Dear Family,
Well it’s just about a year ago that I went into the MTC. I don’t know anymore if it feels like a long time ago or not. It depends on the day. For the most part though it just feels like I have been a missionary for all my life and that I will continue to always be a missionary and it's not in a bad way at all. It is strange especially seeing both sides of the spectrum lately, "killing off" Elder Sellers and now training Elder Herring, who is from Michigan. He went to BYU for 3 semesters. He actually speaks really good French, especially for a "blue" who didn’t really speak French before. meaning he studied French about as much as I did. He, though, speaks much better than I did when I came into the mission. In about six weeks, he will already speak better French than me. NO joke unless I do as Dad did at his one year mark and buckle down and get this language down. I really love this language and have a strong desire to get it down. Its true though that I need to work harder at it. Its great working with elder Herring it brings back all sorts of memories of when I was a younger missionary. It is also quite a bit more stressful being the Sr. Comp, but it is like everything at first, it just takes getting use to. We have already seen success recently. We have also seen disappointments. I would say that the name that you can pray for is Dominique. He is one of our amis that was making the most progress. We thought he would have a baptismal date this week, but it turns out that he doesn’t feel like he can continue with the lessons. We have a rendez-vous with him Tuesday so we will see what the final result is. His problem is that he talked to a Catholic Priest to see if he could be baptized again into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day-Saints. His priest of course said that he should turn back to his childhood religion. Dominique said he reflected and doesn’t want to continue. We'll see what his final decision is Tuesday. It always hurts getting dropped by amis. If you don’t mind keeping him in your prayers. That would be great.
So it sounds like life is going well, that all is calming down a little bit. I remember loving this time of the year. There is a certain summer excitement always in the air. I just hope that not as many people leave for vacation here in Bayonne as they did back in Pau. Missionary work is not nearly as fun without amis as you can imagine. So it sounds like you had some fun at the "Guitars and Saxes" jazz concert recently, Mom and Dad. That is good. It’s funny to think that for now all of the "Kids" are out of the house. Well I just want to let you all know that once again I love you tons. It is so great to hear from you every week. I am so spoiled.
Have a great week
Elder Ritter
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
May 24, 2010
Hello family,
It was very great to hear from all of you. I hope that all is still going well. I am doing very well. Right now I am actually chilling in Toulouse. I received my call from President on Friday and it turns out I will be training a greeny or a "blue" as they are called here. In any case, I finally moved up to senior companion. It should be interesting. Luckily for me the lord is on my side. I am actually in Toulouse for the next few days because my new companion (to be determined) will get in tomorrow from either Spain or Provo. He could be either French or American. It should be interesting. I just finished with a companion who finished his service and I will now be serving with one who will be starting his service. It will be funny to see the differences. Me, I am right in-between. I can’t believe I will be hitting the one-year mark pretty soon. So that is the situation with my companion. We will be serving in Bayonne still. I’m happy about that I really do like Bayonne a lot.
I also had another amazing weekend this last Saturday and Sunday. Cristina was baptized and confirmed! What a miracle. Three weeks ago she was just another name in the area book. It really is a miracle. She has such strong testimony. It is great! Elder Sellers baptized her Saturday and I confirmed her Sunday. What an experience. I have so much excitement about this that words cannot describe, spoken nor written. As Pres. Carter once said when talking about someone being baptized "I love this." It truly is a blessing to serve as a full time missionary.
I was excited to hear that Dave Boyer is home. I can't believe that he is back already. Craziness! You have got to tell him "hi" for me. Mom, I am also pretty excited to hear that you are going to study Preach my Gospel. It is an amazing book. It is for everyone. You will love reading and studying it. I know I do each day. Dad, I am glad that you are enjoying your stay in Europe. I can only imagine that it brings back a ton of memories for you. It's probably better that you didn’t come to Bayonne during your down time, especially since I won't be there for the next couple days, but I did appreciate the postcard that you sent me. It did in fact get to me and it gave me the little boost that I needed at the time. Thank you so much. You're right about European keyboards, they are annoy to get used to. I am not looking forward to getting used to the American Keyboard again when I return, ha-ha.
That’s about all from this end. Quite a bit will be changing for me I will appreciate your prayers this week. In any case, it should be a great experience learning how to lead a companionship. I will learn a lot.
