June 16

Wow, what a week! I can't say that I have had a week completely like it during the rest of my eleven months in the mission. It has been something that I will never forget, and the memories will last for the rest of my life.

Where to start? Well, for all the fathers in the world, especially my dear own Dad, I want to wish a great Happy Father's Day! Chileans celebrate with just as much love and affection as Americans, with a special World Cup flair to it. Countless fathers received Chile mugs, flags, or soccer balls. I think its a great tradition. We should have the world cup every year.

Speaking of that grand festival of futbol currently raging in Brazil, it has been crazy to witness the effects it can have on a spanish speaking country. The world has gone crazy with red, blue, and white, and every single television and radio is fine tuned to the games. It was so crazy that any attempt to proselyte or contact on Friday was absolutely lost, people yelling at us ''No puedo entender, Vamos Chile!'' as they ran by with bags of chips and other party treats. Even when Chile wasn't playing, lessons would be delayed or cancelled as other countries have played. I have fully joined in on the craziness, setting up my own chart of who is playing who, and predicting my own winners. We have a flag prominently displayed in our house now, and have gotten very good at cheering 'GOOOOOOOOOOOL!' whenever the occasion strikes. 

Its a hilarious contrast that with the constant animo and good cheer that the Chilenos have for the World Cup, this week was a bit of a downer! Heavy rain and wind storms pounded down as lesson after lesson fell through. We're all hoping that despite the bad weather on the horizon, we'll be able to press forward with faith and hope to conquer every hill in our way (And in Santa Sabina, there are a whole lot of hills!).

The highlight of the week was centered around Futbol, with all of us hiding in our house, essentially throwing a house party of our own and watching Joseph Smith, Prophet of the Restoration during the game. We enjoyed Papa John's pizza and though we wanted to be working, cracked plenty of jokes and had a relatively good time.

After a bit of a depressing start, I found unexpected aid during the week from the bible. Reading psalms and proverbs, finding many that could apply to my life and my situation was surprisingly therapuetic, as well as a general scripture study of what I am fighting for personally. My stud district leader was responsable for both of those suggestions, and it really helped out a lot. It amazes me constantly just how applicable these books are in our lives, every single time, no matter the situation.

I also regained appreciation for the video that the church released, se llama Thanks To Him. A link is here, https://www.lds.org/youth/video/because-of-him?lang=eng .  I have found that the church produced videos lately have been of the highest quality, and does wonders to animate the missionaries and the investigators and everyone else to greater levels. I am very grateful for these messages.

Well, that should be everything! As this week progresses, things should turn for the better. Hopefully the World Cup doesn't interfere as much this week! 

With love and prayers for all of you,

Elder Richardson

P.S. I'm seeing advertisements everywhere for How To Train Your Dragon 2, and I am honestly more homesick for that then for any other happening in my mission. I'm more excited for that than for the World Cup.

June 9 Manda fuego, Señor!

There once was a small boy, that along with his entire family, went to a far away beach. Upon reaching the soft white sands of this nice area, he immediately separated himself from his other family members, knowing full well that they would want to do silly things like have activities and play games together. What he wanted to do was build a sand castle. Not just any sand castle, but the greatest and most famous and most beautiful and most incredible sand castle anyone had ever seen, though he had never had the opportunity to build a similar construction before.!

So this boy began to build, and build he did! By noon time the sand castle was glorious, tall and ornate. He had done great work. But, he was far from finished. He wanted his project to last! This particular sand castle would endure and be known about the world. Several times throughout the day, the boy's family members tried to come over and help him out or attempted to persuade him to join them on the other side of the beach, but each was rejected in favor of the growing edifice. The boy's father, most importantly, came by to personally try and talk to the boy, but he too was repulsed. As he walked back to the family, the father offered a few tips and his help if the boy ever desired so. 

