You've Got Mail!!!

Our last e-mail from Riley. Sounds like he's doing great! He sure loves his mission ... here's what he had to say. And, FYI ... I don't edit these. It would take too much time. So, here's his letter, misspelled words, improper grammar and all. Good thing we love him!!!

Hey family!

Greetings again from the MTC. Well here when we email they put a timer on the screen. We get 30 minutes exactly, and if we haven't clicked the send button by the end of those 30 minutes it doesn't matter, they just close the window. So i will get straight to it.

Mom you are going to be so jealous of what is going on this week here at the MTC. It is the new mission presidents teaching week, so all of the new mission presidents will be here at the MTC for the rest of the week to be taught. The awesome part is who will be doing the teaching. For the rest of the week, all of the First Presidency and all of the Quorom of the Twelve that are in town will be here teaching them. AMAZING right? Well the rumor is that it is fairly common to see some of them just walking around campus or even occassionally popping in to some classes for a minute or two to talk to them. Guess what the best part of this is, Elder Christofferson is in our District. He has already said that his uncle is going to come see him personally, so the odds are very good that our whole district will get to meet him, and since Elder Christofferson knows all of the Apostles, perhaps even more than just him. Man isn't it great to have some hook-ups? Hopefully this week is an awesome one, especially since one of them at least (probably 2) will be speaking to us in devotionals. So next week i should have some good stuff for ya in the email!

Other than that nothing really exciting is going on... We have just been studying and learning spanish and the lessons basically nonstop. Ok dad, since their are no memorized discussions, we really just go in and teach whatever we feel is important. I know, crazy right? We just kind of have a few guidlines about what we need to cover, like in the first lesson we need to cover the need for prophets, the apostasy and the need for a restoration, Jesus Christ and his atonement, and the restoration of the Gospel, and the book of mormon. We can do it in any order, and emphasize any one idividual part according to how we feel the investigator will receive it. So that is why everyone here is so huge on making sure you have the spirit with you so you can know the best order for each specific person. It is good, especially when you and your comp are on the same page. We both just talk when we have something to say, and interrupt each other if we feel we have something to say and just go. We don't plan stuff like "ok i will teach this concept, then you teach the next," we just teach and speak when we feel we should. The system works so well!

Ok well the food here is really good.... But it gets old fast. Like yesterday, i just made myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich and it was amazing! Just something simple like a PB&J was so great compared to the gormet food we get here. Oh and Cola, thank you for mentioning the fact that you had salmon and ribs without me... Actually its not that big of a deal because i have had salmon and ribs in here already. That is the bad thing though, the meal schedule just switches out every two weeks, and so i have been in for two weeks, which means i am just going to go and eat the same food again and again and again. Ya... It gets old quick.

Me and Elder Mohlman are having a little competition to see who can find the most people they know while we are in the MTC. So far i have seen 11, and he has seen 15. I think he is probably going to win.

Ok so the schedule for classes: Usually we start class with a song and a prayer and a spiritual thought. Then the first 2 hours or so of class are usually dedicated to learning spanish, and the second two hours are dedicated to lessons and stuff like that (because we typically have 2 four hour classes in a day with teachers, the rest is our personal study time and that kind of stuff). Wow, spanish is coming way fast. Our teachers plan was to basically teach us every single grammar principle as fast as they can, then go back and review, so now we have learned almost every single grammar principle. I can listen to a conversation by native spanish speakers and understand pretty well, but the problem comes in speaking my own words. I can put sentences together, but i still have to think of what i want to say in English and then translate the words individually, so i am definately not fluent or anything like that. We have been told that our class is WAY ahead of a normal district learning spanish though and so i am not to worried, it will come. It's only been 2 weeks.

They gave us spanish Preach My Gospel (Predicad mi Evangelio) and Spanish scriptues (spanish scriptures are so cool! The bible goes through and lables all the different parables and topics and stuff like that in the middle of the chapters with headings! It is intense). The scriptures are very hard to read, very hard. I have to read it with a dictionary and still translate nearly every word. Preach my gospel is way easier to read, i can almost read it fluently, only look up 2 or 3 words a paragraph. But that kind of goes along with us being taught to teach the gospel "not so simply that our investigators can understand clearly, but so simply that it is impossible for anyone to misunderstand." So that is fun as well :)

Ok well my time is basically up! Thanks for all the support. Yes i have been getting all of your letters and packages, i am second in the district for letters :) One missionary gets like 8 everyday... It's pretty ridiculous. Anyways, thanks for everything, keep the letters coming!!!!