I love you all so much, really I do!
Elder Ritter
It was very great to hear from all of you. I hope that all is still going well. I am doing very well. Right now I am actually chilling in Toulouse. I received my call from President on Friday and it turns out I will be training a greeny or a "blue" as they are called here. In any case, I finally moved up to senior companion. It should be interesting. Luckily for me the lord is on my side. I am actually in Toulouse for the next few days because my new companion (to be determined) will get in tomorrow from either Spain or Provo. He could be either French or American. It should be interesting. I just finished with a companion who finished his service and I will now be serving with one who will be starting his service. It will be funny to see the differences. Me, I am right in-between. I can’t believe I will be hitting the one-year mark pretty soon. So that is the situation with my companion. We will be serving in Bayonne still. I’m happy about that I really do like Bayonne a lot.
I also had another amazing weekend this last Saturday and Sunday. Cristina was baptized and confirmed! What a miracle. Three weeks ago she was just another name in the area book. It really is a miracle. She has such strong testimony. It is great! Elder Sellers baptized her Saturday and I confirmed her Sunday. What an experience. I have so much excitement about this that words cannot describe, spoken nor written. As Pres. Carter once said when talking about someone being baptized "I love this." It truly is a blessing to serve as a full time missionary.
I was excited to hear that Dave Boyer is home. I can't believe that he is back already. Craziness! You have got to tell him "hi" for me. Mom, I am also pretty excited to hear that you are going to study Preach my Gospel. It is an amazing book. It is for everyone. You will love reading and studying it. I know I do each day. Dad, I am glad that you are enjoying your stay in Europe. I can only imagine that it brings back a ton of memories for you. It's probably better that you didn’t come to Bayonne during your down time, especially since I won't be there for the next couple days, but I did appreciate the postcard that you sent me. It did in fact get to me and it gave me the little boost that I needed at the time. Thank you so much. You're right about European keyboards, they are annoy to get used to. I am not looking forward to getting used to the American Keyboard again when I return, ha-ha.
That’s about all from this end. Quite a bit will be changing for me I will appreciate your prayers this week. In any case, it should be a great experience learning how to lead a companionship. I will learn a lot.
I love you all so much, really I do!
Elder Ritter
May 17, 2010
Hey Fam,
It sounds like you have all had a good week with a lot of different interesting things that have happened, from Dad being in Switzerland to a great sacrament meeting in Orem. Awesome! It’s funny because we also sang "Ill Go Where You Want Me to Go". I love that song a lot. We also sang "Called to Serve" another favorite of mine. It’s crazy that Zach Shurtlef is mission age that will be exciting to see where he is called. He will do great no matter where he is called. The Lord truly looks after us as missionaries. How awesome would that be to have some 50 - 70 missionaries called from our ward. That would be quite some army.
So Dad you made it to Switzerland. The fondue, didn’t disappoint I hope. Have you had any yogurt yet? The weather here in Bayonne is still a bit stormy and rainy but it’s getting a bit better. I haven’t noticed that the air quality is worse though due to the volcanic ash. Then again the sky has been constantly gray maybe the ash has played a part. I think that for the most part it is just cloudy. Its actually pretty exciting to think that Dad is here not to far away. Not that it changes a whole lot. We still won’t see each other, but it's fun.
Summer is coming and in half a month I will hit my one-year mark. Time goes by faster and faster. I feel like I just got here and that I should be doing a lot more, but I am excited to work harder and do all that I can to serve the Lord in the way that he would have me serve him. I thank you for your support and love. I actually received an email from Elder Garret Colman and he wrote at the end, "remember to always be the missionary that you family thinks that you are". I have though about that a bit and it's true that a portion of my motivation comes from all of you. As you should, you expect me to be the best missionary I can be, and I don’t want to disappoint, so I'll try not to. Otherwise. all is well in Bayonne. Christina is still set to be baptized the 22 May. We are doing an exchange with the Assistants to President starting tonight; and our other amis are progressing. I can’t complain I am very blessed. It is kind of crazy that my Companion is going home in a week from now. We have had a lot of fun serving together and have seen a lot of miracles. It will be sad to see him go, but what ever happens will be exactly what should happen. It will be great!
