I'd like to think I'm the mess you'd wear with pride

June 14, 2011

Hey,

This week was wild, it went by so fast...the week did that is, the days take forever but the weeks fly by. I have been thinking a lot about how much the Lord loves his missionaries. He provides a way for us to be able to get so much accomplished in one day, he gives us the best teachers, he gives us the spirit. This work is hard, but also extremely worth it and so rewarding. I have come to a realization that it is essential that I be patient. The Lord knows what I need and when I need it, he WILL NOT let me fall. Everytime I feel like I am struggling a small miracle happens, I will read a scripture, meet someone, or teach an amazing lesson where the spirit is just overwhelming. I have found that the best way to face hard times is by working harder, praying harder and studying harder. I cant explain it, it just works, the Lord blesses you when you are doing all that you can to be obedient to him.

This week we sang a hymn at a fireside and the last verse really resonated with me.
"Do what is right, be faithful and fearless; onward press onward the goal is in sight.
Eyes that are wet now, ere long will be tearless, blessings await you in doing whats right."
I have thought recently about my struggle in deciding to go on a mission and actually following through on it, I am so glad that I am here, that I stayed faithful. This is were I need to be, the gospel is true. So many people deserve to be able to hear it.

I sat with the president of the MTC on sunday and ate lunch with him. We got to talking a lot about my life and Dad, he shared with me a scripture in DC 84:87-88. It talks about how the Lord will be with those missionaries, he will be on the right and on the left and his spirit will be in our hearts and his angels round about me. President Brown said that it wouldnt surprise him if dad was with me while I am out here. I like to think grandpa is with me as well. I know that as I do all that I can, the Lord will not allow me to fail. Be humble, be obedient and work hard, do all that you can and the Lord will help you with the rest.

Love you all, Cubo,
RR

Higgy- I need your address so i can write you! write me again, por favor?
Kerissa- Where are you?
Kevo- And you? where are you?

June 7, 2011

Hey,

So I guess I made it through the first week haha. Its been long, I feel like I have been here for at least three weeks, those first two days were a blur haha. This experience has been a roller coaster of emotions, it is the hardest work that I have ever done but also the most rewarding. I have gained more knowledge in the last 6 days than I can even explain. The language is coming quickly, I find myself speaking spanish to go to sleep haha. To be able to feel the spirit like I can in the MTC is amazing. I feel so close to my Heavely Father. It is amazing for me to see so many faithful young members here in the MTC, over 2000 young men and women, most of them young men, the faith that they have, and the humility, I have never seen it before. And there are a lot of kids here from BYU Hawaii, its wild.
On sunday night we had a fireside and all of us sang "called to serve", the spirit filled the room. We started the song off slowly and then gradually got louder till the last verse when we all stood up, 2000 voices booming, "onward ever onward...!" It made me think of my experience here, I started out ready to preach the gospel but being more reserved because I am afraid of saying something wrong, but the more I learn and study and understand the language I feel myself wanting to share the message of the gospel with everyone. This gospel is true, I know it is, I cannot deny it. I have prayed about it and the Lord continues to answer my prayers. He loves us so much. That is the beautiful thing about the gospel, that we can pray about it, to know if it is true and he will answer us. "If any of ye lack wisdom, let him ask of God" James 1:5. Never waste a moment not knowing if this church is true, the time is not worth wasting.
Remember to always have faith and to always, always be humble. Those are the two most important things I have learned, to be humble and to have faith. This is His work. I am so honored to be here.

I love you all, I miss you all.
Cubo,
Rachey


-Boofy, I got your letter, I will join the choir, I need your email or address or both so I can talk to you. I love my companions, hermana taylor is buck, hermana griffith is so sweet.
-Lindsay and Matty love you both like none other, love your child. Matty the coordinating sister in my district is from New Brunswick and a convert, got baptized in 2008, made me think of you, love you.
-Mom, you are the best, thanks for writing me, love you. tell everyone I miss them.

I will send pictures soon...
"I got a bumper sticker on my chest that says no regrets, no regrets"

-mason jennings
Imagine this....

