Hi Family!
It's been another busy week in Rochester, Minnesota. But it was good!
We took another trip to La Crosse, Wisconsin this week. We were there
on Tuesday and Wednesday and spent each day with a set of missionaries
there. One of the missionaries there is brand new from the MTC and he
is awesome! Now that I am an old fogie of a missionary, I LOVE
working with new missionaries because they have so much faith and
fire. It is really inspiring. So it was great to spend the day with
him! La Crosse is a weird city. I like it but it is odd. They used
to be in the Guinness book of world records for the most bars per
captia in the world. Ha ha. I may have already told you that. They
also have the worlds largest 6 pack of beer. I have a picture of it.
But it is huge! And it smells gross. So needless to say, people in
La Crosse are weird. But that's okay! Weird people need the gospel
too.
We were able to have one last lesson on Monday night with our Nigerian
friend before she left for Nigeria. She is AMAZING! We went over the
baptismal interview questions with her and she is 100% ready to be
baptized. Sadly she is now in Nigeria. It will be a good thing
though because now she can introduce the church to her family and
maybe she will be baptized while she is there. I think that she
will. So that will be neat to hear about! I will say though, I don't
know what church she goes to in Nigeria but it is pretty much true,
except for the Priesthood Authority. But seriously, when we taught
about tithing, we asked if she knew what it was and she said, "Do you
pay 10% of your income? That's what we do in Nigeria." Same thing
when we taught the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity. But she was
pretty much living all of the commandments already! It was
incredible. No wonder she so easily accepted the fulness of the
gospel, she was so close already. Super prepared. And her faith is
inspiring. I was always ready to move a mountain everytime we left
her house after a lesson. Being a missionary = the bomb.
We are also super excited about two YSA girls that we taught. We met
one of them while tracting and when we came back for the appointment,
her roomate joined in. We also brought two YSA members with us and
the lesson went really well. I love the feeling you have after
teaching the Restoration clearly. The spirit is SUPER strong. I
don't know how anyone couldn't feel it. We will be going back to
teach them again on Wednesday. We are excited! It's time for another
baptism in Rochester!
Elder Carter and I have to drive up to Minneapolis today. We have a
meeting tomorrow and interviews with President tonight. That will be
fun! I always feel super pumped after meetings. And it is also way
fun to see other missionaries, especially old companions. Party!
Also, the 2nd ward is having a Labor Day picnic! That will be fun.
And a lot of members are bringing their non member friends. SO maybe
we will find a new person to teach today from the picnic. That would
be delightful.
Life as a missionary is the best. I am learning so much everyday.
Being an older missionary has some perks. The biggest thing is it has
given me a ton of perspective as to how the Lord works. He really
does work by small and simple means to bring about great things. I
got a call from the Elders in Dinkytown and they told me that they
started teaching a guy again that I taught there and they set a date
for him to be baptized next month. He was the guy from India if you
remember who was just amazing. He was super prepared and ready to
join the church and then randomly he disappeared. I thought it was
just some sick joke or something. But it turns out he had some
emergency and had to fly back to India without letting us know. But I
was thinking about him a few weeks ago and so I called the Dinkytown
Elders and told them to call him. So they did and he answered! They
finally met with him last week and he is on a straight course to make
a covenant with God. That was a neat experience for me and a total
example of the promptings of the spirit. If he does get baptized, he
will be the 3rd person that got baptized in Dinkytown that I was able
to help teach but got baptized after I left. It is so neat! It helps
me realize that I am a part of something much bigger than I think.
God really is in charge and it is such a blessing to be a tool in his
hands to help move his work forward. I love being a missionary.
Sorry mom but I don't think I am going to come home. I'm just going
to stay a missionary forever.
Hope that you all have a Happy Labor Day! Thanks for the pictures.
Love you!
Elder Ruesch
