May 26, 2014

Dear Mom,

I actually saw two pictures of all you ladies on Sunday when I was over at the Swinefords for lunch. It's so good to see you!  I'm so glad you had a good time, and it's so weird/cool that we were all hanging out at the same time. (You're with them, I'm with their kids.)

 

I only have like an hour for emailing today so I don't know if it will be enough to write everything I want to write about. It's possible I might be able to email again at some point later this week. I don't know. Sorry!

First of all I just need to tell you about last night. We were walking to Center to contact for a few hours before we had to turn in, and as we approached the main street we all heard this very jubilant jazz music playing. There were three double decker busses that pulled up at the light with the tops down, first time I have ever seen that here. The busses were filled with band players in suspenders and hats playing the drums, the saxophone, everything. Everyone out on the street by us was looking up at them wondering what was going on. They all filed out and everyone on board was dressed nice, some in gypsy-esque costumes. (Not like real gypsies, the Esmeralda-type of gypsies.) "That's a свадба," said Elder Prince. (Wedding.) Then I saw the bride and her groom. She was dressed in a very extravagant white frilly dress, complete with a crown-looking thing, and man, for someone who just got married and was having a huge party she did not look too happy. She didn't smile at all. Everyone with her was having the time of their life though, it seemed. They were all laughing and smiling. The band and hoard of people from the wedding continued to follow them around, and we followed as well. There was even a professional camera crew. They stopped to take some pictures at the fountain and continued on. I had no idea what to make of it. "Sister Riddle, you look disgusted," Elder Gierisch said to me.  He then offered himself and Elder Barber to do shirtless fire dancing at my wedding.  But that's not the end of the story!! As we were walking home a nice little summer lightning storm was starting, and once we got in I sat on the couch and watched it through the windows while I killed off the rest of my birthday apple juice. The sky was overcast and pink and blue. The sound of the thunder was awesomely powerful. Then it started to rain. Then it started to rain really, really hard and the wind was blowing so forcefully I was afraid it was going to snap one of the trees outside of our apartment in half. Me and Sister Schofield went out on our balcony to watch it. Then we realized it was turning to hail and our balcony was filling up with ice! I was touching elbows with Sister Schofield and I had to yell at the top of my lungs for her to hear me. The hail started to sting as it hit us so we went inside. The streets started flooding big time. What I at first thought was white foam on top of the water was actually hail floating on top. It was deep and fast enough to have killed a small child. By this time it was pitch black outside. I saw people in the surrounding apartment buildings out on their balconies as well and looking out their windows. Sister Schofield took video of this but I can't send them via email. So one day, you will be able to see what I'm talking about. We had the elders on the phone the whole time just having a DO YOU SEE THIS conversation. It was incredible because it came so out of nowhere. I'm glad we were at home on time. Finally it stopped. But that's not the end of the story!!! We were laying in bed at about eleven o clock and I thought Sister Schofield was jumping on my mattress, and then I heard her from her side of the room say, "Do you feel that?" Her bed was moving too. There was a confused moment where we both sat up and stared and each other. IT WAS AN EARTHQUAKE. YEAH. It obviously was pretty gentle for an earthquake and lasted probably for less than a minute, but still. Whenever there's some gigantic storm like this I always just think that God must be really mad. This morning we got up at five am to catch a bus to Lake Ohrid down by the Greek border, and all the streets were amazingly dry except for a few puddles and deposits of hail. 

Update: President Ford came down to have lunch with us one day and he told us that the request he submitted for two more elders and two more sisters hasn't even been looked at yet. He said he had been thinking they would get here in October if he was lucky, Christmas at the latest, but now it's looking like they won't come until Sister Schofield and Elder Barber leave. So, will I be training three new Macedonian sisters? (Including her replacement.)

Anyway, Lake Ohrid. I wake up at five am every day anyway lately because of the light and heat. We have AC in our apt, don't worry. The bus ride was three hours. The APs (assistant to the president) and Sister Training Leaders from Albania came and met up with us. The Lake, town and surrounding mountains were beautiful. We hiked up to the castle there and took pictures. I bought some earrings made from the pearl found in the lake there. Restaurants advertising lamb. A church that you had to pay 100 denar to enter. Too bad we couldn't get on a boat or in the water. We hung out, took pictures, ate giro. So for a few hours the city of Ohrid housed twelve missionaries. As usual when we go to a new part of Macedonia I think of what it will be like when there are missionaries serving there. Weird again to hear yet another dialect of Macedonian. This is the part of the country where most tourists go. It was so, so hot and we had to run to catch our bus. We were all miserable on the ride back because there was no AC and the windows didn't open.

We continue to have zero investigators.

 

Ether 12:12, "For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith."

That's all for now.

