What I Have Learned from President Riggs

I just realized that this will be my very last email to President Riggs. I don't know if he will get it or not; however, here it goes.

With the switch of missions here are some things that I have learned from President Riggs:

1. Everything!

2. He most importantly taught me how to allow the healing power of the Atonement come into my life. The Atonement covers everything not just transgressions and I have seen that in his life. I don't get to serve around him very often but when I do get to see him I cannot help but notice how much he trusts in the Savior to help him to become better. It has given me the knowledge that I can go to the Lord for everything.

3. I learned from him the blessings of obedience. He stresses that obedience brings blessings. He does not tell us that we need to be obedient in order to be in line with the mission rules but that we need to be obedient if we want to receive all that God has. I love the way that he teaches it because at first I just followed the rules because I had to (compelled to abe humble) but not out of the goodness of my heart. Now I understand the significance. The Lord wants to bless us but he can only do so if we are obedient.

4. I also learned from President Riggs what true love is (Charity). President Riggs is a great example of the Christ-like attribute charity. I could see that from the moment I had my very first interview with him. He knew my name, where I was from, and many other things about me. He took the time to really get to know us (even before he was here on the mission). From that moment on I could trust him with everything. He is very interested in who we are and our progression.

5. I learned from President Riggs how to be patient. Oh my goodness he has been so patient with me! He lovingly corrects and I mean lovingly. But he allows for us to find our own way. It has been so wonderful.

 

Sincerely,

Sister Diamond Evans

Exchanges, New Investigator, and Miracle Dinner

This week has been such a great week! I went on exchanges on Tuesday with a Sister Training Leader (another Sister Missionary- kind of like a zone leader but without the Priesthood) Sister Hansen (there are like a bizillion Sister Hansens floating around the mission). She trained me on so many things and was a really great help for some concerns that I have had. We had so many miracles happen together! We got a new investigator who is married to a less-active member. Mr. Montalvo is like fantastic. He is practically a member. She and I were very bold with him and he "respects" that. I love him so much and I hope that he will understand the Book of Mormon (his "only" hang up). It is going to be amazing on Tuesday when we have our next lesson with him.

On Thursday we received another new investigator who is also a man married to a less-active member. We felt prompted to bring the Marshall's over and it was perfect because they have ALOT in common and helped him to be relaxed. He is a very logical thinker. I do everything based off of my feelings and I "feel" things when I gain a testimony. He does everything logically so it needs to "make since" to him logically. Brother and Sister Marshall got to really help him understand things logically. They bore such amazing testimonly to him to the point that he truly wants to know if this is all true. I am so excited for our next lesson with him.

On Thursday we had a miracle dinner with our investigator Trisha. On last Saturday her and her son, Joey who is 13, came to the baptism of Aiden McCurdy. On Thursday during our lesson Joey said that he had a miracle with the Holy Ghost. He said that during the baptism program Sister Hodge taught about the Holy Ghost and how it warned her of danger. He said that he didn't believe her but on the following Monday he decided that he wanted a Bible to study so Trisha bought him one. Joey said that the next day he said that "read 1 corinthians 13:13" kept going in his head. He asked his mom if Corintians was in the Bible and she said yes and he told her about what was happening. She told him that it was the Holy Ghost prompting him so he better check it out. He read it to her and then asked why that particular scripture Heavenly Father wanted him to read. She asked him what was bothering him that the Holy Ghost would want to tell him that and he told her about the baptismal talk. Trisha told him: "Maybe it is because God wanted you to know that he loves all of his children and does not want anything bad to happen to us. He loved Sister Hodge and needed to warn her of danger." and Joey said: "He loved me to tell me that." It was so wonderful. He then said that he wants to get baptized into Aiden' church! We have been praying really hard for her family because the only thing that is stopping her from getting baptized is her husband. Maybe Joey wanting to get baptized will soften his heart. Heavenly Father is so great!

A less-active that we have been working really hard with, Sister Castillo, came to church! She only stayed for sacrament but it was so great to reap the benefits of our labor. I really hope that she will come into full activity with the church. Her husband is not a member, theme of Aquia, and we haven't met him yet. We hope to meet him this upcoming week and really get into their home and teach all of them. She is so wonderful. The Lord is ready for them to come back.

