Hey everyone,
Sorry this email might be a little short but my mind’s going a thousand miles a minute to say the least and I don’t even know where to begin really. But I hope that everyone had a good week this week and was able to stay dry! Believe it or not we had rain on Monday, on Tuesday, on Wednesday, on Thursday, on Friday, and yup you guessed it…. On Saturday as well! It was a pretty crummy week and I think that it’s suppose to start raining again here tonight too sooooo welp….. when in rome. Not the Sunny San Diego you see in the movies but it was a gorgeous day today… sunny and 65! We got to spend part of the day at the beach throwing the football around and shooting some hoops so it was a good just kind of huhhhh…. Take a big deep breath day, which I needed it terribly. The work here in the branch as compared to the work back in El Cajon is way way different it’s more up paced and it’s the kind of place where if you stop running then you just get ran over. So it’s already been a real stressful start of the New Year but I guess it’s all to be expected…. As you all know I’m not the one to get real stressed out and to wig out on things but being in a Spanish branch that’s growing so rapidly brings you to become just one big ol’ stress ball but….. I love it. It’s the Lord’s Work and it’s prophecy that it’s gonna roll on forward with nothing to stand in its way. We had a guy fly in from Salt Lake aka means mucho importancia, of course the same week I had to give a talk in church too but it all went pretty well. We had a meeting with the branch presidency and the guy from Salt Lake and I think that the Church is going to build a building down here before too long so that we don’t have to meet in a school building anymore, so that was way exciting news to hear! The guy from Salt Lake was very impressed with the branch and is way excited for all the growth that it’s doing. The members here are awesome too! They are all just so very kind and so willing to help us out is so many ways, it’s amazing to see and a great blessing too! We actually have an investigator who is going to be baptized the 31st and the way we found her was through a member. I’ve never seen the importance of member work until I came out here on my mission but it’s so crucial to the work. It’s such a great sight to see when members bring their friends, family, co-workers to church and that was what my talk was about was the importance of teaching those around us and how it will ultimately save their life.
I know this work is true. I know that this gospel is true. I know this with all my heart and I know that Christ lives and directs this work and if we all do a little more then we will be able to be a little better as a whole. “The most important work that we can do, is the work that is within the walls of our own home.” – President Harold B. Lee
I love you all and pray for each and everyone of you!
I hope that you all have a great week and will stand a little taller!
With all my love,
Elder Ryan Lawter
Monday, January 25, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
WAZZZZUPPPPPPPPP!!!!
Good day all,
So how’s the craziness of life treating everyone? It’s treating me pretty well I think here. It’s definitely a different world down here, I pretty much consider myself serving in Mexico rather the U.S. but that’s ok, there’s a lot of good, nice, humble people down here but it’s sad to see some of the conditions that some people have to live in; no cell, no computer (which for most that would mean no life right off the bat), no car, no job, no money, 1 room for 8 people, I just don’t see how people do….but they do and they’re some of the most happiest people you’ll ever meet because in our eyes they might not have it all but in their eyes they do. They have the necessities of life; health, family, friends, faith, hope, the list goes on and on, on the things that don’t have a price tag them. It’s just amazing looking at some peoples’ lives and thinking man they have it rough but in reality they’re just living “The American Dream” as Uncle Russ would say haha. But things are all good here to answer a few questions, I live in an upper part of a house that’s pretty small, not insolated at all, has mice running around (which we’ve hunted down a couple), the floors are squeaky, the microwave is like the 1st one ever made, the stove is propane (haven’t seen those in a while), so yea it’s not as nice as my other apartment but it’s a temporary home for now. I love the missionaries I’m with they’re all a bunch of funny good guys and I love the people like I said before that I’m serving, they are all just so very nice and would give all they have to us if we were to ask. I’m still strictly on bike too, so that hasn’t changed much but I don’t mind, at least I don’t have to worry about the fat monster attacking me.
So this past week was a pretty good week, I think I’m finally settled into the swing of things and we actually have a girl that’s got a baptismal date for the 31st so we are looking forward to that! There actually haven’t been a lot of weird or cool stories this past week or transfer at that. I actually feel safer here than I do back in El Cajon as a missionary which is weird but all the gangsters and stuff they respect us and we’re actually friends with a lot of them so you kind of have your extremes. They’re all good people in the inside I feel but they just get caught up in bad things that they can’t escape and it haunts them for life and that’s something good about the gospel is it gives us direction. There’s a huge difference in the people who have the gospel to guide their lives through the “straight and narrow path” of life. It gives all who embrace it a sense of peace and assurance of where they’re going and what they’re doing here. It is so very precious; it answers all the questions of our souls, it answers our troubles, our worries, our concerns, and our doubts. As people have been telling me about the massive earthquake in Haiti my first reaction is always just sorrow and sympathy for those people because most of them never had the chance to hear about the gospel or even about God but the more I think of them the more peace I get knowing that they’ll be taken care. God’s plan for us is perfect, it’s flawless (like my game). Everything unfair and impossible about life, the gospel and Heavenly Father’s Plan of Happiness makes everything fair and possible. I’m so so grateful to know, and I know with all my heart that this gospel is true and that this plan, the plan for us, the plan of happiness is all for us. God does not do anything without first considering His children and what’s best for each and every one of them. He lives. He knows us. He loves us. We are each individually His children and He wants us to return to live again with Him and we can if we just put forward our faith and trust in Him in all times, in all things, and in all places.
