Miracles and Magic - Monday, August 24, 2015

Hiya Mum, Dad, and Family, 

Well let me tell ya, my week has been full of miracles and a bit of magic from Elder Jeng. Elder Jeng knows some magic tricks so he took some cards out and we went finding, and we were able to find quite a few potentials from it. And it was super fun in the process. We have been doing loads of finding, like all the time and we are definitely seeing miracles from it. We have found so many people who are interested in the message that we have to share. Now we just have to go by and start teaching them, so I think that is what this next week is going to be filled with. The only bad thing, is I think a filling fell out of my tooth, don't worry I am going to get it fixed, but right now there is a whole in my tooth, haha! Yeah! :) 

As for some miracles of the week. First off I think the best miracle happened just this past Tuesday. Elder Jeng and I decided to go by a potentials house named Karis. We knocked on the door and she was very surprised to see us! I thought she was going to turn us away, but then we got talking and found out that she is really interested in what we have to say. She is looking for something more. She was brought up believing in God and Jesus Christ but now she doesn't know if it is true and she wants to know. So we set up a return appointment. We went by the next day and taught her the Plan of Salvation, which she said all sounded really good and it all made sense. Well from that point we decided to schedule her for baptism! We scheduled her for September 12th and she said if she finds out by that day she will be baptized, So please keep her in your prayers! We have also taught her the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Well another miracle happened!! SHE DECIDED TO COME TO CHURCH! She said she loved it and really liked the talks which were on family and marriage. She said that everything that was said and everything that she is learning is like everything she already believes. She still is searching for an answer but I know that she will receive an answer because she really has the desire and real intent. We are going to start teaching her Flat mate Olly, he is super cool, and he knows like 3 members in the Ward so it will be awesome. Right now he is on Holiday but really wants to meet with us when he gets back. We will keep fasting and praying for him! 

So a few weeks ago we met this guy named Ray and a bunch of his mates. They are from Russia. they told us to come around. Well we did and another mate named Max was in and he said it wasn't a good time but to come again another time. Well we lost contact with them. Then yesterday we were walking...in the pouring rain, and this guy yelled from across the street, "hey I know you, do you remember me? I am Max" He said they are still interested, but they moved and so he took us to his house! Well we chatted for 20 minutes about Joseph Smith. He doesn't really know what he is looking for, he is really confused and is looking for more. So we set up a return appointment. He is really interested and said it all makes sense! It was super cool. Well that was my week! It was such a good week, filled with miracles. It is amazing how much Heavenly Father is blessing us. I can truly see his hand in everything that we do! I love this gospel. It has made me so happy and I want everyone to know about it. I love seeing the same happiness that I feel enter into the lives of everyone I meet! I hope you are all well. I miss you and love you all. Ki kaha. 

God be with you till we meet again. On our way. #10sof1000s. HE LIVES. 

Love, Elder Tyler Rife

"Elder Jeng's wonderful Taiwanese noodles"

"Just some people we met. :)"

Can I just say I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it when Tyler sends pictures!!!! 

It makes my day a HAPPY one!  :)

Zoomin' by - Monday, August 17, 2015

Hiya Mum, Dad, and Family, 

Wow you guys had an amazing week! I love camping. It sounded and looked like you all had an awesome time at bear lake, but I would say it was more a hotel than camping!! Haha you had a Jacuzzi...I mean lets be for real...that is not camping! ;) Tanner how did your date go? I want to know all about it...unless there is proof it didn't happen..haha! :) Who was it with and what did you do? Was it fun? My first date was with Adri Ojuka....we went to Lagoon, and it was a blast! Ya know what we should do, we should start a family business in catering! That would be the best, because everyone that we make food for is always so impressed by it! Just a thought to think about. 

I will be quick for my week. But I just wanted to tell you all about my week, and all the wonderful things that happened here in England. I saw so many miracles. Elder Jeng and I are able to see so many blessings. So the week started out with loads of finding again. Which was so much fun. Many people don't like finding, but I love it. I love talking to people. When people turn a blind eye to the gospel I just laugh it off. They are definitely missing out on something that would impact their life in such a major way! But I love bearing my testimony to everyone, and letting them know that I know that this is true! 

Elder Jeng and I were finding quite a bit and were having a bit of success and we were just headed home. Well we must talk to everyone. So we were walking down this path and there was a guy with headphones walking towards us and a girl that was walking to the side of us, both with headphones in. Well I thought alright we will try to talk to the man. We tried and he completely rejected us, (not just cause his headphones were in). So I thought I would try and give the girl a Mormon.org card. Well we did it and it was so funny because she has never heard of "Mormons" and thought that it was so cool that we do this. We then got talking and she said you know this is interesting, I just left my friends house and I have actually been trying to know if God is there, well my friend told me she would pray for me and now I have ran into you guys. We told her that it was an answer and that their is a reason for everything. We got a return appointment with her. We then saw her later that week and she was so interested. We talked about all kinds of things, but mainly the Restoration. She said it makes sense and she said that she wants to find out. We invited her to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it and come to church. She said she would, she also said that she really wanted to put some time and effort into this to find out. We then invited her to be baptized if she found out that it was true. Well she accepted that as well. So the next time we see her we are going to try and schedule her for a specific date. Please keep her and us in your prayers. I know that the power of prayer is real. Miracles happen from it and I know that your prayers will be answered. Thank you for everything. 

