What a LOVELY week!

This week was so great! I got to go on splits With Hermana Vargas. It was so fun. I learned a lot and we laughed a lot.

NICOLÁS: He is progressing so well! Yesterday he committed to living the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity! He is so ready for his baptism this Saturday!

JOSÉ: Is doing just as well as Nicolas. They are both so pumped and were able to go to a baptism this past Valentines day! It was such a marvelous day and a beautiful baptism with a prayer answered!

It all started Friday night. The clouds came out and we all got nervous. Because our chapel is being remodeled we have to have our baptisms in the River. Because the rain is bi-polar here we never know what is going to happen. Friday night it started sprinkling a little bit. So we all prayed and it stopped. Then when we woke up on Saturday morning the sky was black. I called the sisters. (Their windows don't go to the outside...we live in apartments) and said Pray, it looks like it's going to rain. We all said a fast prayer and in an hour the whole sky was blue! We couldn't believe it.

The spirit was so strong in the baptismal service and everyone was so happy! The best way to spend Valentines day, showing God that we love him so very much! I am so very grateful to know that Heavenly Father knows and loves each and every one of us. and that he answers our prayers! I love him.

Heavenly Father is so good to us. This week we went to talk to Antonio and when we sat down and a lady said to us. 'HEY! Are you from the Church of Jesus Christ?' Yes! Yes we are! She said she was a member from another city who had just recently moved here. She then told us that her aunt is very interested in hearing our message. I couldn't believe it. I believe they will be our next baptisms for March. She also has a daughter that is 9 years old, and she too is very interested in listening to us!

Please pray for them! I love you all so much have a wonderful week! And go to the temple! PRAY and choose the right!

Hermana Riedelbach

P.S. I promise I am not that chubby in person! Nor am I bald. 

YE OF LITTLE FAITH!

This week was so good!

JOSÉ:  I don't know if I have told you all about him? He is a friend of a member here in our Branch. She brought him to church, and he said that he is ready to change his life. We are working hard, hard with him. He has already been to church three times! How great right? This week we went and taught him and we put a date for 21st of February. I really thought he was going to say no, like the last time..

YE OF LITTLE FAITH.

He said YES! We are so excited! We are working hard to teach him all of the 5 lessons so that he will be prepared to enter the waters of baptism this next Saturday!

NICOLÁS:  He is also a friend of a member...well actually our Branch President! He just showed up last Sunday! So we went and visited him twice this last week. Last night we went with the Branch President and his wife to visit him. We taught him the Restoration. It was so good! The President was able to testify about the things we taught and also share his own conversion story and help his friend out.

We got to the part where we are supposed to challenge them to be baptized and I had my doubts...

YE OF LITTLE FAITH

We followed exactly how our President taught him and he as well accepted to be baptized this 21st of February! Our president has asked us to focus more on the Holy Ghost. So we always ask.

'How do you feel?'

If we have taught right they will always describe the Holy Ghost. So then we explain the Holy Ghost and read some scriptures. We then ask

'would you like to have these feelings with you forever?

and they usually say yes. We then ask

'And starting when?' and they usually say

' Well, right now!'

Then, we read with them Matthew 3:16-17 explaining what they need to do in order to receive these feelings forever. And then we ask them to prepare to receive the Holy Ghost by being baptized. AND THEY SAY YES :)

I really do believe in revelation. Our President is always trying to help us be better and do better. Asking in this way is really divine revelation. They always begin to understand the importance of being baptized and the blessings they will receive afterward.

I am so happy and can see the hand of the Lord in our lives each and every day! I love you all so much! Have a wonderful week!

Hermana Riedelbach

P.S. Maybe this model can help some of you missionaries :)

15 Months Down, Only 4 More to Go!

WELL, this week I will officially hit 15 months on my mission! WHAT? I can't believe it! I am getting so old!

This week has been so busy! Hermana Romero, another Sister in our area got really sick and the had to go to Villahermosa to have a surgery. She had stones in her Gall Bladder. So, we have working double time! We have been busy seeing all of their investigators, which left our area a little sad and lonely.

This week we came to terms with some things and we decided that we needed to drop some investigators, one of them being Francisca. She flat out decided that she didn't want anything we had to offer. It was sad and hard, but I think we felt it coming. Our plans for this week are to talk to as many people as we can so that we can find a lot of new investigators.

We had a neat experience on Saturday! We went to visit someone that I had contacted in Dec. with Hermana Wonnacott, when we got there her kids said that she was busy and that we should come back later. Then, a teenage boy walked out of their house and started to talk to us. He told us to come in and then he said wait, I have your book! (WHAT?) I have been reading it and I really like it! (at this point I am sure he is confused.) My companion says 'The Book of Mormon?' and he said yes! He went and pulled out The Book of Mormon and we sat down and talked to him.

We have an appointment with him tomorrow! José from last week came to church again and we have two appointments set up with him this week! We have a lot of faith that we are going to find those who are ready to be baptized!

I love you all and know that The Book of Mormon is true. We went to the ruins again today and I could feel it in my bones! Something about being around them testifies of everything!

 I love you all and I am so thankful for all that you have done for me!

CON MUCHO AMOR,

HERMANA RIEDELBACH!

Opposition In All Things

This week started out so good! We were able to make two baptismal dates and find some good people! We had some real powerful lessons and everything for us and the Sisters was going so good!

Then, as we all know, there is opposition in all things. All of our dates started to fall and investigators started having doubts and everything went downhill! I don't say this to be sad because I am actually really happy! But, I just want to testify, as we are hastening our work so is Satan.