Love,

Sister Riddle

May 19, 2014

Hi Mom,

 

Talking to you on Mother's Day made me so happy too. I seriously do not remember the last time I smiled so much. And it like, rolled over to the next day. 

I'm going to copy and paste from one of the emails I got this week from my friend, one of the Bulgarian elders from the MTC. He was talking about the things he sees there and it's pretty much what I see here: "crazy people talking to us. an old guy started telling us the story of his life and how we need to have protection and he started pulling his pistol out and waving it around everywhere. being offer a woman to marry. people drunk all over the place. 12 year olds smoking."

This morning we played soccer again and Sister Schofield also wanted to run laps. I yelled out the lyrics to "Eye of the Tiger" to her since we can't have headphones. I would have run with her, only I didn't want to. Later at home I ate a bunch of starbursts with the wrapper still on to get on her nerves. 

The Zone Leaders came down this week to give us more training on member present lessons. They were mostly talking to us about the importance of it, and finally Sister Schofield raised her hand and made the comment, "Ok, like, I get that it's important but it is so awkward to bring members to a lesson and then we don't have a building to teach in, the investigator doesn't want to go into a cafe because they're too poor to pay and they don't want us to pay, so we have to sit on a park bench. And how are we supposed to sit four or five people on a park bench and have that not be awkward? We did this the other day in the park and it had just rained and so nobody wanted to sit on the benches, so we had a standing lesson." They made some good suggestions after that, for example the Nelsons offered to let us have lessons at their house, but I just thought it was reflective of how the rest of the mission has no idea what we're up against. It is so aggravating that they prepared this lesson about the blessings of having these lessons, when the whole time we're just sitting there thinking about how our circumstances frustrate the work we're trying to do. The time would have been better spent talking about what we needed to facilitate member present lessons rather than just talking about how we needed to have more of them. I guess that's why as missionaries they tell you to teach to the investigators' needs.

The Fords came down on Wednesday night to interview us. We had them at the one of the elders' apartment. This is how part of my interview went:

"So, Sister Schofield tells me you're doing marvelous with the language!"

I laughed, "No."

"And she told me you'd probably deny it, but that you were in fact doing very very well."

"No, not really."

"Perhaps you could look at it this way. Don't you think you've made a lot of progress since coming here?"

"Very little."

"Do you think you may not be giving yourself enough credit?"

I thought about it, "No."

Apparently he made the conclusion to one of the elders after all the interviews, "Well, you all seem to be very depressed." 

Yesterday while contacting I got this comment, "You're the one true church and you meet at a hotel?" (I responded by telling him that it was new in Macedonia.) Elder Barber told me, "What you say to that is, 'What, your church doesn't meet at a hotel? Never? In our church we're so cool we use a swimming pool as a baptismal font!'"

While group contacting on the same day, me and Elder Gierisch were standing together on one side of a street while the others were together on the other side. An American man came up to me and Elder Gierisch and asked why we were alone together, then he turned around and saw the other missionaries. I thought it was pretty funny because he wasn't even a Mormon. 

President Ford forgot about transfer calls last week. Then he called this morning and shocked Sister Schofield with the news that we will stay together. Elder Gierisch and Prince are a companionship now, and Elder Krajnc and Barber are a companionship. 

The investigator we had on baptismal date, Simon, appears to have dropped us. He didn't show up to our lesson on Saturday or when we offered to pick him up before church on Sunday. 

Sister Schofield got kissed by an old man, not on the mouth, but like an intense sucky kiss apparently, and she also saw a little Roma boy peeing in a fountain. I don't know where I was.

https://www.lds.org/church/news/president-uchtdorf-delivers-easter-message-to-missionaries?lang=eng&cid=HPFR051614143

Mormon 8: 38, "O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves for that which will canker, why have ye polluted the holy church of God? Why are ye ashamed to take upon you the name of Christ? Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless happiness than that misery which never dies—because of the praise of the world?"

Love, 

Sister Riddle

1. Shopping in Shutka

2. Playing Risk on the grass in Shutka with an audience.

 

4. Happy 21st Birthday!

 

 

May 12, 2014

Hey Mom,

 

So I guess strawberries are in season now because riding the bus today I saw carts and carts full of them being sold along the road. For our p-day we went and played Risk outside of a mosque in a burrow of Skopje called Shootka, where most of the Roma live. 

We met an older man named Simon sitting on a park bench one day who is getting baptized on June 7. Before leaving to our first lesson with him, I asked Sister Schofield if we could commit him to a date. I've never done that before since being here, on a first lesson, and I guess it was inspired because he agreed to it. 

On the morning of my birthday I walked out into the living room and Sister Schofield had put up a happy birthday banner, with ballons and a little stack of presents, which included a carton of apple juice alongside two Macedonian shot glasses. I remember Marcy asking me once, "When you turn 21 aren't you going to drink just a little bit?" Sister Schofield woke up a few minutes after me and poured us each a bit of juice which we drank, so I guess that counts. 