Talk to you soon. Love you much,
Elder Ritter
It sounds like you have all had a good week with a lot of different interesting things that have happened, from Dad being in Switzerland to a great sacrament meeting in Orem. Awesome! It’s funny because we also sang "Ill Go Where You Want Me to Go". I love that song a lot. We also sang "Called to Serve" another favorite of mine. It’s crazy that Zach Shurtlef is mission age that will be exciting to see where he is called. He will do great no matter where he is called. The Lord truly looks after us as missionaries. How awesome would that be to have some 50 - 70 missionaries called from our ward. That would be quite some army.
So Dad you made it to Switzerland. The fondue, didn’t disappoint I hope. Have you had any yogurt yet? The weather here in Bayonne is still a bit stormy and rainy but it’s getting a bit better. I haven’t noticed that the air quality is worse though due to the volcanic ash. Then again the sky has been constantly gray maybe the ash has played a part. I think that for the most part it is just cloudy. Its actually pretty exciting to think that Dad is here not to far away. Not that it changes a whole lot. We still won’t see each other, but it's fun.
Summer is coming and in half a month I will hit my one-year mark. Time goes by faster and faster. I feel like I just got here and that I should be doing a lot more, but I am excited to work harder and do all that I can to serve the Lord in the way that he would have me serve him. I thank you for your support and love. I actually received an email from Elder Garret Colman and he wrote at the end, "remember to always be the missionary that you family thinks that you are". I have though about that a bit and it's true that a portion of my motivation comes from all of you. As you should, you expect me to be the best missionary I can be, and I don’t want to disappoint, so I'll try not to. Otherwise. all is well in Bayonne. Christina is still set to be baptized the 22 May. We are doing an exchange with the Assistants to President starting tonight; and our other amis are progressing. I can’t complain I am very blessed. It is kind of crazy that my Companion is going home in a week from now. We have had a lot of fun serving together and have seen a lot of miracles. It will be sad to see him go, but what ever happens will be exactly what should happen. It will be great!
Talk to you soon. Love you much,
Elder Ritter
May 11, 2010
ô Ma Très Chère Famille;
Yeah, it was great talking to you all even if it was only for a short time. It's crazy how fast an hour can go by. I also felt that I couldn't talk very fluently, sorry. In any case, it was great to hear all of your voices and hear a bit of how things are going. I really have felt very happy recently and I know that part of it was because I was able to talk to my family. I have also really enjoyed the time that I have had to serve with Elder Sellers really he is a great missionary and I feel we work well together. When you work hard and do good work there is definitely a lot of joy that follows. I have been really amazed recently just how much joy comes thanks to the gospel. It's true that the commandments are for us. They are such a blessing to have and be able to follow. I want to thank you for your great example to me. Really though I look up to you all so much. You all have such spiritual strength and I am doing all I can to be like you all. How grateful I am for such a great family. Keep it up! By the small and simple things Heavenly Father brings to pass this grand designs. I know that God can use each of us to accomplish his miracles. Mom you wrote that you are going to do more talk to more people and be more obedient so that I can see more miracles in this work. First of all you’re already perfect in my eyes Mom, but also I know that when doing more to serve God he will bless us more. Mom, it's true that I will be blessed by you efforts, but I would go farther to say you will be able to see miracles in you own life. What a joy it is to share the gospel. I know we receive blessings while doing it. (D&C 6:29 -31)
Sorry about that missionary rant. It sounds like all of you are keeping busy and that it's not all bad. Dad, it's true that even a root canal couldn't stop a normal human from eating tons of Swiss chocolate and yogurt. Do you like the cheese here? I thought that I would have a hard time with the cheese but I have really come to like it a lot. I think I will miss it. A member today was telling me how I can bring some home when its time for me to go home. I was a bit skeptical but now that I think of it most of the cheese is a year old or so anyway. There are many things that are eaten here that would not pass sanitary laws in the states, but c'est la vie ha-ha. OH and I’m pretty excited that Amy gets to spend a good amount of time out in Indiana with Meg Ty and the boys. That will be good for everyone involved. OH hey Steve, I thought of a question that I wanted to ask you on the phone. It’s not super relevant for the time being but I’m still curious. Would I be able to follow you around for a day at your work and see what it is that you do on an average day?
All is good here in France. I hope all is well in Orem.
