'The Last Email' - 10.19.2015

Hey All!

This is the final e-mail of my mission, for I fly home on Thursday morning. All I can do is bear my testimony and maybe share some insights that I've come to learn and love in these past two years of service to Heavenly Father. It's a very strange feeling being at the end of this, because I honestly cannot fathom what's ahead of me. These really have been the best two years of my life, and now I understand why. My focus has been on the Savior and His Atonement every day, and as I ponder what it means to me, I'm reminded of a hymn that we sing in church every so often. "I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me, confused at the grace that so fully He proffers me. I tremble to know that for me He was crucified, that for me, a sinner, He suffered, He bled, and died. Oh, it is wonderful that He should care for me enough to die for me. Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful to me." He is my Savior and my King, and I will always be in His debt for paying the ultimate price. How merciful is my God! I have changed in ways that I never thought possible, and I only hope that I can continue to be changed as the Lord sees fit. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the Lord, and though I'll never be able to completely repay Him, I know that because of His tender mercies, He will accept whatever I offer. I am torn apart in a million different ways; Wisconsin has stolen my heart. I love this state. I love the people here. I love my Savior.

"If I could have seen the future

Back a few years ago

I wouldn't believe what was coming

Just down the road.

I'm farther than I'd ever pictured;

I've done more than I'd ever planned.

It's easy to see that who I'm supposed to be

Is in Someone else's hands.

Cause all I see is a few feet in front of me

And when I don't know the way it's hard to take that step.

Though it feels like I'm walking blind and I never know what I'll find

I know that where I'm going's better than where I've been

So I will trust Him.

There's always Someone I can turn to;

I don't have to do it alone.

Wherever I am there's a beacon

Pointing me home.

And though I don't know what is coming

I'll always move forward with faith.

With one foot in front of the other

He'll help me find the way.

Cause all I see is a few feet in front of me

And when I don't know the way it's hard to take that step.

Though it feels like I'm walking blind and I never know what I'll find

I know that where I'm going's better than where I've been

So I will trust Him.

Trust Him for all of my life

Cause I'm here in the darkness

And I need to follow the Light.

Cause all I see is a few feet in front of me

And when I don't know the way it's hard to take that step.

Though it feels like I'm walking blind and I never know what I'll find

I know that where I'm going's better than where I've been

So I will trust Him.

I will trust Him.

I will trust Him."

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love you all very much. Charity is the greatest of all. I know that this is not truly goodbye, because I have an eternal perspective, as I hope you do too. I will see you again soon. Remember that you are a child of God, and remember that He loves you. Nothing else matters. Trust Him, and all that is wrong will be made right again. Again I love you, and I know that my Savior lives for me, He lives for you, and He lives for all of the children of God. God bless!

~~Elder T. Riggs

My Favorite Holiday: October 5, 2015

Hello Friends!

This weekend was absolutely spectacular! We were able to listen to General Conference, which has become my absolute favorite holiday in the world! It's really the best time of the year, because it's so full of receiving revelation and feeling the Spirit. This year, three beloved Apostles passed away after the April General Conference, so during this October Conference, three new Apostles were called to fill the vacancies: Elder Ronald A. Rasband, Elder Gary E. Stevenson, and Elder Dale G. Renlund. Elder Renlund actually came to the Wausau stake conference and spoke to us a few weeks ago, so it was a wonderful experience to see him speak to us as a newly ordained Apostle, a special witness of Christ. 

I'm nearing the end of my mission. This past week, Elder Whitney and I came to the realization that he had been out for 3 weeks, and I had 3 weeks left, so we're opposites! Yesterday Elder Whitney taught the Law of Chastity for the first time to an investigator, and did amazingly well! A few days ago he taught the Word of Wisdom to someone on exchanges, with someone who had also never taught the Word of Wisdom! He's a rockstar! How grateful I am to have been given a last companion who is solid, knows what the Lord expects of him, and is willing to do new things with faith that the Lord will make up for his weaknesses! 

We should be having a baptism this Saturday for Kat! She's been wanting to be baptized so badly, and has this wonderful drive to not let anything stand in her way. The great thing about this is that if you were to look at her and her living conditions, you wouldn't think that a person like her would be so motivated to do this, but she is also a rockstar! She was living the Word of Wisdom before it was even taught to her! I love Kat, and am so excited to see her make this sacred covenant with her Heavenly Father. 

I want you all to be reminded (once again) that I love you dearly. I have a few weeks yet here on my errand from the Lord, and promise that I will live that to the fullest. Keep the faith, and remember that your Savior loves you (John 15:13)!

~~Elder T. Riggs

'My son turns 19': September 28, 2015

Hey Everybody!

This week has been a pretty great week! There were a lot of ups and downs, but all in all, we've had such a great time. On Thursday, Elder Whitney had a birthday! He is now 19 years old. His family sent him a lot of stuff for his birthday, and he's been enjoying all of the snacks (he's also been gaining some weight due to the snacks/Sis. Barrett's cooking). President Cutler gave us permission to visit the Rices, a family in the ward that actually lives outside of the mission boundaries, and it just so happened that the day we had scheduled was Elder Whitney's birthday, so we had cake, ice cream, and we got to visit a cranberry marsh. This is a picture of one of the beds on the marsh. What they do is drive some kind of tractor through the beds to get the berries off of the "vine," then they flood the beds and the berries float on top! At the Rices's marsh, they have about 66 beds of cranberries, and it takes a full day to harvest 2 1/2 beds, so they work hard!