The Broadcast yesterday was so amazing! Afterwards our ward mission leader, Brother Marshall, called us and said: "okay Sisters you are getting my A game." Brother Marshall is truly the BEST Ward Mission Leader of all time. He does EVERYTHING that President Riggs has asked of him without question and without guile. I love him so much. He has been a great source of strength. I trust him so much. The Broadcast was the icing on the cake. Our Bishop is also fantastic and has a mind for missionary work, Bishop Johnston, and they are on fire. Brother Marshall said that we need to get the rest of the ward council on our side. It is tough because our Young Women and High Priest Group Leader do not have minds for missionary work but Brother Marshall said either they will catch the "missionary tsunami (what President Riggs changed it to) or they will drown. This week we will be focussing on getting the ward council on board with missionary work.

Spiritual thought:

This week I have been focussing a lot on what Elder Ritchie told us in Launching Leaders. He said that we must not stop being a missionary when we leave. We cannot fail the test now! It was so wonderful I wish that he will come with us when we transition to the Richmond Mission. He has really helped me so much. I do not ever want to stop being a missionary. It really was life changing.
Words of Wisdom from Elder Ritchie:

Ask the new mission president (or spouse): What do you need me to do and then do it!
Make myself indespensible meaning be the missionary that the mission president can trust to be put into any area.
Do not settle for less than who I am and expect to be more.
Be the missionary that President Wilson AND President Riggs needs. Be the person that God needs.
Practice Perfection and repentance.
(Mission) change is just a new beginning.
Heavenly Father KNOWS my potential, satan SEES my potential.
I have to want to BE really bad and then be willing to sacrifice for it.

Sincerely,
Sister Diamond Evans

Psalms 8:3-4
We are EVERYTHING

P.S.

I forgot to let you all know that as of June 27th I will be in the Richmond Virginia Mission. The mission office in Richmond is not allowed to forward mail so all mail must be sent directly to the missionary. My current address is:

6 Davenport Dr.
Apartment 104
Stafford, VA 22554

However, do not send anything the week of July 18th because that is transfer week and one of us will be transferred.

I love you all so much!

Life in Aquia

This week has been an adventurous week. We had the opportunity to have one of our investigators Aiden McCurdy baptized. He is the nine year old son of a less-active family that I began teaching when I first came to Aquia in October. It was so fun to finally close the book there. I love them so much! I got to go to the temple with his mother on Friday. She hadn't been active in over seven years and her and her husband finally decided that they needed to come back to church for their children. On Saturday during his baptism, Aiden had to be dunked twice. His grandfather came all the way from California to baptize him. He said "commission by" instead of "commissioned of." I was the one who caught it. Good thing we read the White Handbook everyday for me to have noticed it.

We also had a really great lesson with an investigator name Trisha. She is so wonderfu. She said that she now knows that this is Christ's restored church. She would get baptized any day; however, her husband has threatened to divorce her if she is baptized. We set-up a dinner with her family on Thursday so maybe he will change his mind once her continuesl to get to know us and learn that we are not crazy people who are trying to steal her away from him.

Spiritually I have been studying about the Christlike attributes found in Preach My Gospel. It has  been so fun to see these qualities and strive to accomplish them in my life.

My previous companion, Sister Jacqui Patten is living her for the summer! It was so weird to see her not as a missionary. She is doing so good. She is living with members of the ward, the Hurlburts.  

Sorry it's so short but that's all for this week.

Love,

Sister Diamond Evans

Alma 56: 45-48, Alma 57:21

Adventures in Aquia!

This week has been such a crazy week here in good ole Aquia! I love this area so much. We have been working really hard on strengthening our investigators and finding new investigators. On Monday while checking on a TON of potentials we got super lost and ended up in a different zone! Craziness. On Wednesday we had a lesson with the Hodge Family (a less-active family that I worked with the last time that I was here) and it was so wonderful to see Sister and Brother Hodge bear there newly rekindled testimony to their son Aiden who is getting baptized next week!

 

Thursday night (literally at 8:30pn) we felt super prompted to visit a member and it was such a blessing. The wife was home all alone and was struggling. She is a newlywed and this is the very first time in her entire life that she has not been near her family who all live in Florida. The night before she locked her keys in the car and realized that she had noone to call. Her husband is in the military and was in training so she couldn't get a hold of anyone. They have only lived here for a few months and just got orders that they are moving again so she hadn't quite made any friends. She got it all figured out and was just still shaken up. We got to comfort her and talk to her and find out who her visitin teachers are and get them involved in continuing to fellowship them before they leave. I am so grateful to Heavenly Father for putting us in the right place at the right time.

