Done. But never finished

Hey Fam,

I was thinking all week what I was going to title my last email and I kept on thinking of Ians last mission email when he put Done. But never finished. As I enter my last week I understand a lot better what that really means and I thought it would be cool to put the same thing :)

Its so crazy to think how fast time has gone by, it feels like yesterday when I got on the plane to come here to Mexico. Honestly I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have had to serve as a missionary and to represent Jesus Christ and His true and every lasting church. It has been such a blessings and honestly nothing in the world could have taught me more in these past two years than the mission.

This past week my comp and I saw so many blessings. Two of the people we have been teaching, Heber and Isaac both got baptised. It was so amazing because Heber was baptised on Saturday and his Dad baptised him which was such an awesome experience. On sunday night we had the baptism service of Isaac. Its pretty cool because three weeks ago we contacted a girl in the street and turns out she was a member. When we went to visit her we met Isaac. Their family is less active and Isaac was never baptised. So we have been teaching him these past three weeks and we were able to active his sister and Isaac was able to get baptised on Sunday. Honestly it was such an awesome last Sunday in the mission.

One thing that I have seen on the daily here in the mission is the Love that our Heavenly Father has for us. I know He loves and knows personally everyone of His children He knows our needs and our worries. He loves us so much He sent His only begotten Son to save us.

I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints in the the true church. I know that the Boof of Mormon is the word of God and I have seen it change so many peoples lives including mine. I know that God answers our prayers and there is nothing I cherish more in my life than the testimony of have of this Gospel.

I love you all so much and I am so grateful for all the support you have given me these past two years. Its truly been a blessing :)

Love,

Elder Nobmann Riddle

GET SPIRITUAL! GET BIG! GET BLESSINGS!

Big Week

Hey Fam,

Well this past week went really well, my comp Elder Hurren and I saw a couple more miracles.

So we have been visiting the family of our ward mission leader. They arent members, one of their kids Octavio has wanted to get baptised for about a month and a half now. But for some circunstances with his dad he hasnt been able to do it. So we have been praying and fasting a lot to see a miracle. On Saturday we went and visted them and one of the first things they said is that Octavio has permision to get baptised. So that was pretty awesome, we were able to have the service later that day and it was so awesome. Its funny because my comp and I had worked so hard so that Octavio could get baptised and we both felt like the Lord changed everything in the matter of seconds.

One thing that I love about the mission are the trials of faith. Its actually been kind of fun because I have come to noticed that the Lords plan is perfect and my plan isnt. Whenever I tried to do things my way they never worked out. But when I started to do the things the Lords way trusting 100% in Him, everything has always worked out.

I know this church is true and I know that God loves all His children. I know that the most important thing for God is that we make it back to His presence and that we have growned in the process. I love how Paul in 2 Corithians 12 explained how he loved his weakness because in weakness Gods power is perfected and we are strengthened. Also how Moroni explained that the Lord will make our weakness become strong things. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that if you read it and apply its principles you will draw closer to God than any other book.

I love you all so much and I hope you all have great week! :)

Love,

Elder Nobmann Riddle

GET SPIRITUAL! GET BIG! GET BLESSINGS!

Baptism Carlos

Hey Fam,

Well these week we saw such a cool miracle in the area, it was a pretty awesome experience.

At the beginning of the month we prayed and felt really strong that we were going to have an investagator accept the gospel and get baptised. So we worked so hard to help all of them and to find more people to teach. On Monday we saw the all the people that we are teaching were going to need a little bit more time. But we just kept being diligent and on tuesday we recieved a call from a guy who just moved into our area and had listened to the missionaries 2 years ago. He was about to get baptised but he got called a way for work. So when we saw him on tuesday we realized that he really wanted to to join the church and he had a strong desire to be baptised. So we ended up preparing him for saturday and he was able to fill the desire of his heart and he accept the gospel and was baptised. He was so happy after his baptism, when he shared his testimony all he said was how grateful he was that the Lord gave him another chance to accept the gospel and how just felt such a strong desire in his heart to cry bacause he was so happy :)

Honestly I truly do love these type of expereinces in the mission, to see how the Lord always completes with His promises and all He wants from us is a strong desire to do His will and obedience. Also to see people who have had such hard lives accept the gosple and start over again. One thing that I cant deny is the love God has for His children, one way we can see that love is through His son Jesus Christ. One omy favorite scriptures is John 3:16-17, I love how it says that He came so no one would be lost. The Gospel of Jesus Christ truly does save people and it has been such an awesome expereince to be part of this process.

