Last Ride!

Hey yall! Here is my last email. I'll see everyone in 2 days! I would just end there, but these last 10 days have been super incredible and I got to write about them. This week was also HOT. The lowest temperate day this week was 105 degrees.

   First I want to write about our friend Aniston. She is taking care of her 40 year old brother, Don, who is handicapped. Her mother also passed away and because of that she is super angry at God. We have had a couple of really tender lessons with them this last week. We talked with her a lot about the compassion, mercy and kindness of God and Jesus Christ. We read Matthew 11:28-30 about coming unto Christ and finding rest. What's hard is she wants rest and peace, but doesn't really believe she will ever find it. It's a heartbreaking situation, but what is really special is God has helped me to see them as he sees them. I just love them and wish so badly that she would choose to come closer to Jesus. God has a special plan for her though.

   We had a cool experience with Cornelious. We've been really struggling to get him to church. We hadn't been able to get ahold of him for about a week, and his calls were going straight to voicemail. Finally, we tried to *67 his number and IT WORKED! Haha he was so surprised to hear our voices haha. He said we could come to church, and he didn't show, so we called again and it worked again haha.

   Then, we just went and knocked on his door. We ran into his mother in law, and when she went and grabbed him we could hear him telling her he didn't want to talk. Well, we wanted to talk to him haha so we just walked to the door, and he stood up and came to talk to us. I just asked him if he had blocked us, and he shamefully looked down and said yes. He explained that his life had been really difficult, and he's afraid to let God down so he blocked us. We instantly started to explain the story of Moses and the children of Israel, how they had to wade in the water before the river Jordan split. We explained that as he "jumps in" God will intervene and strengthen him. Suddenly, his entire countenance changed and he goes "screw it, man. Screw it. I'm coming to church I'm doing it." And then we met with him a few days later, went over the restoration and he says "so how can I be baptized?" God seriously changed his heart in a matter of moments. So cool.

   We got a referral from this lady named Larissa, and it was super cool. When we first knocked, she answered and began to tell us that she is struggling because her brother is using drugs and it's tearing the family apart. We read a couple scriptures from The Book of Mormon with her, and she wanted us to come back.

   We went back a few days later, and got to talk with her mom and grandma as well. They speak Spanish only. We talked about the Saviors ability to help them and their brother and son as they come unto Christ. It was really really powerful and the spirit was so strong. Larissa is only 20, and she is so so hungry for the gospel. So excited for her. 

   My last 3 proselyting days, Monday Tuesday and Wednesday, were super awesome and emotional. On Monday, we were out all day and find an amazing lady who speaks Spanish. As I explained the gospel to her, she literally held out her hand to The Book of Mormon and asked for it. It was really cool.

   At night, we were at a Bible Study for another denomination that someone invited us to. As we were sitting there, I got the strongest prompting that we needed to be somewhere else. I felt awkward and didn't want to get up and leave, but I felt it again. So I told Elder Beesley and we got up and left. We both felt like visiting Jaylon who we used to teach. We caught her literally as she was leaving to go to the store. We could tell that was struggling with something. As we talked to her she wouldn't open up, but I got to say goodbye and bear my testimony to her one last time. She wouldn't open up, but I know we were where God needed us to be. Plus, right after that we went to Larissa's house and that's when we met her mom and grandma and had an awesome lesson with them. God is so good.

   On Wednesday, we needed to drive down to Alpine which is hours away. I didn't want to spend my last proselyting day doing that so I went on exchanges with Elder Winters. It was 112 degrees, but we had no car so we went biking. It was so awesome. I got to see frank and Irma again, who just had their funeral for Frank's mom. It was a tender little conversation, but so good for me and them. We then also got to meet this new guy, who was so so interested in the Gospel. He felt like all churches were so divisive, and that they taught so many false things. As we explained the Restoration to him, it was so awesome to see the light bulb come on in his head. Love it.

   Then my last night, we went contacting and tracting. I simply didn't want to stop. I love being a missionary so much. It has genuinely been the best thing of my life. Lots of tears, but I'm so grateful I've been able to serve. I love yall! I'll see everyone soon!

Love, Elder Ryan

Second to Last

Hello everyone! This last week was really good! 

 This week we found a new person named Leticia. It was such a cool experience. We've been trying so hard to meet with her for over a month and a half now. We finally got a lesson with her. She walked into the church, and after got to know her she just started talking about how awful the world, and how wants some refuge from it. She also told a cool little experience. She said she felt super dark and didn't want to come in the church. But she decided to just come in and the second she did, she felt instant peace. We had an amazing lesson on the Restoration, Christ's ability to comfort her because of His Atonement, and The First Vision. The spirit was so so strong. It always is. She said she wants to work towards Baptism! 

