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

Oh, That I Were an Angel (3/23)

"O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!" (Alma 29:1)

I had one of the coolest experiences of my mission this week... in a strange series of events that led us to be EXACTLY where we needed to be to talk to the right person. We had a terrible day yesterday... nothing was working out the way it needed to! We used tons of miles trying to contact people that weren't home, and even got lost a few times. Our dinner was a disaster and all of our evening appointments fell through.

Right after dinner we decided to say a prayer that we would be guided to do the things we needed to this evening, since it didn't seem like anything was heading in the right direction. We were able to see a few of our investigators, and spoke with several people on the street that definitely needed to hear from us. We had one great contact that was finally what I needed where we were able to testify strongly for almost an hour, and invite a less-active member to make the changes in his life to get back on the right path. I would have been satisfied with that experience for the day (in fact it was exactly what I needed after a long day), but the Lord was not done with us yet.

At 8:40 we were trying to figure out the most effective way to use the remaining minutes of our evening, since it is a horrible time to be contacting people at home. I said out loud "Where should we go?" and a specific street name nearby popped into my head... so off we went. We drove around and didn't see anyone, but decided that maybe we should walk around the block and try to find someone to talk to. No one was outside, but by 3/4 of the way around the block I was completely convinced that someone that needed the gospel would come outside so we could talk to them.

It didn't happen. And I was admittedly slightly disappointed that my promptings and faith were a fail. I started telling Hermana Adams that I had never had one of those "typical" missionary experiences where the spirit has told me to knock on a certain door and a family of six gets baptized. Still, I have felt the spirit guiding me in many ways that have helped others come unto Christ.

As we arrived closer to home and were about to make the last turn I saw someone walking on the side of the road and said, "That person needs the gospel! Do you want to do a drive-by contact?!" It all happened so quickly poor Hermana Adams was like "What?! What do I do?!" I pulled over, rolled down her window, and told her to start talking! (Thanks to my trainer, Hermana Wilkins, who made me do this every once in a while.)

She struggled for a second, but pulled it off great... especially because it turned out the kid walking was Mormon, and recognized us as missionaries... he even told us we couldn't give him a ride! Anyway, it turns out his name is Mahonri, and he has been inactive for the past two years, but we told him he didn't have to be.

We slowly got to know him and found out he used to attend a Spanish branch (he looked totally white). Perfect! We invited him to church with us on Sunday and gave him the information. He said, "Wait a minute, what's the branch called?" We told him and he said he thought that's where his dad attends church... and yes. We know his dad, in fact he was going to come with us to one of our appointments that fell through tonight! It was so crazy! And way too huge of a coincidence to just be a coincidence! I know that we were sent there specifically to talk to him... we definitely don't normally go around at 9:00 at night to pull over and talk to strangers. I know the Spirit directed us to him, and I am SURE the Lord wanted us to talk to him.

So what did we tell him? I testified that he is a child of God and that Heavenly Father loves him (enough to have sent us to find him) and Hermana Adams testified of the love his earthly father also has for him. He told us that he would love to come to church and sit next to his father, and I know that that will be an answer to his father's prayers.

Mahonri basically had a "Paul experience" (except he was on the "road to Pueblo" instead of Damascus) where we were two angels sent to find him and cry repentance and invite him to change his life. We'll see what he does with that, but my companion and I are pretty convinced he is going to come back to church and then go on a mission. SO awesome.

It is crazy to think how things needed to line up perfectly for everything to work out the way it did. First of all, if our lessons had gone through we wouldn't have been on the street looking for people to talk to. And even though it felt like a failed effort if we hadn't circled the block on that particular street the timing would have been off to talk to Mahonri, and we would have either missed him, or I wouldn't have been so pumped to talk to just one more person.

It is absolutely amazing to see how the Lord literally uses us as his angels to cry repentance with the sound of a trump. If we are completely willing to trust Him and follow His will, he will place us in the exact places and situations we need to be in to do the most good. I know that this is truly HIS work, and I am so grateful that He has chosen me and qualified me to be an instrument in His hands. I am amazed at what measures our Heavenly Father will take to help one of His children in a unique, time-sensitive way, and I feel so blessed to be part of that process on a daily basis.