The boy continued, and the sand castle continued to arise from the beach. As darkness began to fall, his creation was truly a marvel to behold. Walls, turrets, and pinnacles all stood firm and solid, and the boy was well pleased with his work. Just then, he received the call from his parents. The family was heading home. Though the boy begged and pleaded, he could not take the massive construct with him or persuade his parents to remain for a bit more time. The boy had learned a hard lesson. While his family had been gaining fantastic memories that they all could share together for years to come, his day at the beach had been spent in a futile effort to build something that could last, something that would be quickly destroyed as the tides came in.

As I shared this little parable with a less active, she began to cry. We had tried to teach that there are truly treasures in heaven that our worth our time here on Earth, and the message was better received than I could have imagined She testified that she would make every possible effort to get to church the following Sunday. Nothing on this Earth could stop her. I almost shed a few tears myself, but in gratitude, for the Spirit prompting me to share this story, which I had never thought of or imagined before. I was a tool in the hands of the Lord for just a moment this night, and we were all blessed for it.

This week in my new sector of Santa Sabina was a truly impressive assault on my system, throwing me out of the nice little comfort zone I had been unknowingly building for the last few months. From Campo to congested city, I have entered a whole new world. Huge hills are the name of the game, and I have begun to feel the effects of constantly climbing mountains in my legs, which have almost doubled in size. 

This is a crazy place, with thousands of people and tons of buildings and cars and everything that could be asked for from a suburb area like this. I'm about thirty minutes from Conce central, so the standard of living is a bit higher than what I'm used to, despite the large poor element of Santa Sabina. It is a thrill reaching our daily contact goal in minutes, rather than hours like in Yungay.

Unfortunately, every single on of those contacts is rather poor, as the more hurried lifestyle of Andalien leaves very few people standing around, waiting to talk. We have rejected, yelled at, told to go to our home countries, ignored, heard every imaginable excuse, and even had a fun experience with a dog. After a nice contact with a lady that didn't seem to want much, we walked past her and her tranquil dog, on our way to the next visit. All of the sudden, I felt a wrenching pain on my ankle, looking around to see the same black dog running back to the lady who had sent it, and they both ran inside her house. As it didn't break the skin, I haven't had any serious problems, and enjoyed the situation quite a bit. My first dog bite in Chile!

My companion, Elder Flores, has turned out to be a pillar of strength in such a bleak area. He is a Bolivian with 18 months in the mission, but less than three in Chile. He has actually served in three different countries and missions, being bounced around as civil problems have kicked out foreign missionaries. Now he's here, and his super bright and energetic personality is making life wonderful to behold. The title of this email comes from a evangelical song he likes to sing when we are rudely rejected. For those who don't know Spanish, it essentially says ´Command/Send fire, Lord.´ It is complete with claps and cheers. He is a great guy.

I have been absolutely loving this place. Several great Elders I have known are my leaders (Elder Young from the CCM, Elder Hancock from Chiguayante, and Elder Layton from Arizona!), the Ward (Oh heavens, I had forgotten how glorious a well functioning ward feels. Meeting with fine tuned leaders and prepared members is an incredible feeling.) is absolutely rock solid, and life is great. How great is my calling!

I love you all, and hope the best for you. Manda fuego, Señor, en todos de sus lugares!

With love,

Elder Richardson

June 2 Santa Sabina, Andalien

Wow, six weeks have flown by faster than I could have imagined! It is incredible to me, blows my mind really, that I have had the glorious opportunity to be here in Yungay for four and a half months. It has been hard. It has been cold. It has been absolutely unforgetable! I have loved every minute of it.

But as with all good things (At least in this life!), this too must come to an end. I have received news that I am heading off once more, back to the cityscapes of Concepcion. I'm going to be, as the title of this letter states, in Santa Sabina in Andalien. As it turns out, this has been the following sector for two of the last three missionaries to leave Yungay, so maybe this shouldn't have been such a big surprise for me. Either way, my time here in the campo is at an end, and though I am sad to go, this has been a glorious roller coaster ride, and I am quite ready for the next.

