Week 87 - Miami, Oklahama

Long email again.  Important stuff's in red.

Hey all!

Back in the saddle again. Oklahoma's a pretty wild place, that's for sure. Kinda reminds me of Fort Smith, AR, where I served last winter. Basically that means it's the cowboy hood. Plus we have a lot of Native American tribes here so that's sick. 

In other news, my friend Alex who we found knocking doors in Anderson two weeks ago is on date for baptism in March! He really is just the kind of person we missionaries look and look for. Please keep praying for him! They're working so far 

Song of the week: "Heat Wave" by Snail Mail 

~

Elder Ahmad Corbitt, a global Church leader in the Quorum of the Seventy, came to Joplin, Missouri for our semi-annual stake conference! It was so so so awesome. I took like ten pages of notes on the little spiral-bound notepad that now serves as my "phone" haha. I could go on and on about it, but I'll try to summarize the overarching theme of his messages. 

 The Book of Mormon teaches a unique lesson about faith in Jesus Christ: if we desire the faith of the prophets, we must "Look forward with the eye of faith and see the Lord's promise fulfilled." The Lord cannot lie. Therefore, if He says something will happen, it can be effectively treated as if it has already happened. One awesome example lies in the prophet Abinadi's teachings of Christ and His atoning sacrifice:

 And now if Christ had not come into the world, speaking of things to come as though they had already come, there could have been no redemption. 

 And if Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken the bands of death that the grave should have no victory, and that death should have no sting, there could have been no resurrection. 

 But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ. 

 He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death.

...Boy, do I love this book. 

 Anyways, Abinadi looked forward to the resurrection of Christ and knew that, despite it being over a century beforehand, the battle was already won. He consciously chose to live in ~148 B.C. as if Christ's suffering and victory had already occured, because he was utterly confident in the Lord's promise. 

 Let's apply this to some situations in our day: How would you act if the Second Coming of Christ had already happened? I know I would probably be a lot more bold in sharing my testimony of the Savior and zealous in following His every word. Wouldn't you? In that case, if the Lord's always good on His word then why not act that way now? You see, it may not have happened yet, but the when simply doesn't matter. It will happen, and that's the truth. 

 Here's another: One of my greatest life goals is to build a loving family of my own, rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. An impression that came to me as I listened to Elder Corbitt teach was, "How might I act differently in this meeting if my future family were sitting next to me right now?" When I look forward with the eye of faith, I know that someday, I will be a part of this family. Do my actions now matter any less than my actions at that future point in determining the kind of husband and father I am to them? Not on the Lord's timetable. 

I'm out of time and out of room, so I'll leave a lil' bibliography here for anyone who wants to do their personal study on looking forward on the Lord's promises with the eye of faith. Here's some scriptural examples Elder Corbitt shared with us:

Alma 5:15

Alma 33:19-20

Moroni 7:40-41

Alma 26:27

(PoGP) Moses 7:40-41

Mosiah 7:44-45, 47

Ether 3:12

Ether 12:19

Mosiah 16:6

Jarom 1:11

1 Nephi 2:20

1 Nephi 5:5

2 Nephi 25:24-25

(D&C) Doctrine and Covenants 111:11

(NT) Revelation 12:7-11

Alma 32:30-41

Jesus Christ is real. He did what He said He did and He is Who He says He is. And, His Church is alive right now. Aren't we lucky?

Love,

Elder Rigby

Week 86: @Calder - Andersen, Missouri

 Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see /

The distant scene—one step enough for me.

~

Hey all! 

Transfer news came in with the blizzard we had this week, and this time, I'm a goner. I'm gonna miss this lil' county, but ain't nobody got time to get sentimental with only three transfers left 

Next up: Miami! 

...Miami, Oklahoma, that is. 