I learned so much this week! We have so much more work to do here in PALENQUE! There are always more people to find and more people to help. Despite the things listed above, we had some great moments this week! Things are looking good! We worked hard and I have a feeling that a miracle is about to come our way!

As of now, Francisca is ready to be baptized this Saturday, she has some major doubts though. BUT, we will continue to work with her and hope for the best! PRAYERS AND FAITH!

On Saturday, we received a reference from a member, he came to church yesterday! His name is José. We have an appointment with him tonight, and I think he is golden. He wants to change his life. WOOT! BLESSINGS!

I know my emails are getting super short, and there aren't any pictures...Next week, I promise that my letter will be longer and more detailed.

I love you all and can't wait to hear back! hint, hint :)

Hermana Riedelbach

A Good Week!

Hello All!

How's it going? Things here in Palenque are going just fine! This last week we worked hard in spite of the rain every day! After a while, my raincoat stopped working so I walked around in a trash bag to protect myself! :)

This week we worked so hard to get some dates set and to get investigators coming to Sacrament meeting! Well, we got half of that accomplished! We had 4 investigators at church yesterday! I can't tell you how excited I was :) We are hoping that some of these people will choose to get baptized this month and the beginning of February! We also had some less active members that came to church yesterday as well! I think you could call it a pretty successful Sunday!

MARIO: He is 17 years old, kind of a punk! But he is so great! He understands that it's important to be baptized, but he wants to receive an answer before he makes a choice. So right now he is praying and reading the book of Mormon!

FRANSISCA and TANIA: They are two sisters, Fransisca came to church yesterday and loved it! She said she just felt like part of the group! They are having trouble recognizing their answers. We have explained what the Holy Ghost is a bunch of times and how they will receive answers. They have some hidden doubt and we have yet to get to that point...but we are working on it!

MARGARITA, SOLEDAD, JOSÉ, AND ALFREDO: They are awesome! We found them this week and we are so excited to be teaching them! We invited them to come to church on Sunday and they said they would come and guess what? They (ok, Margarita and Soledad) actually showed up! We only visited with them for 15 minutes! We were so happy! We have an appointment to visit them tonight! Wish us luck!

These are all of our progressing investigators! We are hoping to get them all baptized here soon, but we will see how things go!

This Saturday we had interviews....that was quite the show! The Assistants forgot to tell us that we would be having interviews that day...so we get a call at 10am on Saturday saying that we needed to be in Zapata (an hour away) at 10am...haha, we showed up two hours late. We missed a little bit, but we were able to be interviewed and to play a little bit!

I hope next week we will have some more exciting news! I love you all and am so grateful for all that you do for me! Have a wonderful week!

Hermana Riedelbach

p.s. I forgot my camera in the house...so pictures next week??

I am Grateful for the Holy Ghost!

Well, not much happened last week. We spent all day Monday and Tuesday in Villahermosa.

In our mission, the new missionaries write us a letter and then read it during the Welcoming Meeting. Then the President gives us the chance to choose our companion by revelation. He has a list, but he would like us to receive our own personal revelation. When we know who our companion is, we raise our hand and he lets us know if we are right. I was so nervous, I had been praying ever since I knew that was how the President assigns those sisters we would train.  I was praying that I would be able to choose correctly. When we walked in we hugged all the new sisters,  there was one that was taller than the others,  I laughed in my head...what if the President puts us together.

When she got up to read I felt really calm but didn't really pay much attention, and then she stopped talking and I just felt like it was her. I put my hand up and the President said 'Muy bien Hermana Riedelbach. How did you know?'

The Holy Ghost told me. :)

It's a little different having a new companion, but I am enjoying teaching her and trying to be better so that she can learn and grow as well. Her name is Hermana Lazaro! She is from Mexico City. She is so great, she has a big desire to help all those around her. We are learning and growing together. I am so grateful that she is my companion and that we get to work together!

While I was in Villa I got to see Hermana Pasley! I missed her so much it was so much fun to catch up with all the sisters! I also got to see Hermana Vazquez she will also be training this transfer! I am so proud of her! Below is a picture with me and my hijitas!

I love you all so much! I am praying for you all and wish the best for you!

Hermana Riedelbach

What a Weekend!

Well, this week transfers happened... The mission office called us on Saturday and told us that we would be the same. So that's pretty cool, Sister Wonnacott and I were happy.

Then on Sunday we are eating lunch and the Zone leaders walk by and say 'Are you sure that you don't all have transfers? Because I just talked with the assistants and they told me that Hermana Wonnacott is being transferred....' WHAT??

So, I call our Sister Training Leader and she calls the assistants, they tell her that Sister Wonnacott is being transferred to Villahermosa. So, right now I am in Villahermosa because I had to come and drop her off, and wait for my new companion. I have no idea who it is going to be, because she is a new sister and I will be meeting her tomorrow to start her training. I am a little bit scared about that. But I know that if that's what the Lord wants, that's what I'll do. Like Nephi, ' I will go and do what the Lord has commanded'.

In other news! Antonio got the priesthood on Sunday! I am so proud of him. He is so happy and he keeps talking about going on a mission! Which makes me even happier! This last week we have been meeting with a family and I am so excited! I think that the two daughters will be getting baptized here shortly!

I was so sad to say goodbye to Hermana Wonnacott, I learned a lot from her! She is amazing and funny. One day we turned the mission into StarWars...I don't think we stopped laughing especially because our zone leader makes the perfect chewy...but don't tell him that! I will miss Hermana Wonnacott and her desire to work!

I am excited to see what things my new companion and I can accomplish this transfer! We are going to work hard and do everything that we can to be obedient and to baptize!

I love you all!

Hermana Riedelbach

P.S. I'll need lots of prayers this transfer!