Love you all,

Hermana Richelle Ouellette

PICTURE- It rained! I felt pretty "legit", seeing as most days of my mission we have picture-perfect weather! :)

Going Green (3/16)

When President and Sister Howes arrived to the mission 8 months ago they did a training on "being green" and what it is like to have the fire of coming out on a mission, and how we should never let that die. I like to think I have maintained that excitement, but this week working with Hermana Adams who is truly green (and so excited about missionary work) has made me love what we're doing even more! I feel like I'm green again... well, except for the year+ of experience, which is kind of nice. Anyway our enthusiasm and desire to work hard has brought several miracles this week.

We have been working with a 15-year-old girl named Erika. She is AWESOME! I am so impressed by her desire to learn, and her testimony of the things we have taught her is beyond her years. Yesterday I was blown away in our lesson as she described how "Mormonism" is not just "another religion" but the completeness of the gospel. Yes! That's it!! She was also excited to learn that we have a modern day prophet, and is (almost) as excited as I am for General Conference in a few weeks! :)

Some of the biggest miracles we have seen are from our investigators who are all of a sudden making leaps of progress... what we call Greenie Blessings! It is literally as if someone spread "missionary miracle grow" all over our area. It is incredible to see, and I know that as they continue to keep their commitment they will continue to come closer to Christ and see positive changes in their lives.

One of our investigators, Lily, invited us to a baby shower at Golden Corral this weekend... epic fun. We enjoyed chatting with some of the women there, and it was awesome to see that Lily was confident enough to introduce us to her closest friends. We had a special lesson with her on Monday, when she shared with us how much she loves meeting with us, reading the Book of Mormon, and coming to church. She knows baptism is in her future, and she is praying to know for sure that this is the right step to take. She asked us to also pray for her that she might come to that conclusion. We shared a tender experience with her as she told us how she can see the light of Christ in our faces, and feels that everything we say is coming from our hearts. I was touched by her sincere compliment, as that is exactly what we are trying to achieve.

I could tell you so much more from this week, but I don't think I could adequately convey my enthusiasm for missionary work and gratitude for the miracles we have witnessed this week. Thank you for all your prayers... we are seeing answers to them daily!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Love always,

Hermana Richelle Ouellette

Crash (3/9)

Let's see... what happened this week? Well, what DIDN'T happen this week?!

There has been a lot going on - Sunday night we got a "whitewash" call which meant that we had to prepare one of our areas (the English wards) for two new missionaries (Elders). It's been stressful trying to line everything up for them and letting all of our Bishops, Ward Mission Leaders, and Investigators know what's happening. Most of them are not very happy that we're leaving... but we aren't thrilled either. Actually, it's bittersweet. It has been super fun working in this area, but I'm ready to get back to being able to really focus on the Spanish work.

Also, I have a new companion... Hermana Adams. She is fresh out of the MTC, which means I am training! Ahh.. I'm excited, and she seems awesome so we're ready to hit the pavement (hot asphalt) running. I know there are good things awaiting us here in Gilbert.

Aaaannndd... we got in a car accident. Lame. It was Hermana Norton & my last big adventure. Don't worry (Mom) we're all ok... it wasn't a big crash, just a big inconvenience. We were just driving along (through an intersection) and all of a sudden there was a pickup truck in front of us. The lady driving it had rolled through the stop sign and tried to beat us through, but unfortunately that's not what happened. We tried to brake and swerve, but ended up getting her truck with the front of our car. Even though it was annoying waiting for the police, and trying to take care of everything with the mission office, I am grateful that 1. It wasn't my fault! and 2. No one was hurt... milliseconds would have made a big difference in the amount of damage done to the car, or us. We are certainly protected by the Lord in this work.

