Monday, September 20, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
June 21, 2010
Hello everybody. First of all, Happy Fathers Day, Dad. I hope it was a good one even if all the children where not to be seen. Oh and sorry I was not able to call even though it sounds like half of the ward thinks I did ha-ha. I always feel half bad when I miss things like fathers day. I have a feeling like I am neglecting my family, I know that I need to be here, but it's also true that I can be better in sending you all things. I hope you know that my love goes out to all of you even if I don’t show it very well in terms of letters, cards and packages. You just need to casser (get mad at me/ tell me how horrible I am) me and then I'll step it up. So the World cup. It is sad because I imagined that the world cup would be a bigger deal than it is. Everyone watches it, that’s true, but because France is not doing all that good no one even wants to talk about it. One person even said today when I asked about the world cup that France doesn’t even exist, ha-ha. In fact they are down 1 0 as we speak so its a big deal, but pretty much everyone is very depressed that France is not doing so well. So it is not affecting our work too badly. When it first started it prevented us from going into one house. The man came to the door and we introduced ourselves and he said. ça tomb pas trop bien (either meaning we came to the wrong place or came at the wrong time) we then asked him why and he then told us that France is playing. It’s been pretty funny, but he said we could come back another time. Oh and based on the man in the room of this cyber café it must be 2 0 France is down. He doesn’t sound to happy ha-ha. I’m pretty sad too.
Well our amis are doing pretty well this week. Gilles and Lawrence are doing well and they should be set still for the 3 July. They are great and it sounds like even one of Lawrence’s sons from a different marriage who is 17 might be interested in the message also. SO that’s a plus. It’s true that we have seen many miracles and many blessings this week. One of which is named Silvia, She is probably mid-thirties. She has three young kids and I not sure if the father is still in the picture, but we taught her once and she is great. She is very open and has committed to read and pray about The Book of Mormon. I feel that she is very sincere and I have no doubt that if she is sincere she will receive a witness from our Heavenly Father that the church of Jesus Christ has been restored. I am excited to see how it went for her. We see her tomorrow. Keep her in you prayers if you please. Oh I really have come to love this area. I am a bit nervous that people are going to start leaving for summer vacation. I hope that we can continue to have many people to teach. I know that depends on how hard we work so we will just have to work really hard.
Hey so it sounds like you sent a package. Thank you so so much that always makes me happy! Anything you send is great! Oh hey so I talked to Elder Larsen at Zone Development meeting yesterday and its sounds like his parents are going to pick him up. As you maybe remember. Elder Larsen came into the Mission the same time as me meaning we will be finishing up at the same time. Also Elder Larsen’s Mom knows Nancy. So when Elder Larsen gets picked up, he will stay at the house Nancy has in Bordeaux for a bit. He says I should do the same. Which made me think, what is it that you want to do? Do you want to come visit France in about a year from now? It's still a while a way but to do a trip like that it takes a bit of time to organize. I don’t know though that is completely up to you if you want to come or not. I would love to show you around and have Dad show us around, but also there is the money factor. It’s pretty expensive here. So let me know what you think about coming to pick me up and also about staying at Nancy's, if that’s even an option.
Alright well that’s the bit of news that I have thanks for writing me it was great hearing from all of you and hearing whats new with life. OH I love you all so much!
Have a great week and I'll talk to you soon
Elder Ritter
Well our amis are doing pretty well this week. Gilles and Lawrence are doing well and they should be set still for the 3 July. They are great and it sounds like even one of Lawrence’s sons from a different marriage who is 17 might be interested in the message also. SO that’s a plus. It’s true that we have seen many miracles and many blessings this week. One of which is named Silvia, She is probably mid-thirties. She has three young kids and I not sure if the father is still in the picture, but we taught her once and she is great. She is very open and has committed to read and pray about The Book of Mormon. I feel that she is very sincere and I have no doubt that if she is sincere she will receive a witness from our Heavenly Father that the church of Jesus Christ has been restored. I am excited to see how it went for her. We see her tomorrow. Keep her in you prayers if you please. Oh I really have come to love this area. I am a bit nervous that people are going to start leaving for summer vacation. I hope that we can continue to have many people to teach. I know that depends on how hard we work so we will just have to work really hard.