I love you all so much. I hope that you all know that!
Elder Ritter
Yeah, it was great talking to you all even if it was only for a short time. It's crazy how fast an hour can go by. I also felt that I couldn't talk very fluently, sorry. In any case, it was great to hear all of your voices and hear a bit of how things are going. I really have felt very happy recently and I know that part of it was because I was able to talk to my family. I have also really enjoyed the time that I have had to serve with Elder Sellers really he is a great missionary and I feel we work well together. When you work hard and do good work there is definitely a lot of joy that follows. I have been really amazed recently just how much joy comes thanks to the gospel. It's true that the commandments are for us. They are such a blessing to have and be able to follow. I want to thank you for your great example to me. Really though I look up to you all so much. You all have such spiritual strength and I am doing all I can to be like you all. How grateful I am for such a great family. Keep it up! By the small and simple things Heavenly Father brings to pass this grand designs. I know that God can use each of us to accomplish his miracles. Mom you wrote that you are going to do more talk to more people and be more obedient so that I can see more miracles in this work. First of all you’re already perfect in my eyes Mom, but also I know that when doing more to serve God he will bless us more. Mom, it's true that I will be blessed by you efforts, but I would go farther to say you will be able to see miracles in you own life. What a joy it is to share the gospel. I know we receive blessings while doing it. (D&C 6:29 -31)
Sorry about that missionary rant. It sounds like all of you are keeping busy and that it's not all bad. Dad, it's true that even a root canal couldn't stop a normal human from eating tons of Swiss chocolate and yogurt. Do you like the cheese here? I thought that I would have a hard time with the cheese but I have really come to like it a lot. I think I will miss it. A member today was telling me how I can bring some home when its time for me to go home. I was a bit skeptical but now that I think of it most of the cheese is a year old or so anyway. There are many things that are eaten here that would not pass sanitary laws in the states, but c'est la vie ha-ha. OH and I’m pretty excited that Amy gets to spend a good amount of time out in Indiana with Meg Ty and the boys. That will be good for everyone involved. OH hey Steve, I thought of a question that I wanted to ask you on the phone. It’s not super relevant for the time being but I’m still curious. Would I be able to follow you around for a day at your work and see what it is that you do on an average day?
All is good here in France. I hope all is well in Orem.
I love you all so much. I hope that you all know that!
Elder Ritter
May 3, 2010
Hey everyone,
I hope all is going well today. I know I have had quite a day, ha-ha. Oh preparation day we work for three hours in the morning and then the rest of the day we get ready for the rest of the week. This morning while we were working, the weather could not make up its mind. It started out sunny so naturally we didn’t bring umbrella's, but it turns out we could have used them. We got caught out in the rain. We were soaking! Then it cleared up for about a half hour then it dumped even harder.It even started hailing. Luckily, that only lasted for about 10 minutes and even more luckily we found some cover for that ten minutes, ha-ha. It has been a note worthy day and the best part is there is still more great things planned for today, namely Chinese food with our ward mission leader. It should be fun!
This last week the work has been going great. We have seen so many miracles. We have truly been blessed. For example, there is a woman that we taught for the first time in over three years. We taught her Saturday. During that Rendez-vous I cannot even begin to tell you how strong the spirit was. We recited the first vision after which, we asked if she would like to be baptized. Her response was, "Bien sur!" (of course). She came to church yesterday where she decided she wants to be baptized as fast as possible. She picked the May 30th as her baptismal date. God can work miracles whenever he feels fit. I am so grateful for the times that I can participate in the miracles that he accomplishes. I love this work. It truly is the work of God! If you can, please keep Christina in your prayers. There is always opposition; I have faith that she will make it through though.
All right, well cool. I am excited to talk to you on Mother's Day and I hope that all is well in Orem. I also hope it warms up a bit. I love you all so very much, Thank you so much for your testimonies and for all your love.
I love you tons,
Elder Ritter
I hope all is going well today. I know I have had quite a day, ha-ha. Oh preparation day we work for three hours in the morning and then the rest of the day we get ready for the rest of the week. This morning while we were working, the weather could not make up its mind. It started out sunny so naturally we didn’t bring umbrella's, but it turns out we could have used them. We got caught out in the rain. We were soaking! Then it cleared up for about a half hour then it dumped even harder.It even started hailing. Luckily, that only lasted for about 10 minutes and even more luckily we found some cover for that ten minutes, ha-ha. It has been a note worthy day and the best part is there is still more great things planned for today, namely Chinese food with our ward mission leader. It should be fun!
