Done. But never finished.

Dear Family,

The time has come and I cant believe it has gone by so fast. I have been a missionary oficially 2 years and 2 weeks and I am in my last week of my mission. I can still remember my first days in the MTC and in the mission field. I have met so many great people and had so many great experiences. Heavenly Father has opened my to many great things in the gospel and for that, I will always be greatful. 

This past week went by fast and my comp and I had some great experiences. There is a new video of the church called Gracias A Que El Vive (I have no idea what its called in English). It is about Jesus Christ and how we can draw closer to Him whenever and wherever. After my comp and I saw that video our Mission Pres, Pres Lovell, invited us all in the mission to help others pray to know that Jesus Christ lives. After receiving that invitation it as if the soluction to everyones problem with whom we spoke was to pray to know if Jesus Christ lives. We talked with a taxi driver while we were in his taxi and we got to one point in the conversation when he asked us how to repent of his sins and how can he know if he was forgiven. We were able to tell him and testify of our Savior Jesus Christ. Later, we talked with a lady who has been less active for about 20 years. She told us that she has never felt that God exists because she has never felt Him in her life. It was amazing how the Lord prepares the people because after she told her that we testified of our Savior and that He lives which may or may not have solved all her questions or problems but she did invite to come back (we had knocked doors and thats how we found her....miracles!!!). Great things have happened.

Elder Candia and I this week went knocking doors looking for people to teach and knocked a house and a lady came out. The lady told us that she was less active and was a member of the church for many years before she stopped going. I dont know we said but I do know that the Lord prepared her heart but the result was that she invited us to come back. When we came back she accepted the invitation to come to church this coming week with her kids and her kids accepted the invitation to be baptized. We gave a book of Mormon to the oldest daughter, Marilin (13 years old), and she had it in her hands she thanked. Before we left she was hugging the book of Mormon and she told us that she was going to read all of it. It is a powerful image that I will always have in my mind.

I have thought a lot about what to say in this last letter and what came to my mind was a phrase that my first companion and trainer in atlanta wrote in his last letter: DONE. BUT NEVER FINISHED. I my be ending my time a full time missionary here in Argentina but I will never be done being a missionary. I love this work to work much to ever stop. These two years have marked me in a way that only my Father in Heaven and Savior will ever be able to understand. Many people have asked me what I have learned in these past two years....My answer: What havent I learned in these past two years. 

I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I have felt its power in my own life. It has lifted me up when I was down and has given me the faith to keep going. I have seen it change my life and many others. The Book of Mormon is the most correct book that there is on this earth and with bring any person closer to God than any other book. I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I testify that he saw God the eternal Father and His son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that He is my Savior and I love Him so very much. I know that He died for the sins of the world and rose from the dead on the third day. He love us all so greatly. I have felt His love. I know others can feel the same. We are all missiories of our Savior. This is His work and it is perfect just like Him.

I love you all so much!

Con Amor,

Elder Nobmann Riddle

Mision Neuquen Argentina 

Weekly Letter - 30 Mar 2015

Dear Presidente,
This week has flown by so fast! The zone is doing great. We had a zone p day which was good because everyone got to see one another. Everyone is working hard and there are a lot of companionships that have a lot of investigadores that need to get married but once they get that done they want to be baptized, which will be great. My area is doing great. Our investigador Daniel didnt come to church this past week so he wont be baptized in my time here but I am happy that he is still progressing and I know he will get baptized soon. Also, I have seen a big difference in the hearts of the gente after we saw the new video Gracias a Que El Vive. We met a taxista who, after talking with us for a little bit, asked us how he can be sure if his sins can be forgiven. It was like a bell went off in my head saying that he needs to know that Jesus Christ lives. We shared a tarjeta with him and invited him to pray. Later that same day we met a less active lady by knocking doors that doesnt believe in God. She told us that she has never felt Him in her life. It was as if that same bell went off in my head and we were able to share the importance of prayer and Jesus Christ. She may still have some doubts but she invited us to come back. The Lord is hastening His work. Elder Candia and I are doing great. I feel that he has helped me get to the point where I want to be before I go home. I love him so very much for his help. We actually fasted this week and had a great experience. As we fasted we found a less active Hna that invited us to come back and teach her family. When se came back she said she felt she she come back to church andher 3 kids accepted fechas para el 2 de mayo. As for me, Im doing good. It is different to think that I am in my last week and sometimes a little sad but I know the mission work wont end when I finish the mission. I have learned how to be a missionary forever and I am so greatful. I love my Heavenly Father and Savior so much. I have this last week left and I want to leave it all our on the field. I want Elder Candia and the future elderes that came here can baptize and rejoice in the work. thank you President for everything. I love you and the Hna Lovell so much. Thank you again for helping me change my life! Have a great week. 

