Seeing Familiar Faces

Well this week was a busy week!!! First of all we had the changes so I went to my new(old room) it was cool it kind of felt weird but I’m enjoying it here.

Wednesday day all the zone leaders from the jungle and from barranca stayed the night for the zone leaders meeting Thursday, we stayed up until like 1:30 at night talking. I was hanging out with Elder Layton the whole time. So we got up and went to the zone leaders meeting and it was good. it’s a long meeting, it was from 8 in the morning to 5 at night, it’s all day but it was way good. Then all the missionaries flew back to the jungle but Elder Layton stayed with us again so he could go to the CCM for the meeting with Elder Jay Jensen, from the Seventy, Friday morning. So I was with Elder Layton for like 2 days it was fun.

Elder Jensen gave a great talk about the music and he spoke in Spanish too. I also saw Marc jay, he is doing good, then I saw a kid that was on the youth council with me I think he is from Highland 27th Ward. I said hi to him and talked to him on Friday. He finishes in August. If you can find his name that would be great?

My new comp is a good guy, he is from Porto Viejo Ecuador, he is 13 months in the mission, we work good together. Well, I got here and there was nothing in the area, the missionary here last change finished and was trunked out so we are working pretty hard, first of all there was a man that came to church and wants to get baptized with his two kids, his wife is a member and active the husband just never wanted to get baptized until now, so my last change

I’m going to baptize a family and complete the family. I’m way excited, it is such a blessing, finish the mission with a family, and we also had a girl come to church, her whole family are members but her, even here daughter is a member so we went and taught her and she wants to get baptized June 5th, man this change is going to be good but way fast, so I have to enjoy it.

In the zone there are 18 missionaries, its the second biggest zone in the mission, I must be doing something right ha-ha. The members where really happy to see me, my converts have all moved away but one is still here, its Suria, she’s the one from Puno and she is here visiting. I walked in and she was there, she is way active and even has a calling, she ran over to me so happy, it was way good to see her. I then went and saw my old pencion from Columbia and she freaked out, she was so happy.

Wait I just got a phone call from the assistants there are going to put another compañiship of sisters in our zone tomorrow, that means that in the zone there are going to be 20 missionaries y 8 sisters. This Friday we are going to have the interviews with President and then after that things will be a lot calmer.

I got a letter from Bishop Wright and he mentioned that he wanted me to do a fireside thing with the youth when I get back. He wants me to prepare a power point with pictures and stories and with spiritual experiences, im looking forward to it.

Well I love you guys so much and thank you for the support,

love elder ridge

Changes and going back to the Start!!

Well the changes are here and I’m not staying here but I’m not going to the jungle either!

I’m going to go to Tahauntisuyo, yes I’m going to the same area where I started. I’m way excited I’m going to the exact same area. When I was there it was a junior comp senior comp area but since then it has changed to a zone leaders area so I will go back to the same members and see them again and the converts. I’m way excited.

There is hot water but there isn’t a pencion so I will come home nice and skinny I hope. My new companion is Elder Alonzo from Ecuador. He has I think a year in the mission but he has had a lot of success. He seems like a good missionary and he will help me not be trunky ha-ha.

It’s kind of cool, I lucked out and have had a lot of companions form different countries, from Canada, the states, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chile its pretty sweet. I would really like to work with South America and Central America later on in life.

Well this week as for the work was good, we found a lot more people to teach and some people with dates to get baptized but we are both leaving the area so we are leaving the area better than when we found it like a eagle scout would do ha-ha. I’m kind of sad leaving my companion he was way fun and the zone is doing really good. We are planned to finish the month with 50 baptisms but now I’m going to go to another zone and see if we can lift it up.

Lets see for my birthday ya I think I will wait to get home to celebrate it. Sunday in the afternoon we were walking like at 4 in the afternoon and I look at my comp and go hey, today is my birthday, he goes oh that’s right, hey happy birthday, I said thanks and we just keep walking and working and that was the only thing that we did, I will just wait to be with you guys to celebrate it.

Just so you know I did get my package and I loved it, it was way good especially the beef jerky, I have the box ready and everything I just have to send it, I will next Monday, its because there isn’t a mail store here but where I am going to be there is one so it will be easier.

This coming up week is going to be crazy, we have the changes Wednesday then all day Thursday we have the zone leaders meeting and then Friday we are going to go the CCM to have a meeting with a couple setentas (70’s) wow this week is going to go by fast, well guys I love you and thanks for the support, enjoy the photos, its me and elder Pug with Marco Antonio and his family in Pucallpa.

love elder ridge

Mother's Day Call

Sunday May 9^th (Mother’s Day)

The family was able to talk with Elder Ridge on Sunday. He sounds great and we can definitely tell he has been speaking Spanish for two years. He was struggling a little with his English.

He has had some good success in his current area and told us about a baptism he had on Saturday. The zone that he is in is doing great and he has a couple of missionaries he started with (Elder Hyde and Elder Morton) and they are working hard and having good success and a good time.

Currently, Elder Ridge does not have a pension to cook his meals so he and his companion eat breakfast and dinner in their room. They purchase food at a local market. They have milk(warm in a box), cereal, fruit and hotdogs. They eat lunch with member of the ward and branch they are serving.

Elder Ridge comes home on June 30^th, so his mother loved the fact that she could tell him, she will see him next month. He loves his mission and all the wonderful experiences, and he says he is continuing to work hard. However, he is looking forward to coming home and see family and friends.

Here is Elder Ridge’s short email.

Well it was good to talk to you guys, everyone sounded good. I cant wait to see you guys. Next week I will write you about the changes. Like I said I’m pretty sure I will stay here. I also need photos of me before the mission to put on my farewell video that the mission does, if you can scan them on the computer, I would like one when I was a little kid, maybe a baby picture, just send pictures of me before the mission, playing sports and stuff like, send a couple of funny ones too, I need these pictures before June, well thank you so much for everything, I love you guys, elder ridge

Working hard and keeping mom on her toes!!!

Well this week was a little bit harder for in the work. We had a couple of people getting prepared for baptism but they didn’t go to church so we went to go visit them and they don’t really want to get baptized. So we are only going to have a baptism this Saturday for Zenon, he is a good guy and way excited to get baptized.

Other than that we are really looking but we are getting rejected a lot, even the members reject us, we will go to their houses to visit them and share something with them and they won’t have time or have to go somewhere. We have had like three days with absolutely nothing. I feel like im in the states ha-ha.

Everything is good, we are still happy and working hard. My companion is the best, he works real hard, and teaches good, we get along really well. This week we dropped the pensionista, now we eat fruit at night. My companion wants to loose weight before he goes home and he goes home right after me.

The zone is doing good, we have 35 people with a date for baptisms for this month.

Just so you know I will call either Thursday or Friday or Saturday to set up a time, it will be the short call to set everything up. I don’t know when I will call but it will be one of those days. It will be a surprise, I know mom will walk around with the phone all those days ha-ha.

well that’s it for now, thank you so much for the support, I love you guys and talk to you in a couple of days!!!

love elder ridge