This last week the work has been going great. We have seen so many miracles. We have truly been blessed. For example, there is a woman that we taught for the first time in over three years. We taught her Saturday. During that Rendez-vous I cannot even begin to tell you how strong the spirit was. We recited the first vision after which, we asked if she would like to be baptized. Her response was, "Bien sur!" (of course). She came to church yesterday where she decided she wants to be baptized as fast as possible. She picked the May 30th as her baptismal date. God can work miracles whenever he feels fit. I am so grateful for the times that I can participate in the miracles that he accomplishes. I love this work. It truly is the work of God! If you can, please keep Christina in your prayers. There is always opposition; I have faith that she will make it through though.
All right, well cool. I am excited to talk to you on Mother's Day and I hope that all is well in Orem. I also hope it warms up a bit. I love you all so very much, Thank you so much for your testimonies and for all your love.
I love you tons,
Elder Ritter
April 21, 2010
Hello again,
So, it’s already been a week since I was transfered to Bayonne. I'm liking it quite a bit. It is a great city and really quite pretty. I was going to send pictures but the computers here don’t accept the camera cards either so I need to get my cord. I'll bring it next week though, because I have a few cool photos that I need to send to you. The weather here has been great. The last week it was a bit hot at some points of the day, but not too bad. It is starting to make me realize that I am not too excite for the summer heat of southern France, but it will be good. Elders Sellers is from Oregon. He has five weeks left as a missionary and I will be finishing him off just like I finished off Elder Gibbons. He is still really focused as a missionary and we definitely work hard. He is a cool guy. We have many similar interests and we get along well. I was able to meet the Bayonne ward yesterday. They are very welcoming and very awesome people. It should be fun getting to know them better. Our DMP, (the member in our ward who is in charge of coordinating between the missionaries and the ward) is Great! He is actually from London, England. Même and he were baptized just three years ago. He only speaks a little bit of French, but he helps us teach lessons a lot and he is so nice to us missionaries. He and his wife seriously are so generous. It's funny because he married his wife about 3 years ago. He is about 60 years old and his wife is French. She only speaks a little bit of English. Somehow they make it work and they are great. It has made the transition a lot more smooth with this family, Brother and Sister Miller. Really though you just have to meet him. He is the funniest guy ever in the sense that he isn’t trying to be. Its cool!
I am doing well. Not a whole lot is new. Mission life continues as usual. I've been realizing lately just how lucky I am to be a missionary and how greatful I am to have such great experiences. I can't wait to tell you them all ha-ha. No, I know how much people hate it when return missionaries go off telling their stories. I'll try and refrain. I'll also try and send a few on tape. I am really bad at sending stuff. Sorry. Oh one cool thing. I just learned yesterday that one guy that I started teaching when I was at Pau, was baptized. I had no Idea he was baptized. I was very excited to find out that he made it. Because when I was there he was the fiancé of a member in Pau. We would teach him from time to time just when we taught the family, but he didn't take his first official missionary lesson until the day after I left Pau. I always wondered what happened and now I know. It’s amazing how much joy that brings me even though I wasn't there for the biggest part of his conversion. I truly do love this great experience that I have to be a missionary. There are so many great lessons to learn and wonderful miracles to be apart of. Thank you so much for your support! It really does play a huge roll. Every blessing I see, every person I try and help, every act of service I give, you’re apart of it because without a supportive family, I don’t know if I could do the work I do. Thanks!
I love you all so much I know you love me and more importantly I know that our Heavenly Father loves us. He sent his Son so we can return to his presence. How grateful for that knowledge. I pray that we all can find missionary experiences to help other feel of this joy and in turn feel of the joy that comes when helping others come unto Christ. Once again I love you all!
Elder Ritter
Ps When is Mothers day the first Sunday of the moth of May right?