We decided to try by some potentials that the other elders left for us. We went by this house, Becky. She wasn't in but two of her friends were. So we taught them Micheal and Georgia. Micheal wasn't too interested but Georgia was. So we went back the next day and taught Georgia and Becky together. It was so cool. The spirit was so strong. We testified of Joseph Smith and explained to them that they can have the same knowledge and happiness that we have. We showed them the Mormon message "The hope of Gods light". Georgia started crying and they both said that they would love to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it. They both said that they would work towards baptism!

As you can see, our week has been filled with miracles. So many miracles that the week just flew by, I guess the saying is true: Time flies when you are having fun. I love this Gospel and I am so happy I have the opportunity to share my testimony with the people here in Leeds England. I love you all and am so happy for your support! If you need anything please let me know.

God be with you till we meet again. On our way. #10sof1000s. HE LIVES. 

Love, Elder Tyler Rife

Ni how ma - Monday, August 10, 2015

Hiya Mum, Dad, and Family, 

You lucky people get to go camping!! Have I told you that I love camping! haha probably all the time. I hope you guys are all safe and have some fun. Tanner I hope your finger is healed. I will pray for you. So Kendra I haven't heard from you for sometime. How are you doing? Congrats to Kylee on first place and second place! My email will have to be quick as well. The time in the library is cut very short, because so many people need to use the computers. 

I will just say I am so happy to be back in Leeds it is truly an amazing place. I will definitely miss Bridlington but Leeds is exciting. That is really cool that Zac served in Leeds 1. I will have to ask some of the long time ward members! That is really cool. 

Well I am serving with Elder Jeng, from Taiwan. He is such a funny and cool missionary. Very hard working as well. Which I like. He is a convert to the church only 2 years. Amazing right! He has a wonderful testimony and another thing, he just learned english 6 months ago. I can't believe it either but he did. Well Elder Jeng and I both area booked. We are both new in the area so we are always getting lost and have no idea where we are going. But on the bright side it is a very good finding approach. Just to ask people for directions. 

Lately we have been trying to go by people that the other elders before us contacted. We have only been able to contact 1 of them. The others have basically disappeared, but no matter. All is well in Leeds one. The guy we contacted is Dan. He is a very interesting lad. He is about 26 and he is very anti social and his views are his views. He has been investigating the church on and off for about 1 year. He doesn't really know what to believe. He has an amazing heart but is not too willing to trust in Heavenly Father. I am finding it difficult to figure out what he needs. He has been taught everything, we have borne testimony to him, we have invited him to read, pray, and come to church. We have proved certain points of the gospel. It is hard because I don't know if he is very open. He has major trust issues but I think we are getting somewhere with him. The last time we taught him he was very very understanding, still a bit hard hearted but I think that we will be able to help him. We were able to schedule him for baptism on August 22. Hopefully that will help him receive an answer. 

We have been doing a ton of finding all week. It is so much fun. I absolutely love finding. I love talking to people and telling them about what I believe and then having a good conversation. It is absolutely amazing. We have found some really good people to go see this week. One of which is called Ece. It is a very interesting name but I think she is from Spain. She knows Mormons and said that she is actually really interested to hear what we have to say. We got her details and set up a return appointment for today. Well yesterday we thought we would try by to see if she was in and if we could confirm the appointment. She was in and oh my goodness, she was so excited to see us. She asked us if we were still able to see her today and said that she will be there and she is so excited. Well her friend was there too. She said that she is going to Scotland for the week but when she comes back she wants to learn more. So it was pretty cool. I loved it. We feel really good about Ece, so hopefully we will be able to help her understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ and she will be able to find out for herself if it is true. Good things are happening, even miracles...even though they may be small they are happening. I love this church. I know that my testimony is very small compared to some people, but I know that this church is true and that Jesus Christ lives that he loves us and that he died for us. I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father and that he has prepared a plan for us to return to him. The Gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth...I know it. I love you all and hope you are well. 

God be with you till we meet again. On our way. #10of1000s. HE LIVES. 

Love, Elder Tyler Rife

Leeds 1 with Elder Jeng from Taiwan

(Not sure what the hand signal is.  We will need to ask him in his next email.)

