Onward!

One of our investigators, Alma was baptized on Saturday, and the ceremony was beautiful. She was so excited to be baptized, and then to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost on Sunday. It was amazing to see her testimony of how confident she is that the Gospel will bless her life. I know that her prayers will be answered, and that she will be blessed, because I can see the blessings of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life, my family, and the lives of many others.

I think since the baptism, Satan has been working extra hard on us because we've had an interesting last couple days. It seems like we've been spending a lot of time inside (not on purpose, we've just been doing our required studying, planning, etc.) Anyway, the only time we've been outside or teaching have been with people who are absolutely NOT interested in the Church. I love talking to anybody and everybody, but when they just want to yell at us or tear us down it is NO FUN! One guy, Bruce (dubbed shortly after the experience "Bruce Almighty") talked to us for almost 45 minutes, and literally would not listen to a word we said. He was looking for all kinds of proof that the Book of Mormon is true, and then wouldn't listen to what we had to say. He told us that he was purposely trying to put a doubt in our minds... and that was only the first of a series of similar experiences we had Monday and Tuesday.

Fortunately these people and their thoughts don't affect my testimony at all... in fact, it actually strengthens my testimony of the need for a Restoration! It's good to ask questions, but I have no need to doubt because I have faith in the perfect plan of my Heavenly Father. Anyway, all this being "under fire" is quite exhausting! The past few nights we've come home at the end of the day pretty worn out and a little frustrated that we haven't been teaching...

This morning we got to go to the Mesa Temple (which is beautiful, by the way!) and it was exactly what I needed. I was so grateful to be able to feel the peace there, and yet another confirmation that this gospel is SO TRUE! Honestly, testimony aside, there are so many things about the gospel of Jesus Christ that just make sooo much sense! I'm so thankful that I have a sure knowledge of these things and I just wish people would open their eyes and see what great joy we have to offer. On the wall in temple in big gold letters is the scripture from the Sermon on the Mount that says "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God". Today, I took that to mean that those who are humble and have a soft heart will be able to see the hand of God in their everyday lives. I'm certainly not perfect, and far from pure, but what a blessing it is to be able to recognize the influence of my Heavenly Father in my life. I would challenge you all this week to look for the Lord's hand in your life and to realize the every day miracles that we sometimes overlook.

Much love,

Hermana Richelle Ouellette

First Week in Arizona!!

Well... I pretty much LOVE it here! The weather is amazing, the people are incredible, and most importantly I LOVE the work! We have been working hard this week to get to know the area and the people here, and are already seeing success. We have a few new investigators, and already have a baptism scheduled for this Saturday!!

Alma has been visiting with the Elders in this area, but was hesitant to accept a baptism date. On the first night we visited with her (my second night here) we read Alma 7:11-14, which talks about the power of the Atonement, repentance, and baptism. She expressed her testimony of the need to be baptized, and cleansed of her sins, and has a sincere desire to make this sacred covenant. Over the past week, we have been making sure she is ready, and I am amazed at how prepared she is. It has firmed up my testimony that there really are people here who are ready to accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we just have to work hard to find them. I never thought I could have so much love for someone I barely know, but I truly love Alma, and it brings me SO MUCH JOY to see her excited about the changes she's making in her life.

Parts of Queen Creek are literally in the middle of nowhere... Sunday we drove to an investigator's house the other day that borders a park in the San Tan Mountains, and there was sand, wild cacti, and tumbleweed everywhere! I thought that kind of scenery was just a Hollywood depiction, but apparently it's REAL! (Pictures to come).

Speaking of middle of nowhere... after dinner last night we were heading to visit a family, but our plans were slightly modified: We were driving towards their house, following the GPS, which told us to turn on to this dirt road. It was a little bumpy, but that is not unusual for this area. It seemed fine, until we got about half way down and it turned into a mini-Grand Canyon! There were literally cliffs of dirt on either side of the car almost 3 feet tall and 6 inches away from the edge of the car on both sides. The road got tighter and tighter... at one point I got out of the car and tried to use some boards that were on the ground to make a ramp to get us up the edge (keep in mind I'm wearing a skirt and dress shoes). The boards worked in one place, but the road only got more narrow, and there was no way we were going to be able to get through. Here comes the fun part... our only option was to completely back out of the road (at least a quarter of a mile) with me standing behind the car giving directions and Hermana Wilkins slooowly reversing. To make things more interesting, the ONE night it rains in Arizona happened to be right then so I was getting soaked and the road was quickly turning into mud. Needless to say, we ended up skipping our plans and heading to our next appointment, where we arrived wet and muddy, but still in good spirits :)

Back to the spiritual stuff... The sister that we visited on Sunday (in the middle of a cactus field), Francisca, had several doubts and questions that we were able to answer. Towards the end of the lesson on the Restoration she took a phone call and the Spirit completely disappeared. Hermana Wilkins and I decided to sing "Joseph Smith's First Prayer" and as we did so, the Spirit was incredibly strong. We challenged her to pray to know of the truthfulness of the things we had taught her and testified of the power of the Holy Ghost to reveal these things to her.

