Skyping with Thomas on Christmas Day!

I Know That Whatever Happens, I Can Trust the Lord.

I´m still collecting recipes for you! I´ve got three really good ones, and I´m looking to get the recipe for Brazilian lasagna (MUITO GOSTOSO!) again.

It´s sooooo hot here! So sweaty all the time! 

Today, the whole zone had a churrasco (barbeque) with the stake president. It was great! We all sang to him and the rest of the presidency and their families ("Chamado a Servir" and "I Believe in Christ" (In Portuguese)). Transfers are coming up and I´m hoping I can stay in Mirna. I love it here! And I don´t want to move AGAIN. Can you give me an update on Ben (cousin)? 

How´s everything back home? Lots of fun, I hope!

The work is pretty hard here (no one wants to keep commitments or come to church or pray or read or anything) but we are surviving. Last night, I had a really special moment. Yesterday was rough. Surprise testimony in sacrament meeting. We taught a surprise lesson (it was for me) in Sunday School, all of our appointments either fell through or didn´t keep commitments. And a very special investigator, super dear to my heart, said that she didn´t want to be baptized and that she didn´t want any more lessons or prayers. That was really hard. So we were super discouraged. After planning, around 9:30ish, I was really discouraged and I listened to "Does The Journey Seem Long?" It was so beautiful. It was the one where it was a guy singing a solo in General Conference. Then, "The Atonement", a talk by Boyd K Packer, played. It was just what I needed (it even started with "this is addressed to the discouraged and downtrodden"). It was awesome! You gotta listen to it! And in the end, Pres. Packer reads the lyrics to "Does The Journey Seem Long?" (WHOA), which was written by President Joseph Fielding Smith (whose teachings are in the brand spanking new manual we just got (WHOA)). It was super powerful. Then, I listened to an Eyring talk that was really good! Heavenly Father is so awesome! So many tender mercies. 

A sad note: Elder Pina, a missionary in my district from Cape Verdi (Africa), got a call from President Pinho on Saturday. His dad died. Really really sad! He´s the only member in his family, which is poor and doesn´t have a computer (so no skype for Christmas), and he has had no money, even from the mission (I can´t remember the reason), and he wasn´t adjusting to the climate well at all (it´s super cold compared to Cape Verdi). Poor guy! We are all waiting to see what he´ll do, but I think he´ll stay. I hope he stays. 

I want you all to know that I will stay in the mission until the end. I know that as I do this, our Father will bless me and will bless you more than we can imagine. I really struggled in the first three weeks (first transfer), and Elder Baisden told me this, which really struck me: "If my dad died while I was on my mission, I wouldn´t even think about leaving the mission." And he loves his dad a lot! But that´s the kind of persevering faith that you develop out here. I know that no matter what happens, I can trust the Lord. This mission is so awesome! The Church is true!

I love you so much and have a great week!

Elder Richins

I want to stay in this area forever!

It´s so hot here! And green! It doesn´t feel close to Natal at all! But everyone (todo mundo) is excited for Natal! We don´t get to see the devocional... :C

I can´t send pictures until we find a safe place to do it. I really don´t want my camera wracked with viruses. 

I´m slowly saving up to send a páckage home, with stuff I don´t need, souvenirs, and gifts for the fam. Pictures will be included.

I haven´t got the package yet, but Elder Byers will check the Escritorio today. I did get Sister Nokes´ letter! I loved it! Give her a hug for me!

I just sent an email about Skype. It´s pretty urgent, so I hope you see it!

The work is hard, but fun! We are teaching Fabio and Vanuzia, a couple with three little kids. They are ready for baptism except that Fabio struggles with smoking and is showing little effort, and we need to marry them (always the issue). We are teaching Eleniuza and her familia. They are recent converts, but she´s struggling. We think they are attending a second church. We are teaching Brena and Gilmar, who also need to get married and she needs to quit coffee and he´s probably got other problems, but Brena really wants to get baptized, so I´m excited for her. Luckily, she and Gilmar do not live in the same house, so she can probably get baptized sooner than later. We are teaching Jucilene and her daughter, Yasmim, but we are having lots of problems. Jucilene is soooo close! We are teaching Cicero and Ana, a couple whose son, Luka, is a recent convert. We´re all hoping Luka can baptize his little brother, Juan. Cicero and Ana are super receptive, but he works on Sunday. EVERYONE works on Sunday.