Love,

Elder Riley Leigh

The Swine Flu

We got a letter from Riley the other day ... and guess what ... HE doesn't have the swine flu, but Elder Christofferson (The Apostle's nephew) DOES. So, the poor kid has been quarantined. What does this mean for Riley? It means that he now has a three-some companionship (sorry if that's not the correct terminology. I've never been on a mission, so I don't know these things!) and he's on TAMIFLU.

Yes, that's right. Elder Riley Leigh has been in the MTC for a week and already on TAMIFLU. What are the odds? Just thought I'd share. Tomorrow is Riley's P-Day, so we should hear from him then. Hopefully we don't find out he's been quarantined now with the swine flu!

News From Our Missionary!

Wednesday is Riley's P-day, so he was able to e-mail us. It's so exciting to see how much Riley has grown and changed in the week he's been gone. We are so proud of our missionary! Here's what he had to say!

Hey Everyone!!!!

Wow it has already been an entire week! Isn't it pretty ridiculous? Well sorry I haven't really been saying much in my letters, I hardly have any time to write, so I will try and fill you in as much as I can now.

Well my first piece of interesting news.... Elder Christofferson in our District got the Swine Flue! He has been moved into quarantine for 5 days and our entire district has been put on Tami flu to help prevent us from getting it too. Pretty Crazy huh? The swine flue really is hitting the MTC hard, there are sanitization booths everyone and they encourage you the use it every time you go past. Don't worry though, we are all ok and none of us are showing any flu symptoms.
Ok now let me tell you about the food because I know that you are dying to hear all about it. It is actually pretty good. So far I have had some burgers, baked chicken, chicken cordon bleu, pork ribs, and stuff to that effect. It is good but I think I will definitely get old fast. I have been limiting myself to trying to eat healthy stuff (I know crazy right?) so hopefully I can stay at my same weight :)

Me and my companion are getting along great. Elder Mohlman and I have been having a lot of fun. Also we have adopted Elder Ashcroft (Elder Christofferson’s companion) into our companionship until Elder Christofferson is out of quarantine. A threesome is definitely hard to get used to but we will try to make it work. We have taken some funny pictures that I will have to show you, but I have temporarily misplaced my camera. I will find it and print some out maybe and send them to you because pictures here are dirt cheap.

Ok Mom, I know you are dying to hear about my devotionals so far. Sunday night was just one of the branch presidents here in the MTC, but Tuesday night we had Bishop Richard C. Edgley of the Presiding Bishopric come and speak to us. His talk was great but honestly the best part to me was when we were singing right before the meeting started. We were singing "Praise to the Man" when suddenly I just got slammed by the spirit telling me that Joseph Smith really was a prophet and that he really did restore the gospel! It was another testimony to me that this is the right thing for me to be doing! What else than a group of 2 thousand missionaries singing hymns to invite the spirit to testify to them!

Being the District Leader has proven to be pretty tough actually. I didn't think it would be that big of a deal but it turns out that I have a lot of responsibilities. The first is that I gather the mail everyday during lunch and dinner, and can't give it out until we return to our rooms at 9:30 at night. This is only a rule in our branch and most of the Elders hate waiting that late for their mail so it is a hard rule to follow, everybody wants their mail. But that’s ok, it's no big deal. Also i am responsible for conducting every meeting, making assignments for Sunday lessons and devotionals during the week, and I have to interview all of the senior companions every week to see where their companionships are at. Basically it just means that I have even less free time than everybody else to do anything because I always have something I need to be doing.
Today was our first Temple trip! It was pretty cool to go with a large group of missionaries, and see all the people wave to us and honk as we walked by and say "Hi Missionaries." It's crazy to think that i am a missionary. Like when we are in the gym in our regular clothes playing basketball, i see two elders walk in in their suits and I think, "Hey there are the missionaries!" Think I think, "wait, I am a missionary." It is still setting in that I am a full time servant of the lord.

Wow, Spanish is coming so so so fast. Today later I am expected to have a continuous 15 minute conversations with a volunteer "investigator" to practice making contact, only it’s entirely in Spanish. Talk about pretty scary. But we are learning at ridiculous speeds so that is pretty cool :) Kenzie I sent you a letter with a little Spanish in it. See if you can translate it!

