, he felt really bad, but i told him stuff like that happens, one day we were riding and i look back and i dont see him, so i got real worried i flipped around and turns out the chain had kept falling off on the bike and so we couldnt bike and had to walk for the rest of the week. We walked at least 15 miles each day it was great i felt like i was in mexico again. We come home drenched in sweat each day. We have been struggling with getting solid investigators though of late we have been gettin gdogged with church attendance as well. But we are working hard and being obedient so we know the Lord will help us out, also last sunday we ran into this lady who had been taught by missionaries here years back, i was under the impression she was a member, but she had moved to Alabama with her husband, she had since moved back and then we found out later she had not been baptized but still wants to and has read almost all the book of Mormon. So we will be working hard with her to get her baptized! So that was quite a miracle right there just to see that sister placed in our path, also if we had been following all our plans that we had set for tht day we may not have found her, we just had a feeling to go to this apartment complex and bam found her that night. Amazing how miracles like that happen. Alot of what we are seeing though is how almost all hispanics say they will come to church but when it comes down to it.... they dont. haha so we are trying out new strategies and not wasting time with the lame ones that will not progress. Also President McConkie has been stressin gmember present lessons, and having members commit people to come to church. Being district leader has been alot of work, but i like it that way, keeps me busy and keeps my testimony strong cause im thinking or others and how to serve them. Each day we work ourselves to the Bone but wake up pumped and ready to go for more seving. My Son is still adjusting but he is progressing very well with his spanish, im using each moment as a teaching opportunity with him, a time to help with spainsh or with missionary work, he will be the best. He gets discoraged but i reassure him of his progression, im making him inot a positive guy. Im still loving each and everyday more and more out here. I got to bear my testimony yesterday i love doing that we have asuch a great chance to do it each sunday, and a chance to recieve power and guidance when we fast, the Lord has given us so many chances for blessings. I aslo got to help translate a sister in the ward's testimony at the pulpit from spanish to english. It was fun, but hard... haha she would talk for about a minute then stop. I couldnt remember everything she said! haha i did my best. Well everything is great! How was Halloween? How is Grandma? Tell her i love her and give her a hug and kiss for me. I love President and Sister McConkie, they are so kind and show me so much love, they always say how grateful they are to have me here in the mission, makes ya feel pretty special. haha Welp i love yall so much, im glad you like the pictures Mom! I had not sent any for a while so i figuerd i needed to! haha Tell everyone hi and that i love them How do yall like the new ward? Man im so grateful for the chance i have to learn and speak spanish, it is such a blessing im going to keep working on it my whole life, i wanna always progress! This church is true, the Savior lives and loves us, he knows each of us, Tell someone of this great message we have, help change there lives.

Love always from Charleston South Carolina,
Elder Riding