Hey y'all! Well, things didn't go exactly as planned... but anyway, I'm home! I was having some medical problems, so I had to come home early. I don't really know what's going to happen now in my life, but everything will work out :) I have faith that God has a plan for me and that even though I don't exactly know what that is, it will all work out. I have a deep love and a deeper understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ and I'm glad for the opportunity I had to be in Virginia for the past 4 months. I love y'all!!

Love,

Sister Moni

P.S. This is really Simona, not my mother :)

WHOOT!!!! Now I'm 20!!!!

 

Well, all I want to say today is this:

 

"Faith is like a little seed. If planted it will grow."

 

Also read St. John 16:23-24. The part where it says your joy will be full, it can happen. One way is to pray for missionary experiences and acting on the promptings when you receive them. Even if it's just planting a seed in someone's heart. That's great. You're still doing something even if you don't see the fruits of your labors. I love y'all and wish you the best!!

 

Have a great week!!

 

Love,

 

Sister Simona Richardson

 

John 16:23-24

And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.

Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.

I was going to send pictures, but I guess not today!

 

Well, this week was interesting. We got fed pretty much every single day this week. That was really nice :)

 

We had a really great experience this week while opening our new area! We met with an investigator named Kat who the Elders were teaching but not getting anywhere with and we set her with a baptism date!! She's set for September 28 and she's so excited. She's made a lot of mistakes (like everyone) and when we explained how baptism can wash those away with the Atonement and repentance, she started to cry. She told us that's exactly what she wants and needs in her life. She has so much potential and she is just great. She's excited to come to Relief Society because she told us she needs good friends. It's great to be able to help someone come closer to Jesus Christ. It's the best to be able to fulfill my purpose even just partially :)

 

I love y'all!! Have a good day and week and try to be more Christlike this week. See how much you can do rather than focus on what you can't do!!

 

Love y'all!!

 

Sister Simona Richardson

I love it here!!

 

My comp's name is Sister Allan and she's from St. George. She's 23 as of 2 days ago (woohoo September birthdays) and she's great. We are opening the Quantico area for sisters; they've never had any here before. At least, not for a VERY long time.

 

We have a pretty nice apartment, however, we only have beds. We're supposed to be getting our furniture today, but so far we have nothing!! Our bishop (yes we have a very nice and big ward) let us borrow pots and pans until we get some. Luckily, when we were at Goodwill once last transfer, I found some random hippo plates that were like 4 for a dollar and so I got them. They're for kids, but they saved our lives this time. So we're living with toddler plates, plastic silverware, and plastic cups. Pretty fun, no?

 

Well, half of our ward is military. Just about everyone who lives here either works for the government, the military, or a company funded by one of those.  A lot of people call this Washington. DC is not very far, but who knows, maybe I'll get to see it some day. This area used to be part of the Washington DC South mission, and this is the very farthest north that the Richmond mission goes. We're really close to the big river and if we cross it, not only do we leave our stake, we leave our mission. They won't let us go to the temple because it crosses two mission boundaries, but they may let us go see the city with some members sometime. I don't know though.

 

Well, we got a brand new car with only 630 miles on it (now; it had 400 when we got it) and it is great. We fit in well around here. We see them all the time!!

Psych!  Our new car is a Ford Fusion.

 

I love this area. Here's a secret, it is a very well-to-do area, and their goal in this ward is to feed us every single night. They don't want us to have to pay for dinner EVER!! Pretty cool huh?? It's pretty dang cool to be here. QUITE different than Farmville, but that's ok. It's good to get different experiences. :)

 

So on Sunday (Sister Allan's birthday) we went and spent the night with the Lakeridge sisters, Sisters Stowell and Nelson. Sis. Allan trained Sis. Stowell, so she wanted to spend her birthday with her. So the ZLs gave her permission. Kinda crazy.

 

Happy Birthday Sister Allan!

 

So our Relief Society Pres. is an ASL interpreter. :) I'm soooo excited!!! We'll have to "talk" sometime. Oh and the Lakeridge sisters said that they are teaching some deaf people, but they don't know ASL. Coincidentally, I am the first person on the list to teach deaf people, so we may be getting extra miles so that I can go teach them. HOW COOL IS THAT?????? :):):):):) Super excited :)

 

Well, I love ya!!

 

Love,

Moni