So, we don´t have any rats here, but we do have HUGE baratas (cockroaches). They are about the size of my watch. Think of a normal sized no-bake cookie. Our apartment is really clean, so we think they come from this old ratty sofa on our balcony. It needs to be burned.

Saturday night (and Sunday morning) there was a party outside our apartment. I wish we could have called the police because they were drinking and playing extremely loud music (our beds were vibrating and shaking) ALL NIGHT LONG.  It didn´t stop until 5 in the morning! I remember because I was awake! It´s crazy!

Anyway, today is going to be super fun because we´re going to Longe-de-Real, basically a Dollar General, but EVERYTHING is R$1, or fifty cents for us. Sweeet!

Time is going really quickly and I don´t like it! I want to stay in this area forever!

Oh, and I gave a talk yesterday in church. Everyone loved it. More importantly, everyone understood it. Oh yeah.

And I have a recipe for you! It´s super awesome, from Irmão Madruga, in the Bispado (Bishopric). You´ll love it, it´s a type of cake/pudding thing!

Have a great week!

Seu filho para sempre,

Elder Richins

We have little victories every day.

All is well, all is well! Tudo bem!

First off, I want to tell you that I saw the MASSIVE RAT in the sewer yesterday. It was seriously the size of the cat. And I saw a smaller one this morning. What am I doing in the sewers? Tracting, sleeping, making breakfast. We have open sewers, here! Sewage flows through the streets next to piles of garbage! Oh yeah! It´s sweet!

I can´t emphasize how ghetto everything is here! More than half of the businesses I see, actually probably more than 3/4 in our area, are ran out of garages. It´s soooo sketchy!

It´s been raining all week, so not much heat nor humidity. It gets surprisingly cold here, like in the 60s! Low 60s at night! I have to use my blanket!

So, Elder Baisden (my American companion) and I thought Thanksgiving was last week, and he got super trunky. Oops! Yep, there´s no Thanksgiving in Brazil, but we have feasts every single day, when we are fed almoço (lunch). Luckily, we walk a TON. We probably spend a few hours a day walking up the hills and through the alleys of the city. We´re always sweaty! Cool thing about Brazil: culture allows you to go up to any house and ask for a drink of water, and they do it happily! Not so cool, you don´t know if the water is clean or not.

Elder Aguiar is 24, and joined the church 3 years ago. He was a member for a year and a half before going on a mission! He´s crazy awesome! And Elder Baisden and I help him learn English. He and Elder Baisden went into the CTM together and are super tight! You should totally send us Natal (Christmas) ties! And some simple recipes would be great! I have a recipe for Brazilian Lasagna for you (SO GOOD) that I´ll send next week, maybe with some pictures (maybe).

Not much else to say. I wish you could just read my journal, because I forget stuff right after I write it down (I´m at 135 pages in this one). But it´s in Portuguese half the time, so that wouldn´t do!

People love me here! It´s fun being an American in Brazil, able to sufficently speak Portuguese after only 2 weeks!

The work here is really hard, and we haven´t had much success, but the people are ready, and we have little victories every day. Something´s gonna give this week! I just know it!

Keep up the scripture reading!

I love you!

Elder Richins

So many hills! So many blisters! It's awesome!

Mai!

Tudo Bom! (All´s good!)

So you got my package? Tell me more about how much the girls liked their letters. They were really special and took me a LONG time. 

