Richie Tackles Reno: January 12, 2015 - Breaking and Entering....into our own apartment

Fixing the flat on our own car
(thanks to my awesome dad for teaching me how...)

January 12, 2015

Howdy y’all!!

Well the weather here is quite the opposite of home it sounds like! It has been warm…like 50s-60s here!! It is great for missionary work. However I am still quite jealous because I want some snow here!! But I am glad that all is well back at home...and that MJ hasn’t yet crashed the car in the snow.

Flat tire (our car)

So if last week we were contractors, then this week we have been auto mechanics!! We changed like 3 tires (including our own....) and then helped people push their cars, and jump start their cars too!! (See pics.) Last Monday, we were driving to the store and got a flat tire on the way there. So luckily we were close to home, and just drove home slowly! We then changed it, (or - I changed it while Rivera did nothing haha) and then we rocked the donut for the rest of the day. That was fun.

Little did we know that it was a foreshadowing for the rest of the week. On Wednesday I think it was, we were walking around, and this old guy came limping around the corner. We went up to him and asked him what was going on, and he told us that his tire had fallen off while he was driving home, and it was down on 7th street. So we were like well

Freakin big old nail in our tire

we can go check it out, and drove on down to 7th street to check it out. And sure enough, the whole hub had fallen off, including the brake pads and everything! Bottom line…there was nothing that we could do. But I really needed to go to the bathroom, so we drove down the road to 7-11, where I ran inside real quick, and then when we came out, a mom came up to us and was like "Hey elders, sorry to bother you but, my tire just fell off my car, and I was wondering if the church could help me out. I don’t have any money to pay for a new one, and my car is down on 5th street.”

Car #1 - flat tire

So we were like "Dang! What the heck happened today?? It’s like Tire-Falling-Off Day!" So we drove down to 5th street, and sure enough…this one wasn’t as bad, the hub was still on, but the rubber tire itself was just about to fall off. So we jacked up her car, took the tire off, and ran into a tire shop that was right next to 7-11 to ask how bad it was and stuff. The guy said it wasn’t salvageable, and that we needed to buy a new/used tire. So we went ahead and bought a used tire for her and put it on.

Car #2 - flat tire

She was so grateful!! It was fun to see how happy she and her kids were after we helped them. We went back to the older man with the other car, but there was nothing we could do for him, because it needed to be towed and we don’t know anyone who has a tow truck. Nor do I know how to put back on an axle...

The next day we had another really cool experience. It was like 8:30 pm and we were just getting back to the church to pick up our car after going with Verduzco for the night, and there were two kids outside the church who looked like they were up to no good. They were dressed up and sneaking around the church. So we went up and started talking to them, and it turns out they were just sophomores in high school, and were waiting for their ride. It was a really cold night, so we invited them to sit in the car with us to warm up and chill with us (no pun intended haha!)

Right then, another car pulled into the parking lot, and a woman ran into the church. About 5 minutes later, she came out and knocked on our car, and asked if we had seen a member of the stake presidency. We said no, and she was like oh ok, and we continued talking for a while to her. Then she asked if we wanted to go into the church, where it was warm - cuz she had a key. We said of course, and took the two guys into the church, and gave them a church tour. The sister who was there was super nice, about 30 or so, and actually started following us around and bearing great testimony about all the different things we were talking about!! It was so cool! She then invited all four of us to come over to her house for a lesson!! We were like “Wow - she is a great missionary!”

By then it was about 9:25, and we had to be home by 9:30, so it got awkward because we didn’t want to kick them back out in the cold, nor did we want to leave them with the sister. But luckily the sister asked, "do you boys need a ride?" and they were like yea - that would be great!! So she was able to take them home. But then it gets better. It turns out that Elder Nieves was on exchanges with the missionaries from this sister's ward, and they actually had dinner at her house the night before. For their spiritual thought they challenged her and her husband to pray for missionary experiences. So that night after the missionaries left, they prayed for a missionary opportunity. The next night, she was running late on her way to the building, so before she left her house, she prayed that she could make it to the appointment on time to impress the stake presidency. She hit all green lights to the building. But it turns out that her appointment was actually the next day, and she had come on the wrong day. We could not believe all the things that came together! These boys are awesome, and we haven’t been able to set up an appointment with them and the sister, but we will this week. I want you guys to know that I have a FIRM testimony that this is God's work. He is directing us each way, and he is literally putting people in our path that are ready.

Elder Nieves breaking into our apartment

So the same night our tire popped we came home and somehow the bathroom door had accidentally been locked shut....annddd of course we could find the key to open it. Soooo Elder Nieves being the crazy kid he is, took the ladder outside, and propped it up on the wall and climbed up the house. Luckily the window was open. But I’m not kidding you, it is probably about 1.5' x 2.5'....in other words the window is TINY!! So he had to shimmy his way in, and then fell into the bathtub. It was really funny just to hear it all from outside hahaha.

My chair, my ties, my shirts, and my shoes...
all on the ceiling!

And then the next day we were throwing away all of our candy, and Nieves is like a health freak now that we have the 90 day challenge, so Rivera and I actually took all the boxes of candy we had and the individually wrapped stuff we have, and put it all in his drawers and in his pillow and bed and everywhere where he won’t find them. We thought we were pretty funny, but then we came home

All my stuff hanging from the ceiling

that night and all my stuff was hanging from the ceiling…including my chair and stuff...and my desk was flipped upside down. So they got the last laugh!! We were all laughing in the end so it was all good fun.

Well I am glad to hear that you guys are doing well back at home. I can’t believe that transfers are already here. This transfer FLEW by!! I know that this is the Lords work, and that when we are obedient, we are yoked with him and the work is not only easier, but it is more fun. I hope to continue to have more joy in the work. I love you guys and appreciate all of your love and support!! I am so blessed to have such a great, wonderful, faithful family!!

Love,

Elder Richmandawg