 A couple weeks ago, we ran into a lady named Aniston who seemed to be struggling, but told us she doesn't really want a visit. This week, we were walking in the street and she kept popping into my head. But I didn't know her number or where she lived. So as she keeps popping in my head, I turn my head and BOOM there's her house haha. So we walk on over and before we even get to her front lawn she opens her door. God was working miracles. Before we even say anything she invites us in. 

 As we sat down, she opened up about how she is a full time caretaker for her 40 year old brother, who has the mind of a 4 year old. Her mother unexpectedly died, and she hates God for it. She's tried to take her own life multiple times, and she is constantly struggling. It was heartbreaking. But we had an incredibly powerful discussion about Jesus Christ, and his love and compassion, and his ability to make all things fair at one point or another. I felt so so much love for her. Everyone please pray for Aniston! 

 So after our appointment with Aniston, we were 15 minutes late for our lesson with Cornelious. We were about 10 minutes from Cornelious, and 11 minutes from our truck. So, Elder Beesley and I sprinted in the 100 degree heat through the streets in pros, and got to the truck in about 4 minutes. Then we drove and had a great lesson with Cornelious while dripping in sweat haha. It was a real good time. 

 We had an amazing lesson with Irma. She is so cool. She got to know our members well which was perfect, and then we had an awesome talk about eternal families, temples and Christ's Atonement. She loved it and it was super powerful. It was so cool to see the light bulbs turn on in her head as she truly understood the doctrine. She watched the Rome temple tour video and loved that too. Pray for Irma! 

Overall everything went really good this week! I'm loving Odessa. Trying to soak up every last minute. 

Love yall!! Love, Elder Ryan

Lots of Lasts

Okay this email is for 2 weeks ago! This week was super good. We didn't have as much time to work as I would have liked, but it still went great. That is because I had my final interview with President Child, I had my last zone conference, and we had MLC way up in Lubbock. 

    I got to go on exchanges with Elder Winters here in Odessa this week and he is awesome. We didn't have many scheduled lessons that day, but he was down to walk and tract all day so it was a good time. Starting to get miserable in the 100 degree heat though haha.

    We're struggling to get our friend Cornelious to come to church right now. He's doing really good, he loves the way The Book of Mormon makes him feel and how he feels during our lessons. He has a very serious need for the gospel and knows it, but we have put a member on his doorstep twice now for church and he's just blown them off and not answered haha. So pray that we can get him to sacrament meeting!

    We had a lesson with our friend Irma, and she is so awesome. She considers us her grandma and just tries to make us enchiladas all the time haha. But she opened up to us a lot about her parents, and siblings who have passed away and how much she misses them. She also talked about the fear of losing her children and grandchildren. We began teaching her The Plan of Salvation and she is so smart and loves it. We haven't covered it all the way yet, but the spirit is always so strong especially as someone starts to truly comprehend the plan. 

    We're teaching an 11 year old kid named Jaden, who's part of a part member family, The Torres'. We taught Jaden the Restorarion of Christ's church and he is such a stud. He's the most spiritually mature kid I've met, and he retaught the Restoration to us right after we taught it to him. He then said something along the lines of how he needs to be baptized in this church because it's Jesus' church. He is planning to be baptized in July! Sad day that I won't be here but I'm so stoked for him.

    Anyways, I got to have my last interview with President, last zone conference, and last MLC. My final interview was so awesome. We talked about my mission as a whole and the changes that I've seen in me and that he's seen. I felt the spirit so strong and I'm so grateful for President Child. I felt so grateful for the Atonement of Christ and the change that he has made in me. I also got to go down to Lubbock for MLC, and got to see a bunch of my old mission friends which was fun.

    I wanted to end with a spiritual thought. President Child taught us in zone conference about the parable of the slope. We talked about how God isn't as concerned with where we've been, as much as he is about where we are and where we're willing to go with his help. The gospel is a gospel of hope and progression, not one that causes us to look backwards. Hope because of Christ is always pointed to the future! Love yall!

Love, Elder Ryan

Loving Odessa!

Hello everyone! Sorry again, but I missed last week so this email is covering 2 weeks now. This is my second transfer in Odessa, and I've been with Elder Beesley for two weeks now. We've been loving it! 