Hey so it sounds like you sent a package. Thank you so so much that always makes me happy! Anything you send is great! Oh hey so I talked to Elder Larsen at Zone Development meeting yesterday and its sounds like his parents are going to pick him up. As you maybe remember. Elder Larsen came into the Mission the same time as me meaning we will be finishing up at the same time. Also Elder Larsen’s Mom knows Nancy. So when Elder Larsen gets picked up, he will stay at the house Nancy has in Bordeaux for a bit. He says I should do the same. Which made me think, what is it that you want to do? Do you want to come visit France in about a year from now? It's still a while a way but to do a trip like that it takes a bit of time to organize. I don’t know though that is completely up to you if you want to come or not. I would love to show you around and have Dad show us around, but also there is the money factor. It’s pretty expensive here. So let me know what you think about coming to pick me up and also about staying at Nancy's, if that’s even an option.
Alright well that’s the bit of news that I have thanks for writing me it was great hearing from all of you and hearing whats new with life. OH I love you all so much!
Have a great week and I'll talk to you soon
Elder Ritter
June 14, 2010
Hello I am doing great! La vie est belle as one might say in France. We actually have four amis that have committed for baptism the 3rd of July. The second two are names M; and Mme Lopez. They have been taught in the past, they agreed that they would like to be baptized but I fear that they don’t quite get it if you know what I mean. So it will take a lot of work, but hey what else is new. No I need to work harder actually. So that is the little bit of good news on my end. Oh and speaking of Lopez B-Lo aka Brett Lopez should be getting home this July I’m pretty sure. July 13th I think.
OKAY so I need to say. Happy Birthday Stephen! And Happy anniversary Mom and Dad! I hope you have a great day! I remember a year ago I was either in San Francisco or the MTC. But yeah I wish I was there to celebrate with you but I guess this e-mail will have to do.
So after what Dad told me it sounds like the summer should just about be starting and it sounds like you have some good projects going on. That is great, a lot of gardening and even a new fence cool. I can’t believe it, a fence! Now we can finally get a dog. The only thing is I don’t know if I care to have a dog now. Maybe we can get a Trampoline though ha-ha. No, but it will be cool to see it in the future. I’m excited for you.
Hey so what do you want to hear about what have you been dying to know about? Do you have any questions about the culture or any questions about whom I teach? I don’t know. I don’t want to bore you and I’m not sure what would interest you more than anything else. Fun Fact: I made crêpes last night and they were even pretty good. I thought so at least.
I will tell you though; I have really enjoyed reading the Joseph Smith history recently. I know the story and I tell it several times a day but it is so powerful to hear how it was written from the Prophet Joseph Smith himself. I invite you all to read it. It is great. I know that it is true. As he says early, he states the FACTS. I love this gospel. I know its true. This is the Kingdom of God on earth. He loves us and if we keep his commandments we will be happy and blessed. I love you all thank you all so much for the email this week I did enjoy it ha-ha! In fact we where even signed on at the same time ha-ha. That’s cool to think.
Talk to you all later
Elder Ritter
OKAY so I need to say. Happy Birthday Stephen! And Happy anniversary Mom and Dad! I hope you have a great day! I remember a year ago I was either in San Francisco or the MTC. But yeah I wish I was there to celebrate with you but I guess this e-mail will have to do.
So after what Dad told me it sounds like the summer should just about be starting and it sounds like you have some good projects going on. That is great, a lot of gardening and even a new fence cool. I can’t believe it, a fence! Now we can finally get a dog. The only thing is I don’t know if I care to have a dog now. Maybe we can get a Trampoline though ha-ha. No, but it will be cool to see it in the future. I’m excited for you.
