Started From the Bottom

It was a big week for Elder Pickering with a lot of changes coming.  I am thankful that the Mission President and the Lord trust him enough to give him these opportunities for growth and to further the work.  He wrote one letter to the whole family this week and I am going to share a few parts of it since it contained a little more detailed information.

Hey family!  

So I am gonna do my emails just all mashed up here together for you guys this week so please don't hate me for that, I just want to be able to go enjoy my mission Halloween as much as I can.  This week has been good here.  We were able to get in with M this week, and he doesn't want the new job :/  but we just challenged him to then come to church no matter how tired, because that is the most important matter, and he said he will come, so hopefully he does! He has a great spirit, I just honestly believe that this job is holding him back from all that he could grow, its hard.  But if he comes to church now, he will progress very fast!  

We also taught A and J like you are gonna see in my email, and they are awesome.  I feel like they have both been very prepared and always like lead into our next lesson.  Like they brought up tithing and fasting and said that they believe in it and want to do it here, so we were able to give them a lesson on that and they totally agreed and took it soooo well.  The really only hard part now, is gonna be the law of chastity, which they lead into in our last lesson saying that they might have an issue with that.  But A said she would talk with her partner and talk about marriage!  And J said she'll explain her situation next time.  They are both from El Salvador, so my guess is J's "husband" is still somewhere there or something.  So we are gonna keep working hard with them, and I believe we can help them make the necessary changes to make baptism and this church an option.  

So transfers are tomorrow, and I will be with someone named Elder Terry, so I'm sure within an hour or two you'll know all about him XD, but I'm excited, he has been out the same amount of time as me, so both of our Spanish will be very tested, and improve. It'll be hard, but a lot of fun taking over the area and trying new things.  And I am also now going to be the district leader here, and that should be an adventure.  The people in my district are awesome though, so they wont make my life harder than it has to be I am sure.  Have a great Halloween and amazing week, I love you guys!!


Group Email:

Hey everybody! 

So this isn't going to be as long of an email because like all of you, I would like to have my Halloween and enjoy it! So this week here has been a good one.  We had a Halloween/fall festival thing with our ward and at our church, and it was a big success! There were lots of kids and lots of different people that showed up for it.  Even we dressed up and I'll be sure to include pictures for you all to enjoy. So we also invited our person we are teaching, A, and the person she lives with we are also teaching. They didn't end up showing up, and then also not to church,  so we were kinda sad because they had been doing so well. Then upon visiting them it turns out where they are from, the equivalent of Halloween is like demonic stuff and worshipping.  So basically they told us they thought we did that and so that's why they didn't come. But we got it all cleared up, and had a good laugh explaining it is just a bunch of kids that dress up all cute and that's it. 

The next crazy thing is that me and my companions bike tires got staples in them this week, so we both got the opportunity to do some patching and whatnot, that sure was lame. So please, when you just don't know what to do with all your staples, don't dump them on the streets, there are poor Spanish missionaries like us, Haha. 

Well that's the big interesting things that happened this week, and it will be a short week until next p-day, so hopefully you can all survive on just hearing those stories this week. This week I will be getting a new companion and becoming district leader, so I am excited to grow through that and serve In whatever way I can.  Keep on keeping on everyone, see ya next week!

Elder Pickering

And We're Back!

Well here we are once again after another week here in Minnesota, and time is just going by, it's pretty crazy! So this week the snow did melt and we haven't had anymore thankfully! But it is still plenty cold as if there was snow, so that's not the most fun, but we make the most of it. 

So some crazy things that happened this week. Me and my companion became roofers while helping a non member. We just took out all the old stuff and put in the new, we are practically pros now. And the guy we helped sure was a funny guy. He wanted to like tie up each piece of roofing to throw it away and what not, but hey we got it done! 

So we also have started something new here that we are going to try. We have a member who works with a bunch of kids here at the school. And so once a week we are gonna have them come to the church and we will help them with homework and understanding the English with it, then after share a message with them. The first week of trying it went well, so hopefully it goes well in the future and we can see continued success from it! We just have to try new things for the work here. 

We also got to go to something that is called Presidents Fireside yesterday and it was way good.  It is where you bring a person youre teaching and people just talk about their conversion stories and it is a really cool thing every month.  This was my first chance to get to go, and thats because we were translating!  It was very hard because people tend to talk pretty fast, but I think I did pretty dang well and the spanish is definitely coming along so that is way good.

Also, the person we have been teaching that has a baptismal date in December came to church this week.  It was really great having her there and she liked it.  It was kind of crazy and the family in front of us during Sacrament Meeting was having a rough time of it so it made it a little hard to concentrate.  Hopefully, she will come again next week and learn more.