There have been some unforgettable memories here in this tiny little pueblito. Great companions, great members, and even greater stories have all been quite present here. Though I can't say with a straight face that it has been an easy experience, I wouldn't trade it for the world. There were some pretty great things that happened this week especially, that I would like to tell of.

On our way to the District Class in Chillan, we found ourself in a standing room only bus, feeling quite like Sardines during the hour and ahalf journey. After I paid my fare, my wallet ended up in the baggage rack up above the hustle and the bustle. As we desperately signalled and battled the flood of personages to escape, my wallet was left behind in the chaos. Though undoubtably hundreds of people used that very bus the same day, I felt an unnatural calm and peace that things would work out. My companion mocked, declaring that we needed to call the credit companies and make sure everything was cancelled. 

As it was, I felt compelled to head down at a specific time the following day to the bus terminal, and sure enough that very bus was waiting. No one had returned a lost wallet or any of the contents, and so I was told that I could freely search. Maintaining a faith-filled attitude, I walked up the steps and put my hand up to the baggage rack, feeling instantly my long lost possession. Unbelievably, it had every last peso still intact, and nothing had been touched. My companion just couldn't believe it, and was amazed. I just know that God is watching out for us, even in the small and seemingly insignificant things.

After weeks of planning, we put on the branch talent show. We had some forty people there, and while the majority were children, there was a surprising amount of adults as well. The really big surprise was that everything worked out far better than we had planned. many people were willing to share artistic talents, including singing, dancing, and even a violin quartet with guitar accompianment. We even had some jokers, and beatboxing made an appearance as well. Everyone was well behaved, and we had no problems the entire night. Some of the less actives that we convinced to go to the activity even went to church the following Sunday, which made it all better. I was MC for a little bit, and told some cheesy jokes, and tried to help everyone have a good time. I'm sure going to miss the high stress situations of running a rama haha.

I am so incredibly grateful for everything that has happened here. There really is no doubt in my mind that God has a very specific plan for each and every single one of us. Never would I have imagined that I should be going to a little place called Yungay, but it has been something that I will never regret and always remember. I have grown in more ways that I could have imagined (Not horizontally, thank goodness), and that only thanks to the special eccentricities of this little town. Our Heavenly Father loves us so much, of that I can testify with all my heart.

Sunday night, we turned away from a bit of a disappointing lesson, a little bit downtrodden and not knowing where to go at the moment, as our plans had all fallen at that point. As we walked, a large and obviously drunk man stopped us, not that unusual of a thing at this point. As we tried to make a brief Gospel statement and head off, he told us that there was something that he needed to share. He shared a surprisingly powerful testimony of how he, and every single one of us, are God's children, and that He loves us so much. Though we were a bit saddened by the circumstances of this inebriated man, his alchohol-soaked testimony cheered us up far more than it should have. Far more and more, I am finding that there are no such things as happenstance, and that our Heavenly Father really is throwing our way just what we need. My thanks be to Him, and also to a hairy drunk man on Sunday night.

Well, that's about it for this week. Next time I will be writing straight from Conce! I'm excited for the change, and am ready for whatever comes my way, because I know that Heavenly Father is watching over me and every one else.

I love you all, and hope you have an excellent, miracle-filled week!

Sincerely,

Elder Richardson

May 19

Today was an utterly fantastic day! Why, you may ask from the depths of your soul? I'll tell you why. We had a zone activity to the famous thermal springs of Chillan. And it was a blast.

The true greatness of the day is reflected in that we actually had to spend the night in Chillan with several other great Elders, who are all inspirations and wonderful friends to me. The night was full of hilarious stories and great new experiences as well, and we were well exhausted by the time we all fell asleep. We loaded up, early in the morning with two other zones, 50+ Elders and Sisters in all, and rode the bus for several hours. As we made it into the Alps, we were a bit disappointed to find that the normal snow capped peaks were lacking the snow. Regardless, we did not let that stop us!