As I often do, my mind wandered to the gospel analogy here. Sometimes we are just driving along and everything seems to be going smoothly when out of nowhere we get in a "wreck". Often they are caused by someone else's misuse of agency, but cause inconvenience in our lives nonetheless. However, we must accept the problem and recognize that there's nothing we can do about it, and then use the Atonement in our lives to be healed. It is amazing to know that the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ is so all-encompassing that it not only covers our sins, but the pain we feel from the sins of others. I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father and for His Son Jesus Christ that want us to be happy and are so willing to fix our cuts and bruises from the crashes in life... those that we cause, and those caused by other hazardous drivers. :) Bottom line... He loves us all.

And I love you too!

Hermana Richelle Ouellette

Pictures
Top: Hermana. Norton and I sad about our fender bender.
Middle: Hermana Norton, Lakin, Annika, Me & Mia sad that we are getting transferred. (These are the awesome girls I blogged about a few weeks ago)
Bottom: One more picture just to prove that everything wasn't sad this week! Sisters in the Gilbert Zone.. although after today only two of us remain...

Be Thou Clean (3/2)

A long time ago when I got my mission call, most of you will remember that I was less than disappointed to be going to the Arizona Tempe Mission. Fear not... over the past year I have had so many profound experiences that have helped me understand just how inspired mission calls are, and there are MANY reasons I am grateful to be serving in this mission.

One of those reasons is the diversity of culture we enjoy. I always hoped to go abroad for my mission so I could learn about and experience a foreign culture. An example of the many benefits of serving stateside is that rather than being able to experience one country or culture, it has been fun being exposed to a wide array of places, people, and customs. I love getting to know members from all over the world, trying their food, and learning about their home countries. Most of these experiences have been within the Hispanic culture, but this weekend, we got an inside look to the Navajo Indians. We were invited to a ward activity on Saturday night for dinner, and got to see some hoop dancing - it was fun to "socialize" with members and recent converts within that ward, and experience something new.

Our investigator Manny was baptized this weekend. It has been an interesting process teaching him. He accepted a baptism date in our first lesson with him, but it has still been a journey getting him to this weekend. Suffice it to say he has quite a heavy history, and some things he had to work through. It has been amazing to see how the Spirit has worked through us, blessing us with the gift of discernment to understand his needs, and also see how his testimony of the restored gospel has grown through that same spirit.

During his baptism on Saturday I was impressed by the speaker that gave a talk on the ordinance of baptism. She bore sincere testimony of the power of the atonement and the remission of sins. It really hit me how intense that is - especially for someone like Manny. To know that everything in his past was completely wiped away that day because of his decision to be baptized. He, and everyone that chooses to follow Christ into the waters of baptism, are literally given a "clean slate" and a new life.

On the condition of sincere repentance we are all given that opportunity to "wipe our slates" every Sunday as we partake of the sacrament. Those of us who have made sacred covenants with God renew them as we promise to follow him and always keep his commandments (Moroni 4:3), and as we do that the Lord forgives us of our transgressions and "remember[s] them no more." (D&C 58:42). What an incredible promise - I think with our human minds and memories we are unable to comprehend what exactly that means, but I believe there are lessons we can learn from it.

First, that if Christ is so willing to forgive and forget, we should do the same to our trespassers.... And second, we must remember that this includes forgiving ourselves. If we come to the Lord in sincere repentance, confessing and forsaking our sins he will forgive and we are made whole through his atonement.

Just as we use water to physically clean our homes and bodies, the waters of baptism, and the sacrament represent that cleansing power of our Savior. He is the only one that has power to say: "Be thou clean" and this is the gift he offers us. Take a moment to think about how you can effect the cleansing power of his atonement in your life, and I know you will feel a difference spiritually, just as you would from a physical cleansing.

Love you tons,

Hermana Richelle Ouellette

Richelle Singing (2/27)

I think I did it! I'm entering a new realm of techno-savviness! (is that a word??) This is a video of Richelle practicing a song she sang at a Missionary Fireside on February 27, 2011. The lady she lives with sent it to me this morning.

ENJOY!

Love,

Pat Ouellette (MOM!)

