The End and The Beginning

Today is my last day in Georgetown. Tomorrow Elder Truman and I will go to Manchester for Transfer Meeting. Then I'll go to the Temple in Boston for an endowment session with the Mission President and his wife. After that we go back to the mission home for the day, and we fly out on Wednesday.

The week before last, we got to go to the Boston Temple to see the Coa family be sealed as a family for time and all eternity. It was so beautiful. When I was here at the beginning of my mission, the Coas had a long way to go before they could go to the Temple, but they made it! It was great to see the results of living the gospel. They are so happy! And I'm so happy for them!

Everyone that came to the Temple that day. I'm in the back.

I have loved serving a mission. There were a lot of hard times, but everything I've learned and done, and everyone I've helped, and every time I got to share God's love with one of His children, it was all 100% worth it. I'm so glad I came on a mission.

And now I'm glad to go home; I can't wait to see my family. That's about all I have to say for now.

Elder Richins

iPad and Almost Home!

​At the mission conference!

This week marks the first week that missionaries in the New Hampshire Manchester Mission can use iPads for proselyting purposes! All the missionaries were brought together in the Exeter Stake Center for a meeting. I was really surprised. I thought we would just talk about how to use them for teaching and stuff, but we talked first about being safe and about focusing on our purpose as missionaries, which is to invite others to come unto Christ. If we're using the tools we're given (iPads, phones, etc.) to invite others to come unto Christ, then we're using the tool right. There's a lot of concern about using them effectively. I honestly don't know how to use an iPad for missionary work. I wish I had the opportunity to learn how, because that would help me more in "real life" (what you're living right now) because when I get home (in like a week and a half) I want to continue sharing the gospel in every way I can. The constraint on my learning ability right now is time. And the fact that I didn't get an iPad because I have such a short amount of time left (but I did get to touch one!).

​Me with Elder Truman's iPad mini.

Things have been going well in the work. We'll be on our way to the Temple in Boston in a few minutes, so I'm short on time, but I do want to say that the gospel of Jesus Christ, the things he and his Apostles taught, are true. I've felt those things work in my life. I've gained a stronger testimony of them as I've searched the scriptures and prayed. I love God and I love my family. God Bless.

Elder Richins

SPRINT to the End

(Real time, Baby!)

Yesterday in studies I made a plan for the last four weeks of my mission. I call it SPRINT, which stands for:

Seek His Will (for you and others)
Pray Earnestly
Repent/Account Daily
Immerse Yourself in the Scriptures (Scripture Memo. and seeking answers to questions)
'Nother Testament (read it to understand the Atonement)
Totally Jacked (work out hard every morning)

I've found a really great way to account for my efforts every day (step 3), by having boxes to check for each letter every day on a sticky note. It feels more productive already to have this as my goal, and to have accountability pre-set for each day. I'm looking forward to this last four weeks. "Don't Run, SPRINT." Anyways, it's kinda goofy, but I think it will help.

Love,
Elder Richins

Got to go to the temple last week!

Teaching Jeremie

April 30, 2015

Two days ago we met a man named Jeremie who lives in Haverhill. He was painting his grandparents' railing for their house and we happened to walk by at the time. When we approached him, he didn't put down his brush or anything, but he was friendly nonetheless. He said that he has Kleinfelters Syndrome, and that it causes him a lot of medical problems. At this point, the one that affects him the most is memory loss. Much like Drew Barrymore in 50 First Dates, he has to write down what he did that day and read it after he wakes up each morning, or else he won't remember it. We told him what we do as missionaries, how we teach people, and offered to teach him at his home. He said we could and gave his address.

When we visited the next day, he remembered us! Elder Truman and I taught him about the Restoration of the Gospel, and we talked about how the gospel could bless him in his daily life. He said that he has little or no religious background, but he was willing to read the introduction to the Book of Mormon (once that evening and then again the next morning) and then pray about the message we shared. We scheduled another appointment for tonight. We're excited to go back and see him again!

Love,

Elder Richins

Elder Trochez and The Map

Dec 22, 2014

Map of our area, you have to tilt your head to the right.

Elder Trochez and I!

P-Day

Nov 24, 2014

Pictures! This is a toy store we play games at on P-Day and a selfie.

More Pictures

Nov 3, 2104

In this picture it looks like I could fall into the ocean, but don't worry. I didn't. And there's rocks all around anyways.

One of two pictures I got with my companion the entire time I was with him.

The other one. With the rest of my district.

