Well it was my birthday this past week and because of the new policy change, Ryan was allowed to call me on that day. It was such a sweet and tender blessing for me to talk with my son. I have appreciated these changes and it sure helps me feel connected to him even though he is out working hard and serving the Lord. It is kind of like icing on the cake.
Anyway, it is always good to talk with him in more detail about his week and the work he does. I have learned that most boys write and express things differently than girls. When his sister was on her mission, I received very detailed letters about just about everything. It is not the same with Ryan. When I talk with him, I get a better understanding of what he is doing every day, the highs and the lows, the challenges and the successes. I am grateful to be able to understand his mission better.
We talked a lot this week about how difficult his area can be and how there are not many opportunities to teach. He goes tracting nearly every day in search of people that are waiting to hear the gospel. It is hard to find those that are prepared in this manner. It reminded me of how crucial it is as members to be willing to open our mouths and share the gospel and invite others to listen. His current branch has many good members that are struggling to stay strong themselves. I firmly believe that Ryan's purposes right now is to help fortify and strengthen them so that one day new converts will be prepared to come and join with them. It is difficult at a missionary to see the returns of this kind of work and yet it is every bit as important.
Ryan said that most people are nice when they answer the doors even if they don't want to learn more. Many haven't heard of the church or know very little. Ryan tries to share with each person that we are followers of Christ as members of our church. At least he is willing to share such an important fact with those he comes in contact with.
When they did the volunteer work, Ryan was chosen to drive the big van and pick up many missionaries. I think the Mission President has a lot of confidence in him. Not only to drive but to continually be a trainer of new missionaries and follow through with important responsibilities. This is a great testament to his character and obedience. I know he is learning so much, even if we have to read between the lines to hear it.
One last positive thing. A sweet couple that Ryan worked with and got to know really well while in Minneapolis is finalizing the details that will allow them to get married and be baptized on the same day. More than likely, Ryan will be able to attend this awesome event and feel the joy of watching people make important covenants with Heavenly Father. I am really happy for all of them.
Group Email:
Well I am still alive here over in Minnesota everybody. Had a good week this week, and we had some pretty fun opportunities. This week we had the chance to go do some service and work with the Red Cross which was super cool. They were going to some mobile homes to try and install fire alarms to help out the community, and since there are a lot of language speaking missionaries here and a lot of Hispanics and other Ethnicities in the parks, we got to go out and help them with that. So we got to show off our door knocking skills to the Red Cross people and just help them out. I did not personally get to use my Spanish, but I got to try my best to explain what we were doing to this Lao speaking lady, so that was an adventure. Then after that we went over to the temple with a member of ours who was going through for the first time. So we got to go on over and go through the temple, which is always just an uplifting experience, and it is especially cool to see a member make those steps to make it through and go to the house of the Lord. So those are the main exciting things of my week, hope you have a great week!
Elder Pickering
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