The Real Pursuit of Happiness (2/23)

OK... Best surprise of my mission EVER!: On Saturday afternoon I'm sitting in our kitchen (in our members' home) waiting for my broccoli to steam (yum!) and the doorbell rings. I think nothing of it because it's not my home, and the door is never for us... but I heard whoever answer it say "I think the missionaries are in the kitchen." Hmm... who in the world? I turn around for the biggest, best surprise of my life to see my trainer aka Hermana Wilkins aka Shanell Dunn standing right in front of me!! Are you kidding me?! Best day of my life. We hugged forever and even cried a little and then immediately got to catching up on her life. I got to meet her husband... they are so perfect for each other and so happy, which just made me so happy!

Besides that tender mercy for me there are so many miracles happening in our area. We have been teaching this awesome girl, Lakin, a friend of a recent convert, Annika, who was baptized in December. They are both 18 years old and the lessons we've had with them are awesome - the spirit is so strong, and the love and support of her friends Annika and Maddie is perfect.

This weekend we completely inundated Lakin with Church activities - Friday we brought her to a baptism, Saturday - the visitor's center, and Sunday our mission president's fireside. We were a little nervous that it might be a little much since she hadn't even been to Church with us yet, but that was not the case. She told us she really enjoyed her weekend, and was disappointed when she had to work on Sunday instead of being able to come to Church with us! The lesson we had with them on Monday was amazing... we talked about the plan of salvation. Annika's sister Mia has also been sitting in and came with us this weekend, and we are seeing changes in her as she starts to want these things more and more.

As we taught about the plan of salvation I could see how things clicked for them. Especially for Mia - their grandfather just passed away this weekend, and as with any death it has been hard for their family. However, Annika shared her testimony of the plan of salvation and how she's not as sad because she understands the plan and the way everything will work out. It was such a tender experience to see how the plan of happiness really does bring peace into our lives - especially as we talk about the healing power of the atonement, and the comfort that the spirit can bring in times of difficulty and grief.

As we were teaching I had sat on the floor directly in front of the couch the four girls were sitting on and laid out the plan visually in front of them. I was struck by two thoughts: 1. These girls are awesome. They are beautiful, fun, teenage girls and they were choosing to spend their evening (and their entire weekend!) with the missionaries instead of any other activity that probably would have been more entertaining. And number 2. These things we teach are real - They wouldn't do that if it wasn't true... The blessings we talk about of peace and comfort are so real they are almost tangible - I could feel it in myself, especially as I felt God's love for each on of them and saw it working in them to bring them answers and give them peace.

Our investigator Heidi and her two sons Alec and Tyler were baptized this weekend (see picture above). I've been saving her "story" until now. It all started with an 8-year-old missionary Solomon... right after Heidi and her family moved in next door to them he and Alec quickly became friends and one day when they were all outside Solomon told Alec "Alec, I know you don't got to my church or anything, but I reeeaaaalllly want you to get baptized." Direct. To the point. :) He then invited the family to Church... Heidi says she was slightly uncomfortable and didn't know how to tell a child "no, she couldn't come because she isn't Mormon." Well... it was all downhill from there. Alec and Tyler first started coming to scouts with the neighbor boys, then church, and eventually Heidi started coming with them.

They loved it from the beginning, and soon became regular "church-goers". As we taught them the principles of the restored gospel, they learned quickly and began to see changes in their lives. They steadily developed faith, repented and progressed toward baptism. Their baptism and confirmation were special experiences, but what is most exciting is that they recognize that this was only the opening of the gate to put them on the path that leads to eternal life. They are experiencing true happiness, and I know they will continue to grow as they come even closer to Christ.

Annika has one of my favorite descriptions of the blessings of the gospel... she always talks about how freakishly happy it makes her, and it's TRUE! There is nothing in this world that provides the lasting peace and happiness that the gospel brings into our lives. I know that as we do the things that develop our relationship with our Savior, including sharing the gospel, we are blessed with a joy that can not be described or compared. Annika and Alec (and I) are experiencing that happiness that comes from sharing the gospel, and the best part is that as they do that their friends experience that same joy and happiness.

"Now was not this exceeding joy? Behold, this is joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness." (Alma 27:18)

Be Happy! I love you,

Hermana Richelle Ouellette