So, it’s already been a week since I was transfered to Bayonne. I'm liking it quite a bit. It is a great city and really quite pretty. I was going to send pictures but the computers here don’t accept the camera cards either so I need to get my cord. I'll bring it next week though, because I have a few cool photos that I need to send to you. The weather here has been great. The last week it was a bit hot at some points of the day, but not too bad. It is starting to make me realize that I am not too excite for the summer heat of southern France, but it will be good. Elders Sellers is from Oregon. He has five weeks left as a missionary and I will be finishing him off just like I finished off Elder Gibbons. He is still really focused as a missionary and we definitely work hard. He is a cool guy. We have many similar interests and we get along well. I was able to meet the Bayonne ward yesterday. They are very welcoming and very awesome people. It should be fun getting to know them better. Our DMP, (the member in our ward who is in charge of coordinating between the missionaries and the ward) is Great! He is actually from London, England. Même and he were baptized just three years ago. He only speaks a little bit of French, but he helps us teach lessons a lot and he is so nice to us missionaries. He and his wife seriously are so generous. It's funny because he married his wife about 3 years ago. He is about 60 years old and his wife is French. She only speaks a little bit of English. Somehow they make it work and they are great. It has made the transition a lot more smooth with this family, Brother and Sister Miller. Really though you just have to meet him. He is the funniest guy ever in the sense that he isn’t trying to be. Its cool!
I am doing well. Not a whole lot is new. Mission life continues as usual. I've been realizing lately just how lucky I am to be a missionary and how greatful I am to have such great experiences. I can't wait to tell you them all ha-ha. No, I know how much people hate it when return missionaries go off telling their stories. I'll try and refrain. I'll also try and send a few on tape. I am really bad at sending stuff. Sorry. Oh one cool thing. I just learned yesterday that one guy that I started teaching when I was at Pau, was baptized. I had no Idea he was baptized. I was very excited to find out that he made it. Because when I was there he was the fiancé of a member in Pau. We would teach him from time to time just when we taught the family, but he didn't take his first official missionary lesson until the day after I left Pau. I always wondered what happened and now I know. It’s amazing how much joy that brings me even though I wasn't there for the biggest part of his conversion. I truly do love this great experience that I have to be a missionary. There are so many great lessons to learn and wonderful miracles to be apart of. Thank you so much for your support! It really does play a huge roll. Every blessing I see, every person I try and help, every act of service I give, you’re apart of it because without a supportive family, I don’t know if I could do the work I do. Thanks!
I love you all so much I know you love me and more importantly I know that our Heavenly Father loves us. He sent his Son so we can return to his presence. How grateful for that knowledge. I pray that we all can find missionary experiences to help other feel of this joy and in turn feel of the joy that comes when helping others come unto Christ. Once again I love you all!
Elder Ritter
Ps When is Mothers day the first Sunday of the moth of May right?
April 5, 2010
Dear Family,
I’m glad that you all had a great conference weekend. I know I did! Wow it was just a great conference, right? I learned so much and the spirit definitely bore witness of what these great leaders spoke. It almost is a taste of home when I watch conference even all the way over here in France. I was able to watch most of the conference in English. Its just better to hear their actual voices, but I did watch one session in French and that was cool. I still learned a lot and it's crazy that I can actually understand this language for the most part. It reminds me of Pres. Uchdorf said in his talk during priesthood about how we must be patience. Learning another language has helped me learn more about patience. The gift of tongues is a gift earned. Only after laboring diligent does a missionary receive the gift of tongues and that work needs to have patience to go along with it. I’m definitely going to work more on patience after hearing this conference.
It sounds like things are going well! From the photos you sent, I see that you at least ate well. I could go for some twice-baked potatoes myself. I guess I'll just have to be patient though. I’m glad that most of the family could be together. Its too bad Steve had work, though. I hope it was a great Easter anyway! Easter here in France is yes celebrated. It doesn’t seem quite as commercialized though. It is a two-day thing though. The big meal in France is Monday after Easter at noon. This one seemed to slip under the radar though maybe it was because of conference. Either way it was a great Easter weekend for us. Otherwise. here in Avignon there is not too much news. The end of the transfer is this weekend already so next time you hear from me I could be in a new area. Who knows though only time will tell.
Well that is about all, but I do want to express one more time my great love for each and every one of you. I seem to keep hearing about the importance of the family and the home throughout the entire conference. How greatful I was and am for a great and loving family. I truly am blessed.
I love you all
Elder Ritter
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