I really do love this gospel with all my heart, I have seen it change the lives of so many different people here in Mexico. I have also seen it change my life too, the mission has really taught me what kind of person I can become if I trust and the Lord and do His will.

I love you all so much, have a great week!

Love,

Elder Nobmann Riddle

GET SPIRITUAL! GET BIG! GET BLESSINGS!

Grace

Hey Fam,

We had a pretty awesome week this past week. Today I got to spend part of the day with one of my favorite comps Elder Lugo to visit some of the people that we taught. It was awesome because one of the guys we taught and baptised just recieved Melchizedek Priesthood and he is getting ready to enter the temple. We were so pumped to hear the news!

On monday last week I was with a youth from the ward doing divisions and we were contacting. We decided to say a prayer and we prayed for someone who really needed to hear the gospel. After the prayer we felt prompted to knock a door and it turned out to be an less active women who is going through a lot of problems. We were able to teach her and on sunday her and her whole family who arent members of the church went to church, it was awesome. Also the other we made a contact in the street and it was another less active girl. We went and visited her and she wants to go back to church and her 10 year old brother really wants to get baptised.

Honestly those were some really amazing miracles that we saw this past week. We can honestly see the Lord working with us in the area. Something that I really love in the mission is making inspired contacts and finding new people to teach. Its such an amazing feeling having the spirit guide you all day, I love the scripture that says that the spirit will show us all thins that we must do. I am loving my time as a missionary and I cant believe I only have three in a half weeks left. Everyday is a blessing in the mission because everyday you have the chance to help someone :)

I love you all so much and I just want to share my testimony and say that I know that we truly are children of God and He is our loving Heavenly Father. I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and He truly gave His life for us. I know that the spirit will truly guide us in every step we take and that we are never alone. Also the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the true church on the world today :)

Love,

Elder Nobmann Riddle

PS The picture of me with the Señora, she isnt mad. Thats just the way she smiles :) 

Faith

Hey Fam,

Yesterday I oficially started my last cycle in the mission. I am so pumped because I have one more cycle to serve the Lord. How much more blessed could I be, I am so pumped!

Today we went to the Temple and it was pretty awesome. We missed the session at 11 so we ended up doing sellings then we enter the next session. It was a pretty awesome experience, the temple is such a beautiful place. Its nice to know that today a group of families were able to be sealed for all enternity 😊

Things in the area have been kind of rough, lots of ups and downs. But we are loving the experience because we have been learnings so much. Today I was reading in the Bible and I read Hebrews 10 and 11 and it was great. I love learning about the faith because that is the way the Lord works in our lives. Sunday we were able to listen to a conference where some of the apostles spoke. It was really awesome hearing some of them speak and teach in spanish. Also the best part was hearing the strong testimonies of the gospel.

Honestly I really love the mission because everyday is a challenge. But what I really love is taking on everyone of these challenges with the help of the Lord, something I never could have learned on my own. The best part about the Lord is that He is always there to help. I know this chuch is true and I cant deny that Joseph Smith saw our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ and his fruit is The Book Of Mormon. I know what I am teaching because I have truly felt and recieved my answer from God. I love you all so much and I invite you all to take the invitation of James 1:5 and I promise that all things well be revealed.

Love,

Elder Nobmann Riddle

GET SPIRTUAL! GET BIG! GET BLESSINGS!

Manzanita

Hey,

Well these past couple weeks have been pretty good.

On saturday we had a conference with a seventy, Elder Pino and it was pretty cool. We also got to learn from our mission president, he is so awesome. My comp and I have been working hard in the area, its been a fun challenge. Lately we have been visiting lots of the members who have been attending church. Its been really great because we have found so many new invs through the process and we have also been able to help so more members attend church again.

Honestly I have been learning a lot in my new area. Something that I really like doing is starting from scratch in a new area and thats what my comp and I had to do this past month. But the best part is that we have really trusted in the Lord in all that we have been doing and we have seen so many blessings. We have found some really awesome people to teach and we are hoping to start seeing them accept the gospel this month.

I know that was a quick email but everything is going great. I am loving my time in the mission and I truly do love the people I am serving! There is no better feeling than seeing the Gospel change someone's life. I hope you all have a great week :)

Love,

Elder Nobmann Riddle

GET SPIRITUAL! GET BIG! GET BLESSINGS!

GPS

Hey,

These past couple of weeks have gone really well. My comp and I are white washing the area so its been pretty tough to get around but we love it. 