I’m love you all so very much and hope that you have an awesome week and always keep our Heavenly Father in your everyday lives, I promise you’ll see the difference if you do. Stay safe, stay clean, and stay classy!
Love,
Elder Ryan Lawter (the man)
So how’s the craziness of life treating everyone? It’s treating me pretty well I think here. It’s definitely a different world down here, I pretty much consider myself serving in Mexico rather the U.S. but that’s ok, there’s a lot of good, nice, humble people down here but it’s sad to see some of the conditions that some people have to live in; no cell, no computer (which for most that would mean no life right off the bat), no car, no job, no money, 1 room for 8 people, I just don’t see how people do….but they do and they’re some of the most happiest people you’ll ever meet because in our eyes they might not have it all but in their eyes they do. They have the necessities of life; health, family, friends, faith, hope, the list goes on and on, on the things that don’t have a price tag them. It’s just amazing looking at some peoples’ lives and thinking man they have it rough but in reality they’re just living “The American Dream” as Uncle Russ would say haha. But things are all good here to answer a few questions, I live in an upper part of a house that’s pretty small, not insolated at all, has mice running around (which we’ve hunted down a couple), the floors are squeaky, the microwave is like the 1st one ever made, the stove is propane (haven’t seen those in a while), so yea it’s not as nice as my other apartment but it’s a temporary home for now. I love the missionaries I’m with they’re all a bunch of funny good guys and I love the people like I said before that I’m serving, they are all just so very nice and would give all they have to us if we were to ask. I’m still strictly on bike too, so that hasn’t changed much but I don’t mind, at least I don’t have to worry about the fat monster attacking me.
So this past week was a pretty good week, I think I’m finally settled into the swing of things and we actually have a girl that’s got a baptismal date for the 31st so we are looking forward to that! There actually haven’t been a lot of weird or cool stories this past week or transfer at that. I actually feel safer here than I do back in El Cajon as a missionary which is weird but all the gangsters and stuff they respect us and we’re actually friends with a lot of them so you kind of have your extremes. They’re all good people in the inside I feel but they just get caught up in bad things that they can’t escape and it haunts them for life and that’s something good about the gospel is it gives us direction. There’s a huge difference in the people who have the gospel to guide their lives through the “straight and narrow path” of life. It gives all who embrace it a sense of peace and assurance of where they’re going and what they’re doing here. It is so very precious; it answers all the questions of our souls, it answers our troubles, our worries, our concerns, and our doubts. As people have been telling me about the massive earthquake in Haiti my first reaction is always just sorrow and sympathy for those people because most of them never had the chance to hear about the gospel or even about God but the more I think of them the more peace I get knowing that they’ll be taken care. God’s plan for us is perfect, it’s flawless (like my game). Everything unfair and impossible about life, the gospel and Heavenly Father’s Plan of Happiness makes everything fair and possible. I’m so so grateful to know, and I know with all my heart that this gospel is true and that this plan, the plan for us, the plan of happiness is all for us. God does not do anything without first considering His children and what’s best for each and every one of them. He lives. He knows us. He loves us. We are each individually His children and He wants us to return to live again with Him and we can if we just put forward our faith and trust in Him in all times, in all things, and in all places.
I’m love you all so very much and hope that you have an awesome week and always keep our Heavenly Father in your everyday lives, I promise you’ll see the difference if you do. Stay safe, stay clean, and stay classy!
Love,
Elder Ryan Lawter (the man)
Monday, January 11, 2010
New Responsibilities!!
