October 21, 2015 Work, Work, Work!

Week update. 

This week has been pretty good. 

   Thursday we got to go help one of our members do some yard work which was pretty good. We just packed up a ton of wood and general yard junk into a u-haul then we took it to the city dump. It was pretty alright. I thought it was weird to use a u-haul but I guess people just don't have trailers out here. 

Anyways Friday was pretty good. I spent a majority of the day tracting, nothing too much to report there. 

   Saturday we went and helped out one of our investigators, we chopped down a ton of trees and then cut them up and hauled them around. This investigators brother cut a tree down in a pond and that really stunk to pull out. We got it out though. We got really good sandwiches from it though which was really cool. It's always a highlight when you get fed. We had a good days work though from it. 

   Sunday was good. We went to church which was pretty good. Nothing too crazy really to report there. 

   Monday was pretty good, we taught a handful of lessons but in between we did a ton of tracting. We had a good dinner appointment with some retired older people in our Ward it was a really good one. 

   Tuesday was pretty good also; we got to go to a less active house that missionaries have been trying to get into forever! And it turns out they love Crosby Stills and Nash, we were fast friends. Anyways that was a good success for us. Nothing too much happened in the rest of that, a handful of appointments canceled. This stunk. This area is hopefully going to start picking up and getting a little busier. 

   It's now sweater weather so that's nice, I get to break out my sweaters which is fun. I heard that the Utah Pipe Band got to play at temple square! That sounds super rad! I'm sorta jealous! Anyways things here are good, transfers are next week. I don't think I'm going anywhere which is good!Anyways hope you all have a great week! 

 Elder Richards

October 14, 2015 Visit from Elder Arnold

Hello!

This week was good, but it was a bit slower than usual but it's been picking up the last couple of days. So that’s good!

Anyways last Thursday was good! We had a mission conference with Elder Arnold of the 70. It was good! He taught us a lot about using members in missionary work and all sorts of goodies. It will be good. I think our mission is going to really do well with the things he taught.

Friday I went on a split with one of our district leaders Elder Bentley, he is in the Spanish program so I didn't really know what was going on. But it was still fun.

Saturday was good, we tracted a lot, nothing to crazy happened.

Sunday was good. Church was good. One of our investigators came, but she went to the wrong ward which stinks.

Monday was good, we went and took one of the priests in our Ward tracting with us. It went well! We knocked on one door and this very energetic older woman opened the door and asked if we knew her name. We said we didn't and she then told us she was a Whitmer, so she knew the Mormons. She said that she's Episcopalian now and that her ancestor is on top of our buildings. (Moroni?)

Anyways yesterday was good we busted out some member missionary work like Elder Arnold taught and it went well! We tracted for a bit met with one of our investigators and taught some members. Nothing big is coming in this next week! So we will just be staying busy talking to people! 

            Today I'm going up to Danbury to meet up with one of my old zone leaders and friend Elder White, we are going to hit "Chic fil a" there. We are going to come back to Norwalk because one of the new missionaries and trainer wanted to play board games with us. So we will head over for that. Then later today we are ending pday early, one of the missionaries from the new Canaan Ward is getting home and he wants to go out with us before he gets released. So that will be good! It's super pretty here! I really need to start taking more pictures!

Hope all is well! Love ya!

Elder Richards

Zone meeting with Elder Arnold

Did someone say food

Pictures from mission blogs

October 7, 2015 General Conference was great!

Week update,

General conference was a great time! I really enjoyed it! I thoroughly enjoyed it. I really liked the one southern sisters talk I can't remember her name. They were both really good. It was a great conference. Easily the high light of my week. The neighborhood we live in is pretty good it's pretty quiet. We live more towards the business part of town. It's pretty good though. I can't complain. This week had a considerable amount of tracting. We knocked some huge houses, the people were all very kind, but not interested. Our main investigator Darlene has gone AWOL, so hopefully we can hunt her down soon. We ran into a new less active at general conference, so that was good. Don't know too much about him yet. We went to a senior center this week to give service, it was an enjoyable time!  They were cracking jokes and all in all were quite lively and entertaining. All in all it’s been a quiet week. We really just tracted a lot. Friday we had a MLC meeting which took up most of the day. We are having a 70 visit the mission tomorrow. So it talked a lot about this meeting. I think it should be a good visit tomorrow. It's been getting pretty cold out here recently which is both good and bad. It's nice to have a car. General conference was a good one though. I took lots of good notes and figured out some ways to apply what I learned, which is the best part! Anyways hope you all are doing well! 