Hey so what do you want to hear about what have you been dying to know about? Do you have any questions about the culture or any questions about whom I teach? I don’t know. I don’t want to bore you and I’m not sure what would interest you more than anything else. Fun Fact: I made crêpes last night and they were even pretty good. I thought so at least.
I will tell you though; I have really enjoyed reading the Joseph Smith history recently. I know the story and I tell it several times a day but it is so powerful to hear how it was written from the Prophet Joseph Smith himself. I invite you all to read it. It is great. I know that it is true. As he says early, he states the FACTS. I love this gospel. I know its true. This is the Kingdom of God on earth. He loves us and if we keep his commandments we will be happy and blessed. I love you all thank you all so much for the email this week I did enjoy it ha-ha! In fact we where even signed on at the same time ha-ha. That’s cool to think.
Talk to you all later
Elder Ritter
June 7, 2010
Good afternoon everybody. I hope that you are all doing very very well. I am so very grateful for you love and support this week. It has been great. So yeah, it has been a great week. I am happy. I feel a bit tired today, but that’s all right, it's preparation day. As long as I am well rested for tomorrow. Well training is not as hard as I thought ha-ha mostly because Elder Herring came off the plane already ready to be senior companion. No it’s great I think we get along well. We work hard and have already seen some great miracles. For example a couple we are teaching decided that they want to be baptized. So if we work hard enough the ward the amis and us the missionaries they should be baptized the 3 July and the 4th of July they will be confirmed. That would be a cool way to celebrate the fourth of July, by watching someone be baptized by fire as one might say. So yeah keep Gilles and Lawrence in you prayers if you could. Dominique: progress is standing still, but he is still willing to see us. We'll see what happens after this rendezvous Wednesday. Cristina is still doing great. Her testimony grows daily this gospel is the love of her life ha-ha. She said being baptized was equally joyous as the birth of her daughter. I’m not sure is I heard her right but I’m almost sure that is what she said while bearing her testimony in church yesterday. It is so great to see her progress. It’s true that this gospel has profound effects on us.
Hey so last Thursday was my one year mark. It was a great day. We actually had a rendezvous in saint Jean de luz look it up it is beautiful. We where there with Fr; Miller and after which we took our hour for lunch. So we ate lunch at a pretty good restaurant that was overlooking the ocean. It was pretty sweet! I’m spoiled, especially since Fr. Miller paid. I owe that man and his wife big time. So I mean every time you think that I may be suffering or having a tough time realize that in reality I am just taking a big long vacation. OH yeah and I talk to everyone about the gospel while I’m at it. Hey so yeah like I may have said I cant complain.
Well thanks again for all you do. Have a great week. Keep up the great preach my gospel work Mom! Go and teach those Teachers Dad and everyone else I wish you the best. LOVE YA
Elder Ritter
OH and there isn’t a chance that I will be getting some Enya sent my way sometime soon? If not, don’t even worry? Dang it there I go already complaining. Sorry ha-ha!
Hey so last Thursday was my one year mark. It was a great day. We actually had a rendezvous in saint Jean de luz look it up it is beautiful. We where there with Fr; Miller and after which we took our hour for lunch. So we ate lunch at a pretty good restaurant that was overlooking the ocean. It was pretty sweet! I’m spoiled, especially since Fr. Miller paid. I owe that man and his wife big time. So I mean every time you think that I may be suffering or having a tough time realize that in reality I am just taking a big long vacation. OH yeah and I talk to everyone about the gospel while I’m at it. Hey so yeah like I may have said I cant complain.
