What's important ...in life

Well hello to everyone!

This letter is guaranteed to be a great tear-jerker, gut buster, and head scratcher because I owe you all that much from the embarrassment of last weeks letter 8) AND I'm on a well greased key board (no, it's really greasy) so no sticky keys to hold me up from my amazing blur of 65 words per minute.

So....as of last weeks experience....So we knocked into this girl who was about our age- she was way sweet and invited us in to chat and her mom was sitting at a table outside under the shade of their patio and we just chatted, explained who we were what we were doing and taught the restoration and gave her a book of Mormon. This girl who was 21 like us had been investigating different churches off and on but had seemed to grow tired of the different weird things in each of them etc. So she was interested to see if this church was different (cue the choir!) So yea, we had a return appointment set-up but because of a conflict with work it didn't pull through so a little time passed by. This girl was really cool and funny -she taught us Russian slang that's popular right now: ice= cool, and jest (with a soft j)= bad. Anyway, we really liked her and were excited for her to come and see all the cool young members etc here.

Finally we called her and set up an appointment for the next day to stop by. We stopped by after finally remembering where she lived and her younger brother answered the door and said come on in, why are you knocking?! Then we came in and sat down with her mom. Right away I knew something was off cause her mom seemed really out of it/upset. She said that her daughter wasn't there -had gone into work. It seemed like there had to be something more wrong if she was so sad so I asked what happened. She said that her daughter had gathered all her money and things and left the day before. Apparently this had happened periodically as she was growing up -would leave and live on the streets/be with friends and just recently her mom found out that she had been a prostitute and had prolly returned to this lifestyle. Needless to say we were stunned (well ...I was, my comp didn't catch the part about prostitution). It was as if I had heard she had died in some tragic accident. I could only think about how cool she was, how sweet and how much potential she had and STILL has. So yea....pretty solemn visit with the mom.

Her mom talked about how she was soooo hurt by this and so embarrassed for her daughter and ashamed. She talked about how she had no hope for her daughter, no hope that she would ever straighten up and change. She talked about how after our first visit her daughter looked at her and said: "Oh mama, they are such good girls, so beautiful, and clean/modest and happy." and then said that she was going to read in the Book of Mormon. (Her mom encouraged her thinking she could start hoping her daughter would find something here in this church to change her.) And then this happened.

Honestly sitting here right now it's hard not to cry just thinking about it and the situation. Everything becomes more sharper when you're a missionary. Your joys, your pains and your sadness. I've never been so saddened because of sin in others -and not because I'm thinking: sad, they sinned; but because I'm thinking of how UNBELIEVABLY EASY it is for them to turn around and come back into their Father's arms. And the huge lie that Satan tells us -probably the biggest lie in all of history: that we can't repent. We can't change, it's too hard, just give up, just keep on going like you are -it's not bad, we're all doing it etc. I really realized my unshakable hope and faith in the atonement on this day. Listening to her mom talk about how there is no hope for her daughter. There was a voice inside that just sat up and said: NO. That's not true! There is ALWAYS hope -ALWAYS! And I told her that. I told her how we can always come back no matter how far we've strayed in life, no matter how old we are, tired we are, undeserving we are -we can ALWAYS come back and God and Jesus are ALWAYS waiting for us with open arms -it is never too late and it's always possible and there is always hope.

I just marveled at this hope that I felt within me for her - she's had a good experience with the church, she's seen the results that can be had: clean happiness and she has our information and the book of Mormon -I just hope she realizes sooner than later that she can leave this troubled life on the streets and find a building with that beautiful plaque on it and come home -she can always come home, it's waiting for her, she's just in her own way right now. I love her and I don't hardly know her and yet I have all the hope in the world for her -I try to pray for her every night where ever she is. So yea....that was my experience.

Also while walking on the streets last week there was a crowd of people and we didn't know why but as we worked our way through we saw a body of an older woman (50-60s) just laying spread eagle. It took a minute to realize that she had died -I'm not sure how, had to have been natural cause she was on the sidewalk but the sadness of it really hit me - as I took in her nice outfit, well done nails which were now being buzzed around by flies -but it was strange because the sadness I felt was for a different reason ...it wasn't because she had died -of course I was sad for her family and the loss they would soon be experiencing but it was because she probably hadn't done everything she should have in life -prolly hadn't heard the restored gospel, been baptized, had that eternal vision of what was awaiting her, so that everything was in order.

I wanted so strongly to find her family and tell them where she was and how they could be together again. This life is so fleeting, so short, and so all important. Really understanding and seeing the eternal purposes behind everything is what gives it so much meaning -because, without it, without that understanding of who we are and why we are here, it's all really just....pointless....momentary pleasures and suffering, with empty fashions and just objects that we place all around us to make us feel like we did something, that we have purpose and meaning in our lives: No, life is great, I have a car ....I'm a car owner -like we use it all to give ourselves titles/identity but when you think of who we really are and how pale all of this stuff is in comparison it's pretty ridiculous.

That's what we're really doing here -just reminding people of who they are and why they're here, and how they can get back. Anywho ...sorry for the way long and deep stuff but just some stuff I've been coming to terms with and thinking about lately. We had transfers today-Monday, p-day and I'm hoping to get your package today mom! Um...we're still together which is great, still have so much to accomplish together. We have one girl who we want to help progress but her work schedule is always in the way -so hard to tell people to just have faith and find work that allows them to be there on Sunday, so hard ....but so worth it. The trick is helping them see that.

Well I love you all and sorry there wasn't as many laughs in this one -I forgot all the funny stuff that happened 8)

Luv ya,
Cectpa Richards

P.S. Steve- thanks for the mail! and don't worry -I'm always careful and nothing is going to happen, the Lord is looking out for us -luv ya! (I looked Russian in your dream? cool! What does that mean??)

P.S.S. O yea, and dad -I talked to president and he said that I'm prolly definitely staying an extra transfer so it will be around the middle of march when I'm done but if you REALLY need a date because you're using flyer miles or something and need to buy early let me know and I'll talk to him again but normally he said that if you wait a little longer the price always goes down before going back up right at the end. He also joked with me that I could go home with him and his wife in July -I was like: "Are you kidding me?!" with a big grin and then he said: "Yes, I am." I was so mad! I threatened to never bring him cookies again (Yea, I def learned the art of bribery while here in Russia 8) anywho, luv ya all!