Elder Richards 

September 30, 2015 Go, go, go!

Week update.

            This week was pretty good! Thursday was interviews with president! And my year mark! For every interview our president runs with the zone leaders in the morning. So that was fun, he has done a handful of iron man races so it was fun keeping up with him. Afterwards we came home and all used the showers then he took us to breakfast and then we hit interviews. It was all pretty good!

            Friday we helped a family move stuff into their house all is well. But I am yet to help somebody move as a missionary and some elder doesn't break or put a hole in anything. Over all it was a good move.

            Saturday we got our car repaired which is nice the tire kept going flat and it needed a safety inspection. So we had to drive to New York to get it taken care of.   

            Sunday was good. We spent the day tracting / looking up people. Everybody was really nice. But none were really interested. But that's all right. 

            Monday was district meeting / car inspections. It was a good time. It was fun to see the office senior couples again! Later that day we went and nicked some doors.     

            Yesterday we went and gave service at a rest home. I got to play word games with old people it was a good time!  Afterwards we went and tracted some more houses. We had a bit more success but no one was super interested. Nothing really crazy or anything happened. So that's all right! I hope you all had a good week! Love ya!

Elder Richards

Look ma no hands!

The Stamford Zone got rewarded with Dunkin Donuts for having exceptionally clean cars.  Thank you Elder and Sister Gardner for managing the automobiles and encouraging our missionaries.

September 23, 2015 New area and New companion Elder Johnson from Morgan Utah!

Week update.

This week has been a good one!

Friday was a sort of quiet day. We tracted a bit and New Canaan has some big houses! I tracted a literal castle. I will attach pictures at the end of the email. This is definitely a unique experience! We tract a lot of mansions! The people aren’t super receptive, but their maids are very polite to us!

Saturday was pretty good. We taught a few lessons which is always a good thing. We have a pretty small area, and it is very wealthy. But there is a pretty big ward here so most people in the town know the Mormons or they have a friend who is a member. So we can usually start a conversation that way.

Sunday was good. It was cool to meet a lot of the ward members. Sunday evening we had to get a ton of the district leader’s numbers and organize them all which sort of stank but it’s whatever!

Monday was good. We had district meeting which was pretty good then we tracted some more!

Tuesday was good too! We taught a few lessons! I met our most solid investigator Darlene! It was cool because she randomly started talking about how much she is grateful for the change the gospel has brought in her life. It is really cool to see people like that! Tuesday I dropped my iPad while tracting and cracked the screen a bit! It’s the worst! But it’s still functioning and the cracks don’t really interfere with anything so that’s a blessing! It’s crazy to think I have almost been out for a year! Time flies! All in all a good week! It’s been cooling off a ton and the leaves are starting to change which is exciting!

Elder Johnson far left, Elder Richards far right.

A few thoughts from this transfer are,

1- This transfer had a lot of unexpected changes! President Smith is changing a lot of the leadership! We are expecting a new AP this next one! Elder Reid goes home to Hawaii! Every zone leader companionship changed this cycle! So that pretty crazy!

Elder Richards, Elder Reid the assistant, Elder Hill and Elder Rains

2- So the schedule isn’t too bad! I don’t have as many small tasks as the district leaders do. I have to supervise the district leaders though which is pretty good! The only problem is if crap hits the fan. I’m the first in the splatter zone!

3- The new shoes are great! They are super light which is awesome and they fit well, keep my feet cool and are comfy! Thanks a ton!