Well thanks again for all you do. Have a great week. Keep up the great preach my gospel work Mom! Go and teach those Teachers Dad and everyone else I wish you the best. LOVE YA
Elder Ritter
OH and there isn’t a chance that I will be getting some Enya sent my way sometime soon? If not, don’t even worry? Dang it there I go already complaining. Sorry ha-ha!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
May 31, 2010
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
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
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
Sunday, March 28, 2010
March 22, 2010
Dear Family and Friends,
This has been a great week for me, although, there have been a good amount of ups and downs. The most dramatic resulted on Saturday. We had 4 rendez-vous scheduled from 2 until 5, one hour each, which would make for a very nice day. Unfortunately, one after the other fell through either being cancelled or blown off. I like to think of myself as a pretty positive guy, but after that I was a bit down. When we learned that our final rendez-vous wasn't going to work, we took a look at our back up plan and hopped on a bus to down town to do some porting (tracting). When we got to the road we planned to visit, we rang at the first door we came to. We gave a quick intro, which was followed by a slam. No one was home at the next door. We got to the third door and Elder Swanson rang the door bell. Remember though, in France you are never right at the door. Houses always have fences around them and the bell is at the fence gate. This gate was a bit taller so Elder Swanson could not see over. SO after ringing the bell he says "You'll have to talk since I can't see in". It's funny because right as he was saying that, I got a glimpse into the house and saw the guy. I looked over to Elder Swanson and said, "He's big!" And sure enough he was big, very, very big. But the miracle we experienced was even bigger that he was. He is actually from the Ivory Coast and his dad is a member of our church in the Ivory Coast. We asked him if he would be interested in a copy of The Book of Mormon and to learn more about it. He said, "Yes." He also said thanks to the Holy Ghost, we came to his door because every time he talks to his dad on the phone his dad talks to him about the Book of Mormon and the Church. We taught him for the first time yesterday and he is amazing. He committed to read and pray about our message and the Book of Mormon. He seems so sincere that I have no doubt he will have a positive response. It's amazing how much God really cares about his children. I feel so dumb for ever complaining even if nothing happens with this Ivory Coast man, I gained a testimony that I need to never doubt! God knows much more than we do. Somewhere in Mark 5 it says something like "Do not fear, only believe." What great council. JUST BELIEVE!
I love you all so much,
Elder Ritter
Elder Ritter
Monday, February 15, 2010
Happy Valentine's Day
Hey everybody, I hope you all had a great Valentine's day! And no Dad I didn't get notes from the jeune fille members here, haha! It was a good day and good week though. Things are really going well here and are even picking up. We have one ami who is actually from New York. He said he wants to be baptised so we need to pick a date for him this week. It's very exciting but we still have a lot to teach him. I'm worried he doesn't quite get it, too. So if you could all pray for Jason that would be awesome. Like I said the work here is really starting to progress. We are teaching more and more and it's really exciting. Thanks again for all you prayers.SO the Olympics have started, Crazy. Maybe they are a big deal here but I have only heard one person talk about them so I'm guessing not. Oh and Matt Harris finally got his call! Sweet! I'm super excited for him!
Well, I'm doing good. Of course there are tough times, but really the life of a missionary is blessed. If we do our best, that is all the Lord asks for and life is good when we know we are doing what God would have us do. I really do feel blessed to be a missionary. It's true it's not always easy but is so many ways it is a lot less stressfull. I love the time that I have to searve as a missionary. I have really come to love France and all the people here. I love you all! Thanks again for all you do for me. You think that I am blessing your lives by serving, but I seriously get so much strength from all of you. Really, thanks so much.
Je Vous Aime Beaucoup Beaucoup!
Elder Ritter
Oh and Mom/Grandma, I don't know how much room there is left or if it will make a difference by the time the box gets here, but I have really wanted some thermal bottoms recently. The wind in Avignon is piercing, haha. I seriously don't know how Steve did it. It's barley freezing temperatures here and I'm already cold. I also think that winter is almost over though so, you know, do what you can.
ça va
2/11/10
So Dad I want to first of all say, you speak really good French. Also did you know that you left to serve a mission the same date as I did, June 3rd. I was looking at the white handbook that you gave me and the card in it states you were a missionary from June 3rd to June 3rd just like mine, haha. I thought that was cool anyway.