​This is me helping them harvest the cranberries. I tried a cranberry right out of the water, and it was really sour!
​

The correlation between harvesting the cranberries and missionary work is interesting. There are some missions where helping people into the Church is like this; they seem to just want to be collected. Our mission is different. We pretty much have to pick them one by one, but the fantastic thing is that Heavenly Father knows exactly what He needs us to do. I was called to go "fishing" with a pole, instead of a net. The blessings that have come from that are incredible. Though I might not be having as much "success" as other missions, it's the same work, and we receive the same "pay." How grateful I am to a Father who knows me and loves me perfectly. His plan is perfect; my plan is not.

I hope all of you know how much you are loved. :-)

~~Elder T. Riggs

'A Very Scary Hairy Perry Hat' - September 21, 2015

Hello Everybody!!

This has been a great week! Elder Whitney and I have set two more baptismal dates for October before I go home! We're praying very hard that this happens, because that would be totally sweet if I could see 3 more children of God enter the waters of baptism to end my mission. So I'll be honest, I don't have a lot of other things to write about this week. I'm finding that being a trainer, and a district leader, and preparing to come home is SUPER STRESSFUL! But I know that as I keep trying and doing my best to accomplish these things for the Lord, then He lifts me up and makes the efforts that I put forth more effective than what they should be. Missionary work is the greatest thing I could have done for these two years, and I'm going to keep the fire going! Elder Whitney is fantastic as a trainee, and he's going to be a great missionary (if he learns from the Spirit and not me). I'm glad to be serving the Lord. :-)

Love you all!

~~Elder T. Riggs

A MAN: All grown up! August, 2015

Week 1 of Training: September 15, 2015

Hello Everybody!

My new companion's name is Elder Whitney. He is from Lake Stevens,
Washington, is 18 years old (until Sept. 24) and has 4 sisters, one
older and three younger. And he's one of the most stellar missionaries
I could have ever asked for. ^_^ There has been so much that I've
already learned from him, and though I'm supposed to be the example
for him, he is such a great example to me of humility, diligence, and
love for the Lord. I'm honored to be serving with him and have him as
my last companion. Here's to the last hurrah!

Right now, I must admit that I'm feeling very homesick, but not
necessarily for home. Life is full of changes; there's no escaping it.
People come and go throughout our lives, and we seem to be touched if
but for a moment. Most often the people that connect with us don't
even know how much of an impact they have made. I want each of you to
know that you have helped shaped me into who I am today. Ultimately it
is God that changes us, but He uses His children to accomplish His
work. If I could have my way, I would hold on to each of you and never
let go, because I love you. I am homesick for those I love. This helps
me understand to a small degree how the Savior feels about each of us.
I know that if we all choose to follow the Savior and do the things He
would have us do, then eventually we won't have to worry about being
separated from each other because we will all be living in our
Father's presence. We talk often about the importance of being sealed
as a family in the eternities. We talk often about doing family
history work so that our past ancestors can be sealed to their
families. We talk often about how we are all God's children.
Therefore, I conclude by stating that I believe in the eternities we
will all be sealed to each other as one big family. If we are sons and
daughters of God, and He is our Father, then the sealing ordinance not
only seals us to our spouses/children/parents, but since it's the
crowning saving ordinance, it also seals us to HIM! How I love the
Lord and am grateful to be a part of His work! I look forward to being
able to see all of you again someday and let you know exactly how much
you mean to me!

~~Elder T. Riggs

Two Elder Riggses: September 8, 2015

Hey all!

So now there are TWO of us out in the mission field! That's right, my
little brother left last week to go to the England MTC and serve the
Lord with all his heart, might, mind, and strength for two years in
the Berlin, Germany mission. He's going to be such a stellar
missionary.

Transfers are tomorrow, and the results are in! Elder Uppencamp is
being transferred to Two Rivers, which is right by Manitowoc. He's
going to be senior companion to Elder Benson, who has only been out
for 2 transfers. Elder Uppencamp is really excited to be senior
companion, and to be serving right next to Lake Michigan. He's been
here for 6 months, so he's about 1/4th done with his mission. I, on
the other hand, only have 1 transfer left. And my new companion is...

I don't know yet! I'm training a new missionary!

This is pretty weird, because it takes 2 transfers to train, but I
only have 1 transfer left. To make things weirder, 4 other elders who
go home with me are also training! This next group is HUGE! I'm really
excited, but kind of nervous at the same time. In training, we have to
keep track of what week we are on in the training process, so it's
going to be a bit strange when my companion has been out for the same
amount of time I have left... Yeah. But what I've learned is that the
Lord doesn't make mistakes. All I can do is follow His will and know
that everything will be alright. One of my favorite sayings that
President Cutler is always telling us is that WE CAN DO HARD THINGS!
That is absolutely true.

We don't have that long here today so I'm going to have to cut this
one pretty short. Just know that I love you, that God loves you, and
that this gospel is the BEST THING ON THIS EARTH!! :-D

With all the charity in my heart,
~~Elder T. Riggs

August 31, 2015

This is in the Barrett's home. Elder Uppencamp and I finally figured out how to turn this thing on. It's a sauna!

This is Brother Barrett, with whom we live. He's a lot like Parker, so we get along really well. :-)

Trusting the Lord: August 24, 2015

Hey Everybody!