I looked out the window and what did I see? It's here.

Love,

Elder J. H. Richins of the Quorum of the 250 of the New Hampshire Manchester Mission.

A Rough Week but Things Are Looking Up

October 20, 2104

This week we brought Marc, a member, to teach Alan with us. He participated in the lesson a lot, asking questions and providing insights in our reading in 1 Nephi. He invited Alan to church and Alan was so close to accepting the invitation. He has a few small concerns about getting to church, but we think he has another concern that he's not telling us. Either way, he did not come to church this week. We are going to hold off on the commitment to come to church for a little while so that we don't pester him. We'll focus more on his reading and helping him gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon. He told us this week how he first gained his faith in Christ. As a teenager he sprained his ankle one summer and was laid up for weeks. During this time he decided to read the entire Bible. As he read he started to like Jesus a lot, like a really close friend. Alan kind of has a distrust for people, and Jesus just seemed like a more solid person.

We also taught the Dorays. We just talked a little bit about scripture study with them and then read part of 1 Nephi 1 in the Book of Mormon. They had to go somewhere, so we didn't read it all so as to be considerate of their time. We plan on helping them, the kids especially, to get excited for the Book of Mormon by making scripture covers for Family Home Evening. Their family is way cool! We actually found out this week that they play Magic: the Gathering (a trading card game started in the 90's, still very popular) and my last companion, Elder Rees, taught me how to play. One person we teach, Joe, gave Elder Chisholm and I decks of cards and is going to teach Elder Chisholm how to play. I started poring over my deck, thinking up strategies, before I realized I could be using my time much better.

This few weeks has been kinda rough, but things are looking up.

With Love,

Jon

Pretty Cool (and old) Piece of History

Sept 22, 2014

Dear Mom,

That's right, your son got to hold an original copy of the Book of Mormon at the Maine State Library in Augusta! It was pretty cool. And pretty old.

Love,

Jon

Pictures!

Sept 15, 2014

Elder Richins Relaxing all cool-like

Some awesome mushrooms we found on our hike. Ooh they look just like little creamsicles! Try one!

​

Our Hike (I'm getting so white)

Unanswered Questions and the Balmy Days II

Sept 8, 2014

This week Elder Rees and I have been working hard to contact and teach people. We started teaching a man named Allen. He has met with the missionaries before and was left with lots of unanswered questions. When we first met him on his porch, he said he "knows enough about Mormonism to know it's not for him." But we asked what his unanswered questions were and he said he wanted to know why God allows us to suffer so much, why He didn't give us better human nature, and why He gave us free will if that would make us potentially self-destructive. When we came back on Friday we gave him answers. At the end, he said that he felt that even though he really wants knowledge, "I don't need to know the 'chemical formula' for temptation. I just need to know how to never give in to it." I think he was really taught by the Holy Ghost. I am so excited to see him follow through on his newly-found knowledge. We get to teach him again tomorrow.

We also got to bring a member teaching this week who we don't normally bring. Brother Zaugg came to teach Ryan with us. We taught Ryan about the Restoration of the Gospel and Brother Zaugg testified of the Book of Mormon and talked about his conversion. His took 14 years, he said, to which Ryan responded, "I hope it doesn't take that long for me." (I hope it doesn't either). Unfortunately he didn't come to church. He didn't have to go clamming because the tide was up at that time, so we're not sure why he didn't come.

Anyways, it was a pretty good week. We found out that one person we teach likes playing Magic: The Gathering, so Elder Rees got to take him on during one of our dinner hours. Fun time!

Us on a boat (a ferry to Monhegan Island, so it's okay.)

​

Me an' the Balmy Days II, Aargh!

With Love,

Elder Richins

Exodus and Significantly Smaller Snowpiles

(realtime)

Last week we started teaching a man named Emmanuel. It was a snowy Saturday (the second to last snow day of the year) and I wanted to visit a member of the Church who hadn't been going since I was last in Haverhill. I didn't know if that was still their address. So when we knocked on the door, we were not surprised that they no longer lived there. But, the family that lives there now let us in. They were watching "Exodus," which I guess is a remake of the Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston? Maybe? Anyways, they let us right in and we got to teach them about Christ's Church on the earth in the past and now today. They loved it! Emmanuel especially was excited to learn. This week we taught Emmanuel again. This time he seemed a very different person. It had been a very rough few days for him. His faith had been shaken. After sincere prayer, he felt his problems only got worse. He said that he "saw no point in following God if all He is going to do is ignore my prayers." After hearing him out for a little while, we invited him to kneel with us in prayer and to invite the kids to join us. He was somewhat reluctant. Didn't want to make his problems worse. We finally convinced him to kneel with us, and the kids to turn off their video game upstairs to remove all distractions. I got to offer a simple, heartfelt prayer for him and his family in their trials. It was very short. The Spirit came into the room and after the prayer everyone felt it. We all looked at each other. All of Emmanuel's concerns for the moment left. He was himself again.