In other news, I don't have much other news. Life is good. I am happy and I think of you all often. It's crazy how much you come to love your family as a missionary. The really crazy thing is that if time keeps flying like it is, it will be no time unil I see you all again. I love you all so much I know that I say that everyweek but I really mean it. I feel so close and connected to all of you everyday. Thanks so much for your love and support. I hope you can feel of my love for all of you because it is there even though I am limited in the ways that I can show it.
Have a absolutely great week
Love
Elder Ritter
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Some Things Are Totally the Same
2/1/10
Yeah, as if Avignon was not already cool enough; they totally have a Harley store! I had to get on one and act cool myself. I didn't even know they had Harley stores in France.
Oh and what size of shirt do you wear, Dad?
Oh and what size of shirt do you wear, Dad?
Greetings from Avignon
2/1/10
So I want to start out by answering a few questions. First, Elder Swanson has been out for about a year and a half or actually a bit longer. He is from Arizona first of all, but lived in Utah the three years before he started serving a mission. He is really cool and we have a lot of fun together and we are doing some good work. So pretty much all the Amis here were dropped because they where not progressing right before I got here, so we are in the process of building up our teaching pool. It feels a lot like my first few weeks in Pau. That being because we don't have many amis and our rendez-vous are not as numerous. When I left Pau we taught 21 lessons durning my last week. This last week in Avignon, we taught 9 lessons. It is a lot less, but it's really exciting to try to build up a city. It's also a lot of work and every time I try to put the load on my shoulders I realize how small I really am and how I can't do anything alone and that's when the Lord steps in and we see the miracles. I really love this work and it's so interesting to see how the Lord accomplishes his will through us in ways we could never expect. We have a branch here is Avignon and it is much smaller than the ward in Pau. I love the Branch here though. It is alive and kicking with great strong members. There were about 40 maybe there at church last week. Another problem is they all live an hour or so away from Avignon itself, so that makes it hard to work with members or visit them or even eat with them. Still they are making great efforts and sacrifices for us. It's a great branch. Elder Swanson and I are the only missionaries in Avignon. There are rumors that the transfer after this one, there will no longer be missionaries here in Avignon since the number of missionaries coming to Europe is declining rapidly. So the pressure is on Elder Swanson and me to keep Avignon alive. No not really it all depends on the revelation Pres. Carter receives. The work is looking up here though. I guess 9 lessons is more than usual and we have found two new Amis just this last week, so the work is progressing and it is very exciting.
So Avignon its self is very pretty. It is so cool to walk around in a citadel that was built well before Columbus was even born. It was build in the 11th century, I believe. The Bridge is cool also but right next to it is the Palais de Pape. It is a huge castle and cathedral that the popes would live in back in the day. It is huge and there are crazy side streets next to it. I feel like I am literally in middle earth. It is so sweet. I'll have to send some pictures. It's so awesome. I am really glad that I have the opportunity to serve here.
So Yeah that is a lot from me about me. I hope things go well and are not too busy for you all it sounds like it is a pretty busy time. I wish you all the best and Love you all a lot.
Elder Ritter
PS my address is:
46 rue Carnot. Its pretty nice and really big for a missionary apartment in France;
Bonjour,
Bonjour ma très chère famille. J'espère que vous allez bien cette semaine. je suis content que vous avez passé une bonne semaine avec les petits Martin's; et passé une bonne fête chez Brooke. C'est fou qu'elle a cinq ans déjà. J'ai eu une bonne semaine nous avons vu les bons choses et l'œuvre ici est en train d'exploser.