This past week we made a sweet contact with someone in the MexiCable, its like a cool transport thing thats like a ski lift. So we got her direction to go visit her but the day we were planning on visiting her we realized there were two streets in the area with the same name and they are super far apart. Also to add to it they are super long streets so we had no idea where to start because here the house numbers are usually pretty messed up. We tried calling her but she didnt answerand it was like 740 pm. So my comp and I talked for a sec and we decided to say a prayer and ask what direction we should go. So we said the prayer and we just kept following the spirit. After about 15 mins of walking and following the spirit we found the street. We both ended up saying a prayer and we felt prompted to knock one of the doors....and it turns out it was the house of the girl we were looking for! I know that might not sound that cool but for us it was awesome. We literally found a house completly guided by the spirit. I love the scripture in 1 Nephi 4: 6-8, it just shows that if we follow the spirit even if we dont know what is going to happen He will place the blessing in our hands. 

Thats just one of the many amazing experiences that my comp and I have had so far in the area. Its been so awesome working here in this ward because my comp and I are new and sometimes we have no idea what we should do. So thats when we just stop and say a prayer together and just let the Lord guide us after. I read a quote this week thats says...We should walk by faith, not by sight. I love that quote because that is life,the Lord wants us to learn to trust in Him 100% so we can recieve every single one of the blessings He has for us. James 1:5 is such amazing advice, if we truly dont know we just need to ask God. I know that God truly does answers our prayers and that He will always give us that answer that will bless our lives. Sometimes its not what we expect but thats when the walking by faith comes in play.  

I really love you all so much and I appreciate all the support you show me. I hope you all have an amazing week!

Love,

Elder Nobmann Riddle

GET SPIRITUAL! GET BIG! GET BLESSINGS!

El Mirador

Hey Fam,

Well my time in Aeropuerto came to an end, I had changes yesterday. But something really awesome is that on Sunday President called us and told us that we jumped to number 1 ward in the whole mission. That was really so awesome to hear, we worked so hard last month!

On saturday three of the people we have been teaching got baptised. Ruben, Noemi, and Victor all got baptised and it was such an awesome service. During their baptism we sang as missionaries and there was such a strong spirit. It was a really awesome way to finish my time in that area, I really love the people there so much!

Well my new area is called Mirador and it is AWESOME! I am so pumped to be here, its literally a dream come true. I have always wanted to be in this area and I never thought it would actually happen. The best part of this area is that it is huge and full of hills. Also its super far away from everything so its pretty fun just to be isolated out here. My new comp is a really great guy, I am super pumed to be with him. Also in the ward there are two other companionships so its going to be fun working with them too.

I loved the conference talks last weekend, I love listening to sunch powerful testimonies of the Gopsel from such great people. One I really loved was finding Joy in Jesus cristo. That was really awesome to hear because it doesn't matter your circumstance you can always find joy in Christ. I love this Gospel so much and I have no doubt in my mind that God has a plan for every single one of us. 

I really hope you all in enjoy your week, thanks for being so great!! 

Love,

Elder Nobmann Riddle

GET SPIRITUAL! GET BIG! GET BLESSINGS!

Baptism!

Hey Fam,

We had a really awesome week, things are going so great here in this ward. Also just want to say thanks for the letter from the May Creek ward relief society, I really appreciated it! 

On Sunday we had a baptism servive for Sara, Delia, and Belen. The service went so well, we had a lot of people come to show support. The best part of the service was that three members who were with us during a lot of the visits were able to do the baptism. I love seeing the members participate in the missionary work. Its been so awesome having the members share their testimonies with all these people we have been teaching, it truly does change everything.

Well this is my last week here in this ward, just want to finish strong. I truly have enjoyed these last 4 and a half months here. I have learned so much and I am excited to get to my next ward and apply it all. I love the gospel because its the same wherever you are at. The only thing you have to do to see succes is apply it. I love seeing the change in people when they appy the gospel, including in myself.

Thanks for all the love and the support!! Have a great week and keep applying the little things. 

Love,

Elder Nobmann Riddle

GET SPIRITUAL! GET BIG! GET BLESSINGS!

Baptism Toño

Hey Fam,

Another week down, things are going super great in our ward. We really had another great week!

On Sunday we had the baptism of Toño and it was super awesome. We baptised part of his family last month and we have been teaching him and he finally made the desicion and we were pumped for him. The coolest part was that the same sunday his dad got the priesthood and after the church services he was able to baptise his son. Something crazy is that his dad is missing part of one of hi legs due to an accident but that didnt stop him from baptising his son! 