Don't be confused: 'round these parts, it's "My-am-uh", not "My-am-ee". It may not be a tropical paradise, but I'm super excited to get to serve in one of the only areas in Oklahoma in the whole Arkansas Bentonville Mission. Plus, it gets bonus points for being a Route 66 town that's super hood and is only two hours away from the hometown of one of my college buddies. Älskar dig Äldste Calder 

Here's some other news:

 + 

  My buddy Freddy from Pierce City chose to be baptized and confirmed this week! He's such a nice guy and was a good pal of mine last summer so I was so happy to hear he chose to come unto Christ. 

 -> 

  Unfortunately, our friend Misti decided she'd like to stick with her current church, but seeds planted for sure. 

  We met another guy this week named Alex, though, and holy cow, has this guy been elect. In the first three days we knew him, he earnestly studied the Book of Mormon on his own, had us over for lessons two days in a row, came to church with us in a completely different congregation cause ours got canceled (and loved it), and asked if he could watch Freddy's baptism with us because he wanted to see what it'd be like! 

   The Lord said that "by their fruits ye shall know them", and right now Alex is consistently bearing good fruit. In short, he's willing to humble himself before the Father and truly work for his relationship with his Son. He's the real deal. Please pray for him. 

 + 

Song of the week: "Helplessness Blues" by Fleet Foxes. This has gotta be like the third time I've picked this one as the song of the week haha. It's got such an awesome spiritual message. Plus, they released the MP3 for free, so here's a link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BCTUDw1VnqltEuX_-6G_SDyPbt96oxtj/view?usp=drivesdk 

~

Thought: "Desire" by Dallin H. Oaks

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2011/04/desire?lang=eng 

"When we have a vision of what we can become, our desire and our power to act increase enormously."

  I'm reading a book called "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor E. Frankl right now, and wow, his story is absolutely phenomenal. In his book, Frankl, a Jewish psychiatrist, shares his insights on survival and hope from his three years as a prisoner in various Holocaust concentration camps. His assertion? One's inner vision can give them the strength to choose a positive response even in the most utterly miserable circumstances. If you're human and you live on Earth, I would 100% recommend reading it. 

"...What was really needed was a fundamental change in our attitude towards life. We had to learn ourselves and, furthermore, we had to teach the despairing men, that it did not really matter what we expected from life but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life and instead to think about ourselves as those who were being questioned by life–daily and hourly. Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual."

- Viktor Frankl

~

One more thing before I wrap up: 

  I decided this week that I'm going to separate myself from electronics as much as I possibly can these last few months of my mission. I'll try to keep writing weekly emails and responding to personal ones every P-day I'm able, but, in terms of individual communication, I'd honestly kind of prefer to just write letters from here on out. I have TONS of stationery and stamps that I wanna use more often, so send me a letter or your home address and I'll write back with some Gospel bars 

My address for at least the next month and a half will be 2209 N Elm St, Miami, OK 74354. 

  I also just bought a digital camera to use so I won't have to bring my phone out with me during the day, but until I figure out how to transfer pictures from there onto my emails/Google Photos you might not see much of my ugly mug for a bit haha. If anyone knows how to get photos from a Kodak Pixpro onto Google Drive then please let me know 

 Thanks for being patient with me and my goofy ways as me and the Lord make the very most out of my last three transfers here in the mission field. Love y'all :)

 Elder Rigby

Week 85: The Apologizers - Andersen, Missouri

Happy Wednesday, everybody! Quick news:

Misti and her husband came to church and she took two and a half pages of notes in the Sacrament meeting! They are so cool. Please keep praying for them. 

 Our boy William is back! We met with Bishop in his office and his member friend Nathan to talk about some substances he was struggling with and it went super well. Not only that, but two different families from church invited him to come over for dinner with them in the next couple of weeks! We get to tag along too, so that's a bonus 

 Side quest alert: A ward member gave us three whole garbage bags full of winter clothes she got from a friend on Monday night and asked us to distribute them before the big ice storm today, so we spent literally all of Tuesday driving around to as many friends and church members who might need warm clothes as we could. We had an awesome time going around giving things to people like we were Santa Claus haha. Plus, we found a bunch of people to teach through it because it's super easy to start a conversation by saying "hey know anybody we could give free stuff to?" 

