Letter from September 17

I know that I am going home next week, but it still hasn´t hit me completely yet. I can´t believe that I will be seeing all of you in 9 days!  How awesome is that. I am also very, very excited to see you guys and spend time with you!  Thanks for all your support, letters, packages, emails and encouragement that you have given me over these two years!  I have learned so much and have grown so much in my testimony.
 

Saturday will be my last full day to proselyte, Sunday I will be heading to the office.  So I am down to my last days here in the mission.  I just gotta work hard to the end and enjoy these last days.  It’s hard to explain what I feel. I am so grateful for being born in our family, and for the opportunity to serve a full time mission.  The mission really has been the best two years for my life.  Although I know it will be hard to leave Peru, the mission, and all the wonderful people I have met. I will be happy because I know that I have worked hard and although I have made mistakes, I know that I have given my all. When I got to the mission I didn’t have a strong testimony of this church, but now I leave with a very strong, sure testimony that this is the only true church on the earth that will lead us to the salvation.  I know the scriptures are true as well, over my mission I have had the opportunity to read and study the ‘Book of Mormon’ 4 times.  Every time I read it I learn new lessons and principles that the lord wants to teach me.  As I study it with investigators in mind or the missionaries in the zone, I have found special things that the Lord has taught me to help them.  I know that the ‘Book of Mormon’ will help us greatly in our journey through this life and the trials that we can pass.  I have a strong testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith.  I know that he was called as a prophet to restore the gospel. I also have felt a strong spirit hearing the prophet Thomas S. Monson, as well as the apostles and other general authorities.  I know that they have been called of God to help us know what God wants from us and to show us the way that we should live.  I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior. I have learned that without His atonement we would have no purpose in this life.  I am so grateful for what he did for me.  I know that every area that I have had, the Lord has put me there for a reason.  I have learned more in this last area, I have learned to be more humble and trust more in the Lord and His promises.  I know I will be finishing the mission, but I will continue progressing in the gospel.  Thanks for all of your great examples!  I love you all very much!  The next time we talk will be in person!  Get ready!  It will be awesome to see you all!!!!!!!

Elder Riggs

Letter from September 10

I apologize this week’s letter is going to be short, due to slow internet.  It has been a great week though!  On Saturday we had the baptism of Gisenia, it was great to hear the testimony that she shared.   She mentioned that when she was baptized she felt something so special in all of her body.  That has to be one of the best parts of the baptisms, when they share their testimonies and how they felt when they were baptized.  We had a few difficulties with a couple other investigators that were progressing but didn’t come to church yesterday, but I know they will come through and be there next week.  The news of the week is that Elder Mitchell left.  He went to another area to finish, so I am staying here with Elder Rodriguez, he is the man!  He is a really great guy, hard worker and we get along great.  One of my best companions that I have had in the mission!  Oh and the good news is that we are moving into a new apartment, so I will now have a bathroom to in shower and to use.  Can you believe that? I finally have a bathroom.  We should be moving a little bit later today.  I won’t smell now when I come home!  That’s good news for you guys! haha This past week we also had interviews with President Ardila, well I was the last missionary that was planned to have an interview When President finished all the interviews expect for mine and Elder Mitchell’s he realized that his plane would be leaving so he looked at us and said, well I will see you in 15 days for your interviews, it was pretty funny.  That’s about the news for this week.  See you soon!

Elder Riggs

Letter from September 3

I am stoked to fill you guys in with the wonderful news of the week. I was a little worried that I would be leaving Cerro this week and would go to another area because Elder Mitchell and I are finishing together.  Well instead of taking me out of this area we are in a trio.  I now have two companions, Elder Mitchell, and Elder Rodriguez, he is from Trujillo Peru!  He is a stud, it will be great to work with him here in Cerro.  We also had counsel this week in Lima, it was my last counsel.  I´m not going to lie it was weird to think that it will be my last one with President and the other missionaries.  I also got to hear Elder Christoferson, he was so far away that I didn’t get to see him very well or shake his hand but it was a blessing to hear him.  He is a pretty funny guy, very powerful, that is for sure.  I also saw Derek Leishman there, I haven’t seen him for about 22 months. We talked a little about how the majority of our friends are now married, how crazy is that.  He will be going home a couple weeks after me.

Here in Cerro this week we have had some changes as well, our ward was combined with another small ward here in Cerro because neither ward meets the standards to be a ward.  There were 100 people in sacrament meeting, which was a crazy sight to see.  I am used to about 45 people.  We will have a bigger area now, and a lot more members to work with. That should be great! This Saturday we have scheduled Gisenias baptism.  She came to church yesterday and is very excited to be baptized.  We also have a few others that we are hoping to baptized in the coming weeks. 