I have really enjoyed my time here in this area, I have seen so many families accept the gospel and it has been such a great experience for me. I think the funniest part has been sitting in house of 6 to 8 people and teaching the Gospel to all of them. I know that the family is eternal and that God truly does love the family. When I got here in this area the only thing I wanted to do was teach families and after lots of prayers, fast, and hard work with my comps we have been blessed to see that come to pass. 

I have no doubt in my mind that this Gospel is true, I have truly seen it change the lives of so many people here in the mission. In these last couple of months I have seen how the gospel truly unites the family. It all starts by doing the little things like praying together, reading the scriptures, and attending church every week. 

I love you all so much and I hope you all have a great week!!

Love,

Elder Nobmann Riddle 

GET SPIRITUAL! GET BIG! GET BLESSINGS!

Noche Mexicana

Hey fam,

Well this past week went pretty well, I have really enjoyed my time here in this ward.

On saturday we had our ward activity to celebrate Independence Day here in Mexico, its really the 15th of this month but they celebrated saturday in the ward. Not going to lie it was really fun. We had a lot of our investigators there and all our converts as well. They enjoyed it so much, it was really awesome to see how much the ward has grown and how everyone just works together. 

Also we had a great week working our ward, they have been supporting us so much. We were able to teach 13 lessons with them this past week and we put 8 baptism dates with our invs.Things are going really great here in the ward. Also we had interviews with our mission president and that was awesome. I am like 100% sure he is going to become an apostle after the mission. He told me that its going to be my last cycle here in this area so I am going to try to enjoy it as much as I can. 

Thanks for all your letters and support. I love you all tons!!

Love,

Elder Nobmann Riddle 

GET SPIRITUAL! GET BIG! GET BLESSINGS!

Good Week

Hey Fam,

So this past week past really awesome, a crazy change is that my pdays are now on tuesday. But its all good because now we can enter the temple a lot. 

Well last week we had some really cool things happen. We had our missionary leadership council and it was so cool. Our new mission President is so awesome, we are all convinced that he is going to be an apostle. He is really helping us grow as a mission, so its been a lot of fun learning from him. Also on Sunday we had a baptism! Yesenia got baptised and it was such an amazing service. One of the coolest parts about the day was before at church she got up and shared her testimony in sacrtament meeting, super powerful. Also after the baptism she shared her testimony again and we were all in tears, I am really happy for her. 

Things have been going really well in the mission. I feel great here in my ward and with my comp. This area has been my favorite so far, the people are so great and so ready to hear the gospel. Its funny because when I got here everyone said that this ward was the worst but now its one of the best in the mission. One thing I have learned in the mission is not to let what others tell you change what the Lord wants you to do. If we just trust in Him every step of the way He will work miracles and you will always be ok. I love this gospel so much because if you are willing to accept the Lords help and trust in him, He will change your life. 

I hope you all have a great week and as always I love you all tons!

Love,

Elder Nobmann Riddle

GET SPIRITUAL! GET BIG! GET BLESSINGS!

Big Week!

Hey Fam,

Well this week went by so great, we saw so many miracles. There were so many moments when we thought it was all going to go bad but the Lord definitly helped us. Seeing the Chamorro Family and The Herrera Family get baptised was so awesome.

As we started this week things were pretty stressful. One of the families we were teaching started to have a lot of problems in their job and other things. We were really worried about them because they were getting ready to get baptised this weekend. But we ended up taking a lot of members with us to visit them and we had some really great experiences. Also the other family who we married almost didnt get married because they showed up late. Wow that was stressful because we had their baptism planned for saturday and they got married on Thursday. I know this problems may not sound like that big of a deal but when you are on the mission and you are teaching really great people Satan really works hard on them. Almosy always the week before their baptism their are little tests uf faith. I realized its The Lord just pushing us to see how much we will trust in Him. The best part of this week was that we did just that, trusted in Him and everything came out so great. 

The best part about the story of this two families is that three weeks ago things werent going really well in the area, nobody was progressing like we were hoping for. My comp and I left an appointment kind of bummed out but we just said a prayer together and we felt a little better. I told my comp that in three weeks we are going to be in a baptism service dressed in whited and it was going to be great. After three long weeks of work it actually came to pass, we were so pumped. The baptism service was so packed, even our Mission President came and he told us it went great. I love how The Lord works in our lives, it truly has been a blessings seeing his hands work in the lives of so many being including mine :)

Today we started a new cycle which is so crazy. I am still with my same comp which is really awesome, we are excited for this new cycle. 

I love you all tons and I hope you all have a great week!! 

Love,

Elder Nobmann Riddle

GET SPIRITUAL! GET BIG! GET BLESSINGS!

Big Things!