4- My new comp is Dwayne Johnson from Morgan Utah. I was his district leader back in south Manhattan at the start of my mission! Which was pretty cool! We have been friends the entire time and now we are comps!

5- The area is small! And we have a few investigators! I don’t know too much about the others , I have only met with one! But her name is Darlene! She’s really cool! She lives with her daughter and has some struggles but she seems to really enjoy the gospel!

6- I miss the office! Elder Dutson replaced me there, and he is great! So I miss him!

Things are good here! They have some nice houses with some huge yards! I could see you loving them! It does stink Elder Scott passed away. But he is with his wife now so that’s really good for him! I’m really looking forward to general conference! It will be a good one I think! Its nuts how fast time goes by! I have to enjoy every day! It’s the only chance I will get to do this! Anyways love ya! Have a good one!! Hope you all have a great week!

Elder Richards

September 16, 2015 Transfers and I go too.. UPDATE!

This Last week was pretty wild! To start off:

Thursday was a pretty fun day! We had to drive to Connecticut to pick up a washer and dryer! So
that was a bit of a drive. Then we had to drive across the mission to West Point to drop it off and install it at a senior couple’s apartment! West Point is really cool! They have all sorts of cool army
stuff there. It was neat to be on the base too! Then we had to drive home in some crazy rain! It was pouring! It was a little sketchy but we didn't crash so it’s cool! 

Friday was pretty good too! We went to the Train the Trainers meeting! It was a lot of fun. It was sort of weird because I wasn't training but there was still good things said! It was also fun to talk to all the trainers! Later that night we went and moved some mattresses which was alright then we went to a lesson with the sisters! They ran into this guy who said he was really interested in family history and he wanted to meet us at the church and learn more. So he came and they had us and the ward mission leader come. Anyways this guy shows up in full military camo and leather boots and
beret and everything and he proceeds to tell us he is in the Pan African Defense Force. Then he starts telling us white man stole Jesus Christ from the Egyptians and that Horus is the real god. And how the church is just ran by a bunch of white guys from Utah and all sorts of crap. So we read scripture, bore testimony and he rejected us. He was pretty contentious and definitely didn't come with an open willing to learn mind. So that was weird. After that we split with the zone leaders and Elder Hill left and Elder White came. 

 

Saturday we did mail deliveries to upstate. It was a ton of fun with Elder White! He is really similar to me so we talked about music a lot! It was cool! We stopped by chic-fil-a In Danbury CT and some member hooked us up! And then the restaurant gave us cookies, because they respect what we are doing. So that was way cool! Then Saturday night I got a surprise call to be zone leader in the Stamford Ct zone! Which is a huge twist! I thought for sure I would be in the office one more time! Anyways this new ward is a really cool one from what I understand! So I'm excited! 

Sunday was pretty good I packed a ton of my stuff and then we went and looked up some less actives. 

Monday was really cool! Katy and Allie got permission to come take me to lunch. It was way cool! It was really fun to go visit with them and to talk and stuff! After word we went to the office and filled orders and figured out how we are going to haul everybody around for transfers! It was really good! 

Tuesday we went down to the city for Elder Hills doctor appointment. Then we went to lunch with the zone leaders. Then we went grabbed our suits and went to pick up the new missionaries! They all seem like a cool bunch! 

Wednesday was nuts! We had to drive people around from 5:30 am to like 4 in the afternoon then I got dropped off and replaced by Elder Dutson my last comp! Who is awesome! Anyways then I had to haul some of the sisters in our zones stuff because they forgot to bring their car to transfers, they just car pooled with their roommates which really messed up some stuff. Anyways we ended up hauling all their stuff to their apartment. Then we had to wait for them for a while because they decided to go grocery shopping. So that sort of stunk we were late for our appointment. We went to a member’s house for dinner which was really cool! The dad IS a really big hunter and he has hunted ducks on POW Island in Alaska which is rad! Anyways I was super tired yesterday! This last week has been full of surprises though! Its nuts!
Hope you all have a great week! Love ya!