So I want to start out by answering a few questions. First, Elder Swanson has been out for about a year and a half or actually a bit longer. He is from Arizona first of all, but lived in Utah the three years before he started serving a mission. He is really cool and we have a lot of fun together and we are doing some good work. So pretty much all the Amis here were dropped because they where not progressing right before I got here, so we are in the process of building up our teaching pool. It feels a lot like my first few weeks in Pau. That being because we don't have many amis and our rendez-vous are not as numerous. When I left Pau we taught 21 lessons durning my last week. This last week in Avignon, we taught 9 lessons. It is a lot less, but it's really exciting to try to build up a city. It's also a lot of work and every time I try to put the load on my shoulders I realize how small I really am and how I can't do anything alone and that's when the Lord steps in and we see the miracles. I really love this work and it's so interesting to see how the Lord accomplishes his will through us in ways we could never expect. We have a branch here is Avignon and it is much smaller than the ward in Pau. I love the Branch here though. It is alive and kicking with great strong members. There were about 40 maybe there at church last week. Another problem is they all live an hour or so away from Avignon itself, so that makes it hard to work with members or visit them or even eat with them. Still they are making great efforts and sacrifices for us. It's a great branch. Elder Swanson and I are the only missionaries in Avignon. There are rumors that the transfer after this one, there will no longer be missionaries here in Avignon since the number of missionaries coming to Europe is declining rapidly. So the pressure is on Elder Swanson and me to keep Avignon alive. No not really it all depends on the revelation Pres. Carter receives. The work is looking up here though. I guess 9 lessons is more than usual and we have found two new Amis just this last week, so the work is progressing and it is very exciting.
So Avignon its self is very pretty. It is so cool to walk around in a citadel that was built well before Columbus was even born. It was build in the 11th century, I believe. The Bridge is cool also but right next to it is the Palais de Pape. It is a huge castle and cathedral that the popes would live in back in the day. It is huge and there are crazy side streets next to it. I feel like I am literally in middle earth. It is so sweet. I'll have to send some pictures. It's so awesome. I am really glad that I have the opportunity to serve here.
So Yeah that is a lot from me about me. I hope things go well and are not too busy for you all it sounds like it is a pretty busy time. I wish you all the best and Love you all a lot.
Elder Ritter
PS my address is:
46 rue Carnot. Its pretty nice and really big for a missionary apartment in France;
Sûr le pond d'avignon on y dance on y dance
11/18/10
Wow, Elder Gibbons called you. That is sweet! I'm glad he is doing well and it doesn't surprise me at all that he is dating a lot. It is a bit strange to think he is back home in Utah and getting back to the rest of his life. We had a lot of good times together and saw a lot of miracles. He was a great missionary and I learned a ton from him. It will be fun to hang out with him again in a couple years. I still have 2 years left right? It's so crazy how fast time flies. I have nearly been in France for six months now. So Crazy!
Hey so yeah I really enjoyed your emails this week. Thanks so much for writing to me. I love you all so much and am so glad that things seem to be going well. I can't wait to hear form you all again next week.
Love
Elder Ritter
PS. I'm glad you got my card I hope it was alright. Oh and Brooke yes I really, really liked the missionary pictures that you made for me. Thanks!
Dear Fam and Friends,
So after about twelve hours on train today, I finally made it to my new ville. I am here on nearly the others side of the mission at Avignon with Elder Swanson. I've only been here for a couple hours now, but I can tell I'm going to like it. It is not a huge city, about the size of Pau, but it is really pretty. There is a super old castle-like wall that surrounds the whole centre ville. It is really sweet. I'm going to miss Pau a lot. I really came to realise how much I would miss it when I was giving my farewell talk to the ward. I have made some pretty awesome friends in that ward and city. I can tell it's a good thing that I left though. Changing it up a bit has already made me excited and pumped up to work harder, even though I am dead tired after all day train rides and lugging heavy suit cases everywhere. I will sleep well tonight. I'll have to send you pictures of this place soon. I have heard great things and am already impressed. Oh and Elder Swanson seems pretty dang cool. He actually was the companion of Elder Moon right before I came into the mission. So since I replaced him at Pau we have common ground to talk about. It should be a lot of fun.