Our Savior

Dear Familia,

This was another great week here in the mission. It is amazing to see the hands of the Lord at work.

Elder Candia and I have an investigator who is a stud. His name is Daniel. I have mentioned him a few times in the past few weeks. Yesterday we talked about the Book of Mormon and he said that he believes that is true. He also believes that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. He is being prepared by the Lord. 

In a couple weeks we have the General Conference and I am very excited. Like I have said before, it is the SuperBowl for missionaries. Im so pumped for my Brother Zach to have the opportunity to see the General Conference as a missionary. There is nothing more special than listening to the Prophet and Apostles talk while in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ. I hope all of you are thinking about questions that you have before the Conference. Questions are the doors to revelation. As we listen to a the Conference with a certain question and listen well, we will leave with our answer.

A while back here in the mission we had a guest speaker, Elder Viñas of the 70. He said something that I will never forget. He said ¨I think about my Savior everyday¨. What a great example of drawing closer to the Savior. Easter season is just around the corner and we have the opportunity to not only think about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ but talk about him as well. It is a time to think about our relationship with the Master and help others come unto Him. It is because of Him we can start over. It is because of Him that we can find happiness. It is because of Him that our families can live together forever. 

I hope we can keep our Savior always present. I know that He lives and testify of His power.

I love you all so much. Have a great week.

Elder Nobmann Riddle

Weekly Letter - 23 Mar 2015

Dear Presidente,
This week has been great. The Hnas Moreira y Parlogean had a baptism and were very
happy about that. A lot of familiares came to the baptism that arent members of the church which was great. There are a lot of compañerismos in the zona that are teaching families that are preparing themselves to get married and baptized. Good things are happening. I am greatful for the help of the Lord and all that is happening in the mission right now. My area here in Cipo is still amazing. The members and the people in general are great. We have been finding good families now we just need to buckle down and help them progress in the gospel. We actually a miracle with one of our investigadores, Daniel. Sunday night we passed by his house and verified si he had read the Book of Mormon and prayed about it. We only left the Intro as homework but he read all the way until the pictures. He says that he believes it to be true and that he believes Joseph Smith to be a profet. We taught him the Palabra de Sabiduria and he said he is going to work on dejando todo. The Lord has really prepared his heart. Elder Candia and I are doing great. He is helping me in a lot of things. I believe one of those things would be helping me get closer to my Savior. I am very greatful for my companion. As for me, Im doing great. Yesterday I had a great experience. Elder Woodbury called us to tell us about the miracles that were going on in the mission at about 7 in the night. He told us about the5 baptisms in Plaza Huincul and that many other zones were seeing miracles. While talking with him something happened inside of me. I felt a spark that I needed but cant explain. All I could feel was an overwhelming desire to baptise and a need to esforzarme mas. When Elder Woodbury hung up I turned to Elder Candia and said ̈Elder, we need to baptize ̈. We hadnt planned on visiting Daniel but Elder Candia said Daniel still can be baptized. We both got pumped and went to Daniels house to teach him the word of wisdom so he can progress. And that brings us to the miracle that I shared earlier. The Lord is preparing the way. I have faith in His power and desire to be closer to Him. He is the Master. I want to make Him proud and I love Him greatly. Thank you for all your help. Have a great week. 

The Lord has a plan

Dear familia y amigos,

This are going by fast but great things are happening. Our investigadores are doing great. We have found some new families to teach which is a great blessing. Gama has told us that he has found another church and no longer wants to learn more. It is sad but at least I know we did what we could. But the good news is Daniel is a stud. He couldnt come to church this past week but we called him yesterday and made an oppointment to pass by this week. Before we hung up he told us ¨Hey, dont forget to bring me a Book of Mormon. I bought some glasses so that I can read it now.¨ All I could think was that Heavenly Father is preparing the hearts of the people. 