You know what's awesome? Missions! You know what's not super awesome? Realizing that you have become cliche! But that's okay. Sometimes the cliche things really do mean the most. Missions really are the greatest thing one can do. I've changed a lot, as I'm sure all of you have realized, but I seriously doubt these changes would have happened if I didn't go on a mission. Being surrounded by the gospel 24/7 and having this amazing opportunity to escape the world and truly see people change. One quote that I received today really stood out to me. President Ezra Taft Benson said, "The way to feel better about your own situation is to improve someone else's circumstances." How true is that? As we lose ourselves in the service of God, we feel better about ourselves and love people more deeply because we understand them better.

This week we had an investigator, Lizzy, come to church and bring her 8-year old cousin with her, who also wants to get baptized! And we now have a regular, Samantha, coming to church with Lizzy just because Lizzy is her friend. It's really amazing to me how well non-members do missionary work. Sometimes I feel like they do it better than the members (including myself)! Samantha is not even an investigator yet, so that's fantastic! This week Elder Uppencamp and I are going to be striving to teach Samantha's family alongside Lizzy's family and Lizzy's cousin's family. It's amazing to watch the Lord move His work forward through children. They are so sensitive to the Spirit and just really have the desire to make the Lord happy, which I have learned for myself makes me happy! As we focus on the happiness of others, we ourselves are made happy too!

The hard part about the upcoming week is that we BARELY have any miles left, so I don't know how we're going to accomplish everything that the Lord needs us to accomplish. What I do know is that there is always going to be a way, if we act in faith and trust Him. So we're trusting Him to help us with this work despite our not being able to travel much. I've calculated it out, and we will be just under our limit if we don't travel anywhere we haven't planned for. The Lord will provide a way, even when we can't see one in front of us.

I love it here! I love the Lord! I love all of you!

~~Elder T. Riggs

This is Elder Uppencamp using his lint roller as a pen holder. We get creative in the field.

Answered Prayers: August 17, 2015

Hey Everybody!

I'll start off with the great news. We had four investigators come to church yesterday! It was so wonderful to see them there! Kat and Lizzy came (thanks to the Winsors driving them) and Mike and Kay came! We weren't expecting to see Mike and Kay because they said they were going to be out of town for two weeks, but I guess now they're back! Kat and Lizzy have baptismal dates for the 19th of September, and Kat seems to be really on fire about it. She wants to get baptized, whether or not her husband does too. He's being a little difficult, but I know that something in the gospel will help him realize why he needs to act in order to prepare himself for baptism. That's so cool that four people came to church. It's been a while since I've seen that many investigators in one sacrament meeting.

We are preparing for stake conference in two weeks! Elder Renlund (who was a missionary companion of President Cutler's!) of the Seventy is coming to speak to us and I'm totally excited about it! The meeting is up in Wausau, so that's a bit of a drive, but that's alright. At least we have the Barretts to give us a ride all the way there. We don't have miles for that anyway. In fact, we barely have miles to do anything! Oh well. Somehow the Lord will provide a way for the work to move forward.

Alright, I've done terrible at including pictures in my e-mails, so here's one of Elder Meservy. He's been out for 3 weeks and this was my first exchange as a district leader. He's really funny and doesn't have that "deer in the headlights" look, even though he's so new. He's going to be a great leader one day. ;-)

This is the last picture I took with this SD card. I've finally run out of room on this one too! Thankfully I have another one. This is the image of how I feel about weekly planning.

That's it folks! I'm off until next week! Love you lots!

~~Elder T. Riggs

: August 10, 2015

Hey Everybody!

Just out of curiosity, I was looking at the calendar and it hit me that I have been a missionary for 93 weeks! That's so long! To be completely honest, I don't even remember what real life is like, so when I return home, I'm going to have a really rough time adjusting to "normalcy."

This week Elder Uppencamp and I went to ward council and the new bishop is awesome at keeping order and has a great vision for how he wants the missionary work in this area to move forward. We're going to be focusing heavily on the North American Initiative and be working with the members to visit the part-member families, unbaptized children >8, and prospective elders. This is going to be awesome! And to make things better, Kat and Lizzy came to church yesterday! What's truly amazing is that Kat had a baby last Monday, and still made a point to come to church. She's so great. ^_^ We set up an appointment with her for Wednesday, and plan on setting a baptismal date with her and Lizzy, so this week we should have 4 dates! The goal that I have set is that by the end of the transfer, I want to have 10 baptismal dates. So far we're at 2, but I know that with a little (okay, a lot) of hard & smart work, prayer, and faith, this can happen.

Zone Conference on Tuesday was awesome! Brannick (Elder Ewing), if you go ZL, then you'll have to present the trainings for those meetings! Ha! ;-) President Cutler presented a great analogy where he had Elder Moffett come up and have a Snickers bar. On the back of the bar it said, "Satisfies," and President asked Elder Moffett it that was satisfying. He said it was pretty good, so President pulled out another one, just in case the first one wasn't. By the fourth bar, Elder Moffett looked pretty sick. President Cutler asked him if the Snickers was still satisfying, and pulled out another one for him. Snickers has now been ruined for poor Elder Moffett. The analogy was that the world will tell you that certain things are satisfying, but in all actuality are very superficial and don't give you lasting satisfaction. He then related it to the story of the Tree of Life in 1 Nephi 8 and taught that the Lord wants to give us something that will satisfy us for all eternity. Christ can deliver real happiness; the world can't. It was a great training.

Well, I have to give a training tomorrow for district meeting. I have no clue how to do this, but I know that if I prepare to the best of my ability, then the Lord will assist me. Hopefully this training turns out to where the 3 other elders in my district learn something good... Guess we'll have to see!

I love you all!