And finally we did see a miracle in our work here this week. So someone we have been working with since I had just recently gotten here who is named Manuel has had a job that just makes any normal life pretty much impossible. And he's expressed dislike and what not, so we've encouraged him to pray for help with that. And this week one of our members texted us asking if we knew anyone that wanted a job! So blessings happen. We will meet with him this week, and hopefully he has thought about this offer and has the faith to take the leap into it. And that about covers the week here for the most part. Doing our best everyday to further the work and try new things, doing whatever it takes to try and bring to past the work of God. Because now is the time, the world is crazy and there has never been a more important time to grow closer to God than now! Everyone have a great week, and I won't have my next p-day until Halloween, so talk then!!


-Elder Pickering

Still Drying Out

First Snow . .  in October

So it sounds like it was a tough week of missionary work.  Many days in the mission field are long and it doesn't always feel like missionaries are having success.  Yet I know in those difficult times, Ryan is still learning and growing even if he doesn't see it.   And that is success in my book.  Here is a little excerpt from my letter that shows how is understanding and testimony is expounding week to week.  He is once again reflecting on the changes made during General Conference:

And the changes that have already happened are crazy, and every time President Nelson would get up to talk we would all joke about buckling up and that you had to be ready for it every time.  I think the biggest thing with the whole church change is the need for that personal conversion and it is a test of faith to see which members will follow through and which members are Sunday members only.  It is a bold move, but I know for a surety that is was not the idea of President Nelson, but rather the Lords. I would not be surprised in the least if the changes keep on rolling in, and they are all inspired, we just have to see the reason behind them.  So if they do happen here, look for how it will further the Lord's church in our days.  We need members stronger than ever, and that is what we are striving to do so hard nowadays.  The phrase "preparing for the second coming" was in conference so much, so I think the church will do all it can be to be as ready as possible when the time comes.

Group Email:

Hey everybody, 

So I'll try to make this letter not boring, if possible, because it was a very slow week. 

So all week pretty much we have just had rain on rain on rain, and that's been crazy. So being biking missionaries, we were very wet for most of this week, but with how the temperature have been we shouldn't have to worry about rain too much more here. Mainly because it'll start snowing! It's like already winter before even Halloween and it just feels wrong. 

So we spent a lot of this week trying to stop by people or trying to find people, and we just had very very little success, which is always challenging. But with hard and diligent work comes the blessings. When doing a stop by at this Lady that we hadn't really been able to have a firm appointment with, we got in and had a very good lesson. Not only was she there but someone else that she lives with and they both were engaged and listened well. And at the end of the lesson we invited the lady we knew originally to be baptized. And she committed to setting a date to try for in December! So we are gonna try and keep on working with her and getting her all ready for that date and hopefully we can work through it. That was such a surprise and blessing for us this week. 

We also went to the baptism of another different companionship this week, some English Elders who taught a Spanish person for some reason. And I ended up having to give a talk in Spanish at her baptism. And it went really well and it helped me see how far my Spanish has come in the little time being here. When you are doing something for good or for the Lord's purpose He will make a way for that thing to be accomplished. It says that multiple times in the scriptures, and it is still very much true in our day. So don't be afraid of failing when doing something on behalf of helping someone or with the Lord's work, because I promise you He will help you get what you need to done. So everyone have a great week, and be not afraid!

-Elder Pickering

And if you look closely in the picture, that is snow

Conferencia General

This was a fantastic week for our church as we enjoyed receiving instruction and council from our Prophet and other church leaders.  There were so many inspiring messages and counsel to help us improve our faith, strengthen our family, and grow closer to Christ.  I am including a few of Ryan's thoughts about conference that he shared with different people:

So the first conference here in the field was amazing, I enjoyed it so much!  I actually talked to president to see if we could watch it in English, and he said he recommends that those language missionaries watch it in English, because the revelation you can receive during it is such a blessing and an amazing opportunity we have.  We didn't have any of the people we are working with come to the church to watch it, but I guess we can always hope that they tuned in on their own on tv or the website.  Honestly the whole 2 hour church thing just makes sense in the time we are in, especially from a missionary standpoint.  I think the importance of receiving revelation individually rather than just being given lessons is so important.  This new way will give the opportunity for people to grow their individual testimonies and just grow much stronger in the long run.  As well as the family was mentioned so much as being crucial for a place to learn the gospel.  And this will lead to a family that is just centered and structured to securely in the gospel when it is properly used.  This conference was just amazing, and the revelation they gave us was something I loved his week.  Honestly I have realized how important it is to heed to their words.  As President Nelson said in one of his talks.  "As we do these things we will have blessings like we have never seen before poured out on us"  it was something like that.  And I think if we take that and honestly strive to do and heed to the words, we will be able to take part in that deeper amount of blessings in our lives.  