Well here we are again, Another day another dolla…. So how was everyone’s week this week!? Good…. that’s grand. I don’t know if it was just me or what but this week was the slowest and hardest week definitely on my mission. So to start it off, last Tuesday our zone had what we call a transfer piñata and what we do is put all the name of the people who are leaving in the piñata, break it open and find out who exactly is leaving. Well guess who’s name was in it…..yuppers my name was in there. So that night I stayed up until 12 packing all of my stuff together, which is harder than it sounds….. I don’t know where all the junk that I had to pack came from but when you’re in El Cajon for 5 months you kind of collect things… So then that morning we packed everything up and headed up to transfers. Not gonna lie, it was a weird feeling to leave El Cajon and go to a new area, that’s all I knew on my mission and to be leaving, it was a little weird and sad…but I think I’ll be back one of these days…not like times an issue right now ha. So anyways we got to transfers and the way President does it is he sits all the missionaries in the chapel, does like a spiritual thought, just to make us wait more, I think he does that on purpose, then we find out who we’re getting and where we’re going. The way he does it is he goes zone by zone so zone 1 is San Diego North, zone 2 San Diego, zone 3 Sweetwater, zone 4 Santee, and so on and so forth, so he went through all of zone one then he came to zone 2 and the very first name he read off was Elder Preston…. “Elder Preston stand up, you need a new companion.” “Elder Lawter stand up…. You’re going to be senior companion and the new district leader…Go meet your new companion.”………haha yea that’s exactly what I thought, SC & DL, not to mention, new area, new companion, new ward, everything new! It’s crazy! So that’s why I’m gonna call this transfer the newb transfer for me. But yea so that’s what’s happening…. Oh yea! I almost forgot and I’m serving in the Imperial Branch in BARRIO LOGAN!!! I know that doesn’t really mean anything to anyone but it’s right downtown! It’s sooo sweet! Every morning I wake up, look out the window and see the ocean, Cornado Bridge, down town, huge cargo ships moving… It’s way awesome! It’s the most ghetto place you can serve in but don’t worry mom! I’m safe!!! It is a rough part of town but the cool thing is that people have so much respect for the missionaries around here that no one messes with us…dang right! I mean my first day here we went to this taco shop and the owner just looked like a gang member, I actually think he is but all kinds of tattooed up and everything but when we came in he gave us all fist pounds, loaded up the meat on the burritos, gave us free pop…. Then the next second you turn around he’s doin a drug deal haha. So yea it’s run down and rough but everyone respects us and just let us do what we do best so I love it here! The branch is cool… we actually meet in an Elementary School right across the street from my apartment because we don’t have a building close enough to us.. so that’s different but the members are cool and are just so so nice…. They would literally give the shirt off their backs for anyone so I’m way happy to be here, serving where I’m serving but most importantly serving who I’m serving. Never-the-less it’s been a hard week. I’ve got a lot of responsibility on my shoulders with being senior companion, district leader, and teaching people in a language that I barley know. It’s been tough. My companion, Elder Preston was a switcher too and we’ve been out close to the same time, so our Spanish is equally suckey but we’re doing it. Our lessons are very basic because of our Spanish but we’re doing it. I’m scared to death right now but we’re doing it. I feel like I don’t know any Spanish but….. we’re doing it. It’s been a team effort as of late, as it’s always been on my mission but I’ve been leaning on the power of the Atonement and the help of Christ now more than ever. I read a quote of few days ago by Elder Andersen that hit me pretty hard, he said, “there are days when we feel inadequate and unprepared, when doubt and confusion enter our spirits, when we have difficulty finding our spiritual footing. Part of our victory as disciples of Christ is what we do when these feelings come….. Our spiritual journey is the process of a lifetime. We do not know everything in the beginning or even along the way. Our conversion comes step-by-step, line upon line. We first build a foundation of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We treasure the principles and ordinances of repentance, baptism, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. We include a continuing commitment to prayer, a willingness to be obedient, and an ongoing witness of the Book of Mormon. We then remain steady and patient as we progress through mortality. (And when we feel inadequate and unprepared, when doubt and confusion enter our spirits, when we have difficulty finding our spiritual footing) At times, the Lord’s answer will be, “You don’t know everything, but you know enough”—….. Challenges, difficulties, questions, doubts—these are part of our mortality. But we are not alone. As disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have enormous spiritual reservoirs of light and truth available to us. Fear and faith cannot coexist in our hearts at the same time. In our days of difficulty, we choose the road of faith. Jesus said, “Be not afraid, only believe.” (Mark 5:36)”This work is true. The gospel is true. The Book of Mormon is true. I’m a witness of all of these things and I testify of these things. Christ lives as well as our Father in Heaven and they love us so much! That’s something that I’ve really felt this past week is how much our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ want us to succeed. He’s always there… making up for our weaknesses when we need it the most. I’m so grateful to be where I’m at and what I’m doing, I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t know for a certainty that it’s true and I know that it is.I love you all so much and hope that you all have an awesome possum week this week! Be safe and take care and remember… “Be not afraid, only believe.”Much love always!
Elder Ryan Lawter
Elder Ryan Lawter
Monday, January 4, 2010
Happy New Year
Helllooo everyone,
2010….and next year I’ll be back again.