Wow, Elder Gibbons called you. That is sweet! I'm glad he is doing well and it doesn't surprise me at all that he is dating a lot. It is a bit strange to think he is back home in Utah and getting back to the rest of his life. We had a lot of good times together and saw a lot of miracles. He was a great missionary and I learned a ton from him. It will be fun to hang out with him again in a couple years. I still have 2 years left right? It's so crazy how fast time flies. I have nearly been in France for six months now. So Crazy!
Hey so yeah I really enjoyed your emails this week. Thanks so much for writing to me. I love you all so much and am so glad that things seem to be going well. I can't wait to hear form you all again next week.
Love
Elder Ritter
PS. I'm glad you got my card I hope it was alright. Oh and Brooke yes I really, really liked the missionary pictures that you made for me. Thanks!
Last Week in Pau
1/11/10
so this week has been a good one. Its pretty much same old same old, so yeah it's good. In a week from today though I will more than likely be emailing you from another city so you will all have to make guesses where I'll be going. That will be hard to do though, epically since you don't know all the cities that are opened for missionary work. In any case I am pretty excited see a new place, but like I said I will really miss Pau. If you came to pick me up here It would definitely be one of the stops.
Oh one cool miracle that we have had recently goes by the name of David. He is from Nigeria and therefore speaks English. We have taught him two times now and He is awesome. He is so believing in God and Christ. I even think he believes in Joseph Smith as a prophet but as he says, with so many people saying so many different things he gets confused sometimes in what to believe. We committed him to pray so he can know for himself what the truth is. It was a very powerful rendez-vous. It is also a lot of fun to teach in English. It's a bit weird actually, but seeing it's my maternal language it's quite a bit easier to explain things. We actually just came from a rendez-vous with him. So much fun. Like I said experiences like that really show me just how glad I am that I am able to serve as a full time missionary.
Well thanks again for everything, good luck with the art mythology project and yes, Amy I know the kid your talking about and yes, that is a pretty dang funny dream.
Love Ya
Elder Ritter
Oh one cool miracle that we have had recently goes by the name of David. He is from Nigeria and therefore speaks English. We have taught him two times now and He is awesome. He is so believing in God and Christ. I even think he believes in Joseph Smith as a prophet but as he says, with so many people saying so many different things he gets confused sometimes in what to believe. We committed him to pray so he can know for himself what the truth is. It was a very powerful rendez-vous. It is also a lot of fun to teach in English. It's a bit weird actually, but seeing it's my maternal language it's quite a bit easier to explain things. We actually just came from a rendez-vous with him. So much fun. Like I said experiences like that really show me just how glad I am that I am able to serve as a full time missionary.
Well thanks again for everything, good luck with the art mythology project and yes, Amy I know the kid your talking about and yes, that is a pretty dang funny dream.
Love Ya
Elder Ritter
One of the members here plays professional Rugby, so we missionaries and Brother Portwood went and supported him (Penny) for a preperation day activity.
Loving Pau
01/06/10
How was your week? The week was great for us here. We are having so much fun here in Pau. I am thinking that I will be leaving pretty dang soon though. The end of the transfer is the 17 of January and I have already been here for over 5 months. Crazy because I feel like I just got here and that I am still blue, or green I guess they call it in the states. I will be sad to leave Pau if that is the case. I have really come to love it and I can get around this ville like it's my home town mostly because it is not too big. I also have made some great friends here. I will also be very excited to see another part of this country though I think it's about time.
So it sounds like you are getting back into the groove of like now that the holidays are over. I wish you all luck and hope that you may have a lot of good times and success.
Well Im pretty much out of news from here..... hmmmm any questions?
Alright I hope you know I love you. Have a great week and I'll talk to you again soon.
Elder Ritter
So it sounds like you are getting back into the groove of like now that the holidays are over. I wish you all luck and hope that you may have a lot of good times and success.
Well Im pretty much out of news from here..... hmmmm any questions?
Alright I hope you know I love you. Have a great week and I'll talk to you again soon.
Elder Ritter
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