Happy Day After Easter (4/25)

Surprise! P-days were changed to Mondays... so it's only been a few days since I last wrote... and not a whole lot new has happened since then.

Easter was great! We participated in a gratitude fast with all of the missionaries in the mission, and it was an amazing experience! Yesterday during every prayer I offered I ONLY gave thanks, and although it was a bit of a challenge to not ask for things, it helped me learn a lesson. I loved how I felt all day as I thought about all the things I was grateful for! Also, Lionel and Connie were fasting with us, not out of gratitude, but to know if they should be baptized on May 14. That made it an extra-interesting experience for me because normally I would be praying for them to get an answer, but because I couldn't ask for it I had to change the way I addressed it in my prayers. Instead of saying "please help them to get an answer" I was able to express gratitude for the opportunity to have met them and teach them, and for the knowledge that I have that they WILL receive an answer. My faith became perfect knowledge in "that thing" (Alma 32:34).

We went to the Easter pageant again this weekend, which was fun. I enjoyed the pageant last year, but this year everything felt so much more real to me. Of course everyone in the production is still an actor playing a part, but the stories, and the truth of the message are REAL. I testify of the reality of the Savior, that he lived, that he died for us, and that HE LIVES. It was wonderful to ponder the significance of these events yesterday, and to grow in my faith and testimony of His resurrection. I know that because of these acts, we too, will live again in the presence of our Heavenly Father.

I love the gospel of Jesus Christ and everything that comes with it. I know that I am truly happier because I live according to these eternal truths, and I am so grateful for my knowledge and continually growing testimony of each principle.

Have a wonderful week,

Hermana Richelle Ouellette

Pray Always (4/11)

We had an amazing baptism this week! Javier and Guillermo (I know I've mentioned them before) were baptized on Saturday, and it was so great! We had tons of support from the branch, and everything worked out smoothly (turns out the more baptisms they have the better they get at planning them... good to know!). Javier and Guillermo shared their testimonies right after they were baptized - it was so awesome to hear their simple, yet powerful testimonies of how they felt, and why they chose to be baptized. Again, I am so impressed with the strength of the youth in this area... they do things I'm not sure I would have been able to do when I was that age. The boys return to Mexico in a few weeks, but hopefully they will be back here in the fall with a student visa. I am so grateful for the opportunity to have gotten to know them and teach them.

We had a training on prayer last week, and although it seems like a simple concept, I feel like my prayers have been taken to a whole new level. We have made a conscious effort to pray more often (I counted once at the beginning of my mission - we pray at least 15-20 times a day). Anyway, as we have been doing this I have felt that each prayer is literally a continuation of the one it follows. My conversation with my Heavenly Father is not one that stops and starts throughout the day, but it never ends, as I sometimes vocally express myself, but carry a prayer in my heart through the rest of the day.

It brings a whole new meaning to the commandment to "pray always". I think of Amulek's testimony of prayer, and how he exhorts us to pray in our houses, and in our fields (mission field!), morning, mid-day, and evening. "Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually..." (Alma 34:27) As I have increased the power and frequency of my personal and companionship prayers I have felt my relationship with my Heavenly Father grow. I'm not just checking in with him every morning when I wake up, or at night before I go to bed, instead I have a consistent TWO-WAY conversation throughout the day. As I strengthen that relationship it helps me understand His love, and I see answers to my constant pleas, I know that he really does hear and answer us according to our faith, just as any loving father would.

I challenge you to carry a prayer in your heart at all times this week. And as often as time allows, take the time to kneel down and express to our Heavenly Father gratitude for the little things. I know that you will feel a closer bond to Him and that your lives will be blessed because of that.

I love you!

Hermana Richelle Ouellette

PICTURES

TOP: Baptism! Hermano Manjarrez, Pablo, Guillermo, Javier, Hermana Adams & Me!
BOTTOM: Our adventure to the park this morning... we found a turtle! We named him Tim, which is short for "timido"... he was pretty shy :)

Happy Birthday Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (4/6)

General Conference was AMAZING! I loved it, as usual, and was so grateful to hear the words of our prophet and apostles, men that I know are called of God to speak His will. I am so thankful for my knowledge and testimony of these things! It was such a blessing to be able to be so edified and uplifted by their words... I think Elder Holland summed it up when he called it a phenomenon. The only difficult thing for me during the weekend was to be so spiritually fed, and then have to talk to people that just didn't get it... that didn't want to feel what I have felt, or understand what I have understood. I just wish everyone would LISTEN!