 Did you know that sailfish can swim up to 110 kilometers (68 miles) per hour? Me neither. 

Man, God must have had so much fun making those bad boys. Take a 150-pound sea creature and throw a massive dorsal fin on its back, swap its heart for a supercharged V12 engine, and strap a freaking spear to its face and bada-bing bada-boom, sailfish. Just make sure to stay out of its way when it drag-races a cheetah or you'll get shished like kebab. 

 I stumbled on a painting while scrolling through some of the Church art competitions again this week that really struck me. It's a piece by Lee Udall Bennion called "An Angel Watching My Life" and it depicts, well, an angel watching the artist's life. I'd never seen anyone paint that perspective before, so it made me think differently about the way my own ancestors look out for me. Check it out if you like this kind of stuff too:

https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/bennion-an-angel-watching-my-life-practicing-charity?lang=eng#1

 Song of the week: "Giorgio by Moroder" by Daft Punk

~

Thought: 

 "The Savior’s message is clear: His true disciples build, lift, encourage, persuade, and inspire—no matter how difficult the situation. True disciples of Jesus Christ are peacemakers." - President Russell M. Nelson, April 2023

 Elder Perry and I were fortunate enough to see true peacemakers in action this week. One night, we got a text from a new convert informing us that she appreciated our help and wished us the best, but that she would no longer be a part of the congregation here. We came to find out that she and her friend who had brought her into the Church had a big disagreement over a family situation and our new convert was deeply hurt.

 When we visited her the very next day, a newlywed couple we're good friends with who both joined the church a few years ago decided to join us even though they'd never met her. We assumed we'd just give her some kind of pep talk or advice, but when we asked our friends what we should do, they simply responded, "Listen."

 Y'all who know me well know I'm a real talker, so while I hate to say it, the idea of showing up just to listen to her never even crossed my mind. The Spirit testified to Elder Perry and I that this was the way to go, though, so we decided to follow their lead. 

 Upon meeting her, our friends jokingly introduced themselves to our new convert as "the Apologizers" and explained that they didn't know what happened but they were here to listen. She instantly opened up to them and spent the next fifteen minutes sharing her feelings, anxieties, and doubts. Miraculously, despite us having said virtually nothing, she came to realize that she actually really wanted to turn back to God and reconcile with her friend. We found out the next day that she did exactly that :) 

 The biggest lesson I learned this week is that in most cases, people don't need some brilliant diagnosis or advice for how to fix all of their problems. It seems like most of the time, they just need someone to show up and listen with Christlike compassion.

 Love, 

Elder Rigby 

Week 84 - Andersen, Missouri

 I know, I know, I wrote a lot this time. If your attention span is short like mine is, just skip the top part and read the thought :) 

Hey all! 

 Another week down! Missouri is trying to decide whether it's Arizona or Michigan right now, so we've been having some crazy weather swings lately. Also, I didn't get to respond to a whole ton of emails this week, so I'll try and do a better job next Wednesday. Other than that, life's been pretty deece. 

 This week, we found a member family while looking for new people to teach in a trailer park and they gave us pork loins fresh off the George Foreman. They were gobstoppingly, bombastically, unfathomably delectable. We went all Mr. Fox on that grub. 

 On the topic of food, we also had a meal with a retired biker gang member named Sharon and she made us some crazy good pepperoni rigatoni and an apple cake. Sharon is so legit. She joined the Church a few years ago after her house literally exploded (that's what happens when 50,000 rounds of ammunition catch fire) and the members here bought her a tiny home and sat it down on the spot where her old house used to be. She has the best stories ever from her biker days and she reminds me a whole lot of one of my other favorite members, Sister Tina from Bentonville. 

+=

 Please pray for our friend Misti! We met her last week when we were trying to find a less-active member in the ward and found out she used to be a youth pastor, a prison minister, and a ministry leader for the homeless–but for a lady we found in a mobile home in the middle of the woods, she was just too normal. We didn't buy it. Needless to say, we thought we were about to get bashed to hog heaven when she invited us in, introduced us to her whole family, and had us take a seat at a kitchen table with a well-read Bible on it. Some of you missionaries reading this know the feeling haha. 