   I'll give an update on our friend Jaylon. So she hasn't been answering us as of late. She was so prepared and so many miracles happened to have us find her. She was on date for baptism, and then she would randomly not speak to us for weeks at a time. We stopped by her door 3 times a day for the last 3 weeks to try and get her ready for her baptism. She's answered sometimes and told us she still wants to be baptized, but she just dropped us this morning! So sad. She needs the gospel so bad. Everyone pray for her!

   Another update on our friend Patrick, he's planning on getting baptized June 10th. He's been talking to us but he hasn't been able to meet and he goes out of town every weekend so he hasn't come to church in 4 weeks. We haven't met with him in awhile, and he's still working to overcome a lot of his addictions. Please pray for him that he can meet with us and overcome his stuff.

   Our friend Cornelious is doing super good. We've had a couple of incredible lessons with him, and lately we taught him about The Restoration. The spirit was so strong, and it testifies to me everytime of how true this gospel is. He's been reading The Book of Mormon daily. The main issue is he's only 28, but he is always on an oxygen machine because of some lung issues he has. So it is really hard to get him to come to church, but we're working through it and we'll figure it out. 

   One of the members here, Brother Williams, invited his good friend Jessie to church. Jessie is really struggling with an alcohol addiction. It's been going for 12 years and he can't stop by himself. He's lost his job, and his wife and 5 kids over it. We gave him an addiction recovery pamphlet and had an awesome talk about how through repenting and the gospel and the addiction recovery class, he can rely on Jesus Christ's willpower instead of his own. It was such a powerful conversation with him.

   It's overall been a great two weeks, Elder Beesley is super willing to work as hard as he can, so we've been walking everywhere and going at it. We've been able to talk to a ton of people, and we have lots of potentials to teach right now.

   We meet weekly with a member named Barney Barnes haha, he's 65 years old and we're working on getting him to the temple. We read 3 Nephi 17 with him, and we learned that our friend Barney needs a personal relationship with Jesus. It became super clear that he only saw Jesus as an unpersonable Savior, someone he didn't connect with, even though he knew he saved Him.

   It made me realize that we can know Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer, but not have a personal relationship with him. Jesus invites us all the time to "learn of Him" because as we learn how Jesus is kind, loving, forgiving, compassionate, etc. we grow to truly love him and trust him and rely on him. So do what you can this week to develop a relationship with Jesus! Love yall!

Love, Elder Ryan

Lots of Miracles!

Sorry I didn't write last week!! Not that anyone noticed but my parents haha. But I'll cover both these last weeks here. Quick update, Elder Macdonald is getting transferred and I'm getting Elder Beesley for my last transfer! It'll be a dang good time.

    So an update on our friend Jaylon. We've had to move her baptism date twice now. It's been a nightmare. She like barely answers the phone ever. She doesn't answer back. She doesn't answer the door. It's been so hard. But God is still helping us. One time we showed up at her house right when her husband was giving her a new puppy, so we tagged along with him and got inside haha. We had a great talk with her and she seemed totally normal and on board. Then she went Ghost mode again.

    Then, just this last week, Elder Mac and I ran out of water. So we went to Walmart real quick and we ran into her there! She again seemed totally normal, and seemed to be all in about baptism, and even started answering the phone! Then she didn't show up to church and wasn't home for our lesson and isn't answering again. So please pray for Jaylon!

    We found a new guy named Cornelious. He's in his 20s and he already has severe asthma and needs an oxygen machine. His mom just passed away this last year, and he's got no other family besides his grandma. We had an amazing lesson about how we can help him connect with his mom, but more importantly with Jesus. He loved the idea and wants it bad. He wants more peace and comfort. We gave him a Book of Mormon, and then we scheduled another appointment.

    When we went back, his girlfriend Shaey was there. Cornelious said he had read The Book of Mormon chapter we gave him twice, and Shaey said he's been so much happier and nicer since then. So cool! Shaey wants us to start teaching her too, and she wants them both to come to church!

    We had an amazing experience with this lady named Melanie. We taught Melanie the Restorarion about a month ago. She seemed sad and in a little pain when we first taught her and we haven't found her since then. We stopped by this week, and she answered, and seemed SO HAPPY. She had surgery in the time we hadn't seen her, and she seemed like a different person. We asked if she had her copy of the Book of Mormon, and her eyes LIT UP and she goes "I've been studying it!" It was so cool. She said it's the same as the Bible to her. Even though she read the awful war chapters in Mormon haha. So we gave her 3 Nephi 11 and she is stoked to study it.