This past week we had trouble finding new investigators that progressed.  I was wondering what we could do to find the investigators that the Lord has prepared for us.  Well I began to search in the area book, to find many investigators that the missionaries have taught a while back.  I choose three investigators that I thought would be good to contact.  On Saturday we went looking for one of them.  Her name is Vilma, she has three kids that also listed to the missionaries about a year ago.  We talked with them and Sunday two of the 4 came to church and are very excited to learn more.  We have an appointment with them tonight and have the goal to put them with a baptismal date for the 22nd of this month.  It was a great experience for me because it taught me that if we want the Lord’s help we have to do everything that is in our power first.  Then he will do his part and bless us for our efforts.  I may not have much time left here in the mission field, but I will take advantage of every minute, because I know that this opportunity won’t come again.  The mission is like a race, when we get to the end of the race it’s time to sprint, and give it everything we have. Thanks for all your letters and support.

Elder Riggs

Letter from August 27

This week in Cerro has been absolutely amazing!  Jenny and Elizabeth were both baptized on Saturday!  I will tell you what, they are going to be some strong members in the church.  They continue to progress and read the Book of Mormon.  The best part of being a missionary is seeing the conversion of the people.  It is truly a blessing to see people change their lives in 3 to 4 weeks.  We actually had quite a few members at the baptism as well.  We had to tell all the members that the baptism started at 6 so that they would all be there at 7.  Luckily we started at about 7:05 pm.  Jose, Hector’s nephew never showed up this week.  We thought he would make it back to attend church and be baptized on Sunday, but he stayed in the village taking care of the animals.  The good news is that Hector received the priesthood yesterday. Now that we will be entering into September, we have 3 people with a baptismal date.  Gisenia, has a date for the 8th of Sep.  We are currently teaching her and her mom, they are both progressing well, but the problem is that the mom, (Rosa) isn´t married yet.  The bad news is that her husband in a tough guy, he doesn’t want to listen to us, but I know with time he will open up his heart, when he begins to see the change in his wife and daughter.  The other two we have with a baptismal date are Alexandra and Christian.

We were so blessed yesterday because they just showed up to the chapel wanting to learn about the church.  I couldn´t believe my eyes when we taught them after church and they accepted to be baptized for the 15th.  When we do our part, the Lord always comes through.  I honestly think this is the best area that I have had in my entire mission.  All of my areas have been great, but this area is where I have seen so many miracles and I have progressed so much as a missionary and as a leader.  I know without a doubt in my mind why the Lord sent me here to Cerro de Pasco and I know why He sent me here to Peru.  There are people here that the Lord specifically prepared for my companions and me. In other news we continue to work hard with the less actives, our pensionista (cook) has been less active this past month so we talked with her and helped her to see the importance of always being in the church on Sunday. It’s been great to work with the less active members because the majority had a testimony, we just have to help them to find that testimony again and strengthen it.  It is so important that we, as members, work with the less actives to strengthen them.

I also wanted to mention, and I am stoked beyond belief, that Elder Christoferson, one of the 12 apostles is going to be in Lima on Friday.  All the zones in Lima and the Zone leaders in Province have the blessing to meet him and listen to him.  I will meet an apostle this week.  WOW!!  That should be great!  Those guys are so inspired and such great examples.  Talk to you soon!

Elder Riggs

Letter from August 20

I have some great news, the transfers came and went and I am still here in Cerro.  I was a little worried that President might be moving me since Elder Mitchell and I finish our missions at the same time.  I mentioned Jenny and Elizabeth last week.  Well they are progressing wonderfully.  Their baptismal date is for this Saturday.  They both attended church yesterday as well as a fireside in the church.   They continue to read the Book of Mormon and I feel that there won’t be any problem this week in them getting baptized. They are going to be very strong members.  You can usually tell if someone is going to be a strong member by how they complete their Book of Mormon reading.  

Also we are planning the Jose´s baptism this coming Sunday. He has to attend 1 more time before he can be baptized so we are planning for Sunday afternoon after church. He will be arriving tomorrow from his village and will be here for a while.  He is Hector’s nephew as I mentioned last week, but one of them always has to be in the village to take care of the animals, so when he comes Hector goes.  Hector should be receiving the priesthood in about 2 weeks.  He is progressing well, the best part is that he is faithfully paying his tithing, I think that and keeping the Sabbath day are the hardest commandments for the new converts to keep, but he is doing a great job and staying strong.  We also have Elsa, she is a little bit tougher.  She is progressing, but slowly. She has a hard time accepting being baptized but I think here in a couple weeks she will feel the need and make the decision.