Elder Richards

September 9, 2015 #Newyorkcitytraffic

This week has been pretty routine! Sorry! But Thursday was good. The highlight was we went to teach a media referral, so we get in there and sit down. And then the guy pulls down a projector screen. So I already know it’s going to be good. He ends up giving us a lesson on Daniels vision of the stone cut out of the mountain without hands. It was interesting. He was accurate on something’s but way off on others.

But he has a strong conviction of the apostasy so that’s good! He is also really into conspiracy theories. All in all it was an enjoyable time. He is going to read the book of Mormon so that’s a good thing.

Friday we had MLC or the Mission Leadership Council. It was pretty good. I enjoyed myself they discussed problems in the mission and also how we can be more effective in our missionary work. Over all it was a positive experience. Later that evening we went and taught one of our investigators named Lewey, he emigrated here from Italy like 50 years ago, and he is full of stories too. He is really hard to keep focused.

Luckily we brought our ward mission leader and he was really helpful, they are both pretty old. So they got along great which is just awesome. The lesson ended up going really well!
Saturday was spent moving furniture to different missionaries’ apartments. Nothing too exciting there.

Sunday was good, nothing crazy happened.
Monday we had district meeting which was pretty alright. Afterwards we got lunch and then we got to clean cars And get them ready for inspections!
Tuesday was our mail delivery to the city. Traffic was really bad. We drove about 60 miles and it took 10 hours. #Newyorkcitytraffic. That was really the week though! Hope you all have a good week this next week!

Transfer calls are this Saturday and transfers are next Wednesday! it will be a crazy day for me so you can expect a good email on Thursday next week! and maybe a short one on Wednesday

Elder Richards

Me in front of the New York times stuck in traffic

September 2, 2015 Leaves are starting to change.

This Week’s Update.

Hey everyone! This week has been a good one! It seems like it has flown by! Thursday we helped a member move! They are a really cool family. It was a good time! They moved to a small neighborhood in the Bronx. It looks like a pretty nice area from when I was there. That took up pretty much the entire day.

Friday we did the Upstate mail deliveries. It was pretty good; we went to the eastern states version of Carl’s Jr. for lunch. It was good but I like Carl’s Jr. more. Anyways it was a long day full of driving! The leaves are starting to change a little bit! I can’t believe it is already September! It seems so crazy!

Saturday was good, we did a Spanish APF, and I went on a short split with my Zone Leader Elder Burrell. He is a really cool guy, we were roommates in Inwood. And we have been friends since then! After the APF Elder Hills sister took us to lunch. It was a lot of fun!

Sunday was average, really nothing out of the ordinary happened! The wildest thing was in the evening we were looking up some referrals and we were deep in the hood! And we ended up talking to hood rats for like 30 minutes. They made no sense and I could hardly understand them. But it was unique.

Monday was pretty uneventful also we just did a lot of office stuff. We met a drunken Jamaican who thought I looked like an Italian.

Tuesday we did city deliveries. Traffic was really bad yesterday which stunk!

But oh well! Today we are headed to get haircuts then we are going down to the city so it should be a good day! Love you all!

Elder Richards

The East's version of Carl's Jr.

August 26, 2015 Lots of Zone meetings and deliveries!

Week update,

So this week has been pretty good,

Thursday we had zone conference. It was good we talked about the book of Mormon, health and safety, online missionary work and the such. It was good though. It took up pretty much all day. I was bushwhacked by the end of the day. It was a long day of hauling people around.

Friday we just took mail to the last zone conference. We grabbed lunch there then we left and headed back to the office, and took some of the cars to the shop to get some maintenance done. So that took a good chunk of time. They weren't able to get any of the cars done before they closed so we had to call the zone leaders and have them give us a ride to the office to pick up our car.

Saturday we had a district APF It went pretty well, I stood in the street for two hours holding a free lemonade sign. I was assigned that job so I did it but it sort of stunk.  I did manage to get a few cars to pull into the church parking lot so that’s good.