I had the chance to go on exchanges with another elder in the zone. that is when we change companions for one day to learn from one another and see how things are going. I went with one of our district leaders in the zone named elder graves. when we went out we had the chance to teach an investigador of his named, ariel. Ariel is thinking about getting baptized and his wife is a member of the church. We have been praying and fasting a lot for him as a zone. Anyways, in the lession he told us that he had a dream of elder graves. in the dream elder graves was giving a him book of mormon and told him that his anwser was found in it. Elder Graves and I were blown away and asked him what he that he should do now. He responded ¨I need to start reading the Book of Mormon¨. Just another example of the Lord preparing the hearts of the people here.

Just like Heavenly Father is preparing the hearts of the people to accept the gospel his is also preparing our lives. He has many things in work and a lot of time we can see it and we just dont understand why things turn out the way they do. Or, sometimes we think, ¨why hasnt anything happened yet¨. Although I may not know what the Lord always has planned, I know that He has a plan. I testify of the goodness of our Father in Heaven. He loves us greatly and knows what we need. I am greatful that He has given me this time in the mission. I love Him.

Thank you all so much. Have a great week.

Love 

Elder Nobmann Riddle

Weekly Letter - 16 Mar 2015

Dear Presidente,
This week was great! We had the chance to do exchanges with Elder Graves and Elder Hill. They both are a couple of studs. Elder Graves is doing good. He has had some rough experiences in the mission but he wants to end good. We had the chance to see a great miracle together when we taught Ariel, one of his inv. Ariel told us in the cita that he had had a dream that night of Elder Graves. In the dream Elder Graves gave him a Book of Mormon and told him that his answer to be baptized was in it. We asked him what he that he needed to do and he responded ̈I need to read the Book of Mormon ̈. The mission is changing and the Lord is apresurando su obra. My area is doing great. We had the blessing to have found two new families that past week. One is a family from Bolivia and the other is a single mom, Patricia, and her daughter. Patricia told us that she had gone to our church a while back and even listen to the missionaries a few times. The miracles dont stop there. Our investigator Daniel, the one who found us (two weeks ago he saw us and called us over so we could teach him), didnt come to church yesterday because he had a compromiso but we called him last night and set a cita to pass by. De la nada he tells us, ̈Dont forget to bring me a Book of Mormon. I bought a pair of glasses so I can read it! ̈ How awesome is that!...He bought a pair of glasses so that he could read the Book of Mormon. This work is so amazing President. Elder Candia and I are doing great. He is a very loving and forgiving person. I am having a lot of fun with him. As for me, Im doing great. I want to finish my mission with the fire of the work burning in my heart and with a strong relationship with Jesus Christ. Even though it is a temptation in the last few months or weeks of the mission, there is no time to be trunky. I love the mision so much. I love my Savior and want to know Him better. I want to defend His name in all that do, say, or think. I will forever be greatful for these two years the Lord has given me. Hurrah, Hurrah, Hurrah for Israel! Thank you so much President. I love you and Hna Lovell. Have a great week. 

Good things happen!!!

Dear Familia,

I love yall like crazy! Im just going to dive right in with all the miracles if yall dont mind.

First off the two investigadores that i had told yall about ; gama and Daniel, both came to church this last sunday. It was awesome. One of the craziest things that happened this week was (this is for you aunt Hieders) when Gama told my comp and I that he was in prision for 10 years because he was a bank robber and is a master in opening safes...I couldnt believe it! But the good news is that he doest do that anymore and wants to change his life and follow Christ. But it was a great sunday to have them both in church this past sunday!

Another cool miracle happened with an investigator named Chadi. Chadi comes from a Jewish family and has been listening to the missionaries for a few months now. She is affriad to becomce a member of the church because of her family tradition. We have been praying a lot to find the way to help her have the strength do accept the gospel fully in her life. Last night we past by her house and she wasnt there. BUT, we had the chance to talk with her parents. As we started to talk with her parents she showed up and listened to the whole conversation. We talked manly with her father. We came to find out that he has read the whole Book of Mormon and Pearl of Great Price a few years ago because he found it. He is very open and it was the first time he had talked to missionaries before. The blessing of it all was that Heavenly Father put us in the right place at the right time and helped us say the right things so that Chadi can be helped in her progress. Elder Candia and I had been praying and fasting for a miracle with her for about two weeks and the Lord gave us the answer in a way we had never planned. Heavenly Father listens and loves us. The answers may not come all at once or in the time we want them to come, but they always come.

I love you all so much. Have a great week.

Elder Nobmann Riddle