~~Elder T. Riggs

Pictures: August 3, 2015

This is a flyer posted at the library. I thought it was perfectly fitting. :-)

​I've become a cheesehead. Don't stare at my gut for too long; I know it's large.​

Something I Forgot: August 3, 2015

Also, our mission is doing a pretty neat study of the Book of Mormon. A few months ago we all studied the Atonement as a mission and marked everything in red and green. This time we're studying the Atonement, but specific chapters over the next two months. If you would like to join us, you are more than welcome to. ^_^ Here is the schedule for our study.

TO UNITE OUR HEARTS AND LIFT OUR VOICES (D&C 84:1)

---A STUDY OF THE ATONEMENT OF JESUS CHRIST IN THE BOOK OF MORMON---

Dear Elders and Sisters,

There is a spirit of optimism and faith in our mission right now that is exciting. The

Lord is blessing us with miracles. Lives are changing because of the gospel of Jesus

Christ. We can learn from the example of Joseph Smith and six other elders who were in

“a season of joy” because of their missionary labors. They “united their hearts and lifted

their voices on high” and received the amazing revelation on the priesthood that we

now have as Section 84 of the Doctrine & Covenants. As we unitedly exercise our faith

by fasting and praying for the Lord’s help to convert and baptize 44 more people by

September 30th, we can expect revelation, both for ourselves and our investigators.

Power in missionary work comes from the Lord when we do everything we can do.

Please remember to pray every day that we will meet our goal. We also invite you to

join us in a “quick study” of the Atonement in the Book of Mormon for the next two

months. Start with a new copy and follow the schedule below, marking everything you

learn about the Savior and His Atonement. We promise that your love for Jesus Christ

and your understanding of His Atonement will increase. His gospel will be written in

your heart, making you a more powerful instrument in His hands.

We love you!

President and Sister Cutler

A Short Time Left: August 3, 2015

Hello Everybody!

This week I came to the sudden realization that I will only be e-mailing all of you as a missionary 11 more times... That's totally crazy! I seriously cannot believe how quickly this has gone. You know, I never believed the cliche things that people told me about how fast your mission will fly by, but now I understand why they say it. Because it's true! I only have 2 Fast Sundays left! AAAHH!!

So Elder Uppencamp and I have two baptismal dates right now: Brandon and Ariana. Brandon's wife is having a baby today, so we've been praying for them that all goes well. He is a really cool Native American who is actually married (a very rare occurrence here) and will have 3 kids by the end of today. He knows a lot about the gospel already, having been taught by missionaries before, so it's been really neat to go back and visit him and be able to talk about gospel principles that are familiar to him. We haven't set a date with his wife and daughter yet, but hopefully this week we'll be able to! Ariana is the niece of one of the members and we met with her on Tuesday. She's really smart and can make connections better than most adults we teach, and she's only 8! It's so cool to watch the lightbulbs go off in people's heads and see them understand why what we teach is important. Also this week we helped a new investigator family move in: the Parhams. They were being taught by the sister missionaries in Shawano, so already know a bit about the Church, and we're really excited to be teaching them. They have around $1,000 worth of board games, so any guesses what we'll be doing for the next few P-days? ;-)

Today I watched a Mormon Message that I haven't seen before. It's called "Strive." The message is that we should be striving to be our best selves because that's what the Lord expects. One of my favorite quotes that it shares is by Henry B. Eyring that says, "No one is destined to fail." That's so true! We all have divine potential because we are children of God! He created us to succeed, and if we are trying our best to do His will and not ours, then that is how we will change and become a better person. Our legacy will not be forgotten the more and more Christlike we become. Think about Christ. What kind of Man was He, and what legacy did He leave behind? I love the Savior and am ever grateful for His Atonement, which allows me to change and become a better man.

I love you all, too!

~~Elder T. Riggs

A Week of Yeses: July 20, 2015

Hey all!

So I'm not entirely sure if the title of my e-mail is grammatically correct. I do not actually know what the plural of "yes" is, so just bear with me on it.

The reason for the title is that this week Elder Uppencamp and I were able to invite 5 people to baptism, 4 of whom said yes! We met with Rob, who is struggling to overcome his fear of his parents disapproving his decision to be baptized into the Church, but when we asked him if he wants to work towards baptism, he said yes, so we're going to keep working with him to build his testimony, increase his faith, and overcome his fear! He's such a good guy, and we're hoping that through him we can start meeting with the rest of his family and get them on board too. He's got a son named Jake who is 20 (I think), and his wife Stacy. The other family that we met with is the Henry family. They're so awesome! We went over there for dinner on Thursday and brought Bishop Barrett with us. This lesson we invited their two kids to join us for the lesson, and were able to teach them the Restoration, inviting them to be baptized at the end of it! Brother Henry kind of evaded the question, but Sister Henry said yes, and that she wanted her kids to be baptized too! It's the best feeling ever to watch people humble themselves, really look at the doctrines we are teaching them, and decide that they want these blessings in their lives. Every time someone does that, I can feel the love that God has for them, His child.

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to cut this short because the air conditioning isn't working at the library so they're having to shut down the computers in the lab. It's pretty hot (like it has been all week), so I'm going to have to go as soon as I can. Just remember that I love you all, and I wish you the best week ever!

~~Elder T. Riggs

Sabbath Day Miracles: June 13, 2015

Hey Everyone!

