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:
Song of the week: "Giorgio by Moroder" by Daft Punk~
Thought:
"The Saviorโs message is clear: His true disciples build, lift, encourage, persuade, and inspire๏ปฟโno 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
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