Update!!

[NOTE: sorry for not getting some updates in here ... Josh has stayed in touch with us, but I've not kept all the updates in ... my apologies.]

well the week went good...but kinda not too...I have never had so many appointments fall thorough! I mean given that the Hispanic people remember appointments worse than me without a planner but still!
Tuesday was zone conference...it was truly awesome.
there is a quote by Spencer w Kimball that states that he believes(believed) that one day the south will baptize more souls than all the state side missions combined...and we are the flippin’ belt buckle of the bible belt. I can really see a great change in the mission, everyone is baptizing more but it is really because there are just more people who are asking those very important questions of the soul. those questions that many many other churches just plain out don’t have the answer for...I know this because I meet tons of people daily and hear what they say and I have heard a noticeable difference lately...
the economy yes is sucky but I have the blessing of seeing families and people look to god more because of it...and instead of buying that nice m8ustange(mexicans love mustangs) getting the stuff for there family specifically...god gives us challenges out of love. my only hope is that I can learn and overcome my challenges with my faith always.
wherever there is a lesson there is a teacher close by...
Miguel is doing good, he is really trying and working on his faith...he has overcome so much but he still has more to go..he told us he wants to be baptized but we just don’t have a date yet. he said that he really felt from the spirit that this is the right church. and that he says that he is going to do it soon but he will let us know when.
Fransisca and Denis are going good. they are both reading and praying(at least Fransisca is for 100%) Denis is a stud he is finishing a house this week and afterwards decided he is not going to do another, he has 2 jobs and said how he is tired of not seeing his family "this is no type of life" he said...he is really focusing on the more important things in life...his wife and super cute lil daughter Jalena.
BTW his last name is Saquecagua...say that 5 times fast.
also Juan Francisco is doing good...he is the guy who is married to the lady from Thailand. she told us to call her ting because we cant get close to saying her real name...haha. Juan also said that he will get baptized if he gets an answer to his prayers. he is such a good guy, his family is cool...his 2 kids understand Thai, Spanish and English...and that is amazing. Juan also speaks 4-5 other dialects which is incredible because you have to learn dialects by hearing mostly because they aren’t written.
all is going well here. last week we went on exchanges and I went with an elder named elder martins. he is from Rio de Janeiro Brasil and speaks Portugese Spanish and English. elder martins is a flippin stud! the guy is just a champ and it was an awesome exchange. he is teaching me portugese so I can talk with him and Jordan and so I’ve been learning that...its super similar to Spanish...the accent is different and because he is from Rio the accent is even more different but its sweet.
and would someone shake there fist at Jordan and tell him he is a man di vaca(you say it like man gi baca) because he didn’t write agin!
anyways it was a super awesome exchange and next week elder Burnett(ZL and old comp) is going on exchanges with me and it will be the last time I will see that man...he is a stud and has as of today 14 more days left of his mission! after that he is most definitely getting hitched...haha...I give him about 2 months at the max...his girlfriend is pretty and loves him so. haha
tell Anita I got her rebuke...yo escribire mas, lo siento...pero in el mismo tiempo me gusto por fin a recibir una carta de ti, aunque me echaste la bronca! jaja
I didnt get your stuff sent out but I have it. I am going to try to do it today, we don’t have plans to do anything so I am going to clean the house and write letters.
also yea I got those pictures of Jeff and those were flippin hardcore! that guy sure does know how to crash...tell him he should send it into scarred the tv show. how many staples did you get? da da da dannnnggg gina!
I wanted to share a good experience that happened yesterday. it was a thing that really showed me the love and power of our Heavenly Father. always in a mission your constantly trying to be as good as you can...I am not the best but I sure do keep pushing myself. yesterday I had been right on though and during church I was translating agin and this guy got up there with a few books and a bunch of typed out papers and had about 25-30 min left...he was the last speaker...and I was like ooooooohhh crap...
a lot of times people don’t realize that translating is flippin hard...you have to hear and speak at the same time and do it in 2 languages. well I have done a lot of translating but there are those speakers who flippin rock me because the talk sooooo fast. well...he did just that...that guy talk sooo fast and he read from books and scriptures without pausing...the talk was amazing but so hard because he was using huge ridiculous words and it was rough...a few min into the talk I realized how zoned I was, I literally was speaking Spanish faster than I ever ever have before, and I was soon stinkin shocked because I like had stopped in my mind and kinda was shocked what I had been doing...my Spanish was correct and I was speaking fast. I just got in that zone agin and was literally keeping up almost word for word with the guy(keeping up word for word is actually impossible because something you have to say differently) but I was soooo amazed...and I honestly felt the spirit of peace come over me and my mind listened and spoke without pause. it’s a promise I have felt and experienced myself that as we truly do what the lord has asked he blesses us with help, strength, peace, clarity, guidance, new ideas, and our needs that we need. our Heavenly father has promised us that as we keep his commandments we will have our needs provided for. I know this because I felt that strength. I love you all and hope that you all have an awesome week. I love your letters and I hope to get some out today.
keep on keepin on vosotros!
-elder richardson