Sunday was nuts, The best part is a polish guy named Ziggy came to church, he came because he thought there were free clothes but he stayed for the gospel. So that’s good! I also found out on Sunday that Hector from my last area got baptized! SO that’s way cool! It’s always nice to hear about things like that happening.

Monday morning we went to staff meeting at the office, then district meeting, then Taco Bell with the zone leaders. Then we filled missionary orders, drove for half an hour to our investigators house and he wasn't home so we contacted a bit then headed home for the night. Oh! It was my 11 month mark to so that’s fun!

Tuesday we did deliveries to the city zones, Its super hot but I get to cruise in the nice air-conditioned van. I drove for all the Bronx areas and Chinatown. Traffic was a deadlock again. So that’s always a good time. Then after we got home we had to go pick up some of the mission’s cars from the Firestone shop, then we headed home! We had a really busy week at the office but it was a lot of fun too!

Elder Richards

Office Elders

We lured a few unsuspecting cars into the church parking lot with this sign.

My last transfer with Elder Dutson on the far right.

August 19, 2015 Life in the office

Hey guys! This week has been a good one. Nothing really too crazy has happened. I’m just hanging out in New Rochelle.

 So Thursday we had a lot of odds and ends to do for the office. We had to go pick up cars from the repair shop and the likes. It was fun though! I enjoyed myself.

Friday we had a meeting for all the new missionaries and their trainers. It was really neat, we got to drive everybody to the chapel for the meeting and then back to the train station. But we also got to stay for the meeting which was really fun. It was really cool too.

Anyways that was the Highlight of Friday.

Saturday we did a mail run which was pretty bonkers! We did upstate this time so it was a lot of driving and not so much traffic. It was fun to see the mission though. It’s really pretty! I’m looking forward to fall too! It’s going to be gorgeous!

Sunday was pretty good, I taught Elders Quorum, and the lesson was on the elderly in the church. I had never taught that one before. But it went pretty well. Our elders quorum is really small in New Rochelle. I hear it is because everyone is out of town for summer. So they should all be coming home pretty soon here. IDK we will find out soon I guess.

Monday was another busy day! We had staff meeting in the morning so all the office and president meet and discuss the mission it’s pretty cool. Nothing juicy to report about though. Unless you want to know what we are having for zone conference lunch. Afterwards we had District meeting. It’s really nice to take a cycle off of having to teach it! After that we got lunch at the crib, and then we went to the office and Filled orders for books of Mormon and the like. So it was pretty good!

Yesterday we drove all over Manhattan dropping mail off and stuff then elder hill had a appointment we had to go to also in the city, so we stopped there. Then we spent the evening looking up some peeps in our area book, we had no astounding success other than the zone leaders found a guy for us to teach, we went to a lesson with him and he was telling us about how people see him and run. He is safe wherever he goes because people know not to mess with him. He said he has done some time too. But he is super nice to us.

Today is p-day the whole zone is getting together to play sports or something. So from what I understand we are making a appearance. Other then that I don’t know what the plan for today is! Anyways hope you all have a great week!

Elder Richards

August 12, 2015 What a busy week!

So this last week has been super busy! Which is a good thing! 

   So last Wednesday was nuts we were driving missionaries all over the mission. And then they would forget their bags so we would have to drive all the way back and pick them up. And that really stunk. So after all that stuff was pretty much done, we went to the mission home for dinner with the missionaries going home. It was pretty good! All the returning missionaries were really weird and awkward though! But, whateves. So we went home, took our bags to our apartment and then went
to bed, 