I have had similar experiences with prayer, where I've felt like I'm not getting what I want. After prayer, what changes the most is me. I'm grateful the Lord doesn't just give me whatever I want.

Really good week here in Georgetown. Most of the snowpiles are significantly smaller. Our front lawn is almost completely bare!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter and enjoyed General Conference!

With Love, 

Elder Richins

Being Chased (and Benevolent and...)

Aug 4, 2014

I learned something about myself this week. I'm not allergic to bees. They still hurt though. We were helping someone paint their barn and they were spraying a bees nest with a hose. And when they were pulling the hose back to the house, they rustled a bush with a different bees nest in it and those ones chased me.

Love,

Elder Richins

Seven-Days-a-Week and the Stop Smoking Workshop

 July 28, 2014

We have some of the best investigators here in Damariscotta!

One couple, Joe and Livia, run a "lobstah" stand in town and they give us little bits of lobstah sometimes when we go there to see them. They treat it like some people treat candy. I've had more lobstah from them in the last two weeks than I've had the rest of my mission. This is the Joe that we street-contacted two weeks ago. We picked them up as investigators this week, shared a message about the Plan of Salvation, and then had a church tour on Saturday night and shared the message of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them. The church tour went smoothly, and they brought a friend with them who, in Livia's words, "needs God in his life." At the end of the Restoration lesson we invited each of them to be baptized and Livia said, "Well, I have to read the Book first!" This was a huge jump for her because when we asked them about the role of religion in their life, Livia kept saying, "Joe needs to be baptized," and we were inviting her to be baptized too. She was Catholic in Brazil, and didn't know she needed to be re-baptized. Now the only problem is getting them to church. They work seven days a week! Joe goes lobstering every day except Sunday and the stand is open every day, so they would have to get someone to work the stand for them. It just seems like a lot to ask for, one of their busiest days out of the week. But this is also a great opportunity for them to follow Jesus Christ by keeping the commandments to the fullest. I am so excited to teach them!

I don't know how common this knowledge is, but the missionaries (worldwide, I think) have access to a program designed to help people stop smoking. I've read the program and it helps eliminate the urge to smoke. I have not gotten to help anyone do the program yet, BUT FINALLY I'm going to get to help someone stop smoking this Sunday! A lady named Chrissy committed to stop smoking starting this Sunday, August 3rd with her husband, when we teach them the Stop Smoking workshop. She has been taught by the missionaries for a while and her husband has been coming back to church (he's a member) and two of her kids have been baptized.

We don't have any investigators with a baptismal date yet. Ellen is coming close. She's been to church many times over the last few years, but she still does not have a testimony of Joseph Smith as a prophet. She has a testimony of prayer and of Jesus Christ and of some commandments, but I think the main problem is that she hasn't prayed about it. It's important to know all the truth, not just a part.

This week has been busy, tiring, fun, spiritual. I hope you're all doing well!

 Love, 

Elder Richins

CPR and a Lobsterman

July 14, 2014

This week we taught Misty, an investigator, CPR (Church, Pray, Read the scriptures) in less than ten minutes. The Spirit helped so much in that lesson as we used the scriptures and taught from the heart. We also picked up a new investigator named Rhonda. She is the wife of a member who had his records removed. In our lesson she brought up concerns about what she heard we believe and then she resolved her own concerns and said, "Well, I guess the next thing I need to do is read the Book of Mormon to find out if it's true." When people say stuff like that, I get surprised. I love it when that happens because it shows that they understand what to do and also that they really want to know. I have high hopes for Rhonda, and I also hope we can get her husband and other family involved. We taught an investigator named Ellen the Word of Wisdom, but she's been coming to church long enough that she knows almost everything about it. I have only met her once, so I don't know what her concerns are about joining the Church, but I think she knows just about everything she needs to. I think she lives most of it, too.