The work is really, really, REALLY hard down here, physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. But I grow every day! My trainer, Elder Aguiar, is the best! He speaks very little English, but I know more than enough Portuguese to communicate with him now, through the Spirit, of course. We share a ghetto apartment with two other missionares (we share the ward/area), Elder Salazar from Chile (Spanish, Portuguese, and a bit of English), and Elder Baisden from Ohio (English, Portuguese, and a bit of Spanish). Elders Aguiar and Baisden are both district leaders (I don´t know how) so technically, I´m the senior companion. I broke down yesterday because I finally was able to talk to Elder Baisden in English, but he quickly brought me back and I´m stronger than ever! I´m losing weight despite the mountains of food because we only get one meal a day (massive lunch with members where culture prevents moderation) and we walk EVERYWHERE. So many hills! So many blisters! It´s awesome! My feet hurt ALL THE TIME, I LOVE IT! Brazil is my home, now. Everything is so delightfully sketchy and ghetto. Sao Paulo is 26 times bigger than NYC and my mission has 11 million people in it, yet it´s the smallest mission (area-wise) in Brazil. Standard of living is very low. It´s extremely humble. But we made 20 new investigators in 3 days, one of which was a Sunday, one potential baptism, and I´ve already baptized a kid, taught by the other two Elders. I had to try 5 times because he squirmed so much. So I had 5 baptisms on my first Sunday. The meeting was great, I think. I didn´t understand much, but I felt the Spirit nonetheless. The meetings are backwards: Elders´ Quorum, Sunday School, then Sacrament Meeting. President and Sister Pinho are awesome! Best mission president ever! Everything is so ghetto! Stray dogs and cats everywhere! Trash all over the streets! No traffic rules, barely any police presence! Lots of loud music, more than half from the United States! And the food is sooo good here! No parasites, yet! The water is clean, but we still are advised against drinking from the tap, since the tap comes from a BIG barrel on the adjacent roof and who knows what could get in there. Not much else to report, except that I love it, here, and it´s life-changing! 

That´s it for now! I love you!

Elder Richins

Goodbyes are hard....unless you're going to Brazil!

It sure has been a short week! Today is P-day (preparation day) because I leave on Monday and I can't any of the necessary stuff on Sunday. I'm so excited for Brazil! I'm going to finish packing (I started earlier this week), finish laundry, buy any last minute supplies, get ready for departing inspection, etc.

As always, this week has been very eventful, but there's not enough time in the world to tell about all of it. My companion who had the surgery last week is a lot better, but has to go back into surgery in two weeks, so has to stay in the MTC for two more weeks! Elder Beyler, my companion, is going to Gilbert, Arizona. Elder Sharp is going to Tacoma, Washington. Elder Anderson is going to Vancouver, Washington (I thought Vancouver was in Canada, myself). Elder Mortensen is going to Cleveland, Ohio. Elder Peterson got his visa, so we're traveling together to Sao Paulo. From there, he's going to his mission in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Goodbyes are hard. Unless you're going to Brazil. I'll miss my teachers, friends, and companions a lot, but my excitement overrules any sadness.

Well, I've got lots more to do. Sorry the email was so boring! I'll do better next time, I promise!

Ate mais!

--

Elder Thomas Richins

Brazil Sao Paulo Interlagos Mission

Mommy! Thanks for the money info! I'm doing really good keeping track of my expenses! ;)

I'll call you guys from the airport! I'll have a companion with me (one from my district, Elder Peterson, whom I'm really good friend with) while I'm in both airports. We may not sit together, but we'll be in the same plane.

I'm sending a big letter in a second, but I want you to know that I pray for you and the family every night, and that I love you so much! You have raised me so well, and I am grateful. I was talking with my companion the other day about mothers. We decided that you must have been a special spirit to not only get the privilege of motherhood, but also to be a good mother of four! You must have done something good! And I must have done something good to deserve a mother like you! :)

I love you so much!
Kyle wrote me and the girls did, too! Keep encouraging them! Those are my favorite letters! :)

Your son forever,

Elder Richins

I got my Visa!

There's one huge thing that happened this week that overshadowed all else:

I got my visa.

