Change is once more on the wind!
Hello, friends, family, and loved ones! I hope that it has been an amazing week for you all. It certainly has been one for me down here in Chiguayante. We have had many lessons, made many commitments, and have learned a lot as we went about the Lord's work in this small part of the Vineyard.
But now, it is once more the glorious time of cambios! As we waited dilligently this morning in hushed silence around the phone, we prophecied or attempted to foresee what the list of cambios would be for us. It was quite a change for all, and as for me, I am off to a far off sector tomorrow morning. It's name is Yungay, and it is a bit of a joke for the missionaries because it is so small and so far away from every other sector and zone in the mission. Certifiably campo, this small branch has traditionally had the missionaries in leadership roles and has been a great growth experience for those who use it. I also learned that I'll be one of the oldest missionaries in the area, with another Hermana tied for time in the mission. It is certainly a daunting prospect, but I am ridiculously excited and ready for the challenge.
As well as looking forward bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for the future, this is also a profound moment of looking at the past. In the fast four and a half months here, I can't believe how much I've learned or even how much I've changed. It feels like such a short time ago that the assitants were calling and telling me that I was getting an emergency cambio away from Chillan, and now I've had three whole cambios in this sector.
For better or for worse, from sources good and bad, I have learned a whole lot. For example, I've learned that two hot dogs with a slice of cheese on a bit of bread is a satisfactory dinner. I've also found that night time pranks is a lot of fun but sets of a chain reaction of return-fire that ends with someone removing all the boards from the beds of other missionaries. Seriously though, the realities of Mission life have really set in, and the constant application and reapplication of Gospel Principles has really taken a forefront in my mind.
I am so grateful for Heavenly Father and His many ways of comforting, guiding, and helping His children. He has a plan, glorious and perfect in exactness, for each and every single one of us. Though this will take us many places we don't initially see ourselves going, it will bless and change us in ways we can't imagine. He sends us into these places with the promise of always being with us. We are never alone, and never need to be without His constant support and love.
It has truly been a wonderful time spent here in Chiguayante. I've met many wonderful people, grown into a more dilligent and obedient servant of the Lord, and been an instrument in His hands to blessing many of His children here. Though I certainly wasn't as powerful or succesful as I had hoped, I know that He is always with me, and that knowledge alone is worth far more than the rewards I could ever have elsewhere. I look forward in faith and hope to the next part of my mission and my life in Yungay, knowing that He needs me to do a specific work in this part of the mission.
I love you all, and know that the Lord loves you more than any one of us can imagine. He is our Saviour and our Redeemer, and through Him we can be cleansed of our transgressions and made perfected in Christ.  Life is a time of trial and challenge, but far more than that it is a time of blessings and learning. If we never step out of our comfort zones, how can we realize this?
I challenge you, missionary and member and everywhere in between, all to make that step away from what is comfortable and safe, and step forward with boldness and faith on the path that our Heavenly Father has for you. Many lives will be blessed and changed by your actions and service, most of all your own. The life that is lost in the service of others is certainly found, and I can testify to that with all my heart.
With hopes that this week will be a stellar one for each and every single one of you, I declare my love and happiness for each of you.
Sincerely,
Elder Richardson