 

However, she actually turned out to be super cool! Misti asks tons of good questions, has started reading the Book of Mormon alongside the Bible (they go great together), and got really interested after we started teaching her about the Plan of Happiness (if you don't know what that is, go ask a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ). She said she'd like to come to church this Sunday and keep learning with us, so we're hoping and praying for the best! 

~

Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/2sk1refRidSszyYk7

Song of the week: "We Are Young" by Fun.

~

Thought: "And Nothing Shall Offend Them" by Elder David A. Bednar

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2006/10/and-nothing-shall-offend-them?lang=eng

Psalm 119:165: 

Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.

 A faithful, down-to-earth brother and sister in our ward whom I really admire recently shared an experience when, as a young couple, they decided to stop attending church because they had been repeatedly offended by their local priesthood leader. One day, the husband talked with his father-in-law about their situation and expressed his frustration at hypocrisy within the Church. His father-in-law simply responded, 

 "Do you go to church for them or do you go to church for you?" 

Huh. Good question. 

 Now, years later, the wife is the president of the Anderson Ward Relief Society (a chapter of the one of the largest and oldest women's organizations in the world), their son is serving as a full-time missionary in Arizona, and they have us over for dinner every Monday :). 

 So, please don't abandon your relationship with God because His servants are imperfect! There's too much on the table to let someone else's actions determine your life. You can choose to follow Christ and His doctrine or you can choose not to; just don't let someone else choose for you. 

Two invitations from Elder Bednar, an Apostle of the Lord:

Invitation #1:

 "I invite you to learn about and apply the Savior’s teachings about interactions and episodes that can be construed as offensive." 

Invitation #2:

 "Many of the individuals and families who most need to hear this message about choosing not to be offended are probably not participating with us[...]today. I suspect all of us are acquainted with members who are staying away from church because they have chosen to take offense—and who would be blessed by coming back. 

"Will you please prayerfully identify a person with whom you will visit and extend the invitation to once again worship with us? Perhaps you could share a copy of this talk with her or him, or you may prefer to discuss the principles we have reviewed today. And please remember that such a request should be conveyed lovingly and in meekness—and not in a spirit of self-righteous superiority and pride."

Ask God in prayer how you can help, and He'll give you plenty of work to do. Trust me, it's the best job in the world. 

Love, 

Elder Rigby

Week 83: Seven Miracles - Andersen, Missouri

 Storytime:

 On Saturday, my companion and I decided to go down south to a town about twenty minutes away. While I was reading my scriptures in the morning, I got distracted on my phone and found a little language translation widget that looked cool, so I put it on my home screen. Later that morning, we planned our day and felt prompted to visit two teenage member boys in the town because we didn't know if their parents were members of the Church. 

 When we got there that afternoon, we found out that most of the family actually only spoke Spanish, so I whipped out my brand new translation app and we were able to have a whole lesson through it! It turned out the boys were from Guatemala and had been baptized into the Church by their abuelo down there. They now lived with their aunt and her family here, none of whom were members, but the aunt remembered going to our church with her dad (the grandpa) as a girl and really wanted to come back again! She even got a little emotional. 

 Fast-forward to the next day. We had gotten her a ride and found out last-minute that she actually wanted to bring all her kids with her too, but, thankfully, the member who was bringing her somehow had room in his car for all six of them, and they made it just in time for the Sacrament! Once the bread and water had been passed, the meeting moved on and we saw another miracle. For the first time in my whole two and a half months here, a brother shared his message entirely in Spanish and was translated into English by the Bishop! Keep in mind this is the day after we met this family and the first time we've ever brought any Spanish-speaking friends to church here. Then, in second hour, another sister came up and offered to translate for the aunt in the women's group meeting, and after that ended a few other ladies came up to her and talked with her in Spanish too! It was crazy. 

