October 21, 2013

 Dear Maranda

 I just wrote a master piece of a letter to Josh that took a little bit of time so don't be to mad if I skimp a little bit on this one. Hey how about our little brother wart dog, not too shabby huh. What a stud. Sometimes I wonder if I was bringing him down or a bad influence on him at home so now that I am gone he is spreading his wings and soaring at almost everything. Or maybe it is because I am like the jedi trainer and I taught the young padawan well and now he has passed me up. Or also maybe it is because I am being a stud out here and working and enduring so young wart is being blessed.  Who knows? It sounds like things are going good for you and I am glad to hear that. Well I think I might start with the general email if that is cool.

Well this week has been for the most part great. Since our numbers last week were so crappy this last week we were able to triple the # of lessons we taught. So that was a good feeling. I also had some good lessons. One I like was I taught the plan of salvation in Spanish and I think I did pretty well I even invited the person to be baptized and she said that she needs to ask her husband.

We also had some other good lessons. One thing that was also cool and maybe even a small miracle happened yesterday. So we were contacting people and going to houses that were on our less active list and we also visited a house that the sister missionaries told us to visit. Well we did that and no one was at the house. However since the houses here are like all row homes and touching each other, the neighbor was like on the same porch.

Well she didn't seem so hyped up about talking to us so we just asked her about her neighbor. Then I decided to talk to her a little more and I asked her if she spoke Spanish and if she just said she was cold to her son in Spanish. Then we talked a lot more in Spanish and she opened right up. Its amazing how small talk and small talk in Spanish with Latino people in America can go a long way. Because that lady told us all about her family and how she got here to Reading and everything.

So that was cool and that might not have happened because we were about to leave the house porch when I talked to her. Then while we were talking more people came out of the other door, which was like a house split into 2 apartments. Well a girl came out of the house and I recognized her and we had talked to her my first week of being here in Reading. It was crazy. Before when we talked to her and she told us she had a friend that was a member and she herd about the church red the book of Mormon some and wouldn't mind hearing more. Well we gave her as a referral to the other missionaries because she speaks both Spanish and English but her friends are English speaking so she would want to go to church and have the lessons in English.

Well anyway we never herd what happened from after that day but I always wondered because we don't meet people like that often. Well so here on the lady’s porch yesterday this girl came walking out and we had another similar conversation and the missionary’s either didn't talk to her or weren't able to so we talked to her more and she said she went to church before and again wouldn't mind talking to the missionaries and hearing more. So it is really cool seeing the way how God works and places people in your path.

         This week we had a ward culture night on Friday. That was a kickin party. At first no one was there because I guess in Latino culture everyone is like half an hour late and even one of the guys in the ward said it wouldn't be a real culture night if it were on time. I made a poster of Washington and it had the Seattle Temple on it and had some cool facts about Washington and junk like that. It was pretty cool. Washington isn't actually that bad and I am almost a little proud of saying I’m from there especially when the other people from my district are from Arizona Utah and Idaho lame of what. And the parts they are from are all full of Mormons and Have seminary as a class at school and junk like that. So yeah compared to those places Washington is incredible. J

Well any how we all made posters and had a table with pass along cards and behind us we had a ton of temple pictures and an American flag. The other parts of the night were cool. There was a lot of good food and we had a Mexican chef in our ward who made a lot, and a lot of Dominicans made some good stuff. And I had food from El Salvador and Honduras and Ecuador and stuff so it was great.

Also someone hired a bunch of Mexican dancer people who were decked out in sombreros and stuff it was cool it made me want to dance with Cory in our cowboy boots back home. Like we used to do.

And then I saw a lady in our ward from Uruguay and looked at her pictures and then I thought about my mission in Puerto alegre Brazil and I thought about that and even got a little sad I wasn't there. Also sometimes I would watch a Mormon message thing or one of those Im a Mormon things on the Internet with Brazilians and it makes me even more trunkie to go to Brazil.

So I have to admit I got a little depressed when I compare Brazil to where I am now. Also when I thought about what I have heard about people waiting for there visas for like 6 months in there re assigned area.

Well after feeling sorry for myself I did some praying and scripture reading and thinking. And I realized feeling sorry for myself isn't going to change what's happening with my visa and being happy is my choice and I can choose how I look at speaking Spanish in the Ghetto as just as hard to do mission work in Reading PA compared to speaking Portuguese In Brazil so that is my only kind of low part about this week.

    Things are also starting to cool down here literally and riding my bike home at night gets cold. But it’s all good in the Hood.

      Well I love you a lot and thanks for all that you do and for your prayers Love always elder Tyler Richardson.