Hey Fam,

Another good week in the mission full of blessings and learning moments.

We are teaching a couple really great families right now. We have one family that this past week really started to progress so much. On Thursday we are going to marry them and we hope they get baptised this Saturday. My comp and I have been working really hard this past month, we are having some of the best results in the whole entire mission. A lot of people ask us what we are doing and its so funny because the answer is always the same, just do everything the Lord tells you to do. The funny thing is that they are usually things that are really small so most the missionaries just end up not doing them and then they just end up not having succes. I love when Pres. Uchtdorf said the Gospel isn't hard because its not hard when we just trust in the Lord and do is will.

The greatest thing that I have learned on the mission is that what I want has never been better than what the Lord wants for me. Its been really great to pray and ask to understand His will for me because Im always left with so much peace. 

Keep working hard, trust in the Lord, and enjoy your week. The Gopsel is true, I love you all so much!!

Love,

Elder Nobmann Riddle

GET SPIRITUAL! GET BIG! GET BLESSINGS!

Baptism Samantha

Hey Fam,

Well another great week down here in the mission. We saw some really great blessings and also had some really great days.

This past week we were really working hard with the Ward. The members are so great here, super fun to work with. We have a good amount of people that are listening to the lessons and going to church. Sometimes its kind of rough to find time to visit them all week but the Ward has been helping us a bunch. On sunday Samantha got baptised!!! It was so awesome the service, her whole family went which was super great. It was also her birthday the day before so after they bought her cake and made her a huge dinner. She was so happy and so were we.

Honestly I feel bad because sometimes my letters are really short. but just know I really love the work and everyday miracles happen and sometimes they are just really hard to type out. I know that the Lord is working beside us everyday because accepting the Him and His gospel is the only true way to have joy in this life D&c 101:36. Its truly amazing to see peoples lives change by doing somethings so simple like praying, reading the scriptures, and attending church.  

I know that the Lord loves everysingle one of His children and that this Gospel truly blesses the family. If you doubt it then pray aboput it because that is one of the only ways you can come to know for yourself. I love you all so much and I am so grateful for every single one of you :)

Love,

Elder Nobmann Riddle

GET SPIRITUAL! GET BIG! GET BLESSINGS! 

Pics from the baptism and from the day we just got super soaked by the rain :)

Good Things!

Hey,

This week was so crazy, my comp and I have been working so hard. Honestly we have had a lot of fun working together, my comp is a champ.

This week we have been running all over our area visiting people. Its been really great because we can definitly see the Lord working with us here in the area. The other day we were walking the down the street and we felt prompted to contact someone. So we made the contact and he ended up giving us a reference to visit a familiy. We went to visit them and they are so great. They are from El Salvador and they have the coolest accents. The mom is actually a member of the church but her kids arent. They are all so excited to listen to the gospel and to start to go to church. Its really cool because I realized that the Lord expects us to do everything in our power to have succes and after we have done everything we can He just places blessings in our path. We also ended up contacting someone in the street and they accepted  a visit but when we went they werent there. But we ended up talking to someone else who lives there who told us she really wants to listen to the Gospel. So we gave her a Book of Mormon and when we passed by two days later she had read up to 3 Nephi....she is such a champ. 

We are really working and praying hard for some miracles this week in our area. We have some really great people that we are hoping accepot the gospel this week. I love the Gospel because if you work hard and be obedient The Lord will strengthen you every step of the path. I love the scripture in Mosiah 23:21-22 because it says that sometimes we are going to be tried but if we trust in the Lord He will help us overcome the trials.

I love you all tons and I really love the mission. I love to see the Gospel change lives especially my own :)

Love,

Elder Nobmann Riddle

GET SPIRITUAL! GET BIG! GET BLESSINGS!

Changes

4th of July

Hey,

This week really just flew by, I know I say that in every letter but its honestly so true. But we had a lot of great experiences this week and today we had a BBQ for the 4th. 

We had some great lessons with the people that we are teaching right now. We are looking for new families to teach everyday because there is nothing better than helping a family become eternal. Also we are working a lot with our zone, we are hoping for some miracles this month together.

On Friday we had a meeting with our new mission President. Honestly he is so awesome, he is such a great person. He taught us how to recieve and listen to revelation. Also how to complete goals and serve others. We are really excited to work with him and learn from him too. 

I know I didn't write much but just know I am doing great and I am loving the mission. This week I complete 18 months in the mission and I can't even believe it. I love you all a lot and I hope you all have a great week :)

Love,

Elder Nobmann Riddle

GET SPIRTUAL! GET BIG! GET BLESSINGS!