October 8, 2012

        Hey momma!!! How was general conference!!?!? Gaaaah I am dying to watch it over here! They don't broadcast it here until this coming weekend! A friend of ours in the ward here was just telling us about how the age for serving a mission was changed for boys and girls like you said! That is so crazy!! The Lord needs more missionaries!! And there is a Tuscon temple now!? Holy cow Arizona is trying to compete with Utah! So cool! The Lord's work is moving forward! And the local news talked about general conference and the temple? Wow that is new!

   I love how in every picture brock is missing clothing. He is such a stud these days.  Paul Julie and the fam look great! And Darci and the girls do too! They are all growing up so quick! Thanks so much for sending me the music and the guitar book!!! I was like a little child on christmas when I opened the package and saw what was inside, I listen to that CD all of the time now. I was laughing when I read about celeste taking your keys with her hahaha have you gotten them back yet? And volunteering sounds like alot of fun! You must have been a hero for that man, taking him over to the other building in a wheel chair, that's my momma!

       Everything here in taiwan is going great! The weather is cooling down more and more. In the morning and at night the weather is amazingly perfect, it feels so nice! It is like Arizona in the fall and spring! The investigators are doing great as well! This week we met with quite a few people who we were meeting with for the first time! Lots of new investigators! Also, we were riding by the basketball courts across from the chapel and there was a guy shooting some hoops on one of the courts by himself so we went over and talked with him. Turns out he was baptized awhile ago in taichung but moved here to xinying about 3 years ago and just never came to church because he didn't know anyone here. We are actually meeting with him tonight! I am pretty excited he seems like a really cool guy. This past week we had the opportunity to go hometeaching with a member here to a less active in our ward. His house is in one of our secondary areas that is pretty far so he came and picked us up and we headed out there. When we got there the father happily welcomed us in but was a little reluctant to get his wife and son to come in and listen. We shared with him a talk by President Uchtdorf about family happinness. It talked alot about forgiving family members and seeking forgiveness as well as other principles relating to family happinness. By the time we were done he says "I wish my wife and son would have heard this!" We challenged him to hold family home evening this monday and teach his family. I love watching the spirit work inside people and soften their hearts! What a great opportunity it is to be a tool in the Lord's hand, and have the spirit work through you to testify to others. We should all be praying for opportunities like this! They will change our lives as well as the lives of others. 

       Well I love you and hope you have an awesome week! Hope you all enjoyed conference and were inspired by the words of our prophet and his apostles! Love and miss you!

      -Elder Ripley