In a group of about 12, we headed off in search of a backwoods trail that would take us to a natural hot spring high in the mountains. It was a fantastic journey, and quite a bit more difficult than I had thought, but we made it to the top, or quite near enough to the top. About ten minutes from the nearest peak was a great, steaming hot spring. It reaked of sulfur, but the great view and greater pictures we took made it all worth it. I had thought that because we walk all day, especially in the hilly country of Yungay, that I could handle this hike pretty easily. That was not the case, haha. 

We had several great experiences this week. Many were in the midst of difficulties, and were welcome blessings from the Lord.

The first, from a contact that we made the last week. The woman we had contacted had little to no interest in our message, but her sister had happily given us her contact information. This Tuesday, in the midst of pouring rain, we were pormpted to stop by this nice lady, finding not only her but two of her children in her home. I have never, in my mission or at other points of life, met a woman who has opened up so throuroughly in a first visit. She told us every single one of her needs and desires without anything more than a few simple introductory questions. She has a great desire to learn more and receive the blessings of heaven, and we will be happy to visit in the future.

As the week wore on, it appeared that several of our previous investigators would not be progressing, so we redoubled our efforts to find those who can. We were prompted to pass by several members who had been helpful in the past, and received great blessings from our visits. The first lady wasn't available, but her non member husband happily talked with us for almost an hour about every aspect of the gospel of Christ. Though he has a few points mixed up, he has an incredible knowledge about these things, quoting scripture from memory and sharing concepts I have only begun to understand myself. The second hermana was quite happy to let us in, because a friend of hers had recently experienced some bad problems. Because we had recently helped this hermana with her own experiences, she eagerly gave us three references (One of which has already turned out to be a marked success). How incredible these people and these blessings.

It hasn't been easy, and there have been marked problems and challenges every step of the way, but I am more reassured than ever that Jesus Christ is personally heading this work, and that He wants it, and us, to succeed. I love you all, and hope that you have another fantastic week ahead of you.

Elder Richardson

May 26

Hello Everybody! It has been quite the rollercoaster week down here in Yungay, and I hope it has been all ups for you all. 

I wirte the title of this email for a distinct reason: Because it has been remarkably proven true this week. It was a bit amazing how poor the beginning of this week was, with very little results of any kind to stand for it. We were rejected. We were dejected. We were all manner of other -ecteds, and it seems like that would continue for the entire week. Investigators fell through. Less actives just didn't want to progress. Even the members have been depressed lately, and all in all, we returned to the house Thursday night completely worn out. My brief prayer that night was simply asking for the love of Heavenly Father.

And how it was answered!

First thing Friday Morning, we were sitting down and attempting to study, though it wasn't going well, when we hear a loud knocking at the door. Our Zone Leaders, the ever amazing Elder Calder and Elder Shumway, had made the early morning long bus ride to Yungay to make us pancakes. They also cleaned our dishes, and before leaving, taught a powerful lesson on the Atonement. It was a wonderful expression of love on their parts, and we appreciated it greatly.

But it didn't stop there. We had a wonderful, stress relieving service cutting wood for an elderly lady in our rama. We taught several powerful lessons with people who needed them. To top off the night, the English class that I taught went perfectly. The class was well behaved, there were 20+ in attendence, and there were no problems during the movie night afterwards. 

Another miraculous answer came Sunday night, when we lacked 7 contacts to reach our goal. It seemed impossible, late at night when we had struggled to find anyone in the streets the whole day. I said a quick prayer in my heart, only to feel inspired to head back to the house. Strangely enough, we did, with 15 minutes to spare before closing time. As we did however, we just happened to run across a group who had recently gotten off a bus from another city. We talked to each and every single person, contacting 9 in total, and surpassing our goal. It was incredible.

I know that the Lord truly answers prayers. He loves us, more than we can possibly know. He will always answer. I testify of these things every day, because there is not a shadow of a doubt in my heart that these things can bless every single living person.