We had four investigators that were able to watch general conference, and they all loved it! Erika, 15, came with us to the Saturday afternoon session, and loved it. I was so grateful because we were nervous she might find it boring, or not get anything out of it, but that was so not the case. Afterwards we were talking and she told us all the stories/principles she likes, and how she has officially added to her "bucket list" watching it in the conference center. We can make that happen!

I love knowing that Heavenly Father answers prayers. All of my "conference questions" were answered, and so far everyone I have followed up with has had the same response. Who knows if I will be able to look back in 10 years from now and get the same things out of it, but for now the Spirit taught me things I needed to know now. I loved the call to action from everyone, to choose the right, SERVE others, and truly LIVE the gospel. As I have mentioned many times before, that is what it is all about! The gospel doesn't mean anything if we aren't living it! Many of us have the DESIRE (see Elder Oaks' talk!) to come closer to Jesus Christ, but are we taking the necessary steps to shorten the distance between ourselves and our Savior?

I have seen many other answers to prayers this week. We continue to see miracles daily, and have been blessed to see our investigators continuing to progress toward baptism. We are making a conscious effort to pray more often, and with all the energy of heart (Moroni 7:48) and have secured that blessings that God is so willing to grant (Bible Dictionary; prayer).

I don't have much more news... as you can tell General Conference was the highlight of my week! I would be satisfied to know you enjoyed it half as much as I did! (If you haven't watched all of it yet, don't worry, it's available online at www.lds.org!) Things are great, and I STILL love being a missionary!

Much love,

Hermana Richelle Ouellette

PICTURE:
This is what we look like at the end of a day of miracles... super excited! :D

Fun in the Sun (3/30)

Another fantastic week in Gilbert, Arizona! I wish you could understand how much I am loving my life right now and how grateful I am for the miracles we continue to see each and every day.

We rode our bikes again this week... usually because we have such a large area (40 sq. miles) we only do it when we are pressed for miles, but this week we were pressed for gas! Even though we said at least four times on Saturday we need to fill up our tank, we somehow ran out of time/forgot and didn't want to completely run out on Sunday. With church meetings and a fireside there's not much proselyting time on Sundays anyway, so it wasn't too bad. We ended up meeting and talking to some really great people on the street, and received several referrals (all for other missionaries, but I'm sure we will be rewarded for our work!)

It was Hermana Adams' first time on a bike in a skirt, which was fun... of course I ended up being the one with my skirt caught in the tire. There's just something about being a missionary on a bike... it makes me feel like a "real" missionary since most of the time we don't have the perils of walking/biking/public transportation.. or bad weather. So blessed! :)

We started teaching these amazing kids this week... Javier and Guillermo. Last Monday as we arrived to dinner, the member we were eating with told us she had good news. She said that the two teenagers that had been coming to church with her son want to get baptized before they return to Mexico in a month, and they already called that morning and asked for permission from their mom. We called their aunt (the member they are living with) and set up an appointment for later that evening. We have been teaching them every few days this week, and they are awesome! They are 12 and 15, and are doing this for the right reasons. I am so impressed with how quickly they learn, and how much they love reading the Book of Mormon. If only all youth were as excited as they are!

Yesterday I had one of the funniest experiences of my life yesterday as we started a lesson with them. We were sitting around the kitchen table and Javier was getting ready to say the opening prayer when all of a sudden his chair broke underneath him and he fell... there wasn't much commotion... was just sitting up like normal, and then all of a sudden he wasn't. We all started laughing hysterically... Javier acted like nothing had happened, picked up the chair and put it in the back yard and came back and sat in a different one. I had a hard time getting ahold of my laughter until we finally said the prayer... and then we had a great lesson. At the end, Guillermo prayed that he was grateful we had been able to come over and teach them, for the the things that they had learned, and that no one else's chair had broken. :)

General Conference is THIS weekend! I am so stinking excited! Something we had been doing with our active and less-active members is inviting them to think of a few personal questions they may have right now, write them down, and go to conference prayerfully looking for answers. I would encourage each of you to do the same. I have my questions ready to go, and am excited to see how the answers come through the words of the prophet and apostles, as well as the Spirit.

Have a fabulous week,

Hermana Richelle Ouellette