Goin' back to Leeds - Tuesday, August 3, 2015

Hello Mum, Dad, and family,

 

Well it is Tuesday that I am emailing home and guess what that means!! Yes that is right. It was transfers! Already, WOW time just is flying by. It just seems like yesterday that Elder Pryor and I became companions but now we are both separating and both leaving Bridlington. What the heck...after 7 months I am leaving little old Brid. I can't do that. I have met so many good people and it is like my home now! Well I know that it is a new experience and a new start to make goals and be better than I am. I am now going to Leeds 1. So I am going back to leeds! It will be fun. I love Leeds. And I am excited to do better and gain more experience. I will be serving with an Elder Jeng, from China...I think. Which will be fun. Maybe I will learn some Chinese! :) If you send any letters please send them to the mission office until further notice. I can't believe I am leaving, it is just so unreal.

 

Carl told me he added Dad on facebook. That was a very kind note that he sent you. I am going to miss Carl, but I will definitely see him again. Yeah Caroline is very happy that Mum added her on facebook! She shows me all the messages you send each other...hahaha no hiding from me! :) Jodie and Sinead have been trying to get Tanner to accept their friend request forever!!! They are funny girls. They are always messin' about and that is why we did a burping contest! haha it was actually a lot of fun...I obviously won! We tried setting some things us with Jodie and Sinead's parents to teach them, but unfortunately we haven't been able to set anything up yet, so hopefully the Elders staying here will be able to do some good work! I understand their reservations as well, it makes complete sense I just wish that we would have been able to help them understand the importance of the gospel. But no matter, they will definitely be baptized! As for the glass thing, I really did slip. The ensign was on the floor because we take them into the bathroom to read them! I swear nothing more happened haha. We were messin' about a bit but nothing major and then I just slipped. President Pilkington was just worried, we are completely fine now. My war wounds are healing up very nicely. I PASSED MY DRIVING TEST! It was actually not as bad as I thought. I think it will be hard to change back to the American side, when I am home. But that is forever away so I won't worry about it.

 

As for the week, we have been trying to work a lot with Rhys. He has kind of backed off a bit, because of what his parents are saying to him. But as of right now he still has a desire to be baptized. Just not yet. It sometimes is very frustrating how Satan works through the people that are supposed to be the support system. I mean Rhys trusts his family and they are saying this is bad, but Rhys also trusts us and we are saying it is good. I can see he is stuck. But I know that overtime his family will open up to the gospel. After all the church is all about families. Who knows miracles will happen.

We have also been working with Steve and Shelli. They are a couple that I have told you guys about just briefly. It took forever to get in their house and actually teach them but after try bys and try bys they finally let us in and we were able to teach them. They told us that they trust us and that they are looking into the church more, that it sounds good. And potentially they will be baptized. Well Yesterday we had a lesson with them and we were teaching them and all of a sudden Steve asked about women in the Priesthood. Well at first I was looking at Elder Pryor and Elder Pryor was looking at me and we didn't really know what way to go...then out of the blue we just started teaching. We explained that The Priesthood is a responsibility for men but women play a huge role in it as well. We showed him the talk by Dallin H. Oaks about women in the priesthood and we were going to go back and explain more to them but obviously it will have to be the other elders. In the end they said that it all made sense. We were very surprised. I guess it goes to show that the spirit does place words in our mouths and we are just instruments in the Lords hands.

 

Another miracle happened this week which was absolutely amazing. We went by to teach Nessa and Nathan. They weren't really progressing anywhere and we were about to drop them but then Ness said that she has been reading the Book of Mormon and praying everyday and she has been cutting down on smoking, coffee, and drugs. We were stunned when she said this. She said that she doesn't know yet that it is true but she is going to give it her all to find out. We promised her that if she continued doing the things that she is doing, she would for sure receive and answer that the church is true.

 

My week has been pretty good. I have looked back on it as well as the whole transfer and realize that I have a lot to work on and a lot to change, but that is what the gospel is all about right? It is about change, repentance and becoming better. Learning, growing and becoming more like our Father in Heaven. I an very excited for this new experience in Leeds to start over again. It will be good. I love you all and hope you all do something to change for the better everyday! :) If you need anything let me know.

 

God be with you till we meet again. On our way. #10sof1000s. HE LIVES.

 

Love, Elder Tyler Rife

Well Tyler didn't send pictures BUT....

Whether he sends them or not we have our ways of getting them!  

We have connections!!!  :)

Thanks to our friends in Bridlington and Social Media....

Tanner has become Instagram friends with two of the girls Elder Rife and Elder Pryer were teaching!  The girls posted these pictures on Instagram and Tanner saw them!

Here is one of those a little closer up!

Thank you Caroline for all you have done for our missionary the last 7 1/2 months while he has been in Bridlington.

So glad we are fb friends!

"Thank goodness in today's world it is so easy to stay connected through social media etc. when we part our friendships don't need to end."

Ouch!  That cut on his arm looked like it was a little sore!  

Lesson learned...."Don't leave things laying around on the floor!

You may slip on them!"  :)