Anyways I am out of time but keep the letters coming and I will write you again next week. I am only allowed to write on P-days (Wednesday) so probably don't expect anything till then. Just now that I am doing great and things are well! The church is true!

I love you guys!

Elder Leigh

We Got a Letter!

Well, we got our first letter from Riley on Saturday! It was so much fun to hear from him. It's crazy to think he is serving a full-time mission! So exciting! Here's part of his letter. Hope it makes you just as excited as it made us!

Dear Family!

Well the first day is over! It’s been pretty fun, but way busy. When I got here we went through check in for about an hour, then came to the room and unpacked a little, and then headed to the medical center to verify all the immunizations and stuff like that. Then, a big orientation meeting, dinner, and another meeting and then another. So we have been busy. For dinner I ate potatoes and gravy and roast beef. So we are treated pretty well.

In my branch I was made the District Leader, so that is kinda crazy. Basically everybody reports to me and I have to approve everything.

Also in my branch there is an Elder Christofferson, the nephew of the Apostle. We talked and it was pretty cool.

There is no handshaking, no hugs, no contact really allowed right now to prevent spread of any flu. Also there are hand sanitizing stations EVERYWHERE. They are really big on sanitization.

Well, so far things have been pretty sweet and hopefully it will stay that way!

Well the first day is done and is great. Hopefully all is well for you.

Love you all!

Riley

MTC ... Here comes Elder Leigh

Well, we did it. We took Riley to the MTC. It was such a special and exciting day. Tuesday night we took Riley to the Stake Center and he was set apart as a full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was so excited and ready to go. It was a really emotional night for our family, but seeing Riley’s excitement and willingness to serve was such a comfort.

Wednesday morning we woke up and enjoyed a family breakfast. Dad is a FANTASTIC cook, so it was really yummy! Then, it was time to load up the car, and squish us three kids in the back seat for the last time in 2 years.


We had a good time remembering fun times growing up and talking about Riley’s mission. Then we got to the MTC. We were a little unsure what to expect because we’ve never had a missionary in our family and we didn’t know how the curb drop-off would go. We took pictures in front of the MTC sign … and didn’t share many tears. That isn’t true for this other mom saying goodbye to her son … she was sobbing … loudly. I felt bad for her poor son, who was so ready to just GO!

Then we loaded back up in the car and headed in. Riley was so excited … and the car was silent. You could have heard a pin drop. Well, we made it through. It was a little emotional, but Riley was just glowing. It’s obvious he is going to be an INCREDIBLE missionary! We love our Elder Leigh.

Oh, and it’s incredible how much room there is in the back seat now that Riley’s gone!

Funny Money!

I read this story by The Associated Press … and because Riley is serving a mission in Argentina (Okay, so he’s at the MTC right now, but still!) I had to share it with you!

Money too funny: Argentine court forgives forgery

BUENOS AIRES— An Argentine man who tried to use two counterfeit bills has been found innocent, by reason of incompetence.

A federal court in Buenos Aires says the forged bills presented by Marcos Ribles were “so clumsy and crude” that “they could not be accepted by most people.”

The court says the 65-year-old man tried to pass a false 100-peso Argentine note, nominally worth about $26, as well as a false U.S. $50 bill.

Judges say the counterfeit bills had such shoddy printing and poor-quality paper that nobody could be fooled.

The court announced its ruling dismissing the charges on Wednesday.

So long, Farewell

Riley's "Farewell" was on May 31. He did an incredible job. He spoke on the First Article of Faith. “We believe in God the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.” The incredible thing about his talk was that he has such a strong testimony of this topic. The spirit of the Holy Ghost was so strong during the meeting as he bore solemn testimony that Jesus is the Christ, that we have a Heavenly Father who loves us … and that he knows that through the power of the Holy Ghost … which we all can have with us ALWAYS as we live worthily.

After the meeting we all headed over to our home for a family luncheon. It was so good seeing family … we don’t get together often enough. Family is so important! I love my family and am so grateful for every one of them … and I know Riley feels the same.

I wish I had a copy of Riley’s talk to post here … although simply reading the text can’t fully capture the beauty and power of Riley’s talk.

We are so very proud of Riley. He is going to be an incredible missionary!

The Mission Blog!

It is so difficult to keep everyone posted on what's going on in Riley's mission. There are just too many people to call and talk to every time we hear from him. So, because I am an absolute genius, I decided to create a blog. This way you can all keep track of what's going on in Riley's life! So, happy reading!