   Then at 5:30 the next morning (Thursday) we had to go back to the mission home to pick up the missionaries and drive them to the airport. So we end up hauling all the sisters in the 15-passenger van, and one of the AP's took our usual minivan that we drive around. Anyways we are driving through the Bronx on our way to JFK and the minivan with one of the returning elders and all of the luggage starts smoking wicked bad, so they pull over and we all keep going. Turns out there was a
leak in the radiator hose and it had been dripping out all over the place and was finally empty! So from my approximation it looks like they blew a head gasket and were burning oil and getting it mixed back into the Radiator where the white smoke was coming from. But that’s just a guess, so pretty much anyway you slice it that van is out of commission for a bit. Anyways we get everyone to the airport miraculously traffic was terrible. And we head home to do our grocery shopping and laundry. Then we had to go deliver the keys to the minivan to a tow truck place in Yonkers so we went over and did that. And we got another call from the office, saying some of the sisters weren't paying attention and missed their flight... so we were on standby to see if we had to go pick any of them up and bring them back, but we never got the call back but President Smith did have to go pick one up for another night because they couldn’t get her any flights. But that was Thursday. 

   Friday was spent at the office, doing safety check offs to be able to drive the big van around so that was pretty good. It was super boring too though. 

   Saturday we went and did a mail delivery to the city zones of our mission. So that was cool we were in the 15-passager van cruising around Chinatown. It was nuts but we ended up not hitting anything and getting the mail delivered so that is a good thing. 

   Sunday we went to church, it was pretty chillin. The ward is going to need some help they have it in their minds that the office elders just hang at the office and never do missionary work. So one of my goals is to show them that with me it’s not the case. So we have some work to do. 

   Anyways Monday we got to go to President Smiths Staff meeting so that was fun nothing too crazy happened though. Then we went to district meeting, and then we went and filled orders for the mission. Then we had lunch. And then we had some odds and ends at the office, but at about 5 we finally got to some proselyting! So we went and looked up a kid in a town nearby, he's 11 and interested in religion. But he is pretty cool; he is just hard to keep focused. But we are going to keep looking people up. Tuesday we did another Mail Delivery to the city zones. It was good, no accidents happened. It was pouring rain too so that was fun. 

    Today I have no clue what we are doing. One of my companions likes to plan things and not tell anybody about them until he is ready to go do it. It is super annoying because it’s usually rather dull. 

This week has been pretty good! It’s been way busy and exciting, which is good! I’ve been hanging out with all the senior missionaries who run the office, which is a good thing! They're pretty cool! I’ve been running a lot of errands for them. One of my comps is a doofus though. He treats me as if I’m a baby, which is stupid. So when he makes stupid remarks I just ignore them or I say thank you very much elder. Hopefully he will catch on that it’s rude soon. That’s the most of my worries though so I’m doing well!  I’m in a trio! It’s all right! Ive seen President Smith every day so far this week! He is really cool He is an awesome guy! I think he is pretty cool! I’ve been to the mission home twice so far I’ve only eaten with them once. I cook most of my food, which is good.

   So most p-days are normal its just transfer p-days are nuts, but we get Thursday to make up for it so that’s good. But today I ran round with my zone leaders it’s been pretty fun!

  

Last week has been pretty good! Have a good one!

Elder Richards

August 5, 2015 Transfers are here!

   8:40 am.  I got transferred to the office! So I'm driving all over the mission today! I won't really get a chance to email until a while later! But I will! I have to move bags and drive missionaries upstate and to the city and stuff! You know how it goes! Love you lots! You will hear from me soon!

   7:36pm.  I haven't been to my apartment yet to even see it! 

   8:00pm.  Hey guys! So I got transferred to the office! It's crazy! So today was the first day and we were running transfers, I was driving a 18 passenger van through the city and upstate! I've been going from 9am-now it's nuts! I've seen the mission all in one day! So I basically haul everything around the mission! And I'm the mail man also. So that's cool. We have spent the last 3 hours taking bags to sisters that forgot them in Connecticut. So that's bumping. Now we are having dinner at the mission home with the returning missionaries. We got a nice meal from it! So we now are in the New Rochelle area, we work it in the evening and spent the days in the office! We live in New Rochelle also so we will drive to Scarsdale and the mission office and home a ton! So I'm looking forward to that! It will be fun. The last week in Inwood was good, nothing really crazy happened which is good.

Nothing really I can remember I've just been really pumped to be in the office! Anyways have a great week!

Elder Richards