You get a thorn stuck in your foot, and it hurts,
but you keep walking because you have a ways to go,
after a while it doesn't really hurt that bad,
so you leave it.

Then you begin to realize that it is still there,
the aching becomes noticeable again,
so you begin to pull the thorn out,
as you pull, it hurts,

but it is a good hurt, because you know that soon the
pain won't be there anymore.
After the thorn is removed,
the spot where it was still aches occasionally,
but not as bad as it once did, and a little while later,
the pain just kind of disappears.

You remember where it was and what caused you to be in pain,
and now you know to look out for thorns.

I think the atonement is a lot like this.

Just Thinking

Time is winding down. Im nervous, scared and excited. I've never made a commitment like this (at least not one of this magnitude) and frankly the fact that I am leaving what i want and still have to do behind is adding to my feelings of nervousness and making me more scared. The unknown has a tendency to scare me and i have done a good job of avoiding it, haha. See, I love my life the way it is, I have so much that I could be doing, school, making money, enjoying being selfish while I still can (i know that one sounds immature, ha).

But I know that despite all my worries and anxiety, this is what I am supposed to do. I know I am suppose to serve a mission. I have been given so much from God and now I need to do all that I can for him and for those who are in need of the joy that he has given me, of the comfort that he has provided me.

I sometimes feel like Alma the younger, just in that I experienced a moment of being born again, as we all must, and like Alma, I felt that "My soul hath been redeemed from the gall of bitterness and bonds of iniquity. I was in the darkest abyss; but now, i behold the marvelous light of God. My soul was racked with eternal torment; but I am snatched, and my soul is pained no more."(Mosiah 27:29)

I remember the moment I chose to go on a mission, it was back in december 2010. I was sad, lonely, and unsure my life at the time. I decided in that moment that I needed to pray, so for the first time, in probably months, I got down on my knees and I prayed. I read my patriarchal blessing and I knew in that moment, that I had to leave Hawaii (the only place i ever felt like i was home).

When I prayed, I prayed for comfort and for a knowledge of what I should do. I felt for the first time that there was someone listening to me, someone who knew me and what I needed. I felt a warmth in my body and comfort in my heart. And I felt prompted to read my patriarchal blessing. From there, I was guided to follow the admonition given to Nephi in the Book of Mormon. To go and do as the lord commands.

So I left, and now I am going, faithfully, to serve a loving God, who gave his only begotten son, so that people like me could know what feels like to really stand up.

Here I am standing and ready to walk, however many miles the Lord needs me to and however many miles those in need of the gospel need me too. Because they deserve it.

Change is Hard I Should Know

A friend of mine once told me to never settle.

To find what you are passionate about.
To find someone you love.
To find peace.

They told me to never settle.

Never settle for mediocrity because its easier,
never settle for staying because you are afraid.

Change is a beautiful thing.
I love music, it makes me happy, makes me sad, makes me think, makes me wanna dance. I just cant seem to get enough of it.



Something about this man is beautiful. maybe its the beard, maybe the beanie, maybe the voice
also...

I am obsessed with Natalie Norton's photography. I am an admirer from a far.
She is so talented and such an amazing woman. Not to mention her pictures
remind me of home.

Check her out: http://natalienortonblog.com

Momma



This may be cliché, being that today is mother’s day, but I love my mom.
She is my best friend, she is a confidant, she is so understanding and loving.
She is a musician, a mother, a sweetheart,
a lover of animals, of people, of trying and of giving.
She never judges and always forgives.
She is patient, understanding, so selfless, so beautiful,
sweet, kind, gentle and quite frankly, one of the bravest
and strongest women that I have ever encountered.
She preserves through any trial with one hand holding her family
and the other clinging to the gospel.
She has faith insurmountable. She knows God.
She knows of his love for her and for her children.
She is a woman of peace and of love.
Always wanting to make her children happy,
willing to give all that she has to each one of us.
Willing to sacrifice her own wants to help us attain ours.
With that being said, I love my mom, no matter how cliché it my sound, I love my mom.