This is essentially what we do with all of our investigators. We can talk all day and tell them we know what we're teaching is true, but the beauty of the message we share is that everyone can receive their own personal witness and know for themselves. God is our loving Heavenly Father and wants us to know Him, and will therefore provide a way for us to know the truth.

I'm grateful for the experiences that I have had that have helped me come to the knowledge of the truth of the Restored Gospel, and I hope and pray that all can feel the peace and joy that I enjoy from knowing that my Savior lives, and that God has provided a Plan of Happiness for all of His Children.

God Bless,

Hermana Richelle Ouellette

I'M HERE

Well, I made it to Arizona, and so far I LOVE IT!

The last week in the MTC was crazy, and time flew by... trying to squeeze in everything I wanted to learn and do before heading out into the real world. Monday I packed up all my stuff and said goodbye to everyone, and Tuesday morning at 5 a.m. (Yes, 5) I got on a bus for the airport.

When we got to Phoenix we were greeted by the mission presidency and the assistants, and then drove to the mission home in Tempe. The rest of the day was mostly filled with orientation and other training activities. Everyone I have met so far is AMAZING. They are all so pumped about the work, and so willing to help out.

Before dinner we got to go the Mesa Temple, which is beautiful! We took a tour at the Visitor's Center (where we can bring any solid investigator - awesome!) and then walked around the temple grounds. It is beautifully landscaped (not unusual for temples), but it is done with palm trees, orange trees, and cacti. Wow. Honestly if most of the people around me weren't speaking English I would think I'm in a foreign country.

We had dinner at a Church members home, and then I slept at a different member family's home. Both families were great... I've heard lots of good things about the members here, and we're going to put them to work helping us find people to teach!

This morning I finally met my new companion and trainer, Hermana Wilkins. She is great - she seems like a really hard worker and totally on the ball, so I'm super excited to be working with her. We were transferred into a brand new area, Queens Creek, so we have lots of work to do to get things started here.

I'm so motivated to finally meet the people and get to work. It helps that the weather is beautiful (think perfect spring day in New England) and there are tangelo trees in my back yard... but honestly I have never been more excited about the sharing the blessings that I enjoy about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Hope you're all surviving the winter!

Love,

Hermana Richelle Ouellette

Last Week in the MTC!

I got my travel plans! By lunchtime next Tuesday (Jan. 12) I'll be in sunny Arizona! Yippeee!! This has been a wonderful (intense) experience, and I have learned so much, but I'm definitely ready to move on to the next step. If staying here didn't mean sleeping in dorms, eating in a cafeteria, and keeping within a one square mile boundary, I'd want to live here forever. It is such a powerful atmosphere being surrounded with thousands of people with the same beliefs, values, and goals.

Hermana Taylor and I had some teaching opportunities this week that have made me so pumped to get out into the field and start teaching REAL people with REAL needs. The Gospel has blessed literally every aspect of my life: family, friends, school, work, etc. and I can't wait to help other people feel the same joy it brings me.

I finally feel like Arizona is the RIGHT place for me. I meet tons of missionaries every day headed to places all around the world, but I can't imagine serving anywhere else but Tempe, Arizona... I can't wait to start meeting the people there.

New Year's Eve was nothing "normal" but still way fun. All the sisters in our zone (about 12 of us) got together in one room and had a mini-party with everyone's stash of food. We even had Martinelli's in paper cups! We still went to bed at 10:30 of course, although I guess a couple of people set their alarms for 11:58 to count down til midnight. It didn't seem worth it to me because 6:30 comes way too early! It was weird to think that literally all over the world people were at parties, or at least with friends and family celebrating the New Year (except for my family - I'm sure they were all asleep by 9!). We are so isolated here that it's hard to imagine anything else. BUT there's nowhere else I'd rather be... Ok.. I'd rather be in Arizona... Almost there!!! I'm going to work extra hard this week, and get the most I can out of this experience!

Happy 2010! Make the most of it!

Love,

Hermana Richelle Ouellette

FAMILY NOTE: We were NOT in bed at 9:00. We were at a "party" at the city of Rochester, NY with fun (FREE!) games and bouncy castles for the kids, and fireworks at 10:00. Rochester is celebrating 175 years, hence the "Party". We raced home, played a fun game of Farkle, and then had our own bottle of Martinelli's as the ball dropped in Times Square! Hey, Chelle, we'll send pictures!