So something really cool happened to Elder Uppencamp and I this week. Our Sundays in this area are usually extremely busy, because we go to church early in the morning with our bishop (it saves us a lot of miles), do studies, have church, then have correlation meeting. Yesterday we had ward council so when we got to the church building, we only had time for our personal study, then went to ward council, then had church, then correlation meeting, then had to go give a blessing to someone, then headed home to have lunch. After doing all of this, it was around 4:00 pm. We had a fireside yesterday night at 7:00 that we had to participate in (and leave by 6:30 to get there on time), and we had to still do companion study and have dinner. For time, we only had about a half-hour to proselyte. Well, there was a man named Kyle that we visited about a week ago that said we could stop by anytime, so we tried to visit him, but he wasn't home! What do missionaries do when they have nothing planned? They tract! We knocked on the apartment building next to the one Kyle lived in, and met Daniel, who doesn't claim a particular religion, but said that he mostly agreed with Buddhism. It was way sweet because we were talking to him about the Book of Mormon and how religion as a whole has been changed to fit different people's political/personal views. We told him that the Book of Mormon has only been translated once and lays things out very clearly so there's no misunderstanding the truths taught in it. When he first opened the door, he wasn't very enthused about talking to us and said that he was busy, but we talked to him for I think 20 minutes and set up a return appointment! This is a miracle because we have been struggling this week with setting up return appointments with ANYBODY, and the ONE door we knock on all of Sunday turns out to be an investigator! How awesome is that?? :-D

I haven't checked all of my e-mails yet as sending this one is usually the first thing I do when I get on, but I'd like to hear from all of you about the service that you were able to provide for someone this week! Let me know what you did and how you felt after you did it!

I love you all and hope to hear from you soon! By the way, if anyone wants to send me a handwritten letter (which, by the way, would count as a service!), my address is:
21 Morris St.
Mauston, WI 53948

~~Elder T. Riggs

A New Area: June 22, 2015

Hey Everyone!

So here I am in the city of Mauston, WI. It's a very small city in the Adams-Friendship ward. My new companion is Elder Uppencamp from Provo, UT, and he's only been out for 2 transfers, so he's WAY green! :-D It's going to be so fun having him as a companion because of the "greenie fire" that he has. I hope by spending time with him it rubs off on me so we both can have the same enthusiasm and excitement for the work! I just hope I can keep up with this kid! ;-)

My friends, I must tell you that I miss you all. Missions are a very difficult thing to go through emotionally. We get to an area, throw ourselves into people's lives, completely change them in a way that can only be defined as eternally, then we must leave. Their lives are forever altered in a way that brings them more joy and happiness than can be described by language. The thing is, there's a reverse side to this coin. As the missionaries enter lives to change them, the people enter the missionaries' lives and alter them too. Each of you has touched my life in some way, and I will be forever grateful for the influence of my friends on my life. I've come to learn that God has a plan for our lives that He orchestrates perfectly. I would not have become the person I am today without all of you. He is shaping me into a better man by using people like you. I hope this week you'll take some time to reflect on the people in your life who mean the most to you, and let them know that you are grateful to be their friend.

Also, seeing as Fathers' Day was yesterday, I wanted to give a big shoutout to all of the fathers that I have come to know and love. You have a big job, and I commend you for your efforts. I think of how much I love my dad here on earth, and why I respect him. He is a hard worker and knows that when there is a job to be done, he needs to be the one to do it. I learned that we can't wait for others to make things happen in our lives; we just need to go out and be the ones to make it happen. I love you, Dad, and I look forward to giving you a hug when I come home.

There's a Mormon Message about this that I just love. The quote at the end of it really makes me think of the relationship that I have with my Heavenly Father. He truly does love us and care about us. He does so much for us. What are we doing for Him? The 5th commandment in the 10 commandments says to "Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land that the Lord thy God giveth thee." I'd like to change that a bit to make it say, "Honor thy Father and thy Mother..." As we honor God, He blesses us. We are His children. He loves us infinitely. I am now a witness to His love, because I've felt it, and because I've felt it, I'm changed. They say that you become like who you spend time with. If you want to become perfect, spend more time with Him by reading the scriptures, praying, seeking Him out. He wants you to have everything that He has. I know that He and His love are real.

~~Elder T. Riggs

Bible Study Boldness: April 20, 2015

Hey Everybody!

As the title of my e-mail implies, Elder Biggs and I went to a Bible study on Tuesday and taught these people about faith! We read a bit of Alma 32 with them, and they really liked some of the things that they read, but they told us that they didn't believe was they read was the Word of God. For the most part they just wanted to bash with us, telling us that we couldn't become like God and that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost were all the same being. All we did was bring it back to the Book of Mormon, explaining that if the Book of Mormon was true, then Joseph Smith really did see God the Father and Jesus Christ as two separate beings. The conversation was going nowhere, and I'll be honest, I was getting a little fed up, so I straight up asked everybody there what they would do if they found out the Book was true. Because they didn't give a very clear response, I asked them all if they would be baptized if they came to know for themselves that the Book of Mormon was true! The Spirit felt so great, and I'm so grateful that it prompted me to say that. The person I was directing the question to avoided the question by giving some vague answer, but then one guy, Nate, piped up and said that he didn't know for sure whether or not the Book of Mormon was true, but that if God told him it was then he would get baptized!! Nate=Alma the Elder in King Noah's court! It was so cool, and it just made me so thankful for the Spirit, because I definitely wouldn't have asked something like that on my own. Nate is the reason we set up a return appointment with the whole Bible study, so we can go back and try one more time (and set up a single appointment with Nate). Miracles!

Most of this week was service for people in the sun, so I was dumb and forgot to put on sunscreen! As a result of my stupidity, my neck and arms are now pretty fried. Despite me being colorblind, even I could tell that there was a distinct line between my burned arm and my white upper arm. One of the most painful things I've ever had to go through was to put on a white collared shirt with a very burned neck.

