I'm gonna miss California a lot!

This week was a really good week!
My visa has arrived! I'll be heading to Australia April 10th im way excited!

I'm gonna miss California a lot though.  I've learned so much here it's crazy.  At first it was really hard, but as soon as I made the choice to just do the work, forget about everything and just focus on the Lord and His work, everything started going better, everything started to fall into place and it was really cool.

I had a really cool experience this week. I was given to opportunity to give a blessing to a big Tongan. He injured his knee and he is a police officer. If he couldn't go to work, he couldn't provide for his family. So he asked me to give him a blessing. At first, I was scared because I still don't really know what I'm doing. As I began, the spirit guided me through it and it turned out really good.

I also had another really weird thing happen to me this week. As we were walking back to our car we passed this scary looking guy and I said, "good evening," just to be nice and he started swearing at me and flipping me off and stuff and we just kept walking then he turned around and pulled his pants down and mooned us... like seriously? We just laughed it off.

The family that was suppose to come to church this week couldn't come sadly,  because they both
had work. We talked to them and they said they will come next Sunday,  so let's hope they come.

I'm sad to leave California, but Australia should be fun too.

Love, Elder Riding

Because, I know I didn’t say it. It was the spirit.

Well this week has been the best week so far. I'm starting to get along with my companions. I told myself that I'm just not gonna let them bother me or annoy me anymore so things are better there.

I had a really cool experience this week. A couple days ago, I went on a split with a member to go see another family it was just me and a member. And when we started talking (with the investigator), the conversation was weird and awkward and boring, the member was not helping me out like they are supposed to, but as I got into the lesson I prepared, the spirit was so strong with me, and everything I was saying I didn’t even know I knew, and it all came out and I was asking questions and they were answering them and they were asking me questions and I thought I didn’t know the answer to the questions, but then it came to me and I knew all the answers to all the questions they had. And I testified that what I said was true and the mother started to cry and then she asked me why I was out on a mission and I told her I’m here to help people like you that don’t have the light of Christ in their lives and give them the light because there is true happiness in this gospel, and I told them to give it a chance and they said they would and they should be coming to church this next Sunday so I hope they do.

That’s my experience for the week. Pretty cool. I’ve never had that feeling of knowledge before and looking back, I don’t even know what I said. Because, I know I didn’t say it. It was the spirit.

But yeah cool stuff is happening. We just have to recognize the Lord’s hand in all that we do, because he is always there for us even when we don’t notice.

Everything is going good here in Cali. I’m lovin it out here. I just have to stay positive about everything. I’m learning so much it’s amazing!

Love, Elder Riding 

Zone Conference

Zone Conference

Sweet finds at a garage sale! Ties and a leather camera bag.

Elder Riding says that this is a common sight.  Bikes that are missing parts because they are stolen and then sold.

Elder Riding is Doing well and is loving missionary work in Riverside California

Elder Riding is Doing well and is loving missionary work in Riverside California.  Still waiting on his visa to go to Australia!   Here are a few pictures we have received.  The first picture is of Jackie who Elder Riding and his companion taught in the Provo Utah MTC.   She committed to be baptized  the end of March  J  We are so happy and proud of Elder Riding and cant wait to hear about more adventures in the mission field. 

Thanks for all your love and support.  We love you all!!

temporary assignment to the Riverside California mission

From Elder Riding:

Hey everyone, sorry its been awhile, but for those that don't know, my visa hasn't been approved yet, so I got a temporary assignment to the Riverside California mission. It's been a full week in Cali and its been a really good week, its pretty scary here. I'm in the ghetto and everyone is scary looking. I'm in a trio companionship Elder Cornaby is from Oklahoma and Elder Goodrich is from North Dakota. They are really cool and I love them to death, I'm glad I'm in a trio because I still have no idea what I'm doing. I'm still getting use to everything. The people here are pretty scary but I'm growing to love them. The members feed us most of the time and the food is really good especially the tacos. We don't do a lot of teaching because we don't have anyone to teach yet. A lot of the people speak Spanish and hardly any English so we have them talk to our Spanish speaking missionaries that are in our area. Everything is going good. I'm surviving  

Elder Riding