Working Hard

Hello Everyone,

To start out with you must know that this is Ryan's mother that is sharing this email.   We talked with Ryan this week on his P-day  And he was expressing how exhausted he is both physically and mentally. Between working hard in his area, fulfilling his leadership duties, and just getting near the twilight of his mission, he is feeling quite tired. He just wanted to use his p-day to have a break, play some basketball and not have to worry about typing an email. So I volunteered to share with you all the experiences he told us about via face time.

So Ryan is really enjoying his new area of Saint Paul. He is companions with Elder Soderberg and he is from Las Vegas. They seem to really get along well and Elder Soderberg is a super hard worker. So they hit the ground running and haven't stopped since they got put together.  Ryan is also serving as Zone Leader which adds more responsibilities and opportunities for growth.

Ryan was put back in a Spanish area and he serves over a ward of about 70 people in Saint Paul. He says they're a good ward and very involved. He really missed working with the Hispanics and so he is overjoyed to be speaking the language once again.  One of his favorite families in that Ward has a daughter that served here in the Orem Utah mission. In fact 2 Thanksgivings ago she came to our house for dinner. So that is a fun connection.  It is such a small world in the church.

This past week Ryan had Zone conference which is always a great learning experience. Unfortunately they also received another side effect from it. Food poisoning. Ryan and his companion both got quite sick throughout the night and next day. But tender mercies, that next day was the coldest winter day of the year so far, at -25 degrees, and because they were ill they were unable to go out into it. So the Lord blesses you in different ways, sometimes it may even mean even getting sick.

This area has a bit more diversity among the Latinos with them being from different countries. He enjoys getting to know their different cultures and nuances.   There are 3 big apartment complex in the area where a lot of the Hispanics live and the Elders do a lot of tracting in those buildings.

Just this past week they were tracting in an apartment building and they passed the laundry Room. There was a man hanging out there and he recognized them because he seen missionaries before. His name is Gregory and he is from Venezuela. They struck up a conversation with about the gospel. He seemed really interested and wanted to learn more.   So they visited with him for quite a while and set up a return appointment. It turns out that they met with him 2 additional times during the week and invited him to church. He came and fit right in. In fact Ryan said that in some ways Gregory did more fellowshipping and participating in the classes than some of the fellow members. He has been reading the Book of Mormon, studying about President Russell M. Nelson. Ryan feels that he is a prepared individual and that he will make a quick progression in the gospel. This is very exciting.

Speaking of progression, there is a couple that Ryan worked with while he was in Morris.  Their names are Angela and Aturo and they are getting baptized this week.   Unfortunately, Ryan won't be able to attend the baptism since it's 5 hours away but he will be there in spirit and hopefully there by Skype.  It is neat to see some of the fruits of his labors in the past coming to be.

And that brings us to Aaron. Ryan shared a little bit more about him. Ryan was doing some finding on Facebook and sent this Aaron a friend request. Well he accepted and they began discussing religion and God and so forth.  Aaron decided he wanted to learn more and met with the missionaries. He had actually been searching for  God and a religion. From there things just took off. Aaron was prepared and had been prepared for a long time to receive the gospel at this time. He's read the Book of Mormon and goes to church and has quickly assimilated himself in with the Ward. Ryan had to turn him over to the young adult elders and fortunately one of his good friends, Elder Coombs has been helping to teach him..  Aaron  Is so solid and such a special individual. When Ryan talked with him this past week Aaron told him that he was doing great and the Elder Pickering should quit worrying about him and find more people like him to teach.  His baptism is scheduled for the 29th of this month and fortunately Ryan should be able to attend. I am sure this will be one of the highlights of his mission.

Ryan is truly happy and enjoying his mission right now. He said they found so many people this last week that are interested in learning more. He really loves to teach and share his testimony with them. We asked him what advice he would give to a future missionary and after thinking about it for a moment this was his reply:  " The key is to work hard and be obedient. Then God will bless you and you will see miracles. If you don't , then you will be sad and depressed  and make everyone else around you miserable."   That was it. His advice was straightforward and succinct and that said it all. I know that he has learned that lesson over and over again throughout his mission.  Ryan does not allow complex emotions to complicate things.  It is simple in his mind.  He just goes to work, does what is asked of him and lets the Lord make up the rest.   This is who he is and his formula for success. I think we can all learn that In our lives. If we work hard and are obedient the Lord will bless us. It doesn't matter if we're a missionary or not, God cares and it does matter what we do.

Anyway,  That sums up Ryan's week. He appreciates all the love and support and prayers he has received from you all throughout his mission. Thanks for being such great examples and friends to him.