    Another cool one here haha. We got a referral from a guy named Pedro. We went to his home and its this awful, run down tiny shack. I sadly instantly judged. He opened the door and there was a nasty stench, and he invited us in and it was a mess. I sadly kept judging! I thought okay let's just get in and out, but then he started talking. He said his brother had just died, and that he feels guilt for his death. Along with that his last conversation with him was an argument. He saw our ad and that, "I need to be happy like that." So we sat there, and testified to him of the Savior. That He lives and He loves him. We talked to him and he said he had the chills and felt so "warm inside." He wants to come closer to Christ! It was awesome and a great lesson for me. Christ is EVERYONE'S Savior. It doesn't matter who they are, what they look (or smell) like or what they've done. He died for us all!

    One thing to throw in is please pray for our friend Patrick. He has overcome so many issues, and he's had some other things come up. We don't know exactly what's going, but he's struggling. He was planning to get baptized on the 28th, but please pray for him! Love yall! Talk to ya next week!

Love, Elder Ryan

Happy Jesus Friends

Hey yall! This was another super good week. I love it here in Odessa. I wish I had more time left here but I'll make the most of what I've got.

    It was a hard week with our friend Jaylon. She's been super flaky as of late and she missed church again so she can't be baptized this coming Saturday. Super big bummer. We're hoping we can meet with her this week and figure our what's going on. Everyone please please say a prayer for Jaylon.

    We had a very very frustrating experience this week haha. We finally got to start teaching this lady named Haidee. She calls us her "Happy Jesus Friends". he's been in and out of a prison and has a hard life. She doesn't believe in God or Christ. She has so many questions and we sat down with her and we were helping answer them and then right as we started to get into a coherent message, someone called her and she had to take off. Satan pulled a quick one but we'll get her back.

    We had a cool lesson with a member Barney Barnes, and he wants to start preparing to go to the temple. It was an awesome talk about starting to prepare to get a temple recommend and he wants to. So pray for Barney as he strives to do that.

    A cool part of this week was our friend Patrick. He has had an unreal past. If you can think of a sin, he has done it. We read Alma 36 and he called himself "Alma Jr." HAHA. He has turned his life around so much and now he just has to beat smoking. He wants to be baptized on May 28th. He said the coolest thing that I want everyone to take to heart....he said "If God can sacrifice his only son, I can sacrifice this for him." Such a cool mentality to live by. There's nothing we can't do or give up for him.

    We also have this 13 year old kid named Jaden who lives with a member who wants to be baptized. He is super spiritually mature and stud. Please pray for Patrick and Jaden as well!

    Love yall! A cool thought I had this week comes from Mormon 5. Moroni compares the between the Nephites when they were righteous vs when they were wicked. When they were righteous they were "in the arms of Jesus" and they "had Christ for their Shepherd." When they turned from God, they were like a ship in the sea with no anchor, no sail or nothing to steer with. When we choose Christ, we can be in his loving and comforting arms. When we don't, we are left to the Stormy sea with no guidance or protection. Choose Jesus! Love yall!

Love, Elder Ryan

Why God?

 Hello everyone!! We had such a cool week this last one.

   Last Monday night, we had the most amazing experience. We went and visited this guy named Kale, who we met a few days earlier. While we were there, his friend John was visiting him. Real quick into the conversation, John told us that his wife had been killed a few weeks before while grocery shopping. It was awful and he just kept asking "why god" over a thousand times. He was bawling and honestly we were all in tears. We read Mosiah 3:19 and talked about why we go through trials and how christ comforts us. But he was so distraught. He was so mad at God, and honestly for really good reason. 

   The idea then popped into my head to have us just kneel down together and pray. To pray and ask to feel God's love and comfort. So we knelt down and put our arms around each other and started to pray. It was a super simple prayer just asking God to be with us, to help John feel His love and comfort. The spirit was SO STRONG and after we said amen, John fell on the ground and was just uncontrollably sobbing. We grabbed him by the hand and helped him up, and he said he had never felt God's love stronger. It was a super special experience.

   Jaylon, one of our friends preparing to be baptized, is doing okay haha. She was doing great at the beginning of the week, and she was flying through the Book of Mormon. Everything was going great but then we didn't get ahold of her at all on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Late last night she texted us saying that she's trying to "sort some things out". So we don't know totally what's going on, but please pray for Jaylon!

   Our friend Patrick is now on date for May 28th! We're really excited for him. Other than that, we've been teaching lots and talking to tons of people. It's been going great and I love it here!

   One cool thought this week that I had came while I was studying the beatitudes. It talks about christ filling those that hunger and thirst after righteousness, because he is the Bread of Life and the Living Water. Its amazing how he fills us and quenches our spiritual thirst. Love yall! Talk to ya next week.

Love, Elder Ryan