Hey everyone!
Breaking the routine this week. Here are some miracles right off the bat:
1) Our homeless friend from the park a few weeks ago had completely dropped off the face of the earth after the our one miraculous encounter with her, but guess what? She just moved in with one of our recent converts! What's more, one of our members we went out with the day before got a random prompting to talk to this dude working on a weed whacker and we found out when we met her again that he's her boyfriend!
2) The sister missionaries who used to serve here told us to try again with a friend we dropped a few weeks ago so we visited her and the timing was totally perfect! She was going through some big trials and knew she needed to come back to God again. We reconnected and taught an awesome lesson and just like that she was back on track!
She then agreed to pull up to our church tour thirty minutes later as our "special guest speaker" and proceeded to bear a powerful witness to the other friends we were teaching that she knew that God's love was present in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after the one and only time she attended, but the Spirit told her it was time to come back.
3) I had just the worst night with my mental a couple of nights ago and I woke up the next morning feeling just as miserable. I had an exchange that day and absolutely dreaded having to spending a whole day helping a younger missionary build his confidence when my own was at rock-bottom, but I said a prayer and did my best to prepare for the day.
"But behold...the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance" (1 Nephi 1:20.)
My deliverance came in the form of the missionary I went on exchanges with. He is humble, ambitious, and blessed with just the biggest heart ever. He is so kind. Plus, we're nerds of a feather. We instantly clicked and my time with him was just the kind of connection I needed to get back on my feet and keep on moving forward.
A question that gets more fun the more you ask it:
"What are the chances?"
~
Okay, now the goofy stuff:
- A kid from a part-member family gave me a bunch of Pokémon stuff the very next day after I decided not to quit buying them. The Poké-devil ain't letting me off that easy.
- Got to drive one of my dream cars, a brand new 2024 Toyota Rav4 hybrid 
- Pet a cow. I love Missouri
- Taught mission prep with the sister missionaries and even more youth showed up this time! They're amazing and teaching them is a blast.
- Song of the week: "Child in a Manger" from the 2022 Church Music Festival
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Thought: "The Virtue of Kindness" by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin
https://www.
I couldn't say it better myself, so I'll just borrow Elder Wirthlin's words today:
One way you can measure your value in the kingdom of God is to ask, “How well am I doing in helping others reach their potential? Do I support others in the Church, or do I criticize them?”
If you are criticizing others, you are weakening the Church. If you are building others, you are building the kingdom of God. As Heavenly Father is kind, we also should be kind to others.
“But,” you ask, “what if people are rude?”
Love them.
“If they are obnoxious?”
Love them.
“But what if they offend? Surely I must do something then?”
Love them.
“Wayward?”
The answer is the same. Be kind. Love them.
Why? In the scriptures Jude taught, “And of some have compassion, making a difference.”
Love,
Elder Rigby
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