Also this week we threw away a picture of Queen Victoria, "The Hardcore Queen." This picture had been given to the sister missionaries by someone, and the sisters gave it to the elders before I got to Kettle Moraine. We finally got rid of it. Oh the things that we find on our missions!

Remember that God is in control of things, and that all that is unfair will be made right again because of Christ. I've had to learn that we need to be patient with His timing and with His will, because it's what we need. Whenever God's will for us seems to hard, it's a good time to step back and see how far away our will is from His, because as Elder Kocherhans taught me, "It's only hard if you don't want to do it."

Love you all!

~~Elder T. Riggs

Pictures: April 6, 2015

This is my favorite family in the Waukesha ward. They appear to be two different families, but Sister Durst and Sister Davies are sisters, so in my book they are the same family (really it allows me to not have to pick which of the two is my favorite). The first picture is the Durst family (Karl, Mindi, Mason, Luke, Ty, and Jewel) and the second is the Davies family (Kalvin, Brynn, Whitney, Cassidy, and Tressa). Let it be known to all 85 of you that I love this family very, very much!

Transfers: March 23, 2015

Hey Everybody,

I have been praying recently that I stay in the Waukesha ward for at least one more transfer because of how much I love it here. Waukesha has become like home to me. The people are wonderful, the members are fantastic, and I'm actually able to navigate my way around without using a GPS! And we have so many investigators with baptismal dates who are coming to church and loving the gospel! They're on track for their baptisms.

The Lord doesn't always answer prayers the way we want Him to.

He does show tender mercies, though.

I'm being transferred to the Kettle Moraine ward, which is out of the stake/zone, but Waukesha and Kettle Moraine meet at the same building for church, so I'll be able to see many of my favorite members yet! I'm going to be serving with Elder Biggs (we're going to have so much fun with our names) as the senior companion. I've only been senior companion for two transfers previously, so we'll see how things go! Thankfully since we're so close to Waukesha, I'll be able to see Shannon and Sandy get baptized in April, and I'll get to see Elder Allen and Ochoa on Sunday!

I must admit, allowing God's will to swallow up my will has been very challenging. I wanted so badly to stay here until the end of my mission (unrealistic) or at least for one more transfer (more realistic), but it's not what He wanted. He needs me to be elsewhere. Fighting against God gets you nowhere except depressed. Submitting to God with a cheerful attitude is difficult, but worth it. To quote my dad, "It is always worth it to choose willfully what the Savior asks." (Thanks, Dad)

Love you all!

~~Elder T. Riggs

Count down!

ONE FAST SUNDAY LEFT!  We got this:)

Winter officially ends this week- March 16, 2015

Hey Everyone!

This week has been great! Elder Allen and I have 9 baptismal dates with many wonderful people! We've been meeting with Shannon basically every day with week, and he CAME TO CHURCH FOR THE THIRD TIME IN A ROW!! He's a freaking rockstar, and is on track for his date of April 18th. Also, someone names Frank, who Elder Rytting and I found on exchanges has been reading the Book of Mormon and is loving it! The really cool part? When we first talked to him all he wanted to do was bash with us and explain how the Book of Mormon couldn't be true because the Bible says in the book of Revelations that we shouldn't add or take away anything from this book or God will add plagues to him (it also says that in Deuteronomy and Proverbs, so there's not a lot of merit to it "disproving" the Book of Mormon).  Anyway, somehow we got to talking to him and he became interested in reading the Book of Mormon and praying about it! We're planning on setting a date with him this week.

Sandy also now has a baptismal date! She's been enjoying the Book of Mormon and she loves church! We're just working on teaching her husband, Ron, and getting him excited and interested in reading and coming to church again. Things are going well here in Waukesha!

I hope everyone has had a good week and is loving the warmer weather! Pray for me that I stay in Waukesha for one more transfer, please!

--Elder T. Riggs

March 9

The Waukesha district (Elder Allen, me, Elder Ochoa, Elder Alldredge, Sister Green, Sister Gonsalves

Elder Allen and me at District meeting

Tear it up - February 23, 2015

Hello all you wonderful people!

This week has been so amazingly fabulous! Elder Allen and I were able to set two baptismal dates with Daivon and Devonta an we're going to be setting another one with their mom on Tuesday! Daivon is a friend of the Woods, and we met him at the library when we went to teach Tyler and Joey a quick lesson. I asked if Daivon wanted to learn more about the Church and he said yes! It's awesome because he already comes to mutual with Tyler and Joey and he loves it, so now we just need to get him coming to church and loving that too!

We also found a wonderful middle-eastern lady named Dahria, who just last year converted to Christianity and has a lot of questions about the Bible, Jesus Christ, and now the Book of Mormon. We're going back to teach her on Wednesday about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Sandy and Ron came to church yesterday! They were found because of a service opportunity that presented itself through Sister Phillips, one of the most wonderful people on the planet. We went to help Ron rake his leaves back in November because of his bad back, and talked to him a little bit about the Atonement. Elder Allen and I invited him this last week to come to church (Elder Allen was speaking) and they both came and LOVE IT! Sandy said that she knew this was where she needed to be, and was apparently crying all throughout Relief Society according to Sister Phillips. Ron had some great input in Elder's Quorum, and we're doing to dinner at the Phillips' home to teach them about the Restoration as well!

Things are picking up here in Waukesha, which is evidence to me that if you just get out and work, that's when stuff happens. Hard work is the key to achieving your dreams. If you want something, get to it and make it happen. I just think of the cliche phrase that says, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." How true that is! We don't need to prove ourselves to anyone but ourselves! If we are better than we were yesterday, then the day was a success and you are well on your way.