Kate, Benjamin, Ana and Gordana all got me presents. They are such nice people. When we went over to Ana and Gordana's for a lesson, they brought out some Coke and chips to celebrate, and I ate and drank a ton even though I don't like chips or soda. We contacted, and then went to the Nelsons and had cake. 

It was great talking to you on Mother's day. I haven't smiled that much in a long, long time and I still feel happy from it. 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/love-the-essence-of-the-gospel?lang=eng#watch=video

Love,

Sister Riddle

May 4, 2014

Hey Mom!

To answer your question, my birthday will just be a regular day except for my surprise party at the Nelsons which will be approximately one hour. We're having cake and ice cream.

Remember how when I first started college the doctor told me I had acid disease and that it would strike up at stressful times in my life? Well, I guess having the salvation of the souls of Macedonia in my hands qualifies as a stressful time because it came back. Honestly I would have been offended at my conscience if it hadn't. My stomach hurt SO BAD for a few days but luckily this time I knew what to take for it and I've been pretty good ever since. 

We continue to have no investigators but we have worked super hard lately. 

Ratko has taken the place of Elder Krajnc in translating during church meetings. It's nice because now I get some good listening in for Macedonian.

Ana was called as a Sunday school teacher, so I think it's good that we're making church less and less English for them. Although she speaks Serbian and not Macedonian.

While contacting one day, me and Sister Schofield were called over by a guy working at a bookshop. He started talking to me about religion while his friend hit on Sister Schofield. We made an appointment with them and I walked away with a cool old Swedish bible that he gave me and she walked away with yet another flower. The elders almost died when they saw her with it.

I could tell you more stories about people we've contacted, but it's really just more of the same old stuff and they have all fallen through with coming to lessons and no one showed up to church!

Oh yeah, a long time ago I sent you a video from lds.org about parents. Did you ever watch it? I really liked it.

I love you so much. Yes I got the e-card. It was very nice! Thank you mom. I miss you.

Love, 

Sister Riddle

There is no greater expression of love than the heroic Atonement performed by the Son of God. Were it not for the plan of our Heavenly Father, established before the world began, in a very real sense, all mankind—past, present, and future—would have been left without the hope of eternal progression. As a result of Adam’s transgression, mortals were separated from God (see Rom. 6:23) and would be forever unless away was found to break the bands of death. This would not be easy, for it required the vicarious sacrifice of one who was sinless and who could therefore take upon Himself the sins of all mankind.

Thankfully, Jesus Christ courageously fulfilled this sacrifice in ancient Jerusalem. There in the quiet isolation of the Garden of Gethsemane, He knelt among the gnarled olive trees, and in some incredible way that none of us can fully comprehend, the Savior took upon Himself the sins of the world. Even though His life was pure and free of sin, He paid the ultimate penalty for sin—yours, mine, and everyone who has ever lived. His mental,emotional, and spiritual anguish were so great they caused Him to bleed from every pore (see Luke 22:44; D&C 19:18). And yet Jesus suffered willingly so that we might all have the opportunity to be washed clean—through having faith in Him, repenting of our sins, being baptized by proper priesthood authority, receiving the purifying gift of the Holy Ghostby confirmation, and accepting all other essential ordinances. Without the Atonement of the Lord, none of these blessings would be available to us,and we could not become worthy and prepared to return to dwell in the presence of God.

The Savior later endured the agony of inquisition, cruel beatings, and death by crucifixion on the cross at Calvary. Recently, there has been a great deal of commentary about this, none of which has made clear the singular point that no one had the power to take the Savior’s life from Him. He gave it as a ransom for us all. As the Son of God, He had the power to alter the situation. Yet the scriptures clearly state that He yielded Himself to scourging, humiliation, suffering, and finally crucifixion because of His great love towards the children of men (see 1 Ne. 19:9–10).

The Atonement of Jesus Christ was an indispensable part of our Heavenly Father’s plan for His Son’s earthly mission and for our salvation. How grateful we should be that our Heavenly Father did not intercede but rather withheld His fatherly instinct to rescue His Beloved Son. Because of His eternal love for you and for me, He allowed Jesus to complete His foreordained mission to become our Redeemer. The gift of resurrection and immortality is given freely through the loving grace of Jesus Christ to all people of all ages, regardless of their good or evil acts. And to those who choose to love the Lord and who show their love and faith in Him by keeping His commandments and qualifying for the full blessings of the Atonement, He offers the additional promise of exaltation and eternal life,which is the blessing of living in the presence of God and His Beloved Son forever.

M Russell Ballard Our Search for Happiness