Yesterday we met Joe, a lobsterman, while he was walking from the gas station with ingredients for his lobster rolls. This is a big "Talk with Everyone" moment for me, because he was a little far away and it was raining a little, so it would have been easy to not talk with him. But we did, and he was pretty interested. He accepted a Restoration pamphlet and a copy of the Book of Mormon. I'm just really glad we talked with him.

Love,

Elder Richins

Cheeseburgers and the Restored Church

July 7,2014

Tuesday I met Elder Daniels, my new companion, and we drove to our apartment just outside Damariscotta. We went to a food pantry at a Congregational church to help out, and later we got to visit Norm, a new-ish member, and the Doray family. The Doray family is sweet! The mom is not a member, but the husband and kids are. To be honest I hardly know them, but I love them already. I hope we get to visit them more.

On the grand ol' Fourth of July we didn't have a lot of plans. We visited Norm again and stopped in on another member, but in the evening I got to meet Benny. Benny was driving by the church one Sunday at 10 AM and decided to stop in. He was well-received and liked it so much he came back. Now he says he wants to join a church. When I walked in to his home, he asked why I'm here and I got to tell him everything I believe. It was such a cool experience to get to just tell him. He made us cheeseburgers and we taught him about Christ's church when He was on the earth and how the church was restored to the earth.

Saturday we got to power wash the Barker family's house. Then we got to build a deck with Brother Locke.

This place has some pretty awesome people. Not sure what this week holds, but I am so excited to get to work here. Hope everything's going well for y'all!

With Love, 

Elder Richins

From Waterville to Augusta

June 30,2014

Tomorrow I will leave Waterville, drive to Augusta, meet my new companion there, and go to my new area. This last month has been so interesting. I have learned so much from myself, my studies, and Elder Sheriff and people. I want to share something that happened this week. We were leaving someone's home after a lesson and I felt we should talk to the people walking across the street. We did and shared a beautiful message about the gospel in seven minutes or so. We got their phone number so we could share more in the future. Immediately after, a Hispanic lady walked by with her two kids. We taught her in seven minutes too! She gave us her address so we could teach her again. I think she is really prepared to receive the gospel. And we were led to her. I am so glad we were led to her.

I'm sad to leave the people of Waterville, but glad to go where the Lord wants me to go. The friendships I have made here are going to affect me for the rest of my life. I feel so blessed to have served in this wonderful place.

With Love, 

Elder Jon Richins

Damian's Baptism

June 23, 2014

This Saturday I had the privilege of baptizing Damain Madison, an awesome, 10-year-old boy we've been teaching since before I got here. We taught him the day I came to Waterville and after a few months he decided that he wanted to be baptized on July 21st, the first day of summer. The baptism service was beautiful, and his dad, Dennis, made a cake, and so many people came. At church the next day, Elder Sheriff gave him the gift of the Holy Ghost. We visited him last night and he already seems a little bit different. I can see the difference the Holy Ghost makes in him. He was calmer and he has more light in his eyes. He's the same kid, but just a little different. I am so thankful I got to work with Damain. I am never going to forget him and his family.

With Love and Lovin' It, 

Elder Richins

Fantastic Father's Day

June 16,2014

This week was fantastic! The best part was church, and not just because I love church but because Dennis finally came! He hadn't come because he gets really anxious in crowds, but he overcame his anxiety to hear Damain sing for Father's Day. He stayed for the whole 3 hours of church. Damain is going to be baptized this Saturday and he asked me to baptize him. I'll include pictures next week. Teaching him and his parents is so much fun. He doesn't focus much, but he's 10, so we don't expect him to that much. I just know that when he reaches the age of serving a mission he's going to be a great missionary. And in not too long, he's going to be a great teenager. The gospel and the Church are going to bless him so much.

Sorry for the short letter,

Elder Richins

He's Getting Baptized! and My Hip-hop Style

June 9, 2014

Elder Sheriff and Bishop Crouse went to Terry's house on Saturday while Brother McLaughlin and I visited the Liberty family. Brother McLaughlin and I were a bit late getting back, so I thought Bishop would be a bit mad at us for being late. We got back to the apartment at 8:40 (we planned on 8:15) and they weren't there. We waited until 9:30 for them to get back. AND TERRY SET A DATE FOR HIS BAPTISM! He's going to be baptized on July 5th. He wanted to keep taking the classes for a while and then get baptized, but Bishop went in and told him that if he only questions and never does, he'll never get baptized. He has been taught by the missionaries for a while and finally all the work and prayer he's put into learning are coming to fruition.

So, you'll never guess what I found in our closet.

Love, 

Elder Richins