 

Well, Saturday was another adventure. After visiting a less-active and then asking two member families if they had received revelation, we began heading to out next appointment. As we were driving away and doing a U-turn we hit the curb: It was kind of funny. We were still laughing and drove about three or four streets when Sister Silva said: "check tire pressure." The light had come on. I got out the car and yep a HUGE gash was in in the tire and part of the rim was bent. It was so weird because we have hit curbs before and this impact was literraly less than anyother impact. Of course we began panicking (after laughing hysterically) after remembering how scared Sister Morley was when she locked her keys in the car at night. But divine assistance was there! The day before we filled up our gas tank (it was on 'E'); we were in a lighted area; the gas station was literally across the street; and we were not on a dangerous curve like most of our area is; and Brother Marshall (our Ward Mission Leader) was just working on his motoercycle so he had tools out and was dressed appropriately. It all worked out so magnificiently. You have to understan three of the five portions of our area are in the middle of nowhere and it is no coincidence that we decided to change our 8 pm schedule to stay in the one portion of our area that is on a busy road with many stops. Hevenly Father is so aware of us! Also, because it was just after 8pm and we were just going to do an hour of finding we did not really miss much. Heavenly Father is so great!

 

Another spiritual thought:

 

On Thursday night I got a letter from my mother saying that my aunt Pat died; her boyfriend was shot in the head; her daughter Fairline was shot in the eye; my cousin Ray was shot multiple times in the stomach; and Ray's daughter was shot in the leg after someone got 'offended' at my aunt for telling a woman's child to leave my aunt's home. Friday I got a priesthood blessing from my district leader. On Sunday I still felt mixed emotions. I struggle a lot with not only feeling inadequate and unloved. All I know is Detroit so I can only speak for them but I was overwhelmed in feeling like terrified for all of my family. Like why is my city suffering? My heart was just so racked with pain. During the sacrament yesterday I poured out my heart and soul to Heavenly Father pleading for peace and comfort and to know what to do. I then opened the scriptures to Doctrine and Covenants and reread portions of section 105 and I felt an overwhelming feeling of peace. I am so grateful to partake of the sacrament each week and feel renewed as I receive the spirit in abundance. I know that the Lord is with me and that He is fighting for me and for those that I love.

 

Sister Diamond Evans

Doctrine and Covenants 105:14

Transferred, New Mission, Training

I have been transferred back to the Aquia Ward in the Fredericksburg zone! This means that as of July 1^stI will be in the Richmond Virginia Mission. I am finishing training Sister Silva. She is awesome. She is from Orem Utah and loves to laugh.

This week has been really weird. Going back to an old area is kind of fun and kind of sad at the same time. It was so wonderful seeing my recent converts grow and become better. Ana Franco is so great. She came to church and was just so outgoing, which was not her normal personality when I was here, and she bore her testimony in Relief Society. I am so proud of her she is truly becoming the daughter of God that Heavenly Father sees in her. I also had a lesson with the Contreras family (they were a less-active family and I taught Bella and she was baptized) and it was so fun to see all of them active again! It was also great to see a less-active family that we worked with become fully active and the wife, Sister Hodge, is going to the temple and her son, Aiden, is getting baptized in two weeks! It was sad; though, to go through the area book and see that some of my investigators have dropped.

I love Sister Silva so much! She is so funny; we laugh all of the time and get work done. It has been so amazing. I have been so blessed with my companions. It is sad though to know that I am the ‘oldest’ sister going to the Richmond Mission from our mission. Everyone either goes home with me, Hermana Storts, or goes home a transfer after me, Hermana Williams, or goes home the transfer later, Sister Russell my 5^th companion, or goes home in 16 months! I am happy though that three of MTC zone missionaries are coming with me: Elders Bennett, McGoffin, and Pedrazza. I am so excited to see the adventures that will be coming my way.

Since I am finishing training Sister Silva I have been studying a lot about teaching skills and how to work in unity. It is a challenge coming from different areas where you teach one way and going to a new area. It is fun though working together. I love it! I am so excited to continue gaining new experiences.

Love,

Sister Diamond Evans

3 Nephi 28:29