I love each and every one of you!

--Elder T. Riggs

F-F-F Freezing F-F-February - February 16, 2015

Hey Everybody!

It's outrageously cold here in Waukesha, WI, with highs of 12 and lows of -5! Here I thought the worst was over as far as the cold was concerned, but now I remember what people last winter told me about Wisconsin: The coldest month of the year is February, and I testify that that is true! December and January were a piece of cake compared to this!

At least I'm serving with a great companion, Elder Allen. He is from Las Vegas, NV, and he's totally awesome! We were able to find 10 new investigators with week, which is a massive improvement from 3 or 4 that we we had been hitting! We decided to go big this week, and set a goal of hitting 50 other lessons, which is almost double my personal best! I know that hard work pays off, and I'm excited to be teaching those people!

One thing that I am learning about is that we determine our own destinies. If we don't like who we are or where we are at in life, then we can change! It is completely up to us to decide what we are going to do with our lives. There are many people that we talk to that are allowing other people to live their lives from them, and that is completely against God's plan. Yes, we are supposed to help each other, but we sometimes need to step back and let the other person make their own decisions. Don't let someone else live your life. It's your life. YOU are the one i the driver's seat, so it should be YOU that steers! If you want it to happen, make it happen! There's a quote that I just love that says, "You are the child of the Great Creator; He expects you to create." I know that we are supposed to be here on earth to learn how to make decisions, to create our future and lead ourselves to the Savior. He can help us, but only if we choose it.

I love you all, and I hope that you can make this week the best week you've ever had, regardless of what might be going on or what kind of situation you're in! He loves you too!

--Elder T. Riggs

A New Record - January 26, 2015

Hey Everyone!

This week was a great week full of hard work! The Zone leaders set a goal for the zone to reach 500 other lessons and 50 new investigators in one week.  500 other lessons has never been hit before, so it was definitely a stretch for everyone. At the end of the week, the zone got 603 other lessons and 116 new investigators!!! It's a new record for the zone!! Hard work feels so good. I never would have said that back home.

So I don't have a while of of time, but I just wanted to let you all know that I am doing well up here in the cold land of Wisconsin! January is almost over and I hit my 15 month mark already. It's so crazy how much times flies when you forget about yourself and just take things one day at a time. And if you are going through a hard time, just remember that your track record for getting through hard days is 100% and that's pretty good. ;-)

Sorry it's got to be short! Love you all!

--Elder T. Riggs

Winter in Wisconsin

Tyler sent us this picture today! Had to share it:)

Skype with Tyler 12-25-2014

'A New Year' 1-5-2015

Hello Everyone!

Today is super cold with a high of 4 degrees! The new year in Wisconsin brings cold, because January is it's coldest month! I've decided that I'm going to stay warm with my massive parka that I was able to snag from Green Bay in preparation for this winter! I plan on keeping this probably for the rest of my life, just in case I need to go climb Mt. Everest or something. In fact, I wonder if most climbers who have summitted Mt. Everest are from Wisconsin. I can't imagine the weather would be too different....

Anyway, the past year was so full of wonderful things for which I am eternally grateful to my Heavenly Father for. The good thing is that this upcoming year is going to be even better, because as Elder Holland would say, "The Best is Yet to Be." How true that is. I've looked back and realized that all of the areas 'Ive been in so far have been different zones, but that I have been in them at some point last year. It's a possibility that I'll only have one area left, but that depends on what the Lord wants. Sometimes He does shake things up a little bit to keep us mortals on our toes, but I'm hoping I can stay in Waukesha until at least May. We'll just have to see!

One thing I'm going to do this year is read the Book of Mormon 4 times in English and once in German (I picked one up when we went to the temple a few months ago). If Brother Klunk, who has only been reading the Book of Mormon for about two years, has finished his 16th time through, then I can do 4 times in one year. :) That's a resolution that I am going to do, each time studying a different topic so I can learn as much as I can.

I look forward to this year and I'm excited to keep working hard in the frigid air of Wisconsin amongst these  wonderful people. Keep the faith!

--Elder T. Riggs

'Transfer Week' 12-29-2014

Well Hello!

This transfer is now over.... We got the text on Saturday telling us who in our zone would be leaving. It doesn't come very early in the morning, so all morning until we got the text my anxiety level was through the roof! I didn't want to leave this area. I feel like I'm a part of the Waukesha ward; they have welcomed me with open arms and are all just so amazing. Transfers are always hard, and I'm going to miss this area greatly.

It's a good thing I'm staying!! X,-D

That's right! I'll be here for at least another six weeks! Then Elder Bluth goes home and I'll most likely be here for another transfer after that! The Lord does listen when we petition Him, and our desires are important to Him. There are many things that I know He needs me to learn in this wonderful area of Waukesha, Wisconsin, and I will do my best to not let Him down.

Christmas was wonderful. Elder Bluth and I were able to call/Skype our families and actually talk to them instead of just communicating through e-mail or letter. That was such a blessing to see them and check up on how they're doing. I know that I'm away from my family for only a little bit, but the time will come when I get to see them again. That's true for everybody. God has provided a way for us to be with our families after this life, but we have to be the one's who choose to participate in that glorious blessing. He simply offers it, hoping that we will take hold of it.