I love you all, and hope you have a great week filled with answered prayers and wonderful, if not miraculous experiences!

With love,

Elder Richardson

May 12

Hey Family, friends, and amigos mejores!

It has been a wonderful, stirring week down here in the southern parts of the world. The weather is cool, but not unbearably so, and the people continue to be as amazing and nice as ever. I have also had the incredible pleasure of eating genuine mexican Tacos on two different occasions this last week.

Oh, and I talked with my family, which was pretty cool too.

Seeing this myriad of wonderful people after such a great expanse of time (Five months for some, ten months for others) was a fantastic experience. It was just another great reminder of why I'm out here, and whom I'm representing. Every day I look down at this little plaque of mine, and two names call my attention. First of all, my last name, and second and more importantly, the name of the Savior. Of all the people in the world, or out of it, that I do not want to let down, those two names cover the vast majority of the group.

Being a missionary certainly isn't an easy work, not now, not ever. Just this week, we received a heart breaking phone call from one of our best investigators, and great man that I've been working with for over three months now. He essentially cut off all ties with us over the space of this phone call, and it hut my like a Muy Thai kick to the stomach (My companion, who studies martial arts has demonstrated this, and it doesn't feel too great).

Needless to say, the work carries on. Like that tremendously significant vision and dream from Daniel, the rock will keep rolling on until it fills the entire earth. While these pains and these disappointments are ever present, at least during this short time on earth, things will improve and get better. When we carry on, with a smile on our face and more importantly, on our heart, we will see the greatest blessings that this life can offer.

This week, we putspecial effort into contacting people on the streets, and there was many incredible experiences that resulted. Many of these contacts were quite lame, and the people, though nice country folk, rejected us quite soundly. But always, right when our hearts were about to give in, we found that on person that just breathed a fresh new life into our work. Twice, after many sound rejections, we would stop by a person and they showed genuine interest in our message. It was a reassuring promised blessing that really made our efforts seem worth it.

Something that blew me away earlier this week occured during a mini-cambio. My companion, who knew nothing of the sector, was following my lead, when we meandered into an area that didn't have a whole lot of investigators. Our planned visit fell through, and I decided that we could try and visit an old investigator, a husband to an active member that in the past hasn't really committed to much.

Far from the normal, dull approach of sharing a scripture and leaving, I decided to just ask him questions the entire time. Before I realized it, I was asking questions I had never really pondered before to this man, and the effect they had on him was impressive. He was caught off guard, and his sensitive and sincere responses shook me. I had thought that he hadn't wanted to progress because he wasn't interested, but those inspired questions slipped beneath his defenses and revealed that he genuinely wants to. He hungers for the blessings of the gospel, which he knows is true. He just doesn't know if he can live up to the ascossiated responsabilities, and told us that he hadn't sincerely prayed for an answer. He told us that he lacked that spiritual need in his prayers to truly receive, becuase he was a bit afraid of the answer he would get.

It was a tremendous spiritual experience, and I am so grateful for the Spiritual promptings that made it so. Because of his heartfelt words, I have been inspired to examine mine own prayers, and see where I am lacking concerning spiritual hunger. Enos 1 looks to be a good read soon enough.

I love you all, and hope that you all have a fantastic week. ¡Ustedes son los mas bakànes!

With love,

Elder Richardson

May 5

Hello everybody! It is a beautiful fall/almost-winter morning here in Yungay, and I am happy to send this letter out to you. It has been a mountainous week in the mission field, but it is certainly one that I wouldn't trade for the world. The life of a missionary is one of tremendous spiritual peaks followed by deep and often times surprisingly long spiritual valleys, and it appears to be in the latter for now. BUT! This week was a joy to live, and I learned so much, its not even funny. Its really awesome really, how the Lord has chosen to help little old me to grow in this time through these specific experiences.

Regardless, I hope that for you all it has been a marvelous week of spiritual Everests, because chilling rain, appointments falling like the London Bridge, and broken commitments aren't that fun to live through, all being said.