 We visited them again yesterday and we're excited to start meeting with them and their nephews regularly! Usually, Hispanic families here work super long hours, but their uncle is home for a couple hours every day right when they get back from school so we have a perfect meeting time to visit all of them together. Wow.

So, to sum it up:

1) I "randomly" found a translator app on my phone and downloaded it because it looked cool

2) We got prompted to visit two member boys in a town twenty minutes away

3) We taught a whole lesson in Spanish through the translator app to their aunt, whose dad is a member and went to our church as a girl 

4) A member was able to bring her and all her kids to church on Sunday just in time for the Sacrament 

5) A talk was given entirely in Spanish for the first time in my whole time here

6) A bunch of sisters in our ward talked with her in Spanish and one even translated for her in Relief Society 

7) Their family is all home together every day at the perfect time for us to teach them

God is pretty awesome, isn't He. Our first formal lesson is on Thursday, so please pray for Amy and her family! 

~

In other news:

- wrote all my BYU essays (they're due by this Friday for missionaries on continuing deferment

- Went on a hike with the Spanish missionaries and our friend Ethan

- Exploded an overripe mango all over myself fifteen minutes before interviews with the mission president

- saw a river otter  

Check out all this awesome Christian art! I just stumbled across the Church History Museum's website and it has a ton of cool online exhibits: https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/collection/museum/international-art-competitions?lang=eng

Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/2sk1refRidSszyYk7

Love, 

Elder Rigby

Week 82 - Andersen, Missouri

 "God sculpts our lives so we can serve Him in the way He needs us most."

~

Hey all! 

 Nineteen months! I'm wiped out tonight so it'll probably be another shorter email but we're doing good (and cold as usual) out here in Missouri. I forgot to mention in my last email we got a little over half a foot of snow in one night a couple of weeks ago, so that was super fun. It may be tricky to deal with sometimes, but I really love the snow. Definitely hope I can rake in enough money to buy another ski pass when I go back to BYU in the fall. 

 Shoutout to Aslan the chocolate lab. I LOVE dogs. Maybe not like five dogs covered in mud that love smearing their muddy paws all over my freshly-washed pants (happens a lot around here), but one really nice puppo can make my whole day. Miss you Charlie boy 

 Our friend Will is progressing really steadily towards baptism! He's working on separating with his girlfriend and giving up some substances, still, but just in the past few weeks he's started consistently coming to our Book of Mormon study class with the senior missionaries, joined our Personal Finance class at our new convert Jenny's house (she needs lots of prayers right now by the way, she's going through some big struggles), and even met with our bishop after church! Plus, he's been coming to church for like three months now. We're really hopeful that he's gonna make it all the way. Pray for him too please! 

 After a lesson with a Pohnpeian family a couple weeks ago, they played us some music by a Pohnpeian artist and man, it was pretty surreal. Working with Pacific Islanders is just so fun. If you wanna jam to one of the songs they played for us, it's on called "#23" by Billy Joe Pelep Hairens on SoundCloud. Elder Perry and I also bought some tropical jerseys from the island market a couple days later and we went to an engagement party for a Pohnpeian lady and a Marshallese guy and got us some real mōñā. 

~

Actual song of the week though:

"This Is My Father's World" by the Tabernacle Choir. This one's real good! Give it a listen when you get the chance.

Photo album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/2sk1refRidSszyYk7 

~

Thought: Hymn #1008 "Bread of Life, Living Water" 

The first time I listened to this hymn, I thought it was alright, but we sang it in church a few weeks ago and man, actually singing it was a whole different experience. I love this hymn now. Here's the chorus:

Bread of Life, Living Water, 

Feed my soul, fill my heart. 

Lord, give me new life in Thee 

And make me whole—complete and holy— 

Bound to Thee eternally.

~

Stay warm! Don't forget to pray tonight. If you haven't in awhile, try giving it a go. If you really put your heart into it and just talk to Him, God will let you know He's there.

Love,

Elder Rigby

Elder Perry's new island threads

Aslan