I got to see conference live, I was very blessed to do so, and man was it just amazing?  It shows the importance that nowadays we need to have that personal conversion and be able to receive the personal revelation if we want our testimonies to be unwavering throughout the trials that are in the world.  We are very blessed to be able to receive that kind of revelation, and I think the more we try and change and apply conference in our lives now that it has happened, the more and more blessing we will see and the further the work all over the world, and in our homes, will be.

It was crazy with the whole church change, but I think overall it'll better test and prepare those of the church.  It leads more room for that personal growth and revelation, and it'll show who has faith to study on their own outside of the church setting, and who just takes it as they have an hour of more nap time on Sundays now.  I think it absolutely makes sense and the opportunities with it are immense if we strive to use it with the guidance of the Lord.

Group Letter:

Hey everyone!  It was a great week here in Minnesota!  I'll start by giving you all the crazy things that happened here.  So in the beginning of the week we were giving this lesson outside and it was going really well and then the tornado alarms started going off all throughout the city, and for those who don't know, they pretty much sound exactly like air raid sirens.  So we wrapped up our lessons and let our person get inside as to not fret, and me and my companion just kept on biking through the day, and all was well with us, no problems and no tornados.  

We got some insane rain this week here, and that just soaked us, and made us miss our car quite a bit, but hey what can you do?  We rode through all the puddles and just accepted it all.  When you have something like that, what can you do besides look at the good side and take the best from it?  That is applicable with everything.  Me and my companion also found a loaded wallet on the side of the road this week, and in trying to return it, we found out this guy is on the government watch list and whatnot, so we just dropped it at the police station and decided to leave it at that haha.  

Also one cool experience is for the past weeks we have been texting this less active "Soribeth" trying to set up a time and meet with her.  Well it turns out that we had the wrong number, and the person we were texting just went with us using the wrong name.  So we finally went over and at the house we realized this was not Soribeth's house, so we kinda just were a little bit thrown.  So we followed through anyways and it turns out it was a less active family that had been wanting to meet with the missionaries and figure out whether to come back or not, so blessings in the most crazy way right there, even if it was a VERY long bike ride away.  

So finally I just want to bring up conference that we were blessed to have this weekend.  I wanna say that I heed you all to follow every word the prophet says.  Because he isn't saying that words from himself, he is merely the spokesperson.  And I encourage you all to take this church change to heart and strive to make it as meaningful as possible.  It is inspired, and in these coming days in "Preparing for the second coming" we will need to all be so strong individually and be close as families if we want to survive all that Satan plans to throw at us.  So study the talks that we were given in those two days and follow their counsel.  They are men of God, and if you will take their words and do all you can to be exactly obedient and change from what you heard, God will not hold back in the blessings that He gives to you.  Now is the time, don't be afraid to be a member of His church.

So that was this week in a nutshell for all of you.  I hope you all continue to have a good time in your different places and keep on doing the good things of life, God loves you all

-Elder Pickering

For general conference our family always makes cinnamon rolls.  I was proud that Ryan kept up the tradition.

Keep On Keeping On

Hey everyone, here is your weekly update on the craziness of Minnesota!

So lets see, this week was kind of just another week of missionary work and nothing too crazy happened.  I got to try menudo at a members house this week, and man that was interesting.  That is cow stomach for those who don't know.  And the texture is kind of like you are eating some weird squishy something, it wasn't the worst thing in the world, but if put up to pretty much any other kind of meat, the other meat is just gonna come out on top every time. We also have been on bikes, and so we have gone miles and miles and I think it is definitely because we have started biking that the weather here has jumped straight to winter, so that is an adventure!

We have also been working with a lot of less active families and are having a huge amount of success as we work with those families in seeing them come back to church, so that is way cool, we are doing something right there at least. 

We are all pumped about conference this week.  I am worried on how much I'll be able to understand in Spanish, so we will see how that goes. 

So me and my companion did a lot of finding this week so we could try and find some more people to teach and hopefully we could find some people with interest.  We went day by day without an open door and no one listened to us, so that was a trial.  After a whole week of this it was getting pretty discouraging, going a whole week without being able to do anything.  And then finally it came down to the last hour of proselyting we have in a week and we saw all of our success, and that was amazing.  We hit all our weekly goals in one hour in one apartment.  And the door to the apartment opened for us, which was a miracle and a blessing, so after all our work and enduring we were able to see the blessings that come from it in the end.  So remember that as you are going about day by day and no matter how hard the times are, keep enduring.  Because I promise the Lord will bless your efforts in the end, but it will be after the trial of your faith that you will see the blessings pour in.  So this week just remember to keep on enduring the end, and do it happily, and I promise the Lord will do His part, because He loves His children.

Well Talk to everyone next week with hopefully some more interesting stories for you all!

-Elder Pickering

Check out Ryan's new found talent, creating beautiful music in the back alleys of Minnesota.