¡Bueno! This week had a strong theme of a gospel principle that is absolutely crucial to every single part of the Restored Church of Jesus Christ. I am talking about faith in the Savior Jesus Christ, which has been, is, and will always be the abiding principle of the true church. Absolutely, it has to be at the center of what we do and who we are. It was difficult for me to find specific taks and sections that speak on faith, because it is such a vital part of every single other gospel principle. This eternal trust in things that are not seen but are true  spurs us on to obedience, gives us hope, and enlightens our minds with purpose.

We must develop this faith, or else we have nothing. In other words, if we have faith centered on the Rock of our Redeemer, there is no thing that can't be done, and no storm that can't be weathered. Despair, confusion, and iniquity in general are antithesis to faith, and many times in the scripture are the words ``Do not fear,``  ``Doubt not,`` ```Be not afraid,`` ``Have faith, doubting nothing``. and so on and so forth. This faith is to be nurtured in times of plenty and times of need, but if we have it, we shall never walk alone or in fear or in the many other negative states that are so common in the world.

If we have faith in Christ, it supplements every other part of our lives. Our scripture reading becomes incredibly potent, and we receive the exact truths that we and others we know and love need to here. Our prayers become sincere, our communication with our Father in Heaven becomes something wonderful to behold. Everyday living becomes something miraculous.

In no way does having faith mean that we won't have problems. But like Job of old, with faith, we can say that whatever thing passes our way, I will rejoice in the Lord. I KNOW, that my Redeemer liveth. We don't gain miraculous liberation from every problem, though the faithful will certainly receive blessings of that sort, but we do gain the kind of trust and hope in the Lord that we need to pass through and overcome with our testimonies unshaken and our lives unimaginably blessed.

One of my greatest heroes now is the Brother of Jared from the Book of Mormon. I want, more than many other things I have ever wanted, to have a faith as rock solid as his. The faith he possessed was unprecedented, and in return he received miracles and blessings that were equally incredible. The first part of Ether chapter 3 really expresses the magnificent trust and confidence he displayed in the Lord. By sheer faith alone, and Jeffrey R Holland describes the experience far better than I in his book ´Christ and the New Covenant,´ the Brother of Jared had an experience of seeing the premortal Savior in a way that had never before come to pass. Wow.

Like Indiana Jones, we must be willing to take that leap of faith, and if we do, our faith will definitely be rewarded.

Yungay has many problems right now, and the work is very difficult, but carrying on in faith is the only answer. We are experiencing trials and challenges, but I know, that persevering will bring incredibly blessings.

This week, I had the pleasure to have a long lesson with Hermano Luis Salazar, the great man that was baptized in March. He is an inspiring figure for me, his faith especially. This is a man, that despite only having two months in the church, wants more than anything to go to the Temple and be sealed with his family for time and all eternity. This is a man, that when we teach a lesson on forgiveness and forgiving others, immediately applies it in his life, despite the painful blow to the pride it must have taken. He is a giant, spiritually speaking, since not many Chileans are that big literally. He has the faith, and I know tremendous blessings are in store for him. Nothing will stand in the way of this great man as he moves forward in faith for himself and his family. He is also quite funny.

I would like to close with the lyrics of a hymn that I heard right as I began my studies this morning.

1. 1. Lead, kindly Light, amid th'encircling gloom;
   Lead thou me on!
   The night is dark, and I am far from home;
   Lead thou me on!
   Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see
   The distant scene--one step enough for me.
2. 2. I was not ever thus, nor pray'd that thou
   Shouldst lead me on.
   I loved to choose and see my path; but now,
   Lead thou me on!
   I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
   Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years.
3. 3. So long thy pow'r hath blest me, sure it still
   Will lead me on
   O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
   The night is gone.
   And with the morn those angel faces smile,
   Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile!

I love you all, and hope this new week proves to be a faith building, faith sustaining, and faith rewarding week for you all!

Sincerely,

Elder Richardson