A couple of weeks ago with the Stake Presidency we planned an activity to excite the members and receive a bunch of references.  Well it was planned for this past Thursday.  Every ward was in charge of a little activity. There was a bunch of different rooms with different activities like dancing, a movie theater, a store, a room with missionaries teaching, and many others.  Well we were hoping to have around 100 to 200 people show up.  I was a little nervous because the last activity we had in the ward didn’t go so well, about 8 people showed up.  Well to my surprise around 500 people showed up, and to enter the members had to write down a reference.  It was the best activity! We had quite a few investigators there which was great. In the end, the stake President shared a message about the Plan of Salvation.  It went really well. Love you guys!!

Elder Riggs

Letter from August 13

Here in Cerro it has been another great week!  In church yesterday we were able to have a couple of investigators, Jenny, and Elsa.  Jenny is the lady that attended last week with her daughter.  She accepted a date to be baptized the 25th of this month with her daughter.  They are progressing nicely.  Something very special that I have seen throughout my mission and I continue to see is the power that the ‘Book of Mormon’ has.  When we begin to teach people, they always have a lot of doubts and challenges, but when they take the time to read the Book of Mormon that we leave them, they almost always gain a testimony and progress quickly.  I have seen that in Jenny.  When we first started teaching her she didn’t want to accept very quickly what we were teaching.  She mentioned that she was very catholic and that she truly believed that the Catholic church was the true church, because it was the first church here in Peru.  It was a little difficult to overcome her doubts, but when she began to read the Book of Mormon, all that changed.  Now she is very receptive to our teaching and is progressing towards baptism.  She has only read 4 chapters and it has completely changed her.  I have a true testimony of the Book of Mormon. I know if we read it, it will have the same power in our lives, I have seen it throughout my mission.  We just need to continue preparing them for the 25th, her and her daughter.  Also Elsa came to church for the second time, she is also progressing nicely, but hasn´t been reading as consistently, and it is very obvious.  We plan on helping her with that need so that everything turns out well with her.  She really enjoys the church, but needs to understand the importance of reading. Jose, left Cerro de Pasco, so we will see with him.  He is Hector’s nephew, he has the desire, the only problem is that he sometimes has to go to his village to work.  I will keep you posted on him. 

Tomorrow are changes.  I don’t know what is going to happen, but I hope that I stay here.  I love this area.  It is the best!  In other news, the conference with President in Lima was great!  It was weird because the majority of my good buddies that were usually there have all finished their missions, but it was still a great time.  President is a powerful man! I love that guy! He mostly talked to us about the importance of being obedient and giving our time to the Lord in these two years.  It was a great conference. I love you guys a bunch and hope everything is going great!!

Elder Riggs

Letter from August 6

We are about to head off to Lima for council with the President.  I can´t believe it’s already the beginning of another month.  I got a new companion this past week, Elder Mitchell. Believe it or not I am with another North American.  President sure likes to put me with North Americans, because once again there is only one North American companionship in the entire mission and it’s us!  Elder Mitchell is from California, he is an awesome kid!  The bad news is that we have been on the mission the same amount of time, so that makes it possible that I leave Cerro in a few weeks. Let’s hope not though.  I am loving it here!  Yesterday we had great success in sacrament meeting. We ended up having 6 people there.  They all have desire to progress as well.  Only one of them has a baptismal date.  His name is Jose, he is Hectors nephew.  He accepted to be baptized this coming Sunday.  The other investigators that came, came for the first time.  We are teaching a lady named Jenny, she has a daughter named Elizabeth. They haven´t accepted a baptismal date yet, but that is our goal for this week.  Another one is Elsa, she is awesome, she is a reference from a member.  She hasn´t accepted either yet, but we will be working on that this week.  I can´t lie the work is as good as it has ever been.  It’s a great blessing.

I wanted to mention that I met Elder Norris´s parents.  They are going to be in Peru for 2 weeks and passed by Cerro, they are great people!  His dad served in Puerto Rico many years ago, but spoke pretty decent Spanish still.  His mom spoke in English and Elder Norris translated when we were all together in the Pension.  It was so weird to see two American parents.  It has been quite a while since I have seen that. I will be seeing them more though in upcoming track meets. It was also very strange listening to English straight from the states.  I spoke horrible English.  I couldn’t remember the work altitude. Good times!  Sorry I’m running out of time, keep up the great work and we will talk soon!

Elder Riggs