So it’s crazy that it’s been 6th months already on my mission…. As I look back I think of all the struggles that I’ve/We’ve gone through this past year, all the trials and all the despair but it’s been the hope, the faith, and the blessings that have out weighed all the rest and it’s sustained us through it all. I often think about how much my life has been blessed this past year as I look at the life of other…. “Because I have been given much, I too must give.” I’ve been asked sooo many times; “Why are you out here?” “What are you doing?” “Why would you ever want to waste two years of your life, when you could be going to school and having fun?” and my simple reply is “Because I have been given much, I too….must give.” I’ve had so many wonderful experiences this past year and so many blessings poured down upon me, I’ve seen faith grow, hope rekindled, and ultimately life’s change. Sometimes we look upon change as a bad thing, but in all odds, all circumstances, if it’s a change in accordance to our Heavenly Father and His word…then it must be good. There are many roads, many paths we can choose to take in this life, both good and bad but that’s the meaning of it, that’s why we’re here and if we are eternally and faithfully attached to our Father and His Beloved Son, we will not be lead down a dark and lonely road. He is with us, He hears us, He watches over us through the thick and thin, He wants us all to return to Him again and it’s the change in our lives that is necessary that will qualify us for that blessing. It’s a new year and what a wonderful gift it is to be here on this earth, to learn and to grow. It’s now that we must figure out what “change” is necessary to put our life on the right path this year. A new year brings new hope, a hope for good, a hope achievement, a hope for the possible and nothing is impossible if we all put our shoulders to the wheel and push along. Just never give up or give in…keep going.
So this email is gonna be kind of short, I had some issues with the computer and email things, what’s new? This piece of 2009 junk, so out of date now. But I just wanted to give my spiritual thought and what I was thinking first and give a short summary of what’s coming up last. So transfers is wed and I’m pretty sure this transfer that I will FINALLY be leaving to Brawley… I think they just like playing with my mind but I’m pretty sure that this next transfer I’ll be soakin up the 80 degree weather don’t you wish you had it!? Haha ok it’s not that funny… I kind of feel sorry for you folks in the -1000 degree weather…. It’s gonna be a shock for me come winter next year. But yea that’s the update but I guess I’ll let you know for sure next weekkkk……. To be continued.
But I hope that you all have a good week starting out this new year! I love you all and prayer for the best for ALL of you!!!! Keep going always!!!
Talk to ya next week!!!
All my love,
Elder Ryan Lawter
2010….and next year I’ll be back again.
So it’s crazy that it’s been 6th months already on my mission…. As I look back I think of all the struggles that I’ve/We’ve gone through this past year, all the trials and all the despair but it’s been the hope, the faith, and the blessings that have out weighed all the rest and it’s sustained us through it all. I often think about how much my life has been blessed this past year as I look at the life of other…. “Because I have been given much, I too must give.” I’ve been asked sooo many times; “Why are you out here?” “What are you doing?” “Why would you ever want to waste two years of your life, when you could be going to school and having fun?” and my simple reply is “Because I have been given much, I too….must give.” I’ve had so many wonderful experiences this past year and so many blessings poured down upon me, I’ve seen faith grow, hope rekindled, and ultimately life’s change. Sometimes we look upon change as a bad thing, but in all odds, all circumstances, if it’s a change in accordance to our Heavenly Father and His word…then it must be good. There are many roads, many paths we can choose to take in this life, both good and bad but that’s the meaning of it, that’s why we’re here and if we are eternally and faithfully attached to our Father and His Beloved Son, we will not be lead down a dark and lonely road. He is with us, He hears us, He watches over us through the thick and thin, He wants us all to return to Him again and it’s the change in our lives that is necessary that will qualify us for that blessing. It’s a new year and what a wonderful gift it is to be here on this earth, to learn and to grow. It’s now that we must figure out what “change” is necessary to put our life on the right path this year. A new year brings new hope, a hope for good, a hope achievement, a hope for the possible and nothing is impossible if we all put our shoulders to the wheel and push along. Just never give up or give in…keep going.
So this email is gonna be kind of short, I had some issues with the computer and email things, what’s new? This piece of 2009 junk, so out of date now. But I just wanted to give my spiritual thought and what I was thinking first and give a short summary of what’s coming up last. So transfers is wed and I’m pretty sure this transfer that I will FINALLY be leaving to Brawley… I think they just like playing with my mind but I’m pretty sure that this next transfer I’ll be soakin up the 80 degree weather don’t you wish you had it!? Haha ok it’s not that funny… I kind of feel sorry for you folks in the -1000 degree weather…. It’s gonna be a shock for me come winter next year. But yea that’s the update but I guess I’ll let you know for sure next weekkkk……. To be continued.
But I hope that you all have a good week starting out this new year! I love you all and prayer for the best for ALL of you!!!! Keep going always!!!
Talk to ya next week!!!
All my love,
Elder Ryan Lawter
Sunday, January 3, 2010
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