I'm going to Sao Paulo on Tuesday, November 11th. At 9:40 am, my plane leaves Salt Lake City for Atlanta, Georgia. I arrive there at 3:22 pm, and stay in the airport until 7:38 pm, when I board a plane to Sao Paulo, Brazil. I arrive in the city at 8:15 am the next day. For the flight from Georgia to Brazil, I know of at least one other Elder who I can fly with, so we'll work something out. I'm really excited! This time next week, I'll be in Brazil!

I've already started packing! And I'm getting ready to send home my winter clothes, since it's summer in Brazil. I feel like I just got them, too!

There's so much that's happened in the past week!

Our investigators are going really well!

I've almost finished "Jesus the Christ" by James E Talmage!

I found out I'm related to one of my companions through our great great great great grandfather, Daniel Tyler (give or take a "great").

I got to watch "Johnny Lingo" (now, I can say that I am truly a Mormon) and "The Testaments"!

It's snowing ALL THE TIME!

We ate breakfast in the Provo Temple cafeteria after my last (sad!) temple trip, and it was SO good! Best breakfast I can remember! (Sorry, Mom!)

The two new districts are awesome! They look up to us!

I'm not the youngest in my district!

Elder Brewerton's surgery is today! (They postponed it a week because the doctor went on vacation, and Elder Brewerton's been really suffering.)

There's so much more I want to say, but I don't have much time.

Never in my life have I done anything like this. The past five weeks have been the most difficult weeks in my entire life. The spiritual hardships, the relentless attacks from the Adversary, the tests of faith and courage, all make for a very hard journey.

But the past five weeks have also been the greatest, most valuable weeks of my life. I would give up the last 18 years to keep these. If my mission were to end now, which would be heartbreaking, I can truly say that my life has forever been changed. My testimony is greater than I could have ever fathomed. I've met my Father in Heaven and have learned of Him as well as of His Son, Jesus Christ. Never has the Spirit been so strong. I never want these feelings to end. And they don't have to. I am excited for life! October 2nd, 2013 will always be the day that I was reborn as not just a Mormon or a spirit child of God, but as a servant of my Father in Heaven and as a proclaimer of truth to the world. I have began the life of discipleship to my Lord, my Christ. I want to give all of my life to Him, to bring my friends, family, posterity, and fellow children of God to Him to be perfected and saved.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the one and only way to receive salvation and eternal happiness. Through faith, repentance, baptism and keeping covenants, receiving and using the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end, we may reach the highest point of heaven and live with our Heavenly Family once more, who earnestly ache for us to return to Them.

I love my Father in Heaven. I love Jesus Christ. I love my mission. I know that God is preparing people in Brazil to be taught the Gospel, and that He will lead me to where He needs me. I know, with all of my being, that Jesus is the Christ, the Living Son of God, and that the Church He established has been restored through the prophet Joseph Smith by the wisdom and power of God. Along with this, the priesthood and authority of God has also been restored, and the Book of Mormon, which is another testament of Jesus Christ, has been revealed to the world.

What a glorious time in which we live! I feel sorry that I haven't thanked my Heavenly Father for the privilege it is to live in the Fullness of Times, the Last Dispensation before the Second Coming of the Savior. Never before have there been so many temples, so many missionaries, so many disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Gospel is restored in its fullness, and will never again be taken from the Earth. This is a glorious time. Despite the wars, rumors of wars, disasters, tragedies, and sorrows, I know God loves His children and that Satan will ultimately fail. This is truth from God, that we will win the war which began in Heaven and will continue until Satan is thrust forever downward, never again able to afflict and tempt the children of God.

We are soldiers in the army of God, and He needs us to focus and continue doing good works. As we trust in the Lord and do His will, then everything else will fall into place.

God loves each and every one of you, and He has restored the truth for you, that you may partake of it and live with Him forever in happiness as eternal families. I testify of this, having seen the hand of God in my life daily, in the sacred name of our Older Brother, Teacher, Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Amen.

");