I've made a New Year's resolution. I'm going  to read the Book of Mormon 4 times this upcoming year. That's once every three months. I've realized after reading it for Christmas that it's not that difficult to get through the entire book. Brother Klunk in Sheboygan has only been a member for just under two years, but he is just finishing his 13th time through the entire Book! It is possible, especially as a missionary.  The hard part will be when I return home in October, because I won't have a set hour to study in the morning. It is the best Book I have ever read, and I now know with a surety that a man (and woman) will get nearer to God by abiding by it's precepts than by reading any other book. That is 100% accurate. I've come to understand my Savior and His love for me much better than I have in the past. Why I didn't see it before is no secret to me. I wasn't looking for it. But now that I am seeking it, I am finding it. It took action on my part, and the interesting thing is that God matches how much effort I put in to knowing Him.  If I want to know Him more, I must put forth more energy into learning about Him.

I hope all of you will have a wonderful new year and continue to discover the Gift of Jesus Christ every day. You can do it. I have faith in you, and so does your Heavenly Father. I love all of you!

--Elder T. Riggs

'MERRY CHRISTMAS' 12-22-2014

Merry Christmas Everybody!!

I sincerely hope that all of you are able to enjoy the beauty of the Christmas season. There are so many phrases that we throw around to try to remind ourselves what Christmas is all about but you know, I think the best phrase we could use to explain Christmas is "For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."  That's the essence of Christmas; it's why we celebrate. We have a Savior, and that's something to be excited about. He is the gift of Christmas, and I would encourage all of you to share the gift in any way you can.

We as a mission are almost done reading the Book of Mormon. In fact, we finish tomorrow. There is so much green in my copy. Christ has given us so many thing we can do to gain strength from His Atonement. I'm blown away by how much mercy and love He has for each of us, and what it means to be God's son. I've been doing a study about why Christ is called the Lamb of God, and I've found that there is so much symbolism between Christ and the Passover fest. He was God's Firstborn Son. He was without blemish, He was slain for the sins of the world..... The list goes on. I'm understanding so much more of why he Atonement was necessary for us to return to live with God.

I do not have enough time to explain everything that I want to! Bah! Oh well. Everybody have a great Christmas, and remember to tell your family that you love them!

--Elder T. Riggs

'A Week of Trials' 12-15-2014

Hey Everybody!

Can you believe that Christmas is almost here? It's so weird to me to not really be keeping track of the days; we just go out and do the same things every day, so all of the days just blend together. It's next week though!

So for Elder Bluth and I, this week has been really rough. We've been trying to find new investigators using a variety of approaches, but nobody has really listened this week, even when we tell them that we are sharing a Christmas message! They'll tell us that "they're already Christian", and shut the door on us! I just don't understand it.... Why would somebody who is "already Christian" not want to hear a message about what Christmas is all about anyway? It boggles my mind. Then I was reading in the scriptures about the fulfillment of prophecy and came to realize that all the rejection that we get as missionaries has already prophesied about thousands of years ago!! They are a part of the scriptures and don'e even realize it!

We as a mission are almost done with the Book of Mormon! It's been one of the greatest experiences to read through the whole thing with the Atonement of Jesus Christ in mind. He has done so much for us, but I feel like we don't recognize His hand in our life enough. What a gift we have of our Eldest Brother taking upon Himself every pain, weakness, sin, sickness that we will ever experience.

I love the Book of Mormon and what it means to me. I love my Savior, and pray that we will all be able to remember that He is the gift of the season. I love all of you!!

--Elder T. Riggs

'Stare Adversity in the Face' 12-8-2014

My Dear Brothers and Sisters....

Hey everybody! I feel so happy this week! Missionary work is probably one of the hardest things anyone can ever do. Of course, there is the message that I shared last week about how it's only hard if you don't want to do it, but it is definitely a challenge. The hardest part is figuring out that you do want to do it, because then it becomes easy.

I was sitting yesterday in church during our Fast and Testimony Meeting, and I had a thought that I wanted to share during the meeting, but didn't have time to. It was about adversity and how we deal with it. One of the questions in a survey we use for proselyting is "How do you cope with a crisis in your life?" Many people have said prayer or family, and I think that those are excellent answers. Everybody does through rough patches in their lives, but it's so important to always focus on the bigger picture and TRUST in God, because He's the one who knows exactly what he's forging you into. One of my favorite sons that I used to listen to back home is called "Believe' by Yellowcard. It portrays the account of someone who was in the twin towers on September 11th, 2001 when they were going down, and some stranger came back to help him down. That stranger, it turns out, didn't make it, but the words he said are the chorus of the song:

"Everything is gonna be alright.
Everything is gonna be alright.
Everything is gonna be alright.
Be strong.
Believe."

There's a new Mormon Message about the "Refiner's Fire" that explains adversity very well, and why we go through things that are terrifying, or difficult or heart-breaking. If there is something that is going on in your life that you feel you can't handle, just remember the chorus. God has control, and if you turn to Him and trust Him, He WILL NOT let you fall.

Everything is gonna be alright.
Be strong.
Believe..

I love you all!

--Elder T. Riggs
http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=3897359657001

Pictures/ November

'Making Life Easy' 12-1-2014

Hey Everyone,

This week I've been thinking about how difficult life is and why it's so difficult. I remembered something that one of my district leaders said in a district meeting that has stuck with me. He said, "It's only hard if you don't want to do it." We all have things that we have to do that we don't necessarily want to do, but if we are able to change our mindset into wanting to do those things that we know we need to do for the better, then that decision becomes very easy. If you want to do something, doing it is less of a challenge. We can do anything we set our minds to do.

Sorry it's short! I was having some computer trouble. I love you!


--Elder T. Riggs